IN THE FIRST MAJOR BREAKING OF EVANGELICAL RANKS, THE BILLY GRAHAM-FOUNDED MAGAZINE SAYS DONALD TRUMP LACKS THE REQUIRED CHARACTER FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Full Text of the Editorial:
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.
"Thank you so much for praying for my wife and for my family. God answered our prayers this morning by relieving her of suffering. But the truth is, He has been answering our prayers all along. Lois lived beyond medical expectations, not once, but over and over again. God has been so kind to give us more time to make wonderful memories.
