To be fair, a lot of Jeffress’s comments lack not only wisdom, but love. Jeffress is very comfortable making pronouncements about other people and other faiths (in very unhelpful ways that are likely not intended to actually help the listener). He says things in provocative ways that stir up anger and division. Donald Trump shouldn’t have picked him for this job. It’s true that some people are looking for reasons to attack orthodox Christianity, but Jeffress invites such attacks. He was not the right man to represent America at this important event.

Jeffress might be inelegant in the way he talks about the exclusivity of salvation in Christ, but those beliefs are far from being his most egregious and unbiblical statements. It’s his baptizing of Trump’s sins as good that bother me most. That, alone should have disqualified him from giving this prayer. But of course, that is probably the main reason he was invited to deliver it.