A minister invited to pray at President-elect Trump’s inauguration has been criticized for rejecting a Christian doctrine that she actually affirms on her ministry’s website.
Paula White has been a “spiritual adviser” to Trump since the campaign, but has come under fire for her advocacy of the “prosperity gospel,” the wealth she has gained from her ministry and her divorces.
Conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson accused White of rejecting the Holy Trinity and “the Council of Nicaea’s creed that every Christian accepts.” Yet on her ministry’s website, White expresses belief in the Trinity.
“We believe in one true God who exists eternally in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” the statement of principles reads. “We also believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was sent to this earth to redeem humanity from sin.”
Erickson cites a video in which White declines to challenge an interviewer’s assertion that “Jesus Christ is not the only begotten son of God, I am a son of God,” as evidence White rejects the Trinity.
“I’d rather a Hindu pray on Inauguration Day and not risk the souls of men, than one whose heresy lures in souls with promises of comfort only to damn them in eternity,” Erickson wrote. “At least no one would mistake a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an atheist with being a representative of Christ’s kingdom.”
White has been more widely criticized for espousing the prosperity gospel — the belief that God blesses believers with health and material wealth — and for living a lavish lifestyle that includes flying on private jets and having an expensive apartment at Trump Tower.
The televangelist is one of six religious leaders expected to participate in Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
