Intolerance

People are more divided than ever.  Never mind my thoughts on who is responsible for the current extreme racial divide (it's not the police, FYI), or the extreme social and political divisions in this country and in this world (dare I throw in religious persecution as well?), few would argue at how divided we've become.  Perhaps more would debate on whether or not intolerance plays a role, but irregardless, there is a mentality today that suggests everyone has a right to be offended by anything and everything and everyone who disagrees with them or merely voted for "the other party" even.

Last time I checked, nowhere in the charters of freedom does it identify the right to be offended.  Considering the history of the founding documents in America, which trace their origins to the Mayflower compact (the Pilgrims) which traces itself back to the Puritan (Christian) church, which traces back into the pages of the Bible, I would argue that it is just the opposite in fact:  NO ONE has the right to take such public offense over much of anything, and yet here we are.  Intolerance, Offendedness, and just downright hatred are becoming societal norms these days.  And sadly, these play out all too frequently on the most anonymous and cowardly of places:  social media.

Take last week's "Lifetime Achievement Award" speech by actress Meryl Streep, as a good example.  The election of the next U.S. President was over two months ago, but she chose the opportunity to attack the President-elect, rather than simply be grateful for living in a land where she can receive such an honor.  She did so by raising up clearly disputed claims about Mr. Trump (let me state that I was a fan of neither of the two remaining candidates, FWIW).  She did so by (whether intentional or not) insulting half the country who actually think that NFL football or MMA fighting are enjoyable sports to watch.  There's a lot of that going around these days, as just a few months back, a fourth of the country (part of the half that disagrees with a Democrat party liberal worldview) were tagged as "deplorables" who were "irredeemable."  And this is to say nothing of how the other candidate managed to offend just about everyone at some point with his rancorous statements.  Now in my mind and the Christian worldview, it is that level of animosity, hatred, and rhetoric that is truly deplorable.  And in regard to Ms. Streep's speech, when a high school classmate (among many others) posted on social media about how "inspiring" it was, I respectfully and politely said that we would have to agree to disagree.    I was then informed that that's how she felt, and was immediately dropped from her social media account.  Unfortunately I cannot post a transcript of the exchange to demonstrate what I thought to be polite and respectful since I can no longer access it.  But that does not matter.  What it demonstrated again is that there are many (Ms. Streep included) who live in such an insular bubble that they simply cannot handle any opinion or position different from theirs.  I've had many folks disagree with me on statements I've made through my own social media accounts, and though they post such disagreements publicly on my pages, I do not delete them nor do I censor their comments.

Now specifically I'm targeting a more progressive perspective here, because from my vantage, this intolerance seems to happen far more from the left side of the socio-political spectrum than the right.   8 years ago, there were many who saw then president-elect Barack Obama as flawed, inexperienced, and with a hyper-progressive, destructive agenda for the country.  There was anger over his election.  Yes, there were even a handful of those who resorted to name calling and insult.  But generally, the election was over, and it was time for most of those unhappy with the result to see what would actually happen next.  Fast forward to today, and the animosity and vitriol toward the more orthodox position is magnified 100-fold with chants of "not my president," Hollywood segments threatening to go on strike until Trump resigns, numerous unfulfilled promises by some to move to Canada if Trump was elected, rioting, hysteria, the need for therapy rooms, cry rooms, therapy puppies, coloring therapy, vows to fight him at every turn, public calls for his assassination, and so on.

In fact, it's safe to say that we've gone from downright intolerance to absolute hatred being expressed in the aftermath of the most unappealing election choices we've ever had in my lifetime.

If Hillary Clinton was right (and she was right, despite the "play" on Donald Trump's name) with her campaign slogan "Love Trumps Hate,"  Why then is there so much hate coming from those who supported her?  This hate crime out of Chicago is made more egregious in that they showed their extreme cowardice in attacking a man who, with special needs, likely couldn't or wouldn't resist them.  It was Jesus who said: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  Seems when it comes to the intolerance of those who claim to be tolerant, His words need to be spoken again and again, and we need to heed them and be reminded of them constantly in this divided and intolerant age.

Sure.  Maintain conviction in your beliefs, assuming it's not just from a blind, uninformed position.  But to all of you on either side of the political spectrum:  Give up your hatred and intolerance now.  Do it, before it causes you to self-destruct.  To all you Christians out there:  don't give in to this hatred and intolerance.  And Pray.  Pray for this country and the new spiritual awakening and revival that is needed.

What Lies Beneath

We drove home yesterday, on the heels of the deaths of a famous mother and daughter this past week:  Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia from Star Wars) and her mother, Debbie Reynolds - an actress from my late father's favorite movie:  "Singin' in the Rain."  (Lest I forget about George Michael:  80's pop singer who died on Christmas day at the age of 53).  As we drove across the rolling hills of Missouri, we passed by the Wheeling Cemetery.  It isn't much of a cemetery:  an aging wrought iron fence surrounding it, numerous tombstones marking the final resting place of a few hundred deceased who have been buried there over many years, and so on.  But it had the unique distinction of being right off US 36, and thereby directly visible to us as we drove west.

Now perhaps as a pastor, and one who has buried many people over the years, I notice things like this much more than the non-pastor, but what I saw immediately set me thinking.  The blue awning from a funeral-just-concluded was was being taken down, and I'm assuming they had either just sealed the vault or were preparing to lower the casket into the ground, as the last of the cars exited the cemetery from a service that had freshly concluded.  Not seeing the graveside service itself, it's hard to conjure up an image of how many folks were there, but given the handful of chairs I observed, I would guess an "average" group of - say - between 30 and 50.  I immediately wondered how many people even were aware of the passing of the person who was just buried, or for that matter how many cared.  And yet their death was inevitable - whether from natural causes, accident, murder, or whatever, they were going to die - eventually.

For some reason, our society believes that 2016 has been a horrible year because of the number of celebrities - "famous people" (like Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds) - who have passed away.  Now many of them died as a direct result of a questionable lifestyle - the drugs and alcohol abuse of fame that can lead to a shortened life span.  Indeed many famous people have died this past year.  And yet should their death matter any more than the nameless, faceless death I witnessed the conclusion of yesterday?  Society seems to think so.  I don't.  People have been dying since the dawn of time and people - celebrities included - will continue to die in 2017 as well.    Guess what?  Some of you who read this might die in 2017.  I COULD DIE in 2017.  My point is that death is the great unknown in life and it is going to happen to all of us eventually.  It could be due to accident.  It could be old age or natural causes or disease.  It could be any number of things, but death is the final outcome of this life, and what makes the anonymous person's death and burial yesterday any less important or significant than George Michael's?    I believe that the death of the anonymous person in Missouri, whose funeral I saw conclude yesterday, is every bit as significant as the death of Carrie Fisher.  And I believe that each death matters not because of how important they were in life, but because it is a personal crossroads that, once crossed, cannot be undone.

You see, that so many celebrities died this past year about to be concluded is not nearly as important to me as whether or not they knew Christ Jesus.  If they didn't they were lost, and that saddens me deeply.  Despite all their flaws, or despite mine, or despite the flaws of the anonymous deceased in Missouri, if the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and savior is not included, it truly is a sad day, and - celebrity or not - that is what we should truly mourn.  Not death, not the loss of any icons in our lives or from our childhoods, because it has all happened before us and it will all happen again after us.  The real question to be asked is are we going to learn from this reality and accept the reality of what God's plan has truly been for us?  It is not in murder and the destruction of those who differ from us, but in knowing and trusting that God has our best interests at heart in providing salvation for us.  It is in the example and witness of Christ Jesus making us better, more compassionate people in this life and letting the salvation offered us in His name usher us into the next when this life ends.

I'm beginning to believe that one of the reasons society in general is so uptight about celebrity deaths is that we've lost sight of what truly lies beneath death or beyond life - society simply doesn't know how to handle death because we've lost the hope that overcomes it through Christ.  For me, 2016 was a great year.  Yes it was marked by all manner of personal setbacks and tragedies, but the Chicago Cubs (my team from when the barber threatened to cut off my ears if I wasn't a fan when I was 5) are FINALLY World Series champs!  On the negative side, I didn't get out to finish a hike started years and years ago, due to my own advancing age (I'll admit that is ultimately what was at stake in it).  I, like everyone, have had ups and downs in this past year:  those mentioned and many left unspoken.  Some deaths yet some celebrations as well are included.  I choose to focus on the positive, not the negative.  I plan on being positive again next year and look forward to seeing what it might bring.  But no matter who may live or die next year, one thing is constant:  Jesus is still King of kings and Lord of lords.  I pray that this will make me a better person in 2017, and I pray that more will come to know this truth in the coming year.

