Posted on 07/08/2020 8:01:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It’s one thing when the leftwing media bashes Donald Trump, seeing him as a menace. But how should we respond when 30 evangelicals write a book titled, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity?
While working on my new book Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test?, I familiarized myself with some of the most important, bestselling, anti-Trump books, including:
There was even The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, yet another New York Times Bestseller.
I also devoted a chapter to Christianity Today’s call for Trump to be removed from office, written by senior editor Mark Galli, as well as chapters to two other major, Christian calls for Trump’s removal, including one from the Bonhoeffer society.
So, I am quite familiar with the arguments against Trump’s fitness for office, including concerns raised by evangelical Christians.
For the first time, though, a whole book has been compiled by evangelical Christians raising grave concerns about Trump.
The authors include respected professors, psychologists, psychiatrists, philosophers, historians, songwriters, lawyers, theologians, missions’ leaders, and pastors, many of them highly respected in their fields. And while some of the authors are known for their left-leaning positions, it would be an error to dismiss them all out of hand.
The book is divided into three parts: 1) On Trump; 2) On Evangelical Support of Trump; and 3) On Theological, Historical, and Constitutional Issues Regarding Trump.
Authors like Prof. Stephen Haynes, a Bonhoeffer expert, argue that the evangelical embrace of Trump is similar to the Nazi embrace of Hitler.
Prof. George Yancey makes clear that he understands evangelical concerns about Trump fighting for our religious freedoms. But he writes, “Trump cannot fix what troubles Christians because at best, even if he is competent, he can only offer a political solution. The issue is the culture. What Trump can do is make the situation worse by turning the culture against us further.”
Psychologist Chris Thurman argues that Trump is a pathological liar (and more).
Napp Nazzworth, former editor with the Christian Post who holds a Ph.D. in political science, penned a chapter titled, “Race-Baiter, Misogynist, and Fool.” He argued, “What makes Trump particularly dangerous for evangelicals was the manner in which he campaigned for our vote. He promised to be our protector and to make us successful by filling our pews. Trump’s promises to evangelicals was similar to Satan’s offer to Jesus.”
Ronald Sider, an influential evangelical author who edited the collection, contributed an article critical of the president’s handling of COVID-19, while other authors critiqued Trump’s pride, the reproach he has brought to Christianity, and his immigration policies as compared to Scripture, just to give a sampling.
All of which leads us back to a simple question: Is Donald Trump a spiritual danger?
The simple answer is: 1) only if we put our trust in him rather than in the Lord (see my recent article, “Christ, Not Trump, is the Solid Rock on Which We Stand”); 2) only if we defend him when he is indefensible; 3) and only if we are known more as Trump supporters than as followers of Jesus.
Otherwise, I do not believe he is a spiritual danger, either to the nation or to the Church.
After all, with the constant concerns we have heard about his alleged instability for the last four years, has he provoked an international war? Did his relocation of our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem spark a massive response in the Muslim world? Did he start a nuclear battle with North Korea?
As for him keeping his promises to evangelicals, has any president in recent history been as loyal to this constituency? Has any president stood up more for our freedoms? Has any president kept the door open to us the way Trump has? Has any president dared to take the public, pro-life stands he has taken, including speaking at the annual March for Life in DC? Has any president appointed as many quality judges to the federal courts?
As for the predicted mental breakdowns, they have not happened yet. (If you want to brand him “crazy,” then he’s as “crazy” today as the day he was elected.)
As for him asserting dictatorial powers over the nation, he has done no such thing, even during the current pandemic.
To be sure, to the extent we have looked to Trump as some kind of savior or defended him at every turn, we have tarnished our witness. That, to me, is undeniable and something we must correct.
On other hand, evangelical leaders have not sided with Trump in a cult-like, blindly loyal manner. Just think of the backlash he received from leaders like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham when he pulled our troops out of Syria, thereby endangering our Kurdish allies. The warning from some of these evangelical leaders was quite intense.
That’s why I am fully convinced that, should Trump abandon the values of his evangelical base, we would not stand with him. We are not part of his cult.
To be sure, some of the authors in the Spiritual Danger book are more nuanced in their critiques of Trump, and I do believe there’s much we can learn from some of their writings. It would be a mistake to write all of them off or dismiss them entirely. Evangelical support for Trump is a complicated issue, which is the whole reason I wrote Evangelicals at the Crossroads.
But in the end, as long as we keep the cross before the flag and are even-handed in our evaluation of the president, showing our support when deserved and making known our displeasure when merited, he will not be a spiritual danger to us.
Trump certainly could be a spiritual danger, so I suggest we take these warnings seriously. But Trump need not be a spiritual danger at all. To the contrary, he could continue to prove a strong ally, though a totally unlikely one.
And come November, should the choice be between a vote for Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or an unelectable third-party candidate, for many of us, that will be an easy choice to make.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test?
Christianity Today hasn’t been Christian for 30-40 years. It went apostate a long time ago.
Might as well ask China about their virus....
Written by the Evangelical Left (Ron Sider of Sojourners). Consider the source.
“Ronald Sider, an influential evangelical author who edited the collection....”
“Ronald James Sider (born 17 September 1939) is a Canadian-born American theologian and social activist. He is the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, a think-tank which seeks to develop biblical solutions to social and economic problems through incubating programs that operate at the intersection of faith and social justice. He is a founding board member of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. He is also the Distinguished Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....” - Wiki
Pretty much all one needs to know.
I agree, and that’s how you know this is a leftist-written propaganda piece. It assumes that Trump must be 100% spiritually pure and ideologically-correct for the imagined “evangelicals” they are targeting. They can’t imagine that we see politicians merely as politicians, not saviors - as they view people like Obama.
Oh right, and Biden the Sniffer (an accused sexual assaulter) is spiritually perfect.
Is this the Anti-Christian Post again?
I would ask them if Biden is a danger. If they say no, people have been duped.
Perhaps they all, especially Michael Brown, miss the point that President Trump has a job description
Here’s something they missed. Though I’m sure their churches are ok with some birth control and abortion
It’s from the piece on the ussc ruling in favor of the Catholic nuns against tge evil Obama admin - what we’d be facing if these stupid evangelicals manage to sway public opinion away from trump
“While President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) threatened the order with fines for non-compliance, the Little Sisters argue that the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA) protects them from the far-reaching mandate.
The Trump administration allowed exemptions to the provision and
King David was a murderer and adulterer.
If you are against Trump you are for the Devil. Without him we would be F%$ked and all real Christians Know It! A showdown is coming between good and evil so get your sights aligned ,magazines loaded and medical gear handy. We are going to need it.
And come November, should the choice be between a vote for Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or an unelectable third-party candidate, for many of us, that will be an easy choice to make.
He is one of those people who think taking the middle is the way to convince people that he is looking at something in an intelligent manner. So I often dismiss about 90% of what he says. I think he even dismisses a large percentage of what he says. 8>)
All the glitters is not gold, and all who profess to be Christians are not Christians. If any of these so called intellectual Christians knew the Spirit of the Word, instead of just head knowledge of it, they would know that if they have something against the actions of the President, who, if he was not a Christian previous to the election, he is one now, they should go to him privately to discuss it with him, instead of publicly. But of course, that would not suit their aims. I’d like just one of these bitter eggheads to explain to me how any of the Christian hall of faith members (see Hebrews, ch. 11) could be considered, despite their many flaws, including murder, fornication, and adultery).
As far as Michael Brown is concerned, he disagrees with the President at times, but I have watched him move from being a sceptic, to generally being supportive of Trump.
Just more leftist propaganda, this time disguised as “Christian”.
All you have to do is listen to you are great and wonderful president Donald J Trump speech July 3 at Mount Rushmore and you will know that all of these forces delayed against him we’re all just part of the deep state
EXACTLY.
The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity?
Now there’s a book headed straight for the $1 bargain book bin. Only the authors’ mommies will buy it. The book will be given to the homeless in LA and San Francisco to fuel their campfires on chilly winter nights. Worms at landfills will eat through the pages and be thankful for the sustenance. Copies of the book will be shelved in obscure big city libraries under the Dewey Decimal Classification System of “Whodat?”
Funny. I must've missed our Kristallnacht.
Precisely. Well said.
Thank you Michael for giving legitimacy to the leftist false Christians poisoning our well, and lecturing us true Christians on the patently obvious. What should we expect a PHD to do?
RE: embrace of Trump is similar to the Nazi embrace of Hitler.
The moment someone invokes Hitler to compare Trump or even Obama to him, I already know that he has lost his credibility.
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