Pray For Our Country
The Capitol has been taken over by protestors.
The President refuses to intervene.
May God help us all.
The Capitol has been taken over by protestors.
The President refuses to intervene.
May God help us all.
I have been listening on the radio, and I am so disheartened but not surprised. I wish I were, but everything I have read and heard (from reputable news services) about the opposition planning to sow chaos,caused em to fear that something bad would happen. It also brings back many memories of the country where I served as a missionary, where a guerrilla group took over the Supreme Court and killed most of the judges, where kidnappings were constant, often ending in death, and where certain personalities could get people to “act.” I pray that the people who instigated this takeover, to the highest level of governmental. authority, are prosecuted. The reason I never voted for the current president in either election was because I have always held him to be a self-seeking, egotistical narcissist who foments chaos everywhere he goes. I’ve been proved right too many times!
This is the logical outcome and not surprising result of 4 years of rhetoric and blind adherence to one man. I am praying but also VERY angry it has come to this.
Incitement to riot is a crime… so is insurrection… so is sedition.
This is the direction momentum is going. Evangelicalism has bet the farm on MAGA. It will be hard to backtrack now.
why were these same sentiments NEVER expressed when it was radical leftists tearing apart our major American cities? You are all so duplicitous. This is a bad place our country is in but we’ve been here for a very long time while your eyes were closed.
Arthur,
I did object when small sections of cities were ruined.
This , however, is the heart of the nation.
We will never be the same.
I see hundreds of people standing at the Capitol.
No one is shooting up the place. No one is attacking the police. No one is throwing Molotov cocktails. No one is burning down the buildings.
Yes, pictures are out of maybe 20 (out of 500,000!) sitting inside Capitol offices. Some inside the Chamber. Again, no one defacing property. No one vandalizing. No one destroying anything.
Peace.
Donner,
A woman has been shot, property destroyed and the National Guard called out.
Apparently the only people surprised are federal law enforcement. Was this not a highly predictable event? The culmination of months of incitement by our chief law enforcement officer.
Weeel….
I hear there are over 100,000 people demonstrating and those who forced t heir way into Capitol bldg. are just a handful…. If the Capital police can’t handle them, shame on the police…..
take heart and pray that this is a wake up call to the Washington establishment that just maybe, perhaps American citizens of the USA have a break point
BTW Trump has called for peaceful demonstrations
Em,
Trump could end this quickly…but he’s watching it happen with joy.
Michael, praying those i D.C , including Trump, will have God-given wisdom now
And praying those who broke in will be publicly ID’d
Ending it after encouraging it.
Does that hunt?
“maybe, perhaps American citizens of the USA have a break point”
Is there a breaking point on delusional thinking?
Did anyone happen to see what the people of Georgia had to say yesterday?
Thank you Jean! I’m conservative and have always voted conservative but the last 4-5 years cemented my voting decision yesterday.
Donner,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Justice_siege
I went to Colombia as a missionary in September of 1985. I knew the country was unstable and dangerous in the countryside, but it only took 35 guerrillas for the M-19 group to take over the Supreme Court building and kill half the judges (in Bogotá). It was horrifying as we heard judges pleading for their lives on the radio and television, especially for an American who always considered government buildings reasonably safe (I grew up in the 60s/70s in California, so I’m very familiar with the protest history of the far left, and I understand that things can happen anywhere). This is a huge breach of our democratic tradition and the historic voting process we have enjoyed as Americans. I know what a stolen election is-it’s three presidential candidates killed in Colombia between late 1989 before the election. It’s greedy local politicians offering the poor food baskets and bags of cement in exchange for their votes, and narco-traffickers influencing elections through bribes. All that to say that our democracy is much more fragile than we think, and evil forces are taking advantages of people’s emotions and desires to have their candidate in place.
Michael@12:59
“but he’s watching it happen with joy.”
Are you just guessing or do you have inside information?
Dan,
From what I could surmise from a watchful distance, your election yesterday was one of the cleanest I’ve ever watched. I would like to see more equality in access to convenient polling places for minority communities, and I don’t know what new suppression laws the Georgia legislature probably will promulgate before 2022, but I definitely believe your Secretary of State is an honest man of integrity, second to none.
Linn,
Thank you…so well said.
Some people, who rightfully believe in Christian miracles, have moved into magical thinking.
So now we’re blaming the police, eh, Em?
I apologize to everyone, God, the angels, the world, the country, my family and the PhxPeeps for ever voting for Trump, even though I thought I had good enough reasons at the time. I knew what he was; there was no reason good enough for me to have voted for him. I am sorry. In some way, I am responsible for this.
So the Trumpists are going to minimalize this travesty. Dispicable.
These goobers look like they are at a 4th of July picnic, wandering around inside the Capitol like foolish children. They have no idea what they are doing. They have been radicalized and now think they are fighting a holy war.
I wonder, if after Biden is sworn in, Trump can be indicted for inciting a riot. He should be dragged out in handcuffs.
This hurts my heart so much. I once took an oath to the Constitution of the United States. I fought in combat under the flag of the United States. To watch my fellow citizens attacking our Constitution. It breaks my heart. Massively. And Duane–you are correct. “Incitement to riot is a crime… so is insurrection… so is sedition.” I am praying for an aggressive response from the “Law and Order” party. Yeah right. I’m praying for justice and mercy simultaneously. May God save our Constitution.
maybe, perhaps American citizens of the USA have a break point”<<<<
What is this mythical breaking point? Are you starving? Homeless? Are your relatives or you being thrown in jail for reasons of religion? Anyone beat you lately? You are one of the wealthiest persons in the world and you have more freedoms than most people in the world. What the Haitch EEE Double Toothpicks has caused you to to imagine you've reached some kind of imaginary breaking point?
Xenia, i don’t lame poluce? ? ? It looks like the police DID handle the riot faction….
Mikr E. Amen
BTW Trump has called for peaceful demonstrations<<<
After riling them up for weeks on Twitter.
Those who don't follow Trump on Twitter don't realize what he's been up to. It's been a relentless onslaught of seditious Twits ever since he lost the election. If you haven't been following him on Twitter you have no idea what's been going on, especially if you've been relying on right-wing media.
There is no excuse… none. Those who are making excuses for what has taken place (and is still taking place) are morally equivalent to the perpetrators. Anyone invoking Christian faith as an excuse are engaged in cult like behavior.
I have one request. Remember that if we are going to have peace it has to start now, with each other. One man has deceived many…put the blame where it belongs.
If a person cheered the destructive riots of summer 2020, but condemns the current destructive riots. I call hypocrisy. And if a person condemned the riots of summer riots, but is cheering the current riots. I call the same. Lawlessness is lawlessness, no matter the flavor. It all should be condemned.
Thought for the day….
Our Christmas decorations are not all down yet….
Sitting here looking at two majestic buck deer and thinking –
I am so glad that God didn’t decide to grow antlers out of man’s head…..
😇
Just saw video of Trump supporters destroying media equipment. The lady who was shot has died, according to NBC NEWS.
Michael. How do you have peace with evil? Why? I don’t want peace with evildoers. Maybe I’m a religious extremist.
Xenia,
Thank you.
I hope others follow suit who had their good intentions used by a bad man.
My respect to you, my friend.
Mike E.,
Some of the people in that crowd are people who have stood with us.
Many of them believe they are doing the work of the Lord.
They have been deceived by a wicked man and leaders who profited from associating with him.
Let us pray for light…let us bring light.
We are truly battling against powers and principalities…and if Christ is to triumph in this matter, His ways are the only that will work.
Mike…please understand that I’m fighting my own nature right now. My gut level hatred of Trump could consume me…but I have to love the Lord and His people enough to grab the cross with both hands.
“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
Donald Trump, 6:01pm EST.
Even at this point in the evening, he is still fanning the flames, still lying.
“These are the things and events that happen” Is this Trump excusing the riots?
How was the election “vicious?”
Can the country afford or survive Trump remaining in office for 2 more weeks? Is he mentally fit to remain the President?
Ok Michael. I yield. I haven’t gone wrong yet listening to you. Bless you, my brother. May the Lord have mercy on the United States.
Mike E,
God bless you…this is a terrible time to deal with…or know how to deal with…
It’s Christmas Eve here in Ortholandia. Since we haven’t been going to church, our priest and his wife brought us a home made Christmas cake a little while ago. I was feeling lonesome for church people and now I feel loved. We won’t be going to the big dinner at Father G’s house tomorrow like we usually do on Nativity, so I fixed a big pot of bigos* and some cherry piroshkies to feel connected.
We found today’s events very distracting and upsetting.
May the Lord have mercy on the soul of the lady who died today.
I thought Mr. Biden gave a good and calming speech today. I haven’t heard a president talk like that for four years. Very refreshing, even though, (as I feel I must say) I don’t agree with him on many things.
So tomorrow my husband and I will have the Christmas Readers Service at here at home by ourselves and then I’ll send and receive Nativity greetings from friends. It will be a little bittersweet but it is still glorious.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
*Bigos is a slavic dish made of cabbage, sauerkraut, polish sausage, pork, bacon and onions. It is DELISH. Fr. G always makes it at Christmas.
Xenia…I remembered too late I wished you Merry Christmas too early…so Merry Christmas now. 🙂
Please send some of that food up here…
Proverbs 21:15 “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.”
Our nation is so lacking in wisdom, grace, character and justice. We violate so many of the clear precepts of scripture that bring about peace. Today’s events are shocking, but they are simply the result of a slow burn of pride, selfishness and a love of power.
Michael, we have “Christmas” on Dec 25 with whatever non-Orthodox family can come (this year only one could come) and we open presents and have a very secular sort of day. Then on Jan 7 it’s “Nativity.” We (usually) attend Church services, pass out presents to Church peeps, and spend the day at Fr. G’s house eating Russian food and playing with all his grandchildren. We are having a much quieter Nativity this year.
Xenia,
I think we all did…but it can be blessed anyway.
That bigos sounds wonderful…
If Pence is smart, he will convene a meeting of the cabinet and initiate the provisions of the 25th Amendment. Could save his bacon later.
Mike E.,
Smarts and courage are two distinct attributes. I think Pence has the former but lacks the latter.
Jean (1:20pm), I think you are right. From what WSB is reporting, voter turnout for the run-off was larger than the Presidential election.
Well I am against these protests – but I am against all protests. People need to shut up and thank God daily they get to live in America.
No one is promised that their life will be good, or that anyone has any obligation to listen to your political or social concerns – but this is the best country to try and make your own dreams come true.
MLD,
But the country is only as good as the people who live in it, and America has not shown its best in quite a while. I love this country, and I have been voting since 1976. We have reached a point where peaceful protest or spirited discussions no longer suffice to air our differences. Now we must storm the capitol, or burn down the neighborhood we live in. Those are not exemplary behaviors.
Linn, we have no guarantee nor should we have expectations that others will do what we consider right.
None of us should put or lives and hopes in others.
There is no national best side. I didn’t know anything that happened today until this evening when I read here. I has not affected my day.
I sense that the destructive minority – burning cars and buildings, etc. – are not really wanting “justice,” but rather want to bring enough chaos to destroy the Republic. Some seem to see virtue in a two tiered society: the real elites and the masses, the plebians – oppression of the masses? God have mercy
“Some seem to see virtue in a two tiered society”
Yes, those who suppress the votes of minorities, those who do not uphold worker rights and safety, those who do not wish to offer all citizens the human right to affordable health care and those who do not uphold equal access to quality education. Those are the ones in favor of, and who perpetuate, a two tiered society.
And in the two tiered society of the likes of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the law only applies to the second tier, never to them.
It should be clear to everyone observing this sedition that the only reason Trump ran for president was to enrich himself, his ego and his pocketbook. He doesn’t give a sh*t about anyone else.
Pence spent the last 4 years and every ounce of self respect he ever had with his lips kissing Trump’s ass, and what did all that earn him today, when he refused to violate the US Constitution?
There is absolutely no moral equivalence between Trump’s unfounded accusations about the election and his incitement to violence, lying and giving his followers false hope, than anything that the Biden, the Speaker or the Senate Minority Leader have said or done. Trump is in an evil category all of his own.
Jean, your words can be vicious…. Only God, Himself, knows what you have just declared…. For your sake i pray that you are not wrong,, but obviously i think you are…… Wrong
Is Trump incarnate Satan? Lots of us do not think so….
US democracy has been slowly dying long before the events of today. Now we are seeing the ugly results of what has been brewing for years. America is a nation that seems in danger of losing its soul. JFK’s famous quote about “asking what one can do for the country” is a fading echo. We are not broken, but we are fraying. Without a common rallying point, we will sink further into tribalism.
Sedition, treason, insurrection… those are vicious! And they must be marked as what they are, even if they burst your bubble, Em. I have no animus against you, as I believe you have been dreadfully deceived along with many others. May our Father deliver us from evil.
Fellow readers,
Recall the story of the Trojan horse. He Is brought into the walls of the city as a gift!
The name of the Trojan horse is MAGA. What makes him the most intoxicatingly attractive Trojan horse of all time is that each citizen of the city can imagine what American greatness looks like.
It could be lower taxes, more manufacturing jobs from overseas, a strong coal industry, more accessibility to guns, fracking and mining allowable on every centimeter of America territory, better and cheaper healthcare than the ACA, the right not to bake a cake for Adam and Evan, the right to say the N word, etc. The beauty of MAGA is each gets to fill in the blank for himself or herself. You can even write your children’s history books to remember your original America in the light that suits you. What’s not to like?
Meanwhile, what’s inside the horse, and what will happen when he comes out? Did you ever ask: Is this even real? Can one beautiful horse know more, be smarter, and have more wisdom than all his predecessors and contemporaries combined? Is it that easy to solve street crime in Chicago, de-nuclearize N. Korea, fix trade with China, get a better deal with Iran, and deliver better health care to Americans?
Are all the promises and our illusions about MAGA just a desperate fantasy in search of easy solutions. Can someone else make our dreams come true?
Is this really about the megalomania of the man inside the horse. Has he come out and exposed himself, because the people want him out of Troy? What will stop him from burning Troy down?
This season of Troy is over. Pray the series is cancelled.
I hope the electoral votes can get completed so the politicians can get back to insider trading and self-dealing. Besides Americans shouldn’t be concerned that a sitting President received more votes than any other sitting president in history and won almost 3 times the counties the popular president Obama won and 4 times more than Biden and somehow lost.
I’ve read some of the comments in the LA Times regarding the events in Washington today. I’ve read the comments of Trump supporters claiming these were peaceful, simple protests and that they are no different than Black Lives Matter protests. It’s almost as if they’re saying, “Move along…nothing to see here.” One commenter in the LA times said it was all a “tempest in a tea pot”. So far there have been four deaths. How can anyone claim that what happened isn’tt one of the most shocking and horrific events in our lifetimes? The Capital belongs to all of us, and the legislators inside are OUR elected officials. What ever happened to Police Lives Matter? Several police officers were sent to the hospital. Whatever happened to the party of ‘Law and Order? Republicans are now attempting to overthrow our government. And whatever happened to the ‘Party of Life’? Republicans are now defending a President who has incited violence that has now led to four deaths. I see comments attempting to minimize these horrific actions, comments rationalizing it, and some seeming to actually defend them. Many Republicans who were planning to raise objections to Biden’s win have changed their minds after witnessing today’s events. Our legislators are shocked; so much so that many are no longer siding with Ted Cruz’s attempts to stop the certification of electoral votes. And yet some here, Christians, seem to be saying all of this violence is fine with them… no big deal. I think some posting here may have even been secretly hoping for it to happen. I am sad for our nation and for our nation’s children, sad that they have had to witness this at such a tender age.
I’d also like to thank Linn for her comments. Her negative experiences in other countries and her firsthand knowledge of brutal insurrection in far away countries should be a warning to us all who would like to minimize or whitewash today’s frightening take over of our nation’s capital and the shameful attempts to intimidate our elected government leaders. Please let’s all continue to pray that the Prince of Peace , our Lord and Savior, will heal our nation’s divisions by giving us new and clean hearts.
I saw a couple of pictures of some of our Representatives cowering over some broken windows and yelling. Their lives are more important. I’m glad they are the ones to decide to send our children into war. They know what it’s like.
I’m not particularly conservative.
But I believe in law and order.
The lawless individuals who broke the law at our nation’s capitol will be brought to justice.
Just a matter of time.
Apparently some of these rocket scientists didn’t realize that if they weren’t wearing a mask, they’re gonna be easy to ID with facial recognition and all.
They fought the law…the law will win.
A British friend of mine asked me yesterday, “What has your wonderful country come to?”
I had no answer for him.
We should have looked for answers after Charlottesville.
We should have looked for answers after seeing families divided and children put in cages.
We should have looked for answers as we watched evangelicals falsify the Gospel to support this evil man.
Has our moral, theological and political vision failed?
You statists are hilarious. Apparently, the capitol building is your temple. The young lady murdered for trying to enter a holy window was a 14 yr vet who served 4 tours. Note how the police and media find it impossible to identify the murderer despite ample video evidence. Your beloved state poked the wrong bear, and bad orange man won’t be around to blame for round two.
Clutch your pearls tightly, statists, because yesterday was nothing compared to what’s coming. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and reject the gods of man.
You think that this is about bad orange man because your state run media tells you to think this. You have no idea.
Next round is patriot act on steroids, and the rough men and women say “no”.
A less than convincing point of view…
“Besides Americans shouldn’t be concerned that a sitting President received more votes than any other sitting president in history and won almost 3 times the counties the popular president Obama won and 4 times more than Biden and somehow lost.”
Michael–I request this comment be removed.
Jim. What are you talking about? I’m sitting here this morning tripping out with trauma response. You think anything about this is “hilarious?” Just the tone of your comment reeks with pride and arrogance. And you are calling for people who love their country and are grieved to the core to repent?
Which Jesus do you want me to cling to, Jim? The one who laughs when His people are being deceived and crushed? Psalm 2 does describe God laughing at people. Those who try to break the bonds of His Anointed One and go their own way.
So which Jesus am I supposed to “cling to,” Jim? I suggest a thorough reading of the spirit of antichrist passage in I John 2. Have a great day laughing, Jim.
Michael. PP bloggers.
This is what I was trying to say yesterday, but was shut down (very kindly and respectfully, which I acknowledge).
I am urged to seek peace. I reiterate my point from yesterday. Seeking peace with evil is what causes evil to thrive. This is quite apparent now, given what we clearly see with our own eyes. There can me no peace because their (here I am speaking of principalities and powers) aim is to kill us all.
Peace between followers of Christ is obedience to the Spirit of Christ, yes. I am willing to have peace with any Trump followers who repent and confess to have been deceived.
What I’m saying is…peace with people of true hearts, yes. Peace with the spirit of antichrist…Never.
We have tried peace. And we have seen the results. “Both sides ism” I call BS. There are two competing spirits involved. The Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist. There is only One side. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Let the reader understand.
I’m sorry Mike, I was laughing at “christian” statism, not at the events of the day. Cops murdering people isn’t funny.
Mike, cling to the Jesus who did not encourage His followers to be obsessed with Rome and its rulers. Such obsession is idolatry. Avoid idolaters. Turn off your TV.
Mike E,
If you choose to fight…what are the weapons of Christian warfare?
Who are you fighting and what are you fighting for?
The easy path for me would be to give in to my own nature, which is that of a brawler…the Christian path is to speak truth in love.
Perhaps I’m only speaking to what I hear the Spirit saying to me…I do not bind anyone else’s conscience.
Jim. I cling to the Jesus who is the King of the universe. I cling to the living Christ. He does not countenance evil. I cling to the eternal Christ, who has always existed. I cling to the Christ who knocked a religious zealot off his horse and told him to stop persecuting Him. I cling to the Christ who emptied Himself of all that glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and told His followers they were not to be like the Gentiles, seeking power in this world system.
The “Christ” being followed by treasonous people is not the true Christ. It is the spirit of antichrist. Those who follow that “christ” are deceived by very powerful spiritual principalities and powers. Those evil spirits, impersonating the true Messiah, have infiltrated Christ’s true church.
“So here’s the Message to the prophets from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“I’ll cook them a supper of maggoty meat
with after-dinner drinks of strychnine.
The Jerusalem prophets are behind all this. (Big Evangelicalism)
They’re the cause of the godlessness polluting this country.”
A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Don’t listen to the sermons of the prophets.
It’s all hot air. Lies, lies, and more lies.
They make it all up.
Not a word they speak comes from me.
They preach their ‘Everything Will Turn Out Fine’ sermon
to congregations with no taste for God,
Their ‘Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen to You’ sermon
to people who are set in their own ways.”
“Don’t listen to the sermons of the prophets. It’s all hot air. Lies, lies, and more lies. They make it all up.”
Good advice. Disengage.
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
Disengage? Why? The truth hurt? I’m calling for repentance. And you tell me to disengage. Why should I? You disengage. Because you’re speaking that which will just continue to embroil us in this spiritual cesspool.
Michael. I’m very aware who the battle is with. And that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. There are worse things than being a brawler. The Levites were brawlers. God rewarded them with the priesthood.
And I agree with you. Your conscience is yours. I love you and respect you, you know that. Always have, always will. And my conscience is mine. I’m not sure why I’m being told to be quiet, when purveyors of the antichrist spirit are allowed to spew their BS constantly.
I’ve been disengaging for 5 years now. Yeah…it seems to have worked well, Jim.
BOC,
We have wrong on both sides of our political spectrum, and I think it is important to remember that. The Far Left burned neighborhoods last spring and summer, and the far right now has its attack on the Capitol. The only hope I see for politics in this country is a) for the authorities to require true peaceful protest from both sides, and b) that we begin to talk to each other again. We have lost the ability to dialog and we no longer have a “middle” where we can meet and discuss our problems.
I have commented lately regarding how I am rethinking my understanding of American history. I just discovered Rev. William Barber coined the phrase Third Reconstruction, in 2016. I like this term, and a little jealous someone else coined it.
My view now is we are in an unbroken culture war, that emerged in 1865. Prior to 1865, it was the Confederacy. Before that, it was Antebellum Society. It morphes through time, and this is a major flare up.
This retelling means the Conferacy never actually ended. In fact, it won the Reconstruction and had influenced later historical direction, outside it’s original region.
It is:
*Conservative and naturaly resistant to
change
*Devotedly Christian
*Posseses a type of moral framework derived from Protestant traditions
*Can never be static but always exspansionist in orientation
*Has an idealism of family and social order
*Inherently racist and misogynist
*Will always ally with commerce and government
There is quite the battle of crappy theology going on here – on both sides.
You guys who are 24 HR cable watchers are deceived – on both sides.
It’s funny that no one ever wants to say that they follow the God who works to save his people – in spite of our bad acts – even those who have Trump 2020 stickers on their bumpers.
MLD-everone is deceived except you. Congrats.
I wish to search the Scriptures. NOT talk politics. I’m not talking about politics. AT ALL. I’m talking about what is written. Anyone wish to join me? Or would you like to continue to quote Thomas Jefferson? Or Robert Jeffress. Or any of the other false prophets who are obviously so because of the fruit we can clearly see. Seems to have worked well so far, this be quiet strategy.
