The jokes write themselves at this point, but I don’t like the punchline. By now you’ve probably heard (for some media over, and over, and over) that 81% of white Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the last election. You might have also heard that President Trump’s approval rating among the same demographic actually increased following news of the payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels.
We (royal we) rationalize such stats by saying that we didn’t vote for a “pastor in chief” and that moral failings are less important than political stances. (Interestingly, a quick Google search to try and find the origin of that quote led me to Andy Stanley saying that to describe… wait for it… President Obama.) Jerry Falwell Jr. describes Mr. Trump as Evangelical’s “dream president”. The administration’s accomplishments so far have been the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice, numerous other federal judges, and moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. In addition there has been a constant verbal assault against Planned Parenthood, vows to overturn the Johnson Amendment, and rallying cries for religious liberty.
You can’t have it both ways
Despite these victories in “bringing God back into the White House” there have been an alarming uptick in school shootings that the cultural right blame on the Godlessness of our culture. Meanwhile the government has taken a hostile stance towards minorities, those relying on government subsistence, immigrants, and refugees. When called out on this seeming hypocrisy, the same Christian leaders who most vocally support the president respond by saying that the law is the law and that it isn’t the government’s responsibility to be compassionate. This attitude elevates the “rule of law” to the level of idolatry, using Romans 13 as justification.
The inconsistency of course is due to the emphasis the Religious Right has made since the 1980’s that the government should be the vehicle through which morality is reinforced in culture. Abortion is a legal, Christian issue while immigration is not. There is a systemic “agenda” against traditional family values but systemic racism is ignored. It was argued one President should have been disqualified because of his immorality, the faith (and citizenship) of another was questioned because of his foreign policy, yet the current President is widely embraced despite his questionable ethics and morality. Just because he tells right-leaning Evangelicals what they want to hear.
The punchline
So none of this comes as any surprise, but it grieves my heart nonetheless. The latest headline read: “White Evangelicals are the Group Least Likely to Think the U.S. Should Help Refugees” citing the results of a recent study by Pew Research. Policy arguments can be made about how to manage refugees in the face of global conflict. But there is only one religious argument that can be made as the word of God makes clear in several passages. “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21) So when the news brings on a Christian leader to discuss policy, it needs to be recognized that they leave doctrine at the door. When Franklin Graham said a year ago that our country’s policy towards immigrants and refugees is “not a Bible issue”, we must recognize he isn’t speaking from a position of religious leader, but from that of a politician.
The sad stat cited above has been overshadowed by the abhorrent news of children as young as one year old being ripped from their families as they cross the border. This was threatened months ago and reinforced by the Attorney General in a recent speech. But be reassured, the President’s Chief of Staff tells us they’ll be placed in “foster care or whatever” and hope that they aren’t among the 1500 that have been “lost” in the system. Thankfully, this news hasn’t yet been overcome by the ‘palace intrigue’ that typically consumes this White House. These things need to be talked about; the disgusting policies need to be brought into the light.
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| PHOTO: THE CHRISTIAN POST / SAMUEL SMITH |
#NotAllEvangelicals
Thankfully there is light shining in the darkness. Last weekend while many were captivated by the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry delivered a sermon that went viral, expressing an attitude of hope centering on Jesus and emphasizing a message of love. Less that a week later he was leading a revival called “Reclaiming Jesus” that was kicked off by messages from the likes of Richard Rohr, Tony Campolo, and Walter Brueggemann (who received a long standing ovation) before marching in a silent vigil to the White House.
I have personally kept the ‘Religious Left’ at arm’s distance because I’ve felt pushing back against the commingling of religion and politics with just different politics only replaces one idol with another. Maybe because of this, the Religious Left has struggled to gain the same foothold in our culture that we see in the Religious Right. But I sense something different this time around.
For me it began with the launch of Public Faith right before the last presidential election. Led by several Evangelicals I respect, the goal was to raise the dialogue of politics above the partisan divisions for a unified faith-based politic. But more recently the movement Reclaiming Jesus has taken the same ideals and put them into motion. In addition to the vigil (the organizers emphasize it wasn’t a march), they have a manifesto that speaks truth to power and shines light in the darkness. Bullet-points include a rejection of white nationalism and racism because all are created in God’s image, a repudiation of American exceptionalism because of God’s promise to redeem every nation, and a call to servant leadership in the model of Jesus.
Will this make any difference, will it fizzle out over time as others have before, or will it become embroiled in the same partisan fights it is speaking out against? Time will tell. My hope is in Jesus, not any political party, nation, law, or movement. At the very least such a movement makes clear that the loudest voices speaking on behalf of a diverse faith aren’t representative of all believers. The political mouthpieces are just that, regardless of what their title may be in the religious world. It’s time for more Christians to speak up and demonstrate that these leaders don’t represent all of Christianity.