Like a billion other people, I recently watched the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. The next day I saw numerous articles about evangelicals being “offended” by the event.
Upon further reading, I discovered they were offended by the inclusion of drag queens in the ceremony. Numerous evangelicals claimed the drag queens depicted a scene from the Lord’s Supper. However, the Olympic Committee said they depicted a scene from Greek mythology. Regardless, given their animosity toward the LGBTQ community, I can understand why evangelicals took offense.
Martin Thielen
What I cannot understand is this: Why aren’t evangelicals offended by Donald Trump?
By his numerous adulterous affairs? By his porn star payoffs? By his bragging about “grabbing women by the pussy”? By a jury of his peers finding him liable for sexual assault? By his rampant sexism? By his lack of character? By his lack of decency? By his endless lies? By his criminality? By his threats to democracy? By his admiration of dictators? By his mocking of disabled persons, POWs and victims of violent assault? By his frightening language about immigrants being “vermin” and people who “are poisoning our blood”? By his fearmongering? By his hatred? By his chronic anger and rage? By his politics of revenge and retribution? By his racism? By his pathological narcissism? By his lack of any evidence of Christian faith, morals or values? And the list could go on and on and on and on.
I don’t believe the evangelical world understands the massive damage they have done to the Christian cause. Their gross hypocrisy about Donald Trump (and many other things) has turned millions of people away from Christ and the church, especially young people. Christianity is in serious decline in America. One of the leading causes of that decline is the hypocrisy of the Religious Right.
“Their gross hypocrisy about Donald Trump (and many other things) has turned millions of people away from Christ and the church.”
For example, Ryan Burge recently wrote an article on why people leave religion. Some of the major contributors were “religious hypocrisy, religious bigotry, prejudice against LGBTQ people, and harm caused by religion.”
And a huge factor in all of these reasons for leaving religion is the evangelical worship of Donald Trump.
As I reflect on these tragic realities, I vacillate between sadness and anger. I used to belong to an evangelical denomination. It’s still hard for me to believe how badly it has devolved into a cult of Trump, the most anti-Jesus president in American history, who violates every value evangelicals claim to hold.
And I don’t think this damage can be undone. Evangelical Christianity has trashed its brand by loving Donald Trump’s hate. Tragically, given their extreme toxicity and high visibility, they also have trashed the entire Christian brand. The consequences have been devastating and will be felt for generations to come.
I know some readers will accuse me of being partisan. But I can say with complete confidence that my concerns about the evangelical church’s love, adoration, defense and support of Donald Trump have nothing to do with partisan politics and everything to do with Christian ethics and values.
It’s long past time for evangelicals to be less offended by sex and more offended by Donald Trump, the second most dangerous threat to American Christianity in decades. The most dangerous threat? Hypocritical Religious-Right religion. The kind that gets offended by drag queens but not by Donald Trump.
Martin Thielen is the founder and author of www.DoubtersParish.com.
Related articles:
Maybe non-Christians prefer drag queens to tattletales | Opinion by Brad Bull
Evangelicals upset about the Olympics are pearl-clutching hypocrites | Opinion by Susan Shaw
Elect me, and you’ll never have to vote again, Trump promises evangelicals
One thing that must happen in 2024 | Opinion by Mark Wingfield
Our undeceived young people | Opinion by Kirsten Roberts