As we’ve watched the election unfold during this painfully long political season, we’ve watched Evangelical Christians swing from one extreme to another. During the primary season, Evangelicals were overwhelmingly vocal about how horrid Donald Trump is as a presidential candidate, at one point sparking the whole #NeverTrump movement. Yet, when he became the nominee, they finally got on board– at least most of them.
Time and time again, the Evangelical justification for supporting Trump basically boils down to one point: He’s “pro-life.”
Even if that were true, I’ve already debunked the belief that this would tangibly mean anything, as it was a Republican SCOTUS that legalized abortion, and a Republican SCOTUS that upheld it in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
But that’s almost irrelevant– because I’m sorry, but Donald Trump is not “pro-life.”
At the heart and core of what it means to be pro-life is a deep, unshakable belief, that all life has infinite worth and value, and that this innate worth should be something we as a culture honor and value.
That’s where being pro-life begins– and Donald Trump doesn’t share that foundational belief.
Trump may claim to share that foundational belief, but his behavior shows us otherwise– and the Bible reminds us that we can know a good tree from a bad tree by the fruit that it bears.
I mean, ‘cmon, people. Let’s actually use the brains God gave us and think this one through.
Nothing about saying, “I like to just grab women by the pussy” reflects a view that all people have sacred value and that they should be honored.
Nothing about mocking people with physical disabilities says that a person holds a foundational belief that all life has worth and value.
Nothing about grabbing a woman and kissing her without consent, telling an employee that she’d “look really good down on her knees,” or saying that it’s hard for women with small breasts to be beautiful, tells us this is a man who believes that the image of God in others must be honored and protected.
Nothing about deporting the undocumented parents of U.S. born children, destroying family units and creating orphans, speaks to a foundational belief about the value of human life.
Nothing about advocating that we kill the entire families of suspected terrorists tells us that he believes that all life is sacred.
In fact, I don’t even need continue this list in order to realize that not only is it patently untrue that Donal Trump is pro-life, it would be more accurate to say that Donald Trump is the least pro-life candidate to run for president in modern history.
To claim that Donal Trump is pro-life is to say that one can belong to a movement without *actually* believing the foundational beliefs that a given movement is based upon.
There’s plenty of room for disagreement in what it means to be pro-life. Some pro-life people believe in criminalizing abortion (overturning Roe v. Wade), while others of us believe that this would be both ineffective and actually cause more harm without reducing abortions. Some believe in preaching about it on the street corner, while some of us prefer to live more quiet lives that cultivate a culture of life.
But what do we all agree on? The one belief we all share in common is that human life is sacred, that it should be valued, protected, and honored.
We disagree and debate over how that belief should be lived out in culture. We disagree and debate over the role of government in this ethical system and which laws or restrictions would be helpful or harmful.
We disagre and debate on a lot of things. But what we don’t disagree on is the ethical premise: all life is sacred.
Unregistered sex offender Donald Trump doesn’t share that belief– his actions on a daily basis bear witness to that truth.
So, I’m sorry– but no, Donald Trump is not pro-life.
And if you think he is, well, then I think you’ve profoundly missed the entire ethical premise behind the term.
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The main news networks are controlled, slanted, and opinionated propaganda. Ted Turner would never have allowed this sad state of affairs at his CNN.
I stick to PBS, local tv and radio, and Popular Science.
This is the same Trump who still wants to execute those black kids.
Yeah , he’s real pro life.
Being pro-life is the easiest thing a presidential candidate can say he is, has no personal cost and reaps priceless currency in corruptible power.
I would hazard a guess that most “evangelical Christians” don’t believe any of this either. There are very few people who live by the word of God, Jesus, the Bible, whatever you want to use……..they, unfortunately, do what is best for themselves.
DT is a winner. Dude is all about giving to the poor. I remember that one time he sold all that he had to follow Jesus.
The reason that abortion is the be-all and the end-all is because the Moral Majority was losing political power from other social issues. Someone brought up abortion right at the end of a conference call and they built it from there. When I was 15 years old and in a politically conservative church, I saw how hollow the issue of abortion was. A few years later, there was a question about character of those who are running for public office. Now, they have someone who would fail every single character test if their chosen candidate was not Republican. 2016 marks the year that Christian conservatives sold everything to ensure a Republican victory for the White House.
White Evangelicals (78%, Pew Research Center) have cemented themselves to Trump’s frothing-at-the-mouth gospel of racism, sexism, xenophobia, incitement of political violence, predatory behavior, and vocal rejection of the biblical concept of repentance.
Frankly I doubt the man is even anti-abortion, simply pro-saying whatever will get him votes. (Not that that makes him necessarily worse than any other politician in this respect but it is particularly disingenuous when abortion is not one of the issues which, as I understand it, the US President actually gets to decide.)
Thank you for speaking truth, Dr. Corey. The fact that you have to explain such simple truths to U.S. Evangelicals is quite telling.
Jesus taught his followers to “Seek..” yet the frothing hysteria of Evangelicals following/excusing/justifying Trump’s rage-filled gospel illustrates all to well their investment in the polar opposite. At least we now know what blatant self-worship and idolatry look like, forever cemented in the national memory of this year’s election.
This election has really exposed the Evangelicals for their lack of any principles. How convenient that the morality of the candidate suddenly becomes an issue when your candidate is immoral.
It calls into question whether the claimed moral stance in the past was actually real.
Wait, no, it doesn’t. There is no question now, it wasn’t.
Are there any truly and completely pro-life candidates out there?
I have been told many times that “pro-life” applies only to abortion policy. Then change the label because we can’t compartmentalize life like that. We can’t call ourselves pro-life while supporting the death penalty. We cannot call ourselves pro-life while supporting the murder of suspected terrorist’s families. We cannot call ourselves pro-life when we support the murderous act of war.
Call yourselves anti-abortion if you wish. That’s a much more accurate label. But you cannot call yourself pro-life while supporting any act that takes life from this world, or any act that marginalizes or oppresses life.