Moral Governance & the Trump Candidacy

“Is Donald Trump the candidate who best represents the Christian worldview?” asks Katelyn Webb?  For the answer, she points us to this podcast: From Politics in the Pews: Trump Conviction, Political Chaos Spark Historic Election Cycle, Jul 12, 2024

Her source material is from a Christian Post podcast that can be found here. 

She writes…        

Wayne Grudem, a prominent conservative commentator, has long voiced concerns about Trump's candidacy. "If Trump stays in the race and wins the Republican nomination, he is very likely to lose the general election. That would be a disaster for the Republican Party and for the nation," Grudem wrote in a Newsweek op-ed.

On  this view, Party is more important than President.   One hopes that Dr. Grudem believes as he does about Candidate Trump because he has come to his senses relative to Candidate Trump’s character.  That said, for someone who taught theology & ethics for 10 years, it strikes me as odd that Dr. Grudem has historically resorted to pragmatic arguments as a justification for his personal support of Candidate Trump & little if any biblical argumentation.  All in all, as a political pundit, he comes across as an ends justifies the means sort of person. 

He knows better, but he sounds just like the average church goer in some churches who thinks that Christian Ethics are largely convertible with modern day American Conservatism, ergo, we should vote Trump.   I wonder what the Bible says about that?  He reminds me of the members of the Sanhedrin who thought that as long as they protected the temple all would be well.   

Though Trump is not the “greatest role model,” Reed said he’s the choice for those who “believe that the taking of life in the womb is a moral issue ... and abortion on demand is the gravest national evil of our time.”

Mr. Reed wants to overlook Candidate Trump’s character in favor of a pragmatic argument that amounts to “Abortion!”   This view seems to take it for granted that the view of the typical Christian Conservative that conduces to “Abortion is murder regardless of the motives of the moral agents involved” is the view articulated by the authors of the Bible.  Therefore, in the name of protecting the unborn, Christian’s ought to vote for Mr. Trump.   

When it comes to this issue, where is the supporting argument that God believes what Ralph Reed & any number of people who think as he does?    When I think about it, I’ve never actually heard or read Ralph Reed argue his position on abortion from the Bible.   Instead, he can be trusted to sell his audience the worldly standard articulated via Ecclesiastical Tradition, aka Liturgical Philosophy.   I wonder what he would say to a covenant lawsuit that looks like this: 

Evangelicals’ response to abortion was to dismantle Roe v Wade, then, as an attempt to outlaw abortion altogether, let the states handle it.  How would that work in the Bible? Where does the Bible throw these issues to the 12 Tribes of Israel as a “tribal rights” issue? Nowhere!  

Abortion is a systemic social evil that, from a theologically conservative POV should fall into the same category as divorce and slavery.  In the Bible, laws regulating such evils were national, not just tribal.  We shouldn’t regulate these issues via the States, while excluding the Federal Government.

In the Bible systemic issues arise out of economic conditions as well as other causes like warmongering and the loss of philosophical and theological underpinnings.  How does the Bible deal with systemic problems, particularly during declension in both religious institutions and society as a whole?

Divorce is a concession to human hard heartedness, according to Matthew 19.  The Penteteuch and the rest of the Bible regulate it tightly. Chattel slavery was regulated regulated into indentured servitude. The New Testament states slaves should seek their freedom in an orderly manner if possible. (Philemon, 1 Corinthians).  

Abortion should be regulated away just like debtors prisons and chattel slavery - but not made illegal. Abortion for any reason whatsoever isn’t biblical. However the Bible never says the early termination of a pregnancy is always murder.  In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel commands the death of infants in war, & the Bible doesn’t state that the death of infants is always a capital crime like murder. Neither does the Bible teach we should oppress women.  

Abortion laws must take all of this  into account and carefully regulate abortion without criminalizing women and mansplaining abortion and Women’s Health.  We should also work to make adoption more affordable.  

He continues: 

“They might not want him to be their pastor or priest or rabbi or necessarily marry their daughter. But because the other side's agenda is so extreme and because he promised and continues to promise to stand for life and to appoint judges and justices who will defend life, it may be at times an uncomfortable decision, but it's not, it's a fraught decision, but it's not a hard decision if you believe that the taking of life in the loom is a moral issue. And we believe that abortion on demand is the gravest national evil of our time.”

