David French is a Christian brother and political commentator who writes from a conservative and distinctly evangelical perspective. I don’t always agree with him, but I always respect and appreciate his thoughts. Three days ago, he wrote an article that addresses an alarming and growing development within the church, an issue of which all believers need to be aware. The problem is even broader than what French describes, with some pastors and leaders making pronouncements from evangelical pulpits linking faithfulness to Donald Trump with faithfulness to God, and declaring some kind of Holy War to ensure he stays in power. And rather than dissipating, this idolatry seems to be growing. It is becoming necessary for faithful pastors to speak out against this.

I want to be very clear about this: This article is not about whether or not you voted for Donald Trump. It’s about an idolatrous exalting of a political leader by many within the church. While the current focus is on Donald Trump, what is happening would be just as disturbing if the same focus was on Barack Obama or Ronald Reagan. You could replace the name Donald Trump with George Washington or Abraham Lincoln and this would be just as idolatrous. Whether you support Donald Trump or not, we all need to be very clear that much of what is currently taking place within the church is a perversion and corruption of the church of Jesus Christ. Please prayerfully and thoughtfully read this article:

The Dangerous Idolatry of Christian Trumpism

We can pray peace will prevail, but we’d be fools to presume it will.

David French / Dec 13, 2020

This is a grievous and dangerous time for American Christianity. The frenzy and the fury of the post-election period has laid bare the sheer idolatry and fanaticism of Christian Trumpism.

A significant segment of the Christian public has fallen for conspiracy theories, has mixed nationalism with the Christian gospel, has substituted a bizarre mysticism for reason and evidence, and rages in fear and anger against their political opponents—all in the name of preserving Donald Trump’s power.

As I type this newsletter, I am following along with a D.C. event called the Jericho March. . . .

Finish reading this article here: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-dangerous-idolatry-of-christian?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cta

Because a comment thread would likely devolve into a heated pro-Trump vs. anti-Trump debate (which is not the point of this post), and because I’ve seen the extreme and un-Christ-like comments posted in other places seeking to address these concerns, I’m not going to open up this post for comments. I simply will not provide a platform for those who would spout hateful, nonsensical conspiracy theories without any verifiable factual basis, and who would seek to intimidate and bully those who disagree, and I don’t have the time to adequately respond to a potentially large number of inappropriate and unedifying comments. I’m sorry this will unfairly restrict those who would have engaged in a respectful and gracious manner. If you feel you have something important to say in response to this post, feel free to email me at cparton@orchardefc.org.