Trump’s pastor was Norman Vincent Peale

When Donald Trump was growing up, his parents would take him to the church pastored by Norman Vincent Peale.  The minister who developed “the power of positive thinking” conducted the weddings for Trump and his sisters.  And today the preachers of the “prosperity gospel,” which was largely launched by Peale, are the “evangelicals” who are supporting him.

Michael Horton makes these connections and goes on to apply them to the larger evangelical scene today.

From Michael Horton, The Theology of Donald Trump | Christianity Today:

Let me suggest that the slender thread connecting Trump to the church is his occasional holiday appearances at Marble Collegiate Church, made famous by its pastor for 52 years, Norman Vincent Peale. Blending pop-psychology and spirituality, Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking (1952) remained on The New York Times bestsellers list for 186 weeks. Nicknamed “God’s Salesman,” Peale was criticized for trivializing Christianity. Reinhold Niebuhr said that he “corrupts the gospel,” and that he helps people “feel good, while they are evading the real issues of life.”

Let me suggest that the slender thread connecting Trump to the church is Norman Vincent Peale.

In the 1952 election, Peale declared presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson unfit because he was divorced. For his part, Stevenson quipped, “Speaking as a Christian, I find Paul appealing and Peale appalling.” During the Kennedy-Nixon campaign, which began his long relationship with the Nixon White House, Peale declared, “Faced with the election of a Catholic, our culture is at stake.”

Trump’s parents attended Peale’s sermons each week with the family in tow, and Donald often recalls the impact on his life. He and his sisters were married by Peale.

[Keep reading. . .]

For more on how Trump consciously follows the teachings of Peale, see this from his biographer.