When Full Is Empty And Empty Is Full (III of III)

In prior posts I reflected on the unsettling reality that God brings trials our way, and that they can last decades. So where do we go from here? How does this turn into good news? Easy answers. I don't know and I'm not sure.

Joking aside, I'm serious, too. I don't know where we go, because I'm like Naomi, not Jesus. I don't know how this turns into good news, because I'm like Naomi, not Jesus.

Naomi, like us, is human. She has to plod through her trials, and so do we. We don't have the luxury of seeing the great ending that might be several decades in the coming. Jesus, on the other hand, is God. He knows in advance that the blind man will regain his sight because Jesus himself is about to heal him.

But before we gripe that Jesus has an unfair advantage, let's stop and reflect upon his unenviable situation. Yes, he possesses divine knowledge and power, but that's no blessing if your stated mission is to die on a cross without putting up a fight.

Let that thought sink in for a minute. Jesus saw his own trials coming, and he had the dubious pleasure of walking toward them all at a steady, resolute pace. There is certainly some truth to the old saying that ignorance is bliss. My recent hand injury came blissfully quickly. A shard of glass passed by so fast that the job was done before I even felt the pain. I cannot tell you how often I've relived that moment since then. And in my mind's eye? I avoid that trial. I avert the disaster. I do things differently at that kitchen sink. Trial escaped.

Jesus, in contrast, saw his death coming decades in advance–the most painful form of death known to the Roman world. And he made sure it happened. Who of us can even begin to imagine what force of will is required to do that? And though that was surely the hardest trial Jesus faced, it was not the only one.

Here's another. It's a safe bet that Jesus outlived his father, since there is no mention of him beyond Jesus' early childhood. What does that mean? It means that Jesus was around when is earthly father died, and I'd hazard a guess he knew when and how it was coming long before the moment arrived. He neither prevented his father's death nor reversed it. He walked alongside that casket, but he never reached into it.

Again, We have no capacity to imagine what Jesus went through. To let your earthly father die when you know you can restore him to full health? No one else on earth has face that trial. No one except Jesus. Omniscience and omnipotence wrapped inside a human frame with a limited mission is certainly not always all that it's cracked up to be.

So we grant that we are human and that Jesus is God. Fine. Next move? How does this help us? Here I can only turn to the book of Ruth and say, "I may not know how my story turns out, but it sure is encouraging to see how things turn out for Naomi." Let's recall what Naomi had to say in her darkest hour:

Ruth 1:12
Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons...

Yes, we know what Naomi does not: there is a baby boy in Naomi's future. But in loving memory of dear old Naomi, let's savor this dish slowly. Hold off on the good news. What else did Naomi say in her darkest hour?

Ruth 1:20-21
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

Naomi has despaired of life itself. She has thrown in the towel. But the irony is that she has gotten her life's story completely wrong.

Naomi remembers the past imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
I went away full... What?? Naomi did NOT go away full. She and her husband went away hungry. Empty! It was a terrible famine that forced them to moved to Moab. It's almost humorous to see how Naomi is remembering the past with rose-tinted glasses, but we're all guilty of the same habits. A major campaign claim in this year's presidential election is that today is awful, yesterday was great, and that tomorrow (if I am elected) will be great once again. And people are eating it up.

Naomi sees the present imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
By "full" and "empty" Naomi probably speaks of having left Israel with a husband and two sons and having returned without them. Fair enough. But even by this understanding Naomi has NOT returned empty. She has returned with priceless cargo–with Ruth, someone she never would have known had not God sent her on an unwelcome journey so many years ago.

Naomi sees the future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
Let's have a hearty, long and loving laugh, because Naomi died celebrating only the first fruits of a harvest with no end in sight even today, 3,000 years later.

Ruth 4:14-15
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

Let those words sink in. What are they celebrating? They are celebrating the fact that Naomi has a grandson named Obed. That's it. That's all. Naomi probably didn't live to see her great-grandson David play with his first slingshot, let alone ascend to the throne.

The author of Ruth sees the future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
The irony unfolds in waves, my friends. Ruth's author lovingly ends his narrative by unfolding the genealogy of Obed down to David in the belief that the punchline has been delivered. But the true punchline is another thousand years in the coming.

