Once More Unto the Breach: A Clueless Rev. Micheal Brown.

The beatification of Trump! I wonder who produced this add?
According to Poe's law it could be either a supporter or an opponent of 
Trump satirizing Trump world or even Putinite election interference.
But you can bet Granny's dentures that some evangelical idiots
out there believe it!

Evangelical Michael Brown of the Line of Fire Ministry continues to heart search about his overt Trump support as he wonders where Trump policy will take the country. But for the arguably narcissistic sociopathic Trump, government policy is primarily and ultimately about himself. Trump power comes first and an appearance of adopting conservative values is a means to that end. In this article Micheal starts by asking this question: 

MICHEAL: What are the cultural implications of Donald Trump’s decisive presidential victory? On the one hand, he incurred the ire of the pro-life movement by distancing himself from historic pro-life stances, gutting the GOP platform in the process. (He gutted the platform in terms of pro-life issues as well as marriage and family issues.) How should followers of Jesus assess all this? On a certain level, things just got a lot more simple. That’s because it will become increasingly difficult for the Church to look to Trump to lead the way on key moral and cultural issues.

MY COMMENT: For the umpteenth time: Trump isn't about policy, whether pro-life or pro-choice: Policy is a shop front tool with which Trump manipulates voters. If evangelicals have ever looked to Trump to lead on moral and cultural values, clearly the grossly immoral Trump has pulled the wool over their eyes about his true intentions. It's no surprise that Trump has equivocated on the pro-life question as he's sought to maximize his vote. 

***

MICHEAL: To be sure, he has chosen his battles carefully, highlighting the destructive extremes of radical transgender activism while distancing himself from Project 2025. It seems evident that this reflects pragmatism more than (or, at least as much as) conviction. More and more Americans are saying “No way!” to boys sharing locker rooms with girls and to the genital mutilation of minors. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans have no idea what is in Project 2025, other than the Democrats said it was really, really draconian and evil. Trump campaigned against trans-activism while vigorously declaiming any connection to Project 2025. Again, he’s a pragmatist, and it worked.

MY COMMENT: Chosen his battles carefully? More pragmatism than conviction? Any worthy convictions (and we aren't talking about Trump's criminal convictions here) are liable to be trumped by Trump's Trump-first policy. And yes, if that's what Micheal euphemistically calls pragmaticism (= curating your vote) it's worked. As for Project 2025; this is a brainchild of a group for whom Trump himself is but a shop front and a useful idiot. 

***

MICHEAL: But when it came to pro-life issues, his insistence that he would not a sign a federal abortion ban into law, along with his adopting a moderate pro-choice position, caused some pro-life activists like Lila Rose to call for a boycott against Trump in 2024 before finally voting for him in the end.

Indeed, from the very strong pro-life language in GOP platforms dating back to 1980, the new Trump-mandated version primarily voices opposition to late-term abortion, which is largely rejected by most Americans. And while Trump emphasized that by overturning Roe, the states could decide what policies to enact, there can be no doubt that his language and emphasis changed from 2016 to 2024.

Again, this is most likely attributed to political pragmatism, as opposition to abortion has been invigorated since the overturning of Roe.

MY COMMENT: "Political Pragmatism" is a euphemism for a pathological liar cynically using the passions behind the pro-life/choice contention to manipulate voters. I doubt Trump has any strong convictions on the subject and will simply bend in the direction he feels the wind of opinion is blowing.

***

MICHEAL: As for issues pertaining to marriage and family, while Trump had said already in 2016 that same-sex “marriage” was the law of the land, he didn’t tamper with the language of the GOP platform in 2016 or 2020. Yet this year, the changes were so dramatic that a Newsweek editorial by Brad Polumbo opined, “Trump's New GOP Platform Is a Massive Win for LGBT Americans.” The older platform stated,

“Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values. We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor, which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define marriage policy in federal law.”

 That language totally disappeared from the 2024 platform. The shift was seismic.

 MY COMMENT: More so-called "pragmatism" no doubt!: Ibid my previous comment.

***

MICHEAL:  So, I ask once again, “How should followers of Jesus assess all this?” It’s really quite simple. Trump never was and never will be the moral savior of America. As for the GOP, it is not God’s party, championing righteousness and purity in the land. Hardly.

 MY COMMENT: True, no party is God's party, but political parties can at least be inhabited by honest principled people, even Godly people. Instead, naive evangelicals like Michael have help feed this gurning cuckoo in the nest of the GOP as it has grown and grown.  Trump's son once said that the GOP is now rightly called "The Trump Party"; he's probably right.  Thanks very much Micheal for helping to create the Trump Party. 

