The title of this article comes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The full quote is as follows:
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
Isaiah conveyed this message of God to his people, 2,700 years ago; and it’s as relevant today as anytime in the history of Christianity. Our culture is under attack from forces that are attempting to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture, and they are doing so under the cover of darkness and confusion. These forces include powers and principalities aiding and abetting those who have rejected God and his eternal truth.
A partial list of actions prevalent in our society today that are relevant to this passage of Isaiah are (1) abortion, which is tantamount to the killing of an innocent and helpless preborn life; (2) trans-sexual rights and activities, most especially those aimed at young children; this while parents are kept in the dark concerning their efforts at promoting gender confusion; (3) the human trafficking of women and children into the sex trade which is tolerated by and in some cases fostered by those in powerful positions within our society; (4) the fentanyl epidemic which currently claims the lives of nearly 100,000 Americans each year, the equivalent of two Vietnam war deaths every year; (5) inflation that is mislabeled as economic growth, increasing the real inflation rate which further impoverishes the lower and middle classes; (6) the perverse treatment of citizens frequently to the benefit of illegal migrants; (7) and, the indoctrination of philosophies in our school systems, most especially in higher education, whose aim is to divide us and to ultimately destroy our Judeo-Chistian culture.
This is simply to name a few. There are many, many others. And all of this as we move inexhaustibly closer to a third world war! And that too is not by happenstance.
All of these are symptomatic evils that are portrayed by many in our culture as a good. Each is conveyed as a great light of freedom but in truth is really an obfuscation, enslavement, and a great darkness. Presented as sweet they produce in one’s spiritual palate great bitterness. Is there any wonder why suicides have increased so dramatically in our recent past?
What are we to do? The problems appear so monumental in scope that it paralyses the vast majority of good people. But Americans are resilient.
I think St. Paul said it best. This quote from his letter to the Romans aptly sums up where we are and what we must now do:
It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is far spent, the day draws near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry or jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Rom 13:11-14)
If one closely examines the partial list of actions I referenced above they all have at their root cause the desires of the flesh. And their consequences are causing great stress and strain on the very fabric on our nation and the world at large.
In my view, we must take to heart these words of Paul. I think many of you may well recognize the night is indeed far spent in the present hour. If you believe this, then believe what Paul tells us is the necessary next step. To put on the armor of light which is eternal truth. We can no longer tolerate the obfuscation of the truth.
An election looms over our great nation. From my vantage point the choice could not be clearer. Examine my partial list above and ask yourself are each of these evils in the eyes of God? And if you concur with all or most of these as indeed evil, ask yourself where do the two candidates for the presidency of the United States stand on each one? In my view, this election is the most important and consequential election since that of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
His election led us into the great conflict we call the Civil War. It was a war fought over the institution of slavery. A heinous institution that denied the basic and inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to black Americans solely on the basis of the color of their skin.
Today our great nation faces an even more sinister enemy. I say this because it’s faceless and multifaceted and is every bit as evil as the proponents of slavery were in the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s true aim is to enslave the masses.
As citizens we have a civic duty to vote. Exercise this constitutional right as a first and important step in putting on that armor of light! God’s eternal Truth! When casting your ballot ask yourself “What would Jesus do”? Let his wisdom lead you to choose wisely…
The Editor- in chief’s reminder: The writers on Catholic Stand are united as obedient Catholics, but please do not attribute the opinions of any one writer to the entire group as a whole.
21 thoughts on “Woe to Those who call Evil Good, and Good Evil”
Other examples… homosexuality – back then it was considered evil and there was even a stigma. Today it is good. Euthanasia and MAiD. Back then it was evil. Now it is good. Traditional nuclear families, back then it was good. Today it is bad. Islam has always been evil due to its persecution of Jews and Christians. Today it is good. Christianity including Catholicism it was good. Today it is bad.
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It’s as important if not more important to judge actions rather than words. There is a clear contrast that is stark with respect to what the last two administrations have done. Each of us will go to the polls and hopefully allow one’s conscience to lead them in that process.
What happened on Jan. 6, 2021 says it all. We used to have a long tradition, the envy of the world, of a peaceful transition of power. That tradition was destroyed that day. Trump has paid no price for it, and has said nothing but good things about the people who broke into the Capitol and tried to attack members of Congress. If he loses again, what makes you think it will be peaceful?
Keep drinking the Kool Aid captcrisis.
Trump deals in hatred, ignorance, racism, violence, belligerence and fear. It’s clear which side is “evil” here. He appeals to what is worst in us.
Thank you!
Cato,
Drug and human trafficking are issues that are directly linked to our open borders. A lot of money is made by the cartels and some of that money ends up in the oddest places….
Deacon Frank
Can you please give us an example of a politician on either side of the aisle who supports sex trafficking?
Can you give us an example of any politician on either side of the aisle who says the fentanyl epidemic is a good thing ?
CAPTCRISIS,
Let me attempt to respond to your assertions one at a time. I’ll do them in reverse order.
1) World peace. I must admit to being shocked that you would raise this as the record of the last two administrations could not be more stark on the issue of peace. Under the current administration war has broken out and escalated in Ukraine (with likely a million or more casualties to date) and in the Middle East. No wars were started during the prior administration. That is a stark contrast. This administration has also ended the enforcement of oil embargos on the Iranians which has resulted in over a $100 billion of monies flowing into Iran. This money is being used to fund a twofold purpose of building their nuclear weapons capabilities and funding terrorism around the globe. You can’t build out a nuclear program without money and this administration provided them with the means.
2) You raise the fact that I did not raise global warming. Let me ask you a question. If global warming truly was the sole motivation for this administration’s energy policy why would the administration seek Venezuela’s help in meeting our energy needs by offsetting our capabilities with their increased production? Venezuelan oil is far less environmentally friendly resulting in far greater carbon emissions. The US is the cleanest energy producer in the world! Do you think those added carbon emissions remain above the country of origin? Certainly not! So why are we promoting this policy. We are not close to getting off of carbon emissions so why not have a policy that reduces carbon emissions while at the same time buying more time until alternative energy sources can catch up?
3) Illegal immigration is a very serious problem for our country that is affecting every facet of our culture. It’s common sense and Americans have plenty of real life experiences with it to know it has. Whether it’s drug smuggling, violent crime (which the FBI acknowledges has increased 5% in the last year), rampant theft which has led to many store closings, a housing shortage and higher rents and purchase costs the result of housing upwards of millions of illegal migrants, soaring food costs etc. etc.
Your pejorative comments to sensationalize this issue such as “buying into Trump’s Hitlerite rhetoric about “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country” isn’t helpful and in my view is condescending.
We should have a serious debate about increasing legal immigration and ending this catastrophe of allowing unvetted foreigners entering into our country. The government recently acknowledged 13,000 known murderers and 16,000 rapists and a total of 450,000 convicted criminals among the millions of illegal migrants that have entered into our country since this administration entered office.
4) Lastly, you say “inflation is down to previous levels.” I have two comments regarding your statement. First, the normal level is below 2% and we are currently over 3% that may seem to you to be a small difference but I assure you it’s significant. This after we’ve seen inflation rise by over 20% since this administration took office and over 30% inflation of food costs during that same period.
Labor unions are asking for huge salary increases in part to offset these inflation increases. The Boeing strike and the likely longshoreman strike are to name just two which will further exasperate inflationary pressures. Monetary policies required to fund fiscal spending policies are the root cause of this inflationary spiral that we’ve been in for the last four years.
I could go on but suffice to say I was very thoughtful in choosing the seven actions in our culture which is attacking the very institutions of our society.
Respectfully,
Deacon Frank
As to point 3 : 86.4 percent of those sentenced for trafficking fentanyl were U.S. citizens. US sentencing commission.
“Your pejorative comments to sensationalize this issue such as “buying into Trump’s Hitlerite rhetoric about “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country” isn’t helpful and in my view is condescending.”
You refuse to criticize Trump’s characterizations — which of course have rarely been heard since Hitler — so I assume you agree with them.
“The government recently acknowledged 13,000 known murderers and 16,000 rapists and a total of 450,000 convicted criminals among the millions of illegal migrants that have entered into our country since this administration entered office.”
Not true. See this BBC takedown of this claim which comes from Trump and not from the government. These numbers include a space of many years, including the Trump years, and include many who are incarcerated.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz04y0371lvo
You should get your news from a greater variety of sources.
You, captcrisis, are just as guilty of mischaracterizing the numbers as is Trump.
According to the article you cite, the numbers are, in fact, from the government (ICE). Trump did not make them up. But the number is a summation of decades of illegal immigrants, not just what took place during the Biden administration. And he did incorrectly state that they are all “roaming freely.” Only some percentage of them are roaming freely. But take a look at the numbers in the article.
2021 – 405,431 convicted criminals on ICE’s list
2024 – 425,431 convicted criminals on ICE’s list
So some 20,000 convicted criminals, according to ICE, entered the country during the Biden administration, and some percentage of them are “roaming freely.”
Also, in 2016 there were 368,574 convicted criminals on ICE’s list. This would mean almost 37,000 convicted criminals managed to enter the country between 2016 and 2021. But since ICE does not break the numbers down by year its possible that the bulk of this number occurred in 2021.
Take a look at the charts that break down illegal immigration by year in an article at the *Christian Science Monitor.* The article and the charts clearly explain what has been happening since 2012 and breaks down the number of illegal entries by year.
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2024/0416/biden-trump-immigration-border-crossings
I agree with you analysis that it Trump is not the evil one but those who are motivated by emotion than by facts and logic.
(5) inflation that is mislabeled as economic growth, increasing the real inflation rate which further impoverishes the lower and middle classes;
Fact: inflation is now down to previous levels.
(6) the perverse treatment of citizens frequently to the benefit of illegal migrants;
You are buying into Trump’s Hitlerite rhetoric about “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country”. Do you know any illegal migrants? I do. They live downstairs from me. Anyone who is here illegally is going to keep his head down, stay out of trouble. They want to work and keep their families together. They are not, of course, a criminal threat.
Two big issues neglected here are:
1. global warming. Trump backed out of the Paris accords. Why? Because he didn’t make them. He can’t give an informed reason for his position and neither can you.
2. world peace. The Middle East is currently on fire because Iran (the most powerful nation in the region, due to our stupid invasion of their only competitor, Iraq) is heading toward nuclear armament. This is because a deal worked out with great difficulty by 1) Britain, 2) France, 3) China, 4) Russia and 5) the United States was stupidly and recklessly repudiated by Trump. Why? He can’t give you an informed answer and neither can you. He is like a child who, if he can’t take credit for something, he breaks it.
And as for migrants crossing our border — Republicans agreed to a deal which would have fixed the problem. In fact it gave them most of what they wanted. But on Trump’s orders they backed out of it. Why? He was quite clear about it — he didn’t want the problem fixed with a Democrat in the White House. Again, something he couldn’t have, he broke, like a petulant child
— or as so many Republicans who worked for him have told us, he is not fit to be a President and is a threat to the existence of our democracy. Tell us why those Republicans are wrong.
Why they are wrong? Bushies, the Cheneys. Yeah, that’s the reason they are wrong, architects of foreign wars. Those are the Republicans you refer to? No Ukraine or invasion of Israel happened under Trump.
You are much more in favor of violence to the unborn, our brothers and sisters than Trump ever was, for all of your calumnies, slander and libel against the man. For all of your judgements. Seeing how you would seem to vote for cooperation with intrinsic evils, what can we expect? That said, we all know we are sinners.
Those that make the borders open should be held for Americans killed along with the flood of fentanyl that is so fatal to many Americans.
Inflation is through the roof, really? Spend over $10 just for going to Wendy’s, Popeye’s or the other places?
If you’re looking for reasons to have backed out of the Paris Accords, start with the fact that neither China nor India–both far larger carbon emitters than the US, and both expanding rapidly in that respect–would be asked to take any meaningful action until 2030 at the earliest, thus rendering the entire exercise pointless in terms of its purported “environmental” goals.
This was pointed out at the time. Your willful ignorance does not change that reality.