Li: ritual, propriety, etiquette. Hsiao: love within the family (parents for children and children for parents. Yi: righteousness--the noblest way to act in a situation. Xin: honesty and trustworthiness. Jen: benevolence, humaneness towards others. Chung: loyalty to the state and authority. --Confucius (Kong Fuzi)

All articles appear in reverse chronological order [newest first].

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I believe the past is relevant, sometimes more than others of course. In most cases we are seeing history being repeated, so it is most relevant.
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts

Sunday, September 11, 2022

THE CHRISTIAN LEFT: YES, WE EXIST.

 We must stop looking to the government to make America a Christian utopia. Our kingdom is not of this world.


We must abandon all thoughts of fixing others and let Jesus fix us.
If we want the sanctity of marriage then stop cheating, stop having affairs, stop looking at porn, and stop getting divorced. That is the way for the church to stand up for the biblical definition of marriage, not by someone martyring their self-righteous self.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

SUNDAY MEMES:





The middle class is made up of working families, modern America was built by the middle class and the middle class was made possible by The New Deal, the GI Bill, and Unions.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Shelter in place: Biblical?

It seems ironic that such a divisive and contradictory President would advise violating his own advice to 'shelter in place' by encouraging large church gatherings on easter. Especially for the stated goals of saving and enhancing the well being of the money changers at the temple (Bankers and Wall Streeters): Weren't the Israelites told to 'shelter in place' that night?

"during the tenth and final plague, God passes through the land of Egypt and strikes down the firstborn of every household. But the Jews have been told to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb they've sacrificed — the Passover offering — and so God “passes over” their homes."

In the Torah, the blood of this sacrifice sprinkled on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to God, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the Egyptians that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:1-28)

Even Israel's health ministry is advising limiting prayer and religious ceremonies to groups of ten or less. They also recommend 'home isolation'.

Monday, June 10, 2019

The Golden Rule:

This country's principles of freedom of religion are based on Judeo-Christian ethics and standards, but not to the exclusion of non-Christian, or secular ethics that are commonly shared.
One of the founding fathers most important contribution to the preservation of religious freedoms was the concept, a Christian concept, of the separation of church and state.





Noun. religism (countable and uncountable, plural religisms) Prejudice based on religious affiliation.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Christian Left: Yes, we exist.

The Christian Left: Yes, we exist.
"...Did the thief on the cross have a “correct doctrine?” Of course he didn’t. He had not studied the sacred texts and formed the correct conclusions. He knew nothing of what was said in the sacred texts. And yet Jesus promised that he would be in Heaven with him that very day.
Why? Because he had a kind and gentle heart and a merciful spirit and he defended a man he didn’t ever know while he suffered in agony himself. He called Jesus Lord and asked that he remember him when he entered his Kingdom, but not having been exposed to “correct Doctrine” he was speaking from his heart, nothing else. Furthermore, he had not been baptized.

Did Jesus make a special exception for the thief on the cross? No. That would contradict the many passages in the Bible where it states that God is no respecter of persons and he does not show favoritism...

...We must pray for those who have made “correct doctrine” their idol. They miss the spirit and meaning of what scripture says and instead worship the Bible itself. They are unable to see what God is saying between the lines of ink."
 

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Compassion?

by Glenn Littrell

REPOSTED from January 2015

I remember when criticizing the right wing or republicans as lacking compassion for the poor who were on welfare or getting government aid would result in being rebuffed as promoting 'classism' or even socialism. But now it is apparent that the criticism was understated. The right wing republicans lack compassion for anyone!  The working poor, unemployed WORKERS, senior and 'almost' senior citizens, teachers, 9/11 first responders, non-stock holders, and those of their own 'kind' who fit into these categories. Even their co-opting of the fundamentalist leaders and televangelist has not softened their hearts for those less fortunate. And now it appears as if the fears of Rev. Graham are being realized everyday as religious leaders seem to be turning the keys to the temple over to the moneychangers (corporate America) via their far right-wing friends.    

bgoldwater

The quote below from Rev. Billy Graham and the one above from Barry Goldwater demonstrates the historical mistrust and disdain for each other that the conservative right and the religious leaders held for each other. So what happened?

Several things:

  1. The ‘Southern Strategy’ of appealing to the fears of white middle class southern males increased the Republican appeal in the south. Pulling Democrat voters as well as Democrat politicians into the party through defections. The Republicans took advantage of the split between the northern liberal Democrats and the traditional southern Democrat who was more loyal to their region than their party. Today’s average conservative republican does not resemble the republican of 40 years ago as much as some would suggest. But the agenda and tactics of the leadership in the republican party greatly resembles the southern democrats of the civil rights era and the reconstruction democrat, harsh. The current republican leadership has no problem with pushing up against those long held fears of the southern white male to attract the extreme elements on the other side of those boundaries. Which gives them an energized and forceful constituency.
  2. Roe v. Wade gave Religious leaders  a rallying cry for reinventing the ‘fire and brimstone’ rhetoric that had energized religious revivals for centuries. Where in the past it was cries to go to war to fight the ‘godless invaders’, or the the temperance movement, communism, etc. Even now, as abortions and unwanted teen pregnancies are at their lowest since Roe v. Wade, we see the anti- abortion fervor taking a back see to the “Muslim Jihadist” rhetoric.

“I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalist and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”  --Rev. Billy Graham, Parade, 1981

BGraham

 

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are...a few...Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid," wrote Republican President Dwight Eisenhower to his brother in 1954. Unfortunately, this splinter group is now in charge of this once-respectable political party.

The Surprisingly Progressive Republican Party Platform...Of 1956

                              GlennDL

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Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Universal Considerations of Our Fellow Man:

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Three Simple Rules:

Rabbi Hillel, who lived around the time of Jesus was approached by a pagan saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole of the Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Rabbi Hillel replied, "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it."

Talmud Shabbat 31a

"...And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:28-31

"Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have all been called by different names brethren of the same principle..."

Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Chasing the money changers from the temple…

EDebs

“…I did not believe Christ was meek and lowly but a real living, vital agitator who went into the temple with a lash and a krout and whipped the oppressors of the poor, routed them out of the doors and spilled their blood and got silver on the floor. He told the robbed and misruled and exploited and driven people to disobey their plunderers, he denounced the profiteers, and it was for this that they nailed his quivering body to the cross and spiked it to the gates of Jerusalem, not because he told them to love one another. That was harmless doctrine. But when he touched their profits and denounced them before their people he was marked for crucifixion.”
Speaking to a reporter for Call from his prison cell in 1919 while serving time for making anti-war speeches.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

12 Laws of Karma:

Karma is the law of cause and effect – an unbreakable law of the cosmos. Your Power of Positivityactions create your future. The reason your fate is never sealed is because you have free will. Therefore your future cannot already be written. That would not be fair. Life gives you chances. This is one of them. – The Tree of Awakening
“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”                Gandhi

  1. The Great Law: “As you sow, so shall you reap.”
  2. The Law of Creation: “What we desire comes through participation.”
  3. The Law of Humility: “Refusal to accept what is will still be what is.”
  4. The Law of Growth: “Our own growth is above any circumstance.”
  5. The Law of Responsibility: “Our lives are of our own doing, nothing else.”
  6. The Law of Connection: “Everything in the Universe is connected, both large and small.”
  7. The Law of Focus: “One cannot direct attention beyond a single task.”
  8. The Law of Hospitality and Giving: “Demonstrating our selflessness shows true intentions.”
  9. The Law of Change: “History repeats itself unless changed.”
  10. The Law of Here and Now: “The Present is all we have.”
  11. The Law of Patience and Reward: “Nothing of value is created without a patient mindset.”
  12. The Law of Significance and Inspiration: “The best reward is one that contributes to the Whole.”

Thursday, December 31, 2015

A New Years Challenge Instead Of Resolutions:

by Glenn Littrell

OK, instead of a New Years resolution, or a year ending/beginning New Years message, I propose a challenge. A year ending challenge to where or how you seek inspiration. Do you seek inspiration from sources that reafirm what you beleive? Or do you accept a chalenge to seek inspiration, in whatever form, from a source that you expect to disagree with?

This is a challenge with no expected outcome, no purpose. It is not meant to convert anyone, to change anyones mind, to get you to admit anything or concede anything. You are the sole judge of what, if anything, is proven or realized. You are free to ‘grade’ if the challenge was productive.

Is there a point? Maybe. Let’s call it an experiment. Below are several podcast of discussions on “Believers and Doubters”. Each discusses different sub-topics concerning the main topic and each are addressed by someone of a different philisophical/religious persuasion. Each podcast is from 7 to 12 minutes long. The object is to select a podcast, listent to it, and consider its meaning. Make of it what you will.

