Brazilian
televangelist Silas Malafaia and his support to socialist politicians in Brazil
In
the lack of a Prophet Elijah or a John the Baptist in Brazil, let us make what
Jesus taught us, “So practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what
they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
By Julio
Severo
Notice to English-speaking readers: To know more about Silas Malafaia, click here to read a New York Times
article on him.
“Ahab for King
of Israel. Sponsor: Prophet Elijah.” Such message would never have appeared in
a political poster of old Israel, not only because there were no posters on
that time, but also because Prophet Elijah never supported politically King
Ahab.
Elijah’s mission
was to come to the king and say, “Thus says the Lord…” And he fulfilled his
calling faithfully, delivering divine messages, which were usually reproofs.
Prophets of God
gave their lives for their ministries. They spoke to the kings what should be
spoken, no matter who might feel hurt. And it did hurt. And they paid dearly.
I can imagine
Elijah in our days, coming to Brazilian socialist presidents, and saying with
authority, “You are sinning against God and against the people of Brazil. Your
administration has been promoting abortion and homosexuality, which are
abominations in the sight of God. Repent and stop your politics of wickedness!”
I can see those
red men blushing of fury, and saying, “Insolent! How do you dare to rebuke me?
Just for that, I will order the revoking of your TV and radio license.”
So Elijah would
break completely the Brazilian tradition of evangelical leaders supporting
politicians to receive favors. The prophetic reproof of Elijah to the rulers
would make him lose everything!
However, Brazil
has no daring Christian leader to come to the “kings.” All of the ministers,
bishops and other leaders only come to the “kings” of Brazil to get favors, in
a way or other, not to deliver divine messages, much less divine reproofs!
Why to deliver
messages and lose everything?
We have a
mission to accomplish, even in the political ream, but often we forget it, and
God can use the most unexpected people to remind us of our call.
Reinaldo Azevedo
became one of those people. He is a Catholic that works as a columnist in Veja magazine (the Brazilian counterpart
of Time magazine). He supports gay
adoption and is very fond of social democracy, but, by the Brazilian standard,
he is a “conservative” and very critic of the Brazilian socialist government.
He is not a prophet, but he made some “revelations” that are important for
Christians in Brazil. He declared that one of the most sinister men of the
ruling Workers’ Party:
1. Has revealed
there is no longer any opposition for the advancement of the socialist goals of
the Workers’ Party in Brazil. Opposition to socialism in Brazil has been annihilated.
2. Has made
clear that today the only opposition is the mass media churches—which belong
mostly to neo-Pentecostal televangelists.
3. Has declared
that the Workers’ Party is getting ready for a confrontation with those mass
media churches.
I wanted Brazil
to have some Elijahs for that confrontation, men with the integrity of John the
Baptist, who was not afraid of telling a king, “You are sinning against the Law
of God when you commit adultery!”
The Workers’
Party, with its obsession of institutionalizing abortion and homosexuality, is
getting ready for a future confrontation with churches, but we Brazilians have
no Elijah or John the Baptist.
Everything that
we have, generally, are two types of evangelicals:
1. Churches and
leaders that follow the Workers’ Party for opportunism, because they do not
want to lose their radios and TVs. Most of them are neo-Pentecostal.
2. Churches and
leaders that follow the Workers’ Party because, brazenly or not, they are
socialist for ideological reasons. Most of them are not neo-Pentecostal.
It is in that
reality of a spiritually sickened leadership that evangelicals in Brazil have
to lead their lives.
In response to
the declarations from the sinister man of the Workers’ Party, Silas Malafaia
said, “I demonize no political party. As everybody knows, I have already voted
for [Brazilian socialist politicians] Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Lula and José
Serra.”
 |
| Silas Malafaia |
Can such a
declaration reflect the spirit of a prophet? Elijah never had his name
registered in a poster of political support to King Ahab. In contrast, Malafaia
didn’t just vote for pro-abortion and pro-sodomy politicians. Only that would
already have been a mistake sufficiently disturbing for a Christian leader. He
did much more than this: he gave his name for pamphlets supporting those
politicians. He led, by his wicked example, crowds to vote for the most
pro-abortion and pro-sodomy politicians in Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. It was,
for instance, what happened in 2002, when he, with many other evangelical
leaders, signed a public document supporting Lula, with all of the consequences
that today we know very well and that a genuine prophet would have seen from a
distance.
In that time, I
denounced the evangelical pro-Lula alliance involving the union of traditional
churches (Baptist Nilson Fanini, Presbyterian Guilhermino Cunha, Anglican Robinson
Cavalcanti, etc.), Pentecostal churches (Jabes Alencar, Silas Malafaia, etc.
[both Assembly of God]) and neo-Pentecostal churches (Marcelo Crivella [Kingdom
of God Universal Church], Estevam Hernandes [Reborn in Christ], Robson
Rodovalho [Heal Our Land], etc.).
While the most
powerful evangelical leaders in Brazil were supporting Lula and the future
administration of the Workers’ Party, I was crying out in the wilderness. (In
2002, the president of an evangelical denomination asked me not send him anymore
e-mails “attacking” Lula and his ideological record, making clear that he, as a
member of the Workers’ Party, was very offended by my alerts.)
