NOVEMBER 29 | THE MINISTRY: ACTUALLY A PERILOUS PROFESSION

…For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony….

REVELATION 12:10, 11

The clergyman is considered one of the best actuarial risks any insurance company can handle—from the standpoint of physical hazard.

Yet, the ministry is one of the most perilous of professions!

The devil hates the Spirit-filled minister with an intensity second only to that which he feels for Christ Himself. The source of this hatred is not difficult to discover. An effective, Christlike minister is a constant embarrassment to the devil, a threat to his dominion, a rebuttal of his best arguments and a dogged reminder of his coming overthrow. No wonder he hates him!

Satan knows that the downfall of a prophet of God is a strategic victory for him, so he rests not day or night devising hidden snares and deadfalls for the ministry. Perhaps a better figure would be the poison dart that only paralyzes its victim, for I think that Satan has little interest in killing the preacher outright.

An ineffective, half-alive minister is a better advertisement for hell than a good man dead!

So, the preacher’s dangers are likely to be spiritual rather than physical, though sometimes the enemy works through bodily weakness to get to the preacher’s soul!¹

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¹  Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2015). Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (p. 361). Moody Publishers.

Evening, November 29 | “Spices for anointing oil.”—Exodus 35:8

Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and that which it represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we would serve the Lord acceptably. Without his aid our religious services are but a vain oblation, and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry is without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! nor are the prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians one jot superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of piety, its absence the most grievous of all calamities. To go before the Lord without anointing is as though some common Levite had thrust himself into the priest’s office—his ministrations would rather have been sins than services. May we never venture upon hallowed exercises without sacred anointings. They drop upon us from our glorious Head; from his anointing we who are as the skirts of his garments partake of a plenteous unction. Choice spices were compounded with rarest art of the apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how rich are all the influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless consolation, infallible instruction, immortal quickening, spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other excellencies in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich, or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O Lord, anoint thy servants.¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.

November 29.—Evening. [Or October 27.]“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

PAUL with the chain clanking upon his wrist writes most jubilantly of his position and office, counting it more honourable to be “the prisoner of the Lord” than to be the favourite of Cæsar.

Ephesians 3

¹ For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

^2–5 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

⁶ That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

⁷ Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (The greater the saint the less he thinks of himself. A very correct estimate of a man’s worth may be gathered from his humility. Weighty materials sink, only “trifles, light as air” rise into the clouds.)

⁹ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

^{10, 11} To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Even angels are to learn from us. Saints will be lesson-books in which the cherubim and seraphim will read with astonishment the wisdom and love of God; this was the eternal design of the great Lord of all, and he will not allow his purpose in any measure to be thwarted.

¹² In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

¹³ Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

See how he forgets himself, and is only anxious that they may not be distressed about him; after this manner ought we also to sink self, and live for the good of others.

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (It is delightful to think of Paul pausing in the middle of his letter to kneel down and implore a blessing upon his friends, feeling himself, even in his prison, to be one of an august family, which had its dwelling-place not only on earth but in heaven also, and yet was one and indivisible. Let us devoutly listen to the apostle’s prayer and offer it for all believers.)

^16–18 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Having prayed, Paul now turns to praising; the two holy exercises are very near of kin, and the one naturally leads on to the other. We should sing more doxologies if we offered more intercessions.)

^{20, 21} Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell

By faith and love in every breast;

Then shall we know, and taste, and feel

The joys that cannot be express’d.

Come fill our hearts with inward strength;

Make our enlarged souls possess

And learn the height, and breadth, and length

Of thine unmeasurable grace.

Now to the God whose power can do

More than our thoughts or wishes know;

Be everlasting honours done

By all the church, through Christ his Son.¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 708). Baker Book House.

December 1 – Expiation vs. Propitiation? | VCY

December 1 – Expiation vs. Propitiation?

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Daniel 8:1-27
  1 John 2:1-17
  Psalm 120:1-7
  Proverbs 28:25-26

Welcome to December! You are in the final month of the year, and it’s been an incredible time of digging into God’s Word!

