![]() And although we don’t agree on everything, I fail to see what’s lost by exposing the president to the same God Fea and Barber claim to worship? Isn’t it good for him to be exposed to faith? Obviously, Fea, Barber, and others on the Religious Left have one goal: pushing Christians away from political engagement. But I can say that he shares some of evangelicals’ deepest concerns. ![]() I can’t speak to Donald Trump’s personal faith walk. It’s subtle, but you can see it in Tony Perkins’ huffy response to Barber at the Christian Post: Barbers of our society that if you really want to make a difference in the communities of color, you need to address the egregious acts of abortion in America.”Īfter a while, these differences add up, to the point where people begin to question whether even the faith is shared. Leon Threatt of Christian Faith Assembly, have their own questions for Barber: “I would say to the Mr. Some of the conservative ministers, like the Rev. William Barber says people who pray for the president have to care for the poor as well. Barber and I might think they’re wrong (they are), but that’s not the point.Ĭonservative believers can’t be talked out of their positions simply by referencing shared beliefs about the poor as articulated in scripture, because they don’t actually share those beliefs or at the very least, they hold radically different interpretations of how to implement the values. When I say “an article of faith” here, I am not being critical: there are many American Christians who believe that taxes are theft, government hurts more than it helps, and that the right way to address poverty is through religious charity only, not public policy. This is pretty much the same thing I hear whenever I cite scripture in support of the social safety net: God never says government should provide for the poor! (Which is true, though she never says the opposite, either.) Like Harris, many conservative Christians believe-truly, almost as an article of faith-that government programs are an ineffective means of poverty relief at best, and at worst, a counter-productive or even predatory response to the poor. Mark Harris of First Baptist Church of Charlotte arguing that “what churches are doing is the most effective means of truly helping the poor, not government programs where the money … never seems to reach those who need it the most.” ![]() Some ministers in North Carolina responded that they, in fact, were concerned for the poor, with the Rev. We can see from the responses that neither of those holds up in this case. It’s what Christians think they should do when sorting through options: Come, let us reason together by interpreting the word of God.īarber’s charge depends on two things: a shared understanding of the Christian responsibility to the poor, and underlying that, a shared identity as Christians. This sort of appeal to the authority of scripture is well-used by both the religious left and right. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, conveniently focus only on the first half of Barber’s critique-that the leaders were praying for the powerful-while omitting the second part, that they should have taken the cause of the poor up with POTUS.īarber expanded in an “open letter” at ThinkProgress, noting, among other things, that “The teachings of Jesus are clear about caring for the poor and the sick, and we are called to share His message we cannot simply serve as chaplains to imperial power.”īarber wants Christians to decide which side they’re on: that of the rich and powerful, or the poor, in whose corner God stands. The responses of Religious Right leaders in Barber’s crosshairs, like the Rev. “You’re violating the most sacred principles of religion.” “It is a form of theological malpractice that borders on heresy when you can p-r-a-y for a president and others when they are p-r-e-y, preying on the most vulnerable,” said Barber, who has spoken up for the poor and against GOP policies as leader of the “Moral Monday” movement. William Barber, rising face of the religious left, managed to kick up some dust last week by going on the Joy Reid show to denounce a photo that’s been making the rounds, depicting white evangelical leaders praying for Pres.
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