Biblical and Constitutional Politics

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News, Politics, and Christians

By Gary F. Zeolla

      ¹Therefore, I urge first of all [for] petition to be continually made, prayers, intercessions, [and] thanksgivings, on behalf of all people: ²on behalf of kings and the ones being in positions of authority, so that we should lead a tranquil and quiet [or, calm] life in all godliness and dignity (1Timothy 2:1-2; ALT3).

      To appropriately pray for the President, Senators, Congresspeople, Governors, Mayors, Justices, Judges, and other authorities at the federal, state, and local levels, you need to know who they are and to be informed on what challenges they are facing in order to pray they respond in a Christian manner. For that reason, it is good for Christians to stay up-to-date on the news and political happenings.

      There are also many Christians here in the USA and elsewhere who cannot live “a tranquil and quiet life” due to oppression and persecution. Christians need to be aware of such in order to pray about it and even take action to stop it.

      In addition, being aware of problems, tragedies, and disasters should lead Christians to pray for those affected, donate to relief agencies, and even take personal action.

iHeartRadio App News Shows and Podcasts

      To remain aware of all such news, I use the iHeartRadio app. iHeartRadio provides a large catalog of live radio stations and podcasts. It has a free (with ads) version and paid versions without ads. I have one of the latter for $5.34/ month.

      I listen to various news sources on iHeart. The first is NBC Radio News. It provides a 10-15 minutes rotation of different types of news: Headline, Political, Economic, Technology, Health, Celebrity, and Sports. I usually to listen to it once per day.

      The next are podcasts by BBC World News. They post two 30-minutes podcasts each day. As the name implies, they cover not just the USA and the UK but all countries. That is good, as Christians should be concerned about things that occur outside of our borders, as God is concerned about people in all countries.

      I next use iHeart to listen to the news at the top and bottom of the hour on two local (Pittsburgh, PA) AM radio stations of 1250 The Answer and News Talk 1320. Neither of these stations come in very well on an old-fashioned radio in the valley in which I live, so I appreciate being able to listen to them on this app. The former uses news from Townhall and the latter from Fox News. I am sure there are similar stations in other markets.

      It should be noted, NBC and the BBC lean left, while Townhall and Fox News lean right. Therefore, with these four news sources, I get news reports from both sides, to balance out the biases of each side.

      In-between the news reports on 1250 and 1320, both stations air conservative political commentators, a different set on each station. The Answer is a part of Salem Media Group, so there are equivalent The Answer stations in most major markets. To find a station in your area, see the station guide on the website for Salem Media Group. In this list are also Christian radio stations, like WORD FM here in Pittsburgh, that are a part of Salem Media Group.

      There are also equivalents in most major markets for the commentators and Fox News reports on 1320. Select your state and “Five Minute News” in the station finder applet on the website for Fox News radio. One program of note on the Fox stations is Fox News Rundown. It airs here in the Pittsburgh area at 8:00 AM ET . It describes itself as:

      You’ll hear a contrast of perspectives you may not hear elsewhere while going far beyond the basic headlines. Hosted by the anchors of FOX News Radio, each morning The FOX News Rundown features insight from top newsmakers, along with your favorite FOX News hosts like Bill Hemmer, Dana Perino, and Martha MacCallum plus a daily commentary on a significant issue of the day.

Political Commentators Shows and Podcasts

      Most of the daily shows for the political commentators on both of the above stations are repeated on podcasts that can be found on iHeartRadio. I used to listen to many of them, as I needed to keep up with news and political commentary for writing articles, commentaries, and books for my politics website.

      However, all of the rancor and fighting can be spiritually and mentally depressing. In addition, I got turned off of most conservative commentators due to their downplaying of Covid and the lies they told about the vaccines. That led to far more Republicans than Democrats dying from Covid. That led me to question all else they had to say.

      Don’t get me wrong. I am still politically conservative. I just don’t trust most conservative commentators much anymore, as they often exaggerate or ignore important details to make their points. And I just cannot listen to someone when I know his or her words have led to people suffering and dying needlessly. But it should be noted, the left did the same with its exaggerated fearmongering.

