The Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, the center of Trump evangelicalism, thanked Donald Trump:
Thank you Pres. Trump for your incredible work on issues of life, family, & religious liberty during your term as President of the United States. Few Presidents compare in their ability to deliver meaningful results on issues of such vital significance.https://t.co/MofUNyHycPpic.twitter.com/AQz1UeN7oP
And then the Liberty’s Falkirk Center offered a backhanded offer of prayer to Joe Biden:
Pray for President Biden and the new executive branch administration. Pray that they might be reached for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that policies that benefit the general welfare, freedom and prosperity in the United States would succeed and that any policy… (2/3)
…that would destroy the sanctity of life, marginalize the freedom of speech and religious liberty, or would dismantle the institution of marriage and family would be thwarted. We pray for blessings within the boundaries that God has set & that no evil thing would prosper. (3/3)
Joe Biden is going to spend the first 100 days of his term fighting to tear down Trump’s border wall and restrict Second Amendment rights after being sworn in protected by walls, fences, and guns.
I love America more than I love politics or any party. I pray Joe Biden will do what is right for our country. I am skeptical & I can almost guarantee he won’t. But nevertheless I sincerely hope he does what's right for this, the greatest country on earth. Pray for our leaders.
God and country. Christian nationalism at its worst:
We cannot ask God to continue to bless America if we do not continue to follow Him. I will continue to follow Him, stand for truth, and encourage my fellow Americans to do the same, recognizing the founding principles that made this country great, asking Him to bless America. 🇺🇸
Ellis retweeted the aforementioned John MacArthur tweet about the kingdom of darkness.
I don’t have time tonight to process Lance Wallnau’s latest one hour reflection about whether the prophets got it right or wrong, but it is here if you want to see it.
Christian Broadcasting Network journalist David Brody liked Biden’s speech, to a point:
A GREAT speech by President Biden! Best line: “We must end this Uncivil War.” @POTUS is absolutely right. Now he needs to prove it by leading America into lowering the temperature on BOTH sides. Words sound great but olive branch actions MUST follow. #InaugurationDay
I don’t remember Richard Land praying to support Donald Trump “when we can do without violating our consciences”:
1/2 Mr. President, we will pray for you, support you when we can do so without violating our consciences, & we are united in the rejection of violence & in our commitment to peaceful redress of grievance & nonviolent protest. America needs moral conviction in our highest office.
I hope Land is right about this. As a never-Trumper, praying for Trump was hard. It’s not going to be easy for conservative evangelicals to pray for this president.
2/2 faith and confidence that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it withersoever he will” (Prov. 21:1). We will also importune our Heavenly Father to bless you with safety, health, and all spiritual blessings. https://t.co/PYMjbXL89T
On his Facebook page, Jack Hibbs concludes that Biden’s decision to change the U.S. Ambassador to Israel into the “U.S. Ambassador to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza “insults the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Today was painful. To watch a nation take gigantic steps toward self destruction was overwhelming. The undoing of wonderful prolife policies (as one example) of President Trump by Biden is heartbreaking and will result in even more deaths. Then to watch some “evangelicals” and people from the “holiness movement” (not sure how much “holiness” has survived…and not sure if it is a “movement” anymore) falling all over themselves in delight, ushering in a man who is ….how do I say this respectfully? ….who is, at best, mentally challenged (I think he should be cared for medically & helped; do you REALLY believe this man can handle the world’s most difficult job??), it has been a challenging day. 74,000,000 of us love our country too much to see it end.
And here is Garlow reflecting on his court evangelicalism:
APPROXIMATELY NOON EASTERN TIME – JAN 20, 2021 – I will forever be grateful for the wonderful privilege of serving on (1) the Trump Faith Advisory Board during the 2016 election, (2) the White House Faith Leaders during much of Mr. Trump’s presidency, and (3) as a Stakeholder with Evangelicals for Trump during the 2020 election. It was one of the great honors of my life. The two pictures were sent to me on Election day, November 3, 2020, taken at the same moment – from opposite angles – by two different friends. I did not know these pictures existed until I received them two months ago.
Here is one of the aforementioned pictures of Garlow in the court:
Robert Jeffress had a word or two at Fox News:
Pastor @robertjeffress, who was with President Trump four years ago today, says on President Biden's Inauguration Day, remember these truths about God, politics and our presidents.
Ralph Reed is already spinning the pro-Trump legacy narrative:
Thank you, President Trump & his Admin:
3 SCOTUS Justices 200+ federal judges Pro-life actions U.S. embassy to Jerusalem Regulatory rollback Abraham Accords Religious freedom Major tax cut, $2K child tax credit Criminal justice reform USMC trade agreement Rebuilding military
Gary Bauer thanks Trump, says nothing about Biden:
Thank you President Trump for 4 yrs of putting America first. You fought for life, religious liberty, American families and defended our history and heroes! God Bless you and your family. #2020Election#DonaldTrump#GodBlessAmerica#KAG#USA
Tony Perkins give an unqualified call to pray for Biden:
We are praying together now for President Biden and his incoming administration at https://t.co/cslXdXufTE. Join us! We need God's protection over this nation and we need His wisdom to permeate and direct every decision our new leaders make in the days and weeks ahead. https://t.co/081e3IQXO0
Join me in praying for President @Joebiden, Vice President @KamalaHarris, their families and their entire administration. Pray for wisdom, health, protection, guidance and for God to heal our land. pic.twitter.com/Tz6kyQAcvO
Thank you Mr. President and First Lady Melania for these last four years and all that you have done for our nation. May God be with you and your family as you open a new chapter in your lives. pic.twitter.com/lmLT2GO6DK
Southern Baptist leader Richard Land once boasted that evangelicals had “unprecedented access” to the Donald Trump presidency. I hope he and the rest of the evangelicals enjoyed it.
The court evangelicals got their Supreme Court justices and some executive orders on religious liberty that will be quickly overturned by Joe Biden. They taught their followers to privilege a politics of fear over a politics of hope, a politics of power over a politics of humility, and a politics of nostalgia over a politics informed by good American history. In exchange, they will be forever connected to a president who demonized his enemies, lied incessantly, engaged in endless acts of narcissism, separated immigrant children from families, got impeached twice, enlisted foreign officials to help his re-election campaign, said there were good people on “both sides” during a white supremacy invasion of Charlottesville, refused to contribute to an orderly transition of power, incited an insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, tried to end the Affordable Care Act, promoted conspiracy theories about election fraud and raised money on them, ignored racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death, alienated our global allies and made us a laughingstock in the world, benefited financially from the office of president, failed to lead the country through the worst pandemic in American history, and pardoned criminals.
Far too many evangelicals became Trump’s useful idiots.
Just for the record, my lists of court evangelicals includes: Franklin Graham, James Robison, James Dobson, Jentezen Franklin, Jack Graham, Chris Hedges, Alveda King, Paula White, Greg Laurie, John Hagee, Tony “Mulligan” Perkins, Gary Bauer, Johnnie Moore, Ralph Reed, Robert Jeffress, Jack Hibbs, Eric Metaxas, Jim Garlow, Guillermo Maldano, Tom Mullins, Alberto Delgado, David Barton (honorary “historian”), Harry Jackson (deceased), Jay Strack, Luke Barnett, Richard Land, Samuel Rodriguez, David Brody (honorary court evangelical journalist), Charlie Kirk, Lance Wallnau, Jenna Ellis, and Jerry Falwell Jr., and Mike Evans. I am sure that there are more, but these are the men and women who I have been covering for the last four years.
So let’s see how the court evangelicals are finishing-up their term:
Yesterday, You Tube removed Eric Metaxas’s interview with Mike “My Pillow Guy” Lindell. Today he reminds his audience that Kohl’s and Bed, Bath and Beyond have removed Lindell’s products from their stores. Metaxas tells his listeners not to shop at these big box stores and is outraged that these companies are “canceling” Lindell, a man who is just “trying to do what is right.”
Metaxas goes down swinging. He starts his show today by saying, “tomorrow morning people are getting prepared for the inauguration of someone that millions of Americans don’t think actually won the election.” He compares our current moment to the evils of communism in the former Soviet Union and Cuba and the horrors of the Holocaust. He suggests that Fox News is now parroting the “party line,” which he defines as both the Mitch McConnell “party line” and the Chinese communist “party line.” He implies that his beliefs about election fraud come from Independent Network Charismatic prophets such as Dutch Sheets.
Metaxas laments the fact that “old family friends” recently e-mailed him to tell him that they can no longer remain friends with him. He asks his listeners to pray for him so that God would protect him from the “wicked cancel culture” of the Democratic Party, which he compares to Hitler and the Nazis. In the process, he plugs his new memoir at least three times.
Metaxas then says that he punched a protester in Washington D.C. last summer “in self-defense.” And he claims that he was being metaphorical when he said he would fight the election results “until the last drop of blood.” From now on, Metaxas tells his audience, he “will be more careful about how he speaks” because people on the Left twist his words. Actually, Metaxas needs to be more careful about how he speaks because there are many Trump supporters who take him seriously and literally.
Tonight Metaxas is speaking at Liberty University. It is a Falkirk Center-sponsored event called Courageous Pastors. I do not see any masks in this picture:
For a little more than a year, the Falkirk Center at Liberty University, founded by the former Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr. and Trump wonder-boy Charlie Kirk, has become the center of pro-Trump evangelicalism. Apparently, they now have a magazine (booklet?) with short culture-war pieces written by Metaxas, Jenna Ellis, John MacArthur, and others Falkirk Center “fellows.” They are calling it a “journal.” In an article titled “Why I’m Proud to Keep My Business in America,” entrepreneur and Falkirk fellow Erika Frantzve writes:
God is sovereign, and even though things right now aren’t necessarily good, God will work all things together for good for “those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” As an entrepreneur, I know there is an opportunity to be found in the middle of adversity. The “Made in the USA” label is the new quality standard. It is not a compromise–it is an investment in our citizens, our freedoms, and our country’s future.
What?
And I am still trying to figure out this line from Falkirk Center fellow and Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis in a piece titled “Why is Truth?: Standing for Truth in a Relative Culture”:
Why is truth? Why does truth exist? Logically, truth is self-existent. Any other conclusion is self-defeating. If it can be said with absolute certainty that truth is relative, then such reasoning has logically defeated itself. Biblically, truth is self-existent because it is God’s nature and character.
Between November 3 and January 6 Jenna Ellis fought to disenfranchise millions of Black voters. Today she retweets Sarah Huckabee Sanders on racism:
Each of us is made in God’s image. Today we remember Martin Luther King Jr, an American hero who helped lead the fight against the evil of racism and answer God’s call to treat every person with dignity and respect. #MLKDay
Jack Hibbs is hosting Charlie Kirk at his church. Hibbs is also joining the boycott of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Kohl’s after these big box stores dumped the My Pillow Guy.
