Re-reading a bit of political philosophy, I came across a 1939 quotation by the French philosopher Raymond Aron (1905-1983) who warned of notre poque de religions politiques. If Aron were around today, he would have much to wrote about.

It is certainly no secret that the current presidential administration embraces its own brand of religion. The president speaks often of his defense of Judeo-Christian values, while far-right Christians like Secretary of State Pompeo and Vice President Pence have become powerful and long-serving officials in the administration. To what degree their values are genuinely Christian, however, is a question worth considering..

Billy Graham (1918-2018) the renowned USA preacher who died last year, aired regrets later in his life about having sometimes crossed the line in his involvement in politics. His son Franklin has no such regrets and continues to strongly support the policies and person of the current US president. According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 13,800 people attended Franklin Grahams early October evangelistic Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina. Current polling still reports an overwhelming majority of white evangelicals who consistently express approval of the presidents handling of his job since his 2017 inauguration.

Franklin Graham calls the Trump impeachment inquiry an “unjust inquisition,” and claims that the Bible directs Americans to pray for the president. He also made a special plea last week that Americans purchase a “Pray for 45” T-shirt being sold through his organization’s website, for only $15.99. In an October 31st anti-impeachment Facebook post, Graham stressed: “Pray for President Trump today, for God to give him wisdom, protection, and guide each and every step he takes. I pray that he and Melania will sense the presence of the Lord through this unjust inquisition. Ironically, despite Graham’s ardent opposition to the impeachment inquiry into Trump, he was one of the most vocal proponents of impeaching former President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s. Apparently sexual deviance is ok for a Republican president but not for Democratic president?

The extreme Christian right promotes a very selective kind of gospel.

Paula White, a televangelist based in Florida and personal pastor to President Trump since 2002, has now joined the Trump administration in an official capacity. When I walk on White House grounds, God walks on White House groundsthe White House is holy ground, she said recently. She will work in the Office of Public Liaison which is the division of the White House overseeing outreach to groups and coalitions organizing key parts of the presidents base, and giving religious groups more say in White House decisions. White wrote and delivered the invocation at Trump’s January 2017 presidential inauguration in Washington, becoming the first clergywoman to lead the inaugural prayer.

White, who preaches the prosperity gospel, asks Americans to make a donation to her ministries to honor the religious principle of “first fruit,” which she said is the idea that all firsts belong to God, including the first harvest and, apparently, the first month of ones salary. If God doesn’t divinely step in and intervene, I don’t know what you’re going to face she said. As the President prepares for a second term political campaign, he cannot afford to lose support from the religious conservatives who voted for him in 2016 in significant numbers. He is hoping that his spiritual advisor, Paula White, can help make it happen again. White is weaponizing religion for political success. She told the New York Post recently that the impeachment investigation “wears on” Trump. Nevertheless, she is unconcerned about his 2020 reelection chances: “I’ve never seen the base more energized than it is now.”

In other news this week, the Evangelical Christian Pastor, from Tennessee, Perry Stone, has claimed that Democratic lawmakers “have demons in them” and are “trying to place hexes and curses” on President Donald Trump. Stone, who founded Perry Stone Ministries and is described as a best-selling author, made the claims during a Thursday night prayer meeting last week. He argued that Trump’s demon-possessed political opponents are trying to place hexes and curses on President Trump.

“I have never, in any nation of the world … seen people raised up with demons in them [like] in Washington,” Pastor Stone said. “They have demons in them. You can look at their eyes when they almost start foaming at the mouth,” he said. The pastor then took aim at Democratic House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, claiming that the representative’s “eyes get as big as saucers and it looks like he is having a seizure when you bring up [Trump’s] name.”

Stone also sells a meal package on his ministries’ website. He calls it the Lord’s Supper, and claims if you buy it from him you’ll be healed of any sickness or disease.

These Christian characters undermine and distort authentic Christianity. In Luke 4, we hear Jesus saying:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.

Unfortunately, strongly politicized segments in various American Protestant and Catholic churches today look away from justice for the disenfranchised. They love especially themselves and love only those neighbors who meet their approval.

We do need prophets and a new reformation.

Closing reflection: Over 10,000 migrant children are now in US government custody at 100 shelters in 14 states. Political religion? The Gospel Message here?

Jack

J. A. Dicks article was published in his blog, Another Voice, November 8, 2019.