Like Paul to the Philippians, I sheepishly offer my credentials: My father was a pastor and I was raised in the church. I attended Christian schools from kindergarten through college. I spent 8 years as a missionary in West Africa. I have repeatedly served as an elder in my church. While I admit a growing discomfort with the rhetoric of much of the American evangelical community, I have stood by my association with it.
Until now.
Now a majority of US evangelicals support for President a man who is everything that my parents and church and schools taught me not to be. I was taught that life is not all about me. I was taught to take responsibility for my mistakes. These are part of our evangelical heritage.
Donald Trump's viciousness, philandering, tantrums, and lies are well documented and undeniable. So I won't list or analyze them now. But how can we support someone so willing to manipulate our fears?
The name evangelical means messenger of good news. The root of the word is angel. Whenever angels appear in the Bible, the first thing they say is, "Fear not." This is the beginning of good news, and it is one of the most common phrases and themes of the Bible.
So how is it that evangelicals have bought into fear mongering? We now say, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." This is our good news? Shame on us.
How is it that good and responsible people can consider supporting someone who does only what benefits himself and does not take responsibility for the considerable damage he has caused others? Do we love his celebrity status or the TV show in which he reveled in dismissing people? Do we secretly want to believe like him that we could do a better job at anything than anyone? Do we want to justify our own dislike of other people through him? These may be part of his appeal, but I don't think it's what motivates most evangelicals. We have embraced his message of fear.
You may have your reasons for supporting a merchant of fear. You may have your reasons for telling people to be deathly afraid. But it has nothing to do with the Good News. Do not pretend to be an angel of good news in supporting the spread of fear. That is choosing to be a messenger of bad, even evil, news. That is Dysangelicalism. So how is it that evangelicals have bought into fear mongering? We now say, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." This is our good news? Shame on us.
How is it that good and responsible people can consider supporting someone who does only what benefits himself and does not take responsibility for the considerable damage he has caused others? Do we love his celebrity status or the TV show in which he reveled in dismissing people? Do we secretly want to believe like him that we could do a better job at anything than anyone? Do we want to justify our own dislike of other people through him? These may be part of his appeal, but I don't think it's what motivates most evangelicals. We have embraced his message of fear.
Among Paul's list of credentials was that he was a Pharisee, once a well respected name. Now it is just another name for a hypocrite. The same is happening to the name Evangelical. I made up the name dysangelical, but that is what the name Evangelical is becoming.
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Your thoughts are welcome! I'll try not to flinch if there are nasty ones, which I understand are fairly common nowadays.