Honest-To-Goodness

If you've just been invited to join this page, welcome. I'm working to bring #honesty back to #religion, #politics and the #environment. My book Honest-To-Goodness is for all readers, and while #Christianity is the principle focus, it addresses its #history for #better or #worse and offers #solutions to #culturewars and #conflict. My co-author is a Professor of Religion (Emeritus) Dr. Richard Simon Hanson, whose treatise Religion From Earth is included in the book. I invite you to give it a read as the world needs #truth now more than ever.

Meet the latter-day King Herod.

When Jesus was dragged for judgment before Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect wanted nothing to do with the religious disagreement among Jews under his authority. So Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas, a keen Jewish politician whose authority bridged the gap between wealthier Jews and Roman rule. Like many calculating rulers, Herod was shrewd and often cruel. Politically able men use their "smarts" in calculated ways to gain and maintain power. Jesus branded Herod "that Fox" for claiming Jewish heritage while playing by Roman rules. Luke 23:8?tells us that?by the time Jesus was a grown man, Herod Antipas heard about his miracles and?was eager to finally meet Jesus: “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.” When Herod demanded to see a miracle, Jesus ignored him. At that, the royal guards wrapped him in a splendid robe so that the King and his court could mock him. Then Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, ridding himself of the need to resolve a conflict within the religion he represented. To Herod, all religion was performative; unless it entertained him or served his political purposes, he wanted nothing to do with it. Yet Herod deeply feared his losing his position. During the period when news of Jesus' birth as a possible King reached him, Herod ordered the killing of all children under two years of age to eliminate his competition. The parallel to King Herod in today's religiously charged political world is Donald Trump, the performative Christian eager to leverage the power and authority accorded him by association with the Judeo-Christian tradition. Yet when tested, Trump also fails to uphold clear values. Trump brags that he is a "Pro-Life" president, yet when pressed about whether he's in full support of the policy he claims to advocate, ABCNews reports: "Trump has not said what types of abortion bans he would support at the federal level, but said at a recent CNN town hall, “I happen to believe in the exceptions, the life of the mother, rape, incest.” He still refuses to hold men accountable for unplanned pregnancies. Trump is also not Pro-Life in the sense of valuing civil rights. He directly threatened all who might oppose him, using any means possible to thwart what he regards as "the enemy within." Just like King Herod. Many evangelical Christians prefer to compare Donald Trump to King David on the claim that God works with flawed people. David wasn't flawed until he achieved power. Then, he abused women, committed adultery, sentenced military heroes to death, and committed genocide. At his life's end, David begged to build a temple in God's honor. But God disavowed David saying, "You have too much blood on your hands." For his many sins and performative lies, Trump awaits a similar fate. His hubris and insecurity resemble many who went before him.

Don't tell us you believe he's a 'good man' or anything close to it. He's an adjudicated rapist and abuser of women, a misogynist and serial adulterer who committed campaign fraud in paying a porn star for her silence before the 2016 campaign. It is inexcusable that this tyrant maintained support despite all his lies, human rights abuses, defamation, business crimes and felonious activity. If you're proud that he's re-elected, you have no shame.

It disgusts me when people say they give Donald Trump a pass on his morals because... "He's not my pastor, he's my President." Yet here is the transcript of him bragging about committing sexual abuse on women. He preaches that he's allowed to abuse them without consent because "he's famous." Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a consensual sexual encounter. Trump gets a pass from evangelical Christians and Republicans because they insist he's doing God's work. This is the creep who will be President of the United States again? These are his own words. Trump: "I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck her, she was married." Unknown: "That's huge news there." Trump: "No, no, Nancy. No this was [inaudible] and I moved on her very heavily in fact I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said I'll show you where they have some nice furniture. I moved on her like a bitch. I couldn't get there and she was married. Then all-of-a-sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look." Bush: "Your girl's hot as shit. In the purple." Multiple voices: "Whoah. Yes. Whoah." Bush: "Yes. The Donald has scored. Whoah my man." Trump: "Look at you. You are a pussy." Bush: "You gotta get the thumbs up." Trump: "Maybe it's a different one." Bush: "It better not be the publicist. No, it's, it's her." Trump: "Yeah that's her with the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful... I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything." Bush: "Whatever you want." Trump: "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

https://lnkd.in/gF6esFaJ Is Donald Trump a genuinely serious man?

If we're going to someday push Bible teaching on public schools, Christianity's history of corrupt #legalism and its association with #fascism should be taught along with it.

There's likely going to be a push to teach the #Bible and impose Christianity in public schools. If we are forced to go that route, here's a quick history of how and where #Christianity went wrong with corrupt #theology that should be taught along with Bible stories and #biblical literalism. Jesus confronted the legalistic religious authorities of his day for adhering too strictly to their #heritage and #tradition. They ignored his #teaching and conspired to have him crucified through #political means. Despite Jesus' example of resisting performative religion, Christianity consolidated into a legalistic force under Roman authority, becoming the one thing Jesus most despised, a legalistic institution bent on power. The Reformation challenged that model that abused its authority with #commercial #indulgences to gain #wealth, #status and #control. That's the same thing Jesus condemned in turning the temple into an excuse for #commerce. Sadly, Protestant #legalism formed its brand of legalism around biblical #inerrancy and #infallibility. This #conservative #dogma defies and denies everything Jesus taught and stood for. Even sadder is the fact that Hitler used #Christian #antiSemitism to attack his versions of "the enemy within," including Jews, Black and gay people, immigrants, and the mentally and physically #disabled. Trump is doing the same thing with the backing of Christian #evangelicals conspiring to kill Jesus' kingdom of the meek bring about #dominion and even the #Endtimes. That is #religious nihilism along with fascism. Photo from my book signing at Luther College, where I learned "the unexamined faith is not worth having." https://lnkd.in/gKDaBWN6

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