"A house divided..."
Abraham Lincoln, Illinois Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois June 16, 1858
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.
Matthew 12:25 (NIV)
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
Matthew 12:25 (GNTA)
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and so he said to them, "Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart.”
Galatians 5:19-21 (RSV)
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit (factions), envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
According to biblical history, Israel was divided into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon, splitting into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Each had its share of good and bad rulers (mostly bad) and each kingdom came to an end by being conquered and sent into exile, either to Assyria or Babylon. Treachery was the common thread for attaining power and the throne.
The same scenario is being played out here in our country. It cannot be understated that we are at a crossroad. We have a divided kingdom – the northern / coastal / urban kingdom and the southern / central / rural kingdom. Each has had its own share of good and bad rulers. We will all come to same end, though, if we remain a divided kingdom. Jesus warned that division (such as party loyalty, civil wars, secession, factions, feuding, tribalism, etc.) only leads to ruin. How, then, can we become unified for the sake of the common GOOD? I can’t say with certainty, but I do know that people like Donald Trump only make the situation worse. A divided, antebellum America is just fine with him and his ilk, with the goal of a one-party, all-slave nation.
= new reply since forum marked as read
who doesn't immediately think about how IQ45 goes on and on at one of his "hate-fests/rallies" - and how the "opposition" worked so hard at the recent House hearings - publicly tearing down the decency and respect deserved and earned by dedicated and noble government workers.
This is ALL bad.
We MUST do something.
GET OUT THE VOTE!!!!!!
The authoritarians will always quote these passages and then say, "Be reasonable, do it my way!"
The problem all democracies share is that they require compromise. When one faction decides to not agree, to not meet the other side half way, that they and only they know the one true answer, the pavement is being laid down for the road to oblivion. RW media have been paving that road for decades. This happened in the 1850's and led to our bloodiest war. Civil wars are always the worst, they bring out the worst in people.
Rome was so big and so strong that it took numerous civil wars and uprisings before it finally succumbed and crumbled into anarchy tha really didn't re-align into nation states for hundreds of years.
Yes, these are dangerous times.
