The Seemingly Endless Deals that Evangelicals Make with the Devil

••• today's entry continues here below •••

The term rationalize is defined as » To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (one's behavior): "Many shoppers still rationalize luxury purchases as investments."

At t=1:40, Chris says »

"The core of this piece is about [ a supposedly pious and devout man who is ] making a deal with the devil .. and who is subordinate to a man with none of the shared values with the movement that he claims to represent."

» Where is the Moral Line that So-Called Christians Will Not Cross?

Tell me, George .. where is the line that these so-called christians will not cross in order to continue making their compromises with the devil?

» Does Such a Line Even Exist?

Does such a line even exist? If it does, then I am not seeing it. I see no line that these so-called christians will not cross in order to continue making their seemingly endless deals with the devil.

If such a line does in fact exist .. then please, by all means, tell me where that line lies.

At the risk of seeming redundant, let me ask you once more » Is there any moral line that these so-called christians will not cross?

Key word » any.

Where is the moral excellence that the scriptures instruct the believer to "make every effort" to pursue?

Donald has said that he would not lose any supporters if he went out into the middle of Fifth Avevue and shot somebody .. and everybody thought he was joking.

» I See No Such Line

Speaking of the apparent absence of any moral line whatsoever .. notice how McKay says:

"That is the fundamental contradiction of Mike Pence. It's a compromise that he had to make. But it's also a compromise that millions of conservative christians in this country had to make last year, and continue to make. And that compromise is playing out in Alabama right now."

» A Southern White Chats with a Southern Black about Southern Culture

Along the lines of Republicans embracing Judge Roy Moore of Alabama for senator .. there is an excellent little discussion and dialogue at Morning Joe.

Where they have as a guest Eddie Glaude, who is a professor at Princeton .. and who makes an argument (beginning around t=3:20) using classic deductive reasoning.

Socrates himself wouldve got a boner .. if he were there .. listening to this Princeton professor.

Eddie actually starts his thing around t=2:30. But the real juicy-juice begins around t=3:30.

» The Attempted Social Circuit Between the Southern Black and the Southern White Failed Open

At t=4:10, he wraps up his argument and presents it to fellow southerner Coffee Joe like an ice cream cone made with care and with love and especially with attention-to-detail.

But Coffee Joe does not receive Eddie's beautifully crafted ice cream cone. No, sir. Because it falls flat on the floor .. and probably makes a big fucking mess.

Eddie actually followed up and said, "...Going back to my first point." Because he could see that he wasnt getting through to Joe. The circuit did not close.

Which is probably why he had that awkward expression on his face.

Even before the missed hand-off at the end .. Joe's eyes were glazed over. He was somewhere else .. somewhere other than where Eddie was.

Something that Eddie said obviously had an effect on him. Tho, who can say what that thing was? (Certainly not me .. the fucking Yankee from Connecticut.)

» Objects in the Republican Mirror are More Racist than they Appear

And then Joe starts talking and you get an idea of where he has gone .. because he says,

"If he [Judge Roy Moore] does win [the seat for senator of Alabama vacated by Jeff Sessions] .. then, everything that I've been telling myself for the past 54 years .. about a new South .. that has moved forward .. that has moved on .. may actually not be the case."

You almost can't believe your ears .. that you are hearing this thing. Because this is exactly the kind of discussion that America needs to have.

I think that the reason why I am so impressed with this exchange .. is because it illustrates the point that I've been trying to make all along .. that objects in the Republican mirror are uglier and more racist than they appear.

Winning at all costs .. by lying, cheating, stealing .. by any means necessary .. will end up costing you everything. They are obviously not about what is right-n-wrong.

This seems so obvious that I can't believe that people dont see it. It is as tho they have no moral vision.

I actually have some other, very cool, stuff that I could be writing now. So I am surprised that I am putting all that on hold in order to write this section here.

I have super-hottie international popstars that I could be flirting with right now.

» Triggering an Identity Crisis

It is another conversation entirely, but this thing here with Joe is very much like what it feels like to have an identity crisis. (I was just telling Selena about this.)

Identity crises suck pretty badly. They are never much fun .. in the moment.

But they can represent the arrival of a portal to more enlightened realms.

The movie Fight Club explores some of these very themes .. when the main character splits apart into two separate people. That is not so very different from the way it feels.

I am not sure, but I feel like you cannot trigger an identity crisis for yourself. Rather, you must have someone trigger it for you .. a kindred spirit of sorts. Someone who you trust.

What is the difference between an identity crisis and a spiritual crisis? This would make for an interesting discussion, no?

» Questioning Your Tribe's Sense of Decency

Questioning your tribe's sense of decency .. this indeed is something that can trigger an identity crisis.

Then at t=6:15, Joe asks Eddie, "Can I ask really quickly .. because you grew up in the South, too .. am I being naive?"

The term naive is defined as:

1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding.
2. Simple and guileless.
3. Unsuspecting or credulous.
4. Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment.
5. Having a lack of knowledge, judgment, or experience; especially, lacking sophistication in judging the motives of others

Eddie's response that follows is the best part of the whole segment.

I wouldnt take the time to document this here if I werent impressed.

