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jthelmsdeep · 7 years

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To Tweet or not to Tweet? I don’t think that’s really the question

So I’ve been somberly pondering the last week of significant global activity, and their underlying spiritual implications. Beginning with the mudslide in Sierra Leone that claimed the lives of 419 people (as at last count), closely followed by the Charlottesville “Take America back” demonstration organized by white nationalists, neo-Nazi, and Ku Klux Klan members in which one person was killed and 19 injured, to the heinous terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain that left 13 people dead and over 100 injured.

For fairly obvious reasons, even though it has the highest death toll the Sierra Leone disaster has taken a backseat to other events, and most Americans are completely oblivious to it (read, it’s Africa, and people die there daily from wars, disease, famine, and other human maladies, so on a global scale of measurement it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things).

Consequently there has been more attention given to the Barcelona terror attack in which ISIS has claimed responsibility, but the greatest attention (and maybe rightly so) has been given to the Charlottesville, VA white supremacist attacks.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“President Trump tweeted a series of statements Saturday responding to the riotous actions of white nationalists and Klansmen in Charlottesville, Va. The first was a generic statement condemning hate and violence, in which he continued for a second day not to comment specifically on the nature of the demonstrations.

The President’s tweet declared:

We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!

Later in the afternoon, Trump addressed the violence in Charlottesville from his golf club in New Jersey, saying that blame belongs "on many sides.””

Many have criticized the President for his milquetoast response in not outright condemning white supremacy as having no place in a country whose creed is the embracing of all people.

The LA Times further pointed out that, “The president's vagueness stood in contrast to his frequent contention, echoing many on the right, that "radical Islamic terrorism" cannot be defeated if political leaders are not willing to specifically call it that.”

So, while the furore continues about tweets that provide no comfort to the families of the victims of all of these disasters, the greater focus is taken away from what does really matter.

Here’s how the Scriptures put it (pay close attention to the emboldened words):

1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ~ Matthew 24:3-14 (NIV)

My point?

Simple really. The enemy’s plan is to ensure that “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” His plan is that there will be an “increase of wickedness” so “the love of most will grow cold.” His plan is to ensure that there will be “wars and rumors of wars.” His plan is to use the devastation caused by “earthquakes, famines,” and other human disasters to ensure that there is violence between nations.

These signs all portend the end of the age.

So what concerns the Christian while all this is happening?

The answer to that is easy, yet hard to do:

13 “but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” ~ Matthew 24:13,14 (NIV)

So while everyone around us is losing their heads, we must keep ours.

While many are calling for a division of the races, we must advocate for a uniting and acceptance of all people.

And in the aftermath of hatred, violence, and tragedy, we must possess the temerity to call out hate, injustice, and inequity, and then counter it with God’s love. Only then is the Gospel seen for what it is: A healer and restorer of broken places and people. Just my dos centavos!

#sierra leone #charlottesville #barcelona #racism #donald trump

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jthelmsdeep · 7 years

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Discouraged?

The breath-taking sunrises and sunsets testify to the undeniable truth that there is a God, in spite of rumors to the contrary. Nature testifies that it is also true, according to the Scriptures, that He holds all things together — read about laminin here — in spite of man’s futile attempts to discredit Him and blame Him for their ills and the resultant effects of their poor choices.

But God is not mocked! He will be glorified, and one day every knee will bow before Him, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. The beauty of creation recognizes there is a God, and relinquishes their secrets with the rising of the morning sun.

It is equally true though, that there is a very real enemy — Satan — and he is roving the earth “seeking whom he can devour.” One of the tools in his very formidable arsenal, is discouragement. Sometimes, circumstances threaten to overwhelm us, and discouragement sits uninvited at our table. Jim Elliot, one of five martyred missionaries to the Aucas of Ecuador, once wrote, “Discouragement is a satanic tool that seems to fit my disposition well.”

Many of us easily relate to Jim’s perspective, and it can often feel as if the walls are pressing in around us, and it’s all we can do to stay standing. At those times, we tend to become self-absorbed, focusing on our troubles and our pain. That’s human nature. But there is a way to rise above the crushing weight of your pain and circumstances.

Really?

Absolutely!

It’s found in Psalm 77. “So, how does it work?” I hear you ask. Well, it simply takes the focus off you and your pain, and puts it squarely on you and your God!

I cry out to God;

I call to God, and He will hear me.

I look for the Lord on the day of trouble…

God your ways are holy.

No god is as great as our God.

You are the God who does miracles; you have shown people your power…

You made a way through the sea and the paths through the deep waters, but your footprints were not seen.

So today, as I remember too many in our faith community who are struggling with the death of a loved one, debilitating illnesses, shattered dreams, and broken promises, I pray that discouragement won’t win the battle in your mind. I pray that today, you’ll remember the God who loved you enough to die on a cross just for you…and who still does!

#christianity #faith #jesus #god #peace

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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to the most important women in my life...thank you!

It's easy to complain about things that are broken, or about things that don't work the way they should, or about things that just don't seem right, or about all the things that are wrong with our world. But it's truly a privilege to be alive at a time like this, and have a front row seat to the epochal writing of 'modern history'. Today, as the world celebrates "International Women's Day" I personally find so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for a world with women.

I can't even begin to imagine the chaos of a world with only men, driven by ego and testosterone (not to talk of the abhorrent smells). A world without women, even for just one day, is a world teetering on the brink of extinction.

For those of us who profess to be Christ followers, there's no Jesus without Mary. For all the value you've added to our world, there's no you without your mother. The attention and compassion of the world isn't turned towards the "Untouchables" of Calcutta, India without a Mother Teresa. Without the achievements of an Amelia Earhart, the glass ceiling for women in aviation (and many other endeavors) remains unbreakable. Without the Rosa Parks of our world, women's rights, even basic civil rights, continue to be trampled upon. Without a Joan of Arc, the French remain a territory of Great Britain. Without Marie Curie and her advancements in Physics which led to a Nobel Prize (and the first female Phd in Europe), there may have been greater delays in man-kinds understanding of radioactivity.

But today, of all the women in the world, most especially, I celebrate my wife, my mother, and my sister. Without my wife, I wouldn't be becoming the man I'm becoming. Her love, sacrifices, and encouragement have been the light in the darkness on the darkest days. Thank you my precious Sola!

Without my mother, I just wouldn't be. For all the years of selfless love. The sleepless nights, loving, praying, and caring for me. For loving my wife and kids the way you love me. Thank you mum Dorothy Thompson.

Without my sister, I may never have found faith. For your willingness to live the truth even when it was hard. For leading me to Christ and convicting me of sin without words simply because of the way you lived your life. Margaret Ogunbanwo, thank you!

Today, I celebrate you. Happy International Women's Day.

#women #mother

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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ADMITTING THAT WE DON’T KNOW IT ALL ISN’T A WEAKNESS, IT’S A STRENGTH

The Biblical story of the three Hebrew Boys appeals to our religious sensibilities primarily because the story ends in their deliverance from the perils of the fiery furnace. As Christians we like stories that are neatly cut and dried. Stories that prove God’s faithfulness through our ultimate deliverance. Sadly, we fail to see the actual point of this particular story:

Their willingness to admit the unknown.

Yes, they in faith, affirmed that God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace, but don’t miss the fact that they also affirmed that they didn’t know for a fact that He would, but that that unknown would not affect their decision or commitment to their cause and to their God.

In other words, whether or not God chose to deliver them would have no impact on their decision not to succumb to the temptation of compromising their faith and values. They would not worship king Nebuchadnezzar as a god!

