Opus 2023-268: Discernment Watch: The Anti-Litmus

What is the opposite of a litmus test?  I think that certain measures are good for getting a quick view of where people stand on many issues.  People who are pro-abortion tend to be worried about global warming, are still counting the genders and think Hamas is oppressed.  

What is the opposite?  I am thinking maybe a red flag or a canary in a coal mine.

What brings this to mind is a recent article, I can’t remember where I read it.  It was talking about a Republican running against Ilhan Omar.  The challenger was a Muslim also and had gone so far as to go to Israel to proclaim that all Muslims were not like Hamas and that she backed Israel.  If you can swallow that without a big gulp of water then you also believe that EV’s run on unicorn farts.  There are certain truths that just don’t go together.  I would suggest that when someone tells you something you know is not true then you might want to think twice about other things they say.

I have said before that such people are at least one of three things:  Ignorant, stupid or evil.  It is possible to be all three but any one by itself means your opinions are worthless.  

Take this woman running against Omar.  Let’s assume she is not stupid.  To get where she is means that her shoes are on the right feet.  She may be very sincere.  She may actually believe that she can be a good Muslim and stand with Israel.  Let’s say she is not evil.  That means she is ignorant.  She must have never read the Koran.  Or else she has only read the parts in which Mohammad is still playing nice.  

Another experience I had recently was on an interview by Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge.  Most of his guests are generally conservative and so I listened to the one featuring Elizabeth Economy talking about China.  She seemed well informed and spoke well.

All was proceeding smoothly until she shared that her many years of working in Washington had convinced her that most of the people there really wanted to do the right thing.  Full stop.  What?  That simple statement made me doubt everything else she had been saying.  How could someone be so naive?  Does she pay attention?  It is possible that she is just one of those really nice people that does not see evil until she feels the pain.

Then you have icons like Glenn Beck.  I accept that he is a conservative.  I agree with him on almost everything I have heard him say.  Since I don’t listen to him regularly I don’t know how much I might disagree with now.  My problem with Beck goes back to the days I was driving to work early in the morning and would listen to his radio program.  If I did not know better I would have been under the impression that Glenn Beck was an evangelical Christian of the Billy Graham School.  He had the vocabulary.  He knew the theology.  He radiated it.  The problem is, he is a devout Mormon.  He is serious enough that there can be no doubt he knows what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believe.  Mormons may be wonderful people.  They probably make great neighbors.  They are fine citizens.  The one thing they are not is Christian.

Maybe, somewhere along the road, Glenn Beck converted.  I have heard no one say that.  If he hasn’t I am left with the plain fact that he is being deceptive.  That means I will work with him but I will do so with both eyes open and waiting for the betrayal that will come.

Life is full of difficult situations.  We need to keep thinking and knowing what we believe.  We can’t afford to be simple and trusting when there is so much at stake.  Keep thinking.  Pray without ceasing.  Vote like it made a difference.  Speak up and stand tall.

homo unius libri