Category persecution of christians

Jan 31 2018

Of What Is Hallowed, Honored, or Human

 

The complete demise of civil debate in our society today is by far the greatest travesty that the modern sectarian has inflicted upon this Republic. Communication is dead and respect of the individual is crushed beneath it’s corpse. A differing opinion than that of the tolerant tyrant is treated as a cancerous plaque rather than a healthy antidote to a narrow, blinding, self-ingratiating worldview.

Coupled with this stupor is the inability to compartmentalize issues, opinions, and beliefs. This is best represented in the constant criticism of Christians for their support of the President, as if they are embracing Donald Trump as their Prophet, Priest, and Pastor rather than their President. This simply highlights a fundamental difference of perspective for government.

True conservatives do not view government as their god. There is no expectation of the Hallowed that is attached to the government of man. While scripture encourages Christians to honor their leaders, mankind must be keenly aware that infallibility is not vested in the governing institutions of our Republic. This was a strong belief of Founding Fathers and one of the main reasons for establishing this Republic.

Demanding that a politician adhere to the same high standards of morality as that of clergy or even Deity skews purity of character over qualification in much the same way as making the same demands of a carpenter. For both job descriptions, the politician and the carpenter, the Christian is more comfortable with the individual who has coupled exceptional morality with exceptional job qualification, but if, in the completion of the commission of the task at hand, the individual of less than sterling character is more qualified to complete the task than the person of impeccable morality, the most qualified must do the job.

That is not to say that a Christian should condone bad behavior nor is it saying that a Christian is condoning bad behavior by honoring a person’s qualification. As it pertains to this President, the Christian should not demand a flawed man be the shining embodiment of a hallowed saint, yet, by the same token, Christians should not dismiss his moral failings or try by some tortured strangulation of Scripture to extract virtue from blatant sin. The Biblical approach to this President is to honor him by virtue of the fact that the people chose him to be most qualified to deal with the situation our Nation finds itself in right now.

But how could Christians chose him? While I did not chose him, I am a Christian and I can explain the reasoning which is found through out scripture, if one would chose to read it. Its really not so difficult to understand.

First, Donald Trump is not God, a Minister, Priest, or Rabbi. He is our highest ranking public servant. The Christian views spiritual leaders of more importance than political leaders.

Second, the Bible is filled with stories of very flawed individuals who were raised up leadership. Moses a murderer, David an adulterer and a murderer, Jacob a conniving thief, Paul the Apostle a murderer, Peter a coward, and the list could go on. Christians know that leaders are not God but they can be used by him.

Christians believe in redemption above all things. It is the foundation of our faith. Christians are also admonished not to judge a man’s heart but his actions.

So when the President said he was sorry for past behavior, the Bible compels us to forgive as we have been forgiven. While cynics mock faith as blind allegiance, people of faith view the human leader as just that, a human. Through the prism of their faith, they decipher between his qualification and his morality. They have deemed him, however flawed, qualified to be their leader for this time, and, so far, the President has proven their calculations correct.

Sep 29 2017

Audible

 

It’s not about the players. It’s not about the protests. It’s about the NFL.

The Roger Goodell NFL has been anything but glorious. For all his assurances of defending the shield, the self-righteous proclamation of the Commissioner has yielded nothing less than the opposite. The NFL shield has now become a tattered, tainted symbol of lawlessness, disrespect, and selfish hypocrisy.

Consider the pattern that has brought the nation to at least a momentary disgust with the most dominant professional sport in the United States. Goodell’s first “defense of the shield” was to ban happy dance celebrations in the end zone. Randy Moss could no longer “moon” Packers fans in the end zone.

Who can forget the improper spinning of the football? This was also regulated. Goodell was determined to make sure that football didn’t spin out of control. (I just couldn’t help myself.)

Then came the minuscule suspension for a player beating his pregnant girlfriend senseless in an elevator. Only after being publicly taken to task by Maine Governor Paul LePage, did the NFL decide to administer a more appropriate suspension. The NFL continues to tolerate repeated domestic violence within it’s ranks.

But then the NFL decided to morph into a political entity. When the sovereign State of Georgia passed legislation to protect the Free Speech and Religious Freedom rights of ministers to refuse to perform gay marriages, the NFL threatened to remove the Super Bowl from their State. In remarkable display of cowardice the Governor of Georgia vetoed the bill, effectively knuckling under to the NFL.

Now the new bully of political spectrum was feeling very full of themselves. They banned socks and shoes that had improper support of the 9-11 tragedy. They banned the support of fallen police officers on NFL helmets. They mocked Christian players for kneeling before the game prayer.

Until now. Now, it works for them. Kneeling now is another way the NFL can throw it’s weight around and tell the fans it doesn’t give a rat’s hairy hindquarters what they think; in fact, the NFL thinks that protesting fans and the President of the United States need to show the NFL, the “proper respect”, Goodell’s own words.

The NFL calls an audible on what expression is allowed and what is not because they have very little to fear in the form of reprisal in the Free Market. Given non-profit status by the Federal Government, with rabid fans who are so addicted to the game they will ignore any disgusting behavior just so they can have their Sunday fix, and a populace whose value system is somewhere between nada and nil, the NFL has very little reason to behave itself and the more reason to throw it’s shoulders at it’s viewers. They will sit there, take it,and wait with bated breath for the next game.