Shortly after Donald Trump was named the winner of the 2016 presidential election, scores of Evangelicals came to this site looking for Jeremiah Johnson’s prophecy about Trump, one that stated that he would become president. Johnson “prophetically” farted and now Evangelicals are stopping by to let me know how sweet it smells. Sadly, it is impossible to reason with people who believe God speaks through prophets, telling us what will happen in the future. It does not matter to them that these prophets are wrong most of the time and, according to the Bible, should be stoned to death. Looking for confirmation of their political, social, and religious beliefs, Evangelicals scour the internet searching for God sightings.
These are the same people who believe that, thanks to their prayers, the Christian God interceded in the presidential election, making sure that the racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, pussy-grabbing orange-skinned Trump was elected. What evidence do they have for this? None. Much as in the case when Evangelicals pray over lost keys and God leads them to the exact place they left their keys, there is no evidence answered prayers were instrumental in the election. White Evangelicals voted and this is one of the reasons, come January, that the New York Clampetts will take up residence in the White House.
If God answered Evangelical prayers for a Trump presidency, what does this say about the master Puppeteer? It says that the Evangelical God thinks that the behaviors and policies espoused by Christian Donald Trump and his traveling troop of imbeciles are copacetic. This means that the Evangelical God is fine with demeaning and sexually assaulting women, deporting millions of hardworking undocumented workers, torturing prisoners, and raining death upon the heads of helpless civilians who live in countries that “baby” Christian Trump deems to be anti-American.
If it is God who put Donald Trump in the White House, then surely it is fair to hold God accountable for the deeds of HIS presidential choice. If Evangelicals want me to believe that there is a God in the heavenlies whom they have on speed dial, then I am going to hold that same God accountable for what happens on Donald Trump’s watch.
Good for you. This is going to give you a lot of blogging material.
In similar vein:
https://paulbraterman.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/with-god-all-things-are-possible/
I must say, this election has pointed out to me that people are people. In the end, it doesn’t matter if they are Christians or atheists – people react to situations and events very similarly, and with the same distribution of emotions and actions.
I was still an evangelical when Obama was elected, and I remember how strident the response was from the right wing evangelicals. Nothing but utter contempt, hatred, and all the rest of the “not my president” response – extremely harsh rhetoric. It was very disconcerting to me, even though I wasn’t an Obama fan (I thought Clinton was a better choice back then). Meanwhile, on the liberal side, everyone was happy because their guy had gotten elected, and was going to put all things to right.
Fast-forward to now – Now, as an atheist, I look at the responses of people on both sides, and shake my head with a wry smile. Everything has flipped 180 degrees. It’s a mirror image. Evangelicals are crowing and gloating that their guy has gotten elected and is going to put all things right. All the atheist bloggers I enjoy reading are now the ones throwing out blistering adjectives about the newly elected president and his followers.
As the old sage said – there is nothing new under the sun.
People are people. We all react to real or perceived injustices the same way. It doesn’t matter if we believe is a supreme being who controls every minutiae of the universe, or if we reject every hint of the supernatural and claim we are the captain of our soul. We all think that deep down inside, we are right, and “they” are wrong. We all think that our combination of experience, conviction, way of life, and thought is correct. If pushed enough, we all have the capacity and willingness to react in hateful manners. And if our side “wins” – we all have the capacity and willingness to act like jerks about it.
This election also brought out the universal tendency of people to think that someone “in control” has the ability to make their personal lives work out for them. Christians are the ultimate example – they think that God is in control and that if they are on Team Jesus, everything works out for them. And yet it is somewhat ironic that they are now pinning their hopes on a man like Trump – the stand-in for God here in America, I guess (shudder). And yet, I see the same irony on the other side among atheists. We atheists should be the the epitome of self-sufficiency, and yet we pin our hopes on one man or woman, and then despair if that man or woman isn’t in charge.
I agree that Trump could be disastrous. But, we still have a Constitution with checks and balances. And, most importantly, politicians as a whole are idiots and losers – they rarely manage to get anything meaningful done. There is a lot of inertia in our federal gov’t – for better or worse. Probably for the better these days. The election was not a mandate. And Congress could change dramatically in 2 years.
Besides, I refuse to believe that one person has the power to change how I decide to live my life. I made that decision 3 years ago when I finally realized I didn’t have to let an Imaginary Supreme Deity tell me how to live my life. Why should I let some floppy-haired blow-hard from New York and his sycophants try to tell me how to live?
I’ve been throwing the adjectives long before he was elected. ? I use adjectives to better describe things. If the adjectives fit — and they do for Trump — wear them.
I admire your optimism, but my take on things is very different from yours. I think you grossly underestimate what one man can do. Ask the Japanese about how the decision of one man led to atomic bombs being dropped on their country. Donald Trump will have the power to wreak untold havoc on the world. Will he do so?Time will tell.
Many Americans think that our form of government is such that it will protect us from what other countries have faced during times of civil and social unrest. It’s not. We fought a bloody civil war. What in our form of government would keep such an event from happening again? And if it happens again, the warring parties will be armed with munitions that could be used to maim and kill millions of people.
Bruce, the awesome adjectives you wrote for Trump and his future presidency mirror some of the worst actions by God in the Christian bible. I love it when Dominionists get it correct and wrong at the same time.
Trump as president scares me. What terrifies me though are the people surrounding him. Hitler on his own couldn’t have accomplished all he did without a Cracker Jack staff – just saying….
Wilbur – glad you’ve never had to face consequences rained down upon you from one person. However, just because you’ve never had such an issue doesn’t mean others haven’t or that their issues aren’t important.
Having Pence as VP has the LGBTQA community edgy and nervous. This is the man who diverted needed monies for drugs to combat HIV and Aids to fund dangerous and ineffective conversion therapy. One man. Huge effect.
Looking for the positive, perhaps it is a good thing Trump won. The reactions of his faithful Death Eaters just might horrify John and Suzy Q Public. Hopefully it will open their eyes, minds, and hearts. Progressives have work to do. Best get at it then.
Thinking of you Bruce. Life is rocky enough without friends to touch our noses every so often.