Okay, this is going to be a little long, so go ahead and get your favorite beverage/sustenance. Are you sitting comfortably?
I received the following email the other day from Michael Sherrard of Faithful America:
A new group calling itself the “American Evangelical Association”[**] is generating headlines with a letter attacking Faithful America.
Signed by dozens of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters on the religious right, it makes a wild series of accusations against Christian social-justice leaders and organizations.
The letter names Faithful America alongside Sojourners’ Jim Wallis and evangelical creation-care advocate Rich Cizik, and claims that our activism has contributed to “a growth industry trafficking in human baby organs,” “violent inner-city lawlessness,” and “increasing drugs, disease, crime, gangs, and terrorism.”
The charges are bizarre, but the letter’s signers – several of whom have been named by the Trump campaign as official advisors and endorsers – have a clear mission: Delegitimizing Christians who dare to challenge Trump’s politics of fear and hatred.
With barely a month left before Election Day, polls show that Trump continues to hold a double-digit lead among white Christians, and too many Christian leaders have been intimidated into silence.
With no buildings, denominations, or charitable tax status to protect, Faithful America is free to take on the Christians who are baptizing Trump’s heinous agenda. But we need your support to do it. Donate to Faithful America
The full letter is almost eight pages long, but here’s an abridged version and some of the most significant signers:
“An Open Letter to Christian pastors, leaders and believers who assist the anti-Christian Progressive political movement in America”
After years of earnest but less public attempts, it is now with heavy hearts, and a hope for justice and restoration, that we Christian leaders urge ‘progressive’ evangelicals and Catholics to repent of their work that often advances a destructive liberal political agenda. We write as true friends knowing that most believers mean well. We desire the best for you and for the world God loves.As recent leaked documents confirm, and as Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners eventually admitted, wealthy, anti-Christian foundations, following the lead of billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, fund and “rent” Christian ministers as “mascots” serving as surprising validators for their causes. The consequent realities include injury to countless people, the Church, the family, nation and the global Church including many martyrs.
We must reclaim the Church’s witness in the world. Biblical truth and wisdom are the highest love for human beings. While God loves justice and mercy for all, many “social justice” campaigns are politically crafted and not the true Gospel. Only the truth of our sin, both personal and systemic, and Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our salvation and rebirth, is true hope for persons and nations. The gospel charges all things with hope.
Consider some of the consequences of Progressive political activism over the past eight years:
1. A growth industry trafficking in human baby organs and body parts – funded and defended by the Democratic Party.
2. The abandonment of a biblical view of marriage that protected and liberated children and adults from centuries of pagan slavery, poverty, polygamy and non-life-giving sexuality.
3. The Transgender agenda imposed by Obama-government edict, including gender re-education to be forced on our citizens, businesses, schools, military and churches.
4. Doubling of our national debt, economic stagnation and increased welfare dependency.
5. Increased minority unemployment, poverty and violent inner city lawlessness, with an accompanying loss of opportunity, self-determination and family stability.
6. Heightened racial division and tension, and the growing phenomenon of paid demonstrators being recruited and dispatched to instigate protests that often become riots.
7. Open borders and ‘sanctuary’ cities increasing drugs, disease, crime, gangs and terrorism.
8. Forced refugee resettlement in hundreds of American cities without citizen consent, mandated by the federal government in collusion with the United Nations. “Refugees” are primarily non-assimilating Muslims, while authorities reject persecuted Christians.
9. Hostility towards Judeo-Christian religious liberty in our courts, media and universities including the suppression of conservative speakers, free thought and moral education.
10. The widespread, political use of the IRS to intimidate conservative, patriotic and Christian groups that disagree with the current political establishment.
For many years, Soros’s Open Society and other liberal foundations have funded not only most of the disturbing campaigns mentioned above (1-10) but also the Religious Left, using and creating ostensibly evangelical and Catholic organizations to “message and mobilize” Christians into Progressive causes. They use the Marxist-Alinsky tactic of funding “ministers” who cherry-pick faith language to confuse and divide the Church’s morality, mission and vote.
At a time when many Christian ministries are struggling, a few of the Soros network “faith” and “interfaith” grantees are Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Richard Cizik’s New Evangelical Partnership, Telos, J Street to malign Israel, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Faithful America and Gamaliel. Faith in Public Life to “counter” Christians and the Tea Party in the media and, with PICO, advocates for amnesty, mass Islamic migration, and even sought to influence the visit and priorities of Pope Francis himself. Billions of additional dollars to “Christian VOLAGs” for large scale “refugee” and migrant resettlement often comes from the Obama administration.
