Things I Think
1.“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.
And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.”
(Revelation 13:5–10 ESV)
Christians conquer the powers of this world by being conquered by the powers of this world.
“Victory” is won only through death and is proven by resurrection.
The “Jesus Party” is having a hard time finding campaign volunteers…
2. My job as a pastor is not to inform people who to vote for, but to make sure they understand that our kingdom isn’t established through a vote…
3. I saw a young pastor endorsed by another pastor as an “up and comer”…and prayed that the young man didn’t read his own press clippings…
4. The evangelical response to their candidates mistreatment of women has been exactly the same as we’ve seen when one of their own mistreats women…which is very little response at all…
5. Elections provide the best opportunity to show the world the difference between kingdom ethics and those of the world…maybe next time…
6. My cats have finally decided they have to share the same space with a modicum of peace…go and do likewise…
7. The enemy never changes tools because the old ones work so well…
8. Whoever a person can dehumanize, he can kill, believing God is on his side…
9. Fall brings the dread of winter without even whispering a word about spring…
10. I woke up this morning with many problems…but I did wake up. Thus, God is still at work in my life…make your own application.
Thank you
4. and part of that very little response has been to ridicule women that claim mistreatment…
Happy you woke up this morning! 🙂
Reading your thoughts gives me hope that others may think biblically too.
JoelG,
Thank you, my friend.
Dallas,
Such is how it’s been since I started the blog…and undoubtedly for long before then.
Jean,
I was pleased to do so myself. 🙂
Hopefully we can stimulate discussion about what it means to think biblically…
“My job as a pastor is not to inform people who to vote for, ”
I have already voted and I did not vote for anyone for President – this I think should be the Christian response to this farce. When the total votes for President would come up 5 million short, then Christians could say “as Christians we could not with a clear Christian conscience condone either candidate warranting our vote.”
Michael – I don’t think your comment above is genuine – you have spent the last 2 months telling us as Christians we would be foolish to vote for Trump … so you do inform people how to vote.
#4… I believe some Evangelicals turn a blind eye or refuse to even consider the possibility that there are those in their camp who do and say terrible things about women. Although I suspect this isn’t strictly an Evangelical issue.
#5….. Seems there are many who are doing their best to be godly by demonstrating kingdom ethics. Sadly they’re lost in the current storm engulfing our nation.
#8…. Reminds me of a Bob Dylan song I shared on FB this week titled With God On Our Side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FKyouUIsQ
#10…. Reminds me to be thankful for each day grants me while seeking to live according to His will.
MLD,
I wrote in Coach Zimmer.
I could have written reams about Clinton as well…but she is not even on the radar of my audience.
When asked to choose between two evils our response is to not choose at all.
Right on #2! I have had to stop following certain friends on Facebook because of their constant posts about why Christians should vote for Trump! One pastor told me that he feels God is leading him to post all the negative information about Clinton. We have two immoral people running for President. So sick of hearing “I’m voting the Supreme Court”. What is Trump going to do about Roe v Wade that Reagan, or either Bush couldn’t do? I have even tried to show that 2 of Reagan’s appointees have not sided with some of the issues raised by the religious right.
IMO, Trump has seriously damaged the Republican Party. The real danger is the Republicans losing control of the Senate. BTW, to those who are clueless about the Constitution, the President can only nominate judges for the Supreme Court, they must be approved by the Senate!
And to all those who continue to say my refusal to vote for either major candidate is a vote for Clinton, I do not accept that blame! I blame those who were foolish enough to vote for Trump in the primary elections. There were viable Republican candidates that could have beaten Clinton!
Even though I disagree with Clinton, I will not vote for a narcissistic opportunist. People should take a real look at where Trump stands on the issues, past and present.
Forgive my rant.
Bob,
Your rants are pretty gentle…we’ll allow it.
Erunner,
There are a lot of people working to further kingdom ethics…but they are quiet and too damn busy to demand notice…
Michael, you so often write out the scattered thoughts that bang around my brain.
If the Trumpster is elected, any version of his inauguration make’s me cringe.
First of all, any “pastor” he gets to do the prayer, will probably be wearing an asbestos suit, not that that would’ve helped the sons of Eli.
The “brown people” he gets to work the event, will no doubt be on their way to being deported, after all, just like the Native Americans, they were on “God’s peoples'” land before we got here, they being “the Philistines” as “God’s people called them back then-yes, from the pulpit.”
What will they be doing? Probably building the OEOB’s first poles for the strippers.
Then he’ll have them build “our” wall, and have them jump back over it.
I wouldn’t be a all the party dinners anyway because I doubt the KKK (that is left to work it from his admin) knows how to make any Mexican, Italian, or any other food I like.
PH,
That should worry you… 🙂
Good thoughts, a lot of Truth packed in there.
Politics suck. Religion sucks. People generally suck.
But, there is also Good to be found in humanity and some people and some “ministries” do some good work. Some commit evil and gloss over the stench of their evil with fake good works.
Unfortunately for evangelicals (and we cannot escape that moniker by denial) this election is another us/them moment. The “them” party are growing and they include a lot of former “us.” All the things we are against have forced many to support a candidate that is indefensible. If evangelicals win they may unleash a monster. If they lose the cost is more than we know.
In the Jesus movement everyone was listening to the simple message of his love. How did we get here from there?
BTW this TIT edition obviously opens the door to a couple weeks of political speak.
BD,
To me, the book of Revelation is our political handbook…and I would love to see some sort of interaction with the text and the ideas it espouses.
Of course, I would also like to win the lottery… 🙂
“The price of understanding people is sharing their feelings…once you understand them, you can’t use cheap, glib ways to get rid of them…”
Charles Bowden
I was nodding in agreement with unCCed’s thoughts when Bowden spoke this through my computer speakers.
It’s easy for someone with my perspective to write people off without trying to understand why they feel as they do.
It’s not a sin that’s unique to me.
Understanding takes time and empathy…and those are both expensive commodities.
Understanding almost always blurs the distinctions between black and white…but should bring an appreciation for both.
I will interact with the text. As one who believes that Revelation is a continual discussion of what is happening between the 1st advent and the return of Christ, it is a continual event – government and the Church struggling badly with each other. If anyone is trying to apply it to today – well all I can say is “it’s the same old, same old.”
If we do not see that the book is showing life on earth and how the Church is to live on earth and what they have to put up with, and then miss the several glimpses we get to see ‘reality’ of what is really happening right now in heaven – well then you will have not only a poor interpretation of the whole book but not understand why the Church goes through what it goes through … and will think that politics is the answer..
I think we should be able to put aside our prejudiced viewpoints in favor of gleaning living lessons from the text of Revelation.
In it we see a number of opponents to the covenant people or more specifically to the witness to Jesus.
They call for wisdom and endurance.
MLD, BD,
I agree…and welcome further insight into these texts.
I’ve yet to see in these texts any active opposition to the beast that was more than faithfulness and death…
Except a futurist sees none of that applying today.
Has anyone picked Donald Trump as the Anti-Christ yet? LOL
Must be tough for the Evangelical End Times Crowd, if Trump was a Democrat he’d be the Anti-Christ-Du-Juor for sure….but since he’s a Republican LOL I’m guessing he’s not the Anti-Christ.
MLD,
I’m a futurist…and as I have read and taught the book I’ve rarely noted anything from the Scriptures that applied more.
Then perhaps you are not a futurist.
I believe this is speaking of what happened in the first century with the Caesars and their fights with the Church – and with every generation since then.
Perhaps you are a present day kinda guy like me 😉
Re Michael @ 15.
No, actually it makes me feel like I’m not alone!
Although I am a conservative, orthodox Christian and pastor, I find that there are quite a few boxes I can’t seem to fit in.
PH
9 is a poetic line worthy of copying down & quoting. The fact that is true is secondary. 😉
I woke up at one o’clock to Trigger running through the house having just been hosed by a skunk. An unpleasant night for sure…but like you, I did wake up.
