Christian conservatives must rethink their support for President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump claims to be the choice of Christian conservatives, but is he really what we want? Very few of us would want our children to grow up to be like him

We cringe at what he says and tweets, remembering that “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Many of us find Trump’s transactional view of life vile because Scripture teaches the sacredness of life.

And some of us find Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden much more likable.

In overcoming adversity Biden has found empathy with others who struggle; he seems aware of his own feet of clay. Unlike Trump, who has declared that he has never asked for forgiveness, Biden seems quite aware of his own need for grace.

A potential false victory

Yet many of us have been frightened into believing that Biden is ardently pro-abortion — and that he is a secret socialist who favors lawlessness.

On abortion, have you ever heard Biden speaking comfortably on the topic?

Unlike Hillary Clinton, who emphasized abortion rights in her campaign, Biden is a labor union Democrat who wants to talk about jobs.

Are we fighting a 1990s battle in focusing on the abortion views of Supreme Court nominees?

Surgical abortions are down because of better contraception and at-home abortifacients — pills that terminate pregnancies without a trip to the abortion clinic.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it won’t be that the Supreme Court is declaring an end to abortion; it will simply be returning the issue to the jurisdiction of state legislatures.

How many legislatures will be prepared to outlaw abortifacients?

Will voters allow them to take away those convenient backup birth control pills?

If not, a Supreme Court power play may turn out to be a false victory.

Wouldn’t it be better to redouble our efforts in expanding prenatal health care and equipping crisis pregnancy centers — and to focus on witnessing to the sanctity of life and thereby changing our culture?

He’s no socialist

On socialism what has Biden said or done over his decades of public service to indicate he is a socialist? Maybe it’s that he wants to expand health care coverage. Remember, though, that he opposed “Medicare for All,” saying it was too expensive.

Yes, Biden did spearhead the Affordable Care Act.

But while Republicans like me voted against that package, let’s honor the 9th Commandment and not bear false witness: Obamacare was an attempt to maintain a system of private insurance; it was not Medicare for All.

On lawlessness, do we remember that Biden and his vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, had trouble in the Democratic primaries because of their law and order approach?

Biden made the same mistake that many of us made in cracking down on crack and supporting “three strikes and you’re out” — policies that led to mass incarceration of young Black males.

Many of us are rethinking those policies now, realizing with 20-20 hindsight that they resulted in manifest injustices.

Hardly law and order

Meanwhile, isn’t it ironic that Trump proclaims himself the law and order candidate?

This is the man who:

▪ Stiffed creditors in multiple bankruptcies.

▪ Contorts the law to keep shady business and personal secrets.

▪ Profited from the losses of others in his gambling businesses.

Unforgivable

In 2016 we could be forgiven for sensing a binary choice between ardent abortion-rights champion Hillary Clinton and a newly minted pro-life Donald Trump.

We can be forgiven for hoping that Trump would change, that he would grow into the presidency and would bridle his worst instincts. That’s not where we are in 2020.

We now know full well who Trump is.

Now the question is, “Who are we?”

Bob Inglis represented South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District from 1993 to 1999 and 2005 to 2011.

This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 7:13 AM.