Winning Darkness Over To Light Through Love, Not Condemnation, Part 1
Another Presidential election is almost here in the United States, and the ugliness and vitriol is at fever pitch once again. Demonic spirits are goaded men into divisiveness and strife, and there seems to be no end to the bile spilling forth from both sides. Unfortunately, many Christians are getting seduced into this as well, and succumbing to the temptation to spread hatred, strife and contentiousness in the name of Christ rather than furthering the gospel by seeking to save the lost instead.
But alas, as the scripture says there is nothing new under the sun. Demons were goading zealous Jews to slander the Roman authorities back during New Testament times as well. They spoke out openly against Roman rule, and how heavy-handed they were in exercising rule over Judea. But the apostle Peter warned against giving in to such spirits, urging believers to honor their rulers instead:
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:11-17)
The apostle Paul taught the exact same thing, telling Timothy that this was to be the message he communicated to the churches:
1 I exhort, therefore, first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.... 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8)
A quiet and peaceable life is what Christians were being taught to live, not one of protesting in the streets about how evil the governing authorities were. Roman solders were forcing Jews to stop their day and carry their armor for them for a mile, but Jesus did not teach to complain about how oppressive they were, He said, "If they tell you to walk with them a mile, walk with them two." Roman emperors were usually engaging in heavy taxation, and many Jews spoke out against it. But Jesus did not say to protest in the streets. The Pharisees even tried tricking Jesus into sinning like this to incriminate Him, asking if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not. But His response was, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesars, and give unto God what is God's." Maybe most shocking of all, both passages of scripture quoted above were written a few years after Nero began a campaign of persecution against Christians, where he was even burning some of them at the stake to light the fires to his dinner parties. But still they were being told to have their conduct honorable amongst the Gentiles, so that when others spoke out against them as evildoers who deserved such treatment, they might nevertheless observe their good conduct, and "glorify God in the day of visitation." Demons were lying to men, and inspiring them to commit great evils against Christians, but Peter and Paul urged to pray for all those in authority in all reverence, and silence these lies through their righteous and respectful conduct instead.
Today's Political Slander
Unfortunately these teachings have not transferred down well to the modern church, at least not in the United States anyway. Many on both the Right and the Left are succumbing to speaking evil of others continually, and making it appear as if they deserve whatever "evils" may come to them by how hatefully they speak against their political opponents and supporters. Instead of honoring leaders with their words, many Christians simply parrot the latest political rhetoric of the day, which is often so divisive there is little question where it is coming from.
The following hit piece from a month ago against Donald J. Trump, a former President of the United States, is a case in point. The continual insinuation throughout is that he will wage a war of terror against the Jews just like Hilter did in WWII if he loses the election.
Once upon a time, before he became Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vanc told his law school roommate he went “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical ******* to that he’s America’s Hitler.” Obviously, the Ohio senator has since disavowed every negative thing he previously said about Trump. But he clearly shouldn’t have, particularly when it comes to the Hitler vibes, given all the wildly antisemitic remarks Trump has made on the campaign trail—including the comment he made last night re: whose fault it will be if he loses in November. Spoiler alert: It’s the Jews!
That’s right: At a campaign event on Thursday that was—wait for it—about denouncing antisemitism, the GOP nominee for president told the audience: “If I don’t win this election…the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss”... Blaming Jews for stuff was, of course, Adolf Hitler’s MO. The Nazi leader blamed German Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I, claiming the tiny minority had “stabbed Germany in the back”—language that sounds not dissimilar to what Trump had to say yesterday, and not dissimilar to the things he’s said and done re: Jews for years now. (Donald Trump Gives Supporters The Green Light To Blame Jews If He Loses In November, Vanity Fair.com)
Hitler or course hated the Jews, and exterminated six million of them during WWII in the NAZI death camps. The insinuation then is that Trump is "green lighting" his followers to embrace the same sentiments. The problem with this argument is that the statements Trump made were in regard to imploring Jewish voters not to let him lose the election because he is the candidate who has always supported the nation of Israel, a claim which the facts bear out very clearly. But Vanity Fair doesn't want their readers knowing that. Instead Vanity Fair only wants their readers to hate and despise the former President, by depicting Trump as someone who advocates for rebuilding the NAZI death camps.
