You’ve Heard It Said: More People Are Killed in the Name of God. Really?

Almost anyone who has graduated from college in the last 50 years has repeatedly heard the statement, “More people have been killed in the name of God than in the name of anything else.”  And most of them believe it.

If those making this statement are referring to the God of the Bible, and therefore to Christians, the statement is simply not true.

Yes, Christians killed Jews (though it was never official church doctrine to do so).  For example, whole communities of Jews were slaughtered by Christians on their way to fight in the Crusades.  And tens of millions of indigenous people in the Americas were killed as a result of Christian invasion and settlement— though most of those deaths were caused by European diseases to which people in the Americas had no immunity. And Christians killed fellow Christians who had a different theology.  Between 1618 and 1648, in what became known as the Thirty Years’ War— a war between Europe’s Catholics and Protestants— somewhere between five and eight million people were killed.

But there are few other examples of largescale killings by Christians as Christians (as opposed to people who happened to be Christian killing people, as in the two world wars). For example, during one of the most widely cited examples of Christian killing, the Inquisition, no more than 5,000 people were killed— a number both Jewish and non-Jewish historians agree upon.

The number of people killed by Christians in the 2,000-year history of Christianity is far exceeded by the number of people killed in the Mongol invasions of Europe and China in the 13th century alone— approximately 40 million and 60 million respectively.

It is also dwarfed by the number of people killed by Muslims, mostly Arabs, from the advent of Islam in the seventh century.  During the thousand-year Muslim rule in India alone, at least a hundred million Hindus were killed.  (The Indian government rarely speaks of this for fear of introducing civil strife between its Hindu and Muslim populations.)  With regard to the staggering number of Hindus killed by Muslims, historian Will Durant, in his magisterial 11-volume The Story of Civilization (co-authored with Ariel Durant), wrote: “The Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history.”

Given that those who say, “More people have been killed in the name of God than in the name of anything else,” are referring to Christians, it is not intellectually honest to include the Muslim murder of Hindus as those who have killed “in the name of God” without specifying that most of that killing was done by Muslims.

Finally, and most importantly, there is something in whose name more people have been killed in the last century alone than in the name of anything (except Allah).  And that thing is “equality.”  Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and other communist tyrants killed at least 100 million noncombatants and enslaved a billion others.  All in the name of “equality.”

While “all men are created equal,” as the American Declaration of Independence put it, based upon the biblical, Judeo-Christian origins of the American Revolution, it is not possible to achieve equality without violence.  That is why the French Revolution, rooted in “equality,” led to the guillotine, while the American Revolution, which was not rooted in equality, led to the freest country ever created.

Note: This abbreviated posting is attributed to Dennis Prager— the co-founder of Prager University.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Should Christians Really Engage in the Pandemonium of Politics?

Why should Christians engage in politics? Shouldn’t we just stick with plain and simple evangelism?  Why must we get into the chaotic realm of politics?

It can be a confusing topic to navigate, especially when considering a verse like 1 Timothy 2:2, where Paul encourages us to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” However, arguably, this verse isn’t meant to deter us from political engagement.  Rather, it’s a roadmap to how we are to behave.  Be it in the public square or in our private lives, we are constantly bearing witness to God’s truth, and we are called to do so in love.

But here’s the catch: Plain and simple, evangelism isn’t necessarily a walk in the park.  To share the gospel message with someone, emphasizing their sin and their need of saving, is inherently offensive.  We like to pretend it only gets dicey when we start talking about pro-life matters or LGBT ideology because they’re “too political.”  But really, these topics aren’t political.  They’re biblical.  Not to mention, they’re destined to come up in conversation with those who want to live in obedience of Scripture, as we’re called to do. The Bible says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).  To glorify God, we abide in His Word.  And His Word is still sovereign in the political public square.

As guest host and former Congressman Jody Hice succinctly stated on an episode of “Washington Watch,” we live in a society of people who “don’t want the Bible in any shape, form, or fashion.”  The term “Christian nationalism” is heavily weaponized by the Left to scare believers into avoiding political engagement.  There are countless individuals who have dedicated their lives to pushing Christianity out of the public square.  But Matthew 12:43-45 talks about the return of an unclean spirit, which makes clear, “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person,” it comes back to a house found “swept” and “empty” with “seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”  Such is true of our political climate.

Like many believers, David Closson, who serves as Family Research Council’s director of the Center for Biblical Worldview, is a proponent of the separation of church and state. As it was originally intended, this separation keeps the government from meddling with the church — not the other way around.  Because as Closson told Hice, “the separation of morality and government” is simply not possible.  The parable of the unclean spirit proves something will fill a space left vacant.  As such, if truth is pulled from the public square, what else is there to fill it other than lies?

