{"id":24593,"date":"2016-07-06T06:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=24593"},"modified":"2016-07-05T20:24:39","modified_gmt":"2016-07-06T00:24:39","slug":"did-donald-trump-accept-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/07\/did-donald-trump-accept-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Donald Trump “accept Christ”?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Many evangelicals believe that a person becomes a Christian by making a \u201cdecision for Christ,\u201d an act of the will, usually involving saying some version of \u201cthe sinner\u2019s prayer<\/a>,\u201d in which the person \u201caccepts Christ.\u201d \u00a0We Lutherans certainly believe in conversion, though not construing that as an act of the will, as such, but rather as the Holy Spirit\u2019s creation of faith by means of Baptism and the Word of God. \u00a0But some evangelicals treat the \u201cdecision for Christ\u201d like Catholics treat Baptism, as being effective ex opere operato<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>apart from actual faith.<\/p>\n

Anyway, lots of conservative Christians of every stripe have problems with Donald Trump. \u00a0But James Dobson, who once opposed Trump but now serves on his evangelical advisory board, said that he was told that Trump was \u201cled to Christ\u201d by the controversial prosperity gospel TV preacher Paula White. \u00a0That means that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate is a \u201cbaby Christian,\u201d who doesn\u2019t understand the language and practices of mature Christians, but who is a Christian nonetheless. \u00a0The implication is that Evangelicals should cut him some slack while still being able to vote for him in good conscience.<\/p>\n

\n

Read about this after the jump. \u00a0What do you think about it? \u00a0<\/p>\n

From \u00a0James Dobson Says Paula White Led Donald Trump to Jesus Christ<\/a>, Christian Post<\/em>:<\/p>\n

After making headlines last week for saying Donald Trump is a \u201cbaby Christian\u201d who has accepted a relationship with Jesus, evangelical leader James Dobson has emphasized that even though the Republican nominee is still maturing in his Christian walk, that is no reason to not vote for him and give Hillary Clinton the power to \u201crun the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the presumptive Republican presidential nominee met with over 900 evangelical leaders in New York City last Tuesday, Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and Family Talk radio, said during an interview with Pastor Michael Anthony of GodFactor.com that Trump \u201cdid accept a relationship with Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 80-year-old Dobson said<\/a>\u00a0during the interview that he knows the person \u201cwho led him to Christ\u201d and he believes that Trump \u201creally made a commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Dobson\u2019s comments were published by numerous news organizations, he released a statement on his website, Dr. James Dobson\u2019s Family Talk <\/a>on Monday, in which he said he heard that televangelist Paula White had led Trump to Christ, but \u201cOnly the Lord knows the condition of a person\u2019s heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, Trump appears to be tender to things of the Spirit,\u201d added Dobson, who\u2019s a member of Trump\u2019s evangelical executive advisory board. \u201cI 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\u2019t say that I do. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, this man is a baby Christian who doesn\u2019t have a clue about how believers think, talk and act.
\n[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James Dobson is now walking back what he said before<\/a>, to a certain extent, saying that he doesn\u2019t really know if Trump has become a Christian or not. \u00a0And Paula White, an early supporter of Trump\u2019s<\/a>, is not necessarily a reliable evangelist.<\/p>\n

But still. . . .Does this change your perception of Trump or his qualifications to be President? \u00a0If this were\u00a0a genuine conversion, would that matter?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many evangelicals believe that a person becomes a Christian by making a \u201cdecision for Christ,\u201d an act of the will, usually involving saying some version of \u201cthe sinner\u2019s prayer,\u201d in which the person \u201caccepts Christ.\u201d \u00a0We Lutherans certainly believe in conversion, though not construing that as an act of the will, as such, but rather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,47],"tags":[3212,3881,788,4606],"class_list":["post-24593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-theology","tag-conversion","tag-donald-trump","tag-evangelicals","tag-trump-and-evangelicals"],"yoast_head":"\nDid Donald Trump "accept Christ"?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many evangelicals believe that a person becomes a Christian by making a "decision 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