One of the true measures of our maturity in the journey of faith is our willingness to admit to doubts and the unknown, and not feel the need to state the certainty or guarantee that things will always turn out the way we want or expect them to. That is a fallacy since only God can give guarantees.

Our role?

To love not just our friends and neighbors, but the seemingly unloveable too. The same one’s we call enemies. Just my dos centavos!

#christianity #bible #fire #life

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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American empire before the fall

I’m currently re-reading a book titled American Empire Before the Fall, and I’m mesmerized and transfixed by the clarity and insight displayed by Bruce Fein, the author. I can’t in all honesty say that I’ve ever read a book, finished it, and immediately begun to read it again, but that’s exactly what I’m doing with this one.

The insights into American government, power, and propaganda are remarkable, and it poses a true eye opener for many of us who’ll never get to see the ugly underbelly of politics and its strange bedfellows from the inside.

Here’s an excerpt that I’m grappling to wrap my head and heart around, knowing fully well that I live in a world that isn’t as colorblind and equal as it purports to be.

The American Empire’s exaggerations corroborate General Douglas MacArthur’s post- World War II observation: “Our economy is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear.” Fear is chronically brandished by demagogic leaders to coax the masses to accept anything in the name of safety. H.L. Mencken elaborated in 1918: “Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.”

The Founding Fathers would be appalled by the American Empire.

They had constructed an American Republic to repudiate crusades, constant warfare or virtual deification of the President. They had pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to defeat the British Empire that featured global military tentacles, an unchecked executive, secrecy, and ubiquitous government regulation or protectionism. President Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address proclaimed: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none.” ~ American Empire Before the Fall, Bruce Fein

In case you’re wondering as to his pedigree, Bruce Fein, whose book was published in 2010, is a nationally and internationally renowned constitutional lawyer, scholar, and writer. He has served in numerous governmental capacities, but probably most notably as Research Director for the House Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran from 1986–1987. for all it’s relevance to current circumstances, his book might as well have been written for today’s America (though the differences can be seen only in degree of degeneration).

General MacArthur’s prescience is validated by our current President’s own statement regarding military spending. In seeking Congressional approval for what he called a “historic” $54 billion increase in defense spending, President Trump declared: “This budget will be a public safety and national security budget….” He said the plan would include a “historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military.”

I wonder aloud how well his plan fits in with the original intent of the Founding Fathers whose America, as previously highlighted, was constructed as “…an American Republic to repudiate crusades, constant warfare or virtual deification of the President.”

Look, my point isn’t that America should weaken her borders or minimize the value of safety and security, my point is simply to highlight that if we lose our humanity, compassion, and value for those who view life differently than us in the process of trying to become a safer nation, it will cost us more than we’ll be willing to pay.

You might, in your indignation, suggest that I’m not in a position to voice an opinion on this issue since I myself am an immigrant, and as a ‘friend’ once told my wife and I, “If you don’t like it, go back to your country!” But I will simply and gently remind you that, I am in my country. I chose to become a citizen of the United States of America, and after going through the thorough and exacting vetting process, I proudly waved my American flag — the symbol of freedom from oppression — as I recited the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem as I was sworn in as a citizen of this great nation.

I would also gently remind you of the words of that pledge:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Finally, while you may still be indignantly denigrating my position, may I remind you also that it isn’t my position, it is the position of One of the most decorated and honored General’s in American history, as well as the position of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of these United States. Just my dos centavos!

#politics #donald trump #america #future #2016 election

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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Too much ado about...immigration?

I’m an immigrant. Unabashedly so. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a proudly naturalized American. I chose America before she chose me. But lately I feel as if I’ve been caught in a bait-and-switch. You see, this isn’t the America I signed up for. When I first came to the USA almost 27 years ago, I was struck by the sense of national pride. I loved America and I loved her many and varied people! It felt as if this experimental melting pot made up of varying tribes, religions, and cultures was God’s way of saying that, through this blended potpourri of diversity He would model what a society can look like when each distinctly unique part is contributing effectively to the whole.

Recently I’ve felt as if I was rudely jarred awake…into a nightmare. I’ve felt like Cinderella surrounded by the unholy trinity of my ugly step-mother and two evil step-sisters. Recently it’s felt as if my ‘adopted family’ wasn’t whom they’d initially shown themselves to be after all. Reality has brazenly contradicted my idyllic family portrait, and the triumvirate of bigotry, lying, and hubris have taken center stage. During the last election cycle—which lasted way too long—I was duly informed, by friends of mine no less, that #BlackLivesMatter doesn’t matter, and that it was in fact a militant racist, hate group. So in response to the hashtag I was told that #AllLivesMatter so stop saying specific colors matter…that is until #BlueLivesMatter became a hashtag. Their response to that?

Deafening silence!

So, it turns out, certain color lives do matter as long as they’re not black. To justify this they pointed to statistics that indicate that more white men are killed by cops than black men. To which I chuckled and carefully pointed out that black people make up only 12.6% of the population of the USA while white people make up 77% of the population. Then they suggested that more black men are killed by other black men, than there are black men killed by white men. To which I respond, if you killed your father, and I turn around and killed your mother, does that make it okay because you killed your father? Does that somehow negate the conversation about my killing your mother simply because you killed your father?

My point? Until we acknowledge that racism and bigotry are real and present in today’s America, we won’t even begin to approach solutions to help fix the problem. And the continued mainstreaming of hate groups while falsely labeling others will only serve to widen the gulf and fuel the fires of animosity and anger.

And how about lying? it’s become institutionalized and justified by those suggesting that they’re tired of being “politically correct.” I’m astounded that any right-thinking person would suggest that the opposite of political correctness would be to embrace dishonesty in addition to treating people with disrespect and saying whatever you like under the guise of being honest, but there you have it! That’s our ‘brave’ new world.

Our new President and his team have repeatedly shown us that they’re willing to be economical with the truth. Sean Spicer, the President’s press secretary, informed America and the world in his first televised press conference that Trumps inauguration crowd was larger than Obama’s. While the crowd size really was of little or no consequence, that assertion turned out to be provably false, and when photographic evidence was produced, the President accused the press of spreading “fake news” and falsifying the photos.

The President’s publicity guru, Kelly Ann Conway, in defense of Sean Spicer’s, shall we say, inaccuracies, taught America a new phrase: “Alternative facts.” Excuse me? Alternative facts? What on earth are those? There can only be one fact about a two-sided issue not two diametrically opposed facts. If it isn’t a fact, then it’s a lie. So I guess alternative facts are simply lies dressed up in political spin? Maybe someone reading this might have clearer insight into this than I do.

The president himself has gone on record stating that the press are all “dishonest people” and simply report fake news…that is, the one’s who don’t show him in a favorable light, and so Fox News somehow escapes this sweeping moniker. Are we living in an African dictatorship? How on earth does a President undermine a vast segment of the very people whom he swore to lead by uniformly calling their reporting fake news unless it shows him in a favorable light? How on earth does that make for a free press?

I understand that the press often allows their bias to show in their reporting of facts (whether it’s CNN or FOX), but that doesn’t make the facts any less factual simply because the facts are reported with a particular bias. You wouldn’t suggest that a doctor is any less a doctor because his bias regarding what he thinks ails you is different from what you perceive, or from what another doctor said whom you might agree with. Or maybe you would? Yet, our President lies without compunction and makes no apologies for his lies even when called to the carpet. He simply shifts the blame and goes right on as if his dishonesty is of no consequence.

