{"id":596915,"date":"2021-07-19T13:20:56","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=596915"},"modified":"2021-07-19T13:21:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:21:00","slug":"opinion-anti-trump-evangelicals-are-now-silent-on-bidens-cuba-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opinion-anti-trump-evangelicals-are-now-silent-on-bidens-cuba-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Anti-Trump Evangelicals Are Now Silent On Biden\u2019s Cuba Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fopinion-anti-trump-evangelicals-are-now-silent-on-bidens-cuba-policy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=596915&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1328767156-scaled-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>In 2018, a host of Evangelical luminaries were busy building public profiles outside the usual churchy circles with frequent condemnation of the Trump administration. Foremost among them: Beth Moore.<\/p>\n<p>A best-selling women\u2019s Bible teacher with nearly a million Twitter followers, Moore became something of a media darling during the Trump years with extensive, sometimes front-page coverage in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2021\/03\/10\/beth-moore-lifeway-southern-baptist-split-women\/\">The Washington Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2021\/03\/11\/bible-teacher-beth-moore-black-pastors-cut-ties-southern-baptists\/4652217001\/\">USA Today<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/10\/us\/beth-moore-southern-baptists.html\">The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2018\/10\/beth-moore-bible-study\/568288\/\">The Atlantic<\/a> even dubbed her an \u201cEvangelical Superstar\u201d in a multi-page spread.<\/p>\n<p>What Moore was most famous for in these secular press circles, however, wasn\u2019t her commentary on the New Testament but her scathing criticism of the 45th President, especially his immigration policies.<\/p>\n<p>The author was so committed to seeing Trump\u2019s border plans reversed she put her name to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/evangelical-leaders-slam-trump-refugee-ban-washington-post-174530\/\">full-page ad<\/a> in The Washington Post calling on the former President and Vice President to \u201chelp vulnerable immigrants.\u201d \u201cWe are troubled,\u201d she said along with her fellow signatories, \u201cby the dramatic reduction in arrivals of refugees to the United States \u2026 Jesus makes it clear that our \u2018neighbor\u2019 includes the stranger and anyone fleeing persecution and violence, regardless of their faith or country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given Moore\u2019s public outcry over asylum seekers during the previous administration, you might assume she showed similar distress when Biden\u2019s Department of Homeland Security secretary, Ali Mayorkas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/the-cuban-people-will-be-free-congressman-introduces-resolution-to-support-cuban-protests-only-republicans-sign-on\">said<\/a> last week that Cubans trying to flee to the U.S. to escape persecution or torture are not welcome.<\/p>\n<p>You would be wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Moore, whose social media posts and activism regarding border security were widely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.relevantmagazine.com\/current\/beth-moore-god-takes-every-wrong-performed-against-children-personally\/\">covered<\/a> between 2016 and 2020, has said nothing about the hunger, sickness, and general deprivation unfolding in the island nation. She has made no objection to Biden keeping the doors of our country tight shut to Cubans despite the fact that the government there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchtimes.co.uk\/articles\/2021\/16-july\/news\/world\/clergy-in-cuba-are-arrested-after-anti-government-protests\">reportedly<\/a> beating, arresting, and detaining Christian pastors. She hasn\u2019t even mentioned Biden\u2019s overall policy of keeping refugee admissions historically low, the point that so distressed her during the Trump years. Not one word.<\/p>\n<p>It must be acknowledged, though, that Moore is hardly alone in her unwillingness to hold the new administration to the same standards it demanded of the last one. &nbsp;Before he resigned in May amid a flurry of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/06\/russell-moore-sbc\/619122\/\">fawning<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2021\/05\/19\/russell-moore-leaves-southern-baptist-convention-evangelical-future\/\">media<\/a> profiles, former head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), Russell Moore (no relation) was known for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/tv\/2016\/10\/10\/the-lead-trumps-comments-russell-moore.cnn\">CNN<\/a> interviews and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/05\/06\/opinion\/a-white-church-no-more.html\">New York Times<\/a> op-eds in which he <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5932014\/donald-trump-christian-supporters\/\">took<\/a> his fellow Evangelicals to task for their Trump support. The former President\u2019s border policies featured prominently in this criticism.<\/p>\n<p>Under Russell Moore\u2019s leadership, the ERLC issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/erlc.com\/resource-library\/statements\/evangelical-leader-statement-of-principles-on-dreamers\/?utm_content=buffer0f354&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer\">open letter<\/a> asking Congress to provide a \u201clegal remedy for the subset of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children by their parents.\u201d At the height of the media storm surrounding Trump\u2019s plans for building the wall, Moore <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drmoore\/status\/1057293175885365248?s=20\">tweeted<\/a>, \u201cImmigrants, &amp; those fleeing from persecution, are not political ideas. They bear the image of a God \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet now, as the totalitarian Cuban regime <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/critics-blast-biden-over-crisis-in-cuba-theyll-only-allow-in-people-who-wont-vote-republican\">cuts off<\/a> social media from its people and scores of protestors go missing only 90 miles from U.S. shores, as women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/cuba-unrest-protests-havana-covid-food-hunger-poverty-communism-dictatorship-freedoms-tourism-1608679\">cry<\/a> in the streets about their children dying of hunger, how many op-eds has the prolific media commentator written about Biden\u2019s lack of response? How many interviews has he given? How many tweets?<\/p>\n<p>If you guessed \u201czero,\u201d you would be correct.<\/p>\n<p>The hypocrisy of the two Moores would be easy to dismiss if they were outliers. But the list of Evangelical authors and mega-pastors who have lectured rank-and-file parishioners that social justice issues are Gospel issues and lent their names to campaigns explicitly and implicitly condemning Trump immigration policies is a staggeringly long and elite one.<\/p>\n<p>Quoting Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), mega-church pastor and recent president of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., J.D. Greear, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jdgreear\/status\/1008892254218571778?s=20\">called<\/a> Trump\u2019s border policies \u201cwicked\u201d and said \u201cAmericans (should be) better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He appeared on PBS\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/firing-line\/video\/jd-greear-v5dt98\/\">Firing Line<\/a>, arguing that any believers who voted for Trump must speak about the \u201cdignity of \u2026 immigrants and our responsibility to the refugee\u201d lest they damage their Christian witness. Further, Greear contended that these remarks needed to be precise. \u201cWe can\u2019t let political strategy cause us to pull back and not speak with clarity on the issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Yet where is Greear\u2019s clarity today? Though he was happy to sign and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jdgreear\/status\/918234932450906113?s=20\">promote<\/a> Russell Moore\u2019s ERLC statement, he too, has uttered not a single word about the crisis in Cuba or the Biden administration\u2019s ghastly bungling of immigration in general.<\/p>\n<p>Neither has Evangelical author, editor, and former ERLC staffer, Trillia Newbell.<\/p>\n<p>During the national debate over the migrant caravans arriving in Mexico, Newbell, another CNN interviewee, offered statements for pro-immigration <a href=\"https:\/\/evangelicalimmigrationtable.com\/leading-evangelical-women-address-refugees-family-separation-dreamers\/\">press releases<\/a> and shared a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/16\/opinion\/sunday\/pro-life-immigrant-children-separation.html\">New York Times<\/a> article titled, \u201cYou Can\u2019t Be Pro-Life and Against Immigrant Children.\u201d The essay argued, \u201cBecause of their support of the president and general silence on his administration\u2019s actions the major players in the pro-life movement are now tethered to his horrific border policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Newbell <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trillianewbell\/status\/1008534308536180736?s=20\">tweeted<\/a> in response. \u201cWhat a tragic moment we are in. God have mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But what of the Cuban children suffering from a lack of food and medicine? Is their oppression less tragic? Is Heaven\u2019s mercy less needed? Judging by Newbell\u2019s silence when it comes to the Biden administration\u2019s promise to turn back refugees of that nation, you\u2019d have to assume so.<\/p>\n<p>And the list goes on and on.