Category: Politics

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Why Old Leftist Men Go Insane?

Biden’s cognitive decline is rather evident these days. It’s not the snoozing at a tedious gathering in Europe; the best of us do such noble deeds at one time or another in our 40’s and from what I recall growing up in my father’s congregation, some happily do it in their teens. So, far from me to criticize a 78-year-old man for taking a quick power-10 during a meeting spoken in different languages.

My point has more to do with the fruit of one’s work. I confess I don’t know how to prove such assertions with dogmatism, but there is ample evidence that conservatives are happier than liberals and therefore age with much more grace and sanity:

“Years of psychological research have suggested that people who are politically conservative are happier than their liberal counterparts. This so-called “ideological happiness gap” has inspired elaborate theories for why conservatives enjoy life more than liberals do.”

This is not the time to speculate too much on the ideological happiness gap, except through the via negative. And the lesson here is, “Don’t be like Biden, kids!” And age has nothing to do with it. If our psalmic lifespan is threescore and ten, and by reason of strength add ten more (Psalm 90:10), let’s say Uncle Joe is getting rather close to that happy limit. But again, age does not have much to do with this. In fact, I have a couple of dear saints in my congregation in their 80’s walking 3-6 miles every day and functioning with normalcy. But the Biden crisis is rather unique, isn’t it?

What happens when your entire political career has been the cumulative effect of policies that destroyed the economy, discouraged virtue as central to the oikos and the polis, and over-taxed everything and everyone, and put animals’ rights above ordinary babies in wombs? The accumulation of these leftist ideologies can only lead to misery and pain.

Now, some may say that conservatives can be quite a nuisance as well and provide their share of crankyTrumpers at home. Yes, I grant that premise pastorally, but to quote sociologist Brad Wilcox “conservatives marry more and divorce less,” and this should not be a shock to society. Conservative marriages can still lead to madness, but when policies are built on the foundation of destroying civilization at the point of birth and then at the point of all existential questions (money, marriage, and morēs), the end result is a kind of insanity. As my old friend, James Jordan used to say, “The result of insane policies is insane lawmakers.”Biden’s decline may have something to do with his age and health, but it seems the deeper element has to do with the imbibing of ideas that ultimately lead you to madness. Leftism leads to incurable sadness of life and loss of sanity. Nietzsche knew it well and I think the Maxine Waters of this world do as well.

You may think these assertions are rather preposterous, and I have added enough variables to avoid any major statistical stupidity, but the central premise can’t be challenged: God gives distraught and deceitful old men over to dreary sleepiness.

Biden should rest assured that while we pray for him (I Tim. 2:2), our prayer is not some generic silliness; it’s filled with sobering cries for his sanity and strength to return while there is time.

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Cheers for Cuban Freedom!

I know it’s hard for leftists to see the appeal of conservative thoughts among other populations. Therefore, it must be a doozy to see Cubans tearing Che Guevara apart as one who in his own words, “really loved to kill” and who despised religious people, and anyone who would dare disagree with his ideologies.

When the Cuban doors are opened fully, and they will be, make no mistake about it, what will unleash will be thousands of stories of a regime that did not support the Veggie Tales’ version of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro constantly satiating American television. The man who finds himself in the t-shirts of thousands of Americans as an icon for the weak and downtrodden was quite literally a murderer of the weak and downtrodden.

The recent protests, which will likely increase, and the creative ways in which Cubans are finding to bypass security strategies by the government to hinder communication to outside by ordinary Cubans will fail. Cubans will eventually bring not only their coffee and cigars grown in their fertile land freely over here, but they will also enter into the dynamic and flourishing Cuban population here in the U.S. This country was largely dumbstruck when they discovered on the day of the election just how quickly the Cuban population rose to vote for the Republican candidate. Leftists made quick assumptions that Latinos favor the party of gifts; that Los gringos could easily persuade the Cuban population to see the Democratic Party as a party that gets the Latin experience. So, they give you Senora Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and they try to use the “charismatic” Bernie Sanders as attractive propositions. But Cubans, especially those who have moved into this country in the last decade, want none of these superlative clowns.

