I’m perplexed by the silence of those who recognize wrongs in the world around us but say (or do) nothing about it.  

 

 

Consider this, maybe silence is more powerful than the shouts and chants of a protester? Do those who remain silent realize their silence can produce a powerful effect, whether intentional or unintentional – is it the failure of a voice to speak up that promotes a wrong? Is it the silence of a society that tolerates, ignores, or is indifferent that amplifies the acceptance of a wrong in the world around us?   

 

 

“The Sound of Silence”, is a song by Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon in March of 1964 – Simon wrote the song when he was 21 years old, explaining that it was written in his bathroom, where he turned off the lights to better concentrate and close out the noise of the world around him – the motives and message of the song’s stirring lyrics and haunting acoustic guitar has been applied to many challenges and struggles around the world.

 

 

The symbolism of the “Sound of Silence” is also taken to represent cultural alienation associated with much of the 1960s – activist’s movements of the 60s adopted the phrase “sound of silence” to be associated with the detachment experienced with impersonal large governments, abuse of individuals or people groups, injustice, and oppression – the song has been used throughout the years, and even today in movements and protests to mark the criticality and harm that comes with remaining silent in the face of obvious wrongs. 

 

 

The world we live in will always have hate, injustice, and oppression – the world will also have those who embrace and profit from these wrongs – it will not matter how much of society speaks out against these wrongs, as long as there is a greater portion of society that remains silent – their silence is more powerful because the sound of silence also makes a point, leaves a mark, and sends a signal.

 

 

The absence of a voice is the acceptance of something (good or bad) – what is our nation accepting – what does our silence tell the world about us? 

 

 

I pray we always take great care with our silence. 

Churches all over the nation are taking deliberate time for prayer in support of Israel and the escalating war with Hamas.

Just a note for our consideration specific to moments of prayer for Israel – 100% agree with biblical principles about prayer, support of Israel, and Christian’s greater commitment to a meaningful Christ-like influence on the world around us.

But I wonder if our effort to pray for Israel (and peace) was sufficient – I think about a common sentiment of many churches today: “the church is not a building – the church is the people” (or something similar) – of the same flavor, it’s important to remember that “Israel is not a location – Israel is a people” – I believe this to be true, as long as we’re speaking of Israel, God’s chosen people – otherwise, we’re speaking of the nation of Israel – is there a distinction? Should there be a distinction?

Israel has certainly had thousands of years of reaping blessings/favor from God as much as Israel has suffered punishment/discipline from God – and that’s the quandary – are our prayers for Israel inline with God’s principles (given Israel’s well documented missteps)? Meaning, are our prayers in vain if Israel is being disciplined (by God) for her periodic ungodly practices? Of course, there is no harm in praying for Israel even if they’re being punished – but what about the noncombative victims? Should we also pray for them? Is it wrong to pray for both in the same prayer? How would God view our multi-focused prayers? Is it even possible to pray for everything and everyone?   

I consider the number of times God imposed punishment, and even death on Israel, and I struggle to evaluate what is punishment from the Lord verses, what is another (warranted or unwarranted) attack on Israel.

I also consider God’s command to support Israel, but knowing Israel’s behavior may come with consequences/discipline/punishment – I remember both things can be true.

Yes, this new chapter in this thousand year old conflict is escalating – scripture teaches us there will always be conflict between Israel and nations/peoples who don’t recognize God.

Prayers, Christ-like posturing, and evaluating historical prophetic paths seem to be in order for us all.

In addition to supporting Israel, we must also adhere to God’s commandments, the great commandment, and the great commission – which begs consideration for the innocent on both sides of the conflict – there are victims on both sides who have been violently removed from their homes and territories – victims who’ve had their human/national rights violated by both sides – and victims from both side’s intentional and illegal violation of international and national treaties.

To believe in the one true God and support ungodly behavior can not coexist without consideration of victims, and consequences for ungodly behavior.

I say all that to make the point that I no longer just arbitrarily fall on the side of Israel, given biblical history measured against more recent historical events (last 120 yrs) – I also consider that not even God’s chosen people can embrace sinful behavior, commit atrocities, or abuse human life without consequences.

