Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 188
Nothing to See Here
“The Trump administration with no advance notice removed warnings contained in guidance for the reopening of houses of worship that singing in choirs can spread the coronavirus,” the Washington Post reports.
“The altered guidance also deleted a reference to ‘shared cups’ among items, including hymnals and worship rugs, that should not be shared.”
“A sudden shift in support for President Trump among religious conservatives is triggering alarm bells inside his reelection campaign,” Politico reports.
“The anxiety over Trump’s standing with the Christian right surfaced after a pair of surveys by reputable outfits earlier this month found waning confidence in the administration’s coronavirus response among key religious groups, with a staggering decline in the president’s favorability among white evangelicals and white Catholics. Both are crucial constituencies that supported Trump by wide margins in 2016 and could sink his reelection prospects if their turnout shrinks this fall.”
“The polls paint a bleak picture for Trump… One GOP official said the dip in the president’s evangelical support also appeared in internal party polling.”
President Trump threatened to “override the governors” to allow churches to open “right now,” Axios reports.
Said Trump: “The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now. For this weekend. If they don’t do it, I will override the governors.”
Of course, Trump doesn’t have the authority to do this, which might be why he left the news conference without taking questions.
“More than 1,200 California pastors say they will resume in-person services on May 31 in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the new coronavirus,” CBS San Francisco reports.
“Newsom has gradually allowed some businesses to reopen as the state’s number of virus-related hospitalizations has flattened. But churches are still banned, along with hair salons and sporting events.”
Guidance for reopening houses of worship amid the coronavirus pandemic has been put on hold after a battle between the CDC and the White House, which was resistant to putting limits on religious institutions, the Washington Post reports.
A new AP-NORC poll finds the coronavirus has prompted 62% of American believers to feel that God is telling humanity to change how it lives.
Ohio state Rep. Nino Vitale (R) cited his religious beliefs to explain why he would not wear a mask as recommended by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, The Hill reports.
Said Vitale: “This is not the entire world. This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”
Fox News: “A livestream from Life Tabernacle Church on Sunday showed Tony Spell walking among more than 100 congregants, often repeating the phrase, ‘I’ve just got to get to Jesus… Come on America, let’s get back to Jesus.'”
“Nearly all parishioners were not wearing face masks, and social distancing was not being practiced.”
“Televangelist Pat Robertson agreed that abortion and same-sex marriage are partly to blame for the novel coronavirus that has caused massive social and economic upheaval in the U.S.,” the HuffPost reports.
“The 90-year-old Christian Broadcasting Network founder suggested that God won’t end the coronavirus pandemic until people ‘turn from their wicked ways.'”
A new Pew Research poll finds 49% of Americans say the Bible should have at least “some” influence on U.S. laws, including 23% who say it should have “a great deal” of influence.
Among Christians, 68% want the Bible to influence U.S. laws at least some, and among white evangelical Protestants, this figure rises to 89%.
“Pope Francis and Christians around the world marked a solitary Easter Sunday, forced to celebrate the most joyful day in the liturgical calendar amid the sorrowful reminders of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic,” the AP reports.
“Families who normally would attend morning Mass in their Easter best and later join friends for celebratory lunches hunkered down at home. Police checkpoints and closed churches around the globe forced the faithful to watch Easter services online or on TV.”
“The Kansas Supreme Court on Saturday struck down a Republican-led effort to allow the continuation of in-person church services across the state despite the governor’s ban on such gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus — what has been called the ‘War over Easter’ here — as the virus-related death toll continued to rise,” the Washington Post reports.
“Republican lawmakers on the state’s legislative council revoked Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) order on Wednesday — effectively allowing churches to hold regular services on Easter — saying that the order infringed on religious liberty. Kelly then took the matter to court, calling the Republican action ‘shockingly irresponsible.'”
Topeka Capital-Journal: “The unanimous decision means Kelly’s order limiting religious gatherings to no more than 10 individuals will be in effect for Easter Sunday services. The court didn’t consider whether Kelly’s order infringes on religious freedom.”
The HuffPost notes President Trump came up with an unusual greeting Friday to those commemorating the day Christ was nailed to a cross: “HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY TO ALL!”
He later wished everyone a “great” Good Friday at his press briefing.
“The jarring greeting referred to the most somber day of the Christian calendar. It marks the torture of Jesus and his death upon a cross. Easter, on Sunday, marks the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection.”
A Louisiana pastor says his church near Baton Rouge is expecting a crowd of 2,000 or more despite federal coronavirus guidance advising social distancing, Reuters reports.
Said Rev. Tony Spell: “Satan and a virus will not stop us. God will shield us from all harm and sickness. We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America’s borders. We will spread the Gospel.”
California health officials say about a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sacramento County is being linked to church-related gatherings, CBS Sacramento reports.
Right-wing evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth — a close friend of Rodney Howard-Browne, the Florida megachurch pastor who was arrested after violating coronavirus lockdown orders — told his followers that he intends to hold a large Woodstock-like Christian gathering in defiance of stay-at-home orders.
Meanwhile, CBS News reports over 1,200 people attended services at a Louisiana church, again defying the governor’s coronavirus ban against more than 50 people gathering.
The pastor of a Tampa megachurch is facing charges after refusing to close its doors despite a “safer at home” order meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Fox 13 News reports.
The sheriff says up to 500 people were in attendance at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne’s Sunday services.
Washington Post: “It sure might feel apocalyptic. But not if you ask Christian writers and pastors who have spent years focusing their message on the Book of Revelation — the New Testament’s final book. It lays out a lurid, poetic vision of the End Times, in which many evangelical leaders interpret it to mean that Jesus will return to Earth, believers will be raptured to heaven and those left behind will suffer seven dreadful years of calamities. Most of these Revelation-focused prophesiers don’t see coronavirus as heralding the Second Coming and the end of life on Earth as we know it.”
Said Christian writer Jeff Kinley: “If a person were just completely ignorant about what the Bible says about the End Times, they may think this right now: This is it.”
“The Bible is very specific about what will happen before the End Times, Kinley says, and those events haven’t all unfolded yet. For one major thing, the ancient temple in Jerusalem is supposed to be rebuilt first.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.