Where were you Beth Moore? Where were you Julie Roys? Where were you Chelsen Vicari?
These three notable women–in evangelical circles–spent much of the early part of this week condemning Donald Trump’s remarks on the Access Hollywood bus from 2005.
As did EVERY male evangelical voice (including myself) over the same period of time.It’s true. All the ones named, and a good many others, spoke to the reprehensible nature of what Donald Trump’s comments represented in his attitude, heart, and willingness to (in what to date appears to be) boast in an imaginative way of forcing himself upon women, some married.
In the IMMEDIATE aftermath of the tape’s revelation, not only did I condemn the words, but (in what should be an honest and deeply meaningful admission to these female evangelical leaders,) I challenged men (of faith or not) to take a hard assessment of our own hearts, and to admit what none of the women around us would likely believe.
Put bluntly, every man wrestles with sexual, lustful, unbiblical, and ungodly forms of sexual temptation.
If no where else…
Than in our own mind.I saw some men attempt to be holier-than-thou’s shortly after the tape’s emergence. I saw Coach Doc Rivers say “there’s no locker room talk like that on our team.”
And I’ve seen a bevy of women make public professions that their men would “n-e-v-e-r” say or think any of the things said or implied or anything like what was heard on that bus.
I have bad news to break to these women… they are misinformed.
Different men wrestle with different things but all men battle their brain as it regards sexual thoughts.
Except for the ones who don’t fight it…Those are the ones much more likely to express just such sentiment around teammates, co-workers, brothers etc.
The bottom line on this is non-debatable, it is indisputable, every man, all men, even the husband you believe is perfectly pure, wrestles.
He sees things you don’t know about. He thinks things he never tells you about. And he on a human level–at times–not always–but at times–desires things he would not normally admit publicly. (Like I said, the ones who no longer fight it, are more likely to say it.)
Donald Trump’s admission brought shame to himself, to his bride, to his children. But he is not alone in dealing with it… nor should we be conned into thinking that any of us are above him.
For the church this moment should’ve become an instant *teaching moment* for honest communication in marriages, honest transparent teaching in churches about God’s design for sex and the truly honest battle that sex is for men.That’s what we should have done.
Instead we’ve substituted the moment for something far more shallow… presidential politics.
But even on this, their cries of support for Hillary Clinton ring hollow.
To be clear doing anything other than stopping Hillary in the general election works as part of her strategy to get her elected. So not voting, voting third party, voting write-in, are all the equivalent of voting FOR her because of the binary nature of the general election.
Biblically speaking no Christian leader anywhere is on safe terms calling for abstaining from “rendering to” the civil governance what is required. Jesus himself commands us to do our civil duty in addition to doing our spiritual duty.Likewise even in the Torah the book of Deuteronomy lays out God’s over all instruction for his followers to construct their lives by. He tells us that He has laid before us both “life & death” and that we are literally to “choose life.”
The women that now demonstrate a willful belligerence against the current options sat silent during a hotly contested primary season when an actual born again Christian — man of one wife — could have easily become the nominee and now be opposing Hillary Clinton.
If Beth Moore had as passionately tweeted about the need to be involved, be informed, and be engaged while the purest choices available were up for the choosing it would have been interesting to see how her positive could have helped render a different outcome.
And it is not as though Trump’s past habits of sexual looseness weren’t well documented even in his book “The Art of The Deal.”
These women also are largely ignoring the direct testimony of people like fellow Christian Kellyanne Conway who has repeatedly discussed Trump’s demeanor, change in direction, and why she honestly believes while working with Mr. Trump daily that he is a man in the midst of transformation.That this is a man who has repeatedly advanced women within his companies, sought out opportunities for them and paid them far more dollars for their efforts than Hillary Clinton has at the Clinton Foundation.
None of this even begins to address the pathetic hypocrisy of these female evangelical leaders in ignoring Hillary Clinton’s own aiding and abetting — not mere sexual harassment, not just “dirty talk,” — actual rape and criminal sexual assault by rapists she represented in court, and one she has been married to for 30+ years.
Donald spoke disturbing comments that God would command for him to put to death in his mind before they ever cross his lips.
But Bill Clinton physically sexually assaulted Kathleen Willey in the halls of the White House, he physically sexually raped Juanita Brodderick while still governor of Arkansas–going so far as to bite through her face to keep her from screaming while he raped her–then telling her to have a doctor “look at that thing” just before leaving. There are 20 other women on record who have never received a just hearing for the actions taken by the former President.
To date these female evangelical leaders have said zero about Hillary’s complicity in helping Bill’s exploits by first approving the women involved, but also attacking them publicly and harshly when they finally spoke up.
I will not judge the motives of these women. But I also can not stand aside and allow them to give this nation to a woman who has pledged to quadruple funding for tax-payer abortion vis a vie Planned Parenthood. 387,000 children a year already being executed by our $500,000,000.00 in tax-payer money shouldn’t be turned into $2,000,000,000.00 and 1,200,000 dead babies.
I understand the frustration of flawed men who sometimes fight it and sometimes don’t fight their sinful sexual nature.
But uninformed ignorance paving a pathway to greater self-destruction by supposedly authoritative voices to the Christian women of our society must not be allowed to stand unanswered.
So enough with the shallow hollow tweets and soundbites.
Let’s begin a real discussion, of the real score, and REALLY try to help real people–especially the lives of our wives, daughters, and families!
