William Lane Craig, JD Vance, and A Call to Denounce Dehumanization of Immigrants
William Lane Craig, JD Vance, and A Call to Denounce Dehumanization of Immigrants
Tedla Woldeyohannes, Ph.D.
This article is a continuation of my previous articles in which I have been sharing my reflections on racism and belief in white supremacy with a non-negotiable commitment to human dignity for all humans. In all my reflections, if properly understood, I firmly believe that Christianity does not justify racism and white supremacy or supremacy of any group of people. Regarding my background, I am an evangelical Christian from Ethiopia with an academic background in philosophy, broadly speaking, but focusing on topics central to Christian philosophy.
As the title indicates, this article focuses on Dr. William Lane Craig's recent comments on JD Vance, the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nominee. Dr. Craig was my former professor at Biola University. I have no issues with Bill Craig, as I call him. Just a few months ago, I invited him to interact with my graduate students of theology in Ethiopia, a class I taught via Zoom. Bill graciously accepted my invitation and interacted with my students, answering questions based on his book on the historical Adam—In Quest of the Historical Adam—which I highly recommend.
In this article, I want to share my reflections and concerns on Bill Craig’s views on JD Vance. I ask Bill in public to do something I am confident that he will do, i.e., to denounce JD Vance’s dehumanizing rhetoric of the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. I explain my rationale for asking Bill to denounce Vance’s rhetoric below. In the last part of my article, I issue a call to fellow Christian philosophers and Christian academics to do something about the epidemic of dehumanization of immigrants, which is an integral part of Trump’s political project.
The following points are worth noting for those unfamiliar with my background from my previous articles: I am not an American citizen; hence, I do not vote. But four reasons motivate me to share my reflections on the topics I have been regularly writing in my Substack: (1) I have three young black children who are American citizens, and in what I write, I am their voice; when I oppose racism and white supremacy, I do that on their behalf, myself, and people who experience harm due to racism, (2) it is my responsibility as a Christian academic to challenge false beliefs that are harmful to anyone, which also conflict with the core teachings of Christianity, and racism or belief in white supremacy is that false belief that needs to be challenged, (3) when I oppose racism and white supremacy when Trump or any politician promote such a harmful view, my opposition is not based on Trump’s association with the Republican Party, and (4) many of my articles are critical of Evangelicals who are associated with Trump. As an evangelical Christian, I cannot keep silent when my faith tradition has been hijacked by a political program that undermines the credibility of my faith tradition. In my view, evangelicals whose total capitulation to Trump’s values have done more damage to the credibility of evangelical Christianity than anything else in recent times. In other words, my articles, in part, can be viewed as ways of defending my faith tradition from the destruction that has resulted from deeply racist political projects by Trump and his supporters. Also, when the support of a political leader, Trump, by Christians involves a rejection of truth and moral character, it is the duty, both intellectually and morally, of Christian scholars to defend the value of truth and moral character and the integrity of their faith tradition. That is what I am trying to do.
Craig on Vance
Craig has stated his disclaimer regarding how he and his Reasonable Faith ministry handle political issues when he has something to address: “We do not get involved in speaking to purely political issues. We recognize that there are Christians on both sides of the political divide. Therefore, we try to abstain from political opinions. The exception is when these political issues touch on either ethical or religious issues. Then I think it's fair game and indeed we have a responsibility to address those sorts of issues.”[1] My focus in most of the articles I have published in my Substack is similar to Craig’s---I share my reflections on the moral or ethical issues some politicians say and practice that are mainly harmful to many immigrants, blacks, or minorities in America. As I noted above, it is wrong to use Christianity to justify racism and belief in white supremacy.[2] Hence, my articles have been mostly critical of politicians, most notably Donald Trump, and his racist and dehumanizing language, which is an integral part of the political movement he leads, which unfortunately has been fervently supported by millions of white evangelical Christians. I added the preceding points to underscore that most of my Substack articles focus more or less on the issues Craig says are worth addressing.
Following Craig’s high praise of Vance based on Vance’s essay[3], I have also read it. My reaction to Vance’s essay is different from Craig’s, but that is irrelevant to the purpose of this article. Here are a few of my concerns about Craig’s high praise for JD Vance based on Craig’s reading of Vance’s essay.
First, Craig is a highly influential evangelical Christian philosopher, theologian, and apologist. What Craig says about any particular issue or person, in this case, the current vice-presidential candidate for the Republican Party, has an immense potential to influence those who take his views seriously. Based on my social media observations, I have already noticed that some Christian apologists praise Vance, encouraged by Craig’s view of Vance. Some are even defending Vance, claiming that Vance’s rhetoric about Haitian immigrants is based on evidence. More on this below.
