American Christian leaders are divided in what they should do about the president’s persistent challenges to the validity of the election and his calls for supporters to head to the capitol, which of course made international news.
The
evidence for divided Christians is the fact that almost all the members of
Congress identify as Christian (See
data).
On 7
January, there were more than 200 members of Congress calling for the removal
of the president (NBC).
These included 197 from the House and 37 from the Senate. This obviously means
that some Christians supported removal and some did not on 7 January.
A CNN
update on January 8 2021 documented members of Congress supporting either Impeachment
or invoking the 25th Amendment. The count was 199 Representatives and 38
Senators.
The
proposals considered by the Congress are as follows:
1.
Encourage him to resign and take a Pence Pardon.
2. Invoke the
procedures in Amendment 25.
3. Begin
Impeachment proceedings leading to a trial.
Christian
leaders call for resignation
Aside from
the lawmakers, various Christian leaders have called for the president to
resign.
50 churches
in Virginia See
CBS17
National
Council of Churches Leaders See
NCC for a long list
Russell
Moore See
Word&Way
Christian
leaders divided
Quotes from
Evangelicals who supported the president reveal divided opinions about the
current situation. Mike Evans quote is particularly poignant:
“We evangelicals are in a painful predicament. On the one
hand, we think the world of the president and his policies because he’s been
astonishingly good to us. On the other hand, we have based our own whole life
on truth and the word of God,” Evans said. “He gave us a seat at the table. He
honored us like we’ve never been honored, so I have nothing but gratitude for
that. But [Wednesday] has put us in a moral dilemma.”
What’s at Stake?
The fear, which you can find in numerous news
sources, is that the president might call on his supporters to take additional
actions against government leaders before he leaves the White House. His
statement that he will not attend the inauguration has caused some worry that
supporters may attack because he won’t be harmed since he won’t be there.
The fear that the president will start a war or
worse, launch nuclear weapons, has also appeared in many news sources (e.g., Slate,
Politico,
Vox
).
The fear that the president will not address important
matters of security, healthcare, and other threats to our nation adds to the list
of concerns given the recent Russian cyberattack and the growing number of people
hospitalized for Covid-19.
**********
As the days go by until a new president takes office, a lot
can happen to change the opinions of the lawmakers and the Christian leaders.
Let us hope that more leaders exert pressure that will
support a peaceful transition of power and thwart any attempts at violence and
destruction.
Comments
Post a Comment