It's Time for Christians to Admit They Were Wrong

Here's an EXCEPTIONAL piece on a Baptist News website that humbly and graciously shows that it is time for Christians to stop believing they are always right.

It briefly covers issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, and, yes, politics (without specifically mentioning Trump).  Here's his thesis:

"Sadly, we have been trained to worship the received interpretation of Scripture rather than the overarching narrative of Scripture embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as we have been trained to worship the Bible as the word of God more than Jesus as the divine Word of God. Is our faith so fragile that to admit we have been wrong in one area necessarily pulls a string that undoes all the rest of our faith? Is our faith really a house of cards?"

It is well worth the read, and it encapsulates what the present spirit of the true follower of Christ should be in this particularly divisive age.  Please take a couple of minute to read and to pass along.

Hypocrisy = "Do As I Say, Not As I Do."

President Donald Trump in his Christmas message Wednesday urged Americans to strive to “foster a culture of deeper understanding and respect, traits that exemplify the teachings of Christ.”

So says the same man who has done this.

And, then, the same day he sent out his Christmas message (just a few hours later, in fact), he tweeted about "Crazy Nancy Pelosi."

Soooooooo...
In other news:

• An alcoholic father, with his fourth beer before noon in his hand already, screams at his adult-age kids not to drink on Christmas because it is Jesus's birthday!
• A high school English teacher writes a mistake-ridden email home to parents, complaining that their kids need to pay a lot more attention to details such as spelling and capitalization and punctuation when they are writing.
• A Republican senator who has condemned homosexuality his entire career and who has supported gay-conversion therapy comes out as gay.  (Oh wait.  That one actually happened.  Numerous times.) 
• A heart surgeon is a chain-smoking, couch-potato glutton.
• A child-care worker has a criminal past as a pedophile.
• Smokey the Bear is actually a habitual arsonist.

Maya Angelou once stated the following: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are."

Donald Trump has, hundreds of times over (possibly thousands at this point), shown all of us who he truly is.  And, just so we're clear, who he truly is, is NOT a Christian.  He is a truly awful human being, and a single, prescriptive tweet on Christmas does not erase that indisputable fact. 

Another Evangelical Triumph

Christianity Today has published another thoughtful and brilliant piece.  And although I would disagree with its more-than-conciliatory tone (at times), I thoroughly appreciate what it's trying to do--to note, with open eyes and minds, what has been obvious to so many of us since Day One of this Trump debacle.  And that is,

"to say that the alliance of American evangelicalism with this presidency has wrought enormous damage to Christian witness." 

And why is that (in a nutshell)?

"The problem is that we as evangelicals are also associated with President Trump’s rampant immorality, greed, and corruption; his divisiveness and race-baiting; his cruelty and hostility to immigrants and refugees; and more. In other words, the problem is the wholeheartedness of the embrace. It is one thing to praise his accomplishments; it is another to excuse and deny his obvious misuses of power."

PLEASE go and read this one as well.  And pass it along to deliberately blind evangelical friends.  It is high time that this dialogue happen, for Trump is, without a doubt, morally, ethically, spiritually, and psychologically unfit to serve as this country's leader.  And when enough evangelicals realize that obvious fact, we, as a country, shall be rid of this sordid stain on American history.

And Now, Donald Trump's Unchristian Response to Christianity Today

Sooooooo much to unpack within this newest rage tweet, so I'll be brief.

• He immediately equates politics with religion by using political terms ("far left" and "progressive") to describe a religion-focused publication.  Plus, he's gaslighting here.  Anyone who is familiar with the magazine would certainly label it "centrist" with a penchant towards many conservative talking points.
• I'm not sure whether or not CT (not "ET," by the way, Mr. Trump) "has been doing poorly," but I do know that it has received a significant spike in subscriptions since their editorial about removing Trump from office has come out.  There's some irony there, no?
• More gaslighting--it was not a "perfect transcript of a routine phone call"; it was, without a doubt to anyone who can think for himself, a quid pro quo.  Just because Trump keeps saying otherwise over and over and over doesn't make him any less guilty of abuse of power. 
• What's worse--a "Radical Left nonbeliever" who wants to take care of the sick, the poor, the disenfranchised, and the entire environment (i.e., any Democrat, although I do not believe any of them are "nonbelievers"--more gaslighting), or a megalomaniacal, racist, lying, juvenile, name-calling, non-believing, hypocritical bully who wants only to take care of his uber-rich friends?  
• Note the false equivalency between "your religion & your guns."  Christians, please realize THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING IN THE BIBLE THAT LINKS THESE TWO TOGETHER.  NOTHING!  In fact, an exceptional argument could be made that Jesus was a pacifist.  Plus, Christians, if you really were "pro-Life" (and not just "anti-abortion"), maybe you'd want these instruments of death more strictly regulated than they are.  More irony, yes?
• Seems that there is another implied quid pro quo here--Trump has done so much "for the Evangelical community," so they MUST, in turn, blindly support him and, therefore, ignore his myriad moral failings. Actually, so far, that's been working for him.
• He promises that he "won't be reading ET [sic] again."  We all know he never did in the first place because of two factors: (1) he's not truly concerned with moral/ethical/spiritual issues on a personal, life-changing level; and (2) he doesn't read.

So, to summarize, Trump the non-Christian is, once again, showing quite clearly that he is doing nothing more than using the willfully ignorant evangelical community for his own unchecked power.  And they, sadly, have complicitly allowed it all.

