Bingo! You explained it perfectly for me. Growing up in the northern part of the U.S., we were taught that Jesus is love, kindness, and acceptance of everyone. Currently living in South, "fire and brimstone Christianity is all that is taught. "IF YOU DON'T (insert verb) YOU WILL GO TO HELL!" "IF YOU DO (insert verb) YOU WILL NEVER GO TO HEAVEN!" No mention of love or kindness and absolutely don't accept others. In their eyes, the stranger is your enemy. Thank you. I thought it was just my imagination that Jesus has been the victim of identity theft.
I grew up in Georgia, in a rather diverse city. My minister was a Protestant from Dublin Ireland & had seen firsthand what religious hatred could do (during The Troubles in Belfast). He preached love & acceptance - it was what I was raised on. My family moved to South Carolina when I was in high school, near the city where Bob Jones Univ. is located & it was like a complete 180. All the churches seemed to preach only fear, hate, fire & brimstone. My family, who had been regular churchgoers in GA, quit going to church. I couldn't believe there was such a cultural difference moving just one state over.
When I found out that the man who raped me had been raped when in a county jail by the sheriff, I realized he was also a victim. It was then that I found forgiveness. And forgiveness was the greatest gift I could give myself.
That type of Christian teaching sucks the life out of living. They are so full of fear about change that they forget the teaching of Jesus. Love thy neighbour. Thanks Rev Ed.
I am a child of the 1950s. It's the same rhetoric they used about Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. I've never understood why so-called Christians spend so much time being frightened--don't they understand the message of Jesus?
They also did it to Buddy Holly is music was sinful, Young people dancing wow not good..On Ed Sullivan they only showed half of Elvis...The is America has this crazy middle age ignorance..
What do you expect from the parents and grandparents of the people who think that the devil is using Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to get people to vote for Democrats?
Fear is one of the greatest ways to get control over people, whether the context is religious or secular. What I've noticed is that the more fearful a religious person is, the more fearful they are about all aspects of their lives, and usually they fear the wrong things and people. Fear tends to blind people and, in their blindness, they lash out in the direction they are instructed. To me, faith-based fear shows a weakness of faith.
I'm Black, but I was thinking of one of my favorite 70's TV characters growing up...Archie Bunker. AB always made me laugh as a racist, but you realize that AB didn't have one mean bone in his body. He just idolized rich, mean racist business owners/friends, co-workers/role models because he was uneducated and had no way of gaining actual knowledge and truth in his life. Bunker would be a MAGA voter today but the difference is, today's MAGA voter has that mean bone he didn't. These folks know far more and have access to the internet unlike Archie, but still refuse to use logic, their own eyes and the Bible combined. Archie was always misled by his friends but even then, he'd tell the more racist friends on the episodes they were wrong when they wanted to go to MAGA extremes like January 6th.
You are right. Archie was racist in the way many have historically been racist. It was born out of ignorance. Rather than a misplaced sense of superiority.
Archie Bunker evolved over the course of several seasons- and took his viewers with him on the journey. 'The play's the thing, to capture the conscience of the king.'
And yet the actor who played Bunker, Caroll O'Connor, was one of the most liberal people you'd ever meet, as was the creator of the show. One of my favorites as well.
@@sharonharris9782Well said, Carroll O Connor was even more liberal than Rob Riener..That's the point Norman Lear was bringing out in With Archie..the Bigotry , Those were the Days.. The Cast of the all in Family were all liberal thinking they worked well Together..
Watching the emergence and the madness of MAGA movement, I've learned: 1. NOT TO blame anyone or any ethnicity for my failures, 2. TO examine what I hear or read in the media, especially when the message is overly visceral 3. NOT TO put my faith in any person instead of in what I believe even when a person claims to embody my beliefs 4. TO EXAMINE every politician's past records before casting a vote to support that politician.
Great lessons. I've learned from watching my elders be strongly influenced by MAGA that if you live long enough, the world seems foreign and the young people look crazy to you. Medical advances are allowing us to live way beyond our comfort zone. A lot of people seem to think the world peaked when they did, and inevitable changes are ruinous. I may not be explaining it well. I just know that I am about 20 years from reaching elderly status and I want to be more adaptable and more loving.
