The Trouble with Evangelicals

 

Sigmund Freud provided insight into the origins of religion in “The Future of an Illusion.” In his book, he stated that religious precepts were man’s illusions as well as his wish fulfillments. Moses, according to the Old Testament, brought down the 10 Commandments after his interaction with God. These 10 commandments in Exodus and Deuteronomy depicted significant moral behaviors for man.  Unfortunately, these 10 commandments are rarely followed today. This essay addresses the moral behavior of the Evangelicals.

Some of the 10 Commandments include: 1. Thou shall not murder 2. Thou shall not commit adultery 3. Thou shall not steal 4. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor 5. Thou shall not covet-neighbor’s house, neighbor’s wife, neighbor’s slaves, animals or anything else. If one broke any these commandments, it would be a sin and they would have to answer to God. When religion and/or the church failed to control moral behavior, society enacted their own rules, laws and punishments.

Thou shall not murder is a major moral principle. For example, our society has created the largest and most dominant military murder machine in history. We train our soldiers well. They’ve been called the best military killers in the world. They are referred to as heroes and we should be proud of them? Supposedly, they protect our democracy. How do they do that in Afghanistan? Don’t they just create more aggression, a revenge motive and make people angry with us?

 We also have well-trained police that also are efficient at murdering other human beings. Don’t they shoot unarmed blacks in the back?  Why don’t these expert marksmen shoot to wound instead?  Our military provides them with their discards for a more efficient killing. Individuals in our country have more guns than anyone else including assault rifles. We are a nation of killers. These facts say a lot about our “morality.” Unfortunately, under Donald’s inept and political watch, we have had over 212,000 individuals that have died and over 7 ½ million infected from the virus and rising. His Whitehouse is now a hot spot.

Abortion, was a no-no according to early Christian “Do not murder a child. Abortion is killing a newborn infant.” St. Augustine believed that abortion of the fetus with human limbs and shape was murder.  He couldn’t deny or affirm whether such partially formed fetuses would be resurrected as full people at the time of the second coming. Earlier, the Stoics believed the fetus was natures plan with the moment of birth was when it finally breathed air. Aristotle wrote “The line between lawful and unlawful abortion will be marked by the fact of having sensation and being alive.”

Were the Greeks more knowledgeable, practical and humanistic regarding abortion than the Catholic power structure? Perhaps, the motivation to label abortion as a sin and for punishment was more about maintaining a stern, and rigid father figure exhibiting control over a woman’s sexual behavior. If a woman chooses to abort, should she be sentenced for murder? Currently, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical Protestant and some mainline Protestant churches oppose abortion in varying degrees. Other mainline Protestant churches favor, in varying degrees, practice abortion. I choose not to explain the rationalizations.

There are many reasons for abortion. A mothers and child’s health and well-being are concerns. A mother’s body and her motivation to provide care and nurturance for child should outweigh any antiquated religious idea regarding sin and/or government rule or regulation. The irrationality of attempting to harm or kill a doctor performing an abortion suggests mental sickness by their perpetrators.  Who is moral? It’s clearly a woman’s choice to abort or not to abort and she should be provided with the best medical care available. We have more than enough inept parenting that has resulted in too many mentally ill antisocial personality disorders. Our statistics on drugs, alcohol, suicide and homicide bear that out. Moreover, Freud, Moses and Christ do not equate abortion with murder.

Thou shall not bear false witness is another principle that’s not adhered to very well except with young children. Parents frequently tell their children to tell the truth with their parenting. Sometimes lying can be innocuous as in stretching the truth like a wish fulfillment. It can also be more symptomatic of some mental disturbance. Persistent lying reflects more deep rooted problems and means a more severe disturbance in conscience development and/or the capacity for distinguishing reality from fantasy. Consistent lying results in an absence of trust and credibility of the liar. Today, how much credibility does Donald have?

Thou shall not steal is another moral commandment. Stealing can be a rather thoughtless giving into an impulse at the moment or going along with the persistent behavior. Stealing also serves as a symbolic substitute for a significant lack of love and attention. Further it’s a violation of moral and cultural standards and embarrassment. Stealing and getting caught also can serve as an unconscious way to call attention to oneself. It can be a cry for help or a self-punishment for real or imagined transgressions. Donald has a history of tax evasions, not paying workers properly, operating a fraudulent University and foundation are obvious as well as a likelihood of money laundering, loans and numerous other schemes of stealing and exploiting others.  Being bankruptcy six times is just another example of his lack of moral conduct.

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife is another 10 commandment example of morality. Donald has a history of being intimately involved with 26 other women while being single and being married. He has even paid off a number women to remain silent regarding his involvements.

Evangelicalism is the belief in the conversion of being “born again.” It’s a receiving of salvation, and the authority of the Bible .It’s God’s revelation to humanity in spreading the Christian message. Salvation is the deliverance from sin or saving the soul and its consequences that’s to be brought about by faith in Christ. It’s been said that unforgivable sins include murder, torture and abuse of any human being. Particularly the murder, torture and abuse of children and animals is sinful. Does the 14 million children in our country that are starving under Donald’s watch count? Beliefs are easier than behavior.

The Evangelicals believe that there is going to be a second coming for Christ. One of the things that Christ’s is supposed to accomplish is “cleansing the earth.” When that happens “the wicked will be destroyed. All things that are corrupt will be burned, and the earth will be cleansed by fire.” Jesus will also judge his people. “He will judge the nations and will divide the righteous from the wicked.” I liked the first Jesus better. This Jesus is too cruel.

Do Evangelicals practice what they preach? Is their behavior consistent with what they say? Clearly, Donald is not righteous. Righteous is defined as “a person or conduct that is morally right or justifiable.” Synonyms of righteous include worthy, decent, upstanding, good, law-abiding, Honorable, irreproachable, ethical, principled, moral, uncorrupted, and sinless to name a few. It’s clear how Jesus would judge Donald.

What about the Evangelicals?  By supporting Donald they are disrespecting Jesus and the 10 Commandments. Supporting Donald could be their most egregious sin. If so, how would Jesus evaluate or judge these Evangelicals who support Donald? Jesus has been described as caring about others especially the poor. He rode on a donkey, not on a horse. He even cared about his enemies. Jesus was moral as he didn’t lie, cheat, steal, chase women, or commit murder.

The hypocrisy of the Evangelicals is clear and obvious. Following Christ means behavior should be consonant with his moral teachings. Supporting Trump is not consonant with Christ’s teachings.

On the other hand, one could argue that the 10 Commandments are illusions and not applicable to current man? Are the 10 Commandments too impossible and impractical to maintain in our capitalistic society? Do we need or require additional realistic moral principles in how man treats man? So far, man has exhibited too much narcissistic, sadistic aggression, murder and prejudice toward fellow man. Religion has failed to tame man’s needs and drives.

PS

Freud, Moses Christ did not have histories of lying, stealing, murdering and coveting other women. Under no conditions, would they support this amoral narcissist. I’m with them.