MUST READ ARTICLE ON DICTATORSHIP

So my message to America is, do not panic — but organize. The most successful method of fighting creeping authoritarianism is alliance building and effective opposition — preferably before the election. After the election, it will be more costly to stop it.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/28/a-trump-dictatorship-is-possible-but-not-in-four-years-00137949 

IF BY RUDYARD KIPLING

 If— 

BY RUDYARD KIPLING

(‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

n/a

DEVOLVING TO DEMOLITION

MAGA. Make America Great Again? Let's devolve to more ignorant times. Let's go back. Maybe even when the earth was flat, and the Sun circumvented him. Let's race to mediocracy. For the slightly less mediocre to rule, the servants, yea, the shills and sycophants, must replace the evil intellectuals. 

It's a race to the bottom, the MAGA Movement. God made man 6,000 years ago. Just say no to evolution. We're happily devolving into the promised MAGAland.

"Constipation, oh constipation, thy joyful sound proclaim, 'til man's remotest entrail shall praise its maker's name."

But where is the MAGAnanamous one leading us? Sorry, you? The narcissist is masked in altruism. His charity extends to the robber barons. But never mind, for we are on a crusade to foist our will on the errant world. We have a corner on the market of stupidity, and we are proud of it. We do not know the three government branches, but we have a better design.

Stupidity. Res ipsa loquitur. He is bigger than life to us. We revel in our stupidity. All we need is the Bible, and he is our messiah.

Devolution to demolition. Burn it down. The 6th is prologue. Our stupidity is patriotically constipated. 

GOD SPEAKS TO EVANGELICALS

You do not know me, so let me sketch who I am. I knew I would be a Church of Christ minister when I was five, and I passionately pursued that goal. I was baptized at age 12 in the 4th and Lincoln Street Church of Christ in Bloomington, Indiana. Soon after that, I began to lead the congregational singing on Sunday, and I preached my first sermon at age 15, 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Beware, evil companionships corrupt good morals." I went to Church twice on Sunday and on Wednesday night. I eventually attended Abilene Christian University, where I graduated as a newly-minted Minister of the Church.

In my studies, I learned that servants of God have, with all good intentions, interpreted the Bible in many different ways. I came to believe that with faith, God's servants can reasonably differ on some tenants, but others were immutable if not inscrutable. I, therefore, concluded my words might well be God's words if spoken in honest faithfulness to my prayerful instruction in the faith.

Fast forward. I was appalled when Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell deviated from the faith to insinuate their Bible interpretations on the secular world of politics. I understood servants of God were not to use His word to promote a civilian political cause. To me, that was wrong, and it remains wrong today. My brother and sister Evangelicals, I call upon you to reconsider sullying the Word by taking your beliefs into politics.

I do not believe, under the circumstances I have just described, that it would be arrogant of me to speak as if speaking for God in these times of political polarization. Indulge me as I talk, as if I am speaking for God.

My Evangelical children, you have wandered from my grace. Notwithstanding my admonition that you serve me as I have taught you through my Apostles, you have chosen to follow mere self-aggrandizing men into their self-serving efforts to gain political power. Humble yourselves and remember my teaching. Keep my faith, but do not foist what you think I want on the secular state. Separate yourself from the state.

And let me add that although you please me with your view on abortion, you have my utter condemnation that you make it a political issue and follow devil-worshipping leaders who agree. More importantly, some of you have designs to control governments and turn them into theocracies. Where in my Word did you get my support for that? I do not support it.

Please heed my Word and abandon your venture into politics just because you want to stop abortions. As I have said, Evil companionships corrupt good morals. You are prostituting yourselves and jeopardizing your place with me. Return henceforth to the Word and extract yourselves from those who are corrupting you. While I honor your good intentions, you are being used by the evil corruptors to promote their agenda. You cannot serve two masters. Maintaining my integrity is more important than winning the abortion debate.

SOUNDING THE ALARM: THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION

Beware and be warned. The Trump Party is only a precursor of what is to come. The New Apostolic Reformation aims to conquer the world and install a theocratic dictatorship. A recent reliable source reports:

"Rather than focusing inward on nurturing their local congregations under the guidance of elected church elders, NAR churches focus outward through networks in alignment with other churches, under the guidance of higher-up “apostles,” to engage in “spiritual warfare” against demonic forces, and conquer the “seven mountains of culture” and establish dominion over all the world.  As Dorhauer says, it is a conspiracy aimed at controlling the world — in the name of Jesus, of course, with the self-reinforcing network of apostles and prophets claiming authority in his name."

In the shadows of modern society, a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) lurks, espousing beliefs that extend far beyond the confines of traditional Christianity. Beneath the veneer of spirituality lies a dangerous ambition: establishing a theocratic dictatorship. As this movement gains momentum, exposing its true intentions and imminent threat is imperative.

Unveiling the Agenda:

At the heart of the NAR lies a sinister agenda masked by charismatic theology. Advocating for the restoration of apostles and prophets in contemporary society, the movement seeks to exert control over all spheres of life, wielding spiritual warfare to achieve dominion over governments, institutions, and individuals. This is a theological debate and a strategic maneuver to seize power.

Political Machinations:

The NAR's tentacles reach deep into political circles, where its adherents maneuver to infiltrate and influence governments at all levels. While proponents claim to champion Christian values, their true aim is the erosion of democratic principles and the imposition of a theocratic regime. From local councils to national administrations, the NAR's grip tightens, threatening the very foundations of secular governance.

Cries of Warning:

Critics have sounded the alarm, decrying the NAR's dangerous ideology and its insidious impact on society. Dominionism, the belief in a mandate for Christians to rule over non-believers, underpins the movement's agenda, paving the way for discrimination, oppression, and the suppression of individual liberties. It is a call to arms against a creeping authoritarianism cloaked in religious rhetoric.

Survivors Speak Out:

Former members and whistleblowers from within the NAR provide chilling accounts of indoctrination, manipulation, and abuse. Their testimonies offer a glimpse into the inner workings of a movement driven not by divine revelation but by the lust for power and control. Their voices are a stark reminder of the dangers unchecked fanaticism poses.

Conclusion:

The time for complacency is over. As the New Apostolic Reformation spreads its tendrils more comprehensively, we must stand vigilant against the encroaching darkness. It is incumbent upon us to expose the NAR for what it truly is: a threat to freedom, democracy, and the fundamental rights of all individuals. Only by shining a light on its insidious machinations can we hope to thwart its ambitions and safeguard our future.

 

THEISTS ARE ATHEISTS

Theists deny the existence of three or four thousand gods. They have selected one to believe in. There is no evidence to support the existence of any god and, therefore, no justification for choosing the one over all the others. 

The Bible is not self-authenticating. Over time, it was written in pieces with hundreds of edits from unknown authors. The book itself and its believers admit as much when they preach the faith needed to understand their god, who, by the way, cannot be all-knowing and all-good as they claim, given the state of human suffering that god allows to go unabated.

Who or what created their god? They have no answer. He exists because he exists. At the very least, such a position recognizes the law of logic that instructs there cannot be an infinite regression of creating the creator. 

Moreover, the laws of physics, also immutable, hold the universe evolved without the need for any influence outside the laws of physics and logic. (Those laws are inextricably intertwined.) The atheist's only description of the nature of god is that he is all-powerful and all-good. They account for human suffering by saying god has a plan that is a mystery he has not and presumably will not reveal, thereby keeping his believers in line. 

What dangerous mission do you undertake on faith you can survive the perils? None. You rely on an investigation of what to expect. A critical analysis based on evidence and logic.

The law of infinite regression holds that seeking a cause of the universe violates the law. And since seeking a cause of the universe leads to infinite regression, the correct way to honor the law of logic is to recognize that the universe has no cause. Going beyond and ascribing cause to a creator results in infinite regression.

ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE REDUX

We look to the laws of physics to answer the question of the universe's origin. We find theories that, in ordinary language, explain how there is something that causes the universe. A theory satisfies the search for a cause, but there is no consensus in the scientific community and no conclusive evidence to support any theory. We are left with a puzzle we cannot solve with proof or consensus.

Science applies the laws of physics. Where do they come from? They are supported by the language of mathematics in theory and empirical evidence in practice. The universe is real. Although some believe the natural universe was created by a divine entity, the brain's conclusion is swift and complete: religion is based on faith and belief that is not based on any evidence.

Science continues to test the Big Bang theory of the universe's origin. But what if the question itself is flawed? What if there is no cause? 

We search for a cause based on our allegiance to the laws of physics, a circular chase of the tail. The answer must be in quantum physics, which is there but is hidden and impossible to understand since the particles disappear when observed. The crusade to find the cause continues. And that failure of the laws of physics leads directly to the answer.

There is another set of laws. Laws that are equally valid and supportable as the laws of physics. The laws of logic. 

The laws of logic provide a complete and unassailable answer to the question of the universe's origin. They are as accurate as the construction of the human brain from whence they emanate. The brain answers its own question. The search for a cause is unnecessary and foolhardy. There is no cause. The universe exists without cause. How can it be?

The search for a root cause of all in the universe, like no other cause, violates the law of infinite regression that has been the answer for thousands of years. Seeking a cause leads to an endless search for causes of causes. We end the chase at some point, or it logically never stops. The known universe is the logical place to stop. 

Critics will call this conclusion a cop-out. Religion is a cop-out. A creator is used to counter the logic of infinite regression. But, alas, the theologians cannot escape endless regression. Who or what created the creator?

The laws of physics and logic are inextricably intertwined. Each relies on the other for support. Resorting to one is not a cop-out that ignores the other. They are partners. Even if we find the laws of physics more satisfactory, even the Big Bang will be subject to the law of infinite regression. There is no bottom to the endless regression rabbit hole. Logic ends before the abyss at the reality of the universe itself.