Month: March 2021

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King for the Day

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the LORD.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.” Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace.”’” And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!” 1 Kings 22:22-28

“…they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him” Acts 7: 57 (c.f. Matthew 13: 15.)

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mathew 11:15 ; 13: 43, Mark 4: 9, 23, Luke 8: 8; 14: 35.

“We hear what we want to hear.” Countless wise men and women

Ahab met his end at Ramoth-gilead. Did this happen against 400 to 1 odds? Are ‘odds’ how we determine who is actually speaking authoritatively for God? In the end, we do what we want to do, say what we want to say, and believe what we want to believe—the Christians are the worst among us in that we claim the authority to speak for the Almighty. Despite being wrong time after time, we persist in claiming the authority of the infallible God anyway. The charismatics have ripped open the Church from pubis to chin for the purpose of restoring God’s name in our country.

Despite being wrong, our prophets who led better than 80% of us to vote for an evil man, largely continue to double down on the evisceration of the church (and our country.) At work, amongst ‘conservatives,’ I am in the clear minority concerning the direction of the country. Paraphrasing, the complaints call us to look at all the Latinos charging the border, Biden’s various senile statements, and the Libs whining about ‘racism this and racism that!’ All the lies, despite rejection in over 60 court cases, my peers honestly believe the election was not legitimate. We really do live in separate worlds of alternative facts. This will lead to further violence.

Social media and the American Church are largely responsible for the rise of Q-anon radicalizing a significant portion of our friends and neighbors. The belief in the fictitious (at least in the world I live in) satanic cabal is so firmly entrenched that even satire cannot penetrate. It floors me that my peers do not seem to think January 6th was a big deal. It was (and is) a deadly serious (and continuing) threat to this country.

How they are not mortally embarrassed by backing Trump, the man who fueled and used this despicable movement, is beyond me. I am guilty of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ is the implication made by my level of disgust and anger. I am ‘deranged’ for having certain moral standards and expectations? Again, we live in different worlds.

The excuse is that all presidents lie. True; they do and many of those lies were egregious and horrifying, leading to great death and destruction. So granted, Trumps thousands and thousands of casual lies, some more destructive than others, could rate somewhere in the middle of the continuum perhaps. The difference then lies not particularly with the horrible man named Donald J. Trump, but in who he represents and what they, the represented, expect. This whole mess just didn’t appear out of nowhere, it has been a long time in the making. We expect lies, we crave them—Trump delivered. We ingest them with relish so we can build fantasy worlds in which we matter not realizing that we are the ones being fed upon and used like toilet paper. (Just ask those who thought Trump was going to protect them while they stormed the Capitol.) It is all just incredibly stupid.

The Church has long abandoned its intellectual roots. It feeds the sheep a diet of emotion; it’s junk food. Over time the malnourishment, the overt abuse and fraud, has left the faithful ill-equipped to determine how to nourish themselves on their own. (Study the Bible referencing accredited scholars having familiarity with the original languages, Pray, Fast, Meditate, exercise, commune with nature, and cultivate the mind in general.) For all the hostility certain branches of evangelicalism have expressed towards the Pope in Rome, they too have set themselves under the authority of a system of ‘apostles and prophets’ who use their special status to elevate themselves above their other brothers and sisters. Just like our political systems, our systems of appointment strongly favor liars as well.

One of the most disappointing aspects of this is the lost opportunity to turn away from our long history of church sponsored racism; some recognize it, some don’t. Of the relatively few who acknowledge racism, and that the superiority of the white race ought be preserved (as the will of God,) this makes things simple as it is unlikely one is ever going to convince them otherwise. We must only hope, for those of us who believe everyone ought to be regarded as equals, that the demographic realities, which will lead to future power shifts, will occur relatively peacefully. This is unlikely given the history of many of the racial clashes in the past where whites felt threatened. Of those who do not acknowledge the reality of systemic racism the situation is far more complicated. The devil in whom no one believes exists can do his best work in secret. This is where the Church has provided, once again, cover for the devil’s work sanctifying the unification of the racist component of the movement which has Trump, who actively stokes the fear of nonwhites and non-Christians to increase his power, as its de facto leader with the righteous ‘other’ goals of the Christian Right. Yet another turd has been launched into the punch bowl; and few seem to believe the latest turd is significant enough to pay notice. The American Church which heavily influences the American ethic has let fear determine its path to embrace its racist past; it has once again refused its reckoning.

The ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality is now firmly infused into the mix as the insurrectionists stormed the Capitol in Jesus name. Prayers were offered, Jesus signs displayed, the ‘Revelation Song’ played, along side bear spray being sprayed and the Confederate, American, and Trump flags being waved, amongst the beatings being given the police with fire extinguishers and flag poles, amongst the broken glass and the vandalism enacted, amongst the ‘Murder the Media’ graffiti being scrawled and the feces being smeared, the congressmen being hunted with zip-ties in hand, and amongst the repeated calls to hang Mike Pence. You put Jesus’ name on this despicable display? Do imagine yourselves as Christ driving the money changers from the Temple? How could you not be ashamed of being attached to this? How could you believe this is no big deal?

As one who still believes Jesus is the Son of God, our Creator, my King, and our mediator, I sincerely apologize to those on the ‘outside’ for what the American Church has largely become; a political movement which advocates violent authoritarianism for the ‘right’ cause. I’m aware of what our ‘prophets’ say. Let’s just say, I’m not playing the ‘400 to 1’ odd. There is no room in the Bible for White Christian nationalism, as there is no support to bear the modern apostolic and dispensational weights which have been placed upon it by our ‘prophets.’ The test is simple, and I’ve already mentioned it many times. They’ve been wrong, they are wrong, and will continue to be wrong because they have not spoken from the LORD but out of their own greed and pride. More frighteningly, they offer an easy, vindictive, out from the problems of the world which will not come to pass; they both form and play upon your desires for the easy out (rapture.)

God has the power to make us all behave but He doesn’t because He doesn’t want puppets; He wants people, all people. You, Mr. and Mrs. Christian Nationalists, suppose to see yourselves as God’s ‘force’ (army) on earth. I was led to sing those songs as a kid as well and now it leads us to a scorched earth policy of blatant hypocrisy, lies, and the embracement of evil to suppose we can sanctify the political process. We are the process. The whole concept of ‘Chosen’ pollutes the process as well; have you read the book of Jonah lately? There is no specifically ‘special’ people; God love us all.

Faith is not simple folks. Simple faith is not pious but grossly inconsiderate of the mighty gift that we’ve been given. Your evil leaders have purposefully taught you to have a simple faith because it makes you easy prey.  We’ve conflated our will with God’s Will which is extremely easy to do and makes the simple easily manipulatable. I’ve spent decades deprogramming from all the ‘cultural’ training I received from the church from a young age. I haven’t reached the point of becoming an Exvangelical yet, but I do sympathize with the term ‘theologically homeless.’

It’s a sad and lonely place to be. Since I apparently live in a different world with different ‘facts,’ reconciliation with the new apostolics and the Trumpers seems hopeless. I’m at a loss as to how to positively proceed in my state of alienation and disgust. But I do know that I’m not going to speak as I’m expected to speak…

…and I’m not going to drink the punch.

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Does this make me a Prophet?


No need to be careful; they can dog whistle to their heart’s content as truth has been bludgeoned into submission. If someone calls you out on the intentionality regarding the history and use of this symbol, one must only say ‘outrageous’ and the matter is considered settled. Gaslighting is all too easy for we all have been driven insane.

