Why are you here?
I'm here to clean the temple.
I listened to the JD Vance interview on Joe Rogan’s Podcast recently and as much as I despised his defense of some of the Trump administration’s recent decisions, one comment he made really stuck with me because I agree with it. We need to find a more Christian approach to economic policy.
I really believed in Donald Trump. I truly felt that he had harnessed the frustration of every American who had been forgotten in the race to globalism. I assumed that this time would be better than his first term because he was wise to Washington now, had weathered the barrage of attacks and was still standing tall even after an assassination attempt. Besides, this would be his last term so he has nothing to lose. I just knew he would get things moving in the right direction. He had been endorsed by Christian leaders, sold his very own Trump Bible, made comments in speeches like, “God, we love you God,” and publicly recited scripture like Two Corinthians 3:17. That’s not a typo. In a 2016 campaign speech at Liberty University he pronounced it that way. See? 5-D Chess.
I never once thought Trump was a Christian. He just didn’t seem to give off humility or self-control and he always presented as extremely crass. To me he seemed more a typical lover of self-help books and positive thinking. Someone who only likes an ideology that doesn’t push hard enough for true self examination. I believed he would adhere to the closest thing we could get to Christian policy, but he didn’t. The veil has been torn and Trump in all his good and bad qualities is very much responsible for the upending of Right-wing American politics. Some may even argue that because of the response required by the Left-wing to Trump’s antics, he may be responsible for the current chaos witnessed in both parties today. Only time will tell if this period in American history will be a net positive, however, the more alarming issue is the way that Americans have responded to this disruption of political order in the short term. Americans are more devoted to their political ideology than their faith, if they even have one.
The bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites during the Twelve-Day War in June of 2025 was alarming to say the least, but not enough to really shake anyone. True to Trump’s track record, the campaign was hard-hitting and short. Nothing to see here and nothing like the war in Iran now.
Trump lost me the moment he made this post that he claimed shows him as a doctor but others argue comes much closer to depicting him as Jesus Christ:
The American military soldier angels, the girl praying beside Trump, his radiant light and healing power, it all comes so close to blasphemy for me. Especially since he sold Trump bibles during his campaign. It just doesn’t quite feel right as a Christian to support this type of messaging. Regardless, I was still torn because I should support him right? The Republicans are the Christian Political Party. I remember attending a campaign event at a local Mega-Church to support the re-election of George W. Bush during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is how it is. Christians vote for Republicans and heathen devils vote for Democrats.
I think this pushed me over the edge because just a couple weeks before this post, there were some very odd statements made about President Trump by so called religious leaders.
Trump’s spiritual advisor, Paula White-Cain made the following remarks about President Trump at a White House Easter event on April 1, 2026:
"And Mr. President, no one has paid the price like you have paid the price. It almost cost you your life. You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. But it didn't end there for him, and it didn't end there for you."
During that same event, President Trump later got a few laughs from this tasteful joke:
"On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as crowds welcomed him with praise honoring him as king. They call me king now. Can you believe it?"
It only gets better from here….
At that same event, Reverend Franklin Graham (who many of you would know as Billy Graham’s son), was given the honor of delivering a prayer. While we don’t have a direct transcript of the prayer to examine it in full context, there is one part that is publicly available that I would question.
Essentially he stated that the ancient Persians in the book of Esther “wanted to destroy the Jews in a single day,” and he went on to imply that today’s Iranian regime “wants to kill every Jew and Destroy them with atomic fire.”
That’s a very dangerous line to walk when one begins to bend the Bible into a current day political narrative. Shouldn’t we be harnessing the ancient wisdom of God’s word and simply continuing its practice? We do believe in Sola Scriptura, don’t we? It is quite clear that by tying the current Iranian regime to ancient biblical Persia, Rev. Graham is implying that Christians should blindly support the war in Iran. The Ayatollah is salivating over a nuclear warhead as we speak. Israel is seconds away from total annihilation.
One question though, if Iran wants to kill all the Jews then why have they not killed the estimated 8500-9000 Jewish residents that currently reside in Iran? I think the answer lies in the difference between Jewish people and the state of Israel, after all, the Jewish minority living in Iran has a designated seat in its parliament. Maybe when Iran chants “Death to America”, and “Death to Israel”, they are actually talking about the policies of those governments toward the Nation of Iran and thus, the Iranian people.
Do I think that there is a faction within the Iranian government that is evil? Absolutely. I also think there is a faction in the American and Israeli governments that are equally evil. The problem is that people feel like they have to choose a side and cannot for a minute consider that maybe all sides have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Maybe all this Christian posturing and nonsense theology is to convince the Christians in America to support something that Jesus wouldn’t. Jesus isn’t a voting block, Christians are.
