Miroslav Volf: You Cannot Follow Christ And Follow Trump
Miroslav Volf has said you cannot be a Christian and follow Trump.
The celebrated Croatian theologian caused consternation with a series of posts on social media condemning Trump's character, policies and vision of the world.
"You can be a conservative or a liberal and a follower of Christ, but it is not possible to be a follower of Trump and a follower of Christ (meaning that to the extent that you agree and seek to advocate with most of what Trump stands for you do not agree and do not advocate what Christ stands for)," he wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
Minutes later he added: "Trump's character: contrary to Jesus' character. Trump's political vision: contrary to Jesus' kingdom. Trump's way: contrary to Jesus' way."
Later in the day he posted: "We should honor Trump (1Pt 2:17). We should pray for Trump. BUT we should not support Trump: We mustn't support what is contrary to the Gospel."
He added: "If you're a Christian, you won't expect POTUS to be Christ, but for his character/political vision at least not to collide with Christ's."
The professor at Yale Divinity School faced a severe backlash for his pointed remarks on social media.
.@MiroslavVolf FWIW I've been very critical of Christians who support Trump...but I still think they are Christians
— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) 17 December 2016
@MiroslavVolf since you publicly supported HRC I'd love to hear you defend how her character was like Jesus and her vision was like Jesus'
— Exe-Jesus (@crbates1) 17 December 2016
@MiroslavVolf are you serious!? I voted for Trump because of HRC's abortion position. So, I'm no longer a Christian or never was?
— Ken Stephens (@Kstephensjr) 17 December 2016
During the presidential campaign Volf openly backed Hillary Clinton, to the outrage of many conservatives.
In an interview about his new book in October Volf said Clinton was a "more competent" candidate for President, while suggesting the Democratic nominee was, "more in line with the Christian faith than is Donald Trump".
He said: "The best case to be made for Hillary Clinton is that on balance she better represents the convictions and character that should concern Christian citizens. No candidate is perfect."
Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, was among a list of prominent Christian leaders to argue a Christian worldview led to him supporting Trump for president.
"I was told if I voted for Trump I needed to open my Bible to find out why it was morally wrong," he posted on Facebook. "So I did, and this is what I found."
Among the top reasons was abortion.
"I found that murder/abortion was wrong, which Clinton approves of even up to the point of delivery. Changing the name from baby to fetus doesn't change reality. It's a baby."