Matthew 1:5
...Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth...

The woman who thought she'd die alone without an heir is still celebrated all over the world. She will be forever remembered as a beloved ancestor of the Christ child himself. Jesus himself is part of Naomi's story. Or should we say that Naomi was part of His story? And this is the point these rambling reflections lead me to.

We see the past, present and future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
We, today, are part of God's story. Hardships past, present and future are part of that good story. Hard to imagine? Naomi understands. But now it's Naomi, with the benefit of a better perspective, who is laughing at us. The question before us is this: Can we, in faith, laugh along with her?

Omniscience and omnipotence are morsels best left on God's plate. Let us feast instead on faith, trusting in the one who lays the table. May these crazy, crazy thoughts be an encouragement to all of us as we face our trials. Even the ones that last for decades and tempt us to despair of life.

Hang in there, friends. The story is still unfolding. The punchline has not yet arrived.

Going Under The Knife... For A Few Decades (II of III)

In my prior blog, I noted a recent disaster in my own life (a debilitating hand injury) and then revisited the book of Ruth, where Naomi faces her own life's disasters. We ended with a question. Is Naomi right? Is it indeed the hand of God himself that is against her? Well... I've already suggested that this is a rather inescapable conclusion, given how Jesus responded to a similar question.

John 9:3
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

I've reflected a bit on this verse already, but to those observations I'd like to add a few more. First off, note that where Naomi is depressed, Jesus is optimistic. He speaks words of hope, and the reason why is clear. Jesus sees past the present situation. He knows what's coming, and it's good. What's more, Jesus' optimism is infectious. The blind man catches it.

John 9:6-7
After saying this, he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

The passage doesn't directly speak of optimism, but, speaking from personal experience, I think that this blind man had plenty. Injuries breed efficiency. I sincerely doubt this blind man did extra laps around town for kicks. "Trip to the pool? Yeah, I'll swing by there on the way home." But No! He heads to the pool to wash his eyes. Immediately. That's optimism. Optimism rewarded, too! He comes back seeing.

The story does end on a high note, but a dark mystery hangs over it: Why would God have set all this up the way he did in the first place? From the fuller passage we know that the blind man is legally of age. I suppose that means he is at least 13 yrs old, but given how forcefully he debated with the Pharisees, I'd guess that the man is at least twenty years old. He's been blind for decades.

Let that sink in. Decades. For decades he lived in darkness. If we ran across a parent who kept a child imprisoned for twenty years so as to display the works of God in the child by eventually setting them free? We'd call that sick. And we'd be right. But mysteriously, that seems to be what God stands in the docket for in this story. What's worse, stories like these are a dime a dozen.

Take Naomi, for instance. Why did she and her husband first move to Moab? Famine drove them. Given the reputation Moab had with Israelites, I'd guess they were pretty desperate. And of course it gets worse from there. The husband dies. The two sons die. And if you stitch together a time frame for all these events, it would appear that Naomi has herself been living in another form of darkness for several decades.

The problem of evil is not a recent discovery and I have no shocking new solution to it, but I do find it odd that we cope with this problem in some arenas much better than we do in others. Examples? How about this... No pain, no gain. We wear these words on exercise t-shirts, and they apply to academic endeavors just as well. Or how about this one... Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. Yes, we understand that those who studiously avoid all pain in life never really live.

So when we speak of exercise, education, and even of love... we get it. Pain is the route to gain. How strange, then, that we fear the trials that beset our souls and are frankly terrified at the thought that God himself might be engineering them. But that is indeed what he does. My wife read to us from the book of Deuteronomy tonight after dinner. I wasn't asking for them, but these words found me all the same.

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

For this crime we have a written confession. Can we acknowledge what God himself acknowledges? That his trials can span decades? Four of them?

She's sixteen now, but I still remember her crying as an infant. Tears streaming from eyes shot through with blood. Strabismus surgery for her eyes was a good thing, but we didn't ask her for permission. To the extent an infant could vote, it's a sure thing she would have declined surgery. Infants avoid all pain. But we ignored her wishes. We gave her what she needed.

I do believe that God does put us under the knife. Without asking our leave. Our vote gently ignored. God sometimes lets us thrash and suffer. For decades at a whack. Can that really be good? In faith I will say Yes, but it's a fact that I am a spiritual infant. I always avoid those trials whenever I can.

