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Evangelical Leaders Condemn Riots at U.S. Capitol

By Josh Shepherd
Trump Riot insurrection capitol
Trump supporters participate in a rally that turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021. ( (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Evangelical leaders from diverse Christian organizations are condemning yesterday’s riots, which left four people dead.

“I never thought I would see such a scene like this in the United States,” tweeted Rev. Tony Suarez, an itinerant evangelical minister and vice president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. “This is the kind of stuff that happens in places like Venezuela but not here.”

Several took aim at President Trump, who said in a video message yesterday that rioters should “go home,” while also calling them “very special,” and stating, “We love you.” (The video has since been deleted by Twitter for violating safety policies.)

Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C., which has both praised and chided Trump, tweeted: “Advocacy for good causes like pro-life, religious liberty etc. doesn’t count for much when the supposed advocate is lawless, malevolent, unbalanced.”

Similarly Boz Tchividjian, an attorney and founder of G.R.A.C.E. (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment), said the president’s response shook him and tweeted: “It’s no longer protesting. It’s an attempted revolution that was birthed by idolizing and enabling a sociopathic narcissistic autocrat wannabe. Truly tragic.”

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Others reacted to signs at the riots that were religious in nature. These included signs saying, “Jesus 2020” and “Proud American Christian.”

Pastor Rolland Slade
Pastor Rolland Slade

In a statement to The Roys Report, Pastor Rolland Slade, the first African-American elected chairman of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the images “were definitely hurtful.”

He added: “I never expected to see images like these coming from our nation’s capital. They do not depict the Jesus of the Bible, even when I imagine Him turning over tables.”

Similarly, Aaron Earls, online editor for LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennesee, tweeted: “We need to wrestle with why violent terrorists feel comfortable carrying Christian flags and ‘Jesus saves’ posters while fighting police and storming government buildings.”

Christian recording artist Nichole Nordeman reacted to the photos, as well. “The number of Jesus signs, Christian flags, and crosses on display during this attempted coup and attack on the Capitol building . . . is absolutely sickening to me,” she tweeted. “I’m not surprised to see it, but boy does it hurt.”

https://twitter.com/nicholenordeman/status/1346940612159877121

Popular Christian author and Bible study leader Beth Moore tweeted: “I don’t know the Jesus some have paraded and waved around in the middle of this treachery today. They may be acting in the name of some other Jesus but that’s not Jesus of the Gospels.”

Looking to the future, Reverend Slade urged Christians to examine themselves.

“We have to look at ourselves, our behaviors, and comments first. We need to ask ourselves: How have I contributed to the current tone and tenor within the community and nation? If there is anything that I am doing that is provoking those who have a different opinion than my own?”

The SBC leader cited Hebrews 12:14, which reads: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Dr. Lina Abujamra
Dr. Lina Abujamra

Lina Abujamra, a medical doctor who leads a Bible teaching ministry, said Christians need to prioritize their public witness above political goals. She said her perspective is informed by growing up in Lebanon, a country divided by war.

“While political engagement is not wrong in and of itself, how we are fighting matters more than we might imagine,” she said. “I have learned that the only way for Christians to shine in a hurting culture and to maintain our testimony as followers of Jesus is by spending more time on our knees than shouting political jargon from the rooftops.”

Likewise, Senate chaplain Barry Black—an ordained Baptist minister and frequent speaker at the National Day of Prayer—urged Americans to use their words to bring healing.

“These tragedies have reminded us that words matter,” he prayed. He then cited Proverbs 18:21. “The power of life and death is in the tongue. . . . Use us to bring healing and unity to our hurting and divided nation and world.”

Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his wife live in the Washington, D.C. area with their son.

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77 Responses

  1. They’ve never seen anything like it?
    Did those “Christians” forgot the “summer of love” by ANTIFA and BLM Marxists?
    How many people were killed, police officers murdered and injured, during the summer of love?
    As the so called “media” reported “mostly peaceful” demonstrations?
    Why do I get a feeling those so called “christians” are NEVER Trumpers?
    The people that entered the Capitol are using the same EXACT tactics as ANTIFA….except wearing MAGA hats?
    It was planned!!!!! Have some discernment, would ya?
    The election has been stolen, people.
    Now, the radical leftists are the majority in the Senate, House, and Oval Office. You better be prepared for the the anti Christian legislation and Executive Orders by Bidne/Harris/Obama.
    Those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

    1. This “whataboutism” response is why we are where we are. Sin is sin, regardless of political affiliation or ideology. God is not pleased with our constant, finger-pointing, back-and-forth “but what about THEM and when THEY did it!?” response to sin. That is not indicative of conviction or repentance.
      Our nation needs prayer. In the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14, we ALL need to repent and return to God for Him to heal our land. And yes, we also need to pray for our leaders, whether we voted for them or not.
      What we are witnessing is horrifying.

      1. My guess is that the point of the above commenter was to show that the behavior was of Antifa whom had infiltrated the crowd, not to point a finger. This was planned.

        1. Mariana –
          This has NOT been proven to be true.
          This is little more than fear mongering. I’ve lived through my fair share of “Democratic-majority” led governments; capitalism, along with the freedom of speech, religion and to bear arms remained, and the number of abortions continued to decline from their peak in the 70’s.
          Take a deep breath and pray.
          If anything, any decline in worship or the church’s influence is not due to the left or any political policy or agenda. It’s due to the shameful hypocrisy of “Christians” that’s been on public display – tarnishing our witness before the world.

