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