Second, Craig’s appreciation of the role of philosophy and theology in Vance’s journey from atheism to Christianity ignored the kind of politician Vance is and Vance’s role as a vice president if Trump wins the presidency again. Vance has many controversial views, some of which are antithetical to Christian values. For example, Vance’s demonizing of Haitian immigrants is against the Christian view of human dignity.
Third, Trump’s political project is deeply embedded in racism and belief in white supremacy. Recall Trump calling into question Obama’s citizenship, which paved the way for his foray into presidential politics. Trump publicly has said, among many other things, that undocumented immigrants are “not people”; they are “animals.” Trump has also said many times, “immigrants poison the blood of our country.”[4] Trump’s contempt for black people is not confined to immigrants, but any black person whose job is to hold him accountable, like every other American citizen, for alleged crimes would be denounced in racist and dehumanizing terms. For example, Trump called the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg an “animal.” Vance is not Trump, but Vance joined Trump in dehumanizing the Haitian immigrants without any credible evidence that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, ate dogs and cats.[5] I will say more below about the lack of evidence regarding Trump’s claim, which Vance has defended or promoted for days. The baseless lies about Haitian immigrants eating dogs and cats underscore one thing, i.e., racism has taken prominence in the 2024 presidential campaign as one can think of Trump and Vance, the current operators of the centuries-old white supremacists’ political train, as Trump contends for power against Kamala Harris, the first black woman in American history.
Before proceeding further, it is essential to point out one fact to avoid misleading my readers and to be fair to Craig: Craig’s comment—a transcript of his interview-- (Part One) on Vance and the philosophy of religion was posted on his Reasonable Faith website on September 9, 2024, and a video on the same topic was posted on September 16, 2024. Trump said immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eat dogs and cats on September 10, 2024, during the presidential debate, and that was a day after Craig’s first article was published on the Reasonable Faith ministry page. Keeping these dates in mind is crucial to avoid mischaracterizing Craig’s comments on Vance: Craig was unaware of Vance’s baseless claims about the Haitian immigrants eating dogs and cats when his interview was posted to the public on September 9, 2024.
Even though it is unfair to expect Craig to do thorough research on many of Vance’s public statements about the Haitian immigrants to prepare for his comment on Vance’s background in philosophy and Vance’s journey from atheism to Christianity, Vance’s claim about the Haitians was already made the day the transcript of Craig’s interview about Vance was posted on his Reasonable Faith page. That same day, Vance posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account the baseless and harmful claims about Haitians in Springfield.[6]
Vance on the Haitian Immigrants
Vance repeatedly made the baseless claim Trump made about the Haitian immigrants eating pets but never provided evidence for the claim. He often responded to questions about the veracity of his claim by saying what he said came from “firsthand accounts” of his constituents. Still, he never provided further or actual evidence. For someone who studied philosophy and law, the importance of “evidence” for the truth of his claim is crucial. To be a politician does not require a rejection of the value of truth, but Vance never offered any evidence of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. What he claimed as “firsthand accounts” from his constituents has been debunked by people whose views are relevant and decisive.
One can make a case regarding Vance’s defense, as I will show an example later. One could argue that, as a Senator for Ohioans, it is Vance’s responsibility to speak on behalf of his constituents. Fair enough. However, being a Senator does not require making a baseless claim on behalf of his constituents. Why am I saying the claim Vance repeatedly made was baseless? Among others, there was a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) devoted to this issue. According to the WSJ,
“…when a reporter went to Anna Kilgore’s house Tuesday evening, she said her cat Miss Sassy, which went missing in late August, had actually returned a few days later—found safe in her own basement. Kilgore, wearing a Trump shirt and hat, said she apologized to her Haitian neighbors with the help of her daughter and a mobile phone translation app.” Despite this report, among many similar reports, Vance kept repeating the baseless claim. Vance knew his claims were not founded on credible evidence, yet he made unfounded claims. This is evidence of Vance’s dishonesty. It is worth noting that Trump’s and Vance’s baseless claims put the Haitian immigrants in a terrifying situation with bomb threats.
On many occasions, when Vance is asked for evidence about the pets and evidence for other baseless claims he makes that align with Trump's countless baseless claims about so many things over the years, Vance responds by saying there is “verifiable evidence” for his claims. Vance misleads his audience by saying “verifiable” evidence, leaving his audience to think that he has said “verified” evidence. Verifiable evidence means the evidence in question can be verified, but people are asking Vance to offer the verified evidence, the actual evidence or fact. As far as I know, he never provided actual or verified evidence for his claim about the Haitian immigrants eating their neighbors' pets. The case of Miss Sassy, the cat found safe and alive, should have changed his mind, but he chose to continue to lie. Yes, it is not unusual for politicians to lie, but of course, nowhere to the magnitude of Trump’s lies, which now Vance defends as his full-time job to keep his position as a VP. It is public knowledge that to contradict Trump, no matter what Trump’s lies, even if the lies endanger the lives of innocent people, means that the individual risks humiliation and losing his job in Trump’s world.
Miss Sassy and The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Let me share this interesting observation, highlighting the unfortunate situation in which many evangelicals who defend Trump, now Trump and Vance, find themselves. Among other claims, I have read (on Facebook on 9/20/24) the following in defense of Vance’s baseless claim about the Haitian immigrants: “There are too many eyewitness testimonies from Ohio citizens to dismiss…Vance’s claims as "lies about Haitian immigrants." The well-known New Testament scholar Michael Licona, who is an expert on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, made the statement I just quoted. I take it that Licona was alluding to what Vance kept saying, that he [Vance] has “firsthand accounts” of reports about the alleged incident from Vance’s constituents.
One piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is eyewitness testimonies. My area of specialization in philosophy is religious epistemology and the philosophy of religion. I’m not raising questions regarding Licona’s use of eyewitness testimonies to make a case for the resurrection. My interest in this article is to see how consistently Licona can apply eyewitness testimonies, which is a legitimate piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, in defense of Vance’s claim about Haitians eating the pets of their neighbors. Consider now the following pieces of evidence that undercut what Vance claimed to be “firsthand accounts” from Vance’s constituents:
1. Consider the September 18, 2024, report in Wall Street Journal; the title reads: “How the Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors About Pet-Eating Migrants—After Being Told They Weren’t True. Springfield, Ohio, city officials were contacted by Vance’s team and said the claims were baseless. It didn’t matter, and now the town is in chaos.”
2. The Republican Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, had to write an op-ed in the NYT on September 20, 2024, in which he stated, “As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”[7] Emphasis is mine. Mr. DeWine added, “The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers — both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match.”[8]
3. Miss Sassy, the cat that was reported missing, returned home safely and alive, and the person who reported the cat was missing provided testimony that her previous report was no longer true and she had apologized for what followed her mistaken report about her cat. That was reported in the Wall Street Journal I quoted above. Now, here are a few more points to reflect on the eyewitness testimonies for the resurrection of Jesus.
4. The credibility of the eyewitness testimonies regarding the resurrection of Jesus depends on what kind of people the witnesses were and whether they would have lied in their testimonies. Unlike the alleged eyewitness testimonies involving the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, the eyewitnesses in the case of the resurrection of Jesus did not have a motive to lie or fabricate their testimonies. But in this polarized political environment, notably fueled by racism and belief in white supremacy, what was told about Haitians was consistent with what white supremacists believe about blacks, in this case Haitians.[9]
5. Jesus presented evidence for his resurrection in his various post-resurrection appearances. Note that the resurrected Christ appeared first to Mary Magdalene, then to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and then more than 500 brethren saw Christ in Galilee. Miss Sassy, the cat, is alive; she was never dead when the baseless claim about her was that Haitian immigrants ate her. Contrary to the lie that Miss Sassy was eaten, Haitian neighbors did not eat her or any cats or dogs for that matter. For a scholar who has expertise in the study of the evidence for the resurrection, especially for the eyewitness testimonies, the baseless claims about Haitians eating pets should not be taken seriously at all.[10]
6. It is also crucial to keep this in mind: The Governor of Ohio and the Mayor are both Republicans, and they were both emphatic in their statements that there is no basis for the claim that Haitian immigrants ate the pets of neighbors in Springfield. Whose testimony is credible in this case? The testimonies of the Republican governor and Mayor of the city where the alleged incident happened, or the lies of the racist Trump and now his ally Vance, for both of them, their singular reason to spread the lie is to get elected?
