SPECIAL PRÉCIS ON CHRIST’S SEVERE PROHIBITION AGAINST HARMING “LITTLE ONES:” FOLLOWUP ON A CAPITAL OFFENSE – (WITH VIDEO)

1. THEOLOGY

THE DREAM. Early in the morning of Tuesday July 29, 2025, I dreamt that my father and I were traveling on a highway together when the car behind us began erratically honking and making all sorts of what we thought were angry gestures. Lights flashing, car swerving close behind us, and so on. Both cars pulled over after several minutes, and I went to the driver’s side window (rolled up), and tapped on the window to see what the problem was, with my side arm visible just in case.

When I looked inside, I saw a family in great distress, the ‘Three Little Ones’ crying and whimpering as if frightened about something. I then softened, walked to the driver’s side where the mother was trying to comfort the children, and asked her to open the door so I could pray for the kids. She did, and the scene then changed to all of us smiling, hugging, and offering encouragement to the family. – The Dream Ends. Selah.

SCRIPTURE: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” – MARK 9:42, AMP

KEY TERM: “LITTLE ONES.” ‘Mikros’ [μικρῶν]: “Those who are small or least in dignity [or station]; insignificant, vulnerable, weak.” NOTE: “Strong’s Greek 3398 (μικρός) gathers forty-six New Testament occurrences that describe something quantitatively small or qualitatively least. The Spirit employs the word to highlight humility, vulnerability, brevity, beginnings, apparent insignificance, and universal scope, weaving these nuances into core Christian teaching and practice.”

QUOTATION. “It’s easy to convince people that children need to learn the Alphabet and Numbers … How do we help people to realize that what matters even more than the superimposition of adult symbols is how a person’s inner life finally puts together the alphabet and numbers of his outer life? ‘What really matters is whether he uses the Alphabet for the Declaration of War or the description of a sunrise—his Numbers for the final count at Buchenwald or the specifics of a brand-new bridge.” ― FRED ROGERS, in Maxwell King, The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, 2018; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in Me.’ – Whosoever shall do the least injury to the meanest person that believes in Christ, who are mean both in their own eyes, and the eyes of others; for Christ is not [only] speaking of little children in age, who are [less] capable of believing in Christ or ready to take offence; but of ‘Such as belong to Him’ – His disciples and followers, of whom He is speaking in the preceding verse:

‘It is better for him that a Mill Stone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea; and drowned there!’ The allusion is to the drowning of malefactors, by tying a stone, or any heavy thing about their necks, and casting them into the sea. Isaac Casaubon, and others, have shown out of Heathen writers, that this has been a practice of some nations, particularly the Grecians: Jerome of Stridon says, Christ speaks according to the custom of the country; this being a punishment of the Greatest Crimes among the Jews …‘Christ’s sense is, that such who give offence to ANY of his ministers or people, how mean soever they may appear, shall undergo the severest punishment.’” – JOHN GILL, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

II. TEACHING I

“And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of THE LEAST [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me.” – JESUS OF NAZARETH, Matthew 25:40, Amplified Classic Edition

I have been a Pro-Life Christian for as along as I have followed the King. I began to galvanize my personal Campaign against Abortion in the mid-1980s as a Professor at Regent University. As Founding Faculty Advisor for Regents for Life, we marched each year in Washington DC at the March for Life on January 22, and I began to speak on the History of Abortion at various venues at the same time.

So, my Pro-Life credentials are firmly in place and cannot be challenged by any rational opponent. However, and this is a massive, rip your spiritual eyes wide open, “However:”

THESIS. President Donald Trump’s MAGA Christian Nationalism Movement is putting children at severe risk at many levels and actually KILLING THEM under the worst of conditions established by the President’s Policies.

I will begin my carefully aimed Polemic at the ‘General Policy Impacts’ upon the whole of the American Order. This will be followed by my more intensified attacks against the President’s barbaric policies and practices that are doing such great harm to our “Little Ones” about whom Jesus is so forcefully protective.

THE GENERAL CASE. I turn our attentions first to an excellent analysis by the EDITORS of Third Way, a National Think Tank and advocacy organization that champions moderate policy and political ideas.

Their title of their piece: “Sicker, Weaker, and More Vulnerable: How MAGA’s Chaos is Putting You at Risk” (June 27, 2025; edited). Necessarily still another pull-no-punches essay designed to knock down a bundle of dangerously destructive Lies from the Trump Cabal.

