Although Billy Graham, who was especially close to Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson and Nixon, once got himself into hot water for politically supporting Richard Nixon, for the most part he seemed to be above partisan politics as he personally ministered to 11 different presidents.
His son Franklin was cut from a different cloth. Franklin used his religious pulpit to advocate the election of Donald Trump.
Franklin Graham hasn’t been the only preacher involved in partisan politics. In the 2016 campaign Jerry Falwell Jr., President of Liberty University and son of the famous preacher and founder of the Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell, endorsed Donald Trump for president. Falwell’s endorsement was so controversial that one of his board members, Mark DeMoss, resigned.
Falwell was the only non-administration official who agreed to speak publicly in defense of the President's Charlottesville comments in which President Trump stated that there were fine people on both sides of the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. When Falwell defended President Trump, hundreds of Liberty alumni mailed back their diplomas in protest. Does anybody, especially the President and Falwell, really give a rat’s behind that people mailed in their diplomas?
Then there was the time that Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson ran for president. That false prophet Robertson even claimed God told him to run and he was going to win. Assorted religious leaders claimed God was on the side of candidates opposing Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, but both of them won.
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are famous for pimping their support to the highest bidder on the Democratic side in exchange for access, contracts and perks.
The National Prayer Breakfast is supposed to be a respite from politics, but the last one was anything but when President Trump brought politics into it by taking shots at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was on the stage with him, and Senator Mitt Romney, who citing his Mormon faith, was the only Republican to vote against his party and join Democrats in voting to impeach Trump.
Upset religious leaders of all faiths and all races came out of the woodwork to criticize the President. These so called religious leaders need to stay out of the political game and both stop both endorsing and vouching for or attacking political candidates. Why? In Jesus’ day Roman emperors were cruel, murderous, incestuous, merciless, tyrannical, pitiless, sexually depraved and savage, but never once in the Bible do you see a story of Jesus or his disciples getting involved in a political campaign. They were totally focused on spreading the Gospel.
Many religious leaders appear to be using their pulpit for access to power and political perks and not their stated mission of expanding God's kingdom. They should use their position to minister to officeholders and more importantly to minister to their flock. They should not be advocates for political parties and candidates.
These religious leaders should be reminded of two things. Firstly, the Apostle Paul's instructions in the Bible and secondly, what George Bernard Shaw said many years ago: I learned long ago, never wrestle with a pig. You'll both get dirty and besides, the pig likes it.
No comments:
Post a Comment