Editor,

I understand that nationally roughly 80 percent of white Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, and I assume that this is more or less true in this area as well. They apparently decided that given Hillary Clinton’s support for abortion rights they had to vote for Trump even though he has a clear record of breaking the commandment against adultery and bearing false witness.

This rationale sort of makes sense even though Trump’s record of lying exceeds that of any other politician I can think of. However, what is stunning and deeply disturbing is that the commandment that appears to have been ignored is the first, and the most important, the one against idolatry: “Thou shall no other gods before me.” Whose name is on the temples that Trump has built? His own.

I thought that this would have been, as they say, “a deal breaker.” When I was in high school and college evangelical Christians read the Bible carefully and thoughtfully and tried to be aware of what was going on in the world. Maybe in this day and age, Evangelicals simply follow pied pipers like Jerry Falwell and other self-proclaimed “Christian leaders.” This is not what I would call the good news.

STEEN HALLING

Greenbank