There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
In my book, God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for A Divinely Created Universe, I describe eight pieces of evidence “in the room” of the natural universe and ask a simple question: Can this evidence be explained by staying “inside the room” or is a better explanation “outside the room” of naturalism? One important piece of evidence I consider in this effort is the existence of “free will”. Strict atheistic determinists like Sam Harris don’t even make an effort to explain how free will could exist “inside the room” of the natural, physical universe. Instead, they describe free will as completely illusory and challenge the rest of us to explain why we find it necessary to possess (or account for) it in the first place. Harris sees no need for free will to effectively prosecute law breakers: “We need not have any illusions that a causal agent lives within the human mind to recognize that certain people are dangerous.” Criminals still need to be isolated from potential victims, even if their actions are not the result of free will. In the end, according to determinists like Harris, we need not acknowledge nor accept the existence of free will to explain our need for a criminal justice system. In fact, Harris argues our world would be a far better place if we accepted the non-existence of free will: “Once we recognize that even the most terrifying predators are, in a very real sense, unlucky to be who they are, the logic of hating (as opposed to fearing) them begins to unravel.” Harris believes our inclinations toward hatred would be reduced if we came to accept free will as an illusion. But is Harris’ optimism justified, and does this attitude toward free will do anything to explain our own experiences of free agency?
This Explanation Is Not Supported By the Evidence Our experience of (and belief in) free will appears to be an innate and necessary characteristic of human beings, and studies continue to show what happens when we reject this attribute of our being. Our native experience of free will seems to cut across cultural boundaries. In a 1998 International Social Survey Program study, people from thirty-six countries were surveyed. More than 70% agreed their life was in their own hands. More importantly, a number of studies have demonstrated people behave differently if they can be convinced they have no free will. In 2008, researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of British Columbia conducted experiments highlighting the relationship between a belief in Determinism and immoral behavior. They found students who were exposed to deterministic literature prior to taking a test were more likely to cheat on the test than students who were not exposed to literature advocating Determinism. The researchers concluded those who deny free will are more inclined to believe their efforts to act morally are futile and are, therefore, less likely to do so. In addition, a study conducted by researchers from Florida State University and Kentucky University found participants who were exposed to deterministic literature were more likely to act aggressively and less likely to be helpful toward others. Even determinist Michael Gazzaniga concedes: “It seems that not only do we believe we control our actions, but it is good for everyone to believe it.” The existence of free will is a common characteristic of our experience, and when we deny we have this sort of free agency, there are detrimental consequences.
This Explanation Eliminates the Hope of Rehabilitation I work closely with Corrections Officers who operate and supervise correctional facilities (jails and penitentiaries) in our county and state. If free will is an illusion, none of us is truly free to make decisions of our own volition. In a world like this, correctional facilities are unnecessary. If none of us is able to make the decisions necessary to change or correct our behavior, jails and penitentiaries are nothing more than detention facilities. If Determinism is true, we can detain those who might hurt us, but there’s little point in trying to rehabilitate evil-doers by encouraging them to change their behavior. I have seen men and women experience transformation while in prison and emerge with renewed purpose and character. While it may be rare, it does occur. But this kind of true transformation requires people to make different choices, and this assumes people have the ability and freedom to do so.
Atheists who are willing to deny the very existence of “free will” pay a huge price when doing so. If our free agency is simply an illusion, so is any expression of love, empathy or compassion. If free will is illusory, so is any expression of creativity or reasoning. No genuine act of love, empathy, compassion, creativity or reasoning occurs without a free choice. Worse yet, no one could truly be held culpable for any act unless he or she was acting freely. The existence of “free will” is an important piece of evidence in the universe and is impossible to explain if atheistic determinism is true. Denying the true existence of free agency only makes the problem worse. The best explanation for “free will” is simply the existence of a creative Free Agent outside the limits of the physical universe who has created free humans in His image. This short blog post is a limited excerpt from God’s Crime Scene. For more information, please refer to Chapter Six – Free Will or Full Wiring: Are Real Choices Even Possible?
Atheists who are willing to deny the very existence of “free will” pay a huge price when doing so. If our free agency is simply an illusion, so is any expression of love, empathy or compassion. Share on X
…Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ROMANS 6:13
Much that passes for New Testament Christianity is little more than objective truth sweetened with song, and made palatable by religious entertainment. I take the risk of being misunderstood when I say that probably no other portion of the Scriptures can compare with the Pauline Epistles when it comes to making artificial saints. Peter warned that the unlearned and unstable would wrest Paul’s writings to their own destruction, and we have only to visit the average Bible conference and listen to a few lectures to know what he meant! The ominous thing is that the Pauline doctrines may be taught with complete faithfulness to the letter of the text without making the hearers one whit better. The teacher may and often does so teach the truth as to leave the hearers without a sense of moral obligation. One reason for the divorce between truth and life may be lack of the Spirit’s illumination. Another surely is the teacher’s unwillingness to get himself into trouble. Any man with fair pulpit gifts can get on with the average congregation if he just “feeds” them and lets them alone. Give them plenty of objective truth and never hint that they are wrong and should be set right, and they will be content! But the man who preaches truth and applies it to the lives of his hearers will feel the nails and the thorns. He will lead a hard life—but a glorious one!
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2015). Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (p. 31). Moody Publishers.
It forms the most satisfying consideration to the breast of the faithful, that every event and every providence concerning the people of God is as much directed, arranged, and determined, as the purposes of redemption themselves. The covenant is “a covenant ordered in all things, and sure.” He who hath undertaken and completed salvation for them, hath no less secured the means that shall infallibly accomplish the end: and all things, how unpromising soever on the first view, shall work together for good to them that love God. When the Holy Ghost would graciously lead the Church into the proper apprehension of this great truth, the Prophet is directed to the contemplation of a vision by the river Chebar, which opened before him. There were living creatures moving in a straight direction upon wheels, wheel within wheel, attended with a noise and a voice; hereby intimating, as it should seem, that the government of every thing, in the kingdom of providence and grace, was regulated by an unerring standard; and that the prophet’s mind might farther understand the vision, he was led to see, above the whole, the likeness of a throne, and the appearance of the likeness of a man upon it. Nothing could be more gracious, by way of teaching the Church that the government of all things is in the hand of Jesus, and the most minute circumstances of his people subject to his control. Amidst numberless improvements to be made of this doctrine, there is one, my soul, which, in the exercises of thy warfare, thou wilt find perpetual occasion to apply: for what can be more blessed than to contemplate this government of thy Jesus, as continually exercised in his sin preventing providences, whereby the Lord keeps back his people from presumptuous transgressions? How often, how very often, might a child of God discover those sweet restraints of the Lord, when hedging up his way with thorns, that he may not find his paths? How often hath some outward affliction, or inward sorrow, sickness in ourselves, or death in our houses, acted in a way of prevention to this end? There is a great variety of ways, by which indwelling corruptions would manifest themselves, and break forth in their several disorders, but for restraining grace. What a beautiful instance was that of David, in the case of Nabal, and what a gracious sentiment to this amount the Psalmist expressed upon it! When Abigail came, in the seasonable moment to check his anger, David discerned the Divine hand in the appointment, and brake out into a devout acknowledgment: “Blessed be the Lord, and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, that hath kept me this day from shedding blood.”—(1 Sam. 25:32.) And who shall say, amidst the ten thousand occurrences of life, what multitudes of instances to the same purport are going on, to restrain the children of God from the commission of evil. Oh! how blessed it is to see Jesus as well in providence as grace, and, like the Prophet, to keep an eye to that throne, and to see one like the Son of man sitting upon it, regulating and ordering all things for his own glory, and the salvation of his people. Precious Jesus! keep me in the hour, and from the power of temptation. Do thou order my steps by thy word, so shall no iniquity have dominion over me.
Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 36–37). Thomas Wardle.
Running is not everything, there is much in the way which we select: a swift foot over hill and down dale will not keep pace with a slower traveller upon level ground. How is it with my spiritual journey, am I labouring up the hill of my own works and down into the ravines of my own humiliations and resolutions, or do I run by the plain way of “Believe and live”? How blessed is it to wait upon the Lord by faith! The soul runs without weariness, and walks without fainting, in the way of believing. Christ Jesus is the way of life, and he is a plain way, a pleasant way, a way suitable for the tottering feet and feeble knees of trembling sinners: am I found in this way, or am I hunting after another track such as priestcraft or metaphysics may promise me? I read of the way of holiness, that the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein: have I been delivered from proud reason and been brought as a little child to rest in Jesus’ love and blood? If so, by God’s grace I shall outrun the strongest runner who chooses any other path. This truth I may remember to my profit in my daily cares and needs. It will be my wisest course to go at once to my God, and not to wander in a roundabout manner to this friend and that. He knows my wants and can relieve them, to whom should I repair but to himself by the direct appeal of prayer, and the plain argument of the promise. “Straightforward makes the best runner.” I will not parlay with the servants, but hasten to their master.
In reading this passage, it strikes me that if men vie with each other in common matters, and one outruns the other, I ought to be in solemn earnestness so to run that I may obtain. Lord, help me to gird up the loins of my mind, and may I press forward towards the mark for the prize of my high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.
WE will now read the rest of the benedictions pronounced by Jacob upon his sons.
GENESIS 49:16–33
16 ¶ Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. (Dan signifies judge; the patriarch declared that he would verify his name.) 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. 18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Here Jacob made a pause. His utterance of weakness has neither petulance nor complaining in it, but is expressive of hope growing out of long confidence. Soon he hoped to enjoy the fulness of salvation in the presence of the Lord. 19 ¶ Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. (This is often exemplified in the believers life. Many trials press him down, but he rises up again.) 20 ¶ Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 21 ¶ Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. (Vivacity of spirit was linked with readiness of speech, a good combination for a minister of the gospel.) 22 ¶ Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb; 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. (The heart of the venerable patriarch was enlarged concerning Joseph; he evidently felt that he could not pour out a benediction copious enough. And truly, if we turn our thoughts to Jesus, the greater Joseph, no language can ever express our desires for his exaltation. Watts has well put it—
“Blessings more than we can give,
Be, Lord, for ever thine.”
27 ¶ Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night, he shall divide the spoil. This was to be a contentious tribe. Though Benjamin stood high in his father’s natural affection, he did not dare for that reason to invent a blessing for him, but speaks the word of the Lord neither less nor more. To fight from morning to night is a sorry business, unless it be against sin. 28 ¶ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 29, 30 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. 33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. He was not left even after death among the Egyptians, but slept in the family tomb of the pilgrim band, to awake with them at the resurrection. In all things he maintained his character as a sojourner with God, looking for a city yet to be revealed.
Shrinking from the cold hand of death,
I soon must gather up my feet;
Must swift resign this fleeting breath,
And die, my father’s God to meet.
Number’d among thy people, I
Expect with joy thy face to see;
Because thou didst for sinners, die,
Jesus, in death, remember me!
Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 62). Baker Book House.
19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you. Though the verb is in the past tense, it indicates a present act. It is in order to deal with them with greater urgency that he calls heaven and earth to witness the vengeance of God. In these words he does not address men and angels, as some tamely expound it, but in amplification attributes sense to things inanimate. I pass this over briefly, because I have treated it more fully before; as also what soon afterwards follows about life and death. For the Law, as respects its doctrine, contains in it life and death; for the reward of eternal life is not promised in it in vain; but since no one is found worthy of the promised reward, Paul justly teaches that the Law ministers death. Still this is accidental, and proceeds not from any fault in the doctrine, but from the corruption of men. Nevertheless, it is asked how, if the corruption of our nature causes that the Law should engender nothing but death, Moses commands us to “choose life,” which the sinner cannot attain to by it? Thence the Papists uplift their crests, both to extol free-will and to boast of merits; as if Moses did not also testify and proclaim the gratuitous mercy of God, and direct his disciples to Christ in order to seek salvation from Him. When, therefore, he speaks of keeping the Commandments, he does not exclude the two-fold grace of Christ, that believers, being regenerated by the Spirit,3 should aspire to the obedience of righteousness, and at the same time should be reconciled freely to God through the forgiveness of their sins. And assuredly, since the same covenant is common to us and to the ancient people, it is not to be doubted but that they “chose life” who of old embraced the doctrine of Moses. At the same time, in so far as his legation was different from the Gospel, he rather insists on the office peculiarly entrusted to him, so that the distinction between Christ and himself might more clearly appear. This is the reason why he more sparingly touches upon justification by faith, whilst he enlarges fully on loving and serving God and fulfilling His Commandments.1
19. The calling of witnesses was a regular feature of the secular treaty. The gods of the two parties to the treaty were normally invoked as witnesses. In Israel such an appeal to the gods was rejected, but in a symbolic way heaven and earth were called to witness (4:26; Mic. 6:1, 2). In the presence of witnesses the choice before Israel is declared, life or death, blessing or cursing. The final decision was Israel’s to make. It was one for the free choice of the people. The covenant mediator speaking on Yahweh’s behalf could only make the alternatives clear and then appeal to Israel to choose life, that you and your descendants may live.2
30:19heaven and earth as witnesses: All of creation witnessed Moses’ instruction, his challenge to the Israelites to love and obey God, and the people’s response (32:1). choose … that both you and your descendants may live: The present generation’s choice would determine the direction of future generations.3
30:19 choose life. Moses forces the decision, exhorting Israel on the plains of Moab before God (heaven) and man (earth) to choose by believing in and loving God, the life available through the New Covenant (see v. 6). Sadly, Israel failed to respond to this call to the right choice (see 31:16–18, 27–29). Choosing life or death was also emphasized by Jesus. The one who believed in Him had the promise of eternal life; while the one who refused to believe faced eternal death (cf. Jn 3:1–36). Every person faces this same choice.4
Exodus 12:24 — Pharaoh wanted to kill the sons (Exodus 1:22), but he settled to keep the sons (Exodus 10:11). God wanted to teach the sons (Exodus 12:24-27; Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:14).
Exodus 12:29 — The Pharaoh who killed the sons (Exodus 1:22) lost his own son (Proverbs 26:27).
Exodus 12:41 — 430 years … just as God told Abraham (Genesis 15:13)!
