Tag Archive for: God

Turns Out God Isn’t Dead — He’s Trending

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The Bible is selling out, Christian music is breaking charts, and millions are rediscovering what truly matters. 

They told us faith was fading in America. That the old stories, the old institutions, the old Book — it was done. That people no longer needed the scriptures, the songs, the Sunday-morning rituals.

But if you peer beneath the surface, if you look at the numbers creeping up behind the headlines, you’ll see something quite different: a quietly rising tide of spiritual engagement.

The Bible: not just still alive — booming

Here’s one part of the story: in the United States, sales of the Bible have surged. In 2024, through October, the number of copies sold hit roughly 13.7 million, a 22 % rise over the same period the year before. In the U.K., between 2019 and 2024, Bible sales jumped some 87 % — an astonishing rebound.

What’s driving this?

Publishers don’t mince words: “We’re in a golden age of Bible publishing,” said one.

New editions, youth-editions, graphic Bibles, stylized covers, and robust marketing are part of it.

But wait — there’s a deeper current. According to the American Bible Society, the number of Americans who say they read the Bible outside church at least three times a year rose from 38 % to 41 % in their latest survey — translating to about ten million more people

So, amid a backdrop of secularism, religion-unaffiliated labels rising, and many assuming the church’s influence is waning — the data says otherwise. People are asking questions. They’re opening the Book. They’re buying the Book. That’s worth pausing on.

It’s not only in bookstores. The search for meaning is going mobile.

Bible apps, devotion tools, and online scripture engagement are increasingly getting traction. The shift is unmistakable: theology once confined to pews is now in pockets.

Christian music: the soundtrack of resurgence

Now switch tracks from pages to playlists.

While the broader music-streaming industry is still growing, its growth is decelerating.

For example: in the U.S., total on-demand audio streams were up 4.6 % in early 2025, down from 8% a year earlier.

But within this plateau, guess which genre is bucking the trend? Christian/gospel music.

According to multiple analyses, Christian music has seen streaming growth of ~60 % globally over five years, and in the U.S. it’s among the fastest-growing genres.

The narrative here: songs that once belonged largely to church sanctuaries or Christian radio are now breaking into mainstream listening streams—commutes, gyms, playlists, TikTok.

A younger, streaming-native audience is discovering faith via beats and lyrics, not just sermons. The audience profile is 60 % female, 30 % millennial, and overwhelmingly streaming-first.

Why now? What’s changed?

Here’s where the story gets interesting. Christian culture is not just surviving—it’s adapting, innovating, and aligning with the mood of the moment.

  • We live in times of mounting uncertainty: economic stress, culture wars, identity crises. In such a climate, many seek grounding. The Bible and faith give a narrative, a story bigger than the self.
  • The formats are new. A Bible isn’t just a plain hardcover anymore — you’ve got journaling editions, graphic-novel Bibles, youth-focused designs. Scripture is being made relevant for a generation raised on TikTok rather than Sunday school.
  • Music, too, has morphed. It’s not worship ONLY inside a church: it’s a background in everyday life, with the beat of the gospel replaced by the gospel in your earbuds.
  • Younger listeners (Gen Z, Millennials) are less hostile to spirituality than we assumed. They may not always flock to traditional institutions—but they are curious about meaning, identity, story. And Christian content is capturing some of that curiosity.

What it means — and why it matters

For writers, policymakers, church leaders, cultural analysts: this isn’t a niche blip. It matters. Because if faith is reviving — quietly, digitally, musically — then the assumptions many hold about religion’s future may need revisiting.

Churches might need to consider less “how do we survive” and more “how do we show up where people already are.”

Music ministries, devotion apps, social media scripture commentary—all become front-lines of engagement. For publishers, the boom in Bibles tells us there’s appetite. Evangelicals and traditions beyond might take note: the market is shifting.

Yet we must be cautious, too. A rising number of Bible sales doesn’t automatically equal deep discipleship, and a rising stream count doesn’t guarantee a changed life. These are signals, not assurances.

Engagement is the first step; growth in meaning and community may still be lagging. This is why, in part, publications like the Majority Report are necessary and need to grow.

Conclusion: a revival in plain sight

So yes—the story many assumed was ending may in fact be rebooting. The Bible is not merely surviving—it’s selling. Christian music isn’t just being streamed—it’s being listened to at scale.

The digital age is not the enemy of faith—it may be its new vessel.

In a world of noise, churn, and change, many people are choosing an anchor. They’re turning pages once again. They’re hitting play on songs about hope. They’re opening apps that speak of transcendence. And if you ask me, that’s worth watching.

AUTHOR

Martin Mawyer

Martin Mawyer is the President of Christian Action Network, host of the “Shout Out Patriots” podcast, and author of When Evil Stops Hiding. Subscribe for more action alerts, cultural commentary, and real-world campaigns defending faith, family, and freedom.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Religion’s Rising Influence in America Creates a ‘Massive Opportunity’ for Churches, Expert Says

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AMERICA 250: God and the Victory at Yorktown

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On October 19, 1781, in a battlefield not too far from Jamestown, America won its independence. The framers of this country said this was by the grace of God. We too should acknowledge the help of God, upon whom our rights are predicated, as the founders spelled out in the Declaration of Independence.

In the victory at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Cornwallis surrendered to America’s Commander-in-Chief, George Washington.

Two hundred years later, reflecting on this virtually impossible (humanly speaking) achievement. President Ronald Reagan declared: “That surrender signified the practical end of the struggle by our forefathers for liberty and independence. The impossible dream of those patriots was about to be transformed into the reality of a bright new Nation.”

Dr. D. James Kennedy and I wrote this about the Yorktown victory in our 2003 book, What If America Were a Christian Nation Again? “Many people do not realize that when Cornwallis discovered he was trapped at York­town with no place to go, he decided to emulate what Washington had done. Consequently, during that final night, he determined to make his escape, and he began to slip away in boats under cover of darkness.”

With the daylight, to Cornwallis’ horror, he beheld a fleet of French battle ships, there to help the Americans. The British general saw he had no option but to surrender to avoid further bloodshed.

People at the time marveled at what they perceived as God’s hand in the victory at Yorktown and the whole effort in general.

In his “American Minute” entry for Yorktown, historian Bill Federer notes: Yale President Ezra Stiles wrote, May 8, 1783: “Who but God could have ordained the critical arrival of the Gallic — French — fleet, so as to … assist … in the siege … of Yorktown? …It is God who had raised up for us a … powerful ally … a chosen army and a naval force: who sent us a Rochambeau … to fight side by side with a Washington … in the … battle of Yorktown.”

America would not have been successful in this battle were it not for the French, led by General Rochambeau.

The next day, on October 20th, 1781, General Washington called for a worship service to give thanks to the Lord for the British surrender. Calling himself in the third person, George Washington wrote, “Divine Service is to be performed tomorrow in the several Brigades or Divisions. The Commander in Chief earnestly recommends that the troops not on duty should universally attend with that seriousness of Deportment and gratitude of Heart which the recognition of such reiterated and astonishing interpositions of Providence demand of us.”

In those days, Providence was a common word for the God who answers prayer—as in the God of the Bible. Virtually all the Christians in those days used this term.

George Washington was not the only one who thanked God and set aside worship time because of the victory at Yorktown, the Continental Congress did as well.

