To Whom Do We Listen?

In Acts 4, Peter and John are arrested by the rulers of the Jews, arrested on account of their preaching about Jesus and the resurrection. The leaders soon find themselves in a quandary. Peter has just healed a 40-something man who was born lame (3:7, 4:22). The rulers cannot deny this miracle, which is widely known. But they cannot abide with Peter and John preaching the resurrection, which the rulers do not believe in. Unable to refute the apostles, the rulers simply “charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” (4:18)

Peter and John’s response was one for the ages: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (4:19-20). The rulers responded only with further threats.

Peter and John, along with the rest of the early church, were convinced that it was more important to obey God, to listen to his commands and do them, to hear his voice and both believe and proclaim it, than to listen to humans in authority. Not merely more important, but necessary.

On a whole host of issues, we as Christians find ourselves in a place where we must consider whether we will listen to God, as he has revealed himself in the Bible, or to the culture around us. If we listen to the culture, we will be accepted, perhaps even lauded by society. If we listen instead to God, we will be condemned, called bigots, told we are on “the wrong side of history.”

To whom will we listen? To whom will you listen?

If you decide that you will listen to God, then let me urge you to earnestly and regularly seek to learn what he has said. Read the Bible. Be willing to be corrected by God’s Word. 

A letter to my church during this election

As your pastor, my authority is found in and founded upon the Bible. The Bible is God’s word written down by the hands of inspired men and is without error. When I speak from the Bible, I may preach and teach with authority. However, the Bible does not address every issue, nor answer every question we would like to ask of it. Should Christians place their children in public schools or homeschool them? Should parents allow sleepovers? How many songs should we sing together on Sunday morning? How much should we western Christians give to church and other charities, given our remarkable wealth compared to the vast majority of Christians through all time? The Bible doesn’t speak directly to them. As your pastor, I can apply wisdom and the fruit of studying the Bible and prayer in seeking to answer these (and so many more) questions, but I dare not claim undue authority.

As your pastor, I cannot tell you whom you should vote for in this election. The Bible does not mention Trump nor Clinton, not even in the footnotes. Furthermore, there are legal limitations on political speech by religious organizations, of which First Baptist Church is one. However, the Bible does speak clearly about many topics and issues that are highly relevant in this election cycle. Therefore, while I will not tell you for whom you should vote, I want to issue strong concerns about both major candidates. I will speak to my own position, not seek to mandate yours.

Should I vote for Secretary Clinton?

For many evangelicals, opposition to Secretary Hillary Clinton is almost visceral, a reflex that has been trained over the course of decades. While she claims Christian belief and identifies as a Methodist, her fervent advocacy for abortion and for gay rights have placed her beyond the pale for many evangelicals. Her denigrating of numerous women who claimed sexual abuse by her husband reveals a person for whom power triumphs over principle. Moreover, she has gone to tremendous lengths to oppose transparency and is a well-documented liar. I tremble to think what she would do in office. I cannot in good conscience vote for her.

Should I vote for Trump?

While opposition to Clinton or alignment with (aspects of) the Republican party is second-nature to many evangelicals, I must register strong opposition to the standard bearer of that party this election, Donald J. Trump.

There are many reasons for my opposition to Trump: his racist and race-baiting statements; his brief record of being pro-life, during which he also shows a lack of understanding of the position; his exploitation of the poor and vulnerable through his casinos; his ownership of a strip club; his serial infidelity; his boast of never having repented; his questionable, even nonsensical claim to being a Christian (see previous); his apparent lack of any plan for anything (simply repeating ad nauseam that he will make something great is no more a plan that simply repeating ‘yes we can’); his track record of cheating his contractors;…

However, I neither have time to write about these, nor do you have time to read about all of them. Instead, I would like argue only that he is a sexual predator. Trump is a man who has not only committed adultery repeatedly, he has also bragged about it. He has been sexually aggressive toward many women over the course of many years, using his money and his power to exploit and even assault women. This is not news. While the most recent revelation is abhorrent and vile, it is entirely in keeping with the character of Trump, which we have already seen over this last year (and before).

