by Steven Gledhill for FREEdom from MEdom Project

“Evangelicals in the past have been very enamored with the possibility of social change via acquisition of power, and yet we are now having to ask ourselves, ‘Is this the way of Jesus?’” —Walter Kim, lead minister, Park Street Church, Boston, MA

“The credibility of the Christian witness was damaged.” —Grace Matthews, Lausanne Movement, New Delhi

“There is massive disappointment within Christian communities in most of central and eastern Europe… concern about the loss of credibility of Christian witness—especially the credibility of the evangelicals. If the president-elect represents Christian values, then those values really mean nothing… What will be the damage to the world?” —Peter Kuzmic, Evangelical Scholar, Croatia.

“We can’t go into forgiveness mode because there are so many questions that haven’t been answered. We are dealing with shock and many, many people are dealing with grief with the passing of the idea of America… There is a certain amount of trauma that has been ingested by the American people.” —T.D. Jakes

Where is the moral outrage from church leaders that in the Oval Office for eight years was the “ALL unborn LIVES DON’T MATTER” President? What about the befallen Christian values of the United States of America during the culture of genocide in this country against the unborn, and partially born infants? Especially, if the number one value of those who love God is the love of life. The critics quoted in this article, and all over the internet, who say they love God, cannot believe that life begins at conception… They can’t… T.D. Jakes can’t… or terminating unborn lives wouldn’t be merely a “fringe” issue. It would be the issue. But I’ll get into that in just a bit.

So… I have some thoughts to share concerning the hypocrisy of criticisms of some evangelical Christian leaders who have levied attacks against the presidential election outcome. The choice in this year’s election felt like choosing between a sleazy rat and a slimy snake. I understand the criticisms of Donald Trump. But why all the support for the alternative choice in this presidential election? I aim to examine that a bit.

“One of the things that America stood for in the past was moral leadership and character. Over the past few decades, it has slowly dissipated. In this election you have produced two candidates, both of whom are deeply flawed in character. The question people around the world are asking is, ‘Is this what America is today?’ The election has done great damage to your moral standing in the eyes of the world.” —Hwa Yung, Bishop of the Methodist Church, Malaysia

I happen to agree with Bishop Yung’s comment about how we even got to this point. I agree that the choice in this year’s election was like choosing between a filthy rat and a slimy snake. The choice in this race for President does appear to reflect the moral character of America, and the lengths we’re willing to go dismissing moral conviction and reason for collective compromise.

Did these same high-profile leaders leaders in Christian ministry share these thoughts about American presidents prior to this election? Would they have been so outspoken had the outcome of the election gone another way?

Question…

What’s your favorite Psalm? You open your Bible to the Psalms and you go to Psalm… what… Psalm 23 about the Lord as your shepherd… Psalm 51 to read David’s wonderful confession… Psalm 139 about how God knows us intimately from the foundation of our birth… beautifully written truths and promises about the love and wonder of our God.

Wow, could that David write… poetic… romantic… powerful.

This might feel like an awkward digression but there is a point to be made, so please roll with me on this.

What do you know about the man—the king—that wrote some of your favorite passages in all of Scripture? What do you really know about him?

I would like to pose another question that on its surface sounds ridiculous. But should you research both possibilities, it might not be as ridiculous as it sounds.

Who is the most flawed candidate to be the leader of a great nation, King David or Donald Trump?

Ridiculous?

Are you laughing at this question or are you willing to dig deeper into what it’s all about before leaving the discussion?

Read the book of 2nd Samuel in the Old Testament of David’s life. We’re talking about a man who was handpicked by God to be king of Israel. Didn’t God know beforehand the kind of deplorable lifestyle his man would recklessly engage in? Or, did God know exactly what he got himself into with David?

I am not alone making this comparison. Prominent Evangelical leaders, including Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell, Jr. beat me to the punch drawing this parallel, comparing Donald Trump to the likes of an intensely flawed icon of the Old Testament. Of course, they are in the limelight and have been harshly criticized for their remarks.