MLD. Don’t have cable. I want to hear sometime how you came to the early Rev dating. Your the only person I’ve met besides myself that holds to this.
Mike E – because of what is happening in DC you have called down God’s wrath on believers and you have said that Christians are controlled by the anti Christ.
That is not how my God works.
Nathan, I don’t know that my position on dating Revelation is all that uncommon in the Amillenial world. We can hold close ties to the partial preterist position – that holds almost all end times stuff happened with destruction of the temple and Jerusalem – still holding to the 2nd coming as futurist.
The message of Amil is that between the 2 advents, Jesus is ruling and reigning from David’s throne through his people – the holy christian church.
I think this is what John was writing about as his form of the gospel – and I think it was before 70 AD. Afterwards, I think he was encouraged by his followers to write a more “normal” gospel account.
MLD-You are making accusations against me by twisting my words. “you have called down God’s wrath on believers” Terrible, awful accusation to make against a fellow believer. I did no such thing.
You (and others) think I am speaking in fleshly terms. I am not. I am speaking in spiritual terms. You do exactly what you accuse me of, by your terrible accusations. “and you have said that Christians are controlled by the anti Christ.” No, I did not say that. What I said, and I suggest you actually READ the words I write, what I said is that some believers have been deceived the the “spirit of antichrist.” Small “A.” If you wish to engage with me, I’m going to require you to not misquote me or attribute the worst to me without truly trying to understand what I am saying. That is the essence of love, brother. Is it not?
First, you should apologize for wrongly accusing me and stating I said things I did not say.
Second, please expound I John 2 and the spirit of antichrist to me. I am in need of your guidance. So I open myself up. Teach me.
Thanks MLD! I’ll remember that one…a more normal gospel.
So, that’s one vote for John….getting a two star review.
I have mostly stayed out of the political conversations here for a while now, outside of the occasional article I give to Michael to post if he wants. But I have been actively engaging on Facebook in regards to politics. Despite my often speaking to them, I hate politics and can only take so much and that probably contributes to me staying out of most of them here nowadays.
With that said, I agree with much of what Mike has had to say here. I don’t know if I fully understand what he is saying we should do, but I believe he is absolutely right that a lot of the church has lost its way and has been fooled/deceived/enticed by antichrist spirits.
The support, justification, and imitation of the evil acts of a very bad man by Christians have increasingly grown over the past four years and we saw them come to a climax yesterday (at least I hope that was the climax and that there’s not even worse to come). I have never condemned anyone for voting for Trump, and still do not, but the rampant upholding and even acclamation of his many evil acts and depraved character by many Christians has been disgusting, terrifying, and absolutely inexcusable. The climax has been this whole charade of widespread and conspiratorial voter fraud which cannot be proven to even the slightest bit whenever it is evaluated in the objective settings of courtrooms, many times even by judges that Trump has, himself, appointed. And yet, so many of Trump’s followers remain absolutely convinced in a very delusional and cultish fashion that there is absolutely no doubt this election was stolen. And it all culminated in the scary ugliness we saw yesterday. This has been a misappropriation of our Faith and our country.
At what point do the rest of us of the Faith who don’t allow ourselves to be so overtaken by partisan politics and cultish figures stand and say this cannot be and we will not just sit idly by as it continues?
Mike E,
This is what MLD does. He tried to do it to me on my article just the other day. He twists and then accuses. And then when you call him out on it, he just twists some more. It’s a never ending exercise and I have found it’s not worth going past a couple rounds. I make my points and then let it go.
Skimming the good observations here this morning on half a cup of coffee….. there used to be a saying, “when in doubt, run on circles, scream and shout…”
We all see the chaos increasing, but it is time to pray, to look to God’s Truth. (yes, put on our armor and take up our assigned weapons as described in Ephesians 6) because…..
As i read we’re not too successful in assigning blame… IMHO
God keep
There’s a couple issues in view here…more than a couple.
I wrestle with the right way to respond to all of them.
I think we’ve made it clear among those who write here that we oppose this form of Christian nationalism as heresy.
We’ve persuaded no one who supports it.
We’ve made it clear that we believe Trump is evil.
We have persuaded no one who thinks otherwise.
I have no desire to preside over a daily battleground where no one is persuaded, but we feel warm inside for trying.
The truth is that evangelicals love corrupt authority figures and will defend them to the end.
We should probably figure out why…
The main issue we have is about truth.
My closest family and friends and( if I’m not careful), my church are torn by competing media.
If we can’t agree on a set of facts, there is no hope for any fruitful resolution.
Thanks, Kevin.
I honestly feel like no one is actually listening to what I am trying to say. This may be due to the fact I am angry and emotional, and folks perhaps may think I’m unstable and the truth is..I am. But God still loves His unstable ones. And He still communicates with them through His Spirit and His Word.
We (the true church of Christ) have sought to appease the antichrist spirit that has overtaken many parts of the church. This has led us to where we are. There can be no fellowship between light and darkness, can there?
I am NOT saying Christ’s true church is evil. I’m saying there are evil principalities and powers that have infiltrated some of Christ’s church, and have deceived many true believers. I honestly don’t understand how that can even be argued against. Are we to sit by and watch as lambs of Christ are brutalized by evil spirits?
Everything I’m saying can be backed up with Scripture. But I find when I quote Scripture here, I get pretty much ignored while folks continue to fight the fleshly fight of politics.
This is SERIOUS spiritual warfare. I have been a soldier in warfare, in the flesh. I understand the nature of war. War is a fight to the death. It’s me or you, and it ain’t gonna be me.
I am NOT advocating war in the flesh. I am crying out for us all to gird up our loins, and go to war in the spiritual realm.
Please do not take my comments as speaking in the fleshly realm. I am not talking about the fleshly realm, but the spiritual.
Mike E – one of your many OT quotes that you lay against evangelicals (you even add “Big Evangelicalism” to the text.)
“I’ll cook them a supper of maggoty meat
with after-dinner drinks of strychnine.
The Jerusalem prophets are behind all this. (Big Evangelicalism)
They’re the cause of the godlessness polluting this country.”
Rebecca Reynolds has become one of my favorite social media follows…
“Every share of a conspiracy theory threw a stick on this fire.
Every false or exaggerated claim threw a stick on this fire.
Every forward of a false news story threw a stick on this fire.
Every hour spent in an echo chamber full of fear, lies, and hatred threw a stick on this fire.
Every claim that the virus was fake threw a stick on this fire.
Every misrepresentation of oppression threw a stick on this fire.
Every name called–every “sheep” and “snowflake” and “wake up” threw a stick on this fire.
Words go out into the world and cause change.
Your words have caused change.
A communal energy propelled those radicals who banged on doors and defied our laws.
Perhaps you helped grow that energy.
Perhaps you were one of the everyday citizens–a mother, father, grandparent, aunt, or uncle–who stirred up anger and violence by using words like “cheating” or “stolen” unfairly.
If so, perhaps the work you need to do today is repentance.
Stop puffing yourself up. Take a sober look at what you have helped create. Turn from your sin before the sun sets.
Admit it if you have stretched the truth.
Admit it if you have helped the forces of chaos and unrest.
Admit it if your pride and fear drove you to assist in the harm of this nation.
Confess. Repent. Reach for the forgiveness of Jesus and abandon your wicked ways.”
and one more…
“Today you are likely to see desperate attempts to deny reality.
You will see religious leaders, right wing news, and politicians attempt to blame what happened yesterday on false sources—despite video, photographic, and written evidence to the contrary.
Friends and family who have trusted bad leaders will likely help spread these lies. This is going to be painful for you to watch. You’ll feel your heart tempted to cry out in despair at the extremes to which people go to believe what they want to believe.
But let’s think analytically a moment. Deflection is a normal sin reaction when humans are caught in wickedness.
And some of these people have built an entire false universe—and even a false understanding of Christianity—that they aren’t sure how to let go.
They have been sucked into an insular bubble in which profiteers have trained them to fear, rage, and hate on command.
These roots run so deep.
It’s so hard to admit that a movement you have embraced is fundamentally dishonest and hostile.
As you see these strategic lies emerge today, remember that God sees the truth. He sometimes allows dishonesty to flourish for a time to expose, sift, and reveal. But He will not ultimately be mocked.
The lies you see told—even by people you love—will be commandeered for good, and His holiness and glory will prevail.
So resist in faith if you’re so led. But let your deep heart rest in the certainty that God will not sit quiet forever.
Aslan is on the move.”
IF we see this nation as a body of people who have been protected and blessed by God over the last 200+ years – one can make a strong case for that – we now see a shift in the dynamic and selfish or pious, we feel the need to restore that blessing. We may have to face the fact that God’s plan is moving on to the next phase…..
Doesn’t prophesy tell us there’ll be quite a dust up before our King returns to install His joyful end?
“a body of people who have been protected and blessed by God over the last 200+ years”
Ask black Americans and Native Americans if that is a true statement, and if our nations past is something they would like to have restored.
Mike E, I completely agree with your posts and I thank you for expressing so well what I have been thinking and feeling about Christians who believe the ends justify their means. They have decided for themselves what those ‘ends’ must be, and they are using ungodly means to bring about those desired ends. I can’t help thinking lately about the Spanish Inquisition, when deeply religious Catholic Christians were torturing and murdering people ‘in the name of God’. This is evil. I commend you for pointing out that evil is present in the actions of some Christians today. Q Anon believers may have been mislead with lies and falsehoods, but at what point are they required by God, society, (and the church) , to humbly acknowledge ( like some here have done) that they have been deceived and repent of their words and actions? At what point do they stop being “victims” of deception and start becoming perpetuaters of evil? German citizens during Hitler’s reign of evil were faced with these same religious/political questions of faith and conduct. Years after Hitler’s death the worst of Hitler’s deceived followers were found and held accountable for evil actions.
“A body of people protected and blessed.. ” that was a reference to the nation, not to ALL its citizens as clearly many, for many reasons, have known unfair and hard times …
As i have read their history, Blacks and Native-so-called Americans faired poorly in life before the “European” invasion to form a new nation… We have been evolving, but, evidently, our time is running out
We should remember our Lord’s words quoted in Matt. 7:21-23
Television has fostered showboats in the last 70+ years
B is actually ‘Bride of Christ’ One and the same.) Not sure how the B gets posted instead of my name at times.I’d like to thank Michael, also. I am grateful to Michael for allowing this conversation here on this site. I also want to thank Kevin for his fascinating and insightful post about the comics villain Thanos. I’ve seem the Avenger films and the analogy of a villain with good intentions analogy is spite on.
“faired poorly in life before the “European” invasion to form a new nation… ”
White people did them a favor by enslaving them and killing them off?!?
“The truth is that evangelicals love corrupt authority figures and will defend them to the end.
We should probably figure out why…”
Because that’s the only kind of authority figures there are. Distain for authority figures in the church is frowned upon. We’re supposed to love them even as they spitefully hate us to our face. But defend them? Maybe I am not quite there yet.
BOC–Thank you.
Michael–thank you my friend. Just a thought I had for you, my dear friend. If God made you a brawler, be who you were created to be, my brother. God made us all something different. Of course, the “brawling” must be done in spirit, truth, and love. Restrain the flesh and sin nature yes. But…be who you are. Deep and humble respect to you always and that won’t ever change however you choose to express yourself. I am your servant. I trust you. I’m not going to question how you choose to proceed. I will not judge you. I support you 100%. Always have. Always will. You’re good hearted, righteous and a true servant of Jesus Christ. I got your six brother.
Mike E,
Duane and I are discussing how we proceed from here as I write this.
We hear you.
We love you.
