‽istis
ponders questions for Pastor Mark Burns (weekending July 20th 2024)
‽ ‘God is here, Emanuel. And yet we
search for now it seems so hard to tell.’ (weekending December 24th 2022)
‽ ‘the apparent direct absence of
unequivocal, universally heard and understood voice of God.’ (weekending February 11th 2023)
‽ the ‘God is on our side’ of a
potential colonial mindset (weekending March 3rd 2023)
‽ ‘just who or
what is saved? ‘God so loved the world’, animals, people, all of us
together – done and dusted, just some of us? And if it’s only some of us, then
what is the criteria: our choice, God’s choice…’ (weekending August 19th 2023)
‽ ‘…a Deity who/which… just maybe: a) non-existent and a human construct;
or b) not happy with how things are but can’t do anything about it; or c) not
happy with how things are but won’t do anything about it; or (maybe worst of
all) d) is content with how things are…’ (weekending May 13th 2023)
‽ missing in action; absent without
leave? ‘'Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est' (where
there is charity and love, God is there)... So, perhaps, possibly, maybe where
there is not charity and love, God is not there‽’ (weekending October 14th 2023)
‽ ‘wonders what
could be the consequences of a deluging, climate-crisis-at-its worst flood… Of
Biblical proportions – when, allegedly, there seemed to be evidence of an
interventionist God, albeit one that destroyed all humanity save for one
family, all animal life save for reproducing pairs of everything (but no
unicorn!!)’ (weekending November 4th 2023)
‽ ‘So God imparts to human hearts the
blessings of His heaven‽ (well where’s the evidence for that then?)’ (weekending December 16th 2023)
‽ #EvidenceofGod (weekending February 3rd 2024)
‽ ‘the value and role of belief/s and ideology – and the organisations, institutions and arrangements built upon them; do we want or need God/gods – or are we enough?’ (weekending July 18th 2020)
‽ ‘protecting a meaningful Christmas
– are some expecting a display of divine intervention or something?
#ComeonGodshowyourhand #isamiracletoomuchtoaskfor? (weekending December 19th 2020)
‽ ‘that of God in everyone’ (weekending November 12th 2022)
Evidence of existence and the
capacity to intervene, or otherwise, feature heavily in the blogs – and it is
these issues that have exercised ‽istis again this week, not least following
the shooting and murder of a firefighter in Pennsylvania after which
people said of the person who was almost certainly the actual target, and who
survived with an injury to his ear: “I think he’s amazing. I think he was sent
by God. I think he is the most amazing human being ever.” – and – “Well I
believe that Divine providence was involved because the shooter was obviously
trying to take him out. It was a clear head shot.”[i]
In the same Times Radio programme that contained these ‘vox pops’ (July 16th) John Pienaar
interviewed a guest: Pastor Mark Burns – described as ‘Donald Trump’s spiritual
adviser and Congressional candidate for South Carolina’. At the time of
writing, the interview can be seen and heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTESFL8s_YQ
John Pienaar’s first question cut to
the heart of things: ‘Do you believe, do you truly believe that God took a hand
in saving Donald Trump from that sniper’s bullet in Pennsylvania at the
weekend?’ – in relation to which Pastor Burns was ‘without a shadow of doubt that the
hand of God protected Donald Trump…’ (c.1’27” in to the interview) ‘We would be
talking about… the assassination of Donald Trump had it not been for the hand
of God or shifting that bullet or even shifting Donald Trump’s head just sheer
millimetres…’ (c.1’50”)
In the 12 minute interview, Pastor
Burns went on to say many things that ‽istis has pondered:
·
‘The
Bible says in Isaiah Ch 54 v 17: ‘no weapon formed against you shall prosper’ ‘
(c.2’18”)
·
‘...that's the
message I’ve given to the president, reminded him, reminded the American
people, I'm reminding the world that the hand of God was upon Donald Trump and is
upon your life too.’ (c. 2’20”)
·
‘I
reminded him (the former President) that the hand of God is upon his life and
to use this opportunity to lead this nation and help be a leader of the free
world that we will be a nation that will honour God and do right by people...’ (c.2’44”)
·
‘God
spared his life for such a time as this, to be the one He has chosen to lead
this nation to where we honour God again.’ (c.3’02”)
·
‘This
nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles (c.3’09”) and the largest
voter block for the Republican Party are Christians and so this is a loud
signal to all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Messiah and to
