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In a question and answer session in Dubuque, Iowa, Republican presidentialfront-runner Donald Trump said, "I love the Bible. I'm a rotestant. I'm a resb!terian.I went to unda! school."

#e went on to identif! $ew %or&'s arble (olle)iate (hurch as the place wherehis reli)ious identit! was formed under the teachin)s of $orman *incent eale. Thefamous author of The Power of Positive Thinkingso captivated the !oun) Trump that,Trump said, "!ou hated to leave church."

eale was ver! much the +oel steen of his da!, which ma! be wh! Trump seeshis stoc& risin) amon) a sector of merican van)elicalism.

Trump has said that he's winnin) support from van)elical (hristians who hedescribes as ""incredible people who are reall! smart, and the! want to see our countr!thrive."

Trump's "van)elical" supporters are the (hristmas-church-)oin), rotestantwor&-ethic, anifest Destin! believin), can-do capitalists. The! are in ever!denomination and none. The! thin& of themselves as (hristians but the! see no realneed to have ever! aspect of their lives ali)ned with an arcane moralit!. Trump istappin) into the spirit and power of positive thin&in) that pervades the teachin)s ofmodern cultural evan)elists li&e prah /infre! and +oel steen.

Trump remembers this as pastor eale's philosoph!, but most toda! &now it b!its echoes in the "health and wealth )ospel." If !ou listen, !ou can hear it in almost ever!line of Trump's "I'll ma&e merica )reat a)ain" platform. It resonates with the innatedesire within ever! human to rise, be raised, and live a life that is worth! of their callin).

Theolo)icall!, it misses the mar&, but politicall! it's cat-nip to millions who seethemselves as Bible-lovin) rotestants who went to unda! chool when the! were &idsand hold out hope for a better merica.

0or 122 !ears, bi) merican celebrit! personalities have been &nittin) the powerof positive thin&in) into our cultural fabric.

thletic coaches li&e 3(4's +ohn /ooden 51612-72128 who said "thin)s turn outbest for the people who ma&e the best of the wa! thin)s turn out."

Business coaches of ever! merican )eneration, li&e 9i) 9i)lar 5167:-72178,

nthon! Robbins and eth ;odin. 9i)lar said "!ou cannot tailor-ma&e the situations inlife but !ou can tailor-ma&e the attitudes to fit those situations." Robbins said, "#umanbein)s have the awesome abilit! to ta&e an! e

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ocial coaches li&e prah /infre!, who said, "the )reatest discover! of all time isthat a person can chan)e his future b! merel! chan)in) his attitude."

Trump is dishin) up what mericans have been pro)rammed to crave= positivemerican rotestantism. It's more ahatma ;andhi than +esus (hrist is, but mostmericans don't &now enou)h of the Bible to reco)ni>e the difference.

It was ;andhi, not +esus, who said, "an often becomes what he believes himselfto be. If I &eep on sa!in) to m!self that I cannot do a certain thin), it is possible that Iwill end b! reall! becomin) incapable of it. n the contrar!, if I have the belief that I cando it, I shall surel! acquire the capacit! to do it even if I ma! not have it at thebe)innin)."

) andino 5167?-166:8 wrote a boo& entitled The Greatest Salesman in theWorld. ! )uess is that Trump has read it. In it, andino writes, "/elcome ever!mornin) with a smile. 4oo& on the new da! as another special )ift from !our (reator,another )olden opportunit! to complete what !ou were unable to finish !esterda!. Be a

self-starter. %ou were not born to fail."

These are the thin)s we want to believe about our nation and ourselves andTrump is stri&in) that chord.

Trump never comes ri)ht out and sa!s that he's runnin) on a "rotestant wor&ethic@pirit of (apitalism" platform, but that's the infrastructure under)irdin) hismammoth personalit!. #e sincerel! believes what eale and now steen preach. Itresonates with )enerations of mericans who otherwise share no commonalit!. Thereason he )ets awa! with so man! thin)s that are considered non-politicall! correct isthat he's sa!in) so man! other thin)s that rin) the deepl! in)rained "rotestant wor&

ethic@pirit of (apitalism" bell that a< /eber identified more than 122 !ears a)o.

/e don't consciousl! remember /eber nor even eale. But we channel them allda! lon) in ever! variet! of coachin). 0rom ball fields to board rooms to ministries the"can do" power of positive thin&in) parroted b! parents, teachers, comedians, pastors,and even ei)ht !ears a)o b! a "hope and chan)e" candidate that became resident, isproAected b! candidate Trump.

Trump doesn't spea& to the thin veneer of compulsor! sensitivit! trainin) we'veall endured. #e spea&s to the bones of who we are= people who love the Bible, arerotestant, and went to unda! chool. It doesn't matter so much that he does not live aBiblical ethic in his personal nor professional life. It doesn't matter that he fails to treat

people as if the! are all equall! made in ;od's ima)e. /hat matters is that it satisfies theappetite developed b! a cultural "can do" mantra.

eople are tired of hearin) that merica "can't." 4i&e the little en)ine that could,we &now in our heart of hearts that we can "%es, we can" ound familiarC Resonatewith somethin) in !ou so deep !ou didn't even &now it was there an!moreC %ep. That'swhat Trump is touchin) and if he &eeps rin)in) that bell, then li&e avlov's do)s an

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overwhelmin) maAorit! of mericans are li&el! to pull the lever for him in $ovember721:.