TennPaGa wrote:Mountaineer wrote:stuper1 wrote:
Huh?
Yes, I do believe there is a God the source of all truth.
I didn't vote for Trump. I haven't voted for 30+ years, because politics is a cesspool.
All I'm saying is that some of Trump's rhetoric had me hopeful that he wouldn't be such a tool of the miltary-industrial complex, but I'm much less hopeful of that at this point.
stuper1, sorry if you took me seriously. It was satire with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for irony's sake! I agree with you, politics is a cesspool. Nothing surprises me, well, almost nothing that the swamp critters do in the name of politics. I don't get anymore upset with Trump than I do the NK wacko or screeching Hillary or the press - they just don't seem to be able to help it. Draining the swamp only reveals more bottom feeders. But I still vote.
I'm just as confused as stuper is about your responses in this thread. Well, except that you don't seem to consider the discussion of Trump and Syria to be worthy of a considered response. This is a perfectly acceptable view, of course.
(edited from the original to sound less jerky).
Tenn, first of all, I did not take your original response as jerky. I took it more that I could have been much clearer in what I wrote (my wife frequently tells me that what is very clear in my head is not necessarily clear in the heads of the receiver of my comments). That said, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject of Trump, Putin, politicans in general, Syria, the mainstream media, the alt right media, and the like:
1. It is fun to pontificate on issues.
2. In general, people's preconceived notions have a major impact on those pontifications.
3. In general, many people tend to be reactive and emotion based when hearing of things outside their realm of influence.
My preconceived notions tell me:
4. Be very, very careful about believing any politicians or the media are honorable.
5. To seriously doubt that we know the "real" truth about events in the Middle East.
6. Various factions in the Middle East have been either waring with each other or entities outside of the Middle East for thousands of years. It will not stop until those living there decide to stop it themselves.
7. Islam is not a religion of peace. Basically the muslim message to others is convert or die.
8. Much of humanity believes man is inherently good and endorse the idea that man can solve all problems via science, trying harder, military might, writing news to get others to believe what the writer writes, or negotiating. I think those are pipe dreams.
9. Man is inherently evil and by nature rebels against God and God's will for how He wants us to live.
10. There is such a thing as just war.
11. Resources on this side of heaven are limited.
12. To focus on events that I can do something about. That tends to reduce to taking care of my family's needs and helping my immediate neighbors. I cannot solve all the problems that I am aware of and might feel really bad about. If I donate resources to all those worthy causes I am aware of, I will end up hurting those closest to me, my family and my friends. The same thing applies on a national level.
13. Recognize that even though my pontificating on things outside my sphere of influence is fun and entertaining, it basically comes down to what Shakespeare said, "full of sound and fury and signifying nothing", or in Biblical terms, as the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it, "The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
14. Focus on what is truly important - God, family, my neighbors - the rest is fluff.
Obviously, I do not expect anyone else to hold my view. But my view developed over decades of studying the evidence, thinking, hearing, and doing, is that of a traditional orthodox confessional Christian, a believer in the promises of Jesus, allows me great comfort and freedom. Comfort knowing that no matter what happens to me on this earth, my eternal future will be wonderful. Freedom to use my energy to help my family and my neighbors. In my previous post that was confusing to you and stuper1, I tried to stay out of religion but in order to give you a more complete answer, I can't do that in this post - but since you asked I responded. Religion and politics are inseparable, two sides of the same coin (in my view). Religion deals with the Gospel (what Jesus freely did for us) and politics deals with Law (what we must do because some other entity told us to do it).
So back to the original issue of Trump and Syria - the world is a mess - whether Trump, whether Assad, whether you or me. All one has to do to confirm the world is a mess is to take a short drive and look for the people who don't signal for a turn or cut you off, read the news about the latest catastrophe, visit the closest inner city and watch the drug deals going down, think about the last time you shouted at your spouse or silently cursed your neighbor or coworker for some trivial event, watched some one get humiliated on TV and laughed about it, etc., etc. The answer to the mess is long standing and clear to those who will hear. Unfortunately, all do not hear, and worse yet, only a few want to hear. It is way more fun to ignore my own shortcomings and focus on the shortcomings of others, e.g. Trump, Clinton, CNN, Fox, you name it. So as not to end on a total downer, to make the best of my messy situation and the messy situation of the world, I try to focus on my circle of influence and let the things in my circle of concern alone - as much as my sinful self can. Chill out and stay cool dudes! Happy Palm Sunday.
... Mountaineer
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. Psalm 146:3