Matthew 20:34 — We noted this earlier, but if you are keeping track of the attributes of God this year, mark His compassion!
Matthew 21:1 — The Messiah would enter through the Eastern Gate. The current Eastern Gate/Golden Gate was built in 520 AD, closed in 810 AD, reopened in 1102, walled up in 1187, rebuilt in 1541, and has stayed sealed since then. However, according to Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, the Eastern Gate at the time of Jesus was in a different location (in line with the current Dome of the Rock).
Here’s a picture of the current Eastern Gate I took from the Mount of Olives
Matthew 21:9 — How did the shouts from the crowd sound in Hebrew? Maybe like this song:
Psalm 25:16-19 — In your journal, make note of these verses for the next time you are afflicted. If you’re afflicted now, pray with the psalmist!
Proverbs 6:15 — The wicked shall not always prosper!
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Exodus 13:19 — Joseph’s 400-year-old bones. Remember reading a few days ago about the promise that Joseph forced his family to make (Genesis 50:25-26)?
Exodus 14:12 — Many people would rather live serving the devil than risk death to serve the Lord.
Exodus 14:21 — Where did the Red Sea crossing occur? There are 5 major routes for the Exodus in one study Bible (and that isn’t even an exhaustive map) and many interesting arguments for many different sites and routes.
Exodus 15:1 — Have you praised the Lord when He has delivered you?
Matthew 21:31 — Sadly today, publicans and harlots will go into the kingdom of God before many pastors and deacons. Being religious is not enough. Following Jesus is enough.
Psalm 26:1 — The Psalmist is asking God to defend him because he walked in integrity. If your prayers aren’t being answered, check this Psalm to see if you meet the conditions of integrity. Additionally, Grace To You has collected 15 reasons for unanswered prayer.
Proverbs 6:16-19 — The Seven Deadly Sins – add these to your list of things that God hates. Check through them from time to time to see if you are living a life that God will bless, or one that He will chastise.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. (Isaiah 44:21)
Our Jehovah cannot so forget His servants as to cease to love them. He chose them not for a time but forever. He knew what they would be when He called them into the divine family. He blots out their sins like a cloud; and we may be sure that He will not turn them out of doors for iniquities which He has blotted out. It would be blasphemy to imagine such a thing.
He will not forget them so as to cease to think of them. One forgetful moment on the part of our God would be our ruin. Therefore He says, “Thou shalt not be forgotten of me,” Men forget us; those whom we have benefited turn against us. We have no abiding place in the fickle hearts of men; but God will never forget one of His true servants. He binds Himself to us not by what we do for Him but by what He has done for us. We have been loved too long and bought at too great a price to be now forgotten. Jesus sees in us His soul’s travail, and that He never can forget. The Father sees in us the spouse of His Son, and the Spirit sees in us His own effectual work. The Lord thinketh upon us. This day we shall be succored and sustained. Oh, that the Lord may never be forgotten of us!
In this installment of Stand Up, we explore the archaeological evidence for the Exodus with Creationist Brian Young of the Creation Instruction Association. If you are a student of the Bible and believe it is the Word of God from beginning to end, you might not ever have asked this question over, say, a 7 day creation issue or any other hot topic in the church today. If you ask scholars, or even just generative Ai, you will get the answer that it is a myth and it doesn’t matter because, well, what a great story! But this approach is largely secular – and dangerous. Because history, and especially biblically archaeological history is so exhilarating, we should welcome any evidence that all those people who lived so long ago were part of one of the great events in Israel’s history, and it speaks of a God who tells us exactly what He wants us to know for His good purposes. Given that Israel had grown to represent a fairly large number over the 430 years, evidence of their lives should be available in one form or another. A fascinating topic for discussion and study.
Published January 29, 2025What is the relationship between the creation/cultural mandate in Genesis and God’s intended role for his redeemed people in the new covenant?
In Genesis 1, God creates humanity in his image and gives them a task to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion” (1:28). In Genesis 2, he places them in a garden he designed and gives them the task of stewarding the garden, of cultivating and protecting it (2:15). Combining these two images gives us humanity’s original creation mandate: to cultivate and expand God’s garden-temple to bring God’s creative glory to the ends of the earth.
However, this original mandate becomes disrupted by humanity’s rebellion and fall into sin (Genesis 3). They lose their place in the Garden and lose immediate fellowship and access to God’s counsel. Creation itself is cursed to resist humanity’s dominion. Humanity’s ability to fulfill its purpose, and the creation’s ability to receive it, are both distorted. Only in the new heavens and the new earth, promised in the downpayment of Jesus’ resurrection, will they be fully restored (Romans 8:18-25; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter 3:12-13).
In the meantime, what then is the continuing role and mandate of redeemed humanity while we wait for the new heavens and new earth?
Interestingly, in the Sermon on the Mount, right after describing the foundational heart attitudes that characterize new covenant citizens (Matthew 5:2-12), Jesus gives an important and succinct statement of the church’s purpose and mission: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). These two images actually provide a simple and clarifying, while chastened[1], New Testament cultural mandate: Why are we still here on this earth? What has Jesus left us here to do? All of the Bible’s teaching on the mission of the Christian life can be summarized in these two images: salt and light.
Donald Trump has taken the oath of office as America’s 47th president. Christians are commanded to pray for governing officials, regardless of politics. So, as the country enters a new chapter of its history, here are five ways that Christians can pray biblically for the current administration.
1. Religious Freedom
First and foremost, we should establish the biblical basis for why Christians should pray for government leaders. Paul instructs his disciple Timothy,
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
The context of this command is a letter focused on ordering the church and preserving the gospel, issues still central to Christian practice today. Not only does this increase our confidence in the ongoing relevance of this command, but it also leads us to infer that praying for government officials is appropriate to the context of the local church and consistent with the gospel we proclaim. This is not a distracting side issue.
Apart from a general description — “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” — Paul does not prescribe what or how Christians should pray for rulers, but he does explain why. These prayers are so that “we” — that is, Christians — “may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
In other words, Christians are to pray for governing officials so that the government will leave them alone to live the Christian life. This includes evangelism and discipleship, as the following verses imply (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
The current Trump administration is not “going to fix the problems in terms of what ails America,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Washington Watch. “It is not political. It’s spiritual. And so, it’s incumbent upon the church … to delve in, roll up their sleeves, and work with their neighbours and their communities.”
But he added, “Where the government comes in is making sure that those people can do that in the name of Jesus, and they can live out their faith in a way that is unhindered and unrestrained by the government around them.”
The modern term that describes this situation is religious freedom. Christians should pray for governing officials so that governing officials will uphold and preserve religious freedom.
It is also worth noticing who Christians are instructed to pray for, since some Christians might be tempted to offer prayers for some leaders but not others. Some Christians might try to rationalise their prayerlessness by complaining that California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is a petty tyrant, or that President Trump is a lying narcissist.
Yet Paul urged Timothy to pray for “kings”, which in its original context would have meant the famously immoral Roman emperors who persecuted the early church. And, lest we be tempted to exclude any particular rulers, Paul adds the comprehensive category “and all who are in high positions”.
2. Economic Prosperity
Having established that Christians should pray for rulers, we can identify other biblical ways to pray for them by considering what the Bible calls upon rulers to do. Scripture recognises that a basic concern for every governing authority is the economic prosperity of his dominion.
Of course, governing officials cannot directly create economic prosperity in most circumstances. But they do influence the factors that encourage or hinder the industrious labour of others. In Ecclesiastes 5:8-9, the preacher invites his audience to consider how economic prosperity can hardly coexist with injustice and oppression:
“If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”
What point is the preacher — most likely Solomon — making? First, he acknowledges how common it is to see governing officials exploit those under their authority for their own personal gain; after all, they’re in a desperate struggle with others who are also trying to reach the top. Then he contrasts that self-interested official with one “committed to cultivated fields”, which is akin to economic prosperity in an agrarian economy. The preacher seems to have the following case in mind.
Consider a society with weak property rights, where the powerful regularly steal from the poor with impunity. Or consider a society with crushing taxation (or inflation, which is a subtle variation of the same), where the rulers skim off all the profits of the poor, leaving them with barely enough to live on. Such oppression leaves the industrious poor with no means by which to improve their land and labour, and it gives the rest of the poor no incentive to become industrious.
In extreme circumstances, such as famine, such oppressive policies might even provoke those who can, to flee their poverty-stricken situation in search of a better life in another land (see Ruth 1:1 or the U.S. southern border). The country’s situation becomes even worse as the industrious, intelligent, and wealthy jump ship.
What can forestall this downward spiral of oppression, misery, and flight? A ruler who is more concerned about making sure his people are secure and happy in the fruit of their labour than he is about lining his own pockets: “a king committed to cultivated fields.” While Christians don’t have a direct command to pray for such rulers, the preacher seems to invite such prayers, since such a “gain for a land in every way” is a gift that God can provide to the whole land in general.
3. Impartiality
Christians can also pray that government officials are impartial and unbiased in the way they carry out their official duties. (Put negatively, we might pray that they do not weaponise government for their own partisan agenda or create a two-tier system of justice.)
Impartiality is held out as an ideal for governing officials because it reflects God’s own character (Job 34:19, Romans 2:11). We see this, among other places, in Moses’s farewell speech to the people of Israel:
“So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time,
‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s’.” (Deuteronomy 1:15-17)
Practically, impartiality requires a governing official to faithfully discharge the duties of his or her office without playing favourites. Officials tasked with prosecuting crimes should prioritise their work based on the severity of the offences, not based on the identity of their targets. Officials who swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution must do so even if it prevents them from achieving their policy objectives or scoring political wins.
Even if Christians don’t have a direct role in making these decisions, they can pray that officials who do wield power will do so in a just and impartial manner.
4. Judgment of Evil
A particular application of this impartiality is in the deterrence, prosecution, and sentencing of crimes. Paul describes governing authorities as God-instituted servants who “are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” A ruler ideally acts as “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:3-4). In a world full of sinners, fear of punishment by the state acts as a deterrent to many people who would otherwise commit wickedness.
This is a gift of God for the good of His people, and we should pray that it continues. Recent American history provides too many examples of people escaping the consequences of their actions due to the corrupt nepotism, political expediency, or ideological extremism of government officials. Let us pray that God will sovereignly work to reverse this trend, for our good and the good of our country.
5. Advocacy for the Voiceless
Finally, the Bible counsels governing authorities to use their power for good by defending the helpless and voiceless. Instead of wasting their strength on women and wine (Proverbs 31:3-4), rulers are instructed, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Even in our wealthy, technologically advanced society — and perhaps in part because of it — there are many types of people who remain politically and economically powerless, or severely disadvantaged: the destitute, the fatherless, the homeless, the chronically and mentally ill. At the very least, government officials should “defend the rights” of such people and not deprive them of justice because of their inability to return the favor.
Digging deeper, we can think of even more helpless categories. Some people have been abducted, abused, and trafficked even in America, and government officials should seek to liberate them from their captivity and fear. The most helpless category of all is the unborn — who are literally voiceless. They need strong and persistent advocates against those who would take their lives in the womb — advocates not only in the church but in government too.
Christians can pray that government officials model this sort of wise leadership by thinking carefully and wisely about the best way for society to care for and protect people who are helpless, destitute, and even voiceless. We should pray most fervently for governmental advocates for those who are abused, trafficked, and targeted for death in the womb.
Conclusion
God wants His people to pray so that they would learn to rely on Him in faith, and so that He might be glorified through answering their prayers. The prayers of God’s people waft up to his heavenly throne as the fragrant aroma of incense (Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8).
The best prayers are those offered according to God’s word, when God’s people simply repeat God’s promises back to Him and urge Him to fulfil them (Exodus 32:13, 2 Samuel 7:25, 1 Kings 8:25). So, when we pray according to God’s word, believing with full confidence that God will do what He has said, God is glorified, and “we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:15).
Therefore, as God’s word commands, let us pray for our public officials according to God’s word, with confidence that God will be glorified and in hope that our nation might be blessed with good leadership — both from the current administration and from those that will succeed it.
Sigh of relief: 3 Israeli and 5 Thai hostages formerly held by Hamas, back in Israel after harrowing release three Israelis and five Thais – were released from captivity in the Gaza Strip and successfully transferred to Israeli territory on Thursday. The release of Israeli civilians Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses, as well as the Thai nationals Thaenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakhan, Sriaoun Watchara, Saethao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak was held in Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed house of killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Released Palestinian murder convicts sent to Qatar, Turkey After 70 Palestinian murder convicts were released from Israeli prisons last week, Qatar and Turkey have agreed to receive them into their countries. While Egypt agreed to temporarily receive these freed prisoners, two anonymous officials told the Times of Israel that Qatar and Turkey are expected to permanently host them.
Washington reportedly sending patriot missiles from Israel to Ukraine The Trump administration instructed the U.S. military to transfer some 90 Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine from storage facilities in Israel via Poland, The move will likely please European leaders who have previously expressed concerns that President Donald Trump would dramatically reduce Washington’s military aid to Ukraine. The Pentagon views the Patriot missiles as a top priority in the efforts to defend Ukraine from continued Russian aerial attacks.
Hamas’ ‘terror theater’ is being conducted by Al Jazeera ‘journalist’ in Qatar Over the past few weeks, Hamas has elaborately orchestrated the hostage releases of the ceasefire’s first stage, using them as a show of force and to humiliate the hostages live on TV. Now, i24 News revealed that Hamas hired a Qatar-based Al Jazeera journalist to professionally direct the hostage release ceremonies from afar. Hamas hired Tamer Almisshal, a well-known journalist who is producing the popular investigative program “The Tip of the Iceberg” for the Qatari outlet. the events were carried live by Al Jazeera.
