The Immorality Of Evangelical Christians In The Age Of Trump

Evangelical Christians have the perpetual gall to take the moral high-ground. They claim that they vote their values. They claim that secular people are immoral. The sanctimony reeks almost as bad as the hypocrisy.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a church service at the International Church of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 30 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a church service at the International Church of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 30 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

On Dec. 14, 2012, a mentally unstable young man shot and killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. One of those kids, the youngest, was Noah Pozner. As a parent myself, I cannot come close to even fathoming the pain and suffering his senseless slaughter caused his parents. What could be worse than having your child murdered? Little else. And yet, the pain of the Pozners did not end there. In the aftermath of the massacre, a handful of lunatics began falsely claiming that the Sandy Hook shooting never happened -- that it was all made up. And Noah's father became the target of these cruel individuals; he has been taunted and tormented by their ongoing attempt to frame the murder of his son as a hoax. Leading this immoral, sadistic campaign is a heartless man named Alex Jones, who uses his media might to perpetually lie about Sandy Hook, claiming that the shooting was fake, and blatantly taunting the parents of the children who were murdered there.

And Alex Jones is supported and encouraged by our current president. In fact, just days after losing the popular vote by nearly three million votes and yet winning the electoral college ponzi scheme, Donald Trump personally called Alex Jones to thank him for all that he does.

Such moral depravity is emblematic of Donald Trump. This billionaire blow-hard, this "pussy-grabbing" misogynist, is awash in immoral relations and immoral actions. He defends and respects Vladimir Putin, a despot who has personally ordered the assassination of men, women, and children. He appoints the most racist Senator in the United States -- a man who spent his life fighting against civil rights and then lied about it only weeks ago in preparation for his confirmation hearings -- as the nation's Attorney General. His closest advisor, who is now virtually running the country, is a thrice-divorced, alimony-evading shill of white nationalists. His leading spokesperson daily peddles "alternative facts" -- or what normal human beings refer to as bald-faced lies.

From his mocking of the disabled to his claim that an Indiana-born judge can't be partial because of his Mexican heritage, from the federal lawsuit filed against him for explicitly discriminating against African Americans to his monstrous tax evading, from lying about the size of the crowd at his inauguration to his lies about millions of people voting illegally, from his tweeting like a teenager about everything except the recent murder of six Muslims praying in a mosque in Quebec by a white Christian, from his bragging about sexual assault to his attempts to shut the doors of America to human beings fleeing violence, Donald Trump has proven himself -- by the hour -- as a cold, heartless lover of lies and hater of humanity.

And 81% of white Evangelicals voted for him.

That's right: those Americans among us who claim to love Jesus the most, who attend church the most, and read the Bible the most, and pray the most, and claim to be the most loving of God, are largely responsible for making this pock of a man the leader of our country, who is already causing -- and will continue to cause -- an inordinate amount of flagrant deception, pain, misery, violence, and immorality in our nation and the world.

And to top it all off, these Evangelical Christians have the perpetual gall to take the moral high-ground. They claim that they vote their values. They claim that secular people are immoral. The sanctimony reeks almost as bad as the hypocrisy.

***

Morality is a very simple thing: it is about alleviating the pain or suffering of sentient beings, helping when one can, not harming others, and treating people the way you yourself would want to be treated. End of story. Given this very simple and obvious explication of morality, we can clearly see Evangelical Christianity for what it really is, at least in its North American, early 21st century incarnation: immoral, uncaring, and blatantly harmful. Let's consider some obvious examples:

Banning Refugees. There are human beings fleeing violence, in need of a safe haven. The moral thing to do it to allow a fair amount of these men and women in to the United States, as is this nation's ability and heritage. Donald Trump issues a ban on allowing such refugees in, despite the fact that not a single terrorist attack has ever been committed by anyone from those banned countries. Additionally, there are individuals from these Muslim majority nations who are working on scientific advancements, individuals who hold green cards and have lived and worked and contributed to Americans society for decades, individuals who pose no threat whatsoever. Yet Trump bans them. And the Evangelicals sing Hallelujah!

Healthcare. In the United States, health is directly determined by wealth. The more money you have, the better medical treatment you receive. The less money you have, the worse. And in some cases, none at all. Millions of Americans lack health insurance. This is immoral. Obamacare -- despite its shortcomings -- has alleviated the suffering of millions of Americans. Trump intends to dismantle Obamacare. And the Evangelicals say Praise the Lord!

Global warming. The factual evidence is clear and abundant: we are destroying the planet. Because of our greed and consumption and fossil fuels and fracking, we are heating up planet Earth. The results will be catastrophic: prolonged pain and suffering for all. Trump claims that climate change is a lie invented by the Chinese. And the Evangelicals shout Amen!

We can also talk about racial injustice, gender inequality, the prison industrial complex, death with dignity, the brutal oppression of Palestinians -- and on and on. So many moral issues, and on every single one, the Trump Evangelicals take the side of the oppressor, the side of the powerful, the side of the wealthy, the side of the corrupt, the side of the sinister.

Oh, well, they do care about fetuses. That's true. They care about them so much, that everything else -- from global warming to a lying, incompetent twitter president, from racism to gun violence, from Native American rights to corporate cronyism -- don't matter at all.

***

I realize that this blog will not change a single mind. There is not a single Evangelical Trump supporter out there who will read this and think, "Hey, he's got a point." If anything, the opposite will occur: my anger will generate defensiveness. More anger. I will be dismissed as a secular elitist. A politically correct professor. A whiny Jew.

So why write it? Because, like many of my fellow Americans, I am distraught. I am fearful. I feel the need to declare the angry truth that the strongly pious among us are enabling a wicked, fraudulent presidential administration. This is our reality. Let's call it for what it is: Evangelically-subsidized immorality.

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