OH SINNER MAN, WHERE YOU GONNA RUN TO?

It looks like Roy Moore is one of THOSE kind of Christians, the kind who’s in it for underage girls.  You’ve probably heard by now that no fewer than four women have accused Roy Moore, Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama, of making sexual advances to them when they were teenagers, thirty or more years ago.  One was 14 at the time.  The Washington Post, which broke the story, had a total of 30 sources, all of whom, including the victims, spoke on the record. 

A few years ago, Moore would have felt a sudden urge to step out of the spotlight and spend more time with his family.  Or at the very least, claim that he’d repented and been forgiven.  But this is the Age of Trump, when God’s primary concern is tax cuts for the rich.  So like Trump, Moore fought back.  He blamed his accusers, as well as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mitch McConnell.  One of those last three things is not like the others.

Since the Republican Party is full of folks who righteously condemned Bill Clinton for his extra-marital affairs, you might expect them to be horrified by Moore’s pedophilia.  But what really horrifies them is the prospect of losing a Senate seat.  In the Age of Trump, the letter of the law applies only to Democrats.   God will understand if Republicans cut a few corners in order to make sure that super-wealthy get the tax cuts they so richly deserve.

At this point, the Republican Party itself has chosen to remain silent, waiting to see whether the scandal has legs.  A few individuals have defended Moore, and a few others have urged him to drop out of the race. 

The National Review’s Jonah Goldberg never had any use for Moore.  Goldberg worries that Moore’s presence in the Senate would provide a never-ending stream of controversy and distraction for a Republican Party that struggles to stay on task even in the best of times.  Now that the latest charges have pushed some Republican Senators over the edge, Goldberg wrote sarcastically that “It’s good to know where the line is. You can set up shady charities for profit. You can call for religious tests and champion theocracy. You can cutely flirt with the idea that homosexuals have no rights — I don’t mean gay marriage, but the right to life — you can be removed from the bench, twice….  This is all acceptable for many conservatives. But, molest a little girl? That at least is too much.”

But it’s not too much for Steve Bannon and Breitbart.  They were quick to note that the age of consent in Alabama is 16, so three of the victims technically weren’t minors. They were simply victims of routine sexual harassment, and conservatives apparently don’t consider that a big deal.  Breitbart is even OK with a little pedophilia, as long as it doesn’t become a habit. 

In saner times, this would be the end of Moore’s already checkered career.  As Goldberg noted, there were already reasons aplenty to shun him.  But this is the Age of Trump, and if Moore stays in the race, conservative Christians will find a way to support him.  After all, didn’t St. Paul say (Romans 3:23), that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”?  And didn’t Jesus forgive sinners? 

Of course, when Jesus forgave sinners, he added a postscript:  go and sin no more.  James, the brother of Jesus, said (James 2:20) “faith without works is dead.”  What would faith without works – behavior inspired by faith – look like?  The example that James offered was that of an outwardly pious Christian who refused to help the poor and hungry.  Refusing to help the poor and hungry is a big part of Roy Moore’s platform.

Keep that in mind if Moore decides to play the Jesus card in an attempt to save his candidacy.