          1. My Lord! My Lord! MH you are so right! The Body of Christ has not exemplified the love, honesty and integrity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our hypocrisy has shamed our witness and maligned
            His Great Name! We must repent and truly return in prayer, love and action!

            No political party or particular church denomination will save our nation/world. Have we forgotten the reason why Jesus Christ came into this cruel world and died such an horrific death on the cross? As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have our mandate and our mission. Matthew 28:19-20
            Amplified Bible
            19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” There’s a great harvest awaiting us – let’s go!!

    2. Your statement stating that our President elect Biden will not act within his Christian principles is a very judgmental thing to say. He professes to be a Bible believing person. He has conducted himself with professionalism and civility despite how he has been treated by President Trump. Secondly people who have aligned themselves with BLM are not all Marxists. Most of my friends who are black would never call themselves Marxists and most have lived lives full of discrimination which most white people have never experienced.

      1. Joe Biden Christian principles. As in when he told the factory worker that he was full of blank. OK got it. Thanks for that clarification.

        1. Jeff, you don’t want to go there. Trump’s language has been full of cursing, bullying, and proven dishonesty, yet “Christians” continue to cheer, encourage, promote and excuse it under the sloppy-agape language of “we all know Trump is flawed” and “I didn’t elect him to be a pastor.” Perhaps you can clarify how this has been acceptable, and why the same grace is not extended to Democrats? I mean, Biden is flawed (we all are) and no one is electing him to be a pastor. So, where’s the grace?
          Oh yeah…it’s SELECTIVE.

          Do we want to keep doing this back and forth finger pointing, or actually take this to God in much-needed prayer?

          1. Look at the party platform of the Reoublicans ( pro family, pro family, anti abortion, no CRT beliefs, against homosexuality, against marriage of same sex, against transgender bathrooms, against illegal immigration etc.). Then read the Democrat party platform. It is against all christian beliefs and all above mentioned. I write this on Oct. 31, 2021, how did voting Biden work for you today. Trump PERSONALLY is a big hot mess but his four years were very good for our country.

      2. Totally agree with you. Biden is a true man of integrity and the faith…. except that part about legally allowing physicians to cut the heads off of babies at birth (euphemism – partial birth abortion). Total man of integrity.

        1. Ahhh the abortion issue. Do some homework because I have. Since Reagan do you know how many times the god fearing gop have brought to the floor a bill to reverse roe? Do know how many times god fearing gop has organized and stood on the steps of the capital and had a giant fox covered events to reverse roe? NOT ONCE. Every month or day or week a member of the congress or senate can introduce a bill to reverse and they don’t. WHY. Because without abortion the gop has no platform. Oh yes lower taxes so we can have trickle up economy and blowing the crap out of any and all countries. That’s also there platform. Do your homework. Oh and notice how the loud mouth members of the gop pumped the shotgun and allowed the rabble to pull the trigger. Now they are all “oh let’s move on your dividing the country “ they caused the riots and now they can barely even remember the guy named trump.

      3. Joe Biden is not a Christian, he cannot possibly be. No man filled with the Holy Spirit can or will support abortion, homosexual lifestyles or Marxists such as BLM.
        There is no fear of God with that man.

        1. Hm, interesting. I question how anyone filled with the Holy Spirit can or will support and defend Trump’s adulterous lifestyle (3 marriages, 5 children, with public acknowledgement of cheating on each wife with the next one), lying (proven too many times to count), cursing (calling people “sons of b*tches” and full of “bullsh*t” at public rallies), bullying (belittling those he dislikes or who dare to disagree with him on public platforms and at rallies), or admission that he hasn’t ever asked God for forgiveness because he hasn’t seen the need for it (a BASIC requirement for salvation).
          Yet here we are, with Christians doing the following:
          – deflecting and playing “whataboutism” when sin is called out. If you don’t think Democrats are Christians (a whole other debate), then fine, stop expecting Democrats to behave like Christians. But when claiming and defending conservatives as Christians, scripture says you SHOULD expect them to behave like it and call them out on their sin.
          – turning on fellow Christians who do not “fall in line” and support Trump. It’s SHAMEFUL how we publicly devour our own over politics.
          – using righteous excuses to defend unrighteous behavior. Abortion is NOT a reason to defend Trump’s behavior
          – hiding behind “we didn’t elect a pastor, but a President”. This shows unbelievable ignorance to how God repeatedly punished Israel for the ungodly behaviors and leadership of its kings
          – being selective on who to extend grace to, with the claims of “Trump is flawed” when his bad behavior is on display but ranting how Biden/Pelosi/Obama/Clinton/Harris/any Democrat is not a Christian/the anti-Christ/athiest/hates God” when their bad behavior comes up. This is idolizing politics. One does not have to support or belong to a political party to receive grace. One only needs to be covered with the blood of Christ.

          All of this points to my questioning why those who are led by the Holy Spirit continue to support and defend a man who demonstrates he lacks humility, empathy, integrity, and fear of God.

          1. Because we had no other person but Trump to vote for. I would never vote any Democrat into office even if he had impeccable personal behavior. I vote for the party platform. How can you vote for abortion, homosexuality, anti police, illegal immigration, open borders, transsexuals in bathrooms and on and on. Trump left this country in very good condition after 4 years. No he was not a great or perfect President but he did a good job. Yes he personally is a mess morally. President Biden has been president for 10 months and the country is in terrible shape in every category. I shuttered to what will happen in another 3 years.

            Lots of very good Presidents had bad personal lives. I had 2 choices to vote for Clinton/Biden or Trump. I strongly dislike Trump as a person but his policies sure we’re heads above the Democrats. The Clintons were both corrupt personally according to decades of sources and facts. Biden has a bad track record too morally. I hope Trump does not run in next time. But if it comes down again to him or a Democrat I am taking Trump again. This country is barely recognizable since Biden has been in office for a mere 10 months. He is a big liar too just like Trump was.

    3. “Nothing more surely makes manifest a man’s spiritual blindness and deadness and hardness of heart than this hiding behind others and confessing their faults instead of his own, and nothing will more surely confirm him in his blindness and sin. It is a deadly kind of hypocrisy. It is an endeavor to shift on to others responsibility for a man’s own evil heart and life, and it can meet only with God’s displeasure.” – Samuel Logan Brengle

      God help me and all of us to be honest before God about our own condition and “our own side.”

    4. While many of us grieve in the behavior of the protesters at the capital, I like you, wonder where Nicole Nordeman was this summer? I never heard her say a word when peoples lives and businesses were being destroyed all over the United States in riots and innocent people were killed. If you’re going to condemn this behavior condemn it on both sides of the issue not just one. Failure to do so simply reveals your own personal hypocrisy. Same with Beth Moore…… Criticize wrong everywhere you see it, not just where its comfortable on your side of the political issue

      1. Cynthia, the rumors about it being Antifa that broke into the capital have been widely disproven. Many of the people pictured inside the capital building have been identified and linked to longstanding views of being pro Trump.

        1. By who? What’s your sources?
          I’ve seen sources that show the guy in the Baphomet (horned goat guy) is a known BLM/Anti-fa activist. A picture on Twitter showed him posting with Pelosi’s son in law. There are videos showing “cops” opening the metal bike guard racks to let protestors in and also a “cop” leading protesters including Mr. Baphomet into the Capitol. Here’s one of mine.

          https://youtu.be/B_RP6G3lH6E

      2. Personally I believe Trump and Biden are both part of the “Deep State”…however, this “storming” the capitol was staged as were the riots this summer. Can you all not see how you’re being played against each other? I agree with Uwe’s comment that Christians are going to be portrayed as intolerant, dangerous radicals. They WANT to incite us against one another” A house divided against itself will not stand.”

        I know someone who was at the Capitol when this all happened and they said there was no violence…they were singing hymns and happy songs and yelling “Stop the Steal” when they were gassed by the police. A group of people came out of nowhere and, together, started climbing the large barriers and the police stood back and watched them…no tear gas and no movement to hold them back.

        Both Vice President Biden and President Trump have “baggage” in their pasts (and lots of it). As Christians, can we not pull ourselves out of the political paradigm and start standing for Christ?

      3. Jeff, do you not think that you are being unfair to people like Nichole Nordeman? Should we not be happy when someone finds her voice to speak out on something, even if she has remained silent in the past? Are Christians supposed to speak out on EVERY single issue EVERY time it happens? That is why we have media, and excellent reporting by people like Julie, to inform us of those issues. Christians are then free to weigh in according to their conscience.

    5. I am not an Evangelical Christian anymore. I was inside like most of you for 20 years. I am having a little trouble coming to terms, maybe someone can help here. When I first is born again and came into to the churches in about 1994, I heard from friends who were involved in Dominion theology reading stuff by rushdoony Schaefer Etc. Over the years I heard the talk and the atmosphere of anti-government rhetoric, General paranoia of the government coming to get you and your guns, as well as fear of global elitist. Also there was lots of slander about the UN and Obama going to take people away to concentration camps and FEMA body bags. I heard Barton come and speak at churches with his inaccurate history from what I’m told and rile up Patriots who were the “true” Americans. The outright fantasies of owning weapons so that Christians would be able to defend themselves from the government that was coming to get them. And there was so much more. I’m not saying that all of this was being openly preach about., of course not as I suppose that wouldn’t bring new members. But it was among all of us. In fact isn’t it built into the whole system of apocalyptic thinking? So I want to know on here who will be honest and say they heard these things and were part of them? How complicit are the churches for allowing this and it’s midst? We as Christians were puzzled when all Muslims in the US would not explicitly state they have nothing to do theologically with 911. Now Evangelical Christians are in the same position. I haven’t seen any denounce Donald Trump himself yet. Has the church become a curse to America? What is their complicity? Please save any religious or scripture “comebacks” they are pretty meaningless at this point, I won’t play that game anymore.

      1. Mike – I don’t think you are “seeing things”, and regrettably what you’re talking about is consistent with what I’ve observed over time too. There seems to to be a strange fixation on conspiracies and bigger agendas. That’s one problem in of itself. At the same time, that seems to have taken the focus off of the basics like simply being nice to people and telling the truth. To your point about “comebacks”, I completely understand where you are coming from as well. I’m a professional with a college degree – not an advanced lawyer, but I consider myself literate. What I find though is I often have questions to what I think are basic questions (ex. Why is that person lying?, why do Christians judge some wrongs harshly for some, but don’t have the same moral outrage when their leaders sin…), but I see answers/responses I don’t understand I mean the 3 page scripture references are beyond my ability to follow. It’s not that I disagree, but I simply can’t follow the language and logics

        What I think you are hitting on here is that many people who had previously found a home in the Evangelical church are in a place of being spiritually homeless. I can’t speak for you personally, but I imagine many are in this spot. Especially after the end of this week, many others are probably going to look at the back of family car and reconsider which bumper stickers they want to keep on display.

