Trump, Falwell and the Church of Sardis

What is an Evangelical? 

• Merriam Webster says it's "OF OR RELATING TO A CHRISTIAN SECT OR GROUP THAT STRESSES THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE, the importance of believing that Jesus Christ saved you personally from sin or hell, and the preaching of these beliefs to other people".
• Dictionary.com says it's "BELONGING TO OR DESIGNATING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES THAT EMPHASIZE THE TEACHINGS AND AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES, especially of the New Testament, in opposition to the institutional authority of the church itself, and that stress as paramount the tenet that salvation is achieved by personal conversion to faith in the atonement of Christ."
• The National Association of Evangelicals describe themselves as THOSE WHO TAKE THE BIBLE SERIOUSLY AND BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD.
• Historian David Bebbington identifies four primary characteristics of evangelicalism:​
  1. Conversionism: the belief that lives need to be transformed through a “born-again” experience and A LIFE LONG PROCESS OF FOLLOWING JESUS.
  2. Activism: THE EXPRESSION AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE GOSPEL IN MISSIONARY AND SOCIAL REFORM EFFORTS.
  3. BIBLICISM: A HIGH REGARD FOR AND OBEDIENCE TO THE BIBLE AS THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY.
  4. Crucicentrism: a stress on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as making possible the redemption of humanity.

I define Evangelical from the word Evangelists who were the 4 who preached the Gospel or Good News of the life of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection.  

St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. John, symbolically in the Book of Revelation, are the four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. The first creature resembled a lion (noblest), the second was like a calf (strongest), the third had a face like that of a human being (wisest), and the fourth looked like an eagle (swiftest) in flight.  The common theme is the "Good News", salvation and eternal life.
​
St. Patrick's Cathedral, "America's Parish Church" has memorialized the 4 Evangelists with stained glass.  And thus the segue into the subject of Evangelicals and how they relate to the Book of Revelation.  

The Church of Sardis:
​
Revelation 3:1-6 To Sardis. 1“To the angel of the church in Sardis, write this: “‘The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this: “I know your works, that YOU HAVE THE REPUTATION OF BEING ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD. 2BE WATCHFUL AND STRENGTHEN WHAT IS LEFT, WHICH IS GOING TO DIE, FOR I HAVE NOT FOUND YOUR WORKS COMPLETE IN THE SIGHT OF MY GOD. 3Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you. 4However, you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy. 5“‘“The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels.6“‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

From my book Tribulation by G.R. Miller, I discuss my opinion of how the Evangelical community deals with political pressure from both parties but predominately from the far right. Excerpts are as follows:

The Church in Sardis are denominational offshoots of the four first branches of the Protestant Reformation. These churches and their further denominational offshoots include, but are not limited to Puritans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, United Church of Christ, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Swiss Brethren, Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, Quakers, and Moravian Brethren. Several of these churches, at one time or another, have been defined as “Evangelical Christians.”
 
“The reputation of being alive, but you are dead”: You’ve gone from your pulpits and your pews being alive with the Word of God, to now dead with the words of politicians, both Republicans and Democrats. You’ve gone from being revivalists to politicos. You challenge the very laws that prohibit you from endorsing candidates, being political action committees or lobbyists, while maintaining your 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. 

If I want a political message on the Sabbath, I’ll watch the Sunday morning talk shows, but I will not seek it in a House of Prayer. These are the reasons I left the Baptist church. Many have left and have gone on to nondenominational churches to get away from politics and get back to the Word of God.

Liberty University advertises itself as an accredited EVANGELICAL liberal arts institution with 16 colleges and schools, including a law school, medical school, and school of divinity. 

Is Liberty University an EVANGELICAL institution? ... No. It's the Church of Sardis of modern day. Why?  Because Jerry Falwell Jr. has supported Donald Trump for President of the United States of America and Jerry Falwell Jr. and by doing that, does not satisfy the EVANGELICAL requisites CAPITALIZED above:

• ​"OF OR RELATING TO A CHRISTIAN SECT OR GROUP THAT STRESSES THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE"
• ​"BELONGING TO OR DESIGNATING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES THAT EMPHASIZE THE TEACHINGS AND AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES"
• ​"THOSE WHO TAKE THE BIBLE SERIOUSLY AND BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD."
• "​THE EXPRESSION AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE GOSPEL IN MISSIONARY AND SOCIAL REFORM EFFORTS."
• ​"BIBLICISM: A HIGH REGARD FOR AND OBEDIENCE TO THE BIBLE AS THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY."

This is what Falwell said to the Washington Post regarding, "Some theologians believe that Jesus would call on Christians to put down their weapons in the face of violence." Falwell referenced the story from the gospels of Jesus chasing money changers out of the temple with a whip. Falwell quoted; “Jesus said ‘Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,’ and part of that was to go to war, protecting whatever nation was under control of the king,” “I wouldn’t agree with any interpretation of Scripture that was used to say that a man or a woman shouldn’t protect their families.” 

The story of the Cleansing of the Temple (Mark11:15-19) is quite different than the story of Paying Taxes to the Emperor (Matthew 22:15-22) 

Mark.11:15-19 Cleansing of the Temple. 15They came to Jerusalem,e and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’? But you have made it a den of thieves.” 18The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19When evening came, they went out of the city. Where in this Scripture does it talk about "protecting whatever nation was under control of the king,” ? If anything, the Evangelical community has allowed the Right wing politicians and the NRA Masters to turn the church into a "Den of Thieves" by preaching this hateful rhetoric. 

Matthew 22:15-22 Paying Taxes to the Emperor. 15 Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17 Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21* They replied, “Caesar’s.”* At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.

The USCCB says that means;

* [22:21] Caesar’s: the emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14–37). Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar: those who willingly use the coin that is Caesar’s should repay him in kind. The answer avoids taking sides in the question of the lawfulness of the tax. To God what belongs to God: Jesus raises the debate to a new level. Those who have hypocritically asked about tax in respect to its relation to the law of God should be concerned rather with repaying God with the good deeds that are his due; cf. Mt 21:41, 43. 

I don't think asking the students to get gun permits for the sake of targeting Muslims qualifies as "GOOD DEEDS". I don't think what Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr., Rev. Franklin Graham, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, and other right wingnuts are doing trying to "gin up" a "holy war" with Islam qualifies as GOOD DEEDS!!!

Is Donald Trump an Evangelical? ... Absolutely not!  Donald Trump is a DECEIVER! ... A DECEIVING POWER SENT BY GOD!

Biblically and moreover apocalyptically, he's best described as follows:

Revelation 6:7-8 7When he broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature cry out, “Come forward.” 8I looked, and there was a pale green* horse. Its rider was named DEATH, AND HADES ACCOMPANIED HIM. THEY were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of the beasts of the earth.

* Pale green in this case is a symbol of death and decay.

2Thessalonians 2:1-12 Christ and the Lawless One. 1We ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, 2not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. 3Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one doomed to perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god— 5do you not recall that while I was still with you I told you these things? 6And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord [Jesus] will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, 9the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, 10and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. 11THEREFORE, GOD IS SENDING THEM A DECEIVING POWER SO THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE THE LIE, 12THAT ALL WHO HAVE NOT BELIEVED THE TRUTH BUT HAVE APPROVED WRONGDOING MAY BE CONDEMNED.

It's Judgement Day for you and your followers Mr. Trump and thanks to one of my favorite journalists, Rachel Maddow, she's compiled a litany of your anti-christian remarks and behavior:

Regarding your comments against Pope Francis for his remarks against your "wall" and immigrants at our southern border, I respond with the following Scripture from both the Old Testament and New Testament:

Exodus 23:9 9You shall not oppress a resident alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 22:20-23 20You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt. 21You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. 22If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely listen to their cry. 23My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.

Leviticus 19:33 – 34 33When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one. 34You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.

1John3:17 If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?

Matthew 25:31-46 The Judgment of the Nations. 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44* Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Mt. 6:24 God and Money. 24 No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Mt. 16:18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Pope Francis didn't judge your heart, but God and the Lamb eventually will, and right now they see a lot of darkness in there.  Catholics and Protestants worship the same God and His Son.  Protestants are mere branches and denominational offshoots from Catholicism and your rhetoric is designed to deceive and divide.  Remember what Christ said and Pres. Lincoln referred to in Mark 3:24-30: 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Regarding Trump's disdain for Muslims:

Genesis 16:10-12 10I will make your descendants so numerous,” added the LORD’s angel, “that they will be too many to count.” 11Then the LORD’s angel said to her: “You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael,* For the LORD has heeded your affliction.

