Armor of Truth: Recent Episodes
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“One can quibble about the dating, but the three periods correspond to what I mentioned above: a generally pro-Christian world; a world somewhat indifferent to the faith; and a period which is mainly hostile to it. He says of the present period: “For the first time in the history of our country, orthodox Christianity is viewed negatively by secular society, especially by its elite domains.”
The whole point then is to ask ourselves: how do we do mission and represent God in such a changed – and changing – situation? How do we be salt and light in this new arrangement? How can we stay true to our Lord in this increasingly hostile environment?” -Bill Muehlenberg
Continue reading: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2024/06/13/whereto-now-living-in-an-anti-christian-west/
The only solution is to Exit The WHO
What’s REALLY happening with the WHO Pandemic Accord / Pandemic Treaty / Pandemic Agreement / IHR Amendments situation?
If we only reform the agreement(s) – this will be even worse. We must EXIT the WHO. Period.
We do not want to “reform” the WHO.We want to EXIT the World Health Organization NOW!DETAILS Here: https://armoroftruth.substack.com/p/hr79-is-what-we-want-now
The Battle Between Theology and Theosophy
VIEW FULL POST + VIDEO ON ARMOR OF TRUTH’S SUBSTACK https://armoroftruth.substack.com/p/the-occult-theosophy-of-the-united?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
“The United Nations is a religious organization, and the religion behind it is a cult. More specifically, it is a theosophical cult based on an “evolutionary” vision for mankind that it wants to control. This fact is revealed in a strange book by late UN big-wig and creator of the World Core Curriculum (Common Core in the United States), Robert Muller, from about 25 years ago titled 2000 Ideas for a Better World, which he published in four volumes in the lead-up to the year 2000 (links below). Muller delivered this book and a summary of the key spiritual points to the UN Secretary-General in March of 1999 in advance of the Millennium Assembly with the hope that it would guide UN global policy and global spirituality in the 21st century and third millennium. He then went on to publish five thousand more ideas. The book is shocking in its contents, and in this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay dives into a rather narrow sample of the troubling ideas contained in the summary document Muller stressed to the UN Secretary-General to set the agenda for our current century. Join him to find out what the UN really is. Muller’s book: Volume I; Volume II; Volume III; Volume IV.”
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They aim to reform the public psyche by permeating every activity in our national lives. Hold fast to the living Word of God for the daily renewal of your mind.
AT A GLANCE
- In January of 2022, the Canadian government enacted bill c-4 which effectively criminalized all Christian preaching, teaching and counseling that upholds Biblical morality for human sexuality
- Martine Rothblatt creates policy for the ‘3rd Sex’ – Transsexual and Transgender Health Law is written in August 1993 How trans CEO Martine Rothblatt transcended reality with the world in tow
- “Synthetic sexes, engineered by the medical tech industry, challenge traditional notions of human reproductive sex, and thereby, what it means to be human. New technologies are commodifying aspects of our sex, such as breasts, breast milk, wombs, cervixes, eggs, sperm, menstruation, and chromosomes. This reduces human reproductive capabilities to commodities fostering a perception of ourselves as mere components within a technological reproductive market. Women’s current linguistic, legal, and social erasure must be seen in this context, as we have the lion’s share of responsibility for reproducing our species. Synthetic sexes are engineered in the medical tech industry, they are not organic. They are not real.” Jennier Bilek
- The (Dis)-Respect For Marriage Act is law (lawfare) that redefines the definition of marriage directly against God’s LawEffective December 13, 2022 – The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; H.R. 8404) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden
- As of August 2022 the government in the Australian state of Victoria has decided to tell you what you can and can’t pray about Prayers banned
- The World Health Organization announced upcoming transgender healthcare See Here and Here They’ve already scheduled a meeting on 19 February 2024 to finalize these guidelines
MEANING OF LAWFARE aka Legal Combat
LAWFARE is strategy to get around the law
Lawfare is “the strategy of using- or misusing- law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve a war fighting objective
Law as a weapon of war” and lawfare as “a method of warfare where law is used as a means of realizing military objective
As asymmetric warfare and grey-zone conflicts become more prevalent, law-fare’s relevance is increasingly heightened
It’s a legal tool as a substitute for conventional military action
LAWFARE can create or RE—interpret (reinterpreting) international law in order to then disadvantage an adversary
LAWFARE is the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or de-legitimize an opponent, or to deter an individuals usage of their legal rights
The term MAY refer to the use of legal systems and principles against an enemy, such as by damaging or de-legitimizing them, wasting their time and money ( SLAP suits) or winning a public relations victory
(Think about what they’ve been doing to Donald Trump, OR- think about what they do to people who they consider to be dissenting voices… they engage this type of protocolLAWFARE
the use of legal action to cause problems for an opponent. Lawfare has become a key aspect of modern war
Seen & Heard in the Australian state of Victoria via The Daily Signal
Government Bans Prayers Talking About an LGBTQ Person’s ‘Need to Repent’
Read the rest of this article on our Armor of Truth Substack, link below:
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION Anglophobia by Harry Richardson & Frank Salter
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SOLI DEO GLORIA!
Interesting opinion piece written by Matthew Littlefield
“It was an era of twilight, but not of absolute darkness.”
One of the most persistent human traits is to assume that how things are now is how they will remain and continue on into the future. You could call this “experience bias”, how people see, perceive and experience the world on a daily basis causes them to assume that what they see, perceive and experience is what will be. That which is outside of their experience does not factor into how they think about the world.
Anyone who has read history, even moderately, knows that this is not the truth. There are some things which remain relatively constant, like the nature of human beings, the dominant relationship between human beings and nature, but even these things will work themselves out very differently in different contexts and under different kinds of pressure. When one reads history we see that there are many stable periods in history where the day to day experience of people does not change all that much, and then there are epoch changing eras where many people’s world is turned on its head in a relatively short time. The Bronze Age collapse, which I have written about previously here and here, is one example. The fall of Rome is another, as is the fall of Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire. The Reformation which sundered Europe, and the discovery of the New World are other examples where people’s lives and the stable orders of society were shattered and forever changed. But there are many other instances in history as well. Sometimes everything just flashes up in a major conflagration and changes the whole world.
I was prompted to think about this again recently, because I made some observations to a friend that though I note often that the Anglo-American Empire is collapsing, I don’t actually look forward to this, because the process of change is likely going to be tumultuous for the world to a degree even these previous epoch changes never reached. The American Empire has had a power and reach beyond anything any previous empire, except maybe Britain, had in the past, and it is in the late stages of its empire, it IS in decline. The decline of the English Empire was one of the major factors in both world wars, a fact forgotten by many, and this destabilized many parts of the world. The collapse of the United States will likely have a similar effect. There is also no guarantee that what you will end up with will be better, at least in the short term. Long term there is a very good chance it will be far superior, but the tumults in between could last for decades, or even centuries in some places, before true order is restored. There is no reason to fear it, either, it just is what it is, the collapse of such dominant powers inherently creates instability in the world.
I was also prompted to delve into this because I am reading an interesting history of France by William Stearns Davis which briefly outlines the collapse of Rome and the impact this had on the nation we today call France, which was previously simply a Province of Rome. In a moment we will look at what he writes. But once we have read that, I want us to reflect on what this may teach us about the collapse of the current world empire. David writes,
“About 375 A.D. the Germanic tribes began to penetrate again into the decadent Empire, and the legions soon proved too feeble to turn them out. But the first barbarian attacks were mainly upon the Balkan lands, and not till about 400 A.D. were the Rhine barriers forced and the “Romans” (as the Gauls now gladly called themselves) trembled at the sight of their burning villages while the invaders drew nigh.
Rome had not been built in a day, Roman Gaul was not conquered in a day. Some parts were quickly overrun by the barbarians; some resisted stoutly; some temporarily expelled the first conquerors; some compounded with the invaders on terms that allowed German and Gallo-Roman to settle down rather comfortably together. It was of course a miserable time, when the old civilization was painfully dying, and when the newer civilization was anything but safely born. The liberal arts seemed sterile or dead, Cities were decaying, if they were not devastated outright by the invader; the magnificent Roman road system, which had covered Gaul like a network of modern railways, was degenerating; commerce and all but the most necessary industries were nigh perishing. The only reliable law was that of the strongest. Alone in the Church and especially in the monks’ and nuns’ cloisters seemed there any sure refuge for peace-loving men and delicate women. Nevertheless, the age of the Germanic invasions was not one of unmitigated destruction and misery. The invaders were well aware that the invaded were their superiors in everything but warfare. The barbarian chiefs were prompt to adopt not merely Roman dresses, table manners, and court ceremonial, but also to make Gallo-Roman noblemen their ministers and officials to control the great population of provincials which the Germans knew how to conquer, but afterward did not know how to govern. Much of the old Roman law survived, along with many features of the old tax system. It was an era of twilight, but not of absolute darkness.
When the Roman Empire of the West finally went under, in 476 A.D., the greater part of Gaul was already in German hands. Since 412 the formidable Visigoths had held sway in nearly all of the south with their capital at Bordeaux. Nearer the Rhine, in the east center, the Burgundians were in control. In the north (quite isolated from Italy, curiously enough) the Roman power was making its last stand, under the “Patrician” Syagrius. The Visigoths and Burgundians had gone through the forms of professing Christianity, but it was of the unorthodox Arian type – hence they were in very bad odor with the native clergy and native population, which were mostly Catholics devoted to the Nicene Creed.
Conditions therefore were anything but static, when a new power began asserting itself in the north and speedily overshadowed all Gaul. The Franks had been a loose confederacy of Germanic tribes on the right bank of the Rhine since the third century. They had occasionally fought against the Romans; more often they had been their well-paid allies and had sent their warriors into the Cæsars’ armies. For a long time they showed no great wish to invade Gaul. Then in the fifth century they gradually followed the example of their fellow Germans and began to spread into what is now the extreme north of France. It was a slow, somewhat hesitant invasion, for the Franks were sadly disunited. Salians, Ripuarians, and other tribes of their confederacy whetted their weapons to fight against one another even more than against Syagrius. They were fierce, untamed warriors in any case – not even Arians, but downright heathen: cruel in customs and very willing to settle all issues by appeal to their “franciskas” – their great battle-axes, which possibly gave them their tribal name. In 481 the chief of the Salian Franks, Hilderic, died, and passed on his stormy authority to his fifteenyear-old son Clovis. A bad man, but a mighty ruler, had thrust himself into history.”[1]
“It was an era of twilight, but not of absolute darkness.” That is a very succinct way to describe the state of civilisation in the era between the collapse of Rome and the consolidation of the Feudal order of the Middle Ages. Civilisation fell hard, but not completely.
One of the reasons it fell hard and not completely was because of the conquerors themselves; sie Deutsch.[2] For much of its history in Western Europe Rome had two main competitors and threats: the Gauls and the Germans. They had others for sure around the Mediterranean, but in western Europe its two main competitors were Celtic Gauls and the Indo-Aryan Germans. The Gauls were soundly defeated by Caesar not long before the birth of Christ, and fully subsumed into Rome and civilized in the Roman way. The Germans were another matter completely. They were never entirely subjugated by Rome as the Gaul’s were. Attempts were made by men like Augustus and Marcus Aurelius, great statesmen for sure, among others, but never were any of Rome’s leaders able to achieve the same with Rome that Caesar did with Gaul.
What is more the relationship between Rome and the Germanic tribes was not just one of alien cultures clashing. For sure German tribes and confederacies battled with Rome and even defeated entire legions, but also many Germanic tribes joined the banner of Rome and fought in her legions. Because of this cross cultural influence went both ways. The Germans learnt to dress like Romans, fight like Romans and enjoy the luxuries of Rome, and the Romans learnt to fill their legions with the men of Germany to help fight against other Germanic tribes. This changed the ethnic makeup of the Roman society. Many Germans reached high ranks in the Roman military and society, able to win their citizenship and privileges through war. As noted above Franks even fought with Caesar himself against the Gauls.
This meant that when the Germans finally subjugated Rome, when Odoacer finally replaced the last Emperor, the child ruler Augustulus, they did not desire to destroy Rome, but rather dominate, to rule it, and to become the masters of that civilisation they had continually warred for and against in their long history of competition. They wanted to become Romans and to enjoy all of the luxuries and advantage of that civilisation, eventually a Germanic King would even be proclaimed ‘The Holy Roman Emperor.’ The problem was, that no matter what they said or thought, they were not Romans and they were not capable of running the civilisation as the Romans themselves had done and they were not keen to give up all their own ethnic practices as well. They instead melded the two, with the strongest influence going to their Germanic culture. You cannot add red to blue without changing the colour of both, and just as surely you cannot add Germanic to Roman without changing the nature of both. The Germans would eventually create a civilisation beyond anything the Romans had ever achieved, at least in advancement if not size, but that would not happen for some time.
In the meantime everything began to break down. The social hierarchy of society was completely changed, Romans became servants of Germanic lords. The roads began to degrade and no one had the knowledge, manpower or finances to fix them, because they had been created by the wealth of a far superior economy than any German society of the era. The Germans may have overcome a mightier and wealthier society than theirs, but they brought it to a lower and baser level than it was under Rome itself. The legions were replaced with tribal warriors. The cities began to disband as they become unliveable. The centralization of Rome was replaced with the highly decentralized society of the Germans, which changed the nature of how civil structures could even work. Only the church maintained its Roman structure and bureaucracy, everywhere else these advanced signs of high civilisation faded and even in the Church they diminished in many areas. The very thing the Germans wanted to become, Roman, or at least enjoy the trappings of Rome, was the very thing they destroyed when they became the masters of Rome. It was called Rome for a reason, Rome was the product of the particular genius of the Roman people themselves and though they functioned for some time with foreigners in their midst, eventually the foreigners multiplied enough to snuff much of that genius out.[3]
Brigandry increased across the former well patrolled provinces of Rome. There was no centralized society that had a monopoly on force to ensure a just order was applied across the land. And the various peoples of Rome began to vie for the power and wealth of the once great people they had desired to become like, alongside also the many different invading peoples which came in from the North, North East, and East, who wanted to carve out parts of the Roman empire for themselves. The Roman collapse did not just impact the provinces of Rome that she had conquered to protect her own flanks, it affected the very heart of Rome itself, and the once great city became an often besieged and conquered city. The marks of high civilisation and order faded away and warlords reigned supreme. It was, as noted above, the error of rule by the strong. In France it was the Franks, the Lombards took over parts of Italy, and various different Germanic tribes, Goths, Visigoth, Vandals, Alans, Saxons etc, carved up the entire empire and mixed with the previous Roman citizens that lived in those places. What was once Roman became almost completely Germanic throughout most of the western Rome empire, and this is still true today. Many of the nations of modern Europe are of largely or entirely Germanic descent.
While history doesn’t exactly repeat, it does rhyme, and I suspect that the American Empire is going to go the same way. From the civil war down till today the American nation has ceased to be a republic ruled by the voluntary union of various mostly Anglo-Saxon citizens and states, but an empire of force that has subdued first the native Americans, then the English, then more native Americans. Many people forget that it was American armies which took lands like parts of California, Texas, New Mexico and other areas from South American nations. It is a land of conquest, as much as Rome ever was, and once it had subjugated much of the North Continent of the Americas it turned its eyes outward to the rest of the world.
The main competitors for America in its lands are the various South American peoples themselves, some of whom are the descendants of the overlords of the Aztecs (the Mexica), others of whom are descended from the various native tribes, of which America conquered and subjugated their lands. And these South American people’s have not disappeared, they are still there, and they have not been lax in taking their land back. Over the last few decades tens of millions of Latin Americans have moved into the United States, just like the Germanic peoples kept moving into Rome. And just like the Germans they have joined the military, the police forces and many other important aspects of society, even achieving high office in various parts of the country, including running in Presidential campaigns.
But just as the Germans in conquering Rome made Rome more German, so too is the influx of Spanish speaking South Americans changing the nature of the United States. Of course, just like Rome it is not just people from one region moving in, people from all over the known world always flock to their centres of Imperial power, and across the United States, at every level of society, you see that America, just like Rome, is becoming a state filled with competing peoples with competing interests. It is no longer the WASPS[4] that dominate all aspects of the halls of power, it is the children of varied and sundry immigrants peoples that do. You have Irish, Italian, Jewish, African, Indian, and other peoples rising to dominant levels in the American Empire. To such an extent that the new catchcry of the United States is that they are “a nation of immigrants.” As if the English settlers who did a Revolution against an English King, who built a western version of Britian in the Americas were no longer a unique people who created a unique society. They are now just one of the many tiles making up the mosaic of the United States, or so it is often asserted. Just as the Romans came to serve the foreigner, so too are the American peoples.
As with Rome, the more German and mixed it got, the less it looked like the Rome of old, so too with the United States, the less governed by the sons of the Revolution, the less it actually looks like the nation that revolution created. Things are still good in some places. But the signs of decay are evident, nay they are manifest. They are no more evident at the border themselves where the American people have lost complete control over their ability to determine who comes into their country. Except maybe in their foreign policy where it is becoming clear to almost everyone that the United States is a slave to foreign interests, especially to those of Israel, but also other nations.
As the US imperial power collapses, what will happen is the force of the US state will be turned both inward, and towards those it can still reach in its own region. But now, instead of being a largely unified majority Anglo-Saxon people with mostly the same Protestant religion, we have a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation, just like Rome, and these different peoples will seek for the state power for their own varied ethnic advantages and interests. We already see this happening with the push for diversity in every aspect of the American nation, this will be exacerbated as the empire collapses and the structures start to come apart. Some of the forms and language of America will be preserved in these declining structures, just as they were in the Germanic conquered Roman societies, but they will lose much of their original meaning and significance.
It is possible a military strongman may be able to take centralized control and the United States will become an open banana republic, as opposed to this being a now poorly kept secret. It maybe even become dominated by an oligarchy of the various tech and industry lords, that is if they can find the mercenaries to police their techno-autocratic society. But I think it is more likely that it will start to break apart. Just as the Romans could not maintain a Roman level of civilisation, so too will America begin to look more and more like the nations its various peoples have emigrated from, particularly Latin America. This is already being observed in parts of the United States, and has been written about widely. The United States will become more Latino, it will begin to look more and more like the South American republics it long interfered with.
The effect this will have on the world will be massive, as the dominant empire finally recedes, but that discussion deserves its own post. The effect this will have on the citizens of the United States will be devastating. Forget civil war, America is not divided down the middle, that is a false construct portrayed by the political elite for political reasons. There will be conflagrations all over the place, as warlords, criminal lords, and the remnants of the state seek to assert dominance as the centralized power weakens. Much like what happened in Rome (which really was an ancient Banana republic before its fall). Here people will flock to the local military garrison where the local colonel has managed to maintain order in some corner of a state. There people will seek refuge under a criminal lord turn petty ruler who has managed to maintain order in a part of their own part of the United States and subdue other criminal gangs. And in some parts of the United States good governance will remain and the people will live in relative peace under the banner of some governor who has maintained a semblance of American society. Exactly what the lines will be is anybody’s guess, and like Europe after the collapse of Rome, they will probably be continually redrawn for some time before they finally settle down. No one could have predicted that the Franks would conquer Gaul, but many would have seen German dominance as inevitable if and when Rome fell.
This sort of event, or series of events, is not something to look forward to. It would be better if there was revival, and repentance on the parts of the American elite, a slow withdrawal of their empire and the gradual move away from the destructive policies of the post 1965 era, so that America could slowly diminish on the world stage and turn inward to heal its fracturing society. That would be better. That would still change the world, but it would be a far better transition. But instead what we see is the United States thrashing in its decline engaging in wars all over the world and we see the American people coming under a less and less pro-American elite. If this trend continues, then I think the collapse is inevitable and it will be a cataclysm the like of which the world has not seen.
Whether it will be an era of twilight and not complete darkness is for us to find out in the future. I suspect civilisation will not only survive but flourish in the Americas, just as it has in Europe and just as it will in the Middle East once western powers stop interfering there. But the transition phase will not be fun for a lot of people. Pray you are in a place of relative peace when the collapse finally comes. The way these things go is very, very slowly and then all at once. It looks like we are seeing them speed up.
List of References
[1] Davis, William Stearns. A History of France from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Versailles (pp. 19-21). Lecturable. Kindle Edition.[2] ‘The Germans’. [3] Eventually this Roman, or Italian genius would flourish again in the Medieval Era and the Renaissance, but this would take some time. [4] White Anglo Saxon ProtestantsAbout The Author
Reverend Matt’s Writings is the place where Matt seeks to address and think through some of the current issues facing the church, society and whatever else comes to mind that might be interesting to process and think about. Matt’s focus is usually historical or scriptural, though he will address current issues from time to time as well. https://younggospelminister.blogspot.com/2024/01/what-collapse-may-look-like.html
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It is easy to forget how the world dominates our thoughts. Every day our eyes are flooded with what seems like endless images of products and possibilities, things to covet and crave.
“Sheol (Death) and Abaddon (Destruction) are never satisfied, So the eyes of man are never satisfied.” – Proverbs 27:20
This tendency to consume with the eyes, to covet and crave, is amplified during the Christmas season. But, most of what we see is an illusion. Historian Daniel Boorstin wrote,
“We risk being the first people in history to have been able to make their illusions so vivid, so persuasive, so ‘realistic’ that they can live in them…our illusions are the very house in which we live; they are our news, our heroes, our adventure, our forms of art, our very experience.”
Entertainment, marketing, and news media have the power to contrive an alternate reality, a pseudo-world that enters through our eyes filled with pseudo-events that mold and shape our minds. We are conditioned to adore and abhor images that have been divorced from substance.
Most of what people accept as reality today is false. American culture has grown disenchanted, ant-intellectual, and carnal because we have lost our standard for truth, beauty, and goodness.
God created us to worship and glorify Him (Isaiah 43:21). He gave us many senses like sight and hearing to experience His creation, to feed on His Word, to commune personally with Him, and to magnify the name of Jesus Christ in the world (1 Peter 2:9).
To magnify Christ in a world constantly drawing our attention elsewhere we must measure everything we see, hear, support, love, and even our habits by the ultimate standard of truth, beauty, and goodness: The Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 10:5).
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” – Colossians 3:1
Practical Christian living is built on the foundation of theological truth, not an illusion. Because we know that Jesus was really born, really lived, and really rose from the dead, our relationship with Him becomes real.
Being “raised with Christ” is a spiritual reality that makes it possible for us to seek the things above because salvation, sanctification, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives us new eyes to see what is true, beautiful, and good.
“Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
– John 3:3
As the Christmas season ramps up, the hustle and bustle of our great illusion demands our attention. Let us daily bring our thoughts, and actions to Christ. Let us kill our sinful passions and wash at the Cross.
Jesus Christ is the author, summation, and object of our faith. To seek the things above is to set your eyes, and heart upon Christ, always. This Christmas (and everyday) let us seek to be like Christ, to be with Christ, to please Christ.
May the Lord bless you richly this season with the gift of everlasting faith in Christ!
– Armor of Truth
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- Johnson played a key role in allowing abortion to go on unchecked and convinced others to do the same.
- Mike Johnson threatened…there will be consequences if you continue to push the bill.
- Johnson and the Pro-Life movement are unmotivated to ban abortion if it interferes with political alliances.
- Johnson is like the rest of the swamp, controlled by lobbyists and power brokers.
By Brad Ward, Director, Armor of Truth
MIKE JOHNSON IS NOT WHO HE SEEMS TO BE
Never before in the history of American Government has The Speaker of The House, who oversees the business of making laws and sits second in line to the Presidency, been removed from his post. Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson was installed as Speaker last month after a faction within the Republican party orchestrated a coup to remove California Republican Kevin McCarthy. Many Conservatives in America are praising Johnson for his “biblical worldview” and see his Bible-based rhetoric as a breath of fresh air in a culture and government where wokeness has finally grown stale.
Is this a signal of a return to biblical Christian ethics and standards in America? Or is there a fly in the ointment?
Mike Johnson is a professing Christian, Southern Baptist by denomination, who has publicly affirmed the traditions and confessions of the Reformers. He has made surprising and refreshing statements such as,
“Biblical morality was washed away with the counterculture in the 1960s.”1
“One of the primary purposes of the law in civil government is to restrain evil. We have to acknowledge collectively that man is inherently evil and needs to be restrained.”2
“[Abortion] is truly an American holocaust…Planned Parenthood set up their clinics in inner cities. They regard these people as easy prey. I mean, it’s true.”3
To Christian ears, this is a sweet sound coming from the halls of government for a change. Johnson is certainly educated in the faith and has demonstrated that he knows the difference between sound doctrine and error. He knows what idolatry is and clearly understands God’s design for government, which makes his more recent moves perplexing.
While Johnson speaks a strong fundamental game, his behind-the-scenes actions reveal disturbing inconsistencies.
