NOTES TO THE AMERICAN PASTOR IN THE LAST DAYS: MASTERS OF THE LAW VS. THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND – (WITH VIDEO)

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “Not many [of you] should become teachers (self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].” – JAMES 3:1, AMPC

KEY TERM: “TEACHERS.” ‘Didaskalos’ [διδάσκαλοι]: “‘Doctor, master, or master-teacher; equivalent to the revered Jewish title, Rabbi;’ the one who instructs in matters of sacred doctrine; an expounder of the Biblical Law or Canon; one who instructs others in [True] Religion; a preacher; a minister of the Gospel.”

QUOTATION. “For the first time in his life, ‘a Teacher’ was pointing out things that Ender had not already seen for himself. For the first time, Ender had found a Living Mind he could admire.” ― ORSON SCOTT CARD, Ender’s Game, 1994; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Be not many masters.’—Better, ‘teachers,’which meaning was conveyed by ‘masters’ when the English Bible was first published. The condemnation is of those who appoint themselves, and are as ‘blind leaders of the blind’(Matthew 15:14). No man had a right to exercise the sacred functions of the appointed masters in Israel (John 3:10), and none might take the honour of the priesthood unto himself, ‘but he that was called of God, as was Aaron’ (Hebrews 5:4). Whereas we know from our Lord’s own Words that the Scribes and Pharisees loved respectful ‘greetings in the markets, and to be called of men “Rabbi, Rabbi’” (Matthew 23:1-12). Nevertheless, His disciples were not to be acknowledged thus: for ‘One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.’ The neglect of this wholesome caution perplexed the early Church, as much as the later branches thereof (Comp. Acts 15:24; 1Corinthians 1:12; 1Corinthians 14:26; Galatians 2:12).

‘The greater condemnation.’—Rather, ‘the greater judgment’—more strictly searching and severe. ‘None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself’ (Romans 14:7), and, if this be true of common Christian life, how deep is the responsibility incurred in the attempt to teach others! Nay—‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ (2Corinthians 2:6.) The test of all ministry must come at last in the ‘Day of Trial and fiery Inquisition of God;’ this and not the world’s opinion will be the real approval (1Corinthians 3:11-15). If the work of any teacher ‘abide,’ his Reward will be exceeding great; if it ‘be burned,’ woe to him! ‘He himself [may] be saved, yet so as by fire,’ scathed by that which shall consume the rubbish he has raked together; the faith which prompted such a man shall save him, but no reward can follow useless teaching; nor can there be escape for his own soul, except he wrought honestly.”  – CHARLES ELLICOTT, An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers, 1878, 1897; edited

DK’S TAKE. You would do well to note that I invoked editorial privilege in the good Mr. Ellicott’s excellent Commentary when I changed the words, “shall be saved,” to “may be saved,”and here’s why. The distinguished English theologian was writing fully 120 years before what I have proposed was the ‘Beginning of the Great Falling Away’ in Western Christianity (1900 AD). Thus, he wasn’t able to consider the severity of the passage that follows, describing THE LAST TIMES.

“’For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction’ [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, ^‘and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off  into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].’” – 2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4, AMP

 As Jesus Proclaimed: “And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. ‘For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).’” – MATTHEW 24:24, AMP

THE URGENT LESSON. It ought to be terrifyingly obvious to every single American Pastor and Teacher that at this Perilous Moment of human history, the massive weight of responsibility for their call is simply, courageously: ‘Preach the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God!’ This has critically become a Life-or-Death Issue. For all of them, and for every member of their flocks who choose to follow their dreadful lead.

‘For which they shall every one be held most severely accountable for what they preached – and what they did not preach!’ As never before, beloved. So, let’s take still another look at the current STATE OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH in the shadow of these sobering warnings from God to His people – ‘and their leaders!’

