One of this morning’s lead news stories concerned the evangelical magazine, Christian Times (CT), calling for the removal from office of the now impeached Donald Trump.
CT is reported to be the leading journal in the evangelical community and was founded by possibly the best known of all evangelicals, Billy Graham. The majority of their reasons for Trump’s removal are centered around his lack of morality and the body of immoral behaviors he has amassed during his life.
While I have no problem seeing and agreeing to Trump’s lack of morality, Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, and many other evangelicals seem to disagree and continue their unwavering support for Donald.
In a discussion on Morning Joe, it was said that Trump has been often asked by members of the clergy if he has ever prayed for forgiveness. His answer has been consistent, “no.” The MJ panel then discussed the basic tenets of Christianity that rests on the ideas of us all being sinners and the willingness of Christ to absolve us of our sins. In the Catholic faith, absolution comes with contrition and confession. In the confessional, one must admit to sin and asked for God’s forgiveness. One must then accept and perform acts of contrition.
While Trump claims, better yet, pretends, to be a long-practicing Christian, there exists little proof of such. His aversion to upholding several of the Ten Commandments is well known and onboard the Access Hollywood bus, openly bragged about.
Given all this one has to ask the question, can you be a Christian and never ask for forgiveness? Can you be a Christian, or a human for that matter, and never admit to a wrong, to a sin? I am not a religious person and belong to no faith. I don’t pray to any god for forgiveness. But my moral code is based on the right and wrong I learned as a Catholic child. I know when I’ve done wrong and I know when the responsibility falls squarely on my shoulders. I don’t ask God for forgiveness but I certainly ask, if not demand, better of myself. On the contrary, one of the earth’s rarest things is an admittance of wrong or the acceptance of responsibility from Donald Trump. I doubt he ever had a Bernice Brown moment. Mrs. Brown was my high school typing teacher and she failed me, even though I was an excellent typist. I was failed entirely because I chose not to do the final project in her class. I never asked her to change her mind. I never told her I was sorry. I never asked her for forgiveness. I never did any of those because none of it was her fault. It was all on me and admitting and accepting that was all the confessional priest told me was what Christ expected.