But here’s the challenge: Don’t select the podcast that is most likely to support your current view. Based on whatever criteria you choose, the sub-topic, who it is discusing the topice, or even the length of the podcast. Whatever your criteria is choose the podcast that you deem the furtherest from what you would expect to agree with. You can listen to them all, but make the first one, or the only one, is the least one that appeals to you.

Here are the choices::

  • What’s The Difference Between Believe and Faith.  Billy Graham, Christian Minister. 
  • Is Doubt Essential To Faith? Lesley Hazelton, Agnostic Jewish writer.
  • How Does A Person Go From Beleiver To Athiest? Julia Sweeney, actor and writer. 
  • What Can Atheism Learn From Religion? Alain de Bolton, Atheist and Author.
  • Are There Any Universal Beliefs And Truths? Devdutt Pattanaik, Hindu Mythologist. 

Too often when we seek information we seek information that confirms our beliefs, our opinions. Sometimes we may seek information with no concern for confirmation, we’re just looking fo an explanation, a starting point before forming our opinion. In both cases, we tend to limit what we learn because we seek confirmation or because we rely on one source.

If you believe, as is the gist of this challenge/experiment, that sources of information can be biased then you should consider that all sources can be biased. In fact, no source can be completely unbiased. It is virtually impossible to a certain degree and for too many of us we tend to accept as ‘least bias’ that source which affirms our beliefs.

The basis for deciding if a source is biased or not is not whether it agrees with us, but to discern how relative the information when compared to other sources. Of course, if we make the comparison between ‘like-minded’ sources then our affirmation will be proven in that context, but it will nonetheless be biased.

Notice the many themes spoken of in the podcast: doubt, faith, belief, etc. Yet none of the themes are spoken of by the Christian, the Hindu, The agnostic Jew, or the Athiest as being absolutly, completly or exclusivly important. They all speak of the importance of doubt, faith and belief, not the absoluteness of any, but the importance of all.

I guess the experiment here is

  • did you listen to all of the podcast?
  • did you come away with something from listening to all, more so than if you had just listened to the first one that appealed to you?

If I’m wrong then nothing gained, but hopefully, we can agree that multiple sources can help inform not just a better opinion, but also a more informed and better opinion.


The speakers that were interviewed in the above podcast from NPR Radio were selected on the basis of a Ted Talk that they had given. To here their complete talk use the links below.

TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.
In fact, everything we do — from our Conferences to our TED Talks to the projects sparked by the TED Prize, from the global TEDx community to the TED-Ed lesson series — is driven by this goal: How can we best spread great ideas?
TED is owned by a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation. Our agenda is to make great ideas accessible and spark conversation.

click to hear their original, complete Ted Talk:

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Mary Did You Know

church
reposted from 2012

-click the arrow to start the video-

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Using Veterans As A Political Diversion:

It is not an either/or choice. We can help our Veterans and still do other things. The proposition that we aren't helping our Veterans because we are spending money somewhere else is meant as a distraction, making a false argument that its neither helping the poor, refugees, immigrants etc., or Veterans, shows a lack of determination to help Veterans, period. All congress has to do to help Veterans is to vote to do so. Bringing up hot button distractions steers the conversation away from Veterans towards those hot button issues, leaving the Veteran issue just setting there. Why would they solve the Veteran or any hot button issue if it serves their re-election interest over and over again.

imageIf you are troubled over the plight of Veterans, let that be the point you make. Argue for Veterans and stay focused on Veteran issues and leave the other complaints and problems to be solved as separate issues.We are capable of dealing with more than one issue at a time as a country and individuals, but when we allow detractors to mingle unrelated issues we loose the ability to solve anything… you think its a coincidence that issues like immigration, abortion, education, and gun control are never solved? No, as long as we are easily distracted the big issues will remain unresolved only to be brought up at the next election and then put back in storage afterwards.

