@Frank This is not the first time that you have pointed out someone else's "critical spirit". Perhaps you are being too critical of others by assuming things about their character. We should always assume the best of people. God bless!
@Geff John 8:32 is currently battleing a sore throat, headache, and a cough. Otherwise he is doing fine. It's crazy, we went all winter without so much as a sniffle and now he decides to get sick. I guess it's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. How are you and your family doing?
Darth Lincoln: "Ozzie Wan never told you what happened to your father... Geff, I am your father. Geff Skywalker: No that's not true that's impossible! Noooooo!
Part2 Trump's numbers are bad in every poll I am aware of and they are getting worse. I agree, people usually believe the polls that affirm their position, but it follows that they also disregard polls when they show something that they dislike. Both of these reactions are wrong. I am not trying to find Trump's worst polls, I am just posting the polls in general. If we reject all of the polls, when they have been within the margin of error more often then not, then no one should complain when they are right in the end. Polls aren't everything but disregarding all of the data in favor of a gut feeling is just plain irresponsible. Your vote is up to you. I am just pointing out the data. I hope you all have a blessed Lords day!
@ Mike Part1 You wrote: "People believe the polls that tell them something favorable to what they wish for. Mostly, the polls have been wrong so far. That should tell us more about polls than about poll results." Of course there have been polls that were wrong. There are always outliers. But the polls in general have not been substantially wrong this time. Trump would like everyone to believe that he wins "huge", but when you look at the numbers they don't support this illusion. When he is projected to win he wins most often, and when he is projected to lose he always loses. Right now all of the polls show him loseing, most by more than the margin of error. Just how far off do you think the polls are? Do you think they were off about David Duke?
After a lot of searching ABC news has finally found someone who had worse negatives then Trump! David Duke! Trump's negative rating according to ABC is 67%, David Duke's was 69% back when he considered running. So if you think that Trump has a chance of winning in the general, then maybe Duke should run next time. Also I have been hearing people comparing Trump's head to head polling against Hillary, with that of Regan and Carter. The problem with this is threefold. 1. Regan was not trailing Carter for as long as Trump has trailed Hillary. 2. At his worst point Regan was only 5 points under water regarding favorability, Trump is under water by 33 points. 3. According to a Gallup poll taken when he was running, 13% of people polled said they would never consider voting for Reagan. Today Gallup asked the same question and 54% said they will never consider voting for Trump. In light of these numbers it should be obvious that there is no comparison.
@penny You wrote: "apparently orthodox Christianity is veering left and you all want me to come along? no thanks." Trump is a Godless, adulter, who also happens to fund Planned Parenthood out of his own pocket. He has not only approved of the sins destroying our society but has helped to promote them with the strip clubs in his casinos. Do you really think that Trump will not contribute to this veer to the left? You can't have it both ways, either you believe that we should disregard the personal and religious life of the candidates, or you believe that it should be a determining factor. Speaking of the church "veering left", Trumps has steeped himself in the disturbing philosophies of Norman Vincent Peale, author of "The Power of Positive Thinking" (see the link). www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/donald-trump-2016-norman-vincent-peale-213220 It looks as though you would be going along with this veer if we were to use your standard. I hope you have a blessed evening!
Part2 Politics is just a tool Christians may use to promote justice and equity. But it should never be seen as the primary means of changing a society. The faithful preaching of the gospel is the only way to truely change the society. If there are no candidates or parties that you can vote for in good conscience then maybe you should consider either finding other like minded people and starting a party, or just voting for a "write in candidate" if that is possible. In my opinion if our involvment in politics does not promote or advance the fear of God, and help move the culture in the right direction; then maybe we should consider investing our time and efforts elswhere.
@Dave Part1 Yes, I most certainly do believe in God's sovereignty. As for your question, this is something that I have thought about as well. I don't know that I have a comprehensive answer, but my personal belief may be summed up as: "duty is our's results are God's". You are put in a difficult position, and I don't know the first thing about Austrailian politics. However I firmly believe that we are to glorify God with our actions. Are there any other parties or candidates in Austrailia that you are able to vote for?
Ha! Ha! That is so weird. We have joked back and forth for a while now about you and or Jay Jay bugging us. The same thing happens to me all the time. I will start typing up a post and find out that either you or Jay Jay have beaten me to it. You know, they say great minds think alike! (for the record l'm not saying I have a great mind)
Part2 This sounds much more communist than anything Cruz and his father ever said. Let me get this straight, the person who says that health care, housing, and education are important functions of government is supposed to be pro constitution. But the son of a Cuban refuge who has fought for the constitution almost his whole life is a communist. I think you've got it backwards. Gossip is wrong and does serious damage to the people which it is centered around. When all is said and done this election matters very little. Our actions however bear eternal consequences. Please stop posting things that you cannot prove to be true. I understand if you made a mistake, sometimes it is very hard to tell truth from falsehood. But the right thing to do even if you disagree with the person being slandered, is to try to repair the damage done when you say something that turns out to be false. Blessings to all, nice to see you posting Dave!
@penned Part1 You wrote: "Rafael claims he wants foundational Christianity and Constitution, but his proclamations of kingship of his son and the taking of wealth of rich to give to the righteous straight heresy, and antiConstitutional (sounds like deistic commnsm!). this should be raising red flags." What should be raising "red flags" is how terribly you have twisted these quotes. Rafael simply quoted scripture. He never said anything about the "kingship of his son". He also never implied that he believed government should be involved in any "transfer of wealth". And for you to say otherwise is a gross distortion of the truth. What is "anti Constitutional" is Trump's stated views regarding the functions of government (See the link). www.redstate.com/absentee/2016/03/29/donald-trump-amazing-technicolor-dream-list-governments-functions/
Part2 I have also tried to be very careful about making claims that were not well supported. There are always people on both sides of an issue that will spread lies about the opposeing side. The really important thing is that we are able to distinguish between the lies and the facts. And that when called on a blatant lie, we apologize and seek to repair the damage we may have done. P.S. @Greg Bernard Thanks and God bless!
@ Mike Part1 The "we" I was talking about in my previous post was not the nation in general. The leftists operate under the slogan "the ends justify the means". In essence they have no principle. The "we" I was referring to are the Christians. I for one don't advocate worshiping any candidate. In fact that is one of the most concerning things about this primary so far. I think there should be a point at which we can no longer in good conscience support a candidate no matter who he is. There should be some standard that we hold these candidates to, if they expect our support. Those who will support "their" candidate under any circumstances, are in my opinion engageing in candidate worship. I think that there are some people who engage in this behaviour on both Cruz's and Trump's side; but the percentage on Trump's side (upwards of 60%) is disturbingly high.
@US I think that it is wrong for you to paint with such a broad brush. I'm sure you would not appreciate it if someone used that kind of speculation against you. I think that this story raises a bogus question. The rules are the rules. The immorality comes in when Trump lies to his supporters saying that Cruz is stealing delegates. Unbound delegates are exactly what they sound like; delegates that are not bound to a particular candidate. Further more there are rules that are helping Trump as well. Like the number of winner take all states and their position. Contrary to what some may think Trump has only won about 37% of the popular vote. That is hardly a mandate especially considering how anti Trump the other 63% of republican voters are.
Part 2 If you want to make America great again; then you must realize where our strength came from. Contrary to what the socialists and marxists will tell you, America didn't get to be the worlds only superpower by doing what Trump has said he will do: "I'll tell you what we're going to do, right? We get greedy, right? Now we are going to get greedy for the United States. We're going to grab and grab and grab." (Quote from Trump's Nevada victory speech). Trump only believes in power, but power can't make America great again. If we lose our moral strength in our pursuit of power or money, we will never "win" again, we will become a nation of cowards and slaves. Alexis de Tocqueville had it right: "America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." As their qoutes testify, the founders agreed with this view. If we abandon principle in our pursuit of political power we will lose both.
Part 1 I think that it is time that we ask ourselves; do we believe that morals (as defined in the Bible) make us strong as a nation and individuals? Or do we believe that our strength as a nation and individuals comes from the unbridled pursuit of wealth and power? What kind of strength do we want ourselves, and admire in others? Trump does believes in strength as it relates to power, but a quick glance at his whole life will show that he has had no use for a strength of character or principle. The only kind of strength Trump believes in and understands comes from the unchecked pursuit of money and influence at any cost. He lacks any moral courage or strength and that is dangerous. This is why I consider Trump to be a weak bullying coward. Because inspite of his bold rhetoric he doesn't stand for anything but his own vicious quest for power. The only difference between the bully and those who stand up to him, is that the bully just wants power. I hope our nation can still tell the difference between a courageous leader and a brash bully.
Anyone who thinks that starting a trade war with China will help our economy is simply misinformed. China holds a lot of our debt and has threatened to de-dollarize. Even if Trump only were to threaten 45% tariffs, it would be bad for us; China would simply threaten to dump our junk bonds and dump the dollar in their trade with other countrys. The only thing going for the dollar is it's the world's reserve currency right now. Trumps "solution" to the problem could be worse than the problem itself. The real problem with jobs leaving this country is due to the fact that we have the highest corporate tax in the world. If we lowered it to a flat corporate tax of 16% as Cruz has proposed, they wouldn't be leaving in the first place. This would help the small businesses to expand, creating more jobs. The reason Trump won't fix the problem is because the problem is the size of government and the tax burden on the average American. Trump is for increasing the size of government and enslaveing the next generation with the debt that he will help to create. Reagan would be ashamed of what passes for "conservatism" now days. Still busy but thought I would drop in. Hope you all have a blessed day!
Part2 3. He didn't believe what he said in the first place and was just pandering to what he thought pro life people wanted to hear. Whether you agree with either of the positions that he took on this issue is irrelevant. The fact that he can pander, lie and flip flop just like any other politician is the point that should be made. Finally he blatantly lied in his statement after the fact saying he hadn't changed his position. Trump is simply deluded if he expects us to believe him. Isn't the truth the least you can expect from someone who wants the power of the presidency. It is quite clear that Trump was and is trying to mislead people.
@get your info right Part1 You wrote: "The least you could do on a Christian sit is be truthful." It's ironic that people have a basic understanding that the truth matters in some cases, but will ignore its necessity in others. The interview in question and his contradictory statement after the fact is a perfect example of Trump's lies and his flip flopping. There are only 3 possibilities here. 1.Trump had never thought this through, but didn't want to admit it, in which case we are left to wonder what else he hasn't thought through yet is unwilling to admit. 2. He does believe what he said, which means that when his campaign staff got a hold of him he decided to say something he didn't believe because it was politically expedient.
4/21/16 7:34 PM
