When Castro shot his way to power, he also seized the throats of those who opposed him and even punished innocent non-political Cubans. Heady with success, Castro put many hundreds of former Batista officials, policemen, and soldiers on trial, accusing them of war crimes, torture, and murder. Many of the accused were convicted of political crimes then executed after an illegal trial. Thousands of political prisoners suffered and died in filthy prisons.

Trump’s critics will not be treated so cruelly but they could be punished in less harsh ways if man stays true to form.

I’m concerned that if Trump’s presidency is wildly successful (some say even greater than Reagan’s) then those who opposed him might become objects of persecution and mistreatment. It may not be overt persecution–maybe in a more subtle and legal way, such as not hiring a columnist or firing a radio or television commentator. It is so human to strike back and get some licks in on an unpopular advocate for a losing cause. Of course, Trump’s critics are on the far left and on the right where many good friends of mine are.

I will not be sad if some of the harshest, dishonest critics of Trump lose their television shows but it should not be because of what position they took but because they are now so unprofitable, untrustworthy, and unwatchable.

This factor has been true throughout history. While such unfair, undemocratic, and unreasonable behavior has always been wrong, it is incredible that it has been common even by professing Christians who were once losers and became winners.

The original Christians were commanded to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and make disciples for Christ; however, force was never, never an arrow in their quiver. The early church experienced massive persecution in the Roman Empire as they were thrown into the arena with wild beasts, faced professional gladiators, roasted over bonfires, crucified, skinned alive, etc.

Then came the “good times” with Constantine and it almost destroyed the church!

The “conversion” of Constantine and the Edict of Milan in 313 meant relief from government opposition and persecution of Christians; however, it devastated the original churches. As time passed, the state got more involved in the churches and came down hard on pagan worship. Christians were in–pagans were out. Financial support for pagan temples came to an end (and it should have) and Theodosius (379-395) closed the pagan temples and secret worship was forbidden which should not have happened. People have a right to be pagans if they desire. We see that choice every day in America.

If a Christian apostatized, he lost his right of inheritance, military rank, etc. Then pagans were forced to attend church services to be instructed and their children forcibly baptized. Adults who refused baptism were exiled and their property confiscated. So, masses professed Christ, but few possessed Him as was obvious in the way they lived. Non-Christians were barred from holding office. “Christians” were now in control and they made sure everyone knew it.

“Christians” who had been on the outside looking in were now on the inside looking out and reversed the persecution. Their attitude was, “Now that we are in control, it is payback time for the infidels.” That is human but not biblical or democratic.

Chrysostom was a great preacher who said, “There would be no more heathen if few would be true Christians.” But then, he sent mobs to destroy pagan idols and their temples! Later, even godly Christians were imprisoned and killed for “heretical” doctrines!

Christ sent out His disciples as lambs among wolves but now the clergy were the wolves ripping apart the lambs. In about 326, Constantine declared that heretics and schematics be excluded from the mass, burial, and other church privileges. Then in 380, Emperor Theodosius brought the hammer down on all nonconformists and in 385, he hit hard by beheading Priscillian and six followers at Trier. Some church fathers such as Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine indicated their approval!

Augustine said, “It is better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment or by pain. But because the former means are better, the latter must not therefore be neglected….Many must often be brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal sufferings, before they attain the highest grade of religious development….The Lord himself orders that his guests be first invited, then compelled to his great supper.” Augustine was a better exegetist than that and he should have been more humane than that.

It is astounding that such “great” Christian leaders could, once they were in control, pursue, persecute, and prosecute non-conformists. This from followers of the One who said, in Luke 6:27 “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.” Some of the brilliant and dedicated Church Fathers did not understand that force can never make a convert. It can make a church member but never a genuine convert.

The light of the gospel had become political as well as spiritual, and the light had begun to flicker. Truth, fairness, innocence, and law did not matter.
I hope that Never Trumpers are not penalized, punished, or persecuted if Trump proves to be even greater than Reagan!

I can hope and pray to that end!

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

My momma taught me to be careful about the crowd I run with and when I consider the crowd supporting Hillary, I am reassured my decision is the right decision. My friend does not support her but if he votes for anyone but Trump, I believe in effect, he would be supporting Hillary. My Never-Trump friends are going to vote for a third party and that is far better and more principled than not voting. Hillary is supported, almost fanatically by the media, academia, the low-life entertainment industry, the corrupt and disreputable Democrat Party and the corrupt and disreputable Republican Party, the Communist Party, National Association of Women, labor unions, George Soros, Jerry Springer, Whoope Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Hugh Hefner, porn “stars” Jenna Jameson and Tiger Tyson, and on and on and on.

However, for a person like my principled friend to cast a vote that would result in Hillary being in control he would have to be highly principled since he knows of the practical consequences.

I told my friend that I was not critical of his principles but of his decision. The fact is he is as principled as I am or more so. He has been far more consistent on this issue than I. I have been up and down, in and out, off and on, for and against Trump and have wrestled more with this than anything else. Both my friend and I want to do the right thing. He is not willing to choose between bad and badder, leaving the results up to God. That is very principled and I respect that decision without agreeing it is the best decision. I am willing to choose between bad and badder, leaving the results up to God. God used very wicked leaders in the past such as Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great, and others.

There is a biblical incident that speaks to this issue. The most shocking and important event in the life of the Hebrew nation happened following the death of King Solomon. He had reigned over a massive empire that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Euphrates. Nobles came from the known world to see the magnificent city of Jerusalem and especially the Temple that was unrivaled in the world. Solomon was known for his wealth, wisdom, wives, wine, writings, wickedness, and his works. Wow, what a builder Solomon was. His son Rehoboam was a spoiler.

Because Solomon turned his back on God, God turned his back on him and God told him He would rend the kingdom from him and give it to another. Jeroboam was not royalty but he was a “man of valour.” He had been employed by Solomon to superintend the improvements and buildings at Millo. He would become king of a divided nation ruling the nation of Israel in the northern part of the country.

Solomon had spent huge sums of money to beautify the city and the people were almost in revolt but refused to do so out of respect for his father David and respect for the kingdom. Rehoboam was David’s son and heir to the throne but his advisors were tax and spend liberals. The older level-headed, conservative dudes advised him to not follow his daddy’s tax plan. They promised him the people would “be thy servants forever” if they got some relief from their tax burden; however, Rehoboam listened to the young progressives and promised to increase their tax burden! Not very smart. The people fled to their tents in disgust. They were willing to be ruled, but not to be ridden.

The kingdom split like a ripe watermelon with Israel consisting of ten tribes ruling from Samaria and Judah and Benjamin ruling as Judah from Jerusalem. What must be remembered is that while the machinations involved in this tragic division were wicked, the outcome was God’s will. The human reason for the division was tax and spend liberals. They are always with us.

Had I been there, I and my friend would have stayed with Rehoboam even with his haughtiness, harassment, and zero humility and would have paid the exorbitant taxes. We would not have chosen to leave God’s chosen city Jerusalem and the Temple. We would have choices. After all, I sure would not want to live under Jeroboam and his two golden calves at Dan and Bethel and support false priests and a fraudulent altar. Rehoboam, likewise, apostatized permitting the high places and the sodomites. There was a choice between bad and very bad–as always.

Donald Trump may do, or try to do, everything he promised to do. Or he may be a fraud, a farce, and a fool. It is doubtful that he will be as radical, rebellious, and reckless as Jeroboam.

After all, he has to give an account to the American people–and Bobby Knight!

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

I have tried to be clear about my position in this race. I preferred Ted Cruz but Trump beat him “fair and square.” However, I would never choose to vote for Trump simply because he is now wearing the Republican label. I’m not sure what he will do as President; however, I know about Hillary and so do you. I ask the Never-Trumpers to reconsider their hostile anti-Trump position for the sake of the nation. Please hear me out.

You may be concerned of accusations that you have flip-flopped, you’re a waffler, or that you make decisions by putting your finger to the wind. Such is life. Live with it so you can live with your conscience.

It will be difficult after you have gone on record and told your family and friends why your conscience will not permit you to vote for Trump. Now, it is difficult to make a major change and go in another direction. (However, you could simply vote for Trump and no one would know that but you!) Tolstoy referred to the principle of changing one’s position when he wrote, “I know that most men…can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their lives.”

But other men of principle have changed their positions under great odds.

Anthony Flew was known as the “most famous atheist in the world” and stated his change of position in There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind! Flew said that he followed the Socrates’ principle of going where the evidence leads. I wrote about Flew in The God Haters: “The late Dr. Antony Flew, the most influential atheistic philosopher of the twentieth century and the most famous atheist in the world (before his late-life conversion to theism), admitted, ‘It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design.’”

In 2006, Flew even signed a letter along with others requesting that intelligent design be taught in England’s public schools! This is not to say that Flew accepted Christ as Savior and joined a Bible-preaching church but he did make a major shift in his life resulting in his collogues and friends ridiculing and rejecting, but not responding to his position.

I wrote in Evolution: Fact, Fraud, or Faith? about Dr. Richard Lumsden, Professor of Parasitology and Cell Biology at Tulane University and former Dean of the Graduate school of Biological Sciences. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers.

After the professor was challenged by a graduate student for scientific reasons for evolution he said, “The culmination was finding myself before a saving altar on my knees, a stiff necked, broken inobedient [sinner] asking Jesus to come into my life and be my lord and personal savior.” Now a committed Christian and creationist, because of scientific evidence, Lumsden debates other scientists and testifies of his faith in the Christ of the Bible!

That took courage after spending his life going in the other direction.
During the First World War, Martin Niemöller was a successful German U-boat captain and also a staunch and patriotic nationalist. He welcomed Hitler coming to power in 1933; however, in 1937 he was imprisoned for criticizing Hitler’s religious policies. When the war ended, he admitted guilt over the holocaust and became a prominent pacifist. While his pacifism is not commendable, his willingness to change the whole direction of his life and even risk his life is commendable.

Niemöller was not quick to change positions and speak out against Hitler. In fact, he said, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Someday it will be too late to speak for the unborn, the innocent, the powerless, and the despised.

If anti-Trumpers stay home or do not vote for Trump, they will wake up Wednesday morning realizing they will help butcher millions of babies and pay for the “privilege.”

They will advance the LGBTQ crowd and practically have the rainbow flag flying over the White House.

Americans will be forced to live with Obamacare from now on. Do you want that in your future and can you afford it? Can you afford to pay for a huge increase in the minimum wage? Can you afford to pay for “free” college and do you really want to fund what many think are “ignorance factories”? I will vote for Trump simply because I can’t afford Hillary at the helm.

Hillary will force upon future generations two or three U.S. Supreme Court Judges that will make it impossible for churches to operate with a modicum of liberty; guarantee special restrooms everywhere even in all churches and Christian schools; and confiscate every gun in America. You can stop that.

The Never-Trumpers have not spent a lifetime but less than a year advocating against Trump so it is not like they have engraved their position in stone. It should not be a major decision to agree (for the good of America) to basically save America to provide us a few more years of relative freedom.

The philosopher Schopenhauer reportedly noted, “All Truth passes through three stages: First with ridicule, then with violent opposition, and finally acceptance as self-evident.” That has proved true in this election and Trump’s candidacy.

All principled people hold to truth wherever it leads them, no matter what it costs or how much it hurts. John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the 20th century reportedly said, “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?”

What will you do, sir and madam?

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

A statement made by Michael Marcavage is often attributed to Spurgeon in an attempt to trash Trump. Marcavage said, “Christians must turn from the endless cycle of voting for the lesser of evils and expecting an unrighteous act to produce a righteous result. From a communist to a cultist, choosing the lesser of two evils is still evil, and never should we do evil that good may come.” The attribution to Spurgeon is used to thump Trump.

Spurgeon declared in his sermon Particular Election: “Let us, whenever we shall have the opportunity of using the right of voting, use it as in the sight of Almighty God, knowing that for everything we shall be brought into account, and for that amongst the rest, seeing that we are entrusted with it. And let us remember that we are our own governors, to a great degree, and that if at the next election we should choose wrong governors we shall have nobody to blame but ourselves, however wrongly they may afterwards act, unless we exercise all prudence and prayer to Almighty God to direct our hearts to a right choice in this matter. May God so help us, and may the result be for his glory, however unexpected that result may be to any of us!”

He also said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.” All men have at times lusted but is a wife to be nonchalant, noncommittal, and nonresistant if her husband watches porn every night? Both are evil, but one is less odious than the other is. No, all sins do not carry the same penalty and are not rated equally offensive. As Spurgeon suggested, discernment is required to differentiate between options–the difference between right and wrong and the difference between wrong and very wrong–ergo, Trump or Clinton!

At the 9/11 terrorist attack, people in the burning Twin Towers had a choice between being burned alive or jumping out the windows. More than 200 people jumped to their deaths. They found themselves in a position where no decision was the “right” decision but had to make a decision. They had to make a choice and they each chose the most preferable one although each decision produced a horrible death. They considered one death less offensive than the other.

John Barber wrote, “Imagine our two families are miles from land in a sinking boat. Suddenly, out of the mist, come two boats to save us. One is captained by an adulterer; the other is captained by a thief. Which boat will you get into? You say, ‘Neither one. I’m waiting for the evangelical boat which is captained by a devout Christian who will end abortion.’ I say, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ You reply, ‘Both these guys are reprobates and I’m not going to choose between two evils.’”

There are no other sane options so which captain do you permit to save you? Of course, you prefer to give your business to a born again, anti-abortionist, conservative, constitutionalist, free enterprise, King James Bible quoting, creationist captain who homeschools his kids and tithes to his local Bible-preaching church. But you don’t have that option and it really doesn’t matter since you are going to drown or be devoured by hungry sharks. You choose the boat that appears to be stronger, safer, and swifter and believe that the character of the captain is irrelevant at this time. However, his ability, his availability, and his agreement to save you are very relevant.

Matt Barber of Barbwire.com wrote, “These are perilous times, and we’ve got difficult choices to make. When we’re sinking, sometimes God sends us a boat with a reprobate at the helm. He has a history of doing quite a lot with reprobates.” That He does.

Many Christians and Conservatives demand perfection but perfection doesn’t exist. Many profess to be principled people who demand a “whole loaf” insisting on getting everything they want instead of something. The “half-loafers” see the big picture and are willing to accept small victories always keeping their eyes on their goal. One good example is the Homosexual Lobby. Look where they were only 20 years ago and today they are in the catbird seat. They had one failure after another punctuated occasionally with small victories until they won. Now they have convinced the American people that a hormone-infused teenage boy has the right to ogle nude young girls in bathrooms, shower rooms, etc., and those of us who disagree are brutes, bigots, and bullies! The homosexual crowd accepted less than what they wanted until they got what they wanted.

As a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, I did not always get what I wanted. I never voted for evil but I had to make decisions: a full loaf or half a loaf.

I ask the Never Trumpers and the critics of “the lesser of two evil” principle what a legislator should do when confronted with voting for an imperfect abortion bill as happened in North Carolina.

In the NC legislature, a bill was before the Joint Finance Committee of the House and Senate dealing with abortion funding for poor women. A famous Pro-life leader came to town and convinced the pro-life crowd that they should go for the whole loaf; after all, it was the right thing to do. No abortions. The alternative to the bill was to add an exception for the life of the mother and fetal deformity. The problem was that about 100 babies would be killed if they had a known deformity in the womb. A long-time friend of mine was a full-time lobbyist for the Christian school movement in the state and had the authority to speak for them and the pro-life people. He and another preacher decided to go with the “whole loaf” people who didn’t want any babies killed. They decided that the “lesser of two evils” is still evil.

Senator Harris was manager of the bill and asked my friend and the local pastor in private, “Is this what you want me to do? I’ll do whatever you say.” They told him “No exceptions.” My friend knew they had the votes to pass the bill with the two exceptions that would greatly limit abortions. The Senator followed their admonition and the vote was taken and they lost bigtime. My friend said, “I was standing against the concrete wall inside the room and I was sick inside. We had just sounded the death knell for 8,000 babies through tax-funded abortions. I have never gotten over that. We clearly had the power of life and death in our tongues when we talked with Senator Harris. In order to save 100 babies, we sacrificed 8,000 babies.” I wept when he told me that.

The Christian lobbyist said he can still hear the Senator, a godly Baptist deacon ask, “Is this what you want me to do?” My friend said, “It still haunts me to this day.”

He told me, “We tried to respect the position of Christians who would not go the route of the lesser of two evils. We were such nerds! It was the stupidest thing I ever did in my whole life! So, I’ve got a tumor in my soul when it comes to deciding ‘the lesser of two evils.’ I have to be patient with Christians who struggle to escape the ‘lesser of two evils’ dilemma. But there is no escaping it. When that’s what it is, that’s what it is.” God never promised all our decisions would be easy.

Most people don’t understand that in every election we must choose between the lesser of two evils since no two candidates are equally principled. Our choice is not usually between an openly vile person and a virtuous person who loses his temper at times but between people who in totality are at different places on the general moral spectrum.

I don’t like Trump but I will vote for him even though I’m not sure he is trustworthy; however, I know I can trust Hillary to do what she has always done and she has the cash and consultants if not the character and charisma to actually win the presidency! She will continue America’s slide onto the garbage heap of history so I’ll go with the “lesser of two evils” or “half-loaf” since the other loaf is wormy, worthless, and wicked.

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.