On Friday, October 26, 1781, Congressional members Rev. John Witherspoon, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Varnum, and Roger Sherman wrote up a Thanksgiving and Prayer proclamation for the victory at Yorktown:

“Whereas, it hath pleased Almighty God, the father of mercies, remarkably to assist and support the United States of America in their important struggle for liberty, against the long continued efforts of a powerful nation; it is the duty of all ranks to observe and thankfully acknowledge the interpositions of his Providence in their behalf. Through the whole of the contest, from its first rise to this time, the influence of divine Providence may be clearly perceived in many signal instances.”

Later in this document, they set aside December 13, 1781 as a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer “that all the people may assemble on that day, with grateful hearts, to celebrate the praise of our gracious Benefactor; to confess our manifold sins; to offer up our most fervent supplications to the God of all grace.” The ultimate goal of this peace, they hope, is that it will “cause the knowledge of God to cover the earth, as the waters cover the seas.”

The victory at Yorktown was the unofficial and defacto end of the American War for Independence. Within two years, in 1783, came the official end of the hostilities. John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Jay negotiated for America the Treaty of Paris, formally recognizing the end of the war. How does the treaty begin? “In the Name of the most Holy & undivided Trinity.”

While we’re in our 250th birthyear as a nation, counting down to July 4, 2026, we should remember God’s help for us to become independent in the first place—including the victory at Yorktown.

©2025 All rights reserved.

The Left Belittles Prayer—But God is What We Need

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Last week, the shooter in Minneapolis of little children in a Catholic church-school during mass was discovered to have written on one of his weapons, “Where is your god [sic].” He used a picture of Jesus on his target in practice before the big day of shooting last Wednesday.

And now the left says to us in effect: “Don’t pray, just prey.” The last part refers to allowing unfettered evil to flourish—to continue to prey on the weak and vulnerable.

As Gary Bauer noted last Thursday: “Satan wrote the script for the atrocities that transpired yesterday at a Minneapolis Catholic church and school. The transgender shooter’s message, ‘Where’s your God now,’ wasn’t referring to Allah. It was referring to the God of the Bible, the God Catholics, Jews, and Protestants worship. The only God, by the way. ‘Where’s your God now’ was Satan mocking God.”

It’s amazing to see how swift the condemnation from the left was against even the idea of prayers—as if prayers alone were the solution offered to try and stop these things. They do hint at the solution: to get back to the knowledge of God, the one who is there and who will hold us all accountable one day.

As to the condemnation of prayer, consider these examples:

  • Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frei, who almost single-handedly destroyed his city in the wake of the George Floyd riots, spoke of prayer as if it were nothing. After all, the children in the church-school were literally playing when the bullets began to fly.
  • Jen Psaki famously blasted prayer as useless. She posted on X: “Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings….Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”
  • Fox News quotes other leftist leaders who blamed prayers or at best called them useless, such as Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL): ” Don’t give us your f—— thoughts and prayers.”

By the way, I think we have no clue how many times God spares us from the complete ravages of sinful attempts to kill. Perhaps enough to see it was a real threat, but with much less damage than could have been. I always remember reading the details of the Columbine shootings. The two killers aimed to kill a thousand people. Thank God that they fell short by 986 (or 984, if you count them).

In another August (1984), then presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, gave a speech at a Dallas Prayer Meeting on the importance of recognizing God in the public arena—if for nothing else its impact on morality: “We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions….Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

George Washington said as much. The father of our country warned us to not undermine “religion and morality” in his Farewell Address. He said that “national morality” will not be able to “prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

The founders might not have agreed on all details of theology, but they agreed on the notion that God will hold us accountable one day.

As Thomas Jefferson observed, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just—that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

As a nation we are still reaping the consequences of a terrible string of Supreme Court decisions from the 1960s, and 80s. They ruled against school prayer, Bible reading at school (as devotional), creation being allowed to be taught, even the Ten Commandments (with its famous line: “Thou shalt not murder”) were disallowed at school. It’s as if the left, through their surrogates on the High Court went out of their way to build a firewall against the children in the schools learning anything about God. And now we’re reaping the consequences.

As Os Guinness, the great Christian thinker and author, postulates in his book, A Free People’s Suicide: “One cannot point to a free and lasting civilization anywhere in history that was built on atheistic foundations.” Ultimately, America’s only two true options are: Revival or Ruin.

©2025   All rights reserved.

Miracles and the Israeli Defense Forces: You deserve to watch these videos for yourself!

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“The secret things belong to the L-rd our G-d, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” — Deuteronomy 29:29

THE MIRACLES AMONGST US

How many times and in how many ways our lives and health have been Divinely saved we may never know, but we miss the best of life if we do not recognize the miracles amongst us.

On Tisha B’Av, the saddest day of the Jewish year, let us remember the Divine miracles on the battlefields of warfare and the daily battlefields of life, where we are blessed in countless ways, some “revealed” and some “secret.” Let us pray for Israel and its courageous defenders of the Holy Land, protecting us all worldwide.

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G-d, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the L-rd your G-d, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. Amen.

MIRACLES!

The Traditional Prayer for IDF Soldiers

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Miracle Dove Saves Israeli Soldiers in Gaza

©2025 All rights reserved.

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Rejoice America, We have a lot to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!

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The time has come to take a deep breath, spend time with God, your family and clear your head. Let’s say a prayer for ourselves, our families, our troops, and America, President Trump and the team.  Then let’s make a decision to start now, today, to be thankful we have a chance to be Free Americans. Let’s stop the great divide and really make the effort to come together.

We know the plan. We have seen it often enough: make the people feel guilty and frightened.  But the people are now waking up to the propaganda they have been fed. We are now looking forward to a shake up in DC . We support President Trump’s picks. We expect them to uncover and prosecute corruption, and close wasteful agencies. We expect them to follow the constitution.

It is up to us, we the people to make sure our legislators follow our wishes and do not go off on their own. We must be polite but vocal. We must conduct the best oversight. The only way to have confidence in your oversight is to be educated. It is impossible to know what to expect in the future, if you don’t get your clues from the past.

Our show this week is quite special. William Federer, , historian, journalist, author, speaker, is our guest in the first segment. He will enlighten you with a portion of American history, our history, I’ll bet you never realized.  As we learn more of America’s past we learn  why our Constitution works. How important it is and how we must never let it be altered.

The second portion of the show is special for this Thanksgiving/Christmas season. This segment is for the family. It is time we honor the family.  Time to enjoy our time together as a family.  We have lost so many traditions, isn’t time to get them back? So gather your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and listen to the radio broadcast of “Britfield and the Lost Crown”, a story for children, preformed by children. “

Trailer: WTK Liberty Players and ‘The Britfield & The Lost Crown’ Christmas Special Radio Show

The series of five shows features 19 children from California and begins with a performance by the “We The Kids Liberty Players, ” who meet an author from the past. Attorney Susan Swift, a child actress based in Los Angeles, has worked with the We The Kids Liberty Players to make the show possible. We thank you.” Judy Fraiser, President, We The Kids. We hope you enjoy the play and share it with more friends and family.

©2024 . All rights reserved.

Please visit Karen’s Newsletter substack.

‘Jesus Is King’: J.D. Vance, Kamala Harris, and the Church’s Future

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You could not get a starker contrast of worldviews. At a recent Kamala Harris presidential rally, someone shouted out “Jesus is Lord!” and Vice President Harris snapped back: “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally. No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” Harris’s hearers boisterously applauded her dismissive retort.

Measure that against the quick reply of vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance at a different event. Just days after Harris’s put-down, someone shouted “Christ is king!” while Vance spoke, and he calmly but boldly said, “That’s right, Jesus is King.” The crowd went wild.