II. THE NEUTERING OF THE AMERICAN PASTOR

In his book, The Abolition of Man, C.S. LEWIS was prophetic in pointing out that ‘Relativism—the idea that there are no absolute truths—would lead to the decay of morality and a lack of virtue within society.’ Without a belief in and the teaching of Universal Moral Laws, we fail to educate the heart and are left with intelligent men who behave like animals or as Lewis puts it:

‘Men without Chests.’

Consider ever so carefully MR. LEWIS’ APOLOGETIC in fuller measure this time.

“It still remains true that no Justification of Virtue will enable a man to be virtuous. Without the aid of trained emotions, the intellect is powerless against the animal organism. I had sooner play cards against a man who was quite skeptical about ethics but bred to believe that ‘a gentleman does not cheat,’ than against an irreproachable moral philosopher who had been brought up among sharpers …

[Today] ‘In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.’” – The Abolition of Man, 1943, pp. 35–37; adapted from Editors, “Reflections: Men Without Chests, The C.S. Lewis Institute, Aug. 2012; edited

A SPIRITUAL VIRUS. What Mr. Lewis was describing is a ‘Spiritual Fire’ that comes from the Pastor-Teacher that ignites the Hearts and Vision of the Church. As I have written previously, and vehemently, there is a ‘Doctrinal Infection’ that has entered into the bloodstream and very marrow of the American Church ‘that has largely extinguished that Spiritual Fire.’ 

And it has a name:

TRUMPISM. “A Political Movement that follows the political ideologies associated with Donald Trump and his political base. It incorporates ideologies such as Right-Wing Populism, National Conservatism, Neo-Nationalism, and has also been described as being Authoritarian and Neo-Fascist. Trumpist Rhetoric heavily features Anti-immigrant, Xenophobic, Nativist, and Racist attacks against minority groups. Other identified aspects include Conspiracist, Isolationist, Christian Nationalist, Protectionist, Anti-feminist, and Anti-LGBT beliefs.” – EDITORS, Wikipedia, May 19, 2024; edited

A superb editorial in this regard was recently published by former Executive Editor of Rolling Stone and currently an opinion columnist for Bloomberg, FRANCIS WILKINSON. His essay is titled, “Trumpism is Emptying Churches” (Apr. 7, 2024). He opens with this stunning appraisal of what has happened to the American Church in recent years:

“Donald Trump, a 77-year-old Bible Salesman from Palm Beach, Florida, has emerged as the nation’s most prominent Christian leader.  Trump is running for president as a ‘Divinely chosen champion of White Christians’ … That Trump doesn’t attend church and has obviously never read the book that he hawks for $59.99, seems of interest exclusively to his political opponents …

It has long been debated whether Americans would ultimately follow Europe’s example in abandoning organized religion or whether American Exceptionalism, especially its‘Exceptional Conservatism,’ would keep new generations in the pews. Conservatives warned of the terrible toll Europeanization would take on the nation’s soul. The problems for Christian Conservatives turned out to be closer to home: ‘A biting hunger to impose their will, and fealty to a ridiculous huckster promising salvation in installments of $59.99.’”

THE CONVICTION. In an historic (but not surprising) turn of Donald Trump’s fortunes, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced on May 30, 2024, the all-count trial conviction of DONALD J. TRUMP, 77, for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal his illegal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election. TRUMP was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury of 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. He is expected to be sentenced on July 11.

While news reports verify that Trump raised some $50 million within 48 hours of the convictions, it is too soon to precisely predict what impact this will have on the Republican Party’s nominee for the Presidency this coming November 5. But here is a pretty good cross section of some EARLY PORTENTS from a few of America’s top political pundits.

These are taken from a comprehensive report by the EDITORS of Politico Magazine, published on Friday May 31, 2024 (edited).

·        TIMOTHY JOHN NAFTALI. (Historian and Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs): “The rule of law will come under the most ferocious political attack in our history.”

• CURT MILLS. (Executive Director of The American Conservative): “An arms race of incriminations.”

·        MIKE MADRID. (GOP political strategist and a principal at Grassroots Lab, a campaign management and lobbying firm located in California): “There’s no question this verdict is bad politically for Trump.”

• MARK BAUERLEIN. (English Professor Emeritus at Emory University and a Senior Editor at First Things): “The civic faith collapses.”

• CATHERINE J. ROSS. (Professor of Law Emerita at the George Washington University Law School and the author of A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment): “Further concerted efforts to erode the rule of law.”

·        DAVID GREENBERG. (Contributing Writer to Politico Magazine, is a Professor of History and Journalism at Rutgers University and the Author of the forthcoming biography, John Lewis: A Life): “Reaffirms — or so it seems for now — the Watergate-era precept that no one is above the law.”

• MONA CHAREN. (Syndicated Columnist and Policy Editor at The Bulwark where she hosts the “Beg to Differ” podcast): “Consequences that are impossible to predict but that cannot be good.”

• ALAN LICHTMAN. (Distinguished Professor of History at American University): “A lot would have to go wrong for Biden to lose reelection.”

• RUY TEIXEIRA. (Senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute): “Abandon hope of a ‘Game Change’ moment.”

• CHARLES SYKES. (Author of How the Right Lost Its Mind): “Something about felony convictions that tend to focus the mind.”

• LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR. (SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of History at John’s Hopkins University, and the Author of The Loneliness of the Black Republican): “American Democracy is fragile and in crisis.”

• BRENDA WINEAPPLE. (Essayist and the author of The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation): “The die-hard MAGA-ites will cleave to him.”

• MOLLY JONG-FAST. (Special Correspondent at Vanity Fair, Host of the Fast Politics podcast and an MSNBC Political Analyst): “It’s going to matter.

• JOSHUA ZEITZ. (Historian and Politico Magazine Contributing Writer): “American voters are the last guardrails.”

• NEWT GINGRICH. (Former Speaker of the House of Representatives): “We are on the edge of a tyrannical dictatorship of the Left.”

IN SUM. So there you have it, beloved. Taken together we can reach at least TWO TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS, in no particular order. (1) America is more confused and divided than in any time in its history, arguably exceeding the Civil War Era. (2) No one seems to know what will happen next, except that it won’t be good. Selah.

III. LAST THOUGHTS ON THE GREAT EVANGELICAL DISASTER

As I have argued from the historical record before: “As goes the Church of a Nation, so goes that Nation.” By that time-tested Maxim, America is in its most Perilous Crisis in its history, because the Church has brazenly chosen to become ‘Concubine to the Beast’ by her Reckless Compromises since the Year 2016.

To support this claim, I could once again easily cite study after study showing that over 80% of the White Evangelical Church community support of ‘A Moral Renegade.’ And that 67% of America generally believe that Trump’s Trial was unfair. Or that there are now over 66 million supporters of QAnon in America today, with a conservative estimate of at least half of those claiming to be Christians, sitting in our pews every Sunday morning.

In his scathing indictment of the American Church written as he lay dying of cancer in 1984, DR. FRANCIS SHAEFFER warned of an impending, Existential Threat to American Christianity precisely 40 years ago:

“‘Here is the Great Evangelical Disaster’—The Failure of the Evangelical world to stand for truth as truth. There is only one word for this—‘Accommodation: The Evangelical Church has accommodated to the World Spirit of the Age … Truth carries with it Confrontation.’ Truth demands Confrontation:’ Loving Confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always Accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong.”

CODA. Oh, dear friends, there is indeed something deeply, intractably wrong with the American Church. It has not only ‘Accommodated’ to the Spirit of the Age, but to its Supreme Advocate, DONALD JOHN TRUMP. In so doing, we have shamelessly and disastrously ‘bent the knee,’ in my studied view, to no one less than:

‘Antichrist, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin, the Beast of Babylon,’ who will very nearly destroy the entire world.

We have invited this Beast into our very Parlors and Pulpits, beloved, to make dinner for us! If we do not beg God to ‘Remove our Blinders,’ its rancid food shall soon poison us all.

Selah.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/NfTCCNiOu0g