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Trump's agenda. America's agenda. The Church's agenda.Reader comment on item: [Symposium] What Conservative Historians Are Saying about Trump's First 100 Days Submitted by Michael S, May 11, 2017 at 15:20 Hello, Tovey. The question was, "Do we actually WANT Trump to carry out his agenda(?)" You don't seem to have answered that. Since it was a rhetorical question anyway, I'll answer it myself: 1. I don't really care, one way or another; so I don't actively want his agenda, but neither do I actively not want it. That takes care of my end of "we". 2. Concerning your end, you said, "on the real agenda already spoken of by the prophets: there one finds the Christian answer; and it is not based on what President Trump is going to do, but what the LORD is going to do." You seem to be implying that the LORD does not work through our President; and therefore his (Trump's) agenda is irrelevant. Your conclusion is similar to my own, but not the same. I'll leave it at that. 3. Now, concerning the rest of the "we" -- namely, several million Christians, of whom I am particularly concerned with the American ones. Trump's agenda is to "Make America Great Again". Taking a Biblical analogy, Rev. 13: That refers back to, Rev. 13: Many, many Christian and other prophetic interpreters deem the wounded "head" to be an individual. That being the case, many leaders who survived assasination attempts would be candidates, including Ronald Reagan and Adolph Hitler, along with countless possibilities in the future. None of that thinking produces any sort of clarity. On the other hand, the seven "heads" did not represent individuals; they represented world empires, to whit, 1. Egypt, whose leaders, including the Pharaoh of Exodus, were supposed to be gods, Among these heads, which is the one that had been wounded, seemingly unto death? It is Rome; and the "West", which we live in, is the revived Roman Empire. Getting back to Donald Trump's agenda, he did not propose to make "Rome" great again, but to make "America" great again. This is the same motivation that impelled Hitler to power, after Germany had seemingly been "wounded unto death" in World War I. It is also the motivation of Napoleon, after France had seemingly been "wounded unto death" with the fall of the Bourbon king and the rise of anarchy. Has America been "wounded unto death"? We certainly have endured some injury, beginning with Vietnam, then 9/11 and then the 2008 Crisis and the Obama nightmare. Through all this, we have remained the most powerful empire the world has ever known; yet half of America seems to have FELT that we have been mortally wounded, giving Trump his victory through a "resurrection" theme. I don't know whether Donald Trump will make America great "again"; or whether things will actually get worse, and a "savior" (his son-in-law?) will seemingly turn things around. My point, implicit in the rhetorical question I raised, is whether Christians believe TRUMP'S (and hence, AMERICA"S) agenda is THEIR agenda. You and I both seem to agree, that it is not; but you may have a very hard time convincing most patriotic American Christians of this. Jeremiah the Prophet was dealt with as a traitor, because he told his fellow Jews to surrender to the king of Babylon. I believe the prophets of today, and the near future, will also be considered traitors; and therefore persecuted; because America's agenda will ultimately be to attack Israel and destroy God's people. That is why I posed the question. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". Reader comments (20) on this item
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