Johnnie Moore got his embassy. I guess the court evangelicals are now one step closer to the Second Coming.
And if I am not mistaken, Moore removed the phrase “modern day Dietrich Bonheoffer” from his biography! Only regular readers of this series over the last four years will understand why I pointed this out. This blog is making an impact! 🙂
Gary “think of the children” Bauer believes the guardsmen in Washington D.C. are there to “shut down” free speech. Here is what he wrote today on Facebook:
The incursion into the Capitol Building two weeks ago was awful. It was wrong. The people responsible not only smeared all those who came to Washington to demonstrate peacefully, but they empowered the left to cast aspersions on all 75 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump and Mike Pence.But I also don’t like what I am seeing in the nation’s capital today. While every inauguration is a high security event, at least 25,000 troops have been deployed to Washington, D.C., with the explanation being the fear of violence. But what they have effectively done is to shut down free speech and the right of assembly. Washington, D.C., looks like an occupied war zone. Entire blocks of the capital have been locked down and closed off. Just two areas, limited to 100 people, have been designated as “First Amendment zones,” an Orwellian term if there ever was one.
Perkins is still talking about Russian collusion. He can’t stop fighting the culture war.
Wow! Couric complains about the garbage conservatives are being fed 24/7 on the internet that leads them to believe there was colusion in the last election. Would that be the same as the garbage Democrats were listening to from the media that led them to believe Russia colusion? https://t.co/x39eut7UA2
As the US inaugurates a new president, there are concerns that there could be violence in Washington DC & in state capitals. I encourage Christians to make tomorrow a day of prayer—for peace & calm, & praying for our new leaders President-elect @JoeBiden & VP-elect @KamalaHarris.
As I write, Washington D.C. is an armed camp. 25,000 National Guard members are ready to defend the U.S. Capitol during Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony on January 20.
Meanwhile, people are still dying of COVID-19. Incoming President Joe Biden is doing his best to deal with the pandemic and its effects while outgoing twice-impeached president is holed-up in the White House meeting with MyPillow guy Mike Lindell.
Yesterday a Liberty University graduate published a piece at The Bulwark that called the Falkirk Center a “slime factory.”
Apparently the Falkirk Center believes that American companies are “the left.” So much for free enterprise. Businesses can refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, but they do not have the right to silence conspiracy theorists?
Many on the left celebrate the silencing of their opposition rather than support open dialogue with them.
Censorship comes from the fear that someone else’s ideas may be better than yours. The left wants you to submit & stay silent — never comply with that. pic.twitter.com/dfr5eH5vOK
Charlie Kirk forgets about the time the MyPillow guy bailed out Kyle Rittenhouse:
Could you imagine the outrage if any Republicans donated to bail the Capitol Hill Rioters out of jail right now—the way Kamala Harris encouraged her supporters to do with the terrorists who burned down Minneapolis through the Minnesota Freedom Fund?
Lance Wallnau tells his followers that impeachment is really about the elites screwing the working class. The elites currently control the “seven mountains” (as in Seven Mountain Dominionism), but the Christian working class will overthrow them. Wallnau claims that in 2014 the late “prophet” Kim Clement prophesied the words “impeach, impeach.” The interpretation? Trump would be impeached twice by elites in both political parties and the people would rise up in a “new kind of war.” According to Wallnau, this all has something to do with China and COVID-19. It also has something to do with a Jezebel-spirited “witch” in the White House.
Court evangelical David Brody talks with “presidential historian” Doug Wead about Trump’s legacy. Wead expounded a conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton trying to get control of the Catholic Church. He also claims that Amazon is no longer selling the books of “distinguished” theologians. Wead says that “two impeachments will only get historians to notice all of Trump’s great accomplishments.” I beg to differ. I think two impeachments will get historians and millions of school children to notice that Trump was the only president to be impeached twice. 🙂 Wead calls for national unity. He says Biden doesn’t care about national unity because he called U.S. Capitol insurrections “terrorists.” Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up!:
@Twitter and @TwitterSupport, even my family and staff have to follow me again since you disconnected us. Why? Is this the ideological inquisition? Is this a purge of Pro-Life, Pro-Religious Liberty, Biblical justice Christians?
On Facebook, Jim Garlow calls attention to Trump’s “accomplishments” and still manages to get in a shot at the tech corporations who are persecuting him. He writes: “Never has a modern President accomplished so much (and been hated for doing so much good). If you want to see this before others (those who are re-writing history) remove it, you need to copy it now.” (He links to this article).
What happened today? 1. Highest number of Covid deaths in the US ever. Horrific. But Congress obviously had more important (and nefarious) things to do than to care about the American people. 2. And… 232 “Benedict Arnold” traitors of the US Constitution killed our precious Constitution this day, defying it’s very meaning … and – filled with hatred unlike anything we have ever seen – they are trying their best to destroy Donald Trump and the more than 74,000,000 people who voted for him. What a disgrace. Other than that, not much happened today.
On the same day, Garlow said this about the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump: “Remember the story of the 10 wimps who went into the Promised Land but they had no courage? “Well – they now have competition.” (He then lists their names). Here are some of his follower’s comments:
“They just flushed their career down the drain.”
“Every single one of them need to be aggressively primaried”
“Hope they enjoy their shortened career.”
“They betrayed our president”
“Just pray we have an election in 2020”
“Backstabbers”
Garlow also shared this post on Facebook from a “friend”:
Today is a day that will live in infamy. One of the greatest Presidents of all time, probably top 10 and certainly the greatest since Reagan, was for the second time the victim of a purely petty, partisan, pathetic, vindicate and groundless impeachment. That Trump has endured 4 years of illegal investigations, spying, lying and corruption and then had the election stolen in the most blatant and obvious fashion and HE is attacked for the VERY things they have done for the last 5 years! It is truly breathtaking and history will show that Trump was correct and that the Left, the Media, and the pathetic spineless RINO’s are the most shameful group of corrupt cowards ever to stain the floors of our Capitol. These are the 10 Republican lawmakers who supported the move to impeach Trump for incitement of insurrection”
Again, this post drew some interesting comments, including:
“Disgraceful and utterly absurd. The evil in the hearts of men is actually beyond my comprehension in this current day.”
“Well, they are soon going to regret their act of treason. They need to repent quickly.”
“Definitely top 10 and I would say top 5!! Republicans who voted to impeach, NOTED.”
“I hope every single one of them is voted out. They are nothing better than traitors”
“Shame forever”
“Not just spineless. Traitorous.”
Robert Jeffress had a run-in with Illinois GOP congressman Adam Kinzinger. In a now deleted tweet, Kinginger wrote: “I believe there’s a huge burden now on pastors and clergy who openly spread the conspiracies of a stolen election, like @robertjeffress @beholdIsrael @FranklinGraham among many others, to admit their mistakes and lead their flocks out of darkness to truth.” Jeffress claimed he never said the election was “stolen.” (This is true. Although he came close). Jeffress, always ready to turn the other cheek, responded:
Adam, you need to get your facts straight. I’ve never once claimed the election was “stolen.” If anyone needs to “admit their mistake,” it’s YOU. Will be awaiting your apology.
You know sir? You are absolutely correct. You did act honorably, and while my point remains about the Church and the need for pastors to lead, you did not press those stolen election conspiracies. I am sorry for including you in that. https://t.co/8mQaBuV1p9
Jeffress’s exchange with the congressman seems to have re-empowered him. He was back on the Lou Dobbs show on FOX News last night to defend Trump’s legacy. Jeffress doesn’t regret a thing about his support of Trump and calls the twice-impeached, insurrection-inciting leader the greatest president in his lifetime. He talks about an “axis of evil” that tried to take Trump down and tells Dobbs to keep exposing the “darkness” and “lies” that are “sure to come” in the Biden administration.
Ralph Reed just can’t seem to let go. Trump lost. Loeffler lost. Perdue lost. This is a pretty risky thing to say in light of January 6, 2021. Does Reed really think that Biden’s inaugural will not be “marred by violent protests?”
In a video released tonight, President Trump denounces the mob violence at the Capitol and calls for no violence or vandalism at Joe Biden’s Inaugural, in contrast to his own Inaugural, which was marred by violent protests. https://t.co/FM9TdbGNXj
Like Jim Garlow, Gary Bauer also turned to Facebook to call out the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Here are some of the comments from his followers after he shared this Washington Examiner article:
“Remember that next Election Day; oh, I forgot–there will never be a fair election again.”
“They are so blind and deaf, they are Democrats in wolfs clothing, I call for them to be removed/recalled and even kicked out of the GOP”
“praying for their hearts and eyes to be lifted up to Jesus to bring healing and deliverance from deception and unbelief…”
“Satan worked on their emotions and won. Their hearts were hardened.”
“Wicked doesn’t even describe what they have done and will continue to do. The evil devils in the demonkkkrat (sic) party along with their friends the liberal activists in the media have no qualms about using and abusing some one else for power.”
A moderate Democrat and devout Roman Catholic will be inaugurated President of the United States on January 20, 2021 and James Dobson believes that “America and Western Civilization will never be the same.” Here is a taste of his monthly newsletter:
The Left has now achieved ultimate power in the White House, in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate. Consequently, as I warned in December, there will be no checks and balances within our system of government. The most radical ideas promoted by President Joe Biden and his majority party will be enacted. We can infer from what they have told us that the years ahead will bring more regulation, less freedom, more taxation, less religious liberty, more socialism, less democracy, more funds for abortion, less support for the sanctity of human life, less funding for the military, more illegal immigration, more restrictions on speech, less patriotism, more wasteful spending, less support for families, more regulations on business, more appeasement of China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, less support for the electoral college, trillions more dollars for climate nonsense, more LGBTQ propaganda, less moral compunction, more governmental corruption, less oversight of elections, more “cancel culture,” fewer police officers, more gun control, and less government of the people, by the people and for the people. We can also anticipate quick passage of the horrendous “Equality Act.” You might want to keep track of these items as they occur. This is just the beginning.
America and Western civilization will never be the same, because it is not possible to back up on a freeway. Once radical changes are implemented, they will become ensconced in law and culture. I am most concerned about what all this means for the next generation. Children are extremely vulnerable to leftist curricula in the public schools. Specifically, I am worried about parental rights and the legality of home schooling. It is the only protection for kids.
In conclusion, I will let you interpret this Franklin Graham tweet:
The Bible says, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,” (Acts 3:19)
It’s been a very ugly week in America. By this time next week, Donald Trump may be the only United States president to have been impeached twice. We are getting more and more disturbing images and videos from Wednesday’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol. Here is one of the latest:
On Parler and Facebook, Eric Metaxas shared an article suggesting that the insurrectionists were not Trump supporters, but members of Antifa.
Metaxas is a fellow at Liberty University’s Falkirk Center. The center’s Twitter feed is rallying the troops:
Those who are willing to surrender liberty for comfort, deserve neither, and will receive neither. Those who turn a blind eye when rights are being revoked, will soon realize they were complicit in their own deprivation of freedom. pic.twitter.com/XS3vx1S7lb
What, does the Falkirk Center mean by the “power of the Gospel?” Is the tweet below a reference to the transforming power of the good news of Jesus Christ or the power of Trumpism? Is the Falkirk Center asking followers to plant seeds of faith or seeds of Christian nationalism?
In these tumultuous times, the greatest thing we can offer our culture is the unrivaled, transformational power of the Gospel. The fields are ripe for evangelism, Christians! Start planting seeds. pic.twitter.com/22I8ZcFq0K
The problems we face today cannot be solved by worldly standards. Without the absolute standards given by God, we are crippled with respect to issues of morality, of virtue, & of all other cultural, religious, & political matters.@aigkenham@RHelfenbeinpic.twitter.com/h3GYFVYsGK
Thousands of Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol and court evangelical journalist David Brody and David Barton crony Rick Green are playing the moral equivalency card. “But what about the Democrats!?” Sorry David Brody, the Democrats did not storm the seat of American government.
David Barton, the GOP activist who uses the past to promote his political agenda, retweeted Kentucky representative Thomas Massie. Barton and Massie believe that Twitter’s decision to ban Trump was the most “dystopian” thing that happened this week.
What the hell is happening?
Twitter and Facebook are shutting down accounts.
Apple and Google are shutting down Parler as people try to migrate there.
Are we living out some kind of dystopian novel this week?
Jack Hibbs believes Twitter’s decision to ban Donald Trump is a violation of the First Amendment. Last night he wrote: “If it seems like the first amendment and the Constitution has been abolished it’s probably because it has. The Church is next.” Not really. Twitter is private company. They can ban anyone they want to ban. Also, Twitter has no power to “abolish” the Church.
Hibbs was in Washington D.C. on the day of the insurrection. Why would an evangelical pastor from California be in Washington D.C. on January 6? How is showing-up at a pro-Trump rally part of Hibbs’s pastoral vocation? He believes that the insurrectionists were members of Antifa. He claims that the rioters at the Capitol on Wednesday were “of the same spirit” as the British who invaded Washington in the War of 1812. Both groups, Hibbs says, want to “destroy our Judeo-Christian nation.”
Finally, Hibbs says that “freedom is always purchased with blood…liberty and freedom is a bloody work…Jesus went to the cross and bled for our freedom from sin.” He then compares Jesus’s death to the “blood and sacrifice” of people who died to create the United States and broke rank with” a tyrannical government. Earlier in his little speech, Hibbs extolled the evangelical pastors who promoted liberty from their pulpits during the American Revolution. These pastors mixed American liberty and Christian liberty and, in the process, manipulated the teachings of the Bible to advance their political agenda. I wrote about this extensively in Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction. Hibbs is doing the exact same thing here. Finally, Hibbs reminds his followers that he embraces a dispensationalist, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational eschatology.
Jim Garlow, another court evangelical who appeared on this television show with Hibbs, said that Hibbs has “brilliant insights.” Garlow compared the insurrectionists with the civil rights movement. Watch here.
Robert Jeffress says that when the insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol they were committing a “sin against God.” He calls for peace and unity, but says nothing about the fact that he provided cover for Trump during his entire presidency. Jeffress never uttered a negative word about the man. He is one of the many evangelicals responsible for what happened at the Capitol this week.
Many court evangelicals want to move beyond Trump’s assault on American democracy. They prefer to attack a private tech company:
Tony Perkins, who has built his entire career scaring evangelicals into believing that liberals are taking away their “rights,” tweets a quote from Peter Marshall:
John Hagee believes that the insurrection on Wednesday marks the “advent of the New World Order”:
Another major event marking the advent of the New World Order is the destruction of patriotism. To be a patriot is to love your country, be willing to defend it, and give your life if necessary to preserve its freedom. pic.twitter.com/LQJFaCmPf1
Earlier today, I wrote about some of the highlights of the last ten days. I mentioned the Nashville bombing, Trump’s handling of end of the year legislation, the president’s continued attempts at overturning the 2020 president election, and the support he is now receiving from at least twelve U.S. senators. Read that post here. It provides the necessary context for this post.
So what have the court evangelicals had to say since our last update on December 24, 2020?
The Falkirk Center at Liberty University, ground zero for evangelical conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, is getting heat from the Liberty student body. As of December 30, 400 Liberty students and recent graduates have signed a petition calling for the university to close the Falkirk Center. The petition states: “We are also concerned that the Falkirk Center has become a gateway for many wolves in sheep’s clothing–people who claim Christ’s name because it is convenient for their personal or political gain.” It specifically calls out Falkirk “fellows” Eric Metaxas, Allie Beth Stuckey, Sebastian Gorka, Jenna Ellis, Ryan Helfenbein, and co-founder Charlie Kirk.
The petition is similar to what I wrote about the Falkirk Center in a Religion News Service piece on September 9, 2020.
The Falkirk Center’s social media feeds did not address the petition. They continued to double-down on abortion, church closings due to COVID-19, and “socialism.” Perhaps this tweet was meant as a subtle response to the petition:
Christians, we must never vacate the political sphere. To do so is to abandon essential issues of significance, like those of the life of the unborn & religious liberty. If we wish to have liberty & justice for all, we must be willing to fight the political battles.@RHelfenbeinpic.twitter.com/ZgoFsmjIqo
Charlie Kirk, the founder of the Liberty University Falkirk Center, did not mention the student petition, but defended Trump’s veto of the Defense Authorization Act on the grounds that it would rename military bases named after Confederate leaders:
Any Republican who voted WITH Nancy Pelosi AGAINST Trump's veto to maintain Section 230, rename military bases, and fund more endless wars needs to be aggressively primaried in 2 years.
He is also attacking Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensberger for his refusal to “find votes” for Trump:
Imagine calling yourself a “Republican” and secretly & maliciously recording a call with the leader of your party & President of the United States THEN leaking it to The Washington Post
Georgia’s Brad Raffensburger is a total disgrace and he should immediately resign in shame
And yes, he still believes that the Democrats stole the election:
Anyone worried about the "unwise precedent" of ensuring fair elections is saying they are okay with the precedent of Democrats stealing every election from here on out.
The election was rigged and everyone who loves the Constitution knows it:
Every American who loves our Constitution is rightly upset that this election was rigged and that the Supreme Court and state legislatures refused to do anything about it.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.”
All she has done is part of the sovereign will of God:
I am grateful for God’s providence and sovereignty over the past year—the opportunity to serve my President, my country, and defend the Church. It has been an immensely difficult year for the world and our nation, and I hope we step into the New Year seeking our Lord Jesus. ❤️🥂
But at least she will keep speaking truth and reminding everyone that she is trending on Twitter:
“Jenna” has been trending all day on Twitter because I took a stand for the Constitution & rule of law, & vile leftists want to keep tweeting vulgar, stupid remarks.
Another Liberty University Falkirk Center fellow, Eric Metaxas, continued to claim that “the election was stolen.” He describes the 2020 election as the equivalent of “stabbing Lady Liberty in the throat,” “murdering Uncle Sam,” and “desecrating all the young men who died for liberty over the centuries.” Metaxas believes that if Joe Biden gets inaugurated on January 20, 2021 it will be a “miracle.” Biden, Metaxas says, “was involved in one of the most wicked, treasonous acts in the history of the greatest nation in the world.” Watch here (after the five minute mark).
In other court evangelical news:
Self-proclaimed prophet Lance Wallnau is worried that Biden and Harris will “rule” America:
THIS IS IT! do this OR Biden and then Harris advisors will rule you! https://t.co/FljNmwKOBq
It is all a spiritual battle for “rulership on earth”:
Make no mistake, the kingdoms of light and darkness are contending for rulership on the earth, but when you occupy what was assigned to you, it pushes back on every devil assigned against you.
On Wallnau’s Facebook page he says that we are “in the spiritual fight of our lifetime” and we are entering a week that will “change America.” His source is Trump election fraud lawyer Sidney Powell. He believes that any member of Congress up for election in 2022 should be protesting the Electoral College results on January 6. Christians must “enlarge their presence” to make sure Trump stays in office.
Court evangelical journalist David Brody believes journalism is dead.
The liberal national media is a disgrace. They took ZERO initiative to truly investigate these claims of major election fraud. They gave it NO oxygen despite loads of voting irregularities. They should NOT be trusted. Be smart. Stay away. #2020Election#JAN6@realDonaldTrump
This next tweet may be true. But it says more about evangelicals than Trump:
Just a reminder that @realDonaldTrump is the best president evangelicals EVER had. Not even close actually. There have been so many Judeo-Christian policy victories plus @POTUS gave them access to influence policy. He treated them marvelously. Match made in Heaven.
Brody gives a signal boost to violence on January 6:
There’s quite a bit of talk about violence on January 6th. Are you showing up in DC that day? If so, what’s your plan? Protest and then what? #January6thDC#StopTheSteaI
I’m not making a threat, but rather simply saying a fact, when I say that any Republican member of the House or Senate who refuses to object to election fraud next week is basically finished as a leader in the Republican Party. Time to start packing!
The Swing States did not even come close to following the dictates of their State Legislatures. These States “election laws” were made up by local judges & politicians, not by their Legislatures, & are therefore, before even getting to irregularities & fraud, UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
Hibbs is also going on Newsmax in support of Trump. Just another court evangelical doing his part.
Jim Garlow’s prayer meetings for election integrity are continuing into the new year. Last week he was marching around the Georgia capital with a few followers, including Messianic Jews with shofars.
Garlow also engaged in a Twitter debate over who is the “adult” in the Senate:
Hawley – bold, courageous, patriotic. HE is the adult.
Robert Jeffress continued to remain quiet on election fraud. He is back to his usual talking points about the Democrat “administration of death.” There is an interesting and ironic part of this interview in which Jeffress criticizes liberal Protestants for getting too political.
Donald Trump was in Valdosta, Georgia this weekend trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The event was a rally for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the GOP candidates running for Senate in Georgia, but Trump turned it into an opportunity to whine and complain about voter fraud. He repeated more false and debunked claims about how the Democrats tried to steal the election.
Meanwhile, people in the United states are dying of COVID-19. Trump appears to be ignoring the virus, although he does seem to be aware that his election fraud lawyer Rudy Giuliani has contracted it.
So what did the court evangelicals, Christian leaders who claim to be committed to truth and compassion for the suffering, have to say this weekend.
Over on Parler, the new social media outlet for conservatives, Eric Metaxas is quoting Jesus in Luke 8:17: “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”
Prayers for Mayor @RudyGiuliani. He is a tough warrior!
