Posted on 11/29/2015 6:12:20 AM PST by Kaslin
I understand the tremendous popularity of Donald Trump in America in 2015.
He is a larger than life reality TV star; he is incredibly rich and not beholden to anyone; he is fearless and speaks his mind; he articulates the frustrations and anger of millions of his countrymen; he gives the impression that he can fix our economy and will put an end to illegal immigration; he is not a Washington insider; he could be a strong leader who could face down our global enemies; he can even be winsome and self-effacing at times.
Yes, I do understand all this to the point that, for some weeks, I wondered to myself if I could get behind Trump as a candidate. And the question still remains, if the presidential race was between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, could I cast a vote for Trump? (I could not possibly vote for Hillary Clinton.)
But let's not deal in hypotheticals now. The immediate question is: Should evangelical Christians support Donald Trump as the Republican candidate? I do not see how we can if the Word of God is to be our guide and if it's important to us that a candidate have a solid moral compass and a biblically based worldview and I mean to be our president, not our spiritual leader, since we are electing a president, not a pastor or priest.
The Scriptures teach that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), and so Trump's consistent pattern of reckless speech points to deeper issues which could make him unfit for the office of the presidency.
I'm not just talking about his silly attacks on Megyn Kelly (blood), Carly Fiorina (face), and Marco Rubio (sweat) or his more serious attacks on Mexican immigrants (accusing the many of what the few do) and others. I'm talking about his character assault on Ben Carson, comparing him to a child molester who has pathological problems and, most recently, his apparent mocking of the disability of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski.
Worse still, rather than apologizing for his most recent remarks, he claims he is being unfairly attacked for his comments and alleges that he doesn't even know what Kovaleski looks like. Is he lying?
Notice that he referred to Kovaleski, who suffers from arthrogryposis, which visibly limits flexibility in his arms, as a "nice reporter," before saying, "Now the poor guy, you've got to see this guy," flailing his arms as he pretended to be Kovaleski.
Is this the man you want to be our president? The warnings in Proverbs are strong: "Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Proverbs 29:20). And, "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back" (Proverbs 29:11).
We need a statesman, not an irresponsible flame thrower, and one can be a strong political leader who is cutting and fearless with words think of Winston Churchill without making a fool of oneself.
What of Trump's claim that, "I have no idea who this reporter, Serge Kovalski is, what he looks like or his level of intelligence," and, "Despite having one of the all-time great memories, I certainly do not remember him"?
If this is true, why did he refer to him as a "nice reporter" and what did he mean when he said, "Now the poor guy, you've got to see this guy"? And did he merely flail his arms mocking someone who, he claimed, couldn't quite remember things correctly this was Trump's defense or was he making fun of Kovaleski's arms? (Watch for yourself and you be the judge as to whether he is telling the truth.)
Kovaleski, for his part, states that, "Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years. I've interviewed him in his office. I've talked to him at press conferences. All in all, I would say around a dozen times, I've interacted with him as a reporter while I was at the Daily News."
How could Trump have forgotten someone with Kovaleski's condition?
Trump pointed to the large sums he has given to help people with disabilities, and I don't doubt that he has, nor do I doubt that he cares about the disabled and handicapped.
But what is undeniable is that he is often irresponsible and reckless in his speech, something that could be utterly disastrous for the president of the United States of America. As noted by Jay Ruderman, an advocate for the disabled, "It is unacceptable for a child to mock another child's disability on the playground, never mind a presidential candidate mocking someone's disability as part of a national political discourse."
Yet there's something that concerns me even more when it comes to evangelicals supporting Donald Trump and that is the issue of pride, the sin that is often at the root of a host of other sins (Isaiah 14:11-15), the sin which God resists (James 4:6), the sin which leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18).
Trump seems to have little understanding of what it means to ask God for forgiveness, while his very open, unashamed boastfulness is part and parcel of his persona. Trump and pride seem to walk hand in hand, quite comfortably at that.
So, while I do understand why many Americans are behind Donald Trump and while I do believe he could do some things well as president, I cannot understand how evangelicals can back him, especially when we have a number of solid, God-fearing, capable alternatives.
(For my video commentary on this, with the relevant clips from Trump, click here. The ugly comments from Trump supporters are quite telling.)
There were something like 17 REPUBLICANS running at the beginning of this Primary season.
Only ONE REPUBLICAN made immigration and border security his top issue, DESPITE the Republican base being livid at the policies of both parties on the subject.
So how about you (the author) ask the other 16 why they didn’t feel immigration and border security were important issues, while you’re at it. It is THEIR FAULT. Any of them who would have addressed the issue like Trump, and with credibility, would have DEFEATED TRUMP.
