Don't Take the Bait. Learn from Jesus 

Maturity isn't a common quality. Give the fledglings a little more time.

That's just about the opposite of what's going on in This Little Corner -- most of the discussions we're taking part in are very much fluid intelligence, as thing are thought about and mulled over. In fact, I'm not all that sure how you come to the conclusion you present here.

@@jimluebke3869 I wasn't talking about this channel and apparently, at least 13 other people knew that.

@@CarolannBrendel How do you come to the conclusion you present here? Honest question.

Wish I could upvote this twice. Mere Christianity is the book that converted me from Atheism, and the quote you mentioned has always stuck with me. Not just in terms of national politics, but also certain movements within the church itself.

2020 was triggering. I have better resilience this time around ;-)

I have an allergy against evil, go figure... Cowardice is not an excuse.

@@williambranch4283 It certainly was! It was kind of a nightmare time. I am hoping I’ll be more resilient as well!

@@KRGruner Oh yes, of course we should oppose evil. I mean responding to it in a way that maybe someone who believes an evil thing will re-think it based on how we answer. Many won’t be swayed-although there is no telling what someone is actually thinking or feeling-but some people will allow a seed to be planted. I think there are manipulators that are trying to mock and dupe us no matter what, and it’s usually best to name that dynamic. But I think most people, even if they use a trick or two like that, simply believe something we take as evil to be good or “good for them.” That doesn’t make them really evil, just deceived. I also find I get information or insight from talking to someone on the other side of an issue. Usually something I missed myself or an explanation for why they believe something I find provably false. Sorry for the long reply!

@@elusivemayfly7534 May you and yours keep your sanity close

If Sowell is ticking off both sides, he’s probably got a point, lol.

On the cross, at first.

"Do what the Pharisees say lmao" -Jesus

What are some current day examples of people "going up" that have yielded a lasting crop of good fruit?

@@Adam-l3f2o Current muddy left/right political associations are one thing but Jesus definitely leans completely Righteous...

And down ;)

Apostle Paul wasn't an anti-nomian. He was winsome with kosher.

I think I'm related to her. You're perfectly describing a relative of mine. All we can do is pray sometimes.

Amen.

Or "don't let them manipulate you into becoming a mouthpiece for opinions not your own". Politics is about someone getting you to think what they want you to think.

don't take the bait in this case by pageau basically means don't go westboro baptist church over it, there's a book called games people play, and when you name the dynamic you get power over the opponent, usually to disable the game that's being played

Well said!

Agree. Also, the "rise above it" folks are often content with going wherever the cultural tide is taking us. It's gratifying to tell yourself you're "above" a question when doing or saying nothing will get you your preferred result.

That quote only works if you are living alone in the Egyptian desert. As for the rest of us..... (And thank you for quote one of the greatest saints whoever lived.)

@@Pseudo_Boethius I'm glad you liked the quote. I think this has powerful applications to traumas like "getting triggered." He's not talking about enemies of flesh and blood... He's talking about what our minds are captive to, and that seems like an evergreen challenge.

@@MJoyCrouch - So True.

Now, how does a person determine if they’re able to judge in the manner Jesus did when saying those things? He does not have an ego or tribal prejudices, but most of us do. Why read the story and only put yourself in the place of Jesus, but not consider that you might be James and John asking to call down fire on a village for being inhospitable (which would, after all, have been “biblical“)

