Tutti Frutti, the Globalists, and the Power of Prayer

A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo.  

We’re rockin’ & rollin’ now, folks.  The Pope just came out with a clearly articulated plan on how the Church intends to move forward and our own Bartholomew has wasted no time telling the Vatican that he supports every word.

Interestingly, it seems the that between the two, Francis is the first without equal.  Francis leads and Bartholomew follows.  I suspect this will continue as time moves on.

If you read the pope’s encyclical, you will begin to see how infrequently the words “God, Christ and Church” appear.  Even in the summary below, they pop up once, while the word “human” appears 14 times.  In the case of the summary, this isn’t the fault of the writer.  The document, itself, is heavily laden with humanistic terms. 

The emphasis is placed on the glorification of the human being.  Romans 1:25 comes to mind:  ” . . .Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

The thing is, I get it.  The order and beauty of the Church resonates with humanists who see persons as divine beings, i.e. really “good people.”  But they’re missing the point.      

Before I was Orthodox, the dear friend who brought me into the Church, startled me by asking me a simple question:  “Are you good?”

I was more than a little annoyed and frankly, hurt.  Of course, I was good!  I had helped pull his sister out of the fire.  I had taken in all those kids who had no home.  I had secretly found out what the neighborhood kids wanted for Christmas and left them presents on their doorsteps.  I, I, I. . .

You see, I was “good” in a way that comes easily for people with resources, be they talents or money.  And truth be told, I got so much pleasure from being the one doing the giving, it was more of a gift to myself than to anyone else.

Not surprisingly, any true “goodness” I’ll end up taking with me when I leave this world started to materialize when I came into the Church and God began removing the same resources, which, in hindsight, were obstacles.   

As I look back on all this now, I smile at how blind I was.  It took me awhile to figure it out so I don’t want to discourage those of you who don’t quite get it yet.  Just being in the Church for awhile makes it more understandable.  

Which is why I am so perplexed why Pope Francis and Bartholomew just don’t get it.  They’re in the Church.  Why can’t they see what I see?  [Edited 10/24:  Poor choice of words on my part as Francis is decidedly not in the Church and based on Bartholomew’s actions, he isn’t either.  My point was, they think they’re in the Church and yet the way they see things is the polar opposite of what the Church teaches.]

In their defense, it must be pretty heady stuff to be in their shoes.  I bet they think God, Himself, has graced them with all this worldly power and the means to put it to use through the Church.     

What they don’t seem to understand is that they have completely missed the point:  The Church isn’t a tool to affect change in this world.  The Church is a tool to affect change within so we will be prepared to move from this world onto the next.  

This process of preparation is an “individual sport”, as they say.  It’s not about proclamations read to the world where everyone nods their heads up and down and says, “Yes!  That’s very good.  We need to take care of the migrants, the gays, the poor, the. . .”  To focus on such things is not only futile, it’s a distraction from the true work that needs to be done. 

However, if we allow the Church to change us, what’s truly good flows from the inside out.  This is what is meant by the fruit of the spirit.  It comes from the light and if you look closely, you can actually see it emanating from those illuminated by it.  They glow.

The dark recognizes the light, as well, and hates you because of it.  People you don’t even know will try to hurt you “just because.”  They don’t understand it but they’re reacting to the light they see in you.  This is why you can do an outstanding job at work, for example, and still have your boss hate you!

It’s also a fact that when you have less to give, you rely on more on prayer and prayer is where the true power of giving comes from.  Yet, instead of prayer being our “go to” solution, it is often our “fall back” position when everything else has failed.  Much is lost in the process.  

I think people are less inclined to pray because they think it’s hard.  Prayer does not have to be difficult to be powerful.  One of my prayers is this (and I pray it often):  “Please, God, turn every good thought that pops into my mind about someone into a prayer and bless them and erase every bad thought I have, as if it never existed.”  In this way, I can pray without ceasing.

I don’t pray for specifics, as I don’t know God’s will.  I pray for God’s grace which He freely gives to all those who ask, and the asking part is really important.

“Please, Lord, surround that sick child and his parents with your grace.  Comfort them.  Be present in their lives” which always ends with, “. . . but thy will be done.”   

George catches me flipping through FB every day and I think he was a little concerned until he realized I am praying when I do this and leave little hearts everywhere I go.  People see them and know there is someone out there who loves them with their whole heart at that specific moment, which is the only communication that counts sometimes.  If someone says, “Please pray for my nephew, John,” and they see that little heart, they know I’ve just prayed for their nephew.  They are comforted by this fact, as I am comforted when people acknowledge my needs in this way.    

Sometimes, I’ll see pictures of children who need help or someone who is struggling with something or maybe has done something really special and I’ll make the sign of the cross on their forehead.  Yeah, it’s through a screen!  But my heart isn’t bound by such things.  I can absolutely ask God to bless them.  If I see pictures of people who have done evil deeds, I’ll take my finger and make a slash on their forehead which is my way of praying their evil activities be curtailed. 

George, on the other hand, is more diligent about formal prayers, which is one of the many reasons I married him.  I can count on him to take my hand every night and say, “Let’s say prayers, dear.”  His mother and father made this a practice in their home when he was growing up and now he is making this a practice in ours.

I think you need to pray both ways.
         
I’m not sure I would have understood prayer like I do if God hadn’t taken away all the resources I had when the giving was easy.  When resources are removed (not to worry; God is merciful in the process), you have no choice but to depend on prayer and that’s when you begin to see the real magic happen!  It’s the grace.  This grace will lift you up and carry you through the most trying of circumstances.  Nothing can touch you when it surrounds you.  The answers to many of our needs seemingly appear out of nowhere and we find ourselves in circumstances where we can help meet the needs of others, but organically, not out of a hidden sense of pride in having the means to do so.

Frankly, I am praying right now.  I pray that my words will reach you, as I do whenever I write to you.  If I could, I would send you all little hearts!  

Many have said we should be praying for Francis and Bartholomew.  My prayers in this regard are weak because there is another component of prayer that can prove very frustrating.  Prayer won’t work if the people we’re praying for don’t want it.  God allows us them the freedom to reject the good which is why Scripture tells us in Matthew 10:14: “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”

I don’t think Francis and Bartholomew want to hear us and that could explain why my heart wanes cold.  

But I do pray for them, as I am doing now, and this is what I pray:  “Lord, if it be your will, please help them to hear us, and help us, too, see evidence of it so we can pray more fervently.  However, if it is not your will, be merciful to them, and help us find a way to depart from their house and shake the dust off our feet.”  

In Jesus’ name.  Amen.  –  “A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo,” indeed.   
***                    

“Fratelli tutti”: short summary of Pope Francis’s Social Encyclical

Chapter One: dark clouds cover the world

In the first of eight chapters, which is entitled “Dark Clouds over a Closed World”, the document reflects on the many distortions of the contemporary era: the manipulation and deformation of concepts such as democracy, freedom, justice; the loss of the meaning of the social community and history; \ the prevalence of a market logic based on profit and the culture of waste; unemployment, racism, poverty; the disparity of rights and its aberrations such as slavery, trafficking, women subjugated and then forced to abort, organ trafficking (see Par 10-24). It deals with global problems that call for global actions, emphasizes the Pope, also sounding the alarm against a “culture of walls” that favours the proliferation of organized crime, fuelled by fear and loneliness (see Par 27-28).

Chapter Two: strangers on the road

To many shadows, however, the Encyclical responds with a luminous example, a herald of hope: the Good Samaritan. The second chapter, “A stranger on the road”, is dedicated to this figure. In it, the Pope emphasizes that, in  an unhealthy society that turns its back on suffering and that is “illiterate” in caring for the frail and vulnerable (see Par 64-65), we are all called – just like the Good Samaritan – to become neighbours to others (see Par 81), overcoming prejudices, personal interests, historic and cultural barriers. We all, in fact, are co-responsible in creating a society that is able to include, integrate and lift up those who have fallen or are suffering (see Par 77). Love builds bridges and “we were made for love” (Par 88), the Pope adds, particularly exhorting Christians to recognize Christ in the face of every excluded person (see Par 85).

The principle of the capacity to love according to “a universal dimension” (see Par 83) is also resumed in the third chapter, “Envisaging and engendering an open world”. In this chapter Francis exhorts us to go “‘outside’ the self” in order to find “a fuller existence in another” (Par 88), opening ourselves up to the other according to the dynamism of charity which makes us tend toward “universal fulfilment” (Par 95). In the background – the Encyclical recalls – the spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love, which always “takes first place” and leads us to seek better for the life of the other, far from all selfishness (Par 92-93). The sense of solidarity and of fraternity begin within the family, which are to be safeguarded and respected in their “primary and vital mission of education” (Par 114).

