Trump or Biden

Published by Kevin Schaal, October 28, 2020

 

“This is a horrible election.”

Those were my words in 2016. I was speaking to a group of pastors in Nairobi who had asked me about the elections in the US. I ended up voting for Donald Trump in 2016 but I was not happy about it. I felt that there was no good candidate. I described Donald Trump at the time as a “vulgar” person–a characterization that I do not disavow even now. He demonstrated a significant level of vulgarity in his public persona up until that point. But policy matters and Hillary Clinton did not hold any personal moral high ground over Trump. Her party platform would have been disastrous to conservatives and Christians on many levels.

As we fast-forward to the 2020 election conservative evangelicals seem to still be divided on endorsing Trump. John Piper is still a never-Trumper while Al Mohler has delivered an articulate argument about why he is voting for Trump in 2020 even though he did not do so in 2016. I suggest that you listen to or read Mohler’s argument, it is compelling. Certainly, you can read or listen to Piper as well. I just believe that Mohler is so much more convincing.  Grudem’s response to Piper is worth listening to as well.

Since 2016 my attitude has changed. Donald Trump wildly exceeded my expectations. He has defended the rights of the unborn, appointed originalist judges, and consistently and boldly defended religious liberty. His foreign policy accomplishments which have been all but ignored by the media are astonishing. No one in history has done what Trump has in the Middle East with new peace accords being signed between Israel and her neighbors almost daily. No American president has been a more faithful friend of Israel. He has been more effective in conservative and Christian-related causes than any other President in US History with the possible exception of Ronald Reagan. We owe him a debt of gratitude for what he has done.

Make no mistake, Trump has an abrasive personality and his tweets are incredibly cringe-worthy. Those characteristics have hurt him significantly and I do not think this election would be close if he had behaved himself in a more statesman-like way. His outbursts and tweets have been twisted and exaggerated to a huge extent by an openly hostile news media, but Trump does give them ammo all-too-often.

I am voting in 2020 for Donald Trump and I am doing it with very little reservation. I am not endorsing his personality or even his personal character. Character does matter, but there is more to character than just public persona. I believe that as flawed as he is Trump beats Biden even on the personal character issue. Joe Biden might be a nicer guy than Trump—although the voters that Biden has challenged to fistfights, called “dog-faced pony soldiers” and “fat” might beg to differ. What you stand for reflects your character too.

I am voting against the Democratic platform and practice as much as I am voting for Donald Trump. From a biblical world-view, the platform of the Democratic Party is evil. It endorses the killing of the unborn—even the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. The platform opposes traditional marriage, school-choice (and therefore Christian Education), and recently stands united in placing restrictions on ministry and worship. Democrats have consistently sided against Israel in foreign policy. Socialism is also contrary to Christian values (see the article here). While racism does exist, Critical Race Theory espouses its own racist view of the race problem that continues and deepens the division rather than resolves it.

To me, the choice is clear. Others, like Mohler, have stated it quite articulately. We would love to have unanimity among Bible-believers on an election, but it has not happened yet. This election might turn on whether evangelicals come out and vote or not.  There are more professing evangelicals in the US than voted for either candidate in 2016.  The power to determine our leadership is in the hands of professing Christians.

This article is an expression of my personal opinion. The FBFI does not specifically endorse candidates and we make no pretense of policing our membership regarding voting practices.  I am sure we do not have unanimity on voting for Trump.  I am quite sure that we are nearly unified in NOT voting for Biden.

Your vote is your stewardship before God and you will answer to Him alone for how you manage it.  We will all live with the consequences of this election no matter how we vote.

May God bless those who honor Him, and may God frustrate the plans of those who seek to do evil.

May God bless you as you vote.