Pay close attention to the Christian Nationalist movements getting into Politics

 

The New Apostalic Reformation (NAR) may be splintering but they are not the only Christian Nationalist movement in the U.S. No longer are they hiding their real intentions behind the veil of politics. They are making themselves and their intentions known first at the local and state levels though some are also running for U.S. Congress or Senate. Former Vice President Mike Pence is a member of a Secret Society and he is looking for run for president in 2024. It’s interesting how these Christian Nationalist movements don’t have a problem with the Separation of Church and State except when it keeps them from infringing on the civil and religious liberties of others.

 

One of the reasons myself and others keep talking about these matters is because Bible Prophecy demands it. All that said. I have a theory I can’t prove with certainty–not yet anyway–but I do believe the U.S. is going to split into 3 or 4 countries and it will happen sooner than later. Right now, we are seeing a lot of the same signs the country experienced leading up to the Civil War. Back then, people lived or moved to states depending on weather they were for Slavery or against it. I know some still like to insist the Civil War was about states rights but the only thing that mattered by 1860 was if a state was for or against slavery.

 

Today, we are starting to see similar trends as Americans are looking to move to states that have laws, traditions or customs that align with their beliefs or views. For example, Roe v. Wade being overturned earlier this year meant Abortion is now outlawed in almost half the country. People in states where this is so are now looking to move to states where Abortion is still legal and vice versa. That’s just on this one issue and I need to speak further on this.

 

While I do understand those who oppose Abortion in any situation, the fact of the matter is they are only thinking of elective abortions. Most people have at least heard of Ectopic Pregnancy. That’s when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, often the Fallopian Tube and is fatal to the mother if not detected and removed in time. Most women don’t even know the pregnancy is ectopic until it’s almost too late. If the pregnancy is not terminated, the woman WILL die. This is to say nothing of a woman in Texas who is suing the state which is blocking her from having an Abortion to end a wanted but unviable pregnancy. It was a wanted pregnancy but the baby died in the womb. Since Texas outlawed Abortion in any circumstance, as she said to reporters she is basically being forced to carry her dead baby inside her against her will.

 

Of course, the people who cheered when Abortion was outlawed in Texas are mostly silent in the face of not just this poor woman’s case but likely other similar cases that haven’t gotten media attention. Remember: Most of the anti-Abortion movement are self-professed Christians who view Abortion in any circumstance as murder. That’s why the more conservative-leaning states did not even allow exceptions for rape or incest even if a child is involved. Yet we all know those with the means would not hesitate to take their 12 year old daughter to a state or Canada to get the services they need as they should.

 

It’s really strange to me that this faction of people–I refer to the more hardline Conservatives and Evangelicals in general–are opposed the government being involved in people’s lives but make an exception on the topic of Abortion. This is what happens when political movements veil themselves in Christianity. Remember: Before Gay Marriage was legalized in the U.S. and Same Sex Relationships became accepted in the mainstream, Conservatives wanted the country to know Roe v. Wade was to blame for all the country’s problems. “Only people who believe in Evolution get abortions”, many of them reasoned. “Real Christians don’t view pregnancy as a mistake”, they tell themselves.

 

I do know for a fact most Christians regardless of denomination are ok with Abortion in cases where the life of the mother is in danger as well as in cases of rape and incest. Especially if the mother is a child. I don’t believe for a second even the most hardline Conservative would allow their 12 or 10 year old daughter pregnant from rape–because let’s be honest, that’s the only way a girl that young is getting pregnant in the U.S. or other modern countries–to carry the pregnancy to term. It would be too cruel to do that to a child and likely fatal. Yet, this faction wants  believe that’s what they want. No, they want to impose on others what they won’t dare allow themselves and I’ll leave it there.

 

 

We’re now almost 6 months past the end of the Corona Virus Pandemic. It’s obviously still around but it is no longer a Pandemic. Even before the Pandemic changed the world and forced Churches to adapt accordingly, church attendance and church membership in the U.S. have been in a steady decline for quite a while. Churches as well as Synagogues and Cathedrals have been closing and merging over the last two decades at alarming rates and numbers. That’s how bad things were getting just 10 years ago.

 

While most are quick to point the finger at social and cultural changes–most notably the prominence of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle and Humanism and Spiritualism–the fact of the matter is most Churches have been doing very little retain their newest members or reach out to missing members. I have personally witnessessed the consequences of this with the advent of live streaming and video blogging. While the Pandemic did necessitate places of worship switch to remote worship for almost two years in many cases, the problem is most churches have not returned to pre-Pandemic levels. You walk into a church today and you’ll see almost a third of the congregation in many cases is simply “missing”.

 

The reason is easy to understand: Many simply decided “I don’t see a reason or need to go to Church in person when I can just watch worship services from home”. This was a concern many church leaders voiced when the Pandemic first began and they have been proven right in those concerns since last summer. Many have been slow to return to in-person worship mostly because of the conveniences of streaming worship services from home. Some who were already halfway out have simply never returned.

 

 

I have talked about this at length over the last two years but basically, many Christians have joined churches without buildings or congregations in recent years. I’m referring to online preachers and movements, most of whom often tell their audiences the denomination they came from is apostate or can’t be trusted. Convenient, yes? “I will tell you what they are keeping from you.”, “I will tell you what they don’t you to know.” and similar phrases are being frequently unttered. These charismatics want you to believe they’re letting you in on conspiracies “they” don’t want you to know about.

 

These attacks on the church as an insitution from within is the work on the devil. Let’s be clear about that. Believe it or not, you do need to undergo training or attend college to become an ordained pastor or minister.  You gain intimate knowledge of human psychology from that training. You have trust said knowledge would not be used for evil and only to help and heal. You would have to hope people wouldn’t use that training to exploit the fears of others.

 

On that note, here’s something about psychological attacks you need to know:

Psychological attacks are most effective when the subject does not know they are being attacked.

 

A common misconception is psychological attacks are often or need to be personal for the intended target(s). That’s not true. The attacks start subtle to plant doubts and gradually ramp up from there. It’s why mind control, mind manipulation and brainwashing typically takes some time to take hold. That’s the good news. You can undo and often times reverse the damage by simply removing the source of the attack. If it’s an online preacher for example, stop listening to them. How severe the attack or how long the exposure typically dictates what the countermeasures should be.

 

The bad news is like all psychological attacks, they attacker does their homework and typically will adjust as needed to be as efficient and damaging as possible. One method that’s proven to be highly effective throughout history–especially in recent years–is compelling the subject(s) to believe they or their way of life are under attack or being targeted. With the right amount of pressure over time, you can get people to do things they normally would not do such as attack the U.S. Capitol Building.

 

When Russia invaded Ukraine, most of the world responded by hitting Russia with crippling sanctions that devastated the Russian economy. U.S.-based businesses such as McDonalds shut down operations in Russia and most of Europe stopped doing business with Russia too. The Russian Ruble was made worthless outside the country in a matter of days. Russia is cut off from most of the world economically as punishment for invading Ukraine unprovoked. Some have looked at what the world did to Russia as an example of what last-day believers have to look forward to and any countries that harbor them.

 

All that said, the Bible warns there will be a consolidation of Church and State in End Times. When that happens, their main objective will be forced worship and persecuting those who refuse to comply. No denomination speaks about this more than Seventh Day Adventists and this is mostly because of the one commandment that is both a time and a law (the 4th Commandment). Contrary to what I know many Adventists in the U.S. believe, we are not in those times yet. The fact that so many in North America are so committed to thinking and worrying about Last Day Events speaks to the disconnect North American Adventists have from Adventists in the rest of the world.

 

I do think a lot of the things that have been going on in America over just the last 40 years is the result of God gradually withdrawing some of the blessings and protections most Americans took for granted. Most notably, Christianity has notably lost most of its influence in the U.S. As much as many Conservatives, Evangelicals and Christian Nationals want to blame everything on our society’s acceptance of Same Sex Marriage, Abortion and Liberalism and other things but it’s much deeper than that.

 

For example. There has been no true reconciliation for the country’s original sin of Slavery. The 13th Amendment did not outlaw Slavery but allowed it to continue as a form of punishment. On a related note, Tennessee voted to outlaw Slavery as a form of punishment during the 2022 Midterm Elections. Yes, really. As much as some want to handwave this, America does have a long history of legally sanctioning the persecution of minority groups. Not just African Americans but Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics and others. It’s an American tradition and history that too many so-called “patriotic” White Evangelical Christians want you to believe their children and yours shouldn’t be allowed to learn about.

Before I move on. I want to remind those who might not know or remember that the Salem Witch Trials is largely why The Separation of Church and State is a part of not just the U.S. Constitution but why the Rhode Island Colony was formed. You see, while the Purtains who landed at Plymouth were largely fleeing religious pursecution, unfortunately they brought the spirit of intolerance and pursecution with them. In the Massachusetts Colony, it was literally against the law to not attend Church. You could be fined or jailed. The church had equal say in legislative affairs and it wasn’t until they were challenged a few decades later that the hold Religious Extremism had over the colony was broken.

Massachusetts today is very different from the Massachusetts of the mid-1600s culturally to say the least. We’ve traded one extreme for another unfortunately and more so given The Bay State was the first state in the country to sanction Gay Marriage in 2006. Culturally, it is considered one of if not the most Liberal state in the country today. I am seeing signs the tide is beginning to turn in Boston though. We’re not a “Godless” people as some Christians in Southern and Midwestern states are convinced we are.

 

 

As things stand now, both the First Beast (The Vatican) and Second Best (The U.S.) are still nowhere near what they will one day become as described in Revealation. Ellen G. White added some context to this in which she spoke of a time to come in which Protestants would join hands with the Roman Catholic Church in an Alliance of Shared Values. The wrote about this at a time when a lot of the open hostility towards Catholicism and The Vatican was beginning to fade among Protestants in the second half of the 1800s.

 

After he came to power, Pope Francis has done more to bring denominations under the purview of Catholicism than any other Pope in Modern History. For those who haven’t been watching the news this year, the Pope’s health is in decline and The Conclave is planning for the eventuality he may resign since he is keenly aware an ailing Pope are a bad look for Catholic Church’s image. His predecessor Pope Benedict resigned in part for similar reasons.

 

The Conclave is patiently waiting for Pope Francis to announce he is stepping down though speculation is rampant they are likely to select someone much younger for a change. The youngest Pope ever was 18 so there is a precident. It would make a lot of sense to elect a Pope much younger than the last few mainly to ensure a measure of longterm stability. Pope Francis was more liked by non-Catholics than Catholics, some in the Vatican calling him a Demon for advocating for the LGBTQ+ Commumity. While he did stop short of promoting Gay Marriage and the ordaination of LGBTQ+ clergy, that elevated his popularity among young people. Regardless of the age and national origin of the next Pope, many believe that person will either continue where Pope Francis left off or take a more hardline approach. We’ll see. Either way the Vatican’s global influence is likely going to decline due to cultural infighting.

 

As for the U.S., the 2022 Midterms made it clear American voters are not going to just allow political and religious extremists have their way unopposed. The Christian charismatics–especially the more outspoken ones–saying the time for the union of church and state merging is imminent were clearly premature. The New Apostolic Reformation is splintering, a new political party arose this past summer (The Forward Party), the Republicans have infighting to look forward to and the Democrats are starting to get younger leaders. Thanks to all these, we are being given additional time as a democratic country. The problem is the signs are not in place. Elements of some are or have happened but that’s it.

When COVID-19 spread around the world in early 2020, some thought it was one of The Last Plagues because it was the first disease in modern times to have touched every continent and country. The Bible speaks of pestilences, famines, wars, earthquakes and other things happening near the end times but that’s separate from The Last Plagues. I have always maintained this position personally: Instead of worrying about what The Vatican and world leaders are doing and planning, we need  to focus on what Jesus actually asked us to do. It’s not complicated.