» Those Who Commit Atrocities Somehow See Themselves as Decent Human Beings

On the topic of decency .. it may be worth mentioning here something that Heinrich Himmler said in a speech that he gave to SS officers in Posen, Poland on October 4, 1943 .. where one of the things that he said was (at t=31:30 here):

"Most of you will know what it means when 100 bodies lie together, when 500 are there or when there are 1000. And to have seen this through and--with the exception of human weakness--to have remained decent, has made us hard and is a page of glory never mentioned and never to be mentioned."

Notice how he is talking about exterminating innocent human beings, and yet he sees those who have worked to accomplish this atrocity as having "remained decent."

Hard to believe, no? Just another day at the office .. uh, I mean, the incinerator.

"Honey, I'm home. What's for dinner?"

He sees this extermination of innocents as a "page of glory" .. in Germany's history.

Just because a man seems like a fine, upstanding government official .. and just because a man has a good relationship with his daughter .. does not necessarily mean that he is a good man.

» I May have Done some Bad Things, but I'm Not Really a Bad Person

I read this thing that said human beings were wired in such a way that they cannot conceive of themselves as bad people.

They may fake contrition for a lenient sentence from the court or from the judge. But when you get them alone, they are easily able to rationalize away even the most heinous of crimes .. as being not really their fault.

Is it not an impossibility to get some people to accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions?

It somehow happens to be the same people who seem to have a need to criticize and condemn others. Funny how those two traits seem to always go together like that.

» The Danger of Compromising your Values

Getting back to McKay Coppins' piece on Mike Pence, notice how he says (at t=2:22):

"The story of Mike Pence, in a lot of ways, is the story of the religious right .. a compromise of principles and standards and values that they are willing to make in order to attain political power."

I could not have said that any better myself .. and I am probably the greatest writer who ever lived. (We have to wait until the end of the age before we determine exactly who it is.)

The word compromise is defined as »

1. 1. A concession to something detrimental or pejorative: a compromise of morality.
   2. A committal to something derogatory or objectionable; a prejudicial concession; a surrender; as a compromise of character or right.

They are making an endless series of moral compromises in order to attain political power. That is never a good place to be.

See .. every step that you take in order to pursue these things that you think you want .. every step that you take in order to accommodate the devil .. this makes it that much more difficult .. to get back to where you once were.

I am speaking somewhat metaphorically here .. but I know you feel me.

» The Point of No Return with the Devil

Here is where I feel that I should talk about the point-of-no-return .. but I somehow feel like I would just be wasting my time.

There is no acceptable balance with the devil. He always wants more. This is part of his nature. He is never satisfied. And he can never be. (For reasons that we won't get into right now.)

Can you see, George, why I feel that so-called christians like you and Mike Pence are spineless?

Trump obviously picked Mike Pence as his running mate because he sized him up as somebody he could easily dominate.

I can almost hear Mike Pence saying, "What does it mean, Mr. Trump, to move on women like a bitch?"

Can you see why, George, I can't help but feel that American christians have gone astray, far astray .. and that it is people like you and Mike Pence who give Christianity a bad name, and turn off so many people to the idea of becoming a believer?

(You can add Sharron Dobbins to that list.)

They think, "If this is what it means to be a christian, then Christianity obviously aint for me."

What do you think, George, about the idea that it was evangelical christians who brought Donald Trump to power?

I wonder what Charles Sykes thinks of that idea. I wonder what Raph Peters thinks. Should I continue?

» Vast Majority of Evangelicals Said 'Judge Roy Moore is One of Us'

Oh .. it looks like Doug Jones squeaked out a victory by the skin of his teeth, pulling out an upset over the heavily favored Republican candidate, Judge Roy Moore ..

.. in his bid to win the senatorial seat vacated by Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, when he left to become the Attorney General under President Trump.

I hear people saying after this election, "Look .. this does indeed signal that there is a limit to how far good people can be pushed."

» Judge Roy Moore is One of Us

But 80% of evangelicals voted for Judge Roy Moore. They said, "Judge Roy Moore .. he is one of us. He shares our values. We greatly prefer him over that nigger-loving heathen, Doug Jones. We dont really care that he was touching 14-year-old girls. Heck, we do that kind of thing all the time. I mean, who hasnt? Didnt you hear him say that he asked her mother first? Well .. if the girl's mother didnt have a problem with him touching her .. then why should you? You fucking yankees are all the same."

Roger knows what they are talking about when evangelicals say, "Judge Roy Moore .. he is one of us. He shares our values and our priorities." Notice where Roger writes (2nd paragraph, quoting Joseph Conrad):

"It was, in the night, as though I had been faced by my own reflection in the depths of a somber and immense mirror."

» Where God's Judgment Begins

Peter said that God's judgment begins with the household of God. I wonder what Peter meant by that.

You know Peter .. he's the guy with the boat. Peter was supposedly the first pope .. and Peter was married. I guess that Peter didnt know that popes couldnt be married.

» Evangelicalism in America is Actually More of a Political Movement than a Religious Movement

This article by Amy Sullivan, titled » America's New Religion: Fox Evangelicalism (Dec 15, 2017) basically says that Evangelicalism in America is more of a Political movement.