In his first press conference since taking office, President Trump, when challenged about his assertion that he’d had the largest electoral college victory since Reagan, wasn’t having any of it. Turns out that other than President George W. Bush, every subsequent President has had larger electoral college margins of victory than him, so when a reporter called this to his attention he simply brushed it off by saying that’s what he was told. How on earth does the President of the most powerful nation on earth surround himself with people who won’t tell him the truth? Better yet, why does the President not check and confirm his ‘facts’ before he spews them? Yet it’s the reporters who are arbiters of fake news?

If the President were told that his wife had been seen kissing another man suggestively in public, would he simply believe it and report it to the world as fact? If that story was later discovered to be false and he was challenged on why he was propagating a falsehood would he simply say that’s what he was told and dismiss it offhandedly? I think not. To set the precedent for his presidency by minimizing the value of the press and calling them “fake” is to minimize the value of those who’ve given their lives in the pursuit of bringing the news to Americans regardless of how much that puts them in harms way.

The President also opined that there’d been a smooth rollout of the immigration ban following his Executive Order. That, as it turns out, is patently false. Some people who were Green Card holders—legally vetted residents of the USA—were stranded when they landed back home in the USA because before they took off there were no details on how to implement the ban, and who it covered. Based on its unconstitutionality, a judge stayed the implementation of the EO. The White House appealed the stay but it was upheld by the Appellate Court. The President publicly blamed the rejection of the appeal on a “bad court.”

What is the role of the court in a democratic republic? I’m no scholar or legal luminary, but a simple common sense research will expose the fact that one of the functions of the Judicial branch of government is most definitely not to rubber stamp the will of the executive branch, but to ensure that legislation enacted by congress is followed according to due process. That is one of the reasons this system works. It has a healthy set of checks and balances between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial arms of the government. To call the court into question as if he is himself a legal expert, is to undermine the very system of checks and balances that has made this country as successful as it is in the smooth transitions of power.

Finally, what sort of hubris must one possess to believe that you have a right to determine how the entire world should live? As a country we’ve started, incited, and supported wars, coups, and unrest in various parts of the world to support our own, sometimes selfish, interests. These wars create innocent victims, many of whom become refugees fleeing from the carnage of war and death, simply trying to make a life for themselves. Alas, rooted in fear at the migration of people from wars that we’re in part responsible for, we suggest that we can no longer tolerate the influx of these refugees because they pose a risk to our safety.

We compare them to Skittles and mask our fear as a lack of proper vetting procedures. I for one will confidently declare how absurd that notion is. As an immigrant to the USA I can assure you that I went through the most stringent vetting procedures to ensure that I was worthy of becoming a part of this great experiment called the United States of America, and so was every other immigrant that I know. There are no fail safe systems and so people with ill intent will occasionally slip through the cracks in any system.

This country was built on the backs of immigrants, who violently and dispassionately wrested it from the hands of the original inhabitants of the land. To suggest that we suddenly need to stem the tide of immigration and ban people from certain countries coming here to seek safe harbor is downright ungodly! Yep, I said it.

May I gently remind you that without immigrants there’s possibly no silicone valley. After all, Steve Jobs' father, Abdulfattah Jandali, came to the United States as a student. He was from Homs, Syria.1 Without immigrants, we wouldn’t be able to feed everyone in these United States, the third most populous nation on earth. Hired workers comprise 33 percent of the workforce, but do an estimated 60 percent of the work performed on US farms. Most hired farm workers were born abroad, usually in Mexico, and most are believed not to be authorized to work in the US.2

“Since farm work is more physically demanding and less well compensated

than non-farm jobs requiring similar skills, it is increasingly difficult to attract

domestic workers willing to take farm jobs. This is one reason why farm

employers have increasingly relied on foreign workers.”3

Without immigrants there would be no NFL as we know it. In other words, America’s favorite sport by far, would look vastly different with a less impressive talent pool. 70% of NFL players are black men, and every single black man in America is an immigrant either by choice or by the heritage of slavery. Today, a significant number of immigrant players make up the NFL including many past Hall of Famers.4

Without immigrants, there would be no Albrecht Einstein and no Special Theory of Relativity, better known as e=mc2 (energy = mass times the speed of light squared). That formula provided the awareness and expertise of nuclear fission. A technology which made the atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Boy” that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.5 The absence of these bombs would almost certainly have changed the outcome of WW2.

Without immigrants, there would have been no Wernher von Braun, who moved from Germany following WW2 along with about 1,500 other scientists, technicians and engineers as part of “Operation Paperclip,” where he developed the rockets that launched the United States' first space satellite “Explorer 1,” and the Apollo program manned lunar landings.6

There’s no doubt in my mind that as a nation, we’re better off being the melting pot that made America great, than we are being this unrecognizable nation paralyzed with fear and hate, seeking to shut out the rest of the world and live in a vacuum. So, as a final thought let me remind you that nature abhors a vacuum, and soon fills it with something else. Don’t believe me? Ask the Roman Empire. Just my dos centavos!

1. http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/who-is-steve-jobs-syrian-immigrant-father-abdul-fattah-jandali-3624958/

2. http://wrdc.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__1454925.pdf

3 http://wrdc.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__1454925.pdf

4. http://xpatnation.com/outstanding-immigrants-who-succeeded-in-the-nfl/

5 http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace-and-war/the-manhattan-project/

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun

#donald trump #2016 election #politics #immigration

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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A DYSTOPIAN OR HOPEFUL WORLD VIEW? YOU BE THE JUDGE

As a Christ follower I’ve often wondered, was Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24—where He explains to His disciples that the end of the age would be ushered in by wars, famines, earthquakes, violence, persecution and death—establishing a dystopian view of the world or giving us hope and purpose for an imagined future?

My dilemma?

If it’s true, according to the Christian world view, that the world will end in a state of unabated tragedy, pestilence, and violence, why try at all to live right and do the right thing? Why not simply let life pull us headlong towards inevitability?

But then I realized something even more powerful.

While it’s true that these signs will portend the coming of the end of the age, the key to fully understanding what the response of the Christ follower should be to all of this is found in the following verses:

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ~ Matthew 24:10-14

Pay particular attention to the emboldened statements as they speak volumes in regard to what we see happening around us today. From the abuses of power in the hallowed, esoteric corridors of political power, to the licentious living of religious leaders preferring political influence over holiness, it would appear that many are unwittingly turning away from the faith established by the Scriptures, and the love of many—what love they have left—has become inwardly focused.

Of course, how you interpret this prophecy of Jesus’ will have everything to do with how you respond to it. If you interpret this as a doomsday prophecy that suggests the need to protect yourself and your children from the “enemy” as you perceive it to be, then a run-for-the-hills, every-man-for-himself attitude will be the resultant effect. However, if, like Jesus, you recognize that we’re not fighting against flesh and blood, then Al Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups will not be your enemy, the spirit operating through them will. This realization will change your approach or response to the global refugee crisis brought on by the war for power (a war in some ways largely influenced and controlled by the West).

Of this one thing I am certain, for the things that Jesus spoke of to come to pass, there will be pain, suffering, hardship and death. For the Christ follower it is an exercise in futility to think that we can change the outcome of His prophecy simply by shutting out the immigrant and building a wall on our southern border with Mexico. Fear, hate, and anger will be the result of those actions, not peace and safety. According to the Scriptures, “where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

This overreaction towards self preservation is brought on by fear, and I worry that President Trump and too many Americans have developed a dystopian view of the world, and too many Christ followers are buying into that rhetoric. The uniform chant among proponents of these measures has become, “we’re tired of all the political correctness and pacifist rhetoric, and we want someone who will be honest, firm, and do what’s in the best interest of America and her citizens.” Unfortunately that position misses the mark by a mile. Jesus died for the world not just for America and her citizens, and our greater call as Christ followers isn’t toward nationalism. This extreme shift away from the globalism ostensibly promoted by the political insiders, has swung the pendulum too far in the opposite direction.

