Biblical Law and Society

I use this example not to 'attack' anyone, but to make a point. There's something to be learned here.

This podcast on Biblical law and society demonstrates the way assumptions can govern discussions. I think of many people I know listening to this and would think it to be a good programme. 'These are good folks,' they would say, 'working out problems and striving toward a good goal'.

PBS/Frontline: Obama, Syria and ISIS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obama-at-war/

PBS's Frontline is a good programme when it comes to covering topics like the prison system, banking and domestic politics. But it is all but worthless when it comes to covering the foreign policy of the United States or any international event that touches on American interests. It's hard to find one that doesn't concern the empire thus severely limiting the scope of a show like Frontline.

This was abundantly clear in the recent documentary 'Obama at War' which dealt with American policy regarding Syria and the rise of ISIS.

Conservatism, Christendom and Racism

http://www.albertmohler.com/?p=35137

Mohler like many other Evangelical leaders seems to all but miss the point when it comes to the issue of racism. While he is correct to reject racism as sinful and evil he demonstrates both a revisionist tendency with regard to the past and a certain degree of blindness when it comes to the origin of racism in Western society. It's a hard and bitter pill to swallow and there's a great reluctance and resistance to the truth in this matter.

The Charleston shooter displayed his racism through the patches he wore on his jacket, flags from Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia.

Nuclear Sabre Rattling and Spin

Increasingly it is feeling like we're back in 2002 and a 'spin-job' is being performed on the American public. Those of us who had our eyes open found that to be a time of lies and manipulation... on a much grander scale than what we usually encounter. That's how bad it was. You spoke in a whisper and you kept your head down because any challenge to the narrative meant you were a traitor.

Waterloo

The battle took place on 18 June 1815

It was historic because it ended the Napoleonic Wars and ushered in the Pax Britannica. The 19^th century belonged to Britain. Until the rise of the United States, it was the grandest empire the world had ever seen.

The Lesser Magistrate and the Looming Conflict

https://generationswithvision.com/broadcast/the-state-of-texas-vs-the-united-states/

The march toward violence continues. Where will it end?

There is no scriptural basis for the doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate. It is all based on false assumption. It is a speculation, a deduction rooted not in Scripture but in Constantinianism.

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-lesser-magistrate-heresy.html

Chad and the African Game

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/you-might-not-know-where-chad-us-military-has-big-plans-it

Since the 1990's the United States has successfully laboured to woo Chad away from the French sphere of influence. Chad signed a big deal with Exxon in 1999 and has worked to aid US policy with regard to Sudan. The US has long opposed Khartoum and sought to facilitate the creation of South Sudan. American Christian groups and business interests have played no small part in this. Chad's own rebel movement was backed by Sudan and overlapped with the war in Darfur. Once again Chadian and American interests overlapped. Khartoum was the enemy, the same Khartoum that in the early 1990's harboured Osama bin Laden.

The Tragedy of Angola Lives On

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/05/06/christian-sect-killings-in-angola-shrouded-in-fear-and-mystery/

I'm sorry to say it but US backing of UNITA and Christian involvement through groups like the Heritage Foundation through the 1970's and 80's did not help the situation and the societal tension it has fostered.

A Healthy Response to the Duggar Scandal

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5231518735


This isn't a sermon. It's a podcast and in it Reformed Baptist pastor Jeff Riddle discusses the Duggar scandal. I think his comments are appropriate and helpful and he expresses many viewpoints I share. He's rightly critical of the Duggars and felt that way long before this happened. That's how I've felt about it. I'm not only hostile to their Dominionism and their connections with Gothard but in general I did not like the way they were setting themselves up as paragons. Their message is misleading. It's easy to be the Duggars when you're wealthy. Others who would struggle to fill the gas tank of their bus, will find life to be considerably different.

The Angst of the 1990's and a Documentary on the Oklahoma City Bombing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT5PS_cIjgo

I've always thought this was one of the better documentaries on the background of the Oklahoma City Bombing. I would hope future documentary makers would spend even more time elaborating on the context and cultural milieu. People have forgotten the level of anxiety and how worked up the Right wing was in early 1990's. I remember. At the time, I was one of them.

Enemies Roaring in the Midst: Memorial Day and the American Church

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/memorial-day-blasphemy/

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/a-memorial-day-sunday-success-story/

The first story is par for the course. I suppose we can be thankful for the reported success in the second piece but to me it wasn't the 'success' that was of interest but the report of just how bad things have gotten.

To Protect and Serve the Corporatocracy

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/26/kinder-morgan-maybe-change-huge-oil-pipeline-company-something-hired-duty-cops-deter-protests-pennsylvania-pipeline/

I wonder how many people know this occurs? My guess is they don't know so many of our 'heroes' are for hire. One wonders did they use tax-payer funded/issued firearms or other equipment?