The socialist rhetoric of Castro and Chavez brings nothing more than terror to the minds of Cubans. Of course, the population in Florida and other places are not a monolith, but enough of one to dissect the trickery coming from the left, and to see that for far too many of the Cubans holding mass rallies in Havana, freedom from tyrannical practices and a high morality among Cubans are still a thing to consider. Therefore, the left is panicking over the saturation of the news cycle from a population that has known idiocy personally for too long and is befuddled by American sentimentalism towards their monsters.

So, I am having a Cafe Cubano in celebration of the many Cuban friends I had in college and seminary and who fill the streets of Havana this morning.

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How to Greet Biden’s Evangelists

White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said that “We will be going door-to-door to Americans who have not been vaccinated.” In light of their upcoming visit to my property, and to honor our blessed government representatives, I have prepared remarks for the occasion upon their arrival.”My dear friend, grace and peace to you. It is an honor to have you come to my front door. Thank you for your profound concern for my well-being. Indeed, your desire for my bodily welfare means much to me. That you would take my own money and pour it into affairs that concern my life and health and prosperity as a citizen of these Unites States prove a level of concern for my happiness. I am grateful.

However…since you are here and since there is an unending source of money backing your endeavors, I am going to assume that time is not of the essence. So, please hear the following words, for they too stem from great concern that I have for the well-being of the government for whom you work.

It has come to my attention that your interest in my felicity is highly misguided. In fact, I am certain that my body will be just fine, for I know that if the body they kill, the truth abides still, and his kingdom is forever. Now, forgive me if I have just waxed poetically in the name of a German monk. But this is a profound truth. While you stand here acting out your role under the guise of American happiness, you must know that the local abortion clinic in my community remains open with young ladies, mostly under pressure, but often under ignorance, and at times under the premise of evil, are giving their bodies to government-approved institutions whose intent is to terminate the life of little humans in the womb. Will you commit to going to their front door next?

It has also come to my attention that your agenda for American health and happiness is rooted in a fundamentally flawed perspective. You cannot seek to persuade me to take a vaccine while also imposing regulations that diminish my liberties to pursue my Christian religion. You see, my happiness and joy stem from the faith, which your current leader is seeking to eradicate by stupid measures meant to weaken the labors of the church. I hope you can see my skepticism in your appearance this morning. I have nothing against you, but I do have plenty of grievances against the agenda you wish me to succumb to. From my perspective, you are entrenched and a participant in a comedy of errors. You have come to the wrong door, not because I wish you any malice, but because what you represent is precisely what I fight against as a minister and citizen. Your definition of “well-being” is precisely the opposite of what I envision for the well-being of the people and the opposite of the role I see for the government. In my ideal world, your government would begin the day with a pastoral prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, while you begin your day with mandates to go door-to-door knocking like eager evangelists.

In fact, since you are here, I wish to tell you that unless you surrender your well-being into the hands of God, you will perish. And if, perchance, you happen to be a church-goer of some Bible-believing church, let me urge you to forsake your ways. I do not believe your desire is to persuade me of a vaccine–which people of good rapport may differ–but I believe you are here to persuade me of the power of the government to give me true health. This cannot be done, for true health is not something the government is called to dispense, but it’s something my local physician and my community give to me, since they know me best and truly care for my happiness.

If you do not know my Lord and King, I urge you in the name of health to submit to him now or submit to him at the judgment day. That latter submission will not be gracious.I truly thank you for your time and for hearing my words. I have some cold water and fresh bread if you’d like. If not, thank you for your time and I pray God would grant you true health.

Have a pleasant day!

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COVID CARD PIETY!

Looking around the interwebs, one would think that the multitude of selfies is a new trend for some revolutionary movement. But alas, it’s true! These revolutionaries are ordinary human beings holding what I call a COVID-piety card, which states that they have received the first or second COVID vaccine. Let freedom ring! Their smiling faces next to a filled-out paper is a powerfully symbolic statement. Let’s put politics aside for the moment. Nah. Who am I kidding: let’s talk directly about the politics of such things.

