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
Witnessing at the State Fair: Challenging Catholic Beliefs | WRETCHED TV Episode 2337
Join Todd Friel in this episode of Wretched TV, as he takes us to an encounter at the Minnesota State Fair. With a personal story that highlights the significance of a clear conversion experience, Todd engages in a discussion with a Catholic woman who holds a weak view of salvation. In this episode, Todd tackles the core issues of faith, questioning the adequacy of good deeds and belief in God as a path to heaven. He uses analogies, comparing God’s justice to an earthly courtroom, to illustrate the difference between mere moral goodness and the necessity of being born again. Discover how Todd navigates this complex conversation and learn why understanding God’s justice and the gospel’s judicial nature is vital for every believer. Tune in to see how Todd addresses misunderstandings about salvation and the essential truth of faith in Jesus Christ.
In this episode of Wretched Radio, host Todd Friel visits Georgia Tech for Witness Wednesday. The episode begins with Todd discussing the trend of promoting ‘Jesus without religion’ on campus. He then engages in a series of street interviews with students, exploring their thoughts on God, faith, and religion. Todd first speaks with Stephen, an industrial engineering student, about his career aspirations and religious beliefs. Stephen identifies as a Christian but expresses strong support for the separation of church and state. They discuss concepts of faith, sin, and salvation. Later, Todd talks to Eric, a 23-year-old student researching motorcycle engines, about the afterlife and moral standards. Eric describes his upbringing in a Southern Baptist and Catholic family but identifies as non-religious. The conversation explores the implications of sin and divine justice. Todd also briefly interacts with a fraternity member and another student, revisiting a previous discussion about the authenticity of religious experiences. Throughout the episode, Todd underscores the importance of clear theological communication and the necessity of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Theologian J.I. Packer wrote a book on how to better know God, and while there is much more to be said — and known — about God, these five basic truths serve as a reliable foundation for further study and a trustworthy compass to guide the way.
The late great Presbyterian preacher R.C. Sproul would often quip: “Every Christian is a theologian.” He was right.
To press the point further, it’s not just every Christian who’s a theologian, it’s every person currently drawing breath on planet Earth. Everyone, Christian or not, has a theology — whether they realize it or not.
Furthermore, your theology matters more than most people realize, even most Christians. Theology, literally “the knowledge of God,” from the Greek “theos,” meaning God, and “logos,” meaning “word.” Theology is your “words about God.”
It’s critical, then, that as Christians we have the right words about God; that is, biblically sound knowledge about who God is, who we are in relation to Him, and what He expects — and demands — of us as His imager-bearers.
Another well-known theologian, J.I. Packer, produced what is arguably one of the best modern and practical distillations of Christian theology in his bestselling and classic bookKnowing God, originally published in 1973. I’ve recommended Knowing God for many years now. This summer, I started re-reading it for what might be my fifth time.
In an early section of the book, Packer lays out five foundational principles that must support our quest to rightly know the Lord. If Christians want to know God — and we should — then we must seek to know Him rightly.
They are simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. Here are Packer’s “five basic truths, five foundational principles of the knowledge about God” that Christians must know, believe, and proclaim.
1. “God has spoken to man, and the Bible is his Word, given to us to make us wise unto salvation.”
This principle underscores that God has taken the initiative to communicate with humanity. It’s not that humans sought God but that God chose to reveal Himself. This act of revelation is seen as an act of grace, where God, out of love, desires a relationship with His creation.
God has not left us in the dark. He has spoken to us, and He has done so clearly. Christians believe God’s communication is not vague or mystical but clear and direct through the Scriptures. The Bible is not just a book full of good moral principles — it is the inerrant, infallible revelation of the Creator to His creation. It answers the most important question facing sinful man: “What must we do to be saved?” All sound theology begins here: Believing that the Bible is the Word of God given to man.
2. “God is Lord and King over his world; he rules all things for his own glory, displaying his perfections in all that he does, in order that men and angels may worship and adore him.”
Any theology that does not put God on the throne of the universe is worth placing in the trash can. Here Packer succinctly explains what is often referred to as the “sovereignty” of God. God is not a distant deity, He is the active, omnipotent, and omnipresent Lord of all.
Packer immediately connects that sovereignty to worship. Because God is King, we ought to bow before Him in humble worship and adoration. God is indeed worthy of our praise.
3. “God is Savior, active in sovereign love through the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue believers from the guilt and power of sin, to adopt them as his children and to bless them accordingly.”
This is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Not only has God spoken to us, not only is He Lord and King, but He is also Savior. Why did mankind need saving? Because, as Packer explains, we are guilty of sin and enslaved under its power. This has been the truth about man’s spiritual condition since Genesis 3. As Paul puts it in Romans 3:23-24: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
There are few theological truths that modern man hates more than this: That we are sinners. The “theology” of progressivism knows nothing of indwelling sin and the need for a savior, but only the need for better “systems” and “programs” for self-improvement. But Christians cannot abandon the biblical doctrine of sin, no matter how loudly the LGBTQ and other secular activists demand it.
The Gospel is only good news to those who know they need salvation. Therefore, this foundational pillar of theology must be accepted, proclaimed, and defended by all true Christians.
4. “God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it and the Spirit applying it.”
Trinitarian theology is one of the most debated topics of Christian doctrine. Many ancient and modern heresies spring from a faulty understanding of our Triune God. You’ve probably heard a preacher try to give some analogy about what the Trinity is like before — maybe the classic, “water, gas, and liquid” one — and I’m here to tell you it was probably wrong; the “water, gas, and liquid” one definitely is.
Though Packer doesn’t delve into the deep end of the Trinity here, his summary is sound and helpful. What we sing in the Doxology, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” stands the test of time. One God, three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This foundational theological truth stands against the widespread heresy of “modalism.” Modalism is the belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distinct persons within the Godhead, but rather different modes or aspects of God’s interaction with the world. One popular televangelist, T.D. Jakes, is a modalist.
It’s okay, you don’t have to be a theological expert to rightly understand the basics of the Trinity. If you are ever confused, come back to this excellent summary from Packer: One God, three persons, all acting together in the plan of salvation.
5. “Godliness means responding to God’s revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God’s Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion.”
Fifth, and finally, Packer gives a brief description of what it means to live a godly life. We could call this “theology applied.”
The fact that God has revealed Himself to us, both in the world and through the Word, requires a response. We respond with repentance, trust, and obedience. In short, we have faith — the essence of the Christian life.
Good theology is not just a matter of cold, detached, academic study. No, good theology leads to increasing godliness. Godliness is not merely about religious activities but about a holistic transformation of life in response to God’s revelation. It’s about aligning one’s entire being — thoughts, actions, and relationships — with God’s will as revealed in Scripture.
Packer rightly argues that a life of faith, obedience, worship, prayer, praise, submission, and service is what constitutes true religion — not just outward rituals or moralism but an inward and outward transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Foundation That Will Last
Imagine building a house. The foundation is the first and, arguably, the most critical part of the construction process. If the foundation is laid on unstable ground or if it’s not level, every subsequent layer of the house will be affected. Cracks might appear in the walls, doors won’t close properly, and over time, the structural integrity of the entire building could be compromised.
A solid foundation ensures that the house can withstand the test of time, environmental pressures like wind and rain, and even seismic activity to some extent. Without it, even the most beautifully constructed house might eventually collapse or require extensive, costly repairs.
Now, consider Christian theology as the foundation of the Christian faith. Just like the foundation of a house, the theological underpinnings of Christianity — our beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and Scripture — must be robustly understood and correctly interpreted.
If these foundational elements are misunderstood or misinterpreted, the faith built upon them can become unstable. Heretics, for instance, might be seen as builders who lay the foundation on shaky ground or with incorrect materials. Their teachings might lead followers astray, creating a version of Christianity that, while perhaps appealing or novel, lacks the structural integrity to withstand scrutiny, moral challenges, or the passage of time.
In the quest to know God rightly, Packer gives us these five foundational truths to help, as he puts it, to “plot our course.”
There is much more to be said, and known, about God. But these truths serve as a reliable foundation for further study and a trustworthy compass to guide the way. Embrace them, believe them, and apply them — and your Christian faith and walk with God will be stronger for it.
Job 34:18 — Elihu tells Job, “You wouldn’t accuse a king or a prince of being evil. Why are you accusing God of being evil, the One who is far more righteous than any human king?”
The Book of Job does not answer the question ‘Why does God allow the righteous to suffer?’ but rather answers the question, ‘How should the righteous suffer?’
You may be hurting, but don’t ever think you are more righteous than God. That is the pathway to atheism.
