Many liberals and leftists thought that it might be better to have President Trump than a President Pence, or Cruz, whose unshakable religious commitment is clear. One of them said, “Well, at least we don’t have the theocrat Pence as President.” They wrongly thought that President Trump, whom they describe as a “crass, amoral, prideful, and dishonest huckster…” is acting more like “a faith-on-their-sleeve true believer.” Consequently, the religious right has been “able to wield an outsized influence on national policy while avoiding the kind of scrutiny that would come if they were working with one of their own in the White House.”
A massive sea change is taking place in American politics. While there were those that thought Mr. Trump would be “less of a culture warrior than a president who is a conservative evangelical,” the religious right has been consolidating power steadily. Mr. Trump is upholding his end of the deal made during his campaign for president (votes for more power).
Lance Wallnau was among those that declared that Mr. Trump was anointed by God, and argued that Mr. Trump’s irreligion is cover for pushing faith-based initiatives. “No one thinks he’s a Christian,” he wrote, “so nobody suspects him of trying to push religion on people.”
Mr. Trump’s end of the bargain began with his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which could swing the court considerably to the right long term, and push back against the “Great Society and New Deal programs” as well as the LGBTQ equality and the so-called reproductive rights agenda. Religious activists now envision many similar judges on the federal bench rolling back liberal advances over the last 50 years.
Mr. Trump’s cabinet appointments have liberals horrified including Jeff Sessions at the head of the Department of Justice, Betsy DeVos at the head of the Department of Education, Tom Price at the head of Health and Human Services, and Scott Pruitt, running the EPA.
In addition, evangelical leaders are in the White House more often than ever, including the usual suspects like Tony Perkins, but also Cindy Jacobs, who says that God is using the president to “turn the tables” on Satan; discredited TV huckster Jim Bakker, mega-church pastor and Trump advisor, Paula White, and Ralph Drollinger, who runs a White House Bible study and who teaches that the prayers of non-Christians go unheard by God, social welfare programs are un-Christian, and Christians with government jobs are obligated to hire only other Christians.
When it comes to policy, the religious right is in the driver’s seat. For instance, DeVos wants to put money for public schools into school private school coffers. Also, evangelicals asked for and got Mr. Trump to ban transgenders from service in the military. Jeff Session’s Justice Department argued in a civil rights case that law protecting people against discrimination on the basis of sex do not forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Also, Mr. Trump has started to curtail abortion (at least around the edges), and began dismantling legal restrictions that keep church from using charitable donations to support political campaigns. Mr. Trump’s silence during LGBTQ Pride month did not go unnoticed.
While many of the things the Trump administration is doing to religious leaders more power are actually good for America, the religious right will also, one day, advocate and get worship laws requiring everyone to worship on Sunday.
“The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday… Even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected.” The Great Controversy, page 592.
Comments
Juanita Rebara
Wednesday October 18th, 2017 at 11:04 PMI like Trump for what he has tried to do inspite of
the obstructionists Democrats and whomever else. He has a Dutch mouth..strait forward and
his use of a couple of bad words, nothing to be
so against him for some of them. I have been watching him and his accomplishments and his constant trying to get the obstructionists to work in our governing body in Congress and Senate.
They are not right to do such. awful stuff and then what is very bad is the media who is working for communism and lying and trying hard to get Americans to disbelieve in Trump and trying so hard to control thought in the Hegelian method. Communism was the way the Roman church did things with elites and very poor (surfdom) and so many people just do not have the time or the knowlege to get to a computer or to read and become able to see
what is needed to be done and how hard President Trump is really working to get this nation back with jobs and get our 90 some million back to work. He has to stop illegals from storming constantly over our borders and a wall is good. They have our jobs, so it just is not for those who know nothing to decide what is right. Demos are the KKK people who are trying to make people think the republicans were. That was never true. It was the demos who did the slaving after the war to stop it. Woodrow Wilson did that and he was a Jesuit. I think it was Andrew Jackson did slaving also and badly. Illegals escaping into our country to get our jobs, bring guns with them and pilfer properties in the process. Not all of them, of course, do that, and during the depression we worked in our fields, when I was in Junior high, when the strawberry crop came in early, school kids were allowed to go help pick them so they were not spoiled and economy was helped. I am from Oregon where the big strawberry festival is every year and the biggest shortcake is cut up for lines of people.
We can also work in the fields. I am not from spanish people over the border either.
Stand for Pres. Trump and hold up the Constitution Bill of Rights and freedom. Do not believe the lies of those who are trying to split our country with their lies about police and racism. God has allowed hopefully allowed who is getting into leadership. Pray
and read the Bible people. We are under judgement it appears to me with God giving us some last chance to keep our Freedom.
Islam is not a religion according to those who know. It is a conquest. I am so glad Muslim Obama is no longer in office and that Clinton’s are not in the leadership.
admin
Friday October 20th, 2017 at 12:14 PMMr. Trump is attempting to do a lot of good things. He is opposed by the democrats and even some republican establishment types. However, our post is not about politics, it is about prophecy. Some people are so passionate about the political situation that they cannot see very easily that they are being set up to support the new world order religion which, in America, will be promoted by evangelicals in political power. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has both good and evil. That’s the Hegelian dialectic operating in a way not often thought about by those who don’t understand bible prophecy. We can all be glad for the good things, but at the same time, let us not be blind to the dangerous things. Admin.