The Trump Legal Team will continue our important work to fight for election integrity! We have a great team, along with able local counsel in each state. Our work won’t be affected and we press on. #CountAllLegalVotes
Future historians will try to reconcile the evangelical support of Trump’s election fraud claims with these kinds of tweets:
We do not “resign” ourselves to the will of God; but rather, recognize that the will of God is vastly superior and desirable in every particular, and therefore we should rejoice we are free from being resigned to our own will.
Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, tweets with no evidence or source:
In Georgia Alone, sworn testimony alleges:
2,056 felons illegally voted 66,248 under 18 voted 2,423 weren’t registered 1,043 used a PO Box to register 10,315 died before the election 395 voted in 2 states 15,700 moved out of GA 40,279 changed county & didn’t re-register to vote
Kirk does not seem to know much about the character of the Kingdom in which Jesus serves as king. Jesus is was not a populist culture warrior. His Kingdom is not of this world and his followers do not seek worldly power.
Liberty University’s Falkirk Center promotes a speaker who connects “fear of COVID” to socialism:
The rights we take for granted in America don’t exist in communist Cuba. That inhumane ideology is infiltrating America under the cover of fear of COVID. Freedom is worth it, & it’s time we act like it. Do not comply with socialist edicts. Say NO TO SOCIALISM.@christianlasvalpic.twitter.com/A4dSMnTHlu
The Liberty University Falkirk Center is still pushing election fraud. It looks like a Liberty University law professor is involved as well:
This is Jesse Morgan, a truck driver for USPS who alleges that his trailer, loaded with hundreds of thousands of ballots, mysteriously disappeared after he dropped it off at its destination in Pennsylvania. Hear the full conversation here:https://t.co/uUrHPUA7zT@RHelfenbeinpic.twitter.com/pvRFkGTZBe
Trump-loving evangelist Lance Wallnau says there is "no dumber Christian" than one who says, "Maybe it's the Lord's will that Biden is president." Wallna's response to that is, "Maybe it's the Lord's will that Auschwitz got built, but I don't think so." pic.twitter.com/4M3XnbyPg3
If you watch this whole video, Wallnau offers his listeners “sanctified gossip” about Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue’s failure to support the president. He describes a “Christian populist movement” of 40 million voters who will lead the “backlash” against GOP governors in swing states who will not support Trump’s voter fraud claims. This video has over 200K views and 13K comments.
Demonic forces are preventing American expansion:
By now I hope you can see that this is far beyond a battle of politics. We are up against a malevolent and demonic agenda aimed to destroy the global force for kingdom expansion that is America. Let us come together to be a firewall and rally as a global movement of believers! pic.twitter.com/moqVST08SV
I love how Brody distinguishes Fox “dayside” from conspiracy theorists like Hannity, Ingraham, and Carlson who appear in the evening.
Through all of this WIDESPREAD election fraud, we’re witnessing a huge immoral, “GREAT SUPPRESSION,” by major media in America. SHAME on @nytimes@washingtonpost@CNN@MSNBC and yes, @FoxNews (dayside). Many others too! Cover these events because they are NEWS! @realDonaldTrump
Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil. – Psalms 36:1 -4
As the battle continues regarding our Nations’s future during this attack by the wicked to overthrow and undermine our election, I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s challenge to the American people, when at the conclusion of our Founding Father’s Constitutional Convention, Franklin was asked by a woman waiting in the crowd outside – “What kind of government have you given us Dr. Franklin?” Franklin answered with both a challenge and a rebuke when he said “A Republic if you can keep it.”
Most people (thank the LORD not all) in the United States today are so civically ignorant of their Constitutional Rights and Biblical calling that they have no vision nor understanding of what to do with them. They are willfully blind to the truth and have resigned themselves to 15-second bites taught by the blind themselves.
“Facts are stubborn things” said John Adams but we the people have become too distracted to care. Sadly, many people in this Nation have rendered themselves unworthy of the very freedoms they enjoy in this (God-given) Republic.
Freedom, like the Gospel, must be preached and practiced, or else it will grow old a wither away like a flower. Truth is active and the pursuit of it is a vigorous ethos.
During these days, I have dedicated my morning hours to be in intercessory prayer for the Nation that God has given me. As I teach and preach that Jesus Christ could return at any moment for His church in His Blessed Hope of the Rapture (Titus 2:13) – I must occupy in this world until He comes. So then I must be busy about my Father’s business in all things.
As my Nation today is literally under attack by enemies both foreign and domestic, I am called to stand on the truth and be obedient to live it out now.
In the next several weeks your life and mine is about to be changed forever. The persecution and violence that is coming can only be met with a resolve to preserve our liberty and freedom for our children and our children’s children.
Be ready Christian to defend your faith, family, and freedom. To that end, Psalm 36:1-4 speaks to me about the horrible people who are boldly and brazenly committing acts of deception, lying, cover-ups, and fraud as they have been exposed as political jihadists.Someday our children will ask us “What kind of government have you given us” may our answer be to them;”A Republic if you can keep it.”
Robert Jeffress is still praising the Supreme Court’s religious liberty decision and Donald Trump’s appointment of Amy Coney Barrett. Jeffress seems to only understand these issues through the grid of “rights” and politics. Evangelical Christian Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, has a different opinion. Jeffress also defends Trump’s case for voter fraud
More fearmongering from Perkins. This time it’s a socialist takeover:
Right now, Georgia voters are the last line of defense between America and a radical socialist takeover. Staying home is not—and never should be—an option.#gapol#gasenhttps://t.co/d5k1mH61Qe
Pray for all of our leaders in Washington, & pray for these newly elected congressional representatives—they have a lot of hard work ahead. Let’s pray that they will have wisdom & boldness as they stand for freedom & defend against a radical agenda to dismantle our nation.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
One overlooked part of Franklin Graham’s brand of politics is how he loves merging Christian Right talking points with celebrities:
Former Super Bowl champion @BurgessOwens is a member of the Freedom Force & said, “we have a group of people who believe in our country, believe in God, family, respect for women & authority, & the other side who hates everything I just mentioned…” https://t.co/w9Zs1qbbzN
Yesterday the General Services Administration (GSA) informed Joe Biden that the transition of power from the Trump administration to the Biden administration has begun. True to form, Donald Trump wants it both ways:
…fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.
More and more Republicans are speaking out against Trump’s refusal to formally concede and his legal team’s wild claims of voter fraud. Even Rush Limbaugh is mocking the Trump legal team. But some court evangelicals still, yes still, believe God will intervene.
Jenna Ellis, a spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center and a member of Trump’s legal team, is in denial. I am guessing she is going to ride this out and hope for a career in a post-January 2020 Trumpworld. There is a lot of money to made in undermining democratic institutions. She has now reached the point where she is using her Twitter feed to lecture everyone–even conservatives–about how to interpret the law.
Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump, for fighting for election integrity!!
This matters for today and for the future of our great nation! 🇺🇸
Charlie Kirk, one of the founders of the Liberty University Falkirk Center, didn’t say much about voter fraud today, but he is calling for a revolution of sorts:
It is time to disobey ALL orders that violate our natural rights. No more curfews, lockdowns, or authoritarian measures. Disobey, resist, defy – open America!
The Falkirk Center at Liberty University is still on board with voter fraud:
The American people deserve a free, fair, just and transparent election. We are a country of justice, and that is no exception in an election cycle.@DanCrenshawTXpic.twitter.com/ojFQvVKk6h
You’re going to be tested in the days ahead with loyalty to the Word of God and loyalty to the truth. Be encouraged and keep contending in the faith! pic.twitter.com/xu6wKVAZEL
In this video, Wallnau mocks Chris Christie’s weight. He says that the “Left” is corrupt, but “our side” is “squeaky clean.” Wallnau doesn’t get this angry. He is desperate. The self-professed prophet even says that Georgia’s conservative governor Brian Kemp is somehow working with China to undermine the election. “In the name of Jesus,” he says, “it ain’t over yet.” His video has 131k views.
Jim Garlow is still holding prayer meetings for “U.S. Election Integrity.” This his 9th such event since Election Day.
As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Joe Biden is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%. But, since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead.
This has really been bothering me since I believe we are family here and I didn’t know how to choose who would have to go. So, this is what I did. I walked through our parking lots and found sixty “Biden – Harris” bumper stickers on our employees’ cars and have decided these folks will be the ones to let go. I can’t think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change……I gave it to them. I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic.
Eric Metaxas devoted his show today to a blow-by-blow commentary of a Sidney Powell (Trump legal team member) interview with pro-Trump station Newsmax. He played the entire interview. Here are some themes from the show:
“If you don’t care about election fraud your head in the sand”
He rips Fox News for suggesting there was no fraud in Pennsylvania.
Metaxas says he wants his program to be a place where people can get news that is “hopeful” and “true.”
Metaxas calls Powell one of the “world’s” most “brilliant legal minds.” He says that GOP Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey is “lying to the American republic” by saying that Biden won the commonwealth. Metaxas says that “no one is speaking as clearly…and as on point as Sidney Powell.”
Metaxas says that the only way to get to the bottom of such election fraud is to “drain the swamp.” Sidney Powell is taking on the “swamp,” but “God is bigger.”
Metaxas says that his critics can “go to heck.” He claims he is fighting for a country forged by the “blood of patriots.” He adds that those involved in supposed voter fraud are “selfish pigs” trying to take down the republic. Some of these selfish pigs, he claims, are in his own political party.
Metaxas says that anyone who does not stand-up and oppose voter fraud (and share a link to Metaxas’s YouTube channel) is “complicit in a tremendous historical evil” and “God will not hold us guiltless.”
Some of the court evangelicals are growing quiet as the Trump administration transitions (officially or not) into the Biden administration. But others are still fired-up.
Jack Graham looks like he has finally come to grips with the reality of this election. We are now living in “desperate hopelessness”:
So very sad to see the dark and desperate hopelessness in America. Yet we have the message that turns night into day and death to life. Jesus calls us for times like these. Say yes I will be His Light.
Jack Graham calls Raphael Warnock, candidate for the U.S. Senate from Georgia, a “false teacher” based on this clip. Wow! But I am sure Graham believes Trumpism is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8).
False teachers are as Jude says ‘Clouds without water swept along with the winds’v12 https://t.co/4s0F0j2fZi
Is Tony Perkins sending a message to evangelical Biden voters?:
“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come & rain righteousness upon you. You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies…” Hosea 10:12-13
Yesterday on Parler, Eric Metaxas wrote, “Trump has won the election. It’s only a matter of time before everyone accepts that. Be patient and pray!: He shared this article from The Epoch Times.
Metaxas is devoting his whole show today to a Lou Dobbs interview with Trump and Michael Flynn lawyer Sidney Powell. Metaxas is describing this conspiracy theory about voting machines as a “Second American Revolution.”
