Not all Christians look the same. We also don't vote the same.
So I feel compelled to make a clear distinction between the vast majority of people following the Christian faith and the splinter group that uses its Christian faith as a justification to support President Trump.
I read and hear a lot of people referencing 'Christians support President Trump.' This is inaccurate and suggests a homogeneity of thought that is no more appropriate of Christians than it is of any other group.
Christianity is a faith focused on Jesus Christ, whom we consider to be the Messiah, the savior of the world. Jesus' message was one of love for God and love of our fellow human beings without exception.
Jesus Himself was regularly criticized by the authorities of His time for spending time with various maligned people of the day. He was demonstrating His acceptance of those people, and through it, His acceptance and love for all people.
He consistently called for and demonstrated care and relief for the poor, kindness to foreigners, and charity to all who needed it. His ministry had no room for anything but love, peace, and instruction in the faith.
Of course, all Christians (and everyone else) is a sinner of one sort or another, so we're not claiming perfection or 'holier than thou.' The vast majority of Christians do the best they can to follow the teachings of their Lord and Savior. We ALL fall short of Jesus' standard however, we strive to be better every day, thanks to His mercy, grace and eternal patience.
So to the extent we are all bunched together with some of our Christian brothers and sisters who have gone astray in search the idols of power, access, and prestige, I, for one, push back. The shameless pandering of some Christian leaders to the Trump White House is disappointing, especially for the shadow it casts on other Christians, who are painted with the same broad brush of 'hypocrite.'
Again, neither I, nor any other Christian is claiming perfection. But we do claim our faith, which our Lord has gifted to us. A faith with no room for petty grievances or cynical manipulation of supporters, not to mention caging small children, working with foreign enemies to undermine democracy and other tangible and damaging sins.
Please understand, Christian teaching doesn't allow hate. It is a sin. Love, kindness, acceptance, compassion - these are the fundamentals of our faith.
And supporting Trump because he claims Christianity (which Clinton, Obama, Bush (41 & 43), Reagan, Carter, and all other presidents and presidential candidates do as well), while engaging in demonstrably hateful acts against the very people Jesus taught us to love and care for is disingenuous on its face.
So when you hear Franklin Graham, Ralph Reed, Robert Jeffress, or Paula White 'speaking for evangelical Christians' know that they speak for some Christians. To suggest more is to grossly overestimate their support amongst all Christians most of who either don't support the President at all (as I don't), or if they do support him, it is not his faith that convinces them to do so.
Jim Donaher is a writer, blogger, and author of the soon to be published, "Call Him, He's Home: Learning Prayer to Start and Grow Your Relationship with God" Click the title to read an excerpt.
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