Stay tuned…
I misread Aslan as Aztlan. Had to look it up. Can’t even trust myself.
I repent in dust and ashes.
Rebecca Reynolds is great!
I have to accept some of the blame because even though I thoroughly despised Trump, I still convinced myself that I needed to vote for him. I threw a log or two on yesterday’s fire.
Lord, forgive me.
Yet, I still could not have voted for Mr. Biden. I should not have voted for either of them. But it’s Biden we’ve got, so we have to hope for the best and remember to pray for him. We should try to think the best of him.
Our local hospital’s ICU is up to capacity right now, yet the streets are full of cars. Where are all these people going, I wonder… My neighbor brought us a pie for western Christmas Eve and the next day she came down with some ailment that she thinks is COVID. It took her a long time before she could get a test, even longer to get the results, only to get an email saying the lab never got her test. We spent the next 2 weeks wondering if we were going to come down with it. This is all so messed up.
We watched Christmas service this morning from the San Francisco cathedral and it was glorious. Russian choral singing always sounds a little wild, a little hysterical, like it could spin out of control at any time. It sounds like there’s a blizzard blowing outside. It’s glorious. One little spot of holiness in evil old San Francisco.
Turkey, bigos and Christmas cake this afternoon for the 2 of us. I am so grateful to have my husband.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Merry Christmas, my friend!
Regarding Michael’s 9:51 post… James 3:2-10 ( paraphrased ) “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness…” And James 1:2-6 ” If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart this person’s religion is worthless.” It almost sounds as if he could be speaking to Christians this very day in these verses.
Mike E is completely right about playing nice with evil. He and many of my relatives took an oath to support and defend the Constitution when they joined the military. The fascist in the White House and all his enablers and supported have attempted to overthrow the Constitution. That makes them traitors and such deserving of execution by firing squad. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
I don’t care if it means 25 million Trump cultists have to die, any more than the hundreds of thousands of Confederates who had to die for their treason. The country will be better for it in the long. I bet the Germans wish they could eliminated their madman and his band of cult followers in the 1930s when they had the chance. It would have avoided a lot of grief for the country later on.
Considering so-called Christianity is OK with walking with evil, I want nothing to do with it or Christians ever again. And if some of the Christians have to die because they are Trump cultists, that is not my problem. If that makes me a pagan, so be it. As it is pagans and atheists are a h*ll of a lot better humans and more rational. Count me a DONE and a NONE.
Josh, i think it is inaccurate to say “white people enslaved and killed them off… ”
A segment of people enslaved, never all white, and the killing was done by some who were brain washed – IMV.
When my grandpa had a stroke one of his caregivers, a sheriff ‘s widow from Mississippi bragged that she caught a young, “black buck” stealing from her vegetable garden. She said that she made him lie down right there in the road and “whipped him good.” She also knew who’d killed her husband and carried a loaded revolver at all times because some day she’d come across him and she’d shoot him dead!
Grandmother, whose mother, a Missouri native, had been an advocate of educating the freed backs (they weren’t dumb, just lacked education), requested a replacement ASAP.
Some folk don’t deserve respect, but they come in all skin tones
Just sayin…. 😇
God keeo
“A segment of people enslaved, never all white, and the killing was done by some who were brain washed – IMV.”
Allowing ourselves to believe a false, white-supremacist history has gotten us to the point we are at today. It is time to wake up to reality.
CM, if you shoot at me, a Trump supporter, i will shoot back… LOL
A white supremacist history or a time in history where God was able to use the predominately white Church to evangelize and sow His Truth?
A time that now is fading, true, but don’t discount the years that fanned out after the Roman Empire carrying the Gospel to all points on the compass.
Will God rewind the clock or are we approaching the end? Dunno, truly don’t. ..
“time in history where God was able to use the predominately white Church to evangelize and sow His Truth?”
Yes, Em. That is the false, white-supremacist history that we have allowed for far too long. We will never move on as long as we hold on to that lie.
One last thought, Josh
Are you certain that the history of white folk spreading the Gospel, doing missionary work, for several hundred years is a lie?
God keep
BTW, a post script… Being used by God has NOTHING to do with “white supremacy.”
CM,
Using over the top rhetoric fixes nothing, but incites more trouble.
The Christian faith is blessedly not about those who claim it…it’s about Jesus.
Now, I could not maintain faith in Him as an evangelical, but I’m thriving as an Anglican.
We have evangelicals here I count as family.
I hear your frustration…my language was much worse yesterday…but we have to move forward following Him.
Em – your comments about spreading the Gospel were rooted in slavery and Native American genocide. As if those are acceptable by-products because the well-intentioned white folk were just trying to spread the gospel.
Yes, that is a lie. I have lived in small town North Carolina all my life. I know that lie well. It must go.
As a nation, we don’t need to “get back to” or “reclaim” anything. We need to move forward in repentance and love for our neighbors.
CM,
You’re now under moderation.
“BTW, a post script… Being used by God has NOTHING to do with “white supremacy.””
Looking at the different races in American History and singling out the white people as the ones being used by God…is exactly white supremacy.
Amen Josh!
The mantra “make America great again” is the vain attempt of the self-justifier to disassociated himself or herself from his/her current grievances. To get around personal responsibility.
Josh
“Looking at the different races in American History and singling out the white people as the ones being used by God…is exactly white supremacy.”
I don’t understand, for the life of me, how people cannot see this. Not wishing to see it, or to admit it, is at least one of the sources of racism… Perhaps that is why so many evangelicals are attracted to Trumpism. Racism can be hidden under the cover of God and politics.
Twisting words to promote one’s view?
I said that white supremacy and being used by God had nothing to do with each other.
Now one could argue, perhaps, that if one is being used by God that person, irregardless of skin tone, MIGHT be protected by God, i.e. the apostle Paul and others in prison until the work was done…
I’m a little tired of this back and forth, so i am bowing out now. 😏
Since CM named me in his post and said he agreed with me, I feel it necessary for me to completely disavow his comments utterly. I do not condone any type of violence against anyone. Period. When I speak of warfare, I am speaking of spiritual warfare. We are soldiers of Christ. His Kingdom, His way.
What, may I ask, is the symbolism intended by the gentleman who was walking around inside the Capital yesterday during the takeover, carrying a large Confederate Flag over his shoulder?
Should the President repudiate and condemn that?
Do people here support that or condemn it?
I do not support the Confederate flag (to me the real confederate flag is all white and was waved at the end of the civil war).
I do not condemn it – what does my condemnation of something in this world accomplish?
However, I do not understand the question – has anyone here over the past several years said they support the confederate flag that would put this question in play??
Recommend anyone interested in the treatment of Native Americans by US Government and it’s agents ready ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’. A terrific injustice was perpetrated.
One can still love this country, and I do. But to ignore the facts of its history is simply acting the ostrich.
I would like to begin discussion about what happened in the last 5 years–since Mr. Trump came down the escalator. Let’s start at the beginning and start deconstructing this. Let’s try to keep the rhetoric cool and come at it not with a spirit of blame and fault finding, but more Galatians 6:1. Humility is key, especially for myself, since I am a man filled with pride, I’m ashamed to say. In the military, after a battle, we always had an after action report. (AAR). Since we believers are in the military of the King, let’s do an AAR. This helps the unit to see what it did right, what it did wrong, and make a good plan to improve. Anyone wish to engage?
Maybe we could even establish some rules for debate? I’m just throwing stuff out here. We’re a family that’s been through trauma and still going through it. We need to talk.
Speaking of America’s racist past, if anyone actually watched what transpired at the Capital yesterday, it’s impossible not to notice the white glove treatment that the white domestic terrorists got as compared to the peaceful protesters who were violently removed from Lafayette Square, so that Trump could get a photo op in front of a church (he isn’t even a member there ) with a Bible in his hand. The inequality of treatment is hideous.
Does anyone think that a mob of a few hundred men of color would be allowed to breach the Capital Building unaccosted?
When will American law enforcement acknowledge and address the white supremacist and other white right wing terrorist threats to our country?
I don’t call the killing of a trump supporter the “white glove treatment”.
But perhaps it’s just my opinion?
I don’t know the circumstances of law enforcements lawful use of force in that one instance, but how did dozens, if not hundreds of rioters get into the Capital in the first place without the shedding of blood? There was a tremendous dereliction of planning and duty by law enforcement.
Jean @4:39
If you don’t know the circumstances of law enforcements lawful use of force in that one instance why make the “white glove treatment”statement? I do throughly agree with you that there was a tremendous dereliction of planning and duty by law enforcement. Thanks!
Just rescued the beef patties off the grill- browned the Brioche buns- topped off with raw onions- tomatoes- avocado- cheese- pickles- ketchup. Washing it down with chocolate milk- ummmmmm! All are invited!
Sounds great JimmieT!
The Nez Perce tribe was an intelligent, noble, flourishing people. When Lewis and Clark came over the Lolo Pass, the Nez Perce contemplated killing them, but instead chose to be merciful. In time the Americans failed to return the favor. Instead they mistreated, humiliated and murdered this once proud tribe. Every time I drive through the NP reservation, I feel great sadness and shame.
Pineapple, great sadness and shame? me too…
we tend to forget, i think, that individuals and nations are judged separately by God… a similar thing in Colorado occurred – that event was noted and disparaged by Kit Carson… did we not understand or were we afraid of the godless “savages?” or just plain greed? dunno
it would be great IMO if, in Eternity, God gives history classes from Adam on through to the return of Christ….
JimmieT, that sounds like the burger our nearby general store and cafe make and they charge $15 for it including a mess of greasy fries….
have to have had a really hard day to shell out that much for their burger plate… sometimes…..
God keep all this night – praying for sweet dreams for all
Jean,
The murder of Ashli Babbot by a plain clothed capitol police officer was not lawful use of force, and it’s amazing that you would categorize it as such while stating that you know nothing about it. It was premeditated murder, caught on video. Find the video and see for yourself. It has been erased by twitter, but it’s been uploaded to multiple servers. I won’t try to post a link to the video here, but I’ll be happy to email it to you if you can’t find it.
Jim. Now you are blaming the cops? But I thought the cops were above reproach. Couldn’t be criticized by libtards for shooting black people. Now you blame them. Nice. Now you call a cop the murderer. Flip-flop much?
Here’s a beef I have with the police. The biggest police union in the U.S., the Fraternal Order of Police, endorsed DT for reelection. So did the NYPD union. The biggest police unions in the country endorsed a white supremacist. Then you wonder why black people don’t trust the police?
Call me old fashion but I blame the lady’s husband for her death. His job, our job as husbands is to protect our wives.
He let her go unprotected as he stayed home.
Mike, you obviously don’t know me. I always disliked cops, and have called them murderers multiple times on this blog. Don’t mistake me for a trumpy. I’ve consistently called all politicians sociopaths.
Jim–you’re correct, I don’t know you. I apologize, I have not seen those comments on the blog. My bad. Sorry. But my comment as far as what you’re saying here stands. It’s simply rightists trying to justify what happened by blaming a police officer for doing his job. Would that more of the police would’ve reacted, instead of allowing the insurrectionists through the barricades, almost like they were part of a plan. Inside job? I don’t know. Not trying to espouse a conspiracy theory but..things do not seem right here. We will learn exactly what happened. Peace, Jim. At least until the next time you make a comment that triggers me. 😉
I not a blue lives matter guy, but given the advocation of assassinating LEOs (which started for real before Trump… Dallas, and this past year in Cali), can you blame them?
I’m one generation removed from The Rez… due to institutionalized racism. I’d fail the “brown paper bag test” common in the 20s and 30s unless I kept myself completely out of the sun. Whether considered “white” or not, my half Mexican kids would not have been legal in California in my mother’s lifetime due to anti-miscenegation laws. American citizens of multiple generations were also evil deported in the last century. Juxtaposed to that, I bristle at mentions of Azatlan. False and also racist.
