TODAY…..A BAD DAY FOR AMERICA

Today is the first day of years of bad days to come for our country. Assuming of course everything goes as Trump and the U.S. Senate anticipate.

This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee meets for what is expected to be a one week process confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Trump could not have made a worse choice. America will rue her ascendancy for many years.

It has to do with religion. I am fully aware that a person’s religion is not to be considered in deciding if she should move on to the Supreme Court. It is not her choice of religion that is the problem. It is how it will affect her judgment and rulings.

The best example is 1960 and John Kennedy’s race for the Presidency. He was Catholic. The U.S. had never had a Catholic President. Many feared that Kennedy would be the Pope’s puppet and his decisions would be influenced by the Pope.

In one sentence, the issue was put to rest. Kennedy said, “Render unto God that which is God’s and to Caesar that which is Caesar’s.”

Barrett’s problem similar to the one Kennedy faced.

Barrett claims to be Catholic. I don’t know and can’t figure if she is. It is not her Catholicism that concerns me, it is her other religious affiliation. People of Praise.

People of Praise is not a church per se. It is a network of para Christian groups. The majority are Catholics, though there are some Protestants.

The group was founded in 1971. It has 1,700 members today.

People of Praise considers itself charismatic. Such concerns me. Most are not aware of what the charismatic movement stands for.

Some of its tenets worry me. Note Barrett can belong to any religious group she wants. However, her involvement with certain types could affect her judgment improperly. In this instance she will succumb to People of Praise dictates.

I had the opportunity to attend a charismatic service in Utica in 1978. I wanted to know what it was about. Especially since my wife and a lady friend had become enamored with the movement. That was all they were talking about at the time.

What I saw that evening was a bunch of nuts.

Charismatics believe in the Holy Spirit. No problem. I do also. The third person of the Holy Trinity. What seemed way out to me was that the people at the service believed that the Holy Spirit would “speak to them in tongues.” Come down from above on a person individually. Speak in a foreign language not understood by the person being so “blessed.”

Simultaneously, the person afflicted would raise his/her arms in a hallelujah cry and shout out I am being talked to. Some ran into the aisles, some fell to the floor ranting.

A holy rollers situation.

There are certain other aspects of Persons of Praise that make me uncomfortable.

Each member has a “head.” A spiritually mature person. A member meets with the “head” on a frequent basis. As many as 3 times a week. The “head” acting as a personal adviser. Note personal adviser. Not just concerning religious matters. The “head” provides areas of encouragement, correction, and help in non religious areas.

Some tenets do not fit into today’s way of thinking. For example, the husband is the head of the household and spiritual adviser to his wife. The wife at all times is subservient to her husband.

You may say so what. How bad can it be? Terrible! Because it is off track. Not normal.

Approach the situation in a different fashion. There are other off beat and/or wacky religious groups.

Those involving snakes. Snake handling. Also known as serpent handling. The group has a small number of churches in the U.S. They are part of Holivers movement.

In addition to Holivers, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and other Evangelicals.

What about Satanism. A recognized religion in the U.S. Contemporary as People of Praise. Founded in 1966.

Snake churches go back to the Middle Ages and before. The Inquisition where people were tortured and put to death.

What about the Salem witch hunts? People claimed the Devil was in their midst or in a person, and reacted accordingly. People were hung and had harm otherwise inflicted upon them.

People who believe snakes are intrinsically involved in religion and those that recognize Satan as their Christ, are deviants to some extent.  How much different from a charismatic group that believes the Holy Spirit descends upon them and “speaks in tongues?” And then they shout out about it in holly roller spirit.

I would be more comfortable if persons of Barrett’s ilk were not considered for the Supreme Court. Barrett’s group thinks differently from most Americans in having a person they must talk to weekly to share concerns, etc. A Supreme Court Justice should not require such counsel and neither seek nor accept it.

To the women, think of how hard you have fought for women’s rights. The hard won battles of the last 60 years. Out the window with Barrett.

As I opened, today is a bad day for America. The Senate Republicans will approve her.

Enjoy your day!

15 comments on “TODAY…..A BAD DAY FOR AMERICA

  1. Our day would be better if you left politics out of it. Every day I look at your blog saying “Today is the day Lou will keep the politics out of it.” And every day is another disappointment. After reading you from the beginning, I will take my leave.

    • With respect, Jeff, I don’t think today (or any day between now and early January) would be a good time for Lou to remove political posts from this blog. There are too many political issues in the news every day to be ignored here. Lou’s readers are going to want to express themselves as we get through a likely very difficult and emotional election process.

      • Why is it that you, (and often only you) are just about the only one who answers “Jeff Watson’s” posts on this blog?

        It seems that Jeff’s posts are generally trolling and yet you seen to have the handy answer you want to make in the first place, don’t you.

        Kinda fishy Thomas J. and kind of dishonest !

        • Trolling? I only say things respectfully. Why would I troll if I basically agree with Lou? I just politely asked him to stop with the politics, which we hear 24/7 everywhere. It’s almost like he has a TV on 24/7(like so many seniors here in Florida) and he’s pissed off because his mind controllers in the media want him pissed off…the other side has their robots pissed off too
          I comment because I like Key West and that’s what I want to hear about…the local stuff, not the continuous “Orange Man Bad, republicans are evil” that we get in almost every post on a daily basis. Now, it’s posts like his that will probably help Donaldus Rex get elected again. Despite what the media says, Trump is likely to be re-elected.

    • Jeff, I’d have to agree. Lou has now gone over the top with this ACB witch hunt agenda. I’m a long time reader because of a love of Key West as a vacation destination. I enjoy hearing about the town from a local’s perspective. Lou’s hatred for the bad orange man has taken this once enjoyable blog down a negative sewer. Hoping we get back on track after Nov 3

  2. Republicans are in a rush to get through ACB’s confirmation hearings. They could save a lot of time by using a method called a dunking chair used by our Puritan ancestors. In this method a woman accused of being a witch or other sort of religious zealot would be strapped to a sturdy chair and dunked under water for an extended period of time in a river or pond. If she survived she was determined to be a witch. If not, she would be remembered as a truly religious person……but dead. The surviving witches were immediately hanged…..also dead. This seems like a quick and easy way to resolve any questions about ACB’s religion-based qualification for a seat on the Supreme Court.

  3. looks like they are now finding Fake (and illegal) ballot voting drop boxes in California as well as Florida. This will probably become even more common as it gets closer to election day.

    Make SURE you know you ballot is going to the right spot!

    THEY cheat!

  4. I carried my mail in ballot into the election office on Whitehead and handed it to them. I called a few days later and was told that my vote had been recorded. Case closed, easy peezy.

  5. Lou – thank you for bringing to light that ACB is a practicing satanist, snake handling, witch. It’s good to know that you are there doing this valuable research for us. Perhaps she will get Kavanaughed in the hearings with this research.

    • Kavanaugh, wasn’t that the guy who aszaulted and raped a bunch of girls when he was in high school and in college and then cried at his confirmation hearings that got pushed through the Senate in record time with barely any kind of proper investigation at all?

      I didn’t know that this Supreme Court nominee is accused of aszault or rape. is that really true, or do you mean that she just might be pushed through (“Kavanaughed”) the process without proper due process?

      It seems to me your post is just wrong or some kind of bat sh*t weird.

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