Gary Varvel: Cognitive test

President Biden is refusing to take a cognitive test along with his upcoming physical exam. I think we know why?


THE VALUES OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT

I know an atheist pastor. Seriously, he doesn’t believe in God or the Bible but he pastors a tiny church of unbelievers. I imagine that his sermons are like TED Talks. Anyway, this atheist pastor (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) recently wrote a column in my hometown weekly newspaper, about why he fears religion and “fanatical Christians determined to make the rest of us bow the head and bend the knee.”

“Fanatical Christians?”

Our Founding Fathers based America’s laws on Judeo-Christian values. And they believed that the freedom of religion was so important, they listed it first in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Were they fanatical?

This illustrates the great divide in America. Our great melting pot is more like a smelting pot separating us by our beliefs and what we value. Since we value different things, there can be no common ground.

Let’s examine our divisions.

The Truth divide: So who determines the standards of right and wrong — good and evil? For centuries, America’s laws were based on Biblical standards: Do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery. But today lying, stealing and adultery are very popular values in our secular (godless) society.

Isaiah 59:12-15 says: “For our offenses are many in your sight,
    and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
    and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord,
    turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,
    uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back,
    and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
    honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”

Notice the progression of sin:

  1. Turn against God
  2. Invent lies
  3. Reject truth
  4. Persecute righteousness

These verses perfectly describe our culture. We rebelled and rejected God, then conceived lies, like men can give birth and have menstrual cycles. When confronted with truth, instead of recognizing their error, they attack those who speak the truth. In other words, the “Cancel Culture” will attack anyone who disagrees with their sin.

The Life divide: The Bible teaches that human life is sacred because it is created in the image of God from the moment of conception. But the atheist pastor compared pro-lifers to the Taliban. Why? Because pro-lifers don’t want women killing their babies in the womb.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision allowed mothers to kill their pre-born babies. Sixty-two million innocent infants lost their lives in the next 49 years for simply being in their mother’s womb. Those of us who value the Bible, believe abortion is child sacrifice condemned by God. Pro-lifers, like me, prayed for years that God would end this practice in America.

After 49 years, God answered those prayers through a series of seemingly miraculous events.

  1. Against all odds, Donald Trump was elected President in 2016. 
  2. In his first term, Trump was given a very rare opportunity to fill 3 vacancies to the Supreme Court. 
  3. Then in 2022, the new Court reversed the 1973 Court’s Roe v Wade decision.
  4. Then states like Indiana passed laws to restrict abortion in order to save innocent lives. 

The pro-abortion supporters are still outraged.

The gender divide: The Bible says, God created only two genders — male and female. This was common knowledge until just a couple of years ago. Not today.

The radical leftists want children with gender dysphoria to be given puberty-blockers and genital-mutilation surgeries that destroy their reproductive future. If there is no God, then anything is permissible.

The left claims that children may commit suicide if they don’t transition. But the right believes children are immature and must be protected from making life-altering decisions.

Again there is no common ground. No compromise. And trans demands that I use their preferred pronouns, aren’t they forcing me to “bow the head and bend the knee” to their values?

The more America has become more secular (ungodly), the more it has declined.

The God divide: Consider this, nearly every major city in America is governed by Democrats, the party of secular progressive liberals. Their government became a god promising fairness, equity and freedom to their citizens. But these so-called urban utopias have become filled with the homeless living in tents, who are addicted to drugs, surrounded by feces-covered streets littered with needles. Once thriving businesses endure smash-and-grab mobs looting stores with no fear of punishment.

This is the result of a world that values life without God.