10 August 2024

The Da Vinci Drag Display in Paris

As the Olympics wind down I felt compelled to offer a comment in relation to the scandal regarding the sodomites in the opening ceremony.

09 August 2024

The BBC and the Manipulation of Moldovan History

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg330w2x7g3o

As previously stated in other pieces (linked below) - Moldova cannot join the EU unless Transnistria issue is solved. You can't have an unsettled border and join the EU or NATO.

06 August 2024

The Pentagon, Vaccines, and Geopolitical Games that Kill People

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/20/pentagon_china_vaccines

This story reminded me of how America is a moral beacon to the world. Because the United States didn't want China to make money and earn standing they pushed a disinformation campaign - the sort of campaigns that we're daily told are being conducted by the likes of China and Russia.

04 August 2024

The Sacral Nature of Evangelical Support for Trump

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/22/trump-christians-president-religion

This article is already outdated and if anything the realities expressed here have been sharply amplified by the assassination attempt and the way in which the Christian Right has cast these events in theological terms. The event has been turned into a kind of epoch or watershed, a marker in American redemptive-history, an episode in the passion of Trump as it were. None of this is thought out or made explicit as it quickly strays into blatant heresy. But even its restrained and nuanced forms already are guilty of such doctrinal crimes and aberrations.

02 August 2024

Homosexuality in Woke Communist China

https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/article/3272119/chinas-cctv-stunned-silence-lgbtq-scene-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony


I used to enjoy watching the Olympics. Some years we'd even have cable turned on for a month so we could watch them. But at some point the debauchery (and the sundry base and vulgar ads) became too unbearable and so we gave up. I wasn't at all surprised to hear about all the filth in the opening ceremony - I did not watch it.

30 July 2024

Netanyahu Exploits the Golan Heights

Over the weekend a missile struck the Golan Heights killing about a dozen Druze children. The Netanyahu government has been looking for an excuse to escalate and expand the war and as such they've been playing up this incident.

25 July 2024

The Materialist Default

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/20/nx-s1-5013626/scientists-are-looking-for-signs-of-resilience-in-the-gut

Right-wing media is unpalatable in its assumptions and its bias and yet the mainstream media is becoming increasingly difficult to tolerate as well. From all the talk of 'people of who have babies' and the like to the overwhelmingly materialist assumptions, I find myself having to look elsewhere. Motivated by its political agenda and the corruption of money, FOX consistently lies and manipulates the truth and even the nature of reality. But the mainstream increasingly just relies on false presuppositions and when it comes to health, science, and even sociology, the materialist assumptions dominate - often leading to absurdities.

24 July 2024

Protestantism and the Judiciary in Türkiye

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkey,-Constitutional-Court:-Expulsion-of-Protestant-leaders-does-not-violate-freedom-of-faith-60914.html

Ankara fears these Western-connected congregations are a Fifth Column, a means of cycling subversion into Turkish society, laundering money, and the like. While mostly exaggeration or simply untrue, I don't doubt there are some instances where this is the case. It may even be that some church leaders don't quite understand who they're affiliating with and where their money is coming from.

23 July 2024

Pan-Turkism 2024

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-Turanian-World-advance-in-Central-Asia-60912.html

Neo-Ottomanism is not exactly the same as Pan-Turkism but the concepts can and often do overlap. Neo-Ottomanism is about leveraging Ankara's placement, the fact that Türkiye straddles Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Via the Black Sea and the Caucasus it is able to access the Turkish populations of Central Asia - and this is where the Pan-Turkism comes in. Ankara is able to exert itself culturally into the region and it's natural that economic and other diplomatic relations would ensue.

20 July 2024

The GOP's Sociopathic Behaviour Regarding Israel

Watching a PBS Frontline episode on campus violence the other night I fully expected to see some clips of the congressional hearing with university presidents - a dialogue that was largely misrepresented in the mainstream media. It goes without saying this was misrepresented by the Right.

15 July 2024

Narratives Surrounding the Trump Shooting

Since the Saturday evening assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania I have been rather struck by the mainstream media response as well as that of the DNC. For some odd reason they are kow-towing to the MAGA Republican line and seem almost apologetic as if they are to blame for this.

14 July 2024

Israel, Iran, and the Turks

https://eurasianet.org/israel-emerging-as-source-of-tension-in-azerbaijans-special-relationship-with-turkey

This was inevitable and I was pleased to note that others are noticing it as well. Baku has been effectively wed to Ankara since the break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990's. Their cultural ties are pervasive and there are significant numbers of Azeris in Türkiye proper, and they also share a common enemy in the Armenians.

11 July 2024

Imperial Power and Central Asian Infrastructure

https://eurasianet.org/china-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-railway-project-gets-off-the-ground

The key statement this article is the reference to the Trans-Afghan corridor. This railroad and its relationship to the larger question of Central Asian infrastructure represents a strategic defeat for the US Empire.

09 July 2024

Ramsey and the Three Wise Monkeys

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/father-moron-dave-ramsey-disgusted-211016354.html

This is a somewhat confused report of an Instagram video in which a father and daughter share a financial scheme with the audience. Engaging in a practice known as arbitrage they are effectively borrowing money at a low rate which generates savings that allows them to lend and receive a return at a higher rate. The particular scenario isn't very convincing and certainly has some holes. As far as risk, there's always risk in such ventures.

04 July 2024

01 July 2024

Monument to a Court Prophet

https://www.christianpost.com/news/us-capitol-unveils-statue-honoring-evangelist-billy-graham.html

I'm not Roman Catholic and reject the many claims of Rome concerning its apostolic and particularly Petrine foundations. Whether Peter is actually buried beneath the Vatican or not is immaterial. I toured the Scavi back in the 1990's on one of my many stays in the city. It was fascinating but not entirely convincing. I felt like the Vatican had hijacked the history much in the same way one encounters when touring the catacombs.

29 June 2024

Legalism and Generation Joshua: An Exercise in Confusion

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/how-the-fundamentals-of-christian-fundamentalism-led-me-out.html

I read this piece twice, attempting to take it all in and let it wash over me. I could appreciate some of what Elizabeth Doll has to say and yet at the same time was repulsed by it. There are definitely problems in some quarters of the Church and often it seems like the parts that affect people the most are not questions of substance but style, an ethos, and a kind of culture within the Church.

27 June 2024

The BBC and ISIS: Dispelling Propaganda with Propaganda

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j4x4hy

Within moments of turning on this BBC podcast I knew it was going to be a case of spin. There was from the onset a dishonest narrative about the origins of ISIS and the panel failed to probe or explain how the group grew out of al Qaeda and how its vision is different - the more extreme nature of the group is found in its apocalyptic understanding of the world.

23 June 2024

Boeing and its Place in the US Empire

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/5/2/whistleblower-joshua-dean-ex-worker-at-boeing-supplier-dies

Boeing is too big to fail. As a member of the S&P100, the company constitutes a large and essential component within the stock market as well as the US security apparatus. Boeing builds commercial jets and does billions of dollars in military contracts. In fact it's the second biggest military contractor in the United States (and third in the world).

21 June 2024

Presbyterianism's Rejection of the Sufficiency of Scripture

https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc848/

I literally laughed out loud when I reached the 47:00 minute mark of this podcast - an exercise in the torture that is Presbyterian polity. We have committees to exercise oversight of committees.

19 June 2024

Orthodox Intrigues in Moldova

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-join-2024-04-25/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-to-join/

As I have often reported, political programmes of subversion and transformation often contain a religious component. Moldova and its place in the West's Anti-Russia campaign has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine as well as other global conflicts, but in fact the campaign is intensifying as Brussels seeks to fast-track both Chișinău and Kyiv into the EU. Whether that actually happens or not is yet to be seen.

17 June 2024

The Wooing of Armenia

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-launch-new-e270-million-plan-bring-armenia-fold-russia/

Since the article's publication in April, there have been numerous reports regarding Armenia. The situation remains dynamic with Yerevan reaching out to Ukraine and thus angering Russia in the process. There are real fears in Moscow of Armenia rescinding its membership with the Russian-led CSTO security agreement and flipping over to the NATO column - not in full membership but as one of its allies. This also generates concerns over the brewing instability of its neighbour Georgia. For Putin, the invasion of Ukraine was meant to arrest Atlanticist expansion, but with the accession of Sweden and Finland into NATO, and now the growing risk of all of Transcaucasia falling under the aegis of the American-led bloc, there's no small degree of consternation. And the EU is also looking to expand.

15 June 2024

The BBC, Russia, and Unreality

BBC coverage within Russia has taken a rather snarky tone for some time. They're not really reports as much as they are snide editorials. Secular Humanism is the religion of modern culture and the BBC advocates for this - even if they would deny it. Classical Liberalism is the default political theory, even though there's no real basis for assuming this within a secular worldview. They can't appeal to any authority and in a contest of empirical evidence the system is far from unassailable even though they seem to think so. One would think that an international news outlet would be a little more cynical regarding the history of democracy and liberalism in the West, but after all we are talking about a kind of faith - even if it's a vain and empty one.