people of faith all over the world that the hand of God has chosen Donald Trump
after everything they’ve thrown at him… Now they finally try to actually take
his life and the bullet actually struck him and yet he has survived.’ (c.4’02”)
·
‘…as
I’ve said to him many times: if God be for you, President Trump, then who can be
against you. And we believe that.’ (c.4’08”)
·
‘I
believe... God has chosen Donald Trump to be a deliverer in this time period
for America. Again, God has used so many people that has flawed pasts… that has
failed in their pasts, but yet used them for His glory and for His purpose’
(c.5’19”) citing Old Testament adulterer and murderer King David: ‘yet he’s same the
one God gave the Psalms to…’
·
And
referring to himself: ‘God has used flawed people, like Mark Burns even, I’m
talking to you on an international platform but yet I have crazy chapters in my
own life that God has looked beyond my faults…’ (c.6’22”)
·
‘No,
I don’t believe that God is a Republican just like I don’t believe that God is
white nor black. I believe that God is a God for all races.’ (c.7’09”)
·
‘Now
let’s be clear, the Bible is God’s authority word. We believe that, as
Christians and if Joe Biden is a professing, practising Christian then he too
believes that, but yet he pushes policies that are contrary to God’s word… direct opposition to what God has said’ for
instance: ‘marriage is between man and woman, that’s a Biblical concept’
(c/7’36”), ‘God said it is an abomination in His word for man to sleep with man and
woman sleep with woman… (‘c.7’44”) and to even push the transgender agenda that
they’re pushing in to the public school systems.’ (c/7’50”) ‘If Joe Biden is
this so-called practising Christian then he would not be pushing – or the
Democrat party as a whole would not be pushing those type of agendas… (c.7'57”)’
·
‘There’s
a reason why the atheists of America, the majority of atheists and agnostics (?) of
America identify themselves as Democrats, because the policies that the
Democrats push are contrary to the word of God…’ (c.8’24”)
·
‘I
can only look at some of the fruits since he’s been President (Joe Biden) and
his policies don’t line up to God’s word.’ (c/8’43”)
·
(from
9’32”) ‘There is God’s will but then there is His ‘permissive will’… God’s will
and man’s doing… God has a permissive will that he allows to happen because
that is man’s decision… whosoever
believes in Him shall not perish but has everlasting life; that is your choice,
to either believe or don’t believe, to accept or reject… So, in this case we believe
because of the policies and Donald Trump’s willingness. As Isaiah says: if you
are willing and obedient, you will eat good of the land… He (Donald Trump) listens to people like
myself that speaks to him about the word of God and then follows through on it,
which is why he’s talking more about the Holy Spirit and the hand of God that
is protecting him from that assassin's bullet.’
·
‘President
Trump was one of the few people that said that Christianity is under attack in
America, when Obama and others, and the Democratic party were trying to get people
to stop saying “Merry Christmas”… and trying to say things like “Happy
holidays” – well that is not American culture, we say “Merry Christmas” here in
America…’ (c.11’27”)
·
‘This
is a Christian nation of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…’ (11’54”) And the
further we have policies like the Democrats who try to push that narrative,
like Obama did when he declared that this was no longer a Christian nation,
when he tried to push that narrative now, that is when I believe that America began
to fall.’
·
‘Donald
Trump is a deliverer and God has chosen him, regardless of his past flaws, he is
willing and obedient to listen to the voice of God, that is why he is elevated
and protected like he has been.’ (c.12’14”)
So, this weekending ‽istis is
pondering questions for Pastor Mark Burns, including:
‽ If America is a Christian nation
and ‘no weapons formed against you shall prosper’ why does the USA need to spend
916 billion U.S. dollars dedicated to the military in 2023, the highest in the
world and constituting over 40 percent of the total military
spending worldwide that year?[ii] And what else could be done with that money to fulfil the Biblical
criteria (Matthew 25 v 34-36) for separating the sheep from the goats when all
the nations are gathered before the Son of Man “Then the King will say to those
on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I
was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed
clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was
in prison and you came to visit me.”?
