Disclaimer: The thoughts, beliefs, and conclusions drawn belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Port Royal Baptist Church.

Politics are not in my wheelhouse. I rarely venture into the political arena and make every attempt to not be drawn into public political debates. With that being said, my head is stuck in the sand either. I believe that part of my responsibility as a pastor is to educate my congregation on “how” they should vote based on God’s Word instead of telling them “who” to vote for. In my opinion, voting is one of the most genuine and sincere activities of the conscience. Our country is in the middle of another presidential election cycle. There are more candidates vying for the office of president than I have ever seen in my lifetime. One candidate has been, and continues to be, especially vocal and polarizing: Donald Trump. His “no holds barred, tell it like it is, truth speech” has galvanized many of his supporters while alienating many more. You either love him or hate him. He has no problem letting the media know where he stands on any given topic and does so very matter-of-factually. In itself that is not a bad thing.

Over the past month, our world has witnessed terror attacks in Beirut, France, and just this week, California. It has been concluded that these attacks were the acts of Islamic extremists or those with link to similar groups. Candidates have spoken against the attacks and have attempted to reassure the public that terrorism will be defeated and how they would go about doing that if elected. Donald Trump has been especially vocal on this subject stating that our country should go to great lengths to defeat terrorism. I could not agree more. Our agreement ends there.

In recent weeks Donald Trump has offered two startling and extreme measures to protect America from terrorism. First, he has called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Second, he said that he was “open to establishing a database for all Muslims living in the U.S.” On one hand, this may sound good to many Americans: don’t let them in and track the ones who are already here. He has mistakenly connected the dots by saying that, in essence, we were attacked by Muslims so all Muslims must be guilty. On the other hand, his statements and positions are at odds with the gospel and serve to further jeopardize religious liberty, an already endangered species.

Let me say this lest my theological convictions be called into question. I believe that Islam is a false religion. I believe that adherents to Islam are lost and headed toward an eternal separation from God unless Jesus saves them. They serve a god that cannot save them. They serve a god who offers them no hope at all. They serve a god that does not care for them personally. I believe the same thing applies to the adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christian Science and any other religious system that denies the exclusivity and divinity of Jesus Christ. Within the Islamic/Middle Eastern economy, Islam (religion) and Muslims (people/nationality) are essentially the same thing. The gospel of Jesus Christ allows and admonishes me to see that there is a difference. It is through the gospel that I can see the truth that many Muslims (people/nationality) are trapped in Islam (religion). In the same way that every German (people/nationality) was not a Nazi (political party), and every American (people/nationality) is not a Baptist, Methodist, or Atheist (religion), every Muslim is not automatically an Islamic extremist or terrorist.

Let me say this lest my national allegiance be called into question. I’m proud to be an American. I served in our military and fought for this country as a Marine. I believe our government should make every legal and reasonable effort to protect its citizens from harm. That is the duty of government. I have no problem with refusing entry into this country any person (Muslim, Hindu, Christian, etc.) who has made credible threats to the safety of this nation or who has close ties with groups that want to harm this nation. A database to track Muslims within the United States, for no other reason than a person is Muslim, is no different than the Nazi’s numbering the Jews during World War II, for no other reason than a person being Jewish. It was an offensive proposition then and it is an equally offensive proposition today.

I believe there are at least two unintended consequences to the actions that Donald Trump advocates.

1. The physical safety of our missionaries around the world, especially those in predominantly Muslim countries could be compromised. I didn’t expect Trump or his campaign to think through this possibility. Why would he? Is it worth risking physical harm to every American missionary who may be unfairly stereotyped by Trump’s comments?
2. The bridges of trust that have been built over the decades between missionaries and the Muslim communities they serve and share the gospel among may come crashing down around them. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for our missionaries to work and labor in Muslim countries. The work is difficult enough without the Muslim communities being given a reason to doubt the sincerity and love of the missionaries who live among them. It is the gospel that runs along these bridges. It would be a tragedy to see the gospel be hindered because of something as ridiculous as an ill-informed blanket statement by a presidential candidate.

The denomination in which I choose to participate, the Southern Baptist Convention, has spoken to the issue of religious liberty in its statement of faith, The Baptist Faith and Message. The section reads in part, “A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.” In its simplest terms, religious liberty says that you have the right to believe whatever you choose and to worship the same, even if I disagree with you. On the other hand, I have the same right. Government must be careful to not penalize law-abiding citizens, even law-abiding Muslim citizens for pursuing their religious convictions formed by their God-given conscience. The same protection we desire must be extended as well. If you truly value religious liberty, not just your own religious liberty, but religious liberty as a whole, then God’s Word must shape your decisions, not fear-induced rhetoric that sounds good in a sound bite.

I believe the term “prophetic” is overused today. With that being said, if the statement made earlier in the week by Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, doesn’t speak in prophetic fashion to the slippery slope we’re on in terms of religious liberty, nothing does. He wrote:

“Make no mistake. A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies. A government that can close the borders to all Muslims simply on the basis of their religious belief can do the same thing for evangelical Christians. A government that issues ID badges for Muslims simply because they are Muslims can, in the fullness of time, demand the same for Christians because we are Christians. We are in a time of war, and we should respond as those in a time of war. But we must never lose in a time of war precious freedoms purchased through the blood of patriots in years past. We must have security and we must have order. But we must not trade soul freedom for an illusion of winning.”