Video from 60 Minutes Australia
"As President, Trump was the disruptor in chief in the Oval Office; he made his own rules and he left America, the world, and even his own staff shaking their heads in disbelief." from video introduction.
Words Fail..
"..Words fail.
We have been habituated to think and see the world wrongly. We need new habits of being, of thought and action, in order to right ourselves. We must turn of necessity to experience and reality when the dreams that have been implanted in our hearts fail and the ideas in our heads have proven false. It’s all we have left. But this is a hard road, and it limits how far we can travel.
We will need new or wholly remade institutions and tools, ordered and used rightly, if we are to return to health. We will also need different educators and leaders. Exceptions do not falsify the point, but prove the rule.
If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, refusing to acknowledge the need for new institutions at this point in American life is a form of madness.
Habitual indictment of corrupt institutions, leaders, and the general morass has become the Right’s pacifying mantra, a diversion that lulls us into the sleep of inaction. Words do not absolve us from what needs to be done, not written. It is time to act—to attack corrupt institutions and defend the good, yes, but this too is worth little without a positive understanding of what this action is for. And for others to see and understand such a positive vision, what we must do now is show, not tell.
It is indeed time to build." from the article: We Need New Institutions, Not Arguments
None are Righteous, No Not One
Romans 3:10
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
When God turns us over as a nation and as individuals to our sins He does it through many circumstances and through other people.
I have long maintained (as personal opinion for what it's worth) that God was allowing us to choose our destruction either through Biden or Trump.
But the President does not define our nation as much as He represents the mindset of the people.
So we have the mindset of the Liberal Democrats (which think in socialist/Marxist terms) or Conservative Republicans (which think in terms of imposed fake-morality, again my opinion).
We passively accept dishonesty in our culture and in politics.
Trump lacks integrity and character and SO DO WE!
Putin is Trump, Trump is Putin! Disruptor and Chief
So here we are with Trump and Putin imitating each other.
Remember "Han's and Frans" on Saturday Night Live. This is my pick for how these two Dictators mirror each other.
A bit of humor but not so far from the truth perhaps!
Putin has his truth he is trying to apply to Ukraine just as Trump makes Fake News to help his power and influence.
Putin has shown us what kind of person he is and for Trump or anyone to admire him is unacceptable.
Like Arnold says will he be back?
Video from Saturday Night Live
Does Trump Remind Us of Jesus, Cyrus or King David?
"During last year’s presidential campaign, Ken Burns posed a question to evangelical Christians about the Republican candidate: “What part of Donald Trump reminds you of Jesus Christ?”
The evangelical leaders who supported Trump in the campaign—folks like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Franklin Graham—did not think it necessary to make that kind of comparison. They seemed quite willing to grant that there were a lot of things about Trump that Jesus would disapprove of. But some of them simply excused Trump on the grounds that that he was a “baby Christian,” not very far along in his journey of faith. And, furthermore, as one of them put it: “we are not electing a pastor-in-chief.”
I am willing to give them a pass on all of that. As an evangelical, I typically don’t evaluate presidential performances on whether the leader reminds me of Jesus. I am glad that Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, and that Lyndon Johnson worked diligently for voting rights. I also cheered Nixon for his role in opening up China up to the rest of the world, and George W. Bush for saving lives in the global HIV-AIDS crisis. I think I have good support from the Bible for my views on those matters, and I do think the Bible gives us some measures for evaluating national leadership...from the article: Comparing Trump to two biblical kings
We Are All Relativists. Yes It's All About the Money!
"It’s probably worth pointing out here that in 1998, Grudem, the author of Christian Ethics, believed that integrity and character in our political leaders was an urgent matter. For example, Grudem signed onto a “declaration concerning religion, ethics, and the crisis in the Clinton presidency.” Among other things, it stated, “We believe that serious misunderstandings of repentance and forgiveness are being exploited for political advantage.” It went to say, “We are aware that certain moral qualities are central to the survival of our political system, among which are truthfulness, integrity, respect for the law, respect for the dignity of others, adherence to the constitutional process, and a willingness to avoid the abuse of power. We reject the premise that violations of these ethical standards should be excused so long as a leader remains loyal to a particular political agenda and the nation is blessed by a strong economy.” It turns out that Grudem, a professor of Christian ethics, is actually a relativist. Principles are malleable, depending on who’s in power...In his article defending the President, Grudem declares that he knows of “no evangelical leader who ‘brushed off’ Trump’s words and behavior.” (He cites his criticism of Trump following the release of the Access Hollywood tape.) But since Trump has been president, the criticisms of his unethical behavior have been either ignored or dramatically minimized by much of the political leadership of the white evangelical world. They would have you believe that Trump is at worst imperfect—just as we all are, they will quickly add—perhaps a little unrefined, coarse, and rough around the edges, but then again, that’s because he’s “authentic,” “politically incorrect,” and a “fighter” who is rightly defending himself against grave injustices and unfair attacks..." from the article: There Is No Christian Case for Trump
Christ or Chaos?
"The Christian’s study of God’s Word must bring with it the desire and the ability to make application where Scripture makes application. If Scripture speaks to civil government then civil government must be called upon to acknowledge the Lord of Scripture and be reconstructed according to His demands. A. A. Hodge’s words are to the point and just as applicable today as they were a century ago:
If Christ is really king, exercising original and immediate jurisdiction over the State as really as he does over the church, it follows necessarily that the general denial or neglect of his rightful lordship, any prevalent refusal to obey that Bible which is the open law-book of his kingdom, must be followed by political and social as well as moral and religious ruin. If professing Christians are unfaithful to the authority of their Lord in their capacity as citizens of the State, they cannot expect to be blessed by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in their capacity as members of the church. The kingdom of Christ is one, and cannot be divided in life or in death. If the Church languishes, the State cannot be in health; and if the State rebels against its Lord and King, the Church cannot enjoy his favour. If the Holy Ghost is withdrawn from the Church, he is not present in the State; and if he, the only “Lord, the Giver of life” be absent, then all order is impossible, and the elements of society lapse backward to primeval night and chaos . . . I charge you, citizens of the United States, afloat on your wide sea of politics, there is another king, one Jesus: the safety of the State can be secured only in the way of humble and whole-souled loyalty his person and obedience to His Law." [1]
The political choice before us is Christ or chaos. Is Jesus “the King of kings and Lord of lords”? That is the question before American Christians. The issue is anything but peripheral.' from the article: Christ or Chaos?