I had some long exchanges this past week with a pastor on a MAGA Facebook page. It's hard reasoning politics with those who've disappeared far down into some crazy rabbit hole, but here was a long message I posted in reply:
In your many posts you keep harping on the Word, the Word, the Word, & Scripture with an inference towards pro-life as the ultimate test of truths. FYI, I'm also pro-life on the issue of abortion, but it's not the only issue I base my vote on. The problem comes in when the Republican Party has picked exactly the wrong leader to carry the pro-life torch. There's a backlash & it's badly backfiring. So JB, what does your "Word" say about the many issues of being pro-life & how it directs your decisions? Here are some examples:
*Does your Word say to follow a leader & party that refuses to tighten up lax gun laws, cursing America with by far the highest number of random shootings in the free world, where even kids are getting slaughtered in their classrooms...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say to round up tens of millions of immigrants, many being here legally or were born here, to totally disrupt their lives & even separate families by sending them to dangerous countries where they have no futures (also remember it was just this year Trump for political purposes instructed his party to VOTE DOWN a strong bipartisan border security bill!)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word back a leader who supports Putin (the modern-day Hitler), whose attack on a neighboring country has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths (which Trump called his dictator buddy "savvy" & "genius" when Putin attacked Ukraine)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say of the brave soldiers who died protecting our freedoms that it's fine for Trump to call them "suckers" & "losers," & he also said "POWs weren't heroes because they were captured", plus he wanted to ban disabled veterans from being in military parades since "nobody wants to see that"...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say vote for a president whose main economic policy is tax cuts for the wealthy which don't trickle down, resulting in huge deficits & the most egregious wage/wealth gaps in the developed world (which chronic problems such as drugs, abortions, violence, family breakups & a host of societal ills can be pinned on not living in the faith PLUS the burdens/stress of middle class families working jobs that don't pay a living wage with most people struggling paycheck to paycheck)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say it's OK for your leader to take away healthcare coverage for millions of people without a suitable substitute, which would certainly result in disease, illness, suffering & death for so many (although Trump & his MAGA party have been promising something great & beautiful as a replacement for a decade now, but they still have nothing)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say it's OK for your crisis manager to so badly bungle & lie about a deadly virus which caused a pandemic, that some independent organizations have estimated hundreds of thousands of Americans may have needlessly died due to incompetent presidential leadership...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word instruct you to vote for a divisive/vengeful/self-centered/dishonest/corrupt/narcissistic/ill-tempered & going senile convicted criminal & adjudicated rapist...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say it's OK for your earthly master to orchestrate a coup attempt/insurrection to overturn an election, overthrow the government & destroy the Constitution/democracy which will take away our rights & freedoms (which as a wannabe dictator he will surely try it again)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say defend a man who pulled out of the Paris Accords which has exacerbated climate change that's causing calamity & deaths throughout the world (which we're witnessing in real time with worsening glacier melt, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, etc)...is that pro-life to you?
*Does your Word say support a leader who pulled out of the Iran deal (with no backup plan) which previously restricted their nuclear development, so now the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world is freed up to make nuclear weapons (which they can fire off nuclear missiles or feed nukes to terrorists to use against the U.S., Israel & other allies around the world)...is that pro-life to you?
So my question to JB is, are you preaching from the Word of God or the self-righteous gospel of MAGA Christianity? They're polar opposites! One draws from heavenly power while the other seeks unfettered earthly power. One is truth & the other lies. One is a genuine faith & the other a cult. I just wanted to clarify the points you raised since my concern is you're leading your flock down the wrong path. I hope I've opened some eyes to how dangerous Trump is. Nothing against you personally JB, I'm just deeply disturbed how many Christians have fallen into the MAGA cult & are being brainwashed by the far-right disinformation/conspiratorial media. Too many believers are locked inside their church-family bubble & aren't seeing the forest for the trees.
Please beware! We are a democracy, not a theocracy. Our faith & salvation are freely given & freely received. America should never become a forced religious state like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Or if Trump wins, we're in danger of becoming a fascist state like Russia. If Trump does get elected again, it will be evangelicals who are the primary demographic group most to blame. Make no mistake, this unholy allegiance is destroying the Christian witness & the church overall, driving hordes of good people away from the faith. That's the worst part of all, is there any greater sin than self-professed Christians serving to drive others away from the saving grace of Christ? The world can easily detect the hypocrisy & moral duplicity with the religion's toxic alliance. And if those truths you refer to in the Word have influenced you to make such irresponsible & irrational decisions regarding your vote, you're reading from the wrong bible.
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