  2. Excellent article. Unfortunately one prominent evangelical leader has apparently supported these riots by concurrently tweeting, ““They have a right to protest. To tell people to go home, it’s not for me to decide that. The people who broke the windows in the Capital did not look like the people out there demonstrating. Most likely it was antifa.” The Antifa claims have been repeatedly disproven by fact checks in the past 24 hours. W H has stated the issue succinctly, “This “whataboutism” response is why we are where we are.”

    1. You can’t possibly disprove claims that Antifa was part of the riot unless you identify every single individual who was part of the riot and their entire history of political activism and personal political beliefs, which no supposed fact checker would have been able to do already. Fact checking has become most often used for political propaganda and that’s exactly what any supposed fact checker is using it for if they claim it’s a fact that Antifa was not part of the riot. It is reasonable to believe Antifa was present as many of the individuals committing some of the worst acts of violence fit the long-established pattern of Antifa attacking law enforcement and broke from the long-established pattern of Trump supporters assembling peacefully and respecting law enforcement. I hope they find out who the guy is who had a huge hood covering his head and going far in front of his face making it almost impossible for any cameras to catch his face, the guy who was beating police over the head with a hockey stick from behind a group of rioters who were just trying to push past police officers.

      1. So Eric, your argument is “you can’t possibly disprove claims Antifa was part of the riot unless you identify every single individual”. Well, the SAME goes for “you can’t possibly PROVE Antifa was part of the riot unless you identify every single individual.” Hold yourself to the same standard. Have YOU identified every single individual there? If not, what gives YOU the right to accurately claim Antifa was there?
        You are doing little more than spreading rumors and presenting your opinions, assumptions and stereotypes as facts. That is dishonest and dishonorable.

        1. it would actually be much easier to prove Antifa was present than to disprove they were present, as you would only need to identify one person as Antifa, as opposed to identifying every single person. It’s reasonable to believe Antifa was present, as I explained, but I would not say as a matter of fact Antifa was present and I would not say the presence of Antifa has been proven.

      2. They did find the guy in the hood. His name is Jake Angeli. He is known as the “QAnon Shaman” and has been to many Trump rallies in Arizona. QAnaon is a cancerous conspiracy theory that is unfortunately infiltrating the church and Trump has warmly accepted their support. They have also identified a former Olympian and military officer. There may very well have been some Antifa there to join the mayhem, but there were plenty of regular folks that appear to have been radicalized, perhaps by many of the false prophets that are doubling down that God told them Trump would win. What a sad day!

  3. There should be a reckoning for those Evangelical leaders who have encouraged this behavior. Eric Metaxas has blood on his hands. Franklin Graham has been promoting bogus election fraud conspiracy theories and blaming obviously pro-Trump violence on Antifa. Senators Cruz and Hawley both profess to be Christians but have no compunction about spouting lies and fanning the flames of conspiratorial discord in their quest for worldly power.
    We should be chastened that it took a Mormon (Mitt Romney) to speak the truth last night about how so many people, including too many Christians, have been deceived by the dangerous lies promoted by Trump and his Q-anon fan club.
    I’m not a big fan of Mike Pence, but at least he is a sincere Christian and cares about his country. We need him to be President the next 13 days instead of the increasingly unhinged narcissist we have now.

  4. It’s been hard for me to believe Chistians who have supported and enabled this president for the past four years in spite of the hatred and bigotry he constantly spews. I’m just amazed and sad.

    1. Several thoughts:

      – Many Christians voted for Trump policies, not Trump the person. There is much to dislike about Trump and his attitude, but he has delivered on several areas important to evangelicals and that have great impact on our country. Namely, strong Pro Life policies, and a shift to more conservative courts that are less likely to render decisions that oppose God’s standards. As someone recently said, the Trump administration is best dealt with on mute.

      – As usual, the media greatly misreported the event. I recently talked with someone who went to the rally, and they said it was generally peaceful. The capitol stormers were a small percentage who did not represent the larger group. As my friend put it “a bunch of provocateurs showed up” I watched Trump’s speech, and he told the crowd to go peaceably to the capitol. He did not tell them to riot.

      – Despite his shortcomings as a person, Trump has done much for this country, especially decisions more likely to support God’s standards, or at the very least, not oppose them.

      – We are greatly underestimating the changes coming to America with the new administration, and those appointed to cabinet level positions, and how much those policies will oppose what we believe as Christians.

  5. Seems no one cares about truth just pushing their side’s narrative. If only we had a fair and honest media.

  6. I am ashamed that Evangelicals contributed to this mess, For what.? The abortion issue was a red herring. We’ve had Republicans presidents in the last 50years, as well as Republican control of the house and senate. Religious freedom? I have seen no threats to religious freedom. I think Evangelicals have sold their soul for a bowl of red pottage.

    1. Leslie, you have stated what should be obvious to everyone, but apparently is obvious to very few, namely that by focusing on one issue (which hasn’t even been delivered on in 50 years) evangelicals have sold their souls to political party and gotten a bowl of pottage in return. When persecution comes it will be because Christians- great and small alike- have tied the name of Jesus with a political party.

      The real issue here- which is hard to explain in a chat box- is the futility of Christians seeking worldly solutions to spiritual problems. Is there abortion? We must help people learn to value life. Is there rampant sexual immorality? We need to lead people to the Savior who will cleanse their hearts and cause them to walk in love and purity. Is there bullying and hatred? We need peacemakers, the kind who are empowered by the Spirit of Jesus who said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

      The problem is Christians have bought into a worldly system of solving societies problems. In the Bible “The World” is an agreed system of acting in any given culture which is contrary to God’s purposes and plans for humanity. In some countries, “the world” shows itself through bowing down to images made by human hands. In those places people have agreed that worship before such images can solve their problems. In America the worldly system we have bought into is the belief that “the law” will save us and solve socities problems. By the law I mean the constitution. Or law as decided through justices of the supreme court. Or laws made by our legislatures. Those laws.

