How many churchgoers would call Second Corinthians “Two Corinthians,” as he did earlier this year? The name of that epistle from Paul is mentioned whenever passages from it are read during services, yet when caught in the error, Trump didn’t say, “Oops, I have a lot to learn.” Instead, as is his wont, he lied, claiming that lots of Christian churches around the world call the book “Two Corinthians.”
This wasn’t the first time he has lied about the Bible to gain an advantage. In August 2015, after his presidential campaign had begun, Trump said his favorite book is the Bible. In 2007, Trump told Forbes his favorite book was The Art of the Deal, by Donald J. Trump, saying, “It was a great read in 1987, a No. 1 best-seller then, and nothing has changed.” What changed is that he decided to run for president and knew he needed the evangelical vote.
It is a very good bet that Trump has never read the Bible and knows little about even the basics of Christian theology. During the campaign, when asked whether he preferred the Old Testament or New Testament, he replied, “Probably equal.” These are not the words of a man who understands or cares about Christianity.
Asked in 2015 for his favorite biblical passage, he refused to respond, saying it was too personal. Seriously? Later, when pressed again for a biblical passage that influenced him, he latched on to a few words from the Old Testament known even to heretical 6-year-olds. “Well, I think many,’’ he said. “When we get into the Bible, I think many, so many. And some people, look, an eye for an eye, you can almost say that.’’