Newsweek: "I'm Billy Graham's Granddaughter, and I'm Voting for Kamala Harris"
Trump's words and actions are fundamentally incompatible with Evangelical principles. Contrary to some who claim he has been anointed by God to lead; Trump cannot return the U.S. to faithfulness. Sadly, by embracing such a megalomaniac, Christians have been turning away from those who are curious about the Lord. We lose credibility when we say that God is love, but then rally, and sometimes riot, in support of an individual whose entire worldview centers on himself. Jerushah Duford, Granddaugher of Evangelist Billy Graham, October 2024.
The idea that Trump has somehow been "anointed" by God to be President of the United States is antithetical to any biblical doctrine of Christianity. That's a concept that has been produced by the false connection made by faulty interpretation of passages from the Old and New Testament, unrelated in context but used as prooftexts to justify political ambition. The idea that "God sometimes uses evil men to achieve his purposes," is neither Christian, nor even biblical in any correctly discerned context of any part of the Bible.
Trump openly denies any need for confession of his sin, which effectively separates him from the Christian conversion experience that Evangelicals specifically have determined is required in order to be Christian by their definition.
"For example," said Jerushah Duford, grand-daughter of Evangelist Billy Graham, "one of my grandfather's favorite Bible verses was Micah 6:8, which requires us to love kindness and mercy and walk humbly. For Trump, however, his wealth and notoriety fuels his ego. While he puts on a facade of religion, he rejects the fundamentals of Christianity. We have seen the ways he treats those who are marginalized, women, and anyone who disagrees with him. Yet, Jesus told us that 'people will know we are disciples by your love. [John 13:35] Furthermore, he himself has admitted that he does not ask forgiveness from anyone."
Not asking for forgiveness, in an Evangelical interpretation of biblical doctrine, is an open defiance and denial of God's Holy Spirit, "blasphemy" being the old fashioned term for it. The Apostle John, in his first epistle, says this constitutes the "spirit of antichrist."
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you heard that it is coming; and now is already in the world. [I John 4:2-3, NRSV]
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us." [I John 1:9-10, NRSV]
So, for Evangelical Trump supporters, there it is, laid out in scripture which, according to Evangelical belief and interpretation, is without error and infallible. Trump's claim that he does not need to confess would make him antichrist, a liar, and certainly not anointed for anything related to the Christian gospel or God's purposes, if those are beliefs one claims as essential and of importance to their faith.
I'd add to that the fact that he is also not worthy of your vote for a secular political office.
But Harris Supports Abortion Rights and ...
Abortion is no longer the single issue for which Evangelicals once worked to elect politicians. Now, the opposition has grown to the idea that extending rights to persons because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is somehow an attack on their own rights, or an attempt to force the acceptance of these lifestyles on people. That's an untrue and unfair characterization of Harris' position.
The fact of the matter is that the constitution guarantees individual rights to all Americans without discrimination. And that includes protecting the rights of LGBTQ persons to live the life they choose, and make the decisions they are free to make without being discriminated against, or worse, being cruelly and viciously attacked and threatened by people who claim to be Christians. No one is forcing anyone to change their mind or accept anything they choose not to accept. Those who don't accept or don't agree with the life these people have chosen don't have to. But they cannot subject those who have to torment or persecution because of who they've chosen to be. To do that is neither patriotic American nor Christian.
Some of the lies that are being spread, such as the one about gender-altering surgeries being performed on kids at school, genuinely make me question the intelligence, honesty and integrity of someone who would spread them, let alone believe them.
As we have seen, there's quite a bit of difference in the simplistic position taken by conservatives that abortion is indiscriminate birth control and can simply be banned by legislation. Abortion is a medical procedure, and whether it is performed for the purpose of birth control, or whether there are complications with the pregnancy or other health issues requiring a decision to be made to perform one in order to save the life of the mother, it is a moral, ethnical and medical decision in which the government has no business interfering.
What Harris supports is leaving the decision regarding whether or not to perform an abortion up to the mother, her doctor, and if she chooses, her pastor, priest, rabbi or imam. And she has not, and does not support late term abortions, unless there is a medical decision, made by a doctor, that it is necessary to save the life of the mother.
While I might have personal convictions, based on my faith, regarding the morality of the decision of a woman to have an abortion for birth control reasons, I'm in no position to judge or to condemn because of my faith [Matthew 7:1-3]. And because medical decisions most often require professional observation and information on the spot, regardless of the reason for the procedure being performed, the government is neither qualified nor capable of the ability to make a decision in which the mother's life may be at stake.
I'm a man. And a husband. I'll never be in a position to ever even know what facing such a decision is like. And for that reason, I don't have the right to make it for anyone else, and neither does the government.
That is how I interpret the Vice President's position. She is, by her own testimony, and confession, a Christian, one who understands the context of the Constitution's first amendment protection of individual rights and restrictions of the government's imposition. She is able, as am I, to distinguish between what is right and wrong according to individual conscience guided by faith principles, and a fair application of the law in matters involving personal choices. She is not making a statement on her convictions about whether abortion is a right or wrong decision, she is applying the Constitution as she sees it, to a situation where respect for individual conscience is protected by law.
There Are Moral Implications in Supporting Trump
Going beyond the Evangelical interpretation of steps to Christian conversion, which Trump flatly rejects, there are a lot of other moral implications for Christians who support, and give their loyalty to, a worldly, immoral, corrupt person who lives that way by choice.
Trump instigated an insurrection aimed at overturning a free and fair election, the will of the people, and subverting the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of power. He is no patriot, has no respect for the ideals and principles upon which America was founded, nor does he respect most of those who follow him loyally, including Christians. That one incident should have been disqualifying, and if there were enough Republicans in their party that had any measure of patriotism and respect for American ideals, they would have prevented him from being their nominee.
Trump is a pathological liar. Any Christian that gets behind him and supports his political candidacy is setting aside their values, and their faith to own this worldly immorality and licentiousness that is what Trump stands for and in which he glories, to his own delight. He has been credibly accused and convicted of rape, and of 34 counts of business fraud related to his attempt to cover up an affair he had with porn star Stormy Daniels while his wife was pregnant with his fifth child. And he can't be excused by some late in life conversion experience, since he's denied ever having been through one, and in fact, denies the need to confess his sins to God because, "I don't see God that way," he says.
Somewhere along the line, there are leaders within the church who have deceptively led their congregations to believe that the moral and social problems they perceive as existing within the United States are the result of political policy and government fiat. That's as patently false as the belief that electing the right President and government will fix it, and open the door to revival. Even if that were true, choosing a leader whose personal morality is as worldly and immoral as anything these people are complaining about happening in society would be counterproductive to any kind of revival of faith.
In fact, looking at the shape most Evangelical churches and denominations find themselves in at this point, the support and loyalty they've given to this immoral, worldly, licentious imposter might just do the trick and extinguish their influence in this country for good. It's almost gone as it is. Membership losses and financial decline due to the exit of thousands of members over the past decade is taking a huge toll. They've thrown out the gospel and they've thrown Jesus under the bus.
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