Posted on 07/15/2020 8:40:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In 2016, I signed the “Never Trump” pledge and did my part, as a “keyboard warrior,” especially on the Facebook posts of The Christian Post, to persuade fellow Christians not to support Donald Trump.
I have a Ph.D. in church history studying the Puritans and am the pastor of a Reformed church and Mr. Trump struck me as a decline from the kinds of leaders Puritans would expect. Many CP readers may remember my incessant campaigning against Trump four years ago. I argued that he had a checkered past, that he was unlikely to support the causes which Christians should be most committed to (namely, life — including for the unborn — and religious liberty) and that he was likely going to lose in the general election. Being wrong about the latter gave me the opportunity to consider that I was wrong about my other arguments against him.
It’s true that Mr. Trump has things in his past that he should be ashamed of. I cringe at Christians who exalt him as if he’s a godly champion. However, when voting for a leader’s re-election, we vote based on what he’s done in office, not what they’ve done before.
Mr. Trump’s record has been surprisingly good on Christian issues, especially the sanctity of life. He’s nominated consistently pro-life judges, done what he can do to defund Planned Parenthood, and spoken up more loudly on the issue than any president in history. Since pro-life issues are the leading issues guiding Christians today, Mr. Trump has earned the support of Christians.
Further, since 2016 the left, which I used to call “liberalism,” has metastasized into an illiberal movement that I now believe is a serious threat to the liberties of all Americans, especially Christians. They have no humility or sense of reserve or respect for American traditions that would restrain them from using their power to crush those who would dare oppose them, including Christians, if they were given power. That is, if they were to win this upcoming election, we could see the unleashing of a wave of persecution in America that most of us never dreamed was possible, all of it justified in the name of “social justice” or “public health.”
So, now is not the time to quibble over Mr. Trump’s antics on Twitter, to pronounce him “wicked” for insulting his critics, because we’re holding him to the standards of a by-gone era of political civility or even, perhaps, because we’re too watered-down ourselves by the gentility of “moralistic, therapeutic deism” that rejects Mr. Trump for not being a soothing Mr. Rogers.
I rejected the “Flight 93,” “binary choice,” “critical election” rhetoric in 2016 people used to force me to choose him as the “lesser of two evils.” I no longer reject it. I would urge you not to reject those arguments either and vote like your liberty depends on it. Because it might.
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John B. Carpenter (M.Div. Fuller Theological Seminary, Th.M., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Ph.D. Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago) is pastor of Covenant Reformed Baptist Church in Danville, VA. www.covenantcaswell.org.
I cringe at Christian pastors who feel entitled to throw the first stone. Does the author not have things in his past that he should be ashamed of?
Perhaps a little too Matthew 11:25 wise and he missed it the first time?
But no worries. Now his rear view mirror sees more clearly, so all sins forgiven.
Here in the trenches, we’re all believers on the same team fighting against evil in high and low places.
Once upon a time, David was all He needed to knock down one giant, uncircumcised Philistine and take his head and the world still marvels. It’s one of my favorite stories in the Bible.
But ... this time we’re up against an invisible, swamp-raised, multidimensional, multinational hydra that fights to advance Satan’s agenda with the power of the US government and IT now has us all by the short hairs!
And, as usual, per the biblical template, could it be that the wise “experts” once again missed the one He chose to His Will to fight this evil within US?
Because, apparently, this time He sent us the one the wise “experts” laughed at and never took seriously: Donald J. Trump!
And all of the swamp’s weapons fired against him miss and more often than not, it falls back upon those who sent it ... sooner or later.
Fascinating.
Zactly!!!
I said the deadline for supporting Donald Trump was the convention in 2016 and really one should have been on board much earlier. After the convention you were essentially the political enemy. Coming over 4 years into his Presidency is so late as to be ridiculous if one is supposedly on the conservative side. At least in this instance the Never Trumper isn’t deciding after the election he kind of likes him so I’ll give him that. Welcome to the party pal!
He admits he was wrong about Trump in 2016. What more of an apology can you expect? He is clearly stating that he is encouraging Christians to vote for Trump in 2020.
I am willing to forgive him of his past error, and welcome him into the group of pro-Trumpers. This will only help Trump with Christians in November.
Mr. Trump’s record has been surprisingly good on Christian issues
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It took this guy this long to figure out Trump’s record was “good”? No wonder academics have taken a broad reputation hit in the last few years.
Oh, seriously? I am a conservative, but I enjoy electricity, refrigeration, flush toilets and automobiles. The Puritans would have called me a witch for the vitamins and smoothies I consume, not to mention my language in traffic jams, plus owning property as a woman. Does this loon think nothing surrounding an electoral decision has changed since the 1600s?
“..why listen to someone who was so wrong?”
We shouldn’t listen - but his message isn’t directed at us.
There are still millions of conservative Christians laboring under misconceptions about President Trump’s “character flaws”. They have been convinced by Leftist propaganda that Trump is not worthy of their vote.
These are the people who need to hear this - and I am grateful that he is coming clean.
These are the people who need to hear this - and I am grateful that he is coming clean.
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Well said.
It is the people (possible voters) who need to hear the actual truth.
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