A mind-bending photograph has snaked its way around the Internet. It shows Donald Trump mobbed by visibly euphoric fans. 

One woman is holding her baby up as though for a Trump blessing. A hand-printed sign draws the eye: “Thank you, Lord Jesus, for PRESIDENT TRUMP.”

Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, gave the invocation at a Trump rally, asking “a special blessing upon Donald Trump.” 

Franklin Graham has taken Trump’s side in his call for banning Muslim immigration.

I attended a conservative Christian college and a conservative Christian seminary, and I served 20 years with a conservative missionary organization. I’m familiar with conservative Christianity.

At least, I thought I was.

Everything I know about evangelical Christians would argue that they could not possibly – ever! – support Donald Trump.  He doesn’t smoke or drink, but beside that, nothing about Trump, as a man, should appeal to evangelicals.

The conservative Christian college I attended was Wheaton College, sometimes known as the “Evangelical West Point.”  

Wheaton touts as their alumni: Billy Graham, Sen. Dan Coates (R-IN), speechwriter/columnist Michael Gerson, Wes Craven (of “Nighmare on Elm Street” fame), and (indicted) former House Speaker Dennis Hastert . 

They do not tout as an alumnus – nor do they invite – super-liberal, 12-term U.S. Rep. Dr. Jim McDermott (D-WA).   

Wheaton is the ultimate in conservative Christianity, the ultimate in evangelicalism. I’ve heard it said they’re more conservative than they are Christian. If there’s an “Evangelicals for Trump” parade going on, it should be passing through Wheaton.

But it’s not.

When Jerry Falwell Jr.  — president of Liberty University who had previously called Trump “a great new friend” — urged the student body to arm themselves and “end those Muslims,” if there’s an attack on the campus, 20 Wheaton student leaders responded by publishing “An Open Letter to Leaders in the Evangelical Community.”  It said in part:

“While these sorts of remarks epitomize the ever-growing fear and hostility directed toward Muslims, we as Evangelical Christians hold that Christ calls us not to react with religious oppression or violence — instead, we have the responsibility to live out fearless love in order to pursue unity.”

Other evangelicals also oppose Christian Trumpism. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times.  “Most illogical,” he wrote, “is (Trump’s) support from evangelicals and other social conservatives. To back Mr. Trump, these voters must repudiate everything they believe.”   

Why do we see such an opposite conclusion by the Dallas guy, Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham?

The Atlantic magazine had these observations about Trump evangelicals:

“Not only are conservative Christians solidly Republican, they are also fierce traditionalists who feel that their values are increasingly under assault by modern society.… They are drawn to a candidate who hails from outside the Beltway… because they think the Washington establishment has abandoned them. And they appreciate someone who makes no apology for using politically incorrect rhetoric — even if this includes a bit of profanity or misogyny.”

Does all this mean there are two kinds of conservative Christians? 

In the big picture, no. A whopping majority of evangelicals will always vote Republican. They are, after all, conservative in their politics.

The division comes when secular politics intrudes. One group tests the spirit behind various messages and messengers. The other group seems to be swept away by the trivia of fierce anti-liberalism (Jeffress says that President Obama “hates us”) and American nationalism.   

Myself, as a Democrat, I’d love to see Donald Trump win the GOP nomination.  (He won’t.)

But as a Christian, I’m sad to watch the phenomenon of  Evangelical Trumpism.  As they used to say, something’s not right about this picture.   

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Lee Ballard lives in Mars Hill.