Jesus Wept

[Dill]

(08-28-2018, 12:48 PM)jj22 Wrote: I'd argue otherwise. Never before has our Leaders led this new moral standard/acceptance. Never before have they told us this is who holds our moral compass. Held a man with Trumps background on such pedestal.

They've fought against those attempts to end Christianity and suffered great losses, but never have they led these new rules of Christianity. Rules that have surely brought the credibility of the Church down.

Two quick ponts:

1. I am not a Christian, but I say Phil and Michael make good points about the DIVERSITY of Christianity. I don't bash ALL Muslims because of what this or that sect actually does. We need to be careful when making parts stand in for the whole. Lots of Christians don't support Trump. Many are ready take in immigrant families, etc.  The example of Jesus is perhaps one of the best critiques of Trumpism.

2. That said, I understand your consternation about Evangelical support. Those are the folks who generally claim to live by their religion, and the example of Jesus, with greater rigor than other sects/denominations.  When asked about it, they tend to answer that "God works through imperfect instruments."  This is far from new, however. Throughout most of the history of Christianity, in most of its variants, it taught submission to worldly rulers.  In Medieval political theory (e.g. Aquinas), bad rulers are still placed where they are by God. So you still obey them. (Their power only stops with your conscience and your books--only God disposes over that. So that can't tell you which doctrine to embrace.) You can only change those representative leaders that you contracted into power. Even Luther, the father of Protestantism, agrees that secular authorities must be obeyed in worldly matters, even when "unjust". Their depredations are chastisements from God.  The view of some/many, maybe most, Evangelicals is that Trump was put in place by God and is doing His work. So don't complain about the rest.  He is a step towards the end of the abortion holocaust; that outweighs ugly tweets about women and Jeff sessions. He stopped Hillary, who was undoing God's work.