So it says in the NYT article "Trump Will Participate in a Marathon Bible Reading/He will read a passage from the Old Testament that his Christian supporters cite as a call to national repentance and divine blessing."
April 18, 2026
"If My people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
That is the passage from the Old Testament book of II Chronicles that is read by President Trump in the event called "America Reads the Bible."
Trump recorded his contribution, but most of it will be read live, at Museum of the Bible in Washington, beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m. and ending next Saturday.
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37 comments:
If he's going with the Old Testament, and as he's had 3 wives, why not go with the "begats" verses?
For a guy who likes to build buildings:
And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.
And to rumble:
And Johanan begat Azariah, (he [it is] that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)
https://sarata.com/bible/verses/about/begat.html
From the Secretary of Crusades:
“The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
Yes, he'll read from the Old Testement. How appropriate. Hope he doesn't read that bit about killing 75 thousand Persians.
And his "Christian Supporters" should be telling Trump to read The Sermon on the Mount.
Any bets as to which media personality will be the first to use the phrase "theocracy"?
One of the things I wondered about as a kid was whether you had to have your hands clasped when you prayed or else God (or Jesus?) couldn't read your mind. It seemed unlikely that the bones and nerves and vessels and stuff formed some kind of a meat-based transmitter, but it also seemed wrong that God knew to listen only when I wanted Him to, just as it seemed wrong that He had to pay attention while I was reading the back of a cereal box at breakfast.
He's moved beyond the weave to the whipsaw
One of the things I wondered about as a kid was whether you had to have your hands clasped when you prayed or else God (or Jesus?) couldn't read your mind.
That's funny.
Of course, God knows everything, regardless of our prayers. We're not informing God anything he doesn't already know, when we pray. What prayer does is humble us, by reminding us that we are not in charge. And it focuses our mind and our heart.
I gave up on prayer, when I was a kid, because I didn't get what I wanted. As I got older, I realized I was way too impatient.
Jesus prayed to his Father to not be crucified. And his request was turned down. And he accepted it. Even if it was hard. Later, on the cross, he asked his Father, "Why have you forsaken me?"
Temujin: David French.
When it comes to questions of theology, there can be no greater scholar than the guy who sells signed copies of the Bible for $1,000 a pop. Despite never having read it.
And so the poster child for the seven deadly sins who has publicly proclaimed that he has done nothing requiring the Lord’s forgiveness is going to wrap himself in Christian flag.
Screwtape smiles.
There is a reason I refer to the fat tub of goo as “Wormwood”.
St Croix, I must inject some biblical pedantry. While I agree with you on the whole obedience of the Son thing, and the dual natures doctrine which means Jesus really was afraid and not looking forward to crucifixion, I have to point out the real meaning of “eloi eloi lema sabachthani?”
This is the first line of Psalm 22, which ends very triumphantly. First century Jews knew their psalms by heart and referenced them by the first line (in fact I don’t know if the numbering system had been established yet). So JC is not expressing despair or abandonment, but affirming that it will all turn out ok.
I’m sure you know this; I post it for the benefit of the uninitiated. CC, JSM
Why does the Pope go on and on about morality and ethics?
It’s very upsetting to this administration.
St Croix reminded me that God already knows what we want. He also knows what we need, even if we don't always know ourselves.
Jesus, in Matthew 6, tells us this and tells us not to ask God for things. I've come to believe that, though the temptation to ask for help sometimes is great. Prayer should be about thanks for all God does for us and the blessings he has given us. Even the trials.
It should also be done privately, in a closet, according to Jesus.
Thinking about this just now, and knowing our hostess' love for all things Bob, I was reminded of "Your debutant knows what you need, but I know what you want" and the truism that all successful salespeople know: Customers buy on wants, not on needs. Sales is often about turning needs into wants.
That led me to thinking that God knows what we need, but President Trump knows what we want.
John Henry
Trump, more than anyone, has reason to pray. If he sees himself as caretaker of all Americans, that’s a good thing for all Americans given the mission he has created and upon which he is executing.
I also agree with you, St Croix, on how JC’s own experience with prayer shows us how to approach it. Specifically how JC very often does not get the things he asks for. He still hasn’t gotten “that they may all be one, as you and I are one,” for one. We should also avoid treating God as a wishing well. - h
I just read a long book about the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. In the two hundred years between 1500 and 1700, Europe only knew about 15 years of peace because of religious wars. Germany hardest hit.....Luther, Calvin, St. Thomas More, Cranmer, Knox, Loyola: These were all men of integrity, intelligence, and conviction. They were willing to die for their faith and, also, to murder those whose integrity, intelligence, and convictions led them to improper forms of worship of the one true God.
If thy will be done
There is the conflict that paul states 'i do the things i should not, and do not the things i should'
From what I understand, the Catholics believe that the way to salvation lies through the Church and its sacraments. Protestants are more inclined to study the Bible and seek God's grace......As we have seen, the sale of indulgences and corruption of the Renaissance Church led to the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral. Luther and his 95 these led to the Peasant's Revolt, the Thirty Years War, and eventually the establishment of the primacy of the individual conscience. By and large, I think the Pope made the better deal, but opinions vary.......I suppose the Puritan Cromwell put finis to the Divine Right of Kings in England, but he also put finis to any hopes of peace with Ireland.....It's all a mixed bag. History just happens, and the good guys aren't all that good.
GB vs IRE has nothing to do with religion. Some of the worst depredations in Ireland were wrought by Catholic Mary I and her Catholic husband Phillip, the Rey Catolico of Spain. It’s just germanics vs celts, whether they’re pagan, catholic, or Prod. CC, JSM
The problem with the Bible is that it can say just about anything you want it to say. Apparently there's some passage in Levicitus that enjoins men to marry their's brother's widow and, also, another passage in Deuteronomy that prohibits such a practice.....There's no Bible injunction to baptize your kids. There is, however, an injunction about circumcision. Luther felt that the correct way to do things was to substitute baptism for circumsion to show that you were part of God's people. The anabaptists and other believers held out for adult baptism. As a variation on that old standby of burning at the stake, they would sometimes punish Anabaptists by drowning them. That seems too literal to be really poetic, but it beats being burnt at the stake.
As for Germany, the Reformation just gave princes new flags to fly as they continued to fight each other. Teutons gonna teut. CC, JSM
Pope Leo as an American can speak with authority about the moral bankruptcy of Trump. This isn’t complicated or deep. Trump reacts towards the Pope as he does to everyone he perceives to be a critic of him.
The main reason GB has held onto Northern Ireland is because 100 year’s ago they were really worried the Prods (descended mostly from Germanic Lowland Scots) would fight both the Crown and the Catholics to have supreme control of the whole island. More teutin’. CC, JSM
I have trouble with predestination. An all knowing and all merciful God created the human race. This human race was created in such a way that the majority of them are sinful and unwilling to live up to His standards. They are then punished with eternal pain forever and ever for being insufficiently righteous.......I like most things about dogs, but I find some of their habits distasteful. Should dogs who like their balls with a little too much enthusiasm not be allowed in the house?
Best explanation I have come up with for free will is that it’s like centrifugal force. Which isn’t force at all - just something to balance the equations.
Also, just because predestination and Hell conflict doesn’t necessarily mean predestination is wrong. Hell could be wrong, or at least our popular image of it. It might be more like Sheol or Tartarus, a shadow realm where no one is being tormented but no one is having a great time either. It also may not be permanent. JC preached to the souls in prison. Why do that if they had no chance of getting out? CC, JSM
He's playing you and you love him for it. That's talent.
@john mosby: Thank you for you support of my argument that the Bible means pretty much what people want it to mean.......I don't think religious people have any kind of monopoly on fanaticism. One of Napoleon's stated reasons for invading Spain was to eradicate the Spanish Inquisition. What could be worse than the the Spanish Inquisition. Well, in fact, Napoleon was worse. In several centuries, the Spanish Inquisition only killed about five thousand people. Napoleon during the course of his occupation managed to kill about ten percent of Spain's population. They didn't die easy deaths either. Both the Spaniards and the French kept thinking up new, clever ways to torture each other to death.....It just keeps going on.
Well no i dont think so, we're 'on the highway to hell' but for gods grace, as to the elect, thats up for debate
I guess he is a good Christian after all. My mistake.
This is a joke? Right? the last person i would listen to read the Bible.
The Methodists like lay preaching. In the early days, lay preachers weren't necessarily well educated or trained. One guy was expounding on the Parable of the Talents, which contains (in the KJV) the line "my master is an austere man." The lay preacher read it as "oyster," as in "my master is an oysterman."
So he riffed on an analogy between pearl divers and Christ - both descend into the depths, both cut their hands open, yet both persevere and bring up something of great value - the oysterman a pearl, Christ a saved soul.
Some Anglican fuddyduddy brought this up to one of the Wesleys to ridicule him. Wesley said "never mind - the Lord got a dozen oysters that day!"
Who knows how many oysters will first be drawn to the Bible by the novelty of hearing Trump read it? CC, JSM
This will be more popular than Obama reading from the Koran.
This is a joke? Right? the last person i would listen to read the Bible.
Then it's a good thing nobody's forcing you to do so, isn't it?
Of course, the ancient Hebrews didn't heed the prophets and mend their wicked ways. And as the New Testament states, they killed the Messiah and that was that. God had enough.
I dont really understand the point, as a Gentile, in putting ourselves in the place of the ancient Hebrews. We're not them. Our redemption came with Jesus Christ. As St. Paul put it, a new branch was grafted onto the tree.
That's the whole problem with "reading the bible". People seem to think one verse is as good as another, and cant read for context. Its a narrative which starts at one place, and ends at another.
Here's my take on Trump. He's never been a believer in Jesus Christ. And he's never converted to Judaism. I think he has a warm fuzzy feeling toward religion, but he's not really a believer.
No doubt his advisors told him - after Tucker's brutal takedown and his "I'm healing sick people just like Jesus" Fiasco - that he had to do some damage control. So this "bible reading" was it.
Ocean, if as Christians we are called to imitate Christ, then one of the things to imitate is his mastery of the Torah and Prophets. He (or at least the gospel writers) could quote circles around the sucka rabbis. So could Paul.
Also, as someone with a bust of Winston in his office, Trump probably takes the same attitude: he's not a pillar of the church, but a buttress, reinforcing it from the outside. CC, JSM
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