In a brave op-ed, Billy Graham's granddaughter calls on evangelical Christians to stop supporting Trump.
Julia Daughty / Twitter

Donald Trump's presidency has exposed some remarkable hypocrisy within the evangelical Christian movement.

The group, which once claimed to be the backbone of America's "moral majority" made up of "family values" voters, have given their full support to a crass and cruel man whose narcissism has absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Astonishingly , he's gained their support without showing any real understanding of Christianity or The Bible. Who can forget the time he was unable to name a single verse from his "favorite book" of The Bible?



Trump unable to name one verse from "favorite book" The Bible www.youtube.com

Despite this, 72% of white evangelical Christians support the president, according to a poll conducted by Pew Research,

Franklin Graham, evangelist and son of the man who essentially founded the movement, Billy Graham, believes Donald Trump's election was divine intervention.

"I think God was behind the last election," Graham told conservative news site The Western Journal.

Evangelicals praise the president for appointing conservative judges and aggressively supporting the pro-life movement while turning a blind eye to his many failings as a politician and a man.

Would Jesus separate children from families at the border? Would the king of kings tolerate Trump's pathological lying? Would Christ support Trump's hostility towards women and people of color? Should Trump be forgiven for his unquenchable greed?

So why have evangelicals seemingly abandoned their beliefs to support Trump? A Stanford study found that people's political beliefs tend to be more firmly held than their religious faith. So when they come into conflict, people will follow their political beliefs, then they rationalize the rejection of their religious side.

An indeed, many evangelicals have rationalized their support for Trump by calling him an unlikely vessel or "someone God has chosen for an important historical purpose, despite not looking like — or having the religious character of — an obvious man of God."

Which is why it makes it all the more remarkable that Billy Graham's granddaughter, Jerushah Duford, has called out evangelical hypocrisy in a powerful USA Today ope-ed, entitled: "I'm Billy Graham's granddaughter. Evangelical support of Donald Trump spits on his legacy."

In the article, she calls for evangelical women to stop criticizing Trump in hushed tones and to raise their voiced against him in the run up to the election. She also says it's necessary for the church to reject Trump to regain a shred of credibility.

Duford says Trump's election made her feel "homeless" and "disoriented" as she watched her church turn "its eyes away from everything it teaches." What first began as a gentle tug at her spirit, grew to become a feeling she could no longer stomach.

"The gentle tug became an aggressive yank, for me, earlier this year, when our country experienced division in the form of riots, incited in great part by this president's divisive rhetoric. I watched our president walk through Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., after the tear gassing of peaceful protesters for a photo op," Duford writes.


"He held a Bible, something so sacred to all of us, yet he treated that Bible with a callousness that would offend anyone intimately familiar with the words inside it," she continued. "He believed that action would honor him and only him. However, the church, designed to honor God, said nothing."

She also spoke of the damage that the church's support for the president has caused its reputation.

"It seems that the only evangelical leaders to speak up praised the president, with no mention of his behavior that is antithetical to the Jesus we serve. The entire world has watched the term 'evangelical" become synonymous with hypocrisy and disingenuousness," she writes.

"My faith and my church have become a laughing stock, and any attempt by its members to defend the actions of Trump at this time sound hollow and insincere," she writes.

Duford called for fellow evangelicals to get their priorities straight by putting God before politics and believes that doing so would be empowering to women in the faith.

"The God we serve empowers us as women to represent Him before our churches. We represent God before we represented any political party or leader," She writes. "When we fail to remember this, we are minimizing the role He created for us to fill."

"Jesus loved women; He served women; He valued women. We need to give ourselves permission to stand up to do the same," she continued.

Duford's op-ed is a bold and brave statement for an influential figure in a movement that has become synonymous with the Republican Party to nake. But, according to Duford, that type of bravery is what's demanded of her by her faith.

"I chose to listen to my spirit to speak out. Not because doing so feels comfortable, but because it feels like the right way to leverage the voice God has empowered me with," she writes.

"Now I am asking all of you who feel as I do, to 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," the piece concludes.

Every day, people are being amazing in large and small ways. When headlines get you down, you need a little boost of humanity's awesomeness to remind you that things aren't as bleak as they can seem. Here are 10 of this week's best examples of people being awesome.