We urge you to question the true intentions of persons or organizations that receive money from Soros and other billionaire globalists. We must not give their surrogates four more years.
And so we ask again, why do those who claim to share our faith in Christ continue to advocate for politicians who will pass legislation, and appoint justices and judges who will attack Christian liberty and persecute believers? Turning our nation over to the enemies of biblical faith does not honor Christ, promote love of neighbor, or advance God’s kingdom in the world.
We ask those who have intentionally or unwittingly aided the Progressive agenda in the past to look at the actual consequences of their policies. Please stop inviting fellow believers to assist global profiteers and political activists who are determined to de-Christianize America.
Please repent and turn away from those who attack the Church. Say “no” to blood money. Refuse funds from anyone attempting to put the Church and America in chains.
Selected signers:
Lt. Gen. Wm. “Jerry” Boykin (U.S. Army, retired)
Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely (U.S. Army, retired)
Bishop Harry R Jackson, Jr. (High Impact Leadership Coalition)
Dr. Everett Piper (President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University)
Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riano (Executive Vice President, Regent University)
Dr. Wayne Grudem (Phoenix Seminary)
Dr. Jay Richards (The Catholic University of America)
David Barton (author and speaker)
Rep. John Becker (Ohio state representative)
Dr. Jim Garlow (Senior Pastor, Skyline Church, San Diego)
Pastor Steve Riggle (Grace Church, Houston TX)
Pastor Steve Smothermon (Legacy Church, Albuquerque NM)
Fr. Frank Pavone (Priests for Life)
Eric Metaxas (author, talk-show host)
Tim Wildmon (American Family Association)
George Barna (Researcher and author)
Mat Staver (Liberty Counsel)
[**Note: A Google search found nothing about this “American Evangelical Association”]
Next, an insane exhortation to his fellow Evangelicals by Paige Patterson, Op-Ed Contributor to the Christian Post, titled “How Evangelicals Should be Like Hitler’s Army on Election Day” [yes, he said “Hitler’s Army”]:
What do April 30, 1945, and Nov. 8, 2016, have in common?
The first date was the culmination of World War II. On that fateful day, Adolf Hitler apparently shot himself in the mouth as Russian soldiers moved in on his compound. But in the midst of all that tragedy, an interesting saga played itself out in Germany.
Before Hitler realized that he had lost the war, almost all other Germans knew it well. The Russians were closing from the East, and the Americans came from the West.
The dilemma of many German troops was relatively simple: “Shall we surrender to the Russians or shall we head west and surrender to the Americans?”
Apparently no small number made every effort to fall into the hands of the Americans.
No one knew for sure what would happen to them if they opted for the American option. But the German army knew well what would happen if they were overtaken by Russian generals. In the end, it was what they knew, not what they did not know, that forced their choice. Having heard and often experienced the kindness of American soldiers, many decided that this was the best hope for the future.
And what about Nov. 8, 2016 — election day in America?
Apparently, there has never been an election quite like it. The two presidential candidates both sport disapproval ratings among the highest of any candidates in history. What on earth shall Christians do? Some have said that they will stay home that November morning and stoke the fire in the fireplace. Others will write in a preferred name — some have even said that this name will be “Jesus.”
There is another interesting aspect to this dilemma. There are actually three different ways to vote for Hillary Clinton. The first is the one that she prefers. Pull the lever for her to be the next president of the United States. But if you cannot bear to do that, then write in the name of a candidate who has no chance of winning or pour another cup of coffee and watch a vacuous TV show at home. Mrs. Clinton will be pleased, because she is confident that the vast majority of Democrats and other liberals WILL vote for her even if they intensely dislike her and do not trust her.
“The sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8).
We know what will happen if the win goes to Mrs. Clinton. Judges throughout the judiciary will be appointed from among those who support the execution of preborns under the dubious rhetoric of caring for the health of women (those who managed to be born, that is). These same judges will continue to attack the religious liberty of evangelical Christians, and the preaching of much that the Bible teaches will be interpreted as “hate crimes,” especially if proclaimed in a public setting.
