To the Editor, “Christianity Today”

The following letter is in response to the article Trump Should Be Removed from Office (linked here) posted on Christianity Today.

December 27, 2019

To the Editor, “Christianity Today”

This essay is responsive to your recent invitation to address the issues raised in your editorial about evangelical support of President Trump.

Let me begin by confessing that, like St. Patrick in Ireland and St Paul in Romans 7, I am counted among the worst of sinners, engaged in a daily struggle between the flesh and the spirit. God’s holiness is such that He does not focus on gradations of sinful behavior. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us need a Gospel transformation of heart and mind. So in God’s eyes, I am no better than Donald Trump, no more deserving of God’s grace.

I am a third generation career military officer, whom God called out of the military three decades ago. I have been a lawyer for over half a century. My first wife and I served the Lord in the former Soviet Union for six years, working among Muslims. She was promoted to glory almost eight years ago. I was born outside the US and have lived overseas almost one third of my 75 years on this earth. I am an ordained minister of the Gospel, but currently retired. I furnish this background information only to give the reader a sense of my perspective.

I had been praying that someone with a Kingdom perspective would write what you published. You clearly understood you were going to attract vehement opposition, much more than mere friendly fire. I thank the Lord that you had the courage to speak truth to all who claim to follow Jesus. My wife and I pray for you and all those affiliated with CT.

When I served the Lord in remote Central Asia, the greatest challenges to our ministry did not come from Islamic fundamentalists or hostile governments. No, it was the common belief that the United States was a Christian country, and that leaders like Franklin Graham reflected the heart of Jesus when making gratuitous and inflammatory statements about the prophet that our neighbors revered. Poor countries cannot afford to buy quality television programming, so morning television included American music videos replete with profanity and sexual promiscuity messaging. This was the America the local population came to know and in many cases, mimic.

The church in Central Asia was always being persecuted, sometimes by central governments and national laws, more often by local imams and even some who were genuinely afraid of the influence “Christians” might have on their families and culture. When a rural pastor in a southern state erected a billboard saying all Korans should be burned, western missionaries came under renewed attack. I came to understand that there was a huge gap between those seeking to advance the Kingdom in hostile overseas areas and many church leaders and believers in my own country.

When Satan tempted Jesus, the third and final attack was to promise Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory if only He would fall down and worship Satan. We all know that Jesus rebuked Satan by saying “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

What many church leaders in the United States appear to lack is a true Kingdom perspective. The embrace of the government robs the church of its real power. Persecution unleashes that power and gives the church renewed strength and vitality. The church does not need the civil government to protect it, empower it or advance its mission on this earth. The African American church understands this much better than most others.

I no longer identify as an evangelical Christian. It is enough to simply say that I am a follower of Jesus. That really says it all. I seek to live each day, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in harmony with the teachings and example of Jesus. I often fall short. Just ask my wife. But I am much more concerned with the global reputation of Jesus than I am about the issues that seem to be part of the Faustian bargain between influential church leaders in the United States and President Trump.

The elements of that bargain are clear: take us back to the days when the white descendants of immigrants from Western Europe had unquestioned control of the levers of power in our country, when minorities were marginalized; turn back the clock on liberal accretions to our culture like abortion, same sex marriage, toleration of homosexuality, gun control, and creeping “socialism.” Plato and de Tocqueville observed that democracy morphs into authoritarian control when the majority of the voters are not paying much if anything into the system (taxes), and then attempt to legislate tax policy that transfers wealth from the richer to the poorer. The minority balks, refuses to cooperate in sharing their wealth, and cooperates with a benevolent dictator to keep the ship of state afloat. We are very close to that tipping point. Demographics cannot be reversed at this point, and immigration policies annually produce more new citizens from the developing world.

The Jesus I know, love and follow would, like most of us, want to preserve human life, whether it be a fetus in the womb or a child born into this world. He would want His followers to pay special attention to the aliens among us, the prisoners, the sick, the poor and downtrodden, the widows who cannot support themselves, our natural environment, those who are being abused by others. He would abhor immigration policies that separate young children from their parents, keep them in cages, and subject them to abuse. He came into this world, not as the blue eyed Caucasian depicted on the walls of American churches, but as a brown skinned Palestinian. He was homeless as an adult, so He would care a great deal about homeless people living on the mean streets of our cities. He never advocated that His followers take up deadly weapons to defend their homes or families. Most important of all, He never told His followers to redeem or save the broken cultures in which they lived. Only the power of God, through revival and prayer, can change hardened hearts, one at a time.

Jesus made it clear we are to give Caesar what is due him, and God that which He is due. Many evangelicals in America seem to have elevated Donald Trump to a position very proximate to God. That is a really bad omen for a country that was founded by followers of Jesus fleeing religious persecution. It means that stock markets can be at historic highs, our people can feel everything is just right, and then all hell will break loose. We will experience the same fate as the nation of Israel when God used foreign armies to get their attention.

Some say God ordained Trump to save America from itself. I believe God allowed him to become our leader, as part of a decision to let us continue on the path to our own demise. As someone who spent over thirty years serving our national security, I know of nothing that poses a greater threat to our nation’s existence, to our constitution, and our freedoms than Donald Trump and his apologists in the Senate and in the church. Lord, help us! Revive your church, finish your work in this fallen world, and rescue us again (Matthew 24:14). Open the eyes of your people, and give them courage to speak out against evil, wherever it is found.

Respectfully submitted,

Matt C C Bristol III

Richmond, Virginia