Loving Trump = Salvation

Jim Bakker, that infamous televangelist from the 80s, has resurfaced, it seems.  And this time, showing how much he learned from his public humiliation back then, he has thrown a whopper out there.  In all seriousness, he recently said the following:

"Trump is a test whether you're even saved.  Only saved people can love Trump."

(It's not fake news, I assure you.  You can watch the clip for yourself here.)

He, too, seems to be living by and preaching the Gospel of Republicanity.  To him, in no uncertain terms, supporting Trump (i.e., believing his lies, justifying his narcissism, ignoring his anti-Christian behavior) is the same thing as being a soul-saved Christian.  And, of course, the opposite is undoubtedly true as well: not supporting Trump (i.e., questioning him, noting his moral degeneracy, holding him accountable) is the same thing as being a pagan with the one-way ticket to Hell.  So incredibly perverse.

His reasoning lies in the concept of forgiveness.  He states the following to "prove" his initial point:

"You gotta forgive.  You gotta be able to forgive.  You forgive when you're saved."

So here are the obvious fallacies with that line of reasoning: (1) Trump himself has stated that he doesn't ask for forgiveness because he doesn't make mistakes (which, btw, is possibly the most anti-Christian statement that has ever left his filthy mouth), and (2) forgiving and ignoring are two totally different concepts, something that many evangelicals have forgotten when it comes to Trump.

In fact, according to the "Focus on the Family" website (a decidedly conservative Christian forum), forgiveness is not about "letting the offender off the hook," since Christians should "still hold others accountable for their actions or lack of actions"; and forgiveness does not include "letting the offense recur again and again," since no one should "have to tolerate .. a lack of respect or any form of abuse."  Herein lies the problem with Bakker's premise, for these are exactly what "forgiveness" has become to evangelicals when Trump is involved.  He continues to lie; he continues to bully and humiliate; he continues to love himself above all others; he continues to denigrate people of color and women; he continues to be the epitome of hypocrisy.  And all the while, Christians IGNORE his blatantly anti-Christian words and actions.

So, moral of the story: Jim Bakker was a bullshit scam artist in the 80s, and Jim Bakker is a bullshit scam artist now.  The problem is that his audience never learned that fact.