The right to live with dignity cannot be denied to anyone, the Pope again affirms, and since rights have no borders, no one can remain excluded, regardless of where they are born (see Par 121) In this perspective the Pontiff also calls us to consider “an ethics of international relations” (see Par 126), because every country also belongs to foreigners and the goods of the territory cannot be denied to those who are in need and come from another place. Thus, the natural right to private property will be secondary to the principal of the universal destination of created goods (see Par 120). The Encyclical also places specific emphasis on the issue of foreign debt: subject to the principal that it must be paid, it is hoped nonetheless that this does not compromise the growth and subsistence of the poorest countries (see Par 126).

To the theme of migration, the latter, entitled “A heart open to the whole world”. With their lives “at stake” (Par 37), fleeing from war, persecution, natural catastrophes, unscrupulous trafficking, ripped from their communities of origin, migrants are to be welcomed, protected, supported and integrated. Unnecessary migration needs to be avoided, the Pontiff affirms, by creating concrete opportunities to live with dignity in the countries of origin. But at the same time, we need to respect the right to seek a better life elsewhere. In receiving countries, the right balance will be between the protection of citizens’ rights and the guarantee of welcome and assistance for migrants (see Par 38-40). Specifically, the Pope points to several “indispensable steps, especially in response to those who are fleeing grave humanitarian crises”: to increase and simplify the granting of visas; to open humanitarian corridors; to assure lodging, security and essential services; to offer opportunities for employment and training; to favour family reunification; to protect minors; to guarantee religious freedom. What is needed above all – the document reads – is global governance, an international collaboration for migration which implements long-term planning, going beyond single emergencies, on behalf of the supportive development of all peoples (see Par 129-132).

Chapter Five: better politics

The theme of the fifth chapter is “A better kind of politics”, which represents one of the most valuable forms of charity because it is placed at the service of the common good (see Par 180) and recognizes the importance of people, understood as an open category, available for discussion and dialogue (see Par 160). This is the populism indicated by Francis, which counters that “populism” which  ignores the legitimacy of the notion of “people”, by attracting consensuses in order to exploit them for its own service and fomenting selfishness in order to increase its own popularity (see Par 159). But a better politics is also one that protects work, an “essential dimension of social life”. The best strategy against poverty, the Pontiff explains, does not simply aim to contain or render indigents inoffensive, but to promote them in the perspective of solidarity and subsidiarity (see Par 187). The task of politics, moreover, is to find a solution to all that attacks fundamental human rights, such as social exclusion; the marketing of organs, tissues, weapons and drugs; sexual exploitation; slave labour; terrorism and organized crime. The Pope makes an emphatic appeal to definitively eliminate human trafficking, a “source of shame for humanity”, and hunger, which is “criminal” because food is “an inalienable right” (Par 188-189).

The politics we need, Francis also underscores, is a politics centred on human dignity and not subjected to finance because “the marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem”: the “havoc” wreaked by financial speculation has demonstrated this (see Par 168). Hence, popular movements have taken on particular relevance: as true “torrents of moral energy”, they must be engaged in society with greater coordination. In this way – the Pope states – it will be possible to go beyond a Policy “with” and “of” the poor (see Par 169).

Another hope present in the Encyclical regards the reform of the UN: in the face of the predominance of the economic dimension, a task of the United Nations will be to give substance to the concept of a “family of nations” working for the common good, the eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights. Tireless recourse “to negotiation, mediation and arbitration” –  the Papal Document states – the UN must promote the force of law rather than the law of force (see Par 173-175).

From the sixth chapter, “Dialogue and friendship in society”, further emerges the concept of life as the “art of encounter” with everyone, even with the world’s peripheries and with original peoples, because “each of us can learn something from others. No one is useless and no one is expendable” (see Par 215). Then, of particular note, is the Pope’s reference to the miracle of  “kindness”, an attitude to be recovered because it is a star “shining in the midst of darkness” and “frees us from the cruelty … the anxiety … the frantic flurry of activity” that prevail in the contemporary era (see Par 222-224).

Chapter Seven: renewed encounter

The value and promotion of peace is reflected on in the seventh chapter, “Paths of renewed encounter”, in which the Pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, justice and mercy. Far from the desire for vengeance, it is “proactive” and aims at forming a society based on service to others and on the pursuit of reconciliation and mutual development (see Par 227-229). Thus, peace is an “art” that involves and regards everyone and in which each one must do his or her part in “a never-ending task” (see Par 227-232). Forgiveness is linked to peace: we must love everyone, without exception – the Encyclical reads – but loving an oppressor means helping him to change and not allowing him to continue oppressing his neighbour (see Par 241-242). Forgiveness does not mean impunity, but rather, justice and remembrance, because to forgive does not mean to forget, but to renounce the destructive power of evil and the desire for revenge. Never forget “horrors” like the Shoah, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, persecutions and ethnic massacres – exhorts the Pope. They must be remembered always, anew, so as not be become anaesthetized and to keep the flame of collective conscience alive. It is just as important to remember the good (see Par 246-252).

“Just War”

Part of the seventh chapter, then, focuses on war: “a constant threat”, that represents “the negation of all rights”, “a failure of politics and of humanity”, and “a stinging defeat before the forces of evil”. Moreover, due to nuclear chemical and biological weapons that strike many innocent civilians, today we can no longer think, as in the past, of the possibility of a “just war”, but we must vehemently reaffirm: “Never again war!” The total elimination of nuclear arms is “a moral and humanitarian imperative”. With the money invested in weapons, the Pope suggests instead the establishment of a global fund for the elimination of hunger (see Par 255-262).

Death penalty

Francis expresses just as clearly a position with regard to the death penalty: it is inadmissible and must be abolished worldwide. Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity” – the Pope writes – “and God himself pledges to guarantee this” (Par 263-269). There is emphasis on the necessity to respect “the sacredness of life” (Par 283) where today “some parts of our human family, it appears, can be readily sacrificed”, such as the unborn, the poor, the disabled and the elderly (Par 18).

In the eighth and final chapter, the Pontiff focuses on “Religions at the service of fraternity in our world” and emphasizes that terrorism is not due to religion but to erroneous interpretations of religious texts, as well as “policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression” (Par 282-283). a journey of peace among religions is possible and that it is therefore necessary to guarantee religious freedom, a fundamental human right for all believers (see Par 279).

The Encyclical reflects, in particular, on the role of the Church: she does not “restrict her mission to the private sphere”, it states. While not engaging in politics she does not, however, renounce the political dimension of life itself, attention to the common good and concern for integral human development, according to evangelical principals (see Par 276-278).

Lastly, Francis quotes the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”, which he signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi, along with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyib: from that milestone of interreligious dialogue, the Pontiff returns to the appeal that, in the name of human fraternity, dialogue be adopted as the way, common cooperation as conduct, and mutual knowledge as method and standard (see Par 285).

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-10/fratelli-tutti-pope-fraternity-social-friendship-short-summary.html

Mrs. M

Comments

  1. cynthia curran says

    I’m pretty tolerant of gays. In fact there has been some gays that read the bible and changed their lifestyle.

  2. Anonymous II says

    Spirit of antichrist. Brought to you by international communists in the tribe of Daniel. 

  3. “Prayer won’t work if the people we’re praying for don’t want it.”
     
    Ah…but prayer ‘works’ nevertheless.  (I don’t care for that word ‘works,’ but it will have to do.)  Sometimes they repent.  Other times they are exposed for what they are rather than what they pretend to be.  And in every case it ‘works’  on us. 
     
    Prayer always brings the light of Christ – a matter of rejoicing for some and a painful ordeal for those who refuse it.  But always good.

    • Brian,
      Accepting His Will, is True Faith. Someday, I hope I truly can give it up to His Will, and not my own, and not just in my words, but actions.

  4. <3<3<3 Gail

  5. “Which is why I am so perplexed why Pope Francis and Bartholomew just don’t get it. They’re in the Church.”

    Francis isn’t in the Church, the newest/worst Catechumen is more of the Church than Francis.

    • The Sun King said: “L’Etat? C’est moi!”
      I imagine the First Without Equals
      (both of them) think: “L’Eglise? C’est moi!”

      • Michael Bauman says

        Ah, Brendan.  Bless you. You bring to my mind the incomparable Lerner and Lowe Lancelot song from Camelot.   “C’est Moi”
        Of course the perfect kingdom was brought down by the pride and lust and betrayal of its chief defender. 

    • Michael Bauman says

      Myst, worse. They think they are the Church. 

    • Gail Sheppard says

      Of course, you’re right. Very poor choice of words on my part.

      I was looking at this from their POV. They both say they are the Church and yet neither chooses to embrace it.

      When you think about it, Bartholomew isn’t in the Church, either. He supports every word of that encyclical.

      Forgive me for using the wrong words.

  6. Prokop Barr says

    Bishop Savva (Tutunov) of Zelenograd  criticized Fratelli Tutti on social media. https://spzh.news/ru/socseti/75349-o-slovah-papy-franciska-po-povodu-chastnoj-sobstvennosti (in Russian — just Google Translate.) 

    Bishop Savva is a young bishop (42) and is the “deputy manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and head of the control and analytical service of the administration of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate”, according to patriarchia.ru. As such, very close to Patriarch Kirill. 

    Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych) of Boryspil and Brovary denounced the Pope’s support for gay civil unions. He is the Administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate and a member of its permanent Synod. https://spzh.news/ru/news/75362-ijerarkh-upc-prokommentiroval-slova-papy-o-podderzhke-odnopolyh-brakov (also in Russian).

  7. Michael Bauman says

    Mark 9: 14-29 The healing of the boy the Apostles could not comes to mind. Two verses particularly:  “I believe, help thou my unbelief”   and “This kind only comes out by prayer and fasting”

    Run to the successors of the Apostles all you want, eventually they all fail.  They are men after all.  But we are not dependent on them for access to Our Lord.  Even if they blaspheme the Eucharist.  

    I did not come to the Church because of the Fathers or ethnicity or dogma.  I came to the Church for and through the Person of Jesus Christ.  That is all that really matters to me. He led me and was waiting for me when I arrived. 

    One of my first Divine Liturgies, He was clearly walking with a most unworthy priest** down the aisle during the Great Entrance.  

    When all is right He is everywhere in the Church including our Bishops but that is not always the case.
    He has graciously and unexpectedly revealed Himself to me at intervals ever since.  That does not say a thing about me for I  am a stubborn and intransigent sinner.  He just kicks me in the head sometimes to get my attention.  

    If He is there for me–He is there for everybody, no matter the level of interference.   Prayer and fasting. Help thou my unbelief.   

    I think this is the first time I have begun to understand that passage.

    **The priest who brought me and my family into the Church was a tortured unbelieving man. He created havoc in the parish and did great damage to my late wife and my son that is still healing, he left the Orthodox Church and briefly served a Byzantine Rite RC mission here in Wichita. There, he absconded with the mission’s funds and abandoned his wife and child to run off to San Francisco for, I understand, the homosexual life where he later died at a relatively young age.

    Yet the grace of our Lord in the Sacraments was not diminished in anyway.

    • Wayne M Syvinski says

      > Run to the successors of the Apostles all you want, eventually they all fail.
      I have frequently made the following point when involved in discussions about the failings of bishops.
      Let’s examine the behavior of the Apostles at the time of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion:

      One (8.3%) remained with Christ at the Cross
      One (8.3%) betrayed Christ
      One (8.3%) denied Him
      The other nine (75%) went whichever way the wind blew

      If the Apostles did this, should we expect significantly different proportions of said behavior from their successors?

  8. Michael Bauman says

    An antidote I think:  http://byztex.blogspot.com/2020/10/online-pan-orthodox-retreat-scheduled.html?m=1
    The much maligned and forgotten Antiochian Archdiocese of North America is presenting this at no charge.  
    I especially like Fr. Turbo Qualls presenting on evangelism because he is at the heart of the Fellowship of St. Moses the Black and serves an intercity parish in Kansas City, Mo.  The parish St. Mary of Egypt. 
    Believe me folks, if you want the spiritual power of the Orthodox Church and real hope for Orthodox unity in the US, the Fellowship is where you will find it.  
    Their ministry, while focused on racial reconciliation covers all aspects of the Orthodox life.  The current leadership is predominently Serbian and Antiochian it has leaders from the OCA, Patriarchal Bulgarian and even Goarch.  ROCOR seems under represented.  
     

    • Gail Sheppard says

      Michael,

      No one does evangelism better than Fr. Turbo. I watched in awe as he brought in one kid after another (they’re all kids to me) into our parish at St. Barnabas.

      I prayed for years that he would become a priest. When the time came, I asked him if he would do me the honor of allowing me to buy his first robe. It was my way of thanking God for the gift of him and his wonderful family to the Church.

