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.
Oh, you though he was telling the truth?
So you hate Christians.
You are delusional and so blinded by bias, that you are incapable of seeing reality.
And the whole OT verse is "AN AYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH, BUT VENGaNCE IS MINE, SO SAYETH THE LORD! ".
Finally my Dad told me to hit them back 10 times harder and to not stop until they're on the ground, which I proceeded to do and I never had any further problems with bullies. To this day I'm an eye for an eye type of guy when it comes to physical violence because it works. Jesus’s recommendation on turning the other cheek doesn't seem to apply in a lot of situations and Jesus himself wasn't beyond opening up a can of whoop ass on the money changers in the temple.
And if we're talking Christian forgiveness of our enemies here, I haven't seen a lick of love thy enemies from Cruz supporters, just pure hate and often slander towards Trump supporters.
Interesting. I suppose they may have knocked out a tooth. Until the other guy said - “Hey how about I give you a piece of silver? That’s about equal don’t you think?”
In Judaism (and in our chutzpah we claim to know the intent,) “Eye for an eye...” is not literal, rather it establishes the basis of monetary compensation for injury. Of course the elaboration of the applicable portion of the laws is expounded upon in the Talmud.
Thank you. I know it wasn’t until a few years ago that I understood (after teaching by our pastor) that the idea of an “eye for an eye” was a GOOD thing!
My wife likes the one in the New Testament about how being kind to one that hate you is like heaping coals on their head. (Or something). I’m guessing she is focusing more on the heaping coals than the being kind part though!
You should possibly suspect her (I’m joking) of studying the works of Jewish Chassidic philosophy which speak in exquisite depth about the love of G-d in terms of a coal... At times firery and at times seemingly cold or extinguished... But when one blows on it, the instead, internal flame leaps out. Ergo, your wife must be heaping those kind of coals...
Interesting! I emailed your comments to myself to do more research into that. I suspect that my ignorance of Jewish text and traditions does not do my Christian beliefs any good. I always find it interesting when I learn of things that are discussed in the New Testament that have a direct tie-in with the old.
Yeah, yeah, we all know that already because you Trumpsters parrot it all day long.
I realize that is a new concept to Cruz supporters.
Your opinion is your opinion, not the truth, but I’ve come to expect Trump fans to play fast and loose with the truth.
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