The Third Greatest Man Ever
The Third Greatest Man Ever
That would be Donald John Trump
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” - Ephesians 2:8
Yesterday, 31 October 2024, was the 507th anniversary of “Reformation Day,” which commemorates the day that Martin Luther nailed his “95 Theses” on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, in what was then the electorate of Saxony (a part of the Holy Roman Empire) that would later become the nation-state of Germany. The date marks the beginning of the “reformation” of the Catholic Church in 1517 from which all the so-called “Protestant Churches” of the world are descended.
From time to time, I ruminate on the topic of who are the greatest men who ever lived, with key criteria considered being these:
Who had the greatest and most lasting impact on the most people?
Who overcame the greatest adversities to achieve his greatest accomplishments?
And lastly, who literally changed the world?
My latest list is: (1) Jesus Christ, (2) Martin Luther, and (3) Donald John Trump. Allow me to elucidate, as the parallels among these three are considerable.
JESUS CHRIST
Full disclosure: I am a practicing Christian who prays every single day.
Christianity is a matter of belief; in America, that is a personal choice: you either believe or don’t believe. That said, here is a Cliff Notes version from this Christian: the long-promised Messiah was/is the Son of God (God incarnate born to a virgin mother), suffered under Roman governor Pontius Pilate, was crucified and died for the remission of our sins, was resurrected on the Third Day, ascended into Heaven, and promised to return on the Last Day to gather all of His children unto God.
From a practical if not secular perspective, He was/is:
The most recognized name in the world in every century for the least 2,000 years
The most written-about figure in human history
The central figure of the world’s largest religion, which had 2.3 billion adherents around the world as of 2015 (and 78% of Americans as of 2010)
The man who changed more hearts and minds than any figure in human history
His followers ultimately changed and transcended the Roman Empire, the greatest empire of the age, despite relentless brutal persecution and resistance. Christian doctrine informed and guided the evolution of Western civilization and the foundation of the American Republic and the world in which we live today.
MARTIN LUTHER
Full disclosure: I am a Missouri Synod Lutheran and subscriber to wordalone.org.
Martin Luther requires a bit more than a brief summary. After years of studying the Scriptures, excruciating introspection, and even self-torture (for he deemed himself to be an unrighteous man not worthy in the sight of God and frequently whipped himself raw), Luther was touched by the Holy Spirit and divined the core truth that would become the basis of the Protestant Revolution against the Catholic Church of the 16th century: that the only way to salvation of one’s own soul was through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not through self-affliction, earthly penance, or so-called “good works.”
This realization set him at odds with the Catholic Church of his time, which had evolved the collection of indulgences to raise money for the Church by convincing laymen to give money for deceased relatives in order to release them from “purgatory.” As described here, “Purgatory is believed by some as a place for sinners who have God’s grace but need to endure ‘temporal punishment’ for transgressions that did not receive payment during their lives. In other words, if anyone has any leftover sin, this place purges them of it, before they reach the gates of heaven.” An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. In the 16th century, the Church was “compensated” for issuing indulgences. It was a money-making endeavor as much as it ministered to sinners’ needs. Thus, indulgences were a way to purchase an ancestor’s ticket to Heaven, which is directly at odds with Ephesians 2:8, as quoted above.
The Protestant Reformation evolved five tenets, or “Solas,” that were in opposition to the teachings of the 16th Century Catholic Church, which form the basis of all the modern Protestant churches:
Sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone"): The Bible alone is the sole authority for all matters of faith, life, and doctrine.
Sola Fide ("faith alone"): Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Sola Gratia ("grace alone"): Salvation is by the grace of God alone.
Solus Christus ("Christ alone"): Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ because of his atoning sacrifice.
Soli Deo Gloria ("for the glory of God alone"): Salvation is accomplished by God alone, and only for his glory.
In addition to the Five Solas, the Protestant churches that evolved after Reformation Day 1517 also rejected the Catholic Church’s ideas of apostolic succession and papal authority (no cardinals, bishops, archbishops, and the like in a rigid hierarchy). Apostolic succession is the “belief that the 12 apostles passed on their authority to successors, who then passed the apostolic authority on to their successors, continuing throughout the centuries, even unto today.”
A brief list of Luther’s practical achievements:
The founder of the Protestant movement that changed the Body of Christ forever (refer to 1 Corinthians 12:12-14) that involved taking on and defeating the Deep State of his time (the 16th Century Catholic Church)
The leading Christian theologian of his day (and in my mind, of all time, second only to Jesus Christ himself), who popularized the gospel of forgiveness (refer to his written works here)
Popularizer of the notion that the Bible should be published in the language that everyday people spoke, not just Latin (he personally translated the New Testament into German)
A prolific writer of hymns that resonate through the present (“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”), who engaged the people to sing God’s glory, not just priests
Lastly, the Luther-led Reformation laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment, the so-called “Age of Reason” in Europe, and the political concepts of maximum human freedom developed within Western civilization first in England and later as manifested in the US Constitution.
DONALD TRUMP
Full disclosure: I have been a Trump supporter since late 2015 (not initially, but he’s been “growing on me” ever since). Don’t you wish for a change that EVERY political commentator would be forthcoming on their own political leanings??
On 16 June 2015, celebrity billionaire Donald J. Trump walked down the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York and declared his candidacy for the US presidency.
Mocked and scoffed at by virtually the entire political class and assorted political punditry, Trump shocked Washington, DC, and the world by wresting the presidency from the clutches of the quintessential anointed insider Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton in November 2016.
Undermined and resisted from the start by the Clinton campaign (the Russia collusion hoax), the Deep State (FISA-gate), and the Uniparty (two separate impeachments by the Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives on specious charges), Trump nevertheless achieved some amazing accomplishments for an outsider president “not of the political class” with only a few allies in Congress. Among his many successes included the following:
Easily the most-recognized name in the world, bar none. An amazing achievement in and of itself!
A remaking of the ideological makeup of the US Supreme Court with the confirmation of three new conservative judges
A return of the Reaganite policy of peace through strength by rebuilding the US military, strengthening alliances like NATO (no US president had ever gotten commitments from NATO nations to actually deliver on their treaty obligations of 2% for NATO defense!), and revitalizing and stimulating the US economy through tax and regulatory cuts
Peace in the Middle East via the Abraham Accords, ending 20 years of continuous war to the consternation of the US foreign policy establishment (including the delivering on the decades-old promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem)
A booming economy with low inflation, high employment, and high wage growth across all demographic groups, including minorities and women
A rebalancing of trade with China through the implementation of tariffs (and ending the globalist policy of “free trade” that facilitated communist Chinese capture of American industries and manufacturing concerns throughout the Upper Midwest and elsewhere in America)
Implementation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced NAFTA and rebalanced trade on the North American continent
Enforcement of existing US immigration laws and building a portion of The Wall to help stop illegal immigration across the southern US border (causing a major psychological and political shift in focus on dealing with illegal immigration)
A reigning in of a previously bellicose DPRK to the consternation of the US foreign policy establishment
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment has been the exposure of the legacy media for the liars and paid Democrat shills they truly are, the Deep State as the henchmen of the authoritarians in the US political class, and the Democrat Party for the grifters and anti-constitutionalists that they are. The Democrat Party has taken to unprecedented political lawfare to remove him from the political field by indicting, trying, and convicting him in lopsided Democrat-controlled venues (Democrat judges, prosecutors, grand juries, and juries) without due process rights guaranteed by the US Constitution.
President Trump has been impeached (twice), labeled as “Hitler” by the Democrat-media complex (he had the chance during his first term and somehow deferred???), survived three known assassination attempts (that were egged on by continuing violent Democrat rhetoric), soundly defeated all Republican opponents in three successive presidential primaries, successfully governed the nation for four years in stark contrast to the economic/national security/foreign policy chaos of the twelve years of the Obama and Biden-Harris regimes, and is on the threshold of triumphantly returning to the White House on 5 November despite the massive resistance from the Uniparty, Deep State, globalists, foreign governments like communist China, and the infernal legacy media.
The most popular presidential candidate in a generation, Trump’s campaign rallies are enormous, e.g., an estimated 120,000 at the Madison Square Garden rally last weekend. His campaign venues sell out in hours everywhere he goes. Everyone knows what he’ll do if he is restored to the Oval Office. Our adversaries know, too, which is why they are pulling for Harris. There are no secrets! And the world will change for the better when he is back in the Oval Office.
Contrast that with the miniscule turnout for Kamala Harris events, many of which are either held with celebrity concerts and/or attended by paid campaign operatives to fluff the numbers. Her platitudes and pandering are diametrically opposite to the views on issues and policies that she had throughout the Biden-Harris regime. Why on Earth would anyone believe what she promises to do (to the extent that she’s willing to provide even the slightest hint at actual policies that she’d pursue)?
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, and Donald Trump: my top three greatest of all time (GOAT). Each faced incredible adversity and opposition from the secular powers of their eras. Each accomplished achievements that changed the world. Each were/are selfless servants of the people.
Donald Trump has earned his place as number three on my list. Imagine what he could achieve on behalf of us all in a second term?
Prove me wrong.
The end.
Great read, Stu! Yep PDJT is a GOAT. I did not know all of which you wrote about Martin Luther. I too am a practicing Christian. I look forward to Donald J. Trump becoming our President again!