My prayer: Jesus, Save Us From the (Far-Right-Wing) Christians

This is my second post on Jonathan Cahn. My first was, "If you believe Jonathan Cahn, you are betting against the house." If you are interested, click the link in the previous sentence.

 

An opinion piece in the New York Times today, "The Problem of the Christian Assassin," mentions Jonathan Cahn. The writer, David French, mentioned Cahn in an earlier piece. Here is a link, "The Donald Trump Leap of Faith."

 

The Christian assassin is Vance Boelter, the Christian who stalked two Minnesota lawmakers and assassinated them. Boelter is a 1990 graduate of Christ for the Nations Institute (CFNI) and once served as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Both the CFNI and Jonathan Cahn are part of the right-wing evangelical-charismatic movement. Of the two, Cahn is the more explicitly political and apocalyptic but both leave me feeling uneasy. Boelter's murderous acts does lead one to examine more closely the ideas the institute is instilling in its graduates.

 

French called Cahn, "one of the most popular Christian public figures in America." Today, he tells us Cahn has been sharing his Jehu prophecy with all who will listen. You may well ask, who is Jehu? Here is French's concise answer:

 

Jehu is an obscure and vicious ancient king of Israel whose chief claim to fame was overthrowing the house of Ahab, ordering the execution of the king’s wife, Queen Jezebel, killing King Ahab’s sons and piling their heads outside the city gates.

 

Most would agree, King Jehu is not a fine role model. Yet Cahn, like many evangelicals, believes King Jehu was an instrument of God. These evangelicals also see Trump is an instrument of God in the same mould as King Jehu and King David. Supposedly, God used all three to further his goals.

 

I find that Cahn treats the Bible as a codebook. Break the code and he promises all will becomes clear. Trump, the Christan warrior, will emerge from the fog. 

 

For me, what becomes clear is that Cahn is a spiritually manipulative charlatan with a sensationalist marketing technique. His is not a sober reflection on biblical teachings. 

 

Take care and steer clear of Jonathan Cahn and his ilk. They are delivering something more akin to propaganda than healthy religion.

Another Pierre Poilievre slogan?

In his address to the Conservative caucus, Pierre Poilievre claimed Mark Carney used a slogan to attack Poilievre for sloganeering. Poilievre insinuated this was very ironic. It would be, if it were true.

There is no evidence that Mark Carney has used the phrase "A slogan is not a plan" in a public speech or statement. All attributions of this phrase to Carney come from political opponents (notably Pierre Poilievre and Conservative MPs) and media commentary, who claim that Carney "took great delight in saying that 'a slogan is not a plan'" during the campaign.

Carney, as leader of the Liberal Party, positioned himself as a steady, policy-focused alternative to Pierre Poilievre's slogan-heavy,populist rhetoric. Now, we can add the slogan "A slogan is not a plan" to the long list of Poilievre slogans such as "Axe the Tax”, “Bring it Home”, “Fix the Budget”, and “Stop the Crime.”

The media has been taken in by Poilievre again. The CBC journalist, Benjamin Lopez Steven, reported something to the effect (the original report has been taken down):

On the campaign trail, according to Poilievre, Mark Carney frequently criticized Poilievre for his slogans. Carney repeatedly said "a slogan is not a plan," according to Poilievre. Laughing, he turned the tables on Carney saying, “I’ll point out that that is a slogan.” The crowd roared and CBC reported Poilivre had turned the tables on Carney with his witty attack.

One problem: Carney never used the phrase repeatedly. In fact, he may have never used those exact words. This is a Poilievre fabrication but no surprise here. It is just the latest of his famous slogans. Poilievre can take a bow. He is now writing slogans for the Prime Minister or at least trying.

The CBC has posted a correction.