God - a christian one - is alive and well in the Trump administration. The White House Bible Study Group includes numerous members of the Trump Cabinet, including Betsy DeVoss, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and others. Donald Trump does not attend; however, he does scribble some "atta boy" comments with his black Sharpie on some of the weekly bible study papers that are sent his way (he certainly doesn't read them).
I don't have a problem with bible study groups in general, but I am leery of one in the White House with this particular cast of characters. A BBC article about the group from 2018 is worth reading. A few choice statements from the guy in charge, Ralph Drollinger, pastor of Capitol Ministries:
On why no women can lead the bible study group: "But there is a prohibition of female leadership in marriage, and female leadership in the church. And those are clear in scripture… it doesn't mean, in an egalitarian sense, that a woman is of lesser importance. It's just that they have different roles."
On same-sex marriage, he writes: "Homosexuality and same-sex ceremonies are illegitimate in God's eyes. His word is repetitive, perspicuous [clearly expressed], and staid on the subject."
On capitalism, he writes: "The right to personal property, also known as free enterprise or capitalism, is the governmental economic system supported by scripture. Scripture does not support communism."
And speaking of Mike Pence, as the coronavirus COVID-19 spreads across the world (reported in 45 countries as of today), our Dear Leader has put the Vice-Dear Leader, the pale zombie always seen standing motionless and emotionless behind the Dear Leader, in charge of the US response to the COVID-19 epidemic. That's right, Mike Pence, devout christian, science-denier and homophobe will protect us! All I can say is that LGBTQ folks and women should be very afraid of any epidemic response plan overseen by this jerk.
And then there's this. William Barr, U.S. Attorney General, and Betsy DeVoss, U.S. Secretary of Education, both spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. As reported by the AP, Barr said that without religious morality, a country needs tyranny to control people. His speech appears to have pointed to a conclusion that secularism, and the liberal courts, are taking religion out of American lives, and this is not a good thing. (He did not say it, but there seems to be a direct line from his reasoning to his unflagging support of Donald Trump's tyranny.)
From the AP: Barr also asserted that progressives want to use public benefits to create a permanent and dependent political constituency. "The tacit goal of this project [progressivism] is to convert all of us into 25-year-olds living in the government's basement, focusing our energies on obtaining a larger allowance rather than getting a job, and moving out and taking responsibility for ourselves." (And BTW, what is it with the Trumpsters and people living in basements?)
Barr's speech was sponsored by Save the Persecuted Christians (really), a non-profit group. The leader of the group, Frank Gaffney, claims that the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the U.S. government so they can overthrow it and institute Islamic law. (!!!) And oh, btw, Gaffney was a foreign policy advisor to Trump.
In her remarks, DeVoss expressed her belief that private religious schools should receive government funding like public schools and other non-religious institutions. The audience cheered when she claimed that too many children were not being allowed to express their religious faith in school.
Mike Pompeo, first Trump's Director of the CIA and now Secretary of State, is tight with Frank Gaffney. Pompeo is a known Islamophobe who sees "radical Islamists" under every bed in America. He appears to view politics as "a never ending struggle...until the rapture." A 2017 piece by Michelle Goldberg is a quick, but a bit dated, read-up on Mike.
So here we are. Donald Trump, our Dear Leader, who has built a Cabinet of devout, really out there christian zealots who he has loosed on America and the world. The evangelicals in America mostly love the Dear Leader, in spite of his warts. Their god is alive and well and taking firm control of the government through these servants.
Believe it or not, there are many people who are more afraid of a Democratic Socialist than they are of the Trump God Squad. Heaven help us! (That's a joke, of course.)
---
No comments:
Post a Comment