HB (House Bill) 813 was the bill to provide equal protection in the State of Louisiana. Pastors Jeff Durbin and Brian Gunter worked on the bill for months with experts and legislators to ensure it was legally sound, and written in a way that representatives, and Pro-Life activists would support. The bill passed the hearing stage and made it to the floor for a final vote. It was a historic moment. But at the eleventh hour, the bill was killed. It will be a surprise to many that it was leaders in the Pro-life movement, many of whom had supported the bill for months, who killed the bill.
As Pastor Brain Gunter states in the video linked below,
“[Mike Johnson] was the single most influential person who killed HB 813 in Louisiana. He, more than anyone else, is responsible for the fact that abortion was not abolished in Louisiana, and therefore [more] babies are dying now in Louisiana than before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Mike [Johnson] could have helped us put a stop to that. Instead, he fought to prevent the abolition of abortion in Louisiana, that’s the truth. For years I considered him a friend and worked with him, but he’s wrong on this6.”
WATCH: AoT Live: 276 Mike Johnson Turns Pro-Choice: Lying Leaders Loyal To Lobbies5 https://www.youtube.com/live/ZajqpFys_NQ?si=4udJuS4RrexWxnmR
One of the men most responsible for the demise of equal protection in Louisiana was the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson.
Equal protection is a legal concept that says everyone has a right to life, and that we are responsible for advocating for the rights of those who cannot advocate for themselves. In other words, a preborn baby has the same right to life as a legal person under the law. Therefore, ending the life of a preborn baby by “elective termination” is murder and the law requires justice for it. Likewise, equal protection seeks to hold accountable the mothers who choose and the doctors who perform “elective termination.”
Pastor Gunter explains that on the day the bill was killed, Mike Johnson warned in a phone call that there would be consequences for anyone who continued to press the issue. Johnson had issued his longtime friend and Christian brother a veiled threat, but the implication was clear. Mike Johnson fully intended to communicate to Pastor Gunter and his colleagues that they would pay a heavy cost if they continued to push this bill. Mike Johnson warned Pastor Gunter specifically that his ministry would be harmed if he disobeyed the order. That probably meant that a coordinated effort or smear campaign would be run to turn supporters away from Pastor Gunter’s ministry.
Johnson’s own sudden reversal to oppose the bill he once championed and the harsh treatment of his longtime friend and colleague revealed something more. Mike Johnson is not clean. He, like the rest of the swamp, is controlled by men and money who place political alliances, personal aspirations, and their positions of authority above the law of God, and above the common good.
“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live…” (Deuteronomy 16:19-20).
Does Mike Johnson really believe the words he speaks publicly? Does he stand with God against evil? The evidence shows that Mike Johnson will compromise on essential doctrines of Christianity and obscure the truth when it is politically or personally expedient. Johnson apparently does not believe that a fetus, or a preborn baby, is a human being worthy of equal protection. In fact, it has come to light in this case that the Pro-Life movement as a whole does the same thing. After all, it was the Pro-Life movement, with Mike Johnson running the point, that shut down the Louisiana bill that would have ended abortion on demand and secured the rights of preborn children in Louisiana. That is a fact. It must be widely shared. Speaker of The House Mike Johnson and the Pro-Life movement are unmotivated to end abortion on demand when it interferes with their political aspirations and personal goals.
Pastor Gunter said,
“Despite whatever he might say about consequences to my career…there is a God in heaven who requires Justice for these children and no man should be able to tell us that that we should disobey what scripture so plainly requires because it’ll help more Republicans stay in power. What good are Republicans if once they’re in power, they get there, and they’re not going to do the very thing that they told their donors, voters, and Pro-Life supporters that they were going to do, which is to fight to end abortion and to give justice to these preborn children. If they’re not actually going to do what they say they’re going to do when they run for office then why should they remain in office? No. I want them to do the right thing, to give Justice to these children…and leave the results in the hands of God.”
HE KNOWS BETTER
Vain ideas and expressions about God are common in American culture. Everyone has idols, and the Christian is not immune. It’s the most common sin we share. In one sense, idolatry can be described as vanity, placing ultimate faith or confidence in oneself. In another sense, idolatry is the denial of God, especially when it would be inconvenient or damaging to one’s status or reputation within the world system, or in this case, within the American corporate lobbyist governmental complex.
When an elected official willfully obscures the truth of God’s word to preserve his reputation, he commits the sin of idolatry by placing his reputation above Christ’s. Mike Johnson has demonstrated that he knows this.
“Therefore, to one who knows to do the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
There are many ways to deny God: the proud deny His power; unbelievers deny His providence; liars deny His truth; the unrepentant deny His justice and wrath. We deny God before the world when we profess to know Him but then deny Him in our actions. Every Christian has opportunities to stand with God against evil simply in the way we live our lives, how we treat others, and what we tolerate or support. American culture today exemplifies rebellion in its valuation of personal freedom and expressive individualism4 as the highest good and its denigration of God’s word and law as oppressive.
An official in the American government has uniquely grand opportunities to stand with God and champion truth. But when he shrinks from the opportunity by obscuring God’s truth behind expedient political rhetoric or delays justice when he has it to give, he openly denies God by seeking first the glory of man.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
There must be justice when any human being has been murdered. God’s law requires it and Scripture commands those in positions of authority who have the power, must give justice fairly and it should not be delayed.
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3:27).
Scripture has shown us what is good and righteous and what the Lord requires of us.
“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).
Anyone can make a profession of faith, but a profession is made true or false by the fruits it produces. Faith is expressed not in words spoken, but in deeds; not in tongue, but in heart; not in opinion, but in life. The duty of the humble believer is to observe the precepts of Christ and copy his example: to do justice, to love mercy, to beware of covetousness, and to be ready for every good work.
“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3).
Sanctification is an exercise in discernment, to love God with all our hearts and minds, to think and discern truth from error, and to war against vain thoughts about God. Stand with Christ against evil is to declare war on your culture’s favorite idols.
CALL TO ACTION: TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
Over the years, Christianity in America has become more American than Christian. The true Christian faith is declining in America. We’re not winning our own culture. But our goal is not to change America. Only the sovereign Creator and Sustainer can do that. God will use America for His purposes:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
America could see a revival of the pure Christian faith or continue to erode and drift further into confusion. Only God knows. But, instead of shaking our fists at the world, we need to address the deep spiritual needs of the world and the church and show people the reason for our hope, peace, and strength: The true Jesus Christ. That’s what being a “living sacrifice” is all about (Romans 12:2).
Our prayer is that the exposure of Mike Johnson’s behind-the-scenes deeds and the dealings of the Pro-Life movement to stop abortion legislation in Louisiana will serve to hold them accountable and call them to repentance, and to motivate everyone to be consistent, honorable, and to stand with Christ even when it is inconvenient or personally costly.
The truth of the matter is this: at worst, Mike Johnson isn’t really who he claims to be, at best, he is a Christian who stumbled when he realized the true cost of standing with Christ against an evil generation.
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:36-38).
A young and wealthy ruler met Christ one day, and he asked the Lord, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The ruler reported to Jesus that he had always kept the commandments from the time of his youth. Jesus responded to the ruler, saying, “There is one thing you still don’t have. Leave behind your possessions, give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.” For the young rich ruler, the cost was too high, the sacrifice too heavy because he loved his massive wealth and power more than anything, even life itself. The rich young ruler was an idolator, much like the political officials of our day.
Jesus said to the ruler, “How hard it is for wealthy people to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” taking full advantage of the opportunity to teach his disciples, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more at this time and in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:18-30).
Sadly, Mike Johnson played a key role in allowing abortion to go on unchecked and convinced others to do the same.
THE CITY OF MAN OR THE CITY OF GOD
When Jesus began His ministry, the people were in darkness, in the shadow of death, but light has come into the world, a new day has dawned, and Jesus preached to them,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:16-17).
There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Antichrist; as Augustine wrote, the City of God and the City of Man. The ruler of the City of Man is the same one who led the rebellion against God’s command in Genesis 9:1 to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” It was the spirit of Antichrist who said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower that reaches into heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11). He is the enemy of humanity, standing in opposition to the truth, and he is a murderer and the father of lies.
You will know them by their fruits. Rather than build up, they destroy. Rather than bring life, they bring death. The citizens and soldiers of the City of Man carry out the desires of their master: steal, kill, destroy, and obscure the truth with lies, and a false sense of justice. The heart of every person wants God’s glory, just like Lucifer.
But, the Ruler of the City of God is King Jesus the Merciful. He lives, He is Lord, and King Jesus invites the citizens and soldiers of The City of Man, even the enemies of God from the kingdom of antichrist who have denied, blasphemed, and committed high treason against God, to come into His kingdom to find rest and receive a full pardon.
The leaders in Judea wanted to kill Jesus. But, on the last day of the Feast of Booths, when the city was at its busiest, with the religious leaders and many of the citizens wanting Him dead, Jesus went out into the streets and called out to the crowds,
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).
Jesus offers those who repent and follow Him, the gift of God; to be cleansed of their sins and receive a full pardon from the eternal and just wrath of God. But that’s not all! Jesus also offers, even to His enemies, an inheritance of everlasting life, to rest in Christ forever, and to be sons of God. He is a king worthy of devotion, a Savior worthy of worship. Jesus Christ is worthy of whatever the cost: status, power, wealth, comfort, and even persecution. The truth of salvation in Christ alone is worth dying for, as has been required of some. In the words of Martin Luther’s great hymn, A Mighty Fortress,
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever!7
Continue reading the full article on our free Substack account. https://armoroftruth.substack.com/p/speaker-mike-johnson-fought-to-prevent?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
“For a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism brings inevitable judgement.” —The New Scofield Study Bible
Note: view other important sources linked at the end of this article*
By Maidhc Ó Cathail
Since it was first published in 1909, the Scofield Reference Bible has made uncompromising Zionists out of tens of millions of Americans. When John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said that “50 million evangelical bible-believing Christians unite with five million American Jews standing together on behalf of Israel,” it was the Scofield Bible that he was talking about.
Although the Scofield Reference Bible contains the text of the King James Authorized Version, it is not the traditional Protestant bible but Cyrus I. Scofield’s annotated commentary that is problematic. More than any other factor, it is Scofield’s notes that have induced generations of American evangelicals to believe that God demands their uncritical support for the modern State of Israel.
BLESSING ISRAEL, CURSING ITS CRITICSCentral to Christian Zionist belief is Scofield’s commentary (italicized below) on Genesis 12:3: “‘I will bless them that bless thee.’ In fulfillment closely related to the next clause, ‘And curse him that curseth thee.’ Wonderfully fulfilled in the history of the dispersion. It has invariably fared ill with the people who have persecuted the Jew—well with those who have protected him. The future will still more remarkably prove this principle.”
Drawing on Scofield’s rather tendentious interpretation, Hagee claims, “The man or nation that lifts a voice or hand against Israel invites the wrath of God.”
But as Stephen Sizer points out in his definitive critique, Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon? (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More): “The promise, when referring to Abraham’s descendants, speaks of God blessing them, not of entire nations ‘blessing’ the Hebrew nation, still less the contemporary and secular State of Israel.”
Notwithstanding this more orthodox reading, The New Scofield Study Bible, published by Oxford University Press in 1984, intensified Scofield’s interpretation by adding, “For a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism brings inevitable judgement.”
“Sustained by a dubious exegesis of selective biblical texts,” Sizer concludes, “Christian Zionism’s particular reading of history and contemporary events…sets Israel and the Jewish people apart from other peoples in the Middle East…it justifies the endemic racism intrinsic to Zionism, exacerbates tensions between Jews and Palestinians and undermines attempts to find a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all because ‘the Bible tells them so.’”
THE INCREDIBLE SCOFIELDIn his 2008 book, The Rise of Israel: A History of a Revolutionary State, Jonathan R. Adelman describes the crucial support Israel receives from Christian fundamentalists as “totally fortuitous.” That assertion is belied, however, by the incredible career of the man who wrote “the Bible of Fundamentalism.”
Two years after Scofield’s reported conversion to Christianity in 1879, the Atchison Patriot was less than impressed. Describing the former Atchison resident as the “late lawyer, politician and shyster generally,” the article went on to recount a few of Scofield’s “many malicious acts.” These included a series of forgeries in St. Louis, for which he was sentenced to six months in jail.
Being a “born again” preacher did not preclude Scofield from becoming a member of an exclusive New York men’s club in 1901, either. In his devastating biography, The Incredible Scofield and His Book, Joseph M. Canfield suggests, “The admission of Scofield to the Lotus Club, which could not have been sought by Scofield, strengthens the suspicion that has cropped up before, that someone was directing the career of C.I. Scofield.”
That someone, Canfield suspects, was associated with one of the club’s committee members, the Wall Street lawyer Samuel Untermeyer. As Canfield intimates, Scofield’s theology was “most helpful in getting Fundamentalist Christians to back the international interest in one of Untermeyer’s pet projects—the Zionist Movement.”
Others have been even more explicit about the nature of Scofield’s service to the Zionist agenda. In “Unjust War Theory: Christian Zionism and the Road to Jerusalem,” Prof. David W. Lutz writes, “Untermeyer used Scofield, a Kansas City lawyer with no formal training in theology, to inject Zionist ideas into American Protestantism. Untermeyer and other wealthy and influential Zionists whom he introduced to Scofield promoted and funded the latter’s career, including travel in Europe.”
On one of these European trips, Oxford University Press publisher Henry Frowde “expressed immediate interest” in Scofield’s project. According to a biography of Frowde, although the OUP publisher was “[n]ot demonstrative in his religious views, all his Christian life he was associated with brethren known as ‘Exclusive.’” The “Exclusive Brethren” refers to the group of Christian evangelicals that, in an 1848 split in the Plymouth Brethren, followed John Nelson Darby, the Anglo-Irish missionary generally considered to have been the most influential figure in the development of Christian Zionism, and a major influence on Scofield.
SCOFIELD’S LEGACYHad the Scofield Bible never been published, American presidents influenced by Christian Zionism such as Truman, Johnson, Reagan and George W. Bush might have been less sympathetic to Israeli demands, and consequently more attentive to U.S. interests. Moreover, the American people could have been spared the pseudo-Christian rants of John Hagee, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell, not to mention the lucrative End Times Rapture “prophecy” peddled by Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye.
But it is the people of the Middle East who have been most affected by an expansionist Israel emboldened by the unswerving allegiance of Christian Zionists led to believe that Scofield’s words are God’s will. Not least among the many victims of the Scofield Bible are 5 million Palestinian refugees whose right to return is fervently opposed by America’s Zionized Christians. Thanks to their indoctrination by Scofield’s unholy book, they believe that Palestine belongs not to the Palestinians—many of whom are fellow Christians—but exclusively to “God’s chosen people.”
Maidhc Ó Cathail writes extensively on U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East. He is also the creator and editor of The Passionate Attachment blog, which focuses primarily on the U.S.-Israeli relationship. https://www.wrmea.org/2015-october/the-scofield-bible-the-book-that-made-zionists-of-americas-evangelical-christians.html
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Dispensationalism in America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvnMTDW25S4&t=0s
Are Christians part of Israel? I have briefly addressed this on my blog and on other online posts, but some people are still struggling with the concept that Christians are part of Israel. So let me come at this from another angle.
Some Christians say that they are the ones who interpret the Bible literally, and because Israel is a literal flesh and blood people that inhabited the land of promise, we have to limit the name of Israel to this nation, it cannot apply to the Church. This Israel was a real nation God brought out of Egypt.
Hosea the prophet tells us: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1).
Here the prophet is talking about a literal event: the nation of Israel being called out of Egypt. We call this the Exodus, and it is the central salvation event of the Old Testament. Yet the Apostle Matthew applies it this way,
“13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son”.Matthew 2:13-15
Matthew says this passage in Hosea is a prophecy about Jesus, the Son of God. It is still a literal event, Jesus literally came out of Egypt, but it shows Israel is not just a nation, Jesus himself is the true Israel, the true Son of the Father. So already we see from this passage that Israel is more than just a literal nation.
Now consider this, when we are saved from our sins and become Christians we become co-heirs of Christ, and are adopted as sons of God,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”.Romans 8:14-17
Let me say it again, at salvation, we become full-fledged sons of God. Paul says sons in verse 14, because this is a biblical (and ancient) terminology meaning we get all the rights and privileges of an heir. To be made a son is to be made an important heir, like the Son himself. What an amazing and incredible gift from God. We don’t deserve this, we did not earn it, it is a free gift to all who believe in the name of Jesus Christ.
This means Christ is also our brother through adoption. We read in Hebrews,
“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise’.Hebrews 2:10-12
We are adopted into the family of God, we are made full-fledged members of his family, and Christ is our brother through that adoption. Now remember, he is an Israelite, so we are therefore adopted into Israel. To be the brother of an Israelite is to be an Israelite. To be in Christ is to be in Israel. This is the privilege of every Christian, no matter where they come from.
This is not a work of the flesh, but of the Spirit who through grace makes us co-heirs and brothers of Jesus plus also members of Israel. And because we are members of Israel, we are also heirs of all the promises to Israel which are claimed by the Son, Jesus Christ, the true Israel.
I hope this is helpful for people. I also hope this excites you, because such is the great mercy of God that he would take Gentiles, who were far from him, and make those of us who believe in him full co-heirs with the Son of God. Wow!!! This is an incredible privilege and gift and no one has the right to tell you that you do not have this privilege, just because you don’t have the right genes or parents.
What this also shows us is that Replenishment theology is the correct position on God’s people. To illustrate this, God’s people are likened to branches on a tree throughout scripture. God doesn’t replace the tree, but he also does not let the dead branches remain in the tree. He cuts out the dead branches and grafts in new branches. All based on faith,
“15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned”. John 15:1-7
“17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root[c] of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you”. Romans 11:17-22
These passages teach precisely the same important truth, that the tree is a firm foundation and branches must be in the tree and have faith and bear fruit to remain in the tree. If not they will be cut out.
Replacement theology (a term coined in the 1980s) is a slur that some Christians use to criticize those who teach in line with the scriptures that the Church is Israel. Those who use this term misunderstand the historic position of the church. The historic position of the church is that the tree = Israel. Christ is the true Israel. All who are in Christ are in Israel. Branches that do not bear the fruit of faith are cut out, and branches that bear fruit are grafted in. The tree is always preserved.
Our heavenly Father is called the vinedresser or gardener for that reason. He prunes the vine, he trims the tree, replenishing it continually. Good gardeners do this.
So, if you believe in Jesus rejoice and again I say rejoice. For your salvation is an incredible gift and privilege. God makes us his heirs of promise, he makes us co-heirs with Jesus, the true Israel and he grafts all who believe into the people of God, Israel. Let no one tell you otherwise. This is a great privilege, but also a great responsibility.
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About The Author
Reverend Matthew Littlefield is the pastor of New Beith Baptist Church. He is an ordained Minister in the Baptist Union of Queensland. Matthew has a Masters in Theology.
“We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. FBI is tending in that direction.”—Harry Truman
With every passing day, the United States government borrows yet another leaf from Nazi Germany’s playbook: Secret police. Secret courts. Secret government agencies. Surveillance. Censorship. Intimidation. Harassment. Torture. Brutality. Widespread corruption. Entrapment. Indoctrination. Indefinite detention.
These are not tactics used by constitutional republics, where the rule of law and the rights of the citizenry reign supreme. Rather, they are the hallmarks of authoritarian regimes, where secret police control the populace through intimidation, fear and official lawlessness on the part of government agents.
That authoritarian danger is now posed by the FBI, whose love affair with totalitarianism began long ago. Indeed, according to the New York Times, the U.S. government so admired the Nazi regime that following the second World War, it secretly and aggressively recruited at least a thousand Nazis, including some of Hitler’s highest henchmen as part of Operation Paperclip. American taxpayers have been paying to keep these ex-Nazis on the U.S. government’s payroll ever since.
If the government’s covert, taxpayer-funded employment of Nazis after World War II weren’t bad enough, U.S. government agencies—the FBI, CIA and the military—adopted many of the Third Reich’s well-honed policing tactics, and have used them against American citizens.
Indeed, the FBI’s laundry list of crimes against the American people includes surveillance, disinformation, blackmail, entrapment, intimidation tactics, harassment and indoctrination, governmental overreach, abuse, misconduct, trespassing, enabling criminal activity, and damaging private property, and that’s just based on what we know.
Compare the FBI’s far-reaching powers to surveil, detain, interrogate, investigate, prosecute, punish, police and generally act as a law unto themselves—powers that have grown since 9/11, transforming the FBI into a mammoth federal policing and surveillance agency that largely operates as a power unto itself, beyond the reach of established laws, court rulings and legislative mandates—to its Nazi counterparts, the Gestapo—and then try to convince yourself that the United States is not a totalitarian police state.
Just like the Gestapo, the FBI has vast resources, vast investigatory powers, and vast discretion to determine who is an enemy of the state.
Today, the FBI employs more than 35,000 individuals and operates more than 56 field offices in major cities across the U.S., as well as 400 resident agencies in smaller towns, and more than 50 international offices. In addition to their “data campus,” which houses more than 96 million sets of fingerprints from across the United States and elsewhere, the FBI has also built a vast repository of “profiles of tens of thousands of Americans and legal residents who are not accused of any crime. What they have done is appear to be acting suspiciously to a town sheriff, a traffic cop or even a neighbor.” The FBI’s burgeoning databases on Americans are not only being added to and used by local police agencies, but are also being made available to employers for real-time background checks.
All of this is made possible by the agency’s nearly unlimited resources (President Biden’s budget projections allocate $10.8 billion for the FBI), the government’s vast arsenal of technology, the interconnectedness of government intelligence agencies, and information sharing through fusion centers—data collecting intelligence agencies spread throughout the country that constantly monitor communications (including those of American citizens), everything from internet activity and web searches to text messages, phone calls and emails.
Much like the Gestapo spied on mail and phone calls, FBI agents have carte blanche access to the citizenry’s most personal information.
Working through the U.S. Post Office, the FBI has access to every piece of mail that passes through the postal system: more than 160 billion pieces are scanned and recorded annually. Moreover, the agency’s National Security Letters, one of the many illicit powers authorized by the USA Patriot Act, allows the FBI to secretly demand that banks, phone companies, and other businesses provide them with customer information and not disclose those demands to the customer. An internal audit of the agency found that the FBI practice of issuing tens of thousands of NSLs every year for sensitive information such as phone and financial records, often in non-emergency cases, is riddled with widespread constitutional violations.
Much like the Gestapo’s sophisticated surveillance programs, the FBI’s spying capabilities can delve into Americans’ most intimate details (and allow local police to do so, as well).
In addition to technology (which is shared with police agencies) that allows them to listen in on phone calls, read emails and text messages, and monitor web activities, the FBI’s surveillance boasts an invasive collection of spy tools ranging from Stingray devices that can track the location of cell phones to Triggerfish devices which allow agents to eavesdrop on phone calls. In one case, the FBI actually managed to remotely reprogram a “suspect’s” wireless internet card so that it would send “real-time cell-site location data to Verizon, which forwarded the data to the FBI.” Law enforcement agencies are also using social media tracking software to monitor Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. Moreover, secret FBI rules also allow agents to spy on journalists without significant judicial oversight.
Much like the Gestapo’s ability to profile based on race and religion, and its assumption of guilt by association, the FBI’s approach to pre-crime allows it to profile Americans based on a broad range of characteristics including race and religion.
The agency’s biometric database has grown to massive proportions, the largest in the world, encompassing everything from fingerprints, palm, face and iris scans to DNA, and is being increasingly shared between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to target potential criminals long before they ever commit a crime. This is what’s known as pre-crime. Yet it’s not just your actions that will get you in trouble. In many cases, it’s also who you know—even minimally—and where your sympathies lie that could land you on a government watch list. Moreover, as the Intercept reports, despite anti-profiling prohibitions, the bureau “claims considerable latitude to use race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion in deciding which people and communities to investigate.”
Much like the Gestapo’s power to render anyone an enemy of the state, the FBI has the power to label anyone a domestic terrorist.
As part of the government’s so-called ongoing war on terror, the nation’s de facto secret police force has begun using the terms “anti-government,” “extremist” and “terrorist” interchangeably. Moreover, the government continues to add to its growing list of characteristics that can be used to identify an individual (especially anyone who disagrees with the government) as a potential domestic terrorist. For instance, you might be a domestic terrorist in the eyes of the FBI (and its network of snitches) if you:
- express libertarian philosophies (statements, bumper stickers)
- exhibit Second Amendment-oriented views (NRA or gun club membership)
- read survivalist literature, including apocalyptic fictional books
- show signs of self-sufficiency (stockpiling food, ammo, hand tools, medical supplies)
- fear an economic collapse
- buy gold and barter items
- subscribe to religious views concerning the book of Revelation
- voice fears about Big Brother or big government
- expound about constitutional rights and civil liberties
- believe in a New World Order conspiracy
Much like the Gestapo infiltrated communities in order to spy on the German citizenry, the FBI routinely infiltrates political and religious groups, as well as businesses.
As Cora Currier writes for the Intercept: “Using loopholes it has kept secret for years, the FBI can in certain circumstances bypass its own rules in order to send undercover agents or informants into political and religious organizations, as well as schools, clubs, and businesses…” The FBI has even been paying Geek Squad technicians at Best Buy to spy on customers’ computers without a warrant.
