His Religion Is Not What He Thinks

Geoff Duncan previously served as Georgia’s Lt. Governor as a Republican. Recently, though, he was kicked out of the Republican party. Following that, he decided to join the Democrats. On a surface level, that may not seem so strange. While it doesn’t happen all the time, it is actually not totally unusual for people to switch political parties. (You can read about this one at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-georgia-lt-gov-geoff-duncan-abandons-gop-join-democratic-party.)

In fact, in some ways his switch is logical. First, while he was still a registered Republican, he endorsed President Biden in the 2024 presidential election. After Biden dropped out, Ducan then endorsed Kamala Harris. He also led efforts to undermine and sabotage several Republican candidates for other offices. Finally, he spoke at the Democrat National Convention in support of the Democrats. It’s no wonder he got kicked out.

But that is not the whole story. Even while he was still a Republican he held certain policy positions that aligned more closely with the Democrats. Seemingly, he doesn’t fully agree with the Republican positions on:

• health care,
• Medicaid,
• gun safety,
• immigration, and
• welfare policy.

There is an unusual twist to this story, however. Duncan purports to be a committed evangelical Christian, and the political policy positions he holds don’t typically fit well among that constituency. He is a member of a non-denominational evangelical church, and, by all accounts, is very serious about his religious beliefs. In fact, he and his wife regularly lead a couples’ Bible study class.

In an interview about why he left the Republican party, he said it was because as a Republican, he felt a “daily struggle to love my neighbor.” So what is that all about? Well, even though he is part of an evangelical church, his approach to theology aligns more with liberal Christianity than Evangelicalism. Rather than a primary focus on sharing the gospel, his primary focus is to “love his neighbor” through material assistance.

Now of course, loving one’s neighbor is certainly not an issue for Evangelical Christians. In fact, it is considered very important. However, that terminology is actually code that represents liberal theology rather than evangelicalism. It is one that places a focus on this worldly social justice, rather than leading people to know a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

But truth be told, Duncan is probably struggling with where he fits in. He still holds certain beliefs that align with Republican values, because overall Republican policy positions align more closely to biblical values than Democrat ones. So where is the disconnect?

Based on his interviews, it seems that his motivations are more from his faith than from his political ideology, but he seemingly does not know how to make the kinds of distinctions necessary to put it all together. He has articulated that his primary motivation is to “love my neighbor.” But in incorporating that into his life, he appears to believe that the Christian way to do it is to support government policies that meet people’s material needs through government programs. It is a focus on organizing society based on a collectivist model rather than on the needs of the individual.

In many ways, navigating this matter can be somewhat confusing for Christians. We truly don’t want to see people suffering and being harmed, and we want to help. But that is not really what is in play here. The issue actually regards how to best provide the help. When you look at the issues involved, no matter which political policies a person supports, there are going to be people who are helped and others who are left out.

At that point, if we want to really get down to cases, we have to step away from a political paradigm and look at the issue based on a worldview perspective. If politics is the deciding factor, then the things that determine our outcome are based on how to win politically. It picks winners and losers based on the politician’s personal preferences. That is not a Christian approach – no matter what political party one favors.

A Christian perspective takes its cues from the teachings of the Bible. Rather than having a primary focus on winning a political battle, it is focused on accomplishing the purposes of God. What it seeks to accomplish is:

• to point people to Christ,
• to promote order in society,
• to create true justice (not social justice), and
• to focus on the spiritual growth of the individual (as opposed to the collective).

While Duncan’s personal motives may be good, he is advocating a collectivist approach to helping people’s physical circumstances using government programs, rather than on meeting their individual needs starting with their most basic need for God. In the end, a politics centered approach, no matter the underlying motivation, will fail.