Ross Douthat: What do you think happens when you die?
President Donald Trump: Well, I hope I'm missed. (LAUGH) I hope--
Ross Douthat: No, I mean-- I mean to you-- I mean to--
President Donald Trump: No, but I really mean it. I hope I'm missed. I don't know.
Ross Douthat: I-- I-- I-- I understand. I mean to you.
President Donald Trump: I think I've done a good job as-- I-- I--
Ross Douthat: What do you think happens to Donald Trump when you die?
President Donald Trump: Well, again--
Ross Douthat: Not your memory, yourself.
President Donald Trump: Okay. You mean where I go?
Ross Douthat: Exactly.
President Donald Trump: Well, I'm a religious person, so in theory I go to heaven.
Ross Douthat: Do you think you're going to heaven?
President Donald Trump: I hope so. I don't want to go to hell.
Ross Douthat: So I watched you at Charlie Kirk's memorial service--
President Donald Trump: Yes.
Ross Douthat: And Erica Kirk, his widow got up--
President Donald Trump: Right.
Ross Douthat: and gave some very moving remarks about Christian forgiveness, how you have to forgive your enemies and your opponents--
President Donald Trump: That's right.
Ross Douthat: And you followed her, and you said, and I know this was a little bit of a joke but I think facts come through jokes. You said, quote, "I hate my opponents and I don't want the best for them." Let's say you pass away, you're entering the next life, and all you have to do to enter paradise is feel love and forgiveness for James Comey, Nancy Pelosi, anyone who you have expressed hate for over the years. Do you think you can do it?
President Donald Trump: Well, then I wouldn't be real, would I? I mean, if I said to you, sure, the easy answer to that is "Oh, yes, I could forgive."
Ross Douthat: No, I don't think it's an easy question at all.
President Donald Trump: I found them to be extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country. I love our country far more than I can love people and people like that.
Ross Douthat: Is the answer no then?
President Donald Trump: The answer is no. I want to be honest, no. I think it would--
Ross Douthat: Before the judgment throne of God?
President Donald Trump: Before the judgment. No, I think they were very bad people and-- I dislike, I can use the word hate, I do hate some of my enemies. I think they're-- they've been terrible. Look what they've put me through, the weaponization. I got indicted--
Ross Douthat: You have fought-- Mr.--
President Donald Trump: --I got impeached--
Ross Douthat: --President-- Mr. President. You have had the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my entire lifetime, and you are telling me you couldn't find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies? After all that's been given to you?
President Donald Trump: I mean, it's such an easy answer. All I have to do is say, "Yes, I can."
Ross Douthat: I-- I, again, I don't think it's an easy answer--
President Donald Trump: Honestly, Ross, can I-- can I be honest--
Ross Douthat: --that's why I asked it. Yes.
President Donald Trump: I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.
Frankly, I don't believe that Trump has much, if any, in the way of religious beliefs at all. If he does, it's probably something on the order of Calvinism combined with the American Civil Religion, but only very shallowly.
Christians who pretend that Trump is a real Christian are fooling themselves.
He also seems to be utterly incapable of admitting any wrongdoing of any kind.
What's amazing here is that certain Christians, and from all branches of Christianity, but concentrated particularly in Evangelicalism, have held him up as a Christian.
Some are flat out cynical. Member of the New Apostolic Movement, I'm pretty convinced, see him as a Cyrus the Great, a non member who is advancing their cause, which is to make the United States a new Israel, a chosen land. That's a non Biblical belief by that branch of Christianity which claims to be "Bible Believing" but really isn't.
Others, are members of the American Civil Religion which is bizarrely right wing. They basically believe that doing what you want to do is okay as God didn't really mean most of those things, except the things about homosexuality, which God really meant.
Many others are just naive.
But, based on the evidence, there is no evidence of Trump being a Christian or even a Theist. In Christian terms, the Biblical figure Trump might be most comparable to is Herod the Great, who tried to use the Magi to get the details on where the Savior had been born. Herod, of course, later went on to order the newborns slaughtered.
Christians should take note of Trump's behavior.
St. Matthew told us that Christ instructed the members of the Church what to do if one of the members offered unjust offense against an other one.
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Matthew, 18:15-18.
Do we see any religious doing this? We haven't, at least publicly. Religious figures gather around Trump. One is even a "White House Faith Advisor". The advice, at this point, probably should be that as Trump has committed a boatload of mortal sins, he's going to Hell, and he knows that. He should shape up right now, which would mean a massive personal course correction.
An 80 year rich man is unlikely to do that.
St. Paul counseled in one of his letters that if a person engaging in immorality (he was principally discussing sexual immorality), as follows:
In my letter, I wrote to you that you should have nothing to do with people living immoral lives.
I was not including everybody in this present world who is sexually immoral, or everybody who is greedy, or dishonest or worships false gods -- that would mean you would have to cut yourselves off completely from the world.
In fact what I meant was that you were not to have anything to do with anyone going by the name of brother who is sexually immoral, or is greedy, or worships false gods, or is a slanderer or a drunkard or dishonest; never even have a meal with anybody of that kind.
It is no concern of mine to judge outsiders. It is for you to judge those who are inside, is it not?
But outsiders are for God to judge. You must banish this evil-doer from among you.
1 Corinthians.
A lot of meals are being had by Christians with a person who is greedy, worships himself, who slanders people routinely, and is sexually immoral.
We don't know the ultimate fate of Donald Trump's soul. But things really don't appear to be looking good. And they probably don't look great for people who are going to have to explain why they put this man up as a "Godly Man" or anything of the sort.
Franklin Graham, where's the sermon on 1 Corinthians? Have you gone to your brother and told him to knock it off (we'll skip Paula White who needs to be told to examine her own conduct).
Indeed, what is the state of the souls of all the "Christian" men and women who encouraged Trump in his actions, behavior, and beliefs? What is the state of the souls of every Christian pastor who declared Trump's office to be a Christian one in spite of all the evidence? Correction, praying, ete., are one thing. Endorsing Trump in one way or another, something else.
And regular Christians. If you can actually believe that this man takes your faith seriously, you don't take your own very seriously.
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