Whole nations have died every year without hearing the gospel, so what's the point of delaying the end if it's already too late to evangelize them?

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. -- Matthew 24:14

World Death Clock here.

Outed for being secretly uncollegial, Yale University Professor of Philosophy publicly erupts with hatred for much more distinguished Oxford Christian colleague

Reminds me of the outburst directed at yours truly's happy disposish by another philosopher on the day after Ronald Reagan's reelection in 1984. I guess it comes with the territory, but what idiot expects us to believe he believes anything will stay private on Facebook? Maybe Yale should recheck his credentials.

Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, 344 College St, New Haven, CT 06511-6629, 203-432-1689, jason.stanley@yale.edu, whose public Facebook attack on University of Oxford Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Richard Swinburne is quoted here:

"'F*ck those assholes' ... wildly understates my actual sentiments towards homophobic religious proponents of evil like Richard Swinburne, who use their status as professional philosophers to oppress others with less power. I am SO SORRY for using such mild language. I am posting this on 'public' so that there will be no need for anyone to violate any religious code of ethics and take pictures of private FB pages to share my views about such matters."

The "Nones" mentioned in the Bible: Just maybe some of ours are descended from them

  

 

 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

-- 1 Kings 19:12ff.

Roman Catholic sainthood process corrupted by cash

Reported here:

[T]he saint-making process has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations per candidate with virtually no financial oversight.

To liberals Donald Trump's charity isn't charity unless everybody knows about it, especially the IRS

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. -- Matthew 6:1ff.

Treats Family Restaurant: Best Place to Eat in Lonsdale, Minnesota

Story here.

The fag "Christians" can hardly wait for us to die out

Can you feel the love?

Quoted here:

[Trey] Pearson tells me that, when it comes to same-sex relationships, he believes Christians “are more divided than ever” but also shifting quickly. He says, “I think after the older generation dies out, that homosexuality will become predominantly affirmed in most churches.”

At which point the Muslims will cut you, man, er, whatever you are.

Sociologists at University of Minnesota completely miss enormous growth of antipathy against whites and blacks, focus on Muslims and atheists instead

From the study here:

"[A]nti-atheist sentiment is persistent and durable, still higher in 2014 than for all other groups except Muslim Americans. ... While Muslims have surpassed atheists as the least-accepted group, Muslims and atheists still receive the most negative evaluations compared to all other groups in 2014, as they did in 2003."

You have to do the math from table 2, which is a job sociologists apparently won't do, but here's the growth in the share saying the group shown does not agree with the respondent's vision of American society in the last decade:

Whites: +364%

Blacks: +267%

Jews:    +138%

Asians:  +134%

Hispanics: +125%

Recent immigrants: +105%

Conservative Christians: +97%

Muslims: +73%

Homosexuals: +30%

Atheists: +5.8%

Where's the huge increase in antipathy toward whites and blacks coming from in the last decade?

Asians recently represented the fastest growing minority in the US at 3.4% year over year, followed by Mixed race at 3.1%, Hispanics at 2.2%, Blacks at 1.3% and Whites at 0.5%. "The distinction of being the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States has alternated between Asians and Hispanics in recent decades", Pew Research said in 2014.

Why "Roman Catholic" is an oxymoron

There is no such thing as a "Roman" universal church.

There is a Roman church. There is a church of Jerusalem, of Alexandria, of Damascus and Antioch on the Orontes. There is a Constantinopolitan church. There is a Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, another in Poland. There is a Church of England. There is a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church, a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, an Episcopal Church United States, a First Baptist Church of Dallas, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Muslim barbarians in Dhaka, Bangladesh flood the streets with the blood of their animal sacrifices

Our new country's going to be great!

Why did Jesus appear to go quietly to his death?

 

Jesus is reported to have said little at the trials which shortly preceded his execution.

This is often understood to mean that Jesus previously had resigned himself to the idea that it was God's will that he be crucified, but only after wrestling with God in prayer in the garden before his arrest, so that he did nothing to stand in the way of the inevitable once events had gotten underway in earnest. This "Stoical" demeanor later became an important part of early Christian preaching about Jesus' crucifixion, for example as reported in Acts, and became an important model for taking persecution with equanimity:

The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.

