
Neither of my Senators
have responded to my fundamental impeachment question. I asked them both if it
was against the law to solicit help from a foreign government for aid in an
electoral campaign. Now the non-partisan Government Accountability Office has
just issued a report that when the President held up aid allocated by Congress
for Ukraine, he broke the law. Whether that legal opinion, or the news from one
of the principal Ukraine players, Lev Parnas, will have any effect on our
Senators, the trial, and the hyper-partisanship in the Senate, remains to be
seen.

Probably the first
moral issue I'd ask them to address would be lying, since that seems to be the
President's most grievous sin. As of December 15, the Washington Post claimed
the President had made 15,413 false or misleading claims. That's a lot! Of
course we all know the Washington Post is part of the "liberal" press
that doesn't like the President. Besides, I can hear some of his supporters say,
some of those claims may have been out of ignorance or to protect some
important national secrets. Can we forgive what my mother called, "little
white lies?'

I'd ask the moral
impeachment gathering to consider what Scripture has to say about lying.
Although I'm not one to use Scripture as proof text for my personal convictions,
I know many evangelical Christians do. So I'd like the gathering to consider
Proverbs 12:22: "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people
who are trustworthy." Or given the tendency of the President to bully,
threaten and demonize his opponents, maybe the moral impeachment trial should
consider Ephesians 4:29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their
needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Maybe the religious
leaders could take the following list of Christian values and examine the
defendant according to each of them. Christian Sunday Schools try to instill
these values in children (that's where the list originates): respect;
responsibility; self control; moderation; honesty; integrity; kindness;
compassion; forgiveness; contentment; thankfulness; patience; perseverance;
peace; loyalty; commitment; justice; hope; service; joy; humility.

I'd like the trial to
consider humility … and wealth and poverty. Maybe they would consider the story
of the widow's mite in relationship to the Trump Charity that cheated kids with
cancer, was fined and disbanded.
Perhaps more important
than any other, the impeachment gathering might examine the President on his
concern and care for God's good Creation. How might he respond to Romans 1:20?
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his
eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from
what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Carl Kline
Carl Kline