Few Presidents have achieved the degree of deep divisions among the population as created by Donald Trump. Finding people who inhabit a middle ground with Trump is rarer than finding a 200-carat diamond. More than ever, it is specific groups of people who polarize in either direction.
One of these groups has always been the white, evangelical Christians. I paid little attention to this tidbit of information until recently, when I heard a well-known pastor speaking about the matter… and then it suddenly made more sense to me.
Trump’s support among white, evangelical Christians has always been extremely high. In actuality, it’s not so much a ringing endorsement of Trump as President, but rather a condemnation of the Democratic Party and their platform.
I am a Christian myself, but couldn’t help being bothered by these declarations. For starters, this pastor pre-qualified his statements by saying he doesn’t usually discuss politics. Then he proceeded to do just that.
Condemning an entire political party because of some platform is not something I’m comfortable with. I would venture to say that there are just as many fine Christian people who normally vote for the Democratic Party, as for the Republicans. I would say there are more than a few, fine Christian people in the Democratic Party ranks.
On the other hand, I would like to reference 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
In this passage, Apostle Paul warns Timothy to avoid men with the following characteristics: “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” 1
If I were saying this out loud, I would now pause for reflection. Does this ring ANY bells?
So basically this pastor, and by extension a huge majority of white, evangelical Christians, would rather support a man such as Donald Trump to be re-elected to lead the entire country and determine its future… than to vote for someone who belongs to a political party which they feel represents the wrong platform.
A man who ticks almost every box on the list put forth by the Apostle Paul gets the support of white evangelical Christians who do not want to vote for the Democratic Party. I realize this is a very touchy, sensitive topic… bound to upset some people… but I am not going to shy away from my responsibility to express just how wrong I think this all is.
The year 2020 has put into focus what is wrong with the country today, and in particular its leader. Racial tensions boiling to the surface, revealing the underlying resentments and injustices that still exist. People politicizing something as critical as a pandemic, playing games with numbers and statistics, and getting into fist-fights over the simple wearing of masks.
A President who mocks disabled people and gets a free pass from the same admirers who he accurately predicted would still support him “if I shot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue.” A President who warned of an “incoming migrant invasion” and by doing so probably flipped the mental switch of the twisted whack job who drove 11 hours to kill 20 Hispanics at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
Frankly, I’m tired of pussyfooting around for fear of being labeled a radical leftist (far from it), having TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), or any of the other labels Trump and his fans love to use. “Orange Man Bad” is another favorite terminology that insinuates anyone who doesn’t like Trump is hysterical.
No… I’m just a decent, logical human being who is tired of having the office of President of the United States dragged through the mud by someone who knows what buttons to push on different groups of people.
1 – New American Standard Bible (NASB)
First of all, President Trump is not the source of division! Blame that on the media! As far as 2 Timothy 3:1-5, you should know better as a Bible scholar!
The book of Timothy was written by the apostle Paul to Timothy who was preparing to become a pastor. Trump is not being voted on for the position of Pastor of the USA! I’m not even sure that he is a Christian. I do know that I would never choose to support the Altar of Baal or Molech. And support the killing of babies in and out of the womb. Who will you serve??? Me and my house, we will serve the Lord and obey His WORD!!!
As a Christian there is no doubt that we should choose what would not offend God and His Word! And is murder of babies your choice??? That is what this Bible verse is referring to:
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 KJV
Hello Anna, and thank you for your comments. First let me throw in a disclaimer, in that I’m most definitely not a Bible scholar. That is too lofty a description for me, although I do study the Bible and do my best to interpret it correctly. Now… first about your point regarding Trump not being divisive. I think most people (Democrats and Republicans) would agree that Trump is not exactly a unifying President. One thing is to acknowledge division… yet another is to encourage it and revel in it. Trump does both. So while the media is obviously not blameless regarding Trump… I feel it is totally incorrect to say Trump is not divisive.
Now, about the Bible passage… in my opinion it matters little why the apostle Paul was writing this to Timothy. The fact is that the passage is extremely clear and that Paul is warning Timothy about men such as what he is describing. “Lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers…” every single one of the descriptions on the list is a portrait of Donald Trump. Which is why I remain perplexed as to the amount of support he gets from Christians.
As I responded to your comments in my Facebook page, supporting the other candidate is not supporting the “killing of babies” or anything of the sort. Whether or not abortion is part of the Democratic Party’s platform, it takes more than a Democratic President to establish laws and make judgments regarding abortion. That is what the Supreme Court is there for… and Congress has an important part to play as well. It’s not like a President can unilaterally change laws.
Obviously, I respect your views… but I just do not see the steadfast support Trump receives.