Christian churches supporting Trump

[High Fidelity]

so this is why I despise foreigners getting involved in our (American) politics...

Ho boy. Nearly choked on my coffee reading that.

You've interfered, installed or overthrown more governments in my lifetimes than governments I've voted for!

 

[Tigger45]

Personally my Trump support, if you could call it that, was basically at election time when the choices were either Trump or Clinton. To me that was like choosing between satan or the antichrist. The only reason I chose to support Trump at that time was because he was pro-life and Clinton was pro-choice. I honestly thought Trump was going to do a far worse job than he actually has. So while I’m not really a Trump supporter per say I will say that he is doing a better job than I expected. Not that he couldn’t do better, but what politician couldn’t do better?

Coming from a right leaning independent voter who doesn’t respect how Trump being a (self proclaimed Christian) and leader of such a wealthy and powerful country operates. Between a self serving submissive Republican party conjoined with a loyal to a fault following (especially because it has strong Christian numbers), I would just like to see a majority of the Republican congress call him out ‘preferably collectively’ which might create an atmosphere for more opponents with better morals and values to challenge him to represent the party.

 

[Redwingfan9]

Im a British Christian involved in the Hillsong church here in London. I’m politically active because I don’t think you can be a Christian and not take part and highlight issues.

Seeing the evangelical church support Trump has been a constant painful experience as non Christian friends simply cannot comphrehend why Christians would support such an individual who is clearly not Christian.

Due to the influence of the us on the world and trumps policies which are damaging international issues such as climate change I feel we as a church should be doing what we can to question the leaders in the us who support trump and bring about change within our church.

I’d love to hear from Christians who support trump and what your bible based reasoning is, and those who feel action needs to be taken and how we can do that responsibly and with love. Criticising and telling church leaders they are wrong is a difficult concept but has its precedence in the New Testament when many churches went off the tracks.

We must live by the standards of Jesus. If you truly ask yourself if Jesus would act like Trump the answer can only be a clear no.

This is not a discussion to throw hatred but to find out what is driving Christian trump supporters and how we as a church can act to make change

At the end of the day I think evangelicals support Trump because they agree with his economic policies and his nominal opposition to abortion. It's really that simple. That and what the Dems have on offer is arguably worse.

 

[gideon123]

I am a Christian here in the US. I do not support Trump ... because of his clear non-Christian behavior.

The fact that Evangelicals, or some part of the Evangelical movement, have clung to Trump ... this has shot to pieces the credibility of evangelicals in America. They have gone down in flames.

I think the clear point is ... be extremely careful about mixing faith with politics. Many evangelicals ignored this wisdom in the USA, and the result has been seriously detrimental to Protestants and Christians as a whole.

First and foremost ... we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. If you keep that thought in mind, then worldly issues are less likely to be a corruption.

By the way, I dont know if you read the comments by Prof. Eddie Glaude from Princeton Univ. He made an excellent point. It is easy to blame a leader like Trump for the blatant 'ugliness' that has grown in US society. But really Trump is a 'reflection of us'. What you are seeing is a marked detetioration in equality, civility, and kindness in America. That is the real spiritual cancer.

Blessings,
GIDEON

 

[SPF]

At the end of the day I think evangelicals support Trump because they agree with his economic policies and his nominal opposition to abortion. It's really that simple. That and what the Dems have on offer is arguably worse.

This is where I find myself. Again, I simply don't consider Trump a Christian based upon his behavior. I think he is an insecure, prideful bully who lacks personal character. But....

His political beliefs aligned more with mine than Hillary Clinton's did. Therefore, I voted a "not Hillary" vote.

I am a Christian here in the US. I do not support Trump ... because of his clear non-Christian behavior.

I hear you, and I think Christians ought to be vocal about condemning his behavior - only because he self identifies as a Christian. Personally, if Trump didn't self identify as a Christian it would (for me anyway) make it easier to support him. But because he does call himself a Christian, I need to be vocal about saying how what he says and does in his private life is not representative of what a Christian should be saying and doing.

But again, I go back to the fact that he's in public office. And while I don't support his behavior, I look primarily at his political platform in determining whether or not I vote his direction.

