Cissie Graham Lynch and Jerushah Duford are both granddaughters of the late evangelical leader Billy Graham, but they stand on opposite ends of the Trump spectrum.
Lynch delivered an address at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, where she called President Trump a "fierce advocate" of faith, condemned transgender inclusion, and accused Democrats of trying to make "faith organizations pay for abortion-inducing drugs," apparently referring to birth control, which does not induce abortion.
Duford also made her political stance clear on Tuesday, writing in an op-ed for USA Today that "every big decision" in her life has been "guided by faith," but now she feels "disoriented as I watch the church I have always served turn their eyes away from everything it teaches." Many Christian women have been telling her they also have experienced a "tug at their spirit," felt when they hear Trump say things about "government housing having no place in America's suburbs" or his border wall, "designed to keep out the very people scripture tells us to welcome."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Seeing Trump holding up a Bible in Lafayette Square earlier this summer, minutes after peaceful protesters were tear gassed, should have offended "anyone intimately familiar with the word in it," Duford said. Yet few evangelical leaders have come forward to say Trump's "behavior is antithetical to the Jesus we serve." Because of this, the "entire world has watched the term 'evangelical' become synonymous with hypocrisy and disingenuousness," Duford declared, and "my faith and my church have become a laughing stock."
Duford does not want Christian women to ignore the "disrespect and misogyny" being shown by Trump, and she emphasized that they "represent God before we represent any political party or leader." In November, she said, evangelical women must "embrace your inner tug, and allow it to lead you to use the power of your God-given voice and not allow Trump to lead this country for another four years." Read the entire op-ed at USA Today.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
