NOTES ON THE POWER OF THE TONGUE IN AN AGE OF ‘THE BIG LIE’: REBUKING THE DARKNESS VS. REVILING THE ENEMY

SCRIPTURE. “If anyone thinks himself to be religious [scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith] and does not control his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless (futile, barren).” – JAMES 1:26, AMP

QUOTATIONS

GOEBBELS. “If you tell a ‘Big Lie’ enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The Lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the Lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the Truth is the mortal enemy of the Lie, and thus by extension, the Truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” – Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda, a paraphrased attribution adapted from Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ (1925); cf. Randall Bytwerk, “False Nazi Quotations,” ‘German Propaganda Archive,’ 1933-1945, ret. Dec. 4, 2022; edited

MARTIN. “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that ‘you fear what he might say.’” ― George R.R. Martin, American author and screenwriter, known as “The American Tolkien,” ‘A Clash of Kings,’ 1998; edited

SNYDER. “The idea that Mr. Biden didn’t win the election is a ‘Big Lie.’ It’s a Big Lie because you have to disbelieve all kinds of evidence to believe in it. It’s a Big Lie because you have to believe in a huge Conspiracy in order to believe it. And it’s a Big Lie because, if you believe it, it demands you take radical action. ‘So this is one way we have really moved forwards towards Authoritarianism and away from Democracy.’ It’s coming to a peak right now.” – Timothy Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University, ‘On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,’ 2017; edited

Selah.

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

Without exaggeration, I believe with all my heart and mind and might that we are all of us positioned at the most critical juncture of American and World history since the forces of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia invaded the Republic of Poland, unprovoked, beginning on September 1, 1939.

The Drumbeat of the Runup to World War II is terrifyingly similar to tho early thunders we see around us today in Ukraine, the South China Sea, and the Middle East. I am more convinced each day that we are racing toward intensifying national and international tumult and yes, tragically, a Third World War, in the years immediately ahead.

Bulletin: “VLADIMIR PUTIN said Russia may consider formally adding the possibility of a ‘preventive nuclear first strike’ to disarm an opponent to its military doctrine, just days after warning that the risk of atomic war is rising.” – ‘International Wire Story,’ Dec. 8, 2022; edited

A LEADERSHIP VACUUM. More perilously, America is currently experiencing an equally critical absence of strong leadership in both Politics and Religion. Writing for the Washington Times on July 19, 2022, TED YOHO breaks out the strong stuff in this regard in a hard-hitting piece entitled, “World War III on the Brink and U.S. Leadership is Missing.”

“The world is at the Precipice of World War III and American leadership is missing. The unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, along with the increased campaign of aggression and intimidation toward Taiwan and Australia at the direction of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have brought increased tension and uncertainty to the European Union and the Asia-Pacific regions respectively. In fact, the world has not seen such destabilizing actions since pre-WWII brought on by the actions of Germany, Italy and Japan. Some view these moves as a prelude to WWIII.”

Footnote. Mr. Yoho is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the U.S. representative from Florida’s 3rd congressional district from 2013 until 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party and a MAGA Christian, noted for his once calling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fb” (you figure it out), and voted against making Lynching a federal crime. Selah.

Question. Does this render what he wrote false? The Point: We live in a world so confused, it is difficult even the lovers of truth and honor to find and report it with considerable confidence.

‘TRUTH DECAY.’ That little play on words is taken from a courageous theological broadside by Christian philosopher DOUGLAS GROOTHUIS from his book of the same name, published in the momentous year of 2000. His subtitle: ‘Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism’ – an issue I have addressed in my earlier commentaries. In brief, what Groothuis teaches us is this:

‘The Crisis of Leadership in America is inseparable from our Crisis of Truth,’ since our leaders appear to be little interested in it for a variety of reasons. Therefore, no one seems to know what to do! Except of course for one individual who believes he is “The Chosen One.” More in him in just a bit.

