Christianity Today, an influential evangelical magazine, says Trump ‘should be removed from office’
...and you might be thinking to yourself, "But why is this such a big deal? What even is Christianity Today and what are its biases and what is its history?"
Well, I've got you covered. See HERE or HERE.
As for the text of the actual Christianity Today editorial:
I'm reluctant to give Christianity Today too much credit for saying the obvious at such a late date. But this is the world we live in now. In a world where absolutely none of the Republicans voted to impeach Trump, and in a world where 99% of white evangelicals still support Trump, it is important that the most influential conservative evangelical Christian magazine has come out against Trump. Maybe this will convince people who otherwise wouldn't have been convinced by the mainstream news?
At any rate, it's worth reading, and worth sharing with any white evangelicals in your circle:
The full article here:
Trump Should Be Removed from Office
But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.
The reason many are not shocked about this is that this president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.
9 comments:
Well...I have to take issue with anyone who describes CT as "influential." After all they did run Andy Crouch's "Don't vote for this guy" editorial just weeks before the election, and we can see just how influential that was. I think CT finds itself in the same high waters as all the other prestige press. Now that the hoi polloi have a voice (thanks, internet) outrage is the only expression worth attending to. And CT doesn't do outrage. They had at least a decade to take the shoes to frauds like juniors Falwell and Graham, but they STILL give these gangsters a pass.
Maybe I'm too cynical. I do feel for any Evangelical attempting to be a moderate, and that would describe the bulk of CT's readership.
I admit I probably could be further educated on this. I'm not particularly plugged into the Christian magazine scene. My assessment of CT as the most influential conservative Christian magazine is based purely on my professor's recommendation of them back in 1999 when I was doing my thesis, and some info I was able to dig up during my research. But I've never been a regular reader.
Did I miss a more influential christian magazine?
Sorry: I'm reposting with some clarifications.
I'd argue that there aren't any influential magazines or newspapers anywhere. If you think about the lead up to the last election you had a scene where even dependably conservative stalwarts were endorsing Rodham Clinton so that by election day nearly 90 percent of MSM print was effectively campaigning on her behalf. And yet.
I'd say Dobson's email blasts in the 90s were the early template of actual "Christian" influence. His team of knee-cappers kept a microscopic focus on the Senate and the House and jumped on every Dem initiative they could twist into a "pro-abortion" narrative, then exhorted Focus subscribers to "pray and put pressure on your member of Congress." Focus subscribers, now exercised into umbrage, would forward these emails to friends who ought to be similarly concerned, usually proceeding the Focus Fiat with "We can't allow this to happen!!" The princes in the houses of Graham and Falwell took note and have been running with this model for decades, thus exercising considerably more influence on the election than did anything you'd find on a magazine rack.
I guess time will tell how influential this is. I am cautiously optimistic that CT might make some dents where MSM wouldn't. But the anecdotal evidence does not look good so far, based on the dialogue I've been seeing on Facebook.
One of my friends posted a link on Facebook, and someone commented "Billy Graham would be rolling over in his grave. Shame on the Democrats!"
...as if the Democrats had anything to do with the editorial page at Christianity Today! Ridiculous! But I worry that this is just where the state of dialogue is at nowadays.
I debated whether or not I should share this -- what is the point of either you or I getting any more worked up over this collective madness than we already are? -- but I think it is an accurate picture of the current zeitgeist within the white church of the USA, and not a few non-white congregations within the larger orbit of American Evangelicalism.
This is "occult Christianity," basically -- a wholesale subscription to and endorsement of a deeply Pagan world-view, which reduces a sublime religious ethos to a practice of magickal incantations designed to "bind the enemy." The unspoken assumption is that the church is poised to suffer actual catastrophic defeat at the hands of this enemy, unless it doggedly adheres to these specific magickal practices. The people who penned what became the Christian scriptures would see this, I would argue, as a complete anathema. But that is not the message these people have any interest in hearing right now.
After reading that article, I may have to concede the point. If this is indeed the state of things, than Christianity Today's editorial page probably isn't going to have much influence.
Boy, that article was depressing. It makes you wonder how we as a country are ever going to recover from this state of affairs.
I can't imagine how democracy in the USA would survive a second term of the 45th president. But maybe it's time I listened again to that Scottish chap we bonded over earlier. Thank you for another terrific year of stimulation and memorable conversations. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas, Joel -- be well.
WP/dpr
The pleasure has been all mine. Thank you for all the thoughtful comments over the year. Merry Christmas.
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