The reactionary leaning towards populism and nationalism will simply serve as a distraction for the Christ follower from the real task at hand, which is to share the Good News of the love of Jesus Christ. It’s impossible to convince those you label as the enemy, or those you build walls against to try and keep out of your comfortable and safe life, that you love them and so does the God you purport to follow. Like someone once said to me, “If the choice is between safely living in America, or being a stronger witness for the cause of Christ by risking my life to save those of the innocent, I choose Christ every time.”

A young writer I follow on social media put it like this:

And it came to pass that some Pharisees came forward and said: "Donaldius of the House of Trumpas is he that the Lord has sent to make Merikas great again. Behold he shall conquer from sea to sea, and from river to river, and make a fool of his enemies”

And some fishermen, when they heard about these lofty declarations, came forward:

"We are not as learned in the book of the law as ye, but the Teacher from Nazareth has taught us about love, about redemption. He even once said that the weightier matters of the law are those of justice and mercy. Now, we hear that Donaldius, him of whom you speak so highly, is planning to build a wall to keep away our neighbours from the other side of the country”

And the Pharisees, hearing this, answereth the fishermen thus: “you spake thus because you knoweth not the scriptures. Donaldius of the House of Trumpas shall build a wall to separate the pure and great people of Merikas from the bad people of Mezikus. For the people of Mezikus know nothing more than to trade in weed and hard drugs. The land is infested with their filth. They have corrupted the righteous people of Merikas, and they must be kept away”

And the fishermen went away sad, knowing that it is not right, the things of which the Pharisees spoke. And many other things weighed heavily on their minds. They feared that there will be increasing division and hatred among the people of Merikas while Donaldius sits on the throne, and much injustice and conflicts in the years of Donaldius of the house of Trumpas.”

— The Book Of Seun Kolade, Chapter 1

Look, I’m not suggesting that we don’t owe our families a responsibility to protect them to the best of our ability. But when fear becomes the motivating factor for why we do what we do, then we’ve lost the plot. Ultimately, it is love that covers a multitude of sins and gives us the ability to recognize the real enemy. There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear, and fear breeds torment. And even as I contemplate my response to those who seek to kill me without cause, all in the name of some misconceived holy war, it is with fear and trembling that I remember that when Jesus went to the Cross to pay the ransom for our sin-sick souls, He was thinking about the terrorists too. Just my dos centavos!

#christianity #politics #jesus #love #bible

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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i just want to fit in...like everybody else!!!

It would seem to be a ubiquitous world view that we live in a post-Christian world.

Heck, we were even told by one of the major political party candidates during the recent US election cycle that we Christians need to reevaluate what we believe and bring our belief systems current with the times in which we live. Everybody seems to be an expert on how Christians ought to live, especially those outside of the Christian faith.

All too often, in speaking with people, I hear them comment on how “archaic” and “outmoded” the Bible is. They tell me how it’s not relatable to today’s world, and they’re quick to cite the example of living in purity — free of sexual encumbrances — before marriage, and remaining faithful in marriage, as impossible standards to maintain. “Why is it impossible?” I ask.

In response, they point out that, “No one is doing it….” “So what?” I ask? Given that the statement, “No one is doing it” is true and accurate, it is still just a statement of fact, and not an argument for or against living a certain way. The truth is, in probing further, the real reason becomes immediately apparent. What they are actually saying is, “No one is doing it…and I just want to fit in and be like everybody else.”

“Really? Trust me, you don’t!”

Do you want to find yourself working on a second or third marriage as a result of your poor moral choices in your first one…like everybody else?

Do you want to look back on your productive years, with nothing but regret simply because you made all the wrong moral choices…like everybody else?

Do you want to wallow in the pain and failure of your own immoral choices, and miss out on what might have been…like everybody else?

Do you want to become an addict, because you couldn’t help yourself, and needed that one last ‘fix’…like everybody else?

The truth is, if you want to live your best possible life, you’re going to have to make some harder choices than ‘everybody else.’ You’re going to have to do some things differently from ‘everybody else.’ The Bible has set a standard for us as Christ followers to live by, not because God wants to deny us pleasure or fulfillment, but exactly because He wants us to enjoy those things in the best possible way.

So, while many of my detractors may accuse me of trying to defend the Bible as a way of life in a world that is post-Christian, and increasingly tolerant of alternative lifestyles, I simply borrow the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

“Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it, and it will defend itself.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

#christianity #faith #religion #sex #charles spurgeon

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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An election post-mortem. Don’t confuse me with the facts!

The US Presidential elections are long over, and from the rubble of the vitriol, deflection, and lack of substance during the debates has emerged the de facto President-Elect of The United States. Barring a catastrophic revelation such as, say, the late discovery that Donald J. Trump was born in Russia, he will be sworn in as the 45th President of these United States. To say this election was fractious might qualify as the understatement of the year. Relationships were sorely tested and many failed the test.

We are a culture of “adjectives,” and we’re terribly fond of labels. Our tendency is to classify people as one thing or the other, but maybe even more shocking was how so many Christians declared other Christians unfit to be Christian simply because of their political leanings. Facebook and its social media ilk became the unwitting arbiters of disseminating fake news more than truth.

And the mainstream media?

Well, completely out of touch with the masses, and focused on promoting their own agenda, they were shockingly reminded that the people and not they, control the cultural narrative as well as the impact of political discourse.

So now, on the eve of the inauguration of the 45th POTUS, is as good a time as any to perform a necropsy on the state of our country following the recent elections. Obviously (at least to me), the primary purpose of this exercise is to, in general, understand why our political differences caused so much dissension and vitriol, dissect the reasons for which Christians became as divided as we did; and in particular, to find out how Christianity has emerged from this erstwhile battle.

Let’s begin by reminding ourselves that Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote by a significant margin, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than two million votes (Yes, I’m aware that conspiracy theorists suggest that the popular vote was rigged, but that contention is hardly worth the rabbit trail built by such divisive and unproven theories). Whatever the case, this divided result points to a nation sharply divided evenly down the middle, at least among the voting populace.

Talking about voter fraud, let’s begin this conversation with the idea of fraud. What’s really fraudulent is this notion that our political system is a binary party system. That’s the biggest fraud of all, and I heard it perpetrated by Evangelical Christians numerous times during the election cycle. It became the primary reason for getting behind Trump in spite of all his, shall we say, inadequacies.

To excuse the stench of his blatant excesses which clearly reflected a departure from Scripture, the popular Christian refrain became, “I’m voting for President not for Pope.” But why were Christians willing to overlook his shortcomings when confronted with options other than his candidacy?

Seeing as how so many of us interpret our party system as a binary system, the answer to that can be explained by two primary ideas:

It would appear that, as far as Christians were concerned, Liberals and Democrats were assiduously working to ridicule and delegitimize their faith, while apparently seeking to cloak themselves in a garb of spirituality that was, at best, a pretentiously thin veneer of pseudo-spirituality. Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that the Christian faith was going to have to catch up with the current times, arrogantly demonstrated that—at least in her opinion—the Bible isn’t as authoritative and infallible as Christians hold it to be. She miscalculated the fact that many of the issues that Christians hold sacrosanct are indeed mountains-to-die-on, and so to dismiss them as cavalierly as she did rubbed many Christian Black, White, and Hispanic voters the wrong way. In that gross miscalculation, she fatally underestimated the power of the Evangelical voting block.