Than a religious one.

Think about that. Think about what that says. Steve Schmidt knows what I am talking about.

It says that they are actually more about the politics .. than they are about the religion.

I dont think that many Americans will be too terribly surprised by that statement.

But it begs the question for Mike Pence, and those of his ilk » "Where do your priorities lie?"

It's actually a stupid question .. because everybody already knows the answer. Because actions speak louder.

This is what Amy does. She has spent her whole life looking behind the evangelical curtain. So if anybody would know...

She must be friends with the folks at SNL.

» Perhaps It Aint Really Such a Paradox at All

One of the things regarding the apparent congruent alignment of policy and values that is shared between Donald Trump and white evangelicals ..

.. one of the things about this seemingly paradoxical alignment .. is that, perhaps, it aint really such a paradox at all.

The term paradox is defined as:

1. A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true: the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking.
   
   
2. One exhibiting inexplicable or contradictory aspects: "The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears" (Mary Shelley).
   
   
3. An assertion that is essentially self-contradictory, though based on a valid deduction from acceptable premises.

Perhaps Donald Trump and white evangelicals really are the birds-of-a-feather that they appear to be.

» The Telling Fork in the Road

Here is something that I can tell you so called evangelicals » the day is coming when you will come to a fork in the road, where you will be required to choose between two mutually-exclusive options.

You choice will reveal where you true values and priorities lie. Where your allegiance lies. (I bet that Blow would concur.)

And then all will become clear to you. Because this is one of those choices in life .. from which there is no return .. if you happen to make the wrong decision. 

Dont say you werent warned.

I was telling Hillary about this. She either did not believe me, or she did not give a fuck. Either way, she made the wrong choice. And now she is eternally fucked.

Hillary is a good example of the limitations of sheer tenacity .. without the foresight that comes with vision.

» A Fascinating Social Experiment

Fox News is like a fascinating social experiment where, faced with the choice between:

1. tell me nothing but pretty things (which I dont care if they are true or not) that will make me feel good about myself.
   
   
2. reality

.. many people will continue to pull the lever for option #1.

I bet that Christopher Wylie knows exactly what I am talking about here.

And Josh, too.

You will find some of these folks camped out at Benghazi, burning Hillary in effigy every night .. like a Burning Man for her legion of haters.

» The Values Expressed by the Older Generation Make Growing Up in America a Confusing Thing

Here is where I would like to have a little chat with Ben Sasse. I would like to tell Ben .. that one of the things that makes growing up in America such a confusing thing ..

.. is that the people who are supposed to be good people are actually doing and supporting-the-doing-of .. such nasty shit.

Do your own research .. but I am confident that you will find that it is the older generation, which are Ben's people, who are causing this confusion for the youth.

The older generation supports people who say and do such nasty things .. and they reject people who do things that try to help the weak and the poor and the helpless .. just like the scriptures instruct the believer to do.

And it seems like the older generation expresses values and supports people who sell out the younger generation .. which is, by definition » the future.

» What Do Your Actions Say to the Younger Generation About Your Values?

With 71-year-old Donald Trump as the leader of your party .. what signals are you sending to the youth of America .. about the values of our nation's leaders? (Your real values .. and not the ones that you merely pay lip service to.)

This is why I say to Ben .. before you start criticizing the younger generation .. you first have a lot of work to do with your own generation. (This theme is not limited to America.)

Physician, heal thyself. And when you are done healing your own generation .. then I will be more willing to hear whatever it is, good sir, that you might have to say about the younger generation. But until then .. go fuck yourself, Ben.

And dont forget to take that self-righteous, piece-of-shit book with you.

How's that for being plain?

» Is Trump a Coward?

Speaking of plain talk .. what do you think about what Jennifer Rubin said at t=2:20 in this video? .. where she says about Trump:

"The man is a coward. He will always be a coward. He was in his personal life. And he has been as president."

Does she make a valid point? The term coward is defined as:

1. One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.
2. A person who lacks courage.
3. One who lacks courage to meet danger; one who shrinks from exposure to possible harm of any kind; a timid or pusillanimous person; a poltroon; a craven.

Food for thought.

When I hear of Republicans threatening to impeach Trump, I said to Cenk, "They do not have the balls, Cenk. They are spineless pussies. This is one of the reasons why America is so fucked up right now."

» Hope for the Future

Here is a young person, Ben .. who gives me hope for the future » 17-year old Yara Shahidi .. seen here talking with Whoopi on The View.

What do you think of her? (Here is Vox breaking down the protests in Iran in 4 mins.)

This girl impresses me .. which is why I am including her image here. She is going to Harvard.

She gives me hope for the future .. the hope that your generation is trying its darnedest to take away from everybody else ..

.. except the hyper-wealthy who give you money, which you claim doesnt affect your decisions as the People's representatives.

And here she is hanging out with Oprah at the Apollo.

How about these kids here, Ben? Are there any kids there who you would deem worthy enough to be spared your blanket criticisms?

Maybe you should write a new book, Ben .. a book contrasting and comparing the values and priorities of your party with those of America's youth.

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