More Moore, Collins, Carter, and Warren

With [Russell] Moore nodding along, [Francis] Collins held up a basic, over-the-counter cloth square, “This is not a political statement,” he asserted. “This is not an invasion of your personal freedom…This is a life-saving medical device.”

Rick [loves robes and women pastors] Warren – “Warren and Collins spent their interview jointly lamenting the unlovingness of Christians who question the efficacy of masks, specifically framing it as a matter of obedience to Jesus. ‘Wearing a mask is the great commandment: love your neighbor as yourself,’ the best-selling author of ‘The Purpose-Driven Life’ declared, before going on to specifically argue that religious leaders have an obligation to convince religious people to accept the government’s narratives about Covid.”

It was clear to me that many among the church leaders I once listened to were actually milquetoast, wishy-washy men who have sullied their Christian worldviews with syncretistic beliefs from the religions of secular humanism and Wokeism.

The Church has had many examples of times where the “experts” in theology – the Christian intelligentsia – have been blind to their own syncretism, complacency, and sin, and where God has used humble people from humble origins to shame their pride and so-called wisdom.

You need to read this amazing piece of reporting that details how Big Eva shamed Christians for asking pandemic questions at the behest of former NIH director Francis Collins, by Joel Abbott

“Never ceases to amaze me that Jesus began his church by entrusting it to a band of nobodies, featuring salt-of-the-earth men who were unlettered & untrained. He passed over the gatekeepers, elites, thought-leaders, and bureaucrats.

“The gospel needs no worldly help to advance.” https://twitter.com/ostrachan/status/1488555691581259778 -- Owen Strachan

Some other things you might like to read:

• The Tragedy of Francis Collins’s Model for Science-Faith Integration
• Evangelicals: Who Are The Good & The Bad?
• I’m going to regret writing this
• How The Federal Government Used Evangelical Leaders To Spread COVID Propaganda To Churches
• Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham

“Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was I
To mourn, and murmur, and repine,
To see the wicked placed on high,
In pride and robes of honour shine!”

The slogan “Love your neighbor and get the shot”

“Love your neighbor, get the shot!”[i] Not a few times did we hear some form of the “love your neighbor” argument in reference to getting the Covid-19 vaccine? There is a reason.

Some of us living on the fringes are not very aware of the inner workings, smoke-filled rooms, and back room deals of faith and politics. At least not until someone in the media worth his or her salt makes the effort to expose the corruption. Most of this “love your neighbor” mantra can be traced back to Dr. Francis Sellers Collins, at the same time founder and Senior Fellow of BioLogos as well as the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). (He retired from NIH at the end of 2021.)[ii] He played the “Christian card” and succeeded selling his potion to evangelical Christian leaders, who in turn sold it to pastors, who in turn sold it to churches and Christian individuals. This can be seen in perusing the Biologos website, and well as listening to Ed Stetzer’s podcast interview with Collins.[iii]

…the feds leveraged the high status the Evangelical scientist Francis Collins has with Evangelical influencers to sell the government’s Covid line to Evangelical churches. Basham begins by citing Wheaton College’s Ed Stetzer, a dean and executive director of its Billy Graham Center, giving a friendly interview to Collins early in the pandemic… (Rod Dreher)

Evangelical leaders are on Collins’ team, and “Collins’ team” rejects the Genesis account of creation, as well as intelligent design – favoring instead theistic evolution.

Ed Stetzer: “I’m on your team. But I’m having to answer these questions to people in my churches...But again, remember, I’m on Francis Collins’ team.”[iv]

Francis Collins: “Perhaps today’s conflict, which seems particularly intense, is so difficult to understand because, after all, evolution has been very much on the scene for 150 years, and the science that supports Darwin’s theory has gotten stronger and stronger over those decades. That evidence is particularly strong today given the ability to study DNA and to see the way in which it undergirds Darwin’s theory in a marvelously digital fashion...I would like to believe that in a few more decades, this battle will be seen as just as unnecessary and just as readily resolved in favor of saying that evolution is true and God is true.”[v]

Francis Collins is good at his craft and his craft favors the use of aborted fetal tissue.

Tim Keller: “As good as @NIHDirector is at his craft, he’s a better friend.”[vi]

Francis Collins: “...scientifically, highly justified. There is strong evidence that scientific benefits come from fetal tissue research, which can be done with an ethical framework.”[vii]

“In our current society, people are in a circumstance of being able to take advantage of those technologies [i.e., abortions]. And we have decided as a society that that choice needs to be defended.”[viii]

“One month earlier, Collins’s NIH had approved a research grant requested by University of Pittsburgh scientists who desired to graft the scalps of aborted fetuses onto rats and mice. Their research findings were published by Nature in September 2020 and include photos showing patches of soft, wispy baby hair growing amid coarse rodent fur. This, too, is the kind of man Francis Collins is.”[ix]

Francis Collins is a national treasure, and Collins treasures his alliance to advocate for LGBTQ issues.

