Preface: I just want to put it out there that this is a personal opinion and my opinion alone. I am in no way advocating for a particular position and political party. / I am no expert on American Politics nor do I pretend to have all the answers. Things irritate me, positions annoy me, politics is a game. I am just so sick of it all. It’s sad when all sides of the spectrum play us as pawns in this carefully constructed game of chess, creating this madness and big budget Hollywood style extravaganza we call modern media. Remember the old days where you could carefully pen out a letter to someone, thinking and rethinking the words till you got it right then put it in an envelope with a stamp and wait a few days to be received. Sometimes I wish we could relive that simplicity when you view a social media post and/or video with the latest celebrity flashing skin and that perfect “butt shot”, making your stomach churn with sadness. This fake plastic world that has been created for us to partake in and the narcissism permeating throughout our screens is another example of pure madness. In the light of recent events, 3 more shootings by 3 morons with no heart and a lack of empathy is further example of this Godless, self centered society everyone is so completely in love with. It is sad that not too many people find the removal of God and our Faith from mainstream society a serious issue. Where does our morality come from? Are you just born from the womb with a natural sense of right and wrong? What if God is a lie to you and your conscience is all dreamed up by society in a game to win your soul? What then? I know these are deeper issues and is more or less my own stream of consciousness but we do have to ask ourselves, who is to blame? I think Five Iron Frenzy said it best in “Zen and the Art of Xenophobia” “The United States of Amnesia. make us numb, make it dumb, anesthesia. Cut the cord, close the door, we don’t know ya, it’s the zen and the art of xenophobia”. We have become NUMB as a nation and insensitive to one another in our pursuits of self satisfaction and importance. I am no expert on gun violence or the 2nd amendment but I do know that more dialogue is needed among people. All this yelling, screaming, HATE, and ignorance from all sides is driving me insane. Sure I have had loyalties to a particular party for most of my adult life but it ends when I disagree with a person, candidate, figure, or actor. Democrats are yelling at Republicans, Republicans are yelling at Democrats, Socialists are rising up and yelling at both, Independents are in the middle, Libertarians are struggling to have their voice heard, Green party is smoking weed, and whoever is left doesn’t have much of a voice to begin with. I don’t get it. I don’t understand all this pain and hurt. What drives a young kid to strap on a Gun and shoot up other men, women, and children? Some blame the guns but guess what, guns have been around for hundreds of years and mass murder in a non-war scenario is fairly new in the past 100 years or so. With that much hate inside, there is no way of stopping a person from wounding others even if you take away the gun. There are still knives, axes, hammers, mallets, shovels, swords, and their own hands that can cause harm. I am not trying to make light of this debate, I’m just trying to say that this goes much deeper than a weapon. Hate is strong with those that are ill informed and victims of bad parenting. Mental illness thrives in this country and beyond our borders. No freakin’ politician is doing anything to better our mental health institutions or offer care for those struggling. I have dealt with this myself and have family members battling mental illness, IT IS NOT FUN. The government doesn’t make our situation better nor do they offer a way out for those struggling. Do I want them to? Probably not but I do want there to be more discussion in the media and among families about mental disorders and what happens with failed treatment. This is in no way a justification for the hate that these people put forth in the form of a weapon but I just hope in the future more people would turn their hearts to Jesus and find hope in the word of God through that thing we call the Bible. If you just read the word, close your eyes and pray for hope, peace, and understanding without all the noise and distraction, maybe then you’ll find your answers.
This has been a stream of consciousness post by Brandon Jones and is in no way and endorsement of a particular political issue or stance. I want you to know that I am like all of you searching for answers and looking to God for healing in this time of pain. I am sorry Reese Roper and company for knocking your last album a little because I may have disagreed with some of it. Reese, you’re a talented fellow with a lot of insight and I have found your words inspiring on many an occasion. I can honestly say that I like nearly every Five Iron Frenzy song made since 1996 and I can’t wait to (hopefully) hear more in the future. Don’t stop the rock.
Honestly, for a stream of consciousness post it remained well rounded. On the political end I agree with the fact that I hate all of it. I can’t stomach the rhetoric, the show and it’s massive failure. On the spiritual, social side I actually think the concept of sin is the most devastating. We blame ideologies, chemical imbalances, influences but not ourselves, our very hearts. Don’t we all have these aspects of hate, lack of empathy, seeing people as other, impersonal, as labels rather than humans worthy of our care, concern, compassion, service and love? Because sin isn’t a category… Read more »
Thank you Mark for your words. Sin is a very real thing and I agree with what you said. I forgot to mention the aspect of sin and our sinful hearts when trying to tie my rambling all together. I really wrote this all out in like 10 minutes and beside some spell correct, just let it go up. I appreciate everyone here for your comments.
Love wins over hate!
Yes
Couldn’t agree more man, such madness. We have to be different. Well spoke .
