Wisdom, Health, Protection from Evil
and a deep understanding of the Word of Almighty God / Scripture
Posted on 03/20/2025 12:25:35 AM PDT by dennisw
Alright, let’s dive into the full lowdown on Donald Trump, his family’s connection to Norman Vincent Peale’s church, and how that ties into the Trump-level energy you’re talking about—positive thinking, big vibes, the whole deal! Here’s the story, packed with the goods and delivered with some flair.
Donald Trump’s connection to Norman Vincent Peale and Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan goes way back—deep roots, folks! His father, Fred Trump, a real estate mogul who built a fortune in Queens and Brooklyn, started taking the family to this Fifth Avenue gem in the 1950s. It wasn’t just any church—Marble Collegiate, part of the Reformed Church in America, was led by Norman Vincent Peale, the guy who basically invented modern positive thinking with his 1952 blockbuster The Power of Positive Thinking.
Fred was hooked—big time! He loved Peale’s upbeat, can-do gospel that meshed perfectly with his own hustle-and-win mindset. So, Sunday after Sunday, the Trump clan—Fred, Mary (Donald’s mom), and the kids, including young Donald—made the trek from Queens to Manhattan to soak in Peale’s sermons. Peale wasn’t just a preacher; he was a superstar—think Tony Robbins with a Bible.
His book sold over 5 million copies, stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 weeks, and got translated into 15 languages. He preached that you could will success into existence—picture yourself winning, believe it, and bam, it happens! Fred ate it up, and he passed that vibe down to Donald, who was just a kid when this all started—born in ’46, he’d have been about 6 when the book dropped.
The Trumps didn’t just visit; they made Marble their spiritual home base. Donald was confirmed there as a teen, and the church became a family fixture—both his sisters, Maryanne and Elizabeth, got married there, and later, Fred and Mary’s funerals were held in its sanctuary.
Now, Donald’s first marriage to Ivana Trump—yep, that happened at Marble too, in 1977, with Peale himself officiating! That’s right—Norman Vincent Peale, the positive-thinking guru, was the one tying the knot for Donald and Ivana. His second wedding to Marla Maples in 1993? Also at Marble, though Peale had passed away by then (he died on Christmas Eve ’93), so his successor, Rev. Arthur Caliandro, did the honors.
The Trump-Peale connection was so tight that Donald co-hosted Peale’s 90th birthday bash at the Waldorf Astoria in 1988, rubbing elbows with the man himself—Ivana was there, Fred and Mary too—just a big, glitzy Trump-Peale love fest.
Did Donald ever meet Peale? You bet he did! Beyond the wedding and the birthday party, Trump grew up in the pews listening to the guy—Peale was a constant presence in his early life. And talk about him? Oh, Donald’s dropped Peale’s name plenty, especially when he’s riffing on his own success or faith. At the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in July 2015, mid-campaign, he said, “Norman Vincent Peale—the great Norman Vincent Peale—was my pastor.
The Power of Positive Thinking—everybody’s heard of it. He was so great. I still remember his sermons. You could listen to him all day long.” That’s Trump-level hype right there—calling Peale “the greatest guy” and crediting those real-life, modern sermons for shaping him. In a 2009 Psychology Today interview, he said Peale’s book helped him through tough times—like his casino bankruptcies—because he “refused to be sucked into negative thinking.” Pure Peale energy!
Peale’s whole deal was about confidence—“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!”—and Trump took it and ran. Biographers like Gwenda Blair (The Trumps) say Fred saw Peale as a kindred spirit, a salesman-preacher whose “think big, win big” philosophy matched his own. Donald absorbed it too—his niece Mary Trump, in her book Too Much and Never Enough, says Fred drilled Peale’s no-self-doubt attitude into Donald “in spades.” It’s why Trump brands himself a winner and slaps “Sleepy” or “Crooked” on his rivals—it’s that double-edged sword of positivity for him, negativity for them.
Did it stick with him? Absolutely. Trump’s talked about tithing—Fred taught him to give $100 a week back in the ’50s, a big chunk then—learned right there at Marble. Even when the church distanced itself in 2015, saying he wasn’t an “active member” anymore (he hadn’t been back since Caliandro died in 2013), Trump shrugged it off—didn’t faze him. Peale’s influence was already baked in. From Fred taking the family there to Donald marrying Ivana under Peale’s watch, it’s a straight line to that Trump-level energy—optimism on steroids, turning obstacles into opportunities, just like the father of positive thinking preached.
So, there you go—the complete lowdown! Trump met Peale, loved him, lived his lessons, and still channels that vibe today. It’s all part of the legend—huge, fantastic, unstoppable!
What Grok3 has to say about Donald Trump, his connection to Norman Vincent Peale and Positive Thinking.
Never heard of that before.
Interesting. The left had everyone believing that Trump had never stepped foot in a Church before, and that he was spiritually illiterate. Yet he grew up in the Church hearing the Word.
But...
Marble Collegiate Church was more of a populist, self-help-oriented church than a strictly Scripture-based one. While part of the Reformed Church in America, Peale emphasized positive thinking and personal success over deep biblical doctrine.
His approach blended faith with motivational psychology, making the church widely popular but raising concerns about its theological depth.
Yes, “believe in yourself” isn’t biblical.
Yep. The power of positive thinking, even in a non-biblical sense, is real, but it can’t compare to the power that comes from deep faith in God—a faith rooted in a deep understanding of Scripture.
I have always believed in the power of positive thinking, but I can happily acknowledge that faith-based positivity can lead to true miracles. I have witnessed many such miracles.
To begin to understand the above article, skim through the Wiki article on NVP. Illuminating, to say the least. NVP was just as bad for religion as Benjamin Spock was to psychiatry, both very successful con artists that disliked each other’s methods.
(from another thread thought I’d bring it here)
I’ve been pondering this verse lately:
Daniel 12:3
Evangelical Heritage Version
3 Those who have insight will shine
like the Brightness of the Sky,
and those who bring many to Righteousness
will shine like the stars FOREVER and EVER.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%2012%3A3&version=EHV
Much better to have a President raised in a church with Positive Thinking preaching than one who attended the “haste Whitey, God Damn America” preaching.
Much better to have a President raised in a church with Positive Thinking preaching than one who attended the “haste Whitey, God Damn America” preaching
That is “Hate Whitey!”
The Power of Ethical Management Hardcover – February 11, 1988
by Norman V Peale (Author), Ken Blanchard (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Ethical-Management-Norman-Peale/dp/0688070620
“The number’s can all be right, and the decision still be wrong.”
I have it in my library.
” NVP was just as bad for religion as Benjamin Spock was to psychiatry”
Yeah; he was a grifter.
“PRAY for President Donald Trump”
I woke up in the night and had a feeling to do exactly that — so I did for a long time. Things are pretty dicey now, and scary.
Jesus was not a self-help guru.
Bookmark
That’s a great way to sum it up..
Make America Great Again is at that root..
Norman Vincent Peale is also the godfather of the Charismatic movement, more particularly their NAR eschatology, a combo of preterism and postmillennialism. The NAR charistmatics are the strongest supporters of Trump’s policies overseas.
Amen to that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.