JOE BIDEN
Feb 10, 2021: ABC Religion & Ethics: “Faith sees best in the dark”: Joe Biden, Søren Kierkegaard, and the education of suffering
And how might, how could such Job like suffering be beneficial? Calamities like these often crush a believer’s reliance on a so-called “higher-power”. For President Biden, however, suffering helped turn him to God — to Him whose burden is light. A quietly but intensely devout man, the newly inaugurated President has confessed that after the December 1972 car crash that claimed the lives of his first wife, Neilia, and his baby daughter, Amy, he was tempted to look for a noose and cross bar. Instead, Biden kept the sacred trust that, no matter what, the life God gave us is good. Rather than a propositional belief, perhaps something closer to a personal trust is the penetralia of faith.
And how might, how could such Job like suffering be beneficial? Calamities like these often crush a believer’s reliance on a so-called “higher-power”. For President Biden, however, suffering helped turn him to God — to Him whose burden is light. A quietly but intensely devout man, the newly inaugurated President has confessed that after the December 1972 car crash that claimed the lives of his first wife, Neilia, and his baby daughter, Amy, he was tempted to look for a noose and cross bar. Instead, Biden kept the sacred trust that, no matter what, the life God gave us is good. Rather than a propositional belief, perhaps something closer to a personal trust is the penetralia of faith.
Oct 11, 2020: ABC News: Biden 'wants to debate Donald Trump again': National campaign co-chair
"I know that Joe Biden wants to debate Donald Trump again. And Americans saw the disaster that Donald Trump had in the first debate. But I will tell you that we will do what we did from the beginning of this campaign and the pandemic. We will listen to the American experts and scientists -- so here it's the Cleveland Clinic -- and they have set up the protocols," Richmond told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
"I know that Joe Biden wants to debate Donald Trump again. And Americans saw the disaster that Donald Trump had in the first debate. But I will tell you that we will do what we did from the beginning of this campaign and the pandemic. We will listen to the American experts and scientists -- so here it's the Cleveland Clinic -- and they have set up the protocols," Richmond told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
Sept 1, 2020: NBC: Trump claims without evidence that Biden controlled by people in 'the dark shadows'
President Donald Trump alleged in an interview that a group of people from "the dark shadows" are controlling Joe Biden.
In an extensive on-camera interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night, Trump was asked who is pulling Biden's strings.
President Donald Trump alleged in an interview that a group of people from "the dark shadows" are controlling Joe Biden.
In an extensive on-camera interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night, Trump was asked who is pulling Biden's strings.
Aug 27, 2020: Religious News Service: More than 350 faith leaders to back Biden for president, including many first-time endorsers
Other endorsers — most of whom organizers said are acting as individuals and not on behalf of their affiliated organizations — include a number of liberal-leaning voices, such as the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, an author and Lutheran pastor; David Gushee, an author and Christian ethicist; David Beckmann, president emeritus of the Christian organization Bread for the World; Diana Butler Bass, author and historian of religion; Rabbi Jack Moline, head of Interfaith Alliance; Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action; the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, pastor at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City; Rabbi Sharon Brous, head of IKAR Jewish community in California; Valarie Kaur, Sikh activist and head of the Revolutionary Love Project; Anju Bhargava, former member of Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and board member of the Hindu American Seva Communities; Imam Talib Shareef of Masjid Muhammad, also known as “The Nation’s Mosque”; Greg M. Epstein, Humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT; and Brian McLaren, Christian author and activist.
Other endorsers — most of whom organizers said are acting as individuals and not on behalf of their affiliated organizations — include a number of liberal-leaning voices, such as the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, an author and Lutheran pastor; David Gushee, an author and Christian ethicist; David Beckmann, president emeritus of the Christian organization Bread for the World; Diana Butler Bass, author and historian of religion; Rabbi Jack Moline, head of Interfaith Alliance; Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action; the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, pastor at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City; Rabbi Sharon Brous, head of IKAR Jewish community in California; Valarie Kaur, Sikh activist and head of the Revolutionary Love Project; Anju Bhargava, former member of Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and board member of the Hindu American Seva Communities; Imam Talib Shareef of Masjid Muhammad, also known as “The Nation’s Mosque”; Greg M. Epstein, Humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT; and Brian McLaren, Christian author and activist.
Aug 26, 2020: Spring Hope Enterprise: Rep. James Gailliard stumps for Biden in new campaign commercial
Rep. James Gailliard, D-Nash, is featured in the new ad, which premiered Tuesday on Biden’s YouTube channel and will air on television this week. The ad focuses on Gailliard’s role as pastor of Word Tabernacle Church and doesn’t mention his state office. The 30-second video shows Gailliard’s large empty church, which is in the old Home Depot building, and scenes of empty streets in downtown Rocky Mount.
Rep. James Gailliard, D-Nash, is featured in the new ad, which premiered Tuesday on Biden’s YouTube channel and will air on television this week. The ad focuses on Gailliard’s role as pastor of Word Tabernacle Church and doesn’t mention his state office. The 30-second video shows Gailliard’s large empty church, which is in the old Home Depot building, and scenes of empty streets in downtown Rocky Mount.
Aug 21, 2020: Life News: Biden Pledges to Restore Nation’s “Soul,” But He’s Fine With Abortion Destroying 62 Million Souls
During his acceptance speech Thursday night at the Democrat Party convention, Joe Biden pledged to restore the nation’s “soul” if elected president. But he’s perfectly fine with abortion destroying 62 million souls since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
During his acceptance speech Thursday night at the Democrat Party convention, Joe Biden pledged to restore the nation’s “soul” if elected president. But he’s perfectly fine with abortion destroying 62 million souls since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
Aug 14, 2020: Gallup: Religious Identity and the 2020 Presidential Election
Of particular interest this election cycle is the religious identity of voters, a factor that appears, at least to me, more important than it has been in recent presidential elections. This is in part because Joe Biden is only the fourth major-party Catholic presidential nominee in U.S. history and in part because Donald Trump continues to make the courting of evangelical voters a major priority of his campaign. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have appointed coordinators to reach out to faith communities.
Of particular interest this election cycle is the religious identity of voters, a factor that appears, at least to me, more important than it has been in recent presidential elections. This is in part because Joe Biden is only the fourth major-party Catholic presidential nominee in U.S. history and in part because Donald Trump continues to make the courting of evangelical voters a major priority of his campaign. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have appointed coordinators to reach out to faith communities.
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May 20, 2020: Doug Wilson: Biden! Remember Biden? He is the champion who arose from the ashes and slew the Bernie. And not content with that, he immediately turned around and slew the #MeToo movement. Talk about an effective politician! An allegation of sexual assault was levied against him, and presto, all the #MeToo advocates sold out faster than toilet paper in a New Jersey CostCo. And he accomplished these great feats while at the same time proving himself incapable of completing a coherent, you know, the thing. As the Air Mattress Spins Around You Can See Lots of Things
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“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black" -Joe Biden 5.22.20
May 15, 2020: The Atlantic: Biden’s Virtual Campaign Is a Disaster
They say that if you live long enough, you’ll get to experience nearly everything, and so it has been for Joe Biden, who has lived to see history’s first Zoom presidential campaign. Unfortunately for him, it’s his.
They say that if you live long enough, you’ll get to experience nearly everything, and so it has been for Joe Biden, who has lived to see history’s first Zoom presidential campaign. Unfortunately for him, it’s his.
Nonsense is nonsense, except when it kills. And conspiracy thinking, especially when advanced by the president of the United States, is an existential threat. --Jeffrey Goldberg The Atlantic May 13, 2020
A group of “never-Trump” Republicans targets Christian voters in its first political ad warning that “evangelical leaders who lay their loyalty and faith on the altar of Donald Trump are betraying their congregants and their country.” “It is clear that in exchange for power and money these ‘pastors’ have been tasked with recasting Trump’s absurdities and moral failures as nothing short of prophetic divinity,” says a social media caption introducing a 2 ½-minute video titled “The MAGA Church.” Baptist News Global 01.10.20: Anti-Trump Republicans target evangelicals in ad blasting the ‘MAGA Church’
Some observers of the Cohen hearings are concluding that he must be right because he "sounds credible." <<--a phrase I've heard several times from various politicians and media talking heads over the last couple days. This is not a defense of Cohen or Trump, but some of the greatest conmen in the world have "sounded credible" only to find out through investigation that they lied. "Sounding credible" is not a proof of anything. As a general rule I dont watch any hearings from any congressional committees because they want us to believe they have some kind of interest in justice instead of their self-interest in grand standing and self-pontification. This is clearly the same old same old - Zorek Richards 2.28.19
Jan 16, 2017: Christian Post: James Dobson: Top 3 Reasons Evangelicals Backed Trump Over Clinton
Evangelical leader Dr. James Dobson has claimed that there are three main reasons why President-elect Donald Trump was chosen by evangelical Christians over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in November's elections, arguing that the fight against abortion was deemed the most important issue by believers.
Evangelical leader Dr. James Dobson has claimed that there are three main reasons why President-elect Donald Trump was chosen by evangelical Christians over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in November's elections, arguing that the fight against abortion was deemed the most important issue by believers.
Jan 14, 2017: WND: CAIR to Trump: Drop Franklin Graham from inaugural prayers
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim-rights group designated by the Justice Department as a terrorist co-conspirator, is calling on Donald Trump to drop Rev. Franklin Graham as one of six clergy who will offer prayers at the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim-rights group designated by the Justice Department as a terrorist co-conspirator, is calling on Donald Trump to drop Rev. Franklin Graham as one of six clergy who will offer prayers at the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony.
Dec `19, 2016: BCNN: In Last Stop on “Thank You” Tour, Trump Says Franklin Graham Was ‘So Instrumental’ In His Victory
In his last stop on his “Thank You” tour, President-elect Donald Trump said that evangelist Franklin Graham was “so instrumental” in bringing out the evangelical vote in his favor.
In his last stop on his “Thank You” tour, President-elect Donald Trump said that evangelist Franklin Graham was “so instrumental” in bringing out the evangelical vote in his favor.
Dec 19, 2016: Baptist Press: Moore clarifies comments on Trump supporters
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore has clarified that he never intended to criticize all evangelical supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, noting many were motivated by "biblical convictions" and "voted their conscience."
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore has clarified that he never intended to criticize all evangelical supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, noting many were motivated by "biblical convictions" and "voted their conscience."
"Donald Trump has promised to punish any American company that moves operations overseas. The first scalp he took in this regard was that of Carrier, and he is promising more to come. This is the populism part. He is talking tough to the CEOs and their boards, and the conservatives who point out that tariffs make no economic sense (and who are correct about that) are simply gaming out the economics of the tariffs if applied. But it seems obvious to me that Trump is not going to be imposing all that many tariffs. He is destabilizing things in order to negotiate. He is going to threaten a lot of tariffs, but he is also going to sweeten a lot of deals in the back room—in the tax code and in regulatory agencies. What Trump is saying to assembly line workers is that he is going to punish American companies for moving to Mexico. What he is most likely to do is to stop the left’s insane policies of punishing companies for not going to Mexico". --Douglas Wilson
Nov 10, 2016: Chuck Baldwin: The Trump Victory: What We Saw And What We Need To See
Nov 10, 2016: Right Wing Watch: Jim Bakker: Trump’s Election Is ‘The Greatest Miracle I Have Ever Seen’
Right-wing televangelist and End Times prepper Jim Bakker hosted an election night broadcast at which jubilation erupted once the networks began officially declaring that Donald Trump had won.
Right-wing televangelist and End Times prepper Jim Bakker hosted an election night broadcast at which jubilation erupted once the networks began officially declaring that Donald Trump had won.
Nov 2, 2016: CBN: Why Pastor Saeed Abedini Backs Trump
Just days before the election Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini is publicly supporting Donald Trump, citing the billionaire's $10,000 gift to his family while he was in prison
Just days before the election Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini is publicly supporting Donald Trump, citing the billionaire's $10,000 gift to his family while he was in prison
Nov 4, 2016: Charisma: Coalition of African American Pastors President: I'm Voting for Trump
Rev. William "Bill" Owens, the president of the Coalition of African American Pastors, recently penned an endorsement that ran as a full-page advertisement in The Washington Times newspaper.
Rev. William "Bill" Owens, the president of the Coalition of African American Pastors, recently penned an endorsement that ran as a full-page advertisement in The Washington Times newspaper.
