In a recent blog post, popular pastor John Piper asserts Republicans aren’t morally rigid enough. Tap here to add The Western Journal to your home screen. Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine,” he emphasized. Piper questioned why some Christians seem to be sure they are “saving human lives and freedoms” by ignoring the destructive effects of a “self-absorbed, self-exalting” leader. To begin with, the political system itself is earthly and flawed, with all candidates being far from perfect. And the Lord of heaven will ask. Piper concludes with truisms that Christians will not dispute. Piper bemoaned the “many horrible indignities” that have occurred because Christians failed to realize that “we are more bound together with other believers — no matter their ethnicity or their political alignments or their nationality — than we are to anybody in our own fatherland.”, “In the end, Christ has relativized all human allegiances, all human loves. He notes that the first list of sins is not only deadly in this world but also deadly forever. Yet I differ with his suggestion that Christians might do best by sitting out the presidential election, since a vote for either Trump or Biden cannot be justified. Recently, well-known pastor John Piper wrote an article saying that he probably can't vote for President Trump because he perceives the president to be morally unqualified for the position. Without mentioning Trump by name, Piper said he is “baffled” over the fact that many Christians consider the sins of unrepentant sexual immorality, boastfulness, vulgarity, factiousness, and the like, to be “only toxic for our nation,” while policies that endorse “baby-killing, sex-switching, freedom-limiting, and socialistic overreach are viewed as deadly.”, Piper, who pastored Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis for almost 33 years, reminded Christians that "it is not a small thing to treat lightly a pattern of public behaviors that lead to death.". The only folks who don't see it are most of the Evangelical world.". Your New Year’s Resolution: Write and Publish a Book! This is true to some extent, and it echoes Piper's concerns. "When I consider the remote possibility that I might do any good by endorsing the devastation already evident in the two choices before me, I am loath to undermine my calling (and the church’s mission) to stand for Christ-exalting faith and hope and love," he wrote. But it fails to realize that many of the younger generations were already turned off by our affirmation of biblical values, which includes our rejection of the "pro-choice" position and our opposition to LGBTQ activism. Seventh, I agree with him that, whatever path we take, it must enhance, not detract, from our witness for Jesus. To the contrary, hasn't he expressed regret about some of his past actions? To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. At times like this, my counsel is simple: Be idealistic in terms of living out your own faith as a witness for the Lord. The essence of what he is saying, as I understand it, is that character matters more than anything else in leadership. https://www.wnd.com/2020/10/response-pastor-john-piper-donald-trump Has Trump promoted or practiced sexual immorality since announcing his candidacy? You may opt out at anytime. John Piper suggested in a new piece for his site, Desiring God, that he may not be voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the presidential election. 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John Piper slams Trump in new blog post - The Christian Post John Piper Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org Today we will inaugurate a man to the presidency of the United States who is morally unqualified to be there. He called them His anointed. And does he get credit for keeping his promises and commitments in ways that few presidents in our lifetime have done? Click here to log out. Piper needs to view Donald Trump through the lens of the God of the Bible who valued action over rhetoric. I suppose Piper would not have voted for Cyrus with his harems or Jehu with his idols either, but God had another idea. While some polls have shown the president’s support slipping with white evangelicals, a poll from Pew Research Center taken last month showed that 82% of white evangelicals planned to vote for Trump. But be pragmatic when it comes to casting your vote. “I will not develop some calculus to determine which path of destruction I will support. https://protestia.com/2020/10/23/john-piper-the-never-trumper Second, I deeply share his concern that many American pastors have failed to develop "real, radical Christians," Christians who will be willing to die for Jesus. But a vote for Biden and the Democrats is a vote to empower a party that wants to impose an overtly godless agenda. That is not my duty. While it would be ideal for our presidents to be shining examples of morality and character, very few in our history would live up to that ideal. How, then, can Christians vote for someone who embodies the former sins (such as "unrepentant boastfulness") in the name of fighting against the latter sins (such as abortion)? Here is the point at which people will make different political judgments, because human