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Christian Evangelicals—Pinnacle of Faith or Hypocrisy?


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Came across an interesting OpEd that addressed the Christian Evangelical Protestant support for Trump and politicians that enable him. 

 

Washington Post OpEd

 

Some interesting quotes from this article:

 

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”As the debate about how to handle applicants for refugee status at the U.S. southern border gained urgency in recent months, Pew Research Religion waded into the social-media fray on July 7 with a tweet about the results of a poll the organization conducted last year.

 

Pew reported, and online commentators quickly noted, that white evangelical Protestants were the least likely group — amid results sorted by age, race, education and religion — to say that the United States “has a responsibility to accept refugees into the country.” Sixty-eight percent of white evangelical Protestants said the country has no responsibility for refugees. No other demographic group came within 10 points of that result.”

 

 

That seems rather...well, against the core tenants of Christianity.

 

And Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (the public policy arm of the Southern Baptists) agreed:

 

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“The reports of the conditions for migrant children at the border should shock all of our consciences. Those created in the image of God should be treated with dignity and compassion, especially those seeking refuge from violence back home. We can do better than this.”

 

Most sane, rational Christians would agree with this response. You know who wouldn’t? Jerry Fallwell Jr.:

 

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“Who are you @drmoore? Have you ever made a payroll? Have you ever built an organization of any type from scratch? What gives you the authority to speak on any issue? I’m being serious. You’re nothing but an employee — a bureaucrat.” 

 

Ultimately, the conflict and hypocrisy is laid bare by the author:

 

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”The evangelical embrace of Trump has been an electoral positive for the Republican Party, but for those who would evangelize, the new reality is tragic. It is hard to pitch faith as a function of voting.

 

Christians are instructed in the Bible to attract people to Christ, to convince them, to witness to them. We’re meant to speak the truth in a way that invites strangers in, welcomes them, makes them feel loved. To care for the least of these is a Christian value. Expressing and demonstrating it is spreading the Word.

 

That’s called evangelizing. A movement that based itself on the term but now embraces its antithesis is becoming difficult to recognize.“

 

 

This, coupled with reports of Christianity on the decline, makes perfect sense—why would people turn to a religion whose most vocal proponents of that religion completely ignore the basic tenants of the Bible in favor of (Earthly) political gain? 

 

And for Christians, how do they navigate forward in a time when their most public denominations of Christianity (Southern Baptist, Catholic) are mired in sexual assault allegations involving minors or are tied at the hip to a President that uses racially charged rhetoric (Protestant Evangelicals)?

 

Is there any coming back from this for Christianity in the United States? And if so, what will it take to make it happen?

 

(bolded emphasis mine)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by VectorVictor
Added quote boxes/formatting that isn't available on mobile
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38 minutes ago, commando said:

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Specifically--more science books, and less fiction. 

 

And this dovetails into the whole discussion of where our scientific advancement would be today if the Western World didn't lose ~400 years of scientific advancement due to Christianity. Flying cars? Moon bases? Interstellar travel? Cures for cancer?

 

42 minutes ago, commando said:

where are the poll options?    put my vote down as blatant hypocrisy

 

Honestly, certain folks are inclined to get upset about all of this--I figured throwing a poll up would just rub salt in the wound. 

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You're complaining about refugees not wanted by evangelicals or what is the post about? There are 40 million churches in the world and you are complaining about 'a few bad apples' as you would call other instances in life, such as refugees or illegals (crime/terrorism) in comparisons to sex scandals in churches. 

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1 minute ago, BIG ERN said:

You're complaining about refugees not wanted by evangelicals or what is the post about? There are 40 million churches in the world and you are complaining about 'a few bad apples' as you would call other instances in life, such as refugees or illegals (crime) in comparisons to sex scandals in churches. 

 

It's pretty clear what the post is about--quit trying to obfuscate because you don't agree. 

 

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And as for "a few bad apples", the Holy Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination of Christianity at 1.255b, or roughly 52% of all Christians in the world.

