CHRIST-APP by philtierneyblog

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In light of the aforementioned evidence, I must conclude that President Donald Trump is not merely an immoral man, an inveterate liar and an aspiring autocrat, but a type of antichrist.

Once again, I am compelled to ask why so many white American Evangelical and Charismatic Christian leaders and their followers believe that Mr. Trump is God’s anointed one.  More than 75% of white Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians in America believe that President Trump serves God’s purposes.  On the other hand, the vast majority of African-American and Hispanic Evangelicals and Pentecostals do not. They regard him as an evil man with nefarious intentions.

If white American Evangelicals and Pentecostals believe, as they say they do, that it has been revealed to them that God wants Trump to be president, then why has that not been revealed to their black and brown brethren?  Do they claim to be more attuned to God?  Do they simply have different perceived self-interests that they, then, project onto God? 

There is a significant difference between belief in ideas about God or in convictions that are ascribed to God, on the one hand, and trust in God, on the other hand.  The beginning of genuine spiritual discernment is self-awareness, the ability to differentiate between one’s own cherished feelings and God. That’s because it’s so easy to project one’s own passions and deep persuasions and self-interests onto God. It’s not apparent that the most persuasive and influential fundamentalist leaders are particularly self-aware or discerning, though many are quick to claim revelations from God.  Undifferentiated self-interest and passion projected onto God is the root of spiritual self-deception and false prophecy. 

I’d like to tell you a story. It’s a true story. It’s a story about a man, who lived 900 years or so ago.  He was born into an aristocratic family in France.  He was an educated man.  He had a conversion experience when he was a young man.  He was deeply devout and spiritual and completely committed to Christ.  He felt called by God to become a monk and joined the Cistercian order.  He was quickly promoted.  He was appointed to serve as the Abbot of the monastery in Clairvaux, France.  He fought for orthodoxy.  He was a remarkable and compelling preacher.  Healings and miracles were attributed to him during his sermons.  He was gifted by the Holy Spirit with dreams, visions, words of wisdom and prophecy.  He authored popular books on faith and spirituality. He revived monasticism during his generation.  He was given the distinction of being named a Doctor of the Church, which is a title reserved for very few.  He was the most famous, influential and revered Christian leader in the entire Holy Roman Empire at the time.  He was an evangelist and a charismatic.  His name was Bernard, Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bernard.  Back then, Bernard was a rock-star of a Christian leader, influential among the nobility, peasants and within the hierarchy of the Church. 

A fire of passion built within St. Bernard after he heard the news of the fall of Damascus to the Muslims.  The heat of his passions grew amidst his fervent prayers for Christians in that part of the world.  He had dreams about it.  He had visions about it.  He heard what he understood to be God’s voice to take back the Holy Land for Christ.  He heard God’s voice tell him to call Christians to a second Crusade to take back the east and the Holy Land for Christ.  And so, he contacted the Pope.  The pope commissioned Bernard to embark upon evangelistic tours and revivals throughout France and Germany.  He was commissioned to revive the faith of Christians and to call the men to a holy crusade to save the Holy Land.  Tens of thousands responded.  They ventured on a Second Crusade and went to war against Islam; confident that it was God’s will and that they would be victorious. 

As it happened, St. Bernard was completely wrong.  I judge that he was wrong because the fruit of his convictions, prophecies and calls to holy war produced bad fruit.  The Crusaders slaughtered thousands of Jews. They slaughtered tens of thousands of Byzantine Christians.  They did so simply because they abandoned the principles of just war by attacking civilians, ones who just happened to look different from them.  They did it because they believed that their godly end justified their means.  But in the end, those crusading armies were decimated and the Holy Land was lost to Christendom from that time forth. It was a catastrophe.  In the aftermath, St. Bernard blamed the sins of the crusaders, but the rest of Europe blamed Bernard. 

I tell this tale to underscore some spiritual points.  Political, cultural and religious passions can mask as revelations by God.  Even the most devout Christians can be deluded to think that their passions are inspired by God.  Not all Christians and Christian leaders are true prophets of God.  Even those who have been regarded as such can be wrong sometimes and about very significant matters.  And all those who claim to be prophets of God are not necessarily prophets, just because they claim to be.  Some are false prophets.  They need to be tested.  The fruit of their claimed prophecies need to be measured. 

Jesus was said to have warned his disciples about false prophets.  The Apostles warned people about false prophets.  There is no clearer sign of false prophecy than that one would point to a type of antichrist and identify him as a messiah.  False prophets are best to be discerned, identified as such and completely disregarded.  There are false prophets in America nowadays.  They are those who identify President Trump as called and anointed by God as a messianic figure.  Beware of them.