Fiona Hamilton of The Times (UK) has talked to some Trump-supporting evangelicals in Georgia. Here is a taste:
The convention had been awash with talk of divine intervention and miracles even before Trump told delegates that “I’m not supposed to be here tonight … I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God”.
Such rhetoric galvanised the evangelical Christian vote before his election victory and, four months later, it still makes Lauren Gleaton emotional. “That was pretty powerful,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I don’t remember Trump talking about God before that — we felt like it was pretty prophetic. It made an impact.”
Before that Gleaton, 41, a mother of two and committed Baptist, had not bought into the prophecies of the Christian right that Trump was anointed by God to become president twice. That has changed. “There’s no denying it. You just have to believe and trust in God,” she said.
Angela Bean, 68, a fellow member of First Baptist Church in Peachtree City, part of Georgia’s “Bible Belt”, firmly believes that Trump’s re-election represents a divine mandate, as well as an electoral one.
“God is in control of everything in life,” she said. “There are modern prophets who have prophesied that Trump would be our president at a time when this country needed him most, to pull us back from the darkness that has enveloped our country. It has been proven. When they prophesise and it comes true, then what do you do but believe?”
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The website Protestia is checking-in on the “Evangelicals for Harris” crowd, including Jemar Tisby (he hasn’t been able to sleep), Soong-Chan Rah (he’s stress eating), James Talarico (he’s not going anywhere), Joey Cochran (he’s wondering if he will ever wear an “I Voted” sticker again), Raymond Chang (he’s wondering if it is April Fools Day), Dwight McKissic (he says “laughter is good for the soul”), and Jerusha Duford (she’s talking about “whiteness,” “patriarchy,” “exclusion,” “hated,” & “nationalism”).
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BeliefNet is covering the John Piper controversy. A taste:
Others, like Neil Shenvi, author of Critical Dilemma, which outlines the troubling infiltration of Critical Theory into the religious realm, defended Piper. “Guys, Piper didn’t say ‘Trump is the greater evil’ or ‘Christians should not have voted for him’ or even ‘I wish Harris had won.’ He’s reminding us of what ***many of us were saying when, eg, Trump eviscerated the GOP’s pro-life platform.***” he wrote. Piper’s post’s vague nature and the division amongst evangelicals further underscores the difficulty evangelicals faced this election cycle with a weakened pro-life stance within the GOP and a blatantly pro-choice push from the Democrats.
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The Chimes, the student newspaper at Calvin University, says that Donald Trump “does not (and should not) represent Christian values. Here is a tase of culture editor Mar Schuurmann’s piece:
Trump’s view on migrants sharply counters both Jesus’ treatment of foreigners as well as the treatment of immigrants throughout the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 10:19, Psalm 146:9, Matthew 25). Jesus frequently spent time with foreigners and outcasts, and his foremost command to his followers was to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). He overturned the tables of money chargers in the temple who were taking advantage of others, and he regularly critiques the rich throughout his parables (Mark 10, Matthew 19). Even the concept of winning and being the best is antithetical to Jesus’ actions — he literally lost his life to save us. He humbled himself to the point of death on a cross (Phillippians 2:8).
Acknowledging that Trump is not of Christlike character or saying that you don’t love everything he says or does is not a good enough admission to excuse supporting him. Trump’s hateful, fear-based rhetoric and virulent pride sharply contrast with the overall message of the Bible and the example of Jesus’ life. Trump and his Christian supporters are driving people away from the church (if you need proof of that, I have a very, very long line of people I can get you in contact with) and advertising a twisted view of love, truth and grace.
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Andrew T. Walker offers a social conservative agenda. Sounds a lot like Project 2025 if you ask me:
Here are 20 suggestions for a social conservative agenda that @realDonaldTrump should enact as President in his second term:
1. Implement the Mexico City Policy that cuts off federal funding to foreign NGOs that provide and refer for abortions. 2. Cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood. 3. Fight for free speech and religious liberty. 4. Emphasize parental rights in education. 5. Fight for school choice. 6. Remove the teaching of DEI in public education. 7. Fight gender transitions for youth (and adults where possible). 8. Oppose gender ideology. 9. Eliminate the Department of Education. 10. Oppose the Equality Act. 11. Appoint conservative Supreme Court justices. 12. Use Executive branch authority in whatever capacity to end and limit abortion. 13. Implement a tax credit for homeschool families and private school tuition. 14. Eliminate marriage penalties in the tax code. 15. Expand the child tax credit. 16. Form a commission to investigate transgender medical authorities. 17. Age verification for social media and porn. 18. Prevent males from competing in female sports. 19. Investigate anti-Christian bias in the federal government. 20. Pardon all the pro-life defendants and prisoners who were prosecuted under the FACE Act. What else would you add? President-elect Trump needs to appoint an advisor for social policy to address these policies head-on.
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Let’s see what is happening on X:
Jenna wants “every illegal alien” out of the country:
Seven Mountain Dominionist Lance Wallnau is ready to storm the education mountain and take it back for Christ:
Trump is better than most evangelical churches, according to Mark Driscoll:
Lance is expecting another January 6th-like insurrection. This time, he believes, it will be led by the Democrats:
David Brody on the “legacy media”:
Trump wants to bring prayer back to public schools. Sean is very excited about this:
Eric likes it too:
These guys just can’t let go:
Tony is praying:
Greg Laurie believed that God placed Donald Trump in office for “such a time as this”:
Owen sees the Trump victory as a chance to “rebuild public theology”:
Owen on what it means to love your neighbor:
America is a Christian nation:
God apparently gave Trump 1 million votes in Texas:
Thanks to Emma Bell for her assistance with this roundup
The editorial in the Calvin newspaper is fresh air compared to the nonsense from everyone else.