Daniel 8:1 — From John Walvoord:

Two important factors mark Daniel 8 as the beginning of a new section. First, beginning with this chapter, the language returns to Hebrew instead of the Aramaic used by Daniel from 2:4 through 7:28. Second, the change of language is in keeping with the change in thought introduced by this chapter. From here to the end of Daniel, the prophecy, even though it concerns the Gentiles, is occupied with human history as it relates to Israel.

https://walvoord.com/article/249

Daniel 8:11-14 — What is this 2,300 days about? The Millerites thought it meant the return of Jesus by October 22, 1844, but the teaching instead brought about the “Great Disappointment.”

Most scholars believe this refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, the leader of the Syrian kingdom that emerged from Alexander the Great’s empire. The Book of 1 Maccabees tells about Antiochus during the intertestamental period. Walvoord discusses the 2,300 days:

The terminus ad quem of the twenty-three hundred days is taken by most expositors as 164 B.C. when Antiochus Epiphanes died during a military campaign in Media. This permitted the purging of the sanctuary and the return to Jewish worship. Figuring from this date backward twenty-three hundred days would fix the beginning time at 171 BC. In that year, Onias III, the legitimate high priest, was murdered and a pseudo line of priests assumed power. This would give adequate fulfillment in time for the twenty-three hundred days to elapse at the time of the death of Antiochus.

https://walvoord.com/article/249

Daniel 8:16 — I’m glad he asked Gabriel to make Daniel understand. Daniel, one of the wisest men ever, “was astonished” and “was sick certain days” as a result (Daniel 8:27)!

1 John 2:1 — What does it mean that Jesus is our advocate? My grandfather used to host a television program, Advocates in Adversity, featuring attorneys and judges to talk about legal issues. If you’ve dealt with the legal system, attorneys are expensive. Jesus Christ is my attorney, and though I can’t afford Him, He’s representing me pro bono!

1 John 2:2 — Not just my attorney, but my propitiation as well! There’s a big debate in theological circles between the words propitiation (satisfying the wrath of God) and expiation (removing the guilt). If we believe God is angry at sin, then His wrath needs to be placated. From R.C. Sproul:

Therefore, Christ’s supreme achievement on the cross is that He placated the wrath of God, which would burn against us were we not covered by the sacrifice of Christ. So if somebody argues against placation or the idea of Christ satisfying the wrath of God, be alert, because the gospel is at stake. This is about the essence of salvation—that as people who are covered by the atonement, we are redeemed from the supreme danger to which any person is exposed. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God Who’s wrathful. But there is no wrath for those whose sins have been paid. That is what salvation is all about.

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/two-important-words-good-friday-expiation-and-propitiation/

1 John 2:3 — John goes back to the words of Jesus that he recorded in John 14:15. To love Jesus is to obey Him. If we obey Him, then we know Him.

Another sign of the fake Christian:

• Does not keep His commandments (1 John 2:4)
• Hates his brother (1 John 2:9)
• Loves the world (1 John 2:15)

Many Christians don’t realize we are in a war. There are only two sides. Either you are on the world’s side or on Jesus’ side. Before you make your choice as to which side you’re on, remember “the world passeth away … but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever (1 John 2:17).”

Psalm 120:2 — Notice the Psalmist’s cry for deliverance from those with lying lips and a deceitful tongue. We read in 1 John 2:4 about the liars, i.e. those who claim to know God but don’t keep His commandments. The Psalmist is vexed not just by people who are straightforward about their animosity toward God, but also by those who claim to be followers of the LORD but backstab other followers.

Proverbs 28:24-25 — Contrast the trust in the LORD with the trust in your own heart. Disney tells you to “follow your heart,” but God says not to trust your heart (Jeremiah 17:9).

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.

Never Despair | VCY

Never Despair

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.Malachi 4.2

Fulfilled once in the first advent of our glorious Lord, and yet to have a fuller accomplishment in His second advent, this gracious word is also for daily use. Is it dark with the reader? Does the night deepen into a denser blackness? Still let us not despair: the sun will yet rise. When the night is darkest, dawn is nearest.