      However we are foolish to put our hope in supreme court justices to uphold laws in the hopes that this will save our society. No society can be saved by the law. The law kills! Only the Spirit gives life.

      This worship of the law as the answer to societal problems has led good Christian people I know to close their eyes and excuse the bullying, narcissistic, erratic and now unhinged behavior of a leader all because he was willing to appoint conservative justices. At least that is what my friends have told me motivated their support of him.

      If we continue seeking worldly answers to spiritual problems we will continue reaping such consequences as we are seeing this week. We cannot serve both God and the world.

    2. If it weren’t for President Trump we would not have religious freedom in America anymore. It’s easy to say you don’t feel threatened when the Supreme Court has a majority who defend religious liberty because Donald Trump was elected in 2016.

      1. More fear mongering that not only highlights the ignorance of how our government works but also positions Trump as some sort of savior. We have religious freedom because our Constitution instills it – and that is upheld by THREE branches of government. We do not have religious freedom because of Trump. We were not struggling for religious freedom before Trump was born or before he was voted in, nor will we be struggling for it after he leaves office or after his death. He did not singlehandedly add or uphold “religious freedom”. Our Constitution and THREE branches of government have established and enforced our religious freedom since the founding of our nation.
        This is an unbelievable case study in the idolatry of one man.

        1. MH your comment is incredibly ignorant and slanderous. It’s really sick that you would accuse people of idolatry for speaking truth about our political reality. In Roe v Wade the Supreme Court singlehandedly legalized the subsequent murder of 50 million babies through abortion through a perverted fabrication of a new constitutional right, which was actually a license to kill which violated an actual constitutional right, the right to life. The other two branches of government had nothing to do with it, other than the president appointing Supreme Court justices and the Senate approving them. If the Supreme Court can singlehandedly eliminate the right to life and there’s nothing Congress or the president can do about it, of course they can unilaterally take away religious liberty if they so choose. Lower courts around the country were already taking away people’s religious liberties and state governments were destroying people’s lives because of their faith. Hillary Clinton promised that as president she would change people’s religious beliefs when they don’t conform to her political agenda. And that’s exactly what she would have done. And if she appointed the last 3 Supreme Court justices instead of Trump, the Supreme Court would absolutely have backed her effort to crack down on religious liberty and would have made their own rulings to take away religious liberty. (That’s where we have come in American government. The Constitution only says what the Supreme Court says it says.) But since Trump was elected instead of Hillary, he chose the last three Supreme Court justices and they are all strong defenders of religious liberty. So the political reality is that the only reason we still have religious liberty in America is because Trump won the 2016 election.

          1. You believe all our religious freedom is due solely to Trump.
            Facts point to it being literally hundreds of years of other factors, people and policies….including SEVERAL times Republicans had full control of our branches of government and did nothing to reverse Roe. (Why is that??)
            I respect your right to give sole credit to Trump. Please respect my right to reference US politics and world history – which is what I have a degree in.

  7. We read an article like this and it is so easy just to parrot “talking points,” isn’t it? As Christians I think we can do better.

    But thinking Christians have disagreed, haven’t they? What are some of the reasons?f

    As an evangelical I’ve been very sad to see so many that have overlooked character flaws of candidate Trump, significant flaws which were obviously resulting in bad fruit, and well before any election.

    Seems to me that we’ve been willing to set aside character (even though the Bible and our own political history have told us otherwise).

    And it seems to me that keep maintaining an unsatisfied hunger for power (yes, Trump is immoral, but he will do our bidding and his being obnoxious is what it takes) has not served us well.

    And then there is our pride. When his actions bore fruit, we were unwilling to admit we made a mistake. And now it has come this and some of us still can’t see it.

    Were the leaders mentioned in this article sounding warnings all along? I don’t know. Some evangelical leaders were. I was especially grateful for Piper’s explanation (prior to Nov 3) as to why he couldn’t vote for Trump in 2020.

    Thanks, Roys Report, for the variety of areas in which you challenge us to think and weigh issues rather than mindlessly parroting talking points.

    1. “Admitting we made a mistake?” What choice do we really have? We have dishonest, immoral people running for President on both sides of the equation. When the characters of both are so very questionable and they BOTH have said and done things that are horrendous…(while both CLAIMING they are Christian) at that point, we are only voting for the principles we hold dear…and those are different for everyone.

      1. I’m thinking you might agree that there were many qualified conservative candidates leading up to the 2016 elections in the primaries. That is something that I’m especially thinking of. I understand and respect those who voted for Trump as the lesser of two evils. That said, I think many made (and are making) the mistake of undying loyalty rather than holding an officer holder to account. We can continue to have that role of prayerfully disagreeing. Interested in your thoughts.

  8. There have been countless Trump rallies with thousands of people in attendance at each and no violence whatsoever (indeed the Capitol police may have been lulled into a false sense of security because big Trump events are normally so peaceful). Suddenly there is violence at a Trump event. Does it occur to anybody that those with a very different agenda might have infiltrated the crowd masquerading as Trump supporters for their own purposes? As Christians we are supposed to value some discernment.

    1. Discernment? Open your eyes! Were the Trump supporters in Charlottesville peaceful? Many of the rioters at the Capitol openly identified themselves as Trump supporters on camera including a newly elected member of the West Virginia legislature! Stop the lying please!

