This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As Donald Trump places his hand on his family's Bible to be sworn into the presidency Friday, he will already have a list of biblical characters he is expected to emulate.
Ahead of his election, several Christians like Jerry Falwell Jr. and Michele Bachmann drew comparisons between President-elect Donald Trump and biblical characters, especially kings of Israel. Israel's history allows for all kinds of potential comparisons — good and bad.
Some saw Trump as an evil king like Ahab, and some compare him as a great king like David, says Joel Baden, a professor at Yale Divinity School. There's a larger trend among some to take everything that happens currently and compare it to what happened in the Bible. "Just as the Bible is understood to provide us with a guide for how to live our lives, it's also seen as a resource for understanding how God operates in history," Baden said.
Guess which biblical leaders Trump has been compared to (hint: not all are kings).
1. This biblical character wrote a lot of songs.
- King David
- St. Paul
- Daniel
- King Cyrus
2. This biblical character ate only vegetables and drank water for a period of time.
- King David
- Daniel
- King Solomon
- St. Paul
3. This biblical king wasn't an Israelite.
- King Solomon
- King Jehoshaphat
- King Cyrus
- King David
4. This biblical character defeated an enormous army but didn't lift a finger.
- Daniel
- St. Paul
- King Ahab
- King Jehoshaphat
5. This biblical character persecuted the early followers of Jesus.
- King Ahab
- St. Luke
- St. Paul
- St. Jude
6. This biblical character is best known for creating the heavens and the earth.
- Adam
- King David
- John
- God
Answers:
1. David
David wrote many songs, or as the Bible calls them, Psalms. He also played an instrument called a lyre.
He is arguably best known for slaying the Philistine giant Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17 of the Old Testament. But some evangelicals like Jerry Falwell Jr. have brought up a darker part of the second king of Israel's past to suggest that a man like Trump can serve as a successful leader.
When he was king, David slept with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, while her husband was away at war. After Bathsheba told the king she was pregnant, David sent him to die on the front lines of the battlefield. Trump's vulgar comments toward women that were caught on tape were seen as a turnoff to some religious conservative voters. But like David, who repented and went on to win wars and rule justly, some believe Trump can go on and succeed politically in spite of his past sins. "We're not voting for pastor-in-chief," Falwell said several times.
2. Daniel
Daniel was never a king, but was an Israelite who served in Persia as a kind of chief of staff and interpreter of dreams and divine messages. His claim to fame is being thrown into a den of lions for continuing to worship the Israelite God instead of King Darius, the Persian king at the time, but emerging from the den unscathed the next day. He also resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, eating only vegetables and drinking water for 10 days.
In an interview on "The Brody File," which airs on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Michele Bachmann linked Daniel's account to Trump's. While she didn't name the biblical prophet, she referenced Daniel's words when he was trying to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream while under the threat of death. God revealed the meaning of the king's dream to Daniel in a vision at night, and in what could be assumed to be a relieved exultation, Daniel praises God for raising and putting down kings at will.
3. King Cyrus
Cyrus, who ruled Persia, is considered a hero in the Bible because he freed Israelites from the Babylonian captivity. Some have compared Trump to Cyrus - even though Cyrus was not an Israelite and Trump is seen as a religious outsider, God still used him for the good of his people.
A piece in Charisma News suggested Trump may be the modern-day Cyrus called by God to bring restoration to his people.
Most Christians believe that even godly rulers are deeply flawed. And if they are not godly, God can "anoint" a pagan like Cyrus to promote God's purposes, said Rich Mouw, former president of Fuller Seminary. But Mouw said he doesn't remember similar biblical citations directed to other candidates.
Religious leaders weren't comparing Hillary Clinton to Queen Esther, for instance. "Why Trump, then?" Mouw said. "I think it is because Christians were so eager to vote for him in spite of all the reasons, biblically, not to, that they needed a special rationale in this case."
4. King Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah, and according to the Bible he defeated a "vast" army comprised of Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites. In spite of tremendous opposition, God intervened in the battle and made the incoming armies quarrel against each other so that all Judah did was pick up the booty when the dust settled.
Writer Dave Hodges argued that God chose Trump just as God chose Jehoshaphat to rout the Moabites. He cited the odds that were stacked against Trump, including the attacks from media, vilification from both sides of the political spectrum, and special interests' attack ads. "It doesn't matter who comes against Trump," Hodges wrote. "He only grows stronger with each successive victory."
5. St. Paul
St. Paul persecuted early Christians until he had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus, founding several churches and writing many books in the New Testament. Most people have compared Trump to kings in the Old Testament, but Jay-Paul Hinds, a professor of pastoral care at Howard University, says that he sees similarities with a prominent figure of the New Testament: The Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23, Paul claims that he has become all things to all men, thereby declaring his freedom to do whatever it takes to win souls.
Trump, a self-proclaimed billionaire from New York, has persuaded some poor and middle-class Americans around the country that he is one of them. "Donald Trump, to me, is someone who is willing to do whatever it takes (and with whomever) to win souls to his gospel," Hinds said. "Unfortunately, as we have seen, the gospel that he is preaching is one wherein he alone is the savior."
6. God
Some who have criticized both Trump and his supporters have compared him to the God of the Old Testament, who some choose to characterize as "petty, jealous and wrathful," though Christianity teaches that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
Careful with the biblical comparisons, some argue. Ingrid Faro, who is an Old Testament scholar at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, said that Christians believe that God "removes kings and sets up kings," citing Daniel 2:21, and that "It is God who judges, He brings one down, He exalts another," citing Psalm 75:7. In the New Testament, Jesus stated, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest. . . But now my kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36). "I hesitate to compare Mr. Trump to kings during an era of biblical history that had a theocracy," Faro said. "This is not that time, nor is it meant to be."