The Top 5 Plus (December 13)

1) “Lawlessness Ablaze” (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article -- It is an all too obvious and very tragic truth that our world is absolutely ablaze in lawlessness. Absolutely, out of control ablaze. Nevertheless, there remain Christians who stick their head in comfortable sand and try to ignore the flames, while other believers naively downplay the extraordinary degrees of rebellion, blasphemy, and bloodshed of our time, insisting that modern society’s lawlessness is no worse than previous eras in history. The facts are terribly clear, however, that the ever-escalating levels of lawlessness which Holy Scripture reveals as an alarming signal of the end times can be seen daily all around us. 

And the evidence of this lawlessness ablaze is not merely shown in the actions of the primary lawless deeds themselves, but also in the gross inefficiency, indifference, even enablement of our broken judicial system. Indeed, rather than acting as firemen dousing the flames, our modern politics, courts and prosecution policies actually aid and abet the arsonists. For instance, members of my generation can recall days when there were appropriate (and swift) penalties for crimes. But now? Justice is drowned in a complicated, corrupted sea of reduced charges, plea bargains, low (even cashless) bail, early parole and probation policies, laughable “community service” options, and so on. It wasn’t that long ago that “three strike” laws and extended punishment guarantees for gun crimes would put career criminals away for life. But today’s policies excuse and coddle thugs, quickly putting them back on the street to rob, rape, and murder again. Capital punishment even for such crimes as murder, rape, kidnapping, and treason? Forget about it...

And what then of the Christian’s attitude and action in this eschatological crisis? Here are a few of the responses I think are the most important...

2) “The Muslim Long Game: From Syria To Europe And America, Islam’s Global Strategy Is On Full Display” (Amir Tsarfati, Harbinger’s Daily)

From the article -- Al-Sharaa’s soft takeover is indicative of Islam’s global strategy. The clearest sign of this is in Europe where Muslim violence is blending with the vicious nature of the radical left to steal the peace of the continent. Pope Leo XIV criticized Catholics last week who feel threatened by the mass immigration of Muslims to Europe, but I’m not sure what he’s looking at. During this Christmas season, Europe has become a target-rich environment. Just this past week, in Brussels, Muslims crashed a Christmas market and stole and decapitated a figurine of Jesus.

In Milan and many other cities throughout Europe, Islamists and leftists have climbed statues and blasted music at the peaceful gatherings of people just wanting to celebrate the season.

In Paris, an Algerian woman working as a nanny tried to poison the Jewish family she was working for by putting household chemicals in their food. About 200 miles southwest of Paris in Nantes, Muslims and far-left activists attempted to destroy a Catholic bookstore, claiming it was fascist for selling the Bible, Christian books, and statues of Jesus and Mary. But, again, the Pope says you shouldn’t feel threatened by that, so who are you going to believe, the Pope or your own lying eyes?

Many Europeans are fed up and want to get rid of the invaders, including seven out of ten Danes who are now supporting remigration of any immigrant who commits a crime. Unfortunately, Danish policies have made their bed already, and now they have to lie in it.

But it’s not just Europe. It’s global. Even as Khalid Al Hail, president of Qatar’s opposition party made it clear that “Qatar will never allow Hamas to give up its weapons”, FBI director Kash Patel signed two MOUs (memorandums of understanding) with the Gulf nation’s Ministry of Interior to expand bilateral security cooperation in training, intelligence sharing, and capacity-building.

Related articles: “Islam’s Trojan Horse is inside the gates” (Troy Carico, 1819 News)...”Hollow Sanctuaries: When Churches Become Mosques” (Kevin Cohen, American Spectator)...”Austria Bans Head Scarves in Schools For Girls Under 14-Years-Old” (Oliver JJ Lane, Breitbart)

3) “Stopping the Bloodshed: Testimony of Tony Perkins before U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa” (Washington Stand)

From the article -- Although the RSF and SAF are in conflict with each other, they have a common enemy in Christians, whom they do not see as fitting their Islamic vision for Sudan. Churches have been targeted by both the RSF and SAF. Christians have been denied food aid and told, “Unless you leave your Christianity, no food for you.” They, along with all the other people of Sudan caught in the crossfire, are the true victims here.

Regional actors are exacerbating this conflict. While the United Arab Emirates’ support of the RSF is in the news, other nations have their hands in Sudan as well to wield influence (Egypt, for example, is the primary backer of the SAF) and extract resources. Iran, Egypt, and Turkey have supplied drones to the SAF. Russia initially backed the RSF in exchange for access to gold, but then switched sides. Just a few weeks ago, it was reported that the Sudanese government offered Russia its first naval base in Africa in Port Sudan.

The ongoing refugee crisis, along with internal displacement and mass starvation, remain significant challenges. Nearly 12 million people are internally displaced, and over four million people have left the country. According to the UN Refugee Agency, many of these refugees have gone to Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. Chad and South Sudan now face food shortages themselves and do not have the infrastructure to sustain the inflow of people. The Nuba Mountains area, in particular, is in need of more aid that is free from the interference of the RSF and SAF.

With more than 150,000 people dead from the past few years of conflict, and with the death toll only continuing to rise, we must take action.

4) “Cry the Beloved Europe? -- America warns Europe that only one of them is truly fighting to reverse the West’s decline -- and the clock is running out for the other to follow suit.” (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)

From the article -- More than ten percent of Europe’s resident population is now foreign-born—some 45 million people. However, the European host, unlike a classless America, does not have a long tradition of melting-pot assimilation, integration, and acculturation. Unlike America’s mostly Christian-nation immigration patterns, European immigrants are predominantly from the Middle East and North Africa, Islamic, and increasingly anti-Western. Far too many of Europe’s immigrants profess too little desire to assimilate into what they consider a culturally decadent place—one that, ironically, they have no desire to leave.

The Christian Church, the linchpin of Western civilization, was born in Europe. Yet nowhere do atheism, agnosticism, and open hostility to Christendom grow stronger. Europe, the birthplace of a dynamic Western military tradition, has been, by contemporary standards and at least until recently, virtually disarmed and unable to protect its own borders or interests. Europe’s overregulation and war on fossil fuels, combined with a generous social welfare state, have resulted in too little revenue and too many costly dependents.

Americans dare to lecture Europe because the same Western pathologies—open borders, unassimilated immigrants, tribalism, declining fertility, green fanaticism, unsustainable budget deficits, and massive national debt—are likewise beginning to threaten America. But unlike Europe, millions of Americans at the eleventh hour are galvanizing to stop their own insidious downward spiral.

Other Europe-related articles: “Dr. Simon Goddek on the Reality in Europe Today” (Rush Babe 49, Calling All Rush Babes)...”Britain is a neurocracy: Our leaders are exasperated with the people they serve.” (Spaceman Spiff, Postcards from the Abyss)...”Chat Control: The EU’s Plan to Read Your Messages -- All of Them” (Drieu Godefridi, Gatestone Institute)...”Why Is Italy Killing Its Women? -- When a nation of beauty and civility starts legislating against barbarism, it’s admitting a cultural collision it can no longer ignore.” (John Mac Ghlionn, American Spectator)

5) “The Prophetic Significance Of Socialism’s Rise In America” (Mark Hitchcock, Harbinger’s Daily)

From the article -- We have witnessed a real turnaround in America, with people increasingly moving in the direction of socialist candidates. Let’s not forget that socialist Bernie Sanders almost won the Democratic presidential primary in 2020. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is an avowed socialist who is steadily rising within the Democratic Party. Zohran Mamdani is a self-professed “proud Democratic socialist” who just won the mayoral race in New York City.

In the United States House of Representatives, Cory Bush, Greg Casar, and Rashida Tlaib are vocal socialists. Recently, Tennessee state representative Aftyn Bane, a Democrat who ran on a socialist platform, nearly won a seat in the US House of Representatives. She lost by only nine points in a district that went for President Trump by 22 points!

This dangerous ideology is literally being elected by the hundreds all across our nation in various offices at the federal, state, and local levels. Socialism is clearly on the rise, and there are no signs that it is stopping. In fact, every sign indicates it will continue to mushroom.

The rise of Socialism has profound implications for the future of our nation and, given the fact that America is the global leader, it also has ramifications for the entire globe. It’s nothing short of meteoric. However, beyond those concerns, the popularity of Socialism also has strong prophetic overtones that I believe will pave the way for the rise of the world’s final great tyrant: the antichrist.

5 other recommended articles from the week:

* “Socialized Medicine and its inevitable result. In Canada, woman offered ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ in lieu of the surgery she needs.” (Rush Babe 49, Calling All Rush Babes)

* “The Manufactured Rise of Nick Fuentes: How artificial virality tricked the platforms -- and the press -- into elevating a fringe voice.” (Colin Wright, Reality's Last Stand)

* “Violent migrants are a far greater threat than the Russians” (Richard North, TCW)

* “Stop Recycling Plastic” (I & I Editorial Board)

* “Climate Activists Are Pricing Coloradans Out Of Heating Their Homes”  (Helen Raleigh, Federalist)

“Lawlessness Ablaze”

It is an all too obvious and very tragic truth that our world is absolutely ablaze in lawlessness. Absolutely, out of control ablaze. Nevertheless, there remain Christians who stick their head in comfortable sand and try to ignore the flames, while other believers naively downplay the extraordinary degrees of rebellion, blasphemy, and bloodshed of our time, insisting that modern society’s lawlessness is no worse than previous eras in history. The facts are terribly clear, however, that the ever-escalating levels of lawlessness which Holy Scripture reveals as an alarming signal of the end times can be seen daily all around us. 

And the evidence of this lawlessness ablaze is not merely shown in the actions of the primary lawless deeds themselves, but also in the gross inefficiency, indifference, even enablement of our broken judicial system. Indeed, rather than acting as firemen dousing the flames, our modern politics, courts and prosecution policies actually aid and abet the arsonists. For instance, members of my generation can recall days when there were appropriate (and swift) penalties for crimes. But now? Justice is drowned in a complicated, corrupted sea of reduced charges, plea bargains, low (even cashless) bail, early parole and probation policies, laughable “community service” options, and so on. It wasn’t that long ago that “three strike” laws and extended punishment guarantees for gun crimes would put career criminals away for life. But today’s policies excuse and coddle thugs, quickly putting them back on the street to rob, rape, and murder again. Capital punishment even for such crimes as murder, rape, kidnapping, and treason? Forget about it.

Drunk and chemically impaired drivers were once taken from behind the wheel and jailed instead of being given pass after pass until they finally cripple or kill someone. Case in point? Just last week, 70-year old, Grammy-nominated musician Roderick Macleod was out walking his dog when he was run over and killed by a car driven by Shannon Godbout, a career criminal with more than 100 arrests with an additional 82 court warrants served against her over the years as well as 40 traffic citations.

How about how vandals, shoplifters, looters, and rioters are dealt with nowadays? Did you steal less than $1,000? Okay, see you later. Destroy an exquisite, centuries old work of art as an act of anti-Israel protest or climate change activism? Oh well; there’s still plenty of paintings and sculptures. Pay a small fine and we’ll let it go. 

Need more evidence still? Consider the overwhelming corruption of our elections; the flood of illegal immigration which so dangerously threatens the Republic; legalized gambling which has now gone far beyond Las Vegas and into every home in the nation through our phones and internet; sex trafficking; endless scams whereby cruel, conniving thugs stealing money from the most vulnerable; shameless vagrancy (often involving public drunkenness); aggressive begging; the multitude of traffic violations so routinely practiced that police cannot begin to keep up; and rampant drug abuse which destroys both the user and the public peace. And yes, this includes the increasing dependence of young and old on legal, yet still mind-numbing “medical” marijuana dispensed by an endless number of neighborhood shops.  

And, of course, the most horrific crime of all, the bloody lawlessness of the wholesale slaughter of preborn boys and girls via savage curettes, monstrous suction machines, and cruel chemical poisons. Oh yes, lawlessness is ablaze in our day.

Another key element of  today’s lawlessness is its arrogant and highly hypocritical posturing. For while all of these crimes are being ignored (even defended), society leaders, politicians and the police, the judges, and the press are targeting grandmas who pray outside abortion chambers instead. Or parents who resist turning their kids over to the dastardly clutches of the NEA and the government schools. Or coaches who dare lead their teams in prayer. Or a homeowner who uses a legal firearm to defend his family from savages staging a home invasion. Or parents who protest sexual deviants invading their daughter’s bathroom and locker room. Or a preacher who dares to keep his church open when told by government bullies to stay closed. Or a pregnant mother who refuses to get jabbed with a new, untested, and potentially lethal drug while proven medical treatments and medicines are denied her. Or a Christian who dares to voice biblical truths on a college campus. And on and on and on.

No, make no mistake. The furious, wicked flames of lawlessness (the Greek word is often translated as transgression as well) are unprecedently burning out of control just as the Bible predicted would be the case in the last days. The Lord Jesus spoke of this lawlessness in speaking to His disciples (recorded in Matthew 24) as He warned them of wars, hatred, persecution, false prophets, earthquakes, famines, and a dramatic increase in lawlessness.

And though 2nd Thessalonians refers to the anti-christ, the ultimate ringleader of this wickedness, as “the man of lawlessness,” it’s important to remember that the initial force behind this surge of sin in the last days is man himself. The anti-christ will be judged for his rebellion against the Law (more specifically, against the Lawgiver Himself), but he isn’t responsible for the righteous judgment directed against human sinners. No, that’s the wages of our sin that must be paid. The anti-christ will ride the crest of this wave of wickedness, but it became a wave in the first place because men and women surrendered to their own unlawful desires, opinions, and deeds, becoming a law unto themselves. 

This is emphasized by a quick look at the Greek word translated as “lawless” in the passages I’m citing...and will cite. The Greek word is anomia -- nomia meaning law and the prefix a meaning without. The word itself could suggest either an absence of law or even an ignorance of the law. But the most common interpretation of the word by conservative Bible scholars is that lawless (and lawlessness) points to a transgression of the law, a deliberate denial of the law’s authority. This fits. For even as we use the phrase, “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” a person who crosses the line unwittingly, still crosses the line. However, more relevant is that an appeal against the judgment of God because, “Golly, I didn’t know any better” denies the striking fact that I did know better!  For not only does the Law exist wherever God is -- and that is everywhere -- making the essence of His Law (the emanations of God’s own character) also omnipresent. But also because the Bible explains that because man is created in the image of God, His law is a part of our very nature. His law is written on our hearts. And what laws of God we do understand, we have broken. We are guilty before His law; we are even guilty before our own. (Romans 2). No one has an excuse. The lawlessness of our time has been riled up by us. 

So, let’s look at this a bit more closely, not only in how the social lawlessness of the end times plays out in history, but in how the lawless spirit in one’s soul plays out in his personal destiny. All men are sinners; all men are transgressors of His Law, whether it is His Law written on stones or His Law written on our hearts. And so, beyond our individual plight of standing before the all-holy God, we must own up to our contributions to the wave of lawlessness which is now engulfing the world, the wages of which are the “second death” and a terrible, eternal separation from God. That is, unless we can find a substitute, one who could satisfy the demands of God’s righteousness, a completely sinless man who could intercede for us and himself pay the penalty of our sin. 

And, to be sure, that’s the exact definition of a Christian; that is, a sinner who has received by simple faith the gift of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross in their behalf. This is the gift which is forgiveness, cleansing, eternal life. This is the path of rescue, the path of redemption, the only path of freedom. Jesus “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness.” (Titus 2:14). Indeed, trusting in Christ’s loving sacrifice liberates us forever from both the penalty and the power of our lawlessness. (Hebrews 10:17, Romans 4:7,8)

Thus we see the Bible teaching that lawlessness creates four major tragedies. First, it corrupts each human person and increasingly enslaves them. That’s right, Romans 6:19 reveals that our lawless deeds actually lead to yet more lawlessness. Second, that lawlessness sets us up for divine judgment. (Again, unless you let Jesus step in and act as your substitute.) The third tragedy is that individual lawlessness pollutes the group (family, nation, world) and stimulates social disorders that end up running unchecked...as see happening today. And finally, the fourth tragedy is that lawlessness will usher in the eschatological crisis. This, I believe, is the wave of lawlessness that will culminate in the Rapture of the Church and the beginning of God’s holy judgment upon the world.

And what then of the Christian’s attitude and action in this eschatological crisis? Here are a few of the responses I think are the most important.

* Our culture’s blazing lawlessness should cause us to be ever more careful to avoid getting burned ourselves! For instance, we must thoroughly respect and love God’s law and not be tempted to ignore the devastation lawlessness creates. We cannot ignore lawlessness; we cannot make light of it; we cannot coexist with it. Our gratitude and love for Christ must show a daily devotion to holy living and a bold proclamation of biblical truths.

* Biblically-minded believers in Jesus should be the most ardent champions for law and order. We should be active in this responsibility in prayer and proclamation, in our families and churches, in our neighborhoods and nation. So be informed. Be a watchman on the wall. Be a vocal defender of justice. In whatever ways are open to you, be an opponent of barbarism and crime and false teaching. Stand in the gap for the innocent and needy, especially the unborn children, the victims of persecution, the victims of sex trafficking. And be a firm friend of the police and truly conservative public officials. 

* And speaking of being vocal, you might also find, as I have, that talking about the dangers and shame represented by our society’s increasing lawlessness is an excellent springboard for evangelism. Your neighbor (perhaps even your hard-hearted, leftist in-law) most likely sees what you do and realizes -- to some degree at least -- that modern culture is coarser, crazier, and downright scarier than the world he grew up in. You may discover then that he is more open than ever to consider the biblical view of reality including divine creation, the indispensable rightness of moral law, sin and the subsequent judgment, and, most certainly, the gospel. For Jesus is the world’s only hope.

* Finally, one more very important response to the lawlessness of the present age is to let it stimulate your confidence in and yearning for the day when the government of the entire world will be on Christ’s shoulders -- that forever day when peace reigns in redeemed hearts, when the glorified bodies of God’s children enjoy the splendors of the New Earth, and when delightful harmony is the constant in our relationships with God, one another, and all of his creation. Wow!

So to wrap up this devotional...It is of the utmost importance to frankly admit that the lawlessness of the end times is blazing all around us, even to accept the evidence that is accelerating on its way to a foreordained doom.  But Christians serve the living and almighty God Who not only protects us from human enemies, demons, and the league of the anti-christ, but Who also empowers us with the Holy Spirit to fight for justice, righteousness, and truth while we can. Therefore, this is a most excellent time to “win our spurs” in our Lord’s service as watchmen on the wall, as advocates, as ambassadors, as “wolf fighters,” and as teachers and evangelists. And while we bravely take on these honored challenges, Christians should look forward with joy and confidence to the day of our King’s eternal victory -- a day we will share with Him, His angels, and the whole family of the redeemed. Come, Lord Jesus!

"When Swing Was King" and the Christmas Season

Claire and I returned home from Branson Saturday night after enjoying what was actually the second week of our annual 2-week working vacation. The first week was back in October but severe back pain sent us home early and, thanks to Claire’s persuasive skills, the Spinnaker resort allowed us another week with no extra costs. We had a wonderful time -- writing, reading (me: Christmas stories, Claire: the war heroism of young Winston Churchill), having lunch a couple of times at the College of the Ozarks, replenishing our supply of infused oils and vinegars from a Branson Landing merchant, feeding the ducks at Lake Taneycomo, listening to Christmas music while overlooking Table Rock Lake, and watching an old Christmas movie as well as evaluating, planning, talking, and praying. 

Oh yes; there were two other really terrific highlights of the week. You see, when we realized our 2nd week of working vacation would be in December, Claire called a few senior living facilities in Branson and offered them our delightful and inspirational “When Swing Was King” show...and at our regular price -- Free!  Two of them made room in their schedule and our presentations there (and our personal visits with Terry, Natasha, Patricia, Shirley, Bryan, and many other residents) won absolutely rave reviews. Thank You so much, Lord. Also adding a special spice was that our first show saw my cousin Rev. Gary Ellsworth and his wife Martha drive all the way from Bolivar to attend. And, at our next show, it was my cousin Ervin Ellsworth and his wife Alice who dropped in to bless us. So neat.

