What evangelicals did was wrong

Like man people, I too was baffled by the “insanity” that was displayed by a number of evangelical preachers and prophets who “prophesied” that Donald Trump would have won the 2020 presidential elections and serve four more years in the White House.

Their fanatical stance (in my opinion) and proclamations leading up to the elections have become legendary on social media. There were so many preachers declaring, without a doubt that God told them that Donald Trump would win the elections.

Even after the results of the elections were announced, many of them refused to accept those results and began to declare that God would do “whatever was necessary” to overturn those results. I was dumbfounded and speechless.

How could they be so blind and stubborn? I thought many were even being unconstitutional when they declared that they would never accept Joe Biden as president of the United States, even after he was elected and sworn into office.

Like many others, I balked at the arrogance and unpatriotic attitude of these people who were supposed to be Christians and who are supposed to stand for what is right. After all, doesn’t the Bible declare that we must honor and pray for those in authority? (1 Timothy 2:2) Yet, here were these preachers going against the results of the election and speaking out against the newly elected president.

But then I began to ask why these preachers and “prophets” were so adamant about Donald Trump serving a second term in office. After all, Donald Trump has been anything but a “choir boy” when it came to morals and his behavior.

Trump was accused of being a philanderer of the highest order, even bragging about being about to grab women in their private parts at will. According to the media, Trump was constantly tweeting “lies” and “untruths” to his followers and was even considered to be a very divisive person. No, Donald Trump was no saint. And everyone knew it.

Yet, these preachers and Christians were fighting for him, putting their credibility and reputations on the line to voice their stance for Donald Trump.

Then I discovered why these preachers and Christians were so sold on Trump. Trump was a Pro-life president, signing a number of executive orders against abortion and even defunding Planned Parenthood. In fact, Trump bragged on the fact that for the first time since Roe vs. Wade, America had a Pro-life president, a Pro-life vice-president and a Pro-Life House of Representatives and 25 Pro-life Republican State Capitals.

Trump was pro-Israel, announcing the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the planning of the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (December 6, 2017)

For Christians, this was a big deal, because they stand on the Bible’s promise that those who bless Israel, God would bless. (Numbers 24:9, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 49:9, Genesis 12:3) Trump even signed an executive order targeting anti-Semitism in colleges (December 11, 2019).

Trump held a strong stance against the LGBQT community, even signing an order to prevent transgenders from serving in the military and he was a “friend” of evangelicals, giving evangelicals and Christians a stronger voice and presence in the White House.

Based on those reasons alone, I wonder why every Christian didn’t vote for Donald Trump.

Perhaps because there are more moral high grounds than just the ones listed above. What about racial discrimination? What about high levels of poverty within the United States? What about the high rise of domestic violence? What about the trafficking of children? What about standing up for immigrants and what about unfair laws that are enacted and help make the burdens on the backs of the poor even heavier?

These are issues too that all go against the teachings of the Bible and Christianity and which must be addressed by those in authority.

While I understand (and on some level agree) with why those evangelicals and Christians were so pro-Trump, I think their biggest mistake was attaching the name of God onto their personal desires. Instead of them expressing their personal reasons for why they wanted Trump to win the election and serve another term, they decided to declare that God told them that Trump would win.

They could have pushed their agenda and proclaim why, by stating the reasons why they supported Trump. Not because of his character, but because they felt his platform was one they supported. After all, it’s their right to hold a political view.

Instead, they went wrong by using the name of God and attaching it to “false” prophecies and dreams.

Those Christians and evangelicals wanted Trump to win because of what they felt he stood for and that’s fine. But instead of expressing it as something they wanted, they got up on their soap boxes and on their social media platforms and declared that it was something God wanted.

Whatever progress the church made over the past years and decades have been backtracked because a number of people in spiritual authority attached the name of God to their personal desires and false prophecies that never came to pass.

Isn’t that an example of taking the Lord’s name in vain?

I don’t think these spiritual leaders know how much damage they have caused to the Church and to Christianity by doing what they did. They have caused God’s name to be maligned by the unbelievers and doubted by Believers. A number of people have left the church since these false prophecies did not come to pass and many Christians are now questioning their faith and their beliefs.

What these evangelicals and Christians did was wrong. The fall-out from such an act and the repercussion will affect the legitimacy of Christianity and the growth of the church for a long, long time to come. And that breaks my heart.