Robert Jeffress and Donald Trump: …an opinion on the need for separation between church and state…

I wrote this back in August and just filed it away. It was in reference to an article I was reading about Pastor Robert Jeffress and Donald Trump (article link found below if interested). I filed this away figuring it would be relevant in the future, and I think it is. It’s a serious time to be alive. It is also revealing to watch the religious base condone some pretty destructive stuff in the political world. It reminds me of a sign I saw at a protest, it said something to the effect of: “The only wall we need to build is the wall between church and state.”

Wars and rumors of war… doesn’t it go something like that? Since when is it okay for Robert Jeffress to speak on behalf of God and give Donald Trump the green light to bomb North Korea? Why is Robert Jeffress even a voice on the national stage? There are a myriad of issues going on in this news article that the article doesn’t address. The article, taken at face value, has already concluded that Robert Jeffress has clout because he’s a mega-church pastor and he’s on Trump’s spiritual advisory board. That is no reason that we should trust him, as a matter a fact, it is the reason we should distrust him and run him out of the public eye and public policy.

If the Bible is true, and what Jesus claimed is true, there are no alternatives to His words, and there is no justification for Robert Jeffress or the sycophants that support him. I am talking about what Jesus said in the New Testament, not what the God of the Old Testament did. If we are being honest, Old Testament God loved war, wiping woman, children, men, and animals out in mass numbers, all for His glory we’ve been told. I guess that is another conversation. The Christ spoke of something different than what had come before, and not only did He talk different, but he demonstrated and lived that difference as well. If I’m stacking morals against the story of Jesus Christ and the person of Robert Jeffress, the two are in conflict with each other.

Jesus was not a pacifist, but he did have Peter sheath his sword when Peter was going to defend him. He willingly was arrested and taken away, beaten, whipped, crucified and stabbed with a spear, and he was innocent. Not one time did He physically defend himself. Take it is the infallible word of God, or take it as a good moral story, but the I don’t see anything in that story that condones war and acts of aggression. Jesus said if someone hits you, turn and offer them the other cheek too. Jesus said give from your need, Jesus said not to seek glory here on earth, but to store treasures in another place by being human and looking out for our neighbors as we would ourselves. My neighbors are the humans that span the globe, not just those around me physically. We are all one humane race, we are divided by flags and borders and these corrupt politicians and pastor/priests who serve the interests of the State and themselves.

If Jesus is real, He doesn’t need Robert Jeffress. Robert Jeffress defended Donald Trump’s leaked audio admission of sexually assaulting women. Robert Jeffress, a man who defends Donald Trump’s bigotry, misogyny, oppressive patriarchal views, and an ego that is only rivaled by his love of money. Everything in Donald Trump’s life screams money, he loves it, talks about it and worships it. He is very open about it. Jesus said the love of money was the root of all evil… not some evil, not a bit of evil, but ALL evil. Robert Jeffress condones and supports that love of money. Robert Jeffress presides over the longest running mega-church, a new campus for his church that was a cool $128 million, he says gays are “filthy”, Mormonism is a cult (different religion, gotta be a cult), oh, and he doesn’t like Muslims either. He gives his followers financial advice and tells them to use their money as an investment, ‘invest financially in the 128 million dollar renovation, and store your treasure in Heaven.’

This story may be out of the 24 hour news spin cycle for now, but it will come back up. I don’t see religious ‘leaders’ giving the regime in Washington the wink for waging war as a normal thing at all. I don’t think it should be normal, I don’t think it should go unnoticed. Bombing North Korea to satisfy the ego of madman only kills innocent people. Sanctions affect the population of countries who have zero say in their own lives due to a repressive regime. The repressive regime here in the United States has us believing that this is good and patriotic, but it isn’t. War kills innocent people, period. War is business. The United States loves pre-emptive war, but there is no justification for that in my mind. There are more serious issues in this country than North Korea… and beyond that, isn’t there a verse about “Thou shalt not murder?”

(see “‘God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un,’ evangelical adviser says

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