Evangelical & False Piety: When Cultural Celebration Replaces Biblical Discernment

Introduction: When Celebration Replaces Discernment

I still remember the night of Barack Obama’s election like it was yesterday. I was serving on Active Duty in the United States Army. Like many Americans—especially African Americans—the possibility of a person of color being elected to the highest office in the land was widely seen as a watershed moment for race relations in America.

For many, it felt as though the nation had finally taken a tangible step toward living consistently with the lofty aspirations of the Declaration of Independence and the moral vision articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington, where he longed for a time when his children would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.

When Political Euphoria Becomes Religious Substitution

Despite the historic nature of the moment, I could not join in the celebration.

As members of Ebenezer Baptist Church—an iconic African American church in Atlanta, Georgia, formerly pastored by Dr. King and now pastored by U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock—were captured on film celebrating as if Jesus Christ Himself had returned to establish His millennial reign on Earth, I sat in my living room dejected and deeply saddened.

I could not—no, I would not—celebrate the election of Barack Hussein Obama for a simple and unavoidable reason: my identity as someone hidden in Christ forbade me from aligning with any political movement openly committed to rebellion against God’s revealed moral law.

This was not a partisan reflex. It was a theological constraint.

A Staggering Evangelical Contradiction

To this day, I remain flabbergasted that 94% of African American Evangelicals—many of whom professed allegiance to the lordship of Jesus Christ—made the conscious, volitional decision to enter the ballot box and cast their vote for Barack Hussein Obama.

They did so fully aware of his record on abortion, which at the time positioned him as the most pro-abortion president in American history. Only later would that distinction be surpassed—first by Hillary Clinton’s platform, then by Joe Biden, then by Kamala Harris. And I have no doubt the 2028 Democratic standard-bearer will surpass them all.

What remains incomprehensible to me is how any sincere Christ-follower could, even for a fleeting moment, partner politically with a party that consistently celebrates policies Scripture condemns.

False Piety and Moral Compartmentalization

Sadly, many people I know and love are guilty of this duplicity—and many display it boldly and unapologetically. I fear for their eternal disposition and have committed myself to sounding the alarm as loudly and clearly as possible.

Here are the cold, hard facts.

In both 2008 and 2012, voters were presented with unmistakable moral choices. Yet millions of self-identified Evangelicals voted for a candidate who repeatedly supported expanded legal abortion access, defended federal funding streams tied to Planned Parenthood, and ultimately endorsed same-sex marriage as public policy.

This was not moral nuance. It was a moral contradiction.

When Sentiment Overrides Scripture

For decades, Evangelicals warned the nation about moral decay—from Roe v. Wade to threats against religious liberty. Yet when conviction required cost, many waved those concerns aside in favor of sentiment, racial symbolism, and cultural pride.

That was not careful biblical deliberation. It was emotion displacing obedience.

If abortion is unjust killing, then supporting leaders who defend it is not compassion—it is collaboration.If Scripture is authoritative, then affirming Barack Obama’s policies while ignoring his record is not theological depth—it is double-minded compromise.

When identity politics outweighs moral clarity, that is not Christian courage. It is false piety cloaked in religious language.

Media Reinforcement of False Piety

Cultural reinforcement played no small role in shaping this moral blindness.

Popular media normalized the celebration and sanctified dissent as intolerance. Satire mocked conviction, while commentators reframed opposition as hatred.

• Saturday Night Live segment (cultural framing):https://youtu.be/1VqgTdUFtq8?si=Ec6_Mw8xPwYU2pPi

• Ben Shapiro Commentary – Part I (policy analysis):https://youtu.be/mO6_oso-zLc?si=Z27W_Bn5UctYokNz

• Ben Shapiro Commentary – Part II (moral implications):https://youtu.be/IkqJf9g4kVI?si=mI-5YvC0tHJjtWFi

Conclusion: Moral Authority Requires Moral Consistency

If the church desires moral authority in public life, it must stop abandoning its convictions at the ballot box.

Period.

False piety celebrates cultural victories while ignoring moral defeat. Genuine faith submits every allegiance—racial, political, emotional—to the authority of Christ.

If you value biblical discernment, moral clarity, and careful reasoning, I invite you to follow and support this work.

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With fear & trembling,
Ricky V Kyles Sr. DEd.Min