​@@huntz0r - *Why read the story and only put yourself in the place of Jesus, but not consider that you might be James and John asking to call down fire on a village for being inhospitable (which would, after all, have been “biblical“)* Excellent point! I wish more people would ask questions like this, challenging viewpoints is very much needed in the TLC, and we shouldn't just be leaving it to EmJay and T-Rogan to bring the heat. But first understand that this tiny sampling of passages of from Matthew are just that: a tiny sampling...as hard as it is to believe, there is even far more violent language you can find Jesus speaking just from just _that one gospel._ For instance, one passage that I did not originally quote, and this time I will leave in the verse numbers: *45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?* *46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.* *47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.* *48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’* *49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,* *50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know* *51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.* - Matthew 24 ESV So what is the take-away here? We don't need to call down fire from heaven, because that day of fire will come when it's time is due, whether we like it or not. Our mission is to simply point out what is inevitable, and to save those who don't wish to get burned. Why do this? _Because that is exactly what Jesus was doing,_ and we need to be imitators of Christ, not the imitators of the petite bourgeoisie liberal white monoculture of America, who play the violin while Minneapolis and Kenosha burn, patting themselves on the back for being "above the fray." Or perhaps even laughing or enjoying the spectacle as others do the dirty work for them. But my point in posting those passages from Matthew is to force everyone who reads them to understand that passivity and "being above the fray" type thinking is not the least bit Christian. Jesus was the ultimate warrior in the culture war. JBP is also an ultimate warrior in the culture war. And, whether people like it or not, DJT is an ultimate warrior in the culture war. How wonderful would it have been if the residents of Minneapolis and Kenosha had banded together, and beat the living shit out of those who are wreaking havoc on their cities. Now that would have been something I could applaud. But instead, they were too busy cowering in their living rooms, "being above the fray", as thugs burned and looted the very towns in which they lived. Well, except Kyle Rittenhouse of course, who joined a small band of warriors who at least made the effort to keep them from burning down absolutely everything. He had more guts than 99.9% of Kenosha citizens, that's for sure, and he wasn't even from Kenosha. The ultimate example of the rank stupidity of the Minneapolis spectacle were companies of Minnesota National Guard, marching through the streets of neighborhoods far from where the burning and looting were taking place, and shooting and harassing anyone who even had the audacity to stand out on their porch to watch the parade go by. There was video of that happening, but I'm sure it's gone down the memory hole by now. The culture war is not a new thing--it started the day Cain slew Abel, and has never stopped from that time. Social media just makes it much easier to see, it did not start the fire, nor is it even stoking the fire. The fire has been burning since the dawn of man, and will only grow hotter until it consumes all those who have been apart of Cain's rebellion. As for one putting themselves in the place of Jesus, rather than that of James or John, well we are called to be imitators of Christ, not of the apostles. *Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.* Of course Jesus is not talking about literal food here, it's a symbol for *actively going out* and meeting the needs of your fellow man in any way you can, even if it's just being a warrior in the culture wars. And why be a warrior in that war? Because they are the only ones stopping the super-rich godless, hedonistic elites coming in and taking away what little you have left. "You will own nothing, and be happy!" So what will happen to those who choose to "live above the fray," refusing to even do something as small as to lift their voice in protest as evil runs rampant? Well, Jesus tells us plainly what will happen to them: *the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.* Whoever thought there would be such a severe punishment for those who don't want to do anything? So, great question! Let me know if you have any follow-up. And always remember and never forget, *it's all spiritual warfare, all the time.*

@@Pseudo_Boethius 'Jesus was the ultimate warrior in the culture war. JBP is also an ultimate warrior in the culture war. And, whether people like it or not, DJT is an ultimate warrior in the culture war. ' This is really misleading, I think. There's a false binary in what you're saying. Jesus was not 'a warrior in the culture war.' He was a warrior in the *spiritual* war. Because he was God Himself. This last fact is why we don't compare ourselves to him. We can't act like him. We can follow his orders, but that's not the same. You posted a lot of quotes about spiritual violence, and they're well made, I think. The first time I read Matthew I was struck by exactly how spiky Christ was. He certainly wasn't winsome or retiring or cowardly. But also - and surely crucially - he was not a simple partisan. You make comparisons between Jesus, Peterson and Trump, and perhaps you're being ironic. But neither Peterson nor Trump are Christian. One is a Jungian self-help guru and the other is a businessman turned politician. Both have fairly standard-issue right wing positions on all 'culture war' issues. But what did Jesus have to say about taking *political* - as opposed to spiritual - action? About being a political partisan? Nothing. He lived in a time of massive political ructions in an occupied nation, but he's not rooting for the Essenes or calling for the overthrow of the Roman Empire. His Kingdom is not of this world. He calls out spiritual corruption. I can't speak for PVK, but it looks to me like the fatal confusion here is between God and Empire. Plenty of people, including JBP and DJT, want to conflate them. Call their fight for 'the West' a fight for 'Christianity.' But it isn't. There might be plenty to fight about politically right now, but is that the fight Jesus was talking about? I don't think so. Not least because everyone, on all sides of the 'culture war' can claim him if they want. And then we're all sinners fighting about who gets to stone he harlot first. The alternative to being a 'culture warrior' is not 'doing nothing', it's being a spiritual warrior. There are a lot of different ways, external and internal, to do that. One final thought: Jesus was quite specific about us owning nothing and being happy. That was another one of his very clear instructions. Anything can be hijacked if we try hard enough.

