Keep the Faith

HOWEVER THIS ELECTION turns out, one thing is clear.  Positions are hardening, especially for the people who pray for the best because they fear the worst.  They include some of the most God-fearing people I know.  

Some years back, an evangelical family member related how he felt like a societal outsider when it comes to his beliefs and lifestyle.  He believes in the Bible's teachings, often literally, and saw the country as hedonistic and radical in supporting gender and marriage rights, among other issues.  "We're now seen as the abnormal ones," he said, feeling oppressed.  Most of my extended family members might have agreed.

Evangelical Christians -- mainly Protestants  -- make up about one-quarter of U.S. voters, according to the Pew Research Center.  They stood among the strongest supporters of the Trump Republican party in 2016.  Most of them were white Americans, which cannot be overlooked.

Whether Trump attracts them in 2020 is iffy.  Christianity Today, the magazine founded by tele-evangelist Billy Graham, backed Trump's impeachment in a December 2019 editorial, saying "he abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath."  It urged "evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record...to remember who you are and whom you serve."  Namely, the Lord.

Other evangelicals, like hard-liner James Dobson, don't agree.  Dobson urges followers to overlook what he describes as "frivolous personality characteristics" and vote Trump all the way.  His latest open letter to politician Newt Gingrich and 799,999 other Christians pushes the right buttons to lure them to his fold.

And then there's the son of Billy, who sees a storm coming.  "I believe the socialists in this country would like to shut our churches," warns Franklin Graham, evoking visions of his Dad's fiery Red Scare messages in the 1950s.  "Our country is in trouble...thank God for Donald Trump."

So the church is split, at least from the perspective of multi-millionaire evangelical point men. Even so, Christianity Today just last month reported that the man it said should be impeached may still claim the majority of white evangelical votes.