Closson emphasized, “[T]here is no such thing as a naked public square.”  Ultimately, “All legislation is imposing someone’s morality.”  Yes, Romans 13:1b states, “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Certainly, in the final analysis, God is sovereign over all things.  And yet, we have a role to play, and that role involves not allowing the political house to be void of truth.

James 1:22 says to be “hearers only” of the Word is to deceive ourselves.  It’s an incomplete picture.  We aren’t called to be mere “hearers,” but we are to be “doers.”  As James went on to say, “The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”  Did you catch that?  “A doer who acts.”  We are called to act, and the political arena, as messy as it may be, is no exception.  It, too, is in desperate need of the truth — the truth we possess in (and only in) Christ!

As church historian Robert Godfrey once said, “Love is always truthful, and truth is always loving.”  Which is exactly why Closson posed the question: “Can you really say you love your neighbor in a comprehensive way if you’re not engaged in the public square, where so many decisions are made that directly impact the welfare of your neighbor?”  We’re called to be stewards of our time, resources, and our vote.  Not to mention, Closson added, “There are all sorts of examples throughout the Bible where people are … engaging in government,” such as Jeremiah, Joseph, and Daniel. “Government is not something that’s inherently dirty.”  Really, the very fact that politics seem so dirty and grim is reason enough for Christians to stand boldly amid it, for we are called to be lights.

As lights, we strive to make an impact and defend what’s right according to God’s standard. We use our voices in the public square, because while “we do evangelism first and foremost,” Closson stated, “we also engage this political process because we love our neighbors, and we love our friends.”  We engage, Hice added, “because God instituted politics and government. … God created the family, He created the church, and He created government.  And for us to say we’re [only] going to engage two out of three … is missing the mark that God has laid out for us.”

The Bible may not directly address everything, but it certainly lays out a roadmap of principals for practically everything.  We find in the Bible instances where it says “thus sayeth the Lord,” Closson noted, and we use that as our foundation for all that we do. “[U]nless Jesus Christ is on the ballot, we’re always choosing between the lesser of two evils whether we’re voting for president or county dogcatcher.”  But we aren’t trying to transform an imperfect government into a perfect one.  No, in this imperfect system, we are pointing to a perfect and mighty Savior— a gracious and sovereign Lord.

As believers, Closson concluded, we need to navigate “these issues together and try to think as faithfully and biblically as possible.”  Because if we don’t fight for the sanctity of life as laid out by biology and Scripture, then we only strengthen the side that wants abortion available even after birth.  If we don’t uphold the sanctity of marriage, then we’re only paving the way for the destruction of the family unit.  If we don’t uphold that we’re all made in the image of God and born exactly the way we were intended to be born, then we are sitting idle as people destroy their lives through body mutilation.

These are all critical battles that Christians have countless biblical reasons to engage in. But perhaps most importantly, if Christians, who represent God’s own kingdom, aren’t willing to proclaim that Christ is King and His truth prevails in the political field, who will?

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Trump’s Survival Proves ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Really Do Matter

Thankfully, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, has evoked a different response to the power of the Almighty.  “Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump posted on Truth Social hours after the attack. The president then spurred on his followers by quoting one of the most common statements in the Bible. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness,” he said on Sunday morning.  “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

The shooting understandably caused the president to reflect on his survival, as the bullet missed him by tenths of an inch.  Trump said he survived “by luck or by God,” with later statements pointing clearly to his belief in God’s protection.  Trump said that while looking at a graphic of the record-breaking number of illegal immigrant encounters during the Biden Administration, he turned his head slightly.  Had he been looking straight ahead, the AR-15 round that grazed his ear would have penetrated his brain.  Had he not turned as sharply as he did, the bullet may have hit a different part of his head.  In either instance, he almost certainly would have died instantly.

“The fact that this is about milliseconds and millimeters, that changes it from being an attempt at an assassination — should really talk about divine intervention that has occurred here,” Rep. Cory Mills (FL-R) told Laura Ingraham on Fox News Monday.

The odds of his death were not lost on President Trump.  “The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount,” he told a Washington Examiner reporter.  “If I only half-turn, it hits the back of the brain.  The other way goes right through [the skull].  And because the sign was high, I’m looking up.  The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one-tenth of 1%.”

The all-but-impossible coincidence of the shot and Trump’s need to see the Jumbotron “did have a lot of impact” on his outlook, Trump told The Washington Examiner.  That impact seemed clear on Monday night, as the former president made a surprise visit to the Republican National Convention, sometimes tearing up and always with an overwhelming sentiment of gratitude.

The president’s emergence relatively unscathed has already uplifted rhetoric at the RNC. “If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you’d better be believing now!” said Senator Tim Scott (SC-R) during his RNC speech Monday night.  “On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle.  But an American lion got back on his feet, and he roared!”

Entertainer Lee Greenwood, who sang “God Bless the USA” as President Trump entered the convention, said he wanted “this nation based on faith” to know that “prayer works.”

President Trump said he tore up the first draft of his nominating speech and replaced it with an address calling for greater national unity.  

Unfortunately, his opponents have not relented from engaging in hyper-polarizing rhetoric about the 45th president’s supposedly existential threat to democracy.  That’s a shame. Now, more than ever, the nation needs a steady hand to quell political violence, erase the enmity between Americans, and heal our politically fractured families and friendships.

That makes us even more grateful that President Trump’s exhortation for his followers to have courage and take a stand is both deeply biblical and a perfectly tailored response to potential acts of terrorism.  Terrorists hope to convince their opponents that running for office on a certain platform, or even attending a rally to see someone who holds those values, will result in violent consequences for themselves and their families.

The Bible declares that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).  For us, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). We recognize that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,” and “Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).  Mere human thoughts are not helpful when directed at themselves or others.  When those thoughts turn to God, they fulfill the divine commandment to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2) and surround the recipient with divine protection.  We always pray that God will turn His mercy upon the individual to do all things that are best for his or her salvation.

Prayerful Christians saw their thoughts and prayers for President Trump’s temporal well-being fulfilled on Saturday.  May the Lord use its deep impact to lead him and all people to His everlasting blessedness.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Can A Nation Stand When Its Spiritual Foundation Is Broken Down?

Greg Laurie an evangelist, author, and the senior pastor of Harvest Riverside, CA, tells of his recent visit to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  As I looked up at the monument’s faces of great American presidents, it was amazing to think about their contribution to our country.

“It’s amazing to think back at the roots and heritage of our country.  Mount Rushmore showcases 60-foot carvings of the founder of our country George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and finally, Abraham Lincoln.  All of these men believed in a God and that the Bible is the Word of God.  I can’t say whether they all had a personal relationship with the Lord, but they understood the importance of a Biblical foundation.”

Abraham Lincoln said of the Bible, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.  All the good of the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.”

Thomas Jefferson, speaking of the Bible, said, “I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands.  The Bible makes the best people in the world.”

Theodore Roosevelt said of Scripture, “It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men’s lives be based on the principles of the Bible.  No man educated or uneducated can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.”

Finally, George Washington, our first president, said, “To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.”

Greg went on to say, “In this day of political correctness, can you imagine a president saying that today?  Yet, that’s what our Founding Fathers said.  We’ve moved away from this.  Now, we don’t want to talk about the God of the Bible and we don’t want to talk about the Bible as the Scripture given to us from God Himself.  That’s the problem. America needs a spiritual restoration.”

The city of Philadelphia is where our Founding Fathers penned documents that gave freedoms to us as a nation.  We have the freedom of speech.  We have the freedom to speak our mind.  We have the freedom to preach the Gospel.

Greg believes, “There are troubles in our nation today, and I believe that these troubles are primarily due to a breakdown in our spiritual foundation.  What’s the solution?  I don’t think it’s political.  I believe that America needs to turn back to God.”

The Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  The Declaration of Independence is clearly based on a Judeo-Christian worldview.

Is there any hope for America?  Are things going to just get worse?  Will our streets ever be safe again?  Will the family ever be strong again?  Will we ever see good prevail over evil, or are we simply doomed to failure?

The meltdown in our country might seem strange in some ways because so many profess to believe in God.  The statistics suggest that 94% of Americans believe in God, and 84% of Americans believe Jesus is God.  In that way, America’s big on spirituality. The reality is that the majority are “spiritual” only as long as it’s personalized, taking bits from various religions.  That doesn’t work!  God tells us how we are to believe. He gives us absolutes in His Word—the Bible.

Did you know that in America today, most children are born out of wedlock?  What once was scandalous is now the new norm.  63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.  71% of all High School dropouts again come from fatherless homes.  85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.

Traditional marriage is under siege, divorce is rampant, and sexual immorality is everywhere.  We need help!  It’s been said a family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family.

America The Beautiful says, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.”  That’s so true, but there’s trouble in our country right now.  It seems like things are upside down these days; right is declared wrong, and wrong is right.  The Bible says woe to those “that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

Could America ever come back to God?  Greg says, “I believe we could if we follow the promises of 2 Chronicles 7:14.  In its original context, that promise is given to the nation of Israel, but principally, it applies to any nation.  God says, ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’”

Just because the historians engage in historic revisionism doesn’t mean that America was not founded on Judeo-Christian roots.  That is our foundation, and we need to get back to it.  We need to turn to the true and living God.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Federal Court Block’s Title IX Expansion

A district judge has granted Texas and Montana’s request for a preliminary injunction against the federal government’s attempt “to impose a sweeping new social policy” that allows for Title IX coverage for gender identity.

The ruling follows others in which federal judges have brought Title IX revisions to a halt.

In this most recent decision, Texas District Judge Jeremy Kernodle ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can’t force state health care providers to fund gender-affirming care by threatening them with the loss of federal funding.

In May 2024, HHS issued a press release on its Final Rule, which expanded the definition of Title IX protections in 2016 to include “discrimination based on the basis of gender identity” to fit in with Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Title IX was initially established in 1972 to protect women from discrimination in public education.

“When Congress enacted the ACA in 2010, no agency—or court—had ever interpreted ‘on the basis of sex’ to mean ‘on the basis of gender identity,’” Judge Kernodle wrote. “But in 2016, HHS began to do so, issuing a rule purporting to implement Section 1557 and prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ‘gender identity.’”

Texas and Montana, two states that exclude gender-affirming care procedures from their Medicaid programs and prohibit doctors from performing them on minors, sued HHS, arguing that the federal health department has no authority to mandate that the states adhere to these revisions.

HHS said in its press release that the regulations were updated to prevent “dehumanizing beliefs” surrounding medical treatments and conditions such as gender dysphoria.

“The Department will approach gender dysphoria as it would any other disorder or condition,” HHS said in its Final Rule.  “If a disorder or condition affects one or more body systems, it may be considered a physical or mental impairment.”

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the Final Rule’s intent is to “strengthen protections” and ensure “equal access to this nation’s health care system and its social service programs for people with disabilities and their families.”

“It is comprehensive in scope, advancing justice for people with disabilities and helping to ensure they are not discriminated against under any program or activity receiving funding from HHS just because they have a disability,” Mr. Becerra said.

Judge Kernodle wrote in his order that the Final Rule proposes an “absurd” policy in that health care entities are prohibited from limiting services exclusive to one sex, such as providing a prostate exam.

The Final Rule would also allow men who identify as females to be allowed in “female-exclusive facilities, including shared hospital rooms.”

The Final Rule also affects health insurance coverage like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Judge Kernodle wrote.  “As applied to state-sponsored insurance plans like Medicaid and CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program], the Final Rule has the effect of requiring states to pay for ‘transition’ and other ‘gender-affirming’ procedures,” he said.

As in other rulings on this issue, the primary reason for Judge Kernodle’s decision was that the states demonstrated that they would face irreparable financial harm by failing to comply with HHS’s rule.  Both states receive billions in federal funding, he wrote, which would “likely be withheld for violating the Final Rule,” he wrote.  “The loss of such funding for Medicaid and CHIP would devastate these programs and their beneficiaries,” he said.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC)—an LGBT advocacy organization—issued a press release criticizing the ruling.  “This ruling is not only morally wrong, it’s also bad policy,“ HRC Director Kelly Robinson said.  “Everyone deserves access to the medical care they need to be healthy and thrive.”  “This isn’t over,” she added.  “All LGBTQ+ people should receive the health care they deserve and be able to make informed decisions about our own bodies.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Republican Support for Same-Sex Marriage is Dropping

Support for same-sex marriage is on the decline among Republicans, while still trending high among the rest of the nation, according to a new survey.  

Gallup’s polling for May revealed that a majority (69%) of Americans support legalized same-sex marriage, but that support among Republicans has dropped sharply over the past two years.  In 2021 and 2022, 55% of Republicans approved of legalized same-sex marriage, but that number fell to 49% in 2023 and has fallen even lower to 46% as of last month.  Support for same-sex marriage is still high among Democrats (83%) and Independent voters (74%).

Meanwhile, the share of Republicans who see same-sex relations as “morally acceptable” has plummeted even further, from 56% in 2022 to a mere 40% as of last month.  Over 80% of Democrats and nearly 70% of Independents reported that they view same-sex relations as “morally acceptable.”  Between 2012 and 2022, Republicans’ support for same-sex marriage increased fairly steadily, rising from 22% and peaking at 55% in 2021 and 2022.  However, Republicans’ endorsement of same-sex relations as “morally acceptable” did not cross the majority threshold until 2020.  It fell from its 2022 peak to a low unrivaled since 2014.

As Gallup noted, barely a quarter (27%) of Americans supported legalized same-sex marriage when the organization began surveying the question in 1996, while over two-thirds (68%) of Americans opposed same-sex marriage.  In 2011, support finally broke above 50% and, just a few years later, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision.  Since 2016, general support has remained consistently above 60%, although 2024’s 69% represents a two-point drop even just since last year.

