The USA and Christianity
The problems that political liberals and conservatives face in the U.S.
Two things this morning brought me to reflect on our nation’s future.
First, my former secretary, an excellent representation of Christianity to all who know her, posted this meme on her Facebook account:
A thoughtful person who is not prone to calling himself Christian or even “religious” (e.g., I know him) responded to the meme by commenting:
“He tried to overthrow an election. He’s a bundle of insecurity cloaked in a pathetic, grasping ego. He openly admires authoritarian dictators. He’s the opposite of everything we were raised to be. He’s an anti-American and anti-Christian.
Evangelical support for Trump has revealed the falsehood of the religion, (so I guess I’m glad for that so younger generations can see it clearly?) As he is the opposite of the Sermon on the Mount. So many evangelicals today would have hated Jesus. To be fair, Jesus would have made me quite uncomfortable too. Not sure I could have sold everything I own. But Trump and Christian nationalism are the opposite of Jesus.”
I felt compelled to respond to the above comment and wrote a thoughtful, gracious response.
I posted my comment, but Facebook immediately sent me a message saying I would be banned from their platform (again). FACEBOOK allowed me to “delete” the comment to avoid being banned.
As I deleted my comment, I thanked the LORD for Substack, Rumble, and X (formerly Twitter), the three major platforms that genuinely believe in free speech.
Church and State
Here is my Facebook comment to the professed agnostic’s comment:
“I respect you and your thoughtful comment. My (former) secretary and I both follow Jesus and seek to practice the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount.
But we are Baptists. We believe in the separation of church and state. I’ll give you a practical illustration of differences in my membership in both “the Christian church” and “the Constitutional state.”
I carry a concealed Sig Sauer .9 mm or Smith and Wesson .45 everywhere I go.
If I am by myself and robbed, I’ll refrain from pulling out my gun. I will hand over my billfold and tell the robber if he needs more and I’ll get him more.
That’s “turning the other cheek.” I follow Christ. I’m a member of His church.
However, if I ever see anyone murdering other people in a mall, a shopping center, or public place, or if someone seeks to harm my wife or family, I will pull out my gun and kill the perpetrator. I am a citizen of the United States of America.
“We the People” are the state in this Republic.
I easily separate my personal responsiblities as a member of Christ’s church from my societal responsiblities as a member of the United States of America.
Church Responsiblities - feed the hungry, house the homeless, forgive sinners, keep doors open, give generously, and follow the Sermon on the Mount.
State Responsiblities - close the borders, punish crimials for their crimes, practice justice and not mercy, guard against foreign invasion, and protect the individual liberties of all citizens and follow the Constitution.
When it comes to my pastor, I want a person who follows the Sermon on the Mount. When it comes to my President, I want a person who follows the Constitution.
You seem to conflate the Church and the State.
But you’re not alone. Political liberals and conservatives BOTH struggle with conflating church and state.
Political liberals want the STATE to behave like the Sermon on the Mount, and political conservatives often want the CHURCH to behave like a Constitutional state.
My secretary and I separate church and state, and that’s why Trump’s love for this country and our Constitution trumps his un-Sermon-on-the-Mount-like behavior.
Again, thank you for your thoughtfulness. We don’t desire “Christian nationalism,” for it would require what liberals are now doing to destroy our country (open borders, release of criminals, giving money to the poor, etc.). We desire a Constitutional state that follows Natural Law.
Satanism and Schools
A second thing happened this morning that caused me to reflect on the future of our nation.
My cousin (by marriage) is Oklahoma House Representative Rick West (54th District).
Rick introduced a bill this past April 2024 to allow public schools in Oklahoma to hire religious chaplains.
Rick’s bill passed the Oklahoma House last week and is headed to the Senate (Senate Bill 36).
The Satanic Church of America held a news conference this morning and proclaimed that they would be sending “Satanic ministers” to Oklahoma schools if Senate Bill 36 passed the Senate.
The Satanic Church is making the same mistake that political liberals make. They don’t understand that the Constitution rules the state and “The Sermon on the Mount” rules the Christian church.
As long as chaplains refrain from turning classrooms into religious indoctrination and promote Constitutional values, then there’s no problem with Satanic, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, or any other “religious” chaplains.
What are the values of the Constitution?
“Do all you have agreed to do, and do not encroach on other persons or their property.”
I don’t care what religion you are; as long as you abide by the values of the United States Constitution (see above), you are a welcome member of this state.
A person who follows the Sermon on the Mount will be at peace with all.
Only those who follow the United States Constitution are loyal Americans.
The next 8 months will be the most momentous in our history, I believe.
Even exceeding the lead up to the World War 2, and of the War itself.
The future of our Nation is fragile - at best.
Only a clear and uncontested winner in November will forestall breakup.
If close, we’re toast.
GREAT summation of what so many of we Jesus followers hold to be true, Wade. Thank you for it.
This is how you have kept me engaged as a loyal follower of your posts for years.
I continue to be totally baffled at the apparent support being given by American citizens for what seems to be the blatant, treasonous, and subversive, policies being applied by our own United States government against itself! It really seems to me that some sort of mind-controlling hostile invader has taken over the rational competency of those who have acquired positions with the ability to enact US policies.
Imagine;
"US borders totally opened and even our own government resources assisting in invading our country with any and all invaders with absolutely no restrictions or vetting/
Absolute abandonment of any form of law enforcement or consequences for criminal behavior/Demonization of our greatest ally, the state of Israel, for its responding militarily to atrocious, sneak, attack by hostile forces upon their peaceful citizens on their own soil/
Total indifference to a huge movement of Antisemitism and support for the genocidal annihilation of the Jewish ethnic people/
Unprecedented use of the full force of the government's legal prosecutorial system (totally identified by one party's participation) upon the primary political opponent of the sitting regime with the purpose to eliminate its political competition through glaringly fabricated charges of violations."
Former American generations would have been spelled bound by the absurdity of the proposition that this nation would ever arrive at this state of third world, totalitarian, Marxist, condition. As a matter of fact, the former United States went to war to battle those authoritarian regimes seeking to assert this same sort of state-ran dictatorial ideology upon the world. Now we are one!
Yet there seems to be some sort of enchanting mind-controlling power ruling over the brains of Americans.
We see polls showing only the slightest of leads in "some states" by a candidate campaigning upon traditional American values that accommodated his former administration, and were proven to be in total contrast to those policies that have been destroying the basic premises of this nation's structure under the current regime. (George McGovern would turn over in his grave!)
Yet it is likely that the current socialist, one-party, advocates will actually win the popular vote in this United States!
The reality defies reasonable explanation unless the presence of a very real, and active, spiritual, demonic, dimension is included in the mix.