August 24, 2024

Evangelicals who support Trump are betraying Christian principles, values and faith.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/trumps-politics-pseudo-christian-or.html

Trump's takeover of the Republican party, and the blending of those right wing politics with conservative, Evangelicals have caused their departure from the biblical version of the Christian faith and have transformed Trump-supporting Evangelicals into pseudo-Christians. They use the language, some of it anyway, and they give off an appearance of being Christian, but there is a lot of evidence which proves that most of them have given up their Christian faith to place their trust in something, or someone else other than Jesus Christ.

The prayers,, given by pastors prior to Trump rallies, and written out for them, are a dead giveaway. First, telling God that, from their perspective, the leaders of this country are evil, and "with every passing day, we slip farther and farther into George Orwell's tyrannical dystopia."

If that is happening, it's not necessary to fill God in, that is, if you believe who the Bible says he is. He'd know that and the sermon in the prayer, which is not directed at God, but at the audience, is the first clue that we're not dealing with someone who has an understanding of the Christian gospel, the Christian faith, or prayer.

esus himself taught that the most important commandment, loving God with all one's heart, soul, mind and strength, was connected to, and demonstrated by "loving your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus defined "neighbor" in a parable, known as "the Good Samaritan," in which "neighbor" was illustrated in the person of the Samaritan, a man from an ethnic background and religious sect despised and looked down on by the Jewish population. The love to be extended to the neighbor was not conditioned upon the neighbor being of the same religion, race, ethnicity or even a citizen of the same political district or country, since Samaria and Judea were separate provinces under Roman rule at the time.

So I have to ask this pointed question. When we observe politically engaged Evangelicals, who are representing their faith and the Republican party, where do we see examples of their public obedience to this, one of the two commandments Jesus clarified as being "the greatest"?

August 22, 2024

Democrats are authentically exhibiting real American values while Republicans spew "darkness" and are morally bankrupt.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-democratic-party-has-grabbed.html

Loving your neighbor, taking the side of the disadvantaged and downtrodden, living life with and making joy contagious, are core values. I would say to my Evangelical friends that it should be an embarrassment to them for these things to be so visible in the convention of a political party that most of them condemn because some of their positions support everyone's rights, and so invisible in their churches, and in the political party they claim is going to "make America great again."

Pete Buttigieg said that the word which best describes what the other party is promoting is "darkness." He's right. That's visible from simple observation of virtually every word and phrase that comes out of their two candidates mouth. Their response, especially to the events of this week, is not to come back on the issues, but to be critical, call names, express rage and get upset that no one is crowding into their rallies, or stuffing their bank accounts.

I'd add the description, "morally bankrupt." The criticisms of Gus Walz on social media, after his teary-eyed tribute to his Dad on the podium is evidence of the fact that these people do not have a shred of decency, morality or humanity. Like Trump's well-publicized mockery of a disabled reporter during his first campaign, this is inexcusable, cruel and is a sign that these people should not be entrusted with any leadership anywhere in this country. I don't care what the issues are, this is inexcusable, wrong and disqualifying to Trump.

Good luck with that.

August 22, 2024

Democrats are making America joyful again, and their authenticity has grabbed control of the political narrative.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-democratic-party-has-grabbed.html

There's no question this 2024 edition of the Democratic National Convention is vastly different than just about any previous political convention put on by either party. It almost defies description in political terms. I've been trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that has made this so different, which has, on several occasions over the past three nights, brought me to tears, and which has been, in every single moment, so vastly different than the Republican convention, built around the personality and campaign of Trump.

And last night, I think I finally figured it out. The word is "authentic."

We are watching real people, who have had real struggles in their life and political careers, and who have had real success, earned by determination and hard work, put everything on display by showing us who they really are, not who they want us to think that they are. It's on display everywhere.

There's been an incredible amount of talk about setting aside those things that tend to divide us when it comes to loving and caring about our neighbors, more than I've ever heard or seen in all of the time I spent growing up in an Evangelical church, and these people aren't just talking about it and wearing it on their sleeve. These people have the goods to back it up.

The candidates who are at the top of this ticket came from where we came from. They're not some image crafted by prosperity they didn't achieve on their own and by the politics of duplicity and dishonesty because the real politician isn't someone who can relate to his own constituents. They lived life where most of us have lived it. I worked in a fast food restaurant most of the time I was in college, because my parents were covering tuition that my scholarships didn't quite cover, and that paid my car expenses, insurance and helped me have some savings. I grew up in a small town where the football season was the highlight of the year, and where I had several teachers, including "that one," who were role models and encouragers. I became a high school social studies teacher.

Who better to understand politics, American history, culture, geography and economics?