The plight of Veterans has become a political football to be thrown into the air every time someone wants to distract us from addressing a problem... welfare, illegal immigrants, any government expense, but those (Republicants) who are always bringing up Veterans homelessness, etc., fail to do anything about the plight of Veterans!
These Veteran problems, and the VA scandals and problems have existed for decades... stop buying into these diversions and demand results. We can address more than one problem at a time... unless you prefer holding Veteran issues hostage for the sake of ignoring other problems and getting your guy, your party re-elected.

image

Disabled Veteran DESTROYS Cowards Who Won’t Help Refugees

Tom Cahill | November 19, 2015

“Don’t use me as your fucking excuse when a week ago you were happily voting away my benefits and healthcare.”

image

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see also:
Bills Supporting Veterans Rejected by the GOP/Republicants:
GOP/Republicans “…slashed more than $1.4 billion from President Obama's requested budget for American's Veterans.”
GOP Senator Calls Veteran’s Care ‘Entitlement’ We ‘Can’t Afford’
Ted Cruz Threatens Troops, Veterans, and Their Families
House Dems bolster Obama veto threat
Senate Republicans Betray U.S. Vets By Blocking Veterans Benefits Bill
Tammy Duckworth: GOP exploiting veterans

Friday, November 13, 2015

Why Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Goldwater, Reagan and Jesus Christ Couldn't Be Elected In A Republicant Primary:

or, It’s Not Your Daddy’s Republican Party Anymore Baby!

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On the Common Good:


EISENHOWER...I do not mean to say that this general government is charged with the duty of redressing or preventing all the wrongs in the world, but I do think that it is charged with the duty of preventing and redressing all wrongs which are wrongs to itself.
--Lincoln, September 17, 1859 Speech at Cincinnati

“…It’s remarkable, then, that most of the Republicans who would be president seem to be lining up for another round of punishment. In particular, they’ve been declaring that the retirement age —
ikewhich has already been pushed up from 65 to 66 and is scheduled to rise to 67 — should go up even further. Thus, Jeb Bush says that the retirement age should be pushed back to “68 or 70”. Scott Walker has echoed that position. Marco Rubio wants both to raise the retirement age and to cut benefits for higher-income seniors. Rand Paul wants to raise the retirement age to 70 and means-test benefits. Ted Cruz wants to revive the Bush privatization plan. For the record, these proposals would be really bad public policy — a harsh blow to Americans in the bottom half of the income distribution, who depend on Social Security, often have jobs that involve manual labor and have not seen a big rise in life expectancy. Meanwhile, the decline of private pensions has left working Americans more reliant on Social Security than ever. And no, Social Security does not face a financial crisis; its long-term funding shortfall could easily be closed with modest increases in revenue…” Paul Krugman: New York Times, 8-17-15  
"Marco Rubio declared: "The 'War On Poverty' has been lost." But that's not true. While poverty is still at epidemic levels, the supplemental poverty rate (the most complete measure of poverty, according to most expertshas fallen significantly in the last few decades, largely thanks to government welfare programs.
lincolnRepublicans often cite this as fact, but as the Washington Post's Mike Konczal points out, this figure, which comes from the libertarian Cato Institute, includes the cost of things like Medicaid, Headstart and community programs like adoption assistance and taxpayer clinics. What is commonly considered "welfare," like food stamps and housing vouchers, only cost us about $212 billion per year. The GOP claims Poverty is largely caused by social and moral decay. In reality, poverty is largely attributed to wage stagnation and other macroeconomic factors. For most of history, wages rose as workers' productivity increased. But that's changed in the last half-century. While worker productivity grew 80 percent between 1973 and 2011, real wages only ticked up 4 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute."       Huffington Post, 1-27-14

On Labor and Social Programs:

“…but there is one point, with its connections… to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induce him to labor. This (is) assumed… …And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life. Now there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless…”

On Corporations, Taxes, and Capitalism:

republicants (5)
“…For more than a century, the Roosevelt position prevailed in our country. Corporate money was barred from being used in federal elections. Our national policy was based on a simple proposition: only individuals and groups of individuals were allowed to contribute or spend money to influence federal elections.
Then on January 21, 2010, five (conservative, Republican-appointed) Supreme Court Justices reached into the sky and pulled out something that had not existed for the past 219 years: a constitutional right for corporations to spend money to influence federal elections.
These five Justices, whose decision will be harshly judged by history, threw out more than a century of national policy established by Congress, tossed out decades of Supreme Court precedents and eviscerated a bulwark of anti-corruption laws in the blink of an eye….”      Huffington Post: 2-6-12

republicants (1)“…For decades, Republicans have touted tax cuts as the linchpin of prosperity. And they may be on to something, as long as those tax cuts don’t go to the wrong people. Cutting taxes for “job creators” might seem sensible, but reductions for “job takers” are more powerful. As Zidar reports:
“...the positive relationship between tax cuts and employment growth is largely driven by tax cuts for lower-income groups and [the fact] that the effect of tax cuts for the top 10% on employment growth is small.”
The problem (if you can call it that) is that rich people tend to save a lot. That’s good for some purposes, but not when you’re trying to create jobs. By contrast, less-than-rich people tend to spend most of their income. That makes tax cuts for the poor and middle class more effective, at least over the short term. Or as Zidar says:
90percenttaxrate“Overall, tax cuts for the bottom 90% tend to result in more output, employment, consumption, and investment growth than equivalently sized tax cuts for the top 10% over a business cycle frequency.”

