Republicans can literally call themselves Nazis and openly admit to adultery without losing much evangelical support, apparently.

Republican Mark Robinson has been a frequent visitor to an adult website called Nude Africa where he regularly watched transgender sex and posted comments guaranteed to offend a variety of constituencies.

In comments Robinson posted on the porn site, he praised Hitler, called himself a “black NAZI,” said he supported slavery, confessed to formerly “peeping” on women as they showered, admitted an affair with his wife’s sister; and called civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. “Martin Lucifer Koon.”

Donald Trump endorsed Robinson’s current campaign to be North Carolina’s next governor, praising him as “Martin Luther King times two.” According to Raw Story, many evangelical leaders in North Carolina say they still support Robinson and that he clearly loves Jesus. The very same Jesus who said that we should judge the tree based on its fruit (Matthew 12:33-37).

Many of these evangelicals have emphasized “family values” and representing “Biblical morality” when they’ve explained how they reason when they vote. But Robinson represents the opposite of that. As does Donald Trump, obviously, who has bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, sleeping with other married women, is a legally defined sexual predator and was found guilty on 34 charges of paying hush money to a porn star after sleeping with her when Trump’s youngest son was only four months old.

There’s only one word for this evangelical support for Republican sexual predators: hypocrisy. The very thing that Jesus warned his disciples against over and over again. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy”, the Lord said. “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Luke 12:1-2).

Sadly, 62 percent of millennials think that hypocrisy is one of the main characteristics of the church. Why? Some evangelicals would push back, claiming that these kids have a lot of prejudice and are hypocrites themselves. But hold on a second. What if there are objective, factual reasons for non-Christians to perceive evangelicals as hypocrites?

Jerry Falwell Jr. was one of the earliest Christian leaders to endorse Donald Trump. It may be hard to remember nowadays, but Trump was hardly any evangelical’s first choice. Republican candidates like Ted Cruz were far more popular. It’s common today to hear evangelicals say that they simply don’t care about Trump’s curses, rhetoric and playboy lifestyle, as long as he nails conservative policies.

Falwell Jr. helped pioneer this line of thinking. It used to be the opposite of what evangelicals valued in a president. A few years later, Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as the president of Liberty University after posting a sexual photo from his yacht on social media and allegedly having approved of an extramarital affair between his wife and a business partner (including watching from a corner while they were having sex).

These statistics show beyond any reasonable doubt that the white evangelical endorsement of Trump has radically changed their values. In 2011, over 60 percent of them said that an elected official who commits an immoral act in their private life cannot behave ethically in their public life. In the Trump era, this conviction remains among less than 20 percent. Falwell Jr. and other evangelical leaders have convinced millions of Christians that a good character simply isn’t relevant when it comes to leadership, despite there being hundreds of verses in the Scriptures that suggest otherwise.

I wish we lived in an age where it was obvious to everyone that Trump is a hypocrite. He said that he would “drain the swamp” in Washington making it less corrupt, but took no action to do so last time he was president but instead filled his administration with relatives, people currently under investigation and career politicians. Trump frequently accuses the media for lying, calling it “fake news”, when even his supporters clearly can see that he frequently lies himself. Just watch him deny that he has said things he actually said:

But here’s the really catastrophic part. In the gallup I referenced above, which shows that most white evangelicals don’t care about moral character in their public officials anymore, there was some stunning evidence of evangelical hypocrisy:

Do you see that? The number rises dramatically if the question is asked after Bill Clinton is mentioned, but plummets when it is Trump’s name instead. This clearly proves that at least a quarter of white evangelicals in the US are hypocrites. They disregard God’s teaching: “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” (James 2:1). They don’t shape their opinion on this matter based on God’s Word, but on the priorities of the Republican party.

The Constantinian relationship many white evangelical leaders have to whatever candidate the Republicans choose to nominate is having a disastrous effect on their discipleship and obedience to the Word. There’s a reason Jesus warned so much against hypocrisy. It’s what he knew that a lot of his future followers would be tempted by.

This was originally posted at Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice.

Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice is a multicultural, gender inclusive, and ecumenical organization that promotes peace, justice, and reconciliation work among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians around the world. If you like what we do, please become a member!