He just proves that he was never about the Bible, Jewish or Christian faiths. He exposes the fact that this is ,and always has been, about grifting and corrupting our government to serve himself and thus the wealthiest in the world.
The Anglican bishop asked Trump to follow Christian beliefs and principles in his treatment of ALL people. Trump, unsurprisingly, declined. The evangelicals who voted en masse for Trump are stunned, shocked and surprised. Why?
Jesus supports Christians unless, according to Matthew Soerens, they cross our border illegally. Come on, Matthew Soerens, give the world some relief from your fake piety.
Actually, he answered the trolls. His answers were so good they went away without the evidence they sought, without trapping him in some gotcha moment. He was killed by Rome because he was that good at answering the trolls.
How do you know that? Because some guy, a hundred years after the alleged death of Jesus, wrote a chapter in which he invoked Matthew's name. Every "quote" attributed to Jesus is made up. That's a fact.
A mighty God who put all the stars in the sky in an intricate pattern, who put together thousands of cells to create a human among countless other aspects of creation, is surely powerful enough to guard over His Word. He gave us all Free Will so believe or not, but for decency's sake don't be calling The Bible fiction. God exists whether we believe or not.
I love a good theological debate. I say to Jackson Stonewall:
The fulfillment of the law means the final and lasting atonement between God and his peoples, which is the purpose of the law. The Ten Commands begin with God’s jealousy: Have no other gods but me. I’m a jealous God, and you’re with me. Morality thus begins in jealousy. The law exists to guarantee the marriage between God and his family.
I wrote plural peoples, because Jesus really tossed out the loyalty test, the racial test, the hereditary requirements.
Christ's decision to be all-inclusive violated Roman law and Jewish rules. It made Christ an enemy of Rome and a questionable Jew at best, which made Christ an illegal. An outlaw. Trump's reaction, and Chucky Vance’s reaction, filled me with glee because it was so predictable. Dante was rolling his eyes in the grave.
Trump sings to the Gilbert and Sullivan tune, “I am the very model of a modern Roman dress-up doll.” Take it from the top.
They know enough not to compete with the complete and absolute rubbish and absurdity. They'll just let the pros break trail and they will parody them later.
The good news is, you’re not excluded, not expelled, not kicked out, not left out…more or less, IMHO. So what if you came late? You get what everyone else gets. That was a parable for our time.
Daniel, based on your citations below Linda Jacobs’ comment, you’re referencing the George Gershwin song, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, written in 1935. Seems like a fitting song for much of the hypocrisy we’re seeing today. I particularly like one of the “Other Uses” referenced in your first link, Daniel, from Wikipedia, “In Nazi-occupied Denmark, the Danish underground interrupted the 1943 Nazi victory radio announcements with a recording of the song.” [13]
The biggest problem is that Trump uses religion as a tool for his political benefit, and many religious people who support him conveniently tune the bad things about him out and justify them through god. As an atheist I just can’t get it at all
It's hard not to notice that much of the religious community in this country has become the quasi-religious arm of the republican party, and their adherence to the teachings of their Jesus is as phony as the republicans' patriotism.
I side eye Soerens' statement about Christians being persecuted. That is code for being blocked from imposing conservative, rightwing policies on women.
Living in Idaho, I rarely, if ever, hear the name “Jesus” from The Idaho GOP— not from the Governor, not from the Attorney General, and certainly not from anyone in the majority in the legislature.
He only uses religion to manipulate his supporters. He only ever sets foot in a church if it advances his zero sum game - ‘I win, you lose’. Besides being FOTUS he is also the Psychopath in Chief.
This sounds so wise and "knowing." It is, of course facile nonsense that absolves you from the hard work of thinking. You do not know the spirituality of all these men, and Biden especially was sincere and devout.
His God is money. And whatever comes into his orange head (or is put there by various incarnations of Snidely Whiplash). Period. He'll use anything to get what he wants, and now he has no guardrails whatsoever. Remember when he was hawking a Bible by holding it upside down? I'm surprised it didn't burst into flames at his hypocritical touch.
You don't have to be an atheist to not get it. Raised Catholic in a parochial school, but walking away from it all 55 years ago, I still have the teachings embedded in the deepest parts of my brain. A person of integrity, courage, honor, and yes, FAITH would not tolerate what we're witnessing. Only the weak person claims, "I haven't seen it".