But maybe, just maybe, the chinks in the armor are finally starting to show.

Franklin Graham Has Done It Again

(And by "it," I mean "proven that he truly has sold his soul to Republicanism over Christ.")

Here is his response to the Christianity Today article that I referenced in my last post.

Allow me to pick apart his numerous fallacies:

• "For Christianity Today to side with the Democrat Party in a totally partisan attack on the President of the United States is unfathomable. Christianity Today failed to acknowledge that not one single Republican voted with the Democrats to impeach the President."  Graham begins his argument by solidifying his worship of Republicanity; he is equating Democrats with non-Christian and Republicans (and the President) with Christian.  Just so we all know--it doesn't matter what letter comes at the end of your name (R or D) when it comes to a moral argument (which is the type of argument CT was making); it matters only what is morally correct.  His immediate grasp on this political talking point clearly shows where Graham's loyalty truly lies.
• "They [CT] want readers to believe the Democrat leadership rather than believe the President of the United States."  Yes, they do, because the Democrats are right in this instance--it's well documented that there was a quid pro quo and that there were numerous attempts at obstruction of justice.  Plus, the President of the United States LIES--it's well documented that he has no moral qualms about lying. Ever.  Finally, the CT editors were very clear in acknowledging that the Democrats began all of this never-Trump partisanship years ago when Trump was first elected; however, they also state that these same Democrats have uncovered truths--ugly, sordid, sinful truths--about this man, and it is time for evangelicals to stop ignoring the truth, no matter what the initial purpose may have been.
• "Look at all the President has accomplished in a very short time. The economy of our nation is the strongest it has been in 50 years, ISIS & the caliphate have been defeated, and the President has renegotiated trade deals to benefit all Americans." My first note here is to see what a Christian minister believes are noteworthy accomplishments--2 of the 3 that he mentions are based on money.  That is telling in and of itself, especially since he has been known to ascribe to the prosperity gospel, a complete perversion of the Christ's mission on this earth.  Second, the "economy" isn't as great as Trump (and Graham) would like us to believe for "all Americans"; in fact, it's pretty awful for the "less-thans" of our nation.  According to a Federal Reserve survey, 43% of households can't afford the basics to live; more than 25% of adults have skipped health care within the last year because it was too expensive; 40% of adults have less than $400 in savings; and 50% of the people showing up to food pantries are above the official poverty level but simply cannot make ends meet each week.  And let's not forget that even though blue-collar wages have stagnated for over two decades, Republicans have fought hard against a "living wage" but have made sure the richest 1% are now paying in taxes, for the first time in our history, a lower percentage of their income than the working class of America.  Good thing a Christian minister is focused on the President's economic successes, especially since he seems to want to ignore the very ones Christ himself focused on.
• "The list of accomplishments is long, but for me as a Christian, the fact that he is the most pro-life president in modern history is extremely important—and Christianity Today wants us to ignore that, to say it doesn’t count?"  No, CT does not want you to "ignore" that fact; they say so quite clearly in the article.  Rather, they believe that this singular act does not wash away his moral rot, the very moral rot that Graham himself consistently ignores.  Graham should be careful; his hypocrisy is showing. 
• "The President has been a staunch defender of religious freedom at home and around the world—and Christianity Today wants us to ignore that?"  No, Trump has fought for "Merry Christmas," not for "religious freedom."  And just so we're clear, "religious freedom" means freedom for ALL religions, not just the one to which you ascribe, Mr. Graham.
• "Christianity Today feels he should be removed from office because of false accusations that the President emphatically denies."  This one statement is the most telling of them all.  First, they are not "false accusations"; rather, they are well documented and completely corroborated by numerous first-hand witnesses.  And, if they are false, then why won't the President allow people to testify, the very ones he keeps saying would completely exonerate him?  If he is so innocent, why wouldn't he welcome his opportunity to participate in the constitutionally sound impeachment trial (rather than refusing entirely) so that the public could see quite clearly how everything the Democrats are saying are completely false?  (Here's the answer: he's guilty.)  And finally (and make sure you catch this one), he LIES, more so than any other president in history--this is completely researchable and defensible.  And when you stake your argument on the fact the President "emphatically denies" these allegations, you display yourself as nothing more than a gullible fool, one who is willing to believe a habitual liar for political expediency rather than examine the clear and consequential evidence.  (BTW, when President Bill Clinton stated that he "did not have sex with that woman," did you believe him?  He did emphatically deny it.  Of course you didn't believe him because Clinton was LYING to save himself.  It's the same here, hypocrite.)
• "Christianity Today said it’s time to call a spade a spade. The spade is this—Christianity Today has been used by the left for their political agenda."  No.  They are simply noting evidence, the very evidence that you are choosing to ignore, the very evidence that displays how morally and ethically rancid this human being is. There's nothing "left" about that; instead, it's your job.  Yet you, a "Christian minister," refuse to hold him accountable; you simply choose to acquiesce and fawn and worship this man who would be king with no consequences for his immoral behavior.  
• "Is President Trump guilty of sin? Of course he is, …."  Then, CALL HIM OUT FOR IT!  Christianity Today has bravely and righteously chosen to do so.  Now, it's your turn. 

What an absolute Republican tool this man has become!  He has truly lost all sense of a moral compass, and with that loss has come a complete lack of credibility, something that the editors of Christianity Today warned evangelicals about.  Sadly, they were unequivocally right.

Better Late Than Never, Evangelicals!

