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VLOG: Omnibus Plus Trump’s Stormy Weather

30 Mar 2018

Mark Caleb Smith

The Bereans discuss the recent omnibus spending bill as well as the President’s continued problems.

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Theophilus says:

March 30, 2018 at 12:51 pm

Is it fair to treat national debt and personal debt as the same thing, morally? A nation is fundamentally different than a person with an expiration date, and has centuries to treat its debt. Does the principle apply to non-persons the same way it does to individuals?

Also, is it really the same, comparing Trump’s situation to his predecessors? We know Kennedy was a philanderer NOW, but I don’t think most people were aware back then. People like Johnson and Nixon were left alone by the media in their era, and most people didn’t find out about these things (to my understanding) until long after these guys left office. Clinton is a closer parallel, because we found out while he was president still, and the reaction from the right seems to be very different now than then.

In the spirit of Holy Week, I think it is fitting to call to mind the Nasrani in Gaza who, it appears, will not be allowed to make the pilgrimage into Jerusalem and follow the steps of their savior along with the rest of their Christian family this Good Friday. As violence is kindled along the border of Gaza and our brothers and sisters find themselves trapped in it, we should call out on their behalf, and on the behalf of everyone affected by this cycle of tragedy. Lord, have mercy.
- Nathan D. says:
  
  March 31, 2018 at 10:39 am
  
  Would it not be more accurate just to say the Christians in Gaza? Nasrani is simply the Arab term for Christian, and I see no reason to use it instead of just “Christian”. I had to look up the term to figure out what you meant by it (especially since it is also used for a group of Christians in India). Makes them seem like something unique from other Christians. I know this is a trivial matter, but anyway, just my thoughts on it.
  
  And while I do sympathize with their specific plight of being caught in a war zone (which, I believe would not be the case if not for Iran-backed Hamas terrorists) do you feel their current inability to visit Jerusalem is somehow more burdensome than those Christians, like me, who would love to visit Jerusalem but cannot afford the trip to join “the rest of their Christian family”? I ask that because while the places where Jesus walked are, of course, places all Christians would like to see, unlike false religions like Islam, there is nothing, for the Church, in this age, that is spiritually significant about them.
  
  The Bereans are right that more emphasis on the death, burial, and resurrection is needed, however, I disagree on one point. The early church, it is evidence from Acts, commemorated this event continually, and it was not bound to a “Holy Week” or many of the other Easter traditions that find their origin in the Christianizing of many traditions of Roman paganism.
  
  But as for “Holy Places”, those places are where God is present. In the Old Testament, that was the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and Temple and at that time was affixed to a city and a place. But now, God is present in each Christian, regardless of where they are in the world, in the form of the Spirit. It is the people themselves that are holy (because His sacrifice has made us holy), not ancient rubble in Israel.
  
  So, rather than just single out one group of Christians who are suffering or are in danger, I think we need to remember, not just during “Holy Week”, but continually, all the time, Christians worldwide.
  - Nathan D. says:
    
    March 31, 2018 at 10:44 am
    
    And just to add one thing more… I do believe that one day Jesus Christ will reign over this earth from Jerusalem and that that city will once again be holy and the center of religion on earth. But not yet…
  - Theophilus says:
    
    March 31, 2018 at 12:56 pm
    
    Call them what you will. They are being barred because of who they are and where they live, not because of the logistics of planning a Holy-Land-getaway. This group is in immanent danger. They are under constant threat from enemies on multiple sides, and there is violence actively happening around them now. By all means remember everyone, but especially your Palestinian brothers and sisters right now. They need our prayers in this moment, because this moment is especially dire for them.
- Matthew Beal says:
  
  April 6, 2018 at 9:23 pm
  
  On your debt point, it’s not exactly the same thing, but there is still a day of reckoning that comes. The main difference is that the government will always be able to “pay off the debt,” but that comes at the cost of printing more money, at which point they would just have to destroy the currency. It also destroys investor confidence, and, if spending keeps growing, it crowds out the market for loanable funds. If this was debt to finance investments, that might be a bit different, but most of this debt is just redistributive payments right now (SS, Medicare, Medicaid). There’s a lot we could say, but, on the whole, Dave Ramsey has it right, “Debt is dumb.”
  - Theophilus says:
    
    April 6, 2018 at 9:28 pm
    
    I see your point, and it’s not without merit (though I think it’s a bit more nuanced than ‘printing money’). I was more interested in hearing how Haymond’s reasoning works, since he’s gonna be speaking about it. Maybe he’ll explain more about ‘odious debt’ at some point in the future.
- Jeff Haymond says:
  
  April 9, 2018 at 3:16 pm
  
  “Is it fair to treat national debt and personal debt as the same thing, morally?” It is fair to treat one’s desire to pass a debt to someone else the same whether its individually or collectively. The question is what is in your heart? The heart that says I want to consume today, and have someone else pay the bill tomorrow, is acting immorally.
  At least that is what I would say.
Darth Vader says:

March 31, 2018 at 7:24 am

I really wish you guys would like post a transcript, I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet, I’ll have to take some time later.
Carter Miedema says:

April 8, 2018 at 5:07 pm

1. Glad to see that the blog is accessible again this week.
2. The thumbnails on your videos never cease to provide very meme-able photos of Dr. Clauson and Dr. Haymond.
3. Dr. Wheeler, you mentioned that a reduction in the credit rating may cause some reaction on the part of the American people and US government to rain in the madness. However, didn’t the US receive a credit downgrade in 2011 from AAA to AA+? Both ratings are very good, but it appears that the downgrade made no lasting impression on policy.
- Theophilus says:
  
  April 8, 2018 at 7:09 pm
  
  Oh thank goodness you mentioned that. I thought I was going insane because nobody else said anything.
- Bert Wheeler says:
  
  April 10, 2018 at 1:07 pm
  
  Carter and Theophilus, Yes S&P did downgrade US to AA+ during the gov’t shutdown in 2011 and have kept their rating at AA+. Moody’s and Fitch have continued the AAA rating throughout, but are warning that US rating may be downgraded.

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