Faith’s New Immorality
TimeWatch Editorial
September 12, 2016
One of the most amazing evaluations expressed concerning the evangelical support for the Republican Candidate in the 2016 Presidential Election is noted in Geoffrey Layman’s article in the Washington Post published on March 29, 2016 entitled: “Where is Trump’s evangelical base? Not in church.” In his second paragraph of that article Geoffrey Layman says:
“The key to understanding Trump’s support among evangelicals is to realize that some evangelicals’ commitment to the faith is shaky, too. Trump does best among evangelicals with one key trait: They don’t really go to church. In short, the evangelicals supporting Trump are not the same evangelicals who have traditionally comprised the Christian Right and supported cultural warriors such as Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz.” Geoffrey Layman, “Where is Trump’s evangelical base? Not in church.” The Washington Post, March 29, 2016
Maybe a large number of his supporters do come from the group that tends to not go to church, according to Geoffrey Layman, but his support does not exclusively come from such a group. Quite a large group of Evangelical leaders have given their support to the Candidate. Leaders like Jerry Falwell Jr., James and Shirley Dobson and of course Pat Robertson have publicly stated their position. Perhaps the most revealing testimony comes from Wayne Grudem, a New Testament scholar turned theologian, author, and Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary, Arizona. He earned a BA from Harvard University, an M.Div from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Writing on the Town Hall Website on July 28, 2016 under the topic: “Why Voting for Donald Trump Is a Morally Good Choice” Dr. Grudem says:
“I did not support Trump in the primary season. I even spoke against him at a pastors’ conference in February. But now I plan to vote for him. I do not think it is right to call him an “evil candidate.” I think rather he is a good candidate with flaws. He is egotistical, bombastic, and brash. He often lacks nuance in his statements. Sometimes he blurts out mistaken ideas (such as bombing the families of terrorists) that he later must abandon. He insults people. He can be vindictive when people attack him. He has been slow to disown and rebuke the wrongful words and actions of some angry fringe supporters. He has been married three times and claims to have been unfaithful in his marriages. These are certainly flaws, but I don’t think they are disqualifying flaws in this election.” Wayne Grudem, “Why Voting for Donald Trump Is a Morally Good Choice,” the Town Hall Website, July 28, 2016
Dr. Grudem’s testimony is incredibly revealing. The moral failings are no longer important to this conservative evangelical leader. Whatever it is that the candidate has promised is by far more important than the biblical standards that have for decades driven the agenda of the conservative right.
Jane Eisner and Anya Ulinich, writing for The Forward Website on July 24 2016 under the topic “Sorry, Evangelicals, You Can’t Play the Trump Card and the God Card at Same Time,” make a tremendously engaging point.
“This year’s embrace of Trump robs white evangelicals of any justification for judging others’ behavior, for legislating against us, for preaching about family values and the necessity of maintaining religious tradition. If they want to be unabashedly pragmatic voters who don’t walk the walk, fine. But they’ve lost the moral high ground. I don’t know what their gospel looks like anymore; which is funny, because they have pilloried a leader (Obama) who has conducted himself with great probity and grace, and who exudes family values without a touch of scandal. But the guy who’s been in the White House for the past seven years is also the wrong color, which may sadly hint at the real explanation for white evangelical support for Donald Trump.” Jane Eisner and Anya Ulinich, “Sorry, Evangelicals, You Can’t Play the Trump Card and the God Card at Same Time,” The Forward Website, July 24 2016.
Review and Herald March 18, 1884 par. 10, accurately describes this state of mind that now seems to govern the “Christian Right.”
“There are men who have set their minds and will to accomplish evil; in the dark recesses of their hearts they have resolved what crimes they will commit. These men are self-deceived. They have rejected God's great rule of right, and in its stead have erected a standard of their own, and comparing themselves with this standard they pronounce themselves holy. The Lord will permit them to reveal what is in their hearts, to act out the spirit of the master that controls them. He will let them show their hatred of his law in their treatment of those who are loyal to its requirements. They will be actuated by the same spirit of religious frenzy that goaded on the mob that crucified Christ; church and State will be united in the same corrupt harmony.” {RH, March 18, 1884 par. 10}
So here we are. We must be ready.
Cameron A. Bowen
