Francois Ntone

Initial Inconsistencies in the Christian Message

It is encouraging to see that the Christian message is increasingly being adjusted by Christian leaders to reflect their disagreement with the priorities of the Trump administration.  In my post William Barber Speaks at the democratic Convention, I contrasted the republican platform, as presented at the Republican Convention, to the democratic platform as presented at the Democratic Convention.  I stated without hesitation that the democrats, with their emphasis on the idea that diversity is a source of strength, were closer to the Christian perspective, while the divisive and hateful message from Trump and his supporters was anti-christian.  I also pointed out that William Barber, whose motivation was moral rather than political, found it easier to associate himself with the democrats.

Yet it remains true that a large percentage of white Christians voted for Trump.  In my post White Evangelicals and Their Agenda in their Own Words, I analyzed the arguments presented by leaders such as Franklin Graham to encourage their followers to vote for Trump.  I concluded that such leaders were promoting a white culture rather than Christian principles.

Finally, in my post Unity Under Christ at the Dawn of Trump’s Presidency – What Does it Mean?, I asked how any true follower of Christ could justify being opposed to the idea of making health care available to those who cannot afford it.  I also pointed out that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on January 18, urging Congress not to repeal Obamacare without a replacement, in order to avoid hurting millions of people currently insured under it.  This was a reversal since Catholic bishops had previously opposed President Obama during the Obamacare debate.

Now that Trump is president, he is actively pursuing a variety of initiatives to make good on his campaign promises.  With the recent crackdown on undocumented people, many immigrants, particularly those of Hispanic origin, live in fear of being separated from their families while the administration promises to increase the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are part of its deportation force.

Given Trump’s racial rhetoric during the presidential campaign, black parents are increasingly afraid for their children.  They fear that incidents related to racial policing may increase under an administration that appears to care little about the rights of minorities.  With the travel bans introduced by the new administration, Muslims feel particularly vulnerable: not only the bans have directly targeted them, but the increase in hateful acts against them is noticeable.  In fact, in the current atmosphere, anti-Semitic incidents seem to be on the rise, and hate crimes are now even being perpetrated against quiet minorities such as Indian immigrants.

Given the current reality, Christians are apparently feeling compelled to take a stand, realizing that the new administration is in the process of creating serious obstacles to the exercise of their religion.  Indeed, their Lord and Savior commands them to love all people, but the new administration now stands in the way, making unlawful their efforts to express this universal love.  For example, the shelters they provide to the homeless are now threatened by government raids for the purpose of finding undocumented immigrants.

I mentioned earlier that Catholic bishops seem to have reversed their attitude towards Obamacare.  To be sure, some Christians have been on the right track all along, focusing their energy on following Christ’s call to assist the poor, the widows, the orphans, the aliens.  To such Christians, the only possible response to the Trump administration is non-violent resistance.  An example of such a response is the Matthew 25 Pledge which is shown below.  But other Christian leaders, even among those who consider themselves as white evangelicals, are now expressing their objections to the positions taken by the Trump administration.  Statements released by various groups are reproduced below.  These statements are generally well written and self-explanatory.

The Matthew 25 Pledge

Some Christian leaders are calling people of faith to resist the Trump administration whose actions are a serious obstacle to the practice of the Christian faith by those who truly want to follow Christ.  Those who make the pledge stand with the oppressed, no matter what religion they belong to.

I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.

In America right now, too many people are feeling very afraid because of the new political realities in Washington, D.C., both because of the political rhetoric of this election campaign and how they were targeted as groups of people. In response, the message of Matthew 25 is rising up at the grassroots level and among faith leaders — within faith communities, congregations, denominations, seminaries, and faith-based organizations. It’s the Gospel text where Jesus says: How you treat the most vulnerable is how you treat me.

People are feeling a need to act. Matthew 25 can lead us in what to do. And so we’ve created the Matthew 25 Pledge — just one sentence which simply says: I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus. Clearly, many people in America are feeling quite vulnerable right now, but the Matthew 25 Movement — a broad collection of national faith-based groups, grassroots activists, heads of denominations and more — is focusing on three groups of people who are especially at risk under a Trump administration. So here we offer our starting point, pledging to:

1. Support undocumented immigrants threatened with mass deportation; and advocate on behalf of refugees who are being banned from coming to America.
2. Stand with African Americans and other people of color threatened by racial policing.
3. In line with our commitment to religious liberty we will defend the lives and religious liberty of Muslims, threatened with “banning,” monitoring, and even registration.

This is the beginning. This is where to start now. But if and when other groups of people are targeted by government decisions or by hateful cultural responses, we who sign the Matthew 25 Pledge will also seek to surround and protect them. Rather than just watching, grieving, and feeling sorry for what is happening to the most marginalized, who are named in the 25th chapter of Matthew, we can pledge to join together in circles of support in the name of Jesus.

A Letter from Evangelical Christians to the Trump Administration

An open letter written by evangelical Christians and published in the Washington Post focuses on the fact that the ban on refugees issued by the administration seriously hampers what these Christians consider as a critical ministry of their churches.  Among the hundreds of leaders who signed the letter, prominent names include Tim Keller, Max Lucado, Southern Baptist Seminary president Daniel Akin, and others.

Dear President Trump and Vice President Pence,

As Christian Pastors and leaders, we are deeply concerned by the recently announced moratorium on refugee resettlement.  Our care for the oppressed and suffering is rooted in the call of Jesus to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”  In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus makes it clear that our neighbor includes the stranger and anyone fleeing persecutions and violence, regardless of their faith or country.

As Christians, we have a historic call expressed over two thousand years, to serve the suffering.  We cannot abandon this call now.  We live in a dangerous world and affirm the crucial role of government in protecting us from harm and in setting the terms of refugee admissions.  However, compassion and security can coexist, as they have for decades.  For the persecuted and suffering, every day matters; every delay is a crushing blow to hope.

Since the inception of the refugee resettlement program, thousands of local churches throughout the country have played a role in welcoming refugees of all religious backgrounds.  Ministries to newly arrived refugees are ready and desire to receive many thousands more people than would be allowed under the new executive order.

As leaders, we welcome the concern expressed for religious minorities, including persecuted Christians.  Followers of Christ face horrific persecution and even genocide in certain parts of the world.  While we are eager to welcome persecuted Christians, we also welcome vulnerable Muslims and people of other faiths or no faith at all.  This executive order dramatically reduces the overall number of refugees allowed this year, robbing families of hope and a future.  And it could well cost them their lives.

As Christians, we are committed to praying for our elected officials.  Our prayer is that God would grant President Trump and all our leaders divine wisdom as their direct the course of our nation.  We also pray for the vulnerable individuals whom their decisions directly impact.

A Letter from Canadian Christians Opposing Franklin Graham’s Participation in a Christian Event

The Festival of Hope to be held in Vancouver, Canada, is an event that is associated with the ministry of Billy Graham, and is to be held in March.  The organizers apparently invited Franklin Graham as a keynote speaker.  However, many Christian leaders who are aware of Graham’s past statements against Muslims, and his support of the Trump administration, deeply felt that his political positions were not consistent with Jesus’ teaching and would probably taint his message at the festival.

February 24th, 2017

To our Christian colleagues and our fellow Vancouverites,

As pastors and Christian leaders in greater Vancouver, we deeply believe in a Jesus who is “for” all human beings. He is so “for” us that he willingly died to teach us how we can have life to the fullest with him. We desire that all people hear his message of hope.

We are concerned that Franklin Graham, who is our brother in Christ, will be the keynote speaker at the Festival of Hope conference to be held here in March.

Our concern is that the contentious and confrontational political and social rhetoric that Mr. Graham has used has the potential to overshadow the message of Jesus and incite hostility in our highly charged social climate.

We wish to make clear that we value the work our sisters and brothers in Christ have done in organizing the Festival, which intends to celebrate and share the true message of Christianity: the Good News about Jesus of Nazareth. We pray that the Festival of Hope will be all that God wants it to be.

Jesus’s life, sacrificial death, and resurrection ensure that justice will ultimately prevail in the world, that the universe will be restored to its full goodness and wellbeing, and that everyone may find in Jesus forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with the Creator who knows and loves each of us in our unique particularity.

Jesus inaugurated his ministry in and for the world by announcing, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19).

Regrettably, Franklin Graham’s public comments appear to compromise Jesus’s mission of love and justice for all. He has made disparaging and uncharitable remarks about Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community, while portraying the election, administration and policies of U.S. President Donald Trump as intrinsically aligned with the Christian Church.

For instance, Franklin Graham has said that:

• All Muslims should be banned from the United States because Islam is a “very evil and wicked religion” at war with the Christian West;[1]
• LGBTQ+ persons should not be allowed to enter churches or even enter as guests into Christian homes, because “the Enemy [Satan] wants to devour our homes”;[2]
• The outcome of the recent U.S. presidential election was due to “the hand of God,” giving the impression that the Christian church as an institution is partisanly aligned with an administration and its policies.[3]

Such blending of politics and religion is dangerous. First, it comes close to aligning the power of the church with the power of the state. Second, it does so by seeming to develop a false religious narrative to support an exalted and troubling American nationalism. Third, it can divide Christians who do not view things the same way as Mr. Graham. Fourth, we are concerned that some of the policies of the Trump administration have introduced unprecedented structural shifts that put the most vulnerable in our world at risk of greater harm. These policies may jeopardize refugees and reinforce prejudice.