So:
- helping people in need: acceptable.
- trying to create the conditions so that people aren't in need in the first place: not acceptable.
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
- Hélder Câmara
I think you can compare it like this: after having ridden a motorbike and having had a major accident that you’re respinsible for…, it’s time to quite riding the motorbike. Even if the motorbike in and of itself is not a bad vehicle. I'm convinced you even can do good with a motorbike.
Many Christians keep claiming that it’s a big blessing when Christians gather to engage in politics.
However, Christians do not claim the same when they gather to be carpenters. And you can also minister as a carpenter.
Actually, noone claims Christians to be the better craftsmen. Not even the Christians themselves. But when it comes to politics, everything is supposed to be different in the eyes of the Christians... and the Christians are said to be the big blessing? From my experience, they often see themselves as the big blessing in this field.
When you tell them now: engage in poltics, Christians! The first thing they will come up with is the thought that they are the big blessing in this field... and everyone needs them so badly. In politics.
However, this time it went terribly wrong. They ended up supporting a dude that lacks respect for basic democratic standards. So now, it’s time to humble down and leave politics please. No more blessings from Christian right-wing politics, please.
I’m speaking of evangelical Christians and their surroundings. People from the mainline churches somehow behaved in a smarter way, I think.
This is definitely not an American problem.
Evangelicals in Germany largely supported Hitler, as can be seen here
https://www.eh-tabor.de/sites/default/files/wissenschaftliche_arbeiten/bruederhaus_tabor_ns_zeit.pdf , see page 2 (it’s a source in German language from a major evangelical church in Germany, the Gnadauer Gemeinschaftsverband), the most important phrase being:
Politisch stand er in den zwanziger Jahren wie die meisten Leiter aus dem konservativ-kirchlichen Spektrum der DNVP nahe, [...]
In English:
Like most church leaders from the conservative church background they supported the DNVP [which was a right wing party that supported Hitler, added mine].