Job 36:3 — Elihu is continually begging permission to speak (Job 36:2) with a purpose not of attacking or defending Job but of glorifying God.
Job 36:26 — While God does act in certain ways (Job 36:15), He is great and unsearchable.
2 Corinthians 4:1 — What is this ministry? It’s addressing the conscience (2 Corinthians 4:2) because the god of this world is blinding people to the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4)!
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 — Suffering for Jesus? Join the club that Paul was a charter member of!
Psalm 44:3 — Remember our discussion of Ezra? He was afraid the people would fall back into trusting swords, armies, and bows (Psalm 44:6). Thou hast saved us from our enemies (Psalm 44:7)!
Proverbs 22:10 — The Christian School principal’s go-to verse! Yes, there are the students that you want to reach, but to keep the simple from following the scorner, you must separate the two. You do that by removing the scorner from your classroom. It is not out of malice for the scorner but out of love for the others.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
His servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their forehead. (Revelation 22:3-4)
Three choice blessings will be ours in the gloryland.
“His servants shall serve him.” No other lords shall oppress us, no other service shall distress us. We shall serve Jesus always, perfectly, without weariness, and without error. This is heaven to a saint: in all things to serve the Lord Christ and to be owned by Him as His servant is our soul’s high ambition for eternity.
“And they shall see his face.” This makes the service delightful: indeed, it is the present reward of service. We shall know our Lord, for we shall see Him as He is. To see the face of Jesus is the utmost favor that the most faithful servant of the Lord can ask. What more could Moses ask than-“Let me see thy face?”
“And his name shall be in their foreheads.” They gaze upon their Lord till His name is photographed upon their brows. They are acknowledged by Him, and they acknowledge Him. The secret mark of inward grace develops into the public sign-manual of confessed relationship.
O Lord, give us these three things in their beginnings here that we may possess them in their fullness in Thine own abode of bliss!
Severe floods in Conakry claim 2 lives and leave 1 missing, Guinea Conakry, the capital of Guinea, experienced severe flooding on August 24, 2024, following unusually heavy rainfall. The floods claimed two lives, left one person missing, and caused substantial damage. This was the first major flood in Conakry in 2024.
Arbaat dam collapse in Sudan wipes out 20 villages, over 130 reportedly killed The Arbaat dam in Sudan’s Red Sea State collapsed on August 25, 2024, resulting in severe flash floods in the surrounding regions as the reservoir was fully drained. Reports from Agence France Presse (AFP) indicate 132 casualties while local authorities have confirmed only 30. The floods destroyed 20 villages while the homes of 50,000 people have either been destroyed or damaged.
Parents Fight Back With Rising Use Of Religious Vaccine Exemptions For Their Children …Local non-profit media outlet Maryland Matters cited new data showing an increasing number of parents have opted their children out of vaccination requirements through non-medical religious exemption. The trend surged after draconian requirements pushed by an overreaching government during the Covid era.
If Everything Is So Great, Why Are Millions Of Americans Sleeping In Their Vehicles? …At this point, millions of Americans are sleeping in their vehicles every night. This is happening even though we are being told that the economy is just fine. But of course, the truth is that the system is failing all around us. So if you get to sleep in a very warm bed in a very warm home, you should consider yourself to be very blessed, because vast numbers of people are really struggling right now.
12 Facts That Prove That People All Over The Globe Are Already “Eating The Bugs” On A Regular Basis Are you ready to “eat the bugs”? For a long time, we have been told that “eating the bugs” is just a “conspiracy theory”, but as you will see below more than 2 billion people around the world already eat bugs on a regular basis. More than 2,000 types of edible insects are being consumed, and bug ingredients are increasingly being used in common foods that we purchase in the grocery stores.
Why Everything is Going to Get Worse Before it Gets Better …On Saturday, The Guardian wrote: “British people will have to endure even worse economic and social pressures in the months to come as the Labour government takes ‘unpopular decisions’ to rebuild the country from ‘rubble and ruin’ left by the Tories, Keir Starmer will warn this week.” It’s doubtful many are falling for this.
Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts: The time of blind trust in WHO’s narrative is over; it’s now the age of “prove it” Malcolm Roberts, Senator for Queensland, has delivered a speech in the Australian about the World Health Organization declaring monkeypox (now mpox) a global public health emergency. WHO is influenced by big pharmaceutical companies, he told the Chamber, it lacks transparency in its dealings, and there is conflict of interest with vaccine sales. WHO is a corrupt organization, and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has unchecked power.
“I am commonly opposed to those who modestly assume the rank of champions of liberty, and make a very patriotic noise about the people. It is the stale artifice which has duped the world a thousand times, and yet, though detected, it is still successful.” —Fisher Ames (1789)
ON THIS DAY in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Democrats have ensured that dream has not yet been fully realized, as they put color above most other considerations.
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Politics
Finally, a Harris interview: Kamala Harris will finally end her media dodging after going nearly 40 days without doing an interview since being handpicked by the DNC to be the party’s presidential nominee. Harris will be interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash, who clearly favors Democrats, indicating that this interview will be anything other than a softball affair. Despite a friendly interviewer, Harris will not be fielding questions alone. Nope — she’ll have her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, at her side. The Trump campaign was quick to respond to this interview setup by posting on X, “Kamala will sit for her first formal interview. Joint, since she’s not competent enough to do it on her own. Taped, so her handlers have time to play damage control.” The interview will be prerecorded and is scheduled to air tomorrow at 9:00 PM ET on CNN. When will Harris do a live press conference fielding questions from journalists who are not Democrat Party propagandists?
Kamala Harris assembles army of strategists to plot first interview (Washington Free Beacon)
Did the anti-democratic Democrats try to bribe Cornel West? For a party that keeps chirping about Donald Trump being such an Existential Threat to Our Democracy™, the Democrats sure seem to be behaving in undemocratic ways. Take the candidacy of fringy leftist academic Cornel West, whom Democrats fear might pull some voters on the hard-Left away from Kamala Harris. As a result, lawyers have been working overtime filing legal challenges to kick West off the ballot, especially in the swing states. But West says it’s even worse than that. He says they’ve tried to bribe him. During a recent “Status Coup” podcast, the host asked West about it, and this was his response: “I mean, a number of them reached out just saying I need to get on the bandwagon — this is a historic moment, especially a black moment. … I told them, I said, ‘You all just talking to the wrong brother. You can offer resources or position or what have you — that’s not what I’m all about. That’s not the game I play.’”
The Dems are “saving democracy” in Michigan: Perhaps it makes perfect sense that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson used to be the dean of Wayne State University Law School. Because she sure seems to know how to subvert the state’s election laws. For example, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and is trying to remove his name from the ballot in the battleground states now that he’s endorsed Donald Trump. But Benson isn’t having it. Indeed, she’s trying to force him to stay on the ballot in Michigan even though Democrats were working feverishly to kick him off of it just weeks ago. On top of this, the Republican National Committee has been forced to sue the Democrats for hiring seven times more Democrat poll watchers than Republicans for the 2024 primary election, even though state law requires that every precinct have at least one inspector from each major party, and even though 202 precincts didn’t have a single Republican inspector.
Michael Moore drools about the “most progressive” prez in history: Predictably, documentarian Michael Moore is gushing about the candidacy of Kamala Harris. Writing on Substack, he said: “Two months ago, the results of our upcoming 2024 presidential election seemed to be a foregone conclusion, and a second Trump presidency seemed inevitable. But now — just 69 days before the November 5 election — I feel so hopeful that we are going to elect not just our first woman president, but our most progressive.” This comes after the “three long weeks of agony” he endured in the wake of the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the highly successful Republican National Convention, when it appeared that Trump was on a glide path to electoral victory over Joe Biden. Moore probably doesn’t even know that his endorsement of Harris and his endorsement of progressivism are something of a gaffe among independent voters.
House Oversight chair threatens subpoenas if White House doesn’t cough up “Bidenbucks” plans (The Federalist)
Trump adds RFK Jr., Gabbard to presidential transition team (The Hill)
Security
“Totally failed”: Pelosi admitted in secret video she should have sought National Guard for J6 (Just the News)
Chinese government hackers targeted U.S. internet providers with zero-day exploit (Tech Crunch)
Iran’s supreme leader opens door to negotiations with U.S. over Tehran’s nuclear program (AP)
Economy & Big Tech
Biden/Harris cut off more drilling: Prior to Donald Trump leaving office in January 2021, then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed orders opening up some 28 million acres of restricted land in Alaska to public use, including energy development. Upon taking office, the Biden/Harris administration put a hold on that order, and on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland formally revoked it and reinstated the prior land restrictions. The decision follows the Biden/Harris administration’s climate cult agenda of waging war on fossil fuels. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) blasted the action, stating, “The Biden administration has wasted an opportunity to do right by Alaska by refusing to lift a single acre of a single [public land order] anywhere in our state, instead keeping all of these lands in a restricted status.” She added, “This wouldn’t be acceptable in any other state, but this administration is once again treating Alaska differently — and far worse — than states in the Lower 48.”
Kamala reverses course on EV mandates despite supporting them for years (PM)
Home prices hit another record high in June (Not the Bee)
Rumble CEO flees Europe: In the wake of France arresting Pavel Durov, cofounder and CEO of the popular social media platform Telegram, over his refusal to crack down on free speech, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski has fled Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that Durov’s arrest “took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation” and was “in no way a political decision.” Pavlovski isn’t buying it. After reaching an undisclosed free speech-protecting country, he responded, “We had to shut down Rumble in France because you have NO [commitment] to freedom of expression.” Telegram also denied it had violated any European speech regulations, calling accusations of abuse “absurd.” American leftists would love to hold social media platforms criminally liable for users’ speech. As retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who infamously served as a witness in the House Democrats’ first impeachment effort against Donald Trump, posted on X: “There’s a growing intolerance for platforming disinfo & malign influence & a growing appetite for accountability. Musk should be nervous.” Evidently, Vindman does not believe in the First Amendment.
Around the Nation
MA secretly spent $1B on migrants: Republicans in Massachusetts want to know how the state government secretly spent $1 billion on migrants. The Bay State’s Republican Party is demanding that Democrat Governor Maura Healey’s administration provide records breaking down this spending. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale explained. “They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire and EMT. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public.” MassGOP filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover what Carnevale called a “veil of secrecy and the obstructionist efforts of the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Democratic supermajority.” She added, “The public deserves transparency. Release the details on the vendors profiting from this crisis and the public safety issues affecting our communities.” An estimated 355,000 illegal immigrants are currently living in the state. Just not on Martha’s Vineyard.
Teacher who attended J6 wins wrongful termination lawsuit: On January 6, 2021, Jason Moorehead went to our nation’s capital to watch then-President Donald Trump speak on the day of the “Stop the Steal” rally — an offense for which he was ultimately fired from his job as a social studies teacher in Pennsylvania’s Allentown School District even though he was a mile away from the Capitol when rioters stormed the building. But justice, while delayed, seems to have been served. Moorehead was just awarded $131,500 by a federal jury in his defamation and wrongful termination suit. In this age of massive jury awards, it’s a shame that this settlement amount is so paltry. “It’s a shame that most of you don’t even know who I am,” Moorehead told school board officials at the time of his firing. “You don’t know about the 18 years I spent of giving my life to this Raub community. The after-school programs I’ve done, the amount of summer school activities I’ve done, the sports I’ve done. My best friends are there. I met my wife there. I’ve had thousands of great relationships with students and parents.” None of that mattered because a social studies teacher participated in the “wrong” civics.
Michael Sparks, the first Jan. 6 defendant to breach U.S. Capitol, sentenced to 53 months in prison (CBS News)
Culture
Anti-Israel activists vandalize pro-life pregnancy center after DNC (Christian Post)
Florida can enforce ban on puberty blockers, trans surgeries for kids: appeals court (Christian Post)
Nearly 1,000 people attend Christian revival led by college football stars (Daily Wire)
Misc.
Ukraine’s Zelensky says incursion into Russia part of plan to end war (Washington Post)
Hundreds of IDF soldiers conduct largest W. Bank counterterror operation in several months (Jerusalem Post)
Special Counsel Jack Smith, the man tapped on constitutionally dubious grounds to prosecute Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election, including the supposed “insurrection” on January 6, 2021, is back in the news.
On Monday, Smith appealed U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s July ruling tossing his classified docs case on grounds of Smith’s appointment being unconstitutional. At a minimum, appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals keeps the case in the news during election season.
Then, on Tuesday, Smith refiled his revised election indictment of Trump in light of July’s major Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Essentially, the Court ruled that presidents have wide latitude to conduct official business.
Smith certainly isn’t trying to “respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings,” as he claims in his superseding filing. Instead, he’s using a few cosmetic changes to effectively challenge the justices to do something about it. The goal is the same as the Democrat Party’s: undermine the Court’s credibility. That’s why, as former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy notes in an excellent column digging into Smith’s case, “Trump is still charged with the same four crimes — conspiracy to defraud the United States, a civil-rights offense, and two counts of obstructing Congress.” About the only portion Smith dropped was accusations regarding Trump’s use of the Justice Department.
Trump argues that the DOJ “violated its own policy” regarding election interference by taking this action just before voting starts on September 6. Indeed, Smith’s plan in both cases isn’t so much to win convictions before the election but to saddle Trump with bad news and legal expenses for the duration of the campaign.
That brings me to my larger point: Democrats aim to win the election by branding the already twice-impeached Trump as a “convicted felon,” who, even better, now faces former prosecutor Kamala Harris.
It’s the “prosecutor versus the felon” election, a framing that became a prominent theme for various speakers at the Democratic National Convention.
Democrats must’ve hardly been able to believe their good fortune when Trump was found guilty of all 34 trumped-up felony charges in New York. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has established himself as a guy who loves to reduce or drop charges against felons in New York, but boy, once Trump was the one in the prosecutorial crosshairs, a couple of inconsequential misdemeanors suddenly became 34 felonies and — voila! — Trump was a “convicted felon.”
That set up the second part. As planned, Joe Biden was kicked to the curb to eliminate Trump’s best chance of victory, and the 81-year-old cognitively disabled president was replaced with former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Smith’s prosecution is all part of the lawfare strategy to select Trump as the GOP nominee and then beat him again. As far as Democrats are concerned, the best part of that is the “prosecutor versus felon” branding.
But there’s a big caveat: Democrats generally love and support felons.
“The prosecutor versus the felon is the kind of glib expression that’s perfect for an election-year bumper sticker,” opined MSNBC’s Jarvis DeBerry. “However, the suggestion that a ‘felon’ is inherently and permanently untrustworthy makes for a heaping helping of hypocrisy from a party that has rightly identified overcriminalization, mass incarceration and voter suppression as systemic problems.”
“Rightly”? Anyway.
DeBerry continues, “To label him a felon and use it to mean unfitness is to suggest that all ‘felons,’ by their very nature, are bad and irredeemable. A political slogan can’t communicate every nuance. But at a minimum, it shouldn’t send a message inconsistent with the party’s stated values.”
“Values”? Anyway.
DeBerry’s rationale for opposing Trump and Republicans more generally is certainly suspect, but insofar as he is only observing Democrat priorities, he has a point.
Democrats caterwaul about labeling people “felons” or “illegals” because they want to minimize breaking the law as an identity. For a party obsessed with identity, this is a strange but cynically useful ploy.
Moreover, yes, Harris jailed hundreds of people in California for things even she now says shouldn’t be punishable crimes. But she also advocated a bail fund for Minnesota’s Black Lives Matter rioters, and the administration she has worked for since January 2021 pardoned roughly 6,500 federal convicts of simple marijuana possession.
Democrats are also doing everything they can to make sure convicts vote. Do you think they’d be doing that if convicts voted Republican?
To put this all in a neat little package, the same Democrats who support and foment lawlessness are feigning outrage at one particular man over the flimsiest accusations of lawbreaking. Clear-thinking Americans see the hypocritical game for what it is. Unfortunately, Democrats play the game because it works — millions of Americans will vote against Trump, thinking they’re supporting law and order when precisely the opposite is the case.
Douglas Andrews: Dragging Their Feet on the Trump Hit Probe — Why are the Secret Service and FBI “stonewalling” congressional investigators on the Trump assassination probe?
Tulsi Gabbard on Disappointing the Left — Because she thought for herself and questioned her party’s positions on policy, she became a problem for the Washington elites.
“Trump owns the Afghanistan withdrawal. He cut a bad deal with the Taliban to withdraw (he takes credit for it!), forcing Biden to clean it up and making a chaotic exit practically inevitable.” —Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Re: The Left
“We heard Harris and other [DNC] speakers mention ‘freedom’ numerous times. What they really promote is license, defined by dictionary.com as: ‘excessive or undue freedom or liberty.’ In other words, life with few restraints — abortion, same-sex marriage, the ruination of our public education system.” —Cal Thomas
“An old saying referred to buying ‘a pig in a poke.’ A ‘poke’ is a sack, so the image is of a concealed item being sold. Starting in the 19th century, this idiom was explained as a confidence trick where a farmer would substitute a cat for a suckling pig when bringing it to market. That describes the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris.” —Cal Thomas
Political Futures
“November’s election will not be decided by either side’s guaranteed voters, but by those in the middle whose decision hangs on a knife-edge. These voters care about several factors, but one of the most important is each candidate’s ability to speak with clarity, discipline and accuracy about their opponent’s weaknesses.” —Ian Haworth
“I want to address the [Zuckerbucks] contributions I made during the last presidential election cycle to support electoral infrastructure. … I know some people believe this work benefited one party over the other. My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another — or to even appear to be playing a role. So I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.” —Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Observations
“I don’t have a lot of faith in [the FBI coming clean on the Facebook scandal], because I think that since around 2015, 2016, the FBI has turned Russian disinformation into kind of a career path, and they have a lot of people working on it.” —legal analyst Andrew McCarthy
“The country is spending more on health care and getting sicker. That’s a problem. But it isn’t a unique one. A similar thing has happened in education. In response to low achievement, Nevada has spent decades increasing education spending. It doesn’t work in education, because the system is broken. The obvious parallel is that something is broken in health care, too.” —Victor Joecks
Israel launched a major counter-terrorism operation in West Bank today, with military actions and drone strikes, in a move that’s expected to last multiple days; that strike coming a day after the dramatic rescue of an Israeli Arab hostage in Gaza by the IDF, who was then joyfully reunited with his brother; ceasefire talks to continue, but Hamas still isn’t at the table; how US taxpayer dollars may be being used to help support Hezbollah; Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg admits the Biden Administration pressured his platforms to censor content related to Covid, and he talks about the Hunter Biden laptop story as well; the Congressional investigation team looking into the attempted assassination of former President Trump visits the scene of the shooting; how “Chicago for Jesus” brought the Gospel to the Democratic Convention in Chicago last week; and our exclusive Studio 5 sneak peek at the new season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
With each passing day, the Middle East inches closer to a full-scale, devastating war. Multiple regional powers are involved, each being pushed by its own internal and external pressures further away from peace.
The situation intensified following the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, prompting a fierce response from the Israeli military. Palestinians continue to insist on a return to the 1967 borders and the establishment of their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital, while Israel refuses to make these concessions. Tensions remain high, severely complicating any attempts at a diplomatic resolution.
Some Western officials, however, particularly in the US, claim that a ceasefire agreement is imminent, and optimism about these statements is buoyed by Iran’s restraint in not yet retaliating for the assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, 2024. Iran seems to be holding back, perhaps in hopes of stabilizing the region.
However, there are forces within and beyond the region that continue to exert a destructive influence, seemingly unaware that their actions could lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the collapse of several states, and disastrous consequences for the entire world.
This is precisely what Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed during a press conference on August 27. He expressed the view that some parties involved in the Middle Eastern conflict are not interested in a resolution. According to him, these parties prefer to continue the hostilities, betting on potential changes in the global political landscape. Lavrov noted that it appears some of these actors are deliberately maintaining violence to achieve their political goals.
Lavrov also highlighted the connection between the situation in the Middle East and political processes in other countries, particularly the upcoming election in the US. He suggested that the Israeli leadership might be hoping for changes in American policy that would reduce international pressure on Israel concerning its military operation in Gaza. The foreign minister expressed concern that these expectations could delay a resolution of the conflict.
Furthermore, Lavrov stressed that Russia, like many other countries, condemned the terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7. However, he pointed out that a response involving collective punishment of the civilian population violates international humanitarian law. He criticized approaches that cause suffering to innocent people and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe. Lavrov paid special attention to statements by Israeli military officials who claim there are no civilians in Gaza, suggesting that all its residents are terrorists. He called this rhetoric dangerous, noting that it further inflames tensions.
In recent weeks, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have failed to produce any concrete agreements on a ceasefire. While the talks in Cairo were described as constructive, no agreements were reached. This situation illustrates that, despite the efforts of the international community, the parties to the conflict are not yet ready for peace.
Why is Iran holding fire?
The recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent leader of Hamas, has raised numerous questions about Iran’s response, given its longstanding support for Palestinian resistance groups and the fact that the man was killed in Tehran. Iran has yet to strike back against Israel, which at first glance might seem surprising. The reasons for this restraint lie in Iran’s strategic interests and its desire to avoid a large-scale conflict.
First and foremost, the Iranian leadership understands that a war with Israel could have catastrophic consequences. The situation in the Middle East is already highly volatile, and an open conflict involving Iran would only exacerbate the crisis. Furthermore, Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, a representative of the reformist bloc, is focused on normalizing relations with the West. The primary reason for this is Iran’s dire economic situation. In 2024, the Iranian economy continues to face significant challenges: Inflation has reached 40%, unemployment has risen to 15%, and the national currency continues to depreciate. Under these conditions, Iran is not interested in a war that could further undermine its economy and increase social tensions within the country.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly expressed a willingness to negotiate a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal) under fair terms. These statements indicate that Iran is pursuing diplomatic solutions and recognizes the need for international cooperation. Tehran is aware that the outcome of a war with Israel, backed by NATO, is unpredictable. Thus, the delay in responding to Israel’s actions is more of a political tool than a sign of weakness. Iran seeks to use this pause to exert diplomatic and political pressure on Israel and the US to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
If a ceasefire is reached, Iran could claim that its wise policy led to the cessation of hostilities, marking a political victory for Tehran in its confrontation with Israel. This would allow Iran to improve its international image and strengthen its position in the region without the need for military engagement.
On the other hand, Iran has not officially ruled out retaliating against Israel, which creates a certain level of informational and political pressure on the Israeli authorities and public. This stance by Tehran has fueled growing discontent among the Israeli population regarding the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, exacerbating internal tensions. This leads to political instability in Israel, which plays into Iran’s hands as it seeks to weaken its main regional adversary without direct military confrontation.
Thus, Iran is playing a complex game, trying to avoid direct military conflict while simultaneously increasing its influence and pressure on Israel and the West through diplomatic and political maneuvers.
Why Netanyahu won’t end the war if he can help it
The administration of Netanyahu finds itself in a challenging situation both domestically and internationally. Declining support at home and insufficient backing from the West, especially from Washington, are pushing Netanyahu toward continuing the conflict. Ending the military operation in Gaza at this stage could be a political blow to his government.
Domestically, Netanyahu’s approval ratings are falling. The public is weary of the prolonged fighting and the uncertainty brought on by the unstable situation in Gaza and other fronts. Meanwhile, in the West and particularly in Washington, Netanyahu is not receiving full support. The administration of US President Joe Biden has taken a more restrained stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is reflected in its attitude towards the current Israeli leadership. Netanyahu is banking on the return of Donald Trump to the White House, hoping this will improve his situation.
Netanyahu is confident that with Trump’s return to power, his domestic standing would be bolstered, and Israel’s position in the region would become more secure. During Trump’s first term, relations between the US and Israel only strengthened. Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed additional sanctions, increasing pressure on Tehran. It was also under Trump that the Abraham Accords were signed, through which Israel normalized relations with several Arab countries. All of this created favorable conditions for Israel in the region.
Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet is determined to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, as evidenced by a recent Knesset resolution passed by a majority vote. In the view of Netanyahu and other right-wing forces in Israel, the establishment of Palestine poses a threat to the existence of the state of Israel. Therefore, they oppose any attempts to create an independent Palestinian state and are willing to use all means necessary to prevent it.
Even if Netanyahu temporarily reduces the intensity of the military action in Gaza and agrees to a temporary ceasefire with Hamas to free hostages, this will not signify the end of the conflict. It is likely that Israel will intensify military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon or even resume strikes on Gaza. To secure his interests and ensure his strength, Netanyahu needs Washington’s support, both financially and militarily.
Thus, under Netanyahu’s current government, the war is likely to continue. This is due to the need to maintain domestic political support and leverage the geopolitical situation to strengthen Israel’s position in the region. In these circumstances, ending the conflict does not align with the interests of Netanyahu’s government, and he will likely continue to escalate tensions until he secures the necessary guarantees of support from the US and reinforces his standing at home.
The Axis of Resistance is a shaky one
Recent reports have surfaced about growing disagreements between Iran and other members of the ‘Axis of Resistance’, a coalition of various groups and organizations that oppose Israel and its allies. These divisions are believed to stem from Iran’s ambiguous response to Israeli actions, which has led to a deterioration in the positions of groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah).
