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By most all accounts, the Trump Administration has done a "good" job in its response to Hurricane Irma.
The silence of the Big Media on the matter speaks volumes.
Less biased media have praised the president's response.
Some believe it was "a higher power" that caused Irma to be less destructive than experts had predicted.
Here's what's behind that belief.
Hurricane Irma set records before downgrading to Category 2 over Tampa-St. Petersburg.
It was a record 415 miles across, carrying winds up to 200 mph---a Category 5 storm.
However, Monday it weakened more and more quickly than experts were predicting---from Category 5 to Category 2 as it moved on up the West Coast of Florida, becoming a tropical storm---winds dropped from 185 mph to 115 mph.
Most all of us know that these storms always lose velocity when they make landfall.
And no one, anywhere, is attempting to minimize the destruction and loss caused by Irma.
The tens of millions of people adversely impacted can tell you it was bad. Very bad.
However, both Associated Press and Fox News are reporting it could have been much worse.
AP, quoting weather experts, say had the center of Irma hit Florida 20-30 miles to the east, "it would have been much worse"..."We got super lucky..."
Fox News, quoting different weather experts, is reporting the same thing. It could have been even much worse.
Initially, the White House put out the following statement:
"The President and his Cabinet, meeting at Camp David, continue to receive regular updates on Hurricanes Irma and Jose. FEMA is leading the Federal effort to coordinate support to the impacted States and U.S. Territories. The President and First Lady are keeping all the people impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in their thoughts and prayers and urge everyone to listen to and follow the safety instructions of local authorities."
"Thoughts and prayers" was not a passing nicety.
Faith was on display as the Trump Team assembled at Camp David,
Before deliberations began, the president asked Vice President Mike Pence to lead the team in prayer.
I'm told it was not a short memorized prayer---but one of substance, calling on God to intervene on behalf of the people and the nation. Asking for mercy.
Meanwhile, some Florida residents went out onto the beaches praying and singing, "The Great I Am."
At the same time, Florida Governor Rick Scott, himself a Christian, was calling the state and the nation to prayer.
He told the press, "I don't see prayer as a last resort, it should be the first resort. Pray, pray for everybody in Florida."
Is something spiritual happening behind the scenes?
I believe it is.
Ironically, Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, in his attempt to demean the Trump Administration and biblical Christianity, in general, has made my point.
In his Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times last month he says, "Since President Trump took office in January, the White House has become a Christian roundtable, with just about every top-tier seat filled by a faithful member of the fold or someone who is happy to further the fold's agenda."
He says, "The lineup of believers who are in positions of power is truly dizzying."
Then he begins his attack with these statements:
- Betsy DeVos, who leads the Department of Education has stated that her goal as a public servant is to "advance God's kingdom."
- Secretary of Energy Rick Perry employed mass prayer as a means of addressing social problems when he was governor of Texas.
- Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, believes that the theory of evolution was encouraged by the devil.
- Atty. General Jeff Sessions has said that people who don't believe in God can't be truthful.
- Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency chief, is a devout Baptist who denies that climate change is real.
- Mike Pompeo, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is an evangelical who opposes abortion even in cases of rape.
- Jay Sekulow, the president's attorney, is another evangelical who has defended prayer in school at the Supreme Court.
- Vice President Mike Pence might be the most piously anti-gay politician in America.
Like we've been saying, the Trump Team is predominately Christian. Biblical Christians.
After identifying these Christians, Professor Zuckerman goes after them.
He, a professor of secular studies, launches into a far Left social gospel sermon---not to exalt Christ, but to demean and diminish those who follow Him and embrace biblical teaching in their personal lives.
He accuses these people of taking away "health care"--abortion, from poor Americans, more penalties for drug abusers and more "draconian sentencing" in general, embracing the "powerful gun lobby," a.k.a. supporting the Second Amendment, and trying to close our borders.
He says Trump's associates and other Christian politicians show the least empathy for gay people, transgender people, Muslims and other vulnerable groups.
After several paragraphs of a Scripture quoting rant, Zuckerman concludes with, "While these men and women profess love for Jesus, they create suffering and misery in His name."
This man has no understanding of historical evangelical Christianity.
We stand for life, for human sexuality as laid out in the Bible, for marriage as God established it prior to any organized society, and for the mandate to be stewards of our nation and its sovereignty as described in Genesis.
We further deny the claims of Al Gore and the extreme climate change movement. While it is profitable for its leaders and advocates, it imposes a burden on the less fortunate and the economy of every nation that is deceived by it.
Biblical evangelicals embrace our biblical mandate to steward God's Creation, not worship it.
But he's right on this---President Trump has indeed caused the "White House to become a roundtable of Christians."
This is why I personally believe God is doing something special in these times of cultural and natural chaos.
Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful. Be Very Prayerful.