Can we
expect any more surprises and craziness from Election 2016 than we’ve seen
already? Most surprising to me recently
is the reversal of roles between social conservatives and liberal
progressives. Secular progressives follow
an evolution-based humanism in which humankind is steadily evolving to a higher
plain of perfection. As a result,
progressives are rejecting the supposed worn-out moral standards from the
Judeo-Christian era--restrictions such as abstaining from sex outside of
marriage and a social code in which men honor women, and women treat men with
respect by dressing like ladies.
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| GOP Candidates, Mike Pence and Donald Trump |
But then Donald Trump appears with a resume marked by disrespectful and immoral
treatment of women, a resume that merely reflects the culture that birthed him.
Trump’s alleged immoral behavior is
predictably problematic for evangelical Christians. But the reaction of liberal progressives is most
amazing! They have suddenly become the
defenders of Judeo-Christian values as they condemn Donald Trump. From their high perch, Trump is simply a
deplorable, unredeemable reprobate.
Cultural and political commentator, D.C. McAllister, in her October 8 article, “America, You Have No Right to Judge Donald Trump” points out the inconsistency and hypocrisy in the recent tramping of Trump by our secular culture:
The fact of the matter is that Judeo-Christian ethics have been driven from our culture and declared a dinosaur from an ancient past. Right and wrong, virtue, morality, goodness—these have been rejected in pop culture, our education system, the media, and politics. We have been told repeatedly that character doesn't matter because everyone's values are different. All that matters is an ideological agenda and the power that goes with it.
According to McAllister, it logically follows that,
If morality is relative to each individual—a purely subjective experience—by what standard are they judging Trump? Obviously, in such a secular climate, there can’t even be a “standard.”
Rebecca Teti, in her article entitled “On the Lewdness of Donald Trump,” takes a more direct approach to condemning the hypocrisy of those pointing fingers from within the secular crowd:
I hate this gross culture that demeans women and sex. It makes me feel sick to my stomach when I think about young men steeped in this sick culture going anywhere near my daughter, who is the most beautiful soul on earth—or anyone else’s daughter. For that matter, I hate the idea of my sons being surrounded by people who can’t behold them as persons, but only dissect them for parts. But I hate even more the even grosser culture of The Lie where someone like Hillary Clinton or people like the editorialists at the Washington Post and the Formerly Grey Lady get to point their fingers and pretend they didn’t create and celebrate the culture in which Trump merely partakes.
Teti also expands on the depiction of immoral behavior and demeaning of women in music and the media, all of which is glorified by influential people on the Left and supported by significant numbers of professing Christians:
Rap lyrics celebrate the assault of women all day long, and our pop stars twerk for the precise purpose of attracting lewd attention, and some of these artists are fêted at the White House and elsewhere as role models for young people. My friends—even some of my pious Christian friends—watch and celebrate Game of Thrones, which if I understand correctly, features graphic depictions of the demeaning of women and everyone else.
Nor does the Republican Party get a free pass. McAllister notes that condemnation of Trump’s alleged moral failings is ironic coming from a Republican political elite that has told its religious base that social and moral issues don't matter in politics. "It's all about the economy, stupid. Leave your morals in the church but don't voice them in the public square."
Cultural and political commentator, D.C. McAllister, in her October 8 article, “America, You Have No Right to Judge Donald Trump” points out the inconsistency and hypocrisy in the recent tramping of Trump by our secular culture:
The fact of the matter is that Judeo-Christian ethics have been driven from our culture and declared a dinosaur from an ancient past. Right and wrong, virtue, morality, goodness—these have been rejected in pop culture, our education system, the media, and politics. We have been told repeatedly that character doesn't matter because everyone's values are different. All that matters is an ideological agenda and the power that goes with it.
According to McAllister, it logically follows that,
If morality is relative to each individual—a purely subjective experience—by what standard are they judging Trump? Obviously, in such a secular climate, there can’t even be a “standard.”
Rebecca Teti, in her article entitled “On the Lewdness of Donald Trump,” takes a more direct approach to condemning the hypocrisy of those pointing fingers from within the secular crowd:
I hate this gross culture that demeans women and sex. It makes me feel sick to my stomach when I think about young men steeped in this sick culture going anywhere near my daughter, who is the most beautiful soul on earth—or anyone else’s daughter. For that matter, I hate the idea of my sons being surrounded by people who can’t behold them as persons, but only dissect them for parts. But I hate even more the even grosser culture of The Lie where someone like Hillary Clinton or people like the editorialists at the Washington Post and the Formerly Grey Lady get to point their fingers and pretend they didn’t create and celebrate the culture in which Trump merely partakes.
Teti also expands on the depiction of immoral behavior and demeaning of women in music and the media, all of which is glorified by influential people on the Left and supported by significant numbers of professing Christians:
Rap lyrics celebrate the assault of women all day long, and our pop stars twerk for the precise purpose of attracting lewd attention, and some of these artists are fêted at the White House and elsewhere as role models for young people. My friends—even some of my pious Christian friends—watch and celebrate Game of Thrones, which if I understand correctly, features graphic depictions of the demeaning of women and everyone else.
Nor does the Republican Party get a free pass. McAllister notes that condemnation of Trump’s alleged moral failings is ironic coming from a Republican political elite that has told its religious base that social and moral issues don't matter in politics. "It's all about the economy, stupid. Leave your morals in the church but don't voice them in the public square."
