Name: Reverend critiques Trump’s theology after inauguration remark
Uploaded: 2025-01-21T17:04:17.208Z
Duration: 2 min 49 s
Description: CNN speaks with Manhattan University Campus Minister Rev. Edward Beck about his criticism of the prayers and theology at President Trump’s inauguration.

CNN speaks with Manhattan University Campus Minister Rev. Edward Beck about his criticism of the prayers and theology at President Trump’s inauguration.

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Donald Trump is preparing to take office after defeating Kamala Harris in the U.S. Presidential election.

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Reverend Edward Beck, a campus minister at Manhattan University, has expressed criticism of the prayers and theology presented during President Donald Trump's inauguration. In his view, much of the prayer during the event appeared to be partisan rather than genuine expressions of faith. Reverend Beck praised Cardinal Dolan for starting positively and including a mention of President Joe Biden, but felt that many of the other prayers were focused on praising Trump rather than on communicating with God.

Reverend Beck anticipates that prayers at the National Cathedral, which are oriented around themes such as compassion for refugees and breaking down barriers, will present a contrast to those at the inauguration. He notes that these prayers include readings that might challenge Trump's policies and are more aligned with the Judeo-Christian values he upholds.

Rev. Beck also questioned the theological implications of Trump's remarks about divine intervention. During his address, Trump suggested that God had saved him for a purpose, implying a partisan divine favoritism. Reverend Beck found this notion of a selective God troubling and inconsistent with the broader teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, emphasizing that hubris is condemned and humility is a valued part of faith.



Reverend critiques Trump’s theology after inauguration remark

There was a lot of prayer yesterday throughout all of the events. How will it be different today from what we heard in all of the prayer that we heard yesterday? Well, in my opinion, a lot of the prayer yesterday was kind of partisan screed, and it wasn't prayer at all. It was histrionic performance, with the exception of Cardinal Dolan, who I thought began very well and also graciously mentioned President Biden. I think the others just were all about lifting up what President Trump has done, will do, and telling God what to do, and I didn't think it was prayer at all. I think what we're going to see today, as you mentioned, will be very different at the National Cathedral. The prayers today, which I have read through, are about caring for refugees, they're about breaking down walls, they're having compassion for people. There's a rabbi who's going to read the segment from Deuteronomy that says, you, Israel, were strangers in a foreign land, so you must now welcome strangers as God has welcomed you and as you have been welcomed. I wonder how President Trump and some of the administration sitting, listening to those prayers and those readings will feel when they seem in direct opposition to some of his policies. That will be very interesting to see this morning, and we'll all see it together. I believe it begins around 11 o'clock this morning. President Trump talked about God yesterday, during his inaugural address, about God saving him. I want to play that for you and for everyone. Listen to this, please. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. What do you make of that message in that moment? Well, I think the theology is problematic. So did God not save MLK Jr.? I mean, a prophet who was speaking about a vision for the country that we still revere to this day? Why was he killed? And why was this president saved? So does God have favorites? Is God partisan? What makes you think that that was God's intervention, other than hubris, which is condemned in the scripture, and it lacks humility? And so it's not my theology. It's not the theology of the Judeo-Christian tradition that we have a kind of God who picks and chooses who we will save.

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