Like you, I walked away from the Catholic Church many years ago. But I did attend a Jesuit University and I realize that the teachings run deep. I may no longer practice Catholicism but I believe in the basic teachings I learned, most notably from the New Testament. Reverend Budde laid it out beautifully at the National Cathedral and I and my family have always tried to live those truths. Our current administration rejects those truths. As for the evangelicals that helped put him in office and are now in disbelief I say ‘no one is so blind as those who choose not to see’.
I should explain that what we hear is like they’re worshipping an Old Testament higher power, as contrasted with Jesus’ teachings of humility, mercy, charity, and hope. It’s more fire and brimstone!! Ha!
No president has ever pardoned seditionists who attempted to stop the peaceful transition of power. If yours is the party of law & order, your commander in chief just defiled that. If yours is the party of religiosity, your commander in chief is defiling that with many of these executive orders that harm the helpless. There is no argument you can make that will make me believe otherwise; you & your ilk are on the wrong side of history.
"We the people" did not elect this man. Crooked state politicians gerrymandered, purged and suppressed the system to get control of the Government. The Supreme court with the Citizens United decision did the rest.
Agreed. As long as I can remember voter turnout above 40% has been a reason to cheer. It isn't. By the time people realize they should pay attention to politics, especially local, it will be to late. The deal offered to them in 1789 will have slipped away.
He and they are working furiously to isolate us as the poison we have become.he didn’t come out and immediately support Russia in the war. He might want to stay away from high windows…
Do we even need to point out the hypocrisy of religions who have steadfastly supported trump calling him out for his behavior? Are they angry to have been bitten by the snake they have been feeding? I’m afraid I can find no compassion for their angst.
Too little too late. This action is not a surprise or out of left field. It is exactly what he and his team said would happen and if one watch any of his rallies there were people with Mass Deportation Now signs. These “religious leaders” should have been speaking out and making it clear to their fold that unless he denounced those policies they would not support him. But here we are.
The problem is that many in the mainstream faith community tried to play by the rules and be nonpartisan in the lead up to the election. It was hard in my own congregation to even do voter education and registration because we were trying so hard not to imply endorsement of a political candidate, even when that candidate promoted values antithetical our religious beliefs. It was the proverbial bringing a knife to a gun fight. Now this is where we find ourselves.
Not most mainstream denominations, Ricardo. In the past, churches who endorsed candidates risked losing their tax exempt status—and some were audited in terms of their statements so most were cautious not to take a position on any candidate. Some evangelical churches seemed to flaunt that requirement and loudly endorse.
Maybe you are right Shireen but those that did tilted the election and we have what we have now. Absolutely terrified with the results. Thanks for your reply.
Agree. If anyone is surprised by any of these actions they have not been paying attention or are now saving face. He/they made their intentions clear for years.
Their lukewarm statements or "begging" at this point is frustrating and makes me feel worse
As my father taught me, “the world is round”. The quality of energy you throw out, is the same energy that comes back. If you throw out light, light will be returned; if you throw out darkness, darkness will come back onto you. Trust our world and step up to help others. WE are the one who define the quality of mercy now.
Such an easy, near brainless concept. You don't have to be a believer to get it. Actions beget reactions. Doing good brings more good into the world, both for you and others. Persecuting the innocent in order to make yourself look big and powerful never brings a peaceful night of uninterrupted sleep. Duh.
"As Trump defies our national character, ".... The problem is that he DEFINES our national character. We are an adolescent country, less than 250 years old. We were founded on religious intolerance. Roger Smith was run out of Massachusetts because he wasn't a Puritan.
We have a culture of willful ignorance, a profound arrogance about being the greatest country in the world, and an inherent disdain for "UnAmerican" things, like the metric system, health care and civil discourse.
There are also the characteristics of greed, lust, avarice, racism, and classism. These characteristics exist along with kindness, justice, compassion, respect, and a desire to be a beacon of light and hope in a very dark and seemingly hopeless world. Pretty complex, huh?
However those are characteristics of mankind in general, not just Americans. Though, sadly, we’re showing the world we’ve got the 7 deadly sins pretty well perfected.
We were not founded on religious intolerance, although there has been, as you and others note, religious intolerance throughout our history as a nation. A state church was rejected. While there will always be religiously intolerant people amongst us--we strive for an ideal where each person has the freedom to follow or not follow a religion.
