As we approach the end of the 2020 political party conventions, the rhetoric is ratcheting up once again between the Democrats and the Republicans. Each party wants to appeal to some segment of Christian voters in the battleground states. Six states appear to be the most important for the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. All six were carried by Donald Trump in 2016 and he needs to hold on to at least four of them to have any hope of victory in 2020. For the Republicans, it means holding on to a large swath of the white evangelicals Trump secured in 2016. According to Pew Research, 81% of self-identified, white evangelicals supported Trump. Early polling this year indicates his support may have fallen a bit but will still be similar to the numbers pulled by John McCain (74%) and Mitt Romney (78%) in 2008 and 2012, respectively. As a reformed, white evangelical myself, I find these numbers both easy to understand and deeply troubling.
First, I understand the level of evangelical support on one level due to the chasm that has developed between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party on the issue of abortion. As the parties have become more polarized over the past several decades, the center has all but disappeared. From a political science perspective, that means that all (or nearly all) Republicans oppose abortion and all (or nearly all) Democrats support abortion rights, even if they personally oppose abortion. For many white evangelicals, nothing else matters. Their choice is seemingly quite easy.
However, things are never as black and white as the parties make them seem, which is why I find white evangelical support for Donald Trump so troubling. Christianity is about far more than the latest front in the culture war. Christ did not come to Earth to make morally good citizens for hell. He did not command his disciples to go forth and teach people to make sound moral choices on their way to hell. He taught them to go forth and make disciples of every nation, tongue, and tribe, teaching them to observe all that he commanded. Notice that making the disciples comes before teaching obedience to His commands (or at least simultaneously with it). I have yet to find commands from Jesus to reform contemporary society, though I agree that Christians should be a force for good and fight against injustice on all fronts, whether it be the slaughter of the unborn or the killing of another unarmed person (regardless of race) by the police.
Therein lies the problem with Donald Trump, at least for this reformed evangelical. He (and his party) use Christians to achieve their own political ends. Trump has no core beliefs. He has been pro-choice, pro-life, for Kamala Harris, against Kamala Harris, for Joe Biden, against Joe Biden, and so on. He will do or say anything to gain the adulation he desires. Like the beast of Revelation, he wants the world to fall at his feet and worship him. Sadly, many American Christians have done just that.
The Bible teaches Christians to love their neighbors as themselves but their preferred presidential candidate spews hatred and deceit from the bully pulpit. A Washington Post analysis shows that Donald Trump has lied or put forth misinformation some 20,000 times. In a conversation with a Christian friend recently, he tried to make that equivalent to President Obama making what turned out to be a false statement about keeping your healthcare if you liked it. His point was that both parties lie so voting for one liar over another is really not a big deal. I would also say there is a difference between deliberately deceiving people and something turning out to be false. Motives matter, at least to this Christian.
In addition, the Bible teaches Christians to be faithful to their spouses. Donald Trump has cheated on three wives, divorced two of them, paid hush money to a porn star, and admitted on tape to sexually assaulting women because he was a 'celebrity.' No matter, my Christian brethren say, Democrats are far worse. Really? Joe Biden married his current wife (Jill) after he was suddenly widowed at a young age when his wife and daughter died in a tragic automobile accident. By all accounts, Biden has been faithful to his second wife, though unverifiable claims of assault have been leveled against him, which he has categorically denied. Barack Obama was also faithful to his wife Michelle and raised two daughters (Sasha and Malia). Yet, he was mercilessly attacked by the right and accused of being secretly gay and frequenting bathhouses in Chicago. Sadly, my Christian brethren lap this up like a dog returning to its vomit instead of standing up against it.
Of course, we all know who was the biggest proponent of the lies leveled against Barack Obama...the man occupying the White House right now. He perpetuated the so-called 'birther' movement and has suggested that Kamala Harris is ineligible to become president since her parents were immigrants, though she was born in Berkeley, CA. It is the same tactic he tried to use on 'little' Marco Rubio in the 2015-16 Republican Presidential debates. Something about not bearing false witness seems to be running through my mind right now.
Granted, we are all sinners in desperate need of God's grace and forgiveness, which comes only by accepting the propitiatory sacrifice Jesus Christ made for those who would trust in Him to reconcile them to a holy God. We all break every commandment given to us by our Lord every day. We do it knowingly through acts of commission and we do it unknowingly through acts of omission.
I am told by many of my Christian brethren that there is no way a Christian can support a Democrat, especially one that is pro-choice. My reply is always that there is no way an honest Christian can support Donald Trump or the modern Republican Party. It espouses 'faith and values' at its convention while endorsing a man who has neither. Convention speakers stand up and tell blatantly false lies about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. One speaker was removed from the lineup yesterday for retweeting a bunch of anti-semitic garbage earlier in the day. One couple praises Trump for removing an Obama era rule that required low-income housing be built near new suburban communities. In other words, keep the non-white riff-raff out so our property values don't decline. All the while, speaker after speaker claims Trump is a decent, honest man. I've seen the president's tweets, listened to his lies for four long years, and watched my country burn because the man in the Oval Office cares only about getting attention. Instead of working to resolve longstanding issues of race, he denies they exist. Instead of working to ensure healthcare access for everyone, he sues to undercut the Affordable Care Act at a time when 30 million Americans lost their jobs and their healthcare. Instead of letting the doctors and scientists present Americans with the facts about COVID-19, he dismissively claimed it would be gone by early March. Nearly six months later and 180,000 Americans have died due to his mishandling, misdirection, and misleading messaging. Ah, but at least he's against abortion. Today. Who knows what he'll believe tomorrow.
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