Popular Christian preacher and theologian John Piper took to Twitter Friday afternoon to clear up any confusion over his name appearing in an ad that ran on Fox News and in The Washington Post.
Piper said he “did not sign and would not sign” the ad.
The advertisement in question — “Christians Against Trumpism and Political Extremism” — seemed to include a host of signatories. It was later revealed the ad’s backers, Stand Up Republic, led by Evan McMullin and Mindy Finn, was really just issuing a “thank you” to the people it believes have condemned President Donald Trump.
Even the Post’s religion reporter, Sarah Pulliam Bailey, seemed initially confused by the group of names printed at the bottom of the advertisement.
In hopes of clearing up the misunderstanding caused by the Stand Up Republic ad, Piper tweeted his name “is being used without my permission.”
“I do not endorse any of the organizations listed here,” he added.
Piper’s name has since been removed from the ad’s website, which endorses, among other things, a group called “Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden.”
The kerfuffle over the ad comes just days after Piper published a lengthy blog post on his website, desiringGod.org, about the upcoming presidential election and its two candidates. Though he never named Trump or Biden, it is clear he is talking about the behavior and rhetoric of the former.
“I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person,” Piper wrote. “Flagrant boastfulness, vulgarity, immorality, and factiousness are not only self-incriminating; they are nation-corrupting.”
The preacher’s rhetoric is not surprising. In 2017, he authored another post titled, “How to Live Under an Unqualified President,” referring to Trump.
Faithwire has reached out to the team responsible for the “Christians Against Trumpism” ad. If a representative responds, this article will be updated to include those comments.