The Rot at the Top: How Elite Power and Evangelical Silence Enable Abuse

The Rot at the Top: How Elite Power and Evangelical Silence Enable Abuse 

For years, many people in this country have sensed that something is deeply wrong at the highest levels of power in our government, in our corporations, and in the institutions that claim moral authority. The release of the Epstein documents only confirmed what survivors and advocates have been saying for decades: powerful individuals have been able to exploit, harm, rape, cannibalize and traffic children with near-total impunity. 

The shock is not that these documents exist. The shock is how little has changed in response. 

Despite the horrifying accounts of abuse, many of the individuals named in these materials continue to hold influence in business, media, and politics. Survivors have spoken, evidence has surfaced, and yet the machinery of power grinds on as if nothing happened. This is not a failure of information it is a failure of accountability. 

And in some regions, the silence is even louder. 

The Role of Institutions: When Silence Becomes Complicity 

In places like Pueblo, Colorado, certain evangelical churches have positioned themselves as moral authorities while refusing to confront the realities of exploitation and systemic abuse. Congregations such as Trinity Life Center, Pueblo Christian Center, and Fellowship of the Rockies have been quick to condemn protestors, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and the poor yet remarkably quiet when it comes to the crimes of the powerful. 

This selective outrage reveals a troubling pattern: 

condemn the vulnerable, protect the influential. 

Instead of challenging the systems that allow trafficking and exploitation to flourish, these churches often redirect attention toward culture‑war issues that target marginalized communities. Sermons warn congregants not to “look at the elites,” not to question those in power, not to disrupt the status quo. The result is a religious environment that shields the powerful while scapegoating the oppressed. 

This is not moral leadership. It is moral abandonment. 

Why This Silence? Why This Alignment With Power? 

The question is unavoidable: 

Why do some evangelical institutions choose to defend power rather than protect children? 

Part of the answer lies in political alignment. Part lies in financial interests. Part lies in a theology that prioritizes obedience over justice, conformity over compassion, and hierarchy over humanity. 

But the deeper truth is this: 

When a church becomes more invested in maintaining influence than in defending the vulnerable, it loses its soul. 

The prophets warned against this. Jesus warned against this. The entire moral tradition of Christianity warns against this. Yet the pattern continues silence toward the powerful, condemnation toward the marginalized. 

A Different Path: What Nefesh Intends to Bring to Pueblo 

Nefesh is coming to Pueblo not to spread hatred, but to shine light where institutions have chosen darkness. This is not a crusade of anger it is a movement of truth-telling, community-building, and moral clarity. 

We will go door to door. 

We will share meals. 

We will hold rallies grounded in peace, not hostility. 

We will speak with compassion, not contempt. 

We will build relationships, not divisions. 

Our goal is simple: 

to expose corruption, uplift the vulnerable, and call institutions back to the values they claim to uphold. 

One day, if enough people stand together, even the wealthiest pastors may look out at a sea of empty seats and realize that moral authority cannot be bought it must be earned. And perhaps then, they will sit at the same table as the people they once ignored and begin the work of reform. 

But none of that can happen unless we first name the corruption for what it is. 

The Work Ahead 

This is not about attacking faith. 

It is about defending the dignity of human beings. 

It is about demanding accountability from those who wield power. 

It is about refusing to let silence become complicity. 

The Epstein documents revealed a truth many would prefer to ignore. 

The question now is whether we will look away or whether we will confront the systems that allowed such harm to flourish. 

Nefesh chooses to confront it. 

And we invite Pueblo to join us