Do you think Trump was protected by God - to save the USA?

[antiSatan5]

For all his many flaws, Trump appears very favorable to Catholicism and holds the Church in great esteem. He is said to have a statue of St Michael the Archangel on his desk. He will probably never be accused of have a deep knowledge of theology, but he is in no way, shape, or form, an enemy of the Catholic Church. Quite the contrary.

I pray for his conversion, which is far from impossible.

I disagree that Trump has MANY flaws. He has no more than anyone else (and most are in the past?) and quite a lot fewer than many. He is more focused on making things right in this country than just about anyone I can think of.

It seems those who criticize him the most are the ones doing little to nothing to try to change society.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I disagree that Trump has MANY flaws. He has no more than anyone else (and most are in the past?) and quite a lot fewer than many. He is more focused on making things right in this country than just about anyone I can think of.

It seems those who criticize him the most are the ones doing little to nothing to try to change society.

He doesn't seem to be open to much in the way of self-introspection and self-doubt, but that could always just be a tough-guy facade. Rule of life: don't show your weakness. Your adversaries will take it and run with it. He also comes across as kind of obtuse. (To be fair, we all have our moments of lack of self-introspection, lack of self-doubt, and obtuseness now and then. I know I do.)

Not the ideal candidate I'd pick for President, but he did appoint three Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v Wade, and his opponents visited an abortion clinic together. That is just about the apotheosis of pure evil. Still, though, being okay with abortion pills, well, there's just more of the obtuseness, shared by all those who are likewise okay with those pills. The earlier back you go in a pregnancy, the less that people uninformed by divine grace are able to see that this is a unique living being with an immortal soul. (As to exactly when that soul is infused, the Church doesn't define that, but the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is a strong indicator of the soul being infused at the moment of conception. We can't take the chance that it's not, no more than a hunter, unsure of what that thing is moving behind a bush, can assume that it's not a human being but a deer or a wild turkey instead.)

 

[antiSatan5]

He doesn't seem to be open to much in the way of self-introspection and self-doubt, but that could always just be a tough-guy facade. Rule of life: don't show your weakness. Your adversaries will take it and run with it. He also comes across as kind of obtuse. (To be fair, we all have our moments of lack of self-introspection, lack of self-doubt, and obtuseness now and then. I know I do.)

Not the ideal candidate I'd pick for President, but he did appoint three Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v Wade, and his opponents visited an abortion clinic together. That is just about the apotheosis of pure evil. Still, though, being okay with abortion pills, well, there's just more of the obtuseness, shared by all those who are likewise okay with those pills. The earlier back you go in a pregnancy, the less that people uninformed by divine grace are able to see that this is a unique living being with an immortal soul. (As to exactly when that soul is infused, the Church doesn't define that, but the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is a strong indicator of the soul being infused at the moment of conception. We can't take the chance that it's not, no more than a hunter, unsure of what that thing is moving behind a bush, can assume that it's not a human being but a deer or a wild turkey instead.)

well, I made up my mind about abortion a LONG time ago, and in earnest once I saw photos of aborted babies, some as old as 6 months (or..?) in trash cans. I cried (and I'm not a big crier, to be sure) and that was the end of any of my doubts about being 1000% pro life. I was very young when that happened, a still-developing brain.. so no one can blame me for not getting it sooner.. In any case, I don't believe Trump is in favor of that abortion pill. That pill is used for some other medical purpose and I believe that's the only reason he didn't want an outright ban. I can't recall what the other purpose was, but he should openly state that using it for abortion is NOT acceptable. I need to research the latest on this..

 

[Dissenter]

What about the picture he posted of himself as a Messiah-like figure?

Did Trump post, delete AI image depicting himself in likeness of Jesus?

Trump confirmed he posted the image on Truth Social, but said he thought it showed him as a doctor rather than Jesus Christ.

www.snopes.com

It dovetails with the fact that most "No Kings" protesters are older. They can't tell the rest of their party why they feel the way they do because younger generations have been taught to revere the Kennedys, but it is possible they sense the same ambition to be king from DJT.

He may also think of himself as Abraham. It is my opinion that Vance, Leavitt, Bondi, Noem, and others look more than a little like him, and Bondi and Noem had to be removed from their jobs which by the looks of it suggests they got unfair help in getting them. It's easy to suppose from there that their patron figured they ought to do well because they had his DNA.

He also looks more than a little like Erika Kirk, AOC, Katy Perry, Scarlett Johanssen, and Dua Lipa.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

In any case, I don't believe Trump is in favor of that abortion pill. That pill is used for some other medical purpose and I believe that's the only reason he didn't want an outright ban. I can't recall what the other purpose was, but he should openly state that using it for abortion is NOT acceptable. I need to research the latest on this..

I hope you're right, but as you say, he needs to make that clear. One thing to consider, the abortion pill can be used as early as the first missed period, which would make the embryo/fetus/whatever six weeks post-conception, maximum. Many people who would otherwise be against abortion, don't have a problem with that, their reasoning (if it can be called that) may be something like "it's so early, no way can it be a person yet". Likewise, many people who recoil at the idea of outpatient surgical abortion, have no issue with embryonic stem cell research or IVF (which normally entails the disposal of many "spares"). Again, it's just too small, out of sight, out of mind. It may also be worth noting that six weeks, 42 days, meshes almost totally with Aquinas's concept of ensoulment happening at 40 days (80 days for a female, yes, I know, I'm rolling my eyes too).

One thing that makes up the beauty of our Catholic faith, is that we emphasize things that cannot be seen, but that are real nonetheless, and that appearances are just that, appearances. Our Lord is not visibly present in the Eucharist, no, it looks, smells, tastes, crumbles, drips, sours, and goes stale, just like regular bread or wine as the case may be, but we know that it is far, far more. Likewise, a unique human body and soul is not visible in the newly-conceived entity (unless one wants to be pedantic and look at the DNA, but a fingernail clipping has that too), but it is there, though granted, it develops into something more and more recognizable (which a fingernail clipping doesn't), and as to when the soul is infused, see my comments in post #42.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

What about the picture he posted of himself as a Messiah-like figure?

Did Trump post, delete AI image depicting himself in likeness of Jesus?

Trump confirmed he posted the image on Truth Social, but said he thought it showed him as a doctor rather than Jesus Christ.

www.snopes.com

It dovetails with the fact that most "No Kings" protesters are older. They can't tell the rest of their party why they feel the way they do because younger generations have been taught to revere the Kennedys, but it is possible they sense the same ambition to be king from DJT.

He may also think of himself as Abraham. It is my opinion that Vance, Leavitt, Bondi, Noem, and others look more than a little like him, and Bondi and Noem had to be removed from their jobs which by the looks of it suggests they got unfair help in getting them. It's easy to suppose from there that their patron figured they ought to do well because they had his DNA.

He also looks more than a little like Erika Kirk, AOC, Katy Perry, Scarlett Johanssen, and Dua Lipa.

Huh?

Totally not clear what you're getting at in the last two paragraphs.

I will grant that there is a certain "look" among many in his adminstration, and I'm not seeing the diversity of age, gray hair, baldness, body shape, physiognomy, and so on, with which I would be more comfortable (and which could lend more gravitas to the whole affair), not to mention the very conspicuous scarceness of African Americans, but "having his DNA", unless you mean in a purely figurative sense, is quite a stretch.