In the span of a few hours, Harris and Vance showed us how Christianity is received by the two major parties in America today. In one rally, Christianity is not welcome; in the other, Christianity is affirmed (albeit quickly). Rarely have we gotten a clearer demonstration of the divide in American politics and American culture than this.

In noting this divide, we do not make the mistake of equating Christianity with the Republican Party. Further, zooming out from this particular moment, we evangelicals know that there are no perfect candidates in this fallen world. Jesus is not on the ballot and never will be. This truth, however, is not a defeatist principle. It is a liberating reality. Because we are under no pressure to choose the perfect candidate, we are freed to choose the best possible candidate.

We can operate in this freedom because we Christians are not voting to elect a national pastor. We are trying to honor good and oppose evil, and elect those who we believe will best carry out this mission (see Romans 13:1-7). In such a posture, we believers seek to be “salt and light” as Christ called us to be (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt, we remember, is preservative. In love for our neighbor (Matthew 22:39), we believers do what we can to preserve what is good in our nation.

We do this in dark days, to be sure. But Christianity, we recall, is a faith that is made for the darkness. As such, we Christians cannot abandon the public square. Scripture gives us no such mandate. In fact, the Old and New Testament alike summon us in the opposite direction. For example, the following figures show us powerful examples of faith in action — faith applied to politics.

In righteous Joseph, we see a man thrust in the center of a kingdom, doing great good for many through careful leadership. In courageous Esther, we see a woman who used all her God-given agency to save the Jewish people, those murderously opposed and targeted by wicked Haman. In uncompromising Daniel, we see a man given great influence in Babylon, yet who refused to live by pagan lies. In the prophet John the Baptist, we see a man who called out a ruler for his sexual sin and became the first Christian martyr for doing so. In Paul the apostle, we see a man who used his Roman citizenship to go on preaching the gospel when others tried to stop him.

All of these figures applied their faith to a fallen world. They did not have perfect political choices before them. Several of them, in fact, worked in pagan administrations and did so by the providential direction of God. (Note that Esther was involuntarily married to a pagan king — how’s that for an opportunity for cultural engagement?) Yet these brave men and women of God honored God in difficult circumstances. Placed in the fire by God, they did not run away from the smoke; they ran toward it.

These believers give us a marvelous example for our own day. They summon the modern church to moral action. Like them, we are not responsible for making the world sinless and painless. We cannot do so; only Jesus can (and Jesus surely will). We are responsible, instead, for doing all we can to love our neighbor. In a democracy like ours, which allows us the God-given privilege of voting, I believe that this entails that we are free to vote for the best possible candidate and party before us. In sum, we are freed to practice political realism in order to do what good we can.

This leads us back to where we started. One presidential candidate has declared that Jesus has no place in her rally. What a startling and frightening response Kamala Harris gave. We tremble for her soul. By contrast, J.D. Vance affirmed the kingship of Jesus. These starkly different responses clarify where we are in our society today. The church has just been given a visceral picture of its impending future. Tragically, one party is openly hostile to the Christian faith; the other is openly welcoming. May this reality wake us up and move us to act as we can.

But let us also remember this: there will come a day when the gathering of God’s people will not be small. Then, the people of God will be gathered in one glorious throng to honor and worship the King, Jesus Christ, the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth (Revelation 5). On that day, no one will be holding a counter-rally, no one will be mocking Christ, and no one will be able to hold back the action of his arm, an arm that is mighty to save, and terrifying in its power to judge.

AUTHOR

Owen Strachan

Owen Strachan is Senior Fellow for FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Providence and America

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Did God providentially spare former President Donald J. Trump’s life on Saturday, July 13, 2024? The front-runner presidential candidate could easily have been killed in an assassination attempt, had he not turned his head about an inch or so.

As everyone knows, Trump was campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania, a city north of Pittsburgh at an outdoor rally when he was shot at by a 20-year old with a rifle on the roof of a nearby building.

On Sunday, Trump gave honor to the Almighty, writing that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

Bill Maher, the irreverent comedian, in effect made the same observation—but not attributing the miraculous outcome to God. Trump was very lucky to be alive after this incident, said Maher in his own profanity-laced way.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time God’s Providence touched America. Indeed, I believe that He helped create America itself, which despite all its flaws, has become the freest and most prosperous nation.

Butler, Pennsylvania was named after Richard Butler (1743-1791), who was a Revolutionary War officer. He served at Yorktown, where the war ended when the British General Cornwallis agreed to surrender. Washington gave Butler the honor to receive Cornwallis’ sword. Butler passed that honor to his immediate subordinate, Ebenezer Denny. At a Yorktown victory meal, General Washington made a toast to “The Butlers and their five sons!”

George Washington was a man who believed in Providence. Providence is simply an old-fashioned term referring to the Biblical God’s governance of the world—He provides for us and He answers prayers.

Dr. Peter Lillback, founding president of Providence Forum, and I wrote a book on the faith of our first president, George Washington’s Sacred Fire. Lillback donated Providence Forum to Coral Ridge Ministries, and I am privileged to serve as its executive director.

In our Providence Forum documentary series on the Christian roots of America, we have a whole episode on our first president, demonstrating that Washington was not a Deist, but rather an orthodox 18th century Anglican. In that film, Lillback told our viewers, “[Washington] believed in prayer, which Deists did not believe. There are over a hundred written prayers that can be found in his writings. He loved the doctrine of Providence; he uses it over 270 times.”

One incident in the life of the future first president was remarkable. On July 9, 1755, the 23-year old George Washington could easily have been killed in a battle that became a massacre. It occurred near Fort Duquesne outside of what is today Pittsburgh.

As the British and American troops—led by British General Edward Braddock—were in a forest by the Monongahela River, their path into the forest suddenly came alive with French and Indian troops shooting them.

Eyewitnesses said that they looked at Colonel Washington, expecting him to die at any minute–but he didn’t. One of these witnesses to the Battle of Monongahela said, “I expected every moment to see him fall. Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have saved him.”

By the end of the massacre, Washington was the only British or American officer unharmed, with 714 Americans and British either killed or wounded. In contrast, the French and Indians lost three officers and 30 men.

Washington wondered how it is that in that battle men all around him were dying, while he was spared? He wrote a letter his brother, John Augustine Washington: “I now exist and appear in the land of the living by the miraculous care of Providence, that protected me beyond all human expectation; I had 4 Bullets through my Coat, and two Horses shot under me, and yet escaped unhurt.”

Jump ahead, and we see on multiple occasions during the American War for Independence, that Washington felt that God helped us repeatedly in that conflict.

As our first president, in his first official Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving (to God), Washington stated the goal, “That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war.”

Without God’s help, we would not have won this thing, said the father of our country. Thus, said Washington in a proclamation for the ages: “it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

What happened on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania may well have been another example of God in His sovereign care keeping watch over America.

©2024. Jerry Newcombe, D. Min. All rights reserved.

The Chosen One

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A man for the ages…

The Chosen One

It is unquestionable that Divine Providence was watching over him that day.

By Eric Lendrum, American Greatness, July 14, 2024:

It is quite impossible to exaggerate the historic nature of the moment in which we are all currently living. Our nation, our civilization, our very world is at a crossroads, and there is only one man capable of leading us back to the right path.

Witness to History

As a young man on the eve of my 30th year, I have not witnessed nearly as much history as many of my older colleagues. The first historic event of my lifetime was undoubtedly 9/11; that is an event where everybody who was alive and old enough on that day will instantly remember where they were, what they were doing, and how they reacted.