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| Is Donald Trump a "Changed Man?" |
So, while the liberal progressives have taken up the
banner of unrighteous indignation traditionally born by conservative evangelicals,
many evangelicals are supportive of Donald Trump. Some evangelicals support Trump in spite of
his past misdeeds because they give higher priority to his policies—i.e. promise to appoint conservative
Supreme Court justices, support for law and order, commitment to strengthen
education, and strong national defense. Others
maintain their support because they believe Trump genuinely has become a “changed
man” who has both apologized for and rejected his past speech and behavior. Trump has stated,
I've traveled the country talking about change for America but my travels have also changed me… I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I've been humbled by the faith they've placed in me…I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never ever let you down.
As of this writing, Donald Trump still has the support of key evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Jr., James Dobson, and Eric Metaxes. Franklin Graham supports Trump’s condemnation of President Obama’s failed policies in the Middle East but has not formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy.
I've traveled the country talking about change for America but my travels have also changed me… I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I've been humbled by the faith they've placed in me…I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never ever let you down.
As of this writing, Donald Trump still has the support of key evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Jr., James Dobson, and Eric Metaxes. Franklin Graham supports Trump’s condemnation of President Obama’s failed policies in the Middle East but has not formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy.
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| Franklin Graham and Donald Trump |
Evangelical leaders risk having their credibility for Christ tarnished by Election2016. After all, even the moral relativism of the secular
world accepts the absolute truth that “to whom more is given, more is expected
(e.g. James 3:1).” Election2016 has upped the stakes for
evangelicals to avoid diminishing the credibility of their Christian witness, or
compromising the clear message of the Gospel and misrepresenting the role of
the Church in politics. We regret,
perhaps to our shame that evangelicals may now be reaping the unfortunate
harvest of having refused to vote for several morally solid candidates in the
primary season. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson,
Mike Huckabee, and Marco Rubio come to mind.
Although WORLD Magazine does not endorse political candidates, the editorial staff of WORLD has called for Donald Trump to step aside. These editors reason that, to be consistent, they must apply the same moral standards to the candidacy of Donald Trump in 2016 that they did when calling for Bill Clinton’s resignation, in 1998.
And so, Campaign 2016 continues to be crazy. Both supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have enough reasons to wish for a more moral and upright candidate. The Republican establishment is stuck with a candidate who has brought many into the party with his strong stand for fiscal responsibility and foreign relations. But now the GOP leadership aligns with many of the very social conservatives they formerly disdained in order to condemn Trump’s alleged immoral behavior. And liberal progressives who have championed women’s rights must turn a blind eye to Hillary’s past abuse of women who were involved with her husband’s White House escapades. They must also dismiss her cozying up to Islamic nations where women are oppressed and even brutalized.
So, it seems that the mudslinging has brought splatters onto all of our faces, making it all the more essential that America awaken to its utter need of repentance and revival. Proverbs 14: 34 states, Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. While many Americans of all stripes are evaluating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, several things are certain. First, Donald Trump has appointed several godly people that are having a positive spiritual impact upon him. Christians need to pray for Trump’s spiritual transformation in response to the Gospel which hopefully being presented to him in word and in deed.
Second, it is likely that God is already bringing a refiner’s fire upon America as His nostrils fill with the stench of moral and political corruption at every level, the rejection and distortion of objective truth, and the degradation of His creation including the disruption of the human family, churches, schools, and even precious human life in the mother’s womb. Regardless of who wins the presidential election, Americans need to prepare for life in a culture that is increasingly hostile toward individual freedom, morality, decency, and the expression of Christian virtues in the public square.
WORLD Magazine’s conclusion to their article calling for Mr. Trump’s resignation provides a fitting conclusion here:
We don’t know if God will rescue our nation from the pit into which our politics have fallen. We don’t know if He will rescue WORLD from the ire some Trump supporters will feel. We hope and pray that He will—but if He doesn’t, He is still God, holding the future of individuals and nations in His hands. May His name be praised forever and ever.
Although WORLD Magazine does not endorse political candidates, the editorial staff of WORLD has called for Donald Trump to step aside. These editors reason that, to be consistent, they must apply the same moral standards to the candidacy of Donald Trump in 2016 that they did when calling for Bill Clinton’s resignation, in 1998.
And so, Campaign 2016 continues to be crazy. Both supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have enough reasons to wish for a more moral and upright candidate. The Republican establishment is stuck with a candidate who has brought many into the party with his strong stand for fiscal responsibility and foreign relations. But now the GOP leadership aligns with many of the very social conservatives they formerly disdained in order to condemn Trump’s alleged immoral behavior. And liberal progressives who have championed women’s rights must turn a blind eye to Hillary’s past abuse of women who were involved with her husband’s White House escapades. They must also dismiss her cozying up to Islamic nations where women are oppressed and even brutalized.
So, it seems that the mudslinging has brought splatters onto all of our faces, making it all the more essential that America awaken to its utter need of repentance and revival. Proverbs 14: 34 states, Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. While many Americans of all stripes are evaluating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, several things are certain. First, Donald Trump has appointed several godly people that are having a positive spiritual impact upon him. Christians need to pray for Trump’s spiritual transformation in response to the Gospel which hopefully being presented to him in word and in deed.
Second, it is likely that God is already bringing a refiner’s fire upon America as His nostrils fill with the stench of moral and political corruption at every level, the rejection and distortion of objective truth, and the degradation of His creation including the disruption of the human family, churches, schools, and even precious human life in the mother’s womb. Regardless of who wins the presidential election, Americans need to prepare for life in a culture that is increasingly hostile toward individual freedom, morality, decency, and the expression of Christian virtues in the public square.
WORLD Magazine’s conclusion to their article calling for Mr. Trump’s resignation provides a fitting conclusion here:
We don’t know if God will rescue our nation from the pit into which our politics have fallen. We don’t know if He will rescue WORLD from the ire some Trump supporters will feel. We hope and pray that He will—but if He doesn’t, He is still God, holding the future of individuals and nations in His hands. May His name be praised forever and ever.
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