The Vanity and Irony of Progressive "Feminism"

I find it ironic that progressives claim to be pro-woman, yet they continue to so cruelly abuse some of the strongest, most respectable and influential women in our nation, simply because they work for Donald Trump. Few could withstand the daily harassment and vindictive commentary aimed at Sarah Sanders, who sat quietly throughout the White House Correspondents' dinner whiles the news outlets' paid comedian viciously belittled her for her outward appearance (something a misogynist would do) while failing to notice her impeccable character through it all. Sanders could have brilliantly defended herself, launching sly verbal punches that put them all in their place. Instead, she chose the high road and committed to pray for them.

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

When vindictive mobs attacked Sanders at a restaurant while she was trying to enjoy a dinner with her in-laws (who are registered Democrats), she left without retaliation.  She hoped by missing out, her family could eat in peace, but the mob still followed them while volleying continued insults.

A progressive mob at a Mexican restaurant acted like wild animals in an effort to shame Kirstjen Nielsen over misinformation spread by the corrupt media, ruining a rare evening out with her husband. Yet, Nielsen exercised self-control, refusing to return evil for evil.

Nikki Haley has boldly confronted the entire United Nations when repeatedly when delegates have ganged up against her. She refused to back down, no matter how many threats they made and without fear of the powerful ties to terrorists they may have. Other nations who may not have had the courage to stand alone as she did, but they have followed America's lead. Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capitol is just one example.  Unlike Clinton and Kerry, she isn’t trading our national security for cash, caving to their pressure, or inventing fake theories to line her own pockets. She is an unstoppable force, driven by American patriotism and love of virtue.

Kellyanne Conway has also exhibited this same level of integrity and tough-mindedness displayed by these other women in Trump’s administration. Such strength, courage, and integrity should make every woman proud, yet progressive feminists hate these conservative women with a vengeance, for progressive feminists are not pro-woman at all. They are loyal only to their political cult, throwing any woman under the bus who does not support their socialistic, oppressive, misguided agenda.

Progressives call Trump a misogynist and a sexist. These terms describe someone who despises, dislikes, disrespects and discriminates against someone based on gender. Even with all of Trump’s past immoral conduct toward women, at least during his tenure as POTUS, he has shown far more respect for women than the progressive feminists who continuously attack him and the courageous women he has chosen.  

He has appointed more women into higher government positions than any POTUS before him. He hasn’t appointed them simply because they are women, so he can check a box to curry favor with voters, as did his predecessor. He appointed them because they are extremely qualified for their respective roles. Kellyanne Conway turned his campaign around delivering a surprising victory. She was the first woman to achieve that milestone. Sarah Sanders may very well be the most gifted press secretary in U.S. history, handling the most ferocious attacks on the president with sound reasoning, calm composure, and skillful rhetoric. Kirstjen Nielsen is holding up well under unprecedented pressure which includes threats of bodily harm and extreme verbal abuse. Nikki Haley's work with the UN is so unprecedented many predict she will become America's first female president.

It is uncharacteristic of a misogynists or a sexist to appoint such strong and accomplished women. If a misogynist were to appoint any woman at all, he would choose a weak woman who would make him look strong in comparison. He would choose women he could easily control. That’s what insecure, weak bullies do, after all, from the kindergarten playground to the White House.  Bullies surround themselves with weak, incompetent people and attack those whom they fear may overshadow them.

Progressives are especially irritated by these conservative women because they aren’t suffering or caving to their harsh criticisms or public abuse. Each arrow progressives shoot at these women has a boomerang effect. Just as fire refines gold and hardens clay, the progressive attacks only make these women stronger. None of this persecution can shake these women, nor can they break any devoted Christian for a crucial reason that secular progressives cannot understand.

Strong Christian women aren’t defined by the opinions or criticisms of others. They never give anyone else that power over them. Their identity and worth are secure in Christ, who treasures them infinitely, having paid the ultimate price for them. And unlike the fickle opinions of others, His love and His truth never ever change. Their lives have eternal significance and great purpose, and they are faithful to their calling. True believers need not fear nor be  dismayed because the Lord is their God. They know He will strengthen and help them by His righteous hand. (Isaiah 41:10). They know He will never leave or forsake them. (Deuteronomy 31:6) They confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)  Their power comes from an infinite source, so no one can vanquish it or crush their spirits.