‽ Isn’t it a bit arrogant to think
that God needed you to remind the world that the hand of God was upon Donald
Trump?
‽ Are people chosen? How are people
chosen? Are nations or peoples chosen and how?
‽ You seem to imply that the hand of
God is upon Donald Trump and upon John Pienaar too (2’20”)… is that the
case for all of us, regardless, irrespective, without exception – including
upon Corey Comperatore (the firefighter who died in the assassination attempt
on Donald Trump)? Did the hand of God defy the usual ‘laws’ of physics for a
moment and shift the trajectory of the bullet? Did the hand of God shift Donald
Trump’s head just sheer millimetres? And
why did the hand of God not send the bullet harmlessly into the grass or the
staging; or prevent Thomas Matthew Crooks from arriving on the roof; or prompt
police officers and security agents to act sooner, to act before a shot was
fired; or prevent the purchase of the gun that was used; or tighten the laws
that enabled its purchase and ownership?
‽ What are the hallmarks and
characteristics of the nations that comprise ‘the free world’ – and which
nations are in and which are out?
‽ What does a nation that ‘honours
God’ look like, sound like and do?
‽ What are Judeo-Christian
principles? Are both the old and new testaments necessary? Ten commandments or
a new commandment?[iii]
‽ How would you answer someone who wonders whether America may also have been founded on a genocide of first
nations’ people; on hegemonic cultural and religious impositionism; on land and property
appropriation; on slavery; on white, male, heterosexual and exploitative
financial supremacy?
‽ Who are the ‘they’ that have thrown
everything at Donald Trump and have even finally tried to take his life?
‽ If Donald Trump loses the election,
does that mean that God has had a change of mind?
‽ What was actually going on in the
‘crazy chapters’ of your life?
‽ If God can use flawed people
(including an adulterer and murderer, King David), then is any behaviour
excusable? Is any behaviour even desirable as it may more gloriously and
clearly reveal and highlight the awesome capacity and amazing grace and mercy of God – to
forgive, to change and redeem (‘wretch-saving’[iv]), to intervene? Why could God not just have created us better in the
first place?
‽ If you do not believe that God is a
Republican and you don’t believe that God is black or white, why does He appear
to be unquestionably male?
‽ Why do different Christians seem to
interpret and understand teachings of the Bible (‘God’s authority word’)
differently – or are the ones that take a different view to yours only ‘so-called
practising Christians’?
‽ What fruits of Trump’s presidency show that the Republican policies are congruent with the word of
God?
‽ So how does this ‘permissive will’ thing work? How might we know what are the decisions of man that God has permitted - and where is the line that triggers God to step in when crossed?
‽ Would Jesus have said “Merry
Christmas” and what is ‘American culture’ and why does it seem to have to be
singular… are/were there other cultures;
are they equally important?
‽ Do you believe that other
supernatural forces and powers are at work in the world? Do you believe in
angels? Do you believe in demons? Do you believe in the Devil? And how might we
discern whether any action is a result of the hand of the Devil or the hand of
God?
‽ When and why do so many people seem
to say that God works in mysterious ways?
‽ Does God only exist if we believe
that to be the case? Do we make God in our own image?
‽ And finally, if ‘Donald Trump is a deliverer and God has chosen him, regardless of his past flaws, he is willing and obedient to listen to the voice of God, that is why he is elevated and protected like he has been’ – then how will we know that the plan has worked? What should we measure, when and how? What might convince those for whom Pastor Burns’ reminders (to Donald Trump, to the American people and to the world) of God’s agency (perhaps, possibly, may be) seem just a bit unbelievable?
©‽istis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this
week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on X/Twitter with replies,
retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very
opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders.
X/Twitter ‘follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i]
Tuesday July 16th 2024 Times Radio: ‘John Pienaar live from the
Republican Convention in Milwaukee’ https://www.thetimes.com/radio/show/20240716-25859/2024-07-16
[ii] https://www.statista.com/statistics/262742/countries-with-the-highest-military-spending/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20led%20the,to%202.4%20trillion%20U.S.%20dollars.
[iii]
Bible: Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5 – and/or – John3v34.