The sun which will arise is of no common sort. It is the Sun—the Sun of Righteousness, whose every ray is holiness. He who comes to cheer us, comes in the way of justice as well as of mercy, comes to violate no law even to save us. Jesus as much displays the holiness of God as His love. Our deliverance, when it comes, will be safe because righteous.

Our one point of inquiry should be—”Do we fear the name of the Lord? Do we reverence the living God and walk in His ways?” Then for us the night must be short; and when the morning cometh, all the sickness and sorrow of our soul will be over forever. Light, warmth, joy, and clearness of vision will come, and healing of every disease and distress will follow after.

Has Jesus risen upon us? Let us sit in the sun. Has He hidden His face? Let us wait for His rising. He will shine forth as surely as the sun.

Is A Divine “Intelligent Designer” Just a “God of the Gaps”? | Cold Case Christianity

Is A Divine “Intelligent Designer” Just a “God of the Gaps”?

In my book, God’s Crime Scene: A Homicide Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe, I make a comprehensive case for the involvement of a Divine, Intelligent Designer based on eight attributes of design seen in biological organisms. Many skeptics believe intelligent design inferences are premature and impulsive, however, driven primarily by those who are impatient with the explanatory power of science. As our scientific understanding has increased in the past two centuries, much of what was once a mystery is now a matter of scientific knowledge. Skeptic Michael Shermer argues, “Just because Intelligent Design theorists cannot think of how nature could have created something through evolution, that does not mean that scientists will not be able to do so either.” When we infer the existence of an Intelligent Designer, are we simply inserting such a Being because we presently have a gap in our scientific understanding? Are we defaulting irrationally to a “God of the gaps”? No:

The Design Inference Is Based on What We Do Know, Rather Than What We Don’t Know
When detectives enter a crime scene, they collect evidence and begin to search for reasonable explanations. In God’s Crime Scene, I describe a nationally publicized murder case in which two officers entered the crime scene and observed a garrote lying under the body of the victim. The officers immediately (and intuitively) recognized it as a designed weapon based on the eight design characteristics I describe in the book. Given the evidence of these features, an external intelligent designer was the best and most reasonable inference. They didn’t jump to this conclusion on the basis of what they didn’t know; they concluded this on the basis of what they did know about the nature of designed objects. In a similar way, intelligent design in biological systems is inferred positively from the evidence of design we’ve defined.

When describing the inference of design in the bacterial flagellum, for example, William Dembski concludes, “It’s not because of what we don’t know but because of what we do know that we infer design. Here we have a system that bears all the hallmarks of intelligence. It is a bidirectional, motor-driven propeller. Humans invented systems like this long before they even knew what a bacterial flagellum is or does; and then they found these motors in biological systems.”

Based On What We Do Know, Science Has the Greater Burden of Proof
If a detective arrived at the scene I described in God’s Crime Scene and told the responding officers to ignore the garrote’s obvious design features, the officers would have collected the weapon in spite of the detective’s decree. Both would have considered the detective to be badly mistaken unless he could tell them why this object was not the designed weapon they believed it to be. When we observe an object possessing the design features we’ve described, the reasonable default position ought to be a design inference (we don’t even need all eight features to be present to infer design). Any other explanation attempting to account for these features without the involvement of a designer ought to require a robust evidential argument to dissuade us from our reasonable inference. If a detective wanted the officers to ignore the design inference, the burden of proof would have been the detective’s to shoulder.

In a similar way, the burden of proof for those who deny the reasonable design inferences in biology lies with those trying to stay “inside the room” of the natural universe. Scientists and researchers who deny innate, obvious characteristics of design must provide reasonable and compelling alternative explanations. For many who reject the existence of an external intelligent designer, the broad, naturalistic theory of evolution has become the catch-all assumption and explanation for all inexplicable phenomena. Physicist and Nobel laureate, Robert Laughlin, describes it this way: “Evolution by natural selection which Darwin conceived a great theory has lately come to function as an anti-theory called upon to cover up embarrassing experimental shortcomings and legitimize findings that are at worst not even wrong. Your protein defies the laws of mass action – evolution did it! Your complicated mess of chemical reactions turns into a chicken – evolution did it! The human brain works on logical principles no computer can emulate – evolution is the cause.”