CM and genocide (politicide?): *sigh* is too soft by a kilometer. Repentance goes a long .way. That anger demonstrates where we’ve been over the last decade, culminating in the attempt at a coup. I’m unsure whether the hoi-polloi are at a place of understanding, or if the primal drive of social contagion is the new norm.
I’m glad Trump will have to go back to his old airplane.
Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Kamala Harris definitely represent the Kingdom of God more than Trump.
DH,
None of the individuals you named in your comment at 9:57 pm were elected to represent the Kingdom of God. All of them were elected to represent the United States of America in specific offices in their respective branches of the Federal Government.
They should be judged by the degree to which they fulfill their oaths of office and by the degree to which they govern the exercise of their office in accordance with the US Constitution and the laws of our country.
I think, if we are going to compare federal government leaders, we should apply the correct criteria.
From the news…
“Among the attendees at the pro-Trump rally that preceded Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol was Jack Hibbs, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, California. Though Hibbs did not participate in the storming of the Capitol, his condemnation of the violence was somewhat equivocal.
“This is what you get when you eject God from the courts and from the schools,” Hibbs told Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, speaking on Perkins’ radio show. Perkins himself, an ordained minister, had been among those who called for state legislatures to reject pro-Biden electors.”
Jean is right. We live in the United States, not the Kingdom of King Jesus. King Jesus’ Kingdom is in our hearts for now.
He didn’t call us to take over the world’s political system. We are in the world, but not of the world. Stop spiritualizing everything to the point like we’re an Old Testament kingdom living under God’s Divine Law. We’re not. We’re a Representative republic.
This is the baloney we’ve bought into that has brought us to this point. Reject it. It’s sounds spiritual but it’s just trying to bring the Kingdom by fleshly means. Repent!
I submit ALL the religious leaders who are promoting the insurrectionists are FALSE PROPHETS! Fight me.
From the Salt Lake Tribune:
“… As Proud Boys arrived near the U.S. Capitol after Trump’s speech, people in attendance reportedly referred to them as “God’s warriors.
When the mob eventually breached the Capitol and violently stormed into the Senate chamber Wednesday afternoon — sending the Capitol region into lockdown — one insurrectionist could be seen carrying a white flag with a cross in the corner: the “Christian flag.”
And after the mob took over the Capitol, some demonstrators unfurled a massive banner outside. It read: “Jesus 2020.”
Bring it, brother Duane.
From Beth Moore:
“I don’t know the Jesus some have paraded and waved around in the middle of this treachery today. They may be acting in the name of some other Jesus but that’s not Jesus of the Gospels.”
I’ve mentioned before, but it likely was not understood. Qanon is a blood libel.
If you do not understand what a blood libel is, just do a Google search.
Because of the current level of stupidity, a simple swap of “Jew” and replacement with “Elite” etc. is enough to fool individuals. The whole point of the blood libel was pervert Jews killed children for ritual meals involving Satan worship.
It is entirely Christian in it’s history.
… and from the alternate universe of Eric Metaxas:
“There is no doubt the election was fraudulent. That is the same today as yesterday. There is no doubt Antifa infiltrated the protesters today and planned this. This is political theater and anyone who buys it is a sucker. Fight for justice and Pray for justice. God bless America!”
Dr. Russell Moore:
“But enough is enough—and indeed was enough a long time ago. It will take decades to rebuild from the wreckage in this country. But, as Christians, we can start now—just by not being afraid to say what is objectively the truth. Joe Biden has been elected president. Millions of babies are being aborted. The pandemic is real. So is racial injustice—both personal and systemic. So is the sexual abuse of women and children. If Christians are people of truth, we ought to be the first to acknowledge reality.”
Duane and Mike E…ABSOLUTELY CORRECT on the false profits/phets…I have been following CharismaNews for a while now, and they have pretty much completely abandoned the Gospel for an Old Testament framework around Trump and their prophets. You never hear about Jesus anymore on their website, and even the Holy Spirit is taking a back seat to Trump. Not only is it sickening, but frightening and disturbing the level to which Stephen Strang and have gone to prop up Trump.
In addition, re: Eric Metaxes…he recently tweeted a comparison between the 21 Coptic Christians martyred a few years ago to the mob that broke into the Capitol
Now who suffers from TDS….
Well I agree with Beth Moore and others who don’t recognize the Jesus that others present or parade around. I think most people in the world have the wrong Jesus – an unrecognizable Jesus and I teach it on Thursday nights at my church.
https://www.cph.org/p-30662-will-the-real-jesus-please-stand-up-12-false-christs.aspx
Speaking of public repentance…
Former Senator John Danforth, an Episcopal priest, now regrets his mentoring of Josh Hawley.
“Supporting Josh and trying so hard to get him elected to the Senate was the worst mistake I ever made in my life…”
I am naming names on Twitter. Using the hashtag #USAFalseProphets, join me. @mikeehrmantrout Already called out F. Graham, E. Metaxis, G. Locke. So many more I don’t know. Rally brethren and sistren! Let what was said about our Lord be said about us. “Zeal for Thine House hath eaten me up.” Time to clear the temple of the moneychangers and I don’t care if we have to use a whip to do it.
When I looked at some of the people trooping through the Capitol many seemed to me to be your typical aunt and uncle who attend churches that preach various end-time scenarios. These are people who, back home, we know and love, even if we roll our eyes at some of their whackadoodle ideas. These people, thanks to pseudo-historian David Barton and others. believe America is a second Israel and holds a special place in God’s economy. They see themselves as Israelites marching against the enemies of God from the Old Testament and EXPECT A MIRACLE, such as happened in those OT stories. This is magical thinking and it is delusional, but I think it explains how our familiar old aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors, could go from the living room Lazy Boy to invading the Capitol. They were not intentionally malicious, they were deluded by the father of lies, Satan and his agents. Ol’ Deluder Satan.
A lot of these people are very gullible. We know plenty of them back at home and they are the ones with the prophecies, the conspiracy theories, and the multilevel marketing schemes. There is an arrogance to their ignorance- the arrogance of ignorance- which they have confused with being “bold for God.” Having no real martyrs in their various traditions, they see themselves in that role. They have created a mythology for themselves.
Yes, there were plenty of professional rioters in that mob, I imagine. That doesn’t cancel what I read with my own bleary eyes on social media: “Come to DC on Saturday and take our country back!” <— A mild example of things posted by admired "Christian" leaders. Then, all riled up and supposing they are in God's Army, their cult leader winds them up and says he'll march with them to the Capitol. (He didn't, though. Like most cowards, he sent out his dupes and stayed home in front of the TV.) He'd been riling them up and lying to his dupes for 4 years. He's Don the Con, remember? As someone said, his followers weren't in on the con with him; they were his marks.
So now the cabinet rats are deserting the sinking ship, too little too late, probably so they don't have to make a decision about invoking the Whackadoodle President rule. Cowards. Trump himself offered a sour concession speech which I believe he gave under pressure to avoid jail? The looney bin? Who knows. He will probably stew and seethe and produce a contradictory video soon.
All we can do now is pray that his gullible and deluded followers don't have plans for inauguration day.
Mike E.,
None of those people are going away.
I’ve been in the temple cleansing business for a long time…and have found that people prefer a dirty temple.
I understand that marking these people out feels good and has some biblical authority behind it.
I also know it won’t matter.
I’m not forming a mob to protest the other mob.
My concern is for those who followed those hirelings believing they were pleasing God.
For them, I desire revelation and reconciliation with God and man…and I’m not sure you can shame them into either.
I don’t have the emotional energy for rage…I barely have enough to try to love as Jesus commands.
Xenia…well said.
“Come to DC on the 6th,” I meant to say, not Saturday.
Lowlights of the domestic terrorists’ temper tantrum the other day:
— A banner with the words “Jesus Trump”
— They actually smeared “#2” on floors and walls https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9126409/MAGA-mob-rioters-smeared-POO-Capitol.html
— Their actions led to the death of at least one Capitol policeperson. God rest his soul.
I agree with Xenia, that they were egged on. Very, very sad. Words aren’t adequate…
–
I feel bad for all those gullible and deluded Cuban Americans in Florida who voted for Trump. At least Franklin Graham has finally seen the light and is wanting Trump to invite Biden and Harris to the Whitehouse.
I have to admit my error here. When Michael predicted violence several weeks ago, I thought he was exaggerating. I was dead wrong, and Michael was right.
I have no personal experience with authoritarian figures in my life. I have never experienced Stalinist Russian, Nazi Germany, Maoist China, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, North Korea, Iran and other similar dictatorships.
I guess I assumed that the citizens of these countries were coerced to obey their leader, and I still assume that many probably were/are.
But what I did not take seriously is the spiritual element to these leaders. They had what we might coin, “true believers,” These were/are men and women who believe what the leader says, share their leader’s vision of reality and the future, and, most horrifying of all, have ceded power over their emotions and will to their leader. They would do their leader’s bidding, even if it meant perpetrating violence and terror or putting their own lives at risk.
Our current president has a spiritual dimension to his personality, which has enslaved a subset of his followers. They are in the category of the brainwashed. Who knows if they can ever be freed from his yoke.
Michael/Xenia
I’m not sure if Trump deceived gullible people or if he revealed what was always there. Either scenario is both frightening and depressing…
Duane, the soil of their hearts was being prepared for decades.
One thing i noticed in all this dust up was these people who stormed the Capitol Bldg. scared the “residents.” That well may backfire on the public – those posers do have more power than we realize .. more power than they shoukd.. IMV
Mike E, and others here, glad to see that defining of the kingdoms… Fight for the Republic if you wish, if you can. But don’t confuse it with God’s kingdom.
Read Revelation 19 – ponder that
It’s sad to see so many so deceived. And I don’t say that with any malice.
I do agree with Xenia that this had been brewing for several years, at least. The Republican members of Congress refused to take any leadership here, to tell these folks that what they believe was a lie. In fact, as long as their boy was in power, they went along with it all and egged these people on. A tragic vacuum of leadership — and we know what happens when there’s a vacuum like this — especially with a mad King George at the helm.
Someone I read called Trump the political David Koresh — burn everything down before it’s over.
Michael. You wound me. Why?
I’m not “forming a mob.” Pretty sad you accuse me, your friend who has supported you through thick and thin, of such an evil.
Please specify how I am “forming a mob?”
I’m leading. Sorry if you don’t think I’m not able or stable enough to do so. I’ve been in life and death situations and we’re in one now. Frankly, the “both sides” arguments and the peace at all costs is what brought us here. I’m not backing down.
And I’d really appreciate it if you aren’t with me, which is fine, you can step aside. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. But please stop trying to silent me. Your attitude toward me recently is hurtful. You do you. I’ll do me.
You say what Xenia said was good. Blame Satan for the poor, bloodthirsty criminals who murder in the Name of Christ? Blame the murderers themselves. They chose this. Were they deceived? Damn right they were. But they made choices. Sin brings death, literally. Ask the dead Capitol Police Officer’s family if they were “poor old aunts and uncles”, so sadly deceived by Satan.
Sanctimonious religious language letting evildoers off the hook. Not doing it anymore.
Mike,
There is no intent to wound.
I’ve been in the battle for over twenty years now…and I lost them all.
That is reality.
I do not want you to become as discouraged as I have been with that reality.
I am not trying to silence you.
You are on my site, saying what you will.
Everything I have offered you is in a spirit of love and brotherhood.
I’m grieved that you think otherwise.
So much has been lost…so many relationships and families broken.
So many churches split, so many pastors crushed.
