Trump says his favorite Bible teaching is an ‘eye for an eye’

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his favorite Bible teaching: the Old Testament adage of an “eye for an eye.”

Trump, who is Presbyterian, responded to a question from host Bob Lonsberry on WHAM 1180 AM, who asked the front-runner if he had a favorite Bible verse or story that “informed” his thinking or character, BuzzFeed News first reported.

{mosads}”Well, I think many,” Trump said.

“I mean, when we get into the Bible, I think many, so many. And some people, look, an eye for an eye, you can almost say that. That’s not a particularly nice thing,” he said.

He said the country has to be strong to defend itself.

“If you look at what’s happening to our country, I mean, when you see what’s going on with our country, how people are taking advantage of us, and how they scoff at us and laugh at us. And they laugh at our face, and they’re taking our jobs; they’re taking our money; they’re taking the health of our country,” he said.

“And we have to be firm and have to be very strong. And we can learn a lot from the Bible, that I can tell you.”

The idea of an “eye for an eye” as fair punishment is part of the Bible’s Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ instructs his followers to reject that teaching and instead turn the other cheek.