11 June 2024

Flag and Cross

Does no one understand that you can't stand for the flag and kneel for the cross at the same time?

If we assume (for the sake of argument this dumb pairing that adorns hats, t-shirts, car bumpers etc.) - then I suggest we put it to them and turn their boast into a dilemma. You cannot have it both ways. The two kingdoms are antithetical with different goals and values.

10 June 2024

Right-wing Circularity and Cross Pollination

https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-hungary-culture-war-woke-brussels/

There is a circularity of inspiration for these Right-wing movements. US politicians, movements, and media outlets have inspired the likes of Viktor Orban in Hungary. Given the political climate of his country and its much smaller population, Orban has been successful in actually implementing some of these policies. As such he's become a hero to American Right and now political actors in the US are looking to Orban for inspiration when it comes to their strategies and style.

08 June 2024

A Dragon Pretending to be a Lamb

https://www.christianpost.com/news/ted-cruz-blasts-spiritual-component-of-modern-left.html

Without a doubt the Church is filled with compromisers and led by men that have capitulated and even bowed to the world. We were warned of this in the New Testament.

But this condemnation does not belong exclusively to theological liberals and/or those that have embraced Left-wing politics. The same is true when it comes to those that have embraced Right-wing thinking, Enlightenment categories of economics and politics, those that promote mammonism, nationalism, and champion war and empire - even while denying they do so.

07 June 2024

Another New Calvinist Apostate

https://julieroys.com/how-shannon-harris-kissed-biblical-womanhood-goodbye/

This article is about the wife of Josh Harris and with her story the sad circle of apostasy is now complete. Both of them have abandoned Christianity in what is another mark against New Calvinism testifying to its often superficial and shallow nature.

05 June 2024

The Taliban, Poppy Cultivation, and Opium Markets

https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/06/talibans-successful-opium-ban-bad-afghans-and-world

https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-farmers-livelihood-taliban-bans-opium/31803532.html

The United States Institute for Peace or USIP is a mouthpiece for the US government. The fact that this federal agency is required to have both the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense on its board reveals it to be a sham. It does not promote or stand for peace. It cannot with these kinds of imperialist and militarist connections.

29 May 2024

French Evangelical Folly

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/26664/french-evangelicals-welcome-new-law-to-combat-cults


There are plenty of occasions and opportunities in society for abuse and it could be argued this has been made worse by modern society and the various technological venues and vehicles available to abusers. But we should pause when considering granting the state power to make such determinations.

27 May 2024

A Follow up to the Evangelical Gospel of Hiroshima

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-evangelical-gospel-of-hiroshima.html

Someone suggested to me that in The Evangelical Gospel of Hiroshima I failed to properly take into account the question of the congressman's office and his duties and the obligations it entails. Tim Walberg would be remiss if he didn't take those interests into account - including hard questions of foreign and military policy. As an office holder he has responsibilities and tasks that are laid upon his shoulders and sometimes this would necessarily entail an appeal to a moral hierarchy.

26 May 2024

Anabaptists and Veteran Discounts

I recently witnessed a further slide of Anabaptism into cognitive and ethical dissonance. As the Amish have moved more and more into the mainstream economy (our local paper's 'Service' section is now dominated by them), they are falling into the traps and enticements of mammon. And as a result, they are getting involved in politics - no doubt fostered by the Christian Right's outreach and attempts to woo them.

24 May 2024

An Excellent Summary of Christian Nationalism

https://religionnews.com/2024/04/04/the-peril-radicalizing-some-evangelicals-goes-beyond-christian-nationalism/


This is probably one of the best summaries of Christian Nationalism I've read yet. Taylor successfully and succinctly explains the difference between the older forms of Evangelical Right-wing Christianity and its ethos of preferential pluralism and that of Christian Nationalism or as he rightly puts it - Christian Supremacy.

22 May 2024

Politics and Persecution in Armenia

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/25560/armenian-court-rejects-baptist-conscientious-objector-appeal-against-jail-sentence

I have mentioned this in previous articles but there's been a shift in how the American Right deals with the Armenian question. For many years the US stuck close to its NATO ally in Ankara and the Turkish refusal to acknowledge the genocide. Türkiye has long been linked with Azerbaijan, especially in the post-Cold War setting. This opened door for Washington and gave the United States access to oil and both America and Israel found an ally (for its own reasons) antagonistic to Tehran and right on its border. For the US, the geopolitical placement of Azerbaijan vis-à-vis Russia was also an important consideration.

21 May 2024

The Evangelical Gospel of Hiroshima

In March 2024, the Biden Administration hypocritically proposed a temporary dock off the Gaza coast which would be used to bring in humanitarian aid. It was an empty gesture given Biden's unswerving support for Israel's war of extermination and attempt to make Gaza uninhabitable.

18 May 2024

17 May 2024

The 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections

https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-braces-for-far-right-wave-as-eu-election-looms/

It's too difficult to tell if there will be a Right-wing wave in the June 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections. For years the Right has been predicted to win in France and yet always seems to fail in the second round. In other words, when it comes down to it, people are willing to vote strategically rather than stick to one party come what may. It's a definite difference when compared to the US winner-take-all system - one that makes a two-party duopoly all but inevitable.

15 May 2024

Fico and the Slovak Media Controversy

https://www.politico.eu/article/slovak-robert-fico-government-shuns-independent-press-wants-turn-public-broadcaster-into-state-run-tv/


*This article was written on 13 May, two days before the assassination attempt which is briefly addressed at the conclusion of this piece.

Brussels has another dissident nation on its hands. On the one hand Slovakia is part of the Visegrad Four (V4), a bloc which has long resisted the EU bureaucracy. But this bloc has been fragmented if not shattered by the war in Ukraine. Poland and the Czech Republic are 'all in' with the EU and NATO, while Hungary and now Slovakia dissent. As such the foreign policy of the bloc is at odds with itself.

13 May 2024

Costa Rica, Semi-conductor Devices, and the American Empire

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-22/from-san-jose-to-silicon-valley-costa-rica-is-emerging-as-a-hotbed-for-us-chips.html


The microchip industry has become strategic for the United States, meaning it is guaranteed federal subsidies and is becoming integrated with the security state. New facilities are being developed in Arizona, Texas, Idaho, Ohio, and New York but the industry is always going to be looking for cheaper options. A decade ago that was in China and other Asian locales. The US might be comfortable with South Korea, Japan, or even the Philippines but after the supply chain snags associated with Covid, the US is looking for something closer, a location that wouldn't be affected by such shipping scenarios. As such, Costa Rica has suddenly become an attractive option.

11 May 2024

Congress and Big Tech: Hypocrisy and Blindness all on Sides

https://breakpoint.org/big-tech-families-and-the-role-of-government/

As we've come to expect, Stonestreet is less than helpful in addressing the salient issues. This time it's about families, technology, and the state. It continues to astonish me that parents have so little oversight or influence over their children that they are unable to curtail the problems associated with Smartphones and social media.

01 May 2024

Why do we Pray for Kings and All in Authority?

https://mitchchase.substack.com/p/to-lead-quiet-and-peaceful-lives

It was refreshing to find this author focusing on the Neronic context of Paul's letter to Timothy. It's a critical point and one the seriously undercuts many of the common assumptions that reign in the Evangelical and Dominionist sphere.

29 April 2024

More Worldly Wisdom from Ramsey

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/considered-good-income-america-dave-113400372.html

Worldliness dominates Ramsey's thinking. 'A good income' is defined not by the New Testament and the ethics of the Kingdom but by the world, as indeed all of Ramsey's thought is dominated by the world's categories and economic theories. The fact that churches use this man's materials for Sunday Schools and the like is not only disgraceful, it's a sign of growing apostasy and the abandonment of Scripture. It's a sign of judgment. This is even while they continue to throw the word 'Biblical' in front of everything they do.

27 April 2024

Sacralist Sacrilege and the Constantinian Shift

https://breakpoint.org/thank-god-for-constantine/

It is Stonestreet that misunderstands the impact of Constantine and the result of his legalization. The fact that he put the cross on soldier's shields already marked a turning point - the identification of the Kingdom of Heaven with the legions of Rome. It is literally difficult to conceive of something more satanic than this.

25 April 2024

A Few Lessons From Norway

https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/norway/Jehovahs-Witnesses-to-Appeal-Unconstitutional-Ruling-in-Norway/

This unfortunate if instructive article from the Watchtower Society's website reveals that even the Jehovah's Witnesses still struggle with the nature of antithesis. Obviously the group cannot be reckoned Christian due to their glaring unorthodoxy regarding the Person of Christ. That said, they are in many respects more obedient to simple New Testament imperatives than the bulk of the Confessional and Evangelical world. In many respects the Witnesses put them to shame. For this reason, I will from time to time 'check up' on them and read of not just their struggles but how they deal with them.

24 April 2024

The Tragedy and Travesty of the Trumpite Youth

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/19/1239344999/young-voters-conservative-donald-trump-republican-party

My oldest memories of Trump are from the 1980's, The Art of the Deal, and the many scandals surrounding him concerning his marriage and business activities. Trump was off my radar when he re-emerged in the early 2000's as a reality television celebrity - I was no longer watching television by then and high speed internet and streaming were not yet on the scene.

21 April 2024

Trueman's Desecration of Christian Sensibility

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/02/desecration-at-st-patricks-cathedral


Is Trueman still a Protestant? One is baffled by his line of argument. Historically Protestants would have viewed the Roman Catholic temple as a blasphemy and its rites as a desecration of the New Testament. What Trueman is arguing about is sacral categories in terms of society - and who controls the symbols and sacred spaces.

17 April 2024

Bannon Abroad

https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-rome-right-wing-gladiator-school-populist-nationalists/

In some respects this is a 'nothing' story. In the grand scheme of things it's minor and yet it provides a glimpse, a quick snapshot of the kinds of things that are happening - everywhere and in unexpected places. It also reveals some more information about the larger Trumpite movement and the activities of operatives like Steve Bannon.

11 April 2024

Niger Turns Against Washington and Yellow Cake 2.0

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68590531

Niger it seems has grown weary of Washington's presence in West Africa. Having ousted the French in 2023, the situation with both Paris and Washington remains tenuous. Tchiani remains in control and yet he faces hard questions concerning the economy of his country. From Niger's ties to the franc to its close uranium-related trade ties with France, it's hard to imagine that Paris will simply let Niger go. The junta leaders will be looking over the shoulder to say the least.

08 April 2024

Christo-Trumpism is not just Fascism - it's Antichrist

I keep seeing hats, shirts, signs, and stickers proclaiming Jesus is my Savior and Trump is my President. It's becoming a basis for fellowship, a call sign for people to strike up conversation in restaurants and in lines.

06 April 2024

The Rights Granted by America's Enlightenment Creator

A few weeks ago the Christian and Right-wing media-spheres blew up over comments made by Politico's Heidi Przybyla in which she seemed to suggest that Christian Nationalists are those who believe rights are derived from God as opposed to the state.

04 April 2024

Kirk Cameron Rejects the Teachings of Christ

https://www.christianpost.com/news/kirk-cameron-says-christians-shouldnt-tolerate-tyranny.html

It's somewhat astounding when these Dominionist types openly flout and defy the Scriptures as is seen here. It's yet another case of the 'Yeah, but...' response to the Scriptures that seems to typify these circles.

28 March 2024

John MacArthur's Latest Episode of Hypocrisy and Schizophrenia

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/john-macarthur-vs-christian-nationalism.html

The California megachurch pastor has long attacked Christian political activism and the idea that Christians are to labour for justice in this world. These endeavours distract the Church from its God-appointed task. Such expressions on the part of MacArthur would be in keeping with his Dispensational Premillennial eschatology that sees no hope for this present age and calls the Church to await the pre-tribulational rapture. According to this scheme, great calamity will follow in the form Anti-Christ and the so-called Great Tribulation.

27 March 2024

The Theology of the Zealots is Alive and Well on Planet Earth

https://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelical-leaders-back-israel-call-on-us-govt-support.html

One need not turn to a vile rag like the misnamed Christian Post to learn of this story. The number of articles concerning Evangelical support for Israel can be counted by the dozen. This one caught my eye back in November and at the time I made a few notes. More than five months into this war, nothing has changed. In fact the situation has only grown worse.

26 March 2024

Constantinian Ethics at their Worst

https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/how-do-christians-in-the-military-love-their-enemies-and-do-good-to-them

A follow up to:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2023/07/an-ugly-christian-life.html

The commenter to the previous Rowlands piece innocently asked about Matthew 5 and the command to love enemies. And rightly so as this effectively destroys Rowlands' argument. And this passage is far from alone. Rowlands is advocating for a Christianity that is opposed to New Testament ethics - and yet it's a value system that tickles ears and effectively reigns within the contemporary Evangelical Church.

24 March 2024

The ISIS-K Attack on Moscow

 It's fairly obvious that Western media wants to find a way to put an anti-Putin spin on the Moscow theatre attack. There are hints that since American intelligence warned him and he didn't act therefore... it's never said, but we're left to conclude that something nefarious took place. He wanted it to happen or let it happen or he's incompetent. Why won't the Russian people realize this? Such allegations and suggestions when put into an American context are ridiculed but are perfectly acceptable when it comes to other countries, particularly America's enemies.