I have seen Christians on the Left parrot these things, without realizing they are receiving their thoughts from the enemy, but the same unfortunately goes for many on the Right. The following article written by a Christian woman, seeks to paint Vice President Kamala Harris in almost the same light:
Vice President Kamala Harris has barely announced her run for the presidency for 2024, but she’s already ticked off America’s number one ally, Israel. How so? By blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for killing “far too many” civilians in Gaza.
Jane, you ignorant slut. That’s called war — you blankedly blank blank Kamala... The problem is Democrats don’t recognize the existence of evil. They are either atheists and secularists, and therefore have zero belief in God and Satan and biblical concepts of good and evil; or they’re believers in God but not a devil and so think that with only the proper tools and education and economic opportunity, those with dark intents can be convinced to live the righteous life... Evil exists. It’s real, It comes as both a spiritual force and physical entity. And one such example of evil played out October 7 in Israel when a band of terrorists called Hamas swooped onto a field where a music festival was taking place and abducted, tortured, sexually assaulted and raped and brutally murdered scores of innocent Jewish men, women, girls, boys and babies, yes, babies. They did it because they were evil. They did it because they believe in an evil spirit and follow an evil faith that says their enemies must be killed, and their enemies’ nations eradicated, and that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for their murderous ways... That’s why Kamala Harris makes an anti-semitic remark like accusing Israel of harming civilians during a war against Hamas that Hamas started — and fails to see either the antisemitism or the absurdity in her remark.
This is a blatantly Christian piece throughout, and yet openly refers the Vice President of the United States an "ignorant slut" by "comedic" reference, but there's nothing comical here. It goes on to claim she is spiritually aligned with the Devil because she thinks Netanyahu is going too far in his response. This is just spin from the Right designed to vilify the Vice President as evil, and it's just as false and misleading as the Vanity Fair hit piece on Trump is. No acknowledgment is given to her actual statements about the attack or her feelings about Israel.
Another Presidential election is almost here in the United States, and the ugliness and vitriol is at fever pitch once again. Demonic spirits are goaded men into divisiveness and strife, and there seems to be no end to the bile spilling forth from both sides. Unfortunately, many Christians are getting seduced into this as well, and succumbing to the temptation to spread hatred, strife and contentiousness in the name of Christ rather than furthering the gospel by seeking to save the lost instead.
But alas, as the scripture says there is nothing new under the sun. Demons were goading zealous Jews to slander the Roman authorities back during New Testament times as well. They spoke out openly against Roman rule, and how heavy-handed they were in exercising rule over Judea. But the apostle Peter warned against giving in to such spirits, urging believers to honor their rulers instead:
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:11-17)
The apostle Paul taught the exact same thing, telling Timothy that this was to be the message he communicated to the churches:
1 I exhort, therefore, first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.... 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8)
A quiet and peaceable life is what Christians were being taught to live, not one of protesting in the streets about how evil the governing authorities were. Roman solders were forcing Jews to stop their day and carry their armor for them for a mile, but Jesus did not teach to complain about how oppressive they were, He said, "If they tell you to walk with them a mile, walk with them two." Roman emperors were usually engaging in heavy taxation, and many Jews spoke out against it. But Jesus did not say to protest in the streets. The Pharisees even tried tricking Jesus into sinning like this to incriminate Him, asking if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not. But His response was, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesars, and give unto God what is God's." Maybe most shocking of all, both passages of scripture quoted above were written a few years after Nero began a campaign of persecution against Christians, where he was even burning some of them at the stake to light the fires to his dinner parties. But still they were being told to have their conduct honorable amongst the Gentiles, so that when others spoke out against them as evildoers who deserved such treatment, they might nevertheless observe their good conduct, and "glorify God in the day of visitation." Demons were lying to men, and inspiring them to commit great evils against Christians, but Peter and Paul urged to pray for all those in authority in all reverence, and silence these lies through their righteous and respectful conduct instead.
