Religion

‘American Prophecies’ And The Vision Of A God-Ordained U.S.

Posted on February 15, 2018 by CharlieClaywell

We have lots of Stand With Israel signs in Preble County. One can only speculate what the signs would say if the Shepherd of Hermes, instead of The Revelation of John, had been included in the Bible as originally planned. This sign is attached to a Baptist Church in Camden, Ohio.

Two men walking up the hill, one disappears and one’s left standing still — I Wish We’d All Been Ready, Larry Norman, Upon This Rock, 1969. This song, which includes the phrase, ‘the Son has come and you’ve been left behind,’ was a conservative Christian anthem in the late 60s and early 70s. It may have been the inspiration for the Left Behind series penned by Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins. More than 65 million of the books have sold worldwide. The song has been recorded by Pat Boone, Cliff Richards and a slew of CCM artists.

Let me begin by saying, I don’t believe it.

I don’t believe in the Rapture. I don’t believe in Armageddon and I certainly don’t believe that Israel is part of God’s plan. It’s about politics and exploiting fear.

But I wanted to learn about the Israel movement because of the overwhelming number of ‘Stand with Israel’ signs in my county. When I first noticed them years ago, I mocked them, not grasping what they really meant — that a regressive, apocalyptic worldview was invading my community. It’s a worldview that believes the end of time will occur with Armageddon in Israel.

Growing up in an evangelical church whose brand had a muddy view of the end times, I was never overly interested in Armageddon — or its common partner — the rapture. The rapture is a worldview that asserts the righteous will be ‘taken away’ into paradise while the rest of us are left on earth to learn a hard lesson.

This worldview was told (and sold) in exhausting detail via the Left Behind book series.

The Fearful Faithful

Fundamentalism is the preferred form of Christianity in my part of America. Literal signs of this belief structure are everywhere — from the ‘If you die tonight, will you go to Heaven or Hell?’ billboards along I-70 to the ‘repent and be baptized’ sign as you enter Camden, Ohio. In the past several decades, despite a declining population, we have seen the number of our churches grow — with an increasing move toward stricter interpretations of what the ‘Bible really means.’

Despite our growing number of churches, fear is pervasive, with many local churches compelled to remind citizens that we are a ‘Christian nation’ under siege by the forces of evil. In a recent letter to the editor the minister of the Eaton Church of Christ explains the presence of small white crosses starting to pop up throughout Preble County.

“We have decided that if our local, state, and federal governments are going to bow to the demands of those who would see all the symbols of the Christian foundation of this nation removed, then we will do our best to remind them…They (the white crosses) are a way to remind those around us that this nation became the greatest nation in the world because of its Christian foundations: true morality, Christian principles and the providence of the one true God and creator.”

This approach to interpreting America’s history is common among fundamentalist who have decided that, just like with the Bible, they are the only ones to be trusted with understanding our country’s nuanced beginnings.

God Knows Best

Fundamentalism exploits the simple faith of many, and few do it better than bestselling author Michael D. Evans. In American Prophecies: Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Nation’s Future, Evans details how America is in the path of prophecy as he analyzes current and past U.S. events surrounding the Nation of Israel. According to Evans, the U.S. and Israel were chosen by god as part of a divine plan to save (most of) the world.

The book is worth reading to better understand the reasoning behind the Stand with Israel movement. This peculiar, fundamentalist movement has believers sadistically waiting for a nuclear war to prove their interpretation of the Bible is correct.

Evans builds his case for Israel’s holy role in America (and vice versa) by relying on Old Testament verses that, he says, prove America is part of the ‘prophecy stream.’ He details the various times in American history when presidents succeeded, or failed, to follow God’s will concerning the Jews. Overall, it appears that the GOP has been better at understanding God’s will than the Democrats, as one would expect based on the author’s political affiliations. But, politics aside, Evans does appear to truly believe that we have divine protection as a country.

God’s Protection

One example Evans gives is General George Washington.

According to Evans, on the battlefield bullets tore through Washington’s coat, but did not pierce his flesh. This, and other events like it, are proof to Evans that that God’s hand was working as a shield for Washington as God guided the country’s inception. But, as anyone who has read war accounts know, these type of ‘miracles’ are fairly common throughout history.

By Evans’ logic Dick Winters (Band of Brothers) or a Preble County WWII vet I met years ago were protected by God. This local soldier’s story of survival includes many ‘intuitions’ that saved his life (‘move away from that tree’) and in one incident, as an 18-year-old soldier, he was one of only two to survive a SS ambush. This man, who detailed other unexplainable events, said he struggled with understanding how he was saved in battle when the guy next to him was killed.

This phenomenon is commonly referred to as survivor’s guilt, but for Evans, in the case of Washington, it was part of a master plan.

What Were They Thinking?

The book employs a retelling — or a ‘getting inside the head’ — of past president’s action and in Evans’ defense his life has intertwined with a lot of high-ranking political figures so he would be privy to some of their thought processes. The book was published in 2004 so 9/11 and the president all conservatives love to hate — Bill Clinton — was still fresh on Evans’ mind.

So, as expected, throughout the book Evans political leanings often influence his spiritual insights. But, at times, his reasoning feel insane.

For example, Evans quotes an unnamed ‘brilliant and respected scholar whom I have known for decades,’ who gives yet another verification that God is protecting Israel. The scholar says,

“If you look at a satellite image of the city of Jerusalem, you will see the tetragrammaton YHWH. It is clearly visible in the photos.”

YHWH is the Hebrew word for Yahweh — the ‘unspoken name of God,’ Evans says.

Moving The Embassy

As spiritual advisor to 45* Evans was elated when the U.S. Embassy was recently moved to Jerusalem, saying at a December ceremony honoring Trump,

No president in history has ever built such an alliance for the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and no president has courageously stood up for the State of Israel on the global stage as you had Mr. President.

The embassy move is a mixed bag of blessings. If you believe in biblical prophecies, we’re one step closer to the end, and if you don’t believe, well a hard lesson is awaiting.

No Rating on Book. If one wishes to understand the ‘end times’ mindset, but does not want to read the 16-part Left Behind series, this succinct work should do the trick. The book I read is a signed edition –and since I bought it at Goodwill it was discarded by the original owner. I’m not sure what that says about the destination of his/her soul.

Afterthought

As Evans explains in the book, 65 million Americans profess to be Christian and he pontificates what would happen if the Rapture occurred today emptying the country of their souls. It was this argument that almost made me a believer since I could not see a downside.

“Realize, also, if that (the Rapture) happened today it would take our president. Who else would it take? How many members of the Senate? The House? How many judges? How many governors? How many mayors and city council members?”

Although I find the belief system superstitious, one part of the book I did find intriguing — and somewhat entertaining — was the list of Bible verses each U.S. president used when sworn in. Some, like Reagan understood the marketing power of a verse while others, like Lincoln, just let the Bible fall open. At least one president, Pierce, chose not to use a Bible at the inauguration.

Categories: American History, Books I have read, My America, Politics, Religion | Tags: , ,

I Can’t Decide If He’s Chicken Little Or The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Posted on June 25, 2017 by CharlieClaywell

We have lots of Stand With Israel signs in Preble County. One can only speculate what the signs would say if the Shepherd of Hermes, instead of The Revelation of John, had been included in the Bible as originally planned.

Must I fear what others fear, what nonsense — The Tao

Congressman Warren Davidson definitely stays busy, alternating between warning constituents that the sky is falling to crying wolf over some alleged impending doom.  I say this because the issues he has worked on this year are the work of an alarmist and are of no value to the people he represents.

Take the American Health Care Act. His logic seems to be, if we don’t repeal the Affordable Care Act, the country will go bankrupt (crying wolf). But both the House and Senate versions of the AHCA will be devastating to Ohio, the state he, in theory, represents.

Me And Jesus Got A Good Thing Goin’

Earlier this year, Davidson spearheaded a drive to protect our Religious Liberty and it resulted in 45* signing an executive order ensuring this freedom. I live in a county of 40,000 and, according to an ad in the local paper, we have 92 churches. When one of the student speakers at my daughter’s high school graduation a few weeks ago thanked ‘her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,’ the auditorium erupted in applause. If I were so inclined, like 32 percent of Ohio’s population — I could attend Sunday morning service at a different church each week and it would take nearly two years to attend all the churches in my county.

We have religious freedom here, religious diversity, on the other hand, that is lacking. (Hey 45* can we get a Religious Diversity Executive Order.)

California Is To Blame

But Davidson’s latest fearmongering is more deplorable when you consider the abysmal gerrymandering that exists in Ohio. Gerrymandering is one of the political tactics that has escalated the country’s partisanship during the past two or three decades. Now, according to Davidson’s latest e-newsletter, the ‘sky is falling’ — not in Ohio, the state he was elected to represent — but California — that blue state which, unlike Ohio, has a thriving economy. So as real Ohioans deal with a sub-standard economy, Davidson is crying wolf about the seats in the House. Davidson says,

Did you know that electoral votes and seats in the House are distributed based on the total population of each state? States like California game the system to encourage illegal immigration and are rewarded with 5-7 extra congressional seats by some estimates. 

