Jerry Falwell Jr. endorses Trump

“He is a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again” RNS

Discussion

….what do we call a person who denies their need for repentance in light of Psalms 14:1, Psalm 53:1, Proverbs 10:8, and the like? I’m not entirely convinced that it is wrong to call Trump a fool—that’s what the Bible calls people who do what he’s done. No?

It’s also worth noting that the WashPo column is more or less his Facebook post, but with paragraphs and corrected grammar. Really, Trump resembles little so much as the schoolyard bully that is blindly wandering into a situation where his opponent isn’t going to back down—he’s running full speed for his comeuppance. We need to pray that he gets this at the hands of Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio, not Vladimir Putin or someone else who’s got his finger on the nuclear button.

Yes, as Falwell notes, he has persuaded city councils to do his will, and has persuaded investors. I don’t think he’s got what it takes, however, to play in “the show” any more than the new kid in class A has earned his ticket to Wrigley, Fenway, or Shea.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

I don’t want to put Falwell in the same category, but it’s certainly possible to make a case for Trump fitting the biblical idea, especially the Proverbial idea, of the fool.

Prov. 15:2

Prov. 12:15

Prov. 12:16

Prov. 13:16

Prov. 14:16

Prov. 17:7

Prov. 19:1

Prov. 29:11

…and so many more

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Foolish people make bad decisions, whether you’re the President of the United States or president of a Christian college.

Wally Morris

Charity Baptist Church

Huntington, IN

amomentofcharity.blogspot.com

[WallyMorris]

Foolish people make bad decisions, whether you’re the President of the United States or president of a Christian college.

…is that in Scripture, I believe foolish doesn’t just mean you make bad decisions, but rather indicates significant moral faults. No? That would be why we would want to be extraordinarily careful about calling someone a “fool” from our perspective—it doesn’t just mean you lack common sense. And from that perspective, Trump’s life does (in my view) rise to that level—his multiple bankrtuptcies, affairs, and divorces clearly put him in that category, as well as his statements about repentance. I can’t say that yet about Falwell. His decision perplexes me and I have to wonder what he’s thinking, but I don’t see it as a major moral fault yet.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

I never said that making bad decisions was the only characteristic of a foolish person, only that, if you are a foolish person, then you will make bad decisions.

Proverbs, as we would expect, has much to say about the fool and foolishness. All of us have some of “the fool” in us, from birth. The questions are “How much of a fool are we, and what are we doing about it?”

Bad decisions can reflect foolishness. If someone makes bad decisions due to foolishness, that person will make other bad decisions because of that foolishness.

Wally Morris

Charity Baptist Church

Huntington, IN

amomentofcharity.blogspot.com

Trump got a major endorsement this week from the reverend Jerry Falwell Jr. It does seem strange that a Christian leader would endorse a candidate who’s kind of a poster child for the seven deadly sins: Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Which in this case — Is living on his head.

"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan

Trump has admitted that he has been generous with people (including the Clintons) in exchange for favors. We need to consider the possibility that he may have “made a donation” to Liberty that may have prompted the endorsement. It wouldn’t be the first time such an event occurred.

"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan

Joe, reality here is that the Governor isn’t Tea Party (he’s pretty mainstream GOP, really), nor did he have anything to do with the Flint crisis. That was precipatated by the city’s desire to save a few bucks to save pensions (which are massively overcommitted, just like Social Security), and they ignored a ton of signs that the decision to withhold pH balancing chemicals was wrong. Now the state board doesn’t get off completely, but we just as certainly cannot blame Governor Snyder.

And yes, other GOP people are foolishly coming alongside Trump, but I really don’t see how the very real Planned Parenthood footage comes into this. Make no mistake; those are very real Planned Parenthood employees saying those and the full footage has been released. Nobody had a gun to their heads forcing them to say those things.

And no, Rick Perry (no close relation) is also no darling of the Tea Party, nor is the DA. I looked up her church, and it appears to be pretty straight southern PCUSA. The charges are that it somehow corrupts Texas government records to have a fake California driver’s license, and they’re charging the would be buyer of fetal organs (that they know did not actually want to take possession) but not the would be seller—which has admitted that they were willing to sell the organs.

Which is a long way of saying that the DA’s office is going to have some explaining to do on why they brought these charges, and I think in a just world, it would result in some disbarments in the DA’s office. The case they brought simply has “Nifong” written all over it.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

From the Time-Life book series “The Third Reich: The New Order”:

“Hitler’s rise to power was not the result of any public affirmation of his dark concept of racial purity and world domination; it was much more the product of national despair, confusion, and fear.” (p.7)

Wally Morris

Charity Baptist Church

Huntington, IN

amomentofcharity.blogspot.com