Liberty University

Your daily coverage of the court evangelicals still in denial

/ johnfea

As we enter the final days of Trump, let’s see how his evangelical water-carriers are doing:

Jenna Ellis loves Donald Trump. It seems like she is hoping Trump takes her with him after he leaves office. If Trump’s presidency is just a big episode of “The Apprentice,” Ellis is one of the candidates vying for a place of employment in the Trump Inc. Perhaps she can be the new Amarosa. If this happens, will she need to quit her position as a spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center?

This is not really something to brag about:

Liberty University’s Falkirk Center founder Charlie Kirk has never met a pro-Trump conspiracy theory he didn’t like:

Lance Wallnau is ready to fight a spiritual battle (and sell some books). From his Facebook page:

We are facing a different kind of American storm, an ideologic storm empowered by hell and intent on redefining who we are as a nation. Our internal divisions are increasingly fed and inflamed by foreign governments, such as the EU, globalists, and China. Under the clever disguise of noble-sounding causes, well-funded activist organizations spread confusion and feed societal fragmentation as they lay siege to our minds, our cities, and our nation’s soul. They will not stop until all the political and judicial levers of power are in their hands.Don’t go into the battle of spiritual warfare without being properly equipped. Let me walk you through the Bible and what’s happening in America right now. Request your copy of God’s Chaos Code at GodsChaosCode.com

Court evangelical journalist David Brody is interviewing Diamond and Silk:

And he is taking a shot at Wolf Blitzer:

And he mocks John Kerry, Al Gore, and climate change:

Eric Metaxas is not giving up:

Today on his show Eric Metaxas has a tech-guy from Denver telling a story about how “a security genius at the Dominion Voting Machines who promised Antifa members a Trump loss.” Every say Metaxas solidifies his reputation as a full-blown conspiracy theorist. It is also disgusting to watch him spiritualize the voter fraud conspiracy.

One of Trump’s most vocal court evangelicals, Robert Jeffress, has not said a thing about the election in weeks.

There are still court evangelicals who think the election was rigged

/ johnfea

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:

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.

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:

The Falkirk Center at Liberty University is still on board with voter fraud:

And loyalty to Trump?

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.

Garlow also posted this on his FB page:

SENT TO ME BY A FRIEND:

Dear Employees:

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:

  1. “If you don’t care about election fraud your head in the sand”
  2. He rips Fox News for suggesting there was no fraud in Pennsylvania.
  3. Metaxas says he wants his program to be a place where people can get news that is “hopeful” and “true.”
  4. 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.”
  5. 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.”
  6. 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.
  7. 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.”

Gary Bauer:

Is Paula tweeting at Trump?:

The court evangelicals are now linked to yet another “national embarrassment”

/ johnfea

Trump and his crack legal team are still claiming election fraud. On Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote, “One might expect that when seeking a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption…that’s not what happened.” Brann dismissed the case with prejudice. This means that the Trump campaign cannot resubmit the case. Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey called Brann “a longtime conservative Republican whom I know to be a fair and unbiased jurist.”

Trump adviser and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie called Trump’s legal team, which includes Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and former Colorado Christian University professor and current Liberty University spokesperson Jenna Ellis, a “national embarrassment.

Trump still refuses to admit defeat and is not cooperating with Joe Biden on a peaceful transition of power. Most sitting GOP members of Congress are unwilling to admit that Trump lost the election and refuse to call Joe Biden “president-elect.” A national embarrassment indeed.

The court evangelicals are another group of Trump supporters clinging to hopes of an election reversal. While a few of Trump’s evangelical advisers have gone silent, a few are still praying for a miracle. Let’s check in on them:

Jack Graham is still not sure “truth” and “transparency” has prevailed:

Interesting:

I think we all understand Paula:

Eric Metaxas is still holding “election integrity” prayer meetings. He held one last night. James Dobson was involved. So is Jim Garlow:

Metaxas is also promoting this Newsmax video. On Parler, Metaxas promoted a video in which Alan Dershowitz predicts Trump will win the aforementioned Pennsylvania case.

