Christian Leaders Praise Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Confirmation

Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States today by a Senate vote of 50-48. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court announced that Kavanaugh would be sworn in as an associate justice immediately so he could begin to participate in court hearings.

Christian leaders who had supported Kavanaugh in the last few weeks rejoiced over the confirmation.

Stephen E. Strang, CEO of Charisma Media and author of God and Donald Trump and the upcoming Trump Aftershock, said in a statement, “I believe God answered prayer and overcame the evil intentions of those Democrats who hurled unsubstantiated accusations at Brett Kavanaugh to keep him off the High Court. It’s significant that he is a strong Christian, and I believe he will be a strong constitutionalist, which is exactly what we need on the Supreme Court.”

New York Times best-selling author Brigitte Gabriel applauded the confirmation vote in an official statement.

“The confirmation vote of Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh will positively impact America’s culture for decades to come. He suffered the political attacks of Democrats but he prevailed and many Republicans finally came to his defense to make history today,” Gabriel said. “America takes a step in the right direction with this vote, and this man will uphold the principles our judicial system was founded upon as a strict constitutionalist.”

On Facebook, Franklin Graham called for prayer.

“Congratulations to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh!” Graham said. “He didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was in this process—no one deserves that. I’m so thankful that God overruled. Justice Kavanaugh does need one thing though—he needs our prayers. Let’s pray for him and his family in this critical appointment. I’m confident he will do a great job for all Americans.”

Catherine Glenn Foster, who serves as president and CEO of the pro-life legal organization American United for Life, says Kavanaugh’s confirmation means that Roe v. Wade will soon be overturned.

“For the first time in decades, a majority of justices appear to understand not only that life begins at conception, as affirmed by medical science, but also that Roe was an egregious example of constitutional overreach,” Foster said. “We look forward to the day when Roe v. Wade takes its proper place among rightly repudiated rulings like Plessy, Korematsu and Dred Scott as one the court’s most shameful decisions. With Justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, we have confidence that that day is soon at hand.”

Vice President Mike Pence also released an official statement praising Kavanaugh on Twitter.

Today is a historic day for our country as a majority in the U.S. Senate voted to send a new voice to the Supreme Court who will uphold the timeless vision of America’s founders — Judge Brett Kavanaugh. My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/OYlkQEMOCR

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) October 6, 2018

Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, issued the following statement in light of the confirmation.

“After what has undoubtedly been one of the ugliest and most controversial confirmation hearings in our history, I pray the nation would rise to the challenge of our time and come together as one,” Rodriguez said. “Where we have genuine disagreements and passionate, even bitter debates, may we always remember that ‘out of many we are one.’ I believe more fervently than ever that the church is the key to leading the way back to unity. It is in that spirit that I respectfully pray for Justice Kavanaugh, that he will emerge as a great asset to the nation in the preservation of life, the advancement of religious liberty, the defense of the Constitution and ultimately in the service of racial, spiritual and cultural reconciliation. May God protect and guide our nation in all civility, wisdom and peace.”

Michael Farris, president, CEO and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), also was pleased with the outcome for Kavanaugh.

“ADF congratulates Brett Kavanaugh, who will be the newest member of the high court and a worthy successor to Justice Kennedy. Judge Kavanaugh has received high praise as a competent and professional jurist from people across the ideological spectrum, and he has demonstrated that he is committed to interpreting the Constitution as our founders intended. That commitment must include affirming our most fundamental freedoms of free speech and religious liberty, which will most certainly be at stake in cases that will come before the court in upcoming terms.”

Paula White, Greg Laurie and other key pastoral leaders also weighed in on Justice Kavanaugh’s success.

“I want to express my gratitude to those members of the Senate who today voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Paula White, senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida. “I also applaud President Trump for once again keeping his promise to appoint a defender of the Constitution, as the evangelical community voted with this as a priority. Not only is the new Justice Kavanaugh a good and decent man, but he is also one of the most respected legal minds of his generation. I believe he will serve our nation with distinction, just as he has done for the last 28 years of his legal career. God bless the entire Kavanaugh family, as they can finally begin this new and exciting chapter.”

Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, and founder of Harvest Crusades, called for prayer for all Supreme Court justices.

“Whatever your politics, it is difficult to look back on the last weeks in Washington with anything other than exasperation and sorrow,” Laurie said. “It has been a circus. It’s in moments like these that we should be most grateful that God is still on the throne and our hope is firmly in Him, not ourselves or our politicians. It is also the time when as Christians we should be the ones who reach out to our friends, families and neighbors to be part of the solution in bringing healing, unity and reconciliation to our communities. We must be the type of people that show the world a better way. I pray we rise to the challenge. Let’s also pray for Judge Kavanaugh, that his time on the Supreme Court would be full of wisdom and integrity, and that God himself would guide ALL OUR JUSTICES.”

Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church and president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, also reflected on how the Kavanaugh hearings were handled.

“The past three weeks have been some of the worst many of us have seen in our lifetimes. Hate and vitriol have inundated our social media feeds and invaded our workplaces, churches, homes and even our most intimate relationships. At some point, we lost sight of how to engage with each other in a sincere pursuit of truth. We worked feverishly to prove ourselves right, but we didn’t make an effort to understand each other.

“Whatever your inclination on the whole issue—whether Judge Kavanaugh should or should not have been confirmed to the Supreme Court—our infighting has left America worse off than it was before. Once again, we are more divided, more hurt, more tribalized and more cynical. When our opinions become more important than people, we all lose.

“There’s now one—and only one—way forward for America: we must pray earnestly for unity and work intentionally toward reconciliation. It’s incumbent upon the church of Jesus Christ to be a force of unity, love and civility both within and without. In fact, Scripture teaches us that we ought to love and pray for not only those who agree with us but also those who oppose us.

“Jesus puts it this way: ‘If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?’, and ‘If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?’ (Matt. 5:46-47, NLT).

“In the following days and weeks tensions will continue to flare up across America. It’s a crucial time in our nation’s history, and every vote we cast and every decision our leaders make will have repercussions for years to come. Yet regardless of what happens, it’s up to us to determine what country we want for ourselves and our children.”

Jason Yates, CEO of My Faith Votes, also responded to the confirmation.

“The reality today is this: The Senate has confirmed a new Justice to the Supreme Court. The process by which that new associate justice was evaluated and confirmed was the most raucous, partisan and unseemly affair to come out of Washington in recent memory—perhaps ever. Surely few Americans feel proud of the display we’ve seen from many of our elected officials the past weeks.

“Contrary to how the mainstream media and partisans on both sides would have us believe, this confirmation process was not a fight for which party is ‘for’ or ‘against’ women. Most Americans saw through that shallow tactic for what it was: a hijacking of the legitimacy and intent of the #MeToo movement for political expediency. The truth is our nation faces a deplorable deficiency in the dignity ascribed to women. Christian men, when acting like real men, know that women are made in the image of God and deserve dignity and respect as image-bearers, not images as the world promotes. This is a spiritual battle we face, and it should bring us to our knees for our mothers, wives, daughters and neighbors.

“Now is a time for Christians to pray. Justice Kavanaugh has been afforded the rare privilege to serve on the highest court in the land, and his decisions will impact Americans for generations. So let us pray for him, that his service to this nation would be the epitome of impartiality, integrity and an unswerving commitment to the Constitution.

“Let us also pray for our nation, that the seething anger and discord of our politics of late would no longer drive us apart. The ‘you’re-either-for-us-or-against-us’ mentality MUST be replaced with a ‘we’re-all-in-this-together’ commonality. All Christians, indeed all Americans, must faithfully participate in the process of government—from the youngest voter to the oldest public servant—and advocate for our values while respecting the dignity and sincerity of belief of those whose values differ. Let us pray that we learn again the strength of civility.”

Editor’s note: Charisma News added further comments to this story since its initial publication.