 

 

I dare not speculate how long but it should be obvious to everyone by now that The Second Coming is not happening within the lifetime of the current generation alive right now. I mean like it or not. I say that knowing the more “zealous” Televangelists want you to believe otherwise without a shred of Biblical evidence to stand on. Jesus did say watch and be ready but not at the expense of The Great Commission. Outside of Amazing Facts, It Is Written, Hope TV/Hope Channel and other similar online networks, Prophecy and Last Day Events are all the rage among too many Adventists in North America.

 

Too many Adventists in North America don’t seem to care about Missionary work–either going themselves or supporting it–and that’s a big problem for Adventists elsewhere in the world. We are literally seeing The Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25 in action right now. The first two servants put the money they were entrusted with to work and were rewarded by their master for it. The third decided to just bury it and was punished by his master for it. His master didn’t just punish the third servant but took his money and gave it to one of the other servants.

 

Note the part I underlined. I said the attitudes of most Adventists in North America is becoming a problem for Adventists elsewhere. We are losing church plants in North America and mission plants around the world mostly due to the lack of money, resources and missionaries from North America over the last 20 years in particular. Adventists in the UK, Australia, The Philippines and New Zealand have stepped in to try to make up for the shortfall that should be coming from North America. Help that they need we are uniquely suited to provide. The work is great but the laborers are few.

 

Political instability here in the U.S. over just the last 20 years has caused many Adventists to turn not just their focus but their attention away from Missionary work and even witnessing in favor of focusing on Last Day Events and Prophecy. It’s impacting the church’s growth as a denomination in North America as some new converts are starting to leave the church in frustration. Certain online-only splinter factions and movements are calling the General Conference apostate for daring to want to focus on Evangelism and Missionary work instead of Prophecy and Last Day Events. It’s not that the General Conference doesn’t care about those two things. They are simply focused on The Great Commission as the church should be.

 

Things have gotten pretty nasty in recent years with some saying Pastor Mark Finley, who is Special Assistant to Pastor Ted Wilson–Pastor Wilson is the president of the General Conference and head of the SDA Church for those who don’t know–is a traitor or compromised for accepting invitations to do bible studies with the pastors and faith leaders of other denominations. This is the devil looking working hard to fracture and undermine the church. Nothing more or less.

 

America has some hard times to look forward to. That much should be obvious. The same is true for churches in North America regardless of denomination. Right now, America is third behind India (#2) and China (#1) as mission fields. About 18% of Americans profess to be Christian (regardless of denomination) and regularly attend church. That number is expected to reach 15% by 2025 and 12% by 2030. Meanwhile, Spiritualism and Humanism are on the rise in the U.S. Atheism is actually starting to decline believe it or not.

 

 

A lot of these online-only splinter factions are basically looking to meet the demands of those who don’t like organized religion or are not happy with their local church. They are finding a willing audience in mostly older lifelong Christians who also did not grow up in the digital age and are drawn to “Christian Speak” when they hear it. They hear pastors selectively quote scripture online and forget Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 out of context to Jesus. THIS is what Jesus meant when He said people would come in His name.

 

Those who converted to Christianity–as in they weren’t born into the Christian life–are far more likely to be skeptical of questionable doctrines compared to lifelong Christians. More so when it’s coming from trusted voices within their denomination. Some preachers will selectively quote a verse here and there when what they’re saying has no connection to the verse they’re quoting. What’s more dangerous are the ones like Satan who will partially quote a verse to reinforce their talking points.

 

…This brings me back to the parable of the talents I mentioned earlier. I do think a lot of the recent happenings in the U.S. are signs God is withdrawing some of the blessings and protections the Americans have taken for granted. To those much is given, much is required. I look at Europe, Australia and The Philippines where the support of Mission Work is thriving in one way or another. Athough The Philippines has long been Catholic culturally, Protestantism has been on the rise in recent decades. Many denominations have mission training centers in The Philippines where people can go to receive training and then go a nearby country in Southeast Asia like Thailand or Malaysia for missionary work. Alternatively, Missionaries from North America and Europe can also go to Australia or New Zealand for training before going elsewhere in the South Pacific.

Why is there such a difference in priorities from North America? The influences of American Exceptionalism. Most Christians in America are complacent and don’t see a reason or need to do anything but wait for End Times. Ok fine. There is still work that needs to be done. If we are not willing to do it, God is both willing and capable of finding others who can and will. I’m referring to The Great Commission. Some whispers of this have already but it may not be much longer before Missionaries from abroad will be coming to the U.S. Yes, really. That’s how bad things really are getting here.

All that said. Christians in North America as a whole across all denominations have stagnated. Missionaries who’ve traveled overseas are typically the first to note the difference in priorities and values. The reason Christianity feels more authentic among people in developing countries compared to North America is because elsewhere, most people openly practice what they profess to believe. It’s not like here in the U.S. where most people give lip service but don’t live what they claim to be. I won’t digress further for now though.

 

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Black Churches in The Bible Belt are especially being targeted by Political Extremists, Atheists and Fundamentalists now

 

I’ve been getting a lot of emails and messages via Facebook regarding this since April 2018 but I needed to do some extensive research before I commented on it. The deeper I looked–especially in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Missouri–the more widespread I realized these problems were. While this is true of many historically Black Churches across the U.S. and most non-Muslim African nations, it is especially rampant in the states that are a part of the Bible Belt in the U.S. (See the map above).

 

They are being targeted primarily by three different groups or types of people:

• Black Atheists: I recently watched a documentary on Amazon Prime Video I won’t name though the title of it was revealed to have been very misleading about a third of the way through. The documentary basically makes the case Black Churches do nothing meaningful to help people improve their situation. They also claim historically, outside of a few obvious outliers–namely the late pastor and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.–Black Churches have done little to nothing for Black Americans outside of a facade of Black Christian culture. They are looking to get Black Christians to “stop using Christianity as a crutch” and learn to think based on “logic and reason”.
• Political Extremists: It’s no secret the Bible Belt is also made up of all of the former Confederate States. It’s also true most of America’s Black Christians live in that part of the country. A third thing that’s also true is most of these states have traditionally been what’s known politically as “Red” states or states primarily governed by Republican politicians. The Republican Party has a long history of weaving Christianity and Christian culture into their politics. The Republican Party had been making a more concentrated effort to win over Black Churches over the last 20 years though Donald Trump’s presidency undid a lot of those efforts. They make the same case to Black Churches they make to their own base: “Most Democrats don’t believe in God” and similar rhetoric. That is both wrong and dangerous rhetoric to even say carelessly let alone for a political party to promote. It’s also playing a big part in this country being polarized between the two political parties.
• Fundamentalists: The country and the world is getting reminded of just how dangerous Christian Fundamentalism is to a Democracy in recent years. I started talking about it on this blog after the events of 1/6/2021 but there are Christian Nationalist movements–all of whom have a presence in elected offices at all levels of government–who basically want to turn America into an Autocratic Theoracy. One thing about Religious Fundamentalism people need to keep in mind is many of the freedoms taken for granted in Democratic socieities are restricted. The New Apostalic Reformation is a Christian Fundamentalist movement that seeks to make America a Christian nation based on their interpretation of Christianity. They are reaching out to not just Black Churches but other racial or ethnic Christians in an effort to create coalition that they claim would have a seat at the table in the “new” America they seek to create after the current U.S. government is overthrown.

 

Black Christians in general are particularly vulnerable to all three of these due to the history of being marginalized and recent events in this country. This is to say nothing of Black Christian culture being a cornerstone for most African American families. One of the biggest legit criticisms of modern and urban black churches is going to a service is like going to a nightclub and theatre in one. About three years ago, my sister referred to the church we attended when we were kids as a “glorified country club” in reference to the usual social stigmatizing that sadly pushes many people out of churches.

 

I know many of you know what I refer to: “They don’t speak our language”, “They don’t have church clothes”, “They have baggage”, things like that. Nothing would please the devil more than for someone spirtually curious or more importantly looking to return to God being made to feel like they don’t “belong” in “your” church. Nothing would please the devil more than for someone spiritually curious or more importantly looking to return to God having their preconceptions confirmed by self-righteous church-goers.

 

Some encouraging news is many Black Churches across all denominations have been undergoing something of a spiritual revival over the last 12 years, sparked largely by bible study and a genuine desire to know what the Bible says about various matters. The overwhelming majority of Black Churches are Baptist, Pentecostal, Protestant or Lutheran though many are obviously Adventist. Recent events involving African Americans being killed by police or in police custody has also been bringing some back to church. Not just Black Churches but in general. The last 9 or so years’ worth of high-profile killings of African Americans by law enforcement is making many reconsider life choices and some are turning to or back to God. This is most prominent among African Americans.

Many are looking to forge a genuine relationship with God and not just have Black Christian Culture. There is a spirtual hunger by many for what the Bible has to say about many topics important to people. This is the time for churches to step up because those who are currently spritually curious shouldn’t be kept waiting. If the church doesn’t readily receive them, they will simply look elsewhere and nothing would please the devil more than for that to happen.

This brings me back to the point about Atheism targeting Black Americans in recent years. They want to make the case to Black Christians their religious convictions are holding them back. They want to make the case they don’t “need” religion to feel good. They want to claim it doesn’t make sense for Black people to want to worship or believe in “White Jesus”.  Well, the fact that many scientists and researchers are being forced to concede to evidence in the natural world that God is real shows Christians had it right all along. Religion is about more than feelngs and to say that’s all it’s for is very short-sighted. Oh and Jesus is not White or Black. Jesus was born in the Middle East, likely had copper skin, likely had short black hair and spoke both Aramaic and Hebrew. European artists didn’t know what Jesus looked like so they took matters into their own hands and that became the standard for centuries.

 

 

All that said. God made it clear to Samuel in the Old Testament: Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart. Everything about who God is and what God is like is so contrary to human culture, it stands to reason some want to make the case there is no God.  Well, Psalm  14:1 has something to say about that. It’s not that athiests legit believe there can’t be a God. They like most willful sinners just see knowing there will come a time when they will be held responsible for what they do uncomfortable. To make themselves feel better, they lie to themselves and others by insisting “There is no God”, “God is nothing more than a human construct” or “The Bible is fiction” among other things. Jesus himself has promised those who denied him will proclaim with their own mouths He is Lord one day so…yeah. You can only deny Truth for so long.

 

 

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When Churches step into politics, they should automatically forfeit certain special privilages

 

Let’s not kid ourselves, one of the core principles the United States of America was founded on was the basis of the separation of Church and State. The U.S. State of Rhode Island actually put the separation of Church and State in its constitution on that note. As of this month, it’s not an exaggeration to say that line sepeparating Church and State is prettymuch gone. Don’t let charismatic or outspoken pastors fool you, America is not and never was meant to be a Theocracy. Those who wrote the U.S. Constitution used scripture as a base yes but there is a reason there is no Church of America. There’s also the fact we know all of them were very flawed. For example, most of them owned slaves and women were second class citizens.

On that last point, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has reverted women back to being second-class citizens. Don’t be fooled by those who said it was “Pro-Life vs. Pro-Abortion”. It was never that and those saying it was know better. It was always about taking choice away from the overwhelming majority who they know don’t have the resources to travel to another state and soon Canada to get an Abortion. It wasn’t about “The sanctity of life” because if it was, those who are already here would have what they need. A lot of Christians across all denominations have knowingly shown they are willing to trade their Civil Liberties and Freedoms for Political Power or rather a sense of Political Power.

That brings me to Amazing Facts President Doug Batchelor’s Fourth of July sermon last weekend. To his credit, he waited a little bit before publicly commenting on Roe v. Wade being overturned. For those who didn’t know before, Pastor Batchelor considers himself anti-abortion though he has been open about it for decades. I wasn’t bothered by his comments on that and as he said, he wasn’t trying to make a political statement. What really got my attention was what he said during his disclaimer. He said–and I’m paraphrasing–“we [Adventists] need to stand with other Christians on this issue so that when the times come, others will have our backs in return.”

 

I immediately thought of when Dr. Ben Carson first ran for president in 2016 and when Donald Trump won the 2016 presidental election. When Dr. Carson ran first ran, many Adventists urged the General Conference to publicly endorse him. After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidental election, Dr. Carson, who backed Trump was given a position in his cabinet. Commenting on feeling isolated from friends and family by those who disapproved of Trump in a 3ABN interview in 2019, Dr. Carson likened himself to Joseph in Egypt. Even before the US Capitol attack on Janury 6, 2021 we knew many of those refused to leave the Trump Administration stuck it out mostly to keep Trump in check.

 

While Trump was president, much was done to weaken the wall between Church and State, the biggest one being the appointment of three Supreme Court Justices–two of which confirmed in June they lied under oath during their confirmation hearings. It doesn’t matter where you lean politically, the willingness of Christians to overlook that sceams hypocrisy at the end of the day. For what? “Owning the Libs”? “Taking back our country”? On that note. I find it interesting when someone who publicly acknowledges belief in God and uses “Christian speak” runs for office, faith leaders line up in droves to encourage their congregations to support and vote for them. The last time I checked, you do not have to be a Christian to be a politician in America and nor should it be required regardless of were you lean politically.

It’s hard to ignore the double standard on this and most especially along party lines: A Republican or Conservative politican professed to be Christian gets caught up in a scandal? “The media is biased”, “We should give them the benefit of the doubt”, “They don’t deserve to lose their job over this” and so on. A Democrat or Liberal politician professed to be a Christian gets caught up in a scandal? “The media’s going easy on them”, “I knew they were no good”, “They should resign immediately” and so on. I’m generalizing but that’s fairly accurate.

All that said. Those of us Christians who believe in The Second Coming should view ourselves as strangers in a strange land passing through this world. Our first and primary alliegiance must be to the Kingdom of Heaven. At the same time, we are expected to be good citizens of our respective nations on Earth. We should be peacemakers, advocate for the oppressed, help those in need and hold our governments to account for injustices and unfairness that happen. The reason is because it’s expected of us. Instead, there are people who have decided to use a form of religion of their own making to force their views on others.

Like it or not, the separation of Church and State is one of the principles this country was founded on. The reason Christianity has greatly flourished in America is specifically for that reason. The government can’t tell you how, when, who, what, why or where to worship. That separation was done in part after the imfamous Salem Witch Trials between 1692 and 1693. For many people who left Europe in search of religious freedom, that incident brought back memories of the Catholic Church’s efforts in Europe to force everyone to worship their way. Those who didn’t, the Vatican would pressure governments persecute or kill those they deemed heretics.

The early Christians who came to North America from Europe wanted religious freedom but the problem is they brought the Catholic Church’s intolerance to differing views with them. The Salem Witch Trials was a tragedy and a black eye to early American Christians as a reminder: Everyone who was arrested, jailed and executed was actually innocent. It was later revealed the teenage girls who sparked the Salem Witch Trials lied but by then, 19 people were executed and 5 more died in jail. One woman who was pregnant gave birth while in jail awaiting trial. It was the last time the government would get involved in a religous dispute and it also saw the beginning of the end of the Puritains’ chokehold on the Massachusetts Colony. If not for the Salem Witch Trials, Rhode Island probably would not exist as a separate U.S. Colony and now U.S. State.

 

All that said. There WILL come a time in the near future when Church and State unite in America. The Bible speaks of this in Daniel and Revealation though Ellen White also wrote about it as noted above. It’s hard to miss the obvious signs that this time is fast approaching and it might even happen in my lifetime. Before it does happen, we will be given time to change course and warnings will be sounded.

 

While yes God is in control, it’s also true God respects free will. America has been becoming noticably more secular in recent decades with less than 30% of Americans professing to be just Christian. That figure is expected to reach 12% by 2040 on that note. As much as many Christians like to blame it on Abortion, tolerance for the LGBTQ+ community, the Theory of Evolution being presented as fact and the influences of mass media, the fact of the matter is “Christian Culture” is the biggest reason why the deficit continues to freefall. We attack ourselves over the slightest disagreements and condone evil to maintain appearances. The only kinds of people Jesus hated more than hypocrites were those who sow discord and those who want to put religious customs before doing what’s right.

 

…In other words, too many of us so-called believers don’t practice what we preach. If more Christians were willing to do so, most of our society’s problems wouldn’t exist. Even worse is not only does the Bible give stern warnings against forced worship, we also have the dark history of the Catholic Church persecuting anyone who dared to oppose them for centuries. To Ultra Conservatives and those pushing for an American Theocracy, Jesus is a mascot and they are the only true believers as far as they’re concerned. I’ll just put it like that.

 

Of course, Daniel and Revealation make it clear the union of church and state in America WILL come. The question to ask though is are as belivers truly ready should that happen now? What I’m seeing says no, absolutely not and I’m seeing signs The Lord might feel the same way in some regards. Things will happen at their appointed time and what’s going on now is just beginning of what will be coming later.

At the same time, things tend to move in extreme directions politically in the U.S. and it’s just about time for things to slide Left. Unlike in the past, things are moving much slower due to how much the Right stacked things in their favor over the last 20 years. As long as the Republican Party keeps both houses of Congress tied up for political reasons, the White House will continue to be forced to Legislate via Executive Order and the Supreme Court will continue to be forced to Legislate from the bench.

Like I said before, God is in control. The stage is being set for a Civil War in the U.S. as we speak and like the last one, it WILL be used to punish both sides–one side more than the other. It’s just a matter of when, not if. Also like the last time, there are those who are selectively quoting scripture to self-justify and that’s dangerous. God will not be mocked and He is always patient when dealing with the disobedient.

 

Getting back to Pastor Batchelor’s Fourth of July Sermon, I had two thoughts. One was he was being mindful of the fact non-Adventists watch his sermons. Nothing turns off our brothers and sisters of other denominations faster than those who look down on them just because they “worship on the wrong day” or don’t know certain truths most Adventists–especially those who were born in or grew up in the faith–feel a sense of intellectual superiority about for some strange reason. Yet when it comes to sharing that knowledge with people of other denominations there is a mix of apprehension, superiority and “I’m right because the Bible says so”. Knowledge without compassion is why The Theory of Evolution has been embraced by most of the world so…yeah.

 

The other thought I had was he was trying to reach the growing number of Adventists who were lured by splinter factions who advocate for Isolationism and keeping the truths they know to themselves.

 

 

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If you read your Bible, you shouldn’t have any reason to doubt the validity of Climate Change [UPDATED]

 

Scientists and researchers are sounding the alarm louder than ever and with increased frequency to anyone who will listen about the world being on the fast track to ruin because of the actions of a few. The last line in Revelation 11:18 clearly states God will destroy those who destroy the Earth. It’s embarrassing for me to see and know that the secular world is far more concerned about the state of the only planet mankind lives on than Christians seem to be.

 

Matthew 24:22 states in part “Except those days be shortened, no flesh should be saved.” What this means is there will come a time when things will get so bad, all life on Earth will be facing mass extinction. This is to say nothing of Revelation 11:18 which to paraphrase says in part God judge and destroy those who destroy the Earth at the appointed time. In short, there is scripture that supports Climate Change in the present as well as the future and obviously the past. On that note. Archeologists, Meteorologists and other researchers have been taking a more serious look at Genesis’ account of the Flood in recent years.

 

While they’re not specifically mentioned in the Bible, Dinosaurs WERE real. It’s easy to focus on the fact the global human population dropped to 8 after The Flood but it wasn’t just humans who were purged. God chose what from the animal kingdom would be preserved through the flood. The Dinosaurs were among those that were not and likely could not be preserved. Not just the carnivores but the herbivores too. Why? Science tells us Dinosaurs that were herbivores required an abnormally large amount of vegetation just to sustain themselves. They would have threatened not just the surviving humans but other herbivores in the animal kingdom too. This is why they also had to be wiped out.

 

We know that in the years leading up to the flood, most of humanity lived in the middle east region. Why then was the flood a global one? Because the Flood was primarily used to wipe out what was then Earth’s dominant species: The Dinosaus. A 40 day GLOBAL rainstorm wouldn’t have been necessary to wipe out humanity and more so since most were in one region of the world. Looking at it logically, humans weren’t the primary species God wanted to purge.

 

Remember when I said earlier researchers were taking a second look at The Bible’s account of The Flood? Traces of saltwater and seashells have been found in out of place regions such as Mt. Killimanjaro, the Nevada Desert and even The Himalayas. This is to say nothing of dinosaur fossils with perfectly preserved tissue being found more and more all over the world. That last one’s been having fun destroying the idea the world is millions of years old as Evolutionists want people to believe. Dinosaur remains with tissue and organs preserved enough to extract full DNA samples from obviously can’t be millions of years old as people are being taught as fact. Whoops!

 

That brings me to the Jurassic Park movies. For those who are unfamiliar with the Jurassic Park movies, it’s revealed in the original 1993 movie scientists used Frog DNA to fill in missing gaps in Dinosaur DNA to revive them. It goes without saying that was a very stupid and dangerous idea if the course of the movies are any indication. The Dinosaurs were wiped out for a reason. We actually do now have the technology to bring Dinosaurs back to this world but that’s a pandora’s box that should NEVER be reopened if the movies are any indication. It’s wouldn’t take much time or effort for Dinosaurs to restablish themselves as Earth’s dominant species.

 

Looking at human history since The Flood, you can consider that event a soft reset believe it or not. A hard reset would have been everything getting wiped out. One of the few things both the Christian and Secular worldviews do agree on is Earth already faced a global mass exinction event. The Flood was that event and the Secular world is finding it harder to hold on to other theories because of what’s being found in the fossil record.

 

Personally, I look at Matthew 24:22 as a promise we shouldn’t have to worry about Earth being rendered uninhabitable before The Second Coming. There certainly will be mass extinction events between now and then but nothing on the scale of The Flood. That doesn’t mean we as believers can do whatever we want and not have to worry about the consequences. Those who exploit Earth’s resources with wreckless abandon and rob not only future generations of people but plants and animals of life will be dealt with accordingly at the appointed time.

 

I’ll stop short of saying all Christians should be environmentalists but at the very least, we should advocate for conservation or restoration of places devastated by climate change. Most of the U.S. West Coast is literally on fire right now and has been for almost 15 years for example. Over half the U.S. has been experiencing record high temperatures even in places that were traditionally much colder such as Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin until about 15 years ago.

The earth itself is literally groaning and heaving because of the effects of sin. Climate Change is here and it has been for some time. Those who continue to deny it will not be spared from its effects either.

 

 

 

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As America is rocked by a wave of mass shooting events, the silence from Christians is deafening

 

When the racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York happened no one could have anticipated it would have been the first of several mass shooting events across America that have followed in the days and weeks after it. Yet, that is exactly where we are now. Whenever there is a mass shooting event, war, genocide, mass killing or homicide in general in recent decades, most who are familiar with prophecy tend to immediately think of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 which says “And because iniquity shall abound, the hearts of many shall wax cold.”

It’s important to understand this isn’t in reference to those who carry out acts of violence alone. It’s referring to society as a whole in every country and culture around the world. Let’s be honest, most of the Western world lost its sensitivity to violence over the last 60 or so decades because of how prevalent it is mass media. It’s much harder for a society to value human life when the overwhelming majority are entertained by depictions of violence, death, killing and murder glorified in movies, music, social media, memes, TV shows and video games we shouldn’t be surprised a growing percenatage of Americans feel violence–specifically with guns–is an acceptible way to resolve differences and disputes of any kind.