And when I can't? Well, that's why I love the book of Ruth.

To be continued...

The Enemy Who Is Your Friend (I of III)

Compared to more recent blogging topics, this blog will be a breath of fresh air–but neither easy nor fun in any ordinary sense.

Recent months have not been easy. I was visited late last year by a thumb injury that by all appearances ensures that I will spend the rest of my life with one good left hand aided clumsily by another ham-fisted... well... ham-fist. I was once right-handed.

Events like these force difficult questions. Questions not unlike those posed by Jesus' immediate disciples.

John 9:2
His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’

We like to think we've come a long way in understanding the mind of God. In those darkened days of primitive ignorance, it was widely assumed that if you were rich, it was because God loved you. And if you were sick? Diseased? A sure-fire indicator that you had sinned pretty badly.

Thus the confusion! If the guy was born blind, he hadn't had a chance yet to sin! So... did his parents screw up? We know someone earned this misery. But who? Jesus set them straight.

John 9:3
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Yes, we all know that now, though these words shocked the disciples. What?? Nobody sinned??

Chuckle, chuckle. We know better, today. It was just a medical condition. And God wants it to be healed.

But let's be honest. We're no more enlightened than Jesus' disciples. All we have managed to do is exchange one half-truth for another. The disciples erred in thinking that only people God loves are blessed with health and material possessions. And us? We err in thinking that God loves people too much to take such things away from them.

Jesus sets us straight, too, if we have ears to hear what he actually said. "This happened". "So that". "The works of God might be displayed".

Let that sink in for a bit.

Jesus didn't say, "It was a random accident, but I'm gonna fix it." Jesus didn't say, "Things go wrong because of the fall, but God didn't do it." No. Jesus said it happened. So that. God's works might be displayed.

That's not a popular thought. And if you doubt me, try telling your friends this one: "I believe that God has orchestrated events so that my better hand will be maimed for the rest of my life."

A few of my closer friends nod and agree. But many do not. Some seem even to take offense at the notion.

So to those who are not ready to swallow words like these, let me ask. If God didn't do it, who else do we suppose made the man blind, for the purposes of God's glory? Who else had sovereign control over the events in that man's mother's womb?

All this came home to me again when I recently listened in my car to the book of Ruth. Ruth is one of my favorite books, bar none. So I've read it many times. On this last pass, I was struck again by Naomi's words.

Ruth 1:13b
No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!’

Naomi has been visited by unspeakable sorrows. She has outlived her husband and both of her sons. Her words touch all of us who have ears to hear: those troubled by sorrows as well as those free of major disappointments. But are her words true? Is Naomi blaming God for things he didn't do? Or is Naomi right in her finger-pointing? In short... Is God himself behind Naomi's problems?

To be continued...

But Not All Evangelicals Are Whores (V of V)

The world is a surreal place, these days.

In prior posts I gave a number of Evangelical Whores their due.

But there are heroes, too. Let's recognize a few.

A roaring thank-you to a local pastor, Skye Jethani. (He's not exactly world-famous, but he is known to people all over the world. So why do I call him local? Because he lives nearby and attends my own church.) Here's a great video link where Jethani explains why followers of Christ should not vote out of fear, but rather out of more Christian motives like love and self-sacrifice. Try to imagine voting for Trump or Hillary while operating under those principles.

Second, a roaring thank-you to a slightly more visible Russell Moore.
1) He stood against Trump (and even got some ire from Trump via personal tweet!).
2) He stood against all those aforementioned "Evangelical" whores bowing the knee to Trump.
3) At a SBC convention, he stood up to a xenophobe. Responding to the question "How in the world can [you] support rights for Muslims?" Moore responded, "Sometimes we have really hard decisions to make... this isn't one of those things. What it means to be a baptist is to support soul freedom for everybody."

(BTW, totally secular media such as Samantha Bee took note of Russell's unpopular stand. She exclaimed in response, "Now that is a shining city on a hill.")

Finally, a roaring thank-you to John Pavolvitz. I lifted thoughts from a blog of his when writing my jeremiads, and it brought my attention to other good blogs he has written. This man is after the heart of Jesus. That means he's not going to be popular with "Evangelical Leaders". (A strike in his favor, surely.) "Evangelicals" will take issue with his stand against guns, but they'll especially hate him for his thank-you note to Obama, penned in June.