The Democratic Party has an ideological disconnect with Evangelicals. The manifesto of the Party would seem to suggest that only people with liberal and “progressive” ideologies need apply. As a friend of mine put it, “There is no room in the Democratic Inn for Conservative Christians.” This disconnect in large part gave rise to the “vote for a party platform even if you don't like the candidate” ideology.

While these two reasons would largely explain the Evangelical voters support for Trump, ultimately culpability for the vitriol surrounding the elections lies with ideologically and intellectually arrogant Democrats, racially prejudiced and misogynistic Republicans, and theologically illiterate and intolerant Evangelicals.

But were these reasons, in all good conscience, reason enough for Christians to vote for Trump? Weren’t there more than two political parties platforming candidates for the Presidency? The answer to those questions would be ‘no’ only if you believe that our system isn’t binary.

Truth 1: The Fallacy of a Binary-Party System

A so-called two-party system is a subterfuge that derives its strength from the lemming-like following of political ideology. How can it possibly be a binary system if there are five party candidates on the ballot sheet and a space to fill in any name your heart desires? While it’s true to say there are two major party candidates, if the majority of the electorate decided to vote for a third party candidate because they found the two main party candidates ill-suited for the position of POTUS, then that groundswell of support at the polls would undoubtedly carry the third party candidate into office thereby making nonsense of the claim of a binary party system.

The truth lies somewhere closer to the fact that too many Evangelical Christians are inexplicably tied to a party platform more than they are to the qualifications of a given candidate. To read some of the illogical postulations expressing why “real” Christians must vote for a political party even if you aren’t particularly enamored by that party’s candidate, would seem to suggest that if Hitler, or even Satan himself ran on the platform of said Party, he would be a shoo-in for their vote based on the party platform principle.

Look friends, this tired rhetoric of voting for a party platform borders on the absurd. As Christians we don’t apply such logic to any other area of our lives, yet in politics it seems to hold sway against all wisdom to the contrary. Might I remind you that it wasn’t possessing the ten commandments—the platform upon which a Godly nation was built—that made Israel holy and righteous before God, it was their observance of said commandments.

They weren’t better off than the pagan nations because they possessed or believed in the ten commandments, they were better off only if they observed them, as succinctly pointed out in the Scriptures in Deuteronomy 11. After all, how many of us pick what church to attend based on the political beliefs of the pastor? In other words, how many of us have had conversations with a pastor about his political party platform before we make the decision to embrace the Biblical beliefs he espouses (which, unlike a political allegiance, are actually relevant to our salvation and wellbeing)?

Many Evangelical Christians would have us believe that supporting something as inanimate as a party platform determines whether or not one is a true Christian, but in the same breath they turn around and suggest to gun-control advocates that guns are inanimate objects and don’t kill people, other people kill people. But, much like a gun is an inanimate object—and according to those who support gun ownership—doesn’t kill people, the same must be said about political party platforms. A platform doesn’t govern, nor does it promulgate regulations and laws, people do…for better or for worse, regardless of what party they belong to.

Proof?

Truth 2: The Fallacy of Roe v. Wade and The Lesser of Two Evils

Republican appointed Justices have been a majority in the SCOTUS since 1953 and did in fact vote in support of Roe v. Wade by a majority of 7 — 2 in favor of the decision. Of the 7 Justices who voted for the decision, 5 were conservative Republican appointees with only one dissenting voice. That’s an inconvenient truth for Republican “party platform” Christians who’d much rather sweep those facts under the rug by deflecting attention to the Democrats as pro-abortion-baby-killers, even though there is an entire movement of Democrats against abortion. Again, party platforms don’t establish legislation or belief systems, people do.

Is it reasonably possible to believe that people can belong to a particular political party without subscribing to everything that the party stands for? Arnold Schwarzenneger was the Republican Governor of California, yet only his fiscal policies made him a moderate Republican. His social platform was more in line with liberalism (he actually officiated at the wedding of a gay couple). President-Elect Donald Trump, and former Florida Governor, Charlie Crist (among many others) have both switched political parties in recent years. Why? Did the party manifestos suddenly change, or did they wake up one morning and suddenly realize that, like a sail boat drifting in the undertow of the current, they’d drifted away from the party platform they once so strongly believed in? I think not my friends. I’d suggest that it’s simply political expediency.

But these politicians aren’t the problem that concerns me, we Christians are!

You see, it would be fine if we’d simply suggest that we’re supporting a candidate because we believe he or she will work to serve our best interests. But when we attempt to couch our support in spiritual garments and suggest that others who don’t see what we see are either not “real” Christians or not “hearing” God clearly enough, that is deceitful and monumentally arrogant at best. To imply, as has been done on numerous occasions, that one candidate’s sin is more grievous than another’s is selective morality. And make no mistake about it, a selective morality that suggests that going with the lesser of two evils is the better option, is in itself deadly. It is the very definition of moral relativism, which evangelical Christians decry and detest in everyone else.

I like how a friend of mine puts it:

“It is this same moral relativism that conservatives condemn among liberals that made evangelicals support a thrice-married, serial adulterer with a precariously tenuous prior relationship with Scripture and wafer-thin pedigree in Kingdom issues over a well-qualified Methodist woman married for over three decades to one man and had no history of adulterous conduct.” ~ Gbenga X

While I don’t personally believe that Hillary Clinton would have made a better POTUS for the majority of Americans, I can’t help but agree with his contention that to point out one of the candidates’ shortcomings as being more egregious than the other’s—based primarily on the party platform they represent—is moral relativism, which, in a very real sense confers on Christians the self-attributed authority of ‘gods’ dispensing judgment and our own brand of justice as we see fit.

If Daniel and the three Hebrew Boys had exercised a choice between the lesser of two evils instead of restricting themselves to vegetables and water, they would have opted for some of the fare from King Nebuchadnezzar’s table—which the king had expressly requested be given to his servants—so as to avoid falling into disfavor with the king and possibly face death for repudiating his authority. If Daniel had opted for the lesser of two evils when Nebuchadnezzar instructed that everyone in Babylon bow down and worship the giant image of him, he would have kept the doors to his room closed and prayed to his God secretly so as to avoid the death penalty. Instead he opted to spend a night using lions as pillows.

If Joseph had opted for the lesser of two evils he could surely have justified acquiescing to the advances of Potiphar’s wife knowing that a good word from her to Potiphar would make life better for him and potentially elevate him to a position of authority so that his prophecy of being honored by his parents and brothers would come to pass (He was smart enough to also know that a negative report about him from her to Potiphar could potentially end his life). Instead he honored his covenant with God and opted for prison for two years under the unjust shadow of false allegations. I’m sure by now you get the point.

Truth 3: The Deceiving Allure of Political Power

I would boldly assert that we Christians hold political power and expedience above our witness as Christ followers to outsiders! Why else would we want to impose our beliefs and lifestyle on everyone else, especially through gaining political dominance? Why else would we think that imposing legislation against abortion would ever stop those who don’t believe as we do from getting abortions? There is grave danger in trying to build a “Christian” state by legislation in spite of the fact that not every American believes the way we do.