• OPEN. “‘Donald Trump promised to lower costs and keep Americans safe. Instead of trimming unnecessary waste and bloat, Republicans took a chainsaw to important services that Americans rely on to keep their food, workplaces, health, and communities safe. These are cuts that deeply concern Americans in the Middle.’ Third Way’s recent Public Opinion Research found that after costs, the second-best message to move Trump voters was about how Trump was firing highly skilled government employees who keep Americans safe, leaving families sicker, weaker, and more vulnerable when the next disaster strikes. More than 60% of voters disapproved about cutting funding for cancer research, the decimation of disaster relief funding, and the bulldozing of infectious disease research.”

• FOOD SAFETY. “‘Trump’s mass layoffs ended testing for bird flu in milk and dairy products, parasites in spinach, or pesticides in barley, removing safeguards for food safety.’ Trump’s cuts mean the FDA will reduce the number of food inspections conducted every day, which were already failing to meet targets to prevent public health emergencies.Trump fired prosecutors who hold violators of food and drug safety laws accountable, so there are no consequences in cases of death or deception.”

• WEATHER FORECASTING. “‘Local meteorologists are warning that they are losing tools to confidently predict the strength and path of hurricanes due to staffing and funding cuts, leaving families and businesses without clear guidance and vulnerable in a deadly hurricane season.’ And across the Heartland, the loss of this detailed data harms forecasters’ ability to ‘figure out when tornadoes were going to form, how quickly they might form,’ Omaha’s chief meteorologist said. After promising ‘strong action,’ Trump broke his word to aid communities facing disaster, denying requests for disaster relief for Washington, North Carolina, and Arkansas. Staffing cuts at the NOAA and FEMA will drastically reduce their ability to help impacted communities rebuild.”

• PROVEN VACCINES. “‘Republicans are dismantling the nation’s expert vaccine panel and politicizing the group that makes recommendations on immunizations

—including for American children.’  Despite having no medical training, Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has unilaterally changed key CDC vaccine recommendations for COVID-19 without any vote by a panel of health experts. These changes could result in insurers no longer covering shots that halt the spread of preventable diseases. Amid a measles outbreak and concerns about it, Republican cuts fired state and community workers administering vaccines in rural communities, tracing disease outbreaks, and testing for infectious diseases.”

• LIFESAVING RESEARCH. “‘Republicans voted to cut funds for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in half, including halting work to prevent the transmission of HIV, tuberculosis, and lead poisoning.’ Trump’s sweeping cuts to the National Institutes of Health put funding, personnel, resources, and grants for cancer research and treatment on the chopping block that oncologists warn jeopardizes lifesaving advances in cancer care and have delayed treatments for patients. They shut down a team of experts providing guidance to doctors on contraception for women with kidney disease, lupus, and sickle cell disease for whom pregnancy carries serious risks. Public health experts have labeled these cuts ‘devastating.’”

• SAFETY TRAININGS. “‘Republicans fired workers conducting safety evaluations and services for Firefighters, including those exposed to toxins on 9/11, increasing the risk to Firefighters who have a much greater exposure to toxins and chemicals than the general population and face higher rates of cancer and other physical and mental health challenges.’ And the Trump Administration is shutting down safety training for workers in some of America’s most dangerous jobs including fishing, farming and logging to prevent injuries for thousands of workers performing dangerous tasks at job sites often far from hospitals and clinics.”

• NATIONAL PARKS. “‘A severe worker shortage awaits families planning visits to National Parks this summer.’ Expert researchers at Yosemite National Park are taking shifts to clean toilets, skeleton snowplow crews can barely keep snow and ice cleared from roads in Oregon’s Crater Lake, and some parks are struggling to hire emergency rescue personnel to respond to cases of exhaustion or injury. With high summer heat in peak season, park rangers are warning about the safety threat for visitors from understaffing: ‘We’re at risk of having those kinds of tragedies occur because there’s fewer people out protecting you.’”

• HEALTH CARE. “‘House Republicans voted to slash $1.1 trillion from Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other health programs.’ As a result, 16 million Americans would lose their current coverage and more than 5.4 million families will take on medical debt. More than 330 rural hospitals in Republican-led states stand to lose significant funding. These rural areas tend to see higher rates of addiction, mental illness, and death from conditions like heart disease, cancer, and strokes. And for Americans with private insurance, Medicaid cuts drive up their premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Hospitals hit by big cuts may shut down or merge with a larger system, which can lead to price increases of up to 65%.”

SUMMARY. ‘Here we witness a General Deconstruction of the American Order centered upon Programs of Mercy under the Trump Regime.’ Now we turn to still more Venal Policies that target ‘Little Children’ in devastating consistency, for reasons known only to God – and to that section of the Nation that still cares deeply about the next generation. Selah.