We lose our sovereignty each day this goes unresolved. This is why I introduced the Fair Representation Amendment.

Although the Amendment is very self-serving in the GOP’s voter suppression drive, it’s an intriguing twist for a party whose current brand supports stronger state rights and less federal interference. Apparently, in this situation though, the feds need to intervene.

Gerrymandering: Legally Gaming The System

Davidson’s Congressional District is the definition of gaming the system. He presides over one of the most noncompetitive Congressional Districts in Ohio. His district is ‘packed’ with a 2-to-1 ratio of GOP to Democrat voters — and it was his Party that imposed the unethical District map on Ohio residents.

This undemocratic approach to democracy is undermining our political institutions causing many to lose faith in the political process. So maybe, to paraphrase Jesus, Davidson should just worry about the plank in his own eye and not the speck in California’s.

Categories: 8th congressional district, My America, Preble County, Religion

Christian’s Social Media Post Is Epitome Of Intolerance

Posted on November 11, 2016 by CharlieClaywell

As I come to grips with the reality that three out of four voters in my county chose Donald Trump, I’m not as worried about what will happen, I am more concerned about what we have become.

At some point, I’m sure the national protests will abate and life will move back into some semblance of normality. (Although, as I write this, Cincinnati braces for a verdict some fear will create more unrest.) But I’m afraid we may never fully understand the pain inflicted on some members of our society.

Some of my family members, like those with children or grandchildren of minority heritage or those who are victims of sexual assault, have taken this election very personal. And rightly so. Their family, friends and neighbors put someone in power who personally denigrated them. Some of them are legitimately concerned about their future.

Part of the blame of what we’ve become rests on the shoulders of president Ronald Reagan who in vetoing the Fairness Doctrine ushered in the age of Talk Radio and Fox News, where angry white men wearing American flag label pins, exploited Americans — preaching a message of intolerance that bolstered the network’s bottom line. Technology introduced social media which quickly became the source of additional misinformation and ignorance as it mainstreamed bizarre and fringe ideologies.

With all of this came, in many corners of the country, a removal of the American idea of ‘you stay on your side of the street and I’ll stay on mine.’ Zealots using social media as a tool began subjecting the country to their intolerance because diversity — an attribute that does make America great —  is, in their eyes, a liability. One of my family members learned this firsthand when they posted a meme expressing support for a close friend in the LGBTQ community. The family member was assaulted by a litany of comments from people she has not seen in decades. Some she does not even know. As the commenters waltzed unwelcomed into her side of the street one compared homosexuality to alcoholism.

I grew up in an evangelical church, so I am acutely aware of the mindset that pushes this faulty and immoral presumption that alcoholism and homosexuality are two sides of the same sinful coin. It’s a mindset afraid to live this life, choosing instead to bank everything on the next one. Politically it’s an easy mindset to exploit, because if this life does not matter, then social reform is irrelevant and tolerance cannot be accepted.

Masked behind this Christian’s superficial claim of love is an arrogance that they know the mind of God. Science and biology be damned, because the Apostle Paul decided homosexuality is ‘unnatural,’ so ‘it is what it is,’ the logic goes.

But, in the Christian tradition, Jesus has a closer connection to the mind of God than Paul. Jesus never broached the subject, but he did, like many spiritual gurus, offer a simple way to live. It’s the Golden Rule. Treat others like you want to be treated. In this case, treating others well means staying on your side of the street while securely locking away unscientific beliefs into the deep crevices of your mind.

However, if Paul is the Christian leader to follow, do what he says and ‘become all things to all men…”

For just a moment become that teenage boy who realizes he is not heterosexual. And, if you have the courage, and I doubt you do, feel the sting of the tears when he hears the word pervert directed at him for the first time. Watch him hold in those tears and refuse to cry because, even at 13, this young man knows a father should not call his son perverted. Then stare deep and long into the father’s eyes so you can know what hatred looks and feels like. Embrace the wrath and rejection. And, if you truly love this teen’s soul like you say you do, just for one minute watch his classmates’ obscene gestures as they ridicule him, a teen whose only crime is, just like you, he possesses a biological attribute.

Then, as Jesus said, go ahead an remove the ‘plank from your own eyes.’

But please, for the love of God, don’t try to protect any member of the LGBTQ community from Hell because most — even in the Land of the Free — have already been there.

It’s something moral people — both inside and outside the LGBTQ community — are trying to rectify.

Categories: Personal Essays, Politics, Religion, Small Town Politics | Tags: