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Friday, January 03, 2020

Christianity Today Editor Laments ‘Ethical Naïveté’ of Trump Backers - UPDATED


Mark Galli, who is retiring, was overwhelmed by the vocal criticism and quiet praise after his editorial in a prominent evangelical magazine called for President Trump’s ouster.

People have been upset with Mark Galli before. As the editor in chief of Christianity Today, a prominent evangelical magazine, he has printed some controversial editorials. But the people he irks usually do not include the IT department of his own publication.

That is what happened when Mr. Galli published an explosive editorial on Dec. 19 arguing that President Trump should be removed from office. So many readers flocked to read the editorial online that the website crashed, overwhelming those whose job it was to keep it running.

Mr. Galli had been working for Christianity Today for two decades after being a Presbyterian pastor for about 10 years, first in Mexico City and later in Sacramento, Calif., but the response to the editorial was like nothing he had ever seen. The traffic to the website was 50-fold what it is on a typical day.

Mr. Galli’s last day with the magazine will be Friday. He had announced his retirement in October, long before the editorial and the response to it.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, he said he was shocked by the magnitude of the reaction to the editorial — but also by evangelicals’ willingness to stick by Mr. Trump for more than three years. The interview has been edited and condensed. Read More

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Developments that we need to keep an eye on is the fallout from the attack that President Trump ordered against Iranian military leaders in Iraq in retaliation for the death of a US contractor. Not only could the United States become embroiled in a war in the Mid-East but such a conflict could be used to justify the intensification of the persecution of Christians in the Mid-East, particularly in Iraq and Iran. President Trump might even benefit politically from a war in the Mid-East since Americans tend to rally around a sitting president in wartime. It would divert attention away from his impeachment in the House of Representatives and pending trial in the Senate. On the other hand, it might further polarize the United States. President Trump ordered the attack without consulting Congress. Only a handful of top administration officials were in on the decision. President Trump claims that it was to deter an imminent threat but has to date produced no evidence of such a threat.  Some members of Congress are already questioning the timing and legality of the attack. In a nation that is already deeply divided over his presidency, his actions may deepen that divide. Whatever happens, it can be expected to impact Christians both in the United States and around the world.

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