Donald Trump as Christian and candidate

Several WORLD members have asked us to address the conversion of Donald Trump as reported by James Dobson. We’ve held back on this because there didn’t seem much to report, but given that other media are giving it big play, here are a few thoughts.

Let’s start with Dobson’s report: “Only the Lord knows the condition of a person’s heart. I can only tell you what I’ve heard. First, Trump appears to be tender to things of the Spirit. I also hear that Paula White has known Trump for years and that she personally led him to Christ. Do I know that for sure? No. Do I know the details of that alleged conversion? I can’t say that I do.”

Dobson is right that only God knows—but that doesn’t mean we should accept any second-hand report of conversion. Pastors and elders in many denominations ask prospective new church members for “a credible profession of faith.” For example, Pastor Jeffery Smith of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Coconut Creek, Fla., lists 14 questions to ask, including:

I’m not imagining Donald Trump at a press conference answering these queries. I am suggesting that, yes, only God knows, but humans can see through a glass darkly whether anything is lighting up a person’s mind and heart.

Dobson may be right that Trump “is a baby Christian who doesn’t have a clue about how believers think, talk, and act,” but shouldn’t Trump show some signs of understanding that he, like all of us, is a sinner who needs God? Dobson’s statement that he and other Christians are on a Trump faith advisory committee may say more about the members of that committee than Trump. I sympathize with Dobson’s statement that “we have only two choices, Hillary or Donald. Hillary scares me to death”—but I’d like to learn what scares Trump to death, and then to life.

By the way, I went on The Eric Metaxas Show on Tuesday and followed my tendency not to say what the host wants me to say. Eric is for Trump, for good reason—President Hillary Clinton’s likely Supreme Court appointments scare Eric to death, as they scare me. But I can’t be for a candidate of towering ego who has exhibited a lack of character throughout his personal and professional life. Also, I had hoped that Trump’s wild statements during the primary season were a television act that allowed him to stand out on a crowded stage—but his performance during the past month suggests he can’t help himself.

Still, when we elect a president we’re choosing not just a person but also a party and to some extent an ideology, so I’m still not a #NeverTrump. If he were to choose a wise vice presidential candidate, make public a Cabinet of character and wisdom that he would choose, and offer a short list from which he would select a Supreme Court nominee (more than a list of people “like” those he might nominate), Trump could still impress rather than depress me and lots of WORLD readers.

If he makes a credible profession of faith, that’s wonderful for him and, down the road, the entire nation. But the key question now is whether Donald Trump can make a credible showing of not being incredibly fatheaded.