‘I saw it with my own eyes’ – Iranian analyst astonished by cultural shift in Iran since Oct 7, pivoting toward Israel Sadegh Zibakalam, retired professor of political science at Tehran University, has been labeled “the most dangerous man in Iran” by Tablet magazine for his readiness to challenge the Iranian regime. Zibakalam is giving voice to the groundswell of Iranians who refuse the regime’s insistence on hating Israel, defiantly praising Netanyahu instead. Zibakalam shared his observations of the phenomenon which he says has been taking place particularly since Oct. 7, 2023. “If someone would have told me that, … a day would come that Iranian people hate Palestinians and they would praise Netanyahu – of all the people – they would praise Netanyahu as the hero, I would’ve thought that he or she was out of his mind, he or she was talking nonsense, he or she didn’t know anything about Iranian people. But I saw it with my own eyes during the past 15 months.”
Why the “Humanitarians” want Palestinians to stay in Gaza and die rather than leave as refugees This morning, I received the most remarkable email from Refugees International, an NGO … former heads have served in both the Obama and Biden administrations. George Soros is a former board member, and they have received substantial donations from his Open Society Foundations. They have been staunchly anti-Israel since the outbreak of the war, including calling for an arms embargo and a restoration of UNRWA. The organization just released a statement condemning President Trump’s call for Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinian refugees … The statement opens with an inaccuracy and deteriorates from there.
Turkey intensifies covert campaign against Israel and Jews The ruling Islamist party in Turkey, along with its far-right nationalist ally, has launched a covert plan to target perceived Israeli and Jewish interests, which they deem an existential threat to their political survival and grip on power in a nation of 88 million predominantly Sunni Muslims. The … plan, confirmed to Nordic Monitor … entails crafting a hateful narrative to vilify Israel through the predominantly government-controlled Turkish media … .
Steve Witkoff: Almost nothing left in Gaza, reconstruction will take 10-15 years “People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave…there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” Witkoff told Axios after visiting Gaza this week. He added that there is “almost nothing left” in Gaza following the war and that the security arrangements at the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors are working “better” than he expected. “This is why I went to Gaza — to inpect the implementation
IDF to publish major update on war crimes probes in coming weeks, may include WCK case The IDF will publish a major formal update on its war crimes probes relating to the current war in the coming weeks, The Jerusalem Post has learned. It was unclear exactly why the latest update was being issued now, though the January 19 ceasefire with Hamas may avoid the concern of probe decisions impacting officers in the field of an ongoing war, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi’s recent announcement that he will publish probe results into the October 7, 2023 disaster before he resigns on March 6, collectively mark a distinct turning point in the conflict.
‘This Failure Ends Today’: Trump Issues Major Executive Order on Campus Antisemitism US President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a highly anticipated executive order aimed at combating campus antisemitism and holding pro-terror extremists accountable for the harassment of Jewish students, fulfilling a promise he made while campaigning for a second term in office.
Minnesota Republicans sue secretary of state, saying he ‘seized control’ of House Republicans say Secretary of State Steve Simon is “illegally obstructing our ability to compel absent members as specifically stated in the Constitution.” “Because he refuses to allow a motion on the House Floor to hold Democrats accountable, we are taking legal action to make sure it happens. Democrats are obstructing House business, and it needs to stop.”
Netanyahu condemns ‘unimaginable cruelty’ of Hamas after hostages mobbed “I demand that the mediators ensure that such horrific scenes do not recur,” said the Israeli prime minister, after masses of Gaza residents swarmed the returnees. “I view the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages as very serious,” wrote Netanyahu after the release of Arbel Yehud, Gadi Mozes, Agam Berger and five Thai citizens, all of whom were abducted to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
Halevi: IDF will be ‘just as proud’ to return to war in Gaza Strip The U.S. has reportedly provided Israel with a written guarantee that Jerusalem can return to fighting if talks on the second phase of the deal fail. The Israel Defense Forces is working to implement the ceasefire and hostage release deal with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, but will not hesitate to return to battle … .
Israeli Air Force strikes Hezbollah vehicle in Southern Lebanon An Israeli Air Force aircraft hit an “engineering vehicle” in Southern Lebanon on Wednesday after Israeli forces spotted Hezbollah terrorists trying to rebuild infrastructure in the area in violation of the November ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning.
Cease-fire deal and Iran: Marks for Netanyahu and Trump’s meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to leave Israel for the U.S. on Sunday for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss Iran and Gaza’s future. Israel sees the meeting as an opportunity to shape regional policy, as key decisions have yet to be made by Trump’s administration.
Rising Illiteracy: The Church’s ‘Biblical IQ’ Has Never Been Lower In a poll by the Barna Group, half of those who described themselves as Christians didn’t believe that Satan exists, and one-third were confident that Jesus sinned while He was on Earth. It seems to me that in the church today, there’s a rising biblical illiteracy among professed followers of Jesus. Our biblical IQ, if you will, never has been lower. George Barna put it, “Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence.”
VIRAL INFECTIONS SKY-ROCKET ON TALK OF A QUADEMIC A quadruple-whammy of viruses are hitting the US as millions go back to work after the holidays, data shows. Official figures reveal that infections cause by flu, Covid, RSV (a respiratory illness that causes the cold) and norovirus (sometimes called the stomach flu) all started to surge over the Christmas period, when families gathered to celebrate.
Trump Admin Canceling Funding To NGOs Involved In Illegal Immigration, Noem Says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Wednesday that the Trump administration will cancel funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that facilitate illegal immigration. Noem said that the administration “has stopped all grant funding that’s being abused by NGOs that’s being used to facilitate illegal immigration” into the United States. Those NGOs, she said, are “not just operating in the United States, they’re operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws.”
Chicago Mayor’s Office Improperly Blocked Access To Lavish ‘Gift Room’: Inspector General Chicago’s Inspector General dropped a bombshell report revealing that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office improperly blocked public access to a special room within City Hall containing gifts to the city – including designer handbags, cufflinks, and a personalized Mont Blanc pen. But when two undercover investigators from the IG’s office visited the mayor’s office last June, they were denied access to the log, and instead told to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to see it.
“We’ll Be Announcing The Tariffs”: Dollar Spikes After Trump Targets China, Canada And Mexico President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will decide tonight on whether to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico related to their failure to regulate the flow of fentanyl into the United States, and said his administration is in the process of formulating tariffs for China as well.
Earthquake swarm near Santorini volcano prompts emergency meeting, Greece A series of more than 130 earthquakes, reaching up to M3.0, has been detected near the Santorini summit since January 28, 2025, prompting an emergency government meeting by the Permanent Scientific Monitoring Committee to assess potential volcanic risks.
Flash Flood Warnings issued for Dallas as powerful cross-country storm sweeps through the U.S Parts of Texas and the Northern Gulf Coast will experience a bout of severe weather this week as a powerful cross-country storm sweeps through the south-central U.S., beginning on Thursday, January 30, 2025. The storm is expected to dump heavy snow in the southwest and the Rockies. Several areas, such as Dallas and Arlington, are already under Flood Watches and Warnings.
Maui under High Wind Warning and Flood Watch, Hawai’i A High Wind Warning and a Flood Watch have been issued for Maui County as a powerful winter storm brings heavy rainfall, high winds, and flood risks through Friday, January 30, 2025.
M4.5 earthquake near Falls City felt as far as San Antonio, Texas A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as an M4.5 hit near Falls City, Karnes County at 03:36 UTC on Thursday, January 30, 2025 (21:36 local time on Wednesday, January 29). The agency is reporting a depth of 3.7 km (2.3 miles). The quake was felt as far away as San Antonio, 71 km (44 miles) from Falls City.