    I will be documenting these problems in regard to Covid on both sides and their dreadful effects in my forthcoming book to be titled, Coronavirus Fearmongering on the Left, Covid-19 Lies on the Right: A Layman’s View on What the Authorities Got Correct and Incorrect about SARS-CoV-2. I wasn’t going to bother with it, as at this point (9/1/23), I figured Covid was “old news.” But with new variants emerging, the left is once again starting its fearmongering, and the right its lies. That will probably be the case every autumn, so a more balanced view of Covid is still needed, even if I don’t get to it until next year (2024), which will probably be the case.

Update: Rather than a book, I present all of that information in my new website: Covid Fearmongering and Lies.

      In any case, the harsh rhetoric of many conservative commentators, with their degrading of those they disagree with, can wear off onto listeners, including myself. But I do not want to be like that. Liberals are not evil or stupid people with only nefarious motives, as conservative commentators make them out to be. Liberals are just misled. But I try to steer them right with my political books and other writings.

      There is also often foul language. I just do not understand why those who call themselves conservatives and even Christians think it is okay to use such language. But I don’t care to hear it and will stop listening as soon as a foul word is uttered.

      But it should be noted, all of this could be said double for liberal and leftist podcasts. I’ve tried to listen to several of them, to give “the other side” a hearing, but the misinformation and harsh, divisive, and foul language was just too much, so I do not bother.

      I never watched his show, but a late-night comedian hit the nail on the head during his final broadcast:

      James Corden used part of his farewell speech on Thursday’s [4/27/23] final episode of CBS’ ”The Late Late Show” to address the deep rift in America over hot button issues including politics and ideology.

      “We started this show with Obama, then Trump and a global pandemic. I’ve watched American change a lot. I’ve watched divisions grow and I’ve felt a sense of negativity boil over,” said the host. He asked his audience to “remember what America signifies to the rest of the world. My entire life it has always been a place of optimism. … Yes, it has flaws but show me a place that doesn’t. Show me a person that doesn’t.

      “Just because somebody disagrees with you it doesn’t make them bad or evil. We are all more the same than we are different. There are so many people who are trying to stoke those differences and we have to try as best we can to look for the light, look for the joy. If you do, it’s out there. That’s all this show has ever been about,” he said (AP. Corden addresses divisive America in final ‘Late Late Show’ (via Trib Live).

Additional News Apps

      Another app for following the news is the CBS’ Audacy app. It contains CBS affiliate radio news stations from across the country. For my area, that would be KDKA, the world’s first radio station. KDKA, like CBS, leans left, but not overly so. To find your local CBS affiliate station, use the Station Finder on Audacy’s website.

      However, I must add, the Audacy app does not work very well. In fact, I gave up on it and uninstalled it quite a while ago, as I just got too frustrated with it. But maybe they have worked the bugs out of it by now.

      But as it is, I only listen to KDKA news when I happen to be by an old-fashioned radio at the top or bottom of the hour. I have multiple radios in my home, so I am often near one of them and have them all set to KDKA, as it is one of the few stations that comes in well in my valley. Another is WORD FM (101.5), a Christian station that is also available on the Audacy app.

      Most all other news networks and stations have their own app. But the only other one I use is C-Span’s app. It has all three C-Span TV stations plus C-Span Radio. But I only use it when I want to hear a political speech that is being aired on one of its stations.

TV Newscasts and Commentaries

      There are of course a wide range of TV newscasts.  For local news, I generally watch WTAE, my local ABC affiliate. I also watch CBS Evening News most evenings. They both lean left. Otherwise, I watch Newsmax and Fox News Channel (FNC), both of which lean right. FNC mostly features conservative commentators and opinion shows. But two of its show that I often watch are more straight new: Special Report with Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream.

      Shannon also has her own podcast, Living the Bream. In Part Two of my two-part article Uplifting Apps and Podcasts, I included a section on “Christian Perspectives on Politics and Current Events.” I mention four such podcasts: Washington Watch and Washington Watch Weekend on the Bott Radio app and Breakpoint and Christian Outlook on iHeart. I could add Shannon’s podcast to that list as well, as she often features notable Christian guests like Max Lucado and Ruth Graham Lotz.

      Let me add here, spending too much time on politics, with all of this wrangling, can be spiritually depressing. As such, I have learned to offset any time spent listening to the news and political podcasts with at least twice as much of the uplifting options. That is why I preceded this article with that two-part article on uplifting apps.