Jim Garlow is still doing election fraud prayer meetings:
Next GLOBAL PRAYER FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY/ PRAYER AGAINST ELECTION FRAUD – Wed, Nov 18, 2020-6pm Pacific; 7pm Mountain, 8pm Central, 9pm Eastern. Join thousands from praying for righteousness, holiness, justice &truth to prevail. Register now. https://t.co/XePBMIOUDa
Garlow is also rallying the troops. Here is what he wrote today on his Facebook page:
Praise God for pastors who have guts. Who act like real leaders! Who have courage. Who obey God rather than man, when man defies God. In CA, PRAISE GOD for pastors like Jack Hibbs, Rob McCoy, Jeremy H. McGarity, Shane N Morgan Idleman, Jurgen Matthesius, John McArthur, Art Hodges and others.
STAND WITH THESE PASTORS. THEY ARE STANDING FOR YOU. NOW, YOU STAND WITH THEM. SUPPORT THEM. ATTEND CHURCHES WHERE PASTORS HAVE COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. List other pastors here who you know who are doing what is right – holding indoor, in person services – not walking in fear – who know when the govt is manipulating the culture – and are willing to love God over being “politically correct” wimps!
List other pastors who are NOT, NOT kowtowing to despotic, totalitarian leadership. Support these pastors!
(NOTE: Because of my age & weight, I take Covid seriously. Very seriously! I not scoff at the disease. I know people who have died from Covid. And two of my friends ALMOST died. I am careful. Very careful. But I don’t accept the dishonest manipulation of the numbers & the hysteria.)
The entire population should NOT be locked down because some of us (15% or so?) have vulnerabilities or comorbidites. People like me can stay at home. But NOT the entire population! That is ludicrous. The lockdowns are NOT about the disease. It is because the radical Leftist-Dem-Progressives are drunk on power. They are inebriated on their authoritarianism. And it is morally, ethically, biblically and legally wrong.
Garlow also posted a letter from Mike Huckabee to Joe Biden:
Dear Vice President Biden,
While I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I support President Trump, I have tried to be fair and stick to the issues. I even defended you on my TV program from an early personal attack, so I hope you will see that I’m not addressing you now as a partisan. It’s vitally important to put the good of the nation ahead of politics, particularly at a time like this, when events are at a tipping point and could easily spin out of control. I think you understand the need to be very cautious, from your reluctance to heed some of your supporters’ calls to declare victory.
In that spirit, I am calling on you to put partisanship and political ambition aside and join President Trump in demanding an impartial investigation into the very disturbing allegations of voter irregularities and fraud in Tuesday’s election.
Surely you must realize that some of the election officials’ actions and unbelievable poll results (202% turnout? Stacks of ballots that were 100% for you?) stink like a boxcar full of shrimp in the Mojave. If you do prevail without resolving these issues, your Administration will go down in history with a permanent black mark of cheating on it, whether it’s true or not. Imagine what you would say if, in a close state, 130,000 ballots all marked for Trump were suddenly dropped off from a Ferrari in the dead of night, as has been alleged in Detroit.
You ran for office on a promise to be a healer and uniter; to be a President of all the people, even those who didn’t support you; and to restore honor, integrity and honesty to the White House. Do you really think that’s likely if you take power under this dark cloud of suspicion? Even after 60 years, the memory of JFK’s legacy is still stained by a mere accusation of mob-stuffed ballot boxes securing his victory.
Also, think back on how much grief your side has given President Trump for the past four years, with the constant attacks and attempts to block his every action. The “resistance” movement justified its rabid opposition by claiming Trump was an “illegitimate” President, on no other grounds than that he didn’t win the popular vote (which, having run yourself three times, you know is meaningless) and “Russian collusion,” for which not a scrap of evidence could be found.
Now, imagine dealing with over 63 million furious Trump supporters and a GOP Senate (and after 2022, possibly a GOP House) who have a very convincing case that the race and their right to choose their own leaders were stolen from them. Their “resistance” will make what Trump dealt with look like a cake walk. These aren’t just some underemployed sociology majors. They’re the people who actually make the country run: farmers, ranchers, truckers, firefighters, police and construction workers.
If you really want to prove that you will bring honesty and integrity to the White House, and that you will represent all Americans, then you must join us in demanding a thorough and impartial investigation of these highly suspicious voting irregularities and refuse to declare victory until Americans have been assured that the vote was honest, that all their ballots were counted and that none were negated by illegal ballots. The people’s faith in the integrity of our elections is more important than the ambitions of either party.
Speaking as a Republican and strong Trump partisan, I promise that if the investigation proves that you won legitimately, then I will congratulate you on your win and accept the loss gracefully. But in all sincerity, I am concerned that if you do not take a stand now to insist on fair and legal elections, then you may eventually win the office, but it will be a bitter prize that will rip this nation apart, bring you more problems than you can imagine, and brand you in history as a President who took office under a cloud of suspicion that will never be removed.
I can’t think of a better illustration of Jesus’ question in Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Gov. Mike Huckabee
Court evangelical journalist David Brody is hoping:
Hey media: what if you’re totally wrong about all the election fraud and @realDonaldTrump actually wins? 😂😂😂😂😂
This is rich. The Liberty University Falkirk Center, an organization built around the idea that Christians are suffering at the hands of the “liberal” or “socialist” state, is posting about victimhood. You can’t make this stuff up.
The victim mentality is destructive to society. It breeds selfishness and propagates endless lies of self-entitlement. Let's be clear: If you are born in America, you are not a victim. In fact, you are part of the least victimized citizenry in the entire world.@JasonMatterapic.twitter.com/NwkcwOjIdz
Wait. It gets even better. Here is a tweet about how the need for self-affirmation” leads to people to “stray from objective morality.” This pro-Trump organization does not seem to see the irony.
When your life revolves around your subjective self-affirmation, you inevitably stray from objective morality, and can begin to compromise truth for the sake of your own interests.@conservmillenpic.twitter.com/QMxBJy41xA
Charlie Kirk of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center is also claiming that 1 million Trump supporters were in D.C. this weekend. And then he connects the rally to voter fraud.
More than one MILLION people turned out in Washington DC from across the country to support President @realDonaldTrump and you’re trying to tell me that the man who couldn’t even fill a high school gymnasium somehow got more votes than he did?
I’ve spent the last four days with the President’s national legal team, and I’m confident we are going to preserve FREE and FAIR elections in America!@RudyGiuliani@SidneyPowell1 Joe DiGenova@VicToensing
The college debt “forgiveness” Biden’s team is planning is just paying off mostly white lib voters from 3rd tier colleges with worthless humanities degrees
It’s a transfer of wealth from welders, plumbers, and general contractors to adjunct professors and MSNBC watchers
You gotta love Sexton. He’s an Amherst College political science major named “Buck,” but he loves the welders and plumbers. I guess humanities degrees are fine for people from first and second tier colleges.
The election was ten days ago. Joe Biden was the winner. After January 20, 2021 the court evangelicals will no longer have access to the court. Let’s see how they are handling things.
Eric Metaxas is still doing prayer meetings. He won’t say that he and his group is praying for signs of voter fraud that would give Trump a victory in the election, but that is essentially what is happening at these meetings. The guy with the red, white, and blue shofar will apparently be there. Metaxas continues to say that Fox News is in the Biden camp. He claims he was not allowed to talk about his “Donald the Caveman” books because there is a character in the book named after George Soros and Soros is now working with Fox News to remove Trump. You can’t make this stuff up. You can watch here.
Metaxas is also promoting this piece on his Facebook page.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this tweet from one of the most divisive court evangelicals. James Robison is the guy who believes Satan brought coronavirus to America to prevent Donald Trump from leading a spiritual revival in the country:
Some people are so busy stating their own views that they don't have time to listen to anything else. They are more interested in defending their positions than in seeking the truth. That has to stop. We need to come to the table & find common ground to address common concerns.
Let’s all wait prayerfully and patiently on the full and fair result of the presidential election. The future of our American republic rests on legal voting.
How should we interpret such “hope” in the context of Jeffress’s public rhetoric on Fox News and elsewhere? Frankly, I am not sure what Jeffress is talking about here. I may have had a clearer sense of what he would have meant 10 or 15 years ago, but no longer.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." – Hebrews 10:23 pic.twitter.com/KJKeW1q9am
Dear Mr. President on February 9 I was with you in the Roosevelt room and I encouraged you to keep your eyes on California. I have still not given up hope if California is investigated I believe it will turn red.
Lance Wallnau is hoping and praying for a Trump victory:
Christians, let’s not grow weary in our prayers for our nation. Remember, the Bush vs. Gore election took 37 days to be resolved and we are only in day 9. Let’s keep contending in faith and prayer! pic.twitter.com/EMuhaCo1EK
Court evangelical and founder of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center Charlie Kirk just put postal workers in the bullseye. He did the same thing to Harvard professor Danielle Allen:
This is your daily reminder that the American Postal Worker Union endorsed Joe Biden for president.
Maybe that's a relevant conflict of interest in a race decided by mail-in ballots doesn’t it?
I honestly don’t know what the Falkirk Center at Liberty University means when they say “proclaim the Gospel.” I am assuming “proclaim the Gospel when you vote” means voting for Donald Trump.
We are commanded by God to proclaim the gospel in our everyday lives. No matter where we are or who we are with, we are to be salt and light to those around us. pic.twitter.com/HYXxMjaUj7
More and more Republicans are implying that it is time to move on from this election and admit defeat. I wish more would step up and proclaim Biden president-elect so that the country can move forward, but most of them seem more concerned about party loyalty than what is good for the nation right now. Many are probably afraid that Trump will somehow exact some kind of revenge if they dare speak out against his claims of widespread voter fraud. Others are worried that if they criticize Trump it will hurt the Republican cause in the two Georgia Senate run-offs on January 5. If Trump voters don’t show-up for that run-off election, and the the Democratic candidates (Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock) win, the Democrats will gain control of the U.S. Senate.
Let’s check-in if anything has changed among the court evangelicals. Remember, I have used this term to describe the pro-Trump evangelical leaders who regularly visit the White House for photo-ops with the president and to supposedly advise him on policy matters. Based on this definition, I am not a Biden court evangelical. I have never been to the White House. Nor do I expect to be part of some kind of Biden faith-advisory council! 🙂 )
The folks at the Falkirk Center at Liberty University is still pushing voting fraud. Today they interviewed Rudy Guiliani:
Reports allege that voting software in at least one battleground state encountered a glitch that switched votes from President Trump to former Vice President Biden. @RudyGiuliani@RHelfenbeinpic.twitter.com/Mqfd0hsQsa
Today in my Pennsylvania History class we continued our conversation about the Whiskey Rebellion. We talked about how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Federalists believed that the followers of Jefferson and the members of the Democratic-Republican societies they established in the west were a threat to American ideals. But many of these societies were articulating their grievances against Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey in very American ways. In other words, they were appealing to the principles of the American Revolution, particularly the resistance to the 1765 Stamp Act.
