There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
89:1 steadfast love. The wonders of God’s devotion to His people in the love of His covenant with them.
faithfulness. God is not fickle or capricious, but will keep the promises He makes. Hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise to David is what will motivate the lament at the end of the psalm (vv. 38–51).[1]
1. “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever.” A devout resolve, and very commendable when a man is exercised with great trouble on account of an apparent departure of the Lord from his covenant and promise. Whatever we may observe abroad or experience in our own persons, we ought still to praise God for his mercies, since they most certainly remain the same, whether we can perceive them or not. Sense sings but now and then, but faith is an eternal songster. Whether others sing or not, believers must never give over; in them should be constancy of praise, since God’s love to them cannot by any possibility have changed, however providence may seem to frown. We are not only to believe the Lord’s goodness, but to rejoice in it evermore; it is the source of all our joy; and as it cannot be dried up, so the stream ought never to fail to flow, or cease to flash in sparkling crystal of song. We have not one, but many mercies to rejoice in, and should therefore multiply the expressions of our thankfulness. It is Jehovah who deigns to deal out to us our daily benefits, and he is the all-sufficient and immutable God; therefore our rejoicing in him must never suffer diminution. By no means let his exchequer of glory be deprived of the continual revenue which we owe to it. Even time itself must not bound our praises—they must leap into eternity; he blesses us with eternal mercies—let us sing unto him for ever. “With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” The utterances of the present will instruct future generations. What Ethan sung is now a text-book for Christians, and will be so as long as this dispensation shall last. We ought to have an eye to posterity in all that we write, for we are the schoolmasters of succeeding ages. Ethan first spoke with his mouth that which he recorded with his pen—a worthy example of using both means of communication; the mouth has a warmer manner than the pen, but the pen’s speech lives longest, and is heard farther and wider. While reading this Psalm, such is the freshness of the style, that one seems to hear it gushing from the poet’s mouth; he makes the letters live and talk, or, rather, sing to us. Note, that in this second sentence he speaks of faithfulness, which is the mercy of God’s mercies—the brightest Jewel in the crown of goodness. The grace of an unfaithful God would be a poor subject for music, but unchangeable love and immutable promises demand everlasting songs. In times of trouble it is the divine faithfulness which the soul hangs upon; this is the bower anchor of the soul, its holdfast, and its stay. Because God is, and ever will be, faithful, we have a theme for song which will not be out of date for future generations; it will never be worn out, never be disproved, never be unnecessary, never be an idle subject, valueless to mankind. It will also be always desirable to make it known, for men are too apt to forget it, or to doubt it, when hard times press upon them. We cannot too much multiply testimonies to the Lord’s faithful mercy—if our own generation should not need them others will: sceptics are so ready to repeat old doubts and invent new ones that believers should be equally prompt to bring forth evidences both old and new. Whoever may neglect this duty, those who are highly favoured, as Ethan was, should not be backward.[2]
Ver. 1.—I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. “For ever” is the emphatic phrase. The psalmist will commemorate God’s mercies, not only when they are continuing, but always. With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations; literally, to generation and generation.[3]
89:1I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever … your faithfulness. Verse 1 forms a virtual vow to praise the Lord, generally a feature of the lament that occurs toward the end of the psalm, and the psalmist vows to sing this song “forever,” that is, in perpetuity. And that hints at the major issue of the psalm: Why has the Lord’s covenant with David not continued? Indeed, the content of the song celebrates God’s “great love” (hesed) and “faithfulness” (’emunah), much like the overture of a symphony introduces the musical theme or themes that the composer develops in the major piece. When we recall that 88:11 laments that God’s “love” cannot be declared in the grave, then the very fact that this poet trumpets God’s “love” stretched across the generations implies that Israel, at least in the suppliant’s faith, is not yet a tomb, even though David’s dynasty is defunct and the temple lies in ruins. It is a song of life.[4]
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations (v. 1). The dominant theme of the first part of this psalm is the love and faithfulness of the Lord. The words ‘love’ (chésed) and ‘faithfulness’ (ʾemûnâh) each occur seven times (allowing for an alternative, though related word, for ‘faithfulness’, ʾemet, in v. 14). When used together they form a compound expression—‘love-and-faithfulness’. This is the foundation of the covenantal relationship that is described in the following verses. It was the subject of the psalmist’s song as he declares his intention of continuing to proclaim the covenantal mercies of the Lord.[5]
By grace, every believer in Christ has been transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). We live in the world now as children of light and endeavor to bear the fruit of that light (Ephesians 5:8-9). Yet as glorious as this may be, we know that darkness is not yet fully eradicated from our lives.
The truth is that everyone who becomes a citizen of Christ’s kingdom is caught up in a cosmic conflict of eternal significance. Praise the Lord, the Evil One has been powerless to prevent God’s adopted children from knowing salvation—but having tasted that measure of defeat, he now seeks to do everything in his power to prevent us fromlivingas true heirs of our Father’s eternal kingdom. He is totally committed to disrupting and destroying what it means for us to “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1) and to “walk as children of light” (v 8). His one great aim is to stop you trusting in Christ—to knock you off the narrow road before you reach the gates of glory.
We should not ignore the alarming terms which Scripture uses to describe the devil and the urgent terms in which we are urged to withstand him. Peter urges us to “be sober-minded” and “watchful” because our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is a real and a vicious enemy. He trades in doubt, division, and destruction. He comes at us both morally and intellectually. With the ferocity of a supernaturally empowered beast, he seeks to maul us and shred our faith to pieces.
What is a Christian to do when faced with such a vicious enemy? The good news for us is this: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Though he may still prowl, his defanging has already begun, and ultimately, he will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
Defeat is certain for the devil and his minions—and, through Christ, victory over him is yours, Christian. In Christ, God has given you the spiritual power to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). He offers you indestructible armor in the gospel and His very word as your sword (v 11-17). When you fall, you are forgiven. The devil has no power over you. James puts our charge succinctly: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
So, where is the battle for you? Is it against a particular sin or in a certain trial? Take up the means of grace God offers you in Christ—including your company of fellow soldiers—and, by simply believing the gospel of God, force the prowling lion to retreat!
Questions for Thought
How is God calling meto think differently?
How is God reordering myheart’s affections— what I love?
What is God calling meto doas I go about my day today?
In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.Isaiah 30:15
It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mis-trusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.
Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!
Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.
Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
The Light shone brightly in the splendor of Heaven. Then looking down upon His creation Abba Father Being moved by His compassionate heart of Love, Said, “Who will go and become sin to redeem man Back to Me.” Right away the Light said ” I’ll go Father.”
The Light shone very brightly in a dark world without hope. The Light now is the candle within each of us dispelling All darkness.