It is my personal belief that God’s chosen people (Israel), is not necessarily the nation of Israel we see on (ever changing) maps, or what we understand ‘Israel’ is today – biblically Israel is a people, without borders or barriers – they do not require national or international treaties – nor should they get unfettered support and allegiance from Christian’s if Israel fails to properly uphold their obligations and responsibilities to the Lord – as God’s chosen people, godly behavior is required, or there may be consequences.

Finally, enemies of Israel (Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, extremist groups, etc…) should also suffer consequences and be held accountable for their atrocities – we have learned and re-learned time and time again all through human history, when one side of a conflict dehumanizes another side of the conflict, the same will always be reciprocated – for me, neither the initial dehumanizing acts or the reciprocated acts are justified.

Both sides have participated in appalling dehumanizing behavior – cutting off life support, water, electricity, damaging/poisoning wells, restricting healthcare, enforcing unbalanced legal/judicial systems, failing to provide equal governmental representation, restricting trade, employment and economic growth, stealing land and territory, killing and arresting innocent civilians and noncombatives – this evolving legacy is far from godly for either side of the conflict.

Remember, it’s only been 100+ years ago that the Ottoman empire failed and British colonialism divided up the region, which inflamed the four primary groups already living in the region – it’s only been 80+ years ago that the UN created an Israeli state in the region under the same divisive measures – the very next day, four Arab nations attacked Israel for being left without a say in the matter – it’s only been 50+ years ago Israel became a force to be reckoned with in the region by even more of the same divisive measures – for three modern-day generations Arab and Israel tensions have been outrageous – both sides claim retaliation, and both sides continue violence and atrocities – as a result of this, the world divided itself and picked sides – and in order to remain loyal to beliefs, we applied (and continue to apply) an unbalanced and unjust application of our version of ‘justice’ to this troubled region for the same atrocities without explanation for the disparities in our so called justice – all the while never considering whether or not God is disciplining Israel.

Some of us believe Israel is innocent and are the victims – others of us believe the Palestinians are innocent and are the victims – Christ teaches us it’s as simple as valuing human life, love your neighbor, be kind, have equal justice – give weight to human decency – but, until both sides develop equal tolerance for each other this will not be solved – one might say, we contribute to the problem when we pick a side, especially when both sides are the problem.

To pray, or not to pray for Israel – that is the question.

The accelerating war in Israel is horrific – the worst of mankind is on full display – the basics of human existence, oppression, and survival always play out the same:

 

It is foolish to correct the table manners of a starving person.

A starving person only knows that they must survive by any means – table manners be damned. 

If the person that corrects the table manners of a starving person is the same power that caused the starvation…  this person is an oppressor who does not care for human life.

If the table manners of the starving person are corrected by the person who oppressors him, the starving person believes he has no other option but to lash out.

 

Make no mistake about it, we would all behave in the same manner – we are liars if we believe anything else.

Frustration runs high in the nation that proclaims freedom, equality, liberty and justice for all – we’re struggling on several fronts – government is soiled with underhanded funding influencers – businesses and economics are blatantly driven by personal and corporate greed – policing, legal, and justice systems weigh much heavier on the poor and people of color – religions, education systems, and social services are infiltrated with politically laced agendas – and our many flavors of media, news and talking heads aggressively taunt, tease and tear us apart.

 

 

 

All of these national level processes and organizations have the ability to do better, and to right their wrongs – which begs the question, why don’t they? Perhaps, this great nation has lost touch with the basic concept of empathy.

 

 

 

The common admonition to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes means before judging them, you must understand their experiences, challenges, thought processes, etc –  it is a simple reminder to practice empathy before passing judgment.

 

 

 

The concept to “walk a mile in my shoes” may be credited to a Mary Lathrap poem published in 1895 – the original title of the poem was Judge Softly, later titled Walk a Mile in His Moccasins – there are many variations of this phrase – it’s an honest plea for empathy, by putting yourself in the shoes of others.

 

 

 

The application of this phrase calls us to mentally put ourselves in the place of others and be more understanding, and compassionate before we unjustly judge, or allow our national level processes and organizations to do harm to those within our nation’s greater influence.

 

 

 

So here’s my point, are the people and processes that lead and influence our nation truly empathic to the “least of these” in our nation – is our nation’s government, businesses & economics, religions, education systems, media, social and legal services built to care equally for the greatest and the least of our nation?  

 

No, they are not.  

 

So, why do we allow this disparity?

 

Why don’t these national level processes and organizations right their wrongs?

 

 

 

There is simply not enough empathy among many of us – we seem to lack empathy on a national level – for many of us, we’ve lost touch with the real world hardships that more than a third of our nation struggles with daily.

 

 

 

Many of us struggle with empathy toward homelessness, addiction, poverty, hunger, lack of privilege, oppression, failing schools, poor medical care, abuse, violence, or escaping national crises because we have not lived it – (brace yourself, this is going to hurt) – not having experienced hardship is NOT an excuse to tolerate, allow or turn our heads where hardship exists.

 

 

 

We often lie to ourselves believing these hardships are self-induced, or could have been avoided with a just a little effort or desire – this is true for a small percent of those living with real hardships – some people just bring hardships on themselves – but truthfully, the anti-hardship deck has been stacked against large portions of our nation for generations – we want to believe our nation allows everyone with an equal chance to be whatever they want to be – the chance is certainly there, but it is not equal by any measure.

 

 

 

The cure is not quick or easy – we must go and learn why empathy is so important:

 

 

We must do better individually and collectively at engaging those outside of our natural surroundings.

 

 

We must spend some time away from the safety and comfort of our self-absorbed existences to meet, get to know, and embrace those living in hardship around us.

 

 

We must develop relationships with those unlike ourselves and gain a better understanding of the underlying hardships.

 

 

We must take the knowledge we gain from embracing those in need to vote smarter and better.

 

 

We must become the voice and the advocate for those ignored, discarded and forgotten.

 

 

Now, we must NOT do these things to be heroes, recognized or promoted… no, we must do these things because this is who we claim to be – this is the right way to treat our fellow human beings – these are the basics of human decency.

 

 

 

And finally, our efforts will teach us empathy, grace and tolerance – not because we’re better than those living with hardships, but because we cared enough to better understand the hardships – and by doing so, our nation will be less divided, less hateful, and more in line with who we claim to be.

 

 

 

My shoes are not your shoes, but am I willing to try your shoes?

 

In 1967 the Beatles produced the song, “All You Need Is Love” which sparked large social movements all over the world – it’s still an iconic song today – many people use the song’s chorus as a slogan or phrase without knowing (or remembering) the phrase came from John Lennon – he initially wrote the lyric as a continuation of the idea he was trying to express in his 1965 song “The Word” (a song sometimes referred to as “the word love”) – Lennon was fascinated with slogans that impacted the masses – he was trying to capture the essence of songs like “We Shall Overcome” – the straight forward message from the song, “All You Need Is Love” was the ultimate anthem of the 1967 Summer of Love – many social movements that came after, and grew from the events of that summer.

 

So, what is love? Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection; a great interest and pleasure in someone or something.

 

Psychiatrist, psychologist, therapists, and counselors have tried for countless generations, spent billions of dollars, and invested in hundreds of thousands of individuals, couples, and families trying to understand, teach, and manage the mysteries of love.  

 

From a nonclinical everyday perspective, our ability to apply love to others has been hit and miss at best – if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we all struggle with loving the world around us – and if we’re ‘really’ honest, we’ll admit we often struggle with loving those closest to us (family & friends). 

 

Bla bla bla… What’s the point? I’m glad you asked – the basics of love, loving ourselves, loving others, and being loved is either the greatest emotion, action, or condition of all time…    …or, it’s the most abused emotion, action, or condition of all time – our role as human beings is to take great care with which side of this conundrum we fall into. 

 

Consider this, most religions acknowledge Godly love defined as selfless and sacrificial – Jesus said: “This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” Evangelicals profess “the love of Christ is an, “…endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”

 

Now, I’m a Christian and I take my beliefs seriously – but I also know the largest, best funded, most impactful organizations, and activities that promote ‘love’ are religious – it breaks my heart when many of those religious organizations are widely untrusted, feared, scorned… not because of their belief to love others is wrong, but because of their tainted applications of their beliefs is wrong. 

 

All of us know of many effective noteworthy churches doing great work loving, and sharing love to their communities – tragically, all of us also know just as many compromised churches leveraging politics, ungodly agendas, power, and self-serving motives – why have so many churches, and church leaders let the basic concept of love, a Godly love, a Christ like love become such an abused emotion and action? (Perhaps the ‘love’ of money, power, and influence?)

