by Henry G. Brinton, Senior Pastor, Fairfax Presbyterian Church
Donald Trump went to a service at a Presbyterian Church in Iowa last Sunday and said that his faith meant “a lot” to him. I’m glad that he considers himself to be a Presbyterian — not because he is a good one, but because he needs the perspective of the denomination.
We Presbyterians believe in:
1. The sovereignty of God. One of our central beliefs is that no one is as great as God, and all things are under God’s rule and control. We are God-centered, not human-centered. One of our statements of faith is The Scots Confession of 1560, which describes God as “eternal, infinite, immeasurable, incomprehensible, [and] omnipotent.” God is the one who has created “all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible.”
In his book Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, Trump describes himself as “a great builder” with a Trump brand that is “one of the world’s great icons of quality and excellence.” He wants to build a wall to control illegal immigration and a powerful military to stand up to any and all foes. In such a human-centered approach, the president has tremendous rule and control, and Trump dreams of using this power to “make America great again.”
But Presbyterians believe that only God has this kind of power.
2. The danger of idolatry. Presbyterians understand that our love for God and other people can easily be corrupted by love of money, sex and earthly power. Trump is proud of having “built a great company and a massive net worth.” One of his Atlantic City casinos had an in-house strip club, and in his book The Art of the Comeback he speaks about his “experiences with women, often seemingly very happily married and important women.” He enjoys the power he wields in the world of business, and would like to have similar influence in politics.
But money, sex and earthly power are idols. Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller calls them “counterfeit gods,” and argues that they cannot give us what we really need. Money and sex are stumbling blocks for many elected leaders, and the exercise of unilateral power is rarely an effective strategy for a president.
3. Total depravity. This hallmark of the Presbyterian tradition asserts that everything is tainted by sin, even our best intentions. Jesus himself said, in response to a rich man, that “No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:18). Total depravity does not mean that everything is evil, but instead that we cannot find perfection anywhere in this world. Such an understanding keeps us humble and aware that we all stand in need of forgiveness.
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Vibe Images via Shutterstock/Photo montage by Salon
Trump should be reminded of this doctrine, because he said in an interview on CNN, “I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad. I try to do nothing that is bad.” But total depravity is a reminder that everything is tainted by sin, included a statement such as “I am good.” Such a positive self-description is a clear sign of the sin of pride.
The sovereignty of God. The danger of idolatry. Total depravity. Donald Trump needs to hear this kind of Presbyterian preaching. And maybe some is breaking through — after listening to the Scripture at First Presbyterian Church in Muscatine, he said, “I have more humility than people think.”
Since we all need to grow in humility, I’m glad he’s been sitting in a Presbyterian pew.
To read the article as first published: Donald Trump Needs the Presbyterian Church
6 Comments. Leave new
If I am not totally mistaken, Donald Trump grew up in and attended Sunday School at the First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica in Queens, New York, and was confirmed into the membership of that church back when he was a youngster and his parents were regular participants in that congregation. This church is a part of the PCUSA.
This means that, at least to some extent, Donald Trump is the product of a PCUSA upbringing. As such he was exposed to the “perspective of the denomination” back in his formative years.
So, I agree with the Huffington Post writer that Donald Trump needs the Presbyterian Church. What he most certainly does not need, however, is the PCUSA. The PCUSA had its shot at him back when he was young, and blew it royally. What Mr. Trump needs, as do we all, is the perspective of a real, honest-to-goodness Presbyterian Church — such as the OPC, PCA, EPC, ECO, ARP, etc. He needs exposure to a church that is Presbyterian in more than just its name. Active involvement in the life of such a church might actually do him a world of good.
And Lord knows, he needs it.
So I suppose Bernie Sanders gets a free pass. Oh. sorry, he’s an atheist, so I suppose he has everything he needs. Trump and Sanders are just opposite sides of the same populist coin. One seeks to restore American fortune by bluster on supposed American exceptionalism and walls. The other by an unreconstructed industrial age Marxist-Socialist concepts of the workers paradise. A Cuba or Venezuela with snow. Both tap into the deep rage, hopeless, cynicism of the working class left behind by globalization, debt, automation. What I call the “throw away” Americans.
So what can the PCUSA do or offer? First it can shut-up and just be quiet. You have nothing to offer but your usual ideological, partisan drivel. Second, repent of your sins of pride and arrogance, that you assume to know all the answers.
Third, fix your own house, your own denomination that is a continual grease fire of incompetency and fiscal ineptitude.
Do that and then you may have something to add to the public square.
In the recent book, Never Enough, the author highlights the influence Norman Vincent Peale’s preaching and teaching had in Trump’s early life.
I wish we would put as much attention on this theological strand as people did Jeremiah Wright’s liberation theology. This explains a lot of Trumps philosophical/theological mindsight.
Dear the Layman and PCUSA:
I am happy Mr. Trump is willing to go to this church and hear a sermon. I hope G-d who is over all things will show up in politics in a moral and positive way. We have had enough tricks.lies, and negativity. We need to pray for this person and the future of everyone and our country. G-d bless you.
Amen and amen.
Completely agree. Thank you.