Despite being the First Speaker of the Doctrine of Universal Harmony, I’m not much on theology. In my mind, “theology” and “wild guess” are interchangeable terms. Philosophy, though, is a different story. I very much appreciate philosophy and I have noticed that pretty much all religions center around people who have simply pulled together positive philosophies and tried to get people to understand and follow them. The philosophies, not the people. The people who insist they be followed, instead of the message, are usually cult leaders.
For reasons I can never understand, so-called Christian Nationalists are forever pushing to have a specific element of Jewish law placed in every classroom in the country. Forget separation of church and state, post some Jewish law in every classroom. My suspicion is that, AS Christian Nationalists, they’re far less “Christian” and far MORE “Nationalist,” so they don’t much care which part of the Bible gets posted, just so long as they’re being very publicly seen to be “Christian.” You know, -ish. “Christian-ish.”
If I were the teacher, which I’m not (you’re welcome), I would teach those Ten Commandments and I would take advantage of a walking, talking embodiment of how NOT to live them, Donald J. Trump. Here, I’ll show you.
- Thou shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
First Felon 47 is forever saying that only HE can fix this or that. Oh, really? In so saying, he’s elevating himself above God. Only 47 can fix it? GOD can’t fix it? Only 47? His words, not mine…- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. (Exodus 20:4-6)
Have you seen the golden statue of Donny that was floating around CPAC? There is at least one photograph of a man seeming to worship the image. How is that NOT a graven image? Just to be sure, though, in an AI generated vision of what Gaza could look like if only the Palestinians weren’t there, he included a golden statue of himself…
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
I’ve always held that taking the Lord’s name in vain is not cussing but, rather, using the name of God for your own purposes. Televangelists do it all the time. So does Donny.- Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)
On most any weekend, you’ll find Donny on a golf course, not in a church. He does nothing to keep the Sabbath holy. More, the use of the word ‘Sabbath’ indicates the Jewish nature of the Ten Commandments as ‘The Sabbath’ generally refers to the period from Friday evening when the Shabbat candles are lit, until Saturday evening…- Honor your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12)
This is a tough one. Did you hear about the time 47 tried to steal all of his father’s money? Dad got word of the scheme and put an end to it, but Donny tried, in earnest, to steal his parent’s money. On the one hand, stealing your parent’s money cannot be seen as honoring your parents. On the other hand, stealing from one’s parents is exactly the kind of person he was raised to be. In making the attempt, it could be said that Donny was “honoring” his parents, but the Doctrine of Universal Harmony holds that there IS no honorable way to commit a crime. Trying to steal their money dishonored them…- Thou shalt not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
Covid-19. Do I need to say more? His feckless, failed handling of the pandemic killed countless people and it all happened because he made choices. BAD choices. He made choices for political gain, knowing people would die. I call that murder…- Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
The boy cheats on everyone. He cheated on his first wife, Ivana, with his second wife, Marla. He cheated on his second wife, Marla, with his third wife, Melania. He cheated on his third wife, Melania, with two other women that we know of, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. There are at least 17 other women who claim they had affairs with him, too…- Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Generally speaking, my assessment of Donny is that if he’s awake, he’s stealing something but, in fairness, that’s just a general impression from loose talk. All other possible observations aside, 47 has been convicted in a court of law for stealing. 34 times…- Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)
Bearing false witness is Bible talk for lying. This is a bit hyperbolic, but I believe Donny lies more than he tells the truth. I’m not sure when I last heard him utter a truthful word. Lies spew from his mouth so easily, it seems as easy for him as breathing. I think of Donny as the father of lies…- Thou shall not covet your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)
47 proudly and publicly covets anything someone has that he wants. A great big airplane? He wants it. Oh, that guy gets military parades? I want a military parade! In stories, the best depiction of Donny is found in Veruca Salt, the greedy, covetous little girl from ‘Charlie and the Choclate Factory.’
Of course, it would be important to emphasize that the Ten Commandments are elements of Jewish law. I know Judaism was the basis of Christianity but Christ brought a new message, a message that was less eye-for-an-eye and more turn-the-other cheek. I prefer the Beatitudes, the teachings of Jesus to his apostles during the Sermon on the Mount. He started his sermon with them.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Then, just to drive the point home, I would post Matthew 25:35-40, The Parable of the Sheep and Goats. You know the one. That’s the one where Jesus explains who gets into Heaven and who doesn’t, and why: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Today’s so-called ‘Christian Nationalists’ don’t even seem to know that part is in the Bible or they’ve chosen to ignore it as inconvenient. It certainly does NOT comport with their “Deport ’em all” attitude. Once the people who forced me to post the Ten Commandments learned I had posted MORE than that, I feel pretty certain I’d be forced to take down the Beatitudes and the Matthew 25 parable. They wouldn’t want the actual teachings of Jesus to interfere with their Christian pretense…
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