Popular evangelist and teacher Beth Moore has criticized Christian leaders who dismiss talk of sexual abuse and the objectification women following the release of an 11-year-old hot-mic tape of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump saying lewd things about women.
On Twitter, Moore revealed that she was a victim of sexual assault: "Wake up, Sleepers, to what women have dealt with all along in environments of gross entitlement & power. Are we sickened? Yes. Surprised? NO," Moore said. "I'm one among many women sexually abused, misused, stared down, heckled, talked naughty to. Like we liked it. We didn't. We're tired of it."
Moore was referring to a video which featured a conversation between Trump and then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, where the GOP candidate discussed attempting to have sex with a married woman and bragged about being able to grope women and get away with it due to his celebrity status.
The "Believing God" author went on to slam evangelical leaders still supporting Trump despite his offensive comments: "Try to absorb how acceptable the disesteem and objectifying of women has been when some Christian leaders don't think it's that big of a deal."
She continued, "'Keep your mouth shut or something worse will happen.' Yes. I'm familiar with the concept. Sometimes it's terrifyingly true. Still, we speak."
Evangelical leaders still supporting the billionaire businessman - including Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, Faith and Freedom Coalition's Ralph Reed, James Dobson of Focus of the Family, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr,, and CBN's Pat Robertson - have pointed to a pressing need to prevent Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from winning the presidency, reshaping the Supreme Court and implementing liberal policies regarding abortion and other issues.
Others, however, including renowned theologian Wayne Grudem, have pulled back their endorsement of the Republican nominee, and Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted an article criticizing evangelical apathy toward the Trump tape, calling it a "disgrace."
"What a scandal to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the integrity of our witness," Moore wrote.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, who has said he will not endorse any nominee, condemned Trump's comments as indefensible as "the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton."
"I have said it throughout this presidential campaign, and I will say it again - both candidates are flawed. The only hope for the United States is God," wrote Graham, who is the president of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
"Our nation's many sins have permeated our society, leading us to where we are today. But as Christians we can't back down from our responsibility to remain engaged in the politics of our nation," he added.
