Found 3 articles matching 'Donald Trump'.
Reflecting theologically on war in the Middle East
Dave Burke
Date posted: 19 Mar 2026
It is rare that theology features in the decision making of great nations, but there are reports of US military commanders referencing the Biblical end-times narrative of writers such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsay. One officer is quoted by an NCO as saying, “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark His return to Earth.”
If you want to weigh up the rights and wrongs of the latest war in the Middle East you need to go further back than those writers or even the Victorian clergyman, John Nelson Derby, who inspired them with his dispensationalist theology. Great Christian thinkers like Augustine of Hippo and St Thomas Aquinas developed principles to restrain Christian princes from unnecessary military action. The intention to wage war was justified only if it passed certain tests. Here are three of them:
What on earth did Jesus mean by ‘judge not’?
Dave Burke
Date posted: 25 Jul 2026
When it was revealed that Donald Trump, in the first year of his second term, had increased his personal fortune by 2 billion dollars I posted my views on Facebook. Within minutes, I was firmly rebuked for criticising him. “The Lord told us not to judge people!” someone said. “Shame on you!” chimed in an irate supporter, “Pastors like you are ruining the church!”
The Lord’s command that we refrain from judging people is a sacred calling; an essential principle for every pastorally active Christian. We should refuse to judge when the answers seem easy to us, but impossible to those we try to support.
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Reflecting theologically on war in the Middle East
It is rare that theology features in the decision making of great nations, but there are reports of US military commanders referencing the Biblical end-times narrative of writers such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsay. One officer is quoted by an NCO as saying, “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark His return to Earth.”
If you want to weigh up the rights and wrongs of the latest war in the Middle East you need to go further back than those writers or even the Victorian clergyman, John Nelson Derby, who inspired them with his dispensationalist theology. Great Christian thinkers like Augustine of Hippo and St Thomas Aquinas developed principles to restrain Christian princes from unnecessary military action. The intention to wage war was justified only if it passed certain tests. Here are three of them: