Henry Idema: Why do evangelicals lack compassion?
One of the most surprising facts of our politics in the past eight years is the overwhelming support of evangelicals for Donald Trump. Here I am focusing on white evangelicals. Compassion is the mark of a Christian, and Donald Trump has no compassion. He mocked a disabled reporter while running in 2016. He called Mexicans trying to enter our country "rapists." He calls his rivals nasty names and committed adultery while married to each of his three wives.
Yet Trump received 81% of the white evangelical vote in his loss in 2020 and the same level of support in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15. Why does Trump get this level of support?
I believe the reason is that evangelicals want political power, and they are willing to support a man who has no compassion in order to get that power. Trump appointed three Supreme Court judges who tipped the balance in the court to overturn Roe. That cemented evangelical support for Trump.
Yet, where is the compassion for a 10-year-old girl who was raped and can't get medical care in a state like Texas? Trump and evangelicals want the government — state and federal — to control a woman's medical decisions ... literally controlling her body.
Or take Ukraine. Trump admires Putin, and seems to support him over the Ukrainians in a war started by an evil man — a war where women have been raped by Russian soldiers and thousands of children killed. Do evangelicals have compassion for the Ukrainians? If so, that would be breaking with Trump, which they are unwilling to do. Many in the GOP in Congress are undermining American aid to Ukraine, to the delight of Putin, who is working hard to get Trump back into the White House. Putin is putting tons of money into social media to make that happen, and who knows? Perhaps he is putting money into the bank accounts of the evangelicals in Congress. Evangelicals who are doing Putin's bidding — knowingly or unknowingly — are Russian assets.
Or take Gaza. Thousands of children are starving, and over 25,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children. Do evangelicals have compassion for these victims? It doesn't not seem so. Trump never talks with compassion about these Palestinians who have been killed.
Where the lack of compassion is seen right now in our politics more than in any other place is the whole issue of immigration. I rarely watch FOX News, but sometimes at the top of the hour, I turn to FOX to see what their lead story is. Nine times out of ten the lead story features the hordes of brown people who are "invading" our country, bringing drugs and disease into our country. Neither the talking heads at FOX nor Trump in his speeches nor evangelicals ever exude any sense of compassion for people trying to seek a better life for their families, trying to escape from gangs and brutal governments in Central and South America.
I am not arguing that there aren't important issues to be considered in immigration. I'm simply pointing out the lack of compassion by the media, Trump and his followers.
Some evangelicals consider Trump to be God's messiah to make America great again. Compare Donald Trump to Jesus Christ after reading the 25th chapter of Matthew, where Jesus teaches that his followers must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the poor, welcome strangers. Does Trump advocate for any of those people in need?
The tragedy of the overwhelming evangelical support for Trump is that millions of people see the hypocrisy of evangelicals supporting a man who says immigrants are vermin and poisoning our blood, and who is a cruel man without compassion. This support for Trump is eroding Christianity.
One final point: The holy family were immigrants into Egypt, escaping the terror of King Herod. What if they were turned away from the border?
— Henry Idema lives in Grand Haven. He can be reached at henryidema3@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Henry Idema: Why do evangelicals lack compassion?
