By Steve Segner
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” — Jesus, to the thief on the cross
The Seed of Simplicity
When Jesus was crucified, one of the criminals beside him asked: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied simply: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
That was it. No doctrinal test, no church membership, no list of rules. Just faith — and the promise of grace.
Early Christianity spread because of this radical simplicity. Ordinary people — slaves, merchants, farmers — found hope in a message that bypassed priestly intermediaries and focused on trust, compassion, and forgiveness. It was a faith of welcome.
The Turn Toward Complexity
But as the church grew, so did its need for structure. Councils at Nicaea, Chalcedon, and others hammered out official creeds. Disputes over theology became dividing lines. Instead of “believe and be saved,” it became “believe correctly and in the right way.”
Those who differed were branded heretics. What began as unity fractured into competing sects, each claiming divine authority.
The Splintering of Christendom
The Great Schism of 1054 split East from West — Orthodox from Catholic. Then came the Reformation in the 1500s, and the splintering accelerated. Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, Pentecostals — each insisted their flavor was the true Christianity.
By the 20th century, America alone had thousands of denominations. What once was a single invitation turned into a menu longer than Starbucks’ coffee board.
Marketing the Faith
In America, faith became big business. The prosperity gospel promised wealth as a sign of God’s blessing. Megachurches packaged Sunday worship like a concert. Televangelists raised fortunes selling salvation through the television screen.
Christianity morphed into branding. And along with branding came finger-pointing. Christians accused other Christians of being the “wrong kind”: too liberal, too conservative, too ritualistic, too emotional. The focus shifted from living the message of grace to defending one’s corner of the marketplace.
The Present Moment
The recent shooting of a political activist shows this pattern in real time. His followers are rushing to sanctify him, twisting themselves into theological pretzels to declare him a martyr.
But isn’t that the problem? Christianity has become so entangled in politics, factions, and self-promotion that the original simplicity — believe, and you shall be saved — is almost invisible.
A Way Back
Perhaps it’s time to remember the man on the cross. No denomination. No doctrinal purity test. No posthumous sainthood campaign.
Just the direct promise: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
If Christianity is to survive as more than a brand war, it must return to that radical simplicity — a faith of grace, not marketing.
Editor’s Note: Steve Segner is a longtime Sedona resident and businessman. He writes about faith, history, and community life.
This is an advertisement
39 Comments
Oh yes, lets go back to where it all got prevented!
Remember Reagan trying to prove how holy the GOP was?
Family values ring a bell? LOL!
He brought in the Christian Coalition and the rest is a disgusting display of pure evil itself!
Lets see, how do the Republicans think of the poor now?
How about the treatment of immigrants in todays world?
Now Family Values is priceless! Their own Messiah has had 3 wives and screwed behind each ones backs! LOL, you cant make this stuff up!
Tax breaks for the rich? Does that help that camel get through the eye of the needle? LOL!
Oh my remember Bills BJ? Boy they just doubled down on stupid on that one! Ha
Should we talk about the speaker of the house of GOP and what we found out? Oh Denny Hasert!
Makes Jim Jorden easier to swallow what happened when he was a teacher?
You see, you deserve every bit of this you bucket of ignorant religious bigots!
I will point out every transgression, and the list is incredibly long!
Now we have the Epstein cover-up. Maybe Donald didnt diddle, but he sure loved to brag and gawk about seeing half dressed and naked little girls in the locker rooms at his pageants!
Dont believe me? Its all factual and can be easily proved.
So this list goes on and on, the GOP sold their souls to Jesus himself, and now you all can burn in hell, for lies, distortions, misinformation, pedophilia, and adultery…..Couldnt happen to a better set of hypocrites!
