Last week, President Donald Trump wished the country “Happy Good Friday,” and all hell broke loose. Suddenly, everyone was an expert on Catholic theology—or, at least, the emotional rubrics going along with Holy Week. Sure, most religious folk would not use the phrase “Happy Good Friday.” But most religious folk understood what he was trying to say, and they let it slide. Not the Left, though.
Ancient stoner comedian Tommy Chong said, “Did Trump really wish everyone Happy Good Friday? The day that Jesus was executed? Happy execution day? Ignorant to a fault.” And Chong, a spectral image from the 1970s, wasn’t the only one upset about Trump’s Good Friday message….
One writer tweeted, “Even a Jewish person knows that. You never wish someone a ‘Happy’ Good Friday. If you ever believed Trump was a Christian, this tweet is proof he is not. He’s celebrating Jesus’ crucifixion.” Religion writer at Slate Magazine Ruth Graham said that once again Trump revealed his inability to “speak Christian….”
What I find most interesting is that these people are making fun of a non-native speaker. Ruth Graham got that exactly right. Trump does not naturally speak “Christian.” It’s a bit new for him. Sure, he was raised within the religious shadow of Norman Vincent Peale. But it’s clear that religion has never been very important to Trump. If it was, he kept it well hidden.
In recent years, however, he has been trying, with baby steps and stumbles. It’s been reported that, at one Sunday service, he tried to put money in (what he thought was) the collection plate, only to discover that it was really the tray that holds the bread and wine in a Protestant communion service. He once said that he didn’t need to ask for God’s forgiveness. He referred to the Communion wafer as a “little cracker.” And now we have “Two” Corinthians, and Happy Good Friday. This is plenty of fodder for the snarky Left who make fun of him, as well as the Christians who support him, who are all obvious dupes.
But what’s clear, at least to us, is that he’s trying.
Some would call it pandering. Others see that he is on a journey and that, like all recent immigrants to a new land, sometimes he makes mistakes. Adopting new customs and a new language take time. The nice liberals who are mocking him would never think of mocking an immigrant who struggles with English.
Trump is an immigrant to a new land. James Dobson called him a “baby Christian.” We should assume good faith, that he is genuinely trying, and we ought to cut him some slack. Christianity is not his native tongue, and so what?…
The above comes from an April 17 article by Austin Ruse in Crisis magazine.
As the Donald won’t take theology lessons from Nancy Pelosi, he’s probably on the right path.
Much ado about nothing. I knew what he meant. Although I have gone to church most of my life, I do not know what is the official greeting for Good Friday since I do not remember giving any greeting to anyone on that day, other than “hello”.
President Trump is a New Yorker who uses a lot of hyperbole (exaggeration). Actually, hyperbole is very Jewish, and Orthodox Jews should understand him more than some. I am not comparing him to the Lord Jesus, but the Lord Jesus, as a Jew, used hyperbole. When he told the crowd “Call no man your father,” he was using hyperbole and went on to explain it.
Anne, try “Have a Thoughtful Good Friday.”
I thought previously of “Have a Meditative Good Friday,” but decided not to post it. Yours sounds better, yet I will probably stick with my simple, “Hi” and “Hello”, and leave the church in silence. That is if we ever meet in church again.
Regarding my last post, I took no offense because I do not think Donald Trump meant to be offensive any more than we Christians are offensive when we call the Friday of Christ’s death “Good”, or we use the term “O happy fault” in the liturgy when referring to the original sin of Adam and Eve. We need to look at the deeper meaning of what is said and used.
I will forgive President Trump for just about everything. But my love is growing weaker each day that he does not open up the country. Something just doesn’t seem kosher about the lockdown. It assaults my Constitutional and civil rights.
I don’t find it necessary for a Catholic to care much for Masonic concepts as Constitutional and civil rights. The disastrous impact of this epidemic on the livelihoods of many, especially the faithful, is easily understood as damaging, and I am all for reopening (Catholic) churches (i.e. I’m not going to be fond of crazy megachurches going live again). But I still detest the calls for total reopening a la Las Vegas. It’s too dangerous out there, and evil men will just use this opportunity to scrape away our dignity.
Some relatives and I once stayed at a hotel in Reno or Las Vagas. It had a huge fountain of the god Neptune with other pagan idols around it. On all the windows were bars, so that people who lost their money did not jump out to commit suicide. I felt total oppression there, and all I wanted to do was get out of there and go other places outside. I never want to go back.
I like Lake Tahoe because there are so many things one can do there besides gambling.
President Donald Trump has done more for bringing Christian values to our national discussion than any president in recent memory. When chosen to high positions, many rise to the occasion more than even themselves would have thought possible. God has blessed the USA. Keep the last flame of Western Civilization burning on November 3rd.
President Trump is a disaster as a president as evidenced by his handling of the corona virus pandemic. It is interesting that so many religious conservatives will give him a break with regards to his practice of the faith while at the same time these same conservatives are quick to condem others who do not share their fundamentalism. Jesus calls us to treat others with love and respect. Trump has done the opposite. As a practicing Roman Catholic i will not vote for him.
Georgia, Jesus was not the “nice”, “soft hearted”, “wimp”, you think he was. He was the God of the Old Testament incarnate. He could “pack a punch” when evil was being done — such as ripping or burning to death children in the womb because people can not keep their pants zipped or their skirts down.
He saved the woman caught in adultery, probably because most of the men were doing the same thing and under Israelite law both the man and woman were to be stoned, and the crowd knew who the man was, but Christ told her not to do it again or worse would probably happen to her.
Correction to last post: “The AUTHORITIES who brought the woman to Jesus knew who the man was because the woman was CAUGHT in adultery.
Georgia I do not approve of everything Trump has done or does either, but I see the other candidates as advocating far worse.
Actions speak louder than words. He’s the most pro-life President we ever had. And as for treating others with love and respect, maybe your comments should be addressed to the anti-life, anti-family, anti-God left wing media. He is only reacting to their hate (which I agree could be curtailed) but he’s a fighter and thank GOD he’s our President!
Georgia, you want religious purity and none of us have it. What is Trump’s “disastrous” handling of COVID-19?. Please be specific. Would senile Joe Biden, who doesn’t remember what office he is running for handle it better?
That is why we have elections
Or as Biden calls it, ‘Super Friday’.
Trump is not pro-life…he is anti-abortion. The Bishops have taught that the laity must consider many factors when voting for a candidate. Trump obviously has mental health issues as evidenced by his recent suggestion that people inject or ingest disinfectants to fight Covid19. The man is unstable and dangerous.
He sure seems to be pro-life. Just look at his actions on this issue. And Life always, always takes precedence. Without life all other issues are meaningless. I believe you need to stop listening to the “fake news” and their misrepresentations of everything this man says. The only ones unstable and dangerous are the anti-life media whose hate and viciousness for this man is unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed before. Their unhinged actions and words and their obsession with criticizing anything this man says or does borders on derangement in my view.
Georgia, Trump likes to tweak some of the journalists, who he knows are going to twist anything he says because they do not like him. After he got fid up with some of them asking him the same questions over and over and over again because they did not like his answers, he got sarcastic. It was joke, a bad joke that he should not have said, but a joke none the less.
Burning to death by saline or ripping apart in the womb living children and then selling their body parts is far more deranged if you ask me, and some of these politicians and perhaps even some journalists are profiting from it I am sure.
Anne TE: Ok…so Jesus is like a USMC DI?
The Lord Jesus Christ is Semper Fi to God the Father.
Anne Te: glad you have it all figured out and have God in your right back pocket.
The same to you.