As still very active United Methodists, my husband and I believe the mainstream church has mostly caved in an attempt to stay on the fence and not lose membership (though that didn’t seem to be Jesus’s approach). Yes. The DC Bishop and others speak truth to power, but very few are doing that on Sunday mornings. Christianity has been hijacked by the more extreme evangelicals, and that is a tragedy. Again, appeasement.
Sadly, this is nothing new. I waited in vain, growing up in Atlanta, for the Archbishop to speak against segregation, in support of MLK, Jr. Never happened. Would have cut into their collection$.
Agree. I believe the vitriol we are experiencing as a country is abetted by the lack of social justice speech coming from religious communities. Many Christian religions latched onto the abortion issue at the expense of all else and to the detriment of their mission. In that regard, Joe Biden modeled what all Christians and their leaders should be doing... Wrestling with aligning their faith and their politics in a way that considers the entire spectrum of social justice and maintains perspective of the separation of Church and State.
I appreciate that you said “many” Christians re opposing abortion. Another mail stream media fail is reporting constantly that opposing abortion is the position of “the Christian church,” and that is just not accurate.
Thank you for your reply. Well, of course there is no one "Christian church." I often find reporting on religions being inaccurate. It's interesting you focused on that because after I posted, I thought that perhaps I should have said "some" instead of "many." What's most important is that ALL Christian religions (and non-Christian religions) should be preaching ALL forms of social justice ALL the time. I'm hoping we hear a lot more of that as this horror show of vitriol continues. Better late than never, I guess.
The look of well-rehearsed boredom on the Felon's face, his Ice Queen's sneering disdain, Tiffany's amused haughtiness, Qusay's brownshirt stare, the smirk on JD's maybellined eyelashes said it all. Jesus preaching to the outraged Pharisees. Mercy to the poor, to LGBT, to the little people who work in meatpacking plants and clean our toilets at 3am terrified of deportation? Who does she think she is, anyway?
Bishop Budde -- not just a quiet soul who happens to head the Episcopal Church and the priest who happened to baptize me a few Easters ago, but today, the voice for a frightened nation. The very epitome of speaking softly while carrying a big crozier.
Corbin, Usha was listening to Bishop Budde, and refused to pay attention to whatever nastiness JD was spewing. She is a devout Catholic, and as you probably know, the new Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of DC is very much aligned with the Episcopal Bishop and the Beatitudes.
Her words have no power. She is not carrying a big stick. Religious communities if acting true to their faith would have mobilized their constituents to vote exclusively for Harris. They did not. There has been absolutely no positive impact of any kind as a result of her words or the pearl clutching by religious people. The psychopath sadist sexual predator and his Nazi White Supremacist followers will suffer not one bit for what he did.
You have no idea what power her words may --- or may not hold, now or in the future. And it wasn't her job to make to people suffer, but simply to preach the Gospel, come what may. And I assure you, practically everyone in her parish voted for Kamala Harris, without her even urging them to do so.
Hopefully some of those people belongin to this "religious communities " had a chance of watching and listen the bishop speech and had a seed of decency planted in their brains and hearts.
If we aren’t already, we’re soon to be a laughingstock. And anyone who bows to Trump does so not out of respect but out of fear. What a sad, sad state of affairs.
We've been a global laughingstock ever since we were shocked, shocked that Clinton had an affair with an intern. Particularly to those countries who invite both the wife and the mistress to big ceremonial occasions.
The right to claim asylum is enshrined in law and treaty. Trump cannot for long refuse to follow the law. If he doesn't like the law, he should work with Congress to change it. Until then, he should follow it in accordance with his oath of office.
But Trump is showing disregard for the law in many other areas as well. Happy to see Public Citizen and AFGE challenge DOGE in court!
The downside of religion is that people can make their own decisions about how they will apply or interpret their doctriine. That's why so many people who say they follow a religion, be it Christianity, Islam, Buddism, whatever, end up making such a mockery of it. They exploit and weaponize religion for their own personal gain. This provides non-believers with an opportunity to mock that religion or religion in general without having to do any real research into the truth of that religion.
Oh, and I am becoming increasingly convinced that trump and his ilk are sleeper agents planted in America at birth by the soviets, nazis, and communists to gradually destroy the country. Another example of this is this article "Trump Terminates DHS Advisory Committee Memberships, Disrupting Cybersecurity Review" - Ravie Lakshmanan (Jan 23, 2025).
