Honestly Thinking

Honestly thinking (& rethinking) about God, the universe, and everything in between

Tag: primaries

The Pursuit of Trump: How Your Choice Could be a Faithless Act

March 3, 2024 / / 4 Comments

Our “hero” surveyed the landscape.

The enemy had the upper hand. His own troops quaked with fear. Many had deserted their posts.

The consequences were dire. Our hero’s once great nation was at war, and they were losing ground. The people’s future depended on the very choices he alone made today. 

Should they lose this battle, his nation faced extinction by a Pagan enemy whose culture was bent on destroying his people’s very identity as a chosen nation of the one true God.

The time for waiting patiently had passed. Something needed to be done NOW!

What appeared on the outside to be a faithful act turned out ultimately to be…faithless.

Thus, with no other choice, Saul did the one thing he could do — offer burnt offerings to God.

But what was meant as an attempt to gain God’s favor in the midst of desperation was soon met with the greatest of rebukes by Saul’s spiritual advisor.

“What have you done?!” exclaimed the prophet Samual. “You have done a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you!”

The consequences of King Saul’s one single choice on that one single day were quite severe — his kingdom would not endure (1 Sam 13).

What appeared on the outside to be a faithful act of Saul turned out ultimately to be…faithless.

Before continuing, let me be upfront by saying I am no less guilty of committing faithless acts. Scientists estimate that the average human makes about 35,000 choices per day, and I am quite certain that a large percentage of my 35,000 choices are committed out of faithlessness rather than faithfulness.

I am also quite certain I have been faithless at times when entering the voting booth or throwing my weight behind a political opinion. What I may have thought in the past were acts of faith, upon further reflection, turned out actually to be faithless.

But how does one determine what is “faithful” and what is “faithless?”

The Bible is full of stories of humankind committing both faithful and faithless acts, along with the consequences that follow. An examination of all of these stories reveals the following themes that are repeated throughout: Continue reading

A Trump Protester’s Insider Look Within the Evangelical Trump Supporting World

February 12, 2017 / / 5 Comments

The Meeting

I wanted to throw up.

Here I was sitting in a room full of well-known evangelical leaders saying positive things about then- candidate Donald Trump, talking as if he was the best hope for all Americans.

Of course, none of them could publicly “endorse” him, but their exuberance for him was obvious.

How could they be so blinded? Did they not see what I could see? Did they not see Trump was contrary to everything they stood for…so contrary to Christ?

Many of them I highly respected. Many were mentors in the faith – ones who had taught me so much about hearing God.

How is it they were hearing something so radically different than me? Especially after I had clearly heard the complete opposite.

Some of them talked about the many private hours they had spent with Trump and how he really listened to them and was respectful. They talked about his love for ALL Americans.

What? You’re kidding me, right?

I wanted to stand up and shout, “You fools!!! Don’t you realize he’s manipulating you? As soon as he wins, you’re all gone. You’re just pawns!”

Of course, then they’d know my secret. Continue reading

photo by Gage Skidmore (on flickr)

If You Are a Trump Supporter These Are The 9 Things I Assume About You

January 28, 2016 / / 375 Comments

AUTHOR’S UPDATE: Please note that the following article was written prior to the actual GOP primaries because I was concerned about people supporting Donald Trump as the Republican candidate.  Since then the definition of “Trump Supporter” has obviously expanded to include a larger segment of the population, including people who readily agreed with my article. Thus my assumptions obviously do not apply to all “Trump Supporters.”

For my most recent thoughts on the election and support for President Trump, please see my latest article: A Trump Protester’s Insider Look Within the Evangelical Trump Supporting World.

Dear Trump Supporter,

Let me start by saying that I get it.  I get the frustration. 

I, too, am tired of all the PC language that has dominated our culture.  I’m tired of having to be careful about everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) I say for fear of accidentally offending someone and dealing with hyped up repercussions.

I, too, am sickened with politics as usual – with a stagnant, do-nothing government.  I’m tired of unmet promises and of wimpy politicians who won’t stand up for what is right and what needs to be done.

I, too, am concerned about our nation’s security, knowing there are people out there who absolutely hate us and will stop at nothing to destroy us – even to the point of trying to disguise themselves amongst us if they can.

I, too, worry about our world’s economy, with other countries engaging in unfair trade practices.  I’m worried about our own nation’s economy, and I’m worried about my next paycheck.

I, too, am frustrated by an ever expanding federal government, continually imposing its rules upon us, forcing us to buy a product we may not want, and telling us what we are allowed to believe…or else.

I, too, am concerned about where our country is headed.  I want to see our nation great again.

So I get it.

I get the allure of a charismatic person who speaks his mind, who appears above the fray, and seems to epitomize success.

Why wouldn’t we want an accomplished businessman to run the “business” of the states?  Why wouldn’t we want a person who could not care less what people think to break through the barriers of our hypersensitive speech.  Why wouldn’t we root for someone radically different than what we’ve seen before in Washington, who promises to get stuff done, while at the same time makes us laugh?

But this is not about Donald Trump.  No, this is about you. Continue reading

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