Washington condemned the whiskey rebels and their societies as threats to national unity, but despite all Washington’s well-rehearsed concerns about partisanship he was not above the fray. He wanted national unity on his terms. He failed to understand that in the 1790s there were two visions ofAmerican identity among the people and these visions were at odds with one other.
I thought of this again as I read a Falkirk Center tweet from Ryan Helfenbein. He wants to “proclaim Christ and defend America.” Whose America?
Our ultimate and eternal hope is not in any president, governor, congressman or politician, it is in Christ ALONE! At the same time, America is the greatest nation in the world and the freedoms we enjoy in this country are worth fighting for. Proclaim Christ & defend America! pic.twitter.com/8nbfg24lSc
At one point in this video, David Barton, a self-proclaimed historian, suggests that Donald Trump’s tweets about election fraud should be taken seriously as a legitimate primary source. One of the first things we teach history students at Messiah University is how to evaluate sources. Barton is treating the Trump claim of election fraud in the same way he treats the American past. He collects stories about supposed fraud, adds them up without any larger context, and claims something happened. When he engages with the past he collects quotes from the founding fathers, adds them up without any larger context, and claims America is a Christian nation.
Eric Metaxas is encouraging people who are “losing hope that Trump can pull this off” to stay the course. He continues to speak with a sense of certainty that Trump will win this election. He also says that “Fox News has gone over to the dark side” and even implies that Fox is now working with George Soros. Then he tells his audience that he, Eric Metaxas, is now one of the only sources of honest news out there right now.
Metaxas says the Democrats are trying to steal the election and “there is nothing more disgusting” than this. Apparently at Metaxas’s prayer meeting on voter fraud the other night some guy blew a red, white, and blue shofar.
Robert Jeffress wants to make sure he is not misunderstood. He is still a court evangelical:
Don’t believe some false media reports that I have “broken” with our great President @realDonaldTrump. I support him completely. We do NOT have a “president-elect” until electoral college votes December 14. I will discuss on “@LouDobbs Tonight" Friday.
Tony Perkins is still sowing seeds of doubt among his followers:
According to the Associated Press, States are saying there were no election problems, it is all being made up by President Trump! So who is telling the truth?
Georgia announces a hand recount of the state’s presidential election results https://t.co/Hy4BfwunlO
I am not sure Trump is doing much “leading” right now.
Pray for President @realDonaldTrump, our Commander-in-Chief, as he leads the nation during these turbulent days, that God would give him wisdom, grace, and understanding for times such as these.
Wow! It looks like Michigan has now found the ballots necessary to keep a wonderful young man, John James, out of the U.S. Senate. What a terrible thing is happening!
I ask that you continue to pray for our nation and this election. Many fear that some are trying to steal the election, so join me in praying that the will of God would be done. Pray that the enemies of God would be quieted and that all their plans would be put to nothing.
Some folks on my social media feeds want to give Franklin the benefit of the doubt. “He just wants to pray for America,” they say. This may be true, but let’s not ignore Franklin’s reference to “steal the election.” This would be like saying, “Many fear John Fea is a criminal, so join me in praying for God’s will in his life.”
The Falkirk Center crowd at Liberty University is tweeting.
The problem with this tweet from Jenna Ellis is that Trump behaves and speaks like we ARE a “nation of rulers.” And do we really believe that Trump cares about the Constitution?:
President Trump is absolutely right to keep all legal options on the table as we evaluate results.
He is committed to protecting election integrity and defending the Constitution.
Twitter flagged several of Kirk’s tweets in the last few hours.
James Robison is turning “the battle” over to God:
“Thy Kingdom come” – “the Kingdom is at hand” — and it is in us! “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” PEACE, TRUST, PRAY. The battle is now the Lord’s.
I ask you to pray fervently, without ceasing for our nation and the election results. There is great concern that some are trying to steal this election. Let us pray to God, who knows all, to reveal truth. Pray that the enemies to God are quieted and their plans are overturned
Two court evangelical posts in one day? Why not? It’s election eve and the court evangelical phenomenon may soon be irrelevant–at least for the next four years.
Franklin Graham makes his final plea:
.@POTUS@realDonaldTrump has a record of nominating conservative judges to the federal bench & to the Supreme Court who believe & adhere to the Constitution. Joe Biden was part of an administration that selected and supported liberal activist judges. PRAY before you #VOTE.
What does it say that Graham, a religious leader, equates his audience with lovers of the 2nd Amendment?:
Let's keep it simple. The 2nd Amendment guarantees our right to bear arms. @POTUS@realDonaldTrump supports the 2nd Amendment & Constitution. Joe Biden & many in his party want greater gun control & restrictions that go against what the 2nd Amendment guarantees. PRAY & #VOTE.
James Robison wants you to vote for the “future of freedom.” He believes that “miracles” were happening in America until Satan sent the pandemic and ruined it all.
Here is Jentezen Franklin:
Your response as a believer in the aftermath of the 2020 election may have a far greater impact on the Kingdom and this nation than the winning candidate. Click here to read the entire article: https://t.co/LgULj827M7pic.twitter.com/5qyS5Hlt89
BTW, last night White was at an “Amish for Trump” rally in Lancaster, PA:
Amish for Trump 2020! 🙏🏻🇺🇸Thank you @IvankaTrump for the amazing visit to Lancaster PN last night 🙏🏻❤️. We love you PENNSYLVANIA.. let’s do this 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/epiPicHgSM
Over the past four years I’ve supported and watched Donald Trump lead with great love for America, and I can only say that this is exactly the type of man our founders envisioned in creating the idea of a citizen president. #MAGAhttps://t.co/sloru3p6oL
To my knowledge, former Christian college president Everett Piper is not a court evangelical, but he certainly loves Donald Trump. In a Washington Timespiece today he called Joe Biden a “proven, habitual, unrepentant fraud and a pathological liar of the highest order.” And then he added: “Such shameless deceit is not the behavior of a decent man, but rather that of a devil, and God help us all if he becomes our president.”
And there you go folks. We will check in with the court evangelicals on the other side of the election.
Robert Jeffress is saying that not voting is a “sin against God.” Does he mean not voting is a sin or not voting for Trump is a sin?
I agree with the Falkirk Center and Tucker Carlson:
In times of crisis, we are called to rise to the occasion, not cower away in fear & panic. This is especially true for believers. We have a moral obligation before God to stand for what is true, what is right, and what is just, and stand against that which is not. @TuckerCarlsonpic.twitter.com/ug3bqCRwjJ
I am still waiting for the Falkirk Center to explain how our right to bear arms comes from God:
This election cycle, our 2A hangs in the balance. Do not let corrupt politicians revoke our rights or fool you into thinking that surrendering your life to government will keep you safe. You are your family’s best defense; arm yourselves. pic.twitter.com/J8RwHKrIIA
This is the kind of biblical proof-texting that passes for sophisticated political theology at The Falkirk Center. Their entire biblical defense of the Second Amendment comes down to two verses from Psalm 82 and Proverbs 24.
All Charlie Kirk of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center had to do was just condemn this incident. The court evangelical just can’t bring himself to do it:
Why does it seem like the FBI was quicker to act on this quicker than they have been to do something about Joe Biden and his son selling America out to the Chinese Communist Party?
Samuel Rodriguez doubles-down on the spiritual warfare theme:
The battle for America’s soul is not between the donkey and the elephant, it is between the serpent and the Lamb. #LambsAgendapic.twitter.com/j8EVLrEGrO
Garlow also believes that progressive and liberals are mentally ill and demonic:
The preciously respected premise that “progressive-leftism is a mental illness” might, in fact, be an understatement. This is demonic! How could ANYONE ever vote Democratic?!?https://t.co/Ef8iPmiawu
I am not sure what this means, but it seems to make sense to Kenneth Copeland:
The MLK Civil Rights movement was not a movement that anyone could just join because they felt like it. It was a movement which commanded spiritual commitment and dedication.🙏🏾 Learn more with @DavidBartonWB. pic.twitter.com/JuTNCadF3M
I think this is like saying that you are not racist if you a Black friend:
In 1818, Hezekiah Niles asked President John Adams who were the most influential people of their time. 4 of the men named by Adams were Black ministers.🙏🏾 Knowing our history gives us a different view on issues like the importance of God and race relations. @DavidBartonWBpic.twitter.com/60e6Yi93nU
Eric Metaxas is still making his “Trump is a pilot” argument. The problem with this analogy is that Trump is incompetent. He doesn’t know how to fly the proverbial plane.
As Americans we have the right to vote. As Christians we have a responsiblity, and I believe we will answer one day for the policies that our vote or non-vote allowed. I stand ready to give an account for the good that my support enables President Trump’s policies to accomplish.
Al Mohler and Donald Trump have found each other!:
Yes, Mr. President — Religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and a host of issues at stake. Christians must go to the polls and vote with conscience and conviction. https://t.co/QJ7zffH6z6
LET’S KEEP IT SIMPLE. If @POTUS Trump or @JoeBiden—whoever wins the election—couldn’t finish their term, who would you trust to step in? @Mike_Pence, former congressman, governor, & VP? Or @KamalaHarris, former attorney general of CA & known as the most liberal senator serving?
Trump’s favorite evangelicals are making their closing arguments. Here are some of them:
Franklin Graham believes that God works through the United States Supreme Court. It is also worth noting that he is bragging here about attending a super-spreader event:
We thank God another conservative, pro-life judge is now a member of the Supreme Court—this is an answer to prayer for our country. This makes 3 originalist justices that @POTUS Trump has added to the highest court in the land, & this will impact our nation for decades to come.
These two tweets from James Robison are pretty revealing:
The Founding Fathers believed that unfettered truth was the only suitable ground upon which openness, honesty and freedom could be established – whether in families & communities, or among nations. Truth is a reflection of the way things actually are. It is the fabric of reality.
This year's election is more than a choice between candidates or parties. It is between a worldview that puts God at the top & the security that can be found only in trusting Him – or a worldview that puts man first with dependence upon an all-powerful federal government.
Jentezen Franklin does not seem to understand that overturning Roe v. Wade will do little to end the “abortion agenda” in the United States.
Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed by the Senate. It’s so rewarding to know the constitution is secure and that there is hope for overturning the most radical abortion agenda in the modern world. This is big news for today and future generations!
“The most successful term of a President in my lifetime”:
When Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed as Justice this evening it will cap the most successful first term of a President in my lifetime. @realDonaldTrump deserves 4 more years.
John Hagee believes that Amy Coney Barrett is a “righteous judge.” Perhaps he is confusing the nomination of Barret with what the Pslamist says in Psalm 7:1. and Psalm 9:4.
Our prayers have been answered! God has given us a righteous judge that will bring truth and honor to our Supreme Court—the Bible says, “when the righteous are in authority; the people rejoice…”. It’s time for the American people to rejoice! Thank you Lord!
Tony Perkins wants us to believe that he supports Amy Coney Barrett because she holds a “proper understanding” of the Constitution. He could care less about this. It’s all about Coney’s previous statements on abortion and what he believes to be her willingness to “inject social policy issues into the court.”
Judge Barrett deftly answered ‘gotcha’ questions from Senate Dems & refused to go along with their insistence on injecting social policy issues into the courts. Instead, she displayed an untiring commitment to an originalist philosophy which seeks to interpret the law as written.
Ralph Reed would prefer massive crowds that are not social distanced and not wearing masks. In other words, a Trump rally. Yes, Ralph Reed supports pro-life candidates.
This kid called John Piper a “fool.” Now he is lecturing more pastors:
To the churches & “Pastors” that mobilized your congregation to march with BLMinc. while staying silent on the confirmation battle for ACB, you have shown America your moral fraud and cowardice.
You care more about being liked and spreading lies than protecting the unborn.
For reasons that are unclear to me, James Robison felt moved to tweet the First Amendment during the debate:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble & to petition government for a redress of grievances. 1st Amendment
James Dobson on his Facebook page: “Consider this as you watch tonight’s debate.” The “this” is this.
Jack Graham spoke at an event sponsored by Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition. Does this mean that last night Trump was fighting a battle for the Lord?
"God raised up this man to fight some battles for us: The Supreme Court, the sanctity of life, and our religious freedom. @realDonaldTrump has done this, and there's more to come." – @jackngraham, Pastor of @Prestonwood at #RTM2020
"I leave here today with renewed confidence that if we work like it depends all on us and pray like it depends all on God, we're going to make America more prosperous than ever before. With God's grace, we're going to make America great again. Again!" –@VP@Mike_Pence#RTM2020pic.twitter.com/x26ODP50aJ
Actually, I think you can work for criminal justice reform and still be a racist. Last night is a perfect example.
"President Trump is not a racist. He has been branded as a racist, but what he’s done is criminal justice reform. He has created opportunity zones bringing jobs back to the hood. I know he’s not a racist, because racists don’t do that." –@BishopHarry at #RTM2020pic.twitter.com/V5uSP1dX44
Yes Jentezen, it just may be the most important election of our lifetime:
"I’ve come today to beg the body of Christ that this election is the most important of our lifetime. I’m begging on behalf of this nation and our children’s children, to vote." – Pastor of Free Chapel @Jentezen at #RTM2020pic.twitter.com/XB8AxG80vi
We must unite to preserve our form of government and our way of life. We must understand exactly what is at stake when we step into a voting booth. We will only have as much freedom as we are willing to fight for. We must unite and we must fight, because our future depends on it.
I’m not at all surprised that the president was a little “hot” last night. I suspect that any of us would be eager to defend ourselves and set the record straight if we had been subjected to similar treatment. We would also be furious over what had been done to us.
My friends, don’t forget what President Trump has had to endure the last four years.
Many leftists refused to accept the results of the 2016 election.
The “resistance” rioted during his inauguration.
The Deep State spied on his campaign and undermined his presidency.
His friends and supporters have suffered all kinds of harassment, investigations and prosecutions.
Democrats impeached him over a phone call, and they are threatening to impeach him again.
The left has viciously smeared him time and again. (More on that below.)
Anyone so upset about the president’s style that they are thinking about not voting or voting third party needs to seriously think about whether their frustration with Trump outweighs their love for our country and our values.
Joe Biden is no moderate. And you don’t have to take my word for it. He is running on a platform written by Bernie Sanders and well to the left of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Quick response:
Whatever Trump has had to “endure” was of his own making.
Bauer seems to be supporting Trump’s claim that he will not accept the election results if he loses.
The Deep State is a useful conspiracy theory for people like Bauer.
Trump did nothing wrong with his “perfect call” to the Ukraine
Joe Biden is not a socialist or a man of the left and he made that clear multiple times last night in the debate.
This is a perfect example of how the Christian Right uses Twitter to spread misleading information without any larger context. This is why contextual thinking is absolutely essential if we want to restore democracy. Social media is destroying us and Charlie Kirk is contributing to this.
Facts:
Chris Wallace interrupted Donald Trump 76 times last night.
He only interrupted Joe Biden 15 times.
Trump shouldn’t have to debate two opponents at once, but he did—and he STILL won.
Unlike other conservatives, Jenna just can’t admit Trump blew it. Nope, this evangelical Christian and fellow at the Liberty University Falkirk Center is defending Trump:
People are missing that when Wallace asked if Trump would condemn white supremacists HE SPECIFICALLY ASKED Trump to tell them to “stand down.”
Trump said “sure” 3x and then used Wallace’s OWN WORDS to tell Proud Boys to “stand down.”
For many American evangelicals, Christian witness in the political sphere comes down to overturning Roe v. Wade. This is why the court evangelicals are so gleeful about Trump getting another Supreme Court nomination. This is also why they say virtually nothing about the president’s mishandling of COVID-19 (nearly 200,000 dead), his separation of families at the Mexican border, his environmental policies that will one day make the planet incapable of sustaining life, and his racism. Look for yourself. The silence is deafening. Start your research with these names:
Franklin Graham, James Robison, James Dobson, Jenetzen Franklin, Jack Graham, Paula White, Greg Laurie, John Hagee, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Johnnie Moore, Ralph Reed, Robert Jeffress, Eric Metaxas, Jim Garlow, Jack Hibbs, Harry Jackson Jr., Luke Barnett, Richard Land, Jim Bakker, David Barton, Steve Strang, Samuel Rodriguez, Charlie Kirk, Lance Wallnau, and Jenna Ellis.
I imagine (again, I only imagine) that some of these people were on a conference call the moment Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. They no doubt started the session with prayer for the Ginsburg’s family and perhaps even threw-out a prayer or two for those suffering through COVID-19. And then, when the pleasantries were done, they got down to strategizing about how to best support the president’s forthcoming Supreme Court nomination and the most effective ways of spinning their 2016 claims that President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee–Merrick Garland–did not deserve a hearing in the Senate because it was an election year.
As I wrote yesterday, Robert Jeffress said that COVID-19 is mere “background noise” now that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead and Trump can appoint another conservative justice. Background noise? Tell that to the families who lost lives from COVID. What kind of world do we live in where a Christian pastor can say that the loss of 200,000 lives is unimportant and get virtually no push-back from his followers, all men and women who name the name of Jesus Christ?
Here is what the court evangelicals have been saying about the Supreme Court story:
Let’s start with Franklin Graham. Let’s remember that Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland about eight months before the 2016 election:
The Left wants you to believe there’s not enough time for Pres. @realDonaldTrump to confirm a new SCOTUS Justice before his current term ends. Just more #FakeNews. @POTUS has 119 days left in his current term—Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed in 50 days, so that’s plenty of time.
And now Graham says the country is at a “boiling point” and needs prayer. He has no clue that he is partly responsible for the divisions in the nation and the church.
Southern Baptist seminary president Al Mohler tries to defend Mitch McConnell’s decision to reject Merrick Garland’s nomination in 2016. There is no reference to the Constitution or its interpretation. Mohler’s argument is weak, especially coming from a self-professed Constitutional originalist. I would like to see him defend this argument through a close reading of the Constitution as opposed to the weak reference to 1880 that he offers here. Mohler, who prides himself as an intellectual driven by logic, begins with the assumption that we need another conservative justice and then searches for an argument–any argument–to justify his political desires.
There is no doubt that President Trump will make a nomination to fill the vacancy, and there is now no doubt, thanks to a statement released by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, that the Senate will move forward on a confirmation process once the nomination is announced. Indeed, Senator McConnell stated, “In the last midterm election, before Justice Scalia’s death in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we pledged to check and balance the last days of a lame duck president’s second term. We kept our promise. Since the 1880s, no Senate has confirmed an opposite party president’s Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year. By contrast, Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018, because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1. Interesting choice of verse by Tony Perkins:
"Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor." Ecclesiastes 10:1
It just takes a moment to mess up an entire life. That's why we need to deny ourselves and follow Jesus every day (Luke 9:23).
Here is Gary Bauer. It’s all about the Christian Right playbook. He actually believes that overturning Roe v. Wade will end abortion in the United States. As long as he keeps sticking to this playbook, the lives of unborn babies will remain a political football.
Kirk criticizes Ilhan Omar for being a “starter of fires” fueled by religion and skin color. Hmm…
Ilhan Omar:
"I am, by nature, a starter of fires. My work has been to figure out where I'm going to burn down everything around me by adding the fuel of my religion, skin color, gender, or even tone."
Is this really who we should have representing the United States in Congress?
For many evangelicals the 2020 election represents a simple choice: Trump will defend the pro-life movement, Joe Biden is pro-choice; Trump promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will challenge–perhaps even overturn —Roe v. Wade, and Joe Biden will not. When it comes to dealing with the problem of abortion, the court evangelicals have been reading from the same political playbook for more than four decades. It teaches them that the best way to bring an end to abortion in America is to elect the right president, who, in turn, will support the right justices. Thus far, things seem to be going well: not only has Trump appointed pro-life justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanuagh, but he has appointed dozens of conservative judges to federal district courts across the country. Now, he will most likely get to appoint another conservative justice.
Still, it is not exactly clear how this strategy will bring an end to abortion in America. Chief Justice John Roberts, himself a devout Catholic, has called Roe v. Wade “settled as the law of the land.” Amy Coney Barrett, who appears to be Trump’s top pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has said publicly that it is likely Roe v. Wade will not be overturned.
And even if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, the issue will be sent back to the states. Abortion is very likely to remain legal in the so-called blue states, including California and New York, and illegal in many of the so-called red states, especially in the deep South.
State legislatures will need to decide how they will handle the abortion issue in the remaining states, but a significant number of them will probably allow abortion in some form. To put it simply, overturning Roe v. Wade will not end abortion in America. It may curtail the number of abortions, but it will bring our culture no closer to welcoming the children who are born and supporting their mothers.
The taking of a human life in the womb via the practice of abortion is a horrific practice. Modern technology shows us that a baby in the womb, especially in the last trimester, is alive. Christians should be working hard to reduce the number of abortions that take place in the United States–even working to eliminate the practice entirely.
But we have been under Roe v. Wade for long enough that several generations of Americans now believe that they have a right to an abortion. Such a belief is not going to change anytime soon. Conservative evangelicals and other pro-life advocates spend billions of dollars to get the right candidates elected because they believe that the Supreme Court is the only way to solve the problem of abortion in our society. Yet, most of these conservatives oppose “big government” and want to address social concerns through churches and other institutions of civil society. Imagine if all the money spent to support pro-life candidates was poured into these institutions.
