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
Thomas Watson – (ca. 1620-1686), English non-conformist Puritan preacher and author
Watson was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was noted for remarkably intense study. In 1646 he commenced a sixteen year pastorate at St. Stephen’s, Walbrook. He showed strong Presbyterian views during the civil war, with, however, an attachment to the king, and in 1651 he was imprisoned briefly with some other ministers for his share in Christopher Love’s plot to recall Charles II of England. He was released on June 30, 1652, and was formally reinstated as vicar of St. Stephen’s Walbrook.
Watson obtained great fame and popularity as a preacher until the Restoration, when he was ejected for nonconformity. Notwithstanding the rigor of the acts against dissenters, Watson continued to exercise his ministry privately as he found opportunity. Upon the Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 he obtained a license to preach at the great hall in Crosby House. After preaching there for several years, his health gave way, and he retired to Barnston, Essex, where he died suddenly while praying in secret. He was buried on 28 July 1686.
No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness…. HEBREWS 12:1 1
If God has singled you out to be a special object of His grace you may expect Him to honor you with stricter discipline and greater suffering than less favored ones are called upon to endure. If God sets out to make you an unusual Christian He is not likely to be as gentle as He is usually pictured by the popular teachers. A sculptor does not use a manicure set to reduce the rude, unshapely marble to a thing of beauty. The saw, the hammer and the chisel are cruel tools, but without them the rough stone must remain forever formless and unbeautiful. To do His supreme work of grace within you He will take from your heart everything you love most. Every thing you trust in will go from you. Piles of ashes will lie where your most precious treasures used to be. Thus you will learn what faith is; you will find out the hard way, but the only way open to you, that true faith lies in the will, that the joy unspeakable of which the apostle speaks is not itself faith but a slow-ripening fruit of faith. You will learn, too, that present spiritual joys may come and go as they will without altering your spiritual status or in any way affecting your position as a true child of the heavenly Father. Then you will also learn, probably to your astonishment, that it is possible to live in all good conscience before God and men and still feel nothing of the “peace and joy” you hear talked about so much by immature Christians!
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2015). Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (p. 54). Moody Publishers.
What effect must the first news of Joseph’s being alive, and his exaltation at the right hand of Pharaoh, have had upon the mind of the patriarch Jacob! And what a flood of overwhelming joy must have broke in upon the poor old man, when convinced of the certainty of the account! But what are all these feelings of nature, compared to the triumphs of grace when the poor sinner is first made acquainted with the wonders of redemption, wrought out and accomplished by one that is his brother, even our spiritual Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ! Yes! thou risen and exalted Saviour! by faith I behold thee on the right hand of the Majesty on high; and all power thine in heaven and on earth. I hear thee giving commandments to thy servants, to take the ordinances, and the several means of grace, in thy sacred word, and like the conveyances of the wagons of Egypt, to bring all thy kindred, thy redeemed ones, to thee. Yea, Lord! I would do as thou hast said, regard not the stuff, for gladly would I leave it all behind; for it hath already too long and too powerfully occupied my poor heart, and robbed my soul of thee. I would hasten to thy presence; for sure I am, the good of all the land of heaven itself is thy brethren’s, and what is infinitely more than even heaven, thou, even thou, thyself, blessed Jesus, art thy people’s. But, Lord! how shall I look thee in the face? How shall I dare to draw nigh, conscious of my having, like the sons of Jacob, sold thee, parted with thee, denied thee, left thee, and as the Jews of old, preferred every Barabbas, every robber before thee? And wilt thou, dearest Lord, still own me, still love me, and still speak kindly to me? Oh! what praises will the realms of heaven resound with, when Jesus shall have brought home all his brethren into his Father’s house, around himself, in glory! How will then every knee (and my poor soul among the glorious number) bow before thee, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen and Amen!
Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 56–57). Thomas Wardle.
A holy character does not avert temptation—Jesus was tempted. When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ’s case, it was like striking sparks on water; yet the enemy continued his evil work. Now, if the devil goes on striking when there is no result, how much more will he do it when he knows what inflammable stuff our hearts are made of. Though you become greatly sanctified by the Holy Ghost, expect that the great dog of hell will bark at you still. In the haunts of men we expect to be tempted, but even seclusion will not guard us from the same trial. Jesus Christ was led away from human society into the wilderness, and was tempted of the devil. Solitude has its charms and its benefits, and may be useful in checking the lust of the eye and the pride of life; but the devil will follow us into the most lovely retreats. Do not suppose that it is only the worldly-minded who have dreadful thoughts and blasphemous temptations, for even spiritual-minded persons endure the same; and in the holiest position we may suffer the darkest temptation. The utmost consecration of spirit will not insure you against Satanic temptation. Christ was consecrated through and through. It was his meat and drink to do the will of him that sent him: and yet he was tempted! Your hearts may glow with a seraphic flame of love to Jesus, and yet the devil will try to bring you down to Laodicean lukewarmness. If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.
Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.
IN our present reading we shall see how the Lord reopened his communications with Israel, though their sin had abruptly broken up all the treaty engagements almost before they were ratified.
EXODUS 34:1–5; 28–35
1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. Here let us learn that although man has broken the law of God, yet the Lord in infinite mercy to his people visits them again, causes their hearts to be hewn and prepared by his prophets and ministers, and then writes the law upon those fleshy tablets. The law in the heart is better than the law on stone. 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. Moses must go up a second time and sojourn with the Lord, and the people must thus be tried to see if they can wait upon God in their leader’s absence. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. (Distance was always the rule of the law. Moses went up to God alone, but Jesus takes all his people with him.) 4 ¶ And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. (Note, that Moses, like other good men, was up betimes in the morning. Matthew Henry says, “the morning is as good a friend to the graces as it is to the muses.” God loves punctual servants.) 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. (He declared the nature and the attributes of Jehovah.) 28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. (In being miraculously supported for forty days without food, Moses, as the law, is followed by Elijah, the chief of the prophets, and our Lord Jesus, in whom the gospel is revealed.) 29 ¶ And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. After such long communion Moses came down enriched with the best treasure, and adorned with the best beauty. What he had seen was unconsciously reflected from him, as it always is from those who have had fellowship with God. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. Everybody could see the brightness of Moses’ face except himself; and the same may be said of the man who communes with God. 31, 32 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. (In this he was unlike most men, for they are usually far too ready to show their brightness to everybody, coveting admiration. Modesty dwells with true excellence.) 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. (Before God we must be all unveiled. All things are open before him.) And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. (God’s ministers may learn here their only theme.) 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Lord, from thy burning throne on high,
Thy law comes forth in majesty;
Its glory shines with beams so bright,
No mortal can sustain the sight.
But through thy Son, th’ incarnate God,
Thy milder radiance shines abroad;
His flesh becomes the Godhead’s veil,
And beams of grace and love prevail.
Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 102). Baker Book House.
Leviticus 11:4 — Welcome to the dietary law! Some people differentiate the Mosaic law into three types:
Moral Laws (universal to all people, e.g. Ten Commandments)
Civil Laws (explanations of the moral laws – “what if someone accidentally …”
Ceremonial Laws (laws relating to the Temple, specific to Israel)
CARM.org divides the 613 laws into 34 categories under these three categories; however, the lines do appear arbitrary at times.
A better system for analyzing the law is “dispensationalism” – the idea that God deals with different people in different ways at different times. It also means that God is not fair (“why can’t Joshua eat bacon if Noah could and Peter could?”), but He is just and has a plan! God replaced the 613 commands of the Mosaic Law with over 800 commands for the New Testament believer!
Speaking of bacon – here’s the overview of when people could and could not eat bacon:
Leviticus 11:44 — Even though the Mosaic Law doesn’t apply to our dispensation, the principle of the Ceremonial Law (showing the distinction between clean and unclean) is a picture of the distinction between holy and unholy. While God has removed the division between clean and unclean animals, He has not removed the distinction between holiness and unholiness. We are still required to be holy, because He is holy (Leviticus 20:7, 1 Peter 1:15-16).
Psalm 38:3 — Do you have no rest in your bones because of sin? A) Be grateful that your Father is rebuking you (Hebrews 12:6), and B) Repent from your sins (1 John 1:9).
Proverbs 10:8 — Continuing contrasts between wisdom and foolishness.
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The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7)
Anxiety about our family is natural, but we shall be wise if we turn it into care about our own character. If we walk before the Lord in integrity, we shall do more to bless our descendants than if we bequeathed them large estates. A father’s holy life is a rich legacy for his sons.
The upright man leaves his heirs his example, and this in itself will be a mine of true wealth, How many men may trace their success in life to the example of their parents!
He leaves them also his repute. Men think better of us as the sons of a man who could be trusted, the successors of a tradesman of excellent repute, Oh, that all young men were anxious to keep up the family name!
Above all, he leaves his children his prayers and the blessing of a prayer-hearing God, and these make our offspring to be favored among the sons of men. God will save them even after we are dead. Oh, that they might be saved at once!
Our integrity may be God’s means of saving our sons and daughters. If they see the truth of our religion proved by our lives, it may be that they will believe in Jesus for themselves. Lord, fulfill this word to my household!
Over the years, I have had my share of discussions about what we can know about Jesus. I think a good starting place about historical discussions about Jesus is seen in the book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by New Testament historian Mike Licona.[1] In the book Licona discusses what is called “The Historical Bedrock.” These three facts about the Historical Jesus are held by most critical scholars and historians:
1. Jesus’ death by crucifixion
2. Very Shortly after Jesus’ death, the disciples had experiences that led them to believe and proclaim that Jesus had been resurrected and had appeared to them.
3. Within a few years after Jesus death, Paul became a follower of Jesus after a personal experience that he interpreted as a post resurrection appearance of Jesus to him.[2]
In this post, I want to focus on #3. After all, Paul wrote a large majority of the New Testament. Also, his letters are the earliest records we have for Jesus.
Well known New Testament scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman writes the following regarding Paul’s experience:
It is a historical fact that some of Jesus’ followers came to believe that he had been raised from the dead soon after his execution. We know some of these believers by name; one of them, the apostle Paul, claims quite plainly to have seen Jesus alive after his death. Thus, for the historian, Christianity begins after the death of Jesus, not with the resurrection itself, but with the belief in the resurrection” [3]
Even New Testament scholar Dale Allison even says that Paul converted from a persecutor of the church to one of its greatest promoters because of an experience he perceived was of the risen Jesus appearing to him. [4]Note: see more below on the issue of whether Paul “converted.”
Some Background on Paul
The undisputed letters of Paul that can be used to give us an understanding about who he was and what his mission was are in Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. The rest of the letters yield very little about the life of Paul. From Paul’s Letters, we can gather that:
1. The man’s name was Paul: A Greek name.
2. He had a Jewish name, Saul. Remember, having two names was not uncommon for Jews who lived outside Palestine in the first century.
3. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city in Southwestern Asia Minor.
4. He came from a family of Pharisees of the tribe of Benjamin and was named for the tribe’s most illustrious member, King Saul.
5. Paul studied under the famous teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22: 3), the grandson of Hillel. Hillel is known as the Academy of Hillel, founded by a Jewish sage called Hillel the Elder. The House of Hillel was a school of Jewish law and thought that was very well known in the 1st century B.C.E. Jerusalem.
6. Since Paul’s letters show familiarity with rabbinic methods for interpretation of Scripture and popular Hellenistic philosophy to a degree, this makes it likely that he received a formal education in both areas. Hence, Paul’s exegesis of the Old Testament shows evidence of his rabbinic training.
7. Paul was probably, as an adult, a resident of Damascus. [5]
Paul was an active persecutor of the early Messianic Community:
The language Paul uses in his pre-revelatory encounter with the risen Lord shows how much how antagonistic he was towards the messianic movement. In Gal. 1:13-15, Paul uses terms such as “persecute” and “destroy” to describe his efforts to put an end to the spread of the early faith.
Even though Paul does not give a list of the reasons why he was an ardent persecutor of the early Messianic Movement, this reasons for being a persecutor was probably due to several reasons:
First, Paul may have perceived it to be a threat to Torah obedience. We need to keep in mind that in within the historical background of the first century, if a Jewish person was to deny the Torah as part of their practice, they would be denying the fact that they were Jewish! [6]
Second, given how he speaks about this topic in his letters (Gal 3:13;1), Paul was most likely aware of Deuteronomy 21:22-23: “If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree, his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” The context of this verse is describing the public display of the corpse of an executed criminal. To say that crucifixion was portrayed in a negative light within Judaism in the first century is an understatement. “Anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse”-the very method of death brought a divine curse upon the crucified. In other words, anyone who was crucified was assumed not to be the Anointed One of God. So Paul most likely found the idea of group of Jewish people following a crucified Messiah to be abhorrent.
Third, given what we see in Acts 8 (following the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7) we see that Paul most likely found the Jesus movement as a threat to the Temple. It says in Acts 8: 1-3,
“Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.”
What Can We Know About Paul’s Revelation of Jesus? A Resurrected Jesus, Or A Subjective Vision?
Jesus was crucified about 33 A.D. According to many scholars, Paul became a follower of Jesus around 35 A.D. Remember, Paul’s letters are dated between AD 40 and 60.
Also, Paul did not follow Jesus from the beginning. However, Paul is still considered an apostle, though “abnormally born” and “the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:8-9). ). His first years as a follower of Jesus in Arabia remain a mystery. In many places, Paul discusses his Jewish identity. He says “ I am a Jew” (Acts 22;3) “I am a Pharisee” (Acts 23;6), and “I am a prisoner for the sake of the hope of Israel” (Acts 28:20). Notice that Paul didn’t say “I was a Pharisee” or that “I was a Jew.” So perhaps it is inaccurate to say that Paul switched religions. Hence, it would be more reasonable to say that while Paul did have a radical reorientation about his theology, but he more likely received a “call” rather than a conversion to a new religion. If anything, Paul did ‘repent.’ The Hebrew word for repent is “shub” which means to “turn back” or “return.” So Paul was most certainly restored to the God of Israel through the Messiah. But the old saying, “Paul converted to Christianity” (like Ehrman says) has not gone unchallenged within New Testament scholarship.
The Messiah Appeared to Paul
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” -1 Cor. 15: 3-8
Let’s go back to Ehrman’s comment:
It is a historical fact that some of Jesus’ followers came to believe that he had been raised from the dead soon after his execution. We know some of these believers by name; one of them, the apostle Paul, claims quite plainly to have seen Jesus alive after his death. Thus, for the historian, Christianity begins after the death of Jesus, not with the resurrection itself, but with the belief in the resurrection.
Last year, Bart Ehrman released another book on Christology. In the book he devotes two chapters to the resurrection. As usual, his hypothesis is that the disciples had visionary experiences. In it he says:
It is undisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and that something had to have happened to make them think so. Our earliest records are consistent on this point, and I think they provide us with the historically reliable information in one key aspect: the disciples’ belief in the resurrection was based on visionary experiences. I should stress it was visions, and nothing else, that led to the first disciples to believe in the resurrection. -Bart D. Ehrman, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (New York: Harper One, 2014), 183-184.
The good news is that Ehrman goes onto to define what he means by “visions” of Jesus. He describes visions as something that are either “veridical” or “nonveridical.” Veridical visions means people tend to see things that are really there while nonveridical visions the opposite-what a person sees is not based any kind of external reality. It is the latter that leads to what is called the hallucination hypothesis. In other words, skeptics assert that nonveridical visions can be attributed to some sort of psychological explanation. Ehrman then punts to his agnosticism again and says he doesn’t care if the appearances can be attributed to either “veridical” or “nonveridical” visionary experiences or anything else.
So let’s look at the appearance of Jesus to Paul:
Gerd Lüdemann says:
“At the heart of the Christian religion lies a vision described in Greek by Paul as ōphthē—“he was seen.” And Paul himself, who claims to have witnessed an appearance asserted repeatedly “I have seen the Lord.” So Paul is the main source of the thesis that a vision is the origin of the belief in resurrection….When we talk about visions, we must include something that we experience every night when we dream. That’s our subconscious was of dealing with reality.” (7)
The problem with Lüdemann’s comment is that he doesn’t expand enough on how ōphthē is used. Hence, ōphthē isn’t restricted to describing something that is only visionary, spiritual, or physical.
Furthermore, given Paul had discussed his personal visions in 2 Cor. 12:1 and other places, he knew the difference between an internal vision and an external appearance.
1 Corinthians 9
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 9: 1-2
Here we see that Paul is using “seen” (ὁράω) “horáō” which in the passive form of (ōphthē) entails ” to see with the eyes,” “to see with the mind, to perceive, know,” “to see” (i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience), “to see, to look to” or “I was seen, showed myself, appeared.”
Acts 26
“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”- Acts 26: 12-20.
Sometimes, people point out Acts 26: 19, where Paul says: “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (ὀπτασία) “optasía” but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. ”
However, a look at the entire context of this chapter shows that the vision here could refer to the time when Ananias received the information about Paul’s commission to minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9: 10-19). Paul did not receive his specific missionary mandate from his Damascus road experience (Acts 9: 1-9). Rather, he was told “to go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (v. 5) where the “vision” (v. 10) came to Ananias that Paul was given his missionary mandate “to carry my [Christ’s] name before the Gentiles” (9: 15). Therefore, when Paul said “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26: 19), it is possible it was to the commission he was given through Ananias’s vision that Paul is referring to.
Acts 9: Paul’s Damascus Road Experience
Here we see whatever happened, this was after the ascension. Hence, to say Paul saw the exact same Jesus before he ascended is hard to infer from the text. There simply isn’t enough information here. The Bible says, “they heard” the same voice Paul did ” (Acts 9: 7). But they “did not see anyone ” (Acts 9: 7). Notice Paul was physically blinded by the brightness of the light. One way or the other, the experience involved something that was external to Paul. It wasn’t something that was the same thing as a vision that Paul talks about in 2 Cor. 12:1. Furthermore, the phrase “he let himself be seen’” (ōphthē , aorist passive, ), is the word Paul uses in 1 Cor. 15:7 to describe of his own resurrection appearance as the other ones in the creed. As Paul Barnett says:
“It is sometimes claimed that the word appeared (ōphthē) means a mystical seeing, as of a vision, and that since this was what Paul “saw” it was what the other apostles “saw.” In other words, after death, Jesus was taken directly to heaven whence he “appeared” to various people, mystically, as it were. This however, is not all the meaning of Paul’s words. First, the word ōphthē, “appeared” is not limited to visionary seeing it is also used for physical seeing. Moreover, the verb raise used in the phrase ‘raised on the third day” is used elsewhere in combination with the words “from the dead” which literally means “from among the corpses.” Thus raised preceding appeared gives the latter a physical not a mystical meaning. Christ, as “raised from the dead” ….appeared.” Furthermore, when Paul asks “ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”(1 Cor. 9: 1), he is using the ordinary word horan, “to see” for physical sight. If “seeing” the Lord “raised from the dead” qualified others to be apostles, then Paul is, indeed, an apostle. It was no mere subjective vision that arrested Paul en route to Damascus. (8) .
When we come to Galatians 1:11-12, Paul defends his ministry by discussing the manner of how he received the Gospel:
“ For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12).
Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15: 3-5:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
So what is the truth? Paul says in Galatians that he received it by divine revelation. But what about the creed in 1 Corinthians 15? How do we respond to this? First, while we always need to look at the context of where the word “received” is used, in both 1 Cor. 15:3 and Galatians 1:12, the word “received” (“παραλαμβάνω”) means to receive something transmitted from someone else, which could be by an oral transmission or from others from whom the tradition proceeds. In other words, according to Paul, he did not create the Gospel story. It was something he received from another source.
So in this case, what is helpful here is to differentiate between essence and form. The essence of the gospel, that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Son of God, was revealed to Paul (he received it) on the life changing moment on the Damascus road. Paul realized that the Christians that he had been persecuting had been right all along about Jesus being the Messiah.
As far as the form the gospel, this includes the historical undergirding of certain events, certain phraseology used to express the new truth and doubtless many other things that were passed onto Paul by those other than him (see Carson, Moo, Morris, An Introduction To The New Testament Survey, pg 220).
Remember, Paul also employs oral tradition terminology such as “delivering,” “receiving,” “passing on” “learning,” “guarding,” the traditional teaching within his letters in the following places:
Romans 16: 17: “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”
1 Corinthians 11:23: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.
Philippians 4:9: The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
1 Thessalonians 2:13: For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.
2 Thessalonians 2:15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditionswhich you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
Paul’s usage of the rabbinic terminology “passed on” and “received” is seen in the creed of 1 Cor. 15:3-5. This entails that Paul received this information from someone else at an even earlier date. The majority of scholars who comment think that Paul probably received this information about three years after his conversion, which probably occurred from one to four years after the crucifixion. At that time, Paul visited Jerusalem to speak with Peter and James, each of whom are included in the list of Jesus’ appearances (1 Cor. 15:5, 7; Gal. 1:18–19).This places it at roughly A.D. 32–38. Even the co-founder Jesus Seminar member John Dominic Crossan, writes:
“Paul wrote to the Corinthians from Ephesus in the early 50s C.E. But he says in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that “I handed on to you as of first importance which I in turn received.” The most likely source and time for his reception of that tradition would have been Jerusalem in the early 30s when, according to Galatians 1:18, he “went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter] and stayed with him fifteen days” (9)
In the end, it is clear that Paul had a dramatic change that turned him from a persecutor of the early followers of Jesus to the greatest missionary of the early faith. Someone may object and say it is not a big deal for someone to make such a radical change in their beliefs in antiquity. After all, people change beliefs all the time (i.e. people leave Islam for the Christian faith or vice versa). In response, I suggest doing a thorough study of the honor and shame culture that Paul was acquainted with. You will see it was much more of a challenge to change one’s beliefs in antiquity than it is today. I submit that the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation for the change in Paul’s life.
Sources
1. Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographal Approach (Downers Grove, ILL: Intervarsity Press, 2010).
2. Ibid, 302-303.
3. Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Third Edition (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 276.
4. Dale Allison, Resurrecting Jesus: The Earliest Christian Tradition and Its Interpreters (New York: T&T Clark, 2005), 263-268.
5. Most of points 1-8 are laid out in Marion Soard’s The Apostle Paul: An Introduction to his Writings and Teaching (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1987), 10-11.
6. See Martin Hengel’s The Pre-Christian Paul (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991).
7. Gerd Lüdemann, The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology. Translated by John Bowden. London: SCM, 1994 (1994), 97, 100.
8. Paul Barnett, Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, Intervarsity. 1999), 183-184.
9. J.D. Crossan & Jonathan L. Reed. Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, 2001) 254.
In this teaching session, Justin Peters provides a brief yet insightful history of the Charismatic Movement, examining its origins and theological foundation. Is this widespread movement firmly rooted in Scripture, or does it rest on unstable theological ground? Watch as Justin Peters evaluates its claims in light of biblical truth.
What—or who—is the foundation of the church? The Bible’s answer might surprise you. Today, R.C. Sproul shows how this question shapes our understanding of redemptive history.
The fear of dying, as well as the fear of death, is a reality many people face. It is the fear of the unknown that leads many to ask questions like, ” What happens when you die? ” and ” How can I overcome the fear of death? ” Being scared of dying and afraid of death can be addressed by understanding what happens when you die through the truths found in the Bible. In this video we answer your question: How can I overcome the fear of death?
Major world city melts under staggering heatwave that smashes all records Residents flocked to the ocean to beat the heat as Rio de Janeiro recorded its hottest day in at least a decade on Monday. Temperatures soared to 111 F (44 degrees Celsius) which is the highest temperature since the southeastern Brazilian city started a climate alert system just over 10 years ago.
Islam’s Trojan Horse: Terror-Tied CAIR Launches New Muslim Super PAC to Control U.S. Elections CAIR, under the guise of civil rights advocacy, has strategically built a political machine using tax-exempt status, lobbying arms, and its newly established Unity and Justice Fund Super PAC to infiltrate and influence U.S. elections while shielding its financial operations from scrutiny.
Where Did All Of That Money Go? Apparently our government cannot explain how 4.7 trillion dollars was spent. Are you kidding me? A stack of 4.7 trillion one dollar bills would reach all the way to the Moon and part of the way back. This is yet another example of why we desperately need the Department of Government Efficiency.
Bird flu: They are re-running the covid script The bird flu is a re-run of covid. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is basic pattern recognition. The pandemic planners have a playbook; they used it for covid and now they are using it for bird flu; with one difference. With covid, they targeted us directly. With bird flu, they are targeting us indirectly through our food supply.
“We are firmly convinced, and we act on that conviction, that with nations as with individuals our interests soundly calculated will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties, and history bears witness to the fact that a just nation is trusted on its word when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others.” —Thomas Jefferson (1805)
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Trump signs EO ending benefits to illegal aliens: With the flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border screeching to a halt, Donald Trump is now turning his focus to disincentivizing the millions of illegals who are already here — those who streamed across the border during the Biden years. Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order ending all taxpayer-funded benefits that may be going to illegals. According to the EO, all federal departments and agencies must identify all programs “currently providing financial benefits to illegal aliens and take corrective action,” including those which might support local “sanctuary” policies. It should never have come to this, of course. The American taxpayer would much rather see their hard-earned money going toward better roads, better schools, and a stronger military rather than incentivizing illegal border crossings.
Trump’s birthright citizenship EO hits another wall: It didn’t take long for the Democrats to file multiple lawsuits against Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutionally dubious notion of birthright citizenship, and a decision yesterday by a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals only increased the likelihood that the issue will make its way to the Supreme Court. The panel denied the DOJ’s emergency request to reinstate Trump’s repeal of birthright citizenship after a Seattle-based judge had originally blocked it. The panel said the government hadn’t put forth a “strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of this appeal.” We’ll see about that. As we noted recently, the constitutional law professor who literally wrote the book on the original meaning of the 14th Amendment makes clear that the law isn’t as settled as the open-borders Left would have us believe.
IRS job cuts are coming: A portion of those 87,000 new IRS staffers that Joe Biden funded will likely have to find other employment, as roughly 6,000 IRS staff are being laid off by the Trump administration as part of its effort to shrink the federal workforce. According to The New York Times, the pink slips will go to relatively recent hires, which is largely in keeping with the sorts of cuts the Trump administration has been making. Apparently, IRS managers have asked their people to report to the office along with their government-issued gear and wait for further instruction. Still, we needn’t shed any tears for the 100,000-employee agency, which is notorious for having targeted conservatives. A cut of 6,000 still leaves the IRS with plenty of teeth.
Inflation grabs Trump’s attention: In his recent interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Donald Trump acknowledged that “inflation is back.” He attributed it to massive government spending under the Biden administration. With headline inflation ticking up in January, combined with the Avian flu sending egg prices through the roof, Trump recognizes that he must get inflation moving down soon or risk losing support. Meanwhile, the head of DOGE, Elon Musk, recently floated the idea of giving Americans a “dividend” of up to $5,000 per household from the savings DOGE garners from cutting government waste. However, if massive government spending spiked inflation in the first place, would this not produce the same result?
Trump pauses EV charging station program: The Biden administration’s $7.5 billion program to construct a national grid of electric vehicle charging stations has been put on hold by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in response to Donald Trump’s executive order pausing its funding. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which the Biden administration touted as a way to get more Americans to buy EVs by delivering 500,000 charging stations across the U.S. by 2030. Yet three years in and $3.3 billion later, the program has completed just 201 charging stations. The “major flaw,” according to analytics analyst Loren McDonald, is that NEVI “is based on the states stepping up to the plate and executing it, and that was very inconsistent.” The FHWA is now working on updating the NEVI guidelines.
Trump HHS says sex is “immutable”: When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed last week as health secretary, one of the things he promised was to make decisions based on “gold-standard research.” We don’t know of any “gold-standard” studies that have been done to establish that there are more sexual classifications out there beyond male and female, and this might have something to do with the HHS decree yesterday that it would heretofore define sex as an “immutable biological classification” and thereby recognize only males and females. Hallelujah. Predictably, The Washington Post calls this announcement an escalation of the Trump administration’s “campaign against transgender protections.” What it really is, though, is part of a campaign in favor of common sense and scientific sanity.
NYC congestion pricing axed: On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority that his department had rescinded approval of Manhattan’s dubious congestion pricing system. The program charged most drivers a $9 toll to enter the city during peak hours. Duffy pointed to the lack of any toll-free option for accessing Lower Manhattan as part of the rationale for the decision. He also surmised that the program appeared focused on generating revenue for NYC’s public transportation system rather than limiting congestion, calling it a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.” While NY Governor Kathy Hochul objected, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy praised the decision.
LA Mayor Bass passes the buck: When parts of Los Angeles caught fire last month, burning entire neighborhoods to the ground, Democrat Mayor Karen Bass was not in the city. Indeed, she wasn’t even in the country but rather in Ghana. In a recent interview with a local news network, she was pressed on her “thought process” for travel given that “we know that there was warnings about the weather before you went and you still went.” Bass claimed that she was unaware of these weather warnings but also said, “I think our preparation, it wasn’t what it typically is.” She appeared to blame the fire chief. “We have warnings of Santa Ana winds a lot,” she said, but the “level of preparation” didn’t say to her that “something terrible could happen.” Oh.
Headlines
Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler to lead Small Business Administration (Fox News)
DOGE finds $2 billion in taxpayer funds earmarked for Stacey Abrams-linked group (Washington Free Beacon)
Energy Department cancels more than $124 million in wasteful spending (Fox Business)
Hegseth directs Pentagon to find $50 billion in cuts this year (AP)
“Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. … You should’ve ended it,” Donald Trump opined rhetorically to Ukraine about peace talks to end its war with Russia. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Mr. President, you said Ukraine “should have never started” the war with Russia. Can you explain what you mean by that?
That’s my question to the president because the way I see it, Trump just accused the scrawny kid of sticking his face right in the bully’s fist.
His statement is abjectly false.
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, and everyone with two eyes and a brain knows that’s how it went down. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin launched that invasion as part of a scheme to restore the former “glory” of the Soviet Union, which he resented seeing fall apart 35 years ago. It was an invasion we saw coming because of Joe Biden’s provocative weakness displayed by his disastrous surrender in Afghanistan.
Taken at face value, Trump’s comment is so absurd that it undermines whatever else he’s trying to do here. It’s also a reversal from last month, when he warned Putin, “We can do it the easy way, or the hard way.” Suddenly, he’s putting more pressure on Kyiv than Moscow, despite the U.S. having a 30-year history of promising support for Ukraine.
As always with Trump, there are some rope-a-dope reasons for his negotiating style. His detractors scream about his lies while his most devoted supporters gush over the genius of his 4D chess. The truth is somewhere in between, and negotiations usually bear that out.
So far, the U.S. and Russia have begun talks to end the war, and, unfortunately, Ukraine has been left out. Trump was responding to Ukraine’s complaints. President Volodymyr Zelensky promised he “will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine” if Ukraine is left out of negotiations. Call me crazy, but that’s not an unreasonable assertion.
That’s doubly true given that Trump has already largely conceded several items to Russia — it can keep the land it stole, Ukraine won’t join NATO, the U.S. will lift sanctions, and there will be no U.S. troops in Ukraine after the war. “And in exchange,” notes National Review’s Jim Geraghy, “Putin offered … well, nothing, really.”
While Zelensky says he has “great respect” for Trump, “unfortunately, [he] lives in this disinformation space” regarding who started what. “I want there to be more truth in Trump’s team.”
Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe. … On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died — And so it continues….
Trump is right that it’s time to end the war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives (including at least 12,000 Ukrainian civilians) and countless billions in losses. He’s right that defending specific borders in Ukraine is of little interest to Americans or U.S. national security. Most Americans have lost patience with the seemingly blank check Joe Biden wanted for Ukraine. He’s also right that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if Trump had remained president.
On the other hand, Russia could end the war today by withdrawing its army from another country’s soil. Furthermore, though Trump detests when other nations become dependent on the U.S., his numbers are a bit off. We haven’t spent anywhere near $350 billion — it’s actually roughly half that, though one could argue that’s far too much. If Zelensky is telling the truth, that “missing” $100 billion never made it to Ukraine. If he’s not telling the truth, well, he does run one of the most corrupt nations on the planet.
As for elections, “Ukraine has delayed elections while it is operating under martial law and fighting a war for survival,” observes the Wall Street Journal editorial board. “Its constitution allows this, and Britain under Nazi siege didn’t hold an election during World War II. Was Churchill a dictator?” Moreover, when was the last time Russia held a truly free election?
As a side note, Newsweek posted this gem on X: “There are concerns that the Ukrainian president could be voted out of office if the country holds an election.” Huh. You don’t say.
That brings me to some broader context for Trump’s remarks.
After being dogged for years by the phony Hillary Clinton-funded Russia collusion hoax, Trump was impeached (the first time) for that infamous phone call with Zelensky. The unbelievable irony is that he was impeached for what Joe Biden actually did — squeezing a quid pro quo from Ukraine in exchange for U.S. money. Biden and his family, of course, were famously corrupt in dealing with Ukraine, which is a big reason why the Big Guy pardoned his wastrel son before leaving office.
Last fall, Zelensky also arguably interfered in the 2024 election on behalf of Team Biden and its puppet candidate, Kamala Harris. Zelensky and Putin may be enemies, but they both wanted Harris to win.
Thus, it’s quite possible that Trump’s dislike for Ukraine is personal.
Unfortunately, that’s not the best guide for U.S. foreign policy. If this ends the way it seems to be headed, Trump’s recklessness may hamper rather than advance the America First agenda. The critical possible exception is that if Trump can smooth over relations with Russia — or even merely blunt the antagonism — it may clarify the U.S. focus on increasing Chinese aggression.
Samantha Koch: Coping With Trump Derangement Syndrome — “It was like they got shot with a dart in the jugular that contained methamphetamine and rabies.”
Thomas Gallatin: Time to Dump the Failed DOE — The Nation’s Report Card shows a continuing trend of American students falling further behind in educational basics.
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Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
Latest PodcastPopCon #84: USAID is NOT About AidElon Musk has released his DOGE analysis program into the ledgers of federal agencies, and his findings are every bit as shocking as one might expect.
BEST OF VIDEOS
Did Ilhan Omar Commit Immigration Fraud? — A new report alleges that DNA evidence proves U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar married her own brother to commit immigration fraud.
The Rainbow Reich — German speech police featured positively on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
JD Vance’s Message to Europe — The vice president’s criticism was multifaceted: Close your borders. Legal-only immigration. Up your defense budget. Allow for free speech.
The Tide Is Turning — Konstantin Kisin gives a hilarious and inspirational speech defending Western values at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.
SHORT CUTS
Passing the Buck
“There were [wildfire] warnings that I, frankly, wasn’t aware of. … It didn’t reach that level to me to say, ‘Something terrible could happen, and maybe you shouldn’t have gone on the trip.’” —Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Non Compos Mentis
“RFK’s plan to make America healthy again? Round up people with mental health conditions in camps.” —Salon headline
World’s Smallest Violin
“After the speech of Vice President Vance [to the Munich Security Conference] we have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore.” —Christoph Heusgen, German ambassador to the United Nations, who left the podium in tears after lamenting America is not embracing the totalitarian “values” of leftist Europe
Food for Thought
“OK, imagine we had laws like Germany’s in the United States. … What of all the Democratic politicians and mainstream media figures who claimed Joe Biden was mentally fit to run for re-election. Should we round them all up? Fine them? Put them in prison for disinformation?” —Phil Boas
Upright
“I don’t think it’s happening fast enough — they’re not cutting enough. Keep slashing. Keep hacking while you have a 24-month mandate. We must keep going. Cut. Cut, cut, cut, cut. More. More cutting. Believe me, it’s going to work out just great.” —Kevin O’Leary
Re: The Left
“Maybe Elon Musk should hire the mainstream media to figure out physics because, apparently, they know something that nobody in the rest of the world does, which is how to divide your credibility, which is zero, in half. Because somehow they just keep managing to do that.” —YouTuber Asmongold
“The truth is that the Democrats have become increasingly unpopular because they have become the party of radicals and extremists. Furthermore, their dishonesty and corrupt incestuous relationship with the Washington bureaucratic state has been exposed thanks to DOGE in ways they likely never believed possible.” —Thomas Gallatin
“It’s funny how often when these attacks occur, the thing that they’re accusing the administration of is what they are guilty of. … They are guilty of the crime of which they accuse us.” —Elon Musk referring to the caterwauling about DOGE cuts
“The left is screaming that President Donald Trump is on some kind of ideological crusade. … It’s sort of like labeling a company CEO ideological because he is driven to keep his company profitable and competitive.” —Star Parker
“Those on the left who are verbally assaulting the new Trump administration are the ideologues. They are in love with empty words and bankrupt ideas.” —Star Parker
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
“If you agree there is waste, if you agree there is abuse, if you agree there is corruption, why are you not celebrating the cuts and the reforms that are being instituted?” —White House senior adviser Stephen Miller to CNN anchor Brianna Keilar
For the Record
“‘We’re living under a flawed Constitution. Let’s start fresh and rewrite it,’ [Dean of Berkeley Law Erwin] Chemerinsky wrote last August. Yes, that’s the same guy The New York Times cited as an expert to explain how Trump is creating a constitutional crisis.” —Victor Joecks
“Whenever you see the phrase ‘scholars say’ in a news report, tread carefully. It’s very likely to be a poorly disguised opinion piece.” —Victor Joecks
And Last…
“I feel like there is too much focus on Israel’s and Ukraine’s response and not enough on how the Palestinians and Russians just could have not invaded in the first place.” —Frank J. Fleming
Israelis united in grief as the remains of four hostages, reportedly including a mother, Shiri Bibas, and her very young sons, Ariel and Kfir, along with 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz, are returned home, as Hamas claims Israeli bombs killed them, but autopsies will be performed to reveal how they died; Israeli leaders express the grief of the nation, as US Congressmen from both parties blast Hamas for their barbaric actions; Chris Mitchell talks about how the emotions Israelis are feeling as they’re united in grief, how Hamas acted today, identifying the hostage remains, and Israeli resolve to prevent another Oct 7 attack; Josh Hasten of the Jewish News Syndicate talks about Egypt’s military buildup in the Sinai, and the possible threat to Israel; a major snowstorm hits multiple US states; and CBN’s Southeast Asian ministry team gathered recently to renew their commitment to God and seek His wisdom.
Mary welcomes new guest Bill Wilson of The Daily Jot. Bill is a Christian journalist, professional writer, and commentator on current events as they relate to the Bible and prophecy. With nearly 40 years experience, Bill spent the first part of his career as an award-winning journalist. He then entered the realm of political and media consulting, serving Members of Congress and assisting with Presidential and other political campaigns. He understands current events from a dual perspective—he’s been both the one who reports the news and the one who influences what is reported. Today we discuss DOGE, constitutional crises, and the lefties losing their minds over being found out about all the ways they have betrayed the average American. Their hypocrisy and hysteria has been on full display for years, and one might wonder when they might catch on about those election results things, but it never fails to entertain. Even lifer democrat and political strategist James Carville says, “let it go” – but that will fall on deaf ears. An engaging hour with Bill.
Welcome to Lionel Nation—the home of bold ideas, fearless truth and deep analysis of the world’s most pressing topics. President Trump has directed the Department of Justice to dismiss all remaining U.S. attorneys appointed during the Biden administration, aiming to “clean house” and restore confidence in the justice system. This move follows previous terminations of federal prosecutors involved in cases against Trump, including those related to the January 6th Capitol riot. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove are leading efforts to align the DOJ with the administration’s agenda, which includes dismissing corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams and intensifying crackdowns on illegal immigration. The abrupt nature of these firings has raised concerns about potential disruptions to ongoing federal cases. Follow https://www.youtube.com/@RedactedNews
On Tuesday’s “Chris Plante The Right Squad,” Chris Plante, Virginia Allen, Luke Ball, Erika Donalds, and Daniel Lippman talk about Stephen Miller criticizing the media for being out of touch with the American people.
Seventy Christians have been found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in what’s the latest devastating attack on believers in the north east of the country.
According to field sources, at around 4am last Thursday (13 February) suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a group with ties to so-called Islamic State (IS) – approached homes in Mayba in the territory of Lubero, saying: “Get out, get out and don’t make any noise.” Twenty Christian men and women came out and were captured.
Shaken by this incident, people from the local community in Mayba later gathered to work out how to release those held captive. However, ADF militants surrounded the village and captured a further 50 believers.
“We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres”
All 70 of those kidnapped were taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga where they were tragically killed.
Muhindo Musunzi, director of the Kombo primary school [which belongs to the CECA20 church], says that prior to this incident, churches, schools and health centres had all shut their doors because of the chaotic security situation. “We had to move all activities towards Vunying,” he said. […]
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