{"id":110371,"date":"2019-12-02T14:25:27","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T19:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/rick-perrys-belief-that-trump-was-chosen-by-god-is-shared-by-many-in-a-fast-growing-christian-movement\/"},"modified":"2019-12-02T14:25:27","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T19:25:27","slug":"rick-perrys-belief-that-trump-was-chosen-by-god-is-shared-by-many-in-a-fast-growing-christian-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/rick-perrys-belief-that-trump-was-chosen-by-god-is-shared-by-many-in-a-fast-growing-christian-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Perry\u2019s Belief That Trump was Chosen by God is Shared by Many in a Fast-Growing Christian Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rick Perry\u2019s Belief That Trump was Chosen by God is Shared by Many in a Fast-Growing Christian Movement<\/b><\/p>\n

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In a recent interview with Fox News<\/a>, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry stated that Donald Trump was chosen by God<\/a> to be president. He said throughout history God had picked \u201cimperfect people\u201d such as King David or Solomon to lead their people.<\/p>\n

Perry is not alone. A large number of evangelical Christians in the U.S. believe that God has chosen Donald Trump<\/a> to advance the kingdom of God on Earth. Several high-profile religious leaders have made similar claims, often comparing Trump to King Cyrus<\/a> who was asked by God to rescue the nation of Israel from exile in Babylon. <\/p>\n

Many of these Christians are part of a movement that we call<\/a> \u201cIndependent Network Charismatic,\u201d or \u201cINC Christianity\u201d in our 2017 book<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Leaders such Rick Perry are connected to this movement. Eight years ago \u2013 in August of 2011 \u2013 more than 30,000 people cheered wildly when Perry, who was then a U.S. presidential candidate and Texas governor, came center stage at \u201cThe Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis\u201d<\/a> at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry quoted from the Bible and preached about the need for salvation that comes from Jesus. Many of the leaders who organized this event are the same leaders who claim<\/a> that Trump is God\u2019s chosen to advance the Kingdom of God. <\/p>\n

We argue that INC Christianity is significantly changing the religious landscape in America \u2013 and the nation\u2019s politics. <\/p>\n

Here is what we found about INC<\/h2>\n

INC Christianity is led by a network of popular independent religious entrepreneurs<\/a>, often referred to by their followers as \u201capostles.\u201d They have close ties, we found, to some conservative politicians, including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and more recently President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

Charismatic Christians emphasize supernatural miracles and divine interventions, but INC Christianity is different from other charismatics \u2013 and other Christian denominations in general \u2013 in the following ways:<\/p>\n