Satan's Minions

Have you noticed the recent proliferation of lies and deliberate slander? Trump has recently been labeled a “hater of the military” by an “anonymous source.” A lie. Nicholas Sandman – a teenager at the time – was arbitrarily targeted as some sort of “monster” because he smiled – awkwardly – as a Native American (who lied about his own status) drummed and chanted loudly in his face. A slander. Masks are widely touted as “life-saving measures,” and people are shamed for thinking otherwise. A totally manipulative and misleading fiction.

What do these incidents have in common? Lies, slander and misleading fiction are manufactured by the “father of lies,” whom Jesus Christ Himself condemned: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me! Can any of you prove Me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe Me?” (John 8:44 – 46).

Note in that indisputably clear quote, Jesus labeled the devil both a “liar” and a “murderer.” What are we to understand from this passage?

·         Jesus affirmed the existence, even the power, of the devil. In other words, the devil is NOT some sort of imaginary boogey-man; he is a terrible, horrific enemy to all of humanity.

·         Jesus further pointed out that lies are akin to murder. In other words, lies kill the one who lies; it does not necessarily kill the object of the lies, although it has led to death and destruction. In the passage quoted above, the Pharisees and scribes (to whom Jesus addressed this particular passage) lied continually about Jesus, and yet their lies did not affect the purity and love of the Son of God.

·         People can choose to align themselves with the father of lies, but that cannot defeat Truth and Reality. Ultimately, the devil is a looser. He was summarily defeated at the Cross.

I want to add one more detail to this blog. Recently, I received a priority mail envelope, with the return address as the school where I taught high school English for 11 years. Thinking it was a plea for funds (the school officially closed this past June), I put it aside until I had time to read the packet I thought was enclosed. That time came during the Labor Day weekend. However, when I examined the contents, I discovered a “certificate of membership” to the satanic temple, with my name on it.

Hmmm…

When attacks like these occur, I have come to realize that somewhere, somehow, I am annoying the prince of darkness, and that he wishes in turn to annoy me.

Rather than being annoyed (which would be understandable, because someone linked my beloved place of  teaching – dedicated to Mother Mary, “Notre Dame,” – with this hideous creature), I was dismayed at the obvious danger to the soul of whoever sent this foul piece of paper. I suspect that this person was one of my former students, who utterly fails to realize what Jesus Christ has done for her soul. Some of them appear to be very upset with me because of my Biblical positions on current events.

So now, she doesn’t realize that she is on my Prayer List. She will never know true peace until she gives up her allegiance to lies and soul-murdering demonic activity. People can pretend, and act as though they are in control of their lives – and scoff at the Spirit of God – but there will come a day of reckoning when each of us will be judged by the pure and majestic God Who created each of us. The devil knows that he does not have the power to avoid this – and neither does my former student.

At the End of Time, all political lies, all slander, all attempts at intimidation and manipulation will be swept away. The devil knows that his time is very, very short; he wants as many of God’s creatures to join him in Hell so that he can feast – metaphorically-speaking – on their agony. There is no love in Hell; neither is there comfort or joy or understanding. There is only rage and hatred.

Whoever dismisses these clear truths is a minion – a slave, if you will – of the father of lies. I am telling you right here and now that you can escape this doom. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the only way to a joy-filled existence with God (John 14:6).

 

The Offensive Jesus

One of the more outrageous statements coming from certain sectors of American society runs something like this: “Jesus would never offend people like ____ does / do.” For years – actually decades – doormat Christians have accepted this hype, and shut their mouths when they should have defended Truth.

Last Sunday, I was sidetracked as I listened to an excellent sermon (sorry, Brother Paul!). The sermon focused on the Gospel of Matthew, and as I checked out a reference that Pastor gave the congregation, my eyes fell on these words: “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard [the words of Jesus]?” (Matthew 15:12). In case you are not familiar with this passage, these were words spoken by Christ’s own disciples – to Jesus Himself! And I’ll bet that you are equally unfamiliar with what Jesus the Messiah did next: He didn’t apologize. He didn’t slink back into the shadows. He didn’t offer an explanation. Instead, he served up another plate of Truth.

“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots,” Jesus replied to His then-politically-correct disciples. “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (verses 13-14). Pretty harsh words from “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” – right?

In case you are not aware of this fact, there are plenty of modern-day Pharisees around us. They insist that their authority trumps Biblical, God-centered authority. They insist that “modern” trends like same-sex civil unions and gender-confused children should be elevated above Biblical marriage and parenting. They especially delight in the “evil-called-good” syndrome when it comes to abortion and “good-called-evil” subterfuge regarding the persecution of ordinary Christians like Barronelle Stutzman, the florist in Washington State who refused to provide flowers for a gay “marriage.” God’s Word warned us thousands of years ago: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). But modern-day Pharisees staunchly defend such outrageous behavior, presumably because they believe they are in charge of the dictionary.

What to do? How about following the Lord Jesus’ example? Keep speaking the Truth in the face of these people’s reprehensible conduct. Stand firm, as Jesus did. Yes, you may be crucified. But Who arose the third day? It certainly wasn’t the Pharisees.

The Myth of Theory

Recently, the citizens of the United States received some dreadful news: the Honorable United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had been removed from this earth by the Supreme Judge of this world (see the Declaration of Independence). This is wonderful news in Heaven – I assume – but it is miserable news for those Americans left to suffer under the current president of the United States’ unconstitutional activities.

I am not about to eulogize this amazing jurist. People are engaged in this activity all over the globe, and I don’t see the need to add to this corpus. Instead, I want to remark on a peculiar label that has been attached to Scalia by the so-called media “intelligentsia”: Scalia – we are told with a straight face – was an “originalist theorist.” Forget the conservative / strict-constructionist title that this man embodied during the first part of his three decades on the Court. Now we have to use the word theory and the man’s name in the same sentence!

Allow me to explain why this terminology nauseates me, especially now that Justice Scalia is no longer here to defend himself.

In the World of Academia, theories are more highly prized than facts. As a young college student many years ago, I absorbed the Scientific Mantra: First come observations (also known as “facts”), then comes the assessment of those observations (also known as “deduction”), followed by the formulation of a Theory as to why the facts were observed in the first place. The objective of such activity, I was led to believe, was to ascertain and discover Truth.

No longer. Truth is out; theory – as some sort of end result – is in. Facts are useful only insofar as they support one’s current theory. Although some members of Academia still protest that they are striving to discover Truth, the vast majority of professors (especially in education) strive only to “discover” and postulate the Newest Theory. The possession of said Theory is readily transformed into prestige, through publication, lecture, or conference paper. Never mind that Dr. X’s Theory is virtually identical to Professor Y’s; if one can offer facts to support one’s Theory (always provided you can demonstrate the proper statistics), so much the better.

Why does this provoke such a visceral reaction in me?

The promulgation of this sort of idiocy is deliberate and destructive. At the same time the scientific / political world elevates Theory to the throne of the mind, it necessitates the DE-throning of truth. The two stances cannot occupy the same space (shades of physical certainties!).

Furthermore, the entire process suggests tyranny over the mind of humanity. In effect, this “theory” game excludes any speech (much less thought) that is not in line with this philosophy. Want to talk about God? Go sit in the time-out chair. Want to talk about the certainties of the Moral Law? Talk to the hand. Want to discuss what the American Founding Fathers actually had in mind when they penned our illustrious (and still viable) Constitution? What an idiot you are!

Let us return to Scalia. This man was famous – and rightly so – for saying to his colleagues when they tried to write laws: “You’re nuts!” (or words to that effect). He realized, early on in his career as a jurist, the fundamental truth (there’s that inconvenient word again!!) about the court – any court. It is this: a court is not empowered to make laws. Period. Its sole purpose and power is to judge whether or not an existing law has been broken.

The unfortunate precedent the Supreme Court invented in 1973 of “a woman’s right to choose” death over life sent a floodwater of raw, smelly Theory surging through the courts of America. Gone was the Truth that laws could be broken; in its place sat monster Theory, who has been a relentless foe of stability and order. Scalia saw this and spoke against it many times. However, calling him a “theorist” was the liberal attempt to offset the truth of his statements – a favorite ploy of those who reject absolute moral constraints, who want to make the law suit their particular flavor-of-the-month social cause.

What to do? Political avenues seem hopeless. Voting accomplishes little. Writing letters and emails adds weight, but effects no fundamental changes in those in power. Our only hope is Heaven – the residence of all Truth, and the seat of all Power. We definitely need to make an appeal there.