Evangelicals in Brazil

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/the-evangelical-takeover-of-brazilian-politics/551423/

It is undisputed that Evangelicals are on the rise in Brazil. It's being talked about and the subject is even coming up in regular mainstream newscasts. Just the other morning, there was a brief story about how Marcelo Crivella the Evangelical mayor of Rio de Janeiro created a somewhat odd moment with his half-hearted inauguration of the Carnival bacchanal. An opponent of the pagan festivities, he has made considerable cuts to the funding earning the ire of many of his constituents.

Brazil has even produced its own version of Trump in the person Jair Bolsonaro. An obscene, vile racist and misogynist, like his American mentor, he jokes about rape and celebrates crude violence. A Roman Catholic married to a Protestant he's become very popular in Evangelical political circles. He praises the military junta which ruled the country during the 1960s-1980s and doesn't shy away from the accusations of torture and mass incarceration. In fact he considers these things as virtues to uphold and calls for a return to authoritarian government and harsh law and order regime. Given Brazil's problems with violent crime he's garnered considerable support.

Some Brazilian Evangelicals have been influenced by Libertarianism and have championed the backlash against disgraced former presidents Lula and Rousseff and are doing all they can to roll back their perceived socialist policies. In other words the Evangelicals have jumped on to the Anti-Left backlash, a move heavily supported by Washington. Some like Eduardo Cunha have fallen prey to scandal and it would seem their US ties were unable to save them. Operation Carwash, a still somewhat murky investigation uncovering massive corruption within the Brazilian state and oil industry has nebulous but strongly circumstantial evidence pointing to US involvement and perhaps even orchestration. From NSA surveillance to political and judiciary figures connected to the US Deep State, there are rotten things afoot Brazil.... from corruption to outright murder. 

Sadly, the Evangelicals seem to be right in the thick of it all. Brazil even has its own synthesis of Rupert Murdoch and Pat Robertson in the figure of Edir Macedo. Wielding a massive corporate and media empire (which began to flourish during the junta years) his shadowy realm seems to have close ties to US banking. That in itself may prove meaningless but if history is precedent we're seeing what can only be described as a sequel in a long string of Latin American projects originating in the towers of Wall Street and the corridors of Langley. It would seem Operation Condor is alive and well.

The American Christian Right also has a presence among the various denominational bodies, particularly of the Charismatic and Pentecostal varieties. Another sure sign is that the ACLJ, Pat Robertson's legal activist wing has set up shop.

The vast majority of these figures are connected to the wider Charismatic movement and in addition to propagating the Anti-Scriptural and rapacious theology of prosperity, the political and cultural emphasis finds its roots in the New Apostolic Reformation. This movement while restricted to Charismatic Christianity was born of a synthesis with Dominion Theology... much of it flowing directly from American Calvinistic circles.

A strange brew to be sure, the movement has combined the influences of men like Abraham Kuyper, Francis Schaeffer and RJ Rushdoony with the material excess, Christo-Capitalism and neo-Pentecostal theology which came to dominate International Evangelicalism in the late 20^th century. A powerful amalgamation, it has united Charismatic zeal and growth potential with a deliberate programme rooted in cultural transformation, political power and the sacralisation of wealth.

This unfolding tragedy in Brazil is sending storm clouds over both the society and in particular the Church. Once again the hellish cauldron that is American Evangelicalism has spawned a new monstrosity... one that really seems to be taking off in Latin America and is beginning to percolate in places like Africa. How long before Asia is affected?

Some believe we are on the cusp of worldwide revival and an explosion of cultural renewal and Christianisation. For those committed to the teachings of the New Testament it's clear we've seen nothing yet. If the 20^th century was one of doctrinal and spiritual catastrophe, the apostasy, chaos and confusion of this generation (and the one to come) will prove perhaps unprecedented or at least only paralleled by the darkness of the Roman ruled Middle Ages, a period in which Christianity was redefined and the gospel was virtually lost but for small remnants, who though persecuted by the Constantinian terror maintained the faith and testimony of Christ and the Apostles.

All I can say is this, pray for Brazil. Pray that God will raise up leaders who will (probably in the face of danger and violence) denounce these false forms of Christianity and help the Church to find discernment and to avoid the many toxins flowing from El Norte. The American Harlot-Beast exports a world system that chokes nations, kills the poor and sends people to Hell... sometimes even believing that they're serving God and glorifying His name.