Did Republicans Read This?

“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent. “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.Exodus 23:1-9 NIV

Considering the fact--stated previously in another blog post--everyone in this country--except the natives and the imported slaves--is an immigrant (or descendants of immigrants), why on earth do we feel we have the right to totally disregard others?

Forget about the "legal" immigrant--when the colonists first came to this country, the natives didn't give them legal status--they took over the land and proclaimed it their own--even naming it and trying to turn the natives into them. And they're still doing it!
But this is the group--the Republicans--who claim to be Christians (actually pseudo-christians with no relationship with God) who apparently either didn't read what God said or didn't understand it.

• They spread false reports about Hillary (yes, I know she "lost" the election but let's analyze why).
• They blatantly lied about aspects of Hillary's tenure in the State Department by telling half truths (which are whole lies) and taking things out of context.
• They accused her of being responsible for the loss of life in Benghazi when she had no control over the situation after people had been warned to get out.
• They almost cost other people their lives with the spread of the ill-advised lie promoted by Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones about Pizzagate when a man rushed into a pizzeria with an assault weapon on a mission to save kids that were never there.
• They accused Hillary of murdering babies at nine months when any fool should know--at nine months--a baby is delivered.
• They spread the lie that God chose tRump to be president when God never voted and never told anyone to promote this lie.
• They have lied about the existence of relationships with Russia and all is coming to light.
• 45 has lied about so much that I can't even keep it all straight any more--part of the plan in gas-lighting people--but I do know every time he opens his mouth, he lies.
• 45 is devastating the national debt with his "budget proposal" because he doesn't have a clue; yet he's costing tax payers millions a day with secret service protection in New York, and all his weekend excursions to escape responsibility.
• Why go to Mar-a-lago? He can arrange to talk to Russia without government monitoring. WE'RE NOT STUPID!
• All of their "alternative facts" are believable by people without a functioning brain--the rest of us know better.

So, just looking at all the stupid that is unfolding every day, I cannot say that I believe any of the Republicans read the Bible, have a relationship with God, and they are certainly not Christians--not by a biblical standard.

This is why it is incumbent upon every American with a functional brain to actively resist the tyranny in the White House. This is not about being a Democrat or a Republican--it is about saving America from the throes of those who would attempt to change our democratic process into a dictatorship! Bannon, Miller, and all those with connections to the Russians and praise Putin--are responsible and most of the filth has already spread into every government agency and no one wants to take responsibility for it. CLEAN-UP ON AISLE 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NEEDED.

If we sit or stand silently by and allow this to continue--we are all at fault and God will hold each and every person accountable who did not stand for truth, and equitable justice, or defense of the poor and the needy. That's the biblical standard we must live by--not a political party's biases.

The Leadership Charge!

Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever. I Timothy 5:19-25 NIV

In Paul's letter to Timothy, instructions are given for those in leadership positions in how to govern and teach others as well as for himself. Any good leader--knows they need to have the wisdom of those who know what they're doing in order to lead others. Wisdom from above--is immeasurable and when followed--peace and love will reign.

We are living in an age where many people think that whatever they find on the Internet is credible. Those of us who know how to determine credibility of information know--without question--that not everything on the Internet is trustworthy and we certainly should not share the lies and falsehoods promoted by others. For when we participate in the spreading of lies--chaos reigns and reputations are destroyed. And then we are reminded by what Hosea said, "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children."

We must remember that God sees all and more importantly, He knows our hearts and intent for everything we do. We mere mortals can only see what is exposed--not having the ability to read a person's mind, but if we are careful to observe a matter and seek Holy Spirit, we can accurately assess information gathered and draw conclusions--predicting what happens next.

There are so many false news outlets infiltrating the Internet, that I cannot begin to name them all, but I have seen how they operate. Many of the URLs--include the name of the party providing the information and we know is skewed to favor them and impugn others. The real travesty is that when people don't know how to discern the truth from the fiction, the gullible believe the fiction and will not hear the truth. When leaders--anywhere--but especially in the church--promote fiction as truth, they will have to answer to God, not only for what they do, but what they have led others to believe.

How do we discern truth from fiction in a news outlet? Look at the source--how many writers are involved? What is their source of information? What is the level of bias detected? Is this a true journalistic endeavor or is it simply a means for someone to vent? Blogs and most other social media posts are merely there for the purpose of espousing the writer or group's opinions and many of those expressed opinions are not based upon any legitimate facts. Unless the site is an actual news outlet (NYT, WSJ, WP, or local news chains), chances are--what is said needs to be verified or confirmed through another legitimate source. The other method to determine truth of a situation is by the end tags--.edu, .org or .gov. Some--not all--bearing the .com or .net tags are not credible sources and need confirmation. Research the author of the site and their credentials or expertise. 

As Believers--we should be able to discern truth from fiction by seeking the basis for what is said on The Word. Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth and we shall know the truth, if we have a mind to listen.

With the above premise--how can we then participate in vicious lies told to destroy a person's reputation without seeking credible witnesses? Specifically, I'm referencing the lies promoted and advocated by Fox News, Breitbart, and Alex Jones. The things they promote are based upon fractions of truth--becoming whole lies--and there is never credible confirmation of anything they promote. Does not Paul warn us about--participating in the sins of others in his letter to Timothy? So, if people publish lies and we promote the lies, are we not just as guilty as the person or entity who started the lie?

If what we see or hear cannot be confirmed by two or more credible witnesses--we should not partake in the character assassinations advocated by false news sources. Do we not have ears to hear, eyes to see, and Holy Spirit within to direct us in all things? If so, we need to rely more upon Him than in the production of fake news, designed to destroy--not only the targets of the lies, but the gullible who believe the lies. Facts are verifiable, while fiction--is just that--made up in the minds of those who promote it.

If what we do does not promote love, peace and harmony, then we might to re-think what we're doing and get our relationship with God right!