{"id":3334,"date":"2016-09-30T07:24:05","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T12:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/?p=3334"},"modified":"2016-09-30T07:24:05","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T12:24:05","slug":"recommended-reading-washington-post-essay-by-christian-conservative-erick-erickson-re-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/2016\/09\/recommended-reading-washington-post-essay-by-christian-conservative-erick-erickson-re-donald-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Recommended Reading: Washington Post<\/em> Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump<\/p>\n

The essay appeared in my local newspaper Friday, September 30 and was given the headline \u201cWhy One Celebrated Conservative Christian Won\u2019t Vote for Trump: Victory Would Imperil Christianity in US.\u201d I\u2019m sure you can find the essay and read it if you are adept at using a search engine.<\/p>\n

The local newspaper says that \u201cErick Erickson is one of America\u2019s foremost conservative activists.\u201d He is, by his own admission, a \u201cconservative Christian\u201d and he interacts critically with conservative evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem who, apparently, supports Trump for president.<\/p>\n

While Erickson clearly has no love for Clinton or her party or their policies, his argument against Christians voting for Trump is equally strong. He ends the long essay by saying \u201cI am without a candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my own (or those of the guest writer); I do not speak for any other person, group or organization; nor do I imply that the opinions expressed here reflect those of any other person, group or organization unless I say so specifically. Before commenting read the entire post and the \u201cNote to commenters\u201d at its end.*<\/em><\/p>\n

Although I am not part of the so-called \u201cconservative Christian movement\u201d\u2014insofar as that refers to what used to be known as the \u201cReligious Right\u201d\u2014I feel much the same as Erickson about this election. But I have felt that way about many presidential (and other) elections during my adult (voting) lifetime. I have often found myself voting for a third party candidate (e.g., John Anderson years ago).<\/p>\n

So what reasons does Erickson give for urging conservative Christians (his constituency) not to vote for Trump? According to him Trump\u2019s campaign is \u201cun-American.\u201d Here is a brief excerpt that I hope will whet your appetite to read the essay:<\/p>\n

Speaking to and about American Christians Erickson says \u201cWe harm our witness by embracing the immoral, unrepentant strong man. We harm our American virtue by buying into the idea that one man can make America great again. \u2026 I think Donald Trump will do lasting damage to the Church in America and I therefore cannot vote for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the essay, if you can, please.<\/p>\n

*Note to commenters:<\/em> This blog is not a discussion board; please respond with a question or comment solely to me. If you do not share my evangelical Christian perspective (very broadly defined), feel free to ask a question for clarification, but know that this is not a space for debating incommensurate perspectives\/worldviews. In any case, know that there is no guarantee that your question or comment will be posted by the moderator or answered by the writer. If you hope for your question or comment to appear here and be answered or responded to, make sure it is civil, respectful, and \u201con topic.\u201d Do not comment if you have not read the entire post and do not misrepresent what it says. Keep any comment (including questions) to minimal length; do not post essays, sermons or testimonies here. Do not post links to internet sites here. This is a space for expressions of the blogger\u2019s (or guest writers\u2019) opinions and constructive dialogue among evangelical Christians (very broadly defined).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump The essay appeared in my local newspaper Friday, September 30 and was given the headline \u201cWhy One Celebrated Conservative Christian Won\u2019t Vote for Trump: Victory Would Imperil Christianity in US.\u201d I\u2019m sure you can find the essay and read it if you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRecommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump The essay appeared in my local newspaper Friday,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recommended Reading: Washington Post Essay by Christian Conservative Erick Erickson Re: Donald Trump The essay appeared in my local newspaper Friday,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/2016\/09\/recommended-reading-washington-post-essay-by-christian-conservative-erick-erickson-re-donald-trump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Roger E. 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