Trump's father was a Nazi and a member of the Bund. He was raised to be a fascist. America has always had fascist, white power tendencies. It's sad to have to understand that we've always had this in our national bloodstream. 😔
Great observation Susan. You'll notice all the biblical comparatives to Trump (i.e. King Cyrus) are from the OT. The Jesus who said "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" would never support the ceaseless denigration of and attacks on immigrants, or much else Trump is doing. Shame on evangelicals for supporting him.
Those comparisons are only using one part of the Old Testament. If you look at the history of the kings, there are many parallels with Trump, as they did "evil in the sight of the Lord." There are also the prophets calling out those kings, and the false prophets telling those rulers just what they want to hear. Re-reading the Old Testament, whether you are religious or not, is an excellent guide for the times in which we find ourselves. It was also the reason for the focus in Shakespeare's England on certain Biblical stories which allowed commentary on the political landscape of his time.
If you read the Old Testament, you will find that God's mercy is emphasized, just as God's justice is. Remember that the historical books were written to try to explain the history of the people. In the prophetic books, prophets call out people for religious show rather than doing right to the poor and walking humbly with their God.
Treat all people kindly, for they are our brothers and sisters. That is unless you are a Trump-like person, and then only treat those kindly for whom you can gain or steal from.
They were on notice. He will "denaturalize" tens of thouands. As # 45, this was an ongoing project. In January 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated its intention to refer approximately 1,600 additional citizens to DOJ for prosecution. In its 2019 budget request, ICE) revealed its intention to rseview the files of 700,000 U.S. citizens. shttps://immpolicytracking.org/media/documents/ACLU_Fact_Sheet_on_Denaturalization.pdf
USCIS removed Humanitarian Parole, complicating access for migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua.Their visas are void. There are hundreds of thousands affected. The elimination of humanitarian status probably brings the sponsors of the people who just lost their visa rights into gun sights. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268986/trump-humanitarian-parole-immigration
Only a man who's policies are antithetical to the Bible would be offended by a sermon reiterating what the Bible says.
Well said Pamela 👏. In any case, he doesn't know what the Bible says, neither the White evangelicals.
He just proves that he was never about the Bible, Jewish or Christian faiths. He exposes the fact that this is ,and always has been, about grifting and corrupting our government to serve himself and thus the wealthiest in the world.
Well said Mary 👏. Keep posting pls.
The Anglican bishop asked Trump to follow Christian beliefs and principles in his treatment of ALL people. Trump, unsurprisingly, declined. The evangelicals who voted en masse for Trump are stunned, shocked and surprised. Why?
Indeed. He told us exactly what he planned to do. No one should be surprised.
Sorry but...it ain't necssarily so.....
Just reviewing Jesus's words in Matthew 25: verses 35-40, in case you're unfamiliar with them:
"Feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the afflicted, and WECOME THE STRANGER."
Remember the story about The Good Samaritan? Trump has probably never heard of it.
I'm sure he has and thought him a sucker.
Jesus supports Christians unless, according to Matthew Soerens, they cross our border illegally. Come on, Matthew Soerens, give the world some relief from your fake piety.
TRUTH
Jesus said that, did he?
he also said suffer not the trolls
Actually, he answered the trolls. His answers were so good they went away without the evidence they sought, without trapping him in some gotcha moment. He was killed by Rome because he was that good at answering the trolls.
it was a joke christopher.....and yes, Jesus did have some good answers, none of which included deporting "the least of us "
Now that's funny. Well played.
Yes
How do you know that? Because some guy, a hundred years after the alleged death of Jesus, wrote a chapter in which he invoked Matthew's name. Every "quote" attributed to Jesus is made up. That's a fact.
No it's not. You don't have to be a believer but respecting others faith is the decent thing to do.
A mighty God who put all the stars in the sky in an intricate pattern, who put together thousands of cells to create a human among countless other aspects of creation, is surely powerful enough to guard over His Word. He gave us all Free Will so believe or not, but for decency's sake don't be calling The Bible fiction. God exists whether we believe or not.
I love a good theological debate. I say to Jackson Stonewall:
The fulfillment of the law means the final and lasting atonement between God and his peoples, which is the purpose of the law. The Ten Commands begin with God’s jealousy: Have no other gods but me. I’m a jealous God, and you’re with me. Morality thus begins in jealousy. The law exists to guarantee the marriage between God and his family.
