Christmas: “The Rightful King Has Landed”

We must never forget that at this time of year, we celebrate much more than a birthday. As the great Christian apologist C.S. Lewis put it, Christmas is the story of how “the rightful King has landed.” When Jesus stood before the Roman governor Pilate, just prior to going to His execution, Pilate asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” After some discussion Pilate concluded to Jesus, “You are a king, then!” Jesus answered him, saying, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world…”

Of course, Jesus was not just any king; He was a king with a holy mission. He was a king who was born to die. “Amazing love, how can it be, that you my king would die for me.” Jesus was, and is, our Savior King. As author Charles Sell put it,

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

The “good news of great joy” that no less than the angel of the Lord reported to the shepherds was that, “today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you…” The late-great Charles Schultz was right. The heart and soul of the Christmas story is, as Linus perfectly recited, “[B]ehold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Of course, as did the CBS executives during Schultz’s time, those fearful of the true meaning of Christmas go to great lengths to hide the truth. Today children (and adults) are bombarded with deceptive (but alluring) messages about “Christmas Spirit” and how Christmas is about “spreading joy throughout the world” and “a time for warmth and brotherly love” (as a recent TV cartoon declared). Even Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol is bereft of the complete message of Christmas.

One author I encountered a few years ago foolishly described the “hidden meaning” of Christmas as:

...a festival of the human heart. It is a time of year when all the universe conspires to raise the vibratory level of consciousness on earth to one of peace and love toward ourselves and one another. This season resonates to the sweet, childlike innocence that resides in all of us; A time when the heavenly forces inspire us to shift our focus away from fear and toward one of joy, and healing.

Of course, peace, brotherly love, and spreading joy are not bad things, but they are far from the “heart and soul” of Christmas. “Hark! The herald angels sing; glory to the newborn King!” So Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior King. This is the reason for the conflict and contention that we sometimes encounter at Christmas time. This is why so many fear a Nativity scene, a Christmas tree, or even a meek “Merry Christmas.”

Who wants to be confronted with the idea that maybe they are ignoring the most significant event in human history? Who wants to be reminded that perhaps Jesus Christ really was (and is) our Savior King? Of course, God sending His Son as a Savior implies that we need “saving.” The most quoted verse in the Bible, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Less well known, but just as important, is the very next verse. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” This begs the question, “From what or whom do we need to be saved?”

In John chapter 8, Jesus says, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” What does it mean to “die in your sins?” Romans chapter 6 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In other words, we need to be “saved” from the eternal consequences of our sin. There is eternal life with Jesus, and apart from Him, death and eternal separation from God.

This is why so many Christians are so celebratory at Christmas time. Yes, there are presents and parties and time off from work, but for Christians who truly understand what was done for them on that first Christmas day, nothing compares to the gift of eternal life through Jesus. Christmas is a celebration of God’s greatest gift meeting humanity’s most desperate need. Those who reject the need for salvation, or reject the miracle of Jesus, or reject their sin for what it really is, are “offended” by Christmas.

Such people don’t want to hear that Jesus came to die for their sins. They don’t want to hear of the many miracles that surround the birth of the Savior. They don’t want to hear that their greed, lust, or pride is sin. They want to go their own way; thus, they display perverse “Festivus Poles.” And again, we’ve all been there. May God empower those of us who see Christmas for what it truly is, who see Jesus for who He really is, to spread His message of hope, love, peace, and salvation to all we encounter, all year-round. Merry Christmas!

Copyright 2025, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s Bombshell Report and the Drive-By Media

On MSNBC yesterday, when asked for her “thoughts and reaction” on CBS’s decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, and “what that might say about media in general and media in the world of a Donald Trump presidency,” former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller declared, “Yeah, well look, this has not been a great week for free speech and speaking truth to power.” An 𝕏 post by RedState contributor “Bonchie” on this (typical) MSNBC segment made a common (among conservatives) but important point. Above a video of the MSNBC clip, Bonchie concluded, “Thinking late-night comedy shows exist to ‘speak truth to power’ is why people hate the press.”

Of course, there are many reasons to hate the drive-by media, and Bonchie provides another good example, but there was a better and more important one this weekend. Trending number one on 𝕏 most of the weekend was the name “Tulsi.” Trending number two was the word “treason.” (The screenshots below were taken yesterday evening around 8 pm.)

 

(Click on the images to enlarge them.)

This happened as the result DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s Friday afternoon release of her bombshell report on how “intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President [Donald Trump].” “Tulsi” and “treason” trending so high on 𝕏 is significant for obvious reasons (it’s a massively important story), but it’s also important because Elon Musk’s 𝕏 is now the number one source for news, at least according to its owner.

If 𝕏 is not the number one source for news, it is at least a significant news source for tens-of-millions of Americans. More Americans now get their news via social media than any other source. This is huge for a variety of reasons, but one in particular: by definition, social media is user-generated content, and thus virtually anyone can participate in reporting, commentary, etc.

Additionally, thanks to Elon Musk’s takeover of 𝕏 and his dedication to free speech, and Mark Zuckerberg’s recent changes to “content moderation” (censorship) at Meta, social media is now not so dominated by one particular viewpoint. In other words, the left in America no longer has a stranglehold on the news.

Nevertheless, leftwing news sources still attempt to act as the arbiter of what is newsworthy. The best recent example of this is DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s release of her report this past Friday afternoon. In spite of how significant is this story, and in spite of how it the story was trending on 𝕏 (and no-doubt other social media), the drive-by media virtually ignored the story, at least through late Saturday evening (the time of this writing).

Below are screenshots of the websites of NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, CNN, The New York Times, MSNBC, AP News, and USA Today from about 8 pm yesterday (Saturday, July 19). Each screenshot is of the very top of each webpage. (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

As one can easily see, DNI Gabbard’s shocking report was given no significant attention by any of these so-called “news organizations.” Not only was there “no significant attention” given by these organizations of Gabbard’s report, as I scrolled down the webpages, I couldn’t find one single mention of the story except for a single article by CNN.

On the other hand, most of Saturday (July 19), Fox News prominently displayed the story “DNI Gabbard refers Obama's Russia hoax documents to DOJ after bombshell report.” And the top piece at Real Clear Politics on Saturday was “Russia Hoax Exposed, New Era of Accountability Begins” by Matt Taibbi at Racket News.

Thus, again we see why so many Americans despise the drive-by media, and why so many of us are simply tuning them out and turning them off.

Copyright 2025, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

In Defending “Transgenderism,” the Left Again Employs Scientism

In defending the hideously evil “transgender” agenda, the left frequently hails so-called “medical experts,” the “medical community,” “medical consensus,” and the like. In other words, we’re supposed to believe that men can become women, and vice versa, because the “expert class” has told us this is so. This is clearly the case in the recently decided Skrmetti case, where the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) upheld legislation from the state of Tennessee that protects children from medical mutilation in the name of “transgenderism.” 

Arguments from the left during the Skrmetti proceedings, and the left’s many complaints after SCOTUS’s 6-3 decision, often referred to the “expert class” as they tried to make their case for the absurd and evil idea that children could be subjected to heinous medical procedures in an ignorant and foolish attempt to change their sex. Thankfully, SCOTUS was having none of it, especially Justice Clarence Thomas.

In a separate, concurring opinion, Justice Thomas slams the left’s so-called “expert class.” Thomas writes,

The Court rightly rejects efforts by the United States and the private plaintiffs to accord outsized credit to claims about medical consensus and expertise. The United States [under the Biden Admn.] asserted that “the medical community and the nation’s leading hospitals overwhelmingly agree” with the Government’s position that the treatments outlawed by SB1 [the TN legislation] can be medically necessary. Brief for United States 35; see also Brief for Respondents in Support of Petitioner 5 (asserting that “[e]very major medical association in the United States” supports this position). The implication of these arguments is that courts should defer to so-called expert consensus.

There are several problems with appealing and deferring to the authority of the expert class. First, so-called experts have no license to countermand the “wisdom, fairness, or logic of legislative choices.”…Second, contrary to the representations of the United States and the private plaintiffs, there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children. Third, notwithstanding the alleged experts’ view that young children can provide informed consent to irreversible sex-transition treatments, whether such consent is possible is a question of medical ethics that States must decide for themselves. Fourth, there are particularly good reasons to question the expert class here, as recent revelations suggest that leading voices in this area have relied on questionable evidence, and have allowed ideology to influence their medical guidance.

Note that in his first and third points, Justice Thomas is basically saying that scientists (medical doctors, etc.) aren’t necessarily good legislators or policy makers. C.S. Lewis agreed. In 1958, in Willing Slaves of the Welfare State, Lewis wrote,

[T]he new oligarchy must more and more base its claim to plan us on its claim to knowledge. If we are to be mothered, mother must know best. This means they must increasingly rely on the advice of scientists, till in the end the politicians proper become merely the scientists’ puppets. Technocracy is the form to which a planned society must tend. Now I dread specialists in power because they are specialists speaking outside their special subjects. Let scientists tell us about sciences. But government involves questions about the good for man, and justice, and what things are worth having at what price; and on these a scientific training gives a man’s opinion no added value. Let the doctor tell me I shall die unless I do so-and-so; but whether life is worth having on those terms is no more a question for him than for any other man…I dread government in the name of science. That is how tyrannies come in.

The “expert class” and Lewis’s “specialists in power” are one and the same. After the Skrmetti ruling, the left continued to its appeal to their “expert class.” Writing of “puberty-blocking drugs and hormone therapies,” Scientific American declared “Their use for gender dysphoria is currently supported by the American Medical Association, the American Association of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and other important medical institutions.”

In a press release post Skrmetti, the American Academy of Pediatrics—no-doubt considering themselves a part of the “expert class”—stated “Gender-affirming care is medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria and is backed by decades of peer-reviewed research, clinical experience, and scientific consensus.”

In an interview after the Skrmetti ruling was announced, on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes show, the aptly named “Chase Strangio”—the ACLU “transgender” (a “strangely” deceived woman pretending to be a man) lawyer who argued Skrmetti before SCOTUS—regularly referred to “doctors” or “experts” in attempting to make the case that we should allow children to be subjected to ghastly “transgender” treatments.

In other words, according to the left, we must completely surrender to transgender agenda because of “science.” Of course, real science is no friend to “transgenderism,” so the left must again rely on “scientism.” Whether or not you’re familiar with scientism, if you’re at least four years old, you’ve lived it.

The Covid era that we all suffered under was saturated with scientism. Anthony Fauci, et al reeked of scientism! Of course, scientism is not science. It is an ideology that is often confused with science. It is, rather, an abuse of the scientific method and scientific authority.

Scientism seeks to elevate the methods of natural science to a level where it is the bar by which every other intellectual discipline is held. Scientism ridicules faith and religion and tells us that “God is dead.” Scientism tells us that the “debate is over,” so shut up and get in line. Again, this was never more evident and real for us all than during the Covid era.

The left regularly employs scientism. Whether abortion, “climate change,” immigration, and the like, the modern left frequently appeals to the “experts” in an attempt to get their way. Adherents of scientism promote fear and anger to try and scare or enrage enough followers to accomplish their goals.

Leftists are more prone to fall into scientism because of their abandonment of God and His absolute truths. The “transgender” movement stands opposed to one of the oldest truths in the history of humanity, so of course “transgender” apologists must resort to scientism. Thank God, most of America simply isn’t falling for it. 

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2025, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

Alex Padilla Just Proved Himself Another Violence-Prone Democrat

After “sitting U.S. Senator” Alex Padilla barged into Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference and got himself forcibly (and rightly) tossed out of the room and handcuffed, leftists across America (again!) want us to be aghast at the Trump administration. It almost seemed like the whole episode was planned! Knowing Democrats as we do, almost certainly it was a planned stunt, done solely for political theatrics.

Democrats across the U.S. are desperate to sway the electorate in their favor, so I’m not surprised by most anything they will pull at this point. They’re even calling out Barack Obama for supposedly not doing enough to counter the Trump administration.

However, all Senator Padilla’s stunt is likely to do is to further embolden and enrage the already unhinged elements that are so prominent in his party. I write this only hours after Senator Padilla’s antics, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the Democrats’ lackeys that are so eager to engage in violence take Senator Padilla’s actions as a cue to take things up a notch.

This is especially true given the frothy-mouth responses of Senator Padilla’s colleagues in the U.S. House and Senate. “How dare they do such to a sitting U.S. Senator!”—or something to that effect—was a regular refrain by Democrats and their media allies. Elected Democrats are enraged, and they want you—or as many Americans as possible—enraged as well. How soon they forget what their faithful are capable of.

We are in the midst of rampant, violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and other U.S. Cities, and on the doorstep of the “No Kings” protest movement, which has reportedly over 1800 planned events this weekend. Of course, all of this follows multiple assassination attempts against President Trump, years of anti-law enforcement rhetoric and actions, and widespread criminal activity across the U.S., all brought to you by the Democrat Party and its adherents.

In other words, many of us—especially those protecting elected Republicans—are now conditioned to expect violence from Democrats. Thus, no one should be surprised that Senator Padilla was treated as he was when he loudly charged into Secretary Noem’s press conference, and then refused to obey security officials. (Imagine that! A Democrat ignoring the words of law enforcement officers!)

Even CNN’s legal expert thought Padilla got what he deserved! Be warned, Democrats, your mask is off. You’re not going to get off so lightly with these antics anymore. You’ve shown us what you’re capable of, and those of us who love law and order are going to act accordingly. 

(See this post at American Thinker.) 

Copyright 2025, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

Some of the Best, Most Interesting, Most Informative 𝕏 Posts on the Illegal Immigrant L.A. Riots

Democrats and their lackeys are again rioting, looting, attacking law enforcement, and setting a U.S. city on fire--literally and figuratively. Since 𝕏 is one of the best, if not the best, news sources available, I thought I would compile a few important posts for you on this matter. Below are some of the most telling 𝕏 posts on the 2025 version of the L.A. riots. 

It's "inflammatory" to enforce migration laws, say Democrats. But it's not. It's essential for protecting the vulnerable. The reason the Left opposes law enforcement is that they take pleasure at the destruction of civilization, at least so long as it only hurts other people. pic.twitter.com/tSffm8yjGX

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) June 8, 2025 

The above post by Mr. Shellenberger is a lengthy, informative thread and well worth a read.

🚨 #BREAKING: Multiple businesses are now being LOOTED in Downtown Los Angeles, including the Jordan Flagship Store

So rioters are now stealing SHOES in the name of “social justice.”

Beyond pathetic. pic.twitter.com/tkrtfnMvXL

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 9, 2025

pic.twitter.com/DOAGmghvQ8

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) June 9, 2025

We're constantly told about all of the wondrous benefits that hardworking Mexicans bring to our country. And yet Mexico, with all of its Mexicans, is a dysfunctional shithole that Mexicans desperately want to escape. Something isn't adding up here.

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 8, 2025

Los Angeles is all the proof you need that mass migration unravels societies.

You can have all the other plans and budgets you want.

If you don’t fix migration, then nothing else can be fixed — or saved.

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 9, 2025

Los Angeles doesn’t feel like a protest. It feels like an entire city is declaring open rebellion to American authority and sovereignty. It was bound to come to a head in a corrupt blue city, but it must be firmly stopped and law and order reestablished. The American people voted…

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 9, 2025

California vs Tennessee

One burns down their cities.

The other glorifies Christ.

Jesus Christ is the only way to peace. pic.twitter.com/m4Hzg9LO7S

— Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) June 9, 2025

🔥🔥🔥@RoofKorean7 @LibertyCappy pic.twitter.com/BCSosJ7M84

— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) June 9, 2025

AGAIN: Riots, violence, looting, and all-around lawlessness is what happens when Democrats are in charge! If you don't want this, VOTE ACCORDINGLY! 

Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com