I had a meal recently that turned out to be an “up and comer.” That may lend some perspective for the young pastor…
MLD,
I’m both…I believe it reflects the struggle of the ages, but also culminates in a final representation of all that comes before.
fil,
Thanks…and sorry about the skunk. 🙂
I want to publicly thank MLD for his comments about the election. I had veered off the true path but he has set me aright again. I was so inflamed by something the Republican (and his Christian followers) said a few weeks ago that for a while I thought I might vote for the Democrat. I’ve come to my senses, largely because of MLD’s comments here. Thanks again!
Xenia,
I have had much the same experience and concur with your thanks.
If one’s words and writings reflect the ideology of one’s candidate more than they reflect the teachings of Jesus, then one has decided to follow a different god and has become an idolator.
Doesn’t matter which party.
I too would like to see abortion come to an end but that’s only going to happen when hearts are changed. That’s the job of the church so hop to it!
It is the free-sex misogynist hedonistic philosophy of the Republican candidate that is responsible for most abortions, anyway.
Xenia – thanks for your comment.
I wonder if any of the Christian Trump supporters who ignore his bad behavior (and to be honest I don’t know that bad behavior disqualifies anyone from office – but should make a Christian think) but if the Dems had paraded up a bunch of women who said “Donald Trump paid for my abortion” – if that would make them change their mind?
He’s changed! He’s a baby Christian! He’s not the man he used to be! Who among us is without sin!
Etc.
Lk 6:43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
I have listened to these candidates and they remind me of the voice of the serpent.
I cannot read scripture and pray for it to be untrue.
No President Dread
My daughter recently said of the two candidates: “This is an election where you get to pick which animal you want to kill you. You can choose the lumbering, yet dangerous bear or the conniving wolf. Either way you die.”
Xenia,
When I was a newborn babe in Christ my zeal and humility did not need coaching.
I had to backslide to lose them.
I have no idea what Trump is other than what his words indicate.
I was at my most obnoxious, zealous best when I was a baby Christian.
The most frequent clown sightings lately have been at the top of the ticket.
I want to address the second beat…the religious beast.
We’ve always been taught it was the Roman church or some other church deemed doctrinally wrong…I believe the real answer is that it is a church deceived into political idolatry…
Michael at #42. Perfect.
This is an election where I’ve kept my choice close to the vest.
At least this year I’m not at a church where I would be accused of heresy.
I do think it matters who wins, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
DavidH,
Whether we like it or not, the world has survived the death of other empires…not that I see the end of this one yet.
“I believe the real answer is that it is a church deceived into political idolatry…” and why would that not be the RCC – a Church that is it’s own country and receives political ambassadors?
Even American sends an ambassador.
MLD,
It’s possible that Rome could be involved…but I see it as more as a general deception that trusts in votes more than in God.
Michael, agree with your number 4. Pathetic game by the Vikes, but the coach is deserving of consideration for coach of the year…barring a collapse by the team.
Dan,
The Vikes will be fine…in Zimmer we trust. 🙂
Michael – well if it depended on votes, then I guess that leaves out the RCC / Vatican and many other church / states that have on elections.
# 9 is very good…..pondering. Me likes.
Seeing that Bob Dylan is not picking up his Nobel prize in literature….
Wasn’t he a Christian at one time?
I’m 20 miles out of town, and cold iron bounds…
that have on elections SHOULD READ that have NO elections
MLD,
As I just noted on Facebook, it is the job of the religious beast to foster worship of the political beast…the book gave me few other details…
Government is supposed to enact laws that restrain evil and, I would argue, protect an individual’s right to freedom to be fruitful and multiply and participate in the ruling of creation per Genesis 1:28 (i.e., government by, of and for the people).
The question is what constitutes evil in the context of the government’s duty to restrain. Where that duty exists, Christians have good reason to be politically active in support of laws prohibiting the relevant conduct or failure to act.
However, Christians have many opinions on such issues, so the Church cannot speak with one voice.
When people talk about speaking truth to power (ala N.T. Wright), what is always missing is the Truth. Christ is the Truth. Therefore, Church, proclaim Christ crucified to the principalities and powers. Then we are speaking Truth to power.