They build their lives on the rock, not on shifting sand. Thus, when the storms come, they continue standing tall and secure like a lighthouse giving truth and light to warn and to save the lost. (Matthew 7:24-25)

Godly women are responsible and wise stewards of all God has entrusted into their care. They do not rely on the government for all their needs.  Anyone may need some assistance from time to time, but conservatives do not take advantage of the system. Christian conservatives trust in God who provides and equips His people with everything good that they may need do His will, working in them that which is pleasing in His sight through Christ for His glory. (Hebrews 13:21) Faithful conservative Christian women do not force other people to fund their birth control or make taxpayers pay their preborn baby assassins (aka Planned Parenthood). They take responsibility for themselves and exercise self-control. They are wise enough to avoid an unplanned pregnancy whenever possible. They refuse to let others convince them that they are to too weak to either place a child for adoption or to nurture, protect, provide, and parent anther sacred human life. 

Women of God are free from others' control. They don't let oppressors make decisions for them. They seek truth and wisdom from God so they can make right choices on their own, without allowing the whims of others to enslave them.

Godly women do not tear down others to make themselves look better. Women aren’t lifted up when men are torn town. Women aren’t given value by pretending they are the same as men. Their value is intrinsic and comes from God, but their greatness is most evident when their unique differences are celebrated and both men and women exercise their different qualities in complementary, synergistic ways to build up the community as a whole.

Women don’t earn respect when quotas and EEO laws give them untouchable status in jobs they are unqualified or unwilling to perform well but receive simply because of their gender. Women grow in  self-respect as they achieve without handouts or free passes. Women who respect themselves and clothe themselves with dignity are more likely to gain the respect of others and be treated likewise.

If we want to elevate and esteem women in our culture, let us lift up as role models strong, confident, courageous, women of faith who demonstrate true integrity, service, humility, self-discipline, and respect toward others and themselves. Let's provide them with equal opportunity instead of guaranteeing unmerited equal outcomes to the detriment or our entire society.

Those who refuse to lift others up or who ruthlessly tear down those who intimidate them actually expose the true greatness in those they attack while revealing their own immature, insecure, selfish hearts. Let us leave the childish bullying days behind us and begin strengthening one another, nurturing faithfulness, encouraging personal responsibility, respecting human dignity, and showing mutual respect.

But to those who insist on continuing the bullying, name calling, and childish ways, know that it's all in vain. Your lies and your insults will never to stick to those who are His.  

The BSA Evolution Further Exposes Modern Progressivism as a Regressive Return to Uncivilized Society

In a civilized society, those with conflicting objectives, worldviews, or opinions openly and respectfully present their different perspectives. Each party will prioritize his or her goals and look for some common ground with the other party, be it a similar goal, shared value, or trade arrangement that is mutually beneficial. If one party wants something the other party has, then that party will either develop the skills and expertise to develop it internally, or they will work out a trade agreement. In civilized negotiations, there will be compromise on both sides, with each party giving up some lesser desire(s) to achieve the greater desire. Successful negotiations are built on trust, mutual respect, and a win/win  or even exchange on both sides with the shared goal of preserving or achieving long term peace.

In an uncivilized society, there is no negotiation or compromise. One party may deceitfully promise concessions with no intention of fulfilling those promises, or they may simply steal what they want by force, which may involve brutal, barbaric, inhumane acts. It is impossible to negotiate with a psychopathic liar, lunatic, or terrorist, for there is no trust, no shared goal, no mutual respect, and no acceptable compromise. Radical jihadists are an example. They will not settle for anything less than a global caliphate that rules the earth.  This goal requires the absolute annihilation of the United States, which they call "the Great Satan", and Israel ("the little Satan").