Today's Political Slander
Unfortunately these teachings have not transferred down well to the modern church, at least not in the United States anyway. Many on both the Right and the Left are succumbing to speaking evil of others continually, and making it appear as if they deserve whatever "evils" may come to them by how hatefully they speak against their political opponents and supporters. Instead of honoring leaders with their words, many Christians simply parrot the latest political rhetoric of the day, which is often so divisive there is little question where it is coming from.
The following hit piece from a month ago against Donald J. Trump, a former President of the United States, is a case in point. The continual insinuation throughout is that he will wage a war of terror against the Jews just like Hilter did in WWII if he loses the election.
Once upon a time, before he became Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vanc told his law school roommate he went “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical ******* to that he’s America’s Hitler.” Obviously, the Ohio senator has since disavowed every negative thing he previously said about Trump. But he clearly shouldn’t have, particularly when it comes to the Hitler vibes, given all the wildly antisemitic remarks Trump has made on the campaign trail—including the comment he made last night re: whose fault it will be if he loses in November. Spoiler alert: It’s the Jews!
That’s right: At a campaign event on Thursday that was—wait for it—about denouncing antisemitism, the GOP nominee for president told the audience: “If I don’t win this election…the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss”... Blaming Jews for stuff was, of course, Adolf Hitler’s MO. The Nazi leader blamed German Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I, claiming the tiny minority had “stabbed Germany in the back”—language that sounds not dissimilar to what Trump had to say yesterday, and not dissimilar to the things he’s said and done re: Jews for years now. (Donald Trump Gives Supporters The Green Light To Blame Jews If He Loses In November, Vanity Fair.com)
Hitler or course hated the Jews, and exterminated six million of them during WWII in the NAZI death camps. The insinuation then is that Trump is "green lighting" his followers to embrace the same sentiments. The problem with this argument is that the statements Trump made were in regard to imploring Jewish voters not to let him lose the election because he is the candidate who has always supported the nation of Israel, a claim which the facts bear out very clearly. But Vanity Fair doesn't want their readers knowing that. Instead Vanity Fair only wants their readers to hate and despise the former President, by depicting Trump as someone who advocates for rebuilding the NAZI death camps.
I have seen Christians on the Left parrot these things, without realizing they are receiving their thoughts from the enemy, but the same unfortunately goes for many on the Right. The following article written by a Christian woman, seeks to paint Vice President Kamala Harris in almost the same light:
Vice President Kamala Harris has barely announced her run for the presidency for 2024, but she’s already ticked off America’s number one ally, Israel. How so? By blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for killing “far too many” civilians in Gaza.
Jane, you ignorant slut. That’s called war — you blankedly blank blank Kamala... The problem is Democrats don’t recognize the existence of evil. They are either atheists and secularists, and therefore have zero belief in God and Satan and biblical concepts of good and evil; or they’re believers in God but not a devil and so think that with only the proper tools and education and economic opportunity, those with dark intents can be convinced to live the righteous life... Evil exists. It’s real, It comes as both a spiritual force and physical entity. And one such example of evil played out October 7 in Israel when a band of terrorists called Hamas swooped onto a field where a music festival was taking place and abducted, tortured, sexually assaulted and raped and brutally murdered scores of innocent Jewish men, women, girls, boys and babies, yes, babies. They did it because they were evil. They did it because they believe in an evil spirit and follow an evil faith that says their enemies must be killed, and their enemies’ nations eradicated, and that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for their murderous ways... That’s why Kamala Harris makes an anti-semitic remark like accusing Israel of harming civilians during a war against Hamas that Hamas started — and fails to see either the antisemitism or the absurdity in her remark.
This is a blatantly Christian piece throughout, and yet openly refers the Vice President of the United States an "ignorant slut" by "comedic" reference, but there's nothing comical here. It goes on to claim she is spiritually aligned with the Devil because she thinks Netanyahu is going too far in his response. This is just spin from the Right designed to vilify the Vice President as evil, and it's just as false and misleading as the Vanity Fair hit piece on Trump is. No acknowledgment is given to her actual statements about the attack or her feelings about Israel.
