Print 
PDF
If evangelical voters are still undecided about casting a ballot for Donald Trump, a seminary professor has some advice: The alternative on the ballot is much, much worse for our country.
Unafraid of mixing faith and politics, Rev. Franklin Graham says he is on the campaign trail with Donald Trump because too much is at stake to stay quiet and stay home.
Yet, there are voices within the evangelical community that are strongly advocating evangelicals not vote for Trump.
Let's take one last honest look at the warnings from a seminary prof and from Franklin Graham. And many, many other Christian leaders.
Be informed, not misled.
With the presidential election less than a week away, polls suggest Trump is making big gains with black men, who are ignoring Democrats’ claims he is racist, and with Hispanic voters who are aware of his plans to deport illegal aliens if he wins the White House.
Even modest single-digit improvements with blacks and Hispanics could help Trump a lot, especially in battleground states, but an election night victory in one week will likely be decided by white Evangelicals who chose Trump over Hillary Clinton by 80%-16% in 2016.
According to exit polling, a similar number voted for Trump again in 2020.
“If you're not voting, you're not casting an effective vote against the candidate who's going to do, by far, the most harm,” Robert Gagnon, a theology professor, says of an election night victory by Kamala Harris.
Gagnon told American Family Radio that White House policy and U.S. Supreme Court appointments are the “prime issues” for every voter.
“Because those policies, expressed in executive orders and legislation, and in court appointments,” he stressed, “will carry on a legacy far beyond the tenure of that political candidate.”
Gagnon, who teaches New Testament classes at Houston Baptist University, is no apologist for Trump’s personal behavior. Like every other voter, Gagnon has witnessed the national media remind the public about Trump’s sexual past.
In the AFR interview, Gagnon reminded the “Today’s Issues” program that Harris dated then-Mayor Willie Brown to boost her career in California politics.
Harris was 29 years old at the time, and Brown was 60.
“She slept around with Willie Brown for political gain for years,” Gagnon says, “And then, of course, when that was no longer profitable for her, she left for other men.”
In 2016, The Washington Post dropped a timely “October surprise” to hurt Trump one month before Election Day. The newspaper got its hands on an NBC video from 2005, in which Trump was talking lewdly about women in a private conversation.
Gagnon underscores that Trump's personal life has not been spiritually stellar.
But it's time to get real.
"God is giving you a way out."
American Family reports:
In an urgent-sounding X post written to Christians, Gagnon all but pleaded with them to consider what a Harris-Walz administration would do to the culture and to the Church.
Among his dire predictions, Gagnon warns doctors and nurses will be forced to participate in abortions to keep federal funding. Female athletes will be forced to shower with men under Title IX regulations. More pro-life protesters will be jailed by the Justice Department, he said, and "hate speech" will likely be prosecuted.
Gagnon also predicts Christian schools could be targeted, and lose their accreditation if they refuse to affirm non-discrimination policies for homosexuals and transgenders.
“God is giving you a way out, through casting an effective [vote]against Harris/Walz by voting for Trump/Vance,” Gagnon writes. “If you don't take it, you are opposing God's help in a misguided view that God accomplishes his purposes only through pure candidates.”
Franklin Graham: "Who will punish evil, or reward it in the White House?"
“There are dark forces that are arrayed against this man,” Graham said of Trump. “They tried to put him in prison. They’ve tried to assassinate him twice. He’s attacked every day in the media."
With only a five-minute time slot at the podium, Graham shared the gospel message and told both Trump and the crowd of supporters that God remains the only hope for the nation.
“I’ve encouraged President Trump,” Graham shared, “that when he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he does is ask God for help.”
In an interview with AFN after the rally, Graham says Americans watched Trump famously succeed as a businessman in New York City’s difficult business climate. He then brought that experience to the White House, where he proved he could “make things happen” as president during only one term.
“He proved himself four years ago. He did an incredible job,” Graham says. “I'm just praying that God will allow him to come back in the White House and finish that job, and hopefully save this America for our children and grandchildren.”
Pastor John MacArthur observes, “Jesus is not Lord in that place.”
“What else do you need to know,” MacArthur observed. “Jesus is not Lord in that place.”
The church pastor said Christian voters might not have a great choice on Election Day, referring to Trump, but he challenged them to ask themselves which candidate would hurt the family, children, and culture the most as president.
“That’s government’s role: to protect those who do good and punish those who do evil,” he shared. “So who is most likely to do that? Who has the clearest sense of justice?”
Pastor Robert Jeffress
Another prominent Evangelical church pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, surprised many when he first publicly endorsed Trump with other candidates still in the race in a previous presidential campaign.
Jeffress said at the time that he believed only one candidate could defeat Hillary Clinton.
With another presidential election looming, Franklin Graham is making a similar case for returning a flawed man to the White House.
“The Democratic Party, in the last 10 years, has slowly begun to change and is now a socialistic party,” he warns. “So much of their agenda is sexually driven, and it's sickening as to what's coming down the road.”
It is indeed "sickening."
Harris/Waltz campaign sponsors drag shows to help get out the vote.
Fox News said this on Monday:
The former first lady founded When We All Vote in 2018 and the organization is planning to host 500 'Party at the Polls' events before election day. The events will take place across states including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada.
One such event in Arizona, which took place on October 18, featured Drag Out the Vote, a group of drag performers advocating for LGBTQ+ voters. Notable drag queens such as Barbra Seville, crowned 'Miss Gay Southern America,' and Afrika America led the show. A show on October 29 in Nevada will feature Plasma, a queen from RuPaul's Drag Race.
Takeaway
Do you really think it's God's will for evangelicals to hate Trump so much that we vote for this by not voting?
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged, Be Prayerful. VOTE.