Americans believe we are entitled to get what we want, and politicians are always ready to tell us what we want to hear.
This is the special appeal of Donald Trump. He says he will make America great, and won't let anything stand in the way of getting what we want.
Last week, Trump announced he would bring back waterboarding, and something far worse than that, and many people loved it.
Because they believe, falsely, that torturing prisoners will help defend America, they assume they are thereby entitled to commit torture, without questioning whether it is right or wrong. The fact that it "gets us what we want" is all the reason necessary to justify torture in many Americans' minds.
This is an example of an evil pragmatism, which says that the ends justify the means, that because the result is desirable, we are entitled to use any means necessary to achieve it.
Pragmatism is the only value left in today's politics. Rather than limit our actions to those that are moral and just, we tailor our morality to achieve what we want.
If you object to torture based upon moral considerations, you'll be branded a loser, unpatriotic, and unwilling to defend your family from rape and pillage.
All sorts of examples of this malignant pragmatism in public life are described, with abortion being the most grotesque example of "getting what we want" by immoral means.
Pragmatism coupled with anger is even worse, because anger clouds our moral judgment and strips away whatever moral limits we might have placed on "getting what we want."
The phrase "all is fair in love and war" encapsulates the evil of such pragmatism, because it declares that morality is inapplicable.
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“ Great Sermon! ” Would that all who call themselves Christian understand the truth brought forth in this sermon. May God help us and deliver us from self-centeredness. We need deliverance from Me-itis. May God cause the blind to see what is at stake here and what awaits us in eternity.
Thank you so much for giving to us what we need.
Gemma (2/22/2016)
from UK
“ A Timely Sermon. ” What a blessing this sermon is... to hear the Scriptures being applied to the politics of this present time. This surely is relevant, not only for America but for all nations who seek to use immoral means to gain their selfish goals. It seems probable that true believers may well be called upon to suffer severe persecution in the West in the very near future. May our Holy and Just Lord God give us His Holy Spirit to contend for the Faith, demonstrating a truly Christ-like spirit for His glory. I pray that this brother will be enabled to continue to speak out boldly for the truth in the face of possibly much opposition. May the Lord bless you richly. May all who listen to this sermon be blessed and encouraged as I have been. Thank you.
Justin Ty Me (2/17/2016)
from AZ
“ Great Sermon! ” I pray to our God who is holy and righteous that EVERYONE listens to this message.
America is in trouble and men like John Pittman Hey are needed to sound the alarm.
Lottie (2/16/2016)
from Ohio
“ A Very Good Message! ” This is the moral thinking of a multitude of people in the USA. Underneath the anger is fear. And in Christendom the majority honor the Lord with their lips but their hearts' loyalty is somewhere else.
John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
