Shelby Campbell, “ Hey MAGA, how bad does it hurt that Jimmy Kimmel is back, but you guys can’t get your person back? (Followed by an angry laugh). How’s your conscience?
Above image is of Shelby Campbell, running for a Congressional seat in Michigan. If you can access this video on Instagram or Facebook, you may want to see how this candidate feels about Charlie Kirk’s death.
The past two weeks or so has been an interesting time in our society. I would say in our country, but when one has a view, of course through the lens of social media, the world looks a bit different than it did a month ago. Yes, Charlie Kirk’s untimely death and murder has made an impact more than anyone could have imagined. Last night, I saw an Instagram video of a young woman yelling that “Charlie Kirk means nothing, he is nothing and his death will affect no one.” Sorry young lady. Your words could be no further from the truth. This week, I head Glenn Youngkin, current Governor of The Commonwealth of Virginia, telling a group of young adults that when thinking about who could fill Charlie Kirk’s shoes as a young Christian evangelist, he said, “Each one of you IS Charlie Kirk,” and if Charlie was able to make the ripple in the world that he did, just imagine what thousands of young adults, inspired to take on Charlie’s mission to educate and inspire others to dive into the meaning of their Christian faith, the ideals of America and to live it.
Charlie Kirk and Governor Glenn Youngkin.
* What I have been inspired to do, is to do more reading and listening to more information that inspires me as a Christian and to ‘raise the bar’ in terms of my faith. Why shouldn’t anyone strive to be a better person and become more knowledgeable in their faith? There is always more to learn. Right?
Lately, one of the people I have been listening to is an Orthodox Priest who leads the St. Andrew’s congregation of Riverside California, Father Josiah Trenham. Father Josiah was originally an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church who then came to the Orthodox faith. The Orthodox Church was originally set up by Jesus and the Apostles and it has a rich history that dates right back to our Lord and Savior’s resurrection. It is a very traditional church, let me give you an example of what I am talking about. The funeral liturgy that is practiced today in the Orthodox Church, dates back to the fifth century, with some parts of the service coming from the Jewish faith as the early members of the Christian Church were Jews.
*Above images of Tucker Carlson from a podcast recently with Father Josiah Trenham, Orthodox Priest and host of Patristic Nectar on You Tube and the podcast is available where you obtain access to podcasts.
Father Josiah has some very interesting lectures, homilies, sermons and messages on Podcast Patristic Nectar (either available on Spotify, Apple Music or on the Patristic Nectar You Tube Channel). Father Josiah and his wife have ten children and a few grandchildren. He has been a very integral part of the community of St. Andrew’s parish where he joined as an Associate Priest when the Church was in it’s early stages meeting in a warehouse as a satellite parish to a larger Orthodox Church. Father Josiah helped his senior Priest grow the Church and eventually build the current location, buying us property as they could. Father Josiah gives the credit to his elder priest, stating that he did all the hard work. When asked by Tucker Carlson in a recent appearance on his podcast how his church is doing in terms of membership (one of two appearances in the past two weeks since Charlie Kirk’s passing), he said that if, in an average year his parish welcomed 20-40 newly dedicated Orthodox Christians, this year, the parish has welcome around 200 newly dedicated Orthodox Christians. Most definitely, Christianity is seeing growth in the United States. for an Eastern Orthodox Church in America to see this much growth, the most conservative and traditional sects of Christianity, speaks volumes of the movement towards a more faithful population.
Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s conscience and friend.
