The article began relating events surrounding the Balochi insurgency in southwest Pakistan but as it progressed I realized it was an anti-China piece critical of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the larger Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The port of Gwadar has been an object of interest for some time and tangible evidence of the breakdown of US-Pakistani relations. India is also less than keen on the project.
https://www.breakpoint.org/the-horrific-attacks-of-october-7-a-year-later/
Stonestreet never disappoints. If you're looking for distortion and Evangelical perversions of Biblical doctrine, ethics - and reality, look no further. This disciple of Charles Colson consistently labours to outdo the mendacity and deception of his mentor and this piece on the October 7 attacks is no exception.
Consider his opening:
One year ago, on October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists entered Israel and attacked civilians, killing some 1,200 Jews, the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. Among those killed were soldiers and civilians, men and women, children and adults. They were killed simply because they were Jews.
I've written many times about Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of a rebel leader who turned into Moscow's faithful satrap. Usually when Kadyrov's name comes up, it's in reference to his corruption, authoritarian rule, or the hunting down of Chechen rebels abroad - men that would consider him to be a traitor and thus he's proven quite zealous in pursuing these men.
Francis has given his critics more fuel to pour on the already raging fire surrounding his papacy. Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, the Bishop of Mingdong is a Beijing appointee that was originally ordained in a CCP-sanctioned rite in the year 2000. Viewed as illegitimate, he was excommunicated by the Vatican, a move that was revoked in 2018 when Francis signed the accord with Beijing. Zhan Silu was one of seven Beijing-appointed bishops embraced by the Vatican - a move that many Traditionalists found repugnant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BcZlxGt3xs
Since he was named by Time Magazine as America's Best Theologian in 2001, Stanley Hauerwas rightly raises some eyebrows. He's at his best when he's applying New Testament ethics and yet his theology is bankrupt. Sadly those sacralists and Right-wing adherents who oppose New Testament teaching can use Hauerwas' theological liberalism as a vehicle to discredit and dismiss what he says about ethics - even if it reflects apostolic teaching. This is why he's always frustrated me a bit. I have not found his books to be helpful and I never recommend them and yet he often makes decent standalone statements and has plenty to offer in the way of historical and cultural commentary.
Since I've been reading and writing about Abraham Kuyper as of late this interview clip caught my eye.
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/13/sudan
The war in Sudan is tragic and like all Africa stories in the West, it gets little attention or traction. To most people the wars in Africa are just repeating loops of video showing fighters in pick-up trucks with AK-47's and suffering women and children in refugee camps. The politics are beyond most people's ability to understand - and they're not going to take the time to look into them. And while Western leaders speak out, levelling condemnations and offering aid - nothing much seems to change.
https://thedefensepost.com/2024/09/17/canada-aukus-alliance-china/
Even as Justin Trudeau's government is on the ropes, the Canadian Establishment is moving to bring Ottawa into the growing Pacific alliance. The UK's membership is rooted in historical interests and the fact that it is America's essential ally. Or perhaps it should be worded the other way around? Australia has gone through a stream of scandals and failed governments to finally come to the right conclusion that Washington wanted all along - membership in a military alliance against China. Japan has now made moves to join and South Korea and New Zealand have expressed interest.
https://theworld.org/segments/2024/09/18/democracy-is-under-strain-across-the-globe
Advocates for democracy are concerned. The once seemingly inevitable and unstoppable 'progress' of their system seems to be struggling. Some would say it's under strain, others would put in more stringent terms and simply say that democracy is in a state of crisis. They would point not just to the rise of authoritarian regimes but the strain on democracy within Europe and the evident fragility of the American system - supposedly the very nexus of modern democracy, the nation upon which the narrative depends.
We're told the Zelenskiy regime in Ukraine stands for freedom and liberal democracy. In the United States the First Amendment is often invoked as the foundation from which all the other freedoms spring. This would include the freedom of religion and nations like Russia and China are frequently castigated for denying these rights and freedoms. And yet, we see the Zelenskiy government (which embraces the fascist remnants and permutations of the World War II era) denying these basic freedoms to large sections of its population. Kyiv has intervened and has banned expressions of religion that it does not approve of - those elements of Orthodoxy that retain historical and liturgical ties to Russia. Though the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (UOC) denounced the 2022 Russian invasion and has broken formal ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, this is insufficient in the eyes of the Zelenskiy government. Because the UOC was part of the Moscow Patriarchate it must be eradicated.
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ziklag-secret-christian-charity-2024-election
The Christian Right's fundraising and lobbying machine is a veritable labyrinth and this is by design. Money is effectively laundered and the smoke and mirrors make it all but impossible to tell where the money is coming from and where the power is located. There are certain names that always seem to appear - these are in some cases key agents or actors. Sometimes they are the powers, the 'movers and shakers', other times they are the action-arms of the powers - which are often very wealthy people or the people that manage the wealth. It's complicated.
https://theworld.org/stories/2024/09/06/the-rise-of-an-armenian-church-opposition-leader
Yerevan continues to signal its shift to the West. There's little doubt that Moscow is alarmed as now Armenia seeks to re-orient its nuclear energy programme to the West and to cut out the Russians.
There's evidence of US meddling in the politics of Ecuador. Personally I did not find any of these revelations to be shocking. While the explicit evidence wasn't always there, these types of machinations are well known to those who have been paying attention. Wikileaks also played a role in bringing some of these things to light and by some reckonings, they're not all scandalous but are simply descriptive of how governments work with and relate to one another. It's often something other than what people think.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/children-deserve-uniform-standards-in-homeschooling/
Homeschooling has exploded, especially in the aftermath of Covid and it is sending up red flags among the Establishment. There have been numerous articles as of late critical of the movement and for every one of these there are multiple responses issued from the Christian community - which by all accounts dominates the homeschool spectrum.
https://apnews.com/article/viktor-orban-hungary-romania-eu-3ea649669de75d13b0ba3585c0e83239
The lead article alludes to the Habsburg Empire but then proves less than accurate in some of its historical statements. Orban does indeed have Habsburg allies but the article isn't really about the Habsburgs. The article touches on his grand vision, the supposed reconstitution of the Habsburg realm, but the story is really in the numbers. These reveal the rightward shift that's taking place in Europe and (I think) sheds light on Orban's more immediate machinations. It's clear he's thinking a couple of steps ahead, preparing for the next European Parliamentary election in 2029.
https://thegrayzone.com/2024/08/05/us-russia-prisoner-swap-cia-chechen-jihad/
This GrayZone article also caught my eye. I was glad to see that in all the hysteria regarding Russia, there's a story about Chechnya that's been largely forgotten.
https://eurasianet.org/russia-rages-over-us-military-exercise-in-armenia
These military exercises signal Yerevan's shift to the West and yet another Western incursion on the borders of Russia, another invasion into its historical sphere.
This author and many others have been writing for years about the tug-of-war in Serbia. The Atlanticist plan in the 1990's was to break up Serb-dominated Yugoslavia and bring all the pieces into the EU and NATO orbit. This largely succeeded except with Serbia itself which remains outside the bloc and friendly to its historical ally in Moscow.
States have secrets and war demands them. And yet how can democracy function when the people voting don't know what's happening and their government isn't transparent?
Narrative driven political forces willing to play fast and loose with the law inevitably end up with media problems. They don't like being challenged and called out. And there are other times in which such leaders will utilize this constant irritation as an excuse to detract from other pressing problems. So it is with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
The VCY radio network posted the essay below back in June - the author is the host of the misnamed 'CrossTalk' programme which is basically a shill for the John Birch Society. The Birchers make regular appearances on the show and it provides a kind of Evangelical (and sometimes Fundamentalist) vehicle for Bircher ideology. Some readers may want to scroll down and read it and then return to these comments. Others may choose to read the essay in light of this commentary.
https://vcy.com/climate-change-for-kids-and-parents-too/
I was perusing the online edition of the new 'Climate Change for Kids' book issued by Answers in Genesis and I immediately thought of some past articles I've read about the dubious finances connected with the organisation. It's clear that Ken Ham is in it for the money and is willing to tap into every resource available - including tax money to promote his Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. And he's not above threats of litigation - suing the state of Kentucky for one. His lawyer was Mike Johnson who is now the Speaker of the House.
https://lausanne.org/podcast/demonstrating-godly-character-in-the-u-s-air-force
As a Christian who turned my back on the US military my expectations for this podcast were pretty low. In some respects Jerry White was refreshing in that he thinks through his actions more than a lot of people do, and yet I still cannot agree with his reasoning.
The Paris Olympics have ended and yet in the final days I caught a video clip of a Russian athlete who of course is not allowed to represent Russia and should he win, the anthem of his country won't be played. This is due (we're told) to the various doping scandals surrounding Russian sports. They must compete as 'neutral' athletes and as such there were only a dozen or so at the games.
https://julieroys.com/evangelism-explosion-sponsors-conservative-political-summit-washington-dc/
While looking up something in reference to D James Kennedy, I came across this article from September 2023.
Evangelism Explosion (EE) was all the rage at one time and this article compelled me to take a few minutes and reconsider it once again. The end assessment is the same that I had almost thirty years ago.
https://wng.org/opinions/americas-campus-meltdown-1713993199
Southern Seminary president Albert Mohler assumes the immorality of opposing Israel but it must be granted he's right in that many 'Left' protesters are privileged. I find them absurd because they challenge the system even while they only wish to appropriate it and somehow put a humanitarian or progressive spin on the empire and its evils.
As the Olympics wind down I felt compelled to offer a comment in relation to the scandal regarding the sodomites in the opening ceremony.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg330w2x7g3o
As previously stated in other pieces (linked below) - Moldova cannot join the EU unless Transnistria issue is solved. You can't have an unsettled border and join the EU or NATO.
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/20/pentagon_china_vaccines
This story reminded me of how America is a moral beacon to the world. Because the United States didn't want China to make money and earn standing they pushed a disinformation campaign - the sort of campaigns that we're daily told are being conducted by the likes of China and Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/22/trump-christians-president-religion
This article is already outdated and if anything the realities expressed here have been sharply amplified by the assassination attempt and the way in which the Christian Right has cast these events in theological terms. The event has been turned into a kind of epoch or watershed, a marker in American redemptive-history, an episode in the passion of Trump as it were. None of this is thought out or made explicit as it quickly strays into blatant heresy. But even its restrained and nuanced forms already are guilty of such doctrinal crimes and aberrations.
I used to enjoy watching the Olympics. Some years we'd even have cable turned on for a month so we could watch them. But at some point the debauchery (and the sundry base and vulgar ads) became too unbearable and so we gave up. I wasn't at all surprised to hear about all the filth in the opening ceremony - I did not watch it.
Over the weekend a missile struck the Golan Heights killing about a dozen Druze children. The Netanyahu government has been looking for an excuse to escalate and expand the war and as such they've been playing up this incident.
This is a case of confused thinking and confused jurisdictions, the result of the institutional mindset that affects the heirs of the Magisterial Reformation.
Right-wing media is unpalatable in its assumptions and its bias and yet the mainstream media is becoming increasingly difficult to tolerate as well. From all the talk of 'people of who have babies' and the like to the overwhelmingly materialist assumptions, I find myself having to look elsewhere. Motivated by its political agenda and the corruption of money, FOX consistently lies and manipulates the truth and even the nature of reality. But the mainstream increasingly just relies on false presuppositions and when it comes to health, science, and even sociology, the materialist assumptions dominate - often leading to absurdities.
Ankara fears these Western-connected congregations are a Fifth Column, a means of cycling subversion into Turkish society, laundering money, and the like. While mostly exaggeration or simply untrue, I don't doubt there are some instances where this is the case. It may even be that some church leaders don't quite understand who they're affiliating with and where their money is coming from.
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-Turanian-World-advance-in-Central-Asia-60912.html
Neo-Ottomanism is not exactly the same as Pan-Turkism but the concepts can and often do overlap. Neo-Ottomanism is about leveraging Ankara's placement, the fact that Türkiye straddles Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Via the Black Sea and the Caucasus it is able to access the Turkish populations of Central Asia - and this is where the Pan-Turkism comes in. Ankara is able to exert itself culturally into the region and it's natural that economic and other diplomatic relations would ensue.
Watching a PBS Frontline episode on campus violence the other night I fully expected to see some clips of the congressional hearing with university presidents - a dialogue that was largely misrepresented in the mainstream media. It goes without saying this was misrepresented by the Right.
Since the Saturday evening assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania I have been rather struck by the mainstream media response as well as that of the DNC. For some odd reason they are kow-towing to the MAGA Republican line and seem almost apologetic as if they are to blame for this.
This was inevitable and I was pleased to note that others are noticing it as well. Baku has been effectively wed to Ankara since the break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990's. Their cultural ties are pervasive and there are significant numbers of Azeris in Türkiye proper, and they also share a common enemy in the Armenians.
https://eurasianet.org/china-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-railway-project-gets-off-the-ground
The key statement this article is the reference to the Trans-Afghan corridor. This railroad and its relationship to the larger question of Central Asian infrastructure represents a strategic defeat for the US Empire.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/father-moron-dave-ramsey-disgusted-211016354.html
This is a somewhat confused report of an Instagram video in which a father and daughter share a financial scheme with the audience. Engaging in a practice known as arbitrage they are effectively borrowing money at a low rate which generates savings that allows them to lend and receive a return at a higher rate. The particular scenario isn't very convincing and certainly has some holes. As far as risk, there's always risk in such ventures.
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/05/13/the-secret-history-of-israels-role-in-genocide-in-colombia/
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/12/chiquita_funding_death_squads_in_colombia
I post this must-read article because I believe it's important for Christians to have a better understanding of what has happened in Colombia and the role of US policy, the US military - and the outsourced role Israel often plays at the behest of Washington.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesonly=true&sourceid=trcnw&keyword=Blue+State+Conference
I tried to get through some of these but found it unbearable. Oh, the sorrows and woe for those who live in states controlled by Democrats. If we could all just move to Texas and Florida then all would be well.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/us-capitol-unveils-statue-honoring-evangelist-billy-graham.html
I'm not Roman Catholic and reject the many claims of Rome concerning its apostolic and particularly Petrine foundations. Whether Peter is actually buried beneath the Vatican or not is immaterial. I toured the Scavi back in the 1990's on one of my many stays in the city. It was fascinating but not entirely convincing. I felt like the Vatican had hijacked the history much in the same way one encounters when touring the catacombs.
I read this piece twice, attempting to take it all in and let it wash over me. I could appreciate some of what Elizabeth Doll has to say and yet at the same time was repulsed by it. There are definitely problems in some quarters of the Church and often it seems like the parts that affect people the most are not questions of substance but style, an ethos, and a kind of culture within the Church.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j4x4hy
Within moments of turning on this BBC podcast I knew it was going to be a case of spin. There was from the onset a dishonest narrative about the origins of ISIS and the panel failed to probe or explain how the group grew out of al Qaeda and how its vision is different - the more extreme nature of the group is found in its apocalyptic understanding of the world.
Boeing is too big to fail. As a member of the S&P100, the company constitutes a large and essential component within the stock market as well as the US security apparatus. Boeing builds commercial jets and does billions of dollars in military contracts. In fact it's the second biggest military contractor in the United States (and third in the world).
I literally laughed out loud when I reached the 47:00 minute mark of this podcast - an exercise in the torture that is Presbyterian polity. We have committees to exercise oversight of committees.
As I have often reported, political programmes of subversion and transformation often contain a religious component. Moldova and its place in the West's Anti-Russia campaign has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine as well as other global conflicts, but in fact the campaign is intensifying as Brussels seeks to fast-track both Chișinău and Kyiv into the EU. Whether that actually happens or not is yet to be seen.
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-launch-new-e270-million-plan-bring-armenia-fold-russia/
Since the article's publication in April, there have been numerous reports regarding Armenia. The situation remains dynamic with Yerevan reaching out to Ukraine and thus angering Russia in the process. There are real fears in Moscow of Armenia rescinding its membership with the Russian-led CSTO security agreement and flipping over to the NATO column - not in full membership but as one of its allies. This also generates concerns over the brewing instability of its neighbour Georgia. For Putin, the invasion of Ukraine was meant to arrest Atlanticist expansion, but with the accession of Sweden and Finland into NATO, and now the growing risk of all of Transcaucasia falling under the aegis of the American-led bloc, there's no small degree of consternation. And the EU is also looking to expand.
Does no one understand that you can't stand for the flag and kneel for the cross at the same time?
If we assume (for the sake of argument this dumb pairing that adorns hats, t-shirts, car bumpers etc.) - then I suggest we put it to them and turn their boast into a dilemma. You cannot have it both ways. The two kingdoms are antithetical with different goals and values.
https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-hungary-culture-war-woke-brussels/
There is a circularity of inspiration for these Right-wing movements. US politicians, movements, and media outlets have inspired the likes of Viktor Orban in Hungary. Given the political climate of his country and its much smaller population, Orban has been successful in actually implementing some of these policies. As such he's become a hero to American Right and now political actors in the US are looking to Orban for inspiration when it comes to their strategies and style.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/ted-cruz-blasts-spiritual-component-of-modern-left.html
Without a doubt the Church is filled with compromisers and led by men that have capitulated and even bowed to the world. We were warned of this in the New Testament.
But this condemnation does not belong exclusively to theological liberals and/or those that have embraced Left-wing politics. The same is true when it comes to those that have embraced Right-wing thinking, Enlightenment categories of economics and politics, those that promote mammonism, nationalism, and champion war and empire - even while denying they do so.
https://julieroys.com/how-shannon-harris-kissed-biblical-womanhood-goodbye/
This article is about the wife of Josh Harris and with her story the sad circle of apostasy is now complete. Both of them have abandoned Christianity in what is another mark against New Calvinism testifying to its often superficial and shallow nature.
https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/06/talibans-successful-opium-ban-bad-afghans-and-world
https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-farmers-livelihood-taliban-bans-opium/31803532.html
The United States Institute for Peace or USIP is a mouthpiece for the US government. The fact that this federal agency is required to have both the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense on its board reveals it to be a sham. It does not promote or stand for peace. It cannot with these kinds of imperialist and militarist connections.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/honduras-president-arrested/
The death of Alexei Navalny received around-the-clock coverage and it was simply assumed that Putin ordered it and yet when someone like Berta Caceres of Honduras is killed, virtually no one in Western (and certainly American) media seems to care and suggestions of American involvement are met with scoffs.
https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/26664/french-evangelicals-welcome-new-law-to-combat-cults
There are plenty of occasions and opportunities in society for abuse and it could be argued this has been made worse by modern society and the various technological venues and vehicles available to abusers. But we should pause when considering granting the state power to make such determinations.
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-evangelical-gospel-of-hiroshima.html
Someone suggested to me that in The Evangelical Gospel of Hiroshima I failed to properly take into account the question of the congressman's office and his duties and the obligations it entails. Tim Walberg would be remiss if he didn't take those interests into account - including hard questions of foreign and military policy. As an office holder he has responsibilities and tasks that are laid upon his shoulders and sometimes this would necessarily entail an appeal to a moral hierarchy.
I recently witnessed a further slide of Anabaptism into cognitive and ethical dissonance. As the Amish have moved more and more into the mainstream economy (our local paper's 'Service' section is now dominated by them), they are falling into the traps and enticements of mammon. And as a result, they are getting involved in politics - no doubt fostered by the Christian Right's outreach and attempts to woo them.
This is probably one of the best summaries of Christian Nationalism I've read yet. Taylor successfully and succinctly explains the difference between the older forms of Evangelical Right-wing Christianity and its ethos of preferential pluralism and that of Christian Nationalism or as he rightly puts it - Christian Supremacy.