Just as the Gestapo united and militarized Germany’s police forces into a national police force, America’s police forces have largely been federalized and turned into a national police force.
In addition to government programs that provide the nation’s police forces with military equipment and training, the FBI also operates a National Academy that trains thousands of police chiefs every year and indoctrinates them into an agency mindset that advocates the use of surveillance technology and information sharing between local, state, federal, and international agencies.
Just as the Gestapo’s secret files on political leaders were used to intimidate and coerce, the FBI’s files on anyone suspected of “anti-government” sentiment have been similarly abused.
As countless documents make clear, the FBI has no qualms about using its extensive powers in order to blackmail politicians, spy on celebrities and high-ranking government officials, and intimidate and attempt to discredit dissidents of all stripes. For example, not only did the FBI follow Martin Luther King Jr. and bug his phones and hotel rooms, but agents also sent him anonymous letters urging him to commit suicide and pressured a Massachusetts college into dropping King as its commencement speaker.
Just as the Gestapo carried out entrapment operations, the FBI has become a master in the art of entrapment.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks the FBI has not only targeted vulnerable individuals but has also lured or blackmailed them into fake terror plots while actually equipping them with the organization, money, weapons and motivation to carry out the plots—entrapment—and then jailing or deporting them for their so-called terrorist plotting.
This is what the FBI characterizes as “forward leaning—preventative—prosecutions.” In addition to creating certain crimes in order to then “solve” them, the FBI also gives certain informants permission to break the law, “including everything from buying and selling illegal drugs to bribing government officials and plotting robberies,” in exchange for their cooperation on other fronts.
USA Today estimates that FBI agents have authorized criminals to engage in as many as 15 crimes a day. Some of these informants are getting paid astronomical sums: one particularly unsavory fellow, later arrested for attempting to run over a police officer, was actually paid $85,000 for his help laying the trap for an entrapment scheme.
When and if a true history of the FBI is ever written, it will not only track the rise of the American police state but it will also chart the decline of freedom in America, in much the same way that the empowerment of Germany’s secret police tracked with the rise of the Nazi regime.
How did the Gestapo become the terror of the Third Reich?
It did so by creating a sophisticated surveillance and law enforcement system that relied for its success on the cooperation of the military, the police, the intelligence community, neighborhood watchdogs, government workers for the post office and railroads, ordinary civil servants, and a nation of snitches inclined to report “rumors, deviant behavior, or even just loose talk.”
In other words, ordinary citizens working with government agents helped create the monster that became Nazi Germany. Writing for the New York Times, Barry Ewen paints a particularly chilling portrait of how an entire nation becomes complicit in its own downfall by looking the other way:
In what may be his most provocative statement, [author Eric A.] Johnson says that ‘‘most Germans may not even have realized until very late in the war, if ever, that they were living in a vile dictatorship.’’ This is not to say that they were unaware of the Holocaust; Johnson demonstrates that millions of Germans must have known at least some of the truth. But, he concludes, ‘‘a tacit Faustian bargain was struck between the regime and the citizenry.’’ The government looked the other way when petty crimes were being committed. Ordinary Germans looked the other way when Jews were being rounded up and murdered; they abetted one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century not through active collaboration but through passivity, denial and indifference.
Much like the German people, “we the people” have become passive, polarized, gullible, easily manipulated, and lacking in critical thinking skills. Distracted by entertainment spectacles, politics and screen devices, we too are complicit, silent partners in creating a police state similar to the terror practiced by former regimes.
Had the government tried to ram such a state of affairs down our throats suddenly, it might have had a rebellion on its hands. Instead, the American people have been given the boiling frog treatment, immersed in water that slowly is heated up—degree by degree—so that they’ve fail to notice that they’re being trapped and cooked and killed.
“We the people” are in hot water now.
The Constitution doesn’t stand a chance against a federalized, globalized standing army of government henchmen protected by legislative, judicial and executive branches that are all on the same side, no matter what political views they subscribe to: suffice it to say, they are not on our side or the side of freedom.
From Presidents Clinton to Bush, then Obama to Trump and now Biden, it’s as if we’ve been caught in a time loop, forced to re-live the same thing over and over again: the same assaults on our freedoms, the same disregard for the rule of law, the same subservience to the Deep State, and the same corrupt, self-serving government that exists only to amass power, enrich its shareholders and ensure its continued domination.
Can the Fourth Reich happen here?
As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, it’s already happening right under our noses.
By John & Nisha Whitehead
August 22, 2022
WC: 2233
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEADConstitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
An individual can access their own records held by federal agencies as well as citizens have a fundamental right to scrutinize their government’s activities.
They can spin it however they want, but when the elites call for a “financial shock” they are really calling for a dramatic throttling of the system so that it can no longer maintain the existing populace. When they call for global taxation and tribute in the name of “equality” they are not trying to make everyone equally rich, they want everyone equally poor. And when they call for the centralized oversight of nations for the sake of saving the planet, what they really want is global governance.
"a literal pact with the devil at the highest reaches of the technocracy, but at the same time a mechanism whereby the larger system remains defiantly bland and normal-seeming, and only a crazy person would ever think there’s anything hidden at the heart."
In following the way of the psalmist, we can learn the art of lament so that we, too, can cry out to God in the midst of our pain.
Meet the eyebrow-raising convocation of powerbrokers—collectively known as “Davos Man,” a term coined by political theorist Samuel Huntington—to rival any international assembly.
There are today countless theories of a global plot to undermine once flourishing Christian nations and establish in their place a tyrannical, one-world government.
Through the forces of compelled multiculturalism, mass immigration, aggressive de-Christianization, and the degradation of biblical morals, our nations currently bear little resemblance to the world our grandparents once knew. And only few might imagine we’re better off for it.
Theories on exactly who is behind this destabilizing effort largely differ. But whether or not the decline of the West can be attributed to a far-reaching conspiracy, one undeniable truth remains: it is ultimately all in vain.
Though it may seem as though success and power are on their side, it is crucial to bear in mind that God’s greatest victories often bore an appearance of defeat. The crucifixion of Jesus stands as the most prominent illustration of this truth.
From the outside, it appeared as though the enemies of our Lord had achieved a decisive victory. Yet, in truth, their imagined win served as their own undoing.
If this is true of the most heinous crime ever perpetrated by mankind, then it must be true of every other evil. As Joseph learned, the wicked might mean evil against us, but God means it for good, every time (Gen. 50:20; cf. Rom. 8:28).
This truth ought to have a radical impact on our perspective. It should change the way we view the world, and the evil so often perpetrated throughout.
Is there any hope? Are the “good guys” losing ground? Is King Jesus forfeiting his authority to the earthly powers that are so blatantly hostile to the advancement of his kingdom through the Gospel?
In his brilliant work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, R.J. Rushdoony aptly notes that the power of evil is weak and limited. Evil is under God’s control. It is His scourge of the nations.
As such, evil conspiracies can normally only occupy a vacuum, and therefore, we ought not to attribute to them the power and glory that belongs to God alone. To do otherwise, Rushdoony says, is to advocate “satanic determination.”
What is “satanic determination”? Rushdoony explains:
“To deny the sovereign power of conspiracies is one of the surest ways of antagonizing many of the people, who will then argue with religious passion for the sovereign, predestination power of Satan. They will insist that every national and international act is a carefully planned and manipulated conspiracy, all governed by a master plan or plot, and a secret master council.”
Of course, that’s not to deny the existence of sinister plotters. History is riddled with individuals and groups of people who sought world domination and inflicted horrific injustices in their efforts to obtain it. What it is to say, however, is that those intentions are ultimately futile.
Rushdoony continues:
“That the plotters and plans exist, and are many, can be granted, but the Christian must hold to their futility. They rage in vain; they ‘imagine a vain thing’ when they plot together against the Lord and His anointed (Ps. 2:1, 2).”
According to Rushdoony, to blame the world’s evil, and to ascribe the world’s government, to hidden satanic conspiracies is to be guilty of “false witness against God.” This is because it “denies that God only is the source of prediction and ascribes power and prediction to Satan instead.”
It is at this point, he argues, that the true conservative is put to the test: “Does he believe in the existence, plan, and power of the conspirators, call them what you will?”
If the answer is yes, then he is guilty of ascribing to conspiracies a power, discipline, and government of the past, present, and future which is not theirs to possess.
“The Biblical position involves not only an affirmation of man’s essential responsibility, but it also declares that God alone is the almighty one, and He alone predestines and governs all things.”
As the Proverb states: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will” (Pro. 21:1). It is God who directs the hearts of rulers and authorities, so that ultimately, we are at God’s mercy – not theirs.
Rushdoony continues:
“Today, many so-called Christian conservatives not only spend their time studying the work of Satan but become angry if you question the omnipotence of Satan. They insist that every step of our world history is now in the hands of satanic manipulators who use men as puppets.
“To deny this is to be classed as some kind of heretic; this practical meaning of this position is Satan worship. But St. John tells us that, at the supreme moment of Satan’s conspiracy, when Christ’s death was decreed, the secret purpose of God was being most fulfilled (John 11:47-53).
Yes, we know the nations rage, and we witness the peoples plot in vain. The Psalmist tells us as much in Psalm 2. What’s more, we know the kings and rulers of the earth conspire together to set themselves against King Jesus. But what we also must remember is that their conspiring is so futile, so vain, that God responds to it with laughter (v.4).
We may feel the temptation to fear when our future appears outside of our own control, but we must remind ourselves of the One who holds our future in his hands. Not the power-grabbing conspirators of our day. Not our politicians or powerful elites with delusions of grandeur about world domination.
As Rushdoony put it: “It is always God who reigns, never Satan. Any other faith is a false witness and an especially evil one.”
Author : Ben Davis, Founder of Caldron Pool | CaldronPool.com
Below is the May 2022 IHR version we should reject. Only 6 months remain in the 18 month period to REJECT the amendments that WERE ADOPTED LAST YEAR. Every nation has the right to REJECT them, but action must be taken before late November, 2023. WAKE UP WORLD! Why is an updated version of the 307 proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations NOT available?
*Note: When viewing PDF, to advance to the next page, use the arrows at the bottom of the viewer.
WGIHR_Compilation-en
An unedited draft of the “Bureau’s Text” version of the proposed “Pandemic Treaty” has been made available.
IHR_May2023-1
Primary source documents speak to the TRANS human movement within the military. You decide.
Optogenetic musculoskeletal control systems
ONE:
THE SOLDIER-CYBORG TRANSFORMATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES OF FUTURE WARFARE https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA346285.pdf
TWO:
Cyborg Soldier 2050: Human/Machine Fusion and the Implications for the Future of the DOD https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61910a2d98732d54b73ef8fc/t/646508311fe85635dfd07272/1684342834508/Cyborg+Soldier+2050+DoD.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
DoD Biotechnologies for Health and Human Performance Council
- ocular enhancements to imaging, sight, and situational awareness;
- restoration and programmed muscular control through an optogenetic bodysuit sensor web;
- auditory enhancement for communication and protection; and
- direct neural enhancement of the human brain for two-way data transfer.
ADDITIONAL POINT OF INTEREST TO NOTE RE: MULTINATIONAL COOPERATION: (see website below)
The Serendipity Collective is clearly the brain child of the DoD (Navy) https://serendipity-co.com
**NOTE https://serendipity-co.com/shortlist/
Operation of official U.S. Navy Web site: https://www.nre.navy.mil/organization/onr-global/about-onr-global
SPRIN-D The Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation https://www.sprind.org/en/
There are many, many narratives surrounding the global pandemic treaty and who is ultimately behind it. Keep that in mind as you read the various viewpoints and speculation. We recommend spending time reading about this topic to know what’s ahead. Many people have no idea this is coming. To put things further in perspective, note that the BRICS nations formulation is not happening organically as they would have you believe. Having been a consumer insights and research director in my former corporate life, in the early 2000s I remember seeing multiple insider reports that BRICS would rise as a super power just as it is now. This is a planned transfer of power and wealth. It’s been in the works for years, and the nations that are touted as enemies are actually really friends in business behind closed doors ~ with the common aim to bring about centralized control.
Stay in prayer. God is in control.
– Summer
VARIOUS REPORTS | ARTICLES TO CHECK OUT:
‘One Health’ — The Global Takeover of Everything – Pandemic Treaty https://bit.ly/3NPVKmv
Why the U.S. Should Oppose the New Draft WHO Pandemic Treaty https://bit.ly/3p4lcKB
The Global Pandemic Treaty Is A Threat To Us All https://bit.ly/3AKTSUe
WHO: The Most Dangerous Global Treaty Ever Proposed https://bit.ly/3HyCBBc
New WHO Amendments Creating a Global Regime in the Name of Health https://bit.ly/3LMcE3R
END OF AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY: Biden Regime Negotiates “Legally Binding” Deal To Give Chinese-Backed World Health Organization Full Authority Over US Pandemic Policies – No Senate Approval Needed
https://bit.ly/3AOJ9rW
Russia is complicit in the Great Reset https://bit.ly/40XsFsa
Putin & Xi’s Moscow agreements https://bit.ly/42igFlT
“The parties [Russia + China] will deepen cooperation in the field of healthcare, expand ties in the field of scientific research and higher medical education … [and] strengthen the relevant work within the framework of such multilateral platforms as WHO, BRICS, SCO, G20, APEC.”
“The Parties reaffirm their readiness to resolutely defend the international system in which the UN plays a central role, the world order based on international law and the fundamental norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; oppose all forms of hegemony, unilateral approaches and power politics, cold war thinking, bloc confrontation and the creation of narrow formats directed against certain countries.”
“The Parties support building an open world economy, uphold the multilateral trading system, in which the World Trade Organization plays a central role…”
“The Russian Side positively assesses the Global Development Initiative and will continue to participate in the work of the Group of Friends in support of it. The Parties will continue to encourage the international community to focus on development issues and increase their contribution to it, will jointly contribute to the success of the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring the early implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
We all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us one and the same Son, the self-same perfect in Godhead, the self-same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man . . . acknowledged in two natures, unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably . . . the properties of each nature being preserved.
So wrote the church fathers in the Definition of Chalcedon in AD 451. But even if they spoke “unanimously,” their doctrine of Christ sounds so complex. Does it really matter?
Given the sacrifices they made to describe Christ rightly, one can imagine that if these Christians were present at a group Bible study on Philippians 2:5-11, they might well say to us, “From what we have heard, it never mattered more.”
Imagine the discussion on “Though he was in the form of God . . . emptied himself” (Phil. 2:6-7, RSV). Says one: “It means Jesus became a man for a time and then went back to being God afterwards.” “No,” says another, “He only emptied himself of His divine attributes and then He took them up again.” “Surely,” says another (not pausing to reflect on the miracles of Moses, Elijah, or the Apostles), “He mixed humanity with His deity—isn’t that how He was able to do miracles?”
Does it really matter if those views are wrong, indeed heretical, so long as we know that Jesus saves and we witness to others about Him? After all, the important thing is that we preach the gospel.
But that is precisely the point—Jesus Christ Himself is the gospel. Like loose threads in a tapestry—pull on any of these views, and the entire gospel will unravel. If the Christ we trust and preach is not qualified to save us, we have a false Christ…
CONTINUE READING: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/does-christology-really-matter
About the author | Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow, vice-chairman of Ligonier Ministries, and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is featured teacher for several Ligonier teaching series, including Union with Christ. He is author of many books, including The Whole Christ, Maturity, and Devoted to God’s Church. Dr. Ferguson is also host of the podcast Things Unseen.
Watch this very key interview now: https://youtu.be/G5sgbeLQLS4
Whitney Webb, a writer and researcher, sheds light on who the people at the top are that are pulling the strings and setting policies that push us into a digital prison. She goes in depth about the intelligence community, the banking system and more. The conversation covers a variety of intriguing topics, including the distraction of culture wars, how the banking crises are being used to push us into a system of control, and how everything leads us to the exact same place.
More investigative journalism by Whitney: https://unlimitedhangout.com/author/whitney-webb/
Share this video far and wide to keep your loved ones in the know.
God is in control. Grace and peace.
“We are in the middle of a world-changing war. This is no ordinary war, however. Most of the victims of this warfare aren’t even able to identify it as war, nor do they understand that they are combatants in it. It’s called fifth-generation warfare.”
Read the full report: https://www.corbettreport.com/5thgen/
Murder of Cash App creator, cryptocurrency executive Bob Lee, along with July launch of FedNow℠ instant digital payment system marks clear acceleration towards The Great Reset goal of U.S. CBDC
The COVID Blog® writes a lot about the global financial system because The Great Reset has three distinct, yet connected phases:
- 1) mass vaccination and subsequent global genocide,
- 2) transhumanism via vaccine software installation for what remains of humanity, and
- 3) a global digital currency tied to a social credit system.
China already has all three in place. The United States, Europe and the rest of “the West” have the first two steps running like a well-oiled machine. But without a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that is accepted either voluntarily or by coercion (similar to the lethal injections) by the masses, social credit and The Great Reset cannot happen.
Nearly everything in this world will be “virtual” by 2030. The powers-that-be (“TPTB”) will control your every move, thought and desire from a central server. The European Union is on the verge of eliminating physical driver’s licenses, in favor of digital QR code licenses. These digital ID’s are part of the greater global strategy for “zero-trust” internet access.
The Pentagon announced in late 2022 its plan to launch a program that only allows people with digital ID to access government websites and networks. But ultimately this will apply to everyone remaining on the planet. No digital ID, no internet access at all by 2030.
The World Economic Forum, in a video it said demonstrates “virtual justice with real consequences,” shows a court hearing in Colombia held completely in the “metaverse.”
ALSO READ: 5 reasons to believe the global population is already one billion people less than it was in January 2020 https://bit.ly/3UW2pgl
ISO 20022The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the nongovernmental organization (NGO) created in 1946, right after World War II. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO creates universal standards for manufacturing and services that all member countries follow. For instance, there are international standards for Phillips, straight-edge, Allen, etc. screws so all the same methods and tools are used from country-to-country in manufacturing processes.
ISO 20022 (pronounced eye-SO twenty-zero-two-two) is the most recent messaging standard/format for interbank secure communications. It replaced ISO 15022, which was launched in 1995. ISO 20022 was first introduced in 2004. But it took the plandemic and the threat of cryptocurrency usurping the fiat (paper) monetary system to implement the new standards.
The Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the registration authority for ISO 20022 – essentially the police of bank and financial institution communications. Universal ISO 20022 implementation allows for more automation, security and monopoly in international banking.
Note that SWIFT is controlled by the G10 central banks, with the Federal Reserve having the most influence of them all (although the SWIFT website says the National Bank of Belgium is in charge).
Countries and financial institutions could voluntarily follow ISO 20022 standards until November 2022, when it became mandatory among all the major registration authorities. The “coexistence period” started at that time for many large banks, and will span until November 2025. Financial institutions around the world can use both ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 for cross-border payments and reporting (CBPR+), until ISO 15022 is completely eliminated in November 2025.
Delays in implementation due to so-called COVID-19The Federal Reserve announced the commencement of its phased migration to ISO 20022 and expansion of its FedWire® service on October 18, 2017.
FedWire® is the transfer system between governments, corporations and big banks. For instance, when Joe Biden sends another few billion dollars to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, it will be via FedWire® from the U.S. Treasury to a commercial bank account held by the National Bank of Ukraine. The migration was originally set to begin in November 2020 and be completed by November 2023.
The Fed abruptly announced on September 23, 2019 that it was indefinitely postponing the planned November 2020 commencement of ISO 20022 migration due to “a recent industry request.” In layman’s terms, the Fed, just like all of TPTB knew they were executing the plandemic in 2020, and had to take a wait-and-see approach with ISO 20022 migration.
SWIFT announced on March 16, 2020 (the same day as the infamous “15 days to slow the spread” announcement) that it was delaying ISO 20022 implementation from its original November 2021 commencement date to November 2022. Despite the delay, SWIFT published an ISO 20022 promotional video via YouTube on June 29, 2020.
A world of coincidencesWe’re all learning about The Great Reset and the implementation thereof in real-time. That said, flashback three weeks to our March 28, 2023 article linked below. It’s a long, heavy read, that you should take the time to complete.
RELATED: A look back on geopolitical currency wars, as bank collapses, artificial inflation of Bitcoin are latest signs of imminent conversion from “petrodollars” to digital currency (CBDC) (March 28, 2023)We wrote in that article:
The New York Federal Reserve announced on November 15, 2022 that it launched a proof-of-concept program called the “Regulated Liability Network.” The 12-week project aims to “explore the feasibility of an interoperable network of central bank wholesale digital money and commercial bank digital money operating on a shared multi-entity distributed ledger.”
Wells Fargo, Mastercard, Citi, U.S. Bank, and several other financial institutions are participating in the program. Amazon is hosting the project. It’s unclear when the project commenced or if it’s already done.
Coincidentally or otherwise, this “regulated liability network” commenced at the exact same the Fed and SWIFT commenced their ISO 20022 migration. In more coincidences, the Fed also implemented the aforementioned expansions of the FedWire® Fund Service on November 21, 2022.
The coincidences didn’t stop there. All of those mysterious deaths of crypto millionaires and billionaires started on October 28, 2022 until five of them were dead globally by December 30, 2022. The FTX collapse happened on November 10, 2022, and founder Sam Bankman-Fried was federally indicted on December 10, 2022.
The FedNow℠ Cash App-like instant payment service, and death of Cash App founderThe earliest, inconspicuously-public mention of the FedNow℠ 24/7/365 digital payment system we could find is dated January 25, 2021. That’s around the same time mRNA and viral vector DNA injections were mass distributed around the world.
The Fed quietly announced a pilot program of “more than 110 financial institutions and processors [that] will test and trial the FedNow℠ Service for instant payments.” But the Fed actually announced the creation of FedNow℠ (even more quietly) in the Federal Register on August 9, 2019. The pilot participants were all U.S.-based banks, payment processors and financial institutions “to facilitate nationwide reach of instant payment services.”
We didn’t hear much else about FedNow℠ until last summer. The Fed announced that 120 financial institutions were already participating in the pilot program which functionally sounded eerily similar to Cash App (except FedNow℠ will charge $0.045 per transaction and a $25 per month “participation fee” starting in 2024).Note that Biden signed Executive Order 14067 on March 9, 2022, calling for the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Essentially anyone with a participating bank account, including merchants, could send money to anyone else with a participating bank account (or make purchases at stores, online, etc.) 24/7/365. It moves the U.S. closer than ever to being a cashless society.
The Fed clarified, on September 2, 2022 that FedNow℠ would definitely launch sometime between May and July 2023. The final announcement came on March 15, 2023; FedNow℠ will launch in July. It wasn’t until the foregoing announcement that mainstream media and bloggers even started talking about FedNow℠.
RELATED: Executive Order 14067 update: will paper currency really end in the U.S. on December 13, 2022, and be replaced by government-controlled cryptocurrency?(August 23, 2022)It quickly became clear that FedNow℠ is a Cash App-like platform that is the first major step to full implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S. TPTB and their legacy/social media amplified a few mass shootings in late March, and Donald Trump’s arraignment in New York, to deflect attention away from FedNow℠ and CBDCs (note there were 21 mass shooting from March 15 to 31 – a slow two weeks in America).
The FedNow℠ story likely would have died completely. But yet another [non]coincidence injected (no pun intended) more life into it.
Brutal murder of Cash App founder Bob LeeBob Lee was the former Chief Technology Officer of Square, Inc. (now called Block, Inc.). The company, which for all intents and purposes is a “too big to fail” bank, was founded in 2009 by former Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, and billionaire Jim McKelvey. The latter not only sits on the Board of Directors for Square, Inc. today, but is also the Chairman of the St. Louis Federal Reserve.
Mr. Lee created Square Cash, which became Cash App, while he was CTO at Block. He was also the chief product officer for MobileCoin, the company that developed the eponymous cryptocurrency. MobileCoin made waives and drew criticism when it was integrated into the Signal messaging app to facilitate peer-to-peer MobileCoin payments in 2021. Note that Cash App added its features of buying and selling Bitcoin at the beginning of 2018.
Mr. Lee, 43, was stabbed to death in San Francisco in the early morning hours of April 4. The Daily Mail first obtained surveillance video of Mr. Lee staggering towards a passerby in a car begging for help in the Rincon Hill area of the city. Mr. Lee, according to the San Francisco Standard, was also on the phone with 911 the whole time, telling the dispatcher that “someone stabbed me.”
Mr. Lee stumbled out of view, where police found him lying on the ground, in a pool of blood around 2:40 a.m.
He was rushed to nearby San Francisco General Hospital, but pronounced dead upon arrival. He had three stab wounds from a kitchen knife, one of which penetrated his heart.
The initial social media reaction was centered around the forthcoming FedNow℠ launch and the fact that Mr. Lee created Cash App, which again appears to be the inspiration (or an exact functional copy) for FedNow℠. But this is the United States, and tribal politics was inevitable.
