Why are some posters consumed with politics

[Scott Downey]

All humans violate God's law. This is why we all fall short of God's glory.

Is this the kind of life you want to experience on a daily basis as Lot did.
Lot was living in and around Sodom, while Abraham was afar off.
Lot made some poor choices, maybe he also tolerated the people's bad behavior until he found himself oppressed and tormented by them, his own family seems to have been corrupted about as badly as the others because of where they lived. Peter only speaks of one person as righteous, Lot, who suffered greatly and really lost everything he had except his life. That is the kind of thing that can happen today also. Just substitute your name for Lot.

6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

 

[percho]

Is this the kind of life you want to experience on a daily basis as Lot did.
Lot was living in and around Sodom, while Abraham was afar off.
Lot made some poor choices, maybe he also tolerated the people's bad behavior until he found himself oppressed and tormented by them, his own family seems to have been corrupted about as badly as the others because of where they lived. Peter only speaks of one person as righteous, Lot, who suffered greatly and really lost everything he had except his life. That is the kind of thing that can happen today also. Just substitute your name for Lot.

6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

Here is a thought which comes from a verse we had in Sunday School last week.

Prov 16:4 NKJV The LORD has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 1:7 NKJV

2 Peter 2:7 NKJV and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.

Do we see anything in the story of Lot, by which we would believe, he was righteous in any aspect of his life or do we just see the word of God and God has declared Lot righteous in the, to be coming obedient shed blood, of Jesus, the Christ of God?

The LORD has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

? Why, the United States of America ? Where does She fit, in the, all ?

 

[Scott Downey]

Here is a thought which comes from a verse we had in Sunday School last week.

Prov 16:4 NKJV The LORD has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 1:7 NKJV

2 Peter 2:7 NKJV and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.

Do we see anything in the story of Lot, by which we would believe, he was righteous in any aspect of his life or do we just see the word of God and God has declared Lot righteous in the, to be coming obedient shed blood, of Jesus, the Christ of God?

The LORD has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

? Why, the United States of America ? Where does She fit, in the, all ?

yes, to all that, except Lot was tormented by their wickedness and oppressed by them and suffered by what he saw and heard. Yet he remained in the place and made his living there. So Lot did have a godly compass inside of him, but he seems to have done nothing about any of it, even letting his family become corrupted.

The US is becoming like Sodom, and the Christians living there may find themselves living as Lot did. What if they wake up and realize they are just like Lot.

 

[Dave G]

Democrats violate God's laws daily.

So do Republicans, Libertarians, Communists, Socialists, etc.
All human beings, no matter the political party, do evil.

It's in our nature... and even believers have trouble with obeying the Lord.

And prophets spoke judgement against secular world powers, especially when they persecuted God's people.

In Israel they did.

But if you'll notice, Jesus Christ Himself never spoke one ill word towards Rome, for example.
Also, Paul never spoke one ill word against Rome or anyone else in a position of power or authority, except he got angry once and called the high priest a "whited wall", not knowing who he was.

The Bible says that we as believers are to obey the magistrates, not to speak evil of men, avoid the appearance of evil, and seek to be at peace with all men.
Our time here is but a vapor, and I think that could be better spent in edifying one another.

 

[Alcott]

My question answered your question. Your response answered your own question.
God condemns sinners of which both you and I are sinners. We are sinners whom God chose to redeem through the death, burial and resurrection of his son.

One reason some posters are "consumed with politics" is because some posters refuse to answer "yes" or "no" to a binary question, spiraling a simple concept into a merry-go-round with jackasses.

Are you going to answer yes or no to my original question now, or make another speech, or turn tail?

 

[AustinC]

Is this the kind of life you want to experience on a daily basis as Lot did.
Lot was living in and around Sodom, while Abraham was afar off.
Lot made some poor choices, maybe he also tolerated the people's bad behavior until he found himself oppressed and tormented by them, his own family seems to have been corrupted about as badly as the others because of where they lived. Peter only speaks of one person as righteous, Lot, who suffered greatly and really lost everything he had except his life. That is the kind of thing that can happen today also. Just substitute your name for Lot.

6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

We have been living in Sodom for 100 years.

 

[Dave G]

Is this the kind of life you want to experience on a daily basis as Lot did.

Answering for myself, no.
at the same time, is it a good expenditure of my time calling out government officials who will have to answer to God Himself, on Judgment Day, for how they've executed their offices and duties?
No, and I'm definitely glad I won't have to answer for the things that I see being done in high places, especially the past few years and all over the world.

More than that, I'm very grateful that the Lord sent His Son to die for me, so that my sins would be forgiven...and I won't have to answer for them.
Jesus Christ did.

Lot was living in and around Sodom, while Abraham was afar off.
Lot made some poor choices, maybe he also tolerated the people's bad behavior until he found himself oppressed and tormented by them, his own family seems to have been corrupted about as badly as the others because of where they lived. Peter only speaks of one person as righteous, Lot, who suffered greatly and really lost everything he had except his life. That is the kind of thing that can happen today also. Just substitute your name for Lot.

God decided to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and took Lot out of it because of the level of destruction that was coming.

I see that He can and does protect His people within countries like America, Great Britain and all of the nations they are in...
So even if it does get bad, we still have a Deliverer who promises that all things will work together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His purpose.

 

[Dave G]

The US is becoming like Sodom, and the Christians living there may find themselves living as Lot did.

Probably;
But if you think corruption in high places is bad in the United States, visit Mexico.

In fact, I've been to several countries outside of the United States over the years...

Countries like Japan, Mexico, Spain, Morrocco, Canada...
and I can tell you in all honesty that it's much worse in "Latin America" and Islamic countries than it is here.
Japan and Canada are similar, as are Great Britain, Australia and most of Europe...but outside of those, it's worse, especially for Christians.
Also, in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Far East there are places that if you openly criticize the government, you risk life and limb and even face the death penalty.

My point?
Be glad for God's grace, my friend.
It could me much, much worse in this life.

Many of our brothers and sisters in other countries spend more time suffering for their faith, than we do in writing on forums like this.

What if they wake up and realize they are just like Lot.

To me, most professing believers ( at least in the "West" ) care more about this world than they do about Jesus Christ.
I'm reminded of this passage when I look around and see how many seem to fit this description, especially in my own area:

" Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." ( 1 John 2:25-17 ).

In light of that, I think the best thing that we as believers can do, is exactly what the Lord tells us...
Pray for those in authority, instead of openly condemning them and criticizing their every move.

 

[AustinC]

One reason some posters are "consumed with politics" is because some posters refuse to answer "yes" or "no" to a binary question, spiraling a simple concept into a merry-go-round with jackasses.

Are you going to answer yes or no to my original question now, or make another speech, or turn tail?

You would have struggled with Jesus answers to scribes and Pharisees.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

I have no idea what you are referring to. However, former President Trump displays classic narcissism.

That is an understatement—- I would say pathological

 

[carpro]

Why are some posters consumed with politics?

Well, I hate to break this to you, but this is the News and Current events forum. Politics makes up a huge proportion of the daily news.

I suggest that, if it bothers you, just stay away from a forum you know is going to have a lot of politics in it.

Unless, of course, your real purpose is just to judge your Christian brothers and place yourself on a pedestal as an example of the perfect Christian.

 

[JonC]

I think it is a very good question.

Why are so many Christians consumed with politics?

It was not always this way.

Just saying not to be judgmental and avoid the political section is like telling someone who asks why so many Christians are consumed with pornography to mind his business and just stay away from the porn-loving Christians.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

I didn't think I needed to explain what a primary source is but it sounds like a concept that is foreign to you.

A primary source of information is the original speaker. A secondary source is someone who quotes or talks about that primary source. A tertiary source is when someone quotes the secondary source, etc. All of us have played the game broken telephone as a child right? The further you get from the original source the more distorted the information gets.

News sources are always at a minimum secondary sources of information since they report about what someone else said, provide some quote, often out of context and try to write a story around it. Many modern news sites are often tertiary or quaternary sources of information because they usually quote from other news sites and not from the original speaker.

Looking at the primary source is saying go back to the original speaker. So if an article is talking about a politician, find their speech in full context on something like C-span or a transcript. If it is talking about a science article, find the paper from the journal. If it is talking about a court case, find the court documents. If it is quoting a book or an author, read the book. If it is quoting a statistic, look it up on the online database. In our digital world now, many primary sources are available online in public but most folks are not willing to look for it.

For example, your comment above is a secondary source about things that I have said in the past.

Here is the primary source ... the actual thread where we talked about China and Covid19 so folks can read for themselves what I actually said.

How to Tell if We're Beating Covid19

LOL. OK, so you've proven once again that you can be a clever smart aleck. Congratulations and welcome to the club, or rather for renewing your membership.

Yes, primary sources get us to the place where something was stated, perhaps originally, or gets us to the "original" statement about something that was stated.

And no, that was not the thread I was mainly referring to in regard to the CCP, though it was a good example of how you like to twist what someone else said. And also a good example of not going to a primary source.

The primary source for scientific data is not a statistical representation. When it comes to COVID-19, getting to the original data is extremely difficult because of deep politicization. For example, that mass murderer, massive narcissist, pathological liar, and consummate hypocrite Governor Cuomo is coming under fire again, because the deaths due to exposure in New York nursing homes were deliberately undercounted, because they are directly attributable to his own directives. His ulterior motive was to blame everything on Trump, but when cornered he blames the hospitals for not saving lives he decidedly endangered beyond hope.

 

[Gold Dragon]

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.


Romans 3:22-25

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

"Why are some posters consumed with [national] politics?"

Perhaps because national politics seem to creep into everything thus are something we suffer in common and still have a legal say in, unlike, say, weather, though Climate Change has evidently changed all that.

Besides it's too depressing to think about church politics, and office politics are too dangerous to discuss.

 

[Gold Dragon]

Yes, primary sources get us to the place where something was stated, perhaps originally, or gets us to the "original" statement about something that was stated.

Excellent. That is what I encourage by my posts, to go to primary sources. When you read something in a news site, ignore what the news site says and find the primary source to see what they really said. Then you will know which sources are lying and manipulating you.

I know most people are too lazy to do that so most of my posts do the legwork for you and find you the primary source and I highlight the portion of text being talked about.

And no, that was not the thread I was mainly referring to in regard to the CCP

My apologies. Then it is probably this one. I have nothing to hide. If not this one then show us what you are talking about. I stand by what I write and have the integrity to apologize for any mistakes I have made.

1/3 of randomly tested people in Massachusetts has antibodies to covid

The primary source for scientific data is not a statistical representation. When it comes to COVID-19, getting to the original data is extremely difficult because of deep politicization.

It sounds like you still don’t understand what a primary source is with a statement like this so I will continue your education.

A primary source for scientific data is the scientist that reported it. That doesn’t tell you if their data or the interpretation of the data is correct. It just tells you if your secondary sources of information are accurately reporting what the primary source is saying or whether they are lying/manipulating what the primary source said.

To evaluate the validity of the primary source, you need to look at the methodology of that source. In other words, how did the primary source arrive at its data or conclusion. Was there some flaw in how the data was collected or logical progression of arguments? If there is some flaw, what evidence do I have to show this.

This is what you are referring to which is the process of critical appraisal. This is what the peer review process does, to see if a paper was flawed in its methodology and logic. Those that are found to be flawed do not get published. Obviously it is not a perfect process because humans are limited in what we can know. But until there is a better way, it is the best we have at the moment.

 

[Benjamin]

I come to this forum and see some posters who cannot accept what God has ordained. They keep posting thread upon thread, bashing God's ordained leader of the United States while desperately trying to prop up a former leader whom God has dethroned. What causes Christians to be so consumed with the politics of worldly kingdoms?

First, God did not ordain the evil that is upon us, it came by lies and cheating. Second, your biased hypocrisy is blatantly obvious. Third, because our God given rights to freedom starts with free speech, not only this is being violated by secular Progressive Globalists and Big Tech rulers, but the attack on Christians/Christianity/Liberty is going much deeper:

Gab CEO:
"Christians need to start acting like a collective and unified tribe. “Muh individualism” is really just the sin of selfishness and a trap laid by the enemy to divide us and make us weak. Tribalism is human nature and as Christians we are God’s Chosen People.

We are the tribe with the Creator of the Universe as our King, it’s time to start acting like it. Our tribe has no bloodline, racial, class, geographic, or other boundaries. We are united in Christ.

Do business exclusively with Christians. Have a Christian doctor, lawyer, baker, etc. The left is strong because they unite collectively even though they all hate one another. Other religious groups are strong specifically because they are tribal and united. If Christians unite collectively around our tribe in love we can and will reclaim the West for the glory of God."

True Patriot:
"Two different banks have now canceled Trump.

Let that sink in.

Conservatives soon won't be able to have money as banks will ban them for their political opinions."

Gab CEO:
"We’ve had this happen to us too. We will eventually buy a bank and run our own. I’m not kidding. Christians need to build our own economy from the ground up. Free markets naturally follow free speech."

True Patriot:
"Every time I hear Joe Biden talk about systemic racism I think to myself, "Joe, you ARE the system!"

You can stick your head in the sand, call it ordained, sell your propaganda to the weak fools and call it the Christian way all you like, but I call it something else, ...starting with evil.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

Excellent. That is what I encourage by my posts, to go to primary sources. When you read something in a news site, ignore what the news site says and find the primary source to see what they really said. Then you will know which sources are lying and manipulating you.

I know most people are too lazy to do that so most of my posts do the legwork for you and find you the primary source and I highlight the portion of text being talked about.

My apologies. Then it is probably this one. I have nothing to hide. If not this one then show us what you are talking about. I stand by what I write and have the integrity to apologize for any mistakes I have made.

1/3 of randomly tested people in Massachusetts has antibodies to covid

It sounds like you still don’t understand what a primary source is with a statement like this so I will continue your education.

A primary source for scientific data is the scientist that reported it. That doesn’t tell you if their data or the interpretation of the data is correct. It just tells you if your secondary sources of information are accurately reporting what the primary source is saying or whether they are lying/manipulating what the primary source said.

To evaluate the validity of the primary source, you need to look at the methodology of that source. In other words, how did the primary source arrive at its data or conclusion. Was there some flaw in how the data was collected or logical progression of arguments? If there is some flaw, what evidence do I have to show this.

This is what you are referring to which is the process of critical appraisal. This is what the peer review process does, to see if a paper was flawed in its methodology and logic. Those that are found to be flawed do not get published. Obviously it is not a perfect process because humans are limited in what we can know. But until there is a better way, it is the best we have at the moment.

Well, if my statement of the effect of primary sources was unclear to you, sorry, but it's hard to dumb it down for you any more than I did. And yes, I did refer to the effects of sources.

But you didn't seem to understand whether the primary source would be the data or the scientist reporting about the data. I'll take it to be the latter, and that is where the CCP control comes in, and why anything coming out of China must be considered suspect in a highly politicized matter like COVID-19, especially since they are the bad guys here.

(And yes, that thread would be one that involved the issue, though I recall at least one other where you wanted to credit the CCP where they deserved none. It was something about their providing some PPE, after they had bought up and withheld it. Maybe you can recall it enough to find that reference. And I didn't say you are trying to hide something, only that your political perceptions are as flawed as the next guy's, or maybe much worse.)

But the main point was that the article you posted in the linked thread was not a primary source. It was at best a statistical compilation of supposedly primary sources but with disparate and uncertain measures. And my original point about that was that the CCP is a primarily unreliable source. Include them at the risk of your own reputation.

Repeating what the CCP says is to repeat disinformation, though they may occasionally insert the truth, if it happens to suit their purposes. I never said that the other data was definitely flawed, only that including CCP data as if valid in a matter already overwhelmingly politicized is a great way to invalidate your reporting in the minds of those looking for the truth. Why taint so dramatically what might otherwise be valid?

 

[carpro]

It was not always this way.

That's right, it wasn't. Our ability to worship as we please has never been under the kind of constant attack that we are under today.

 

[Alcott]

You would have struggled with Jesus answers to scribes and Pharisees.

The option you took was to make a speech; though a short one.