Have you ever heard someone mention they hear God’s voice? In some cases I find it reassuring. In others, I look for an exit. What’s the difference? OK, you might question how I could be reassured when someone speaks simply of hearing God tell or ask them things. I, too, have found a quiet, compelling voice in my mind’s ear displaying greater courage, insight and wisdom than I can claim. Another voice at times would lead me to destructive conclusions or actions. Depending on which I attend to, the difference is stark.

Today brought news of the death of Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, from cancer, at the age of 58. In recent years, the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush emerged as one of a small group of important anti-Trump evangelical Christians, along with his friend and co-author Peter Wehner and the lawyer David French. Gerson’s voice will be missed by many.

The silence from city officials, the police and UI officials seems so baffling since Sunday, Nov. 13. After people were told about the police finding the bodies of four students, it was very quiet until the names were released on Monday. Then, nothing again. It took a while for the police to finally say the four were killed by an “edged” item. Most people have taken that to mean a knife. The coroner said none of the dead were the perpetrator, ending the murder-suicide theories.

In the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 14, the University of Idaho’s Office of the Dean of Students contacted various campus ministries in an effort to provide counseling and other services to over 10,000 UI students, faculty and staff in the wake of a homicide investigation. 

Between 2010-2020 the nondenominational church has expanded by 2 million attendees and 9,000 congregations in the U.S., according to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census, which was released last week. The USRC is released every 10 years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

While the midterm election results seem to show a majority of Americans are tired of his madness and the extremism he both articulates and attracts, the fact is former President Donald Trump could well win the 2024 presidential election.