Hypocritical ‘Christian’ Pastors Bring Politics to the Pulpit

While Donald Trump was campaigning for the presidency in 2015, Evangelical Christians quickly jumped on board the “Trump train.” Unfortunately, many pastors brought politics to the pulpit all too quickly, forgetting the character of the man they supported. Ken Peters, the pastor of the Patriot Church outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, places equal value in both Jesus and Trump “coming back soon.”

What Would Jesus Say to this Hypocritical Evangelical Pastor?

“I want Trump to come back sooner than later,” Peters said. “But you know who’d be a lot better than Trump coming back? Jesus [is] coming back with gusto. Biden, you trouble Israel. Leftists, you trouble Israel. See you, unvaccinated people, you are causing the trouble in the land. We just want to keep that in play. We just want to keep our roots alive and not let this reconstruction. This tearing up of our nation’s roots and a new set of values is being pushed on us’ It literally is so whose values are being pushed on you these.

Courtesy of Gilbert Mercier (Flickr CC0)

Are leftist worldly values. They can’t stand Christian culture. Why? Because we believe marriage is between a man and a woman. We believe that there are only two genders. We believe that life in the womb is actually human life, and they’re murdering human life for money. One thing I’ve learned about scripture and the Lord is God can use anybody in the bible. He even used a donkey, and if God could use a donkey, he can use President Trump. I think President Trump is a miracle. I think God picked Donald Trump, an imperfect vessel, to be the champion of his people.”

Many questions are buzzing inside my head, and the first is, “what makes this fake Christian believe that anyone gives a damn about his view of religion or spirituality.” He is a nobody. As my grandfather taught me, ‘religion is a personal thing, not to be involved in politics or public discussion.

Here is another thing that makes me question everything about millions of my fellow Americans today. How can any Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Sikh, or a member of any religion support a man who is a confirmed sexual predator, a leader of racists in America, a criminal, and a traitor to his country who survives on his ability to lie?

Courtesy of Gilbert Mercier (Flickr CC0)

If you are a patriot, you believe in the precepts of our founding fathers defined by the Constitution. Trump spat on the Constitution for four years, and if you support him today, can you call yourself an “American?”

I was raised a Catholic, and Trump has lived his entire life in an atmosphere directly opposed to what I was taught in my younger years. He preaches anger, hatred, and violence in support of his beliefs and agenda. Yet, I continue to believe that understanding and compassion are the components that define my country.

This country we call the United States of America must become just that, united. Instead, Trump and other politicians seek to control the uninformed voter by dividing us and creating animosity between men and women with opposing views. This is not America. A good debate is healthy; an angry argument is destructive and, of course, divisive.

Let us all make an effort to forget that Donald Trump was ever our illegitimate president. He was a mistake, the biggest mistake in our nation’s 245 years.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Daily KOS: Evangelical preacher: God picked Trump to be champion of his people. Pastor: Bible belt unbuckling. By Egberto Willies
NBC News: ‘Trump is a miracle’: Christian nationalists pressure the evangelicals to get more political; by Anne Thompson, Benjy Sarlin, and Sarah Dean

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Brett Davis’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Images Courtesy of Gliber Mericer’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License