While Mr. Trump may not have the kind of relationship that King David had as a worshiper of the most high, his presumed lifestyle of power-mongering greed and womanizing likely pales in comparison to David’s lifestyle of power-mongering greed and womanizing. I linked David’s life story above if you have not read it.

What do they say about President-elect Donald J. Trump?

They say that Donald Trump is a racist. They say that he’s sexist; a misogynist. They claim he’s a bigot. The irony is that if President-elect Trump is what his critics more than suggest that he is then… well… I suppose it could be said that there would be a misogynistic sexist sleeping in the White House come January whether it be Mr. Trump or had it been Mr. Clinton… Yes?

It’s funny how Trump’s critics turn a blind eye and deaf ear to that reality. The “mainstream” media and evangelical spokespersons have elected not to address this; rather propping up the political successes of the impeached former President in order to advance their agenda.

They say President-elect Trump is someone who is going to turn back the calendar and reverse the kind of social progress in America that led to racial diversity finally in the White House to initiate the kind of societal change that we all can believe in.

What if there really isn’t much evidence, if any at all, of social progress in America since President Obama’s election in 2008? It could be argued that as a nation we have regressed when it comes to the challenge of fighting social inequality, injustice, division and unrest. If it’s unfair to blame the current president for the present state of affairs under his watch, then it’s also unfair to assign blame for the same kind of societal problems on to the next president. But that indictment against Donald Trump seems to already be underway. And he hasn’t even been sworn in yet.

Had President Obama not been elected, indications are that it would have been framed as an indictment of racism against the citizens of this great country that didn’t vote for him. Since Barrack Obama was elected President twice, there was never any real discussion about that. There didn’t have to be.

It has often been said that those who opposed President Obama’s policies did so, not because of what they believed about the policies, but because of what they believed about the man. Those opposing the beliefs and values of the man were often perceived as racist, more so than being liberal or conservative concerning their own beliefs and values.

There was significant policy change that has occurred in the past eight years in the United States of America. It doesn’t appear to matter to the majority Americans that President Obama has nearly doubled the national debt for Americans in eight years; very close to equaling what 43 presidents before him did combined ($10.6 trillion). By Inauguration Day 2017, it is widely anticipated that the national debt will approach or eclipse $20 trillion.

What about the issue of racism in America these past 8 years? How have the flames of racism been stoked again and again and again when non-minority critics dare to criticize or push back against the policies of America’s current President? How has the President himself interjected his opinions about race relations in this country that have had a more divisive effect, rather than being a bridge to unifying race relations here in our land of peace? It is appropriate and, I suppose, the American way for social leaders to build up a particular minority culture. But when the President does so, it’s at the expense of the other groups. The President must appear to be impartial to be believed that he or she is President for all people… all groups… all cultures… all socioeconomic classes and causes.

It seems the only ones “qualified” to be critical are the masses of disadvantaged Americans who are still living in poverty and under the oppression of a rigged system that still favors the rich at the expense of the poor and the middle class; no matter how many trillions of dollars have been spent in the name of progress. Not much has changed under the direction and leadership of this current administration, just as it hadn’t under previous administrations regardless of which party held the top office.

The policies of the last eight years do not appear to have done much of anything to support those living in poverty. If anything, this President’s administration has done more to ensure that people living in poverty remain living there, dependent on a broken and financially broke government to continue to inadequately provide for them. Again, before anyone dismisses these comments as racist, bigoted, or anything else, please do your own research on it.

According to the Chicago Tribune, there were nearly 400 people shot by guns in the President’s hometown of Chicago in the month of August (2016) alone. That is the most shootings in a single month in some twenty years. There were 78 homicides among that group. The majority of that was black-on-black violence. More than three-quarters of those killed had prior arrest records. For the year 2016, murders are up more than 70 percent, and the number of people shot almost 90 percent. As of this writing on November 13 (2016) in Chicago, there have been more than 3600 shootings and nearly 700 homicides; by far more than any other city.

