What’s happening in Israel is a tragedy — no doubt about that — and yet this very unfortunate “all of a sudden, out of nowhere” tragedy, which has instantly laid grip to the American psyche and got everyone hot and bothered, is being used to divide our nation (and the world), stoke fear and talks of prophecy, and utterly obfuscate everything else that was happening immediately prior to this “shocking” new war.
Psychologically, it’s very similar to what happened with covid, how everyone forgot that the world (and science, and logic, and reason) existed prior to the pandemic. It’s also what happens when “liberty loving Americans” who like to preach “freedom for all” start trying to politically impose their personal moral codes on everyone else.
In every case, there is an utter absence of critical thinking.
That said, yesterday I spoke the forbidden truth and told the audience “I don’t think God cares” about what’s happening. It was an intentionally bold and provocative statement. Today, quite predictably, I have less subscribers.
Obviously I offended some people—and I knew that might happen, but it still needed to be said. I’m sharing this experience with you because I want you to understand that I am not the kind of guy who’s going to play patty-cake and speak in platitudes just to appease people’s sensitivities. I’m going to tell you exactly what I think, and why, whether some people find it offensive or not.
That’s what free speech is all about.
That’s also the cornerstone of intellectual honesty.
It’s also me just being me.
One of my staple phrases throughout life has been, “You can call me anything but lazy, a liar, or late for dinner!” Also, the spiel on my political position: “I am a fiscally conservative, socially conscious, politically independent thinker with a libertarian bent.” And that means I am a highly opinionated peasant.
I always say: if you want to know what I think, just ask me.
I will tell you—so don’t ask unless you really want to know what I think, even if it’s uncouth, incongruent, politically incorrect, offensive, or otherwise “out there.”
I know no other way to be.
Yesterday, in TR 468 - Are Global Forces Gathering for Armageddon?, I knew I was pushing buttons. I actually thought about sending out a follow up email to ‘splain myself and soften the impact, but I resisted the urge. Instead, I listened to the podcast and asked myself the only relevant question: did I misspeak and say something wrong?
The answer is no, I did not misspeak, and I did not say anything inaccurate or wrong.
Regardless, I want to circle back and address the section that some people found offensive. I’m doing so, not to rub salt in the wound, but to help break down some internal walls that have been carefully constructed by those who control your beliefs.
The passage in question:
Of course the globalists, the gays, and the godless democrats support the Palestinians.
Of course the Christians, the conservatives, and the republicans support the Israelis.
Both sides have been programmed for precisely that purpose.
I’ll tell you what. I don’t take either side. I think it’s all bullshit.
I believe we are facing MUCH bigger issues than supporting another war in some far off place, or deciding what a woman can do with her body in some far off place.
I do love my country. I am an American patriot.
And yet I reject these issues as having any more substance than mere propaganda.
Put differently, I don’t think God cares—and I state that boldly, knowing that most of my friends and family would tell me I’m wrong. They’d say something like this:
“Luke, what the hell is wrong with you, of course God cares about saving Israel and innocent babies!”
Fine. I don’t feel the need to argue.
Maybe God cares, maybe God doesn’t care.
I just want to point out that the issue is a highly divisive distraction that pits people against each other, instead of working together to stave off the globalist takeover.
So there you have it… I said it out loud: I don’t think God cares about Israel or innocent babies—at least not in the way that people think God cares about Israel or innocent babies. Thus, I do not think that supporting another war in a far off land, that threatens to pull us into WWIII when our country is $33 trillion in debt and already has a radically depleted military force, is a good idea.
I think it’s foolish.
I also think it’s orchestrated chaos. I think it is an intentional distraction, and I don’t think the timing of it is just a coincidence. The silence on every other major issue that was on everyone’s mind up until this new war is the telltale sign of kabuki theater.
But, for the ardent believers who have been programmed to believe as they do, we have no other choice but to support Israel, at all costs, because… because God says so.
To be fair, I am perfectly aware there are more sophisticated reasons for supporting our allies, but I sincerely believe that beneath this impulse toward national suicide is a set of beliefs that have been very carefully conditioned into the conservative subconscious—particularly into the Christian conservative subconscious mind.
In other words, I believe this urge to support Israel at all costs constitutes blind faith and obedience, as opposed to rational analysis and clear-minded critical thinking.
The same can be said for the blind faith and obedience to the Republican party platform, most specifically the knee-jerk emotional, political, and financial support for all things anti-abortion. Why must we take such a staunch anti-abortion stance? Why must we demand that all women everywhere live their lives according to our own highly-subjective moral code? That’s right… because God says so.
Both of these issues, supporting Israel and adamantly fighting against a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body, are being used to divide and conquer our country—which is why I believe it’s worth the pain to painstakingly explain myself here, at the risk of alienating those who are not willing to listen.
People take these stances and defend these causes because they believe such a posture is aligned with God’s will—that defending Israel at all costs and denying women control over their bodies is how God expects them to act (to be a “good human” mind you), and all of this is predicated on the assumption that God says so.
Except that God did not say so.
God did not say that we must imperil our nation, rack up unsustainable debt, enter into yet another conflict that we have no chance of winning, and fund the murder of more innocent civilians and valiant young men. God did not say that.
God also did not say that we must commit political suicide by trying to force women to obey an entirely subjective moral code, thereby pushing away many, many liberty loving Americans who might otherwise become political allies and fight with us against the globalist destruction of our Constitutional Republic.
God did not say, “Thou shall not have an abortion.”
Nor did God say, “Thou shall not support any pro-choice politician.”
Neither was it said, “Thou shall not question the sanctity of life and must defend unborn babies at all costs, no matter how great, because it’s the right thing to do.”
God did not say that.
If you think I’m wrong, fine. Prove it.
The truth is, you could no more prove that God demands American military support for a war in Israel, or that God demands “good humans” to take an anti-abortion stance, than sprout wings and fly to the moon.
The only proof that God cares about these issues is found in the way that people care about these issues, which rests squarely in the same circular thinking that has allowed humans to commit atrocities in the name of God since the dawn of time.
As I say that, here’s what I want you to know: I love God with all my heart. I’ve studied the Bible profusely. I’ve preached Jesus to thousands of people. Many years ago I was “Pastor Luke”—and I’ve rubbed elbows with church leaders from around the globe. I share that now, somewhat uncomfortably, to put an immediate halt to any sort of religious preening or misplaced sense of moral supremacy.
What I am stating is the truth, whether anyone likes it or not.
I don’t care if your church disagrees. I don’t care if your favorite pundit disagrees. I don’t care if you and everyone you know disagrees. I am right, with God as my witness.
And, most importantly, I am coming from a place of love.
Sometimes the truth hurts, but it still needs to be said.
These illusions must be shattered.
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
—John 8:32 NIV
For any atheist or agnostic friends in the audience, please bear with me here. The distinction between religion and politics must be carefully parsed. To do so, I must quote scripture and reference the Bible, because this is the authoritative text that trumps my opinion as an ignorant peasant—and more precisely, because this is the text that is repeatedly used to substantiate Christian conservative perspectives.
To be more accurate, the Bible has been misappropriated by the ruling class to condition well-meaning peasants into accepting the republican party platform—as if somehow the republican party platform (i.e. anti-abortion) is an extension of the Bible itself. Also, the church and its teachings have been heavily infiltrated, just like every other major institution, which has produced catastrophic results for American society.
Imagine if everyone who went to church had stood up to the covid tyranny and said no. Imagine if everyone who claims to believe in God refused to live in fear of the virus, in fear of the government, or in fear of any other invisible enemy. The last three years would have looked radically different, would they not?
But obviously that didn’t happen, save a few courageous exceptions.
The point is, the church has been pacified. Neutered if you will. Not by accident.
Now then, when I say that I don’t think God cares about abortion or U.S. military support for Israel, where the hell do I get off saying that? How the hell could that possibly be a so-called “Biblical” perspective? How could anyone who “loves God” make such ridiculous claims? Luke, what the hell is wrong with you?!
Nothing is wrong me—and if you don’t believe me, ask God yourself:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” —James 1:5 NIV
That said, let’s come at this from a different angle:
Does God have a problem with killing innocent babies?
Beware the triggers. Triggers are pre-conditioned emotional reactions that shutdown critical thinking. All we are doing is asking a question. Ask God if you’d like.
There are numerous ways to tackle this tricky question, but for simplicity and brevity, let me just point out that there are many times in the Bible when God ordered the killing of innocent children—for example, when God had a couple bears tear 42 children into pieces for mocking Elijah's bald head (2 Kings 2:23); commanding Saul specifically to kill women and children (1 Samuel 15:3), drowning innocent children in the flood, burning them to death in Sodom & Gomorrah, etc.
If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and if you believe what it says in the New Testament book of Hebrews—that God is the same “yesterday, today, and forever”—then the idea that “God cares” about innocent babies must necessarily take on a much different perspective.
Perhaps the best scripture to address the anti-abortion plank of the republican party platform comes from Hebrews 13:9, warning about false (political) doctrines:
“Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.”
Where does this strange doctrine—the belief that Christian conservatives have the right to force everyone else to abide by their subjective moral sensitivities—actually come from?
It certainly does not come from the Bible.
I believe it comes from political conditioning.
Furthermore, to believe that abortion is a sin, to condemn it and fight against it at all costs, is also political conditioning. Not only is it not Biblical, it is entirely naive and presumptuous, as if somehow anti-abortion activists know better than God.
God let’s innocent babies die all the time. FACT.
So maybe that’s all part of His plan, right? His ways are higher than ours?
In fact, God commands innocent children to be killed, even torn to pieces by bears, if it suits the moment. To believe otherwise is to deny the Word of God—and again, you don’t have to take my word for it, you can read the Bible and ask God yourself.
I would however, recommend that you be cautious about asking anyone who’s been conditioned to accept the same illusions (i.e. pastors or politicians), because they will inevitably tell you what you want to hear instead of telling you the truth.
Does God demand we provide military support to Israel?
Again, ask God. Don’t ask the politicians who are preying upon your religious sensitivities. Don’t ask the pastors who have been ever-so-slowly conditioned to parrot the “conservative” narrative instead of seeking and speaking the truth. Don’t ask the political parties and politicians who are feasting off this narrative.
There is a feeding frenzy right now, and what they are feeding on is your money, your national resources, your religious convictions, your mental and emotional energy.
I realize this is a lot to take in, so let me ask:
Has anything I said been wrong?
If so, please tell me. I don’t want to be wrong.
I also don’t want to stand idly by and watch America crash and burn because people are so distracted by Ukraine, Israel, abortions, or whatever else gets used to turn good people against each other and keep the public distracted from the rigged elections, weaponized government, and globalist takeover of our country.
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.” —Luke 11:17 NKJV
Ukraine divides. Israel divides. Abortion divides. Religious bickering divides.
United we stand, divided we fall, regardless of our differences in personal beliefs.
There is more that unites us than there is that divides us.
That’s why I’m willing to speak the truth, even when it hurts.
PS: Don’t forget, now it’s easy to catch up on previous episodes by listening to The Torch Report on iHeart Radio, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Apple iTunes —enjoy!
TR 469 - Sometimes the Truth Hurts