This is what I reflect on as this year comes to a close.  May you all have a prosperous 2017, no matter who lives or dies, because people will die in 2017 as they have each year prior.  May more people come to know Christ in 2017, and may it impact their lives in a positive way, and may that impact change those around them for the better as well.

Wilderness and Conquest - parts 5 & 6

The number 40 has significance throughout the Bible.  So do wilderness journeys, both as consequence of sin but also of personal and spiritual discipline.  During Advent, it only seems appropriate then, to summarize the most significant wilderness journey:  that of Israel, even as we ourselves undertake a journey through this season of Advent - knowing that we wander in the wilderness as well until that time when Christ returns.  With that:  the next two installments in our Bible summary.

Continuing after the Exodus (Part 4), upon crossing the Red Sea, where God destroys the armies of Pharaoh, the Israelites immediately set out upon a journey that will take them ultimately to the land promised to Abraham in the covenant God made (Part 1), thereby fulfilling the second part of the promise.  (Parts 2 and 3 can be found here).  Despite the spectacular nature of the “Exodus” event itself, the Israelites not only grumble constantly against God, but also continue to disobey God, seemingly forgetting the amazing things God had just done - all for them.  This results in a 40 year period in a barren wilderness as a consequence of sin.

Not long after, the Israelites find themselves encamped at the base of Mount Sinai (historically seen as the Mount Sinai at the southern end of the Sinai peninsula, present day Saudi Arabia).  It is there that God again appears to them in spectacular fashion through earthquakes, dense smoke surrounding the mountain top, thunder and lightning - all of which we call a “theophany.”  Moses climbs the mountain, where God establishes a second “covenant” with the people - this one a covenant of “law” that tells them how to copy Godly behavior, live in community with one another, and experience the blessing of truly knowing God as their Lord. Today, these are what we call the “Ten Commandments” (Exodus 20). Instructions were also given regarding worship and worship space (the tabernacle - Exodus 26) and the storage of the covenant in the “ark”  - a golden box that would contain the actual tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25).  Many other instructions regarding worship and its leaders or priests are given in the following chapters.  However, during this time of instruction by God to Moses, the people once again quickly forget what God had done, and fashion a false god in the shape of a golden calf (ch. 32).   Read Aaron’s “whopper of a lie” in how it transpired in 32:24!
Sadly, it would not be the last of such occurrences, leading to all manner of plague and other punishment by God, including wandering in the wilderness for 40 years before reaching the land promised to Abraham clear back in Genesis (part 1).

To complete the journey through the “Penteteuch,” (a fancy word for the first 5 books of the Bible), Leviticus is a book that presents the young nation of Israel with a series of holiness codes and purity codes.  While we generally are not bound by them today, many of them still make perfect sense, such as washing before eating, the possibilities of contracting parasites from certain meats (because they were often consumed undercooked), and so on.  Certainly as well, treating our worship with sense of reverence and respect is also something that shows the seriousness with which we take it and our devotion to God today.

The Book of Numbers chronicles their 40 year wilderness journey.  Remember that the lengthy journey to the “promised land” is a result of their sin before God.  In fact, Moses is told that he would see - but never enter - that land (Numbers 14:30).    The grumbling continues, and it seems that Israel’s sin becomes more brazen.   In one instance, it was so great that they claimed to have no food, and in the same breath complained that they hated the food provided!  This resulted in God sending poisonous snakes into their camp, forcing them once again to turn to God for help.  Moses was instructed to craft a bronze serpent, place it on a pole in the center of camp, and anyone who looks on this “idol” would then live (Numbers 21).  This incident is cited again in The Gospels: John 3:14.  Israel’s general response to God was not with faith, gratitude, and obedience, but with unbelief, ingratitude, and downright rebellion against God.

The book of Deuteronomy retells the laws as a covenant - stressing the need for the people to show a total commitment to God. Why?  Because of what God had already done for them in rescuing them from the Egyptians and bringing them out of bondage to slavery.  Finally, Israel is now about to take possession of the land of Canaan, promised by covenant with Abraham nearly 500 years earlier.

Moses has now died, having led his people out of Egypt, and to the eastern side of the Jordan River, across from the land of Canaan.  Remember that Abraham never had a permanent home, but God’s covenant had promised this land would one day be called home for his descendants.  The book of Joshua recounts the conquest of the Holy Land by God’s command, and the allotment given to each of the 12 tribes, who were the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob.

