Barney Wiget's Blog, page 45

Can Donald Trump Be Trusted and Does it Matter? (Part 2 of 3) by Barney Wiget

“This is of a different category than we’ve had. This is not simply the number of lies; it’s the velocity of the lies, it’s the character of the lies.” Peter Wehner

“No man in the whole world can change the truth. One can only look for the truth, find it, and serve it.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Forty-five out of forty-five U.S. presidents lied while in office. LBJ lied about Vietnam, Reagan lied about Iran-Contra, Nixon lied too many times to list here, Clinton said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” but none so relentless, so brazen, and with such impunity as the man who presently sits behind the desk. I listed a small sample of his doozies in Part 1 and, for you poker players, I revealed his “tell” when he’s about to spin one of his presidential yarns.

My mother used to say, “Tell the truth. If nothing else, it’s the easiest thing to remember.” It’s just good common sense, let alone healthy social etiquette, and most importantly, what God requires:

“Thou shalt not lie… Speak the truth in love… The truth sets you free…”

Solomon repeatedly warns of the dangers of deceit:

Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Proverbs 12:22 The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
Proverbs 17:7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
Proverbs 21:6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Tellin’ It Like It Isn’t

I for one categorically object to Donald Trump’s assault on the truth. He and deceit are in lock step. He seems to believe that he can create his own truth. Irrespective of how fanciful, just keep repeating any outrageous tripe and it magically becomes true!

I’m aware that there are those who appreciate other things about his person and presidency (none of which, to my mind, offset the copious output of boloney on his Twitter feed, rally speeches, and press conferences). Many excuse this by referring to the lies of the last president, the one before that one, and so on. They want to know why we don’t object so vehemently to the fraudulent speech of previous politicians. To this I’ll quote conservative commentator Peter Wehner again:

“Donald Trump is engaged not just in an assault on truth; he’s engaged in an effort to annihilate truth. We’ve never seen anything like it in American politics. It’s relentless; it’s done morning, noon, and night. And it’s not just lies. It’s the nature of the lies. It’s an assault on provable truths, demonstrable truths.”

Speaking of “provable truths,” some people are better liars than others. They’re not better people, but better at being bad than other people. Their lies are more believable and can be difficult to track down and prove faulty. Then there are those who claim things that everyone with half an ounce of discernment knows is unmitigated malarkey.

I had a friend in High School who used to tell us the most outlandish stories about everything from romantic conquests to encounters with famous people. It was just weird. His lies were of the obvious ilk, ones that we all knew came from the alternative facts universe. I assumed his consistent crock was due to some sort of psychic glitch, something missing between neurons.

I’m no more qualified today to psychoanalyze the president’s penchant for poppycock than I was at sixteen but I’d be willing to bet, that in addition to his absence of character, our leader has something busted in his brain that lets him lie so habitually and with such impunity. There’s a difference between having a proclivity for deceit and a pathology for it. Unfortunately, I believe he fits in the latter category.

In one of his typical praise-me rallies Mr. Trump bellowed what sounded like a page out of Orwell’s Animal Farm: “And just remember, what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening!” Don’t believe what you see; believe me instead! The truth is whatever I say it is!

Reality then, is what you can get away with? The world he wants us to embrace is a world of make believe, one wherein he tries to make us believe what’s not there and un-believe what is! Reality is what he can get away with.

READ ALSO: A Kinder, Gentler Donald Trump

When Did Truth Become a Relative Thing?

Presidential legal advisor Rudy Giuliani says “Truth isn’t truth.” I don’t even know what that means! A bagel isn’t a bagel, I am not me, and you are not you? This is akin to “alternative facts.”

Talk about post-truth politics! If truth is relative, then we should give up even trying to come to an agreement about anything.

What disturbs me most is the horde of folk who identify as “Christian” that don’t seem to be bothered by the truth decay that is more than a little bit instigated by pervasive presidential bunk. Their willingness to rationalize the president’s behavior even after he’s caught in lie after lie is a mystery to me. Of all people, shouldn’t we who claim to follow the One who identifies himself as “The Truth” be first in line to tell the truth about lies? Shouldn’t we be the most offended by post-truth politics and the moral danger that shatters shalom, tearing into the fabric of our culture?

“What is truth?” Pilate
“I am the truth…” Jesus

READ ALSO: One Way To Pray For The President 

Stay tuned for Part 3!

The Telemarketer Approach to Evangelism

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God doesn’t merely recruit silver-tongued orators or skilled apologists for his quest for friends. Silver and skill sometimes actually inhibit the Spirit’s efforts to find his way into a person’s consciousness. They can detract from the actual good news itself.

Don Everts writes, “If they have just a thimbleful of curiosity, we could actually douse that small curiosity by answering their small, limited question with a hundred and one apologetic answers we’ve been waiting to ‘use’ on someone. Try not to dump five gallons of answers on a six-ounce question.”

If you’ve ever actually talked to a telemarketer for more than ten seconds you know that they operate under the assumption that if they just keep talking you’ll cave in and buy whatever they’re hawking. Those who subscribe to the Sales Method of Evangelism are not terribly dissimilar. They figure if they keep up the verbiage, their customers will eventually wear down and sign up to be saved!

Restraint is said to be the highest form of discipline!

– Originally published in Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends the profits of which go to YWAM San Francisco.

 

Can Donald Trump Be Trusted and Does it Matter? (Part 1 of 3)

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“When some large number of the people in a country buy into this [presidential lying] — if they make up their own narrative — then a society begins to fracture in the deepest way. That is what is going on, and he’s doing this day after day after day, and it’s taking a terrific toll — a political toll, and a civic toll, and a social toll.”  Peter Wehner who worked in the administrations of Presidents Reagan and both Bush’s, and now is Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank.

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Jesus who gave his life for the world.

If truth frees, it follows that lies enslave.

Everybody lies. No one is entirely honest all the time. Everybody knows that politicians are expert liars. They say what they need to say when they need to say it in order to get what they need, and most have little-to-no compunctions about it. They tell themselves that their lies are utilitarian. They have to deceive the public for the greater good.

My opinion of President Trump is not formed by party affiliation. I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I just happen to think lying, a talent he has perfected, is morally bad and socially destructive wherever it is practiced, especially when you lie to 300 million at once on average of 5 times a day.

A Whole New Category of Crapola

It’s not as though the 45th president invented the art of misinformation, but he’s taken it to a whole new level for public servants. When it suites his need for adulation he exacerbates the human tendency of bending the truth into shattering it. One article claims he lied 3,000 times in 466 days. Pretty good clip I’d say.

“Obama is a Muslim not born in America.”
“Thousands of Muslims celebrated on 9/11 on rooftops.”
“Senator Cruz’s father may have been involved in the Kennedy assassination.”
“Millions of people voted illegally.”
“President Obama had my phones tapped.”
“We had the biggest audience in the history of inaugural speeches… a sea of love!”
“Mine was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan.”
“The unemployment rate may be as high as 42 percent.”
“I never said Russia did not meddle in the election.”
“Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they’ve ever been in before. Ever. Ever. Ever,”
“I’ve been on the cover of Time Magazine more than anyone else.”
“The murder rate is the highest it’s been in 47 years.”
“Did you know about the $13,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels for her silence?” “No!”

For the longest list of lies in the history of the lying read this. (Okay, I might have just been channeling someone there, but it’s a pretty long list.)

After the slogan “Make America Great Again,” when the president preaches to fawning fans in mass rallies he is particularly fond of the phrase, “Believe me!”

“Believe me, folks, we’re building the wall, believe me, believe me, we’re building the wall.”
“I love women. Believe me, I love women. I love women. And you know what else, I have great respect for women, believe me.”
“So let me say this right up front. A Trump administration, our Christian heritage will be cherished, protected, defended — like you’ve never seen before. Believe me.”
“I am he least racist person you’ve ever met, believe me.”

