As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“It’s been painful to see the church in America follow the national discourse….. Watching old college friends—who never expressed political opinions before—suddenly waging virtual war on Facebook regarding justice (on both sides) reveals just how all-consuming politics has become.” - TGC
My thoughts below predate COVID-19, masks, hydroxychloroquine, or churches defying public health emergency orders. Last fall, different controversies were exposing problems in how believers evaluate conflicting claims and decide what to believe.
But those problems are still with us, and the current raft of controversies is exposing them even more painfully.
“I really can’t support Christian friends passing on lies and half-truths in support of Trump or any other candidate. So many of the ‘internet memes’ tell less than half the story, it would be better for us to not say anything at all, rather than passing on lies because we like to ‘stick it’ to our opponents.” - Don Johnson
“Although every believer must filter their outlook through Scripture, all believers come to the table with different upbringings and lived experiences. This is none more evident than in the world of politics.
“Politics and theology both exist on broad continuums. By virtue of Mark Galli’s editorial and CT president Tim Dalrymple’s follow-up, we’ve situated ourselves on these continuums in a kind of extreme middle—in censorial critique of the president and yet open to conversation as well as critique.” - Daniel Harrell
“When politics does come up from the pulpit, a majority of those in the pews (62%) say they agree with their leaders. The political overlap is particularly strong among evangelical Protestants, three-quarters of whom (76%) say they agree with their pastor’s political opinions, the survey found.” - Christianity Today
Wayne Grudem: “I prefer freedom. I agree with our Declaration of Independence that liberty is an ‘unalienable right’ that has been bestowed on us by our Creator. I’ll vote again for Trump.” - Townhall
Main points:
In the midst of controversy, it’s often hard to tell what problems have been created and what problems have merely been revealed. Whatever we might say about problems the election and impeachment of Donald Trump has created, it has certainly revealed some!
“It’s a sorry way to elect your leaders. ‘Your candidate is worse than mine!’ is a pitifully bankrupt motto as we enter our nation’s 59th presidential election. But it’s pretty much where evangelical Christians within WORLD’s readership find themselves. It’s a race to the bottom.” - WORLD
Discussion