Donald Trump and Christians and Religion

Mr Trump is Presbyterian, and the pastor he sat under  for much of his life was the inspirational Guideposts magazine founder, Normal Vincent Peale.  Dr Peale was a good friend of his father, and one of the most important influences in young Donald's life. You can still hear Dr Peale's philosophy in Mr Trump's approach to business and to his own life and his thoughts about America's future.  Dr Peale presided over the marriage of Mr Trump and Melania.  In September 2015, Mr Trump met privately with a large group of religious leaders to seek their perspective on the spiritual issues facing our nation. During the meeting, many of the pastors laid hands on Mr Trump and prayed over him. Several of those have since endorsed Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has never in his whole life drank alcohol or smoked a cigarette or used drugs and he raised his children to live clean as well. He is a passionate advocate for clean living. Mr Trump is pro-life, and opposes funding Planned Parenthood's abortion business.

He went on record multiple times opposing same-sex marriage and same-sex partner benefits. He stood up for Miss California Carrie Prejean when she was under attack for her belief in traditional marriage.  For all his seeming extravagance, he is sensible in spending and generous in his giving and in how he pays his staff.

His adult children are emotionally healthy, mature, and have powerful leadership roles in the company. An involved father, he took them to work with him, and required them to work for minimum wage to earn spending money as youngsters and in college. His son Eric's charity foundation exists exclusively to raise money for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

He has spoken four times at CPAC between 2011 and 2015, twice at Liberty University, and recently promised - as no other candidate has done - to protect Christians here and around the world.

Jerry Falwell Jr had this to say: "Trump is not a Sunday school candidate, admitted Falwell. Then again, he said, "for decades, conservatives and evangelicals have chosen the political candidates who have told us what we wanted to hear on social, religious and political issues only to be betrayed by those same candidates after they were elected." If you want the truth, here is a good place to start fact-checking the claims or attacks made against him.

Mr Trump not only supports the Second Amendment, he has unveiled a plan for nationwide concealed carry.   Mr Trump is a lifelong supporter of our men and women in law enforcement,  of State's Rights, and donated a million dollars toward NYC's Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

When you do your Christian Due  Dilligence, look at the fruit. Jimmy Carter is a born again Southern Baptist who taught Sunday School. But did he have the Lord's blessing to lead our nation? I was a young adult during that time, and I voted for him. Instead of Christian renewal, we got Billy Beer, the Arab Oil Embargo, the abandonment of our allies, the Iran Hostage crisis - which was solved by paying off Iran with money and weapons.

Reagan is touted by many Christians for his staunch support of traditional Christian values. But he & Nancy (his second wife, he divorced his first wife) regularly consulted astrologers while in the White House, and used astrology to plan everything from his schedule to having him sworn in as Governor of California in the middle of the night on the advice of an Astologer because of  good 'omens'. Reagan signed the Abortion on Demand bill that made California the first state in the nation to offer legal widespread abortion.

As governor of California, Reagan supported and signed several gun control laws, including the 1967 the Mulford Act, banning Californians from the right to carry a loaded firearm. Reagan also implemented the 14 day "waiting period" (which Donald Trump OPPOSED at the time), and the first "automatic firearms ban" in 1986. Further, Reagan actively campaigned for the "assault weapons ban" in 1994.

ALL of our Republican candidates are Christians, every one of them. Ask yourself -and God in prayer - who is the most likely to be the most effective leader of a Christian nation at this time in history? Remember Cyrus.

We have candidates who have served and are currently serving in elected office. Two have been busy praying in public, out in front of the cameras for everyone to see.

Here is a quote from Mr Trump that, in the 25 years since he said it, he has consistently lived up to:
"I have a reputation for being tough, and I’d like to think it’s justified. Toughness, as I see it, is a quality made up of equal parts of strength, intelligence, and self-respect.
The opposite of toughness-weakness-makes me mad and sometimes turns my stomach. I’m not referring here to the kind of weakness that comes from being poor, sick, or disadvantaged. I’m talking about those people who can take a strong stand but just don’t.
Toughness is pride, drive, commitment, and the courage to follow through on things you believe in, even when they are under attack. It is solving problems instead of letting them fester. It is being who you really are, even when society wants you to be somebody else."

A Factoid About Donald Trump and Infrastructure Building Projects

From an article about Donald Trump in the Oct 4, 1989 Issue of People Magazine:

"When the city of New York floundered for six years and spent $12 million trying to get the Wollman Skating Rink rebuilt in Central Park, Trump stepped in and did it in four months for $2.1 million,"

Sounds pretty effective to me!

Culture & Values: Donald Trump Stood Up For Carrie Prejean in 2009

Da Tech Guy says it well in his great post: "The test of the honor of a man isn't if he behaves honorably when it’s to his advantage, it’s if he acts with honor even when it’s to his disadvantage."

Here's what Da Tech Guy uncovered: Trump's unyielding defense of Carrie Prejean when she was being given the Chick fil A treatment by the media over a simple answer to a political question about gay marriage in the Miss USA Pageant.

(From ABC News May 12, 2009): "Donald Trump's not letting...conservative beliefs stop Carrie Prejean from being Miss California USA.

"The real estate mogul and co-owner of the Miss USA organization announced Tuesday that the scandalized beauty queen, who spoke out against "opposite marriage" at the 2009 Miss USA pageant, igniting a fire storm of scrutiny about her stance on gay marriage and her modeling career, will keep her crown.

"[Prejean] gave a very, very honest answer when asked a very tough [question] at a recent pageant. It's the same answer that the President of the United States gave. It's the same answer that many people gave," Trump said. "If her beauty wasn't so great, nobody really would've cared."

Trump was the final decision maker. The Miss California organizers had already announced her replacement, and were combing the rules to find some bogus pretense to remove her title.

As Da Tech Guy says:  "It would have been the easiest thing in the world to have thrown Carrie Prejean under the bus.  Such a move would have guaranteed him good press, kudos from the cultural elites and cemented his position as a forward thinking man in the new age."

Instead, Trump over-ruled them all, defended her appropriately and with maturity, and let her keep her crown.

That is the kind of integrity I like in a President.