It is very clear that virtually everyone showcasing their card with some fancy hashtag and proudly showing forth their front teeth to their screens are convinced that they are making a political statement. Further, from the 200-300 samples of people who I’ve seen on various platforms, a quick glance at their profile shows unmistakably that they proudly voted for Joseph Biden as the 46th American president. Now, I could read a lot into this, but I won’t, except to read the following three statements(!) into such displays.

First, these acts from priests and parishioners alike and a multitude of pagans, reveal that such shows to the world communicate a certain level of pride for such an accomplishment. They truly believe that what they did was a good thing and that others–for the sake of health–should follow similarly. This is a revolution of sorts. They could quietly get their vaccines and resume life as usual–a decision that I would highly respect– but that is not the intent of a revolution, which is often loud and hashtaggy! These are the new social media voices for an environmentally new world.

Second, these acts also mean that they have an elevated sense and respect for the word of the state, and not particularly in the Pauline sense if you catch my nuance. In particular, such people are prone to accepting Fauci’s analysis that even after the two shots, they should still wear masks and practice social distancing and other state-directed declarations. In one case, a well-respected theologian in the UK posted a picture of him and three of his children commemorating their ability to see each other after quite some time but also stating his sadness that his fourth child could not join because it would violate local COVID numeric regulations, and that was more important than having the whole family together.

Finally, there is no doubt that for most, these displays are acts of revolutionary piety. Mind you, most of these folks posting selfies are people born after 1999. They are the smartphone generation that has less than 1% chance of dying or even suffering major side effects from COVID. These are the future leaders of our nations, who will take every opportunity to speak truth to power one selfie at a time and one piece of paper at a time. If COVID vaccines came with numbers, they would gladly tattoo it.

These are in my estimation another religious example of the principle that everything is religious. These folks are not showing forth their baptismal cards to the world in submission to the Triune God, but they are stating that their new symbol of freedom is a piece of paper with the signature of a medical professional that testifies that now their body/soul is safe from all alarm.

I find the entire exercise ridiculous on a number of levels, not because I oppose vaccines, but because I oppose statist piety, and because I oppose the entire political agenda behind the curtain. Count me a post-vaccine selfie card skeptic.

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Springsteen’s Magic Middle

Why is it that the “center” is so beloved by leftists and moderates? Why is it that Bruce Springsteen is so charming portraying the center as a romantic ideal? When they decry the divided position of our country asking for the reunited states of America, what precisely are they asking for? What does the center look like through the lens of its advocates? I can imagine a host of issues where consensus would be fruitful: disproportionate incarceration, illegal wars, free speech, etc. But when the “middle apologists” ask for the middle ground, are they inquiring how we can more easily end the abortion of human beings in the first trimester? actualizing an ethic derived from Genesis instead of Lada Gaga? The answer is too obvious to even ponder.

We need to remind ourselves that the Van Tilian paradigm stands on just about every phase of human growth. When we contemplate articulate modes of communication, we need to truly ask, “who is to gain?” The evangelical wing of the republic, the Bible-believing radicals who vehemently support the thesis of Genesis 1:1 and 3:1, or the romantics of Middle-Earth who are eager to entice you to an agenda that is diametrically opposed to biblical truth?

I have never been afraid of loving my neighbor, and I’d like to think that I have gone an extra mile in doing so throughout my life; at times fully knowing that there was no reciprocation. But I am deeply afraid of people who fight in the “love thy neighbor” banner without advocating loyalty to the Lord thy God who is quite diverse in his applications towards our neighbor. The “middle” ground comes in all shapes of “love thy neighbor” sizes.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the idea of the magical middle ground. I love the idea of coming together and reaching an agreement about the color of the rug and the ideal coffee beans to grind, but where you lose me is when I have to negate some part of my Christian identity in order to join the happy middle. It’s not that I can’t come together with you, but my disposition and desires are inherently tied to my identity. And therefore, such effort, however noble, is simply an impossibility.