Even after
seeing all the anti-family attacks by the Lula administration in his first
term, Malafaia supported his reelection, showing an obstinate and blind side of
his evangelical character. In that point, in 2006, Lula’s pro-homosexuality obsession was patent, national and internationally. If he were trying to
be a modern King Ahab, he achieved it. Nevertheless, instead of delivering
reproofs to Lula, Malafaia preferred, consciously, giving him political
support. If he were trying to be a prophet, he did not achieve it.
So, Malafaia was
limited in his public declaration, when he said, “I have already voted for
[Brazilian socialist politicians] Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Lula and José
Serra.” He forgot mentioning that he voted and promoted Sérgio Cabral, the most
pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality governor of Rio de Janeiro.
The declaration
of Malafaia should have included what he really did, “I have voted for, I have
supported and I have promoted, with my signature, all of those socialist men,
including Lula, the most pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality president in the
history of Brazil.” He should also have stated, “I encouraged crowds to vote
for the most pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality politicians in the history of
Brazil and of Rio de Janeiro.” It would be hard to confirm that truth, as well
as it would have been unpleasant for Elijah to say, “As a prophet of the Lord,
I have voted for, I have supported and I have promoted, with my signature,
Ahab, the most pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality king in the history of
Israel, and I encouraged the whole people of Israel to vote for him.”
Malafaia also
said, “I vote for people and not for parties.” Does this justify voting for,
supporting and promoting systematically people that have an ideological history
against family and against Christianity? Does this justify encouraging crowds
of evangelicals to vote for people that have an ideological history against
family and against Christianity?
It is paranoid
to fight abortion and homosexuality and to vote for, to support and to promote
politicians that promote those evils. It is equally paranoid to fight abortion
and homosexuality and to encourage churches to vote for those politicians. It
is like a man that fights a great fire, but once in a while he throws gas in
the fire. It is like seeing a dog trying to catch its own tail.
Elijah was a man
that fought the great fires of the social wickedness without throwing gas in
the fire. But Brazil doesn’t have that kind of man.
What Brazil has,
mostly, are 1) Christians that vote for and promote the Workers’ Party or other
socialist parties (PSDB, PSOL, etc.) and remain
silent, and 2) Christians that vote for and promote the Workers’ Party or
other socialist parties (PSDB, PSOL, etc.) and don’t remain silent.
To remain silent
in the presence of the institutionalization of sin is sin! To open the mouth
against the institutionalization of sin while promoting those who do it is
better than silence, but it is also sin.
However, because
Brazil has no Elijah or John the Baptist, we are left with the imperfect option
of supporting Christian leaders that at least open their mouths. That is the
case of Malafaia. Although he has thrown a lot of gas in the fires that he is
combatting, at least he is not like many others that equally threw a lot of gas
in the fires and today remain silent or soften the dangers of the fires.
Actually, Brazil
needs a man to open his mouth without throwing gas in the fire. That is God’s
ideal. A man that denounces sin and says to the “kings” of Brazil, “Thus says
the Lord.” A man that, even running the risk of losing his radio and TV
license, would proclaim his messages in the corners of streets or in the
corners of internet.
In the lack of a
prophet Elijah or a John the Baptist in Brazil, let us make what Jesus taught
us:
“So practice and
observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do
not practice.” (Matthew 23:3 ESV)
Those words of
Jesus can also be paraphrased this way:
“So practice and
follow whatever they tell you in defense of family. But don’t imitate their
actions of voting, supporting and promoting anti-family politicians, because
they don’t practice what preach.”
Some consent
only by their actions; others by their words and actions. Therefore, let us
know how to discern what to do in the presence of total or partial omissions.
When they teach
us against abortion and homosexuality, let us hear and practice.
But let us don’t
imitate their actions. When they vote for anti-family politicians, let us don’t
imitate them.
When they
support and promote anti-family politicians, let us don’t imitate them.
Let us remember
their words and messages in defense of family, but let us don’t imitate what
they practice in election times, throwing gas in the fire. Let us ignore
completely their irresponsible political recommendations when they don’t
practice what they preach. After all, such was Jesus’ command: to follow their
good teachings and not to imitate their hypocrisy.
Therefore, in
obedience to Jesus’ words, let us follow everything that Malafaia and others
teach on abortion and homosexuality, but let us don’t imitate their actions.
Let us defend everything that Malafaia teaches in defense of family, but let us
don’t imitate him when he throws gas in the fire. On the contrary, let us throw
water in the fire, rejecting irresponsible political recommendations.
This article is
not criticism, but a necessary clarification after several articles by me
defending the antiabortion and anti-homosexuality stance of Malafaia.
He is doing very
well in the defense of family. Only his political weaknesses have been a great
trap for him and for Brazilian evangelicals.
In regard to
moral values, Malafaia has been an excellent conservative: he has been conserving
the biblical standard very well. But in regard to politics, he has been
everything, except biblical and conservative. As a minister of the Gospel, his
only role in politics is to lead wicked politicians to God and repentance, not
to lead evangelical crowds to wicked politicians, as he has been doing
systematically.
Above all, help
Malafaia to defend family, and Brazil will be greatly blessed. But if you
follow his political recommendations, you may eventually end up throwing gas in
the fire, and Brazil may have other Lulas and Cabrals, crazily obsessed by the
destruction of family.
More about the Lula, the socialist politician that
Silas Malafaia voted for, supported and promoted among Brazilian evangelicals:
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