Ironically, or perhaps providentially, I bumped into these grand ideas early in my career while working on my doctorate in the early 1970s in Ohio, long before I became a Christian. The scientific name given to what we would call “Truth” back then came to us from the formulations of people like CLAUDE SHANNON and other mathematician-engineers who articulated intricate Theories of Communication built around a central concept:

INFORMATION. “Knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction. In Communication Theory, it is a numerical measure of the Entropy or Uncertainty of an outcome.” That is: High Information yields Low Uncertainty; Low Information produces High Uncertainty. – EDITORS, “Information,” ‘Vocabulary.com,’ ret. Dec. 7, 2022; edited

In the parlance of Dr. Groothuis, “Truth Decay” is an historic reference to ‘Truth in steep decline’ (or moving toward maximum Entropy), leading to massive, culture wide Uncertainty, Chaos and Fear as its ideological nemesis, ‘The Lie,’ sweeps into this Vacuum to fill the void.

The Prophets wrote of such a time.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord [inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it.” – AMOS 8:11-12, AMPC

Which confronts us with the first major point in our discussion of what’s wrong with America and the Church. Something that the forces of Donald Trump’s MAGA Christianity and its inchoate first cousin, QAnon, have ‘miraculously’ engineered just inside just six short but explosive years:

DISINFORMATION: “A loan translation of the Russian ‘Dezinformatsiya,’ derived from the title of a KGB black propaganda department. Russian use began with a ‘Special Disinformation Office’ in 1923. Disinformation was defined in ‘Great Soviet Encyclopedia’ (1952) as: ‘False information with the intention to deceive public opinion.’” – EDITORS, “Disinformation,” Wikipedia, Dec. 4, 2022; edited

The heart of our struggle over matters of War and Peace midst heated rumors about a Second Civil War here in the United States, is the current Media Firestorm over the claims of rampant Disinformation or “Alternate facts” or “Fake news!”

THE NAZI MODEL. Underscore to all this is a stunning report from WALTER LANGER of the United States Office of Strategic Services, describing Adolf Hitler’s original thoughts of these Dark Stratagems. The report was later published in book form as ‘The Mind of Adolf Hitler’ in 1972. Langer stated of the Dictator:

“His Primary Rules were: Never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a Big Lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”

We therefore see the unmistakable Type and Shadow of Josef Goebbel’s Propaganda Machine devastating the very understructure of the American Order, with catastrophic cooperation by the American Church and the Republican Party

in their mindless, heartless embrace of Trump Christianity.

REINTRODUCTION OF ‘THE BIG LIE.’ Indeed, one would have to have been off the entire planet for the last six years to not recognize the startling similarity between the mind of ADOLF HITLER and that of DONALD TRUMP. Court transcripts showing that Trump closely studied Adolf Hitler’s speeches during his years of marriage to his first wife, Ivanka, are now a matter of public record.

At least for those of us who can still think and read.

To this crucial Transitional Point: The Antichrist of the Scriptures is described in several passages and subsequent commentaries as “The Master Deceiver” who contrived this Master Strategy just described above. And Mr. Trump and his MAGA Stormtroopers (‘Sturmabteilung’) appear to be following this Master Plan to the very letter. Selah.

1. INFORMATION VS. DISINFORMATION

THESIS. Let’s continue this line of thought by stating right up front that the Church cannot succeed and carry out its Royal Commission to Superintend the earth and rescue souls without: (1) An Accurate ‘Understanding of Reality (Truth);’ and (2) The ‘Faithful Transfer of that Understanding (Truth)’ to others in society.

Extrapolating from my Thesis we must understand that, theologically speaking: ‘Truth will always trump Love,’ rather than the other way around. It is Truth that saves, with Love as its necessary servant. Jesus made this doctrine exquisitely clear in His Gospel:

“So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], ‘and the truth will set you free’ [from the penalty of sin].” – JOHN 8:31-32, AMP

CAVEAT. However, in the words of a graduate student years back who was and is a native son of Amarillo, Texas (with deep Texas drawl included): “Dr. Kelly, Truth without Mercy is a very bloody sword.” So yes, beloved, I realize the crucial importance of Love in our messages, but always remember this:

‘Love comes in a variety of packages.’