During the administration of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 92 percent marginal income tax rate for top earners in the United States remained from the previous administration of Harry S. Truman. At the time, the highest tax bracket was for income over $400,000.Jan 24, 2011

On Immigration:

The anti-amnesty stance the mainstream Republicans have aggressively promoted in the past is slightly muted by the shifting and shuffling of the current Republican candidates.
The presence of Trump’s collect and deport declarations is robbing the Republican party of one of their long-time ‘hot
thanks obamabutton’ issues that they role out every four years for election time and then hide it away until the next election. Since Reagan, they have used the no amnesty argument to stall any progress on immigration reform.
Trump’s bombastic cries for a southern wall has pushed the candidates towards amnesty to try and prevent a mass exodus of what little Hispanic support they have. Their base, however, is still anti-amnesty so any shift is not permanent and is not embraced by their base. “Trump’s Wall’ or should we call it ‘Trump’s Iron Curtain” is going to force the immigration issue, one way or the other. The scary question is what world leader will stand at that wall 50 years from now and mimic Reagan by telling the American President“, Mr. President, tear down this wall”.      

On Common Sense Gun Regulations:

republicants (6)
Why comment? Any attempt to suggest even a discussion results in unwarranted attacks.

“Tucker Carlson and Red State’s Erick Erickson created their little echo-chamber Sunday when they got together on Fox News’ Fox & Friends to talk about the evils of gun control. It took them no time at all to agree that “Obama wants to take away our guns” and “Arm the government instead.”
“I hardly know what to say. Never, in decades uttering this cry, has anyone – Obama included (and he’s been president for nearly seven years) – taken away anybody’s guns..…” 
“…In September 2008, federal agencies employed approximately 120,000 full-time law enforcement officers who were authorized to make arrests and carry firearms in the United States. This was the 
republicants (2)
equivalent of 40 officers per 100,000 residents. The number of federal officers in the United States increased by about 15,000, or 14%, between 2004 and 2008.”
But of course, George W. Bush doesn’t exist unless you’re Donald Trump pointing fingers at Jeb Bush. Otherwise, Republicans are more than happy to leave those eight years murky and blame any leftovers on Barack Obama.   
                             PoliticusUSA

On Church and State Separation and Religion in Politics:

Religious persecution in England, a result of a combined church-state government, led to our ancestors fleeing Great Britain in the hopes of religious freedom. Some of these people voluntarily sailed to the American Colonies specifically for this purpose. After the American Revolution, the Constitution of United States was specifically amended to ban the establishment of religion by Congress.

bgoldwater
At the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther articulated a doctrine of the two kingdoms. According to James Madison, perhaps one of the most important modern proponents of the separation of church and state, Luther's doctrine of the two kingdoms marked the beginning of the modern conception of separation of church and state

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” In English, the exact term is an offshoot of the phrase, "wall of separation between church and state", as written in Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes:
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

republicants (3)
June 26, 1830 ‘assigned’ members of the United Baptist Church of Christ…In November of that same year the membership drafted and received their Abstract of Principles:
Article…12th We believe that a union of religion and states constitutes the antichristian kingdom.Article…13th We believe that the religion of Jesus Christ ought not, nor cannot be established by the civil law of the Land and further we believe that no Legislative body whatever ought to presume to pass any such law.
Article…14th We believe it to be our duty to support the Government under which we live in all her civil matters.
15th We believe that money was not the means that God devised in infinite wisdom to affect the spread of the Gospel.”     The church at Second Creek Meetinghouse in Lawrence County, Tennessee

Americans United for Separation of Church and State was founded in 1947 by a broad coalition of religious, educational and civic leaders. At that time, proposals were pending in the U.S. Congress to extend government aid to private religious schools. Many Americans opposed this idea, insisting that government support for religious education would violate church-state separation. The decision was made to form a national organization to promote this point of view and defend the separation principle.

Even This Guy Couldn’t Win a Republican Primary:

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Because…

republicanjesus

Unless We Re-Wrote The Bible:

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But This Guy Is The Current GOP Hero:


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