https://www.npr.org/2023/09/30/1201065400/ukraine-russian-orthodox-church-tensions
Whenever these questions are addressed by Western news
outlets the stories are tainted by phony democratic and liberal assumptions
that are imposed on the discussion of the Church. This is true even when the
discussion deals with Protestants or Roman Catholics.
At various times throughout history Christians have struggled to function within society. The reasons for this vary as do the contexts. In some cases there's the threat of outright persecution from the state, a false religion, or even a dominant apostate ecclesiastical body. At other times the struggle is more subtle. Instead of acute danger there is a kind of wearisome grind that takes place – a slow breaking of the will that can (from another angle) be viewed as a kind of seduction. This would most accurately describe the situation in today's United States.
The fact that new Syriza leader Stefanos Kasselakis is a
sodomite does not make him Left-wing – any more than was his predecessor Alex
Tsipras. Tsipras who ran on Leftist platform and formed a coalition to that
end, was revealed as a tool of the bankers and the EU Establishment.
On 17 October 2023, several hundred Palestinians died in Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital that was hit by either a bomb or missile. Israel blames Islamic Jihad which is another well known Islamist group within the spectrum of Palestinian Islamism.
What do you even say to something like this? The whole thing is one big cinematic smoke and mirrors lie.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66907517
This story is already falling out of the news cycle
especially with all the other things happening in the Middle East.
After the July coup in Niger there was a great deal of focus
on the country and the new ruling junta. The signs were bad (from a Western
perspective) when Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland made a trip to
Niger and was effectively rebuffed.
In reference to the recent attacks based out of Gaza, I found it very interesting that a Hamas spokesman mentioned a movement to re-establish the Solomonic Temple as one motivation among others. That's not something you're going to typically hear in the mainstream media.
The article didn't reveal anything particularly new. For
those who have been paying even a little bit of attention there have been
stories trickling out over the past several years regarding the nature of Ham's
business dealings. He's manipulated a lot of the bookkeeping surrounding his
'ministries' to his own benefit and has grown quite wealthy. An examination of
his 'ministry' tax forms indicates he's playing all the same nepotistic games
that many of these guys engage in and given the fact that he's apparently worth
tens of millions of dollars, he's found other means to funnel money into his
coffers. And let's just say the tickets to his venues are not cheap – not that
I would ever give him a dime.
During the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, it looked as
if the Schengen Treaty (which provides open internal borders within the EU) was
ready to collapse. The EU weathered the storm, but there are still tensions –
and in some cases these tensions are fueled by external considerations.
As I stated in a related piece, the coverage of the Canadian Parliament scandal has been largely disingenuous and has omitted several critical points.
I caught this report on 11 September which was in connection
with the anniversary. It's rather stunning to consider that even after all
these years there are people still buying into the discredited narratives.
There's no reflection. They are truly zombies – unthinking semi-sentient beings
enslaved to the state and its manipulative narratives and rhetoric.
https://eurasianet.org/as-azerbaijan-takes-over-karabakh-armenian-russian-ties-reach-new-nadir
As I have related in the past, the Armenian lobby in the
United States has been faced with an impossible situation, a position divorced
from the realities of US foreign policy. Since the fall of the USSR, Armenia
has been allied with Russia and indirectly with Iran. America has, since the
formation of NATO been an ally of the Turks, and with the break-up of the
Soviet Union this relationship extended to the Turkish regime in Azerbaijan.
The latter country was particularly attractive given its oil resources and
geo-strategic position on the Caspian Sea which connects it to Central Asia.
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with yet another pastor by phone – once again of an Evangelical church about forty-five minutes away.
I don't do a lot of endorsements these days but I wish to commend the following website to readers – Deo Vicit Mundum. The site is run by Joshua Immanuel, a dear brother in the Lord who has been an encouragement to me. Based in the larger Atlanta area he (like so many of us) has struggled to find a solid Biblically-based church and as such he's putting out an appeal – one that I'm forwarding to my readers with the hope that maybe someone else is in the area or familiar with it and can contact him with a recommendation.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_218172.htm
This is from a speech given by NATO secretary-general Jens
Stoltenberg. Read this excerpt carefully.
Then lastly on Sweden. First of
all, it is historic that now Finland is member of the Alliance. And we have to
remember the background. The background was that President Putin declared in
the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to
sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a
pre-condition for not invade Ukraine. Of course we didn't sign that.
The opposite happened. He wanted
us to sign that promise, never to enlarge NATO. He wanted us to remove our
military infrastructure in all Allies that have joined NATO since 1997, meaning
half of NATO, all the Central and Eastern Europe, we should remove NATO from
that part of our Alliance, introducing some kind of B, or second class
membership. We rejected that.
So he went to war to prevent
NATO, more NATO, close to his borders.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-66748670
Biden left the G-20 summit in New Delhi which ended on 10
September and headed for Vietnam. For years the US has been trying to coax
Hanoi into a military alliance – to win Vietnam away from China and over into
the US camp.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/08/30/booz-allen-maryland-military-facility/
Articles about Booz Allen Hamilton always catch my eye as the
company is well-known for its contract work with the CIA. Perhaps the most
famous episode in recent years was in reference to Edward Snowden. The company
is involved in all sorts of intelligence work, analysis, IT, and other forms of
consulting and its one of those companies that straddles the military and
intelligence spheres – in fact the line with a company like Booz Allen Hamilton
is completely blurred.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-us-espionage-cia-spying/
In August, Beijing arrested another one of its citizens
accusing them of spying for the CIA. The US media seems to get perturbed by these
reports and intuitively seems to take a defensive posture – as if the
accusation is prima facie absurd.
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/what-the-brics-expansion-means-to-shipping
This short article merely touches on what is in fact a huge
topic – one that is only starting to be understood and thought out. As BRICS
expands and plays a larger role in creating an alternate economy the
ramifications for this in the realm of global trade and shipping will be significant
– which is why a publication like The Maritime Executive wants to bring it up.
https://www.breakpoint.org/50-years-ago-chuck-colson-was-granted-eternal-life/
The memory of Charles 'Chuck' Colson (1931-2012) is already
starting to fade away. He was of another generation and one that seems
increasingly distant. From time to time BreakPoint will replay one of his old
commentaries and they did so recently as 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of
his conversion – except I continue to argue the man was a fraud.
https://declassifieduk.org/bps-financing-of-colombias-murderous-military/
The documents referenced here merely confirm what was already
known – both governments and corporations were involved in the financing and
arming of Right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/pastor-indicted-alongside-trump-returns-to-pulpit/ar-AA1fX3di
https://www2.cbn.com/news/politics/freedom-caucus-leader-rep-mark-meadows-god-gets-credit
I find it rather interesting that LPR's Issues Etc. has not
bothered to cover this story – at least not yet.
One would think that a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)
talk radio show would sit up and take interest when one of their own faces
indictment alongside Donald Trump for attempting to manipulate and overturn the
results of the 2020 presidential election. There are other Evangelicals
involved such as Jenna Ellis who now has a show on American Family Radio (AFR)
and the Dominionist Mark Meadows who as Trump's Chief of Staff played an
important role in the plot.
Where's the coverage?
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-former-general-compares-palestinian-treatment-nazi-germany
One would think this story would get a little more press than
it has received.
Was this some left-wing firebrand that dared to compare
Israel's treatment of the Palestinians to the Nazi regime or its West Bank
policies to apartheid South Africa?
https://julieroys.com/calvinist-activist-warns-white-nationalism-invading-reformed-churches/
I was encouraged to discover there are some who are concerned
over what is happening within the Church – and in this case the Reformed
sphere. And it's not just White Nationalism but a growing militancy that should
be sending up red flags. Gun culture is incompatible with New Testament
Christianity but what's been developing in recent years is far beyond the pale.
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/1192374014/russell-moore-on-altar-call-for-evangelical-america
I've written repeatedly about Russell Moore over the years
and while he's considered in some quarters to be a quasi-'woke' liberal today,
at one time he was as right-wing as anyone. I can't say that I've ever been a
fan though I do appreciate his stand against Trump – though perhaps for
different reasons than his. I will say he appeared the Christian when
contrasted with the likes of Franklin Graham, the master and inheritor of a
corrupt legacy and 'ministry' machine.
Investment is always viewed through the lens of economic
legitimacy – both as a means and an end. But it also needs to be understood that
a flood of money invariably generates corruption.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/john-bolton-trump-nato-2024
Some in the name of anti-globalisation would be more than
happy to see the US withdraw from NATO. Others make a similar isolationist argument
by appealing to Washington's 1796 farewell warning concerning 'foreign
entanglements'. For whatever the reason there is a growing voice within
Right-wing circles that is exhibiting no small degree of scepticism regarding
NATO. For some it's simply a nationalist impulse and an unwillingness to
contemplate spending American treasure and lives to defend some European
country that most Americans know nothing about. Regardless, this sentiment
represents a sharp break within the American conservatism that emerged after
World War II.
I think it safe to say that I'm not a fan of John Piper but
on occasion I can appreciate something he says. In this case, it's not really
about anything remarkable coming from Piper's pen. Rather, what piques my
interest is that such a statement has generated controversy.
I have not been watching all of the news coverage but I would hope that someone would point out the irony present in this situation. Giuliani has been swept up in the Georgia indictment on the basis of RICO – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested again and has now been sentenced to prison. Ousted from office in April 2022, he has repeatedly insisted the US played a role in what many view as a bureaucratic coup.