It’s important to site this because of all of the concerns of evil that will be perpetrated against minority populations under a Trump presidency. On Wednesday evening after the 2016 Presidential election, Van Jones, a contributor for CNN, bombastically spoke of Muslim people he has spoken to, who fear for their lives because they fear that Mr. Trump will “intern” them. To do what? To imprison all Muslims living in this country… or worse? And then, Mr. Jones defended his remarks when they were criticized, absolving himself from fanning the flames of racism in an already volatile situation as CNN is running video of protests around the country.

It is not an issue to Van Jones or any of those protesting this cycle’s election results that since 1973, the number of babies aborted in this country is approaching 60 million… that’s MILLION.

This is not a referendum on what constitutes abortion as a humane or inhumane act between unborn infant and its mother. Of course, it becomes a fragile matter when the health of the mother is at stake to process a pregnancy. It’s a delicate situation when a young girl is molested by an uncle, or cousin, or her mother’s boyfriend. There are always those “what about this?” and “what about that?” problems that beg for lenience on the issue of abortion regardless of who is talking about it.

What I am speaking to this attitude that terminating a pregnancy is just another medical procedure for an undesired and unintended human condition. When abortion is the alternative to remedying discomfort and complication, it’s a problem of grave significance and consequence.

When is abortion murder? Is it ever? When does life actually begin?

What about partial-birth abortion? Partial-birth abortion includes terminating the life of the child before the child is completely removed from his or her mother, or killing the infant just prior to its birth from the womb. Even the term, partial-birth suggests that the infant is partially born before being killed.

Our current President and Hillary Clinton both support this action against these partially-born babies. Abortion is so common-place in the United States of America that the protest against this vile act is modest at best. In Germany in the 1940s, it was legal to extinguish the lives of more than six million (6,000,000) Jews. In America, it is legal to extinguish almost sixty million (60,000,000) lives.

“In watching the news after the election, the secular media keep asking ‘How did this happen?’ ‘What went wrong?’ ‘How did we miss this?’ None of them understand the God-factor… Hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the United States have been praying… Then Christians went to the polls, and God showed up… While the media scratches their heads and tries to understand how this happened, I believe that God’s hand intervened to stop the godless, atheistic progressive agenda from taking control of our country.” —Franklin Graham

How many voted against Hillary Clinton because she is in favor of a practice ten times more lethal than what happened in Germany under the watch and rule of an evil dictator? For what it’s worth, it’s reported that nearly one-third of babies aborted in this country are had African-American heritage; that’s about 1300 black babies aborted every day. Do those black lives matter?

I wonder what T.D. Jakes would say to that? Would he say that he is pro-life but that electing a president should be about more than that one issue? Again, how does T.D. Jakes or ANYONE ignore that one issue? Yet so many Christian leaders are peddling their unmitigated dismay that the pro-abortion candidate lost this election. Does it matter to God that abortion is legal?

Hmm… Are you sure that Mr. Trump is the candidate promoting hate?

“Donald J. Trump stands astride the polls in the Republican presidential race, beating all comers in virtually every demographic of the primary electorate. Most illogical is his support from evangelicals and other social conservatives. To back Mr. Trump, these voters must repudiate everything they believe.” —Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

The problem for voters during the 2016 general election for President is that the alternative to voting for Donald Trump is that to vote in opposition to Mr. Trump would ultimately support the candidate that favors the trend toward the genocide of unborn lives. Wouldn’t every anti-Trump vote be the repudiation then of everything authentic Christians believe in?

Is there any worse hate than to kill innocent lives, or to advance the conspiracy of their demise? For anyone to love God is to love what God loves and despise anything hostile to the plan and purpose of God. In this, there is no choice. The only choice in pro-choice is to choose life. I suppose the other choice is to choose to not behave in a manner that conceives life before having conceived it.

