How can evangelicals support a liar?

“The devil is a liar” is familiar Christian teaching supported by biblical text (John 8:44) that declares the devil to be the original liar, intent on destroying our relationship with God (which he did to get us kicked out of the Garden of Eden). Yet despite Donald Trump’s habitual lying, evangelical support for him has been and is robust, with some evangelical leaders endorsing his candidacy, declaring him saved from past and current transgressions and ignoring his propensity to lie about things big and small.

This support has been justified as forgiveness; however, forgiving doesn’t require us to hire the devil to do God’s work. Even if we forgive the devil, we don’t put him in charge. Besides, Trump is supposed to ask for forgiveness — something he won’t do because he says he has done nothing to forgive. This, of course, is a lie.

Accepting Trump’s habit of lying compromises Christian principles, since lying can’t be both a sin and acceptable behavior. Nothing is more detrimental to faith and believing than lying, which is what the devil is about.

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