Religion. Back in the early 1980’s, evangelicals were riding high. Held in thrall by a coterie of coiffed, tanned, pompous prophets like Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart and the divine duo Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker, evangelicals were convinced that God had chosen them to lead our country out of its sinful malaise. And it certainly seemed that way. Blessed by the almighty, their farming and energy-based communities were thriving (remember “let a Yankee freeze in the dark?”), while the debauched cities on both coasts were miasmas of crime, drugs, corruption and godlessness. The Moral Majority had been a driving force behind the election of Ronald Reagan, who, if not religious himself, at least had a wife with faith in astrology. Best of all, a cruel and mysterious plague was decimating the ranks of homosexuals.
But things did not turn out as prophesied for evangelicals. Over the past four decades the carnal coastal cities have prospered to a degree that can only be described as miraculous while the oil and ag economies are struggling. A black man was elected president TWICE. The opioid plague is mostly ravaging non-urban communities. And gays can now get married! We all know that the hand of God works in mysterious ways, but this is ridiculous.
So should it really be so surprising that evangelicals swooned when a coiffed, tanned (well, oranged) blowhard emerged from the hell of New York City like the beast from Revelations, promising to Make America Great Again? Oh, Rapture! Finally, a true prophet! Sure Falwell, Swaggart, and Baker were frauds, but this guy’s the real deal! He says what’s on his mind! He’ll drain the swamp! He’ll build a wall! Jesus may have abandoned us, but Trump will put us back on top!
When Trump fizzles out, evangelicals will probably just find a new prophet. Or, here’s a thought; they might consider doing something completely different and become Christians..
You forgot Pat Robertson, he of praying away hurricanes and for the death of supreme court justices. I will quote a republican here for he knew who the so called moral majority was and he spoke plainly about them. From the late Senator Barry Goldwater:
"The moral majority is neither." and my favorite "Jerry Falwell needs his ass kicked."
I thought I would share a selection concerning Trump and religion from a 2017 Substack post. I would love to get feedback on this and all my posts.
https://charles72f.substack.com/p/the-tribe-has-spoken
Religion. Back in the early 1980’s, evangelicals were riding high. Held in thrall by a coterie of coiffed, tanned, pompous prophets like Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart and the divine duo Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker, evangelicals were convinced that God had chosen them to lead our country out of its sinful malaise. And it certainly seemed that way. Blessed by the almighty, their farming and energy-based communities were thriving (remember “let a Yankee freeze in the dark?”), while the debauched cities on both coasts were miasmas of crime, drugs, corruption and godlessness. The Moral Majority had been a driving force behind the election of Ronald Reagan, who, if not religious himself, at least had a wife with faith in astrology. Best of all, a cruel and mysterious plague was decimating the ranks of homosexuals.
But things did not turn out as prophesied for evangelicals. Over the past four decades the carnal coastal cities have prospered to a degree that can only be described as miraculous while the oil and ag economies are struggling. A black man was elected president TWICE. The opioid plague is mostly ravaging non-urban communities. And gays can now get married! We all know that the hand of God works in mysterious ways, but this is ridiculous.
So should it really be so surprising that evangelicals swooned when a coiffed, tanned (well, oranged) blowhard emerged from the hell of New York City like the beast from Revelations, promising to Make America Great Again? Oh, Rapture! Finally, a true prophet! Sure Falwell, Swaggart, and Baker were frauds, but this guy’s the real deal! He says what’s on his mind! He’ll drain the swamp! He’ll build a wall! Jesus may have abandoned us, but Trump will put us back on top!
When Trump fizzles out, evangelicals will probably just find a new prophet. Or, here’s a thought; they might consider doing something completely different and become Christians..
They will simply find a new prophet.
You forgot Pat Robertson, he of praying away hurricanes and for the death of supreme court justices. I will quote a republican here for he knew who the so called moral majority was and he spoke plainly about them. From the late Senator Barry Goldwater:
"The moral majority is neither." and my favorite "Jerry Falwell needs his ass kicked."