This is not the partisan dilemma it’s often presented as. The poor have suffered most from the destruction of family norms and public morality, much of it actively pushed by the left.
It’s easy for Christians in high-social-capital communities to focus on material issues. 1/4
But the material-focused War on Poverty has accomplished little, while the cultural liberation mainstreamed in the 60s has done great harm, especially to those with less social or economic margin.
Even if you exclude abortion, you cannot claim to care about the poor... 2/4
...and ignore the crusade against social and family norms (abortion access reflects only a part) now almost universally supported by the left.
You can debate the best ways to restore norms, but you cannot deny the active harm of the left’s sexual and cultural agenda. 3/4
This sexual and cultural agenda is particularly harmful to the poor, who are less able to insulate themselves from it (with private schools, strong families, etc.) or to afford its consequences. Anyone who cares about our country—and about the poor—should reject this agenda. 4/4
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Christians: we agree slavery is bad, but in seeking the power to limit it, you have destroyed your Christian witness by embracing a politician who shows no sign of Christian faith, tears apart our country, tramples our constitutional rights, and threatens war on his opponents.
Whatever our personal views, we are a democracy and the principle of popular sovereignty is central to our move of government. If we want to stop the expansion of slavery in the territories, the only legitimate way to do so is by winning the hearts and minds of the people there.
Any attempt to impose our views through raw political power—to trample on the process by which states have made their laws since the foundation of our republic—will only discredit our cause and drive honorable people away from us and even away from the Christian faith.
One wonders if many Christian influencers have any true political convictions.
By seeing support for Trump as only a bargain for power, they fail to recognize that many Christians believe politics really matter. 2/5
Many Christians recognize that grave injustices exist today, and that real evils threaten our society. They believe the establishment path will not stop this, but the Trump-led turn may change our course and protect America’s promise to people of all backgrounds. 3/5
David French relentlessly urges Christians to shrink from practical political engagement. Focusing on the flaws and contradictions inevitable in any politician or party, he pushes us to avoid party politics.
Whatever his intent, his impact is to reduce Christian influence. 1/7
Echoing @timkellernyc, he glosses over sharp differences with asides like “(Never mind that their ranks are also full of millions of Christian believers.)”
The same was true of the WWII battle lines. Would French have called for Christians to “remain homeless” in that fight? 2/7
When someone is so committed to undermining practical political engagement—rather than simply reminding us of our ultimate loyalty to Christ—it’s worth considering whose interests he is advancing. 3/7
There is a certain type of Christian leader who recognizes that Western civilization and American culture have produced a government and society particularly conducive to human flourishing, yet out of guilt for the past failures of this culture ...
(including failures of the white American church), he wants to see this culture taken down a notch. He wraps his appeals in the language of humility, but is actually seeking to abdicate the responsibility of cultural and political influence. ...
He wishes this knowing full well that any successor regime would likely be worse—not only for us but for the very groups he's claiming we must make amends to—because such a successor would abandon much of what has made our government and society so appealing. ...