It's not too often that the Grey Wolves make it into mainstream
news circles. The Turkish nationalist (and by all accounts) fascist movement
has often been utilised by the United States – especially during the Cold War.
There are many clear cases of US intelligence collaborating with the group.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/bulgarian-corruption-leads-to-us-russia-clash/
As suggested last year, Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov has
turned a corner and the US is starting to move against him. They tolerated him
and even utilised him but on critical points (such as energy) he has proven
unreliable. Given the corruption and outside influence within Bulgaria it's
hardly difficult to find scandals to amplify his 'unworthiness' and thus
Washington is beginning a campaign to oust him.
I first encountered Baucham about fifteen years ago. He was
unique because it's unusual find conservative Black voices within Calvinist
circles – in this case Calvinistic Baptist. He came onto the radar (as it were)
alongside the New Calvinist movement but clearly he was not one of them. Like
Paul Washer he seemed to partner with and associate with some Theonomic types
which always gave me occasion to pause, but generally speaking I would have
said he was a pretty solid guy, a good teacher who for most part stood for
Biblical thought and ethics.
While reading an article concerning the latest shake-up associated with Liberty University I was struck by this statement concerning their politically motivated think-tank, The Falkirk Center.
The Falkirk Center spearheaded an
aggressive, no-holds-bared approach to the culture war.
“Bemoaning the rise of leftism is no
longer enough,” its website read. “Although we do,
as Jesus taught, turn the other cheek in our personal relationships, we cannot
abdicate our responsibilities on the cultural battlefield. There is too much at
stake in the clash for the soul of our nation. Bold, unapologetic engagement
and initiative is needed on the part of every conservative American.”
This
only further exemplifies a point I've been trying to make for many years. In
the realm of ethics (which includes economics) the Evangelical movement as a
whole (and the broader category of Christian Sacralism) rejects the teachings
of Christ and in many cases does so knowingly.
https://www.vcyamerica.org/crosstalk/2021/03/03/american-heritage-girls/
This is yet another example of the Accommodationist Triad
(see below) at work within Evangelicalism. Posing as cultural conservatives and
traditionalists, they assume one-time liberal (now Right-wing) arguments in
order to score their political victories. And yet the assumptions they have
embraced represent a fatal compromise of the very conservative values they
claim to uphold. Their arguments are ultimately self-defeating. It's a case of fighting
off an acute poison by the utilisation of a long term cancer.
Romania has been transformed. Once a stalwart member of the
Warsaw Pact, during the post-Cold War epoch Bucharest has become a functional
satrap of the American Empire – even allowing Washington to base missile
systems and troops within its borders.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/croatia-kicks-off-lng-terminal-in-north-adriatic/
Rising from the fragmented war-torn disaster that was
Yugoslavia, Croatia has been attempting to break with any 'Eastern' association
and root itself firmly in the Catholic-Enlightenment West. This is essential to
the Croat identity. Though of the same genetic stock as the Orthodox Serbs and Muslim
Bosniaks, their history has been defined by alliance to the Habsburgs – in
other words to the Latin West.
The Roman Catholic Church was keen to utilise Western
Liberalism in its fight with the government of communist Poland. Backing Solidarity
and the democratic movement, the papacy of John Paul II played a significant
role in the Cold War struggle.
This was a fascinating if unsurprising piece written by one
formerly on the inside of the Dutch Calvinist and Evangelical world. One need
not agree with all of the author's views or conclusions to acknowledge that
Abraham Kuyper's ghost haunts and overshadows the Evangelical edifice that
began to emerge in the post-WWII period. While few know his name or are
familiar with his Stone Lectures at Princeton, his influence is pervasive.*
https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/opinion/the-slow-death-of-schengen/
Already under significant strain due to the immigration
crisis and growing nationalist concerns, the Schengen Area of uninhibited
visa-free travel and trade which began to be implemented in 1995 is under
growing threat – and one greatly exacerbated by the Covid crisis.
There have been repeated hints made in Western media that Beijing is somehow behind the coup in Myanmar (Burma). While the ruling party (CCP) of China is undoubtedly an evil organisation, I was immediately sceptical of the claims. Once again, just because Xi Jinping is an evil persecutor of the Church does not mean that we as Christians need to hop on to the Western propaganda bandwagon. We need to hold the truth and remember that just because the Chinese government is evil – it does not follow that Western powers like the US or UK are somehow 'good'.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/americas-half-century-war-somalia-comes-end-sort/274956/
I was pleased to see a connection made with the Cold War and
the fact that the US has been involved in the Horn of Africa since that time. Overall
the article is excellent, a concise and yet probing and even poignant summary
of events, and most importantly it provides the larger context that helps to
explain the US role in the region and the cynicism the people of the Somalia
and the larger Horn must feel toward Washington.
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/11/22/the-whole-world-is-turning-toward-evil/
Was all well prior to November 2020? Was Paul mistaken when
he characterised this period as a present evil age? Is that only a reality when
certain political parties are in power? Are the Scriptures in error when they
speak of Satan as the god of this world?