 

-- Acts 8:32

This fact of Jesus' silence at his trials is well known from the Synoptics:

And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace.

 

-- Matthew 26:62f.

And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing.

 

-- Mark 14:60f.

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

 

-- Matthew 27:11ff.

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

 

-- Mark 15:2ff.

And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

 

-- Luke 23:8f.

But you would be hard pressed to find this silence in the Fourth Gospel.

In John, by contrast, Jesus is not at all silent but has quite a lot to say at his trial, as a reading of John 18 amply testifies. And there is no evidence of any personal struggle in prayer, either, in the Garden of Gethsemane preceding his arrest, but rather a bold, self-assured confrontation with his betrayer. The only evidence of silence from the whole episode is more of Jesus pausing for effect than refusing or being unable to speak:

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

 

-- John 19:9

But that too passes as Jesus shortly does give reply.

In comparison to the Synoptics John's account is almost surreal, as if there is lurking there a Jesus who could actually be thinking he's not going to die and that God is still going to intervene at the very last second. In the end all the human drama is wrung out of John's wooden account in the service of a comprehensive theology about a descending and ascending incarnate Logos. 

But if it may be doubted that John is writing history, reasons remain to doubt the Stoical model susceptible from the Synoptic accounts as well.

For one thing, from the accounts of the struggle in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane one cannot conclude there was any succor such that Jesus was now prepared to go quietly to his fate. The closest thing we get to that is in Luke 22:43, where we are told an angel appeared from heaven to strengthen Jesus. (Who was awake to see this?) But immediately after that Jesus is back on his knees praying again, in worse shape than before, sweating blood.

For another, Matthew 26 and Mark 14 omit the appearance of any angel, but the ongoing anxiety despite prayer is palpable in both accounts in that Jesus repeats his prayer three times asking that "this cup pass". While Luke has Jesus engaged in supplication only twice, all three include some form of the petition "not my will but thine be done", as if Jesus is still dwelling on what he wants to be the reality, but still is not.

Furthermore, the psychological terminology used in these accounts in the Garden is striking but is rarely allowed to paint a picture of the depressed state of mind into which Jesus is descending.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful (λυπεῖσθαι) and very heavy (ἀδημονεῖν).

 

-- Matthew 26:37

The terms signify grief leading to tears, and a feeling of being lost and totally out of place (the KJV translation shown leaves quite a lot to be desired).

Mark says he was struck with terror, and felt lost:

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed (ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι), and to be very heavy (ἀδημονεῖν).

 

-- Mark 14:33

As if those terms weren't enough, both Matthew and Mark pile up worse ones in the immediately following verses. Jesus is "beyond sorrowful", so sad he could die.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful (Περίλυπός), even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

 

-- Matthew 26:38

And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful (Περίλυπός) unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. 

 

-- Mark 14:34

And Luke piles on that he was in utter agony, a terrible struggle with himself.

And being in an agony (ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ) he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

 

-- Luke 22:44

What we have here is a man falling into a major depression, full of fears, feeling as if lost in unfamiliar country, isolated and alone, suddenly driven to repetitious behavior, perhaps seeing things, and speaking of dying.

It's a short step to catatonic stupor, in which you say nothing and become so rigid you just stand there and take it.

Communists hate reactionaries in the same way that atheists hate . . .

. . . penitents.

Yeah, I'm talking to you Damon Linker.

He went away sorrowing because he was the owner of a great estate

106 private acres including 21 acres of stocked lake, boathouse, workshop, gazebo on yonder shore, and a vineyard

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά). -- Matthew 19:22

And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions (ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά). -- Mark 10:22

In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life

Bad religion: Uh oh, someone somewhere just committed a thought crime

"‘Racists Anonymous’ groups at churches: The first step is admitting you have a problem" says the headline at The Washington Post.

"Some churches are forming racists anonymous groups for those brave enough to join" says the hypertext.

"For those feeling guilty enough to join" is more like it.

A 74 year old self-described former activist in the civil rights movement years ago, mentioned in the story, has signed up because "he found himself driving up behind an expensive car recently, and then looking to see if the driver was black or white."

A fat lot of good the civil rights movement did him, huh?

Nor education, either, apparently . . . The man is a retired college administrator.

The recovery of the West depends on a moral and religious revival which restores the traditional family to a place of preeminence

From the story in the National Catholic Register, here:

The total fertility rate now hovers around 1.8 children per woman over her lifetime — far below the 2.1 children per woman that demographers say a nation needs to keep its population stable. ... trends are not necessarily irreversible. History has plenty of examples of religious and moral revivals, as well as religious and moral collapses, that have changed the course of their societies’ future. ... “There’s a lack of private and public policies to say to families, ‘It’s okay, having children, taking care of them, staying with them and everything is the most important bulwark of a good society,’” [Helen Alvare] said. “But it works economically, it works religiously, and it works practically.”

It's funny how you see something and it just becomes a deal breaker, even though you knew it before

The unintended consequences of religion: Liberal "political correctness" is to Puritanism as libertarian "going Galt" is to what?

Shunning:

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord . . .. -- 2 Cor. 6:17

24 of the eyewitness statements about the Ferguson, MO shooting of Michael Brown lacked any credibility, according to the US Department of Justice

Some of the eyewitnesses feared reprisals from their own community if they provided testimony contradicting the community-approved version. In other words, peer pressure became a powerful influence on the "eyewitnesses" to say the same thing and thus maintain the unity of the group in the face of contradictory evidence.

The similar emphasis on unity in the Fourth Gospel is consistent with a later date for its production, during which time community identity is becoming self-conscious, in part because of attacks on it by outsiders who did not believe, the unique vignette at the end featuring Doubting Thomas being of particular rhetorical significance in response.  

There shall be one fold, and one shepherd. -- John 10:16

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. ... That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. -- John 17:11, 21ff.

The witnesses to the Brown shooting, discussed here:

The Department of Justice investigation into the shooting determined that witnesses who corroborated Wilson's account were credible while those who contradicted his account were not. The witnesses that claimed Brown was surrendering or did not move toward Wilson were not credible; the report stated that their claims were inconsistent with the physical evidence, other witness statements, and in some cases prior statements from the same witness. No witness statements that pointed to Wilson's guilt were determined to be credible. Twenty-four statements were determined to lack any credibility, while eight which were found credible corroborated Wilson's account. Nine did not completely contradict nor corroborate Wilson's account. Several witnesses reported fear of reprisals from the community for providing evidence that corroborated Wilson's account.

To the historical Jesus the gospel was the good news of the coming of God's kingdom, not "Christ crucified", not "grace alone through faith alone"

'The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD's favor has come. ... I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.' So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

-- Luke 4:18f., 43f.

The Mass of Christian Burial for John McLaughlin of The McLaughlin Group was held today at 2PM

You may watch it here.

Martin Luther, like Jesus and Paul, was another "terrible simplifier", an ideological thinker who reduced Christianity to a single principle

Well summarized here:

"This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification," insisted Martin Luther, "is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness." He also called this doctrine the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae ("article of the standing and falling of the church"): "…if this article stands, the Church stands; if it falls, the Church falls."[In XV Psalmos graduum 1532-33; WA 40/III.352.3]. Lutherans follow Luther in this when they call this doctrine "the material principle" of theology in relation to the Bible, which is "the formal principle." They believe justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ's righteousness alone is the gospel, the core of the Christian faith around which all other Christian doctrines are centered and based.

Like Jesus, Paul also was a "terrible simplifier", an ideological thinker who reduced everything to one principle

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

-- 1 Corinthians 2:2

RuPaul admits the gay man he really is has simply been posing as a tranny to stick it to the rest of us and make some dough

Most everyone has experienced the latent rage of the homosexual at one time or another, it's just that no one will talk about it openly anymore now that the gay mafia has turned the whole country into its collective receiving end. But the truth is gay men are violent at heart because they hate themselves for what they do.

RuPaul, quoted here:

There are many misconceptions people who dress in drag — most frequently that they are transsexual. "Transsexual is, in fact, kind of the complete opposite," RuPaul says. "Drag queens are saying, 'Identity? Ha!' Transsexuals are saying, 'Identity is very serious to me and I need you to understand what my identity is.'" He continues, "For me, it was never about being a woman at all. It was always about 'f-you' to society. In a male-dominated culture, this is the greatest taboo you can do. This is the thing that boys are not supposed to [do] in a male-dominated culture." And, he adds, "It was something that I stumbled onto that I realized I could do really well and make a lot of money at it."

