Prayer of St Augustine link
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy.
Amen
Prayer to God the Father – St Clement of Rome (1stcentury -101 AD)
We beseech You, Master, to be our helper and protector.
Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly;
Raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly;
Restore the wanderers of Your people;
Feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners;
Raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.
Amen
Prayer to God the Father – St Ambrose of Milan (337-397 AD)
O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore You,
a heart to delight in You,
to follow and to enjoy You,
for Christ’s sake.
Amen
Colossians 4:2-6 NIV
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Benediction: Numbers 6:24–26 link
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
amen
I’m concerned about Wade. He has been using his blog to tout unproven , outlandish and discredited conspiracies such as this one
https://www.wadeburleson.org/2020/05/dr-judy-mikovits-deserves-our-respect.html#links
Iowa Steve,
I agree, and it gets worse. From anti-vaxxer conspiracies to now crackpot conspiracies about Nikola Tesla and “free energy”, I fully expect him to say the Moon Landings were faked, the Earth is really flat, or maybe go the Jack D. Ripper route regarding the Fiendish Fluoridators and his precious bodily fluids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY
Iowa Steve,
Ever see the South Park Episode, “Mystery of the Urinal Deuce”?
Iowa Steve and CM,
Thanks for your concern. I learned a long time ago that any motivation to write or speak based on the approval of others is a motivation that leaves one empty. I value your comments and do not dismiss them as out of hand, but am quite comfortable with what I’ve written on my blog.
My concern is for a society where a demand for conformity becomes the precursor of tyranny. Liberty is a principle of Natural Law, and liberty is an inalienable right for every human being. Ironically, shaming another person for what he/she writes or speaks is an encroachment on individual liberty.
I would encourage anyone to read my blog and to draw their own conclusions. I believe the real issue we face as Americans is the loss of freedom in to disagree, to debate, and to dialogue over big issues without being censured or shamed.
Thanks for your comments and your concern.
I’m quite confident in both what I write and for the ability of the common person to understand the real issues that are at stake.
Wade,
You are free to post whatever kook crackpot theories you want as part of your Liberty. But it is also equally free for others to call BS on those theories and show why. Yet somehow for you and all other conspiracy people, the burden of proof is always on those not holding to the conspiracy. Along the way, you conveniently ignore the principles of logic, the scientific method, and so on. But when people show OVERWHELMING evidence in the form of experimental observation, mathematical proofs, etc. the first reaction is “Fake News”, “Coverup’, and the conspiracy nuts add more people to the conspiracy to explain and EVEN bigger coverup.
Let me give you an example. In the 19th century, science believed that the luminiferous aether existed (according to their theories at the time) and set about to experimentally prove its existence. In the entire physics world, the 2 people that could experimentally show the aether existed were Michelson and Morley. This is why their experiment was SUCH a big deal. Which is why when it failed to show the aether, it rocked the entire physics world. This ultimately gave rise to modern special and general relativity.
If you and the other conspiracy people were back then, you would have insisted that the aether did exist and that it was all one big cover-up. And played the persecution/tyranny card to boot.
So go ahead and continue to push discredited conspiracy theories, but rest assured you will get a lot of push back. And not all of it will because of so-called persecution or tyranny pushers, but because they are factually incorrect and untrue. So when you do play that card incorrectly, rest assured people will call you BS on that as well and show why.
Tell us Wade,
How would you feel if someone on your site started pushing Arianism or Modalism saying that the Council of Nicea was a conspiracy like Glenn Beck has stated in the past? Or someone else pushes that the Gnostic gospels were deleted from canon as part of another conspiracy and that Jesus faked his death and ending up marrying and having kids? He could could even show old scrolls and parchment fragments of these Gnostic gospels, etc. Then to boot, he plays the persecution/tyranny card this time against what we know as orthodox Christianity.
As a counter to Wade’s blog post at his site, here is one from Science-Based Medicine by Dr David H. Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS. Wade, after all, is neither a medical professional nor a virologist.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/plandemic-judy-mikovits-and-the-mother-of-all-covid-19-conspiracy-theories/
Passerby,
I read an article (not that one) about Mikovits, can’t remember the link though.
The more I think about the more I think this quote applies to much of what passes for Evangelical Christians (and many others too):
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov
Sadly I think Wade is beginning to fall into that.
His site is now like Coast to Coast AM. Today he deleted two posts with very useful information because 1) they disagreed with him and 2) they were posted anonamously. I’m very disappointed with him for deleting those comments.
Wade Burleson,
You write this:
“Typically, dissent is only suppressed because somebody in control is afraid of losing something valuable. Usually, power and money are at the top of the list of what those in control are afraid of losing.
…Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a credible political liberal. For those who wish to delve into the background of Dr. Judy Mikovits and ask the same questions I’ve been asking, I am posting Robert F. Kennedy’s FOREWORD for you to read below. I would urge you to buy Dr. Mikovits’ book.
…the county where Dr. Mikovits was falsely arrested (Ventura County) now has government officials beginning a program where police can go into peoples’ private homes and forcibly remove someone identified as having COVID-19, taking them to a government facility. The use of government power to restrain, refrain, and remove persons deemed undesirable is real.”
Do we have a duty to listen to people specifically because their ideas are unpopular? I actually don’t think so, given the number of ideas that are both unpopular and bad.
You seem to conflate covid-19 with being “undesirable” in the eyes of the police. Exactly who is arresting the sick in Ventura County? What crime are they being charged with, and where are they being held?
CM,
Judas Iscariot was framed.
/sarc
CM,
In case my quip was too quippy, my question is this: at what point can we stop reevaluating destructive things? Surely some notions are settled.
Everyone,
Wade has officially jumped the shark. He deleted some of my posts which were not anonymous. I posted this in reply (we will see if he deletes this one too):
“Wade,
I see you are deleting posts you don’t like (even by those that are not anonymous like mine) or call into question your study of physics. I fully expect you will delete this one too.”
I provided this Tesla quote and pointed that Tesla was wrong.
“The idea of atomic energy is illusionary but it has taken so powerful a hold on the minds, that although I have preached against it for twenty-five years, there are still some who believe it to be realizable.” Nikola Tesla
To which he replied,
“I have studied physics. For a long time. Newtonian physics (and Tesla) are real physics. Einstein is one of my intellectual heroes, but black holes and relativity don’t cut the mustard for me.
Einstein exalts mathematical metaphysics and I much prefer scientific solutions offered by Tesla.
Blessings, and have a great Memorial Weekend.
P.S. Tesla’s comment about nuclear energy is profound. It’s nuclear fission (destruction), not energy. A house divided shall fall.”
To which I pointed out that nuclear fission is energy due to the change atomic mass per the mass-energy equation. I also pointed that Einstein’s work is REAL physics, like his contribution on the photoelectric effect. Einstein’s work is also E= mc^2, but I guess that is to metaphysical too (I was being snarky). But that post is deleted.
I highly suggest people read this comments in the link below and see what you think:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=19615457&postID=4376992329895427268&page=1&token=1590369725521
Ken F,
It seems that proof of relatively by Eddington in 1919 during the solar eclipse and the data from LIGO which experimentally confirmed Einstein’s laws of relatively, must be a conspiracy because Tesla didn’t buy it.
Another thing, I guess Einstein’s (and others in quantum mechanics like Planck, Bohr, Fermi, and others) contributions to deal with and explain the shortcomings in classical Newtonian and classical electromagnetic physics that were experimentally observed is only metaphysical. Neve rmind that experimental observations in both laboratory experiments and in nature confirmed these latter contributions.
Things like:
The failure of the Michelson-Morley experiment to find the aether.
The ultraviolet catastrophe.
Atomic Spectral Lines
Preachers should be preachers sharing the gospel. PERIOD. Wade is having trouble with boundaries. Thus, I am having difficulty with Wade’s conclusions and theology.
Dee, I appreciate your support of Wade’s theology. On the other hand, is this the direction you want for TWW? I would hate for you to lose credibility . . .
I wonder where will Wade go next? Moon landings faked? Earth is really flat? Paul McCartney is really dead? Elvis is really alive? Alex Jones? QAnon?
One more thing, snark and biting wit is something God used through the Holy-Spirit inspired words of Scripture. Exhibit A is Elijah’s comments about why Baal doesn’t answer the words of their priests in 1 Kings 18:27:
“And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” (NKJV)
I don’t know what happened to Wade over the last few months. Quarantine getting to him? I stopped commenting on his site more than a month ago, and today I finally decided to delete it from my favorites. He accuses others of supressing truth while he himself deletes very sane comments. Time for me to move on, but not happily. His site was so good until recently.
When someone is wrong on things I know about, it makes me think they could be wrong on things I don’t know about. I personally believe he is undermining his credibility, but that is for him to sort out.
I’ve read Pastor Burleson’s blogs for years and enjoy them. I love his books too. I listened to the message “Full of Grace and Salt” and came here to say thanks for posting it. After reading all the comments, it looks to me that he’s having to practice what he preaches. Laughing. Some of you need to get a life.
