The Church Divided: Questions for Progressive Christian Liberals

By Marty Smith

For as many years as I can remember, it was easy to separate and avoid politics from Christian ministry. The presence of politically driven issues has always been present to some degree, but they always seemed to be a distraction from the true mission of the church—making disciples who in turn make disciples. And any commingling of political and spiritual discussion easily could devolve into cultural disagreements not helpful to making disciples.

That all changed with the George Floyd murder, BLM, COVID and a host of changes in the political landscape that have never happened before in this country. Before anyone realized it was happening, many evangelical churches were drawn into the social justice arena like never before. Systemic racism was the evil, and the Church had been weak in its stand against injustices suffered by the African American community, or worse, a silent or even active participant in this racism. At the same time, an upcoming election was on the horizon that would be Donald Trump’s re-election bid. Christians began dividing between those who thought President Trump was almost messianic and those who thought he was an evil man on the path to destruction and had to be removed. He was a racist, an adulterer, a liar—and so on.

Many Christian leaders and churches became party to the belief that systemic racism was widespread. They didn’t really know much about the BLM organization, but they concurred with the phrase "black lives matter." Donald Trump was a supposed narcissist who struggled with the truth, and although they previously had avoided political discourse, they were now willing to criticize the president and push political solutions.

Then, the 2020 election happened. It is at this critical juncture that I came to a pivot point. It seemed to me that when it comes to spiritual things, both Trump and Biden were personally on a path to destruction, as John Piper wrote in his opinion prior to the election—but with very different convictions and policies. And while past differences between the Democratic and Republican Parties seemed relatively small, this made them seismic, and deserving of a much a closer look by the Church. 

The tension between many Christians grew enormously. For those considered mature in their faith, I thought it would be obvious that the policies of conservatives would be viewed as more aligned with biblical teaching. The personal beliefs and behaviors of the candidates should become a secondary consideration since the long-term effects after he or she is out of office must be considered, like possible Supreme Court Justice appointments.

Strangely, many believers I considered spiritually mature did not think this way. Many were supportive of the liberal candidate with little thought of the consequences of his policies. From my discussions with several of these folks, their decision had more to do with a disdain for the behavior and rhetoric of Donald Trump rather than support for Joe Biden. In truth, I completely understand some of these sentiments. President Trump’s comments and self-adulation were oftentimes over the top for me as well.  But what should guide me in my decision? Since both candidates were deeply flawed, who should I choose? From there it became clear to me that the policies and convictions of the individual and his Party platform in relation to Scripture was the appropriate determinant. Thus the answer quickly became obvious.

However, what seemed so clear to me was not clear to some of my spiritually mature friends. As a result, a fracture of sorts occurred. The Gospel is still primary in our beliefs, love and unity among the brethren still essential, but there is an uneasiness with those who have supported what I consider to be the most radical governance in history. It is understandable to me that young and immature believers might come from a background of leftist thinking, and may continue to hold those beliefs, but I cannot get my head wrapped around believers who know the truth and yet do not hold to biblical positions on things like the status of the unborn, gender design, parental responsibility, sexual purity, and racial inequality. How does anyone professing a devotion to Christ glaringly ignore parts of Scripture they just don’t like or want to follow?

So, rather than making a case for the policies on the right that are more biblically aligned that I could discuss ad nauseam, I thought it better to provide a list of questions for my left-leaning Christian brothers and sisters for the purpose of seeking to understand. Maybe it is I who needs to see things differently. That is perfectly ok—and is, by the way, my frequent prayer.

• What is your biblical support for teaching racism and the elimination of meritocracy to children in our schools through Critical Race Theory (CRT)?
• What is your biblical support for sexualizing children as young as three years old?
• What is your biblical support for leading children to believe they can be a different gender than the one God created them to be?
• What is your biblical support for allowing young children to have medical procedures to become a different gender without their parent’s knowledge or consent?
• What is your biblical support for teachers who believe that our children are theirs while in the classroom, and not their parents?
• What is your biblical support for the Equality Act that increases the rights of LGBTQ+ persons to the point that it reduces religious freedoms?
• What is your biblical support for endorsing the killing of over 60 million unborn children up to and even beyond the day of birth?
• What is your biblical support for same sex marriage?
• What is your biblical support for not following the laws of the nation when it comes to legal immigration?
• What beliefs or policies of conservatives do you think contradict biblical commands?

So, there it is—the sad divisions between Christians that feels like an abyss. Unfortunately, some believe that government is the solution to the problems of mankind, but this is a most destructive lie. Christ alone is the answer in every scenario of life and government. 

At the end of the day, though, I am still greatly encouraged because God alone is in control. All of the chaos and evil in this world will come to an end in His timing and for His glory. What a glorious thing it is to be in Christ, no matter what happens on earth.