I hear the sound of Baal

After Joe Biden was announced as the president-elect last month, many of President Trump’s supporters went into full-scale denial. Kenneth Copeland, known for “name-it-and-claim-it” theology, led an outbreak of laughter at a service, and other self-styled prophets said they absolutely heard from God that Trump would be reelected.

But for sheer lunacy, nothing beats the incantation of Paula White, a member of Trump’s religious advisory team who, during a so-called prayer, called in spirits from Africa and South America to overturn the election results and kept saying, over and over, “I hear the sound of victory.”

It seems to me that she was summoning spirits all, right — but not from God.

White also subscribes to what disgraced evangelist Jimmy Swaggart referred to as “hyperfaith” — that if you simply speak to what you want it’s guaranteed to be on its way. Trouble is, however, God will do that only if doing so serves His purpose and that the request is being made in humility.

And in the case of White, there’s not a shred of humility in her demand that the result be changed.

I was reminded of a situation described by a missionary in my church about three decades ago about a tribe in Southeast Asia that made a fetish and banged it every time a member wanted something from the gods. Of course, the missionary wanted the tribe to understand that God doesn’t work like that.

Then you had the prophets of Baal who, according to 1 Kings 18:20-40, were called out by the prophet Elijah and challenged to a duel. Remember what happened — the prophets of Baal called out his name all day and into the evening, even cutting themselves, with the sacrifice completely unmoved on their altar. After that, Elijah uttered a simple prayer—and his sacrifice was burned up completely.

Does that thus sound silly from a Christian perspective? Well, that’s what White appeared to be doing, apparently believing that if you prayed hard enough you would get the desired results. You could say that she was calling on Baal — who is no God at all.