Dear White Evangelicals…
Another ‘Dear White Evangelicals’ Letter
I’ve been holding onto this for a while.
I don’t want to do anything to add to the already suffocating us vs. them-ism in America right now. It’s toxic. It’s painful. We have to find a way to walk in each other’s shoes and ignore the angry voices telling us the other side wants to rip the nation apart. This is not a competition, it’s a society. We all win or lose together.
But, I am also on the verge of exploding with what I consider righteous anger.
I need to speak my mind, or publish my mind, in some way, even if no one reads it, before the vote in a few days when there will be all new things to feel righteous anger about and the time for these thoughts will be past.
I usually err on the side of holding things in, but I need to get this out.
So, without further ado…
White Evangelicals, you are the reason I am not voting with you.
Everything you taught me to believe and every way you taught me to behave leads me to do exactly the opposite of what you are doing.
And what is it you are doing?
“White evangelical approval of Trump slips, but eight-in-ten say they would vote for him.”
— Pew Research, July 2020
Can you help me understand this? It is a question that has caused me no end of confusion these past four years. Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind over it.
How can 80% of white evangelicals — the same group of people I grew up listening to and learning from and modeling my life after— still support Donald Trump, condone his presidency, and desire his reelection?
Do you know why I am not voting for Donald Trump? Why I didn’t vote for him last time?
Of course a big part of it is because the America I want to live in and want my children to grow up in is so different than the one he envisions and preaches.
But the reason I really, truly could never vote for Donald Trump, even more than his vision for America, is you — Evangelical Christians.
You taught me to be honest. You taught me to be kind. You taught me to make peace with people and between people. You taught me to have integrity.
You taught me to work hard, to not take what isn’t mine, to be fair.
You taught me to be selfless, to share, to give generously, to show love equally to people who are like me and to people who are nothing like me, to try and understand how other people feel, to love my enemies and do good to those who mistreat me.
You taught me to be humble, to help others more than myself, to treat others the way I want to be treated, to speak up against other people being wronged or teased or harassed or mistreated.
You taught me to seek God above all else, to keep money and wealth and material things in their rightful place, well below God, below family, below my values and beliefs, below other people’s good, below doing the right thing.
You taught me that America is where we live, but it’s not where we belong. It’s not our true home. You taught me patriotism is fine and good, but it is not holy, and it should be kept well below God and his kingdom and everything that kingdom stands for.
Donald Trump represents the exact opposite of all of that.
If those beliefs you taught me represent Christ, then I would not hesitate to say that the president is an antichrist. (Not the antichrist, but the embodiment of the spirit of anti-christ in the world.) All that opposes the Kingdom of Jesus, wrapped up and reflected in one person’s values, words, attitudes, and behaviors.
Yet, not only did you vote for him, but it seems like after everything he’s done in office in the last four years, you still support him.
All the things you taught me growing up, or encouraged me to learn at church and school and from the rich history of our Judeo-Christian faith — all of it seems to have been completely disposable.
What you are showing me is the ends justify the means.
Doesn’t matter how we achieve our American Evangelical Christian agenda, or who gets us there, so long as we get there. By any means necessary.
I don’t get it.
Would you want someone without principles or integrity to lead your church? To lead your children’s or grandchildren’s school? To be your boss? If not then why is it okay to elect a person like that as leader of the free world?
Was there something I missed in all those lessons you wanted me to learn?
Like, it’s important for me to carry all those values you instilled, but I shouldn’t expect my leaders to be that way or hold them accountable when they are not? If that’s the case, why didn’t you say it — loudly and often?
I don’t get it.
What am I missing?
These three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
That’s what you taught me.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Those were the things you taught me were most important to pursue in my own life, and to look for in other people.
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
That’s how you taught me to live and speak and think.
What am I missing?
When asked what his favorite Bible verses are, the president said it was personal and private and tried to change the subject. With an opportunity to inspire and encourage and challenge the nation, he said his favorite Bible verses are too private to share. (And then later ‘an eye for an eye’ was his top pick?)
Does that make sense to you?
What am I missing?
Evangelicals were the torchbearers for honesty, integrity, strong families, and kindness toward strangers. Why would anyone believe that now?
When your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews ask you one day who you voted for in the 2016 and 2020 elections, I hope you have better answers for them than you have had for me.