The light brings hope, healing, and deliverance to all Who will walk in the Light! The Light is Jesus Christ, The King of Glory!
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 (NIV)
He cradled the roses in his left arm like a running back carries a football. He debated with himself over which would be best: a solitary rose or a dozen roses wrapped with baby’s breath. He went for the dozen, thinking the more, the better when you’re trying to tip the scales back toward the “nice guy” side.
So he carried twelve deep-red roses just on the edge of a beautiful bloom. They’d cost him plenty, but that’s the price you have to pay when you let someone down. Today was their anniversary. There were dinner plans, a night of romance, whispered words, and tender kisses.
A wonderful, “sweet dreams are made of these” night—that he forgot.
Forgot because he was under pressure at work to complete a project; forgot because he needed to do well, not just because of ambition, but because he needed a promotion. The money was tight, and he wanted to be able to support his family in a better way.
The roses were a huge expense, but it was a necessary sacrifice to make it up to his wife and to make him feel better about his guilt. He owed her more, but this would be the start of earning his way back into her favor.
But now the image dissolves, and you see you’re the one carrying the roses and you’re bringing them to Jesus. The roses represent your “sacrifice,” those things you do to try to make up for your bad behavior, to make up for your sin.
But Jesus says he doesn’t want the roses, not if they’re delivered as a guilt offering for your sin.
‘Second war of independence’ – Israel’s war cabinet confirms ‘second stage of the war’ has begun As the IDF’s ground offensive into the Gaza Strip intensified, the three members of Israel’s war cabinet – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and former IDF Chief Benny Gantz – addressed the Israeli public on Saturday evening for the first time and made themselves available to answer questions from the press. Netanyahu opened his remarks by confirming that the ground offensive into Gaza had, indeed, begun on Friday.
How Does a Math Formula Highlight the Creator? When it comes to math, most people either love it or hate it. But no matter how you feel about it, it might interest you to know that mathematics actually confirms the truth of God’s Word! Think about it—how could random, chance, materialistic processes over millions of years produce immaterial, precise (absolute) mathematical laws? They can’t! There’s one specific mathematical formula that one of our staff members, retired US Marine Patrick Kanewske, loves to highlight because it magnificently declares the Creator’s glory: the golden ratio, which is related to the Fibonacci sequence.
House Speaker Johnson: Russia, China, & Iran Are The New Axis Of Evil The Speaker presented Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran as a trilateral threat to Washington. “Big priorities in this moment right now. We have Israel being attacked, we have unrest, we have the Ukraine situation we’ve got to deal with, we have China being aggressive, we have Iran with all the meddling, and China, Russia, and Iran working together. This is a dangerous time.” he said.
Erdogan Vows To Get Israel Branded As “War Criminal” State, Also Blames West For Gaza “Massacre” Erdogan said: “Israel, we will also declare you as a war criminal to the world, we are preparing for it, and we will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal,” according to a state broadcaster. Footage of the event shows that the turnout was huge, in the hundreds of thousands or possibly over 100,000 people gathered in the capital.
Democrats Blast New House Speaker For Unabashedly Holding To A Biblical Worldview On Wednesday, after three weeks of dysfunction following the ouster of former-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected as the 56th Speaker of the House. Johnson’s elevation to the office caps a frenetic period in which Republicans considered multiple candidates before coalescing around the four-term congressman. Although Johnson’s unexpected rise to the speakership was welcomed by conservatives, the Left has predictably been apoplectic in denouncing Speaker Johnson’s long-standing social conservative views. Although progressives routinely castigate those who hold convictions rooted in a biblical worldview, the sharp criticism directed toward the new speaker for his Christian faith is nonetheless revealing.
IDF ground forces stay in north Gaza as incursion expands Israel Defense Forces ground forces that entered northern Gaza on Friday night remained there on Saturday, marking what appears to be the start of the Israeli ground offensive, as opposed to earlier brief raids. Infantry, Armored Corps, and Combat Engineering Corps units all entered the Strip, supported by heavy artillery.
Israel Recalls Diplomats After Erdogan’s Words at Istanbul Hate Fest Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday inveighed against what he termed the Israeli army’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza. The leader spoke at a massive pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that he said had drawn a crowd of 1.5 million.
IDF strikes targets in Lebanon IDF fighter jets on Saturday struck targets belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization. In a statement Saturday night, the IDF confirmed: “In response to the rocket and missile fire from Lebanon during the past day, IDF fighter jets struck a number of military targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.”
Bennett’s plan to defeat Hamas: Cut Gaza in half As a direct result, Gaza City will be cut off from all supplies. Controlling the proposed buffer zone will require a smaller force, allowing Israel to demobilize a portion of its reservists and reduce strain on the economy. The hostages Hamas has seized – particularly the infants and the elderly hostages – will become significant liabilities, demanding additional care and supplies from the organization’s stockpiles.
‘Never again is now’: Netanyahu addresses the nation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday night to press forward with the military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to ensure the Palestinian terrorist group can never again harm the Jewish people. “We are determined to eradicate this evil from the world, for our existence and for all of humanity,” said the prime minister.
Israel prepares for war on multiple fronts While Israel’s focus is on Gaza, Iran is threatening to attack Israel from other arenas as well, through its terror proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Last week, the Houthi army in Yemen fired rockets toward Israel, but they were intercepted by Saudi and U.S. forces.
The ‘ground shook in Gaza last night’ – IDF continues ground operations, war moves into ‘new phase’ The “ground shook in Gaza last night,” Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Saturday morning, adding that Israel had “entered a new stage in the conflict…the operation will continue until new orders are given.” During the night, 150 underground targets of Hamas were destroyed by airstrikes.
Col. Macgregor to Tucker: Biden admin is driving the US into an ‘Armageddon’ war in Middle East Decorated combat veteran Colonel Douglas Macgregor has warned that Biden administration officials are driving the United States into an “Armageddon” war that risks a military conflagration with Iran, Turkey, Russia, and others in order to defend and help facilitate an Israeli war crime that is unacceptable to the world and most Americans. “It looks like the chosen destination is indeed Armageddon,” the military scholar and author told Tucker Carlson on his latest Twitter/X program.
Dead ‘fetus’ found at south Minneapolis encampment Just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, police were requested to assist EMS personnel at the encampment located on the 2300 block of 14th Avenue South on a report of a “female with possibly a baby that is DOA in a bag,” according to police dispatch audio.
Halloween arctic blast to plummet temperatures to freezing in every state except Florida An outbreak of arctic air that will grow through the first half of Halloween week promises to send temperatures to their lowest levels since the spring across much of the U.S., with parts of every state except for Florida reaching the freezing point. And for many, the introduction to the cold air will be quick and abrupt with temperature drops of 10-20 degrees or more in just hours, if not minutes.
Biden releases 96% of inadmissible aliens who used its ‘CBP One’ app The Biden administration has released into the country nearly all the inadmissible aliens who scheduled appointments through its CBP One mobile application so far this year, according to new information obtained by the House Homeland Security Committee.
DC Stores Display Framed Images of Toilet Paper to Stop Product Being Stolen. Retail stores in Washington, D.C. are displaying images of products on their shelves instead of the items themselves, as the U.S. capital continues to suffer a plague of shoplifting and robberies. CVS Pharmacy on H Street Northeast has even placed pictures of toilet paper on otherwise empty shelves in an to prevent theft:
Political ‘Party of Islam’ Registered in UK 6 Days After Hamas Attack. A new political party was registered with the United Kingdom’s Electoral Commission regulator just six days after the Hamas terror attack on Israel and ensuing response. The description for the party, as given to the Electoral Commission, states:
Tyson Foods Begins Massive Investment Into Bug and Insect Proteins. Tyson Foods – the United States’ largest poultry processor – announced alongside Profix, a Dutch insect ingredient producer, that the two companies have agreed to build a giant facility to produce insects and bugs en masse for the American market in order to “reduce the burden on the planet”.
60 Years of Indoctrination We have long suspected that campus indoctrination has contributed to much of the political and social chaos in our country. It has now come to a head. Academia, much of the grade school system, and a major political party in America have been taken over by the Left. It is no longer a secret. It is in our faces.
Satanic Temple Loses Lawsuit Challenging Indiana Abortion Ban The organization claims that bans violate their members’ right to “religious freedom” of performing “abortion rituals.” The Indiana lawsuit was filed in September 2022, claiming that the state’s near-total ban violates the U.S. Constitution and the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
UK Government’s Covid-19 Inquiry – Frightened of the Truth? …The covid-19 fraud cost British taxpayers huge sums. It has been estimated in the mainstream media that the early cost of the chaotic and wasteful testing programme etc etc was over £6,000 per person. I have no idea if this is true but it seems possible. And, of course, the costs continue because the £6,000 a head doesn’t include the costs of ruined businesses, ruined education and ruined health care. Millions of people in Britain will die as a result of the disgraceful and pointless policies followed by healthcare leaders – the lockdowns, the PCR test, the toxic vaccine, the pointless masks, the senseless social distancing schemes and so on.
Geert Vanden Bosshe: “No mRNA-based injectable product should ever be used for immunisation purposes” A week ago, Dr. Jessica Rose published an article highlighting a preprint study on the DNA fragments detected in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s covid “vaccines” and the relationship of these DNA fragments to adverse effects post-vaccination. Dr. Rose concluded: “In light of DNA discovered in commercial vials, as per the precautionary principle, the modified mRNA-lipid nanoparticle platform needs to have a moratorium slapped on it, and all existing vials should be confiscated and protected for testing.”
A new study called “Overcharged Expectations” claims that without federal subsidies, the real cost of fueling an electric vehicle would amount to $17.33 per gallon of gasoline.
The study from the Texas Public Policy Foundation said electric vehicles do not stand alone in comparison with other vehicles because of the “wide array of direct subsidies, regulatory credits, and subsidized infrastructure that contribute to the economic viability of EVs.”
“Adding the costs of the subsidies to the true cost of fueling an EV would equate to an EV owner paying $17.33 per gallon of gasoline. And these estimates do not include the hundreds of billions more in subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act,” the report said.
The study claims that a 2021 electric vehicle “would cost $48,698 more to own over a 10-year period without $22 billion in government favors given to EV manufacturers and owners” and said traditional gasoline-powered vehicles are cheaper than an electric vehicle without subsidies.
“It is not an overstatement to say that the federal government is subsidizing EVs to a greater degree than even wind and solar electricity generation and embarking on an unprecedented endeavor to remake the entire American auto industry,” the report said.
According to the study, about $22 billion in various federal and state forms of aid have artificially lowered the price of a 2021 electric vehicle by almost $50,000.
The report further estimates that the cost to other people for the strain on the power grid from charging electric vehicles comes out to $11,833 over 10 years, funded by taxpayers and utility ratepayers.
While everyone else pays more, state and federal subsidies shave $8,984, on average, from the real cost of an electric vehicle over 10 years, the report said.
The study from the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) found, for example, that the average 2021 electric vehicle “would cost $48,698 more to own over a 10-year period without $22 billion in government favors given to EV manufacturers and owners.” https://t.co/bu1hwp7Sma
“The stark reality for proponents of EVs and for the dreamers in the federal government, who are using fuel economy regulations to force manufacturers to produce ever more EVs, is that the true cost of an EV is in no way close to a comparable,” the report said.
The report noted that consumers have taken to hybrid vehicles far more than electric vehicles, adding, “Perhaps if D.C. politicians and bureaucrats stop trying to force Americans to build and buy their preferred types of vehicles, the cleaner and brighter future that they imagine will actually materialize.”
“It’s time for federal and state governments to stop driving the American auto industry off an economic cliff and allow markets to drive further improvements in cost and efficiency,” the report stated.
In a release on the foundation’s website, study author Jason Isaac said that the cost on the sticker of an electric vehicle hides a lot.
“The Biden administration and leftist states such as California have pushed for widespread electrification in less than 20 years through government subsidies and coercive regulations, but the price you see in the lot is not the true cost of an electric vehicle,” he said.
“Electric vehicle owners have been the beneficiaries of regulatory credits, subsidies, and socialized infrastructure costs totaling nearly 50 thousand dollars per EV. These costs are borne by gasoline vehicle owners, taxpayers, and utility ratepayers, who are all paying a hefty price for someone else’s EV,” he added.
“Proponents of EVs have falsely pushed the claim that EVs will soon cost less than gas-powered cars. This study shows that EVs are still a long way from being competitive without massive subsidies,” study author Brent Bennett said.
“The Biden administration’s stringent fuel economy standards and regulatory manipulations are driving American automakers toward bankruptcy and adding thousands of dollars to the cost of every gasoline vehicle. Rolling back these subsidies and burdensome regulations would save consumers money and stop the auto industry from falling off a financial cliff,” he said.
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Mike Bickle is one of the most prominent figures in the New Apostolic Reformation also known as NAR. His organization, the International House of Prayer (IHOP) is the embodiment of NAR. On Saturday, the International House of PRayer released a statement denouncing Mike Bickle, disqualifying him from ministry.
Public Statement concerning recent allegations on Mike Bickle
October 28th, 2023
A few days ago, we made the leadership team of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) aware of serious allegations spanning several decades concerning its founder, Mike Bickle. Without going into details to protect the privacy of the victims’ identities, we have found these allegations of clergy sexual abuse by Mike Bickle to be credible and longstanding. The credibility of these allegations is not based on any one experience or any one victim, but on the collective and corroborating testimony of the experiences of several victims.
Prior to meeting with the leadership team of IHOP, we attempted to bring the allegations and the testimony of one of the victims directly to Mike Bickle in the spirit of Matthew 18:15-17. However, we were repeatedly rebuffed by Mike Bickle and we were refused any sort of meeting. Instead, Mike used manipulating and intimidating tactics towards the victims to isolate them and discredit them. To avoid further wounding of victims, we met with several members of IHOPKC’s Executive Leadership Team. There, we shared testimonies of these victims of Mike’s inappropriate words and actions.
When these allegations were brought to our attention, we were shocked. We could never have imagined that inappropriate conduct with women as something we would ever need to be concerned about. The allegations seemed out of character to the man we thought we knew, but they were so serious we could not ignore them.
The Scriptures inform us that leaders in the church, especially those who teach the Word of God, are held to a higher standard and stricter judgment. We believe that Mike Bickle’s actions were not above reproach and fall short of biblical standards for leaders in the church. To be clear, the allegations made about Mike Bickle’s misconduct were sexual in nature where the marriage covenant was not honored. Furthermore, the allegations made also reveal that Mike Bickle used his position of spiritual authority over the victims to manipulate them.
We do not share this process to fill in salacious details, but to protect the integrity of the victims and their experiences that were shared. We appeal to you to refrain from using names of any victims. These are women who have always been viewed as credible, trustworthy, and courageous. None of these victims had any intention to punish Mike Bickle and they had nothing to gain by sharing their experiences except the pursuit of truth, repentance, mercy, and grace.
Dwayne Roberts
Former Executive Leadership Team and Board Member, IHOPKC
Brian Kim
Former Executive Leadership Team and Board Member, IHOPKC
Wes Martin
Former Pastor, Forerunner Christian Fellowship and Former Vice President of Student Affairs, IHOPU
Analysis
IHOP refused to go into details. And while a married man in ministry committing adultery is bad enough, the framing of this issue as sex abuse raises multiple questions. Were the victims children or disabled, as would be necessary for this to be considered sex abuse? Instead IHOP simply has a “believe all women” mentality that has gotten the Southern Baptist Convention into a lot of trouble. By refusing to delve into details, answering questions such as whether it was fornication or “emotional affair” it’s hard to gauge the seriousness in which these claims were investigated.
Adults committing adultery or fornication is sinful and Mike Bickle being a pastor does not victimize the other willing participant. If these allegations were rape, where is the police report? And if they were children, that’s an important detail left out.
Mike Bickle has a reputation for being a false teacher, and false teachers are oft sexual degenerates. His current reproach will possibly take him out for good, a consequence we should be thankful for. And despite the feminist overtones, this reproach will undermine the credibility of the NAR movement.
It’s amazing how, in our age of the great unraveling, we see the value of a college education imploding before our eyes.
The evil Hamas did in Israel on October 7th, 2023 — leaving 1400 Israelis dead in brutal attacks on men, women, children, and even babies — revealed their true goals. But many college students are defending them.
Excusing Antisemitism
Many Jews on campuses of some of our leading universities feel at risk. For example, the New York Post reports that on October 11, “a 24-year old Israeli student was beaten with a stick” on the Columbia University campus, right outside the main library.
Foxnews.com reports, “Columbia is one of many elite institutions across America that is being rocked by accusations of excusing antisemitism as the debate over the Israel-Hamas war continues.” They cite an example of a professor who “wrote an article highlighting the efforts of Hamas fighters invading Israel.” He favored them.
In effect, the Hamas-Israeli crisis has pulled down the veil on what’s been happening in some of our most elite schools of higher learning in the nation.
Such actions prompted an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, who is an Israeli-American, to call out the president of Columbia University as a “coward” for his silence in the wake of such antisemitism.
The founders of Columbia would be rolling in their graves if they knew what was happening there today. Columbia University began as King’s College in 1754. An early advertisement for the school declared, “The chief thing that is aimed at in this college is to teach and engage children to know God in Jesus Christ.” Somehow, Jesus Christ doesn’t seem so welcome at Columbia these days.
But, alas, Columbia is not unique in terms of pro-Hamas protests. Consider the anti-Israel protests at a number of our most prestigious schools:
After the Hamas attack of October 7, about 30 Harvard student groups famously sent out a pro-Palestinian statement: “We hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” At Cornell University a professor expressed his enthusiasm for what Hamas did on October 7th. He gushed, “It was exhilarating. It was energizing.” A University of Pennsylvania librarian reportedly tore down posters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas.And on it goes. What a contrast to the founding of most of these schools.
Hotbeds of Marxism
The Christian foundation of the majority of the great universities in America is well-documented.
For instance, one school stated, “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ … as the only sound foundation of all knowledge and learning.” That school was Harvard. Goals that are still high, lofty, and worthy.
But we fast forward to today, and we see the influence of Marxism at war with the Judeo-Christian tradition, and even Jews and Christians themselves.
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Last week, Gary Bauer, founder of American Values, wrote: “Jewish students on American university campuses are fearful and hiding in their dorm rooms. The hatred for them is so pronounced that they are hiding on the campuses where their parents are paying $40,000 a year or more for their children to be educated.”
The situation on campus has gotten so bad that Senator Josh Hawley (R, Missouri) proposed a resolution that “unequivocally condemns Hamas and the hateful, antisemitic rhetoric that the recent terrorist attack has inspired on our college campuses.” Democrats blocked his proposal.
The Marxists have taken over some of our most prestigious schools. Marxists believe that there are the oppressors and the oppressed. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Jews are allegedly the oppressors, Hamas, the oppressed.
Greg Gutfield, the late night Fox News commentator, pulled no punches on these college professors standing with Hamas: “Isn’t it time to focus on the indoctrinators, not just the indoctrinated? Because it’s the ones doing the brainwashing that matter most. Every day there’s another story about an Ivy League professor praising the murder of Jews. They live in such a bubble that they think those [Israeli] babies deserve to die because they’re oppressors.”
The Veil Has Been Pulled Down
In effect, the Hamas-Israeli crisis has pulled down the veil on what’s been happening in some of our most elite schools of higher learning in the nation. But it’s also true even in a lot of state universities.
So many of them have become hotbeds of Marxism. They have become centers of indoctrination, not education.
Even Bill Maher, the late night libertarian commentator, stated the other day: “As an Ivy League graduate who knows the value of a liberal education, I have one piece of advice for the youth of America: Don’t go to college.” He even said that college “makes you stupid.”
Today a college education is not what it was worth a few decades ago. Some employers are questioning whether a college education is even necessary for candidates they are considering hiring. With trends like the pro-Hamas push on too many campuses, who can blame them?
Dr. Jerry Newcombe is the executive director of Providence Forum, a division of D. James Kennedy Ministries, where Jerry also serves as senior producer and an on-air contributor. He has written/co-written 33 books, including (with D. James Kennedy), What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?and (with Dr. Peter Lillback), George Washington’s Sacred Fire.
Where were you on March 9, 2022, when President Biden signed the death warrant on American freedom?
On that day, in a hushed ceremony at the White House without the approval of Congress, the states or the American people, Biden signed into law Executive Order 14067.
Buried in his order are a few paragraphs, titled Section 4. The language in Section 4 makes Order 14067 the most treacherous act by a sitting president in the history of our republic.
That’s because Section 4 sets the stage for legal government surveillance of all U.S. citizens, total control over your bank accounts and purchases and the ability to silence all dissenting voices for good.
In this new war on freedom, they aren’t coming for your guns. No, they’re thinking much bigger than that.
They’re coming for your money.
And it’s already started. These efforts are stepping up and taking on a nefarious tone that also involves surveillance and loss of our freedoms under the guise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), or Biden Bucks as I call them.
If you had asked me about this two years ago, I would have said the U.S. is taking a rather studious approach to it. It was too important to not be involved in, but the U.S. did not seem to be in any hurry to actually implement it.
There were studies, and I would have said my estimate at the time would have been, “OK, China has it. Europe, maybe another year. The U.S. might be three or four years down the road because the dollar’s too important. They don’t want to race into it. They want to get it right. There are a lot of ways to mess it up.”
But that’s changed under Joe Biden.
Biden has now fast-tracked this thing.
We’ve moved pretty quickly from what I would call a research phase to an implementation phase. So I give it the name Biden Bucks, because Joe Biden will prove to have been responsible for actually implementing this at a very quick tempo in the United States.
NOT Cryptocurrencies
CBDCs are digital money, not cryptocurrencies. The differences between CBDCs and crypto are important.
Cryptocurrencies are recorded on a blockchain, which is a particular type of ledger that shows every transaction ever made in each currency.
Cryptos also claim to offer anonymity and decentralization, which are said to be virtues but are actually fatal flaws because the “anonymity” is a greater cover for crime and fraud.
I worked with the U.S. Strategic Command to unravel crypto ownership when Isis was using digital tokens to finance its caliphate in 2015–2016. It’s not easy to pierce the veil, but it can be done.
By contrast, CBDCs do not use blockchain; they have a digital ledger accounting system, but it’s not a blockchain. They’re the opposite of decentralized; they are highly centralized under the control of a single issuer, usually a central bank.
There’s no anonymity. The issuer knows every account holder and every transaction — that’s the whole idea.
CBDCs are promoted on the idea that transactions are faster, cheaper and more secure when all money is digital and controlled by a government.
Compared with credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, Venmo and PayPal, that may be true. Those systems have multiple intermediaries and layers of fees, so CBDCs may actually be able to streamline payments and make the payment system more efficient.
But while the government positions CBDCs as a benefit to consumers in performing transactions, including faster settlements, better security, ease of use and transaction costs that are lower than with cash, it’s also crucial to think through the implications of the technology and how it could negatively affect the economy and our individual rights.
The Death of Privacy
The first part of the hidden agenda is to eliminate cash. If you’re the government and you want the central bank digital currency to succeed, you have to eliminate cash because it’s your competition.
Cash is anonymous. If you pay for something with cash, the purchase can’t be directly tied to you. That’s not true of Biden Bucks.
The government knows exactly what you’re buying, to whom you’re making donations and (by extension) what you’re reading based on which books you buy, etc.
That means we’ve come very far down the road toward thought control, censorship and selective law enforcement against political enemies.
It’s a government that looks like the state ruled by Big Brother in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
The government might want to freeze your account, they might want to seize your assets, they might want to put an expiration date on your money.
Imagine you get paid and the government says, “OK, you got the money. Nice job, but that money is going to evaporate or disappear if you don’t spend it in the next six months.” How’s that for a stimulus program?
None of these things is possible if there’s cash around. But if you get rid of cash and force everyone into a digital system, then you can do these kinds of things.
That means fiscal policy can actually be dictated by Biden Bucks. With total control of your money, the government can conduct fiscal policy at will.
What if the government wanted to stimulate the economy and increase the amount of consumer spending? They could simply send you a letter that states, for example, “You must spend $200 in the next 30 days or we will take $100 out of your account as a penalty.”
As most citizens will not want to risk losing $100, they will spend the amount requested and create stimulus in the economy as the government had wanted.
This could also work in the opposite direction. Say the government wanted to cool down the economy and not have as much money in circulation. They could encourage savings by requesting a certain balance in your account be kept and not spent.
If you went under that set balance, a penalty would be triggered.
Private Banks Are Pushing CBDCs
All that being said, the digital takeover of the financial system is not an all-or-nothing event, and it will happen in stages and not all at once. When the CBDCs are finally rolled out, it may be a bit of an anticlimax if private companies have already eliminated cash and invaded privacy on their own.
For example, the Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo has begun forcing customers to use an all-digital mobile phone service with no ability for customers to visit a branch or interact with a human bank official.
This is exactly what the world of CBDCs will be like except that a private bank will be doing the dirty work and not waiting for a government mandate. The CBDC effort in Europe will inevitably involve the European Central Bank (ECB) since they are the issuer of the euro and will be in charge of the digital ledger of transactions.
Still, private banks are not waiting for the ECB and are laying the groundwork today for a world without cash or human bankers.
All that’s left is a digital ledger and total surveillance of everything you do.
Again, the endgame for CBDCs would closely resemble George Orwell’s dystopian Nineteen Eighty-Four. It would be a world of negative interest rates, forced tax collection, government confiscation, account freezes and constant surveillance.
You might not be able to fight back easily in the world of Biden Bucks, but it can be done.
There is one nondigital, nonhackable, nontraceable form of money you can still use.
It’s called gold (and silver). I urge you to get your hands on some while you still can.
U.S. four-star retired Gen. Jack Keane joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss Israel’s military strategy as they begin the ‘second phase’ of their war on Hamas.
Not long ago at the height of fear over the global pandemic the US underwent a change that many people argued would never happen. For years I have heard people say that authoritarian controls in America are “tinfoil hat conspiracy theory” and doom mongering – All the prepping, all the talk of community organizing, all the guns and the gear and the training were for nothing.
Then…the covid agenda hit like a freight train.
Our constitutional rights were no longer set in stone, but mere guidelines that government officials could bend or break in the name of “public health safety.” Laws no longer had to be passed through a series of checks and balances; mandates could be implemented as if they were laws without public oversight and enforced unilaterally.
There was talk (primarily among Democrats) of severe punishments for people who refused the pointless covid vaccines. They wanted vaccine passports, they wanted prison time for those that spoke publicly against the vax, they wanted people’s jobs taken away, they wanted their children taken away, and there were even plans to build covid detention centers to segregate and lock up “vax deniers.”
It boggles the mind, but this was serious debate within the US and it was all triggered in the span of a year. Nearly half the country was willing to abandon the Bill of Rights over a virus with a survival rate of 99.8%. The conspiracy theorists were right all along; our freedoms rest on a razor’s edge and preparing to survive and fight for those freedoms is perfectly rational.
Luckily, the covid agenda failed. The mandates were ultimately blocked by red states and in many rural areas they were barely enforced at all. Biden’s vaccine passport attempt was stopped cold by the Supreme Court, but I have long believed that the Supreme Court made this decision exactly because of the level of public resistance. They knew if they pressed the issue, civil war was on the table.
Medical authoritarianism collapsed because conservatives and independents were not onboard and they could not be shamed into compliance.
But what happens when there is a crisis that DOES scare conservatives? What happens when the political right perceives a true threat? Does freedom then become untenable?
Viruses frighten progressives (most things frighten progressives), but what frightens conservatives?
Well, it’s not a hard fast rule, but generally speaking conservatives are most disturbed by the threat of invasion. Ask any conservative if they were worried about covid or worried about the crisis on the southern border during the pandemic and the vast majority of them would say the border without hesitation. Conservatives fear cultural infiltration and co-option, they fear the steady and deliberate whittling away of their American heritage and by extension their freedoms by alien impostors. And, they fear the certain blitzkrieg of the US by organized terrorism should the borders remain open.
The question is, are they willing to assuage their fears by sacrificing the very freedoms they want to protect?
In 2001 after 9/11, the conservative movement was a much different animal than it is today. This was pre-Ron Paul and pre-Libertarian influence. The Neo-cons ruled the roost and had far reaching power over public perception, making the push for the dismissal of constitutional rights unprecedented. The Patriot Act mentality was widespread and the thirst for war was palpable. I have seen conservatives stray from the Bill of Rights in the past in the name of fighting against a possible invasion. I remember this vividly.
Today, the elements in play are not the same as 2001. Anyone who argues otherwise was likely a child during the 9/11 era or has a skewed understanding of the changes that have taken place among conservatives since those days. The Ron Paul movement changed a lot for the better, but primarily within the conservative constituency. Regular people changed their thinking on what it means to trade liberty for security. The GOP? It’s a pipe dream to think we could ever completely change the GOP. At least covid proved we have allies at the state and local level
The real problem is in the old guard of Neo-cons still influencing the path of the Republican Party. These are people who happily ally with Democrats behind the scenes, they have close ties to establishment elites and their loyalty rests in the hands of globalists. If the globalists want war, then the Neo-cons want war and they will do anything to get it, including create it. That’s how it works.
And this time around I think they’re going to get what they want. The Ukraine event failed to lure Americans into supporting direct intervention (a majority of Americans don’t even support funding for Ukraine), but Israel is another matter. There are very old and tribal implications than pull on the souls of conservatives when it comes to the conflicts in the Middle East. There are religious factors, yes, but I suspect this is overblown by critics who think evangelicals are running the show. This is not reality.
The Christian mandate has nowhere near the same influence it did back in 2001. In fact, churches have become so weak that they are now being overtaken by LGBT infiltration and trans activism. This never would have been tolerated 20 years ago – They would have tarred and feathered such activists back then. If this sort of thing is being allowed to happen right in our backyards today then you can be damn sure that religion is not the driving force for war overseas.
No, when it comes to Israel and the implications of war the concern is once again rooted in cultural erasure. To be fair, it’s not a paranoid delusion. Western culture is in fact being systematically dismantled and mass immigration is a part of that agenda. It’s also true that Islamic ideology is completely incompatible with western beliefs including the concept of individualism. Muslim systems are authoritarian in nature, that is what Sharia Law is.
So, when conservatives see the potential for the fall of Israel they associate this with the fall of the west, and they will seek to stop it if they can. Beyond Israel is the concern that an invasion of Muslim extremists is already well underway in the US with open border policies becoming the norm under Joe Biden. And here is where the trap is set…
Martial law in the US would only ever work if a majority of conservatives support it. This is a fact. Without our backing martial law will fail, just as the covid mandates failed. Keep in mind, Biden and his globalist friends have used every possible tactic to make martial law an inevitability. Economic instability and stagflation have created a spike in violent crime and looting. Mass illegal migration is dragging down state welfare systems and is creating a trend of cultural dilution. Open borders have allowed any number of possible foreign hostiles into the US.
In the midst of war the government desire to control information and public discourse will be at its apex. However, as we have seen during covid and the Ukraine war, they have not proven effective at accomplishing this. As long as the internet is in place it does not matter what kind of algorithms Big Tech applies to stifle the truth, the truth still finds a way. This means that the establishment will have to pursue extreme measures that could only be achieved within a martial law environment. I see this situation going one of two ways if the current geopolitical trend continues…
Option A:
A multi-front war breaks out in the Middle East including nations like Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen. Israel faces serious failure. The US is dragged into the war, or, Israel uses its nuclear arsenal to destroy the resources (including populations) of enemy nations, leading to the possible involvement of China and Russia, and thus, the US is still dragged in.
Riots and terror attacks become a regular occurrence in the US, not just initiated by Muslim extremist infiltrators but also leftists who have attached themselves to the cause.
A draft is initiated which conservatives support in the hopes that it will help dissolve the riots. The draft will sink millions of weak, soft zennials (including women) into a bloody quagmire that they have no capacity to adapt to. Draft protests and riots become the norm, pushing conservatives to support even stricter enforcement.
Finally, martial law is announced, but the soldiers used on American soil to “protect us” from riots and terrorists will be primarily foreign nationals – Illegal migrants given an easy shot at citizenry if they join the military and put the boot down on dissenters, which they will gladly do because they have no cultural attachment to America or Americans. At this stage the constitution will essentially die.
Option B:
The war expands and Israel faces imminent destruction. Biden commits US naval forces to the fight along with ground troops, primarily Special Forces. He then calls for full deployment of US ground forces to the region, but in this scenario the majority of conservatives do not support the action, just as they did not support deployment to Ukraine.
Biden tries to implement a draft in order to force the momentum. Conservatives refuse to comply or allow their children to be sent to die in a foreign conflict. On this one issue, conservatives and leftists actually agree, even if it is for completely different reasons. The country is then hit with an endless series of terror attacks, each one presented as a reason why the public must back the war. Each attack is cheered by the leftist activists as an act of “decolonization.”
Conservatives see this ploy for what it is and still refuse to support the war, taking an “America First” position. Why fight overseas when it’s America that’s under duress?
Biden still attempts martial law. He offers automatic citizenship to illegal immigrants if they serve in the military and uses some of these troops as an occupation presence at home. Leftists don’t want to fight in the Middle East, but they do like to see migrants given easy citizenship and power. They defend the measure – They figure if the migrants fill the ranks of the military maybe they won’t be drafted.
Conservatives rebel, America enters either balkanization or civil war, or both. Patriots are accused of helping the enemies of the United States and are also labeled terrorists. From this point on, anything could happen.
I believe the Israeli trigger may be bigger than covid in terms of the potential global disaster and global tyranny that could unfold. If it continues to escalate and turns into a multi-regional conflict the chances of the fight coming back to America are high. Not just in terms of terrorism, but also in terms of civil unrest and war on our doorstep. If we support the war, martial law is a certainty. If we don’t support the war, martial law will be attempted but at least there are scenarios where it could fail.
I would argue that the only thing that will save America at this stage is the growth of the America First movement.
When we talk about America First, this includes not just American security but also American freedoms.
There is NO REASON why we can’t have both. If conservatives (and independents) get lured into WWIII, it will be the end.
As the world is focused on eliminating Hamas in Gaza, Russia is launching its “counter-counteroffensive” (WaPo) in Ukraine and threatens to make significant advances against largely exhausted Ukrainian forces. Russia Ministry of Defence claims Ukraine has lost 13.000 tanks since the Russian invasion.
“With the world focused on the war between Israel and Hamas, Russia has launched ferocious attacks in eastern Ukraine, simultaneously ramping up its efforts to encircle the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region and pummeling the area around the formerly occupied cities of Kupyansk and Lyman”, the Washington Post reports.
“Moscow’s reinforced positions and renewed attacks at these strategic points on the eastern front areforcing Ukraine to defend swaths of territory that were occupied for months after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and then liberated roughly a year ago”, the WaPo writes. “Some of the most intense fighting is taking place near Kupyansk, a city on the Oskil River, just 25 miles from the border with Russia. Ukrainian commanders and officials stationed along the eastern front said in interviews that Russia had noticeably” bolstered its forces in recent weeks by creating new, fresh brigades — including elite forces and “Storm Z” units of prisoner battalions.
“The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, said the situation had “worsened significantly” and that Russia was aiming to encircle Kupyansk and to reach the river, which cuts through the city”, the Washington Post said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims its armed forces have destroyed more than 13,000 Ukrainian tanks and other armored combat vehicles since the beginning of the invasion, TASS reported.
“A total of 517 aircraft, 253 helicopters, 8,392 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 anti-aircraft missile systems, 13,006 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,170 multiple rocket launchers, 6,902 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 14,760 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
Ukraine has lost over 2,055 soldiers on the Donetsk front in the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Friday. “In the Donetsk direction, Russian… troops repelled nine enemy attacks over the past week… in the areas of the settlements of Maryinka, Kurdyumovka, Bogdanovka and Kleshcheyevka of the Donetsk People’s Republic. As a result of the fighting, the total losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in this direction amounted to more than 2,055 soldiers, three tanks, 17 armored combat vehicles, 22 vehicles, as well as 16 field artillery guns,” the ministry said.
This week, Russia claimed to have planted its flag on a hill known as the “waste heap” in a significant advaNce on encircling the roughly 21 Ukrainian battalions, or 20,000 men, in Avdiivka. Russia is estimated to have 15 regiments or around 45,000 men around Avdiivka, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has been losing close to 1,000 men each day during its attempt to take the town, as well as tens of tanks and armored vehicles”, Kyiv Post reports: “Russia has for weeks now been throwing huge numbers of men and materiel at Andiivka in a so far unsuccessful and hugely costly attempt to take the town. Last week a massed assault resulted in what was likely Russia’s biggest land defeat in nine months.”
“Taking Avdiivka – which lies near the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk – would allow Russian troops to push the front line back, making it harder for the Ukrainian forces to make further advances into Donetsk region”, BBC reports. “Avdiivka has been all but abandoned by its 30,000 residents as Russian forces continue to pummel it. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as “particularly tough”.”
Ukrainian draftees’ relatives have hit the streets in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities demanding that those who were mobilized into the Ukrainian armed forces at the very beginning of the conflict be demobilized or at least replaced, the Ukrainian news website Telegraf reported, according to TASS. “The protesters, who have gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square, are holding banners saying “Demobilization for our defenders!”, “My husband has already been at war for 586 days. It’s time for others” and some others with similar content. The relatives point out that their loved ones in the army “are exhausted both physically and morally.” According to the news website, similar protests are taking place in Odessa and Poltava.”
Ye of little faith – in the progressive media, that is. A new Gallup poll reveals the distrust most Americans have in major media outlets resulting in an all-time low. A paltry 32% of people have some trust in today’s media while nearly 40% say they have no trust at all in the media.
Gee, I wonder why? It was just three years ago that in another poll, a mere 9% of Americans said they have “a great deal of confidence” that journalists act in the best interests of the people.
Gallup has been tracking American’s trust in media since 1972 and stated they’ve never seen numbers this grim. Most informed Christians and conservatives saw signs of this slow erosion decades ago. The difference today is the media is proud to support and endorse godless and woke ideologies while they themselves are biased ministers of misinformation.
Vice president of Communications at Family Research Council (FRC), JP Duffy stated:
“In the Obama era, trust in the media began a precipitous drop and never recovered. President Obama sowed much of this division when he imposed policies that suppressed religious liberty as never before and used his bully pulpit to criticize those who ‘cling to guns or religion.’ The media cheered him on and even more so when he later endorsed redefining marriage.”
More than half of Democrats (58%) still trust the media but among Republicans, trust in the liberal media has plummeted to a historic low of 11%. This abysmal distrust is justified.
Back in June, another poll revealed only 18% of Americans still trust newspapers while just 14% trust television news. One reason may be the media’s open support of one political party and one side of most stories. Another reason is the growing hostility toward Christians and Jews, and of course, the biblical worldview whether the subject is Israel, abortion, sexual morality, or gender ideology.
In addition to their progressive perspective and support of what the Bible considers sin and evil, the modern media have been known to be anti-Israel and even hire antisemites. Their reporting after the recent hateful attacks in Israel is another example of what the Media Research Council refers to as a “Decades-long, antisemitic Hamas PR campaign.” Hate has been cultivated.
The mainstream media have a long history of denying the truth and dismissing Palestinian violence against the Jewish people, and it was on display again as many tried dismissing Hamas and their mass murder of over 1,400 Jewish people. Some in the media blamed Israel and insisted they deserved or provoked the brutal attacks.
The left-wing media view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a pseudo-Marxist framing, in which Israel is cast as the cruel and racist oppressor while the Palestinians are the oppressed minority subjugated by a hostile regime. As a result, journalists at these networks think of violence by Palestinians as the “voice of the unheard,” and therefore they endeavor to excuse it.
From CNN and MSNBC to the major networks, the reporting has become quite awful across the board. One anchor insisted, “Israel is an occupying power,” a contributor at CNN, Adele Raja said in 2021, “The world needs a new Hitler,” and an editor celebrated on Twitter when Hamas murdered four Jewish citizens in Jerusalem calling them “pigs.”
Following the October 7 attacks on Israel, the three main networks have protected Democrats in the House for their rabidly “anti-Israel posturing.” The “Squad,” informally known as seven radical members of the House of Representatives, called on Congress to stop sending military aid to Israel, and they called for a ceasefire when Israel retaliated after the attacks.
On ABC, CBS, and NBC, Newsbusters surveyed all nighttime newscasts from October 7 – October 22 watching for any mention of the Squad. In spite of dedicating almost 9 hours of airtime (a whopping 525 minutes) to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, not one of these networks gave even a second of air time to any one of the Democrats. Nothing negative.
It took the New York Times a week to admit they jumped the gun and made a mistake saying Israel bombed a hospital and murdered civilians. The lie was immediately repeated and sent out as media marching orders when no one had all the facts. In a separate article on how the networks shield pro-Hamas Democrats from the public, Bill D’Agostino writes:
“These three women (Representatives Omar, Bush, and Tlaib) were also the only Squad members to publicly repeat the now-disproven claim by Hamas that the al-Ahri Arab Hospital in Gaza had been destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Even after evidence emerged showing that the blast was the result of a misfired Hamas rocket, and that the blast had occurred in a parking lot rather than the hospital itself, all three Congresswomen refused to delete tweets on their official accounts blaming Israel for the explosion.
It is sadly rare these days that a liberal Democrat or Marxist in power is held accountable because the media covers them like a warm, comfy blanket. It has become a an almost accepted bias that has taken modern media far from the principles of journalism and standards of objectivity we used to assume existed. Five journalistic principles include:
Journalism’s first obligation is to tell the truth
Its first loyalty is to citizens
Its essence is a discipline of verification
Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
It must serve as an independent monitor of power
Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult for a Christian or conservative to work in this industry today and report honestly. It is an unjust, unfair system when one side is practically above the law. You would never know the truth if it were not for alternative news outlets, independent reporting sources, and even social media.
You may be surprised that other recent polling indicates a majority of Americans, both Democrat and Republican voters still support Israel. It’s no wonder the biased broadcast networks have ignored or refused to report about the comments and actions of the anti-Christian, anti-Israel wing of the Democrat Party. The liberal media has a long history of bias and leftism.
We weren’t meant to keep up with everything but we should at least be avoiding the noise and the toxic ideological sites out there. This kind of story should remind us to be discerning and use caution about where to get the best news, information, and biblical commentary. Many years ago, I put together a list of over 200 resources for Christians and conservatives to get good information and there are even more. So, where do you get your news and information?
From creation and morality to world history, repeated lies have influenced public opinion. The danger we’re in as a nation and a church is that the godless left have practically won the propaganda war – a war many of us didn’t know existed – which has paved the way for much of the mayhem we see today.
The verdict seems unanimous. From presidential speeches to role-playing games, the crusades are depicted as a deplorably violent episode in which thuggish Westerners trundled off, unprovoked, to murder and pillage peace-loving, sophisticated Muslims, laying down patterns of outrageous oppression that would be repeated throughout subsequent history. In many corners of the Western world today, this view is too commonplace and apparently obvious even to be challenged.
But unanimity is not a guarantee of accuracy. What everyone “knows” about the crusades may not, in fact, be true. From the many popular notions about the crusades, let us pick four and see if they bear close examination.
The four myths:
Myth #1: The crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
Myth #4: The crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.
Here’s the most obvious thing you should know. The Crusades were defensive actions:
In a.d. 632, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, North Africa, Spain, France, Italy, and the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica were all Christian territories. Inside the boundaries of the Roman Empire, which was still fully functional in the eastern Mediterranean, orthodox Christianity was the official, and overwhelmingly majority, religion. Outside those boundaries were other large Christian communities—not necessarily orthodox and Catholic, but still Christian. Most of the Christian population of Persia, for example, was Nestorian. Certainly there were many Christian communities in Arabia.
By a.d. 732, a century later, Christians had lost Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa, Spain, most of Asia Minor, and southern France. Italy and her associated islands were under threat, and the islands would come under Muslim rule in the next century. The Christian communities of Arabia were entirely destroyed in or shortly after 633, when Jews and Christians alike were expelled from the peninsula.6 Those in Persia were under severe pressure. Two-thirds of the formerly Roman Christian world was now ruled by Muslims.
What had happened? Most people actually know the answer, if pressed—though for some reason they do not usually connect the answer with the crusades. The answer is the rise of Islam. Every one of the listed regions was taken, within the space of a hundred years, from Christian control by violence, in the course of military campaigns deliberately designed to expand Muslim territory at the expense of Islam’s neighbors. Nor did this conclude Islam’s program of conquest. The attacks continued, punctuated from time to time by Christian attempts to push back. Charlemagne blocked the Muslim advance in far western Europe in about a.d. 800, but Islamic forces simply shifted their focus and began to island-hop across from North Africa toward Italy and the French coast, attacking the Italian mainland by 837. A confused struggle for control of southern and central Italy continued for the rest of the ninth century and into the tenth. In the hundred years between 850 and 950, Benedictine monks were driven out of ancient monasteries, the Papal States were overrun, and Muslim pirate bases were established along the coast of northern Italy and southern France, from which attacks on the deep inland were launched. Desperate to protect victimized Christians, popes became involved in the tenth and early eleventh centuries in directing the defense of the territory around them.
If you asked me what are the two best books on the Crusades, I would answer God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Baylor professor Rodney Stark and The Concise History of the Crusades by Professor Thomas F. Madden. If you get this question a lot from atheists, then I recommend you pick these up. Anything by Rodney Stark is useful for Christians, in fact.
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