Introducing Orthodoxy & Order
A Weekly News Update Through The Christian Lens.
It’s been well documented over the past decade that mainstream media is on its way out while new and independent outlets are on the way in. It’s also been well documented that Protestant Christianity in the West is in moral decline. Theologians, pastors, authors, and laymen have forgotten that a Christian conviction is comprehensive and should touch every aspect of a believer’s life. This was common knowledge throughout church history; if you’re a Christian at church, you also have to be a Christian at home, at work, and at school. No exceptions. You even need to be a Christian on Election Day and in your involvement in politics and government. But, it seems that Christians in America haven’t been able to put the pieces together.
There has been so much talk of “third-wayism”, voting Democrat as a Christian, and “respecting everyone’s political opinions” as if politics is somehow detached from theology. The fact is that politics are not detached from theology - in fact, it’s actually an extension of theological conviction. To be Christians, we must care about policy, law, and governance in our country. We must care for and will the good of others in our society, beginning first with those in our own home and then working our way out to the rest of society. And the only way we can do that is by knowing what is actually happening around us, in our city, state, and country. We have no be informed to be able to act in love.
I’ve found it disturbing to see different news outlets in the Christian realm fail to make the connection between theology, politics, ethics, and morality. Because, in reporting the news, you have to have moral clarity (something the American church has lost). Orthodoxy & Order is going to be different. I won’t equivocate on moral issues like abortion and transgenderism like so many Protestants have in recent years. No, in fact, I will aim to tell it like it is - an immoral world requires Christians to be moral and just in their words and actions. Orthodoxy & Order will do just that. Every week on Friday I’ll bring you the news from the past week with clear, theological commentary and precise reporting (along with some other interesting facts, book recommendations, and historical quotes). Christ brought us Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy produces clarity and Order, thus, I have named this newsletter Orthodoxy & Order. I hope you enjoy!
The News Last Week
How much is too much?
It’s no doubt that you’ve probably seen the meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky. Last Friday, Zelensky met with Trump and Vance to discuss a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. But unfortunately, Zelensky didn’t seem ready to make peace. In the meeting, President Trump and Vice President Vance got into a heated exchange with Zelensky about Zelensky’s apparent bad attitude and ungrateful disposition towards the United States. Vance was sure to remind Zelensky of the $175 billion given to Ukraine from the United States and Trump was adamant on brokering a peace deal between the two countries. Though, this peace deal would involve Ukraine giving up a significant portion of their land. Zelensky wasn’t having it, and the White House meeting was cut short due to disagreement and inability to move forward with a serious deal.
This leaves Zelensky and Ukraine in a bad situation; most of their money and resources for this war with Russia have come from the United States under the Biden administration and it seems that Trump and the Republicans aren’t interested in continuing to shovel over billions of dollars to Ukraine with no end in sight. And now, after this disastrous meeting between Zelensky and Trump, Ukraine is left to rely on Europe, who does not have the money or resources that the United States has. I suppose this begs the question: what was Vladimir Zelensky thinking while at the White House?
This of course has caused major outrage among liberals and Democrats who think that it’s America’s job to endlessly send money and weapons to foreign countries in proxy wars with Russia. But, seriously, how much is too much? And is it America’s responsibility to fund these wars that are thousands of miles away? Democrats will say yes as they are now the party of war and endless government spending. Republicans tend to say no as they are, for the moment, the party of American interest and anti-war.
As a Christian, this issue is a little bit tricky; nobody wants a dictator like Putin to be able to march into anyone’s homeland and steal it. On the other hand, America shouldn’t be the sole contributor to proxy wars with Russia and be on the receiving end of entitled and demanding attitudes from countries like Ukraine who wouldn’t exist without the United States. I would say that the support for Ukraine both in weaponry and money, seems to violate the principle of subsidiarity. It’s counterintuitive to be spending billions of dollars on a foreign war that provides no national or philosophical interest for Americans while, at the same time, homelessness, drug use, and corruption is prevalent in the United States. This seems to be clear: $175 billion in aid and no desire from Zelensky to end the war is a pretty concrete indicator that America’s involvement in this war should be over. Now Zelensky can try to convince Europe to push for World War 3.
Watch the full meeting here.
Christianity on the rise, but Protestantism falls off…
Last Wednesday Pew Research released its 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study in which, to many people’s surprise, Christianity seemed to be making some sort of comeback in America. On the surface, this looks good - and depending on what stream of Christianity you’re associated with, this may actually be good. But when you look into the numbers, this study really is only good for Catholics. This makes the score 1-1 as it’s obvious that the Protestants won the Reformation, and now the Catholics have won the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. I’m excited for our next face-off in 500 years.
In all seriousness, I think it’s important to look deeper into this study to see if there is any significant takeaway. The data suggests that people who identify as “Christian” in the United States are on the uptick. But those who identify as “mainline Protestant” or “Evangelical Protestant” are on the decline. The study shows that from 2007 to 2024 people who identify as “Protestant” have fallen 10% overall. Now, when you break that data down further it shows that those who identify as “mainline Protestant” have declined from 18% to 11% in the same timeframe and those who identify as “Evangelical Protestant” have fallen from 26% to 23% - both categories are still on the decline with no letup in sight.
Compare that with those who identify as “Catholics”. Catholics made up 24% of the population in America in 2007 compared to 19% in 2024. This 5% drop is significant, but not as much as the Protestant fall off because, in 2019 and in 2022, there was an uptick in Catholic identification indicating that Catholics are making a comeback, not Protestants.
This should make Protestants ask some questions (though, I am unsure they have the self-awareness to do so) like “why is this happening?” or “what are the Catholics doing right?”. I am no theology expert (yet) but I think I know the answer. It seems obvious that mainline and Evangelical Protestants are having a difficult time existing within our current culture. And many people are seeing this. For example, during the 2024 election cycle, a group formed called Evangelicals for Harris. This group gained some buzz within Protestant circles due to its seemingly contradictory nature. Evangelicalism is said to be rooted in Scripture and Jesus’s teachings, which is true. But it doesn’t take a genius to see that Kamala Harris was not a Christian and did not believe in Jesus’s teachings. This is where the contradictions come in; some Evangelicals, like myself, were wondering how a faithful Christian can vote for someone who is an advocate for murdering babies, butchering kids, and funding endless wars overseas. The liberal “evangelicals” had no answer to that question other than to gaslight and theologically equivocate on political issues. I am sure this led a lot of Evangelicals away from Protestantism altogether.
Of course, Evangelicals for Harris was not the only organization that was wishy-washy on Biblical doctrine and political application. Publications like Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition, both Protestant, had a really difficult time figuring out why voting for baby murderers was a bad thing. Thus, many Protestants saw the theological gaslighting and hypocrisy and either moved to Catholicism or left the church altogether. It seems the Catholics have a comprehensive theological framework that is able to move into the political realm - maybe the Protestants should follow suit.
Trump addresses Congress, and the Democrats don’t clap
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump addressed Congress for the first time in his new term and it was exactly how you would expect it to be; entertaining and inspiring. That is, if you’re a normal, level-headed person who doesn’t want endless wars overseas, women being murdered by illegal aliens, and if you support 13 year olds who are fighting cancer and dreaming to become a police officer one day. So, if you’re not a Democrat. Trump addressed all the main takeaways from his first couple of months in office, including his continued attempt to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, signing the Laken Riley Act into law, cutting millions of dollars of endless and useless government spending, signing an Executive Order to keep men out of women’s sports, and so much more.
Trump also honored Corey Comperatore, a father who was shot and killed during the assassination attempt at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. And, in a special moment in his speech, Trump honored a young man, age 13, named DJ Daniel who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and was given only five months to live but, despite the odds, still lives today. DJ’s dream is to become a police officer and he has been sworn in as an honorary officer in multiple police departments. And, to DJ’s surprise, President Trump swore him in as the newest member of the Secret Service. Trump also recognized Payton McNabb, a former High School girls volleyball player who was severely injured by a boy who was allowed to play in girls volleyball. Payton was hit in the face with a volleyball and suffered a concussion, brain bleeding, and permanent whiplash.
If you’re used to being emotionally manipulated by Democrats and gaslit by the elites, you may be surprised to learn that the Democrats, through all of these moments of honoring real victims of crimes and real triumphs of courage, refused to stand and clap. They refused to stand and clap to honor a woman who was murdered by an illegal alien. They refused to stand and clap to honor a 13 year old boy who has overcome brain cancer and is now an honorary Secret Service agent. And they refused to stand and clap to honor a young woman who was brutally assaulted by a deranged man who thought he was a woman.
Do you see a pattern here? It seems plainly obvious that the Democratic party of “compassion”, “empathy”, and “inclusion” is filled with frauds who actually have no compassion for anyone who isn’t beholden to their ideology. Human dignity and civility have gone out the window for these liberals. These people want power and control. That’s it. And they have so much hatred and resentment for Trump that they will ignore real people with real problems while they grandstand and virtue signal. Luckily, it seems many Americans are finally seeing this.
It looks like Americans are really seeing this and responding. According to a poll done by CBS, 76% of those who watched the address actually approved of the message. Sixty-three percent of people said that Trump talked about issues that they care about. Sixty-eight percent of people said that they felt “hopeful” after Trump’s speech while only 16% said they felt “angry” after listening. This is shocking polling, especially if you consider that only 51% of viewers were Republican, while 27% were Independents and 20% were Democrats. So much for the “Trump is divisive” jargon - in fact, right now Trump is more unifying than ever.