It’s quite interesting to me given entertainment media in China, Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world is today not that much different from what’s produced in the U.S. Yet, you never hear of these mass shootings or mass casualty events anywhere else in the world. Why is that? Because culturally, violence is what Americans know best and this was true before mass media too.

There is an old saying. In peacetime, children bury their parents. In wartime, parents bury their children. Although America has been at war for all but about 20 years worth of its entire history, more Americans have been killed domestically to gun violence and homicides in general than every war or conflict America has been involved in including the Civil War. How strange is it to know you’re actually much safer in Kharkiv, Port-au-Prince and Mindanao–three of the most dangerous cities in the world right now–than anywhere in the U.S.? This is where we are right now as a society.

Don’t take some media outlets “suddenly” giving daily updates on gun violence across the country as pandering to one party and trying to shame the other. There are many out there who have been quietly keeping track of gun violence for decades. As someone who grew up in Boston during the 1980s and 90s, I certainly know what I’m talking about. Los Angeles and New York were the epicenters of America’s urban gang warfare during most of the 80s and 90s but no city or town was untouched. Most kids–especially boys of color–knew or learned fast to be off the streets before sundown if they didn’t want to be caught up in gang violence or be mistaken for being in a gang by police and get harrassed.

A large part of what kept me, my brothers and cousins out of trouble was being involved in our church during that time. Church communities played a pivotal role in breaking the siege gang violence had on America’s cities by the mid-90s. Pastors and other clergy who were getting sick and tired of regularly doing fugonerals for children snuffed out by gang violence. The tipping point was the deaths of rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. There were real concerns things could explode into urban warfare. Pastors and other clergy approached the leaders of gangs and brokered an end to most of the gang violence.

It’s worth saying gang violence is still a thing in the U.S. but now it’s nowhere near what it was during its height in the 80s and 90s. There is obviously also gun violence in America’s cities but things are different now. More so given no matter how much conservatives are pretend otherwise, it’s also reached small towns and rural areas too. People walking their dogs might find body in a ditch somewhere. A kid walking to school sees a car wreck with police tape around it. They tell themselves “This is from elsewhere. This is not us” as if to justify turning a blind eye. This is nothing more than Matthew 24:12 in action.

 

I have talked to people who used to run with gangs in the 80s and 90s. They’ve said during their youth, gangs went by a certain set of rules. One of them was on collateral damage or innocent bystanders. Basically, you try not to target anyone not connected to the intended target and more so if they’re a child, pregnant or elderly because of the media coverage and police investigation that may follow.

These days, all bets are off.

Those who used to run the streets decades ago do feel they are partially responsible for what some have referred to as urban warfare. When they ran the streets their chosen lifestyle was glorified in music, movies and tv shows. The streets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami in particular were basically an urban wild wild west back in the day. “Why would I turn to the police when I can handle it myself? The police will just complicate things.”

By the mid 1990s, communities had enough of the often drug-fueled killings and revenge killings. More so since there were almost always innocent people caught in the crossfire. Gangs got the message loud and clear and more so after more and more of the people were being rounded up and sent to prison, often for life. Today, most who lived that lifestyle in the 80s and 90s both in and out of prison will tell you: “I wish I knew then what I know now.” Those serving life in prison are trying to tell their stories to young people with the hope they can learn from their mistakes. Those who did time and got out

Today, all of the gun violence is obviously not gang-related. No, it’s something deeper. There’s just no reason or need for it yet it’s happening on a daily basis now. It’s no the fact that so many have such easy paths to legally purchasing an assault rifle in the U.S. It’s not even the people who do it, some of whom are mentally disturbed that is concern to me.

For me, the greatest concern is those who personally knew them and did nothing to stop them in advance.

The refrain from the family, friends and colleagues or coworkers of those who carry out these acts of violence is always the same aside from condolences to the victims’ families: “We didn’t know he was capable of such a thing.”, “He was such a nice guy”, “I don’t believe it, there must be a mistake”. For every mass shooting event that’s happened, there are dozens more that have been prevented because their family members stepping in. Because of America’s cultural distrust of authority figures in general, this doesn’t happen within families much anymore. Intead’s it’s just “keep quiet” about things.

Well, the story of Achan in Joshua 7 is one of many warnings in the Bible that outlines what happens when families decide to “keep quiet” about the sins of one: Not only was Achan stoned to death but his entire household was also executed along with him. Why? Because they knew what he had done, they knew it was wrong, they knew 36 of their people were killed because of it and they STILL kept quiet. Achan’s family comitted the Sin of Omission that’s what roused God’s indignation when Joshua inquired about the casualties. Had any of them told Joshua before Achan was found out, they might have been spared. Since they put the love of the family before not just before God but their own people, they had to be cut off.

The same idea can be applied today. No, I’m not saying whole families should be wiped out because of the actions of one person. They should be made to understand that the actions of one have consequences though. Some states have already passed laws in which the parents of juveniles who commit violent acts can themselves be codefendants in a trial. I know some consider that “unfair” but you don’t need to be a psychologist to know how someone is raised can impact how they view life.

 

I want to end with this because it is important.

These are some of the caskets for the children killed in their classrooms last month. In a country like the U.S., rhe only time a parent should expect to bury a child would be if they died from an illness or accident. Not because they’re homicide victims in their school, a mall or a church. For the last 25 years our socitety has basically told the current and previous two generations of kids we can’t protect them because of politics and corporate greed.

Even worse is as Christians, we have been silent on the issue of mass shootings and reform. We are doing nothing and saying nothing especially those who either themselves are or live among people who we know put their worship of their guns and the Second Amendment before anything else. The irony for Christian gun owners is that actually violates the First Commandment which states in part “Worship Him Alone” and the Second Commandment which basically states “Do not worship anything that was made”.

You’ve probably heard of the old saying “One cannot serve two masters”. One of the new talking points from some gun owners is basically “guns are a tool and they’re not inherently evil or bad”. That’s true but like swords, they exist for the sole purpose of causing death or injury. No other reason. It doesn’t matter if you own a gun for hunting or the defense of your home and property. It doesn’t change that simple truth.

I’m just sick and tired of the fact protecting and preserving the lives of people here now is below guns, companies, and pets as far as most Christians are concerned. Everyone is in their political or denominational corners and they’re refusing to leave. This is a problem that doesn’t exist in any other country of the same makeup, size, government and values. We need to get our act together or look forward to perishing together. Full stop.

This isn’t a political problem in America. It’s a moral one.

I know too many people my age and younger who have been firm about their stance of never having children because as far as they’re concerned, this country is no longer a safe place for children to be born into. This is to say nothing of those who are so convinced The Second Coming will happen within the generation of everyone alive right now, they don’t see a reason or need to have any kids. I’ll speak more to this in a separate post but I had to get all of this off my chest.

 

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Avert not your eyes from the Conflict in Ukraine

 

A conflict sparked by the Russian Military most of the world thought would last two or three days at most is now entering its fourth week. The Ukranian Military and its citizens have defied all expectations and inspired the world as they engage the second most powerful military in the world and the most powerful military in Europe. Most of the world has seen the images of devastation, suffering and death on TV every day since the conflict began on the evening of February 24.

From a biblical perspective, this is an element of prophecy being fulfilled. There are various references wars as well as pestilences, natural disasters, the decline of morality and of course, the rejection of the idea of absolute truth. As bad as things seem right now globally, things are nowhere near the conditions required to trigger the Second Coming as described in the Bible. There are still a lot of places around the world where good morals and truth can be found in abundance. Not every country is following the U.S.’ gradual declines in those regards yet to say the least.

 

One interesting side of the conflict in Ukraine that international media hasn’t picked up yet relevant to this blog involves the Russian Orthodox Church. A few years ago, Pope Francis met with the leaders of the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches to form an alliance with them. Ukraine’s president Volodomir Zelensky revealed this past weekend he spoke to Pope Francis who basically offered to help broker an end to the conflict by reaching out to the Russian Orthodox Church which Russia’s Vladomir Putin is a member of.

The interesting thingis it may not be as simple as that: It’s recently been revealed that the Russian Orthodox Church is lockstep with the Kremlin and Russian Propaganda in support of the conflict in Ukraine, saying in part Russian soldiers should kill Ukrainians “for the glory of God”. I won’t pretend to know either way if Pope Francis is aware of the Russian Orthodox Church’s edict but it’s well known President Zelensky is Jewish.

If the current Ukrainian governent is deposed by Russia and either a puppet government is installed or it’s just annexed, the Vatican would gain influence in Ukraine by proxy via the Russian Orthodox Church. This is something I’m sure Pope Francis is well aware of. Could Pope Francis broker peace in the region? Yes, but certain assurances would need to be given in advance and one of them would probably involve the formal adoption of certain Catholic positions via legislation for him to personally get involved. It’s called a backroom deal.

 

 

The world has been rightfully horrified by the images of destruction, death and devastation in Ukraine ever since the conflict began. Kherson, which is one of Ukraine’s four major cities is now occupied by Russian forces while Mariupol has been reduced to rubble and ruin. For context, Ukraine is about the size of the U.S. state of Texas and has the population Chicago of a little over 40 million people.

The United Nations and UNICEF both report as of this week, almost 4 million people have so far fled the country after the conflict began. The Ukrainian government has reported almost 1,000 soldiers have been killed and while exact estimates are hard to ascertain right now, it’s believed that so far tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed.

On the Russian side, U.S. and British intelligence both estimate over 15,000 Russian soldiers including 11 commanders have been killed since the conflict began. Another 30,000 is also believed to have been wounded, captured, deserted or is missing. We may never know exact numbers from the Russian side since the Russian government is not sharing that information on their end and is probably not even counting. It’s worth noting many Russians are against the war and as Russian families learn of family members killed in Ukraine and more importantly, learn their government lied to them, one important question will need to be asked.

 

“What was it all for?”

Nothing, that’s what. The only person who profits from all this suffering is the devil himself.

 

 

The conflict in Ukraine has and rightfully should have the attention of Christians in the U.S. in particular. I don’t just mean from a moral perspective either. When the conflict began, those who mostly lived in cities were forced to flee for their lives, usually only with what they could carry but often with just the clothes on their backs. In recent decades, there has been a larger general awareness of certain social and self-sufficiency inconveniences that come with living in a city. This is to say nothing of the fact overreliance on modern conveniences and technology has led to many basic emergency survival skills not being passed on as much as in the past. I’m talking about how to survive without modern conveniences or technology.

 

To be more direct, here’s some of the kinds of skills I’m talking about:

• Carpentry
• Gardening
• Tailoring
• Engineering
• Cooking
• Preserving Food
• Basic First Aid
• Herbalism

If you live in or close to a city, unless your profession demands it you probably don’t have a reason to know most of these survival skills. This is just in regards to America. These skills are still being taught and reinforced in other modern countries. Unlike Europe, Asia and Africa, the U.S. has no real geopolitical treats in almost 200 years. I’ll just put it like that.

 

It’s also fair to say with the world more interconnected than any other time in history thanks to the internet and social media, many Americans have a false sense of security since the country is separated from Europe and Asia by two oceans. We don’t have to worry about Canada and despite what some in the country might think, we also don’t need to worry about Mexico.

 

What we DO need to worry about are threats from within the U.S. As was highlighted in Ukraine, cities are priority for hostile forces. What this means is you should try to put as much distance from a city as possible. As was also highlighted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, diseases can spread very quickly in a city. Take a look at what we would consider extreme measures in China in their efforts to stop another outbreak in a Chinese city.

 

Of course, this is also to say nothing of more and more American cities becoming hotspots for all kinds of crime and immorality. It’s to the point

 

 

100 years ago, there was mass migration to and near cities. Now, we are seeing the beginning of a mass migration as people move out of or away from cities and head to rural areas.

 

Some of you may be familiar with the term “Living off the Grid”. Technically, it means living without being connected to utility lines (Water/Sewer, Electricity and Gas) managed by the government or a company. Contrary to what some might think, it’s 100% legal to live like this in all 50 states. Actually doing it is another matter though as there are things you need to account for.