God did not side with Donald Trump and Franklin Graham. God did not oppose Hillary Clinton or T.D. Jakes, or even social agendas. God is, no doubt, opposed to oppression, poverty, racism, sexism, and all of that. God, according to Scripture, is also opposed to the godlessness that Franklin Graham spoke of, and the blatant alienation from his agenda.

Did God take sides? Of course, he did. God’s side is impartial and on the side of right and best, regardless of what it takes. That’s why he chose his man, David; disgusting warts and all.

Is there not another famous icon in history who could be identified as a misogynistic sexist? The man is very well-known to the evangelical leaders speaking out against the President-elect.

I began this discussion inferring that there might be some hypocrisy admiring the life of a king—that being the life of King David—while condemning the credibility of one Donald Trump as the President of this country.

Upon investigation into the Scriptures, you would find that King David had his general and friend killed so he could have the man’s wife. He would break up another family to reclaim a marriage that had been annulled, taking Michal away from her loving husband, so that she could be a friend and advisor to him, though he would never love her. He would take concubines, usually young foreign women (girls) that would be as sex slaves to the king. David would excuse sexual assault and murder on the part of his sons.

Everything David did was legal so long as he was the one doing it. He was the king. Some will site Scripture that God permitted David’s sins, which in this country would be crimes of severe consequence. God permitted David’s polygamy and sexual conquests like he permitted tsunamis to hit the coasts of Indonesia and Japan, and both an earthquake and hurricane to wipe out Haiti. God permits abortion the way he permitted the Hurricane Katrina and the twin towers to fall, and terrorism around the world.

God is indeed sovereign. When God permits something to occur, there is no doubt that God has sheer hatred for evil of any kind; especially when it is an attack against defenseless innocents. Let there be no mistake about that.

There is even a reference in the book of 2nd Samuel (chapter 6, verses 12-23) when David was celebrating a major victory having obtained the Ark of the Covenant by dancing in the street almost naked. His “advisor”, Michal, called him on it and asked how David could be so vulgar and expose himself in front of the servant girls. David responded by commenting on how these young girls saw how “distinguished” he was. Sounds like something Donald Trump might have said. Where’s the video of that?

It’s hard to know if David had other addictions, but read his remarks here. It sounds as if David was experiencing withdrawal.

What did you say your favorite Psalm was?

It is not my intention here to bash this man identified as a man after God’s own heart. My point is that God showed mercy on this man who never really did commit to leading a repentant lifestyle until the best of his years were well behind him.

You might ask, “How can you compare Donald Trump to David?” Or, even stronger, “How dare you compare Trump to David.” You might challenge the notion that David was contrite and repentant, and that Trump rarely appears contrite or repentant about anything. I don’t know Donald Trump’s heart. I don’t know that he has gone to God to confess his sin or not. I do know that David did confess his sin. And like me, David relapsed into sin and entitled self-centered behavior, again and again; and at times was reckless and relentless about his hedonistic pursuits.

If we saw the cell phone video of King David’s behavior, we might not read those beautiful passages in the Psalms written by a shameless hypocrite. David was in the “White House” while committing, in effect, statutory rape and was a conspirator to murder. Perhaps, we would protest any preaching about David.

My assertion is that if God can forgive his servant David, God can and will forgive me, you, and even Donald Trump. I am aware that Donald Trump once said that, while proclaiming to be a Christian, he has not asked God for forgiveness. Since then it has been reported that, according to Dr. Ben Carson, just prior to his last debate with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump prayed with James Robison and asked God for forgiveness.

