Category: Man of Lawlessness

Dark Days, Restless Nights

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

Donald Trump said that today, April 2, 2025 is Liberation Day. Today is the day he announced 10% tariffs on many of our global trading partners. In reality, today is just another day in a dystopian nightmare.

For those of us who care about truth, justice, and liberty, these are dark days. So far, the second Trump presidency is far worse than I imagined it would be based on the ineptness and corruption of his first term. But plans for this term were reportedly well laid out in the Project 2025 document. This time, he has enough unscrupulous loyalists to put his unjust and unconstitutional plans into place.

The “shock and awe” and “flood the zone” political strategies are meant to overwhelm us. Instead, they have motivated millions of us to resist. The flood of executive orders may be dizzying, but we’re smart enough to keep up.

I have had many restless nights. I pray the 23rd Psalm when I struggle to fall back asleep. I remind myself that Jesus warned his disciples about dark times. He prepared us for this. He is with us when we go through dark times. He has a purpose for each of us.

I’ve been reading. I read Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. She wrote about “militant masculinity” and the efforts of white Christian men to redefine Christ in their image.

I’ve been listening to YouTube videos. My favorites are Amy Hawk, author of The Judas Effect, Pat Kahnke, author of A Christian Case Against Donald Trump, and Reverand Ed Trevors. It has been encouraging to find a community of like-minded believers.

I am reading a lot of content on Substack, including Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American.

I am cutting back on Facebook. I am cutting many Trump supporters out of my life. It’s hard to do, but I can no longer pretend that there isn’t a huge moral divide between us. Character matters.

I am speaking out. Silence is complicity.

I went to the first reorganizational meeting for the local Indivisible group. It’s been inspiring to see young people organizing protests and posting social media content.

I called my Republican senators and representative, not that I think it will do any good.

I am living my life. I have been getting outside and enjoying the beauty around me.

If you agree that Trump is dangerous, how are you coping?

Grieving the Corruption of Christianity

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

Like many followers of Christ, I was shocked in 2016 to see the overwhelming support Donald Trump received from Christians and people who claim to be Christians. The fact that this group again voted for him in 2020 and 2024 makes it very clear that Christianity has been corrupted.

Trump did not corrupt Christianity on his own. False teachers have been putting their desire for political power above the truths of the gospel for decades. Fox News and other far-right media spread disinformation and the fear of others that is central to the MAGA movement.

Today, as I walk through what feels like the valley of the shadow of death, I grieve the damage done to Christianity. There are four primary reasons for my grief.

1. The Church’s witness to unbelievers has been severely damaged.

This one hits close to home. Although my husband is agnostic, he used to come to church with me on Christmas Eve and Easter. He was beginning to soften his heart towards Christianity. Then, in 2016, 80% of Christians voted for a man who was and is the antithesis of Christ. When I started going to my current church in 2020, I made the mistake of telling my husband that I saw someone in church wearing a MAGA hat. Now, he absolutely refuses to attend services there. (Since then, we have seen one of the church elders wearing a MAGA hat at a local sports lounge).

Even people who do not believe in God know that Trump’s heart is far from God. He does not bear any of the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. To be fair, he is kind to sycophants.

Christ’s followers are supposed to be a light in this dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). We’re supposed to be the salt of the earth. Sadly, today, we are not.

2.  Christians have been deceived and led astray.

Jesus warned that even the elect (chosen) will be deceived (Mark 16:22 and Matthew 24:24). Jesus warned his followers to watch out for false prophets. “They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”

Jesus also warned the disciples to “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 16:6).” Pharisees were legalists, believing that a person can be saved by following the law. Yet, not one of us can obey God’s law perfectly. Legalism is not compatible with the gospel of grace. Ironically, even though Trump is a man of lawlessness, he has won the support of legalists.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul appealed to them to be “perfectly united in mind and thought.” But today, there is a deep division in mind and thought within Christianity that can not be bridged. You are either with Christ or you are against him. And Donald Trump is against everything Christ teaches his followers.

3. Believers are leaving the Church.

Many churches have been so damaged by the politicization of Christianity that faithful believers leave. If you leave your church, you lose your sense of fellowship and community.

Even if your church has not been politicized, chances are, many of the congregants have been discipled by people outside the church who have a political agenda. There may be an unspoken assumption that all Christians support Trump’s agenda. When the people sitting in the pew next to you support Trump and his antichrist agenda, you must keep silent to maintain the peace.

For now, I’ve chosen to stay in church because my pastor preaches the truth of the gospel. He does not get into politics other than to acknowledge the divisions. He tries to shepherd us in the right direction, in the way of Christ.

Before the election, my pastor preached a sermon from the book of Daniel about the Israelites living in exile in Babylon. The sermon was specifically about Daniel’s friends ignoring the sounds of horns, harps, lyres, and other instruments that signaled that it was time to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. They refused to bow down and were thrown into a fiery furnace. After hearing that sermon, I now think of myself as an exile from American Evangelicalism.

4. The morality of the country has been damaged.

Trump empowers Christian nationalists and white supremacists. Christian nationalism is a perversion of the Christian faith. White supremacy is a perversion of humanity.

Donald Trump reminds me of the man of lawlessness mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. He lies constantly. He is unrepentant. He spreads hate and gives people permission to be vile and mean. He thinks he is above the law, and his supporters agree.

The fruit of Trump’s wickedness includes the dehumanization of immigrants and stripping the LGBTQ+ community of civil rights. His rotten fruit includes defaming his many enemies and seeking revenge against them. His economic policies that put corporations above individuals and the wealthy above the lower classes stink to high heaven. His betrayal of our allies and disregard for the environment are rotten.

He is corrupt to the core and many “Christians” don’t care.

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I remind myself that the Lord is with me. Jesus warned us about dark times so we would be prepared. He has a job for me to do: speak out and stand firm in his truth until the end. Be strong and courageous.

Words reveal evil hearts

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

The Lord Jesus said, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. An evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored in his heart.

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

The most hateful of hearts uses the mouth to dehumanize the objects of his hatred. When hatred fills the heart, the mouth spews out defamation and slander. When a heart is full of anger, words are used as daggers to hurt and punish.

The aggrieved, resentful heart calls out for revenge and violence.

The person who is full of pride uses his mouth to boast about how great he (thinks) he is. With his lying lips, he exalts himself above all others. He shamelessly brags about his wealth, his ill-gotten gains.

Merely bragging about himself is not enough; an envious heart drives him to tear down the objects of his envy with derogatory words.

You will recognize bad people, not just by their words, but by the fruit of their actions. Bad fruit includes chaos and division, destroyed reputations and careers, and various forms of cruelty, such as the separation of immigrant parents from their children.

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Matthew 7:16-18

Why in the world can’t the American people recognize the heart of an evil man? Why did they pick such rotten fruit?

My soul hopes and groans

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

My Bible study group is reading The Hope of Heaven: How the Promise of Heaven Changes Everything by Sheila Walsh. In the study guide that accompanies the book, Walsh introduced the Greek word στενάζω (stenazo) for the chapter dealing with disappointment. Stenazo means to groan or sigh inwardly. It can also mean to grumble or complain.

Stenazo perfectly captures how I am feeling these days. I cry out to God in frustration.

It’s hard to hang onto hope. It’s hard to be at peace. It’s hard not to fear the worst. It’s hard not to be angry at the betrayal by people who claim to follow Christ.

Yes, I have hope for myself because I have been promised eternal life in a place where there is no pain and suffering. But I have to live in this broken world now. On a daily basis, I hear about the cruelty and lawlessness perpetrated by a man who has rejected God’s commandment that we love one another, even our enemies, the man who insulted a woman of God for pleading with him to have mercy.

A couple of days ago, I told a Christian friend that my husband used to go to church with me occasionally. I told her that with the current political environment, he refuses to go. She said, “Really. I’m in seventh heaven.” She started to say more but stopped herself. I groaned inwardly.

My heart breaks. My soul groans.

I am disappointed in Christians who voted for an evil man. I find solace in knowing I am not alone. I have Christian allies – people who are not afraid to speak out against Trump’s wickedness, people who refuse to bow down, people who remain faithful followers of Christ.

So as I groan inwardly and cry out to God in frustration, I put my hope in Christ alone, the King of kings.

Revelation 17:13-14 NIV
They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

I groan inwardly, but trust that Christ, the Lord of lords, will ultimately triumph over evil.

Speaking out against MAGA

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

I tried really hard the past four years to avoid posting anything political on Facebook. What good did my silence do? I avoided arguments, but did I make a difference? Did I stand up for what’s right?

A few days ago, several strangers – MAGA trolls – attacked me on Facebook (calling me retarded, questioning my sanity, and other things too vulgar to repeat) all because I posted, on a Biden page, that what I will miss about his presidency is human decency.

I am not a Biden fan, but I do not dislike him. I wish that he had not run for reelection. But he is a decent human being.

What motivates people to troll the page of a person with whom they disagree? Hatred is my guess.

Americans have been fed a steady diet of lies by MAGA. The trollers are doing exactly what their leader has trained them to do. Hate your enemies. Live in fear of others, especially immigrants and LGBTQ.

Christians, including loved ones and those who sit in the pew with me, are being led astray. Their faith has become transactional.

When did it become wrong to value basic human decency? When did dehumanizing immigrants, sexually assaulting women, hating your enemies, and lying pathologically become acceptable to Christians?

My mother didn’t go to church, but she taught me to be a decent human being, to treat other people with dignity and respect. She taught me to accept people for who they are.

Earlier this year, my Christian sister  demanded that I stop speaking when I criticized Trump in response to her criticism of Harris. Later, she said that she does not pass judgment on Trump. (She does pass judgment on others, however).

My mother taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But today, silence feels like complicity.

In the last few days, I found a couple of channels on YouTube that encouraged me and gave me hope. One of them is Culture, Faith, and Politics, hosted by a retired pastor named Pat Kahnke. He encouraged his listeners to find your channel of resistance.

This page is my channel. I pay for it. I will use it to speak out!

God, give me the courage to speak out against the MAGA movement and Christian Nationalism. Thank you for showing me that it is not only right to resist. It’s my Christian duty.