7 Reasons Why White Evangelicals Support Trump

7 Reasons Why White Evangelicals Support Trump July 30, 2016

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7 Reasons Why White Evangelicals Support Trump

James Dobson. Richard Land. Jerry Falwell, Jr. And now Wayne Grudem. These luminaries of the evangelical world have publicly voiced their endorsement of Donald Trump, a presidential candidate with a long public history of adultery, vulgarity, political opposition to Christian social teachings, and even an unsteady track record when it comes to the GOP’s usual policies with regard to economics and foreign policy. The Christian blogosphere has been filled with shock and dismay to see such prominent leaders in ministry support such a figure. And these leaders are not alone. Many white evangelicals in the pew seem to have resolved to vote for Mr. Trump as well.

Although elections are important to me, I’ve been more fascinated by the pastoral implications of this trend of Trump support as well as the angry failure or refusal to understand how an evangelical could support Trump in the coming election. Both sides seem mystified by the other. As far as I’m concerned, Matthew Lee Anderson is right in his condemnations of Trump et al. But as someone who condemns Trump’s policies and character, I’d like to make an effort to help my fellow Trump-declaimers to better understand their Trump-affirming brethren. A lot of Trump support comes from “flyover” country and from the older generations. Interestingly, I think many young seminarians and pastors have been poorly equipped to minister to such demographics. So much of the popular literature on church growth and pastoral care are oriented to locales such as New York, LA, or DC and to Generations X and Y. But those aren’t the only places the Church has been called to serve. Maybe, if we make the effort to understand an evangelical Trump supporter, we can avoid tone-deafness and be better ministers to our fellow believers.

So, without further ado, let’s see why I think white evangelicals are pulling for Trump.


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