When Romans 13 Meets Tyranny: Interpreting Obedience

Last updated on: May 14, 2025 at 2:14 pm By Kermit Zarley

Paul Did Not Teach Unconditional Obedience to Civil Rulers The apostle Paul wrote in his magisterial, theologically in-depth, and lengthy letter to “all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints” (Romans 1.7 NRSV), that they should do the following: Romans 13:1-7 1“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and... Read more

New Pope Leo XIV Echoes Jesus in Saying, “Peace Be With You”

Last updated on: May 12, 2025 at 10:33 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Robert Francis Prevost: The 267th Roman Catholic Pope Last Thursday, the Roman Catholic Church’s Conclave—a gathering of 135 cardinals at the Vatican—selected the Church’s 267th pope after only two days of deliberations. For the first time in the Church’s history, the pope is an American. He is from Chicago; he is 69 years old; he is a devout Chicago White Sox baseball fan; and his name is Robert Francis Prevost. His predecessor and friend, Pope Francis, had made him a... Read more

Trump as Pope? Isn’t that Being Sacrilegious?

Last updated on: May 4, 2025 at 10:39 am By Kermit Zarley

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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania attended the funeral of Pope Francis last week at the Vatican. Many Catholic Church cardinals from around the world were there as well. They were mourning the pope’s death, honoring his legacy, and discussing who will replace him. Next Wednesday, 130 cardinals will officially begin deliberations to choose Francis’s successor. On Tuesday, President Trump said to reporters gathered outside the White House, “I’d like to be the pope.” Was he being real or... Read more

Canada Votes No to Trump Threatening It to Be 51st US State

Last updated on: April 28, 2025 at 9:46 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Trump’s Bluster about Canada as U.S. State Soon after Donald Trump won last year’s presidential election in early November, he soon began trumpeting that Canada should become the 51st state of the U.S. When he first said it, in December to Canada’s Prime Minister, Mr. Justin Trudeau thought Trump was joking. But he soon realized he wasn’t when Trump turned up the rhetoric that included threats that Canada would indeed become the 51st state of the U.S. President Trump in... Read more

The Bible Compares Donald Trump to a “Maniac”

Last updated on: April 26, 2025 at 2:15 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Does Trump Exaggerate or Lie? When Donald Trump campaigned this last time for the U.S. presidency, he bragged that if he won reelection he would “end the Ukraine war on day one.” How many people who voted for him believed that? It was like him saying if president he’d build a wall on our southern border and “Mexico will pay for it.” It was so much of the same bluster he has become known for. Or did any of his... Read more

Will Mostly Gay Cardinals Decide the Next Pope?

Last updated on: April 26, 2025 at 1:45 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Pope Francis died Monday, the day after Easter. He was 88 years old. Beloved by many, this first Latin American pontiff was chosen partly to pursue an ongoing mission of cleaning up alleged, financial corruption in the Vatican. To his great credit, this most affable pope was known mostly for his advocacy for the poor, the disenfranchised, and the marginalized. Many young people were drawn to Pope Francis. And he did make progress at the Vatican with financial reforms. But... Read more

Franklin Graham’s Easter Message at the White House Today

Last updated on: April 20, 2025 at 10:45 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Was Billy Graham Presbyterian or Baptist? The great evangelist Billy Graham grew up attending a Presbyterian church with his family in North Carolina. And Billy and Ruth Graham raised their children in a Presbyterian church. Yet Billy Graham joined a Southern Baptist Church early in his evangelistic ministry, thereby associating his ministry with Baptists more than with Presbyterians. Franklin Graham—son of the famed evangelist Billy Graham and strong supporter of Donald Trump as U.S. president—preached an Easter message at the... Read more

Trump, Tariffs, and the Cost of Not Listening

Last updated on: April 9, 2025 at 8:51 am By Kermit Zarley

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Does Trump Listen? Does U.S. President Donald Trump listen? That depends on what you mean by listen. He hears what people say, though his attention span reportedly is short. But does he listen in the sense that he becomes convinced of what someone says and acts accordingly? He does if it agrees with his thinking, so they say. But that is pretty normal. Yet, does Trump ever get convinced when someone disagrees with him? Not very often. Trump’s Tariffs Make... Read more

Will Trump Be Right about Today’s “Liberation Day”?

Last updated on: April 2, 2025 at 12:55 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Will Today Be “Liberation Day”? Only minutes from now—at 4:00 PM Eastern Time—U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to officially announce what he is calling “Liberation Day.” It will be his declaration of a slew of financial tariffs that he will impose upon many nations for products made in foreign countries and imported to the U.S. to be sold here. It involves many, many things that Americans buy that are made in other countries that cause the U.S. to have... Read more

The Bible Says Canada Belongs to Canadians, Not to Trump

Last updated on: April 1, 2025 at 5:41 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Ever since Donald began his second term as the U.S. president, ten weeks ago, he has been saying that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state. (See my recent blog post: “Canada: Offer the U.S. to Be Your Eleventh Providence.”) At first, when Trump said this, back in December before returning to the White House, many government leaders, including Canada’s own Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, thought he was joking. Trump Isn’t Joking, Saying Canada Should Be 51st U.S. State But... Read more