I wrote plural peoples, because Jesus really tossed out the loyalty test, the racial test, the hereditary requirements.
Christ's decision to be all-inclusive violated Roman law and Jewish rules. It made Christ an enemy of Rome and a questionable Jew at best, which made Christ an illegal. An outlaw. Trump's reaction, and Chucky Vance’s reaction, filled me with glee because it was so predictable. Dante was rolling his eyes in the grave.
Trump sings to the Gilbert and Sullivan tune, “I am the very model of a modern Roman dress-up doll.” Take it from the top.
With his backup dancer, Musk, doing his "Roman salute". God, where is Monty Python when you need them?
They know enough not to compete with the complete and absolute rubbish and absurdity. They'll just let the pros break trail and they will parody them later.
What law do you think he came to fulfill? See Luke 4 where Jesus says he came to bring Good News to the poor, etc..
The good news is, you’re not excluded, not expelled, not kicked out, not left out…more or less, IMHO. So what if you came late? You get what everyone else gets. That was a parable for our time.
Daniel, based on your citations below Linda Jacobs’ comment, you’re referencing the George Gershwin song, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, written in 1935. Seems like a fitting song for much of the hypocrisy we’re seeing today. I particularly like one of the “Other Uses” referenced in your first link, Daniel, from Wikipedia, “In Nazi-occupied Denmark, the Danish underground interrupted the 1943 Nazi victory radio announcements with a recording of the song.” [13]
What???
George Gershwin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ain%27t_Necessarily_So
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyHMrgOhyAU
I wondered where you were going with that, then I read the lyrics. Spot on. Thanks.
The biggest problem is that Trump uses religion as a tool for his political benefit, and many religious people who support him conveniently tune the bad things about him out and justify them through god. As an atheist I just can’t get it at all
It's hard not to notice that much of the religious community in this country has become the quasi-religious arm of the republican party, and their adherence to the teachings of their Jesus is as phony as the republicans' patriotism.
I side eye Soerens' statement about Christians being persecuted. That is code for being blocked from imposing conservative, rightwing policies on women.
Exactly. It's their rationalization for imposing their religious nonsense on everyone else in violation of the First Amendment.
They have conflated persecution for not getting their own way all the time.
THIS! 🎯
Absolutely Jane 👏
Living in Idaho, I rarely, if ever, hear the name “Jesus” from The Idaho GOP— not from the Governor, not from the Attorney General, and certainly not from anyone in the majority in the legislature.
You're very lucky in that regard, then. Here in NC it's pervasive.
Yep, like everything else about that vapid man, religion is just a prop.
They think the US is exclusively a Christian nation. We need an ecumenical coalition.
Excommunicate MAGATs.
He only uses religion to manipulate his supporters. He only ever sets foot in a church if it advances his zero sum game - ‘I win, you lose’. Besides being FOTUS he is also the Psychopath in Chief.
This sounds so wise and "knowing." It is, of course facile nonsense that absolves you from the hard work of thinking. You do not know the spirituality of all these men, and Biden especially was sincere and devout.
I’m glad you left Jimmy Carter out of that list.
His God is money. And whatever comes into his orange head (or is put there by various incarnations of Snidely Whiplash). Period. He'll use anything to get what he wants, and now he has no guardrails whatsoever. Remember when he was hawking a Bible by holding it upside down? I'm surprised it didn't burst into flames at his hypocritical touch.
You don't have to be an atheist to not get it. Raised Catholic in a parochial school, but walking away from it all 55 years ago, I still have the teachings embedded in the deepest parts of my brain. A person of integrity, courage, honor, and yes, FAITH would not tolerate what we're witnessing. Only the weak person claims, "I haven't seen it".
Like you, I walked away from the Catholic Church many years ago. But I did attend a Jesuit University and I realize that the teachings run deep. I may no longer practice Catholicism but I believe in the basic teachings I learned, most notably from the New Testament. Reverend Budde laid it out beautifully at the National Cathedral and I and my family have always tried to live those truths. Our current administration rejects those truths. As for the evangelicals that helped put him in office and are now in disbelief I say ‘no one is so blind as those who choose not to see’.
When people’s deeply held beliefs become inconvenient, they set them aside.
Don’t forget, he did ask his Father why He had forsaken him.