Charlie, his Turning Point USA, Franklin Graham, Father Josiah and other Clergy have inspired current Christian to delve deeper and others who were not regular Church goers or non-believers, to come along. In one of Father Josiah’s messages I recently read, he examined the importance of the conscience. This has been a topic on itsagreatdayto.com before and it’s a fascinating subject. One may recall the Jiminy Cricket song from Pinocchio, “Always Conscience Be Your Guide.” Jiminy Cricket served as Pinocchio’s official conscience and friend, guiding him through life to make good decisions. Yes, that is excellent advice. Father Josiah explains how the conscience is something that God places in every one of us. In the Old Testament there is little reference to the conscience. The laws written about in the Old Testament were for outward behavior and the protection of the community. In contrast, the New Testament, written to tell of Jesus and his ministry makes mention of the conscience and its importance. For example, as one of the Ten Commandments, “Do Not Commit Adultery,”from the Old Testament, Jesus takes that topic in his Sermon on the Mount and goes on taking it even further, for even if a man lusts after a woman (in his mind) it is the same as committing adultery, speaking to the intentions of the heart and what is in the conscience. Father Josiah explains this concept in much more depth and more beautifully than I am describing, but you can understand the message…
In raising children, a parent tries to feed the conscience with good spiritual food and knowledge to inspire a conscience that makes good moral and life decisions. This would involve the experiences the child has, the education they receive and the faith education they are exposed to. A child who has been reared with lessons from the Bible and good spiritual food learned in a synagogue or Church will harvest a conscience accountable to God. For a child to be taught that they are accountable for their behavior by a parent who feel they themself is entrusted by God Almighty to bring that child up properly, as they too are accountable to God. Bringing up children properly is something to be taken very seriously. I clearly remember the passage in the Bible, often brought up in sermons growing up,
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6.
God takes the well being of a child seriously.
A society centered on Judaeo Christian values means that there in a commonality in the values of that society. We all are better off in a community where raising children into responsible adults is a priority. When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus, responds with, “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and your mind.” Followed by the second one, “To love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus explains that these two commandments are the foundation upon which all the Law and the Prophets are based. For me, these two Commandments mean that I am to love and respect others, regardless of if they think the same way I do or not. There is less crime and more safety when a society is guided by Judaeo Christian values . We see that now as many of the crimes committed are by young adults who have come from homes where these values are not taught or these individuals have fallen away from their faith. Unfortunately a society pays the price when parents don’t take their responsibility seriously. It is NOT the schools or teachers fault, as this training must come from the home. A teacher or school system can only do so much. The parents are a child’s first and most important teachers. A school and teachers can be part of the equation and the child benefits greatly when they do and can work hand and hand together.
When a society walks away from its faith and the family is no longer the cornerstone, chaos begins to occur. “HOME IS the NATION’S SAFETY,” inscribed on the mantel of the dorm I lived in at the University of Michigan, the Martha Cook Building. William Cook, the Alumni donor and other prominent members of society throughout history knew this. When citizens no longer feel an accountability to God, they look at themselves as the supreme and they have no accountability for their actions and living by God’s Laws is not at their forefront. God gives us a conscience. When we get away from a life centered on God we don’t listen to that conscience that guides us. Jiminy Cricket DID have it right. When Pinocchio didn’t follow his conscience, he got off track. When the bios of those are examined who are responsible for horrendous crimes, they have either fallen away from God or no one had exposed them to the idea that they were accountable for their behavior to someone greater than themself.
We all fall short and there is forgiveness for us all to ask for. In the Christian faith, it’s part of our belief to acknowledge our sin and shortcomings and ask for forgiveness. We look inward to where we are part of the problem and ‘take the speck out of our own eye’ before we look to criticize others. I fall short on this at times and it takes stepping back or outside of ourself to examine our own heart and conscience. In teaching and writing, it is helpful to use examples of others to make a point. I try to not take things out of context, but rather use an example to show the over all behavior. I may fall short at times on this and ask forgiveness when I do…
Shelby Campbell, mentioned in the opening, is running for a Congressional Seat for district 13 in the state of Michigan, the Wayne County/Detroit area. I am hoping that the quote that came from a post on Instagram earlier, weighs on her conscience and that this does not describe her true feelings. This is sad, however unfortunately, there are many people who have had similarly negative comments over the last few weeks following Charlie’s death. It seems as if comments like this come from people who have such anger and unhappiness in their heart. I do not know, it is just an observation. What I hope for is that these people will come to feel remorse for the words they have spoken, either out of ignorance, anger or misinformation and then acknowledgement or out of a weighing on their conscience. In fact, I pray for more people to come to find a faith. Not only would that benefit themselves, but our society as well…And that could make for several…Great Days for many❤️