Trump has been defeated, but the spirit that created him thrives.
How do we as believers answer this?
In my mind, no President has ever modeled the way of Christ more than Lincoln, when after the Civil War he was asked what he would do with the Southern states.
“It will be as if they never left”…
May our hearts be the same if our brothers and sisters straggle home…and may we keep a light out for them.
My post was not an attempt to let people off the hook. Rather, I was interested in exploring how ordinary people could fall prey to such deception. I know in my life, there is usually some preamble bubbling in my heart that precedes big sins.
There is a very large group of people who follow Trump still, a large percentage of the US population. I do not plan on hating half the country. However, I am interested in understanding them because many of them were subject to the same false theology that I sat under for most of my life.
My sister, my only sibling, is saying things on social media that I do not agree with. I suppose I could respond but is Trump worth me losing my only sister over? He’s stolen enough!
For all her faults, Columbia is still the Gem of the Ocean…
We’ll get through this, she will endure…
“He’s stolen enough!”
Yes.
Trump has been defeated, but the spirit that created him thrives.
How do we as believers answer this?
Great question but not 100% sure about the answer.
i do believe that the spirit of anger and outrage isn’t productive. I’ve purposely limited my own exposure to the latest outrage, as difficult as that is. Satan loves it when we fight with one another and ramp up the emotional juices.
If we can just think of ourselves as Americans again, plain and simple, well…
To me, that’s the way forward.
In light of Mike E’s and Michael’s comments here, a few days ago I chose to engage via text with two friends who are Trump supporters. I don’t expect to change the mind of one of these friends in particular, and possibly the other friend as well, but it was my way of saying SOMETHING and to let them know that I cannot stand with them in their views of Trump.I cannot fight against the mob/system/cult at large, and I am not a fighter, but I just had to stand up.
Dan,
Yes, we must stand.
We have and we will.
But once we have risen, what do we offer from there?
I note that I might be wrong…wouldn’t be the first time…
I am sorry, Michael that you are grieved. I would never intentionally hurt you, and I think you know that. I am grieved also over this. I’ve always loved and respected you so much. That hasn’t changed one iota. And it never will.
I never said what you were offering me was not in love and brotherhood. Never said it, nor thought it.
What I said was that you keep encouraging me to tone it down, but #1 I’m not so constituted, and #2 You really have no idea how much I tone down. And I have held back for 5 years. Sure I’ve thrown some flames around here, but not much, I think you might agree. And, I have tried to act in humility when I do wrong on here I apologize.
“You are on my site, saying what you will.” True, but when I do, I get admonished. I totally get it’s because you love me and don’t want to see me hurt like you have been. I believe that 100%. I so appreciate that love. (tears now) We, you and I, have always supported one another.
How you have stood against the abusers in the church, and the false prophets! And the evildoers! For goodness sake, you’ve been my example, Flamethrower. Where do you think I got it from? I understand.
I’m a veteran. Veterans who have battled long get wounded and wearied and battered. And they lick their wounds and have to live with all the bad crap they’ve seen. Some of them are so battered, they live in pain for the rest of their pilgrimage on this earth. That’s me in the fleshly realm. That’s you in the spiritual realm, I think.
Whatever the case, Michael, it is your blog and I’m your servant and I will humbly accept anything you ask of me. I would be happy to stop making the comments I make, if that’s what you want. If you think it needs further discussion, please email me.
In Christ’s love always.
Your friend.
Mike E,
Just to clarify…I have no doubts about your ability or stability.
You’ve proven both over the years here.
I am not accusing you of forming a mob…they have already formed and people are choosing sides…which is how we got here in the first place.
Mike E,
You are free to speak as you will.
I’m only offering what I’ve learned from my wars.
This is taking a toll on me so I’ll be off most of the rest of the weekend.
My God bless and keep you, my beloved friend.
Bob 1– “Satan loves it when we fight with one another and ramp up the emotional juices.” Maybe. He also loves it when we refuse to do what Jesus told us to do and allow sin in our midst and pretend it’s ok and won’t take action. Because it just breeds more evil. Just ask the Corinthian church. “Be angry, but do not sin.” Ah, sin is crouching at the door. Ugh.
Michael. I assure you with all the humility a very pride-filled man can offer. I am listening. And praying. I’m sorry I added to your grief. I am sad.
Someone mentioned so many being deceived? Satan is a master of leading us to call good evil and evil good. So….. ?
Maybe none of us should be too dogmatic in our declarations regarding the commerce of the world.
One more comment, then I’m out for the rest of today.
Xenia–I am sorry I was a bit harsh in my comment. I respect you very much and your humility in repentance is a good example for me. I thank you, dear sister.
Last, I would like to explain why I am so angry. When I saw QANON SHAMAN sitting in the Senate President’s Chair, I snapped. I have PTSD from several traumas, but one is combat.
When I saw that, it brought a flood of feelings. “This?” “This is what I put my life on the line for?” “This American abomination of desolation?” “This (probably) demon possessed fool sitting there in his pride and arrogance defiling one of our nation’s most revered places. A place that has seen so much history. A place where the most consequential debates in our Nation’s history have taken place?” A place where decisions have been made to send men and women to their deaths to defend it.
I. Saw. Red.
So I apologize if I’m a bit emotional about it. There’s reasons. I’ll leave it at that.
Michael 1058am:
It takes a lot of effort for me to just stand up and say “NO!”. From there, I don’t know. In a way, I have just had it up to here sitting by and saying nothing, and having my friends think that, just because I am a Christian, that I vote the way they do. Done with that. So if they condemn me to hell because I voted for Biden, that’s their problem.
Mike E.
The guy in Pelosi’s chair has been arrested. I can guarantee he wasn’t part of Antifa or BLM….no covering over his face. I share your anger in seeing Jesus’ name being dragged through this.
Mike E, thank you, dear brother.
I am upset with the same people you are upset with. Those photos of trashed offices (and worse, I’ve heard) in the Capitol really got me angry, too.
“Satan is a master of leading us to call good evil and evil good. So….. ?”
He’s the master if one is not armed with the Word of God. You’re not going to convince me that feces smeared in the Capital, breaking in, assaulting law enforcement, causing property damage, vandalizing offices and press cameras, and theft of government property is somehow good.
Mike E.
Many of us feel the same. When I was in DC for a few months on a fellowship, a friend of mine was chief of staff to a Republican senator. My friend kindly hosted me for lunch once a week in the senate dining room. There was not a single time that I walked into the Capitol that I did not feel a sense of, for lack of a better word, reverence. It was the history and the high purpose of the place. To watch what happened the other day made me literally sick to my stomach…
Jean, guess you didn’t read the rest of my comment – no matter…. Good, civilized people don’t do the things you describe @1:04
And we do agree that a focus on the “Word of God” will keep us grounded in wisdom and forbearance AND focused on The Kingdom
Dr. Duane,, i accompanied my husband on one of his trips to D.C. I was impressed with it also. I was surprised at the size of the Senate floor – much smaller than I’d thought…
Spent most of my time in the Smithsonian. I watched a group of black youngsters from a private school on tour. A couple girls were acting up and one of the adults pulled them aside into the room i was in and gave them a very stern lecture on conduct. A good education is such a benefit – no mater your skin tone….
That said, a good grounding in God’s Truth and you can go anywhere… IMV. 🙆
I enjoy reading the political give and take on this blog because it exposes me to a Christian leftist worldview that is interesting and quite aggressive.
As one who lives in CA, I was relieved that we dodged the bullet of Hillary four years ago and dread that our entire nation is now controlled by the Democrats as CA has been for some time. I can think of no good coming from that.
I have greatly appreciated Trump’s anti-war policies, his foreign policy relating to the Mid-East and China, his anti-abortion policies, his conservative judicial appointments and his thorough rejection of the growing big tech tyranny. Do you who despise Trump so vehemently disagree with these policies and achievements? What are you hoping for instead?
Jim V
I couldn’t have said it any better. My sentiments precisely..you hit a bulls eye,! Many thanks!
I won’t write a dissertation, but will briefly comment on a few of Jim V’s views:
“I have greatly appreciated”
“Trump’s anti-war policies,” He came in promising to denuclearize N. Korea and accomplished nothing, except reduce the readiness of our defenses in S. Korea by scaling back exercises with S. Korea. Iran’s influence in Iraq is greater than ever, and our troops and diplomats are at increased risk of attack by militias there.
“his foreign policy relating to the Mid-East” The additional peace treaties between Israel and some Arab countries is good, but I don’t see any benefit to the US. However, by leaving the Nuclear deal with Iran, Iran is once again enriching Uranium and at the same time we no longer have inspectors in their facilities. So, our security position and potential for war is likely worse now than when Trump took office.
“and China,” What have we achieved? American consumers are paying more for many products because of the tariffs we imposed. We still run tremendous trade deficits with China. We achieved little to nothing, because of the “go it alone approach” where we should have built a coalition and negotiated a multi-party agreement.
“his anti-abortion policies,” I don’t know what those are or what they achieved. Isn’t abortion still legal in the US?
“his conservative judicial appointments” I think calling a judge “conservative” is one thing, being conservative is another. I think cases like, Citizens United (which was before Trump’s term but decided by the conservatives), was anything but conservative decisions. I would prefer to look at one case at a time to see what the rationale is for a decision. Nobody is free of bias, no matter what they tell you.
“and his thorough rejection of the growing big tech tyranny.” This one is hilarious. Trump is the greatest user of big tech in the world: His Twitter Account. He bitches and moans about social media tech companies when they don’t do his bidding.
“Do you who despise Trump so vehemently disagree with these policies and achievements? What are you hoping for instead?” Leadership over this pandemic; honesty; rebuilding multi-lateral coalitions to protect our interests and promote peace; pursue renewable energy leadership; commit to protect our environment and food safety; economic and criminal justice of all people; a humane immigration policy; education reform; fiscal policies that don’t saddle my children with impossible debt; affordable access to health care for all Americans.
If any on this blog come to the conclusion from what I have affirmed above at 1:58 that I am mistaken/have been fooled/ am retarded/estubido/uninformed/lazy/have been blinded by Satan/spirituall immature/ The wonderful thing about this blog is that everyone has the right to share their own personal opinion/perspective. Putting down a fellow blogger either in your heart or letter-because your opinions don’t match is just plain wrong.
Blessings
Above addressed to no one in particular. Just in general.
JimmieT
JimmieT,
“Putting down a fellow blogger either in your heart or letter-because your opinions don’t match is just plain wrong.”
Like being called a leftist?
There are some here who post looong comments… sometimes i am tempted to address their shallow assertions, conclusions, but I think i hear God saying no, just let time provide clarity i think i hear Him say, things are proceeding according to My plan….. Or so it seems to me up here in these cold snowy mountains…. Dunno, though, do i…. 😉
Leftist and shallow. I’m winning tonight. Thank you everyone.
God’s plan may have Trump being out of the picture, right?
Twitter just banned Trump. I believe that of all the disappointments he’s faced recently, this will frustrate him the most. Folks, he’s gonna do something rash….
This is something that really irritates me about Trump supporters in the charismatic church…this belief that God has a special anointing on Trump, and that God can still act at the last minute to deliver Trump a second term…the “but, God…” belief. These are not whacked out people that number in the dozens on some obscure corner of the web…these are very prominent claims from many in the Charismatic Church. God has a plan alright, and many of us may not like it.
And no, I don’t despise President Trump.
Jean,
If someone has to resort to name-calling to make a point, then I will consider it an honor to be labeled a leftist/liberal/etc, despite the fact that I am conservative and almost always vote Republican. Name-calling and belittling does nothing to advance someone’s point.
Thank you Dan!
