A number of my fellow left-leaning charismatic and pentecostal friends suspect that Donald Trump is being used by God–just not in the way that the religious right would have us believe. They think he’s being used to reveal where these so-called moral guardians really stand–and that they’ve made social issues a golden calf.
Now we may have the strongest evidence yet that the religious right is definitely worshiping something other than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The spokesman for an effort to provide a prayer covering fro Trump saw fit to record a video announcing what amounts to a jihad to take over this country just hours after Trump’s outrageous assertion that both sides were responsible for the horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia over the previous weekend.
A week before Inauguration Day, several pro-Trump pastors announced the formation of “POTUS Shield,” which intends to “storm heaven” on Trump’s behalf and “raise up a shield of prayer and prophetic understanding” for him. Many of the people behind it are leading figures in the New Apostolic Reformation, the overtly fascist offshoot of the religious right that believes it can bring about the Second Coming by taking over the world. Indeed, much of Trump’s early fundie support came from the NAR.
On Wednesday, People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch noticed that POTUS Shield’s co-founder and spokesman, Frank Amedia, posted a frightening video in which he declared that he and his colleagues were going full steam ahead to take back the country. Watch here.
Speaking from a studio at his church, Touch Heaven Ministries in Canfield, Ohio–near Youngstown–Amedia bristled at how he and his colleagues are being characterized as part of the “conservative Christian extreme base” backing Trump, even as a number of non-charismatics think he and his crowd are too radical.
Amedia believed it was just another case of people who don’t have “what is considered a liberal opinion” being lumped together. As Amedia saw it, POTUS Shield is firmly in the tradition of Abraham, Moses, David, the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, the disciples, Paul, the Reformation, and Martin Luther King. All of these movements and individuals were considered radical for their time. He recalled how many of the same pastors who scoffed at his claim last summer that Trump had a “breaker anointing” to pave the way for Jesus’ return are now parroting him.
He then had a warning for those who were standing in the way of NAR-aligned charismatics who have a “prophetic voice” in this nation–some of whom may be working in the White House.
“And we will not relent. We will not be quenched. We will even not be quenched from some voices inside the White House who wear the emblem of Christ on their sleeve. They think they’re well-doing. But they do everything in their power to quench the apostolic and prophetic spirit. But those days are over. The Lord said He will move. And the kingdom of God, by the way, according to Scripture, is violent, ‘and the violent take it by force.'”
He then recalled Trump’s bellicose stand on North Korea, drawing parallels with Ronald Reagan’s vow to destroy any enemy who attacked this country three decades earlier. He also drew parallels with King’s fight against segregation cut across party lines, as well as Lincoln’s opposition to slavery. “When God has a cause,” he said, “God will get his cause done.”
It was in that spirit that Amedia repeated his warning to his opponents to get out of the way.
“We will not be stopped. We will shout it from the mountaintop. We will have the dream. We will have the vision. We will give our blood if we must give our blood. That sounds radical, does it not? But Jesus said, ‘How much do you love a friend?’ A friend will give their life if they need to. And so we have a cause, yes. It’s to take back this nation for God. It’s to make us once again as one nation under God. I am not ashamed of it. We are not ashamed of it. And we are not going to be intimidated by laws that would require us to be quiet. Or from a social norm that says we’re intolerant because we speak the truths and the holiness of scripture and of doctrine.”
He also warned his fellow pastors to start mixing “that politics of God” with their sermons–and support any government official who aligns with them, such as Trump and Pence. They must also oppose any government official who doesn’t align with those politics, such as a couple of unnamed Senators.
“You are godly men, you were godly men, you say you’re conservatives, you say you’re Christians. Get out of the way and quit stopping. Because when your one, or two, or three votes sides with those that would be against the doctrines of what God wants to do to transform our nation, no matter what your intent is, you are an obstructionist to the kingdom of God and what we’re doing.”
As frightening as this screed was, there is something that is even more frightening. Look at when this video was uploaded to YouTube.
That’s right–August 16, less than 24 hours after Trump declared that “both sides” bore responsibility for Charlottesville. Never mind that one of those “sides” was made up almost entirely of Nazis and white supremacists who were chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans. Never mind that one of those white supremacists murdered an innocent woman.
With that press conference, Trump effectively disqualified himself as president. And by uploading this video, Amedia effectively disqualified himself as a pastor. I don’t begrudge a pastor who merely voted for Trump. But this is another matter altogether. At best, Trump has a serious moral blind spot on an issue where there is no other side. At worst, he is pandering to some of the worst people in the world. Any pastor who carries water for such a president is not setting a proper example for his flock–one of the biblical qualifications for the pastor’s role.
If Trump has anything at all in him, he will resign. Likewise, if Amedia has anything left in him after letting this video go live, he will stand down from both his posts at POTUS Shield and at Touch Heaven. Tell him what you think of his outrageous stand on Facebook and on Twitter.
(featured image courtesy Touch Heaven’s Facebook)