FINALLY, a major Christian publication is coming out to say what they should have said on Day One; that is, Trump is morally and ethically unfit for office.  He always has been; he always will be.  Any claims against that thesis are simply indefensible.  Period.

Read the short but powerful article here.

Seriously, go read it.  And then pass it along to all evangelicals that you know.

Welcome to the party, Christians.  Glad to have you.

WWJD?

Not this.  EVER.

Jesus Wasn't a Rich, White Dude

This is an exceptional article that, I believe, frames what's wrong with white, American, evangelical Christianity today (written by a Baptist minister, btw).  To whet your appetite (and, I hope, to get you to read its entirety), here's a wonderful historical reminder by the author:

"What we find in our sacred stories is a dark-skinned, dark-eyed, dark-haired Middle Eastern child born amid sexual scandal; ostracized for his family’s religion; persecuted because of his gender; friend to tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners and other outcasts; who grew up in Nazareth. 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'"

Ultimately, the author's point is one that is thoroughly lost on white evangelicals today; that is, if they were to remember the actual human being correctly, if they were to remember the actual narratives about him correctly, if they were to remember the actual historical context of his entire life correctly, then their blatant anti-Christian behaviors (embodied perfectly by Trump and the current Republican party) would simply not be tolerated.

Dear Franklin Graham, You Are Not a Christian.

This picture shows what, exactly, about Franklin Graham?

• That he's a good Christian?
• That he exemplifies all the best characteristics of a loving God? 
• That, as a pastor, he is helping lead his flock in the ways of the Christ?

Hmmmm.  No.  The answer is most certainly NO.  So, let me try again...

• That he has sold his soul to the Republican Party?
• That he worships King Trump rather than Jesus?
• That he is completely ignoring literally the entire ministry of the Christ, who exhibited unconditional compassion and unconditional love and unconditional empathy towards all the "less-thans" in society every single day?
• That his racist Manifest-Destiny-based patriotism has thoroughly obliterated any semblance of a gospel-centered, Christ-focused life?
• That he has absolutely no business calling himself a "Christian"?

Yes.  The answer is unequivocally YES.  

And if you disagree, then I challenge you to use the Bible (not just a single, out-of-context verse, but the spirit of the entirety of the Christian sacred text) to prove how building a wall to keep poor, brown non-Americans on the other side of a man-made border equates to the love of the Christ.  (BTW, you won't be able to do so, so there's no point in trying.)

Franklin Graham is truly a detestable human being who, at this point, is exhibiting more of the characteristics of the anti-Christ than of the Christ.  And it is time that true Christians start standing up to hold this asshole accountable.

#FranklinGraham

Under the Subject of "If I Say/Type It Enough Times, Then It's Got To Be True"

There is not a single statement in this tweet that is even remotely related to Truth.  Not one.

• He is a bully.  
• He is a racist.  
• He is a xenophobe.  
• He is a liar.  
• He is an Islamophobe.  
• He is a fascist.  
• He is the one who is thoroughly corrupt.
• He is NOT kicking ass for all Americans.
• AND, most importantly, Trump is NOT a Christian.

Here are a few more whoppers (i.e., "alternative facts") that Mr. Fournier and his willfully ignorant ilk probably believe also:

• There was no obstruction.  Trump was completely exonerated by the Mueller Report.
• There were ISIS terrorists in the migrant caravans.
• The wall is being built.  Mexico is paying for it.
• It was Obama who instituted the "Zero-Tolerance" border policy.
• Hurricane Dorian was definitely projected to hit Alabama.  No Sharpies were involved.
• Climate change is a huge hoax.
• Michael Cohen sent the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels of his own volition.
• There was no quid pro quo. 
• Any negative portrayal of Trump is Fake News.  And FoxNews is "fair and balanced."

These blatant-to-anyone-who-has-half-a-brain lies that are continuing to vomit forth from all of the shameless Trump sycophants are destroying any semblance of credibility for the Republican party.  Moreover, for that Republican party to continue to claim Christianity as its sword and shield against the perceived (and false) injustices of a society that is finally pushing back is thoroughly reprehensible.  Finally, and most importantly, for the Christian community to allow the Republican party to do so unobstructedly while passively looking on is, pure and simple, blasphemy to the spirit of their Christ.

And, ultimately, Christianity itself will pay for its hypocrisy.

Mic Drop

This single tweet truly encapsulates the theme of this entire blog so beautifully.  So perfect!

Trump and Twitter

The New York Times recently published an exhaustive list of the all of the people our President has insulted via Twitter since he announced his candidacy.

First point: Wow. Just wow.  It is truly overwhelming to witness this level and volume of pettiness, vitriol, and infantility all in one place.

Second point: It is truly disheartening and depressing and enraging to witness this level and volume of pettiness, vitriol, and infantility from the leader of the free world, from the man who represents America on the world stage, from the man I am forced to call "my President."

Third point: Although many of these insults may not officially qualify as "unChristian" (for maybe they are merely sophomoric), many more of them do, especially when read from the lens of I Corinthians 13 (i.e., the "love chapter).

Final point: If you claim to be an evangelical Christian and can read the entirety of that list while still defending this man, then the Gospel of Republicanity, and not the Gospel of the Christ, owns your soul.  You are a blasphemous embarrassment to true Christians everywhere.

A Reminder as to What "Hypocrisy" Means

You're welcome, Republicans.

Separating Immigrant Families Isn't "Christian."