For the benefit of our readers, I provide the following Federal definition of terrorism (6 USC 101(18) :
(18) The term “terrorism” means any activity that-
(A) involves an act that-
(i) is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources; and
(ii) is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State or other subdivision of the United States; and
(B) appears to be intended-
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
Title 6 is Domestic Security Under the Homeland Security Act. If there is a loss of life in connection with domestic terrorism, the range of criminal penalties can range to the ultimate. It is nothing to be toyed with or romanticized.
Thanks Jean. Just for edification here, I have no ill-will toward anyone here with my last few posts. The plan of God (whatever that may be) is something I have been thinking about the last few days.
Hey Dan,
The term, “The plan of God,” is a very popular phrase in evangelical and Pentecostal circles.
If someone says, “this is God’s plan,” about something in the present tense, I might be able to amen that based on my view of God’s providential governance of the world.
If someone says, “this is God’s plan,” about something in a future tense, unless that plan is crystal clear in the Bible, such as He has commanded His Gospel to be preached to all nations or He has promised to return and judge the world in righteousness, then I say hooey. I am not interested in anyone’s private revelation about God’s future tense plans. That’s the way fallen human sinners manipulate others.
Jim V and Jimmie T. What a bunch of word salad. Leftist world view? The PP leftist? What a bunch of empty jargon.
The PP has followers of Protestant/Catholic 2traditions, and even doctrines that predate the splitting of the Empire.
The Christian Right isn’t even 50 years old. Even Calvary Chapel/ Jesus People are older.
Agreed Jean, and thanks. Honestly, I felt kinda awkward in typing “plan of God” because I know it can be misunderstood by what that means. Heck, I don’t even know. The charismatic church seems to be climbing all over themselves in saying “so-and-so dreamt that Trump would get a second term” or “I saw a vision of Trump in the Oval Office on January 22”, etc. etc. etc. This definitely falls under your second point about the future.
Modern day Christians who claim prophecies and / or visions are not Christians. They are more like shamans or witch doctors.
I apologize if “leftist” is considered name calling. I consider it descriptive not pejorative. Presidential elections are binary choices. I simply want to know how you all expect Biden and the Democrats to make things better. They certainly have made things worse in CA.
Banning Trump and his attorneys and other Trumper’s from Twitter is a good idea because that will stop Trumper’s frustrations, free speech is for only those we agree with.
Jim V,
“They certainly have made things worse in CA.”
Worse than what or when? I don’t live in California. But here is what I understand about it:
It has one of the top 10 economies in the world;
It has the top film companies in the world;
Leading technology companies in the world;
A top wine industry in the world;
Leading universities in the world;
Leading venture capital firms in the world;
Leading real estate markets in the world;
Leading biotechnology companies in the world.
Is California perfect? No. But, it is the pearl of the United States. Without California, the USA would be a middling Western nation.
Population of California: 39.5 million
Population of Texas 29 million
Covid-related deaths California: 28,552
Covid-related deaths Texas: 29,645
Which State is taking better care of its citizens from the pandemic?
Jean:
Again, now that Trump is gone and canceled, what are you hoping will happan?
You do not live in CA and obviously not paying attention.
People and companies are fleeing CA for multiple reasons.
The response to the “homeless” has made even medium sized cities unlivable.
Small businesses have been destroyed with ludicrous lockdowns that are not based on science or local conditions.
The teachers” unions have shutdown virtually all schools and are leading the charge to destroy the vibrant Charter School movement.
I could go on and on. The rest of you will experience the CA lifestyle quick enough and it is not good.
DH, Twitter is not a free speech issue – they can pick and choose who they let on their platform just as I can choose who to let in my home.
When I was an employer I could control the “free speech” of my employees and customers.
I don’t have a Twitter account and live just fine without. No one needs one a Trump will learn to live without it.
Jim V. – I have lived in California for nearly fifty years. I have been a Christian for 45 years. I do not believe that Democrats have “made things worse in California”. I am a registered Independent voter that voted Republican 95% of the time until about 10 years ago. That’s when I realized what most of you are just now realizing – the Republican Party has changed, it’s no longer your father’s Republican Party. The Republican Party today is only interested in power and they merely give lip service to the ideals of democracy. They lie, they spread falsehoods( bear false witness) and apparently will stop at nothing to retain power. They have become completely corrupted. I still admire some individual Republicans, but the party itself has sunken to depths even I could never have imagined ten years ago when I vowed to never vote Republican again.
BOC
I haven’t voted for a Republican Candidate since Bush. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party , plus the Birthers, sealed the deal for me. However, I will be switching from Republican to Independent soon. I actually vote all over the map, anyway.
MLD, Exactly. If we don’t want to serve a conservative or Trumper at our place of business based on political ideologies even if our business has become a major public platform almost the public square we shouldn’t have to. Heck if they even went to a Trump rally they should be fired.
I am not defending the Republicans. Again, what do you all hope that Biden and the Democrats will do?
Wow, Jim. How very prescient of you. If you were supportive of the Repubs. right now, then
I’d know for sure you were a complete
Several reports tonight that these domestic terrorists were planning to hang Mike Pence.
Here’s what I hope Dems will do. Just a few things.
1) Expand Obamacare until every single American citizen has decent health care that can’t bankrupt them
2) Go aggressively hard after every insurrectionist and out them in prison
3) Expand the Supreme Court so that the cheating that went on to pack the court with conservatives will be balanced by good Justices.
4) FIND AND HELP THE SEPARATED FAMILIES.
Shall I continue? I’m sure that’s enough to continue the convo.
Guys. I’ve noticed when I write I can get a bit snarky. I’m sorry. I’m filled with a lot of really bad anger and rage right now. Please know I know and I’m praying about it.
What I see here is just the Phoenix Preacher approved version of Christian Nationalism.
1.) Which Christians are the enemy of the state
2.) Which politicians best represent the kingdom of God.
3.) What actions need to be taken by the church to insure proper governance in America.
4.) the possible rounding up or taking out of Christians who do not comply.
5.) the calling down of special spiritual warfare to protect America.
It’s that pendulum thing.
Half-truths, distortions and outright lies… as usual. We’ve come to expect it…
Name one that was not written or inferred. You can’t so you use dismissal as a tactic.
More of the same… the crazy uncle routine wears thin…
A very consistent, manipulative tactic.
Duane – now you revert to name calling? Let me reply on your level;
“Sticks and stones…”
That’s the level you’ve been on for years… nothing new.
Just what I wanted to come home too…
MLD,
None of that was even implied or inferred except perhaps #5…which is hardly a scandal.
Stop it or leave.
Jean yesterday afternoon @4:24 observed that the “plan of God” is an evangelical favorite…..
I would ask then did God create the heavens and the earth because He was bored?
Is prophesy a product of God’s surprised omnicience?
No, we ARE part of a plan. .. Even Satan knows that..
I would, however, tweak that phrase, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for YOUR life!”
More appropriate – IMV – is, God loves you and has a wonderful place FOR you in HIS plan…. IF you choose His redemption…. 😇
We need “special spiritual warfare” to protect the Church of Christ in America, not America itself. Saving the country is a side issue. That is a civic issue.
I have repeatedly tried to steer the conversation to the Scriptures and get ignored. Or at least it feels like I’m being ignored, although I suspect it’s more people just don’t see my posts. But whatever the case, the conversation must go to the Scriptures.
All this, “nobody can know the truth anymore” is hogwash. The Church of Jesus Christ has the truth. The absolute truth. Our Lord IS the truth. So once again, I would like to explore the Scriptures that speak of the antichrist spirit, because in those Scriptures I think we can clearly see what has happened to the church in America. Oh and Ima stop calling myself Mike E. Most of you should know me by now. Unless there’s another Mike. Let me know if there is.
Michael–I sent you an email.
The way of Jesus is truth and grace. The way that seems right to a man is blame and punishment. The way of Jesus is self-denial and sacrifice. The way of flesh is self-promotion and self-protection. The way of Jesus is the pursuit of peace, both in mind and in practice. The way of man is fear and anxiety. Under Christ, love for God and others is the highest ideal. Apart from Christ, love of self takes precedence. To pursue Christ is to put vengeance in the Lord’s hands. Otherwise, we will choose to act as judge, jury and executioner. To follow Christ is to pursue justice for all, not just some.
Michael, enjoy the comments…. I suspect – dunno – that God does.
Hopefully, God the Holy Spirit WILL guide us all into an understanding of God’s TRUTH
God keep
Duane,
What I think is needed at this moment in American history is three things:
(1) Consistency on both sides of the aisle that America is a country that is governed by the rule of law. Trying to settle grievances through violence should not be tolerated, excused, incited, accepted or celebrated by any American, but especially by any elected official or law enforcement officer or agency.
(2) Anyone who breached the threshold of the Capital on Wednesday should be tracked down, arrested, charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. There should be no equivocation by any branch or party of government that what happened at the capital was acceptable or will be tolerated. I would like to see laws passed that would increase criminal penalties for the kidnapping, assault, murder, physical intimidation (or attempt of any of the forgoing) of any elected official or any law enforcement officer charged with protecting the same.
(3) Elected officials should realize that words matter, spreading lies and conspiracy theories have consequences, and attacking and dehumanizing your fellow citizens and political opponents have consequences. I would like to our elected officials stop spreading false hope, lies and unsubstantiated accusations and theories. I would like to see a law passed (even if it takes a constitutional amendment) that would facilitate the immediate impeachment or removal from any office of State or Federal Government official (elected or otherwise) caught inciting, encouraging or excusing violence against a political opponent or any political process or any facility used to carry out government.
I think America is worth fighting for, but the only way we can preserve it is through the rule of law. We need maximum firmness at this time, that the road we’re going down as a nation will end in ruin. It’s time for truth loving Americans to stand up.
I would rather have an imperfect judiciary adjudicate cases than have them adjudicated in the streets by mobs. In this case the presidential election was actually not that close. Trump lost by not a few electoral votes and 7 million popular votes. Dozens of courts considered his grievances. The Democrats in the Georgia run-offs both outperformed Biden.
The political theatre and stunts pulled by the Republicans in the House and Senate should be condemned by all truth loving Americans and, by God’s grace, never be repeated again. Attorneys like Wood and Giuliani and Powell should be disbarred immediately. They are a disgrace to the legal profession.
Mike E @8:53… AMEN! ! !
Don’t doubt you get read here, but sometimes truth doesn’t suit the purposes of “some.”. In my humple opinion. 😉
Is humple a word? Meant ” humble”
Humility is worth seeking, is it not!
Jean @8:57 is a good read… In my humble opinion… 😊
Mike,
I’m fairly new to the blog, so I am careful in my comments. I feel like I am still getting to know people and their opinions. At the same time, when I read your posts (the latest being “I am trying to steer the conversation…” I get more of a feeling that you are trying to dominate the conversation. Those are exactly the kinds of blog “conversations” that I avoid-one-sided with no room for discussion or disagreement. Also, I don’t find it helpful when I see long Scriptures citations with no context to them. Just my thoughts, but i really felt you were trying to dominate and get us all into your camp with the posts I read yesterday.
I appreciate the fact that the “blogkeepers” seem to welcome a variety of opinions and spirited discussions. When they post a series of articles, they represent a variety of points of view. That is what makes the discussions on the blog so interesting.
Pineapple Head, I shall address you for further reference as PH, if that’s ok. What you are saying is truth. We must make the distinction between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God in Christ. What I believe has happened is that the very powerful delusion causing spirit of antichrist, written about in 1 John 2 and also 1 John 4 has permeated the church of Christ in America. This spirit of antichrist is as the word would imply completely antithetical to the teachings of our Lord.
P.S. My 9:06 doesn’t mean i amen every word, but most of it is on target! ! !
