In an article titled “How to Live Under an Unqualified President,” linked on Facebook by one of my friends there, Mr. Piper indicates his dislike of Mr. Trump (https://t.co/9iAMHod5KH ).
I countered what Mr. Piper had to say as follows:
In this case I must disagree completely with John Piper. He has not done his homework first before writing this article. John Piper is mistaken because what he has to say and criticize regarding Mr. Trump’s character is drawn from very biased sources which have made it their mission to discredit Mr. Trump from the start of his campaign for the presidency even until now. It is most difficult to derive the truth about something or someone if you confine your search to sources that have “poisoned the well” by yellow journalism. I have written about this remarkable characteristic of this election several times at Real Bible Study under the category “Politics and the Bible.”
We have it on good, multiple testimony that Mr. Trump received Christ during a conference with pastors during his campaign for president. I have personally read the books Mr. Trump has written in the past, and learned early on that he was raised in the Presbyterian Church. He has great respect for the Bible. Like all the rest of us, he would benefit ever so much more by getting better acquainted with the Bible. But I detect, from his references to various statements and passages in Scripture, that he has been reading his Bible recently.
As for his using the expression “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians” at Liberty University at the start of his campaign, this is a regional dialect issue and says nothing about how much a person knows about the Bible. I’ll get the spelling wrong, I’m sure, but I have heard Alister Begg on Christian radio (WLQV AM 1500, M-F 9:00 am) use this mode of expression many times, and no one will count it a flaw when used by him. I’ve noticed over many years that Scottish Presbyterians use this expression in the church where I served as an ordained Presbyterian elder.
John Piper gave a very unbalanced view regarding the character of Mr. Trump. He did not mention any of the very good things to be said for Mr. Trump. For example, among all the candidates running this season for the office of President, Mr. Trump is the only one who does not drink alcohol at all. Mr. Piper did not mention the high moral code evident in the leadership and upbringing of Mr. Trump’s family, particularly as seen in what high moral character his children exhibit in their lives.
Mr. John Piper in particular criticizes Mr. Trump, claiming as his fifth bulleted point under the heading “Why Trump is Unqualified,” that “Trump has acted like one who is shamelessly proud. He has boasted, ‘Nobody reads the Bible more than me.’ Yet he said that he has never asked God or others to forgive him for anything.”
The citation “Nobody reads the Bible more than me” is from a tweet by Gregory Korte at 12:42 pm on February 23, 2016. Mr. Korte indicates he is White House correspondent for USA TODAY. (See
https://twitter.com/gregorykorte/status/702232192664133632 ). I will add that USA TODAY has been relentless in its propaganda war against Donald Trump, and is therefore an altogether unreliable source. Gregory Hunter frequently makes reference to the USA TODAY newspaper’s treatment of so-called news about Donald Trump, and as a seasoned journalist points out that the reporters and editors at USA TODAY are not practicing journalism but propaganda to support a left-leaning viewpoint, presenting biased opinion as if it were news.
I cannot verify just how much Bible reading Mr. Trump has done in the past, but as mentioned, he has shown in some of his speeches that lately he has been reading his Bible. I noted in one particular instance he mentioned “First John” and brought forth an excellent point from a text in chapter four, which he had evidently committed to memory.
I can speak directly to the charge that Mr. Trump “has never asked God or others to forgive him for anything.” Mr. Trump REPEATEDLY asked for the forgiveness of God and his family and the nation for the comments made a decade before on an airplane in private conversation which many have called “locker room talk.” It might be a greater sin to be guilty of dredging up evil information from the past which so discredits another person, and spreading it abroad. To suggest that Mr. Trump never asked God for forgiveness for anything is an utterly misinformed statement on the part of Mr. John Piper and those he cites. Mr. Piper may need to ask for forgiveness himself for continuing this absurd slur against the character of our new President.
We are not about electing a Theologian in Chief. We should instead be praising and thanking God that in Mr. Trump we have a man who will do what is right. Mr. Trump has promised to be a friend of Israel. That is extremely important in the light of Genesis 12:3. Mr. Trump said it is his intention to repeal the evil Johnson Amendment which is intended to muzzle the political speech of our pastors in the pulpit. If you have read, even carefully studied, early American history, it was often the pastors who encouraged the patriots to stand firm in their resolve to secure the independence from Britain for this nation. So, historically, pastors have been an important voice for the truth and wisdom of God in guiding this country.
