If it is about President Donald Trump, even a prayer could not remain non-controversial. A group of conservative Christian pastors prayed for Mr. Trump in the Oval Office on July 10, with their hands on his back. A photo of the event which one of them posted on social media has triggered a spiralling debate between preachers who support Mr. Trump and those who oppose him. At the heart of the debate is the question whether the President’s administrative actions befit a Christian.

“It is a form of theological malpractice that borders on heresy when you can p-r-a-y for a President and others when they are p-r-e-y, preying on the most vulnerable,” said William Barber, a North Carolina pastor, who has been a champion of progressive causes. In a stinging open letter to the pastors who prayed in the Oval Office, Mr, Barber wrote: “The teachings of Jesus are clear about caring for the poor and the sick, and we are called to share... we cannot simply serve as chaplains to imperial power. If we pray for a person engaging in injustice, we must offer prayers that lead to conviction, not prayers that further embolden them in their wrongdoing.” Calling them out for their silence as Mr. Trump and Republican lawmakers are trying to destabilise America’s health care system, Mr. Barber told the conservative ministers: “If Jesus did anything, he offered health care wherever he went — and he never charged a leper a co-pay.”

Mr. Barber is also the leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in North Carolina, where he launched the Moral Monday movement, which spread nationally. Participants peacefully gather every Monday at State legislative houses for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and in support of environmental and gender justice. Earlier this month, Mr. Barber and others were arrested in the Capitol when they protested against the Republican move to repeal Obamacare. But Mr. Trump has shown little sympathy for these issues or the African-American community. Last week, he became the first President in decades to decline an invitation from the NAACP to address its annual convention. “We get the message loud and clear. The President’s decision... underscores the harsh fact: we have lost — we’ve lost the will of the current administration to listen to issues facing the black community,” NAACP Board Chairman Leon Russell said in response to the President turning down his invitation.

Push-back

Ministers in support of the President have pushed back. Richard Land, also from North Carolina, was one of the pastors who prayed in the Oval Office. He refuted the charge that they did not care for the poor. “Mr. Barber’s party and Mr. Barber’s policies have not exactly liberated the inner city, have they?” asked Mr. Land, referring to the Democratic Party. Mr. Land also quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said to first love those you’d like to change. “I don’t feel very loved by Brother Barber,” Mr. Land said. He went on to argue that faith leaders are duty-bound to pray for the leader of the country, regardless of their politics and character. “I never voted for Obama, but prayed for him every day,” he said.

The debate has been going on and both sides quote the scripture in support of their arguments. One pro-Trump pastor said apostle Paul had said that believers must pray for leaders without qualification. “I remind you that when Paul wrote this, the kings that were ruling at that time were mostly tyrants,” he said. Now, that could be a point that Mr. Barber could agree on. Meanwhile, pray is all what millions of Americans could do to stop the Republican rampage against Obamacare.

(Varghese K. George works for The Hindu and is based in Washington)