Saturday, July 13th, was truly the first day of my life that felt as if it had the same magnitude, a day where time seemed to stand still for a few agonizing moments as the news settled in.
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I was at a social gathering with friends, enjoying beverages in a backyard despite the sweltering midday sun’s heat. The conversation I was in the midst of was suddenly interrupted by someone on the other side of the backyard suddenly yelling out, “Trump just got shot!”

Once the initial and natural feeling of doubt—”yeah, right, you’re joking”—quickly passed, the party got quiet in an instant as everyone pulled out their phones with surprising speed and synchronization. We were scrolling through social media, especially X, to see the latest videos. We were all commenting and analyzing every frame in real time, trying to reassure each other and ourselves that the former president would survive. We eventually migrated inside to watch live news coverage on the television.

Within seconds, the imagery of President Trump defiantly raising a fist as he got back on his feet, to thunderous applause from the audience, was burned into my mind forever. Even after the subsequent developments, from the deaths of the shooter and the rallygoer who was caught in the crossfire to the despicable coverage by the mainstream media, it was the image of the triumphant fist-pump, with a majestic American flag in the background, that was seen, shared, and revisited the most. President Donald J. Trump, like the Star-Spangled Banner, was still there.

Righteous Rage

In the hours after it happened, after I eventually returned home to be alone with my thoughts, I felt strangely conflicted about my emotional response: As much as I love and adore President Trump and have for many years, I could not bring myself to feel sad for him. The rather quick news that he was easily going to survive with only a minor injury made certain that tears would not be the overwhelming response.

Instead, I was overcome with a much more powerful emotion: pure, unadulterated, white-hot rage. Rage at the weasley little insect that tried, and failed, to take out the greatest man in recent American history. Rage at the mainstream media for downplaying the severity of the incident, with headlines declaring that Trump had left the stage simply due to “loud noises.” Rage at the leftist troglodytes on social media who were openly bemoaning the fact that the shooter had missed. Rage at Democrat politicians and pundits who openly encouraged assassination attempts through their rhetoric, comparing President Trump to Adolf Hitler. Rage at the incumbent Biden regime, which refused to provide President Trump with additional Secret Service protection despite numerous requests from the 45th president’s team to do so.

And what connects all of these threads together is their unified hatred of not only President Trump himself, but everything he represents: A forgotten working class that has finally found their champion; patriotic Americans who refuse to accept the notion that their homeland has somehow been an evil nation all along; outsiders who threaten the status quo of an entrenched political establishment that has been allowed to get drunk off of power for the last 80 years.

Most simply, the powers that be refuse to even let this election be a fair one. They cannot stand the idea of the American people choosing someone who won’t go along with their agenda, much less a man who has vowed to completely destroy all of our corrupt institutions where they stand and to throw the elitist bureaucrats out of power and put the common man back in charge.

It would be fitting for President Trump himself to determine that the American people should not feel bad for him. Sorrow is not a strong motivation to get anything done; anger is. The Founding Fathers and their compatriots did not rebel against the largest empire in the history of mankind out of sadness, but out of rage. Theirs, too, was a righteous fury that ultimately led them to victory against impossible odds and allowed for the birth of our glorious nation.

It is no exaggeration to say that the tyranny we now face—the prosecutorial Deep State, the censorious tech oligarchs, the lying media, and the conniving international elites—is a far greater threat to humanity than that imposed by the British crown in 1776. Donald Trump understands this, and now it is time for all of us to understand it as well.

A Man for the Ages

Donald Trump’s story has already been an incredible adventure that surpasses some of the greatest novels ever written. A billionaire businessman and former reality TV host who, with no prior political or military experience, was first elected to the presidency in the biggest political upset in American history; a man who proceeded to have numerous historic accomplishments in just four years, despite overwhelming opposition from within his own government and even his own party; a man who was then narrowly robbed of his deserved re-election through an obvious widespread voter fraud scheme that our Orwellian media still insists didn’t happen; a man who is in the process of staging perhaps the greatest political comeback of all time.

And now, by a hair’s width, a man who survived a vicious assassination attempt in front of the entire world, got back to his feet, and saluted the crowd in absolute triumph just moments later, with his own blood streaked across his face. Multiple images from the rally looked like Renaissance-era paintings, capturing the horror and intensity of the initial panic as well as the resilience and bravery of the man who recovered so quickly.

There is no other way to put it: Donald Trump is already one of the greatest men in history. His impact and legacy on our world will be felt for centuries to come. In due time, his name will stand alongside other great men who are known only by a single name: Socrates, Caesar, Charlemagne, Washington, Napoleon,… and Trump.

What makes this man so great is not extensive philosophical writings, vast military conquests, or leading historic revolutions. What makes him great is his selfless service and willingness to sacrifice everything he has for the country he loves and wants to save.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

For Elon Musk and His Disciples, Mars Is Heaven

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Auguste Meyrat: The Tesla founder is one of the richest and most celebrated men in the world, yet he also has to be one of the loneliest and saddest, bereft of community, meaning, and love.

In terms of revolutionizing the world and pushing humanity forward, Elon Musk has easily been one of the most consequential figures in the last decade. Not only did he make electric vehicles profitable, but he somehow also did the same with rocket science. At the moment, Musk is busy developing self-driving cars, neural transmitters, and high-functioning androids.

Thus, it is right and just that an acclaimed biographer like Walter Isaacson tells the Musk story. The example of a self-made visionary overcoming obstacles is nothing short of inspiring. More importantly, his experience as a member of Generation X (those between 45 and 60) is representative of many in his age group.

Naturally, the biography emphasizes Musk’s technical genius and indomitable will. At so many junctures in his life, Musk drives both himself and his employees to do amazing things, like produce thousands of Teslas in an impossibly short timeframe or design a reusable rocket that can safely transport astronauts to the international space station.

These great feats, however, often come at great human cost, with Musk and his crew often hitting the breaking points of sanity and emotional stability. In such moments, Musk goes into “demon mode,” brutally criticizing and firing employees, denouncing and mocking the competition, and desperately looking to distract himself from a deep internal darkness (usually through work).

Although Musk and his biographer will attribute these manic episodes to his undiagnosed Aspergers Syndrome or his commitment to greatness, a Christian would rightly conclude that almost all of his personal turmoil stems from the absence of a spiritual life.

Musk is one of the richest and most celebrated men in the world, yet he also has to be one of the loneliest and saddest, bereft of community, meaning, and love. At one point, he told admirers: “I’d be careful what you wish for. I’m not sure how many people would actually like to be me. The amount I torture myself is next level, frankly.”

Like many of his generation, Musk, 52, grew up in a broken household. He had a callous, emotionally abusive father and a vain, passive mother. Inevitably, they divorced as their children reached adolescence. Musk technically attended a Christian school in South Africa, but his family never went to church. Instead of learning how to pray and cultivate virtue, he learned how to fight and write programs. Upon experiencing “existential depression” as a teenager, he found solace in reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and playing video games.

This background made him tough, resourceful, and well-positioned to thrive in America in the 90s and 00s, but it also made him temperamental and restless. Again, like many in his generation, he filled the hole in his heart with an addiction to work and video games. This led him to make his first fortune with Zip2, then another with PayPal, then another with SpaceX, and then another with Tesla. Each time, he would launch a project “surge,” mandating long hours, maximizing efficiency, berating employees, and constantly taking risks.

Rather than being motivated by fame or fortune, Musk was driven by something much greater: faith. Except that the faith he embraced was the nebulous idea of human “progress,” not organized religion. Judging from his comments, his idea of heaven includes cyborg humans, friendly non-woke robots, spaceships going to Mars, and gloriously high birthrates. It’s a vision somewhat like Ray Bradbury’s short story, “Mars Is Heaven!,” but without the tragic ending.

Despite his uncompromising disposition, Musk has disciples who look up to him as a kind of messiah. As one might imagine, those close to Musk have the same outlook on life as he does. They go “hardcore” with their duties, dispense with personal attachments, and attempt to do the impossible. In a revealing exchange between Musk’s longtime employees, one of them admitted, “I was burned out [working at Tesla]. But after nine months [elsewhere], I was bored, so I called my boss and begged him to let me come back. I decided I’d rather be burned out than bored.”

Somewhere up in heaven, Blaise Pascal, who once wrote that “All man’s troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room,” is likely shaking his head and sighing at these poor souls. While they have applied their remarkable brainpower to things that Musk proudly declares are “far cooler than whatever is the second coolest,” they have sacrificed the very thing that makes them human in the first place: relationships, contentment, and purpose.

At what point can people finally settle down and rest in their accomplishments? When does the constant striving end? What would have to happen to Elon Musk or his disciples for people to realize that this is not a good model for a rich and fulfilling life? If constant work is the way to heaven, does that mean retirement is the way to hell? Was Ayn Rand right after all that our world is lifted by atlases and fountainheads simply being their brilliant selves?

Put simply, the hustle never stops. Of course, it could be worse. One of Musk’s many envious opponents in business or government could take him down and impose on all of us a drab, regressive police state that opposes human achievement and independence. This possibility has made most conservatives generally supportive of Musk who at least believes in free speech, industry, free markets, and humanity.

It’s important to realize, however, that human life could be made better, yet Musk will not be the world’s savior. The real progress to be made by society does not reside in rockets and robots, but in community and contemplation. True, these goods can coincide and complement one another, but the former should not overtake the latter. Before man was made for work, he was made for love.

Let’s hope that Elon Musk and the many who share his post-Christian faith in technology and themselves will come to realize this before they burn out for good.

You may also enjoy:

Michael Pakaluk The World and Its Lockdowns

Brad Miner Godless Space

AUTHOR

Auguste Meyrat

Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He holds an MA in Humanities and an MEd in Educational Leadership. He is the senior editor of The Everyman and has written essays for The Federalist, The American Thinker, and The American Conservative as well as the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.

EDITORS NOTE: This Catholic Thing column is republished with permission, © 2024 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.org. The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.

Christianity Is Exclusive — And Inclusive!

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A study by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research published in late 2022 offered a startling finding: nearly 60% of professing evangelical Protestants believe Jesus is but one of a number of ways to God. A similar 2021 survey by Probe Ministries documented a similar percentage.

This is more than troubling — it is a rejection, whether from ignorance or outright rebellion to God’s Word, of the New Testament’s teaching about the person and work of Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” said Jesus. “No one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Peter confirmed his Master’s claim: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In addition to such explicit passages, the whole text of the New Testament asserts that Jesus of Nazareth, fully God and fully man, took into Himself the penalty of eternal death deserved by all of us. That’s comprehensive in both time and scope, and by definition excludes all other supposed pathways to God.

These things compose a single claim: That there are no other means of obtaining a relationship with God and eternal life apart from placing your trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and reconciliation with our Creator. And in making this claim, Christianity is accused of being narrow, unfair, and arrogant. There are so many other faiths, and so many good people now and throughout history who have never heard of Jesus; how can Christianity tell every other religion it is false and every other spiritual code it is inadequate?

These are hard questions. Not to admit this is not to be honest. Yet the Bible also tells us that God is both loving and just, and Jesus commanded His followers to go throughout the earth and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). This, then, is the foundational calling of all who have come to know Him.

The God of the Bible has provided but one way to be born physically and, in the same way, only one way to be born spiritually. He is the One Who makes and redeems; the way of knowing Him is a matter of His choice, not ours.

The uniqueness of Jesus and His plan of salvation are not the Bible’s only exclusivities. Christianity also claims that marriage is exclusive: one man and one woman in a life-long, covenantal relationship (see, for example, Proverbs 2:14) and the only place where sexual intimacy is honored by God. In our era, one characterized by every manner of sexual dysfunction and promiscuity, this understanding of human sexuality is profoundly counter-cultural. It is also an understanding of unity, complementarity, and life-affirming relationship imbued with beauty, goodness, and truth.

These things mirror the character of God Himself. He is a God of exclusivity. He told the people of Israel, “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me” (Deuteronomy 32:39). He declares to Isaiah, “I am Yahweh, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (45:5).

In our time, these scriptural claims are discomfiting. How much simpler and less contentious to affirm religion as palliative, a means of coping with stress and molding one’s preferred deity into the form most comfortable to the molder. And how distasteful to assert that there is but one true God and one means of entering His presence, that new birth through which the imponderable purity of His Son is imputed to those who repent and place their hope in Him alone.

These perceptions are appealing but have an immutable disadvantage: They are false, wrong, and turn us in the direction of everlasting punishment. This is because of the gospel’s unmitigated inclusivity.

Yes, you read that correctly. The good news of Jesus is inclusive, open to all who come to Him and receive Him by faith. We read in Revelation 7:9 that in heaven, followers of Christ will be part of “a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Eternal redemption is open to all, not some spiritual elite or mysteriously initiated handful.

Jesus is alive: This is the simple and universe-shaking truth of the resurrection, that always-glorious day we will celebrate this coming Sunday. The way to know God is exclusively through Him, and that way is accessible to all, including you and me. Come meet Him today.

AUTHOR

Rob Schwarzwalder

Rob Schwarzwalder, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in Regent University’s Honors College.

RELATED VIDEO: Tucker Carlson points out examples of the new legal code and motives of the current U.S. administration

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Blessed Are the Persistent

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History is filled with people who quit too early, and thus never fulfilled their key task in life.

With a new year upon us, it’s good to think about how God pours His blessings on those who persist. Even when facing adversity, when the time comes, they push forward with what they feel He has called them to do.

Of course, in the eight Beatitudes of Jesus (“Blessed are…”), He never said, “Blessed are the persistent.” But throughout the Bible, we do find encouragements to press on, to keep plugging away at doing the right thing.

America greatly benefitted from some of our nation’s founders doing just that. The colonial armies experienced one military setback after another, with only a few sporadic victories interspersed.

The victory over the British was a miracle. That we could become independent as a nation is an amazing story.

George Washington himself said in his First Inaugural Address in 1789, “it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States.”

Thus, Washington’s first act as president was to offer public praise and prayers to God.

He also said that nobody should be more grateful to Almighty God than the people of the United States because by His help that the founders were able to create this nation: “Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

Of course, our liberties fought for by the founders are at risk today, primarily because we as a nation have forgotten God and flaunt our immorality in His face. As founding father Patrick Henry warned, “It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.”

Committed Christians are called at this present time to persist in working against many of the evils that we face today, such as the totalitarian instincts of an ever-growing bloated government, or the educational establishment which so often provides more indoctrination than education for our children. The work on behalf of the unborn must continue.

The Pilgrims stated their goal in the Mayflower Compact in 1620. This sums up well a worthy goal for the committed believer. They came, they said, “for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”

President Ronald Reagan warned us of the high stakes if we lose this nation: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

The hour is late and the need to get involved is great. During this time of New Year’s reflections, may God give us the resolve to persist in His calling. If each one did his or her part, we could help stem the tide.

Sometimes the urgencies in life crowd out the important things. Here are some inspirational thoughts to help persist in doing the right thing, come what may:

  • Motivator Earl Nightingale said, “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
  • Highly underrated President Calvin Coolidge noted, “We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”
  • Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton declared, “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
  • Founding Father Benjamin Franklin observed, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
  • Oscar Wilde said, “Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.” (I don’t see Wilde as an exemplary character, but the quote is good. As the saying goes, “A broken clock is correct two times a day.”)

