"HE's not a Christian but I AM a devout Christian...." That's a logical impossibility. Devout Christians don't try to take God's place in another person's walk with faith. They don't make hard and fast judgments and accusations based on one or two brief televised "gotcha" questions to a man who has never campaigned before, was asked an intrusively personal question, and is not used to polishing every statement in front of a mirror like Debate Boy. As has been noted on this Forum often, we're not electing a pastor or a Pope. And some of our most Bible-thumping presidents were awful presidents, like Jimmy Carter.
Imagine you were a billionaire, building on a trade your father taught you and achieving success even you had not imagined. Imagine you had been taught a version of Christianity in childhood that emphasized the "power of positive thinking" instead of surrender to the cross, and you incorporated that into your 16-hour days and made a great fortune, turned your optimistic and generous nature to such projects as donating $1 million to the city's Vietnam Veteran's group and serving as marshal of its parade, paying half the medical costs of the jogger who was gang-raped in Central Park (Frank Sinatra paid the other half), rescuing a stalled NYC renovation of its Central Park ice rink, rebuilding the city's golf course under budget that had laid waste in red tape for years prior like the ice rink, paying off the mortgage of a man on the roadway who helped fix your tire, flying a sick child for treatment on your airplane, and hundreds of other acts of charity that are quietly done and not written about in the press.
Now imagine being that prominent person and trying to attend church or Bible study, and having every Tom Dick and Harry schmoozing up to you trying to be your friend and ask you for money, coming to you with their screenplays and sick relatives and even their scams, breaking your heart because it's your church but if you say no, they resent you and hate you and gossip that you can afford it; even the pastor starts angling the sermons because he wants you to donate a new wing; and you don't know who you can trust. You are not Catholic, so your pastor is not under a sacramental oath of privacy like priests are; who do you talk to about faith? How do you learn more about faith, or the meanings of the scripture that are different from success in the world? Who can you trust not to worm his way in just to exploit you?
Apparently the Falwell family has had some success with appearing trustworthy to Donald Trump. His wife Melania is Christian and they do attend church when they can, mostly when they are in Palm Beach at Mar-a-Lago, because there everyone is rich, so there is less schmoozing. But still, imagine what it's like to be that famous and then to trying to be in a congregation; and, just by being there, you bring out the worst of the congregation's sins of covetousness.
The Bible is replete with stories of leaders who are anointed by God, and many were terrible sinners and others of them are pagans, but they were in His plan where He wanted them to be to help the Jews or the Christians. None of us knows what He will ordain in this race. But all of us on FR should be able to predict the collapse of our freedoms if Bernie or Hillary takes over. So if Trump is the nominee, that is your moment to decide whether you are in charge of everyone's walk with God, or only your own, as a citizen trying to make the best out of an imperfect situation. There is no perfection in this world. We do the best we can.
I have no problem saying that I would vote for trump against any dem. I am not persuaded that he is a conservative nor am I persuaded that he is a Christian. Am I saying to a certainty that he’s neither? No. But that is my impression, my judgment, if you will. He is not the first billionaire to have to deal with where and with whom to worship. Donald trump may very well be as much a Christian as Bill Clinton. None of us is perfect, as you have so rightly pointed out.
#1, Trump has run for president at least twice before.
#2, “power of positive thinking” isn’t Christianity. You can’t be a Christian without recognizing the reality of sin. Trump has stated that he knows of nothing that he needs forgiveness for.
Whatever he is, it isn’t anything like the mind and understanding of Christianity.
The difference between the outright socialism under Bernie or Hillary and the crony capitalism under Trump is a very thin line, and it is debatable as to how much -- if any -- marginal improvement the Trump crony capitalism would afford. As to the devastation to our federal court system and the tyranny to come from the judicial appointees and the ensuing activism of the SCOTUS with any of these three making lifetime appointments for probably three or four justices, I shudder to think of that. If we are faced with the choice that you propose, I would take that to mean that God is bringing judgment upon this nation by allowing us to have the leaders that the populace deserves.
That's a logical impossibility. Devout Christians don't try to take God's place in another person's walk with faith....
As has been noted on this Forum often, we're not electing a pastor or a Pope.
Erick Erickson had an extremely insightful column in which he cited many of Trump's own comments. In this column, he also addressed points that you made in your post (though he was addressing them more as the talking points of Trump's apologists in the evangelical community).
Erick Erickson: In His Own Words
In response to those who say either (1) "we aren't electing a pastor-in-chief" or (2) "who are you to judge whether Trump is or is not a Christian", Erick says this:
Donald Trump calls himself a Christian, but has never asked God for forgiveness and sees no need to repent. Point that out to many an evangelical Christian and they will be quick to accuse you of judging Donald Trump. And if you point out that 1 Corinthians 5 makes clear that Christians are to judge anyone who calls himself a Christian, Trump defenders will proclaim they are not electing a pastor. Paul wrote, "[do not] associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler." The Bible also implores the faithful to seek out godly men for their leaders.I think his analysis of why certain evangelical "leaders" and pastors are so slow to discern and quick to endorse to be spot on:
That men who spend their time wrapped in scripture and preaching in pulpits are quick to embrace a man who is on his third wife gets me thinking. This man is on his third wife -- after having cheated on his first wife with his second -- and says he has never asked God for forgiveness, cannot name a favorite book of the Bible and has no favorite passage of scripture. This suggests to me that many Christian preachers in this country have unsure moorings and let their homesickness for this country as they think they once knew it supersede their homesickness for the land to which they have not yet been, but to which they supposedly long.I pray that God gives GOP primary voters the discernment not to saddle us with this democrat at the top of our ticket.