Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; - 1Peter 2: 11 (KJV)
I often write about the inherent dangers of mixing politics with our faith. In most instances what we see playing out is nothing more than worshipping this country as an idol. If we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit that this country is Sodom and we are trying to revive it because we like living in Sodom. I have written frequently about the false narrative of America as a Christian nation. It never was. I firmly believe it is still the best a pagan secular world has ever offered in terms of freedom but that falls far short from pretending we were ever in covenant with God; sorry Rabbi Con (Cahn). Today's fine example of this can found at Charisma News' website in this article:
http://www.charismanews.com/politics/50889-is-god-using-donald-trump-to-wake-up-the-nation
Os Hillman's niche has always been mixing Christianity and the marketplace. As such he ties Christianity too closely with the worldliness of the market in America. Predictably the result we see is this absurd article. I probably would not have addressed it except the fact that increasingly we see the same line of thought from Christians everywhere. To try and take the GOP frontrunner and find a way to pretend God is somehow using him, even if it is Donald Trump. Why not Trump? In 2012 Christians everywhere insisted that a Mormon was the choice God was behind. What complete rubbish. That is then usually greeted with an assault on our current president. As believers we need to realize that the lesser of two evils is still evil. Just because it is obvious that a man belonging to a satanic cult could not possibly be "God's choice" does not mean the other guy must be either. We must get to the point where we render the carnal political process unto Caesar and look to no man. There is no righteous leader beloved. There is no secret leader that will stay the wrath of God upon the nations. Such beliefs are what will lead to the rise of the antichrist. Likewise there is no magical secret that will revive this country. You cannot revive what was never alive to begin with. False teachers and America the Idol worshippers have sold us a bill of goods that not biblical. There is no level of good behavior the unbelievers in this country could reach that would prevent the coming judgment. No legislation that can be passed. No decree of Congress or presidential mandate. We are supposed to be pilgrims and sojourners through this world as the key verse teaches us but like Lot, we pitched our tent towards Sodom and then found ourselves living in it. And our flesh likes it. We like the freedom to sin wantonly. We like the excess as long as we can go to a steepled building on Sundays and play church. Someplace safe where we can wrap ourselves up in pseudo-piety and the flag and give 10 percent of our net income to have someone tell us that this life is all about us and that despite our Sodom worship, heavens riches still await us. I digress though; back to the article.
There is so much wrong with the article politically. It seems apparent that Hillman is merely wielding a hatchet to try and chop up the presumptive democratic candidate, Hillary, while propping up the GOP front runner, Donald Trump. Hillman actually has the audacity to state that Donald Trump is "sounding the trumpet" and is becoming a "new prophetic voice, albeit not a spiritual one." What does that even mean? A non-spiritual prophetic voice? We saw that throughout the Bible. They are called false prophets. This is exactly why we should not mix the carnality of politics with the holiness of our faith. The carnality will always taint what is holy. Os then lists what he calls "Marketplace Culture Attributes" and pretends that Trump possesses these. The first is to stop pandering -- start solving problems. The example offered up is that the first issue Trump spoke out about was our failed immigration policy. If you mean "spoke out" as denigrating an entire country and referring to its people as "rapists" then yes, Mr. Trump certainly spoke out. What we saw was a man devoid of any humility, grace or mercy. Someone who was pandering to the hard right, which he needs to win the primary battle. Does Hil lman even understand how politics works? Trump is pandering harder than anyone. The second Marketplace Cultural Attribute is to "fix our economic issue." Hillman regurgitates the failed Tea Party position of managing a government as one would manage a business. That is a childishly naïve view. A business does not have to manage the things a government does. You cannot realize for example that a hurricane wiped out a city that requires federal aid and say "oh well, there's nothing left in the budget." If your starting point is to say that the government ought to manage its finances as a family of four does then you are entirely too unrealistic to be in politics. I might add here that a businessman billionaire cares about one thing. Money. Not you and me. Money. Ask average New Yorkers if we were better off under the Bloomberg regime and the resounding answer will be no. By the way, you may want to check the litany of bankrupted business under the leadership of the Don.
The last Marketplace Cultural Attribute listed is to stop being politically correct. Certainly no one can accuse Donald Trump of being politically correct. He is the opposite however. He is politically moronic. He is a bull in a china shop. He thinks he can flash his bravado and solve problems. That might work well on a reality game show you run but it will not work on the global stage where diplomacy is needed. It certainly is not vaguely "Christian." I know none of this seems particularly Christian and that is the point. You have a Christian author, writing on a Christian website, promoting a presidential candidate that possesses very little Christian appeal. Not to mention that everyone knows the only reason this article is about Trump is because he is in the lead. Let's see what happens after tonight's opening debate.
As if to solidify my point, Hillman actually quotes one of the worst false prophets alive today, Kim Clement. According to Clement the Lord has said that Trump will be a trumpet! Really? Then Hillman claims Fox News is a prophetic mouthpiece to call the nation back to some sense of moral behavior? Seriously? And this is published on a Christian website? A fake news network that is nothing more than propaganda is being heralded as a prophetic mouthpiece? Do we understand what the word prophetic means anymore? Os Hillman is claiming that Fox News speaks for God. Just like earlier he claimed Trump speaks for God. That is what it means.
Beloved, I am not saying anyone candidate is better or worse than the other. Our obligation to vote is civic, not Christian. We should vote for whom we feel led to vote for after prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit. We do so however knowing that none of them represent the cause of Christ. We should always be wary of people in Christian suits playing politics. Trying to read who God would choose. The Bible says that God chooses all of the leaders of earth. He will use their evil for His grand plan for humanity. It does not matter who is elected as it relates to the Kingdom. God will still be on the throne. As believers we need to stop looking to man and stop defending evil, no matter how lesser we might think it is.
Hillman concludes by wondering exactly how the Lord will use Donald Trump. Will it be like King Cyrus, a secular king who ruled righteously? Will He use the Donald to bring this country back to some sanity? I got one you overlooked Os. Perhaps God will use Trump to expose false Sodom worshippers. Perhaps God will use Trump to try and wake Christians from their slumber of following men instead of God. Or perhaps Donald Trump will implode tonight at the debate and fade back into the obscurity of reality television. I can easily see God doing that. This way He exposes false prophets like Kim Clement and political operatives disguised as Christians in one fell swoop. Just sayin.
Rev. Anthony
