Jan. 21, 2025

Trump and Justice

Trump and Justice

A discussion about Trump and Justice

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A discussion about Trump and Justice

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Have you ever

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seen a news story that makes you so upset, that

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bothers you so greatly that it really impacts your emotions

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for maybe a day, two days, three days, maybe for

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an entire week. It really makes you emotional. Maybe other

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people don't get it me other maybe many of you

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don't even understand that you've never encountered that. But if

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I'm being honest with you right now, the news article

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that I saw yesterday has me so upset and so

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bothered that I've had a hard time really trying to

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do anything else because I've been like, what, what, what

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can I do? And the answer is I can't do anything.

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I can't change it. There's nothing I can do about it.

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And I know that many of those who listen to

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this program, they are celebrating it. They think it's wonderful,

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they think it's great. They probably think it's, I don't know,

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some wonderful gift from God. Who knows how they're going

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to interpret it. But there are at least some of us,

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and I'm hoping there are many more. I'm hoping there

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are a lot of Christians who are bothered by this.

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I'm my fear is and really the reason I'm so

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upset by this news story is because I think many

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Christians are not gonna be bothered by it, and that

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may be even more troubling than the new story itself.

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And we're gonna talk about it, and I'm going to

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do the best I can to talk about this in

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a rational Maybe maybe there's gonna be emotion, but maybe

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not two I'm gonna try to keep my emotions in check.

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That's what I'm going to do. And we'll do all

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of that right after I say good afternoon everyone. It

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is Tuesday, January the twenty first, twenty twenty five. It

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is currently two forty pm Central Time, and I'm coming

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to you live from the Theology Central Studio located right

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here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I'm going to begin by reading.

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I'm gonna be kind of referencing some scriptures. I'll be

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kind of reading them, some of it direct, some of

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it I'll just be kind of summarizing and just offering

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a few scriptures. That's going to kind of really try

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to frame this from a in a biblical and philological perspective,

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So I want you to hear that again. I'm going

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to reference some scriptures right here. I'm going to offer

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a summary of some of these scriptures because I want

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to frame this discussion in a biblical and philological perspective.

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I mean, this podcast is called Theology Central, So as

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you listen, if this offends your political ideology, I'm just

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going to be blunt. I don't care because I'm not

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here to support or promote your political ideology. I'm here

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to look at maybe a political ideology from a philological

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and biblical perspective. Right, I think that I think we

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just need to get that out of the way. Let's

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begin by at least referencing Psalm eighty two. Psalm eighty two. Now,

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depending on your Bible, if you have any kind of

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like a chapter heading or anything. My Bible, and Psalm

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eighty two is entitled right here, un Just Judges on

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just judges that Psalm eighty two kind of the chapter

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heading is unjust Judges. Not all Bibles have that, but

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you can tell kind of what this chapter is. At

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least referencing. Here's one kind of like a quote from

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Psalm eighty two, verses one through four. Maybe more of

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a paraphrase, but it reads like this, God has taken

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his place in the divine council, in the midst of

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the gods. He holds judgment. How long will you judge

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unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to

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the weak and the fatherless, Maintain the right of the

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afflicted and the destitute, Rescue the weak and the needy,

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deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Let me

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read this again to you one more time? Or right,

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listen carefully, how long will you judge unjustly and show

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partiality to the wicked? Now? I would have I think

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most people, if we just set aside this news article

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that has gotten me so upset, If we set aside

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the news article, set aside politics. If I was just

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to ask you, if someone issues a judgment that is unjust,

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does that not bother you? I think it would. If

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someone power shows partiality to those who do wrong, those

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who have done wickedly, would that bother you? I think

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most of you would say yes, it would bother me.

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I want justice. I don't want partiality to be shown

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to people who've done something wrong. It bothers me. And

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psalm eighty two one through four. The psawmis on behalf

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of the oppress pleads with God to rebuke unjust rulers

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and judges who favor the wicked and fail to protect

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the vulnerable. Isaiah fifty nine three through fifteen. Again just

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reading parts of it, not reading everything, because if I

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read all of these passages then it'll turn into a

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lengthy discussion. But I'm at least setting kind of the

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foundation and kind of just setting kind of what this

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is really how the perspective in which I'm going to

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look at this news article that we're going to talk about,

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all right, Isaiah fifty nine three through fifteen. It reads

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like this in some parts is turned back. Righteousness stands

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far away. The truth has stumbled in the public square,

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and the up and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking,

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and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

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Isaiah describes the societal breakdown where justice and righteousness are absent.

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The people acknowledge their sins but also cry out over

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the consequences. Truth is rejected and those who pursue righteousness

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are persecuted. Societal break down. Listen to justice is turned back,

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Righteousness stands far away. The truth has stumbled in the

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public square. How about Ecclesiastes threes sixteen through seventeen. Moreover,

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I saw under the sun that in the place of

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justice even there was wickedness. Hear that again, I saw

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under the sun that in the place of justice even

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there was wickedness. And in the place and in the

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and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

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The author in Ecclesiastes Iree is observing the corruption of

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justice and earthly courts and affirms that ultimate judgment will

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come from God, who sees all and all of these passages,

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we have some crying out for justice, decrying injustice, decrying partiality,

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saying that it is wrong. And I think most of

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us would agree, at least in some level, that we

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don't like that, we don't want that. We want some

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sense of justice, some sense of fairness, we don't want partiality.

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I think we can all say that, at least to

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some level, because if you throw out justice, you throw

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that all out, then just injustice reigns. And if there

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is no justice and there is and we're just and

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and it's kind of just anarchy, well that that may

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be great if your side is in control for a

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little bit. But guess what. I guess you can run

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around doing whatever you want, But when the other side

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starts doing the same thing, it turns into total anarchy

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and chaos, and nobody should want that. Now, imagine now

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that that sets up kind of the framework here right,

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how we're gonna look at this. I want you to

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imagine you are a police officer and you've been given

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a job to provide security to a specific building, to

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a specific area. Your job is to protect. Your job

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is to ensure the right people get in and the

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wrong people stay out. Your job is to assure that

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the people inside are safe. That's your job, right, And

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one day you are attacked by a mob of people.

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You are knocked unconscious, You are you are tased with

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a taser. You then not all you unconscious, You have

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a heart attack because of being tased with the taser. Unconscious,

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tas with the taser heart attack. All of this happens

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to you, and all you were trying to do was

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do your job. Now, what if you were to find

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out that that happens to you unconscious tays with the

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taser heart attack. What if you were to find out

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later that Hey, those people who attacked you. Guess what,

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The President of the United States has just issued a

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pardon to them. They get to go free. Sorry, you

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shouldn't have What you should have done is not done

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your job. You should have just walked away, let them

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in and do whatever they want to do, because it

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was meaningless that you tried to provide security for people.

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It was meaningless that you tried to uphold the law

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because the law doesn't matter. How would you feel? Well, yesterday,

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a specific police officer had to deal with that very reality.

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Let me read exactly what he's or the reaction and

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what exactly took place. A former police officer no longer

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A police officer who lost consciousness suffered a heart attack

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after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun appeared

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stunned to learn from an Associated Press reporter that those

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who assaulted police officers are among the pardon recipients. Now

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who gave the pardon? Donald Trump pardoned rioters who attacked

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this police officer. He lost consciousness, he suffered a heart

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attack after being shocked with a stun gun, and he

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was shocked when he found out. Wait, the people who

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attacked me were pardoned. He stated, this is what the

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American people voted for. How do you react to something

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like that? Now, if you don't know what I'm referring to,

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President Trump issued a sweeping pardon of one thousand, five

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hundred people, including rioters who attacked police. These one thousand

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and five hundred people who were pardon were part of

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the January sixth riot attack upon the Capitol. What words

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would make you feel better? And here's a picture of

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him holding up I guess the pardon. President Donald Trump

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on Monday pardon or commuted the prison sentences of all

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one thousand, five hundred plus people charged with crimes in

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the January of the sixth, twenty twenty one US Capitol riot,

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including people convicted of seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers,

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using his clemency power on his first day back in

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office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault

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on the seat of American democracy. Trump's actions, just hours

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after he returned to the White House, paves the way

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for the release from prison of dozens of people found

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guilty of violent attacks on police, as well as leaders

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as of far right extremist groups convicted of a felt

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plot to keep the Republican power after he lost the

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twenty twenty election to the former President Joe Biden. Now

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I could go through and read this entire article, but

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as soon as I saw this article, among many others,

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my daughter was sending me a lot of them. She

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was like, this is insane. Look, I'm just gonna be

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honest with you. There was an anger that rose up

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in me that I don't even have words for. So

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basically what we're saying is, hey, hey, guys, if your

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person loses an election, just go try to attack the

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people who's going to certify the vote because it's a

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free for all. As long as your side wins the election,

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then you'll get pardon. That's the way we want to

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do things. That's what we call justice, that's what we

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call what is right in this country. Now, look, I'm

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all for Satanist, atheist, agnostics, anybody of any other religion

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justifying you saying, hey, it's about winning, it's about maintaining power.

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Who cares about morality, who cares about right and wrong?

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You know what? That's I'm all for you doing that

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and thinking that way, because that would be consistent with

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possibly your worldview. But when it comes to Christians. When

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it comes to the church, what happened on January six

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should have been majorly upsetting to Christians. But I listened

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to Christian radio excuse it, come up with conspiracy theories

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to explain it away. Claim that the people who were

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arrested I went to jail were being persecuted somehow for

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their faith. Well, I don't even know what that even means.

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But I've sat back and I've been quiet about it

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because I don't like getting involved in it because as

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soon as I talk about it, it turns into this

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weird where Christians will argue with me, and all you

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see is that they are defending their god, Donald Trump.

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All they see is that they defend their God the

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Republican Party. And it makes me just sick of being

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anywhere part of any Christianity that has become so politically hijacked.

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I don't even want to talk to Christians about it

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because almost inevitably they're on the side of the January

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sixth rioters, or they'll say, well, I think they were

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just misunderstood. Will I just think that they're going overboard?

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Tell the police officer. So now there's a little bit

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of my emotion. I wanted to get my emotions a

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little bit out of the way. Now, let's try to

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discuss this in a rational way and a biblical and

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philological way, all right now, to summarize, On January the twentieth,

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twenty twenty five, President Donald Trump issued pardons to over

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one thousand, five hundred individuals charged in connection with the

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January sixth, twenty twenty one, capital attack, including those convicted

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of assaulting law enforcement officers. This action has significant implications

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for law, order and just Let's start with the legal

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authority and the precedent here. Now, the US Constitution does

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grant the president the power to issue pardons for federal offenses. Historically,

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presidents have exercised this authority to correct judicial error or

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to show mercy. However, mass pardons, especially for individuals involved

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in actions against democratic institutions, are unprecedented. Legal experts express

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concern that such broad use of clemency could undermine the

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judiciary's role and the principle of accountability. You think it

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could undermine it? Absolutely? And what are the impacts on

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law and order? Well, the pardons effectively nullify the legal

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consequences for those involved in the capital attack, which resulted

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in injuries to over one hundred and forty police officers

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and significant property damage. But hey, who cares if you're

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a police officer and attack We don't care. Oh, we

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support our law enforcement. Well, unless we need to attack

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you so that we can try to get into the

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Capitol building to stop the peaceful transfer of power because

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our president didn't win and we're mad, so we're gonna

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act like children. We're gonna act like absolute criminals. But

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we support law enforcement. Oh, you support law enforcement until

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you don't support law enforcement. You're pro law enforcement until

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you're not pro law enforcement. And don't get me. Well,

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what about this and what about this? Pointing to bad

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behavior to justify bad behavior is a logical fallacy. Law

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enforcements warned that this could embolden future on lawfullections. You

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think so, I think it should. I think it could.

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I mean it should, just logically, as the lack of

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consequences may diminish the detriffect of legal penalties. US Attorney

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Matthew Graves emphasized that while pardons remove legal penalties, they

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cannot erase the established facts and accountability determined through judicial process. Well,

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it may not erase the facts. But I don't know

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if you realize this. Everyone from Christian radio to pastors

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have been erasing the facts about January sixth, starting at

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about January the seventh, And again, I want to make

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it very clear, I'm more concerned with this about how

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it impacted Christianity. Those outside of Christianity go for, yeah,

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burn down the capitol, kill whoever we want. I don't.

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You don't have any Christian rules or morality to govern

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what you do. Oh, oh God, that's all fine. But

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for Christians we're like, well, wait a minute, wait a minute,

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we need to look at this from it the logical perspective,

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from a biblical perspective, and it's amazing. Christians want want

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the government now to pass law saying you can't do this,

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or you can't do that, or we want to end this,

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and we don't want homosexual marriage, and we don't want this,

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and we don't want this taught in school, and we

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want these books banned. So we want to pass laws

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that other people have to obey. Oh, we want to

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end abortion. Why should anyone obey any law if you're

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going to support people trying to break into the capitol

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to stop the peaceful transfer of power. If you don't

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want to support those laws, then why are you passing

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other laws for other people to keep. How about we

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just get rid of all laws and it just be

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complete anarchy. How about that? Can imagine what Christians would

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be saying of a mob of people try to break

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into your church and try to stop things. You'd be screaming,

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this is persecution, This is not right. The implications for justice.

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Justice is in the fair application of laws and holding

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the individuals accountable for their actions. By pardoning individuals convicted

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of serious offenses, including seditious conspiracy, the pardons may be

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perceived as undermining the justice system's efforts to address the

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events of January six. Critics argue that this sets a

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concerning precedent where political considerations override judicial outcomes, potentially eroding

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public trust and the impartiality of the justice system. While

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the presidential pardon is a legitimate tool, its application in

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this context raises complex questions about the balance between executive authority,

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the principle of law and order, and justice. The long

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term effects of these pardons on the rule of law

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and public confidence in the justice system remain to be seen.

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Now what If we look at this, that's kind of

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looking at from law, justice order, that's kind of looking

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at more from a societal perspective. How about from a

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philological perspective. Now, if we look at this pardon pardons

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of you know, over almost sixteen hundred people. If we

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look at this from a theological perspective, this would this

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would involve us evaluating principles like justice, mercy, and accountability.

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So let's consider this first Biblical principles on justice and authority.

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What about God's view on justice? The Bible consistently emphasizes

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justice as a central as central to God's character. For example,

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Isaiah six eighteen, For I the Lord love justice, I

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hate robbery and wrongdoing. Justice requires that wrongdoing be appropriately

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addressed and not ignored or dismissed. The concept of justice

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includes accountability for actions. Whomever sheds the blood of man

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by man, shall his blood be shed for God made

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man and his image. This reflects God's desire for proportional consequences. Right,

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that's genusis nine. So I think we can say God

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has a strong view of justice. Right, and the Bible

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cries out when there's injustice or people in the Bible

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cry out when there's injustice. We'll look at a lot

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of scripture, but you get the idea. I think we

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can say the Bible seems to be a book that

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would uphold the idea of justice. Well, rioting and breaking

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into the Capitol building and doing all the things that

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were done. I think you can argue injustice. Now, listen,

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if you can go through the sixteen hundred people, right,

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and you can say, well, what about this person? And

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I got no problem say well, maybe that person, Okay,

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did they deserve to go to jail for what they did? Okay,

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what about this person? But when you just do a

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blanket pardon even for people who are guilty for violent

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assault upon police officers, come on, I think even though

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I would hope anyone who's a Christian who's also like

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Trump Trump, Trump Trump would be like, well, okay, maybe

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that's a little too far. Come on, can we at

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least agree on that. How about accountability and responsibility Romans

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thirteen one through four. I know it used to teach this.

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It used to teach that governing authorities are established by God.

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You remember a long time ago when people used to

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believe that. I know, it seems like a hundred years ago.

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But there used to be a time that Christians believed that.

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Romans thirteen one through four taught that governing authorities were

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established by God and they were there to punish wrongdoing

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and to maintain order. This implies that leaders have a

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divine responsibility to uphold justice, not to subvert it for

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personal or political gain. Now someone's going to be like,

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but what about but what about? But you can do

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the what about ism at some other time. For now,

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can we address this issue? The government has a responsibility

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here not to pardon those who attack people trying to

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protect And what about the rioters themselves? How about justice

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and partiality? Scripture warns against partiality and administering justice. You

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shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be

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partial to the poor or defer to the great. But

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in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor Leviticus nineteen fifteen.

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Pardons must show must not show favoritism or undermine justice

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for political reasons. You can't do that. Now, that's looking

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at everything from the eye for the perspective of justice

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and authority. How about we look at it from mercy,

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and does mercy have limits? Well, mercy is a key

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biblical value. I think we can agree with that. Matthew

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five seven blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

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But does mercy negate justice or does it work alongside it?

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Now this can get complicated, right because on one hand,

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I'm all for showing mercy. We should show mercy in

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every situation. But is't it amazing how Christians will be like, well,

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in this case, we show mercy. In this case, no mercy. Now,

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typically we would say those you know, it would be

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one thing if you've got those who participated in the

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January the sixth riot who are like, man, I don't

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know what I was thinking. I was wrong. I renounced

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what I did. It was I am never going to

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do anything like that again. And you and you see sincerity,

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and they really they really don't. They're gonna move away

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from this crazy radical political ideology that would cause them

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to engage in that. Then show mercy. I'm all four

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pardons there. But if they show no mercy and they're

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like I would do it again tomorrow, Trump Trump, Trump,

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then okay, then you know what, maybe not there's there's

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gonna be something. Pardons typically can reflect mercy when applied

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to those who repent or show genuine contrition. However, indiscriminate

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pardons without regard for repentance may not reflect biblical mercy.

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It may actually be a distortion of it. How about

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the dangers of injustice Micah six ' eight cause believers

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to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

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Pardons that appear to ignore justice could perpetuate a culture

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of lawlessness and rebellion. Isaiah five twenty warns against calling

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evil good and good evil. Actions that absolve individuals from

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accountability for serious offenses, particularly those involving violence and harm,

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risk falling into this category. Do justice, but love mercy,

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walk humbly with God. I mean, those are specific things

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that we should be trying to uphold here and looking

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at this, Christians are called to model God's justice and

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God's mercy. Pardons that bypass justice challenge the church to

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speak prophetically against actions that undermine truth and righteousness. Is

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the church going to stand up and say wait, wait, wait,

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this may not be right, but no, no, no, no, no,

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no no no no. See we would do that if

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it was Biden. But if it's Trump, oh no, He's

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basically God from a biblical and philological perspective. Mass pardons,

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particularly for those involved in acts of violence or rebellion,

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risks undermining justice and accountability essential biblical principles. While mercy

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is vital, it must not come at the expense of

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justice or appear to condone sin. Believers are called to

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uphold both justice and mercy in a way that reflects

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God's character and challenging actions that compromise these values. Just

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going through some more, I'm just going to go through

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a list of scriptures here Micah six 's eight. He

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has told you, oh man, what is good and what

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does the Lord require of you? But to do justice,

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to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your goide.

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This verse highlights God's expectation for justice, kindness, and humility.

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It definitely serves as a framework for discussing the balance

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of personal and societal responsibility for justice. How about Isaiah

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one point seventeen, Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression,

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bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the wido's cause.

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This verse is a direct call to action, showing that

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justice involves active efforts to correct wrongs and protect the vulnerable. Now,

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of course, in Isaiah one ' seventeen has specific historical

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contexts to Israel at that time. But we still need

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to learn to do good and seek justice and correct oppression.

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Should we not? Should we not be bothered by these

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types of things? Amos five twenty four. Let justice roll

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down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.

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Should we not long for some type of unstoppable justice,

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some kind of abundant justice we looked at Psalm eighty two.

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Give justice to the week and the fatherless, maintain the

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right of the afflicted and the destitute, Rescue the weak

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and the needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

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The scriptures are filled with this Proverbs twenty one to fifteen.

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When justice is done, it as a joy to the righteous,

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but terror to evildoers Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verse sixteen. Moreover,

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I saw under the sun that in the place of

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justice even there was wickedness, and in the place of

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righteousness even there was wickedness. I said in my heart,

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God will judge the righteous and the wicked, For there

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is a time for every matter and for every work.

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The scriptures are filled with this call for justice or

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crying out when there's injustice, and here we are. We

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wake up and well, hey, I'm now the president. So

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I'm going to pardon all these people who are involved

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in a riot and an attack upon the capitol, an

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attack upon an institution working for the peaceful transfer of power. Now,

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if you want to pardon that, you want to justify that,

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then okay, then then we just be uh, you know what,

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then let's just throw out basically any law. Let's not

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go after anyone for anything. I don't have words for

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for it, the whole situation, just even just talking about it,

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I'm exhausted. I'm just exhausted over it. And I know,

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I know we're just getting started. We got four more

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years in front of us now of Christians running around

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defending it, defending everything Trump says, everything Trump does, it's

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gonna be viewed as basically coming from the throne room

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of God. And I know we're gonna have to go

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through it again. And you can't say anything because the

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people who are Trump supporters, You say anything like no,

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that's not true, No that's not true. Trump's never done

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anything wrong in his entire life. He's basically God. How

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dare you criticize him? And you say well, that's that

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sounds like a little bit of an exact. Not much

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00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:08.720
for many Christians, as much as they would deny it

461
00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.759
all day. But I think they've traded in the cross

462
00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:13.640
for a red hat. Not in all cases, but in many,

463
00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:16.799
and many say no, no, they say no, and then

464
00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:20.119
they turn around and defend and defend and any criticism

465
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.480
like that's not fair, that's not well, that's just misunderstood,

466
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:34.599
and they make every excuse under the sun. We pardon

467
00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:41.759
people who broke into the Capitol, but we want to

468
00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:48.839
make sure we don't pardon anyone who breaks in across

469
00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:55.759
the border. Across the border, we want you gone build

470
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:58.039
the wall, get rid of them. But if you break

471
00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:20.119
into the capitol, hey, that's okay. I don't know. I

472
00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:22.799
just I don't know where we go from here. I

473
00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:25.440
I you know, you know where we go from here.

474
00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:28.759
This is this is what is going to happen. There's

475
00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:31.039
going to be the Christians who support Trump and everything.

476
00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:34.920
They're going to excuse everything, and their Christianity is going

477
00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:39.039
to become more and more politically driven. Their Christianity is

478
00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:43.440
going to become more influenced by political ideology. There's they're

479
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:46.839
gonna become more. They're gonna Christian nationalism is going to grow,

480
00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:49.759
and we're going to see that whole movement move They're

481
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:52.519
going to try to institute laws and tell everyone how

482
00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:54.400
to behave and you can't do this, and you can't

483
00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:57.119
watch this, and you can't read this, and you know no, no, no, no,

484
00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:00.160
no no, and you can't do this because we want

485
00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:03.279
to impose our morality on everyone else. So we're going

486
00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:05.160
to see a rise of that. We're going to see

487
00:34:05.559 --> 00:34:12.039
a more politically embolden and more politically energized church. You're

488
00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:15.280
gonna see a kind of a Christian nationalist mindset. It's

489
00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:19.159
going to explode over the next four years and they'll

490
00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:21.880
have their day and we'll see what they do with it.

491
00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:24.360
Right that, we'll see what we do For those who

492
00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:28.440
don't want a politically hijacked Christianity, you may not. You

493
00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:30.920
may have a hard time. I don't know. You may

494
00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:32.840
look at your church and go what in the world

495
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:35.719
is going on? And you may have to go somewhere else.

496
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:38.599
That's I know, I think that's a very fair thing

497
00:34:38.679 --> 00:34:41.800
to say. Right and you and there's going to become

498
00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:44.239
division amongst Christians. You're gonna have those Christians used to

499
00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:45.719
be like, just never mind, just don't talk to me

500
00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:49.199
because it's political politics, politicists Trump Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump,

501
00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:51.840
Trump Trump, Fox News, fox News, fox News, and it's

502
00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:54.599
just like, okay, never mind, they're in a different world.

503
00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:59.079
I don't know. So that's we're gonna see this. Now,

504
00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:02.400
how do we respect on to it. Well, on one hand,

505
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:04.719
you can dedicate twenty four hours a day, seven days

506
00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:06.719
a week to trying to call out all the misinformation,

507
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.400
the disinformation, trying to call this out and correct it.

508
00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:13.840
And to me, that plays right into the hand of it, right,

509
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:16.079
because then what you would have is you would have

510
00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:22.000
the politically hijacked Christianity, right, and so it basically destroying

511
00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:27.079
pure Christianity because it becomes something else. So you'll have that,

512
00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:30.079
and then you'll have those trying to fight it, So

513
00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:34.760
you'll have a Christianity dedicated to fighting the politically hijacked Christianity.

514
00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:36.800
But if you dedicate all of your time trying to

515
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:39.719
fight the politically hijacked Christianity, in a sense, you've become

516
00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:43.480
politically hijacked as well. So really then there's no Christianity

517
00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:46.440
either place. I think my approach is going to be.

518
00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:49.639
When I need to, I may address something, but for

519
00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:51.840
the most part, I'm just going to put my head

520
00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:54.360
down and move forward. And we're going to talk about

521
00:35:54.360 --> 00:36:00.199
scripture and hermeneutics and Bible interpretation and review sermons, and

522
00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:03.559
we're just gonna go that direction. We're going to try

523
00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:06.760
to continue to I'm gonna be more. I'm going to

524
00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:10.559
be more concerned with the hermeneutical issues inside the church,

525
00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:13.719
how they can't handle Isaiah chapter forty forty one, forty two,

526
00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:16.159
forty three. I guess Isaiah forty three fifty five is

527
00:36:16.199 --> 00:36:19.159
impossible to handle. We're gonna talk about those kinds of things.

528
00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:22.039
We're going to try to stay focused and not get

529
00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:24.880
caught up, because look, I could go through every little

530
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:27.159
issue that's going to happen over the next four years,

531
00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:29.719
and you could spend your life just trying to respond

532
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:32.320
to it and respond to it. And where does that

533
00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:34.440
put people. Either you're going to be You're gonna go

534
00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:37.039
listen to the Christianity that's politically hijacked, or you gotta

535
00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:40.119
listen to the Christianity trying to fight the politically hijacked Christianity,

536
00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:44.039
and that leaves you nowhere. So I'm not going to

537
00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:47.039
try to fall for either. Now, there's times I got

538
00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:49.679
to address this because this whole issue about these partons

539
00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:54.360
go right directly to the Bible and Biblical justice. Now,

540
00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:59.239
let me make it very clear. I believe the essence

541
00:36:59.239 --> 00:37:02.679
of the Gospel is mercy for those who don't deserve it.

542
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:06.679
So from a philological perspective, I want mercy, Yes, I

543
00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:09.719
want forgiveness. Right. I like people to be forgiven. I

544
00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:12.280
like people to be restored. I like it because that's

545
00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:14.800
what the Gospel is about. And like I said, in

546
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:19.239
many of these cases, I'm all for issuing individual pardons

547
00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:24.559
to specific individuals, but at the same time, from a

548
00:37:24.679 --> 00:37:28.639
legal perspective. From a legal perspective, it's think of it

549
00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:31.760
this way. If someone is found if someone is in

550
00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:34.079
a church and they're found guilty of some kind of

551
00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:38.559
sexual assault, right, Yes, there's mercy and forgiveness in Christ,

552
00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:42.480
but there has to be legal accountability for their crime.

553
00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:46.719
That's a crime, right, that's a crime. Well, attacking the

554
00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:50.840
Capitol building and attacking police officers, that's a crime. So

555
00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:53.800
there may be mercy and forgiveness and Christ and that

556
00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:56.599
should be preached and given to those individuals, but there's

557
00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:03.719
a crime that has to be committed, right, I'm all

558
00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:07.519
for forgiveness and mercy, but when a crime, we have

559
00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:18.079
to maintain some level of justice that crimes require punishment. Now,

560
00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:21.360
I'm not even in some of those sixteen hundred. You'd

561
00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:24.840
have to look at a case by case and go, well,

562
00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:26.800
what about this, and what about that? And what about this?

563
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:37.800
That was a horrible day. I'll never forget that day

564
00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.840
as long as I live, I'll never forget it. I

565
00:38:40.840 --> 00:38:44.159
remember standing in the living room watching Trump's speech on

566
00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:46.679
that day, saying, we gotta fight, we gotta fight. And

567
00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:49.440
I won't use the word that he used, we gotta fight.

568
00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:51.559
And it's like and I'm like fight, how how what

569
00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:54.039
do you mean fight? You lost the election. It's over.

570
00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:58.519
What are you talking about? There's nothing to fight. You

571
00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:03.320
lost the all election. Send all of your followers home

572
00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:07.039
and accept the peaceful transfer of power because that's what

573
00:39:07.119 --> 00:39:10.519
we do here in America, and accept it and stop

574
00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:15.840
acting like a defiant child. But no fight. And while

575
00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:23.360
his followers fought, And what did I hear, Christians? Oh,

576
00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:26.400
the election was stolen. The election was stolen. The election

577
00:39:26.599 --> 00:39:33.760
was stolen. After all the lawsuits, after everything no evidence

578
00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:40.599
found that would change the result of that election. Election.

579
00:39:40.760 --> 00:39:45.519
Workers were lied about, and their lives were they were

580
00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:48.440
put in danger, and they were threats on their lives

581
00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:55.159
because of Christian many cases, Christians spreading lies. Christian radio

582
00:39:55.480 --> 00:39:58.320
spread so many lies about that it was insane. Now

583
00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:00.440
at the time I was addressing all of it, but

584
00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:02.440
I'll never forget. When I heard the speech, I'm like,

585
00:40:02.480 --> 00:40:05.599
what does he want these people to do? And then

586
00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:08.639
I left went to the church because I was going

587
00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:10.440
to broadcast them. By the time I got to the church,

588
00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:13.360
chaos was unfolding and I could not believe what was happening.

589
00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:20.039
I could not believe what I was witnessing. And what

590
00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:24.119
was most troubling again was turning on Christian radio and

591
00:40:24.280 --> 00:40:31.199
hearing basically every excuse in the world. Because Christianity no

592
00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:34.159
longer can see things from a biblical perspective. We can

593
00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:37.000
only see it through the lens of our political ideology.

594
00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:41.159
And Christianity should not have a political ideology. We are

595
00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:44.840
not behold and we should not be politics. We're not involved,

596
00:40:45.400 --> 00:40:48.639
we're not even of this world. We're not even citizens here.

597
00:40:48.800 --> 00:41:03.880
From a philological perspective, our citizenship is in heaven. So

598
00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:08.239
whatever you think about the pardons, here's what I will

599
00:41:08.360 --> 00:41:11.760
I'll just end with this. Over the next four years,

600
00:41:11.800 --> 00:41:15.519
this is what my predictions are. Christianity, Christian nationalism is

601
00:41:15.519 --> 00:41:18.400
gonna become more influential throughout churches all over the place.

602
00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:21.679
They won't call it Christian nationalism, but they're going to

603
00:41:21.719 --> 00:41:25.400
be nationalistic political and it's going to infiltrate churches everywhere

604
00:41:26.440 --> 00:41:30.280
you watch. It's gonna be everywhere church political ideology and

605
00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:32.639
Christianity is just going to be all over the place,

606
00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:35.480
and it's gonna be crazy, and you're going to find

607
00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:37.639
yourself looking around on what happened to my church. It's

608
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:40.280
going to become more and more political ideology, I guarantee you.

609
00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:42.679
And then they're on the other side. There's going to

610
00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:44.320
be those who are going to be like, well that

611
00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:46.119
we got to fight against this, we gotta fight against this,

612
00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:47.519
and all they're going to do is fight against it

613
00:41:47.559 --> 00:41:49.840
and fight against it. And somewhere in the middle of

614
00:41:49.880 --> 00:41:51.199
all of that are gonna be people are like, I

615
00:41:51.199 --> 00:41:53.719
don't want the political ideology and I don't want to

616
00:41:53.760 --> 00:41:56.719
just necessarily listen to people constantly fighting the political ideology.

617
00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:59.760
Where is Christianity and it's gonna be for a large

618
00:41:59.760 --> 00:42:05.719
part gone. Now how I handle it. I'm not gonna

619
00:42:05.719 --> 00:42:07.760
say I'm gonna handle it perfectly because I'm not. I'm

620
00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:10.440
a sinner, Okay, I'm I'm gonna get frustrated at times.

621
00:42:10.440 --> 00:42:12.920
I'm gonna irritated. Maybe times, I'm gonna be talking about

622
00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:15.400
things more than I should. I know, But I've always

623
00:42:15.400 --> 00:42:18.000
said this podcast is just a center with a microphone

624
00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:20.400
trying to figure out Christianity. That's all I am. That's

625
00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:22.320
all I'm going to be. I'm still just going to

626
00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:24.119
be a center with a microphone trying to figure all

627
00:42:24.119 --> 00:42:27.000
of this out and expressing my own frustrations and my

628
00:42:27.039 --> 00:42:30.519
own irritations with some of this. But I am going

629
00:42:30.559 --> 00:42:34.119
to try to maintain Hey, okay, we're today, We're gonna

630
00:42:34.119 --> 00:42:36.880
be looking at this, and we're gonna be looking at this,

631
00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:40.239
and we're gonna just try now some people. Now, for

632
00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:45.960
my own personal gain, if I go full blown fighting

633
00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:48.519
the political then then of course then my all my

634
00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:52.000
podcasts would be controversial. They would I could I could

635
00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:55.480
probably increase downloads and streams, and I could probably become

636
00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:57.360
right there in the midst of the fight, and you

637
00:42:57.400 --> 00:43:01.000
could be a part of the whole discussion. Well, I don't.

638
00:43:01.559 --> 00:43:04.320
I have no desire for that because fighting things politically

639
00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:10.960
you can't get anywhere, right. I mean, when you listen

640
00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:14.199
to Christians argue about January sixth, you listen to their arguments,

641
00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:16.760
none of their arguments are biblical or theilological. It's just

642
00:43:16.920 --> 00:43:22.239
nonsensical political, blind ideology or crazy conspiracy theories. Sound like

643
00:43:22.280 --> 00:43:24.440
they've been hanging out with q I mean, that's like,

644
00:43:24.760 --> 00:43:27.960
I mean, qan On is what I'm referencing that it's

645
00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:31.000
going to be like that Alex Jones is their pastor,

646
00:43:32.320 --> 00:43:34.880
and it's like, oh no, forget that. I'm not gonna

647
00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:40.760
even not even going to engage in that nonsense. So

648
00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:45.440
there's fighting. It to me is like meaningless, meaningless. There's

649
00:43:45.440 --> 00:43:47.079
got to be a place where we can be like, hey, guys,

650
00:43:47.159 --> 00:43:50.760
let's let's get right back here. How do we handle

651
00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:53.519
this text? Oh, we got Isaiah forty in front of us,

652
00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:55.960
are how do we handle this? Hey? What about a

653
00:43:56.440 --> 00:44:00.719
artificial intelligence and theology? Like, let's we're gonna We're gonna,

654
00:44:00.840 --> 00:44:03.719
I'm gonna try my best. I can't promise you anything, right,

655
00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:07.119
I mean, we're already we're see We're January the twenty first,

656
00:44:07.480 --> 00:44:13.239
and you know what, yesterday President Trump becomes you know, president.

657
00:44:13.960 --> 00:44:17.039
So we're less than twenty four hours into it, and

658
00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:19.800
I'm already addressing it. See that's not a good start.

659
00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:24.800
But I'm addressing it not on the basis of politics, Right,

660
00:44:25.159 --> 00:44:27.559
it's not about politics. Let me make it very clear.

661
00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:31.039
If Joe Biden was to pardon people engaged in the

662
00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:34.960
very same act, but in the opposite direction, right, he

663
00:44:35.119 --> 00:44:38.079
was screaming that the election was stolen and a bunch

664
00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:42.000
of liberals and Democrats tried to storm the capitol, how

665
00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:44.360
would you be just as upset, and we could talk

666
00:44:44.360 --> 00:44:47.440
about all the people that we can talk about, the

667
00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:51.559
entire pardon system, presidents having the ability to pardon people,

668
00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:54.039
and one thing, it's a great thing. It shows mercy,

669
00:44:54.119 --> 00:45:00.079
it shows giving people a second chance. At the same time, well,

670
00:45:00.119 --> 00:45:01.719
let me make it very clear, because somebody gonna say, well,

671
00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:04.480
not every one of those sixteen hundred people deserve to

672
00:45:04.519 --> 00:45:07.760
go to prison. You may be right, and you could say, well,

673
00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:11.320
maybe some in the judicial system, this was a political

674
00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:14.519
witch hunt. Maybe you're right. I'm not willing. I'm not

675
00:45:14.519 --> 00:45:16.840
going to deny any and in any particular case where

676
00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:19.000
you show me the name of the individual, show me

677
00:45:19.079 --> 00:45:20.960
exactly what they were found guilty of and what they

678
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:23.039
were charged for, then I'd be more than willing to

679
00:45:23.079 --> 00:45:26.199
go Yeah, that person probably shouldn't have went to prison

680
00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:29.760
or jail. I can see what you're saying there. Okay,

681
00:45:29.800 --> 00:45:31.559
let's go to the next one. We could go through

682
00:45:31.599 --> 00:45:34.719
all sixteen hundred if you so desire. Most people aren't

683
00:45:34.719 --> 00:45:36.519
really willing to do that. They just try to find

684
00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:38.760
one or two and then try to excuse the whole

685
00:45:38.800 --> 00:45:45.800
sixteen hundred, which is illogical and irrational as well. I

686
00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:47.519
love the idea of a part and I love the

687
00:45:47.559 --> 00:45:49.880
idea of mercy. I love the idea of a second chance.

688
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:52.840
I love the idea of redemption. I love that idea

689
00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:57.760
because I'm in need of it every single day. But

690
00:45:57.880 --> 00:46:02.039
I'm not in favor of of pardoning people who violently

691
00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:04.480
attacks police officers who are trying to storm the Capitol

692
00:46:04.519 --> 00:46:08.000
building to stop the peaceful transfer of power. That is unacceptable,

693
00:46:14.760 --> 00:46:25.679
That goes against everything America should be about. Democracy, representative republic.

694
00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:27.960
How well, however, you would like to describe all the

695
00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:31.599
elements of our governmental system, The idea of voting and

696
00:46:31.599 --> 00:46:35.639
then a peaceful transfer of power. We have to at

697
00:46:35.719 --> 00:46:39.800
least maintain that. You want some level of stability and

698
00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:43.480
law and order and justice so that we can all

699
00:46:43.760 --> 00:46:47.960
pursue happiness and live lives. Right, we all want that right.

700
00:46:48.039 --> 00:46:50.159
I want that for anyone. I want that for everyone.

701
00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:52.239
I want everyone to be able to pursue their life.

702
00:46:52.320 --> 00:46:54.400
I want people to have freedom. I want people to

703
00:46:54.440 --> 00:46:56.880
be as safe as they can be. I like the

704
00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:00.440
idea of people having that for everyone. The people I

705
00:47:00.480 --> 00:47:04.039
agree or disagree with. We just can't break down in

706
00:47:04.119 --> 00:47:08.199
lawlessness and then pardon it because because well you know,

707
00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:10.760
they were trying to defend me, they were trying to

708
00:47:10.800 --> 00:47:12.800
keep me in power. Well, you didn't deserve to be

709
00:47:12.840 --> 00:47:17.800
empowered because you lost the election. And guess what he

710
00:47:17.920 --> 00:47:21.880
won this election. All right, Great, now Trump supporters rejoice.

711
00:47:21.960 --> 00:47:24.480
You're all happy. Now you got you what you wanted. Great,

712
00:47:25.639 --> 00:47:38.599
But at the same time, this is wrong. All right,

713
00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:45.960
My therapy session is over. Thank you. I will send

714
00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:49.559
you one hundred dollars for this hour of therapy. Thank

715
00:47:49.559 --> 00:47:51.760
you for letting me lay down on your couch and

716
00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:57.960
express my frustration and my disbelief. My daughter, I'm like,

717
00:47:58.000 --> 00:48:00.360
I don't know what to tell you. I'm like, we

718
00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:02.559
knew it was coming, we knew this was going to happen,

719
00:48:02.679 --> 00:48:08.679
So yeah, she was greatly bothered by it. I'm like,

720
00:48:08.920 --> 00:48:10.559
I don't know what to tell you. This is the

721
00:48:10.559 --> 00:48:15.519
way it is. But you know, it's the confusing part again,

722
00:48:15.559 --> 00:48:19.000
it's the church, the Christians response to it. I'm not

723
00:48:19.119 --> 00:48:22.920
shocked at all by non Christians response to it whatever,

724
00:48:23.559 --> 00:48:30.960
But Christians, we're supposed to justice, justice, mercy, righteousness, obey

725
00:48:31.039 --> 00:48:37.079
the law right, not try to overthrow the government doing

726
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:42.719
its job. I got no problem a peaceful protest surround

727
00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:47.519
the capital, being wherever applying for the permit, protesting, yelling

728
00:48:47.559 --> 00:48:50.960
and screaming that the election was stolen. We want an investigation,

729
00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:54.199
but you don't storm the capital that. I think we

730
00:48:54.239 --> 00:48:57.360
can all agree a peaceful protest. All we're okay with

731
00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:05.760
all right. I'most stop there so that I can move

732
00:49:05.800 --> 00:49:09.199
on with my day. Thanks for listening for all those

733
00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:11.280
I know all the Trump supporters are going to be

734
00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:12.960
mad and you're going to try to send me your

735
00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:17.480
thirty seven justifications for why they were persecuted. I mean

736
00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:19.440
you can do so. It is better for you just to,

737
00:49:20.719 --> 00:49:25.440
you know, go find a more Trump friendly podcast. It maybe,

738
00:49:25.559 --> 00:49:29.519
and that's perfectly okay. I'm going to move forward, and

739
00:49:29.639 --> 00:49:32.320
I'm not going to be Trump friendly or Trump unfriendly.

740
00:49:33.280 --> 00:49:36.360
I'm just going to move forward and try to find

741
00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:39.800
a way that somewhere Christianity can exist and this politically

742
00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:42.880
hijacked nonsense can go away, all right, Thanks for listening.

743
00:49:42.960 --> 00:49:44.000
God bless