It can be gentle and spoken through soft touches and quiet whispers with the purpose of Comfort. But it can also be loud and severe and urgent, with the purpose of Alarm. Yet somehow, today’s American Church has jettisoned that Second Option in favor of what I called in my first book, The “Love Only” Gospel.

“My strong suspicion is many of these faux teachers and leaders will be advocates of what I call the ‘Love Only Movement’ in the Church, usually associated with the more liberal social gospel wing of Christianity. Here the idea is God’s Love and ‘Tolerance for All’ is the only answer to world ills, naively at the staggering price of Truth. Thus does Francis Schaeffer’s Spirit of Accommodation to the world spirit become the Ensign of our times, as he proclaimed in his last book before his death, ‘The Great Evangelical Disaster’ (1984).” – ‘The Sixth Seal: A Pre-Wrath Commentary on the End of History As We Know It,’ 2017; edited

THE FIRST CHURCH OF TOLERANCE. Those of you who have already read my work these past two years understand this theme that I continue to press home until somebody listens. The American Church is operating in ‘abject fear,’ but not in the fear of God. No. Rather, in the ‘Fear of Man,’ and ONE MAN in particular.

Thus, the Seeker Sensitive, Love Only, No Fault, nearly Universalist Christianity we see everywhere, with pastors in absolute denial of the need to call out sin in their congregations for fear of offending them. To their Endless Toleration for even die-hard Trump supporters, MAGA zealots and demon-driven QAnons who populate their pews.

So long as they pay their tithes and offerings.

Too critical you say? One more time: DR. GEORGE BARNA forever sealed this indictment of the uniquely obsequious ‘American Gospel’ in his 2014 landmark study, just before this ‘Religious Toleration Movement’ ignited by Donald Trump began. Here still again is a distillation of his startling – and grotesquely shameful – findings.

REASONS FOR PASTORAL COWARDICE. Taken from a Summary by the president of American Pastor’s Network, SAM ROHRER on October 15, 2015 (edited). Here I present FIVE of the more salient reasons for widespread Pastoral Timidity. – 2 Timothy 1:17

“Research has shown that pastors are purposefully skirting some controversial topics when preparing their messages for the pulpit, but churches and pastors must address these issues, no matter how uncomfortable it might be …

THE REASONS. (1) Fear of controversy or pushback from those in the pews if Biblical Principles are applied to the issues of the day. (2) Negative theological training regarding talking about impacting the culture or discussion of anything regarding civil government or politics. (3) Unjustified fear of losing their 501(c)(3) status. (4) Being unaware of the historical role of pastors in the history of America. (5) ‘Having more of a fear of man rather than a fear of God.’”

And there you have it, beloved. A Church filled to the gunnels with what C.S. Lewis once described in the ‘Abolition of Man’ (1943) as, ‘spiritual geldings.’

THE IMPACT. To cut further straight to the theological bone, this decades-long doctrinal spinelessness traces its recent reincarnation to and insidious ideology, ‘Christian Nationalism. PAUL D. MILLER, professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University and a research fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, writes:

“Christian Nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Popularly, Christian Nationalists assert that America is and must remain a ‘Christian Nation’—not merely as an observation about American history, but as ‘a prescriptive program’ for what America must continue to be in the future. Scholars like Samuel Huntington have made a similar argument: That America is defined by its ‘Anglo-Protestant past’ and that we will lose our identity and our freedom if we do not preserve our cultural inheritance …

