For those who missed it (the link in the first tweet is now correct):
1/More #courtevangelicalism w/ Tim Wildmon & Richard Land on the Todd Starnes Show. Wildmon is head of the American Family Association– a long time Xtian Right organization. Land is the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary and former SBC leader. https://radio.foxnews.com/2019/05/29/the-todd-starnes-show-may-29th-2019/
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
2/They are on Starnes’s show to talk about Franklin Graham’s June 2 call for prayer on behalf of Donald Trump. https://t.co/JhreR2mrh6
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
3/ Signers of Graham’s call for prayer include #courtevangelicals Robert Jeffress, Michelle Bachmann, David Barton, Gary Bauer, Mike Bickle, Tim Clinton, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, James Dobson, Mike Evans, Jerry Falwell Jr, Jentezen Franklin, Jim Garlow, Jack Graham, John Hagee,
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
4/ Mike Huckabee, Harry Jackson, Tony Perkins Cindy Jacobs, Greg Laurie, Eric Metaxas, James Robison, Darrell Scott, Steve Strang, Lance Wallnau, and Paula White. In this interview w/Perkins, Graham notes that other evangelicals refused to participate: https://t.co/duqFFd5VtD
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
5/ Notice some of the names that ARE NOT on this list of supporters: Beth Moore, Russell Moore, Tim Keller, Joni Eareckson, Karen Swallow Prior, Anne Graham Lotz, Max Lucado, Rick Warren, Michael Gerson, John Piper, Al Mohler, John MacArthur, Tony Evans, TD Jakes, Andy Crouch
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
6/ Philip Yancey, the presidents of @CCCU Schools (such as Wheaton, Messiah, Calvin, or Westmont), the presidents of leading evangelical seminaries (such as Trinity, Gordon-Conwell, Southern Baptist, Fuller), and the leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
7/ Graham’s call for prayer reveals the ever-growing divide in American #evangelicalism. The Wildmon/Land interview with Starnes is revealing in the way it captures the nature of this divide. These #courtevangelicals engage in all kinds of fear-mongering.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
8/ Both Wildmon and Land (as well as Franklin Graham) believe that the criticism of Trump is a form of spiritual warfare. In other words, Trump is the anointed one. The forces of evil (“principalities and powers”) are threatening God’s will. We should obey authority and
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
9/ anyone who offers criticism–moral, Christian, or otherwise–of this POTUS is opposing the man God has picked to lead the country. In other words, to oppose Trump is sin. Of course, by this standard, Wildmon and Land would have been against the American Revolution.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
10/ They would have thought George III was God’s anointed and would pray for him against all those revolutionary patriots who wanted to remove him from his God-given place of authority. To take this even further, Land & Wildmon would have to believe that the patriots were forces
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
11. of evil–Satanic “principalities & powers” out to undermine the British Empire. Yes, let’s pray for our president, whoever it is. Christians are called to do this. But Graham is using prayer here as a political weapon. This is not a Christian view of prayer for our leaders.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
12/ But if one believes that Trump is indeed God’s anointed, then it makes perfect sense that the court evangelicals will pray that he might overcome his political and spiritual (they are one in the same) enemies.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
13/ Land has long been the master of fear-mongering. In this interview with Starnes he suggests that the June 2 prayer for Trump will go a long way toward undermining the “deep state” that’s out to impeach the president. This reminds me of the section of my book *Believe Me*
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
14/ where I wrote about the evangelical fear of the Illuminati in the 1790s. Land then tries to divert attention away from the call for impeachment by talking about how Bill Barr will uncover this so-called “deep state” and when he does it will be
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
15/ “the biggest political scandal in the history of the country.” Let’s remember that these #courtevangelicals have large followings. When Land goes on Todd Starnes and says things like this, people will believe him. He feeds the fear machine and rallies the base.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
16/ The Trump presidency is sustained by this stuff. Listen to Wildmon. He not only says Trump is under “political attack” but also “spiritual attack.” Land says we must pray for a “shield of protection” for the president. “This is spiritual warfare.”
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
17/ Wildmon says that if Hillary was elected we would have “lost the Supreme Court,” lost our religious liberty, lost our radio licenses, and evangelical Christianity would be labeled a “hate group.” Too many evangelicals feed on this Fox News/court evangelical messaging.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
18/ Land gets really fired up at the end of the interview as he bashes Clinton. He says she would have been the “worst president in the history of the United States.” He then adds: “If Hillary Clinton had won this last election
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
19/ we would have just participated in the last fully-free election in the United States.” This reminds me of when Ted Cruz told folks after Scalia’s death that if he does not get elected the progressives will remove stars of David & crosses from gravestones.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
20/Land says that Trump was the “lesser of two evils” in 2016. He adds that Hillary Clinton will always be the “greater evil” in any election in which she runs “UNLESS SHE IS RUNNING AGAINST LUCIFER.” This is not spiritual politics. It is spiritual warfare politics.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 30, 2019
RECOMMENDED READING
What Trump said last night 
Live-tweeting PBS’s Billy Graham documentary 
It looks like clergy will be able run for office in Tennessee. Slavery is out of the Vermont constitution. And the rest of our election night coverage. 
Metaxas: “God has called me to fight to the death for what is true and right”
I am for praying for Trump. My focus is that he may come to genuine faith in Christ. Then that he may develop some humility and wisdom. That would probably take some time.
