Abraham Lincoln was perhaps the greatest president of the nineteenth century. If a president’s greatness is measured by his devotion to freedom, he was second only to George Washington.

He put his life and his sacred honor on the line for one reason only. In his first inaugural address, he proclaimed:

“One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute.”

Some in the South attempted to use Scripture to support slavery by pointing out that the Bible heavily regulated it. However, the ‘slavery’ being written of in the Bible was more in line with indentured servitude.

Its purpose was to repay a debt that was incurred through economics or war.

The inability to pay a debt threatened the entire society in ancient times. There was no declaring bankruptcy. When debts were not paid, business failed. When debts were not paid on a large scale, societies failed.

If the South took the Bible seriously, all they had to do was look up the Ten Commandments to find their error. It was right there in Commandment number Eight:

“Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15).

The refusal to pay wages to those who had not incurred a debt was, according to God, the theft of someone’s labor. God had made it clear that he would demand an accounting from those who defraud a laborer of his wages.

The multitudes of dead bodies during the Civil War were God’s accounting for the South’s theft of the labor of others. This was the costliest sin of the nation, and reparations, in the form of blood, have been fully paid for this transgression.

Abraham Lincoln tried desperately to correct this sin and bring the nation together. Despite his best efforts, he failed.

One side was on the side of God; the other was in rebellion against God. War was necessary, and fortunately, the right side won.

Now, in this modern age, we are once again embroiled in conflicts that threaten the very fabric of our nation. As it was during the Civil War in 1861, it is Republicans who (are supposed to) stand for liberty vs. Democrats who stand for Godlessness and State control.

The Democrats, who were fighting for slavery, are once again threatening civil war against those of us who stand on the side of freedom and Godliness.

The Democrats fight to inculcate the values of the LGBT into our society; the Godly believe that homosexuality is rebellion against the Lord.

The Democrats have profaned marriage with ‘gay marriage’; the Godly believe that marriage is sacred, as it represents the union of Christ and his church.

The Democrats push the ideology of ‘Transgenderism’; the Godly believe that this is a demonic ‘social construct’ from the pits of hell.

The Democrats support the sexual mutilation of children; the Godly believe that the kingdom of heaven is for such as them.

The Democrats bear false witness against their neighbors by calling their political opponents ‘racists’; the Godly believe that this type of bearing false witness is a terrible sin against God.

The Democrats used the Flu Bug Hysteria to take away our civil rights; the Godly believe in freedom and liberty.

The Democrats have pushed the pagan, totalitarian ideology of climate change on our society; the Godly have rejected paganism.

The Democrats demand that sexually irresponsible women be allowed to kill their child in the womb; the Godly believe that the child is fearfully and wonderfully made.

The Democrats believe they can corrupt our governmental agencies to imprison or assassinate their political opponents; the Godly believe that this is third-world tyranny.

Democrat prosecutors are eager to deprive people who engage in self-defense of justice by imprisoning them (Daniel Penny); the Godly know that self-defense is approved of by God.

There seems to be no way to bridge the divide that now exists between the wicked and the Godly in this society.

Those in rebellion against God have congregated once again on the Democrat side, while Christians have been forced to congregate on the Republican side.

Neither side of the political aisle likes Christians very much; we have joined the Republican Party because the Godless Democrats hate us more than they do.

The wicked are becoming increasingly more wicked with no sign of an end to their depravity. Those who are disgusted by their evil are becoming increasingly angry at the constant injustices that they perpetrate as they prey on the righteous.

To the rescue rides St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, Connecticut. They have taken it upon themselves to act as mediators for the political conflicts of this generation.

They have a plan to bridge the divide that plagues this nation.

It is right that this group emerged from a church that has abandoned the word of God and now acts on its own traditions and beliefs apart from the Bible. A quick review of the beliefs of a standard Episcopal Church leaves no doubt where they stand:

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

The Episcopal Church embraces a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; people of all genders and sexual orientations serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy work together in leadership and governance.

They are a dead church that has abandoned the word of God in favor of worldly nonsense.

Out of the “North Hall” of one of these churches arose the group ‘Braver Angels.’

Their primary focus is to ‘depolarize Americans’ to take the passion out of politics. They host debates so that people on different sides of the political aisle can respectfully argue with one another under the watchful eye of a moderator.

They hold workshops like “Skills for Disagreeing Better,” where you can get to know those who disagree with you and understand their point of view.

Jessie Mannisto, the “watchful eye” who serves as debate monitor, claims he has no interest in trying to make everyone a moderate. He just wants to take the emotion out of politics.

Which is how you turn people into moderates.

The problem is that Mannisto fails to explain how pro-life Catholics being thrown in prison by Godless Democrats for praying in front of abortion clinics is not ‘polarizing.’ What good are “Skills for Disagreeing Better” going to do you when your political opponents decide to throw you in a gulag for disagreeing with them?

Jessie bills himself as a master at helping us address difficult questions that we are facing as a society so we can function as a single country.

For instance, if a blue-haired teacher at your local school believes your little boy should be transitioned to a little girl, and your sick government is backing the blue-haired teacher, he will help you come to terms with any intransigence you may wish to display when you lose in court.

Braver Angels are professionals at addressing the issue of “Affective polarization (AP).” This is the phenomenon where one’s feelings toward members of their own party are positive while holding negative views of the opposing party.

It is “affective polarization” that leads conservative voters to think of their liberal counterparts as morally corrupt. The conservatives rely on a Godly interpretation of their character and behavior which, in Biblical terms, describes their opposition as reprobates.

The Godly understand that those who hold immoral positions have been abandoned by God due to their lack of faith.

On the other hand, the liberal turns to slinging insults ending in ‘-ist’ and ‘phobic,’ which they learned from those who proclaim social justice. The Episcopal Church has abandoned the Gospel and now proclaims this false gospel to the goats in their congregation.

And that is where the main problem lies.

The Braver Angels believe bridging this gap is crucial because these differences can dissolve friendships and family bonds.

A more productive strategy for dealing with friends or family members who are reprobates is to share the Gospel with them. By doing so, your problem will be solved one way or the other.

They will either repent or discontinue the relationship. Although the latter is painful, the lack of stress in your life will help to alleviate any hurt feelings.

One of Braver Angels’ more powerful interventions is to dissolve stereotypes. According to this group, asking yourself why someone thinks differently than you can stimulate self-awareness as the listener.

So, we conservatives need to ask our opponents why they think it is fine to kill unborn children for the convenience of sexually irresponsible people. However, those who think differently than I do does not stimulate any self-awareness on my part. It simply helps me to identify the spiritual condition of those who disagree.

Their foolish hearts are darkened.

Due to their Godlessness, we cannot expect liberals to be well-grounded emotionally or to become more introspective as they ponder our question.

In fact, they will immediately attack you as a misogynist who hates women. That false accusation will be followed by how we only want to control women’s bodies because we are fascists.

My guess is that the only people being ‘depolarized’ by these loons are Christians.

After that, we can move on to the issue of homosexuality. We Christians can assert our position that homosexuality is a terrible sin in the eyes of God and that homosexuals need to repent.

That will be responded to with accusations of ‘homophobia’ and how we hate people different than ourselves. The people on the left will then threaten our livelihoods should we dare to continue to express our beliefs publicly.

Our ‘anger’ at the left is righteous indignation in the face of evil. The anger of the liberal is based on mindless, Godless idiocy that cannot be reasoned with. They work diligently to defend licentiousness, which is slavery, not freedom.

Freedom contains a strong moral component that the left abhors.

And they work diligently to create a political system that is designed to harm those who disagree with them.

We will need some really brave angels to moderate these discussions.

We are reminded by the ‘Braver Angels’ that this whole process is really about creating compassion for different perspectives. When we accomplish this, depolarization is the result.

When psychopaths demand that you, as a parent, allow your underage child to choose his gender, you really need to develop greater compassion for the demanders’ point of view.

Once your little boy is transitioned to a little girl, you will then experience the joys of depolarization. Or else.

Abraham Lincoln tried to ‘depolarize’ the country and reason with those who were in rebellion against God. He was a man of honor, and he won the war, and his reward was assassination.

We will conclude with Abraham Lincoln’s closing remarks in this address to the nation:

“I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.”

Lincoln did try to depolarize the nation with his ‘better angels’ speech. However, once he understood that there was no middle ground and that one side had to be defeated, he acted accordingly.

Instead of attempting to appeal to our “better angels,” Lincoln may have had more success had he issued the call for repentance to the South.

Had we called upon the Lord instead of our better and braver angels, a lot of death and destruction might have been avoided. It would have taken a lot of pastors who were strong in their faith and sound in their doctrine to help him pull that off; however, just as it was at that time, one side must be defeated. As Christians, we attempt to do this spiritually with the call for repentance, and politically by voting for the party that at least publicly respects God’s moral law.

The left will use assassination, prison, and severe violations of civil rights against their political opponents should they take full control of our political system. No free person should vote themselves into the type of system they want because they will not allow you to vote your way out.

The fact remains that those who stand on the side of licentiousness and refuse to repent must be defeated spiritually and politically, not reasoned with.

Let’s try to get it right this time.

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