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’; who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” Isaiah 44:24-28  

It appears my prediction that the Christians will not abandon their ‘Cyrus;’ even after months of his continuing the Big Lie involving a shock and awe barrage of lies on various media outlets and better than 60 miserably failed lawsuits ejected for lack of evidence, leading ultimately to a violent insurrection and assault against a co-equal branch of government, we will not let any sense of conscience intervene from turning our back on the One we’ve been told by our authorities is God’s Man. It will be interesting to see future polls come up with harder numbers on how many of us will have fallen away from the faith (in Trump.) Deducing recent Republican behavior, it seems they understand which way the wind is blowing. There are unashamed mainstream arguments in support of That Man. I find this both shocking and disheartening. Despite all the lies, depravity, failed predictions, and a direct assault upon democracy, we will not buckle to rise against our leaders who fuel what is worst in us.

The Republican Party quakes in fear of him because we Christians back the liar and the traitor; all but a few in the party are too self-serving to stand up to Trump as he cements his position as the king maker. They know what kind of man he is; they know he is guilty, but they were too greedy, unprincipled, and cowardly to be rid of him. Yeah, he’s guilty they say; but they’d love to have him back. More so than this, they erected a golden image of him to welcome him home.

Just like the idols of antiquity, the object itself is not what was worshipped but rather the spiritual entity who had been called to reside within it. In Sioux City, Iowa, Trump bribed the Christian establishment with an offer of power—we are still under the spell. The spirit itself is not Trump; he is only the vessel, an image of what really drives us—fear, resentment, and the desire for control. And this, dear Christians, is what nullifies whatever attempt you may make to brush aside the charge of idolatry since most of you would deny that you literally worship Trump. As in ancient times, the power of a local god was invited to inhibit a vessel to some perceived benefit. To the god it was offerings, respect, and adulation. To the humans, it was some access (and to some extent a measure of control) to (and over) that power the god possessed. The modern play on this theme has the local god, Trump (supposed billionaire and business genius, television star and general celebrity,) promising the power of the presidency (real, earthly power) to the Christians so they may do God’s work (because God himself can’t do it any other way I suppose. And to this I ask, what do you think meant when He said not to put any other gods before Him?) The bribe was taken, we were then off to the races turning Trump into our Cyrus through our prophetic networks to provide holy evidence that the choice of this vessel, and what would be done with this power, was indeed God’s will. Was it?

In this progressing clown show, I have become the outcast and the heretic. According to the Bible the legitimacy of a prophet is determinable. When speaking for God, if what they say does not come true, or even if what they say come but call us to follow other gods, then they are not to be feared. Period. There is no shortage of evidence which show our prophets were (and still are) dead wrong about Trump; their predictions turned out to be false. (The atheists do a good job cataloging all the ridiculous things we say and do.)

I provided a link above which outlined the main arguments Christian make to justify supporting Trump. Pretty much the arguments involved grabbing and using worldly power to do God’s work. That’s it. Honesty? Integrity? Kindness? Self-control? Humility? Peacemaking? No. The ends justify the means. If it be through lies, blatant racism, and cruelty, so be it—Christianity will have power.

The spirit Christianity has made a deal with, in exchange for power, is white Christian nationalism. The white people have been dominant for centuries; our cruelty throughout that time was immense. Now we are losing that majority advantage so judging by the actions the Republican Party is taking it is evidently God’s Will that the existing power structure (i.e. white supremacy) be maintained. You all are free to deny it, but it is in the one discernable policy position made it CPAC 2021—it ought to be much harder to vote (so only the right people vote.) I’ve honestly been told by an educated Trump supporter that many people, although citizens, should not be allowed to vote because they won’t vote the right way. This terrifies me, and I’m white. The theme, ‘America Uncancelled’ is laughably hypocritical; Trump gets up there and calls everyone to destroy those who have opposed him. No other voice is acceptable. (I haven’t even got to the worst of it.)

