The Chaff is Chafing
May 16, 2021 2 Comments
Before I go, say, to the hair salon or to the car repair shop or to a doctor’s appointment, I think about what I want and what I don’t want. Then, I am able to choose the path I take.
During my yearly checkup in March, the doctor came into the room all gowned and masked up. He asked if I was vaccinated. I told him “No”. He asked “Why not?” and I told him.
“Why should I take an “emergency-use”-untested- vaccine into my system? Should I get COVID, if I haven’t had it already, my body will deal with it. I will gain immunity and build immunological memory against it. If I get it and have symptoms, I’ll call you for Ivermectin.”
The doctor, looking concerned, went on to justify his giving the vaccine to his other patients. What was troubling: he agreed with me that the vaccine hadn’t been adequately tested. He also agreed with me when I said “You can’t live in fear.” (By that I meant that I am not afraid of COVID or of disobeying authorities who impose scientism tyranny.)
As you know, every prescribed medication has warnings, precautions and contraindications so you can make an informed decision with regard to its use. You would think that an “emergency-use”-untested- vaccine would be an absolute contraindication. And, especially when the recovery rate from Coronavirus is over 99%.
I chose the path I would take and said “No”. I based my adult decision on 1) the absolute contraindication presented to me and 2) the increasing number of adverse reactions (see links in previous posts) and 3) the warnings presented by Dr. Bhakdi in my previous post
*****
Just this week you and I were talked to, like we were little children, by the Biden regime. Joe Biden is now doing the deciding for you and me. Joe Biden now is choosing for you and me. I don’t know how I made it over 68 years without CDC guidance and Joe Biden.
(Apparently, Joe Biden didn’t use ultimatums in his own home. Did Biden ever lay down the law for his son Hunter? If he had, maybe Hunter wouldn’t have turned out to be such a . . .)
Per this ultimatum, our paths are limited to two. You and I are not to venture outside the paths Big Brother has told us walk in. Progressives, like the Evil One, desire a controlled opposition.
Biden’s pronouncement (of no Constitutional standing) was made to produce an outcome: separate strata of obedience to the state. On top, in pride of place, are those who conform to state vaccination. Below them are those who are not “vaxxed” and submit to wearing a mask as a sign of obedience. At the bottom, implicit in the pronouncement, are those who refuse to obey “the rule is”.
Those who refuse both vax and mask are the unclean. They are yet to be washed in the blood of communism.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary exacerbates the divide by producing its own version of a “yellow star” label. Its inscription “anti-vaxxer” connotes “A person who opposes vaccination or laws that mandate vaccination.” The world is lining up behind the dark forces that demand your total allegiance of mind, body and soul.
Now, when someone is commanding me to put something into my body to be acceptable to them, I say “No.” In the Bizarro world of Progressives it is not ironic that those of the Biden regime are the same people who condone “My body, my choice” when it comes to ripping a human from the womb for no other reason than “I want to.” These are the ways of the wicked.
I have also said “No” to mask wearing. I have never been a mask wearer – not here not there and not anywhere at any time. I won’t wear a mask so I can go into a store, or to a hair salon or to church. How ludicrous. How debasing. There is no science that says I should wear a mask. I follow the science and not the CDC and not the “scientism” pronouncements coming down from Mount Olympus.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary will now have to include “anti-masker”: A person who opposes mask wearing or laws that mandate mask wearing; archaic, an individual who refuses to debase themselves to please others.
It certainly appears that mask wearing and now getting a vaccination has become an “us and them” moral statement. Some are copping an attitude: “I am superior to you because I conform to the rules of my political tribe.” And, “I care about people and you don’t.”
For others, it is going along to get along with “governing authorities”. These are the passive -aggressive. They will lash out about restrictions in sermons or in print or to their spouse but they conform nonetheless.
And many conform to the ludicrous out of fear of reprisal. Progressives, like the Evil One, welcome the controlled opposition.
As priests, rectors, rabbis and ministers now submit to CDC guidelines, will they also subject themselves to the “governing authorities” and follow civic leader’s instructions when ultimatum guidelines are handed down: submit to and preach Critical Race Theory or you will not be allowed to minister? At what point do you not conform to Caesar’s pronouncements? Do you “go along to get along” so as to look like a “good little Christian” and to not suffer any consequences?
In the church we need leaders not lemmings. We have enough facilitators. We need leaders. Look at the Apostle Paul. Read the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters. Paul spent a lot of time in prison because he spoke the truth. He didn’t go out of his way to break the law. He just spoke highly controversial things – there is one true God, his Son came to earth, was crucified, rose from the dead and now is Lord.
Paul’s words were perceived as heretical and just plain silly by the Greeks who had many gods and no resurrection of the dead in their philosophy. Pauls’ words were received as insurrection to the Romans who addressed their own sovereign as “Lord”.
Paul, like Jesus, submitted to the “governing authorities” AT THE POINT the “governing authorities” decided to deal with him. He accepted the consequence of his words and actions. He did NOT accept a “go along to get along” conformity that would keep him out of trouble.
Listen. Returning to normal is not gaining ground in the spiritual war confronting us. I am not sorry. I can’t stand namby-pamby leaders. If a fig tree is not producing it is of no use.
Will you stand before the Lord one day and say the following?
“You gave me ten talents and I kept them safe. I stayed within the status quo so as to not bring attention to them. I didn’t want to take the risk. So, I buried what you gave me and I obeyed the “governing authorities” who came snooping around. I did what they asked. Here’s the ten talents back. Good luck with that.”
Now, do you as a Christian think that because “science” is involved that it is OK for your mind to go into neutral and therefore you must submit to the “governing authorities”? If Caesar said “You must kill all your firstborn to end the pandemic” would you then resist?
What does it take for you to wake up and see the ways of the wicked and to not submit to them? Joseph and Mary didn’t stick around to obey the “governing authority” Herod when he commanded that first-born children be killed (to assuage his fear of losing power).
Haven’t you noticed? Progressives have no use for you if you don’t conform. And when you do, they still have no use for you except as a prole to do their bidding. It is their way or the highway. “The rule is . . . Conform to our Woke imperialism, take our Woke Jab, or you will be scoffed at, mocked, and exiled”.
Show me what you conform to and I’ll show you your future.
*****
Psalm 1
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
*****
The Fig Tree and Flashpoint
The day of the “triumphal” entry:
Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the temple, and looked all around. It was already getting late, and he returned to Bethany with the twelve. (Mk. 11: 11)
The next day . . .
“. . . as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. From some distance away he saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and hoped to find fruit on it; but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves (It wasn’t yet the season for figs.)
He addressed the tree directly. “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,” he said. And his disciples heard. (Mk. 11: 12-14)
We get a basic understanding of why Jesus is cursing the fig tree from Psalm 1 – those who follow the Lord produce fruit. Those who have the appearance of fruit producing -leaves – but do not bear fruit will be dealt with. Their superficial being is like the chaff that the wind drives away.
We get a pointed understanding from the Prophet Hosea. He describes how God initially thought of Israel . . . and then . . .
Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree,
in its first season,
I saw your ancestors.
But they came to Baal-peor,
and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved. (Hosea 9:10, emphasis mine)
During the time of the Second Temple, there were those, including priests, who had followed the advice of the wicked and taken the path that sinners trod (Ps. 1). They, like Israel before them, had laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. (Joel 1:6-7)
The cursing of the fig tree was a symbolic message to Israel and in particular to its priests: if you do not produce the spiritual fruit I ordained you to produce, you are to be cursed! For, as priests, rectors, rabbis, and ministers go, so go the people.
In direct opposition to their vocation to be a separate people and to be the fig tree that produced the fruit of righteousness, many Jews had conformed to the world around them. They had the appearance of bearing fruit – the leaves – but produced no fruit.
And so it was that many sat mocking the sacred space of the Temple as they sold their wares within its walls. Over time the Temple had become profaned by priests who had adopted the ways of the world. Jesus would not stand for that. He would drive the chaff from the Temple.
