53percenter's Blog

Jesus wasn’t nice, and I can say this with absolute certainty.  Therefore, I get disgusted when I see a lot of churches and preachers trying to emasculate the teachings of Christ into a simple “just be nice” doctrine.  When a Christian dares deviate from this, liberals pounce and call someone’s faith into question, as we saw last week with Christianity Today’s attack on President Trump.  That is a deep perversion of the truth and the Lion of Judah’s message.

Nice people don’t make enemies, and Jesus Christ had enemies in excess.  King Herod believed an infant Jesus to be a usurper.  The Pharisees hated Jesus since His teachings often contradicted their actions.  Because cancel culture was also a thing in the first century, the Pharisees ultimately saw their popularity plummet and wanted revenge.  The Romans wanted punishment for calling Himself a King while the Jews called for his crucifixion because He was nicknamed the Son of God.

Even today, Jesus is attacked.  Democrats like Speaker Pelosi claim to be Catholic while their own policies like abortions and failing to prosecute criminals go against the core of His teachings.  It’s no wonder the vast majority of atheists vote Democrat.  If He were alive today, I have no doubts that modern liberals would boycott Him.

“After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” —John 7:1.

Today, spineless bishops use passionless sermons to preach about acceptance and forgiveness.  Sure, these teachings undoubtedly have a place.  With that said, in churches all across the U.S, you’ll be hard pressed to hear anything about the moral teachings that matter like conversion, virtue, and sexual morality.  On the off-chance that you do, they’re minimalized and said nicely so that these good Christians can appear to be non-confrontational.  God forbid.

Take for instance this other Christianity Today article on the increasing visibility of the LGBT community and what that means for Christians.  Their take?  We’re all “queer”:

Is there an easy way out of the current battles over sexuality?  No.  But there is a way through.  A remnant, perhaps small and perhaps substantial, will continue to teach that we are created male and female, to bless the marriages that reunite those two broken halves, and to remind all, married and unmarried, that ‘in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage’ — Along the way, we all will be queer[.] 

Then we have the case of Adolfo Martinez, an Iowan who took a gay flag hanging on a Church of Christ and then burned it.  He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.  ”It was an honor to do that,” Martinez told KCCI.  ”It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his world firmly, against all odds.”

Meanwhile, we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of a Satanic statue put up at an Illinois statehouse.

When someone like Adolfo Martinez is so severely punished, it makes the rapid decline in Christian observance and church attendance understandable.  What motivations do Christians have when those tasked with looking over the flock don’t seem to care whether or not they’re saving anyone from eternal Hell, let alone our rights on Earth?

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” —Matthew 5:5

The meek remain one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible.  Some Christians mistakenly assume that it means quiet and submissive; however, it is anything but.  Edward Fesser, an esteemed modern philosopher, writes:  

When Christ said, “Blessed are the meek,” He was using a military term[.] … Strength under control. Power under authority. Formidable determination in the face of the constant onslaughts of the enemy. The humble willingness to do what your Master commands you to do.

The exact opposite of feeble timidity.

Did Christ show mercy and tenderness?  Of course, but those characteristics are already overstated. “Be nice” has become quite a false idol of comfort.  Jesus also had convictions and a faith that He was willing to, and did, die for.

That is the essence of virtue that is lost when Christians (especially their leaders) submit to social justice.  It doesn’t mean that every Christian should be preoccupied with righting every wrong.  Seeing someone cut in line at Macy’s during the Christmas shopping season could probably be ignored.  But when ostentatious Hollywood liberals attack you for attending church and following a faith that they deem an “anti-LGBT hate group,” it is righteous to hit back.  Like Jesus, carry a big sword but know when to unsheathe it.  

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” —Matthew 10:34

Merry Christmas!

Image: Ed Uthman via Flickr.

Jesus wasn’t nice, and I can say this with absolute certainty.  Therefore, I get disgusted when I see a lot of churches and preachers trying to emasculate the teachings of Christ into a simple “just be nice” doctrine.  When a Christian dares deviate from this, liberals pounce and call someone’s faith into question, as we saw last week with Christianity Today’s attack on President Trump.  That is a deep perversion of the truth and the Lion of Judah’s message.

Nice people don’t make enemies, and Jesus Christ had enemies in excess.  King Herod believed an infant Jesus to be a usurper.  The Pharisees hated Jesus since His teachings often contradicted their actions.  Because cancel culture was also a thing in the first century, the Pharisees ultimately saw their popularity plummet and wanted revenge.  The Romans wanted punishment for calling Himself a King while the Jews called for his crucifixion because He was nicknamed the Son of God.

Even today, Jesus is attacked.  Democrats like Speaker Pelosi claim to be Catholic while their own policies like abortions and failing to prosecute criminals go against the core of His teachings.  It’s no wonder the vast majority of atheists vote Democrat.  If He were alive today, I have no doubts that modern liberals would boycott Him.

“After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” —John 7:1.

Today, spineless bishops use passionless sermons to preach about acceptance and forgiveness.  Sure, these teachings undoubtedly have a place.  With that said, in churches all across the U.S, you’ll be hard pressed to hear anything about the moral teachings that matter like conversion, virtue, and sexual morality.  On the off-chance that you do, they’re minimalized and said nicely so that these good Christians can appear to be non-confrontational.  God forbid.

Take for instance this other Christianity Today article on the increasing visibility of the LGBT community and what that means for Christians.  Their take?  We’re all “queer”:

Is there an easy way out of the current battles over sexuality?  No.  But there is a way through.  A remnant, perhaps small and perhaps substantial, will continue to teach that we are created male and female, to bless the marriages that reunite those two broken halves, and to remind all, married and unmarried, that ‘in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage’ — Along the way, we all will be queer[.] 

Then we have the case of Adolfo Martinez, an Iowan who took a gay flag hanging on a Church of Christ and then burned it.  He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.  ”It was an honor to do that,” Martinez told KCCI.  ”It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his world firmly, against all odds.”

Meanwhile, we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of a Satanic statue put up at an Illinois statehouse.

When someone like Adolfo Martinez is so severely punished, it makes the rapid decline in Christian observance and church attendance understandable.  What motivations do Christians have when those tasked with looking over the flock don’t seem to care whether or not they’re saving anyone from eternal Hell, let alone our rights on Earth?

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” —Matthew 5:5

The meek remain one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible.  Some Christians mistakenly assume that it means quiet and submissive; however, it is anything but.  Edward Fesser, an esteemed modern philosopher, writes:  

When Christ said, “Blessed are the meek,” He was using a military term[.] … Strength under control. Power under authority. Formidable determination in the face of the constant onslaughts of the enemy. The humble willingness to do what your Master commands you to do.

The exact opposite of feeble timidity.

Did Christ show mercy and tenderness?  Of course, but those characteristics are already overstated. “Be nice” has become quite a false idol of comfort.  Jesus also had convictions and a faith that He was willing to, and did, die for.

That is the essence of virtue that is lost when Christians (especially their leaders) submit to social justice.  It doesn’t mean that every Christian should be preoccupied with righting every wrong.  Seeing someone cut in line at Macy’s during the Christmas shopping season could probably be ignored.  But when ostentatious Hollywood liberals attack you for attending church and following a faith that they deem an “anti-LGBT hate group,” it is righteous to hit back.  Like Jesus, carry a big sword but know when to unsheathe it.  

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” —Matthew 10:34

Merry Christmas!

Image: Ed Uthman via Flickr.

via American Thinker Blog

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In his first Christmas message to the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the global persecution of Christians. Johnson promised those persecuted Christians that Great Britain under his leadership will defend their right to practice their faith.

It’s great to have a real UK leader in charge again.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson: Today of all days, I want us to remember those Christians around the world who are facing persecution. For them Christmas day will be marked in private, in secret, perhaps even in a prison cell. As Prime Minister, that is something I want to change. We stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity, and will defend your right to practice your faith. So as a country let us reflect on the year, and celebrate the good that is to come.

Via Katie Hopkins:

FINALLY Christians around the world have a British leader defending the faith.

All we really want for Christmas Boris, is you. #borisactually pic.twitter.com/qnHp5tvRdJ

— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) December 25, 2019

The post “As Prime Minister That Is Something I Want to Change” – In His Christmas Message Prime Minister Boris Johnson Defends Persecuted Christians appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

via The Gateway Pundit

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More evidence of the strong U.S. economy during the Trump administration came over last weekend, as sales across the country on Saturday reached the highest level ever recorded.

Bloomberg reported, “Holiday shopping set records over the weekend, with Super Saturday sales reaching $34.4 billion, the biggest single day in U.S. retail history, according to Customer Growth Partners.” Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, credited job growth and the abundance of disposable income for the record-setting day, adding, “Paced by the ‘Big Four’ mega-retailers — Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target — Super Saturday was boosted by the best traffic our team has seen in years.”

Johnson noted that 58% of the increase in sales could be attributed to sales online. On Black Friday 2019, the day after Thanksgiving, the nation recorded

$31.2 billion; on Saturday, December 14, the level reached $28.1 billion, and Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, the level of sales reached $19.1 billion.

Johnson said that less people visited malls over the weekend but the ones who did were more likely to actually purchase items rather than simply window-shopping. CNN offered an explanation for the downturn in mall shopping:

Today’s consumers are also drawn to the street retail experience that the suburban mall, ironically enough, helped drive into decline. Historic Main Street retail corridors are seeing something of a renaissance. Across the top 30 US metro areas, retail space in these walkable urban laces commands an astounding 83% rent premium over regional averages — an increase of 17% since 2010 … Even big-box retailers, such as Walmart and Target, are adapting to this competitive reality by building smaller urban store formats. In fact, growth in digital shopping is actually promoting retail growth in some locations — such as dense residential areas — due to a positive “halo effect” where online sales increase in neighborhoods where the retailer has a brick-and-mortar presence.

John Sexton of HotAir commented, “I can see this playing out where I live here in southern California. The nearest traditional mall was booming 20 years ago (Sears and Macy’s were anchor stores) but by 2010 it was on the decline and often had a lot of vacant space. Sears finally closed about a year ago. Now a significant portion of the lower level of that mall has been taken over by a massive Dave and Busters style restaurant for kids which features a large arcade and full size amusement rides. Upstairs is an equally large trampoline park.”

Michael Greenberg, the CEO of Retina, told Yahoo News, “I think what we’re going to see is a shift toward this concept of lifetime value; it’s something that’s already been realized in more traditional industries, like airlines, and now retailers are starting to realize they have predictive power as well. So people are no longer that first purchase, but really that lifetime relationship with the business … I do think it’s going to become mission-critical in the year ahead where you cannot acquire a customer unless you know a priori what they’re going to be worth over the next two or three years.”

Johnson concluded of Saturday’s record-setting day, “The question now is whether today’s stellar momentum leads to sustained economic growth into 2020 and beyond.”

via The Daily Wire

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When I woke up on Christmas morning I checked my email (some habits are hard to break) and noticed that the Washington Post had sent out their usual “Wednesday Headlines” newsletter. Since it would be a little while before everyone was awake and ready to open presents, I clicked on]]>

via Hotair

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A lot of people complain that Christmas is really a pagan holiday that’s been refitted for Christianity but, for me, that’s a feature not a bug.

For me, the birth of Christ — the incarnation of God’s Logos — the moment when the God we can’t see became visible and the God we can’t understand made Himself known — is like a spiritual atom bomb going off in history. After the blast, there’s all sorts of immediate effects: healing, miracles, the resurrection, crazy behavior like believers sitting on poles and handling snakes and speaking in tongues.

But over time, the radiation — or in this case, the radiance — spreads out and covers everything, permeates everything, transforms everything into a vehicle for itself.

History becomes new. We suddenly understand it as the events leading up to the arrival of the Christ child and the years of Our Lord leading away to the second coming.

Religion is changed. What was once an endless series of appeals and sacrifices by man to God becomes instead a vehicle of the Good News about the one sacrifice God made for man. It’s still religion. It’s still full of rules and doctrines and theories. But now those rules and doctrines and theories carry and spread the Good News and are only valid insofar as they contain the Good News.

And yes, holidays are transformed. A brute celebration of a physical event like the winter solstice becomes instead a joyous commemoration of the dawning of the Light of the World.

But the birth of Christ, like the birth of any man, is only the beginning.

A friend of mine recently made a wonderful observation about the Nicene Creed, the statement of basic Christian beliefs. He pointed out that Christ’s life is missing. One section of the creed declares that Christians believe Jesus “came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate…”

Everything Jesus did and said vanishes between the period of one sentence and the start of another. My friend said it was as if they offered us the bread of a sandwich, but not the meat.

I sometimes fear too many of us believe, so to speak, in the bread of life, but not the life itself. We’re very swift to argue with one another over doctrine, but a little slow to go back and puzzle over what Jesus was actually trying to tell us. I don’t mean taking phrases out of context as a way to attack people we disagree with. I mean listening with full attention as the Logos of God tries to teach us how to align ourselves with Him.

Jesus said stuff. He told us to do stuff. He said, “Judge not lest you be judged.” He said, “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” I don’t think He was speaking in some kind of clever code when He said those things. I think He meant what He said exactly.

He told us to love God and love our neighbor — and to love our enemies, too, so that we’ll be children of our Father in heaven who causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good alike. God loves His human creation, in other words, and He wants us to act like His children and love it too.

I don’t think Jesus said these things so we would feel bad when we inevitably failed to do them. I don’t think he said them so we could dissect and twist them and make them mean something else. And I definitely don’t think he said them so we can throw them in one another’s faces.

I think he said them because he wanted to teach us joy. He wanted to tell us that when you attune your heart to the immensity of God’s love, you become joyful, and more joyful every day. I don’t mean happy. Happiness comes and goes. I mean abundantly alive, vitally present, crazily grateful to be even in this vale of tears.

At Christmas, what was once a celebration of the light of the sun and the abundant life it gives the Earth, becomes instead a commemoration of the Light of the World and the abundant life He offered all of us. Not just in His birth, because His birth was only the beginning. Not just in His death, though His death was not the end. His life, His works, His words  — these are the contents of the Incarnation. These are the gifts of Christmas.

Heaven and Earth will pass away, but those words will never pass away. The gift of joy is for us, and no one can take it from us. So let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Rejoice. Rejoice evermore.

And have a merry Christmas.

via The Daily Wire

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Mohamed Ahmed Al-Hashemi; photo: AZ police taken from prior arrest

An Arizona state trooper shot and killed a Qatari man who violently attacked him during a traffic stop, and it was all caught on the police dash cam.

25-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Al-Hashemi, who was in the US on a student visa, threw a street sign onto a road in Phoenix last Thursday, sparking a violent confrontation with the officer.

Trooper Hugh Grant ordered Al-Hashemi to pick up the sign, but he refused to obey commands even as the trooper ordered him to stop walking in the middle of the street.

Al-Hashemi then approached the police car and kicked the front grill.

The trooper used a stun gun to subdue Al-Hashemi but it didn’t stop him from rushing the officer and violently punching and kicking him.

After over a minute of fighting, the trooper, who was in a fight for his life had no choice but to fire his weapon, killing Al-Hashemi.

The dashboard cam shows the violent encounter and Trooper Grant was even thrown to the ground at one point.

Al-Hashemi was screaming the entire time he kicked and punched the officer.

The state trooper also had a female ride-along in the car from MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] so he feared for her safety as well.

AP with the backstory on Al-Hashemi’s prior arrest:

Authorities said they didn’t know if Al-Hashemi was impaired. The trooper had injuries to his face and head and is resting at home.

Authorities say Al-Hashemi was arrested for trespassing at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe on Wednesday. Police in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe responded to a disturbance at the mosque around 4:30 a.m. At the center’s request, officers gave Al-Hashemi a warning and told him not to return, police spokesman Greg Bacon said.

Al-Hashemi returned in the early afternoon and officers were called again. Bacon said he was then arrested on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and booked into jail.

It’s unclear how long Al-Hashemi has been living in the U.S. He was a former student at Arizona State University, which is based in Tempe, according to school officials. They didn’t provide other details.

Watch the dramatic dash cam footage (shots fired at the 2:38 mark):

The post Dramatic Video Shows Muslim in US on Student Visa Violently Attack Arizona State Trooper, Forcing Officer to Shoot and Kill Him (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

via The Gateway Pundit

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ROME — An Italian exorcist has denounced a steady rise in demonic activity as more and more young people abandon traditional spirituality and dabble in the occult.

“Satanism is getting much more aggressive and also diffused,” Dominican Father Francois Dermine told Crux, an online Catholic news outlet.

“Secularization leaves a void,” said the priest, who has worked as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo since 1994. “Young people do not have anything to satisfy their spiritual and profound needs. They are thirsting for something, and the Church is not attractive anymore.”

Since the Church is no longer perceived as a valid option for many young people looking for answers, he said, “they try to find something elsewhere. This something is, many times, the demonic world.”

Satanism takes many forms, Dermine said, and many become exposed to it through forms of occult activity that seem harmless at first. Through these activities, young people risk acquiring “a Satanist mentality” in which familiarity with the demonic world becomes normalized.

“There are many groups of satanism,” the priest said, and Satanism often begins with seemingly innocuous games like the “Charlie Charlie challenge,” in which players attempt to summon a malignant Mexican spirit by balancing two pencils in the form of a cross and posing yes/no questions to “Charlie.”

This sort of game introduces children to the occult early, and such practices are becoming more widespread, Dermine said.

As an example, the priest cited the recent publication of A Children’s Book of Demons, a manual that gives kids instructions on how to summon up demons.

As Breitbart News reported last week, the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) has issued a statement warning parents of the dangers the book, which targets children aged 5-10.

The book was written by Aaron Leighton, an illustrator and “fan” of occult practices and invites children to call forth demons as a way of dealing with unpleasant problems such as chores, homework, and getting rid of bullies.

“Satanism is not always so explicit, but it is becoming more and more so, and the publication of this book is a sign of this,” Father Dermine told Crux, observing that up until a few years ago such a would have been inconceivable.

As an explanation for the growth of interest in the demonic, Dermine points to the breakdown of stable structures such marriages and families, as well as a deterioration of education.

If children had received love in their own families, “it would be much more difficult to follow these kinds of ideologies,” he said. “It would be much more difficult to penetrate their minds.”

“If the adult world does not offer alternatives, it is more difficult for younger generations to adopt a stable way of life. It’s very difficult, it’s almost a miracle,” he said.

Although many adults try to dismiss occultism as a harmless fad, Dermine insists it is very real and very dangerous.

“It’s not only a vague fear, it’s a very concrete risk,” he said. “We must not underestimate this, because violence among young people is becoming more and more diffused.”

“A violent mentality is very dangerous for our society, very, very dangerous,” he said. “Our society risks collapse if it continues like this.”

Follow @tdwilliamsrome.

via Breitbart News

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Joey Mucha’s arcade rental business in San Francisco grew out of his love for Skee-ball. For the last five years, he has been renting Skee-ball and other machines out of a warehouse in the Mission District. Recently, Murcha decided to convert the space into an arcade/restaurant that would be open]]>

via Hotair

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The war on Christmas marches on. Secularists — let’s say it: atheists — are leaving no stone unturned. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said “Merry Christmas” in an interview on Fox & Friends. Leftists pounced, complaining this was a “talking point for the GOP.” Hollywood sees that old-time religion as a relentless nightmare of oppression. Christmas makes them want to tear the roof off of a Nativity set. So they vent through entertainment television.

via NewsBusters – Exposing Liberal Media Bias

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Blexit founder Candace Owens told Breitbart News on Friday that the Democrats proposing “reparations” for black Americans is an “obvious scam” meant for pandering ahead of an election cycle. “They think black Americans are stupid,” said Owens of Democrat politicians.

“I spoke specifically about reparations because it’s just one of the most obvious scams that’s before us, in terms of saying that this is something they want to suddenly take a look at — ahead of an election cycle.” said Owens of her September testimony before a House Oversight Joint Subcommittee Hearing.

Breitbart News caught up with Owens at Turning Point USA’s fifth annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday.

“This is exactly the sort of pandering that I speak out against,” added Owens of the Democrats’ reparations proposal. “They think black Americans are stupid. They think that we’re emotional. They don’t think that we understand that what we need are better policies, not more handouts.”

“Handouts amount to absolutely nothing,” said Owens. “If they did, black America would be wealthy today, because the welfare industry — 22 trillion dollars has gone into it, and black Americans are poorer today than when it began. So, I speak out against all of that trickery that comes from the left, and that rhetoric ahead of any election cycle.”

Owens added that President Trump reaches black Americans because he doesn’t play race games.

Watch below:

Matt Perdie

“I don’t think [President Trump] focuses on any one group in America,” said Owens. “He just believes in America, and that’s really all it takes to uplift groups that, in the past, have not been uplifted — to not play the race games — just say, you know what, I’m going to bring jobs to America. You know what, I’m going to tackle illegal immigration.”

“Which, we know is one of the biggest issues harming black America,” added Owens of illegal immigration. “Black American men between the ages of 18 and 21 are the people that have to directly contend and fight for jobs with illegal immigrants.”

“So it’s just his policies — which are good for the economy — that ultimately uplifted black America, and people are starting to see,” said Owens. “They accuse him of being a racist. He’s obviously not racist, because he’s uplifting all sorts of groups, just through good policies.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

via Breitbart News

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