* [16:11] Ishmael: in Hebrew the name means “God has heard.” It is the same Hebrew verb that is translated “heeded” in the next clause. In other ancient Near Eastern texts, the name commemorated the divine answer to the parents’ prayer to have a child, but here it is broadened to mean that God has “heard” Hagar’s plight. In vv. 13–14, the verb “to see” is similarly broadened to describe God’s special care for those in need.

Genesis 17:20 Now as for Ishmael, I will heed you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation.

Genesis 21:12-13,17-21 12But God said to Abraham: Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Obey Sarah, no matter what she asks of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants will bear your name. 13As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, since he too is your offspring. 17God heard the boy’s voice, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven: “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear; God has heard the boy’s voice in this plight of his. 18Get up, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. 20God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert bowman. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

* [21:13] I will make a nation of him also: Ishmael’s descendants are named in 25:12–18.

Genesis 25:12-18 Descendants of Ishmael. 12 These are the descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, listed in the order of their birth: Ishmael’s firstborn Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael, their names by their villages and encampments; twelve chieftains of as many tribal groups. 17The span of Ishmael’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. After he had breathed his last and died, he was gathered to his people. 18The Ishmaelites ranged from Havilah, by Shur, which is on the border of Egypt, all the way to Asshur; and they pitched camp* alongside their various kindred.

* [25:18] Pitched camp: lit., “fell”; the same Hebrew verb is used in Jgs 7:12 in regard to the hostile encampment of desert tribes. The present passage shows the fulfillment of the prediction contained in Gn 16:12.

What Trump supporters don't realize is that he's figuratively "cut from same cloth" as ISIL.  He's cut from the same cloth as Adolph Hitler.  He relies on hate and fear to project his message:  In his case to divide the world to create his vision of racial purity and in ISIL's case to divide the world to create their vision of racial purity.  Unfortunately, the most vulnerable people caught in the middle of this are peaceful Muslims.  And that's the desired end game.  Trump, his supporters and evangelicals such as Rev. Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. want a holy war against Muslims and carry that on to any immigrant that they deem undesirable.  ISIL wants a holy war against anyone who disagrees with their ideology of being the chosen to establish the caliphate.  In ISIL's case they deem the caliphate to encompass the Levant which is Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and Cyprus.  Will hatred and fear win and as a result of Trump's rhetoric, people will long for that great war at Megiddo in which Judeo-Christians, as they interpret Revelation 16:12-16, will battle Islam:

Revelation 16:12-16 12The sixth angel emptied his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. 13I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. 14These were demonic spirits who performed signs. They went out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God the almighty. 15(“Behold, I am coming like a thief.”* Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his clothes ready, so that he may not go naked and people see him exposed.) 16They then assembled the kings in the place that is named Armageddon* in Hebrew.

* [16:16] Armageddon: in Hebrew, this means “Mountain of Megiddo.” Since Megiddo was the scene of many decisive battles in antiquity (Jgs 5:19–20; 2 Kgs 9:27; 2 Chr 35:20–24), the town became the symbol of the final disastrous rout of the forces of evil.

Trump, his supporters, and others who discriminate against Muslims are all false prophets guided by Satan.

* [14:10–11] The wine of God’s fury: image taken from Is 51:17; Jer 25:15–16; 49:12; 51:7; Ez 23:31–34. Eternal punishment in the fiery pool of burning sulfur (or “fire and brimstone”; cf. Gn 19:24) is also reserved for the Devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Rev 19:20; 20:10; 21:8).

In the 14th book Surat Ibrahim (Abraham) of the Quran, it addresses ISIL's abhorrent behavior from Satan vs the peaceful behavior from God for the vast majority of Muslims.

14:22-23. "22.When everything has been decided, Satan will say, 'God gave you a true promise. I too made promises but they were false ones: I had no power over you except to call you, and you responded to my call, so do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I reject the way you associated me with God before.' A bitter torment awaits such wrongdoers,23. but those who believed and did good deeds will be brought into Gardens graced with flowing streams, there to remain with their Lord's permission: their greeting there is 'Peace’.

Matthew 12:26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand?

Luke 11:18 And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

Mark 3:26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 

Peace and goodness will ultimately prevail:

1John4:20-21 20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Isaiah 2:2-5 Zion, the Royal City of God 2 In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it. 3Many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another,nor shall they train for war again. 5 House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

Let's look at 4 of the other current hot-button issues in this country and relate them to Scripture.

