Russell Moore compares Trump–Clinton debate to 'wrestling match'
Russell Moore has shared his sentiments about the first Trump–Clinton debate and compared it to a wrestling match or a ball game.
Moore, the president of Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), stated that he was embarrassed to watch it with his children and noted that his two eldest sons were American citizens by immigration who were adopted from the former Soviet Union.
He fears that Monday's presidential debate will give the children a bad impression of America because it would be the first one that they will probably remember.
"America is better than this, America is more serious than this," said Moore.
Moore pointed out that American voters are identifying with the candidates not by their character or the issues but as "competing tribes."
He stated that the debate "had the feel of a wrestling match or a ball game in terms of anticipation behind it," said Moore.
He noted that while issues such as racial unity and reconciliation were tackled during the debate, such were not discussed at the moral level in which each person's equality is affirmed not just by the law but also as a bearer of God's image.
He also pointed out that other issues such as the unborn and vulnerable populations were not mentioned at all.
"You're looking on one hand at a legal hostility toward the unborn, but on the other hand you also have a cultural trajectory, in which a pro-life ecology can't survive," he added.
Moore indicated that he is hopeful that America would survive despite the gloomy predictions made by both parties in the event that they lose the elections. He expressed his belief that America is resilient but added that the current situation is still depressing especially when viewed in light of the presidential debates in the past.
He cautioned people against falling into moral relativism and encouraged Christians by reminding them that "Jesus is alive."
"He is king of the entire universe, and He must reign until all of His enemies are put as a footstool beneath His feet," Moore said.
Moore was once called by Donald Trump as "a nasty guy with no heart!" in a tweet after the Baptist leader wrote an op-ed for the New York Times voicing his disapproval of Trump.
