Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine,” he emphasized. On Thursday, the influential pastor and writer published what he referred to as a “long-overdue” blog post in which he pondered the implications of the 2020 election. That calling is contradicted by supporting either pathway to cultural corruption and eternal ruin.”, After publishing the article, Piper posted on Twitter that he "won’t be voting for Biden or Trump.". This is not to make excuses but rather to be realistic. It is another thing to empower a party that will sanction the killing of the unborn. “The linking of the Christian church with the ruling political regime has more often proven to corrupt the essential spirit of Christ,” he wrote at the time. … I suppose Piper would not have voted for Cyrus with his harems or Jehu with his idols either, but God had another idea. How, then, can Christians vote for someone who embodies the former sins (such as "unrepentant boastfulness") in the name of fighting against the latter sins (such as abortion)? If voting for a man who often lies and exaggerates can stop the rise of an anti-God socialism, can that vote be justified? John Piper has been a friend – a good and faithful friend – for more than 40 years. TRENDING: Report: Trump is considering forming a new political party, Fourth, I concur that the character flaws of our president have been very damaging. But be pragmatic when it comes to casting your vote. John Piper’s burden is to show that Christian support for Donald Trump is wrong — and dangerous. Sixth, I respect the humility with which Piper presents his viewpoint, making clear that he is not telling anyone else how to vote. John Piper Election Article – Desiring God I stumbled across Piper’s article on the Drudge Report where Drudge headlined the link, “Prominent pastor warns evangelicals of Trump’s ‘nation-corrupting’ sins.” Now, as nearly everyone knows who reads Iron Ink or who knows me, I am no Donald Trump fan. Do we therefore compromise our views on these issues so as to avoid offense? John Piper Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org Today we will inaugurate a man to the presidency of the United States who is morally unqualified to be there. But a vote for Biden and the Democrats is a vote to empower a party that wants to impose an overtly godless agenda. Second, I deeply share his concern that many American pastors have failed to develop "real, radical Christians," Christians who will be willing to die for Jesus. The only folks who don't see it are most of the Evangelical world.". Keeping Christ supreme in our affections makes all our lesser loves better, not worse.”. But I wonder if future generations would understand if we explained the loss of our freedoms and the slaughter of millions of more babies by saying, "Yes, one party espoused these terrible policies. “He points his nation to destruction. "That choice to 'write in' is relatively unimportant. https://www.wnd.com/2020/10/response-pastor-john-piper-donald-trump As Piper wrote, "When a leader models self-absorbed, self-exalting boastfulness, he models the most deadly behavior in the world. Yet I differ with his suggestion that Christians might do best by sitting out the presidential election, since a vote for either Trump or Biden cannot be justified. On the other hand, if those with a different agenda are empowered, their policies will affect us by the millions. (SEE UPDATE BELOW).If I read him correctly, it sounds like he will not vote for Trump or Biden. Discover 'The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told'. This is important to say just now because not to see it and feel it will add to the collapsing vision of leadership that enabled him to be nominated and elected. Piper questioned why some Christians seem to be sure they are “saving human lives and freedoms” by ignoring the destructive effects of a “self-absorbed, self-exalting” leader. While some polls have shown the president’s support slipping with white evangelicals, a poll from Pew Research Center taken last month showed that 82% of white evangelicals planned to vote for Trump. That is not my duty. Or strip away religious freedoms. ", Joe Biden is president – by the sovereign will of God, If we're to be hated, let it be for the right reason, Neither 'Never Trump' nor 'Forever Trump', No, we didn't sell our souls by voting for Trump. Christians from across the spectrum have weighed in on influential pastor and author John Piper's op-ed piece criticizing Christians' support for President Donald Trump. Yet I differ with his suggestion that Christians might do best by sitting out the presidential election, since a vote for either Trump or Biden cannot be justified. What will I say? But the reasoning really matters.” He then linked to his 1995 article on abortion as a stake in the ground he hopes never to move. My response, again, is simple: Trump is one man, and as destructive as his words and conduct can be – just look at the warnings in Proverbs about foolish kings – we can vote for him by the millions while at the same time modeling godlier conduct. The world will ask. Editor’s Note: After this article was published, John Piper tweeted, “The article we posted today explains why I won’t be voting for Biden or Trump. In January, he warned Christians against loving patriotism more than Christ, stressing that such affections should only exist “up to a point” and that Christians should “never give them absolute allegiance.”. Whipping out the ultimate tool in the pastor’s complexifying toolbox, he employs biblical Greek to add authority to his case against Trump and against voting at all. While it would be ideal for our presidents to be shining examples of morality and character, very few in our history would live up to that ideal. Seventh, I agree with him that, whatever path we take, it must enhance, not detract, from our witness for Jesus. This is not the first time Piper has spoken out against Trump; in 2016, he argued Trump was “morally unqualified” for the office, citing his “immoral behavior in the past, and his ongoing unwillingness to renounce it as evil.”