beings are extremely complex, and therefore an accurate assessment of a person’s character is difficult. “Never feel more attached to your fatherland or your tribe or your family or your ethnicity than you do to the people of Christ,” he wrote. Editor’s Note: After this article was published, John Piper tweeted, “The article we posted today explains why I won’t be voting for Biden or Trump. We can proclaim that JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR and Trump is just our president (with giant font for the former and small font for the latter). Whipping out the ultimate tool in the pastor’s complexifying toolbox, he employs biblical Greek to add authority to his case against Trump and against voting at all. Keeping Christ supreme in our affections makes all our lesser loves better, not worse.”. will know that I have expressed many similar views as well. Dr. Rev. “I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person,” Piper writes. John Piper’s burden is to show that Christian support for Donald Trump is wrong — and dangerous. ", Joe Biden is president – by the sovereign will of God, If we're to be hated, let it be for the right reason, Neither 'Never Trump' nor 'Forever Trump', No, we didn't sell our souls by voting for Trump. I have a massive problem with a self-identified pro-life, pro-Bible Christian voting for Biden and the Democrats. “He points his nation to destruction. If we are concerned for the decay of our culture, why would we hand the country over to the crowd outside of Lot’s house? It is another thing to empower a party that will sanction the killing of the unborn. Piper acknowledged there is “devastation” on both sides of the aisle. John Piper has issued a blistering condemnation of President Donald Trump, warning Christian voters that the president's “deadly behavior” will lead the U.S. to “destruction of more kinds than we can imagine.”. “I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person,” he wrote. As Piper wrote, "When a leader models self-absorbed, self-exalting boastfulness, he models the most deadly behavior in the world. Still, the pastor said he’s willing to vote for a “non-Christian” if he sees there to be enough overlap between the “visible outworking of his character and convictions” and biblical teachings. (SEE UPDATE BELOW).If I read him correctly, it sounds like he will not vote for Trump or Biden. With a cheerful smile, I will explain to my unbelieving neighbor why my allegiance to Jesus set me at odds with death — death by abortion and death by arrogance.". Here is a taste: In fact, I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person. John Piper jumped into the presidential race this past week, publishing a long piece attacking President Trump and telling those who support him how disappointed he is in them. Mohler endorses Trump For his part, Mohler offered up a full-throated defense of Trump, while acknowledging he doesn’t like the president’s personality and wouldn’t choose him for a neighbor. Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. John Piper is soothing the conscience of people who will vote for evil policies that are far deadlier than any character concerns of Donald Trump. John Piper is one of the most respected Christian leaders in America, and I personally hold him in high esteem. They move out from centers of influence to infect whole cultures.”, “The last five years bear vivid witness to this infection at almost every level of society.”. What will I say? Christian preacher and author John Piper is one of the few conservative Christian figures who doesn’t have glowing reviews of Donald Trump. In January, he warned Christians against loving patriotism more than Christ, stressing that such affections should only exist “up to a point” and that Christians should “never give them absolute allegiance.”. Fifth, I have no problem with a Christian saying he or she cannot vote for either candidate. Conservative preacher and writer John Piper laid into American Christians recently for supporting Donald Trump for president. ", "Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? I will therefore speak out when he acts wrongly and will model something different in my own life.". Do you want award-winning journalism with a Christian worldview, delivered to your inbox? Stressing that there is “a character connection between rulers and subjects,” Piper cautioned that when a leader models “self-absorbed, self-exalting boastfulness, he models the most deadly behavior in the world.”