Jerry Falwell Jr. endorses Trump
“He is a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again” RNS
There is no remotely believable way to portray Trump as some kind of family man. How can a man with his (proudly declared) history of sexual immorality.. not to mention the marital history… be a “wonderful father”?
(Ben Sasse said it well … http://www.worldmag.com/2016/01/more_than_sassing_a_senator_questions_t…)
Evangelicalism has a new lunatic fringe.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Or, as the Pyromaniacs crew noted; Four Bankruptcies, Three Wives, Two political parties, one big problem, and shame on us if we portray him as a good family man or businessman. Put more bluntly, if we claim that, people are right to ask us what we’ve been smoking, and if they can have some, ‘cause it must be good.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Looking at what Falwell said: “He is a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again.”
I’ll allow Christian brothers the conscience to vote for whom they think will be best for the country’s future…but the endorsement-ese is unsettling.
- As Christians, what’s our mission, and what’s our vision for the future? Christ’s kingdom, or American greatness? What do we want to be known for in the public square? Christ’s kingdom, or our brand of American greatness?
- Do we really want to publicly declare our reliance on any human being to lead our country to greatness? To what kind of greatness can a sinful human being lead a country? If this is questionable for any human being, how much more questionable is it for someone like Donald Trump? My king was spit on. He wore a towel and washed feet. Donald Trump doesn’t look anything like that.
- Are we so motivated by a political agenda, that it’s worth it to fudge our assessment of a person’s character in order to advance him?
- Do we ever want to hold hands so tightly with a political leader that their performance ends up reflecting on our judgment, or our witness? Can’t we instead speak with conviction about the issues to which the Bible speaks, and then note our agreement with the candidate as a corollary? If any man speak, let him speak the oracles of God.
Michael Osborne
Philadelphia, PA
I’ve stopped paying attention to political news, and won’t tune back in until Iowa and New Hampshire are over. Then, we’ll have a good idea of how this will shake out. Until then … I might as well buy some tarot cards.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
Just a quick scan through some conservative, though secular political blogs. Many are blasting Falwell Jr, and evangelicalism as a whole for gross hypocrisy. Sad that unbelieving political conservatives have more discernment than Falwell Jr. apparently has. One I read said something like, “in exchange for the endorsement, Liberty U will now get an on campus casino and resort.”
“Just one of the more obvious proofs that “evangelicals” are culpable for our culture’s moral and spiritual demise.”
“As if four more years of amoral narcissism in the Oval Office might cure the country’s ills. Have ye not read Isaiah 30:1-7?”
Those endorsements are embarrassing for those who made them. Jeffress warned voters about voting for Romney, then he endorses Trump?
I wonder what other bad decisions the President of Liberty University has made over the last few years.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
[M. Osborne]Looking at what Falwell said: “He is a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again.”
I’ll allow Christian brothers the conscience to vote for whom they think will be best for the country’s future…but the endorsement-ese is unsettling.
- As Christians, what’s our mission, and what’s our vision for the future? Christ’s kingdom, or American greatness? What do we want to be known for in the public square? Christ’s kingdom, or our brand of American greatness?
- Do we really want to publicly declare our reliance on any human being to lead our country to greatness? To what kind of greatness can a sinful human being lead a country? If this is questionable for any human being, how much more questionable is it for someone like Donald Trump? My king was spit on. He wore a towel and washed feet. Donald Trump doesn’t look anything like that.
- Are we so motivated by a political agenda, that it’s worth it to fudge our assessment of a person’s character in order to advance him?
- Do we ever want to hold hands so tightly with a political leader that their performance ends up reflecting on our judgment, or our witness? Can’t we instead speak with conviction about the issues to which the Bible speaks, and then note our agreement with the candidate as a corollary? If any man speak, let him speak the oracles of God.
On #1. This is really a false disjunction. There is no reason we cannot pursue both obedience to Christ and a better nation. (There is also such thing as actual national greatness apart from mere opinion. Much of that can be derived from Scripture.)
On #2… “Do we really want to publicly declare our reliance on any human being to lead our country to greatness?” It’s admittedly hyperbolic to put that much importance on one guy. But at the same time we shouldn’t underestimate the influence one effective, well-informed man of good character can have. On the second half of #2… all this is true, but it’s important to note that Jesus did not come to reign at His first advent. He comes to reign in Rev. 19 (any many OT parallel prophecies) in majesty and unapologetic exercise of righteous power… not washing feet. But there is still no resemblance to Mr. Trump, I’ll give you that.