For these three True Evangelical Leaders I am thankful, though it must be said that they'll have to come up with a new affiliation. The word Evangelical is about as useful as the surname Hitler became after 1940. Sometimes a word acquires more baggage than can ever be truly shed.

But again, to these men and to other men, women and children like them... Thank you. The world takes note when followers of Christ act like the one they follow: Jesus Christ.

Fear Turns Us Into Whores (IV of V)

The world is a surreal place, these days.

We continue here this "short" blog series. I had planned for a shorter list of blogs, but Mr. Eric Metaxas forced my hand when I found out that he too was present at that pagan ceremony where 1,000+ "Evaenglical Leaders" fornicated with Donald Trump. Here are Metaxas' own words.

"Not only can we vote for Trump, we must vote for Trump, because with all of his foibles, peccadilloes, and metaphorical warts, he is nonetheless the last best hope of keeping America from sliding into oblivion, the tank, the abyss, the dustbin of history, if you will. If you want to know how bad things are in America, and how far we have gone, read the previous sentence aloud over and over."

Well, Mr. Metaxas, I did read your statement several times. And your words became more clear with each reading. You're afraid. And your fear has turned you into a whore. A very frightened one, too. The below is more or less a cut-and-paste of some comments I threw onto Facebook earlier today.

So I just found out that Eric Metaxas wants us to vote for Trump.

Yeah, Metaxas wrote that book on Bonhoeffer. I own a copy.

For shame, Mr. Metaxas. Bonhoeffer stood up to Hitler and died as a martyr for Christ. He was safe in the USA but willingly went back to Germany to stand in the gap. Despite being a pastor and a pacifist to boot, Bonhoeffer risked his life in a plot to kill Hitler, and Hitler himself personally ordered Bonhoeffer's death. Then there's you, Mr. Metaxas. You're so afraid of Hillary that you'll vote in worse, and you want us to join you in your folly. Coward.

But why should I explain this? Let your hero be your judge.

"From this it would appear that folly is... a special form of the operation of historical circumstances upon men, a psychological by-product of definite external factors. On closer inspection it would seem that any violent revolution, whether political or religious, produces an outburst of folly in a large part of mankind. Indeed, it would seem to be almost a law of psychology and sociology. The power of one needs the folly of the other."
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45)

Did your eyes gloss over, Mr. Metaxas? Skye Jethani explains it in simpler words.

"But when people are afraid, they don't care about facts. They will grasp onto anyone promising to keep them safe, even if their ideas lack both evidence and common sense. We don't make good, rational decisions when we are afraid. Simply put, fear makes us *dumb*."

(Yes, Mr. Metaxas, he's explaining why people like you are latching onto Trump.)

One of the saddest facts about all of this is that both Donald Trump and the watching media understand "Evaenglical Leaders" better than they themselves do. Let's wrap this up with a few basic observations courtesy of the secular media. (Did we really need THEM to point this out??)

5. Trump Equated Christianity With Worldly Power, and His Listeners Agreed

Donald Trump is no dummy. He knows his audience better than they know themselves. Evangelicals are acutely aware of their waning cultural influence and shrinking share of the population. These religious leaders care about their principles, yes. But they care about something else even more: power. While not every evangelical leader is enthusiastic about Trump, many are starting to express warm feelings toward the candidate. Expect the cascade to continue.

In eight sentences Mr. Trump mentioned some variation of power six times, to a group of individuals who have professed their love and loyalty to Jesus, who in his most famous sermon declared, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and “Blessed are the meek,” who said, “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” and who was humiliated and crucified by the powerful.

Stay tuned...

Other Evangelical Whores (III of V)

The world is a surreal place, these days.

Once again I wince at my own chosen title for this blog.

And then I remember what these so-called church leaders have done.

So this blog continues on the heels of several other blog posts devoted to what our so-called "Evangelical church leaders" have been up to. Let's review the case from the perspective of Ezekiel. He referred to Samaria and Israel as adulterous sisters. Why? My study Bible explains.

Ezekiel 23:5
“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians..."

