An Open Letter to Evangelical Christians for Trump

 November 1, 2016

Dear Fundamentalist Christians:

As I write, it’s exactly a week before the elections. 

I have heard that a majority of you are voting for Donald Trump.  Last night, on NPR, I heard others like you state that they are not voting for him.  Not because of the Supreme Court or the 2^nd Amendment. But for many of the reasons I state below.  And they will not vote for him mainly because of his attitude towards women: his views and his actions.  He demeans the very idea of a human being, much less to consider a leader of the so-called Free World. 

Ask yourselves: Would Jesus vote for him?  There is evidence proving that Trump is an adulterer; a liar, a racist, a misogynist, a fear-mongering mytho-maniacal fabricator. Why would He vote for this poor excuse of a human being- a man?  Would Jesus vote for him in his present state of being? Yes, you say, Jesus forgives sinners.  Has Trump displayed signs of repentance?  that he asks forgiveness for his sins of adultery, disrespect for women, minorities, and the disabled?  For betraying people who worked for him?  Would Jesus vote for him first then forgive him? 

Before I continue, I want you to know that, though raised a Catholic and have been exposed to Christian Fundamentalism, have studied Buddhism, looked into Islam, I ascribe to no religion or belief.  You will say I am not qualified nor do I have the right to say for whom you should vote.

I’ve also heard you say you are voting for Trump because you believe he will protect your 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms, and appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.  On a personal note, my beloved mother almost died trying to self-abort.  Had abortion not been criminalized, but left to a woman, her family and her doctor at the time, she wouldn’t have had to suffer a near-death experience.  Before abortion became legal in 1972, how many women came close to death or had actually died? Ask yourselves: is Trump- a Presbyterian- a church-going man?  We have asked this of every presidential candidate.  Who has asked this of Trump?  Has he talked about his faith, ever?  Have we seen him enter a church? Yes, a Black church, but only to win votes.  Will we ever hear him say- or has he ever said- “. . . and God bless the United States of America”?  Maybe IF he’s president, God forbid.  Most likely, “I (not God) will make America great again.”

Sexual harassment became illegal in the 1990s.  Yet, Trump brags openly- as in the Access America video clip- about sexually assaulting women as though it’s his right as a self-reported billionaire and celebrity.  Sexual harassment was common in the Old Testament days when women were treated as chattel- Unfortunately, it still is in many countries, 

Would Jesus physically, politically, or spiritually deny people housing, healthcare, or food, or the freedom to practice their beliefs by hiring workers to build  a wall (then stiffing them) to keep the needy from the opportunity of a better life? Would He deport millions from His country, tear families apart, because of not having the right “papers”?   Deny succor to the sick and disabled?  Doesn’t it state clearly in the Bible that God’s creations, man and woman, are to be caretakers of the Earth?   Would Jesus threaten to destroy the Earth that His Father created, with a nuclear war?  Or allow greedy industries and corporations to choke or drown all life from the Earth?  Trump has intoned that climate change is a hoax cooked up by China to overpower and one day rule the world.  I ask you Christian Fundamentalists, would Jesus do away with the EPA, signed into law in 1970 by Republican Richard Nixon?  Trump says he will.  Do you suppose it’s because the EPA is housed in the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building?  Maybe he would think otherwise if it were housed in a TRUMP building.

Please, Christian Fundamentalists, please question your conscience, pray, and ask: “What would Jesus do?”  I believe He would answer,   “I will not vote for Trump.”  Nor should you.