True to their roots, Christianity Today attacks Trump
Christianity Today (CT), the mouthpiece for watered-down Christianity, has attacked President Trump, demanding he be removed from office. The editor, Mark Galli, suggested the president’s immorality, lying, and other egregious actions demand removal especially for those who have “loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.” Moreover, he declared if Trump supporters continue their support, then they “are not being loyal to the Creator.” That is arrogant, asinine, and audacious nonsense! It is also balderdash and a generous slice of baloney.
It is surprising that the editor, in writing that statement, did not drown in his own gall since CT has never taken an historic stand for biblical inerrancy. That is one of the main reasons the CT crowd, known as loosey-goosey Evangelicals, split away from orthodox Christianity. In doing so, they jumped into bed and snuggled up to almost anyone with a divinity degree and a silver cross. Truth, since it often stings, doesn’t matter to them.
I suggest that Galli be fired before he retires; however, CT is known for being spineless and for decades has been known for not having strong opinions about anything -- except an undisguised loathing for biblical Christianity and now Trump.
That’s how they can live with the Democrats’ fabricated, flawed, even false impeachment pitch that would make former honest Democrats blanch with horror.
According to Franklin Graham, his daddy, who gave the first $10,000 to start CT, repudiated the magazine many years ago. Franklin also revealed that his dad voted for Trump.
The editor declared, “There was an unambiguous, clear, and single instance in which the President of the United States used his power to try to coerce a head of state to harass one of his political opponents.” Well, it may be unambiguous to him but to most Americans, Trump was trying to make sure that political corruption was being handled as he is required to do before foreign aid is dispersed.
The loosey-goosey approach to the Bible has enabled CT to defend and promote a vast assortment of left wingers while it excoriates Trump. Such inconsistencies, normal for the magazine, even permitted their defense of Karl Barth. Barth’s doctrine and lifestyle cannot be defended by any thinking, principled person. Barth was a Marxist, rejected capitalism, and brought his mistress into his home with his wife and children! He rejected inerrancy as does CT and was a Universalist according to other famous theologians -- Brunner, Balthasar, and Berkouwer.
CT is far more comfortable with Barth the Marxist than Boys the Biblicist!
CT has the ink and paper and missionary zeal to criticize Trump (and of course, there is much to criticize) but they are not as uncomfortable as a dog in hot ashes when they praise a theological jerk like Karl Barth. Someone’s not thinking straight, or someone doesn’t care about balance and truth.
But CT has plenty of ink and paper to demand the President, chosen by 63 million Americans, be removed from office.
Moreover, what does that say about the 63 million people who voted for him and the 75 million who plan to vote for him in 2020?
CT’s history of condescending false intellectualism is pitiful, nauseating, and embarrassing. The magazine has been progressively leaning left since its founding by Billy Graham and some lifetime Fundamentalists who were ashamed of their heritage and had insatiable desires for acceptance and respectability in the religious world.
CT’s founders did not agree with the Apostle Paul’s command to “come out from among them” because they wanted to stay in their corrupt denominations and maintain their perks, power, and positions. After all, they reasoned, one can carry personal and doctrinal purity just so far. They also did not want to pay the price of being shunned, slandered, and sacked by their churches. Many religious leaders had moved up in this world and enjoyed the good life. So, they had to be careful about whom they antagonized. Same is true today. One must be practical, you know.
CT is careful not to alienate the intellectual left and they accuse those who do of being attack dogs while the CT writers have been lap dogs from their first issue. Real Christian leaders are supposed to be watch dogs. After all, there are still wolves out there who are seeking to destroy the flock. CT editors have been dumb dogs of Isaiah (that's one D.D. I don't want) who refuse to bark when the flock is in danger.
The magazine’s editors and writers are not totally uninformed. They are aware that Christian leaders are required to “contend for the faith,” standing upon the inspired, infallible, inerrant, and indispensable Word of God. Historically this has required Christian leaders to “rebuke,” “mark,” and “avoid” those who reject biblical truth but doing so according to Ephesians 4:15: “Speaking the truth in love.” It requires another action since they must “come out from among them.”
However, the CT crowd does not want to make the tough decision to take a stand against the very liberal religious crowd to whom they have pandered for decades.
The very loose CT crowd wants to present a soft, sophisticated, and scholarly persona to the world and that’s why they broke away from traditional orthodox Christians whom they perceived were not sensitive (enough) to social justice, ecumenism, climate change, etc. There is concern on the part of Evangelicals that Bible believers are not cognizant, concerned, or committed to social problems; however, astute Christians know that their main message is Christ and His death and resurrection. They remembered the debacle in the 1920s when the social gospel was preached and it destroyed leading denominations; therefore, concerned Christians wanted to steer away from that deadly mistake.
Christianity Today is more dedicated to “love” than truth which is the main reason they don’t have convictions and they can run with the hare and hunt with the hound. They seek peace at all costs and with that attitude, truth is always the casualty. Consequently, CT devotees are fearful of strong personalities who know what they believe. Christians, according to the philosophy of CT, must never be perceived as definitive, strong, determined, confrontational -- hence their hatred of these qualities even in Trump. Evangelicals speak and write about civility and usually practice it with unbelievers and fellow Evangelicals, but often are most unkind, unfair, and uncivil when dealing with Fundamentalists. After all, tolerance only goes so far!
Weak Evangelicals have proved to be what astute people knew they always were: a hodgepodge of theological lightweights (with a few heavyweights), philosophical weaklings, and devotees of political correctness.
Compromising religious leaders said that they would remain in corrupt denominations and fight for truth; well, they stayed in, but they refused to fight. New Evangelicals are lovers, not fighters, and they don’t understand that principled people love truth enough to fight for it. Most Evangelical leaders will not fight unbelief and corruption, but they gladly fight committed Christians over anything -- even their support of Trump! As a Christian virtue, love is greater than faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13), but it is not greater than truth!
Long ago, Evangelicals at Christianity Today digressed, departed, and deserted biblical Christianity and with this unfair, untrue, and unprovoked attack on President Trump they have also deserted common sense when he has done more for unborn babies, a strong judiciary, and a strong economy than any other president.
Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send request toDBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.