Immediately after the death of Charlie Kirk, many on the political left celebrated and mocked his death as getting what he deserved, while many on the right called for retribution in the form of violence. There were not calls from either side to stand down. There was not even agreement that his assassination was a tragedy worthy of lament and mourning. People on both sides of the political spectrum were stoking the sparks of dissent into anger.

Immediately after the death of Renee Good, many on the political right celebrated and mocked her death as getting what she deserved, while many on the left called for retribution in the form of violence. There were not calls from either side to stand down. There was not even agreement on what just happened. People on both sides of the political spectrum were fanning the flames of anger into rage.

Clearly, this event is BY NO MEANS THE MORAL EQUIVALENT of Charlie Kirk's assassination. It is potentially far worse. It is potentially far less serious. If it turns out that Good was gunned down by an overzealous law enforcement agent of the state, it is far worse than Kirk's assassination by a private citizen. It if turns out that the use of deadly force against Good was justified by law enforcement, her death is still tragic, but it is nowhere near morally comparable to Kirk's.

Here's the thing...we do NOT know which one of the above evaluations is correct. That judgment does not come in an instant from social media, talking heads on cable news, or politicians. That judgment comes as the result of a deliberate, impartial investigation by individuals qualified to do it. So far, that has not happened.

Here's what we do know...both sides of the political spectrum have abdicated their moral authority by cheering either death and should be soundly rebuked. Both sides are wrong to celebrate the death of either of these individuals, regardless of motivation. Both sides are being irresponsible and are part of the ever-growing cancer of division that has metastasized through these United States. Though there are clearly times when violence is necessary and right, anyone celebrating and glorifying death (regardless of cause) is acting as a lackey of Satan, willingly or unwillingly, and is directly contributing to the destruction and collapse of our nation.

It is time to stand down. It is time to mourn the destruction of lives, the destruction of the ability to debate and disagree, the destruction of civility, and the inevitable destruction of our nation that will come as a result of the normalization and celebration of political violence. Stand down. Everyone.

Better yet, time to fall down on our knees and pray...that is the only way out.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

#culture #politics #theology

I've always been enthralled by 20th century dystopia fiction: Orwell's 1984, Huxley's Brave New World, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and McCarthy's The Road. What intrigues me most about these particular works, except the last one, is their pointed critique of society's trajectory and their eerily prophetic gaze into a future (for them) that has in many ways become, quite frighteningly, the reality in which we presently live.

Today, I'm thinking about a word made infamous in Orwell's 1984, “Doublethink.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as “thought marked by the acceptance of gross contradictions and falsehoods, especially when used as a technique of self-indoctrination.”

Specifically, given the hostilities between Israel and Iran over the past few days, the notion of doublethink is on my mind. For instance, think about the following ideas we are supposed to hold simultaneously regardless of how contradictory they might seem:

• Israel's pre-emptive attack on Iran is 'self-defense,' but Iran's response to being attacked is 'aggression' or 'terrorism' (see Footnote)

• Israel claims the right to develop/maintain nuclear weapons for itself, but Israel rejects Iran's right to develop/maintain the same type of weapon

• Iran and the U.S. intelligence community claim that Iran is not capable (or nearly capable) of fielding nuclear weapons, but Israel's intelligence claims otherwise, in spite of the fact that U.S. intelligence rejects Israel's 'evidence'

Before jumping to conclusions and name-calling, I am NOT suggesting Iran is morally right or morally superior to Israel or the U.S. I am not. At the same time, however, I am not going to be so hypocritical or arrogant as to suggest that the U.S. or any other nation has the right to decree what technology other nations might develop and possess. The decisions made by nations, like all choices, come with their own benefits and consequences.

Let us not pretend that any nation in history has consistently acted as a disinterested, benign actor seeking the best interest of the world at large. That is delusional. Let's at least be honest and realize that every nation acts only in its own self-interest, and that creates friction, conflict, atrocities, suffering, and war. This will not change until Christ comes to set all things right, so our prayer must always be 'Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.”

#politics #theology

(Footnote): Interestingly, the idea of pre-emptive self-defense is consistently and historically rejected by the Christian Just War tradition. George W. Bush articulated the idea that a nation (specifically the U.S.) has the right to take military action against perceived threats before actual attacks...an idea that has taken root in the U.S. but has been consistently rejected through history as incompatible with the Just War tradition. I continue to be on the side of tradition and reject pre-emptive self-defense as an oxymoron.

On the Destructive Nature of the Left and the Proper Response of the Right

I read an article today that described the fundamental nature of the Left as 'negative,' i.e. opposed to things, typically the historic status quo. I think I would go further than that and say that the Left is fundamentally destructive / de-constructive and characterized by the desire to create disorder (more quickly than entropy disorders things in a fallen world). Over time, the immediate causes will change and adjust, according to the soft spots or easy gains that present themselves to this philosophy. This explains why the cause of the day has shifted from sexual and reproductive 'freedom' to political correctness to LGBTQ-alphabet soup to wokeness to antisemitism to...whatever will come next.

This is very negative, I admit; however, I am not especially charitable about my understanding of the Right as it is currently understood and exemplified.

The Right, it seems to me, is also characteristically 'negative' but in a different way. Instead of being focused on the destruction of the current state of things, the Right generally defines itself by being against the Left. It seems very rare to me, indeed, that anyone on the Right actually puts forth a genuinely positive position that is not a reaction to something the Left has already tried to destroy (e.g. being 'pro-life').

Understood this way, it is clear that the general, 'big picture,' macro drift of a society will NEVER be anything but to the Left. It will always drift leftward over time if the Right is not genuinely FOR ideas but reacts only against the destruction attempted by the Left. The Right, in this paradigm, is also fundamentally negative. Both sides work together to move a society, at greater or lesser speeds over time, toward self-destruction and societal suicide.

This is Satanic and demonic, full stop. If you don't believe me, think back on the just the last two hundred years of world history.

That this view is correct is self-evident if we pause and reflect on the positions currently held by the Right in the United States that are FAR left of positions held by the Left even less than a century ago. Contrast the views of Donald Trump on abortion or same sex marriage with Bill Clinton—who is more to the Left? Compare the theological views of 'conservative' churches today on female clergy or premarital sex with mainline churches of 50 years ago—who is more to the Left?

The Right, as it operates today, is a retardant to leftward motion rather than a genuinely creative or positive agent acting in society. To recover a truly positive influence, the Right must define itself by what it supports and not by what it is against, AND it must stop repeatedly conceding ground and drifting left itself.

Said positively, the Right (i.e. “Conservatives”) must stop trying to conserve things and start trying to recreate and restore them according to the Word of God and His intention for individuals and society.

Instead of the Right being 'conservative' it must be 'restorational.'

We ought not be trying to simply slow down society's movement to the left but restoring God's intended order, beliefs, and practice.

Who is up for such a monumental task? Certainly none of the political class or academia. It must come from God's people individually, who themselves are recreated and restored, and corporately, as the Body of Christ.

It will not come from anywhere else. Indeed, it cannot.

#culture #politics #theology

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