Wait... What?

If Donald Trump believed in anything aside from his own instant gratification -- he does not... But if he did, it would be Herbert Spencer's idea of Social Darwinism. In nature, the strongest and fittest survive, and in human nature, only the strongest and fittest deserve to rule over the weak and survive in luxury at the top. The weak are here to feed the strong. They are like a sub-species to be taken advantage of because they are weak. In Trump's world, gullible evangelicals were put here for him to use in the exact same way that they are used by the predatory prosperity preachers he so admires. William Jennings Bryan feared men like Trump and warned us they were coming. And for that bit of wisdom, he deserves some credit. 

How two circa 1968 brainless, left-wing, white kids could swing the election back to Donald Trump.

The 12 Apostles are described in Acts 4:13 as ignorant and unlearned so god knows, it is understandable why the Evangelical Christians welcome Donald Trump -- who is a moron -- as something akin to the 13th Apostle. And he may have done more to explain what happened on the third day after Jesus died than the other 12 combined. 

Perhaps we have been reading Genesis from the wrong angle. It can make much more sense if you identify the real beast and the real hero in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps it's a story about how man evolved from Homo Erectus -- Man who walks erect -- to Homo Sapien... Man the Wise. If so, it's a story worth redeeming. 

In the Heart of Darkness, Kurtz says hauntingly, "The horror." What exactly was he talking about? This episode explores the mind of the Creator as set forth in Genesis. What was He thinking when he decided to terrorize the innocent for the sins of Adam and Eve? The first century Gnostics came up with an answer that made sense. For which they were declared to be heretics. 

Genesis is seen as a story about us and our responsibility for the predicament of the human cycle of life, suffering, and death. It is the story about our choices and where they led us. But what exactly did the animals have to do with Original Sin? Why were they punished? How is it possible to make sense of a deity that inflicts the worst kind of suffering upon sentient creatures that are incapable of doing anything wrong, yet prohibits them from being part of the redemption scheme? Is theodicy an inquiry that can ever make sense?

How is it that Rhesus monkeys outperformed humans in empathy experiments? What causes that? 

John Wayne ducked service in World War II because he said "I never got around to it." He let other men fight and die so he could stay home and pretend to fight and die in war movies. John Wayne said “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.” Yet he is revered, and almost worshiped, as a true American hero because of the image he created. Understand that one and you understand the Trump worshiper. 

How is it possible for one man to desecrate an entire culture? Will our children grow up to be Arthur Ash or Tyrell Owens? Manuel Orantes or Jimmy Connors? Who will we let define us as a people?