Evangelical Pastor Calls Trump Bible a Ploy

Pastor Loran Livingston gives a scathing confutation of the Lee Greenwood Bible.

Photo: Donald Trump in front of St John's Church Source: Wikimedia Commons

Pastor Loran Livingston has been in the news recently, and all over social media, because he included a flaming rebuke of the Lee Greenwood Bible in his April 14 sermon. That's the Bible being promoted by Donald Trump. Livingston never mentioned the former president by name but in general terms strongly argued against having a Bible with the Constitution and other government documents in it.

Livingston denounced the idea of Christians bringing politics into the Church, saying that politics is not "spiritual stuff" but of this world.

It's about time someone from the Evangelical community stood up and called out the fawnings of people like Paula White and Franklin Graham. The whole Trump endorsement thing by Evangelical preachers has been a means to gain power. Those like Greg Locke who preach the demonization of political opponents are sadly leading their congregations astray. Instead, Pastor Livingston advises his members "to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, body and strength and love your neighbor as yourself."

Morning Joe on MSNBC had a short clip of Pastor Livingston and a commentary about it.

Joe Scarborough stated that since Pastor Livingston’s position on LGBTQ issues and on abortion is nowhere near the Democratic message, it makes this “a more stinging indictment among Republican Evangelicals.”

This is the courage that is necessary to begin to heal a nation. It's not the first time a pastor has tried to call out the idolatry of Trumpism for what it is. What is different this time is that perhaps people are ready to listen. Others have lost their ministries because their congregants were not ready to hear.

Livingston is preaching about what the early Baptist, Methodist and other ministers knew at the beginning of this country. The separation of Church and State exists as much to protect the Church from political corruption as to keep government from becoming a theocracy.

This is only a beginning. There need to be more pastors taking a stand against dominionism. It's time to differentiate between Christian Nationalism and Christianity. There need to be more admonishments to "love your neighbor as yourself" and less divisiveness. Politics isn't religion. As Pastor Livingston said, politics isn't spiritual. Attempting to make it so can only lead to people hating their brothers and sisters.

Someone on Reddit said that this is the type of message they remember growing up. Churches were not political headquarters fifty or sixty years ago. They need to stop attempting to be so now.