The Last Temptation - How American Evangelicals Sold Their Collective Souls For Politics

[Papageorgio]

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

Are you saying that your Christianity forbids you to vote?

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

So they will join you?

 

[caddo kid]

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

Are you saying that your Christianity forbids you to vote?

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

I think if they Republicans had decided to nominate them, sure.

But the idea of the primary process is to nominate a WINNING candidate who can assume office and RULE over the land.

The other 2016 candidates were, with all due respect, Losers.

'we the people' are the ones that direct our nation

if you want a "king" to rule you should go back to 1775 England & check on the airports

 

[playtime]

 

[caddo kid]

The Last Temptation - The Atlantic - Pocket

One of the most extraordinary things about our current politics—really, one of the most extraordinary developments of recent political history—is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump. The president won four-fifths of the votes of white evangelical Christians. This was a higher level of support than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, an outspoken evangelical himself, ever received.

Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models of life and leadership. Trump’s past political stances (he once supported the right to partial-birth abortion), his character (he has bragged about sexually assaulting women), and even his language (he introduced the words pussy and shithole into presidential discourse) would more naturally lead religious conservatives toward exorcism than alliance. This is a man who has cruelly publicized his infidelities, made disturbing sexual comments about his elder daughter, and boasted about the size of his penis on the debate stage. His lawyer reportedly arranged a $130,000 payment to a porn star to dissuade her from disclosing an alleged affair. Yet religious conservatives who once blanched at PG-13 public standards now yawn at such NC-17 maneuvers. We are a long way from The Book of Virtues.

In January, following reports that Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” Pastor Robert Jeffress came quickly to his defense. “Apart from the vocabulary attributed to him,” Jeffress wrote, “President Trump is right on target in his sentiment.” After reports emerged that Trump’s lawyer paid hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their alleged sexual encounter, Graham vouched for Trump’s “concern for Christian values.” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, argued that Trump should be given a “mulligan” for his past infidelity. One can only imagine the explosion of outrage if President Barack Obama had been credibly accused of similar offenses.

The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The GOP, the party that claimed Jesus for themselves & for a nation, have now ultimately defiled Christianity & Jesus, relegating their claimed 'savior' to nothing more than a political tool in their efforts to attain & retain political power.

And Jesus said to the evangelicals, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption.
It is neither. It is realism. No leader with strong Christian values is going to make it through the muck to the top of the Hill. I would suggest that the evangelicals got tired of getting nowhere and decided that it was better to fight dirty than to never get abortion outlawed. Or homosexuality forced back into the closet. No doubt those things are more important to them than the minor tarnishment of picking a man who does not meet their moral standards. Voting for him doesn't mean they personally act like him in their daily lives, does it?

There are very few supporters of Donald Trump of any stripe who don't begin with "I don't like the way he.....(fill in the blank) BUT....." They want to get certain things accomplished. Those who actually LIKE Trump's personality are probably from NYC, where they're used to attitudes and mouths like that.

The last two paragraphs would seem to sum up the issue, IMO.

It is difficult to see something you so deeply value discredited so comprehensively. Evangelical faith has shaped my life, as it has the lives of millions. Evangelical history has provided me with models of conscience. Evangelical institutions have given me gifts of learning and purpose. Evangelical friends have shared my joys and sorrows. And now the very word is brought into needless disrepute.

This is the result when Christians become one interest group among many, scrambling for benefits at the expense of others rather than seeking the welfare of the whole. Christianity is love of neighbor, or it has lost its way. And this sets an urgent task for evangelicals: to rescue their faith from its worst leaders.

The GOP has brought the concepts of religion & Christianity down into the gutter of human imperfection. Shameful

You are blaming the wrong group. The Christian leaders of the evangelicals did this to themselves by involving themselves in the politics. The GOP didn’t change, they just like the Democratic Party are political entities that crave power.

the intermingling of GOP politics & the evangelicals was a conscious choice by all involved.

stop playing stupid

 

[caddo kid]

The Last Temptation - The Atlantic - Pocket

One of the most extraordinary things about our current politics—really, one of the most extraordinary developments of recent political history—is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump. The president won four-fifths of the votes of white evangelical Christians. This was a higher level of support than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, an outspoken evangelical himself, ever received.

Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models of life and leadership. Trump’s past political stances (he once supported the right to partial-birth abortion), his character (he has bragged about sexually assaulting women), and even his language (he introduced the words pussy and shithole into presidential discourse) would more naturally lead religious conservatives toward exorcism than alliance. This is a man who has cruelly publicized his infidelities, made disturbing sexual comments about his elder daughter, and boasted about the size of his penis on the debate stage. His lawyer reportedly arranged a $130,000 payment to a porn star to dissuade her from disclosing an alleged affair. Yet religious conservatives who once blanched at PG-13 public standards now yawn at such NC-17 maneuvers. We are a long way from The Book of Virtues.

In January, following reports that Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” Pastor Robert Jeffress came quickly to his defense. “Apart from the vocabulary attributed to him,” Jeffress wrote, “President Trump is right on target in his sentiment.” After reports emerged that Trump’s lawyer paid hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their alleged sexual encounter, Graham vouched for Trump’s “concern for Christian values.” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, argued that Trump should be given a “mulligan” for his past infidelity. One can only imagine the explosion of outrage if President Barack Obama had been credibly accused of similar offenses.

The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The GOP, the party that claimed Jesus for themselves & for a nation, have now ultimately defiled Christianity & Jesus, relegating their claimed 'savior' to nothing more than a political tool in their efforts to attain & retain political power.

And Jesus said to the evangelicals, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Haha...you poor ass bangers long for the days when Republicans sat in their corner, pretending shit wasn’t happening, reading their Bibles while you filthy fucks trashed their nation don’t you?
I get ya...I’d hate this new-age Republican if I were you too...these badasses will punch you square in your dirty fucking mouth and that sucks for you filthy, degenerate lowlife trash.

And this is when we get to see what CRCs are about and how they really think and talk.

This is not a revolutionary find...Good people have always hated and despised bad people. You really just learned of this?

You must be very bad as you imply you are full of hate & you despise others.

The Gospel warns you against such behavior but we know you 'pick & choose' your religion.

 

[Polishprince]

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

Are you saying that your Christianity forbids you to vote?

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

Here's the problem with your condemnation of our Evangelical Friends- you aren't a member of the evangelical Christian faith, so you have no cachet with them. It would be like me going to Mecca and telling the whirling dervishes that they aren't proper Muslims because they aren't on the corner selling incense and newsletters like "proper Muslims". I just don't have the standing to tell them that.

BTW, would you say the same about Democrat Evangelicals who chose power by voting for Hillary over their own faith?

 

[caddo kid]

Question in point: Who else would the Evangelicals support?

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

--------------------------- who ever EVANGELICALS support is their business and their business alone Caddo [in this Secular and Free Nation] .

Yes; politics in the US should be free from religion (secular) but as we all know a certain demographic that claims to be religious has perverted secular politics in the US.

To be fair, who should the Evangelicals have picked? I couldn’t in good conscience vote for Trump or Clinton. When you choices are evil or evil the choices are limited.

the evangelicals made a choice to support an evil person for nominee of the GOP.

no one forced a single voter to cast a vote for the evil; did they?

 

[Papageorgio]

The Last Temptation - The Atlantic - Pocket

One of the most extraordinary things about our current politics—really, one of the most extraordinary developments of recent political history—is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump. The president won four-fifths of the votes of white evangelical Christians. This was a higher level of support than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, an outspoken evangelical himself, ever received.

Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models of life and leadership. Trump’s past political stances (he once supported the right to partial-birth abortion), his character (he has bragged about sexually assaulting women), and even his language (he introduced the words pussy and shithole into presidential discourse) would more naturally lead religious conservatives toward exorcism than alliance. This is a man who has cruelly publicized his infidelities, made disturbing sexual comments about his elder daughter, and boasted about the size of his penis on the debate stage. His lawyer reportedly arranged a $130,000 payment to a porn star to dissuade her from disclosing an alleged affair. Yet religious conservatives who once blanched at PG-13 public standards now yawn at such NC-17 maneuvers. We are a long way from The Book of Virtues.

In January, following reports that Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” Pastor Robert Jeffress came quickly to his defense. “Apart from the vocabulary attributed to him,” Jeffress wrote, “President Trump is right on target in his sentiment.” After reports emerged that Trump’s lawyer paid hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their alleged sexual encounter, Graham vouched for Trump’s “concern for Christian values.” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, argued that Trump should be given a “mulligan” for his past infidelity. One can only imagine the explosion of outrage if President Barack Obama had been credibly accused of similar offenses.

