You may not be too familiar with this term. I wasn’t, until I read Sean Hannity’s book, Live Free or Die. Let me just reflect on what he wrote about identity politics.
He said, “[It] permeates every policy idea they [Democrats] have.”
Biden is one of worst at this. He said, “I’ll appoint the first black woman to the court,” and “I commit that I’ll pick a woman to be vice president.” And he has made so many other identity comments.
To me, the group Black Lives Matter is also using identity politics. It is playing the victim card and separating an entire race of people from everyone else. To me, the way to help a group of suffering people is not to keep drawing attention to their past suffering and to demand reparations; but instead, to treat them as equals and give them the same opportunities as everyone else. And also, just to love them as everyone else.
As Hannity points out, “Instead of unifying us as a people, it [identity politics] divides us as oppressors and oppressed, whites’ verses minorities, gays verses straights, and men verses women.
Unity and peace demand that we treat everyone the same and look past their skin color and ethnicity and sex. We are all of equal importance and value in the eyes of God. And so, whenever we choose someone for an important position, we ought not regard anything about a person except their qualification for that position. And when we are choosing a friend, let us regard all people and try to befriend them all. Friendship sees no color or race; it sees only a person worthy of love.
After writing my last blog post on Overtaxing the Rich, I began thinking about what Jesus would do. So here it is…
In Luke 19:11-26 Jesus teaches His disciples about His kingdom in a parable. As you read the parable, it is not about taxation but more about investing in the kingdom. However, I think we can draw some similar principles. Here is the story:
Luke 19:11-26
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘
Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
So, if we were to draw a parallel teaching from this text to a teaching on taxation…
What Would Jesus Say About Overtaxing the Rich? That is, what would He say about Joe Biden and most Democrats appeal to place most of the taxes on the rich?
1. First of all, if they are wise investors and not criminals, as many are, he would praise them more than those who have not invested wisely.
2. He would rebuke the unwise investors.
3. I’m not sure what He would say about the whole idea of taxation, but He would definitely not be in favor of taxing the rich (who are wise investors) more that anyone else. According to this parable, if He taxed anyone more, He would tax all those who are lazy, even if they are poor, and give it to those wise investors—even if they are rich, because they are wiser investors.
Conclusion
Jesus certainly would not tax the honest rich more than anyone else. He may even tax the poor and give that money to the honest rich to invest, in order to build the economy. Jesus would not at all be in favor of an income equality system. He would be more in favor of an equal opportunity system, and also a system where there would be freedom to make as much money as you want without being penalized for it. In fact, He would be in favor of a system where the high earner would be praised and even rewarded for his work and thriftiness. Also, I think he would shine a light on the high earner as being good examples for the low earner.
Its been a couple of weeks since I’ve given you an update. I’m not a diary person; I find that this personal blog kind of fulfills that purpose—and more. Anyway, I will start with my apartment…
Cleaning the apartment. I have been in my apartment for just over 20 years and now we have a new management company; and they are stricter. They recently came in—while I was gone—and did an inspection. They said I needed to clean my fridge and bathtub and bathroom floor; and they are coming back in a month to check it. Well, I’m feeling kind of upset over it, but now that I’m getting busy cleaning, I think it’s a good thing for me—God’s will.
Publishing my book. I’m a self-publisher and I’m now in that process with my last book. Editing is easy, just reading it through and checking things. But yesterday I spent about three hours trying to delete the header info from a blank page! I finely figured it out. It helps to click on “help” on my MS word. They gave me a five-point answer, and it worked! Next, I will check it over one last time and then put it in a pdf form and send it to Lulu (a printing co.) to be printed and bound. Oh, and I also have to send them my designed cover page. Lulu does a good job at making the books, but they don’t do much to sell it for you. I’m gonna half to think of ways to sell my books myself. I just have to do it—even though it really isn’t my gift.
Trump and Country. I have a blog with that name, but I quit on it a few months ago. It was too stressful for me. But though I don’t blog on politics much anymore, I do keep up with watching the Fox videos and also some reading. More and more these days I have been feeling a strong burden to pray for President Trump and this country—in that order. Every morning when I pray, he is the first item on my list: for his health, strength, and wisdom. I also pray that just judgment would be done on all those evil forces (evil people) coming against him and this country. Please pray with me. Christians, please pray. It is your most important duty. Nothing but prayer will work to come against the darkness; only God is strong enough to come against it. And He chooses to work mostly through our prayers.
My healthy and work. I want to keep working in my painting business, but I am retired and I’m slowing down. In some respects, my work is good to give me exercise. But if I overdo it, which I always tend to do, my arthritis flares up and my muscles get really sore for a few days. The key is to find the right balance between work and rest. It’s kind of nice to not be bothered by work for a few days, because I like to just sit and read and do my writing. I hope and pray that my writing will be a benefit to others, that it won’t be a meaningless or just a self-fulfilling exercise. I’ll be praying about it, and then commit it to Him—and wait for His peace.
God bless you my fellow bloggers and followers. Keep up your good work and encouraging words. Prayer to you always.
I’ve been reading Live Free or Die, by Sean Hannity. I’m only half way through the second chapter, but already there has been plenty to think about. Here are…
A List of Radical, Left-Wing Policies and Ideas That Must Be Defeated in Order to Save America From Certain Doom
That we need to place our faith in big government.
That evil results from an imperfect social system.
That certain elite people can advance mankind toward societal perfection.
Obamas appointment of activist, liberal judges.
Obamas unconstitutional executive orders
Obamas downsizing the military (that has so far been remedied)
Obamas world apologizing tour of America
Waging war on coal and coal miners (being remedied)
Haranguing the cops (still going on)
Conferring legal status on many illegal aliens
Democrats becoming the party of socialism
Democrats becoming the party of open boarders
Democrats becoming the party of sanctuary cities
Democrats becoming the party of the elimination of ICE
Democrats becoming the party of underfunding the military
Democrats becoming the party of abortion on demand
Democrats becoming the party of infanticide
Democrats becoming the party of environmental extremism
Democrats becoming the party of gun confiscation
Democrats becoming the party of higher taxes
Democrats becoming the party of radical identity politics
Democrats becoming the party of suppression of free speech and religious expression
Democrats becoming the party of anti-Semitism
Democrats becoming the party of intolerance, smears, lies, character assassinations, and the Russian dossier.
Democrats becoming the party that is obsessed with their hatred of President Trump and his supporters.
Democrats becoming the party that has abandoned any sense of fundamental decency, fairness, or common sense.
It is looking pretty bleak, and getting worse all the time, especially in the democrat party. Much of it has been reversed by the present administration, but just surface things—like the economy. There is still so much to do, especially toward getting our country back to believing in God. That duty falls on each Christian. The President can enact policies, but unless we do our duty as Christians the country will fall very quickly.
I just recently got to know Don Stewart. He has written quite a few books, mainly on bible prophecy and current events. I have been listening to his daily Breaking News podcast. It’s quite informative and I thought I would pass a few of his News tidbits on to you. Most of it is not word for word, but is accurate.
Minneapolis crime wave. Minneapolis city council is alarmed by a surg in crime (assaults, robbery, and homicides) months after voting to defund the police. This is news that is close to me. Though I don’t live in the city, I’m not far from the city limits.
Coronavirus made in a lab. A Dr Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese virologist, said that Covid-19 was made in a lab in Wuhan, China; and she has evidence to show it. Recently she has been black listed from Twitter. Apparently, many, especially Chinese people, are quite upset with her for spilling the beans.
AG Barr has made a controversial comment. William Barr said recently that the Nation-wide stay-at-home-orders to prevent the spread of Coronavirus have been the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history other than slavery.Don Stewart made a point especially about many churches not being able to meet. John MacArthur has been in the news a lot lately and has been threatened with fines and even jail time. MacArthur jokingly shrugged it off saying that he always wanted to be involved in a prison ministry. Personally, I think John MacArthur is a bold warrior for the Lord, and I usually always trust what he says in his messages.
Oregon protests and riots have backfired. According to recent polls, two-thirds of Oregon voters disapprove of BLM and protests; and Trump has a higher rating in Oregon than their own governor and mayors. It would be so good for Oregon to get some new, republican leaders installed.
Bahrain is a very small Island/ Country just west of Qatar.
Work. It’s Monday, not a lot going on as far as work. I have a small job on Wednesday; I just have to paint three doors, Tarrytown green. Fun.
Mice. Following up on my latest article about my mouse problem: I haven’t seen any mice for a few days. But I am convinced that I did have one or two mice—and I was not hallucinating. My evidence, besides seeing them, was finding a few black, small droppings under the stove, in back of the juicer, and on the bathroom floor in the corner. Gross! I am more motivated now to clean and make sure I have nothing laying around where they can nest. I would be mortified if I found a nest with baby mice in it. And I asked around to all the other apartments in my building, and no one has seen any mice. Why is it just me?
Bahrain. Just too days ago, Bahrain came on board with UAE. Now we have two nations at peace with Israel, which confirms my previous article on the fact that bible prophecy is now happening; and so, the Ezekiel Invasion (Ezek. 38, 39) is coming soon—which also means that the Rapture is coming soon. It is so exciting to see these things falling into place.
My church looking at racism. I tend not to want to talk about or hear anyone talk about racism. I think that is mainly in our past. And for the most part I think it was dealt with back in the 60’s. But our pastor has chosen to tackle it. Well, so far, I think he is doing a great job. His main motivation is evangelism in our community, which has a mixed race. So, we figure that our church should really have a mixed race of people. And, for the most part, we do.
His text was from Revelation 7:9: “After these things I looked, and behold a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”
So, he got from that verse that in heaven there will be a mixed race of people: all nations, tribes, and languages. It is a beautiful picture. We should not see heaven as a blend of the races, say all brown people. No. It will be multi-colored. Very colorful! And we will love and accept each other as we are. So, the main message is that we need to humble ourselves, face up to, and talk about where we are concerning how we feel about each other—people of other races. Sin wants to hide; but redemption demands honesty, humility and transparency.
But we also need to be careful and wise. Riots are not the way to deal with anything. Anger will not solve anything. And we know now that there are anarchists that want to take advantage of any hurtful situation in order to destroy our country. We don’t need another civil war. We need prayer and revival, and we need law and order to go along with it.
My reading. I just started reading Live Free Or Die, by Sean Hannity. Good grief. I had no idea that the book would be so deep. I mean, it is like a text book with tons of research. It’s a book I could definitely read more than once. There is so much in it. It is not that hard to read, just so much in it. Oh well, I will just read it slow, a little at a time. It is good. A lot of good information about our great country.
This morning I was attracted by the article in my Pioneer Press entitled “Trump ads target Minnesota, Wisconsin.” This article was doing so well for me, until I came to BIDEN’S ADS RESPOND. The first line which introduces Biden’s response begins like this: “Trump’s false depiction of Biden as a champion…”
What’s wrong with this? What’s wrong is the word “false.” Everything else is okay, but that word ruins the entire article. Why? Because journalists are supposed to report the news, not give their opinions. If there is one thing that turns me off to the media is when a reporter slips in his or her opinion of who is right or wrong. Come on; I just want to read the news. I don’t want your opinion. I can judge that for myself. If you were God or an angel or one of Christ’s apostles, I would gladly welcome your opinion, but you’re not.
I’m not against journalists reporting all the news. But when they tell you who is true or false, that’s bad reporting. The media’s job is to report the news, not tell you who they think is true or false. But I should have known that an article having anything to do with Donald Trump would be slanted toward the negative—because 99.99999 percent of all journalists are Democrat liberals who hate Trump! At least those who work for the Pioneer Press.
Well, anyway, now you know my frustration with reading the newspaper.; and why I prefer to read sports articles instead of the political news section. They just report what is happening in the sports world (unless Trump is mentioned), and some of those sports articles are very interesting to me.
If you have been hearing that the George Floyd protest is more that just local concerned people, here is proof. I read today in my morning newspaper, the Pioneer Press, how Federal authorities in Minnesota caught up with two young men, Michael Solomon from New Brighton, MN, and Benjamin Teeter from North Carolina, who are part of a radical anti-government terrorist group called Boogaloo, and were operating within the George Floyd protest group, or, you might say that they were piggy backing off of the group.
Generally speaking, this group is a loosely organized anti-government movement with the goal of starting a second American Civil war. And their method is to invade protest groups—wherever they find them—and then stir up the group to riot.
According to Wikipedia, their beliefs are not all the same. Some of them absolutely condemn racism, but others within the same group are white supremacists and Neo-Nazis. So, it seems that somehow, they have managed to unify under the banner of violence against American authority—though many ironically carry the American flag. I guess they have a different idea of what America should be.
Of course, Boogaloo is just one example of similar anti-American government groups. There are many others, maybe hundreds (with Black Lives Matter and Antifa being the most well-known), who likewise use peaceful protest groups as their base of operations; and then they will use various means to stir up protest members to riot: by vulgar speeches, throwing rocks and bricks, fire bombs and even by shooting guns.
Okay, back to the newspaper article. Apparently, these two young men (thugs) who are in this crazy Boogaloo group were interacting with an individual during the aftermath of the George Floyd incident concerning what their goals were, etc., and this individual later reported them to the FBI. Then about a month later an FBI person (or persons) posing as members of Hamas managed to get much more information from them. (I imagine that they were boasting about all they were planning to do and were not too cautious about who they were talking to.)
Here is what the FBI found regarding these two young men:
They espouse a violent ideology and plan to overthrow the US government.
They have views aligned with those of Hamas and they expressed an interest in being mercenaries for Hamas.
In addition to carrying firearms, they possess large quantities of ammunition.
They talked about committing acts of violence against police.
They have a desire to destroy government buildings and monuments. They said they were thinking of blowing up a courthouse in Minnesota, and also thinking of killing certain politicians.
They expressed an interest in making automatic weapons for the group.
They have a desire to attack Israel and also US soldiers.
My work. I’m a retired painter—not a lot going on. Tomorrow or the next day I will wash a deck and paint it. I do this particular deck every 3 or 4 years. The next two jobs are doors—to repaint a few doors—easy. After that I have a bedroom to paint. So, what I have lined up is easy, a little boring, but just enough to keep me out of trouble.
Bible reading. I always manage to keep myself busy, but for some reason I feel that I have sadly neglected my time in the word. Yesterday I decided that I would spend two half-hour periods reading the bible—where I am at in Exodus. I liked it. It did me good. I’m gonna try to keep doing that. I have sort of prided myself for being faithful to a morning quiet time. But recently I feel the need for more and something less structured. My goal is to fill my mind with the word of God; to meditate more on it.
My book writing. I’m sort of at a lull in my writing. I had two different books going, but I finished them. Now I’m going through them one at a time, editing them; so I am basically just checking grammar and spelling and to make sure everything is said right.
Photography and walking. For me those things go together. Without my camera walking would be too much of a chore. But walking with my camera is like hunting and an adventure. I’m always hunting with my eyes for the perfect shot. Yesterday while walking I was quite disappointed by all the overgrown weeds and grass, but I did spot two beautiful purple Morning Glories (pictured). My walk was worth it just to see them. And the way the light reflected out of the middle of the trumpet bell is gorgeous!
The Coronavirus and globalism. I am getting so turned off by all the hype and news that the pandemic is getting. I really don’t think that it is as serious as the media is telling us. But the globalists are ecstatic about it. Finally, something came along that will help unite the world. Now all they need is one vaccine for the whole world. The only disappointment they have is the US, Israel, and the Christians.
They are so angry at Donald Trump and his nationalist views. If only they could somehow get Biden to win the November election. We will see what happens. But I have a feeling that they will be in for a constant fight until the Rapture. But after the Rapture everything will change. The Rapture itself will be the driving force for globalism. It will propel all the world leaders to come together to strategize their global agenda. I think, instead of being horrified at all the disappearances the devil will cause them to be gleeful at the new global prospects.
We saw the riots start just a few days after George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, a bad cop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It began by protest marches, protesting abusive policeman against black people. Almost immediately Black Lives Matter got involved and then also members of Antifa arrived from many locations and paid by rich people like George Soros and others. But BLM and Antifa are not the only groups involved. There are many others.
Where did these radical groups get their start? What is their belief system, and what motivates them? I suppose many are motivated by money, a lot of it. They work as professionals. And I suppose they are trained and educated too, but I don’t know where. I do know that they (the main trailblazers) have been around for a long time, as long as Communism has been around. They have had a plan for Russia, Cuba, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and the latest is Venezuela. And they also have a plan for the United States. And now it is happening. All the riots you see is part of it. It’s the tear down part. They plan to tear down everything: property, businesses, our system of law, our government, our families, everything. And they plan to replace it with socialism, or Communism.
And what do they say is their belief system? Well, they say it is righteousness and justice for all. But you need to know that it is not true justice. They call it social justice. It sounds good, but it’s not. It is far different than true justice. True justice is a justice for each individual, measured by God’s righteous standard, according to His righteous law. But social justice is measured according to the ideas of socialism. It is a system that distributes all wealth and property evenly to all people no matter how hard they work for it. And that redistribution is done by force; all people will be forced to conform to societies demands. There is no individualism. All are the same. And there is no family as we know it, and no personal God. All is done for the state and for the good of all. I suppose in some way it may sound good, at least unifying; but as we know from how it is in Communist countries, it just doesn’t work and is very depressive—without freedom or individualism.
But what about those who demonstrate, who do it because they truly do care about black lives and about building a less abusive police department and a safer neighborhood? Well, I think there are many in that group, but unfortunately, most of them are being deceived and used and overrun by the radicals in BLM and Antifa and other groups who are rioting only for the cause of Marxism. And they are using African Americans to do their dirty work. And sadly, all rioters in the end will find themselves enslaved to the devil and guilty.
I want to urge anyone reading this to just stop rioting and submit yourself to God and to His holy word. Let the past go. Learn to forgive and move on. Believe that the system (our constitution) we have is good and was established by God and good men and women who believed God. And if one of your people is killed, pray for that family and for the one who killed him, and then commit it to God and to our system of law. Never take revenge into your own hands. God said, “vengeance is mine.” In the end all who are guilty will be punished.
Stephen Nielsen 