Southern Baptists (Conservative Christians) and Sex

[merh]

Oct 24, 2022 21:00:21 GMT abbey1227 said:

Oct 24, 2022 20:33:31 GMT merh said:

But I'm sure ABBEY thinks his addiction was all him & not being told endlessly there was something wrong with him.

RIP.

His experiences back then were a bit different than the environment has been the last few decades.    But it still comes down to how one responds to the adversity in life.

Tons of people are addicts and weren't gay. And many gay people never become addicts. 

I mostly just noticed his age. Nowhere near that life expectancy you've been hoping for

5 yrs older than me.

No.
Crashing into a building produces adverse effects.
Though they believe he suffered a medical issue prior.

Yeah.
67 is too young.

That he was brought up in the era I was.
Convinced he was bad to desire other men so he kept getting baptized?

Like I said, it takes.awhile to get that sort of indoctrination out of one's head.

He was exposed to it as a child.
His formative years.

That takes quite a hit.

[abbey1227]

Oct 24, 2022 22:01:28 GMT merh said:

5 yrs older than me.
No.
Crashing into a building produces adverse effects.
Though they believe he suffered a medical issue prior.

Yeah.
67 is too young.
That he was brought up in the era I was.
Convinced he was bad to desire other men so he kept getting baptized?

Like I said, it takes.awhile to get that sort of indoctrination out of one's head.

He was exposed to it as a child.
His formative years.
That takes quite a hit.

Ya think? Buildings aren't soft enough? 

He LOOKED older than that, imo   Too many rough years?

You gonna tell me you have seen an amazing amount of change in some areas over the course of your life?

Well, baptized or not,............he never managed to pray the gay away, did he?  

\

How long did it take you?

We're all exposed to things. It's how you choose to respond

[merh]

Oct 25, 2022 10:53:06 GMT abbey1227 said:

Oct 24, 2022 22:01:28 GMT merh said:

5 yrs older than me.
No.
Crashing into a building produces adverse effects.
Though they believe he suffered a medical issue prior.

Yeah.
67 is too young.
That he was brought up in the era I was.
Convinced he was bad to desire other men so he kept getting baptized?

Like I said, it takes.awhile to get that sort of indoctrination out of one's head.

He was exposed to it as a child.
His formative years.
That takes quite a hit.

Ya think? Buildings aren't soft enough? 

He LOOKED older than that, imo   Too many rough years?

You gonna tell me you have seen an amazing amount of change in some areas over the course of your life?

Well, baptized or not,............he never managed to pray the gay away, did he?  

\

How long did it take you?

We're all exposed to things. It's how you choose to respond

Drugs take their toll, dude.
Outward & inward.
My husband died at 44. Was it the ciggies? Or the alcohol? Both? 

You weren't from a super religious family?

They take their toll on you
While others see it as that free ticket to do as they want because confess their sin & they are forgiven. 

Dude, "stealing" a pen from the bank can damn you to hell in some circles. 

My sister was given too much change when she was in 5th grade & we had to walk back to the store to return it. Her salvation would have been harmed otherwise.

[abbey1227]

Oct 25, 2022 14:42:00 GMT merh said:

Drugs take their toll, dude.
Outward & inward.
My husband died at 44. Was it the ciggies? Or the alcohol? Both? 

You weren't from a super religious family?

They take their toll on you
While others see it as that free ticket to do as they want because confess their sin & they are forgiven. 

Dude, "stealing" a pen from the bank can damn you to hell in some circles. 

My sister was given too much change when she was in 5th grade & we had to walk back to the store to return it. Her salvation would have been harmed otherwise.

of course........biology is often a good lesson in that you are gonna pay for things you choose, one way or the other.

  Depends on how you define that. My Gramma had 16 kids in 20 years.......and her priest told her it was a sin to even take steps to prevent pregnancies. That was the 50s and early 60s. But did we attend church regularly? Not all that much after the age of about 6-10.

That was always an appealing aspect of Confession, right? Wipe it clean.......go do it all over again. 

Theft is theft. How funny is it thy had to invent a chain to keep their pens at the bank?

Different times, different attitudes. As they've softened the view on thievery, you think that's done a good service to the youth and community as a whole?

[merh]

Oct 25, 2022 20:26:23 GMT abbey1227 said:

Oct 25, 2022 14:42:00 GMT merh said:

Drugs take their toll, dude.
Outward & inward.
My husband died at 44. Was it the ciggies? Or the alcohol? Both? 