. John Piper Election Article – Desiring God I stumbled across Piper’s article on the Drudge Report where Drudge headlined the link, “Prominent pastor warns evangelicals of Trump’s ‘nation-corrupting’ sins.” Now, as nearly everyone knows who reads Iron Ink or who knows me, I am no Donald Trump fan. Before sharing my differences, though, I want to share my points of affirmation. "I will be asked to give an account of my devotion to this life-giving calling. Report: Trump is considering forming a new political party, Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? We can cast a ballot in his name on Nov. 3 while shouting from the rooftops that our hope is in the Lord, not in a man or a party. if( ! But I wonder if future generations would understand if we explained the loss of our freedoms and the slaughter of millions of more babies by saying, "Yes, one party espoused these terrible policies. I have always respected that view, even if it is not my own. Discover 'The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told'. “This is true not only because flagrant boastfulness, vulgarity, immorality, and factiousness are self-incriminating, but also because they are nation-corrupting. Pastor Piper writes, "I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring (eristikos).". Once again, I wholeheartedly agree with Piper's emphasis on the gospel first (rather than "America first"). And, to be sure, Christians need not be enthusiastic about Trump (as I am not) to note the fallacies of Piper’s arguments. Or give free reign to foreign, tyrannical regimes. One of my evangelical colleagues wrote to me last week, saying, "The gospel witness has been destroyed, especially among the younger generations. But the reasoning really matters," he tweeted. And my conscience will ask. Please click here to learn how. This is not the first time Piper has spoken out against Trump; in 2016, he argued Trump was “morally unqualified” for the office, citing his “immoral behavior in the past, and his ongoing unwillingness to renounce it as evil.”. Oddly, Piper doesn’t even mention Trump’s name in a post given to undermining Christian support for Trump. Third, I agree with Pastor Piper that our obsession with the elections and the well-being of America undermines the reality that we are citizens of a higher kingdom and that we are only passing through this world. He writes, "I remain baffled that so many Christians consider the sins of unrepentant sexual immorality (porneia), unrepentant boastfulness (alazoneia), unrepentant vulgarity (aischrologia), unrepentant factiousness (dichostasiai), and the like, to be only toxic for our nation, while policies that endorse baby-killing, sex-switching, freedom-limiting, and socialistic overreach are viewed as deadly.". John Piper This is a laundry list of claims that, as I mention later, Piper does not back up. John Piper has been a friend – a good and faithful friend – for more than 40 years. Sixth, I respect the humility with which Piper presents his viewpoint, making clear that he is not telling anyone else how to vote. Or strip away religious freedoms. "That choice to 'write in' is relatively unimportant. Piper seems more concerned with Trump’s boisterous rhetoric than with Trump’s actions. John Piper is extremely arrogant to think that Christians who voted or support Trump lack the spiritual discernment to realize that Trump has serious problems and essentially said that the church is driving away unbelievers by supporting Trump. That being said, I differ with Pastor Piper's assessment of the situation and with his comparison of the personal failings of Trump with the policies of the Democratic Party. But we couldn't vote for the man whose party opposed them because he was too boastful and divisive.". As to our support for Trump, we can vote for him without selling our souls for him. I wish John Piper would have come out earlier with this post. In two convocation videos, evangelical author and speaker John Piper reminded Liberty University students to not waste their lives. Piper did not name specific presidential candidates or parties, but then he clarified online: He would not be voting for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. This is not to make excuses but rather to be realistic. Christian pastor and author John Piper drew backlash among Trump-supporting evangelicals after he explained why he wouldn't vote for either presidential candidate in an op-ed published October 22. I have a more positive evaluation of Trump’s character than John Piper does. The world will ask. Christians from across the spectrum have weighed in on influential pastor and author John Piper's op-ed piece criticizing Christians' support for President Donald Trump. Yet I differ with his suggestion that Christians might do best by sitting out the presidential election, since a vote for either Trump or Biden cannot be justified. Readers of my book "Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test?" “The linking of the Christian church with the ruling political regime has more often proven to corrupt the essential spirit of Christ,” he wrote at the time. My calling is to lead people to see Jesus Christ, trust his forgiveness for sins, treasure him above everything in this world, live in a way that shows his all-satisfying value, and help them make it to heaven with love and holiness. Finally, when it comes to listing the sins of Trump, Pastor Piper may have gone a little too far. On Thursday, the influential pastor and writer published what he referred to as a “long-overdue” blog post in which he pondered the implications of the 2020 election. Later, Piper tweeted that he “won’t be voting for Biden or Trump” but plans to write in another name. Contrary to around 80 percent of the white evangelicals who cast a vote for Trump in 2016, it sounds like Piper is not willing to give President Donald Trump a pass at the ballot box. If voting for a man with a sexually immoral past can give support to persecuted minorities in China, can that vote be justified? Next, it is one thing to elect a boastful, divisive leader. TRENDING: Report: Trump is considering forming a new political party, Fourth, I concur that the character flaws of our president have been very damaging. “The church is paying dearly, and will continue to pay, for our communicating this falsehood year after year,” he said. Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine.". … He is criticizing Trump’s character while giving Biden a pass. Join over 250,000 others to get the top stories curated daily, plus special offers! That calling is contradicted by supporting either pathway to cultural corruption and eternal ruin.”, After publishing the article, Piper posted on Twitter that he "won’t be voting for Biden or Trump.". Theologian John Piper gives a sermon at Passion 2020 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 1, 2020. He pointed out that all of these sins are mentioned in the Bible and are “deadly” enough to destroy people and entire nations. My response, again, is simple: Trump is one man, and as destructive as his words and conduct can be – just look at the warnings in Proverbs about foolish kings – we can vote for him by the millions while at the same time modeling godlier conduct. The final straw was the support of Donald Trump by these groups. getCookie( "ff_subbed" ) ) { let a_s = document.createElement( "script" ); a_s.src = "https://static.apester.com/js/sdk/latest/apester-sdk.js"; a_s.async = "async"; document.body.appendChild( a_s ); }, Rush Limbaugh: Hundreds dead today 'due to Biden's mishandling of virus', Twitter sued for allowing child porn because it didn't 'violate policies', New York Times op-ed writer: If Biden wants unity he'll lynch Pence. He points his nation to destruction. While the Baptist pastor doesn't mention either candidate by name, it's clear in his latest blog piece on DesiringGod.org that he is speaking about Donald Trump and Joe Biden. He adds, "I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person.". On the other hand, if those with a different agenda are empowered, their policies will affect us by the millions. John Piper warns Trump's 'deadly' behavior will lead to 'destruction' in blistering post. A respectful response to my friend John Piper about voting for Trump (Editor’s Note: This is used with permission and was originally published by The Christian Post and was written by Dr. Wayne Grudem.) If voting for a man who often lies and exaggerates can stop the rise of an anti-God socialism, can that vote be justified? Do you agree with Pastor John Piper's reasoning on the presidential contest? Author and theologian John Piper has waded into the debate over who Christians should be casting their vote for on 3 November. You also agree to our. That choice to ‘write in’ is relatively unimportant. Do we therefore compromise our views on these issues so as to avoid offense? 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Today, John Piper released an article decrying the personal immorality of Donald Trump — whose policies have been friendly to the Christian Church and favorable to conservatism — and comparing it to the deadliness of Planned Parenthood. When it comes to Trump, we can vote for his policies while saying, "I don't like many of the things he does and feel his example is often very destructive. What we cannot do, as I have been shouting for years now, is become apologists for the president. Theologian John Piper gives a sermon at Passion 2020 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 1, 2020. That, without question, demeans our witness. But to say that we cannot vote for him when the stakes are so high is, in my view, to miss the larger point. First, I wholeheartedly agree with Pastor Piper that the foremost calling of a minister of the gospel "is to lead people to see Jesus Christ, trust his forgiveness for sins, treasure him above everything in this world, live in a way that shows his all-satisfying value, and help them make it to heaven with love and holiness.". John Piper Weighs In on Trump Timothy Keller is not an evangelical anomaly. He suggested that when Christians “act as if policies and laws that protect life and freedom are more precious than being a certain kind of person,” they are detracting from the message of the Gospel. Put another way, if voting for a boastful man can potentially save millions of babies' lives, can that vote be justified? You're logged in to Facebook. John Piper is one of the most respected Christian leaders in America, and I personally hold him in high esteem. He calls Trump “factious.” It simply means dissent, schism, or faction. (Photo: Passion/Kendra Harrell) There's an "eternally significant" question Donald Trump and Joe Biden should ask themselves as votes continue to be counted, says John Piper, but it's not whether they've won this election. This is important to say just now because not to see it and feel it will add to the collapsing vision of leadership that enabled him to be nominated and elected. But the reasoning really matters.” He then linked to his 1995 article on abortion as a stake in the ground he hopes never to move. The non-believing world is appalled by the hypocrisy.
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