Mixed Martial Arts fighter Jake Shields was a close friend of Mr. Lee. Shields confirmed the victim as Mr. Lee hours after the initial reports. He quickly blamed, without presenting any evidence, a random killer in “filthy, Democrat” San Francisco.
But then the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office charged 38-year-old Nima Momeni with one count of murder by using a dangerous weapon on April 13. Mr. Lee, judging from court documents filed on Friday, was somehow involved with Momeni’s sister, Khazar Elyassnia. Mr. Lee and Mr. Momeni were also friends or at least acquaintances.
Mrs. Elyassnia is married to a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon. But their marriage is/was apparently on the rocks, according to the court documents. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Elyassnia had drinks at her apartment the afternoon of the alleged murder. Momeni apparently did not approve of the rendezvous, and allegedly stabbed Mr. Lee later that night.
Despite the arrest, many right wing media outlets and Shields doubled down on their tribal “it’s San Francisco Democrats’ fault” position. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson apologized on the air for amplifying falsehoods. But he still indirectly blamed Democratic San Francisco for the murder.
It’s just too easy for TPTBThe Great Reset officially commenced on September 11, 2001. Granted TPTB and their depopulation agenda dates back to 1969. But they transitioned from “New World Order” to “Great Reset” once they fully understood the power of global monopolized mass media, the worldwide web, and how a fear-inducing trigger event turns the already-gullible masses into willing slaves.
Again, there are three phases of The Great Reset: depopulation, transhumanism, and CBDCs. We’ve already discussed this week how it’s very likely the global population has already been reduced from 7.8 billion in January 2020 to 6.8 billion today. The vaccine genocide, food supply manipulation and artificial weather manipulation have combined to get depopulation off to a fast start.
TPTB are well on their way to the stated goal of 500 million humans left on Earth by 2030. The remaining population will be connected to the real-life transhumanist matrix, and fully controlled by social credit scores.
We posited previous that it would take until at least the beginning of 2024 and perhaps until 2027 for TPTB to fully implement universal, global CBDCs, the final stage of complete human control. Once obedience is fully enforceable by socially-engineered fear and monetary exploitation, then The Great Reset is complete.
CONTINUE READING ARTICLE & VIEW INCLUDED VIDS, ETC https://thecovidblog.com/2023/04/18/murder-of-cash-app-creator-cryptocurrency-executive-bob-lee-along-with-july-launch-of-fednow℠-instant-digital-payment-system-marks-clear-acceleration-towards-the-great-reset-goal-of-u-s-cbd/
SOURCE:::
TheCOVIDBlog.com
April 18, 2023
“The end result of feminism is inevitably big government, because, in reality, all the women did with woman’s suffrage was replace their husbands with the state…”
“And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.” Isaiah 4:1
I implore the young women, don’t fall for the feminist propaganda that you don’t need a man and that you can prioritize career over children. I implore you, don’t fall for that path, for such a choice can lead you to a fate that will be too cruel for many of you to bear in your old age.
As the – INCREDIBLY – progressive ABC notes:
“While Dr Hamilton’s research showed that single women without children had higher personal incomes than mothers, “the advantages of not having children are overshadowed by the disadvantages of being single”.
Renting presents big challenges, too. For example, women in Dr Hamilton’s study reported that “real estate agents telling them that a dual income applicant was a more secure option for the landlord than a person on a single income”.
Dr Hamilton’s research also revealed anxiety among older single women about what would happen when their own health and aged care needs arose.
“Because they didn’t have a spouse or children of their own, they expressed a very strong fear about growing older and not knowing who’d be there to support them in the future,” she says.
“Many were very worried that they would be forced to move into a residential aged care setting before they were ready.”
This article also notes that there is a “singlehood penalty” for older women and it is right to do so. Singlehood brings with it a host of disadvantages in this life. This is because God created man and woman to live together in marriage. Two are better than one after all because you will need someone to lean on and to rely on from time to time.
This is why when a priest takes a vow of celibacy he is in some sense wed to the church and is supported and provided for by the Church, because he will not be able to look after himself in old age, he has the brotherhood of priests to rely on. This is why nuns live in convents, not alone, so they do not have to face the lonely consequences of taking vows of chastity, they are surrounded by an adopted family of sisters.
If you live alone it will eventually bring you to a place where you will find that life becomes too much. Eventually, we all need to lean on somebody else. So even orders that take a vow of chastity make allowances for support.
Note also that single older women become the responsibility of society, well at least in our modern welfare society they do. They become a burden of care for the community. No one likes the idea of leaving an old woman to suffer alone without help, and therefore society will to some degree step in and try to help.
Paul told the church to look after the single older women in the church. But he told the younger women and widows to marry and have children. Children are a wealth beyond income, a support beyond government and charity, and a gift beyond any promotion or career achievement. And the women who bought the second-wave feminist lie are finding this out now the hard way.
But we should note that many of these women are reaping the fruit of their decisions in life, but so too is the rest of society. The end result of feminism is inevitably big government, because in reality all the women did with woman’s suffrage was replace their husbands with the state (this was implicit in much of their rhetoric of the day as well).
They changed who their ultimate husband was, they replaced Bob with Bureaucracy, they replaced Steve with the State, they replaced Joe with government jobs.
Whether or not someone agrees with universal suffrage, the end result is still the ultimate empowerment of the state over everyone’s lives in a way that the founders of the West could never have imagined. Because it creates a vast dependency class the like of which has probably not been seen ever before in history.
Now, like the patriarch it is, the government is being called on to look after women in their old age, women who refused to heed the Lord’s advice to secure a man, make a family and make this their top priority. And how can society say no to this? Most people will feel a deep sense of pity for these women, even the radical feminists who refused to listen and make a life with a man work.[1] We will know that their choices led to this, but most people will still feel the need to solve it.
I also know there are some women who have tried to get a husband or make a marriage work and failed, and I feel for them, and the church should seek to help them. But this is bigger than just those women, a lot of these women made choices to pursue the single life, not really taking into account that we all get old, and we all need to lean on someone else eventually. Best that it is your children, not the state and others.
It is cruel that our society propagandizes women to pursue a career over childrearing. It is cruel that our society uses the first 17-20 years of a young woman’s life to train them to deny what God created them to be: wives and mothers once they reach maturity. There are countless women working moderately paid government jobs, or teaching jobs, or nursing jobs, or reception jobs, who are kicking themselves that they put that before a family, again and again, until it was too late. They live in regret of that decision throughout their lives, especially in old age.
Old women, teach the younger women to keep the home and love their husbands (Titus 2:3-5). This is Paul’s advice and it is advice that will add a wealth to your life no amount of money can achieve. If you are still young enough to find a husband and have children, make this choice now before it is too late. You still have time to avoid the fate of these women.
[1] If you are not swayed by sympathy for such women, I understand this, I would simply note that Jesus had sympathy for repentant women who knew their mistakes, like the woman caught in adultery, or the Canaanite woman. But leaving that aside, even if you are not swayed in any way, remember that all of society was ground to a halt with the rhetoric: “Do you want my grandma to die?” in 2020. I was blown away by how this made people fold, but it did, and it will again with this issue.About the author:
Matthew Littlefield
Reverend Matthew Littlefield is the pastor of New Beith Baptist Church. He is an ordained Minister in the Baptist Union of Queensland. Matthew has a Masters in Theology.
Source link: https://caldronpool.com/old-feminists-are-reaping-their-reward/
Diversity and Inclusion are Corporate Speak for Homogenization and Totalitarianism
“Inclusivity is more than a social cause; it’s a business opportunity. It’s time to maximize your business growth.”
– DMI Consulting
Let me get this out of the way because it seems more than a few people still need to hear this.
CORPORATIONS DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!
“Diversity and inclusion ”(D&I) comprise a new business mantra. Programs and language based on the normalization of body dissociation are being corporately cultivated worldwide. The programs being instituted appeal to our emotions, to entice us to believe that companies care about people and want to create one big happy, diverse work-family, which includes marginalized sectors of society – most notably, those who imagine they have a sex that is not male or female. The overlooked are finally being given a place at the table!
Or are they?
The new, new liberal left in America, the left that has emerged out of a traditional new left, which cared about the working class, blacks, and women’s rights, who yearned for a more equal and just social order, is unrecognizable to many of us who’ve long been of the traditional left. Just a decade ago, that left sparked a potentially revolutionary movement on Wall street, calling out the financial industry and the monopolies ruining our lives and our planet. Emerging out of the carcass of that potentially revolutionary movement is a left that has recently climbed into bed with those same big banks. Snuggled up in bed with them, fluffing their pillows, are Big Pharma and Big Tech. The new left is screaming at protests, getting comprehensive media coverage, voices in our universities and institutions, and crying that people claiming their sex is not male or female need human rights. These manufactured sexes are being supported by, promoted, and advertised by Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Big Banking. This new, unrecognizable left sees no irony at all in their behavior.
These purported new sexes, ostensibly requiring special human rights, depend on a narrative that sexual dimorphism isn’t real, that it exists on a spectrum of sexes. This is the gender industry, and with projected profit margins reaching into the billions by 2026 for surgeries on healthy sex organs alone and the amount of advertising curated to sell it, it will be very profitable indeed.
How has the left been so duped about new markets being manifested out of sex that they scream liberation every time someone dares to mention the glaring inconsistency of human rights for corporate profiting off of young adults and children’s bodies?
The left knows corporations do not care about the color of our skin, whether we are oppressed because of the said color of our skin, whether we live in an igloo or a cardboard box, whether the icebergs are melting, or whether Fukushima nuclear plant is planning to dump millions of tons of radioactive waste into the oceans, later this year, externalizing the cost of doing business. How do they not understand that corporations do not care about anybody’s identity? Unless those identities are opening markets.
The constant business-woke-posing (D&I), for Black Lives Matter (BLM), the LGBT Inc, and the often corporate mixing of both under the “Black Trans Lives Matter” slogan is about profit. Every little advertising slogan and word is carefully selected to appeal to an ever-increasing fragmentation of humanity into subcategories to be marketed to. It is all about the corporate bottom line. If they can convince us that the disembodiment movement of “gender identity” is akin to the civil rights movement for black Americans or has anything to do with LGBs, they’ve roped us into their narrative of care. Further, if they can convince more black Americans of their insane narrative of disembodiment-as-progress, it supports the illusion they are selling to all of us. Fortunately, that isn’t going well so far. Despite their efforts to corral black youth and the relentless corporate propaganda aimed at them, black youth are not crying about their “gender identities” or clamoring for cross-sex hormones.
The left knows corporations don’t care. The working class knows this. It’s why the Occupy Wall Street movement evolved so quickly. I was there, a decade ago, at ground zero, with 40,000 people from every walk of life, as we traversed the Brooklyn Bridge in protest of the financial sector’s chokehold on us. These same people are waving flags in traditional, baby-colored, pink, blue, and white, screaming about human emancipation through medical identities. Many sew themselves to the techno-medical complex for life.
Read the rest of the article https://jbilek.substack.com/p/corporatism-the-new-new-left-and
About the author:
Jennifer Bilek Jennifer is an artist, activist, and investigative journalist. Her journalism has been featured in Tablet Magazine, First Things, and The Post Millennial.
“Is it any wonder we’ve lost the art of political debate? We don’t debate ideas anymore because they’re not considered ‘ideas’ anymore. Every contrary idea is an imminent threat to life and liberty. At least, that’s what the naïve and unstable have been groomed to believe, and yet so few have considered the implications of equating disagreement with murderous hatred.”
In recent years, much has been said about the rising threat of right-wing fascism. The mainstream media has tirelessly warned about the danger the straight white Christian male poses to society. Social media companies have ramped up their efforts to crack down on the new “extremism,” formerly known as “conservatism,” and otherwise known as your grandmother’s politics.
But in the absence of right-wing violence that matches their alarmism, left-wing commentators and politicians have had to invent new, ever-increasing threats, such as “hate speech.” If they can’t convince people that certain words are “violence” in need of silencing, then they’ll simply suggest conservative Christians will probably inspire violence someday, so it’s best to nip such dangerous rhetoric in the bud today.
What’s never acknowledged, however, is the real threat when it comes to dangerous political rhetoric. The sort of rhetoric that ends up hurting people on all sides by inciting some and demonising others. Take, for instance, people who identify as LGBTQ. No one has gone to greater lengths to make LGBTQ people feel more marginalised, despised, hated, and alone, than those politicians and elites claiming to champion their cause.
They’re groomed to believe that danger is around every corner. They’re told everybody, not an “ally” is naturally an “enemy.” That dangerous “right-wing Christians” are coming for them. That their very lives are in danger from anyone who doesn’t affirm their ideology.
Three days ago, Cenk Uygur urged trans Americans to “get guns,” because he is worried that “right wing lunatics are going to attack them.” pic.twitter.com/8JueCqaqwc— Caldron Pool (@CaldronPool) March 28, 2023
This is because the dark side of politics doesn’t advance by rational debate but through the exploitation of the mentally malleable and the emotional manipulation of the masses. If they want the people to war against their political opponents, they must first convince the people that their opponents are waging war on them, and if not on them, then at least on some “vulnerable” or “oppressed” segment of society in desperate need of your defence. Enter the LGBTQ community.
Everybody wants to buy the dejected puppy in the window that nobody wants to buy. Herein lies the power of perpetual victimhood. We tend to root for the underdog. As long as the cause is carried out in the name of the weak and the vulnerable, it will garner public sympathy, which will eventuate into public support. Use the victim of the day as a cloak for your policy, and the people will back it. It gives them a momentary sense of virtue, but many rarely think beyond that moment.
Do you want to dismantle the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure,” as is the stated goal of Black Lives Matter? You do so by presenting it as a danger to every alternative until it is redefined to include every alternative. And once it’s broad enough to mean everything, it’s not narrow enough to mean anything. In this case, “same-sex marriage” isn’t the end in itself, but merely a means to that stated end. The Marxists at BLM don’t want to make gay couples more like the nuclear family, they want to “disrupt the nuclear family.” And to do so, they must exploit the LGBTQ community for that purpose.
But shouldn’t we take a moment to also consider what impact this might have on people who are already convinced that they are victims, that they are hated, and that they don’t belong anywhere? Those who exploit the so-called “oppressed” for political gain, are doing them no favours in continually insisting that any and all political, ideological, and religious difference stems from complete and utter hatred. That is, after all, exactly what they’re being groomed to believe.
It’s often suggested that if Christians don’t abandon their deepest-held convictions, it is only due to a murderous contempt for everyone who is different. That is why the debate surrounding same-sex marriage is often depicted, not as two conflicting worldviews, but as opposing emotions, as love versus hate. There is the “progressive cause,” and then there’s hate. That’s it. There are no other options. Your pastor either affirms you or he hates you. As such, the supposed champions of the LGBTQ cause insist that if your lifestyle is not condoned, it is because you are hated. And you better watch out, because if these people who ascribe to the Bible get their way, they’ll probably take away all your rights, or worse!
Almost prophetically, just last week, Tucker Carlson covered NPR’s fawning coverage of armed Trans groups like “Rainbow Reload”:
“We’re as for guns as you could possibly be, but this seems like an incitement” pic.twitter.com/0DIx7PUrkG
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 27, 2023
For years, this threatening portrayal of Christianity has been further solidified in the public mind through film and television. Cult-like villainous Christians who use the Bible to justify the mistreatment of others is a popular storyline. It was only this month that actor Rainn Wilson admitted Hollywood had an anti-Christian bias. The Office actor said anti-Christian themes are so prevalent in the entertainment industry that whenever a character invokes the Bible, it’s almost immediately assumed that we’re being introduced to a “horrific villain.”
The message that is relentlessly broadcast to those outside of the Christian faith is that your believing father, friend, or neighbour would have you dead but for the lack of legal opportunity. It’s a simple but effective tactic: adopt a position contrary to your political opponents, then convince all those who hold to that position that everyone opposed to you poses a clear and present danger. It is pure exploitation for political purposes. It’s how they divide a people in order to conquer those people.
If they oppose abortion, they hate women and want them dead. If they oppose same-sex marriage, they hate gays and want them dead. If they oppose irreversible gender surgery for children, they hate kids and want them dead. If they don’t want men in women’s bathrooms, they hate transgender people and want them dead.
If a nation divided is easy to rule, then simply equate disagreement with hatred. And voilà! The enemy becomes father, friend, and neighbour. And if hatred is what inspires violence, then anyone who disagrees is a potential threat, a potential terrorist, a potential gunman. And you’re not going to just sit there and let them kill you, right?
Is it any wonder we’ve lost the art of political debate? We don’t debate ideas anymore because they’re not considered “ideas” anymore. Every contrary idea is an imminent threat to life and liberty. At least, that’s what the naïve and unstable have been groomed to believe, and yet so few have considered the implications of equating disagreement with murderous hatred.
When a different opinion is continually portrayed as a threat to life and liberty, evil people, vulnerable people, and unstable people will fight against that different opinion as though their life and liberty depended on it.
It’s incitement, and it is this distorted mindset that cultivates a militant opposition to diversity of thought. It is this distorted mindset that inspires a group of militant activists to violently protest a peaceful gathering about women’s rights. It is this distorted mindset that leads a transgender protester to think repeatedly punching an elderly woman in the face is justifiable. It is this distorted mindset that inspires transgender activists to plan a “Trans Day of Vengeance.” It is this distorted mindset that inspires a transgender person to storm her former Christian school and gun down six Christians, including three children. It is this distorted mindset that prompts people to respond to that horrific massacre by saying, “hate has consequences.” And that’s just this week!
But where will it end? Is there even an end in sight? It wasn’t always like this.
It wasn’t too long ago that we could have political disagreements without labelling everyone a Nazi, White Supremacist, extremist, racist, phobic, or right-wing fascist. That’s because we haven’t always had the establishment peddling the false narrative that Christian values pose a threat to society.
We’ve been divided from the top down. We’ve been convinced that anyone who doesn’t abandon their conservative or Christian views for the “progressive” cause is motivated, not by a love for God and neighbour, but by a murderous hatred for everybody else.
Until those in power are held accountable for exploiting the evil, vulnerable, and unstable for their political ends, until they’re called to account for manipulating their political pawns into believing that everyone who thinks differently poses an imminent threat to their life, terrible things are bound to continue, and more innocent people are likely to be hurt.
Author: Founder of Caldron Pool. Ben Davis https://caldronpool.com/disagreement-isnt-murderous-hatred-and-those-who-say-otherwise-are-grooming-killers/
Is Russia developing in a sustainable way?
Only time will tell, but as we documented in June—and in July, and then again in October—things are looking extremely sustainable.
But perhaps it’s time for a Sustainability Update? Lots of sustainable and socially responsible things have been happening in Russia, and it’s very sad that these heartwarming developments don’t receive sustained coverage in the Queen’s English.
At the end of December, United Russia—the permanent ruling party of cattle-tag crusaders—organized a series of talks, “People and the State: Priorities of Sustainable Development.”
Held at universities across the country, the lectures were designed to compliment United Russia’s “Green Economy” project.
The Uniparty’s website explained it was “extremely important” to preach ESG salvation to “students and young professionals”:
[The lectures] are aimed at increasing the number of people who share the principles of sustainable development, as well as environmental, social and corporate responsibility (ESG). Previously, this was reflected in the decisions of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, state strategic planning documents, adopted and developed regulatory legal acts.
As the deputy of the State Duma, coordinator of the party project Yury Stankevich, today it is extremely important to acquaint students and young professionals with the novelties of the state policy in the field of sustainable development and ESG.
“Today, many large companies adhere to these principles, it is important to strengthen this behavioral model among young professionals,” Stankevich stressed.
The ESG Alliance, founded by Schwab disciple Herman Gref, continues to wrap its sustainable tentacles around Russia.
The Alliance recruited four new members at the end of December, including Rosatom (Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation) and Norilsk Nickel.
In January the ESG Alliance released a report examining “prospects for ESG in Russia and the economic benefits of a sustainable business.”
Co-authored by Sber (of course), the study called for “mandatory assessment of ESG risks in public procurement”, “development and implementation of mandatory ESG indicators in investment projects, “tax deductions for private investors in green funds and deposits”, and “provision of state guarantees for ESG loans that meet the established requirements.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s central bank is up to its usual trickery—sorry, “socially responsible and sustainable finance.”
Hat tip to Jesse Zurawell (follow him on Telegram) for digging up these delicious morsels of sustainability:
The Bank of Russia revealed in a February 17 press release that it had ironed out new regulations for “corporate climate transition-related and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) bonds.”
“The new requirements continue the development of the legal framework for the issue and circulation of sustainable finance instruments,” the statement said.
A month later, Russia’s central bank announced plans to “develop and publish recommendations on the integration of climate risks into the risk management framework of financial institutions in 2023–2024.”
New banking regulations could help shield the Russian economy from the scourge of climate change, the Bank of Russia suggested.
(By the way, for anyone interested: The Federal State Statistics Service has a section on its website dedicated to tracking Russia’s progress towards reaching its Sustainable Development Goals.)
There is a bit of good news, actually.
A recent survey of 17,000 Russian companies found that 40% of businesses cut spending on “ESG policies” in 2022. (Keep those sanctions coming?!)
At the same time, “84% of respondents reported that their companies have educational events that talk about ESG trends, in-house initiatives and ESG programs aimed at employees, their families and other stakeholders.”
ESG trends. Educational events. Stakeholders.
Sigh.
Writer: Edward Slavsquat
Things are getting very sustainableMoscow bravely marches forward with SDGs, ESG, and other STDshttps://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/things-are-getting-very-sustainable?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=520963&post_id=110163028&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email
Saints, beware. The culture is mixing more seductive truth with lies. Read the following secular takes with discernment and understand what time we are living in.
As worshippers confess their most personal sins to an AI “god”, it will populate their psychological profile for all to see. This then becomes the mechanism to control and manipulate them to their own harm, as was often the case in historical religious systems. Unfortunately, man has the innate urge to worship and any old image will suffice. ⁃ TN Editor
Intelligent AI robots are coming – and they will have the ability to perform religious ceremonies and could even turn against humans, experts have warned.
As AI becomes more prominent in our day to day lives, it wasn’t going to be long before the worlds of religion and tech merged.
The thought of robot Gods and ChatGPT sermons terrifies some people – and rightly so, according to experts.
Wesley Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, and of Computing and Data Sciences at Boston University, told The Sun that he believes AI will soon be able to perform religious duties even better than human priests.
He said: “AIs will write better sermons than most preachers, give better bible studies than most teachers, create amazing music and visual art for use in services and communications that struggling religious groups don’t have to pay for”.
The likes of ChatGPT have already reportedly found their way into churches, writing thoughtful and authentic sermons on behalf of the priests.
And the listeners were none the wiser.
Wildman explained that AI will have the ability to change everything we know about relationships with spiritual advisers and religious figureheads.
He said: “It will be like having your own personal guru you can take with you anywhere.
“You can confide in it, get advice from it, and learn to trust it to help you figure out complicated moral and spiritual situations”.
Many religious communities have already begun to incorporate robotics into their practices.
One example is the Catholic Church, which as endorsed the use of apps that facilitate the act of confession, according to Wildman.
He even says the Vatican is cautiously encouraging apps that can assist with a confession – but the sacrament must still be carried out person-to-person.
This is “partly for convenience, and partly because they’re [people] are trying to avoid human priests,” Wildman said on the idea of confession apps.
He also believes that this bizarre wave of new AI will be able to simulate deceased relatives, religious leaders and spiritual advisers.
But this doesn’t come without its own set of risks and dangers.
Wildman says that just as human religious leaders can manipulate vulnerable people, AI chatbots can be trained by their creators to do the same.
He believes that as younger generations grow up with these AI chatbots as friends – some even including holographic and VR representations – they will adapt to confiding in them and seeking advice and guidance from them.
Wildman says that this same process will undoubtedly happen in religious communities across the globe.
He added: “With AI bots designed to be trustworthy spiritual companions, the main ethical concern is how the AI bots are trained and whether they can be manipulated by mischief makers and evil doers to cause spiritual havoc”.
But Rev Christopher Benek, Pastor and Clergy Lead expert regarding AI, warns that it is our own “evil” warping the technology which will send us down a path of doom.
He said: “I don’t think we have a good example of virtuous AI at this point. I mean, almost every time you see AI, you see the evil that’s in us come forth in it.
“And so it’s really important that we’re striving to continue to be better as people, because I think that’s going to have direct consequences on what we’re able to create and how we’re able to create it.
“But I also think our evil is a limiting factor as to what we are able to create, and what we will create at some point”.
Source link https://www.technocracy.news/ai-will-be-worshipped-as-god-but-dont-expect-mercy/
More:
DEUS EX MACHINA
AI Gods & ChatGPT religions are coming – they will be better than human priests & they could turn evil, warns expertsINTELLIGENT AI robots are coming – and they will have the ability to perform religious ceremonies and could even turn against humans, experts have warned.
As AI becomes more prominent in our day to day lives, it wasn’t going to be long before the worlds of religion and tech merged.
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/7661716/ai-gods-religions-coming-turn-evil-warns-experts/
In a recent episode of The Political Animals podcast with Jonathan Cole, Michael Bird, New Testament lecturer at Ridley College, claimed that secularism is not only good for society, but it’s also good for Christianity.
Forget grandiose ideas of building “Christian nations.” Bird gets “frustrated” with those who talk of such things. It’s secularism, not Christianity, that will truly protect the people from harm.
So, what exactly is “secularism”? According to Bird, there are various kinds of “secularism,” and “there are different ways of doing secularism.” The secularism of North Korea differs from the secularism of China. The secularism of Turkey differs from the secularism of France. The secularism of the United Kingdom differs from the secularism of the United States.
But what undergirds every secular denomination is the assumption that secularism is not to be thought of as a religious commitment. Rather, secularism is to be regarded as fundamentally religiously neutral ground, where every other religious conviction can be evaluated primarily through an areligious lens.
Secularism, Bird says, is “largely about creating space for people of all faith and none, determining the areas where religion is not allowed to matter, or not allowed to come into the equation, and then defining the areas where religion is immune from government interference and coercion.”
In contrast stands “Christian nationalism,” which Bird describes as a “really bad idea.” The basis of this dismissal is that there are various kinds of Christians, such as Anglicans and Baptists. So, for Bird, the question is, if Christianity, then which Christianity?
Bird explains: “The frustration I have with people who say, ‘We have to be a Christian country,’ I say, ‘Well, which type of Christian do you want? Which type of Christian is going to be hegemonic? Do you want Anglicans to be in charge and forcibly baptising babies of Baptist parents, like we will go into your creches and literally baptise your children in front of you.”
Of course, we might dismiss secularism on the very same basis that Bird dismisses Christian nationalism. If secularism, then which secularism? But apparently, plurality within a system is only a disqualifying characteristic if that system is Christianity.
Instead, Bird argues that secularism is what protects Christians from Christians. It prevents one Christian group from bullying another, so that “you’ll end up with an ironic situation where some Christians will be safer under a more secularised government than they would under a Christian government.”
According to Bird, if the government is secular, then it is religiously neutral, and if it is religiously neutral, then it “can’t force you to worship a certain way.” As such, Bird would have Christians “campaigning for genuine secularity” because it not only protects Christians from Christians, it also “protects [Christians] from the government.” Or so he says.
The problem is that secularism is not an areligious system. It often presents itself as such to claim neutrality, but this is simply a fallacious appeal to ‘middle ground.’ Argumentum ad temperantiam. But secularism is a religion.
As secular humanist, John Dewey, wrote in The Humanist Manifest I:
“Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created… Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values… Religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method… Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement… While this age does owe a vast debt to the traditional religions, it is none the less obvious that any religion that could hope to be synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish a religion is a major necessity for the present…”
Thus, P. Andrew Sandlin, president of the Center for Cultural Leadership, writes:
“Secularism is a religion… [It] is the notion, the conviction, the consciousness, that there is no God, or that if there is a God, He is not involved in this world. We are left to ourselves; we must save ourselves. This is the secular milieu that surrounds us.”
Secularism is not opposed to religion. It’s not areligious or religiously neutral. It’s simply opposed to the religion that affirms the sovereignty of God over man. As such, within secularism there is a theology that must be maintained and a morality that must be upheld.
It is a system that replaces God with man, and the church with the state. And this has consistently been the recipe for the worst horrors inflicted on the world at the hands of fellow man. As Lee Duigon, contributing editor for the Faith for All Life magazine, notes:
“If there’s one thing the history of the twentieth century teaches us, it’s that the deification of man and the state buys us one thing – a one way ticket to the Gulag.”
When the “secular” state refuses to acknowledge an authority above itself, it becomes an authority to itself. Do away with Christianity as the basis of government and law and you do away with the notion that governing authorities ought to act within the bounds and limits prescribed in the Bible.
What we end up with is a society governed not by objective truth, but by the arbitrary whim of those in power, legislating whatever they will without external moral restraint or higher accountability.
As R.J. Rushdoony wrote:
“Tyranny… was in its origin secularism, a rule found on man-made laws. This secularism is the religion of humanity, the most oppressive, dangerous, and persecuting of all cults, because it has no law beyond itself as a check to its lust for power.”
Peter Hitchens, in his book The Rage Against God, made a similar observation. Hitchens maintained that there is only one reliable force standing in the way of the power of the strong over the weak, and it’s not secularism, as Bird claims. It’s Christianity.
In Hitchens’ words:
“In an age of power-worship, the Christian religion has become the principal obstacle to the desire of earthly utopians for absolute power.”
The religion of secularism is no safeguard against tyranny. Much the opposite, in fact. It paves the way for the tyrant who would have the people recognise no king but Caesar and no law above the state’s decree. Sure, you can have your religion, provided you burn the incense in subjection to the established religion of the state. Are we not witnessing that inevitable outcome today?
Now, don’t hear me wrong. We’re not talking about a conflation of church and state, despite what Bird has implied. It isn’t an accurate portrayal of Christian nationalism to suggest that theocracy (God’s rule) is the same thing as ecclesiocracy (priestly rule). We can separate church and state, and we should. But what we can’t separate is religion from state.
Religion is inescapable, and secularism is no exception. As soon as you define areas where God is “not allowed to matter, or not allowed to come into the equation,” as soon as you judge an action or behaviour as moral or immoral, good or bad, you are exercising a religious conviction. You are presupposing a belief about God (whether or not He exists), how He relates to the world (or how He doesn’t), how we are to respond to Him (or not respond to Him). You don’t need an explicit reference to “god” for it to be a religious commitment, you only need to finish the sentence, “God is…”
The contrast made between secularism and theocracy fails to recognise the fact that every system is governed by a reigning theos. This includes secularism. This means that even secularism is a form of theocracy. To identify the god of the system, you only need to locate that system’s source of law and highest court of appeals, as Cornelius Van Til noted. As such, it is not whether we implement a theocracy, but which theocracy will be implemented.
Whether it is the false gods of secularism or King Jesus, the reigning theos will, by necessity, limit the liberties of all competing systems to some extent. This is unavoidable. Absolute freedom is only possible in a lawless society. So, whether it is secularism or Christianity taking precedence, every alternative will be restrained at the point in which it conflicts with what the reigning system deems “good” for the wider society.
That’s why we don’t allow people to execute apostates, marry as many women as they want, or sacrifice humans to secure prosperity. It’s not a “criticism” unique to Christianity. It’s a question of how we define what is good, just, and loving. Is it God, or should the collective be free to do whatever is right in their own eyes?
In the end, only one religion can take precedence over all others to promote justice and social harmony. The religion of secularism has sought to take that position from Christianity, and it has succeeded, even among Christians, by presenting itself as religiously impartial – as though that were a virtue.
It’s not. It’s naivety, and it’s falling for what has been dubbed, “the myth of neutrality.” This is the anti-Christian notion that the universe consists of meaningless brute facts, that are disconnected from God, and therefore, neutral.
In short, it is to say that Jesus may be Lord, but his Lordship is limited to spiritual matters. It is to suggest that there are areas outside of his domain and authority over which he has no immediate claim. It is to denounce the fundamental truth that all authority on earth has been given over to King Jesus (Matt. 28:18).
As Rushdoony put it:
“Because God is the Lord and Creator of all things, there is no sphere of life and thought outside His jurisdiction, government, and law. To hold that there is denies God and affirms polytheism. And this is precisely what all too many theologians have done.”
Ultimately, you can’t affirm that secularism protects people from harm unless you abandon God’s definition – the only definition – of what constitutes love and justice. You can’t abandon God’s definition of love and justice without embracing an inferior, harmful, and alien source of truth. This is why we must prefer a “Christian nation” to the feigned neutrality of the religion of secularism.
If, as the Apostle Paul affirmed, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7:12), then every alternative will be less than that. Less loving, less just, less good. Are we really loving our neighbour by giving them less than what God has given us?
There is no humble or harmless opposition to God’s law. Either God defines love and justice or else we imagine that we do. But God has not given us the right to define these things apart from Him. If all authority on earth belongs to him (Matt. 28:18), then he is the head, not just of the church, but of the state (Col. 2:10). And it is on this basis that he says: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Ps. 2:10-12)
There is no blessing and no refuge in any alternative.
Written by Ben Davis,
Founder of Caldron Pool
https://caldronpool.com/no-secularism-is-not-good/
Note from AoT: We’ve said over and again, the newest campaign against Christians is a worldwide event. Here’s “a case” seen & heard and what You can do about it.
“The Queensland Police have decided to name the shooting of QLD officers in December, an act of religious terrorism — specifically blaming Premillennialism.
“What we’ve been able to glean …is that the Train family members subscribed to what we would call a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system, known as premillennialism,” Deputy Police Commissioner Tracy Linford said.
She claimed the ambush is “connected to the Christian extremist ideology”, even though they will never be able to show an ideological connection between Premillennialism and violence to police officers.
A Christian response:
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We don’t expect unbelievers (especially in the government) to be accurate, or even honest, in their portrayal of Christian theology.
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If you’re surprised that the Aussie government would risk alienating all Premillennialists in their broad stroke of idiocy, (which includes many Baptists, most Pentecostals, and plenty of non-denominationals), you haven’t been paying attention. They don’t mind calling any historic Christian doctrine “conspiratorial”.
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They would be very happy if Christians learned to hold what they believe privately, at risk of being misunderstood. Don’t. Believe it loudly, proclaim truth; they are the ones that will fade into history, the Word of the Lord prevails.
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Remember that Christians have been misrepresented as everything from atheists (for not believing in the Roman gods), enemies of the state (for believing that Christ was Lord over Caesar), cannibals (for eating the flesh and blood of Jesus), and worse. Now they keep piling on the term “extremists”.
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Don’t cower behind other labels, saying “I’m not pre-mil*.” It won’t make a difference in the cultural moment we’re in.
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Keep preaching the Gospel, wearing your convictions and principles on your sleeve, praying for revival, and serving in a Biblical Church. We are the salt, and the Earth will be salted by us. Who cares what the coppers (the police/authorities) think, anyway.”
Published by Tom FoordTom Foord is Preaching Elder at Hope Reformed Baptist Church, in QLD. He and his wife Joy are raising three sons to fight the good fight, to the Glory of God, and loving it. His sermons, and content for training men in Biblical Manhood can be found here. He is passionate about evangelism, apologetics, and expositional preaching – doing it himself and training others.
Source link: https://caldronpool.com/the-new-christian-terrorists-a-christian-response/
Also, read: CHRISTIANITY, ESCHATOLOGY AND TERRORISM https://billmuehlenberg.com/2023/02/17/christianity-eschatology-and-terrorism/
DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRAP! What you can do to help (below). Narrative control is accelerating, more evidence that the true believing church is and will continue to be targeted and slandered as a hate group.
The agent provocateurs are the left hand of an evil Enemy taunting you so it can justify destroying you with the “solution” in its right hand. This is unconventional warfare and an expensive, thought-out strategem.
The monied masters of modern mayhem have deployed the drag queens and their advocates in a social engineering strategy of escalation, provocation, and temptation – compelling you to resist and respond with anger and violence.
DO NOT FALL FOR IT!
“The real action is in the enemy’s reaction.” Saul Alinsky ( beautifultrouble.org ) James Lindsay of NewDiscourses.com writes: Operation Drag Floyd intends 3 outcomes upon their target/enemy (Christians):
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Submission (destroys kids)
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Reaction
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“solution”
These all suit their goals. Submission: Children are exposed to grooming, psychological damage, and eventual self destruction at the end of a path of activism that wrecks families and the community. Reaction:Some people react, perhaps violently, to the provocation to protect kids. That reaction is fed into the narrative arc already in media, “rising anti-LGBTQ hate” and “stochastic terrorism.” This must not happen.
DO NOT BE VIOLENT. DISCOURAGE VIOLENCE.
Your natural inclination to protect children will be turned into an opportunity for their provocateurs and their MSM agents to make a whole religion seem racist, barbaric, and unwelcome. “They must be removed from society” they’ll say. They’re good at this and train for it, and the narrative arc is already prepared. Big losing. “Solution” A strongman, who actually serves the interests of the UN/WEF who the media reports is “far right extremist” will appear with a “solution” to the problem (violence). If the provocation becomes severe enough, they expect us to gladly hand over our rights so that the authorities can “punish the groomers.”
This is the pit. DO NOT FALL INTO THE PIT! THERE IS NO RETURN FROM THE PIT.
What can be done?
1) Protect YOUR kids, individually. Tell friends and neighbors to protect their kids, individually. Do not try to save them all.
2) Publicize the escalations so that consciences get shocked and the half-captured, half-asleep law will be forced to recognize it.
3) Do not be violent. Do not encourage violence. Condemn violence as a “solution” or “reaction.”
4) Spread the word about the logic of the operations.
5) Do not trust strongmen with “solutions.” Those may be proffered to you on purpose.
6) Break the narrative with truth. *unconventional warfare. Tell the truth, with evidence, about Drag Queen Story Hour, etc.
Tell the truth about the provocation and Enemy strategy. But more, tell the truth about why people are upset:
It’s not “rising anti-LGBTQ hate.” It’s grooming kids and societal provocation. Make it crystal clear. If you want to move the masses on the issue, that’ll be done with caution, care, and perhaps even comedy, by the way.
AoT
“By toleration, we adopt other men’s sins and make them our own.”
Tolerance used to be understood to mean respectfully disagreeing with others. It implied the fact that two people differed on some matter. But today it has come to mean something quite different. Today it means you must agree with someone or else. Today it basically means, ‘Shut uppa ya face’.
Those who shout the loudest about tolerance and acceptance and inclusion are usually the most intolerant, non-accepting and exclusive folks around. So we have gotten to the place where it is time to start getting intolerant about tolerance.
I have already offered some incisive quotes on tolerance by Fulton J. Sheen, so I will not offer much by him here.
Here then are 40 brief but brilliant quotes by 31 individuals – mostly recent writers, and mainly Christians.
“‘Tolerance’ has lost its meaning and is simply a cover for trying to shame and coerce others not to disagree with one’s position.” Francis J. Beckwith
“If you really believe that the meaning of tolerance is tolerating, then you ought to tolerate even intolerance. If you really believe that the best foundation for toleration is to avoid having strong convictions about good and evil, then you should not try to harbor the strong conviction that intolerance is bad.” J. Budziszewski
“Toleration is often just indifference in disguise.” Frederick Buechner
“The new tolerance swamps penetrating discussion about truth and morality: tolerance is widely perceived to be more important and more enduring than either. The result is a greater tendency to believe lies and to come adrift in immorality” D. A. Carson
“We need to remember that tolerance is not a Christian virtue, and it’s never an end in itself. In fact, tolerating grave evil within a society is itself a form of evil.” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference which is an elegant name for ignorance.” G. K. Chesterton
“Creeds must disagree: it is the whole fun of the thing. If I think the universe is triangular, and you think it is square, there cannot be room for two universes. We may argue politely, we may argue humanely, we may argue with great mutual benefit; but, obviously, we must argue. Modern toleration is really a tyranny. It is a tyranny because it is a silence. To say that I must not deny my opponent’s faith is to say I must not discuss it . . . It is absurd to have a discussion on Comparative Religions if you don’t compare them.” G. K. Chesterton
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” G. K. Chesterton
“Societies are far gone in depravity when toleration is considered a good in itself, without regard to the thing tolerated.” G. K. Chesterton
“When the God of the Bible is rejected, people choose a new god. The postmodern age has anointed secular tolerance as its god. Tolerance once meant listening respectfully to all points of view, freely discussed in our common search for the truth. But the creed for the new god of tolerance is that knowing truth is impossible. So everyone is free to think and act as he likes, with one exception: Those who have the audacity to believe that they know the truth, particularly if they think God has revealed it to them, are not tolerated. The result is that those who crowned the new god of tolerance have become the absolute arbiters of culture. The new god of tolerance becomes, in the guise of liberalism, an absolute tyrant.” Charles Colson
“Tolerance once meant that we could use our reason to discern good and evil in open debate. Today tolerance has been used to call good evil and evil good.” Charles Colson
“The paradox of liberal tolerance is that it extends to Marxists, transsexuals, and Islamic radicals–but NOT to conservatives or Christians.” Dinesh D’Souza
“Ours then is a world in which ‘Thou shalt not judge’ has become the new eleventh commandment, and tolerance the last undisputed virtue.” Os Guinness
“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” Habakkuk speaking of God in Habakkuk 1:13
“Most of what passes for tolerance today is not tolerance at all but actually intellectual cowardice. Those who hide behind that word are often afraid of intelligent engagement and don’t engage or even consider contrary opinions. It’s easier to hurl an insult than to confront the idea and either refute it or be changed by it.” Greg Koukl
“Be egalitarian regarding persons. Be elitist regarding ideas.” Peter Kreeft
“Satan knows that he can undermine the structure of the church by slyly removing just one fundamental doctrine at a time. He frequently loosens a large foundation gradually, chiseling it away bit by bit. That is why tolerance for the sake of peace may be dangerous. One step by giving in will lead to a next step, and will not God visit us with blindness if we deliberately darken the truth He has graciously entrusted to us. How shall we justify ourselves if we permit even a little of the truth to be laid aside? Is that ours to do? When peace is injurious to the truth, peace must give way. Peace with God is of greater value than peace with men.” Abraham Kuyper
“Let me be clear about this. Christianity is an exclusive teaching; it is an intolerant teaching. I do not say this because I am intolerant, but because I am concerned about your soul. If you say that Christianity is not exclusive and intolerant, then you must say that one religion is as good as another, and I am here to deny that.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“The visible church in our generation has become astonishingly tolerant of aberrant teaching and outlandish ideas – and frighteningly intolerant of sound teaching.” John MacArthur
“If anyone comes along espousing tolerance, you can be sure it’s error. Error demands tolerance whereas truth demands scrutiny.” John MacArthur
“‘Love’ has been redefined as a broad tolerance that overlooks sin and embraces good and evil alike. That’s not love; it’s apathy.” John MacArthur
“The 20th century gave rise to one of the greatest and most distressing paradoxes of human history: that the greatest intolerance and violence of that century were practiced by those who believed that religion caused intolerance and violence.” Alister McGrath
“Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.” Thomas Mann
“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Paul in Romans 12:9
“Tolerance cares less. Loves cares deeply. Tolerance says, ‘Do what you want.’ Love says, ‘That’s wrong. Stop!’” Everett Piper
“Relativism is a revolt against the objective reality of God. The sheer existence of God creates the possibility of truth. God is the ultimate and final standard for all claims to truth—who he is, what he wills, what he says is the external, objective standard for measuring all things. When relativism says that there is no standard of truth and falsehood that is valid for everyone, it speaks like an atheist. It commits treason against God.” John Piper
“It’s unpopular to take a strong stand on anything (these days) except tolerance.” John Piper
“If we continue to teach about tolerance and intolerance instead of good and evil, we will end up with tolerance of evil.” Dennis Prager
“Although Christians cannot cherish religious pluralism, they must tolerate it…By tolerance I mean allowing other people to hold and to defend their own religious convictions. Tolerance does not mean that everyone has to agree with everyone else. That would not be tolerance at all. The word tolerance itself assumes disagreement, that there is something that must be tolerated. Tolerance thus applies to persons, but not to their errors. It does not require me to endorse your worldview. If you are not a Christian, I do not endorse your worldview. In the context of a friendship I will even try to talk you out of it…Yet it carries out these arguments with humility and civility.” Philip Graham Ryken
“In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” Dorothy Sayers
“America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.” Fulton J Sheen
“Tolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons. Tolerance applies to the erring; intolerance to the error.” Fulton J. Sheen
“The Anglican Richard Baxter once laid down the rule, ‘tolerate the tolerable,’ implying, as Samuel Johnson observed, that there must also be a category of things not tolerable.” Joseph Sobran
“There is toleration for everybody who conforms to the fashion of the day; but no toleration for anyone who believes that the laws of heaven should regulate life on earth.” Charles Spurgeon
“Tolerance is not a spiritual gift; it is the distinguishing mark of postmodernism; and sadly, it has permeated the very fiber of Christianity. Why is it that those who have no biblical convictions or theology to govern and direct their actions are tolerated and the standard or truth of God’s Word rightly divided and applied is dismissed as extreme opinion or legalism?” John Stott
“The most fervent devotees of tolerance are invariably intolerant of everyone who speaks about God with certainty.” A. W. Tozer
“A new Decalogue has been adopted by the neo-Christians of our day, the first word of which reads ‘Thou shalt not disagree;’ and a new set of Beatitudes too, which begins ‘Blessed are they that tolerate everything, for they shall not be made accountable for anything.’ It is now the accepted thing to talk over religious differences in public with the understanding that no one will try to convert another or point out errors in his belief. . . . Imagine Moses agreeing to take part in a panel discussion with Israel over the golden calf; or Elijah engaging in a gentlemanly dialogue with the prophets of Baal. Or try to picture our Lord Jesus Christ seeking a meeting of minds with the Pharisees to iron out differences.” A. W. Tozer
“Toleration is the grave of reformation. By toleration, we adopt other men’s sins and make them our own.” Thomas Watson
“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” John Wesley
“As I’ve said before, toleration is not a virtue. The Latin tolerare means ‘to bear or endure something.’ Toleration isn’t the ‘whatever floats your boat’ of unprincipled pluralism. That’s nihilistic toleration. Real toleration is a kind of bearing or enduring of moral disagreement in a divided society until moral agreement can be achieved.” Benjamin Wiker
Written by Bill Muehlenberg
https://caldronpool.com/tolerance-is-the-virtue-of-the-man-without-convictions/
Also: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/04/11/intolerance-name-tolerance/
The World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program, Klaus Schwab’s supposed brainchild, is actually an almost exact replica of Henry Kissinger’s International Seminar that was originally run out of Harvard and was funded by the CIA. In this article, Johnny Vedmore investigates the people behind Kissinger’s International Seminar, the CIA conduits which funded the program, and Kissinger’s key role in the creation of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders program itself.
The World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders (YGL) initiative has been responsible for seeding many of the ruling elite into positions of power and influence within the worlds of business, civil society and, most importantly, politics. The fall of the Soviet Union soon became the apparent catalyst for the creation of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow program, which was the precursor to the Young Global Leaders initiative over a decade later.
However, the supposed mastermind of the project, the WEF’s lifetime leader Klaus Schwab, had himself already been helped into his own influential position by a very similar program run out of Harvard University that was heavily funded by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Harvard initiative in question, often referred to as Henry Kissinger’s International Seminar, was one of several programs set up by senior members of organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the newly created CIA. In fact, during the post-World War II era, the United States was proactively creating many such programs with the intention of grooming potential young foreign leaders and installing them into positions of power. The main motive behind the establishment of these programs was ostensibly to combat and prevent communist infiltration of foreign states while also assuring that future global leaders would be amenable to US interests.
Originally, the United States created these secretive youth organizations with the aim of targeting potential future European leadership candidates. Yet, soon, no country in the world would be safe from possible CIA-sponsored political infiltration. In this article, we will examine one of the front organizations which used vast amounts of CIA money to fund various Harvard projects including Kissinger’s International Seminar. We will learn who the people were who created these funding platforms, and we’ll also look at other such educational initiatives, some still in existence today, which have helped American intelligence infiltrate governments worldwide.
Continue reading about the The Battle for the Hearts, Minds and Souls of the Future Global Leaders here: https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/08/investigative-reports/the-kissinger-continuum-the-unauthorized-history-of-the-wefs-young-global-leaders-program/
Investigative Report by Johnny Vedmore
Also, another related source link:
Documentation – Kissinger a Rockefeller Agent? https://news.google.com/newspapersnid=1350&dat=19801209&id=cn4UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6854,4617015
Very wise words by Lewis on the place of emotion:Because C. S. Lewis was such a deep thinker and so widely read, he was able to offer incisive and wise words about all sorts of things, including those things he may not have yet experienced. Thus he could offer us sage advice on things like marriage and sexuality, even decades before he was married.
He also could tell us great truths about emotion, and how we must guard against being guided by feelings alone. Faith may well incorporate emotion, but it is not limited to nor defined by it. He wrote often about this matter, but here I want to just quote from one of his books: Mere Christianity.
Let’s start with his chapter on Christian marriage:
The idea that “being in love” is the only reason for remaining married really leaves no room for marriage as a contract or promise at all. If love is the whole thing, then the promise can add nothing? and if it adds nothing, then it should not be made. The curious thing is that lovers themselves, while they remain really in love, know this better than those who talk about love. As Chesterton pointed out, those who are in love have a natural inclination to bind themselves by promises. Love songs all over the world are full of vows of eternal constancy. The Christian law is not forcing upon the passion of love something which is foreign to that passion’s own nature: it is demanding that lovers should take seriously something which their passion of itself impels them to do.
And, of course, the promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry….
What we call “being in love” is a glorious state, and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous, it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty, and it subordinates (especially at first) our merely animal sexuality; in that sense, love is the great conqueror of lust. No one in his senses would deny that being in love is far better than either common sensuality or cold self-centredness. But, as I said before, “the most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of our own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs.” Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last, but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called “being in love” usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending “They lived happily ever after” is taken to mean “They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,” then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense – love as distinct from “being in love” is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both parents ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be “in love” with someone else. “Being in love” first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (Author), Kathleen Norris (Foreword) And in his chapter on forgiveness he says this:
We might try to understand exactly what loving your neighbour as yourself means. I have to love him as I love myself. Well, how exactly do I love myself?
Now that I come to think of it, I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society. So apparently “Love your neighbour” does not mean “feel fond of him” or “find him attractive”. I ought to have seen that before, because, of course, you cannot feel fond of a person by trying. Do I think well of myself, think myself a nice chap? Well, I am afraid I sometimes do (and those are, no doubt, my worst moments) but that is not why I love myself. In fact it is the other way round: my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself. So loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either. That is an enormous relief. For a good many people imagine that forgiving your enemies means making out that they are really not such bad fellows after all, when it is quite plain that they are. Go a step further. In my most clear-sighted moments not only do I not think myself a nice man, but I know that I am a very nasty one. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. So apparently I am allowed to loathe and hate some of the things my enemies do. Now that I come to think of it, I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner.
He continues:
For a long time I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life – namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere he can be cured and made human again.
This from his chapter on charity (love):
But though natural likings should normally be encouraged, it would be quite wrong to think that the way to become charitable is to sit trying to manufacture affectionate feelings. Some people are “cold” by temperament; that may be a misfortune for them, but it is no more a sin than having bad digestion is a sin; and it does not cut them out from the chance, or excuse them from the duty, of learning charity. The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his “gratitude” you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more, or, at least, to dislike it less.
Consequently, though Christian charity sounds a very cold thing to people whose heads are full of sentimentality, and though it is quite distinct from affection, yet it leads to affection. The difference between a Christian and a worldly man is not that the worldly man has only affections or “likings” and the Christian has only “charity.” The worldly man treats certain people kindly because he “likes” them: the Christian, trying to treat everyone kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on—including people he could not even have imagined himself liking at the beginning….
Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.
Lastly, some thoughts from his chapter on faith:
Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian, I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable; but when I was an atheist, I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue; unless you teach your moods “where they get off” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith.
The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious reading and church going are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?
Source link https://billmuehlenberg.com/2023/01/03/c-s-lewis-on-feelings-vs-faith/
Article by Bill Muehlenberg | CultureWatchWe live in an age where we see evidence of cultural decline, the erosion of values, the decline of civility, the denial of truth and the elevation of unreason. Many people are asking, “Where is our culture heading?”
“A new trend has emerged that has gained traction in some states as a healthy and cost effective alternative to traditional burial. This new trend is called human composting and it’s likely to gain momentum in the upcoming year. I was asked by Ben Zeisloft of The Daily Wire to provide comments on this practice which he cited in his article yesterday.
How should Christians think about this new green burial practice?
The Imago Dei and Christian BurialJust this past week, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) signed a law legalizing human composting as a means of “natural organic reduction” alongside cremation and entombment as an acceptable burial method in the state of New York. Should Christians just readily accept this new trend?
In Genesis, immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating of the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world. Not only did sin enter the world, but this sin resulted in death, decay, and division between man and his Creator (Romans 5:12). When God came to confront Adam and Eve and the ancient Serpent—in Genesis 3:17-19 he spoke directly to Adam and is made this statement in verse 19:
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
If God said that all of humanity was formed from the dirt and would return to the dirt as a result of sin—what’s the big deal with human composting? The controversy isn’t the breaking down of the human body that’s controversial. It’s what happens after the process of human composting is completed and the human body is transformed into a pile of dirt that really matters.
Pantheists have argued that everything can be reduced to matter, God is everything and everything is God, and that every existing entity is only one Being. Under this view, there is no difference between wood chips, alfalfa, and a human body. But, this is in complete contradiction to the view historically held by Christians.
From the earliest of times, the human body has been considered sacred. The rationale is based on what is known as the imago Dei—which affirms the fact that God created every person equally in his own image (Gen. 1:26-28). As divine image-bearers, the whole of humanity has inestimable value and dignity before God and deserves honor, respect and protection.
Therefore, the sanctity of human life is not determined by sex, ethnicity, age, religion, condition, or socioeconomic status. This is the foundation from which the Christian community advocates for the protection of the preborn and opposes abortion or any form of mutilation of the human body including euthanasia and sex change surgery.
Traditionally, pagan traditions have practiced cremation, and in some cases the burning of the body as a form of sacrifice to their idol (Lev. 18:21, 20:2–4; Deut. 18:10). However, Christians have buried their loved ones with the final resurrection of the dead in view. This practice envisions the day when Christ returns (John 11), the world is renewed, and death is forever banished for all eternity (Rev. 21).
Save the Whales, Kill the Babies, and Trash the Human BodyAccording to statistics and studies, the green economy generates some $1.3 trillion in annual sales revenue in the United States. Interestingly enough, while there’s a big push to save the planet through alternative sources of energy and the reduction of pollution—there’s a passionate fight to keep abortion legal and ongoing discussions about the options of assisted suicide (currently legal in 10 jurisdictions in 10 different states in the US). Our confused culture readily communicates that whales are essential to our ecosystem, but humans are disposable.”
Continue reading the full article by G3min’s Josh Buice
https://g3min.org/human-composting-and-the-sanctity-of-the-human-body/
Deborah DeGroff is an author and expert on children’s books, which she analyzes from a biblical perspective:
Unstoppable Us: How Humans Took over the World, by Yuval Noah Harari, was released October 18, 2022. It was published by Bright Matter Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House. This book is marketed to children from 10-14 years.
The front book jacket begins with:
THE STRANGEST TALE YOU’LL EVER HEAR . . . AND IT’S A TRUE STORY!
Is it?
Who is Yuval Noah Harari and why has he become so influential? What is his message? Does his heavily-marketed new book for children echo the same sentiments he so adamantly feeds his adult audiences?
Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Sapiens: A Graphic History. His books have sold over 40 million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today. [Click hereto read the complete bio on Harari’s website.]
Harari was a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in both 2018 and 2020. His speeches and interviews on various media platforms are watched by millions.
Yuval Noah Harari is not shy about stating his beliefs. In a nutshell, in Harari’s gospel there is no God, no soul, and no freewill. Once these pillars are accepted as truth by his followers—many of whom are in positions of power—the next step will be deciding the fate of billions of people who are no longer necessary in a future world that consists of Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, and Transhumanism.
Harari’s book, Sapiens, was endorsed by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Barak Obama.
Christopher Carbone wrote the article, “Humans Will Eventually Merge With Machines, Professor Says,”for Fox News in July 2019.
“It’s increasingly hard to tell where I end and where the computer begins,” Yuval Harari, a professor of history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told the audience at the Fast Company European Innovation Festival this week. “In the future, it is likely that the smartphone will not be separated from you at all. It may be embedded in your body or brain, constantly scanning your biometric data and your emotions.”
. . . Harari continued: “If we told our ancestors in the Stone Age about our lives today, they would think we are already Gods. But the truth is that even though we have developed more sophisticated tools, we are the same animals. We have the same emotions, the same minds. The coming revolution will change that. It will change not just our tools, it will change the human being itself.”
“This book is being heavily marketed. Harari is giving many interviews about Unstoppable Us. Will his gospel message change the worldview of our children? Throughout his book, he talks about made-up good stories that influence people enough to change the world, and yet he declares that his story is a true one. In other words, he wants his readers or listeners to believe his story and act accordingly.
This book is just the first of four volumes. The next volume will be about the Agriculture Revolution. Line upon line; precept upon precept. Each book will build upon the foundation laid in the previous volume. The Gospel of Harari has already convinced at least some of his audience that God is just a made-up story to make people obedient or cooperative. Will no soul and no free will be introduced next?
Will the powers-that-be decide to keep the useless eaters around by giving them a universal income and keeping them entertained in the MetaVerse, or will there be mass genocide? Who is going to argue for human rights if people have no souls or freewill? What would it matter?
Often, I hear parents tell me that their children know better. I hope they are right. Maybe they do attend church every time the doors are open, but who is teaching them and what are they learning? Do you know? Are they being taught or entertained? If they are in a government school, sadly, they have already absorbed much of Harari’s message. [article continues, click link below]
Do you know what’s between the covers of the books your children are reading?”
Read the full article by Deborah DeGroff: https://www.whatsinsidechildrensbooks.com/articles/unstoppable-us-how-humans-took-over-the-world-the-gospel-of-harari-for-children/
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. Hebrews 1:10
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3
The future of the first amendment hinges on the 303 Creative SCOTUS case
Saying anything you like — or refraining from saying whatever you want — is one of the most fundamental rights in a free nation. Without it, the First Amendment is worthless.
This week, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado designer who refuses to create websites with messages that conflict with her faith — among them, gay wedding announcements and celebrations. The case not only gives the court the opportunity to strengthen the right to free expression but to fix its useless Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission decision, which empowered the government to level debilitating fines against Christian businesses just as long as bureaucrats didn’t openly convey any animus toward their victims.
Monday in The New York Times, David Cole, the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — which has come a long way since defending the Nazis of Skokie on neutral principle grounds — says “The First Amendment Is Not a License to Discriminate” (before the headline was edited post-publication). Why? Because otherwise, “interior decorators, landscape architects, tattoo parlors, sign painters and beauty salons, among countless other businesses whose services contain some expressive element, would all be free to hang out signs refusing to serve Muslims, women, the disabled, African Americans or any other group.” During Monday’s arguments, Justice Sonia Sotomayor similarly claimed that the case would be “the first time in the Supreme Court’s history” that it would allow a business to “refuse to serve a customer based on race, sex, religion or sexual orientation.”
This is the lie at the heart of the debate.
First off, if leftists insist on framing the speech debate as a binary choice between compulsion and discrimination … then yes, free expression, explicitly laid out in the Constitution, should trump the right of a stranger to walk into a store and demand the owner say something he does not believe. Using Sotomayor’s identitarian calculus, a shopkeeper would never be able to refuse the demands of any customer who happened to be gay.
But neither Lorie Smith nor Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips turned away any customer because of an immutable characteristic or sexual preference or religious belief. Rather, they refused to create a message that conflicted with sincere convictions. If a straight cousin of a groom asked for a same-sex wedding site, Smith would have turned that person away, as well. If a gay customer wanted a website for his business, Smith would have created it. If a straight couple asked for a bawdy website or a website that declared Xenu the one true Lord of the universe, they too would have been rejected, because that idea also runs afoul of her evangelical Christian beliefs. It’s a shame that Cole and Sotomayor pretend not to comprehend the distinction.
Progressives like to act like Christian (or Islamic or Jewish) opposition to same-sex marriage is some newfangled ruse cooked up by activists to allow them to put “no gays allowed” signs in the shop windows. I assure you that the notion that true marriage is exclusively between one genetic man and one genetic woman is a generational notion. Before his “evolution” on the question, Democrat icon Barack Obama had tethered his opposition to gay marriage to theology.
Whether you agree with this stance or not is entirely irrelevant when it comes to the matter of speech. There is no Hurt Feelings clause in the Constitution. Rather than dealing with the question, Cole, who has a difficult time seeing anything in nonracial terms, lists a slew of scary slippery slope hypotheticals — among them: “Should an architecture firm that believes Black families don’t deserve fancy homes be permitted to turn away Black clients because its work is ‘expressive’?”
Here is a better question: Would Cole, who says the ACLU “has been this nation’s leading defender of free speech for more than a century,” call for the state to intervene in the case of an evangelical customer who wants to compel a gay designer to create a website for an organization that works to overturn same-sex marriage laws or preaches that acts of homosexuality are a mortal sin? Christians, after all, are also a protected group under anti-discrimination laws. The answer is: highly unlikely.
If we want a diverse and open society — and I’m highly skeptical that’s the goal of Cole or Sotomayor — one side of the cultural divide can’t be empowered to crush the economic lives of anyone who dissents. There are thousands of businesses that will bake the cake or create the website. Public-accommodation laws were meant to stop discrimination against minorities, not compel minorities to promote the political and theological positions of the majority.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books — the most recent, “Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent.” His work has appeared in National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, New York Post and numerous other publications.
Source link: https://www.stardem.com/opinion/columns/the-future-of-the-first-amendment-hinges-on-the-303-creative-scotus-case/article_7e588684-3c5d-5361-8e14-71baada638d1.html
The Bible is offensive. It is the most scandalous story ever told. God sent his only begotten son to die for our sins so that we may have eternal life in him. It is the greatest love story of all time. It isn’t supposed to be an easy pill to swallow. It was never claimed the Bible is inoffensive or politically correct, nor should it be. In Matthew’s Gospel, Christ himself said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Our Lord and Saviour came to shake things up, to bring in a new kingdom – his kingdom – and to denounce the old ways. There is no way to do that without causing some offence.
And so what? What is wrong with causing offence? We have become such a sensitive generation that we will do anything we can to avoid offending or taking offence. We have become risk-averse and afraid of confrontation.
Modern society needs the Bible now more than ever. We have lost our way. We no longer focus on important things like family, faith and freedom. Civil liberties are snatched away without a fight; abortions are at record highs, marriages at record lows; euthanasia is being suggested as a means to end temporary mortal suffering; heteronormative lifestyles are seen as a bad thing; heterodox, on the other hand, is seen as superior; pride is no longer a sin but a virtue; masculinity is described as toxic, making a generation of weak men who cannot protect their families or society; femininity is something to be favoured, even by men; children are being taken from their parents and handed to the state, both figuratively and literally. We are a lost society.
The only way to re-synchronise with our values and our way of life is to return to the source: the Word of God – the Bible.
The Crown Prosecution Service weren’t the first, and they certainly won’t be the last to find the Bible offensive. What are we going to do, continue to cow meekly in order to avoid causing offence? Or say, “so what?” and get on with the job at hand. We are called to disciple the nations. The Great Commission begins here, at home. It is the to pick up our swords – whether ESV, RSV or the Authorised Version – and read them aloud.
Every time a street preacher is arrested in this nation that purports to respect freedom of religion, perhaps two more of us should pick up our Bibles and stand in his/her place. If the Bible is inappropriate for modern society, it is modern society that is at fault. Perhaps it is time for a reminder of that?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Written by FR Calvin Robinson
Article title: The Bible is inappropriate, So what if the Bible is seen as inappropriate in modern society?
Pushing back against this Liberal post-Englightenment, post-Christian society
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam
We are living in a post-Christian world. Christophobia is on the increase at home and abroad. The latest data from Open Doors shows that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. Not only that, there’s a growing intolerance towards Christians in the West.
Why might that be? I would suggest it is because Christians have remained quiet for too long – society has forgotten Christ’s teachings.
People often assume that the Church has changed her teachings and adapted to secular norms. Of course, we cannot change our teachings; we must not deviate from Christ’s message, his Good News. But it is easy to see how people may believe we can and have. We have not changed teachings; we have stopped teaching. The Church no longer engages in the crucial conversations around abortion, sexuality, marriage, sin, repentance, forgiveness, and, most significantly, salvation!
Article later continues... That said, we should be compassionate towards LGBT people just as we would be compassionate towards single heterosexual people who fall prey to sin in the form of fornication. I am not suggesting the Church should not be welcoming or inclusive for the slightest moment. All are welcome to be changed through an encounter with Christ. To all those who would say, “Jesus would love you as you are.” I say no. Jesus loves us, but he told us to repent! Christ spent time with sinners, but it is the sinners who went away changed, not Christ. To the people Christ met in the Bible, he said, “Go and sin no more.”
About the author: We encourage you to support and subscribe to Calvin’s Substack to continue reading this edifying article, you can even join for free! https://calvinrobinson.substack.com/p/a-post-christian-world
Soli Deo Gloria
A lack of commitment to your local church could be indicative of pride, laziness, slothfulness, and a refusal to submit to proper biblical discipleship and accountability.
"To survive victorious, we must remember: the greatest spiritual weapon against errant human reset is divine revelation.” -James Poulos
Freedom, in and of itself, is not something to aspire to. Because undefined freedom is meaningless. The character and value of the freedom you aspire to, will be determined by what you are seeking freedom from. If it is freedom from God and all his boundaries, then you will free fall into destruction. If it […]
See you next week, Lord willing! Look for us over on our backup channel TruenormalTV www.truenormal.tv
Why was the term anti-vaxxer so capable of driving people to take a dodgy medical experiment and harrass people who questioned it? For the same reason that the term racist got people to deny their national identity and allow their nations and national industries to be given to foreigners. Or the reason that being called […]
The danger in this is that if we consider no doctrines beyond the gospel important, eventually lack of clarity on those doctrines will weaken the gospel itself.
Stratospheric aerosol injection is just one kind of several sunlight-reflection technologies being researched. Is it really necessary? While it is true that human activity affects the average global temperature, the facts are that over the last 170 years the average global temperature has increased by just 1 degree Celsius while over the last 100 years the rate of climate-related disaster deaths has decreased by 98%. The Bible calls on Christians to fact-check what they hear (Acts 17:11), apply reasonable skepticism (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and avoid buying into ideas simply because they are popular, seem important, or what we want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. John 15:8-10
Political elites are replacing the U.S. Constitution with Communitarian Law; a global agenda tied to UN Agenda 21/2030 Sustainable Development that is implemented locally by unelected corporate influencers. It requires government regulation of all areas of life, Total Quality Management, education, food delivery systems, and the collectivist thinking pattern of the global community. The goal […]
Paul’s prayer in Col 1:10: “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,” which, if we do, we will be “fully pleasing to Him.”
“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart. When you are so weak that you cannot do much more than cry, you coin diamonds with both your eyes. The sweetest prayers God ever hears are the groans and sighs of those who have no hope in anything but his love.” Charles Spurgeon
“Higher education is admittedly expensive – especially in private schools. I did both public and private schooling for my two-and-a-half degrees (I never did finish that PhD for various reasons). Most of the time during those eight or so years I worked as well as studied. I did all sorts of jobs, from house painting […]
“The Bible is a big book. It can be intimidating to read, so many of us prefer reading books about the Bible. And if we do read the Bible, we can sometimes treat it like a mere instruction manual. We use it if needed, but otherwise we try to do things ourselves. It reminds me of trying […]
Why does God judge? For several reasons: it is rational and just. Wickedness needs to be dealt with. Because God honours his word; that which he promises to do he will do, and he has promised vengeance on evil. It is because God is love and love must hate evil. But it is also what […]
A lot of Americans are saying they woke up this morning, August 9, and did not recognize the country in which they have lived their entire lives. I received a text from one friend whose family escaped Cuba before the communist revolution there. The text was very short: “Cuba 1959.” I believe there’s a lot […]
A MUST READ by Josh Buice: “The word extremism is defined by Merriam-Webster as “advocacy of extreme measures or views: radicalism.” The language employed by President Biden is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous. It suggests that the church of Jesus is in the same position as radical extremists in other world religions like Islam. It’s the church of Jesus Christ who […]
Brown: “A lot of people are dying of heart attacks lately, have you noticed? I don’t recall seeing so many articles with the headlines “died suddenly” yet containing no further explanation being so common prior to 2021, do you?” It’s unfortunate that no sooner than we’ve just got through a pandemic that a condition synonymous […]
“When the Canadian government ordered churches to close, practically everyone complied. But some pastors led their churches to assert the supremacy of Christ over all things and especially Christ’s church and her worship. The state has been presuming to tell the church how, when, and with whom she ought to worship her Lord. In so […]
Littlefield: “I don’t think it is a coincidence that not long after the Church stopped regularly preaching judgement, the Church and society declined… People are primed for that message, and the Green movement moved in and took control of the platform that the Church vacated.” People are inherently ‘millenarian’. That is, they inherently believe that […]
“I’ve heard it explained that when you face temptation to sin you should quote Scripture at the devil to defeat him and cause him to flee. After all, the argument goes, Jesus himself quoted Scripture at Satan in the wilderness. When Satan said, “Command these stones to become loaves of bread,” Jesus answered with what […]
Thornton: “Do you believe in the sufficiency of Scripture? At times in history, man has held strongly to this conviction. At other times, he hasn’t. You can tell when he has or hasn’t by looking at the hermeneutics of past eras. Let’s take a brief journey to see the ebbs and flows. Satan’s Hermeneutic Satan […]
“So the globalists have been meeting in Geneva at the World Health Assembly and they have been meeting in Davos at the World Economic Forum summit. The two cities, Geneva and Davos, are both located in Switzerland, about three hours apart by car. Between these two meetings, the globalist predator class will be getting their […]
These days, the term “waking up” has become synonymous with salvation. Truth is sold to the masses like brands of potato chips. Unfortunately, Christianity is likewise marketed to unsuspecting seekers by some who don’t know better, and some who aim to deceive. It’s common to read or hear claims online that if you go to […]
G3’s blog this month writes an important message every Christian should know. “A missionary and I encountered a man in Ecuador we both felt was demon possessed. He was practicing witchcraft on a street corner. We shared the gospel of grace with him, but he rejected it. As we walked away, the missionary asked, “Have […]
R.C. Sproul wrote: In 1993, my wife and I were involved in an historic train wreck. The crash of the Sunset Limited into an inlet from Mobile Bay killed more passengers than any Amtrak accident in history. We survived that eerie accident but not without ongoing trauma. The wreck left my wife with an ongoing […]
This is a good read that recaps what we have been saying for years: “Edward L. Bernays was an American business consultant who is widely recognized as the father of public relations. Bernays was one of the men responsible for “selling” World War 1 to the American public by branding it as a war that was necessary […]
A “disinformation governance board” has been established at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fight “misinformation” and will maintain “free speech, privacy, and civil rights” officials have confirmed.
DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas revealed the new initiative to lawmakers during a congressional hearing on April 27 when asked by Congressman Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) about what the department was doing to ensure election security and prevent misinformation from being used in the electrical process ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Langevin pointed to previous alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections.
“We have just established a disinformation governance board in the Department of Homeland Security to more effectively combat this threat, not only to election security but to our homeland security,” Mayorkas responded, noting that the new board will also focus on stopping the spread of misinformation in minority communities.
Nina Jankowicz, a Russian disinformation expert who served as a Disinformation Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, confirmed in a statement later on Wednesday that she would be executive director of the newly-established board…
Responding to news of the newly-established department to be headed by Jankowicz, national security expert Brigitte Gabriel wrote on Twitter that “Joe Biden is creating his own Ministry of Truth” in reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
Read article https://www.theepochtimes.com/dhs-sets-up-disinformation-governance-board-to-fight-misinformation_4432889.html?utm_source=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2022-04-28-1&utm_medium=email&est=lAyDM3GrlNE8Xfm7wOz1%2FRB1LLWm7DdGH244wj0o6TOfn5RbU4ZyGhgKCtfCQ2Ze8OE%3D
James White writes: “The importance of sola scriptura can be seen when men who thought they held to it begin moving away from it, and express their newfound objections. Of course, which road they are traveling will say a lot about the consistency of their arguments. So, let’s say you are headed down the road for Rome, […]
Technocracy is seen as the force behind the proposed “pandemic treaty” that would give the World Health Organization total sovereignty over global health. The Presidents of Burundi and Tanzania banned the WHO from their borders, refusing to go along with the pandemic narrative: Both died unexpectedly within months and were replace with pro-WHO Presidents. Obviously, […]
Big (Brother) Person is watching your language and you could get your (mouth washed out with soap) language corrected if you’re not careful. For many, being (forced) nudged to used “politically correct” language will lead to politically correct thinking and politically correct actions. ⁃ TN Editor Google has launched an ‘inclusive language’ function designed to avoid the use of […]
How would a nation overcome the technological, economic, and cultural conquering force of another nation and/or ideology? Or, how could the United States really and truly halt in its tracks the egalitarian, scientistic, conquering force of the new world order? Libertarianism will not win this war. Anarchy, in its antinomianism, is Satanic by definition. Secular […]
Live blood analysis reveals strange objects in the blood of those who have received a COVID vaccination.
From a recent article by MindMatters.ai. “In a continuing discussion with Bari Weiss, PayPal Pioneer David Sacks warns hearers: Let’s start by defining what a social credit system is. A social credit system is a system that pretends to give you civil liberties and freedom. It doesn’t overtly send you to the gulag for expressing dissent. Rather, it conditions […]
Brad and Dayzofnoah take a look at analyses of the blood of those who’ve been jabbed with juice, as well as discussing other pressing topics. More to come in another uncensored episode soon. Stay tuned!
We are happy to share this small group Bible study by Ryan Bush via G3min.org “The beatitudes hinge upon the theological concepts of justification, sanctification, and perseverance. Only those who have been justified can be in a state of blessedness. Those who are justified are sanctified, which is why they are humble, repentant, meek, righteous, […]
We find a comforting teaching about God’s sovereignty and our responsibility in Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11:38-44
38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” 43…[then] He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
J.C Ryle wrote of this event,
“We read that He said to those around Him, when he came to the place of burial, ‘Take ye away the stone.’
Now, why did Jesus say this? Surely it was just as easy for Him to command the stone to roll away with no person touching it as it was to call a dead body from the tomb. But such was not His mode of proceeding. Here, as in other cases, He chose to give man something to do. Here, as elsewhere, He taught the great lesson that His almighty power was not meant to destroy man’s responsibility. Even when He was ready and willing to raise the dead, He would not have man stand by altogether idle.
Let us treasure this: In doing spiritual good to others – in training up our children for heaven – in following after holiness in our own daily walk – in all these things it is undoubtedly true that we are weak and helpless. ‘Without Christ, we can do nothing.’ But still, we must remember that Christ expects us to do what we can. “Take ye away the stone” is the daily command which He gives us.” Let us do what we can, and for our effort, Christ will meet us and grant His blessing.”
The “Ordo salutis” is a Latin term which means “the order of salvation”. It speaks of a way of organizing all the events of redemption in the consecutive order that they show up in an individual’s life (as revealed in the bible) when he is joined to Christ by the Holy Spirit. Listed here are the individual sermons given at the 2022 G3 Conference in February.
The order of salvation: 1) election/predestination (in Christ), 2) Atonement 3) gospel call 4) inward call 5) regeneration, 6) conversion (faith & repentance), 7) justification, 8) sanctification, and 9) glorification. (Rom 8:29-30).
As you listen to these edifying sermons about God’s work on the human heart, it might be helpful to provide some basic definitions of many of the terms involved:
Foreknowledge: God’s knowing (in this sense) prior to salvation those who would be saved.
Predestination: God’s choosing before time all who would be saved.
Election: God’s choosing of all who would be saved.
Regeneration: God’s renewing of one’s life (not physically, but as opposed to the spiritual death caused by sin) (Titus 3:5).
Evangelism: The communication of the gospel by which one can be saved (Matthew 28:19).
Faith: Belief and trust in the message of the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Conversion: One’s turning to God based on the gospel (Acts 26:18).
Perseverance: One’s continued true belief—remaining in the state of salvation (Jude 1:24).
Repentance: Changing one’s mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ (Acts 26:20).
Justification: God’s freeing of one from the penalty of sin—the pronouncement of “not guilty” on a sinner (Romans 5:9).
Sanctification: God’s separation of one from the lure of sin (2 Timothy 2:21).
Glorification: God’s final removal of all sin from the life and presence of one (in the eternal state) (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17).
In the Reformed tradition, the order of salvation is understood Biblically as: election/predestination, followed by evangelism, regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification. It should be noted that these need not be conceived as chronological steps – many of these stages are seen as distinctions within a single process that all (in one way or another) depend upon the work of God.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. Many systems, like the Roman Catholic system, have added to the Gospel by insisting that salvation comes by man’s choice making it possible for man to choose to forgo or to somehow lose his salvation. This is a false gospel that we must refute whenever we have the chance. We pray that these sermons will edify you in your walk with Christ. Understanding the Ordo Salutis is a great blessing to Christians because it provides a Bible-based explanation for how God changes the hearts of those He saves.
Thanks to your partnership and support we were blessed to see these sermons given live in person at the 2022 Regional G3 Conference and thus we are eager to share them with you now. Be sure to watch the G3 sermons on Ordo Salutis as they roll out this week on YouTube.
See now https://www.youtube.com/c/G3Conference/videos
Hyper-Reality, The Great Gaslight, Hegel’s Alchemy of Science, Seeds of Collectivism. These are a few of the topics Sovereign Nations intelligently dives into. See for yourself. Keep an eye on their updates.
Link to Site https://sovereignnations.com/category/video/
1- If Calvinism is true, whomever God provides “irresistible grace” to will go to heaven and not suffer eternal hell.
2- If God is omnibenevolent, He would not desire to, nor would He, send anyone to suffer eternal hell for choices they were powerless to make without God’s irresistible grace.
3- If God is omnipotent, he could provide irresistible grace to all people.
4- If God is omniscient, he would know how to provide irresistible grace to all people.
5- Some people suffer eternal hell.
6- Therefore, either God is not omnibenevolent, or not omnipotent, or not omniscient (pick at least one), or irresistible grace (and Calvinism) is false.
James White responds to an argument presented by Dr. Tim Stratton which he styles the Omni Argument Against Calvinism. Read the Article https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/theologymatters/the-omnis-argument-against-calvinism/
Technocracy News writes: “Through its Young Global Leaders program, the World Economic Forum has been instrumental in shaping a world order that undermines all democratic principles. For several decades, this program has nurtured compliant leaders acting as WEF agents in governments around the world. The consequences are far-reaching and may turn out to be devastating for humanity.”
Article https://www.technocracy.news/world-economic-forums-young-global-leaders-revealed/
Additional in-depth coverage on the Globalist Agenda found here https://sovereignnations.com
In the Book of Daniel a one-world or global government is predicted. This prediction is echoed in the Book of Revelation. The basic understanding is that a league of ten nations or regions will rise to exert global dominance (Revelation 13:1; Daniel 7:16–24; Daniel 2:41–42). One nation or leader, that previously appeared weak, will rise from this group and subdue all the other nations to assume singular dominance led by a satanically empowered Antichrist. This league of nations is often identified with the United Nations.
Additionally, in Revelation chapters 17 through 18 we read of “Babylon the great” also known as the “Whore of Babylon.”
In Genesis 11, we read of the Tower of Babel. This was mankind’s first attempt to place the world under one ruler in direct defiance of God.
The United Nations or the European Union could be the source of a coming world order. However, it is also just as possible that some other currently unknown power will arise to bring in the Antichrist figure.
In revelation God refers to this nation, being and/or movement as a “mystery” (Revelation 17:5). Therefore, ruminating on the details is not a profitable practice for the Christian. But discerning the times in which we live and responding appropriately as Christians is always profitable.
Apocalyptic prophecies and analysis of global events has become a profitable activity for opportunists. Christians should be cautious to not speculate too much on matters of future unknowns and stick to the one prophecy we can all be sure of, the triumphant return of King Jesus.
There have always been such threats from would-be tyrants and looming global totalitarian governments. It can be argued that the world in our time looks more like the global order forecast in Scripture. It is possible that prophecy is being fulfilled even now. Hebrews 10:25 tells that these things will become more easily discerned as we “see the Day approaching”.
However, let us all remember to keep the Gospel first in all our endeavors and until we see Christ, Himself coming in Glory, we continue to trust God and fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of all the nations and train them to do His commands. We have the greatest opportunity for global evangelism since the 1st Century. Let us use this opportunity to identify evil, and carry the Gospel forward as God uses us to bring His people into His Kingdom.
If you would like to partner in support:
https://armoroftruth.net/donations/donation-form/
The fact that God has saved us through the blood of his Son is an unimaginable reality if it were not penned down for us in the pages of Scripture. The story of salvation involves God sending his Son into his very own creation, wrapped in human flesh, to rescue his people from their sin, rebellion, and satisfy the holy justice of God. This story is by far the greatest story in the history of the world.Yet, at the very same time, far too many people fall woefully short of understanding what the Bible teaches regarding the doctrine of salvation. Join us in February as we unpack this doctrine and lift up our triune God who brought to pass the plan and process of salvation from eternity past to eternity future—for his eternal glory.
Romans 8:1 — There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
G3 2022 Speakers
Josh Buice PASTOR, PRAY’S MILL BAPTIST CHURCH, PRESIDENT OF G3 MINISTRIES Steve Lawson FOUNDER, ONE PASSION MINISTRIES Owen Strachan PROVOST & RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, GRACE BIBLE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Phil Johnson EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRACE TO YOU Mike Riccard PASTOR OF LOCAL OUTREACH MINISTRIES OF GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, THE MASTER’S SEMINARY Jon Payne SENIOR MINISTER, CHRIST CHURCH PRESBYTERIAN Tom Buck PASTOR, FBC LINDALE, TX AND DIRECTOR OF G3 EXPOSITORY PREACHING WORKSHOPS Scott Aniol EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, G3 MINISTRIES Virgil Walker EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, G3 MINISTRIES. CO-HOST OF THE JUST THINKING PODCAST Darrell Harrison DEAN OF SOCIAL MEDIA, GRACE TO YOU. CO-HOST OF THE JUST THINKING PODCAST
Technocracy News writes about how South Carolina Proposes Law To Make It Illegal To Request Vax Status
A newly proposed South Carolina law would make it illegal for certain institutions to ask a person for their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“The government has no place in making you or telling you to take the vaccination or threatening your livelihood if you don’t,” said state Rep. William Chumley, a co-sponsor of the bill, known as H.4848.
A representative of a public, private, or nonprofit entity who asks about a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status should be fined more than $14,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, according to the text of the bill.
“South Carolina didn’t want to get in this fight,” Chumley told local media outlets. “It was brought to us by the federal government.”
Read article https://www.technocracy.news/south-carolina-proposes-law-to-make-it-illegal-to-request-vax-status/
If you’ve ever had to overcome addictions or had a family member involved in a 12-Step program be sure to make time to listen to and read this content as it will bless you and help you minister to others.
Armor of Truth’s full playlist video series on ‘The Truth About A.A. & 12 Step Programs’ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzYL1R0YAlh6cN5ODg8ysfCDFR8qnVoah
Watch Apologia Radio engage with the Bible, addiction, and Alcoholics Anonymous. Is AA biblical? No. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPXrtis_HDo&t=984s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is1Lbf7huaM
Further Study on AA and its occult origins plus a message from us below:
Reading https://carm.org/alcoholics-anonymous/what-is-alcoholics-anonymous-and-why-should-we-write-about-it/
Reading https://carm.org/alcoholics-anonymous/what-is-the-alcoholics-anonymous-gospel-of-salvation/
Reading https://carm.org/alcoholics-anonymous/alcoholics-anonymous-and-the-occult/
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: A Brief History of AA. Alcoholics Anonymous, World Services. 1957
Cheever, Susan. My Name is Bill: Bill Wilson – His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. Simon & Schuster 2004
Hartigan, Francis. Bill W: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Co-Founder Bill Wilson. St. Martins Griffin, 2001.
Irving Peter Gellman, The Sober Alcoholic (College and University Press, 1964), p. 121.
Lanagan, John. The “Spiritual” Truth Behind Alcoholics Anonymous—And Why Christians Should Think Twice About Joining A.A.
Lewis, M. Addiction and the Brain: Development, Not Disease. Neuroethics 10, 7–18 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-016-9293-4
“Pass it on”. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 1984
Gellman, I. The sober alcoholic. College and University Press. 1964
Twelve steps and twelve traditions. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 1981.
A message from Brad:
Please understand that this message is being given in love and my prayer is that it will be received in the intention in which it is given. This is not an attack. We are not commenting beyond our area of expertise here. My wife Summer has specifically been affected by the cult of AA essentially losing contact with her family. We don’t offer a critique of the program because we’re mad at it. We don’t say it’s a cult because we think it doesn’t work. We know it works. And that’s the problem. AA is effective as a cult in that it creates life-long slaves to the program rather than slaves to Christ Jesus. The program gets the glory that belongs to Christ. Someone might say, what difference does it make as long as I am sober and sane? Be careful with that. You don’t want to make too much of your ability to overcome anything without Christ, otherwise, you have an idol – a lesser God.
In the AA program, any god is good enough as long as that god is bigger than you and not yourself. But, wait a minute… the same thing can be said for Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses. No doubt, there have been alcoholics and addicts who responded to the Mormon message or Jehovah’s Witness evangelists, became a part of their recovery program, and overcame their addiction. So, does that mean Mormonism or the Watchtower is the truth? No. They also meet the basic qualifications for being deemed a cult. Why AA is a problem is because it is a lifestyle religion. We encourage you to watch the episode of Apologia Radio we have linked above for a full explanation. Pastor Jeff Durbin of Apologia Church, another one with a background of addiction, recovery, and working directly with others in treatment, gives a much better description of why AA is a false religion that makes disciples for AA.
You might say to me, but why are you being so harsh? AA isn’t infringing on the church, it’s just helping people to overcome their addictions and live a better life. Exactly. That is a religion. Any movement that claims to have the truth and the only way to success over sins of commission like alcoholism, heroin addiction, molly, pot, pills, or sex addiction, while providing a sacred text to be the standard for your life, must be held up to the light of Scripture and analyzed very closely. AA addresses sin without calling it sin; one has a life-long disease. AA offers an incomplete diagnosis then provides a completely enslaving prognosis: you will be diseased forever; you will always be an alcoholic, an addict… Two major problems here:
1) What about the sins of narcissism, lying, anger, or basic idolatry?
2) There is no hope of ever overcoming your condition as a sinner. You will always be enslaved to that specific sin and not even God can change that condition!
Do you see the problem?
God has been setting addicts free from their sin since The Fall of mankind in The Garden. He hasn’t lost His power or forgotten about drunks. He doesn’t need the AA Big Book to help Him bring His children to the Light.
Let me offer this analogy again: If a drunk joins the church of Scientology (an obviously dangerous New Age cult) and that man gets sober, do we then identify Scientology as the truth? Do we then begin a crusade to defend Scientology because it saved John Q from alcoholism? Of course not. We honor Christ as Lord of ALL areas of our lives and give Him the glory for victory over ALL sin. My friends, when you are IN Christ, you are still a sinner, but you are NO LONGER a sinner before God. Christ has covered your sins – ALL of them, not just one or two of them. Your sins are washed away from crimson to snow-white; removed from you as far as the east is from the west. You are Justified! Forever identified with Christ – not as an alcoholic.
What about the Celebrate Recovery program that you see at so many churches across the country. It is no better. Pulling Bible verses out of context and attaching them to the 12 steps of AA is not an answer. Watch the video above for more on that.
I also want to explain my wife’s personal experience of being delivered from her bondage to the sin of addiction in the year 2018. She was delivered through the sovereign grace of our Lord and God alone. I’m with her every day now and I bear personal testimony that she is free from that bondage. There are always consequences to our lives of sin before we were drawn to Christ and Justified. But, please understand this, nobody is saved from a life of sin by anything other than the work Jesus Christ completed on The Cross.
Jesus said IT IS FINISHED. That means all your past and future sins are covered when you are IN CHRIST. Summer lost her natural father to alcoholism and experienced the lifestyle that is alcoholism and mental neglect by her parents. To this day, the family members she has remaining choose not to communicate with her because she is not “working the program.” Why? Because it is too much of a risk to their sobriety to commiserate or even communicate with a person who is not a member in good standing of the church of Alcoholics Anonymous. That isn’t just “cult-like” my friends, that is one of the defining characteristics of a cult.
Whenever a lifestyle self-help “program” determines for you that it is unsafe for you to communicate with and express love directly to your child, you are firmly in the clutches of a cult – a cult that can save you from alcoholism, but it will NOT save you from yourself. Eventually, at some point, after the meetings are over when your sponsor isn’t available, your family is gone and you’re lying in your bed at night all alone, you will realize that your idol was insufficient. Your idol was limited. Your idol cannot talk to you now. Your idol cannot save you from the hard truth that you have forsaken Christ as Lord and now find yourself alone, sober, but all alone in all the other sins that AA could not wash away.
But here’s the good news!
God knows who you are. You’re not hiding from Him. By grace you are saved through faith, which is not because of anything you did or could do, it is the free gift of a Holy, wrathful and merciful God, and that is so that none of you may boast about your own special way to victory or sobriety. There is one way to the Father, one way to victory over all sin and death. Our Lord and God came into the world as a man, Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a perfect life according to the law, taught and prepared men to carry the message of the new Covenant to all the world. He gave His life willingly to perhaps the most brutal and humiliating form of capital punishment available in the Roman Empire. But God’s cup of wrath that is death could not hold Him and On the third day, He rose from the dead, left that tomb vacant… and in doing so He fulfilled the law, making the keeping of the law obsolete.
In Matthew 28 Jesus in His resurrected body gives His followers their command, which is ours today, our new covenant in Christ;
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
If you’re reading this and you are experiencing conviction in your heart, if these words are getting through to you and you know they mean something very important, then God is effectually calling you. That means He is drawing you to himself. You cannot cause this to happen. You cannot choose for this to happen. God moves and we respond. You were dead in your sins just like the rest of the world. It is appointed once for us all to die, then comes the judgment. Will it be mercy or grace for you? Are you prepared for that moment? There’s only one way.
If these words make sense to you then you realize that you need that mercy and not God’s judgment – which is His wrath. If these words are piercing your heart, then give it all to Christ right now. Give Him your addictions, your lying, your coveting, give Him your love of the things of the world, give Him your inability to overcome lust and desire for more and more of what the world offers.
If you are lost in addiction right now and these words are getting through to you, if you know that your Creator is calling you according to His good pleasure, give it all to Him. You have no power. Give your life to Him right now. That is what The Cross means. It means that you were dead, but God being rich in mercy has restored you to life and seated you with Christ.
What a miracle! The Gospel is the power! Not any other program. The Gospel saves men from themselves. These words that God has given us in Scripture, the public preaching of this Gospel IS THE POWER.
If you know something just changed in your heart, please reach out to us at hello@armoroftruth.net and let us know! If you need to find a church in your area let us know and I will personally take all the time it requires to find the best gospel preaching, doctrinally sound, non-woke, pure Gospel of Jesus Christ churches in your area and send that list to you. If you have recently requested our church finder service, please hang in there and extend us the grace of patience – it takes time to find these churches- but I can tell you this much, they ARE there.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
Watch The Video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfDRVQPxRug
The carefully developing campaign that merges “mental health, conspiracy theories, and disinformation” is very near to becoming grounds for the newest mandates that are for your safety. As you read the articles listed below it’s all too obvious to see what the talking-heads are doing to build an official case against people who think outside their toxic world views. They routinely list tabloid fake news style examples as an umbrella to justify reasons to silence any dissenting voices, hence invoking Mass Psychosis. The list of articles below show the scheme in action and it’s wise to read up on these to strategically steer clear of the mania.
Seen & Heard – Look Up These Six Articles:
1. Mass Psychosis: How to Create a Pandemic of Mental Illness
2. Is a Mass Psychosis the Greatest Threat to Humanity?
3. Conspiracy theories are a mental health crisis- No one’s talking about the complex relationship between disinformation and mental health. That changes now
4. When you become the target of racist disinformation – Information was weaponized during the COVID-19 pandemic. It had profound mental health consequences.
.5 How mass hysteria happens (and how to avoid the COVID-19 panic)
6. The Dangers of Disinformation and How It Impacts Your Mental Health
A big shout out to Emilio at Red Grace Media for talking about this point on his channel this week. Christian Apologist Cornelius van Til said, “Irrationalism has a secret treaty with rationalism…” or modern man is perfectly happy contradicting himself. There is a severe lack of responsibility in dealing with truth and it has invaded all spheres of influence including the government, the church, and of course the media. Being logically inconsistent is acceptable among a significant portion of our country today. Likewise, radical skepticism is prevalent on both sides of the political paradigm, and within the truth movement itself – the movement that claims to love truth above all else – another curious contradiction. These signs are evidence of a descent into depravity that the Apostle Paul discusses so clearly as occurring to those who reject transcendent truth in exchange for contradictory notions about human autonomy, which as the Apostle explains leads to futility of mind and culture like we see forming around us today. A culture that rejects reason, consistency, true compassion, and first and foremost, rejects God. And this movement is dangerous because it demands that we all come along with them on their descent into fatalism. The good news is that we have the answer. The Gospel refutes this unbiblical attitude.
https://youtu.be/rLMLIsFBbjI
WHAT IS A NOBLE LIE?A concept and practice that has throughout history been used as a tool for social engineering – guiding the masses in the desired direction. In politics, a noble lie is a myth or untruth knowingly told and promoted by an elite to maintain social harmony, or to advance an agenda, or both. The term suggests that the author of the narrative is deliberately deceiving the people. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates introduces the idea, “We want one single, grand lie, which will be believed by everybody… a massive untruth meant for the sole purpose of deception to create an outcome that the masses would not otherwise be willing to accept.
Example: A small group of elites desires control over a great number of free persons and their free economy. Knowing these free persons would never agree to give them that control, these elites, with their power over politicians, markets, and the law itself, orchestrate an event, or many events over many years, where fear is instilled in the people and these same elites propose the solution to that fear via their preconceived solution, which is the control they desired all along. They might say something like, ‘We all want to feel safe. Therefore, we must limit your traditional freedoms just for a little while (2 weeks?) to keep the bad men from reaching you at home, or to keep the new illness from reaching you at your home or infecting someone you love.’
If people can be made to believe the lie, or made too afraid to dissent, they will be strongly motivated toward compliance – whether they’re true believers or not.
Understanding psychology very well, these elites know that their lie, or myth, must be one that creates a feeling of national or civic identity that is grounded in a singular purpose – we’re all in this together. Likewise, there must be a feeling of dread that comes and goes. A lot of fear, followed by a little relief, and then more and more fear, followed by the promise of a little relief. A dismantling of a vibrant and healthy economy with fear and force, followed by a little relief in the form of a check or a couple months’ relief for your failing small business. A global show of force in the form of lockdowns and lock-ups for those who dissent, followed by the promise of a return to ‘freedom’ in our ‘new safer normal’. But, doesn’t this sound kind of like what narcissistic abusers do to their victims.
Trauma Bonding
Ingrid Clayton Ph.D. with Psychology Today says, “Trauma-bonding is a hormonal attachment created by repeated abuse, sprinkled with being “saved” every now and then. This type of conditioning is intuitively exploited by narcissists. They are masters at giving us just enough and then ripping it all away. A Trauma-bond is formed in conjunction with gaslighting, [shaming], and manipulation designed to make us question our reality.
On the other hand, there must be consequences for those who see the lie properly identify it as a lie, and refuse to bond with their abuser. These people are dangerous to the abuser, or the movement. Their ideas must not be allowed to reach the people. The narcissist husband must not allow the abused wife to speak to anyone reasonable, or if she does, her abuser will make her think that opinion is simply crazy – or he will threaten her isolation or violence (lockdowns, or jail time).
Dissenting opinions must not be tolerated. In fact, in an authoritarian narcissistic overthrow of a free nation, all debate must be canceled and truth must be co-opted and sold back to the people as a brand – as an offer you can’t refuse. Follow our movement or starve. Leave me and I’ll kill you.
How can dissent be effectively managed and true debate be silenced in a nation that had previously flourished because of its robust public debate?
Controlling the minds of the people. Psychologically managing the minds of the masses to reject debate, to act on feelings rather than truth, to hate the one who disagrees with the “experts,” to call anyone with a dissenting opinion a conspiracy theorist, and to shame them with guilt by association, to learn to love the state because the state has all the solutions. As Huxley wrote in Brave New World, to learn to love their servitude.
It has been said often these days, “People are basically good and we all just want the truth.” But, is this true? Do people really want the truth? Are we all basically good? If people were basically good and we all just wanted the truth, do you think our world would look any different than it does right now? That’s evidence for your senses: for your eyes and ears, that the world follows its own agenda of fear and darkness. How about some Biblical evidence:
John 3
19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in (originated in, have come from) God.”
Establishing Dominance Through Psychology
The Initiation into Technocracy, Gnostic Darwinism, and Social Utopianism involve:
– Reframing reality (austerity of thinking)
– Abundance is oppression
– Narratives are truth
– Return to primacy (childlike dependence)
– Remove continuity
– Ambiguous threats (Perpetual state of dread)
Such as:
Pandemics
Terrorism
Climate change
Aliens?
Asteroids?
– Removal of purpose (dependence on the state)
– Denounce logic
– Scientism replaces the scientific method
– Only approved experts are authoritative
– Flaunting dominance (flouting their own rules)
– Creating a ‘faith-based’ society (worship of state)
From the article: Mass Psychosis: How to Create an Pandemic of Mental Illness
https://www.technocracy.news/mass-psychosis-how-to-create-an-pandemic-of-mental-illness/
Intentional sowing of fear resulting in long periods of panic results, followed by promises and insignificant gifts from those in power causes waves of terror, and it doesn’t matter if the “terror” in question is real or fictitious. Each round of fear is followed by a round of calm.
Contradictory reports, nonsensical recommendations, and blatant lies are deployed intentionally because it increases confusion. The more confused a population is, the greater the state of anxiety, which reduces the ability to cope with the crisis. As the ability to cope withers, the more unhealthy the society becomes.
After a short period of calm, the threat level is elevated again – each round or wave of fear more intense than the one before. Over time, it becomes easier and easier to control everyone as confusion and anxiety give way to the false hopes presented by those in power. The Noble lie, monotonously repeated, has more of an emotional appeal … than logic and reason.
The Rise of Technocracy
The adversary’s game has not changed. Technology is the only difference today. The vast amount of opportunities to incite fear and manipulate people’s thinking has never been greater or more effective. It’s easier than ever to control the flow of that information. Modern technologies also have addictive qualities, so many voluntarily expose themselves to brainwashing. The senses are continually overloaded with stimuli. Man doesn’t learn to question his world anymore. The screen offers him answers already made.”
The ultimate tool to induce psychosis is isolation.
A society kept in isolation from each other descends into madness as rational thought is obliterated.
Once a society is firmly in the grip of mass psychosis, totalitarians are free to take the last, decisive step: They can offer a way out; a return to order. The price is your freedom… unless they are granted total control, they won’t be able to create the order everyone craves.
This order, however, is a pathological one, devoid of all humanity… demanding strict conformity and blind obedience. [end of article]
The Noble Lie is founded on deception. Therefore, Globalists, Neo-Darwinians, and Social Utopians know they need to produce huge lies. They know that in order to get control of men’s minds you must first, remove God as a viable option and then, provide a sensual option that replaces eternal truth. Replace eternal truth with pragmatism. Replace a constant with a variable. What is the death toll today? Does it make you feel afraid… sad… anxious?
There is a moral breakdown in the world and mankind must find a way to get everyone walking in the same direction without Jesus Christ -which is an ever-increasing error. The globalist, technocratic, materialist, the utopian answer is The Noble Lie – A Great Reset, the Agenda for the 21st Century, The New Normal, etc…
This is how great lies are accepted by stunned masses. An existential crisis is presented, often only in the hyper-real world of screens, with a period of induction or initiation to the fear and then a ready solution is rolled out; over and over and over.
MASS FORMATION PSYCHOSIS – or… mass hypnosis- the madness of crowds
Robert W Malone MD, MS – Dec 9, 2021
This form of mass hypnosis, the madness of crowds, describes how about 20-30% of the population in the western world become entranced with the Noble Lie or specific dominant narratives propagated and enforced by politicians, by the approved experts, pharmaceutical companies, and MSM.
What we can now see clearly is that a large fraction of the population is completely unable to process new scientific data and facts demonstrating that they have been misled about nearly every element of the pandemic mitigation response. There is a massive segment of our society that is so entranced that they’re unable to recognize lies and misrepresentations they’re being force-fed on a daily basis. What’s worse, they will actively attack anyone who dares to challenge the data/propaganda that they have chosen to idolize. Truth and thoughtful analysis has become anathema to the new religion of groupthink. For those who have lost friends or had family members cut ties because they’ve fallen into the new global control cult, this can be a source of deep anguish, sorrow, and psychological pain. It’s similar to watching friends and loved ones being seduced into Scientology, a UFO cult, or the Manson Family.
Dr. Malone says, “It is with those souls in mind that I included a discussion of the mass formation theory of Dr. Mattias Desmet, a psychologist and a statistician at the University of Ghent in Belgium.”
MASS FORMATION PSYCHOSIS or “crowd” formation
The conditions to set up mass formation psychosis include lack of social connectedness and sensemaking as well as large amounts of latent anxiety and passive aggression. When people are inundated with a narrative that presents a plausible “object of anxiety” and strategy for coping with it, then many individuals group together to battle the object with a collective single-mindedness. This allows people to stop focusing on their own problems, avoiding personal issues or problems. Instead, they focus all their thought and energy on this new object [Please keep in mind, this works BOTH WAYS. The truth community (including the Qanon cult, Mandela Effect, and Flat Earth Communities] is notorious for producing this phenomenon. NOTE: I did not say anything about the validity of these claims, I only said their movements are rampant with this kind of thinking. If you feel triggered by having your views challenged, you might want to find out why that is. If you get triggered about whether someone says the virus exists or does not exist, or if you feel triggered when someone says that Qanon is just as destructive as BLM, then you might be just as entranced as the other side – please evaluate yourself for these symptoms.]
As mass formation progresses, the group becomes increasingly bonded and connected. Their field of attention is narrowed and they become unable to consider alternative points of view. Leaders of the movement are revered, and can do no wrong [Does this sound familiar? We are ALL vulnerable to this kind of emotional, black and white thinking.].
Left to fester, a society under the spell of mass formation will support a totalitarian governance structure capable of otherwise unthinkable atrocities in order to maintain compliance. NOTE: mass formation is different from groupthink. There are easy ways to fix groupthink by giving dissenting voices a fair hearing in debate. With mass formation, even when the narrative falls apart, the hypnotized crowd can’t break free of the narrative. This is what appears to be happening now with the current public debate on the scientific merits of lockdowns, mandatory jabs, and the overall shame campaign against anyone who challenges the narratives of the social utopians. What happens when many people are challenging the narrative? The solution for those in control of the narrative is to produce bigger and bigger lies to prop up the solution. Those being controlled by mass formation no longer are able to use reason to break free of the group narrative. Like the world banks, their lie has simply become too big to fail.
How could this happen? A neverending deluge of data and cases, and deaths, and variants, and calls for social justice, and shaming, and repeat, repeat, repeat… Additionally, through MSM and government channels continuously repeating the message the followers and true believers of the movement are further trauma bonded to the state, to these leaders galvanizing their particular in-group.
Studies suggest that mass formation follows a general distribution:
30% are brainwashed, hypnotized, indoctrinated by the group narrative
40% in the middle are persuadable and may follow if no worthy alternative is perceived
30% fight against the narrative.
Those that rebel and fight against the narrative, become the enemy and a primary target of aggression. Thoughtfully, and reasonably speaking out against it helps to break the hypnosis of some, and might persuade those in the middle to reject mindlessness [once again, please don’t think this can’t happen to you. If you say you’re immune to mass formation, that is the first sign that you might already be hypnotized by opportunists on your own side.].
Dr. Desmet suggests that for something this big, the only way to break the mass formation psychosis is to give the crowd something bigger to focus on. He believes that totalitarianism may be that bigger issue. In fact, global totalitarianism may be the biggest issue of our time [I agree that totalitarianism is a big issue in our time. However, the answer is not to simply identify the problem over and over. We must bring the solution to the world.
YOU CAN CALL IT MASS PSYCHOSIS, MENTICIDE, EVIL, AND BLAME THE ELITE BUT YOU’VE SOLVED NOTHING.
Mass psychosis is not the cause, it’s the effect. Menticide is not the cause, it’s the effect. Evil is not a cause, it is an effect.
We know the effect. Everyone can see the effect. What we need is to properly identify the cause. The cause is sin. The effect of sin is a darkened mind. Repentance and God’s grace is the answer. Through repentance, and obedience to God we will have the strength and minds to recover our nation. But, if we continue to misidentify the effect as the cause, we will languish in error and fall further into national depravity.
Mass Psychosis: How to Create a Pandemic of Mental Illness
A quote attributed to Gustave Le Bon, a French social psychologist renowned for his study of crowds,
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”
…the characteristics of human crowds and how people tend to relinquish active critical thought in favor of unconsciously moving with the crowd.
Carl Jung said,
“It is not for nothing that our age cries out for the redeemer personality, for the one who can emancipate himself from the grip of the collective psychosis and save at least his own soul, who lights a beacon of hope for others, proclaiming that here is at least one man who has succeeded in extricating himself from the fatal identity with the group psyche.”
Therefore our culture presents ready-made “Messiahs” or liberated wise men preaching the virtues of autonomy.
Liberty is a God-given right, like your ability to walk or think clearly. It ought to be recognized as God-given and thus, treated as such, expressed in love and protected with bold faithful force. We’re all born into a war. This war is spiritual and the strategy is information. There is no higher information than Jesus Christ is King! Anyone not engaging the battle on those terms has misjudged the conflict and the adversary. We must speak the truth and accept the consequences. We’re not the first ones to have to take a risk for that which is decent and morally upright. It’s a good time to remind those who are overwhelmed by data, the death counts, and the dread to stop living by emotion and stop idolizing experts. These things all waver. The messages from the experts of the day are expedient messages that change according to the daily needs of those elites who desire more control over you and those you love.
What is the most dangerous threat to your family today, in this world right now? It’s not a virus, it’s not an extremist, it’s not asteroids, aliens, or the unvaccinated. The greatest threat to you and your loved ones right now is a politician who thinks his power is absolute and a society that will not challenge him. If the government presumes to have jurisdictional authority over the church, families, businesses, or bodies, then they are derelict of their duty and subject to replacement.
The only counter-narrative to the propaganda is The Gospel! That is the only truth you can stand on publicly forever. The only real push for freedom comes from the open preaching of the Gospel which they are trying to limit right now. The Gospel is the power. We must carry against all odds.
Unbelief and Its Consequences
Romans 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them… so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools… 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind… 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
There appears to be an organized effort to marginalize and compartmentalize any thought that does not harmonize with the new so-called progressive thought. A movement to label anyone who does not agree with the official narrative(s) of social justice, overreaching health authorities, etc… If you seek out facts and information that is contrary to this new movement for total control of thought and lifestyle, you might just be called a crazy conspiracy theorist and associated with unreasonable movements like Qanon, Mandela Effect, or Flat Earth. We’re seeing it all over the place. Debate is being squashed by simply associating any dissent with the worst of its fringes and calling it mental illness. This is an old tactic being deployed with new far-reaching technology. Today, the term conspiracy theory is shorthand for mental illness. A convenient tool for shutting down communication, debate, and dissent.
The Left’s Long History of Declaring Political Dissidents “Mentally Ill”
https://fee.org/articles/the-lefts-long-history-of-declaring-political-dissidents-mentally-ill/
Conspiracy theories are a mental health crisis
https://mashable.com/article/mental-health-disinformation-conspiracy-theories-depression
Clips from the article in italics – my notes in regular;ar font
Every day, people who spend time online face a deluge of conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation… Thanks to algorithms, like the ones that drew many into QAnon, people quickly slip into dark corners of the internet and find a community of believers, or even zealots, who swear they’ve discovered hidden truths and forbidden knowledge… Conventional wisdom says media literacy, fact-checking, and critical thinking skills are the best weapons against those impulses.
Take note here, this is all very true. We should all be aware of our own presuppositions and biases when we consider new information. However, what you will see from this article, like so many others currently, obviously present in the bias of the article is the implicit assumption that this advice is only relevant for those on the political right, or those who are politically indifferent but tend to question the message and motives of the progressive left. As you can see from this selection, after the good advice a seed is planted that will eventually blossom into a full-grown charge of mental illness. Gaslighting anyone who challenges the dream of a new social utopia.
Yet this approach rests on the dangerous assumption that people’s emotional and psychological well-being has little bearing on their vulnerability to far-fetched ideas, elaborate lies, and cunning propaganda. In fact, recent research suggests that their mental health can influence what they’re willing to believe… Studies have shown that conspiracy theories appeal to people with unmet psychological needs. They crave knowledge, desire safety and security, and need to maintain positive self-esteem. Conspiracy theories, which may sometimes be true, help explain the unknown, giving people a deep sense of satisfaction.
Notice how the argument is subtly moving in the direction of a label of mental illness – regardless of the validity of the “theory.” Truth be damned! If you question Big Brother you are not a good person, in fact, you might just be broken. You’re just not a good influence on our new utopian culture. The gaslighting ramps up.
Past research shows conspiracy theories are associated with anxiety, social isolation, and negative emotions. Now a new wave of research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic suggests a plausible connection between uncertainty, anxiety, and depression and an increased likelihood of believing conspiracy theories… Insight was plentiful on YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, and other media platforms where grifters, hucksters, and conspiracy theorists peddled the truth as they saw it to people who wanted what few could offer: certainty. That confidence became an antidote to the misery of not knowing what might come next.
Once again, a dose of truth here that no one will deny. These places are full of nonsense and opportunists who aim to sell you their brand of truth. But, we can already see where this is heading: Who are they talking about? Is the article’s writer, Rebecca Ruiz, going to objectively diagnose both sides of this problem? Will the editorial staff over at Mashable do their job and ensure objectivity in their news product? Now, let’s be fair, if this was purely an opinion piece we could probably let it go and chalk it up to the left-right paradigm playing out in the Op-Eds. However, the website categorized the piece under, “Life > Health & Wellness > Mental Health.” We expect objectivity on matters of well-being. I’m not holding Rebecca accountable for razor-sharp scientific reporting here (although we could), however, when reporting on mental health and making claims about who might be suffering and why, if your politics colors your reporting here, your reporting must be exposed as uselessly biased. Once again, in fairness, we all have biases, presuppositions, and we know without a doubt that neutrality is a myth. But, that’s what is meant by RESPONSIBLE reporting. When reporting on issues like this, we expect the most sincere effort of objectivity, fairness, and sympathy for all sides of the argument.
People who immerse themselves in this swamp of “polluted information,” particularly those with a deep attachment to QAnon, have anecdotally expressed a preoccupation with and distress over solving riddles and clues, waiting anxiously for predictions to come true, fractured relationships with loved ones over their beliefs, and increased isolation. If their mental health hadn’t been poor prior to their involvement in these online communities, it seemed to decline the deeper they got. Their friends and family have noticed. In one subreddit dedicated to people who’ve lost a friend or family member to QAnon, posters frequently despair over losing their loved one to what they often describe as a cult.
I certainly would not disagree with this assessment of Qanon: a movement of those who identify on the right side of the socio-political spectrum. The article goes on to give the account of one woman, a British college student, Lelia Hay, who discovered Qanon at the beginning of the pandemic. The article states that she was already experiencing anxiety before finding Q, but that during her time locked down at home,
“…she quickly became absorbed in investigating these claims. Stressed and isolated from loved ones, she fell deeper into the abyss… Because my brain was already used to convincing me that the worst was going to happen (health problems, failure, poverty, etc), it is not surprising to think that it (her brain) would also convince me that the world was a much darker place… There is not much worse than believing the world is run by cannibalistic, satanic, blood-drinking pedophiles who are responsible for looking after the healthcare and education of our children. It made me want to protect the ‘victims,’ although I knew there was no way to do that.”
Notice anything here? The problem is all in her brain. She is presented to us as already suffering what they have defined as mental illness. Therefore, what the article suggests is that when people recognize the truth of the world as fallen, that man’s heart is wicked, and that sin and evil are rampant on the earth, that if that person responds by embracing Q, they are mentally ill. However, what is implicit in this article is, if a person responds to the same stimuli and embraces BLM, or any other Neo-Marxist movement, they are stable, sane and rightly addressing the problem. Objectivity is glaringly absent. There is a giant hole in the space where responsibility should be.
Two questions:
Lelia stated, “Because my brain was already used to convincing me that the worst was going to happen (health problems, failure, poverty, etc)…”
Is it just her brain? Or has she perhaps had a bit of nudging in that direction by this same media that purports to be objectively concerned about her well-being? Is it possible that Lelia’s anxiety is the result of a very real global campaign of mind-shaping toward a more helpless and more easily controlled state of being?
Are the dangerous, family-busting fringe movements only found on one side of this argument? Are there any movements that are equally or even worse for indoctrinating minds into submission to causes that are unhealthy for individuals and nations?
Here’s the truth about BLM and other dangerous Neo-Marxist movements that these articles will not mention because they are NOT objective and they are NOT concerned about well-being:
Marxism dehumanizes all persons, demoralizes all relationships, and decivilizes all institutions.
Dehumanizing all persons. No one is anything more than his or her DNA and appearance, plus whatever animal instincts he happens to feel at a given time. From this comes identity politics, racial and sexual polarization, group victimhood, and group guilt. This logically results in demoralizing relationships.
Demoralizing all relationships. Since individuals are mere meat in motion, and existence is mere randomness, morality as all the world religions have known is gone. No two people can interact on the basis of objective right and wrong. What’s right or good is instead the mere product of quantitative mass (how many people want it) times qualitative intensity (how much emotion they express). Dignity, property, marital and family ties, marketplace exchanges, contracts and promises, tradition and heritage, vulnerability, duty, love, and life itself — all go to zero.
Decivilizing all institutions. People and relationships having thus been zeroed out. Institutions of whatever sort, including communities or nations, obviously cannot stand either. An institution is but an agreement or understanding entered into by people, meant to outlive them and endure through time, all of which is viewed as absurd and dissolves under the acid of dialectical materialism. All bets are off.
Civis, Latin for city, which gives rise to our ideas of civilization and civility, civics and the citizen, goes on the ash heap of history.
Language, the institution enabling people in communities to communicate — even to seek and express truth — gets trashed as well.
Truth is whatever one wants it to be. Plain speaking must bow to political correctness.
Does that sound healthy to you? Is that what they mean when they say well-being? Mostly, no. Most of these folks writing these articles are following orders to produce a certain kind of content and have no idea the gravity of their choice to stop being thoughtful and approaching these issues with great care. But, if your worldview is materialism, and there is no God and transcendent source of morality, then even the journalists are susceptible to falling for the same misinformation, indoctrination, and mental illness that Rebecca Ruiz claims to be exposing in her article. This is an example of how one side is presented in an effort to demonize the other. That’s not reporting. That is propaganda – by definition. The article states this about Lelia,
“Her obsession with the conspiracy theories subsumed her other interests, like music, movies, and reading. She spent so much time looking at QAnon content online that she experienced frequent headaches and used eye drops to relieve dryness.”
Are we being led to believe that this is ubiquitous among all those who fall into wrongthink? Does anyone who falls into a socially destructive, mentally enslaving Neo-Marxist movement (like BLM) find peace of mind, well-being, and truth?
When you search the internet for articles and examples of the same claims of mental illness within those who found BLM online during the pandemic, you find almost nothing. Do we really think that is because no one has fallen into BLM the same way Lelia Hay fell into Q? Of course not. There is an obvious media storm to portray anyone who questions the motives of the far left orgs as mentally ill. That’s the game that’s being played right now. If you are not one of us (the Prog. Left, antiracist, social utopians) then you aren’t well and can’t be trusted to make your own decisions. Who is being de-platformed and censored wholesale on social media and YouTube? It certainly ain’t BLM. That tells you something that you don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist or a sociology expert to understand. Dissent is being marginalized as mental illness and THAT is a dangerous point we’ve come to.
What is our duty as Christians?It is our duty as Christians to discern properly the times in which we are living. Is this a time for silence or speaking out loudly? A time for peace or for war?
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
Man’s laws have nothing to say about God’s will. He is sovereign in the times of good and the times of evil. The beginning was in His word, and the ending was, too. Everything under heaven is thus changeable, but in heaven there is an unchangeable state, and an unchangeable counsel concerning these things. His decree has made all things occur according to His good pleasure and He will judge the unrighteous. To those in Christ He has given mercy already.
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time for God to plant a nation… and a time to pluck up a nation to make room for another, a time to pluck up and to destroy, when that nation has rejected its redeemer… when that which was planted has grown fruitless and useless, it is time to pluck it up.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
Solomon did not tell us there was a time for murder – premeditated. But there is a time kill.
A time to kill, when the judgments of God are brought on a nation, but, in repentance, through His mercy, then there is a time to heal, to comfort a people after the time that he has afflicted them. How would anyone understand God’s mercy without His wrath? There is a time when it is the wisdom of rulers to use severe methods, but there is a time when it is as much their wisdom to take a more gentle course and to apply themselves to remedies, not damages.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time when God’s providence calls us to mourn, as in times of common calamity and danger – a time when it seems absurd to laugh, and dance, and make merry, but then, on the other hand, there is a time when God calls us to cheerfulness, a time to laugh and dance, and then he expects we should serve him with joyfulness and gladness of heart. Observe, The time of mourning and weeping is put first, before laughter and dancing, because we must first sow in tears and then reap in joy. If you are in mourning right now, in distress at all, know this: God has Promised that joy comes after the pain. John 16:22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
John 16:33
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
In the ancient world they commonly scattered stones on an enemies’ land to hinder farming.
A time to cast away stones, by breaking down and demolishing fortifications, in times of peace… but there is a time to gather stones together, for the building of fortresses… A time for old towers to fall, as in Siloam (Lu. 12:4), and for the temple itself to be so ruined that not one stone should be left upon another; but also a time for towers and monuments too to be built, when national affairs prosper.
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to embrace a friend when we find him faithful, but a time to refrain from embracing when we find he is unfair or unfaithful, and that we have cause to suspect him…
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to keep, when we need it and cannot afford in good conscience to lose it. But there may come a time to give it all up, when we are called in love to God to lose what we have, specifically if we must deny Christ and wrong our consciences to keep it – when love to ourselves may require us to lose it when it is for the saving of our lives, as it was when Jonah’s mariners heaved their cargo into the sea.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time when it becomes us, and is our wisdom and duty, to keep silence, if we might waste our words on those who cannot hear it or when we might speak more words than we ought to, but there is also a time to speak for the glory of God and the edification of others – when our silence would betray a righteous cause – it is a Christian’s duty to know when to speak and when to hold our peace.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time to love – to be friendly, to be free and cheerful. But there may come a time to hate, when we will have just cause to cut ties with some that have been our friends or our nation – when we have found a reason that is hard for us to even admit. We cannot be parties to open rebellion and sin.
A time for war and a time for peace.
A time of war, when God draws the sword for judgment and, when men draw the sword for justice and the maintaining of their rights, when there is in the nations a disposition to war – let us pray for a time of peace, when the sword of the Lord shall be sheathed there will be no war, when there is on all sides a disposition to peace. War shall not last always, neither will peace be lasting in a fallen world.
Christian, understand what time it is in which we are living. These verses exhort us to take full advantage of the time God gives us (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:15). “Many a man loses his soul, as Saul lost his kingdom, by not discerning his time. Esau came too late; so did the foolish virgins with their empty lamps.
Is this a time for silence?
Here are some wonderful ways to read the Bible in one year.
G3 app https://g3min.org/bible-reading-plan-2022/
Ligonier Plans https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans?utm_medium=slider&utm_source=ligonier
In what way are we free in Christ? Dr. Tony Costa’s scholarly paper opens with the following: “In this article I will examine the subject of the Sabbath or Sabbath day and its relation to Christ and the Church in the new covenant. There has been much debate about Sabbatarianism in the history of the Church. Is the Sabbath still relevant for today? Should the Sabbath be observed by Christians? Which day is the Sabbath? Is it Saturday, the seventh day of the week, or Sunday, the first day of the week, or is it one day in seven that one arbitrarily chooses to rest on? Has the Sabbath been changed from Saturday (the seventh day), to Sunday (the first day of the week) in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus? The subject of the Sabbath has also been a dividing line between Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology.”
Continue Reading https://equip.sbts.edu/publications/journals/journal-of-theology/sbjt-201-spring-2016/sabbath-relation-christ-church-new-covenant/
On Christmas day we are grateful to reflect on and praise Him for all the blessings He has given us!
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
“When Jesus was born, the angels announced “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). All who find Jesus know, with the shepherds of the nativity, the joy He brings. Even before His birth, Jesus had brought joy, as attested to in Mary’s song (Luke 1:47) and by John’s response to hearing Mary’s voice as he “leaped for joy” in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44).”
Read Article https://www.gotquestions.org/joy-of-the-Lord.html
A perfect example of social engineering taking root, aka Gnosticism rebranded for the flavor of today: “Algorithms are surfacing content that combines Christian ideas like prosperity gospel with New Age and non-Western spirituality — along with some conspiracy theories.”
Pop Culture Article https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22832827/manifesting-tiktok-astroworld-conspiracy-qanon-religion
“A cultural environment infested with false ideas leads to minds infected with false ideas. And ideas, whether false or true, have consequences. ‘…’ Our cultural environment is imbued with many false ideas. Especially burdened with them is our intellectual high culture. They’ve overwhelmingly embraced a materialistic or naturalistic outlook that sees the natural order, at its most basic, as simply an outworking of blind physical forces. Life, consciousness, and language, to say nothing of truth, beauty, and goodness are thus seen simply as by-products of a material world that at base knows no God, no moral structure, no telos.”
Apologetic Treatment https://mindmatters.ai/2021/12/is-truth-just-what-your-peers-will-let-you-get-away-with-saying/
We destroy our credibility with the secular world when we engage in sensual, or superficial tactics of reporting or sharing of spurious information or unsubstantiated memes. Let us all be very careful that we don’t fall into the error of applying loose connections to our theories of truth about, Christmas, Easter, or other important secular topics like globalism, and government corruption, etc. Our command is to carry the Gospel to all the world, and as Ephesians 5 says, reprove/expose evil, but do not fixate upon it such that our truth movement becomes about presenting darkness rather than being the light in a dark world. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them…” From David Guzik: Instead of associating with ungodliness, we expose the unfruitful works of darkness. However, we do not do this for the purpose of merely talking about them (which is shameful), but for the purpose of educating ourselves enough to avoid them. Christians must guard against (a carnal interest, or unhealthy sensual focus) in the works of darkness, even in times of testimony or research. Paul was careful to say that we should avoid the unfruitful works of darkness, not the people who are in darkness.
Parallelomania – An Introduction by John Tors
Watch Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdsNf2m297c
To live and die in the joy and comfort that are found in Jesus Christ you must have a deep experience of your own guilt and of God’s grace. And when you do, you will live in deep gratitude to God for delivering you from your sin.
When a believer falls into ingratitude, he reveals the poor state of his soul at that moment. A complaining, thankless disposition is a sin that must be ruthlessly put to death because it so greatly detracts from the glory of our gracious, praiseworthy God.
Read Article https://founders.org/2021/11/24/guilt-grace-and-gratitude/