How White Evangelical America Has Contributed to the Demise of American Greatness
By Giving Uncritical Support to Donald Trump
My ‘Family’ Disappointment!
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!” the angels shouted
- (twice, in the book of Revelation: 14.8 and 18.2) and now,
- in the age of President Donald Trump,
- there is every reason for followers of Christ in America to ask,
- Has America’s greatness reached an inflection point such that
- America can become the modern Babylon?
- Is the Church, specifically the White American Evangelical Church contributing to this downfall?
- What does the future hold?
- Can the White Evangelical Church in America get out of this mess?
No, I am not a White Evangelical Christian.
In fact
But I think I can speak to my white evangelical brethren.
- They are my ‘family.’
- I received Jesus Christ under the ministry of
- white evangelical Western missionaries to Africa
- A North American Missionary personally baptized me,
- as a teenager, by immersion in the ocean in W. Africa.
- North American white evangelical Missionaries taught me how to
- read, study, memorize, apply the scriptures,
- Four white evangelical western missionaries conducted my wedding.
- I received most of my training,
- both formal and Informal,
- as a local pastor, denominational leader, and eventually
- as national evangelical leader in Africa,
- from white evangelical missionaries.
- My Bible College was led by white American evangelical missionaries
- My master’s Degree in Biblical Exegesis
- was at a mostly all-white evangelical School.
- The overwhelming majority of churches I attended when I visited the US
- Christian music for me meant
- (In the early years of the Christian Faith),
- Evie Turnquist, Amy Grant, Michael Smith, New Creation Singers, Bill Gaither Band, 2nd Chapter of Acts, etc.
- Now, I still listen to
- Brandon Heath, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Chris Tomlin, Danny Gokey, Phillips, Craig and Dean, Matthew West, etc.
- I did also listen
- to Andrae Crouch, DC Talk, Nicole C. Mullen, and a few African American stars, but my worship and entertainment came from mostly white Evangelical American Christian artists.
- Radio for me was mostly white evangelical
- mainly Moody Bible Radio, and K-Love, His Radio, and similar stations.
- Popular programs were
- ‘Unshackled’ from the Pacific Garden Mission,
- ‘Adventures in Odyssey,’ and teachings from ‘Focus on the family.’
- I raised my (African) Children on the principles of Dr. James Dobson’s – ‘Dare to Discipline,’ and ‘The Strong Willed Child.’
- I admired, fellowshipped and collaborated in ministry with
- western white evangelical Churches and non-denominational ministries such as
- Youth For Christ ministry,
- Youth with a Mission,
- Scripture Union (UK),
- Southern Baptist Convention etc. but
- most notably the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
- Apart from the western missionaries who trained me as a disciple of Christ,
- I consider as pulpit inspiration for my ministry
- the preaching and Teaching of
- Billy Graham,
- Charles Swindol,
- Charles Stanley,
- David Jeremiah,
- Stephen Olford,
- John MacArthur,
- etc.
- The Biographies and some of the books I read were by
- W. Tozer (‘The Pursuit of God’)
- Andrew Murray
- Billy Graham (‘Peace with God,’ ‘Christianity Today Magazine’)
- Brother Andrew (‘God’s Smuggler’)
- S. Lewis (‘Mere Christianity,’ ‘The Screwtape Letters’)
- Chuck Colson’s (‘Born Again’).
- You get the idea.
- All of the above were consumed by me and many a disciple
- at the encouragement of
- white North American evangelical leaders and missionaries,
- sometimes on our knees in prayer,
- as one sought to serve God
- with purity, and dedication.
So I hope you believe me when I say that
- the white American Evangelical church is ‘family.’
But in the age of Donald Trump,
- I have become extremely disappointed
- to see the white evangelical American church
- loose its Biblical and prophetic focus, and
- ignore the deep truths, and principles in the Bible
- that they claim to hold dear
- that is in the various iterations of their ‘Statements of Faith,’
- turning its back on the very core truths
- that their missionaries have taught
- me and
- many of their disciples overseas.
So why am I disappointed with my ‘family’ in the age of Donald Trump?
- It is because if you look at
- what the stalwarts of white evangelical missions and
- Christian leadership have been teaching people like me:
- The Bible is the final authority
- on what God’s will for us
- ‘Sola Scriptura’, ‘Sola Fide!’ (they cried),
- seeing themselves in the footsteps of Martin Luther.
- “Set your affections on things above not on earth!”
- ‘Choose
- the narrow road which leads to heaven
- not the broad (‘popular’) road to destruction!’
- See how Samuel kept his distance from Saul
- when he (Saul) was no longer willing
- even though Samuel himself
- installed Saul into office.
- See how Nathan the prophet spoke to David and said of him
- ‘What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his own soul?’
- ‘Nothing!’
- They shouted and
- preached and
- strained and
- insisted to us,
- ‘It is impossible to serve God and Money.’
- ‘Do not be unequally yoked with evil, but
- renounce evil in all of its forms.’
- See how Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights to prepare for the ministry.
- See how he resisted temptation
- by quoting the scripture.
- See how Jesus would not take the whole world.
- that Satan ‘offered’ him,
- in order to fulfill his calling.
- “Speak up for the fatherless, the orphan, and outcasts of society, the alien”
- See how Jesus himself fled political and religious persecution with his parents to Egypt
- See how Jesus was gracious with the woman caught in adultery
- See how Jesus at sat among and talked with prostitutes
- See how Jesus went to stay with Zacchaeus, the ‘sinner’ and
- see how Zacchaeus confirmed Jesus was right in his actions
- when he demonstrated
- true repentance and
- willingness to make restitution
-
- See how we raise funds to help the orphans in the slums of India, Haiti, Sudan, Africa, etc.
- The fact is, I do not know anyone
- who is prepared to make the case
- And yet white American evangelicals appear to have embraced him
Thus most people in my position
- will be disappointed
- at how the white evangelical church in America
- have seemingly and unquestioningly
- given the appearance
- that they have no biblical objections to
- what Donald Trump has done
- what Donald Trump has said and to
- what Donald Trump continues to do and to say in short
- the unbiblical values and principles that
- Donald Trump’ character, history, and personality represents.
- The evidence is seen in the statements
- on Christian Talk Radio,
- by Billy Graham Jnr.,
- by Liberty University President, Jerry Falwell Jnr.,
- on Moody Bible Radio talk shows
- of Mike Huckabee,
- by Pastor Jeffress, and
- by many more evangelical leaders, along with
- the deafening silence and seeming continuing support
- (if the polls are to be believed)
- among the rank and file white evangelical Christians.
My ‘family’ now seems to prefer
- to embrace, justify, excuse, and defend a man
- who has shown
- no remorse
- for sin and wickedness in his past life,
- no change, and certainly
- no repentance
- for a life of deception,
- injustice,
- arrogance,
- pride,
- greed, and
- rebellion against God,
- bigotry, and
- to accept without intellectual curiosity
- only what pundits on ‘their side’ say
- not what the Bible says,
- to appear to have put access to power now
- rather than focus on the rewards of eternity,
- to be part of a ‘winning’ crowd
- even if it is power wielded by one who led a life
- suffused with lies,
- vulgarity,
- meanness,
- unrighteousness,
- serious ethical short comings if not
- actual criminality,
- division
- to consider their earthly ‘rights’ supreme, and
- to have them (their rights) fulfilled now,
- seemingly insensitive to the pain of others,
- to espouse or
- to at least APPEAR to give their spiritual covering
- to someone whose character is a textbook example of narcissism,
- thereby effectively rejecting the ideal of the cross:
- no greater love than
- self-sacrifice
- and perhaps in the process
- subconsciously
- embracing
- self-centered success
- as the new Christian ideal
- a complete opposite of the cross and its message
- in order to gain access to power and
- to ‘winning’
- in exchange for
- their integrity,
- fulfilling their prophetic and
- missionary call
- to a lost world
- to pursue earthly wealth
- to gleefully and sometimes willfully
- align themselves
- with those who greedily seek
- the greatest monetary benefit
- by manipulating the levers of power
- often at the expense of those
- to become hopelessly compromised by aligning themselves with a pathological liar
- even though the devil
- is the father of all liars
- even though the Bible says that
- all liars will be cast to hell
- even though we are not supposed to tell lies
- either to God,
- to ourselves and
- to others
- even though
- even though we are told
- to have nothing to do with darkness
- to expose the deeds don in darkness
Now my ‘family’ prefers to
- support someone who wants to hide
- his past activities:
- (his taxes)
- (his contradictory statements)
- in order to walk in ‘darkness’
- to stall investigations
- that may throw ‘light‘
- on how ‘dark’ his past actions may have been
- align themselves with
- a bully, the aggressive,
- the dog whistler,
- the dominant class
- the direct opposite of Jesus teaching
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit”
- “Blessed are those who mourn”
- “Blessed are the meek”
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”
- “Blessed are the merciful”
- “Blessed are the pure in heart”
- “Blessed are the peace makers”
- one who emphasizes ‘Law and Order’ as if
- that is different from the ‘Rule of Law’
- which is based on the fact that
- “all men are born equal”
- which itself is a restatement of
