The religious right has spent the last three months trying to bully those opposing Donald Trump into silence. They’ve told us that the opposition to Trump is driven by witchcraft being spread by the media, as well as demons. To hear them talk, the opposition to Trump is being driven by the devil himself, and you run the risk of breaking God’s law by joining it. After all, if you oppose Trump, you oppose God’s plan for America.
Well, the scare tactics ramped up to a chilling level last week. A leading fundie personality delivered a warning to those who oppose Trump–you risk bringing a curse on both yourself and your family.
For three decades, Don Colbert has been one of the more prominent doctors in the evangelical and charismatic world. He is a frequent guest of prominent televangelists such as Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, and Kenneth Copeland. Last Friday, he and his wife, Mary, dropped by Jim Bakker’s show. The conversation started out well, with discussions about what kind of water you drink–though Bakker used this as an opportunity to hawk special water pumps and water bottles that reduce the pH of water.
But then it took a decided hard right turn. The Colberts hung out with the Bakkers during Inauguration Weekend. Watch them talk about it here.
Roughly 40 minutes into the show, Mary Colbert claimed that Christians “reclaimed the ground” on Election Day. She reminded viewers that Trump was “not that perfect of a guy” by any stretch. However, it shouldn’t matter, because God picked him, and “he works through the ones he chooses.” Instead, she said, our place is to recognize when God chooses someone, because when you do so, “your life will be blessed.”
She then almost casually told us what could happen if we dare to raise our voices and hands against a chosen one.
“And if you come against the chosen one of God, you are bringing upon you, and your children, and your children’s children, curses like you have never seen. It puts a holy fear in me.”
This sent a chill down my spine. It brought back memories of my time in a borderline cultish hypercharismatic group during my college days at Carolina. In outfits like this, it’s very common to silence critics by suggesting that they’re “touching God’s anointed.” Additionally, a number of charismatics believe in generational curses–that is, you can be tied down by something an ancestor did years ago. This is based on a rather twisted reading of Exodus 20:5, in which God vows to punish those who hate him down to the “third and fourth generation.”
From the looks of it, the Colberts are of that mind. Thus, when Mary warned that those who opposed God’s “chosen one”–Trump–could bring down a curse on their children and grandchildren, she was speaking in code. Apparently Mary doesn’t know–or more likely, doesn’t want you to know–that Christians aren’t bound by generational curses. Any Christian, and certainly any charismatic Christian, would know that was paid for on the cross.
Bakker, who believes that those who oppose Trump may be possessed by demons, lapped it up. He claimed that Trump’s opponents were “picking the flaws out of a man that God has chosen.” Mary Colbert agreed, saying that we don’t look for perfect people, but “the one God has chosen.” Um, Jim? We don’t expect our leaders to be perfect. But we do expect them to uphold basic standards.
I had hoped this was just an isolated piece of lunacy from some of the few sane regulars on Trinity Broadcasting Network. But sadly, it wasn’t. It turns out that the Colberts were among the earliest evangelical heavyweights to rally behind Trump. In June, Don Colbert came on Bakker’s show and warned that the “spirit of Antichrist” was on both Hillary and Barack Obama. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
And just a few days before the election, the Colberts paid another visit to Bakker’s show in order to get out the fundie vote for Trump. Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Don, who was a member of Trump’s evangelical advisory council, declared that “we want to have a Christian nation”–and putting Trump in the White House was the way to do it, since “Donald Trump is on God’s side.”
Don added that Trump’s ugly comments about women didn’t matter because “it’s under the blood.” After all, he’d supposedly asked forgiveness for his ugly comments about women. I say supposedly because last week, he tried to snuff out a defamation lawsuit by a former “Apprentice” contestant who claimed he harassed her. Trump argues that since he’s president, he’s immune from lawsuits in state court as long as he’s in office. Maybe it’s just me, but if Trump were really sorry for his horrible treatment of women, he’d take his medicine and be done with it. After all, Christians are supposed to set the standard, not do an end run around it.
But to hear Mary talk, we’re not supposed to point that out. After all, as she reminded the audience in October, “Satan is the accuser of the brethren.” And to hear Mary talk last week, we’re not only working for the devil by speaking out against Trump, but risking putting our children and grandchildren under curse.
This is disheartening, to say the least. Two Christian personalities whom I have long respected have bowed before the Orange Calf.
(featured image courtesy Don Colbert’s Facebook)