The situation surrounding Hezbollah continues to escalate. In recent weeks, tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have significantly intensified. Mutual shelling has become more frequent, and several high-ranking Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his associates find themselves in a difficult position, as their failure to respond to Israel’s actions could further weaken their standing within Lebanon.
Hezbollah is currently facing challenging times, as Lebanon has been mired in a deep political, economic, financial, and energy crisis since 2019. Amid this crisis, Hezbollah’s political influence is waning and the organization is losing public support. If Hezbollah fails to achieve military successes like those seen during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, its position within the country may weaken even further, threatening its continued existence and political influence.
A similar situation is unfolding in Yemen, where the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, also faces internal challenges. Although the Houthis have strengthened their position through anti-Western and anti-Israeli rhetoric, the prolonged war and crisis have depleted the country’s resources and its population. If the Houthis do not remain consistent in their actions and fail to demonstrate their ability to resist external adversaries, their popularity and internal support could significantly decline.
Amid rising tensions and instability in the region, the risk of conflicts escalating through the actions of non-state actors, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, increases. Iran, which is unlikely to engage in direct warfare with Israel, will probably use its proxy groups for retaliatory actions. However, this strategy also carries significant risks, as there is no guarantee that Iran can stay out of a large-scale regional war that could engulf the entire Middle East.
Thus, the current situation in the region remains highly unstable, and the future of the Axis of Resistance, as well as regional security in general, depends on the ability of these groups to adapt to changing conditions and maintain unity in the face of common challenges.
Everything has spiraled out of control
The situation in the Middle East remains extremely tense, and it seems that wider conflict has become inevitable. The Israeli authorities feel compelled to continue military actions, believing this necessary for survival and protection against threats from various groups within the Axis of Resistance. At the same time, these groups find themselves in a similarly dire position, needing to respond to Israeli actions to maintain their influence and political support within their own countries. Mutual hostility and distrust fuel the escalation, creating a vicious cycle of violence.
Attempts to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means face significant obstacles, as neither side is willing to make compromises. Israel seeks to maintain its security and territorial integrity, while members of the Axis of Resistance refuse to abandon their goals and strategies. Both sides rely on force as the primary tool for achieving their interests, making peaceful negotiations nearly impossible under current conditions. The lack of trust and willingness to engage in dialogue only exacerbates the situation, turning it into a protracted conflict with unpredictable consequences.
At present, the conflict has become part of a global transformation of the world order. It seems that no one is capable of preventing further escalation, as events in global politics unfold spontaneously, beyond the control of individual states and international organizations. The existing crisis in the world order has led to an uncontrollable wave of chaos and conflicts that have engulfed various regions around the world. Amid the weakening of international norms and rules of order, every state and political actor is trying to minimize its damage, reacting to events as they occur.
Thus, the current instability in the region reflects a broader issue related to the global transformation and changes in the world order. In the absence of effective international mechanisms for conflict resolution and growing distrust among key actors in the global community, the future of the region remains uncertain. The conflict we are witnessing now is just one of many flashpoints around the world, and its development will depend on the ability of the international community to adapt to new realities and find ways to coexist peacefully.
Many Christian observers of the West have noted for quite some time now that we are seeing a real reversal. The paganism of two millennia ago was basically wiped out by the spread of Christianity. Sure, it took some centuries to happen, but it took place nonetheless. However, the West is now quickly reverting back to what was the norm twenty centuries ago.
There is no question that we have moved from being a Christian West, to a post-Christian West, and now an anti-Christian or pagan West. While Christianity is thriving and growing in much of the non-Western world, here in the West, it seems to be on its last legs.
Plenty of books have appeared of late making this case. One of the most recent is Pagan America. Those who have been following these matters over the years will find much familiar material here. But when your country is going down the tubes, we need to keep speaking about it in the hopes of turning things around.
His first paragraph clearly lays out what the book is all about:
The argument of this book is straightforward. America was founded not just on certain ideals but on a certain kind of people, a predominantly Christian people, and it depends for its survival on their moral virtue, without which the entire experiment in self-government will unravel.
As Christianity fades in America, so too will our system of government, our civil society, and all our rights and freedoms. Without a national culture shaped by the Christian faith, without a majority consensus in favor of traditional Christian morality, America as we know it will come to an end. Instead of free citizens in a republic, we will be slaves in a pagan empire. (xiii)
Of course, trying to live on borrowed spiritual capital can only last for so long. The more the Christian roots of America and the West are attacked and removed, the less the benefits of the faith will last. What we are seeing now is clear proof of this reality.
As such, the usual examples are presented here, be it the culture of death, the radical sexual revolution, the war on the family, and the rise of the transhumanist future. It all makes for scary reading, but we can no longer keep our heads buried in the sand. We either face this crisis head on, or we will lose it all real soon.
Profit Motive
Trans madness is, of course, a major problem in America and the West, and is as good an indicator as any of the rapid decline and deterioration we see all around us. A few quotes from Davidson:
Every major medical institution in the United States now subscribes to the theory that children can meaningfully consent to irreversible medical treatments that involve castration, sterilization, and the removal of healthy organs and body parts — all in the name of “affirming” their identity as a member of the opposite sex.
What’s more, these institutions and the doctors and administrators who run them have concluded that these kinds of treatments and procedures are not just beneficial but necessary for the well-being of the patient. Sometimes they do so over and against the wishes of parents. The so-called “affirmative model,” in which medical professionals accept the expressed “gender identity” of the patient and his or her desire to transition, has replaced the once-standard process of clinical assessment and diagnosis. (p. 200)
And again:
Fifteen years ago, there were zero pediatric transgender care clinics in the United States. Today there are more than a hundred. An entire medical industry — and a lucrative one, since patients who undergo costly transitions will be patients for the rest of their lives — has sprung up over the last decade, doling out powerful prescription drug regimens and performing irreversible surgeries while raking in profits from insurance companies. And make no mistake, the profit motive is nothing to dismiss lightly.
In 2016, the Obama administration prohibited health insurers and medical providers from denying care based on gender identity, prompting health insurers to begin covering more treatments that fall under the category of “gender-affirming care.” Today more than half the states cover gender transition as part of their Medicaid programs, which serve low-income families and are funded with taxpayer dollars.
As private and public insurance coverage has expanded, more providers have begun offering their services. And no wonder: the profits on the table are considerable. A year-long regimen of puberty-blockers alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. All of this has been endorsed and promoted by the medical establishment. (p. 201)
We are reminded how fully in bed the Democratic Party in the US is with all this. And with ‘Tampon Tim’ Walz parading around the stage at the Chicago Democratic National Convention as I type this, it all hits home so much more.
But it does not stop there. If the magical word “consent” can cover allowing children to have body parts lopped off at will, then it can cover a multitude of other sins. So the issue of pedophilia is also examined closely by Davidson. He writes:
This is not to conflate transgenderism with pedophilia, but only to point out that if we cannot stop the normalization of “gender-affirming care” for children, then we will not be able stop the normalization of “love knows no age” pedophilia. If we can find no common ground as a society to stop the castration, mutilation, and sterilization of minors because the minors in question have consented to these things, then we will find no common ground to stop pedophilia from pedophilia from gaining status as a legitimate sexual orientation, no better or worse than any other. (p. 221)
The Occult and Death
Another clear indication of growing neopaganism in America is the rise and rise of witchcraft, satanism and related activities among young people. Says Davidson, “In the span of a generation, straightforward expressions of neopaganism in America have gone from quirky, countercultural oddities to ordinary and almost mundane features of mainstream national culture.” (p. 127)
It is fast becoming the go-to counterculture religion of so many:
Postmodern witchcraft, then, is in one sense a kind of secular substitute for organized religion, and specifically for the Christian faith. With its focus on self-empowerment, self-care, and identity politics, you might even call it neopaganism for the “nones.”
It is easy to see the appeal of all this to young people in a post-Christian society, to understand it not just as a coping mechanism for the vicissitudes and alienation of modern life but also as a substitute for the community, identity, and connection to something larger and transcendent — all of which Christianity once provided.
At the same time, it flatters the young practitioner, confirms her in her preferred identity, marks her as a rebel and nonconformist, makes no demands, censures nothing, judges nothing. It is in many ways the perfect “religion” for the post-Christian era. (pp. 135-136)
As is so often said, just as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the spiritual realm. The erosion and rejection of Christianity does not leave us religion-less – we simply get new (or not so new) false religions rushing in to take its place.
And just as Christianity has its rituals and practices, so too do the new pagan cults. Chief among them are the satanic sacraments of abortion and euthanasia. The new replacements of Christianity are far from neutral and harmless. They fully affirm and embrace the culture of death.
With words like “consent” becoming holy words in the new paganism, words like “autonomy” are as well. ‘My body, my choice’ they claim. But of course, the baby temporarily living within his or her mother is not the body of the woman. And with huge problems today concerning youth suicide, promoting euthanasia as the solution for all our problems only makes matters worse.
And it is not just in America where this death cult reigns supreme. Davidson spends a fair amount of time examining places like Canada, Belgium and Holland as well. It is clear that Europe is even further along this path of de-Christianisation and the rejection of life.
Again, to refer to the DNC now taking place, the sacrament of abortion has been the most discussed topic there – followed only by a few million references to Trump. Modern-day Democrats are the most paganised, pro-death, and anti-Christian party in the US. It all goes together. Says Davidson:
Abortion, among leftists in the post-Christian West, inspires a cult-like devotion. Today, infants are not sacrificed on the altars of Moloch and Baal, but on the altar of individual will and power, which is the basis of paganism. The idea that abortion is a positive good is an endorsement of the ancient pagan practice of child sacrifice.
In the West, the Christian moral universe is giving way to the moral universe of the Aztecs and the Canaanites. In America, this has happened rather rapidly. In just a few decades, abortion has gone from being an unfortunate and shameful practice (even if legal) to a symbol of female empowerment and personal liberation to be celebrated. The only thing that stands against it now is the remnant of Christian feeling still alive in some parts of the country. (p. 173)
Hope in Dark Times
As he concludes his book, he presents no rosy pictures. In many ways, the future looks bleak. Indeed, he says the same thing I have been saying for many years now: things will get worse before they get better. Thus we need to look to the long term.
Our problems will not be solved overnight. Just as it took centuries to overturn the first batch of paganism two millennia ago, it will take time to deal with the current batch. But it can happen. He writes:
That said, no matter what the immediate fate of the country might be, we are duty bound to take action that offers the hope that someday the American republic can be restored under its original Christian aegis. I stress someday, because we need to be realistic. The recovery of Christianity as the basis for civic life in America is not something that will happen in the lifetime of anyone alive today. But we can perhaps begin to lay the foundation, right now, of a future, free American republic and the revival of Christian moral virtue that it will require.
If Christians are to be a persecuted minority in America, then let them be a loud and unflinching minority, boldly proclaiming their faith in public, taking what ground they can, and ready to suffer the consequences. For too long Christians in America have kept their faith largely private, a matter of attending church on Sunday and taking on a few minor obligations to pray at home or volunteer for charities. For many Christians, the threat of persecution will mean the end of an already tenuous faith. For many others, it will justify making their faith even more private. The temptation will be to retreat, to adopt quietism. (p. 280)
He continues:
But we are called to fight, and die if we must. In the words of Boniface, who was himself murdered, cut down by a pagan raider, “Let us continue the fight on the day of the lord. The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us; If God so wills, let us die for the holy laws of our fathers, so that we may deserve to obtain an inherent eternal inheritance with them. Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock.” We need barking dogs and shepherds now more than ever. The wolves are coming. (p. 299)
As mentioned several times already, it has been quite timely to read and review this book while the DNC was taking place in Chicago this week. What we have seen there fully encapsulates the de-Christianisation and re-paganisation of the West. Without a major turnaround, there may not be a West left for much longer.
Actor Kirk Cameron, who shot to fame in the 1980s while starring in the show “Growing Pains,” has gone on to become a Christian hero to millions, creatively sharing his faith and views with the masses.
Most recently, he partnered with Brave Books, a company producing Christian and faith-based children’s projects, and is now preparing to create and star in a kids’ show called “Adventures With Iggy and Mr. Kirk.” It’s a series that will help Cameron further spread Christian values to parents, kids, and families.
“We want to teach children biblical, moral lessons through their phones and the screen time,” he told CBN News, likening the show to “a wildly updated version of ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.’”
“[We will have] high energy, hilarious dialogue, beautiful animated biblical, moral lesson stories about the sanctity of life, about the fruit of the spirit, about the First and Second Amendment, and guest stars at every turn,” he continued.
Cameron said his team is currently crowdfunding the first season to ensure they maintain creative control. “Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk” is a natural outgrowth of Cameron’s See You at the Library initiative with Brave Books, an effort that saw him touring libraries across America to read to families.
That experience — one that came with some controversy after libraries reportedly rebuffed Cameron’s appearances and drag queens protested — exposed some important realities for the actor.
“I’m getting messages from people — friends of mine who are all about the work of bringing transformation to culture, and they’re saying it appears that people are finally waking up,” he said. “And I resonate with that as I go to churches and schools and libraries.”
Cameron continued, “People are waking up and realizing that the dystopian circus show is here, and the ringmasters like it. And if we just keep drinking the Kool-Aid, and eating the cotton candy, and stay entertained … by all this crazy stuff, it’s just going to get worse.”
The performer said it’s time for people to “leave the circus” and get back to what matters most: reaching hearts and minds with the truth.
“We need to start getting back to the work of transforming culture and creating the reality that we want for our kids,” Cameron said. “So, this is a chance for everyday people who say, ‘What can I do? I’m not a big influencer. I don’t have a podcast.’”
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start”
While some might doubt their ability to have an impact, Cameron said moms and dads have the ability to use whatever influence God has given them to “honor God” and “trust Him with the results.”
Whether that means getting hands-on in unique ways — or even making “Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk” a reality, Cameron said there are a multitude of ways to help right the cultural ship.
The actor also said too many people “have become professional whiners” rather than getting into the trenches to help solve the issues before them.
“We’re the ones who have been commissioned to create the culture, not retreat from the culture,” Cameron said. “And I think that’s where people have gotten into this mindset — and I hear it all the time, even from prominent pastors that, ‘Hey guys. It’s only going to get worse. The ship of culture is sinking. The only hope we could possibly have is to get our kids and grandkids into the lifeboat before the whole thing goes down and gurgles down the drain.’”
The actor said it’s essential to get to work making things better. He pointed back to America’s Founding Fathers, among others like the Pilgrims, who had far fewer resources and tools than we do today and, yet, persisted in creating an incredible nation.
“What are we complaining about?” Cameron said. “Let’s create our culture and get on board, and I’m seeing more and more people starting to do that.”
Ultimately, Cameron said the “cure to our cultural problems is not a political solution,” explaining that the issues humanity faces today run much deeper.
“The problem is primarily rooted in a spiritual reality,” he said. “We’ve got to turn our hearts back to God individually and corporately as the church, as the family of faith, and even as a nation. We’ve got to have a Christian heart beating through the center of our culture.”
The Russians just told us again that the world could soon be facing nuclear war if western powers don’t stop escalating the conflict in Ukraine, but this is yet another warning that has gone in one ear and out the other. The Russians can talk about nuclear war until they are blue in the face, but nothing that they say is going to sink in, because our leaders simply do not care. They are entirely convinced that the Russians will never use nuclear weapons, and so they are not afraid to keep pushing the Russians closer to a breaking point. When the Russians finally reach their breaking point, what will they do?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been playing this game for decades, and he always chooses his words very carefully.
“We are now confirming once again that playing with fire – and they are like small children playing with matches – is a very dangerous thing for grown-up uncles and aunts who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
“Americans unequivocally associate conversations about Third World War as something that, God forbid, if it happens, will affect Europe exclusively,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov added that Russia was “clarifying” its nuclear doctrine.
Obviously the Russians do not want a nuclear war.
But unlike the U.S., the Russians have been feverishly preparing to fight one. Today, their strategic nuclear arsenal and their anti-missile systems are far superior to our own.
Most Americans don’t realize this.
I have been writing about this for years, but most people in the western world are not interested in such warnings.
And the Russians also very clearly understand that whoever strikes first will have the best chance of surviving a nuclear conflict.
Over and over, the Russians have made it clear that they would very much prefer to avoid using nuclear weapons.
But the Russians have also told us over and over that if they are pushed too far they will use them.
Right now, the Russians are extremely angry. We saw more evidence of this when they just launched the largest air assault on Ukraine since the war started…
Russia launched a “massive” missile and drone attack aimed at energy infrastructure across Ukraine at the start of the week, marking the biggest air assault since the war began, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow has since followed that with a second wave of strikes early Tuesday morning.
Monday’s onslaught, which killed at least seven people and caused power outages in several cities, marked Russia’s “most massive air attack” in more than two-and-a-half years of conflict, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
Three weeks ago, Ukraine’s military launched a stunning operation to take the war in Ukraine back onto the territory of the country that launched it. Three weeks later, the Ukrainians still occupy hundreds of miles of territory in Russia’s western Kursk region.
The incursion had a number of goals: to force Russia to divert its forces from Ukraine to defend its own towns and cities; to seize territory that might later be used for bargaining leverage in peace negotiations; and to send a political message to the Russian people and their leaders that they are not safe from the consequences of the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin nearly two-and-a-half years ago.
Unfortunately for Ukraine, the Russians did not divert assets from eastern Ukraine to defend Kursk.
Instead, the Russians have continued to move forward steadily in eastern Ukraine, and now they are closing in on the key city of Pokrovsk…
And that means Russia’s eastern offensive, which kicked off last fall and widened around the New Year, has continued unimpeded through August. The consequences for Ukraine’s defensive campaign in the east have been dire.
In essence, Russia is trading Kursk for part of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine is trading part of the east for Kursk. Whether either tradeoff is worth it is a political question—and one without an easy answer for either side.
The drumbeat of recent Russian advances east of Pokrovsk, northwest of Donetsk, should sound like an alarm in Kyiv. On Friday, Russian infantry marched into Novohrodivka, seven miles east of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine sent many of their best units (along with significant numbers of western mercenaries) into Kursk, and so much of the front in eastern Ukraine is now defended by new conscripts that are very poorly trained…
As Kiev attempts to bask in triumph over its territorial gains inside of Russia, its forces are losing territory along the Eastern front lines in Ukraine. Ukrainian military commanders say the reason for the losses is poorly trained soldiers; many are even afraid to fire their weapons.
Speaking with the Associated Press, a battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade said, “Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. … That is why our men are dying. When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”
The decision to invade the Kursk region is turning out to be a massive strategic blunder.
The Ukrainians have lost vast numbers of men and vehicles in Kursk, but they aren’t going to be able to hold Russian territory for very long.
Meanwhile, the front in eastern Ukraine is at risk of completely collapsing.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to insist that the invasion of Kursk is part of his “victory plan” which he will soon unveil to Joe Biden…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his troops’ incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is part of a “victory plan” that he will present to US President Joe Biden next month.
Speaking at a forum on Tuesday, President Zelensky said the success of the plan would depend on President Biden and on whether the US would give Ukraine “what is in this plan or not, [and] whether we will be free to use this plan, or not”.
“It may sound too ambitious for some, but it is an important plan for us,” he added, saying that he would also show the plan to both US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The only way that the Ukrainians can possibly achieve victory is to get the U.S. and other western powers directly involved in the conflict.
So far, the Ukrainians have not been able to do that.
But if that does happen at some point, that will bring us literally to the brink of nuclear war.
Sadly, most people have no idea what a nuclear conflict would actually look like.
According to author Annie Jacobsen, the initial blast of one nuclear warhead in Washington D.C. would immediately wipe out everything in a 9 mile diameter…
So with a 1-megaton bomb on Washington, DC, what happens in the very first millisecond is that this thermonuclear flash expands into a ball of fire that is one mile of pure fire. It’s 19 football fields of fire.
Then the fireball’s edges compress into what is called a steeply fronted blast wave — as dense wall of air pushing out, mowing down everything in its path three miles out, in every direction, because it is accompanied by several-hundred-mile-an-hour winds.
It’s like Washington, DC, just got hit by an asteroid and the accompanying wave. When you think about this initial 9-mile diameter ring, imagine every single engineered structure — buildings, bridges, etc. — collapsing.
That is what one nuclear warhead would do.
The Russians have thousands of them.
Millions would die during a full-blown nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia, but billions would potentially die during the nuclear winter that follows…
A Nuclear war would plunge our planet into a deep nuclear winter. In the worst-case scenario, a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and Russia (which together possess nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons) could eject up to 165 million tons (150 million metric tons) of soot into Earth’s atmosphere, reducing surface temperatures by 16 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius) and sending global calorie production plummeting by as much as 90%.
We should do whatever it takes to avoid such a scenario.
If leaders on both sides were sane, they would sit down and try to talk things out while it is still possible to do so.
Unfortunately, neither side is interested in talking at this point, and so we continue to steamroll toward the unthinkable.
Vice President Kamala Harris is facing backlash for opting to bring her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, to her first interview since President Biden dropped his reelection bid – with critics insisting it’s a “weak sauce” move that shows her “lack of confidence.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has finally agreed to an interview after weeks of avoiding the press since being anointed as the Democratic nominee for president.
Those expecting a tough interview with hard-hitting questions might find themselves disappointed because it will be held on CNN and hosted by left-leaning anchor Dana Bash.
In an unusual move, Harris will also share the spotlight with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The pre-taped interview will air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, roughly 39 days after President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race and endorsed Harris as his successor.
Since announcing her presidential bid, Harris has avoided major media interactions. Instead, she has opted to speak off-the-record, meaning reporters cannot report or repeat her statements.
Despite clinching the Democratic nomination, Harris has yet to issue a major policy platform or thoroughly explain why her aides have walked back some of her most radical policies.
Harris, once dubbed the most liberal senator, has reversed her positions on a range of issues, including Medicare-for-All, fracking, re-structuring ICE, and more recently, her criticism of the border wall and support for an electric vehicle mandate.
She has also distanced herself from decriminalizing illegal border crossings, packing the Supreme Court, defunding the police and the Green New Deal.
On social media, several Harris critics pointed out that Bash suggested that Bash is unlikely to challenge Harris on her frequent flip-flopping or clarify which policies she currently supports.
Some noted that Bash was once married to Jeremy Bash, an Obama administration operative involved in the infamous letter incorrectly suggesting the Hunter Biden laptop story was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Bash’s leftist bias is further highlighted in a video compilation by the Media Research Center.
CNN’s @jaketapper and @DanaBashCNN are moderating this week’s presidential debate, despite their extensive history of unhinged bias and election interference.
Does anyone seriously think these two can be objective?
In contrast, President Donald Trump has praised Bash for her “fair” interviews during the first presidential debate that ultimately led to Biden’s ouster from the 2024 ticket. “They were very fair,” Trump said before jesting about Bash’s first name. “Is it Dah-Na? Of Dana?”
Why are there suddenly so many stories about deadly diseases in the news? We are just a little over two months away from November, and so this is a perfect time to deeply alarm the general public about a coming health crisis, right? But this time around it isn’t just one major disease that is making news. As you will see below, people are freaking out about 3 different very frightening diseases. Of course when people are afraid that they might die from some extremely deadly outbreak, they are far more likely to accept measures that they would usually not even consider during normal times.
In the Northeast, there is a tremendous amount of concern about the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus right now. People in Massachusetts have been instructed to “limit their time outdoors” due to a confirmed case in that state, and now confirmed cases have appeared in Vermont and New Hampshire…
Last week, it was reported that an 80-year-old man in Massachusetts tested positive for the rare virus, sparking public health concerns.
Officials then discovered the disease in mosquitoes across the state and warned residents to limit their time outdoors.
The virus then started appearing in neighboring states, with cases popping up in Vermont and New Hampshire, where the unidentified victim was pronounced dead.
So this virus is already in at least four different states, and that is not good news at all, because it has a very high death rate in humans…
Approximately 30 percent of those infected with the virus die, and those who survive, are often left with neurologic problems. There are no vaccines or medicines to treat or prevent the disease.
Usually, cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis are quite rare.
But if hundreds of people start dying after catching this virus in the months ahead, we are going to see extreme panic.
New York City is planning to spray pesticides to help prevent the spread of mosquitoes, and potential diseases.
The announcement comes days after Dr Anthony Fauci, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director and the government’s top infectious disease official during the pandemic, was hospitalized with West Nile virus.
Dr Fauci, 83, spent around a week in the hospital after developing fever, chills, and severe fatigue. He believes he contracted West Nile in the backyard of his Washington DC home, and is expected to make a full recovery, CBS News’ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook tweeted on Saturday.
So now the entire Big Apple is going to be doused with dangerous chemicals in a desperate attempt to kill the mosquitoes that are carrying these diseases.
If you live in New York City, now may be a good time to take a vacation.
Meanwhile, scientists are warning that the new Monkeypox strain is mutating faster than they anticipated…
Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected, and often in areas where experts lack the funding and equipment to properly track it.
That means there are numerous unknowns about the virus itself, its severity and how it is transmitting, complicating the response, half a dozen scientists in Africa, Europe and the United States told Reuters.
So far they have had no luck fighting the outbreak that is absolutely ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo has had more than 18,000 suspected mpox cases and 615 deaths this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared an mpox health emergency this month after a new variant called clade Ib emerged.
There have now been confirmed cases in several neighboring countries, and travelers have brought it to Europe and Asia.
In 2022, a strain of Monkeypox that was being spread by sexual contact rapidly spread all over the globe.
Apparently this new strain often spreads without any sexual contact at all, and we are being told that children are being infected in very large numbers…
Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo are worst-affected by the current outbreak of mpox, which has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The country accounts for nearly all of this year’s recorded cases and more than 450 deaths.
“It began like a small, inflamed spot. The mother squeezed it and watery discharge came out. Then another developed, and after a short period, they were all over the body,” says Alain Matabaro, describing how mpox developed in his six-year-old son Amani.
At this point, the experts do not fully understand why so many children are being infected.
Some 75% of the cases being seen by medics there are under the age of 10, according to Dr Pierre-Olivier Ngadjole who works for the charity Medair.
Young people seem to be particularly badly affected by the mpox outbreak because of their less developed immune systems.
If this new strain of monkeypox starts infecting children all over the western world, there will be widespread panic and we will likely see very harsh lockdowns.
Speaking of that, it is being reported that a school in Alabama and a school in Tennessee were just temporarily shut down because too many kids were catching COVID…
Schools in two states experiencing a rise in Covid cases announced they were closing facilities and switching to remote learning.
Alabama and Tennessee announced the closure of two schools — affecting more than a thousand children — just days into the new academic year, with officials saying the virus had forced them to shut and carry out a ‘deep clean.’
At one of the schools, children had to abandon their desks and revert to remote learning for two days — a move reminiscent of the early days of Covid.
Why is this happening?
I thought that we agreed that we weren’t going to do this anymore.
Right now there are lots of news stories about how COVID is making a major comeback, but most Americans are not buying it.
By now, just about everyone understands that it has an extremely low death rate.
However, it is just a matter of time before a horrifying worldwide pandemic that has a very high death rate comes along.
When that day arrives, the panic that we have seen during the past several years will pale in comparison to what we will witness.
Has The New York Times turned on Kamala, the nation’s most unpopular vice president?
It’s hard to imagine. The Times on Friday posted a hit on Kamala Harris titled, “Joy is Not a Strategy.”
Then, on Monday, The NY Times published an op-ed titled, “Trump Can win on character,” something that must have made the leftist elites vomit in their mouths.
It didn’t take long for the happy boost from the fantasy convention to flatline. On Monday night, former Biden spox Jen Psaki faced a harsh reality when Don Lemon told her that “no one” knows who Kamala Harris is in the swing states he visited last week.
Maybe that’s good news, though? The more people learn about Kamala, the less they like her.
Ever since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election race last month, their print presses and TV networks have put in a hard shift trying to paper over Harris’s past record as the most unpopular Vice President in American history.
To read and listen to their florid praise is to believe that Harris is already a shoo-in for president – and not an 11th hour replacement as Democratic nominee…
…The reliably liberal New York Times was among the first to suddenly change tack on Friday, taking aim at what many perceive to be Harris’s fatal lack of clear policy with a brutal headline that read: ‘Joy Is Not a Strategy’.
In a sour commentary, NYT Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy said he’d ‘cringed’ when former president Bill Clinton took the convention stage on Tuesday to claim that Harris would be ‘the president of joy’.
How’s that going to help the millions of Americans whose livelihoods are now at stake, Healey asked? And why has Harris failed to conduct a single interview or serious press conference since Biden stepped aside last month?
‘Ultimately, she needs more voters in the swing states to trust her to handle the economy better than her opponent… Harris can’t coast on “joy”,’ he concluded witheringly.
But worse was to come from the Times.
On Monday, the newspaper published a guest essay titled ‘Trump can win on character’, by conservative commentator Rich Lowry.
Pulling no punches, Lowry wrote that Harris is ‘weak and a phony and doesn’t truly care about the country or the middle class.’
But don’t get your hopes up. It’s not like they found Jesus all of the sudden. Far from it.
Both parties have now had their conventions. The DNC Convention just concluded, but many are still unclear on just who Kamala Harris is and what her policy positions are.
Liz Peek, Contributor to The Hill, posed and then answered the question about the Democrat nominee, Vice President Harris, “Who is the real Kamala Harris? Bernie Sanders with lipstick”.
The visual is disturbing enough—one key question is how it will energize and drive the Evangelical vote in November.
Bridget VanMeans is the President of a Women’s Healthcare organization in St. Louis, Missouri who has become a powerful nationwide force. She made her stand clear and unequivocal.
When asked about her policy view on Kamala and Donald J. Trump, she shared, “Just when we thought there was no further that the nation could fall, relative to Evangelical & Pro-Life considerations from a Democratic Party presidential candidate…voila! Enter Ms. Kamala.”
The extremism of Kamala Harris is readily identifiable to Bridget who said Kamala is, “Arguably the party’s most outspoken extremist and activist for unfettered abortion on demand, Harris must surely remove any internal conflict about Trump, for Evangelicals, Catholics and all pro-lifers in the upcoming election.”
In Bridget’s view, the choice is clear for anyone who follows Pro-Life Values. “Having a candidate who is ghoulishly obsessed with the installation of abortion on demand in any circumstances across all 50 states makes the choice quick and easy.”
The animated excitement Kamala tries to project has a sinister side, “Her gleeful articulations of her extreme position on abortion is enough to make any God-fearing person’s blood run cold.”
Bishop Leon Benjamin of Coalition of Leaders United, based in Virginia has a similar view on Kamala. “Evangelicals cannot afford to sway from their core values of life and the institution of marriage. God’s Word is clear and concise on its stand when it comes to these values.”
Bishop Benjamin identified the state of affairs in America for people of faith, “Evangelicals are being persecuted for standing for values that President Trump is for and it is obvious that Kamala Harris is not for us because she is not for America First based upon her accomplishments in this current administration.”
There is a call to action Bishop Benjamin says with the choice between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, “If Evangelicals are to remain relevant, they must stand up, speak up and show up in the communities for which they are called to serve. Evangelicals must also unite in prayer which is the most powerful weapon in the world.”
Pastor Michael Edwards who leads Share Point Ministries had this view on the stark contrast between Harris and Trump, “Though Evangelicals are upset with the Republican platform changes on life they know that Harris will be much worse.
Especially with the announcement of desired changes to the Supreme Court. With a stacked court and a willing House (should they control it) they will carefully codify a federal allowance for abortion that will probably include funding.”
The optics on Kamala are clear in her choices according to Pastor Edwards, “She is the only candidate to personally visit an abortion site by visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2024 in Minnesota.”
While a Senator Harris was an advocate of Government funded abortion, “In 2020 she co-sponsored a bill in the Senate that opposed the Hyde Amendment and would have funded abortion with federal funds.
In 2010 as California Attorney General, she refused to defend a constitutional amendment that made marriage between a man and woman.”
The anti-Christian stance of Harris is unmistakable according to Pastor Edwards, “In 2019 she co-sponsored the Do No Harm Act toward the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 that would have required churches and faith organizations to provide abortion in their health care and not be able to discriminate against LBGTQ in hiring. These are just a few things that reveal how anti-Christian she actually is.”
Dr. Byron Foxx, Founder of Byron Foxx Evangelistic Association, was clear on the policy differences between the two candidates, “First I want to say that VP Harris is on my daily prayer list. Former President Trump is also in my prayers. I never endorse any candidates or officeholders; however, I do watch their actions.”
There are four prominent issues that are disconcerting for Christians concerning Kamala Harris:
As District Attorney, Harris officiated some of the nation’s “first same-sex marriage ceremonies” in 2004. That is a violation of scripture. God designed marriage between a man and a woman.
She was a co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act in 2019, which would have prevented all restrictions on abortion procedures.
Harris is a stout supporter of the Equality Act which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Finally, as a US Senator in 2019, she co-sponsored the Do No Harm Act which is in conflict with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
In conclusion, Jesus isn’t running for office, so Christians always have to evaluate issues and choose most closely aligned with Bible.”
To ensure the clarity of the contrasting choice between the two candidates, Ms. VanMeans added, “Kamala’s complete lack of suitability or serious consideration instantly erases any hesitation about ANY of Trump’s potential dings in the armor.”
The sudden rise of Vice President Harris should remove any doubt from an Evangelicals decision, “frankly, being “boxed into” a choice for Trump by this “absolutely no way that any true person of faith could ever vote for her” Democratic candidate is a timely gift.”
Bridget VanMeans closed with, “In my opinion, a vote for Trump will be an easy, guilt-free pleasure on election day for every life-affirming person of faith.”
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