If you are following the news (or this blog), you know that:
Multiple outlets, including Fox News, have confirmed that Trump disparaged American veterans. He called them “losers” and “suckers.”
Trump knew about the “deadly” nature of the coronavirus as early as February 7, 2020 and did nothing about it. (And I am sure there will be more revelations in Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book).
According to Michael Cohen, Trump disparaged evangelicals, calling their beliefs “bulls–t.”
So what are Trump’s evangelical supporters–the men and women I call the “court evangelicals”–saying?
Liberty University Falkirk Center fellow Jenna Ellis is not going to read Woodward’s book. But I don’t think Woodward’s reporting will be something she can ignore. If I were her, I would jump off the Trump train right now:
When Donald Trump candidate is in trouble, court evangelicals start talking about abortion and the Supreme Court:
If anyone doubts President @realDonaldTrump’s commitment to pro-life and defending the right to life for every child made in God’s image and religious freedom, his list of Supreme Court nominees including @HawleyMO, @SenTomCotton, and @tedcruz should make it CRYSTAL CLEAR!! ❤️
If abortion and the Supreme Court don’t work, court evangelicals can always retweet stuff about truth and ethics:
God has given us objective truth to establish right and wrong. Leftists teach that this is a lie; that truth is subjective and can change based on social constructs. This is in complete opposition to God’s word and to basic facts about our existence. pic.twitter.com/QtOnxoan9G
Nancy Pelosi knew the dangers of the virus on February 24th but she still encouraged everyone to visit Chinatown without a mask and gather in large crowds.
CNN couldn't care less then.
The media's selective outrage over the Woodward book is hypocritical and embarrassing.
Court evangelical journalist David Brody is always ready to tweet favorable things about Trump, but all he has for us today is a story about Biden and a Washington football team hat. Maybe he is on vacation. 🙂
There is a reason Trump released his Supreme Court list today. Ralph Reed is more than willing to help the president in his attempt at misirection:
Release of updated list of potential Supreme Court nominees by @realDonaldTrump today is an unprecedented act of transparency. #SCOTUS list was major factor helping Trump in 2016, esp w/ voters of faith. Biden's failure to do likewise looks like he is hiding something.
Several Evangelicals added to @POTUS’ Supreme Court list …. @JoeBiden should also release his list of potential Supreme Court nominees. https://t.co/TVS5PzJ8mV
Media and Biden hit new low with lie on Trump and military. It was the left that called Vietnam vets baby killers and war criminals. It is left that disrespects military. Biden backs those who won’t stand for national anthem. @realDonaldTrump#AtlanticArticle#Military#KAGA
Tony Perkins, as expected, focuses on the Supreme Court:
The Court, because of its generational impact, will be a major part of @realDonaldTrump’s legacy. This list has some stellar options for the next 4 years. No doubt another point of contrast with Biden/Harris, if they dare release a list.
The Supreme Court is a critical issue in the 2020 Election. The President has pledged to appoint conservatives and constitutionalists. This is a major factor in every Christian’s choice. https://t.co/zWosTdQqBB
This is what court evangelicals do. When every major news outlet (including Fox News) confirms a story that they don’t like about Donald Trump, they desperately search for a source from a Trump loyalist to prove them wrong.
Jentezen Franklin is distracting his followers with a different story:
I think it is fair to say that the court evangelicals, with a few notable exceptions, have been relatively silent this week. They don’t have much to say about Trump’s remarks on military veterans, Cohen’s allegations, and the president’s mishandling of the coronavirus.
Monday, August 31, 2022, in Trumpland began with news that House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican and Trump supporter, doctored a video to make it appear that Biden wants to defund the police. I am expecting Scalise’s GOP colleagues, including the court evangelicals, to mount a full-fledged assault on him for misleading the American people and promoting “fake news.” 🙂
Today Trump will be in Kenosha, Wisconsin despite the fact that governor Tony Evers has asked him not to come. Evers believes that a visit from Trump will only bring more division to a city experiencing racial unrest in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting and the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting incident that left two people dead.
Trump will not visit with the Blake family today. He claimed that the reason they will not meet is because the Blake family wanted to bring lawyers. Other reports suggest that Blake’s father has no interest in meeting with the president. And who is this “pastor” that Trump spoke with?
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, refused to say that the president condemns the shooting of Jacob Blake or the the Rittenhouse shootings. How hard is it to condemn this? And if he won’t condemn these shootings, why is he going to Kenosha today? What message can he possibly deliver to the people of Kenosha that will bring any sense of healing? Oh, I almost forgot, we are talking about Trump. He doesn’t understand the idea of communal and social healing.
Joe Biden was in Pittsburgh yesterday and he also had a few things to say about the racial conflict in America:
Biden sounds like a “law and order” candidate here. But wait, I thought Biden was a radical socialist who supported violence and thuggery in the streets? 🙂 My favorite line from the speech: “Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft-spot for rioters? Really?”
After listening to Biden speak, Trump called a press conference to respond. He called Biden’s speech “strange” and then described a speech that sounded virtually nothing like the one Biden delivered:
Trump then decided to use his press conference riff on American history in schools. He claimed that our nation’s schools were engaging in “left-wing indoctrination.” Of course we have been hearing about this for a long time. But Trump offered some specifics. He said that students were learning that “America is a wicked nation plagued by racism.” Two quick thoughts on this. First, history teachers are not doing their jobs correctly if they are using morally-charged words such as “wicked” to describe the United States. Second, history teachers are doing their jobs well if they are calling attention to the “racism” that has “plagued” our country.
Trump wants to restore “patriotic education” to our nation’s schools. This may not be a bad idea. A patriot–someone who loves their country–will acknowledge its successes and its flaws.
Trump defended his supporters shooting paint balls and pepper spray at protesters in Portland. He described them as engaged in a “peaceful protest.” In case you missed what happened:
He also refused to condemn the Rittenhouse shootings.
As has been the case since 2016, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the voice of the court evangelicals from the voice of Trump. If aliens landed on this planet and knew nothing about American politics or American religion, they would assume that there was no difference between the Christianity promoted by the court evangelicals and the rhetoric of Donald Trump:
Biden, his radical left handlers, and Kamala Harris, are a lethal cancer to our American way of life and want to replace freedom with socialism, and have defamed and vilified our law enforcement heroes as “the enemy.” https://t.co/ZV5H80TSJZ
Biden seems to be saying that if he doesn’t win his supporters will destroy the cities currently controlled by his party. What a platform to run on! @realDonaldTrumphttps://t.co/D5xE0QgAq8
Eric Metaxas and Franklin Graham were both in action (so to speak) at last night’s GOP convention
Last night I thought Franklin Graham offered a good opening prayer to kick-off the last night of the GOP convention. Today he sat for an interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network. At times Graham tried to be bipartisan, but in the end this was pure court evangelicalism. This idea that the socialists (and other secular enemies) are coming to close our churches has a long, long history in American evangelicalism. As I wrote in Believe Me, evangelicals said the same thing about Thomas Jefferson in the run-up to the election of 1800. On another matter, it is disingenuous for Graham to claim that he is “just one man” and does not speak for a significant portion of American evangelicalism. There are white evangelicals who hang on every word he says. Watch:
Court evangelical Eric Metaxas showed us how to blind-side a protester and backpedal to safety. In this August 22, 2020 interview, Metaxas talks with fellow court evangelical Greg Laurie about “the role of virtue in the public square.” Metaxas notes how Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks were known for “turning the other cheek.” He laments the way “rage” and “violence” are “setting the [Christian cause] backward and confusing people.” He even speaks of non-violence as a Christian virtue. This 15-minute interview is interesting (to say the least) in light of what Metaxas did last night. Jab and move, jab and move.
Jack Graham ran into some trouble last night, along with dozens of other court evangelicals:
About 150 faith leaders were invited to the Presidents speech and afterwords we were confronted by Marxist, leftists, thugs….filthy blasphemous infidels. We saw with our own eyes and up close the evil of the anarchists and anti Christ lawlessness The insanity has to stop
Two things are going on in this tweet. First, Graham’s story appears to be true. I am not sure how Graham was able to interrogate the “thugs” and “infidels” about their political ideology (Marxism), but he is right to suggest that this kind of harassment needs to stop. Second, Graham is playing to the base. He did not punch the protesters like Metaxas did, but Graham is obviously hoping his tweet will serve Trump politically by scaring evangelicals to pull a lever for the president in November.
If I recall correctly, in the New Testament Jesus stopped on the road to Golgotha with the old rugged cross on his shoulder and called his tormentors “thugs” and “infidels.” He then asked God to stop the insanity.
The same goes for Paula White:
150 faith leaders were invited to be with @realDonaldTrump last night as he addressed the country. As we left the WH, marxist, leftists, “Wanna be Che Guevara’s” bullies threatened everyone – women, elderly, no limits! Vulgar! In our face, harassment! NO MORE! Stand up- ENOUGH
Ralph Reed saw his “good friend” Jack Abramoff Rudy Giuliani:
Robert Jeffress spent some time at the court today:
And then he talked with Lou Dobbs about it. There is no one “kinder and more gracious” than Donald Trump “and that’s what “makes him such an effective leader”:
67 days to go. I am afraid it is going to get a lot worse.
I don’t think I was watching the same convention as Tony Perkins. (I will, however, say that much of Maximo Alvarez’s speech was moving):
What a contrast between last week’s bash America fest and this week’s celebration of freedom. Maximo Alvarez could not be more accurate. This election will decide our fate — freedom or oppression.
Court evangelical journalist David Brody has some interesting things to say:
Correct me if I’m wrong but did @CNN and @MSNBC cut away to do fact checks during the #DemocraticNationalConvention ? Trust me, there was plenty to fact check last week. Their liberal bias is sickening. What ever happened to true equal time? @JoeBiden@realDonaldTrump
This tweet seems to suggest that the Democrats need to be fact-checked to the same degree as Trump. The only reason “fact-checking” during political convention has become popular is because Trump lies so much. There is no moral equivalence here.
Brody is also pushing this piece from The Spectator:
Will @realDonaldTrump win in a landslide? A political scientist who predicted 5 out of last 6 elections correctly, says Trump will win a 362-176 Electoral College landslide in November. Read more. https://t.co/PhmNdnxt5D
But let’s admit that both Haley and Scott are among the few pro-Trump speakers who hold the president at arms length. They both have political ambitions.
Brody also seemed to like this line from Matt Gaetz:
I am not sure what to make of the following tweet. One could argue that Fox’s decision to keep Tucker on air during the convention may have been MORE helpful to the Trump cause:
