Civil Commotion

I’ve insisted for years that the greatest of Christianity’s serial indecencies is its attempted displacement of marriage as the central relationship in life, and it pleases me no end to see women telling authoritarian pastors to “buzz off.”

Few pastors frame the question of marriage so baldly as Albert Mohler — but every Holy Man in Christendom teaches about the same thing using different words:

• The believer in Christ acknowledges him as Savior and Lord, with an allegiance that exceeds any earthly commitment. When two believers are married, they share this mutual commitment and are commonly dedicated to the Lordship of Christ.

• The third theological fact about the family is the continued affirmation of the family within the redeemed people of God – the church. As the Gospels make clear, loyalty to Christ exceeds that of any family commitment, even as the church becomes the family of faith, embracing within its life all who come to faith in Christ and into the life of the church. And yet, Christians are explicitly instructed to honor marriage, to raise their children in the faith, and to order their family according to the Scriptures.

• Multiple surveys reveal the problem in stark terms. According to 82 percent of Americans, “God helps those who help themselves,” is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better–by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one’s family.

I love that last one: Zounds! A majority of adults think the Good Book says put your family first! Those ignoramuses!

As I never tire of saying: Most people have too much sense and decency to be good Christians. They don’t think, for example, that pleasing an Invisible Wizard in the sky is more important than their family. They do think someone should leave a spouse who abuses him or her.

You can spin it however you like, and tart it up with all the rhetorical curlicues you like, but the bottom line is this: The Christian teaching about marriage is the teaching of a cult, and harmful, and I think it’s a good thing that fewer and fewer people are being married in church and debasing themselves and their marriage with a public promise to put their wedding vows second.

Tom Steyer’s organization, NeedToImpeach.com, has published a candidates guide to impeachment that is well worth reading.

A president caught shoplifting might cause a stir — but the crime committed would not amount to a misuse or abuse of presidential authority, and would therefore not be grounds for impeachment.

On the other hand, taking a six-month vacation in the middle of one’s term in office may not be a criminal act — but it would warrant impeachment.

This points toward a nice distinction that is worth bearing in mind: The President does not have to commit a criminal act to be impeached and convicted; he has to abuse the prerogatives of office in a way injurious to the United States.

Trump is corrupt and has used the office to enrich himself; he has only grudgingly acknowledged that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, and refuses to do anything about it; he has acted to obstruct justice; he has defamed and demoralized the FBI and Justice Department; he is a serial liar. And that’s just for starters.

My decision is simply put: I will not vote for any Republican who has whored himself to Trump, and I will vote for only those Democrats who explicitly and publicly commit to defending their country against the Buffoon-in-Chief by removing him from office.

Enough.

A new Gallup poll confirms what most of us already knew: Catholic Church attendance is going in the same direction as everybody else’s attendance — down.

I don’t subscribe to Gallup reports; I’m quoting Bill Donohue’s précis of the report.

We knew that younger Catholics were going to church in fewer numbers than in the past, but what is new about this Gallup poll is the decline among older Catholics. Overall, only 39 percent of Catholics say they attend church weekly, and among those aged 60 and over the figure is 49 percent. This means that “for the first time, a majority of Catholics in no generational group attend weekly.”

Donohue speculates about the causes of the trend — school prayer jurisprudence, higher education, moral relativism, et cetera — but never places blame where it obviously belongs: The Christian narrative is not true; it has no more dignity than a Mother Goose tale, and less ethical merit. And who wants to be associated with intolerable boors like himself?

Aides sometimes plot to have guests make points on Fox that they have been unable to get the president to agree to in person. “He will listen more when it is on TV,” a senior administration official said.

Washington Post

Think about that: Aides are manipulating Trump by planting approving voices on television. How empty is he?

Megapastor Stovall Weems claims Jesus came to visit him a few days ago.

Stovall Weems, senior pastor of the 12,000-member Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, told his congregation Sunday that he met Jesus Christ in his home on Good Friday and was surprised by His personality.

[ … ]

“The first thing that I was taken aback with is like Jesus’ personality. This is how Jesus was when He was on the earth. I heard His voice … the cadence of His voice. I can sense His mood. I can sense His presence like He has a personality. He was fully God but many times we forget the man Christ Jesus. He came as a man so He has His own unique personality so what’s overwhelming is that He was new in that way but at the same time I felt like I’ve known Him forever. I can’t describe the closeness that I felt with Jesus. He didn’t look at me, I never saw the front of his face. He was wearing a white garment. He had brown hair,” Weems said.

Notice: This is a notch above the idiomatic evangelical “Jesus spoke to me,” which may mean no more than a convenient parking spot unexpectedly opened-up at the maill.

The Calvinists at Pulpit and Pen aren’t buying it.

Why would someone make up such a tale? There are several possible reasons. The first is that the individual may be trying to become a part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a dangerous charismatic movement that asserts that Apostles still exist today (and seeing the resurrected Christ was a prerequisite for Apostleship, and so NAR leaders all have their personal testimony of having seen Jesus face-to-face). Or, this phenomenon often happens when there is strife or inner-turmoil in the church and the spiritual leader is trying to demonstrate their special status as a messenger of God. Or, a book-deal could be in the works, which is often the case. One thing is for sure, however, Pastor Weems did not see Christ face-to-face.

Well, Pastor Weems explicitly said that he didn’t see Jesus face-to-face, so I’m a little bit puzzled by Pulpit and Pen’s hostility. Presumably, the Creator of the Whole Big Universe can discuss whatever he likes, with whomever he likes, whenever he likes, so I think that if a gen-u-ine Holy Man such as Weems claims that Jesus came by for a little talk, then the boys at Pulpit and Pen ought to believe him.

Assuming they actually believe all the stuff they peddle, I mean.

There is, y’all should know, precedent for a meeting with the Big Guy without seeing His face. From Exodus 33:

17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

I admit that it perplexes me that Our Invisible Friend, who is eternal and unchanging, has decided to adopt the habit of wearing clothes, which was a human innovation following humanity’s fall into sin. But as even the Pulpit and Pen crowd would doubtless agree, His Ways are Mysterious.