Nobody boards an airliner if informed the pilot is suicidal. [FN1] Last Tuesday, Hamilton County preacher/GOP nominee for IN Lt Gov Micah Beckwith was a scheduled guest on “Mouthwash.” [FN2] My op-ed expressed a view both different & not liked. [FN3] [FN4] That “view”?  1/11

1) Beckwith is power-hungry; 2) He’s delusional re chats w/”The Lord,” but to think he doesn’t aspire to high Fed office is more delusional than Beckwith; 3) Evangelicals are nihilistic, esp re: Armageddon; and 4) No one who sees Earth’s destruction as good should control nukes. 2/11

Criticisms/my responses:
A) Op-ed had zip to do w/State issues.
That’s the 1st thing I said in the op-ed. Beckwith wants higher office. We have a right to address issues, especially if nihilism is a weird cement of the foundation of his beliefs. 3/11

B) “No one said Armageddon is good…it’s prophesied in God’s word.“
There are several similar comments. They are crap. Armageddon is the final battle between “good” and “evil.” [FN5] 4/11

The end of the process is “victory” for the forces of (allegedly good over bad. Armageddon must be “good” because it serves to carry out “God’s” will.
C) “isnt mark an Atheist?”
Yes, I’m an atheist - I’m an atheist because I read both testaments more than a few times. 5/11

D) “Sorry Mark, You have no understanding of what Christians believe.”
I was baptized as a Roman Catholic, raised as a Lutheran, and attended a lot of services in other churches. I also studied Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. I have an understanding of several sects of Christianity. 6/11

E) “Mark is clueless! Forgive him Jesus” and “May God have Mercy on his soul.”
I need neither forgiveness nor mercy. 7/11

F) “Beckwith Battalion comin' at ya”
A “battalion” of the anonymous who submit false complaints to get posts pulled. The nameless acting for the gutless. In Germany in 1933 they were the brownshirts, standard autocrat toadies.
This is all for the night. Tomorrow? More! 8/11

Footnotes:
FN1. Lewis, Russell, et al., "Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the United States, 2003-2012," la; Whinnery, James; Webster, Nicholas (February 2014). (Link in Wikipedia entry for “Suicide by Pilot,” no longer accesses the archived study). 9/11

Footnotes:
FN2. “Mouthwash” is John Schmitz’s podcast on Facebook, streamed live Tuesday, 9 p.m.
FN3. “smalltalk” is my weekly 2-minute op-ed on “Mouthwash.”
FN4. I gaue the lack of popularity by comments during “Mouthweash.” 1011/

Footnotes:
FN5. “The Rapture [] eschatological prophecy [] promises that before the final battle between good and evil, Jesus will appear in the sky and take true believers up to heaven...”,.
“Stop Gaslighting the Left about Evangelicals. They Say Awful Things About Jews,” Stroop, Forward, 9/18/19 11/11