Though some of the eastern territories (east of the Jordan River) were previously conquered in the latter chapters of Numbers, Joshua is the name of the Israelite put in charge of the conquest of the land of Canaan.  Moses, true to God’s promise, was allowed to view the promised land, but was not allowed to enter it, in punishment for Israel’s continual disobedience toward God, Deuteronomy 34:4.
As the plans are made for conquest, the manna finally ceases to fall from heaven (5:10-12), as the men go to spy out land and strike a deal with Rahab, a prostitute in the land (ch. 2).  In addition, before conquest can proceed, the covenant must be reestablished, meaning all men born during the 40 year wilderness wandering must now be circumcised (5:2-9).  In addition, God alone is the commander in chief of the invading army(5:13-15).

Famous battles include the battle for Jericho (5:13-6:27), and the day where the sun stood still (10:1-15).  Chapter 12 provides a list of cities and kings defeated in conquest.  Much of the latter chapters of Joshua provides for the division of the land.  It is also important to note the establishment of “cities of refuge,” (ch. 20), where a person may find safe refuge from “accidental” crimes.

Though their conquest is not completely done, there is a renewal of the covenant God made at Sinai, in chapter 24.  It is important to note that this Sinai covenant is a conditional one- things will go well for the people if they worship the Lord only, and things will go horribly if they don’t.  Their wandering in the wilderness, and even their first failed campaign against the city of “Ai” (ch. 7) demonstrate that God is serious about the people not turning to foreign gods and idols, but  living in covenant with him alone.

Joshua recounts in rather gruesome detail some of the horrors of war.  There are many place names also included, some of which are unknown today.  What stands is the impressive list of cities Israel (ch. 12) was able to capture with God on their side.  Historically, there is little debate over this conquest.  Yet some want to question the integrity of God in calling for such genocidal behavior and taking a lead role in it.

Perhaps it is important to remember that far worse crimes or atrocities have been committed throughout human history, and this is not a matter of genocide per se, but rather God’s purposeful demonstration that it is He, and not us, who is the maker AND owner of all things, including our very lives.  He is at work in calling all to repentance, and to understanding his purpose and his purpose alone for the world (HIS world).  The intent all along was in knowing that Israel would not influence those native in the land to worship God, but rather the natives in the land would influence Israel to turn to pagan gods, in opposition to what God commands.  Or, as the NIV (1984) Study Bible states, “The battles for Canaan were therefore the Lord’s holy war, undertaken at a particular time in the program of redemption.  God gave his people under Joshua no commission or license to conquer the world with the sword but a particular, limited mission.  The conquered land itself would not become Israel’s national possession by right of conquest, but it belonged to the Lord.  So the land had to be cleansed of all remnants of paganism.”

Without that campaign carried out completely, what God knew would happen - namely that Israel would quickly turn toward pagan gods - did, in fact, happen.  And that leads us to the next chapters in the Bible's fantastic Divine Drama.

Would the REAL St. Nick please stand up?

Yes, there really is a Santa Claus.  He does not, however, look like today's modern, secular image.  But his character in real life is even better than how he is portrayed by the guy in the red suit.

Rather, he is but one of many in nearly 2000 years of those who have heard the message of Christ Jesus and have lived it in their lives - and some who are what we might call today, “extreme” Christians: or the Saints.  And one of those saints is one who appears in iconic form quite a bit this time of year: Saint Nicholas, whose “day” is Today:  December 6.

There is growing interest in reclaiming the original saint in the United States to help restore a spiritual dimension to this festive time. For indeed, St. Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and even some schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of Christmas-the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.

Quite a bit is known of this Saint, and where history fails, legend and tradition continue. Lets face it: though early Lutherans tended to reject the saints based upon their critique of the veneration of the saints in the Catholic tradition, America was not settled by Lutherans only.  In fact, Lutherans comprise but a fraction of those who settled, and so as the first ships began arriving in the new world, Saint Nick came along for the ride as someone who was widely respected and remembered from their worship in Europe.  In fact, Jacksonville, Florida (quite a bit warmer today than here) used to be named St. Nicholas Ferry, after this 4th century saint.  The Spaniards, Dutch, and German immigrants all brought this Saint with them, because he was widely venerated as a saint for the ordinary person.  In fact it was the Dutch who had a tradition of Saint Nicholas visiting homes and leaving sweets, nuts, and foods on windowsills on New Year’s eve.