But, of course, the Christmas “When Swing Was King” experience is just getting
started. Indeed, with 13 more already on the schedule (with 2 more probable’s), this December looks like we may tie our all-time record! 

And that brings me to this; namely, a reminder that one of these upcoming “When Swing Was King” Christmas extravaganzas is available for you this Saturday morning at 10 at our home. But to land one or two of the remaining seats, you'll have to give us a very quick RSVP. It’s a brunch party with delicious food, hearty holiday fellowship, and the always lovely, always heartwarming, always inspirational 45-minute “When Swing Was King” Christmas show. Interested? Contact us ASAP.

The Top 5 Plus (December 7)

1) “A Prophetic Shift Of Gears: Young Adults Express Willingness To Hand Over Government Power, Freedoms To AI” (Mark Hitchcock, Harbinger’s Daily)

From the article -- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing more quickly than any of us could have imagined. For many, it is the realization of a technological dream, but for others, it is a nightmare, leading to unthinkable abuses of power over our lives. No matter which way you view AI, everybody will agree that the ramifications are both alarming and world-changing.

It is no exaggeration to say that AI represents a prophetic shift of gears. It could be called an “end-times accelerant.”

Seemingly daily, we hear about new advances in AI, with these surprising surges emerging closer and closer together. AI is changing everything, and the headlines declaring this reality continue to roll out week after week with no end in sight.

Related articles: “Little By Little, Mankind Is Being Discipled By The Tech Industry” (Dean Dwyer, Harbinger’s Daily)...”Majority of pastors now using AI to prepare sermons amid rapid embrace of technology” (Leonardo Blair, Christian Post)

2) “Abortion Is Everything,’ the Children's Book You’ll Want to Buy for Christmas” (David Strom, Hot Air)

From the article -- I keep coming back to a term I never thought I would seriously use in everyday conversation: demonic. But I gave up on thinking in purely temporal terms. Whether you believe that literal demons walk the earth or just that something akin to Satanism has become normalized, evil is afoot. 

The latest example comes from the founder of "Shout Your Abortion," who has written a children's book for children ages 5-8, teaching them that abortion is a "superpower" that only humans possess. The book is steeped in transhumanist ideology—the same ideology that underlies alphabet ideology, and is informed by Marxist Critical Theory. The basic idea is that the only way to liberate our minds is to overcome biological reality itself. 

Of course, children in this age range are not about to get abortions. However, as you see from alphabet ideology, children are already encouraged to dispense with biological reality in other ways. Still, the propaganda campaign is aims to "liberate" children from the idea that we are grounded in a fundamental reality. 

This is not about pro-abortion advocates softening kids up with arguments for why women might want or need an abortion in some circumstances; by characterizing abortion as a "superpower," the goal is to inculcate the belief that the ultimate good is pure realization of our desires. 

3) “Confirming Covid Jabs Killed Kids Reinforces Gen Z’s Distrust Of Government” (Brooke Brandtjen, Federalist)

From the article -- Now that we know that the vaccine had deadly effects on children, young people will respond to this in one of two ways. For those who are caught in the legacy media bubble, they will never be exposed to this truth. Fifty-one percent of American teenagers primarily get their news from social media, putting it ahead of both television and news sites. Eighty-six percent of Gen Z go to social media for news updates. Social media platforms, like the China-sponsored TikTok, will downplay the FDA’s admission of guilt if they acknowledge it at all.

Social media intentionally isolates teenagers from the truth, so that they are never exposed to data that challenges their leftist ideology. Instead, these teens will continue to mock “anti-vaxxers” and berate the Trump administration. Their political values have been ruined by hypnotic liberalism...

The other response from teenagers will be outrage...

Covid was the dividing moment for members of Gen Z. It destroyed their childhoods and fractured their friend groups into those who were and weren’t vaccinated. In June of 2020, I spent my 18th birthday alone because my friends’ parents were too afraid for their kids to be around other kids. One of my friends was graciously allowed to sit on the porch with me for an hour — but had to sit five feet away.

The young people who experienced this gross misuse of power will never trust institutions again. Their skepticism about Covid was justified, and they now know that their childhoods were stifled without cause. As more conservative conspiracies turn out to be true, this trend will only continue. From Russiagate to the mental decline of Joe Biden to election fraud, the institutional lies have become standard. 

4) “We Must Not Be Silent in the Face of Evil” (Eric Metaxas, Decision)

From the article -- When believers do not understand or ignore what they know is God’s will, they’re inclined to make pious-sounding excuses, even quoting Scripture, to do what is actually the opposite of God’s will.

For instance, they say, “God has not called us to politics.” The idea that we’re supposed to divorce our faith from the political or cultural realm is a complete misreading of Scripture, and it’s exactly what happened during German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s time. The German church used spiritual-sounding excuses to avoid standing up against the Nazis, and they allowed evil to be unleashed because they thought they were being good Christians by refusing to get involved politically. They were deadly mistaken.

If the churches had understood God’s call to live out their faith in the culture, as Bonhoeffer did, the Nazis would never have been able to take power. But most Christians didn’t want to cause trouble, and they believed that they were theologically correct in that. So they abdicated the vital job that God gave them to put their faith into action and to take their faith into the political sphere against the Nazis.

It’s as important as anything can be for Christians to know that we are not called simply to give intellectual assent to theological ideas. We’re called to live out our faith in Christ, whether it’s in politics, in our communities or any other realm. We live out what we believe by taking action.

5) “UN COP30 Climate Summit Unites World Religions Under The Cult Of ‘Earth Worship’” (Alex Newman, Harbinger’s Daily)

From the article -- Two crucial spiritual elements long documented by The New American about this environmental holy war were on full display in Belém. First, COP30 showed unprecedented religious convergence — a “spiritual coalition” bringing all the major religions and religious movements of the world together behind the UN climate program. The unity revolves around an emerging new moral framework that replaces historic biblical understandings of sin with a new vision, where CO2 emissions and other alleged offenses against “Mother Earth” are the real moral evil. COP30 culminated with a virtual interfaith climate liturgy.

Second, COP30 and the broader climate movement are now increasingly and openly integrating pagan and pantheistic spirituality into everything — all while marginalizing the biblical worldview. This was on full display throughout the summit. At official events throughout COP30, Indigenous rituals and pagan earth-worship symbolism were not only present — they were center stage in discussions about the damage humans are supposedly doing to “Mother Earth.”

Supposed man-made climate change has for years served as the perfect pretext for uniting the religions of the world behind a common cause. As The New American reported in 2022 from the COP27 in Egypt, a global interfaith coalition worked with the UN to unveil a new “Ten Commandments” on Mount Sinai. Meanwhile, the George Soros and UN-funded group Religions for Peace, an outfit described by its leader as the “UN of religions,” brings together virtually all major religious organizations and traditions behind the UN and its agenda.  

Other recommended articles:

* “America’s stunning lack of academic freedom” (Richard D. Land, Christian Post)

* “Anna Lee Stangl: The Global South and Religious Freedom” (Yoe Suarez, Washington Stand)

* “He Put Her Into the Hospital; She Was Arrested for Using a Slur to Criticize Him for Doing So” (David Strom, Hot Air)

* “Raking In Hundreds Of Millions For Trafficking Kids Destroys U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Credibility On Immigration” (Maureen Mullarkey, Federalist)

* “The bishop who became Santa Claus” (Obianuju Mbah, Christian Today)

The Top 5 Plus (November 29)

1) “Thanksgiving: Why It Is America’s Foundational Holiday: How the Pilgrims’ courage, faith, and hard-won lessons still shape the American character.” (Scott S. Powell, American Spectator)

From the article -- Thanksgiving is really the holiday that made the other American holidays possible. Were it not for the Pilgrims having courage, absolute faith in their cause and calling, and the willingness to sacrifice and risk everything, they never would have attempted to cross a vast ocean on the 94-foot Mayflower, a ship of questionable seaworthiness.

The Thanksgiving holiday, which commemorates one part of the Pilgrim story, remains the favorite holiday for many Americans. And for good reasons, beyond enjoying a feast. With our country passing through troubled times, it is worth revisiting the Pilgrim’s five significant achievements, which created the seminal story of America, and reveals remarkable insight into who we are and the qualities of character we need to overcome our present challenges.

And this related article: “A National Day of Gratitude” (Juliana Geran Pilon, Civitas)

2) “A Passionate Defense of Christian Nationalism: Why America’s Christian roots are the last line of cultural defense.” (John MacGhlionn, American Spectator)

From the article -- “Christian nationalism” is just the latest label for something the Church once took for granted: the belief that a Christian people should shape a Christian culture.

Before the critics start shrieking, convulsing, or calling for an exorcism, let me be clear. The Christian nationalism I’m talking about has nothing to do with violence, tribal rage, or the cartoon caricatures the activist class trots out on social media. It’s simply the recognition that American identity, in its traditional and authentic sense, is inseparable from Christianity. A nation reflects its roots. A culture mirrors its creed. Christian nationalism, properly understood, is the cultural expression of Christian belief. Not a call to smash windows or reenact Old Testament battles, no matter how much the professional handwringers wish it were.

Stevens builds his case on the idea that Christian nationalism “is not a religion.” But no serious believer ever said it was. It isn’t meant to replace Christianity. It flows from it. The same way courage flows from faith, charity flows from grace, and — as Church history shows — social order flows from belief. Faith always spills into public life; the only question is whether it shapes society in healthy or harmful ways. Remove Christianity from the public square and you don’t get neutrality. Quite the opposite, in fact. You get the vacuum we see today. One shaped by power, money, identity politics, and a rising Islamic influence filling the space where Christian confidence collapses.

3) “Elon Musk’s zeal for truth reveals the online frauds aiming to divide us” (Glenn H. Reynolds, New York Post)

From the article -- But on Friday Elon Musk, having figured out that a lot of influential X accounts weren’t what they claimed to be, activated an X feature showing where users were actually posting from — and uncovered (at least) a million lies. 

Turns out a lot of users claiming to be disillusioned Trump voters, or anti-Israel Americans, are actually foreign frauds. Like the one that posted: “Trump is Israel First. I’m done with MAGA. I hope Republicans lose.”  

Americans turning on Trump over Israel?   Nope. The account was based in Turkey.

Likewise the woke-right “groyper” movement supposedly elevating white supremacist Nick Fuentes seems to be largely a foreign sham, and “Ron Smith, MAGA Hunter,” a prolific anti-Trump poster with a substantial following, turns out to be from Kenya. 

Many users billing themselves as “Native American” with accounts specializing in divisive racial attacks on white people are actually foreign, and mostly from Bangladesh. And so on, and so on.

Related articles: “Social Media: The Disinformation Capital of the World” (Roger Simon, Substack)...“Geographic Reveal Exposes Fakes” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)...”Elon Exposed the Fake Activists” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)...“How Much of What You Read Is Fake?” (David Strom, Hot Air)...“Journalism Standards, Anyone?” (Cory Franklin, JK)

4) “Defending Faith: America’s Vital Role in the Global Fight for Persecuted Christians” (Virginia Prodan, Washington Stand)

From the article -- We are at a critical moment in our shared history — a moment that calls for our collective conscience, moral clarity, and unwavering commitment to justice. Christians are facing a genocide around the globe.

And while President Donald Trump is championing religious liberty in Syria after hosting the former al-Qaeda fighter turned president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and declaring Nigeria a “country of particular concern” because of the slaughter of Christians, we cannot be naive.

Christian persecution is already here in America. Our nation is becoming a dangerous place for faithful believers to live. We must stand up now for the persecuted — not only as individuals but as a united front for our brothers and sisters around the world.

Policymakers, churches, and ordinary citizens have a moral responsibility to ensure our nation remains a beacon of hope and freedom for all, especially the vulnerable persecuted for their faith.

5) “The Radicalization of Gen Z: A rootless generation looks for home in dark places.” (Eddie LaRow, American Mind)

From the article -- What is going on with Gen Z?

I’ve written elsewhere that Gen Z is experiencing a kind of church resurgence. That remains true. But at the same time, Gen Z is one of the most polarized generations in American history.

In 2024, Gen Z—led in part by young activists like Charlie Kirk and Scott Pressler—shifted toward Donald Trump. He won 46% of Gen Z voters—56% of young men and 40% of young women. This led many to expect that a younger, more populist generation would shift the country rightward. But now, in 2025, the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won 78% of the youth vote in New York City—67% of young men and 84% of young women. Far from being locked into any one existing political party, young people are more divided than ever.

Other Recommended Articles from This Week:

* “Even With Islam’s Alarming Rise, Claims Of A Muslim Antichrist Are Not Grounded In Biblical Truth” (Amir Tsarfati, Harbinger’s Daily)

* “Are murder mysteries Christian?” (Paul Asay, Christian Post)

* “David McCullough’s ‘History Matters’” (Chuck Chalberg, Imaginative Conservative)

* “The Civil War to Define (Refine) MAGA -- MAGA isn’t dying; it’s defining itself.” (Arthur Schaper, American Greatness)

* “The 10 Guiding Principles of MAGA” (Stephen Helgesen, American Thinker)

The Top 5 Plus (November 22)

My apologies, but with 7 “When Swing Was King” presentations last week, fighting the falling leaves, dealing with a root canal last night, prayers at the abortion business, an eye doctor appointment, and hosting a successful letter-writing party this morning, I'm afraid this week’s Top 5 is being posted without excerpts and without the usual 5 extra articles...unless you count all the ones related to Number 3 in my list! Here you go...