In the midst of the impeachment craziness that has swept this country, it has been easy to forget about some of the numerous atrocities our President has championed under the guise of "patriotism."  So, as a reminder, I wanted to make sure that we remembered that separating families at the border and forcing these human beings to live in cages indefinitely has not gone away.  In fact, a new report states that there were an additional 1500 families which were previously unreported that have been directly affected by this administration's policy. And most of those families have yet to be reunited.

So, "Christian" Republicans, ...

• If your political party specifically implemented the current "zero-tolerance," inhumane parent-child immigrant separation policy;
• If your political party is thoroughly complicit with the squalid, unsanitary, cage-living, concrete-sleeping conditions at the border for both immigrant children and immigrant parents;
• If your political party wants to make it a felony to give life-saving humanitarian aid to human souls crossing a human-constructed border to try to better their lives;
• If your political party knows of immigrant children deaths while specifically in the care of American authorities and literally does nothing about those deaths, not even so much as voicing public indignation;
• And if your political party does all of this while, at the same time, hypocritically screaming, "ALL lives matter" and "We are Pro-Life";

Then do us all a favor and stop claiming to be a party that espouses Christian values. 

You aren't.  And you don't.

Period. 

And, to paraphrase a meme that's out there right now, if your response to all of these facts about your political party and the immigration crisis is nothing more than, "Well, they shouldn't have broken the law by crossing the border," then you and I don't have a difference in politics; we have a difference in morality.  (And, just so we're clear, your morality isn't the Christian one.)

Just a Little Reminder to Republicans

George Conway Is The Man!

So, here's a little something that the "Reverend" Johnnie Moore tweeted out this last week:

Now, before I criticize his tweet as nothing more than blasphemous ass-kissing by "pastors," here's what George Conway, husband of Lying Sycophant #1 Kellyanne Conway, tweeted back:

BEAUTIFUL!  Just beautiful!

May I be so bold as to add the following:

"Blessed be thy name-calling and thy bullying, for those are the tools of a God-fearing man.  Blessed be thy raising up of the rich and the tearing down of the poor, for God certainly loves the former and despises the latter.  Blessed be thy destruction and thy division and thy anger and thy loathing and thy pettiness and thy power grabs, for that's just kick ass!"

Anyway, I know Conway did it much better, so here's my main point about the original tweet from a "pastor": This is nothing more than a posed photo-op for a thoroughly hypocritical President who needs to rally his ignorant evangelical base as he continues to lose ground because he is an awful piece of humanity.  And these pastors are the very ones who, yes, should be praying for him but also who should be (pay close attention here) HOLDING HIM ACCOUNTABLE as a human being.  They aren't; in fact, they refuse to.

And it is because of that very fact that many people are starting to recognize these "pastors" for what they really are--modern-day Pharisees whom Jesus himself would detest.

Jesus vs. Trump

Just a handy-dandy, down-n-dirty reference meme to remind evangelicals as to whom they are supporting right now (because it's one or the other, not both):

:

Franklin Graham's Ignorance and Hypocrisy

In a recent interview, Franklin Graham, revered Christian pastor and son of the late Billy Graham, noted quite strongly that Christians must "vote against the godless, socialist agenda of the abortion industry."

Now, outside of the Christian fight against abortion (something I will get to in a little bit), I find Graham's wording to be both ignorant and hypocritical.  Allow me to explain by first offering a basic civics lesson to Mr. Graham and his ilk.

According to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, socialism is the

"social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members.

This conviction puts socialism in opposition to capitalism, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and allows individual choices in a free market to determine how goods and services are distributed. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from free-market competition—people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society." 

Now, the United States is not a socialist country, but we most certainly have socialist programs--government programs that take taxpayer monies and distribute those monies in a way that help the most people, especially those that cannot afford to help themselves.  Those programs include, but are not limited to, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and food stamps, public education, public housing assistance, and public safety (including police, fire, and military services).  Yes, Mr. Graham, our country has "socialist agendas," and those agendas are extremely helpful to many human souls.  Your disparaging term is, therefore, extremely misguided.  

Moreover, to equate "socialist" with "godless" is plain hypocritical for a pastor.  I assure you that Jesus was far more "socialist" than "capitalist."  (See Matthew 19:21 and Mark 10:25 and  Luke 12:33 and Luke 14:12-14.)   Plus, beyond Jesus's own words, the Bible continually tells human beings to take care of the poor (Proverbs 19:17 and Proverbs 29:7 and Deuteronomy 15:7-11 and Hebrews 13:16).  And, just in general, isn't the Church, by definition, a socialist organization--one that encourages (or even spiritually mandates) generous money-giving from those who are more fortunate in order to help those who are less?  But I guess when you're a "pastor" with a net worth of $10 million, then maybe the Bible's own "socialist agenda" is something that you tend to ignore. 

And finally, the abortion thing.  I will first admit that the Christian fight against (practically) unlimited abortion seems genuine and moral.  (There are some parts of their fight with which I certainly disagree--for example, instances of rape, incest, and the health of the mother, just to name a few--but that's not my point right now.)  However, it is the Republican claim of being "pro-lifers" with which I have a serious problem.  In fact, based on their other programs (or their destruction of programs), I would argue that their use of the term is the epitome of their hypocrisy in this instance.

First, a powerful quote by Sister Joan Chittister:

Trump and the Republicans have fought hard against welfare, against public housing assistance, and against public education, all socialist programs that are meant to help everyone, especially those who are less fortunate.  So, to reiterate Chittister's claim, Trump and the Republicans want only for the baby to pop out of the womb, but that's where their "morality" in helping care for this human life specifically ends. 

