Mike Yoder, lead pastor of Grace Polaris Church, a Grace Brethren congregation on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, is quoted in Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch in an article about why evangelical Christians are backing presidential candidate Donald Trump. A portion of the article appears below. Click here for the complete story.
Why are some evangelical Christians backing Trump?
He’s a philandering, factually challenged, foul-mouthed, Planned Parenthood-praising owner of casinos with strip clubs who belittles opponents, brags about the size of his manhood and has said he sees no need to seek forgiveness from God.
And white evangelical Christians love him.
That’s leading many baffled white evangelical Christian leaders to wonder why.
The success of New York developer Donald Trump among self-identified evangelicals, as measured by exit polls, is one of the 2016 election’s most perplexing mysteries. …
“That really is an enigma to me,” said Mike Yoder, lead pastor at Grace Brethren Church near Polaris.
Now, the question is whether the same phenomenon will occur in Ohio’s March 15 primary.
Yoder hopes not.
During his sermon last Sunday on the arrogance of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, Yoder said he couldn’t help but point to the presidential campaign.
“I think those who crassly use Christian claims simply to gain votes are acting fraudulently, and they ought to be exposed for that,” he told the church where attendance totals around 1,600 in three Sunday services.
“For instance, it is simply not credible to claim to be a Christian and to deny that you have ever needed forgiveness. The two are mutually exclusive.
“It’s simply not credible to claim to be a Christian and deny that you’ve ever lied. They are mutually exclusive.”
Yoder also took issue with the people of faith who are backing Trump, whom he did not mention by name.
“One of the sad things about this season … is the willingness of people who call themselves evangelicals, people who say they trust the power of God, people who know the frailty of leaders, yet are so willing to follow the siren call of those who claim to be able to solve almost any problem by their own will and superiority.
“True evangelicals should know better, both in our conversation and, dare I say, in the voting booth.”
What frustrates him the most, he said, is that the term evangelical — someone who spreads the gospel of Jesus — has been hijacked to mean merely a political interest group.
Click here for the complete story.