Amen.
I should explain that what we hear is like they’re worshipping an Old Testament higher power, as contrasted with Jesus’ teachings of humility, mercy, charity, and hope. It’s more fire and brimstone!! Ha!
Well, I can’t quote chapter and verse on this, but the Devil is always working his magic, too.
And vice-versa Wisley , religious organizations use their support to cruelty, for their own political benefits.
Huge contradiction here....as an atheist and human being "I just can't get it at all"
No president has ever pardoned seditionists who attempted to stop the peaceful transition of power. If yours is the party of law & order, your commander in chief just defiled that. If yours is the party of religiosity, your commander in chief is defiling that with many of these executive orders that harm the helpless. There is no argument you can make that will make me believe otherwise; you & your ilk are on the wrong side of history.
Interesting response-full of vitriol. And who did you vote for if you’re willing to share?
Lack of conviction? Please…now you’re just being silly.
The world will never forgive us for electing this man again.
And they shouldn't.
"We the people" did not elect this man. Crooked state politicians gerrymandered, purged and suppressed the system to get control of the Government. The Supreme court with the Citizens United decision did the rest.
Sadly, we and 85-90 million eligible voters who chose not to, did elect the Orange scumbag.
Agreed. As long as I can remember voter turnout above 40% has been a reason to cheer. It isn't. By the time people realize they should pay attention to politics, especially local, it will be to late. The deal offered to them in 1789 will have slipped away.
He and they are working furiously to isolate us as the poison we have become.he didn’t come out and immediately support Russia in the war. He might want to stay away from high windows…
Stacy you are so terrible right.
This^^^^in a nutshell.
Do we even need to point out the hypocrisy of religions who have steadfastly supported trump calling him out for his behavior? Are they angry to have been bitten by the snake they have been feeding? I’m afraid I can find no compassion for their angst.
Too little too late. This action is not a surprise or out of left field. It is exactly what he and his team said would happen and if one watch any of his rallies there were people with Mass Deportation Now signs. These “religious leaders” should have been speaking out and making it clear to their fold that unless he denounced those policies they would not support him. But here we are.
The problem is that many in the mainstream faith community tried to play by the rules and be nonpartisan in the lead up to the election. It was hard in my own congregation to even do voter education and registration because we were trying so hard not to imply endorsement of a political candidate, even when that candidate promoted values antithetical our religious beliefs. It was the proverbial bringing a knife to a gun fight. Now this is where we find ourselves.
Yeah, the Democrats also learned too late that it’s useless to be the only ones following the rules and norms.
Shireen, those mainstream faith communities were always partisan and towards the wrong party.
Not most mainstream denominations, Ricardo. In the past, churches who endorsed candidates risked losing their tax exempt status—and some were audited in terms of their statements so most were cautious not to take a position on any candidate. Some evangelical churches seemed to flaunt that requirement and loudly endorse.
Maybe you are right Shireen but those that did tilted the election and we have what we have now. Absolutely terrified with the results. Thanks for your reply.
Exactly!! The whole time I was reading this article I kept thinking “Where have these assholes been?” WTAF? OMG 🤯
Len if their fold were composed of real religious and decent people, those "religious leaders" would not be leaders.
I suspect they protest not because they think the leopard is eating their face, but because they asked for this but don't want to be blamed for it.
Yes correct.
Sabrina, they know the blame is on them, even if they don't like it. Hope some of them learned the lesson.
Agree. If anyone is surprised by any of these actions they have not been paying attention or are now saving face. He/they made their intentions clear for years.
Their lukewarm statements or "begging" at this point is frustrating and makes me feel worse
Exactly - most of us here saw the writing on the wall. Where was their caution then?
Don't be afraid that you can't find compassion for their their lack of emphaty in front of the cruelty they voted for
As my father taught me, “the world is round”. The quality of energy you throw out, is the same energy that comes back. If you throw out light, light will be returned; if you throw out darkness, darkness will come back onto you. Trust our world and step up to help others. WE are the one who define the quality of mercy now.
Such an easy, near brainless concept. You don't have to be a believer to get it. Actions beget reactions. Doing good brings more good into the world, both for you and others. Persecuting the innocent in order to make yourself look big and powerful never brings a peaceful night of uninterrupted sleep. Duh.
Portia meets the law of conservation of matter.
"As Trump defies our national character, ".... The problem is that he DEFINES our national character. We are an adolescent country, less than 250 years old. We were founded on religious intolerance. Roger Smith was run out of Massachusetts because he wasn't a Puritan.
We have a culture of willful ignorance, a profound arrogance about being the greatest country in the world, and an inherent disdain for "UnAmerican" things, like the metric system, health care and civil discourse.
There are also the characteristics of greed, lust, avarice, racism, and classism. These characteristics exist along with kindness, justice, compassion, respect, and a desire to be a beacon of light and hope in a very dark and seemingly hopeless world. Pretty complex, huh?
However those are characteristics of mankind in general, not just Americans. Though, sadly, we’re showing the world we’ve got the 7 deadly sins pretty well perfected.
We were not founded on religious intolerance, although there has been, as you and others note, religious intolerance throughout our history as a nation. A state church was rejected. While there will always be religiously intolerant people amongst us--we strive for an ideal where each person has the freedom to follow or not follow a religion.
Remember also that Joseph Smith, a leader in the Mormon Church was hanged in Illinois in 1844; another example of religious intolerance.
As still very active United Methodists, my husband and I believe the mainstream church has mostly caved in an attempt to stay on the fence and not lose membership (though that didn’t seem to be Jesus’s approach). Yes. The DC Bishop and others speak truth to power, but very few are doing that on Sunday mornings. Christianity has been hijacked by the more extreme evangelicals, and that is a tragedy. Again, appeasement.
Cathy, very true. I am an Episcopalian and have always loved the breadth of acceptance within the church.
Sadly, this is nothing new. I waited in vain, growing up in Atlanta, for the Archbishop to speak against segregation, in support of MLK, Jr. Never happened. Would have cut into their collection$.
Agree. I believe the vitriol we are experiencing as a country is abetted by the lack of social justice speech coming from religious communities. Many Christian religions latched onto the abortion issue at the expense of all else and to the detriment of their mission. In that regard, Joe Biden modeled what all Christians and their leaders should be doing... Wrestling with aligning their faith and their politics in a way that considers the entire spectrum of social justice and maintains perspective of the separation of Church and State.
I appreciate that you said “many” Christians re opposing abortion. Another mail stream media fail is reporting constantly that opposing abortion is the position of “the Christian church,” and that is just not accurate.
Thank you for your reply. Well, of course there is no one "Christian church." I often find reporting on religions being inaccurate. It's interesting you focused on that because after I posted, I thought that perhaps I should have said "some" instead of "many." What's most important is that ALL Christian religions (and non-Christian religions) should be preaching ALL forms of social justice ALL the time. I'm hoping we hear a lot more of that as this horror show of vitriol continues. Better late than never, I guess.
The look of well-rehearsed boredom on the Felon's face, his Ice Queen's sneering disdain, Tiffany's amused haughtiness, Qusay's brownshirt stare, the smirk on JD's maybellined eyelashes said it all. Jesus preaching to the outraged Pharisees. Mercy to the poor, to LGBT, to the little people who work in meatpacking plants and clean our toilets at 3am terrified of deportation? Who does she think she is, anyway?
Bishop Budde -- not just a quiet soul who happens to head the Episcopal Church and the priest who happened to baptize me a few Easters ago, but today, the voice for a frightened nation. The very epitome of speaking softly while carrying a big crozier.
I was kind of surprised not to see Emperor Palpatine sitting with them.
Corbin, Usha was listening to Bishop Budde, and refused to pay attention to whatever nastiness JD was spewing. She is a devout Catholic, and as you probably know, the new Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of DC is very much aligned with the Episcopal Bishop and the Beatitudes.
Her words have no power. She is not carrying a big stick. Religious communities if acting true to their faith would have mobilized their constituents to vote exclusively for Harris. They did not. There has been absolutely no positive impact of any kind as a result of her words or the pearl clutching by religious people. The psychopath sadist sexual predator and his Nazi White Supremacist followers will suffer not one bit for what he did.
You have no idea what power her words may --- or may not hold, now or in the future. And it wasn't her job to make to people suffer, but simply to preach the Gospel, come what may. And I assure you, practically everyone in her parish voted for Kamala Harris, without her even urging them to do so.
Hopefully some of those people belongin to this "religious communities " had a chance of watching and listen the bishop speech and had a seed of decency planted in their brains and hearts.
If we aren’t already, we’re soon to be a laughingstock. And anyone who bows to Trump does so not out of respect but out of fear. What a sad, sad state of affairs.
Particularly since his billionaire sidekick threatens members of of Congress with
being “primaried”. This is true evil and I don’t see anyone in elected authority
with the guts to stand up to them.
We've been a global laughingstock ever since we were shocked, shocked that Clinton had an affair with an intern. Particularly to those countries who invite both the wife and the mistress to big ceremonial occasions.
They defy the dignity of humanity, and the virtues of enlightenment.
The right to claim asylum is enshrined in law and treaty. Trump cannot for long refuse to follow the law. If he doesn't like the law, he should work with Congress to change it. Until then, he should follow it in accordance with his oath of office.
But Trump is showing disregard for the law in many other areas as well. Happy to see Public Citizen and AFGE challenge DOGE in court!
He doesn't think he has to follow the law. Events have proven him right.
Are you kidding?
This jamoke said he thinks God saved him so he could do these things. Holy Christ!
The downside of religion is that people can make their own decisions about how they will apply or interpret their doctriine. That's why so many people who say they follow a religion, be it Christianity, Islam, Buddism, whatever, end up making such a mockery of it. They exploit and weaponize religion for their own personal gain. This provides non-believers with an opportunity to mock that religion or religion in general without having to do any real research into the truth of that religion.
Oh, and I am becoming increasingly convinced that trump and his ilk are sleeper agents planted in America at birth by the soviets, nazis, and communists to gradually destroy the country. Another example of this is this article "Trump Terminates DHS Advisory Committee Memberships, Disrupting Cybersecurity Review" - Ravie Lakshmanan (Jan 23, 2025).
Trump's father was a Nazi and a member of the Bund. He was raised to be a fascist. America has always had fascist, white power tendencies. It's sad to have to understand that we've always had this in our national bloodstream. 😔
Wow now there’s a concept!
"Leaders of all faiths publicly implore a man who hawks Bibles to show some human decency in the name of God"
Not the jellicals. They h8 their non white, non straight and/or non Christian neighbors just like their congregant sheeple
They r hypocrites.
They're in fact not Christians at all. They worship the blood-soaked tribal deity of the early Old Testament.
Great observation Susan. You'll notice all the biblical comparatives to Trump (i.e. King Cyrus) are from the OT. The Jesus who said "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" would never support the ceaseless denigration of and attacks on immigrants, or much else Trump is doing. Shame on evangelicals for supporting him.
Those comparisons are only using one part of the Old Testament. If you look at the history of the kings, there are many parallels with Trump, as they did "evil in the sight of the Lord." There are also the prophets calling out those kings, and the false prophets telling those rulers just what they want to hear. Re-reading the Old Testament, whether you are religious or not, is an excellent guide for the times in which we find ourselves. It was also the reason for the focus in Shakespeare's England on certain Biblical stories which allowed commentary on the political landscape of his time.
Yes, which is why I specified the early old Testament, not the prophets or other writings. Didn't word it very well!
If you read the Old Testament, you will find that God's mercy is emphasized, just as God's justice is. Remember that the historical books were written to try to explain the history of the people. In the prophetic books, prophets call out people for religious show rather than doing right to the poor and walking humbly with their God.
👍 All of them.
Treat all people kindly, for they are our brothers and sisters. That is unless you are a Trump-like person, and then only treat those kindly for whom you can gain or steal from.
He doesn't care what these religious leaders say! He doesn't believe in God, just in MONEY and POWER.
Are the Muslims in Michian happy they helped elect Trump now that he reinstated the Muslim ban?
Heh. It's going to be a hoot watching Trump voting Hispanics being rounded up. They were warned.
They were on notice. He will "denaturalize" tens of thouands. As # 45, this was an ongoing project. In January 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated its intention to refer approximately 1,600 additional citizens to DOJ for prosecution. In its 2019 budget request, ICE) revealed its intention to rseview the files of 700,000 U.S. citizens. shttps://immpolicytracking.org/media/documents/ACLU_Fact_Sheet_on_Denaturalization.pdf
USCIS removed Humanitarian Parole, complicating access for migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua.Their visas are void. There are hundreds of thousands affected. The elimination of humanitarian status probably brings the sponsors of the people who just lost their visa rights into gun sights. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268986/trump-humanitarian-parole-immigration