While one might argue that radical Islam is on a rampage globally, terrorizing the innocent and attempting to forcefully impose their beliefs on others, if we Christians attempt to impose our beliefs on others under the guise of political expedience, how are we any different? After all, history shamefully brandishes the terrible crimes against humanity that have been committed in the name of Christianity, all under the guise of protecting the faith. Consider the Spanish Inquisition of 1478 established for the following stated reason:

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted an all-Catholic kingdom as a tool with which to Unite Spain. They did this by forcing people to admit to being heretics and then publicly killing them or imprisoning them for life. Those accused who did not admit to being heretics were still found guilty by a tribunal and publicly executed. The tribunal was established with authority from the Pope (by definition, a heretic was anyone who didn’t embrace catholicism). http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/WestEurope/SpanInqui.html.

While you may be tempted to argue that radical Islam is still worse because, as a religion it is fundamentally violent, I would counter that logic by simply asking, is one crime more heinous than another because the perpetrator of one crime wears $5000 suits, lives in a Manhattan penthouse, and drives the car of your dreams, while the other is poorly educated, raised-in-poverty, and is a never-do-well petty thief who broke into your house and robbed you at gunpoint?

If the answer to that question is no—and I’m confident that it is—then we must recognize that we cannot impose our way of life on anyone simply because they view life through a different prism than we do. The only proven way to win the outsider isn’t by legislating and imposing our version of morality, but by loving them into the Kingdom.

So how does it look for the Church post-election?

I imagine the answer to this question will largely depend on how much humility we’re willing to model. Whether we consider the outcome of the recent elections a victory or defeat, we must resist the temptation to name call, label, denigrate, and deride other people’s interpretation of their faith, as if we have a monopoly on wisdom and are the only ones capable of hearing God distinctly.

All too often, we’re quick to unsheathe our verbal swords as soon as we perceive that our interpretation of faith is under attack, and this makes it difficult to listen to the other side of the story. I realize that abortion, gay rights legislation, immigration, terrorism, the economy and a myriad of other issues are all hot-button topics of the moment, but consensus will never be reached by any side attempting to insensitively impose its will on the other.

As Christ followers we must remember that our fight isn’t against “flesh and blood” but against “principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits in the heavenly realm.” If we can keep this big idea forefront in our minds, then we will ultimately always come back to the most important idea there is…Christ and Him Crucified for the sake of the whole world! After all, that is the Good News of the Gospel, isn’t it?

Finally, I’ll conclude this lengthy dissertation by reminding us that the Church always does better when we’re on our knees than when we carry arms (Acts 12:5). It’s time to faithfully and fervently pray for the 45th President of the United States of America, whether you voted him into office or not. That is what 1 Timothy 2:2 demands of the professing Christ follower. Just my Dos Centavos!

#politics #election 2016 #united states #christianity #donald trump

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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ANT-ics and Concentric Circles

Sometimes it’s difficult to look around you and observe the world moving at breakneck speed while it feels as if you’re mired in molasses. All too often we seem more like worker ants scurrying aimlessly about trying to store up stuff for the hard times ahead. A wise Man once suggested that we store up treasures for eternity rather than for the short lives we live in the present.

But, if the truth be told, at the best of times it can be hard to focus on eternity when the present seems so daunting. It’s difficult to see people all over the world struggling just to make ends meet, while others live lives of luxury through ill gotten wealth, privilege, and by ruthlessly “hitching a ride” on the backs of others who’ve worked so hard and appear to have little or nothing to show for it.

But there’s hope!

In response to Jeremiah’s query: “Why are evil people successful? Why do dishonest people have such easy lives?” The Lord declared: “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses?”~ Jeremiah 12: 5 (NLT)

In my more than five decades of living, I’ve discovered that God is, and has always been, more concerned with building my character more so than building my bank account or my success. If you feel as if you’re contending with “horses” then it’s imperative that you hear this: “You’re in the center of God’s will!”

How do I know that for certain?

Simple. God always uses the “horses” of trying circumstances to mold and shape your character so that your life can tell a more compelling story to those who are searching for meaning. James says it more eloquently than I ever could: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” ~ James 1: 2–4 (NLT)

#faith #christianity #devotional #jesus #christmas

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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Don’t Major on the Minors

In order to journey together in the Christian faith, believers don’t have to agree on everything. In fact, we only need to agree on the non-negotiables. That is, those things that form the bedrock of our faith such as the Virgin Birth, the Triune nature of God, and salvation by Grace alone.

Jesus modeled this big idea for us as he built a team of twelve men who changed their world and set an example for us to follow. Listed among them were two men that invite closer attention. One was named Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15), and the other Matthew the Tax Collector (Matthew 9: 9–12). It’s instructional that the Holy Spirit saw fit to list them not by their first and last names even though Matthew is referred to in other places as the son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), but by their first name and defining characteristic or title.

Who was a Zealot?

The Zealots were originally a political movement in 1st century, Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms. They were determined to protect their religion from the imposition of Roman rituals and to end Gentile rule over the Jewish people.

It was with this group of militant “rebels” that Simon identified so strongly that he was commonly referred to as “Simon the Zealot” in order to distinguish him from Simon Peter among the twelve.

Who was a Tax Collector?

During the time of Jesus in first century Israel, there were publicans and tax collectors who could walk up to a man and tax him for what he was carrying, and much more. These tax collectors were hated and despised because they were usually fellow Jews who worked for Rome. There were many taxes levied upon the provinces to administrate the Roman Empire. These taxes paid for a good system of roads, law and order, security, religious freedom, a certain amount of self government and other benefits.

The word publican is from the Latin word “publicanus”, and from the Greek word “telones” which means a tax gatherer. The publican is mentioned quite often in the life-story of Jesus. Since Israel was under Roman rule, and part of a province of the Roman Empire, customs duties were farmed out to chief tax collectors (publicani). These chief tax collector’s would in turn farm these duties over to the regular tax collectors.

Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee, which was not part of the Roman Iudaea province). As a tax collector he would have been literate in both Aramaic and Greek (in other words, a learned man). His fellow Jews despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the oppressive Roman occupation force.

Both these men, on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, served as part of Jesus’ group of twelve. Simon, militantly opposed to the oppression by the Romans, was willing to employ violence in throwing off their yoke. Matthew, on the other hand, saw Roman occupation as a means to an end, and found a way to serve them while making money for himself…off the backs of his own people.

Yet, both these men are listed for posterity as Jesus’ disciples, not because they saw eye to eye on everything, but because they agreed on the things that mattered the most, which was who Jesus was, and what His purpose (and consequently their purpose) on earth was. Their disagreement on how they interpreted the fulfillment of said purpose was not sufficient reason for them to walk away from each other.

By the same token, if it’s true that those of us who profess to follow Christ do so because we agree on the majors, then the minors cannot be a reason for division otherwise we would have succumbed to the enemy’s plan. Human beings and our complexities cannot be reduced to a single vote, and as such we cannot label one another based on a political perspective. A vote for the Democrats, isn’t necessarily a statement against being pro-life, just as a vote for the Republicans doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of compassion for minorities and foreigners.

So the sooner we drop arms against each other, and take up arms against the real enemy (remember that “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4), the sooner we’ll see God’s Kingdom purpose manifest here on earth.

Just my dos centavos!

