As evidenced by his poll numbers, Herschel Walker’s tawdry past is getting a pass by Christian voters in Georgia.
The reason? He says his past behavior was the result of mental health issues that have been overcome “by the grace of God.” The implication is that his bad deeds occurred before he became a Christian.
According to Walker, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is a preacher who “doesn’t even believe in redemption.” Presumably, if you aren’t voting for Walker, that description applies to you, too.
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Under normal circumstances, allegedly paying for an abortion would be a deal-breaker for Christian voters—and simultaneously posing as a pro-life champion would be adding insult to injury. But the concept of forgiveness is near and dear to the hearts of Christians. The whole point of being “born again” is that you are a new creation. This is to say that regardless of whether Walker’s redemption story is true, it’s potent.
“It’s dueling narratives,” The Washington Examiner’s Jim Antle told me this week. “And I think a lot of evangelicals, even if it may be motivated reasoning… are much more moved by the conversion story than the hypocrisy story.”
Based on a new report The Washington Post published featuring interviews from a Bible study at a church in Georgia, he’s right.
Quotes from the report demonstrate how Christian conservatives justify supporting a man who 1) admits to having fathering multiple illegitimate children, 2) allegedly paid for at least two abortions and was accused of holding a gun to his wife’s head, and 3) has also made false claims about academic achievements and working with law enforcement (just to name just a few of his greatest alleged ethical and moral lapses).
“We all have done wrong,” one person told The Post. “Who are we to judge?”
If we used that logic, nobody would ever be held accountable for anything. This is to say, it’s literally a get-out-of-jail-free card. And I wonder… does this standard apply equally to Democrats?
“If you waited for the perfect candidate, you would never vote again,” another Bible study attendee said.
This trite “truism” could justify voting for almost anyone.
Lastly, the church’s pastor told The Post he would vote for Walker because his positions “more aligned with God’s values.”
On family values issues, this rings true (I must confess, as a Christian conservative, Warnock’s pro-choice position would disqualify him from my vote). But on real social justice issues, such as caring for the poor and the immigrant, maybe not so much.
Regardless, relying on policy positions as your sole method of gauging a candidate’s fitness is a tacit admission that a candidate’s personal life is off-limits—and that what matters is what Walker says and how he promises to vote as a member of the Senate.
Still, the pastor’s standards for a candidate are reasonable, even if it also goes against everything Christian conservatives said about Bill Clinton’s peccadilloes.
As you might recall, the Christian conservative consensus of the 1990s was that Clinton’s poor character mattered a great deal—and to many, it even disqualified him as acceptable to hold office. If we couldn’t trust him to behave decently and tell us the truth about sex, the thinking went, we couldn’t count on him to behave decently and tell us the truth about anything. At the time, liberals disagreed, arguing that Clinton could compartmentalize his personal life, that everyone lied about sex, and that Clinton’s policy positions (particularly his pro-choice position) were all that mattered.
Today, these liberal arguments are effectively being made, albeit in a less honest manner, by Christian conservatives on behalf of Herschel Walker.
Of course, today’s Christian conservatives can always fall back on the premise that Walker’s bad deeds happened before he was born again.
Aside from the fact that I have never heard Walker specifically make this claim, there are still a couple of problems.
First, Christians believe in forgiveness and redemption—but that comes after you’ve confessed, repented, and asked to be forgiven. But Walker still denies paying for any abortions. As Bonnie Kristian writes, “Had Walker confessed and repented—preferably before reporting forced him to address the issue—pro-life voters could have ushered him to the fold without losing a whit of integrity.”
Instead, as Kristian suggests, Christian conservatives are advocating what German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace”: “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…absolution without personal confession.” (This is nothing new for Christian conservatives who backed Trump after he said he didn’t feel the need to ask God for forgiveness.)
Second, the Bible tells us that although we are saved through faith, we demonstrate our faith by works. Or, as Jesus said, “Every good tree bears good fruit” and so “by their fruits you will know them.”
What kind of fruit is Walker bearing today?
If he is, in fact, lying about his past—and only God knows for sure—that’s not a stellar sign of redemption.
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing, but not everyone who obtains it belongs in the U.S. Senate—and that’s assuming their conversion is sincere. The whole “I’ve changed” claim is convenient for anyone who wants to roll like Caligula and then pander for votes. It makes Christian voters an awfully cheap date.