It was not until 1821, however, that in America, an anonymous poem had “Sante Claus” as a rider in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer coming in from the north and delivering presents to those children who were good.  And thus the American legend of Santa Claus was born, being depicted in the more popular story, “the night before Christmas,” and appearing as a roly poly white bearded gentleman in a red suit in a series of ads by the Coca Cola company in the mid 1900's, and thus the legend continues - even now supplanting the legend of St. Nick worldwide.

The historic Saint Nicholas, as Bishop of the region of Myra, (present day Mediterranean Turkey),  attended the Council of Nicea (325 AD) and is partly responsible for the historic confession of faith, the Nicene Creed.  In fact, legend has it that the heretic, Arius, who was refuted in Nicea, got so loud at one point that Nicholas walked up to him and slapped him.  He was an ardent defender of the faith, and even apologized for his physical outburst to Arius, despite Arius being branded a heretic by the council.  He was a defender and helper of the poor, the orphans, and children in general.  This is the real Saint Nicholas, and it shows us that Santa Claus puts Jesus first, middle, and last.  He takes his call as a Christian first to be the most serious, so that when the Gospel calls us to make Christ known, we too should follow the sage wisdom of Nicholas and respond as well.  This is the real spirit of Christmas, handed to us by Saint Nicholas, and I hope we all hold this spirit in our hearts.  Advent calls us to repent and prepare for Jesus’ return.  Christmas calls us to hold that Christ-filled spirit of Saint Nicholas not just this time of year, but throughout.

It's been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity to those in need, to America's jolly Santa Claus, whose largesse often supplies luxuries to the affluent. However, if you peel back the accretions, he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness.  That’s the spirit.  Let’s claim it.  Let’s reclaim it.  Lets live it.

Exodus: God vs. "gods" (Part 4)

So I started this a while back:  putting into the blog a complete Biblical synopsis of the fantastic Divine Drama that unfolds in human history contained in the pages of Scripture.  So getting back to it in lieu of another entry this week, it is appropriate for Exodus to be next simply because this is a week when we all should be focusing on thanksgiving (never mind that this is something that should be done throughout the year!)  To get back to the previous entry in this synopsis, you can go to part 1 and parts 2&3.  So here we go:

(continuing the Bible's fantastic story...) Where we left off at the end of the book of Genesis, the stage has now been set for the greatest and most spectacular event of the Old Testament: The Exodus from Egypt around the year 1446 BC, which is also recorded in other historical records besides the Bible.  God’s promise to Abraham is slowly but surely being fulfilled, for his descendants have indeed grown through subsequent generations and now number possibly close to a million people.

Two hundred years after Joseph, however, a Pharaoh who didn’t know about Joseph and his deeds in Egypt called for the enslavement of the Israelites because there were too many in his land (Exodus ch. 1).  He even instituted a heinous form of population control by instructing that all the Hebrew males must be killed after birth.

Eventually, Moses is born.  To avoid his death also, he was set afloat in the Nile river, and Pharaoh’s daughter eventually found him and raised him (ch. 2).  As a young adult man, Moses ended up fleeing Egypt after he killed an Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrew slaves.  While in hiding in Midian (believed to be along the shore of the Red Sea), he marries, has children, and encounters God in the form of a burning bush (ch. 3).  “I AM,” or “Yahweh” in Hebrew (the “name” of God), gave Moses a great task:  to be his messenger to Pharaoh that God was putting an end to his peoples’ suffering and enslavement.  As a sign that God was going with him, his staff turns into a snake (ch. 4).  Moses is reluctant, and also fails to follow God’s decrees to his own peril, but eventually reestablishes the sign of God’s original covenant through circumcision.  Thus begins the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart by God (4:21) in order that the people, through the coming signs and wonders, will know that he is indeed God (6:1-8).

The initial request by Moses causes Pharaoh to force the Israelites to make their bricks without the aid of straw, making the task much harder since they now had to gather their own (ch. 5).  What follows are ten plagues caused by God, so terrifying in their own right that most rational people would believe in the Lord: The Nile river turns to blood, killing its wildlife (ch.7); the land is infested with frogs (ch. 8); then come the gnats, flies, the death of Egyptian livestock (ch. 9), a plague of boils (lesions), hail, locusts (ch. 10), darkness, and the final plague: the striking down of all the Egyptian firstborn (ch. 11) in answer to Pharaoh’s initial decree to kill the Hebrew firstborn males.

