I had no reason to think that evangelicals would be any more enthused about Mitt Romney than they were about John McCain. But over the last 11 months three developments have changed my mind about Romney’s appeal to evangelical voters.

First, many evangelical Christians are incensed by the Obama administration’s relentless assaults on religious freedom….

A second milestone development this past year was President Obama’s public approval of homosexual marriage in May of 2012 which has both energized efforts of evangelical Republicans and at the same time diminished his support among evangelical Democrats (primarily Hispanics and African-Americans)….

These evangelical Christian minorities are not going to suddenly transform into Republican supporters of Mitt Romney. They will simply sit out this election which in a close election could be enough to deny President Obama a second term.

Finally, Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate sent a strong signal to evangelicals that they would have someone in the White House who represents their values…. Paul Ryan’s strong pro-life record and unapologetic support for traditional marriage have assured evangelicals that when it comes time to nominate the next Supreme Court justice there will be someone at the table who represents their values.

… I am certain that President Obama’s hard turn to the left and Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan have made Mitt Romney much more palatable to evangelical Christians — like me.

~ Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church of Dallas, Fox News, September 19

[Photo via csmonitor.com]

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