On The Briefing today, Al Mohler gave his tacit defense for the Intelligentsia’s promotion of Marco Rubio. After piling on Donald Trump in the rather obvious claim Trump isn’t a Christian, Mohler then explains it’s better to support a candidate who by his Confession anathematizes those who believe in justification by faith alone doesn’t believe exactly like we do, but whose policies promote open borders and amnesty Biblical ideals.
We get it. We shouldn’t vote for Trump. The Intelligentsia really, really wants us to know he’s not a Christian. Yes, we agree. The question that needs to be answered is why the Evangelical Intelligentsia default their political support to the Roman Catholic when there are actually conservative actual evangelicals in the wings.
In a podcast with Todd Starnes on January 21, the following conversation took place with the 2008 GOP second-runner up and former president of a Baptist state convention, Mike Huckabee. When asked if Russell Moore was right that it’s a “sin” to vote for Donald Trump, Huckabee said (as quoted from Baptist News Global)…
“Of course not,” Huckabee sad. “You’ve mentioned Russell Moore. He had a big meeting with about 10,000 Southern Baptists, and two people he brought to speak were Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. They’re great guys and they’re friends of mine and I like them both, but they’re Roman Catholic.”
“I’m thinking, Russell, if you really wanted to bring somebody to talk to Baptists you might bring somebody that has been one — educated in Baptist colleges, Baptist seminaries, pastored Baptist churches, led a Baptist convention, raised hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars for Southern Baptist missions,” Huckabee said. “That would have been smart.”
“I’m not really that worried that Russell’s evaluation of the candidates is going to be taken as significant,” Huckabee added.
Huckabee, of course, is 100% right. Could you imagine being a serious and authentic Christian and Southern Baptist running for president and having the former democratic staffer turned ERLC director invite the two Roman Catholic candidates for the campaign publicity and not you or any other Protestants? Ouch.
Unlike Huckabee, however, we are concerned that Moore’s opinion does carry weight – when it’s combined with 0ther Intelligentsia like Mohler, Grudem, Teetsel, et al. Mohler, Moore and company can say all day long that it makes more sense to vote for a Roman Catholic who holds to evangelical values rather than a fake Christian who doesn’t. But none of that explains overlooking the evangelicals in this race who do share our values.
The only thing that explains that is that those evangelicals happen to be actual conservatives.
[Contributed by JD Hall]
