American: Showbiz, uncertainty of willingness, not understanding true forgiveness, by the textbook. Erika Kirk forgiving her husband's alleged murderer:
Christian: To the core of the heart, Gospel-centered. Nigerian widow forgiven her husband's murderers:
(Side note from the video above: Judd Saul, Executive Director and Founder of equippingthepersecuted.org, seems legit. It's the first non-profit organization I know who full staffs are all volunteers.)
On Persecution/bearing the cross:
Wayne Cordeiro sharing a testimony of his trip to China and his experience with underground Christian leaders there. He is the founding and former Senior Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii:
Seems to be a popular topic lately, thanks to the late Charlie Kirk. So after mentioning it a few times in my journal, I'll gather all continuation of it here.
I wouldn't equate Christian Nationalism with White/European Christian Nationalism. Besides, Christianity is of Eastern origin (which resulted in the word "middle-EAST"), not Western, if we're really playing that game.
But Christian Nationalism = requiring everyone to be Christian/abiding Biblical laws (as interpreted by certain group) as if they are all Christians. With the inevitable belief that their country is also #1 in the world.
It actually despises the Gospel by using the Bible. Thus, it's anti-intellectual, anti-gospel and anti-biblical. And lots of self-righteousness with a sprinkle of having a god-complex.
Christian patriotism/patriot is just a Christian who loves his country. Which is alright.
Take your time to do your study of it, but Christian Nationalism is anti-intellectual from a biblical sense, violating Gospel principle in Hebrews 11:6. Jesus never said to the gentiles "It is written...", J.G. Machen knew it well against public school Bible reading.
Therefore, those who like to begin politics in the public settings with "The Bible says so", they are not really saying "Thus saith the Lord", but rather, "You better listen to me, because you are wrong and I CAN NEVER be wrong, for I am a prophet of divine element" in disguise. In a way, they maybe blaspheming the Lord's name by secret implication of having god-complex toward any opponent, but hey, gotta be humble about it, so "Because the Bible says so" is more apt, right?
If you sense of community can only be spoken of through state/federal laws, then your community is on a self destructive path. The Pharisees did this, and Jesus called them out having no love for the poor, their neighbors, etc. Church fellowship is the true family and it should act like so. Not the reverse, not from a national level down to family unite.
Update 2/2/2026 Christian Nationalism definition by Allie Beth Stuckey:
Slightly different than Charlie Kirk's definition (America is the best country in the world) but ultimately not far in principal meaning, Stuckey: Christians who put the priorities of their nation first. I'll respect that she is finally willing to define it. And the definition is fair enough. Which does allow me to debunk the entire term Christian Nationalism as unbiblical, as the Bible only teaches putting the priorities of God's kingdom, which is obviously not limited to nor has to be my own country, first. It's also good that Allie clarifies that Christian Nationalism doesn't mean America as the chosen nation/new Israel of God. What she was wrong, was to assert that MOST Christians who are called Christian Nationalists derisively don't believe those things i.e. USA = new Israel, hence her double standards here. Again, she does not seem to know how to distinguish Nationalism and Patriotism, so while trying to justify herself, she could not call out the selfishness of Nationalism:
This was my comment on her Video:
Good that Allie finally defines her version of Christian Nationalism (which is slightly different and perhaps better than Charlie Kirk's USA #1 definition), so I can respect that. Nonetheless, You couldn't distinguish Patriotism & Nationalism, hence the problem where you fail from a Christian perspective. A Patriot loves his country and does things sacrificially for his own country; A Nationalist prioritizes his own country over other countries, which is not much different than a mother who puts her children first above other children who are not her own (i.e. A mother who support all acts of her own children over other kids unjustly, etc.), which is actually unbiblical as a generalizing principle.
We have responsibility to our children, our family, to prioritize raising them well, but not at the expense of absolute. As Jesus referred His brothers and mother to be not of blood in Matthew 12:46-50. God's family come first before our immediate family. Something most American Christians don't usually get in the Bible. Sorry to say that.
A Christian prioritizes not his own country, but God's kingdom first, which may call attention to other countries first sometimes (i.e. give credit to where credit is due). At least you have admitted that America is not the new chosen Israel, which is generally what Christian Nationalists basically want to be true. The "majority" of what Allie's referred to as those being called "Nationalists" derisively that aren't really Nationalists do not exist. At best, I can distinguish some Christians as patriots, which is a good thing, Christian Patriots, not nationalists.
My advice, maybe go visit Christians in other countries, especially ones who won't flatter you as an American. Have fellowship with them. You should have enough money and time to do this by now.