Oct 27, 2016: Church Leader: Megachurch Pastor James MacDonald Calls Trump’s Evangelical Council a Joke
Over the past week, dozens of pastors and politicians have distanced themselves from the Trump campaign after audio leaked of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. However, the latest defection, megachurch pastor James MacDonald, used language that Trump himself might grudgingly admire.
Over the past week, dozens of pastors and politicians have distanced themselves from the Trump campaign after audio leaked of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. However, the latest defection, megachurch pastor James MacDonald, used language that Trump himself might grudgingly admire.
Oct 14, 2016: Christianity Today: Latest Survey: Most Evangelicals Are Not Voting Trump
Overall, the split between those with evangelical beliefs who support Donald Trump (45%) and those who support Hillary Clinton (31%) isn’t that far apart.
Overall, the split between those with evangelical beliefs who support Donald Trump (45%) and those who support Hillary Clinton (31%) isn’t that far apart.
Oct 9, 2016: Big Think: What Trump Can Teach Reason-Loving Smart Folks
Trump knows that logic alone often won’t sell (and often isn’t needed). Facts often don’t change minds.
Trump knows that logic alone often won’t sell (and often isn’t needed). Facts often don’t change minds.
Oct 6, 2016: Christianity Today: Despite Mike Pence, Most Evangelical Pastors Are Not Ready to Vote Trump
Almost half remain undecided, with pastors split over which candidate characteristic is most important.
Almost half remain undecided, with pastors split over which candidate characteristic is most important.
Sept 14, 2016: Huffington Post: Popular Christian Author Is Downright Baffled By Evangelical Support For Trump
Philip Yancey wants to know: How can evangelicals support someone who “stands against everything that Christianity believes”?
Philip Yancey wants to know: How can evangelicals support someone who “stands against everything that Christianity believes”?
Has anyone found the black box from the Trump campaign wreckage?? How else will we be able to find out what went wrong??
“God raised up, I believe, Donald Trump who was going to be the nominee in this election. I don’t think God sits things out. He’s a sovereign God. Donald Trump became our nominee. I think it’s very likely that in the day that we live in, that Donald Trump is the only individual who could win in a general election of the 17 who ran.” --Former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) 08.30.16
Donald Trump
Aug 30, 2016: All Christian News: Why Is Bishop Wayne T. Jackson Of Detroit Meeting With Donald Trump?
A Detroit pastor has come out to defend his decision to host Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on his Christian television network this Saturday.
A Detroit pastor has come out to defend his decision to host Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on his Christian television network this Saturday.
Some elite commentators have argued that Trump's success shows the problems inherent in democracy: self-indulgent voters susceptible to flattery, irrational passions and prejudices sweeping the public square. There are many reasons not to accept this diagnosis of Trump, but here's the simplest. Trump himself palpably has no regard for democracy. He sees it as just another marketing medium, a chance to collect votes and applause as he collects cash and publicity in his other enterprises. Trump regards voters as customers, not citizens, and his business record gives plenty of evidence that he regards customers as suckers.
Trump is not democracy's harvest. He is the rotten fruit of oligarchy. Our hyper-capitalist and celebrity-happy culture cultivates the fantasy that rich people are our betters, natural rulers, brilliant and inherently interesting. Trump is the extreme version of that money-culture deformation of democracy. His version animates the populist wing of the Republicans, while the big-donor Citizens United version animates the Jeb Bush wing.
If we beat Trump, there's going to be plenty of temptation to recoil from the democracy that gave him his votes. Pundits will say that populism as such is a threat to political decency, and that democracy is a problem for wise elites to manage, not a source of legitimacy and an ethical imperative. We need to resist this.
Trump is fundamentally an anti-democratic figure, with no respect for ideas of civic equality or responsible self-rule. His "I am your voice" is a self-branding, self-marketing narcissist's version of strongman politics. If we defeat him but allow him to define what democracy means for the rest of us, democratic principles will be the losers. --Jeremiah Purdy (ABC Religion & Ethics) 08.29.16
Trump is not democracy's harvest. He is the rotten fruit of oligarchy. Our hyper-capitalist and celebrity-happy culture cultivates the fantasy that rich people are our betters, natural rulers, brilliant and inherently interesting. Trump is the extreme version of that money-culture deformation of democracy. His version animates the populist wing of the Republicans, while the big-donor Citizens United version animates the Jeb Bush wing.
