Betrayal of Beliefs

I very much enjoyed Katha Pollitt’s column “Church of Hypocrisy” [April 16], but I thought I would let her know that not everyone is laughing at the evangelical Christians who support Donald Trump. Some of us who shared that path at one time have been increasingly concerned by the direction in which some of the leaders have been urging their flocks. While we have shuddered at the things we’ve observed these last years, we have been stupefied with horror at the lengths these leaders have gone to support Trump since he acquired the presidency.

Donald Trump has never met a commandment that he did not want to break, including the ones against adultery, bearing false witness, and worshipping false gods (money and profit). But there is one commandment that I wish I could add to the other 10 in the Old Testament: “Thou shalt not be a scumbag.” Trump truly epitomizes how to break that one.

As we learn more about the illegal and immoral things that Trump has been involved in over the years, I keep wondering: What is it going to take before evangelical Christians finally wake up and demand a president who comports himself (or herself) in ways that honor the Bible’s teachings?

Wendy Weidman
gig harbor, wash.

I take considerable exception with Pollitt’s article singling out evangelical Christians as hypocrites. She quotes Michael Gerson saying that “The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification,” as if evangelicals are the only ones who overlook the blemishes of a politician they think will support their views on key issues. Maybe evangelicals were looking for a president who did not look down on their beliefs. Similarly, maybe the working folks who supported Trump were looking for someone they thought might have their interests in mind, whether or not it worked out that way.

The framing of Pollitt’s criticism of Southern Baptists’ sexual mores, as well as her essentially calling them racists, reflects a woeful lack of information on the activities and positions of the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention over the past 50-plus years—as well as regarding the faith that started the abolitionist movement.

Finally, I have worked with some outstanding folks from New York State, but have yet to meet one who made me feel “culturally inferior.”

Rex Carey
midlothian, texas

Clarification

In “Church of Hypocrisy,” Katha Pollitt wrote that Rick Warren bars divorce for women abused by their husbands. While the audio clips posted in the “Bible Questions & Answers” section of the website for Saddleback Church, which Warren founded and serves as senior pastor, did feature that injunction, the pastor speaking in the clip is not identified. The page in question has been taken down from the website but is still available through the Wayback Machine.