 

Don’t call me a heretic and burn me at the stake just yet – this rant is 100%, “if the shoe fits, wear it” – there are good churches doing good things out there – my beef is with the churches, and church leaders compromising their beliefs, grifting their followers, promoting political agendas – all the while serving themselves, oppressing others, and manipulating grifted resources. 

 

The sad conclusion: Some religions and religious leaders use “love” as an instrument (bait) with a covert hook attached.

 

Rev Benjamin Cremer noted, if love becomes conditional – if love is reduced to an evangelistic tool – if love becomes just another way of making people be more like a desired persona – then we’ve totally misunderstood the love of God. 

 

If the way you love your neighbor causes your neighbor to want to die or do harm to themselves, it is not love at all – it is cruel and evil. 

 

If all you need is love, it’s critical that the love we share is genuine, unconditional, and untainted – oddly enough, this is not my idea – this is a core concept of most religious organization’s initial beliefs – it’s hard to believe this is what we started from when we consider where we are today. 

 

Again, love is either the greatest emotion, action, or condition of all time… …or, it’s the most abused emotion, action, or condition of all time – what’s in your ‘love wallet’?

It’s funny (not funny) what we learn about ourselves once the rose-colored glasses of our national history are removed – please allow me to illustrate:

In the 1956 movie, “The King and I” Yul Brynner plays the fictional king of the nation of Siam (later known as Thailand) – Deborah Kerr plays opposite Brynner as a westerner hired as a teacher and governess (of sort) to the king’s many children – in one minor scene, the hired teacher is shocked to discover the king’s version of Siam’s national size, strength, global influence have been grossly embellished via the curriculum being taught to the king’s children – the king is justifiably proud of his nation and its history, but he’s clearly had his nation’s history inflated and taught to his citizens – this conflict is just a small part of the movie, but it remains a pungent point when if we fail to acknowledging our own national history – I strongly recommend the movie – it’s wonderful in spite of the king’s trumped up nationalistic views.

The point is not that Siam was or wasn’t a great nation – the point is that all nations have wonderful and troubled components to their histories – recognizing both is the most responsible and mature position a nation can take – troubled histories are not something to be ashamed of or to hide from – our history is our best resource of what to do (or not to do) going forward – particularly if our history has harmed, oppressed, or cheated people groups from around the world.

Just like individuals are not quick to forget or forgive if we’ve been harmed, oppressed, or cheated – entire people groups are even more unlikely to forget or forgive especially if the nation that caused them harm ignores, attempts to erase, or denies the facts and challenged history.

For example (this is a mouth full, take it in slowly):

Not all of us were taught that the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), caused when the French colonization of the West Indies, the plantation system on Saint Domingue, the brutal slave regime on Saint Domingue, the colonial social and racial hierarchy, and the spread of “Enlightenment Ideas” from the American and French Revolutions enraged enslaved peoples who rose up against the French regime in Haiti – this revolution was the real reason the United States of America made the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from the French –  mainly because Napoleon was so broke that he had to sell that land in order to continue to his on and off fight with the British (1689 to 1815) until Waterloo  – meanwhile, we were taught in school the Louisiana Purchase simply made America much bigger and richer because all the natural resources, it was too good of a deal to pass up – not a lot of mention about the Haitian Revolution in our history books – never mind that the purchase caused mass genocide, and the “Trail of Tears” – all because of “Manifest Destiny” – God evidently decided the US needed to assume everything from ocean to ocean – which lead to more tension with people groups because the expansion required removing/reeducating indigenous peoples, and subsequently identifying which states would be “slave states” or “free states” all while the Civil War was kicking off – which eventually triggered the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a part of the larger Texas Revolution in which the Mexican state of Tejas was the center of conflict falsely illustrated as a war for free and liberated peoples (who happened to desire a “slave state”) versus Mexico in defense of their territory  (who desired “free state”) – the soon to be American’s (in 13 years) won independence and became a self-governing republic of Texas – in 1845, Texas became a US state – remember, formerly part of Mexico, Texas had been an independent country since 1836 and sought annexation by the U.S. – but the question of “slave state” lingered – so the process took nearly 10 years due to the political divisions over slavery – we’re not always taught this because of the same inclinations of the King of Siam in the movie “The King and I”  – our leaders, plus formal and informal organization of influence did not want our professed greatness to be tainted by our real history.