III. TEACHING II

THE “LITTLE ONES.” Tragically, nearly unbelievably, the Religious “Christian” Right has inarguably turned their backs on American Children. All in the false name of “Pro-life.” Therefore, I once again turn to a Center-Left journal, Liberal Currents, for compassionate objectivity regarding Trump’s demonstrable hatred for both America and her “Little Ones.”

The author of this powerful indictment is ALAN ELROD, President & CEO of the Pulaski Institution, an Arkansas-based think tank. He is also a columnist at Arc Digital and an adjunct instructor at Arkansas State University-Beebe. His chilling article: ““Children Are the Future: Authoritarianism, Culture War, and Making Model Citizens” (April 16, 2025; edited).

Here are his MAIN POINTS, some of the most painful observations I have ever had to publish in the last several years. Why? Because they deal with nothing less than brutal, nation-wide, Church and State sponsored:

‘CHILD ABUSE!’

If a single Pastor who reads this does not take immediate action toward Reform, by Christ’s direct Command, that man is irretrievably lost, self-condemned to the Flame, as are all his loyal followers. ‘¡Se acabó!

• FASCISM. “‘He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.’ This is a quote typically attributed to ADOLF HITLER from a 1930s Rally.  I raise it here because it has appeared on multiple occasions across the American Right in recent years, primarily in the context of Education. The Hamilton County, Indiana, chapter of Moms for Liberty utilized the quote in their newsletter, later issuing an apology for, as one would assume, quoting Hitler. Also in 2022, a Southern Colorado District School Board member used the quote in a Facebook post calling for opposition to critical race theory and social and emotional learning. Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) paraphrased it at a 2021 rally of Moms for America.” 

• MOLDING MODEL CITIZENS. “Education in a Liberal Democratic View is about creating empowered and economically independent individuals. We learn vital critical thinking skills, build foundational knowledge for the careers we want to pursue, and develop a rudimentary understanding of how our government and civil society work. ‘But in the MAGA View, Education is about producing MAGA Citizens’—uncorrupted by the weakening effects of Social-Emotional Learning; unburdened by the complexities of America’s past and present struggles with racial inequality and other injustices; and ‘unthinkingly accepting of MAGA’s politicization of Truth and Fact. This is what owning the youth is about!’

• MAKE MORE CITIZENS. “‘One of the deep preoccupations of the MAGA Right is the issue of declining birth rates.’ The concern is not itself invalid. The United States and most other wealthy democracies are experiencing serious declines in population growth, and the slowing birth rates stand to put increased pressure on social safety nets and economic productivity. But MAGA’s focus on so-called Pro-Natalist policies is about cultural and political concerns and not only economics. ‘There is a real fear on the MAGA right of losing Real [White] America to low birth rates and an influx of Immigrants.’ So while it’s crucial to understand the attacks on LGBTQ youth as part of a wider Far-Right Culture War, it’s also important to explore the reproductive anxieties at play and how these interact.”

• MAHA’S UNWANTED KIDS. “‘One of the central Conspiracy Theories of the Anti-Vaccine Movement is the False Belief that Vaccines cause Autism.’ At the heart of this fear is a disgust with those with ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ and a sense that Autism itself is a kind of death sentence. RFK JR. made his career peddling this unfounded propaganda, and he’s now directing the Nation’s health policy with the same principles in mind. A glance at some of Kennedy’s comments on Autism reveals just how little he thinks of those with ASD. Kennedy has said that: ‘Kids with ASD are kids who will never throw a baseball, they’ll never go out and date. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never pay taxes’ … ‘The Fascistic Impulse’—[While] I don’t believe Fascist Impulses are what animate MAGA [I do!] —‘it is to see neurodivergence and disability as deleterious to the public body and as disqualifying for full citizenship.’ One cannot obtain the fullness of membership in the national body if one can’t live up to its ideals.”

• A PERSON’S A PERSON. “‘What I’ve tried to outline is the way in which MAGA has subordinated concerns for Children to a Fascistic Conception of Citizenship in which kids are meant to be brought into an Adulthood where they are in ideological alignment with Society and can reproduce those values personally, physically, and sexually.’ But children are already citizens with rights, not future cogs in waiting. And, while young people are still developing all of the tools they need to make fully independent decisions, they are not objects to be coerced and controlled …  ‘America’s youth deserve to grow up in a country that has rejected MAGA’s Politics. The MAGA Project depends on them growing up to support it.’”

DK’S TAKE. This is one of the most dispassionate yet bone-chilling reports I have ever reviewed, beloved. And all the more thunderously Barbaric since it enjoys the favor (or accommodation) of nearly 90% of White Christian America! As one friend who is in the process of coming to Christ just asked me days ago as we discussed this unprecedented American Phenomenon:

“I don’t get it.”

In our Concluding Remarks, I will try to serve up what Scriptural Wisdom might offer as an answer to that compelling statement.

IV. LAST THOUGHTS

I’ll be direct since I have said a great deal at this point. Starting first with an anecdotal observation during my 30-Day Circuit Ride around America in June 2025, I Noted: Our Young People (including young Christians) were at odds with their Parents and Elders on the entire matter of Donald Trump’s MAGA Movement, with the Oldsters loving Trump, and the Youngsters generally despising him.

With that in mind, let me close with just TWO GENERATIONAL REALITIES that now exist in America side by side, though increasingly  light years apart from one another.

1. IMMIGRATION. “‘On the topic of Immigration, Young People (Evangelical or otherwise) are largely Unified in opposing Trump’s hard-line immigration policies across college campuses. Lyle ‘Elle’ Bulado, who lives in New York, says many of his peers have become ‘increasingly critical’ of policies that exclude or marginalise. ‘Whether it’s the war on Gaza or other issues, there’s a growing sense of disillusionment,’ he says. ‘For me, it’s clear that many Young Evangelicals are distancing themselves from a Political Narrative that doesn’t align with their personal experiences or values’ … For Bulado, the increasing ties between Christianity and Right-Wing Nationalism have made her question if those in power in America truly represent Christian values. ‘I see a Disconnect between Genuine Faith and Political Opportunism,’ he says.” – LAURA PITCHER, “Trump and the Changing Face of Young Evangelicals,”Dazed, April 30, 2025; edited
2. IMPRINTING. “Let me give you an example of concerning 16-year-old behavior. This, of course, is not a real case, but for purposes of confidentiality, a compilation of cases I have seen in my 35 years of practice. Charlie was brought to my office, having been suspended from school, and required a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation before he was allowed to return.  His parents were really concerned, and for good reason. Here is a brief synopsis of their observations:

‘Charlie flagrantly lies … He publicly bullies and mocks other kids in a hurtful way ... Charlie is hanging out with bad kids who manipulate him in a negative way … Charlie has to be the center of attention … Charlie violated sexual boundaries and denied he did anything wrong … He fails to take responsibility for misbehavior … Overall, Charlie simply defies rules and authority, impulsively … If slighted, even if not overtly hurt, he seeks revenge and makes everyone scared of retaliation.’” – DR. GENE BERESIN (MD), “A Child Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Trump’s Behavior,” The Clay Center, ret. July 29, 2025; edited

‘LITTLE TRUMPS.’ “Most kids see the President of the United States as the consummate Role Model. When asked, many would say they would like to be President when they grow up. Why? Because it is a position that warrants authority, respect, power, and admiration.  It is one person everyone looks up to. Parents should be worried as their kids watch Trump, day after day, modeling quite the opposite behavior they hope for in their kids. And many do worry that their kids will imitate this behavior, or rationalize their misbehavior saying:

‘Hey President Trump did that! Why can’t I?’”

CODA. I can hardly fathom the sheer Velocity and Destructive Force of Donald Trump’s Presidencies on the Nation and World as each day explodes a new crisis or horrific darkness we had not seen before.

But towering above them all, beloved is this horror:

‘White American Christian Adults are leading the way toward the disintegration of Western Civilization and the future of all remaining generations of their own Children.’

To put a Documentable Seal on this devastating impact of the Evangelical Church upon the End of Days, listen to an objective report by WILLIAM BECKER, co-editor of and a contributor to ‘Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People.’ He writes here for The Hill in a piece titled, “Donald Trump is Breaking America — Our Children Will Suffer Worst” (July 28, 2025; edited).

Again, if this does not stir every American Pastor’s deep structure Spiritual Awakening, nothing will. Not even God.

“‘Trump’s policies are creating physical as well as psychological damage to Children.’ Five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists warned: ‘They will have ramifications for the Next Generation, and many of these policy moves will disproportionately harm Young Children’ … NELSON MANDELA said, ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.’ Today, through his pollution and psychological influence on them, we are virtually letting Trump abuse ours.”

And THE AMERICAN CHURCH is responsible for most of it!

Selah. Selah.

NOTE ON “THE LAST GOODBYE” (1939). “The painting depicts the moment of Ernest Meyer and his sister Eva’s departure from Germany on the Kindertransport train.  Their mother Johanna is standing on the platform.  When the Jews’ situation in Germany worsened, Johanna and Gustav sent their children abroad, hoping to join them later on.  Ernest gave the painting a title after the war, upon discovering that his parents were no longer alive.” YAD VASHEM, Memorial Museum

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/96MmLfx-1ik