There’s nothing like seeing #PeteForPresident trending in fourth place nationwide on Twitter to remind you Pete Buttigieg is still very much in this presidential race.

In the crowded field of Democratic contenders for the White House in 2020, Buttigieg is near the top, polling behind only Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. According to RealClearPolitics’ latest aggregate of polls, in the early primary state of Iowa, Buttigieg trails only Warren, holding 17.5 percent support — and for good reason.

Buttigieg’s resume glows with accolades and qualifications. He is a Harvard University graduate, a military veteran, and a Rhodes scholar, and each time he takes the stage, we are reminded he is a polished, articulate candidate who models presidential decorum. He embodies social progressivism and diversity, even being LGBT, and he speaks a farsighted message of unity and bipartisanship and faith. This multilingual, Midwest mayor of South Bend, Indiana, checks all the boxes, including religion.

And he is without a doubt the most dangerous candidate for Christianity and the gospel.

Pete Preaches a False Gospel of Affirmation

Faith-related comments have become routine for Mayor Pete. It seems each time Buttigieg has a microphone or an audience, he pontificates about the moral high ground he occupies — or at least all the reasons Republicans have lost their claim to it.

For example, during a GLAAD-sponsored LGBT presidential forum in Iowa, Buttigieg was asked how he would respond federally to state versions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which the host characterized as legislation "allowing individuals to claim broad exemptions from generally applicable laws … often weaponized to discriminate against LGBTQ people, religious minorities, single parents, and more.”

Buttigieg replied:

The thing that is so upsetting is that not only is it abusive toward LGBTQ Americans, but, in my view, it’s abusive toward the idea of faith. Faith is supposed to be about making people whole and making people better off, and when faith is used as an excuse to harm somebody, to me that is an insult to religion itself.

"Are rural and religious communities really going to get behind this idea?” the host asked. "Because, you know, I would want nothing more than to see the churches I grew up in really change.”

"I think it can happen when we ask people to be attuned to the importance of compassion and supporting each other,” Buttigieg said, affirming the notion that churches should fundamentally change core teachings to embrace LGBT activism. "It is amazing how many people can move past those old harms when you appeal to what is best in them … to bring out the best of what’s already somewhere inside of us.”

Never mind that the mayor completely contradicts the Christian doctrine of total human depravity — a foundational tenet of the gospel — to support his secular sexual ethic, but it is imperative to note that Buttigieg’s threat is not primarily due to being immoral versus moral. Comparing Buttigieg with an angry or scandalous politician — or even with the man occupying the White House — makes the mayor radiate what looks like goodness.

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