 

In the United States, the Catholic Church is second among all Christians at 20.8%. The largest? White evangelical Protestants at 25.4% of the domestic Christian population. Discussing ~46% of the overall domestic population as potentially being hypocritical is pretty relevant and more than just 'a few bad apples'. 

 

 

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26 minutes ago, VectorVictor said:

 

It's pretty clear what the post is about--quit trying to obfuscate because you don't agree. 

 

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And as for "a few bad apples", the Holy Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination of Christianity at 1.255b, or roughly 52% of all Christians in the world.

 

In the United States, the Catholic Church is second among all Christians at 20.8%. The largest? White evangelical Protestants at 25.4% of the domestic Christian population. Discussing ~46% of the overall domestic population as potentially being hypocritical is pretty relevant and more than just 'a few bad apples'. 

 

 


I was talking about the reference to sexual cases within the catholic churches (I'm not catholic). Muslims make up 1.8 Billion ppl....they must all be terrorists. 

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On the flip side ... Lutherans.  Standing up for what's right.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/08/08/an-entire-lutheran-denomination-has-declared-itself-sanctuary-church-body-signaling-support-immigrants/?fbclid=IwAR2J_8ropPsMiKUL1pA_xyFyyIUHsry3o4V91AQgYxM7ZtIIfNWS47egZYs

 

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On Wednesday afternoon, after the lunchtime vigil, it passed a resolution declaring the ELCA a “sanctuary church body.” 

 

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Other measures approved so far this week by the assembly include a resolution recommitting to “being an advocate and justice seeker for immigrants,” advocating for temporary protected status extensions and reaffirming its work with AMMPARO and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service to call for immigration policies and practices that keep families together.

 

Another resolution, calling on congregations, synods and other church organizations to speak out against the “inhumane policies of harassment, detention and deportation implemented by the U.S. government,” also passed.

 

Next, the assembly will consider a resolution requesting ELCA staff develop a plan for additional tools providing education and discernment “specifically directed to political rhetoric and the accurate portrayal of migrants and refugees.”

 

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5 minutes ago, NM11046 said:

Being a member of the ELCA is probably the only reason I still call myself a Christian.

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27 minutes ago, NM11046 said:

 

That's awesome! And that's what I was kind of going for in my questions at the end--how does Christianity move forward--and this is a good example. 

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28 minutes ago, VectorVictor said:

 

That's awesome! And that's what I was kind of going for in my questions at the end--how does Christianity move forward--and this is a good example. 

Christianity in America has failed.  I'm Catholic and I'm disgusted with how the church has handled the many scandals.  I grew up protestant and I'm pretty sure the church I grew up in talks about politics a lot.....which disgusts me too.

 

None of that changes my belief in Christ.  That's between me and him.  However, I also fully understand why people who don't have the same belief or personal connection to Christ that I have, would view Christians in a very negative light.  There's hypocrisy running all over the very public side of people who claim to be Christian.  Jerry Falwell Jr. falls squarely in this group.  He is using Christianity for personal enrichment (and not the spiritual kind) and that absolutely disgusts me.  

 

Republicans have latched onto this and fostered this weird idea that Christians should all be Republican because Republicans love guns and don't want to kill babies (Yes, I know abortion rights people aren't the exact opposite of that).

 

So....Christianity's latching on to the Republican party has caused a HUGE failure in what Christianity should be.  Christians should be down at the border protesting and taking care of the children this pathetic administration has ripped from the arms of their parents.  They should NOT be promoting and supporting the President who is leading the charge to do this.

 

Another part that is sad is that there are lots of churches in America that do great things.  But, that isn't what is at the forefront of the public's mind because that's done in quiet while the people like Falwell are in the news and on TV promoting what makes him rich.

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Hmmmm....I guess I didn't answer the question: how does Christianity move forward?

I believe it's going to have to be a grass roots type of thing where people as individuals become more and more disheartened by all of this....as I have....begin to speak out.  And, sadly, many people who don't agree with what is happening, have discontinued being involved in a church.  At some point, you would think that there would be more churches start to resist all the bad and start building on the good.  Maybe the Lutherans are starting to do that.

 

 

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