It is too late now - you should have been asking Rove A YEAR AGO what the hell he was doing by demanding that immigration and border security were OFF LIMITS to Republicans that wanted party support. But you did not.
Trump can speak without a Teleprompter though.
Obama without one: uh..um..uh..uh..ummmm...uh.
Be that as it may. I’m a Cruz supporter.
...and by the way, YOU ARE NOT FOOLING US by sticking a few proverbs in between left-wing and GOPe talking points about Trump.
WE ARE NOT THAT DUMB.
He was baptized in the Presbyterian Church by an ordained preacher. By that he is a Christian, unless he later denied it. He IS a Christian.
First of all I would like it if someone could tell me just what is an Evangelical and what makes them so all knowing.
I know myself, my life and who I am. I know the many reasons that I support Trump. I laugh when the pundits tell me why I support Trump. They aren’t anywhere close. All they do is project their rationales and opinions onto me.
I am impressed with Trump’s accuracy in defining problems and solutions. Problem for him(and us) is that inspite of having the right solutions, everything is politically incorrect, according to the geniuses of our times.
We are living in dangerous times, were so many governments are pushing burdensome policies on their citizens. Policies good for the people in power, but not for the citizens.
Everyday we learn of new geopolitical dangers, a lot of them can be traced back to Obama’s policies and agenda.
If we make a mistake this time, the price we pay could be high. Were citizens votes will be irrelevant and things will be decided for us, whether they are good are not.
Right now one of those things is sanctuary cities. Trump did us all a huge favor by shining the spotlight on them.
If Jeb! were leading in the polls, would you be singin' that same tune??
They say he's a listener, that he's self-deprecating and humble.
When he's at the podium, he's making a sales pitch.
Have pants, will load.
Apologies. I was addressing the author Brown and not you.
Interviewer to Dee: Did the show [Apprentice] change your perception of Donald Trump as a person?Snider: Totally. This may be an image killer for him, but every person in the cast will tell you that he is gracious, welcoming, considerate and self-deprecating. He jokes about his hair and his assets when the camera is off. He has his persona, but it definitely changed my opinion of him.
Yes immigration is important but so are other issues. like the terrorists for example, or the economy, abortion etc
I guess it’s definitions. Other issues don’t matter when were’re on the cusp of legalizing and then quickly giving voting rights to roughly 30,000,000 new Democrats. You have to put out the fire before you worry about cleaning the toilets.
ROFL He became a walker =)
Now is not a good time for a president who is meek,humble, and has humility. We are up against overwhelming evil.A weak president is the attitude which would end in destruction and disaster.
Yes, absolutely. All evangelicals should vote in lock step because Mr. Brown says so.
The white Obama, actions speak louder than words.
Eminent Domain Casinos...
Nuf said.
Exactly
Do you know why Donald Trump represents the ONLY viable candidate “evangelical” Christians SHOULD support?
God uses flawed men! Yes, he just doesn’t use “holy” men. There is only one perfect man, and He is now with the Father in heaven. God chooses any man, regardless of his flaws to further His Will as He sees fit.
This is not about the Right vs. the Left. This is about the Elites on BOTH “sides” vs. the rest of us “vulgarians”. The elite political infrastructure has been feeding off of us, the middle class, for so long. They laugh, they mock us for our naivete, and how easy it is for them to distract us, to “manage” us, all the while, BOTH “sides” enrich themselves. It matters not which “side” wins, the elites all win by continuing their system. That’s why the GOPe would rather support Globalist Hillary than a patriotic, nationalist populist.
Until the masses realize this, it’s a “game as usual” strategy for them. Just look at who they freak out at the most, that is who they feel threatens their system the most: the politicians, Hollywood, the media, etc. It’s all 1 system.
ALL of the other candidates are weak and bought. I don’t care how passionate they appear, how convincing they sound. They will succumb, every one. Remember “Read My Lips”? What a joke. They are very clever at pretending to be for us. And none of others have the expertise, savvy, power, and contacts that Trump has.
Donald Trump represents the ONLY hope we have to counter the depth and breadth of this evil, with GOD as his guide, whether Trump realizes it or not. He is strong, and good at heart. He is likable and pure genius at doing what needs to be done.
The only question I wonder about is if God will allow the evil to prevail or not. God knows, as a nation, we do NOT deserve His Blessing as we do not, as a nation, honor Him. We can but pray for His Mercy!
Or when He called the most religious men of the day "vipers" and said "You are of your father the devil?"
Mr. Brown needs to meet Jesus.
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.