In other words, we aren’t voting for an ecclesiastical figure.  This is war, & that means those morals tests for Moral Governance in the Church don’t apply to the World!   In war, we are to align ourselves with Nebuchadnezzar in order to use him to do our bidding, not merely to enjoy his despotic protection from Egypt & Persia.   Instead of applying the Bible’s plumb line to Mr. Trump like it teaches we must do, we are to apply it to the Democrats’ policies & overlook Mr. Trump’s indiscretions.

Gabriel Salguero, head of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, urges Hispanic voters to remain independent: "Blind allegiance to any political party actually hurts us from moving policy that is Gospel-centered and biblically based forward."

Mr. Salguero is a light in the darkness on this one.    I would add that it’s time to teach the GOP & a great many Christian leaders in the churches, parachurch organizations, & other institutions a lesson about taking the Pews’ votes granted.   Theological Evangelicals ought to register & vote Democrat for a change.  

Pay attention to how the Republican Party and American Conservatives are arguing their case against the election of Candidate Harris & her running mate, Tim Walz.     It took several days for Mr. Trump to agree to debate Mrs. Harris on September 10 this year.   In addition, both Mr. Trump & JD Vance have deliberately chosen to go after Mrs. Harris’ race/ethnicity.   Candidate Vance has gone after Governor Walz’ military record while he himself is the running mate for a man whose military record amounts to using his social status in order to avoid service.

Christian Conservatives have run to LGBTQ issues too, just like they did in the US Congress when the 117th Congress took up & passed a short slate of legislative measures to, at the federal level, recognize & institutionalize measures designed to protect the Civil Rights of LGBTQ people and those of non-LGBTQ people.  They deliberately appealed to the morality police & others relative to transgender people in particular as a means to deny enumerated protections for both transgender people and non-heterosexual people in matters of employment, housing, public accommodation, jury selection, credit, federal funding, & education.   

Mark Robinson in NC is running for Governor, & he is doing so after admitting that he hasn’t used his time as Lt. Governor to learn how the General Assembly works.   He’s clearly supported by Senator Berger & Speaker Moore because he’ll be easily controlled by them, giving the General Assembly power in & over the State’s Governor’s Office itself.   

As a reminder, his one claim to fame prior to his election to office was an angry rant about guns that he himself delivered to the Greensboro City Council.   He also left his studies at UNC G in order to enter politics.  He could have been a teacher.  Instead, he chose to become a buffoon who claims

The Trump Champaign & Mr. Robinson’s campaign appear to be run on angry bigotry,   In Mr. Robinson’s case, his bigotry has a religious cast — and that’s the proximate cause of Sodom & Gommorah’s downfall. He’s running on statements like “ the Civil Rights Movement was a communist plot to “subvert capitalism” and used “to subvert free choice and where you go to school and things like that.”

However, Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said Trump's policies have delivered tangible benefits. He urges voters to "put the tweets aside" and focus on the "remarkable return on investment" from Trump's presidency.

What does that even mean? 

“He says they need to separate Trump's rhetoric from his proposed policies.”  This says Mr. Giatti in his podcasts 

“Put the tweets aside, we're not asking about tweets. We're not asking about rhetoric. We're not asking about some of the side drama and commentary.

We're talking about deliverables from a business perspective. Deliverables, my friend, the return on investment. Wow, remarkable.”

Well in that case, let’s look at Mr. Trump’s business record.   Judging from Mr. Rodriguez’ rhetoric & that of Tim Head (the latter of whom the article did not quote) Mr. Trump delivers on his agenda the same way Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman delivered with respect to Deadpool & Wolverine.  

According to Tim Head…

“Donald Trump walks out with one of the highest scoring report cards in American history. I kid you not do your due diligence. In the major metrics, put the name aside.

Be objective about it. Donald Trump hit like home run, home run, home run, home run on a number of issues that are critical to every American.”

This topic, according to the author of the article, is supposed to be about whether or not Mr. Trump & his agenda are congruent with a Christian worldview.  Where does the Bible teach us to apply worldly standards for political & business success in answering the question at hand? 

Nowhere!  Rather we are to read, study, & understand what God says in the Pentateuch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, the Sermon On the Mount, Romans 13, 1 Timothy, & James and harmoniously apply their teachings as a means to answer the question.  

Not only that, as a registered voter, speaking for myself, I took a look at Mr. Trump’s business record when he ran for office the first time.   It reflects a habit of gathering together a number of investors, sometimes stiffing people who work for him, & then at a later point filing for bankruptcy & taking tax write offs for his efforts.   Why should I trust him with the United States bank account in which he has a voice although the purse strings largely belong to Congress, when his business record isn’t exactly what he describes in his rhetoric?  

Giatti contended that the debate within the Evangelical community is not just about policies but also about the role of Christian values in politics. 

How about Evangelicals listen to what Christ says about the Narrow Way in Matthew 7, instead of all but stating outright that God Almighty delivered Mr. Trump from certain death for such a time as this, as if he foreordained Mr. Trump’s survival as if He endorses Mr. Trump &/or the Mr. Giatti’s & other American Conservatives’ Liturgical Sociopolitical / Socioeconomic Philosophy?  Moreover, as one reads the Christian Post these days, one can’t help but read about yet another Evangelical leader’s fall from grace. One is reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5 in which he reminded the Corinthian church that he had already written them a letter about sexual immorality in their church, yet their reaction to it amounted to ignoring his admonition to take the necessary steps to correct their problems & instead pointing their fingers at the world around them. 

Within Matthew’s narrative, the principles in the Sermon on the Mount were delivered as a response to the dutiful culture warriors & angry religious & quasi-religious bigots of Yeshua’s day & those who thought & behaved just like them. Matthew’s central foils would be the Sanhedrin, the Zealots, the Romans, & others including Herod & his sycophants, the Herodians.  The judgment emanating from them was at times merciless, unjust, hypocritical, & unnecessarily harsh. 

The Narrow Way does not eschew Ecclesiastical Tradition—rather, it recognizes that Ecclesiastical Traditions accrete over time, & it examines & tests Ecclesiastical Tradition by way of Scripture correctly exegeted, exposited, understood, & applied (CEEUA).  As such, the Narrow Way/Path is a practical outworking of Sola Scriptura. 

Christianity began as a reform movement within Second Temple Judaism, & Church History seems cyclical just like every covenantal cycle in the Bible.  In the Post-Lapsarian cycles that followed the Covenant of Works, humanity started out in major need of deliverance; God Himself delivered His people & the Created Order in general; declaring His Law & Gospel; paracleting the world He has delivered & over which He rules, eventually permitting a declension radical enough to warrant major intervention.  One wonders if we have reached a time in the history of this world that requires a major reformation in the 3 Spheres of Moral Government & the 3 Offices that requires a transitional prophet to exercise the 3 sets of keys (Prophet, Priest, King) in the name of God Almighty & Jesus Christ Himself. 

This Narrow Way also examines & tests our moral intuitions by Scripture CEEUA.  The mind that is set on the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7; See also Romans 7).  Our moral intuitions lead us to believe we can please God via our works righteousness, and as we have discussed in these pages many times, Situational Ethics & Works Righteousness go hand in hand.   

After all, if God condemns us with little or no regard for the motives which underwrite our every thought, word, & deed, then it’s possible that God commends us the same way.   On that view all we need to do in order to please God & receive our reward is complete the requisite amount of spiritual rigamorole — then out pops our certificate of achievement! 

If & when questions arise relative to what we can properly deduce about God’s Moral Will (That Which Ought To Be) from His decretal will (That Which Is), it answers the Is-Ought (Naturalistic) Fallacy with Scripture CEEUA drawn not from descriptive statements about God’s decretal will alone, but rather from God’s Moral Will (which alone is both necessary & sufficient to properly warrant faith & practice).   It’s worth noting that the Naturalistic Fallacy is at the root of a great deal of prejudice & bigotry.

Denise Gitsham, a pro-life advocate, expressed disappointment over the politicization of the Church and lamented the failure of Christians to hold Trump and other candidates accountable for compromising on not just abortion, but other key issues among Evangelicals….Why are we taking this lying down from our own candidate that we have supported so strongly?" she asked. “When have we, as a Church, decided that we are going to stand with the politicians instead of with truth? And that's what breaks my heart more than anything.” 

Like what?  Oh, that’s right, abortion, LGBTQ issues, & gluttony and what the Bible actually teaches when correctly exegeted, exposited, & understood means so that we can correctly apply its teaching to every area of life covered by the 3 uses of the Law & Gospel or does she have what Ecclesiastical Tradition / Liturgical Philosophy have done to innoculate Polticians & the Pews?   

In addition, one struggles to find anything of substance that she has said or written about what the Bible actually teaches outside of her book.   She’s a political operative who on the one hand “grieves over the politicization of the church yet has gone out of her way to politicize herself via touting her track record as a lifelong Republican & political operative in DC, her status as a lawyer, running for office & now a contributor at Newsnation — on politics no less? 

What does the she mean about the politicization of the churches vs what the Bible teaches?  In her book, Politics For People Who Hate Politics, she claims to write out of a heart of repentance, but she supports a sociopolitical agenda that is comfortable with Situational, ie Flow Chart, Ethics.  In the Introduction, she cites Paul in Romans, “beware of people who cause divisions.”  

Her politics is the politics of anti-guilt laws that seek to gaslight people crying out for justice. These people are those who are divisive.   Paul, however, typically has the Superapostles, Gospel Peddlers, & Jewish & Gentiles oppressors who were often beholden to a gospel of works righteousness over a gospel centered on grace & faith, many of whom knew full well that God judges us according to how exhaustively & perfectly we love Him & our neighbors before ourselves.  

“And I know when it's hard to win something because it's politically unpopular. But when have we decided as a church that we would stand, I don't care what the politicians do, but when have we as a church decided that we are going to stand with the politicians instead of with truth? And that's what breaks my heart more than anything.”

She strikes me as a double minded person.  Her loyalties are conflicted. On the one hand, she laments the politicization of the churches.  On the other, she supports unbiblical policies that the Lord hates. 

Jason Yates of MyFaithVoted: 

There are many who love Trump and many who hate Trump, and even in the Christian circles, but certainly outside of the Christian circles. And so there may be many people who frustrated with the choices of maybe another Biden-Trump candidacy and election that they choose to stay home. So I certainly hope not, because rather than the personalities, we need to be looking at the issues and who's going to best represent your point of views and protect the values that you hold dearest to you.”

“Author and commentator Craig Huey, (whom the author did not quote) on the other hand, expects a massive turnout of evangelical voters in 2024 and predicts the vast majority of them will cast their ballots for Trump.”

At this point, one wonders if the author of the CP article actually paid attention to the podcast itself.   It isn’t really about whether or not Mr. Trump is the candidate who best represents a Christian worldview.  It’s actually a survey of what a number of people Mr. Giatti has chosen to ask about how viable a candidate Mr. Trump is in terms of an overall ideologically driven philosophical — not theologically sound sociopolitical worldview is given recent events in his personal life in light of his legal woes & moral problems. 

It’s worth noting that the introduction to the Christian Post’s podcast is remarkably tone deaf.   On the one hand, Christians are being oppressed by the Encroaching Liberal Menace & Christian Nationalism is just a conspiracy theory.  On the other, does anybody who writes for the Christian Post understand that these people are really one note authorities whose point of view just parrots Ecclesiastical Tradition & disagrees with the Bible to the point that it has led to a dumbed down Christian population in the pews & in government & involves bona fide institutionalized angry religious & quasi-religious bigotry that genuinely oppresses people to the point that the Whiskey Rebellion has risen up in both the United States & the UK?  One wonders if somebody somewhere is crying out “Christian Witchcraft has prevailed!” in a room full of men & women wearing horns. 

What do the majority of the individuals the article surveys have in common?  

Awhile back, we used the LGBTQ issue as an example of Institutionalized Ecclesiastical Tradition that has gone unchallenged in a great many ideologically Conservative sociopolitical circles for quite some time.   Of those individuals statements quoted in the article, all of them argue on philosophical grounds.  With the possible exception of Mr. Saguero, they fail to challenge Ecclesiastical Tradition on particular issues (LGBTQ & Abortion) & they avoid Gluttony, Warmongering, & IOSRI (Institutionalized Often Self-Reinforcing Ignunce) among the Christian population in the United States.   

“The human heart is an idol factory.” (John Calvin)

“The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don’t. We are spiritual dwarfs. A much-traveled leader, a native American (be it said), has declared that he finds North American Protestantism, man-centered, manipulative, success-oriented, self-indulgent, and sentimental, as it blatantly is, to be 3,000 miles wide and half an inch deep.” (JI Packer)

“We live in evil times.” (Cardinal Borusa, Gallifreyan Magistrate).