‘Christian Nationalism takes the name of Christ for a worldly political agenda,’ proclaiming that its program is ‘the’ political program for every true believer. That is wrong in principle, no matter what the agenda is, because only the Church is authorized to proclaim the name of Jesus and carry His Standard into the world. It is even worse with a political movement that champions some causes that are unjust, which is the case with Christian Nationalism and its attendant ‘Illiberalism’ [militant opposition to Liberalism]. In that case, Christian Nationalism is calling evil good and good evil; ‘it is taking the name of Christ as a fig leaf to cover its political program, treating the message of Jesus as a tool of political propaganda and the Church as the handmaiden and cheerleader of the State.’” – “What Is Christian Nationalism,” ‘Christianity Today,’ Feb. 3, 2021; edited

In my view, Professor Miller is being far too gentle.

If we accept his analysis, beloved, what we are talking about are the twin demons of Blasphemy and Heresy widespread in the American Church today. The abominable specter of ‘Donald Trump as an Antichrist’ becoming the Spiritual Champion of this Movement chills to the marrow.

This is darkest possible testament to the American Church becoming a hornet’s nest for the “doctrines of demons” excoriated by Paul under a description that most Bibles label, THE GREAT APOSTASY.

“But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning].” – 1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2, AMP

IN SUM. In its pursuit of raw political power and financial security, the American Church has completely abandoned its grave responsibility to bring ‘Correction’ to such grievous, soul-killing Error issuing from its many pulpits. As a result, the Church intentionally, willfully ‘refuses to keep the body pure,’ giving itself up to ‘Another Master’ in a collective and profound act of Spiritual Adultery throughout the land.

So do I hear Yahweh Himself roar:

“I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ‘You shall have no other gods before Me!’ You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” – EXODUS 20:1-6, AMP

Therefore do I dare ask, even “Shout,” as the Spirit recently instructed me to do when necessary: ‘Are Church leaders listening, beloved?’ Or are they nearly all gone deaf and mute and blind by the Smoke of the Strange Fire of Donald Trump?

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “If anyone thinks himself to be religious [scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith] and does not control his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless (futile, barren).” – JAMES 1:26, AMP

THE ABSENCE OF OUTRAGE. In 1982, Dr. Francis Schaeffer’s fiery son, FRANK SCHAEFFER, published a book entitled, ‘A Time for Anger: The Myth of Neutrality.’ In 1999, a similar work was written by WILLIAM BENNETT with the title, ‘The Death of Outrage.’ Still later, JAMES DOBSON of Focus on the Family published his own broadside at a passive Church in a commentary in his newsletter entitled, “A Call to Moral Outrage” in 2012.

Significantly, both Bennett and Dobson were aiming their cannons at the Liberal Left, as they continue to do to this very day in 2022. Only the young Mr. Schaeffer directed his withering fire at us – American Christians.

I stand with Mr. Schaeffer’s targeting.

A PERSONAL STRUGGLE. As I mentioned briefly in my announcement of this Commentary, this one is mostly for myself, my friends. The reason is probably obvious to those of you who have already read and listened to my essays for the past few years: I am struggling, sometimes agonizing over how to best discipline my outrage over what the Church has done to sound doctrine since the rise of Trump’s vicious ‘White Nationalism.’

Again, for the record: Not over what may have happened to me and my family as a result of this historic travesty; God has well taken care of any losses that we have have suffered from it. No. This time it is purely and simply over the Treachery that has come to our houses of worship against Canonical Christianity, in unspeakable, frankly blasphemous, cowardly favor of “another doctrine, another Jesus.”

THE PENALTY. In two of His most convicting passages in all of Scripture, the Lord through His Apostle Paul warned most severely about this heinous offense against Himself. I quote Him at length because of its historic importance.

“For [you seem willing to allow it] if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted. You tolerate all this beautifully [welcoming the deception] … But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction!” – 2 CORINTHIANS 11:4; GALATIANS 1:8, AMP

The utter severity of this passage is captured as severely by the Anglican theologian, JOHN STOTT.

