@iamrjknight Gotta say: You are one of the best I’ve seen at living out Peter’s statement: “Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you”
Thank you for this very thoughtful reply, particularly regarding my prayers for my children. I definitely do not despair, and while I expect to have a serious conversation about my sinful days when I face God’s judgment eventually, I’m not looking backward, and I’m devoting my life going forward to Christ in the best way I can discern.🙏
The historical arc of slavery in the Bible is illustrative of your point. Slavery and (importantly, the mistreatment of slaves and servants) became progressively less acceptable. While in New Testament times, slavery was still a common institution, the moral standard was laid down quite clearly in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The point is that this institution, and the slow and steady process to remove it from the world (thanks mostly to Christianity) cannot be assigned to one particular ethnic or national group, or period In history. It’s a mankind problem, not a black American problem.
I’ve heard the criticisms of Catholicism on this point, and while it can be argued that the church has used its tools to control people for centuries (often with bad outcomes), I think that such criticisms really only apply to the administrative “church” (a human construct) and not to the underlying faith as given in the Word of God. The Bible itself doesn’t endorse any worldly system of control, but rather encourages self-control out of awe and love for God. The “religion” is simply the way in which we organize and spread the Word in the world…. It’s necessarily going to have flaws.
I have absolutely no idea where he gets the idea that “everyone” hates Black people. But it’s certainly a great talking point if your idea is to create a victimhood mentality in your audience. I have no personal experience, however, I know the history of my own family, and there is certainly ample proof to your point that real adversity creates the conditions that spawn hard work and self-sufficiency, which ultimately breeds success.
He was a complex character. Definitely a populist who was charismatic; but at heart, he was a brutal man, and a murderer, who didn’t want to actually be part of an organized government and subject to lawful restrictions. His legend is more charitable to him than the facts of his life.
Loved that story about Patton and the unintended consequences of Pancho Villa’s raid. A fun fact: Pancho Villa and his banditos attacked my great grandparents and chased them out of Chihuahua in 1912. At one point, my great grandmother had to dive onto my young grandfather and his sister to shield them from bullets. They were Americans working in Mexico and were targeted by Villa, who accused them of being part of the corrupt power structure during his populist revolutionary movement. They escaped back into the US, but lost almost everything in process. The Revolutionary government which came into power appropriated their property. That was a wild period of history between Mexico and the US.
When I was a lot younger a naive, I used to imagine that corporate philanthropy was altruistic. Working inside a huge corporation, I participated in their philanthropic activities, leveraging their employee tools for what I thought were worthy goals. But what I learned later was that these internal organizations are populated by people who frequently work AGAINST the interests of their parent company, and often (like the foundations you cite) direct support toward globalist organizations. The actual amount of legitimate charity they support sometimes amounts to just a publicly visible cover for these other, less savory activities. Now I avoid all of them and direct my charitable giving to a few, legitimate, private and religious organizations who are transparent about what they do.
@AwakenedOutlaw Sure looks like it. And as the country watches California take weeks to count ballots, like a banana republic, the democrats smugly put their fraud on full display, confident they’ll get away with it again and retain their grip on power.