David French: “Francis Collins is a national treasure.”[x]

Francis Collins: “Each June, the National Institutes of Health joins the rest of the country in celebrating Pride Month and recognizing the struggles, stories, and victories of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and others under the sexual and gender minority (SGM) umbrella. I applaud the courage and resilience it takes for individuals to live openly and authentically, particularly considering the systemic challenges, discrimination, and even violence that those and other underrepresented groups face all too often...I am committed to listening, respecting, and supporting those individuals as an ally and advocate.”[xi]

Francis Collins is full of wisdom, expertise, and grace – and used his expertise to help cover up whether the Covid-19 virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Russell Moore: “I admire greatly the wisdom, expertise, and, most of all, the Christian humility and grace of Francis Collins.”[xii]

Francis Collins: “Wondering if there is something NIH can do to help put down this very destructive [Wuhan lab-leak] conspiracy.” (E-mail to Anthony Fauci)

[E-mails indicate that Francis Collins, Anthony Fauci, and others engaged to cover up the fact that the Covid-19 virus could have leaked from the Wuhan Lab (in which both were heavily invested).[xiii]]

Time would fail me to tell of Francis Collins and Purpose-Driven Rick Warren, Tim Dalrymple & Ted Olsen (Christianity Today), N. T. Wright (University of Oxford), and others.[xiv] I believe the record of American history – if the USA survives as a nation to tell this history – will show that Francis Collins and his team were on “the wrong side of history.” The wrong side of condemning Christians as conspiracy theorists and murderers who would not follow Jesus’s directive to “love your neighbor,” when they were not convinced about everything they were told concerning Covid-19. The wrong side of morality. The wrong side of Biblical belief and unbelief. His psychopants sycophants, being on his side, are on the wrong side as well. Unfortunately, such high-profile Christian leaders are like the proverbial Trojan Horse, or perhaps more likely, the enemy within. Is it any wonder American Christianity is in the shape it is in?

For there are certain men crept in unawares...

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[i] Love Your Neighbor, Get the Shot! A Christian Statement on Science for Pandemic Times
[ii] His service spanned 12 years and three presidencies.
[iii] The Biologos statement, the signatories, and the Stetzer podcast.
[iv] Edward John Stetzer is, among other things, the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and the Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
[v] The ‘Evidence for Belief’: An Interview with Francis Collins.
[vi] Timothy Keller is a Christian theologian, author, and the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
[vii] NIH chief defends use of human fetal tissue as opponents decry it before Congress.
[viii] The Tragedy of Francis Collins’s Model for Science-Faith Integration.
[ix] The Cautionary Tale of Francis Collins.
[x] David Austin French is a conservative Christian political commentator, former attorney, and senior editor of The Dispatch.
[xi] From the NIH Director: NIH 2021 Pride Month.
[xii] Russell D. Moore is a Christian theologian and preacher. He is the director of the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today, and former president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
[xiii] NIH letter appears to conflict with Fauci, Collins claims about Wuhan lab.
[xiv] Not coincidentally, the New York Times columnist David Brooks, who wrote the evangelintellgentsia promo “The Dissenters Trying To Save Evangelicalism From Itself,” is a member of Francis Collins’s book club.

Whither have we come?

Whither have we come? Swift, safe, and sanitary “Supper,” but is it the Lord’s?

Luke 9:23-24 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

We Christians in the United States might well be called Christianity-lite, or diet Christianity. The comments on this post suggest we are not ready to deny ourselves and take up a cross, but rather prefer what is convenient and safe, and come to communion with at least a wee bit of irreverence.

The not-too-much Fellowship Cup ® sold by Lifeway (and many others, I expect) is advertised as “Prefilled” and “Ready to Serve,” with “Easy Access to Elements” that provides “‘One Pass’ Serving.” No refrigeration is needed! And it’s “guaranteed to be fresh” (if used by the date stamped on the box)![i] What more could the modern Christian ask for to knock out a quick communion and get home to watch the game or hurry to a favorite restaurant? Key take-aways I saw in the comments:

• convenient
• health and safety
• saves lots of time

In addition, one comment reveals a disdain for church communion itself, which might be an underlying part of the problem.

“I can ‘do this’ by remembering Him whenever I eat or drink. No officiant or rules to adhere to...”