 

Solar Power is how most who live off grid source electricity though depending on the region and if you can afford it, Wind Power or Hydroelectricity are also viable options. As for water, you can build and install our own water filtration and water collection systems. They would source water from rain and snow. Alternatively–and with permission if it’s owned by someone–you could also draw water from a nearby water, lake or other body of water for your needs. It’s generally not advised for obvious reasons though.

As for Sewage, you have a few options. You could install compost toilets inside or outside. Alternatively, you could also rig plumbing so that waste drains into a preset area. With Garbage waste, you would compost as much as you can. What can’t be composted would be buried or burned. For your Heating and Cooking needs you would lean hard on Wood and Charcoal.

“Wait, what about Wi-Fi and Internet?” Well, there are a few options. You would likely need to buy and install an antenna or satellite to connect to a service you would pay for. Same for Premium TV services though unlike 20 years ago, there some cheap options for the service itself. Why would you want Premium TV? Well, you’d likely be too far away for even an HD Antenna to work properly and you need a way of keeping track of current events. Yes there is the internet and getting a CV Radio is also a good idea but for more nuance, it’s highly reccommended you get access to those premium News Channels while living off the grid.

As for food, as I hinted before this is where gardening and farming comes in. You want and need to be able to source own food because when you’re living off the grid, going to a grocery store isn’t really going to be much of an option for you anymore. This is why now is the time for you to start learning and honing those skills so that when you’re living off the land, you already have that experience and know what to do.

 

…Starting to feel overwelmed yet? Not sure you can make such a drastic lifestyle change? Well, there is an intermediate step just before Living Off The Grid: Minimalsm.

 

 

Although East Asian countries have long been known for it, Minimalism has been practiced all over the world for centuries. Over the last 10 years in particular, more and more people in modernized countries are rediscovering the importance of living with less. In the last decade, Many People in Western Society have started to educate themselves and figure out happiness doesn’t come from having a lot of things or money. This has led to people not just getting rid of excess belongings but where possible, moving into smaller homes or apartments.

 

When you really think about it, how much stuff do you really need? More and more peopele are starting to realize on their own that they don’t need a lot of material possessions like I said before. This is to say nothing of the popular TV show Hoarders which showcases people who collect and gather so much stuff, it severely impacts their ability to live in their own homes.

As some pastors say with a bit of irony, you don’t see a U-Haul following hearses to the cemetery. You’re born into the world with nothing and when you die, you will take nothing with you. So, what is the point in having an abundance of stuff? None, that’s what. This isn’t to say you’re not allowed to have any hobbies. At the same time, if your hobbies involve collecting things that will either take up space, require a lot of care or could attract thieves then it might not be a good hobby.

Here’s another bit of irony: The overwhelming majority of those who are adopting the practice of Minimalism in North America are non-Christian. Meanwhile, the majority of those who are hoarding stuff they don’t need to have just to have are Christians.

Why? The Prosperity Gospel.

Watch TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) and before long you will see a charismatic televangelist say something like this: “God wants you to prosper financially. He wants you to be wealthy and you can be if you have faith, pray and claim this promise”. Maybe you’ve heard something like that before. It’s basically a Christianized version of Materialism. This is also where and why many Christians sincerely believe if they’re not at least trying to pursue financial wealth then they’re not serious about their faith.

 

 

At the same time, this doesn’t mean if you become financially wealthy either in a short time or over a period of time then you’re automatially “worldly”. Hence Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much is required. To whom much is entrusted, much is expected.” It spreaks for itself but in short, you have what you have not to keep or hoard for yourself but to help others.

 

There has been an outpouring of support from around the world for Ukraine and those who have fled the confilict still in progress there. That’s great and not to sound cynical but it’s only a matter of time before people get apathetic about helping those whose lives were greatly disrupted through no fault of their own. As of this week, the reports indicate the Ukrainian Military has started going on offense and are starting to push the Russuans back. We can only guess but it’s likely tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens have been killed since the conflict began.

 

This is to say nothing of the families of the over 15,000 Rusian soldiers who’ve so far been killed during this horrible conflict. It’s important to keep in mind both the Russian military and the people of Russia are being lied to and essentially brainwashed by their government. They are victims as well and we should pray for them. We should also pray peace will come and come sooner than later.

 

 

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Renowned Cult and Mind Control Expert Dr. Steven Hassan discusses the Mormon Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses in his podcast

 

For those who don’t know, Dr. Steven Hassan was a former leader in the Moonies Cult led by Sun Park Moon in the 1970s. He eventually got out and was deprogrammed when his family intervined. He has since dedicated his life to helping others get out of cults, identifying cults, teach others how gradual mind control works and teaching others how they can best protect themselves and their families from mind control. He has also written several highly acclaimed books including Combating Cult Mind Control and Freedom of Mind.

 

In his podcast the Influence Continum (Also on Apple Podcasts), Dr. Hassan speaks to guests on various topics related to Mind Control and Brainwashing among other things. Relevlant to this blog, he recently discussed the Church of Latter Day Saints (The Mormon Church) and the Jehovah’s Witnesses in separate episodes. Let’s just be honest, both Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses have always been viewed as…peculiar to put it nicely by other Chrisitian denominations for some time.

While the revealations of the former members of each denomination who spoke is not that big of a surprise to me personally–I have talked to former members of both denominations who have given similar accounts–having a recognized expert in Mind Control and Cults provide his expertise both times makes it very clear these are NOT attacks against Christian Denominations as some have dismissed these episodes as. That and like I said before, it’s not exactly a secret other denominations have long been wary of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses in general to put it politely.

Before I continue, I want to explain the BITE Model developed by Dr. Hassan. BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought and Emotion control. He breaks down what to be mindful of with each cateogry  but to save you a click, I posted the lists below. Alternatively, you can also find it here as well.

 

Ok here we go.

 

Behavior Control

1. Regulate individual’s physical reality
2. Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
3. When, how and with whom the member has sex
4. Control types of clothing and hairstyles
5. Regulate diet – food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
6. Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
10. Permission required for major decisions
11. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
12. Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
13. Impose rigid rules and regulations
14. Punish disobedience by beating, torture, burning, cutting, rape, or tattooing/branding
15. Threaten harm to family and friends
16. Force individual to rape or be raped
17. Encourage and engage in corporal punishment
18. Instill dependency and obedience
19. Kidnapping
20. Beating
21. Torture
22. Rape
23. Separation of Families
24. Imprisonment
25. Murder

 

Information Control

1. Deception:
   a. Deliberately withhold information
   b. Distort information to make it more acceptable
   c. Systematically lie to the cult member
2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including:
   a. Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, media
   b. Critical information
   c. Former members
   d. Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate
   e. Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking
3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
   a. Ensure that information is not freely accessible
   b. Control information at different levels and missions within group
   c. Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when
4. Encourage spying on other members
   a. Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member
   b. Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership
   c. Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group
5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including:
   a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media
   b. Misquoting statements or using them out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
   a. Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries
   b. Withholding forgiveness or absolution
   c. Manipulation of memory, possible false memories

Thought Control

1. Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
   a. Adopting the group’s ‘map of reality’ as reality
   b. Instill black and white thinking
   c. Decide between good vs. evil
   d. Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
2. Change person’s name and identity
3. Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts
5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member
6. Memories are manipulated and false memories are created
7. Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including:
   a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
   b. Chanting
   c. Meditating
   d. Praying
   e. Speaking in tongues
   f. Singing or humming
8. Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
9. Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
10. Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
11. Instill new “map of reality”

 

 

Emotion Control

1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
2. Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
3. Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
4. Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as:
   a. Identity guilt
   b. You are not living up to your potential
   c. Your family is deficient
   d. Your past is suspect
   e. Your affiliations are unwise
   f. Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish
   g. Social guilt
   f. Historical guilt
5. Instill fear, such as fear of:
   a. Thinking independently
   b. The outside world
   c. Enemies
   d. Losing one’s salvation
   e. Leaving or being shunned by the group
   f. Other’s disapproval
   f. Historical guilt
6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner
7. Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
8. Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
   a. No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
   b. Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.
   c. Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends and family
   d. Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
   e. Threats of harm to ex-member and family

 

…Whew.

I know, that’s quite a lot to take in. I also realize I should have given a warning reading the list may invoke some painful memories for some in advance.

Do keep in mind the BITE Model was designed with the intention of helping people understand not just how cults operate in general or mind control. It can also be used on a much smaller scale such as identifying a malignant narcissist or sociopath in your life. The BITE Model can also be used on a much larger scale which Dr. Hassan has done in recent years for a certain topic he wrote a book about but it’s not relevant to this blog so I won’t digress.

 

Here’s a chart to take a look at that simplifies things a bit:

 

 

Those are pretty straightforward to say the least. I know it’s not on the chart but the opposite of Love is actually not Hate. The opposite of Love is Indifference. Again, being able to know the differences is important not just for the related subjects but in general. These can be applied to anyone you know including yourself.

Even without the BITE Model, any former member of the Mormon Church or Latter Day Saints will tell you without hesitation the denomination controls every aspect of the members’ lives. I don’t think we can in good conscience turn a blind eye to what these two denominations (or any other) does so openly any longer. More so in the aftermath of the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal from 15 years ago.

 

I feel we as Christians and Protestants have a moral obligation to speak up and speak out when it comes to religious extremism and religious fundamentalism. Right now we have a double standard: It’s basically at least “ok” as long as you’re doing it “in the name of God/Jesus” but if it’s not for that reason it’s bad. The sweet irony is the Bible warned many will do bad things in God’s name.

This is to say nothing of the fact Relative Truth–the belief that there is no such thing as “Absolute Truth”–has greatly weakened Protestantism over the last few decades mostly thanks to secular and cultural influences. I talked about this in a recent post on my blog on current events and politics but there is a non-denominational Christian organization called The Fellowship Foundation, also known as The Family. Yes, the same organization a certain Netflix drama is about.

The Fellowship Foundation is most known for sponsoring the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. It is a Bipartisan event held each year since the 1940s. Former Vice President Mike Pence is a member as are many current and former politicians. Despite the fact almost all of their members are politicians and public figures, since it is registered as a religious organization everything about The Family is a closely guarded secret.

It is a bonafide secret society but since they’re “Christian”, apparently it’s “ok”. They are not an actual religious denomination so whoever registered them as one clearly knew what they were doing. More so given Christian Fundamentalists like that organization have allied themselves with many of the same anti-government groups who were responsible for the events of January 6, 2021. What we are seeing is an alliance of Politicians, Christian Fundamentalists and anti-government groups who want to reshape America in their image.

They all have basically the same primary grievence: They hate Democrats and Liberalism so much, they are willing to destroy the American Democracy. They are also in favor of using violence to achieve their goals.  As has been revealed in polls taken since the 2020 Presidential Election, 30% to 40% of Americans not only believe political violence is ok but want to engage in it themselves. We are seeing elements of prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes. It’s also easy to see how America becomes the Second Beast Power described in Revealation. First the Christian Fundamentalists will seize power and then the reshaping begins.

What will they do?

We already know: Take away the civil rights of anyone who is LGBTQ+ (and their allies), outlaw abortion (for most), deregulate everything, give guns to everyone, an endless defense spending budget, hold public executions for political dissidents, suspend habeas corpus (you’re jailed indefinitely), carpet bomb the Middle East (excluding Israel of course) and build massive fortifications along the U.S.-Mexico Boarder for starters.

They would also impose some specific theological mandates the Bible actually says WILL happen including a National Sunday Law (Jews would likely be excused but not Seventh Day Adventists) and mandating bible study in public schools among other things. Oh and of course, they’ll also demand other countries adopt the same policies “or we’ll make you”. With America firmly under the control of Christian Fundamentalists, they will dictate how everyone should worship or believe in God. I’ll just put it like that.

