Category Archives: Politics

That’s not Trump’s wall you see in the Bible

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As I’ve mentioned, I watch for illogical arguments. And I watch for misuse of the Bible. Discussions of the border wall tend to feature both.

When Trump announced his desire to build a wall, people begin quoting Ephesians 2, talking about how Jesus came to break down walls, not build them. While I definitely agree that Jesus is about bringing people together, I disagree that he is against all physical walls. If I come over to your house and start banging on your walls with a sledgehammer, are you going to say, “What a Christlike attitude!”?

Then wall enthusiasts started quoting Revelation 21, pointing out that the New Jerusalem has walls! Again, that’s not a very good use of the Bible, especially since the walls in Revelation have gates that never close.

Now I’m seeing people quote Nehemiah, observing how he was blessed for building a wall. To be honest, this one comes the closest to having some relevance. Here’s an example of a wall being built for the protection of those living inside. Still, if we begin conflating the nation of Israel with the modern-day U.S., we quickly get ourselves into trouble. And again, Jerusalem’s wall had gates that were open to all… except invading armies. Any and all peaceful visitors were welcome.

I’m okay if you want to argue the merits of the wall in the comments, but that’s not really my point. What I’m saying is that we need to stop using the Bible as a political tool, to quit picking out the parts we like and quoting verses out of context. Read the Bible to find God, to understand Him more, and learn how to draw nearer to Him. Don’t search through it to find arguments to support your partisan positions.

Democrat? Republican? Not interested

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I’ve been reminded again lately why I could never align myself with the political left or the political right. Neither has a godly worldview. Both work off of dishonesty and deliberate misrepresentation of the facts. Both seek their own good, not that of others.

Some will support one or the other as “the lesser of two evils.” Seems to me that you’re still choosing evil either way.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Feel free to call me naive, escapist, or whatever you want. Just don’t make me sign up as a Democrat or a Republican.

Debates, bad arguments, and snowstorms

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In fifth grade, we had a unit on conservation. I was assigned to participate in a debate. I had to argue that conservation was a bad thing.

That experience taught me an important lesson: you can say things just to win a debate, even if you don’t think they are true.

I see that all the time with politicians. Yesterday on Facebook, I called out a common practice where those that don’t believe in climate change use one day’s weather as evidence to support their disbelief. “It’s cold outside; there’s no global warming.”

That’s silly, and politicians are smart enough to know that. Climate weather patterns and daily local conditions are not the same thing. They know that, but they know that some don’t know that and will rally around their champion’s rebuttal of those know-it-all scientists.

I know that global temperatures are up. I suspect it’s a long-term trend. I also suspect that human activity is involved. But I’m not enough of a scientist to affirm that 100%.

What I do know 100% is when people are making bad arguments. And I’ll point them out when I see them, no matter what the political stripe.

Make this world great again

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I’ll interrupt my series because something must be said about President Trump’s statements yesterday regarding immigrants from developing nations. Since the election of Donald Trump, I’ve committed myself to being guided by 1 Peter 2:17 and similar passages. I avoid criticizing the president himself because of this passage. I’m also aware that such statements tend to be seen as partisan, as if I were supporting another party or candidate.

But with all the uproar from yesterday’s vulgar remarks, I want to state a few things clearly, directing my remarks to Christians who live in the U.S.:

  • If the only thing about the president’s remarks that bothers you is the fact that he used a vulgarity, then something is very wrong.
  • If you’re willing to explain away the president’s remarks because you agree with his politics, something is very wrong.
  • The United States is not a church and should not be expected to act like one. But we Christians are the church, 24/7, and must never forget that.
  • If greatness for one country comes at the expense of other peoples, then we Christians cannot promote such greatness. We are Kingdom people first and members of some nation of this world second.

Much more could be said. Probably should be said. But it’s hard for me to say much more without violating the principles I wrote about in the first paragraph.

Pray for Africa. Pray for Haiti. Pray for all the nations of this world. May God make this world great again.

Toeing the party line

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As I’ve watched friends on Facebook debate the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, I’ve been reminded of a study done by Lifeway Research a few years ago.

Here’s a quote from the report of the findings:

Pastors identifying as Democrats are the most likely to strongly agree (76 percent) in the validity of man-made global warming, followed by Independents (20 percent). Just 7 percent of Republican pastors strongly agree. Conversely, Republican pastors are the most likely to strongly disagree (49 percent), followed by Independents (35 percent) and Democrats (5 percent).

Our views on climate change probably reflect our political views in general. If we tend to support Republicans, we’re probably skeptical about climate change. If we tend to support Democrats, we probably think that humans have contributed to global warming.

Personally, I don’t think that’s healthy a bit.

One friend was asking for info on the subject. I started to say, “Find a Democrat that doesn’t believe in global warming and a Republican that does believe in it. They’ll be able to give you reasoned arguments for their beliefs.” But I was afraid I’d be sending them on an impossible quest.