But most importantly comes advice directly from the Bible, the Word of God. The Apostle Paul gives sound advice, for New Years’, and throughout the year, Paul says in Galatians: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

So in 2024, may God use us to labor for the greater good that much more diligently and wisely, as we continue to pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

©2024. Jerry Newcombe, D.Min. All rights reserved.

Defeating Manufactured Fear: How to Defuse the Left’s Most Powerful Tool

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Fear has been shown to be a VERY effective way of getting people to be compliant.

Every day we are barraged with a slew of fears: inflation, national debt, terrorism, city riots, drug deaths (e.g., fentanyl), community killings, out-of-control immigration, school propaganda, legislative self-serving, executive branch incompetence, judicial bias, corporation corruption, climate, COVID-19, China, Russia, etc., etc.

A case can be made that we are living in really bad times so fear is warranted. But two quick thoughts:

a) what can the average citizen do about most of the threats we are dealing with? and

b) doesn’t this incessantly foreboding fear desensitize us?

Let’s back up a bit and consider what goes on internally in us that causes fear. Anxiety is typically at the root of this emotion, and anxiety is usually the result of a perception that we lack control (i.e., a comforting plan). Regardless of the threat, if we believe that we have a safe way out, our fear will be minimal.

Whether fear is a good or bad thing, has been debated for a long time. On the one hand, fear can be beneficial when it is a wake-up call. On the other hand, it is detrimental when it causes us to give up in the face of a perceived threat, or when it eats away at our health, relationships, enjoyment of life, etc.

Another significant matter here is when a fear-inducing claim is made, who is responsible for establishing its authenticity: the alarmist or us? Fear perpetrators almost always rely on deference to authority: these supposed experts say “do such-and-such.” In other words, you should toe the line and go along (be compliant).

This article has some good insights, like explaining the difference between stress and fear:

Stresses come in many varieties—viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal, toxic, chemical, mechanical, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Many of the assaults on our bodies are just part of living in our modern world. We can’t avoid air pollution. We can’t stop all the germs that land on us in the elevator. We can’t change modern-day farming practices. There is much we can not control, but fear is a bit different.

It comes in one variety: thoughts that start with “what if,” and often end up with a worst-case scenario. The fear of loss in humans is very keen — a primary motivator that has made many advertisers rich. What if you lose your job? Or your child? Or your lover? Or your home? Or your reputation? Or your car? Or your wallet? Or your mind? Or your health? So many things to lose!…

There are two major worldwide fears we have been continuously bludgeoned with:

a) Climate Change. The basic message is: unless we make radical societal changes, the world will come to an end in 10± years. You might think this fear is the worst that we can be threatened with, but no…

b) COVID. The basic message was: unless you are willing to drastically surrender your rights and freedoms, you or your loved ones will likely die very quickly.

There are several tactics to counter these fear-inducing messages (like just ignoring them), and two (2) have proven to be very effective:

1 Critical Thinking

2 God

1 – CRITICAL THINKING regarding Climate or COVID would reveal that the media messages we are being fed are purposefully designed to create and feed fear. This should not be a surprise, as feeding fear has a long tradition in media — as they believe that bad news sells much better than good news.

Worse is that many of the media messages we are being fed are without merit. This also should not really be a surprise, as how many journalists writing about highly technical matters like Climate or COVID are bonafide experts (real scientists)? Almost none.

They might argue that they are just passing on what the “experts” are saying. That might sound sensible, but it is false, as they only endorse and pass on what SOME experts are saying. Since experts differ on both of these complex issues, how does a non-technical journalist decide which experts are right?

They do not have the technical background to make a science-based determination!

For example, there are experts on both sides of the issue as to whether black holes exist. If a journalist writes about this topic, they have no business taking a side. Instead, they should write objectively and thoroughly about the arguments made on BOTH sides — and let the reader make up their own mind.

None of that is happening regarding the mainstream media’s handling of technical matters (Climate, COVID, energy, etc.)!

One of their arguments would likely be that they are just passing on what the “majority” of experts are saying. That is more BS meant to fool non-critically thinking citizens. For example, do they have proof that the majority of climate experts believe that unless radical changes are made immediately, the planet will cease to exist in 10± years? Of course, they have no such thing!

That leaves citizens who want accurate information one choice: do their own investigation and apply Critical Thinking. Checking things out on their own, they will likely come across experts who are more interested in the Truth, rather than going along with what is politically popular. Citizens would do well to listen to such parties — but should still apply Critical Thinking to what they are told even from them. (My twice-a-month Newsletter is a free vehicle for such sources.)

The same would apply to multiple other societal issues. For example, we know that an eight-year-old does not have the maturity to: drive a car, own a gun, drink a beer, get married, decide whether or not to wear a COVID mask, etc., etc. So (critically thinking about this), what sense does it make to say that this same child has the maturity to make a sex change decision — that will have extraordinarily profound consequences on them for the rest of their life?

My last observations about Critical Thinking start with the reality that keeping things in perspective is a key objective for maintaining mental, emotional, and spiritual health… We need to appreciate that fear prevents an organized, rational resistance — which is exactly what the bad actors are hoping for… Manufactured (and exaggerated) Fear is intended to divide us (e.g., see here). To counteract that, surround yourself with quality people.

In other words: have strong personal relationships in your life. For example, if you are in a committed relationship with the love of your life, societal troubles will fade into the background.

2 – GOD. A powerful conclusion from a critical thinking analysis on these societal fears we are being subjected to, is that many of these are not simply a difference of opinion, but rather are just evil. Many of us tend to be skittish when it comes to taking a stand on moral issues, and that is exactly what our opponents want us to do: stay on the sidelines, be wishy-washy, etc. That leaves the playing fields open to bad actors to wreak havoc on America and our Judeo-Christian standards.

When we have a proper perspective on why we exist, God is the most logical answer. For example, as a professional scientist, I say that to believe that we are just a statistical part of a Big Bang, is stretching credulity beyond the breaking point.

If we really believe in — and are on good terms with — God, then the threat of a “worst-case scenario” is actually an illusion. If the world ends or we die, so what? All that has happened is that our time to get an eternal reward is accelerated. This is one of the main reasons that our country’s opponents want to undermine our Judeo-Christain beliefs, as they are a powerful anecdote to their fabricated fears

God is the guaranteed anecdote for the evil we are being subjected to, as God’s power is far greater than all the evil in the world combined. But there is a hitch: this power will not come into play until a) we acknowledge it, b) we ask for it, and c) we do our part: pray as if everything depends on God, but work as if everything depends on us.

Some people are resistant to accepting the God part because they say things like “How could God stand by and allow XYZ to happen?” The fact is that God understands the Big Picture of the world a thousand times more than any of us do — so for us to say we need to have it explained to us why God does something, is arrogant.

Following the logical plan of Critical Thinking + God will result in less stress and more comfort. It will also open the door to more happiness (see our recent discussion on that).

Some additional interesting thoughts on this topic:

I like this quote: “Fear is like heroin: it takes more and more to get the same high until it finally kills you.”

This is an interesting video of a discussion by four people from different backgrounds regarding Manufacturing Fear: American Culture Today.

Overcoming Manufactured and Authentic Fear has some powerful and practical insights.

Great: Social and Political Turbulence is Manufactured to Infantile Us.

A Primer for the Propagandized: Fear is the Mind-Killer is excellent.

