Christians Divided Over Trumps Last Days

 


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.”

WP Jan 8 2021

 

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.

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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.

 

 

 

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