Philip Yancey Dumbfounded Evangelicals Support Trump, 'Who Stands Against Everything That Christianity Believes'
Best-selling Christian author Philip Yancey stated that he cannot understand how so many evangelical Christians can support Republican nominee Donald Trump.
In an interview with the Europe-based publication Evangelical Focus published last Friday, Yancey said he was "staggered" by the support evangelical voters are giving Trump.
"I am staggered that so many conservative or evangelical Christians would see a man who is a bully, who made his money by casinos, who has had several wives and several affairs … That they would somehow paint him as a hero, as someone that we could stand behind," explained Yancey.
"I can understand why maybe you choose these policies that you support, but to choose a person who stands against everything that Christianity believes as the hero, the representative, one that we get behind enthusiastically is not something that I understand at all."
Yancey drew a parallel to the history of church and state unification in Europe, arguing that "the more [the church] embeds with politics" the more it is harmed when it is bound to a state that is deeply flawed.
"There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power," continued Yancey.
"As the United States grows more and more secular, I tell the people there: 'We are becoming more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best'. Like the Roman Empire, this was a pagan and hostile society in which Christians stood out by being different."
Since declaring his candidacy last year, Trump has seen his support among evangelical Christian voters increase as the other Republican presidential hopefuls suspended their campaigns.
"A number of high profile evangelical Christians have parked themselves in the 'Never Trump' camp, pointing out that the candidate's policies and actions don't reflect Christian values," noted the Huffington Post.
"And yet, rank and file white evangelical Christians don't seem to mind ― or at least, are willing to forgive … According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in June, 78 percent of white evangelical voters said they would vote for Trump."
In justifying his support for Trump, Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress commented earlier this year that while the Donald is "not exactly like us," nevertheless "at least he likes us."
"After being with Mr. Trump over the last year on many occasions, I can tell you, if he becomes president, evangelical Christians will have a true friend in the White House," argued Jeffress.