©2023. John Droz, Jr. All rights reserved.

‘It’s a New Day’: Mike Johnson Brings Principles and Purpose to Speakership

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While D.C. politicos scramble to figure out who House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is, here at Family Research Council, we needed no introduction. To most of us, the young-looking Louisiana lawyer represents the best the movement has to offer. “He’s a social conservative’s conservative,” Politico pointed out in a lengthy piece about his relationship with FRC. But more than that, he’s a man who deeply loves God and this country. So as senators like Susan Collins (R-Maine) turn to Google to find out who the new speaker is, we can tell you simply: he’s the real deal.

My boss, FRC President Tony Perkins, met Mike more than two decades ago when the future speaker was just an up-and-coming law student at LSU. During Tony’s days in the Louisiana legislature, the two crossed paths a lot, eventually working together on a blockbuster bill that became one of the first abortion clinic regulation laws in the country.

“You mentioned how far back we go,” Johnson said in an interview on “Washington Watch” a couple years ago. “I saw you as a young state legislator, and I remember that your banner and your motto when you ran for office was ‘raising the standard.’ And that resonated with me, because I felt that same call on my life. And in so many ways, Tony, you were a huge influence on my life. I saw that you could do it. … [Other] people that I knew [also] did it right and did it well, and they followed the Lord first. And it showed in all their work and their life and their family. And that was a great encouragement to me.”

As Johnson alluded to in his speech before the House chamber Wednesday, the road to Congress was paved by his God-fearing parents. “I was blessed,” he emphasized to Tony. “I was raised in a Christian household, and my parents — I was actually the conception of a teenage pregnancy my parents’ junior year in high school. And they dropped out, decided to have me, and keep me. And that’s why I’m so pro-life today. I’m a living example of faithfulness. … They just trusted God.”

And made sacrifices. “My dad went to work early. They didn’t finish high school. Then he went back later, got his GED, but I don’t have any memory of not being a Christian,” Mike said. “I got saved when I was seven years old. I got baptized in a horse trough out behind our old country church in northwest Louisiana. And I was just raised to know and understand and believe that faith is very real. And it was just part of the fabric of our family, and who we are.”

But the fabric of that family was tested when Mike was just 12. His dad, an assistant chief for the Shreveport, Louisiana fire department, was a training officer. “And on September 17th, 1984,” he remembers, “he went into work on a hazardous materials leak in a cold storage plant. And the building blew up. He was burned 80% of his body, third-degree burns — and given a 5% chance to live. His co-captain died in the fire, so it was a terrible tragedy. [But] God miraculously saved my dad’s life.”

“He had a long journey back,” Mike said. “He lived another 30 years. And he was in pain every day — but he survived. … I was the oldest of four kids in my family,” he pointed out. “[And I learned that] our faith was real. … God saved my dad’s life … and I just knew that prayer worked. So that’s never left me. It’s been with me my whole life.”

When Tony asked Mike what surprised him most about his time in Congress, he replied that his answer was “kind of a sad one.” “I was surprised to see that many members of Congress are elected to serve, and they don’t truly have a fully formed philosophy of government. Some of them are not even crystal clear on what their worldview is, you know? And so it has an effect on their work and the decisions they make. … If you don’t have a fully formed philosophy of government, if you don’t have your principles set in stone … before you get there, then you’re going to be easy prey for all the influences that are out there.”

That’s why, he says, he’s been trying to encourage his colleagues to think about what it means to be a Christian in public service. “The only seedbed of virtue,” Johnson insisted, “is in religious faith. I mean, men have to understand that they owe an allegiance to a higher power, and they have a judge that is above all others. And that is what has guided our country since its founding. And that’s what’s going to continue to guide it. So we shouldn’t make apology for it. We should go out and live that boldly and encourage others to do the same.”

He owes that strength of conviction to a number of people who encouraged him along the way. “I had a mentor when I was really young, [and he] told me one time — he said, ‘Mike, you know what? Always remember this: What is popular isn’t always right, and what is right isn’t always popular.’ And we have to remember that even in politics, you know, highest levels of elected office in the country, that’s a pretty simple axiom that everybody needs to follow.”

Now, Johnson is passing that advice along to his four children — and all of the young leaders he meets. At the time, his son, Jack, was just starting high school, and he wanted to make sure that his son was firmly rooted in truth. “I said, ‘Listen, I want you to be real intentional about this. You know, the calling of a Christian young man or young woman is that you are not called to be a thermometer. You’re called to be a thermostat. What does that mean, Jack? You know, what does a thermometer do? Well, a thermometer goes into a new environment, takes a temperature, and adjusts to it. That’s not what we do. The Christian young man or woman is called to be an atmosphere changer, to be a thermostat. So you walk in, and you hold that standard, raise the standard.’”

At the end of the day, Mike said, “You live according to that truth that you know, and it will change the atmosphere you’re in. And people will look to you. … [They’re] dying for truth and authenticity. They want to know that there really is an absolute … that there’s a standard.” He pointed to Chronicles 6:9. “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the whole earth, seeking those whose hearts are holy, committed. There’s only a few in every generation, but if you’ll do that, God will give you His blessing. He’ll give you His platform. His promotion principles will set in place, and He’ll give you things that will amaze everyone.”

They were prophetic words for a man whose heart is holy, whose God has just given him that enormous platform he spoke of. And yet, back in January, Mike would have been the last to guess that when he and a handful of Republicans knelt in the House chamber to pray for the speakership, they would ultimately be paving the road to him.

As Tony said in a Newsmax interview Wednesday, America can be proud to have a man of substance at the helm. “That’s why he’s the first speaker, I think since 2011, to have unanimous support from his colleagues on the Republican side. … I’ve known Mike for 25 years, and he is going to be an excellent speaker for the times in which we live.”

Looking back on the arc of their long friendship, he said with pride, “He has a sense of purpose, and that comes from his faith. … And this is what’s important, because in politics this has gotten lost. It’s really about people. And he cares about people,” Tony insisted. “… He told me this morning, I was talking to him as he was working on his speech, and he said, ‘It’s a new day. They’re going to see a new thing in this Congress.’”

And those of us who admire him believe it.

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tale of Two Speeches: Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries Articulate Different Visions for America

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘Faith in Jesus Christ Alone’: How Americans Agreed Christianity Is Core to Conservatism

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In the years leading up to the birth of the nation we know as America, political discourse was exercised in pubs, in the pages of newspapers, in the town square, and on the steps outside courthouses. The patriots who forged America would define and refine together what liberty means and what responsibilities are carried with it, how men are governed and by what authority, and what a nation is and what it means to be an American.

Today, that same patriotic spirit that burns in the hearts of conservatives articulates itself largely on social media. On Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and even on less mainstream sites like Gab or former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, conservatives carry on the work of their forefathers and clarify ideologies, debate traditions, and ask what it means to be an American conservative. Just as early American patriots made their voices heard in the streets of Boston, Philadelphia, and Annapolis, so American conservatives made their voices heard on Twitter last week, resoundingly declaring that Christianity is core to conservatism.

Lizzie Marbach, a former Trump 2020 campaign staffer and current Ohio pro-life advocate, tweeted last week, “There’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.” The tweet itself garnered a moderate amount of notice and many social media users agreed with Marbach, who was essentially repeating longstanding (and, honestly, pretty basic) Christian doctrine. And then along came Max Miller. The Republican congressman from Ohio and former Trump staffer reposted his fellow former Trump staffer’s tweet with his own derisive commentary, saying, “This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far.”

