Bruce Jenner Is Deserving Of Our Prayer

Posted on by leomcneil1

Bruce Jenner made a splash this week on the cover of Vanity Fair. Jenner is now calling himself Caitlyn and appeared on the cover as a woman. Little about the cover was authentic. Jenner is a 65 year old man who was made to look like a 25 year old woman. The amount of time spent applying makeup, implementing camera tricks and touching up the finished product must have been immense. Of course there’s something camera tricks, makeup and even surgery cannot change. Bruce Jenner isn’t a woman, he’s a man. The indulgence of his wickedness says a lot about the state of our culture. In particular it says a lot about the state of the media, which raced to start calling Jenner she rather than he.

Society is celebrating Jenner as a hero for dressing up like a woman. He’s hailed as being true to himself. In reality society is doing nothing more than indulging his sin. God made Bruce Jenner a man, scripture specifically forbids cross dressing. Essentially Jenner is telling God that he got things wrong, that Bruce knows better than God. This is celebrated by our culture, anyone who dares question it is branded a bigot. However by remaining silent, Christians don’t do Jenner or the broader society any favors. We cannot love our neighbor and say nothing when they cheer and celebrate that which is evil. That our culture is wildly cheering right now ought to tell us just how far society has fallen.

The media of course jumped right on board the Caitlyn bandwagon. The media no longer refers to him as Bruce, they refer to him as Caitlyn. He is out, she is in. It’s led to some confusing articles about Jenner and his ex-wife Kris. Because Bruce has to be a she now, it’s led to articles referring to both Bruce and Kris as she, it’s impossible to know who exactly is being referenced. It’s especially obnoxious when you consider that Bruce was always a man during the marriage and the name Caitlyn is a recent revelation. Of course for the media to not refer to Bruce as Caitlyn and to refer to him as he rather than she would represent bigotry, so we the reader are out of luck. That the media is even indulging Bruce Jenner’s sin and wickedness says a lot about where we are as a society. It’s not just that they indulge it, the media celebrates it and castigates anyone who questions the wisdom of it.

Not surprisingly women are the first to jump on board in support of Bruce Jenner’s sin. Polling has fairly consistently indicated that women believe there are far more homosexuals than there really are. Homosexuals make up 2-3% of the population, over half of Americans think 20% of the country is homosexual with 35% believing more than 25% of the population is homosexual. These ludicrous figures are fairly consistent over the last few years. Since so many people seem to believe there are far more homosexuals than there really are, it’s no surprise that society supports “equal” rights for them and their associates the cross-dressers. Jenner’s support largely comes from a society that has been trained by the left to believe there are far more of these people out there than there really are. For a country that has rejected the moral grounding of scripture and has, thanks to government education, the critical thinking skills of a gnat it comes as no surprise that people not only think there are far more homosexuals than there really are but they treat them like heroes. Jenner is the beneficiary of this cesspool of wickedness.

Bruce Jenner deserves our prayer. He’s a man mired in his own wickedness, blinded to the truth of Jesus Christ. Christians must pray for him, that he would repent and turn to Christ. Christians must ask God to save Jenner’s soul. We cannot stop there though, we have to pray for our nation to. Our culture has utterly rejected historic Christian morality. American culture indulges Bruce Jenner dressing as a woman, it indulges homosexuals and celebrates their perversion. Worse, it persecutes anyone who dares to oppose this wickedness. God would be completely justified to remove his common grace from this nation, leaving us to our own wickedness. Christians must ask God to return to our country, to save souls and cause those in sin to turn to Christ. It isn’t enough for Christians to throw their hands up in the air in exasperated outrage when our society moves further down the path of wickedness. Christians must be active and pray.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Tumblr
Posted in culture / Tagged bruce jenner, caitlyn jenner, Christianity, lgbt, Politics, society, transgender / 1 Comment

Downfall Of The Duggar’s Reveals Evangelical Idolatry

Posted on by leomcneil1

Another icon of the conservative evangelical world has fallen. A couple years ago it was Doug Phillips of Vision Forum who fell after his adultery with the nanny became public. Last year it was Bill Gothard of ATI that fell when it became clear that he had sexually harassed young girls for the better part of 40 years. Now it has come out that the Duggar family is a complete fraud. Their oldest son Josh spent his teenage years molesting his sisters. He would sneak up on them while they were sleeping and fondle their breasts and vagina. His parents did little about it for years, thinking that sending him to do construction work would somehow stop him. It didn’t of course. Ultimately a police report was filed after the Oprah people discovered what was happening. There is no word yet as to why Josh Duggar wasn’t prosecuted.

Despite Josh’s sexual perversion, his parents decided to go forward and put their family on television week after week for the better part of the last decade. Surely they didn’t believe that Josh’s molestation history would never come out. There have been rumors about it online for years, now that a police report has been found it’s official. Not only did Jim-Bob and Michelle fail to protect their daughters from Josh from 2003-2006 when he was molesting them, they failed to protect them by becoming a well known family amongst evangelicals and the entire world. Now those poor girls, having been molested as children, have to relive their nightmare publicly because their parents decided to make them world famous. It’s bad enough they were forced to live with their tormentor as children, to have to deal with this publicly is outrageous.

Part of the Duggar’s problem is that they followed the legalistic guidelines of Bill Gothard. If you follow his legalistic rules you’ll have a perfect family. The Duggar’s followed the rules and presented the perfect family to the world on their television show. Of course lurking in the background was their molester son and four broken daughters who were his victims. One of Gothard’s main points is that women must dress modestly because men can’t control themselves. If women dress provocatively it creates sexual sin in men that they can’t control. That’s a clear message given to girls by Gothard. What conclusion do you suppose the Duggar girls reached when their brother molested them? No doubt they blamed themselves, they must have dressed provocatively or done something wicked to entice him. Never mind that those girls never dressed immodestly and did nothing to entice their brother. They were young themselves, some not even teenagers yet.

One of the problems with this is that we know who the Duggar’s are. There is a huge market out there for celebrity pastors and celebrity families. Evangelicals flock to these people, desperate to latch onto anything they might even remotely be considered wholesome and Christian. There are thousands of them online right now brushing off Josh’s molestation of his sisters claiming it was “teenage curiosity” or something along those lines. They’ll ignore the fact that his public apology was all about himself and how he didn’t want to destroy his life. No thought given to his sisters, the victims of his crimes. That the victims lives may have been destroyed or significantly harmed seems to be of no concern to him. Evangelicals will brush that off, desperate to redeem the Duggar family.

At what point will evangelicals stop turning pastors, self help gurus and families into idols? How many pastors have to be caught in adulterous relationships, how many gurus have to harass girls, how many famous families have to have a molester son before the idolatry ends? Evangelicals have a tendency to create false idols out of these people, pretending there isn’t any wickedness inside of them. Part of the problem is that American evangelicals have a flawed understanding of sin, in particular total depravity. Desperate to make sense of the wicked world we live in they latch onto those in the Christian world who have made themselves famous by pushing family values. They turn these people into idols, make excuses for their sin and then they don’t know what to do when something extremely serious comes out about their idols. Half dig their heels in and defend to the last man, the other half leave disillusioned and questioning the Christian faith. This is what idolatry does to people.

Josh Duggar insists that he has repented and turned from his wicked molesting ways. Hopefully that is the case. As believers we must accept his repentance at face value, as we would want others to do for us. That doesn’t absolve Josh of any criminal punishment that could be meted out. Unfortunately Arkansas only has a three year statute of limitations for the prosecution of molestation cases. Those three years have long since passed. It’s a shame, he deserves criminal punishment for his actions. As for evangelicals, they must accept his repentance but they need to repent themselves for turning this family into such an idol. The perfection people were shown on tv only masked their sinful nature and the particularly grotesque sins committed by Josh. Christians cannot continue to pretend that sin isn’t a daily part of the lives of famous believers. Evangelicals need to stop being fooled by presentations of perfect families and perfect men. Until evangelicals shut down the market for this sort of nonsense, it will continue to thrive and we will continue to have revelations like yesterday’s. Such is God’s judgment against Christians committing idolatry.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Tumblr
Posted in christianity / Tagged bill gothard, child molestation, Doug Phillips, Duggar Family, evangelicals, Idolatry, Josh Duggar / 2 Comments

Are You Ready For More Hillary Scandals?

Posted on by leomcneil1

Hillary Clinton finally got around to speaking to the media the other day. Apparently she went 40,000 minutes without speaking to the press. It is amusing to watch the press whine when they aren’t spoken to by a politician. Hillary doesn’t need to speak to the media in order to communicate with the public. She isn’t Scott Walker, Ted Cruz or Bernie Sanders. She’s a household name, none of the other candidates in either party are. They need the press to gain public recognition, if anything Hillary’s name recognition is her biggest negative. Worse, her press conferences always produce negative story lines. Yesterday was no different of course. Hillary is never more popular than when she’s out of sight, the minute she’s back in the limelight her ratings drop.

No one is more interested in having the State Department release Hillary’s emails than Hillary herself. She’s practically desperate for the State Department to simply release her emails and end this scandal. There is no doubt that Hillary is telling the truth, she absolutely wants her emails released. She’s already had the opportunity to sift through her emails to delete any that may be damaging. The ones she gave to the State Department already have her seal of approval, they likely reveal very little about anything controversial. At least not directly controversial. There won’t be a Benghazi smoking gun, if there was one it’s been deleted. There won’t be any email the State Department releases that will indicate any direct wrongdoing or incompetence on Hillary’s part.

While Hillary may have sifted through the emails to delete anything that shows her in a bad light, she will still have some explaining to do. She initially said that she only had one email address, in fact it appears she had at least two. President Obama specifically denied long time Clinton pal Sydney Blumenthal a job with Hillary in the State Department. That didn’t stop her from forwarding memos he had penned about Libya to others in the State Department. Blumenthal was trying to make money in Libya by being part of an American company trying to be the first to offer the new Libyan government rebuilding services. His memos were meant to further his own business interests and create conditions wherein the State Department would view his endeavor favorably.

This is ultimately the problem with Hillary Clinton. She and Bill have consistently been involved in scandal and perceived impropriety since they came on the scene in 1992. Hillary has been accused of using her husbands power and office for her own benefit since the 80’s. The Clinton Foundation is currently being accused of being a pay for access organization. Donate millions to the Foundation and you’ll get access to the State Department being run by Hillary and all the permits, special favors and sweetheart deals that come with it. No other American politicians have such a long history of selling access and perks for donations. Bush and Obama certainly haven’t been accused of this, at least not on a regular basis. They may have been accused of criminal conduct by opponents, Bush for the War in Iraq and Obama for ignoring written laws and writing his own law but they haven’t been accused using their office to line their pockets or their friends pockets in exchange for donations.

Hillary’s problem is that there’s always another scandal around the corner. The nation has had over 20 years to watch this woman get involved in one scandal after another. Each time she plays the victim, each time she’s able to worm her way out of trouble. Whitewater, cattle futures, FBI files in the White House, Rose Law Firm billing records in the family quarters of the White House, Clinton Foundation donation scandals, Hillary’s email scandal etc. At what point do people get tired of the never ending drama surrounding the Clintons? You have to figure that at some point Hillary will make a bad move and it will result in actual changes. Even if she doesn’t make such a bad move, the never ending scandal isn’t good for the country. Say what you will about Bush and Obama’s political decisions, at least those two didn’t take the country down the road of endless personal and financial scandals. Hillary is already taking the country down that road, having been down it before in the 90’s. Is the country ready for eight years of Hillary scandals?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Tumblr
Posted in politics / Tagged Bill Clinton, Bush, Government, Hillary Clinton, Obama, scandal, State Department / Leave a comment

Weak Republicans Support Obama Fast Track Trade Bill

Posted on by leomcneil1

Congressional Republicans are celebrating because they believe they have enough votes to send a fast track trade bill to Obama’s desk. The Democrats in Congress are largely outraged. It’s been amusing to watch Obama treat them like he’s treated Republicans for so long. He’s spent six years calling Republicans by their first name, a cheap display of dominance. The Democrats are crying sexist because Obama talked down to Sen. Warren by calling her Elizabeth. Obama knows best and if you disagree with him he’ll treat you like a naughty school child. Democrats pretended that wasn’t the case, now they’re getting a taste of what it’s like to be on Obama’s bad side. Let’s face it, it’s great fun to watch them turn on Dear Leader.

This country has given the President fast track trade negotiating power for decades. Every six years the status is up from renewal. Interestingly six years ago none of the Democrats objected to granting the President such powers. Today they’re suddenly concerned about losing American jobs via major trade deals. Perhaps their opposition is a sign that they aren’t very confident in Hillary Clinton’s ability to win the White House. After all, this fast track bill would cover the entire first term of the next President. Their loud opposition suggests that they’re perhaps quite concerned that the next President will be a Republican.

Having said that the Democrats actually have at least one legitimate reason to oppose this bill. In fact conservatives ought to be agreeing with them and supporting them on their one legitimate reason. Obama has negotiated a Pacific trade agreement that is currently under lock and key. Members of Congress are the only ones allowed to look at the proposed deal and even they aren’t allowed to make photocopies of the 2,000 page proposal. They’re also not allowed to take notes and they’re required to agree not to disclose what is in the agreement. This is a significant problem for a country that has historically had robust public debate over everything, including trade agreements. The secrecy is disturbing, it makes one wonder what Obama is keeping from the American people.

Republicans in Congress should refuse to support the fast track bill so long as Obama refuses to release the Pacific trade agreement in full to the general public. Republicans should support a Democrat amendment (or offer one themselves) that requires the President to release to the general public any proposed trade agreement. Congress should also pass an amendment requiring 14 days to pass between the release of any proposed agreement and a vote in Congress concerning said agreement. If we’re going to have a monarchy that behaves secretively and without concern for the desires of the public, then we ought to simply crown someone King. Otherwise, the public has a right to know what their government is negotiating. There should not be 2,000 page trade agreements under lock and key.

The Republicans perhaps shouldn’t be so quick to support this fast track bill. What is the GOP getting in return? If Obama isn’t forced to give something up for a power he clearly wants, then the GOP will have squandered an opportunity. Despite a massive victory in the 2014 midterms, this is the weakest Congress any of us have ever seen. They are completely incapable of challenging the President on anything, they aren’t even capable of forcing the President to negotiate for something when he needs the Republicans because his own party has abandoned him. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are two of the weakest leaders this nation has ever seen. Obama needs them right now, why aren’t they leveraging that to get something they want done? In the alternative, after six years of Obama attacking them, mocking them and childishly declaring he won, why don’t the Republicans tell Obama to jump off a cliff and join the Democrats in opposition? The answer is simple, Boehner and McConnell are weak.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Tumblr
Posted in politics / Tagged congress, Democrats, fast track, free trade, john boehner, Mitch McConnell, Obama, Republicans / Leave a comment

As Church Abandons Scripture, People Leave The Church

Posted on by leomcneil1

A comprehensive Pew poll indicates that the number of Christians in the United States has dropped by 8 points since 2007. As aging Christians die they’re being replaced by the millennial generation, which is increasingly agnostic and atheist. America’s government schools have been wildly successful at promoting secularism. Our culture over the last decade has gotten increasingly vulgar. We could point to Obama’s socialism as an example of our nation becoming increasingly post-Christian. Millennial acceptance of homosexual marriage, support for post-Christian socialism and indulgence in an increasingly permissive culture though is only a symptom of a deeper problem. Over the last century our nation has abandoned historic Christianity in bits and pieces. We’re beginning to see the progressive dream realized, there is a fundamental break between historic Christianity and the modern world.

The Church is to blame for this. A century ago they began to abandon scripture for science. Mainline protestant denominations rejected creation, they rejected the miracles of scripture and these days they largely reject just about everything surrounding Christ’s life. Not surprisingly these denominations saw the biggest drop off in the Pew Poll. At this point these denominations have nothing to do with the Bible and as such they have little to offer the millennial generation. Mainline protestantism has become a social club for old people, lesbian “pastors” and the unhip end of the religious guru market. These churches don’t have Christianity to offer, they can only offer a religious version of the progressive movement. For a generation and nation that is increasingly hostile to religion, one wonders why any young person would get involved in mainline protestantism.

Things aren’t much better for evangelicals. The evangelicals can at least try to hang their hat on the fact that they only dipped one percentage point in the Pew Poll. However after decades of the evangelical church pushing mass growth at all costs, they have absolutely nothing to show for it. There are entire evangelical denominations that are based around various church growth business models. Scripture is secondary to growth. Yet the fact is that the evangelical church isn’t growing in numbers. It isn’t winning souls for Jesus. Instead growth in one church is at the expense of another church as Christians hop from one church to the next in search of the next great spiritual experience. The evangelical world has turned church into a consumer commodity to be purchased in mass quantity when the believer likes what they hear and to be abandoned for another brand when their advertizing catches the eye.

All of the rock bands, all of the rejection of historic Christianity, all the whining about “religion”, all the attempts to be super hip and cool have resulted in fewer people attending evangelical churches. Abandoning all of God’s commands regarding worship got the evangelicals more or less nowhere. All of the focus on youth groups, pimping them to the exclusion of activities the church is charged with in scripture got the evangelical church nowhere in the last seven years. It’s gotten them nowhere in a very long time. This is hardly a surprise. Desperate to be hip, cool and relevant, the evangelical church abandoned scripture. Worse, they largely abandoned their children to government schools were they were indoctrinated with secularism, if not outright anti-Christian doctrine. When those kids showed up for church and Sunday School, they weren’t fed scripture. In the end, many millennials left the evangelical church.

Weak, watered down Christianity isn’t going to win souls for Jesus. Cowering while progressives try to force us to accept homosexual marriages will do nothing for the church. Abandoning scripture on everything from creation to worship isn’t going to increase church numbers. The mainline protestants are a good example, they abandoned scripture a century ago. It’s taken a few generations but they’ve lost everyone but gray hairs, lesbian “pastors” and progressive activists. The evangelicals are abandoning scripture in different ways but they’re beginning to see the fruit of their abandonment. By not having their kids in Christian schools, they’re losing their kids to godless secularism. By making the church a source of entertainment, they’ve made church hopping the norm. By whining about “religion” they’ve tossed aside doctrine for emotion. No wonder young people don’t want to participate. How can you expect to reach people when all you have to offer them is emotions? The Church has repentance to offer people but it requires the church to actually stand for scripture not simply use it as a backdrop for a 25 minute lecture on how to feel good about yourself.