#christianity #faith #jesus #religion #believe

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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em·pa·thy (ˈempəTHē)

The word empathy comes from the Greek word empatheia, which means, affection. dictionary.com defines empathy as: the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

Empathy sometimes seems like a nebulous pursuit of a deeply spiritual truth. In other words, sometimes, displaying empathy feels like trying to nail water to the wall. My friend, Steven Hickey, writes a blog titled, The Other Cheek in which much of his thoughts and ideas emanate from the notion that it is possible to truly live out Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount (If you’re unfamiliar with this concept, then go here for a brief reading).

Empathy is a key component of emotional intelligence (EI), and a careful study will reveal that a vast majority of the most successful leaders demonstrate an abundance of EI. Why? Because empathy creates the avenue for learning things about people you may not otherwise know. Empathy allows for paradigm shifts as you view the world through other people’s lenses. Since none of us possesses a monopoly of wisdom, and since all of us begin as blank slates, we all start out with ideas that are somebody else’s until this potpourri of ideas begins to shape itself into our own deeply held convictions.

Emotional intelligence allows us to… no, demands that we keep growing and learning.

Over time, our world view determines how successfully we are at interacting with a world full of people who view life through a different prism than our own. In other words, to hate another person requires one to view another human being as the enemy expressly because they view the world through a different prism than you do. In their book, Tea With Hezbollah: Sitting At The Enemies’ Table, Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis explore this idea extensively, and with surprising conclusions.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is a quote from Ted Dekker, who opines that:

“Many American Christians would rather turn a blind eye to the ugliness of real life, preferring to think only about what is “good and pure” because they forget that they are first admonished to think on what is “true,” which certainly includes the suffering of others.”

This resonates so deeply with me because it suggests that it’s literally impossible to be empathetic and yet hateful, or apathetic at the same time.

So, having whet your appetite with the appetizer, let me serve up the main course of my meal.

In direct response to the rampant display of vitriol leading up to the recent US Presidential elections, many who struggled with the country’s decision to elect Donald Trump as president have taken to the streets demonstrating their displeasure at the outcome. Some of these demonstrations have been civil and orderly while many have not. Since my commentary today has little or nothing to do with the actual demonstrations, I won’t spend anytime on that.

Instead, I’d like to call attention to Sean Blanda’s essay titled: “The Other Side Is Not Dumb.” Of the over 400 comments, one in particular stood out to me. Phillip Jones, in his response to the essay declared:

“We lack empathy. Parent A is anti-gun because they lost a child to a gun incident. Parent B is pro-gun because they were able to use a gun to fend off armed home invaders and thus protected their child. Both of these individuals have a value basis for their stance, but their messages are drowned out by the regurgitated insults, biased articles, and narratives [*designed to steer the conversation in a certain direction].”

[*parentheses mine]

Phillip’s astute observation, in my opinion, hits the nail on the proverbial head!

Here’s another great story I heard on NPR New this morning. Speaking about Obama’s eponymous health care bill for all Americans, Diana, a waitress in Pittsburgh, PA has always voted Democrat, that is until the recently concluded elections in which she voted for Trump.

Why?

Well, Diana is a single mother who earns just enough to make ends meet. Forced by Obamacare to purchase health insurance, she found herself having to choose between paying her son’s school fees or forking out dollars for health care. Her son won out. And rightly so. For her troubles she was ‘rewarded’ with a $600 penalty at the end of the year. Thinking of her son, her pocket book, and her future, she voted Republican in the hope that Obamacare will be repealed.

I see all of you clamoring for the repeal of Obamacare on your feet giving Diana a standing ovation. Not so fast my friends.

Bob, who prior to Obamacare couldn’t afford insurance, tells a different story. Obamacare provided him his first opportunity to get health coverage. He signed up along with his pre-existing condition…a brain tumor (the elimination of the pre-existing conditions health care clause is one of the cornerstones of Obamacare). His oncologist and other doctors have continued to work to extend his life expectancy, providing all the necessary health care at significant cost, paid for by…yep, you guessed it, Obamacare!

Needless to say, Bob voted for Hillary Clinton, and in the interview this morning broke down in tears claiming his oncologist tells him he’s not sure what will happen, but if Obamacare is repealed and he loses his insurance, he may find himself up sh*t creek without a paddle. Bob and many others like him are desperately scared for their very lives.

Still cheering for the repeal of Obamacare?

And if you are, I wonder if you’d still be cheering if Bob was your father, son, husband, brother, or best friend.

My point?

Empathy helps us listen and learn. Whether you disagree with Diana or Bob, hearing their stories hopefully changes your attitude towards them (and others like them) and helps you attach a human face to their pain rather than simply see a ‘number’ who voted for the wrong person.

Interestingly enough, President elect Trump has recently come out, following a sit down with President Obama, to declare that he likes aspects of Obamacare and won’t be repealing it but simply looking to change certain other aspects. If you recall, he not only condemned Obamacare as one of the worst decisions in the history of this country, but vilified Hillary Clinton for supporting it.

But that was before he sat down and heard President Obama’s side of the story, further buttressing a point I’d made in a previous post that ‘Campaign Trail Trump’ would prove to be very different from ‘Oval Office Trump.’

Listening is a skill that eludes the one determined solely to enforce his perspective on others. Both of the underlying values that created the above narratives are legitimate and undeniably powerful. A mutually respectful conversation between Parent A and Parent B, or between proponents and opponents of Obamacare may well not change either sides perspective, but will undoubtedly elicit empathy and a clearer sense of needing to find a mutually acceptable response to the issues of gun control, healthcare, and whatever other issues create the chasm between us.

Barring such a conversation, all we get is incendiary rhetoric, misaligned loyalties, and misplaced accusations. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not living in some bucolic idealism that suggests it’ll all work out for the best. What I am saying though, is that if it will work out, it will require us all exercising the gift of empathy to destroy the demonic behemoth that looms so large in our nation masquerading as political and racial schism.

Just my dos centavos!

#politics #donald trump #hilary clinton #faith #jesus

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

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Make America________Again!

The Election is over. The rancor, bitterness, and vitriol are clearly not.

The day following Donald Trumps victory there were protests in the streets across the USA. Some were peaceful and some were not. Without empathy it’s impossible to listen to either side of the story let alone show understanding and compassion.

Why are people protesting? I would make so bold as to suggest that it’s probably because many of them legitimately believe that Donald Trump represents a danger to their peaceful future as American citizens. His rhetoric along the campaign trail did nothing to alleviate these fears, and so a day after his victory bewilderment, fear, and concern have set in. The following photograph—a scene playing out across the USA—further serves to consolidate their fears.

Photo Source: Brian Quinn/Wellsville Daily Reporter

To simply dismiss the protesters as “whiny, babies” as so many on social media have done, does nothing to show an understanding of their fears whether you think them justified or not. Such a tone simply perpetuates the vicious cycle of finger pointing, judgment, and condemnation, and feeds the cycle of hate.

Proof that this is a spinning wheel can be seen in an abhorrent video posted on line. The video shows a group of black kids viciously beating up a white motorist while asking, “You voted Trump? You gonna pay for that sh*t.”

There is no context in which this kind of behavior should be acceptable in any society let alone a civilized society. These unwarranted displays of hate cannot be justified…but maybe they can be understood in context. Indeed, if we’d only listen a little more impartially, we might hear something we’ve failed to hear in the past. We might hear the underlying reasons for fear and outrage from both sides of the fence. If nothing else, we might at least develop a sense of empathy. Not buying it, huh? Well we’d probably all do well to learn a valuable lesson from the just concluded election cycle:

Many of the post-election-day-pundits are now pointing out how the mainstream media missed the obvious signs of the countries discontent simply because they were too absorbed with their arrogant attempts at controlling the narrative, while condescendingly obfuscating the cries of the average American, and dubbing them “rural.”

