Theologian John Piper has shared shared a unique perspective on the single most hotly debated issue today: the U.S. presidential election. In a message posted to Twitter on Tuesday, the "Desiring God" author stated he believed both Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump should step down from their respective campaigns.
"Of course, Trump should step down as Olasky and Grudem say. So should Hillary. That is what 'unqualified' means. It's never been a question," tweeted Piper.
In his tweet, which received thousands of "likes," Piper referenced evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem and World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky, each of whom has called on Trump to withdraw from the race following the release of an 11-year-old hot-mic tape of the real estate mogul saying lewd things about women.
In explaining why he took back his initial endorsement of Trump, Grudem called the billionaire businessman's actions "morally evil" and showed pride in violating God's commands.
However, Grudem said he is still uncertain about his vote and weighed the different views represented by the two candidates on religious freedom, the military, gender identity, abortion, terrorism and others.
"As to how I will vote, I honestly don't know at this point. The election is still a month away," Grudem wrote in Townhall. "I have friends on both sides who are surprised that I do not find this an easy question to decide. But I do not find it an easy question. I continue to pray and seek God's wisdom, and ask that God will yet provide a better solution."
Other evangelical leaders - including Eric Metaxas, 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 backed Trump, pointing to a pressing need to prevent Hillary Clinton from winning the presidency, reshaping the Supreme Court and implementing liberal policies regarding abortion and other issues.
However, Southern Baptist leader and theologian Russell Moore told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" that like Piper, many evangelicals "feel homeless" politically in this presidential election - unable to support either major party candidate.
"I've been listening to some of these evangelical leaders since I was 10 years old say 'character matters,' that the moral tenor of leadership matters, that the coarsening of a culture is bad for all of society, that the bully pulpit ought to stand up for values," he said. "We've been told, 'we ought to vote our values.'
"And what I'm hearing from many evangelicals right now, there are a lot of evangelicals who feel homeless. They can't go in the direction, obviously, of Hillary Clinton, and they also can't go in this direction [of Trump]...Surely, we ought to have some place for character and for moral norms in American life right now. That's a really, really sad place we've come to."