Forget about sentence structure and grammar for the moment and believe me, this is, for you poker players out there, our president’s “tell”!

READ ALSO: Trump and a “Christian Worldview”

Facts Optional

John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things!” Apparently not for our man in Washington. Facts, as in things that are actually real, have sunk to irrelevancy in this administration, so they invented the all new and novel idea of “alternative facts.” You realize the oxymoron there, right? It’s like saying, “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” or “Include me out.”

Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “You’re entitled to your own opinions but you are not entitled to your own facts.'” We get to make up our own minds, but not our own reality. Someone said, “My theory was attacked by a gang of ugly facts,” and presumably changed their mind as a result. That doesn’t seem to be the case with our president, who seldom seeks the counsel of people smarter and more centered than himself. He either escapes the gang of obnoxious facts, or simply overlooks them for his own personal and political gain.

“Facts inform opinions,” wrote political theorist Hannah Arendt, “and opinions… can differ widely and still be legitimate as long as they respect factual truth.” I fear that much of the American public, a large portion of which claims faith in Christ, has long since left forming their opinions on the basis of factual truth. Feelings more than facts and party loyalty over propositional truth drive their opinions.

If there are no agreed upon facts, then it becomes impractical, if not impossible for people to make judgments about their government or hold it accountable. Destroy the foundation of factual truth, and lies will be normalized, which is the constant case in Trump territory.

Brothers and sisters, let’s make truth-telling great again!

IF YOU HATED THIS, YOU’LL ALSO HATE THIS: Kim Jong Un: “Great negotiator… Good personality… Loves his people.”

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3…

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. Do you think Donald Trump be trusted and does it matter?

Seldom Right But Never in Doubt!

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“Courage,” says Collin Hansen, “is not measured by how many people you can offend.”

Peter, the apostle best known for his overconfident bluster, learned over time to share his hope in Christ with “gentleness and respect.” When we lack these qualities we tend to condescendingly answer questions they’re not asking. Too many Christians are “seldom right but never in doubt!” Their mudslinging stump speech testimonies don’t win many people but they do give them a commanding appearance.

Mother Teresa used to say, “Humility is nothing but the truth.” It’s not something we should have to convince ourselves of. It’s an accurate assessment of how things are. It’s the truth about how flawed we are and how fortunate we are for God to love us in spite of our flaws. Approaching people in that spirit goes a long way to influencing them toward the God of mercy.

– Originally published in Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends the profits of which go to YWAM San Francisco.

Tone Down the Condescension

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“Pride,” wrote C.S. Lewis, “is the complete anti-God state of mind.” The best way to defeat arrogance is with meekness.

My inadvertent response disarmed the spirit of pride and momentarily neutralized the adversary’s efforts to keep him incarcerated behind his wall. The Spirit slightly lifted the spiritual barrier like venetian blinds and let a little sunshine in.

My evangelism was “accidental” in that it wasn’t the words I said or the strategy I used. My acumen as a debater moved the conversation anywhere but forward. As surprising as it was to us both, only when I admitted failure to communicate, a shift occurred. Though he didn’t decide to follow Jesus on the spot, it seemed to me that the Spirit coaxed him a little further in the general direction of the Father’s love.

I don’t recommend this as an evangelistic device, a sure-fire formula for soul winning. I just wonder how much better our testimony would be if we toned down the condescending rhetoric and approached people with genuine humility.

– Originally published in Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends the profits of which go to YWAM San Francisco.

The Disarming Power of Humility

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“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.” — FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER

Humility goes a long way as a form of accidental evangelism. The genuinely humble Christian is more apt to attract people toward the meek and humble Son of God, than the bluster of a self-styled God expert.

There are two motives to try to get people to change their minds about God, pride or love. We either need to prove we’re right (and them wrong) or we genuinely care about them and want them to have what we have.