For example, when Mitt Romney ran for President, I struggled with whether or not to support him. His character is not in question, but the fact that he's a Mormon was a huge issue for me. Would voting for him bring validation to the Mormon faith and therefore cause many many people to be led away from the real Christ? That was a tougher one for me than Trump.

 

[SkyWriting]

In the bible are there quotes that say you can ignore a leaders personal life?

That's correct. We are not to judge the legal actions of others.
Even then, we must allow the legal system to judge and not
pre-judge before trial.

 

[MercyandFaith]

To answer the OP:

I didn't vote for Trump, but I easily understand why millions of Christians did. Because over the past few decades, our nation has turned into an "emperor's new clothes" society. We've become one in which those who say things like "there are only 2 genders" get vilified (when it is in fact the most obvious truth in the world, like the fact that the sky is blue or the Earth is round.) We've become one in which the "Gaystapo" bullies those who don't adhere to their views. Christianity is roundly mocked and trod upon while all other religions are celebrated. In such an environment, one should hardly be surprised that many flocked to Trump, as immature, unreliable and cringeworthy though he may be.

 

[ChrisBirchLondon]

I think this is a good point, if we trust in God to put the leadership in place, should we then interfere in politics and vote for one or the other (because then you risk supporting the wrong people even if everyone is wrong). Should we just let them get on with it regardless of the outcomes for things like abortion, etc.

Another point made above by Tigger is that if the church called him out, maybe it would create the right environment for someone more principled to get voted in. If the church supports the wrong people, just because they were less awful than the other choice does that just encourage more of the same?

Bible Highlighter reminded us that: You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people (Acts of the Apostles 23:5).
So... and I love to ask questions because I think God would want us to search for the truth. Trump isn't my ruler so is it then okay for me to criticise him and hold him to account, just as you can do for Boris Johnson?

The world is full of grey cases, but also many very black and white situations where we must wonder what the Apostles meant or if they could foresee the future. Does Jesus mean we should just let ISIS cut off our heads - there's no point fighting back because let's face it, in several million years in Heaven, you won't remember what it's like to have a combat knife slowly cut your head off as you scream in agony just as you don't remember the actual pain when you fell and badly cut your knee aged 5.

It is true that if we believe in gods kingdom, and eternal life that no matter how awful and painful the death is here, we won't know that pain when we're with him. But that's okay for me, but can we as Christians stand by and let it happen to others? Does that not then involve calling out the leadership that is causing that? (I think we're talking about the internment camps now with the appalling conditions)

I'm making some quite silly but obvious points here because I'd like to stimulate the theoretical discussion. We, as many different denominations are different because whilst we all adhere to the core tenets just as John 3: 16, we all diversify in various ways and can't agree on those differences in how we want to worship, and exactly which bits are more important - yet we still accept each other. I'd like to suggest that the 'shall not speak evil of your ruler' is one of those bits that some churches adhere to and other find difference in.

 

[Hazelelponi]

I think this is a good point, if we trust in God to put the leadership in place, should we then interfere in politics and vote for one or the other (because then you risk supporting the wrong people even if everyone is wrong). Should we just let them get on with it regardless of the outcomes for things like abortion, etc.

Another point made above by Tigger is that if the church called him out, maybe it would create the right environment for someone more principled to get voted in. If the church supports the wrong people, just because they were less awful than the other choice does that just encourage more of the same?

Bible Highlighter reminded us that: You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people (Acts of the Apostles 23:5).
So... and I love to ask questions because I think God would want us to search for the truth. Trump isn't my ruler so is it then okay for me to criticise him and hold him to account, just as you can do for Boris Johnson?

The world is full of grey cases, but also many very black and white situations where we must wonder what the Apostles meant or if they could foresee the future. Does Jesus mean we should just let ISIS cut off our heads - there's no point fighting back because let's face it, in several million years in Heaven, you won't remember what it's like to have a combat knife slowly cut your head off as you scream in agony just as you don't remember the actual pain when you fell and badly cut your knee aged 5.

It is true that if we believe in gods kingdom, and eternal life that no matter how awful and painful the death is here, we won't know that pain when we're with him. But that's okay for me, but can we as Christians stand by and let it happen to others? Does that not then involve calling out the leadership that is causing that? (I think we're talking about the internment camps now with the appalling conditions)

I'm making some quite silly but obvious points here because I'd like to stimulate the theoretical discussion. We, as many different denominations are different because whilst we all adhere to the core tenets just as John 3: 16, we all diversify in various ways and can't agree on those differences in how we want to worship, and exactly which bits are more important - yet we still accept each other. I'd like to suggest that the 'shall not speak evil of your ruler' is one of those bits that some churches adhere to and other find difference in.

While I don't believe in political activism as a Christian, there is no bar to voting for a political candidate we think would be best for our nation.

Our entire political system was created to be Protestant friendly i.e. not opposed to faith.

 

[Pedra]

Im a British Christian involved in the Hillsong church here in London. I’m politically active because I don’t think you can be a Christian and not take part and highlight issues.

Seeing the evangelical church support Trump has been a constant painful experience as non Christian friends simply cannot comphrehend why Christians would support such an individual who is clearly not Christian.

Due to the influence of the us on the world and trumps policies which are damaging international issues such as climate change I feel we as a church should be doing what we can to question the leaders in the us who support trump and bring about change within our church.

I’d love to hear from Christians who support trump and what your bible based reasoning is, and those who feel action needs to be taken and how we can do that responsibly and with love. Criticising and telling church leaders they are wrong is a difficult concept but has its precedence in the New Testament when many churches went off the tracks.

We must live by the standards of Jesus. If you truly ask yourself if Jesus would act like Trump the answer can only be a clear no.

This is not a discussion to throw hatred but to find out what is driving Christian trump supporters and how we as a church can act to make change

Not saying your post is out of hatred, but confuses me as to why are you questioning the Evangelicals support of Trump? Why not? do you believe everything the progressive Trump hating media says about him?
Do you feel Evangelicals are less Christian then the liberal progressive Christians?
The Majority of the Media is completely politically progressive left and certainly the Brits are major progressives, don't you think that might be distorting you view of American politics?
The Bible scripture is what is supposed to inform our views not what the world thinks or how the God-less media portraits their views of News events. I used to be a progressive til I woke up and saw the Lib Media's biases, they tell lies at worse and at best distort the facts.
Real Journalism is dead now.
I've noted that the criticism in a liberal culture is only allowed one way, so I'm sure I'll be the first one banned from this thread. I'd rather have friendship with GOD then friendship with the world as the scripture goes...since the two are mutually exclusive.

 

[SkyWriting]

I'm a Canadian and am shocked how polarized these issues are in the US. I often get the impression that if you're Christian then you must support the republican party and its leader no matter what, and this presidency is a good example of that happening.

In Canada, politics matter but the Church, or any organization, is legally not allowed to endorse a political party and in my experience where a lot of Christians are conservative it's not a tribal issue and you may choose whomever you wish. Often when asked who you're voting for it's not surprising to get an answer that essentially means "none of your business" and no one assumes who it is. I remember watching an interview of a political leader and they ask them who they were voting for (which of course would have been themselves) his answer was that he reserves the right to a confidential vote, and that's just the culture here. we don't need to yell it out at every moment and happen to enjoy a bit of discretion when it comes to these things.

It creates too much strife in the US which seems to only be getting further and further polarized and it would probably be a good idea to follow other countries and not allow organizations to politically endorse a party as this seeks to manipulate those a part of the organization.

Polarization is a world wide phenomenon resulting from the free flow of ideas due to technology. If we reduce the world to 0 to 4 channels of TV with no internet then the world will once again be peaceful. But the odds are slim that will happen.

 

[Bruce Leiter]

Im a British Christian involved in the Hillsong church here in London. I’m politically active because I don’t think you can be a Christian and not take part and highlight issues.

Seeing the evangelical church support Trump has been a constant painful experience as non Christian friends simply cannot comphrehend why Christians would support such an individual who is clearly not Christian.

Due to the influence of the us on the world and trumps policies which are damaging international issues such as climate change I feel we as a church should be doing what we can to question the leaders in the us who support trump and bring about change within our church.

I’d love to hear from Christians who support trump and what your bible based reasoning is, and those who feel action needs to be taken and how we can do that responsibly and with love. Criticising and telling church leaders they are wrong is a difficult concept but has its precedence in the New Testament when many churches went off the tracks.

We must live by the standards of Jesus. If you truly ask yourself if Jesus would act like Trump the answer can only be a clear no.

This is not a discussion to throw hatred but to find out what is driving Christian trump supporters and how we as a church can act to make change

Question No. 1: How do you know he's not a Christian? I can't tell whether anyone is a Christian because I don't know their hearts.
No. 2: What are your sources of information about Pres. Trump? News nowadays is very slanted for or against politicians with whom they disagree. The USA mainstream media, especially CNN, is very negative toward Trump. You might get his side of each story if your sources are biased against him.
No. 3: Climate change is a problem and is undeniably happening, but how can scientists be absolutely sure that humans have caused it? A more pressing problem here in the USA is scientists' warnings about West Coast earthquakes and a huge Yellowstone eruption that would threaten all life on earth. I hope Jesus returns first, but if he doesn't, he will protect us Christians through it or take us to our true home.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Just to add to my earlier comment.

Both Paul & Peter said we should pray for the leaders of our country and honor them.

They said this while in the midst of a way worse persecution than the "what bathroom am I allowed to use?" nonsense going on right now.

The real question is:

If you are not praying for Trump and honoring him (or whatever leader is in charge) how are you following God's will and being obedient?

It shows a real lack of understanding for people to say "I'm a Christian and want to follow God." Then in the same breath denounce Trump and spew hate towrds him and those who follow his policies.

 

[Pedra]

How can anyone accuse the evangelicals of mixing faith with politics and then stand back and politically criticize their choice? I don't get it.

 

[Bruce Leiter]

Question No. 1: How do you know he's not a Christian? I can't tell whether anyone is a Christian because I don't know their hearts.
No. 2: What are your sources of information about Pres. Trump? News nowadays is very slanted for or against politicians with whom they disagree. The USA mainstream media, especially CNN, is very negative toward Trump. You might get his side of each story if your sources are biased against him.
No. 3: Climate change is a problem and is undeniably happening, but how can scientists be absolutely sure that humans have caused it? A more pressing problem here in the USA is scientists' warnings about West Coast earthquakes and a huge Yellowstone eruption that would threaten all life on earth. I hope Jesus returns first, but if he doesn't, he will protect us Christians through it or take us to our true home.

All the passages you quote are about leadership in Israel, God's people, or the church. We're talking about leadership of a secular state, not God's people. Of course, Trump is a flawed president, but all of them before him were too in different ways. As a Christian, I believe God calls us to our human responsibility. Trump opposes the kind of socialism espoused by certain Democrats that would take a lot of responsibility away from people and place it on the government. This kind of government I too oppose. No system of government is perfect, but our representative republic is better than most to balance both personal freedom (responsibility) and limits by government. Trump wants to maintain both and has been good for our country that way.

 

[Redwingfan9]

This is where I find myself. Again, I simply don't consider Trump a Christian based upon his behavior. I think he is an insecure, prideful bully who lacks personal character. But....

His political beliefs aligned more with mine than Hillary Clinton's did. Therefore, I voted a "not Hillary" vote.

I couldn't bring myself to vote for Trump because I find his behavior and lifestyle morally repugnant. I also don't agree with his protectionist trade policies as I'm an Austrian School style libertarian on pure economic and government issues. (I part with them on Christian moral issues like prostitution) I couldn't vote for Romney for similar reasons, he isn't a Christian and I refuse to knowingly vote for someone who isn't a believer.

While I understand why Christians voted for Trump, I still think the church needs to take a step back and ask why believers are willing to vote for Christless pigs. Preachers should be leading their congregations against both parties at this point. Frankly preachers should be demanding that the Constitution declare Christ as King. The fact that no one will touch that issue is how we end up with the last 150 years of increasingly godless government.