@@Peekay72 - Thank you for your very thoughtful and engaging reply. There is a lot here to contemplate. But perhaps you did not notice my tag line: *And always remember and never forget, it's all spiritual warfare, all the time.* You said that I'm engaging in a false binary, but you are wrong. The way I see it _there is no binary._ For me, it's quite literally all the same thing just manifesting at different levels. Yet you are correct in saying Jesus was engaging in a spiritual war, no doubt about it. But, as history proves beyond any shadow of doubt, Jesus' spiritual warfare had a purpose: _to change the culture of planet earth._ His efforts were so effective, that within three centuries, even Rome itself converted to Christianity. How about that for a culture warrior? But that didn't come about from Christians "living above the fray" or "taking a step back," they actively engaged the culture around them, even up to the point of sacrificing their own lives, because they saw that Roman culture was poison to the soul. So they brought about a new culture, a _Christian culture,_ and did battle with the greatest empire that has ever existed on earth, _and they won._ How much of this "above the fray" and "take step back" sort of theology we hear today is really nothing more than the baptizing of cowardice and passivism? Is that how BLM operates? Or Antifa? Or the Wokie-Dokies? I'll let you ponder that for a while. Be advised that not only do I categorically reject the binary of spiritual and cultural warfare (because it only takes about five minutes of observation to see that both sides are being animated by spirits of all kinds), but I also categorically reject the binary of the political and the spiritual. It can be very convenient for us to talk about them as if they are separate entities, but that's just an intellectual abstraction that does not apply to the reality all around us: they are the _exact same thing,_ and I mean that with the utmost of sincerity. Please realize that there never was such a thing as a separation of church and state until 1789 or so; before that, the concept never really existed, and even afterwards, it's still widely rejected to this day. Do you think Islam recognizes a separation of church and state? Do you the the Jews do? How about the Hindus? The Catholics didn't think it was a good idea until Vatican II, and even then they've never been overly enthusiastic about it. The separation of church and state was a convenient little lie that Protestant Americans told to keep the Federal Government from favoring a particular sect, nothing more. The entire OT is the _political history_ of Israel. God loves politics so much, he even selected *King David* as to be the man who would be "the father" of the Messiah. He did not choose a prophet, a patriarch or a priest, did he? Let's not forget, that as Jesus was nailed to the cross, _the Romans_ (not the Jews!) nailed a sign that read "The King of the Jews." Again, a king is seen as a political position, not a spiritual one, but Jesus refuses to recognize the binary--just like I don't--and prefers the title king to that of priest, prophet, or rabbi. Even Jesus knows that the state is far more powerful than the church. Even the Greek word "ekklésia", that we translate as "church", is really more of a political term that is better translated as an assembly, like that of a congress or a parliament. But since the church has categorically refused its rightful place as a ruling body, it has lost its power. As Mao famously said: political power comes out of the barrel of a gun. If you don't exercise real power, then you have no power. Here's a very interesting comment you made: *"He lived in a time of massive political ructions in an occupied nation, but he's not rooting for the Essenes or calling for the overthrow of the Roman Empire. His Kingdom is not of this world. He calls out spiritual corruption."