Too many of our conversations look more like posturing and a battle of egos than good news telling. Neither defensive nor offensive Christians win many over to Jesus’ side.

The French mystic Jeanne Guyon wrote to her friend Fenelon, “The people God uses are those who do not stand in His way because they have been made pure and transparent.”

– Originally published in Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends the profits of which go to YWAM San Francisco.

 

Finishing Well

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Mark Twain said, “I don’t mind dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” But I devote most of my thoughts about dying to finishing well. I want to run all the way to the finish line. I’m particularly interested in how I can nail this last leg of the journey – however long the leg is.

I don’t believe that when you die you go blank; in fact, I’m quite sure it’s quite the opposite. The other place is so crammed with verve by comparison, the place where we live now is the one that’s actually blank. I expect to live there as long as the Landlord of that place lives there too, and that’s going to be a very very long while.

– Originally published in The Other End of the Dark: A Memoir About Divorce, Cancer, and Things God Does Anyway (the profits of which go to Freedom House).

On Fear and Anger (Why so many people voted for and continue to endorse Donald Trump’s presidency) Part 2 of 2

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“Paranoia strikes deep … Into your life it will creep …  It starts when you’re always afraid … Step out of line, the men come and take you away!”   (Stephen Stills, 1966)

Franklin Graham says, “I appreciate the fact that the president does have a concern for Christian values,” said, “he does have a concern to protect Christians — whether it’s here at home or around the world.”

Given Mr. Trump’s lifestyle, rhetoric, and policies I can’t imagine how Graham concludes he has any concern whatsoever for “Christian values.” But it’s this need for the president to “protect Christians,” that I find most disturbing. The LORD is my Shepherd, my Rock, my High Tower. I don’t look to any politician, let alone one of Mr. Trump’s ilk, to protect me.  

Graham went on to say, “And I appreciate the fact that he protects religious liberty and freedom.” Historically, the Church’s most pitiful moments have been when our liberty and safety have ranked higher on our agenda than the radical advance of the kingdom of Christ at whatever the cost. Our darkest hours have come when we’ve mortgaged God’s agenda for our own material and social prosperity, when we’ve gained the world and lost our souls.

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Robert Jeffress was asked where he saw religious freedoms in decline in the U.S. “The effort by the ACLU to sandblast crosses off war memorials. The attempt to remove nativity scenes or Ten Commandments displays. All of that is an outright restriction of religious liberty. The Supreme Court decision removing prayer from the schools, followed by Bible reading…” 

From my vantage point, the things he cites are just window dressing. They’re symbols, that though appreciated by most people of faith, citing these as evidence of an attack on faith is, to my mind, shallow and superficial. To the raucous cheers at his rallies, Mr. Trump promises to bring back “Merry Christmas!” in holiday greetings, as though it makes any substantial difference one way or the other. These particular complaints as proof of an insidious growing tyranny over faith are ridiculous and good only for accolades and applause.

How did the Church become so timid? Our fears are certainly not cultivated in the soil of faith. This “spirit of fear” isn’t quelled by looking to a bellicose bully. The best treatments for peace-sapping timidity are “power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

It’s been said that the opposite of fear is not courage, but love. “Perfect love,” says John, “casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) The opposite, that fear casts out love, is equally true. Instead of loving our neighbors from across town and over lands and seas, we fear them. When our policies are driven by fear, instead of being inspired by love, we tend to do a lot of bad things to people that God loves. If we fail to choose love over our fears and anger we’ll find ourselves in a world of trouble––even more trouble than we had before we began looking to a demagogic man as our leader.

Fear is an effective marketing and political strategy. Effective in the short run, but like guilt, in terms of actually moving people toward more worthy objectives, fear and anger have a brief shelf life. Bruce Springsteen sings, “Fear’s a dangerous thing, it can turn your heart black, you can trust. It’ll take your God-filled soul and fill it with devils and dust.”