I think what Franklin is after are prayers for a “hedge of protection” around him from his “enemies” as if Trump is just fine the way he is any push back against him is unfair, unjust, and unAmerican.
[REVEREND] WILDMON?
I haven’t heard that name since The Satanic Panic of The Eighties!
(And as a D&D gamer, I got hit by the fringes of that Holy Blast…)
Jeff,
The hedge of protection comes Biblically from Job 1:10, “Hast not Thou made an hedge about him and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” Theologically, there are several ways we can look at Job’s hedge, and it would be instructive to get a few more thoughts from Franklin Graham concerning his proposed prayer.
In any case, it is good to pray for all political leaders.
James
I don’t recall reading in the OT that the Jews in captivity were asked to pray for Cyrus or Darius. I do pray for our president, too, especially that God would humble him until he confesses Christ as Lord. Moreover, if they want to have a day of prayer, it should be a day of repentance following the example of Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah.
My notes:
Todd Starnes Discusses A Day Of Prayer For President Trump
May. 29, 2019 – 11:59 – Todd Starnes speaks with AFA President Tim Wildmon and Southern Evangelical Seminary President Dr. Richard Land discuss Franklin Graham’s call for a Day of Prayer for President Trump.
Todd Starnes Show
Fox News Radio
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6042391396001/#sp=show-clips
Todd Starnes: Why do you think we need a special day of prayer for the president?
Tim Wildmon: Because he is under siege from the secular left–the religious left too such as they are–because of his stands for life and religious liberty and for conservative judges, those things that I think come out of biblical principles and certainly constitutional principles and because he identifies with us (that is, Christians in America) to a large extent on many different issues. So those are the reasons that he is under attack so I think that is what I think Franklin Graham is saying. It is not Republican or Democrat. He is saying that President Trump needs prayer right now because they are under attack spiritually and politically.
Richard Land: I think the Holy Spirit laid this on Franklin Graham’s heart . . . This president is under unprecedented siege. He is not only taking on the left, he is taking on the deep state. He is taking on the entrenched government apparatus. He is taking on the intelligence agencies. I believe we are on the eve of the biggest political scandal in the history of the country because I think that Attorney General Bar is not stop until he uncovers what I think is going to be a lot of nefarious and illegal behavior by people in the deep state including the CIA and the FBI. They are panicked and they are attacking him in an even more unprecedented way and I think we need to put up a spiritual shield. . . . I am praying that God will give him wisdom and strength and guidance and the president will be an instrument of God’s will.
Richard Land: Well, look, I am one of the people who takes encouragement from Robert Mueller’s statement this morning because it shows the panic of the deep state (and James Comey’s editorial in the Washington Post). These people are scared to death that William Barr is going to uncover all of their nefarious deeds and all of the ways they have broken the law and they are out to kill politically William Barr and kill the president before Barr can kill them.
Todd Starnes: Why do you support this administration?
Tim Wildmon: Well, number one if you look what we would have if he had not been elected, we would have had President Hillary Clinton and that would have been horrible for us on so many levels: the Supreme Court would have been lost for a generation, the attacks on Christians would have intensified, they would have started denying to us radio licenses. I guarantee to you that would have happened because we would have been labeled a hate speech by the federal government. So the alternative at the time was horrible. President Trump wanted to be our friend. Does President Trump have a complete biblical world view? Uh, No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t come out of that but yet he wants to be our friend and he wants to understand us. And he is a patriot. He also understands what is happening with the court system in this country and is relying on the Federalist Society and people we trust to tell him who is best to appoint to the courts so the man listens to us. He cares about us and wants to be our friend. And that is why we support him. Is he perfect? No. Does he tweet things sometimes that it probably would be best that he doesn’t? Does he exhibit the fruits of the Spirit every day? No, he doesn’t. But we only have one president at a time. And this is the man for the hour. We need to stand and support him in every way that we can. We can be critical if we have be. The same forces that are aligned against President Trump right now are the same forces that are aligned us and will come after us if given the opportunity.
Richard Land: I hate to think where we would be without the American Family Association getting the truth out against the horrendous propaganda of the secular news media. It is just horrible. What we have got to do is understand that the alternative was Hillary Clinton, who would have been the most dangerous and worst president in the history of the United States. No question about it. Hands down. I am going to make a statement now that I am willing to stand by. If Hillary Clinton had won this last election, we would have just participated in the last fully free election in the history of the United States because they would have subverted the rule of law. They would have come after us. They would have weaponized the federal government against us. Hillary Clinton was dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, criminally dangerous to religious freedom and political freedom in the United States. Frankly, I voted for Donald Trump as the lesser evil but he has been far better than I thought he would be. I find some Christians who oppose him. I say ‘I like my way of getting involved and making a difference over your way of not getting involved and not making a difference.’ To not support Donald Trump when he was running against Hillary Clinton was to support Hillary Clinton. That is just a simple fact. People can live in fantasy land if they want to. But in the real world, if you do not help the lesser evil prevail, you are part of helping the greater evil prevail. And Hillary Clinton is the greater evil unless she’s running against Lucifer.
Rich,
The general principle is found in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 29:7 but is clearer for Christians in I Timothy 2:1-3.
As far as repentance, that would go a long positive way in any dispensation and would apply to a very wide range of people.