      I’m going to call him and see if maybe he’d make some time to talk to us on his take with respect to what’s going on around us. Some of the things he says are hard for me to hear because I cannot bear the thought that I could inadvertently hurt someone else, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t.

      • Michael Bauman says

        The message of The Fellowship is hard to here but it is in a package of live and humility that is healing in and of itself. It is particularly hard to hear from folks I have known and loved for decades.  After the Symposium I had to call Fr. Moses and ask his forgiveness.    
        The reaction to the virus reveals a lot about us and how fractured we are and how fearful even on good days.  
         
        There is a great deal of toxic shame at work I think.
         

  9. Another one bites the dust…
     
    https://orthochristian.com/134829.html

    • Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster says

      The pattern so far is, alas, quite clear: Hellenic ethnophyletism.

    • Most likely Jerusalem will be next.  Both Cyprus and Jerusalem have tried to be neutral and mediate, but they both have failed miserably.  The recent visit of the Patriarch of Alexandria is probably what did it for Cyprus.

  10. Jane Tzilvelis says

    Just want to add the importance of courage to speak truth about Pope Francis declaration about homosexual civil unions.  
    “Do nothing, say nothing Orthodox Christians” will soon be drinking Welch’s grape juice and swallowing Taystee white bread for Communion.  
    https://russian-faith.com/christian-charity-does-not-indulge-sins-ukrainian-hierarch-comments-popes-support-gay-civil-unions

  11. I think the pretext is wrong…it’s why we always get taken for a ride. They are not just wrong, they KNOW they are wrong, they know what they are doing…they are just working for the other side. IT IS A MISTAKE to assume otherwise. Metaxakis was a Freemason, which necessarily means he made a blood oath to another organization….this is how it works, don’t you see? They are infiltrators with a mission to bring down the organization from within, and us naive folk, thinking they are just deluded, never get it…and that allows them to always be one step ahead of us, because we don’t think diabolically like they do…..when you understand this what is happening is no surprise…it is simply to be expected.

  12. I want my fellow Monomakhoi here to ruminate on something, if you haven’t already, because it’s more than worth your time:

    If you don’t appreciate that we live in Orwellian times, you haven’t been paying attention.  There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Left knows that another Trump term will destroy them.  I’m not exaggerating in the least because if he continues the outreach to the black community and the full implications of the suppressed scandals come out, the Dems will no longer be a party that is nationally competitive.  

    That’s not an exaggeration.  If Trump gets even a modestly larger share of the black vote, they’re done.  If the people figure out that the MSM suppressed the story of Biden’s crackhead son syphoning in money from the Chinese to pay for Joe’s otherwise inexplicable lifestyle while banging his underage niece and 10 year old Chinese girls left and right (the Chinese undoubtedly have them firmly under control), they will never again trust the MSM or the Democrats.

    So the Democrats know for certain that a Trump victory destroys them.  They cannot let it happen if there is any possible way in their power to prevent it, bar none.  And they are proving this as we speak.

    Conversely, Trump and the Republicans know that if he loses, the Democrats absolutely must make good on every crazy idea they can come up with to kill the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, end the Electoral College, add additional blue states, open the borders and do whatever else is necessary to make absolutely sure that the red states can never prevail again, because they know that the next time the Republicans come to power, they absolutely must shut the Democrats down as an act of self preservation based on the Democrats’ conduct over the last four years and in this election.

    Are you with me so far?  Good.

    Is there a plausible scenario where this does not lead to a one party/dominant party state?

    Thank you for your time.

    Pray.

  13. Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster says

    Michael, we can only hope and pray that the other autocephalous Churches do not buckle and remain either in support of the Church of Russia (including the  canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of Metropolitan Onufriy) or “neutral.”

    Meanwhile, it appears that a good number of the other senior hierarchs of the Church of Cyprus are crying “foul” and publicly rejecting what their Archbishop did unilaterally. 

    • Michael Bauman says

      Father thank you but I was thinking of the supposed Patriarch of Constantinople and his march to union with Rome of which this is a sub-set

  14. cynthia curran says

    Well, I came across an interesting article in Vdare. Blacks attack Asians more than Asians do them. While Vdare is a lot more into white nationalism than me they will come up with information not find in the main media. The main media has black always as victims tow whites but neve mentions that blacks sometimes disliked asians or latinos and are more likely to attack them than the other way around.