@@jaimesfolly Elders thinking the world has deteriorated since they were young is nothing new. I'm 68 and my elders spent my whole childhood telling us how much better *ish was when they were young. The level of fear with some of my age cohort is insane, though.
@@jaimesfolly Not every old person acts like bigots and misanthropes! I'm a senior who vehemently opposes everything about maga. You are going to be fine, because you know better. I spent my first 40 years living in Texas, where most of my family are Southern Baptist. Their church has become more of a political organization than a church, and they've completely abandon the ideals they used to attribute to following Jesus. They have accepted trump as their lord. I left Texas forever in 2001 and moved to California. It was a good move! In 2015, I lost my brother in Texas. He didn't die, he just disowned me. He told our cousin that I'm "dead to him" but didn't say why. I know it's because his current wife hates me. She's never met me, but we've talked on the phone twice. She's over-the-top maga and christian nationalist. They belong to a prosperity gospel church (should just call it Church of Trump). My 31 year old son has had mental illness since early childhood, and at @ age 21 he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, CPTSD, and depression. He had served in the US Navy for a year when his schizophrenia took over. His CO realized that my son was doing weird things, not out of insubordination, but because he was receiving instructions from a General who did not exist! He was given an honorable discharge and sent home. He became suicidal because he felt that he failed his country. He was proud to be in the Navy and planned to become a pilot. I'm still proud of him! I have taken him to medical professionals since he was two, always made sure he had a good therapist. This has helped him learn to live a normal life in spite of his brain that lies to him and causes hallucinations. He's finally doing well on meds, but he's never going to be cured. My brother's wife (who has no children) told me that my son doesn't have schizophrenia because mental illness isn't real. "He has a SIN problem!" She told me that I should have "corrected" him "biblically" when he was a small child by "putting the fear of god in him". My son was obviously neurodivergent from early childhood. Besides seeking out the best medical support I could for him, I also took parenting classes for myself that were specific to teaching and raising a child who is "special". That's where I learned to discipline through natural consequences, not spanking. I'm sure y'all will be shocked to know that these classes taught me that beating a child causes permanent damage to their tender psyches and destroys any progress made, and there is _never_ a good reason to hit a child. NEVER! I'm 62 and there are very few peers my age that I can tolerate. I enjoy talking to younger folks, and I'm excited to see and chat with young people who are becoming much more engaged in voting and standing up against tyranny. THEY are my hope! I love music, everything from 1800's murder ballads, to 1930s jazz, to even some current rap artists, and pop music from other countries (Japanese heavy metal? YES please!). The music channels are where I meet very smart young folks that I love chatting with. I'm the weird one, not them!
@jaimesfolly The older I get, the more solidly progressive I become, so it doesn’t mean that you get resistant to change if you keep learning new things. There are young people who have gone down the MAGA rabbit hole, and I think it’s a combination of bad media sources and the people they associate with.
Yes - that is about trump and his kind - It is one of the best songs ever and generally I was not a big stones fan. I found it to be a perfect song. I like watching you even though I have not been into Christianity (Catholic in my case) for 63 years now.
Reminds me of a quote from a favorite SciFi author of mine that is somewhat dark but here goes. “Remember, your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Remembering this may allow you to make him your friend…”
I think there is a secondary piece in this. While I am an Atheist now I was raised in church. When you teach children to unquestionably follow your leaders it tends to stick with you for life. Leaders are God, your parents, preachers (I intentionally left out teachers because they tend to teach things the others do not want you to learn) and they can even be political leaders. It erases critical thinking skills. There is a reason the right wing, especially "christians" all say the same things. They no longer think for themselves. Why does the right wing hate colleges so much? They teach people to think for themselves. They teach them to question everything. Sorry but that is against everything that right wing ideology stands for (and quite frankly religion as a whole). Most right wingers have no clue that it was a conservative court that actually made the ruling in Roe v Wade. They have no clue that abortion only became a political issue for the church because of a deal made with republican leaders. They just accept what their so called leaders tell them without question.
Lifelong believer here much of what you are saying is accurate for Evangelicals. It's not necessarily true of every religious tradition though. More liberal forms of Christianity actually encourage questions. I was brought up Pentecostal which is very authoritarian. I however was born missing a limb because my mom had no hands. I was encouraged at home to question ❓ authority because my uncle who raised me was a very egalitarian father figure. It's never been easy to navigate my faith traditions with my secular home Education but I have to navigate that daily.
@@UnashamedCaliforniagirl thank you for sharing this. It raises an interesting distinction. Thank you and I'm glad you had someone who encouraged you to ask questions.
@@UnashamedCaliforniagirl Unfortunately the Evangelicals are also by far the loudest part. I know there are some that are more on the liberal (though most have no idea what being a liberal actually means) side but they tend to be much quieter. They get lumped in with the authoritative side of things because of that fact. Jesus did not teach the vast majority of what the right wing side actually does.
Not always. I was terribly hurt growing up and it made me swear I am never going out make anybody feel like this. Just for perspective. We all have stuff to learn and thank God people here realize it!
Amen- awesome song to bring out this point. One of the toughest things these days, it seems, life demands we sort ourselves. Our job is not to trample the people we find hard to love. Our job is to love them so they may see what God wants to show them and let God sort them out.
Being welcoming is a big deal. I remember being judged and ostracized in grade school because I don't believe in the Christian god. It wasn't because I was evil or mean, or "hated god," which is a weird thing. It was because my parents never brought it up, and I had never heard of it before. It was their golden moment to bring me in, and EVERY SINGLE Christian I encountered from age 5 forward has failed in that mission; that ONE task. I'm almost 60 now. You're only the FOURTH Christian I have ever encountered who offers kindness without judgment, fear, or hatred. Who knows, I may have become a Christian, had they engaged in kindness instead of excluding me, calling me a "satan worshipper," declaring me "less than human," saying I'm a "witch," and being so generally hateful toward me. The fact that they'd treat a FIVE YEAR OLD like this showed me that they don't really believe and only use the label as a way of declaring themselves better than everyone else.
My father was an American Baptist and my mother was Presbyterian. My paternal Grandmother was raised by a Southern Methodist and an American Baptist. Her first husband, my grandfather, was a Native American Animist and her second was a Catholic. I was left to choose without any specific indoctrination. I can quote chapter & verse better than most preachers and I am not Christian. “There are many rooms in my father’s house and many ways to get there” according to the teachings. There is no reason you should be punished for finding your own way. And for the record, some of those witches are better Christians than Christians.
I remember in the 2000's a lot of people talking about how it was basically Ok to be bigoted against muslims because the good one should speak out and they weren't. Martin Luther King Jr.'s said something similar. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." The biggest failing of those in the church who follow the actual message of love in the bible, and the one that we are going to be judged for is our silence. There are christians out there who aren't hateful or standing on the street corner yelling. But they have conflated not cramming their belief down other people's throats and silence. I am sorry that so many people failed. And it's not the hateful people that I'm talking about when I say that. It's the people who should have spoken out against those things. Because in the end it's not the words of our enemies that is the most painful, you can and should dismiss them as you do. But the silence of our friends is much harder to forgive.
The fact that some Christians are decent and kind and welcoming to others, and to people not like, them says nothing whatsoever about the truth of their supernaturalist claims. Beliefs and belief systems should be based on the evidence, and not on the personal characteristics of those promoting them. Having said that, I agree that approaching people with a welcoming and open-hearted attitude is much more likely to elicit a favourable response, but if you are trying to engender fear and hatred towards 'others' then frightening people with scare stories and telling them they are surrounded by enemies who mean them harm also has a track record of success (in the short term)... that's what brought the Nazis to power in Germany in 1933, fuelled the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and is driving the current programme of mass-murder in Gaza.
@@exiled_londoner I agree entirely that people being nice doesn't really prove much, but the same is true with people being terrible. Just because there are christians who are terrible doesn't prove anything about the truth. But then I don't feel all that much need to prove that I'm right. I just think it works for some people and I like to encourage people to be better no matter what path they take.
In terms of why DT got elected in the first place, we need to look at the uneven distribution of wealth in the western world. DT was never going to do anything about it, but he led people to believe that he could.
Absolutely correct. Pmurt has no record of ever doing anything for 'maga people ' and never will, unless he benefits from such actions. The economic, political, and religious systems are geared to create the maga mind-set. The economic system is pushing them into poverty and dependency. The political system is telling them its the BPOC minorities are taking what's rightfully theirs. The churches confirm that there're the chosen for heaven, but the evil ones are trying to deny them their rightful place in paradise. Those Christians who gave support to' Reganomics ' tolerated voter suppression and gerrymandering ,and not calling out bigotry ,are just as culpable. Everyone considering themselves not a maga person ,look closely at where their thinking nears that of a maga.
These folks have been told to be angry and afraid by the very people who have the great responsibility to deliver the exact opposite message. They don't understand it's the "leaders" they idolize that put and keep them there. They are stuck in a very dark place and are afraid to face the truth that would free them. They have been in the dark so long the light terrifies them. Prayers for their liberation and by extension the liberation of the entire world.
I had friends who were upset when Amy Grant started to sing secular music. I then asked them "if an architect is a Christian does that mean they should only design churches or that a Christian carpenter should only build churches?" For some reason there are people feel that Christian musicians should only perform gospel music and that Christians should never listen to secular music. I love your RU-vid chats! You have a great depth of understanding and explaining your thoughts!
This song speaks to the Evil of humanity. “ Who killed the Kennedy’s?… After all it was you and me”… He opens the door to our feelings of righteousness and right-ness. If there is a Devil, he’s simply the power that stokes the fire. Stokes anger and fear and chaos. Sits back and laughs, like watching a football game. And no matter who he bets on he wins. To not hate, but to have the courage to accept and ‘love’ is what makes him crazy. Wow! Who knew a song could stir such thought and emotion? Especially a ROCK song 😂
In addition to the training by their clergy, often it just seems EASIER to be hateful than to be loving. I struggle not to be lazy in forming my opinions of others.
I refuse to discuss politics with my son or certain people for the most part. But recently I made an exception to try and get an opinion from my son and to fact check his FIL. MAGA recycles old news as if it's today's. So I call that out. I also want to find the core ideas and values attached to some extreme views. So those I can see have merit and say that. My son did as he usually does and ranted then if I said anything nack told me I am brainwashed. But God gave me serenity about it. I called him later about non-political stuff and pushed the earlier crazy aside until the end of the conversation. Then I just told him it went better than I thought it would and I still love you. Planting seeds, watering them is my job. It's up to God and the receivers if they will take root or not. But honestly, I do like the meme, Vote for Joe, not the psycho. Guess I need to do some Hail Marys and Our Fathers and think about my snarkyness.
I dont know if Trump still does but he would play Sympathy for the devil at his rallies which I thought was funny since I doubt he knows the words or meaning. The Srones have issued a cease and desist order to stop him playing their music at his rallies. Trump said this is un-American of them! 😂😂😂
Thanks Pastor Ed. What you say is so true! What, I think is sorta mysterious about this time is that all of these Preachers and their followers are now gathered together into one bunch. Sorta reminds be of the story of gathering the weeds into bunches and the wheat into bunches. I’m sorta interested in seeing what God is going to do next! One thing, I have learned is that I am not so scared anymore of Donald Trump or these Preachers. I know that I will be ok and by children will be ok because we understand God’s Grace and I know even if they start to force this false Gospel, those of us who know Gods Grace, will never let go of the joy we have and they will never be able to convert us to their understanding. Hopefully they will experience this freedom and joy someday also. And thank God, we will still have preachers like you who preach the Good News of the Gospel!
Thank God I found a Preacher that teaches the truth. Jesus said on the cross " IT IS FINISHED " We don't need another main character like David, we just need to focus on JESUS. I hear people comparing Trump to David. These 2 are polar opposites. Trump thanks himself and King David thanked God.
Rev, I appreciate your compassion and reasoning. I am working on be better at extending love and grace to MAGA folks. I don't want them in charge of government, or anything really, but I want to be a better friend. They are wounded just like the rest of us in this fallen world. I try to pray my ego down so that I can offer more unconditional love.
Oh, Rev. Ed. I got really upset about some comments made in my Bible study about how they are so angry about gay and trans people. I said that we are called to love. I was told that discipline was required. I then posed a Facebook post about loving others no matter where they are at and wondering whether I still have a place in this group. Only 2 people reacted with a positive response. I’m not sure what to do next. Thoughts?
looking forward to reading other comments on this. For myself, i do try to be a positive influence to those around me (by word and deed, as the saying goes), but i also try to remember that, if you find yourself walking with the heedless, it's better to walk on alone, than to walk with them into a pit.