Footnote for that same verse
"Prostitution here represents political alliances with pagan powers... the graphic language of the chapter underscores God's and Ezekiel's disgust with Israel for playing the worldly game of international politics rather than relying on the Lord for her security."

So that's what Ezekiel calls "whoring". Now tell me if the 1,000+ "Evangelical Leaders" are engaged in something different? Or the same thing?

First, they go to meet with Trump. Not the other way around. And why did they go? What do they want from Trump? Let's see...

James Dobson
"I am delighted to be here with the Gospel greats... Mr. Trump, we would like you to start your comments by answering that question: What will your administration do to help promote all of our freedoms — all of the Bill of Rights, and what it has meant to be an American — and protect us? Or do we have to fight another Revolutionary War to preserve them?"

Tony Perkins (president of the Family Research Council): "This is my question for you, Mr. Trump. What policies, if any, of the Obama administration will you reverse? And what steps will you take to restore our military and the rights of our men and women in uniform to practice their religious freedom?"

Kelly Shackelford (president and CEO of First Liberty Institute law firm):
...probably the key issue right now in religious liberty is the attempt to use gay rights to trump religious freedom...

Is it just me? Or are they looking to someone other than God for their reassurances? Ezekiel, my friends, called that whoring. Should we do otherwise?

Others present deserve recognition for their share of this whore-fest, including Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee. But sadly I must also give final credit to Franklin Graham, who presided over the event with a prayer.

Franklin Graham (president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association): (excerpted) Thank you... ...And as we look at who is to be the next president of the United States, many people are looking at qualities. And I’d like to take just a moment to look at the Bible.

Some of the individuals are our patriarchs: Abraham — great man of faith. But he lied. Moses led his people out of bondage, but he disobeyed God. David committed adultery and then he committed murder. The Apostles turned their back on the Lord Jesus Christ in his greatest hour of need, they turned their backs and they ran. Peter denied him three times. All of this to say, there is none of us is perfect...

So I would just like to open up with a word of prayer.... ...And, Father, we pray this election that you will give a man to be the president of this country who will honor life, who will respect our Constitution, who will respect the authority of the office... And, Father, we ask now that you would bless this meeting and this time together, as Mr. Trump is able to answer questions. And, Father, we pray that each one here today will leave this room with a new appreciation of this man and this family ... Amen.

I would like to introduce now a very good friend of mine. Jerry Falwell Jr., who doesn’t need an introduction.

Trat's true, Mr. Franklin. Falwell, Jr. does not need introduction. He's now widely recognized as the first "Evangelical leader" to bless Trump, and he spouted the same festering bovine scatology that you, Mr. Franklin repeated here: The ever-so-clear insinuation that Trump can be our Christian man-of-the-hour since, after all, other great leaders like Abraham and David weren't spotless either.

Really????

But let's end with something a bit more insightful. A comment from an outside reporter.

Todd Stearns
Just got back from Trump's "conversation" with Evangelicals. No mention of Jesus.

To be continued...

"Evangelicals" Whoring after Power (II of V)

The world is a surreal place, these days.

I've never titled a blog with such loaded terms, but let's be frank. Sometimes strong words are necessary. And sometimes things that need to be said also need to be said when children are not around to hear them.

The prophet Ezekiel used profoundly not-so-family-friendly language from time to time. In lurid terms, Ezekiel graphically described how Israel and Judah had whored after pagan nations and gods. Next to Ezekiel, who felt obliged to describe specific acts worthy of a whore, this blog post qualifies as squeaky clean.

Ezekiel had two basic targets, which kept the task manageable. If I were smart, I'd address the whores in my days as a single entity, but I yearn to give each of the 1,000+ "Evangelical leaders" who recently met with Trump their rightful recognition.

Not for the first time do I find myself wincing as I use such strong words.

And then I remember how these people are behaving: People who claim to serve Jesus Christ and to represent His church and (key) who really do have influence over many godly and gentle (and naive) Christian souls.

In my first blog post on this topic, I gave James Dobson most of the attention. Dobson has since back-tracked from his assurances that Donald Trump gave his heart to Jesus. Now Dobson is not so sure. Do I respond with laughter? Tears? Neither. Dobson's opinions don't merit the energy for either. Let's move on.

