Some coverage was given to Laurie's recent evangelical crusade in Idaho. It is claimed that over 3,000 people were saved. Laurie, a court Evangelical within Trumpite circles utilises the 'Invitation System' methodology popularised in the twentieth century by Billy Graham. It was built upon earlier models developed by the likes of Moody and Finney.
https://www.mnnonline.org/news/why-military-and-missions-make-a-good-match/
The editorial at Mission Network News argues that military
and missions make a good match. The author is sadly mistaken. Apart from being
accustomed to a life overseas, they have nothing in common.
https://www.politico.eu/article/blame-germany-russia-policy/
This represents an attack serving the interests of two factions.
On the one hand it's a hit piece targeting elements within the German political
spectrum that oppose Atlanticism and have (in some cases for years) pursued an
independent agenda. First of all, it must be remembered that Politico is owned
by Axel Springer SE – a company formally committed to Capitalism and the EU and
will not allow even its employees to dissent on these points. In other words
Politico is wed to the Atlanticist and EU Establishments, as well as long being
rumoured of having ties to US intelligence.
For months the media gave voice to Western governments and
health authorities as they decried the social resistance and the lackluster
measures being taken to curtail the spread of Covid. The rules and protocols
were flouted and the disease was spreading. And yet even during the period of
lockdowns, it was apparent there was always a less than fully committed element
to Western intervention. From the beginning until the present, the primary
concern for many has been economic. Large segments of society have been more
than happy for people die in order for profits to be maintained.
It's a point that needs to be reiterated. By failing to provide any kind of context to the war, the reporting on Russia and the responses of Putin to the sanctions regime are effectively spin-jobs. His threats to cut off Eastern European gas are not cases of blackmail, but the result of him being painted into a corner. The sanctions are basically an attempt to blackmail Russia into bowing to NATO. Any resistance on his part is ironically couched as 'blackmail'.
Putin's threats regarding a
quick response to outside intervention are presented as menacing and aggressive
but once again he finds himself in a serious quandary. He's fighting a war
against NATO and losing. He has certainly lost the propaganda war in much of
the world. By means of proxy war, economic sanctions, and various other
measures his regime is under severe strain and increasingly isolated. They're
fighting him but he's not allowed to respond. In fact if Foreign Minister
Lavrov or anyone for that matter within the context of US politics or media
declares this to be a proxy war between the US/NATO and Russia, they're decried
and even mocked by the mainstream media.
And yet the US Secretary of
Defense has openly declared the US is in a fight with Russia and military aid
to Ukraine is meant to weaken Moscow's military might. That sounds like a proxy
war to me.
Hydrogen is in the news again. This in itself is an
interesting development as two major world economies are pledging to work
together. As the infrastructure is in the early stages, such agreements are
going to generate a boom in shipping, ports, and possibly pipelines. The
hydrogen can be transported by being converted and there are various options
for this. These new technologies are opening up a new energy economy – and if
it develops it's going to change the world and the world order.
https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-nato-cause-ukraine-invasion-russia/
The comments of Pope Francis on Ukraine are certain to raise
eyebrows. He's not following the dominant (and in many cases mandatory)
narrative that the Western Establishment continues to promote. Initially a darling of the Left, the tenure of
Francis has proven to be complicated and he has alienated many. One wonders if
his ambiguity on the question of Ukraine and his tacit condemnation of US-led
NATO machinations in the region will not turn more of his former allies against
him.
https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnson-to-travel-to-belfast-amid-brexit-protocol-crisis/
It's the nightmare scenario the Ulster Unionists long feared.
With the recent Sinn Fein victory in the Northern Ireland elections, the
unionists face the real prospect of a vote for Irish Reunification. Long feared
but a distant prospect, the campaign has picked up momentum in light of the 2016
Brexit vote and now seems within the realm of possibility.
https://calthomas.com/2022/02/bad-state-of-the-union/
John Calvin Thomas turns eighty later this year. Thankfully our
regional Evangelical radio station dropped his commentaries some years ago.
They had taken on a kind of deranged character that I think went too far for
the erstwhile moderate posture of the network. Since then the radio station has
changed. I almost expect that they would pick him up again but in their case
the pendulum has swung so hard to the Right, that for the Trump era – Thomas is
probably a little on the tepid side.
https://www.newsweek.com/oligarchs-murder-suicide-1699766
These could have been Putin ordered hits but the larger story
is one of a smashed machine – of fissures become chasms. The sanctions regime
is pushing the Russian economy to the limits and while fortunes are made in
some cases and lost in others, many actors are forced to make rash decisions.
Debts are called in – sometimes they can't be paid because money was lost,
squandered, or used for other means. Such trying times expose these realities
and powerful men are quickly toppled.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/04/10/indonesia-us-war-games/
Even as the War in Ukraine rages on and the eye of the world
is focused on the NATO frontier, there are storm clouds forming over Asia and
signs that US militarism is preparing to assert itself on the Chinese frontier
as well. Far from being passive, the Biden administration has been at the
forefront of the re-assertion of the US Empire.
This represents the latest
installment of blind Evangelical leaders leading the blind. It was reposted at The
Aquila Report whose editors apparently thought it profound. And yet it
represents the kind of fatally flawed thinking that is not just misleading but
is becoming destructive.
Some people embrace these
new technologies and some don't. Some are concerned with the role they're
playing in our lives and are afraid of what they're doing to society. Others
are optimistic and filled with hope and even revel in their potential.
One has to chuckle when one considers that the author of this
G3 article considers himself to be a 'hardcore' or die-hard Calvinist – a real
old school type.
And yet as the article makes clear his thinking is in fact
terribly divorced from Church history and the historical theology surrounding
the larger Calvinist movement and in particular its views on the issues of
worship.
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/is-the-spirit-of-1776-imperiled.html
In this editorial from
The Christian Post, the reprobate militarist and Southern Baptist leader Richard
Land continues to beat the drums of war. Land has produced many truly terrible
and anti-Christian commentaries over the years. This ranks among the worst. I'm
not sure what counterfeit Zion he inhabits but in his idolatrous pseudo-kingdom,
the great Christian concern of the hour is whether or not enough young people
are going to be willing to take up weapons and kill for the state.
By demanding Russian rubles as the means of payment, Putin is attempting to 'blackmail' the European nations that still rely upon Russian gas. At least this is the argument we've been presented with by the mainstream media in the West. This is not only an unfair charge, it's incoherent.
https://julieroys.com/james-dobson-calls-for-assassination-vladimir-putin/
Some of us have long known James Dobson to be something of a
fool, a would-be politico who envisions himself as not only the Christian
Right's stalwart and wise leader, but the great moral discerner of our times – even
the Evangelical elder statesman, their version of Winston Churchill. And yet at
times the real evil and rot of his heart comes to the surface. This was seen
with his recent call for the assassination of Vladimir Putin.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/03/22/us-soviet-air-defense-ukraine/
Though largely unknown to most of the American public, the US
began to purchase large quantities of Warsaw Pact weaponry in the 1970's and
would continue to do so until the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the
Soviet alliance. It is therefore not too surprising that some of the weapons
are now being funneled into Ukraine where they will be able to integrate easily
enough with the extant arms in Kyiv's possession.
Universally praised by the Western Establishment and viewed as a vigilant defender of the weak in the face of authoritarian regimes, the narrative concerning Madeleine Albright is little more than a packaged lie.
With Biden's open call for regime change in Russia, he has played his hand. Though framed as 'controversial' by the media, Biden was simply expressing what has been US policy for almost twenty years.
https://hslda.org/post/as-homeschooling-grows-in-romania-government-cracks-down
As mentioned in previous posts, I'm not a fan of HSLDA and
its Dominionist approach to homeschooling and larger questions concerning the
law. Confusing Christianity (its doctrines and ethics) with the Western (and
more often the American) cultural tradition, their overall approach theology,
ethics, and jurisprudence are (to me) seriously misguided.
As many readers will already know Paivi Rasanen is the
Finnish MP who has been brought up on charges regarding her anti-homosexual stand
and public statements she has made to that end. Her trial is complete and if
found guilty she faces jail time. It signals a real warning to Christians in
the West that the Sodomite factions that have come to dominate large sections
of Western capitalist society intend to prosecute dissidents.
It's evident to all in the West that Russian media twists and distorts the Ukraine War narrative. The state obfuscates the extent of the war, downplays its intensity, ignores and spins civilian deaths and in general misleads its public as to the nature, cause, and goals of its policies.
In addition to this and to the outrage of many, Vladimir
Putin the Russian president quotes Scripture and draws parallels, even
blasphemous comparisons between the 'sacrifices' made by Russian soldiers and
the death of Christ. He presents a picture in which the Russian public is led
to believe that God is with them and their cause. He stands by their troops and
their cause is just and righteous.
Indeed it is sickening and could even be described as evil.
https://www.breakpoint.org/is-it-biblical-to-honor-our-nation/
Evoking the memory of the apostate Richard John Neuhaus, BreakPoint commentator and Colson protégé John Stonestreet attempts to address the dangers of idolatry regarding nationalism, and yet in keeping with patterns often seen in his commentaries he misses the central point and falls into error.
Rather than seriously seek to limit or warn concerning the
dangers of nationalism, he in fact encourages it and blurs the lines that
already cloud contemporary Evangelical thought.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been placed into a difficult position by recent events and yet he hardly deserves sympathy. As he has specifically sought to exploit Turkey's Eurasian identity and potential role as a kind mediating power – then he should have expected this, being in a situation where he has the power to deal but few friends. His recent diplomatic attempt to bring the forces of the Ukraine War together has been interesting. It was also noteworthy that his recent summit attempt had little support from the United States which clearly (and despite its official rhetoric) doesn't want the war to end.
Energy Independence. The words are inescapable if you turn the news on. It has become a battle-cry for the Right in 2022. Representing the interests of the petroleum industry they have used the present crisis as a means to bolster the interests of that economic sector and yet at a most basic level it's misleading.
https://www.mnnonline.org/news/russian-invasion-brings-threat-of-persecution-to-ukraine/
The warning that a Russian occupation of Ukraine will
potentially invite forms of persecution is true enough but at the same time it
must be noted that Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), Mission Network News (MNN), and
many other missions and Evangelical organisations like Door of Hope
International (DOHI) are not to be fully trusted. Some radio programs spread
more false information than anything else especially when it comes to politics
and certainly international relations.
https://biblebased.wordpress.com/2022/03/07/should-reformed-christians-be-supporting-putin/
In this essay Andrew Webb continually begs the question. He
falsely assumes that Christians should be 'supporting' either side. Christians
certainly should not support Vladimir Putin. Some have been captivated by a
very misguided narrative that he somehow supports a re-establishment of
Christendom or that he stands for anti-liberalism (itself a confused term and
concept). Rather than muddy the waters as to whether or not Russia is a
'Christian' country, the concept itself needs to be exposed as intrinsically
false. The entire framework for the discussion needs to be re-tooled.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/03/09/lockheed-military-manufacturing-saudi/
Biden and others in the American
Establishment have sought to cast the new Cold War in terms of the Liberal
Democracies versus the Authoritarian States. This claim is as farcical as the
Capitalist Free World versus the Communist Bloc of the first Cold War. The
truth is always far more complicated.
In something of a cultural watershed the US government is openly allowing for and promoting crowd-funding for the Ukrainian army. Viewed as a just cause, once again it's clear Washington has no desire for this conflict to end in the near term.
For Christians there should be no doubt about books like
Harry Potter and the Twilight series. They're rubbish and they're not the type
of books I would encourage my children to read.
That said, burning the books is little more than a political
stunt. It would be one thing if there was a genuine Spirit-wrought outpouring
and people did this as a form of repentance and renunciation (as seen in
Ephesus) but that's not what's happening here.
I wish to extend a 'thank you' to Terry Mattingly for
publishing this. I don't always agree with him but I appreciate his
thoughtfulness and in this case he's one of the few voices that's pleading for
a bit of reflection – perhaps before some very terrible lines are crossed.
Putin fell for a geopolitical trap in the invasion of Ukraine, and US president Joe Biden has fallen for a series of traps set by his domestic political opposition.
The US wanted to send fighter aircraft to Ukraine but finally someone realised that Ukrainian pilots are trained on Soviet and Russian models – Sukhoi's and MiG's. And so sending them F-16's and the like will do little good. I'm sure they could fly them but they won't be proficient without training.
The NPR story – but one of an endless stream – attacks Russia
for its alleged use of cluster bombs. The weapon has long been condemned
because of the high percentage of 'bomblets' that don't actually explode and left
exposed on the ground, they lead to future injuries in the months and years
following the conclusion of the war. People are maimed and killed long after
the fighting has stopped.
Listening to the chants on the radio of 'USA Help Ukraine', I wondered if it ever occurred to any of these people that it was America's 'help', its meddling in Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular that led to the current crisis? Had the United States remained in its own hemisphere, and had Washington avoided sponsoring a militaristic eastern expansion on the part of NATO, then perhaps the world wouldn't face this crisis. Are they aware of America's 'help' for Ukraine in the 2004 and 2014?
After several vicious rounds of advance and retreat, it would
seem the Tigray War may be stabilising. At present there is a cease fire and we
can hope that it holds. Everyone is tired of fighting and both sides have
suffered considerably – not to mention the vast number of civilians who have
been brutalised.
While there's a ceasefire, the situation is by no means
resolved. The Tigray region is basically (at this point) autonomous and they've
proven that they can hold their own against the Abiy government in Addis Ababa
– which is now a government in crisis.
As the military campaign rages, the lies continue to multiply on all sides as do the dangers. It is evident that Ukraine presented no security threat to Moscow in itself. That's not why Russia invaded. This conflict is over Ukraine's use as a staging point and its symbolism in the larger NATO-Moscow struggle. For the unfortunate people of Ukraine, their land is once again a battlefield – it's been a recurring motif for the peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and Western and Southern Russia throughout their histories – a region Timothy Snyder referred to as the Bloodlands.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/opinion/evangelicalism-division-renewal.html
David Brooks is not a Christian and I know of Right-wing folk
who laugh at the notion that he's a conservative. This represents part of the
divide that I've been highlighting for years – the difference between elements
of the now almost defunct American Conservatism and the Right-wing Libertarian movement
that has largely supplanted it. There's overlap to be sure and people don't fit
into neat boxes but there's an ethos about the New Right and now Trumpism that's
remarkably different from what American Conservatism was a generation ago.
I often disagree with Brooks and sometimes strongly so, but I
will at least listen to what he has to say. Disagreement does not mean that his
commentary is utterly lacking any value.
An old friend (from my shameful Air Force days) shared a link with me:
https://unherd.com/2022/02/putins-spiritual-destiny/
It's a problematic
article on many levels and in terms of theology it's highly dubious. But it
touches on a lot of things I've been writing about on these sites for the past
twelve years.
I wrote to my friend
the following (slightly edited) as a response:
Without a doubt the US Energy sector (as a component of Wall
Street) is one of the driving factors in the US attempt to pull Russia into a
war with Ukraine. The US has been sabre rattling for months though this has
been ignored by Western media. It's clear the US wanted to break Nordstream 2,
and at this point it would seem they've been successful.
Recently I've had the opportunity at work to listen to the radio during the noon hour, something that has largely eluded me for the past year. The Family Life Network (FLN) based in Bath NY continues to expand its listening area and unfortunately this includes the region of Pennsylvania where I live. A typically Evangelical organisation, its theology is light and is mostly geared toward therapy and entertainment-based 'ministries' complimented with copious amounts of trite and terrible Christian pop music.
Usually the only thing I bother with is their news show. And yet having listened very little over the past year (I only occasionally listen to their teaching programmes and I cannot stomach the music), I was struck by how much the organisation has shifted to the Right.
Both sides of the political aisle attempt to manipulate crime statistics. When the Democrats are in power and making noise about gun violence, the Right will downplay it. And yet more typically the Right will scream about law and order and the Democrat's inability to rein in the chaos.
https://www.newsweek.com/call-duty-modern-warfare-highway-death-russia-gulf-war-1468207
I quit reading Newsweek years ago and as a consequence missed
this 2019 story. The video game industry is already replete with pro-military
propaganda and yet in this case it's worse than insidious, a blatant attempt to
lie and manipulate history.
While a formal bloc has not yet been created, a unified
agenda is coming together. This represents an early phase, a kind of proto-fascist
bloc beginning to form within the EU.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/president-mattarella-reluctant-hero-in-italys-crisis/
Akin to similar developments in other Western democracies,
the polarity within Italian politics has reached an extreme – to the point that
change itself is feared. Elected to his second term as president, Sergio
Matarella is 80 years old and he is the stabilizing factor, the shepherd of an
inherently unstable situation – that of Italy's National Unity government which
was formed last year.
Maybe you caught it, maybe you didn't. In some circles it was barely a headline and in other contexts the weight of this news was softened or outright spun. Days after the fact it would seem that the mainstream media has simply chosen to ignore it.
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mark-levin-american-marxism/
The Nation is a well-established liberal magazine with deep
roots in the American political order.
As connected as it is with the power centres of the Democratic Party,
the publisher (Katrina vanden Heuvel) is (ironically) widow to the recently
deceased Stephen Cohen – the renowned but controversial Russian studies scholar
who rejected and decried the Anti-Russia campaign being led by the US
Establishment and particularly the DNC. I'm sure there were some interesting
conversations that took place in their home.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5502785
Abortion is murder and sin. This needs to be stated in unqualified
terms. The point of this inquiry is not to argue otherwise or muddy the waters
on the core ethical points surrounding the practice.
However when abortion is considered in its political and
social context, then the truth demands a wider discussion and necessarily a
more complicated one. Again, this is not to give credence or standing to those
who promote and defend abortion. Rather it is necessary as Christians to be
honest with regard to how the issue has been framed and utilised, and to
consider the narratives attached to it.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/01/court-upholds-ruling-against-two-ex-managers-of-vatican-bank
A Vatican appellate court has upheld the conviction of two
clerics in a corruption and money laundering scandal that dates back almost a
decade.
Does this represent a slap on the wrist or a sign of real reform
in the notoriously corrupt and scandal-ridden institution?
This experiment is noteworthy because if successful it could
be transformative and mark the beginning of a new energy economy. Utilising
coal, Australia has produced hydrogen which is then liquefied. It is now being
brought to Japan by tanker where it can be used in a variety of industries and
applications.
In times past you wouldn't have found a Western-connected
Evangelical group sympathizing with the plight and positions of the Orthodox
world and indeed were Djokovic a Russian, the response would have likely been
different.
In the grand scheme of things the death of rock singer Meat Loaf (Marvin Aday) is hardly important. The news brought back some memories of school years and learning he was an anti-vax proponent I immediately thought of the joke that is certain to circulate – that he would do anything for love but he wouldn't do that (get a vaccine).
On a more serious note, a couple of quick reflections...
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/canada/Remembering-a-Legacy-of-Faith-From-Canadian-Labor-Camps/
https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/kootenay-park-conscientious-objector-camps/
Juxtaposing these two articles on Canadian Jehovah's
Witnesses during WWII reveals something of how this group perceives itself and
how it is perceived and misunderstood by those outside it.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/12/23/indonesia-sukhoi-us-french-planes/
These types of stories appear on a regular basis. One can't
read too much into them or overplay their meaning but they reveal something of
the behind the scenes struggle between the powers.
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-geopolitics-of-dead-georgian-in.html
Accused Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov has been found guilty
of the 2019 murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili – Chechen militant living in
Germany. The verdict is no surprise and it has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic
expulsions.
From the moment he was elected in 2017, the US has not been
happy with South Korean president Moon Jae-in. A member of the Korean Left and
insufficiently militant, he represents the political heritage in South Korea
that has been resistant to US domination – the same faction which began to
openly rebel from US control in the late 1980's. In South Korea and the rest of
the world, this period marks South Korea's embrace of democracy and the setting
aside of US-sponsored authoritarian rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Comprehensive_Economic_Partnership
With the turn of the calendar the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) went into effect on 1 January 2022. Initially meant
to counter the US attempt to re-shape Asian diplomacy and trade by means of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the RCEP represents a geopolitical and
diplomatic victory for Beijing – another sore blow to US hegemony in the
Asia-Pacific.
This article needs to be read, especially by many of the people
I know who believe that racism is effectively a dead issue. In their middle
class suburban-shaped minds, the claims of racism made by today's Left are akin
to showboating, a case of dog whistle and identity politics that play to a
base.
https://news.yahoo.com/cruz-offers-swap-nord-stream-181728222.html
No one can seriously accuse the Democrats of being soft on
Russia. If anything they've led the militaristic charge against Moscow since
the late Obama administration. In 2014, the US backed a coup in Ukraine leading
to the Russian annexation of the Crimea and Putin's open support for
separatists in the Donbass – the already rocky relationship quickly soured. And
when Russia intervened in the US proxy war in Syria, and thwarted plans to oust
Assad, relations grew hostile.