They will know we are Christians by our love. You are being an example of that love. It alright to continue at a place of worship even if everyone’s compassion isn’t on the same path as our own. Sometimes we end up in situations with people who oppose our feelings, so we can learn from each other. Maybe being exposed to the compassion and love for those who are deemed bad, can soften some hearts who have shielded their heart with contemplation. Your non judgement may possibly open some eyes to those who are close, closed to anyone who isn’t exactly like they are.
My first reaction was you should leave. My second thought was if you leave, there will be NOBODY to represent those being bullied. Stay & stand up to the ignorant. You may well to help swing the pendulum in the right direction.
Morning, Rev Ed and friends. It's a good line for sure, but i have always been more partial to The Kinks: Strangers on this road we are on; we are not two, we are one.
Somewhat unrelated except where it is, I have a question... You have "invented" the term falphet as your buzzword for false prophet - a sense of humor AND a valid point. If the said flaphet is in service to MAGA, does this make them a Trumphet??? No, that's okay... I'll accept the groan and find the door. 😊
Daniel in the lions den; Meeshac, Shadrac, and Abendigo (sp?); Trumpets tearing down walls; Defeating enemies using clay jars all come to mind when seeing 'fearful' believers. Stories that were drilled into me as a young child to show what faith could do only to see the teachers ignore them and rely on 'worldly' means of protection. - My low caffeine, poor grammar thoughts lol
You are so very wise. I look forward to your new videos. I also grew up in the 80’s, what a simpler time it was. I try to get through to my loved ones who continue to drink the Fox kool aid, they become like the maga crowd we watch online. They’re so blinded and so full of hate for anyone against trump. It’s heartbreaking. And some of them are intelligent people. It shocks me that they have fallen for the gimmick. That is the only thing trump is good at, the gimmick of making America great again. As well as fear mongering. There’s no greater way to control people, except through fear. I wish I could attend your church. Thank you for continuing to expose the truth and for giving us advice on how to handle these challenges we are facing.
Hello Pastor Ed! Its scary when our children dont follow our faith. Its scary when I follow Jesus as best I can, and feel unsupported by His Spirit. Its scary, but He is trustworthy. I can trust Him, and love others because that's what trusting Him looks like.
It is important to observe and be aware of people's behaviors. When we see behaviors that are causing harm to others, we know in our heart that this is not how we should behave. It causes social disruption through anger, hate, separation and violence. Nonetheless, no matter the behaviors, everyone has their reasons for behaving the way they do. Often it comes back to some fear, whether real or imagined. What I believe is that love (if fully embraced), creates within us the awareness through our heart that some people need our help to overcome their desire to harm others. We must work together to bring to anyone we encounter understanding, empathy, unity, freedom and joy into their lives. There is wisdom in the statement - "wouldn't everyone rather be happy than full of hate and anger?"
Hi. So glad to have this discussed out loud. It is not in agreement that our faith is tested, it is where we disagree. In those moments of disagreements, there is an opportunity to uncover truths we would not realize in any other way. It has been a struggle for me to understand how so many could revere Trump when I see such a dark spirit. Thanks for this message of compassion.
Thank you Rev. Ed for this amazing lesson today. As Christian's we believe that our Lord Jesus accepted the sins of the world and made his sacrifice for our forgiveness asking us to love one another and not be judgmental but be accepting of one another, love one another as we love Jesus and our Father in Heaven.
About 40 years ago I saw a short film featuring the lyrics to this song. It started with a closeup of a gentleman reciting the lyrics, and the camera very slowly pulled/zoomed away until by the end of the song the viewer is left with the "big picture" and the unmistakable impression that the words are being recited by God. It gives the song an interesting perspective.
Wow is this powerful. The abidingness of our embrace in His house gets lost and desperation reigns. I'm so glad to have heard this that brings understanding to a very volatile topic. Forward with faith and understanding.
Basically, they've all been brainwashed. It's a wonder that any of us were able to escape that. I hope we can choose love over what too many seem to have chosen.
Good morning and happy Easter friday. I want to comment on this that you are exactly right about what you are saying. It is hard to be kind to people who are calling you vermin for who are calling you an animal of some kind or another. We as Christians need to expect that that will happen because that happened to our Lord Jesus. After watching one of your videos where you talked about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and one of the things that he had said I have started to try and live that way everyday and what you had said that Dietrich Bonhoeffer had said was that our actions are more of a sermon then what is preached on Sunday morning. I have started to pray each morning that God with guide me into being a sermon with my actions towards everyone that I come into contact with.
❤😮. Reverend Ed, I'm a child born during the " Baby 👶 Boom Era " and grew up listening to the early days of Rock 🪨 🎸, went through the turbulent 1960s and onward from there . And being about the same age as you are, I've been re-lstenig to the music of my youth [ The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again ; Black Sabbath- Paranoid, War Pigs; and many other musical groups ! ] I liked their music ; my parents hated it, though. [!Not respectful ; Un-American ideas; Encouraged Drug abuse; and Sexual Immortality! ] As I've been able to hear the tunes once again , I've paid particular attention to their lyrics ; now I'm hearing all the, mssages within the music . And I'm amazed at how some music seemingly is timeless.! MAGA-QUANON reminds me of the brown-shirts of early.NAZISM and all the horrors that unleashed; some minions 😳 we might be able to be saved , some are too-far gone in the 🤪 cult of Trumph, Trumpism, and Drumph. I pray 🙏 for sanity to be restored once more and for the Truth to defeat Lies, Deceitful people, and for Facts to be adhered to.! ] Real facts ; no,Spin doctoring of the News; and for rational, moral, compassionate and pragmatic leadership to resume .
Thank you again Reverend for your amazing message. I had not thought about my dislike for MAGA ppl as you have brought up here, but I realize I haven't given them the grace they deserve. The grace I was given and I give to others. I still won't like the hate they spew but I will try to remember they are still loved by God and therefore I should love them too.
"Sympathy for the Devil"? You have excellent taste in music---and some excellent advice for dealing with people that you can't change. Often, it's terribly hard to do--but we can try. Fortunately, I don't believe in a god who would condemn anybody to eternal damnation.
I graduated high school in '83, and was in college during the "Born Again" boom. Rock lyrics, TV preachers, and yes...even Dungeons and Dragons. The "Rapture" was coming, and that right soon....or so we were told. Well, that never arrived, and now I'm working with young people who are in their 20s like I was way back then. They listen to rock music I never imagined, read fantasy books, play Dungeons and Dragons, and were born after the year(s) that the TV preachers I watched swore up and down was going to be "the rapture." What a tragedy it would be if all these wonderful young people I know had never been born because the world had ended like the 80s TV preachers said it would.
From Dr Gabor Mate' we learn that trauma is also things we needed snd didn't get as we were growing up. Those holes in our being make us vulnerable to fear and searching for protection in all the wrong places.
Absolutely love your messages Rev. Ed!! I grew up in those "fire and brimstone" churches. I felt it impossible to live that way and turned my back. Later I developed my own personal relationship with Jahovah. I count on his guidence in my life. May He rain blessing on your ministry in Jesus name!
Love that you appreciate a great track that actually lays out a history of evil. Nothing evil about the song or the Stones. Those who are truly evil that use religion for horrible reasons are the truly evil.
Lol all of my closest friends when I was in community college were D and D and cosplayers 😂they were just " drama majors and English nerds" literally the nicest guys I have ever met 😂
Great song. Like so many songs from that era, holds up so well. And I hear you, so I will try to be more loving towards those who are working so hard to burn it all down around us. Lord grant me usefulness, patience, wisdom and grace.
People are duped because they think its impossible that someone would use God in a con job... Because wouldn't God hit them with a bolt of lightning? 🌩️
I feel like there is a lot of projection by the fear mongers. Underneath, they really want to experience these things, so they do not want anyone else to enjoy themselves. There is so little introspection or self understanding, looking inward, introspection. This is pure spiritual bypassing on their part.
Also Reverend, they seem to have lost the plot. We are told to grow the church but they are doing it the wrong way. We don't force it on others. We become the people they want to be with.
The gospel of FEAR is a powerful drug, and it has been spoon-fed to so many of my fellow citizens by skillful demagogues for so long... We as human beings, I think, have a natural predisposition to feel fear. It served us very well as we were roaming in the savannahs of Africa, or the jungles of southeast Asia, or the Australian Outback. Now, it's just a tool for our manipulation. May we overcome that fear, and understand the new model of living offered by Jesus. Amen
It isn't just what they are hearing at the pulpit; it's what they have heard for generations in their homes, in media, in laws and et cetera. The origins of this movement are far older and deeper in the United States than can easily be explained. I hope that you are successful in retrieving some of the 'lost sheep,' but I find secular/academic lines of thought more effective for understanding our current social/political climate. I can empathize with the misled, but I'm so done discussing how/why MAGA deserves forgiveness for acts that only continue and intensify. I'm not going to deal with the harm they cause AND worry about their feelings and reasons. I'm not going to consider their point of view more so than the people they harm. Dominant groups have enough leeway and grace.
people are so scared to be polite when encountering anything that resembles evil (according to our own conception of what that its), resulting in knee-jerk reactions to "put the devil in his place" in the battlefield (whether or not we understand the battlefield). knee-jerk reactions ... this song, i appreciate you bringing it up. it's a confrontation to all the folks who think grace is made up of saying/posing the right thing (while "right" isn't clear yet).
Great song. Another that sticks in my head is "Industrial Disease" by Dire Straits. Apropos to what you're talking about, "They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind."
One of the teachings is that love and faithfulness must so prevail in the hearts that men may see the stranger as a friend, the sinner as an intimate fellow, may count enemies as allies, regard foes as loving comrades, call their executioner the giver of life, consider the denier as a believer and the unbeliever as a faithful one -- that is, men must behave in such a manner as may befit the believers, the faithful, the friend and the confidant. If this lamp may shine in a befitting manner in the assemblage of the world you will find that the regions will become fragrant and the world become a delectable paradise, the surface of the earth will become an excellent garden, the world will become as one home, the different nations will become as one kind, and the peoples and nationalities of the East and West will become as one household. I hope such a day may come and such lights may dawn and such a Countenance may appear in the utmost beauty. (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 414)
I grew up and practiced in this type of church and agree with your theory completely but God also gives us a gift of discernment and we should listen and turn away from those teachings and thoughts that do not represent our loving and caring Savior. WWJD was an anthem for so many years that many do not listen to these days. At 66 years of age I listened to God’s voice. I really do not want to give a “pass” to those who choose not to listen to the teachings of the scripture and blindly follow. Thank you, as always, for your words
There is one thing that ties these three songs together: The Rolling Stone's "Sympathy for the Devil" -- Jefferson Airplane's "Good Shepherd" -- and back to the Stones... "Monkey Man." I'll leave it to the truly musically astute to find that thing. "Oh good shepherd... feed my sheep." -- What a terrific song. (Jorma K's guitars... wow.) And then Monkey Man. Nobody could open up a song the way the Stones could/can.
Rev. Trevors I just recently subscribed to your channel. I love listening to your wisdom and kind manner. Your way of speaking reminds me very much of a dear family friend who recently was ordained as a Priest in the Roman Catholic Church. He is wise beyond his years and truly a good, generous and exceedingly kind man. He has always had a deep love of God and The Almighty has always played an integral part of his life. You do remind me of him in so many ways. Thank you for sharing your love of God with us.
Perhaps this is the human condition--since we repeat it with every generation. It didn't start with Jonathan Edwards accusing is of being Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
Good message Rev Ed. I feel good after listening. It reminds me to be patient and emphatic with those who I just shake my head at. Jesus wants us to love but darn it I find it difficult sometimes.
Thank you Reverend! This is what I've been trying to tell people. The Devil is waiting around corners and he is the father of lies. The one they fear is the one they have aligned themselves with and never saw it. Still haven't.
I REMEMBER THOSE HEARINGS. GOT CRAZY WITH REPUBS HAVING COWS, KEPT THROWING OUT FAMILY VALUES TO COUNTER THE HM ROCKERS. THING WAS, ROCKERS WERE FAMILY FOLKS. THEY PLAYED BECAUSE ROCK N ROLL WAS COOL. NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER THAT.