It is here that God institutes the “Passover” meal (ch. 12, AND the foundation of the Lord’s Supper): to eat in haste while marking the doorposts of the Hebrew homes as the angel of death comes through the land, carrying out God’s terrifying plague and “passing over” the homes of God’s people.  Pharaoh finally relents, and orders all the Hebrews to leave his land, which they do immediately, being led by God himself as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.  Upon encampment at the Red Sea, however, Pharaoh has a change of heart and pursues them once again.  The pillar of cloud envelops the Egyptian army (ch. 14) while Moses holds his staff over the water.  The water divides, and the Israelites escape across the sea on dry land, with “a wall of water on their right and on their left” (14:22).  Pharaoh’s army pursues.  God sends the water back into place and destroys the armies and chariots of Egypt.  The Israelites see the awesome power of God and trust in God, singing a great song of triumph in “Moses and Miriam’s song” (ch. 15).

God has rescued and delivered his people out of bondage and slavery!  This becomes a recurring and prominent theme throughout the Bible - delivery by God out of bondage and slavery!

Anger

Sigh.

Here we are a week after the election.  People are still stunned at the outcome.  People are still puzzled how the two leading candidates were both so seriously flawed in character.  On the one side, we had a candidate who often said things rude, insulting, and inappropriate.  On the other side we had a candidate who, as it turns out from leaked documents, was complicit in rigging the primary elections, cheated in the debates by getting questions ahead of time, and lies about the lies they have told.  Those on the winning side voted because they were fed up with being referred to as "flyover country," while those on the losing side are grasping at anything and everything, including the hope that when the Electoral College meets to make the results official, enough of them (that would have to be at least 37 of them) will switch their vote to give it to Clinton.   It's wishful thinking and it has been rumored since George Bush's first term, with the contested Florida outcome.   Those on the losing side are calling the winning side stupid (and this after they were referred to as deplorable, irredeemable, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and the list goes on...).  Rumors abound of those who are truly acting racist and hateful in targeting minorities for harassment, assuming this is what Trump stands for  (sadly, conflicting reports on many of these cast doubt on which ones are accurate and which ones are not).  All the while those who supported Clinton are rioting, burning, looting, and assaulting those who are either identified as or at least suspected of being Trump voters.  Correction on that:  At least in one city (though I suspect it's true across the nation), over 70% of those arrested in these protests didn't even vote.  And of the protesters, many are being bused in and/or paid to protest, responding to ads on Craiglist and other places.  Sadly, these as well have conflicting reports in the media so it is difficult to know fact from fiction.  And speaking of the mainstream media, which got all the prediction polls wrong, and which even by their own admission was now horribly slanted toward the democratic candidate, what little credibility they had on unbiased reporting has now vanished with the majority of Americans.  To top it off, people share things without ever bothering to check their truthfulness, and there are a lot of fraudulant "clickbait" sites out there these days.  I've just provided a whole bunch of sites that you even need to check me on, because the internet is such a cesspool of deception and lies!  To quote the article linked just above:  "folks are being fed what they want to hear and they’re eating it up like a starving person. The most important thing in a functional society is a well-informed public. What we have now is not only uninformed but misinformed masses. That’s something that should scare us all."

And then there are those who are so upset they need cry rooms, therapy puppies, coloring books, and the like.  We have a cry room here at church.  It's for infants.  And all of the hate, and all of the anger, and all of the division (of which our soon to be former commander-in-chief created and furthered much of it) is getting old, and is threatening to destroy this country from within.  This is to say nothing of the hatred spewing from social media, including many liberal elements either wishing for or directly calling for assassination (which is a federal crime, by the way, to even suggest such a thing).

It is rather funny in a pathetic sort of way, really.  I mean, the same conditions existed in 2008, except that in this instance, it was the liberal, progressive candidate Barack Obama who won the election.  Do you remember when all of the conservatives then rioted, began burning flags and buildings, and beating up liberals?  Neither do I.  And yet today, it is those who claim to be the most tolerant and inclusive bunch who unfriend people on social media all because they voted differently (hatred and anger), one day claimed that "love trumps hate" and the next day demonstrating that they really didn't believe that by their anger and hatred in looting and destroying property and livelihoods, and refuse to accept the election that was the clearest margin of victory in recent history.  (and no, I'm not going to debate the electoral college here as it, like our system of governance, provides checks and balances and distributes the power of the people in an effort to be the most equitable).  How do we overcome this great divide?  It's not with giving free reign to any anger felt on either side.

