David Hope, pastor of the Word of Life Church in Texas, wrote an essay in the Kingwood Observer that would give Pope Francis pause. The piece, titled “Jesus is not a socialist,” was an attempt not only to justify the severe inequities of unfettered capitalism, but to promote them.

Hope tried to justify an unequal pie with the following statement.

Capitalism is like the kingdom of God. Everyone has an opportunity to make it to the top, but there won’t be equal outcomes. When government tries to manufacture equal outcomes, it brings everyone down. As people concentrate on the sizes of the pieces of the pie, the pie just keeps getting smaller. All the pieces get smaller and equal outcomes are still not achieved.

His simplistic statement does not take into account that those with inherited or ill-gained capital have a built-in advantage that, barring redistribution through taxes or some other method, is unsustainable. Had Jesus seen the crowds as undeserving, he would have extracted the last pittance for his magical fish and bread.

David Hope then makes a very disingenuous statement based on today's reality.

Capitalism is the most compassionate system. Capitalism is the best way to reduce poverty. It gives every man a chance to succeed, and it promotes wealth into the hands of those who serve others and have a heart to give to those less fortunate. It increases individual wealth, thus allowing individuals to give out of their increase. God has designed the needs of the poor to be met by Christians, not by the government. Government’s bureaucratic shuffling of wealth accomplishes nothing.

Where in the tenets of capitalism are humanity, compassion, and generosity mentioned? Does Donald Trump fit the profile? Has he empowered and enriched others? Or did he simply use others as commodities to support his lifestyle of legalized theft? The pastor pulled a verifiable lie out of the air to misinform those who view his statements as fact.

This form of thinking is prevalent throughout the evangelical realm in the United States. It has taken too long for the Christian class to speak up about the destruction unfettered capitalism renders on the poor, the environment, and the world structure. The beloved Pope blasted the door wide open with his justifiable attack.

But then there is always the next media darling, ready to justify a system of legalized theft and commoditized humanity. Dave Ramsey thinks it’s heresy not to see a biblical justification for the wealthy few. Why is it heresy, according to him? Because God owns it all. He simply anointed a select few as managers of the wealth. Dave Ramsey made some other rather strange statements.

“This is about when you do things biblical with money,” Ramsey said. “You will end up with the responsibility to manage money for the kingdom.” He says this with authority and a straight face. Has he forgotten the thousands of investment bankers, loan officers, and investors who got rich and remain rich by pilfering the middle class, even as they brought the world’s economy to collapse? Are those God’s money managers? Is it really heresy to call them all out?

Many on the right get perturbed when one points out that Donald Trump is their creation. He absorbed the dichotomy of the right’s ideology and became its personification. Yes, it is incoherent. Yes, it is self-oppositional. But that is the evangelical right, now an outgrowth of the Powell Manifesto. It’s the right as brought to you by Donald Trump—and it may mean the eventual demise of religion.