Posted on 04/18/2016 6:26:47 AM PDT by shortstop
He was wrong on the theology.
But he’s not running for pastor in chief. He’s running for commander in chief.
And if you’re eight months away from possibly swearing in as president, maybe you weigh and calculate your answers in a way not obvious to the rest of us.
I’m talking about Donald Trump and the answer to a question I asked him last week. In the run up to the New York presidential primary, he called in to WSYR radio in Syracuse and I got to speak to him for a few minutes. I asked him several things over a variety of subjects.
One of those things was, basically, “What’s your favorite Bible verse?”
His answer ambled a bit. It began and ended with praise for the Bible, but in the middle he expressed some admiration for “An eye for an eye.”
I cringed when he said it. So did others. The next day Buzzfeed reported the answer, and that led to a media flurry that culminated with reporting on Fox and ABC.
Most of the reporting pointed out that that verse – “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” – is known by most folks because Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount specifically repudiated it. He called his followers to a higher standard, and famously commanded them to turn the other cheek.
The answer seemed to bear out the perception that Donald Trump’s knowledge of the Bible and traditional Christianity are sparse.
I was embarrassed by the attention the answer drew. Small-time reporters – of which I am one – sometimes pathetically try to draw attention to themselves by asking some trick question of prominent people. I don’t believe in that. Interviews are not some contest between me and the guest, they are opportunities for listeners to hear directly from candidates and others. The questioner is merely a facilitator. I was grateful for Donald Trump’s time, and though my questions were rigorous, they were not gotchas.
But this one ended up being played like a gotcha.
Though that carries with it an assumption that may not be correct. Namely, that Donald Trump is so dense that he doesn’t even know how to answer a simple Bible question.
One of the ironies of Donald Trump is that he is either really smart or really dumb, and you’re never really sure which one it is. There is something inscrutable about him and his abilities. Sometimes I wonder if that is on purpose. I wonder if his years of business and negotiations have led him to adapt a non-threatening posture, coming off like a potential goof, in order to gain an advantage.
For example, though the “Eye for an eye” quote is being cited as proof of Trump being a blockhead, there is very little else in the interview that would support that conclusion. In fact, he handled the rest of the conversation with a purposeful, intelligent, skilled focus.
He spoke to me in a classic technique reminiscent of Carnegie and Covey graduates – he used my name, he repeatedly tied his priorities with mine, and he used a courteous, gracious and collegial tone. Further, he turned almost all of my questions back to his specific campaign points for upstate New York. He was always on point, he was always in command, he was always delivering message.
So why do we presume he wasn’t doing that when he said, “An eye for an eye?”
Why do we presume that he gave that answer for evangelicals in the heartland?
Why couldn’t he have given that answer to send a message not to domestic voters but to international adversaries?
What if that wasn’t for the pastor, but was for Putin?
What if Donald Trump believes that next year this time he will be president of the United States and responsible for the security of this country? What if he, in that crazy-like-a-fox way that he seems sometimes to have, threw that answer out there to communicate to our adversaries the policy of his administration?
What if he was telling Putin or the Chinese or the Iranians or the Cubans or the jihadis that on Inauguration Day America was going to grow a pair?
I’m a little embarrassed that my question ended up in the online news feeds.
But I’m proud that it probably ended up in Trump dossiers compiled by foreign intelligence agencies.
I want them to know that the man apt to be the next president of the United States believes in “An eye for an eye.”
Or, in the new American translation, “You eff with us, and we’ll eff with you.”
Because that attitude, understood by the bad guys, will help keep them on their side of the line. It will keep America and the world safer. It will end a season of American weakness and capitulation – the twin inviters of attack. It sends the message that the next president will fight for America, if need be.
Trump’s answer was bad theology, but it was good statesmanship.
He’s not running to save your soul, he’s running to save your country.
See #42
the Bible is always right. every verse. every time.
but it does make you think very deeply about everything written down by God in the context of the whole Word of God. people who create “contradictions” between verses in the Bible, generally have some more thinking to do.
Jesus said we should turn the other cheek. He did NOT say to stand there and let them slap you silly.
God is always the same, old testament, and new. He ordered,his leaders to go in and kill the evil doers, and when they obeyed, he blessed them. When they disobeyed he chastised them. Our leaders have the responsibility of defending, protecting us, and in some cases destroying completely our enemies. This is biblical, and right. Obama has been totally devoid of any interest in doing any of those things.
Hey, don’t be too hard on him. If he knew they were going to ask him about the Bible, he would have memorized a better verse, but that was the best he could do on short notice!
I agree. I’m glad Trump used this quote the way he did. Sends a strong message to everyone. Not just terrorists. I dont know if he understood the verse the way it should be interpreted, but he certainly got people looking it up for context.
Exactly. The problem with ‘rats is that don’t recognize evil...because if they did then they would have to do something about it.
Obama, Clinton, and Sanders are all cowards.
ping
Yeah, pussyfootin’ around these isis/isil/is(whatever flavor this week)peace lovers ain’t the way to go. I heard that they’ve now started a new way of beheading their opponents. A little primer cord and a small charge looped around their necks and BOOM! They’re such inventive little rascals. Good thing for us they’re the jv team. Once the varsity team takes the field...........
“I am not sure I have,” Trump said when asked if he’d ever asked God for forgiveness. “I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so,” he said. “I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-on-god-i-dont-like-to-have-to-ask-for-forgiveness-2016-1
And if you read further you’ll see that he talks about communion and that that is a form of asking forgiveness.
So, the bottom line is that at no point does he ever say “never”.
“So, the bottom line is that at no point does he ever say “never”.”
Anyone who cannot humble themselves before God certainly doesn’t give darn what the voters want, at least not after the election.
He said he loves God. And he says that he focuses on setting right what he’s done wrong.
Those are parts of the interview that the media left out.
“Those are parts of the interview that the media left out.”
You keep saying that but it really doesn’t matter. Its obvious Trump doesn’t consider religion important in his life. He’s said it numerous times.
Many of his supporters use his lack of religious faith to excuse his infidelity.
It makes a difference to me when people are misquoted or their positions are misstated.
How said he regularly goes to church, that he’s Presbyterian, and that he loves God.
If those had been the quotes pushed by the media, then you would not be able to conclude that he has a lack of religious faith.
that’s what reminds me of Reagan. Many on the left thought Reagan to be dumb, when brilliant was more like it.
There is a difference between smart and wise. Trump may but smart, but....
Trump practices a modified form of the Golden Rule. His interpretation of this rule is: “Do unto others as they do unto you”; because if you “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and they, in turn, treat you badly, it goes against human nature to continue to treat them with consideration. You should do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but if your courtesy is not returned, they should be treated with the wrath they deserve.
That seems to me to be in line with Trump’s way of thinking.
You are correct, sir. Mostly.
Eye for an eye was national law, specifically to put an end to the circle of revenge. Instead, just retribution.
As for Jesus, it was more personalized, especially since the pagan Romans were in charge.
But ultimately, the government is given the sword for a reason, and that is to execute justice.
Oh, wait... that crap isn't in the bible.
I’m voting for a President, not a pastor. Lyin Ted does not measure up on either account.
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