Do Evangelical Christians Have Any Moral Authority Anymore?

 

“After telling me how to live my life, who to love, what to believe, what not to believe, what to do and what not to do and now you sit back and the prostitutes don’t matter? The grabbing the you-know-what doesn’t matter? The outright behavior and lies don’t matter? Just shut up.” – Michael Steele former Chairman of the Republican National Committee

 

Do Evangelical Christians have any moral authority anymore?

Should Christians even be telling people how to live?

For a long time, we have felt we were on the right side and had the bedrock authority of the Bible, the Word of God to support our views.

Furthermore, we believed we should have an effect upon society by promoting our values, both positive and negative, i.e., what we are for and what we are against; and we made alliances with political parties and politicians to that end.

Evangelicals aligned with the Republican party because they believed they would support their positions. Eventually, the strategy backfired, and Evangelicals become better known for they were against, i.e., abortion and same sex marriage, rather than whatever they were for. They came off as hateful and exclusive. Because they were fighting fire with fire in the unsavory trenches of political warfare, in the minds of many people, they became just another special interest political lobbying group.

Enter Donald Trump who, over the months of his candidacy is met with an evolving response. It progressed something like this. He’s a joke. He’s an embarrassment. That’s my man.

How does a person with admitted infidelities, questionable business practices, zero experience, and wildly fluctuating views become “my man”? How does someone who encourages people to beat up protesters, defames women, a gold star family, and the handicapped become “my man?” How does a vindictive bully with narcissistic personality disorder become “my man?”

Really, it’s simple. Appear to be a “can do” outsider who will take on the political power structure and tap into the latent frustration of the masses of people who feel ignored by the policies coming out of Washington.

How did he become the darling of religious right? The same way he became the leader of the republican party. People believe he will be a proponent for things they want. And that matters more than character.

But it doesn’t. What happens when a person with massive flaws becomes the most powerful person in the world? Those flaws are magnified, and people get hurt. The nation becomes even more divided. The balance of power in the world is suddenly out of whack. Allies don’t know what to expect.

The excuses? All presidents are narcissists. He’s draining the swamp. He’s shaking up the deep state. He speaks for the common man. He’s a smart businessman and knows how to get things done.

These excuses are political Kool-Aid designed to condition our brain to accept unacceptable behavior.

I totally understand how a person can be supportive of some of Trump’s policies. I can even understand how people can regard him favorably. My problem is when people do these things in the name of Christ or come out in support as believers or Christian leaders.

Many Christians support this man while completely disregarding his character and the facts, thereby dragging the testimony of Christ through the mud.

And yes, we pretty much have lost all credibility.