First of all, it is important to note that Marbach is not a sitting legislator, nor even a government employee. Her tweet did not advocate, endorse, or even remotely suggest the suppression or persecution of any religious group or set of religious beliefs. This makes Miller’s comments all the more infuriatingly ironic: while claiming to support “religious freedom,” a sitting U.S. congressman told an American citizen to delete her profession of one of the most fundamental doctrines of her faith — a faith shared, by the way, by an estimated 70% of Americans.

Miller, who describes himself on Twitter as a “proud Jew,” was instantly ridiculed, shamed, and flatly contradicted by conservatives. Political commentator and podcast host Matt Walsh asked, “Do your constituents know that you consider basic Christian teaching to be ‘bigoted’? They do now I guess. Good luck in the next election!” Journalist Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, posted a meme reading, “[T]he best time to delete this tweet was immediately after sending it, the second best time is now.” Media personality and former GOP congressional candidate Lauren Witzke quipped, “Mask off moment.” Countless others commented simple variations of “Christ is King.”

Miller went further than merely airing his ignorance, though; he complained to Marbach’s employer, Ohio Right to Life, where his wife is a board member, and she was fired from her position as communications director. Ohio Right to Life stressed that Marbach wasn’t fired due to “any single event,” but even the ol’ post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy might be a bit of a stretch in application to this particular scenario.

In 2020, President Trump famously said, “It’s called ‘we do a little trolling.’” Well, trolling works. After the torrent of purely-digital backlash from Americans, Miller was forced to apologize. He said, “I posted something earlier that conveyed a message I did not intend. I will not try to hide my mistake or run from it. I sincerely apologize to Lizzie and to everyone who read my post.” Now, whether the apology was sincere or simply a PR necessity in the wake of denigrating the beliefs of over two thirds of Americans is not yet clear, though it’s worth noting that Miller did not delete his tweet calling expression of Christian thought “bigoted” and ordering an American Christian to “delete” her tweet, nor has he apologized for his role in having Marbach fired.

In fact, Marbach herself showed Miller just how “bigoted” and threatening Christians are by publicly forgiving him. She tweeted, “Max, I accept your apology 100%. However the truth is that it is not me from whom you need forgiveness, but God himself. I genuinely pray you seek him and find salvation!” She also posted the text of Matthew 18:21-35, in which Christ tells the parable of the unforgiving servant and instructs His disciples to forgive others not just seven times but “seventy-seven times.”

Aside from Miller’s appalling behavior and lackluster attempt at an apology, this episode demonstrates the commitment of conservatives to Christian ideals. Those who do not identify as Christian — atheists and agnostics, even some of Miller’s fellow Jews, were among his detractors — but as conservatives recognize the inherent truth that, without Christianity, there is nothing to conserve. The entirety of the conservative movement is founded upon distinctly Christian principles, traditions, and culture: liberty, order, virtue, duty, sacrifice, and all those noble ideals Americans have fought, bled, and died for over the past 250 years. These ideals were practiced, preached, preserved, clarified, and dogmatized by Christianity.

While nations and empires have risen and fallen, while the Roman republic decayed into tyranny, while kingdoms and races warred across medieval Europe, while European powers pioneered new lands, while the dream called America was realized, while bloody revolutions felled and founded new cultures and governments, while world wars raged, and even now into the present age, Christianity has stood strong, lovingly maintaining the doctrines laid out 2,000 years ago by a Carpenter from Nazareth, Who was also told, “Delete it,” in the parlance of the day, and lost far more than just His job.

Just as American patriots once agreed on what liberty is while sitting around their drinks in pubs, just as they once proclaimed what they knew to be true in the pages of their newspapers and gazettes, just as they once shouted their common beliefs in the streets, so too have today’s American patriots, speaking in today’s town square, agreed that conservatives must not condemn or denigrate Christianity but embrace it.

Hopefully, today’s patriots will continue following in the footsteps of their forefathers and will not be content with pub-table conversations, printed words, and marching in the streets, but will speak at the ballot box too and elect representatives who respect and even share their beliefs, the beliefs that this nation was built upon.

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Where are the Ark of Covenant and Holy Grail Buried?

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We have always been interested in where the two most important and holiest relics in Christian history are buried—the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail.

It is believed that it was the Knights Templar who took the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail with them to keep them from being destroyed by the invading Muslim armies.

According to the History Channel,

The Knights Templar was a large organization of devout Christians during the medieval era who carried out an important mission: to protect European travelers visiting sites in the Holy Land while also carrying out military operations. A wealthy, powerful and mysterious order that has fascinated historians and the public for centuries, tales of the Knights Templar, their financial and banking acumen, their military prowess and their work on behalf of Christianity during the Crusades still circulate throughout modern culture.

After Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control in 1099 during the Crusades, groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey.

Around 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payens created a military order along with eight relatives and acquaintances, calling it the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon—later known simply as the Knights Templar.

With the support of Baldwin II, the ruler of Jerusalem, they set up headquarters on that city’s sacred Temple Mount, the source of their now-iconic name, and pledged to protect Christian visitors to Jerusalem.

Initially, the Knights Templar faced criticism from some religious leaders. But in 1129, the group received the formal endorsement of the Catholic Church and support from Bernard of Clairvaux, a prominent French abbot. Bernard authored “In Praise of the New Knighthood,” a text that glorified the Knights Templar and bolstered their growth.

In 1139, Pope Innocent II issued a Papal Bull that allowed the Knights Templar special rights. Among them, the Templars were exempt from paying taxes, permitted to build their own oratories and were held to no one’s authority except the Pope’s.

Many have searched for these holiest of holy relics and now it appears someone knows where the Knights Templar may have buried them.

In a July 30, 2023 article Jolt of Joyful reported,

A highly respected historian thinks he may have figured out where the Ark of the Covenant and Holy Grail were buried by the Knights Templar. No, we’re not talking about Indiana Jones. David Adkins, an anthropologist and historian, believes the two ancient relics may be found under a famous landmark in England. 

Adkins, who first proved his mettle when he tracked down a 10,000 year-old skull called “Greta,” argues that “the lost treasure of the Knights Templar could be concealed in a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers underneath Sinai Park House,” a historic building that dates back to the 13th century in the town of Burton.

The imposing landmark in Burton may be lying on caverns vast enough to contain Westminster Abbey, according to one geologist, writes The Brighter Side.

David is now keen to try and locate the treasures plundered by the Knights Templar during the crusades – which could potentially include the golden Ark of the Covenant, which housed the 10 commandments, and even the Holy Grail.

Read more.

WATCH: Historic England House Could Contain the Holy Grail

Ron Wyatt has also searched from 1979 into the 1980s and found what he believes to be the burial place of the Arc of the Covenant.

WATCH: Ron Wyatt summarizes original findings in ‘Ark’ chamber and performs sub-surface radar scans.

WATCH: Dangerous underground excavations explore radar anomalies.

WATCH: Ron Wyatt – Chromosome count in ‘blood’ sample.

We have Ron Wyatt who in the 1980s believes that he found the Arc of the Covenant. And we now have anthropologist and historian David Adkins who believes the that the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail may be found under a famous landmark in England. 

Seeing is believing! And I hope that I get to see these two holy relics.

Israelmore Ayivor wrote, “It takes the trust of God for things that exist, to wait on him for the evidence of things that do not exist. Faith and hope make you to thank God for the invisible things by looking at the visible things which were once invisible too.”

We agree.

We can’t wait for someone driven by the hand of God discover his Ten Commandments and the cup which His Son Jesus passed among his disciples as reported in Mark 14:24 saying, “And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.”

Amen.

©2023. Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.