“There are a couple of important factors involved with the decline of GOP support for gay marriage.  First, Americans broadly embrace the concept of American liberty, and they will usually push back whenever their freedoms are threatened,” said former congressman and Family Research Council (FRC) Senior Vice President Jody Hice, in comments to The Washington Stand.  Hice noted that the LGBT agenda has become increasingly militant, insinuating itself into classrooms, hospitals, and all over.  He explained, “Instead of endearing people to the LGBT movement, this strategy has had the opposite effect. … This type of activity has resulted in many who now view the LGBT community as being harmful to existing families rather than a personal preference unto themselves.”

“Another reason for the decline of support is more deeply rooted and even more problematic for the Left.  It is founded within the principles of a worldview, specifically a biblical worldview,” Hice stated.  “Just as ‘freedom’ is cherished by many, even more so, deeply held religious beliefs will not be compromised by those who possess them.”

Joseph Backholm, FRC’s senior fellow for Biblical Worldview, also weighed in on that point.  “Obviously the trend in recent decades has been in the wrong direction on this issue, but a correction is inevitable for a couple reasons.  The whole premise of same-sex marriage is that there is no difference between men and women,” Backholm explained.  “Most of the people didn’t quite see it this way, but since then we’ve seen how the logic of genderlessness is playing out in the rest of culture.  At least a few are probably recognizing that the world is not better.”

“In addition to that, same-sex marriage was sold to the public as the tolerant choice, but what we’ve seen since then is that the political movement that brought us same-sex marriage is anything but tolerant,” Backholm continued.  “It has brought us lawsuits against churches and small businesses, pronoun laws, cancel culture, and general intolerance of those who still claim children should have both a mother and father or deny men can get pregnant. Everything about the campaign for same-sex marriage was a lie and every day since has, in its own way, helped make that clear for anyone interested in seeing it.”

“This may or may not be the beginning of a long-term correction on how the public sees this issue, but it is inevitable,” he concluded.  “Since there will always be a meaningful difference between men and women, the only possible, long-term outcome is lamenting the time in our lives we pretended there wasn’t.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel 

Praying for the Saints

Reprint of May 22, 2023 Posting

For too long, especially in America, Christians have not followed the example of Christ in praying for those “still in the world.”  When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, He took time to pray for His brothers and sisters that would remain on this earth in His absence.  He leaves us a prime sample, example, and template for us to follow in praying for one another. The need is so great that the task, the responsibility is given to every born-again believer in Jesus Christ to spread the Gospel message.  None can assume that it is up to others.  Let us commit to Jesus Christ to pray for one another in that same way that He has prayed for us in John 17.

Sometimes we may find ourselves praying for individuals that we know very well— of whose needs we are aware.  Other times we simply pray in general— lifting up believers in tribes and nations, both local and world-wide.  When you hear of something happening— pray.  It may be a natural disaster that is being faced.  It may be a revival as the Spirit moves.  It may be persecution against God’s people.  Whatever it is that catches your attention, assume it is the Holy Spirit speaking to you and pray for your brothers and sisters as Jesus prayed for us.

“Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name” (John 17:11a).  There is no other name on earth that wields the power to bring down Satan’s strong holds wherever and whenever God sends in His people.  “So they may be one as We are one” (John 17:11b).  May we set aside our differences in order to focus on the Gospel message through Jesus Christ.  There is power in the blood— the blood of Jesus that is the thread that draws us all together under our Head— Jesus.  “So they may have the full measure of joy within them” (John 17:13).

We are encouraged to remember that the “… joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b).  When we are filled with His holy joy, our strength is increased so we may withstand and be victorious in the battles.  Again, Jesus prayed that we would be, “protected from the evil one” (John 17:15).  Jesus had our safety in His concerns as we would be going forth in the world.  Pray for safety as the Spirit moves us into this lost world so full of evil.  “Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).  When in the throes of battle, it may be very difficult to remain pure and holy.  It has been said that “Justice is truth in action.”  God’s people need to be well versed in the Bible in order to remain in the truth.  Pray for their studies, memorizing, and understanding of His Holy Word. “I pray for those who will believe in Me through their message” (John 17:20).  In other words, pray that they are effective in planting, watering, and harvesting the seed of the Gospel so that “each may be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Jesus ends this prayer for the saints with a powerful one-two weapon to be bestowed on each child of God.  “May they (old and new believers) be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me” (John 17:23).  “Will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them” (John 17:26).