Plus, let us not forget that it is the Republican party (i.e., the ones claiming to be "pro-LIFERS"), not the Democratic party, that overwhelmingly ...

• supports the use of the death penalty,
• supports the proliferation of the military,
• supports the NRA agenda unequivocally,
• supports the rejection of refugees fleeing for their lives,
• supports the poisoning and destruction of the environment,
• supports a minimum wage that is in no way a living wage,
• supports tax programs that help the wealthy and hurt the poor.

And all of this Republican support inarguably causes suffering, destruction, and even death (i.e., NOT life).

So, Mr. Graham, all of this is to say what I stated at the beginning: Your support of Trump and his agendas makes you and your political species nothing more than ignorant, hypocritical, and iniquitous, so stop trying to claim the moral high ground when your foundation is built on nothing more than sinking sand (See Matthew 7:24-27) .

            

Just Like Pilate Did

This, my friends, is how a present-day Trump-supporting Christian absolves himself/herself of all responsibility:

• Does Trump gut the EPA's policies and rules, thereby helping destroy God's great creation?
• Does Trump abandon Kurdish Christians to be slaughtered by their enemies? 
• Does Trump himself stay publicly silent when a vile video supporting and encouraging violence towards non-Trumpists is played at one of his own resorts?
• Does Trump use his powers to personally enrich himself? 
• Does Trump regularly create policies that hurt the poor and disenfranchised?
• Does Trump bully and name-call anyone who does not agree with him?
• Does Trump regularly spew both racism and misogyny for his core base to feast upon? 

No matter!  If you are a "Christian" (especially if you are an evangelical who has supported Trump in the past), you don't have to concern yourself with such trivial, meaningless, trite social matters! You simply wash your hands of it all and quote some scripture out of context that "proves" God wants things this way; then, you are thoroughly exonerated for your utter lack of social activism against a man who daily tramples upon the spirit of Christian love.

This kind of political apathy in which many evangelical Christians have now enveloped themselves displays two important traits of these "Christians": (1) a growing understanding and an implicit concession that Trump is an awful human being who neither knows nor cares anything about the spirit of the Christ, and (2) a thorough lack of empathy that is born from their privileged lifestyle, one in which Trump's policies and vitriol have not touched them personally, thereby making those policies and vitriol easy to ignore and even, at times, excuse.  The first is a step in the right direction (a baby step, certainly, but a step nonetheless); the second, however, is two steps backwards, thereby completely negating the first step.

I will admit, however, that I do agree with one thing that this person said in the original post; that is, professed Christians "need to let God influence [their] politics."  In fact, that single statement completely invalidates everything else s/he said in the rest of his/her post.  If Christians were to start doing just that (i.e., becoming more politically aware and more socially active in this world based on their Christian principles), then two things would happen in our nation's civil milieu: (1) Trump would be out.  Period.  Either he would be impeached and removed from office, or he would be soundly voted out in 2020.  But either way, this blasphemous, irreverent facade of a "Christian" would be recognized for who he truly is, and he would be gone.  And (2) the Republican party would have to remove its stranglehold on the Christian religion.  I'm not saying that the Democratic party should then be allowed to grab the title of the "Party of Christianity," for that would be nothing more than swinging the idolatry pendulum the other way.  What I am saying, however, is that Christians would stop automatically voting just for candidates with an 'R' next to their names AND would push for all candidates to start displaying more Christ-like behavior and creating more Christian (i.e., empathetic, compassionate, and loving) policies.

And we would all, Christian and non-Christian alike, be better for it.   

Trump as Cult Leader

This is a very interesting, well researched, and thoroughly accessible article about how our President has become a dangerous type of cult leader within his own party and, sadly, our nation. Here's the thesis:

"Trump exhibits features of what psychologist Eric Erickson called 'malignant narcissism'—bombastic grandiosity, a bottomless need for praise, lack of empathy, pathological lying, apparent sadism, and paranoia. In short, he fits the stereotypical psychological profile of a cult leader."

What's truly amazing to me is how easily Trump has bewitched so many evangelicals to abandon their Bible's principles, their Savior's actions, and their God's mandates to worship him as he attempts to destroy anything and anyone "non-Trump." 

Just a reminder to all of those evangelicals: Loyalty to a man (one who exhibits wholly anti-Christian values on a daily basis, by the way) does not equate to loyalty to your sacred text or to your professed Savior.  In fact, in this case, they are definitively mutually exclusive of one another.

(And, by the way, please click on the link above to read the entire article.)

Isn't This One Act a "Two-fer"?

So, he abandons Christian Kurds ...

in order to protect his own business interests and money.

When will evangelicals see that this man wants nothing to do with real Christianity? 

Someone Is Giving Jeffress and Graham a Run for Their Ass-Kissing, Soul-Selling Monies

And that someone is Pastor Ralph Reed. 

Reed has written a book (first sacrilegious title: Render to God and Trump; actual published title: For God and Country--The Christian Case for Trump) in which he argues that Christians "have a moral obligation to enthusiastically back" our current president.  (I assume Reed will be ignoring literally everything about this man's character and actions beyond the abortion and LGBQT things, thereby falsely equating those two topics with every other spiritually damnable issue on the other side of Trump's long ledger.)

Funny, I thought the prophets in the Old Testament (ya know, the ones who were in direct contact with Yahweh) had a "moral obligation" to call out Israel's leaders for their sinful words and ways, not to encourage all of the Israelites to "enthusiastically back" their adulterous, greedy, destructive, power-hungry, God-ignoring men-children.

