Posted on 03/04/2016 12:41:48 PM PST by BlackFemaleArmyColonel
Whole Title: Robert Jeffress: ‘No Christian Has the Right to Impose His Preference as a Litmus Test for Someone Else’s Christianity’
Robert Jeffress, the pastor of the 12,000 member First Baptist Church in Dallas who has endorsed Donald Trump, is pushing back against several high profile Christian leaders and pundits who have mocked the professions of faith of Trump and anyone who votes for him.
“Every Christian has the right to his own opinion about a presidential candidate, but no Christian has the right to impose his preference as a litmus test for someone else’s Christianity or spirituality,” Jeffress tells Breitbart News in an exclusive interview.
“Some Christians, including a well-known Christian author, have denounced Trump for his ‘tone’ and ‘vocabulary.’ However, when I’m looking for a leader who is going to sit across the table from Iran or confront radical Islamic terrorists, I don’t care about that leader’s tone or vocabulary. I want the toughest, meanest, son-of-a-gun I can find!” Jeffress adds.
From radio hosts Glenn Beck and Erick Erickson to Richard Land and the editors of the Christian Post, self-proclaimed Christian “leaders” are rushing to render their own Biblical judgments on Trump and his political supporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
... What he is essentially saying is that “your line is wrong and my line right”. ...
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Good point. But these arguments can be minimized if we describe what what we mean by “Christian,” i.e., we say where OUR line is (Bible literally true, Catholic, etc.).
I have the right to make the statement “I don’t think Trump is a real Christian”, I can’t force any one to agree with me. But I can make that declaration and try to persuade Christians to agree with me.
He is essentially saying anyone who does that is being “judgmental”. Which I think is BS.
No Christian Has the Right to Impose His Preference as a Litmus Test =/= Trump critics are not entitled to articulate their political opinions.
Now do you agree with him on that?
Maybe I messed up. Vertical?
You will know them by their fruit.
So your position is the mere claim of being a “christian” is enough. It can’t be challenged... Truth is irrelevant... And the man who can’t be questioned says he’s never asked God for forgiveness - a basic tenet of Christianity...
And last but not least - Trump is asking for our consent to govern where we give him great power in our name over many peoples lives. It is our great responsibility to judge whether he is truthful, principled and capable of wielding that power with honor and justice within the limits of the constitution.
If he wasn’t seeking my approval to govern I’d care little how many wives he’s cheated on etc and would pay no attention to what he says or others say about him.
I want someone that is intelligent, committed to the best interests of the United States, and who doesn't personalize conflict.
I’m gonna get me some Duggar fambly values, some Joel, Osteen poverty, Some Benny Hinn honesty, and so on.
I start with the premise that many religious “professionals” are getting something from their systems.
That’s not how I read it and I agree with you. I don’t think Trump is a real Christian either, but I’m not going to say Trump is/n’t a Christian, and anyone that thinks otherwise is wrong.
I would argue he isn’t. He certainly doesn’t behave according to Christian doctrine. Of course, neither do I.
re: “James 4:11-12 - Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
Be careful of quoting a Bible text our of context. The whole letter of James deals with issues within the church - such as infighting, divisions, favoritism toward the wealthy, etc. James is not claiming that we never “judge” others actions in regard to right and wrong, obviously the church and, we ourselves, must “discriminate” or “judge” with our choices everyday.
Paul the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, when dealing with a person who claimed to be a Christian but was sleeping with his step-mother. Paul told them to remove such a person from their fellowship. He says:
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
In the James passage and others, sometimes to “judge” means that someone is attempting to “decide who is righteous and who is not, who is saved and who is not” - that is something we, as human beings, cannot really do - only God knows the heart and motives.
But, we are instructed to judge certain actions of others: murder, lying, stealing, rape, etc. God Himself established government to confront and punish evil.
In the church, we are not to be arrogant or full of self-righteous pride when we judge others actions. We must be mindful that we all sin and not be hypocritical.
Yup.
I think religious leaders should stay out of the endorsement business altogether.
Preach Scripture and the sheep will know who we should vote for.
We can righteously make analyses, but not consign anyone to Hell on our personal whim.
It is 'impose' as in requiring that all citizens belong to the Church or England; or
'impose' as in express an opinion that a person should not be able to pass themselves off as worthy of support because of an attribute they claim that their actions belie?
Jeffress has suggested that Catholicism is a tool of Satan, claiming "that's what Satan does with counterfeit religion. He uses, he steals, he appropriates all of the symbols of true biblical Christianity, and he changes it just enough in order to cause people to miss eternal life.”
“Much of what you see in the Catholic Church today doesn’t come from God’s word. It comes from that cult-like pagan religion. Isn’t that the genius of Satan?”
Jeffress: Catholicism Is A “Cult-Like, Pagan Religion.”
only an apostate would say such a thing
OK, my test is to go talk with the woman who has done my nails for over 20 years. This morning I had a manipedi so we can call this the Manipedi test. Laurie has voted for the person who won the presidency 100% of the time since Reagan. Think about that. So last time I talked with her she was saying that she wanted to vote for the first woman president but today she shared that she is secretly routing for Trump but hasn’t made up her mind yet. She is certain that it will be Hillary v. Trump. She likes Trump because he says things that everyone else including her are thinking but afraid to say. So since she has voted for the winner for all the time I’ve known her I think that this is very interesting. A lot of people vote with their heart and not their head. And speaking of head, she thinks he needs a new hair stylist. We agreed that Hillary looks awful and should not wear yellow or green. LOL
Can we say “don’t go down that road for that way lies perdition”? Or is that too judgmental?
Finally. A Christian leader with some common sense.
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