So....is there going to be a monetary collapse....or a stocks collapse.....or a combination of both.....or a mixture of other financial claymores....any or all of this....in the near future? It's not unusual or unwise for a person to want to find answers to a question like this....especially if one is heavily invested or if their retirement plans hinge on what might happen,
So what do we tend to do? Well....we look for....expert opinion....good start. Let me hone in on one example....on what they call a yield curve on bonds and interest rates. There are 'experts out there who will say that the 'inverted yield curve' that we are in right now....is an indicator that catastrophe of some sort is ahead....but....at the same time....there are 'experts' out there right now who will say that the inverted yield curve does not.....does not....indicate an imminent collapse of some sort.
So which expert do we believe? Neither expert knows the answer with an absolute certainty....for that cannot be known. The common sense thing to do would be to examine the opinions of the various experts out there....and then....just do our best.....for the Christian.....pray....and do our best....but this is not what we do....not in economics nor government nor even in our Christian Faith.
What we do is we invert....to use that word again....our thinking process. We know what we want to hear....so we go out only to find the 'experts' that tell us what we want to hear.....and we naturally believe them.....not because it is the best that our intellect can come up with....for we did not use the intellect at all....rather we let our biases choose the expert that gives us what we want to hear.
Unfortunately it even gets worse. Not only do we not think things through on our own....we simply become sheep.....followers....letting others do the thinking for us. Some examples on this....we did not make rational decisions on fighting the wearing of masks....or vaccinations.....or on keeping church doors open in a pandemic. We are ranting on the FBI because we are being told to rant on the FBI. Fauci is an evil man because he needs to be an evil man....to fit all our other 'decisions'....and to bolster our already determined political agenda.
Let me expound a little bit on the FBI. They had a man before them who had been trying to make a deal in Russia for decades. This was a man who had textbook potential for kompromat....vulnerable to flattery. Upon returning from one trip to Russia he took out a full-page advert in three major American newspapers....the intent of which was to move us away from NATO and anyone else who did not pay us for protection. And...lo and behold....this man eventually takes the lead for a nomination to run as....the leader of the free world! I would be upset if our intelligence agencies were not on top of this....but once again....we have to find something rotten in the FBI....to assuage our guilt on how that man turned out...and to sustain the momentum on that political agenda.....truth and fairness and holding the high ground be damned. Evangelicals generally would not believe what I just wrote....because we do not read anything that is not put directly before us....by those who we have turned our intellects over to.
So....on our Christian Faith....our biases rule our decisions once again. We don't want to hear how this is a weak preaching age. We certainly do not want to hear anything about doing away with our entertainments on Sunday. We don't even like using the term....the Lord's Day. We do no want warnings of any kind on Jesus about to return in judgment right now.....and that we have our share of culpability in what we have become. That's off the table. And the 'born again' stuff has been taken too far....for it is judgmental....and it hinders our strength in numbers. Megachurches are where it is at....the proof being in the elegant sanctuaries...huge parking lots....music on a professional level....ministries for everyone....and youth programs for the children. Television ministries....talk radio....conservative cable news....and podcasters have all replaced the pulpit....which abdicated because they would rather have people sent to them....already fully indoctrinated....then have to rely on winning souls....with a gospel of redemption from sin....through a bloody cross....and a regeneration that will come with a cost of discipleship that interferes with our plan of strength through majorities in a constitutional republic.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me"....(John 10:27)....has been delegated out to the most persuasive and loudest voice....the fear of the other side....replacing the fear of the LORD. As lay people we have a plethora of ministries with which to fill our time....but as for gleaning from God's Word....we leave that to those who have been trained to lead us. The result has been that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been reduced....to make it more palatable....as we no longer plead for wisdom....but political victories.
We need guidance....and we need teachers. Thank God for ministries such as ligonier.org and gty.org and desiringgod.org and whitehorseinn.org...and so many more. And thank God for faithful pastors and elders....but ultimately we have a responsibility to search the Scriptures for ourselves....and examine everything....but we no longer have the desire or the tools to do so.
Addendum: Fox and other news outlets have labelled it a...."Mega-church tour"....this being part of Mike Pence's book tour....The book being....So Help Me God. On Saturday the 14th....four days from now....the former Vice President is scheduled to speak at Robert Jeffress' church in Dallas. From what I read on their website....if you buy a ticket to hear Mike Pence on Saturday....then you get one free book....but can purchase more.
Here is what the website announces for the Lord's Day...."Then, Vice President Mike Pence will be joining us for worship in our services at 9:15 and 11 am on Sunday, January 15 for a special interview with Dr. Jeffress. Books will be on the concourse for purchase and to be signed that morning following the services." The former Vice President is scheduled to speak on the following Lord's Day at John Hagee's church in San Antonio.