If I were to vote for Trump, I would be saying that character doesn’t matter, that power is more important than principle. Even if I thought that Trump could be trusted to govern as a pro-life president (which I don’t); even if I believed that Trump would appoint good Supreme Court justices (which I doubt, and there is every reason to doubt his promises); even if I believed that Trump were competent to keep the country safe and deal with the complexities of the global world (which I don’t); even if I believed that he could strengthen the economy (I have my doubts); even if I thought that his racist speech didn’t reflect how he truly believes (and I don’t know what reason I would have to think that); even if all those things were true, I would not be able to vote for Trump on account of his character, especially in his treatment of women.

Like I said, I cannot tell you for whom to vote. But I would urge you to consider carefully before voting.

A letter to my church during this election

As your pastor, my authority is found in and founded upon the Bible. The Bible is God’s word written down by the hands of inspired men and is without error. When I speak from the Bible, I may preach and teach with authority. However, the Bible does not address every issue, nor answer every question we would like to ask of it. Should Christians place their children in public schools or homeschool them? Should parents allow sleepovers? How many songs should we sing together on Sunday morning? How much should we western Christians give to church and other charities, given our remarkable wealth compared to the vast majority of Christians through all time? The Bible doesn’t speak directly to them. As your pastor, I can apply wisdom and the fruit of studying the Bible and prayer in seeking to answer these (and so many more) questions, but I dare not claim undue authority.

As your pastor, I cannot tell you whom you should vote for in this election. The Bible does not mention Trump nor Clinton, not even in the footnotes. Furthermore, there are legal limitations on political speech by religious organizations, of which First Baptist Church is one. However, the Bible does speak clearly about many topics and issues that are highly relevant in this election cycle. Therefore, while I will not tell you for whom you should vote, I want to issue strong concerns about both major candidates. I will speak to my own position, not seek to mandate yours.

Should I vote for Secretary Clinton?

For many evangelicals, opposition to Secretary Hillary Clinton is almost visceral, a reflex that has been trained over the course of decades. While she claims Christian belief and identifies as a Methodist, her fervent advocacy for abortion and for gay rights have placed her beyond the pale for many evangelicals. Her denigrating of numerous women who claimed sexual abuse by her husband reveals a person for whom power triumphs over principle. Moreover, she has gone to tremendous lengths to oppose transparency and is a well-documented liar. I tremble to think what she would do in office. I cannot in good conscience vote for her.

Should I vote for Trump?

While opposition to Clinton or alignment with (aspects of) the Republican party is second-nature to many evangelicals, I must register strong opposition to the standard bearer of that party this election, Donald J. Trump.

There are many reasons for my opposition to Trump: his racist and race-baiting statements; his brief record of being pro-life, during which he also shows a lack of understanding of the position; his exploitation of the poor and vulnerable through his casinos; his ownership of a strip club; his serial infidelity; his boast of never having repented; his questionable, even nonsensical claim to being a Christian (see previous); his apparent lack of any plan for anything (simply repeating ad nauseam that he will make something great is no more a plan that simply repeating ‘yes we can’); his track record of cheating his contractors;…

However, I neither have time to write about these, nor do you have time to read about all of them. Instead, I would like argue only that he is a sexual predator. Trump is a man who has not only committed adultery repeatedly, he has also bragged about it. He has been sexually aggressive toward many women over the course of many years, using his money and his power to exploit and even assault women. This is not news. While the most recent revelation is abhorrent and vile, it is entirely in keeping with the character of Trump, which we have already seen over this last year (and before).

If I were to vote for Trump, I would be saying that character doesn’t matter, that power is more important than principle. Even if I thought that Trump could be trusted to govern as a pro-life president (which I don’t); even if I believed that Trump would appoint good Supreme Court justices (which I doubt, and there is every reason to doubt his promises); even if I believed that Trump were competent to keep the country safe and deal with the complexities of the global world (which I don’t); even if I believed that he could strengthen the economy (I have my doubts); even if I thought that his racist speech didn’t reflect how he truly believes (and I don’t know what reason I would have to think that); even if all those things were true, I would not be able to vote for Trump on account of his character, especially in his treatment of women.

Like I said, I cannot tell you for whom to vote. But I would urge you to consider carefully before voting.