1. Felix Gretarsson, the man who received the world's first full double arm and shoulder transplant, is making incredible progress.

Doctors expected might have feeling near his elbows after a year. It's been less than six months, and he's already able to move his bicep voluntarily and has feeling as far down as his forearms. Read his amazing story here.

Felix Gretarsson/Instagram


2. Rudy Willingham is making the world a little more delightful with perfectly placed stickers and paper cutouts.

How fun is this?


3. Sarah Cunningham shares how she started giving #FreeMomHugs to people in the LGBTQIA+ community and launched a movement.

Many LGBTQIA+ people aren't embraced by their families when they come out. Sarah Cunningham's warm heart offers a beacon of love and hope for Pride month.

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Every day, people are being amazing in large and small ways. When headlines get you down, you need a little boost of humanity's awesomeness to remind you that things aren't as bleak as they can seem. Here are 10 of this week's best examples of people being awesome.

1. Felix Gretarsson, the man who received the world's first full double arm and shoulder transplant, is making incredible progress.

Doctors expected might have feeling near his elbows after a year. It's been less than six months, and he's already able to move his bicep voluntarily and has feeling as far down as his forearms. Read his amazing story here.

Felix Gretarsson/Instagram


2. Rudy Willingham is making the world a little more delightful with perfectly placed stickers and paper cutouts.

How fun is this?


3. Sarah Cunningham shares how she started giving #FreeMomHugs to people in the LGBTQIA+ community and launched a movement.

Many LGBTQIA+ people aren't embraced by their families when they come out. Sarah Cunningham's warm heart offers a beacon of love and hope for Pride month.

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Courtesy of CAMFED/Eliza Powell
True

Alice Saisha was raised in the Luapula Province of Zambia with 10 brothers and sisters. She always had big dreams for when she grew up. However, she almost didn't achieve them. "I nearly had to drop out of school because of poverty," she says. She also almost became a child bride to a much older man.

"If CAMFED did not step in, my story would have been different."

CAMFED is a pan-African movement revolutionizing and supporting girls' education — which is exactly what it did for Saisha. Not only did she finish school with their support, she also got her undergraduate degree in Sociology and her Master's degree in Development Studies. She's currently looking to get her Ph.D.

And she didn't stop there. "All of the knowledge I obtained was applied right in the community where I grew up," she explains. Saisha is a trainer and facilitator in leadership and enterprise, financial education and psychosocial counseling — and an activist, philanthropist and advocate of women's rights.

"We speak out for the voiceless, create leaders along the way, and amplify the importance of children's welfare in school and at home."

Today, Saisha is a CAMFED ambassador, using her education to benefit her community and make sure that other girls, just like her, find a way out of poverty through education. Her work creates a bridge between the young women, children, youths and all the existing opportunities, information, and aid they can access. She provides mentorship and financial aid to those in need. "I come up with innovative ways to reach out to other young women or girls through media, calls, and one-on-one or group meetings," she explains. "To share knowledge, use my experience and give room to lend a listening ear whenever need be."

"I am very passionate about seeing women progress in all areas of life."

Without a doubt, she says her life story helps drive her work, not only because it is the motivation behind what she does, but also because it helps her relate to the girls she supports. Saisha is currently supporting 11 orphans and vulnerable children by directly funding their education. She is also fostering two of the children. "[They] come from similar backgrounds," she says. "They were at the verge of dropping out due to early marriage." She met them during her volunteer work in district communities and noticed a reflection of her own experiences. "I instantly connected with them and I believed they had brighter futures."

"Seeing them transform is priceless, and hearing them dream big is so touching. Their achievements speak to it all."

Courtesy of CAMFED/Eliza Powell

Saisha is one of Tory Burch's Empowered Women this year. The donation she receives as a nominee is being awarded to CAMFED — the very organization that helped get her where she is today.

"I want girls to be heard. It does not matter where they are in the world, what race they were born into or the type of background they came from," Saisha says. "Girls should be supported to escape unsafe environments. They need to always have a safe space which allows them to grow, and to nurture the great visions they possess."

To learn more about Tory Burch and Upworthy's Empowered Women program visit https://www.toryburch.com/empoweredwomen/. Nominate an inspiring woman in your community today.