August 20, 2024

Is there some way to get Jill Stein and Cornel West to drop out?

Surely there are ways to negotiate issues and neutralize the need for Green party members to field a losing candidate for the Presidency and walk away from their money and effort with absolutely nothing to show for it. She's not offering anything Democrats can't do better, with a much better candidate. Is it an ego thing or is she convinced she can somehow win, or is she running to keep the Democrats from winning?

West doesn't seem to have very much support at all. Fold it up and go home.

August 20, 2024

The greatest President of my lifetime.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/one-of-greatest-presidents-of-my.html

Sometimes, it is not until after something happens that history recognizes the leaders who were responsible for the accomplishment, and when their leadership becomes recognized as significant and successful in a historic moment.

But the recognition that President Joe Biden deserves started with the reception he received last night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. An ovation of appreciation, lasting over four minutes, punctuated with chants of "Thank you Joe," from a crowd jammed into the United Center, got it started. Then, what we heard from the President over the next 45 minutes was a list of his achievements and accomplishments as President. It was a long list, almost everything he set out to do while serving as President. And everything he did was something which benefitted the people of the United States in some way. Everything.

Considering who and what he is running against, I remain unconvinced that he would have lost this election to Trump. Seeing how things are going on the other side, knowing all of the baggage that travels with that candidate, I think Biden would have pulled out a victory in spite of his age and what appeared to be a lack of enthusiasm surrounding his campaign. His opponent is sinking his own boat and doesn't know it.

It was his decision to make. And unlike his opponent, who thinks of himself as everyone else's savior and being the only one who can fix anything, this President listens to and takes advice. This was a huge decision. He had earned the nomination with his record, and deserved a second term. But he was more committed to what was best for the country, and he's known, for a while now, that his age would be an issue if he chose to run again. He put the country first, and removed what he was convinced was the biggest obstacle to his own re-election.

It's only been the greatest of our leaders who have ever demonstrated that kind of self sacrifice.

August 20, 2024

Which party is in disarray now?

The GOP couldn't even get their revenge impeachment against Biden together, or provide a single scrap of evidence. That's going to hurt at the ballot box in November. And what a way to shove that down the trash bin last night.

Watching one of Trump's stops yesterday, the people who still bother to show up and listen to the guy stand in stunned silence. I guess even brainless wonders have their limits.

August 19, 2024

Happy to see all the groups forming to support Kamala Harris for President, including "Evangelicals for Harris"

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/not-all-white-evangelical-christians.html

There is no doubt about it, conservative, Evangelical Christianity in America has been hijacked by right wing extremist politics. What made Falwell and Robison, along with Pat Robertson, a televangelist whose program, The 700 Club, mimicked television news, angry at President Carter and pushed them to the GOP was his perspective on abortion rights. They wanted all Christians to accept their interpretation and ideology when it came to this specific social issue.

Carter was personally opposed to any kind of abortion, for any reason, but he did not oppose it politically, because he saw that a majority of Americans did not hold the belief that life began at conception, that it was a religious belief entirely, and even though it was not something he would approve or advise, Americans who did not hold similar religious beliefs had the right to access something they themselves did not see as wrong for the culture and nation.

It is, in fact, a religious liberty issue as the concepts and beliefs which have led to a determination that life begins at conception are of an exclusively religious perspective, and when applied as restrictions on abortion rights, constitutes an "establishment" of religion, which is unconstitutional. Evangelicals, however, are not inclined to consider the rights of non-Christians in a constitutional democracy as equal, or of Christians who hold a different perspective, and for whom a candidate's position on abortion is not the only qualification for their vote.

The intrusion of right wing politics into Evangelical churches and denomination has brought about a revival of the ideology of Christian nationalism, which started radicalizing conservative Christians back in the 1980's, and which now has become the predominant political perspective of a majority of conservative, Evangelical Christians. Trump has simply turned the art of trading political favors to Christian nationalists as a matter of political course. And in exchange for their votes, they have been quite willing to give up not only their core theological and doctrinal beliefs and practices, but their integrity and their morality, on which the credibility of their faith is built.

Jesus never intended for the church to be supported by a political state, in which all of the leaders adhered to the Christian gospel and conversion was required for citizenship. Much of the history of the Christian church, from about 300 A.D. right up to the American Revolution, is of the repeated failed attempts of the church to establish itself in the same way that ancient Israel did in the Old Testament, as a covenant theocracy. Not only is there not one jot or tittle of scripture to support this idea, but we have more than ten centuries of brutal bloodshed and war that testify to the fact it was the wrong thing to do.

So it is quite encouraging to see groups forming, like "Evangelicals for Harris." It is a demonstration of true democracy, and it shows that it is possible for people to disagree on some social issues, and on some interpretations of the Bible, and still give reasonable discernment to their choice of a candidate for office.

August 18, 2024

Harris has an eight point lead over Trump when Third parties are included in poll--Newsweek

https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-eight-point-lead-donald-trump-new-poll-presidential-election-1936246

Newsweek isn't my favorite, but seems like the discussion here is polls, polls, polls.

First of all, there's only four weeks of data of head to head Harris vs Trump, so that's still developing.
Second, if you google and look at headlines you'll get everything from Harris leads in all battlegrounds, to Harris leads in three battlegrounds, tied in two, behind in one, Harris putting the Sun Belt in Play, Harris up by 5 in new national poll, Harris leads by 1.7 in new poll.

Over a hundred of them. Helping the media do what they need to do in order to raise ratings and make money.

Someone is right. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. One out of more than a hundred polls must be within their real margin of error, according to the odds.

You tell me that a rambling, bumbling, fumbling, slurring candidate who can't stay on the same topic for more than a sentence and a half, who has no economic agenda to deliver, and can only deliver insults and play fantasy games, is leading anyone. I'll tell you that's not possible.

It's not.

I think, if we believe implicitly in polls that have not collectively been accurate since 2012, really, then election day 2024 is going to be a surprise for those Democrats who insist that the composite apologists get it right. It'll be a pleasant surprise if you're a Democrat.

August 17, 2024

Supporters of Palestinians and ending the war in Gaza have gotten a lot from the Vice President.

More than they ever would from any Republican, and something that is likely going to bring relief, if not an immediate solution to the overall problem.

She's acknowledged the issue, addressed them about the political realities of the situation, explained her position, and tried to get them to understand they can't have everything they demand, but she is willing to consider them, and work toward immediate relief and a long term solution. Now the way I see it is that the ball is in their court, and they need to accept those terms.

Sometimes a cause is a chance for protesters who have a very different outcome in mind to do their own thing, rather than help the cause. And in this case, it is self-defeating to try and cause disruptions for the only political party in America that will listen and respond and has a vision and a plan for ending the conflict, and suffering of the people of Gaza, and try to keep the peace.

Chicago is a heavily Democratic city and Chicagoans are very influential in Democratic party politics. The cause of Gaza's Palestinians isn't going to be advanced by the disruption and disturbance, and potential destruction of property, belonging to people who are among the most supportive Americans of gaining a just peace in the Middle East.

If Trump wins, what we've seen in Gaza so far is nothing compared to what it will become. That's reality the protesters need to consider.

August 15, 2024

A response to a social media endorsement of Trump posted by a Pastor

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/dear-pastor-im-very-sorry-to-hear-youre.html

Dear Pastor,

I saw your social media post, the one where you listed the reasons you were voting for Trump. I was extremely disappointed that you chose to put your political opinion over your credibility as a pastor and preacher, and endorse a candidate, any candidate, for office. I recall that in previous elections, you told your congregation that the church was not a "political action committee" and that it was important to put the preaching of the gospel in a place where secular politics of much lesser importance would not distract from its message or interfere with its proclamation.

The fact that your position has changed in order to support this particular Presidential candidate is especially disappointing. By choosing sides, you have now placed yourself in opposition to those members of your congregation who, by their own choice and conviction, have chosen not to support Trump and you have challenged their spiritual convictions and the prayerful consideration with which they came to their decision. You hold a position of spiritual leadership in this congregation, entrusted to you by all of its members, not just those who are Republicans or who support one specific candidate. There is no authority given to you, either by the congregation or in the scripture, which permits you to make this kind of judgment.

I cannot, in good conscience, seasoned by my years of being Christian, and of being instructed in the principles of the Christian gospel in church, trust or support a politician in the leadership of our country who has openly cheated on three different wives with multiple women, who put them publicly through that shame, using the media to justify his reasons for having affairs with other women, and who subsequently married the "other" women with whom he committed adultery. The most recent humiliation of his current wife, during her pregnancy and the infancy of their son, with a porn star, makes it clear that this man doesn't have a shred of respect for the truth. He's not qualified for any public office.

I cannot support a candidate for public office who has turned his entire campaign into an act of denigration of political opponents who simply disagree with his politics. The Bible says that fresh water and salt water cannot come from the same spring, and the personal denigration, name calling, accusations and character assassination that is a much bigger part of Trump's campaign than anything he has to say about the issues is the sign of an unrepentant, worldly heart, and a mark of his complete inability to be an effective leader. It's also an indicator of his character, or should I say, lack of it.