A tweeter mocked Biden’s stutter. Court evangelical journalist David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) retweeted him:

Liberty University spokesperson Charlie Kirk is still fighting the “good” fight:

Lance Wallnau:

Liberty University’s Falkirk Center believes we are in a spiritual battle:

Jonathan Falwell’s says if Liberty ever “goes liberal” he will “light the match” that burns the school to the ground.

Court evangelical Eric Metaxas compares his fight against voter fraud to the courage one needs to stop a heavily-armed man who is trying to murder his child

/ johnfea

The election was seventeen days ago. A lot of Donald Trump’s court evangelicals are moving on to other things. Ralph Reed, for example, is now focused on the upcoming Georgia senate run-offs. Robert Jeffress is upset about COVID-19 restrictions.

But others are doubling-down on voter fraud conspiracy theories.

Eric Metaxas, radio host and spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, had Lance Wallnau on his show today to talk about “the prophetic.” Wallnau, who was recently selling “King Cyrus coins” on the Jim Bakker Show, is hawking his new book. He claims that God told him that there would be problems with mail-in balloting and he reads a passage from his book to prove it. The book was published in October 2020 and Wallnau claims that God spoke to him about this in September 2020. Of course the narrative of possible election controversy due to mail-in balloting was all over the news for most of the summer of 2020. Anyone reading the news could have made such a “prophecy.”

Metaxas believes that the “voter fraud” against Trump is “Satanic” and “wicked.” He wants to “die fighting” against voter fraud. Then Metaxas compares his fight against voter fraud to the courage one needs to stop a heavily-armed man who is trying to rape or murder his child. Wallnau then re-ups on his prophecy that Trump will win this election. Metaxas agrees.

Watch:

In other court evangelical news:

Here is Liberty University Falkirk Center spokesperson Sebastian Gorka:

Liberty University’s Falkirk Center spokesperson and Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis on Mitt Romney:

Liberty University Falkirk Center spokesperson Charlie Kirk wants more rallies. As I wrote earlier this week, we are seeing a new Lost Cause.

Lance Wallnau is still pushing the “Trump as King Cyrus” narrative:

Christians are not supposed to hate, but they hate the Clintons. Here is court evangelical journalist David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network:

Tony Perkins still believes the election has yet to be decided.

Jack Graham also believes the election has yet to be decided:

Conservative evangelicals and Catholics are holding a “Jericho marches” in capitol cities every day until the Electoral College votes in December. Pro-Trumpers will march seven times around the city and pray, and expect God to give Trump a victory in the same way He gave the Israelites a victory over the pagan city of Jericho. Will they blow horns?

What are the court evangelicals saying today?

/ johnfea

Election Day 2020 was fifteen days ago. Let’s see how the court evangelicals are processing it.

Eric Metaxas is calling people to “get involved to save the republic.” (Some might say the republic was saved on November 3, 2020). He claims that election integrity is a “bipartisan issue.” Metaxas assumes that there was election fraud and then tells his followers that if they don’t write letters to state legislators they are contributing to the collapse of American democracy. Actually, American democracy worked just fine. In fact, Chris Krebs, the Director of Homeland Security, said that this was the most secure election in American history. And then Trump fired him.

Tony Perkins, Michelle Bachmann, and Metaxas are still praying for a Trump victory:

It looks like Robert Jeffress has something in common with Joe Biden:

Court evangelical journalist David Brody and fellow evangelical journalist Cal Thomas are pushing the election fraud narrative:

Charlie Kirk of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center continues to rant. Expect him to do the same thing in the coming weeks at an evangelical megachurch near you.

“We are juggling pitchers of ‘Marxaritas”:

The Falkirk Center at Liberty University is leading a revival of American fundamentalism. This kind of black and white thinking is at the heart of fundamentalism. It is all about stoking division in the name of God and Christian nationalism. It makes no effort at finding common ground.