Congratulations to "Pastor" Reed for jumping to the head of the line for the coveted title of "Ignorant Hypocrite of the Year."  (However, there are over 2 months left in the year, so don't count out Robert Jeffress or Franklin Graham or even dark horse Paula White just yet.  Still a lot of time left, folks!  It's still anyone's game!)

Trump's Divisiveness via Falsehoods

Here, our elected President whips his base (which includes up to 70% of evangelicals right now) into a rabid, frenzied fury of blind acceptance by tweeting more thoroughly divisive rhetoric that is grounded in nothing but his desire to hold onto power for himself.  Let us count the fallacies:

• First, he falsely equates the legal, Constitutionally sound, and (in this case) well deserved process of impeachment with a militaristic, violent, illegal overthrow of the government.  That is an intentional obfuscation via emotionally charged language; in other words, that is a blatant lie. 
• Second, he equates "Religion" (which, of course, we know he means "Christianity") with voting, the second amendment (the gun one), the military (more guns and destruction), and a border wall (which keeps out all of those bad brownies) by putting them all in the same list.  So, all of those important Republican talking points are now lumped together with being a Christian, solidifying the blasphemous marriage between politics and spirituality.
• Third, he continues this unholy marriage by stating that a "Citizen of The United States of America" has "God-given rights," thereby perpetuating the racist myth of Manifest Destiny.  Just so we're clear, being a citizen of a particular country does not, in any way, grant anyone "God-given rights" (the implication is that if one is not a citizen of that particular country, then s/he does not receive those rights); rather, being a human being with an eternal soul should be the sole cause of receiving those rights.  Plus, maybe some of those rights, if we were to follow the example of the Christ and/or the Bible, should include universal healthcare; clean air, soil, and water; protection of the disenfranchised and alien; and empathetic compassion towards others--all of which this administration has specifically fought against.

This man's tweets, along with being exceptional examples of atrocious reasoning and horrendous writing skills, should be insulting to every single citizen right now, at least to every single citizen who has the ability of critical thinking.  Maybe that's the problem, for evangelicals are taught not to think for themselves but just to have "faith" in what their superiors tell them.  Since this is the case, Trump (and not true Christianity) is winning.

The Textbook Definition of 'Blasphemy'

Paula White had the audacity to pray the following: “Let every demonic network that has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus.”

Her willful ignorance of this man's true character and purposes has allowed her to become nothing more than a willing tool of vanity and power and divisiveness for this administration.  It is she who blasphemes against the focus of her sacred text and the spirit of her God.

A Misleading Meme from Republicans? Say It Ain't So!

So, I've decided that I have two possible responses to this less-than-facts-based meme that I found the other day--either logically argumentative or satirically snarky.  I have chosen to do both; thus, you, the reader, have your choice as to which one to read.  Enjoy.

Satirically Snarky
Take your choice of the following:

• Anyone else notice that it was Trump that brought chaos, division, harassment, and love of his own money back into the White House?
• Anyone else notice that it was Trump that brought greed, incoherence, fear-mongering, and love of brutal dictators back into the White House?
• Anyone else notice that it was Trump that brought lies, deceit, falsehoods, and love of disinformation back into the White House?
• Anyone else notice that it was Trump that brought ignorance, infantilism, idiocy, and love of insults back into the White House?
• Anyone else notice that it was Trump that brought racism, nepotism, narcissism, and love of anti-environmentalism back into the White House? 

There are certainly more, but you get the point.  I'll move on.

Logically Argumentative

Let's break down all the problems with this simplistic meme:

• First, we are NOT a theocracy; in fact, our Founding Fathers fought specifically against the idea of making this new nation a theocracy, for that's what they felt they were escaping.  Thus, for any president to bring God, Bible, and prayer explicitly into the White House (meaning, as a political tool for policy-making decisions) is against our Constitution and the very basis of our democratic republic.  I realize that factual point means nothing to evangelicals, but (and let me make this clear) it is not an anti-Christian point.  Anyone can worship freely in this country (thankfully), but no leader is allowed to make his/her religion the centerpiece for our national laws or policies.
• Second, no, Trump did not bring those first three in the list back into the White House, no matter how much the evangelicals blindly believe it.  That is simply a lie.  Both his words and his actions are thoroughly, comprehensively, absolutely anti-Christian, and you can read just about any other entry in this blog if you don't believe me.  Simply put, you are an utter fool if you accept that Trump reflects the life of a true follower of Christ.
• Notice the four concepts in the list.  Allow me to characterize them for you, in order: Christianity, Christianity, Christianity, patriotism.  There is a glaring attempt at transfer here; meaning, Christianity and patriotism go hand-in-hand.  They are practically synonymous with one another.  Jesus's cross was probably red, white, and blue, in fact.  AND, because Trump (the Republican president/candidate) represents one, he naturally represents the other.  It's seamless; it's natural; it's perfect.  And, by association, those damn Democrats represent neither. This is the simplistically misleading type of sound bite that Republicans are serving up and the evangelicals are swallowing whole.  Pathetic.  

If you are someone who indiscriminately accepts the unholy, blasphemous marriage between Republicanism (and specifically Trumpism) and Christianity (i.e., you are someone who nodded your head in total agreement when you saw the meme at the beginning of this entry), then you most certainly need to start reading your Bible more closely and start paying attention to the clear immorality of the one in charge right now. 

Moloch Is a Democrat.

(I've fallen behind on my posts recently, and there is SO much that needs to be tackled.  So I will try to catch up over the next few days.  Sorry, and keep reading!)

A Fox"News" contributor, Todd Starnes, recently led an on-air conversation with right-wing pastor Robert Jeffress (practically the patron Saint of the Gospel of Republicanity) in which they suggested that Democrats worship an Old Testament pagan god known as Moloch, who was known for child sacrifices.  You can find a brief article summarizing the incident and quoting both men here.

So, to summarize:

                                    Democrats = Child-sacrificing, hell-bound pagans
                                    Republicans = The only true Christians

Please note that boot-licking Trump sycophants are no longer just implying that political affiliation determines the individual soul's salvation (or lack thereof); they are now outright announcing it to the world (or at least to their ignorant, unthinking base of evangelicals who swallow anything a "pastor" would feed them).  These blazing, brainless hypocrites willfully ignore Trump the individual who lives a thoroughly anti-Christian lifestyle replete with lies and lust and greed and anger and lies and sloth and spite and fraud and lies and racism and hypocrisy (and have I mentioned the habitual lying?); they willfully ignore Trump the politician who creates policies that destroy the environment, that punish the poor and disenfranchised while lining the already lined pockets of the filthy rich, that remove basic affordable health care from millions of people, that shut out (and even cage) human souls who are fleeing from catastrophic living situations in other countries; and they willfully ignore literally ANYTHING (including both science and morality) that is not associated with their rigidly anti-abortion stance.

Now, to FoxNews's credit, Starnes was duly fired for peddling that kind of propaganda bullshit while masquerading it as journalism.  However, "Pastor" Jeffress is still free to continue to sell his soul publicly to Trump and the political realm while masquerading his words as God's. He is the exact man who should be calling Trump's "Christianity" into question, yet it is he who, sadly, is actually validating it for the rest of the evangelical world to accept blindly.

And we can only hope that both he and Trump shall eventually be held accountable.

Isn't Narcissism Anti-Christian?

(1) When pioneering journalist Cokie Roberts died on September 17, 2019, this is what Trump told reporters:

"I never met her. She never treated me nicely. But I would like to wish her family well. She was a professional and I respect professionals. I respect you guys a lot, you people a lot. She was a real professional. Never treated me well, but I certainly respect her as a professional." 


(2) In March of 2019, completely unprompted and several months after John McCain's death, Trump said this to some factory workers in Ohio:

"I gave him the kind of funeral he wanted, which as president, I had to approve.  I don't care about this.  I didn't get a thank you--that's OK.  We sent him on his way.  But I wasn't a fan of John McCain."


(3) In July of 2019, when signing the extension of the 9/11Victim Compensation Fund, he stated the following to the first responders who were attending the ceremony (a statement that is an obvious lie, by all objective accounts):

"I was down there also, but I'm not considering myself a first responder, but I was down there.  I spent a lot of time down there with you."


(4a) After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Trump claimed the following:

"3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico.  When I left the island, AFTER the storm  had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths.  As time went by it do not go up by much.  Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000.  This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico.  If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list.  Bad politics.  I love Puerto Rico!"

(4b) He later tweeted and said the following about his response to that same hurricane and others (even though (1) by all objective accounts, the federal response to Hurricane Maria for the Puerto Ricans was an abject disaster, and (2) no one hands out disaster-relief grades like we're in high school, so this "we" must be Trump himself):

"We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico …)…."  And later, "I actually think it's one of the best jobs that's ever been with respect to what this is all about."



(5) In May of 2017, during a visit to the NATO headquarters, Trump grabbed the arm of the Prime Minister of Montenegro and forcibly moved him out of the way in order get to the front of the group of world leaders.  He never even acknowledged the prime minister.

(6) And lest we forget, when he was interviewed about the 9/11 tragedy literally while it was occurring on September 11, 2011, he stated the following (which is actually a lie):

"40 Wall Street [Trump Tower] actually was the second tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest.  And then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second tallest.  And now it's the tallest." 



All of these examples (and there are many, many, MANY others like them) demonstrate clearly how Trump turns every single situation, even personal and national tragedies, to be about himself, even if obvious, blatant, grotesque lies are involved; everything MUST be focused squarely on him at all times.  And that trait is clearly demonstrating true narcissism, which, in turn, exemplifies how he is thoroughly incapable of empathy towards others, especially those who are truly suffering.

And empathy is the defining characteristic of unconditional love, a trait that the Christian must acknowledge, appreciate, foster, and (try to) emulate every single moment of every single day of his/her life (citation: Jesus's entire life).  How, then, can a true Christian support this human being who daily manifests the very antithesis of such a defining Christian quality?

How the Republican Party is Gaslighting Christians

This is an EXCELLENT first-person view of one woman's epiphany concerning the toxic marriage between Republicanism and Christianity.  Much of this I have been trying to state in smaller snippets than this article, but her narrative and analysis of how she came to understand all the shameless bullshit that Republicanity now contains is exceptional.