 

[Pedra]

I couldn't bring myself to vote for Trump because I find his behavior and lifestyle morally repugnant. I also don't agree with his protectionist trade policies as I'm an Austrian School style libertarian on pure economic and government issues. (I part with them on Christian moral issues like prostitution) I couldn't vote for Romney for similar reasons, he isn't a Christian and I refuse to knowingly vote for someone who isn't a believer.

While I understand why Christians voted for Trump, I still think the church needs to take a step back and ask why believers are willing to vote for Christless pigs. Preachers should be leading their congregations against both parties at this point. Frankly preachers should be demanding that the Constitution declare Christ as King. The fact that no one will touch that issue is how we end up with the last 150 years of increasingly godless government.

"Christ-less pig"?
How anyone could make this claim is beyond me.
I think you are not well informed & have been told by the Progressive Trump-hating media & celebrities a distorted view. President Trump & the first-lady have brought back Christian prayer & also Lord's Prayer into the White house. His vice-president is a dedicated Christian, Trump has shown the fruit of a new convert. He readily asks for and receives Christian prayer for wisdom to make decisions. There is a Bible study weekly there.

 

[HatGuy]

While I'm not American I can understand why so many voted for him, and probably will again - and why so many of them are Christian.

1. The alternative was far worse. (I was severely disappointed that such a great nation with such brilliant leaders could only produce those two alternatives. The time really was ripe for an independent, but voting for an independent is too much of a shot in the dark, and I get that).

2. Trump speaks "American". The average blue-collar American, many of which go to church, gets him. He speaks his mind when he feels it. I get it. He comes across as just a normal guy who made the American capitalist system work for him. Trump is the image of capitalism, as it were, and the average American is dead scared of socialism (and for good reason). Here's a guy who speaks like they do and wants to make America great again - who wouldn't want that?

3. The alternative still sucks. Not only is there a creeping unrealistic socialism (a trend all over the world, thanks to a ton of political opportunists who realise that to promise the world to people is a far easier way to get to power) in their policies (and not to mention a bunch of shrills at the helm) but the democrats have literally lost their mind. When I saw that they were debating whether trans males should have a right to abortion, I realised they had completely lost their minds and just handed the election to Trump on a plate. The average person in America is smarter than these so-called elitists who want to argue about transexuality but not deal with the world as-is.

Heck, if I was to choose between the average American blue-collar worker who knows how to work hard and get things done, or the snobbish university intelligent professor, I'm choosing the former. I'm a fairly bookish sort of person, but the intelligentsia have gone mad, and the democrats have eaten up all of their gibberish, with a cherry on top. Trump is obviously not blue collar but he knows how to speak that language and is actually, it seems, delivering.

That's just off the top of my head.

 

[Pedra]

The mainstream media are owned by powerful progressives by majority, they are globalists, the Media does not show that in general that they like Christianity or Christian values, so why would we expect them to give the President or the evangelicals that support him a fair report?

 

[Redwingfan9]

"Christ-less pig"?
How anyone could make this claim is beyond me.
I think you are not well informed & have been told by the Progressive Trump-hating media & celebrities a distorted view. President Trump & the first-lady have brought back Christian prayer & also Lord's Prayer into the White house. His vice-president is a dedicated Christian, Trump has shown the fruit of a new convert. He readily asks for and receives Christian prayer for wisdom to make decisions. There is a Bible study weekly there.

I don't need to leftwing press to tell me anything about Trump. I'm a conservative, borderline libertarian. I'm not wasting my time on msnbc and cnn.

Trump waves homosexual flags at his rallies. He lies on a frequent basis. There is nothing about him that demonstrates any sort of Christianity, certainly not in the way he deals with his opponents. He's constantly picking unnecessary fights.

Doing some nominal things like having the Lord's prayer recited is meaningless. Richard Burton, one of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands, knew scripture frontward and backward but didn't believe it. Anyone can recite the Lord's prayer but if you aren't a believer it's recited in vain.

Scripture says we will know God's people by the fruits and by any objective standard Trump bares no fruit of Christ.