Germany, New Years Day, 2021
Earlier today, people throughout the world celebrated the end of 2020, which many describe as a terrible year. History will remember it as the year of the pandemic, in which societies throughout the world practiced social distancing, throttled back their economies, and even introduced curfews and lockdowns. The human toll from Covid-19 has been enormous, with deaths worldwide approaching two million.
But for some, 2020 was a good year: Couples got married, students graduated from school or college, children were born. And for many people, 2020 ended on a positive note: President Trump lost his reelection bid, and Joe Biden will replace him on January 20. But storm clouds are gathering for the world’s oldest democracy: Many Republicans believe that Trump lost due to voter fraud, even though there is no evidence for it, and before the election polls had predicted he would lose by an even greater margin. Some Republican members of Congress have announced they will vote to reject the results of the electoral college. If they somehow succeeded, which is unthinkable, it would spell the end of the American constitutional order and possibly lead to civil war.
The situation in the American church in America is not much better. Christians are bitterly divided between left and right, with white evangelicals still supporting Trump. Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, persists with the disproved argument that Biden won through fraud, simply because he believes Trump. He predicts disaster for the country if Democrats win the Senate on January 6, because they will immediately pass the Equality Act. This would “change our nation at its very foundation,” Graham argued in a Facebook post.
The Equality Act would prohibit discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender orientation (i.e. LGBTQs). Whether the Equality Act as proposed is a good idea or not is a legitimate question. Given the case of the baker in Colorado who was sued for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, I can understand the concern about religious liberty. But can Christians really support discrimination?
Evangelicals should negotiate with progressives to find a reasonable solution that protects people from discrimination but protects religious liberty and freedom of conscience. Instead, both sides demonize each other and predict the end of the country if the other side wins. Consequently, many on the right, including evangelicals, refuse to accept the results of the presidential election. When the evidence-free fraud argument is brushed aside, they are clearly ready to jettison democracy to keep the other side from gaining power. And while most on the left aren’t yet ready to go that far, intolerance is growing among them as well. Each side sees the other as the enemy, and how can we compromise with evil?
The cliché says that the night is darkest before the dawn. In Matthew 16, Jesus says the gates of Hell will not prevail against his church. He doesn’t say we won’t have conflict – the history of Christianity proves otherwise. But regardless of how bleak things look, God’s purposes will ultimately prevail.
We have reason to hope that 2021 will be better than 2020. And if it’s not, we can still be sure that things will turn out well in the end. Jesus promises that.
