NOTES ON THE ORIGINAL SIN OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH: LOVE OF THE WORLD & HATRED OF THE VULNERABLE – (WITH VIDEO)

THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law? Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?” – JAMES 2:5-7, AMP

KEY TERM: “BLASPHEMY!” ‘Blasphémeó’ [βλασφημοῦσιν]: “To vilify or speak impiously or evil of;’ to rail against or revile or defame; to slander; to use abusive or scurrilous language about (God or men).” NOTE: “In the New Testament, ‘blasphémeó’ primarily refers to speaking irreverently or disrespectfully about God, His nature, or His works. It can also extend to slandering or reviling individuals, particularly those who are righteous or in positions of spiritual authority. The term conveys a sense of intentional disrespect or defamation, often with the implication of moral or spiritual harm.”

QUOTATION. “When you argue against Him you are arguing against the very Power that makes you able to argue at all: It is like cutting off the Branch you are sitting on … And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of Man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” ― C.S. LEWIS, Mere Christianity, 1952; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Hearken!’ — As if he had said, ‘Stay, consider, ye that judge thus.’ Does not the presumption lie rather in favour of the poor man? ‘Hath not God chosen the poor’ — That is, are not they whom God hath chosen, generally speaking, poor ‘in this world,’who yet are ‘rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom’ — Consequently the most honourable of men? And those whom God so highly honours, ought not ye to honour likewise?

‘But ye’ — Christians, that know better; ‘have despised’ — Ητιμασατε, ‘have dishonoured,’ or disgraced; ‘the poor’ — By such conduct. ‘Do not rich men,’ &c. — As if he had said, You have little reason to show so much respect to them, if you consider what their carriage toward you has been; those whom you court with so much respect and assiduity, ‘oppress’ — Καταδυναστευουσιν, ‘tyrannise over you, and draw’ — Or drag; ‘you before the judgment-seats’— Are not most of the rich men your persecutors, rather than your friends? ‘Do not they blaspheme that worthy name’ — Of God and of Christ; ‘by which ye are called’ — And which deserves to be had in the highest esteem and veneration by all intelligent beings? ‘The Apostle speaks chiefly of rich heathen: But are Christians, so called, a whit behind them in persecuting the disciples of Jesus?’” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

II. TEACHING

One of the most piercing issues concerning the pernicious Rise of Trumpism largely given birth and life by the White Christian Church in America is the unmistakable ‘Favoritism’ shown to the rich and powerful, and the concomitant ‘Antipathy’ shown toward the poor, minorities, and the “vulnerable” among us.

This stands in such violent and shameful ‘Contradiction’ to all that Jesus Christ teaches, that I am still astounded that we even have to address it. Indeed, the nearly 90% of American Christians will have to explain this fact alone to Yeshuah ben David when He comes to Judge His own House.

“And Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons’ … [Yet] you pay special attention to the one who wears the splendid clothes and say to him, ‘Sit here in this preferable seat!’ while you tell the poor [man], ‘Stand there!’ or, ‘Sit there on the floor at my feet!’ Are you not discriminating among your own and becoming critics and judges with wrong motives?” – ROMANS 2:11; JAMES 2:3-4, AMPC

Since I can find virtually nothing in the Evangelical literature about this brazen, anti-Christian perspective, I turn once again to the Secular writers for enlightenment and expansion of this horrific bias.

LOVE & HATE ON THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT. One of the magazines I continue to prefer is Rolling Stone, believe it or not. I tend to find more objective truth regarding the Trump Travesty than in a hundred Christian publications! I recall when I was still a “Raw Pagan” around the year 1978, I read their piece on Jesus Christ that was so accurately compelling it was my First Prodding a full year before I gave my life to Jesus.

Footnote: The Second and Third Prods toward Christ were in the form of my pre-Christian reads of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (1937-49) Trilogy and Johnny Cash’s Man in Black (1975) autobiography.

This time I found a superb essay by Rolling Stone journalists ANDREW PEREZ and ASAWIN SUEBSAENG titled, “Trump 2.0 is About Punishing the Vulnerable and Enriching the Mega Wealthy” (Jan. 4, 2025; edited). Here is their well-deserved, biting critique.

OPEN. “Donald Trump led a virulently Anti-Immigrant campaign for president, fixated on the idea of ‘migrant crime’ and the notion that foreigners are ‘taking your jobs.’ The president-elect and his incoming administration remain committed to deporting undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers — but Trump has already made clear he won’t stop big employers from replacing Americans with temporary immigrant workers.”

DOUBLESPEAK. “The president-elect recently sided with Ultra-Wealthy supporters Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over MAGA fans online regarding the question of whether Big Tech firms need foreign workers. Musk and Ramaswamy, like Trump, have frequently demonized undocumented immigrants; Musk ran pro-Trump ads decrying a ‘HISTORIC BORDER INVASION’ and ‘illegal immigrants getting handouts.’ Now, Musk says the H-1B Visa Program for high-skilled workers is how companies make America ‘strong,’ and has demanded that ‘racists’ be purged from the Republican Party! Trump, the Left, and the Right have long criticized the H-1B Visa Program for allowing massive, highly profitable companies to rely on cheaper foreign labor.”