Michael (48) … I believe so. The rubes were in full force calling Bradford nothing short of a fraud. Huh…frauds don’t start 5-0 against quality teams. Zimmer is a great coach!
Still can’t believe my once moral hero Dobson totally ignores Trumps moral character. Wasn’t he one of those talking about how “Character counts” during Bill Clinton’s second run at the White House?
Jean,
I believe that proclaiming Christ is the beginning and end of speaking truth to power…but there is much in the middle to proclaim as well.
Jean,
“proclaim Christ crucified to the principalities and powers.”
So whose ear do you have?
To me proclaiming my Christ to the candidates is to say that I do not have a clear Christian conscience to vote for either candidate.
I once witnessed to my mailman – as a federal employee does he count as a principality and power? 🙂
The Christian voices I hear most over here, to the extent that they talk about US politics, are fiercely critical of Trump’s treatment of women. If he were a candidate in a major party in Australia, he would have been disendorsed long ago.
Yes… but I think I’ll stick with Abraham…
“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
But then I think Abe became king of his own domain by fiat and not vote 😉
well………
the dragon and 2 beasts… hmmm – if one wanted a picture of the dynamic at work, one might look at the Vatican – even now it controls a good portion of the worlds’s monies and religious, (the ones who identify as Roman Catholic)… and, perhaps as some see it that organization will germinate into the 2 beasts, one the religious leader and the other in charge of the world’s financial commerce… but that is not the Catholic Church as we know it today… IMHO
what MLD sees as an overview, i see as a cycling with each cycle getting wider and more intense until the described situation (we must be closing in now – dunno) really does control the world… until Christ returns… the passage that i find intriguing cannot play out – IMV – unless this happens… Rev 20:7-10
9. “Fall brings the dread of winter without even whispering a word about spring…”
https://jeannezornesimagesdotcom.wordpress.com/category/fall/
Good evening – wow – I feel completely different about Trump. We are electing a president to do a job, not electing a person to be a pastor. President Kennedy had it for the ladies – well known now, but kept secret during his presidency. The secret service would solicit women he wanted to be with to come up alone to his room in the white house. I think he was a fine president anyway. President Johnson after him was a big womanizer, not so good with the Vietnam war. Eisenhower was well respected but he had a girl friend on the side in Europe when directing the war there. We all know about Clinton in more recent times and the big fuss over Monica, etc., but I think he did ok as a president, except for some issues that had nothing to do with his flings. I respect our Marines – they do an unbelievable job but at our local pub they come in on weekends to hook up and take the ladies home and they do. (Listen to them talk sometimes.) I could go on and on. We are electing someone to do a job. When I interview someone for a job, I don’t ask if they were out hooking up last weekend. I look at their abilities and skills, etc. That is what I do with Trump. And I don’t think it is right to scapegoat him for what is wrong in America’s past or lie that he is a KKK person which he isn’t, etc. The media has been outrageously biased against him. I think he is a very capable person who cares about America, including the inner cities and the people there. Will he or Hillary do it all just dandy? Of course not. I am not going to expect something that is just not possible.
Repeat yourself.
Repeat yourself.
What a great post and discussion
“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.”
I don’t want to deflect from the religious and political beast discussion, because it’s right on.
When I look at the above verse, I see many things:
I see the zeitgeist, I see church/school/neighborhood gossip, I see various factions of the media, I see the spirit that makhas s losing your virginity “cool” and married sex as “lame”…there is a demonic power to it, and we often complain about it. We shouldn’t embrace it, but like many of the lessons of Revelation, like the behavior of a junkie woman, we should understand it and live accordingly.
Only because I am a Jr Presidential historian, I wish to take issue with one of Sue’s comments. “I think he was a fine president anyway.” JFK was well loved but history shows he was not a good President.
But my point is about his ladies – he placed the US in harms way to be blackmailed – the fact that he and Sam Giancona (the Chicago mafia boss) shared the same girlfriend – Judith Exnel was not a good idea.
Let’s set aside Trump’s lecherous ways and consider other aspects of his character.
