To many of us, being pro-life means abiding by an ethic that goes well beyond opposition to abortion. It’s an ethic committed to protecting the vulnerable, and grounded in the idea that every human deserves dignity, because every human is created in the image of God, including the unborn, Black people, immigrants, the incarcerated and the poor.
The Trump administration showed few signs of recognizing that ethic. Instead, it often demonstrated disregard for human dignity — and an appalling willingness to discard lives not considered politically useful. Trump has maligned undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers as “thugs” and “animals,” and backed up that rhetoric with his ramped-up policy of family separation and detention at the border, leaving thousands of migrant children vulnerable to abuse. He has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault and has unashamedly used demeaning language about women.
Polls suggest that pro-life evangelicals today support Trump even more strongly than during the last presidential election: Eighty-two percent said they would vote for him (compared with the 77 percent who cast ballots for him in 2016), and 64 percent said that he is “somewhat” or “very” religious. The president has frequently claimed to be on the side of God, when in fact what he preaches is a vision of America with himself as savior, a sort of nationalist gospel of his own definition. He has also declared that he “will never stop fighting for Americans of faith” and that under his leadership, “Christianity will have power” — even though our faith does not call upon Christians to seek power. Quite the opposite: We’re called to emulate the love and humility of Jesus’ sacrifice. Unfortunately, by endorsing Trump and defending him at every turn, our movement has placed power ahead of all else. We cannot look to politics and expect to find a savior there.
The church is meant to be known for our unconditional love of others. By supporting Trump, we show only our love of power.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/im-a-pro-life-evangelical-in-supporting-trump-my-movement-sold-its-soul/2020/10/07/04d90712-0733-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html
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