In an interview with the magazine Christianity Today, its founder Billy Graham said, “The central issues of our time aren’t economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature.”
The current editor of Christianity Today, Mark Galli, felt differently. Believing that political issues are central he wrote an editorial titled “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.” Galli wrote, “We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear…that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath.”
I do not know who the “we” is that Galli is referring to, maybe his editorial board, but the impeachment hearings did not clear up for me what was actually said or done by our President to impeach him. It seems to be a case of they (the Democrats) said, he (Trump) said.
During the congressional hearings into the Iran-Contra affair someone reportedly said, about the contradictory testimonies that “someone was lying.” The comedian Jay Leno said with a congressional committee made up of former judges and lawyers he was pretty sure that was true.
That in a sense sums up the impeachment hearings for me. Someone is lying; I am just not sure who. Andy Sullivan with Reuters wrote an article titled, “Explainer: The case for Trump’s impeachment-and the case against it.” The article seemed balance and left the hearings open to interpretation.
The politically biased partisanship displayed by Nancy Pelosi in the impeachment hearings is behind her refusal to file the articles of impeachment with the Senate without assurances as to how the Senate will proceed. She wants to control the process, because she fears a Senate trial will be as partisan as the House hearings were.
Power struggles are seldom about what is right and more about winning no matter what the cost is. Several politicians have cited their religious background claiming the moral high ground for the hearings. Trusting the moral motivation of any politician is like building one’s house on shifting sand.
Billy Graham learned that lesson when he supported Richard Nixon throughout the Watergate scandal thinking him to be a godly and honorable man. He learned through experience that the central issues are not political but are indeed moral and spiritual.
Galli’s editorial was rebutted by articles published in another prominent Christian magazine, the Christian Post. Sadly, Evangelicals seem to be lining up on both sides of this issue. What we are witnessing is politicians failing to be the Christians they claim to be and evangelicals acting more like politicians. That is a loose/loose situation.
I do not know what course the impeachment will take or how it will end, but I am not concerned because I serve a kingdom that will last forever and will be reigning when petty politics lie in the dust of the past.
Politics will not make America great again; we will become great as we, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” Matthew 6:33.
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