Donald Trump held a closed-door, media-free meeting with the Sadducees and Pharisees–also known as Evangelicals and prosperity gospel con-artists–to discuss the terms of their surrender to his holiness. I call Trump his holiness because he has lived such a perfect life that he has never asked God for forgiveness.
The event was promoted as an opportunity for Evangelicals to learn more about Trump’s flip-flopping positions on issues important to Christians and the nation, but one observer who spoke off the record said that it was essentially a campaign rally, a fact confirmed by Bill Dallas, head of United in Purpose and a chief organizer of Trump’s ordination into the circle of evangelicals:
“Overwhelming. (It) exceeded our expectations on many levels.”
Apparently, low expectations is standard fare for Evangelicals these days. Todd Starnes, a FOX News columnist permitted to attend, tweeted afterwards about the atmosphere:
I was one of a few journalists invited to attend Trump's conversation with Evangelicals. It was basically a campaign rally, folks.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
He also tweeted these interesting tidbits:
Trump dodge most of the religious liberty questions at Evangelical "conversation."
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
Just got back from Trump's "conversation" with Evangelicals. No mention of Jesus.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
On Todd’s last point, I have to defend Mr. Trump. Mike Huckabee, the multi-failed GOP candidate, early Donald Trump kiss-up and a reverend–kind of like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are reverends–was one of the moderators of the get-together, and he made it quite clear that Trump wouldn’t be expected to actually know anything about the Bible or the Christian faith he claims to possess.
Huckabee to Trump: "I don't think anybody came here today expecting you to be able to answer a Bible quiz. That wasn't the point."
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
Huckabee to Trump; "You're off the hook on deep theological questions."
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
The Huckster did, however, praise the twice divorced, thrice married, unrepentant, pro-Planned Parenthood, adulterous strip club owner for his “family values.”
Huckabee praised Trump for his family values.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 21, 2016
Ralph Reed was in attendance and confirmed his support for Trump. You may recall that Reed is the scandal-plagued founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition who says that Christians who refuse to vote for Trump as a matter of their convictions are guilty of the sin of pride. Apparently, I’m not allowed to draw conclusions about Trump’s faith, but Ralphie can draw any conclusions about mine he wants as long as it fits his agenda.
I wonder if now would be a good time to remind Mr. Reed about the scripture that tells us not to even eat with a person who claims to be a Christian but has never asked for the forgiveness offered by Christ (I Corinthians 5:11). Naw, he probably wouldn’t hear it over all the chewing.
Meanwhile, fully convinced of his own piety, Trump took some time to remind those in attendance that we should be worried about how little we know about Hillary’s religion. He also admonished them to ignore the Bible’s command to pray for those in authority, and to instead pray that he will get more voters.
Yesterday I wrote a piece about the similarities between the church in 1930s Germany and today’s Evangelicals, and how the compromise and indifference of the German church that led to the rise of Adolf Hitler exists in Evangelical churches today. As much as I think that is still pretty accurate, I may have found a better way to demonstrate the heart of 21st century Evangelicals.
In this day and age, where many Evangelicals have put their politics ahead of their faith, we have officially entered a new age in Christendom where Evangelicals no longer worship G-O-D; they worship G-O-P.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.