A proposed definition of "liberal" for The Devil's Dictionary

Liberal. n. A humorless fart, who blames you for his stink.

Men of high degree are a lie

Surely men of low degree are vanity . . .

and men of high degree are a lie:

In the balances they will go up;

They are together lighter than vanity.

-- Psalm 62:9

On Shakespeare's When we are born, we cry . . .

 

When we are born, we cry, that we are come to this great stage of fools.

 

And when we die, we whimper, that we played our part too well.

There is nothing new under the sun: Gay Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel wants to suck your blood

Actually, he just wants transfusions from the young and healthy, the history of which is discussed here by Candida Moss:

Peter Thiel, billionaire tech investor, has revealed a somewhat unsavory interest in the blood of the young. Thiel, like many other Silicon Valley billionaires, is interested in prolonging life expectancy and escaping death. ... Thiel has a particular interest in medical vampirism. ... Now he is interested in parabiosis, the practice of using blood transfusions from young people to promote longevity.

 

 

 

Read the rest of the story and you will get the sense that from the perspective of the Jewish law at least, the development of the Christian idea of drinking Christ's blood in the communion and the fascination among the wealthy with drinking the blood of the executed represents the sweep of history as degenerate, reverting to pagan antitypes, not progressive. The barbarity of animal sacrifice for sin remains, nothwithstanding.

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

 

-- Genesis 9:4

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

 

-- Leviticus 17:11

For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

 

-- Leviticus 17:14

Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.

 

-- Deuteronomy 12:23

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

 

-- John 6:53

Just since the attack killing 84 and injuring 202 in Nice, France, on July 14, Muslim fanatics have killed 571 and injured 903 through August 2, 2016

Tracked here.

Peace be upon him, but not upon you.

Howard Dean, an ideologue detached from reality, says Iran is not a Muslim country

I'm sure that comes as quite a surprise to the mullahs in Tehran!

Howard flamed out here in 2004.

ISIS' view of St. Paul is that he corrupted Christianity, which is a view derivative of Islam's knowledge of 4th century heretical Christianity

From the story here:

As for St. Paul, he is referred to [in ISIS' latest magazine issue] in turn as a “criminal” and “treacherous Jew” who “intentionally sought to deviate the monotheistic Nazarenes in order to tarnish Jesus’ name – even if it meant Paul’s own persecution.” The Holy Trinity being an essential concept of St. Paul’s writings is a form of polytheism, according to Islamic State jihadists, one intended to deceive Christians. ...  [T]he “debate between Trinitarians and Unitarians reached the heights of popularity during the fourth century of the Christian calendar.”

Islam is not a religion of peace: It spent its first 128 years in military conquest from Spain to India

The Religion of Piece of Ass: Sex slaves permitted under Islam according to radical UK imam

Ali Hammuda, secretly recorded and quoted here:

‘One of the interpretations as to what this means is that towards the end of time there will be many wars like what we are seeing today, and because of these wars women will be taken as captives, as slaves, yeah, women will be taken as slaves. And then, er, her master has relations with her because this is permissible in Islam, it’s permissible to have relations with a woman who is your slave or your wife.’

DNC CFO Brad Marshall wanted Bernie Sanders questioned as atheist in Kentucky and West Virginia to help Hillary among Baptists

Tim "left behind" LaHaye: Obsessed with the rapture and eschatology from the age of nine when his father left him behind

Detailed here:

Tim LaHaye was born in Detroit, Michigan. His mother was the former Margret Palmer and his father, Frank LaHaye, was a Ford auto worker who died in 1936 of a heart attack. His father's death had a significant influence on LaHaye, who was only nine years old at the time. He had been inconsolable until the minister at the funeral said, "This is not the end of Frank LaHaye; because he accepted Jesus Christ, the day will come when the Lord will shout from heaven and descend, and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we'll be caught up together to meet him in the air." LaHaye later said that, upon hearing those remarks, "all of a sudden, there was hope in my heart I'd see my father again."

Tim LaHaye passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

But it never occurs to Theodore Dalrymple that you have to become hollow before you can be stuffed

 

 

 

 From Theodore Dalrymple, here:

From thinking about the number of taxidermists a society needs, it was a short step to wondering about the nature of human need itself. It may be that I dearly want a stuffed owl or fox in a glass case, as so many Victorians appear to have wanted (for hardly any bric-a-brac shop is complete without a moth-eaten owl in a glass case), but could I be said really to need one? ...

 

But then again, I don’t need the vast majority of what I want, and therefore all the activity of the people required to supply me with it (and all that billions of people want but don’t need) is unnecessary. In other words, the vast majority of human effort is futile, and Ecclesiastes got it right: All is indeed vanity. Nothing is more vital to the continuation of our system, therefore, than the willing acceptance of triviality and futility. They are what make the world go round. There is no getting off the treadmill, and taxidermy is a metaphor for our existence. To put it in contemporary British vernacular, mankind is stuffed.


T. S. Eliot (The Hollow Men, 1925):

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us - if at all - not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

There shall be no exercising dominion among you: Jesus never imagined the "Christian ruler" let alone the "Christian voter"

Alfred the Great 849-899

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

-- Mark 10:42ff.

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

-- Matthew 20:25ff.

That didn't take long: Just four months ago Camille Paglia predicted Ted Cruz' career would end in disgrace

 

On Wednesday night Ted Cruz was booed off the stage at the Republican National Convention for failing to throw his support behind Donald Trump.

Now many, including Larry Kudlow here, are saying his career is finished:

I was in the convention hall and the crowd's reaction was unbelievable. It started out as a few hands waving in the air and some booing and then it just grew and grew throughout the entire convention hall. And then boom! It was absolute bedlam.

I've been to most of the GOP conventions since 1980, and I've never seen anything like it. These people stood on their feet and booed. These are Republicans! They don't do this. They don't know how to stand up and boo! And yet, Cruz so divided them and worked them into such a frenzy that it happened.

Cruz tried to pass it off as just the New York delegation acting up. But that is wrong. The whole hall was in an uproar. You couldn't even hear the last two paragraphs of Cruz's speech because the booing had reached such a crescendo!

Cruz left an absolute disaster in his wake when he finished that speech. ... Ted Cruz will never politically recover from this. His delegation from Texas wanted him to play ball with Trump - and he wouldn't. He was freelancing in that speech. And that is why his political career is over. He's finished.

Paglia's prediction noted here.

Trump "supporter" Peter Thiel has it exactly backwards: Our economic decline is a symptom of our cultural decline

Peter Thiel tonight at the Republican National Convention, already being quoted here at the libertarian-friendly Real Clear Politics:

Fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline.

Back in 2010 Phyliss Schlafly clearly expressed in the wake of the battle against Obamacare how it is precisely cultural degradation leading to the decay of the family which results in the enormous costs destroying the American economy. The truth is that limited government cannot exist without social conservatism. People who won't limit themselves cannot produce it, just as gay people cannot produce the next generation.

While Thiel's sincerity is questioned on psychological grounds, real conservatives recognize that the project of making America great again is futile apart from moral renewal.

Cringe-worthy Catholic Jay Shepard, VT RNC Committeeman, thanks God for the gifts He provides us "not just because we deserve them"

"Thank you, oh Lord, for the gifts that you provide us not just because we deserve them but solely by your grace and mercy . . .."

Video here.

Kami Nelson of the Wayne Dupree Show thinks slavery is inconsistent with the God of the Bible, who doesn't change

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; -- Ephesians 6:5

Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. -- Colossians 3:22

Since 1968 membership in the United Methodist Church has declined by 35%

From 11 million to 7.2 million currently.

Expect this to change even more dramatically as the gay mafia takes over.

It appears that since 2008 alone, membership has already contracted by almost 9%, from 7.9 million to 7.2 million.

 

 

Boom! go the Methodists over ban on same sex relationships

It was only a matter of time.

METHODISTS ELECT 1ST OPENLY GAY BISHOP IN DEFIANCE OF BAN :

[S]everal regional districts are openly defying the prohibition by appointing gay clergy and allowing same-sex weddings in churches.