Here is Lance Wallnau:

I believe God’s Chaos Code will be a constantly referenced and updated between 2020–2030 when nations align, Cyrus rulers emerge, and statesmen evangelists take their place. Those who understand the times will be wise and “those that know their God will be strong and shall do exploits!”

Some court evangelicals are still on board the sinking ship

/ johnfea

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”:

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).

Is Tony Perkins sending a message to evangelical Biden voters?:

Gary Bauer actually believes there were 1 million Trump supporters in Washington D.C. this weekend:

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:

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:

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.

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.

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.

It is pretty hard to hear a court evangelical like Falkirk Center spokesperson Jenna Ellis talk about “truth.” (And in all caps nonetheless!)

And this:

Ellis also tweeted this.

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.

Let’s see how the court evangelicals are handling Trump’s loss

/ johnfea

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:

Jack Graham is holding out hope:

Back in 2016, Graham was pretty certain about God’s will in the election. Why wait when God has spoken?:

Is Paula White giving advice to the nation here?:

Gary Bauer is going down with the ship:

Robert Jeffress seems to be moving on. He is now talking about religious liberty and a recent speech by Samuel Alito:

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.

Jim Garlow still sees this election as a “cosmic clash” between “good and evil.”

Jack Hibbs is demanding a recount in California:

Lance Wallnau is hoping and praying for a Trump victory:

He is also hosting a Facebook show called “The plot to steal the presidency.”

Wallnau is also a fan of patriotic education. He sees it as a “mental health” issue:

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:

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.

Here is your Thursday morning court evangelical update

/ johnfea

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:

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 of American 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?

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:

Gary Bauer is fighting the good fight as he sees it. He apparently has some disagreements with Twitter about Trump’s recent tweet.

Tony Perkins is still sowing seeds of doubt among his followers:

I am not sure Trump is doing much “leading” right now.

Are some of the court evangelicals coming around to a Trump loss?

/ johnfea

Not really.

Here is the latest from the court evangelicals.

First, let’s acknowledge the death of Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. RIP. I am sure he had a very fruitful ministry and touched many lives with the good news of the Gospel.

As we wrote about this past weekend, Robert Jeffress has admitted defeat. Or has he?

Kenneth Copeland is laughing.

Franklin Graham is looking to the Georgia Senate run-off on January 5, 2012:

After years of pro-Trump rhetoric, including references to his opponents as agents of evil, James Robison wants to find common ground:

Jack Graham seems to suggest he is ready to accept a Biden win:

But he’s still ready for a fight:

Is this a political tweet from Paula White?

Tony Perkins is still on the “election fraud” bandwagon

Biden shouldn’t rely on Gary Bauer to help heal the country:

Ralph Reed says it’s not over:

Jim Garlow is still doing election fraud prayer meetings:

As expected, Charlie Kirk of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center is all-in on the “massive fraud” narrative:

Even Fox News is refusing to air Trump’s claim of voter fraud. Jenna Ellis of the Falkirk Center does not like it.

It looks like the Falkirk Center is confused about the distinctions between fascism and liberalism:

But hey, Liberty football beat Virginia Tech! :-):

Some early court evangelical responses to the Joe Biden victory

/ johnfea

Most of the court evangelicals are pretty silent today. They may be wondering if Trump will ever invite them back to the court. I am sure they are lamenting their loss of power.

Eric Metaxas blocked me on Twitter years ago, but Brent Epling captured this tweet:

Metaxas can make a lot of money and garners a lot of attention by merely staying within the bubble of Trumpism. He’s no longer interested in the project of engaging w/ anyone outside this bubble. I think he WAS interested in this project at one point, but no more. Why engage a broader public when playing to the base alone brings earthly rewards?

Metaxas and Paula White are hoping and praying for another 1948:

I’m not sure what Paula White means by this tweet, but it is interesting:

Court evangelical Tony Perkins retweeted Alt-right Breitbart News. He is right about “hit lists,” but that is not what is happening here. I think he really believes that Democrats are going to try to “eradicate” Trump supporters. Yes, the fearmongering continues.

Franklin Graham calls for unity:

James Robison’s 15-minute video captures the entire court evangelical phenomenon I have written-about in the past four years.

Even if court evangelical journalist Brody is right about CNN, this doesn’t explain Fox News:

Brody has a “serious question”:

Jenna Ellis, a spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, tweeted this last night after Biden’s short speech. Liberty University recently canceled evangelical pastor John Piper, but they allow this. Christian politics at its “best.”

The Liberty University Falkirk Center is going all-in on the fraud narrative:

Friday morning court evangelical check-in

/ johnfea

Jack Graham sends a subtle pro-Trump message using Psalm 68:

And this:

Not sure what this means, but I think it has something to do with the election:

The part about Biden getting few evangelical votes than Hillary Clinton odes not match-up with some of the best research available right now. Johnnie Moore sees what he wants to see:

David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network is all in on the fraud narrative:

Jenna Ellis, a court evangelical lawyer and spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, is invoking Old Testament verses about “battles”:

Tony Perkins is focusing on Congress.

Eric Metaxas is sharing this Mike Huckabee video titled “The Art of the Steal”:

Hers is what Metaxas tweeted last night. He clearly believes that the Democrats planned a coup.

@ericmetaxas TWEET There are so many witnesses to voter fraud it’s now clear the Dems planned this. But who did that planning? When Trump is finally reelected– & he will be –he must see these traitors punished to the fullest extent of the law. Anything less is itself treasonous. God help America.

David Barton and his Wallbuilders gang is fraud and corruption.

Lance Wallnau prophesied election fraud.

Biden wins Lynchburg, Virginia, the home of Liberty University

/ johnfea

It is the first time since 1948 that a Republican candidate did not win the Virginia city. In that election, Lynchburg went 767 for Harry Truman, 338 for Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrat) and 287 for Dewey. (Source: Richmond Times, November 3, 1948), p.5).

Here is Newsweek:

The city, which was once described as sitting at “the heart of pro-Trump evangelical Christianity,” by the New York Times, has a long history of voting Republican, until now.

In the 2020 election, Lynchburg City, which has a population of around 80,000, voted Democrat with 48 percent of the vote going to Joe Biden, and 46 percent of the city’s vote going to Trump, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. The race was close, however, with Biden winning the majority by 750 votes.

Read the entire piece here.

The court evangelical post -election narrative is emerging. It’s all about voter fraud

/ johnfea

Here is what it looks like so far:

It begins, of course, with Donald Trump, the source of all knowledge and truth:

Here is Franklin:

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?:

Charlie Kirk doesn’t understand that some votes are always counted after election day:

Twitter flagged several of Kirk’s tweets in the last few hours.

James Robison is turning “the battle” over to God:

Paula White has bought the Trump narrative:

I think Gary Bauer may have tweeted too soon:

Jim Garlow is holding a 3pm prayer meeting “AGAINST CAMPAIGN FRAUD.” You can watch it on ZOOM

Liberty University removes John Piper’s convocation address from all its social media sites

/ johnfea

On October 21, 2020, evangelical pastor John Piper spoke to students at Liberty University. The following day he published a piece condemning Donald Trump (without mentioning his name). In that piece he said he was “baffled” that so many Christians support the president.

Pro-Trump evangelicals responded to Piper’s post with outrage. I chronicled some of that outrage here. One court evangelical, 27-year-old Charlie Kirk, called Piper a “fool.” Some of you may recall that Kirk is the co-founder of the Falkirk Center, the pro-Trump culture-war wing of Liberty University.

It thus makes perfect sense that Liberty University refuses to share Piper’s convocation appearance with Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear.

Kate Shellnut of Christianity Today has it covered. Here is a taste of her piece:

Two videos of a discussion with Piper and Southern Baptist Convention president J. D. Greear were removed from Liberty’s social media and its convocation page at the direction of interim president Jerry Prevo. Prevo cited negative feedback and the controversy surrounding Piper’s article, Lamb said.

The now-pulled convocation session was not politically themed. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Piper’s famous sermon “Don’t Waste Your Life” (also known as the seashells message). He teamed up with Greear, whose new book asks What Are You Going to Do With Your Life?, to challenge a new generation with a message about living faithful and missional lives.

The pair recorded the session with pastor David Nasser, the senior vice president for spiritual development at Liberty, on October 12. The two-part discussion aired October 21 and 23.

Comments on Facebook posts promoting the Piper-Greear convocation appeared to be directed at both speakers. One Trump supporter called out “Calvinist heresy!” while several commenters decried “wokeness” and a “social justice agenda.”

Lamb said the feedback over Piper was “a controversy we did not seek out or desire” and came from “both those who would praise us for having him [and] those who would critique us from having him.” He said that it is possible the clips will be restored once the heat of the election season has died down.

Read the rest here.

Don’t expect anything to change at Liberty University under the temporary leadership of Prevo. He is a Jerry Falwell Sr. loyalist and worked for the Trump campaign in 2016.

When you cancel John Piper, it says a lot about the identity of Liberty University. Falwell Jr. may be gone, but little has changed at the school.

Court evangelicals make their final pitch on election day eve

/ johnfea

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:

What does it say that Graham, a religious leader, equates his audience with lovers of the 2nd Amendment?:

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:

Jack Graham:

Paula White tells people to vote for Trump:

BTW, last night White was at an “Amish for Trump” rally in Lancaster, PA:

For Tony Perkins, a “Christian world view” leads one to Donald Trump:

Gary Bauer:

Whose “American Dream,” Charlie?:

Jenna Ellis:

To my knowledge, former Christian college president Everett Piper is not a court evangelical, but he certainly loves Donald Trump. In a Washington Times piece 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.

The court evangelicals are making their final case for Trump

/ johnfea

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:

I am still waiting for the Falkirk Center to explain how our right to bear arms comes from God:

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:

Johnnie Moore, the court evangelical who describes himself as a “modern-day Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is praying for a Trump victory:

Samuel Rodriguez doubles-down on the spiritual warfare theme:

Jim Garlow is still preaching the idea that Trump is “saved” and just needs a little more spiritual growth.

Garlow also believes that progressive and liberals are mentally ill and demonic:

I am not sure what this means, but it seems to make sense to Kenneth Copeland:

I think this is like saying that you are not racist if you a Black friend:

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.

Gary Bauer is engaging in Christian politics:

Yes, Tony. We will all “answer one day”:

I wonder what Paula White really means by this prophecy?:

Cissie Graham is trying to spin Wolf Blitzer:

Al Mohler and Donald Trump have found each other!:

It looks like Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is now taking the position of its president and entering the political fray. Jack Graham loves it:

And let’s not forget Franklin Graham:

More on Jerry Falwell’s suit against Liberty University: He is having a hard time landing a contributor role on cable news

/ johnfea

Last week I posted about Jerry Falwell Jr.’s lawsuit against Liberty University. He believes that Liberty has damaged his reputation.

Today Politico dropped a very long-form piece on Liberty University that not only covers the lawsuit, but includes some additional reporting on Falwell and his wife Becki.

Here is a taste of “‘They All Got Careless’: How Falwell Kept His Grip on Liberty Amid Sexual ‘Games,’ Self-Dealing.” The authors of the article are Maggie Severns, Brandon Ambrosino, and Michael Stratford. Here is a taste:

In late October, Falwell turned on Liberty in a high-profile way, filing a lawsuit claiming that the university’s board had quickly seized on Granda’s story and forced Falwell to resign without an investigation. No board members reached out to ask him if Granda’s story was true, Falwell claimed. After he left Liberty, Falwell said in the complaint, he was defamed multiple times by Liberty, such as in an announcement about the internal investigation that said there had been a “lack of spiritual leadership” at the school.

“Certain key individuals” involved with decision-making at Liberty were “fulfilling a long-held goal” of forcing Falwell out of his family’s university, the complaint also claimed. “These individuals had engaged, or were engaged, in various illegal, unlawful, and immoral or otherwise dubious acts” that, if publicly known, “would unquestionably tarnish the reputation of Liberty University by association.”

The complaint said that because Liberty affirmed Granda, Falwell’s reputation is in tatters, making it difficult to attach his name to a new business and hurting his chances of securing a contributor role on cable news.

Read the entire piece here.

*Inside Higher Education* investigates Liberty University’s Falkirk Center

/ johnfea

Click here for previous posts on the Falkirk Center, the culture war-wing of Liberty University. Rick Seltzer’s recent piece at Inside Higher Education argues that the center’s political advocacy is pushing the boundaries of what is legally acceptable for a private, non-profit, university.

This part of Seltzer’s article is particularly revealing:

Falkirk has run about 50 advertisements on Facebook and Instagram this year that the social media giant marked as being about issues, elections or politics, according to Facebook’s ad library. It’s spent roughly $51,000.

Most of those ads were not about President Trump specifically and did not picture him, although one other ad prominently featured a Republican candidate for a congressional seat from North Carolina and one featured Vice President Mike Pence. Other ads from the center tend to feature conservative personalities or mirror right-wing themes — for example, arguing that churches should be allowed to open during the pandemic, supporting the Second Amendment or arguing that the Black Lives Matter movement is anti-Christian.

Whether any of the advertisements could be interpreted as violating federal rules for nonprofit organizations is murky at best. Experts shown the ads tended to agree that Falkirk is pushing the limit in a few cases without clearly violating it.

But even if the organization isn’t risking its nonprofit status, its advertising tactics are notable for their strong political focus and amplification of culture war talking points.

A Liberty spokesman suggested in an email that it is politicians who are mirroring Christian conservatives’ — and Liberty’s — long-held beliefs, not the other way around.

Notice that this Liberty spokesman essentially admits that the negative, hate-filled tweets emanating from the Falkirk Center represent Liberty’s “long-held beliefs.” If you are unfamiliar with what the Falkirk Center has been spewing this year, read this piece.

Read Seltzer’s entire piece here.

Jerry Falwell Jr. is suing Liberty University for damaging his reputation

/ johnfea

I don’t think it was Liberty that damaged his reputation.

Here is a taste of Justine Coleman’s piece at The Hill:

Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. filed a lawsuit against the school on Wednesday, accusing it of damaging his reputation after being pressured to resign following a series of scandals. 

Falwell, who left his position that he held for 13 years in August, is accusing the evangelical university founded by his father of defamation and breach of contract.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Lynchburg, Va., and obtained by local ABC affiliate WSET, says the university violated “legal, contractual, and moral obligations not to defame” Falwell after he said he saved the university from “financial collapse” and made it “the world’s leading evangelical university.”

A press release issued Thursday by Quinn Emanuel, a firm representing Falwell, said the former Liberty president is claiming that the university “needlessly injured and damaged his reputation through a series of statements.”

Falwell accuses Liberty University of accepting claims from former family friend and business partner Giancarlo Granda that Granda had an affair with Falwell’s wife between 2012 and 2018 and that Falwell would watch.

Read the rest here.

The Liberty University *Falkirk Center” shows its theocratic tendencies

/ johnfea

The Falkirk Center at Liberty University published a very revealing tweet over the weekend:

I

My response:

P.S. They also misspelled Roosevelt and “its” in the second tweet in this screenshot. Both of these tweets were deleted, but several of the good folks on Twitter captured screen shots and passed them along.