Those determined to deny the existence of an external intelligent designer often default to evolutionary explanations even when they are inadequate. As philosopher of science, John Lennox observes, “It is therefore clear how an evolution of the gaps could be just as metaphysically motivated for an incautious atheist as a God of the Gaps could be for an incautious theist.”

It’s true that in criminal trials, the defendant is afforded the fair default position of innocence: he (or she) is considered innocent until enough evidence has been provided to shift the conclusion away from the default position. But when considering the presence of design in biological systems, eight lines of design evidence point most reasonably to the interaction of an intelligent designer “outside the room.” Those proposing an explanation from “inside the room” must provide sufficient evidence to shift the conclusion away from this reasonable inference. For more detail related to this “inside the room” or “outside the room” investigative analogy, the case for God’s existence, and the inference of a Divine Intelligent Designer, please pick up a copy of God’s Crime Scene (this blog post is an excerpt from Chapter Four – Signs of Design: Is There Evidence of An Artist?)

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When considering the presence of design in biological systems, eight lines of design evidence point to the interaction of an intelligent designer “outside the room.”
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For more information about the scientific and philosophical evidence pointing to a Divine Creator, please read God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe. This book employs a simple crime scene strategy to investigate eight pieces of evidence in the universe to determine the most reasonable explanation. The book is accompanied by an eight-session God’s Crime Scene DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.

The post Is A Divine “Intelligent Designer” Just a “God of the Gaps”? first appeared on Cold Case Christianity.

We have plenty of troubles and trials, and if we like to fret over them, we can always do that; but, then, we have far more joys than troubles, so our songs should exceed our sighs.—C.H. Spurgeon

What is an advent calendar? | GotQuestions.org

Explore the history and significance of the Advent Calendar in this short video! Discover how the tradition, originating in 19th century Germany, reminds us daily of the approaching Christmas celebration. Learn about the transformation from chalk marks on doors to today’s colorful calendars filled with tiny sweets and Bible verses. Understand the deep meaning behind this practice, preparing believers for the advent of Christ and celebrating the greatest gift ever given—Jesus, the Son of God. Join us in reflecting on the joyful anticipation of Christmas and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. In this video, Pastor Nelson answers your question: What is an advent calendar?

*** Source Article:
https://www.gotquestions.org/advent-calendar.html

*** Recommended Book:
The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger
By: Lee Strobel
https://bit.ly/47GLnZi

*** Check out, Bible Munch!
https://www.youtube.com/BibleMunch

*** Recent Bible Munch Videos:
John 3:16 – What the most popular Bible verse REALLY means.

Jeremiah 29:11 – God’s Plan – What is God’s Plan for my Life?

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people who are called by my name…

*** Related Questions:
What is Advent?
https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-Advent.html

What is the Christian calendar?
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-calendar.html

Should we give gifts at Christmas?
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-gifts.html

Source: What is an advent calendar? | GotQuestions.org

The Triumphant Son of Man: Things Unseen with Sinclair B. Ferguson

The Son of Man was prophesied to regain the dominion that Adam lost and to bring to completion the redemptive purposes of God. Today, Sinclair Ferguson speaks on the title that Jesus most often used to identify Himself.

Hear more from Things Unseen with Sinclair B. Ferguson: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30acyfm60fWgA8zL6TjP3KtLhRFNHfxi

Source: The Triumphant Son of Man: Things Unseen with Sinclair B. Ferguson

Why this Present Suffering? | From the MLJ Archive on Oneplace.com

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Romans 8:18-23 — Is Scripture completely irrelevant? Listen to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at the contemporary answers found in Romans 8:18-23. The sufferings of this present time are the unchanging problems of mankind. Human suffering is always a result of sin. Science and philosophy cannot give man such hope in the face of humanity, but the Gospel of Christ can. Look at nature from the Bible’s standpoint and find comfort on its terms. The greatest consolation in this present affliction is that this is God’s world. The ground was cursed for man’s sin and the world is under the wrath of God, but there is good news. The Christian Gospel is the only explanation and solution to the sufferings of the present time. Learn that every human’s greatest need is to be reconciled to God and the only promised deliverer is Christ. A Christian is still subject to all the sufferings of this present world; but man has a new view of time, and sufferings, which are incomparable to the glory to come. Are you groaning with creation? Find out that you should be! Nothing can frustrate the plans of God. Cast yourself on His compassion and love; your sins have already been dealt with.