Here is her basic premise to whet your appetite:

"And then came 2016. Donald Trump, a man whom until then I most closely associated with 'The Apprentice,' was now the Republican nominee for president of the United States. Trump’s campaign and election was a breaking point for me and many other American evangelicals. This was when we realized that everything we had been told was non-negotiable didn’t matter when there was power on the line. The election was like a floodlight on the underbelly of the evangelical church, and this is when the church started gaslighting me.
Gaslighting is psychological manipulation that leads one to question one’s own feelings and perceptions of reality. For more than two years now, I have watched, shocked, as 81 percent of the religious leaders and peers of my youth and early adulthood have embraced a man and a political ideology contrary to the teachings of Jesus. They have thrown out the foundational values of Christianity in exchange for tax cuts, Supreme Court nominees and political power. Today, those Christians are calling me a heretic and a godless woman because now I reject their Republican rhetoric and because my personal Christian values (that they drilled into me for decades) more closely align with the Democratic Party’s platform.
The boldness of the church’s hypocrisy is causing me to question the very foundation of my spiritual beliefs. It’s disorienting. Every biblical principle I hold sacred has been disregarded by many other Christians, and I often feel like I’m losing my sanity while the entire house of cards that is my evangelical upbringing collapses around me."

Now, go and read the rest of it; it is worth it.  Then, spread it around, especially if you know one of those 81% of the white evangelicals that support this piece of human buffoonery.  If the church wants its credibility back anytime soon, it is high time to disassociate itself completely from Trump.

A Better Meme for Republican Christians

Truth!

Franklin Graham--Republican Tool

So, that previous tweet went out from one of the most well known, most influential leaders of the American evangelical movement, Franklin Graham, who was basically telling a Democratic presidential candidate to repent for being gay.

On the other hand, this is the type of tweet that Graham consistently sends out for our current President, a Republican:

So, to summarize: being gay, which has been scientifically proven NOT to be a choice and which hurts no one, is a sin worthy of public repentance and a complete lifestyle overhaul; however, being adulterous and being racist and being rapacious and being deceitful and being gleefully antagonistic, all of which are personal choices and all of which have numerous victims, are what?  Taking a "stand for the Christian faith"?

Hypocrisy, Mr. Graham, is something that the Bible defines as a sin and is most certainly worthy of repentance.  You and Mr. Trump should both consider that fact.

Another Day, Another B.S. Republican Meme

Take a look at this one that's floating around the social media airwaves:

There is really sooooooo much to unpack here, so I'll try to get to everything.  Here we go:

• First, there is the obvious juxtaposition between Obama and Jesus (an awfully white Jesus, btw).  Because they are set up as opposites--both visually and verbally--then Obama MUST be the opposite of the Christ.  And for Christians, what is the opposite of the Christ?  Well, Satan, of course.
• Because of this juxtaposition and because of the Christian's belief in a spiritual dichotomy (i.e., if you're not for Jesus, you're against Him), then a transfer takes place; that is, everything that is specifically Christian is Republican/Trump (and vice versa), and everything that is specifically Satanic is Democratic/Obama (and vice versa).  
• Third, I want to go outside of the visual meme for a minute and focus on the diction above the meme.  Note the strong, pathos-laden words: This meme displays "TRUTH"; this meme is digging into "moral issues"; and this meme is calling for a "Biblical response."  All of this spiritual diction helps associate the Republican cause, which is evident in the meme itself, directly and overtly with the Christian cause; in fact, they are one in the same!  Moreover, because the speaker is a minister, these political issues are his "business," and, therefore, his appeals to ethos should be unquestioned.  Once again, Republican/Trump equals Christianity. (Note the hashtag that makes the entire purpose even clearer.)

So, here we are again--Republican and Trump equal Christian, and Democrat (and Obama, specifically in this case) equal Satanic.  That kind of obtuse equivalency, without a shred of evidence or even a hint of actual critical thinking, is EXACTLY that the Republican party is trying so desperately to create at this point, and, honestly, they are doing a pretty fine job of it.

However, when one actually digs just a tad and starts to look at the real issues (rather than, you know, allowing a bullshit meme to do the thinking for you), then one can plainly see that Trump and the Republican party ain't so very Christian in many areas after all.  Outside of Trump's habitual lying, juvenile bullying, recurrent marriage infidelities, and (most recently) blasphemous messianic complex (all of which are "only" personal failings, which should not be ignored by Christians but most certainly are), here's a handy-dandy chart that should remind us all of the Democratic support and Republican rejection of moral policy issues our country is facing right now:

Trump/Republican	Real Moral Issue	Democratic
No	Environmentalism/Proper stewardship of the planet	Yes
No	Actively helping the poor/needy/marginalized, even if that human being does not originate from this country	Yes
No	Considering healthcare a right, not a privilege	Yes
No	Equal, humane treatment for every human soul, no matter the race, gender, or sexual orientation	Yes

On the other hand, the far right has taken upon itself to morph peripheral, mundane, asinine non-issues into "moral issues" even when there is clearly nothing associated with morality or spirituality with any of them.  Here are a few recent ones that Republicans are claiming the "moral" high ground on:

Trump/Republican	NOT a Real Moral Issue	Democratic
Yes	Saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays”	Who cares?
Yes	Standing during the Pledge or the Star-Spangled Banner	Doesn’t matter
Yes	Jewish “loyalty” to the Republican party	WTH?
Yes	Purchasing Greenland	WTF?

I will grant that Republicans seem to have more of a moral high ground when it comes to the abortion issue, but if that's literally the only issue on which this meme was built, then, once again, the far right has "won" by convincing the evangelicals of a false equivalency; that is, the single issue of abortion equals ALL of the other issues combined.  (BTW, it doesn't and it shouldn't.) Thus, if one were to save an unborn, unviable, 6-week-old fetus, then s/he can screw over everyone and everything else, guilt free!   

Truly, this kind of cerebral and spiritual denseness from the typical evangelical Christian is EXACTLY what the Republican leaders are counting on.  And, sadly, they're winning.