Here is today’s evangelicals and politics roundup:
Christianity Today asks whether there is a Christian candidate in this presidential election. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs survey found that about 2 in 10 white evangelicals “say the word Christian describes Trump ‘extremely or very well.'” The story also quotes Ben Carson, Trump’s National Faith Chairman: “There is only one candidate in this race that has defended religious liberty and supported Americans of faith. That candidate is Donald Trump.” Interesting. The same could have been said for Thomas Jefferson in 1800. The third president defended religious liberty for evangelicals in states with established churches, but he also rejected many orthodox Christian doctrines such as the Resurrection and the deity of Christ. Notice Carson did not specifically call Trump a “Christian.”
Harvest Prude’s story at CT also notes that Kamala Harris has chosen progressive Presbyterian minister Jennifer Butler as her national faith engagement director. Carson’s choice of Trump and Harris’s choice of Butler are not going to move the needle in any significant way. Neither campaign seems interested in finding common ground between conservative and liberal Christians in the way the Obama campaign did in 2008. Instead, they are both just preaching to their respective choirs.
***
Donald Trump was in Indiana, Pennsylvania the other night. You may have read about this event. Here is what Trump said about Springfield, Ohio: “Do you think Springfield will ever be the same? I don’t think. The fact is, and I’ll say it now , you have to get ’em the hell out, you have to get ’em out, I’m sorry. Get ’em out. Can’t have it. Can’t have it. They’ve destroyed it.” After Trump said this, the crowd started chanting in a nativist rage: “Send them back, send them back, send them back.”
Historians will look back on events like this as an example of early 21st-century nativism and racism. But they will also note that the same crowd screaming “send them back” also cheered when Trump appealed to his evangelical base: “Christians, we’ve got to get the Christians to vote…They go to church. They love church and that’s great. Christians, evangelicals, we have to get them out to vote.”
***
Albert Mohler addressed the Mark Robinson scandal on Monday. He described the entire affair with the word “yuck.” In the same program he also said that Kamala Harris is “running the most pro-abortion ticket in history.” Mohler is right on both fronts. I think the Robinson case probably needs a bit more moral outrage than simply “yuck,” but I’ll give Mohler a pass on this one. As for Harris and abortion, I think Mohler is right to suggest that Harris’s campaign rhetoric often leads with pro-abortion rhetoric. Harris does not even try to make herself more palatable to voters who have moral qualms about abortion on demand. That might cost her in November. There are a lot of evangelical voters looking for a reason to vote for Harris. Up until now, she is not giving them one.
***
Folks on the Christian Right are gathering this weekend in Texas:
***
Let’s move onto some X:
I am not sure I understand what this means:
The Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University is platforming this guy:
Georgia Baptists are getting out the vote:
Christian Right voters gather in Iowa:
Lance is mounting an “invasion force”:
Lance is worried about Ted Cruz’s chances in Texas. Cruz has a three point lead in one recent poll and trails Democrat Colin Allred by one point in another.
The guru of Seven Mountain Dominionism is ready to take over “worldly systems”:
This time it is REALLY the last days:
Civil war:
Metaxas on the “greater sin”:
“Find another church”:
“I have the freedom to denounce you”:
Michelle Bachman:
Pray, vote and stand with these guys:
Paula loves Donald:
Jack Graham: Court evangelical. His conscious only functions in one political direction:
Of course Huck would love the government to tell women not to have abortions or stop LGBTQ citizens from marrying:
“Ghoulish”:
A theobro argues with Justin Giboney. Walker seems to think that “greed” or “racism” is not on the ballot this year. Wow! I’m guessing he hasn’t ever heard of Donald Trump.
Voodoo, witchcraft, demons, and sorcery. Sean Feucht has found a modern day Tituba.
This tweeter offers “words of wisdom” on Feucht’s post:
Have you seen any evangelicals comment on the execution (dare I say murder?) of Marcellus Williams? I saw one article by David French, but other than that, there has been a conspicuous silence from those who regularly make a point of talking about “protecting innocent life.”
I cannot help but think that all these comments by these so-called evangelicals are really about Trump. If not, they are really blind to Trump’s lies and faults and over judging Harris’ positions. I think she is too far to the left on some issues, but she is a better choice than Trump.