The Faith of Donald J. Trump: A Spiritual Biography

297 Pages·2018·1.52 MB·English

by  David Brody

Dedication
David: To my exquisite wife Lisette, the smartest woman I know, with an
enduring spirit who allows me to pursue my passions.
Scott: Dedicated to Walter and Rexanna Lamb, a father and mother who helped
me to see the beauty of Jesus Christ. And by hauling me around to see historical
places as a child, gave me a love for our God-blessed nation. When I read the
Bible verse, “To whom much has been given”—I immediately thank God for
having you as my parents.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction: This Trump Is Your Trump
Part I
1: Luck and Pluck
2: Making Augsburg Great Again
3: Mother Mary Comes to Queens
4: Back to the Future Presbyterians
5: City on a Jamaican Hill
6: Hindenburg
7: We Have Confirmation
8: The Church for Spock Babies
9: The Power of Positive Thinking
10: Manhattan, Malaise, and Morning in America
11: The Man Who Has Everything
12: Prospereality
Part II
13: The Escalator
14: What Is Your Relationship with God?
15: The B-I-B-L-E. Yes, That’s the Book for Me
16: Pentecostals, Prayer, and Dinner at the Polo
17: Mr. Cyrus Meets Wrecking Ball
18: 3 Wings, 2 Corinthians, and February 1
19: Pat, the Pope, and the Palmetto State Primary
20: #NeverTrump
21: Coalesce or Two Evils?
22: Cleveland Rocks . . . and Prays
23: Pastors and Pews
24: What the Hell Do You Have to Lose?
25: What Happens in Vegas
26: The Art of the Unreal
27: Gorsuch a Time as This
28: You’ve Got a Friend in Me
29: Riyadh, Jerusalem, and Rome
30: Give Me Liberty
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the Authors
Praise for The Faith of Donald J. Trump
Copyright
About the Publisher
Foreword
When my friend David Brody told me he was writing a book titled The Faith of
Donald J. Trump, I was tempted to laugh. But I didn’t.
The reason I didn’t laugh was because I know that David Brody is an
extraordinary journalist and a real man of faith, so if anyone could tackle this
very difficult and thorny subject seriously, he could, and with his coauthor Scott
Lamb, he has done just that. In fact, what they have produced in this volume is
downright impressive, and on several levels, too. The scope of their research is
nothing less than extraordinary; you will learn things in this book that I am sure
you will never read anywhere else. By the way, this is what journalists are
supposed to, but these days rarely, do—so my heartiest congratulations to these
authors for taking the hoary path that was once the mainstay of all journalism:
digging for facts.
But I must say it once more, that at first, I really was tempted to giggle.
Because if anyone besides Brody and Lamb had used a title like The Faith of
Donald J. Trump, I would have sworn it was one of those political gag books
you see every now and again. Remember The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin?
Or Reasons to Vote for a Democrat? And of course the big goofball joke is that
when you open it up, you see nothing but blank pages. Ha ha ha. Don’t forget to
slap your knee.
So this is not that sort of book at all, but the dissonance most people feel when
they think of the subject of Trump and faith must be acknowledged. I guess this
would be a good time for me to confess that a year before the election—before I
dreamed that it would eventually come down to a Battle of Armageddon
showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton—I had some fun with
the subject of Trump and faith myself when I wrote a humor piece for the New
Yorker titled “A Few More #TrumpBible Verses.” The made-up “bible verses”
were of course in the form of Trumpian tweets. Here are a few you might
remember:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was TERRIFIC. And also HUUUUGE.
#TrumpBible
Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” And David said, “No, YOU are the man!” And they
high-fived each other. It was fabulous. #TrumpBible
Among whom was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the mother of James &
John. Three classy ladies. TREMENDOUS class. #TrumpBible
Enough? Well, the point of quoting these dumb jokes here is to say that I
actually think it’s good to laugh sometimes—especially when something
dissonant presents itself. And as I have already said, what could be more
dissonant than the subjects of Donald Trump and faith?
Which is precisely what makes this book so bold and so extraordinary.
Because the simple fact—and an indigestible conundrum to so many—is that
Donald Trump has demonstrated two things that typically don’t go together at
all. On the one hand, he has been tremendously popular with evangelical
Christians and outspoken in his defense of faith in public life; on the other hand,
he has evinced a startling lack of familiarity with the Bible and has even
admitted being unable to recall ever asking for God’s forgiveness. Nor need we
mention that his personal life before running for president and his tweets before,
during, and—alas!—after have been less than what one might expect of someone
advocating for many of the issues dear to the hearts of those for whom faith is
paramount.
But the terrifically stubborn fact is that Donald Trump has been embraced by
many serious Christians, and this has caused many Christians and non-Christians
alike to seethe with fury at the seeming hypocrisy of the whole arrangement.
One vital clue to solving this thorny riddle has to do with what may well be the
most fundamental dissonance and misunderstanding in the history of the world.
I’m talking about the difference between moral behavior on the one hand and
grace and faith in the God of the Bible on the other.
Martin Luther rightly clarified this for all time five centuries ago, but even
some of the most devout Christians have confused the two ever since. So to be
clear, the God of the Bible does not ask us to be morally perfect so that He will
accept us. He asks us to admit that we cannot be morally perfect, to see that only
He can be morally perfect, and to understand that if we have any hope in being
accepted by Him, it lies in our acceptance and confession of these facts.
People who understand this therefore understand the concept of grace and are
willing to give grace to those who—as they—are morally imperfect. But those
for whom God is a moralistic taskmaster (some will call them Pharisees) do not
understand this and predictably rage against it. The elder brother in the parable
of the Good Samaritan is an infamous example of that extremely sad ilk.
All the more reason then to robustly commend Messrs. Brody and Lamb for
doughtily wading into these roiling waters. In the process, they have plumbed
such astounding depths of this president’s biography that we will all learn many,
many things—and are therefore all in their debt. Soli Deo Gloria.
Eric Metaxas
New York City
November 2017