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Christianity Today -- Trump Should Be Removed from Office Search

Sep 14, 2019
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https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html

Trump Should Be Removed from Office
It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was.
MARK GALLI
DECEMBER 19, 2019
Trump Should Be Removed from Office
Image: Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images


In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment.

The typical CT approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible. We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds everyone that politics is not the end and purpose of our being. We take pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage.

That said, we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction and love. We love and pray for our president, as we love and pray for leaders (as well as ordinary citizens) on both sides of the political aisle.

Let’s grant this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day one, and therefore nearly everything they do is under a cloud of partisan suspicion. This has led many to suspect not only motives but facts in these recent impeachment hearings. And, no, Mr. Trump did not have a serious opportunity to offer his side of the story in the House hearings on impeachment.

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.

Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.

This concern for the character of our national leader is not new in CT. In 1998, we wrote this:

The President's failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation. This is not a private affair. For above all, social intercourse is built on a presumption of trust: trust that the milk your grocer sells you is wholesome and pure; trust that the money you put in your bank can be taken out of the bank; trust that your babysitter, firefighters, clergy, and ambulance drivers will all do their best. And while politicians are notorious for breaking campaign promises, while in office they have a fundamental obligation to uphold our trust in them and to live by the law.

And this:

Unsavory dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered this administration morally unable to lead.

Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president. Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.

To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?

We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.

Mark Galli is editor in chief of Christianity Today.
 
Glad you are reading Christianity Today .... hopefully you read some articles about the power of faith in Christ ...and not just the widely quoted political one.................
 
Glad you are reading Christianity Today .... hopefully you read some articles about the power of faith in Christ ...and not just the widely quoted political one.................
So rather than mock the poster for suggesting that he was being a hypocritical Christian, why don’t you explain how you justify your support of Trump if you, Mr. Spider Fan, are indeed a true Christian yourself?
Then explain why your first reaction to a Christian post was to mock the poster. In the age of Trumpf, are scorn and contempt now acceptable Christian values?
 
What "one" considers "mocking" another may consider as a reasonable inquiry.....................
 
christians have many points of view, are not sheep in one herd. have to say, most christians love our country and therefore see that trump, with many flaws, has come forward to save it and thus has connected with and won the support of many of them, not all but many.
 
So rather than mock the poster for suggesting that he was being a hypocritical Christian, why don’t you explain how you justify your support of Trump if you, Mr. Spider Fan, are indeed a true Christian yourself?
Then explain why your first reaction to a Christian post was to mock the poster. In the age of Trumpf, are scorn and contempt now acceptable Christian values?
I really did not take it as mocking me or scorn or contempt. I don't know SpiderFan, but I think you misread his post.
 
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The ironic thing about Trump, while he has the morals of a billygoat, he has done more to
support religion than any of our previous so called pious Presidents.
 
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The ironic thing about Trump, while he has the morals of a billygoat, he has done more to
support religion than any of our previous so called pious Presidents.
Tell that to Muslims in general or Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue. And frankly, whether your statement is true or not, that's not his job.
 
don't feel he has attempted to restrict religion at all, though he has attempted to make our country safer with a travel ban on those countries deemed unsafe, by the obama administration, and that is a common sense, prudent action to take. not sure if trump had any hand in the tree of life situation at all, in fact, am sure he did not, has not said one word against jews, probably because his daughter and grand kids are jewish but you can think what you want, free country.
 
don't feel he has attempted to restrict religion at all, though he has attempted to make our country safer with a travel ban on those countries deemed unsafe, by the obama administration, and that is a common sense, prudent action to take. not sure if trump had any hand in the tree of life situation at all, in fact, am sure he did not, has not said one word against jews, probably because his daughter and grand kids are jewish but you can think what you want, free country.
Once again, you are ignorant of the facts, but that seems to be your standard M.O.

Let's begin with the Tree of Life murderer. He claimed Jews were aiding members of Central American caravans moving toward the United States border and referred to those migrants as "invaders." I wonder where his inspiration for that came from, don't you?

Trump's original travel ban covered five Muslim-majority countries. Over the past forty years, the number of people killed in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil by entrants from any of the five nations is zero. Given that fact, it's hard to ascribe any other motivation for the travel ban other than religious animus.

