God be praised, we've made more progress. After just about fifteen weeks in a brace, my son is finally getting to take it off. Not all at once of course, but we've started the process of weaning him from it. He has a new lease on life. He's able to lie on his side in bed and yes, take a shower. Needless to say he's in good spirits.
https://julieroys.com/ohio-church-refuses-embrace-partisan-politics-shrinks/
The article was good and even refreshing to a degree, but it
was not elaborated enough. It felt like there should have been a lot more
explanation as to why these positions (what some take to be non-positions) are
taken.
The confusion is demonstrated in the comments after the
article.
If you read the article carefully, the argument can be made
that the headline is guilty of sensationalism. America is clearly in the
position of supremacy but that margin of domination is not what it was thirty
years ago. This I think is probably self-evident and hardly surprising to
anyone.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=107221718125272
Matt Slick antedates the rise of New Calvinism – I remember
him from the 1990's, but in many respects he's one of several figures that
anticipated the movement and even now can and should be identified as a member
of that camp.
I'm not referring to gender confusion but to the conflation
of pronouns when it comes to the Church and the world. All things considered,
it's far more concerning than the sodomite rot that now dominates mainstream
airwaves.
I am fully aware that many consider John Stonestreet to be
something of a lightweight and yet, when I find his commentaries appearing on
Calvinistic websites like The Aquila Report, it indicates a growing
appreciation for him. As such, I feel compelled to respond, since no one else
seems willing to do so. There is much to be learned from his Evangelical-Kuyperian
(or Colsonite) errors and the convoluted thinking his commentaries represent.
I'm not sure what that says about the likes of The Aquila
Report.
As missiles fall on Poland, and there are talks of escalation and retaliation, it's a good moment pause.
Recently, I received a message from AFR. Their longtime morning host is retiring – yet another Right-wing liar and deceiver who promotes mammon, war, and nationalism.
But who is replacing her? Another Christian feminist of an even
worse stripe: Jenna Ellis
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/the-death-of-christian-pacifism.html
Tooley's powers of
perception must immediately be questioned when he asserts that Neo-Anabaptist
Christian Pacifism was so prevalent in 2015. The position has always been (since the fourth century) an
almost inconsequential minority at best.
Lately I've been encountering some articles concerning homeschooling in Hungary. To the surprise of many in the American Right and within the Christian Right – Viktor Orban of Hungary and his government have actually moved to restrict homeschooling.
Aside from the numerous articles and testimonials in local newspapers, I happened to overhear a conversation in which two grandparents were discussing the Veterans Day assembly at the local school. As to be expected they were quite proud of their grandchild's participation in it.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/27/life-surge-conference-evangelical-money-finance
American Evangelicalism has created a fusion of capitalism
and Christian piety. Sacralism and Evangelical Dominionism place great stock in
power and status, the middle class values of respectability and security. Those
that understand this are not surprised by the so-called Prosperity Gospel. It
is but an exaggerated expression of an impulse that already exists. It may be
tacky, working class, philistine, and grossly overdone which certain cultural
contexts tend to fuel – but in the end it's the same Cultural Christianity that
produced ostentatious palaces, cathedrals in one generation and capitalist
empires in another.
I've touched before on how many American based missions organisations cannot be fully trusted when it comes to reporting the news. They often echo US State Department lines and when it comes to certain countries (such as China) there is a tendency to utilise talking points and narratives provided by the American Right.
An Associated Press story ran in Friday's paper on 'Contrasts in faith' in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. The article echoed a point that many others have already made – that Doug Mastriano's political rallies are being blended with what must be described as an Evangelical-style worship service.
Ken Starr has died and while his name will be forever associated with the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, he remained a well-known and active figure in Right-wing circles, even into the Trump era.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-62980394
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-unionist-nightmare-in-ulster.html
This represents a rather noteworthy change in the
demographics of Northern Ireland – and at a particularly interesting time. Sinn
Fein now holds power which in some respects is the outward expression of this
now verified demographic reality.
I had to drive down into AFR world today – that is I had to drive within range of the American Family Radio signal. This station, considered a titan in the Evangelical world is to put it simply a disgrace. Every time I listen to it I have to shake my head in disbelief. The programming is appalling. Clearly the Wildmon clan exist to serve the interests of the GOP and the various monied interests of the American Right.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/09/16/germany-military-best-equipped/
This story appeared last month. To be honest, I'm surprised
it didn't get more attention. Scholz's statements are a more than subtle
indicator regarding German militarisation and its true goals. This isn't about
Ukraine, this about German leadership in Europe and it tacitly suggests that
Berlin is thinking in terms beyond NATO.
In light of battlefield defeats, the Putin regime has turned to punitive attacks, and a form of total warfare. Using airstrikes and drones, he's now targeting Ukrainian infrastructure, primarily hitting water and power stations. The goal is to generate suffering, break morale, and degrade Ukrainian society's will and ability to continue the war. He wants to force them to the negotiating table – all the more as Putin is desperate for a way out of the conflict. NATO can keep pouring weapons into the country but if Ukrainian society is falling apart the will to continue will fail.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/9/turkey-resumes-gas-exploration-in-the-eastern-mediterranean
Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey continues to carve out what
can only be described as an independent geopolitical course. Long viewed as an
essential member of NATO, due to its unique cultural and geographical position,
under Erdogan's AKP the Eurasian nation continues to anger its longtime allies
and sponsors by reaching out to Western rivals and adversaries and in pursuing
policies that the EU and NATO would describe as reckless, defiant, and even
treacherous.
It's very sad to read of this couple that has been seemingly
kidnapped by Russian soldiers. Being in Eastern Ukraine, their congregation has
undoubtedly suffered from schism, the horrors and violence of war – and now
this.
This episode of Fresh Air encouraged a deluge of thoughts and
considerations. Listening to the account by the former US Attorney and his reports
of the corruption in the Trump administration and specifically of former
Attorney General Bill Barr, I could not help but immediately think of LPR's
Issues Etc.
The US for its part is returning to the George Bush posture of post 9/11 – you're either with us or against us. In other words if you're not on board with Washington's global design, you're being relegated to the enemy column. And yet the Bush threat of 2001 carried more weight than it does under Biden in 2022. This is not because Biden is weak per se, but rather he presides over a nation that is undergoing social disintegration and even while it flexes its international muscle – domestically it faces deep systemic problems and is even now living under the shadow of civil conflict. And as things presently stand it looks like there's a good chance Trump could be president again in a couple of years which will effectively dash America's standing on the world stage.
One feels as if the propaganda has reached a new level, and with it the stakes and danger have become even greater. At the end of September a series of explosions heavily damaged the Nordstream pipelines which bring natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The two Nordstream 1 lines were rendered inoperable and apparently despite the explosions one of the two Nordstream 2 lines remains viable. In other words, three of the four pipelines have sustained serious damage.
https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/dont-expect-pakistan-to-host-us-military-bases/
In some respects this is a small story and received little
attention but it deserves a second look. The Taliban has protested regarding US
drone strikes in Afghanistan and particularly the targeted killing of al Qaeda
leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. They are of course upset with Washington but the real
target of their accusations and perhaps their ire is Pakistan. The Taliban
accuses Islamabad of hosting US drones or at the very least allowing them to
strike from its airspace.
https://theworld.org/stories/2022-07-29/brazil-s-evangelicals-work-us-political-mission
https://theworld.org/stories/2022-07-29/brazil-s-evangelicals-stand-president-bolsonaro
I have visited this topic more than once but with today's
election in Brazil it once more comes to mind. The rise of Bolsonaro isn't that
surprising as we see Right-wing and fascistic movements waxing everywhere. But
it is the Evangelical support for Bolsonaro that is particularly of interest
and the fact that like Trump he has all but announced that if he loses the
election he will not accept the results – and has indicated he's willing to
entertain extreme measures to reverse the result.
People seem shocked that Vladimir Putin is making aggressive moves to silence dissent and punish social nonconformity. They shouldn't be and I'm not just saying that because it's Vladimir Putin. All states, whether already authoritarian-leaning entities such as Russia and China or even so-called liberal democracies like the United States, resort to some form of internal clampdown whenever the war machine is running under full steam.
Until now the US has been keen to drag this war out and wear down Moscow but it would seem that the Kharkiv Offensive marks the moment that they've decided to initiate its endgame. It's a dangerous moment as Putin is also desperate and escalating the stakes by his mobilisation and his recent appeals to Beijing at the SCO meeting in Uzbekistan. If China begins to aid Russia, this war could swing the other direction and again the threat of a global war only intensifies. These are all factors explaining why the West is beginning to push hard and break the stalemate.
There has been an escalation. This is a point on which I think all parties would agree. But as to the nature of that escalation, there are sharp divisions based on one's understanding of events.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/8/30/keeping-up-disappearances-in-el-salvador
The El Salvador Civil War (1979-1992) was in some respects
ignored even while it was taking place. It received some coverage, and there
were some flashpoints and massacres, namely the raped and murdered nuns, and
most famously the dramatic assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980.
The longstanding conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has flared up and dozens are dead as a result of skirmishes. The evidence suggests this latest round of violence was instigated by Baku as Armenia is all but broken and still recovering from its serious defeat in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. It is highly unlikely that they would pick a fight at this time – a point even Western academics and commentators are willing to concede.
First, I wish to thank all of those who have prayed and those who have been kind enough to drop a personal note to me. God has been good. Our son is doing well – all things considered. The main thing is that he is stable.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62726954
This article reveals (perhaps without meaning to) the nature
of NATO relations with ISIS during the movement's first phase. ISIS was rightly
presented as a horrific apocalyptic Salafist organisation and its terror was
channeled by Western media to reinvigorate support for Western intervention in
the Middle East – the so-called War on Terror, even as figures like Obama were
attempting to disentangle Western interests from it and 'Pivot to China'.
Ostensibly arriving in Kyiv on 8 September 2022 to offer aid,
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was there to further promote the war.
Visiting with the injured and afflicted was a photo op – fodder for the media
to continue its propaganda campaign directed at the American public. The images
and statements are meant to promote outrage and yet in other contexts (where
the victims are the result of American operations) these same images and
realities are covered up.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/15/1117605626/a-reservation-in-south-dakota-bans-outside-missionaries
I caught this NPR story a few weeks ago while driving home
and it made me groan inwardly – yet another compelling story, but one in which
I find myself disagreeing with all involved.
One has to be blind to not see that the world is at the very least creeping toward a global war scenario. And the pace is intensifying.
It's a point already made but one that bears re-stating – the larger story and context of the Ukraine War is moving well beyond the immediate setting of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea littoral. Its impact and ramifications are increasingly global and so are the consequences and dangers.
While sitting in the Emergency Room with my son I was privy to many nearby conversations and happenings – whether I wanted to overhear them or not. Some were tragic, some sad, some semi-comical, and then of course there was the obligatory mental case – a screaming woman in one of the special locking rooms with a camera.
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.
