Elections

Religious Leader Endorses Trump As Reborn ‘Baby Christian’

NEW YORK CITY - DECEMBER 9 2015: Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito led an interfaith rally to denounce Donald Trump's call to ban Muslim entry into the US. Trump supporter disrupts rally. a katz / Shutterstock.com

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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It was recently reported that evangelical leader Dr. James Dobson suggested that the billionaire casino magnate, at the ripe old age of 70, recently had a religious conversion. Dobson has referred to Trump as a “baby Christian.”

This is a term that is frequently used in evangelical circles, and it’s consistent with the notion that salvation is like being “born again.”

As it pertains to Trump, this serves as an excuse to explain not only his past peccadilloes, but also his current behavior: Like a newborn baby, a new believer requires a certain amount of coddling. You don’t expect the same mature behavior from a newborn — or even a toddler — that you would expect from a teenager.

Babies throw tantrums and fits; so do Christian babies.

Nobody knows if his conversion is real, and none of us are qualified to judge that. But for now, let’s assume it’s sincere. This is still a weird thing to cite as a reason for endorsing someone.

To put it in a more biblical context, Christians seeking to be an elder or an overseer should want someone who is “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”

The real question remains: Should evangelical leaders be helping elect someone who is the spiritual equivalent of an infant to be the leader of the free world?

This is a very unusual election.