1) Degrading Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare and trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act

Leviticus 19:14 You shall not insult the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD
USCCB Footnotes:

* [19:14] In Dt 27:18 a curse falls on the head of the one who misleads the blind.

Leviticus 19:32 32Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the old, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

Wisdom 2:10-20 10Let us oppress the righteous poor; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the aged for hair grown white with time. 11But let our strength be our norm of righteousness; for weakness proves itself useless. 12* Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is annoying to us; he opposes our actions, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law* and charges us with violations of our training.13He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. 14To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, 15Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. 16He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the righteous and boasts that God is his Father. 17Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him in the end. 18For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. 19With violence and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. 20Let us condemn him to a shameful death;for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”

USCCB Footnotes:

* [2:1–20] In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds. 

* [2:12–5:23] From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12–20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative. 

* [2:12] Law: the law of Moses; “training” has the same meaning.

1Timothy 6:17-19 Right Use of Wealth.* 17Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. 18Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, 19thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.

USCCB Footnotes:

* [6:17–19] Timothy is directed to instruct the rich, advising them to make good use of their wealth by aiding the poor.


2) Not increasing the minimum wage 

Leviticus 19:13You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your laborer.

James 5:1-6 Warning to the Rich.* 1Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 2Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 3your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. 4Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one;f he offers you no resistance.*

USCCB Footnotes:

* [5:1–6] Continuing with the theme of the transitory character of life on earth, the author points out the impending ruin of the godless. He denounces the unjust rich, whose victims cry to heaven for judgment on their exploiters (Jas 5:4–6). The decay and corrosion of the costly garments and metals, which symbolize wealth, prove them worthless and portend the destruction of their possessors (Jas 5:2–3). 

* [5:6] The author does not have in mind any specific crime in his readers’ communities but rather echoes the Old Testament theme of the harsh oppression of the righteous poor (see Prv 1:11; Wis 2:10, 12, 20)

3)Progressive Tax System

Luke 21:1-4 The Poor Widow’s Contribution.* 1 When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury 2and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; 4for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

USCCB Footnotes:

* [21:1–4] The widow is another example of the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Lk 6:20). Her simple offering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section (Lk 20:45–47). The story is taken from Mk 12:41–44.

4)Denying climate change. 

Deuteronomy 29:21-28 Punishment for Idolatry. 21 Future generations, your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigners who will come here from distant lands, when they see the calamities of this land and the ills the LORD has inflicted upon it— 22all its soil burned out by sulphur and salt, unsown and unfruitful, without a blade of grass, like the catastrophe of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his furious wrath— 23l they and all the nations will ask, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this land? Why this great outburst of wrath?” 24And they will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 25and they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods whom they did not know and whom he had not apportioned to them. 26 So the anger of the LORD flared up against this land and brought on it every curse written in this book. 27The LORD uprooted them from their soil in anger, fury, and great wrath, and cast them out into another land, as they are today.” 28The hidden things* belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things are for us and for our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.

USCCB Footnotes:

* [29:28] The hidden things: probably the events of the future. The revealed things: the covenant and its provisions, including the sanctions of blessing and curse. This aphorism may mean: leave “hidden things” to God; what matters is to keep the law.

Isaiah prophecied that man would greatly suffer from his own reluctance to practice good stewardship of the earth. You can find this in Isaiah 24:1-23 entitled Judgment upon the World and the Lord’s Enthronement on Mount Zion http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/24.


The first 6 verses read: 1See! The LORD is about to empty the earth and lay it waste; he will twist its surface, and scatter its inhabitants: 2People and priest shall fare alike: servant and master, Maid and mistress, buyer and seller, Lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. 3The earth shall be utterly laid waste, utterly stripped, for the LORD has decreed this word. 4The earth mourns and fades, the world languishes and fades; both heaven and earth languish. 5The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, for they have transgressed laws, violated statutes, broken the ancient covenant.* 6Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants pay for their guilt; Therefore they who dwell on earth have dwindled, and only a few are left.

* [24:5] Ancient covenant: God’s commandments to all humankind (cf. Gn 9:4–6). The Noahic Covenant.

That's the Scriptural basis of Pope Francis comment; “Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us!"


Sweetheart, you were right: “If Donald Trump becomes president, that will be the end of the world”.  This blog is dedicated to you.


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