The entire reason Jesus flipped those tables in all four gospels was because of how blatantly God’s house was being disrespected, exploited and tarnished.
The poor were being exploited by greedy money changers who changed the common Roman and Greek coins for the Tyrian Shekel, which was the only currency Jews could use to pay the required annual temple tax. Apparently manipulating the exchange rate and taking a little, or a lot, off the top didn’t sit well with Jesus. Sound familiar?
In order to atone for one’s sins, an unblemished animal had to be sacrificed at the temple. Temple inspectors would often disqualify animals that were brought in from the outside to be sacrificed and thus forced the person to purchase an overpriced pre-approved (regulated) animal sold right inside the temple. I think I’m starting to see a pattern.
Merchants set up their shops in the Outer Court of the Temple, the only place Gentiles were allowed to be, further desecrating the holy space of God. This is likely why Christ said this in Matthew 21:13, “My house shall be called a house of prayer , but you have made it a den of thieves”. By pulling from the prophets words in Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus is making a very bold statement in the face of corruption and abuse; Wake Up and turn from your wicked ways!
It is necessary that the church be kept free from earthly pursuits and our hearts and minds be cleansed of earthly matters. We must remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” In this passage, the you is plural and is talking about the church as a whole. When any Christian leader uses the Holy Scriptures and the name of our God to justify a political move it only lends to divide the church and paint the walls with the blood of the vanquished. Why must we defile the temple of God?
We have no excuse. On June 28, 2006, before he was even President of the United States, Barack Obama said, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation-at least, not just. We are a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers,” and he was absolutely right! America is no longer a Christian nation and it shows with our actions, our attitudes, our policies, and our choices. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, but declining in the West. With every passing baby boomer, Christianity in the west decreases. Islam however is growing rapidly and that growth is largely due to high birth rates. Oh no, another thing the West has lost. We no longer have sustainable birth rates, meaning just by mathematics, the Christian population is shrinking because there is no future generation.
The American Protestant Christian Church has lost its way. We treat our Sunday mornings as a block on the calendar; the same as we do going to the gym. They last about the same amount of time these days. We depend upon the government to teach us all we need to know, to protect and care for us. We have traded the temple of God for the Politicians Pulpit. We have compromised our morals, we have reinterpreted the Bible for our own endeavors and the worst sin of all, we remain silent. We are lukewarm. We do not flip tables when the temple is defiled, no, we are far too sensible and civilized for that!
Revelation 3:16 says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth”. If you back track to verse 14, you find out that this is directed to the church of Laodicea, which was located in the southwestern region of modern-day Turkey. Six miles from Laodicea, there were hot springs at Hierapolis which produced water that became lukewarm by the time it reached Laodicea. It was contaminated with minerals, impossible to drink and nauseating. This would have been a familiar image to those in the Church of Laodicea, as I can imagine a sip of that water would produce one heck of a spit take!
It is far more pleasing to God to tell him “no” directly than to pretend to be a Christian, to lie and say “yes” when you have “no” in your heart. A lukewarm person is so contaminated, so corrupted, that they are vomited out of the mouth. The quickest way for the body to remove a poison.
The American Protestant Christian Church must begin to build systems that meet needs the state cannot. We must begin to target young people in a meaningful way by giving them a stake in the game. Charlie Kirk is a controversial figure to some, to some he is a hero. I can say that I cried the day he was shot and killed. The one thing I really agreed with Charlie on was the importance of giving young people a stake in the American Dream. I think this extends to the Church as well. We must find ways to connect young people to the church in a way that improves their life.
I don’t have a master plan nor am I trying to compose one. I seek only to help American Christians begin to realize that America is no longer a Christian nation and we are heading for radical change in the very near future. I will use Theology, History and my own Commentary to present my points as clearly and concisely as I can. I hope to spark conversations surrounding the development of Christian policy for the 21st century. I have some ideas.
The truth is that I have a stake in this game. I am a veteran of Afghanistan and gave the first 10 years of my adult life in service to this country. I own a home. I have a wife and two young sons. I have a job and a community and a church. I have a lot to lose!
I will not sit back and remain lukewarm, no, I will seek to glorify God with every ounce of strength, with every breath, with every word. I will also devote my efforts to helping as many people as possible attain the same stake in the game as I have. If Christians do not assist our brothers and sisters in reaching some form of ownership in this system, then we will have no one left to fight for, preserve, and continue God’s church in America. I’m here to clean the temple.