A digression. It must be said, others are saying the exact same things I am saying, and they have a bigger audience anyway. I'm just writing my echoing take on matters for personal reasons. I do it as a combination of personal therapy and so that my personal (and public) journal is on record as to exactly who I think Trump is and the state of depravity the American church must have reached for so many church-goers to be voting for him.

I imagine this journal being accessible to my children one day, and God help me if in the year 2016 I didn't speak out against the whore of Babylon and the whoring "Evangelical leaders" who whored after him.

And the other writers are just as blunt. Here's another blogger's post, and I feel that one comment in particular bears repeating.

One of the most startling ironies, is that these are the same self-professed “defenders of the faith”, who for the last eight years have ruthlessly persecuted a President who has not only repeatedly professed personal spirituality, but whose conduct, marriage, and family are everything they claim they’re for. This was never good enough for them to support or pray for him—or even call him a Christian. Yet Donald Trump, in all his philandering, materialistic, racist, bigoted, misogynist glory is somehow worthy of reverence because somewhere deep down (in a way that only these leaders see), he loves Jesus. If you believe that I have some swamp land in Alabama for you.

I am tempted to respond to those good words, but I dare not get too far off topic. Let's move on to the next whore I'd like to give his due.

Ralph Reed attended the meeting that Donald Trump called. You know, the one where "church" leaders seeking power and significance meet with a politician and work out a plan of action designed to deliver
a) power and/or significance to the whores in the church, and
b) millions of votes to the whore seeking election.

Yes, that one. Ralph Reed attended that meeting. So Ralph went in to be with the Donald, and at the podium Ralph had this to say:

As I sat there this morning—we just spent time with Dr. Carson and the next president of the United States, Donald Trump—I thought about two Bible verses. And I’m going to paraphrase just a bit. One is, “For such a time as this,” and the other one is this one, a commandment from our Savior, when he said, “Call unto me, and I will do great and mighty things that you do not know.”

I am guessing Ralph didn't recall that Esther (whose father-figure said to her that she had perhaps been called to power "for a time such as this") is a book that celebrates Esther's standing up against an evil man in power who hated underclass foreigners. After all, Donald Trump is an evil man in power who hates underclass foreigners. Or did Ralph slip into the wrong convention hall? Was Esther just down to the hall and to the right?

I'm guessing none of the other whores in the room caught a whiff of that irony, either. If they did have a nose for that, they wouldn't have been there with Trump in the first place.

So I stop wincing when I use the word whore to describe somebody who:
a) wants power
b) doesn't have a clue what the Bible is about, but who nevertheless
c) claims to speak for masses of Christians, and
d) misquotes the Bible atrociously in order to
e) advocate for the advancement of another evil man in order to
f) amass more "power" for pet church ambitions that are secondary (at best) to the church's true calling


But it takes one whore to like another, so this is a marriage made in Hell. Donald, after all, is the one who said "Nobody reads the Bible more than me" and yet refers to a passage as "Two Corinthians" like a first-week student of a new language. Ralph and Donald were made for each other.

But why stop there? Ralph's second Bible reference is at least as problematic as his first. He mis-attributes a passage from Jeremiah to Jesus. No matter. Both names start with J, right? That's good enough for a whore, if not perhaps what we'd expect from a Christian leader.

Jokes aside, it's no coincidence that Ralph attributed Jeremiah's words to Jesus. Jesus promised rest to those who came to him, but Jeremiah's words hint at power and powerful actions. Jeremiah's words were appropriate to the moment. That's not the problem.

The problem arises when Ralph quotes Jeremiah and think's he's quoting Jesus. Most importantly, given that those at the meeting were drawn to it by the scent of power, Ralph's reference to Jesus doing powerful things says nothing about God's heart but an awful lot about what's on Ralph's mind. A Freudian slip? Ohhhh, yeah.

That's about as much time as I want to burn on Ralph Reed. 998 other whores deserve their due, and I am afraid most won't get as much coverage.

But let us take a moment to reflect on the state of the American church, that men like these have approached the pagan temple of Trump. They have every right to do so. But to do so as proclaimed followers of Christ? Leaders of the church? That demands a response. In this blog series I intend to give at least a few of these whores their due.

Stay tuned...