Toxic waste delays California wildfire cleanup efforts Toxic waste from burned lithium batteries, asbestos, and synthetic materials poses a significant risk in California’s wildfire-affected areas. Cleanup efforts are being delayed as hazardous substances require specialized removal before residents can safely return.
The climate change movement is the “new communism” says Australian parliamentarian Australian parliamentarian John Ruddick says that ending globalist institutions like NATO, the United Nations and the European Union is a massive step towards renewal for Australia, Europe and America. Rudduck also called the man-made climate change movement the “new communism.”
The U.S. And China Are Engaged In A High Stakes Battle For Technological Dominance – And The U.S. Is Starting To Lose At this moment, we are witnessing an epic struggle for dominance between the United States and China. A technological arms race is raging, and the Chinese are beginning to pull ahead. I realize that this may be difficult for many of you to believe, but if you doubt what I am saying just read all the way to the end of this article. A decade ago, the U.S. was clearly leading, but over the past decade there has been a dramatic shift. Needless to say, if the Chinese are able to continue to race ahead of us that is going to have enormous implications for the entire planet.
Britain’s emerging police state In today’s Britain, people can be arrested for a social media post – the new world of thought crimes represents a chilling reality that raises critical questions about free speech, digital policing and the politicization of law enforcement. Charles Malet is a former police detective who resigned over refusing to participate in covid law enforcement. Now, he is the founder of Unbound Today, a campaign to seek truth and restore freedom, and a regular contributor to the UK Column.
BREAKING: Sharia Execution in Sweden-Islam Critic Salwan Momika Shot Dead During Live Broadcast Salwan Momika issued the following written statement to Swedish media group Samnytt regarding the incitement against an ethnic group charges filed against him. “I did not know that Sweden would submit to Islam and Muslims, defending the Quran—a book written by bandits and criminals. This is a dangerous sign that freedom of expression and thought in Sweden is now truly at risk.
RUNWAY 33: A Military Helicopter Has Crashed Into An American Airlines Passenger Jet Over The Potomac River In What Looks Like A Targeted Hit An American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people on board has crashed midair into a military helicopter while attempting to land at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Emergency services in the city are searching the nearby Potomac River after the jet plummeted into the water just before 9pm on Wednesday night. Officials have not said how many people died in the accident but have suggested that there may be no survivors. It is the first major commercial air crash in the US in 16 years.
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Patel hearings: “The erosion of trust is evident: Only 40% of Americans hold a favorable view of the FBI.” So said Kash Patel in a Wall Street Journal op-ed one day ahead of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings. Democrats fear the prospect of Patel, Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, deweaponizing the bureau so that it faithfully adheres to a single tier of justice — rather than spying on presidential campaigns, rigging elections, stifling free speech, and targeting concerned parents, peaceful pro-lifers, and “radical-traditionalist Catholics.” The Democrats tried everything from COVID to J6, but Patel hit back hard: “Any accusations … that I would somehow put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair,” he said. Did they lay a glove on him? Not according to left-leaning Politico’s glum headline: “Kash Patel’s hearing, expected to produce fireworks, was mostly a dud.” Look for him to be confirmed by the Senate next week.
Gabbard hearings: Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, sat before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Thursday. Gabbard faced questions and criticism regarding her past meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. She also was repeatedly pressed to identify CIA leaker Edward Snowden as a “traitor.” Having praised him in the past, she refused to while vowing that she was committed to speaking “truth to power.” Gabbard, who was formerly a Democrat and even ran in the 2016 Democrat presidential primary, recently switched to the Republican Party, becoming a staunch advocate for Trump’s agenda of eliminating the deep state within Washington. She faces a razor-thin margin for confirmation.
Humor: Democrat senators oppose diversity for one day only (Babylon Bee)
Trump’s buyout offer roils the federal workforce: “If people aren’t coming to work, if they’re not going to come into the office and report [by February 6], then they’re going to be terminated,” said Donald Trump in reiterating his directive to work-from-home federal workers. Asked whether he’s worried that his proposed buyout might create a shortage in the federal workforce, he replied, “Then they’ll be replaced with very competent people. We have a lot of very competent people in this country.” This was all too much for NBC News, which reported, “Fear, anger and confusion have swept across federal agencies as workers grapple with a deluge of orders from President Donald Trump that they see as an effort to ‘scare’ them out of their jobs.” Trump intends to fix a broken system, and his generous buyout offer gives federal workers a choice. Aren’t Democrats all about “choice”?
Humor: Federal workers concerned that returning to office will interfere with them not working (Babylon Bee)
Trump issues a school choice EO: There are few initiatives that Democrats hate more than school choice. That’s because they’ve got the teachers unions in their electoral pockets and because they know that the competition that school choice entails is very bad for their white-knuckle grip on American educational power. On Wednesday, Donald Trump continued his shock-and-awe approach by issuing an executive order prioritizing federal funding for school choice programs. In addition, the order gives the Education and Labor Departments 90 days in which to review their discretionary grant programs and submit plans for how to expand school choice. It also directs the Department of Defense to submit a plan to facilitate the use of DOD funds by military families for sending their kids to the schools of their choice. Here again, the Left objects to the people having a choice.
Watchdog claims DOJ broke law removing J6 database: The leftist organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accused the Trump administration of violating the law after the Justice Department erased a government database listing the names of January 6 defendants from the web. “The DOJ’s removal of this database is squarely in line with President Trump’s ongoing efforts to rewrite or erase the insurrection and likely violates federal law,” CREW alleged. Following Donald Trump’s blanket pardon of some 1,500 J6 defendants, the online government database listing their names was removed. The National Archives and Records Administration rejected the charge that removing the database runs afoul of the law, noting, “Databases and other web content may be removed from public access while being preserved in accordance with the law.”
FCC opens probe into NPR, PBS over commercials: New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has opened up an investigation into National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service over concerns that member stations of the taxpayer-funded public media organizations have run commercials in violation of federal law. In a letter to NPR and PBS, Carr wrote, “It is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.” Republicans have long called for the elimination of taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS due to their blatant leftist bias. The organizations’ presidents responded by saying they were confident that the outfits had not violated any laws.
The Democrats’ profound polling woes: Imagine a brand so badly damaged that it has to look up to see lowly Bud Light. Welcome to today’s leaderless and rudderless Democrat Party, which, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, attracts a favorable opinion from just 31% of voters while 57% have an unfavorable opinion. This is the worst number the poll has produced for the Democrats since Quinnipiac began asking the question. Ouch. Adding insult to injury, the poll shows Donald Trump’s approval rating is 10 points higher than when he began his first presidential term. These numbers support another finding from Quinnipiac — that people are more confident in their future now that Trump is in office: 54% say they’re generally optimistic about the next four years, while just 42% are generally pessimistic.
