Posted on 02/06/2018 7:50:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
It is usually easier for an outsider to defend a person or a group that is attacked than for the person or group to defend itself.
In that vein, this Jew would like to defend Evangelicals and other Christians who support President Donald Trump. They are regularly attacked as religious hypocrites who give Christianity in general, and Evangelical Christianity in particular, a bad name.
The people writing such things are often Christians, including Evangelicals.
Ross Douthat, a New York Times columnist, wrote: Whether the subject is the debauched pagan in the White House, the mall-haunted candidacy of Roy Moore or the larger question of how to engage with secular culture, there is talk of an intergenerational crisis within evangelical churches, a widening disillusionment with a Trump-endorsing old guard, a feeling that a crackup must loom ahead.
Jared Wilson wrote on the Gospel Coalitions website: From the same believers who raised us to believe that standing for the truth was more important than anything, that being persecuted for your integrity was better than compromise, that morality was not relative, that ethics are not situational. And now these same teachers are wanting us to believe that a little R by a mans name covers a multitude of sins.
Robert P. Jones wrote in USA Today: White Evangelicals . . . are, in many ways, a community grieving its losses. . . . Thinking about the white evangelical/Trump alliance as an end-of-life bargain is illuminating. It helps explain, for example, how white evangelical leaders could ignore so many problematic aspects of Trumps character.
Shortly before the election, Marvin Olasky and the editors wrote in World magazine: Glorifying God by honoring His standards is worth more than political gain.
Jay Caruso, a Dallas Morning News editorial board member, wrote a column titled Evangelical Leaders Expose Their Hypocrisy by Playing Palace Guard to Trump.
In the Arizona Republic, Jon Gabriel, an Evangelical, wrote a column titled Evangelicals Are Hypocrites to Support Donald Trump. In it he wrote, As an evangelical myself, one of the strangest developments of the Trump era has been the abandonment of moral character as a political essential.
I could give dozens more examples of attacks on Evangelical Christians who support President Trump.
I believe these attacks are not biblical, moral, or wise. Religious Christians and Jews who support Trump understand that the character of a public leader is quite often less important than his policies. This is so obvious that only the naïve think otherwise. Character is no predictor of political leadership on behalf of moral causes. I wish it were. Then, in any political contest, we would simply have to determine who the better person is and vote accordingly.
Therefore, I would like to pose some questions to critics of Evangelicals who support Trump:
1. Former President Jimmy Carter has been married once (virtually all critics of Trump note that he is thrice married, as if that were ipso facto a character defect), and to the best of anyones knowledge, has been faithful to his wife all those years. If you are conservative, religious or secular, would you vote for Jimmy Carter over Donald Trump?
2. Do you believe that Hillary Clinton has a finer character than Donald Trump? For the record, I believe his character is superior to hers. And the choice in the 2016 was between Trump and Clinton. A Republican who voted for anyone else (or didnt vote) voted for Clinton.
3. Whom should pro-choice voters support: a pro-life activist of fine character or a pro-choice activist of dubious character?
4. Whom should pro-Israel voters support: an anti-Israel activist of fine character or a pro-Israel activist of dubious character?
5. If they were to have cancer, would any of the Evangelicals critics choose an oncologist based on character? If not, why not?
One of the few moral heroes of the Holocaust was the German industrialist and member of the Nazi party Oskar Schindler. He personally saved more than a thousand Jews lives. He was also a serial philanderer. I suspect many leading Nazis never cheated on their wives. Character is a complex issue.
Evangelicals realize that the moral good of defeating the Left is of surpassing importance.
I have spent my life making the case for good character: that God wants us to be good more than anything else; that our childrens character is way more important than their grades; and that the most important question a society can ask is how to make good people (since we are not born good).
Evangelicals realize that the moral good of defeating the Left is of surpassing importance. It can feel good to oppose the president, but religious supporters of the president are more interested in doing good than feeling good. On issue after issue religious liberty, the unborn, Israel, the American flag, and free speech, to cite just a few the president and religious Americans have made common cause.
Like Evangelicals, I look to the Bible for moral instruction. I also look for wisdom. And in that book, God chooses, of all people, a prostitute (Rahab) to enable the Israelites to enter the Promised Land.
