The Washington Post wrote on December 20th,
2019, “Exit polls in 2016 suggested that 80 percent of white evangelicals voted
for Trump. A NPR-PBS
NewsHour-Marist poll from earlier this month found
75 percent of white evangelical Christians approved of Trump, compared with 42
percent of U.S. adults overall.”
In his now famous (and infamous) op-ed in Christianity Today,
editor in chief Mark Galli called out Trump's supporters. "To the many
evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral
record, we might say this: Remember who you are and Whom you serve."
The problem is, it is difficult for these professed Christians
to remember who they serve, because they've been blinded by a hyper-partisan
political atmosphere. America is embroiled in a culture war - where
evangelicals view the demographic as having only two sides: secularism vs.
Christianity. Because of the rhetoric of their chosen political and religious
leaders, they view the left as an evil usurper who pose an existential threat
to the nation. People are desperate because they think they only have one
leader and there’s no one else to protect them and it’s so divided that they
don’t trust the other side. Due to that fear of what they perceive as the
secular left and ignorance of Christ's actual will, they think Donald Trump is
the only one who can save them.
It is
due to this one sided spiritual blindness that Christianity Today said in a
follow up article to explain why they "feel compelled to say that the
alliance of American evangelicalism with this presidency has wrought enormous
damage to Christian witness."
America has always been seen as a beacon of principled morality -
an example of tolerance and religious freedom, so it's painful for true
Christians to witness others who profess to follow the same Christ tolerate the
president of the United States blatantly use his political power to coerce a
foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political
opponents, which is, in the words of Galli, "not only a violation of the
Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral."
It's not only painful for Christians. Other vibrant spiritual
movements see it as a sign of the degradation of the this age of quarrel and
hypocrisy. Srila Prabhupada chose to come to America, because it was an example
of opportunity, equality, and freedom of religion. He thought if America led
the way, then the rest of the world follow. The damage that this President and
his sycophants has done to America's formally respected image in the world may
be irreparable.
It is time for true devotees of different faiths to stand together
with brothers and sisters around the world who actually follow God's will and
expose these power hungry cheaters, who are not really devotees, but
"wolves in sheep's clothing," or "demons in devotee dress."
A bona-fide devotee who is surrendered to God has no problem distinguishing the
angels from the devils, so they alone can call the cheaters out with authority.
Any other propaganda from either side of the controversy is just smoke, mirrors
and confusion, and will not lead to any firm conclusion between right and wrong
- righteousness and sin.
Innocent Americans need non-sectarian guidance, firmly based on
universally concise authoritative spiritual principles so they can be led out
of the confusion, division and despair of this age - which is an
ocean of endlessly mutable bad qualities. Therefore I urgently call on all
surrendered souls to lead the way, because without the causeless mercy of the
true devotees of the Lord, the masses will find no hope.
