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.
Great discussion Freddy and well said. Just this week I encountered someone who equated giving someone a helping hand a replacement for sharing the gospel message and our need for Jesus Christ. That seems like more of me centric instead of Christ centric. We don’t truly show love if do not share the gospel. They both go hand in hand. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to remember that it is God who provides, God who sustains, and God who knows us and gives us eternal security in Him. We are to rely on Him and not government programs.
Thank you, Sherry. Great observations.
Blah blah blah
Not a very intelligent response.
Agreed. Actually Jesus’
words aline well with Democratic values. I get the impression the author was resentful Duncan changed parties and a defensive religious spin is contained in this piece. Inappropriate.
I suggest you do a side by side comparison of the teachings of Jesus and the Democrat Party’s platform. I believe you will find that the values don’t align as closely as you think. I actually don’t care that much about a person’s party affiliation. What I do care about is the fact that Duncan claims to be an evangelical Christian, yet his worldview beliefs do not reflect that. Christian worldview beliefs assume a focus on an individual’s personal relationship with God, not the collectivist social justice stance Duncan has bought into. I’m not resentful about anything, but I am interested in pointing out error when I see it. This topic is actually quite appropriate for my purpose.
This article might as well say the reason the poor are in need is because they lack a connection to God. Terrible assumption
Yours is very unusual reasoning. In fact, I’m not even sure what you are talking about. This article was not even talking about the poor, but about basing one’s actions on biblical worldview as opposed to Duncan’s approach which is not non-biblical approach. Motivations matter.
.“Love thy neighbor” guides my life – just as it guided Jesus’s. Having Jesus in my heart will not feed my children, provide me decent and affordable healthcare, keep me warm. If the author has had a different experience, I hope he’ll let us in on his secret. From my POV, denigrating a good human for his desire to care for others and love his neighbor is ANTI-Christian. This is NOT how Christ did or would behave. Very disheartening (but not surprising) to hear that Republican policies don’t align with basic human needs (yes, “material” needs) such as food, healthcare, not fearing being shot at school, etc. The truth is, that this R. administration (2/1/26) is making life harder, sadder, sicker. Today, 2 million people lose SNAP benefits. Most are kids – tonight, they’ll go to bed hungry while T*ump continues counting the $4,000,000,000 his corrupt policies have raked in for HIMSELF. And as a “Christian” (talking to Freddy here), you support him???? Seriously??? I challenge you to provide one action he’s taken that is grounded in Christianity. Just one. As an FYI, I could provide about 100 that are evidence of the opposite (including adultery and sexual assault). He is a cruel and amoral man and he has surrounded himself with cruel and amoral people. Trust me when I say that Jesus is NOT happy. Be grateful that there are people like Geoff Duncan on this planet. I sure am.
Elle, the concept of “Love thy neighbor” is certainly not a bad thing. However, your approach to interpreting the significance of that is not based on biblical worldview teaching. It is not legitimate interpretative methodology to take Scripture out of context and interpret it based on your own personal philosophy. That is the methodology of many cults, but it is not Christian. Based on biblical teaching (including the teachings of Jesus Himself), God’s purpose is not to feed the hungry, provide affordable healthcare, or to keep people warm. And there is certainly nothing in the Bible that suggests that Christians ought to outsource doing good to the government. Those kinds of teachings of Jesus were not to governments, but to the individuals He was teaching. Actions designed to help people’s physical needs are certainly one expression of God’s purpose, but are not the purpose itself. Any pagan can provide things that look good on the outside but are actually counterfeit. God’s express purpose is for human beings to know Him in a personal relationship. People who latch onto that purpose will do various things to help others out of love for Him, but not because that is the fulfillment of His purpose for mankind. You have made the expression to the purpose to be the main thing and have totally left out the purpose itself. And you have turned a teaching about how Christians should live their lives into a government mandate.
And why have you tried to turn this into a political fight, as if politics is the driver of God’s purpose? That approach expresses atheistic principles, not biblical ones. When I deal with political policy issues, I never try to use individuals as proofs of my point of view. My focus is always on the biblical principles that God has revealed concerning how we should express our lives as persons who live in a personal relationship with Him. Your entire approach is based on a theologically liberal hermeneutic that bases its teaching on some non-biblical philosophy (usually Marxism), then attempts to proof text your predetermined conclusion. That is not legitimate biblical interpretation, and your conclusion is thus flawed. “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” should guide your life, not “Love thy neighbor.” Until you can get the order right, your theology will continue to be flawed.