The blind support of President Trump by most of the American Evangelicals is appalling. It seems that none of the sins of the President matter for these merchants of God as long as the President is willing to buy what they want to sell. Any God fearing Christian with conscience will consider this behavior against the Gospel. This trend is not just a challenge to the morality but it also shakes the secular foundation of this country. The following is the explanation:
There are basically three main issues that are of prime importance to these Evangelists.
1. Appointments of conservative judges on all level of Judiciary but most importantly on the bench of the Supreme Court.
2. Pro-Life Agenda
3. Same Sex Marriage and Gender Equality
Let us take the very first issue and expose its far reaching consequences. It is ironic that the American public generally makes mockery of the clergy of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan but a large segment of that public never bothers to look deeply into the intent of their evangelists. Their intent is simply to control the Judiciary. If they succeed in their mission, would America remain a secular country? Have we forgotten the Dark Ages when the joint exploitation of clergy and monarchy made the life of the masses miserable? We would be far better off if we force these guys to be away from our government and let them preach their gospel within the walls of the places of worship. People can argue that a President from the opposite party will appoint liberal judges. What could go wrong with that? These liberal judges will uphold the secular values of this country. They will never dare to take the religious liberty from the people as long as it remains a personal choice and people freely worship their God within the boundaries of their homes or places of worship. This is our constitution and there is no historical trace that any liberal judge ever misinterpreted it.
The issue of Pro-Life is simply a religious issue and can be easily handled by the clergy if they concentrate more on educating the youngsters what the scripture says about it. But that would be a hard task without any power and money. By politicizing the issue, these Evangelists get a powerful tool in their hands to blackmail their followers emotionally. I was astonished to hear the answer from a conservative friend of mine when I asked her why she hated President Obama. She replied because he was a baby killer. One can see how these preachers spread falsehood and create fear among their followers. If they really care about the chastity of life then they should really stand against the gun violence, oppose all unnecessary wars and cry for the victims of famine and poverty. Life cannot be monopolized. It cannot be prioritized. It cannot be yours and mine. Life is a precious gift of God and it must be protected without any distinction. There is another hidden aspect of the mentality of these preachers of Pro-Life and that is women’s subjugation. The constitution provides the freedom of choice to women. It changes the dynamics that women are not simply the breeding machine that can be used by men at their will. It is ridiculous to think that the liberal women do not respect life. They produce children and get devastated if miscarriages happen.
These men of God never get tired of repeating the word love and especially the love of God. Can they deny that transgender people are also the creation of God? If not then why are they so adamant to discriminate these people? If love is the virtue of God then let it be free for all. Let freedom provided by the constitution ring its bell. But no, that will take away power from them. That power comes from the money they collect in the name of God. No one wants to stop clergy from preaching what the script says about the same-sex-marriage. At the same time, the constitution gives people the liberty to live as they wish to live and love whom they want to love.
Thank to the visionary leaders of America who gave this nation a masterpiece constitution that cherishes great human values and keep the exploiters at a distance. Due to this constitution, this nation patronized knowledge and science and created a unique and powerful country that has no parallel in the world. Please stop these merchants of God from interfering in our constitution, think pragmatically and be aware of the danger of mixing religion with politics.
In the end, I would like to mention a personal experience that would elaborate what I want to express here. When I worked in Saudi Arabia, one day the news in the local newspaper was that the King had declared a day of prayer for the rain. The news was relayed to me by my American colleagues who also made mockery of it and rightfully so. Later, I found out that it was an annual ritual by the King and of course it never rained after their prayers. Unfortunately, it was few years later when Texas had a worst drought and the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, declared days of prayer for the rain. Of course, it did not rain for many months after the prayer. The prayers do not produce rain. The laws of Nature do. The governor could have served his people better if he would have allotted more resources to solve the problem of the drought. Instead, he followed the practice of a theological state of Saudi Arabia. Sadly, the same governor is now the Secretary of Energy in Trump’s administration.