How does one get to heaven? The question is about as old as whether there is life after death. For millennia, it has been one of the guiding concerns of human life, and has influenced billions to subscribe to various religious views in the hopes that these would give them a better chance.
Recently, the question was raised by the United States President, Donald J. Trump. President Trump admitted, when commenting on his prospects of ending the Russia-Ukraine war: “I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, [ending the war] will be one of the reasons.”
Trump is no theologian, but this is an intriguing quote from a religious point of view, as it implicitly rejects a very important tenet in most protestant denominations: that it is “by faith alone” that can one be saved. Why then does Trump seem to believe the opposite, and why is this important?
According to most sources, the “sola fide” doctrine was invented by schismatic Martin Luther, who is widely credited with giving birth to Protestantism as a sect of Christianity. According to Luther’s doctrine, man is saved by faith, and by faith alone. In essence, as long as a man has faith in God and in His love, that man will never go to hell. This precept was (and is) directly in contradiction with the Catholic Church’s established teaching, and was just one of a list of 41 doctrinal errors, for which Luther was excommunicated after refusing the Pope’s order to disclaim them. Nevertheless, Luther’s teaching spread far and wide, and is accepted by most Protestant churches to this day.
Trump’s comment, which seemed fairly guileless, generated a storm of controversy in American Protestantism. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association wrote a piece, aimed at helping President Trump solve his dilemma. According to the article, “salvation cannot be earned”. The author quotes from Graham himself, “Your salvation depends on what [Christ] has done for you, not on what you do for Him. It isn’t your hold on God that saves you; it’s His hold on you”. “Salvation” he claims, “isn’t ours until we reach out and accept it.
It is interesting that Trump seems either to have been unaware of the “faith alone” principle, or not to believe it. In the past, the President identified himself as a member of the Presbyterian church (which accepts the “sola fide” doctrine), but a few years ago announced that he considered himself non-denominational, meaning he did not subscribe to any church in particular, but to a more general belief in Jesus as the Christ.
It seems from this that President Trump has been reconsidering religion for some time now. This – I believe – has come across somewhat in his attitude. Less evident is the brash, abrasive, “Only Rosie O’Donnell” Trump. Particularly since his near-death experience in July 2024, he has appeared comparatively placid. To suggest that this is motivated by religious thought does not seem a stretch, especially after he said: “I would like to think that God saved me for a purpose”.
Perhaps Trump – ever the shrewd businessman – understands that something as incredible and perfect as life in paradise with the Creator of the cosmos must come at a price. If so, he might be right.
The Catholic doctrine is and has always been that Christ died on a Roman torture frame in ransom for our souls. Christ paid the price for our sins – the price that would buy us a place in heaven. That was not all, though. If mere belief in Him was enough to save, there is no reason for Jesus to preach at such great length about virtue and abandoning sin. If faith is the only qualification for a ticket to heaven, then nothing you do on earth – whether curing cancer or slaughtering women and children – should make any difference. This seems to invalidate every instance in which Jesus told someone that their sins were forgiven – what need has one already saved for forgiveness? The Catholic Church continues to resist the “faith alone” doctrine. The apostle James quite explicitly says in Chapter 2 of his book, “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can his faith save him?”, and later, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
It is encouraging to see President Trump taking a step in the direction of the more traditional Catholic view on the matter of salvation. I am not predicting that President Trump – by his own admission no Mother Teresa figure – will go to heaven, but nor am I declaring that he will not; thankfully, it is not for me to judge. Trying to figure it out mathematically is useless – only God can decide.
When considering redemption, I often think of a story about the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney. As the story goes, a woman came looking for the Curé, in anguish because her husband had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. The Curé, when he found the woman, told her that, between the bridge and the water, her husband had been saved from hell, not by faith, but by repentance.
President Trump is not perfect – that is obvious. However, the fact that he is looking to the afterlife – and in a seemingly Catholic mindset – is a very good thing. He understands better than most how the prospect of punishment or reward influences the behaviour of weak humanity. If President Trump has set his sight on the ultimate reward, then one can hope that he will want to do all the good he can to get there. To focus on pleasing God to merit eternal happiness is not at all a bad mindset in which to be running the most powerful nation in the world.