I rarely respond to any of your poorly constructed and punctuation-challenged defenses of all-things-Trump because you have shown absolutely no capacity to listen to, absorb or even acknowledge factual arguments that counter your world view. I know I've wasted my time once again trying some small measure to help you see the world as it really is. I'll even bet you're a pretty smart guy in most aspects of life. But when it comes to Trump, whether your ignorance is purposeful or not, it is profound.
 
actually feel i know more factual, as opposed to fake, info on trump than most who parrot their fav tv or cable news network. any idiot who does what that guy did is just that, an idiot, and plenty of anti-semitism around in our country today to set off whackos. why would anyone attack another on a social media about grammar or spelling? type very fast, do not go back, check and edit my stuff and maybe you do, great for you, gold star.

i defend the guy i voted for with every ounce in my body because he is attempting to save our country and because 90+% of every story about trump from the mainstream media is negative. he needs my help and he has got it. many blame trump for everything, including the virus, so have his back. recognize his flaws but the work he is doing overcomes all of them.
 
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Links:

Documentarian Ken Burns Warns Donald Trump’s Rise Is ‘Hitler-esque’

Ken Burns to Evangelical Voters: 'What Part of Donald Trump Reminds You of Jesus Christ?'

Quotes:
"The Republican Party has been extraordinarily successful at getting many groups of people to vote against their self-interest. Evangelicals are voting for Donald Trump. What part of Donald Trump reminds you of Jesus Christ? Trump lusts after his own daughter on national radio, talks about women's bodies and breasts in such a disparaging way, and mocks them. How is this in any way Christian? When you make the "other" the enemy, how is that Christian?



"
Why have you been so publicly opposed to Donald Trump?
I have never in my professional life ever spoken out in this way. I certainly have my own opinions and have a yard sign at elections and make sure I vote. But I spoke out because he represents the greatest threat to American democracy since the Second World War. He is so fundamentally un-American, and not only because he is unqualified, but because he is mentally unsuited. He represents a kind of strong man, narcissistic thing that represents the potential death of the Republic. All of my films are about the United States and all of them are about trying to understand how it works and how it doesn’t work, and I just felt compelled to speak out.

What’s so dangerous about his appeal?
He has tapped a dark unconscious, in which it is easier to vilify the other than to see what you share in common. It’s easier to be afraid than to welcome change. It’s always been there. We had a civil war, you know. We killed 750,000 of ourselves over this issue. He’s appealing to that in the most venal and vulgar ways.

I could have answered your question in a much simpler way by just saying he’s too vulgar for me. There’s no one who has occupied the presidency of the United States like that. This is coming from a person who has just finished a ten-part series on the Vietnam War, so I have been listening for years to Johnson and Nixon on tapes that they forgot were being recorded, and the vulgarity there is pretty extreme, but nothing compares to the vulgarity of this man.

Are you referring to the “Access Hollywood” tape?
The most recent one does it in spades, but it’s more than that. My daughter and my son-in-law and I made a film about the Central Park Five. He took out full page ads asking for the death penalty to be brought back and applied to five innocent children and on Friday he doubled down on that. It’s only the sex tape that’s kept that relatively quiet, but I was very impressed by Sen. McCain who finally disavowed Trump and not only mentioned the completely off-the-rails sex tape, but also the Central Park Five as one of the reasons. He had the trifecta last Friday because he also said while being endorsed by border control folks that the Obama administration under the direction of Hillary Clinton was letting in immigrants so they could vote against him. This is the greatest country on earth, and one of the many reasons is because we have a smooth transition of power. He’s set himself up to continue to roil that dark unconscious that he has tapped into for his base. The fact that he could say the things he said about women, and that his adoring masses are not even flinching at that, is Hitler-esque. I refer you to Michiko Kakutani’s review of the Hitler biography two weeks ago in the Times, in which she didn’t mention the contemporary situation, she just put the bullet points of Hitler’s rise and every single one of them was exactly what Trump has done.

Do you think he’s a fascist?
Absolutely. When you talk about having extra-judicial, threatening rivals with jail. You can call it fascistic or you can call it dictatorial. You can call it monomaniacal or imperial. Whatever you want to say, this is not the way that our country works."
 
who votes on what jesus christ might think of someone? that is just way out in left field and who cares about ken burns, like listening to any other light weight entertainer with a 10 cent brain. if one does any kind of research on any of our former presidents, will find many flaws, weaknesses and bad acting. trump is completely transparent so all his flaws are on display whereas the others hid them and did and said things when the media was not around. with trump you have a guy who says what he means and means what he says, a guy who acts not just talks, a doer and all for the country and its citizens. to me, that is what i want and can overlook the things some don't like about him because he gets things done. in the first virus meeting, the docs, scientists, said, what we recommend is unprecedented, the politicians in the room all said if you do this you will get huge political blow back. trump listened and said two words, DO IT! he did get blow back and was called, surprise, surprise, a racist and xenophobe by the press and dems but it was the right thing to do. a fascist, HA, the only folks exhibiting that type of action are those donning masks and taking over the streets, those keeping people from talking in a free country. trump is acting with the express powers afforded him by the constitution as has every other president. only his critics and haters say he is acting like a dictator or monarch, complete idiocy.
 