The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The GOP, the party that claimed Jesus for themselves & for a nation, have now ultimately defiled Christianity & Jesus, relegating their claimed 'savior' to nothing more than a political tool in their efforts to attain & retain political power.

And Jesus said to the evangelicals, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption.
It is neither. It is realism. No leader with strong Christian values is going to make it through the muck to the top of the Hill. I would suggest that the evangelicals got tired of getting nowhere and decided that it was better to fight dirty than to never get abortion outlawed. Or homosexuality forced back into the closet. No doubt those things are more important to them than the minor tarnishment of picking a man who does not meet their moral standards. Voting for him doesn't mean they personally act like him in their daily lives, does it?

There are very few supporters of Donald Trump of any stripe who don't begin with "I don't like the way he.....(fill in the blank) BUT....." They want to get certain things accomplished. Those who actually LIKE Trump's personality are probably from NYC, where they're used to attitudes and mouths like that.

The last two paragraphs would seem to sum up the issue, IMO.

It is difficult to see something you so deeply value discredited so comprehensively. Evangelical faith has shaped my life, as it has the lives of millions. Evangelical history has provided me with models of conscience. Evangelical institutions have given me gifts of learning and purpose. Evangelical friends have shared my joys and sorrows. And now the very word is brought into needless disrepute.

This is the result when Christians become one interest group among many, scrambling for benefits at the expense of others rather than seeking the welfare of the whole. Christianity is love of neighbor, or it has lost its way. And this sets an urgent task for evangelicals: to rescue their faith from its worst leaders.

The GOP has brought the concepts of religion & Christianity down into the gutter of human imperfection. Shameful

You are blaming the wrong group. The Christian leaders of the evangelicals did this to themselves by involving themselves in the politics. The GOP didn’t change, they just like the Democratic Party are political entities that crave power.

the intermingling of GOP politics & the evangelicals was a conscious choice by all involved.

stop playing stupid

No, it’s the right group to blame. The Christian leadership failed their flock. The Republican Party didn’t change and join the Evangelicals, the Evangelicals changed and joined the GOP. The GOP welcomed the addition. So quit playing moronic politics.

 

[airplanemechanic]

I think that TRUMP does fine as he follows his brand of Christianity . You are big on JUDGEMENT eh Caddo . I thought that only GOD is supposed to or has the RIGHT to JUDGE . As far as the Evangelicals , some will reject TRUMP and some will embrace him in this SECULAR USA where there are NO RULES on who is Christian and who is not Christian Caddo

there are plenty of scriptures that imply utilizing one's own judgement to discern human activities & actions.
Try reading the article, if you have the inclination.

Wrong.

Matthew 7:1:

Judge not, lest ye shall be judged.

The bible clearly states that judgement cannot be done by another sinner.

 

[Papageorgio]

Question in point: Who else would the Evangelicals support?

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

--------------------------- who ever EVANGELICALS support is their business and their business alone Caddo [in this Secular and Free Nation] .

Yes; politics in the US should be free from religion (secular) but as we all know a certain demographic that claims to be religious has perverted secular politics in the US.

To be fair, who should the Evangelicals have picked? I couldn’t in good conscience vote for Trump or Clinton. When you choices are evil or evil the choices are limited.

the evangelicals made a choice to support an evil person for nominee of the GOP.

no one forced a single voter to cast a vote for the evil; did they?

As the Christian Left decided to support evil. So the decision was the lesser of two evils, so the choice in 2016 was evil or evil.

 

[Polishprince]

Question in point: Who else would the Evangelicals support?

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

--------------------------- who ever EVANGELICALS support is their business and their business alone Caddo [in this Secular and Free Nation] .

Yes; politics in the US should be free from religion (secular) but as we all know a certain demographic that claims to be religious has perverted secular politics in the US.

To be fair, who should the Evangelicals have picked? I couldn’t in good conscience vote for Trump or Clinton. When you choices are evil or evil the choices are limited.

the evangelicals made a choice to support an evil person for nominee of the GOP.

no one forced a single voter to cast a vote for the evil; did they?

Any of the other 16 would also have been condemned as "evil" by the Liberal Establishment as well.

One of the most decent men you'd ever see, Mitt Romney, was condemned as Literally Hitler in 2012. Ditto with McCain in 2008. And Dubya in 2000 and 2004.

 

[caddo kid]

Are you saying that your Christianity forbids you to vote?

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

Here's the problem with your condemnation of our Evangelical Friends- you aren't a member of the evangelical Christian faith, so you have no cachet with them. It would be like me going to Mecca and telling the whirling dervishes that they aren't proper Muslims because they aren't on the corner selling incense and newsletters like "proper Muslims". I just don't have the standing to tell them that.

BTW, would you say the same about Democrat Evangelicals who chose power by voting for Hillary over their own faith?

I was raised in the SBC & then I went on to the COC later. Back in the day there was no 'bastardization' of Christianity by the GOP perverting 'faith' as a poster child for politics as there has been over the past 3 to 4 decades.

The GOP's use of Christianity for a political tool is IMO an unpardonable sin.

Those within the churches that played along with this usurpation of their own faith sold themselves to a political entity over their own other worldly treasure.

 

[pismoe]

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

Here's the problem with your condemnation of our Evangelical Friends- you aren't a member of the evangelical Christian faith, so you have no cachet with them. It would be like me going to Mecca and telling the whirling dervishes that they aren't proper Muslims because they aren't on the corner selling incense and newsletters like "proper Muslims". I just don't have the standing to tell them that.

BTW, would you say the same about Democrat Evangelicals who chose power by voting for Hillary over their own faith?

I was raised in the SBC & then I went on to the COC later. Back in the day there was no 'bastardization' of Christianity by the GOP perverting 'faith' as a poster child for politics as there has been over the past 3 to 4 decades.

The GOP's use of Christianity for a political tool is IMO an unpardonable sin.

Those within the churches that played along with this usurpation of their own faith sold themselves to a political entity over their own other worldly treasure.

-------------------------------------- FREE Secular Nation Caddo

 

[Papageorgio]

Great question but they certainly are NOT supporting the teachings of Jesus & the gospel by supporting the politics of greed, hate, and deception.

Politics should be free from religion & vice versa.

Maybe evangelicals should just stick to supporting Jesus?

--------------------------- who ever EVANGELICALS support is their business and their business alone Caddo [in this Secular and Free Nation] .

Yes; politics in the US should be free from religion (secular) but as we all know a certain demographic that claims to be religious has perverted secular politics in the US.

To be fair, who should the Evangelicals have picked? I couldn’t in good conscience vote for Trump or Clinton. When you choices are evil or evil the choices are limited.

the evangelicals made a choice to support an evil person for nominee of the GOP.

no one forced a single voter to cast a vote for the evil; did they?

Any of the other 16 would also have been condemned as "evil" by the Liberal Establishment as well.

One of the most decent men you'd ever see, Mitt Romney, was condemned as Literally Hitler in 2012. Ditto with McCain in 2008. And Dubya in 2000 and 2004.

I like Romney, and the left overused the Hitler comparison and that is why it doesn’t resonate with people anymore, the normal person no longer believes the left wing lie. Notice how the concentration camp comparison has fallen on deaf ears. They overplayed the Nazi card. The race card will be overplayed this election.

 

[pismoe]

the race card will be overplayed this time . I sure hope so !! There is pretty much nothing more annoying than hearing the same people on the board cry and complain about what they perceive as VERBAL so called racism . If there is no Racial Acts of VIOLENCE then there is NO racism .

 

[sartre play]

Raised as Christian. love of your fellow man replaced by hate your fellow man, as I was told by a "good Christian" when confronted about a unchristian behavior " what ever it takes to win" cant see how it can really be called winning if the way you achieve it is buy doing evil.

 

[Lysistrata]

The Last Temptation - The Atlantic - Pocket

One of the most extraordinary things about our current politics—really, one of the most extraordinary developments of recent political history—is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump. The president won four-fifths of the votes of white evangelical Christians. This was a higher level of support than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, an outspoken evangelical himself, ever received.

Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models of life and leadership. Trump’s past political stances (he once supported the right to partial-birth abortion), his character (he has bragged about sexually assaulting women), and even his language (he introduced the words pussy and shithole into presidential discourse) would more naturally lead religious conservatives toward exorcism than alliance. This is a man who has cruelly publicized his infidelities, made disturbing sexual comments about his elder daughter, and boasted about the size of his penis on the debate stage. His lawyer reportedly arranged a $130,000 payment to a porn star to dissuade her from disclosing an alleged affair. Yet religious conservatives who once blanched at PG-13 public standards now yawn at such NC-17 maneuvers. We are a long way from The Book of Virtues.

In January, following reports that Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” Pastor Robert Jeffress came quickly to his defense. “Apart from the vocabulary attributed to him,” Jeffress wrote, “President Trump is right on target in his sentiment.” After reports emerged that Trump’s lawyer paid hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their alleged sexual encounter, Graham vouched for Trump’s “concern for Christian values.” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, argued that Trump should be given a “mulligan” for his past infidelity. One can only imagine the explosion of outrage if President Barack Obama had been credibly accused of similar offenses.

The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The GOP, the party that claimed Jesus for themselves & for a nation, have now ultimately defiled Christianity & Jesus, relegating their claimed 'savior' to nothing more than a political tool in their efforts to attain & retain political power.

And Jesus said to the evangelicals, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Personally, I find the Religious Left in America to be a lot more nefarious than any conservative churchmen.

Folks like the Ayatollah Jim Wallis, dictating dogmas supporting Abortion and the idea that Almighty God put Adam and Steve into the Garden, is fine. But when these "Christian" mullahs push this stuff on to the American people in a non-sectarian nation, that's a real problem.

Mr. Buttigieg is taking it to a new level, however. He claims to be not just holy , but actually a Holier Than Thou "Christian" just because he takes it in the caboose. And even worse, he condemns Americans who don't share his profound love for Sodomy.

The right-wing evangelicals have disrespected just about everyone else, from Christians of other sects, LGBT's, women, Muslims, and Jews, to name a few. And they leave their graffiti all over the place. Look at the crap that drips from the mouths of the likes of graham, pence, jeffress, falwell. Talk about "Holier Than Thou "Christian". You seem to feel that Buttigieg has no right to respond to their nonsense, even though it included attacks on both his personal life and his faith.

I can't get rid of the overstrikes, even though I hever changed to that mode!

 

[Dragonlady]

Generally Christians don't vote for a national pastor. They aren't looking for the guidance of a father figure. After all a homosexual, dope addict, American hater was elected as president No. What Christians want is someone who will keep the communists from burning the churches down. That's why Christians voted for Trump. They voted to stop the military from being a social science experiment and to stop the growing impetus to infanticide and selling the body parts of full term infants. Trump never had to be an evangelical Christian to do what he is doing.

You third sentence shows what a lying Russian you are.

Communists have never burnt churches down in the USA. Only right wingers do that, and the churches they burn down are the churches attended by minorities - blacks, Jews. It's a long tradition in the South to burn black churches and frighten the blacks so they don't get too uppity.

The evangelicals voted for Trump because their corrupt leaders told them to. Their corrupt leaders have been telling them for generations that the Democrats are evil devils out to destroy America. You just said the same thing. American was never conceived as a religious idea. It is a political idea. And the Founding Fathers were really clear that religion was NOT to be involved in the making of laws, or in the election of governmental officials.

They specifically required that no government official be required to swear an oath to anyone or anything but the Constitution. The SC has upheld this concept time and time again. There are few things in the Constitution clearer than their desire to keep religion out of government.

Republicans are a minority party. They have won the House since 2000, and the Presidency twice in the past 20 years, with a less than majority vote. The retain the Senate because the least populous states, have two Senators, because they've lost the popular vote for the Senate as well. That's why Republicans have raised gerrymandering to an art form, and worked viligantly to repress the "urban" vote.

How long can America continue to be governed by an ever shrinking white, rural minority? The biggest problem Republicans face is not the changing racial demographics, but the increasing urbanization of America. Urban voters, of all races, vote Democratic. Conservative areas become liberal as the villages grow into towns and the towns into cities.

The family farm is dying. Rural America is owned by corporate farmers, who neither live on the land and don't vote there. With land prices at record highs, foreign corporations are swooping in and buying up American farmland. A huge chunk of the farm subsidies that the Trump Administration is paying to soy bean farmers is going to companies headquartered outside the USA. Foreign owners don't vote. This reduces the conservative rural vote.

The amount of U.S. farmland held by foreign investors nearly doubled in a decade

It's really getting difficult for young farmers to go into farming, short of inheritance. Land and equipment prices are just too high, and unless your family owns multiple large farms, with houses and outbuildings, that you can move into, your chances of working and saving enough capital to buy farm properties which can cost $10,000 an acre, or more, together with a half million dollars worth of equipment to work it, are slim and none. Many farmers have no one in their family wanting to take over the farm. Corporations scoop up those lands, sell off or demolish the house, and the rural population declines again.


As a city dweller who from the leftest of the left wing ridings in Toronto, and who actually voted for Jack Layton, more than once, and has now moved to a riding so conservative that the Former Minister of Health in the Harper Government didn't even bother to show up to the all-candidates debate, and won in a landslide, I understand why rurals vote conservative. The poverty you see in small towns is truly because of laziness and/or addiction. We have them here. Rurals think all poor people are like the bums sitting around our town square, drugged out, slack jawed, and deeply tanned. City poverty is borne of workers who don't earn enough to buy themselves a good life.

The same kind of poverty that has afflicted for so long, is now afflicting small towns throughout America. That's why Americans have twice voted for radical change - the first time with Obama, and this time with Trump. The mid-western white production worker won't vote for Trump again. 40% of Americans are not participating in Trump's great economy. 80% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Trump delivered tax cuts to the rich, crumbs to the rest. There are now 7 million job openings and 4 million people looking for work. High tech jobs are open, low skill jobs are scarce. Growth in production jobs is sluggish at best.

The country doesn't need more jobs. The illegal immigrants aren't stealing your jobs, there's more than enough to go around. The lie is being exposed. But more than 70,000 people a year are dying of drug abuse, and Trump has done almost nothing to stop it.

 

[OldLady]

Nope

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

Here's the problem with your condemnation of our Evangelical Friends- you aren't a member of the evangelical Christian faith, so you have no cachet with them. It would be like me going to Mecca and telling the whirling dervishes that they aren't proper Muslims because they aren't on the corner selling incense and newsletters like "proper Muslims". I just don't have the standing to tell them that.

BTW, would you say the same about Democrat Evangelicals who chose power by voting for Hillary over their own faith?

I was raised in the SBC & then I went on to the COC later. Back in the day there was no 'bastardization' of Christianity by the GOP perverting 'faith' as a poster child for politics as there has been over the past 3 to 4 decades.

The GOP's use of Christianity for a political tool is IMO an unpardonable sin.

Those within the churches that played along with this usurpation of their own faith sold themselves to a political entity over their own other worldly treasure.

This is really the first President where religion has played a vocal role, that I remember anyway. A person's religion, including the President's, is a personal thing and except for JFK being a Catholic (which I was too young to recall, myself) I don't think a big group of any denomination has come out for this candidate or that, have they? At least not officially.

 

[caddo kid]

---------------------------- who else would Evangelicals support . Well , there was no one else suitable in the Election that TRUMP won for President .

None of these other people were someone Evangelicals could support? 2016 Republican Party presidential candidates - Wikipedia

The GOP evangelicals made a choice; they chose power over their own faith aka they denied Jesus.

they will go to Hell for that

Here's the problem with your condemnation of our Evangelical Friends- you aren't a member of the evangelical Christian faith, so you have no cachet with them. It would be like me going to Mecca and telling the whirling dervishes that they aren't proper Muslims because they aren't on the corner selling incense and newsletters like "proper Muslims". I just don't have the standing to tell them that.

BTW, would you say the same about Democrat Evangelicals who chose power by voting for Hillary over their own faith?

I was raised in the SBC & then I went on to the COC later. Back in the day there was no 'bastardization' of Christianity by the GOP perverting 'faith' as a poster child for politics as there has been over the past 3 to 4 decades.

The GOP's use of Christianity for a political tool is IMO an unpardonable sin.

Those within the churches that played along with this usurpation of their own faith sold themselves to a political entity over their own other worldly treasure.

-------------------------------------- FREE Secular Nation Caddo

there is nothing 'secular' about one political party bastardizing religion in the name of obtaining votes & power but I do understand you are too stupid to get that.