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I must apologize for an error in the last posting of Jackspotpourri that placed Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker in purgatory, on the way to Hell, for his presuming to know God’s ‘views’ on embryos created through IVF procedures.
My knowledge of Christian theology was not broad enough to recognize that redemption is possible for those in purgatory. That is not the case for Judge Parker who on his demise will go straight to Hell, which I usually imagine as pictured by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch’s in his depictions of the ‘netherworld.’ Because of the resemblance of Bosch’s image of Hell to the steel mills of Birmingham, Alabama, Justice Parker should feel right at home there.
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| One of Bosch's depictions of Hell |
JL
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Christian Nationalism Finally Defined
The phrase ‘Christian
Nationalism’ has come into use, usually negatively, as something that is not so
nice, as a reaction to those who attempt to overlay a Christian veneer onto
their politics. Defensively, these folks
consider the very phrase ‘Christian Nationalism’ to be pejorative and something
used by those who disagree with their religious principles being inserted into
politics, and who use it as a smear
against Christian conservatives who defend the role of religion in American
public life.
Some Christian conservatives compare it to
similar views of Christianity as held by Vladimir Putin in Russia and Viktor
Orban in Hungary, and scratch their heads, wondering whether that is praise for
such an infusion of religion into politics or a criticism of it. But they agree that the lack of a standard definition for
‘Christian Nationalism’ allows its critics to jump in and bundle evils like
white supremacy and racism with standard conservative views on marriage,
family, and politics, which for many Christians is not the case.
But let’s settle this once and for all by quoting one of the lead-off
speakers at this week’s meeting of CPAC (Conservative Political Action
Conference) just outside of Washington, DC.
The attendees were all Republicans, including hundreds of elected
officials, with nary a Democrat in sight.
On Thursday there, as
reported by CNN, right-wing activist Jack Posobiec opened that conclave (I
could have spelled that word with a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’ but that might be too suggestive)
with these remarks: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here
to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but
we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here.” At
this point, to a cheering audience, he held up a cross necklace and continued: “After we burn that swamp to the ground, we
will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of
business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America.”
Designating ‘retribution,’ one of the mainstays of the multi-indicted Donald
John Trump’s presidential campaign, as something ‘righteous’ does not make it so, and in fact the Bible criticizes engaging in
‘retribution’ and suggests ‘turning the other cheek.’ But we cannot expect
Christian Nationalists to have a familiarity with the left-wing propaganda included in the Bible as found in the 'Sermon on the Mount,’ for example. They should check out Matthew 5, specifically 5:38.
Be that as it
may, there’s your definition of Christian Nationalism, spelled out right here in these United States
at that CPAC meeting, and if you listen carefully, represented by the Chief
Justice of the State of Alabama (the fellow I’ve consigned to Bosch's Hell) and the conspicuously
devout Speaker of the House, who feigns a more objective stance in public. These people are the best arguments for the
separation of Church and State in this country, as stated in the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Don’t hold your breath
waiting for those Republicans who still have not imbibed of the elixir that
Donald John Trump peddles to denounce such a misuse of religion. It won’t be coming.
JL
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‘Fahrenheit 451’
In 1953, Ray Bradbury, one
of the great writers of science fiction during the last century, wrote a
dystopian novel titled ‘Fahrenheit 451.’
Do you know from what that title is derived? Watch for the answer in the next
Jackspotpourri. Clue: the answer is
relevant today.
JL
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Voting by Mail –
Why it is So Very
Important!
Florida voters have gotten
used to voting by mail. It’s safe and simple. But just because you might have done it in the
past does not mean you can automatically continue to do so. Current State election laws require you to
renew your ‘voting by mail’ status before the next election in order to receive
a ‘vote by mail’ ballot.
If you vote in Palm Beach
County, do it right now by visiting https://www.votepalmbeach.gov/Voters/Vote-By-Mail or by CLICKING HERE. For those
who do not want do it online, they can sign up for vote-by-mail by
calling (561) 656
6208. In other Florida
counties, visit the website of your Supervisor of Elections or call them.
This is particularly important in 2024 because many pollsters are coming around to believe America will re-elect a Democratic president and turn the House ‘blue’ in November but are not quite so sure about the Senate. That’s why it is important that Florida seniors vote for Debbie Muscarsel-Powell to replace Florida Senator Rick Scott in the Senate to insure a Democratic majority there.
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| Debbie Muscarsel-Powell, Democratic Senatorial Candidate |
That should be an easy choice for seniors, (even independents and Republicans) considering Scott’s historic opposition to Medicare and Social Security which he wanted to put up to a vote in Congress every five years.
And of course, for those who want still more reasons to support Ms. Muscarsel-Powell, there’s Scott’s opposition to women’s abortion rights, and his efforts to make voting more difficult. For more information, visit https://www.debbieforflorida.com/ or just CLICK HERE.
JL
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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri
Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.
Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.
If you want to send someone the
blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or
you can provide a link to that address in your email to them.
There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog.
Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.
Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. This is an election year. Spread the word.
JL
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