It’s often said that there’s no such thing as a bad question. This isn’t entirely true as questions are one of the greatest indicators of our inner thoughts, and there are certainly better thoughts than others. This question isn’t necessarily wrong, but it does ask something that God has chosen not to reveal. Only God can know the state of a soul and to attempt to overstep the limitations of our knowledge can only lead to false hope or an inflated pride. So, is Trump a Christian? I don’t know. But as a Christian, I very much hope so.
It is God alone who can see the inner heart of man. When Samuel goes looking for a king to replace Saul, the Lord says to him: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” [1 Samuel 16:7]
Are Trump’s actions reflective of Christian Love?
Though we are incapable as humans of judging the state of an individual soul, we are very much equipped to judge between right and wrong actions. So a better question than “is Trump a Christian?” is rather “is Trump acting like a Christian?”
I won’t include the video as I find it highly disturbing, but in 2016, a video surfaced of Trump in 2005 talking about his relationships with women. The video included him boasting about how he would approach women at parties, and if the statements he made were true, they would certainly substantiate unfaithfulness to his wife. Both the bravado and possible adultery are very much opposed to Christianity, but there are many examples of God’s people failing very publicly (the easiest example being the story of King David in 2 Samuel 11).
I don’t think this article would be productive if it became a long list of grievances or failings of an individual. Public officials live under closer scrutiny than the average citizen, and it is not very judicious or generous of us to hold Trump to a greater level of scrutiny than any of us holds ourself. The questions, “is Trump a Christian?” and “is Trump acting like a Christian?” ultimately are beside the point. It shouldn’t be of any concern where someone else is with God. It would be much wiser to ask, “am I a Christian?”
In the last chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches Peter this precise lesson.
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
[John 21:20–22]
A distinction between policy and faith
This is becoming a very rare position to hold, but I believe strongly that there are very good Christians that are Republicans and there are also very good Christians that are Democrats. I can understand why a Christian would think that you must vote Republican or you must vote Democrat, but ultimately, one’s political affiliation is not of primary (primary as opposed to any) importance to God.
Political life is a fundamental part of human life and so it is important that the Christian think well through their political actions, but there are very strong reasons to vote for Republicans just as well as for Democrats.
Part of the difficulty about talking about religion and politics is that there are many single issues that push people to the left or to the right, but political solutions for complex, international problems are often beyond our limited finite experience. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t vote with our conscience or hold strongly to our political beliefs, but we must find Christian fellowship with people who are on the opposite side from us and we must accept that any single one of us does not know everything that should happen. It is a strong indicator that we are more Republican or Democratic than Christian if we don’t speak with and extend respect toward someone who holds a different political stance than ourself.
Pray for those in authority
One of the few things the Bible does teach us about Trump is that we must pray for him. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:2: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
And to pray for someone without the right intention is neither prayer nor is it pleasing to God. When we pray, we must want good for the people we pray for. We can pray that people change and we can pray for growth, but a Christian will never pray for evil to come to anyone.
Paul finds it to be especially important to pray for those who have been placed in authority. And though a majority of Americans didn’t vote for Trump and though his time has run up, the principle remains that Christians should pray for the people who God has placed in these roles (we may need to discuss later how this would apply for evil rulers, and for all the equating of Trump with fascists, it’s intellectually very difficult to place Trump beside a Hitler).
But really, is Trump a Christian?
I’m sorry to say it again, but this is something that we can’t know. If any of us made a list of the mistakes we’ve made, there would be a lot of evidence that we are not of faith. It’s not difficult to say that Trump did and said many things that are far outside of the pattern that Jesus taught his followers to live by.
But in the end, I’m fortunate that God isn’t planning on producing that list for me, and because of that, I won’t do it for Trump. Instead, I’ll pray that God would use him in whatever way He wishes, and that Trump would grow into a better man, just as I pray that God would make me a better man.
Please reach out if you have questions or even if you strongly disagree. This article hasn’t produced the proper result if it was simply entertaining. It was written with the idea that we would begin a conversation.