If we beat Trump, there's going to be plenty of temptation to recoil from the democracy that gave him his votes. Pundits will say that populism as such is a threat to political decency, and that democracy is a problem for wise elites to manage, not a source of legitimacy and an ethical imperative. We need to resist this.
Trump is fundamentally an anti-democratic figure, with no respect for ideas of civic equality or responsible self-rule. His "I am your voice" is a self-branding, self-marketing narcissist's version of strongman politics. If we defeat him but allow him to define what democracy means for the rest of us, democratic principles will be the losers. --Jeremiah Purdy (ABC Religion & Ethics) 08.29.16
Presidential candidate Donald Trump has donated $100,000 for flood relief to a Louisiana Baptist church where Family Research Council President Tony Perkins is serving as interim pastor.
The Republican nominee and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stopped at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church during an Aug. 19 visit to Baton Rouge, La., to survey damage and meet with victims and relief workers a week after a storm flooded much of central Louisiana. Also in attendance was Franklin Graham, president of the Christian international relief agency Samaritan’s Purse.
Perkins, who in 2015 famously agreed with a guest on his radio show that Hurricane Joaquin might be a sign of God’s wrath over the country’s legalization of same-sex marriage, was forced with his family to flee his own flooded house by canoe last week. The Family Research Council is a conservative Christian lobbying organization formed in 1981 by James Dobson. --Bob Allen @ Baptist News Global Aug, 22, 2016
The Republican nominee and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stopped at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church during an Aug. 19 visit to Baton Rouge, La., to survey damage and meet with victims and relief workers a week after a storm flooded much of central Louisiana. Also in attendance was Franklin Graham, president of the Christian international relief agency Samaritan’s Purse.
Perkins, who in 2015 famously agreed with a guest on his radio show that Hurricane Joaquin might be a sign of God’s wrath over the country’s legalization of same-sex marriage, was forced with his family to flee his own flooded house by canoe last week. The Family Research Council is a conservative Christian lobbying organization formed in 1981 by James Dobson. --Bob Allen @ Baptist News Global Aug, 22, 2016
Apocalyptic obsession that inspired ‘Left Behind’ series also fueling Trump support, ministers say
Eric Minton knew nothing about that when the series first appeared, and he was 10.
Minton said many in his Baptist family and church were swept up in the Left Behind drama, which contributed to a fear of abandonment in him.
“I had so much anxiety about God leaving me behind,” said Minton, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based Baptist minister studying to become a marriage and family therapist.
Being at home alone sometimes convinced him the novels’ predictions had come true.
“I thought all my family members had been raptured and God doesn’t love me,” he said.
Eric Minton
Minton said he recognizes that the series stoked such fears across the culture and in turn was fueled by the anxiety it helped create.
It’s comparable to the anti-Trump rhetoric Minton said he sees on Facebook nowadays.
“There is kind of a mass hysteria that progressives have about the rise of Donald Trump,” he said. “It’s reaching apocalyptic fervor.”
Even non-church-going Millennials can be caught up in it.
“Fear-based rhetoric is always captivating no matter what generation you’re from,” he said. --Eric Minton Baptist Global News 07.27.16
Eric Minton knew nothing about that when the series first appeared, and he was 10.
Minton said many in his Baptist family and church were swept up in the Left Behind drama, which contributed to a fear of abandonment in him.
“I had so much anxiety about God leaving me behind,” said Minton, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based Baptist minister studying to become a marriage and family therapist.
Being at home alone sometimes convinced him the novels’ predictions had come true.
“I thought all my family members had been raptured and God doesn’t love me,” he said.
Eric Minton
Minton said he recognizes that the series stoked such fears across the culture and in turn was fueled by the anxiety it helped create.
It’s comparable to the anti-Trump rhetoric Minton said he sees on Facebook nowadays.
“There is kind of a mass hysteria that progressives have about the rise of Donald Trump,” he said. “It’s reaching apocalyptic fervor.”
Even non-church-going Millennials can be caught up in it.
“Fear-based rhetoric is always captivating no matter what generation you’re from,” he said. --Eric Minton Baptist Global News 07.27.16