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4: 6

There have been plenty of dog whistles blown to signal the white supremacists during the Trump administration (e.g. ‘stand back and stand by.’)  CPAC 2021 blew one loud and clear embedded in the design of the stage. The uninformed might not recognize it but the understanding white supremacists sure as death and taxes received the message. The majority, despite universal education, do not know much about history, or that symbols on any media, seriously mean things, carrying and conveying meaning and history with them. The mere presence of the stars and stripes (with all it is supposed to represent) could serve as effective camouflage what is being telegraphed right out in the open. Since truth itself has been smashed, it is all too easy to dismiss any questioning as ‘outrageous.’ And those who question (authority) are just supposed to submit, keep our heads down, and accept that it was just an honest oversight. Yeah, right.

The stage was made in the image of the Odal Rune. It’s an old Norse symbol the Nazis adopted to emphasize their Aryan heritage. Specifically, it was a badge of the SS Race and Settlement Main Office. You can even find a picture of the symbol on a banner at the fatal white supremacist rally in which Trump said there were many fine people present. The symbol is well known in that crowd and it means something serious to them. Just know Christians, those who have been commissioned to extend peace and kindness to the weak, poor, alien, and outsider, is that this abomination is what they in the halls of power have been empowered to display—by you. There is deadly meaning in that symbol. Serious oppression is coming unless the Godless can stop you.

I have been struggling mightily in my faith. I feel alienated as my peers bemoan the rise of the socialists and grouse about the invading armies of Latinos coming from the south—as if these things are our biggest existential threat (if they even exist at all; but hey, let’s try to find a middle ground for sake of the integrity of the law, decency, and the peace, shall we?) They complain about the elites but yet further empower these people to limit the voice of the people who appear to be threat to the white, Christian way of life. My peers do not recognize the threat to themselves which is far greater than any imagined demonic cabal of pedophiles, socialists, or Mexicans. Such kinds of threats have emerged to power unnoticed, and when they finally were it was too late.

“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”

Martin Niemöller, German Lutheran pastor

The threat the white Christian faces, even if the hammer of the state should not specially land upon him or her, is to be complicit in a crime. The crime is that we are all sons and daughters of Adam, all of us are equally loved by God, yet we draw the thin blue line between us and those who are not us. Such is driven by fear and lack of faith, quite frankly. Those who are the worst among us prey upon this fear to divide us for their own benefit. We do not seek to win anyone over, or even to imagine there are sins to which we need to bring to light. Mercy comes only to those who are perceived to be either of us or are submissive to our authority and their assigned place. There are tons of historical examples to back up this assertion.

Adam Kinzinger, one of the few who would dare stand against the depravity in his Party, the man in Satan’s service who is in Trump’s crosshairs, slated to be cancelled for his heresy, said something which sums up a good part of my experience growing up in the church, “…we have these really strict rules that you have to follow that nobody can follow, but everybody at the church is going to act like they are and you’re the only one that isn’t.” This common posture, this charade, has strongly contributed to where we are now. We call our opposition socialists yet we all too happy to receive our common benefits. The only difference is who gets paid and who does the paying. Socialism doesn’t bother us at all as the right people get paid—and those are the ones who act right. The hypocrisy is lost to us—we ourselves practice against what we preach. We, a Christian nation, with all it’s ideals of equality and representation, have turned our churches, and thus the national ethic into a big, fake, rigged game to which we righteously assert that only the right people should be allowed to vote. You believe you are the right, the chosen, people to decide who the right people are (and no, I’m not advocating allowing non-citizens to vote—though I do believe that it should be a lot easier than it currently is to become a citizen.) With this (impedance of access) you (we I suppose) are just justifying a continuing form of slavery. The more we persist in the charades and the little manipulations of perception in the power hierarchies, these divisions will continue to grow as you become increasingly threatened and fearful of those who are not you.

We’ve already shrugged away a violent insurrection inspired by a mountain of lies (as confirmed by numerous authorities charged with maintaining election integrity and over 60 court cases thrown out for lack of evidence) about a stolen election (including the lie that Mike Pence had the power to overturn the election but wouldn’t do so because he was faithless) as no big deal. It’s no big deal that POTUS was targeting and squeezing election officials to find the votes to overturn the election. Our leader in the Senate admits that Trump is guilty of fueling this whole mess with a pile of lies concerning an election he lost by 7 million votes, but that they’d love to have the guy back for more. We erected an image in his honor and invited him back into power, telegraphing the event by displaying a symbol which says, with Trump as kingmaker and the Republican Party as the edifice of administration, whites will have power. It is unlikely explicit verbal statements of this kind will be given (unless in a gross slip up which may wake people up,) but the winks have been given. It is as simple as that. The nightmare continues.

As I’ve said, I’m struggling with my faith. If I honestly believed our ‘prophets’ actually spoke for God I would have to turn my back to the whole mess raising both middle fingers to you all as I turn. If this is what Christianity is, if white Christian nationalism is God’s will then I want no part of the church and no fellowship with God. The white Christian nationalist’s god is a monster. Fortunately, I don’t listen to our spirit-filled teachers to learn about God and His Will; I keep tabs on them with the hope of better understanding our carnality and our will. Jesus and His eyewitness apostles taught us differently about what God wants from us. Admittedly, I’m a rough sort with a long history of rebellion against lies, bullying, manipulation, gaslighting, shame, threats, and violence. My history, and my reactions to all of those stresses, makes me who I am; and I’m slowly learning to thank God for it. Kinzinger’s honesty and reflection on a powerful cultural reality has filled me with a hope that I am not alone. And indeed, my faith is bolstered by those who stand against Christian Nationalism, the usurpations of our ‘prophets’ upon the faith, and the utter depravity of what the right majority of us, in fear, support.  

Brother Kinzinger, I stand with you and admire your courage. Stand fast, you are not alone. You’ve inspired me to maintain my search for what faith really means. As I understand it now, faith means to apologize to those I’ve wronged, to empathize as best I can with those whose pain I could never fully understand, but to come aside them to show them that I care. To not pretend to be something (or someone) that I am not. To love the truth and seek it always. To seek justice, mercy, and equality for all of God’s children (regardless of whether they believe in the right things or not.) To never fall into the trap of believing the ends justify the means. To be brave even when I’m feeling alienated and alone. To attempt to control the expressions of my anger in the face of injustice and depravity. To know that I am a sinner, yet I am still dearly loved by my Father.

I offer this prayer in public as an invitation to the struggle,

Thank you Father for your Word. In all of our depravity and selfishness, I admit my own sin. Your Word is Truth; yet what is written in the Bible is not all truth—far from it. Despite what we do to abuse both truth and each other, I trust that You not only love us, but like us humans as well. We are not worms but Your image bearers; (and how could you not like that?) You’ve woven into us a desire to seek, explore, and discover. Understanding my own experience as a father, I delighted in seeing my children grow and learn, and didn’t that often sweat too much what I thought were mistakes and at times rebellion (some more serious than others.) Help me to understand and extend the same courtesy to You regarding Your intention towards us as our Father. Thank you for my life and all you have blessed me with—two beautiful daughters who both have justice and mercy in their hearts. Thank you for my wife whose wisdom, gentleness, and mercy has surely made me a better man. Help me with my temperance and feelings of alienation so that I may stand for what is true, just, and merciful without being swallowed up by the emotion. Help me to be positive and to see people as you see them. I learned from Your Word that Jesus holds the scepter of judgement. We’ve been called to stand up for what is right, but I am convinced this not to be done by us by force. Only Jesus has that right. Help me to persuade those who have taken up the scepter to use worldly power execute judgement on Your Son’s behalf with wisdom and the least amount of anger possible out of an angry man with unclean lips like me. Help me to discern between deceiver and deceived—standing against the former while being appropriate with the latter. Complicity is not an option. I must speak out against what is wrong, but I’m conflicted about how I should do it. Help me guard my heart, as it is hurt and angry. Help me guard my head, as it is unsure, struggling, and confused. I am weak, but I still place my trust in You.

Thank you,

Amen