The political center is the place people come when their convictions are weakened. When Yahweh called the people to reason together, he was not calling them to the center. He was calling them to see their entire world just as he sees it.

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The Florida GOAT!

Let’s just pause our week and thank a stellar man in his 40’s. Let’s thank him for holding the fort down and pressing on without succumbing to the fears of the millennials Monday-morning quarterbacks running around. Let’s thank the man who won the Superbowl of 2020 hands down, and has my vote for MVP in 2021.

Let’s thank Ron DeSantis.

We could take the time to speak of Tom Brady’s capacity to de-throne himself and re-assume that throne in a little start-up company called Buccanners Inc. But in actuality, let’s face it: De Santis is the real GOAT at the end of the day.

Imagine for a moment if Andrew Gillum had won Florida. Now, that you imagined it, go and spit that thought out in the backyard. Progressivism would have shattered our beloved state. Progressivism and leftism are the viruses Florida cannot afford. From the beginning, DeSantis took this Covidness seriously enough to not let it destroy the state’s economy. True, there is a lot of recovering to do, but Florida is hundreds of miles ahead of most states, save South Dakota–peace be upon Gov. Noem.

The Superbowl would not have happened in another state; no other state would have had the capacity to host 25,000 people in a stadium, because most other states are still panicking as if this is March 2020. Vaccines, natural treatments: nothing will take the panic-state of the liberal states of America. Florida went for Trump because of DeSantis and because we did not play the politics game CNN-style.

My first perusal of the news cycle this morning consisted of the hysteria of the Left over the festivities in downtown Tampa after the Bucs’ victory. In fact, the trend in twitterdom is that every time a “journalist” sees a gathered group in Florida not distancing more than the assigned rule, they begin their mockery lap across Twitter. It’s humorous, actually. Then, their friends join to mock those imbeciles taking life with a grain of sugar and salt and margaritas and a good steak. “Those Floridians are murderers taking all this life and showing off their liberties like normal human beings!”

Let’s also remember that DeSantis was one of the first governors to say that worship is essential. These words matter, because back then Mother Los Angeles and sister New York wanted to keep the family within the confines of 600 ft., which can be easily afforded for a meager $1,700 a month. Thanks, Cuomo! But Florida allowed rental properties and beach condos to flourish. The housing market is booming in my neck of the woods. In South Florida–four hours to the south of the Superbowl host, for you outsiders–2020 has been magical for the market. The same South Florida that went for Trumpito went for casitas mucho as well.

Thanks, DeSantis! You’re the GOAT! #RonDeSantis

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The Religiosity of the Left

It is essential that we understand the religious nature of our present crisis. At this point, “Jesus” is still a very useful tool in the hands of tyrants. The liberationists, socialists, barbarians, and Scythians can easily use Jesus’ name to fit into any of their agenda. Jesus can be the easiest way to push a “love thy neighbor” agenda that can apply to just about any modern governmental impulse from forcing masks to wearing Bernie’s mittens. The reason Jesus is such a compelling figure is that unbelievers know that there is still a modicum of spirituality among the leftist base that still cherishes Jesus as a decorative piece in the intellectual journey of any human being.

We should, of course, decry such a thing and fight back with the feistiness of Poirier’s knockout against McGregor. We cannot tolerate seeing our Lord manipulated by the speeches of evil men. Chesterton adds this piece to his masterful hymn, “O God of Earth and Altar,” that jumps right into our current political cycle when he warns about the:

…lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men.

Cruel men are easily comforted by easy speeches, religiosity displayed in the name of collective faith, and variations of “Amazing Grace” that give even the foulest men goosebumps. But in the end, the entire message is a ploy to get you to think goodies are the government’s specialty. And to deliver these goodies, Jesus becomes the means to an end.

Ever since there was an Arius and Marcion, and Raphael Warnock, there were guilt manipulators using Messiah Jesus to convey their abc’s. Leftists need Jesus, but one made in their image, and they prey on the ignorance of evangelicals to get them to side with their causes. This entire scene explains the New York Times’ sudden fascination with the religiosity of Biden. He is “perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.” But here is where the rubber meets the cathedral: Biden is, says NYT, “a different, more liberal” kind of Christian. It grounds his life and policies.