After the disciples heard Jesus curse the fig tree . . .
They came into Jerusalem. Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the traders, those who bought and sold in the Temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove sellers. He permitted no one to carry a vessel through the Temple. He began to teach: Isn’t this what’s written,” he said,
‘My house shall be called
A house of prayer
For all the world to share’?
But you’ve made it a brigands’ den!” (Mark 11: 15-17)
The “afraid” governing authorities, the chief priests and legal experts – the chafing chaff, looked for a way to get rid of Jesus. (Mk. 11: 18) And then we read . . .
When evening came, they went back out of the city.
As they were returning, early in the morning, the saw the fig tree withered from its roots. (Mark 11:19-20)
Show me what you conform to and I’ll show you your future.
*****
*****
COVID Court:
Cult Of The Mask: List Of Documented Mask Side Effects; Vexed; More! — Coronavirus Update LXIX
Fauci Admits — Roughly half of NIH employees have chosen not to get vaccine… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS
COVID-19: Church of God in Aylmer, Ont. to be locked, pastor and church fined | Globalnews.ca
COVID Nazis are coming for your children . . .
Pfizer Vaccine approved for kids 12 and older… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS
A Pregnant Woman Shows How To Fight Back Against Mask Maniacs
https://tv.gab.com/channel/a/view/a-pregnant-woman-shows-how-to-609a9d936d76272f49d86028
Report: Georgia Mother of Two Dead After Receiving Covid Vaccine – NewsWars
Physical therapist, 28, dies two days after taking COVID-19 vaccine | Daily Mail Online
Eric Clapton hits out at ‘propaganda’ over vaccine safety | Daily Mail Online
Cindy Wity 
Who Says So?
June 27, 2021 Leave a comment
As kids we preceded “Who Says So?” and “Who do you think you are?” with “Oh yeah!” “These questions weren’t posed to source a truth-bearing authority we would readily accept. Rather, they were a demand to know “Who thinks they can tell me what to do?”
The hands-on-the-hips stance has been around since the Garden of Eden. It became the posture of mankind after Adam and Eve accepted the serpent’s imperious challenge to God’s authority. The posture of the defiant adolescent is in vogue today.
By way of a prolonged adolescence – from playground to the political realm, say – the childhood attitude has remained the same: “Who thinks they can tell me what to do? The past holds no authority. Truth holds no authority. Only my power holds authority.”
And so it was that elected officials dismissed the U.S. Constitution as an afront to their dictatorial ways. The playground stance became Woodrow Wilson’s “living Constitution” posture under the ruse of “progress”:
All that progressives ask or desire is permission—in an era when “development,” “evolution,” is the scientific word—to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle; all they ask is recognition of the fact that a nation is a living thing and not a machine.
Owing to the same progressive posture, FDR bullied the Supreme Court into accepting his definition of the Constitution’s “commerce clause”. He was then able, with the tentacles of bureaucracy, to regulate and control the banks and the U.S. economy. This wasn’t crisis management. This was the elitist “Who thinks they can tell me what to do?” FDR taking over “we the people”.
FDR’s reign created a monstrous welfare state. With the government’s imposition of the “New Deal” and the National Recovery Act, millions became dependent – infantilized – under the government’s new parenting role. Later, FDR would take account of his “enlightened administration”. He would call government welfare “a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit”.
LBJ, an FDR lackey, adopted FDR’s imperious attitude. He extended the New Deal’s use of a big and more powerful government to overhaul society.
“The truth is, far from crushing the individual, government at its best liberates him from the enslaving forces of his environment.”
With the enslaving forces of government and apparently ignoring FDR’s admission of welfare’s dehumanizing effects, the imperious LBJ created the ruinous Great Deal: the “Great Society” and “War on Poverty.”
Within the same “nobody can tell me what to do” echo chamber of elitists, the haughty Barack Obama’ announced the “fundamental transformation” of America. This was to bring about Obama’s version of “hope and change” for us little people.
Remember Obama’s spiritual and ideological mentors Jeremiah Wright, Frank Marshall Davis, Bill Ayers and Saul Alinsky? Remember these bullies with the playground attitude “Who thinks they can tell me what to do? I tell you what to do.” They taught Obama to impose his will onto others for the sake of radical transformation.
Remember Obama’s despotic weaponization of government against naysayers? Remember Lois Lerner and the IRS targeting scandal? Remember the high and mighty Obama trashing America to foreign nations?
The almost inorganic “Oh yeah! Listen man!” Joe Biden and his regime, an Obama franchise, are “Building Back Better.” The regime wants $35 billion dollars to add 75,000 agents to further weaponize the IRS.
The regime is in the process of tossing the Constitution and creating a Woke “living constitution” form of government. This takeover of America will benefit most those in positions of power including globalists. You and I will have the Constitution ripped from our hands. We will be handed a “Here’s who says so” card. The European Union has already issued “permission” cards.
(The Biden regime’s focus on the WOKE religion of racialism will buy them votes. Biden and Progressives (FDR, LBJ and Woodrow Wilson among them) infer that black Americans are inferior and can’t function in society – whether in business or as a voter or in feeding and housing themselves – without them. Their solution is more of their “enlightened (Woke) administration” and less of the Constitution.
“Juneteenth” is Biden’s token gift – a refrigerator magnet – to black Americans. It also serves to keep America annually focused on racialism, BLM and CRT.
It appears that behind Anthony Fauci’s defense of himself on MSNBC as the embodiment of science – people’s attacks on him “are attacks on science” – is “Who do you think you are?”
Owing to a prolonged adolescence – from playground to philosophical realm, say – the religion of deconstructionism was born. Its tenets hold that there is no legitimacy or “Who says so?” authority in the world. This was the stance of the 60’s French deconstructionist Jacques Derrida.
The deconstructionist theory of textual analysis holds that a text has no stable reference. The theory questions traditional assumptions about identity, truth, certainty, and the ability of language to represent reality. Critics have rightly called deconstructionism a dangerous form of nihilism.
Due to a prolonged adolescence – from playground to popular culture, say – we hear “No one has the right to tell me what I can and can’t do except my political tribe.” The shutdown mind – no debate, no questioning, censored social media, etc. – is sold as the right thing to do.
Maintaining narcissist affirmation from an elitist’s perspective is the objective. Hence, the culture of repudiating and canceling anything that doesn’t conform to a narrative of empowered-self.
Just this morning I went shopping for groceries in a local super store. I passed the women’s clothes section. On the wall was a large ad photo of a large woman modeling some of the clothes being sold. The statement above her read “The maximum of self-love”.
The childish attitude of “Who thinks they can tell me what to do?” benefits no one. In fact, when it’s the posture of political overlords, philosopher-ideologues and the power-hungry, people are canceled, put through struggle sessions, de-platformed, blacklisted, killed, forced into labor camps or deported.
There are the willing who submit to a system that will not countenance disagreement. But minds that shut down to only accept the pablum given it by its tribal overseers will find that they have become infantilized. They will remain little children under the watchful eyes of the parent state.
(Read Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom to gain insight into the progression of narrow-mindedness since the ‘60s.)
A grown-up post-modern stance of questioning the source and legitimacy of assertions, is a welcome posture in any discipline. Science (including medical science Dr. Fauci!), philosophy and theology depend on inquiry. Questioning is a healthy stance when its objective is sourcing truth. Questioning is squashed for political ends or for the negation of truth.
Note: a key indicator of whether something is true or a lie: truth never manipulates or coerces one to accept it; lies and half-truths serve to manipulate and coerce. As humans, we want to live in truth and be respected for that desire. We do not want to be manipulated by ideologues, technocrats, and bureaucrats.
One last thing before I move on. By now you know that Progressives, like the willful children they are, believe they know everything and that you should know everything about them. That is why they walk around with the offended attitude “Who do you think you are?”
Progressives are not mortals. They are superior omniscient beings with “enlightened” WOKE morals. Not only do the WOKE know their own hearts and minds inside and out from constant reprogramming, they also know what is in another person’s heart and mind. Yes, they are mind readers and the ministers of “science” and “hope and change”. Progressive Jesuits come across as being more Christian than Christ with what they readily accept.
Out of their prolonged adolescence, Progressives, like the proud and stubborn children they remain, project onto others all kinds of intent.
Progressives condemn people on the spot. That is how they can call me, a white woman, a “racist”. That is how they can call the Founding Fathers “racist”. That is how they can say that any disagreement is an attack on them, the embodiment of “science”. That is how they can criticize people about their purported effect on climate change or about gun ownership or about any multitude of internalized offenses.
We have ‘progressed’ out of the post-modern age back to the age of Pontius Pilate: “Truth is what I say it is and don’t you forget it.”
It is no surprise that the mental health of the users of the narcissism-based narcotic of Progressivism has declined dramatically. Social media documents the decline.
*****
The hands-on-the-hips stance has been around since the Garden of Eden. It has been used to stare down and de-platform anything that challenges a certain mindset. During the first century AD, Jesus encountered “Oh yeah! Who do you think you are?”
The gospel according to Mark reads as a response to that very question.
Mark opens the “good news of Jesus the Messiah, God’s son” with the authority of centuries-old Scripture. Words from prophets Isaiah and Malachi preface his account. (Note: Mark ascribes both texts to Isaiah, the more prominent author.)
Isaiah the prophet put it like this: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of me; he will clear a path for you.”
A shout goes up in the desert: “Make way for the Lord!” Clear a straight path for him!”
John the Baptizer is then presented as the one clearing the way for the Messiah – the Ultimate Authority. John tells his followers “Someone a lot stronger than me is coming close behind.”
Jesus is baptized by John in the river Jordan. The heavens open. The spirit in the form of a dove descends onto Jesus. A voice out of heaven says “You are my son! You are the one I love! You make me very glad.”
One would think that that event alone would suffice to qualify Jesus as the Ultimate Authority, but Mark continues to document the outworking of Jesus’ Ultimate Authority.
Jesus announces the kingdom of God (1: 15).
Jesus calls disciples (1:16-20).
Jesus teaches with authority in synagogue (1: 21-22).
Jesus casts out demons (1:23-27).
Jesus heals the sick (1:29-43).
Then (in chapter 2), a lame man is lowered through a roof to where Jesus is teaching. Religious legal experts were in the room. They were listening and waiting for Jesus to produce Messianic credentials.
Jesus tells the lame man to get up and that his sins are forgiven. (2:1-12) These shocking words blew the roof off of the expert’s thinking.
“How dare the fellow speak like this?! Only God forgives sins!” Who do you think you are?
The next thing the legal inquisitors find out is that this guy who forgives sins also eats with sinners. (2:16) What kind of Messiah is that? We don’t behave like that!
Mark records more hand-wringing by the religious authorities (3:1-5). Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. This healing did not go over well – it was deemed as doing ‘work’ on the Sabbath. Jesus wasn’t “following the science”. So, Jesus had to be de-platformed:
“The Pharisees went out right away and began to plot with the Herodians against Jesus, trying to find a way to destroy him.”
Jesus continues to not “follow the science”. He “scolded the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Shut Up!” The wind died down and there was flat calm.” (4:35-41)
Jesus touches the unclean. (5:25-32)
Mark records that Jesus sends out his disciples with his authority. (6: 7-13)
Jesus feeds 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. (6:34-44)
Jesus walks on water. (6:47-51)
Jesus’ disciples eat with unwashed hands. (7: 1-15)
Jesus removes an unclean spirit from a child. (7:24-30)
Jesus feeds 4000 with 7 loaves and “a few small fish”. (8: 1-9)
Jesus heals a blind man. (8: 22-26)
Jesus is transfigured (his glory revealed) before Peter, James, and John. (9: 2-8)
Jesus casts out an unclean spirit from a boy. (9: 16-27)
Jesus teaches his disciples about authority. (9:35-49)
The first half of Mark’s gospel account documents Jesus’ ultimate authority over nature, diseases, evil spirits and the “follow the science” orthodoxy of his day.
In the second half of Mark’s “good news”, we read that Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem. What awaited him there was not a triumphal entry nor a clear path. He would encounter soldiers, betrayal, an angry mob, Pontius Pilate, scourging, and crucifixion. It was intended punishment for not “following the science”.
Jesus was handed over to be questioned by the “Who do you think you are?”- “What is truth?”- “follow the science” authorities. They proceeded to ‘de-platform’ Jesus.
The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus revealed his authority over evil, sin and death. It also revealed his authority over man-made narratives. Jesus answered “Who says? with utter humility and self-denial. Jesus is the Ultimate Authority. Yet there are those, still with hands on hips, claiming to be the ultimate authority. Let’s see them do what Jesus did and prove it.
*****
*****
COVID Court:
Ex-Pfizer VP Yeadon Warns: Children 50 Times More Likely to Die From Vaccine Than Virus (rumble.com)
Former Pfizer VP issues warning: ‘This is Israel now, UK in just a few weeks’ – America’s Frontline Doctors (americasfrontlinedoctors.org)
93 Israeli doctors: Do not use COVID-19 Vaccine on children
Woman says ‘severe allergic reaction’ to second dose of Oxford vaccine left her unable to talk | Daily Mail Online
19-Year-Old College Freshman Dies From Heart Problem One Month After Second Dose of Moderna Vaccine (noqreport.com)
Exclusive: Dad Says Life ‘Not the Same’ for 21-Year-Old Student Who Developed Myocarditis After Second Moderna Shot • Children’s Health Defense (childrenshealthdefense.org)
Are Covid Vaccines Riskier Than Advertised?
CENSORED: Pro-vaccine doctor Francis Christian, over Covid-19 vaccine safety concerns | Sharyl Attkisson
(VIDEO) Exclusive Investigation: Separating rumor from fact on Covid-19’s origin | Sharyl Attkisson
CENSORED: Hydroxychloroquine | Sharyl Attkisson
Shocking lab results on masks… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS
Covid has emboldened our modern censors | The Spectator
Top Virologists Admit Lying to American Public for Months on Likely Wuhan Lab Leak Theory Because They Didn’t Want to be Associated with President Trump (thegatewaypundit.com)
Chief of Pediatric Critical Care: ‘Never Taken Care of a Single Patient With a Vaccine-Related Complication Until Now’ • Children’s Health Defense (childrenshealthdefense.org)
The following video was removed from YouTube for “violating community guidelines”:
Top Immunologist and ‘Pro-Vaccine’ Doctor Issues Urgent Warning…
Dr. Byram Bridle Professor of Viral Immunology University of Guelph
‘We finally learned how and where the Vaccine antibodies are stored in the body’
‘The spike protein in Vaccines can kill you’
Top Immunologist and ‘Pro-Vaccine’ Doctor Issues Urgent Warning… | Populist Press 2021 ©
Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin therapy at a higher dose improved survival by nearly 200% in ventilated COVID patients (news-medical.net)
“You are a pathetic liar”: CDC senior scientist to CDC’s head of immunization (DOCUMENT) | Sharyl Attkisson
Former Trump Official Slices Fauci Apart Over Hydroxychloroquine Fiasco by Matt Vespa (townhall.com)
Why Has “Ivermectin” Become a Dirty Word? – TK News by Matt Taibbi (substack.com)
Heart problems in vaccinated students trigger medical, legal scrutiny of campus COVID mandates | Just The News
30 Cases where PFIZER/BIONTECH COVID Vaccine produced symptoms of Brain Contusion or Brain Damage or Brain Injury
Fight Back:
TRO: Motion for Temporary Restraining Order Against Use of COVID Vaccine in Children
TRO – America’s Frontline Doctors (americasfrontlinedoctors.org)
Rate this:
Filed under 2021 current events, Christianity, Culture, Political Commentary, Politics, Post-Moderism, Progressivism, social commentary Tagged with Christianity, culture, FDR, Jesus, Joe Biden, LBJ, Obama, politics, progressivism, the Gospel according to Mark