‘Declaration of Dependence on God’ to Appear in Newspaper Ads Nationwide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdAm1FXUAQc

Donald Trump wants to be known as the “law and order” candidate, but some of the GOP presidential nominee’s most prominent religious advisers are vowing to defy laws on abortion and same-sex marriage.Â

Two members of Trump’s evangelical advisory council, as well as a member of theÂ National Diversity Coalition for Trump, are among those who’ve signed the “Declaration of Dependence Upon God and His Holy Bible” â€” which appeared in a full-page ad in The New York Times on Sunday.Â

The anti-gay, anti-choice declaration, which is modeled after the Declaration of Independence, was written by Pastor Andrew Wommack (pictured), a Colorado Springs evangelist and “faith healer” who claims the document was “divinely inspired.” Among other things, Andrew Wommack Ministries has a strong presence in Uganda, and in 2013 Wommack endorsed the African nation’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Law, also known as the “Kill the Gays” bill, which would have made being LGBT and HIV-positive punishable by death.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” Wommack’s declaration states. “Since our Creator gave us these rights, we declare that no government has the right to take them away. Among these rights is the right to exercise our Christian beliefs as put forth in Godâ€™s Holy Bible.”Â

The declaration goes on to say that God granted life at conception and instituted marriage between one man and one woman, giving only heterosexual couples the responsibility of raising children.Â

“We therefore respectfully reserve the right to refuse any mandate by the government that forces us to fund or support abortion,” the declaration states. “We also oppose same-sex marriage, polygamy, bestiality, and all other forms of sexual perversion prohibited by Holy Scripture. … Therefore, we, the undersigned â€” not only as Christians but also believing we have the constitutional rights as Americans to follow these time honored Christian beliefs â€” commit to conducting our churches, ministries, businesses, and personal lives in accordance with our Christian faith and choose to obey God rather than man.”Â

Wommack reportedly has raised $500,000 to publish the declaration in newspapers across the country. He’s alsoÂ hoping to get one million signatures on the document, but as of Tuesday it had only about 71,000.Â

“Satan is fighting for the heart and soul of this nation,” Wommack declares in a video promoting the declaration (above).Â

Right Wing Watch reports that those who’ve signed the declaration include Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and televangelist Kenneth Copeland, both members of Trump’s evangelical advisory council; Seven Mountains dominionist Lance Wallnau, a member of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump; and Family Research Council executive vice presidentÂ Jerry Boykin, who was among the retired military leaders behind a recent letter endorsing Trump that was promoted by his campaign.Â

Trump opposes abortion rights and has said he would appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would overturn same-sex marriage. So in many respects, the declaration appears to be nothing more than a thinly veiled endorsement of the GOP nominee.Â

McClatchy reporter Maria RecioÂ asked Karen Conrad, director of marketing for Andrew Wommack Ministries, whether the declaration was in response to a specific court case related to religious liberty.Â

â€œItâ€™s probably more (aimed) at the elections than anything,” ConradÂ said.Â

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bs93vOc1a4

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