10 examples of conservative evangelicals turning truth into dangerous lies

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on September 18, 2024.

Conservative evangelicals claim to be the arbiters of truth in a post-truth world. But if we take a moment to consider how the last few months have gone, we’ll notice a pattern emerge. Story after story, conservatives are the ones who seem to be living in a post-truth world caused by the arrogant nature of their worldview.

“There is no way, according to the Christian worldview, for truth to exist independent of the one who is indeed the source of all truth,” argues Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “This is one of [the] most basic arguments for the existence of God, a very persuasive argument taken on its own, and it is also read backward in terms of the Christian worldview, why we understand that if we are entering a new secular age, it is going to be virtually by definition a post-truth age.”

Al Mohler

Mohler — who is championing Donald Trump in the presidential election — says the crisis of truth in the White House “was preceded by a crisis of truth in the academy and furthermore, by a crisis of truth that was driven by and celebrated by those in the cultural and intellectual elites, including those who were very popular and influential in entertainment, as well as other dimensions of mass culture.”

In these words, Mohler pretends to be making an intellectual case for basic, objective universal truth while appealing to the conservative evangelical persecution complex that fears being dismissed or mocked by elites and celebrities. But what he’s objectively saying is that truth is determined by his worldview, and therefore any alternative perspective is untrue.

So a claim is true simply because it’s Mohler’s perspective, whether data affirms his claim or not. And he is not alone in this view; it is the dominant view of other evangelical leaders.

One of the writers countering this narrative in recent years is BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield, who has written two books and multiple articles about the meaning of biblical truth.

In his book Honestly: Telling the Truth About the Bible and Ourselves, he writes: “Most of us are not lacking in access to information. What we lack is a willingness to consider all the available information and think critically about it.” Then he suggests, “Critical thinking requires humility — something in even shorter supply than truth these days.”

“There is no humility in Mohler’s truth hierarchy.”

Wingfield’s pairing of truth and humility is a stark contrast to Mohler’s claim that his worldview alone is the objective, universal standard-bearer for all truth. There is no humility in Mohler’s truth hierarchy, no reason to listen to those who might have additional data or input. There is simply the demand that everyone else submit to Mohler or be feared as a threat to truth. Talk about being a cultural and intellectual elite.

Here are 10 examples of conservative evangelicals being “post-truth” over the past few months, explanations on why they’re wrong, and examinations of the harm their denial of truth is causing.

Persecuting LGBTQ kids

During the 2024 Pride month panic, conservatives such as Megan Basham, the American Family Association, the Catholic Herald and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma all claimed President Joe Biden and the liberals were persecuting LGBTQ kids by preventing nonaffirming conservative evangelical foster parents from taking care of them.

In reality, the law signed by Biden allowed for a custom, consent-based care plan for all kids that allowed LGBTQ kids to be placed in homes that signed off on being willing to offer a “safe and appropriate placement” for them.

The result of conservative evangelical opposition to this law is that LGBTQ kids who are running away from homes that are abusing them due to their sexual orientation or gender identity would be placed in homes that agree they should be stigmatized over their orientation or identity.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Blaming ‘the media’ for violent rhetoric leading to violent actions

With Trump being whisked away by the FBI after being shot, his supporters immediately turned around to face the media and began shouting, “This is your fault!” Officials such as JD Vance and Marjorie Taylor Greene spread the lie that Trump being shot was the result of the media riling up people to become violent based on their negative rhetoric about Trump.

The same thing happened this week after a would-be assassin hid in bushes alongside Trump’s golf course and failed to shoot him. Trump and Vance and their allies immediately blamed Biden and the Democrats for inciting hatred of Trump.

In reality, the first shooter was a Republican and there was no evidence at all that his assassination attempt was caused by Biden or the Democrats. Same for the second shooter, whose stated political views were all over the map.

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