      1. It is naive to think that everybody who purports to be a Trump supporter is in fact a Trump supporter. Very naive indeed.

        1. Just as it is naive to label all those who have problems with Trump’s character and behavior as “never Trumpers”.
          Just as it is naive to label all Democrats as progressives, athiests, or socialists.
          Just as it is naive to label all who believe black lives actually matter as Marxists.
          I can go on and on. Interesting how you only see the naivete on one side.

          1. M H has some interesting stereotypes in his or her imagination as he or she distorts what people actually say in the current political dialog.

          2. M H, thanks for succinctly stating the issue with painting everyone to one’s left as ungodly. Susan sees your comments as distortion. I see them as poignant. One of us must be suffering from confirmation bias. Let the reader decide.

  9. Principled conservatives must oppose the Trump cult of personality as much as they oppose progressives. But the opposition to both will be based on tolerance of differences and creative persuasion not violence..

  10. For me, it’s hard to take seriously anything white evangelical leaders say when 80% of them voted for Trump and nearly that number still supported him in this last election. It’s not like I and others didn’t try to warn them about him. They helped create this monstrosity of a government. It’s a little late for them to try to appear outraged or distance themselves from it. They own this.

  11. A large majority of evangelicals have fully supported this president over the past four years. For the past 4 years we have been barraged by Trumps Tweets that are abusive, vulgar, offensive, vicious, belittling, disrespectful, ruthless, vulgar, brutish, uncaring, savage, and sadistic. Is it any wonder the storming of the Capitol by the mob occurred under Trump’s treacherous and seditious language?

    I believe a number of evangelical leaders need to publicly repent of their support for Trump over these four years and need to be relieved of their ministry.

  12. Here’s what I want to know. Where are the patriots? Where are the spiritual prayer warriors? Where are the intercessors? We are clearly in a spiritual war here.

    We are not going to see what we need to see by listening to a lying news media, by listening to our own fears, or listening to our unbelief.

    What we need is faith now. Prayer warriors now. This is not about whatever man or political party we want an office. This is ultimately about God’s will for America. He wants righteousness. He wants to darkness out. And he’s looking for people who are going to pray with him. No matter what you think about what’s going on right now.

    Yes I agree the protest was horrific. It’s stupid to storm the capital. I for one, do you think antifa was involved. I think the fraud is real. Yet, this is not ultimately what matters, what matters is the word of God.

    And I agree with Dr. Lina Abujamra and Barry Black. We need to be bringing this in prayer. Now. And the power of life and death is in the tongue and the word of God will not return void so what we need to be doing right now is praying with his word and agreeing with his word. Think of it, Lazarus, the Red Sea, Psalm 36. I’m sure you can look in your Bible and find plenty of things to pray out loud right now.

    I know what we’re seeing out there looks disheartening. I was sad and angry to see it myself. But I’m not going to give up I’m going to continue praying. And whoever you are, whatever you believe, if you’re a Christian and you want nothing more than Jesus stand up now and pray for our country America for God to Manifest in our land now.

    Rise up and make your appeal to heaven. Put your faith in our Awesome God.

    -Esther

  13. I’m going to add this too. I live in one of those cities that was met with riots over racism this past summer. We were disturbed by what had happened, we were sad and angry about the racism that’s happened far too long in our country, but we were also angry at those who came to try and destroy our city with violence. Because we love our city and we did not want to see businesses burned and destroyed. When the antifa and the outsiders came in they brought spiritual darkness with them. We could feel it. And then some people were killed. Enough, we said in the Church. So we rose up to pray. And we knew the darkness was turned away and at the light and righteousness of God would have its way. And prayer is still needed because there’s a lot of hurting people now in the aftermath of these riots, there’s still destroyed businesses that need to be rebuilt and there’s a lot of people just trying to figure out their way. And prayer is still needed Because there’s still so many hurting. because there’s still so many hurting. But the thing we’re praying is for unity and righteousness. And I’m praying righteousness for America right now.
    -Esther

  14. I keep wondering when the church will wake up and understand that our business is not politics, but the kingdom of God. We have sold our souls to Twitter, Facebook, our news preferences, and our candidates. I talk to some friends from church who talk more about their political preferences than they do about Scripture and how they see God working in their lives. Civic engagement is important, but the Kingdom should be all consuming. We need to pray, we need to share the Good News (without political nuances), and be known for acts of kindness for all. By the way, I haven’t missed a presidential election since I’ve been old enough to vote, but my candidate(s) and party do not consume my life-Jesus does.

    1. Linn, thank you for saying this. I could not have said it better. It is time for the church to be the church, and for God’s people to act as His children. One day, “the kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). Our political differences and squabbling will seem petty on that day.

  15. This is rich. These people – purported Evangelical leaders – where have they been this entire time while the church itself is being ransacked by the Macdonald’s, Hybels, Furticks of the world? It is just now that they decide to crawl out from under a rock saying “This is not the America I know”. All I can say is wake up Evangelical leaders – this is the America we know now as there have been many dark forces at work for decades leading this country to where we are today. I would like to hear more from the good doctor above; “Lina Abujamra, a medical doctor who leads a Bible teaching ministry, said Christians need to prioritize their public witness above political goals. She said her perspective is informed by growing up in Lebanon, a country divided by war.” She has a profound story to tell me thinks – and we all would be well informed to listen. Otherwise the road to civil war marches on.

    A house divided against itself will not stand.

  16. Too little, too late. Too many white evangelicals and their leaders created this monster. 80 percent of them voted for this monster. I and many others knew the kind of person Trump was and were revolted by it from the start. And for four years we have been appalled at what he does and what the man they supported has done. It was not hard to see that he was evil. And we were often reviled by them and certainly by him for trying to point it out.

    Spare me the disingenuous outrage and sudden enlightenment. It doesn’t erase almost five years of sin. What I want to see is some repentance. Shame on anyone who supported this monster.

    1. Evangelicals knew exactly what they were getting when they started vetting Trump years before the 2016 election. He is exactly who they were looking for and wanted. Like Trump, white evangelicals don’t think they have anything to repent of. They believe white supremacy is a righteous and Godly cause. They think that God is a white supremacist because they are. They think God hates non-whites and unsaved people because they do. They cannot fathom and refuse to believe that Jesus loves non-white and unsaved people as much as he loves them. He does not want them destroyed or to die in their sin. Not one of them and that includes the unrepentant Donald Trump. They really don’t care. All they care about is political power. They used Trump and Trump used them. The victims are the American people.

      Evangelicals are a religous Republican cult that has infiltrated Christianity and is destroying it from within with their white supremacy tainted quest for political power. The kicker is they are geniuinely confused as to why so many people want absolutely nothing to do with them. What they don’t really care about is that people are rejecting Jesus Christ and his very Good News because of them. People can’t see Jesus for these hypocritical fanatics who’ve hijacked the Gospel message to use as a weapon and a cover for their own political pursuits. So, unbelievers run away. Chrisitans are running away as well. Many Chrisitans just can’t deal with the hypocrisy known as Evangelicalism anymore.

      This all started with Sarah Palin and her “Tea Party.” She kicked the “I want my country back ” rhetoric off. She was the first Trump and Evangelicals loved her. So the gas was poured and the match was lit years ago. All Trump did was stoke the fire McCain allowed Palin to set and throw the match.

      Right wing Evangelicals still, to this moment, continue to manufacture wild conspiracies while scapegoating Obama, BLM, Antifa and other secular groups that have absolutely nothing to do with their own ungodly behavior. They will not repent and they won’t take responsibility for their sin. They’re too busy trying to beat someone else over the head with the beam from their own eye to humble themselves and repent.

      1. Sorry, but I really cannot agree with much of what you posted. While the government is not the solution to all our problems, we at least want a government that is not part of the problem. I resent your rant against white evangelicals: They believe white supremacy is a righteous and Godly cause.

        No white evangelical I know believes that.

        The ones I know:
        1. Run Crisis Pregnancy Centers that equally serve minority families, not just white ones.
        2. Support orphanages in other countries that that rescue children from trafficking.
        3. Send teams to drill water wells in other countries, set up medical clinics, schools, etc.
        4. Some have served in state legislatures, passing laws to require abstinence based sex education in schools, rather than the failed “safe sex” education often promoted. Those laws and related education have significantly reduced teen pregnancies and abortions across ALL racial and economic groups.
        5. The list could go on and on.

        Lastly, regarding theories about BLM and Antifa, read the web sites of the national organizations to find out what those organizations really believe.

        – Greg

        1. Thank you, Greg B, for speaking some much needed truths. Those deceived by nice sounding slogans about what certain organizations are actually about while making goofy statements about other movements are modeling their own flawed political notions rather than the love of Jesus Christ.

        2. Greg –
          Please DO continue with your list. Because throughout history MANY white evangelicals “did good” while voting against fair housing, school integration, and the like which would allow those same minorities could be their neighbors. (Ironically, white evangelicals are saying NOTHING on how Trump’s GOP wants to let elements of the Voting Rights Act expire) Many white evangelicals continue to “do good” as long as issues of diversity and integration “stay over there” and don’t show up on their doorstep or in their congregation.

          I am a black woman who belongs to a predominantly white evangelical church, and I speak from experience. I’ve sat in the meetings where those SAME white evangelicals who just came back from “ministering” in a minority neighborhood do the following:
          – Express “cultural concern” over having a black associate pastor
          – Want to talk about “not losing the feel of the church” when someone offers to merge our youth program with a local black church
          – Question if their small group “will continue to meet their needs” when the new mix assigns them to a group that is predominantly non-white
          – Want to “revisit the praise and worship song selection process” when a traditional black gospel song is introduced to the lineup.

          And I CAN go on. Sunday mornings continue to be the most segregated time in America because of THE CHURCH. Instead of some sort of “but we help the black people in other countries” claim to make us feel good about ourselves (we should not want credit for doing what we SHOULD be doing anyway), we need to have a “come to Jesus” moment and talk about how the church can do more to set the example for the world around us than reflect it. We should be better than what we currently look like.

          And as a black woman – my life does matter. I hate that I need to keep saying that.

          1. MH

            I am sorry your church experience has been so disappointing. The large church I attend is racially diverse, as is the Christian school where I work. The same is true for many other “white” churches I am familiar with, including those with racially diverse pastoral staff.

            What parts of the Voting Rights Act did the Trump administration want to let expire? I have not read up on that.

            Of course your life matters, everyone’s does, including the unborn. My point was the national BLM organization is much different than the views of some of those locally holding Black Lives Matter signs.

            – GB

          2. Thank you for your response, GB.
            And by no means am I trying to belittle any ministry work done in minority communities. I wanted to callout how many reference ministering or volunteering in minority communities in the same way some claim “I have a black friend” to deflect or deny racial issues. Just as many whites had black friends, colleagues, coworkers or “help” but still were against civil rights legislation and integration, it is possible to do a lot of volunteer or ministry work that helps minority communities but still hold beliefs that are against those communities making any real progress or integrating into your own.

