By ELANA SCHOR AND JILL COLVIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS |
DEC 20, 2019 | 12:53 PM
| NEW YORK
CHUCK COLSON ONE OF THE NIXON WATERGATE CONSPIRATORS FOUND JESUS IN JAIL AND BECAME A BORN AGAIN AMERICAN EVANGELIST AND JOINED THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF CHRISTIANITY TODAY WHEN HE GOT OUT OF JAIL [EP]
President Donald Trump listens to evangelist and pastor Paula White
as she leads a prayer during a dinner for evangelical Christian
leadership in the State Dining Room of the White House on Aug. 27, 2018.
A major evangelical Christian magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham on Thursday published an editorial titled “Trump Should Be Removed from Office,” calling for President Donald Trump’s ouster from the Oval Office
The editorial in Christianity Today — coming one day after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives made Trump the third president in American history to be impeached — raised some questions about the durability of his support among the conservative evangelicals who have proven to be a critical component of his political base.
The magazine’s editorial, written by editor-in-chief Mark Galli, envisions a message to those evangelical Christians who have remained stalwart Trump backers “in spite of his blackened moral record.”
“Remember who you are and whom you serve,” Galli’s editorial states. “Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency.”
Galli’s editorial recalls that the magazine was starkly critical of former President Bill Clinton’s moral fiber during the Democrat’s 1998 impeachment proceedings, calling Clinton “morally unable to lead.”
“Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president,” the editorial stated.
Friday morning, Trump fired back, tweeting the magazine is “progressive” and that it would prefer to, “have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”
“No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close,” Trump tweeted. “You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET [sic] again!”
....have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2019
Later in the day, Trump assailed the magazine, insulting Joe Biden with the moniker “Sleepy Joe” and saying Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have a “communist bent" and won’t defend religion.
At the core of its indictment of Trump is what Galli described as the “profoundly immoral” act of seeking the assistance of the Ukrainian government in a bid “to harass and discredit” a Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath,” Galli wrote.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief took no position about whether Trump should be removed from office through a Senate conviction or a defeat at the ballot box next year, calling that a matter of “prudential judgment.”
Christianity Today was founded more than six decades ago by Graham, a leader of the modern evangelical movement who counseled multiple past presidents on matters of faith. It has a circulation of about 130,000.
While Trump wrote that the magazine “has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years,” some of his strongest evangelical supporters — including Graham’s son — were rallying to his side and against it. Their pushback underscored the political value of Trump’s hold on the evangelical Christian voting bloc that helped propel him into office and suggested the editorial would likely do little to shake that group’s loyalty.
Rev. Franklin Graham, who now leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and prayed at Trump’s inauguration, tweeted Friday morning that his late father would be “disappointed” in the magazine. Graham added that he “felt it necessary” following the editorial to share that his father, who died last year after counseling several past presidents, had voted for Trump.
Christianity Today “represents what I would call the leftist elite within the evangelical community. They certainly don’t represent the Bible-believing segment of the evangelical community,” Graham told The Associated Press in an interview.
And Graham is hardly alone among the white evangelicals who have remained loyal to the president amid political tumult. To the contrary, many prominent evangelicals have only intensified their support for Trump as Democrats moved to impeach him — circling the wagons despite Trump’s colored personal history, multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, numerous divorces, deeply divisive policies and profanity-laced comments. A Pew Research Center survey in August found 77% of white evangelical Protestants approving of Trump’s job performance.
The editorial in Christianity Today — coming one day after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives made Trump the third president in American history to be impeached — raised some questions about the durability of his support among the conservative evangelicals who have proven to be a critical component of his political base.
The magazine’s editorial, written by editor-in-chief Mark Galli, envisions a message to those evangelical Christians who have remained stalwart Trump backers “in spite of his blackened moral record.”
“Remember who you are and whom you serve,” Galli’s editorial states. “Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency.”
Galli’s editorial recalls that the magazine was starkly critical of former President Bill Clinton’s moral fiber during the Democrat’s 1998 impeachment proceedings, calling Clinton “morally unable to lead.”
“Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president,” the editorial stated.
Friday morning, Trump fired back, tweeting the magazine is “progressive” and that it would prefer to, “have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”
“No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close,” Trump tweeted. “You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET [sic] again!”
....have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2019
Later in the day, Trump assailed the magazine, insulting Joe Biden with the moniker “Sleepy Joe” and saying Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have a “communist bent" and won’t defend religion.
I guess the magazine, “Christianity Today,” is looking for Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, or those of the socialist/communist bent, to guard their religion. How about Sleepy Joe? The fact is, no President has ever done what I have done for Evangelicals, or religion itself!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2019
At the core of its indictment of Trump is what Galli described as the “profoundly immoral” act of seeking the assistance of the Ukrainian government in a bid “to harass and discredit” a Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath,” Galli wrote.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief took no position about whether Trump should be removed from office through a Senate conviction or a defeat at the ballot box next year, calling that a matter of “prudential judgment.”
Christianity Today was founded more than six decades ago by Graham, a leader of the modern evangelical movement who counseled multiple past presidents on matters of faith. It has a circulation of about 130,000.
While Trump wrote that the magazine “has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years,” some of his strongest evangelical supporters — including Graham’s son — were rallying to his side and against it. Their pushback underscored the political value of Trump’s hold on the evangelical Christian voting bloc that helped propel him into office and suggested the editorial would likely do little to shake that group’s loyalty.
Rev. Franklin Graham, who now leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and prayed at Trump’s inauguration, tweeted Friday morning that his late father would be “disappointed” in the magazine. Graham added that he “felt it necessary” following the editorial to share that his father, who died last year after counseling several past presidents, had voted for Trump.
Christianity Today “represents what I would call the leftist elite within the evangelical community. They certainly don’t represent the Bible-believing segment of the evangelical community,” Graham told The Associated Press in an interview.
And Graham is hardly alone among the white evangelicals who have remained loyal to the president amid political tumult. To the contrary, many prominent evangelicals have only intensified their support for Trump as Democrats moved to impeach him — circling the wagons despite Trump’s colored personal history, multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, numerous divorces, deeply divisive policies and profanity-laced comments. A Pew Research Center survey in August found 77% of white evangelical Protestants approving of Trump’s job performance.
Trump takes swipe at House lawmaker’s dead husband, implying he’s in hell during Michigan rally. The White House says the president was ‘just riffing.’ »
At the heart of that stalwart backing is what pro-Trump evangelicals view as the president’s significant record of achievement on their highest priorities, such as his successful installation of more than 150 conservative federal judges and his support for anti-abortion policies.
Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to Trump, tweeted that the editorial is "shameful and constitutionally ignorant." "Pious 'Never Trumpers' who feel morally justified about this #impeachmentcircus are as morally reprehensible as Democrats," Ellis tweeted.
Asked Friday in an interview with CNN about the tweets, Galli said Trump's characterization of the magazine as far left was “far from accurate," but also said he is realistic about the impact of his words.
“I don’t have any imagination that my editorial is going to shift their views on this matter," Galli said of those who support the president. “The fact of the matter is Christianity Today is not read by the people, Christians on the far right, by evangelicals on the far right, so they’re going to be as dismissive of the magazine as President Trump has shown to be.”
Johnnie Moore, a member of Trump’s evangelical advisory board, tweeted that during the “hyperventilating” over the “inconsequential” editorial, he was at Vice President Mike Pence’s residence, “where dozens of evangelicals who actually lead MILLIONS were celebrating Christmas undistracted by impeachment & grateful for the (Trump administration’s) policies.”
Adding that Christianity Today “only represents a certain segment of evangelicals,” Moore tweeted that “this is not a game changing moment or hardly a surprise.”
Another Trump evangelical adviser, Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, tweeted that the magazine is “dying” and “going against 99% of evangelical Republicans who oppose impeachment.”
The schism among Christians about whether and how strongly to support Trump dates back to before his election. Prominent Southern Baptist Russell Moore warned that Trump “incites division” in a 2015 op-ed that cited the Bible in asking fellow Christians to “count the cost of following” him, later earning a tweeted lashing from then-candidate Trump.
After Trump defended the organizers of a 2017 white nationalist rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Va., one member of his evangelical advisory board stepped down, citing “a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration.”
Chicago Tribune staff contributed
Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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EDITORIAL
Trump Should Be Removed from Office
It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was.
MARK GALLI DECEMBER 19, 2019
Image: Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images
In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment.
The typical CT approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible. We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds everyone that politics is not the end and purpose of our being. We take pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage.
That said, we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction and love. We love and pray for our president, as we love and pray for leaders (as well as ordinary citizens) on both sides of the political aisle.
Let’s grant this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day one, and therefore nearly everything they do is under a cloud of partisan suspicion. This has led many to suspect not only motives but facts in these recent impeachment hearings. And, no, Mr. Trump did not have a serious opportunity to offer his side of the story in the House hearings on impeachment.
But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.
The reason many are not shocked about this is that this president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.
Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.
This concern for the character of our national leader is not new in CT. In 1998, we wrote this:
The President's failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation. This is not a private affair. For above all, social intercourse is built on a presumption of trust: trust that the milk your grocer sells you is wholesome and pure; trust that the money you put in your bank can be taken out of the bank; trust that your babysitter, firefighters, clergy, and ambulance drivers will all do their best. And while politicians are notorious for breaking campaign promises, while in office they have a fundamental obligation to uphold our trust in them and to live by the law.
And this:
Unsavory dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered this administration morally unable to lead.
Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president. Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.
To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?
We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.
Mark Galli is editor in chief of Christianity Today.
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