Race hustler Ibram X. Kendi leaves BU: After just 16 months, Ibram X. Kendi has shuttered his infamously unproductive Center for Anti-Racism at Boston University and is moving his race-hustling outfit to the more welcoming venue of Howard University. This will be Kendi’s third school, where he plans to open another “anti-racism” center yet again to ply his racial-grievance grift. It would seem that after burning through $50 million at BU in just three years, resulting in him having to lay off half his staff, he reasoned the gig was up and it was time to move his grift elsewhere. That said, Howard appears to be just the place for Kendi, as it is also home to other fellow race-hucksters like Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
The utterly insidious result of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is that it politicizes virtually every staffing decision and leaves Americans arguing over racial divisions, even when tragedy strikes. Democrats believe this benefits them politically, which is why they’ve focused on race for as long as there’s been a Democrat Party.
“You have to be a slave because of your skin color.” —Democrats, 1828-1865
“You can’t do this job because of your skin color.” —Democrats, 1866-1964
“Employers have to hire you because of your skin color.” —Democrats, 1965-present
That’s a gross oversimplification, perhaps, but it illustrates the racial obsession that has been a fundamental part of Democrat politics for 200 years.
The race hustlers are also horribly inconsistent. On the one hand, they insist that some people must be hired based on skin color. On the other hand, they argue that minorities must be removed from sports logos and food packaging because of their skin color.
With that setup, let’s consider the tragic accident in Washington, DC, Wednesday evening that claimed the lives of 67 people. Three U.S. Army personnel aboard a Blackhawk helicopter collided with American Eagle Flight 5342, bearing 64 passengers and crew, just moments from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Investigators are trying to determine the precise cause of the accident, and authorities are still pulling bodies from the Potomac River, but that hasn’t stopped armchair pilots from expressing dogged certainty about what happened and why.
Frankly, that includes President Donald Trump. “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas,” he said. “And I think we’ll probably state those opinions now because over the years, I’ve watched as things like this happen, and they say, ‘Well, we’re always investigating.’” He went on to blame DEI.
The president would have done better to hold on a minute before doing his typical bull-in-a-china-shop thing. He’s the Great Disrupter. It’s what he does. But sometimes it’s tiresome.
My interest here is the role DEI played not in the accident but in the argument about it.
What do we know about the pilots involved or the Air Traffic Control (ATC) personnel on duty that night? We know the ATC personnel were overtasked — two people were doing the jobs of four. Was that because DEI protocols reduced staffing?
We know that there was nearly a similar crash the night before, as Republic Airways Flight 4514 diverted from its landing descent to avoid another helicopter. We also know that there’s a class-action lawsuit by nearly a thousand Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) trainees who allege they were turned away from ATC positions because they weren’t racially diverse enough.
According to the FAA’s revised authorization under Joe Biden, “The FAA is fully committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity while maintaining the highest safety standards as outlined in the agency’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2021-2025.”
Yes, that includes the requisite promise about “maintaining the highest safety standards,” but race-based hiring restrictions could create staffing and morale issues in ATC. From a broader standpoint, that’s precisely the problem: DEI staffing issues are both real and perceived.
The ideal way to choose employees is to be color-blind and merit-based. While it’s not necessarily wrong to allow personal connections to play a role, the immutable characteristic of race should not. Sex is also unchangeable, though I’d argue it can sometimes factor into appropriate roles. It does not in this case, so I’ll leave it at that.
Trump did get this right, saying, “We have to have our smartest people. It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are.”
He signed an executive order yesterday ordering Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and the FAA administrator to “review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards.”
The danger of DEI has nothing to do with whether people of any skin color can do a particular job. The problem is choosing people based on their color instead of their competence. That priority means DEI lowers standards for minorities, in some cases making them actually less qualified; they don’t need to be to land many positions.
For the countless minorities who do work hard and are highly skilled, they still face unfair perceptions that they didn’t earn their job. Reasonable people have to battle that perception in their own minds. I’m not supposed to think that, but it could be true. The result is, at a minimum, racial suspicion and division.
Next time you wrestle with that, thank the Democrats.
Time and investigators will tell what happened Wednesday in DC. Regardless, American aviation has a remarkable track record of safety. “Since the last crash in 2009 more than 10 billion passengers have flown in the U.S., on more than 150 million flights, that spent more than 225 million hours in the air,” notes Charles C.W. Cooke. “What happened [Wednesday] was a terrible tragedy, but it was an aberration.”
The objective ought to be to keep it that way by making every hire color-blind and merit-based.
Emmy Griffin: Leftmedia Rags’ Project 2025 Freakout — The decades-old “Mandate for Leadership” is yet again being trotted out by the Democrats as a bogeyman.
Douglas Andrews: Iron Dome Is a Big Deal — Donald Trump’s next-generation missile defense initiative is something Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats could never have imagined.
Mark Alexander: Profiles of Valor: SSG George J. Hall — “His determined fighting spirit, and his prodigious combat skill exemplify the heroic tradition of the American infantryman.”
Ron Helle: I Know What You Did! — All too often we are living in our own personal horror movie with an enemy relentless in his condemnation.
John Kennedy Questions Kash Patel — At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, John Kennedy questions Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for FBI director.
Get Me Kash Patel — Despite Patel’s extensive background, his role in the Nunes memo and association with Donald Trump have stirred significant opposition from the Left.
Five-Hole Diplomacy — Trump did in five holes of golf what the Biden administration would not have been able to accomplish in five months of old-school diplomacy.
PopCon #81: Inauguration — On January 20, your Pop Culture Contrarian team traveled to Washington, DC, in hopes of viewing the inauguration of Donald Trump. Almost nothing went to plan.
SHORT CUTS
Non Compos Mentis
“I can’t wait until American women can’t get blueberries for their smoothies. I cannot wait until there is a full crackdown on all small businesses, as if that’s going to be the solution to the immigration problem.” —Democrat strategist Jenna Arnold
Shot/Chaser
“If you’re concerned about trans women playing women’s sports because they’ve been through male puberty, then have I got good news for you about puberty blockers.” —gender-confused “Jeopardy” champion Amy Schneider
“If you’re worried about men beating the [crap] out of your daughters in their sports, we can always castrate them when they’re little boys to purposefully make them weaker!” —detransitioner Chloe Cole
For the Record
“lt’s not up to me to cut Medicaid. It would be up to Congress.” —RFK Jr. responding to an idiotic question from Democrat Senator Ben Ray Lujan about whether he’d cut Medicaid if Donald Trump told him to (Lujan then whined about audience members laughing at him.)