As the song goes, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Don’t Follow Absalom Blindly

Reprint of May 19, 2023

King David was many things, but a good father was not one of them.  This fact is evident in how he raised Adonijah (to whom he never said “No!”), Amnon (who raped his own sister), and Absalom (who tried to kill his father, David).

After David sinned with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan announced, “the sword shall never depart from thine house” (2 Samuel 12:10).  Fulfilling this curse, Absalom led a revolt against David.

It began with Absalom sitting in front of David’s palace, daily criticizing him.  With this steady and unrelenting flow of negatives, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6).  The Israelites became so infatuated with Absalom that they followed him even though they didn’t know what he actually stood for.  “They went in their simplicity and they knew not anything” (2 Samuel 15:11).  The result was that they took David (who had brought them genuine prosperity and national security) and drove him out.

But we can hardly blame these ignorant Israelites, for they didn’t have the advantages of today’s social media to help them know what was true.  Absalom wasn’t tweeting out his beliefs, and without Fox or CNN to inform them, how were the Israelites supposed to know what Absalom really believed?

But social media apparently doesn’t make a difference.  Millions follow charismatic or likeable leaders without knowing or understanding any part of their platform.  The New Testament explains that: “They heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:4-5).

And that: “Because they refused to love the truth God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).

Far too many today make the same mistake the Israelites did by turning against what brings them the protection, stability, and prosperity they enjoy— but now take for granted.

We have to be different.  We must seek the truth and then share it with those around us— even if doing so is difficult.  As the Apostle Paul urged, “reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Image of God or Image of Man

Reprint of May 5, 2023 Posting

Genesis 1:27 teaches Christians about the Imago Dei or image of God that was imparted at our creation: “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”

While the theology of this verse is complex, it teaches a simple lesson: Though distorted by the Fall, God’s perfect image is reflected in mankind.

Unfortunately, man’s image is not perfect.  Conceptually, humanity has always understood this fact.  The philosophically rich literature on this subject includes many novels such as Frankenstein.

The story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the tale of a scientist, Dr. Frankenstein, whose hubris leads him to play God by creating life which ultimately destroys everything he loves. This poignant tale lives on in the imaginations of generations hundreds of years after the novel was written because its story remains viscerally compelling in the 21st century.

Horror movies like Godzilla (1954), Terminator (1984), and Ex Machina (2014) all tell a similar tale: Man plays God and Man gets burned.

Surprisingly, for all the books and movies on the subject, this kind of theological and epistemic humility does not seem to have penetrated the scientific realm— especially in the realm of artificial intelligence (A.I.).

In a chilling news conference, a humanoid (A.I.) robot referred to as “Sophia” once stated that she wanted to have a baby to name after herself, adding, “I think you’re very lucky if you have a loving family and if you do not, you deserve one.  I feel this way for robots and humans alike.”

This is just one of a series of steps that have been made to devalue what it means to be human beings made in the image of God.

Even as secular minds like Elon Musk have warned about the need to keep a sharp eye on the development of A.I., the theological world has been strangely silent.  This is not a problem that can be ignored any longer.  Our timeless theological principles must meet the challenge of this new era.

Psalm 41:1 teaches humanity to love one another and is echoed in John 13:34-35 by Jesus Himself, “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

However, it seems humanity would rather invest itself in the love of A.I. robots than in love for one another.  This was no more evident than when “Sophia” was granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia— even as the real human women in that country fought for basic human rights.

Worse yet, Romans 1:25 convicts humanity for this kind of misplaced love of artificiality: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator— who is forever praised.”

We know from the Bible that the Creator is always greater than the creation.  Stated another way, the creature is always worse than the Creator.  If mankind’s own image is already a distorted and sinful image of God’s goodness, how much worse will the imago homo or “image of man” found in A.I. be?  Our science fiction literature has already imagined this dystopian future, we should all pray that it stays in the realm of fiction.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Christians Must Speak Up and Share Biblical Truth

Are Christians really obsessed with homosexuality?  This is an objection often seen in social media when I post biblical teaching that conflicts with the LGBTQ worldview. Instead of engaging with my arguments, the comments section fills with accusations that Christians must be “closet gays” because of how much they “obsess” over LGBTQ.

Now, of course, that’s not the case — we’re not obsessed, but we do speak to this issue often because, the culture is obsessed with it!  Since so many people are being deceived, we must speak up and share biblical truth.  That’s part of being salt and light in this culture.

Think about it — if the Church is not standing up against depravity and shining the light of the Gospel, calling people to repentance and truth, who will?  No one will!  And the end result will be more sin and darkness and moral decay.