- the biblical truth
- that all men are created
- ‘in the image of God’ and
- with one who subtly promotes the idea
- that all those who look different
- are also most likely to be ‘dangerous’ and
- to not love America and
- to give some cover to those who would take advantage of the weak
- and promote hate,
- the antithesis of Jesus teaching;
- “love one another even as I have loved you”
- to give cover to those who would exploit
- the poor,
- the alien, and
- the orphan
- in direct contrast
- to God’s clear and
- overwhelming teaching
- in both old and new testament
- “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”
- This is a disappointment because they
- (the white evangelical church) should be
- the conscience of society
- the “light of the world”
- the healing hand of Jesus
- the prophetic voice
- against injustice and wickedness
- that cannot be silenced,
- the prophetic witness to the world that
- righteousness, justice, mercy, and evil
- Instead the focus is more
- on churches, meetings, and fellowships
- on wonderful ‘spiritual’ truths,
- on ‘family friendly’ truths,
- on ‘uplifting’ and ‘positive’ truths,
- on method and strategies of how to get to become
- on how to achieve increasing ‘quality of life,’
- on treating
- Church attenders and believers
- more as customers
- whose needs are to be met
- so they will ‘buy-in’ to what the church sells
- by shaping the gospel to fit the culture
- meaning to give them
- what they want and
- going where the culture is going
- than as disciples of
- the ‘ugly,’ “rugged,” and
- inconvenient message
- of the cross that
- ‘makes the comfortable restless’ and
- welcomes, comforts, and offers peace
- to the outcast.
- ignoring the elephant in the room:
- A national leadership
- that is morally corrupt, and
- a threat to the very ideals,
- derived from Judeo Christian values
- that they
- (the white evangelical American Christians)
- told us, have made this country great.
My disappointment may be difficult to understand, but for people like me,
- white north American evangelical missionaries were ‘gods.’
When white north American missionaries came to Africa, and
- exposed us to the white evangelical church in the West,
- they came with
- medicines to heal our many tropical diseases
- food aid to feed ourselves and our poor
- improved ways to maintain our health and live longer
- new style of buildings
- new ways of managing our organizations
- ‘superior’ logic to our superstitions
- ‘superior’ knowledge about health, food, politics, nature, technology etc.
- many other ‘wonderful’ quality of life improvements
- lots of money
- we did not even begin to imagine possessing and
- the true gospel to take us all to heaven!
So they were ‘gods’ to many of us.
- We received improved material sustenance,
- were taught ‘right and wrong,’ and
- were given the ‘keys’ to life beyond the grave!
As ‘gods!’
- they also shaped our very lives
- into their own image, or
- in hindsight now,
- in their own ‘imagination.’
- They helped us
- chose our mates
- raise our children
- towards the ‘right’ careers.
- They opened doors
- to many an African disciple
- to better jobs and
- education in the West
- They also critiqued our culture and our societies.
- “The Judeo-Christian values system,”
- they said
- “is fundamental
- to understanding the greatness of America”
- We were backward
- because of tribalism –
- “if what the tribe wants is always ‘right’,”
- they said,
- “it is wrong.”
- We were too “community or tribe oriented”
- instead of individual oriented
- We were too attached to unfounded fears
- instead of facts.
- That was ‘superstition’.
- We were too afraid of change.
- Our countries would be better if we
- practiced and
- cherished democracy, and
- if we respected
- democratic institutions and especially
- the separation of powers.
- Corruption is among the things
- that is a huge drag on our economies
- The leaders we have
- are a reflection of the people
- who vote them into office,
- who allow them to stay in office
- (i.e. they represent who we are).
- We as ‘backward’ societies
- were afraid to speak truth to power.
- Dictatorship was wrong.
- Dictatorship makes our countries
- backward,
- undeveloped, and
- The things that occur in our countries
- will never happen in America .
- Dictatorship will never be allowed in America
- because a dictator’s power comes from the people
- who support him,
- who do his bidding,
- who defend him,
- who explain away his tendency
- to disregard
- the sanctity of human life
- to meanness, wickedness, callousness and
- the lack of basic human decency in his ways.
- In America, the people around political leaders
- will never let themselves be used
And now in America, here we are in 2017,
- we see these same things happening in America and
- the white evangelical church
- is either being silent, cheering, ‘spinning’ or pretending
- ( ‘spinning’ is actually ‘deceiving,’
- which is ‘lying’
- which is a sin
- as if what we see with our own eyes
- is really not happening, or
- that it is not that important.
Is Babylon Fallen?! What is going on?!