As most already know, I am a Seventh Day Adventist. I observe Saturday as the Sabbath. The majority of Christian denominations observe Sunday. When Sunday becomes the federally recognized day of rest, guess what happens to the over 2 Million Adventists who currently live in America? I’ll put it like this: We are prepared to lose everything including our lives before we even appear to “respect” such a law. Why? Because the same Bible everyone else has access to demands we must that’s why.

To wrap things up, I urge everyone to consider Dr. Hassan’s books and podcasts. They are very insightful to say the least and more so in these times. More so for Christians because too many are ripe and ready for mind control and brainwashing right now. Many have already been caught up in things and don’t even know it. Dr. Hassan’s BITE Model and Influence Continuum are both powerful tools that can be used to help you learn how to better protect yourself and loved ones from undue influence among other things.

With everything going on in the world these days, it’s even more important than ever to to understand how mind control and brainwashing can be used by unexpected sources.

 

 

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Christian Denominations are STILL being mercilessly attacked for promoting Immunization by their own members

As those who’ve been following this blog for the last two years are aware, I have been closely following how American Christians have reacted and responded to COVID-19 and efforts being utilized by world governments to get it under control. The last 30 years worth of anti-authority, anti-fact and anti-truth messaging so prevalent in mass media and the internet in particular is why no one should be surprised the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths for two straight years now. The top three reasons the majority of those who remain unvaccinated cite are religious beliefs, government distrust and easy to disprove misinformation.

 

Christian denominations have almost unanimously endorsed the vaccines and urged their members to get vaccinated. In North America, Western Europe and Australia especially, many Christians across all denominations not only oppose getting a COVID-19 vaccine but are turning their backs on their churches. Why? Because when the charismatic preachers they listen to online and elsewhere tell them what they want to hear, everything else doesn’t matter to them.

 

Like much of American society these days, many Christians in America basically live in Information Silos. They are only interested in information and media sources that they agree with. Anything else is dismissed as either “wrong”, “not trustworthy” or “fake news”. When Christian Denominations endorsed the COVID-19 vaccines and began to urge their members to get vaccinated, most Christians saw that as a betrayal at the least and proof of apostasy at the worst. For many, that was reason enough to leave their church entirely.

Why? Because in the U.S. especially, many Christians believe the Separation of Church and State means if there are laws and ordinances they disagree with or feel shouldn’t apply to them, the church is “obligated” to give them a religious exemption from it. Even though almost all Christian denominations including the SDA Church, Baptist, United Methodist, Roman Catholic Church and The First Church of Christ have all endorsed the COVID-19 vaccines after independently examining the data on them, to most of their members the churches are apostate for endorsing them. The churches are not telling people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. They are only reccommending it.

 

I touched on this before but one of the biggest concerns of churches during the Pandemic has been how many of their members would regularly attend church services again once the pandemic-related restrictions were eased and eventually removed.  Some well-meaning churches have enacted vaccine mandates of their own for their congregations. The policy has been met with not just scathing criticism but in some cases, death threats for church leaders. Yes, really.

 

This is nothing more than a sign of the times we now live in. The last few decades worth of mass media consumption has groomed and conditioned those who live in North America, Australia and Western Europe–all places known as “Christian strongholds”–to be ripe for mass brainwashing. I’m talking millions of people. That’s why most of the remaining 35% of Americans who remain unvaccinated by choice believe it’s better to get infected with COVID-19 without a vaccine than to get vaccinated.

Don’t take my word for it, the numbers being reported in every American state, county, city and town are accurate and is public information. There is “secret list with the real numbers” as some conspiracy theorists insist there is. No one is lying about the fact since the end of last summer, almost everyone who has been dying to COVID-19 is unvaccinated. That’s easy to prove. Just ask the patients themselves–the ones able to talk anyway.

I don’t want to veer too much into the realm of politics so I’ll stop there. What I will say that I find very interesting is more often than not, almost everyone encouraging people to not get a COVID-19 vaccine are themselves fully vaccinated. Sometimes after they got infected. They want you to remain unvaccinated but they make sure to get a vaccine themselves.

Some like to point out the fact many of those who are the most outspoken about the pandemic being a hoax and the vaccines being biological weapons–both not true–who are themselves preachers “suddenly” get sick with COVID-19 and usually die. I’ve said this before on this blog and I will say it again: God is in control. People need to take the hint and stop listening to the anti-vaccine messaging so prevalent online especially.

 

Churches are dealing with a membership crisis on two fronts. One is just those who haven’t returned or have expressed no interest in returning. The other is those who do return but are now professing anti-government and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories that threaten the health and peace of the church body. In situations like that, churches need to either try to presuade them to denounce those views or disfellow them.

Churches are far less willing these days to expel people who sow discord within the congregation because of how it looks which is understandable. With everything going on in the world right now, churches need to take a harder stance on this or these compromised members compromise the church’s peace and ability to function. It will be gradual but noticable.

Every now and then, there are times like now when you find out who is a part of the church to fellowship and do the work that calling requires. You also find out who is there for every other reason. Those who are there for other reasons stick out like sore thumbs and I think everyone reading this can imagine a few people they know. Between these things and the rhetoric from some charismatic preachers promoting political violence “in the name of God” in America in recent years, it’s all the more reason for people to pay attention to what is going on around them.

 

I’m sure many of you have heard talk of some pushing for a Second Revolutionary War in America over the last few years in particular. From how it looks, we will see either that or a Civil War sooner than later. Why am I bringing this up here? Because it’s relevant to prophecy. America is the Second Beast power described in Revelation. It fits all of the criteria. The First Beast Power is the Roman Catholic Church and until the last 70 or so years, this was a widely known and accepted fact in the U.S.

Most Adventists are keenly aware of this but there will come a time at some point in the future when Church and State will unite. Many protestants–not just Adventists–have noticed Pope Francis has been doing more than any other Pope in history to unite Christianity under Catholicism. How? By focusing on one of the few things it has in common with almost all protestant churches: The observance of Sunday as the day of worship.

When the world was shut down because of the Pandemic in 2020, researchers noticed some of the pollution caused by mankind was clearing up in the environment worldwide. The Vatican seized on the opportunity to propose a “weekly day of rest” and guess which day they picked. It wasn’t the Biblical Sabbath obviously. From how it looks right now, The Vatican is trying to solicit political support in other countries to enact this so-called “Universal Day of Rest” for the sake of Christian unity and more recently, “to save the world”.

 

I’m speculating with this next part but thanks to three events from history–one of them happening now–I think I know how America’s Constitutional Democracy will come to an end and how either a Constitutional Autocracy or Autocratic Theocracy will begin. Before I explain further, I mentioned three events from history.

 

The first event is the American Civil War. That war was fought over Slavery. Period. The South lost but since there were neither reparations or reconciliation after the war, it paved the way to the American Apartied known to history as Jim Crow. Slavery was not completely abolished by the 13th Amendement but merely changed forms: The wording of the 13th Amendment stipulates Slavery can be used as a form of punishment. One can’t help but notice just like in the 1800s, many Americans are preparing to fight and kill other Americans who they consider to be a threat to what they want the country to be.

 

The second event is Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. Most people might not know or remember this but Hitler fought in World War I. Germany not only surrendered but was forced to pay reparations to France and the UK in particular. Hitler was critical of the German government for surrendering and when he rose to power, he vowed Germany would never surrender to a foreign power ever again. After he committed suicide in 1945, the remnants of Germany’s military commanders formally surrendered to the Soviet Union, the UK and the U.S. to end World War II in Europe (Japan surrendered a few months later to end World War II in the Pacific). Europe had been forcefully plunged into world war for the second time in 20 years in part because wanted to rewrite history.

 

That brings me to the third event now happening in Eastern Europe. As of this writing, Russia is now expected to invade Ukraine sometime following the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Why? Because Russia’s president Vladomir Putin, a former KGB Agent wants to revive the old Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it lost most of its territory southwest of Moscow. Most of those now independent Eastern European countries have since either joined NATO (North Atantic Treaty Organization) or developed close relations with Western Europe and the U.S. Ukraine wants to join NATO but the problem is Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to join NATO. Russia is basically looking to invade and forcefully annex Ukraine in an effort to keep that from happening.

 

Here’s where these three events are related to both prophecy and what’s going on right now in the U.S. When America is soon embroiled in war at home, politicians will desperately look for something that can be used to unite the country. That something turns out to be an Americanized version of Christianity. Why? Because the cultural perception of America is it is a “Christian Nation”. Once that’s done, all bets are off. The three events I mentioned above all happened due to a variety of factors but two of the biggest are Progressive ideas and free thinking became threats to “the order of things”.

The American Civil War was fought in an effort to preserve slavery and the right to treat Blacks as property first an foremost. Everyone saying it was fought over “states rights” doesn’t want to accept the truth. World War II happened because Hitler did not want to accept the outcome of World War I and wanted a do-over. Putin is looking to invade and likely annex Ukraine because he wants to revive the old Soviet Union. Those in America who are pushing for a Second Revolutionary War or a Second Civil War want to erase the last 70 years of American History.

Why?

Because almost 30 years worth of time consuming Fox “News”, Info Wars Breibart, Newsmax and OAN has led to almost a third of Americans living in an alternate reality. It’s textbook brainwashing and mind control. In the minds  of those who consume these media sources Democrats worship Satan or don’t believe in God, want to take away their guns and bibles, want to dictate self-expression, want to turn their kids LGBTQA+, fabricate mass shootings and is using the Corona Virus Pandemic as well as the vaccines for it to depopulate the world.

 

NONE OF THESE ARE TRUE.

 

Why are the aformentioned media outlets telling people these things on a daily basis? To foment hysteria, paranoia and an irrational hatred of “others”. If the last 7 years in particular are any indication, Satan’s longterm plan to plunge America into chaos has clearly worked and more so after the events of January 6, 2021. Don’t let the political spin in the media who downplay the idea fool you, America is headed for armed conflict with itself and it could start as soon as the 2022 Midterms of the 2024 Presidential Election.

Again: Half of America has consumed 30 years worth of conspiracy theories and misinformation from Right Wing media sources. The Left has their issues as well but there is no propaganda machine. The Right’s Media Empire is unmatched in America. CNN and MSNBC are not match for it.

 

I want to end with this because it’s important first and I need to clarify some of the misgivings some have about America being a “Christian Nation”. First and foremost, Freedom of Religion cuts both ways. It specifically states the government cannot promote or infringe on someone’s religious beliefs. Further, it also stipulates those who hold no religious beliefs cannot have those beliefs infringed upon.

 

Did you know that the original version of The Pledge of Allegiance actually did not include the line “Under God”? It wasn’t actually added until the early 1950s. Around the same time, President Eisenhower started holding the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Why? Propaganda. While the Soviet Union promoted Atheism in Eastern Europe, America would promote Christianity. Someone must have reminded him about the specifics of Freedom of Religion so the annual National Prayer Breakfast is typically non-denominational and carefully choreographed to no cross the line.

Officially, politicians cannot tell people they must believe in God, read the bible or pray but as we’ve seen over time they’ve come up with clever ways around that. Even those who feel politicians should promote Christianity more openly–often at the urging of their own voters–have restrained themselves. This is also how someone like Senator Lindsey Graham–son of the legendary Televangelist Billy Graham–can become an elected official. Like his father and brother Franklyn, Lindsey Graham IS an ordained pastor. There are no laws that state clergy can’t run for office and there is nothing in the bible that states believers can’t be politicians but I digress.

All that said, America has a long history of wrapping itself in Christianity. Before the Civil War, Slave Masters selectively quoted scripture to justify owning people. Until a few decades ago, Abusive husbands selectively quoted scripture to justify beating their wives and got away with it. When Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6 some of the held a short prayer session in the Senate Chamber.