Update 03/14/2026: My comment for Jim Cassidy's critique on Christian Nationalism on Facebook:
Not sure whose Report this is. But it's still in the passive, reliance on historical statistics.
I suggest whoever interested in this topic to start with J. Machen's "The Necessity of the Christian School": Basically, a Christian State is unbiblical because it's an attack on the Gospel treatment by enforcing a lazy, perverse form of evangelism, which is the only kind of evangelism you will get from this setup.
There's also a clear need to distinguish Christian Patriotism (good: I love my country) from Christian Nationalism (bad: God loves ONLY my country because..., typical American sports cheerleading culture. Not talking about professional cheerleaders.)
Calvin's Genevan Statehood would also be a bad defender for Christian Nationalism because all Genevan citizens came from the same idolatrous church (Rome) under reformation (i.e. Prince-Bishopric -> consistory -> public servanthood, Rome's ecclesiastical wealth -> civil magistrates -> Christian charity, etc.), so it was inevitable. Calvin's phase one experiment was never meant to be permanent and we are now far from that level now.
questions for conversations:
Must we vote/buy only Christians?
This is more serious than just denominational differences.
Update 4/11/2026: Presbycast talks about Christian Nationalism in a better light because of D. G. Hart's new book: Protestants and Patriots: Presbyterians in the age of Revolution. Here are some of my take with Gemini's help:
1788/89 American revision of the WCF [01:01:44] - While the original 1646 version gave the civil magistrate power to call synods and preserve church unity (Ch. 23), the American revision strictly limited the magistrate's role to protecting the church without interfering in its internal affairs. Basically removing the state-church concept by giving civil magistrate less power.
King George III famously referred to the American Revolution as a "Presbyterian Rebellion" [01:37:31]
I would question if Hart's comment was a joke, that the Christian Nationalists should go all the way for traditional Reformed Christian values:
Whole day (Morning & Evening services)
Singing the Psalter
No praise bands or sway babes (derogatory/slang term used in some conservative Reformed circles to describe the singers in contemporary worship bands (often young women) who sway back and forth to the music)
Unless Hart is that kind of fundamentalist, I would think this is just a joke, to turn these 3 relativistic practices into real policies as if they are objective requirements of an obedient believer. But Hart could be that kind of fundamentalist. No big deal, it's still a good point he raised against the hypocrisy of Christian Nationalists.
Finally, the host's comment is worth taking note, a new phrase I learn is Right Wing Social Gospel: You gotta (1:35:16) have twelve kids. You gotta do head covering...
Sky's categorization of Christian Activism from Christian Nationalism is an interesting take:
C. Activism - Promoting Christian values. C. Nationalism - The country should exist for and be dominated by Christians. So it's not about ideas or values, but shared birth and background.
I don't vote simply if someone claims (or some famous preacher's son's testimony of others) to be a Christian, because it's likely I don't know the person well enough to call him or her a Christian, and we live in a time and place where just saying it means jack especially in politics. As far as character goes, it matters chiefly only if that person is trust worthy of where we align, and where we align is for the good of the nation.
From an evangelist's standpoint, one needs to be able to call out against Right or Left and fear only God, not men, in public, in such a way that when the crowd hears it, it is as if God is speaking, rather than just some rant. The same goes with giving blessings for the leaders as well.
As for God's favoring of America, I do believe that is so for now, but not because of the rise of Trump. But because there are still many who are zealous for God in evangelism. Nevertheless, this is not a Christian nation, America has never been. By definition a Christian nation is either a State religion or majority Christian. It's obvious that America is not a State religion (enforced or otherwise), and since the nation's founding, America has been full of Christian heterodoxies and heresies (i.e. moralism, deism, etc. A Christian Heretic Nation). At best we can say is that American is a Christian INFLUENCED nation. The only way forward for Christians in USA is Evangelism. Study the Bible, study apologetics, spread the Good News. We can still do this and still be for the country.
Jim Cassidy's take on the Book of Job is so bad. Basically he's saying that Job blamed God for his suffering. I don't know how these people read Job, because Job (and his friends) clearly was aware of the blameless God, and God-fearingly avoiding that narrative and motive. So Job's sin is not how he view God but how he view man or God's created man and the lack of I-Thou relationship with God which David championed:
So I made this rhetorical comment on his Facebook when he said that Job thought God was not infinitely wise than he was.
11/26/2025 Wednesday
Kaitlyn Schiess a Calvinist. Though she's also supposedly an elder in a PCUSA church. So I'm not sure where she really leans, but so far, seems closer to conservative. She's smarter than Allie Beth Stuckey nonetheless:
11/24/2025 Monday
Of Allie Beth Stuckey's podcast:
Stephanie Gray Connors recommended by Trent Horn to be the best Pro-life debater. Not really in my interest but good to keep in mind of who this is.
On Death Penalty: Trent Horn, as a Catholic, obviously do not support capital punishment, now, because there's this thing called prison. "People are not hanged for stealing horses, they are hanged so horses won't be stolen." John MacArthur answered this using what Jesus said "those who live by the sword will die by the sword." She said Genesis 9:6, which would be similar beforehand. Perhaps Allie chickened out on this (not the same treatment she would others such as Tim Keller) here and let Horn teach her that you must have purpose to have capital punishment rather than just principle. Or it could also be that Trent did not see Allie's point from the Bible, as they probably are both very bad at general revelation. Not able to weigh in what the other is saying against his/her own view, but just full of themselves. One says God's command needs to be explained; the other says God's command needs to be obeyed, so they are talking across each other, so to speak.
The prison argument fails if you find imperfection in the prison system, which is plentiful (i.e. risks of another crime, prison cost, etc.) and biblical death penalty is never about future prevention, but testifying the gravity of the crime against the sanctity of human life.
Using ultrasound to induce smell. Using sound to mimic smell? What's next, taste?
11/23/2025 Sunday
This day marks our official departure from Grace Community Church, due to the sermons. Nadia felt that she wasn't being fed by Pastor Chris, and in order to have her not getting frustrated and looking down on the preacher, we decided to attend Crossroads Community Church which is about 10 mins away from GCC. I myself don't mind Pastor Chris' preaching (I'm used to it and know how to deal with it - it actually helps me learn how to deal with bad preaching, finding ways to attack bad messages, examining where there are biblical fails, etc.) though I could agree with most of Nadia's criticism of the sermons. They were typical of many OPC, PCA, reformed preachers of America, very boring, using sophisticated and many words for shallow context, and as some have already said though in well meaning but I'll treat this as a negative remark: preaching like a lecturer/professor, no life in their sermons and take on Scripture. When I told pastor Chris about our departure the day before, I commended him on his leading of the adult Sunday School, which was rare as he opens the floor not just for questions but criticisms as well, at least as far as I know. Not that he's well equipped for all challenges, but it was good enough to seemingly open for it. It's their loss if they do not challenge him because other pastors either lead a Bible discussion because of their job or have no interest in facing challenges. But it is no good for Nadia, so we must leave.
I think I have a way to test someone's pride level. That is by their reaction through optical illusions. Works on anybody.
It's not about how we are fooled or not fooled by those illusions, but how we react towards them. The ones who find any of these illusions intriguing despite being fooled, curious about them, are the most humble ones, and the reverse is true for the proud ones. The proud ones will get frustrated and even angry.
A quick google search on "optical illusions" provide plenty of samples.
From C.S. Lewis' The Four Love, Chapter 6, Charity.
This Nadia quoted from Tim Keller on one of GCC's Bible Study and she wasn't happy with the pastor's response "...be vulnerable to God." I've forgotten the context, but this is to note where the quote is originally from. I came across it from a comment in Christian.Art.
Someone once said, as a believer, whatever you do, can be a ministry. As true as that is, I believe there needs to be a clear distinction of what is and what is not a Christian ministry, as I notice in America, or the West, that there is a high tendencies for Christians to think that starting a social club, soccer team, being a youtuber, giving money, etc. are the new norms of something they call a legit Christian ministries.
The gets confusing when the fundamentalists attack them because the former would only recognize street evangelism, serving in the church and pastoral ministry as legit. In this case, they cannot agree to my first sentence. So I am not dealing with the fundamentalists here.
But this question must be asked, if we could just call anything a ministry, should we make a distinction between a Christian ministry and a sport club lead by a Christian?
If there is no distinction, then what is a social club that just happens to be run by a Christian if there is no witnessing of Christ? Is Christ still the Lord in the club?
Because Christians don't have to witness by talking Jesus every single seconds with anyone they meet, there is no need to forbid Christians for starting a club in the secular world. Therefore, since a club run by a Christians can be secular, despite having Christian values, which is not the Gospel, not all activities led by a Christian are Christian ministries.
In that case, we would need to distinguish between a Christian ministry and and a program led by a Christian.
So it is clear, that a Christian ministry must be a Gospel centered one, regardless of types of activities and the members who participate in it. Otherwise, it is just a social program founded by a Christian and it is perfectly fine that the program itself doesn't have to be Christian, despite having Christian leaders. But to call something Christian, it must be grounded in the Gospel. The sports, the friendship, the fun, though should be genuine, can be means to the Gospel but the Gospel must be the central motto of the ministry, otherwise, as the old saying goes, "what you win them with is what you win them to", which always applies, will especially be very pronounced here. Even friendship could be what you win them to instead of the Gospel and that makes it sad to be called a "Christian" ministry should this be taken in nonchalant.
After the Men's fellowship, I told pastor Chris that we will be attending Crossroads PCA church from now on. I explained that Nadia's not being fed at GCC and that pastor Daniel Liu's sermons on Galatians are better, similar to Tim Keller's preaching method. Pastor Chris said that he hoped we would be fed there and that he also hoped that we would come back. I did a back and forth with the pastor on the topic of Parenting in the Pews. Looks like he's more or less with Barry Schutter on it, and he believes it was so since the beginning. I told him that that's Baptist's pseudohistory, the real history is more complicated than that. Of course, my chief criticism of GCC would be that they don't care about ministering to the kids. Anti-intellectualism is only secondary. And for Nadia, the ministering of the Word is my primary goal, not attending worship service and certainly not mindlessly worshipping pastors and churches. And this she decided all on her own, and I merely concurred, despite having defending GCC and the pastor before, sometimes even causing her to fight with me. Nadia even blogged about it.
Nadia and I talked a lot about the church. I gave her a couple of Youtube clips that resonate so much of what we feel about GCC:
On injection of self-righteousness in sermons:
11/18/2025 Tuesday
When asked on Millington Baptist Church Behind the Pulpit, of condition of sin before and after the Fall, Pastor Dave gave the four-fold state of Augustinian human free will, which I think folks at GCC are behind MBC, so to speak.
Also, on Baptism, interestingly, Pastor Dave critiqued the Reformed on Baptism for separating out baptism from salvation; While the Baptists and the Catholics share common ground on baptism by tying it directly together with the person being saved (Though Dave recognized Baptists and Catholics tie it differently, but tied/connected to salvation nonetheless).
Answer: Yes, we do not tie baptism to actual salvation of a person (babies for Rome by infallible divine power; adult for Baptists by fallible confession), as it's not the right reading of the Bible. But as a seal of the grace of God which is for salvation. The seal is not an assurance, it is a testimony that grace of God is prior to human confession. But since this topic is on the Nicene Creed, "...one baptism for the forgiveness of sins", so we call it the sign of forgiveness for sins. A testimony from God of His grace. Not our own way of telling who is saved or not saved. This understanding is more consistent & faithful to the creed.
Received Meyer Lemon Tree plant from Temu today, it was just a simple branch wrapped in Glad food plastic wrap with this instruction. I just realized step 4 got cut off in the picture and am too lazy to rescan it, I'll just write it below:
#4. Grow your roses or fruit sapling indoors in a planter or pot, Water sufficiently and place in a cool, shady spot.
Interesting NBC comparison chart on priorities between male and female voters for Trump vs. Harris:
In general, men prioritize having children and getting married while women prioritize career and independence. This is among age group 18-29.
Allie was right, Kelsea Ballerini certainly gets it in her honest song: I Sit in Parks. "Did I miss the mark...we are same age but different Saturdays..." as she watches family with kids in the park.
Came across the above chart thanks to Allie Beth Stuckey on current feminism trend, who also mentioned Islamic EPIC City plan now being called the Meadow in Texas, and Christians singers (Allie prefers Christian song and country over rap, calling it degenerate) gaining popularity today that I would probably need to be curious about: Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake (sang at Charlie Kirk's memorial), Josiah Queen.
Josiah Queen's "Dusty Bibles", Allie's like, the title, not the music, reminded me about Stephen Tong's 若你曾愛過耶穌你主, about a once upon a time love for God (reading Bible):
Allie calledRap music degenerate. She went too far there. So I made a SUNO, first time, rap music using Psalm 1. It turns out SUNO is really fun. I subscribed it. I am looking forward to publish this "Way of Righteousness" (Psalm 1) on Youtube someday.
11/16/2025 Sunday
When we ask someone, "what do you love about it?" And the smarty pants response: "All of it", the follow up American question would be "What specifically?" SNL has gotten it!
It seems that many Christians today fail at this: They speak of non-Christian literature as if they expect Christian value out of it and become disappointed if that is not the case. They then speak of Christian literature as if they should justify non-Christian value out of it and become offended if it is criticized.
Beware of what is right (not what is wrong) from sources that are not of Christian foundation; Beware of what is wrong (not what is right) from sources that are of Christian foundation.