THANK YOU TO YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!……I, lol
Right on Mr Dave! Just yesterday I was in a thrift store in VOC and the person working there was listening to some EvilAngelLicker radio station, K-Love or some bullshite? Anywho, every break the DJ’s asked for donations to go towards the “spiritual healing” of their ignorant donors who open their wallets to these grifters of their God just as King Donald does. And none of them question any of it until they wake up broke or to the news that their Meatsiah has been arrested having sex with a prostitute, mistress or child. Then they move on to the next golden tongued grifting criminal snake oil salesman. Never realizing that if there were such a thing as honest organized religion they certainly following the word of their Christ/God/Father/Son and Holy Spirit born via magic conception, they would not be asking their followers for a dime let alone the hundreds, thousands and hundreds of thousands they grift from their congregations as they do for their Rolex’s and Lear Jets “their God” told them they must have 🤣. As their congregation competes with one another on everything from clothes, cars to their children. It’s quite ludicrous ain’t it mate?
I’m not knocking faith. Faith is grand when one keeps it to themselves. Faith is great for those who are suffering or need community. But organized religion is a Carney Barker scam to make monies of the most vulnerable of people. Just as our current government is doing with their multi trillion dollar detainment camps and deportation apparatus. So much for those uber alas muey importante DOGE incel firings of hundreds of thousands of middle and lower income government workers (primarily veterans Mr Dave & JB) to save us from out of control spending, failed tariffs, a failed economy and soaring energy costs. Wasn’t that why King Put Put was elected? To supposedly fix that bloody mess Biden supposedly left behind after Don Don crashed the economy during COVID due to his inaction and conspiracy theorist bullshit about “Kung Flu” which never panned out. Then he gives the CDC and NIH the green light to expedite the MRNA vaccine which saved millions of Americans and Billions globally who would have otherwise been added to the millions who did die because of his encouragement to be an idiot anti vaxer anti masker spreading who knows what deadly shite their anti vax bodies are riddled with to those with compromised immune systems or other diseases such as lung disease (very prevalent among veterans as you know Mr Dave & JB). But they didn’t give a crap just as they don’t give a crap how many of our children get mowed down at school, because of their precious Amendments they hide behind rather than confronting reality and actually doing something rather than their usual useless pandering of “thoughts and prayers” as they elect a Criminal, commit adultery, lie, cheat and steal while insisting they’re “good little Christians!” Just outright hypocrisy mate. Anyone with the ability to see and hear as well as retain some sense of memory can see it plain as day. But alas that is the MO of every cult now isn’t it?
Absolutely love how Jess gets on here to lecture others . Just unimaginable before Donny Boy and Q Anon and now here we are in Donny in Wonderland!
Speaking of Christianity who the Fu@k is “they” when referring to the lone assassin of Charlie Kirk? Just one angry young man angry about things said about minorities, gays, democrats and more. MAGAverse is obviously bucking to start a shooting war here with their lies about “they” in the name of the religion “they” (MAGAverse) preach but DO NOT PRACTICE! True Christians “love their brothers” ALL of Them not just the ones they pick and choose by color!
Well, that’s a pathetic statement. The lies about Charlie Kirk that you just spewed sounds like it was an MSNBC transcript.
Did you know him? Have you ever listened to him, his podcast, or in person at any of his college tours, or other events? If you had, you would have never posted so much hate.
I knew him, met him the first time when he was 18 and stayed at a close friend’s house right here in the VOC. Learned a lot about the young man and his thirst for freedom, equal rights, open dialog and opportunities. And his desire not to attend college, although he got an amazing education in theology, the constitution and politics by taking private courses, especially from Hillsdale College. The only one to complete 31 remote courses. You would not want to debate him, but he would put the mic down when you are talking to actually listen to what you were saying.
As a result of him building Turning Point USA, Turning Point Action, and Turning Pont Faith, a world wide movement has been launched. Over 120,000 requests have been made in this country to start Chapters. Bible sales are through the roof, and young people are yearning for some truth and guidance in their lives. And the youth is where our future is.
God bless them on their journey that is 100% Bible based. Get the woke out of church, return to basics. We did, our church did.
Then it turned out that the devil does indeed exist. And there are his followers (banned in Russia but flourishing in the West). Vast networks and political regimes. It turns out that there is an entire civilization of the devil. And it is attacking the best among us. At the hands of a frenzied Ukraine, but not only at those hands. At the hands of perverts, transgender people, migrants, furries, agents of the Deep State, marines, drug dealers, journalists, liberal professors, officials, and the millions of bloggers and fringe figures, organized into countless NGOs. The devil wages war on Christ and on those who remain faithful to Him, no matter what.
