No example of divine

Strongmen and dictators in the United States and other countries skillfully use propaganda, lies, threats and violence. In 2023, Donald Trump lost his rape case to E. Jean Carroll in civil court and currently faces 91 felony charges—even as he is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for the White House. He wants to avoid jail and he has stated that we won’t need another election in this country if he wins.

The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, passed unanimously by the Senate, contained language stating that “the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” But Donald Trump was held up as an extension of divine will and was embraced by the evangelical community to fulfill biblical prophecy, though the Treaty of Tripoli still stands so all can worship in America.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary and current governor of Arkansas, supported magical thinking when she said that God “wanted Donald Trump to become president.” She echoed a belief of many Republicans who accept Trump as a divine power and part of a master plan.

But his words and actions contradict the Bible. According to the Bible, we are called to treat the sick, the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned as Christ loved us. Trump is self-centered, boastful, dishonest, abusive to women and people of color. He worships materialism and turns a blind eye to refugees. He claims no policies for another presidential term, but desires revenge for those he sees as his enemies. On Truth Social, he wrote of the Department of Justice, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”

But Billy Graham said that once we have experienced God’s forgiveness and grace in our own lives, we should treat others the same way.

PATRICIA HECK

Rogers