Machen said long ago that “there can be no greater mistake than to suppose that Jesus ever separated theology from ethics.” Nobody on the Left separates theology from ethics, but what they do separate is theology from Jesus. If men can create a new Jesus–and man is a factory of creativity–then, they can offer the world a new ethic based on a Jesus-figure. This allows them to carry their “nice” Christian identities around the Fox News world while simultaneously carrying their “intolerance” identity towards us on MSNBC. It’s a win-win.

Good people, don’t negotiate with manipulators. Bury your eyes and hands in the work of the kingdom. Keep the Epiphany spirit going–the spirit of hard labor and bold proclamation. When Lent comes to town, we can mourn while singing psalms of imprecations against any who would use our Lord’s name in vain. 

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Moving Forward in the Biden Era

Let me go ahead and speak my mind because I have been somewhat shy lately, so here it goes a day after 46 took office. What we are witnessing now is the demise of evangelical culture and the solutions to resurrecting this culture has to come from the remnants within.

There is no way around it, and here are some things we ought to expect in the days and months ahead. First and foremost, churches that uphold orthodoxy on Sundays will have to uphold it throughout the week. And that means that you cannot subscribe to Leftist ideologies, which are the exact opposite of the conservation of classic traditional principles of morality. You simply cannot affirm the legitimacy of “gay Christians” or Leftist causes and remain soberly faithful to the Gospel. It’s historically and logically impossible.

My suspicion is that what we will see in the months ahead is a coalition of forces from conservative churches that do not want to see this country collapse under the weight of inglorious bastards. They may even share differing theological perspectives, but they are united in desiring a nation that understands reality. Conservatives need to see that if we have transgender activists in the White House, we need to have godly men and women in our little houses, which means it’s time to start punching the right things, rather than wasting time on foolish causes. In my estimation, the University of Woke City is out of the equation for my children, even if it means losing a prestigious medal made out of kale products.

Secondly, I also believe that such churches that hold firm to conservative causes and who speak truth to high towers will likely grow numerically in the months to come. If these same churches do not cower to the voices of illogical leaders, and if they continue to do those same sacred duties, they will actually be on firm standing as their local bodies will begin to attract the presence of people who are simply fed up with the liberalizing approach of their own churches. If your current congregation seems to be headed towards their fourth sermon series on critical race theory and begins to denigrate the conservative agenda because we don’t uphold “Love Thy Neighbor” as they deem best, you need to begin thinking carefully about your priorities. I have written about how to leave a church wisely, which does not mean you wait until this or that passes before having a conversation. Move speedily and find out where in the world your church is headed in 2021.

Let me also stress the need to pick up Machen’s “Christianity and Liberalism” as a guide through these trying times. He noted a long time ago that “The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from “controversial” matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life.” This is not the time to act as if the other side is going to standby silently while you parade your radical free speech proclaiming “Jesus is Lord!” They will not! They are eager to change your vocabulary. And, following Machen’s logic, this is certainly no longer the time for gnostic subtleties like “We are not of this world” or “We look to another country.” A quick read will tell you definitively that this world is ours (Rom. 4:13), and that God’s world has come down. As the hymn states unequivocally, “This is my Father’s world!”

The Great Commission is given to the Church, and now it’s time to let it be known that our agenda is to baptize millions of disciples young and old who will bring holy disarray to any living body that rejects Messiah Jesus. You can expect us to be civil and lucid in our presentation, but we will not tickle your ears.

The reason liberalism is so enticing is that it allows you to make friends everywhere under the guise of sweet orthodoxy. But the fragrance of orthodoxy is foul to the world. Further, you have noticed by now that liberalism is deeply religious. Just take yesterday’s prayer where the Right Reverend of Theological Drunkenness ended by saying, “In the strong name of our collective faith;” that stunt was a symbol of a new body of politics that has absolutely no interest in the grammar of orthodoxy. The religiosity of the Left is good in the sense that it encourages us to know where God’s revelation is found and where it isn’t and also to clarify that atheism doesn’t exist; what does exist are religious people who either love the truth or willingly suppress it.