News Websites

      Most every news agency has its own website. Some of them are free with ads, while others require a paid subscription. Some are mixtures, with non-subscribers having access to certain articles or a certain number of articles per month and subscribers having access to their full range of articles.

      In my bookmarks, I have news websites separated by whether they are conservative or liberal, along with separate bookmarks for my local news websites.

      My favorite conservative news websites are Newsmax and Breitbart. Newsmax often reprints articles from the AP and Reuters. The former leans left, while the later is more moderate. My favorite liberal website is Yahoo! News. It reprints articles from other news websites that often require subscriptions, like the Washington Post (WaPo), HuffPost, and the New York Times (NYT). I have a subscription to the latter, but not the former two.

      My favorite local news site is Trib Live. It is the website for three local newspapers, including my hometown newspaper. It leans left and often reprints articles from the AP, Philadelphia Inquirer, and other left-leaning websites. There are also the websites for my three local news stations: WTAE, KDKA, and WPXI. They all lean left and again reprint articles from the AP and Reuters.

      Again, I am sure there are similar news sites for the local newspapers and news stations in other markets.

Christians in Government

      But should Christians become involved in politics? I address this question in “Scripture Study #38, Christians and the Government” in my Scripture Workbook: Second Edition. But here, I want to discuss three biblical figures: Joseph, Daniel, and Esther.

      By Joseph, I mean the Joseph in Genesis not the stepfather of Jesus. That Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned unjustly. But then by many fortuitous events, he rose to be the second in power in Egypt. I address those fortuitous events in my book The LORD Has It Under Control.

      But here, the important point is, God used him mightily in his capacity as the second in command in the Egyptian government. He prepared Egypt for a coming famine. Without Joseph in the Egyptian government, many people in Egypt and the surrounding countries would have starved to death when that predicted famine hit.

      Daniel was a war captive and deported to a foreign land. But he also through many fortuitous events rose to be the third in command in the Babylonian empire. And God again used him mightily in that position. It was he who declared the fall of the Babylonian empire to the Medes and Persians and additional future events in the context of his governmental position.

      Esther was an orphaned peasant girl who was raised by her uncle. But she, also through many fortuitous events, became queen in the Medes-Persian empire. And again, God used her mightily, this time to save the entire race of the Jews from genocide.

      If these three people had not been so faithful and followed the LORD’s leading and got involved in the governments of their times, all of those people would have died of hunger, we would not have a vital prophetic book, and the Jewish race would have been exterminated.

      Again, I cover all three of these figures in detail in my Under Control book. But the point here is they would not have been able to be used so mightily by God if they had not been open to being involved the secular governments of their times. That makes them examples for us today, that some Christians just might be called by the LORD to run for public office and to be used by the LORD for a specific purpose in that office.

      However, it does not have to be something so grand as a high federal office. Running for your local school board could be quite important. You could be the bulwark against children being sexualized and taught to be racists in your local school district.

My Involvement in Politics

      I have had people on social media suggest I run for public office. I wish I could, but my health situation precludes doing so. But I can write about politics to give a Christian perspective on them. To that end., I started Biblical and Constitutional Politics (BCP) on New Year’s Day 2017. There are now hundreds of articles and commentaries posted on it.

      Then in 2018, I began writing political books. I have now written 14 politics books. Nine of them focus on Donald J. Trump and five on Joseph R. Biden. With a Trump-Biden rematch a distinct possibility next year (2024), these books are more relevant than ever. They will help voters make an informed decision in the presidential race.

      I will probably hold off on writing any more political books, at least for a while, as I’ve said all I want to at this point. But I will continue to write an occasional article or commentary for my BCP website. This article will be cross-posted on both my Christian Darkness to Light website and my BCP politics website.

Conclusion

      Most people will not follow nor need to follow as many news sources as I do. I just follow so many due to my writing about politics. However, Christians do need to stay informed on the news and on politics in order to pray and respond appropriately. To that end, I would recommend picking at least a couple of different news sources, preferably one on the right and on the left, to follow regularly. That will keep you sufficiently informed for prayer and action.

The above article was posted on this website September 1, 2023.
It first appeared in the Darkness to Light Christian Newsletter.

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