Evangelical warns Christians have 'erected a graven image' of Trump and let it corrupt the faith - Raw Story - Celebrating 17 Years of Independent Journalism
By: Alex Henderson (Raw Story - Celebrating Years of Independent Journalism)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the Liberty University commencement ceremony, Saturday, May 13, 2017 in Lynchburg, VA (Official White House Photo By Shealah Craighead).
One of the things the Bible's New Testament warns against is idolatry, meaning that Christians are not supposed to worship fellow human beings and elevate them to the level of deities. While admiration is fine — one can admire, for example, the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Nelson Mandela — idolatry is off limits. But Never Trump conservative Matt Labash, in a SubStack article published on November 17, laments that fellow evangelicals have fallen into idolatry when it comes to former President Donald Trump.
Labash, known for writing for the Washington Examiner and the now-defunct Weekly Standard, argues that Trump worship has seriously "corrupted" the United States' evangelical movement. And he cites far-right evangelical John Hagee as a glaring example.
"What's disturbing…. about Hagee, is that he isn't some stand-alone aberration but rather, by now a familiar type: people who haven't just let politics influence their faith, but who have let politics supplant their faith," Labash writes. "When the two are in conflict, politics wins. See Pastor John MacArthur insisting that 'any real, true believer' had to vote for Trump, or Franklin Graham, the moral runt of Billy's litter, comparing House Republicans who voted for Trump's impeachment to Jesus' betrayer, Judas Iscariot."
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Countless evangelicals, Labash warns, have fallen so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that they are willing to accept the most ludicrous conspiracy theories as fact.
"Earlier this year," Labash explains, "a Survey Center on American Life poll showed 74% of White evangelical Republicans say that the claim of widespread fraud in the 2020 election is either mostly or completely accurate. A full three-quarters say (President Joe) Biden was not legitimately elected…. Sixty percent of them also believed that the attack on the U.S. Capitol was carried out by Antifa, which is, how to put it, bonkers. And I say that as someone who positively loathes Antifa, and who has stood in the middle of Antifa violence."
Labash adds, "More troubling still, 31% — almost a third — had gone fairly QAnon, believing 'Donald Trump has been secretly fighting a group of child sex traffickers that included prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites'…. My point is to say that too many people of faith have taken their eye off their deity, and erected a graven image — or an orange one — letting politics corrupt their faith, or at least letting the former take primacy over the latter."
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trolling, taunting, and off topic comments may be removed at the discretion of group mods. NT members that vote up their own comments or continue to disrupt the conversation risk having all of their comments deleted. please remember to quote the person(s) to whom you are replying to preserve continuity of this seed.
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I can't put that disclaimer on my seeds any more?
The fallacy with that is Christians DO worship a fellow human being and have elevated him to the levels of deities. Makes the whole point of using the bible in this feeble attack at Trump supporters a waste.
Which human being? Are you talking about Jesus Christ?
I don't expect you to understand this since you claim you're not a Christian, but Christ is one part of the Holy Trinity. It's something the Catholics call a mystery.
Anyway...since you are not a believer it really doesn't matter what you say here. The point I'm trying to get across are we are surrounded right here on NT by people who claim to worship the one true God, but have elevated a simple, flawed man to a god status
That's kind of a stretch don't you think?
No...I don't.
Do you consider yourself a Christian?
It is by no means a stretch in any way, shape, or form.
complexly over simpulling tons of Bullship around asz he has become an anchor to US, yet drugged around by so many who've bought into this disgrace, and unable to buy face, asz sit upon our 'thrown' shoulda bin off, asz lines clearly crossed like iiii do tease, cause Trump is a worshipped disease, possibly without a cure, and also possibly, somewhat more...
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Yes not devout as there are very few that I know of that are. But there is no fucking way I worship any man and anyone who does is kind of a fool. I guess that table can be turned as beginning in January 2009, there were several who worshipped the ground a certain PotUS walked on. Some right here also.
Are you a Christian?
No, I'm not a Christian and I never worshipped any POTUS. I don't worship anything but beer
... especially if consumed on a boat?
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Or on a river bank
That's my second choice LOL
enjoy a cold one this evening
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I also believe most of it is fiction which is why I don't claim to be a Christian.
However, you aren't seeing the point so I say we just stop discussing this with each other
No, he is a magat so he only worships a golden graven image....Trump. His loyalty is not to the country, but to an asshole who wants to destroy it.
Damn Bitch, too bad you're hitched , asz i'd bet U could drink like a fish
Not having researched the article specifically, I have to say that I get the impression that some do see Trump as a sort of second coming. As some sort of savior. That he is doing the work of God. It's this last point that is the most difficult, since it is perfectly possible that Trump is doing the work of God, but not in the manner many of these "believers" assume.
Romans 9:17 says "For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Not many would claim that Pharaoh was devoted to God or had God's interest at heart. Even so, God used him to accomplish His purposes.
In that sense, Trump may not be and actual follower of God. Nor Biden, Bush, Carter, Regan, Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ted Cruz, AOC or anyone else with authority but all are where they are because that is where God put them in order to further His plan. That Trump was president is not evidence that he is a follower of God or that his goals, desires and interests align with God. I would only assume that their goals, desires and interests would serve God's plan in some way, regardless of the character of the person.
That's something I think a lot of believers are missing. They seem to believe that, because God appoints powers and principalities, it must therefore mean that whatever that power tries to do is something Christians necessarily must approve of. This isn't so. We may have had Trump as a president as punishment. Biden for the same reason. It may have nothing to do with punishment but, rather, simply because they will do something God desires them to do for the sake of His own plans.
Pharaoh was not God's friend and the simple fact that someone becomes president doesn't make them God's friend any more than Pharaoh was. Although I voted for Trump because I thought his policies were better than Biden's, I never thought Trump was a champion of God. The opposite, really. Same with Biden.
The point, in the end, is that I wish more Christians, especially those who think so highly of Trump, would realize this.
I think that is indeed what many believers of the 'God appoints leaders' think. And when it is pointed out to a Trump supporter of this 'king-maker' theology that Biden must therefore also be appointed by God their brains melt. They do not have an answer because their model is flawed.
If one holds the 'king-maker' notion of God, one must clearly allow for the fact that there are good and bad 'kings' by including the very important 'God works in mysterious ways' caveat. That caveat cleverly allows the 'king-maker' claim to hold true regardless of what happens in reality.
While I agree for the most part in what you say in this post, it isn't a "clever" manipulation of facts. That is, while the way you portray it here could be true if what you believe about God is true, i.e. an invention of man, it also holds true that if God isn't an invention of man then He isn't bound to explain His every move to mere creations. I do not explain my purpose to my table saw for the wood I run through it. To say "God works in mysterious ways" is no different than saying we don't have access for how or why God does what He does.
I love you, too
Very thoughtful comment, Drak. I don't agree with you that God appoints our authority figures, but that is my opinion and it's ok that we differ on that.
"I also believe most of it is fiction which is why I don't claim to be a Christian.
However, you aren't seeing the point so I say we just stop discussing this with each other"
There is absolutely no point in discussing anything with Jeremy if you want facts or truth or knowledge.
Exactly! Those two phrases are equivalent. So one can make any claim about God and if one claim contradicts another, one can always declare that this is really not a contradiction, it is just that "we don't have access for how or why God does what He does" or "God works in mysterious ways" or even "we are not smart enough to understand the mind of God to see that this is not really a contradiction".
My point remains. Even claims such as "king-maker" are made invulnerable to challenge because any contradiction is resolved by: "God works in mysterious ways".
It's the ultimate cop out response.
It is part of what I refer to as master strokes of religion. Religions have had thousands of years to perfect the escape clauses to smooth over the many inconsistencies and contradictions. This is just one of them. Another master stroke was to convince people that faith (believing something true without any evidence) is a good thing and that one should work hard to make one's faith even stronger (to believe even wilder things true without evidence).
Thank you, and agreed.
Indeed. It might also be why religion/s persist for so long. The ultimate cop out and the ultimate con job.
funny how trump's faithful supporters are having the most difficult time accepting that, huh?
Certainly. George Carlin pegged it:
That is a classic.
Long Time ?
this much <>
... the ultimate stall that has run out the clock so many times, with a list of handy weasel clauses provided for automatic extensions and unquestionable explanations.
True. How many times have we heard some talk about the "2nd coming?" People have probably been saying that since Jesus' time. Makes one wonder how long does someone wait before they realize they've been stood up for their date?
One of the 10 Commandments does say that you shall not worship other gods besides me (let me go look that up):
ah-HA! It's the very first commandment!
Those idol worshippers break the very first commandment every day....you know who are and I'm looking at
YOU
Where did you get number two from?
Google?
You do realize there are different versions of the 10 Commandments don't you?
No I did not. My number two is "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
I had never seen the one you posted. I thought there was only one. The one in the Bible? Good to know. Thanks
Where does your posted version come from?
You do realize there are different versions of the Bible, don't you? The KJV, the New International Standard, the Living Bible are just a few that come to mind.
Also, did you know the Jews have a different version of the 10 Commandments than Christians? Even different sects of Christianity have different versions. I know the Catholic version is slightly different from a number of Protestant versions.
Look up in comment 3.1.2
Oh I see. Yours combines the two "covets" into one to make room for the "idol" thing. Interesting. Thanks again.
You were posting as I was and I saw it as soon as I posted mine.,
I prefer the George Carlin version:
Absolutely or else that commandment on t"thou shall not kill" may take on another meaning....
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Indeed.
I think that the Liberty U people are certainly guilty of the old idolatry thing also big number 7 among others.
the picture at the top of this seed was taken 15 minutes after falwell watched trump rawdog his wife while he was sitting in the corner spanking his monkey...
I had totally forgotten about Graham and his wife until you and Kavika mentioned it
... and their pool guy.
How could you forget about the church swingers? LOL
It happens
it's called a prayer group. where they pray nobody finds out.
I think it would have been a more true statement if the headline had read:
"Evangelical Warns Christians Have Given Trump An Erection And Let It Corrupt Their Faith - Raw Dog Story".
"We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated", all night long...
trumpsters and trump have always reminded me of 2 breeding dogs that were "locked up"...
An Evangelical with backbone. Amazing.
he's probably never seen his friends kids naked and is faithful to his wife too.
At CPAC the Retrumplican Cult worshipped a graven unAmerican-idol that was wheeled around the gathering so all of them could kiss his ass.
The "Golden Idol of Trump was made in Mexico, of course, butt Mexico did NOT pay for it.
The GOP is not a political party anymore. They are a cult of Trump worshipping authoritarians who all drank the Fool-aid.
That golden idol should have made every Christian's hair stand on end. It's shameful and blasphemous.
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