“We are not to be dazzled, as many people are, by the person, gifts or office of teachers in the Church. They may come to us with great dignity, authority and scholarship. They may be bishops or archbishops, university professors or even the Pope himself. But if they bring a gospel other than the gospel preached by the Apostles and recorded in the New Testament, they are to be rejected! We judge them by the Gospel. We do not judge the Gospel by them. As Dr. Allen Cole expresses it, ‘The outward person of the messenger does not validate his message; rather, the nature of the message validates the messenger!’” – WILLIAM MACDONALD, ‘Believer’s Bible Commentary,’ 1995, p. 1876; edited

With this in mind as crucial Context then, we are ready to proceed with a deeper analysis of the passage from JAMES 1:26.

• TRUE RELIGION. From the Greek word, ‘Thréskos’ [θρῆσκος]: (Of uncertain ancient origin); refers to a careful observance of religious restrictions; truly religious or devout; demonstrative of fearing or worshiping God; refers to one who accepts and follows the will of God; pious, a true friend of God; also, one who trembles before the Lord in sincere reverence.”

• BRIDLED TONGUE. The key term here is, ‘Chalinagógeó’ [χαλιναγωγέω]: “To curb or restrain; sway; to hold in check; reduce the strength of [ones ferocity]; to guide or govern; to check or correct; to discipline [once speech or conversation]; draw in or draw back; to literally limit one’s spirit [of presentation to another].”

COMMENTARY. “Here the Apostle shows more particularly who are the doers of the word … yet if he ‘bridleth not his tongue’— From tale-bearing, backbiting, evil-speaking, slandering; or from vain, foolish, ostentatious talking and jesting; or rash, bitter, passionate, malicious, revengeful expressions: this man only ‘deceiveth his own heart’ — If he fancy he has any True Religion at all; for his ‘religion is vain’— Is a mere empty profession, and neither is nor will be of any service to [H]im.” – JOSEPH BENSON, ‘Notes on the Holy Bible,’ 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

Do not allow Mr. Benson’s central driving point to get lost on your reading of them. ‘The Lodestone of an unrestrained tongue is found in that most loathsome of conduct that our God truly and fully hates: LYING AND SLANDERING!’

Scriptural support for this finding is replete throughout the Biblical Canon. Rendered here in the New King James Version.

• PROVERBS 11:9. “The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
  But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.”

• EPHESIANS 4:25. “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.”

• JEREMIAH 6:28. “They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers.
  They are bronze and iron, they are all corrupters.”

• ACTS 5:1-5. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last.” Selah.

IN SUM. Lying, slander, backbiting, malicious gossip, destructive falsehoods of all kinds, and most severely, maligning and evil speaking about God’s righteous by those who call themselves Christians, is, bluntly: Punishable by death.

Corollary on Silence. ‘Qui tacet consentire videtur’ [‘He who is silent seems to consent’]. A proverbial saying from the late 14th century, said to have been spoken by SIR THOMAS MORE (1478–1535) when asked at his trial why he was silent on being asked to acknowledge the king’s supremacy over the Church. 

That is The Canon, beloved, though lost midst the seditious detritus of ‘The Gospel of Trump Nationalism’ today.

1. LAST THOUGHTS

As I begin to close, let me point out some very important and potentially life-saving DISTINCTIONS between what it is to offer a ‘Godly Rebuke,’ as over against a ‘Malicious Reviling.’ The lines between these two modes of communication are often blurred, and many if not most of us have crossed them more frequently than is comfortable to recall.