When this subject was last addressed at the beginning of June, the spring offensive was just getting under way. Two months later it has fizzled and even Western media seems incapable of spinning the story.
Coups in Africa are by some estimates far from unusual. There have been many in recent years and while often mentioned, the news coverage in the West is minimal. Africa does not generate a great deal of interest to Western audiences and for many it's impossibly complicated and they are unable to follow the stories or contextualize them.
I have been asked from time to time about recommendations for Christian movies, what review sites to trust and the like. The answer is very simple – none of them are to be trusted and I can't recommend any that I know of.
https://evangelicalfocus.com/world/22997/pastor-sentenced-by-the-venezuelan-authorities
I wouldn't for a moment wish to defend the Maduro-led
government of Venezuela. I would not want to justify, support, or defend
anything that government says or does – especially when it comes to its
relations with the Church.
That said, there are some questions that need to be asked.
Emanuela Orlandi disappeared from near the Vatican in 1983 and while the popes and curia wish the story would go away, it lingers on. It is captivating to say the least and every so often it pops up again in the news. Netflix recently released a documentary which more or less summarizes the story to this point and attempts to advance it a step or two. And much to the chagrin of the Vatican, this documentary has effectively put a spotlight on the story and has introduced it (and the scandals connected to it) to a new generation.
Two decades into the twenty-first century Mongolia is
something of an outlier, an outpost nation that straddles North and East Asia
and by some accounts represents the eastern edge of Central Asia. Within this
vast zone, Mongolia (it could be said) represents the last hope of Western
influencers.
https://eurasianet.org/rift-widens-between-armenian-church-government
This is a somewhat hopeless debate to wade into. There are
glaring assumptions being made that must be questioned. Armenia is viewed by
its Orthodox Church and the religious sections of its populace as a sacral
state. As such, Nagorno-Karabakh is in reality Artsakh – part of the ancient
conglomeration of Armenian kingdoms. As a people they have lost so much and
have been brought so low, that for some a line has been drawn. No further. They
will not brook any further humiliation at the hands of Turks and will not
tolerate any political party that even entertains capitulation. For some this
isn't just politics or nationalism – it's theological.
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Supreme-Court-bans-interfaith-marriages-58840.html
Legally the issue cited in the article concerns the
jurisprudence of an Islamic nation – and to what degree Sharia or even a
limited or hybrid-Sharia can accommodate a Muslim-interfaith marriage. This
issue on its face is not a Christian concern apart from questions of civil
freedom and restrictions that result from a sacralist-Islamist framework.
The US Establishment doesn't want to jeopardize this key tool
by allowing it to become a political football. Also this vote and rejection of
Paul's amendment must be viewed in light of the Trump presidency and the damage
he did to NATO by suggesting Article 5 might be subject to question. Paul's
amendment more or less is a pathway to the same argument and uncommitted
position and as such not only weakens the treaty but effectively violates the
terms Washington already agreed to.
I post this with a few comments just to call attention to the
kind of Two Kingdom Theology which needs to be rejected and opposed. It caught
my eye because the author (Tom Hervey) was critical of Larry Ball, a Theonomist
writer I have countered on many an occasion. Happy to see someone answering him,
I was nevertheless mostly disappointed in Hervey's response.
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/20/1183140547/road-to-surrender-revisits-the-final-weeks-of-world-war-ii
Once again a mainstream reporter appeals to narratives that
are hardly Left-wing or 'woke' but instead belong on FOX or Newsmax. The divide
appealed to by so many on the Right is blurry at best and artificial at worst.
And keep in mind this is Evan Thomas who spent decades working at supposedly
Left-wing magazines like Time and Newsweek. Apparently it's Left-wing these
days to produce an apologia for Truman's use of atomic bombs, for that in the
end is the real purpose of his work. He defends their use, tries to argue that
their use was moral, and that those who made the choice to use them are in fact
heroes.
https://evangelicalfocus.com/features/22760/the-harassment-of-italian-evangelical-churches
Some of the events reported here are limited to the city of Rome
as the article acknowledges. I remember back in the 1990's when I spent a fair
bit of time there that Protestant churches couldn't ring bells and so forth –
orders from the Vatican, or so it was said. The Pope does indeed possess a degree
of unofficial leverage within the larger city.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/06/19/emergence-of-a-new-non-alignment/
A New World Order is emerging but it's not the one predicted
by George HW Bush in the early 1990's. In fact this is the order he was trying
to prevent, the nightmare scenario US power-brokers have been trying to stave
off since that time. Ironically, they brought it on themselves but that's a long
story - one that cannot be explored here.
Fesko begs many questions in this piece. From his adoption of
the culture's language of 'service' to the tacitly endorsed feminism in
speaking of a military career, he simply assumes in good Kuyperian fashion that
the military is a viable option for the Christian.
This is a postscript to the Christian Kids in State Colleges piece even though these comments are largely restricted to primary and high school settings.
http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2023/06/inbox-christian-kids-in-state-colleges-i.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65428204
By all accounts, there is a spectrum to modern feminism. Some
feminists hate men and turn toward androgyny or ironically to an emulation of
masculinity. Other forms of feminism celebrate femininity but it is recast and
breaks with older forms and understandings of what that meant – often in forms
of libertine expression – a certain conception of womanhood turned up a few
notches as it were. Sometimes as a concept it begins to breakdown and blur and even
poses as being anti-feminist – and yet ultimately is part of the same cultural subversion
that has dismantled the older understandings of womanhood that once prevailed
in society and certainly within the Church.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/06/far-right-politics-hitler-d-day
The son of former CIA director Richard Helms is alarmed at
the present political climate in the United States and as a result has pulled
out a historical curiosity to make his point. He is in possession of a letter
written by his father in 1945. The future CIA director was part of the OSS and
wrote his infant son a letter on the recently defeated Hitler's stationary
warning him about the evils in the world and his witnessing of them.
At the end of May there was a telling episode that reveals something of Trump's character. He railed against Kayleigh McEnany his former press secretary and one of his staunchest allies when she proved unwilling to distort poll numbers in Trump's favour. The result was that it gave his rival Florida governor Ron DeSantis a needed boost as he is far behind in the polls.
https://thecradle.co/article-view/26056/syria-intends-to-join-brics-sco
Now that Assad has his foot back into the door of the
international community, he's looking to join institutions that will promote
stability, growth, and security. This is hardly surprising though it will
continue to outrage his critics in the West – the individuals, entities, and
governments that attempted to overthrow him and fomented a civil war in his
country that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of
refugees.
This article has been in the queue for a few weeks and I
might have tossed it aside other than it struck me today (24 June) of how absurd
it is in many respects even as NATO continues to push the narrative about the
threat of Russia. Russia has been exposed today as a nation in a state of
instability and peril. Not only did Putin's forces fail to take Kyiv in 2022,
he has now faced a very threatening mutiny and this is even in light Ukraine's
failed spring 2023 offensive. Putin looks weak in the eyes of the world.
When Western and even Christian media cover the situation in
Colombia they invariably focus on the terror and violence perpetrated by the
Leftist guerilla groups – such as the FARC. This is true enough but they
consistently misrepresent the story. There are cycles of violence and terror
and the reason many among the rural poor gravitate toward the Left is due to
the violence of Right-wing paramilitary groups which are often unofficial arms
of the state and in other cases are effectively private armies funded and
backed by Western corporations. And it must be remembered that groups like the
CIA are always in the background pulling strings and attempting to manage the
situation.
It's fascinating and perhaps even a little sad to reflect on
how the entire Covid episode could have played out in such different terms –
especially for the Christian Church in the United States.
This reporting relies on Forum 18 which as I contended last
year is problematic, as the organisation is a little too cozy with the European
Establishment. That said, (as with the Mariupol pastor story from October 2022),
this is not to say the story isn't true. It's more of a warning to be sceptical
of the source and to realize that despite their claims – they're not neutral or
apolitical observers.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/05/29/clashes-northern-kosovo/
There are statements from multiple entities such as the EU
and NATO condemning these events and yet everyone knows the key player here is
the United States. Washington created Kosovo and its government is completely
beholden to the United States.
In recent years a number of mainstream outlets have produced watchdog shows that attempt to navigate the larger media world and its increasingly conflicting and contradictory presentation of facts and narratives. These shows are meant to help one discern the truth and of course it is assumed that whatever the said outlet is, (such as the BBC) – it is in fact a guardian of it.
It's clear that Kyiv is basically unable to mount the much vaunted spring offensive – at least not anything of significance within the spectrum of conventional artillery-infantry oriented combat expected by its Western sponsors. Spring is more or less over at this point and for months the NATO Establishment has debated its next set of moves. It was determined some time ago that a general escalation was in order. The question was not if but when and how. There will an offensive but it is likely to change the very character and scope of the war.
https://mate.substack.com/p/elon-musk-is-right-bellingcat-is
Even blind squirrels get acorns on occasion. Musk is
certainly repugnant in every respect but as Aaron Mate points out – this time
he was right.
This interview was absurd and offensive and belies the claims
by the Right that NPR is 'Left-wing' or somehow anti-American. The interview is
a whitewash of Truman's record. The notion that somehow he was an
anti-corruption fighter – while failing to mention his well-established record
of corruption back in Missouri (and later during at least his first term in the
US Senate) reveals the farcical nature of the interview and NPR's role in
reporting history.
The European Union has always been a secularized attempt at
rekindling the Holy Roman Empire – and as time has made clear, the 'of the
German Nation' is probably more apropos than many would care to admit.