1. He is impulsive, not thoughtful.
2. He does not follow the advice of those more knowledgeable than he is
3. Without doing the hard work, he imagines he knows more than anyone else
4. He trusts his intuition (which is not informed by the Holy Spirit) more than facts
5. He is a hopeless narcissist
6. He is thin-skinned and takes revenge on those who disagree with him
7. He is happy to ruin reputations to make himself look good
8. He imagines that he can accomplish all his goals by fiat, forgetting about Congress
9. He is a bully. If you do work for him, he might not pay you.
10. He has a peculiar fondness for the dictators of the world.
11. He has zero understanding global politics and won’t listen to those who do
12. He is quite content to destroy our electoral system for his personal glory.
3. Without doing the hard work, he imagines he knows more than anyone else
No wonder so many Christians like him.
Xenia – #66
Excellent!
i would agree that Xenia’s #66 is excellent… however, excepting pt. 1, it is a perfect description of the other candidate also… the difference being that one is without the well honed instincts of a master politician
therefore, i am more comfortable with the Republican power hungry candidate, than i am with the Democrat, who is, undoubtedly our next President… however, she did give a speech today in which she declared her allegiance to our Constitution, which she described as a sacred document that has formed the most perfect government that the world has ever seen, let us hope she meant that
# 66 You have listened well to all the media propaganda about Trump. The media has done an excellent job of ‘bearing false witness’ against Trump.
Media propaganda? They’re called facts. (there are hundreds more). That means you’re a dope.
#65 President Kennedy and President Bill Clinton both had some ‘poor judgement’ regarding the ladies that perhaps could have caused blackmail, but that didn’t happen. Kennedy will always be remembered by history for some fine things he did like getting the Peace Corps going, negotiating with Khrushchev to keep out of a nuclear war, etc., worked for civil rights, and got the equal pay for women and men going, etc.
Thank you passin throgh for your kind comment that I am a dope.
No Sue, I have listened to Trump himself.
I could easily find clips of Trump verifying my list with bis own statements.
There’s another aspect of the Trump candidacy that is revealing: His actual campaign.
(1) He doesn’t like to do homework. His preparation for the debates was an insult to the American people. He owed it to the people who were giving him a look to actually prepare for and come with his plans and programs.
(2) Message discipline. Clinton gave Trump many, many opportunities to draw a contrast. Trump could have had positive messages about what he would do. But, where did he focus a lot of his messaging? Where did he focus his tweets? Did he step on his own messaging?
(3) Management. He is running on being a great leader and manager. But he went through 3 campaign managers within about a 9 month period. He apparently doesn’t listen very well to advisors or grow and learn from mistakes (maybe he doesn’t think he made any).
(4) Operational. He did never developed a professional campaign and ground game, advertising strategy, etc. He relied almost entirely on a rally strategy.
(5) Coalitions. He attacks anyone who disagrees with him. Thus, he alienated GOP leadership, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (a normal GOP constituency), many women, minorities, the press. He ran for national office, but didn’t realize that his base wasn’t large enough.
You may not agree with Clinton’s policies and proposals, but on every facet of the campaign, she was a far superior campaigner. How else could she win with her many flaws? Trump beat a bunch of weak kneed GOP opponents in the Primaries, but he ran up against a Democratic opponent who beat the tar out of him when it came to the general election. If the campaign was rigged, Trump rigged it against the GOP.
I agree with both of you. Sue the media often turns things that Trump says into much more egregious claims. They definitely lie about him and spin his words. However, like Xenia I have listened to Donald Trump himself and he does not steward his own words. Out of the fullness of his heart his mouth has exposed him.
As per #66 I do smell media interpretation on some of the list but there is plenty of real DNA there as well.
Trump pretty much made a mess and left room for others to worsen it
Dread, I agree that The Media (TM) does exaggerate some of the things Trump says. Back when I used to watch Fox (never again), I saw the same thing going on over there with HRC. So I try to stick to what the candidate actually says, to the words coming out of their own mouths. Often I will hear Trump say something bad and the people on CNN will spin it into something far worse. But just listening to what he actually says, over and over, is enough to make me stand by my list in #66.