Theres a lesson there.
Dennis Pragers latest book, The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code, was published by Regnery. He is a nationally syndicated radio show host and creator of PragerUniversity.com. © 2018 Creators.com.
I never get why anyone thinks that Evangelicals should have voted against Trump. Is he a saint? No. Is he better than the corrupt, authoritarian, secretive, radical liberal, abortion promoting, law-breaking witch who was the other choice? Yes.
The left always likes to pick stupid positions and questions to throw at the right. Why take the bait?
We aint electing a pastor
Let’s not forget that Samson was if quite dubious moral character, but he kicked ass when ass needed kickin’ ;-)
The Bible is full of leaders who had many personal flaws. The idea that a head of state or ruler would be of “high moral character” in his or her personal life is fairly recent in world history, probably stemming from America’s Puritan beginnings. It really comes down to who will best implement the goals of Evangelicals, Christians and believing Jews. It won’t be a ‘rat.
They think conservatives are not too smart, see Jimmy Kimmel’s latest description of comedians who are smart, therefore intelligent - or is it the other way around. At any rate Kimmel shone a light upon more of the liberals’ small, bigoted minds.
It is hard for me to believe that an evangelical would be torn between voting for Hillary Clinton vs. voting for Donald Trump. Or allow anyone to try to put a guilt trip on him for doing so.
Everyone must remember that the groping video, if that is what is upsetting evangelicals (and if you can believe that there are people stupid enough to be upset with it) was made before the mating ritual between the sexes was declared criminal behavior, which occurred about the same time that it was declared that it is not proper to look between a newborn babies legs to ascertain their sex. And at about the same time it was declared that is is bigoted to claim that there are only two sexes.
The trouble with all this is that there are not enough people with a national microphone willing to very loudly call these fools what they are — fools.
If one were an Evangelical and read the bible, do you suppose he would find a verse that said basically the following: All men sin daily and fall short of the Glory of God?
What totally confuses me is how any Christian can support the envy/covetousness and theft of the Democrats and other leftists. They elevate government and politicians to status of gods. They say that they will solve everybody’s problems and meet everybody’s needs. They claim to have the ability to control weather. They say trust us and we will create heaven on earth.
Yet another thoughtful and spot on argument from Dennis Prager, who himself opposed Donald Trump’s candidacy in the primaries. Trump’s positions in the general election and his policies as president caused Mr. Prager to declare that his earlier judgment of Trump had been wrong.
RE: What totally confuses me is how any Christian can support the envy/covetousness and theft of the Democrats and other leftists.
I don’t agree with their thinking but I can understand their rationale for supporting Democrats. It is not MORAL but ECONOMIC.
Black Christians ( and I know a lot of them ) support Democrats BECAUSE they believe that their policies are the best way to help the poor and downtrodden.
They want a regular “safety net” (READ: Free) for healthcare, food and housing for the poor and they cite the Old Testament and New Testament commands to help the poor among us as their reasons.
They do not trust personal charity to be the most effective means of achieving it. They prefer a SURE supply of funds for these needs which only the government, with its taxing and printing power can supply.
That’s how I understand those Christians who vote Democrat ( the best proponent of this is Jim Wallis, Founder of the Sojourners Magazine ),
It is the puffed up sin of Pride -- the same sin that makes radical environmentalists feel morally superior to those with larger "carbon footprints.
Agree...Trump is the pro religion PREZ we have ever had...he needs our support!
Dennis Prager right - and his understanding helps us 'not take the bait'...
The above article by someone who previously ran on the national ticket was forwarded between Evangelicals far more than any Russian meme. It swung far more votes to Trump than any Russian meme. It pretty much agrees with Dennis Prager, although from a slightly different perspective.
Trump unashamedly evokes the Word of God and Jesus Christ - “evangelicals” who oppose him put their politics over their supposed religion....
I IMMEDIATELY stopped reading there. Pure lies.
These Establishment pukes hate, Hate, HATE Roy Moore and HATE Alabamians. Why should I, a proud transplant Alabamian and a man who might in some circles be called an evangelical Christian, therefore listen to anything they have to say about anything else?
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