<\/p>\n<p>An earlier Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/evangelical-leaders-slam-trump-refugee-ban-washington-post-174530\/\">ad<\/a>, which ran in 2017 making similar immigration demands as the second, read like a who\u2019s who of the Evangelical world. The signers included bestselling authors Max Lucado and Ann Voskamp, influential mega-church pastors Tim Keller and Matt Chandler, and seminary president Daniel Akin.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, not one of them, though they claimed they were duty-bound by their Christian platforms to speak truth to Trump, has publicly commented on Biden\u2019s response to Cuba or even offered general support for welcoming Cubans fleeing the threat of torture.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans in Congress have offered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/the-cuban-people-will-be-free-congressman-introduces-resolution-to-support-cuban-protests-only-republicans-sign-on\">direct resolutions<\/a> to support the Cuban people as they protest brutal communist oppression.&nbsp; No Democrats have backed it. Neither have any of the above-mentioned religious leaders.<\/p>\n<p>While it might be possible to believe that one or two of these leading Christian lights simply hasn\u2019t yet had the time to address the issue, the fact that none of them has, despite their very active social media accounts, suggests something else is going on.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to note that the comments from these leaders during Trump\u2019s tenure were far from ambiguous and went well beyond general biblical principle. The letters, essays, ads, tweets, and interviews took an explicitly activist tone, demanding action on specific policies from specific political actors.<\/p>\n<p>What can their disinterest now suggest but all that effort on behalf of \u201cwelcoming the stranger\u201d was less about Christian conviction and more about political posturing designed to win the affection of the progressive media and other left-leaning demographics?<\/p>\n<p>Scripture has much to say about leaders who strive to appear righteous before men and show partiality to those whose favor they would like to have. It has much to say on those who use unequal weights and measures. None of it befits those who claim the title pastor or Bible teacher.<\/p>\n<p>Christianity Today editor Ed Stetzer has at least mentioned Cuba since the freedom marches began, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edstetzer\/status\/1414360111418548226?s=20\">saying<\/a>, \u201cCubans are protesting against their tyrannical government \u2026 Communism always leads to great suffering\u2026 Pray for Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What Stetzer didn\u2019t mention in his brief tweet \u2014 the Biden administration or any of its policies regarding Cuba. Nor did he condemn the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/biden-dhs-chief-to-cubans-hoping-to-make-sea-voyage-to-u-s-you-will-not-enter-the-united-states\">announcement<\/a> that any Cubans who try to reach the U.S. by sea will be turned back. Indeed, Stetzer has so far failed to criticize Biden\u2019s approach to refugees at all, whether directly or obliquely, in his terse acknowledgment of the protests.<\/p>\n<p>What a stark contrast his short, general post is to a lengthy 2017 0p-ed he wrote for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/acts-of-faith\/wp\/2017\/01\/26\/evangelicals-we-cannot-let-alternative-facts-drive-u-s-refugee-policy\/\">Washington Post<\/a> in which he addressed called out President Trump by name, lamenting, \u201cAs an American citizen, I cannot change the Executive Order. But as a Christian and kingdom citizen, I cannot cheer for it, and I cannot stay silent. It is time to pray for those who are hurting, and to plead with our leaders to change course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Its also a far cry from a 2018 essay he wrote for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2018\/11\/6\/18066116\/trump-caravan-evangelical-voters\">Vox<\/a> in which he claimed, \u201cPresident Donald Trump is trying to fool evangelicals like me\u201d and insisted \u201cfar too many white evangelicals are motivated by racial anxiety and xenophobia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stetzer finished that piece by asking, \u201cHow could we have seen the suffering, heard the cries of anguish, and done so little?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, that\u2019s only a question for Republican administrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>member<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2018, a host of Evangelical luminaries were busy building public profiles outside the usual churchy circles with frequent condemnation of the Trump administration. Foremost among them: Beth Moore.A best-selling &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-596915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}