The word “evangelical” comes from the Greek word “euanggelion,” meaning “gospel” or “good news.” The purpose of Christians, including myself, and the purpose of the Universal Church of Christ, is to spread the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. This is God’s mission, and we are ministers of God’s mission. However, over the past 2000 years, we Christians have experienced many failures in the work of God’s mission. Some of the major failures in spreading the gospel are committing violence in the name of God or becoming associated with dominant powers in people’s hearts. This began in 313 AD when Emperor Constantine legitimized Christianity. By the end of the century, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. This damaged envoys to Persia, Rome’s archenemy, and caused Persia to become anti-Christian.
Today, for many people in our country, the word “evangelical” has a negative connotation. That’s because people who identify as “evangelicals” are supporting a presidential candidate who clearly does not represent the teachings of Jesus Christ. The man, Donald Trump, is known for lying about winning the last election, when it was shown multiple times that he did not win. He is known for his lack of respect for others, including his opponents and his former supporters, and for using degrading language.
The most dangerous aspect of President Trump’s words is his plan to take revenge on his opponents and centralize power for himself. He is certainly not the kind of person we would want to emulate as leaders of our youth or our nation. It’s very difficult to think of him as someone who represents America to the world. I am familiar with the argument that God chooses imperfect leaders to help His people, such as Cyrus of Persia who freed the Israelites from captivity. This is being used as an excuse to support Donald Trump, who lacks integrity and poses a great danger to American democracy. He shows his love of power by admiring dictators and other supposedly “strong men.”
Christians may vote for whoever they want, but it’s certainly a bad thing that evangelicals are a significant part of Trump’s supporters. He has posed as a defender of Christianity, as many authorities and rulers have done in the past. The association of Christianity with government power has been one of the historical obstacles to the spread of the gospel. In contrast, Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, distanced himself from claiming such powers and did not encourage his followers to seek such powers.
Christians who carry the label “evangelical” have discredited their witness to the world by their association with Donald Trump, who has a strong desire for personal power and a vindictive attitude. This is appealing to some evangelicals who feel disrespected by the modern world, by those in science and higher education, and especially by those considered liberal Christians in the church. They like the fact that Trump takes aggressive stances against elites and people who are considered liberals. Rather, the primary purpose of Christians seeking public office in government is to create and support a government that cares for the less fortunate and marginalized in the country and provides the poor with access to health care and opportunities to improve their lives. That should be the case. . Evangelicals have become known for opposing women’s reproductive rights and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, denying support for health care and other benefits to the poor, and opposing extended care and education for youth. Ta. Regarding the United States and other countries, evangelicals support President Trump’s isolationism, and he opposes his allies’ efforts to preserve democracy.
After all, any message communicated to the world, including that of Christians, whether known as evangelicals or not, must be based on their inherent power to change lives, not on the backing of political power. It won’t. The challenge for us in carrying this message is to demonstrate its true spiritual transformative power in our imperfect and flawed lives and to bring peace to all people, communities, and the world, especially from dire situations. It is about showing that it benefits people who need a lift to a better life. And joy. Our democracy gives all religions and religions the freedom to proclaim and demonstrate their message. The challenge and challenge for every messenger is to make the message truly good news.
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The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Montgomery lives in Black Mountain.