Discernment or Gullibility

Last updated on: March 20, 2018 at 4:47 pm by D. G. Hart

Discernment or Gullibility 2018-03-20T16:47:44-04:00 D. G. Hart

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Mark Hemingway has a positive piece on Russell Moore at The Weekly Standard, the gist of which is that the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is one of the few evangelical straight shooters in a climate dominated by THE EIGHTY-ONE PERCENT!!!

Hemingway writes:

If you’ve been paying attention to national politics for the last few years, the idea that evangelical leaders are themselves in a position to offer such moral leadership might be in question. Even religious cynics have been shocked by the way so many evangelicals have lined up to prostrate themselves in the service of electing as president of the United States an exceptionally profane, likely unfaithful, thrice-married braggart who once publicly supported abortion and refers to holy communion as having “my little cracker.”

The notable exception among evangelical leaders is Russell Moore: As long ago as September 2015, when the prospect of a President Trump was still considered highly unlikely, Moore published an op-ed in the New York Times asking, “Have Evangelicals Who Support Trump Lost Their Values?” His answer was unequivocally yes, and Moore charged Trump with using evangelicals to further his ambitions. “We should not demand to see the long-form certificate for Mr. Trump’s second birth,” he wrote. “We should, though, ask about his personal character and fitness for office. His personal morality is clear, not because of tabloid exposés but because of his own boasts. His attitude toward women is that of a Bronze Age warlord.” Trump returned fire in May 2016, tweeting: “Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with no heart!”

Hemingway also quotes Moore about the reasons for holding evangelicals to higher standards:

“The church of Jesus Christ ought to be the last people to fall for hucksters and demagogues. After all, the church bears the Spirit of God, who gifts the Body with discernment and wisdom,” he writes. “But too often we do. We receive celebrities simply because they are ‘conservative,’ without asking what they are conserving. If you are angry with the same people we are, you must be one of us. But it would be a tragedy to get the right president, the right Congress, and the wrong Christ.”

I wonder how Hemingway would have framed the story — and what Moore’s reaction would be — had he read the story at Christianity Today about evangelicals’ most-trusted celebrities:

Evangelicals were most likely to heed recommendations by top leaders from recent administrations; nearly half (49%) said Trump’s endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a particular candidate, more than any other figure.

Vice President Mike Pence (46%), President George W. Bush (43%), House Speaker Paul Ryan (34%), and President Barack Obama (33%) made up the rest of the top five for evangelicals, while a few spiritual and religious leaders ranked among the top 10: Oprah (31%), Joel Osteen (28%), and Jerry Falwell Jr. (27%).

Did you see that? President Obama and Oprah are ahead of Jerry Fallwell Jr.

That’s hardly a coherent set of convictions or ideals, at least when it comes to discernment about celebrities.

In which case, couldn’t it be — for the guhzillionth time — that the critics of evangelicalism are over interpreting the 2016 vote, unless of course you want to take a page from Hal Lindsey about how to interpret the Last Days.

Image

Previous Post

March 16, 2018

Would You Die for the Nation?

Next Post

March 21, 2018 Airbrushing Evangelicals

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2016 Presidential Election 2020 Presidential Election Apocalypse Bible in American Life Biblical authority Books and culture Calvinism Church Life Civil Religion Culture Wars Doctrine evangelicalism Gullibility Heaven and Hell Intellectual life Jesus Ministry modernity moralism Nationalism New Testament Old Testament Otherworldiness Otherworldliness Paul Peter Piety Popular culture Protestantism Psalms Puritans Race Roman Catholicism sacred/secular distinction Sex Shameless Self Promotion Sports Ten Commandments U.S. politics Uncategorized vulgarity worship

Select a Month January 2022 October 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz