Evangelicals for Harris and why it’s problematic.

I have been noticing the “Evangelicals for Harris” name showing up in various places online and I thought I’d address it the best that I can in this post.

First and foremost, it is important to define the term evangelical. The term “evangelical” gets thrown around loosely and is redefined quite often. A supposed “public theologian” named Ekemini Uwan, who goes by the name of M. DivA, NAACP IMAGE on X and who also hosted a zoom meeting on Evangelicals for Harris, stated on March 1st  2016, “Let’s be honest, evangelical really means white Christians. The term has always been problematic because it is narrow in that sense.”


Let’s address this.

To better understand the term evangelical, we need to think about how it’s been used historically and even ideologically. Historically, evangelical theology has encompassed essential Christian doctrine. These doctrines include, but are not limited to, the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture, the Triune Godhead, the all-sufficient atoning sacrifice of Christ, the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ, salvation by faith alone through God’s grace alone, the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, the eternal salvation of believers, the eternal conscious punishment of the unsaved, and the return of Christ to earth. Once we understand the historic beliefs of Christianity, it’s not hard to understand that the lingo “Evangelicals for Harris” is completely antithetical to the historic beliefs of Christianity, especially when it comes to the inspiration of Scripture and what it has to say on the various issues the Harris camp is promoting. To make a comparison, their beliefs can be found on their website, Evangelicals for Harris (yes, it’s a real website). Compare them to what I’ve addressed above about “evangelical” doctrine.

However, I want to make something clear: this blog isn’t being written for the purpose of telling you who to vote for. Rather its intent is to bring awareness to the moral issues being brought to the table in politics. Almost all things voted into office affect society as a whole morally and how they view morality. The question we need to ask ourselves is which ones will be voted on and do they align with the Word of God?

According to the Evangelicals for Harris website, it states she is a “deeply faithful Christian”
and has respect for other faith traditions. Harris herself has stated, “I’ve learned that faith is not only something we express in church and prayerful reflection, but also in the way we live our lives, do our work, and pursue our respective callings.” She also mentioned that faith is a “verb” on how we must LIVE IT in action. Harris attributes much of that practice from her mother, who is a Hindu. Harris has stated that “the God I have always believed in is a loving God, a God who asks us to serve others and speak up for others, especially those who are not wealthy or powerful and cannot speak up for themselves.”

Let’s address this also.

First, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only and exclusive way to heaven, meaning other faith traditions that contradict this, including the ones that Harris has respect for, can’t be true. Either Christianity is false, and these other religions are true, or all other religions are false, and Christianity is true. They can’t all be true. When Ekemini Uwan states that the term evangelical is narrow, there’s some truth to that. Jesus Himself states that the gate is narrow that leads to everlasting life (Matthew 7:14).

Secondly, notice Harris’s “faith” story focuses on the “doing” and “actions” of a person. But historic Christianity (and the Scriptures) states that no amount of works will ever get us to heaven and that salvation is by faith alone through grace alone. It is through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that atonement for our sins is met. We are all sinners, and we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and nothing we do can earn favor with God. Because we are stained with sin. But Christ’s “work” on the cross fixed that. When we come to Him by faith, His righteousness is then imputed to us and our slate wiped clean. Does that mean good works are bad? No, good works are the product of faith. But you must have “faith” first to produce the “good works” that God requires. And that faith is in Christ alone for salvation, which Harris denies. In addition, in Harris’s story on her “faith,” she left out the greatest commandment. In a passage in the Bible, it says a Pharisee came to Jesus and asked him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend on all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40). This is very revealing! It reveals whether the beliefs of men are true or false. Like Harris, even those caught up in Progressive Christianity skim over the “first greatest commandment” to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (which includes loving His truth) and the second becomes first. Topics such as God’s justice and His holiness get thrown out in progressive ideology as it redefines the word love to mean you should accept anything and do anything that you want and redefines the term justice to mean supporting Contemporary Critical Theory, Abortion, LGBTQ, Climate Change, etc.

Unfortunately, the truth is that many “Christians” today also stop at the “love” of God in their approach to daily living, as they ignore His other attributes. But Loving God first is a necessity! It gives us the BASIS to love our neighbor. When we don’t love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, we can’t truly love our neighbor as God intended – unconditionally. Worldly movements always have a condition for love, if you go against their flow, you will be rejected. God is the necessary precondition to loving others because He is love, and He is our ultimate standard of truth and what is good. But remember: loving God includes loving His Word and embracing the truth found within its pages. Something that Harris misses and those, as well, who are caught up in false doctrine.

Third, and most importantly, Harris supports a woman’s right to choose. The question we
need to ask ourselves is “choose what” exactly? Of course, we know it’s referring to abortion, which goes against the imago Dei. As image bearers of God, we all have value, dignity, and worth. Because of that, it is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. Abortion kills an innocent human being; therefore, abortion is morally wrong. Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”. Psalm 139:14 states “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well”.

Fourth is her constant support of the LGBTQ+ community. I want to make it clear that the individuals in the LGBTQ+ community are image bearers too and each one of them has value, dignity, and worth. But how we feel does not get to determine who we are. Only God’s word determines that as He is the standard for all truth and the Creator of the Universe. And His word declares that marriage is between one man and one woman for life (Mark 10:6-11).

While there is no perfect candidate, it’s important for Christians to vote principle over party,
morals over money, and life over death. These issues aren’t political, they are moral issues. We need to learn to make the distinction. It is also important to be aware of false prophets and teachers who are rampant in our community. 2 Corinthians 11:4 states, “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one, we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” It continues in verse 12, “And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

Don’t be caught off guard.

By Damara

Sources:

(religionnews.com)


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M.DivA, NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINATED AUTHOR on X: “Let’s be honest, evangelical really means white Christians. The term has always been problematic because it is narrow in that sense” / X


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