One topic that comes up in Christian circles is the spiritual status of Donald Trump. I don’t claim to have the final word on who is saved and who is damned, that goes without saying, and I don’t present it as a cop-out on taking a stand. I have heard nothing credible that would make me think Trump has put his faith in Christ . One thing I have noticed though is that he is open in his comments. He does not try to learn the jargon so he can pull the wool over our eyes.
The first time I saw this was in his first campaign. He was being interviewed on a Christian talk show and being asked some very direct questions. He clearly did not understand the lingo but just as clearly he was trying to be honest.
I was glancing through a book on my shelf that I intend to get to some day. It had one chapter on the spiritual stands of various Founders. One that I looked at to determine if the book was reliable concerned Benjamin Franklin. I did not read everything they had but what I did read was adequate to establish the author. The following quote is rather long but I think it is worth reading.
“You desire to know something of my religion. Here is my creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That He governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshiped.What struck me was the similarity between Franklin and Trump. For all of their intelligence and exposure to Christians, neither one seemed to understand what the issues were. Neither was hostile. Neither tried to claim something they were not.
That the most acceptable service we render him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be fundamental points of all sound religion. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals, and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world they ever saw, or as likely to see. I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes; and I have with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubt as to his divinity, though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I soon will have an opportunity to know the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in it being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and observed, especially is it as I do not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the believers of his government of the world with any particular marks of his displeasure.” Pages 157-8
I find that encouraging. Years ago I read I read Franklin’s Autobiography. I don’t remember any claims to faith in it. At the same time God used him in the establishment of our country. May He use Trump in the preserving it.
The attitude of Franklin was very similar to Trump
Morris, Benjamin F. The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States. Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision Press, 2007.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.