A major evangelical Christian magazine has called for Donald Trump’s removal from office, saying the President has ‘dumbed down the idea of morality’.
Christianity Today, which was founded by Rev. Billy Graham in 1956, shared the shock editorial one day after the Democratic-controlled House voted through two articles against Trump and made him the third president in history to be impeached.
Editor-in-chief Mark Galli aims his letter to those evangelical Christians who continue to support Trump ‘in spite of his blackened moral record.’
Galli acknowledges that Democrats appear to have led a years long crusade against Trump since the 2016 election, but he then implores readers to look at the facts laid bare in front of them.
He wrote: ‘The facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents.
‘That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.’
He continued: ‘We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see.’
He then claims that many aren’t horrified by Trump’s actions are because he has receded the notion of morality in his administration.
‘He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud.’
‘His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused,’ he continued.
The editorial piece then implies that any victories Trump has gained are overshadowed by the ‘moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.’
In an effort to draw parallels between Trump and past impeachments, Galli reminds readers of the moral stance Christianity Today and many evangelical Christians took against former President Bill Clinton, whom they said was ‘morally unable to lead.’
‘Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president,’ Galli wrote.
Finally, Galli implores readers to remember that their actions will have lasting effects that will resound far beyond Trump’s time in office and will continue on after he has left.
‘Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior,’ Galli implores.
‘To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence,’ he continues.
‘And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down.’
This push back by Christianity Today is one of the most public condemnations of Trump by the evangelical media since they have continued to support him since his presidential campaign.
Christianity Today was founded more than six decades ago by Graham, a leader of the modern evangelical movement who counseled multiple past presidents on matters of faith.
Graham was an ordained Southern Baptist minister and considered one of the most influential evangelical figures in modern history.
Rev. Billy Graham’s son, Rev. Frankling Graham, has long been among Trump’s more ardent supporters.
Additionally, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that found 77 percent of white evangelical Protestants approved of the president’s job performance.
Even with Trump’s stronghold on evangelical Christians, his presidency has caused a division among some worshipers.
Many have praised Trump for his Supreme Court justice choices in hopes that they will make anti-abortion rulings among other, more conservative, policy choices.
Others are admonished his comments and his behavior in much the same way that Galli has.
It seems that the latest impeachment vote and the upcoming Senate trial has become another contested debate.
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Source: Daily Mail
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