AlterNet
February 7, 2025
February 7, 2025

The Rev. Paula White in Grapevine, Texas on June 11, 2021 (Gage Skidmore)
When President Donald Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, February 6, he attacked Democrats as anti-religion — claiming, "They oppose religion, they oppose God." Trump vowed to put a stop to attacks on Christianity, which he claims is facing an "anti-Christian bias."
In fact, former President Joe Biden and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are known for being devout Catholics. And Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is a Baptist minister.
Trump announced the creation of a Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty. And the evangelical Rev. Paula White, Trump's longtime spiritual adviser, will head the new White House Faith Office.
MSNBC's Steve Benen examines White's history in a February 7 column, noting her role in Trump's "Stop the Steal" efforts after the 2020 election and her promotion of a controversial doctrine known as "the prosperity gospel."
The "prosperity gospel" claims that God rewards the faithful with material gains, but opponents of the doctrine consider it unbiblical — as parts of the Bible are highly critical of materialism. For example, Luke 18:25 in the New Testament quotes Jesus as saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And that concept is repeated in Matthew 19:24 as well as in the Koran (the holy book of Islam).
Benen notes, "In 2019, for example, White told her viewers that they had to support her ministry, even if they're struggling, or God would kill their dreams. The same week, White told viewers that some states have 'already passed' laws declaring the Christian Bible as 'hate speech,' which is why America needs Trump's judicial nominees to be confirmed. There are no such state laws."
In 2020, the MSNBC columnist recalls, White claimed that opposition to Trump's campaign was "demonic." And after he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden, she held prayer services to keep Trump in the White House and insisted that "demonic confederacies" were trying to steal the election.
White was among the speakers at Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on January 6, 2021, telling attendees that "every adversary" would "be overturned right now in the name of Jesus."
Benen observes, "It's not altogether clear what White's responsibilities will be leading the White House Faith Office, or whether she intends to accept a taxpayer-funded salary."
Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.
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