A wise, civilized person knows that all efforts to negotiate with, advise, appease, or seek peace with a lunatic, terrorist, and/or uncivilized nation or individual is not only pointless, but harmful. (Proverbs 23:9, 26:4) England's attempt to appease Hitler and Obama's Iran deal are examples of how foolish and costly such efforts may be.

What concerns me most about the continued spread and increasing momentum of the progressive worldview across Europe and North America is how it is turning civilized nations (particularly America, which was founded upon Biblical morality and the common goal of preserving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) into uncivilized, barbaric nations.

What could possibly be more uncivilized or barbaric than the abortion procedure? Yet, in 1973, progressives made this practice, which involves ripping off an innocent child's limbs one by one and then sucking out his or her brains, legal in America. Unwilling to settle for that huge win, progressives have worked to expand abortion into the largest form of genocide in world history with the U.S. government helping fund over a million abortions in the U.S. and around the world every year. Progressives continue to battle against state bans on partial birth abortion, which involves fully delivering a child feet first except for the head and then cracking the skull just before it exits the mothers body. Seven progressive leaning states and the District of Columbia have no state bans on late term abortions.

Progressive professors have written extensively in support of infanticide, insisting it is morally acceptable and at times necessary for progress. We have already seen Britain's socialistic healthcare system hold children like Alfie Evans hostage in hospitals where they let them die while refusing other nation's offers to fly them overseas to receive lifesaving treatment abroad at no cost to Britain. The UK also has no problem leaving the elderly to die since they are viewed as a financial burden. Apparently, some human life (an unborn fetus, a sick child, an elderly person) just isn't as valuable to progressives as that of an elephant or a dog. To return to Hilter and Margaret Sanger's eugenics policies is certainly regressive, barbaric, and uncivilized, but societies readily accepts it when it is reclassified as progressive. There was nothing civilized whatsoever about keynote speaker Michelle Wolf's address at this year's White House Correspondence dinner. Her comments were cruel, raunchy, vile, and crude. She tore apart Sarah Huckabee Sanders as Sarah sat nearby. Similar vulgarities have characterized the progressive event for years, offering no mercy or compromise.

Professor Robert George stated the obvious with this quote: “When students have an opportunity to engage in civil discourse, they don’t feel compelled to engage in uncivil discourse.” However, most secular colleges and universities are going to great extremes to remove the opportunity to engage in civil discourse, primarily by banning differing viewpoints.  With faculty members leaning Democrat at ratios as high as 23 to every 1 Republican (UNC Chapel Hill) or 11 to 1 on average, followed by decades of bullying and persecution to suppress conservative ideas and to expel Judeo/Christian or faculty (Reference: Expelled documentary), and given the banned words lists and systematic indoctrination throughout classroom instruction, Christians and conservatives have little to no voice on college campuses. Deprived of the opportunity to practice civil discourse, students are encouraged to become radical social justice warriors who skip class (or tests) to mourn or protest what they cannot change, even as the outcome of a presidential election. #NotMyPresident Google, Twitter, and Facebook intentionally limit viewer exposure to conservative viewpoints, and/or deny Christian websites permission to advertise. Most mainstream media outlets spin stories, print fake news, or omit any newsworthy story that does not support their progressive narrative. They have become propaganda mills, not reliable news agencies. Every day, progressive thought continues to dominate the internet, marketplace, and all media platforms, apparently hoping to take over the thoughts and steal the hearts of all people everywhere.
When radical progressive groups bring lawsuits against a conservative and/or Christian, the goal isn't simply to right a wrong or fight for justice. Their goal is total destruction. Bakers, florists, photographers, and wedding venue owners have all been persecuted, severely fined, bankrupted, or forced to cease and desist activities that the U.S. Constitution was designed to protect simply because they refused to participate in progressive venues that were contrary to their religious convictions. Business owners in Charlotte, N.C. were forced by local ordinance to allow men in women's restrooms, in direct opposition to their values and the best interests of their female patrons, until the state legislature intervened.  But then progressives from around the nation, including the Obama administration, threatened, bullied, and chastised the state for daring to uphold long held standards to protect the greater majority. The NCAA refused to hold high revenue tournament games in N.C. and various large businesses threatening to locate elsewhere. Even the Attorney General at the time, now the current Governor, secretly met with businesses to put pressure on the Governor and state legislature to overrule H.B. 2, after he had pledged to serve the governor and N.C. residents. In this case, the media played a powerful role spreading propaganda across the nation which also captured negative attention from foreign leaders. Uncivilized people do not allow differing opinions and will bully or destroy to suppress them.

Each of these progressive "victories" was not viewed as a settled case or a compromise. They were merely steps forward toward their goal of totally wiping away traditional American values. They aren't interested in logical or reasonable discourse. Give them an inch, and they will take a mile. They will not stop until they destroy anyone and anything that stands in the way of a complete takeover of our culture. 

The Boy Scouts of America resisted progressive pressures to admit gay troop leaders for a time, but they eventually compromised, hoping to appease their progressive bullies. That was a tragic mistake, however, because once progressives got a foothold, they demanded more. Then instead of seeking to reform the Girl Scouts to make them equal to the Boy Scouts in every way (programming, opportunities, reputation, etc.), the progressive went after the Boy Scouts again, demanding that they allow girls to join their boys' organization. As expected, the Boy Scouts caved again to progressive demands. Then this week the Boy Scouts agreed to change their name to "Scouts", which signals a complete overhaul of the Boy Scout's identity. Soon, the Boy Scouts will wither and die, having contradicted their original and fundamental values, purpose, and oath. Progressives do not agree with the Boy Scout's oath or values. They aren't seeking to be included and assimilated. They want to seize control and destroy anything that builds, nurtures, and protects (in this case, Biblical manhood and morality) what they hate.

Progressives also tend to oppose Christianity and the Bible because it stands in the way of what they intend to accomplish, which makes them useful tools of the enemy of our souls. When one honestly considers what the Bible teaches and the impact it has had throughout history, it's impossible to deny that the Bible played a huge role in civilizing the world. Remove the Bible from schools, the marketplace, and the hearts and minds of citizens, and America will crumble into a hopelessly uncivilized, barbaric nation,not unlike the Mayans, Babylonians, and other pagan cultures of the past. Will we stand by and watch our great country regress into a Nazi regime or a pagan culture that burns our first born children as sacrifices to fake gods carved out of wood and stone or to corrupt dictators who enslave us?

Dear friends, leaders, and brothers and sisters in Christ, do not try to negotiate with uncivilized, irrational people who reject America's founding principles, traditional morality, and the Lord, our Creator God and King. Let us make it our aim, through both words and actions, to share the love, joy, and hope found only in Christ Jesus. He is the only answer to our heart's desire for peace and our culture's plea for civility. Pray for the lost who persecute you. Resist false doctrine. Stand firm in the faith. Hope in Christ. (John 10:10)

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus  (Philippians 4:5-7)

Perspectives on the Immigration Debate for a Country Set Apart

Call me a fool if you wish, but I am not convinced Trump used the language he was accused of when speaking of Haiti or other suffering nations because the accusation was made by one who has repeatedly lied about similar types of conversations before, because others in the room testified to not hearing him say it, and because he denied it. However, given remarks he has made in the past, I can certainly understand why people would believe that he said it. I find the remark repulsive if he said it, but I do not see it as a racist attack on the natives of those countries at all. The people who live there are beautiful, intelligent, gifted, and infinitely valuable, made in the image of God. We are no better than they are, and Trump has said as much when speaking of the dignity and sacredness of ALL mankind.

But their countries ARE cesspools, not because of the color of their people's skin or on anything the general population has done, but rather, based on what a few corrupt elite government officials have done to their good people and to their beautiful land.

America is (or was established to be) different. The Constitution sets up plenty of checks on power to ensure that we don't get to that point. Of course, those checks assume that those elected into office possess similar values, morality, and common sense as those upon which our nation was founded.

Books have been written about the many uncanny similarities between the U.S. and Israel and how their history is playing out again in the U.S. to the precise detail. Thus, it is instructive to look at Israel's history so we can learn from their good choices and from their mistakes. It is wise to look at the laws God gave Israel to sustain, grow, and preserve their nation as a nation under Yahweh, set apart for Him. Foreigners were welcomed by individuals in that culture with tremendous hospitality, and we in America, especially those of us who follow Christ, are each personally responsible for providing for those in need and for welcoming our guests with great hospitality and friendship, regardless of our guest's country of origin or citizenship status. The Lord clearly commanded them not to oppress "strangers" (legal immigrants) in their land*.  All human life has dignity and deserves respect. But from a national policy perspective, God instructed foreigners who lived in Israel to assimilate and to follow many of their laws. God gave His chosen nation many protective restrictions to prevent them from becoming like the surrounding nations. They were to be set apart and to be a light and a blessing to all the world. That blessing was part of God's covenant to Abraham.

Similarly, the U.S. was established on Judeo-Christian values, as a nation set apart "for God's glory and the advancement of the Christian faith" (Mayflower Compact), to be a light of freedom and blessing for the entire world, to uphold the truth "that all men are created equal", and to preserve each person's God given "unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (Declaration of Independence)

Sadly, there are people around the world with a very different worldview who do not share our values. They hate America, the liberty she offers, and her people. They rape our people and our prosperity while mocking us mercilessly. They come here not to assimilate, contribute, nor build up, but rather to overthrow, to disrespect and disobey our laws, to torture, and to destroy.

While there may be plenty of good motives driving individuals who advocate for full amnesty, the DNC's political strategy on immigration isn't based on love or compassion for the foreigner at all, but rather on self-interest. They want to let in anyone and everyone, without concern over what those people will take from us or do to us, because they expect their loose immigration platform to buy these immigrants' votes and the votes of all their descendants for many generations. Such a strategy is actually far more disrespectful than common sense immigration laws because it assumes these immigrants are uneducated, illiterate, and too lazy or unable to think through policy issues and ramifications of each platform logically, critically, and morally for themselves or for the greater common good. It lowers immigrants to the position of "useful idiots" instead of valuing them as equals.

Interestingly, some of the brightest, most articulate, most thoughtful, and most patriotic people I know are legal immigrants who oppose everything the DNC represents, and they are fighting for improved vetting (as opposed to chain migration and unsystematic lotteries) because they don't want America to turn into the same type of cesspool, controlled by greedy tyrants, which they fled. The DNC doesn't care. They just want more votes, so they can have more power. But the other side in this debate loves America, and they love all the diverse and/or hurting people around the world. They want freedom loving people of any ethnicity to always have a place to run to for safety, liberty, truth, hope, and the opportunity to become all the good Lord calls them to be. If America gives into these progressive demands, there will be nowhere else to run.

Here is just one example taken from Andrew Klavan's well written article, "Of Crudeness and Truth" showing what we will become if we cave to leftist ideology and sacrifice our identity as a nation set apart for truth, justice, and liberty:

"In England, in the city of Rotherham, at least 1,400 non-Muslim girls, some as young as 11, were brutally raped by Muslim immigrants over a period of years in the 2000s. Police and other officials worked to keep the facts hidden because, according to multiple reports, they were afraid of being called racist. Think about that: police officers did not want to seem racist, so they stood by and let their city’s children be raped. The same thing goes on in other cities in England and throughout Europe. And in fact, some who have spoken out have had their careers curtailed by manufactured scandal. The message is clear: it’s just not nice to tell the truth. It’s just not done. Don’t do it."

*For a more complete Biblical analysis of this issue, I recommend:

•  What the Bible Says About Illegal Immigration
• The Use and Abuse of hte Bible in the Immigration Debate

Hollywood Hypocrisy

Regarding the Emmy awards and the ensuing political banter about Trump & Spicer:

I could care less about the Emmys and have no desire to defend Trump or Sean Spicer, for lies and corrupt speech should never be normalized. However, for Hollywood to be calling them out with blistering insults is like ISIS killing one of their own members for stepping on an ant. Hollywood elites should consider that Trump is only a symptom of the disease they spread for big bucks. He is one of their own after all, yet they eat their own when their own chose a different political party, especially one that defends human life (from the womb to the tomb), liberty, human equality (vs. special privileges for special interests groups), the traditional family, and economic growth for all Americans.

I am greatly concerned by the way both Hollywood and the music industry (we thought Miley Cyrus and Beyonce were bad...but now a rap video features the demonic hanging of a child!) are leading the naive and unenlightened members of our society into the dark abyss of utter moral depravity, much like Sodom and Gomorrah. They are still losing their minds over a few stupid comments by Trump & Spicer but have no problem with director Roman Polanski sodomizing a child, Woody Allen molesting his own adopted daughter, or their own pornographic films (like 50 Shades of Grey) which glamorize physical, emotional, and sexual abuse or the movie coming out soon that normalizes pedophilia. They praise musicians and producers who sell lyrics and scripts that endorse rape, promiscuity, murder, drug abuse, and all sorts of violent, deviant behavior. They unclothe, use, and abuse desperate desperate young women in pornographic films, which is a crime in and of itself, but in so doing, they fuel wicked desires which drive pedophiles and rapists to commit more despicable deeds.

Where was their outrage over the Democratic politicians who committed sex crimes that make Trump's comments seem tame in comparison? Examples: Bill Clinton, Ed Murray, Anthony Weiner, Jacob Schwartz, Sen. Robert Menendez, Jeffrey Epstein, Scott Chamberlain.

Ashton Kutcher is one beautiful exception. He is using his wealth and influence to make a significant difference. His organization, Thorn, is successfully fighting sex trafficking.

As for the rest, if you have a problem with Trump, then stop attacking the symptom and start working to eliminate the root cause upon which you have amassed your own fame and fortune. Stop selling smut and glamorizing evil before pointing fingers at the milder, though still seemingly rotten, fruits of your own sowing. If you want to bring about positive change, use your resources to join Kutcher's humanitarian work. Instead of attacking Trump, how about directing all that passion and hatred toward bringing down backpage DOT com, a website linked to child prostitution and trafficking (which also happens to give large financial contributions to DNC politicians) or to financially supporting and promoting safe houses and counseling/rehabilitation centers for abused and battered women and children. Do something constructive instead of continually tearing our nation apart!

You tell me I cannot love and insist that I hate you, but do we even know what love is?

Dear Whomever It May Concern:

Trigger Warning: What follows may not be politically correct.

You tell me I hate you because I do not agree with you on every issue or approve of everything you do. Yet, I love my husband and my kids more than my own life, and I can promise you we don't always agree or approve of everything each of us says or does. Do you agree with your parents, spouse, and/or kids on everything? If not, do you hate them?

You say I do not love you if I do not celebrate and endorse all of your behaviors and choices, even if those choices are destructive and could get you or someone else killed.

A brief period of wrong choices took a dear friend's life. He died of AIDS in his early 20s, but thankfully, he repented, choosing Christ as Lord for the rest of his short life on earth and forever in eternity. What if loving friends/family had not shared truth with him and supported him as he turned from his dangerous behaviors and come back to Christ before it was too late? Do you honestly believe those friends and family members who spoke truth into his life, stood by him in his illness, and strengthened his faith did not love him? I dare say they loved him unconditionally, sacrificially, and completely as Christ loves His church, but they never approved of the behaviors that brought about his fatal illness.

One stranger's wrong choice to drink and drive took my best friend's daughter's life and nearly took hers as well. That accident also took almost everything her family owned, but their faith in God held them strong and steady. If you were the drunk driver's close friend, which would you have done to show your love to her: 

1. Buy her drinks and get wasted with her, so neither of you are sober enough to get behind a wheel or to stop the other from driving
2. Ignore her drinking problem so as not to offend her.
3. Warn her, encourage her, support her, and go with her to AA meetings?

Which action could have prevented the fatal accident?

Countless marriages and families we all know have been ripped apart because of a series of wrong choices followed by an unwillingness to repent ( ie, stop the adulterous behavior and turn one's heart back to the Lord and to one's spouse). Would a true friend give high fives and encourage continued infidelity or speak truth to the adulterer, warning him/her of the dangers ahead, and encouraging the friend to fight like crazy to save the marriage?

The examples go on and on....

We don't have to agree on everything, but it would certainly help if most people could at least agree on what love truly is. Since God has told us and shown us that He is love, I look to Him for the definition of love. The only way we can truly love others is to know and experience the love of God. We can love others rightly only because He first loved us. If love was simply accepting someone's lifestyle, no matter how wrong or harmful it may be, then Jesus never would have suffered in agony on the cross in our place to redeem us and to free us from those hurtful strongholds. God's love is unconditional, sacrificial, tough when needed, but full of mercy and grace with the long term greatest good in mind. God's love frees and draws us closer to Him. Acceptance of that which is unholy only enslaves us and separates us from God's presence and power in our lives. Thankfully, we are not defined by our choices, good or bad. We are defined by God who made us in His image and paid the ultimate price for us.

If I pretend or decide to agree with you so you'll be my friend, I'm only being selfish. If I risk a valuable friendship out of concern for your life and your soul, then have I not loved sacrificially? Why do yo still insist that I hate you?  Yes, my words and actions must be seasoned with gentleness and grace, but if the motive of the heart is only the best interests of the other without thinking of oneself at all, is that not love? (Philippians 2:4)

If you say I cannot love you unless I celebrate your sinful choices and mine, then aren't you really saying God can't love you or me? Instead of celebrating our sins, Christ agonized on the cross to defeat the death those sins bring, and He mercifully said, "Go and sin no more!"

If you say I must hate you if I don't agree with you, then are you not saying you hate God, and God hates you? What a blasphemous thought, for God loved you so much He gave His only son to save you. But that is exactly what the world's way of thinking suggests.  In those areas of our lives which God has forbidden for our greatest good, we will never agree with him as long as we still cling to those worldly desires instead of clinging to Him.

The more we receive His love and truth, however, the more we will begin to reflect His love and the more we will desire what He desires. I want to agree with Him on everything, for He is perfectly holy, all powerful, all knowing, always present, eternally loving and good. Who dares shake a fist at God, refusing to agree with Him? We may not understand His ways at times, for His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and beyond our full comprehension, but He has given us every reason to trust Him. Does a speck of clay on a potter's wheel resist the potter, insisting that he knows better than the potter what is good for him?  He has no idea just how beautiful he could become in the good potter's hand.  We just have to trust Him.

January 2017 Women's March

What exactly is the women's march protesting?

It couldn't be foul comments Trump made over a decade ago because they didn't seem to mind when Bill Clinton was actually DOING the very same things Trump merely mentioned and worse while still in office.

It couldn't be Trump's foul mouth because Lena Dunham, feminist spokesperson who sexually abused her sister and regularly abuses the public by showing off her privates, says FAR worse to bring out the most carnal nature of both men and women.

It couldn't be a march for women's basic human rights because they celebrate the fact that at least 32,000,000 women have been denied the right to live in an excruciating, barbaric manner through abortion. 

It couldn't be concerns over financial support for moms because the plan Ivanka put forth benefits all mothers in the workplace and those working hard to raise respectable children at home.

It couldn't be suppression of women because they have voiced their support for Islamic extremists who bind and hide their wives in burkas and do not allow them to go out into public, speak out, receive proper education, or live in any way as they please so they can focus only on bowing down to their oppressive masters whose militias take women as sex slaves during their violent conquests.

It couldn't be a march for gay rights because they oppose those who want to to wipe out ISIS - the group that inspired the killing of 49 members of the gay community in just one attack in Orlando.

It couldn't be a march for tolerance because they have little to no tolerance for white males, Christians, or conservatives who are persecuted on a regular basis by groups they support here in America. 

What exactly has them so upset, and what will this march accomplish?  I appreciate the efforts to keep it peaceful, though, so kudos for that.