• TO REVILE. “‘A Reviler’ is a person who uses words to damage, control, or insult someone’s character or reputation. Today we would call a Reviler a verbal abuser. ‘Reviler’ is a multi-purpose word that is used in the Bible to describe ‘all manner of verbal sin:’ Slander, angry outbursts, and foul language. Reviling is usually listed with sins we would consider greater, such as homosexuality and theft (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; 2 Timothy 3:2–3). Paul lists Revilers among the sexually immoral and drunkards in 1 Corinthians 5:11, and he instructs the Church to have nothing to do with such people if they claim to be Christians.” – EDITORS, “What Is a Reviler in the Bible?” ‘Got Questions,’ ret. Dec. 6, 2022; edited

• TO REBUKE. “For a simple definition, according to the King James Dictionary, Rebuke means: ‘To reprimand; strongly warn; restrain’… To rebuke someone is to criticize him or her pointedly, for a particular observed sinful behavior. The Greek word most often translated as ‘Rebuke’ in the New Testament is ‘Elegchó.’ In its most comprehensive understanding, ‘Elegchó’ means: ‘To reprimand and convict by exposing (sometimes publicly) a wrong.’ There are moments when we all should be rebuked if we fall into sin, and there are times when a believer needs to rebuke another believer with love and discernment.” – EDITORS, “What is the Meaning of Rebuke?” ‘Christianity.com,’ Sep. 13, 2021; edited

• BOTTOM LINE. “Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], ‘speak truth each one with his neighbor,’ for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ].” – EPHESIANS 4:25, AMP

• COMMENTARY. “‘For we are members.’ — Accordingly, the reason given for ‘putting away lying’ is that ‘we are members one of another.’ Truth is the first condition of the mutual confidence which is the basis of all Unity [Jn. 17;17, 21]. Hence it is the first duty of that ‘membership one of another,’ which follows from our being ‘one body in Christ’ (Romans 12:5; 1Corinthians 12:27). No doubt it is also the first duty to our own humanity, and to the ‘God who hateth a lie.’” – CHARLES ELLICOTT, ‘An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers,’ 1878, 1897; edited

A CHURCH AFRAID. On June 27, 2019, Time magazine published an inculpatory piece on American Evangelicals by the intrepid DAVID FRENCH that would prove to be a howitzer blast across the foundering bow of the American Church. Entitled, “Evangelicals Are Supporting Trump Out of Fear, Not Faith,” listen to his stunningly bold open.

“On June 21, the writer E. Jean Carroll came forward with a vivid and disturbing claim that Donald Trump raped her in a department store in the 1990s. She is the 22nd woman to allege that Trump committed acts of sexual misconduct. These claims are more extensive and more corroborated than the accusations against Bill Clinton …

The relentless drumbeat of claims against Trump–combined with the clear moral declarations of the past–have caused millions of Americans to look at their Evangelical fellow citizens and ask, simply: WHY? Why have you abandoned your previous commitment to political character to embrace Donald Trump?

Part of the explanation is undeniably basic partisanship and ambition. White evangelicals are largely Republican, and they’re generally going to vote for Republicans. And proximity to power has always had its attractions for religious charlatans of all stripes. But I’d suggest the real reason for the breadth and depth of evangelical support is deeper and–perversely–even more destructive to its religious witness.

‘That reason is Fear’…

[T]he Church is acting as if it ‘needs’ Trump to protect it. That’s not courageous. It’s repulsive! And so long as this Fear continues, expect the Church’s witness to degrade further. In seeking protection from its perceived enemies, ‘the Church has lost its way.’”

CODA. As I type these words more than three years later in December 2022, I see the same anemic Church leaders skittering and scattering frantically over whether or not they should now support Donald Trump or Gov. Ron DeSantis for president. Still desperate for a ‘Human Savior,’ they continue to dispense with The Real One.

Echoes of, “Give us Barabbas!” rattle my old heart at this, beloved.

All of which makes me ashamed to use the word, “Christian,” in front of my name. MAGA Christianity has so soiled the Inner Chamber of God’s House, that I need another way to show people I am a true follower of the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua ben David, our soon coming Warrior-King.

GOOD NEWS. Whenever I make that distinction clear to my unsaved friends in my community, I invariably receive enthusiastic, grateful welcome, in so many words, to this:

“Tell me more of ‘this Jesus.’ We have not heard much about Him lately.”

Selah.

Ever your servant, DK

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