'Sinful bully' Trump trashed by columnist for making it hard to be both a Christian and a conservative

Writing at the Daily Beast, conservative columnist Matt Lewis lamented the dilemma faced by voters like himself who want a conservative president --  but are stuck with Donald Trump.

According to Lewis, who identifies himself as a Christian, "Just as Secretary of Defense James Mattis had to decide whether he could (in good conscience) remain in Trump’s administration, Christian conservatives must grapple with the dissonance between what is preached from the pulpit at Christmas and what is being tweeted by the bully from the White House."

Adding that he "still reject[s] the premise that Donald Trump defines conservatism," Lewis nonetheless said, for Christain voters, it's hard "to square our political home with our eternal one."

"I am a (very flawed) Christian and a (somewhat conflicted) conservative," Lewis explained. "These two identities—the sacred and the secular—once coexisted happily. Not so today. Increasingly, my faith and my political loyalties are at odds, and sometimes even seem to be mutually exclusive."

"Trump’s fundamental character deficiencies are part of the problem," He continued. "Unlike Ronald Reagan’s sunny optimism, rooted in faith in America’s future, Trump motivates via fear. His worldview is rooted in a scarcity mentality that says someone else is stealing your share of the pie."

Lewis then called out Trump.

"I freely admit that I am a sinner in need of grace and constant forgiveness. God’s mercy humbles me daily. Donald Trump, however, revels in at least five of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, and wrath," he wrote, adding, "With every passing minute it becomes clearer that it would take a miracle for him to change."

"Trump occasionally gets things right. Sometimes he does something that any decent conservative would support, and then I find myself saying so," he confessed. "This did not compel me to vote for Trump, but many otherwise decent conservatives entered into this devil’s bargain in 2016—and may do so again in 2020."

He then lamented, "Unfortunately, my Christian conservative friends don’t really have anywhere else to go."

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