A New York Times story, apart from the expected misunderstanding of actual Evangelicals, made me sad. The article points out that, especially since 2016, “Evangelicals” have taken to soft-core porn, cussing, drinking, and premarital sex. In other words, Trump has given them license to behave like secular folks while still claiming the name “Evangelical.” Why should this make me sad? I lament the loss of place for those who grew up, like me, striving for clean living. It’s an image—a mirage—rather than a reality, of course. But still, if conviction holds, you can get pretty close to the ideal. That vision of life has been occluded by a guy who runs for President because he cares only for himself. Jesus, on the other hand, was all about caring for others. Going as far as, if the Gospels are to be believed, sacrificing his own life.
Like fiscal conservatives, such legitimate Evangelicals now have no public voice. One of only two political parties has become identified with an individual rather than ideals—what used to be called a platform. I have Republican friends. I grew up identifying as a Republican. I also grew up as an Evangelical. I studiously avoided things like bad language, sex, tobacco, and alcohol. Even at Evangelical Grove City College I was a bit of an outlier for how seriously I took all these things. Of course, studying history can be dangerous, particularly for ideologues. Still, “clean living” had its own virtues. Those who continue to try to live that way are swimming into a rip tide, it seems. For some Trump seems like the Second Coming, sans the white horse. And this, above all, is sad.
There are those who claim, often loudly, that religion is bad. I agree that when a religion tries to force others to obey its standards it can quickly become evil. Still, the baby should be left behind when the bathwater’s discarded. Religion has led to much good in the world. Hospitals, charities, and yes, “clean living.” These things, along with retirement homes and affordable apartments for low-earners in their autumn years, are necessary to pick up the slack that the government leaves. It is cause for sadness that the clean living camp has succumbed to Trump-style hypocrisy. Heck, religion gave us the word “hypocrisy.” The standards of classical Evangelicalism are often impossibly high. If we look at current Evangelical leaders we find many, many skeletons in a house with many closets. And a wagging finger warning the young, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