1) “Violent Attacks against Christians Spike in Europe, Watchdog Warns” (Jon Brown, Washington Stand)

Related article: “‘Europe is persecuting Christians’ -- The ‘progressive’ blasphemy laws smothering free speech across Europe.” (Paul Coleman, spiked!)

2) “The Left Thinks Western Civilization Itself Is ‘White Nationalist’” (Casey Chalk, Federalist)

3) “The Desecration of Our Heritage: An institution stands by those who would destroy the West’s institutions” (Mike Burke, Commentary) 

Several enlightening articles related to this matter: “When Tucker Quit America: Tucker Carlson has simultaneously rejected the American political system as we have understood it from its founding to today, and sought to be politically engaged.” (Richard Samuelson, Civets)...“Tucker Carlson Goes Full Truther” (James B. Meigs, City Journal)...“A fight for the soul of the right” (Scott Johnson, Power Line)...“All Kinds Of Crazy: Jack Hibbs And Calvary Chapels Become The Latest Targets Of Candace Owens’ Delusion” (Breanna Claussen, Harbinger’s Daily)...“A Tale of Two Pundits: Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin” (Rabbi Michael Barclay, PJ Media)

4) “Read the conservative op-ed the Texas A&M student paper refused to publish” (Justino Russell, The College Fix)

5) “The Left Is Nowhere Near Letting Go Of Its Trans Obsession” (Joshua Monnington, Federalist)

The Top 5 Plus (November 15)

1) “Twenty Million Dead: The Generation Abortion Stole from America” (John MacGhlionn, American Spectator)

From the article -- Imagine an entire generation, then erase nearly a third of it. That’s not a half-hearted thought experiment. It’s a national crime scene, neatly packaged as progress. 

Recent demographic reports reveal a devastating reality. Nearly 28 percent of Gen Z in America were denied the simple mercy of daylight. Between 1997 and 2011, 19.5 million lives were ended before they began. For every classroom, every cradle, every dinner table, an empty space mourns what never was.

The global context is equally grim. Nearly one in three pregnancies worldwide ends in abortion. In England and Wales, the rate has reached an all-time high. What was once framed as a “rare and tragic choice” has become routine — a conveyor belt of convenience turning human potential into medical waste. What looks like liberation is, in reality, liquidation. 

Our culture — decadent and desensitized — plays a central role. Celebrities now speak of abortion not with grief but with pride, turning tragedy into trend. British pop star Lily Allen — one of the defining names of the 2010s — recently confessed she’d had so many abortions she’d lost count. She said it casually, almost proudly, as though ending life were an act of empowerment. Once, that kind of confession would have shocked a nation. Today, it barely raises an eyebrow. A nation that won’t create life is already courting death.

2) “The Tales We Tell Our Children: How Children’s Literature Shapes a Civilization’s Soul” (Jamie K. Wilson, PJ Media)

From the article -- A young girl stands on a mountain of ice, her dress glittering like the northern lights. The world below has judged her, feared her, told her to hide what makes her different. Then comes the moment every parent remembers: she spreads her arms and sings, “No right, no wrong, no rules for me — I’m free.”

For a decade now, that line from Frozen has echoed in bedrooms and playgrounds, in sequined Elsa dresses and YouTube sing-alongs. It’s more than a song; it’s a creed. Every generation has a fairy tale that defines its moral world. For ours, it’s this one, a story in which isolation becomes empowerment, repression becomes villainy, and liberation means casting off every bond of duty or expectation.

There’s a reason the movie Frozen's iconic song ‘Let It Go’ hit like lightning. It gave girls permission to feel powerful, not weak. After centuries of tales where heroines obeyed, endured, or were saved, Elsa burst from the mold and claimed her own sovereignty. It felt fresh, defiant, modern. And yet, under the shimmer, the story carried a quiet inversion. Where older fairy tales taught that freedom comes through virtue, through courage, mercy, and love, Elsa’s anthem taught that freedom comes from rejecting virtue itself.

The transformation was moral, not musical. A generation earlier, Disney heroines longed to belong. Ariel gave up her voice for love, Belle sacrificed comfort for her father, Cinderella kept faith through humiliation. Elsa breaks the cycle by renouncing belonging. “Conceal, don’t feel” becomes “Feel, don’t kneel.” The dragon has been slain, but so has the idea of obedience.

For the little girls who sang it, this was thrilling. For the culture that raised them, it was revealing. The fairy tale had flipped: no longer a guide for how to master the self, but a hymn to self-sovereignty. And in that shift, an entire moral inheritance melted away.

3) “Maybe Totally Legalizing Vice Was Not Such a Great Idea After All” (Kurt Schlichter, Town Hall)

From the article -- Of course, vice invites corruption, and it’s now publicly infecting sports themselves (it has no doubt infected them for a while, with point shaving, thrown games, and the like). It is also resurrecting the mob – I guess when the FBI was busy hassling moms for being mad about sex offenders in their kids’ locker rooms, the Mafia took advantage of the opportunity. The recent busts will be just the tip of the iceberg. Mark my words and move over, Black Sox – this will be a disaster for professional sports.

Then there’s the vice of dope smoking. We stamped out regular smoking pretty effectively; I freak young people out with tales of the smoking section and theaters where you couldn’t see the screen through the haze of burning tobacco. But somehow pot is different. You walk down any urban street and it’s like a Cypress Hill concert; you’re lucky if you don’t wander off the sidewalk and into traffic from the contact high. Even in the most conservative states, you will find dispensaries passing out supercharged ganja with 10 times the THC of the old skunk weed that stoner guy in your dorm used to fire up. Medicinal my tush; the only things it’s treating are boredom and ambition. Really, the smart play would have been legalizing cocaine, since people would at least be motivated to do something useful, like clean up their condo, sell junk bonds, or greenlight “Caddyshack.” Just what America needed – a drug designed to make our citizens lazier, dumber, and less interesting.

Of course, the urge to effectively legalize things that we suppressed for eons of human history because we’re so much smarter than those ancients doesn’t stop at dice n’ dope. No, they have done it for prostitution, too. Oh, wait – that’s a judgmental word. I mean “sex work,” which we should totally pretend to respect lest we shame the people involved in it. Of course, shame is just what’s needed. You should be ashamed of serious gambling. You should be ashamed of serious dope smoking. And you should be ashamed of selling yourself or others for sex. Sorry/not sorry to get all John Lithgow in the original “Footloose” on you, but just because people want to do bad, harmful things to excess does not mean we should make it easy for them. The wrecked lives of the guys condemned by the Draft Kings testify to that. The dead people killed in DUIs, where the “I” came from cannabis, testify to that. And the women forced to march along dirty urban streets selling themselves to skeevy creeps with the cops forbidden from intervening, as is true in California, testify to that.

4) “The Red-Green Axis, Antisemitism, And Bible Prophecy” (Olivier Melnick, Harbinger's Daily)

From the article -- For a while now, Israel and the Jewish people have been caught in a vise that is increasingly threatening their very existence. That vise is known as the red/green axis. Red being the ever-growing Marxist radical left (Communism on steroids), and Green being radical Islam (Sharia Law). Zohran Mamdani embodies the Red/Green axis all in one person. How such a person can exist, combining two opposite sides of an ideological spectrum, remains a mystery to me. It is highly irrational.

This has all the signs of America being destroyed from within! There is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that says, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.” While those were not the exact words he uttered, the quote can be thematically connected to Lincoln’s 1838 speech in Springfield Illinois, at the Young Men Lyceum, “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.” The point is clear, America’s demise will most likely come from within, and Zohran Mamdani might be the first major step toward that!

Yet, there is a greater danger coming from Mamdani’s policies, and that is his utter disdain for Israel and the Jewish people. How 20-30% of New York Jews would vote for him in the primaries is so irrational. It is evident that Israel and Jewish customs and traditions are playing a very small role, if any, in the fabric of modern American Jewry. They have been slowly replaced by social justice, multiculturalism, and tolerance. The erosion of Jewish loyalty has created a vacuum that people like Mamdani will fill in a heartbeat.

And here are a terrific 16-minute video and
other articles related to the new surge of anti-Semitism. 

First, that excellent, very helpful video primer – “Confronting Conservative Antisemitism” (Victor Davis Hanson, Daily Signal). And then these articles: “The Buchanan Resurrection: The MAGA faction trying to erase Trump” (Lee Smith, Tablet); “The False Prophet of the Digital Right: What Nick Fuentes Really Sells: Conservatism must nurture character, not chaos.” (David Sypher Jr., American Spectator); “‘Utter Stupidity’: Conservatives Appalled by Tucker Carlson’s Latest Target” (Isaac Schorr, Mediaite); and “Europe’s moral collapse and the return of antisemitism: A fusion of woke ideology and Islamist activism has hollowed out Europe’s moral compass -- and Jews are paying the price.” (Fiamma Nirenstein, Jewish News Service)

5) “It’s Impossible To Keep Up With The Fall Of Britain” (John Daniel Davidson, Federalist)

From the article -- This kind of official response belies either astounding incompetence or barely-disguised malice. You would think that confronted with thousands of migrants illegally entering Britain from France every week, the government would rightly conclude that France is allowing migrants to cross the English Channel illegally en masse. You would think there would be repercussions for that. But instead, the British people get farcical statements from their political leaders about how the “one in one out” policy is working, even as the boats stream across the Channel.

Meanwhile, the consequences of unchecked migration and non-assimilation are playing out on the streets of increasingly dangerous British cities. Most of the migrants arriving in Britain are from places like Eritrea, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalian — societies that have very different views of civic life and of civilization itself. Most of them are Muslim, and upon their arrival they are absorbed into one of Britain’s many growing unassimilated Muslim communities — in Birmingham, Bedford, and parts of London like Tower Hamlets. These are places that only bear a faint resemblance to what they were 20 years ago thanks to mass immigration.

It has become impossible not to notice the change. Last month in Birmingham (a city that’s now a third Muslim), local authorities announced that fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv would not be allowed to attend the teams’ Europa League match against Aston Villa. The official reason given was that police could not guarantee the safety of the Tel Aviv fans. That was true enough, but the full reason, as everyone knew, is that the city’s Muslim population is both antisemitic and violent, and if Jewish Tel Aviv fans showed up in numbers, they would be attacked by a Muslim mob. (As it happened, a few Jewish fans did show up to protest, and police herded them into a nearby steel-ringed basketball court that protesters referred to as a “Jew cage,” even as Muslim fans roamed around chanting, “death to the IDF,” “Allahu Akbar,” and “from the river to the sea.”)

On top of non-assimilation, there is the issue of migrant crime, which is often directed at white British women. Last month, a 19-year-old asylum-seeker from Sudan named Deng Chol Majek was convicted of murdering 27-year-old Rhiannon Skye Whyte, who worked at the migrant hotel where Majek lived. Majek followed Whyte from the hotel to a bus station, where he stabbed her 23 times with a screwdriver, 19 times in the head. Afterwards he went to buy beer and was later seen dancing with other asylum-seekers in the hotel parking lot.

Other Highly Recommended Articles:

* “Nigerian Senator: Trump Is Right About Jihadist Massacres of Christians” (Frances Martel, Breitbart)

* “Let Us Now Read Famous Books -- And no, watching the miniseries version on BBC doesn't count.” (Jim Tonkowich, The Stream)

* “Trivializing Religion Left Us Unprepared for Political Islam” (Shmuel Klatzkin, American Spectator)

* “Florida Attorney General Sues Planned Parenthood for Claiming Abortion Pill Is ‘Safer than Tylenol’” (Katherine Hamilton, Breitbart)

* “Silent Pulpits, Celebrating Evil, And A New Level Of Delusion: Ten Things I Could Never Have Imagined Seeing In My Lifetime” (Jan Markell, Harbinger's Daily)

The Top 5 Plus (November 8)

1) “The Real Battle for America: After 250 years, America needs the church more than ever” (Jack Hibbs, Decision)

From the article -- When was the last time you truly labored in prayer for this nation? I’m talking about heartfelt, persistent, faith-filled prayer. That’s the kind of prayer God calls us to. We are told in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray “for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” If you want to see change in your country, start on your knees.

Prayer is essential, but it’s not the end of our calling. We are also commanded to take a stand. In Jude 3, we’re urged to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” That word contend means to struggle, to wrestle, to fight for what matters.

We’re not called to hide. We’re not called to blend in. We’re called to speak up, even when it’s unpopular. The early church turned the world upside down, not because they were polite and quiet, but because they were bold and filled with the Spirit of God.

Look at Elijah. He didn’t just pray that his people would follow the Lord. He stood on Mount Carmel and called down fire. He didn’t shrink back from confronting evil. And neither should we.

2) “The Right’s Nick Fuentes Problem -- and Tucker Carlson’s Role in Mainstreaming It” (Tyler Rowley, American Spectator)

From the article -- Shapiro begins by defining what this fight is not about. It is not about free speech, and it is not about “cancellation.” Fuentes has every legal right to speak, he says, and Tucker has every right to interview him. Shapiro stresses that he has opposed de-platforming Fuentes, even though he considers Fuentes “odious and despicable.” Free speech, properly understood, is freedom from government coercion — not a right to be promoted, signal-boosted, and flattered by major conservative platforms.

What this is about, Shapiro argues, is drawing moral lines. Conservatives once understood that refusing to promote certain ideas — Nazism, open racism, calls for political violence — was not “cancellation,” it was sanity. Choosing not to launder those ideas for a mass audience is itself an exercise of free speech and free association.

To make the stakes clear, Shapiro walks through Fuentes’ own words. Fuentes has encouraged followers to “kill, rape and die” for him. He mocks Jim Crow as no big deal, claims white people are “justified” in being racist and avoiding black Americans, celebrates “Hitler Friday,” questions the Holocaust in cute “cookie” analogies, and repeatedly blames “the Jews” for every war and for secretly running the country. He fantasizes about executing “perfidious Jews” and other alleged enemies once his movement “takes power.”

This is not edgy trolling. It is explicit bigotry and totalitarian fantasizing, wrapped in pseudo-Christian rhetoric and aimed at alienated young men.

Related articles of note: “Why the Two Parties Have Diverged on Fighting Anti-Semitism” (Seth Mandel)...“Tucker Carlson aims to poison us with hatred -- but Donald Trump stands in the way” (Rich Lowry, New York Post)...“If Conservatives Do Not Immediately Sever Ties With Tucker Carlson, He Will Drag The Party Down With Him” (Olivier Melnick, Harbinger's Daily)...“Nick + Tucker: A Two-Man Unite The Right Rally” (Rod Dreher)

3) “Why A Pro-Life Witness Outside Abortion Businesses?” (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Ministries)

From the article -- Because my honor as a Christian is at stake.  Where such brazen, violent injustice is occurring, how can I refuse the opportunity to testify against it?  Think about it — what does it mean to the reputation of the Church (not to mention her sense of moral priority) if children are brutally murdered in our own neighborhoods without us even raising our voices in principled protest?  How much is our evangelism and discipleship tarnished and weakened if we do not take seriously such charges as Jeremiah 22:3, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.’” And Isaiah 1:16-17, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Reprove the ruthless. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow.”

Alas, fewer and fewer American Christians nowadays bother to go to abortion mills to pray and give pro-life witness. That’s an ominous warning of how far we have been cowed by the world around us.  We have become indifferent, callous, distracted, and wimpy.  Nevertheless, the grace of God remains available to us — grace that forgives and cleanses, grace that yields wisdom and strength, grace that yet can bring personal and cultural revolution.

Our marching orders are quite clear. We read them in the Scriptures already listed. And we read them in many others. Psalm 82:3,4: “Vindicate the weak and fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” Proverbs 24: 11,12: “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.” James 1:27: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Giving public witness to the sanctity of life in this darkened and depraved culture is not the easiest thing.  But it remains extremely high in the values expressed by our Lord. And that’s why we engage in a compassionate but firm opposition to the barbaric killing of the little ones and why, by the grace of God, we will continue to do so. Wanna’ come join us?

4) “Stop mincing words” (Michael C. Hurley, American Thinker)

From the article -- The most depressing thing about waking up in the aftermath of Tuesday’s electoral wipeout is not the prospect of communism coming to New York or the normalization of political assassination culture in Virginia, but having to listen to the anodyne analysis of conservative commentators about “why we lost” and the “lessons” that Republican candidates need to learn going forward. To hear Tony Kinnett of the Daily Signal tell it, Winsome Earle-Sears would be the governor of Virginia today if only she had talked more about affordability and energy costs.

Mr. Kinnett is hardly the only conservative pundit seemingly unaware of what time it is. Fox News subjected viewers to a steady stream of political quackery about how candidates need to focus more closely on “kitchen table” issues the next time around.

No, they don’t.

No one, at this late hour, should be unaware of what the stakes are. We are in a spiritual war between good and evil, between the forces of order and the agents of chaos. Full stop. So let’s say so, clearly, without apology or embarrassment. Tell people they’re in a war, and a great many of them will show up to vote. Tell them they’re in a debate over monetary policy and energy development initiatives, and most of them will hit the snooze button and sleep in.

The forces of evil do not fail to understand our program. They are not casting about for a better balance of trade. They know they’re in a war for power, and they intend to win it, which is why they fight so passionately. Abortion isn’t an issue for them. It’s a sacrament. Climate change isn’t a scientific debate. It is a religious world-view that gives their lives meaning and purpose. Politics for the left isn’t an intellectual sport to be conducted within the polite parameters of free speech. It’s an unholy crusade to be won by any means necessary, including censorship, lawfare, defamation, perjury, conspiracy, insurrection and assassination.

5) “Europe’s Urban Decline Exposed” (John MacGhlionn, American Spectator)

From the article -- Twenty years ago, Europe still felt whole. Streets were still. Nights were calm. Many slept without worry. You could wander Marseille’s streets without a thought or lose yourself in Venice’s narrow lanes without a trace of fear. Today, that sense of sanity feels like an artifact from an ancient time. The latest World Safety Index report confirms what most already sense. Europe is no longer secure. France and Italy — once the crown jewels of the continent — now rank below Rwanda and Bangladesh for public safety.

And yet, the political class keeps pretending all is well. They talk about green revolutions and digital rights while the public buys pepper spray.

Once vibrant districts now vibrate with dread. Riots erupt on cue; knife attacks barely draw a headline. The “City of Light” has dimmed to a nervous glow. And Italy, the land that once gave the world law and order, now seems to live without much of either. Tourists still pose by the ruins of the past, unaware that the present is crumbling. Only six in 10 Italians say they feel safe walking alone at night. The country that once ruled empires can no longer rule its own streets.

What unites both nations is more than geography — it’s a shared failure of courage. Paris and Rome, like London, Dublin, Brussels, and Stockholm, have absorbed massive waves of immigration from North Africa and the Middle East. Is it a coincidence that these once-respectable cities now rank among the most violent in Europe? That their streets, once defined by culture and civility, are now defined by rapes, stabbings, and gang wars?

Other Recommended Articles for the Weekend

* “Mississippi Law Enforcement Caught Working with the Cartel -- 20 Officers Indicted for Aiding Drug Smuggling into America” (Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit)

* “Colleges are teaching Gen Z to love socialism: After years of classrooms romanticizing socialism and demonizing capitalism, young Americans are taking that ideology straight to the ballot box.” (Emily Sturge, Campus Reform)

* “Does the Democrats’ Chaos Strategy Work?” (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)

* “Sudan and the Moral Bankruptcy of the Modern Left. To the progressive West, suffering acquires meaning only when it can be traced to guilt. Without that connection, empathy falters.”  (Ali Bordbar Jahantighi, European Conservative)

* “Democrats’ naïve view of Islamists: ‘They’re just like me! They hate America!’” (Glen K. Beaton, Aspen Beat)