“I’m a Christian voter and I’m not OK with it, but I can look at the bigger picture, and I think a lot of other Christians can look at the bigger picture too… I can’t defend the video, but I can certainly continue to support him because I think what he represents is far superior to what Hillary represents. Those of us who do not want to see America fundamentally devolve into something worse must be wise enough to recognize the scheme that is being played out here.” —Dr. Ben Carson for The Independent Journal Review

It troubles me that my choice on Election Day was between the four candidates for President on the ballot in Illinois. I suppose I could write in a fifth candidate. But what troubles me more is the incendiary language being used by evangelical Christian pastors and leaders in opposition of a Trump presidency, siting his transgressions and passing judgment against him, Trump’s supporters, and against Trump’s presidency as some kind of an abomination to the electoral process. All the while giving Hillary Clinton a pass as if her egregious offenses are minimal in comparison.

How an evangelical, born-again person of any ethnic race or culture can reasonable justify supporting someone who believes in supporting the right to terminate the lives of unborn infants is something I don’t understand. I don’t get it. They’ll say that abortion isn’t the only issue. If abortion is ending the life of someone alive, it is the issue. It has to be. Anyone claiming to love God in relationship with Christ—especially pastors and ministry leaders within and throughout the evangelical movement—that supports and votes for the against-life candidate, must deny that life begins at conception. It can be the only way to try to justify it.

When then does human life begin? Does it begin when there is a heartbeat? Does human life not begin until the child is actually born and breathing on his or her own? What about the day before the child is actually birthed from the womb? Is the child a human life? Yes? What about the day before that? Yes? What about the day before that? Yes?

So when did the human life of the child actually begin? Perhaps, I am not intellectual enough or open-minded enough to figure that one out. I do recall that King David wrote that I was known by God, even before I was conceived.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV) 

Uh oh. Either this passage from God’s word is truth or it isn’t. David wrote that we are carefully put together by God in the deepest places of the womb. No doubt God is merciful, takes compassion on his daughters who have aborted their babies, and most assuredly forgives those who have repented of this wrong. Of that, there is no doubt.

But when it is the prevailing attitude of a society that playing God and thwarting his wonderful plan for creation, what then?

I cannot vote for any person that I know going into the ballot booth supports the practice of playing God when it comes to the life of the unborn child. And I need help understanding how anyone professing faith in God through relationship with his son can.

This election was essentially a tie when all of the votes are counted. The two candidates were separated by two-tenths of one percent. The Electoral College prevents one group of voters represented by just a few states from controlling the election. So the outcome of the Electoral College determines the winner of the election for President in this country. It is what is fair in a republic. In football, the outcome isn’t determined by the team that accumulated the most yards gained. The result is in the hands of the amount of points produced by each side. No one protests the outcome of the game because one team ran it up and down the field but didn’t outscore their opponent. It is what it is, and so we accept the result, whether we’re happy about it or not.

What I don’t hear any of the pundits talk about, when they speak of this voting block and that, is the block of voters most sensitive to a candidate’s position when it comes to life and “choice.” I’ll bet that there is a pretty clear choice when it comes to comes to the vote of the pro-life group… the “All Lives Matter” group that believe at their core that the life of the unborn child matters.

Does it scare me that Donald Trump is our President? Of course, it does. Would it have scared me if Hillary Clinton was elected President? Of course, it would have. More so. Truth be told, my choice was always Senator Marco Rubio, and I have written previously about the values and sensibilities of Christians who voted for Donald Trump in the primaries. I was angry about that. I am still a bit resentful about it.

What I have to do now is trust God. How Donald Trump’s presidency fits into the plan of God, I do not know or understand. But if God allowed it to happen, then so be it.

It is what it is. It’s in God’s hands.

Barrack Obama couldn’t bridge the division in this country. Hillary wouldn’t have either. Donald Trump may not really even be that interested in attempting to tear down the walls, whether they be racial, cultural, political, or social. There is no one man or woman equipped to take on the healing process. It looks like it will take a miracle.

But miracles are what God does. It is the love of God that is the bridge to bringing down the walls of division in this place that is meant to be the model for the rest of the world.

