Mr Trump, did you just condemn yourself?

Presidents Trump and Obama both responded firmly and with dignity to the two mass shootings last weekend.

President Trump, August 5, 10:08 a.m.: In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.

President Obama, August 5, 3:01 p.m.: All of us have to send a clarion call and behave with the values of tolerance and diversity that should be the hallmark of our democracy. We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people....It’s time for the overwhelming majority of Americans of goodwill, of every race and faith and political party, to say as much – clearly and unequivocally.

Wait - do you two guys agree?

President Trump, August 6, 6:47 a.m.: Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign [sic]. Not many people said Obama is out of Control. Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres.

Oh, I guess you don't. And now I'm confused. Mr Trump, could you help me understand?

1. Didn't you and President Obama say essentially the same thing on August 5? Did you understand the words you read?

2. President Obama never mentioned your name or your office. What makes you think he was talking about you when he called on American leaders to reject racist language in all its forms? Are you acknowledging that his description fits you?

3. Do you have any idea of the extent to which mass shootings have multiplied since you took office?

Here, let me explain the data. I'll keep it simple. Try to focus.

Yes, there were indeed 32 mass shootings during President Obama's two terms in office, if your criterion is that at least four people are killed per incident. During your two-and-a-half years in office so far, there have been 17 mass shootings. (The raw data is here.) Let's look at what that means.

During Mr Obama's presidency, there was a mass shooting every 91 days.
During your presidency so far, there has been a mass shooting every 55 days.

During Mr Obama's presidency, there were, on average, 4 mass shootings per year.
During your presidency so far, there have been, on average, nearly 7 mass shootings per year.

During Mr Obama's presidency, 295 people died in mass shootings. That's about one death every 10 days.
During your presidency so far, 215 people have died in mass shootings. That's about one death every 4 days.

During Mr Obama's presidency, 275 people were wounded in mass shootings. That's about one person wounded every 11 days.
During your presidency so far, 704 people have been wounded in mass shootings. That's about one person wounded every 32 hours--not even a day and a half.

Comparing your presidency, Mr Trump, to Mr Obama's,

• the number of mass shootings per year has increased by 67%.
• the number of deaths per week in mass shootings has increased by 129%.
• the number of people wounded per week in mass shootings has increased by 706%.

You're right that mass shootings have happened during previous administrations, but mass shootings are vastly increasing under yours.

President Obama did not condemn you by name or by office. You condemned yourself - both by recognizing who best fits his description, and by doing the very things that cause mass shootings (and all kinds of other despicable actions) to proliferate.

Shame.

Truth and lies in the Kingdom of Catlovers: A grim fairy tale

[Remedios Varo, "Cats Paradise," 1955]

Once upon a time, in a land not far from here, King Leo the Thirty-Fourth ruled over the Kingdom of Catlovers. Everybody who lived in the Kingdom loved cats. They loved black cats, gray cats, yellow cats, and white cats; striped cats, spotted cats, fluffy cats, and sleek cats.

Some people thought cats should be allowed outside. Some people thought cats should be kept inside. Sometimes those people argued politely with one another, but everybody knew that everybody loved cats.

Alas, as usually happens, King Leo the Thirty-Fourth grew old and then older. One day, everyone knew, he would die, and then his eldest son would become king. There was a problem, though. His firstborn son was a twin - and nobody in the kingdom could remember which twin was born first. "Let the people choose," King Leo the Thirty-Fourth decreed. "It might have been Felix. It might have been Wiley. Which twin do you want for your ruler?"

To help the people choose, Felix and Wiley began walking from village to village, talking to everyone they met. "I love cats," said Felix. "I love cats," said Wiley. "Well," said the people, "that's no help. We all love cats."

"I want all cats to have a happy home," said Felix. "I am sad when I see cats living in alleys and under bushes. Some of those cats look very hungry. Some of those cats are sick. I will give them food and medicine. I will help them find homes." The people clapped and cheered, because they all wanted cats to have happy homes too.

"I want all cats to be safe," said Wiley. "I am sad when I see cats that live in alleys and under bushes. Some of them have been killed by coyotes, run over by oxcarts, and forced to eat disgusting rats. I will get rid of the coyotes. I will build bridges over the major oxcart routes. I will make sure no homeless cat has to eat rats." The people clapped and cheered, because they all wanted cats to be safe too.

[Engraving, Paris, 1880]

But the people weren't sure whether they preferred Felix or Wiley. They asked a wizard to help them choose, and he decided Wiley should be the next king. The very next day, King Leo the Thirty-Fourth died, and Wiley was crowned king of the Kingdom of Catlovers.

Now in the Kingdom of Catlovers there were ten Town Criers. These were people who ran through the streets of every village, telling the villagers what was happening in the whole kingdom. Some of the Town Criers were happy that Wiley was now king. Some were sad that Felix was not. But all ten of them loudly proclaimed, "King Leo the Thirty-Fourth is dead. Long live King Wiley the First!"

Oddly, one of the Town Criers added a few words to his proclamation. "Long live King Wiley the First," he said, "the first choice of all the people!" That was not true, but it made King Wiley's friends happy. It made King Wiley happy too.

"Everybody in the Kingdom of Catlovers loves me," said Wiley. "They do not love Felix."

Right away, King Wiley got busy. As promised, he had bridges built over the major oxcart routes. Unfortunately, the bridge-builders had never built bridges before. Many of the bridges quickly fell down, and some cats were pinned under them. The ten Town Criers ran through the streets again.

One of them said, "King Wiley is using bridges as weapons to kill cats." That was not true, but some of King Wiley's enemies believed it.

Two of them said, "King Wiley has built all the bridges he promised." That was true, but it was not the whole story.

Six of them said, "King Wiley has built all the bridges he promised. Half of them have collapsed. The number of cats being killed by oxcarts has not changed. The number of cats killed by falling bridges has increased." That was true.

One of them said, "King Wiley has built all the bridges he promised, and now no cats are being killed by oxcarts!" That was not true, but it made King Wiley's friends happy. It made King Wiley happy too.

"No cats are being killed," said Wiley. "If any cats are being killed, Felix is doing it. Seventy percent of the Town Criers are liars."

The people began to take sides for and against the bridge project.

[Charles Livingston Bull, 1911]

Next, as promised, King Wiley went after the rats. He sent soldiers to every village to spread rat poison wherever rats were known to gather. Soon the streets and alleys were full of dead and dying rats. The ten Town Criers again took to the streets.

One of them said, "King Wiley is using rat poison to kill cats." That was not true, but some of King Wiley's enemies believed it.

Two of them said, "King Wiley has killed most of the rats in the Kingdom of Catlovers." That was true, but it was not the whole story.

Six of them said, "King Wiley has killed most of the rats in the Kingdom of Catlovers. The villages stink, and homeless cats have little to eat. Some cats eat poisoned rats, and then those cats die too. Some cats die of starvation." That was true.

One of them said, "King Wiley has destroyed the rats, as promised, and our beloved cats are now eating well!" That was not true, but it made King Wiley's friends happy. It made King Wiley happy too.

"Nobody helps cats more than I do," said Wiley. "Nobody. Especially not Felix. Felix thinks cats should eat rats. Even poisoned rats. Felix is a cat poisoner. Seventy percent of the Town Criers are liars."

The people began to take sides for and against the rat eradication project.

And then something dreadful happened. Coyotes no longer had rats to eat, so they started eating cats. First they ate all the remaining homeless cats. The ten Town Criers ran through the streets with the news.

One of them said, "King Wiley has killed all the cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers." That was not true, but some of King Wiley's enemies believed it.

Two of them said, "There are no more homeless cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers." That was true, but it was not the whole story.

Six of them said, "All the homeless cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers are dead. Some died when they were injured by oxcarts and falling bridges. Some died when they ate poisoned rats. Some died when they could not find enough food. The rest were killed by coyotes." That was true.

One of them said, "Cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers are no longer in any danger!" That was not true, but it made King Wiley's friends happy. It made King Wiley happy too.

"I have ended cat homelessness," said Wiley. "Your cats are now safe. If Felix were king, your streets would still be swarming with dangerous homeless cats. Seventy percent of the Town Criers are liars."

[Jan Steen, "Argument over a Card Game," 1665]

Many of the people in the Kingdom of Catlovers turned against the Town Criers.

"Why do you tell lies about our great king?" some asked the Town Criers who spread bad news. "You must not like cats. We are happy that there are no more homeless cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers."

"We are only reporting the facts," the Town Criers said.

"You are biased," replied King Wiley's friends.

"You should move to the Kingdom of Rattlesnakes," said Wiley. "You should take Felix with you."

Meanwhile, the well-fed coyotes married and produced baby coyotes. The baby coyotes were hungry, and there were no more homeless cats to eat. So the grown-up coyotes raided people's yards and grabbed outdoor cats from happy homes. Soon there were no more outdoor cats. Most of them had been eaten. Some had joined the indoor cats. 

The number of coyotes continued to increase. They were still hungry, and they were also smart. They figured out how to open doors and windows. They sneaked into people's homes, grabbed the indoor cats, and fed them to their pups. Soon there were no more indoor cats.

Once again the Town Criers delivered the news. This time all ten of them agreed:

"There are no more cats in the Kingdom of Catlovers," they sadly proclaimed. "Hungry coyotes are roaming the streets. King Wiley has disappeared. Felix will be crowned tomorrow." That was true.

One of them added, "This would never have happened if people had only listened to us." That might have been true, but one never knows.

On the day he was crowned, this is what King Felix said to his people:

"I share your sorrow about what has happened in the Kingdom of Catlovers. I know we all love cats - black cats, gray cats, yellow cats, and white cats; striped cats, spotted cats, fluffy cats, and sleek cats. Some of us prefer inside cats and some of us prefer outside cats, but we can work together for the good of all cats.

"As my first official act, I shall adopt a dozen fertile cats from neighboring kingdoms. Let us all join hands and begin anew.

"And please, my fellow Catlovers, let us stop talking about biased Town Criers. Let us simply look for the truth: the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

Nine Town Criers ran through the streets reading the king's message to people who could not attend his coronation.

One Town Crier said nothing. Some say she sneaked out of town while King Felix was speaking. That may be true.

The End

[Cat drawing used by permission of https://clipartxtras.com]

America's Would-Be Sun King

[Louis XIV. Check out amusing parodies
of this painting here and here.]

"Is it treason? ... It's treason," the president said at the Montana rally last night.

He was talking about the New York Times op-ed piece in which an unnamed White House insider criticized the president for his amorality, the basis for at least a dozen other of his listed failings. If you've only read about the op-ed, but haven't read the actual article, you really need to read it now. It's short. And if you're a Republican, never fear: so is the writer of the op-ed piece.

Interestingly, treason is specifically defined in the Constitution, Article III, Section 3:

Treason against the United States, 

shall consist only in levying War against them, 

or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. 

Criticizing the president is not treason. The president is not the United States. France's King Louis XIV may have said "L'État, c'est moi" (I am the state), but divine right kingship, at least so far, has not been popular here. As a New York Times editorial reminds us, "Twenty months into the job, Mr. Trump has yet to grasp that the highest law of this land is the Constitution, not whoever occupies the Oval Office at any given moment."

In fact, this president seems to be waging war on the Constitution, not preserving, protecting, and defending it as he solemnly swore to do when he took the oath of office (which you can read, if you like: it's in the Constitution, Article II, Section 1). He seems particularly upset with the First Amendment.

"There oughta be a law," he frequently grumbles - not only against people who criticize him, but also against newspapers that publish stories he doesn't like, protesters who oppose him, and religious groups he doesn't like. The First Amendment explicitly disagrees:

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.

Christian Trump supporters would be wise to consider that a president who attacks every clause in the First Amendment is not protecting freedom of religion, even if he helps some Christians achieve their current pet goals. Evangelicals' "dream president" (according to Jerry Falwell, Jr.) may well turn out to be their worst nightmare.

The First Amendment protects the nation against tyrants. It may seem nice to have a would-be tyrant on your side right now, but beware. White evangelicals are in serious decline - from 23% to 15% of the population in just 11 years. With a weakened First Amendment, a future tyrant  (or even this one) could easily turn on you.

Yes, Mr. President, you should fix Google!

Dear President Trump,

Your tweet this morning was absolutely on target--a high percentage of online news reports about you are BAD. You are right in saying that this is a very serious situation (and you didn't even mention that the percentage of bad news may have gotten even worse since Google and Twitter started weeding out disruptive Russian trolls, bots, and political ads, which were mostly in your favor). Believe me, most Americans are glad you are onto this.

The good news is, YOU can singlehandedly fix this problem! Here's how:

1. STOP DOING BAD THINGS.

2. START DOING GOOD THINGS.

If you aren't sure about the difference between BAD and GOOD in any specific situation, you can ask people who read lots of books to advise you.

You'll be surprised at how quickly the news reports change in your favor!

Sincerely,
A friend who wants to make America great again

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST by Louise Penny: a chilling conversation

I love Louise Penny's novels about Three Pines, Québec: a Brigadoon-like village near the Vermont border full of friendship, good food, warm fires, beautiful scenery--and the occasional murder. Penny can terrify you, though more often she makes you chuckle. With a perspicacious eye for character, she can also amaze you with her insights.

I recently came across this chilling conversation in The Nature of the Beast (2015). Retired Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is questioning a physics professor about a suspect, Gerald Bull. The professor speaks first:

"... no one really worked with Gerald Bull. It might start out that way, but eventually you found yourself working for him."

"Were you working for him when he came up with the plans for the Supergun?"

"No. I left when he began using the Soviets as a back door to sell his arms. He wasn't very smart."

"Is that why you left? Fear you'd get caught?"

"No. I left because it was wrong. ... Gerald Bull was the consummate salesman, and completely without a conscience."

"Why did you just say that he wasn't very smart?" asked Gamache.

"He made some stupid choices, like cozying up to the Soviets. He had an outsized ego that told him he was smarter than other people."

No, Ms Penny is not alluding to Donald Trump.

[Hand-colored woodcut, 1523,
for Martin Luther's New Testament]

She most likely wrote this passage in late 2014 before Trump had begun exploring the possibility of running for president. And, while Trump's connections to Russia had been going on for decades, they were not yet a matter of public speculation.

Penny's stories tend to have literary, not political, themes, and this book is no exception. In it she frequently mentions an image from the biblical book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18: the great whore who--riding a fearsome seven-headed beast--glorifies herself and lives luxuriously, consorts with kings and merchants, helps them become rich and powerful, and deceives all nations.

But don't feel bad if your first thought was that the passage referred to Trump, not the great whore. Feel bad because the two have so much in common.

A Trump wall everyone will love

Here's an idea for President Trump and his supporters. Let's build an impenetrable border wall around maybe a third of the United States. Make sure that no immigrants can enter. Make equally sure that no Democrats (or Republicans, for that matter) who favor universal healthcare can enter. Likewise, don't allow any Democrats (or Republicans) who favor gun limitation and regulation to breach the wall.

To live inside the walled paradise, you must be an American citizen who wants to pay for your own healthcare or health insurance with no help from the government, or to go without healthcare altogether. You must own a gun, because only good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns. And you must be willing for everyone inside the wall to get any kind of weapon they wish to have. Don't worry - since everyone inside the wall will be a Trump supporter too, there won't be any bad guys to contend with. (Pssst - you can keep out people who aren't white, if you wish. I mean, you'll be armed. Heck, you can keep out anyone you don't like.)

Only thing is, you must stay inside the wall. Well, unless you change your mind and unaccountably want to have your guns regulated (or, in some cases, even confiscated) and be forced to buy health insurance. Insurance that would help your neighbor but might never help you! And you'd have to live with all those people you don't like. Some of them don't even speak English! Would you really want to do that?

I mean, look at the financial advantage of living inside your walled community. Treating gunshot wounds costs American hospitals some $2.8 billion a year. That adds up to a lot of insurance premiums. If you choose not to buy health insurance, you won't have to pay a dime of it! But anyway, since you'll all be armed, gunshot wounds won't be a problem. I mean, who would shoot an armed person, right?

And here's the best part - you won't have to pay for this paradise yourself. Tell those immigrant-loving, gun-hating, socialist-healthcare-promoting Democrats (and Republicans) that you'd like your own walled country, and they'll jump at the chance to build it for you!

And then, finally, you can make America - or at least your walled-off portion of it - great again.

If ignorance is bliss, Congressional Republicans want us all to be deliriously happy

Question: What effect will the Republican healthcare proposal have on (1) the number of people who have health insurance and (2) the federal budget?
Congressional Republican answer: We don't know and we don't care.

Question: Shouldn't we appoint an independent counsel to investigate all those possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign?
Congressional Republican answer: Not yet--and anyway, a Trump appointee is well qualified to handle any investigation.

Question: Does President Trump have financial interests that violate the Constitution's emoluments clause and/or affect U.S. relations with foreign countries?
Congressional Republican answer: We're not going to look, and we won't let you look either.

Question: Are President Trump's cabinet appointees ethically qualified for high government office?
Congressional Republican answer: Never mind the customary vetting, just confirm them on faith.

Question: What are the underlying causes of gun violence, and how can it be reduced?
Congressional Republican answer: Defund CDC research on guns and violence!

Question: Shouldn't public policy be based on knowledge, not ignorance?
President Trump's answer: "I love the poorly educated."

Well of course he does.

Maybe Trump WILL make America great ...

A lot of people are worried. Terrified, even. With Trump in the White House, they believe, we're flirting with World War III, a second Great Depression, a tyrannical destruction of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans except white billionaires with shriveled consciences.

Actually, that doesn't sound so far-fetched.

But before succumbing to a full-fledged panic attack, let's take a look at good things that have happened since November 8--things that probably wouldn't have happened without Trump.

1. Quite a few Super Bowl ads promoted compassion, working together, and respecting the dignity of every human being.

2. Organizations that advocate for civil rights are seeing a major increase in donations.

3. Republican pundits are saying complimentary things about the Clintons and Obama.

4. Democratic pundits are saying complimentary things about the Bushes and Reagan.

5. Men everywhere are realizing that hair dye and comb-overs are counterproductive.

6. People of various persuasions are phoning their lawmakers and marching on behalf of important causes.

7. Women are feeling empowered to report sexual assault, and men are realizing how many women have experienced it.

8. White people are starting to listen to what people of color have been trying to tell them for years about the pervasiveness of racism in America.

9. Comfortable people with secure jobs are learning that a large number of Americans desperately need adequately paid work.

10. More people are realizing that both major parties need serious overhauling.

11. More people are paying attention to what the Constitution actually says.

12. Republicans are trying to figure out a way to offer more Americans better healthcare at lower prices (good luck with that!).

13. Americans have become more aware of the need to reform our immigration system so as not to exclude the people who will work with us to keep our country great.

14. People know more than they used to about protecting themselves from narcissists and gaslighting.

15. The importance of the media - and of trained, responsible journalists who strive to tell the truth  - has never been clearer.

16. The corrupting influence of money in government has never been more obvious.

17. Someone invented an app that turns pictures of Trump into kittens.

18. A bright light is shining on our lawmakers, enabling us to see who will stand up for principle and who is willing to sell their soul for presumed votes or for access to power.

19. More people are advocating for reforming our electoral system so that every American can easily and legally vote.

20. Several striking videos have highlighted the importance of treating one's wife with respect.

21. More Americans are paying attention to what's going on in the rest of the world.

22. Millennials now know why voting is important, even if their favorite candidate isn't on the ballot.

23. "Saturday Night Live" is funnier than ever.

24. Americans have taken a sudden interest in European history of the 1930s.

25. Over to you--this list is just a start.

When danger threatens, people often forget their differences and pull together for the common good. Is that happening now? Are conservatives and liberals joining forces to combat selfishness, incompetence, and insanity? If so, then this worst of times could turn into the best of times, and America could once again be a place where people of differing opinions work side by side to craft solutions that benefit everybody.

Together, we can make America great the old-fashioned way--not through corruption, lies, and bullying, but through honesty, humility, respect, responsibility, decency, hospitality, humor, kindness, justice, and the openhanded, welcoming generosity that once defined our nation to the world.

Spiritual sustenance for terrifying times

A friend asked on Facebook, "How are you going to sustain yourself emotionally and spiritually in the coming months and years?" I never thought of responding, "I'll go to church."

If people who call themselves Christians could bring us Donald Trump and his evil minions, I was inclined to stay home, walk my dog, and read distracting novels.

I admit: I was being grossly unfair. The church I attend is made up largely of the very people most likely to be harmed by Trump's administration: immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people, women, seniors, people whose children are in the military. I should have thought of it as a primary source of emotional and spiritual sustenance, but I was maybe just a little ticked at our pastors for not speaking out more specifically and forcefully about the dangers so many of us are facing and our pervasive fear in the face of those dangers.

Yet for some reason, though I had planned to stay home yesterday morning, I found myself walking through the church doors anyway. I'm glad I did.

Not because of the sermon. It was a perfectly decent sermon for normal times, but the preacher typically made no direct reference to the seriously abnormal events that are washing over us. Well, he did tell us that followers of Jesus are more likely to suffer than to get rich. He got that right.

No, it was the hymns and Scripture readings that brought emotional and spiritual sustenance--and I'm not saying that because my husband is the music director. He and the pastors together chose the hymns well before Trump's hugely disastrous first week in office, and the Scripture readings were chosen years ago by the Consultation on Common Texts. God works in mysterious ways, as the seriously depressed William Cowper noted in 1774, two years before his country went to war.

But wait--before I'm sucked back into the Slough of Despond, let me share some of yesterday's poetry with you, in case you too are feeling short on sustenance.

Here are three verses from the first hymn, "Rise Up, O Saints of God" (imagine singing this lustily with congregation and organ):

Speak out, O saints of God! Despair engulfs earth's frame;

As heirs of God's baptismal grace, the word of hope proclaim.

Rise up, O saints of God! The kingdom's path embrace;

Redress sin's cruel consequence; give justice larger place.

Give heed, O saints of God! Creation cries in pain;

Stretch forth your hand of healing now; with love the weak sustain.

This is the summation of the first Scripture reading, Micah 6:1-8:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you 

but to do justice, 

and to love kindness, 

and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 15 is especially striking when read responsively:

Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? 

who may abide upon your holy hill?

Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, 

who speaks the truth from his heart.

There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; 

he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

In his sight the wicked is rejected, 

but he honors those who fear the Lord.

He has sworn to do no wrong 

and does not take back his word.

He does not give his money in hope of gain, 

nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things 

shall never be overthrown.

The second Scripture reading, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, warns against boasting because "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong." 

The Gospel reading, Matthew 5:1-12, is Jesus's list of those who are blessed in God's kingdom: the poor, mourners, the meek, those who hunger for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for speaking truth to power.

Joshua Banbury movingly sang the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, which includes these words:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy...

As the service ended, we all stood up and sang "God of Grace and God of Glory" (to the tune usually used for "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah"). Here are two verses. Sing it as you read, and hear the church singing with you:

Lo! the hosts of evil round us

scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!

From the fears that long have bound us

free our hearts to faith and praise:

grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

for the living of these days,

for the living of these days.

Save us from weak resignation

to the evils we deplore;

let the gift of thy salvation

be our glory evermore.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

serving thee whom we adore,

serving thee whom we adore.

Christianity will have a hard time recovering from self-proclaimed Bible-believing Christians who played a major role in bringing us the horrors now unfolding in Washington DC and around the world. Churches that take Scripture seriously, however--if they do not give in to "weak resignation"--may be among our best sources of emotional and spiritual sustenance in the coming months and years.

Rise up, O saints of God! The kingdom's path embrace;

Redress sin's cruel consequence; give justice larger place.

In case Mr Trump couldn't make it to church this morning...

If Donald Trump, who is technically a Presbyterian, attended church this morning (not unthinkable - he did attend an Iowa church one Sunday just before the caucuses), here is the Epistle reading that he probably heard:

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things-- anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Colossians 3:1-11

Some prominent evangelicals have claimed that Mr. Trump may be a new Christian. If this is true, I'm sure he'll be especially interested in studying this passage, since it is addressed to new converts who are just learning what it means to follow Jesus.

Mr. Trump has said he collects Bibles. If he unavoidably had to miss church this morning, he might want to pick up one of those Bibles, look up the passage, read it slowly and carefully, and ask himself how to apply its words to his life.