Initial thoughts of CentNaz’s May 29 sermon

Rom 13:7

7)  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

And defend freedom around the world 22:54

And wherever you stand on the military, the church, and whatever 24:22

In the ramifications of that, we gather to pray 24:51

We live in a country, like no other country in the world, has more school shootings like we do. 25:06

Lost our moral compass, the breakdown of the family 25:15

We removed prayer form the schools, we have sons and daughter growing up in families that are dys functional 25:28

When we add them all together leads to the results…. 25:36

I pray that common sense could prevail 25:44

To do something to keep our children safe 26:02

Lord, I’m not here to debate but to express deep sorrow 26:07

Lord move into the lives of those who have lost children 26:47

People are going to look into all reasons why this happened, and try to learn from it, but Father we’ll just try to stay away from that to pray for your peace and presence and your hand to stay… Lord would you have your hand upon this nation, to change the course of what we’ve seen over the past few years , could the polarization that we are living with somehow be broken; could we not come together in a new fresh way 27:55

If I could do something to change the direction, I would. Amen 28:45

May God help us to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. 28:51

One of the keys to change in our country 29:01

Begins one person at a time, does it not? 29:06

One family at a time, and it makes its way into a neighborhood and into a schoolyard 29:10

! Corinthians chapter 3. I see very little difference between how you are living and those who do not know Christ are living.

 Before Pentecost, the 12 disciples lived in fear because they had no vision or power, or purpose for the future 32:18

After Pentecost, filled with courage and purpose to turn world upside down for Jesus. 32:51

Wouldn’t you love to see this for our church; I know we’re living in the end time folks 33:09

Empowerment: people look at you with total amazement. 33:57

There is credibility problem in today’s church 34:08 No shit.

If… we’ve been transformed, we should be transforming the world 34:51

But we aren’t, are?

An ineffective ‘primary’ faith easily swayed to what the world thinks 35:20

Way to comfortable with the lostness of everyone around us. 35:42

We move from a primary faith to a powerful faith when we relinquish ownership of our lives to God’s Spirit. 36:32

To purify and empower 36:55

The natural man has no appreciation for spiritual things 38:31 They will divide you. They may be refined and intelligent but have no understanding of spiritual things. They are just consumers 39:50

The natural man is unable to comprehend spiritual things 40:04 That has given a sensitivity to and to bridge and minister into their lives instead of building walls. (You are so full of shit.) We must go to where they are. 40:39 Your witness to me Tim, by your words and actions, is that you figure, because I am against nationalism and Christian centralized control of government power that I’m a natural man. You sure about that?

Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, they understand because they have the mind of Christ. 41:37

The spiritual man is capable of discerning spiritual things 41:54

The spiritual man is not necessarily more intelligent, but can appraise or estimate, assess, discern, things from a biblical, moral, or ethical perspective. 42:17 the natural man does not have this ability

The world is confused on this abortion issue 42:54 Is it? Things are complicated.

Justify the ending of a life, the stopping of a beating heart 43:04. That is, largely, a myth.

Of an innocent baby. I’m all for people having choices 43:08 Rape, incest, ectopic. Lots of disagreement amongst to holy ones Tim. A lot of states no exceptions. Contraception next to go. Many rights we enjoy today are in the ‘prenumbras.’ By Alito’s reasoning, rights for women and non-white people are next in line to be axed.

Say it from a biblical perspective, It’s not my body, my choice; the issue is that abortion stops a beating heart. 43:37

The natural man and woman struggles to see that 43:43. And so enters the issue of who is my brother and sister. War, rape, incest, murder, hopelessness, control, and a lack of mercy…

The natural man cannot see abortion as an ethical and moral issue, they only see it as a personal and legal right. 43:59. Or perhaps it is an issue that is none of your business (in terms of employing government violence to correct?) All of this here assumes the ‘spiritual people’ have the God-given right to use government power to make other people behave in a manner that assuages their own conscience. We are not a theocracy. You are assuming that it is (a theocracy,) and that this assumption is what God wants—us to institute a violent theocracy which oppresses the living to protect those who may live. Chapter and verse? We don’t put our flesh into it, only threat, force, and arrogance. Romans 13:7? Honor what you honor? Respect for whom you respect? Do you not see the damage you’ve done your credibility? You’ve sold yourselves to elitism and power—and call it godly. For the children…

The spiritual man is to be a cause for amazement. 44:37. They bother and baffle the natural man.

I pretty much terrify people 46:17. That is why I’ve been told that I am an ‘agent of Satan,’ because I oppose the nationalistic framework that American Christianity sits in right now. It is a total mistake to suppose non-Christian people are non-moral. Your sermon Tim, strongly implies that. Yeah, there are hedonists out there who don’t care one bit as there are Christians out there who don’t care one whit about those they regard as being lesser than them. People are people. Some good, some bad. My initial advice, Tim, is to not put into the church’s head that they, because they go through the motions, are not inherently morally superior to ‘the others’ because the church, Tim, has been seduced by power. The power to do ‘good’ things. The will to power is morality to the Christian Right. We are lost in this. And that is why we are so divided. (And will I succumb, as a member of the minority position, to the desire to submit and fall in line? No.) That is why we’ve lost credibility. Millions, like me, are leaving Tim. Just as you cut me loose, without argument or consideration (but with a threat, how cute,) so goes many who cannot reconcile the grabbing of political power with the serving of Christ.

I think there should be something about us that is winsome. 46:40

There is something about them… 47:00 Do you not see, in the guise of all you think is holy, that those formerly within the church who are now leaving, that there is nothing charming, or moral, in the likes of Trump, Gosar, or Greene? There is nothing winsome in a program of lies. Nothing redeeming in white supremacy. It is woven into who we are, and this is what the world sees in us because we will not separate from White Christian Nationalism and its promise of power. You simply demand that the unrighteous be as you as are. You refused to even offer the dignity of an opposing moral argument. Why would you? You are superior.

Is the way I live my life a cause for amazement? 47:15

If being called a weird dude who ‘marches to another drum’ (has literally been said to me) counts, then yes. I’ve been criticized for agonizing over what is right. Do I amaze people for my manners, appearance and decorum? Nope.

Do I sense power and insight in our daily life? 47:31

I claim no supernatural insight. But I can recognize an evil and dishonest man when I see one. And despite whatever practical reasons to forward the faith are given to follow such a man, I will refuse. The ends do not justify the means.

Do I see the world differently than the world sees itself? 47:37. In world comprised of billions of people, how does it see itself? That is an assumptive question Tim which allows the parishioner to image ‘how the world sees itself’ for him or herself. The shortsightedness and ignorant of this question which reinforces our own ‘right’ view of things, to the exclusion of ‘the others,’ is all too common. Aww, but doesn’t sound so righteous?

 Are my desires, values, and priorities noticeably different from the world’s?  47:45 Again, nationalism is assumed. It permeates everything. Nothing Tim said challenged the rightness of the desire, values, and priorities the machine of the Christian Right has put firmly into our heads.

You quarrel with one another; doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature.  50:27 It all stick with the sermons about Genesis 3 & 4 about sin separating relationships. I am the carnal man. What decides? Authority. Of course.

Double-mindedness. 51:32- 55:05 Carnality remains a powerful influence. Difference between spirit-filled and spirit-controlled. What can you expect from the carnal Christian?

Immaturity 56:12 Caught up in what they think rather than what the scriptures teach. Jealousy and strife. Quarrelsome.

Spiritual people sow seeds of peace and harmony.

Carnal people do the opposite sowing division and doubt. 58:37 The worst is a ‘judgmental attitude.’ Once again, fall into line. Do not question the leadership. Do not question what we, the authorities, say is right.

The Trump-Belshazzar Commemorative Coin

This coin commemorates a comparison between Trump and the ancient royal figure Belshazzar, described in the book of Daniel 5.

Belshazzar (in 539 B.C) threw a party, honoring false gods using the sacred articles which had been looted by his forefather Nebuchadnezzar from the temple in Jerusalem. During this party, under the Persian threat, a finger appeared to write on the wall the famous words, ‘You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting,’ forecasting Babylon’s fall (historians differ on the fate of Nabonidus.) Belshazzar, eldest son of Nabonidus, was done for; his reign was no more. The Persians took the city. Now to the comparison…

On June 1, 2020, the Whitehouse was also under siege. President Trump had walled up the ‘People’s House’ and hid in a bunker due to the protests inspired by continuing police brutality which had been exacerbated by incompetent leadership and an economically devastating shutdown over the virus. Perhaps in an attempt to show ‘strength,’ Trump decided to use federal, in large part, unidentified assets, to force protesters out of Lafayette Park, using tear gas and rubber bullets, so he could engage in a photo op, with Bible in hand, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the ‘Church of the Presidents.’

We may debate the legality of the purge, but the photo op itself showed no reverence for the object displayed, the Bible. Trump read nothing, offered no prayer, just posed. Just like Belshazzar showed the articles from the Temple in Jerusalem, those ‘objects’ were just displays of what had been conquered, Trump waved a Bible about as symbol of what, supposedly, this fight is all about, the forces of chaos and rebellion against those of the Christian Right which represent order and rule of law, as something you would sell on a shopping channel. The cultural statement was clearly made, the Bible is just a symbol for something much larger—that ‘something much larger’ is political and involves force. The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, described this event as the ‘abuse of sacred symbols.’ Trump abused a Bible as an object for a perceived political benefit.

James Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary, inspired by the abuses displayed at Lafayette Park broke his silence concerning the Trump administration; many other military figures have come out since to speak out against the Commander in Chief who is demonstrably the worst human being to ever occupy that office. The incompetence, the arrogance, avarice, dishonesty, thievery, has become all too apparent; the ‘writing is on the wall.’ The Christian Right is still with him as they have sold themselves to power, but the military seems to have seen that Trump is definitely ‘wanting.’ 

The depravity displayed at the photo op at St John’s will, I firmly believe, be in tomorrow’s history books. It is far more appropriate to link Trump with Belshazzar than to link him with Cyrus. I made this investment in this coin to tell a story that needs to be told–to speak out against a man who is ripping this country apart. The coin serves as a scaffold to make an historical connection between all those who would use religion and its sacred symbols to forward their own interests regardless of the age. Today is no different. People are still people who are seduced by empty displays. This coin tells that story.

Order here.  

‘if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance…’

Our Mahatma (and Thaumaturge) would have us believe he is behind this little mailer. Create the illusion; the people will believe it (until you tell ‘em the next thing—if you got ‘em on the hook.) Thankfully there are some who can navigate the ego of our beloved one to bring us useful information like that which is on the back of this card. There is a big difference between this thing and the flu.

For those who care, here is a little compendium of what ‘information’ Trump has really been spreading about Corona. His recklessness with the truth will cost many lives.

To make a country great…

‘… this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! Then your light will shine like the sunrise; your restoration will quickly arrive; your godly behavior will go before you, and the Lord ‘s splendor will be your rear guard. Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully. You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water. Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’ Isaiah 58: 6-14