It will come as no surprise to regular readers that I am
critical of the events that led up to the release of American pastor Andrew
Brunson.
I don't doubt his innocence and that he was caught up in a
geopolitical tug-of-war between Washington and Ankara. Erdogan lost the
showdown and as a consequence has egg on his face. Brunson was freed which (as
Christians) is something we should all rejoice in but sadly the circumstances
surrounding his freedom are in fact a source of concern... and for American
Evangelicals yet another mark of shame.
From Brunson's perspective, I'm sure he just wanted to be
released and who can blame him?
The fact that the US government used threats and sanctions to
bring this about is probably something he hasn't thought about too much and worse
it's something that has driven sycophantic Evangelicals to praise Trump and his
wicked regime. In fact spiritually speaking most of them have become rank
whores, selling themselves out to his service and aggressively promoting the version
of the Beast system he represents. Listening to Evangelical leaders the imagery
within Revelation is poignant even palpable.
Brunson walked out of confinement and came back to the United
States. It's reasonable that he might have thanked the officials connected to
the embassy or the people that met him at the airport.
But when he met with Trump in the Oval Office.... he crossed
a line. He may say that he still 'loves Turkey' but he has identified himself
with the policies of the Trump administration and the United States as a whole.
Does he not realise this? This Christian pastor has allowed himself to become a
willing tool, a weapon of war in Washington's arsenal which at present is
pointed (at least in part) at Erdogan's government.
He has confirmed the fears of leaders like Erdogan, Putin and
Xi Jinping... Western connected
Evangelicals are at the end of the day, agents of the US Empire.
Again many Evangelicals will celebrate Trump's threats and
aggression in the name of 'freeing their pastor' and 'defending the Church'....
but they do so in ignorance of the Kingdom of God and the realities of their
government and culture. Truly they are blind leaders of the blind.
Erdogan is certainly a wicked man and power-mad but his
country has been used and abused by the United States over a period of decades
and he himself has been subjugated to an assassination attempt and a failed
coup... with much of the evidence implicating Washington. The United States
also harbours his enemy Fethullah Gülen who continues to enjoy Deep State
protection as he runs an international organisation from a rural portion of
Eastern Pennsylvania.
Erdogan cynically seized Brunson and made a terrible and
certainly unjust mistake. He thought he could hold one pastor (Brunson) in
exchange for another (Gülen). But it backfired as most in the US don't even
know who Gülen is, let alone care. And Gülen is certainly more than just a mere
pastor. He's a deeply political figure and thus the 'exchange' was based on a
false premise, a case of apples and oranges as Erdogan would discover. Rather than
twist Washington's arm he found himself in an impossible situation in which it
was unavoidable that he would lose face.
Erdogan all but enabled the US political and media machines
to exploit the episode and paint him as a tyrant.... which to some degree he
is, though the US has no moral authority to condemn him as such. Erdogan of
course views himself as a deeply patriotic and religiously motivated man and
it's clear that at least half of the Turkish population agrees. Does the US
really support global democracy? Then be careful what you wish for.
Of course the US doesn't really support democracy at all. The
language and ideology is a tool and one used only when convenient. The US track
record as well as its present policies indicate otherwise. Washington clearly
cares very little about human rights or dictatorship, as long as those in power
are in support of US policy.
Though Trump is caught in the middle of an Establishment
Civil War, all factions are unanimous in wanting Erdogan gone. He's been a
thorn in Washington's side for over fifteen years. They've tried to remove him
by various means but so far all attempts have failed. Trump used various
threats and finally a form of economic warfare to break Erdogan's will and
force him to capitulate. People's livelihoods have suffered as a result. People
have faced economic ruin as a direct consequence of US policies. While not as
violent as Washington's normal method of dropping bombs it is nevertheless a
form of coercion, a type of violence and a message that conveys a larger threat
of violence.... and the story is hardly over as Erdogan clearly knows that
fellow NATO member Washington, is no ally but a clandestine enemy and one still
deeply rooted within his system.
The US media has done all it can to blame Turkish economic
woes on Erdogan and certainly he bears some of the blame. And yet US sanctions
have hurt Turkey and amplified inflation. Turkey has also been hurt by a wider
set of US sanctions imposed on nations like Russia and Iran. But by now Ankara
knows that US allies are expected to fall on their swords and submit to the
whims of Washington. The US media is once again playing its part and doing what
it can to buttress the Wall Street-Washington narrative.
No Christian would ever want to identify with such policies
and agendas. They wouldn't want a distorted and heretical understanding of the
Kingdom to be employed using the threat of war to accomplish the goals and
agenda of the Church. And yet the False Church loves to have it so and has
celebrated and promoted this error for centuries. This poison has existed since
the days of Constantine and few have learned the lessons as these demonic
doctrines continue to permeate all the main branches of Christianity.
Evangelicalism is just modern America's version of that same corrupt spirit
that has waged an internal war on Christ's Kingdom since the days of
Constantine and Theodosius.
Brunson could have offered his thanks and gone home. But no,
he allowed the Trump people to use him and parade him in front of the cameras. They
were trying to shore up the Evangelical vote and have succeeded in doing so.
But now what about the Church?
Brunson either forgot or sold out. All the glory due him in
his sufferings has been negated because the cross-bearer has taken up the
sword. Many won't see it that way but I can assure you that Brunson sitting
with Trump in the Oval Office represented his endorsement of violence and the
wedding of US imperial policy to his Christian missionary efforts. Brunson is
hailed as a hero and will be for years to come and yet he has identified
himself with the imperial persecutors.... the agents of Trump and Washington
that would break Turkey and use violence to accomplish their goals.
Instead of kissing the Son (Psalm 2) he chose to literally kiss
the American flag... a rather strange if powerful symbol coming from one who would
be well familiar with Eastern Orthodoxy's method of venerating icons. And of
course his prayer in the Oval Office with his hand on Trump's shoulder, a picture
celebrated by Evangelicals is instead a mark of shame and disgrace and a
damaging image for Evangelical churches around the world.
Now the Turkish Church is identified with American power and
its threats of violence. He would have done well to think about what happened
to Christians in Parthian Persia after Constantine's so-called conversion. It
opened up the floodgates of persecution. Shapur the Shah of Persia suddenly
looked at the many Christians in his empire as not a mere minority but a
potential Fifth Column.
Turkish history also exhibits several parallels to this, the
most recent being the Armenians and the policies of Imperial Russia in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. The Turkish response was
brutal, murderous and tragic and yet the context is usually ignored in the
West. The Ottomans were in trouble and the Tsar was more than happy to use the
Armenians and others as an excuse to pursue his policies.... which involved the
recapture of Constantinople. Erdogan has every reason to be suspicious of the
West and is in a difficult if not impossible position in that his nation is a
member of NATO even while being spurned by the EU. Turkey's position remains
unique and yet he knows that Washington wants to take him down and replace him
with someone more faithful to Kemalist orthodoxy and its Western oriented secularism.
And ironically (or perhaps not) this whole episode has led to
a renewed crackdown on Western missionaries in Turkey. The Church always faces
the backlash. It's the Shapur Effect once more.
Brunson is hailed as a hero and will be for years to come and
yet his persecution has been negated by the fact that now he is no longer the persecuted
but has identified himself with the persecutors.... the agents of Trump and
Washington that would break Turkey and use violence to accomplish their goals.
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