“tracked down, arrested, charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law”
“I would like to see laws passed that would increase criminal penalties”
” I would like to see a law passed (even if it takes a constitutional amendment)”
“We need maximum firmness at this time”
And you were offended because you thought someone called you a leftist?
Mike,
I responded this morning…was a little tied up yesterday…
Jean
In the City of Man we look for justice and character. Character, good and bad, was on display this last week. We have yet to see justice…
Speaking of which, where have the state and national bar associations been in sanctioning members?
Linn, Mike E has NO hidden motives – period!
Linn. Thank you for your thoughts. I am certainly listening and will pray and make adjustments as necessary. If you read my posts from last night, I explained a bit what’s going on with me. One thing I would say is holding my argument and trying to persuade others to my thinking is perfectly acceptable.
I won’t apologize for that or stop doing it. I already made apologies for my tone. Thank you.
Em—thanks for your encouragement. I appreciate you.
For our system of government to function at least half well demands a certain level of virtue that, IMHO, we do not possess at this time. Try all the fixes you want, but until hearts become purer it will be an exercise in futility.
Em,
“God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” – wasn’t that in a Billy Graham tract or part of the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry?
I cringe at that phrase nowadays…wonderful as in persecution for some that choose to minister in far-off places? Not exactly a good recruiting tool.
Michael,
I don’t know why you are so bothered by my comment?
DH yesterday was raving about BIDEN, Pelosi and Harris as representing the kingdom of God (my #2) and CM went on about clubbing and eliminating Christian followers of Trump (my #4) and Mike E was calling out christian enemies of the state by name with his hashtags (my #1).
All I did was repeat what others said and was called a liar.
PH..I agree. That’s exactly why I call for us to make a distinction between a) civic responsibility and b) Kingdom responsibility. Civic responsibility is done in the physical realm. Kingdom responsibility in the spiritual realm.
What we have before us a believers RIGHT NOW are multiple opportunities to love and serve and model a different way of doing things. Most will call us crazy, but some, provoked by God’s Spirit will be moved to finally give up on thinking the kingdoms of man are the end-all. We are not of this world. So why do we feel so much inclined to identify with it? Yes, we are “in it “(for a purpose). But we are not to be “of it.”
No MLD. I won’t allow you to misquote me as you constantly do. I wish you would actually read what I write. I made it very clear. These church leaders are not enemies of the state. They are enemies of the gospel. Please, this is the last time I’m going to respond to a comment from you if you refuse to engage me truthfully.
Correction. They are enemies of the state now as well. Some of them. Not all.
I want nothing to with Christianity or Christ or any religion anymore, assuming he even exists. I might as well believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and follow him for all the bloody good it will do.
MLD,
DH was joking.
“What I see here is just the Phoenix Preacher approved version of Christian Nationalism.”
This is not repeating what others have said. It is a falsehood…
CM,
Why?
Mike E – I try not to misquote – your hashtag was USAFalseProphets – not Churchfalse Prophets.
Trust me I am not calling you out – I didn’t mention names in my original post but then I was called a liar – so I needed to be more specific.
Mike E – Call me PH, Piney or whatever works for you! I drew that name from a Crowded House song when I started roaming the halls of the PP some 15 years ago.
I will always be jealous that you share the name with one of Breaking Bad’s/Better Call Saul’s most intriguing characters. 🙂
Duane, grow up for once – the 5 points which followed supported the opening sentence.
Well MLD. They are false prophets. They live in and are influencers in the USA. So I really think #USAFalseProphets fits quite nicely.
PH..lol.. it may not seem like it here, but I can, once in a blue moon, have fun. And I have so much fun with that character name. People all over social media are always recognizing that about me. And most of them are surprised when I tell them it not an alias. 🤣
To answer Jim V and Jimmie T’s question about desired outcomes of Biden Administration, I would point out the incompatability of the Gospel, with the concepts contained in recently politicised Evangelicalism. I say recently, because use of “Worldview” by a typical pew sitter likely was rare, or non-existant prior to the 1990’s.
The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Christian Nationalism is no different the Lot’s wife, who having been brought out, longed to return to the things of Sodom, and perished in it’s distruction.
Likewise, the Kingdom is not of materialist things that can be seen and touched, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
“Duane, grow up for once – the 5 points which followed supported the opening sentence.”
…Which was a lie.
America has experience with cults. We remember Jim Jones, David Koresh and Warren Jeffs. And there have been many others.
But the scale of Trump’s cult got so large that he has been able to intimidate many politicians into obedience. No doubt he has some true believers among the politicians, but he also had your typical political opportunists, like Ted Cruz and Kelly Loeffler, who hitch their wagons to someone for their own selfish motives.
We regret and mourn when a disaster strikes the victims of a cult. But Trump, left unchecked, has created a cult so large, grown without substantial pushback from his own party, that the very institutions of our government are now at risk. He mixes religious language, with patriotism and populism, in such a way that he has enslaved thousands of men and women in this country into functioning like his personal militia. Others associate themselves with them for their own selfish purposes.
Did you notice, during his presidency, how short the tenure was of men and women of integrity in his Administration? He would bring in a general or retired general, or successful business leader, with an illustrious career, but when they got to know the man on a personal level, they could not stay. Then Trump branded them as losers.
He got the CEO of one of the greatest multinational American companies (at times the larges publicly owned corporation in the world), who has done business with world leaders around the world, to be Secretary of State, and then worked around him nearly from the beginning, and eventually branded him a loser.
McMaster, Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, and others couldn’t be deceived. Many of us who saw this revolving door saw this as strong evidence that the President was at best unstable and at worst corrupt. But for must Trump supporters, the only opinion that matters is that of their Supreme Leader.
To the a Administration appointees who are now resigning after Wednesday, feigning outrage, it’s too late IMO to save your integrity. It’s too late to jump off the ship to save your reputation. You stuck with him in everything that led up to this point. None of it is a surprise, especially to you who worked personally with him on a daily or weekly basis.
“That’s been debunked”. “That’s racist”. “He’s a liar”. Just pick a phrase and say it over and over again and the sheep will believe. The language of manipulation.
Unless, of course, it is a lie…
If votes have been recounted,
If voting machines have been tested and certified and retested,
If claims have been filed in dozens of federal and State courts,
If votes have been certified by both Republican and Democratic governors, secretaries of state and other election officials,
If any plaintiff with a claim and standing had the opportunity to file a claim,
and at the end of the process, not a single instance of systemic voting fraud or equipment malfunction was discovered, is not the term (which I haven’t used, by the way) “debunked” appropriate?
Georgia has 3 recounts, as well as a signature audit, and many lawsuits. Were not the allegations of fraud “debunked?” What else could the State of Georgia do, other than falsify the vote for Trump, which would convince Trump’s followers that he lost? Do you not think that the path of least resistance for Kemp and Raffensperger would have been to do the illegal act that Trump ask them to do and “find” him the additional votes he needed to win?
When I comment here, I try to present more than just assertions, but some facts or evidence to back up what I say. I am not the perfect blogger, but I try to give people some objective facts or data to digest.
Dr Arnold, PHD,
It seems that Jim V, Jimmie T, DH, and myself (maybe others?) see what MLD is seeing.
I understand that all non-progressives are evil, so I guess we’re all liars as well.
Jean,
The media has used “debunked” as a dismissal tactic for years. I have never and will never discuss the election here. Biden is president-elect.
Jim
“What I see here is just the Phoenix Preacher approved version of Christian Nationalism.” You did not write the statement… and this statement is a lie.
“When I comment here, I try to present more than just assertions, but some facts or evidence to back up what I say. I am not the perfect blogger, but I try to give people some objective facts or data to digest.”
What objective data did you use when referred to the murder of Ashli Babbot by a plain clothed capitol police officer as the lawful use of force? Did you review the video evidence after I brought it to your attention?
No Duane, I’ve said far worse, calling the lot of you (both sides) idolaters during the election season. I entered this thread with “You statists are hilarious. Apparently, the capitol building is your temple”.
Funny that later in the thread you referenced the sense of reverence you felt while in the capitol building.
Jim, yes I did review the video. If we watched the same video, what I saw was a person, part of a violent mob, attempting to break into a hallway by climbing through a broken window pane of a locked door.
There is a 40 min video of the Capital shooting posted on Youtube. The shooting takes place late in the vid, should any wish to view.
Jim
I used the word with you in mind…
Jean,
Did you see the lawful use of force?
Duane, I’m honored.
Duane, because you do not see what I see does not mean that what I see is false.
– it just means you are closed minded, set in your ways and refuse to learn from others.
Jim
“It was the history and the high purpose of the place…” Which I still maintain…
It may just mean that I have little use for lies… and those who perpetuate them.
To expand on MLD’s point, I wonder why we can’t leave room for differing perceptions, and have to go straight to a pretty horrible accusation.
Facts are not always what they seem, truth cannot always be affirmed by what we think we see.
There is NO computer system that can’t be hacked, if you’re careless or just not smart enough…..
I think that applies to many areas of human commerce….
Yes a Believer’s best hope is a focus on The Faith… the true end of all things.
One mat accuse Trump of exploiting U.S. Christians (a wise leader might do that), but we live in a time of contempt for Christian standards… 2Peter3:33 and following…. are we there? Dunno – might be, dunno
Experience…
Duane, just the way you dig in your heels to protect what you think is the singular definition of Christian nationalism proves my point.
The new version is here, alive and well.
Gene
Done…
Was that a ban, or disengagement?
I’m just wondering when the purge begins…
Duane, that is like when my mom used all 3 of my names – and I knew it was time to stop. 🙂
Jim You decry others making accusations while you call a police officer Who did his duty a murderer. I will not engage with you further.
Jim,
Yes I did. But to be clear, what I saw is that which I described at 11:19 am.
This has been an interesting thread to read. While I have not read all the comments, I have given myself space to reflect more on the recent events. I appreciate the comments here as they have helped in my own thinking.
A friend wrote to a group of us calling for the removal of Trump. I gave his letter some thought and then responded to all in the email. Here is my response:
Removing Trump would create more issues than it solves at this point. He is only one of a large handful of people that probably should be banned from public life, but to do so would risk violation of the very system we think we are protecting, and would be overly authoritarian and totalitarian in nature.
It will be interesting to see how this particular period in our history is written about although I do not think it can be accurately isolated as a simple left versus right paradigm. Viewing it as such only addresses and recognizes a piece of a very complicated puzzle. Most people do not have the capacity to absorb such a wide and vast analysis of why this country is such a mess.
My wife and I talked about moving to Canada some time ago, we feel (more so her than I) that it’s probably too late for us to start over, and have decided to try to do the best we can here with what we have left.
My 10 years of active duty service and three years in the National Guard told me everything I needed to know about the deficiencies, half-truths, and myths that have propelled this country my entire lifetime. I learned long ago that there is no hope in either conservative or liberal ideologies. Much of the rhetoric has become highly reactive, achieving little as sowing to the wind. We are now reaping the whirlwind.
To quote from Dante, “abandon hope all ye who enter here.”
Our only hope is a Homeric figure who survived death to lead us through the abyss.
A young married lady, a 14 year vet who did four tours, trespassed, unarmed. SWAT in full gear were within reach of her, and could have stopped her from entering a window. The murderer pig could have physically detained her for trespassing, as she would have been alone in the hallway, had she made it through the window. The murderous coward instead hid, laid in wait, and shot her in the neck for trespassing on federal property, which carries a maximum fine of one year in prison (see the charges against the guy who sat in the speaker’s chair).
She deserved to die? The shooter’s life was in danger and he had no other choice?
You guys are sick. I’m out.
Well said pstmike. Now im out.