God can and will if we as a people are willing to surrender to his will and commit to his plan for this nation. If even the church is unwilling to come together, then it turns out we’re an unwilling lot, and I have a feeling God will allow us to destroy the best country in the universe, if that is what we as the collective whole insist on moving toward; thicker walls and wider division between us.

It’s been said that while you cannot on your own make the world a better place, you can find your own place in the world and make it better.

Be committed to prayer and ask God what your role is in this and what you might be able to do. Pray for your country, Christians. Pray for your President and all under his influence. And pray for your President-elect.

To be fair to T.D. Jakes, I have included the entire 8-minute video of his MNBC interview.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

“My Christian faith is at the very heart of who I am.” —Vice President-elect, Governor Mike Pence

Some have said some things about VP-elect Mike Pence that grossly mischaracterize the man and what he stands for. The critics have sited the bill that Mike Pence signed into law in 2015 in the state of Indiana. Governor Pence is getting hit from both sides since on one hand, he is being criticized for passing a bill into law that had some 80 percent support of the Indiana legislature.

Critics hammered the law as being anti-gay; paving the way for businesses to deny service to those associated with the LGBT community. So then, when Governor Pence had state legislators modify the language of the bill to ensure that the law would not be interpreted as such, Christian conservatives went on the attack, accusing the Governor of caving under pressure from civil rights groups.

Mike Pence signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What this law is not is a blanket referendum to allow just any business in their hiring process to discriminate because of someone’s gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Nor does the law allow for a service business or agency to discriminate serving such groups. As stated, state lawmakers went back to adjust the language to assure there was no ambiguity concerning the context as it pertained to service and civil rights.

If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn’t eat there anymore. As governor of Indiana, if I were presented a bill that legalized discrimination against any person or group, I would veto it. —VP-elect, Governor Mike Pence

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects state-recognized religious institutions and organizations from being sued by someone who refuses to adhere to the policies of that organization that would create an undue burden to the function of the organization.

If an evangelical bible-based church has a staff vacancy, and this church takes a position that fundamentally opposes homosexual, bisexual or transgender behavior, it is protected from being sued if it refuses to consider a gay, bisexual or transgender candidate for the vacant staff position.

They also don’t have to consider someone they recognize has behaved in other ways that contradict their conduct standards. Someone outspoken about their pro-choice views might not be considered for that position. Someone else might have professional qualifications for the job but is known for promiscuous or volatile behavior. These people would benefit from being in church, but the church shouldn’t have to consider them for a job.

There is policy at the catholic-affiliated hospital where I work that prohibits extreme hairstyles. I can be terminated for coming in displaying a mohawk, I suppose. The teenagers and children I work with might deem it to be cool that a middle-aged professional has such a radical hairstyle. But some of them, and certainly their parents, will find it ridiculous and offensive; which then also reflects on the hospital and makes suspect the quality of care these patients will receive. Is the mohawk my right as an expression of freedom of speech, or was the choice and act of pursuing and receiving the mohawk my behavior? Is my termination for violating the company’s hairstyle policy worthy of a lawsuit? Or, will the courts agree that getting that mohawk showed blatant disregard for their behavioral standards?

A state-recognized religious organization like a church should not have to give equal opportunity to a gay man or woman, practicing bisexual or transgender person for their pastoral vacancy if that is behavior the church is morally opposed to. The same can be said for the hiring criteria and practice for other religious institutions primarily in business for their religious purpose and practice. Is that so unreasonable?

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of Indiana protects these organizations should they be vulnerable to a discrimination lawsuit. There is NO MENTION of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender orientation anywhere in the law.

“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana does not give anyone the right to deny services to anyone in this state. It is simply a balancing test used by our federal courts and jurisdictions across the country for more than two decades.” —VP-elect, Governor Mike Pence

It’s something how these things are so blown out of proportion and context. Anyway, I have included the link to the actual Religious Freedom Restoration law if you want to read it for yourself before characterizing VP-elect Mike Pence as this or that.

Click on Religious Freedom Restoration Act to read it for yourself.