That didn’t work out in their favor. It won’t in ours if we continue to pontificate about the righteousness of our cause without giving ear to the concerns of others who view life through a different prism than we do.

So, clearly this deeply embedded racial undertone doesn’t appear to have dissipated following the elections, despite what the photos of Trump and Obama’s pleasant and mutually respectful visit in the Oval Office might show.

So what do we do next?

Writing recently about both Brexit and the US Presidential Elections, I like what my English friend Sam Radford, has to say about this:

“Whatever form darkness takes, we have to expose it through light. We cannot be silent. Lovingly but courageously we need to be a voice for the oppressed. Lovingly but courageously we must speak truth to power. We cannot be intimidated. We cannot stay silent. Right now, tragically, some people feel their hate of others has been legitimized. Lovingly but courageously we must win over these hearts and minds, one person at a time. Lovingly but courageously we must insist on kindness and generosity. Lovingly but courageously we must convince people why diversity and inclusion is better. We must go to war. But not with weapons that bring about death and destruction; no, we must go war with the weapons of love and light. Make no mistake though: this will be a fight. History shows us that progress happens step by step. And sometimes, after several steps forward, we take a few steps back again. 2016 has been a year for backwards steps. Let’s make sure humanity’s next steps are forward. How? Love and light. Relentless love and light. When it doesn’t seem to be making any difference? Love and light.”

For a complete reading of his full post go here.

This says it all.

It’s easier for me to sit in my judgment seat and talk about love, especially when it has to do with me simply loving people from a distance, who disagree with me. But what about loving people up close who absolutely despise me for no apparent or justifiable reason? Am I called to love the one who believes we need to “Make America White Again” any less than I love the one who shares my values?

With some difficulty I grudgingly admit that the answer is no.

This explosive idea forms the epicenter of my values, my faith, and my worldview. I must seek to understand, and love…one dissenting, judgmental, and condescending voice after another. So I’m on a new quest. This isn’t about being self-righteous, but simply about seeking to fully live out what I believe. I’m going to build a relationship with a white supremacist. I’m going to let him know how much I love him, while seeking to understand why he despises me. I’m making this a public declaration so that I will be publicly held accountable.

I’m going to try and do what Jesus did, and what, at the last meal He shared with His disciples He asked them and all of us who’d follow Him to do: “Love one another.” To truly love, you must understand the heart. That’s why, when others saw a mob calling for His crucifixion, understanding the restlessness of their hearts, Jesus saw “Sheep without a Shepherd.”

Just my dos centavos!

#love #donald trump #election 2016 #christianity #jesus

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jthelmsdeep · 8 years

Text

Walls, Windows, and Sharing Christ

Yesterday my almost twenty year old daughter posted this. I wept. I wept because, as her father, one line in particular stood out to me more than any other:

“You may think I’m being dramatic or irrational in my emotions, but until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes and experienced the racism/sexism that I have, you couldn’t possibly understand how I feel.”

As her father I know this sentiment all too well. Fathers protect their children. I cannot protect mine. The current political climate with its strong racial undertones has made sure of that. A cursory glance will reveal that social media is rife with commentary laced with hate, prejudice, and judgement—especially since the launch of the Trump campaign, but it’s also abuzz with fear, insecurity, and uncertainty at what the future holds with the advent of a Trump presidency.

I read a post—among many others—that invited my attention. It stated:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron.” ~ H. L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

More accurately, the quote by Mencken, in attempting to capture the essence of American politics and a disconnected populace during the Roaring Twenties of decadence, financial crisis, and ultimately a World War, declared:

“The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men [*privileged, entitled, and dishonest]. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

[*parenthesis mine]

Interestingly enough, this quote has made the rounds since George W. Bush was president, and was similarly applied to Barak Obama, notwithstanding the fact that they both have degrees from Ivy League universities. The quote has conveniently been used in a futile attempt to undermine the intellect and capability of the president in question, to effectively govern the nation. It is again being applied in that context following the results of our most recent presidential election.

However, let me proffer a different perspective.

I didn’t vote for either Trump or Clinton, so I most certainly cannot be accused of being partisan, but since Trump is now our President-Elect, it is reasonable to expect that I will fully support him, if not as an acolyte then certainly as a Christ follower who believes in the Scriptural mandate to pray for those in authority.

While it’s true that there is a direct correlation between the white nationalism (alt-right) hate speech, and the rise of Trump’s political campaign, I’m convinced that it’s unlikely that ‘campaign Trump’ will be the same as ‘White House Trump.’ Why? Because on the campaign trail one might take a binary view of politics and the world, touting a strong us-versus-them agenda, but not so in the Oval Office. On the most powerful political seat in the world, the shoe fits differently.

The campaign trail is fraught with political promises made based on limited information and polling reviews, while the Oval Office carries with it the responsibility of nuclear codes that can destroy the world as we know it. One of President Obama’s campaign trail promises was to close the terrorist offshore holding site at Guantanamo Bay. Eight years later he leaves with the prison alive and well populated. Reality is clearly very different from campaign trail promises.

Bombastic claims are made during the campaign that are quickly tempered by the rationale of a daily global security report (which President-Elect Trump has begun to receive). There is a reason why presidents grey significantly while in office after just a couple of years. As the old adage goes, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

Trump claimed during his campaign that, “I know more about ISIS than the Generals.” If that wasn’t so dangerously and arrogantly wrong, it’d be laughable. But I’m sure he’ll soon discover that that’s hardly true, and those “Generals” will serve as a lifeline for his war policies.

His campaign promise to build a wall between the USA and Mexico and have Mexico pay for it, is not only laughable but completely untenable. While it may appeal to white nationalists, the reality is probably far closer to creating a more secure system for entry into the USA, and, which honest and patriotic American doesn’t want that? Any improvement on corralling domestic terrorism is a win for everybody.

Besides, before we start piling up bricks to build a wall, let’s remember that the Syrian refugee crisis is a global crisis spurned by the war in Iraq—spearheaded and led by the USA—which created the void that gave rise to ISIS. The overwhelming majority of these fleeing men, women, and children, are victims of a war in which they had no say, and who are simply seeking an opportunity to make a life for themselves and their families.

If America, the global bastion of democracy, and a land built on the backs of immigrants wants to continue to be great and relevant as a global conscience, then building a wall won’t facilitate that. If anything, a wall won’t only shut people out, it’ll shut us in and make us even more insular and disconnected from global realities.

And what about repealing Roe v Wade? Well let’s take a closer look shall we?! It was passed in 1973 by a majority Republican appointed Supreme Court by a vote of 7-2. 5 of the 7 Justices were Republican appointees. The last 46 years have seen Republicans in the White House for 26 and Democrats for 20, and have seen a majority Republican appointed SCOTUS for all 46, yet nothing has changed with that ruling. It will be with bated breath that we’ll all be watching the next four years.

So, what’s my point?

Simple really. I have a sneaky suspicion that we’ll see a different man in the Oval Office than we saw on the campaign trail because the weight of the most powerful political office in the world demands it.

So is President-Elect Trump a racist, misogynistic, narcissistic, dishonest, thin-skinned, and self-absorbed man? I guess we have at least a four year window to find out. It’s hard to pretend to be whom you’re not for four years when you live in a fish bowl. In the meantime, if you lay claim to having a faith of any kind, then pray for our president and our country, and let Christ shine in and through you.

Just my dos centavos!

#election 2016 #donald trump #christianity #politics #racism

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