But if the devil exists and fights Christ, then there must also be the One against Whom the devil fights.
That is very good and blessed news. It means that the sacrifices in this war are not in vain. If the enemy of God fights against us, then we are on His side, on God’s side. And He exists. More than that, He has always been here. When we denied Him, He grieved for His faithless children who had strayed from the path, and He rejoiced immensely when they returned home to the Church.
So God is with us; He always has been and always will be.
Yeah and there’s a child smuggling/sex traffickers in the basement of a Philly Pizzeria too! Blah Blah Blah! How about those un redacted Epstein Files? Bet they’re full of sex trafficking White American and UK pedophiles! In fact, normal people know they are!
U.S. — Surveying the hundreds of thousands gathered for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, along with the millions watching across the globe, a despondent Satan declared that he had “made a huge mistake.”
“Well, this isn’t going like I planned at all,” sighed Satan, as churches once again were filled to overflowing around the nation. “Listen to all that worship. How are even more people praising God in the face of death? Ugh. I’ve really screwed the pooch this time.”
At publishing time, an enraged Satan had learned that thousands more souls had slipped out of his grasp.
Christ was anti Organized religion and frowned Bigly upon the grift they undertook even back when he supposedly walked the earth. And Christ most definitely would be against every MAGA Evangelical Zealot that spews hatred of the homeless, poor, gays and minorities because his alleged “word” was completely contrarian to that of the racist, homophonic, hate filled Evangelical of today. Christ loved everyone except the Greedy, Glutonous, Adulterous, Sex Offending, Grifting, Thieving people who pretended to be holy while being the scourge of man, which is what MAGA is!
Your Churches are full of pseudo Christians full of hatred for others which is completely contradictory to the word of Christ. In fact according to the Bible it is blasphemy. Amen
That’s a great fictional story from a fictional storybook. If God and Satan were remotely real they would’ve wiped out mankind centuries ago when they began killing one another.
But you’re free to tell stories all you wish. You just sound ridiculous based upon history.
Sophie@sophieXY44 on X
I am gay, GNC/formerly trans, formerly an atheist… and I am ANGRY how many years I was gaslit to turn away from the most wonderful people in the country. There are ugly people on the right who played a part in that too, but thank God things are where there are today and I see clearly.
Our nation NEEDS these kind of people to lead and protect us. America needs God and His people! 🙏
I have learned that and seen it first hand the last five or so years! There’s been only a few ugly people and always many more standing up against them for me. 🥰
I used to fear them. The ignorance of youth mixed with the propaganda of demons.
But now, I see them like my Christ-loving God-fearing grandparents, and I feel so safe with them.
Sure you are Jess Sure you were. No such thing as “formerly trans” once you are transgender it is permanent. Penis’s do not regenerate nor to breast and hormone treatments are not reversible either. Nice try at trying to bolster yourself Jess but you failed this station and are a No Go here. Please drive thru> MAGA hates gays, bi’s, tranny’s etc. So claiming GOD and the right are the answer is quite hypocritical and nonsensical because of their hatred. It’s definitely not Christian to hate anyone else for any reason. Not the word of Christ and definitely Not what the Biblical fictional storybook says either.But feel free to give your time and money to your organized religion and then see if when you need money, food or assistance in any way if they help you. Bet they have a long spiel about how they’d love to but just can’t.
It’s simply a return to Christianity and God-following. This IS the America our Founders gave us.
It is the nation we had until the rise of secularism and the subjugation of faith and civil discourse in the late 60’s – 70’s occurred.
They’re saying “Christian nationalism” is scary because—brace yourself—people might actually go back to:
a) Aristotle: logic, virtue, natural law.
b) The Founding Fathers: liberty, checks and balances, human dignity.
c) beliefs: love God, love your neighbor, moral responsibility.
So some people are panicking that people might combine… philosophy, history, and faith. The exact same mix that built Western civilization in the first place.
Sounds less like a “threat” and more like a curriculum.
It’s like the devil being afraid of holy water or vampires being afraid of the cross.
I’ll take the cross and holy water. Praise the Lord !
Thank you God for this day !
OMG. ! From the Babylon Bee
GLENDALE, AZ — Revival seems poised to sweep around the globe, as an enormous Nazi rally held at State Farm Stadium reportedly inspired millions of people throughout the world to forgive and love their enemies.
The worldwide stirring of forgiveness resulted from the unprecedented Nazi gathering, as hundreds of thousands of bigoted, fascist attendees met to use their evil hatred to spread a message of love and salvation from sin.
“This horrifying event is flooding the world with love,” said one stunned journalist who was present at the rally. “In an unexpected consequence, these hundreds of thousands of Nazis have shown mankind how to turn away from hate and choose to offer forgiveness to their enemies. The danger here cannot be overstated.”
Video clips of the rally, filled with Christian worship music, quotes from the Bible, and urgent pleas for people to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation and peace, quickly went viral on social media, with accompanying content warnings to notify users of the graphic words and images.
“Everyone should be aware that these Nazis are — by their own admission — out to ‘conquer the world,'” said one outraged social media user. “They keep talking about their leader who supposedly died and came back to life, and is now apparently saving people from their sins and giving them the ability to love and forgive their enemies. Terrible, horrifying stuff.”
At publishing time, concerned Democrats were asking television networks and social media platforms to remove all videos from the event to prevent further Nazi radicalization.
I call em NOT See’s OMG because when you call them Nazi’s which they absolutely are, they whine and cry and attempt to say you are the hater not those who openly avowed hatred of Gays, Blacks, Hispanics, Democrats, Socialists, ANTIFA which of course is Anti Fascist (remember that nasty bullshit we set out to eradicate from existence during WWII)? Well now fascism is the M’erican way with King Dumpy Pants and his band of brainwashed hater fascist of MAGA. And they call it “A HOLY War” against our own citizens who do not like have a Convicted Felon Sex Offender Insurrectionist as POTUS! Can’t get any more Fascist and Tyranical than that now can we?
Few speeches in film hit the heart quite like this one, delivered by Robert Duvall in Secondhand Lions (2003):
“Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, courage, and virtues mean everything. That power and money, money and power, mean nothing. That Good always triumphs over Evil. And I want you to remember this: That Love, true Love, never dies. Doesn’t matter if any of this is true or not. You see, a man should believe in these things because these are the things worth believing in.”
Not one mention of “God” so ok I guess.
Our so called founders who stole this land did not promote organized religion. They escaped it. What’s happening now is a fascist hate movement using the guise of religion to justify their hatred of all things gay, black, brown, Asian, Scientific or Muslim. Bible and Christ never promoted hate but MAGA sure as shite does!
@TJ Hall
I suggest you learn your history.
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
― Mark Twain ( from an earlier post)
” Use your Hate, come to the dark side.” Darth Vader. Try writing without using the words, hate, hatred and fascist, then again Darth Vader would be proud of you. I don’t think it turned out well for Darth Vader as I recall.
Try using Love, Honesty and Truth. Those are much better words.
Just calling it like the entire rest of the non MAGAverse see you! That’s not hate it’s truth to power! Truth, Fact, Science, Gay, Black, Hispanic and Homeless hater!
Here’s some history for you, his name was Samuel Clemens and he was a racist ass! Just ask his character Ni@@er Jim!
I LOVE how you deflect from your own racism. I HONESTLY think MAGA is a Fascist entity. I tell the TRUTH about you and your fanatical racist Evangelical HATERS and you HATE it!
How’s that?
Here’s some actual history not a stupid quote by a racist Southern Author who hated blacks.
Once upon a time there was a weak but hate filled little man who inspired hate and violence against others at his rallies. He attempted an Insurrection against his Government and because he was arrested and jailed for it he became more militant, more violent and more hateful. Unfortunately for mankind he was pardoned by like minded Judges and then ran for the office of Chancellor of the country he staged his failed insurrection against. Through his continued hated filled rallies where he mesmerized the masses with his false promises, lies and hatred of gays, Romani, blacks and especially Jews. He admired the US Military’s genocide of Native Americans and longed to enact the same sort of genocide upon his minority enemies. He admired our mass shooting and mass graves filled with the men women and children who owned this land, this country.
He won his election with the help of his thugs who intimidated the masses in armed violent groups known as Brown Shirts. Then he went to town eliminating history books and historical records, attacking Judges, Politicians, Educators, Places of worship etc. as he rapidly dismantled his country’s long standing government. Then he began his deportations and incarcerations of anyone and anything contrary to his beliefs. Many citizens were sent to labor camps far from their homes. Then he began attacking his neighbors militarily while at the same time rounding up the “vermin” gays, Romani, Jews, Educators, Judges etc. in those countries he invaded. He put those people in labor concentration camps where he refined his extermination techniques.
Then his ass was handed to him by our Anti Fascist President and Military. Coward that he was he took his own life rather than face justice for the absolute misery he caused the entire world. That’s how all tyrants fascist racist assholes end up eventually.
His name was Adolph “Schicklgruber” Hitler! And our current “Immune from prosecution” Convicted Felon Sex Offending Insurrectionist POTUS is following his exact same playbook upon his “perceived” enemies for telling the truth about his lies, crimes and corruption. And he gets away with it because of brain dead fools just like you who are aiding and abetting him as he takes our country and the world into Civil War II and World War III.
Learn anything about actual history? I doubt it very much otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
It saddens me to see so much hate in Sedona.
Yes there are many who hate the homeless, the gays, the Hispanics and then say those who call out their bullshit are the haters to deflect from the fact that they are the haters!
Left-Wing Terrorism Is on the Rise
For the first time in more than 30 years, attacks by the far left outnumber those by the far right.
By Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe
No matter how hard ideologues try to exclusively blame their political foes for acts of political violence, the truth is that violent extremists today emerge from across the political spectrum. We have studied this problem and believe that our data can help illuminate an issue too often defined by partisan finger-pointing. As part of a study to be published this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, we compiled and analyzed a data set of 750 attacks and plots in the United States from January 1, 1994, to July 4, 2025. Our research focuses only on incidents of terrorism, which we define as attacks or plots by a nonstate actor attempting to achieve a political end and exert a psychological influence on a broad population. Among other details, the data set includes the types of weapons used, the intended targets, the number of fatalities, and the ideology of the perpetrators.
Article from: The Atlantic, September 23, 2025
Perhaps the so called “terrorist” of the left are fed up seeing our country being torn asunder by fascists and a dictatorship? You know Anti Fascism? That’s what it is. Perhaps because since WWII this country was taught to hate fascist and fascism in every form not elect one and encourage it! It’s also the first time in our history where our country is being run by a Convicted Felon Sex Offender Draft Dodger Insurrectionist with strong ties to Epstein and Pedo Island. One who praises asshole murderous DICKtators and slanders our war heroes and intelligence community.
Hmmm Perhaps? But you’ll say none of that is true won’t you. And that insults every normal M’erican with eyes ears and memory because we saw it, heard it and remember every bit of it!
We’re tired of your hate !
but one thing i do know is this:
as the rest of the nation, the vast, tacit middle who just tried to put up with this and went along to get along finds its voice and rises in a chorus of “i do not agree with you and your immoral minority,” your time and that of those like you is ending.
the presumption, even the attempt to dictate disappears.
it’s just too obviously ineffective.
it’s self-harm so clear that even they can see it.
their stridence and insular vehemence and ostentatious factual departure becomes self-indictment.
and the age of the cancel kulture karen comes to a close.
you lost, bigly.
Whose hate? I don’t hate anyone but racist homophobic fascist. If thats hate you have serious serious issues like 99.9% of the racist homophobe fascist MAGA cult of WHITE SUPREMACIST pretending to be good little Christians but come nowhere close to being one.
Too bad if you have an issue with being told the truth. If you can’t handle it fu@k off! It’s my right to say whatever the hell I want too so long as it doesn’t promote violence which it does not. F’ing baby!!!
You’re free to do the same and I defended your right to do so on battlefields and on overseas tours for over 15 years and I’d still defend your 1st Amendment rights to the death. What I will not do is cow tow to hate, racism, grift, greed, homophobia, insurrection, stripping peoples Constitutional rights away from them, misogyny, criminality and corruption especially from my leaders. I wasn’t allowed to do those things as a service member by law and the Commander and Thief most definitely should not be allowed to do so. But you jackasses love it. That’s hate not calling out the haters. Somehow you must have failed that portion of elementary school.
Don’t preach gospel to my while your hatred of Hispanics and Gays flow from your mouth. You do not follow the way of Christ with your hatred of others. Christ allegedly loved EVERYONE- the homeless, the disabled , the diseased, brown skin, black skin, white skin, red skin ALL Skins. He did not hate gays and recommend stoning them to death like Charlie Kirk very much did. He did hate greed and gluttony with a passion though.
When you practice what you preach perhaps you won’t get beat up upon on here. Till then your just a hypocrite asking to be fact checked at every turn!
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see my fascist brainwashed MAGA moron! Guess we’ll just have to wait and see! Just remember about Karma because that’s what is coming your way!
Whose we? Is that one of your pronouns or a mouse in your pocket? You may have the political majority at this point in time but you’re certainly not the majority as evidenced by Disney’s rapid turnaround over their permanent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel when they saw their stocks rapidly plummet. Yes Democrats lost this election out of their own incapability to run a brainwashing campaign of non stop hate rally’s like Trump did. They also acknowledged their loss and ceded respectful and didn’t go to the Capitol and tear shit apart while threatening to hang the VP and House Speaker. Dems are quite the pu$$ies when it comes to standing up to Tyrants and Fascist Hatred because they’re too damned nice and legal about it. Whereas Dump and MAGA are vile and hateful while breaking laws and Constitutional rights with smiles upon their greedy racist faces. It’s time they stand up and fight ignorance with ignorance and I think that is precisely what will happen as they are persecuted by the DOJ for exposing the many crimes of King DonALT Right. They will grow a pair and give back what is given them. Fighting Fire with Fire as you will. If there is ever another election and Dems somehow manage to win with a truly rigged election system they can and should make sure Fascism and White Supremacy is banned as the Germans did Nazism post WWII. And that’s precisely why you hate them and any other Americans who actually love and served this country and its DEMOCRACY over Fascist Pseudo Evangelical White Nationalists i.e. FASCIST by definition like WS Dave, Mr Rittenhouse, Myself and hundreds of thousands of veterans who served so you can say the things you say. And yet you want us punished for it. As Daffy Duck used to say, “you’re despicable!”
And you’re right, We Lost Bigly! We as a country have lost our Democracy, Integrity, Worldwide respect rather than fear and most of all our very Soul!
Yes man Ms. Braun! Anything you say Ms. Braun! Sieg Heil Ms. Braun!
Sounds like a threat to me but that’s ok you’re brain dead and harmless.
Speaking of SINS, how about Mr 50K Bribery Thomas D. Homan the criminal who was running ICE until he was ousted for bribery. But King Ding Aling “only hires the best of the best”! The best Criminals that is!
And how about Trump weaponizing the Attorney General and DOJ to silence his opponents. Now wasn’t that what he claimed Biden did to him? Guess you’re gonna have to stage another insurrection for his weaponization of those two entities which have forever been impartial until Don Don. Or is it ok when he does it and nobody else can? Just as he is the only Convicted Felon POTUS and yet he is the first and only one to be granted complete immunity for his many many crimes.
It wreaks of hypocrisy and fascism!
In this video, NCI University’s Chase Hughes—who understands the dark science of the intellimafia’s behavior operations because he used to do it himself—reveals one concrete action every person can take to collapse the chain-link dogfight cage the mind-controllers have installed around us:
“One thing that I want to give to you here—and you can say this pledge out loud if you need to—‘I will not let anything electronic decide who my neighbor is. I will not let political violence become normal. I will no longer let propaganda tell me who to hate. I will never cheer for blood. I will choose sanity. I will choose unity. I will choose to see the humanity in people before I see their politics.’
“And if enough of us take that stand, the whole entire rotten, nasty structure starts to fall because the truth is very simple. There are more sane people than there are psychopaths. What we’re seeing online is fake. There are more of us than there are of them, and the second that we remember that, the second we refuse to be divided against each other, which is fake, the game is permanently over.”
Great message. However, one side is lying and gaslighting while the other is accurately calling out Tyranny and Hate that cannot go ignored. It would be great if we didn’t have a Fascist Tyrannical government stripping people of their rights, disappearing people, grifting from the office of the President etc etc. but that’s what we have and it is shameful and un American. It needs to be called out not shot at. And their shootings of their opponents are just as disgusting and un American.
If discourse is the answer let’s talk about the fact that our nation is being led by a criminal tyrant with complete unfettered immunity from his many crimes against our country and its citizens. Let’s talk about how it is the first time in history we have such an enigma in the White House who claims to be “of the people” while amassing billions in grifted wealth, personal vendetta lawsuits and illegal gifts. Let’s talk about the use of the excuse of an Abortion Christianity to shape a nation that was allegedly founded to escape forced religious indoctrination. Let’s talk about why only White Nationalist Evangelicals get the right to “Freedom of Religion” rather than ALL religions being inclusive. Let’s talk about the MAGA cult who show up to ballot boxes, roadside MAGA rallies and polling stations strapped with firearms but black voters are not permitted to be given a simple glass of water while awaiting their turn to vote. Let’s talk about January 6th and who held a violence themed motivational rally pre rally prior to MAGA insurrectionist assaulting our police and National Capitol. Let’s talk very much about Trump, Bannon and Roger Stones direct ties to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers arrested for their roles on January 6th.
When we can have a logic based factual discussion about those things without making excuse after excuse for them then maybe possibly our nation can heal. Ignoring these things will only allow them to fester into abominations like claiming BLM or Federal Agents caused those very serious crimes as being the causation of anyone other than Donald J Trump and the sycophants willing to lie on his criminal behalf.
Let’s talk facts not Alternative ones created by a tyrannical regime led by Q Anon conspiracy and White Nationalist criminals!
For all of you so called Christians full of hatred of migrants. Try learning and practicing what you preach –
The Bible commands followers to treat immigrants and foreigners with kindness, justice, and love, similar to how they treat native-born citizens. This is because God’s people were once foreigners in Egypt, a fact used to emphasize compassion and fair treatment for all who sojourn in their land. Key actions include not oppressing them, showing mercy, providing hospitality, and even extending protection.
Key Themes and Commands
Love and Hospitality: Treat the foreigner as a native-born citizen and love them as yourself, remembering your own history as strangers in Egypt.
Justice: Do not deny justice to the foreigner, fatherless, or widow; God will punish those who do.
Mercy and Compassion: God’s people are called to show mercy and compassion to those in need, including immigrants and refugees.
Protection: Defend the cause of the foreigner, who is often vulnerable and in need of care.
Biblical Examples
Leviticus 19:33-34: “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 10:18-19: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you.”
Zechariah 7:9-10: God commanded His people to “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another” and not to oppress the sojourner, widow, or poor.
Matthew 25:35: Jesus’ teachings on judgment also highlight caring for strangers, as He says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in”.
Now who is the hater??? Me? Christ? Mathew? Let me know I’m dying to hear your vitriol and continued hatred of fact and truth!
“They are fighting over who gets to define what is real.” As I said a couple weeks ago, our current conflict isn’t left versus right; our current conflict is left versus “the plainest forms of observable reality.” It can’t go on. When some highly placed fool looks at graveyard Portland and tells you that akshully, the Pinot Noir is just delightful, he’s telling you that you must break him. He must be shoved aside. Like Karen Bass and Tina Kotek and Gavin Newsom, he is the angel of death, and you tolerate his babbling at the cost of your own destruction.
https://chrisbray.substack.com/p/they-did-the-meme
Well said! Now try saying something that isn’t lies and propaganda!
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (I John 4:20)
How very true Jon especially those who hate migrants, gays, minorities and pretend to love their God!