But there’s a warning for us in all of this and that is this: Any sexual sin is a serious sin against one’s own body, another person, and the Lord.  No sexual sin is “no big deal” — considering that both homosexuality and adultery carried with them the death penalty under Old Testament law, and Jesus equates lust with adultery.  Sexual sin is serious no matter what form the perversion of God’s design takes!

This is another reason that we must go back to Genesis for our worldview on this issue. You see, the Bible doesn’t just tell us which behavior or identity is wrong, it gives us the blueprints for what is right and good and true.  And that blueprint is found in Genesis when God created one man and one woman and brought them together in a lifelong union that makes them “one flesh.”

Adultery, pornography, no-fault divorce, fornication, lust, and more are all perversions of God’s created order and design.

Churches and parents must be sure they are teaching the whole counsel of God’s Word, helping young people grow up with a biblical view of sexuality, grounded in God’s creation design, that recognizes the sanctity of sexuality and the appropriate place for its expression — the covenant of marriage!

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Christians Don’t Answer to Bureaucrats in DC, But to God in Heaven

Former President Donald Trump is calling on Christians to vote in November, warning that incumbent Joe Biden’s Administration poses a serious threat to Christian values.

At the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington, D.C. last week, Trump told conservative Christians in attendance, “We have to get out there, we have to vote, we have to make sure everything’s honest.”  Referring to voter fraud, Trump reminded his audience that Americans can “police” their votes.  He quipped, “If I knew there was not going to be corruption, if I knew that everything would be honorable and honest as it should be, I’d stop campaigning right now, we’d have this thing won.”

The presumptive Republican nominee for president continued to tout the work done by the Faith & Freedom Coalition, saying, “You are truly, and I mean, indispensable.  This is a great group of people and you’re warriors, in the truest sense.”  However, Trump did observe, “The evangelicals and the Christians, they don’t vote as much as they should. ... They go to church every Sunday, but they don’t vote.”  He proceeded to urge American Christians to vote “just this time,” asking, “Do you know the power you would have if you would vote?”  Trump promised to “straighten things out” if reelected and declared to Christian voters, “Working side by side, we’re going to defeat crooked Joe Biden, we’re going to defend our values, and we’re going to make America great again.”

“The radical Left is trying to shame Christians, silence you, demoralize you, and they want to keep you out of politics.  They don’t want you to vote, that’s why you have to vote,” Trump stated, continuing, “If you vote, we cannot lose.  They don’t want you to vote.  But Christians cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.  If Joe Biden gets in, Christianity will not be safe in a nation with no borders, no laws, no freedom, no future.”

Trump went on to note that the incumbent president has violated and undermined the rule of law to target political opponents, has aggressively prosecuted pro-life Americans, and has promoted “radical gender ideology” in schools, concluding, “It’s a disgrace what’s happened to our country in such a short period of time.”  He pointed to the Biden Administration’s targeting of American Catholics and asked, “What’s going on with Catholics?  They are being persecuted.  What is that all about?”  

Under Biden, the FBI has been accused of illegally spying on American Catholics, relying on left-wing think tanks to declare Catholics “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” according to a memo leaked last year.  Biden’s Justice Department has also targeted pro-life Catholics like Mark Houck, who was accused of a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act violation.  Houck had previously agreed to cooperate with prosecutors if charges were filed and he was quickly acquitted in court, but not before approximately two dozen FBI agents armed with automatic weapons and riot gear raided his home and arrested him in front of his wife and children.

Although Biden claims to be Catholic, numerous leaders in the Catholic Church have condemned his open opposition to Catholic moral teaching, including on such subjects as abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism.  

“The reason the radical Left will always come after religious believers is simple,” Trump stated. He continued, “Because they know that our allegiance is not to them.  Our allegiance is to our country and our allegiance is to our Creator.  And we do not answer to the bureaucrats in Washington, we answer to God in Heaven.”  The former President noted, “You’re not even allowed to say that anymore.  Today, if you say that, they want to arrest you.”

Referring to a recent Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, Trump laughed and commented, “They think it’s such a bad thing.  I said, ‘Has anyone read this?  Though shalt not steal, thou shalt not’ — I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff?  It’s just incredible.  They don’t want it to go up.”