Rod Dreher's false choice, where his utopian devil is in the detail "truly"

Here:

I would rather live in a truly Christian culture that was dominated by (say) Latino Christians than live in a secular culture dominated by whites.

There's never been a truly Christian culture, and never will be. This is a straw man argument.

In which case the choice of where to live is much less important and much less fraught than this Manichaean choice between Light and Darkness.

But Rod Dreher likes fraught.

Paul imagines many brethren, but Jesus only a chosen few

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

-- Romans 5:19

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

-- Romans 8:29

Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the [profit] of many, that they may be saved.

-- 1 Corinthians 10:33

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

-- Mark 13:20

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

-- Matthew 7:14

So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

-- Matthew 20:16

By their fruitcakes ye shall know them: Hotty pastorette close to Donald Trump is a prosperity gospel heretic says Russell Moore

Here:

“Paula White is a charlatan and recognized as a heretic by every orthodox Christian, of whatever tribe,” read a recent tweet from Russell Moore, a prominent Southern Baptist leader and vocal Trump critic, who wasn’t available for an interview.

Moore stated his objection to what White represents clearly already last October, here:

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, is disputing conventional wisdom that Trump is hugely popular with born again Christians, insisting those actually in his camp follow the “dangerous false teaching of the prosperity gospel.” 

WaPo never misses an opportunity, finds a black Christian dominionist to blame recent violence on "ineffective Christians" (aka whitey)

From Tony Evans, featured here, who takes "blame America first" to the next level:

These recent spates of violence – like all our worldly problems — have happened because Christians have failed to advance God’s kingdom, to spread the faith and to do so in a loving, unified way. ...  Our troubles can also be traced directly to ineffective Christians. One of the real tragedies today is that the Church as a whole has not furthered God’s light, equity, love and principles in our land in order to be a positive influence and impact for good in the midst of darkness, fear and hate.

My word is like a hammer

 

 

 

What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. ... Is not my word ... like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

-- Jeremiah 23:28f.

Ed Stetzer for Christianity Today doesn't realize Americans "overreport" their rate of church attendance by in excess of 50%

If you don't like calling this lying, think of it as the expression of an aspiration.

Here:

Church attendance data over time is important here. In 1940, 37% of Americans said, “yes,” when asked by Gallup if they had been to church within the last week. In 2015, almost the same number—36%—said they’d been to church. Hardly a collapse; reasonable people, as Chaves described them, don’t need to disagree when the facts are this clear.

The figure is actually closer to 24%, consistent with Western European levels of attendance, which for twenty-three nations averaged over a number of years comes to 19.5%.

After 20 years at Bethel Church in Redding California, "miracle worker" Bill Johnson still hasn't put the region's top employers out of business

If his book When Heaven Invades Earth is to be believed, "miracles" occur so frequently at Bill Johnson's hands at Bethel Church that that's "the normal Christian life", as he calls it.

Close readers of the book, however, will note that none of the people who experience these so-called miracles seem to have last names.

Not only that, you can't be sure of their first names either.  "Some of the names of the people mentioned in this book have been changed. The author has done so where he felt anonymity is essential", we are informed in the fine print on the copyright page.

This is despite the fact that the miracles are supposed to "reveal the nature of God", not hide it under a cloak, "bring courage" instead of such caution, "reveal His glory" and "give Him glory", not make one wonder if he's really telling the truth.

One would think that if so many miracles were happening at that church that the scads of recipients would be writing their own books about it instead of Johnson. One would think that the population of Redding would have burst by now as people beat a path to it instead of stagnating as it has. One would think that its hospitals would be out of business by now.

And yet after 20 years of Bill Johnson, almost half of the jobs of the top four employers in Redding remain medical jobs at Mercy Medical Center and Shasta Regional Medical Center.

Redding, California, in fact remains "the medical hub of rural far northern California", according to the Wikipedia article.

The new pool of Bethesda it is not.

The wicked are not plucked away

 

The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.

-- Jeremiah 6:29

Paul clearly had opponents from east to west, in Galatia, Corinth, Rome and possibly Ephesus, who accused him of lying

Roman Galatia in the early second century

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

 

-- Galatians 1:20

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

 

-- 2 Corinthians 11:31

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

 

-- Romans 9:1

Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

 

-- 1 Timothy 2:7