“Who, me?” —RFK Jr. responding to a question from Elizabeth Warren about not accepting money from any drug company for at least four years after leaving office
“I was targeted with racism and threats. I was called a ‘detestable sand n**ger who had no right being in this country… You belong with your terrorist friends.’ But that’s nothing compared to what the men and women in law enforcement face everyday.” —FBI director nominee Kash Patel
Upright
“Due process must be provided without bias to all Americans, and if we cannot provide due process to the worst, then there can be no due process for anyone, and our Constitutional Republic fails.” —Kash Patel
“The only thing that will matter if confirmed is a deweaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement, completely devoted to rigorous obedience to the Constitution and a singular standard of justice.” —Kash Patel
“One of the dumbest phrases in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength.’ Our diversity is not our strength — our unity and our shared purpose is our strength.” —Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Observations
“Trump’s decision to end birthright citizenship via executive order, regardless of its legal fate, sends a clear message: The United States cannot continue incentivizing illegal entry.” —Armstrong Williams
“It’s not only the speed with which Trump is addressing these issues — and polls indicate a majority approve — it’s the feeling that something positive is finally being accomplished in Washington, which for too long has seemed stagnant and unable (or unwilling) to change things that don’t work in favor of what does.” —Cal Thomas
“It remains to be seen just how revolutionary DeepSeek’s development was. China has a bad habit of both stealing intellectual property and lying about its own technological development. Suffice it to say, however, that China has demonstrated once again that America exists in a competitive world.” —Ben Shapiro
Belly Laughs of the Day
“If we had discovered life on Mars, [Biden] would have sent it money.” —Senator John Kennedy
“I wouldn’t put James Comey in charge of a ham sandwich.” —John Kennedy
And Last…
“Why are you crying? It’s not your government; it’s not your country! … This is a wake-up call for you to say, ‘Okay, what are we going to do to help ourselves?’” —former president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta in response to Trump’s freezing of foreign aid
Israel is rejoicing over the release of 8 hostages and looking forward to welcoming 3 more on Saturday. In the icy waters of the Potomac River, divers have recovered most of the dead from the wreckage of an American Airlines jet and Army helicopter that collided Wednesday – killing all 67 people. Confirmation hearings continue for the President’s cabinet Thursday. Former House Democrat — turned Republican Tulsi Gabbard and faced questions. Senators also grilled Kash Patel — President Trump’s pick to lead the F.B.I. The new series “House of David” premieres in just a few weeks and we have an exclusive look at the series’ trailer.
Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel testified before Senate committees on Capitol Hill on Thursday as urgency builds to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations.
In week two of Donald Trump: The Sequel, the New York Post reported that another executive order is coming down the pipe that will call on all federal agencies to find any civil or criminal laws that can be used to crack down on antisemitism.
Trump counselor Alina Habba joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss her take on Democrats’ criticism of the president’s nominees and her reaction to far-left scrutiny of how he has responded to the plane crash in Washington, D.C. #FoxNews
Robert Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 29, 2025 – screengrab Senate Finance Committee
RFK needs your help and public health needs RFK’s help.
Faith in anything related to public health is rightly at an all-time low and despite the incredible mandate that the election provided to MAHA, most Democrats and a handful of RINOs are dead set against the transparency Bobby has promised to provide. This is a man who has vaxxed his kids and promised not to ban anything. He’s not a radical. He’s promoting overall health and very sensible policies. He’s a lawyer and simply want’s people to have the evidence necessary to make good decisions. So why is a call for transparency such a threat? After all, who hides things unless there is something to hide?
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The answer is honestly similar across the board – money or political realities. Big pharma largely owns Congress (both parties) but the political reality of Trump embracing MAHA forces the hands of many. Despite this, there are a number of absolute RINOs and big pharma sellouts (I’m looking at you Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell) but I’m not wasting space on them in this article. Instead, I want to talk about a few people we hope we can help to see truth. According to insiders there are four Senators that are going to be key to his confirmation that we need to persuade to back Bobby and they are:
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – (202) 224-6665
Susan Collins (R-ME) – (202) 224-2523
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) – (202) 224-2921
Bill Cassidy (R-LA) – (202) 224-5824
It is imperative that they hear from us but that we do so politely and with the intent of convincing them that supporting Bobby is right for their constituents (and political future). Please remember that even if Bobby is confirmed he will need to work with these people and it would be counterproductive to be rude or discourteous to their staff (you won’t actually get to talk to them).
As I noted above, you may be asking yourself why is this even an issue? After all Donald Trump and MAGA won with a historic mandate and MAHA was a substantial reason for that victory. Trump picked and supports Bobby and Trump has a majority in the Senate. Plus Bobby is a former Democrat from a long line of Democratic royalty so this seems like it should be a no-brainer right? Wrong.
Why? Well politics would say Bobby’s a shoe-in so let’s look at the money. One of Bobby’s harshest critics during the hearings has been Bernie Sanders… you know the guy that says he’s for the working man. Well it turns out that Bernie was the top recipient of big pharma money in 2020 receiving a whopping $1.5 million just that year. Clearly big pharma is the only man Bernie is working for. Equally clearly, big pharma has deep pockets so how much is that influencing these senators? Well, here’s how much each has made from the healthcare sector (pharma, hospitals, healthcare professionals… all who make money from big pharma):
So let’s look at these numbers. Murkowski is from Alaska and the cost to win an election in Alaska is relatively low compared to many other states. This means a little money can buy a lot of influence. Contrast that to Senator Whitehouse, who has received very little (comparatively) from the big pharma complex. Does that explain why he could be open to supporting health – even as a Democrat? Susan Collins is much easier to understand. Maine is not a huge state and she has taken a solid amount of money from pharma-land.
The most egregious pharma money-taker on this list appears to be Senator Cassidy but Cassidy was elected to be an actual Republican (not a RINO). This means that Cassidy is between a rock and a hard place. On one side he has millions of dollars of cash and on the other he has his political future which will be very closely tied to President Trump’s support or lack thereof. Here’s what he said in the hearing:
Senator Bill Cassidy: “I recognize, man, if you come out unequivocally, vaccines are safe, it does not cause autism, that would have an incredible impact.”
“That’s your power. So what’s it gonna be? Will it be using the credibility to support? Lots of articles. Or will it be using credibility to undermine?”
“And I gotta figure that out for my vote. You have the power to help rebuild, to help public health institutions re earn the trust of the American people. Now let’s be political. I’m a Republican. I represent the amazing state of Louisiana.”
“And as a patriotic American, I want president Trump’s policies to succeed in making America and Americans more secure, more prosperous, healthier. But if there’s someone that that is not vaccinated because of policies or attitudes you bring to the department, and there’s another 18 year old who dies of a vaccine preventable disease, helicoptered away, god forbid dies, it’ll be blown up in the press.”
“The greatest tragedy will be her death, but I can also tell you an associated tragedy, well, that will cost us that will cast a shadow over president Trump’s legacy, which I want to be the absolute best legacy it can be. So that’s my dilemma, man. And you may be hearing me hearing from me over the weekend.”
“You may be hearing from me over the weekend. I, once again, thank you for your time, and I yield to my ranking member.”
So my question for these Senators is this: RFK has openly stated that he is NOT banning any vaccines and that he simply wants transparency in the science. If vaccines are safe and effective why would you oppose that? Transparency will only help to rebuild trust in public health – something that is sorely needed. If you oppose that transparency, why? No one opposes transparency unless they have something to hide.
I’m hoping Senator Cassidy does the right thing along with the rest of these folks. For a long time I’ve fought for transparency while being called a conspiracy theorist for doing so. My response is simple – make the real data and science public, prove I’m crazy, and I’ll go away… no one has taken me up on that offer yet.
Please consider supporting us at http://www.GiveSendGo.com/Renzlaw. Your support keeps us fighting and also please keep yourself healthy and safe with the best supplements on the market by shopping at Global Healing (link here). We used Global Healing supplements in my wife’s fight against stage 4 cancer and won – they are the best of the best.
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