You weren't from a super religious family?

They take their toll on you
While others see it as that free ticket to do as they want because confess their sin & they are forgiven. 

Dude, "stealing" a pen from the bank can damn you to hell in some circles. 

My sister was given too much change when she was in 5th grade & we had to walk back to the store to return it. Her salvation would have been harmed otherwise.

of course........biology is often a good lesson in that you are gonna pay for things you choose, one way or the other.

  Depends on how you define that. My Gramma had 16 kids in 20 years.......and her priest told her it was a sin to even take steps to prevent pregnancies. That was the 50s and early 60s. But did we attend church regularly? Not all that much after the age of about 6-10.

That was always an appealing aspect of Confession, right? Wipe it clean.......go do it all over again. 

Theft is theft. How funny is it thy had to invent a chain to keep their pens at the bank?

Different times, different attitudes. As they've softened the view on thievery, you think that's done a good service to the youth and community as a whole?

There is a definite difference on the people who believe & those who went every week, dude. 

Often it's an incident.
We never went as very young children, but when my dad was  injured on the job, my folks decided it was because we didn't have God in our life so we started going. My Sunday school teacher thought it was a new convert because I had never attended before.

There's a clingy desperation to it.

So, yeah, his family having his ass in church every week means there was a reason for the obsession. 

[abbey1227]

Oct 26, 2022 13:30:22 GMT merh said:

There is a definite difference on the people who believe & those who went every week, dude. 

Often it's an incident.
We never went as very young children, but when my dad was  injured on the job, my folks decided it was because we didn't have God in our life so we started going. My Sunday school teacher thought it was a new convert because I had never attended before.

There's a clingy desperation to it.

So, yeah, his family having his ass in church every week means there was a reason for the obsession.

yeah, that definitely sounds like they believed they were being punished by God for something.

Isn't there a clingy desperation to everyone who feels the need to follow a leader?

[merh]

Gov. Kevin Stitt is under fire from local and national individuals and groups for saying that he has claimed "every square inch" of Oklahoma for Jesus.

American Jewish Committee, a national Jewish advocacy group, is calling on Stitt to retract his statement, while officials with the Freedom From Religion Foundation said he owes non-Christian Oklahomans an apology.

The organizations took issue with Stitt's controversial statements that appear to have been made sometime after he won his second bid for Oklahoma's top elected post on Nov. 8. He is shown in a video posted to Twitter making the remarks in his prayer outside the state Capitol

.

Who needs separation of church & state?

[abbey1227]

Nov 16, 2022 0:40:30 GMT merh said:

Gov. Kevin Stitt is under fire from local and national individuals and groups for saying that he has claimed "every square inch" of Oklahoma for Jesus.

American Jewish Committee, a national Jewish advocacy group, is calling on Stitt to retract his statement, while officials with the Freedom From Religion Foundation said he owes non-Christian Oklahomans an apology.

The organizations took issue with Stitt's controversial statements that appear to have been made sometime after he won his second bid for Oklahoma's top elected post on Nov. 8. He is shown in a video posted to Twitter making the remarks in his prayer outside the state Capitol

.

Who needs separation of church & state?

The sinners?  

[merh]

'She Didn't Satisfy Him': Josh Duggar's Wife Anna BLAMED By Churchgoers For His Sex Crimes

By:Whitney Vasquez
Nov. 16 2022, Published 7:30 p.m. ET

Sounds about right. Josh Duggar's wife, Anna Duggar, is being shunned by members of her longtime church, with sources saying the people inside the organization are BLAMING her for HIS crimes, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Mary Murphy — who was deep into IBLP, the same ministry the Duggars belong to —spoke out in Anna's defense, revealing that many churchgoers believe she didn't meet Josh's needs, forcing him to indulge in his sick obsession with child pornography.

“One aspect of the cult culture centers on the responsibility of females to meet the husband’s every single sexual need to prevent him from having affairs, sexually abusing children and watching pornography," Mary explained to The Sun, often referring to IBLP as a cult.

"If the husband does any or all those things, they blame the wife in a large part. Like, ‘Oh, if you met his needs he wouldn’t have done this,'" she continued.

“They’re going to blame Anna. The pornography goes back to Anna. The wife is not fulfilling his needs so he turned to pornography, poor him. The wife needs to do what she’s supposed to do and meet his needs."

While Mary insisted "it’s not logical," she revealed she's not shocked that Anna has stuck by her criminal husband's side.

“I’m not surprised Anna is supporting him because that’s what she is being told, it’s her responsibility. Growing up in this culture, she’s turning that responsibility inward on herself and blaming herself. I’m not surprised she hasn’t left.

“We were taught, pressured and brainwashed to believe that as women and wives, the number one purpose is to support her husband and make him successful with no exceptions. The husband is number one," Mary added.

But she hasn't given up hope.

“I still hope she will make the choice to leave and to protect her children. She was in the court and heard everything herself. I wish she already left. She has that responsibility now that she has heard everything," she stated.

Mary concluded by saying she's "relieved” Josh is “finally behind bars," and turned the focus to his kids.

“The seven children that call him dad need to be protected from him forever," she said. "All children do, especially those seven who call him dad. I’m not surprised he’s appealing. I expected he would. He maintains, his parents maintain, they all maintain he’s innocent. Of course, he would appeal.”

That's what I always heard when men cheated.
That it was the wife's fault.

[merh]

Nov 16, 2022 2:21:04 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 16, 2022 0:40:30 GMT merh said:

.

Who needs separation of church & state?

The sinners?  

Obviously not an Americam state.

[abbey1227]

Nov 17, 2022 9:43:00 GMT merh said:

Nov 16, 2022 2:21:04 GMT abbey1227 said:

The sinners?  

Obviously not an Americam state.

for as much as I end up defending Christians and their beliefs..........this is an area where I part ways with them. I don't want Yahweh or God or Allah or Christ dictating to me.

I believe you CAN actually have morals without requiring Biblical rules. Though plenty of people have me questioning whether there are any left anymore.

[merh]

The school district is required to permit the club under the First Amendment, a lawyer told WTKR. But parents are concerned there will be "devil worshipping in school."

TEXT:

Some Virginia school parents are distraught over an after-school "Satan Club" that they claim will promote "devil worship" to their children. The club said it intends to encourage free thinking.

The "After-School Satan Club" is scheduled to have its first meeting in mid-December at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake. One mother, Melanie Ballard, told WTKR that she believes the club will negatively influence her son.

"But now, it's okay to have devil worshipping in school around impressionable minds and age," Ballard told the outlet. "Now, I'm being concerned about the welfare of my child and other classmates of his that are maybe exposed to this satanic group."

A flyer for the club identifies the Satanic Temple as a "non-theistic religion that views Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit."

"After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, The Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves," the ASSC club flyer said, advertising critical thinking and problem-solving crafts and games.

June Everett, the club's campaign director, told WTKR that "Satan was the first to start asking questions and was cast out of heaven for that reason." The story influences the group's name, she said.

"If we were to name it something like the 'Fluffy Bunnies' or 'Rainbow Club' and people were to find out it was run by the Satanic Temple, that would be worst," Everett told the outlet. "We do get a lot of people who say, 'Why don't you call it the afterschool science club or afterschool critical thinking club?' We could do that, but then when people find out it's run by the Satanic Temple and that Satanists are the ones running the club, we feel that will create more of a problem."

Despite complaints from some parents, the club is protected by the freedom of religion in the First Amendment, law professor Jack Preis told WTKR. In a statement shared with Insider, Chesapeake Public Schools said that ACCS is not a district-sponsored club, but that "by law, CPS cannot discriminate based on beliefs among groups wishing to rent our facilities."

www.insider.com/virginia-parents-uproar-satan-club-lawyers-say-permissible-report-2022-12

[abbey1227]

Dec 4, 2022 2:02:02 GMT merh said:

The school district is required to permit the club under the First Amendment, a lawyer told WTKR. But parents are concerned there will be "devil worshipping in school."

This is just another angle of how far some people like to push things in the US........sometimes just for the sake of pushing

[merh]

Dec 4, 2022 3:06:10 GMT abbey1227 said:

Dec 4, 2022 2:02:02 GMT merh said:

This is just another angle of how far some people like to push things in the US........sometimes just for the sake of pushing

Church of Satan doesn't worship a God.

You should love them 
They are all about personal freedom.

[abbey1227]

Dec 4, 2022 10:17:16 GMT merh said:

Dec 4, 2022 3:06:10 GMT abbey1227 said:

This is just another angle of how far some people like to push things in the US........sometimes just for the sake of pushing

Church of Satan doesn't worship a God.

You should love them 
They are all about personal freedom.

Consider it another case of me seeing eye to eye with people on some things, but not ALL

I tend to think of love of Satan as even dumber than love of God. The 'Good' Book tells you how that's gonna turn out, right? 

But I am all for personal freedom. So long as personal responsibility goes along for the ride.

These people are likely just glomming onto another goofy trend, imo

[merh]

Dec 4, 2022 14:15:59 GMT abbey1227 said:

Dec 4, 2022 10:17:16 GMT merh said:

Church of Satan doesn't worship a God.

You should love them 
They are all about personal freedom.

Consider it another case of me seeing eye to eye with people on some things, but not ALL

I tend to think of love of Satan as even dumber than love of God. The 'Good' Book tells you how that's gonna turn out, right? 

But I am all for personal freedom. So long as personal responsibility goes along for the ride.

These people are likely just glomming onto another goofy trend, imo

Satan was a job, remember?
Ha-satan.
Like a teacher doing pop quizzes he tested humans' fidelity to God. Failing wasn't a ticket to hell, it was learn from your mistakes.

It was only later after the Jews had been exposed to other religions such as Zoroastriamisn which had a duality of good & evil gods that Satan became evil.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

The enemy of God just walks into God's throne room & God casually places a bet with his worst enemy?

Satan is mentioned 6 times in the Old Testament. 
Over 100 times in the much shorter New Testament. 

You know Gabriel & Michael were pagan deities the Jews incorporated into their religion, right? Like the Greeks & Roman's. Like the Catholics. Couple saints are actually pagan gods.

Church of Satan worships the God within oneself. Rather than pray to God for stuff, one visualizes obtaining it oneself.  Self-reliance 

[abbey1227]

Dec 4, 2022 21:45:29 GMT merh said:

The enemy of God just walks into God's throne room & God casually places a bet with his worst enemy?

Satan is mentioned 6 times in the Old Testament. 
Over 100 times in the much shorter New Testament. 

You know Gabriel & Michael were pagan deities the Jews incorporated into their religion, right? Like the Greeks & Roman's. Like the Catholics. Couple saints are actually pagan gods.

Church of Satan worships the God within oneself. Rather than pray to God for stuff, one visualizes obtaining it oneself.  Self-reliance

Keep your friends close.............  

Masters of absorption. Like the Romans before them.

And that's a good thing, imo     "We've often seen good come from evil.......and evil come from good. I move in mysterious ways."    Right about the 6:02 mark.......

[merh]

Dec 5, 2022 4:37:02 GMT abbey1227 said:

Dec 4, 2022 21:45:29 GMT merh said:

The enemy of God just walks into God's throne room & God casually places a bet with his worst enemy?

Satan is mentioned 6 times in the Old Testament. 
Over 100 times in the much shorter New Testament. 

You know Gabriel & Michael were pagan deities the Jews incorporated into their religion, right? Like the Greeks & Roman's. Like the Catholics. Couple saints are actually pagan gods.

Church of Satan worships the God within oneself. Rather than pray to God for stuff, one visualizes obtaining it oneself.  Self-reliance

Keep your friends close.............  

Masters of absorption. Like the Romans before them.

And that's a good thing, imo     "We've often seen good come from evil.......and evil come from good. I move in mysterious ways."    Right about the 6:02 mark.......

Jews are no different than people of other religions. There is no subject that every Jew accepts. Even rabbis differ in what they think is right. Many Jews reject the notion of the existence of demons and even angels. They feel, like Maimonides, that there is no mention of demons in the Hebrew Bible and the term angel in the Bible is a metaphor for the laws of nature. Satan in the book of Job is not a demon, but simply an advocate for a differing opinion. Also, the story of Satan in Job is only a fable. Many others, like Rashi, are convinced that demons exist. The first group insists that God is all-powerful and needs no helpers. Those who accept the existence of angels and demons think that they serve a divine purpose. The following is a sample of both ideas.

Rationalists repudiate the notion of Satan, angels and demons

Rational Jewish thinkers like Saadiah Gaon, Abraham ibn Ezra and Maimonides insist that biblical, midrashic, and talmudic declarations that contradict reason, science, and philosophy must be interpreted in a rational manner.

Saadiah asserts that Satan in Scripture’s Job is a human, a contemporary of Job, who despises Job. The “sons of God,” also mentioned in Job, are members of a religious group. God, the book is telling us, does not interfere and allows Job’s human enemies to torment him.

Ibn Ezra offers four possible explanations of Genesis 6, which speaks about b’nei haElohim marrying women: (1) The b’nei haElohim are children of nobles, (2) people of lofty character, (3) exalted descendants of Seth who yielded to lust and cohabitated with the ethically inferior descendants of Cain, or (4) people with astrological knowledge (ibn Ezra, like most people of his age, believed in the efficacy of astrology) who chose proper wives based on their superior knowledge. He rejects the definition “sons of God,” implying the existence of angels.

Maimonides contends that since God is good, God created only good things. Thus, it is inconceivable that a Satan or evil heavenly beings exist. In his Guide of the Perplexed 2:6 he states that the term “angel” does not refer to heavenly beings but denotes anything that implements the laws of nature, even rain and snow. In his Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Avodah Zarah 11:16, he flatly denies the truth of the existence of angels and demons: “All of these things are lies and untruths with which the ancient idol worshippers deceived the people, to entice them to follow them. It is not fitting for Israel, who are a really wise nation, to be attracted by such vanities, or to suppose that they have any value…. Whoever believes in these things and their like and thinks that they are genuine and a kind of wisdom, but that the Torah forbids them (even though they work) belongs to the fools and the deficient in knowledge.”

blogs.timesofisrael.com/do-jews-believe-in-satan-and-demons/

Evil comes from humans.
People do evil.
There are no evil gods or angels out there doing evil

[abbey1227]

Dec 5, 2022 12:34:15 GMT merh said:

Evil comes from humans.
People do evil.
There are no evil gods or angels out there doing evil

100% Agreed

Why else do you think I'm not a huge fan of them?

[merh]

POSTED INTHE LEARNING CURVE
The Group Seeking to Educate Conservatives to Influence Local Politics
The RMNNT, which meets monthly at Awaken Church’s Balboa campus, has hosted a number of local elected officials at its gatherings. Six individuals who’ve attended their meetings will be on the ballot in November.
by Jakob McWhinney
September 14, 2022

Once a month The RMNNT, a conservative political activist organization, meets in a small room on the second floor of Awaken Church’s Balboa campus. The group is run by husband-and-wife duo Alana and Scott Sorensen, and its messaging is stark. The RMNNT’s website states it seeks to raise up an “army to effectively influence local politics” and “take back” the San Diego region by educating voters and training candidates to run for office. A video advertising the group warns that “America is either on the brink of destruction, or greatness. It will take a remnant to save her.”

But during a meeting in August, the vibe was more akin to a community center than a barracks. Miniature water bottles, candy bars, salted peanuts and other snacks sat against a wall while a group of mostly middle-aged individuals found a seat. Small pieces of paper with QR codes giving attendees access to a document called “The Beginner’s Guide To Civic Activism,” created by attendee Mary Davis sat on each table. The guide contains information meant to demystify the often-convoluted political process, from ways to engage elected officials to public meeting procedures and terminology.

In an email, Davis wrote that she created the guide to shorten the learning curve for others. In the guide, Davis suggests strategies for success – be a lumberjack, not a Viking, Davis writes. As in, don’t throw axes, use them to cut down trees. Though written from a conservative perspective, the guide provides a useful framework through which to approach activism, regardless of one’s political affiliation.

Alana, who led that night’s meeting, described The RMNNT as a partner ministry with Awaken. She said she and her husband have been attending Awaken for 12 years and that they started the group because many conservatives who wanted to get involved in politics just didn’t know how. The pandemic, during which she said many conservatives were surprised by the control exerted by the government with things like mask requirements, charged people up.

“More conservative people have gotten educated and more involved and are waking up,” Sorensen said. “We’re really trying to educate people that the local level is where things need to change.” From taxes to schools to abortion, Sorensen believes conservatives have the winning arguments. “We just need to get better at expressing them to people who don’t understand politics,” she said. “We could be a model for everyone else.”

Like Awaken Church, The RMNNT has repeatedly posted misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines causing injury or death, referenced the “plandemic” conspiracy theory that purports the pandemic was designed to exercise greater control over the population and claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Individuals associated with the group have also frequently popped up at local school board and supervisor’s meetings to tout variations of those beliefs.

Sorensen said that of the around 150 people who have attended their candidate trainings, six have ended up on local ballots in the 2022 general election. Jesse Vigil and Keren Dominguez are running for Chula Vista Elementary school board seats one and five respectively. Davis, the guide’s author, is a candidate for the Alpine Community Planning Group, Rich Truchinski is running for the Tri-City Healthcare District and Morgan Magill is running for the Lakeside Community Planning Group. Also on the ballot is Awaken Church pastor Andre Johnson, who’s running for Encinitas Union school board.

While some likely stand little chance of being elected, others, like Davis, could simply be appointed because there are so few candidates running.

The majority of the candidates did not return a request for comment, but both Davis and Vigil sought to create distance between themselves and the group, saying they’d only ever attended a couple of meetings.

Sorensen allowed each of the candidates in attendance to introduce themselves. Davis described herself as an accidental activist motivated to get involved by the pandemic. Dominguez said she hoped to bring parents’ voices back to schools and Truchinski said despite not knowing anything about the medical industry he just decided to throw his name in the hat.

“I’m just going to be going in and learning and find out what they’re doing and voting against anything unconstitutional, anything that’s just insane. And then voting for the stuff that’s good,” Truchinski said.

Sorensen said she also took the leap into electoral politics at the encouragement of Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey. She ran for – and won – a seat on Central Committee of the Republican party of San Diego County.

“I just kind of jumped in with two feet,” she said. “Didn’t have any idea what I was doing, like a lot of you guys. It’s been an interesting couple of years learning all about being inside the tent and I encourage you to do it.”

The RMNNT has also drawn some higher-profile regional politicians and candidates to meetings in the past, including Bailey, County Supervisor Jim Desmond and San Diego Unified School Board Candidate Becca Williams. They also hosted an informational session for voters prior to the 2020 election with conservative filmmaker and provocateur Dinesh D’souza and Awaken pastor Jurgen Matthesius.

Photos show the small room packed with dozens of people for some meetings, like a March one with Awaken Church attendees. But during this late-August meeting, only around twenty individuals gathered to listen to guest speaker John “Woody” Woodrum. Woodrum has long operated largely on the periphery of local conservative politics. He lost his bids to become a congressperson in the 53rd Congressional District and a write-in campaign for San Diego mayor but was eventually elected to California’s Republican executive committee. He also served as the California volunteer coordinator for Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Throughout his hourlong talk, Woodrum guided the attendees through aspects of local and statewide electoral politics, like how to get appointed as a state elector. He urged them to get involved with local campaigns they believe in, and gave campaign advice for individuals running – like to not let your religion be something that hurts you. Christianity is a deep motivating factor for Woodrum, and for many of the event’s attendees, but he advised people to stick to kitchen table issues like inflation, energy prices and taxes, lest they divide potential voters. “If you go out there and you start evangelizing, (people) can argue with you,” Woodrum said.

Another recurring theme was Woodrum’s belief that communist forces were encroaching upon American politics. At the beginning of his talk, he distributed some documents to the group, like a general election voting guide anchored in biblical principles and a list of what he said were communist goals taken from the 1958 book “The Naked Communist.” Many of those goals, he claimed, had already been accomplished. He laid the blame largely on the church, which he said had failed to forcefully stand up against communist influence, though he noted he’s beginning to see something of a revival.

“If the church continues to fail, I think we get maybe two more election cycles. And if we don’t pull things back to the way that they were, and bring them back towards the center, we’re going to lose this country,” he warned.

Many of the meeting’s attendees were inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic to get further involved in politics but talk of masks and vaccines was scant. Many seem to have moved on to other political battles, such as abortion and LGBTQ issues, or as Woodrum put it the “LGBTQXYZ agenda.” He’s long been vocal about his views on homosexuality, which on a defunct website he ran for San Diego’s chapter of The Eagle Forum he described as being linked to sexual abuse experienced as children – an untrue claim.

“There’s a whole arm of the gay community that is involved with pedophilia,” Woodrum claimed. The primary reason they’d pulled back from targeting young people was because of optics, he continued. Still, Woodrum believes that teachers are indoctrinating students with gender-diverse ideologies in classrooms, and the only way to push back against this, he told the attendees, was by unseating individuals elected to local offices like school boards.

“They’re doing it to your children, your grandchildren here in the state of California,” Woodrum asserted. “And what are you doing about it?”

“We’re here,” replied one attendee.