The problem is sin and you hit it on the head with American society pushing out God. We have said there is no God and become fools. We won’t recognize the problem and therefore cant fix it. In an atheist, nautralistic-evolutionary world, there is no reason why we shouldn’t all kill each other now. In all honesty, we should be thankful that God restrains us and there arent more of these shootings. Not sure on some of the stats and the way you package them into a narrative, but those are peripheral issues not worth arguing about. I resonate with… Read more »
Thanks Paul 😊
I appreciate you getting out your thoughts on such frustratingly maddening matters.
Thanks Nicholas 👍🏻
Everything that is happening in the world is unfolding just as Jesus had foretold it: Matthew 24.
Brandon jones te.falta que entrevistes mas artistas vayas a festivales.cristianos de.rock y entrevistes.ya no.entrevistas hay un montón de artistas que kieren ser conocidos atraves de tu pagina que apoya a los artistas cristianos independientes. Entrevista a know hamilton entrevistas a Judas and the lion a shyni penny a Gandhis gun entrevista stoneshiver bendiciones brandon
What I find interesting about America (as someone looking in from the outside) is that many people from both sides of the political divide still justify their decisions (or lack thereof) based on this God that has (as you put it) been removed from mainstream society. I find that fascinating and scary.
Interesting. Perhaps more fascinating and scary is the nation’s of the people looking at America from the outside only know their own nation to be without God, accept it as normal, and get scared when Christians in America worry for the godlessness of the US.
I’m not sure what you mean exactly but I was just trying to draw correlation of a Godless society (worldwide) leading to more hate, anger, violence, and pain.
I identify with your frustration when it comes to the political and societal structures that seem to be collapsing on us and all around us. I would suggest that there is much more going on than the majority of Americans could even conceive of, or would care to know, for that matter. For one, the United States of America is nothing but a corporation. We were never a democracy. At one time, maybe a Republic. No more, at least not since the late 1800’s. It’s hard to know what true history is when all we’ve been taught are lies. In… Read more »
We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world.
Tldr. But, based on your first few lines, I think you miss the point. The American people are forsaking God. America, to the degree it was a “Christian nation”, was Christian because it’s people were largely Christian. The people are the soul of the country and they had a Christian conscience. We’ve lost that as a people, as a society.
The people you are calling Christians may have believed in God and believed that they were following him but they still destroyed the lives of the native people. That will always be the soul of the country, just as European ‘Christian’ nations were founded on conquest, slaughter and warfare. We are so far removed from the message of Jesus when we talk about ‘Christian’ nations.
I had the Great Awakenings in mind when I wrote the post. There are of course other narratives regarding American history. Glad to see youve been taught at least one–more than we can say for Nada.
Seems like you do have an axe to grind though, so lets cut to the chase: was biblical Israel also a nation founded on conquest, slaughter and warfare? And if so, was it wrong?
Bah. Be nice if this didn’t devolve.
“Was biblical Israel also a nation founded on conquest, slaughter and warfare? And if so, was it wrong?” This wasn’t directed at me, but for what it’s worth… On the one hand, you could take the perspective that what Israel did was right because they related their actions to God’s commands, and it’s in the Bible which is the Word of God… Or maybe it was some Kierkegaardian teleological suspension of the ethical, in which what was right for God’s people at one time would be wrong at another time… Because let’s face it, as Christians today, would we really… Read more »
This answer was iced tea on a sweaty day
Thanks for the affirming words. Maybe I’m not a heretic after all HA HA 😀
Would have acquiesced your first request but your seem to be fine with the convo as long as the points are agreeable to your views. So onward! Feel free to downvote but fair is fair.
Just in case this was directed toward me, I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever downvoted anyone here. It would have to be the kind of comment that Brandon would delete anyway. With that said, this has most definitely not devolved.
Appreciate the thoughtful response. Id say you’re on the right track with your first point, but it goes much farther than that. Why does God commanding something make the thing right? Thats the most important question as it relates to ethics. Second, why would God directing OT Israel to do what He did be morally right? As for Christians today, God would never command them in the same way He did Israel for a few reasons (He does not have the same covenant with them, there would be no way to receive the instruction, etc). To your last points, and… Read more »
Hey Paul, thanks for the reply! I don’t know who down-voted your comments either … weird. You make a lot of good points and ask interesting questions in your comment – a lot of the questions I’ve been struggling with lately. I guess, for me, I tried contenting myself with divine command theory in the past, but deep down feel some cognitive dissonance about it. I don’t want to say I’m abandoning that theological territory entirely because I think that would be too hasty. But I’ve been considering (what I understand to be) Greg Boyd’s basic thesis for “Crucifixion of… Read more »
Good thoughts. These things should be wrestled with. Without getting bogged down in which ethical system you have to subscribe to, I would say ask the more overarching question: from where does right and wrong come from? Like looking at the universe, where do these immaterial, invariant, abstract entities derive? Obviously there will be some overlap with your metaphysics, overall worldview, and other presuppositions, but how do we know good from evil? Treatments of ethical systems, Christian or otherwise (depending on what youve read), will most likely beg the question and assume that ethics are out there and show you… Read more »