Hundreds of leaders within Evangelical Christianity have put their signatures on a statement that outlines their shared beliefs and values concerning how faith and politics are connected. Not only that, but the statement in question is encouraging believers to not only look at issues, but the personal character of their candidate of choice ahead of casting their ballots in the 2024 presidential election.
Faith and politics cannot be separated. That much is certain. Religion forms our worldview. Even those who claim not to ascribe to a religious system have one. It is made up of the values and principles that create their worldview. Atheists have a naturalist/materialist view of creation, the purpose of mankind, and ethics, all of which make up their worldview. That is their religion. It’s not a matter of whether or not our “faith” informs our politics. No, the question is which beliefs should be the foundation for law that governs our society.
via The Christian Post:
More than 300 pastors, faith leaders and Christian public figures have backed the “Confession of Evangelical Conviction,” as the 2024 presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, is less than two months away. One signatory, Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and pastor of The Gathering Place Assemblies of God congregation in Orlando, Florida, told The Christian Post he is “encouraged” by the support of the statement from a broad swath of Pentecostal and Evangelical leaders from across the country.
“[They] may be different in terms of … the way they vote, see the centrality of the Gospel,” he said. “I think that it’s a good reminder, and I’m hopeful that … people who give a close read to it don’t see it as anything more than a pastoral call to ‘let’s engage this in the spirit of Christ and let’s not hurt the credibility of our Christian and Evangelical witness by speaking ill of other people who may disagree with us.'” Notable signatories include Russell Moore, former head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Revs. Galen Carey and Walter Kim of the National Association of Evangelicals; Justin Giboney of the And Campaign; progressive Christian author Shane Claiborne of the advocacy group Red Letter Christians, Christian rapper Lecrae and megachurch Pastor Joel C. Hunter.
The biggest issue with this document, in my eyes, is the fact that it has a lot of support from those who are opposed to Trump and from those who consider themselves “progressive Christians.” Many of these individuals have compromised on critical aspects of Christianity, beliefs that are clearly taught in Sacred Scripture. Issues such as women’s ordination, which is forbidden by both the Bible and tradition. Or the acceptance of homosexuality. And the list goes on.
Salguero attempts to make the case that getting support from these individuals is not an indication that the statement is aimed at those Evangelicals who are backing Trump. It’s rather difficult not to see it that way, however, when you look at the names attaching themselves to it.
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“This document is not aimed at anyone,” he said to the folks at CP. “This document is a call to put Christ first in all our public engagement. I think that I, as a pastor, don’t use the language of … aimed at this or aimed at that; I think that’s political language, not pastoral language. And I’m not a politician; I’m a pastor. And so I try to eschew phrases like ‘this is aimed at.'”
He then referred to the statement as a “Gospel-centered, biblical call to … engage in the public sphere with respect, with the spirit of Christ, with the tone of Christ and with the truth of Scripture” that is “balancing grace and truth without being uncivil, without name-calling, without being [harsh] to people who may disagree with us or who we may disagree with.”
“It’s not aimed at anyone,” he repeated. “It’s a call to the Church to remember that we engage in the public sphere in the spirit of Christ and with the teachings of Jesus. We call people from every part of the political spectrum to respect and love each other.”
Salguero then revealed his family is comprised of both Democrats and Republicans.
“There are Republicans and Democrats who I think if they read the confession closely would be fine in saying, ‘Hey, this is about having the Gospel as a primary allegiance,'” he stated.
One section of the statement says, “We give our allegiance to Jesus Christ alone.” I don’t think a single Trump supporting Evangelical would disagree with this statement. However, God rules both heaven and earth, using men as his vice regents on earth to carry out His will for human history. Should we not then seek leaders who, at the very least promote His law and principles, even if not done so explicitly?
Yes, it would be nice to have a Christian president who is morally upright. But guess what? King David was both a murderer and an adulterer, yet, by the grace of God was called a man after the Lord’s own heart. If King David or a man like him in principle was on the ballot, many Christians say they wouldn’t vote for him. That’s the conclusion that can be drawn from this statement and the attitude of many anti-Trumpers.
“We reject any message that promotes devotion to a human leader or that wraps divine worship around partisanship,” the statement adds later. Is there a cult of personality around Trump? I believe so. There’s also one around Biden and Kamala Harris too. You cannot control the hearts of others. You can only preach the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work to transform their way of thinking.
That is still no reason not to vote for the one candidate who actually, legitimately espouses policies that encapsulate your values. Anyone opposing Trump on such a flimsy basis is choosing to support a candidate who goes against God and biblical values from start to finish. How can you live with yourself for supporting a candidate who wants to legislate the murder of unborn children?
Just something to think about.