Whatever Happened to Christian Liberty in Political Elections?

Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon has been posting some very discerning pieces on Christian liberty and politics lately.  Sadly, I do not think his platform is nearly as large as is the machine that is the Gospel Coalition or Christianity Today.  In large part Dr. Gagnon is reacting against those Christians who suggest that it is wrong, immoral, and/or hypocritical to vote against Hillary Clinton (i.e. to vote for Trump) come November.  At the same time Robert wholly understands that some believers will not vote for either candidate come November because of conscience sake.  As a wise and balanced Christian thinker he does not belittle such persons with, "Don't you realize that a vote for a third-party candidate will ensure a Clinton victory!  Don't you realize what Clinton's positions are on religious freedom, militant LGBT advocacy, abortion, etc- You are an idiot if you ____!!"   Instead, Gagnon presents a thoughtful, principled, and balanced set of convictions and arguments.

Here is his latest article:  "I'm sure that Andy Crouch, executive editor of Christianity Today, thinks that he is doing the right thing when he accuses of idolatry (!) any evangelicals who vote for Trump, even evangelicals who hate that Trump is the GOP nominee and express disgust for Trump's sexual sin (the latest of which are 11-year old remarks that even Trump himself has apologized for, at least in part) and other behaviors but who nonetheless see a Clinton/Kaine administration as doing far greater policy harm. To Mr. Crouch, there can be no validity any longer to averting the even graver apocalyptic disaster of a Clinton/Kaine administration for the unborn, the male-female matrix for sexuality, religious liberty protections, and the appointment of jurists who don't treat the Constitution as so many tea leaves configured to their leftwing fancy, even though long after anyone will be talking about Trump's disgusting behavior we'll still have the abusive and coercive legal and judicial legacy of a Clinton/Kaine administration.

Here's how it comes across to persons whom Mr. Crouch bashes: insulting, condescending, bullying, and histrionic, not to mention ill-informed at points. The recipients attacked in this and other recent articles (one by Russell Moore and another by a certain Colin Hansen of the Gospel Coalition, both for the fair-minded and politically balanced publication known as the Washington Post, essentially a media outlet for the Clinton campaign) are being portrayed slanderously by a self-appointed evangelical magisterium as too stupid, too morally shallow, too hypocritical, or too crazed with a desire for political power to be respected for their own moral judgments. The tone of these articles goes something like this: Shut up you moral hypocrites and ignoramuses and do what we tell you.

Trump or Hillary? How Can a Christian Vote? Remembering Where We Live (Dr. Fred Zaspel)

Photo Credit: http://www.credomag.com/

Trump or Hillary? How Can a Christian Vote? Remembering Where We Live (Fred G. Zaspel)

In my estimation neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton deserves to be president of the United States. Judged on character and behavior – matters such as morality, truth, and personal integrity – they both fail. I think one is worse than the other, but they both fail. Quite simply, their candidacies reflect the low tide of contemporary American politics. And it surely says something about us as a nation that these two – for the moment, at least – look to be our candidates. Neither deserves such a high office.

That raises another question: What kind of president does America deserve?

Well, I’ll leave that discussion for another time, but perhaps this question will remind us of where we live. I have often been surprised that so many Christians are surprised when the world behaves like the world. It seems many are still under the delusion of a “Christian America” and are in need of a reality check – if ever there was such a time, it certainly isn’t now.