My deep and sincere hope is that this entire season revealed those who prefer the allotment of Job’s wife rather than the oil of Aaron’s beard. The more the Church proceeds with truth in this season, the more she will be united in the kingdom and the more little churches will grow in numbers and wisdom. But the more she acts as a collective faith, she will shrink into oblivion and her children’s children will have no inheritance.

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Welcome to Biden’s World

The Democratic Party is considered an essential worker in sexual exploration. They get a COVID-exemption because they are moving society to a higher evolutionary place. Example A: President-elect Biden tapped Rachel Levine to be assistant secretary of health. Now, of course, (he) may be skilled enough to assume such a task according to the administration’s standards, but that is not why (he) was called for such a position. At the heart of it is Levine’s status as a transgender advocate. (His) federal position marks a stark shift in political appointments starting in give or take 28 hours.

From now on, it’s not about political favoritism, a practice exercised by Republicans and Democrats alike; it’s about political exploration–the kind that delves deep into the jungle of sexual weirdness and anomalies. Skills? Nah. It’s about what you symbolize to the world.

As David Bahnsen eloquently stated in a recent piece, Trump kept the Democrats from going full hysteria for four years. As I have granted for a long time, there is enough fault in Trump to fill the Barnebau Stadium in Madrid and a few hundred more. His temperament often mirrored that of a bullied teenage girl on Twitter at 3am. But as I have also argued, even with his fickle mood, he was able to enact change and sustained the dam infrastructure while the Left kept arguing that dams are meant to be shattered. That ability to hold off evil, despite his many errors, will be his legacy.

And now we come to No. 46. When you think of Joe Biden, remember that in the Obama days, Biden was the background figure who could never approximate the charisma of Obama. And, according to most Democrats, Biden was Mr. Moderate seeking always to appease the older generation who still from afar thought that the gender fluidity thing was going too far. Fast forward to our present stage and the entire environment has changed. Not only is Biden the grandfatherly figure behind the modern Left, but he is also the leader of the Leftist revolution. His appointments from now on will be symbolic attempts to make cultural changes one Lesbian at a time.

Christians moving forward now need to put their “courage hats” on and dance to a different tune…the awkward ballads that nobody knows. And the evangelicals who are eager to follow the Biden dance will do it subtly at first, but then slowly join the music with the others. When people (let’s make up a name) like Guss Boore begin to assemble a team to think more deeply about sexual orientation and conclude that the gender war is not the Christian’s fight, rather, justice for the poor is, then know that the coup is nigh.

Pastors and parishioners will either see the terrain for what it is, or they will naively roam the corridors of the Biden era saying, “Well, isn’t it nice out here with all this love and unity!” If we didn’t think symbols were important, we sure will now. This Sunday I suggest you take a hearty look at that bread and wine and remember what team you are fighting for. Biden’s world is here, and we better know how to live and move in this new world.

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When Conservatives Take All the Blame

The fall-out of the events on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol resulted in the well-orchestrated pronouncements of justice-warriors. We know what to expect from the pagans, but it’s a whole different story when the evangelicals who were silent during BLM and Antifa’s destruction-crusade across American cities begin to claim the demise of Trump voters enthusiastically. According to these political purists, if we supported Trump in any way, we are guilty by association and must acknowledge that “our guy” destroyed the Republic and caused the death of democracy. We should surrender our cause and accept defeat and go back to hiding. Shame! Shame! Shame! Walk the plank of blame!

No matter who we are, whether we were simply living quiet and peaceable lives, or whether we repudiated the acts of juvenile turds, or whether we say, “bad people did stuff,” the scarlet letter is cemented. It’s important to remember that such evangelicals have quietly borrowed from the terrain of the left, accepting easy bribes for quick respectability awards. For a long time, they have written lengthy articles on TGC and other notoriously effeminized websites exalting victimhood virtues while rebuking the slightest move away from their established narrative. Whatever that narrative is, it’s not what we fine people would uphold.

