introduction
In two consecutive homilies, the first based on Isaiah 56.10-12, the second on DC 101.43-51, we explored the role that watchmen play in preserving the safety of their communities. In the first, we found that ancient Israel’s watchmen, symbolic of Israel’s political and religious leaders, were derelict in their duties of watching for and warning about internal evils that threatened the body politic. We found that their dereliction of duty resulted from their own ineptitude, ignorance, unwillingness, self-interest, and contempt for the flock. Too often, Israel’s religious and political leaders dehumanized their charges, viewing them only as tools: means to be used and abused to accomplish their own selfish ends. Because they did not issue warnings concerning the many societal evils, those evils ran rampant, causing the complete collapse of, first Israelite, and later Jewish society. In both instances, exile followed. The promised land, with its vast potential for good was lost. In the second homily based on DC 101.43-51, we found that Zion’s watchmen, though well-intentioned unlike their ancient Israelite peers, were fatally impaired in fulfilling their duties because Zion’s citizenry refused to advance the creation of the principle tool necessary to the watchmen—in this case a dominant watchtower, representative of the principle and practice of the economic law of consecration. Because of this disadvantage, the watchmen were hindered from seeing, recognizing, and warning about many outside dangers that threatened the well-being of the community—among them, the materialistic idolatry that the world falsely preached as natural, inevitable, and even advantageous to society. As a result, Zion was lost—sold-out, really, by its own citizenry. Exile followed. Subsequent generations then delayed, procrastinated, forgot, abandoned, and, on occasion, denigrated all attempts at establishing a pure city—a city fully dedicated and consecrated to God and his purpose—and yielded to the Babylon’s false claims of inevitability. Babylon invaded, and, if it did not exactly conquer, it diminished Zion’s ability to fulfil its mission as ambassador of peace to a fractured world. Ancient Israel’s story of loss, ancient Judah’s story of loss, and 19th century Mormons’ story of loss is each, essentially, the same story. As tragic as the consequences were for the citizens of these fallen communities, however, they were not the end, or even the worst of the consequences. Worse still, these failed communities left the rest of mankind with either no ambassadors of peace, or with ambassadors seriously debilitated, their message tragically diluted and compromised. In this homily, we will briefly review these historical failures and consider their applicability in our own day. ancient Israel, its watchmen, and its failed ministry Such critical judgements as those found above may seem harsh. But they are not mine. They are the Lord’s. We will begin with Israel’s call as Yahweh’s ambassador, and its failed ministry. God had called ancient Israel, including, or course, Judah, as a servant. “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, ‘Thou art my servant;’ I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.”[1] The nation was to be singularly committed to Yahweh and his purposes. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”[2] “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. They were to establish a society—a society called Zion—that was governed by Yahweh’s principles of a just society. “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment [justice, equity], but behold oppression; for righteousness [i.e., right conduct, policy], but behold a cry [of pain].[3] Seeing Zion’s example of a healthy and just society, the other nations of the earth would either appreciate and follow Zion’s example, thus conforming to God’s hope for a world bearing the image and likeness of God, or, engrave the number of the beast into its forehead and collapse under the weight of injustice. It was, then, essential that the nations of this world have an example—a preacher of righteousness. But Israel failed in its ministry. “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s servant?”[4] It abandoned Yahweh; trading him in for the Baals, masters of fertility, of economy, of profit, of Mammon. “The priests said not, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.” “How canst thou say, ‘I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim?’ See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure…”[5] Israel abandoned Yahweh’s principles of the just society and adopted the unjust, oppressive, and enslaving principles of Babylonian consumption. “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?’”[6] Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Ezekiel, they all speak with one voice and make this point… over, and over, and over again, and again, and again. By forsaking God, by dividing its interest between Yahweh and Baal, Israel and Judah not only did harm to themselves, but they left the rest of the world vulnerable to the most destructive forces imaginable. In our quotes above, we have not even scratched the surface of the prophet critique against these two failed disciples and ministers of Yahweh. 19th century Zion, its watchmen, and its failed ministry That the earliest Mormons, with their fellow Christian brethren, saw themselves as the new Israel, or as the Lord’s servants, messengers to the world, hardly seems in need of proof. It was none other than Jesus himself who extended the original call. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”[7] “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”[8] Nearly two millennia later, he renewed it in latter-day scripture. “Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; for behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul…”[9] According to our interpretation of the parable found in DC 101, latter-day Zion was to present—through doctrine, perhaps, but certainly through example—a society that would produce the fruit of peace. It was to be God’s ambassador for peace. Isaiah had predicted it anciently, and God renewed the assignment in the latter-days. In days to come the Mountain on which stands Yahweh’s temple will be fixed above any other Mountain; lifted above any other height. All nations will come streaming to it; many peoples will come, saying: Come! Let’s go up to Yahweh’s mountain; to the temple of the God of Ya‘qōb. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For Torah will come out of Ṣîyôn, and the word of Yahweh from Yerûšālāyim. Then will He mediate between nations; He will reconcile many peoples, so that they will retool their swords into plow blades and their spears into pruning instruments. One nation will no longer lift the sword against another, nor will they any longer train for warfare. Come, Oh House of Ya‘qōb, and let us walk in Yahweh’s light.”[10] The latter-day Christians would do this through their work in the Lord’s vineyard, by building Zion. Key to their success would be their observance of the law of consecration. But Zion’s citizenry revolted. They chose profit, Baal, over consecration to God. “Might not this money be given to the exchangers?”[11] The Lord, Himself, confirms the parable’s insight, and identifies their “transgression,” or the “pollution” with which they defiled the land in, principally, economic terms. Zion’s citizenry engaged in “jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires.”[12] The refused to “impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them; and [were] not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom.”[13] “In consequence of their transgressions,”[14] Zion’s citizenry sold off and “polluted their inheritances.”[15] Thus were they sent into exile. In other words, the latter-day Zion’s false citizenry was guilty of the same society-killing “Ba’alistic” idolatry of which ancient Israel was guilty. But there was an even greater loss. The law of the celestial kingdom, otherwise known as the law of consecration, was one of the principle means by which Zion would bring peace to the world, and end its constant and continuous economic “jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires”—the principle causes of nearly all global conflicts. Again, Zion’s infidelity left the nations of the world without an effective example or ambassador, thus diminishing the peaceful intents for which Zion was made and to which it was called. Again, this charge that latter-day Zion failed in its calling as minister of world peace is not mine. It is the Lord’s. We have already quoted what is, perhaps, Jesus’ earliest call to his followers to be world ministers, ambassadors of the gospel of peace and joy. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”[16] Our common “missionary reading” of this passage is entirely inadequate to the depth of the saying. There is so much more to this passage than the simple need for individuals to serve as good examples in hopes of others becoming members of “the Church.” This passage is applicable to the community as large and its need to set an example for society in general. As examples of this saying’s deeper meaning, we can consider the only two occasions when this passage is referred to in the Doctrine and Covenants. Both readings are in relation to the saints’ failed attempt to be the kind of Christians who could abide celestial principles—particularly economic—as found in the community called “Zion.” In its first occurrence at DC 101.39-41, we read, “When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that a salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. Behold, here is wisdom concerning the children of Zion, even many, but not all; they were found transgressors, therefore they must needs be a chastened—” The latter-day Zion of Jackson County was called to be the “salt of the earth.” But, by its refusal to abide by the celestial principle of consecration, Zion lost its savor, and so was “trodden under the feet of men,” or “chastened.” The next reference to the call of Jesus’ followers as “the salt of the earth” is found in DC 103.7-10. “And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever. But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them. For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; and inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.” Again, we hear the threat of being “cast out and trodden under foot of men.” This, as a consequence of their having failed as a “light to the world” and as “saviors of men.” This failure was the result of their economic “lusts” and unwillingness to live the celestial law of consecration. As Israel did anciently, latter-day Zion left the world without effective “savor.” The would-be ambassador traded in its call for filthy lucre. This was a source of great pain for God. The following lament, found in Psalm 81, is so very, very near the words spoken by God in the sections of the DC that address latter-day Zion’s failure that they might as well have been written for the latter-day failure. “Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; ‘There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.”[17] In the parable of DC 101, the nobleman of the vineyard laments that if his servants, citizens of his burgeoning kingdom, had done as they were asked they “could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.” [18] There is simply no way one can read this and not think, again, of Psalm 81. “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.[19] By Zion’s refusal to abide by the celestial law, its enemies are not subdued. They are left in power. Their power is intact is such a way as to represent a perpetual threat and danger to Zion. Without the far-sighted watchtower of consecration, Babylon and the principles by which it operates, infiltrate the failed citizenry of Zion. This leaves Babylon without a committed and effective check on its ungodly lusts. The world’s citizens are left with the false impression that such lust is completely normal and inevitable; that there are no viable alternatives to its blasphemy. and now? God, we are informed, called Joseph Smith “knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth.”[20] That same God inspired the prophet to establish a city set on a hill, protected by a watchtower. It was to be an ambassador of peace. Its principle resource for protecting the peace, and its principle example to the world for the maintenance of peace was the economic principle of consecration. Zion would not abide by this celestial law by which peace is achieved and expanded. Because of this failure, the world—including, especially, that portion which might reasonably be considered Zion’s most likely ally: American Christianity—has been left without a credible example. It is left without long-sighed watchmen on the battle ground against evil. The world remains a “dark and dreary waste”[21] without a city set on a hill with its light that shines into the darkness. The world remains a tasteless wasteland without the savor of salt. The salt has lost its savor. This absence of credible watchmen means that one of the principle latter-day “calamities” is left unchecked and unchallenged. It has allowed the calamity to present itself as normal and inevitable. Sometimes, even noble. It has left the world, with our nation the most poisoned of all, subject to the destructive and debilitating power of consumerism, materialism, and inequality: the ever-persistent idolatry of Old Testament fame. Thus, American Christianity, including the descendants of the latter-day’s failed citizenry of Zion, remain blind to and impotently silent concerning these evils. Worse, it participate in them with a gusto that can only be called “religious”—hence idolatrous. Little wonder, then, that Babylon continues to flourish and dominate the world stage. Left unexamined, without criticism, unchecked, and even embraced by those who have been taught and should know better, this consumerism, materialism, and inequality has become the driving force in the lives of individuals and society as a whole— “It’s the economy stupid.” This idolatrous “driving force”—unopposed, and often enthusiastically adopted, by rank and file Christians and their poorly equipped watchmen—left American Society unarmed and vulnerable to Caligula’s blasphemous attack on all that is holy and good. It gave wind to the sails of Caligula’s pirate ship, with its obscene economic popularism. America vibrated to the false “Make America Great Again,” theme with its ungodly premise that Americas could, virtuously, and should, justifiably and emphatically, put themselves first. More damning yet, unconscionable numbers of Christians and their short-sighted watchmen have fully embraced the wanna-be-emperor with his false doctrine and commensurate oppressive practices and policies. Yes, there is a straight line from God’s prescient call of Joseph, to Joseph’s insight into the foundations of peace in this world and beyond, to Zion’s failure to live, itself, and outwardly proclaim that foundation (consecration), to America’s glutenous consumerism, materialism, and inequality, to Caligula and his election. Because of America’s and American Christianity’s embrace of this latter-day calamity of consumerism, materialism, and inequality, along with its embrace of its latest false prophet, the dark and dreary waste will become yet darker and drearier. The entire globe will suffer for this choice. God set his people on a hill so that the world, fully warned and encouraged, could be freely accountable. “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads.”[22] His people have failed in this call. Whatever responsibility the public bears in yielding to the tempting song of this latest of sirens, it is less than that of their derelict Christian watchmen. They should have personally known better. They might then have been able to issue an authoritative and effectual warning. As it is, they bear the greater responsibility. According to what I call “The Law of the Watchman,” best articulated to Ezekiel, we, the failed early 21st century Christian watchmen may find that they have blood on their hands. “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. “When I say unto the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. “‘Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.[23] It seems that almost at the very same time, half a word away, another prophet had been made to understand the same “Law of the Watchman.” “And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.”[24] conclusion We Christians, with the guidance of our leaders, are called of God to be watchmen, not only for and amongst ourselves but for all the world. As the light of the world, we are not to hide our light, but to let it shine from such a height that not one spot on earth is left unlit by our unassailable example of God and the kind of Being He is—Holy, yes; consecrated, surely. We are to preserve and add flavor to a world that so often verges on rank rottenness and consumes with transient, tasteless appetites that are devoid of any nutritious substance. We American Christians and our leaders have, to a large extend failed in this call and ministry. For decades, Christianity’s failed watchmen have remained silent concerning the rampant consumer and materialistic decadence that has resulted in an economic inequality that is diametrically opposed to the will of God and his plan of happiness—in time and eternity. The watchmen’s long and protracted dereliction of duty finally left the nation unprepared, undiscerning, and worse, enthusiastic supportive of Caligula and his unholy doctrine of self-centered idolatry and oppressive violence. A shamefully high percentage of Christians supported and continue to support the American Caligula, due to the watchmen’s inept and willing rebellion. Like Caligula of the ancient Roman Empire, who was likely a principle source of “inspiration” for much of the apocalyptic found in the New Testament’s final book, the modern Caligula has called forth a renewed apocalyptic spirit. Perhaps it is all hysteria and exaggeration. Perhaps not. Still, the need for repentance seems unquestionably evident. Is there still time for America’s religious and political watchmen, and we, their charges, to step up, faithfully execute our responsibilities, issue our warning from the watchtower, and deliver not only the nation but the world from a looming conflagration? The Old Testament Seer, Joel, saw and warned of “alarm,” “gloominess,” “thick darkness,” “devouring flames,” “desolate wildernesses,” “pained” faces that “gather blackness.” In the midst of his apocalyptic vision, he asked, with wonder, “Who can abide it?” And yet, he knew, as Paul after him, that God is more powerful than human weaknesses. In His strength He can, as Micah concludes, subdue any, and all sin. “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”[25] He will subdue any, and all sin. Yet, we are agents. In forgiving us, He will not act upon us, he will act with us. “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”[26] In the end, I must hope that it is not too late. I must believe that even if the light that Jesus asked us to be is no more than a flickering candle, it can draw the “hungry and helpless and cold” out of the desert and into the arms of the Good Shepherd.[27] It may very well be, in fact, that the prophesied time has come when God’s longed-for “day of power” may come. The day when God prepares “a feast of fat things… for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined…unto which all the nations shall be invited. First, the rich and the learned, and wise and the noble [who by implication, refuse it]. “And after that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come.”[28] Yes, I must believe, like Joel, that the day of repentance has not passed. But we must awake from our slumber. There can be no delay or equivocation. And we must acknowledge and confess our own willful rebellion, and break our stubbornly wandering hearts if we are going to act the part of healers to a sick and dying world. “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him…” [29] [1] Isaiah 41.8-9 [2] Exodus 20.3 [3] Isaiah 5.7 [4] Isaiah 42.18-19 [5] Jeremiah 2.8,23-24 [6] Amos 8.4-6 [7] Matthew 5.13-16 [8] Mark 16.15 [9] DC 4.3-4 [10] Isaiah 2.2-5 [11] DC 101.49 [12] DC 101.6 [13] DC 101.3-4 [14] DC 101.2 [15] DC 101.6 [16] Matthew 5.13-16 [17] Psalm 81.8-12 [18] DC 101.54 [19] Verses 13 and 14 [20] DC 1.17 [21] 1 Nephi 8.7 [22] DC 88.81-82 [23] Ezekiel 3.17-21 [24] Jacob 1.19 [25] Micah 7.18-19 [26] Isaiah 1.16-18 [27] See Hymn, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd” [28] See DC 58.7-11 [29]Joel 2.12-14
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"How can you say, ‘We are wise, In a previous ‘I’m Just Saying…’ post, I mused on the fear, terror, horror, and alarm that is Caligula. I speculated on other possible infamous nicknames that he has well earned: Kishkumen, Gadianton, Amalichkiah. While on the subject of nicknames… I often referred to Bill Clinton as ‘Sherem,’ especially after his deposition in the Monica Lewinski case when he, without any apparent sense of shame, wondered aloud what the definition of ‘is’ is. I associated him with Sherem because of the text’s description of the ancient sophist. “He was learned… he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil” (Jacob 7.4). The man was such an expert flatterer. And how ‘bout that philosophizing, huh? I was reminded of our ol’ latter-day Sherem yesterday as I listened to the soon-to-be-most-junior supreme court judge, Kavanaugh—unfortunately, all the Dems can do is holler, for there is nothing they can do to stop this train wreck. This latest sophist wizard of words was questioned about a several-dozen-page-long paper that he wrote in which he challenged the assertion that ‘all legal experts consider Roe v. Wade to be ‘settled law.’ His defense reminded me of Clinton’s “it depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is” defense. The paper, he asserted, was not intended to argue that the Roe v. Wade decision was not settled law, but, only that not “all” legal experts agreed with that depiction of the law. Is the man really so cynical, and so sure that we are all idiots, as to believe that anyone with half a mind wouldn’t see right through such a specious, dishonest version of reality? The absence of integrity and the obvious, in-your-face contempt with which he holds the institutions of our country is towering, unspeakably so. No wonder Caligula nominated him. He is a man after Caligula’s own heart. For this dissertation on the nature of ‘all,” his mastery of the dark “arts and cunning of the people” (Alma 10.15), and his contempt of truth and the legal processes of judicial appointment, he has certainly earned a place in the honorary ‘hall of Sherem’ (or is it ‘hall of shame’”), and earned the title, “Zeezrom,” a “child of hell” by Amulek’s reckoning (Alma 11.23). Only time will tell if he can rise to the rank of “Korihor” in the hall of shame. Of him, we are told that he was, under Satan’s tutelage, expert in teaching that which was “pleasing unto the carnal mind” (Alma 30.53). So, let the games begin. "And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges” (Alma 10.27). And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, The family separation crisis, a deep wound on our nation, and one that will bring upon the nation the judgments of God, is far from over. The administration and the goons who enforce its ungodly policy continue to separate families. And they kick and scream about the injustice of it all as they belatedly and half-heartedly bring mothers, fathers, and children together again. I have friends and family, “Christians” all, who cold-heartedly proclaim that it is the victim’s fault. “They just shouldn’t have come here illegally.” “But,” I complain, “you would do the very same thing they’re doing; you would do anything to save your children from the violence from which they are fleeing.” “Let them do it legally,” they rejoin. “And I suppose you would? Do it legally? “Of course.” “Yeah? Well, then you don’t love your children as much as you claim, because by the time you got in legally your child would be dead and cold in the ground from starvation, or murder, or something much worse. This, because the government you have put in place can’t even find the moral wherewith all to do the right thing and allow even asylum seekers in.” Perhaps there is still time to soften such hard hearts. Perhaps a reminder of what a desperate parent’s love looks like, and how God responds to such desperation can bring a change of heart. “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, ‘Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.’ And she answered and said unto him, ‘Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.’ And he said unto her, ‘For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.’ And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed” (Mark 7.24-30). See what courage and recklessness a parent’s love of a child wrought! A woman stepped into a man’s world to present and argue for the life and health of her beloved child! A foreign woman, deemed unclean, dared challenge the Savior of mankind! “And she found the devil gone out!” Impressed by a parents love? How about this one? “And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, ‘My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live’…. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, ‘Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?’ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, ‘Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.’ And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, ‘Talitha cumi;’ which is, being interpreted, ‘Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.’ And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment” (Mark 5.21-23 & 35-43). “He fell at his feet,” this ruler accustomed to honor and prestige. See the risk, the humiliation a parent will accept for the well-being and happiness of their child? Oh, how I hope and pray that Jesus is out there in the deserts of northern Mexico, just south of that American iron curtain, speaking comfortingly to desperate and frightened mothers and fathers? “Be not afraid, only believe. I will bring your children safely back to you. For I, at least, know what it means to be kind, for I am meek and lowly in heart… just like you.” And again, “And one of the multitude answered and said, ‘Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.’ He answereth him, and saith, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me.’ And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, ‘How long is it ago since this came unto him?’ And he said, ‘Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’ And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, ‘Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.’ And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose” (Mark 9.17-27). Can we all pray together? Can we pray that those parents, so unsure about the future, and those children, torn from their parents’ arms by a nation that “foameth” and “gnasheth” against the vulnerable and oppressed foreign refugee, will see “the foul spirit” rebuked, and they made sure and united again in the arms of their loved ones? Who can forget the mother from Nain? “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, ‘Weep not.’ And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.’ And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, ‘That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.’ And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judæa, and throughout all the region round about” (Luke 7.11-17). There is “a great prophet” among us—Indeed one who is more than prophet. He has compassion on those poor, frightened parents. Can we all pray together? Can we pray that he has compassion on those children whom our government has abused and molested and terrorized? Can we pray that their elastic minds, brain paths likely warped and twisted by a warped and twisted abuser, may be made straight, made well, made secure, made happy, made whole? Again, I ask, how far would you go, what would you not do, for love of your children? Though I “got in trouble” the last time I quoted Jesus’ saying—some ridiculous fantasy that I might turn “violent,” as though I do not trust God to recompense Caligula as only He has the right to do—I’ll quote him again. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18.5-6). "He had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil” (Jacob 7.4) I try to be good. I really do. But, what am I to do? These thoughts and images come to my mind, unbidden. I suppose I could just stay silent. But even the casual reader of this site knows how my past silence torments me. Such a cowardly past. But no more. Just staying silent no longer feels just. And even non-silence is not enough. The masses can no longer hear the “still-small voice. They must be spoken to with thunder. And even then, they resist and dig their heals in further. Back-sliding heifers! Anyway, I saw the happy adoring faces of Caligula’s Hoosier hordes last night as they awaited the arrival of their prophet. Adoration. Yes. Clearly, they adore this awful monster. I saw their upraised hands, holding cell-phones aloft to click a picture of his arrival at the venue. I saw the impure joy on their faces, as they anticipated the spectacle that they were surely about to witness, and enjoy. Happy faces everywhere. Adoration. I could not help myself, it just came. I saw huge spot lights flashing against the clouds of a dark night sky. I saw an eagle. I saw thousands of happy faces, anticipating the looming spectacle. The ugly face of adoration. I saw upraised hands saluting…. No! Don’t do it. Don’t go there! Don’t say it. Bite your tongue. We’re not supposed to use that comparison. Oh, hell! … the fuehrer. “Fuehrer” means “guide.” Where, I wonder, is he taking them, this pied piper? I can only believe that he “doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30.60). The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever” (2 Nephi 29.9). Mormons, if such creatures still exist, declare, For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10.19).
Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land” (Mosiah 29.26-27). I well remember watching Watergate hearings and realizing that, notwithstanding his protestations, the president was indeed a crook… and then some. Very dark days. Years later, while watching Clinton lie under oath and undergo an impeachment trial, I realized that he was a wicked scoundrel… and then some. Very tragic. Yes, I remember the dark cloud that hung over both these scandals. Very sad. August 21, 2018 reminded me of these two black clouds and left me with similar feelings. It seems clear that Caligula does more than surround himself with criminals. He, himself, is almost certainly a criminal. Very Sad. Ver dark. Very Tragic. More darkly, sadly, and tragically, in all three instances, the electorate had more than enough warning to stay away from such shady characters. In the first two, the party bases stayed with their flawed choices to the bitter end. It appears that Caligula’s base is prepared to repeat history. Most darkly, sadly, and tragically, a large number of those who are prepared to follow Caligula off the cliff call themselves Christian. I hate to harp on this, but it is simply an inescapable fact: Caligula could not today be president--and acting the part of a dictator—without his “Christian” supporters. They enthroned him. They can just stop, already, complaining that they had no choice. In GOP primaries, dominated by base Christians, they had sixteen—count them, sixteen!!—perfectly conservative candidates to choose from. But in one evangelical “Christian” stronghold after another, they rejected these other candidates for a man who was clearly the vilest candidate in recent, and, perhaps, all of U.S. history. Nope. Caligula belongs to American “Christianity.” They made him. They own him. The choice so many “American Christians,” so called, made in November 2016 says all that needs to be said about the state of this apostate and heretical branch of “Christianity.” Based on this choice alone, there is little doubt what a visiting extra-terrestrial—alien, angel, or deity—would conclude concerning American “Christianity.” “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1.6-7) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. In offering up “reasons” for revoking John Brennen’s security clearance, the emperor and his cabal have offered up several. Like any and every liar, he can’t keep things straight from minute to minute, let alone day to day.
While many have, likely correctly, suggested that Caligula’s decision—he being the illusionist that he is— is an attempt to distract the public from other challenges he is facing, and to slow an investigation that closes in on him more threateningly with each passing day, However, a couple of his “reasons” caught my attention ("reasons” has and will appear in this post in quotes whenever it is spoken in associated with the naked and insane emperor. Caligula does not operate on “reason.” He is the single most unreasonable and irrational man to ever occupy the Nuthou… I meant Whitehouse). Check out these precious gems. Caligula has become worried by Brennen’s “erratic conduct and behavior.” Brennen and others of the intelligence community who challenge Caligula’s dictatorship have “politicized, and in some cases, monetized their public service and security clearances." Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, the dunce complained, "I don't trust many of those people on that list. I think that they're very duplicitous. I think they're not good people.” Could you… huh… eh… ahem… ark... sputter…. cough… give me… sputter… choke…. just a moment…. sputter… cough… sniffle… to recover, ark…sniff… sniff… sniff…. and compose myself? Whoop, Whoop, Whoop, Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk[i] Whew! Thank you. I’m all better now. Are you kidding me!! This has got to be some type of elaborate joke, doesn’t it? Caligula, worried about another’s “erratic conduct and behavior”? Caligula, saving us from someone who is “monetizing their public service’? Caligula, accusing another of being “duplicitous.” Caligula, judging another of not being “good people”? Are we being punked? That’s it, isn’t it. We’re being punked. That has to be it… doesn’t it? We are on some TV reality show: “Stupid America Punked.” Maybe the little man with the orangutan hair is just punking us? Maybe it’s the Russians... maybe they’re the ones punking us? Oh, wait, its all the same thing: Reality TV presidency, Caligula, the man with the orangutan hair, the Russians. They are all one and the same. I sure am relieved to know that there was no collusion. [i] To quote Curly, great scholar of “Three Stoogesdom,” As the thief is ashamed when he is found, I read recently that according to a 2017 poll of gun owners, “Half of all gun owners say that ownership is essential to their identity.”[i] That’s one of the saddest things of the many sad things I have heard lately. And more than a little creepy. Quite possibly dangerous. It is also a near perfect illustration of the sneaky idolatry—finding meaning, purpose, and a sense of self-- both individual and societal, that is rampant in today’s world, and that has twisted our society into its present delirious madness. How can any right-minded individual or society substitute a hunk of metal and wood—or plastic if one possesses the right type of copier—for the only true and living God? Of course, there are plenty of other idols out there. Why, there’s a veritable smorgasbord of gods to choose from. A cornucopia of false delights, producing false and mad identities. No one captures the madness of idolatry, the madness of finding meaning and identify in someone or something other than God, better than Isaiah. If it weren’t so tragic, it would be almost laugh-out-loud hilarious. “The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god” (Isaiah 44.12-17). But, no matter how many god’s mankind ingeniously creates, it will always be God—not metal, wood, marble, granite, gems, etc., etc.—from whom only we can find our true purpose and identity. [i] See “Gunrunning USA,” tomdispatrch.com But let him that glorieth glory in this, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4.3-4) One of today’s Just Reporting pieces concerns the ‘QAnon’ phenomenon that is running rampant among Caligula’s most ardent and, apparently, stupid disciples. One can be excused for wondering what such an absurd phenomenon has to do with the just society, or if such imbecilic doings should even be dignified by being reported and commented on. It is such a joke. Why not laugh rather than rant? It is certainly true, one-thousand times true, that the phenomenon is beyond absurd. There are simply no words that can adequately describe the moronic phenomenon. Perhaps the best we can do is simply pile up as many derogatory adjectives as we can think of—I have just gotten started with my “stupid,” “absurd,” “imbecilic,” and “moronic;” there will be more to follow. Nevertheless, inadequate as it is, we must declare the phenomenon to be the latest sign, in a long series of signs, pointing to the mad state or rebellion into which Caligula and his hordes have plunged our poor, weakened, and vulnerable nation. Truly, “madness is in their heart.” Yet, after all these adjectives--“stupid,” “absurd,” “imbecilic,” “moronic,” and “mad”—we would be remiss if we did not at least add this modifier: evil. It is with this adjective that we come to the phenomenon’s intersection with the just society. After promising Moses that after his, Moses’ departure, he would, from time to time, appoint prophets in Israel, Yahweh issued a stern warning. “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?’ When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18.20–22). Whether a simple punker, a delusional sociopath, an AI parlor trick, or another cleaver and conspiring Russian agent, ‘QAnon’ is being treated seriously by a not un-sizable portion of Caligula’s mad hordes—looky there, I can use double negatives too! No doubt, many of them call themselves “Christian.” To their way of thinking, ‘QAnon’ is what scripture would call a prophet. We agree. He, she, or it is a prophet. If the sheer absurdity of his, her, or its “doctrine” were not enough to expose him, her, or it as a fake prophet, certainly his, her, or its now numerous false prophesies should have given away the game—which prophet was it that uttered their false prophecy that Obama would take away all our guns and set African Americas on a rampage through white America? How’d that work out? But the radical and rabid right was undeterred and undisturbed when such false prophecy failed to come to fruition. Clearly, we are not dealing with rational beings. ‘QAnon’s’ genius, however, is not to be found in prophesies declared in riddle. Rather, it is in his, her, its knowledge of his, her, its irrational audience. He, she, it perfectly understands that millions, tens of millions of Americans cannot endure sound doctrine. They are, as the true prophet, Paul, said so long ago, drawn by their own lusts to receive any one who confirms the madness that has already infected their poisoned hearts and delusional minds. Any fable will do as long as it confirms their twisted and demented logic. I believe that most of them are not stupid. Most of them are simply evil (I know, I know, I ping pong back and forth on this. That’s what madness does). In the final analysis, they know, I have to believe, that ‘QAnon’ is full of gibberish, mumbo jumbo, and that stuff that comes out the rear end. Yet, in their madness they prefer, as Paul witnesses, a fable to the truth. Caligula’s election confirmed it. The support he continues to garner seals it. ‘QAnon’ simply feeds the hordes whose appetite for madness is insatiable to yet a new level of delirious and delicious madness. The truth, if they could discern it, would not set them free. It would damn them to hell. They know this, even if they will not know it. This is evidence enough of their willful madness. So, you see, no society can be called a just society that has so many of its citizens adore and follow the latest version of the tried and true false prophet who offers madness. No society can be called “just,” or long endure, that has so many of its citizens crave fable over truth. For it is not only the false and presumptuous false prophet that “shall die.” Sadly, it is also his, her, its mad adherents that “shall die.” Can we say that our hope is not vain if we hope and pray that “the day of grace” has not passed them by, “both temporally and spiritually”? (See Mormon 2.15). I don’t know. I am no prophet. Just a simple preacher. So, I’ll leave it to the prophets to decide if the madness is terminal; whether “the day of grace” has passed; or whether “their damnation slumbereth” or has been fully wakened. But, as for me, my prayer will be, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42.11) “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies… And many shall follow their pernicious ways… And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” (2 Peter 2:1-3). text
Following is the text for today’s homily, as translated by the King James Bible translators. As we examine the text, I will offer a more free-flowing translation that is, I like to think, still faithful to Isaiah’s message. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. “Come ye,” say they, “I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. introduction In this text, Isaiah lampoons Judah’s leaders, political and religious. We will, as one would expect in a homily, explore why Isaiah subjects the political and religious leaders of his day to ridicule and criticism. What is it about them that he finds so ludicrous and profane? But, unlike the past, when we might have left the reader to draw his or her own applications, we will—consistent with our post-2016 election “revelation” that the day for soft spoken, cautious, inconclusive, and diplomatic exegesis is over—go beyond textual and historical examination, making direct application to America’s political and religious leaders—tragically, all too closely imitative of those of ancient Judah. triple whammy In offering his criticism of Judah’s political and religious leaders, Isaiah engages in the shunned literary practice of mixing metaphors. Isaiah likens Judah’s political and religious leaders to “watchmen,” “sheepdogs,” and “shepherds.” While the metaphors are mixed, the metaphors have much in common. Let us ask first, then, “What does a watchman, a sheepdog, and a shepherd have in common?” All provide a basic service. The watchman is a “public servant.” He keeps watch against the approach of danger, acting as a kind of early warning system. He ought to be alert. He ought to have the sort of knowledge that allows him to correctly identify danger. He ought to have the willingness and know-how to communicate the existence and nature of the danger in such a way that the public understands and acts upon his warning so as to keep safe of the danger. The “sheepdog” is also a “servant.” He serves the sheep and the shepherd. He, too, watches for dangers. He must know where and how to position himself in relation to the sheep so as to see any approaching danger. He must know a ravening wolf from a wandering dog or a straying lamb. He must know how to issue a warning when a carnivore is present or a lamb wanders from the safety of the fold. Finally, the “shepherd” is “servant” to the flock. He must know and do all he can to advance the safety and successful productivity and increase of the flock. He must be dedicated to the flock’s safety. The true shepherd will put the flock above himself. As watchmen, sheep dogs, and shepherds, how do Judah’s religious and political leaders stack up against these basic job descriptions? Not well. In fact, not at all. They are in no way qualified for the work to which they have been called—or have hijacked for themselves. On the rare occasion when there might be minimal qualification, there is a complete absence of willingness to fulfil the obligations associated with one who watches. Let’s have a look at Isaiah’s specific claims about the ineptitude and rebelliousness of Judah’s political and religious leaders. First, we learn that “Those assigned to be on the look-out are blind.”