. Piper bemoaned the “many horrible indignities” that have occurred because Christians failed to realize that “we are more bound together with other believers — no matter their ethnicity or their political alignments or their nationality — than we are to anybody in our own fatherland.”, “In the end, Christ has relativized all human allegiances, all human loves. The non-believing world is appalled by the hypocrisy. (Photo: Passion/Kendra Harrell) There's an "eternally significant" question Donald Trump and Joe Biden should ask themselves as votes continue to be counted, says John Piper, but it's not whether they've won this election. Conservative preacher and writer John Piper laid into American Christians recently for supporting Donald Trump for president. But it fails to realize that many of the younger generations were already turned off by our affirmation of biblical values, which includes our rejection of the "pro-choice" position and our opposition to LGBTQ activism. Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine.". He suggested that when Christians “act as if policies and laws that protect life and freedom are more precious than being a certain kind of person,” they are detracting from the message of the Gospel. Theologian John Piper gives a sermon at Passion 2020 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 1, 2020. Once again, I wholeheartedly agree with Piper's emphasis on the gospel first (rather than "America first"). To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Your New Year’s Resolution: Write and Publish a Book! I have always respected that view, even if it is not my own. In two convocation videos, evangelical author and speaker John Piper reminded Liberty University students to not waste their lives. if( ! Mohler endorses Trump For his part, Mohler offered up a full-throated defense of Trump, while acknowledging he doesn’t like the president’s personality and wouldn’t choose him for a neighbor. https://protestia.com/2020/10/23/john-piper-the-never-trumper I wish John Piper would have come out earlier with this post. "When I consider the remote possibility that I might do any good by endorsing the devastation already evident in the two choices before me, I am loath to undermine my calling (and the church’s mission) to stand for Christ-exalting faith and hope and love," he wrote. “Never feel more attached to your fatherland or your tribe or your family or your ethnicity than you do to the people of Christ,” he wrote. To the contrary, hasn't he expressed regret about some of his past actions? John Piper jumped into the presidential race this past week, publishing a long piece attacking President Trump and telling those who support him how disappointed he is in them. He writes, "I remain baffled that so many Christians consider the sins of unrepentant sexual immorality (porneia), unrepentant boastfulness (alazoneia), unrepentant vulgarity (aischrologia), unrepentant factiousness (dichostasiai), and the like, to be only toxic for our nation, while policies that endorse baby-killing, sex-switching, freedom-limiting, and socialistic overreach are viewed as deadly.". And does he get credit for keeping his promises and commitments in ways that few presidents in our lifetime have done? He called them His anointed. Piper seems more concerned with Trump’s boisterous rhetoric than with Trump’s actions. But the reasoning really matters," he tweeted. will know that I have expressed many similar views as well. Please click here to learn how. He calls Trump “factious.” It simply means dissent, schism, or faction. What we cannot do, as I have been shouting for years now, is become apologists for the president. Today, John Piper released an article decrying the personal immorality of Donald Trump — whose policies have been friendly to the Christian Church and favorable to conservatism — and comparing it to the deadliness of Planned Parenthood. John Piper slams Trump in new blog post - The Christian Post John Piper warns Trump's 'deadly' behavior will lead to 'destruction' in blistering post. A respectful response to my friend John Piper about voting for Trump (Editor’s Note: This is used with permission and was originally published by The Christian Post and was written by Dr. Wayne Grudem.) Pastor Piper writes, "I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring (eristikos).". Do you want award-winning journalism with a, LGBT discrimination, face mask mandate, DACA: 5 actions taken by Biden on his first day in office, Biden to rescind Mexico City Policy, Trump's pro-life actions, Christian immigration advocacy groups praise Biden's plans as 'glimpse of hope', William Barber warns against ‘simplistic calls for unity,’ ‘policy sin’ at Inaugural Prayer Service, A Christian parent’s case for public school education, Christians can abstain from voting because ‘voting lesser of two evils is still evil,’ Fred Price Jr. says, Michigan pastor leaves church over Trump support: Christians ‘abandoned’ role of holding president accountable, David Platt on how Christians should approach election: 'I don’t want to see the church further divided', John Piper Explains Why He Doesn't Talk More About Politics in America, Promise Keepers Announces First-Ever Men’s Marriage Summit. Recently, well-known pastor John Piper wrote an article saying that he probably can't vote for President Trump because he perceives the president to be morally unqualified for the position. John Piper is one of the most respected Christian leaders in America, and I personally hold him in high esteem. Contrary to around 80 percent of the white evangelicals who cast a vote for Trump in 2016, it sounds like Piper is not willing to give President Donald Trump a pass at the ballot box. The final straw was the support of Donald Trump by these groups. He is criticizing Trump’s character while giving Biden a pass. John Piper suggested in a new piece for his site, Desiring God, that he may not be voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the presidential election. To begin with, the political system itself is earthly and flawed, with all candidates being far from perfect. One of my evangelical colleagues wrote to me last week, saying, "The gospel witness has been destroyed, especially among the younger generations. Piper did not name specific presidential candidates or parties, but then he clarified online: He would not be voting for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. getCookie( "ff_subbed" ) ) { let a_s = document.createElement( "script" ); a_s.src = "https://static.apester.com/js/sdk/latest/apester-sdk.js"; a_s.async = "async"; document.body.appendChild( a_s ); }, Rush Limbaugh: Hundreds dead today 'due to Biden's mishandling of virus', Twitter sued for allowing child porn because it didn't 'violate policies', New York Times op-ed writer: If Biden wants unity he'll lynch Pence. Click here to log out. We can cast a ballot in his name on Nov. 3 while shouting from the rooftops that our hope is in the Lord, not in a man or a party. 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