Tag: idolatry

Idolatry in Politics

Before I begin, I want to address a mistake I believe I made in my post titled “Making Sense of January 6th” about the Capitol insurrection. In it, I said that there was a spiritual reason for the assault on the Capitol (which I stand by), but I believe I put too much emphasis on abortion and not enough emphasis on idolatry.

Idolatry is a word one doesn’t hear very much outside of a religious institution.  Some of you may be wondering what idolatry has to do with modern, everyday politics. Maybe some of you are wondering why I’m writing about it in politics or what relevance it has today.

Well, a nation that is supposedly, “under God,” has the Ten Commandments on the highest judicial building in the land, and mentions faith in God in its founding document (e.g. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence…”, final sentence of the Declaration of Independence), must also adhere to His law for His grace to be “shed on thee” (America the Beautiful).

For the purposes of this blog post, I will only focus on the two US Presidents where I’ve seen the most idolatry: Barack Obama and Donald Trump.  When Obama was running for office and eventually elected back in 2008, many believed he would end racism simply because he had black skin.  Some even believed he was “the next Messiah.”  School kids sang songs about sunshine and rainbows under his presidency while others wanted him to be king.

On the other side, when Trump was running for office, many Republicans made him into the person they wanted him to be: an anointed “leader,” who Franklin Graham believes was chosen by God, wise super-patriot — not the despicable, vile, serial liar, adulterer, misogynistic pig he truly is.

The worship of Donald Trump and his policies is eerily similar to a scene from “Animal Farm” (1999), which strikes a prescient chord when viewed in the context of Trump’s appetite for power and control. Even post-presidency, people made a literal golden statue of Trump, a modern-day golden calf (Exodus 32).

Even those not in the mainstream media can see that many Republicans are deifying Donald Trump. Here’s Brian Tyler Cohen calling out a Newsmax anchor for cutting off a military veteran who shed a negative light on Trump.

So how is idolatry connected to the January 6th insurrection? Because an idol is someone or something that replaces the only infallible God YHWH as first in one’s heart, not just some statue someone bows down to worship or gives offerings to. The idolater will view their god as infallible and will also believe and act on anything that god says is true, even if it’s a blatant lie and crime. The insurrectionists placed Trump’s claims above God’s law (Romans 13:1-7) and stormed the Capitol like soldiers given an order (“Trump sent us”).

If presidents are viewed in any higher regard than public servants, they are being viewed in the light of idolatry. And a severe consequence of this idolatry, along with consistent and widespread lies of what Trump claims is a stolen and fraudulent election, resulted in a very dark January day that shocked the world.

Why I Can No Longer Sing or Listen To “God Bless America”

This may seem bold or un-American, but I’m aware of what I’m saying. I was born and raised in America and grew up playing, watching, and loving the nation’s pastime… baseball. I loved listening to beautiful renditions of “God Bless America” during major sporting events and holidays. But recently, I haven’t been able to sing or listen to it because I don’t believe it matches with our current reality.

Why do I believe this? Our Pledge of Allegiance contains the words “under God,” and if a nation wants God’s blessing, He expects them to take His laws seriously. If they don’t, they will be under a more severe penalty than of a nation that doesn’t claim allegiance—the more guilty nation did not fear Him or His laws as its people claimed.

But America has committed abominations—the legalized murder of innocents, legalized covenants of perversion and sexual immorality, and idolatry of presidents, to name a few. America has ignored the eternal laws of God engraved on the buildings of our highest courts. And if He doesn’t drop the hammer down, we’ll end up destroying ourselves.

We have abandoned our trust in God in favor of trust in presidents, politicians, money, and government. Many Americans, including the mainstream news, can’t believe how bad the leadership is under President Trump. We have turned away from the God of this nation. He is the only One who gives us a firm and uncompromising basis for morality and truth—both of which cannot be separated from Him and still work. Because we have compromised on truth, morality, and love, our only basis of reference for what was once good is history and traditions.

Like Moses calling his people back to their God after four hundred years of slavery, we need a mass spiritual revival—starting with God’s anointed and holy church.

I believe many things need to happen for the judgment of God to not come upon America, but these are just a few major issues America must see. This list is by no means comprehensive.

  1. For Americans, especially those in high power and authority, to love the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:10)
  2. Repealing the 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage. (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26–27)
  3. Total abolition of Roe v. Wade, on national and state levels. (Matthew 2:16–18)
  4. God’s church adhering to and proclaiming His Word in His house.
  5. Great repentance by the nation and call of prayer to seek His Holy face.

I have loved this country and what it stood for, but I can’t ignore blatant wickedness, perversion, and corruption. I do hope America repents of her wickedness and major wicked laws listed above, but my allegiance is now to the Lamb of God and His eternal Kingdom. Glory be to His Name and His Kingdom, now and forevermore!