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(CNN) - After publishing an opinion piece calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, Christianity Today magazine says it has seen an increase in the number of readers.
Mark Galli, the chief editor of the important evangelical publication, commented on it during an interview with Reverend Al Sharpton on MSNBC on Sunday.
The editorial, he said, divided the readers, but the support surpassed the criticism.
"Although we have lost hundreds of subscribers, we have won three more times," he told Sharpton.
Galli wrote the condemnatory editorial for the magazine last week. In it, he criticized what he called Trump's "grossly immoral character" and urged evangelicals to stop supporting him.
"We believe that the political trial hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way that Mueller's investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and has betrayed his constitutional oath," he wrote in the article of opinion. "The political trial hearings have illuminated the moral deficiencies of the president for all to see."
The publication, influential among evangelicals, has criticized Trump's policies in the past, but never asked for his removal before.
"Something changed" during the political trial hearings, Galli said during his interview with MSNBC.
The 'Legacy' of the magazine when criticizing presidents
The editorial received criticism from readers, who argued that Galli was "questioning his spiritual integrity," he told Sharpton.
But other readers thanked him for the article, and noted that there was anxiety among some evangelical Christians about whether a publication would eventually address the political trial hearings.
"We rarely comment on politics unless the situation is serious and important and may affect the welfare of the American people in some way, whom we are called as Christians to love as ourselves," Galli said.
He also noted that the publication, founded by the late Billy Graham, an influential evangelical leader, in the past also advocated the dismissal of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton during their political trial hearings.
"This is part of our legacy: talk about national issues of moral importance when time requires," he said. Galli told CNN last week that he would leave the publication.
Praise and criticism from the Graham family to Trump
Even within its ranks, the editorial was polarizing.
Jerushah Duford, Graham's granddaughter, told CNN that the editorial was "brave."
His uncle Franklin Graham, an enthusiastic presidential supporter, said it was "incomprehensible" for the publication to launch a "totally partisan attack" on Trump.
Trump dismissed the criticism after the publication, calling Christianity Today an "extreme left magazine" and making a contrast between him and the Democrats seeking the presidential candidacy for 2020.
"No president has done more for the evangelical community, and it's not even close," he said. "You won't get anything from those Democrats in the presidential race."
In an editorial published on Sunday, the president of Christianity Today , Timothy Dalrymple, said the magazine is "theologically conservative," but still felt compelled to say "the alliance of American evangelism with this presidency has caused enormous damage to testimony Christian".
"While the Trump administration may be well regarded in some countries, in many more the perception of comprehensive evangelical support for the administration has made the reputation of the Bride of Christ (the Church) toxic," he wrote.
evangelic church
