Buckle up. If you stay with me through this article and the blogs that follow, you will get insights into a group of “Evangelical” Christians who have aligned themselves wholeheartedly behind Kamala Harris being the next president of the United States.
They simply call themselves “Evangelicals for Harris” (EFH). And just for info purposes, everything we write will be available on Facebook, the website of Oakridge Community Church (www.oakridgebc.org) and my personal website (www.scottreeve.org). Some printed copies will be made available as well. This first blog will lay a foundation.
So, let’s begin. Hang on, this may get bumpy. We first have to define what an “Evangelical” is. This is important. There are many viewpoints as to the meaning behind this word. Trying to explain what makes one fit this category is difficult because it is a term that seems to be constantly shifting. It has become a catch-all phrase for anyone claiming to be a Christ follower.
Once we do identify what an “Evangelical” is, there also needs to be some clarification regarding a couple of other issues, one being that anyone daring to critique this group are called out as “Trump worshippers” (I am not), or “Fightin’ Fundamentalists” (wrong on that account also).
On the National Association of Evangelical’s (NAE) website we read, “Evangelicals take the Bible seriously and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The term “evangelical” comes from the Greek word euangelion meaning “the good news” or the “gospel.” Thus, the evangelical faith focuses on the “good news” of salvation brought to sinners by Jesus Christ.”
In addition, the NAE/Lifeway Research method (used in the “Study of Theology” research project) of determining whether one can be categorized as an evangelical required respondents strongly agreeing with the following four statements,
The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.
With this as our foundation, let us begin our look into the EFH movement. Remember, an “Evangelical” sees the Bible as the highest authority for what we believe and that it is to be obeyed. This means that the Scriptures must be interpreted properly and then lived out, whether it fits our cultural lens or not. But we start with a look at an incident that has caused quite a stir.
It has to do with an ad the EFH group has been running. Interspersed with the words from a message given by Dr. Graham, the ad cuts to bits and pieces of statements that Trump has made at various times and ends by showing an interview in which he was asked if he had ever sought forgiveness from God. He said, in that interview, that he admittedly had not and then his “why.”
It made me stop and think. Has Kamala Harris sought God’s forgiveness for being so radically pro-choice that she wants a law permitting abortions all the way through a woman’s pregnancy? We will discuss this in another blog because the EFH considers her to be very much, pro-family.
Back to the ad. Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, tore into this group for using his dad to make a political statement. And he had every right to do so. My issue is not whether you like Donald Trump or not. Franklin’s point was that his dad was conservative theologically and politically and filed a cease-and-desist order against EFH for using his dad’s sermon clips for their political purposes, the ads giving the impression that Billy Graham would have voted for Harris.
We know this type of abuse and misuse of quotes and videos happen in our world. But it was in bad taste for this group to do what they did, especially from a group that claims to be “Evangelical.” The statements by Trump were snippets, so you never get to hear the context in which they were given, though some things he said were no doubt, distasteful. Again, though, context does help understand the totality of what someone says. That was lacking in these ads.
And do you know how the EFH group responded to Franklin Graham? They claimed that they do not tell people how to think or vote, which, by the way, they are doing by having an organization that is supporting Harris with a dislike of Donald Trump. So that is hypocritical in and of itself. They also accused Franklin Graham of “worshipping Trump” which is a reckless and ignorant statement. They have turned to guilt shaming those who do not go along with them and their thoughts on the presidential election.
A true evangelical worships no person. All people are sinners in need of grace, and even those who are Christians battle sin. That is not to excuse the behavior and words that come out of someone’s mouth, but it is immature and word baiting to claim that someone “worships” an individual because they themselves support them. Do the EFH people worship Harris? By their standards they used for judging Franklin Graham, they make statements that would make you think so.
We will see some of those in upcoming blogs. This type of double-speak is common in our world today when we disagree with someone over things, and when it comes to Biblical issues, whether theological, ethical, or social, it becomes magnified.
Let me respond also to those who claim that evangelicals who vote for Trump are “Trump worshippers.” There are Christians that I believe go overboard in their view of Trump. I know that there is no perfect political candidate, some are obviously morally, ethically, and Biblically more off-center than others. I look at the platforms of political parties to see who lines up more with a worldview derived from the Scriptures. And then pray that the candidate will follow through on what they say.
In all honesty, neither of the two main parties has a strong pro-life stance. They don’t, pure and simple. But one is definitely more aggressive in their support of abortion, way beyond some others. Regardless, the point is, I do not worship Donald Trump or any person. I do believe voting is something Christians should do and educate themselves on. Every candidate is flawed. The question is, which group is more in line with what Scripture says on issues such as immigration, the unborn, the economy, etc.? Remember, in some countries today, and in the ancient world, people did not have this privilege presented to them.
And as for the view that we are “fightin’ fundamentalists,” count me out. If by “Fundamentals” someone means the historic beliefs of the Christian faith, the essentials that have defined Christianity for centuries, then I am included in that group. The term “fundamentalism” has been hi-jacked by some Christians including narrow-minded, legalistic individuals with their manmade rules of what makes someone a believer and true disciple of Jesus (KJV Bible only, length of a guy’s hair - long hair means you are “liberal”, how we dress for church, on and on).
But that is not what the meaning of “Fundamentalism” is. In the early twentieth-century a series of books were written on what were the essentials of the Christian faith. They were written at a time when liberal views of the Bible were spreading throughout the church. It was a defense of the faith. The key doctrines noted in those writings most “Evangelical” Christians would believe in.
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