If you criticize Trump you get two responses:
“But Hillary….”
and
“But the media….”
Rarely are the criticisms actually addressed, it’s always a deflection.
“Rarely are the criticisms actually addressed, it’s always a deflection.” Xenia’s words are measured, well thought out – i suspect that she places great value in such (forgive the 3rd person address 🙂 )
listening to the debates i saw two successful (by the world’s standards, of course) people who were relying on the skills, the MO, if you will, that had historically served and brought them their past accomplishments
i wonder why we’d be more pleased with Trump if he were more like Hillary? Wasn’t he bred and born into the construction business? rude and crude and doesn’t back down… i suspect that, when push comes to shove, in his own field he knows who to listen to to get the job done… but i don’t want to write a justifying biography of the man here… i’m sure Clinton does the same out the context of her own career and. for sure, i’m not about to try a biography of her life here…
IMV – one should not relate the shortcomings of the one without giving equal time to the shortcomings of the other… unless God intervenes for His own reasons, we will have our first woman president in a couple weeks…
in either case, those who’ve supported the losing candidate will have ample opportunity to say, “we told you so” … IMHO, of course
Well, I disagree with the statements here about Trump. I see him way different than some of you. We have our elections and we campaign the way we see it, which is the American way. I am voting for him because for example, I am sick of things like ObamaCare. I don’t like being forced to go on the exchange and pick from their choices in healthcare for me and be policed by the IRS at tax time. The alternative to pay a fine means a bigger fine each year and no insurance, so its not much of a choice. Rates are increasing again this next year, and will continue to. The more you make the more you are penalized by having to pay more. People like the Hollywood rich don’t feel it, neither do the poorer folks on medi-cal paid for by our tax dollars, but the middle class are the ones feeling the heat. And a lot of us can’t go to doctors we want to go to – way too expensive for us to go without insurance. Caesar Chavez wanted the border closed because he knew too many coming across illegally would compete for low wage jobs and bring wages down and he was right. There is a line now to come into our country because so many want to come, and we need to be fair to those in line and let in the Africans, Asians, Europeans, Hispanics, etc. who are in line first, just like any other line, say like at Disneyland, and it will make for more equality of people coming in. Trump also wants to focus on our inner cities and make more effort there and bring back jobs there and elsewhere. Its time to stop the debt from spiraling out of control, and we need someone like Trump who understands finance. You want justices that support pro life? That is not a big issue for me, but for most Christians it is and Trump will appoint them. Trump is not against the good Planned Parenthood does, only the abortion part of their good work. These and many other things are important issues Trump and Pence both support. Hillary has taken millions of dollars from foreign governments that fund Isis, that throw gays off buildings, and abuse their women terribly, and it is hardly spoken of. I do think the media has been way too biased in their coverage because they are mostly Hillary supporters. Journalists donations to Hillary are at 96%. The media spent a combined 23 minutes on allegations against Trump and a combined 57 seconds on Wikileak’s damaging revelations about Hillary. People hardly heard about the hidden camera revealing Democrats talking about committing mass voter fraud, or the camera footage about the Clinton campaign paying agitators to incite violence at Trump rallies. So we all will vote for who we believe or will not vote which is part of our great freedoms like the 2nd amendment! Thanks for reading. Anyway – peace <:~)
sue, i too, will cast my vote for Trump… In light of the things God hates – Prov 6:12-19 – i would have to have more wisdom than i do have to chose between the two… but
for me it is simple: remember Benghazi… all the machinations that led up to it and the lives that were thrown away intentionally for no better reason than an attempt to cover a personal fiasco?
so i must vote against her in spite of it being my chance to see a woman President before i die
someone just said, it is a choice between a Medusa and a gorilla – dunno, although it sure looks that way to me, too
but as you noted, it really is up to each one of us to chose as we see best … yet we all live with consequences – God have mercy on us all
If FB has the story right, then the Libertarians have dropped out of the Presidential race and are encouraging people to vote against Trump.
So, no former president, the speaker of the house, many major newspapers who have always endorsed Republicans but now are not, say that Trump is dangerous to not only the US but the rest of the world.
I can not for the life of me how people can ignore the warning signs and still vote for that fool.
Johnson/Weld dropping out appears not to be accurate. The rest of my examples stand.
” no former president, the speaker of the house, many major newspapers who have always endorsed Republicans but now are not, say that Trump is dangerous to not only the US but the rest of the world.”
since you asked 🙂
these are the people that have left me with no choice, but Trump… we only have what our eyes can see and that is mostly what “they” want us to see… there is a school of thought that speculates that Trump is a plant to assure that Clinton is elected… truth be told, we fool ourselves if we, the common folk, think we have any real understanding of what is really going on as the world’s influential jockey for power…
that said, i am a firm believer that, as a nation, we will have the leadership that God wills for the time and most probably, we will have exactly the leadership that we deserve – the latter is what concerns me… concerns me and reminds me to focus on the Kingdom
since it is late and i’m here wishing i could sleep, but wide awake, i will say this which may comfort those who fear Trump… there is little chance that he would complete his 4 years, if he proved to be a real danger to the world as a whole… it’s a balancing game they play…
IMHO, of course
Sue, at #80
You, and others, give the President far too much power. Within the framework of the Constitution, the responsibility of the President is to enforce the laws, not make them. It would take Congress to end, or amend, ObamaCare. I don’t care for it either, but Trump can talk all he wants, but Congress has to change it. We have had a Republican controlled House and Senate for sometime now, what have they done? I know Obama would have vetoed any proposed changes, but they didn’t even attempt!
This is genius, “…we do not endorse Hillary Clinton’s exemplary leadership during her 30 years in the public eye. We do not support her impressive commitment to serving and improving this country—a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career.”
http://yalerecord.org/2016/10/26/the-yale-record-does-not-endorse-hillary-clinton/
The best non-endorsement ever!
Bob at #86… you are, of course, correct that the President has limited power under the Constitution… one would hope that this would be honored by the man (generic) in the office, the one who is commander in chief of the armies and has the attention of our nation and the leaders of the other nations…
IMNSHO – one of the most eroding changes in our national mindset has been an arrogant disrespect for the law of this good land (not perfect, good)… the call to question authority that arose in the last half of the last century was a good one – it is too bad that the both the evil and those who are simply immature seem to have corrupted the principle into a mindset that every man is a law unto himself…
maybe we’ll yet get back to questioning – dunno
enough from my rocking chair on this 🙂
So Em,
To be clear, you’re voting for Trump because “they” (the people who have done the job before) tell you not to. Also, since we, the little people, can’t tell the truth of what “they” (the press, the people who did business with him but we’re not paid, the women who allege abuse, the peers that say he’s emotionally unstable and a con), but you’re willing to vote for him because God somehow be in charge no matter what (even if we ignore “them” and “their” advice).
hmmm… i’m not very good at expressing my thoughts, am i?
let’s see if i can unpack this…
“To be clear, you’re voting for Trump because “they” (the people who have done the job before) tell you not to. Also, since we, the little people, can’t tell the truth of what “they” (the press, the people who did business with him but we’re not paid, the women who allege abuse, the peers that say he’s emotionally unstable and a con), but you’re willing to vote for him because God somehow be in charge no matter what (even if we ignore “them” and “their” advice).”
the people who have held or hold positions seen in public are very often not the people who have really “done the job”
little people? no, i said common people… take pride in being included in that group, we’re not “little” – i never believe what i read in the press (without pictures 🙂 ), i don’t discount the accusations of the women abused, i don’t discount the accusations of a few folk who didn’t get paid for their work (whatever, happened to filing a mechanics lien?), is he emotionally unstable? is he a con? probably, as are most entrepreneurs, if the few i’ve met are any example…
that said, one can find just as many or more stepping up to point a finger at the Clinton team with the same or similar accusations…
if they’re both untrustworthy, why would i bother to vote at all?
will i vote for Trump because God will fix it? say what?
NO! i will vote for Trump because of Hillary’s machinations in Egypt and Libya leading up to her performance during and after the Benghazi murders – see #81 – i hold that against her … just as i couldn’t vote for Reagan after the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon… the more honorable Reagan stepped up and said, “the buck stops here” – he was right, of course… but talk is cheap and can’t undo bad decisions…
do i urge anyone else to do as i do? vote as i vote? NOPE – find your own data points and vote your own viewpoint – or just say, bag it all and don’t vote at all… IMNSHO, i guess
so will enough votes for Trump destroy the nation? i doubt it – see #85… there are people in the shadows that you don’t cross… remember JFK
yes, in the end, God is in charge of history, and it will play out according to His design, no matter who any of us vote for
Em, they are both untrustworthy. It’s not a matter of not bothering to vote, it’s a matter of opting out of evil, period.
I agree with both Em & Xenia. It’s a mess and in either case, we are in trouble.
there is a case to be made for a Christian to distance himself (generic) from the world system – it is, by Biblical definition, evil…
perhaps, is it evil to participate in order to cast a vote against Hillary because of what she has done (either by callous ambition or incompetence … see my #81) to innocents? i’ll think on it
#82, #89 Of course the former presidents, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. and Clinton are against Trump. The Bushes wanted Jeb to win but if he had won, the narrative would have been -“You want to go back to the Bush policies”? That was already going on before Jeb Bush dropped out. Ryan, the Speaker, wanted Rubio to win and his donors don’t want Trump. Newspapers against Trump that supported Republicans wanted only the establishment type – money talks! The narrative now in the media is that Trump is ‘dangerous’. But the recent charges are alleged and come out all of a sudden right before the election, of course. I also don’t pay workers who do a bad job, and and his kids seem stable enough which is a reflection of him. His son said he is his best friend, and certainly not a con. If you want to point fingers, we could look that years ago Hillary defended a 12 year old that was raped and got the rapist off and laughed about it which the girl speaks out now about – how this injustice to her happened. Hillary is not against abortion at any stage in the pregnancy. She says she is for ‘open borders’, which is not a safe thing to do here. She is blaming Russia currently with her rhetoric and we don’t need a problem with Russia. She takes millions from donors who affect what she does, etc.
#86 Bob – I agree with you about the powers of the president. It is one of the great things about our constitution that we have a balance of powers. Otherwise a president could let ‘power’ get to his head and could become a dictator like person, ignoring what Americans want and just doing what he wants. We would then lose our government of the people, by the people, and for the people. For example,Trump is against ObamaCare. Hillary isn’t. So at least we will have a president who won’t veto congress on ObamaCare if they decide to get rid of it. If the Republicans listen to the people who put them into office, they will want to get rid of it. Congress has tried to do many bills during Obamas presidency but they didn’t get past the desk of Harry Reid, who would stop them form getting to Obama, so Obama wouldn’t have to veto them.
#94 I meant Hillary defended a rapist and got the rapist off.
sue,
I appreciate your intent,but I personally think your man is a picture of the anti-Christ.
I commend your passion, but prefer you take it to your own media.
As has been said here before,when asked to choose between two evils, I refuse to choose evil.
FWIW – everyone who visits the Phxp site is pretty up on current events and history – there isn’t much to be gained by taking advantage of Michael’s house to rehash what we all know and most probably have given intelligent consideration… i apologize for doing so, no matter what i may think of how someone else has connected – or not connected – the dots…
Wow Michael – Others are talking on and on but only I should take it somewhere else? — I would have not gone on and on but others responded to my words and so I responded back – to me, we were just talking and expressing differing opinions, a healthy thing to do. I do not think I or anyone else was taking advantage of your ‘house’. Thank you —
Michael said, “Here is a call for endurance and Faith of the Saints”
Just cuz it needed to be repeated!
Sue,
I was trying to be polite as his name isn’t mentioned in my real house at all without a vile adjective attached to it.
I choose not to take the time to point out the misinformation you’ve stated, nor do I want this blog turned into every other social media site where there is nothing but strife and chaos.
Peace.