who votes on what jesus christ might think of someone? that is just way out in left field and who cares about ken burns, like listening to any other light weight entertainer with a 10 cent brain. if one does any kind of research on any of our former presidents, will find many flaws, weaknesses and bad acting. trump is completely transparent so all his flaws are on display whereas the others hid them and did and said things when the media was not around. with trump you have a guy who says what he means and means what he says, a guy who acts not just talks, a doer and all for the country and its citizens. to me, that is what i want and can overlook the things some don't like about him because he gets things done. in the first virus meeting, the docs, scientists, said, what we recommend is unprecedented, the politicians in the room all said if you do this you will get huge political blow back. trump listened and said two words, DO IT! he did get blow back and was called, surprise, surprise, a racist and xenophobe by the press and dems but it was the right thing to do. a fascist, HA, the only folks exhibiting that type of action are those donning masks and taking over the streets, those keeping people from talking in a free country. trump is acting with the express powers afforded him by the constitution as has every other president. only his critics and haters say he is acting like a dictator or monarch, complete idiocy.

Ken Burns is hardly a "light weight entertainer," having received acclaim in the film industry for his historical work at a level beyond almost all others in his field.
See links:
Ken Burns
National Endowment for the Humanities
Better Angels Society


"with trump you have a guy who says what he means and means what he says, a guy who acts not just talks, a doer and all for the country and its citizens. to me, that is what i want and can overlook the things some don't like about him because he gets things done. "
Why is it then that his average approval rating has remained below that of any president in this century or the last.
United States presidential approval rating

You know I would wager that the part of your statement I quoted could be found among the supporters for Saddam Hussein, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Lenin, Idi Amin, and Nero. Your perception, while not insignificant, is not born out by any facts. It is merely a wide-sweeping generalization about a guy you support.

If what you say is true, why is it that most Americans wanted him removed from office?
Poll: Most Americans want Trump removed from office by Senate

Just some things to think about. You really should come over from the Dark Side.
 
should have stated it differently, love burns' work as i do most entertainers but when they speak out on anything else, 10 cent brains for sure.
 
The guy with the zipper undone is non other than Jerry Jr who inherited his job from his Daddy.
Who’s the babe Jr, a former cheerleader at God’s school?Bad wig too.This guy is a fraud just like the guy he supports at 1600.What a combined joke.

 
The guy with the zipper undone is non other than Jerry Jr who inherited his job from his Daddy.
Who’s the babe Jr, a former cheerleader at God’s school?Bad wig too.This guy is a fraud just like the guy he supports at 1600.What a combined joke.



Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said on Wednesday that he had apologized for posting a photo of him in unzipped pants and arm around a woman — but also defended the incident as a vacation “costume party” that was “just in good fun.”

The now-deleted photo showed Falwell, a leading evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump, with his pants unzipped and his underwear showing beneath, while he had one arm around a woman whose shorts also appeared to be unbuttoned and his other holding a glass with a dark-colored liquid. The photo appeared to be on board a yacht.

The posting — which was quickly withdrawn — drew a sharp backlash and charges of hypocrisy because the evangelical university that he leads prohibits students from having sexual relations outside of a “biblically-ordained” marriage and consuming media with lewd lyrics, sexual content and nudity. The university’s policy also counsels “appropriateness” and “modesty” in how students must dress.
 
I think Jerry Falwell is a clown show in every way, but I actually don’t think this is a big deal at all. Sort of ironic that this is what brings down.
 
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I think Jerry Falwell is a clown show in every way, but I actually don’t think this is a big deal at all. Sort of ironic that this is what brings down.

what would have happened to Prez Crutcher if he was shown in a similar pic with his zipper down with his arm over a babe-bye,bye.

Same for any reputable university prez-
 
what would have happened to Prez Crutcher if he was shown in a similar pic with his zipper down with his arm over a babe-bye,bye.

Same for any reputable university prez-

It was a costume party. He was dressed as a character from a TV show along with his friends who were dressed as other characters from the show. His family was there with him.

This really shows how broken Leftists are as human beings. Just ghoulish, insufferable people who can't even operate at a social level. Even innocuous costume parties need to be snuffed out of existence.
 
It was a costume party. He was dressed as a character from a TV show along with his friends who were dressed as other characters from the show. His family was there with him.

This really shows how broken Leftists are as human beings. Just ghoulish, insufferable people who can't even operate at a social level. Even innocuous costume parties need to be snuffed out of existence.
"Leftists" may be enjoying this a bit, but it wasn't a bunch of Leftists who told him to take a break.
 
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No I agree 32, it’s a bad look and Crutcher would have been criticized too. Like I said, I think Falwell is a moron, but at the risk of agreeing with Shafer here, it seems like it was an attempt at humor and trying to recreate some other photo. Should the president of a university do that in a public way? Probably not. I just thought it got blown way out of proportion. There’s plenty else Falwell has done that concerns me a lot more, like his attempted money grab in the spring when covid was just getting going and he was having classes as if nothing had happened.
 
It was a costume party. He was dressed as a character from a TV show along with his friends who were dressed as other characters from the show. His family was there with him.

This really shows how broken Leftists are as human beings. Just ghoulish, insufferable people who can't even operate at a social level. Even innocuous costume parties need to be snuffed out of existence.

heres what you do o4 if you have a job.Post a pic on social media with your zipper down with your arm over a babe.When you drive home after having been firedfrom your job, show your wife the pic and tell her that you thought the HR lady was going to put you only on sabbatical because your Daddy founded the Company.Oh shit, your daddy wasn’t the founder..Bye-bye.Good luck on your next interview for the next job.They’ll scrub social media raw for stuff.
 
heres what you do o4 if you have a job.Post a pic on social media with your zipper down with your arm over a babe.When you drive home after having been firedfrom your job, show your wife the pic and tell her that you thought the HR lady was going to put you only on sabbatical because your Daddy founded the Company.Oh shit, your daddy wasn’t the founder..Bye-bye.Good luck on your next interview for the next job.They’ll scrub social media raw for stuff.

His family was at the party, so he wouldn't have to drive home. And "respectable" people generally refer to females as "women" rather than "babes". The derogatory, utterly sexist way the Left refers to this random woman at a costume party tells you everything you need to know about how they really feel about women.

Why is Trump going to win? In no small part because nobody want to live in a world where hate filled cretins scour social media looking for images you may have posted from a friendly party and then sadistically using them as an excuse to fire somebody. Whatever his flaws, Trump is at least a human being. The Left has been hijacked by people very much are not.
 
His family was at the party, so he wouldn't have to drive home. And "respectable" people generally refer to females as "women" rather than "babes". The derogatory, utterly sexist way the Left refers to this random woman at a costume party tells you everything you need to know about how they really feel about women.

Why is Trump going to win? In no small part because nobody want to live in a world where hate filled cretins scour social media looking for images you may have posted from a friendly party and then sadistically using them as an excuse to fire somebody. Whatever his flaws, Trump is at least a human being. The Left has been hijacked by people very much are not.

your naiveté is devoid of reality.In any case,enjoy agent orange and Jerry jr’s bubble of continued hypocrisy.keep your zipper up.
 
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Wow, you have no clue. Why would he take an indefinite leave of absence if he wasn’t a total perv. BTW, what tv show?

And, he has now resigned. But, please, Shafer, keep telling us why and how this is the "left's" fault.
 
Whatever his flaws, Trump is at least a human being.

LOL. Yes, he is racist, a rapist, is friends with our enemies, hates our allies, chooses Putin over our troops, chooses himself over our country, continues to kill people regarding the virus, knows nothing about foreign affairs, knows very very little about anything else, has the knowledge of a 3rd grader with apologies to 3rd graders, refuses to read security briefings, does not care to learn anything, takes care of "his" states while ignoring other states, treats a place like Puerto Rico like garbage because he thinks it's just another "shithole country" that is not part of the US, gets rid of smart people with character who know too much in favor of clueless ones who are criminals who will praise and follow him, divides the country more and more each day, cares nothing about our environment and our children's lives, bans Muslims, puts children in cages, gives massive tax breaks to billionaires while the middle class suffers, makes "deals" to help him and not our country, every word or tweet he says is either a lie or filled with hate, commits crimes at a record pace, and is someone who knows he is heading for prison if he does not get reelected. And, on and on, and on. But, yes, at least he is human, so it's perfectly fine to continue to support him, right?
 
your naiveté is devoid of reality.In any case,enjoy agent orange and Jerry jr’s bubble of continued hypocrisy.keep your zipper up.

I'm simply pointing out your misogyny and the absurdity of your position. And btw, I despise Evangelical Christianity. But because I'm a rational and stable person, I can divorce my hatred for Fallwell Jr's religion from my recognition that it is ridiculous to criticize somebody for dressing up like characters from a stupid tv show at a costume party.
 
I’m so glad that Jerry Jr is a man of God.


Falwell Jr.'s big payout:

Falwell will receive a $10.5 million compensation package from the evangelical school: $2.5 million to be paid during the next two years and another $8 million thereafter.

As the university's president and chancellor, Falwell was paid about $1.25 million per year.

With over 100,000 online students being educated from this institution of “higher” leaning that payout will be a piece of cake.Maybe the wife can appear in Playboy in order to contribute to the family coffers.I’d even buy that issue.
 
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