            As for the Voting Rights Act, please note that conservatives like Roberts (on top of voting to eliminate the ban on federal housing discrimination and referencing the Voting Rights Act as “humiliating to the South”) and Scalia (who called the Voting Rights Act a “perpetuation of racial entitlement”) are looking to “gut” the Voting Rights Act by expiring Section 5 of the act (see the Shelby County ruling, which allows states to have their own voting rules without federal oversight) and Section 2 (see the Perez case, in which Roberts states that there’s no need to have laws that prohibit the disenfranchisement of voters). Long story short, in their written opinions, conservatives don’t believe the US has enough issues with racism to warrant continuing the Voting Rights Act. They don’t believe the federal government should have any say in scrubbing voter rolls, reviewing gerrymandered maps, or pressure testing state voting laws – all which have been used to disenfranchise black and brown voters – for discriminatory intent or impact. This SHOULD be alarming to those who believe all votes matter.
            Instead of focusing on disenfranchising voters, throwing out ballots, or discounting votes, conservatives SHOULD be asking, “what can we do to make our policies and platform resonate and earn more support of various communities?”

            And while people can say “of course” black lives matter, when turning a blind eye or making excuses for circumstances that continue to negatively impact black lives – their actions say the opposite. IMO, black lives matter is not a political statement or movement. It should be a fact.

          3. To MH, I am not sure what the best way is to connect so you can message me on Facebook. I have appreciated your contributions here. Marge Pomykala

        3. I have been involved with the Sanctity of human life issues for about 40 years. I have seen personally all sides of this issue. I Worked as a counselor at a very diverse high school for over twenty years and heard the students stories. Before that I was involved with pro-life groups and supported establishing one of the first Crises Pregnancy centers in DuPage County. From my first hand knowledge I want to share with you what I saw and experienced. My first knowledge of abortion was through my mother. She was a Christian, married living in Chicago, was living with at times a tyrant of a husband. She tried to have an abortion but didn’t know where to go for this. She almost died having me. There was no help at that time from her church community and divorce was not an option. Jumping to 1968 I attended a conservative Christian College. There A staff adviser got pregnant with a black man. It was known that Children of mixed race were not accepted in the conservative Christian community, so little help was available, so she had an illegal abortion. In the 1970’s Dr. Harold O.J Brown spoke at a large conservative church in the Chicago suburbs about abortion. After that talk he was banned from ever coming back. A year later the Christian Action Council was formed. One of its objectives was to open up Crises Pregnancy Centers. You would think Evangelicals would have been for this. There were 363 Christian Churches (my count) in Du Page County. With a team of 6 people we began to give presentations at churches who were open to possibly supporting unwed mothers. For literally years this went on. Many Conservative Christians we’re unwilling to offer support. We had to beg people to give money to this. Behind closed doors there were Christian pastors, elders, and other leaders who expressed to me that they really didn’t see that helping unwed mothers was the churches job. Finding housing for them was extremely difficult, even in cases of rape. To this day finding enough money to support the Crises Pregnancy Centers is difficult. Now what most people don’t want to admit is that there are many Christian women who have had abortions. Some have been abused, others are very poor with little support, some have no health insurance and again it is extremely difficult for them to cope. What I am trying to say is that Biden is not forcing anyone to have an abortion. Some women find themselves sometimes in extremely difficult circumstances and frankly there is little support. I could describe many cases I have been involved in where only minimal help has been given. There are fortunately significantly fewer cases of abortion going on now and if our country were to offer health care, and long term care help for the disabled you would see even fewer abortions. To those who are reading this and have sacrificed their time and money to help unwed mothers it has been extremely appreciated.

          1. I am sorry you found such difficulty getting enough support for the Pregnancy Centers. The center in our county has been fortunate that churches have been willing to support it. My wife and I have been involved with the center for many years, she on the board, me volunteering for some technical needs. We have many stories of lives impacted by centers like ours. It is true some pastors are somewhat ignorant about abortions or teen pregnancies within their churches.

            GB

  17. Mmm, where were all these evangelicals leaders during the Kavanaugh hearings when the Supreme Court chambers were threatened and a Senate Office occupied? Not justifying violence on either side. But, it sickened me to see a good man torn apart in public in front of his family and millions of viewers and I don’t recall a single progressive criticizing those subsequent riots. We are so broken.

  18. It’s a fake news lie to say Trump called the rioters special and said he loves them. He denounced and condemned them. We should know after 5 years of fake news lies about Trump that the media is probably lying when it says Trump did something like that. It’s obvious to anyone who has the most elementary ability to interpret communication in its context that he was talking about the protesters when he said that, 99% of which had nothing to do with the riot. And we shouldn’t be helping the world’s efforts to use this riot to spread anti-Christian propaganda. There’s a guy with a Jesus Saves sign standing in a group of protesters. Somehow the riot gets blamed on Christians? The Atlantic called the riot a “Christian insurrection.” Let’s not forget Nero. I couldn’t read the picture of the sign of one of the guys who was trespassing into the Capitol, but apparently it had a religious message. Yeah some Christians have over-spiritualized Trump and many have failed in discernment when it comes to the crazy Q fantasies they have believed. But on the other hand many have missed the way God has used Trump for good and are spiritually blind to the spiritual warfare that has been at work in our society and how ferociously opposed Satan and his demons have been to the president.

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