Dear editor:
The late, great Christian intellect, C.S. Lewis, said after hearing Adolf Hitler speak at a political rally, "Smooth talk can be very persuasive, even when it is used for destruction." Most people would now look back at Hitler and agree that even though he was truly an impressive, powerful speaker, he proved to be one of history's most evil men!
Hitler was certainly not the only evil doer to rise to power in high government positions, largely by being able to give impressive and deceptive speeches. Unfortunately, we have someone aspiring to be a modern-day dictator in our federal government presently, aided by others of that ilk.
These villains are habitual liars, so their great volume of words are worthless!
They promise much with their eloquent rhetoric and deceptively charming personalities, but they certainly don't keep their many promises. In the end, they bring much hardship, disappointment and destruction.
Amazingly, wicked scoundrels like these can do their bad deeds while skillfully fooling a large percentage of the population. They are greatly helped in their deceptions by a large part of the liberal mainstream news media, who refuse to give the whole truth.
How can such evil continue in some of our leaders? Without a doubt, they are acting much like the evil character revealed in the Bible, known as Satan or the devil. He is best known for his chronic lying, even being called the "Father of Lies" (John 8:44). Lying comes very naturally for him (and his lost followers), since it is their very nature to do so. He is also described as being very shrewd, cunning, deceiving, powerful and even charming when necessary. The Bible teaches that a person is known by their "fruits," so if they are acting like the devil most of the time, obviously they belong to him.
Even though Satan is certainly no match for God Almighty, he still does have great power ... supernatural power that can often fool and charm people into believing his many lies! For example, the Bible teaches us in 2 Cor. 11:14 that "Satan can change himself into an angel of light."
Remember that God is still in control of everything (not Satan) and Romans 13:1 says that " ... all governments have been placed in power by God. ... " The obvious question is -- why would a good God put bad men in power?
Part of that is because God often allows a nation to choose (vote for) the person they want. But God can override the choices of men anytime He wants to (He's God).
Even though He is a God of love, He is also holy and cannot tolerate sin. He's also a God of justice, so if a nation (as a whole) continues to turn from God and His commands, He will have no choice but to bring judgment (punishment) upon that nation!
An evil ruler can easily be an instrument of God's judgment. Look in 1 Samuel 8 how God gave ancient Israel King Saul, who was exactly what the nation deserved for their disobedience to God.
America is in deep trouble! We must turn to God -- our only hope.
Lloyd Hoffman
Hot Springs
Editorial on 01/24/2015