Now, I am not opposed to sanitation and care, but have we gone a bit nuts? When I was a child the church passed one cup from which all the participants drank. There were no mass outbreaks of disease and death, though it is possible that someone got sick in the process. You can get sick at the game, in the restaurant, and at Wal-Mart, too. I notice many who have changed their church practices have not changed those other practices. In the latest issue of Voice of Faith, Glen Stuart censured the general Covid-era trend, “It cannot be justified to venture out into the world for six days and neglect the church on the Lord’s Day.”

’Twas for my sins my dearest Lord hung on the cursed tree, and groaned away a dying life for thee, my soul, for thee! He gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. They pierced his hands and his feet. Jesus bare our sins in his own body on the tree, in pain and agony and blood. Yet when we remember his death, we want it to be painless – prepackaged, safe, sanitary, and soon over with? Shame.

Call me old-fashioned (I know you already have), but there is something significant to be said for beginning the communion service reverently with the scriptural symbol of one body / one loaf and one cup. And perhaps, just perhaps, we also should take our time observing the Lord’s Supper rather than saving lots of time?

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[i] However, TrueVine Chalice Prefilled Communion Cup is “easier and quieter to open.” It has an “elegant shape” as well.

Second opinions and innovative thinking

COVID-19: a 2nd Opinion – “...Senator Johnson...laid out the history of inconsistencies that led to the ‘goal posts’ continually being moved and how at the same time, differing viewpoints were being suppressed.”

This past Monday, Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin held a panel discussion titled, COVID 19: A Second Opinion. He was joined by a group of world renowned doctors and medical experts that presented a different perspective on the global pandemic response. They shared their thoughts concerning the current state of knowledge of early and hospital treatment, vaccine efficacy and safety, what went right, what went wrong, what should be done now, and what needs to be considered in the long term.

I recommend your listening to this is informative discussion regarding the Covid-19 virus.

In medical terms, a “second opinion” is asking another doctor to review your case. Kathy Katella, writing at YaleMedicine.org, notes the wisdom and importance of getting a second opinion – especially for a major medical decision, “go to a couple of places to be sure you know what you're getting and why.” She cites two studies that affirm the prudence of second opinions.

In 2017, a study showed that 21% of patients who sought a second opinion at the Mayo Clinic left with a completely new diagnosis, and 66% were deemed partly correct, but refined or redefined by the second doctor.

...a 2018 study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology that found that a second review by a multidisciplinary tumor board at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center changed the diagnosis for 43% of the 70 patients in the study.

Over two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, we see that leading politicians and top medical advisors, possibly backed by pharmaceutical companies, labor consistently and insistently to shut down this common medical practice when it comes to Covid-19. “Believe what I say,” they say. “Can I get a second opinion?” “No way!” they say. “We hold all the keys of knowledge.”

Often those who seem to control the conversation are the “ivory tower” doctors and scientists who deal in theories. Often those trying to get a word in edgewise are the doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals working in the trenches, actually treating people with Covid-19 and having success doing so. Why not include their “second opinions” in the conversations? Unless, perhaps, it is not about solving the problem? If not, why not?

In addition to shutting down second opinions, there are misgivings about “thinking outside the box” regarding a situation that often must answered, if answered honestly, “We don’t know.” Ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the ability to rethink what is and is not working are our friends at such a time as this – not our enemies.

Ultimately, the leaders of the pack have not only sought to squelch freedom of speech, but also fought the freedom of medical second opinions, while striving to restrict innovative thought.

So, take a listen at the linked discussion. See what you think. Let me know what you think.

COVID-19: A 2nd Opinion (Part 1)
COVID-19: A 2nd Opinion (Part 2)
The Truth Behind COVID-19 and the Shot

Rules for thee

...and not for me.

Excerpts from DeSantis Spokeswoman Reveals How AOC’s Florida Trip Is Something Even Worse Than Hypocrisy.

AOC’s behavior is not hypocrisy — it is HIERARCHY. By openly flouting the same rules that she pushes on her constituents, she is signaling that she is powerful and does not have to abide by the same restrictions as the peasants...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, have all been among big left-wing names caught publicly breaking the very rules they preach when it comes to the pandemic.

And, of course, there’s President Joe Biden, whose contradictory statements and behavior when it comes to the coronavirus would be the stuff of late-night comedians, if the country had any late-night comedians left who were actually interested in political comedy.

Joe’s Mask Mandate

• Joe Biden, August 13: “Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months, at a minimum. Let’s institute a mask mandate nationwide starting immediately, and we will save lives.”
• Joe Biden, August 20: “We’ll have a national mandate to wear a mask — not as a burden, but to protect each other. It’s a patriotic duty.”
• Joe Biden, September 6: “Here’s the deal, the federal government...there’s a constitutional issue whether the federal government could issue such a mandate, I don’t think constitutionally they could, so I wouldn’t issue a mandate.”