Never mind that the Bible has more “Fear nots” than there are days in a year, fear is such a lousy motivator to living responsibly, but effective if you’re campaigning for office or trying to garner support for an unworthy cause.

Have you heard the story of the pack of Cub Scouts who were out camping when late one night sitting around the fire telling ghost stories of monsters in the woods who eat children? After midnight, terrified of being gobbled up by such creatures the whole pack crawled into a single tent. One boy awoke a couple of hours later with a full bladder. He fumbled his way to the tent door but was too scared to go outside. Everyone awoke the next morning to soggy sleeping bags. The boy was so scared of what might be on the outside that he made of mess of everything on the inside! Sounds to me like what’s happening in our country today.

In August of 2018, while stumping for GOP candidates in midterm elections, Mr. Trump gathered his fawning Evangelical pastoral team. “You’re one election away from losing everything that you’ve got,” he preached. Opponents, he said, “will overturn everything that we’ve done and they’ll do it quickly and violently, and violently. There’s violence. When you look at Antifa and you look at some of these groups — these are violent people.”

While it’s true that this tiny, loosely organized group of anarchists has wreaked havoc in a few Alt-right rallies, this is simply a hyperbolic scare tactic to adrenalize his fans to raise the decibels on the cheer meter.

Panic and hostility have drained our Christian compassion for those whose needs are greater than our own and shredded our testimony in the world. From Christian voices, I hear more antipathy than empathy for the world’s least, last, lost, and lonely. Each toxic bite of the president’s propaganda of fear and anger that we swallow diminishes our appetite to obey the Great Commandment and fulfill the Great Commission.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” Psalm 37:8

Splints for the Soul

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I love the Bible and can’t imagine my life without it. Its truths are splints for my soul. God talks to me through it and I wouldn’t relish a life without hearing his voice.

A rabbi told his students that if they studied the Torah it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of his students asked him why he said on their hearts instead of in them. “Only God can put Scripture inside,” he answered. “Reading it can put the Word on your hearts, then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.”

I’ve had more of his words “fall inside” me since my heart has been broken.

– Originally published in The Other End of the Dark: A Memoir About Divorce, Cancer, and Things God Does Anyway (the profits of which go to Freedom House).

On Fear and Anger (Why so many people voted for and continue to endorse Donald Trump’s presidency) Part 1 of 2

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“When Christianity is seen as a political project in search of a gospel useful enough to advance its worldly agenda, it will end up pleasing those who make politics primary, while losing those who believe the Gospel.” Russell Moore in a lecture called, “Can the Religious Right Be Saved?”

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I’ve been reluctantly, yet under an inner compulsion, writing about how faith, morals, and politics intersect in Donald Trump’s America. I’ll be posting some rough draft thoughts over time, which won’t appear in any sort of logical order, but hopefully each post will stand alone and make some semblance of sense.

These thoughts will be rooted in my understanding of biblical Christianity rather than some assumed expertise in the world of politics. I may not understand much about that scene, but I do believe I know something about what’s right and wrong––what Christ’s kingdom looks like and what it doesn’t.

Americans are afraid. We’re not the only ones on the planet plagued with fears, but in my estimation, we are driven by them more often, though we have less reason to fear than most. Someone defined fear as “the anxiety caused by the immanent loss of what we love.” Americans are afraid of losing any number of things we’ve depended on for our quality of life––safety, security, money, status to name a few.

Edmund Burke said, “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.” Fear “operates in a manner that resembles actual pain.” In other words, fear makes us irrational and feels as bad as the thing we fear.

This is probably why God repeatedly reminds us: “Fear not!”

In 2016, American Evangelicals were looking for a strongman to protect them from the liberal forces wreaking havoc on their Christian nation. Donald Trump was that strongman. They sought after a fearless, if not feckless, savior and he “delivered them from all their fears.”

Mr. Trump and his campaign strategy effectively tapped into American rage, people who were furious about the hollowing out of the middle class. They’re angry about not getting their fair share of the American Dream and afraid, if they don’t act now, they never will. Many white voters felt that the dream is getting further and further out of reach while minorities and immigrants butt in line in front of them.

In his book, Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis depicts an uncle demon advising his nephew about how to effectively harass his human victim. He combines the twin plagues of fear and hate: “Hatred is best combined with fear. . . The more he fears the more he will hate.”

Sex isn’t the only thing that sells. Fear and anger rank right up there as marketing and campaign tactics. Using these toxic twins to curry favor and collect votes is nothing new. Yet it’s been perfected to an art in the politics of Donald Trump, who ran his campaign on a platform of fear––fear of Hillary Clinton, fear of terrorism, fear of being overrun by immigrants, fear of the media, fear of gays, and fear of the loss of religious freedom. He has taken fear-mongering and anger over anything outside the pail of Trump to a whole new demagogic level.

One source defines a “demagogue” as a “political agitator who appeals with crude oratory to the prejudice and passions of the mob.” Based on this, Mr. Trump qualifies for overachievement awards in demagoguery.

President Trump purveys in fear and anger like a plastic surgeon traffics in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. His fixation on MS-13 for instance, is at best, disingenuous, and at worst, dishonest hyperbole. According to Hannah Dreier of Propublica, who studied MS-13 for over a year, the gang is not invading the country, they’re not posing as fake families at the border, they’re not a transnational organization, and they’re not growing. There’s no question that the members of MS-13 are bloodthirsty and soulless, but using them to rationalize building a wall on our southern border, is an argument that falls as flat as the Sonoran Desert. It’s just another of the president’s tactics to hold his base in a state of fear and anger in order to get what he wants for his anti-immigration policy.

Of course neither fear nor anger are sins in themselves. We’re even counseled to “be angry but don’t sin” and to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” Sometimes the only righteous response to an injustice is anger and the wisest reaction to an actual threat is fear. Nevertheless our fears mustn’t be given the opportunity to shred our confidence in God and our anger never be used to act independently of God’s wisdom in order to take vengeance into our own hands. “Fear is a natural human response to social change, but evangelicals betray their deepest spiritual convictions when they choose to dwell in it.”

Shame on the preachers who fan the flames of inappropriate fear and anger with their gullible audiences. Under the guise of bravado, pastors like Robert Jeffress stoke those flames in his church. He tells his congregants: “I couldn’t care less about a leader’s temperament or his tone of his vocabulary. Frankly, I want the meanest, toughest son of a gun I can find. And I think that’s the feeling of a lot of evangelicals. They don’t want Casper Milquetoast as the leader of the free world.” In other words, character and integrity mean nothing to him in a president. He wants a bad-ass in the White House to protect us from the forces that threaten our Christian nation.

Of all people, Christians should be the least timid. After all, we have the least to fear. We don’t have to be afraid of God, who is our loving Father. (1John 3:1) Satan shouldn’t scare us since he’s been disarmed and defeated by Christ at the cross (Colossians 2:15). Fearful that we won’t have enough food and clothes is a slap in our the face of our Father who has promised to meet our every need (Matthew 6:25-34). “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

The tragedy though is that, driven by their fears, the majority of so-called “Evangelicals” (the white ones anyway) voted for, and continue to endorse Donald Trump. They’re afraid of losing their religious liberty, their financial bottom-line, their majority status in the culture, and the threat of terrorism. You name it, they’re afraid of it. “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!” says the sluggard (Proverbs 22:13).

See ya’ for Part 2 where I’ll try to conclude on a more positive note? In case you don’t want to wait a week for that “note,” hear David in Psalm 37:

Be still before the Lord

    and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

    do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Of course this is highly controversial and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Be civil, but honest. I can take it. Oh, and please argue on the basis of Scripture as I’ve tried to do here, instead of on your party preference.