CHRIST-APP by philtierneyblog

10.   Donald Trump is a compulsive liar and an unparalleled deceiver.

In the Decalogue or “Ten Commandments” it is written, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” (Exodus 20: 16) Perhaps more correctly translated it meant, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” It was pretty specific and referred to falsely accusing the people around you of something negative. Over time, it has come to include false accusations against anyone, and that includes gossip. It has also included any kind of perjury or incorrect information. 

The Book of Proverbs says,

“Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,
    but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,
    for seven abominations fill their hearts.
Their malice may be concealed by deception,
    but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Proverbs 26: 24-28)

According to John’s Gospel, truth was important to Jesus. Among other things He was the one who said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:23) He also said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14: 6) Jesus also said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” (Matthew 15: 11) Lying and false accusations were condemned in the Bible and Jesus emphasized the importance of truth.

No matter what your news and information sources may be, virtually everyone knows, by now, that Trump is an inveterate and compulsive liar. He has lied even when it wasn’t in his interest to lie. He has made up false accusations about people. He has lied and it has hurt people. He has consistently deflected truth and distorted facts to such an extent that it has become difficult to discern accurate information even about the most verifiable matters. Fact-checking services were created to try to verify Trump’s claims.

You may recall that he doctored a map of the path of Hurricane Dorian and then claimed he didn’t know anything about it. While COVID skyrocketed in Southern and Western states, Trump continued to say that it had virtually disappeared. He claimed that warm weather and bleach would cure the disease. People believed him, and the disease spread even more causing more deaths.  He has lied for almost four years, claiming that he won the election in 2020. As a result of his election lies, thousands of people stormed the Capitol. More than 2,500 broke into the Capitol building. More than 1,250 were arrested and more than 450 were found guilty, many of whom are still serving sentences in prison. Trump lies. People are hurt, some even killed, and other lives were ruined.

Trump has lied all the time. That might seem like hyperbole, but those who track such things have reported that Trump lied in public 30,520 during and just after his presidency. That doesn’t include the past few years. It represents more than 15 public lies per day for five years. That’s a lot of lies by any reckoning. Was he briefed about Russia offering bounty for Afghans to hunt American soldiers? He said not. Was that a lie? Who knows. Did he sexually assault a woman in a dressing room in a department store? He said not. Twelve jurors disagreed, and found him guilty. Did he have sex with a porn star or not. He said not. A jury disagreed.

The ghost writer of Trump’s book, Tony Schwartz, has reported this about what Trump told him: “I play to people’s fantasies … People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration—and it’s a very effective form of promotion.” By whatever other term one calls it, whether “truthful hyperbole” or “alternative facts,” lying is lying. And Trump is a career liar.

Trusting a liar is ill-advised. The Book of Proverbs strongly advises against it. It’s like building a house on sand, constantly shifting, rather than rock. Oh, I think Jesus said something about that, too. I think I recall that He used that image to caution people against being unwise. 

Again, Trump has been opposite from Jesus when it comes to truth or even reliability. It is extremely ill-advised to believe whatever he might say.  Christians who follow him are seen by others as either extremely gullible or as unconcerned with truth at all. That reflects badly on American Christians, but more importantly, on Jesus.

11. Trump Uses religion and religious objects for self-interest.

In March of 2018, the Israeli Mikdash Educational Center minted a coin. The coin was emblazoned with two profiles on it. One was a facial profile of King Cyrus I of Persia. The other was a facial profile of Trump. Underneath, were printed the words, “Temple Coin.” The Mikdash Center is one of the main groups advocating for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, where the Muslim Dome of the Rock is located. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who want a new sacrificial Temple have picked up on the claim by certain American Pentecostal Christians that Trump is a messiah, like Cyrus I. Trump has been using the notion that he is God’s vessel and, therefore, chosen for power.

Recently, Trump was the keynote speaker at the “Faith and Freedom Conference.”  It is composed of the most committed of Trump’s American Christian followers, many of whom are self-designated Chistian leaders. In the speech Trump insisted that he viewed his two indictments as a “badge of honor.” He told the Christians, there, “I’m being indicted for you.” They cheered. He went on to urge them to regard him as their avatar. He also said this: “In 2016, I declared, I am your voice. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”

Shortly after advertising his gold-colored sneakers for sale at $100, the same shell company that produced them created a new product for sale. It was the “Make America Great Again” Bible. In it is a handwritten note from Trump, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and of the Bill of Rights. Trump endorses it and is selling it for $60.   

Trump has sought to use religion from the start, by manipulating certain Christians. He even made a spectacle of routing peaceful protesters at Lafayette Park in Washington, DC, so that he could be photographed holding up a Bible in front of a church. He publicized photos of Christian leaders laying hands on him while praying.

Jesus decried those who tried to profit from religion. He famously overturned the tables of the Temple money-changers, who tried to profit from people’s spiritual devotions. He expressed great concern over those who liked to make public displays of their religiosity. He told such people that they were using spiritual activities and symbols to gain rewards from the people around them and that God would not reward them for their religious posturing.   

What do you suppose Jesus would make of all this? Do you imagine that He would be encouraged by it as some demonstration of personal faith or do you think He’d be repulsed by it as a show for political or monetary profit? 

Trump treats religion as a prop and religious people as useful tools for his own self-promotion. Technically, it’s called sacrilege. But whatever you call it, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus didn’t go for it. Those who collude with Trump in such ways are not following Jesus’ way in that regard, either.

Jesus didn’t go for show-off piety, at all. In Matthew 6, Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6: 5-6) Jesus was a big believer in private and small group spirituality.

Trump, by nature, has always been a show off. That’s opposite from Jesus, as well. Those who want to show off their piety are not following Jesus.

Permit me to summarize and go even further. Just imagine. This immoral man, this man of lies, Trump, has had a graven image of him imprinted on a coin alongside an ancient “messiah” with the words Temple Coin emblazoned underneath. The current Prime Minister of Israel, whom two-thirds of Israelis consider completely corrupt, has dubbed him a messiah. This immoral man, Trump, has called upon American Christians to embrace him suffering vicariously for them, as Jesus suffered as a substitution for sin. He calls them to follow him as their warrior, their justice and their retribution.  

I can honestly and in good faith conclude that this is no vessel of God’s redemption that many American Christians imagine him to be. He is no secular messiah. If anything, given what the aforementioned people claim, Trump is a false messiah, a false Christ. In fact, given his character, he is more of an anti-Christ. As such, I am firmly persuaded that he is sincerely to be rejected and abandoned by American Christians. To think otherwise is a deception about which I’ll speak in greater depth later.  

12.  Trump’s model of life, his character, his business practices and his treatment of others are the very opposite of what Jesus came to reveal.

Trump epitomizes everything opposite to Christ-like love and godly trust. Twelve hundred years ago, Pope Gregory the Great offered a simple list of traits that were the opposite of faith and love. They were known as the “Seven Deadly Sins.” They were behaviors that had the capacity to become addictive and to corrupt the human spirit. They included:

• Vanity or pride
• Greed
• Lust or inordinate sexual craving
• Envy
• Gluttony
• Wrath or anger and revenge
• Sloth or spiritual laziness.

Each of them had an opposite. They were meant to characterize trust in God and Christ-like love. They included “Seven Virtues”:

• Humility 
• Charity or hospitality
• Chastity
• Gratitude thankfulness
• Temperate appetite
• Patience
• Spiritual diligence

Trump is certainly not known for any of these virtues, but instead, for their opposites. By their ongoing support, Trump’s Christian followers appear to have been approving of the traits that his life has consistently demonstrated. They include virtually all of the so-called deadly sins. Others see the contradiction and recognize it for what it is, and dismiss his Christian supporters as hypocrites. Support for Trump is anything but a good witness, and detracts from the credibility of the Christian message. It reflects badly on Jesus.

Trump’s Christian followers may say that I am being judgmental. After all, Jesus said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6: 36-37) And yet, simultaneously, Jesus also called religious leaders — hypocrites, white-washed tombs and a brood of vipers. There is a difference between judgment and discernment, between condemnation and description. My intention is not to judge or to condemn, but to describe and discern.

The aforementioned 12 objections that I’ve enumerated are just a few of the many reasons I’m persuaded that many Christians have been deceived and should not support Donald Trump in any way. I make these comments, not for my sake, but for God’s sake, for Jesus’ sake and for yours. 

I have much more to say about discernment and what I regard as false prophecy among modern day Americans. They’ll include the reasons so many American Christians follow Trump and the roots of them. I’ll delve into those matters in upcoming installments of this letter.

Meanwhile, I ask you to pray for discernment.