https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/07/28/iran-israel-agents-kurdish-rebels/
The Mossad will deny that they're working with these Kurds
but in fact Israel has been working with various Kurdish paramilitaries for
some time. This was not always the case but the Turkish realignment under
Erdogan has made it so.
https://currentpub.com/2022/05/19/where-does-doug-mastriano-go-to-church/
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/doug-mastriano-governor-christian-nationalism-qanon-20220504.html
Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and GOP nominee Doug Mastriano
represents the extreme edge of the Trumpite spectrum. A Christian Nationalist –
or in terms used here, a Dominionist and Christo-American, Mastriano promotes
the many lies of the Far Right and even the myths and delusions of QAnon. His
ties range from the Far Right fringe to sections of the Neo-fascist militia
movement.
My apology to readers. We've had a family catastrophe. My son broke his back on Saturday in a bicycle accident. It's been touch and go with him and as the hospital is over two hours away there's been lots of driving and little sleep, accompanied by anguish and considerable stress. I hope to return to posting soon. In the meantime, for the few readers that are left (my readership has plunged about 70% over the last year) your prayers are greatly appreciated. We give thanks that he's alive and so far has avoided paralysis, but it's touch and go. Either way, God be praised.
Thanks,
John (Protoprotestant)
It would probably be in my interest to avoid the BreakPoint website or listening to its radio commentaries. I'm afraid I could work full time simply refuting and deconstructing Stonestreet and company. Like his mentor Charles Colson he's almost always wrong, stunningly so – and even when he's right on something, it's for the wrong reasons and often the given justifications are confused and ultimately undermine his position.
Sometimes it's too much, day after day. That's how it was in
late May when I encountered these three commentaries.
Given the magnitude of the Dobbs v. Jackson abortion decision,
the Kennedy v. Bremerton ruling regarding the religious liberty of a football coach
was in many ways under reported. It's getting some attention but if Roe v. Wade
had not been overturned, this ruling would be front and center. Its
implications are potentially vast.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/roofing-scams-florida-property-insurance-hurricane-rcna29649
This article exposes the inherent immorality of the American tort
system. When individual Right-wing people go after institutions by means of
shake-down lawyers, then it's just fine. It's the American way. In fact there
are large numbers of so-called Christian lawyers engaged in this very practice.
But when insurance companies are being taken advantage of by means of a coordinated
effort, then it's a problem that even GOP governors want to address.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/27/an-appeal-to-russia-haters/
This article raises several excellent points. The Ukraine War
is being utilized by various interests as a means of distraction. The media
could make quite a bit of hay out of an analogy with the Yemen War but has
instead chosen to ignore it. And while the Ukraine War is highly destructive,
the Yemen War has been far worse.
https://julieroys.com/j-d-hall-removed-church-failure-demonstrate-repentance/
As sad and pathetic as the JD Hall episode is, this follow-up
article only further demonstrates how askew this congregation is. We already
know that JD Hall is unqualified to lead a congregation and this was evident even
before the recent revelations. They simply confirmed this to be the case. He is
not Biblically rooted in his thinking and now his conduct and response to
exposure simply shine a light on this.
This only about eight weeks late but it doesn't really matter. As much as I might enjoy doing so I'm not running a news site or current events blog. If it were up to me I would publish a couple of articles a day along with other essays and what I'd really like to do – more doctrinal and Scriptural studies. But work and other obligations means that's not possible. And as this year is proving to be one of the most difficult I've had in almost a decade, there's less time than usual as I'm putting in extra hours in an attempt to make ends meet. And in terms of writing, I'm playing catch up.
While visiting the BreakPoint website I made another discovery which I must say initially startled me but upon reflection it wasn't too surprising. I noticed the website was promoting Eventide Mutual Funds as a form of Christian investment. That name was familiar to me. I clicked on the link and within a few seconds I had the answer.
Finally after many years it sounds like Russia and the US may cut a deal to release Viktor Bout. Back in 2013, I honestly thought Putin might trade Snowden for him but it turned out that Snowden was a bigger deal than initially thought.
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/jun/02/star-parker-this-country-is-going-through-a/
What a mess. I filed this commentary away over a month ago.
To be candid it's pretty worthless but reading it I had to laugh at the total
incongruity and dissonance on display in the argument.
On the one hand the manipulations that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have proven very successful. NATO dissent has been largely quashed and the EU has been brought into a kind of subservience to the US. NATO is set to expand, and the US has forced Europe to shift its energy policy, in ways largely favourable to US interests.
https://off-guardian.org/2022/03/25/two-weeks-to-flatten-the-world/
Over the past year I've encountered in person and via
websites expressions of frustration and disgust from many Christians arguing
that they tried to obey the government protocols regarding Covid in good faith.
They were promised 'two weeks' to flatten the curve and it didn't happen. As
such many of these church leaders have shifted over to the Covid-sceptic
position and remain bitter that they're open to criticism and in some cases
attack from those who questioned it from the beginning.
https://g3min.org/on-baby-grands-and-expensive-hymnals/
This would have to be reckoned as a sequel to a previous post
responding to G3 on the issue of pianos. Apparently this ministry website
excels at missing the point.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/27/apologist-for-tucker-carlsons-racism-glenn-greenwald/
I wasn't surprised to see this article. In some respects I'm
surprised more people aren't commenting on this. I was glad to see Greenwald
leave The Guardian in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations. The founding of
The Intercept looked promising but that too began to degenerate. And then in
2020, Greenwald went out on his own – it was real display of integrity, or at
least so I thought.
https://issuesetc.org/2022/06/21/1721-the-restoration-of-citizenship-dr-victor-davis-hanson-6-21-22/
Listening to this exchange with the Hoover Institute's Victor
Davis Hanson it was hard not to be struck by the fundamentally non-Christian
approach of the interview, which is a strange thing because supposedly I was
listening to a Confessional Lutheran radio programme.
Millions of their people were killed during World War II, and as a result this country believes that they are exempt from the normative rules of conduct in terms of international affairs. The crisis engendered by the war was of such a nature, such an existential threat to their existence that the only imperative is this – never again.
When it comes to ethics, the ministry of Scott Brown rests on
a foundation of sand – a denial of Scriptural Sufficiency. When Brown and
company talk about finances, patriotism, history, ethics, and certainly their
concepts of manhood and the like, the Scriptures play little part in their
thinking.
You can't make this stuff up. This has happened multiple times and in connection with different media and news outlets. Today while driving home NPR reported that Biden was giving Medals of Honor to Vietnam veterans – men that for whatever reason had been neglected for the past fifty years. Now they're getting their recognition for their bravery and service – or at least that's the official narrative.
I clicked on a CNN video the other night and gave up after just a few minutes. It was ridiculous. It wasn't news. It was just a juvenile editorial and misleading at that. Even if I agreed (for the most part) with what was being said, the presentation was disgraceful – the very sort of thing that is par for the course on FOX. The two channels are increasingly cut from the same cloth. Deceit reigns as the interests of mammon dominate the airwaves and both channels (in service to the Wall Street Establishment) are on a mission to blur and ignore context and the true nature of the problems that dominate this society and the larger world. Ratings, advertising, and thus entertainment are paramount and increasingly rage and fear are the tools to keep people energized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx8tsompfiM
This disturbing video was released in late May and yet just a
month later the context has dramatically changed. The Supreme Court has
overturned Roe v. Wade, ruled in favour of tax money being used for private and
thus religious schools, thrown out gun restrictions, ruled in favour of the
coal industry and restricted the EPA, and now the court has ruled in favour of
an Evangelical football coach praying in connection to school events. More than
ever the Christian-Right is energized and they believe their 'victories' are
due to Donald Trump.
First there was the failed summit in Los Angeles. This was the Ninth such meeting for the Organization of American States (OAS) which has long been a tool for US imperialism in the region. More than once it has given cover to US policies and machinations.
A friend and I frequently exchange notes regarding the text
of the New Testament and some of the controversies surrounding it. We're both
committed to the now minority position regarding the so-called Byzantine Text
and the Textus Receptus and we both reject the Critical Text which has been
widely embraced even by many who would otherwise claim to be conservatives
and/or Confessionalists.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/30/memorial-day-salute-to-a-repentant-ex-marine/
The article cites the new book – Gangsters
of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, The Marines, and the Making and Breaking of
America’s Empire
by Jonathan Katz (St. Martin's Press 2022).
This is a book that I want to read. Butler is a fascinating
character and one soldier that I too would salute. He was a true hero, not for
his soldiering but for his courage and willingness to tell the truth about it –
something that actually took more courage and exacted a heavier price than all his
battlefield exploits.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/usps-can-require-christian-to-work-on-sundays-court-rules.html
This is a case of worldly thinking
being passed off as Christianity applied. It's more rights-based ethics – file
a lawsuit and call on the state to compel your employer to give you what you
want. It's an abnegation of gospel testimony, an attempt to wed Christianity to
the power of the state. And this thinking is the result of Dominionism, the
utter confusion of the True Kingdom that calls us to take up the cross with a counterfeit
kingdom that seeks to sanctify the world and its hallmarks – the sword and the
coin. Bow to its ethic and its fallen prince will grant you the kingdoms of the
earth. This is how far removed from the New Testament this doctrinal and
ethical system is.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/22/george-w-bush-is-not-funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEg6Ht2pNH0
For
several years – but certainly for the past few months we have been subjected to
media expressions of moral outrage and disgust over Putin's actions and his invasion
of Ukraine. And it goes beyond the media – celebrities, the public sector,
corporations and the like have all jumped on this bandwagon. Even a regional
Russian Festival was canceled as it was deemed inappropriate to celebrate
Russian culture at this time – which ironically it must be noted that about
half of the music and dances in the event were... you guessed it, Ukrainian.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/sri-lanka-is-open-buying-russian-oil-pm-tells-ap-2022-06-12/
As a country in a state of turmoil and caught between
political and financial forces based both in China and the West, Colombo is
looking for other options. And for obvious reasons Moscow is also looking for
new markets. While the Russian oil industry has jumped through numerous hoops
and played games with pricing to keep their markets open, the possibility of
new markets must be appealing for those in Russia.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61488976
This story sure caught my eye. I don't believe such a
narrative would fly in Western coverage. Whether the story is true or not, the
propaganda campaign against China has reached a point that any and every story
that can be used or spun is posted – anything to cast a shadow over the
character of the Chinese people and state.
https://www.news10.com/news/rensselaer-county/police-deescalate-hostage-situation-at-troy-stewarts/
You don't read about mass killings by knife too often do you?
I've written about this before, as have many others. Here's another recent
case, pertinent in light of the recent wave of mass shootings in the United
States.
We already knew Jordan 'JD' Hall was far afield in terms of New Testament Christianity. For him Christianity is a confused construct of America, guns, and some kind of truncated cowboy cheap-grace gospel. To practice one's piety you spread spin and lies and do so by means of creating a click-bait factory. When I see the posters promoting filth like 'God, Guns, and Trump', I think of JD Hall and the poor lost souls that follow him.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/21/1100533342/australia-scott-morrison-concedes-election
I wanted to comment on this a couple of weeks ago but like
many readers I'm getting pretty beat up right now financially and work is consuming
a lot of my time. At present a forecast of rain means a loss of income for the
day but it gives me some time write and catch up on things.
Evangelicals were thrilled when several Tampa Bay baseball players refused to wear the 'rainbow' patches on their uniform for some kind of Sodomite pride day – something their team wishes to promote. As Sodomy is all the rage we are subjected to rainbow-washing in all sectors of society. Not saying something is to say something and so many companies and institutions that probably don't care all that much about the issue are keen to make a statement even if it's just a token one.
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/23/1094444837/opinion-the-failed-promise-of-never-again
I've been listening to
NPR on and off for a long time, although much less so in recent years. The
network has changed and I increasingly find it to be a waste of time.
Thankfully my regional public radio station (WPSU) has some other programming that's
worth while and so I still tune in from time to time.
I already knew that I disagreed with the premise of the show.
I don't believe that academia is something that can be recaptured because I
don't believe it was ever the province of the Church to begin with.
The Great Replacement theory appears in various forms and has undergone numerous permutations. For some it's about race, for others it's race on one level, but primarily it's a question of culture.
https://afr.net/podcasts/it-s-my-turn/2022/may/to-be-a-visionary/
In some respects I grow weary of writing these critiques and
yet will no one call these people out? Will no one expose their false teachings
and blatant deceit?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/3/russia-says-israel-supports-neo-nazis-in-row-over-ukraine
I'm not sure why this is a controversy. Israel has a long
history of collaborating with fascistic elements – especially when its own
fascist party 'Likud' entered mainstream politics. Likud forged close ties with
Apartheid South Africa and the nations found a kind of camaraderie in their
pariah status, alliance with the United States, and their racial problems and
perspectives.
https://justandsinner.libsyn.com/a-response-to-an-sspx-priest-on-luther
In this podcast Cooper provides a capable defense of Luther
and his legacy and offers some helpful critiques of Roman Catholicism and the
Protestant Reformation's opposition to it.
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.