* Now here's an interesting idea for you to contemplate: what if the reason Jesus never called for the overthrow of the Roman Empire was do to the fact that _he actually liked_ the Roman Empire? Not only did he like the Romans, he saw them as being far more righteous than the Jews in Judah? Do you think that's a preposterous idea? I assure you, there's very good reason for Jesus to favor the Romans over the Jews, _and I can easily prove it._ About forty years after the crucifixion and resurrection, the Jews finally had the courage and the men to take on the Roman Empire in open combat. It was one of the worst decisions that the Jews have ever made in all history. Rome crushed them like a bug. It is estimated that *one million* Jews lost their lives in that stupid war, and not only that, Rome literally wiped them off the map: they hated them so much, they renamed Judah to *Palestine*, a name still in use to this very day. The grand temple that Herod the Great built was completely leveled, and never rebuilt. What few Jews were left were scattered amongst the nations. So yeah, Jesus absolutely favored Rome over his own people. The Jews were not just spiritually corrupt, they were politically corrupt as well, even more corrupt than Rome. Again, Jesus does not play the binary of spiritual or political. When the Christians finally conquered Rome, it was a "mostly peaceful" take-over, not counting the tens of thousands of Christians killed by Roman persecution. But they didn't win by "being above the fray" of the culture war, they engaged with Roman culture fully, and that's how they were successful. They won both politically and spiritually. Politics are just the earthly, material means of carrying out spiritual power. The only thing you have to watch for is the spirit who controls the politics. Even God the Father is constantly referenced as a "king" or "ruler of the earth" in the OT, you won't find a line anywhere in the bible that refers to him as a "spiritual" force. And one thing for sure: God has absolutely no problem using *real violence* when it's called for. Both the Bible and history prove that beyond any doubt. I do hope this helps you understand the way in which I approach these things. I think of spiritual warfare as the ultimate set of all that is, and the culture war is just one member of that set, as are the various Jewish/Persian and Arab wars, and the current Russian war against NATO and Ukraine. As a matter of fact, there isn't one conflict in all of human history that is not a member of the set I call spiritual warfare, not even the arguments between a husband and his wife (divorced people know this kind of warfare full well.) That's also why I totally deny the spiritual/political *FALSE BINARY* that you use. Technically speaking, the spiritual is superior to the political in the hierarchy of power, but in day to day life here in Reality Land, the state always and forever will have more power than the church. History, especially current events, proves that point beyond any debate. It doesn't help when the church itself gives up what little spiritual power it still has, and becomes a vassal of the state voluntarily, which is exactly what we see in all leftwing church/state political alliances. Instead of engaging in the culture war as it should, the left leaning churches just adopt whatever positions the state demands, whether it be the Rainbow Coalition, or COVID totalitarianism, or economic tyranny that destroys and damages the poor and the depressed. Case in point: Kamala is now championing price controls to combat inflation, but as anyone who has ever studied economics and economic history knows, price controls are quite literally the road to North Korea, and are dictatorial in the extreme. That is not an exaggeration, price controls only create more poverty, never any wealth. There is no place nor any time where they ever have been effective. Very few of you realize the hell that would be unleashed if she were to be successful in implementing this. So I encourage you strongly to think and act as I do, as it has the great advantage of being able to fully understand the world and it's history *as it is.* Ignore all false binaries which are nothing more than arbitrary categories that have no real existence in the world. False binaries make for great faculty lounge discussions, but that's about it. I love binaries more than anyone else I know, as long as they are true and have real explanatory power. Same is true of hierarchies. I have warned, and will continue to warn everyone that we are headed for a hybrid "1984/Brave New World" type of society that will make both books look like children's bed time stories compared to the hell that will be unleashed thanks to our advanced technology. You didn't really think that AI was created to benefit the peasants, did you??? Wise up people, our time is short.

BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH!!! My goodness, how I love her last name....

@@Pseudo_Boethius One channel misspelled it as Bashem, as in Bash 'em!

The most clarifying video I ever saw from Pageau was one in which he talked about how society has always had a fringe element and how it's important to show tolerance and kindness to it, not try to eliminate it. However, if the fringe insists on being centered, what results is disorder and chaos in the society. This is what we're stuck in the middle of right now.

Brilliant.

I'll have to check it out. Rowe is an interesting fella.

VDH is a great American.

@@williambranch4283 - VDH is the greatest American.

@@Pseudo_Boethius I'm a little nervous he would ask, "What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?" as dismissively as Tertullian, but for the opposite reason.

It wasn't just Weimar. It was Kerensky in Petrograd!

If only the albino Jesuits would seize power?

These people dont self reflect. They are right, and if you disagree with them, you are wrong. Been that way with Christians forever. They think YOU need to self reflect until you come around to THEIR correct position- which they believe is correct based on feelings. These are not serious thinkers, they are serious non-thinkers.

Ding! Ding! Ding! --> Best comment of this thread.

Exactly. Reinforcing restraint is the key. Get the gov out of it and fight the culture war at the level of culture itself, and win.

John 10:34-36

Correct. Ambiguity is the oldest tactic of the devil, and its purpose is *always* to lead you into sin, *always*. The very first recorded use of weaponized ambiguity: *"Did God actually say.......???"*

Prophets eat crystal balls.

You are being too sensitive again ;-)

@@williambranch4283 I am.

It wouldn't be RU-vid if you didn't feel baited.

@@Pseudo_Boethius 🤣

Clergy were compromised by Constantine, eventually becoming the Authority themselves.

Eventually you have to shit and get off the pot ;-)

That’s what prayer is for. Asking God to help you open your mind to HIS path and His alone.

Yes. ☝️This. Would “Christians” be willing to visit, support, or protect those who are being financially persecuted, dealing with lawfare (DOJ coming after pro-lifers, Catholics, etc.) for not violating their consciences?

Yup!

What they took was action. "Sides" are pretty easy. It was one thing to "be against Hitler". It was another to hide Jews.

One pacifist Congresswoman voted against war, because she was a pacifist. She was not re-elected.

@@PaulVanderKlay What actions are you taking for the children who are being operated on? Are you even talking about it with your Sacramento church members?

1973 ... they should have conquered it ;-)

35:22 - that’s why I gave up politics for Lent this year. God told me to do it and I did. I’m glad I listened. Focusing on what’s important in my immediate life instead of talking heads (no offense) on the internet. Raising our kids, gardening, trusting in God. There’s no point in fretting over what I can’t control. It actually makes it easier if I just work hard at being a better person in my own local community for my family, neighbors, and church. Give up everything else to God. Faith over Fear.

I'll give you some thought to something I figured out. small business assets 18 trillion. corporate assets 25 trillion. Household assets 168 trillion. --------------------------------------------------------- US total assets 211 trillion. Total US debts. 101 trillion. So the United States is 101 trillion in debt, but 211 trillion in assets. US net worth, 110 trillion. If the United States net worth is 110 trillion, why are we so worried?

Does damage to the Ex Cathedra infallibility vibe, but I am not Catholic anyway.

After many decades, my political experience leaves me with no political party ;-( But the Kingdom of G-d remains ;-)

Having no party that represents your values is not the same as not voting even for a guy you don’t like. It just means you don’t get to join the enthusiasm that comes with conventions and balloons and easy slogans. Neither party represents my values, the reasons that I will vote the way I will have everything to do with limited practical pragmatic reasons, but I do so with a heavy heart and a genuine skepticism of what the end results will be. Will it actually stem the tide of deeply entrenched unelected bureaucrats who act in their own best interests or have we already gone past the point of no return. I don’t know, but my hope is not in the outcome of this election, all I can do is pray and ask God’s will be done, then love God and love my neighbors while trying to be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.

I understood what she said because I don't have a party either, but I'm still going to vote. I don't support political apathy, but you don't have to sign up for a team and wear the t-shirt (or the hat).🙂

@@williambranch4283 -- I am a proud member of the Silly Party.

I'd say the difference is she sees Keller as a fence sitter trying to play nice on both sides and being in a state of constant compromise, whereas she would she say she has a very distinct position that's just currently unrepresented in American politics. (I think her take on Keller is pretty silly though.)

Follow the money. Mammon rules here.

@@williambranch4283 Bah. Let them keep it. I've accepted that I'll live and die a poor man. Yet I don't think I could withstand martyrdom and there's this old thing about how politics takes care of you if you don't take care of it, so every once in a while if feels wrong to ignore these big pendulum swings.

The actual human beings you may run into on the street are not the incarnation of disordered and destructive patterns (aka, demons). They are children of God who have been deceived. Our enemy is the idea, not the person espousing it whom we want to wake up and realize it’s a lie and turn away from it.

I think Spain would have ended up Communist if it weren't for Franco. He also kept the socialists from destroying the catholic church in Spain completely. Was Franco a hero or a villain? You decide 😊

Had it not been for Franco, it would have easily become a repeat of 1789 in Spain.

and they are aped by other would be socialist tyrants

I often vote third party. Might as well encourage somebody.

Gary Johnson 2016.

Vermin Supreme 2024 🎉

That perverted Obama staffer isn't libertarian, he's a DNC cuckoo bird sabotaging the Mises crew.

Ron Paul 2012

Ok, there are some of you. :)

@@PaulVanderKlay There's too much out there that one has to be selective. I appreciate your commentaries on those I don't follow.

Same ​@@anselman3156

It's having smoething of a revival right now. discord.gg/nRrFnqFP

@@PaulVanderKlay Thank you Paul!

Nice. Aristotle is New & Improved, like Tide.

She did not misrepresent him at all. She called him out for his *extremely one sided "research"* on climate change, and listed multiple examples of *huge issues* he failed to consider in his so-called "research." I've watched his idiotic "climate change" video, and it's an absolute cringe-worthy pile of garbage. I was easily able to counterpoint every single point he made, and I wasn't even trying hard. Gavin and his followers are not upset because Megan "misrepresented" him, he's angry because she pointed out his enthusiastic advocacy for a topic almost everyone on the right absolutely hates, and they rightly see it as left-wing propaganda masquerading as science. HOWEVER....watching Gavin's extremely reactionary videos to Megan, he blatantly and intentionally misrepresents HER constantly, continuously, and slanderously.

@@Pseudo_Boethius nah... most people who are criticizing Basham actually disagree with Gavin's take on climate (including me)

have you seen Chris Date's video?

Then Christians should just refuse to vote. Because the neocons really aren’t Christian. At least Trump doesn’t create more destruction around the world. If purity spirals matter then you’ll never get anything bc politics is about coalitions. This is why I wasn’t going to vote this year. But then God did his intervention so 🤷‍♀️.

@@pigetstuck -- Then what is this misrepresentation? I have the book, I have Gavin's video, and I have X. Show me.

Not whining! I forgot. I appreciate the reminder. Now posted.

@PaulVanderKlay Thank you, Pastor Paul. I do appreciate your work.

The one true religion. But Death is the flipside of the old LP.

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27, NKJV)

Wow!

Let the master metaphor the 'emissirianism' back into it's wisdom.

Like the right dont use those tactics?

Don't drink Team Blue piss - Lisan al Ghaib

100%

Thinking Tommy Robinson is racist...you're an American aren't you...

Tell me what’s so racist about Tommy Robinson without being a traitor and coward.

I like Harris' laugh.

Based on the content of the video, the ironies abound with this comment...but good on you if it was intentional.😂

Gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em lol

Some of the people I know who like Trump do so "because he fights"... by which they mean that he takes the same tools to the battle that the other side has been using for years.

It reminds me in some way of the old western movie where the "good" peaceful people of the town hire some gunfighter to keep the wandering gunfighters under control.

“But she has a gift” Then she can exercise it as God has directed.

Paul addresses egalitarianism. God created hands, feet, eyes. All of the body, but with different levels of honor.

With regards to nuance, I see satan saying, I know god has commanded you not to do sodomy, women as pastors, etc, but you shall not surely die… And we in or pride (interesting word) then rationalize the thing. I know. I’m guilty. And I’ve lived to see the fruits. Call me names but I’m trying to prevent others from going down the same mistakes rather than trying to make myself feel good.