Mark Galli, the soon to be retired editor of Christianity Today, recently called for the impeachment of President Trump. Who knew that he would attack not only the president but also his fellow Americans, and even his fellow Christians who support Donald Trump at the polling booth.
After President Trump’s election, Galli contributed to a book along with leftists, such as anti-military tax cheat Shaine Claiborne, called Still Evangelical-Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning. In Chapter Eight of the book, Galli wrote:
“I know hardly anyone, let alone any evangelical Christian who voted for Trump. I describe evangelicals like me as ‘elite’ evangelicals … and this class of evangelicals has discovered that we have family members so different they seem like aliens in our midst. These other evangelicals often haven’t finished college, and if they have jobs (and apparently a lot of them don’t), they are blue-collar jobs or entry-level work. They don’t write books or give speeches; they don’t attend conferences of evangelicals for social justice or evangelicals for immigration reform. They are deeply suspicious of mainstream media. A lot of them voted for Donald Trump.”
I am not sure what ivory tower Mark Galli has been in but his statement regarding his fellow Christians presents a number of problems.
First, I do not know of any Christian that would, or should, describe themselves as elite. To paraphrase the Drill Instructor, before Christ we “are all equally worthless.” Christians are not elite, only sinners saved by the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Second, one does not need to go to college to be educated, especially with the Godless leftism coming out of today’s Academy (save a few truly amazing institutions of learning). Traditional leftist education is a farce. This is why education is becoming more democratized and less elite, as seen in the rise of charter schools, increased emphasis on trade schools, and the home school movement (both parent and online teacher led). There are plenty of PhD’s who haven’t the ability to find their way out of a paper bag, while lacking common sense (common sense being a virtue which “ordinary” people most certainly seem to have an abundance of), or have the ability to treat people the way Jesus told us to treat others.
These so-called “ordinary” people take care of their families, engage in door-to-door witnessing, and visiting the sick, elderly, and lonely. These are the types of people that band together as a community and have a benefit when one of their own gets cancer. These are the types of people whose parents or grandparents stuck together, made it through the Depression and the War, and had relatives who went to Vietnam instead of hiding in college. These are the people who work extra shifts to send their kids, in the hopes of giving them a better life, to the leftist indoctrination center known as the Academy. They do not have time to write books (often written by ghostwriters) or give speeches. They are too busy working and reading their Bible. They are good Christians. They are ordinary people, the type that the Lord uses throughout the Bible to do amazing things. These are the people Jesus Christ mixed with on a regular basis, much to the scorn of religious leaders of the day.
To look down on the voting decisions of these biblically minded people, supposedly because of a lack of worldly education, is sinful. It is the same mistake that Mitt Romney made in 2012 and Hillary Clinton made in 2016. Putting down the righteousness of Americans, especially your fellow Christians, is also a poor witness of the Gospel.
Further, not all of these people are Republicans. Many of them grew up with a picture of JFK in their home. For many, their first vote for a Republican was Ronald Reagan or, if voting later, for Donald Trump. They are tired of being looked down upon by elites who accuse or suggest they are racist, not educated, or not with the times. They are tired of increasing restrictions on their personal and constitutional safety by politicians who have ever-increasing security details. They are tired of the government saying it knows, and not parents, what is best for their children. They love immigrants, but believe in taking care of our military veterans first and believe immigrants should come legally. They are tired of things being one way for the rich and powerful, and another way for law-abiding citizens. They are tired of the unchecked globalization, while the intellectual elitists push it.
Leftist university education is not the answer to the world’s problems. The number of post-nominal letters after one’s name does not cause anyone to be superior or closer to truth. Jesus Christ did not have a degree but is the answer to all of man’s eternal questions. That knowledge is more beautiful than even education as Christ cuts across all sorts of barriers whether it be racial, social, economic, and prejudicial. The Bible was written for all of God’s people, even for children to understand and have such a faith. The last time I checked, any candidate for public office and any person casting a vote for that candidate, was a sinner. God’s faithful, while imperfect beings, should not be looked down on by the “elites” in the choices they make for earthly leadership.
In what constitutes good advice, it is fitting to remember what Lincoln allegedly said: “The Lord prefers common looking people. That is why He made so many of them.”
*Views expressed are those of the author