7. When a Christian philosopher asked Licona about the veracity of the eyewitness testimonies about Haitians eating dogs and cats on 9/21/24, Licona responded, “The claim of Haitians eating pets is not central to the problems with [Kamala] Harris.” He went on to discuss other issues regarding immigration in connection with Harris. This response shows a complete lack of compassion and sympathy for fellow human beings who were terrified by bomb threats precisely based on the lies about Haitians eating cats and dogs. There were no bomb threats against Haitians before the lies told by Trump and Vance. If the lies about Haitians eating dogs and cats were theoretical discussions, Licona’s response would be understandable. But the lies told by Trump and Vance against fellow human beings are not merely theoretical topics.
Christian Scholars Have a Duty to Denounce Dehumanization of Humans
I am a black African legal immigrant in the US. If a certain white Trump supporter made up a story about my people saying Ethiopians in a certain American city eat dogs and cats, I (along with Ethiopians in America) would go through very similar experiences Haitian immigrants have been going through. Note that most of the Haitians in Springfield are legally in the US, which both Trump and Vance have intentionally distorted, claiming they are illegal immigrants. The lies about Haitian immigrants were founded on deeply seated, centuries-old racist tropes about black people. The Haitian people are not a newly discovered species of black people. My article has focused on my opposition to the demonizing of fellow human beings, this time the Haitian immigrants, based on lies about them.
As I noted above, Bill Craig shared his comments, which included high praises for JD Vance based on reading Vance’s essay. At that time, Vance’s lies about Haitian immigrants were not circulating and defended by Vance. Now, Craig is aware of the baseless claims about Haitians Vance has been making, as a result of which Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have gone through bomb threats besides feeling hated and demonized. I decided to write this article primarily to ask Craig to denounce at least the dehumanization of Haitian immigrants as a result of Vance’s baseless claims about the Haitian community. This is an invitation to my former professor to show moral leadership in denouncing the dehumanization of fellow human beings by a politician for whom he had high praise. As a Christian and as a scholar with tremendous influence on the evangelical Christian community, Craig’s speaking out against racism and dehumanization of the Haitian community, which is partly based on Vance’s baseless claims, would serve as a good example for other Christian scholars. Note that I am explicitly asking Craig to denounce Vance’s baseless allegations that harmed Haitians, i.e., human beings created in God’s image, because Craig highly praised Vance. In my view, Craig, who has highly praised Vance, now, with the knowledge that Vance’s baseless claims had harmed the Haitian community, has a responsibility to denounce Vance’s dehumanization of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. Also, I extend my call to other Christian scholars and anyone else who is reading this article to denounce, in their own ways and however they do, the dehumanization by Trump and Vance of Haitian immigrants and other immigrants. Note that the implementation of immigration laws does not require the demonization of immigrants. Only racists engage in the dehumanization of fellow human beings.
For those who wonder how we can know whether Trump is a racist and now JD Vance has joined in the racist project of demonizing immigrants, I remind you what Jesus taught us about humans: "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—…. false testimony, slander. " Mathew 15: 17-19. Emphasis is mine. What comes out of Trump's mouth and Vance's mouth about immigrants, the lies—the false testimony and slander-- and the terror their lies have caused to Haitians and other immigrants come from their hearts, according to Jesus. Jesus taught us how to discern what is in the hearts of humans, and I rely on Jesus's wisdom here. Commonsense also tells us the same.
I conclude this article by quoting Martin Luther King, Jr, from his Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963:
“I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian…. brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years, I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens’ Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
[1] https://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/reasonable-faith-podcast/j.d-vance-and-the-philosophy-of-religion-part-one
[2] For an example of how the Bible or Christianity was used to justify white supremacy, see Russell Hawkins, The Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy (Oxford University Press, 2021)
[3] https://thelampmagazine.com/blog/how-i-joined-the-resistance
[4] See my reflection on that claim on my life: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/worshiping-god-without-worrying-about?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
[5] See my most recent article that expands what I said above: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/white-christian-supremacy-and-dehumanization?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
[6] https://www.factcheck.org/2024/09/vances-misleading-claim-about-immigrants-and-murders-in-springfield-ohio/
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/opinion/springfield-haitian-migrants-ohio.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ME4._U-L.n2n4rQaOwCEY&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&fbclid=IwY2xjawFdMX9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXYo9Mg2GKThR1n-YhgB09cQ6baWH8KBtKBJXMiI2AP7Ovou3YCkmGMTug_aem_8r5qXG88wMjOzKV-eJzmBA
[8] Ibid
[9] See my previous article on this: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/white-christian-supremacy-and-dehumanization?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
[10] See my previous article on the resurrection of Jesus and evidence for the 2020 presidential election: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/the-2020-election-jan-6-trumps-felony?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web