I like Biden. A lot. I like Kamala Harris even more. But let’s be clear. I won’t ever fly a flag with their image on it. I would leave my party if my leadership asked me to die for them. I will never worship them. They are competent politicians who care about people, but nothing more. No political leader should ever be idolized.
I have noticed a disturbing trend on the right, and I’m not the only one. Pastor Franz Gerber of Wisconsin worried that many members of his congregation appeared to idolize Trump more than they worshipped Jesus.
“It seems like there are many evangelical Christians that are willing to die on the hill of supporting the Republican president, supporting Donald J Trump. And to me, that hill is not worth dying on. No matter who the candidate is, no matter who the individual is. To put all your hope into that individual is a dangerous road. Scripture would warn us against that.”
The sights of this month’s CPAC didn’t put him at ease.
We mock the GOP for turning themselves into a cult, led by a narcissistic moron who is the embodiment of all the seven deadly sins. (Pride, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Greed.)
But the literal golden calf was too much.
The top trends on Twitter were “golden calf” and “Moses.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Biblical story in Exodus, the Israelites created a giant golden calf to worship while Moses was out receiving the Ten Commandments. This infuriated God and Moses, who destroyed the false idol, grinded it into powder and forced the Israelites to drink it. God made very clear not to create and worship false idols:
Exodus 20:23: You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
But that didn’t stop several of the rightwing “Christian” crowd at CPAC from kneeling and praying before it:
Please don’t tell me this isn’t a cult. Don’t tell me these people haven’t lost their way.
Don’t pray over a tacky gold idol. Don’t ever pray to Donald Trump.
Don’t be this guy.
“Donald Trump, if you can hear us, please, Donald Trump, save me….Please get [the police] away from me.”
For the record, DJT didn’t materialize and save him from prison. He may not be able to do that for himself once the DA in Manhattan gets through with him.
Sadly, there is no shortage of stories about this phenomenon of praying to Trump. All the way over in India, a farmer literally made a shrine to Donald Trump and prayed to him every morning. He was devastated when Trump caught the coronavirus, and fasted. “I feel very sad that my god, Trump, has contracted the coronavirus. I ask everyone to pray for his speedy recovery.”
I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers about religion, but I do know for certain that following Trump is wrong. For Christians who believe that God smites people who worship false idols, I should mention that the farmer, Bussa Krishna, was young and physically fit. His family said he had no health problems, and no history of heart disease. Yet one day, he suddenly collapsed and died.
Leviticus 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
You might not be Christian, but you have to agree that Trump's life of cowardice, self-promotion and greed are the polar opposite of Jesus' life of courage, piety, and selfless sacrifice. Trump referred to himself as both the Chosen One and the King of Israel. He told his staff that the COVID plague was a good thing for him. He openly admitted that he never needs to ask for God’s forgiveness because Evangelicals love him.
I don’t claim to have all the answers to the afterlife, but I’m damn sure that there is no answer that ends well with following Trump. The Bible was also very clear that Christians needed to look out for a “false prophet” that would lead them to ruin. We are supposed to be fighting the anti-Christ, which is a tad hard to do because too many of my religious colleagues are too busy idolizing him.