Do You Desire Truth More Than Victory?
“In this election, most conservative Christians supported the policies of President Trump, especially as against those Joe Biden espouses. Most conservative Christians greatly desired the success of the Trump campaign. Those desires now drive a desperate search for any way to make the Trump campaign succeed. How far are you willing to go to see your desires succeed?” - P & D
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As an outside observer, the whole scene is very grievous to me. Many Christians seem to be valuing victory more than truth. If God wills that “our side” loses this time, should that not be enough for us?
I don’t disagree. Don clearly thinks many believers have now crossed a line. Where I differ: I think a great many crossed it in 2016. The whole evangelical support of Trump phenomenon has been an exercise in a superficial idea of “winning” over truth.
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.
Don thinks many believers “crossed the line” in 2020. Aaron believes many “crossed the line” in 2016. But what, exactly is the line, and how does one objectively evaluate when it has been crossed? I’m OK that Aaron has an opinion, and that Don has a different opinion. Are they OK if others are of the opinion that the line has not yet been crossed? This is so highly subjective that it is impossible to define accurately. As David French pointed out in another article currently posted on SI, white evangelical Christians have been strongly aligned with the Republican Party for decades. So if those same people support Trump, does that mean that they have blindly or sinfully supported a flawed man (as if previous candidates have not been flawed), or that Trump’s policies align strongly with what they already believe? Are they really putting “victory” above truth, or are they continuing to support the same truth they been supporting for many years?
G. N. Barkman
When one’s loyalty is to party rather than principle, there are few boundaries to what they are willing to say and do to win. When loyalty is to truth, there are definitely limits… especially limits that have to do specifically with truth.
Humans can often be inconsistent, of course, so there’s that. But using deceit to win the battle for truth doesn’t make a ton of sense. Using reckless disregard for facts and backing a baseless narrative in order to win the battle for truth doesn’t really either.
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.
I supported Trump’s re-election and encouraged those of my family who have a vote to vote for him. At least some of them did.
what concerns me is the constant stream of support for the hopeless attempts to overturn the result. A lot of wild theories are circulating on social media that claim to be “evidence”
if you look closely, these vain hopes are outlandish and often fraudulent themselves. You are setting your self up for huge disappointment at least, if not spiritual harm. It isn’t only the left who can “believe a lie”
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
[Don Johnson]if you look closely, these vain hopes are outlandish and often fraudulent themselves. You are setting your self up for huge disappointment at least, if not spiritual harm. It isn’t only the left who can “believe a lie”
Don,
I agree with you. With that said, many of us have felt this same scenario since 2016. The claims even more outlandish today, with a mountain load of facts that are in conflict with these claims. But many us would would argue that this is the exactly how we saw Trump in the last 4 years. I seriously saw him as one of the greatest threats to our democracy. Every step the way he acted more like Putin than he did Abraham Lincoln. He had all the traits of a dictator. In addition, he created false narratives, often built around outlandish theories, and he surrounded himself with those who would echo and support these narratives. He was very narcisstic and focused more about the wrongs to him and how he felt than how the people felt. And so on and so on and so on. What is taking place today is reflective of his very nature in the last 4 years and is not surprising to me at all. What continues to surprise me is how resilient this false narrative has become in light of the clear facts. The danger today is that he is looking for anyway possible to stay in power, and he is using the same language as other dictators. And in light of this desire to stay in power, he will bring along almost half the nation who views this election as fradulent. The sad part is that much of the evangelical world is going along with it.
[G. N. Barkman]Don thinks many believers “crossed the line” in 2020. Aaron believes many “crossed the line” in 2016. But what, exactly is the line, and how does one objectively evaluate when it has been crossed?
I would say that the line has been set in Scripture. With that said, there is no “perfect” man so everyone crosses the line. The issue becomes what is the lesser of the two evils. Many evangelicals overlooked many of Trumps bad and potentially dangerous traits because he was against abortion, for religious freedom and for many moral elements that evangelicals hold dear. Because of that they ignored or at least placated Trumps other bad qualities. You are seeing that come to an ugly head now. I believe the line has always been there, and that is why you see a split amongst some evangelicals and why there is an argument for why crossing the line was okay one way or the other.
I support the Republican party only because their platform most closely aligns with my own personal beliefs. Period.
There are lots of Republicans I think are rat finks.
At least they are rat finks that mostly pass legislation or hold policy positions I agree with.
I read a lot here and other places about how horrible Trump is. Like he is some kind of special evil. Well, here is one thing about Trump. He is the boxer who comes right at you. He fights you from the front. This is unlike the average democrat politician who is more like a neighborhood dog who stalks you from behind, and when you are not looking, bites your rear.
Compare Trump to Biden as well. Biden looks like this kindly old grandfather. Grampa Joe… Hallelujah. Honesty and forthrightness is back! Let’s all work together and get along… Only, the only thing he is going to do is promote his agenda and enough of the agenda of the Left to keep them quiet. Unlike Trump who is honest with you, Biden smiles and pats you on the back. Only then do you realize he stuck a dagger there. But he was nice about it…. and that’s what matters, right?
Where, in Scriture, do we find this “line” that some continue to refer to? Did Romney cross the line because he was a Morman? Did Clinton because he was a womanizer? Did Biden because he used the office of vice-president to enrich his family? The fact is, there is no such Biblical standard as it relates to political offices. Christian voters must weigh many factors to decide which candidate will most likely advance their concerns, or best impede dangerous ideologies.
To say that supporting Trump is putting victory ahead of truth is questionable. (Don has helpfully clarified his statement, confining it to the aftermath of the election, not the election itself.) One could, with equal validity, say that intense anti-Trumpism is a desire for victory (of eliminating Trump) at the expense of truth. It pits defeating Trump ahead of a catelogue of issues in which Democrats oppose Christian truth. It’s all how you weigh which truths apply to which considerations.
G. N. Barkman
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