Now I will say that for me to be saying such things might seem odd to some of you, as I've dealt with anger management issues often in my own life.  But yet the difference is in recognizing it, and seeking to overcome it:  to live in accordance with the Proverbs that identify anger being the fire in which we burn, to paraphrase the consequences of anger.  Specifically, the proverb quoted in the banner photo:  "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but the wise man keeps himself under control."  If love really does trump hate (and it does), then it would seem the place to begin is there:  to put aside anger and thereby stop playing the fool.  Of course it is easier said than done, as too often, we believe our anger to be righteous and thereby justified.  But no angry outburst or display has authority to destroy other's livelihood or person.

What is the answer?  Can the increasing divide in this country be healed before it comes to another civil war?  Of that, I am uncertain.  What I am certain of, however, is that the love of Christ has sustained this country in the past, as well as directed it in a unified path.  Yes, sometimes that path went into dark territory, and this nation has many sins to confess from it's past.  Yet the strength of any nation is its' willingness to recognize those sins and seek to correct them in the future.  One of our greatest sins today is not the a-morality, the vulgarity, the perverted and deviant behaviors celebrated as normal, but rather simply that we have, collectively, turned our backs on God.  Psalm 33 says "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.  From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth...No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.  But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love..."  (Psalm 33:12-18).

So don't be foolish and let anger be the fire in which you burn.  Be wise and thereby live to put an end to hate and division, in letting love triumph, despite the flaws that we all have in our character.  Make America great by putting God at the center of our lives.  These are my thoughts today.  Thanks for reading.

Bogus

The internet is a Cesspool of deceit and chicanery.  There, I said it.  Sorry to be so negative, especially considering where this blog ends up (that is, on the internet), but it needed to be said.  The contradictory posts on websites and social media surrounding presidential candidates, that are even seen on mainstream media news sources on both sides, demonstrate that there is no longer any such thing as truth these days.  One such post was a perported Twitter statement made by a certain Presidential candidate in 1990.  (Twitter began in 2006, invalidating any "tweets" from 1990...)  Quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

One of the more common things seen swirling around the internet these days are photos, memes, and the like that often attribute quotes to famous people, and especially the founders of the United States.  Today's case study is just such a quote, from a website called "Go Left."  I am presuming that it intends to make the case that religion should be kept out of politics, which is generally not borne out by anything the founders stated, either in the official charters of this country, or in their personal writings.  Here is the image in question:

 

A part of the quote I would take as at least a partial truth in terms of what the founders intended.  (All Heresies in the church itself always contained a kernel of the truth, but then morphed into things never intended by the original kernel of truth)  But the whole quote is problematic, and doesn't seem to be borne out by many other things Jefferson said both publicly and privately.   Now attempting to verify anything found on the internet is itself a difficult task, much like salmon swimming upstream to spawn.  But the best place I could find as an actual source came from two locations.  One site shows it to be personal commentary by website's author on a number of other Jefferson quotes related to church and state.  Clicking on the link will yield the quote at the top of the page, not itself attributed to Jefferson.

From there it gets more troublesome.  I stumbled on a US News blog from 2009 in which it automatically assumes that a reader's use of this perported quote is factual and true, and so they quote it as the basis for their entire post.  Now what is fascinating about this is that the quote is also source cited as from a letter Jefferson wrote in 1808 to the Virginia Baptists.  Both a government site showing the original letter and the printed text of the letter (linked above) match, and nowhere within that letter do those words from the meme quote exist.  Yet multiple "quote" sites not only attribute it to Jefferson, but they also attribute it as coming from this letter, linked above.  Not only can you find multiple sites that obviously have never actually checked the source on it, but if one looks hard enough, you'll find previous efforts at debunking this mythical quote as well!  And from all this:  bogus and intentionally deceptive quotes and news are born.

P.T. Barnum perportedly said "There's a sucker born every minute."  Oddly enough, we cannot even be certain he ever said that.  Regardless, it appears whoever first said it knew what they were talking about.  The more we buy into the internet as containing truth, the more we are intentionally deceived and tricked into believing that which is simply not true, nor had it ever been.  Remember this commercial from a few years ago?  Let's not be like the young lady dating her "French Model."  Let's seek the truth in all things, and let's assume that if it's on the internet, it's likely bogus.