The Policy of Truth: How the Evangelical Right Traded Truth For Power

"Things could be so different now. It used to be so civilized."

Once upon a time, truth had weight. It mattered. At the very least, lying carried shame. Now? It’s strategy. It’s branding. It’s baked into the American Church's political playbook. And we let it happen.

We tolerated the tweets. We swallowed the scandals. We justified the lies—not because they weren’t lies, but because we liked the policies. Or at least, we thought we did. But what if we’ve been following the wrong policy all along? What if we’ve abandoned the one policy Jesus never compromised on: truth?

When Truth Becomes Optional for the Evangelical Right

The MAGA movement didn’t invent political lying—but it industrialized it. From the birther conspiracy to the Big Lie, the strategy has been clear: if a lie affirms what people want to believe, they’ll accept it without evidence. And here’s the dangerous part: it worked. The birther lie taught him something foundational: if a lie affirms what people want to believe, they’ll accept it without evidence. Evangelicals included.

Where were the truth-tellers in the Church? Where were the shepherds guarding the flock from deception? Many were too busy justifying it all for the sake of political gains. In 2016, 72% of white evangelicals suddenly decided that a leader’s private morality had no bearing on their public leadership (but only if you're a Republican.) If you're a liberal, you better not do as much as wear a tan suit.

We didn’t just overlook the lies. We married them. And worse, we baptized them.

The False Gospel of Justified Means

The justification game became predictable: “Well, God used flawed men like David!”

Sure. But David repented. MAGA leaders brag. David was broken by his sin. MAGA influencers weaponize theirs. David lost a child and begged for mercy. Trump lost an election and made the fact-checkers and truth-tellers the enemy.

In fact, when asked directly in a 2015 interview at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa whether he had ever asked God for forgiveness, he replied: "I'm not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so." He went on to say, "If I do something wrong, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't." (Donald Trump, Family Leadership Summit, July 18, 2015)

Yet many of his most loyal Evangelical Right followers are quick to demand every Sunday sermon center on sin and repentance - but for others. You know, "them." The hypocrisy isn’t subtle. It’s staggering.

We like to say we stand on the Word, but when push comes to power, we abandon the ninth commandment like it’s an Old Testament calorie count. You shall not bear false witness didn’t come with a political exemption. Or with a callous "the end justifies the means" mentality towards truth.

But that’s the slippery slope we’re on. We’ve started acting like truth is a luxury—something we can afford to drop when we need to “win.” But if we’re only committed to truth when it’s convenient, then we’re not actually committed to it at all.

This is how fascism works - not Christianity. Fascism redefines truth based on loyalty. It demands allegiance over honesty. And when the Church plays along, it becomes a pawn—not just of a person, but of a broader societal movement that no longer values truth.

The Real Policy of Truth

Christians are commanded to be the people of truth:

• "Do not lie. Do not deceive one another." – Leviticus 19:11

• "Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor." – Ephesians 4:25

• "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." – Exodus 20:16

• "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." – Matthew 12:36

Jesus didn’t say, “The ends justify the means.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Truth isn’t a tool. It’s a testimony. And when we ditch it to cling to a platform or our own engrained political identity, we’re not just being unwise—we’re being unfaithful.

So let me say this clearly: if you are ride-or-die for a movement that elevates misinformation as strategy, and you refuse to hold him accountable, then your silence is complicity. You don’t just tarnish your witness—you risk dragging Jesus’ name through the mud for the sake of earthly power.

And when the watching world sees that, they don’t just lose faith in you. They lose faith in the Jesus you claim to follow.

Here’s Where the Beat Drops (aka the big takeaway): If the Church won’t defend the truth, it can’t claim to represent it.

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