I haven’t written much here about my next book, mostly because I’m frantically trying to finish said book. (1 1/2 chapters to go…) Also, I’m trying to avoid spoilers.

That said, I’ll tip my hand just a bit today with a shoutout to Stephanie Jo Warren’s recent post “Why Evangelicals Don’t See Corruption—They See Divine Confirmation.” (Follow Stephanie Jo on Substack here.)

That title grabbed me because it’s exactly what I’ve been tracing in my own research.

One might think, Warren writes, that “Trump's potential acceptance of a 747 airplane from a foreign government is significant news and merits closer examination. If any other president engaged with dictators and accepted extravagant gifts from foreign governments, we would label it corruption. But it's not considered a scandal when it happens with their preferred candidate, whom they believe to be the Lord’s anointed. It’s viewed as a divine signal.”

She goes on:

In the evangelical viewpoint, God blesses individuals and nations through the divinely appointed. So, if a leader is “bringing America back to God," are luxurious items like airplanes and potential real estate deals corruption, or are they merely evidence of divine approval?

This isn’t an outlier perspective. It represents the prevailing narrative in white evangelical communities today, where prosperity gospel theology has intertwined with the New Republican Party, otherwise known as Christian nationalism. This creates a worldview where material wealth is not regarded with skepticism but is seen as an entitlement endowed upon them by the Holy Spirit.

Warren adds:

For decades, evangelicals have been led to believe that wealth is a reward from God. This theology, which once belonged to TV preachers and Ponzi schemes, now forms a foundational aspect of an entire political movement.

Their logic goes like this:

• “If our leader is receiving blessings, it must be because he’s obedient to God.”

• “If other nations are honoring him, it’s because they recognize the anointing.”

• “If he’s getting rich, God must be using him to restore America’s greatness.”
  

To question the gifts is to question the calling. And to question the calling is to risk being labeled a tool of Satan.

This might feel like an overstatement, but it is not. Warren notes how evangelical pastors are rarely held to account for their misdeeds. Multiple books could be written on just this. Rather than inspiring good people to do the right thing, any criticism of the man in power more often than not ends up solidifying people’s loyalty to predators. We see this over and over again.

This also explains why something like investigative journalism can be “seen as spiritual warfare.”

When watchdog organizations raise concerns about ethical breaches, it’s merely the adversary’s attempt to undermine a man of faith. And when the public questions the overall morality, that’s considered ‘evidence’ that the world opposes righteousness. Too often, when I communicate with individuals who are part of Trump’s voting base, they accuse the media of going on a witch hunt and reporting fake news to tarnish his reputation.

This illustrates how authoritarianism finds spiritual justification. This is how a grift becomes the gospel.

You may look at foreign gifts and see bribery.
They look at it and see prophecy fulfilled.

Evangelicals view their president as a divinely chosen leader uniting the nation. They believe they have no cause for concern regarding national security, as God will protect them. God will illuminate the darkness and reveal the corrupt. Unfortunately, the only individuals they consider worthy of addressing these issues are the corrupt leaders in power. Therefore, while Qatar offers a 747 Air Force One as a gift, evangelicals won’t scrutinize the foreign policy implications; instead, they will see this as God softening the hearts of Islamic leaders, creating a pathway or “foot in the door” to engage with the Muslim population and eventually force their salvation.

There is no cognitive dissonance when your entire worldview is built on confirmation bias masquerading as divine discernment.

Take a moment and read that last sentence again:

There is no cognitive dissonance when your entire worldview is built on confirmation bias masquerading as divine discernment.

If this is true, and I’m guessing that it will ring true for many readers here, what can be done?

This is the dilemma.

This is not reducable merely to theology. There are people deliberately designing systems, pulling strings, perpetuating abuses, and reaping benefits. But theology does play a role in cementing this worldview. Rather than reading in the scriptures a narrative that upends worldly powers, those holding to this worldview (and, know that this theology has spread far beyond the bounds of formal prosperity theology) have flipped that narrative on its head.

In the Bible, Jesus rebukes the devil who tempts him with the allure of worldly power. This twisted version of Christianity claims that those holding (or seizing) the most power are God’s de facto agents, divinely chosen to wield that power because of the qualities they possess and behaviors they exhibit.

There is no sin, no corruption, and no repentence needed for those with power. When they do as they see fit, “morality” is realigned accordingly.

Those challenging corruption become enemies not just of those in power, but of God. They deserve whatever they have coming.

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