Blind Leading the Blind: Frank Wright's Criticism of Evangelicals

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/biblical-infidelity-in-top-evangelical-institutions-leaders.html

I repeatedly tried to comment on this article but the so-called Christian Post seems to have blocked me. Anyway I post the response here and then will add some further comments below:

Indian Christians and ADF: Sacral Lands and Christian Persecution

https://www.persecution.org/2020/05/14/christian-families-central-india-beaten-refusing-renounce-faith/

Sacralism often includes the land itself. The culture and state are sanctified but for many religions there is a tie between the gods and the land. Biblically speaking there's a basis for this in terms of the gods, the now deposed elohim rulers of the nations. These thrones and principalities have been spoiled by Christ and Satan is bound – no longer able to deceive the nations (Matt 12.28-29, 28.18-20, Col 2.15, Rev 20.2-3).

Obscuring Western Support for Haftar

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/western-mercenaries-arrived-libya-support-haftar-report-200516160022383.html

This report has obvious connections to the Wagner-Blackwater story run by The Intercept. It only furthers the point I've been making that there are significant sectors within the US that are keen to support Haftar.

These splits between official arms of the US government like the State Department and parallel policies run out of Langley or the Pentagon are not without precedent.

Why Michael Flynn had to be Removed

https://theintercept.com/2020/05/14/new-documents-from-the-sham-prosecution-of-gen-michael-flynn-also-reveal-broad-corruption-in-the-russiagate-investigations/

Greenwald despite his personal views remains committed to the principles of investigative journalism and is therefore to be commended. As he admits, General Michael Flynn's views are in sharp contrast to his own but as a journalist he is unwilling to embrace lies for the sake of seeming political victories. Greenwald has remained a stalwart voice in the face of the DNC's Russiagate conspiracy theory.

The Diplomatic Dance in Belarus

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-sends-oil-to-belarus-seeking-to-diversify-from-russia/ar-BB148Gua

This headline made me chuckle as the AP wasn't even trying to hide the motive – one that anyone could have guessed. The US would most certainly like to insert itself between Minsk and Moscow.

How Should We Then Live Part 8: The Age of Fragmentation (II)

I think it safe to say that Europeans developed a deeper concept of life and thus art – and they felt a deeper and more reflective pain regarding the changes that had overtaken the West.

An Anglo-American wrote about The Wasteland but I think the Europeans felt it more poignantly. Likewise Romanticism came to America but (in my estimation) it never took hold as it did in Europe. Primitivism, the frontier, individualistic anti-Puritanism and the grand spectrum of nature played a part in American Romanticism but it was not deeply retrospective and if anything progressive and therefore of a very different (though at times still pleasing) character.

How Should We Then Live Part 8: The Age of Fragmentation (I)

Watching this episode I was reminded of something I have referenced before – spending time in Europe with American Fundamentalists. In general I found that American Fundamentalists (often from the Mid-West or South) did not always appreciate the richness of Europe and its culture. Their palette struggled with the foods, the ubiquitous alcohol put them off, the arts and culture struck them as high-brow and their own patriotism (and frankly provincialism) caused them to constantly look down on other nations and cultures – and in many cases things they didn't understand. They didn't enjoy their time and I certainly did not enjoy my time with them.

GOP Exploits Covid-19 in Attempt to Smash State Pension Systems: A Christian Response (Part 2)

Just recently I was talking with one of the wealthier ladies in the area. She was a little baffled over the panic regarding lost wages and the shut-down. After all one of the neighbouring county executives said on television – everyone should have three months of wages set aside for emergencies and that way they can weather such storms. I pointed out that the woman who said this – someone whose family is known to be quite wealthy – is rich and thus doesn't understand how most people live. The latest statistics are startling as apparently about half the country can barely come up with $500 or $1000 in the case of an emergency. Why are things this way? It's complicated. People overextend themselves in many cases. But in many more cases the cost of housing is so high that people work like dogs just to keep a roof over their heads. People are foolish in many cases – trying to keep up with the Joneses – but in many more there are people who have given up on the American dream but still can't seem to get ahead or even break even and as such just barely survive – one disaster from collapse and the threat of homelessness. And in the process their families are destroyed. It's a wicked cycle and a wicked system that breeds evil both at home and abroad.

GOP Exploits Covid-19 in Attempt to Smash State Pension Systems: A Christian Response (Part 1)

McConnell and Trump are suddenly pretending to be fiscal hawks and rejecting calls for a bailout of the states. While the national debt has exploded since 9/11 and has reached new heights under Trump, suddenly there's a reticence to use the fiscal tools of the Federal Reserve and the banking system to help the states weather the trials of the pandemic.

And yet why? Is it really out of a concern for fiscal policy? More likely this is a tactical move the likes of Paul Ryan would applaud. They want the states to declare bankruptcy. Why?

Actual Numbers versus Statistical Projections: Another Look at Flu and Covid-19 Death Counts

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/comparing-covid-19-deaths-to-flu-deaths-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/

In some respects I'm surprised this article (and this larger argument) hasn't gained more traction, because it reveals some critical information regarding the nature and quantity of Covid-19 deaths especially when compared to oft-quoted flu statistics. Additionally if the arguments made here are sound, it completely belies the naysayer's claims that this manifestation of Coronavirus is little more than a robust version of the flu.

Personally, I think there's a great irony here in the fact that flu deaths have been grossly inflated. And why?

Palin as the New Sharpton of the Right

For years those on the Right have expressed nothing less than hatred and disdain for the likes of Al Sharpton. An opportunist, a grand-stander, the civil rights activist and largely self-styled 'reverend' seems to appear on the scene any time there's a controversy or some social issue related to race. If there's a shooting, he's there. A lawsuit to be filed? Sharpton is usually standing next to the family. He's respected among his community and by some outside of it – and yet to many, even those who support minority civil rights – Sharpton seems like an opportunist, even an exhibitionist. He's made his celebrity and his seeming ubiquity into a lucrative career.

Blackwater and Wagner

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/13/erik-prince-russia-mercenary-wagner-libya-mozambique/

Prince, a hero to many American Evangelicals is an evil figure to some and certainly a living scandal to Christians who root their faith in the New Testament. Regardless of what one thinks of him, he remains an important if controversial figure.

Beijing Continues to Persecute the Underground Church

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hunan,-Protestant-pastor-arrested-for-'subversion-against-the-state'-49932.html

At one time we could safely say that charges of subversion were categorically false but sadly due to the activities, efforts and machinations of the likes of Bob Fu, Wang Yi and Joshua Wong – it's an argument that becomes harder to make.

Fauci: Duty and Integrity

Why does the now famous Dr. Fauci endure the Trump White House? Why does he allow his name to be associated with the dishonesty and even dangerous buffoonery of Trump?

Some are sycophants desperate to hold on to power and to bask in the fame of the moment. Others like Fauci (I would guess) and Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis before him stay on board out of a sense of duty, a sense of service to the country. They believe they can make a difference and perhaps rein in the ever wayward and erratic president.

And yet in some cases (assuming the validity of their position) shouldn't duty and service call them to take another position?