***

MICHEAL: But this is not necessarily bad news, since, as I have stated endlessly over the years, politics cannot do what only the gospel can do. And while there are highly moral politicians, and while I still prefer GOP policies to Democratic policies, we make a terrible, sometimes even fatal mistake when we look to a worldly system to carry out heavenly work.

MY COMMENT: On the contrary it's very bad news. Instead of promoting salt of the earth politicians (Like a Mike Pence or a Jimmy Carter) evangelicals in America have been manipulated by a lying power-seeking pied piper into putting him onto the seat of power. But yes, I agree these evangelicals have made a fatal mistake in falling for the trap that is the 1 Samual 8:7-18 syndrome. A simple style over content mistake!

***

MICHEAL: As for other aspects of Trump’s moral example, he is hardly even attempting to present himself as a moral icon. That’s why I say that things have simplified for us as followers of Jesus, in particular, for those of us who voted for Trump. We no longer have to present him as Saint Donald (as some almost did in 2016), the champion of the pro-life movement, a fine upstanding Christian.

MY COMMENT: Well Micheal if you don't acknowledge that Trump is the greatest president of all time, the greatest Godfather ever, and worthy of being called Saint Donald you might find yourself being accused of a disturbing lack of loyalty, a traitor to the project 2025 cause. 

You must believe this......

                

....or you might be told this.....

***

MICHEAL: We can recognize his many weaknesses and appreciate all the good he can do without looking to him to do our job. After all, Jesus didn’t say to the President of the United States, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world” (see Matthew 5:13-16). He said that to His disciples. That’s our task and calling. Let’s give ourselves to it, by His help and grace, while praying for God’s best for the president.

 And while we can seize the cultural movement in which so many radical leftist policies and ideas are being exposed, we cannot let secular culture lead the way. That’s our job.

 MY COMMENT: Well Micheal, in focusing on those so-called radical leftist policies you've fallen for some political sleight of hand which has defocused you from your job; that job is acting as salt in society and doing your best to promote honest and principled politicians rather than a narcissistic power seeker who promotes the lies of conspiracy theorism. You idiot Micheal, you've allowed you self to be blindsided by appeals to your own vanity by the vainest president elect ever.

INTERESTING LINKS

1. Anne Coulter doesn't Trust Trump-world

'Never trust them': Ann Coulter rages after MAGA star's apology for conspiracy theory film

2. Ominous!

Donald Trump’s disturbing war on the press has now escalated

 “It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press.” “Our press is very corrupt,” Trump continued. “Almost as corrupt as our elections.”

3. The logic of coercive "gangster" authoritarianism

Dmitry Medvedev says editors of the Times are ‘legitimate military targets’

Trump Election Win.

 

In response to the Trump election win in the US I posted the following entry on my FB page:

With the accession to the US throne of D J Trump it seems we are passing into the era of Godfather rule and the rule of the "unwoke". Given Trump's large evangelical following I'm reminded of 1 Samuel 8:7-18 with its clear warnings about this kind of government. Let's hope & pray that it turns out to be lot less autocratic than it looks

Somebody commented that Trump at least had some policies whereas Kamala Harris didn't have much on offer. My reply was that comparative policies wasn't the issue....

I can't comment on policies, good or bad, Democratic or Republican myself; their evaluation is notoriously difficult. I was swayed by the anti-democracy argument: Trump, the arguably narcistic sociopath isn't in it for policy but for power. Policy for him is just a shop front, or a road to power. The only policy he knows is "Trump"! We've seen this sort of thing in history before where a semblance of democratic constitution gets dismantled by a demagogue...Julius Caesar, Hitler, Putin etc. Even worse who is the would-be dictator who is going to follow showman Trump? Buckle up, we could be in for quite a ride when project 2025 gets into gear! Kamala may (or may not) have been a bad policy maker, but that doesn't figure in my broader thinking. Trump is a cuckoo in the nest of Republicanism, a pied piper of US evangelicals.

The Democrats were quick to accept Trump's resounding win and congratulated him on his victory. It is worth comparing that with Trump's denial of election defeat in 2020. Whatever we think of their policies and goals the Democrats have not (yet) attacked the electoral system unlike Trump and many of his followers. There's something very sinister at the heart of Trumpkinism. Those who make comparison between Trumpkinism and those who oppose Trumpkinism on the basis of a policy comparison should wake-up to the herd of T-Rex's that now crowd the room. 

INTERESTING & RELEVANT LINKS

1. John Bolton: Trump seeks fealty, not merely loyalty!

John Bolton sums up Trump’s ideal cabinet picks in one damning word

I also used "fealty" in this post: Views, News and Pews: Well done Mike Pence! But Michael Brown gets a fail.

2. I hope this is just a scare story

'Blueprint of destruction': Experts outline 'chillingly clear' view of Trump's next term

Donald Trump's political career has closely tracked the trajectories of autocratic leaders Viktor Orban and Vladimir Putin, whose rise to power offer a "chillingly clear" picture of where his second term could lead, according to historians.

The former president and his supporters are tremendously hostile to civic institutions like the judiciary, the media, universities, many nonprofits and even some religious groups, and Trump will likely follow the lead of those autocratic leaders in Hungary and Russia by sidelining experts, regulators and other civil servants, wrote New York Times columnist M. Gessen.

3. The Cuckoo in the Republican nest is growing

United by loyalty but Trump's new team have competing agendas - BBC News

Trump warned his second term would mean ‘retribution’. His alarming cabinet picks show he means it

4. This goes together with Musk's "UK civil war" comment

Elon Musk brands UK a 'police state' after care worker jailed for livestreaming riots

It's worth noting that the article linked to above (see quotes below) is from "GB News" a UK right-wing news organization that, I think, takes a favourable view of Trump's UK mate, Nigel Farage. It's not clear to me whether or not GB News is critical of Musk's gross misrepresentation of the UK situation.  Until they deny it, I'm putting my money on GB News wanting to cozy up to the hyper-far-right that Musk represents. 

Elon Musk has branded Britain "a police state" after a care worker was jailed for livestreaming riots in Tamworth.

The tech billionaire made the comment to his 207 million followers on social media after a nine-month prison sentence was handed to 23-year-old Cameron Bell.

Bell was imprisoned after admitting to violent disorder charges for livestreaming a group of masked men making racist comments online during the summer riots.

The woman had joined a gang of hooded men following riots related to events in Southport, capturing the scenes on social media whilst wearing her work uniform.

This latest criticism has added to Musk's growing string of confrontational comments about Britain.

Previously, the billionaire sparked controversy by claiming civil war in the UK was "inevitable" in a post about the August riots.

These comments have followed Musk strengthening his relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, who has announced the tech billionaire will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.

The department's goal will be to "dismantle" the $6.5trillion US bureaucracy, marking Musk's official entry into Trump's next administration.

5. CRees-SMogg's opinion aired on GB News

Jacob Rees-Mogg takes swipe at ‘godless’ Democrats after abject US election failure: ‘Greatest evil of modern society’

I might not agree with all Democratic policies (e.g., abortion) but they are not Godless. Joe Biden was a catholic of course. Kamala made an appearance at a church during campaigning. But much rather the current "woke" crowd than the brutalities of the unshamedly authoritarian "unwoke" tribe who are out to rule us all and in the darkness bind us. Current unwokness is as much a danger if not more a danger than wokeness. Games theory talks about pragmatic alliances. 

See also: Quantum Non-Linearity: Marx vs. Smith

6. If you want an example of unwoke verbal intimidation, see this.

Ken Ham, Trump supporting representative of the evangelical far-right let's out all the stops in his attempt at verbal intimidation of Christians he doesn't agree with. 

Views, News and Pews: Calling down Hell and Hamnation on Heretics!

7. Very Interesting: Straight out of games theory!

RFK Jr caught on audio comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and calling supporters 'bootlickers'

8. Something else for Trump to lie about and call "Fake News"

Just how big was Donald Trump’s election victory? - BBC News

Landslide? My foot!

9. Is this a fascist writing for GB News?

Why I believe Elon Musk and a viral petition will force a General Election before long - Kelvin MacKenzie

Is MacKenize a fascist?....

Were I Starmer, or any other Labour politician, I would stop the lip curling about the petition calling for a new General Election which has now hit an astonishing 2.6million.

It reflects an anger on the streets that this government lied its way to power. Lied to the pensioners over energy, lied to ‘’working people’’ over their taxes and lied to business that Labour was pro-growth when in fact it was pro-deceit.

A lot of famous people signed this petition and turbo-charged to where it is today. The most famous of these, by a long way is Elon Musk. He simply said: "The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state."

Who could argue with that. The Allison Pearson scandal involving Essex police is enough to confirm that. Let’s be honest if she hadn’t had much of the media behind her she could well have ended up in the same prison as those two ladies with their Facebook posts.

Musk’s increasing hostility to what Starmer is doing to the UK is a worry. Although I almost agree with every sentiment I can see Trump is using him as a mouthpiece and that he intends to be tough on us both politically and economically when he moves into the White House in January.

That must be a worry, especially for those who lean to the Right in the UK. We would be in favour of Trump’s policies but against the pain they are causing us personally. It would also give Starmer a platform.

Plutocrat Musk was responding to the thuggish/fascist riots in August whose damage was repaired by a communal effort of peaceful citizens. That, of course is ignored. 

Religious Popularism vs Academia

The insecurity of the popularist fundamentalist mind shows up
 in this cartoon: In their view if you slip an inch you'll soon be
 slipping a mile! So, in order to anchor themselves in certainty
the fundamentalist resorts to authoritarian group think and
the community pressures of cultism.

The academic establishment has become increasingly disconnected from the religious and mystical yearnings of a large section of the human race and their need for noetic security. There was a time when academia and religious authorities were intertwined and together they provided guidance (and security) on the meaning, purpose and shape of life. There was a price though; this security was bought at the cost of authoritarianism and the persecution of dissenters. ....we only need think of both Catholic and Protestant executions of "heretics".  For example, even in the 18th century a Norwich man was executed for publicly claiming the stories of the Bible to be fables.

In contrast what we are getting from the academic community today is at best non-committal noises about the questions of meaning and at worst contempt, cancellation and even persecution of those who presume to offer challenges to a purely secular world view.  Given the great changes in the cosmic perspective that have occurred since the enlightenment it is really no surprise that most academics either don't have the confidence or don't regard it as their duty to help fill in the "God shaped hole" in the heart of humankind. Western societies have lost their convictions and are inclined to believe that exosecular world views cannot be anything more than mythical.  

The withdrawal of the academic community from thinking itself as a supplier of spiritual guidance and even in some cases treating with contempt popularist & folk expressions of exosecular beliefs has led to a self-reinforcing polarization. As folk religion seeks some kind of firm anchorage for its beliefs by resorting to the vehement certainties and group pressures of fundamentalism, its increasing extremism seems to be a kind of reactionary punk contrarianism, a protest movement against modernity. These reactionary communities have reciprocated the contempt they have received from academia. They will even ferociously attack Christians who they classify as outsiders because they regard them as being on the slippery slope (or the slippery staircase) of unbelief. But who started this vicious circle of mutual antagonism, contempt & increasing extremism? That's sounds like a chicken-and-egg question to me!

It's true that many fundamentalist communities now glory in the anti-establishment mire of cranky anti-science flat-earth-like beliefs, conspiracy theorism, authoritarian leadership regimes, and quasi-racist Christian nationalism, thus inviting ridicule and contempt. Worst of all in the US they have formed a pact with quasi-criminal Trumpism and even in some cases Putinism. Sections of the US evangelical culture have fallen into such outrageous belief and practice that it provides the perfect extenuating circumstances for unbelief. But we can't just blame polarization on fundamentalists. Evangelical atheists like PZ Myers and Richard Carrier are part of the regenerative coupled system of tit-for--tat animosity that borders on mutual hatred. In this connection I was amused to see that Ken Ham's organization wasn't slow in taking PZ Myers to task for publishing false accusations about Ken's AiG organization. I don't think for one moment that PZ knowingly published false information, it's just that given his probable view that AiG are an organization of lying grifters he joined the data dots with the worst possible interpretation, hinting at a story of nefarious goings on behind the scenes. In his original blog post the implication was that AiG are using a private jet to occasionally visit the Cayman Island tax haven to stash away cash, tax free.  AiG picked up on this innuendo as false and defamatory: Read the story from Myers side here: I’m in trouble with AiG and its lawyers

And here's the first part of AiG's letter to Myers: 

RE: False and Defamatory Statements 

Dear Dr. Myers:

We represent Answers in Genesis, Inc. (“AiG”). We are writing to demand you and your blog, FreeThoughtBlogs, cease and desist further publication of your article Why are creationists so pasty pale at Answers in Genesis? posted at https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ 2024/10/17/why-are-creationists-so-pasty-pale-at-answers-in-genesis/ with a October 17, 2024 publication date (the “Article”). The Article contains several false statements and distortions of fact intended to defame our client.

The Article begins with the following statement: “AiG owns a private jet,” which is false. AiG has a lease for the fractional use of a private jet. In other words, AiG does not own a jet. It owns a percentage of an aircraft’s flight hours each year, approximately 25% of the allocated usage. The ministry has no oversight or involvement regarding the other 75% of use. The reasoning for the fractional use of a private plane is not about luxury but practicality, allowing the ministry to reach more people over a shorter period of time.

With that being said, it could very well be true that this jet “frequently darts down to the Cayman Islands for one-day visits.” However, that does not mean that those trips are taken by AiG. In fact, they are not. No AiG personnel have used the jet (or any other aircraft) for trips to the Cayman Islands.

The letter goes on to consolidate the case against Myers.

Obviously, there is no love lost here: PZ Myers genuinely believes that AiG are a gang of lying grifters and on their part AiG are likely to see Myers as a slave to the wickedness of unrighteousness as described by Romans 1:29-32. After all, if Ken Ham can be so spiritually vicious in his attacks on those Christians whose views undermine the rationale for his AiG business interests, he's clearly going to also pull out all the stops with atheists like Myers. 

This highly polarized context is the milieu in which we see US evangelicals (Ken Ham, Michael Brown, Franklin Graham etc) siding with secular leaders who are arguably of a fascist persuasion and prepared to gain and hold onto power by resorting to Machiavellian means. These quasi-criminal Godfathers have made a pact with US evangelicals by promising to defend their values at the price of taking the West back to simpler more cognitively anchored, more authoritarian and but more violent times. If they gain ascendancy in the West, what do you think might happen at the next anti-government protest given the presence of those AR15 armed Trumpite militias?  And what do you think might happen to dissenters in view of D J Trump's firing-squad comments about Liz Cheney?  Was he just joking or was it just an insensitive metaphor? I hope the US doesn't take the risk in order to find out. 

RELEVANT LINKS

1. My Links

Quantum Non-Linearity: Anti-Science or Anti Academic Establishment?

Quantum Non-Linearity: Christian Fundamentalists Embrace Flat Earth.

Quantum Non-Linearity: New Agers and Fundamentalists

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Trump Victory Part 2: Anti-Establishmentarianism

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Trump Victory. Part 1: Folksy Levellers.

Quantum Non-Linearity: Cloistered Academics vs. Christian Punks

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Anti Gravity Road Show.

2. Harrison Ford's Warning

Harrison Ford issues revenge warning as Hollywood legend reveals presidential endorsement

Ford continued: “The truth is this, Kamala Harris will protect your right to disagree with her about policies or ideas.

“The other guy, he demands unquestioning loyalty, says he wants revenge.”

3. George W Bush

Bill Clinton defends George W Bush over his endorsement decision

3. US Democracy's demise?

Trump has vowed to shake some of democracy's pillars

Suckered by Trump's Soft-Soaping

Trump and some of his Evangelical enablers.

In the following post Ken Ham runs a video of his where he criticizes Donald Trump's concept of Christianity.....

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/09/15/trump-opens-up-about-mortality/

I probably agree with Ken's criticisms, but I don't want to focus on his comments in this post. For a start it is no surprise to me that Trump hasn't grasped the heart of Christianity, and it ought to be no surprise to Ken and his followers: Understanding and responding to the Christian message is predicated on a revelation of one's own powerlessness in the face of the temptations of sin and pride - the two words with the "i" in the middle. But self-centeredness, bordering on narcissism is so extreme in Trump's case and so much part of his identity that we find him constantly lying, bragging, praising himself and engaging in the character assassination of his political opponents & those who don't show him the loyalty he thinks he deserves. Therefore, you'd really know about it if Trump truly grasped the meaning of Christianity and had a real change of heart. But nevertheless, Trump is still an expert at soft-soaping American evangelicals by telling them what they want to hear. Trump-tripe is too often swallowed hook, line and sinker among gullible North American evangelicals & conspiracy theorists: See here for example:

Views, News and Pews: Trump Soft Soaps American Evangelicals (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

Criticizing Trump with his planet sized ego for his flawed concept of Christianity is no big deal and is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. But as always seems to be the case with Trump's evangelical enablers they skirt round the herd of ravenous T-Rexes in the room. This is what Ken says in his post....

Well, the video I’m going to share below, which was recorded on the final evening of our 40 Days and 40 Nights of Christian Music Festival, held at the Ark Encounter, isn’t about whom to vote for in the election. There are only two realistic options, and Christians need to vote to minimize evil and maximize righteousness. We won’t be voting for a perfect person, but we need to judge the worldview of all such public figures against the authority of God’s Word, pray for them, and vote accordingly. That’s my view on the upcoming election.

This affected attempt to appear non-political won't do Ken. Well yes, it's a human being you are voting for so trivially, almost by definition, you won't be voting for a perfect person! What you should be addressing Ken are those T(rump)-Rexes in the room I talked about in my last post where we see that policy is being trumped by personality; Trump's world view is summed in one word: "Trump!". As is quite clear to me and many others this election isn't political business as usual and is ultimately about saving democracy from far-right dictators-in-waiting, like for example Putin sympathizer and Trump supporter Steve Bannon; so, we know who Mr. V. Putin, tyrant of Russia, favours in this election.  But Ken, we can also make a pretty good guess who you are voting for: The fact is Donald Trump's self-centered world view suits you down to the ground because as we have seen in my last post, Trump, as is his wont, is telling North American evangelicals about the kind of world view they like to hear of: Namely, that a Trump regime will look after their ministry & business interests. But Ken old son, don't be surprised if His Trumpness changes His mind on that matter at His pleasure.

It's worth comparing Ken's criticism of Trump with the spiritually vicious attacks he's launched on Christians who don't believe his Genesis literalisms and therefore implicitly threaten Ken's AiG based business interests. Ken can criticize Trump's very obvious misunderstanding of the gospel as much as he likes but the fact is clear that Ken, like so many other North American evangelicals, has been suckered by Trump's expert soft-soaping. 

RELEVANT LINKS

1. Trumpite fascist state?

No one has ever been as dangerous to America as Trump — it can happen here | Opinion (msn.com)

Trump has also promised to go after journalists — echoing Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, he calls us “enemies of the people” — if he’s reelected. Sadly, that may explain the reticence so many reporters and their publications have for calling him and his rhetoric out for what it is.

I frankly have little doubt that if he’s elected he’ll do everything he can to break people like me. And you, if you’ve ever posted against him on social media: both Putin and Orbán, Trump‘s explicit role models, imprison people who post against them on Facebook or other media.

2. Ken's religious extremism

Quantum Non-Linearity: Evidence of Ham’s Religious Extremism

3. Is it really going to be this bad?

The Godfather rules OK?

'Plundering and degrading': NY Times columnist sounds bleakest warning about Trump allies

Trump Enablers

In this post I will be looking at the following two North American right-wing Christian figures who have been ingested into Trump political culture and are significant instruments of Trumpism....

1) Ken Ham, supremo of the fundamentalist
Answers in Genesis Young Earth theme park

 2) Michael Brown of The Line of Fire ministry

Ken and Micheal have been coy about openly encouraging votes for Trump in their rather disingenuous attempt to appear non-political, but as the US election day approaches it is now clear where their political allegiances lie....

In a previous post I concluded that a fundamentalist figure like Ken Ham would very likely be voting for D J Trump; not only that he has given his implicit support to the QAnon movement. Further, recent evidence that Ken is a not-so-covert Trump supporter comes from this post of his:

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/08/25/what-christians-must-know-about-kamala-harris/

Add to this the fact that Ken has never, as far as I'm aware, posted an article with a heading like What Christians must know about Donald Trump warning us about Trump's very obvious amorality, then I think we can put 2 and 2 together. The nearest Ken comes to criticizing Trump is on Trump wanting to allow abortion up to 15 weeks (See above post by Ken). But even with this (and I myself disapprove of abortion) Ken won't tell us about the elephant in the room: D J Trump is about policy only if it suits his purpose of getting into power. Trump is therefore ambivalent about abortion because he's primarily looking for votes. With Trump, policy is second to his ulterior policy; namely, Trump-power. To this end he will lie, lie and lie again.  Even worse is that Trump is but a frontman and showman to those even more dangerous operators than Trump (such as Putin supporter Steve Bannon) who are waiting in the wings for Trump to get into power, destroy the America democratic constitution thus giving them a stake in an unholy scramble to the top of an unaccountable power pyramid absent of democratic checks and balances.  Why isn't Ken telling us all about this? Because his organization depends on Trump & QAnon supporters. 

***

Now, Micheal Brown, unlike Ken Ham, has always come over to me as a nice reasonable person and I've always liked his tone. Moreover, he seems to have his eyes open about Trump-evil.  But he too, like Ken, has been pulled into the orbit of Trump influence and power; Michael's ministry support base is, like Ken's, very dependent on the MAGA cult. Micheal therefore has a vested interest in not alienating the MAGA movement. So, after months if not years of equivocating on Trump-power he has at last come out in favour of voting for Trump (as I expected). The evidence of this open declaration of Trump support is clear from the quotes below which I have taken from this post of his:

Can a Vote for Trump Be Morally Justified? | Articles | The Line of Fire | Your voice for Moral Sanity and Spiritual Clarity | The Line of Fire

In the following quotes the emphases are mine....

We cannot possibly vote for Kamala Harris for a host of reasons. But can we, in good conscience, vote for Donald Trump?

In short, the battle we are fighting is an existential one, with our most fundamental liberties under attack. And, many of us reason, Donald Trump, with all his shortcomings, is the best man for the job.

As Tucker Carlson [Another corrupt party - Ed] said in December 2019,

“If you're wondering why so many Christians have been willing to support this president despite his personal life, this is why: It's because whatever his flaws, he's made it clear that he's not the enemy of Christians.”

Many a Trump supporter would say, “Precisely so!”

But can we really look to Trump to fight for the things that are important for us? On Friday, August 23, he posted on Truth Social that if he is reelected, his “administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” What?! Here is an allegedly pro-life candidate using the misleading rhetoric of the pro-abortion camp (speaking of “reproductive rights” rather than the so-called right to abortion) and promising this “right” to women.

Talk about a deep betrayal of our values, also reflected in the GOP’s gutted 2024 platform, where the pro-life plank is virtually gone and all opposition to same-sex “marriage” has completely disappeared.

How, then, can Christian conservatives justify their vote for Trump?

Many would still argue that, despite his caving in on some of the issues most important to us and despite his many glaring character weaknesses, he will still do a better job on the economy, on securing our borders, on standing with Israel, on standing up to our international enemies.

Why, then, vote for Trump?

When pressed further on this issue, the answer would sound something like this: “We still believe that character counts and morality matters, but things have become so extreme in America that we have to elect a streetfighter, someone who stands up for our cause – not just for our good, but for the good of the generations to come.”

And so, overall, balancing out the pros and the cons, Trump is the better choice.

And if we do choose to vote for him, a choice that the vast majority of Christian conservatives will make, we must remember to keep our focus on Jesus and the gospel and to be sure that, to the extent Trump’s character deficiencies are a negative example, we distance ourselves from those deficiencies while setting the bar high in our lives and conduct.

We can vote for him without becoming like him.

***

We can see from the above that Michael is encouraging a Trump vote, but he has completely lost the plot and has ignored the herd of T-Rex's in the room....

Why is Micheal voting Trump? He's clear about Trump's moral failings and yet still recommends a Trump vote. So, is it Trump's policies he's voting for? Well, if that's so it can't be because of Trump's abortion and same-sex marriage policies; after all, Micheal accuses Trump of a deep betrayal on these issues. I once might have thought that these two issues were sacred to people like Micheal and that they would never compromise on them by voting for a candidate like Trump. In fact, both Ken and Micheal have repeatedly written articles stating these values as the main reason for not voting Democrat. So now it seems that both Ken and Micheal have compromised on these Trump policies. So why are they still voting Trump?

Micheal lets slip the real reason why he wants Trump:  As we can see from the quotes above Micheal believes Trump to be a streetfighter who is on the side of Christians like himself and will therefore fight a dirty fight for their ministries, implement right-wing agendas around immigration and oppose China (but I suspect not oppose Putin's Orthodox Russia which Trump and Steve Bannon admire). 

As long as Trump defends their ministries, they are prepared to pay the price of ignoring that herd of T-Rexs, of which both Ken and Michael say nothing......Nothing about those dubious stolen election stories. Nothing about the QAnon fantasy. Nothing about Trump's extreme supporters like Marjorie Taylor-Green, Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, and white supremacists like Nick Fuentes. Nothing about Trump's lying accusations and conspiracy theory promotion. Nothing about those implausible accusations of Kamala being a communist. Nothing about Trump being a big step toward a corrupt criminal authoritarian autocracy where cleverer would-be-dictators are waiting in the wings for a Trump victory. Nothing about the trouble that the AR15 armed Trump militia are likely to cause if Trump isn't elected. Nothing about those rumors of civil war. Nothing about Trump's relationship with aspiring plutocrat, oligarch & naive crony capitalist Elon Musk. Nothing about the rampant conspiracy theorism of the Trump supporting far right. Nothing about signs that Trump will imprison political opponents. Nothing about those bogus "deep state" stories which prepare the naive mentality for the great fascist-like simplifications of top-down autocracy. Nothing about 1 Samuel 8:7-18 with its clear warning on the effects of the absolute rule of Godfathers.....and the list goes on and on....

Micheal of course might claim that all these stories are mischief making by a Democratic party who themselves are trying to criminally undermine democracy. But if that is true, why isn't he making this a good reason to vote Trump? That's because he can't afford to draw attention to this subject as it would take his support base dangerously close to the truth: After all, 2024 is far from a normal US election: It's not a case of democratically electing a right-wing but principled figure like a Ronald Reagan or a George Bush or a Margret Thatcher. There have been no hints in previous US elections about charging and imprisoning political opponents. Such talk has only surfaced since Trump appeared on the scene. All this and with armed Trump supporters at the ready if the electoral system doesn't go their way it is clear that this is a dysfunctional election. But Ham and Brown have a vested interest in not drawing attention to this dysfunctionality because that would be too telling. 

For Ken and Micheal, it's really all about keeping their Trump voting support base sweet and ensuring the survival of their ministries; they simply can't afford to alienate their supporter base. Ken Ham isn't the nicest of persons (See also here) and his authoritarianism readily comes to the surface and this chimes with the sentiments of the far-right. Micheal, however, is of different stuff; he can sense the conflict, but in the end he's captive to the Trump tribe. Both have sold out to the gross evils of Trumpism in order to preserve their ministries.

In this post of mine are some thoughts as to the reason why we are at a juncture where North American Evangelicals have sold out to a corrupt movement. In that post I quoted one commentator who had studied the subject, and this is what he said regarding the 2016 election:

 It was this that led 81% of white evangelicals voting for Trump....It was a marriage of convenience in which Trump promised everything on the evangelical agenda.....Evangelicals reciprocated with intense support for a man whose personal and political morality  - which many feel is at odds with Christianity - was set aside in order to win what they perceived as a battle for the soul of America.  

But things have moved on even further: Trump, with his eye on power rather than policy, is no longer promising abortion laws and laws on gay marriage that were on the evangelical agenda. But it's too late for Micheal, Ken and many an evangelical. They are irreversibly trapped in the MAGA cult and Trumpite evangelicalism.

RELEVANT LINKS

1. Threats of imprisonment

Liberals go into meltdown after Trump vows to jail political enemies (msn.com)

2. The Political Pied Piper

Views, News and Pews: Trumptruth News: The Political Pied Piper of far-right Christianity (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

3. Ken's rule driven morality

Views, News and Pews: The dangers of rule driven morality. (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

4. History of right-wing evangelicalism

Views, News and Pews: Origins of the US Evangelical Right (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

5. Panda's Thumb's view

Tax-exempt AIG attacks Presidential candidate, may be reported to IRS (pandasthumb.org)

6. Persecution of Gays

X refuses to take down post falsely accusing Rev Richard Coles of being a paedophile (msn.com)

7. Scientific American endorses Kamala

Scientific American makes presidential endorsement for only the second time in its 179-year history (msn.com)

Quotes worth noting: Trump peddles lies and conspiracy theories....

“The US faces two futures,” the editors wrote, pushing one candidate who “offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience.”

They continued: “In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies.”

The article highlights Trump’s baseless claim during the debate that some states allow a person to obtain an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, and calling it “execution after birth.”

“No state allows this,” Scientific American clarified. The magazine also emphasized that Trump refused to answer whether he would veto a national abortion ban.

8. Kamala falsely accused of being a communist

Why 'Comrade Kamala' memes are taking off among Latino exiles - BBC News

This reminds me of the right-wingers who accuse even the conservative party of being "socialists"!

9. Well done Mike Pence!

Mike Pence takes swipe at Trump in sign of a political comeback (msn.com)

Brave man! Trump will no doubt find Mike's lack of loyalty disturbing. If there's a Trumpite dictatorship Mike may well find himself in jail. I'd have voted for Mike Pence if I was a US citizen!

10. Trump seeks to prosecute news organisations that oppose him

Trump says he will seek Google's prosecution if he wins election (msn.com)

11. This speaks for itself

Voices: Is Donald Trump’s ‘Kristallnacht’ speech his most dangerous yet? (msn.com)

12. I think I already knew this:

'We may in 32 days have a dictator': New warning about Trump from presidential historian (msn.com)

13. Marje the Cranky, Crackpot, Christian (?) Conspiracy Theorist is at it again,

Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘they’ control the weather after Hurricane Helene kills 215 in the US (msn.com)

13. Franklin Graham, another Trump enabler:

Evangelicals for Harris claim Franklin Graham is threatening to sue them (msn.com)