“These ‘Never Trump’ evangelicals are morons. They are absolutely spineless morons, and they cannot admit that they were wrong. We cannot afford to be like German Christians who, in the rise of the evil reign of Adolf Hitler, just remained neutered. They remained silent. And you saw what happened there, I think there’s a similar wave of godlessness that is rising in our country right now, and we must push back against that tide.”
- First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress
On February 13th, one day before Valentine’s Day, Robert Jeffress, the love-filled pastor of First Baptist Dallas spoke on conservative radio personality Todd Starnes' show to talk about evangelicals and their support for Donald Trump. Jeffress, who has been an ardent Trump supporter and was one of the first evangelicals to publicly endorse the then candidate, went on to say some of his strongest words of support and harshest words of condemnation for what he would label “Never Trump Evangelicals.” He stated: “Let me say this as charitably as I can,” These ‘Never Trump’ evangelicals are morons. They are absolutely spineless morons, and they cannot admit that they were wrong.”
Jeffress goes on to justify his comments by alluding that evangelical support falls into one main category: that of abortion. He stated on the talk show: “This is an issue of life and death. This is so black and white, so much about good versus evil. I don’t get it,” Jeffress said. “It really goes to the core of who we are as a country and what kind of a country we have in the future, and if we can’t get this issue of life right, I just don’t know where we’re going to go down the road.”These would be crude words from a politician let alone a pastor. But they might be the greatest diagnosis of the heart of the Evangelical Right who still pray for, endorse, and support our current President for the sole cause of his pro-life stance.
25 THESES AGAINST ROBERT JEFFRESS & OTHER PRO-LIFE TRUMP-SUPPORTING EVANGELICALS
It is no secret that this pro-life issue is the major sticking point for Evangelicals. This issue has been a major crusade for Jeffress himself. In 2015, he stated that the horrific attacks of September 11 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were God's judgment for our nation's acceptance of abortion.
As an evangelical, pro-life advocate, (yes, I've stood outside abortion clinics and calmly spoken to people about pro-life options) and according to Jeffress, a “Never Trump Spineless Moron” I choose not to respond with a lengthy argument about why he himself and men and women like him are the problems in American Evangelical Christianity. I've already done that in the form of protest both publicly, in book form, and in advocacy. No. For the sake of time, like the great reformer Martin Luther, I will just post a short 25 Theses to Jeffress and Evangelicals that would choose to support a candidate that is the complete antithesis to the very faith that our Lord taught us. Simply put, it is the goal of this 25 Theses to show why Jeffress and others like him are unwittingly playing the role of hypocrites while using the blood of unborn babies to justify their actions.
25 THESES - QUESTIONS FOR PASTOR ROBERT TO ANSWER PUBLICLY OR RESIGN
Do you support God’s choice to give free will to mankind?
If abortion is a matter of personal free will, do you support taking away a person’s free will?
Does your answer to question number 2 contradict your answer to question number 1?
If you are pro-life and the largest percentage of aborted babies are minorities and Black, how many Black and minority congregants do you have in your church?
How much money of your church budget goes to urban and minority outreach?
What is the percentage of minorities in your church compared to Whites?
How many Black babies have you personally adopted or offered to adopt?
If all lives matter, did you and your church speak out against the death of Botham Jean, who was murdered by a Dallas Police officer in his home?
If the answer to question eight was no, does All Lives Matter in your opinion simply mean lives that believe the exact same way you do?
Is eternal life more important than temporal physical life?
Do aborted babies go to heaven when they die?
If your answer to question number 9 is yes, and your answer to question number 10 is yes, would it be more reasonable to advocate and minister to those who are still living and are not guaranteed eternal life?
Does your answer to question number 11 contradict your answer to question number 9?
How many abortions has Donald Trump actually stopped so far?
How many abortions has Donald Trump paid for in his life?
Would you be willing to ask him and encourage him to repentance?
If character doesn’t matter in a leader, why does God state in Proverbs 19:22 “What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.”
Would it be better to have a loving man as a leader or liar?
Is the president a liar or do you believe he has ever lied since coming to office?
If your answer to question 19 is yes, and one of the seven things that God hates most a “lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17) how can you say that the President is God’s Candidate if he is a liar?
What is worse in God’s sight, shedding innocent blood or lying?
If your answer to question 21 is “both the same,” would it have been better for Donald Trump to have been aborted and go to heaven in order to stop lying?
Besides the abortion issue, what’s the real reason you still support Donald Trump?
Is real answer to question 23 found in the Biblical passage 1st Samuel 8 :6-20?
What king will you serve: the heavenly or earthly? You cannot do both.
POINT OF AGREEMENT
Just a while ago, Pastor Jeffress said, "I think there’s a similar wave of godlessness that is rising in our country right now, and we must push back against that tide.” Amazingly, I can agree with the Pastor here. But where we deviate is that it is my belief that the wave of godlessness that he speaks about is not simply rising in our country, it is arising from the American Church. Both the Catholic sex abuse scandal and pastors like Robert Jeffress are direct proof that he is correct.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jomo K. Johnson is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity Degree. He currently is the founder and main host of Church For Black Men and Families in Washington D.C. As an author, he has written several books including Social Surge Theory and the King Trump Bible.