COUNTERMAND. “This Dramatic Reversal makes exactly clear what Trump’s Second Term will and won’t be about. ‘Trump and his allies intend to punish the Vulnerable and enrich the Mega-Wealthy — particularly his friends and himself.’ This policy project will have Two Tiers: An empty hand or a fist for people in need, and a generous hand-up for voracious BILLIONAIRES and EXECUTIVES.”

OPPRESSION. “In some cases, this policy approach will look like an explicit trade: ‘Directly robbing the Poor to give to the Rich.’ There has been indication already, during the lead-up period to Trump 2.0, that his administration intends to gut America’s meager Social Safety Net — and make it even harder for the poorest Americans to access Medicaid Health Insurance coverage and Food Stamps — in order to fund another round of Tax Cuts for America’s wealthiest individuals and big corporations.”

EXPLOITATION. “Trump has pledged to impose Tariffs of anywhere between 10 and 20 percent on all imported goods — a policy that would certainly cause companies to raise prices for consumers, at a time when many Americans ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING to pay for basic household expenses. Yet, corporate America isn’t sweating a second Trump Era – And that’s not just because so many industry Titans, Billionaires, and Mega-Millionaires are ardent Republicans, gave lavishly to get him elected, or have shoveled big money into the Trump coffers and inauguration fund.”

DECEPTION. “During this Presidential Transition, Trump has already spoken privately — including with some high-powered Business Leaders — about major companies securing exclusions from Trump’s potentially sweeping Tariffs Regime, two people with knowledge of the matter say. In one recent instance, the president-elect joked to an industry leader that what corporate giants need to do as they scramble for tariff exemptions is get a meeting with Trump and ‘ask me nicely,’ one of the sources says.”

PLUTOCRACY. [‘A country or society governed by the wealthy.’] “In the new Trump Era, corporations and the ultra-wealthy will get what they want, so long as they pay for it. The most vulnerable people in this country, though, stand to lose what little they have.”

DK. I am reminded of these WORDS OF MOSES about here: “But the stranger who resides with you shall be to you like someone native-born among you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” – LEVITICUS 19:34, AMP

Selah.

III. LAST THOUGHTS

As I conclude our conversation, I see TWO TOXIC STREAMS that have entered into the American Church that have quite literally destroyed the integrity of Biblical Doctrine and Practice, and thereby neutralized our ability for Christian Witness.

ONE: PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Clearly the first stream of contamination of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ has been what is largely known as “The Prosperity Gospel,” epitomized perhaps most toxically in the ministry of one particular individual. Taken from an article by law student and lay theologian, PAUL EMMANUEL (“Christianity’s Love of Money,” Medium, Oct. 19, 2021; edited).

KENNETH COPELAND. “Copeland is an old white male Televangelist with a net worth of around $760 million. He is well known for his antics and his Prosperity ‘Theology’ – a topic I will write about later. Infamously, he defended his owning a private Jet in an interview with another wealthy prosperity preacher, Jesse Duplantis, claiming that it’s important that he can travel in his private luxury jet so that he can talk to God. Apparently, he ‘can’t manage that today’ in today’s ‘dope-filled world’ and airlines for the common folk, where ‘God’s anointed’ find themselves stuck in a ‘long tube with a bunch of demons.’ Kenneth, in the same interview, admonishes his followers who have doubts about his ostentatious spending habits because, if he wanted to, he ‘could scratch his flying itch’ with another, smaller, private plane of his, and his need to travel in a private jet ‘has nothing to do with that.’ He urged that he and Jesse are in ‘soul business’ inside a ‘dying world’ and agreed with Jesse when he claimed that traveling in private jets strengthens his faith, without which ‘God’ warns Jesse that his faith ‘will stagnate.’”

BISHOP ELIGIUS. “By all historical accounts, Bishop Eligius was [also] a remarkably wealthy individual. He had a reputation for being a master goldsmith, so much so that he came to the attention of Frankish Royalty and was selected to oversee the crafting of all the royal precious metals and jewelry, first by Colthar II [King of the Franks, 6^th century], then to his successor Dagobert. Reports indicate that Colthar II even commissioned Eligius to craft him a golden throne adorned with all sorts of expensive gems and jewelry … ‘BUT, Eligius was a very religious man.’ Accounts speak of him always having his head in a book – ‘The Bible.’ He would apparently read and read and read, hoping to uncover ‘Divine Mandates’ from God. Once he discovered such a Mandate in the unselfish and endlessly loving and generous life of ‘Jesus Christ.’ He found that as Jesus had given Himself to the world, ‘so are we to do the same!’ Then, remarkably, his life took a drastic and fascinating turn: ‘He became a walking charity.’” [cf. Demos Shakarian, Full Gospel Business Mens Fellowship International].

TWO: CANONIZED NATIVISM. My own painful research led me to drastically revise my understanding of American History in the bloody light of Slavery, Native American policy and practice, and the brutal theft of Mexico from the Mexican leaders and people. To say nothing of our First Two Original Charters’ at St. Augustine (1565) and Jamestown (1607) inarguable fascination with gold and tobacco. Then the Plymouth Bay Settlement (1620) wanted a Christian Theocracy that led to the Salem Witch Trials and slaughter of the Natives in subsequent years as with the previous two Plantations.

So here I borrow from a largely academic piece titled, “Understanding White Evangelical Views on Immigration” (Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Spring/Summer, 2018; edited). DR. KRISTIN KOBES DU MEZ is Professor of History at Calvin College, and author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (2020).

OPEN. “What factors shape how White Evangelicals approach the Question of Immigration? On the one hand, the Bible, and Christian Tradition, have a lot to say about loving the stranger and caring for the foreigner. There is a universality within the Christian Faith that ostensibly cuts across tribe and nation. Indeed, a strong Christian case can be made for extending a ‘Radical Hospitality,’ for permeable borders, and for a compassionate approach to immigration. And yet, White Evangelicals—those who claim to hold the Bible in highest regard—are more opposed to Immigration Reform, and have more negative views about immigrants, than any other religious demographic. This, despite the advocacy efforts of many Evangelical organizations and prominent leaders.”

LEADERSHIP. “‘At the heart of all of this is a Militaristic Idea of Christian Manhood.’ Figures like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, and Edwin Louis Cole all identified a crisis of masculinity in the 1970s, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. By 1980, Dobson was blaming feminists for tampering with the ‘time-honored roles of protector and protected’ and for denigrating masculine leadership as ‘Macho.’ He saw this as a Crisis of Gender, but also as a threat to National Security. For the sake of the nation, a ‘Call to Arms’ was needed [Selah], a reassertion of the ‘Judeo-Christian concept of masculinity’ in the face of feminists’ ‘concerted attack on ‘maleness.’”

BORDERS. “It’s important to keep in mind that Religion, though often unacknowledged, is deeply embedded in how Americans imagine ‘The Border.’ From the Cold War to the present, Evangelicals have perceived the American Nation as vulnerable. Strong, aggressive, militant men must defend her. ‘The Border is this line of defense!’ Many Evangelicals see the Border as a site of Danger rather than as a place of exchange or a site of Hospitality. Presently, the key threat Evangelicals perceive is the threat of Terrorism, and, in the minds of Evangelicals and despite much evidence to the contrary, ‘Immigrants and Refugees are linked to Terrorism.’”

TRUMP. “In light of ongoing and ever-present threats, ‘[most] Evangelicals have concluded that we need strong men, and a “Strongman!”’ For this reason, President Trump’s ‘character flaws’ aren’t the stumbling block we might expect them to be. In the words of Rev. Robert Jeffress: ‘I want the meanest, toughest, son-of-a-you-know-what I can find in that role, and I think that’s where many Evangelicals are!’”

And the rest, as they say, ‘is History.’ Indeed. Since Dr. Du Mez published this article in 2018, and following her powerful shot across the bow of the American Ship of State via the publication of her 2020 book comparing American Christians to John Wayne, all Spiritual and Political Hell has exploded upon the American scene through the largely Church-led obsession to reelect Donald Trump as President in 2024.

CODA. Above the apartment where my wife and I live in Colorado Springs are two clinical psychologists who treat a mentally handicapped young man, one of whom received his Master’s degree from The Master’s University, associated with pastor and author John MacArthur, one of Trump’s strongest supporters.

One morning one of the psychologists struck up a conversation with me about Trump and somehow seized upon a statement that I still find beyond stunning. He observed, “You know, Cliff, I’ve been reading some of Adolf Hiter’s work, and he really had some good ideas.” Or words to that abominable effect.

Then his associate was recently all smiles as he greeted me with this: “Good morning Cliff! Are you tired if winning yet?” He then asked me to join them at a “John MacArther church recently opened up in The Springs. I deferred, saying I already had plans to visit a small church here in town (another story for another day).

CODICIL. By the overwhelming evidence of hard science, sound theology, and common sense and discernment, beloved, America is on a crash course with an historic and unprecedented Disaster of the First Order. One that Promises expanding hatred of foreigners, increased obsession with material gain and political hegemony, and yes, antagonism and marginalization of True Christians who reject the New Christian Nationalism of Donald Trump.

Just this morning I was reminded of a Psalm that Tradition assigns to KING DAVID:

“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright in heart and in right standing with Him). The Lord protects and

preserves the strangers and temporary residents, He upholds the fatherless and the widow and sets them upright, but the way of the wicked He makes crooked (turns upside down and brings to ruin).” – PSALM 146:8-9, AMPC

To all those Pastors and Parishioners who walk the Way of Trump Nationalism, fair but very Severe Warning: ‘God shall bring you to Ruin, without Repentance.’

Selah.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/e7vxIphLZ4c