Thread by @sometimesalight

It's Friday & I want to indulge in a little conservative evangelical insider baseball: a 🧵

https://twitter.com/sometimesalight/status/1319395100905164802

How is it that Piper lands where he lands on Election 2020 when MacArthur, Mohler, Grudem, & Wilson don't? In other areas, especially gender debates, he partners w/ these guys & breaking w/ them now has taken folks by surprise.

(To be clear, this thread is nothing more than a fun mental puzzle, observations about conservative evangelicalism. Don't make it more than it is.)

First, I don't think Piper is breaking from other conservative evangelical leaders so much as Election 2020 is revealing underlying differences that have always existed. IOW, when you consider context, governing principles, & guiding values, everyone is acting true to form.

Second, while Piper shares space & cobeligerence w/ likes of MacArthur, Mohler, Grudem, & Wilson, he differs from them in a couple key ways:

Unlike others,

1) Piper is much more global in his thinking (Let the Nations Be Glad)

2) Piper has a particular vision of vocation that ties personhood strongly to role (Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

But most intriguingly,

3) He's a romantic (DESIRING God)

There's obviously enough overlap & points of connection for Piper to work w/ these other names. But these features of Piper's unique perspective means that he's going to write exactly what he wrote yesterday.

Trump as a candidate conflicts w/ his core sensibilities on so many levels: Saving America isn't the goal. Personal character is essential to the job. And despite strict gender roles, the male boor (strong man) =/= male hero (the knight in shining armour).

Also, Piper's *always* been very, very concerned with human affections & the pervasiveness of sin. Some would argue too concerned. But it's that very concern that makes Trump untenable. Affections are as significant to Piper as actions.

Obviously, I could be wrong about these specific observations, but the larger point I'm trying to make is this: People are conservative for a whole host of reasons & the differences between those reasons are important.

I'll leave someone else to parse what that means for those who've come to different conclusions than Piper.

A few additional thoughts I want to boost. Folks have mentioned:

1) Minneapolis context, blue state, downtown as shaping Piper's perspective vs. red contexts

2) His emphasis on God's ultimate sovereignty means that priority shifts away from pursuit of earthly power