A few days before the Nov. 3 election, I joined a virtual prayer meeting with pastors from the nation of Colombia. Two pastors originally from Guatemala were also on the Zoom call, as well as pastors originally from Puerto Rico who helped translate for me.
The Colombian pastors told me they were hosting all-night prayer vigils at their churches for America’s election. When I asked why they cared so much to host these gatherings, one pastor told me: “We are very concerned. When we see socialism coming to America, we know it could come here too.”
One reason the Colombians are so worried is that Democrats have already announced plans to reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. If Maduro’s anti-U.S./anti-Israel regime is strengthened in the region, it will likely send more Venezuelan immigrants pouring across the Colombian border, and give socialists more power in the region.
Just as this presidential election split the Christian vote in America, Christians overseas have widely different views of Trump and Biden. When I reached out to Christian leaders overseas to gauge how they feel about a possible Biden presidency (if Biden is declared the winner after recounts), I found that many conservative evangelicals view Biden as a threat to religious freedom.
In spite of widespread support for Biden in Europe, many church leaders outside the U.S. fear Biden will promote an anti-Christian agenda.
“All the tyrants of the world, including Maduro from Venezuela, are hoping that Biden wins,” said a pastor from Caracas, Venezuela. (He cannot use his real name because he could suffer repercussions from his government for saying that.) “People all across the world who love freedom are hoping the United States remains free.”
The Venezuelan pastor said when he read news reports of voter irregularities in the 2020 U.S. election, he was reminded of fraud tactics used by dictator Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.
Nadim Hedechini, a Presbyterian pastor in Barranquilla, Colombia, fears a Biden presidency will advance a radical socialist agenda throughout the Western hemisphere—”and with it, more restriction on the people of God.” He believes Biden’s support of abortion and other radical agendas will have a negative effect globally.
A pastor in eastern Nigeria told me: “People all over the world look up to the United States for leadership, security and justice. We are afraid that under a Biden presidency the world may not get that. Christians in Nigeria are scared that killings by Islamic jihadists will increase under a Biden/Harris administration.”
Most Pentecostal Christians in Uganda hold to the same conservative values that their counterparts do in the United States. A pastor in western Uganda added: “It breaks my heart that Joe Biden’s political party has little sympathy when it comes to biblical principles and values. My consolation, however, comes from knowing that God will still execute His plan of deliverance for the United States!”
A pastor from western Kenya told me this week: “I am so concerned for the future of the United States and its role in the world. Thousands of Christians seem to be celebrating Biden without understanding the implications.” The Kenyan pastor told me he fears the American church has compromised on basic moral issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and protecting Israel.
A pastor of an influential church in Singapore told me that many Christians in his country are praying President Trump is declared the winner after recounts. “To hear that Joe Biden has won, barring a miracle in the courts, was disappointing and disheartening to us. The sentiment here is that President Trump lost because of fraud in the counting,” the pastor said.
And even though Canada leans liberal politically, some conservative evangelical pastors in Canada are anxious about a Biden presidency. One pastor from Manitoba told me he is worried about the Democratic agenda, especially “open borders, continued deaths of the unborn through abortion and the spread of socialism in America.” He is praying for a Trump win—even though he can’t vote in the election.
Although recounts and legal challenges could postpone the final outcome for weeks, some world leaders have already hailed Biden as president-elect. These include leaders of England, France, Germany and Greece. Meanwhile the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said he would not congratulate Biden until the 2020 election results are certified.
And as voting irregularities are investigated in Pennsylvania and other states, the Venezuelan pastor says believers in his country will continue to pray. He said: “We are believing that God will spare the United States. If Biden wins, the loss of liberties will be swift, not only in this country but in the rest of the world.” {eoa}