I was reminded of a wedding I officiated where I made the “controversial” statement that a woman ought to submit to her husband, and a husband must love his wife. In my world, such statements do not require explanations. To my shock, I discovered that the bridesmaids scolded the beautiful bride after the wedding. They were terrified that she would invite a minister that would make such archaic remarks about a wife’s role. In our day, many within the church add so many footnotes to Paul’s exhortations on submission that by the end, we are left wondering if Paul failed to hire an editor when he penned his words. Similarly, evangelicals on the left are eager to pounce on conservatives like us if we happen to share any item on the Republican menu. They want us to cower and do penance on behalf of the scattered zealots who align in any way to our cause.

As of today, Donald Trump has been excommunicated from every major platform, political figures who supported himTrump are now being ridiculed, conservative voices are being unmistakably targeted, Twitter accounts mysteriously deleted, Parler is receiving the wrath of techno giants like Apple and Amazon, and the signs point to increased specialization in detecting people like us as aggressors and apologists for riots and mayhem.

Well, bless their hearts! Atheists practice the same ethic when it comes to the crusades. They ask in a victor’s tone, “How can Christianity be true if Christians killed people in an unwarranted war?” Without delving into the futility of such assumption, we should really take heart and remember that the righteous ones are always the ones who are equal opportunity offenders, or as I like to put it, “equal opportunity ethicists.” By now, there is sufficient evidence to prove that a group of thugs defending the Trump agenda invaded the Capitol–in some cases with the aid of officers and in others by force—to stop formal proceedings from taking place. As one Trump supporter stated, “I got caught up in the moment.” Let that moment give him something to think about in a cell for the next many years. Others easily influenced by the totality of stupidity followed. No, this was not a righteous revolution; this was the Jewish zealotry of Jude’s day in action. It was the exertion of an over-realized eschatology that will scar the Trump presidency for decades to come, but it should not scar everyone who voted option A vs. option Witch of Endor.

The point is that we are not participants in the acts of anyone who acted unrighteously. None of us have to assume vicarious guilt for another. Calvary already accomplished such a feat. I have read enough reports from people who were merely in D.C. to voice their concern for the election’s integrity. Right or wrong, they have that right. Whatever else happened is the fault of scoundrels who should be rightly brought to justice. But make no mistake, such scenarios will be used abundantly to make generalized cases condemning a whole class of people. This is identity politics served raw.

Let me close with a summary of the Trump era as we move forward.
From the beginning, we all knew the sorry state of the Republican Party. I wrote back in 2016 that Trump won because there was no one else eager to speak plainly about what must be done. Trump succeeded, and his success is a sign that politics, as we know it, will never be the same. The Trump era emboldened people to choose and made a mockery out of independent voters…whatever that is.
But the lesson that strikes me to this day is just how little it takes for a leader to make substantive changes like de-regulation, abandoning childish international alliances, selecting imperfect but sane justices to the Supreme Court, inspiring the Pro-life agenda, protecting the church, avoiding unnecessary foreign wars, and a host of other important factors that move the Conservative voice forward. Still, Trump was a weak candidate. We all knew that, but his narcissism and pursuit of childish displays on social media and mediocre decisions at 3am, and a history of Cretan immorality, all of that, and everything else, is still better than a Clinton and Biden presidency. If Trump moved the conservative agenda forward in a few crucial ways, imagine what a fervent and decent candidate could do in office?

The lesson is that the evangelical left will eagerly look for scapegoats to accentuate their cause. The conservative voice should look to the brouhaha of January 6th and learn that zealotry is stupid, criticize the imbeciles who did what they did, and move on to better things. Conservatives do not need to defend everything done in the name of conservatism. We call that discernment. We should be ethical enough to condemn whatever does not harmonize with biblical standards and pursue the greater good as a result. After all, January 20th is not the death of conservatism; it’s an opportunity to properly advocate for healthier priorities.