[1] !!! What good is a sightless lookout? Though danger may be everywhere—surrounding, even, the blind lookout—he is incapable of seeing it. But the blindness is not to be found only in the eyes. Isaiah charges that the blindness is also to be found in the mind. “Every last one of them are without understanding.” These watchmen are ignorant. Even if they could see an approaching danger, they wouldn’t know what they were looking at. They wouldn’t know danger if it bit them in the butt! They are incapable of telling the difference between friend or foe, good or evil. What a silly public, assigning, accepting, and supporting one as watchman who cannot see or discern a danger from a benefit, good from evil. But Judah’s vulnerability is even more serious yet. We have just scratched the surface of Jewish leaders’ flaws. They are more than sightless and inept. They are willful in their dereliction of duty. To drive this home, Isaiah shifts metaphors. He leaves the metaphor of the watchman behind and trades it in for one involving a “sheepdog.” However, we must remember that Isaiah is still speaking about Judah’s political and religious leaders. “All of them are mute watch-dogs, incapable of barking.” Even if they could see and discern the danger, they cannot or will not communicate it. Wolves approach the flock, but the watchdogs remain mute. We might imagine that their muteness flows from cowardice. They are, themselves, perhaps afraid of getting eaten by the big bad wolf. But Isaiah has other explanations for their willful dereliction of duty. First, “Dreaming in their sleep, they prefer snoozing (to wakefulness).” We might chalk their slumbering up to laziness. But there is something else at play here; something far more sinister. They are simply unconcerned about the safety of their charges. They are more concerned about their own comfort. Then again, there might be a bit of escapism taking place here. Though inadequately seen and understood, the dangers are intimidating and disquieting. To announce them requires a level of self-sacrifice that the dogs are not willing to suffer. Fantasy is to be preferred over reality, lies preferable to truth, self-delusion preferred over illumination. And yet, in spite of their inability and unwillingness to raise the warning cry, the dogs are guilty of yet deeper transgression against their trusts. “Dogs, with powerful appetites, they are never satisfied.” When they are not sleeping on the job, they are eating on the job. What do they eat? The sheep dogs, assigned to protect the sheep from being eaten, are, most likely, eating sheep! One thinks of Micah’s—a contemporary of Isaiah—critique of Judah’s leaders. And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.”[2] Micah’s imagery of Judah’s religious and political leaders as cannibals; flaying, cooking and gorging themselves upon the flesh of the people whom they were called to serve, makes Isaiah’s criticism look tame by comparison. We have already surmised that Judah’s political and religious leaders, whether represented by the watchman or the watchdog, were less concerned with those that they were called to protect than with themselves and their own comfort. But, Isaiah does not long allow our surmising to be in doubt. With his third shift in metaphor, that of the shepherd, Isaiah confirms what we previously surmised. “They are shepherds who know nothing, all of them only consider themselves. They mind only their own interests. Each, ultimately, turns to obtaining gain by unjust means.” Watchman, sheepdog, and shepherd, alike, care little or nothing about their charges. They only accept the position out of consideration for their own desires and interests. Their acceptance is only a personal power play. It puts them in a position that they can pervert societal norms so as to obtain personal gain, power, and prestige even though it means cannibalizing the body politic. So far, Isaiah has used his own words to describe the depth of Judah’s leaders’ betrayal. But Isaiah, the ever observant critic of society, has been listening to these leaders. As Jeremiah so often does, Isaiah brings their own words forward to stand as witness against them. “‘I will become a collector of fine wine, and get drunk on the strongest of beers. Each day will be like the proceeding, or even better.’” Now, the LDS reader is conditioned to immediately think, “‘Word of Wisdom:’ they are being accused of breaking the Word of Wisdom.” This tendency causes the reader to misunderstand Isaiah’s criticism, and miss about ninety-five percent of Isaiah’s discomfort with Judah’s leaders. The quotation serves to confirm all that Isaiah has said about Judah’s leaders. They are in it for themselves. Here, they hope to become well enough off that they can acquire a fine collection of wines—even today, a symbol of economic privilege and excess.[3] But, we must not get hung up on the alcohol. The alcohol is simply a “stand in” for materialistic privilege and excess. These shepherds are motivated by the acquisition of wealth, which, they believe, will bring ease. And they intend to get gain by any means possible. Not “means” is too foul; no “means” out of bounds. In all of this, we might think of wicked King Noah and his priests who get fat and rich off plundering their own people. “[Noah] placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots. He planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine–presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine–bibber, and also his people.”[4] Each day will be a party. The pesky cares of the world that haunt so many of their “subjects” lives are not allowed to intrude into their own privileged lives. Isaiah elsewhere surveys the privileged life Judah’s leaders live. “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”[5] Again, the “wine,” and the “drunkenness” are far more than literal. They are metaphor for an appetite that is insatiably drive to consume, even at the expense of everyone around them. These deviant leaders do not simply “err” due to physical drunkenness, but through all the privilege their immoral and unethical conduct procures for them. The “banquet tables” that are “covered in vomit” inform us just how much they have acquired. Such parties are not cheep. And they are more for show than for “refreshment.” Not only is the public a mere tool that the leaders use and manipulate for their own ends, but they expect no negative consequences to follow: “Each day will be like the proceeding, or even better.” History suggests that they are right, at least in the short term. How often the wealthy live out lives of ease, while the poor suffer. The Psalmist is not unreasonably confused by such injustice. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth…. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.”[6] God does tend to be “slow to anger,” and the populace, easily intimidated, stupefied by propaganda, or bought off with trinkets. Perhaps, too, they, like the watchers, prefer fable to reality. the more things change, the more they stay the same Well, now, that was a fun little romp through history. But we now come to that point when we must ask the essential questions. What would Isaiah say today about America’s political and religious leaders? What kind of watchmen, sheepdogs, and shepherds have they been? What kind of watchmen, sheepdogs, and shepherds are they currently? It is part of the corporate folklore that some years back LDS church leaders asked the seminaries and institutes of religion administrators what—given that so many young men, seminary graduates, were not serving missions, and so many young men and young women, seminary graduates, were not being married in the temple—what were they so ineffectively teaching the youth of the church? It may be just that, folklore. I am no folklorist, but I do wonder. Today, the United States is led by, likely, the most immoral, unethical, and downright wicked man ever to be called “president.” I have consistently identified him as Caligula, the infidel. I do not do so lightly, or with tongue in cheek. I am deadly serious. So, I wonder if those same church leaders are now asking themselves another question. What—given that 80% of “evangelical Christians” and 70% of Mormons voted for the devilish man, while they continue to support him in embarrassingly high numbers, with Mormons leading the charge—what the hell have we watchmen been teaching our people? How could the sheep have wandered so far from the flock of Christ? How did the doctrines we have so consistently taught, not keep them from becoming followers of Caligula, an evil and delusional man? What does the flock’s descent into the darkness of this man suggest about the doctrine that has been taught? What were we looking for from the perch of our watchtower? How did we miss the approaching assault for which he stands? Caligula’s initial election, made possible largely through “Christian” electoral support; and his continuing assault on all that is good and holy, through the continued support that “Christians” so enthusiastically offer him, suggests, in my humble view, that today’s American watchmen of all strips, religious and political, have not acted altogether differently than those of ancient Judah. If Isaiah were around today, he would have much the same critique of modern political and religious leaders that he had for those of his day. They have, and continue to be, ignorant and mute when it comes to identifying and clearly articulating the real dangers that face the ever-vulnerable sheep—sheep seemingly ever ready to self-inflict pain and suffer. The watchmen have not known what to look for. Too often, they have been distracted by mirages. If they have seen danger, they could not identify it as such. If they have seen and identified the dangers, they have willfully and selfishly remained mute. Too many political and religious leaders have, for most of my life, been almost universally mute concerning the dangers that the occasional, lone, brave, and isolated—and, always much maligned—watchman has issued. For example, in his so called “malaise speech,” President Jimmy Carter, offered a warning voice. In words written after weeks of self-exile, scripture study, and prayer—words that seem now prophetic—he offered, for example, the following critique of American society. “In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in God, too many of us now worship self-indulgence and consumption.” Of course, he was dead on, if, still, too kind. The cancer of idolatry has run rampantly, and ruinously, through the American body. Yet, those such as the venerable and unholy Ronald Reagan, champion of idolatry, lampooned him for such holiness. Thus do the ungodly always stone the truth-telling prophets. Unforgivably, nearly all religious leaders have, to this day, remained mute about the silent and inevitable killer that idolatrous materialism represents—both to the individuals and the society at large. Some of them have gone even further, trading their mutism for loud proclamations that embraced the cancerous “prosperity gospel.” Pure gobbledygook it is: “personal material wealth flows from righteousness.” For their part, political leaders have nourished the cancerous growth with a steady flow of apostate doctrine masquerading as enlightened and “scientific” economic theory and policy—false prophets such as Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand among their champions. The all-powerful and all-wise economic and corporate world enthusiastically swallows such convenient theories as “scientific,” while skeptically and conveniently questioning other much more solidly scientific theories, such as global warming. Go figure. Like the compromised watchmen of ancient Judah, there are many reasons that might explain the modern political and religious leaders’ dereliction of duty—the duty to warn, rather than coddle the straying flock. Isaiah’s list of reasons for their neglect is applicable today. But it is his finale that seems most pertinent: the political and religious leaders, along with their organizations and institutions, have personally profited too much to put their golden calves at risk. Better not offend their sugar mamas and sugar daddys—see, I can mix metaphors as well as the next. Having taught religion courses to thousands of students over a 30 year career, I stand condemned with my fellow religious leaders for past dereliction of duty. The stats make the conclusion painfully likely that seventy percent of those I taught support an infidel. Did they not hear a word I said? How could they so thoroughly blaspheme the name of God? I have seen it coming for years. The idolatry has been completely out of control for some time now. Yet, I remained oh so careful, oh so polite in any discussion of it—so polite that the message, it was clear at the time and even clearer now, did not get through. Why did I only issue vague and properly diplomatic warnings? I had my reasons, of course. Some of them might have been well-intentioned. But others, I confess, involved a cowardly desire for self-preservation. I didn’t want to get in trouble. Yet, I should have been clearer and more forceful, more direct and even “confrontational.” Be that as it may, I have, as I expressed in my initial post-2016 election homilies, and from time to time since, seen the error of my ways. I repented. No more parables. No more still small voices. I have exchanged these for straight talk with a shout. The people, as I have said before, can no longer hear still, small voices. It is as though the muteness of their leaders has caused the flock’s hearing to fail. Or, perhaps, the materialism of their daily lives dampens all other sound. Whatever the cause of the deafness, I now speak with the voice of a clear, loud trumpet, rather than the sound of a delicate flute. Unfortunately, neither group, political or religious leaders, shows any signs of having learned from their past mistakes. Just as they have been mute about the dangers of idolatrous materialism and the society-destroying economic inequality, even now, today, when the danger that Caligula poses is as clear as clear can be, the watchers remain largely mute in the most cowardly fashion. When they do speak, it is too often with the same old failed diplomacy—at or just barely above whisper level. Their whispered warnings, emanating from the high perch of their watchtower, does not have a chance of carrying down to the people below. Just look at the “dumb dogs”! By nearly all accounts, even those of his party know full well the danger Caligula poses to all that we hold dear. Such views are frequently, but privately expressed. They know he is not to be trusted. They know he is the very definition of “liar.” In seeing him kidnap children from loving parents, they offer the mildest expressions of “discomfort,” being sure not to mention his name, lest they poke the angry orange beast. They hear him defend the tyrant, Putin, and attack his own intelligence communities, and then accept his ludicrous “double negative” explanation. As if he even knows what a “double negative is”! Then, brave souls that they are, these members of an equal branch of government offer up token and non-binding resolutions. They learn with alarm that, having met with that same tyrant in private, no one in his administration—a full week… two weeks later!—knows the first thing about what was discussed or what deals were made? Talk about a dictatorship! Yet, they offer nothing but expressions of “concern.” They refuse to pass legislation that would keep him from pulling a Nixonian type purge of those who investigate his highly questionable, and possibly treasonous relationship with Russia while they pretend to believe the liar when he says he has no intention of moving against them. They receive his racism with the mildest of reactions, as if it were but a minor character flaw that is to be expected in a white 70 year-old man. Wink, wink. They listen to him attack the freedom-maintaining press, and offer a shake of the head, a wry smile, and a “tisk, tisk.” They see a man-who-would-be-dictator flaunting every democratic norm, and then fall in lock-step, afraid of the beast and the hordes who adore Caligula’s sacrilege. Well, we could go on. We could go on, and on, and on, and on. We could fill dozens of pages, as we have done in our “Mad State of Rebellion” posts, with Caligula’s undemocratic and potentially treasonous behavior—if not against nation, certainly against God. Identifying the evils that flow from this narcissistic, egomaniacal, and sociopathic man isn’t rocket science, but simple common sense. It doesn’t require revelatory powers, just basic decency. Yet, too many of our religious and political leaders possess no such common sense or basic decency. But, in mentioning “the hordes who adore his blasphemy,” we finally come to the heart of the matter. Caligula would not now be emperor if not for them. Having not properly warned them beforehand, America’s religious and political leaders now are reaping what they have so wickedly sown. At the same time, they grovel in fear before the flock that they have been called to lead. Why, they have been exposed as nothing more than abject followers of the mob. No leaders at all, these blind, mute, ignorant, and self-serving watchmen. The watchmen, dumb dogs that they are, go mute to save their own skin, even as the sheep commit suicide by flaying, barbeque, and consumption by the unrestrained and corrupt legal, political, religious, and economy institutions so greedy for wealth and power and prestige. But, God will not be mocked. Yes, as we have concluded so often on the pages of this site, the people have the only kind of leaders that they will stomach. As the one-term president, Jimmy Carter, discovered so many years ago, they will not receive correction. They will not hear of repentance. Rather, as Micah so tragically observes, and Caligula so effectively demonstrates, “If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people!” Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan was just such a false prophet. Now, Caligula offers them the same idol that a president of the other party, Bill Clinton, did twenty years ago: “It’s the economy, stupid.” And so, in Caligula, they have found their beloved prophet of Profit, the only God they truly love. “Well did Esaias prophesy of [them], saying, ‘This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’”[7] At least America’s political and religious leaders are able to accurately discern at least this much: one must simply, only, and always tell the people what they want to hear. [1] The following lines of Isaiah’s passage found below, and in italics, represent the author’s translation. [2] Micah 3.1-3 [3] Google “Koch brothers and wine collection” sometime, if you want to see it in its most extreme and perverted form. [4] Mosiah 11.14-15 [5] Isaiah 28.7-8 [6] Psalm 73.3-10, 12 [7] Matthew 15.7-9 “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain” (Ezekiel 22.27). With his typically petulant and irresponsible recklessness, he starts a trade war, costing farmers millions. He uses taxpayers’ dollars to try and buy off the farmers, and ward off any potential apostasy. He then boasts that he has come to the rescue. So, let me be sure I have this straight. The wolf calls wolves to eat the sheep. He then cries wolf and sacrifices a few other sheep to squelch the ravenous attacks. He then calls himself heroic savior of the sheep, though it was he, himself, that endangered them in the first place. O.K. Got it. But the madness does not end there. Oh, no. The victimized sheep buy what ought to be clearly seen as the little man’s cunning absurdity. Maybe the sheep aren’t wicked after all. Maybe they’re just a few brain cells short. He commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed” (Alma 5.60). And Pharaoh hardened his heart” (Exodus 8.32). Until God personally took upon him a tabernacle of clay and dwelt among men in hopes of revealing the full nature of his incomparable character, no Biblical revelation was more illuminating as to the character of God than that found in Israel’s deliverance from a painful Egyptian oppression. The entire Old Testament revolves around the rescue of immigrants, enslaved by the Egyptian Empire. Jesus’ revelation of God as recorded in the New Testament is founded on that great rescue, with Jesus reenacting that great Old Testament revelation of God as emancipator. Today, we look again at the story of Israel’s deliverance from servitude—a story so well known that its meaning is often lost in familiarity. We will find much that is familiar in our own day—perhaps uncomfortably so. After a brief survey of immigrant peoples,[1] who had entered Egypt several generations earlier, and after informing us that this immigrant group was “fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty,”[2] the writers of Exodus inform us that “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”[3] We will want to stop here and review who Joseph was, and what it may have meant that Pharaoh “knew not Joseph.” Joseph was a highly successful and productive immigrant. In fact, he was politically instrumental in establishing policies that helped his adopted Egyptian nation through a period of very difficult economic challenges. Through his political influence, foreigners who suffered under the dangers of drought were granted refugee status in Egypt. Here, in their adopted homeland, these refugees flourished. After a lifetime of service to the Egyptian state, Joseph died. With time, he was forgotten. What, exactly, do we mean by “forgotten”? What are we to understand from the notice that the new king “knew not Joseph”? Does this mean, simply, that the new king never personally met or knew the man, Joseph? Based on what follows, this seems unlikely that this is how we are to understand the notice. Does it mean that he was unfamiliar with all that Joseph had done for the nation? Again, this does not seem likely. Does it mean that the new king knew of Joseph’s political accomplishments, but chose to ignore and even diminish their importance? Why would he do so? Does it mean that the new king chose to ignore or even deny Joseph’s immigrant status? Does it mean that the new king could not bring himself to acknowledge the important and dynamic contributions of this non-Egyptian immigrant? However we think of Pharaoh’s not knowing Joseph, it seems best to see Pharaoh’s not knowing as a rejection of the man, his immigrant confederates, and their dynamic contributions of Egyptian society. This is clear from the new king’s subsequent policies and actions. His not “knowing” Joseph is something more than “personal.” It is ethnic. Pharaoh, it seems, is what we would today call a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “xenophobe,” a “nationalist.” For this reason, the new Pharaoh chose to ignore and deny Joseph’s significant contributions as an immigrant. To acknowledge such contributions would undermine the new Pharaoh’s program. What was that program? Intimidation. Genocide. Slavery. Oppression. Pogrom. Pharaoh instituted a new policy concerning foreigners. We might call it a “zero tolerance” policy. “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply….Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.” So it was that Pharaoh afflicted the immigrants—vulnerable, in large part, because of their lack of legal standing and protections—enslaving them and making “their lives bitter.” The immigrants were put to work building “for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. A “treasure city” is a domestic fortified site that serves to protect food stuffs, military equipment, or royal treasuries. The construction and upkeep of such cities is often reflective of economic booms, with their attendant luxurious excess of goods and “investment potentials.” This notice concerning the building project to which the immigrants were put to work is a reminder that the oppression of foreigners and other extralegal populations is often motivated by economic concerns. Certainly, in the United States, the most virulent periods of xenophobia have been during times of economic inequality, and have served to maintain a privileged population’s prerogatives. But, the physical oppression of slavery did not go far enough toward accomplishing Pharaoh’s programmatic ends. He was not simply building up a slave labor force in order to build a few cities. He was intent on putting an end to the influence and even existence of the threatening immigrant population in his nation. Therefore, he developed a policy of separating children, male children anyway, from their parents. This took the form of infanticide. “When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women… if it be a son, then ye shall kill him”[4] With the death of this ignorantly arrogant Pharaoh, and the instalment of a new ruler, the oppression continued. It had hardened into a multi-generational pogrom. This world superpower assumed it was safe in carrying out its extreme policies. Who would or could oppose it? It would find out soon enough. There was a truly Super Power more than capable of resisting Egypt’s national hubris. “And the LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians…. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.’”[5] And, as all know, deliver them He did. After nine “plagues”—calls to repentance, really—the superpower’s leader remained stubbornly unrepentant. Why should he repent? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Simply worked to make his nation great again. But with the tenth and final plague, the law of restoration finally caught up with him and his complicit citizenry. As the nation had carried out the separation of immigrant parents from their male children, so now he and his people were separated from their firstborn sons. “And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.”[6] Sadly, but irrevocably, what goes around, comes around. Well, the rest is history, as they say. The immigrant slaves were freed. Yahweh won the final battle against the superpower’s world-class military machine. But there is another chapter to the story that must be told. Yahweh took this disparate pack of ex-slaves out into the forbidding desert, where they would have to learn to rely upon him alone for their survival. In this wilderness, he came down and met with them at Sinai. He delivered just laws with which individuals and society were to bind themselves. Over and over, he reminded them that their privilege and responsibility to form a just society was based upon their previous experience as oppressed immigrants. They must never forget where they came from. They must consider their experience in all they did. “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” “And because he loved thy fathers [the enslaved immigrants], therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt…” I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me." “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” “Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, ‘What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?’ Then thou shalt say unto thy son, ‘We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…’”[7] Well, we could go on, but you see the emphasis. However, we should mention one other obligation that their slavery and deliverance brought upon them. This new nation, formed from disparate groups, was never to return to Egypt by establishing Egypt-like public policy or engaging in Egypt-like behavior toward immigrants. They were not to treat immigrants as they had been treated. “The LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”[8] “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”[9] “Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”[10] “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”[11] “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.”[12] “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.”[13] It is impossible to overestimate the importance of individuals and nations remembering that, “there, but for the grace of God, go I, we.” Unless one is Native American, there is not a single American who does not descend from immigrants. Most of those immigrants were not invited here. They came here, mostly, illegally, violently, and against the will of those who possessed the land before them. Nevertheless, the United States government, led by a man who would pervert the spirit of our nation, has chosen to act the part of Egyptian oppressor toward immigrants and refugees. He and his abhorrent administration assume, as Pharaoh and Egypt did, that they can treat the immigrants and refugees at its border in any inhumane way they choose. The man who would be king assumes it is safe. The “infestation,” he believes, is powerless to resist its poisonous policies. He and his disciples assume there will be no ill consequences for their vile behavior. Rather, they seem to believe, against every holy principle, that such vile behavior will, somehow, make America great again. But, like ancient Egypt, the man and his complicit followers have rebelliously, willfully forgotten that there is a stronger superpower. There is a God in heaven. He is the same today as he was yesterday. He is a liberator of the oppressed. This is at the very heart of His character. If he must, in order to liberate the oppressed, he will humiliate and put an end to the stubbornly impertinent and impenitent oppressor nation. That nation, that calls itself “blessed,” will discover that God has not forgotten how to curse. [1] The text calls them “Israel,” though this is not entirely accurate. According to Exodus 12.38, those who were rescued were a “mixed multitude.” This notice is confirmed by the onomastic evidence, which indicates that the group was constituted of several diverse “ethnic” groups. This designation, “Israel,” may hide as much as it reveals. It may have been as advantageous in the ancient world as in the modern to conveniently ignore the groups’ immigrant status. [2] Exodus 1.7 [3] Exodus 1.8 [4] Exodus 1.16 [5] Exodus 3.7-9 [6] Exodus 12.29-30 [7] Deuteronomy 4.20; 4.37; 5.6-7; 5.15; 6.12; 6.20-21 [8] Deuteronomy 10.17-19; emphasis added. [9] Exodus 22.21 [10] Exodus. 23.9 [11] Leviticus. 19.33-34 [12] Leviticus 24.22 [13] Leviticus 25.35 Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD” (Exodus 5.2). "In the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people. Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted’ (Alma 4.11-12). I recently posted the following to the “Just Quotes” page of this site. “How much do CEOs actually make? In 2017, the McDonald’s CEO, Stephen Easterbrook, took home $21.8m. That’s 3,101 times more than the typical McDonald’s employee worldwide. The typical McDonald’s worker would have to labor more than three millennia to make as much as the McDonald’s CEO made last year…. “At most major corporations, typical workers still have to labor over three centuries to make as much as their CEO makes in a year” (“Minimum Wage? It’s Time to Talk about a Maximum Wage,” Sam Pizzigati, theguardian.com). This is pure, rather impure, madness. It is much worse than bad economic policy. It exposes American capitalism as an abominable affront to a Heavenly Father who loves and appreciates an impoverished worker laboring under the wage slavery of morally bankrupt companies and corporations as much as the rapacious leaders of companies and corporations who commit such violence against society. Worse still, it is quite literally, murderous; falling under the Hebrew Bible’s rubric of “shedding innocent blood.” People go hungry, become depressed, give up hope, and die because of such social injustice. Such rapacity makes the “Christian” boogie-man of being gay; and wishing to be united with a gay loved one, look positively saintly. Yet, too many “Christians” ignorantly howl about the latter while they justify and celebrate American capitalists’ ungodly accumulation of mammon; and elect public officials who pass laws and form policies that promote such violence against a just society. And, of course, all the while those same “Christians,” themselves, voraciously feed at the same trough of avarice and greed. And what of the “Christian” pastors? Surely they warn their flocks of the evils of the inequality, to say nothing of the dangers of the feeding frenzy itself. But, no, their pastors, largely, remain duplicitously silent. One suspects they are silent so that they too can benefit from the orgy. Their silence is, I suppose, proof enough of the Book of Mormon prophet’s verdict concerning Latter-day “Christianity:” O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? … For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.” (Mormon 8.33, 37-41). Moroni, as it turns out, is too kind by half. He minimized modern America’s avarice. When it comes to the poor, we do NOT “notice them not.” We notice them plenty. We know full well they are there. They would, in fact, perhaps be better off if we did ignore them. But, like that most “Christian” of men, Paul Ryan, and his ilk, too many “Christians” belittle the poor; speaking of them in the most disparaging of ways. Too many “Christians” claim that their actions have nothing to do with the poor’s desperate status, but charge that it is the fault of the poor themselves. Too many “Christians” help pass and zealously support public policy that takes out of their mouth the few crumbs of bread that the impoverished do precariously have in order to place it on the already heaping spoonful of the undeserving rich. Indeed, true to ancient Israel’s insatiable appetite, so thoroughly condemned by Amos, they “pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor” (Amos 2.7). As I so often feel when contemplating such rascality, a prayer seems in order. Unsurprisingly, the Psalmist has the perfect one. ”LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, ‘The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it’” (Psalm 94.3-7). For Your hands are defiled with blood, “ … The most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity…. which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder, and to stand aghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy” (DC 123.7, 10). Willfully ignoring Caligula’s clearly articulated intents, motives, and hatreds for all things Muslim, this week’s SCOTUS decision concerning Caligula’s Muslim ban is yet another abomination in a long list of recent SCOTUS abominations. Of course, the decision is consistent with a familiar, oft-repeated American abomination. Notwithstanding Lady Liberty’s call for all the “huddled masses,” “wretched refuse,” and “homeless, tempest tossed,” we are an unwelcoming nation: Irish, Italian, Greek, Jew, Catholic. Latino, and Muslims; racist white America has decried the entrance and presence of them all—white Americans would have decried the entrance of Africans if they hadn’t brought them here and, like Egypt of old, enslaved them for their own personal and ethnic profit (It worked, too. America became great through its vile use of slave labor. Perhaps this is what Caligula means by “Make America Great Again.”) It is no accident that one of the most virulent periods of American hateful bigotry came during our last Gilded Age of the late 19th, early 20th century. Such hate is not only about ethnic hatred and racist bigotry. It is equally the bastard child of avarice and greed. Americans are always as concerned to protect their personal idolatrous materialism as to protect their “religion”—oh, wait, their materialism is their religion. Speaking of religion… God must certainly be a big fan of irony, for they abound. How can it be that so many traditional “Christians,” and non-tradition “Christians,” such as Mormons, insensate to their own past experiences with religious bigotry—whether being used as lion meat in the circus or being driven out of Zion and into the deserts of Utah—continue to be Caligula’s most loyal crowd? Too many of these “Christians” stand at the forefront of America’s structural and systemic religious oppression of Muslims. Like ancient Israelites before them, they have not remembered that they too were once hated, oppressed, and enslaved. They have forgotten that they are called to resist oppression and to never, never do to others what others have done to them. How can it be that so many Mormons stand, politically speaking, shoulder to shoulder with an American “Christianity” that was, in Mormonism’s very first revelation, already condemned as an abomination? They will, no doubt, rejoice with the emperor and their “Christian” brethren from the “Christian Wrong Wing” when yet another supreme court jurist is ensconced to further carry out the mad and violent oppression that flows through the American legal system. What makes such Mormons think that American “Christianity,” whose doctrines are an abomination before God, are any better in their views of social policy and politics today than they were in their theological and ethical principles then? No, this is a most unfortunate and dangerous alliance. It is something beyond irony to understand that those same Mormons who throw their lot in with the abomination called “American Christianity,” and with Caligula’s unholy medieval-style crusade against Islam (and every other “Other), will almost certainly be the next victim of the “Christian Wrong Wing.” For even though so many Mormons seek so desperately to be “Christian” like unto all the other “Christians,” their “Christian” allies will announce them heretics, just as they did the first generations of Mormons. Insensate to their past, too many Mormons are blind to their future. Finally, how ironic that SCOTUS should uphold Caligula’s crusade against Muslims, and that the Emperor should continue his blasphemous war on immigrant families just as the nation hypocritically celebrates its “Independence Day.” It is all almost too much to take in. How can it all be? It is all, sadly, too ironic. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face. Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin [is the “it,” “darkness” or “desolation”?], and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; first among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord” (DC 112.23-26). And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, It’s been nearly two years. It is high time that Therump’s people stop using Hillary to excuse their continued support of the current scoundrel-in-chief. Hillary isn’t president. She’s history. He is the present. He is the Emperor President. Today, I simply provide a healthy dose of reality and truth. There is simply no mistaking Caligula for what he is. He is, as I have written recently, an infidel. Of course, by naming the man, “Caligula,” I have been saying just this since his shameful election in 2016. If “infidel” seems too strong, please consider the following. In teaching his people, King Benjamin warned, “And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them” (Mosiah 4.29). Be honest now. How many sins can you name that he has not committed? I am not joking when I say that, however many varieties of sin there are, Caligula has, as far as I can tell, sampled nearly every one of them. Many of them are part of his regular, everyday diet of sin. Identifying them isn’t even sport. They are obvious for all to see. It is simply impossible for any honest, thinking person—to say nothing of “Christian”— to think and conclude otherwise. However obvious it is, still his people remain loyal. I have opined before that this has more to do with his people than him. Their loyalty is not really to him but to themselves. The insecurity of his people, though perhaps miniscule compared to the legion of insecurities of the man, nevertheless make it impossible for them to confess their damnable blunder in electing him. To turn away from him is to condemn themselves and call into question their “inspiration and discernment.” Anyway, while the ways to sin are, as Benjamin declares, innumerably divers, we are provided with a kind of “short list” of sins. Perhaps his people have heard of it. It’s called the Ten Commandments. I thought it might be instructive to place Caligula’s attitudes and actions up against the “Ten Commandment Standard” and see how he fairs. You will excuse me if, while examining this unexamined life, I have a little fun with the examination along the way. Otherwise, I might just be brought to tears and dragged into deep depression and despair, for it is difficult to see any light at the end of this dark tunnel our society has willingly and willfully entered. So, in Biblical order: 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. You tell me. Is God numero uno in Caligula’s life? Nothing could be clearer than that Caligula comes first in Caligula’s mind. Like his namesake, Emperor Caligula is, in his mind, God. Consistent with the narcissism that possesses him—I was going to say, “the narcissism from which he suffers,” but, whatever his sickness costs the rest of us, his narcissism causes him no personal discomfort—it is clear that Therump, loving and putting himself above all others, thinks of nothing and no one but himself, thus evincing a breach of this first commandment. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…. It the gold and silver and marble palaces—known in Caligula’s world as towers, hotels, casinos, and resorts—do not have the substance of an idol, then no idol has ever made an appearance on planet earth. He clearly worships at the false idol of wealth, power, prestige—the lusts of the flesh. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…. To be honest, this saying probably has little to do with vulgar language. Good thing too. Otherwise, Therump would have to be called the master of taking the name of the Lord in vain. Really, now, has any American politician, let alone one who has inhabited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, ever publicly exhibited a fouler mouth than this man? But, more to the point of the command, has any president ever surrounded himself with and encouraged more sycophant propaganda from “Christian” clergymen; clergymen who blasphemously proclaim him to be one of God’s chosen vessels? Now THAT’S taking the name of the Lord in vain. With GUSTO! 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Well, what do you think? Seen him at church lately? Ever? Seen him living the spirit of the command by acting in ways that demolish oppression (see Deuteronomy 5.12-15)? But, I have been assured many times by many a golf enthusiast that spending a relaxing Sunday morning out in nature following a little white ball is a form of rest, relaxation, and spiritual renewal. So, if the man even knows a thing called “the Sabbath” exists, I guess he observes a kind of sabbath, though not one that can be called “the Lord’s.” 5. Honour thy father and thy mother… Well, by golly, look at that! It seems that Caligula actually does this one very well. He faithfully imitates his father’s racist bigotry and contempt for the vulnerable. 6. Thou shalt not kill. This one is a bit tricky. He is no more or less guilty in using the nation’s vaunted and over-hyped military to kill many, many innocents than his Democratic predecessor. But people are dying as the result of his policies. Thus, his ill-begotten policies are killing people. They will, no doubt, continue to do so at an accelerating rate. That said, I am not aware of his having used his own bare hands to kill anyone or use his own money to buy a hitman. But, just to be safe… we should probably take his boast seriously and so keep him off 5th Ave street corners. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Oh come on! Anyone can make a mistake… a couple of dozen times by his own count and “confession” on several broadcasts of Bro. Stern’s radio show. Sometimes he’s paid for the pleasure beforehand, sometimes he’s purchased his partner’s silence afterwards. And he will not have us under any delusion that he regrets or repents of his multitudinous whoremongering. Oh no. It is to be boasted of. Why, Caligula can’t even think of anything he has done wrong for which he has need to repent! What name do we give to that sin of blind ignorance, I wonder? 8. Thou shalt not steal How many lawsuits has this notoriously dishonest and unethical man settled with business associates—at least those who resisted his godfather like threats—whom he swindled? Oh, and the jury is still out on whether his Russian mobster buddies helped him steal the election. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour Oh my. Where do we even begin? But to be fair, those against whom he has falsely spoken can hardly be called neighbors. I mean Barack Obama was from Kenia, for crying out loud… more jihadist than neighbor, that. Seriously, though, who has ever unleashed more falsehoods about others than this liar-in-chief? 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. Well, he reminded us on his wild ride with Billy Bush that he covets more than asses. In fact, Caligula covets just about anything that is his neighbor’s. If you don’t believe me, just read his book—actually, don’t read it. The avarice that is evident on every page will have you wanting to take a shower. So, there you have it. He is, as he would have us think of him, nearly perfect. He is a near perfect 9 for 10. He is almost perfect at breaking the Lord’s most basic standard of thought, word, and action. Just saying. Of course, the man hasn’t tried to get an abortion or marry another man, so I guess he must be ok… not!. And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man? And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain” (Mosiah 12.13-14). |
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