I'm not a fan of Franklin Graham

I suppose it's hearing the constant refrain that 2016 was the worst year ever that's put me in a bit of a sour mood, but lately it's been hard for me to feel encouraged by a number of social and political leaders. And much of the reason why is because of the election of Donald Trump. Now for context, I didn't go into the sort of serious malaise over Trump's election that other people experienced. I honestly wanted to give President-elect Trump a chance to win me over. He actually probably has the political power to move the country to a single-payer healthcare system, although it's unclear he would do that. And some things honestly felt promising: promises to increase infrastructure spending, pledges of support for small communities, and his post-election remarks that he would be "president for all Americans."

"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people...(laughter)... I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."

It was a nice sentiment that lasted almost 24 hours. The next day, on November 10, instead of reaching out to groups that opposed him, Trump took to Twitter again:

Since then, he's done more of the same.

I won't lie. The thought of seeing this from our president every week for the next four years does not exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

This is discouraging to me for a few reasons. First, it shows me that Trump couldn't care less about "uniting" the country. He seems to think that it's up to everyone else to rally behind him and he won't bother trying to champion me or my concerns. It makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for me to want to support him. In fact, I almost want to speak out against him out of spite, even if he happens to propose something I agree with.

But to an extent, I expected this. Over the last year and half it's been pretty obvious that Trump would not be able to keep himself from 1) Twisting the knife in his opponents and 2) Playing to his base and ONLY his base.

It's his base that confounds me, though. It's expanded substantially since the Republican primaries and I don't see why.

The Christian Right has perplexed me the most, mainly because it's backing a guy that is not a Christian. That's not an insult. I honestly don't see how Trump, who claims to have never sought God's forgiveness, fits the definition of a Christian faith whose basic pillar is the redemption of mankind's sins.

And I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but it still sucks because, as a Christian liberal, I'd like to think people could tell the difference between being a partisan and being a Christian. But time and again, leaders on the Christian Right have compromised their own views in exchange for gaining influence in a Republican administration. Just look at Billy and Franklin Graham. Once upon a time, they considered Mormonism to be a cult. Then Mitt Romney, a Mormon, won the Republican nomination in 2012. All of a sudden, every reference to the "cult of Mormonism" disappeared from their website and Romney won an endorsement. Let's not pretend that their interpretation of the scripture magically changed when Romney won the nomination. Regardless of whether those beliefs were right or wrong, they were traded for influence.

And just in case you think that, as a pastor, Franklin Graham is non-partisan:

I get really tired of being called a socialist, as if any level of government operation is socialism. But aside from that, you may have noticed Graham offering criticism of such a ruthless dictator. It's sure convenient to criticize Castro because Obama happened to be improving ties with Cuba. But meanwhile, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gets credit for being more Christ-like than Obama:

Just to be clear, it's doubtful Putin has been "reading his Bible." Putin has imposed more restrictions on religious freedom than at any point since the collapse of the USSR. I'm not talking about being forced to provide health insurance that covers family planning services. What I'm talking about is you can't even discuss faith outside of a church. And unless you're an Eastern Orthodox Christian, you probably don't have a church and you just meet at someone's house. So, sorry, you've just been banned from worshiping. But Trump and Putin are becoming BFFs, so to Franklin Graham, perhaps religious freedom only matters when it concerns bakers in America. And the Russia thing isn't limited to one Facebook post. Graham's actually praised Putin and his government over its stance on homosexuality, usually coupling it with criticism of President Obama.

Graham also seems to think that liberals have allowed some kind of Muslim conspiracy to infiltrate the government and often he comes across sounding an awful lot like Joseph McCarthy:

And later....

He used the spectre of attacks by Islamic extremists to justify opposition to President Obama's plan to resettle 10,000 refugees from the Middle East. Graham's opposition seems contrary to the letter and the spirit of Leviticus 19:33, Luke 3:11, Hebrews 13:2, Ezekiel 16:49, Galatians 5:14, and Matthew 25:35-40.
Last year, he even went so far as to suggest that President Obama himself grew up in an Islamic household and that he must therefore be somehow less Christian:

“My influences growing up, as many in this country, were under the Christian influence and the biblical influence,” he continued. “But our president did not have that, it was Islam and many feel that he’s protecting Islam. I don’t know that, but it certainly seems that way”:

Because of course, how else can you explain a Christian like Obama holding such liberal positions? He must therefore not be a Christian at all.

This is in stark contrast to the words of former president George W. Bush, for whom I've come to have more and more respect over the last several years. In the wake of the largest terror attack ever carried out on American soil, he said:

The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran, itself: In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule.
The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.

A sitting president of the United States quoted the Koran on national television. I have a hard time imagining President Obama being allowed to do the same thing. I think there are some lessons to be learned here.

1. It's important to distinguish when a political belief is centered on your faith and when you feel it is simply the best policy option. Strange as it might seem, it's probably okay to have some beliefs that aren't based on scriptural interpretation. The phrases "socialism," "capitalism," and "right to bear arms" do not appear anywhere in the Bible. Seek the Bible for guidance, sure, but then just pray for help the rest of the time.

2. Leaders, even supposedly apolitical Christian leaders, are subject to the trappings of power. I think Franklin Graham proves this more than many. In an effort to curry favor with conservative politicians, you'll find them aligning their views with the powers-that-be in an effort to make even the most petulant official look Christ-like. I think Franklin might do well to heed the lesson of his father Billy, who when asked if he had any regrets, replied: "I ... would have steered clear of politics. I'm grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one to talk to. But looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line, and I wouldn't do that now."