Question for all
Are you disagreeing with Wade’s sermon or disagreeing with a blog post?If it is the sermon, please tell me specifically where he deviates from Scripture. if it his blog post, remember that Wade is not a just pastor but a person who can discuss his thoughts on a variety of issues that we might disagree with,
For example, I know lots of pastors who believe in a young earth. If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I tip towards evolutionary creationism. Now,l if a pastor said I had to believe in such a theory, I would never attend his church. However, I might enjoy some sermons, etc. that he gives.
There is a reason that I do not discuss politics or things that involve politics.It is not worth it to me to get into arguments on Covid isolation versus herd immunity versus whatever. I believe that the things I want to write about are far too important to get into a political argument. So I don’t.
Others disagree with me and run merrily down and jump into the abyss of political meanderings. I respect the thoughtfulness which each individual puts into the subject.I;m not going there.
Wade and I disagree on a few things-Reformed theology being one of those. But I want you all to hear me loud c=and clear. Wade is one of the most loving and gracious person in the pulpit that I have ever met. I’m more concerned with that.
I have no concern for those who view me with a jaundiced eye. Remember, I just faced down a person who has been involved with making people cower for quite awhile and I decided it was enough.
Sorry I just got around to this., I’m still dealing with the other subject.
CM,
Wade’s freedom thing–It’s like he wants to yell “fire” in a crowded theater when there isn’t a fire, just to boast about freedom of speech
dee,
How many of his recent posts have you read? It’s only in the last few months that they got really weird. I don’t mind weirdness, but it went over the line for me today when he started deleting very intelligent and polite comments that did not support his view. You would never do that yourself.
I am sorry for adding to your stress, and will bow out of this discussion.
Mercy me, as we say around the fam! Dee asked those of you making numerous comments about Wade’s blog if you had a concern about Wade’s message. Crickets. The only thing nutty are the comments. All of them from the same people, over and over again. Nobody ought to be allowed to comment again until giving a definition for obsessive compulsive and taking a personal time-out for a mental health check-up. Geesh.
Dee,
For starters he has been pushing conspiracy theories and other discredited science (and the frauds that push them) in the name of liberty lately. I highly suggest you read his posts and the comments on them over the past few weeks. There are people in this forum with physics and engineering backgrounds that can read his posts as well. Not to mention, people here in this forum with expertise in virology, biochemistry, etc.
And he does not like when people push back and provide evidence back it up.
Wade, I am a FLAMING LIBERAL, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is anti-vaccine and dangerous. I don’t know how old you are, but I turn 60 next month and I grew up hearing from my mother how awful summers were when she was growing up because of polio. Also, she missed an entire year of school (first grade) because she had a bad case of the measles. She was hard of hearing growing up and she’s now deaf as a post due to old age. (That said, she does HEAR stuff when she wants to.)
But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks that vaccines are dangerous and is part of the problem with vaccine uptake. This is not a liberal/progressive position. This is a DUMB position and has led to disease outbreaks all over the country. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, label Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a liberal or progressive. He’s not. He’s riding on his late father’s coattails to push an anti-vaccine agenda and it says volumes about where you’re coming from that you’d use him to push your entirely discredited beliefs with their source in Dr. Judy Mikovits.
And people wonder why I won’t go to church…here’s exhibit #CRAZY.
Dee, I sincerely apologize if this is too much for you, but, frankly, I’m tired of kookery and conspiracy theories. Please note that I am not bashing Wade Burleson for his teachings, but for his support of dangerous, unproven/disproven theories that have and are getting people sick.
Another thing is that Wade and his regular posters (like KB on his site) love to play the close-minded, bully, intellectual card as way to deflect criticism of their disproved theories, or worse, claim conspiracy as to why those theories are not accepted.
Of course, Wade is now starting to delete posts that point flaws and provide references that disprove the theory. At the rate he is going, he will a clone of Alex Jones by June 1st.
Mustin,
I am politically conservative and I think RFK Jr. is a kook with nothing but disproved conspiracy theories regarding vaccines.
Susie,
Wade of his own violation chose to wade into this and chose to push this stuff. This has nothing to do with theology or Scripture. But when he discusses things that he clearly does not have either the professional nor educational background and then gets all bent out of shape when people who do push back.
Agree. Thanks, Dee. Thanks, Wade.
Thanks for your sermons, your blog, your posts, your comments, Wade. God bless.
We may not always completely agree, but I LOVE how you always treat me as a person on your blog, and here at WW. You live the love of Christ. Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.
I also LOVE how you have proposed a database of offenders for the church for years, decades. I’ve watched the live conventions and seen you take a stand. God bless you 100 fold. Integrity, empathy, courage are how you live.
Ava,
Then MAYBE Wade should stick to that, instead pushing conspiracy theories or talking about things he has neither the educational nor professional expertise on.
I suppose the same thing could be said about James MacDonald. As long as the sermons are good nothing else matters. If Wade wants to be taken seriously in his sermons he should back down on promoting crazy theories on his blog. People have told him so on his blog, but he is not only digging in harder, he is also removing disenting input. His mind seems to be made up. It used to be that he would post something wild every now and then. But since late Feb he has posted something normal only now and then. It’s his blog and he is free to do anything he wants with it. He can go as weird as he wants and as often as he wants. The question for Dee is whether or not she wants to be associated with those crazy (and possibly dangerous) theories. That is her call to make.
Ken F. and CM –
In the church I pastor, teachers are free to teach preterism, premillennialism, amillennialism, postmillennialism, or any other eschatological position they deem biblical. There is no demand for conformity. We encourage people to think for themselves. Typically, the person who shouts “that’s weird” or “that’s crazy” is the one most insecure in his own beliefs. I tell everyone who teaches that they have the liberty to teach what they see in Scripture, and to be ready to defend their view graciously. Dee knows full well I resist bullies and have even written a book called “Fraudulent Authority.”
You may not like my take on individual liberty and the natural and inalienable right for all people to express themselves freely, but that’s how I roll. In Saul Alinksy’s book “Rules for Radicals,” he lays out the 13 rules on how to silence opposition and make people conform to your ideology. One of those rules: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” Alinsky says there’s no defense to ridicule. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating.
When I read comments laced with words of ridicule – words like “crazy”- “dangerous” -“wild” – “not normal” – weird” – it’s a tell-tale sign that there’s an agenda. That’s ridicule, and it’s used by radicals.
My wife has her doctorate in nursing from Vanderbilt. I received my flu-shot last winter. All our children have been vaccinated. I am not anti-vaccine. I am anti-bullying. When RFK (of whom I am no fan) is ridiculed, and Dr. Judy Mikovitz is shamed into silence, I realize that something needs to be done about the bullying. I am no advocate of either; just an advocate against Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals. That’s my agenda, and I’m very transparent about it.
Likewise, when I see pseudo-intellectual elites telling the common people of America what they must do for “the common good,” then I will write to help the common people wake up to the a fraudulent authority that is destroying the fabric of America. I’m not sure what your agenda is (or CM’s), but I can assure you that we would probably enjoy a cup of coffee or a meal together. I’m a nice guy. My agenda is very clear. I don’t like what I’m seeing in terms of silencing dissent in the name of the common good. And I will always speak out on that issue.
Liberty is my issue, and the more people try to silence anyone via ridicule, the more I will press to expose the radical agenda.
Have a great Memoral Day!
Ken F (aka Tweed),
Wade has a policy of no anonymous comments. Are those the ones being deleted?
Friend,
You didn’t. Its all good.However, you made me think. I am still a little stressed out about the Greenberg thing. I need to be careful that doesn’t spill over into how I respond to things.
CM,
Wade is one of the most gracious people that I know. There is a reason I use his sermons on EChurch. Why don’t you listen to his sermons over the past few weeks? Have you done so? I have. I listen to them as I post them. Tell me what you think about them.
OK. I just looked at the title to this post and it’s EChurch. Thank you Larry for sticking to the point and purpose.
It seems to me that some folks came here to continue a discussion on Wade’s site that has NOTHING to do with his sermons or his love and concern for people. I could say more but that would get it OFF TOPIC.
I am closing comments for this thread. If one of you would like to post a comment about. the sermon, please email me at dee@thewartburgwatch.com
I would delete the comments but do not want to be accused of trying to *cover up.*
Sometimes, folks, you need to know when to discuss issues that are near and dear to you. However, this is akin to grabbing the mic in the pulpit and changing the sermon to something you think is more important.
I do not like it when my blog is used by someone who has a platform. My advice: start your own blog. When controversy ensues, I check who is commenting the most. This seems to be happening here. Please stop it. Wade is my friend. If that bothers you, you have a problem. Wade has done more for victims in the SBC. He has spoken loudly and has paid a price for doing so. I have learned much from him, including how to be more gracious. I have a long way to go to be like him.
I assure you all, if I wrote about all the things I believe when it comes to social and political issues, a number of you wouldn’t be here. Others would come who would get frustrated with me.
Why don’t you write him if you have problems with his thinking when it comes to these issues.
And don’t play the card of “If you say you like him, it will cause you to be discredited or whatever.” So be it. I know who my real friends are and Wade is one of them.