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Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. **Amity: ** The Gospel of John relates a story where Jesus is followed by a huge crowd who want to listen to his teaching. Some of them bring sick friends and relatives to be cured.  Seeing the great size of the crowd, Jesus is inspired to care for them. He asks his disciple Philip a rhetorical question, “Where will we find enough food to buy for these people?” Philip replies that it would take much more money than they could raise. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, finds a boy in the crowd who is willing to share his lunch: five barley buns, and two small fish.  The rest of the story is well known. What happened directly after Jesus fed the enormous crowd, with twelve baskets of loaves and fish left over, is just as important.  “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”  -John 6: 14-15 Lemuel: Christian Nationalism is an ideology that promotes Christian values, so called, in laws and into the government, to the derogation of other religions and ideas. This means that a particularly narrow, and more often outright false, interpretation of Jesus’ teaching is applied to lawmaking,  government institutions, and public life in a Procrustean way.  Interpretation is the key: A small group of ignorant men, and do not be mistaken; they are men, acting in the interests of themselves and other men, have ignored the teachings and story of Jesus, in favor of a restrictive interpretation that acts in opposition to the Gospel’s moral demands on us. The story of the five thousand fed shows Jesus giving to everyone in the crowd. He does not withhold food to those who did not make a public oath of loyalty, he did not withhold a miraculous cure for ailing foreigners in the crowd. Whoever came to listen, young, old, man or woman, jew or gentile, everyone was fed. Every single person ate, with baskets gathered up after. No one was in want.  Amity: The Gospel of John tells another story. In this Jesus, after his arrest,  is taken to Pontius Pilate by temple authorities to be executed. There is no charge they can make to the Roman Governor to interest him, as he has no particular investment in their laws. To push Pilate to act they tell him that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews, an utter falsehood. Pilate asks Jesus about this, and they have this exchange:  “Are you King of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus replied, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it that you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is from another place.” Lemuel: The meaning is clear. The Gospel message is not to be attached to any government. God’s house is much bigger, more inclusive, than anything founded on spurious constitutions that declare freedom and equality, while building on the ruined homes of Indigenous people, with slave labor.   If Jesus wanted kingship, he would have taken it during his life on earth. He certainly doesn’t need it now. https://thehill.com/opinion/6075328-huffman-no-prophets-bestseller/

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: At the recent Southern Baptist Convention, a gathering of the United State’s largest Protestant denomination, (at present 46,402 affiliated churches) an amendment was presented. The, ‘Truth and Unity,’ Amendment to the Church constitution includes the following directions. Affiliated Churches under the Convention banner were obliged:  “ … not to act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.” This is being promoted by Al Mohler, misogynist and President of Southern Baptist University, in Louisville Kentucky. He says:  “There’s a great line that divides liberal and biblical evangelicalism, and you can see it on this very issue. The trajectory of liberal denominations is clear.” Lemuel: These amendments require a two thirds majority to be added to the Constitution. An earlier attempt to amend the constitution in 2024 failed. Two successive votes of the two thirds majority. The penalties for rejecting the decisions of the convention include being unfellowshipped; that is, being removed from the organization.  In a recent interview on the subject, Albert Mohler clarified his position further. He said:  “The Purpose of this amendment is, to make very clear, we do not want to go the way of liberal Protestantism or for that matter, even other denominations we think are wrongly ordered in having women as pastors of Churches.” Amity: Since approximately 2023, 206 churches have been disfellowed around these topics. In 2023 the Saddleback Church in California was, “disfellowshipped,” from the Southern Baptist Convention primarily for ordaining women. Local Church bodies were able to disfellowship the first Baptist Church of Decatur in 2009, The Druid Hills Baptist Church in 2010, and The Greater Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church of Lynchburg in 2015, for the same reason. Local Church organization led the charge in these cases. Now the SBC as a whole wants to amend their constitution to keep women from any position of authority.

Show Notes Amity: (standard disclaimer) The views and opinions expressed by the prophet Moses and his interpretation of the Lord of Hosts, is his own and do not reflect the policy, position, or opinions of Without Works. Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Fifteen feet tall, twenty-two if you include the plinth, bronze and covered in gold leaf referred to as Don Colossus - a statute of Donald Trump, raising a defiant fist to the heavens, commemorating the moment after a failed assasination attempt during the 2024 Presidential campaign has been erected at the Trump National Doral golf club in Florida  Mark Burns, “pastor,”  of Harvest Praise and Worship Center in South Carolina, was in attendance at its unveiling. He insisted that the installation of the statue was, “a celebration of life and a powerful symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, courage, and the will to keep fighting for America.”  Pastor Burns felt it was necessary, unprovoked, to inform his followers on X “Let me say this plainly: This statue is not a golden calf. We worship Jesus Christ and him alone. This statue is not about worship. It is about honor.” So let’s discuss the Golden Calf - what it is and what it isn’t Lemuel: The story of the Exodus from Egypt is central to world religion and culture. The Hebrew people, led by Moses, are liberated after four hundred years of captivity in Egypt. They follow Moses through the desert, through the sea, and through the desert again.  Moses is directed to return to Mount Sinai, where he had his original communication with God. He is to go alone to the mountain top, and receive directions for the future and the law to govern the hebrew people.  For forty days and forty nights, no one was allowed to go near the mountain. The people were told to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations on pain of death. God descends onto the mountain in a terrifying display of thunder and fire, and Moses goes up  to meet him.  The hebrew people, huddled in camp, wait for Moses' return. Days pass. Weeks pass. Some of the people gather together and demand that Aaron, Moses’ older brother and spokesman, make them a God they can see and worship. They believe that Moses, already elderly, may be dead. They want to appease this terrifying God who they believe has struck down their leader. Aaron asks for the gold earrings and jewelry they brought from Egypt. He melts these down and makes a golden calf.  The worship of this calf quickly turns from genuine adoration to revelry and this infuriates God. God commands Moses to return to his people, and in his wrath threatens to wipe them off the face of the earth, making Moses alone the father of the new Hebrew nation, the nation he had promised the patriarch Abraham. Moses is able to talk God out of this plan, and makes his way down the mountain. Moses, seeing the wild orgies carried on, becomes so furious that he shatters the stone tablets on which God had carved the ten commandments. Moses , anticipating God’s further anger, takes a terrible action. He separates the faithful from the idolaters, arms them, and insists:  **Amity: ** “ ... “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other , each killing his brother, friend, and neighbor.’ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand people died.” **Lemuel: ** The calf is melted, ground into powder, and the survivors are compelled to drink it. Even those survivors  are punished: God sends a plague.  Amity: Welcome to the Old Testament.  The first and second of the Ten Commandments are: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” This might seem strange when the high church, Catholic and Orthodox, use statues and icons as part of their worship.  Lemuel: Those images are used to focus worship. They are meant to anchor wandering minds during prayer. The use of the images as sacred beings  is what God objects too. Ascribing God’s plans and actions to an idol is also something God objects too. Representative sculpture is not.  God instructed Moses, for instance, to have two angels carved into the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.  Amity: The image of God has changed since Moses’ time. He is no longer seen as an impetuous mirror of our desires. At least he shouldn't be. The God who would insist on the slaughter of his own people in an effort to winnow the survivors to create a complaint remnant is no longer the God that true Christians worship. In that extremely black and white world, the worship of a God other than the one we are pledged to is infidelity. Oath breaking.**

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. **Amity: ** Saint Columba Catholic Church was founded in 1898, the result of a collaboration between Sacred Heart Church, Oakland and Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Berkeley. The founding pastor was Father Martin Whyte, formerly Assistant Pastor of Sacred Heart. The original population of St. Columba Catholic Church was about 100 mostly Irish families. Following the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906  the parish became 35% Italian, while the Irish population decreased to 20%. In the two decades after that earthquake, the number of African American parishioners grew.  On September 1, 1981, Father Paul Ross Vassar was assigned as pastor.  His 13-year tenure was highlighted with a vision for liturgy that reflected the African American Catholic experience.  Fr. Vassar initiated the St. Columba Annual African American Celebration, in conjunction with African American History Month (February), drawing nationally renowned African American speakers.  Part of that celebration was – and continues to be—the Rawn Harbor Workshop Choir Experience; noted Catholic Liturgist Rawn Harbor would present a week-long workshop for choirs and singers from throughout the diocese. The church is well-known for its social justice advocacy, including "Black Lives Matter" signage and support for the LGBTQ community. Each year, since 2004, white crosses have been erected on site to commemorate homicide victims. There is a commemorative community service at St. Columba each December, in which family members and friends meet and remember those lost to gun violence.. Lemuel: Tuesday morning, May FIfth, Adian McAleenan, a pastor at Saint Columba, noticed the desecration before morning mass. Sixteen of the memorial crosses had been ripped up and broken, a memorial fountain for the victims of the balcony collapse that killed six Irish students, was knocked over, and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe torn from place. No motive for the vandalism has surfaced, no manifestos were left behind.  Church volunteer Pam Sanchez Hernandez said of the vandals, "However deeply troubled they are, they need help. That's probably their way of saying I need help, by being destructive like this." Amity: This demonstrates the nature of Saint Columba; the attitude is service to the congregation and to community at large. We hear conservative voices complaining about the persecution of the Christian faith, and the erosion of Christian values, but when those values are expressed through compassion, mercy, and social justice, they are open to attack. Rather than asking for persecution, or even as some MAGA leaders have, the prosecution and or execution of the vandals responsible, they want to help restore that person or persons balance.    In Micah, Chapter 6: verse 8, the prophet describes the will of God towards his people:  “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Find us on Twitter: @WithoutWorksPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com Amity: We are also reachable at [email protected],  on twitter @withoutworkspod and on Facebook at Without Works podcast.  https://www.ktvu.com/news/columba-church-oakland-vandalized https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/07/st-columba-catholic-church-vandalism-oakland/ https://www.ktvu.com/news/columba-church-oakland-vandalized**

Show Notes There are many things we could talk about these days. Today we choose the threats and hatred targeted at one seminarian by a “pastor” - James Talarico, senate candidate from TX vs. Brooks Potteiger The Hill The Seattle Times

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Is it ever wrong to invade the sanctity of a church? We’re talking about the constitution and the actions of Jesus. And in this case, they are in sync.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com**

Show Notes Lemuel: Imagine for a moment that you are a junior psychology major at a 4-year university in an upper level psychology class called “Lifespan Development.” You are given an assignment. You are to read an article and write a 650 word reaction paper demonstrating that you read the assigned article and includes a thoughtful reaction to the material presented in the article. The rubric is specific. 10 points will be deducted if your paper is between 620 and 649 words and no credit will be given if under 620 words. There should be a thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the article such as a discussion of why you feel the topic is worthy of study, or not or an application of the study results to your own experiences. The best reaction papers illustrate that the students have read the materials and engaged in critical thinking about some aspect of the article. There will be three metrics evaluated: does the paper show a clear tie-in to the article, does it present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article and is the paper clearly written. The abstract of the assigned article is as follows:  The current study examines whether being high in gender typicality is associated with popularity, whether being low in gender typicality is associated with rejection/teasing, and whether teasing due to low gender typicality mediates the association with negative mental health.  being typical for one's gender significantly predicted being rated as popular by peers, and this relationship was moderated by gender. Finally, low gender typicality predicted more negative mental health outcomes for boys. These relationships were, at times, mediated by experiences with gender‐based teasing, suggesting that negative mental health outcomes may be a result of the social repercussions of being low in gender typicality rather than a direct result of low typicality. Amity: Now that you know your assignment, imagine that you submit the following essay as your reaction paper. “This article was very thought provoking and caused me to thoroughly evaluate the idea of gender and the role it plays in our society. The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender norms. I do not necessarily see this as a problem. God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose. God is very intentional with what He makes, and I believe trying to change that would only do more harm. Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered “stereotypes”. Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind. It is frustrating to me when I read articles like this and discussion posts from my classmates of so many people trying to conform to the same mundane opinion, so they do not step on people’s toes. I think that is a cowardly and insincere way to live. It is important to use the freedom of speech we have been given in this country, and I personally believe that eliminating gender in our society would be detrimental, as it pulls us farther from God’s original plan for humans. It is perfectly normal for kids to follow gender “stereotypes” because that is how God made us. The reason so many girls want to feel womanly and care for others in a motherly way is not because they feel pressured to fit into social norms. It is because God created and chose them to reflect His beauty and His compassion in that way. In Genesis, God says that it is not good for man to be alone, so He created a helper for man (which is a woman). Many people assume the word “helper” in this context to be  condescending and offensive to women. However, the original word in Hebrew is “ezer kenegdo” and that directly translates to “helper equal to”. Additionally, God describes Himself in the Bible using “ezer kenegdo”, or “helper”, and He describes His Holy Spirit as our Helper as well. This shows the importance God places on the role of the helper (women’s roles). God does not view women as less significant than men. He created us with such intentionally and care and He made women in his image of being a helper, and in the image of His beauty. If leaning into that role means I am “following gender stereotypes” then I am happy to be following a stereotype that aligns with the gifts and abilities God gave me as a woman. I do not think men and women are pressured to be more masculine or feminine. I strongly disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions could improve students’ confidence. Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth. I do not want kids to be teased or bullied in school. However, pushing the lie that everyone has their own truth and everyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want is not biblical whatsoever. The Bible says that our lives are not our own but that our lives and bodies belong to the Lord for His glory. I live my life based on this truth and firmly believe that there would be less gender issues and insecurities in children if they were raised knowing that they do not belong to themselves, but they belong to the Lord. Overall, reading articles such as this one encourage me to one day raise my children knowing that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and cherishes them deeply and that having their identity firmly rooted in who He is will give them the satisfaction and acceptance that the world can never provide for them. My prayer for the world and specifically for American society and youth is that they would not believe the lies being spread from Satan that make them believe they are better off as another gender than what God made them. I pray that they feel God’s love and acceptance as who He originally created them to be.” Lemuel: Now imagine that you get a 0 and your non-binary teacher explicitly states that the failing grade was not based on your personal beliefs, but because the paper "does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive". A second instructor subsequently assesses the paper, and left comments agreeing, saying that the paper "should not be considered as a completion of the assignment" Now, imagine complaining that you were targeted and failed based on your personal beliefs and you are a victim of religious persecution.  Did I mention that your teacher is non-binary, the paper is only 3% of your grade, and that you went to Turning Point USA immediately after submitting your complaint to the school without receiving any feedback  The Paper In Question AP News The Oklahoman OU Statement KFOR

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity:  Joshua Mhlakela, South African preacher and false prophet  made a prediction during an interview in June: He claimed a vision of Christ on the throne announcing his return during Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish high holy days. Mhlakela declared that on September 24-25, of 2025, the  Lord Jesus Christ, would return in power and glory, taking away all the faithful. He would appear in the Eastern sky, creating a manifestation visible to everyone, everywhere in the world. A trumpet, or the sound of a trumpet, would announce his appearance.  This was his third prediction of the rapture this year. Like the previous two, this prediction did not come to pass.  Lemuel: This was the most recent in hundreds, or possibly thousands, of predicted returns, the earliest of them dating to 500 AD. None of them have been accurate.  It may be best, at this point, to clarify what the rapture, and the second coming of Christ are. They are two separate things both inspired by interpretations of New Testament prophecy.  “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” I Thessalonians 4:16-17 This seems to support the claims of dispensationalists who see a coming rapture of the faithful, followed by a final judgment. These are the words  of Jesus himself, describing what has been called his Second Coming: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24: 3o-31 Jesus says these things after visiting the Temple at Jerusalem, when his disciples ask him about his comment that one day the temple will be in ruins.  “When will these things happen?” they ask.  The answer was forty years. The destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus implies that this end of the world he is talking about is the end of the world in his hearers ears. Their world. He describes conditions, “wars and rumors of wars,” that are constants in the world, then and now. Conflicts and famine. He warns of false prophets. He speaks of persecution. He warns people to flee to the mountains. Amity: It is hard to conceive of how awful the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem was. Having staged a rebellion against the occupying Roman forces the Zealots fought hard to preserve their way of life, and their faith. It was ultimately fruitless. After a five month siege, one that made rivals out of former allies in the resistance, and led to starvation in the city.  The Temple was the final thing ruined by the 48,000 Roman troops led by Titus Caesar Vespanius. Seven thousand men, women and children were killed trying to defend the temple.  Its violation and destruction meant the end of traditional Jewish worship. The Temple was never rebuilt.  So is it possible that Jesus' prediction of the end of the world, and his triumphant return, was something that has been misinterpreted, and continues to be misinterpreted.  Some of the early Church fathers saw this as an allegory and this point of view is taken by much of the High Church. Newsweek Wikipedia Bible Gateway

Episode Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Donald Trump has recently expressed his interest in going to heaven. This was motivation for trying to negotiate a peace resolution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.  “I want to end it. I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”  Trump, struggling with illness and diminishing popularity, is thinking about his eternal destination. Being that he surrounds himself with people claiming Christianity, they seem to have influenced him to think about being judged after his death. Unsurprisingly, he is concerned with his destination rather than his presidential legacy and the many people hurt along the way. Going a step further, he has exploited his remaining followers by using his fear of death to start a fund raising campaign. It requires minor donations of $15.00. How this is going to lift him into heaven is not clear.  Lemuel: Trump’s spiritual advisors are “Christian Nationalists.” Their faith is superficial and based on public declarations of devotion, but their outward lives show no sign of God’s presence. Jesus described such people this way: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Luke 19;9-13 The Christian way for reaching heaven has been codified into the, ‘Plan of Salvation,’ : Contrition. repentance, making amends. To achieve this kind of salvation trump would have to: Admit that he is wrong and feel genuine regret. Repent and accept God’s forgiveness.  Make amends and change his course of actions and thinking. These actions are hard to do on your own. Jesus taught that his strength will be granted to a genuine penitent. God will help, and the community of the Church, working together will help.  Jesus didn’t teach of heaven as a place to work toward, but a place to rest when our days are done.  “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14; 1-3

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. When we started this podcast years ago, my purpose was to explain Christianity to the unchurched. I had seen, and worked with, so many people who had no idea about the faith at all. That or they had vague memories of drawn out sunday services that they mostly slept through. As of 2024 thirty three percent of the world claims Christianity. American culture, symbols, and language are given to us from the faith. Our emphasis on public repentance, humiliation, acts of contrition, and redemption are terms adopted from Christianity. Some sociologists prematurely claimed that we live in a post Christian age. That the religion has diminished in influence and is not used to make decisions by anyone other than its adherents. They ignore that a person can accept the framework of Christianity for moral guidelines and not accept the theology of Christianity. A person can accept the morality of the teachings of Jesus, but not believe that he is God. That person still lives under the influence and ideas of philosophy of Jesus. I would argue that there was not, in a real way, a Christian age. There has been a Church, prone to abuse of power and corruption, as institutions always are. That is not Christianity, or rather, it should not be. The actual faith, with or without theology, is practiced by individuals. It follows their convictions and helps them overcome their foibles. It helps them back to their feet when they have stumbled. The theology of Christianity is for those who look for a higher meaning for their life, and want to find God’s purpose for it. God exists; to me this is self-evident. I don’t mean to convince everyone that God exists, but tell those who already believe that God has expressed their intention, and that is not exclusionary. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com

Show Notes**** Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Jen Hamilton, a North Carolina labor and delivery nurse, author, and social media personality, has come under criticism for a social media post. In it she reads aloud from the New Testament, Matthew Chapter 25, and in an attempt to contrast the teachings and character of Jesus Christ with the beliefs of Trump and Maga. While she reads, banners appear of the screen announcing the counterpoint atrocity committed by the Trump administration. Lemuel: The original video has had more than 8 million views. Hamilton says that she did not intend to make a political statement, though at this point, any defense of faith values is a political statement. Amity: Jen’s livelihood is being threatened. Complaints have been filed with the Board of Nursing to take her license away. She is accused of misusing the scripture, but she is not. In fact she is applying the scripture in the most appropriate way. We covered this same scriptural message just last month.  Lemuel: We were discussing the genuine message of Christianity and the MAGA appropriation of the faith. Miss Amity read the words herself. Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com https://www.huffpost.com/entry/viral-video-on-maga-christianity_l_6851986ae4b0e5badb471565 https://www.tiktok.com/@jen_hamilton https://www.tiktok.com/@jen_hamilton/video/7510776258964327726?lang=en https://www.tiktok.com/@quietlyberserk/video/7516666403441642782?lang=en

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Less than a week after President Trump formed a Justice department task force fighting Anti-Chrisitian Bias, Reverend Dr. William Barber II - a founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, National board member of the NAACP, and MacArthur Fellow - was arrested for leading a public prayer. The Rev. Dr. and two others were arrested for “crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.” The prayers started out quietly and as the ministers began to raise their voices they were told to leave or suffer arrest. Rev. Dr. Barber had been at the capitol all day, part of a rally held behind the Supreme Court. That rally, organized by Repairers of the Breach, a national team of organizers, religious leaders, artists, strategists and advocates centering and elevating leaders who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice. focused specifically on how budget cuts would impact women and children. The interdenominational speakers included Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders as well as the president of the National Urban League and a representative of the Institute of Policy Studies. According to a written statement, the rally was meant to draw attention to, “... immoral budget cuts and proposed budget cuts being pursued in Washington D.C. at the expense of the poor, working people, children, women, and families.” Lemuel: Jesus taught that religious faith was a private experience, not a public one. In Matthew 6:5-6 he rails against public demonstrations of faith. Amity: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full. But when you pray , go into your room, close your door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Lemuel: That scripture, cited often against the demonstrative prayers of conservative and evangelical ministers, is being turned on Reverend Barber, and his associates. There is a larger consideration here. That this prayer meeting was a form of protest directed at the policy makers who are ruining people’s lives. As we stress here, Jesus’ message, the only message of Christianity, is redemption and salvation, and mercy. Jesus was baptised by his cousin, John in the Jordan river, and went into the wilderness, there tempted by the devil. He came out of the desert, wandering into his dusty childhood town. He has been tempted and proved, fined down by severe abstention, blasted by the merciless sun, his eyes blazing with purpose. He attends the Sabbath service, as is asked to read the scripture that day. Amity: “ …the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he found the place where it is written: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone on the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4:17-21 Lemuel: This is the message. This is what this meeting was meant to do, and why these prayers were offered up. ** Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com** Find us on Twitter: @WithoutWorksPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ [email protected] Newsweek Episcopal News Network Breach Repairers

Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: At two National Prayer Breakfast events President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new task force, “The Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias,” to be headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies.” As the name suggests, its purpose is to: “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.” A few hours later President Trump signed an executive order putting this plan into action. The use of government authority to support and endorse a specific religious group has caused controversy with both secular and religious groups. With unresolved military conflicts around the world and heightened domestic unrest, why is this an issue? A task force to address the largely imaginary discrimination against the world's largest religion? We are subjected to a daily erosion of rights: the elimination of DEI programs, the curtailing of women’s reproductive rights, the curtailing of rights for trans people, and replaced them with a thing like, “Christian Acceptance Day,” and rhetoric about the place of Christian faith in American life. Trump argues that he wants his new task force to, “bring God back.” Lemuel: Bring God back from where? Where has God been? First I have to assert that this is not Christianity. It is not the job of the body of Christ to oppress the needy. The current evangelical church is embracing a counterfeit version of the Gospel, with the mercy, compassion and love of God excluded. Salvation, in Jesus teaching, is not easy to achieve. It requires sacrifice, and devotion. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives a chilling picture of the Christian, “Day of Wrath.” This is the judgement day when God sits as righteous judge over the quick and the dead. In describing the day of judgment, Jesus draws a parallel to sorting sheep from goats. He describes God as a king, sorting sheep to right and goats to the left. Amity: “Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my father ; take your inheritance., the kingdom is prepared for you since the creation if the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will say, “Lord, when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go and visit you? “ “The king will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25; 31-45 Lemuel: This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Immediately following this is the righteous king of the story condemns those on his left to a judgement prepared for, “the devil and his angel.” When those people ask what they have done to deserve this, Jesus starts with, “I was hungry and you didn’t feed me…” Jesus is not in the habit of condemning people to hell. In fact, he mentions damnation comparatively little. You will find more mentions of hell in any given church any given Sunday. Jesus brings it up to demonstrate what God values, and what earns salvation. He also makes it clear what demands damnation, and it is exactly what passes as Christianity in the conservative movement. Show compassion and mercy, humanity, and love. If you do not you are cursed to the eternal fires prepared for those beings who rejected God before the world began. Bring God back? God is everywhere. In the church, yes. In the homeless person. In the Trans Kid. In the unwed mother. In the convict. God is in your queer neighbor. You can’t bring God back; he hasn't gone anywhere. He’s starting you in the face. He’s been staring you in the face everyday. https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-prayer-breakfast-30ff6f55a2e3c7b8643a15e7b158537d https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-signs-executive-orders-related-to-faith-announcement https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-eradicates-anti-christian-bias/

Episode Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Fires are burning through Southern California. We don’t know how they started. Arson, fireworks, and unauthorized camping are potential causes. Driven on by hundred mile an hour winds, these fires quickly spread and devoured entire neighborhoods. There are currently three remaining active fire incidents remaining: Palisades, Eaton, and Auto with the latter being 100% contained. Over forty thousand acres have been burned. The Eaton fire has produced the largest number of fatalities. While the evacuated homeowners watch their homes reduced to ash, conservative politicians and commentators lay blame for the severity of the damage on California's “woke” policies. The suggestion being that in an effort to create a safe, inclusive environment for emergency services workers, incompetent people were hired for quotas and media appearances rather than merit. This from the same people supporting the wildly inadequate and unqualified choices of the current president elect. Beyond that there are outright lies congruent with conservative fantasies about the inability to stop the blaze. Blame is laid on Native Americans, the tiny Delta Smelt fish, and homosexuality. A few have even gone further, claiming that this is a divine punishment for the excesses and abuses of the entertainment industry and the moral values it spreads in the media. Lemuel: The fires in Southern California are not God’s retribution at a center of sin and vice. You can find examples in the Bible of God taking action against countries and kingdoms. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah provides an interesting example. Here the twin cities of the plain are to be destroyed for their population’s indifference to suffering, their misuse of prosperity, and mistreatment of foreigners seeking shelter for the night. These things are emphasized in Ezekiel 16:49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Even the Old Testament God was reluctant to destroy them. The Bible mentions a divine envoy being sent to investigate Sodom thoroughly before assigning destruction. Even then, God consults with his friend Abraham before making this decision. This is related in Genesis 18: 20-33. 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[b] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. Amity: The city of Los Angeles is not represented solely by an entertainment industry. Overall the city is very religious, with 1,700 Christian churches, 202 jewish synagogues, 145 Buddhist temples, and 48 mosques. The Los Angeles Diocese is the largest in the United States, with nearly five million members. There are two hundred and eighty Catholic parishes in the Los Angeles area. One hundred and fifty four Methodist churches. Five hundred and seventeen Baptist churches. Sixty five percent of the city claims Christianity as their faith. Lemuel: The fiercest and most wrathful interpretation of God is reluctant to bring punishment on his children, even when the deserve it. The seventy-five thousand persons displaced by the fire crisis are victims of an unforeseen disaster. Please Donate if you can - https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/ Amity: That brings us to the end of this week’s episode. If you like it, please subscribe and leave us a review - and share it with a friend. Lemuel: We have an internet home: withoutworkspodcast.com. Our show notes and links to stories we talk about can be found there. Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com

Episode Notes On Tuesday, November fifth, convicted felon, rapist, and would be dictator Donald Trump was voted back into office. It is pointless to go into how this could have happened, as any excuses will not change the results.  The truth is that it is inexcusable. Despite the exposure of the man, and many of his crimes, he was put into power. Again. The following is fifteen minutes of screaming into the void. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ [email protected] Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com