On the other hand, we have no idea what Donald Trump will do. His record is anything but stellar. But we do know what he has promised, and we are already aware of the docket of judges from which he promises to name those charged with the protection of constitutional rights. Should he keep his promises on only half of these issues, Americans will have a chance to save the lives of infants still protected in the wombs of their mothers and the sanctity of religious liberty. The first freedom that alone gives meaning to all of the others will be maintained in a world that desperately needs this witness.
A presidential election is not about whether you like someone. Neither is it about whether you agree with him on everything. When was the last time you voted for a president with whom you agreed at every point?
Like the Germans and their surrender, the question is simple: Do you cast a ballot, in any one of three ways, that you know for sure will be devastating to preborn infants and to religious liberty, or do you cast a vote for a candidate who offers some hope?
We must hear the warning of Christ and see to it that the children of this world will not be wiser than the children of light. Every infant must be the recipient of a voting parent or grandparent who wishes to give that child a chance to live. And our religious liberty must be preserved!
Choose the candidate who offers hope, not the candidate who guarantees disaster. And you will make that decisive choice!
There’s just too much delusion, and too many lies, buzzwords, and dog-whistles here for one person to pick apart. So…
…This is our daily Open Thread – go ahead, everyone, have at it!
TheZoo 
Too bad these Christers pay absolutely zero attention to the universal love and kindness that Jesus himself advocated. How sad that they see benevolence toward all people, even people unlike themselves, as being verboten by their faux and bogus “god.” Why the hate and fear? What is the root cause that demands and promotes such a stupid, ignorant and divisive lifestyle?
My support for the Sixth Mass Extinction grows.
I would have had something to say, but you said it for me.
I’ve heard of wealthy kids as having been ‘born on third base’. Trump was born sliding into home plate with the ball still in the outfield.
More and more he reminds me of the angry chimp in the cage who hurls poo at all the visitors.
He’s got to be trying to lose this election. Either that or he’s totally incapable of fielding random questions at a town-hall style event.
FTCS
Just saw that article on C&L.
Being a decorated Army Viet Nam Veteran, I think I stand with my brothers in calling out this cowardly piece of water buffalo excrement when I say
“Shove your bullshit theories up your hole with a barbed wire plunger, Drumpf”
Thank you for letting me vent. I feel so much better I can almost ‘handle it”.
That person, who is unfit to wipe your boots, cannot even handle a wound to his ego.
I wish he’d been drafted in ’67, and the tub of lard was in my basic training unit, B-3-1, at Fort Ord. I would have kicked his fat ass all the way to the rifle range, forced marching in the effing sand.
All the millennials who are still fuming over Bernie’s loss and threatening to vote for a third party candidate really care nothing about Bernie.
If Hillary wins, Bernie will be a very powerful voice during her administration, if not he’ll be back slogging through the Senate dealing with the wrath of a very angry President Trump.
And that doesn’t address the most important issue which could be as many as 4 SCOTUS appointments.
Back in ’68 and prior to June 6, I was feeling really good with the idea that RFK would kick Nixon’s ass, become POTUS, and quickly put an end to LBJ’s Vietnam fiasco.
Enter Sirhan Sirhan.
So it was Nixon v. Humphrey (LBJ’s veep, a yuuge negative at the time) and George Wallace. Wallace snagged enough deep South Dem racist votes to hand Nixon the win, and the rest is history.
This year, it’s Hillary v. the idiot Trump, with Johnson and Stein standing by to gather in the votes of Bernie’s Millennial disappointees. This time the deep South racists will all be for Trump, along with Teh Stupid and the born-again fascists. The Millennials wanted Bernie, not Hillary, so apparently many of them are either going to vote for J/S or stay home. In ’68 a vote for 3rd party or staying home was a vote for Nixon. He “won” — the country lost. Bigly.
Are we as a nation really stupid enough to reenact the “elect the stupid” scenario one more time?
The possibility looms. History be damned.
Oh, and don’t forget 2000. Thanks, Ralph Nader, thanks SCOTUS, for handing it all to Bush. He was SO cool, and them two wars plus the global financial crash were so much more than that establishment VP dude named Gore could ever have come up with.
Yeehaw
Things are waaaaay too close for comfort. I believe I have mentioned my old, and yet slightly younger, friend Matt.
Matt’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. And? He would rather gargle with ground glass and gasoline than sit through a newscast, much less read “lefty” blogs, so he gets his “news” from friends, family, and coworkers.