As Christians, how are we to respond to all of this? I am sad to even have to answer that question. The answer is self evident; rejoice in the good and mourn in the bad. What do I mean by that? I mean that we should rejoice in a young man, DJ Daniel, overcoming cancer and pursuing an honorable and good goal of becoming a police officer with his dad. We should applaud that because it’s a good and beautiful thing - to sit idly in our bitterness and hatred is evil. We should mourn the loss of human life, whether that be thousands in the Ukrainian war or Corey Comperatore who lost his life while saving his daughters and wife.
A lesson can be learned from the Democrats; when power and money become your god, you end up disregarding human life and dignity, making you into a bitter, angry, and vengeful person. Christians should know this.
Watch the full address here.
The Supreme Court denies Trump’s request to end foreign aid to Ukraine
On Wednesday morning, the SCOTUS denied the Trump administration’s request to stop the final $2 billion in foreign aid going to Ukraine. The decision was close, 5-4, in which all three liberal judges were joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett to continue supporting Ukraine in their futile attempt to fight the Russians.
Many were surprised by this decision because of the fact that two traditionally Conservative justices are apparently adamant about sending that last $2 billion dollars to Ukraine. Very bizarre. Justice Alito was shocked and responded by saying,
“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”
So am I. I guess we’ll all be interested in hearing the reasoning behind this decision as we have come to know that a portion of the funding that has already gone to Ukraine has been spent on luxury items by Zelensky. But maybe the SCOTUS thinks that the next $2 billion will be different? I seriously doubt it.
You can read the full decision here.
WAR! China threatens the U.S.
Uh-oh, the Chinese government has threatened war with the United States. China has stated that it is ready for “any type of war” with America due to President Trump’s trade tariffs. For those of you who don’t know, a trade tariff is a tax on imported goods and services. Trump loves tariffs and has claimed that the “T” word (tariffs) is the most beautiful word in the English language - China disagrees… somewhat.
Trump recently placed an extra 10% trade tariff on China, doubling the total to 20%, and making good on his promise to stop Americans from getting ripped off by China and to bring more jobs back to the United States. For a long time Democrats have chosen to ship American jobs to China and import their goods and services while real American people lose their jobs here in the U.S.
Now, in retaliation to Trumps tariffs, China added a 10%-15% trade tariff on American farm products. The Chinese Embassy in US also took to X on Tuesday saying,
In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said,
“We’re prepared… Those who long for peace must prepare for war,”
Hegseth mentioned that as China is building their military and defense systems, the United States is too. He and the Trump administration stand by the Reagan Doctrine of Peace through Strength. For those of us who are young and who may not know who Ronald Reagan is or what Peace through Strength means (because they teach next to nothing in the public schools), here is a brief history lesson. In 1980, President Ronald Reagan was quoted saying,
This quote looms all too dimly over our current political moment. And, as it turns out, Ronald Reagan was correct. War is a terrible thing and it seems that the only way to prevent war and mass casualties is through building a strong and stable military. The Democrats have preached for decades that we need to reduce our military in order to show the world that we are “committed to peace”. This foreign policy and defense strategy is obviously frail and insipid. When we reduce our military, we reduce our security and protection which leaves a political and geographical vacuum wide open for tyrants and dictators like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping to exploit and abuse. Peace does come through strength.
Christians ought to know this. Haven’t we read the Bible? Hasn’t Jesus told us how he will come back? In the end, Christ will come again in power and glory to bring peace to the whole world. His strength is our peace as Christians. His power is our security. Our governing structures must act as strong, secure, and prepared vessels of protection and peace. In Scripture, the concept of peace is closely tied to strength and security in Christ. The stronger we are, the better off we and our neighbors will be.
What to read…
It’s my belief that Christians must be reading. Obviously they should be reading the Bible, but they should also be reading books on theology, politics, and philosophy - along with whatever else they can get their hands on (besides Karl Marx). So, every week I’ll make a book recommendation for Christians. The books might be strictly theological or it could be political or philosophical. Whatever it is, you can rest assured that I have read the book myself. This week, for the first ever Orthodoxy & Order book recommendation, I am recommending you read Rediscovering Holiness by J.I. Packer. There is obviously no better author to recommend - Packer is, in my opinion, the best theologian in modern history and in this book, he encourages Christians in the West to care more about their own personal holiness and sanctification. It is true that in the West, personal holiness is a lost theological aim. But being holy and sanctified is all over the Bible, it’s what Jesus demands of us. And aside from the Biblical demand for holiness, personal holiness is required for clear and orderly thinking in all areas of our life. To be a comprehensive Christian, you have to care about killing your sin and living a holy life. J.I. Packer gives us a Biblical blueprint to personal holiness in his book, Rediscovering Holiness.
Quote of the week:
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