Money and the Hong Kong Protests

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hong-Kong-police-seizes-70-million-dollars-in-donations-for-democratic-movement-48868.html

This is the other side of the story when it comes to the Hong Kong protests. When you realise how much money flows into some of these protest movements one must legitimately question their democratic and 'grass roots' nature.

The Polish Judiciary, the EU and the Threat of Polexit

https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/poland-could-end-up-leaving-the-eu-supreme-court-warns/

https://www.dw.com/en/poland-thousands-protest-government-proposal-to-punish-judges/a-51728646

https://www.euractiv.com/section/all/short_news/warsaw-polexit/

(Both outlets (DW and Euractiv) can safely be described as pro-EU)

Free courts are the issue that has Poland in a state of turmoil. Free in the sense of free from political influence and the potential control of the Law and Justice Party (PiS)? Or free in the sense of Polish jurisdiction, precedent and custom being respected and not subjected to the international judicial dictates of the European Union?

NPR's Reporting on the Space Force

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/26/791414989/the-reasons-for-a-space-force

I don't listen to NPR a lot these days but I did catch this report the other morning and in some ways it typifies just why I've more or less abandoned NPR as a news source.

The story is on the newly created Space Force, a Sixth Branch of the US military. The congressional approval for the Space Force, along with increased defense spending, provisions made for the border wall and an invite to give the State of the Union address are all political victories for the president. A strange thing considering he was just impeached. Why is the Democratically controlled congress helping and empowering the president?

Inbox: What can the Uighurs do?

Given the magnitude of the Chinese clampdown in the Xinjiang region, the Uighur people face unimaginable pressure to abandon their culture and embrace a Han Chinese identity. Beijing's campaign will within a generation all but eliminate Uighur culture. While they are a Muslim population, from a Christian perspective the ethics of resistance are worth exploration. This is all the more true when we apply the same categories to the Church in the People's Republic and even (to some degree) the events taking place in Hong Kong.

As Christians, how can we analyse such situations and how would we respond in accord with the ethics of the New Testament?

Anti-Sodomite Vigilantism in Brazil

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-violence-christmas/brazilian-comedy-group-hit-by-molotov-cocktails-after-film-on-gay-jesus-idUKKBN1YT0KJ

Though few leaders are going to come out and openly support it, I believe many American Evangelicals support this type of Christian-on-Pagan violence, or would if given the chance. They're frustrated, they've had it and they want to lash out. Frankly the theology and culture promoted by Evangelicalism leads to this. It fosters vengeance. From the lawsuit and politics to the gun and the glorification of the military, Evangelicalism has embraced violence and power and has chosen to completely ignore if not negate the ethics of the New Testament.

With regard to Brazil, at this point we're not sure the fire was started by 'Christian' vigilantes but there's every reason to believe that it was.

Trump +1069: Impeachment and the Christianity Today Editorial (Part 2)

The state of things in the Evangelical world was already confusing and the events surrounding 2016 has only amplified this reality. Once nearly tangible blocs and affiliations have been shattered and the proliferation of Far Right news-sites, blogs and podcasts has only amplified the problem. Throw in websites like Pulpit and Pen and you discover an active disinformation campaign.

Trump +1069: Impeachment and the Christianity Today Editorial (Part 1)

It was something of a bombshell when news broke that Christianity Today, long the flagship magazine of the Evangelical movement proclaimed that Trump should be impeached. Since then the magazine has been denounced by Evangelical leaders as 'leftist', 'Marxist' and no longer faithful to the Scriptures.

Besides being absurd accusations, all we can really say is... what a mess. If things weren't already confusing enough, now this. 

Libya and the Escalating Mediterranean Conflict

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/turkey-raises-prospect-to-send-troops-to-libya/

The rift continues to deepen between Turkey and Libya and the story is further complicated by frankly dishonest Western reporting regarding the status of Khalifa Haftar and his backers.

Nord Stream 2 Sanctions

The US has introduced sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project which brings gas from Russia directly into Germany via the Baltic Sea. It's no accident the sanctions were passed as part of the large defense (military) bill passed by the US Congress.

CTE, the Ecumenical Movement and the Sodomite Breaking Point

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/churches-together-in-england-rejects-gay-president-nomination/133643.htm

Churches Together in England or CTE is an ecumenical body that seeks to bring together the various strands of Christianity within England. It's part of a larger network of similar bodies that seeks to tie together all ecclesiastical organisations with the British Isles. It's open to Catholics, Liberals, Pentecostals, Evangelicals and more and yet the organisation has recently fallen under some scrutiny over a controversy that developed over one of its six presidencies.

Reflections on the Hallmark Channel Controversy

https://www.kpbs.org/news/2019/dec/15/hallmark-channel-embroiled-in-controversy-after/

In the end, it's all about the money. If Hallmark refuses to air the 'gay' television ads, then the advertisers who run their commercials on Hallmark will catch flak and so to avoid it, they'll start pulling their adverts from the channel.

Movement and Summits in Central Asia: The EU Alternative

https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-asia/news/central-asia-leaders-meet-again-in-sign-of-increased-regional-cooperation/

These recent summits mark a change in the global order and perhaps for the first time since 1991 the Central Asian nations are demonstrating a serious willingness to cooperate and perhaps even a desire to function with a degree of autonomy. At last after almost thirty years it would seem that (some of them at least) have realised this goal might actually be workable if they agree to function as a bloc.

Dominionist-Fueled Violence in Brazil

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/soldiers-of-jesus-armed-neo-pentecostals-torment-brazils-religious-minorities/2019/12/08/fd74de6e-fff0-11e9-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html

Evangelical activism can take a different turn in countries that don't have a stable democracy or a long tradition of liberal values rooted in established social institutions. In Latin America, in Africa and certainly in parts of Asia these things are lacking and so it shouldn't surprise us that such religious extremism (one hesitates to call it Christian) is able to take root.

The NATO Summit, Energy Policy and TANAP

https://www.euractiv.com/section/azerbaijan/news/turkey-and-azerbaijan-mark-completion-of-tanap-pipeline-to-take-gas-to-europe/

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has been completed. At one time this would have been reckoned a victory for US foreign policy but now given that Ankara has pivoted toward Moscow and Baku is not as solidly in the US column... there's nothing to celebrate.

Paul Washer's Shocking Sermon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuabITeO4l8

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52906154239

I believe Paul Washer to be a gift to the modern church. His passion is compelling. I'm not a Baptist and thus I don't agree with him on every point. At times I'm baffled by his associations. I wonder if he's one of those men that is willing to appear in any venue in order to get the message out. If he's not invited back, clearly he doesn't really care.

Lausanne and the Evangelical Undermining of Sola Scriptura: Watering Down the Word

http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4929/Bezalel_and_Oholiab_Artists_and_craftsmen

This article is not unique. In fact there are dozens just like it produced on a daily basis. I've repeatedly addressed these issues in my writings and yet since there are so few who seem willing or able to provide the necessary critique I feel compelled to keep doing so, hoping that someone will stumble upon it, or that this time it will 'click' with someone.

The Malta Scandal, Energy Deals and Azerbaijan

One aspect to the scandal surrounding the car-bombing death of journalist Daphne Galizia that has not been focused on, at least not so far, is the connection to Azerbaijan and the politics of the Caucasus.

The NHS and US-UK Trade: Spinning the Revelations

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50699168

On the one hand I'm a little baffled by the 'breaking' nature of this story because there were hints of this a couple of years ago. The Brexit vote was in June of 2016 and Trump of course won the election in November of that year. There were rumours of NHS privatisation in the air coming from Tory circles, even during Cameron's tenure, and then it seems to me about 2018 there was a kerfuffle over Trump suggesting that a US-UK trade deal would require opening up the NHS to US investment and a degree of privatisation.

Well, apparently due to Corbyn's utilisation of these leaks, it's a big story again. But what's interesting is the media response.

The Ethos of New Calvinism and Christmas

https://www.challies.com/visual-theology/a-visual-theology-advent-reading-calendar-for-your-family/

The celebration of Advent used to raise eyebrows in Evangelical circles.

Trump Messianism and Slippery Speech

https://www.christianpost.com/news/franklin-graham-labels-trump-opposition-demonic-rick-perry-labels-trump-chosen-one.html

I seem to recall great concern being expressed back in 2008-2009 over Obama's perceived messianism, the fact that his followers spoke of him in almost devotional terms as something of a saviour.

German Militarism and the Rise of Von der Leyen

https://thedefensepost.com/2019/11/27/germany-new-runway-niamey-niger-c-160/

I'm afraid the picture for this article caught my eye. I remember on a few occasions working with the German Budeswehr loading and unloading C-160's. They're like a miniaturised two-engine version of the Lockheed C-130. Our base normally hosted Spanish and British air units (F-18's and AWACS) but the Germans would show up on occasion in connection to some transport mission.

The Spirit of Capitulation in Evangelicalism With Regard to Sunday

https://www.christianpost.com/voice/the-biggest-demographic-churches-are-missing.html

Evangelical leaders continue to produce theology which ratifies the cultural status quo. From divorce and psychology, to work, finances, lawsuits, politics and how we order our time, the Evangelical leadership does not disappoint in this regard. If there's a way to baptise the cultural norms, you can count on them. Motivated primarily by a fear of losing numbers, money and ultimately cultural influence they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time teaching about the culture... but in reality they endlessly explore ways to push the church to the edge of the cultural cliff and then hope that they won't fall off.

Multi-Generational Nightmare Weapons

https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/iraq-children-birth-defects-military/

Though largely discredited in my eyes, I still glance at The Intercept from time to time. There are still some good reporters attempting to produce decent journalism and while the original goals of the outlet have clearly been subverted, the mechanisms of control are not absolute.

Georgian Orthodoxy and Cold War II

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Tbilisi,-scandals-and-divisions-in-the-Church-and-between-parties-48570.html

Georgia's Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II has skeletons in his closet which his enemies are attempting to exploit. Formerly a leader within the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ilia is being accused of being a pro-Moscow puppet. Sadly (for him) his former WCC affiliations will (for some) give credence to that charge. It's well known the functionally apostate WCC was infiltrated by the Soviets during the Cold War.