The Rick Perry 'controversy' sort of shows up the divide between actually religious Christians and our agnostic/atheist/skeptical media. It's a commonplace--an absolute commonplace--among believers that God often uses wicked or flawed people to achieve ends only known to Him.

This isn't just a Christian motif. It goes all way back to Daniel (remember the "writing on the wall?") and the overthrow of the Babylonians by the Persians. Far earlier than that, even. I totally understand that in this modern demystified age the concept seems alien to ppl.

Now, of course, the problem is that Trump-friendly-media orgs are going to spin this as "TRUMP IS BLESSED BY GOD."

No. No. In the Judeo-Christian tradition that is *NOT* the interpretation, though obviously the partisan temptation is there. It's just that God uses instruments.

The Old Testament is full (have you ever freakin' read those prophetic books? It's full of this stuff!) of Jewish prophets pointing out that the civil wars, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, etc., are all working God's will, and there's a LONG lesson to be learned.

Well, you don't have to agree with this perspective, but what I'm telling you is that there are millions of people out there who you don't interact with on Twitter (or maybe you do and they don't like to talk about it) who understand teleology this way.

Yeah, I'm writing in my dead dog in Nov and pulling a Democratic ballot in the primary, so you don't need to warn me about 'worshiping Trump'. But what I'm saying is that Perry is speaking a language unfamiliar to the Twitterati but understood by millions. https://twitter.com/TeddyMcDougal/status/1198992501367066625