So, should Christians continue to back the Republican nominee, or should they dump him in favor of some third-party candidate, in effect abandoning the fight, and the White House, to Hillary Clinton?
Recently, I heard a Christian radio host make a statement that’s sadly all too common in some Christian circles. In advising people of faith not to vote for Trump, he condemned the concept of voting to “limit evil” by saying that Christians should rather always choose the good. Like many others who make the argument, he quoted, wildly out of context, 19th century British preacher Charles Spurgeon’s words, “Of two evils, choose neither.”
The prima facie problem with this line of thinking is the implied assumption that voting for Trump is somehow a sin. No, murder is a sin. Rape is a sin. Theft is a sin. Choosing the candidate you think will best further the Christian agenda in an imperfect world among the two you are given with a reasonable shot to win? Not even in the ballpark.
Pastor John Barber puts it this way:
Imagine our two families are miles from land in a sinking boat. Suddenly, out of the mist, come two boats to save us. One is captained by an adulterer; the other is captained by a thief. Which boat will you get into? You say, “Neither one. I’m waiting for the evangelical boat which is captained by a devout Christian who will end abortion.” I say, “You’re kidding, right?” You reply, “Both these guys are reprobates and I’m not going to choose between two evils.”