On #3… It’s interesting to me that Trump endorsers often refer to him not being a politician. I think I want to write a longer post on that. I don’t know if it’s passion for an agenda that blinds these leaders to what Trump is really like. I suspect part of it though is overvaluing the pipe-dream of the elected non-politician. It’s a pipedream because, by definition, any man who manages to get elected is a politician.
But in Trump’s case in particular, the neglected question is “what is a politician?” A politician is someone who makes deals in order to accomplish goals and who is skilled in getting lots of people to support him. Every single thing Trump has accomplished has involved using the skills of the politician, including all of the worst things we associate with the term “politician.” He simply has done it in the private sector. Why is all the smarminess of political maneuvering “not politics” when it’s in the private sector? The use of power and wheeling and dealing and leveraging assets and so on… this is politics, whether in campaigns or in corporate takeovers.
On #4, I think this is just about always a better approach, especially for leaders who’s core responsibility really doesn’t include influencing elections.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
On #1. This is really a false disjunction. There is no reason we cannot pursue both obedience to Christ and a better nation. (There is also such thing as actual national greatness apart from mere opinion. Much of that can be derived from Scripture.)
I suppose it is, if what I meant is that we can pursue only Christ’s kingdom or only national greatness. I recognize we can pursue both, that there are Christian elected officials doing just that. Sloppy rhetoric, I suppose. But what I was leading into was what people think of when they hear our name. (And maybe you’ll say that they can think of two roles or two emphases. And that’s true, too.) And I was leading into the other questions as a unit, of whether we turn Christianity into one more special interest group. I was thinking about that “Oh, him” moment when people hear a person’s name.
Michael Osborne
Philadelphia, PA
Per Aaron’s and Michael’s comments, a pastor once told me that I was one of few people he knew of who could be active in both politics and church without compromising one. Now I’ll leave it to those who know me well (some of y’all are getting there, praise God) to answer whether I manage this, or ever did, but there is a reality that now, as in the time of Paul, those who engage in politics often succumb to the siren song of power instead of acting on what is right.
Conversely, a Christian can, per Romans 13 and such, do well in both areas simply by remembering that power is simply a tool that should, in God’s economy and by God’s grace, be used to do what is right. A great example is when Paul rebuked the magistrate who had whipped him without a trial; it was not as big a deal for Paul himself, but presumably Paul knew that the magistrate’s abuse of him would correspond to his abuse of many others if he were not rebuked. I would guess this made the process of trial less painful for citizen and subject alike.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Jerry Falwell has posted this to his Facebook page, which expands on (and clarifies) his rationale for endorsing Trump:
[dmyers]Jerry Falwell has posted this to his Facebook page, which expands on (and clarifies) his rationale for endorsing Trump:
Looks like the university president needs a remedial rhetoric class. That was just plain sad. As I noted above, Falwell’s rationale for supporting Trump can be refuted as 4, 3, 2, 1. 4 bankruptcies, 3 wives, 2 political parties, 1 big problem. You’ve got to be nuts to believe that a guy who left investors and taxpayers holding the bag for billions of dollars of loans is going to be the guy to lead our country back to solvency. Just plain nuts.
And the guy who can’t deal with Megyn Kelly is somehow going to find the je ne sais quoi to deal with Assad, Putin, or for that matter Hilliary Clinton? Dream on.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
This is clearly a sign of a fool signing on with a fool. Both define the other. Take the warning either way - we’re headed into deep waters of trouble with the characters and events on our horizons.
Pooka www.lordandhearth.com
I don’t think name-calling helps… Especially when there are so many hard facts that should direct people away from Trump.
Meanwhile, more from Falwell.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/01/27/jerry-f…
In my opinion, this nation needs a citizen legislator who is a tough negotiator, one who has gone head to head with the best business minds in the world and won, a businessman who has built companies from the ground up, and who will use those experiences to be tough with China, ISIS and nations that are taking advantage of the United States by stealing our jobs.
It is more of the fantasy of the non-politician elected official.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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