A couple months ago he was buying the crap he gets from his Wisconsin, right-wing, coworkers and leaning towards Trumpy. “Build the wall!” and such. Our circle of more sophisticated friends have convinced him of his error there but he’s still convinced that “Democrats want to take our guns and tell us what to do”. Still, he has decided that he will probably not vote at all and, here in Minnesota, I’m not going to try to convince him otherwise. The RWNJ’s will sweep his district and Hillary will win the state so his non-participation is very unlikely to make any difference.
The scary part is the bit of info he dropped the last time we talked. He said his parents are going to vote for Trumpy because “they have to vote for Republicans because their parents voted for Republicans”! And there is the problem.
Most people are unaware and vote by habit, upbringing, and preconceptions. Matt’s mom is an old, church-going, lady who has been convinced that Democrats are godless heathens who “kill babies” for fun and profit. His dad is a mean, old, rich bastard who listens to right-wing radio all day and, as far as I know, has never even been formally introduced to a person of color and suffers from the common and casual racism so prevalent in rural Minnesota. Both of them are convinced, for slightly different reasons, that “everything sucks because of Obama” and “Hillary will make it worse”. And none of the three seem to realize that: a. things today are generally better than the day Obama took office and b. GOoPers have controlled the legislature of both Minnesota and the country since 2010 so any complaints you have should be directed at them. So?
We sane and smart people have to pick our battles. Matt and I can discuss issues from a position of mutual respect and, being a bit of a mentor to him, he looks to me to explain things he doesn’t understand. But? There’s no effing way that either of us could ever hope to reach his parents or coworkers because they are fully indoctrinated. Our only recourse is to outnumber them at the polls in sufficient numbers to make elections too uneven to steal.
I come from rural S. MN (Waseca County) a place that was strong R back in the fifties. My folks were strong R, but it was different then in that there was no hate, fear, and/or Christer element implicit. I wore my “I Like Ike” button in ’52 and ’56. In ’60 I was a college frosh (at Luther College in Iowa, of all places) and really liked JFK — in spite of the fact that many of my really old aunts and uncles said that if JFK was Pres., we’d all have to become Catholic. In ’64 I was a student at ASU (Tempe) and eligible to vote for the first time. I did NOT like LBJ for a wide variety of reasons, most related to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; I voted for Goldwater mainly because he had the support, in AZ, of both the Hopi and Navajo People (who didn’t get along with each other). Goldwater had also, in early ’50s when he was on the Phx City Council, supported the desegregation of Phoenix Public Schools, also the AZ Air Nat’l Guard. I liked that.
In short, LBJ got elected, started the war in the Nam, and after four years said he was not going to run again. Enter Nixon, enter Sirhan Sirhan, enter George Wallace, and the rest is history. The US has been on the downhill slope ever since, and there is no letup in sight — the “divide” between common sense and politics that defined the Eisenhower/Stevenson race both in 52 and 56 is gone, doesn’t exist anymore. Today’s Repubs are fundamentally fascists, racists, and evangelical Christers who, each and all, are fueled by hate and fear. The Dems are the opposite in every possible way.
Today’s choice is obvious — and could, if it goes the wrong way, well-define a potentially unpleasant finality. Choice is simple: like hate, fear and fascism? Vote Republican. Like the idea of fairness, tolerance and opportunity for all? Vote Dem.
It’s so simple, really.
It’s just a poll, but it’s encouraging.
Not…even…close.
Cue “Chariots of Fire” theme.
So Donald is really Darth’s son, Taxi…
I had read that Gary Johnson was taking more voters away from Hillary than Trump, which I found hard to believe. Her debate performance combined with Johnson’s Aleppo moments are proving that to be true, however. Latest polling have Johnson dropping 5-6 points and Hillary seems to be the beneficiary.
Unless Trump has a CPA or tax law degree, the ‘brilliance’ exhibited by him was the ability to wave his checkbook to hire highly paid experts.
It should be clear to everyone that mentally, Trump is still struggling to get out of third grade.
Did Donald Trump’s ex-wife Marla Maples leak his 1995 tax return?
I hear it wasn’t even close.
Elaine Quinones lost control for a while. Neither candidate would respect the other’s time.
Works for me.
This isn’t a debate, it’s a bar argument.
I watched it.
*Yawn*
So, Drumpf says Tim Kaine looks like an ‘evil crook’…Got projection much, gasbag?
The best tweet of the night happened after I went to bed:
This was great too: