[TH Spangler]

Yep, still waiting on Al Mohler’s apology to Bill Clinton...

Now, I was encouraged to read John Piper’s recent essay. Say what you want about the severity of some of his positions, but they are always in line with his convictions.

So I guess Piper wants Mr and Ms plan parenthood in office? 62% of their clinics are in minority neighborhoods. What % of the population do they represent? Sad.

Trump is supporting life.

[TH Spangler]

Like PH said, I agree with 80% of Trump. I agree with 20% of what the Democrats offer. One of the things I disagree with demacrates happens to be deadly for babies.

[stokesjokes]

Yep, still waiting on Al Mohler’s apology to Bill Clinton...

Now, I was encouraged to read John Piper’s recent essay. Say what you want about the severity of some of his positions, but they are always in line with his convictions.

So I guess Piper wants Mr and Ms plan parenthood in office? 62% of their clinics are in minority neighborhoods. What % of the population do they represent? Sad.

Trump is supporting life.

Apparently you didn’t actually read the essay:

“ I will not develop some calculus to determine which path of destruction I will support. That is not my duty. My calling is to lead people to see Jesus Christ, trust his forgiveness for sins, treasure him above everything in this world, live in a way that shows his all-satisfying value, and help them make it to heaven with love and holiness. That calling is contradicted by supporting either pathway to cultural corruption and eternal ruin.”

“ What About Abortion?

Where does the wickedness of defending child-killing come from? It comes from hearts of self-absorbed arrogance and boasting (James 4:1–2). It comes from hearts that are insubordinate to God. In other words, it comes from the very character that so many Christian leaders are treating as comparatively innocuous, because they think Roe and SCOTUS and Planned Parenthood are more pivotal, more decisive, battlegrounds.

I think Roe is an evil decision. I think Planned Parenthood is a code name for baby-killing and (historically at least) ethnic cleansing. And I think it is baffling and presumptuous to assume that pro-abortion policies kill more people than a culture-saturating, pro-self pride.

When a leader models self-absorbed, self-exalting boastfulness, he models the most deadly behavior in the world. He points his nation to destruction. Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine.

It is naive to think that a man can be effectively pro-life and manifest consistently the character traits that lead to death — temporal and eternal.”


You should read the whole thing, but I found those snippets especially relevant to your post.


https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/po ... hs-to-ruin

[Jonathan Carone]

Piper's essay was a critique of the political process as a whole. I came away reading it as written by someone disgusted by both sides of the current climate.

[Purple Haize]

Piper's essay was a critique of the political process as a whole. I came away reading it as written by someone disgusted by both sides of the current climate.

I came away with it similar but a little disappointed d at him. I wish he would have focused more on the actual Kingdom of God then the doom and gloom. I get this is a great essay for those who want spiritual cover to vote for Biden or not vote. But it is far from a definitive treatise on the subject.
I agree with the philosophy of separating the Kingdom of God from Politics. Piper didn’t do that. He just complained. I do like what he has spawned in Minneapolis but this was a pharisaical offering

[RubberMallet]

i will say its been interesting watching people put together these eloquently worded long fb posts justifying their Biden vote to their Christian friends. IMO totally unnecessary. I could easily justify a vote for Biden. even on abortion. one parties leaders had all that was needed to defund PP and did nothing. one party's leaders acknowledges the right to abortion yet makes it seem they'd like to reduce them by provided more gvt social security netting for those likely to get one.

there are 100 other reasons i believe the democratic party is un-electable, but i mean that was pretty easy right there.

[stokesjokes]

Piper's essay was a critique of the political process as a whole. I came away reading it as written by someone disgusted by both sides of the current climate.

I came away with it similar but a little disappointed d at him. I wish he would have focused more on the actual Kingdom of God then the doom and gloom. I get this is a great essay for those who want spiritual cover to vote for Biden or not vote. But it is far from a definitive treatise on the subject.
I agree with the philosophy of separating the Kingdom of God from Politics. Piper didn’t do that. He just complained. I do like what he has spawned in Minneapolis but this was a pharisaical offering

It comes off as OT prophecy to me, which is right in Piper's wheelhouse. And I don't think he's trying to separate the Kingdom of God from Politics. I don't think he believes you can. if you are a part of the Kingdom of God, it should inform every single thing you do.

[TH Spangler]

Wow. With all the stuff coming out on the Bidens, if he's elected this country deserves to fail.

On the laptop from hell, prof of millions of dollars passing under the table for influence ... leading to the transfure of our technologies and manufacturing. Basically Biden was a king pin in the pay to play, offshoring the past 30 years.

Not to mention rumors of child porn and pedophilia on it. This was just reported on Bartiromo Fox Business program. If it's there it will come out. Multiple copies of the harddrive are out there. China having copies of the child stuff also discussed on Bartiromo show this morning.

God help us?

[stokesjokes]

Dude, none of this seems fishy to you? This “laptop” with emails apparently shopped around in Ukraine first, in a country where the president said disinformation was becoming a national sport? https://time.com/5902557/hunter-biden-r ... i-ukraine/

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/2 ... nas-432108

The laptop story that we know Bobulinski lied about the timetable of? The one that didn’t have enough credibility for the Wall Street Journal to run, so they had to settle for the N.Y. Post, a tabloid?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/busi ... trump.html

The mysterious “damning” documents that Tucker Carlson lost in the mail?

https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-ca ... os-angeles

It just reeks of a desperate attempt from a campaign that knows it will lose without a major scandal taking the other guy down

[Jonathan Carone]

Not to mention there are Trump examples of almost everything they’re accusing Biden of doing. It reeks of political misinformation to get those on the right who have a moral issue with Trump to think Biden is just as bad so they should choke down the Trump vote like they did four years ago.

You have to approach the last couple weeks just like you do the weeks before the NFL Draft. Each side will put out whatever half truth or misleading story in order to protect themselves and get what they want. Question everything and if it doesn’t add up, there’s probably a reason.

[TH Spangler]

Do you think the Hunter porn selfies will be published. I hear they are already on line at a Chinese based web hosting service.

[stokesjokes]

Yes, attack Joe Biden over “rumors of child porn and pedophilia” on his son’s computer, while supporting Donald Trump.

Yes, Donald Trump, who was accused of walking through dressing rooms of 15 and 16 year old girls.

Donald Trump, who described being “great friends” with Jeffrey Epstein.

Donald Trump, who said he wished Ghislaine Maxwell well after she was arrested for running an underage sex-trafficking ring.

Donald Trump, who paid off a porn star to keep quiet about their affair and has cheated on every wife he has had.

Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault by at least 25 women.

Donald Trump, Mr. Grab-Them-By-The-youknowwhat himself

...and this is not to mention the financial piece. There’s a reason Trump hasn’t released his tax returns, and it isn’t because they are “under audit.” Every sitting president’s taxes are continually under audit, yet they’ve all released them. There are things in those returns Trump doesn’t want you to see.

[TH Spangler]

The past 4 years have made one thing clear to me. What ever Democrats are falsely accusing you of is exactly what they are guilty of doing. That seems to be their go to defensive move. Clinton was the onlyone colluding with the Russians.

You have had 4 years to prove the accusations.

I hope you're right about Biden. I beleive we will find out if he's elected. Way to many copies made of that harddrive, and to many angry people on the other side.

Trumps taxes were illegally leak on Twitter and twitter didn't block it based on the standard they describe in front of the Senate hearing yesterday What was he hiding? He legally only paid $700 in income tax. Big deal. How much personal property taxes did he pay. Demacrates played that card and there's no there there.

[TH Spangler]

If Biden wins I'm going to need one

https://www.joelosteen.com/MonthlyOffer ... ation-cube

[stokesjokes]

This regurgitation of the Bill Barr spin on the Mueller report needs to stop. The Mueller report provided ample evidence of the Trump campaign both meeting with Russian operatives and utilizing Russian interference to benefit their campaign. The Republican-led senate intelligence committee report that came out in August confirms this. In fact, the Mueller report outlines 10 instances in which the president sought to obstruct justice regarding this investigation as well.

[TH Spangler]

This regurgitation of the Bill Barr spin on the Mueller report needs to stop. The Mueller report provided ample evidence of the Trump campaign both meeting with Russian operatives and utilizing Russian interference to benefit their campaign. The Republican-led senate intelligence committee report that came out in August confirms this. In fact, the Mueller report outlines 10 instances in which the president sought to obstruct justice regarding this investigation as well.

You need to turn off MSNBC for a while.

[stokesjokes]

I don't watch MSNBC. I think it's important to get news and reporting from different points of view, and I try to engage with varying sources to try to get a clearer picture of the truth. What I have said can be traced back to the reports themselves. Do you honestly engage with any news media that isn't from a conservative point of view?

[Purple Haize]

This regurgitation of the Bill Barr spin on the Mueller report needs to stop. The Mueller report provided ample evidence of the Trump campaign both meeting with Russian operatives and utilizing Russian interference to benefit their campaign. The Republican-led senate intelligence committee report that came out in August confirms this. In fact, the Mueller report outlines 10 instances in which the president sought to obstruct justice regarding this investigation as well.

If the Mueller Report said what you say it did the House would have pounced. The fact that it said the Campaign wasn’t influenced by Russia etc forced the House to pounce on some random phone call

As for the “obstruction of justice” claims, those are laughable. Trying to protect yourself via legal means is the foundation of the American legal system. Erasing phones and emails while under subpoena? THAT is legitimate Obstruction. Having your lawyers argue against prosecution or investigators? That’s a Right

[stokesjokes]

It's beyond that.

"Mueller’s report says “substantial evidence” indicates Trump’s decision to fire Comey in May 2017 was the result of the FBI director’s unwillingness to say publicly that Trump was not personally under investigation."

"Trump called then-White House counsel Don McGahn at home and directed him to have Mueller removed. McGahn refused."

He also tried to pressure Sessions to "un-recuse" himself and made strong hints at pardoning Manafort if he didn't cooperate with the investigation.

This is obstructing justice. And our standards need to be higher than "was it explicitly criminal." Same thing with the Russia probe- this man and his team have done things that undermine the integrity of our democracy. That should be concerning.

[Purple Haize]

If Comey told Trump privately he wasn’t under investigation (which he did) why is out of bounds to have that made public?
So he wasn’t removed. Nothing happened. Probably shouldn’t have called but no action was taken.
Sessions was a nightmare from Day 1. I can’t defend what either did

The undermining of democracy is the Democrats and Never Trumpers not accepting the results of 2020.

[thepostman]

You guys are real cute in how you try to find the good in "your guy".

They both are corrupt. End of story.

Happy Thursday!

[stokesjokes]

Attempts to obstruct are still obstruction, doesn't matter if "nothing happened."

Do you mean 2016? 2020 hasn't happened yet and there's a certain sitting president who refuses to commit to accepting the results of the election. I'll give you a hint: he's not a Democrat or Never Trumper.

[stokesjokes]

You guys are real cute in how you try to find the good in "your guy".

They both are corrupt. End of story.

Happy Thursday!

Oh, I hold no illusions that Biden is "good" or that he's my guy. I'm not talking about Biden at all.

But I'm bored because there's a hurricane and none of my clients are showing up

[TH Spangler]

Yep, still waiting on Al Mohler’s apology to Bill Clinton...

Now, I was encouraged to read John Piper’s recent essay. Say what you want about the severity of some of his positions, but they are always in line with his convictions.

So I guess Piper wants Mr and Ms plan parenthood in office? 62% of their clinics are in minority neighborhoods. What % of the population do they represent? Sad.

Trump is supporting life.

Apparently you didn’t actually read the essay:

“ I will not develop some calculus to determine which path of destruction I will support. That is not my duty. My calling is to lead people to see Jesus Christ, trust his forgiveness for sins, treasure him above everything in this world, live in a way that shows his all-satisfying value, and help them make it to heaven with love and holiness. That calling is contradicted by supporting either pathway to cultural corruption and eternal ruin.”

“ What About Abortion?

Where does the wickedness of defending child-killing come from? It comes from hearts of self-absorbed arrogance and boasting (James 4:1–2). It comes from hearts that are insubordinate to God. In other words, it comes from the very character that so many Christian leaders are treating as comparatively innocuous, because they think Roe and SCOTUS and Planned Parenthood are more pivotal, more decisive, battlegrounds.

I think Roe is an evil decision. I think Planned Parenthood is a code name for baby-killing and (historically at least) ethnic cleansing. And I think it is baffling and presumptuous to assume that pro-abortion policies kill more people than a culture-saturating, pro-self pride.

When a leader models self-absorbed, self-exalting boastfulness, he models the most deadly behavior in the world. He points his nation to destruction. Destruction of more kinds than we can imagine.

It is naive to think that a man can be effectively pro-life and manifest consistently the character traits that lead to death — temporal and eternal.”


You should read the whole thing, but I found those snippets especially relevant to your post.


https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/po ... hs-to-ruin

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/a- ... trump.html

[stokesjokes]

I appreciate Grudem’s thoughts, but I think he’s unrealistic in a few ways.

First- he’s naive to say “well, you can just choose not to be influenced by the character of your leaders.” That’s not how that works- of course it’s not usually in overt choices, but I can go to my Facebook right now and run down a list of friends who have become more divisive and extreme in their rhetoric since Trump took office. Heck, you don’t have to look farther than Jerry Jr to see someone who was emboldened to act more sinfully in the wake of Trump’s rise.

I also think he overestimates the president’s power on issues he finds important while narrowing the list of “Christian” issues to basically 3 things: abortion, LGBT stuff, religious liberty. On the first point: we know historically that the party affiliation of the president has had no effect on abortion rates. The Supreme Court is also 6-3 conservative now, but still incredibly unlikely to overturn Roe. It was a 6-3 conservative majority when Roe was decided initially. And by the way, planned parenthood received more taxpayer dollars in 2019 than it ever has. Religious liberties are also not in any kind of danger. There has not been a case that has gone against religious liberty in federal court for a long time, including during all 8 years of the Obama administration and under his appointees.

But Grudem omits “Christian” issues like treatment of refugees. We are admitting historically low rates of refugees, with the Trump administration intending to lower them further. To date, despite the hundreds of thousands of refugees resettled here, there has not been a single terror act committed by a refugee. Ever. We have also seen a 90% reduction in acceptance of persecuted Christian refugees during Trump’s tenure.