Source: Why this Present Suffering?

Satan’s Secret Society | Understanding the Times

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Jan Markell talks to Pastor Billy Crone about Freemasonry, called by some, Satan’s secret society. They are striving for a one world leader, religion and government. They have successfully infiltrated some churches. While they appear to do good things for society, they are a part of the Antichrist system.

Source: Satan’s Secret Society

The fifth annual Hoax-Of-The-Year awards

There was a lot of competition this year.

Source: The fifth annual Hoax-Of-The-Year awards

Joe Biden Snubs ‘Almighty God’ in 2024 Thanksgiving Proclamation

The “devoutly Catholic” President Joe Biden omitted any reference to Almighty God or Divine Providence Thursday in his annual proclamation of the spiritually charged American feast of Thanksgiving. The post appeared first on Breitbart .

Source: Joe Biden Snubs ‘Almighty God’ in 2024 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Glenn Greenwald: The Downfall Of Corporate Media And The Rise Of The Long-Form Podcast & Independent Media | RealClearPolitics Videos

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald in an interview on ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ weighed in on how disconnected the media is from the average American and on the repressive, forced orthodoxy within liberal-left discourse.

CHARLIE KIRK: Glenn, I want to ask you about the changing media landscape. It seems as if the Democrat Party, who seems they’re always on, they claim to be on the cutting edge of culture, have just come to realize that more Americans are getting news from social media and podcasting. I mean, it’s hard for me to believe they were this naive, but walk me through how they got to a place where they have lost such significant ground in digital content creation and podcasting.

GLENN GREENWALD: I mean, you’re in independent media. I’ve been in independent media ever since I left the media outlet I founded when it wouldn’t let me publish negative reporting about Joe Biden before the 2020 election. Any of us could see this coming.

The data has been so clear. Their ratings have been in collapse and free fall. Every poll shows that Americans trust and like corporate media almost less than like pedophiles and syphilis.

And so the trends have been clear for so long. But when your entire self-identity or entire self-esteem depends upon the position and the prestige that you think it brings with inside of a collapsing institution, you’re always going to be the last people to believe that the institution is collapsing. I think the most traumatizing part of this election for them was, again, not just that Trump won, but that so many nonwhite voters, the people who they think they’re the benevolent leaders of, who they think they own, who they think they have the right to have eternal support, migrated in huge numbers away from their candidate to Donald Trump, despite constantly saying Trump was a Nazi, was going to put them in camps.

Remember, the whole last week of the convention was the media claiming that Trump had a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. They were convinced Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke was going to swing the election because Puerto Ricans would rise up with Latinos led by Jennifer Lopez and Big Bunny or Bad Bunny or whoever. And none of that happened.

And so when you think that you speak and are so foreign, so connected to a group of people who turn around and show that they don’t see the world remotely the way you see it, they don’t care what you see, they don’t listen to what you see, this is almost too much for even them to be in denial any longer. And that’s why you see all these, oh my God, how are we going to create our own Joe Rogan?

KIRK: Yeah, but is there something to the format where leftists, not liberals, struggle in long-form podcasting? They struggle in unscripted environments. Is there something to the new left? And I don’t mean traditional liberal values.

I mean one that has a primary focus on censorship and war and regime politics that stays away from that sort of inquiry towards truth or long form dialogue. Is it the format that also doesn’t fit their politics?

GREENWALD: I definitely see what you mean. At the same time as somebody who has long been associated with the left, who was kind of steeped in a civil libertarianism with which the left was once most associated, you see a lot of the right wing movements, at least as shaped and led by Donald Trump, having commandeered a lot of these issues quite successfully.

The only people who talk anymore about free speech versus censorship are on the right. The only people who talk anymore about the evils of the CIA and the FBI and the U.S. security state are people on the right, not the left. Same with the war machine.

I don’t think it’s so much the topics. I think it’s the fact that there’s so much forced orthodoxy within liberal left discourse that people just can’t speak freely. They’re constantly afraid of their own shadows.

You saw that with Kamala Harris. You see that with left-wing media in general. People sense that.

If you’re not someone speaking freely, if you’re petrified of saying the wrong word, you seem inauthentic. It’s not a faction that anyone wants to be a part of that’s so repressed and petrified. Trump came along and blew through every single taboo and limit without the slightest concern, the slightest apology, and that opened up so much space on the right. I think that’s what made it so much more powerful, so much more able to connect with the ordinary people that the left had had a claim on for so long.

Source: Glenn Greenwald: The Downfall Of Corporate Media And The Rise Of The Long-Form Podcast & Independent Media

Greenwald: So Much Forced Orthodoxy Within Liberal Left Discourse That People Can’t Speak Freely | RealClearPolitics Videos

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald in an interview on ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ weighed in on how disconnected the media is from the average American and on the repressive, forced orthodoxy within liberal-left discourse.

CHARLIE KIRK: Glenn, I want to ask you about the changing media landscape. It seems as if the Democrat Party, who seems they’re always on, they claim to be on the cutting edge of culture, have just come to realize that more Americans are getting news from social media and podcasting. I mean, it’s hard for me to believe they were this naive, but walk me through how they got to a place where they have lost such significant ground in digital content creation and podcasting.

GLENN GREENWALD: I mean, you’re in independent media. I’ve been in independent media ever since I left the media outlet I founded when it wouldn’t let me publish negative reporting about Joe Biden before the 2020 election. Any of us could see this coming.

The data has been so clear. Their ratings have been in collapse and free fall. Every poll shows that Americans trust and like corporate media almost less than like pedophiles and syphilis.

And so the trends have been clear for so long. But when your entire self-identity or entire self-esteem depends upon the position and the prestige that you think it brings with inside of a collapsing institution, you’re always going to be the last people to believe that the institution is collapsing. I think the most traumatizing part of this election for them was, again, not just that Trump won, but that so many nonwhite voters, the people who they think they’re the benevolent leaders of, who they think they own, who they think they have the right to have eternal support, migrated in huge numbers away from their candidate to Donald Trump, despite constantly saying Trump was a Nazi, was going to put them in camps.

Remember, the whole last week of the convention was the media claiming that Trump had a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. They were convinced Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke was going to swing the election because Puerto Ricans would rise up with Latinos led by Jennifer Lopez and Big Bunny or Bad Bunny or whoever. And none of that happened.

And so when you think that you speak and are so foreign, so connected to a group of people who turn around and show that they don’t see the world remotely the way you see it, they don’t care what you see, they don’t listen to what you see, this is almost too much for even them to be in denial any longer. And that’s why you see all these, oh my God, how are we going to create our own Joe Rogan?

KIRK: Yeah, but is there something to the format where leftists, not liberals, struggle in long-form podcasting? They struggle in unscripted environments. Is there something to the new left? And I don’t mean traditional liberal values.

I mean one that has a primary focus on censorship and war and regime politics that stays away from that sort of inquiry towards truth or long form dialogue. Is it the format that also doesn’t fit their politics?

GREENWALD: I definitely see what you mean. At the same time as somebody who has long been associated with the left, who was kind of steeped in a civil libertarianism with which the left was once most associated, you see a lot of the right wing movements, at least as shaped and led by Donald Trump, having commandeered a lot of these issues quite successfully.

The only people who talk anymore about free speech versus censorship are on the right. The only people who talk anymore about the evils of the CIA and the FBI and the U.S. security state are people on the right, not the left. Same with the war machine.

I don’t think it’s so much the topics. I think it’s the fact that there’s so much forced orthodoxy within liberal left discourse that people just can’t speak freely. They’re constantly afraid of their own shadows.

You saw that with Kamala Harris. You see that with left-wing media in general. People sense that.

If you’re not someone speaking freely, if you’re petrified of saying the wrong word, you seem inauthentic. It’s not a faction that anyone wants to be a part of that’s so repressed and petrified. Trump came along and blew through every single taboo and limit without the slightest concern, the slightest apology, and that opened up so much space on the right. I think that’s what made it so much more powerful, so much more able to connect with the ordinary people that the left had had a claim on for so long.

Source: Greenwald: So Much Forced Orthodoxy Within Liberal Left Discourse That People Can’t Speak Freely

Trump plots stunning White House briefing shake up that’s set to change media landscape forever

11-27-2024 • https://www.dailymail.co, By JON MICHAEL RAASCH

The stunning plan was revealed by the president-elect’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. on a recent episode of his podcast ‘Triggered with Donald Trump Jr.’

Speaking to his co-host Michael Knowles, Jr. admitted that the incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt may rework the briefing room seating arrangement to make way for Trump’s new podcast ‘bro’ buddies.

‘I wonder now, as your father is assembling his team, as maybe Karoline Leavitt is looking at the new press briefing room chart, maybe it’s time to reorder that chart and maybe take away some people’s seats,’ Knowles inquired.

The future president’s son quickly shot back: ‘We’re gonna break some news here.’

‘I literally had this conversation with—I was flying back, I was on the plane with my father, I think it was coming back from the SpaceX launch with Elon [Musk] last week,’ Jr. said.

‘And we were talking about the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you.’

Then the 46-year-old Trump revealed the podcaster plan was met with great enthusiasm, ‘That’s a great idea, Don.’

‘And so that may be in the works,’ Jr. continued. ‘That’s going to blow up some heads, so we’ll see.’

Jr. reasoned that non-traditional voices should be given a chance to sit in on the briefings since consumer trust in mainstream outlets is plummeting, and he mentioned how many of them are overtly biased against his family.

‘If the New York Times has lied, they’ve been adverse to everything, they’re functioning as the marketing arm of the Democrat Party, why not open it up to people who have larger viewerships, stronger followings?’ Jr. said.

The only individuals actually floated for a spot in the James  S. Brady Press Briefing Room were Knowles and Rogan, but considering there are only 49 seats in the prestigious West Wing chamber, giving away any spots would certainly cause a stir among the press corps.

Still, though the White House is in charge of issuing credentials to journalists, the actual seating arrangement in the briefing room is decided by the White House Correspondents’ Association – which operated independently of the administration.

During his first term in office, Trump banned certain reporters from briefings, most notably CNN’s Jim Acosta.

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Russia Will Respond to ‘Each’ Use of U.S.-Supplied Missiles, Kremlin Tells Biden

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would respond “appropriately” each time U.S.-supplied missiles are used on Russian territory.

Source: Russia Will Respond to ‘Each’ Use of U.S.-Supplied Missiles, Kremlin Tells Biden

In Thanksgiving Briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre Thanks The Press For Regurgitating White House Propaganda The Last Four Years

In a largely congenial pre-Thanksgiving press conference, Karine Jean-Pierre served the White House press corps a turkey dinner and expressed her gratitude for all the media have done for the Biden-Harris administration over the past four years. “Thank you. No, really, I mean that,” Jean-Pierre, who was wearing a tall, black pilgrim hat, gushed from […]

Source: In Thanksgiving Briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre Thanks The Press For Regurgitating White House Propaganda The Last Four Years

Here are the WOTY, POTY, SOTY and DOTY for 2024

It’s the time of year to recognize the Word of the Year (WOTY), Person of the Year (POTY), Song of the Year (SOTY), and Dance of the Year (DOTY).

Source: Here are the WOTY, POTY, SOTY and DOTY for 2024

You’re ‘wired’ to overspend during the holidays, expert says — here’s what to do about it

Consumers are hardwired to think more of short-term gratification than long-term goals.

Source: You’re ‘wired’ to overspend during the holidays, expert says — here’s what to do about it