On behalf of countless people groups removed, killed, and oppressed for the sake of our “great” nation… maybe acknowledging our history, learning from it, and teaching our real path to nationhood would have been a much better option given the state of divide, conflict, and chaos we have today.   

There are hundreds of these historical fallacies sprinkled throughout our history books and curriculum in elementary, junior high, high schools and colleges – for the most part, it’s the motives and methods surrounding our historical events that are embellished to portray our nation’s history in the more favorable call of those “wishing to be free” and “liberty and justice for all” – which is a noble motive, except it’s only partially true.

FACT 1: Pretending our nation’s higher number of acts of greatness simply outweighs our lesser number of atrocities should balance the scales of historical justice is the inaccuracy of our view of our history – in fact, its madness.   

FACT 2: Truthfully, a country can be a great nation even though that country’s history is challenging – both things can be true – a nation’s citizens can still be patriotic and love their nation even if they acknowledge challenging components of their nation’s history – again, both things can be true.

FACT 3: Also true, patriotism isn’t “bending” history to support political, social, and nationalistic agendas – patriotism is acknowledging we had faults, learning from our history, and making sure we don’t repeat those faults.

More and more I find myself shocked and angered at what we learn, discover, or find out about our nation’s history that conflicts with what we learned in schools – maybe this is what we should be teaching our kids, instead of this continued brain washed version of our perceived greatness.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest nation of them all?

The nation who is most responsible and mature about itself is the greatest of them all.

NOTE: The gist for this rant is not my own – Pastor Joel Michael Herbert shared the concept – I added my perspective, research, and experiences to his baseline.

Church, please take care of what we may become – we may find ourselves called out by our own beliefs – specifically if we step far left or right of the core teachings and values of the Gospel of Christ.  

Church, I remember when you taught me…

…to run everything I learned through scripture – you said I should never take a preacher’s word without checking to see if it lined up with the Bible – so I did – then suddenly I was called “unteachable and stubborn” for questioning the preachers at many of our churches.

You taught me that sexual immorality was among the gravest of sins – you stressed the importance of reaching out to, and caring for the victims – until it was a youth pastor, Sunday school teacher, or one of our seminary presidents – then suddenly it was, “everyone has their struggles, but what was she wearing anyway?”

Church, you taught me that we are to share the Gospel with others as we go, through relationships, and by projecting Christ in our lives to others – until suddenly, you insist on legislating and forcing the Gospel through partisan politics in a nation built on religious freedoms.

You promised I could live and die by the words of Jesus, until I started taking the Sermon on the Mount seriously about the poor and nonviolence – then suddenly I was “taking verses out of context and twisting scripture” – when I asked for clarity, you cautioned me “not to be deceived, or let Satan use my compassion as a weakness.”

Church, you taught me to value human life above everything else – until it was the lives of the poor, refugees, immigrants, women, Iraqi, Afgan, or Palestinian civilians, or queer people – when I asked for clarity, you inquired about imposed prerequisites referencing their salvation, church attendance, or commitment to overcoming sin in their lives.

You taught me not to be ashamed or afraid of repentance – until I started acknowledging and repenting of my engrained elitism, Christian nationalism and my imbedded cruel indifference toward the experiences of oppressed people, people of color, refugees, LGBTQ people – then suddenly, I was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing undermining Christian values.”

Church, you taught me that repentance was absolutely required to be a Christian – then suddenly, you insisted on supporting a man who loudly claimed he had “never done anything requiring repentance” and was represented by you as a “baby Christian who was God’s choice to lead this country.”

You taught me the words of Jesus. “…by their fruits you shall know them” – you also taught me to recognize and call out rotten fruit on the trees of Hollywood, academia, secular humanism, communism and the unchurched world – but when I called out the rotten fruit on our own church trees – then suddenly, I was being “divisive and used by Satan.”

You told me it was vitally important to study the original languages of scripture – until I did and my Greek and Hebrew understanding of a Biblical phrase “conflicted with what you had always been taught” – then I had “over educated myself right out of a relationship with God.”

You taught me that an apology was just the first step when I really hurt someone – that sharing Christ through relationships, restitution, and not repeating the hurt were also required – then suddenly, I was a “Marxist” for supporting reparations for slavery, colonialism, national level racism, and hundreds of years of abuse to indigenous people.

Church, you forced me to read the Bible daily, and to memorize the book of Proverbs, and James chapter 3, so I could stay on the straight and narrow, keep myself pure, and recognize a fool when I saw one – then I was called “dangerous and deceived” for refusing to vote for the Biblical definition of a fool.

You taught me to idolize men in the Bible who stood up to religious leaders of their day for teaching falsehoods – men like Jesus, John the Baptist, and Elijah – until it was our own, and nationally recognized religious leaders compromising Biblical teachings – then it was “why are you attacking a man of God?”

You taught me to trust the Holy Spirit and my conscience until my conscience hurt for, and my heart broke for the oppressed, unhoused, hungry, uneducated, weak, and for gay and trans teenagers at the highest risk of suicide – then suddenly, I was “weak and condoning sin.”

Church, you taught me that “wide is the gate, and broad the way to destruction and there will be many that will follow” – but you defend churches who leverage politically postured dominance of evangelicalism over all other religions in our nation – then suddenly, you claim “God is blessing us for speaking the truth.”

And finally, you taught me above all follow Jesus no matter what – no matter what it cost – even if it cost friends, salary, community, career, retirement or a pension – no matter if it turned lives upside down – following Jesus was essential… (wait for it)

…so when it came down to it, when a decision had to be made – you were the one that turned the lives of so many upside down at the moment when their allegiance to Jesus caused them to follow Him (Jesus)… right out the church doors.

Is the world leading the church astray, or is the church (lower case “c”) also leading itself astray?  Biblical principles, teachings, and truths already know the answer to this question.

Some facts to consider:

According to Lifeway Research, 1.6+ million people are leaving churches each year – that number has grown exponentially over the past 4 years – that’s lead to thousands of church closing each year in the country that claims to be built on Christian values.

So, why are American churches experiencing such a historical decline in attendance and increased church closings?

Scott McConnell, executive director at Lifeway Research stated, “In the last four years, all signs are pointing to a continued pace of closures probably similar to 2019 (COVID) or possibly higher, as there’s been a rapid rise in American individuals who say they’re no longer religious.”

Lifeway Research also shows, “a high percent of people leaving churches identifing churches with judgmental or hypocritical tendencies as the cause of their departure,” McConnell continued.

“While Covid-19 may have accelerated the decline, there is a broader, long-running trend of people moving away from religion – from 2019 – 2021 Lifeway surveyed young adults aged between 18 and 25 who had attended church regularly and found that six out of ten had stopped attending church – those surveyed cited conflict with their church’s recent positions on political, moral, sexual/finance abuse cases, and social issues” McConnell said.

Stephen Bullivant, author of “Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America” and professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary’s University, noted the decline of attendance in the Christian world was more than just a generational change – in the Catholic church, in particular, the sexual abuse scandal, and denial of such cases drove many attendees away.

According to www.chruchtrac.com mainline protestant denominations were losing members at alarming rates, while the conservative evangelical traditions grew or at least maintained their numbers – for instance, between 2015 and 2020, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ lost 40% of their members.

IN contrast, Protestant Evangelical churches and denominations saw a slight increase in church memberships – NOW, that is no longer the case – reporting of church attendance by denominations and traditions of all stripes show the lowest attendance rates never before seen in America’s history, including conservative evangelical churches.

The unprecedented rise in Christian Nationalist concepts and rhetoric in evangelical churches has been referenced more than any other motive for single adults and married adults (under age 40) leaving churches today – Baptist Joint Committee’s (https://bjconline.org ) Amanda Tyler testified before the U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties’ hearing on “The Evolution of Anti-Democratic Extremist Groups and the Ongoing Threat to Democracy” –  Tyler stated, “Christian Nationalism and far right political influences in evangelical churches are identified as the greatest threat to our nation’s core values today.”

Church, does the world around you know your position on these challenges facing churches today?

Can your position be easily found and recognized by the world around you?

Have you clearly and loudly denounced and unattached yourself from the motives and methods of these unbiblical and unChrist-like challenges referenced above?

Church, do you uncategorical profess all of Christ’s characteristics, teachings, and doctrinal positions to be the core of your church’s beliefs? Including the Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commandment, the Great Commission?

Have you removed any doubt that your church has no political agenda or affiliation, and lean only on New Testament principles as methods of sharing and spreading the gospel?  To include NOT forcing acceptance of the gospel on citizens via political legislation?

Again, is the world leading the church astray, or is the church (lower case “c”) leading itself astray?  Biblical principles, teachings, and truths already know the answer to this question.

“Choose this day whom you will serve…”

Asking for a friend… (which is code for; this applies to me, and perhaps you also).

We are good, and often quick to recognize what we believe the Holy Spirit directs us to do.

So, why do we leave room for discretion, if we fail to carry out basic biblical commandments as if we believe the Holy Spirit directed us NOT to be obedient to the commandments?

Consider a spectrum – one end is what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do (a subset) – on the other end are biblical commandments, principles, teachings (the larger set) i.e. things we should lean into because we’re commanded to – this is the baseline thought – this spectrum could considered on an individual, church or greater Christian community level.

In our Christian communities we often hear testimonies, or sharing of efforts and ministries the Holy Spirit motivated us to do – we also hear, come across, or are made aware of countless more ministry needs – these would be an illustration of our activities popping up (engaged or not engaged) on the spectrum we’re considering.

The spectrum would be (more or less) spotted with our ministry activities – the activities popping up would be a visual of what an individual, church or the greater Christian community believed they were motivated by the Holy Spirit to engage – but it could also establish what biblical commands (ministries) we missed, avoided, or chose not to engage.

And that (finally) is the question – as we are motivated by the Holy Spirit to engage in ministries we tend to testify and share (this is a good thing) – however, (considering the other end of the spectrum) there might be a number of biblical commands left unaddressed – in the same mantle of being motivated by the Holy Spirit, would we dare testify or share the Holy Spirit DID NOT motivate us to engage in those ministries as we went along our collective ways?   No, we would not.

But we would also be left with a dilemma – and that dilemma is whether we might find ourselves leaning more on our own discernment, rather than that Holy Spirits.

The truth is, no one can engage all the ministries we come across – there are simply too many, and often require specific skill sets – this is just a harsh fact of the world we live in – but we should take great care not to avoid the needs around us we are able to help, share, or engage – it is (after all) a biblical command.

A one-legged stool is useless – it has no value – it can only be used for a tiny fraction of its potential – perhaps it can be used for firewood.

A two-legged stool is better in that you may now have more firewood, but its usefulness is still greatly compromised – this stool is not complete – it lacks all its pieces.

A three-legged stool is much better in that it can sustain an upright position and support weight – its usefulness is significantly improved – however, a three-legged stool can be easily unbalanced if the weight it supports is unstable.

But a four-legged stool is the most useful – it can sustain an upright position and support great weight even if the weight is unstable – this stool and its usefulness is complete.

The completeness, totality, and fullness of a thing is essential if we are to rely on it – this is true of anything we lean on, draw from, or depend on – we should take great care to ensure that we only lean on, draw from, or depend on those things that are verifiably complete.

This is truer of ‘information’ than most things we’re faced with today – we all long for a complete understanding, trust, and reliance of information associated with the most important aspects of our lives – our faith, our families, our friends, our government, our financial institutions, and our communities – there are more aspects, but we easily can see the point from these.

Statistics, selective information, videos, and images are the fastest growing instruments being leveraged and manipulated to apply the magic of information “slide of hand” trickeration in attempts to shape narrations and agendas.

Quotes, excerpts, selective passages, and snapshot in time are commonly twisted in the rapid and far-reaching spread of false information today – politicians, influencers, pastors/church leaders, teachers, political action committees, and talking heads have become experts of spinning information to support any given cause or agenda.

This is why complete knowledge of the actual source of information is critical in this world of misleading and false information.

The totality of the source must be considered – the completeness of that source’s behavior, beliefs, and character is more critical than just a snapshot of what a particular source may have shared – one or two “legs of information” will not satisfy a full understanding of what was shared.

We would all agree the following standalone excerpts are good, harmless, and worthy to be shared…

“The cultural importance of a nation is almost always dependent on its political freedom and independence. Political freedom is a prerequisite condition for the existence, or rather the creation, of great cultural undertakings.”

“We must first root out the causes which led to our collapse and we must eliminate all those who are profiting by that collapse.”

“…I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: I am fighting for the work of the Lord .”

“The greatness of Christianity did not lie in attempted negotiations for compromise with any similar philosophical opinions in the ancient world, but in its inexorable fanaticism in preaching and fighting for its own doctrine.”

“Because of its passive character, the simple effort of believing in a political doctrine is enough for the majority, for the majority of mankind is mentally lazy and timid.”

“This is so true that even men who would be ready and willing to fight for the removal of manifest grievances within their own religious denomination will drop their own fight and turn their activities against the outsider the moment the abolition of such grievances is counselled or demanded by one who is not of the same faith.”

“This is chiefly applicable to a parasitic nation which, particularly at the present time preys upon the honest portion of mankind…”

“The tempest of historical achievements seemed to have permanently subsided, so much so that the future appeared to be irrevocably delivered over to what was called peaceful competition between the nations.”

“…it never came into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”

” ‘In a big lie, there is always a certain force of credibility because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to a big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods,’ ”

“If the race is in danger of being oppressed or even exterminated the question of legality is only of secondary importance. The established power may in such a case employ only those means which are recognized as ‘legal’. Yet the instinct of self-preservation on the part of the oppressed will always justify, to the highest degree, the employment of all possible resources.”

“Any violence which does not spring from a spiritual base, will be wavering and uncertain. It lacks the stability which can only rest in a fanatical outlook.”

“A fire was enkindled from whose glowing heat the sword would be fashioned which would restore freedom…”

“Today, even in the curriculum of the high schools, only two short hours in the week are reserved for gymnastics; and worse still, it is left to the pupils to decide whether or not they want to take part. This shows a grave disproportion between this branch of education and purely intellectual instruction. Not a single day should be allowed to pass in which the young pupil does not have one hour of physical training in the morning and one in the evening; and every kind of sport and gymnastics should be included.”

“In the education of the girl the final goal always to be kept in mind is that she is one day to be a mother.”

“If necessary, it will have to organize a persistent system of teaching which will aim at abolishing the present-day stupid habit of looking down on physical labour as an occupation to be ashamed of.”

“Generally, readers of the Press can be classified into three groups: First, those who believe everything they read; Second, those who no longer believe anything; Third, those who critically examine what they read and form their judgments accordingly.”

“The most profound cause of such a decline is to be found in the fact that the people ignored the principle that all culture depends on men, and not the reverse. In other words, in order to preserve a certain culture, the type of manhood that creates such a culture must be preserved.”

“With ruthless determination the State must keep control of this instrument of popular education and place it at the service of the State and the Nation.”

“I can fight only for something that I love. I can love only what I respect. And in order to respect a thing I must at least have some knowledge of it.”

“Reading is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Its chief purpose is to help towards filling in the framework which is made up of the talents and capabilities that each individual possesses.”

“Industry, technology, and commerce can thrive only as long as an idealistic national community offers the necessary preconditions. And these do not lie in material egoism, but in a spirit of sacrifice and joyful renunciation.”

Okay, okay – that’s enough – I’m sure you’re getting the point.

Yes, we would all agree those standalone excerpts are good, harmless, and worthy to be shared…  until we consider the source – a quick search on any one of these quotes will easily reveal they all came from “Mein Kampf” a famous work by Adolf Hitler.

In this case, knowing the source happens to be “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler makes it easy to for us raise alarms and consider other sources of information – it’s that simple – in most cases, it takes less than two or three minutes of research and ascertain wheatear or not the information is complete, accurate, and worthy of leaning on.  

I can’t state it strongly enough, a holistic, full, accurate understanding of the source of information far outweighs any cool, comfortable, pleasing sound bite, headline, or quote that captured our attention.

“All that glitters is not gold,” is a popular piece of information used by William Shakespeare in the play “The Merchant of Venice” – throughout the years, this phrase has been built on, and added to by many artists, writers, singers, and talking heads – the point of this phrase is eternal – just because something looks good, or sounds right, does not mean it is good or right.

Many of us are leaning on just one or two “information legs” and our information stools are not foundationally solid – we’ll fall for anything if we’re leaning on just one or two legs of our stool –  we can do better – the chaos around us begs that we do better.