The New Testament is full of debates. Some of them are very passionate.
In the New Testament you will find debates such as whether circumcision is a requirement for salvation (Acts 15), whether Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15), how to care for both Jewish and Hellenistic widowed believers equally (Acts 6), whether or not to take Mark along on a missionary journey (Acts 15), even which of the apostles was the best preacher (1 Corinthians 1).
Jesus himself was an excellent debater who often tangled with the religious and political leaders of his day. His debates included such issues as whether he was the messiah (Matthew 22, Luke 4), whether he was God (John 5), whether he could heal on the Sabbath (Mark 3), and whether he could forgive sins (Matthew 9).
Jesus the debater sometimes elicited severe responses. His hometown people tried to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4). Loosing debates to Jesus caused the Pharisees to plot his death (Matthew 12). Even his disciples sometimes had issues with his debates (Matthew 15).
I point to these biblical debates as background for the current political debate that has been ongoing on my Facebook page for a few weeks. The debate centers around the current massive Evangelical support for Donald Trump here in the U.S.
In my posts, I have sought to encourage Christian voters to take a second, more critical look at the President. My goal with my personal Facebook posts on President Trump has been to point out some of his very clear deficiencies so that we can at least make an informed decision one way or the other.
The response has been, well, let’s say…”energetic.”
Some take issue with me for starting this debate on my FB page in the first place. They think it is untoward for a Christian leader to do so. Some even think that debating itself is sinful.
Others think it’s great and dive right in.
I believe that an honest debate on this subject is healthy and needed.
So, I want to invite you, my subscribers, to friend me on my private Facebook page and see for yourself. I haven’t reached my 5,000 friend limit yet, so there is still room. You can friend me at https://www.facebook.com/herbreese.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry
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5 thoughts on “About the Political Debate Raging On My Private Facebook Page”
Proud of your posts, Dad! I think Facebook is a great place to start a nuanced conversation like this, but it shouldnt end there. We should proactively exit the echo chamber of our social media feeds and preferred cable news channels and inform ourselves on important issues by reading, watching, and listening to credible material that might
present differing opinions than our own. We should pray and ask God to convict us. We should be prepared to be brought to our knees in lament and repentance, to our feet in action, or even to more inward soul-work. And then we should vote our conscience. The great part about following Jesus is that we can be intellectually honest AND hold onto the mystery of our faith. This will inevitably result in different expressions of faith and various journeys toward sanctification. So why not encourage, spar, and engage with one another along the way? Youre right that Jesus, (and Paul!) never shied away from a good debate. 🙂
I totally agree with you. Instead of looking at the negative, we need to remind people of the many good things that Trump has done.
Herb, I do not disagree with the concerns that you are raising, however what alternatives do we have. It is either the Trump that we know or a group that has indicated that hey want to change ouur country into a Socialist one. Like it or not, God has put President Trump into office at this time for is reasons. God is in control and it appears that our country is getting what we deserve. This scarier than I want to admit.
I don’t care to have a Facebook account so I cant see what you have written there, but I have read what you have posted here before on this subject. Above you say “My goal with my personal Facebook posts on President Trump has been to point out some of his very clear deficiencies so that we can at least make an informed decision one way or the other.” How does a biased one-sided view help anyone make an “informed decision”, what about the other side? We all have deficiencies, even you! One of yours is your bias against President Trump, similar maybe to the outright media bias/hate towards him. You point to the speck in his eye and ignore the timber in the other party’s; think socialism, abortion gone wilder, lawlessness, the Green Deal, open borders, increased taxes, etc. President Trump has made America much, much better in spite of the fierce opposition to him at every turn. If Biden wins he would be a limp puppet in the hands of the extreme leftists Democrats; he has demonstrated over and over that he has already lost some marbles – his inability to form coherent sentences even with the help of the prompter, his plagiarism shows his inability to form original ideas. May God help us to keep President Trump in office!
I appreciate your wading into the fray. It’s scary out there, and a voice that is calm, kind, reasoned, and faithful to the truth is rare. God bless.