Steve Deace

I am a Christian who is politically a conservative because I believe in conserving the things that history has proven are what’s best for the human condition.

Throughout the course of human history, I believe nothing has been better for us than the Bible. There’s a reason it’s the greatest best-seller of all time, and tyrannical regimes have always sought to silence its influence among their oppressed people.

It was the single greatest influence in the founding of this country. It bears witness that there is nothing in all the cosmos our Creator loves more than each of us. It teaches us right from wrong. Even the scientific revolution and capitalism that have sparked so much progress were also inspired by the Scriptures.

For many years, Christian conservatives such as myself felt we had a natural home in the Republican Party. However, this is no longer a political party interested in conserving that which is truly on the right side of history. Its only interest is in preserving Donald Trump no matter the cost to its integrity.

Enter Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence.

Pence eloquently used our shared Christian faith to articulate why he’s pro-life at the recent vice presidential debate. In stark contrast, his rival Tim Kaine was claiming to be a believer himself while violating those beliefs. On one hand, Kaine claimed to struggle over whether to execute violent criminals, which the Bible clearly condones. On the other hand, he didn’t struggle at all with allowing the execution of innocent, pre-born children — which the Bible clearly condemns.

Almost everyone knows the Catholic Church, which Kaine claims to belong to, staunchly opposes abortion. So this was a clear case of Kaine compromising his “devout” faith for political expediency to be on the Democratic ticket.

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Unfortunately, Kaine now has company.

In the days since a morally disqualifying video was released of Trump bragging about what amounts to sexual assault, Pence has been urging Christians to “forgive” Trump and vote for him anyway. At best this is bad theology and partisan hackery at worst.

Since May 3, when Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, I have maintained two things:

1) He wasn’t electable and would not win.

2) Though I could never vote for Trump, I wouldn’t fault my fellow conservatives for doing so in opposition to Hillary Clinton, provided that they didn’t compromise the integrity of our values in front of the entire country to do so.

However, what Pence is peddling here is a clear violation of the Christianity that Pence — like Kaine — claims to devoutly believe. There is no forgiveness in place of accountability in Christianity. That is moral relativism, not Christianity. In Christianity, forgiveness and accountability are their own, individual processes.

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Jesus commands us to forgive even someone who sins against us “seventy times seven.” But that is about the laying down of grudges and the burying of hatchets. It doesn’t mean the one who has committed offense is excused from making restitution or paying a penalty for it. For example, if Donald Trump were to actually sexually assault my daughter as he described in that video, I am to forgive him for it. But the same God who commands forgiveness also demands justice. And the Bible makes it clear in Romans 13 that that is why God gave us government — to protect the innocent by punishing such evil.

Jesus is always our perfect example of the true meaning of the Scriptures, and he perfectly modeled this truth when he forgave the criminal who hung on the cross next to his, even assuring him he would welcome him into heaven that very day. Yet, Christ also didn’t say he was being punished unjustly, either. Thus, the criminal was forgiven and faced the consequences for his actions.

I believe Pence knows this. And if another public figure, one with whom he didn’t share a ticket or a political party during an election, said the deplorable things Trump said on that video, Pence wouldn’t be asking for fake forgiveness — he would be demanding true justice.

Except Trump corrupts, and absolute Trump corrupts absolutely.

Steve Deace, who supported Ted Cruz for president, is a nationally syndicated host on Salem Radio Network. He is a former Des Moines Register reporter and author of the new thriller A Nefarious Plot. Follow him on Twitter @SteveDeaceShow.

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