Flames, Floods, Fatalities, Fears

• Flames. As of this morning (September 1, 2021) 300 square miles torched near Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. Family members choking on smoke, imprisoned in their house. Loved ones of a dear friend in harm’s way.

• Floods. Ida, a category 4 hurricane with winds of 165 mph, and its remnants, flooding areas from New Orleans to New England. 

• Fatalities. Climbing daily, now 219 million sickened, and 4.5 million human beings dead, from COVID-19. Delta variant racing across the southern United States. C.1.1 variant mutating with lightening speed. Hospitals at capacity; ICUs full.

• Fears. Fear of persecution, fear of government, fear of immigrants, fear of Moslems and Jews, fear of young Black men, fear of change – fear, driving heretical toxic theology. 

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• Flames. The rampant wildfires around the world are all exacerbated by global warming, which is causing extreme droughts in some areas and excess precipitation in others. 

• Floods. Ida jumped rapidly from a Cat-2 to a Cat-4 because the Gulf waters are hotter than ever.

• Fatalities. We have amazingly safe and effective vaccines that protect us from the worst symptoms of COVID-19, but a huge portion of the population refuses to get them, and an even larger portion won’t wear masks or practice social distancing. 

• Fears. A theology of fear is behind the Capitol insurrection, soaring gun sales, a resurgence of white nationalism, xenophobic reaction to refuges, and militant opposition to civil rights for minorities.

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Flames, Floods, Fatalities, Fears – all exacerbated by human choices. Flames and floods dramatically intensified by man-made, greed-driven global warming. COVID fatalities in North America almost entirely preventable by vaccinations, masks, and social distancing. Fears based on false theology that threatens democracy at its core.

Flames and Floods. The first ministry God gave to humans was to care for creation, to be stewards, not exploiters. There was a time when we didn’t know any better, but we do now. The use of fossil fuels is burning up the planet. Followers of Jesus should be at the forefront of environmentalism. 

Fatalities. Vaccines are a gift from God. Wearing a mask and practicing social distancing is loving our neighbors. Loving our neighbors is loving God. Wearing a mask is not a violation of personal rights, nor is it persecution, nor is it child abuse. 

Fears. The opposite of fear is love. Perfect love casts out fear. Christians and Christianity are not under attack; Christians are not being persecuted in America. White “Christian” Nationalism 1.0 affiliated itself unabashedly with the Republican Party. White “Christian” Nationalism 2.0 says it loves America, hates the government, is convinced it is bipartisan (in spite of referring to Democrats as “demon-crats”), embraces conspiracies, rejects science, believes bizarre neo-Pentecostal “prophesies,” sees no incongruity with simultaneously flying American, Confederate, and Christian flags, and claims to have faith while stockpiling weapons. There is nothing Christian about White “Christian” Nationalism. It is unbiblical, heretical, toxic, extremely dangerous, and growing rapidly.

Come out of her, my people, and follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Live by the Sermon on the Mount.