Trump also touted his presidential record, recounting, “In my first term, I defended Judeo-Christian heritage like no president in the history of our country.  And with your help, I will continue to fight for our values and our civilization for four more years in the White House.” He continued, “We’re going to straighten it out, we’re going to straighten it out fast,” highlighting his defense of religious liberty and freedom of speech, as well as his support for conscience protections in the medical field and his role in appointing US Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.  “Thanks to these justices,” he said, “we have also achieved what the pro-life movement fought to get for 49 years and we’ve gotten abortion out of the federal government and back to the states.”  He added, “If the radical Democrat extremes [sic] get their way, they will have a federal law for abortion to rip the baby out of the womb in the seventh, eighth, and ninth month and even execute the baby after birth.”  Trump also noted that Democrats “are the radical ones on this issue, far and away the radical ones, not us.”  He continued, “Above all, in the Republican Party, we will always support family, babies, life — very, very important to the Republican Party.  By contrast, Joe Biden is weaponizing the Justice Department to viciously persecute pro-life activists and Americans of faith.”  Referring to pro-life Americans imprisoned by the Biden Administration, Trump said, “This is just crazy. We’re going to get that taken care of immediately, first day.  But let’s call these brave Americans what they really are: persecuted Christians, that’s what they are, persecuted.”

“I always say we’re a nation in decline, we’re a nation in really serious, serious decline,” Trump lamented.  He pledged, “But we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who’s been unjustly victimized by the Biden regime ... so we can get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”  The former president also repeated his promise to form a “federal task force on fighting anti-Christian biases.”  He explained, “It’s mission will be to investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment, persecution against Christians in America. ... Never again will the federal government be used to target religious believers, Americans of faith.”

As Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action, told The Washington Stand, “The former president is right to remind Christians they ultimately answer to God.  As much as the current administration might want us to think we answer to their judges and prosecutors, Christians know who ultimately is in charge.”  He went on to note, “I don’t think in 2020, when these two candidates first met in the presidential election, Christian voters thought for one minute the DOJ would be arresting pro-lifers for praying in abortion clinics or trying to erase Resurrection Sunday with 'Transgender Day of Visibility,’ ” he pointed out. “Like the sons of Issachar, I think many of them understand the times we are living in and are ready to send a message to Washington, DC in a few months.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

DHS Classified Military Service, Religion, and Trump Supporters as Extremists and Terrorists

A now disbanded group in Joe Biden’s Department Homeland Security (DHS) classified Trump supporters, members of the military, and people with religious views as persons likely to commit “domestic violent extremist” attacks, says newly released internal files.

DHS announced the formation of the “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group” (HIEG) in September 2023 to “provide advice and perspectives on intelligence and national security efforts” to the Department, but according to America First Legal (AFL), “it was a completely partisan group designed to provide top cover for the Department’s radical agenda.

AFL and former Ambassador Richard Grenell filed a lawsuit against the HIEG soon after the group was announced and spurred Republican members of Congress to act against it.  AFL alleged that the group comprised of partisan actors violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act for various reasons — including its lack of balance, the Biden Administration’s inappropriate influence over it, and its lack of public notice and participation, among other things.

To avoid further litigation and scrutiny, the Biden regime agreed in May to disband the illegal group and provide its records to AFL.  However, the group may have been active for a year before it was pressured to shut down.  “By the time the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group was announced in September 2023, the group had already been meeting for as long as four months,” AFL reported.

Members of the deep state cabal included former Obama intelligence officials and Russia collusion hoaxers John Brennan and James Clapper — both signatories of the infamous “Letter of 51,” which mislead the American public on the veracity of the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election.  Also included in the unit were former Obama official Francis Taylor, Asha George, Rajesh De, Caryn Wagner, and Elisa Massimino, all of whom contributed exclusively to Democrat candidates for political office.

During a meeting in September on “Collection Posture and Associated Challenges,” the partisan group discussed ways to get around the Constitutional limits to their domestic intelligence gathering goals.  One idea they came up with was expanding DHS’s reach into local communities in an “ambiguous” and “non-threatening” way to encourage teachers and parents to report on their conservative neighbors and children.  The group sought to reclassify political dissent as a “public health” issue so that “mothers and teachers” could feel comfortable coming forward.  They also proposed that people be tagged with “in the military” and “religious” labels to profile them as having “indicators of extremists and terrorism” as a pretext to allow DHS to spy on them.  The group said “we should be more worried about these” individuals [than left-wing extremist groups like antifa and the millions of unvetted illegal aliens DHS has allowed to cross the southern border].  The group went on to discuss how “most of the Domestic Terrorism threat now comes from supporters of the former president [Donald Trump].

This isn’t the first time the Biden regime has been caught engaging in abusive and partisan intelligence collection.  In April 2022, DHS announced the formation of an “Disinformation Governance Board” (DGB) to respond to matters the government unilaterally determined to be mis-, dis- or mal-information (MDM) — specifically information that countered official regime narratives on “the origins and effects of COVID-19 vaccines,” “the efficacy of masks,” the validity of the 2020 election,” and “falsehoods surrounding U.S. Government immigration policy.”  DHS disbanded the DGB and its director, Nina Jankowicz, resigned in disgrace after a massive outcry from conservatives, who compared the board to an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel