The "god" of the Christian Nationalists isn't very bright.

 

  The "god" of the Christian Nationalists isn't very bright. This "god" created a whole country that is "Christian" and he forgot to put the word "Christian" in any of the founding documents. Then this "god" also was rather unconcerned about that "separation of church and state" part and made that a cornerstone of Americas founding. Maybe "god" was sleeping that day and we all know what a trickster Ben Franklin was.

     Then there's slavery. A pretty big whoopse that this Christian Nationalist  "god" let that go in it's foundation. LOTS of things were ignored by the Christian Nationalist  "god" but now in order to fix those whoopses the American Christian Nationalists want to do God and everybody a favor and create a theocratic government. I guess Lindsey Graham could be the first "handmaid" if they go that route and create that "tale."

     13 colonies belonging to the British Empire, whose king presided over an imperial church means that the original British citizens residing in those colonies were living under Christian rule. But they seemed to have not wanted it so they threw some tea in the water and broke away from any resemblance of any official religion. (but still provided protections for "religions". They even used muskets and bayonets to attack those British theocrats and called themselves "Patriots." (and, no, Mel Gibson was not there....and Debbie Gibson hadn't recorded her first album yet).
    

    Betsy Ross' husband Gasden Ross created the "Dont Tread on Me Flag" cuz he just liked snakes and Betsy was busy making flags for friends in the colony. (some of this might be made up...but so is "Christian Nationalism.")
In 1956 the US adopted "In God We Trust" as the US motto. In 1955 Eisenhower had approved it to be on US coins. I guess they were trying to fix all those hundred years plus of not remembering to trust God...since the Christian Nationalist "god" overlooked it back in 1776.

     Now if you ask a David Barton-Like Christian Nationalist, he will tell you that some of the guys who signed the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution were Christian and they outranked all the non-christians and deists because David Barton-like people wrote books about it...and if someone took the time to write about it in a book...how could it be wrong??? Especially if you add the words "God" and "Jesus" to it.  I think they knew that the Christian Nationalist "god" left stuff out but they will tell you clearly that "god" revealed it to them. Christian nationalists like it when people "tell them stuff about God in US history" cuz it "fills in the blanks" for them.
   

 And turns out that the Christian Nationalist "god" was waiting until 2016 to begin establishing His Christian theocracy because the Christian Nationalist "god" was just too busy for the last 250 years or so and decided he needed to seal the deal "he" started way back then and was looking for someone who was morally bankrupt, unrepentant, orange, threw ketchup, hung out with both of the Corinthians, and married a porn star.  Hence "Donald Trump," or as he called himself, Barron. ("Barron" would call newspapers to brag about "this wonderful guy named Donald Trump. " "Barron" was so real to Donald Trump that he named one of his sons after his real "fake" personality. )
Christian Nationalism is a fake gospel which, historically, has only one goal: To get power. For more information read about Germany in the 1930s.

The Christian Nationalist top 20 offenders

 The Christian Nationalist top 20 offenders, according to Faithful America, are:

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas
Steve Bannon, political strategist, Catholic activist and former aide to Donald Trump
David Barton, pseudo-historian, activist and founder of WallBuilders
Lauren Boebert, U.S. representative from Colorado
Ted Budd, U.S. representative from North Carolina
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida
Sean Feucht, activist and worship leader
Mayra Flores, U.S. representative from Texas
Michael Flynn, retired general, conspiracy theorist and megachurch speaker
Franklin Graham, evangelist and president of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse
Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. representative from Georgia
Josh Hawley, U.S. senator from Missouri
Kristina Karamo, Secretary of state candidate in Michigan
Kari Lake, gubernatorial candidate in Arizona
Blake Masters, U.S. senate candidate in Arizona
Doug Mastriano, gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania
Mary Miller, U.S. representative from Illinois
Tony Perkins, pastor and president of Family Research Council
Joseph Strickland, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas
J.D. Vance, author and U.S. senate candidate from Ohio​

"Religious Freedom" as used by politicians in the United States is a misnomer.

 

"Religious Freedom" as used by politicians in the United States is a misnomer. When used it is veiled and does not disclose that the only religion they they really want freedom for is Christians. Consistent usage of the two words has brought Christianity in America to a crossroads: stay grounded in Biblical Christianity or reinterpret it all to mean that religious freedom means to establish a theocratic government. 

ACLU: ​YOUR RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
​Baptist Press: ​California cake designer wins ruling about same-sex ceremony
CAIR: ​CAIR Calls EU Court Ruling Allowing Hijab Bans in the Workplace a Setback for Religious Freedom
​Christian Post: ​Vatican renews provisional agreement with China on bishop appointments
​Daily Caller: ​Yeshiva University Agrees To Recognize LGBTQ Club Amid Legal Battle Over Religious Freedom
5News Online: ​Issue 3 in Arkansas: What does this mean for religious freedom?

The IRS is not hiring an army of 87,000 “new agents” to target low- and middle-class Americans.

 The GOP’s warnings on the subject of the IRS are generally alarmist and misleading. The agency is not hiring an army of 87,000 “new agents” to target low- and middle-class Americans. Many hires will be used to replace some 50,000 IRS employee retirements in coming years. Others will become customer service representatives answering taxpayer phone calls. In my research of it I was rather disheartened to find out that the GOP right wing liars outnumber the truth by a fairly large margin. Disheartening because many of these misinformed people are elected officials. Including the House Ways and Means Republicans.  I will submit some of their articles below. 

The Washington Post: Perspective | Republican campaigns targeting IRS could endanger staffers, union says
Forbes: The Reality Of Increased IRS Funding
Auburn Citizen: Fact check: GOP claims IRS will hire 87,000 agents to target middle class
AP News: Posts, campaign ads distort IRS funding
The American Independent: Republicans' midterm centerpiece: A debunked lie about new IRS agents
Bloomberg Tax: Sense and Nonsense About the IRS' Funding Increase From Congress

The View from the Right Wing

Americans for Tax Reform Democrats Support IRS' Culture of Corruption and Incompetence
The Dickinson Press: Armstrong denounces IRS hiring surge as 'accounting gimmick'
Breitbart: RNC Reminds Americans Democrats Voted to Hire 87,000 IRS Agents
Charlotte Observer: Ted Budd says 87,000 IRS agents are coming to your house. Better check the pantry.
Washington Examiner: Democrats cover for IRS destruction of 30 million taxpayer filings

Maga in a nutshell

  

 Donald Trump  brought Christian Nationalism out of the shadows. It's not Christian but it has  some of the trappings and decorum. They use the Bible...but selectively reinterpret it to meet their need (as many cults do).  Many people in it think it is real....so its a real draw for the uneducated to believe "Truth" is relative.  For them its like being in a cult but not knowing they are in a cult. It's what is behind the fanatical dogma of Trumpvangelicalism. QAnon and other various conspiracy theories are an inevitable mix of emotion and a watered down theology. "Faith" becomes relative and emotion driven. The emergence with white nationalists is likely more about power than practicality but it brings to light the unresolved issues in the South which were never resolved at Appomattox. I think if a Civil War Part II is going to happen it will be around November 2022. It would not be a Civil War II..but a continuance of the one in the 1860s. 

Reality against Non-Reality plays out in "Don't Look Up" on Netflix

    My thoughts on "Dont Look Up" which I watched last night on Netflix:

    "Don't Look Up" satirizes the political climate that has been playing out for the last decade or so but has become really intense in the last few years. And it's not the Republican vs Democrat or left and right divide but reality vs non-reality.

     Meryl Streep plays the President. Her character is somewhat Trumpian: self absorbed and played to the masses even though she was an unethical slime trying to get re-elected. (It didn't hit me til I was writing this that that may be why she had that awful hair style and wore that cap at her rallies)
     Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence were her nemesis. They were reality to Streep's non-reality. Without giving up too much of the movie for those who have not seen it yet...just think of the political climate we have faced in the last couple years on the issues of the pandemic: The facts are there. But the deniers and anti-vaxxers push an agenda where reality does not matter. They would be crying "Don't Look Up" and essentially deny any and all facts and evidence.

     Some interviews I saw before I saw the movie mentioned climate change as a metaphor and I think it could be. Climate change deniers would be the "Don't Look Up" crowd even though reality is clear. And it wasn't that many years ago that I was one of them.
     There are other factions of the battles which are interesting but if I reveal too much I would spoil some of the events for those who have not seen it yet. 
     In the end, in spite of all of our political agendas reality will win. Democrat or Republican, right wing or left wing.....will mean nothing.

Anti Christian Conversion Laws & Faux Christian Parsonages

    Several states in India have passed what are referred to as “anti-conversion laws,” which ban religious conversion by force or through financial benefits. Activists warn that such laws have intensified attacks and prosecution of Christian individuals and groups. Today India blocked foreign donations to Mother Teresa's Christian charity for the poor.

    Under the current Prime Minister such attacks are growing. It is at a point where Hindu activist can just claim (without evidence) that a Christian group is trying to convert Indian people and the police will turn a blind eye to any attacks on them. Compassion International, which helped 147,000 children in India left India 3 years ago as the persecutions were in their early stages. Last week, a mob of 200 to 300 people stormed a Christian school in Madhya Pradesh while students were taking their exams and threw stones at the building.
     Pray for Christians in India. It is a small blip in a small country but it could spread.

​   

 Behind gates on a golf course in Spring,  there is a parsonage - identified in 2013 paperwork as the home of Champions Community Church Founding Pastor Steve Austin - boasts a pool and hot tub with fountains, wine grotto and outdoor kitchen. Zillow says it's worth over $1 million. He pays ZERO taxes on it because its designated a "parsonage" One of several in the state of Texas. When the tax bills come due, the residents of the area have to make up the difference (loss) for school districts or other things property taxes are designated for. In other words the pastor who thinks he is getting a free ride is actually being paid for by his neighbors .
     In Travis County, Texas the 3,700-square-foot Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary parsonage set on slightly less than an acre is appraised at $3.33 million. If it weren’t designated a parsonage, the property’s owner would contribute $72,500 a year in taxes.

The Republic is Already Gone; And Democracy is on Life Support

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Monday accused Democrats of stealing elections by using completely legal methods of registering and convincing potential Democratic voters to support them.

    As is usual for a Right Winger who rules by Snark, Rand Paul intended it as an accusation. I dont get his "accusation." Convincing potential voters to cast legal ballots is the how you win elections in a democracy.😳

     There seems to be an assumption that the major responsibility in society towards the poor is to create some kind of legislative policy that will “take care of” the poor.
     As I am reading the Book of Proverbs this week, I am noting that it seems to see treating the poor more as a matter of personal responsibility.
“Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor” (Proverbs 14:21).
“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him” (14:31).
“It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud” (16:19).
“Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished” (17:5).
“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (19:17).
“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered” (21:13).
“Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor” (22:9).
“Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty” (22:16).
“Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor” (28:8).
“Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse” (28:17).
Adding all that up is simple math:
     Proverbs doesn’t measure care for the poor by what kind of policies you support. It seems to care more about what you as an individual do with other people which equals: You share your stuff.
     Jesus made a oft overlooked promise when he said, “The poor you will always have with you" (Matthew 26) and even back in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 15:11 declares “the poor will never cease to be in the land," which means if you're looking for something to do "for the Lord," there's always someone somewhere you can bless.


“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”
― Benjamin Franklin

     Ive read a lot of quotes from the founders and I think most of them misjudged human character. Or they just didnt think that far out. Franklin is right on that point...and the "Republic" has not existed for quite a while now. It's a Democracy, which historically they are very fragile and, like Rome, our end may be in sight. Man was never created to rule. Power will always corrupt him as he attempts to rule autonomously.

Fear is a lazy person’s out

 Matt Beard has posted an interesting article about fear on an Australian Web site:

Fear is a lazy person’s out. It’s easily stoked because, as Martha Nussbaum argues, it is relatively stupid. Our fear rises in us without our needing to think about what’s worth fearing. This makes it a powerful motivator: if you can make your audience afraid, you can often get them to do what you want them to.
The unfortunate reality is that fear sells, and many of us don’t have any awareness of its insidiousness, nor are we necessarily able to resist fear when it is being spoon-fed to us. From fitness companies to political campaigns, people’s fear of COVID-19, of infection, and, in the end, of other people, have been hugely profitable for some but degrading for us all. The reason for this degradation is, as Nussbaum reminds us, fear is a profoundly narcissistic emotion — my fear is mainly about keeping me safe; it does not consider others. “Its view of the world is exceedingly narrow”, she writes, and the result is that fear “threatens or prevents love.”

C​HRISTIAN NATIONALISM RISING (still): Re: Donald Trump Jr

Donald Trump Jr. told young Republicans attending a conference Sunday that biblical teachings have gotten the party nowhere after damning new texts revealed he was aware of the magnitude of the Capitol riots.

'We've turned the other cheek and I understand the biblical reference, I understand the mentality,' he said. 'But it's gotten us nothing."
Where they go now carrying that kind of religious dogma can be dangerous.
     The problem is that they will use the Bible and God as an excuse to continue to push racism and fascism. Similar to what happened in the the 1930s with Hitler. He used the Bible and Christianity to gain followers and then when he had Naziism locked into place...he became a dictator. Granted, it wont gain them anything eternally..but short sighted Christianity never has. Its temporal fruit, though,  is a dangerous dogma.
     The US is “closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe”, a member of a key CIA advisory panel has said. The analysis by Barbara F Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego who sits on the Political Instability Task Force, is contained in a book due out next year and first reported by the Washington Post.

Lisa Hannan in a column at Valdosta Daily Times pondered: D.L. Moody, one of the greatest preachers of all time, estimated that every 19 out of 20 professing Christians were doing more harm than good as it pertained to the Kingdom of God. And that estimation was made over 100 years ago. What would the statistics be today, I wonder?