I obviously can’t prove this but I do believe God has had enough of the hypocrisy and has been withdrawing some of His protections from America in recent decades. America has enjoyed internal peace and prosperity despite its sins for far too long and that can no longer continue. More turmoil and suffering should be expected for America in the years to come. It’s long overdue.

 

 

 

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December 2021 Mail Bag!

 

I’ve long promised many of those I’ve been in touch with via email and social media I would do this and that is take the time to answer some questions. More so given I was recently forced to disable comments on this blog–the only blog I’ve had to do this with actually–I want to make sure those who have been cordial or took the time to contact me directly have their input acknowledged.

Before I begin, I want to say a few things. One is for similar questions, I merged them into one question. Another thing is although I know who submitted the questions, I’m not including names here. Those whose questions I feature have already been notified in advance. Political questions will not be featured here but they will be featured in a similar post over on my blog on Politics and News. I just want to keep them separate is why. I will not include every question to now or this would be a really, REALLY long article. I’ve chosen a pretty decent mix of questions to feature here however.

Finally, some of these questions and answers will be revisited in more detail in the special section I announced two months ago. I figure I say this now for every time you see “I’ll talk more about this in the future” or something similar.

…Ok here we go.

 

Q: What I don’t understand is why Christians in general are so insistant the Bible’s Creation Story is true and Evolution’s Big Bang Theory can’t be plausible. It’s not like we can prove it either way. Why do you “Believe the Bible is truth”?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: First things first, Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is literally nothing more than that: A theory. It has never actually been proven to be true. Same for the idea our universe is billions of years old. As much as Darwinists and Evolutionists like to laugh and scoff at the Biblical Creation story, the fossil record both proves it AND Dinosaurs were not only real but were not millions of years old.

I’ve heard of a mixing of the two–endorsed by Pope Francis–that alledges the world was not made in 6 literal days but was made over the course of 6 Million years. Yeah, no. Everything was created in 6 literal days. Period. It doesn’t get any more real than Genesis 1:1: “In the Beginning, God Created the Heavens and the Earth.” When you acknowledge the fact God not only exists but more importantly existed before recorded history, everything else in the first Chapter of Genesis is just impossible to dispute.

To give an example. Archeologists and reseachers have found evidence of the presence of the seawater in remote places you wouldn’t expect to: The Sahara Desert, the Mongolian Tundra and even the Alps. Even more interesting than that is it’s been long known that the Earth’s Ocean Levels were actually much lower than they are now and the Earth wasn’t as warm as it’s become since the second half of the last century.

There is an event in the Bible that explains this: The Flood. The world hasn’t been the same since both literally and figuratively. The fossil record points to a cataclysmic event that wiped out most life on earth. While the popular accepted theory is a meteorite wiped out the dinosaurs, the fossil record points to a Flood. This is strengthened even further by the fact more and more dinosaur remains are being found near-perfectly preserved. You know those remains of people from prehistory being found every now and then? You guessed it: People who died in the Flood.

Like I noted at the top, the Big Bang Theory is nothing more than a theory. It actually takes a lot of faith to believe a series of coincidences that let to the creation of the universe coming into being is actually true. That’s the inconvenient truth society insists in true don’t want you to know.

 

Q: I’ve noticed AFTV (Amazing Facts TV) has recently started airing some of the programming from Belt of Truth Ministries’ Scott Ritsema. I was wondering what you think of his ministry and similar ministries regardless of the denomination the speaker is from.

 

A: I want to be very careful in addressing this in part because like me, he comes from a background working in Public Education. Much of what he discusses in regards to the state of Public Education is true and I’ve started talking about that on my blog on News and Politics. I also want to be careful because he is sincere, most of the sources he cites are credible and he is looking to educate, not just indoctrinate.

From the footage of The Media Mind I’ve seen so far via AFTV, it’s obvious he did his research on the topics he discusses. I want to back up for a moment and say he first started appearing on AFTV starting with his 7 Deadly Myths in Christianity series from last month. It’s easy to see why Pastor Doug Batchelor was quick to not only endorse him but give select programs from his Belt of Truth Ministries time slots on AFTV at least for now.

At the same time, I’m personally turned off by what looks like a “bait and switch” practice for those who want to access Belt of Truth Ministries’ video archive online. Everything is locked behind a subscription which, based on the wording on their website seems to have a greater emphasis on that than the content itself. The hyperfocus on subscribing tells me they probably don’t plan to have any content available for free so that folks can sample what they offer and then decide if they want to subscribe or not.

To sum things up, no I would not pay to listen/watch Scott Ritsema. I wouldn’t see him in person either because being honest, he’s competition to my blogs as far as I’m concerned. I am relieved he does endorse the COVID-19 vaccines from how it looks with one of his video series. I do have concerns about some of his videos featuring footage from Fox News that discuss government conspiracies. Like I mentioned in one article at the beginning of the year, when I frequemtly hear a speaker say “Research shows…” and “Everyone knows…” those are generalizations and should be avoided as much as possible with a subject you want to talk about in depth and more so one you’re supposed to be knowledgable about. It actually hurts your credability and more so when someone who actually does know a lot about the subject hears it and points out the holes you left.

 

Would I reccommend others listen to him? Yes, but do your own research afterward. He wants people to think for themselves and that is exactly what you should do.

 

Q: I’ve watched movies based on Biblical Events such as The Prince of Egypt and The Ten Commandments and though some creative license was taken, I do believe they were divinely inspired. I was wondering what your opinion of movies and TV shows based on the Bible is and if they are credible.

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: Until recently, most Christians accepted anything Biblical Hollywood decided to do because it was so rare all things considered. Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand it gets most of the sequence of events right. On the other hand Moses being a part of a love triangle involving himself, the future queen of Egypt and his adopted older brother Rameses II was 100% fiction. The Bible makes no mention of Moses knowing any woman before meeting his wife Tzipporah in Midian after he flees Egypt. On a related note. Moses has two children before God sends him back to Egypt and he’s joined by his family too.

As for The Prince of Egypt. One Biblical inaccuracy happens at the beginning of the movie. When Pharaoh’s daughter finds the newborn Moses, the baby coos. The Bible states the baby starts to cry upon being discovered. As an aside, the Red Sea Parting sequence cost $1 Million and 2 years to do. Like other movies on The Exodus story, this one makes a bit of a focus on the idea Rameses II and Moses were brothers. Although Moses was adopted into Egypt’s royal family, it’s unlikely he would have been in the line of succession given he wasn’t born Egpytian. The movies also leave out the fact the Bible’s account that states Moses was actually reared by his birth mother who likely told him of his true heritage. This fact is not mentioned in any movie on The Exodus story I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen literally all of them. They always have Moses find out before he kills the Egyptian overseer to give motive for his actions as well as add drama. The Bible makes it clear Moses knew his true heritage from an early age though.

I know this and my answers to the questions were long but I wanted to be as clear as possible. With this subject, it should be clear by now any Bible movie made by Hollywood should be avoided or at the least assume it will have some Biblical inaccuracies. The Producer of the 2014 movie Exodus: Gods and Kings bragged shortly before the movie hit theaters in an interview he took pride in the fact when he wrote the script, God is not mentioned by name–merely referred to as The Creator–at any point in the movie. In short, it was a movie written by an unapologetic athiests for Christian moviegoers. He was looking to cash in after the runaway success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

All that said. Biblical Documentaries are usually safe since they focus on the facts and opinions are clearly kept separate. I mean the kind with narrators. If a reinactment is done by a Christian organization, you can trust it as well. You just want to avoid the ones done by big budget Hollywood studios since they often take creative liberties to make the story more entertaining, usually with good intentions. It’s a slippery slope and more so when things are added that the Bible makes no mention of or even in some cases conflicts with.

 

Q: I have noticed more and more Christians are not as accepting of most types of “Gospel” music, Christian Rock or other types of “Christianized” music in recent years as they were before. What is causing this change?

A: Many have simply realized most of what some are now calling “Cheerleader” or “Buddy-Buddy” Music while well intentioned is patronizing more often than not. More importantly, many Christians have become aware of the fact Gospel music and Christian Rock in particular have become big business. I look at the 2003 movie The Fighting Temptations (starring Cuba Gooding Jr.), the 1996 Movie The Preacher’s Wife (starring Whitney Houston) and both Sister Act movies as prime examples of the secular world profiting from “Black Gospel Culture” and that’s a topic I’ll get into with an article or two next year.

All that said. More Christians regardless of culture or race have simply realized how compromised and monetized Christian and Gospel music has become. Not just in store shelves and digital stores but in churches as well. I talked about this before but church services in many Black Churches have been likened to going to a nightclub or theater with the strong emphasis on entertainment.

Congregations have realized how compromised they have allowed themselves to become and most are simply trying to fix things. They are trying to reclaim a sense of reverence in the sancturary that’s been lost in a lot of regards due to compromise. Not just in music but a lot of it is in that from a cultural or “traditional” aspect. A church service is supposed to be a holy convocation for worshippers and it’s that holiness churches are trying to reclaim or reestablish. If it doesn’t feel all that different from going to a secular event, something’s not right.

The more “Progressive” or “Liberal” Christian might say “We need to be welcoming to others if we want to attract new believers”. Yes we do and it doesn’t mean we need to compromise.

 

Q: What do you think of the government-imposed mask and vaccination mandates to enter certain places or work? What do you think of the implications in regards to Prophecy?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: Whew…honestly, I didn’t want to include this question and more so after what happened with two of my blog posts earlier this year. On the other hand, I do have an opinion on this as does everyone else. I want to preface this by first saying it’s become more and more obvious that the Christian world has and continues to largely overract to the mask and vaccine mandates especially in traditionally Democratic countries like the U.S. Culturally, Americans don’t like the idea of a government official telling them what to do or how to live their lives and this is where a lot of the friction in regards to the Pandemic comes from.

Most Christians who study Prophecy view the mitigating measures being employed by governments to control the spread of the Corona Virus as a preview of things to come during End Times or a sign we are in End Times. I have said this quite a lot over just the last 10 years but we are nowhere near End Times. The conditions for that are not in place, the biggest one being everyone on Earth having the opportunity to choose Christ.

At least 45% of everyone alive right now has not yet had that opportunity. While I do agree with Evangelists like Pastor Doug Batchelor who has said this could be done within the generation of everyone alive right now, that is only because we have the means to do it. The willingness and manpower is a different story. Just like most of those who’ve chosen to be Unvaccinated are largely responsible for prolonging this Pandemic, we Christians are largely responsible for forcing Jesus to delay his return.

I partially answered the second question with my comment on the Unvaccinated, most of whom are in high income countries. I’ve said this before in blog posts earlier this year but I do believe the fact that the U.S. has led the world in COVID-19 related cases and deaths almost from the beginning as well as where in the U.S. the Corona Virus is doing the most damage speaks to the fact God is using this Pandemic to punish America and more specifically, Christians across all denominations. I don’t care where you stand on getting vaccinated, it’s a bad look for Christians to be getting infected and/or dying while vaccinated nonbelievers point at us and laugh. Many of them are starting to think most Christians now reject medical science and immunization in general because of the outspoken preachers and evangelists urging their audiences to not to get vaccinated.

 

If we want this Pandemic to quickly end, simply get vaccinated. If we want Jesus to come sooner, we simply need to lead others to him. Both are very simple and straightforward yet there is a lot of reluctance on both fronts. I can’t help but notice the double standard

 

Q: How can I safely evangelize during this Pandemic that is entering its third year? Also, how can I evangelize when I’m not very comfortable using electronic communication?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: Both questions have the same answer: Old School, no-tech methods.

For those who are able to go in to work, you should start to have a general idea of who you directly work with is a believer and who isn’t. Keep your eyes and ears open for conversations and jump right in if it feels right. If you want to maintain social distancing you can leave a note or letter on the desk, locker or workstation of a colleague who looks like they might need or want someone to talk to later.

If you are in a non-Christian college dorm, your roommates should know of your religious beliefs within a few weeks if not by the end of your first month. If they don’t, you might want to try talking to them. Outside that, keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to share your faith around the dorm.

Overall, you will have to get creative in sharing your faith during these challenging times.

 

Q: I have been vaccinated against COVID-19 but most of my family and church family have not due to the anti-vaccine messaging they see online or hear at church. How can I reach them and convince them to get vaccinated?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: This was another difficult topic I got a lot of similar questions on so I felt I had to respond to this one.

I want to first address the fact many Evagelicals and Faith-based businesses are promoting Probiotics and Multivitamins as “a better alternative to vaccination and medication with no side effects.” First of all, that’s not being honest. You can die from water poisoning by drinking too much water in a short amount of time. You can also become very sick if you intake too much of one vitamin/mineral in a short amount of time. Your body would be seriously harmed at the least.

Second, Immunization is like wearing a raincoat. Do raincoats keep you completely dry? Of course not. It just protects you from most of it. It’s the same with vaccines. They give you targeted protection Probiotics and Multivitamins can’t give you. Are there side effects of concern? Yes, and they’re nothing compared to being sick with COVID-19 while Unvaccinated. This is coming from someone who was sick with COVID-19 last year.

As for reaching loved ones who are dug in on never getting vaccinated. Personally, I’ve always found the fact that a lot of the anti-vaccine messaging so heavily targets Christians in particular to be very suspicious. Honestly, it feels like a conspiracy to ensure most of those in America who get infected and die to this virus are Christians and according to the raw data, that’s exactly what’s going on.

I live in Boston but I am in touch with people across the U.S. Churches across all denominations have been devastated by this virus though those that promoted vaccination have mostly recovered. Meanwhile, those that either encourage their members to not get vaccinated or don’t encourage their members get vaccinated continue to see high infection rates and deaths. Most people already understand funeral services are costly. Believe it or not, no pastor or clergy likes to conduct a funeral let alone several a week. It takes an emotional toll to say the least.

To answer the second question, be honest and direct. Try to understand why they do not want to get vaccinated and go from there. I say all this knowing most of the Unvaccinated don’t trust the CDC, World Health Organization or even faith leaders who promote the vaccines. In their minds, all these different entities are part of a conspiracy and unfortunately for most, getting infected and being seriously ill–or worse, their children–are what it will take to get through to them.

As of this writing, about 65% of Americans are fully vaccinated. The vaccines have been available for a little over a year. Any reason being given by those who have chosen to not get vaccinated and can is self-justification. At this point, those who were considering it have long since been vaccinated. Mandates are bringing vaccination rates up further but there are those who will look for every loophole they can to stay Unvaccinated.

To those people. all I can say may God have mercy on you.

 

Q: How can you say governments forcing people to get vaccinated to work, travel by plane, eat in a restaurant or go to a sports stadium isn’t part of a larger conspiracy to control people using the Pandemic as a preface?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: That’s easy: Because it isn’t first, no one is “forcing” you to do anything against your will second and most who work in government themselves don’t trust the government third. That aside, the signs just aren’t there. It is true that after a tragic event, some of our freedoms have been restricted. After the events of September 11, everyone has to pass through metal detectors before they board an airplane. After the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, backpacks were banned from the finish line area.

People need to understand something about the vaccine mandates: No one is “forcing” you to get vaccinated against your will. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You simply have to live with the fact you will have certain freedoms restricted because of that choice is all. It just so happens the 60 Million Americans who have chosen to be Unvaccinated by choice will have to deal with the consequences of their choice…or get vaccinated.

The vaccine mandates are not theological issue though most Adventists are keenly aware based on scripture, there will be a government-enforced mandate of a different kind at a point in the future that will be worship-related in nature. The “penalties” for refusing to be vaccinated are nothing compared to what’s to come. The worship mandate I refer to has to do with worship but that’s a topic for another time.

Q: I want a straight answer from you on this: Why are churches and clergy endorsing the COVID-19 vaccines when they should be promoting the Health Message instead? Why are they encouraging people to take one of these vaccines when they should encourage people boost their immune system using Natural Medicine instead?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: Because 1.1 Million Americans who became gravely ill are still alive and another 34 Million avoided being hospitalized because of the vaccines. CNN’s Sanjay Gupta–a licensed, practicing and world renowned neurosurgeon on that note–took the time to crunch the numbers out of personal curiousity and what he found backed up data those who oppose getting vaccinated refuse to accept or believe: The vaccines save lives.

Have there been known serious issues with Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine? Yes and it’s why the CDC has begun phasing it out by advising people to get Moderna’s vaccine or Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine. The reason they waited so long to begin phasing it out is because the benefit of protection from COVID-19 outweighted the known serious side effects. What this means for the over 12 Million Americans who took Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine is they will need to get one of the other two vaccines and many already have.

Did the FDA knowingly grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to a vaccine with serious side effects? Yes, and that what the clinical trials in the summer of 2020 were for. I presume the EUA for J&J’s vaccine will be withdrawn if it hasn’t already and more so given both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines were given full FDA approval.

I said all that to say this: The idea that one has to choose between getting vaccinated or using traditional medicine, Probiotics and Multivitamins is illogical. You don’t need to pick one over the other. You can and probably should use both at the same time. This is also why I used the raincoat analogy earlier. The vaccines are the raincoat while more traditional options are additional weather garments. There is absolutely no reason or need to refuse both but the vaccines are the centerpiece.

All that said. You should speak to your primary care physician if you have any questions about getting vaccinated or the COVID-19 vaccines in general. They know your health best and they should be your primary source of all health-related guidance. Personally, I have become VERY concerned with the more overt efforts by some Christians who push the narrative they “Don’t need to see doctors for any acute illness” until you do. You can’t judge the whole healthcare system over the actions of a few.

Personally speaking as someone who should have and would have died from an early age if not for modern medicine, I’m deeply offended and bothered by the aggressive anti-science conspiracy agenda that has sweeping across North America and Europe in particular. These dangerous ideologies have been gaining a lot of traction over the last 20 years in North America and Europe by using scandals to strengthen their messaging to people. This is to say nothing of the Anti Vaccine Movement being responsible for the reemergence of diseases wiped out by vaccines decades ago.

 

As for Natural Medicine. You wanna see it being used in the proper context? Go to India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Don’t let people tell you that you have to choose between Natural Medicine and Modern Medicine because we’re not in the early 1800s anymore. We are now in the 2020s. Back then, it made sense to lean on natural medicine since the healthcare was virtually nonexistent. It’s a different story now for most of the world.

What’s more dangerous about this push by many to promote Naural Medicine as a “safer and more reliable” alternative to Modern Medical treatments is you really need to know what you’re doing ironically. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily hurt yourself or someone else. What I keep seeing online is people post DIY videos on YouTube and other platforms having those who watch them think it’s “that easy”. They tell you the benefits of brewing your own medicine and why it’s better than something you could buy over the counter or get as a prescription but what they don’t tell you is even a slight mistake can be fatal.

I have no problem with Natural Medicine but I would only resort to that if absolutely  necessary personally. I want to make that clear. I have friends who do make Natural Medicine and they have told me they are deeply concerned by people putting these DIY Videos online because the margin for error is almost zero in most cases. If you’re going to use Natural Medicine, it’s always safer to get or buy it from someone after it’s been prepared than to try to do it yourself. More so if you haven’t been formally trained or taught. It’s not something anyone can just pick up either.

 

Q: I’m wondering what you think of Sports Gambling being legalized in the U.S. in recent years and more so now that State Lotteries no longer seem to be as popular as they were in recent decades. Also, what do you think of Casino Gambling in Massachusetts?

A: You know, I’ve noticed in recent months when they advertise a Sports Gambling App almost immediately afterward, they run a commercial for Gambling Addiction. That should tell you something. The big difference from playing the lottery is the Odds Betting isn’t so much on who will win the game or match but what will happen during the game. For example how many strikeouts, how many yard games or how many points scored. Obviously since there’s sure to be a lot of people who give a correct answer, those people split a payout which is small when divided among several hundred-thousand people.

 

As for State Lotteries people pray over after buying a ticket. You dont need to be a pastor, economist or store employee to know the only people who really buy Lottery tickets are people who are either in debt, in poverty or worse have a gambling addiction. Most of you have probably heard this before but I’ll say it again: You have a better chance of being struck by lightning, becoming president of the United States or making a shot from half court on the first try than you do winning the lottery. I mean from a simply math perspective.

 

Talk of bringing Casinos to Massachusetts has been around for a long time. I first heard of it back in the early 1990s when I was still a young kid. Back then, those who regularly crossed into Connecticuit to go to the casinos there lamented the fact there were no casinos in Massachusetts. Talks got serious about 10 years ago and it goes without saying casinos in Connecticuit were furious once the first Massachusetts permits were issued. The recently built casino in Everett, MA started to take off before the Pandemic shut things down two years ago. The town of Everett is about 10 minutes outside Boston and if you look at the town from Google Maps ot Google Earth, they basically gave up almost a quarter of the town for the Casino’s constuction. It was built in a vacant area on the water so there are docks for boats from to moor from Boston or elsewhere.

It’s not really much of a secret Casinos in general attract a lot of crime wherever they’re built. This is aside from the obvious addiction factor from Gambling. Originally, the casino in Everett was being planned to be built in Boston’s Seaport District but opposition is how it ended up being built in Everett. It’s ironic: People like the idea of the revenue and jobs opportunities from a casino as long as they don’t have to deal with the downsides.

 

On the subject of Christians working in a Casino. These days, most Casinos are part of a Resort or Hotel (the one is Everett is a combination of both). I actually do know some devout Christians who work at the Everett Resort and though they obviously don’t work in the casino areas, they do interact with guests and coworkers who do. They’ve told me they rarely cook at home because of how much food they took home from work every day. The kitchens are open 24/7 and they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner 24/7.

 

They’ve said if most people had any idea how easily disease spreads in these casino resorts, they would stay away from them. This was before the Pandemic of course. In short, you can end up not just leaving broke but seriously ill as well. Staff basically did the bare minimum in regards to sanitation but the Pandemic had clearly forced them to step things up if they want to stay open.

Staying at one of these places is not cheap to say the least  and while about half who go there go for the casino, the rest go there to unwind and relax. If you are a recovering addict or feel you may be tempted, it goes without saying you should avoid going to a Casino Resort or Hotel at all.

 

Q: I’ve recently become more aware of music being used in TV Advertisements. Are there more subtle advertisements in movies and TV Shows I should look out for?

A: Good question and an important one Christians to be mindful of.

I plan to do an article on this soon but I’ll give you a list of some things from now:

• Alcohol: It’s already bad enough you see a beer ad on almost every channel. When you see actors using or handling alcoholic beverages in a movie or TV Show, that’s meant to advertise. “This character drinks and likes alcohol. I should, too.” As an aside. Despite all the damage alcohol is known to do, you ever notice how they always use “happy” drinkers in Ads? That’s how they rationalize it. Most are wary of people who have a low tolerence to alcohol but it’s the ones with a higher tolerence who are far more likely to drink too much.
• Smoking: Most may not know this but federal regulations bar tobacco industry from running TV ads and this has been in place since the 1970s. The tobacco industry has since figured out a clever but subtle way around that: Have actors smoke or handle tobacco products onscreen. This has become much harder for them to get away with in recent years with the aggressive anti-smoking and anti-vaping TV campaigns you may have seen on TV. There’s also the fact most American actors who do smoke are much smarter than in the past. Many actors will not take a role in which they will have to smoke onscreen either on moral grounds or they don’t want their own kids to see them smoking.
• Occult/Supernatural: Most families make the mistake of presuming outside Halloween-themed episodes, live action kids shows on cable channels are “tame”. I won’t name specific shows but most of today’s shows do have an episode or two in which some of the actors either do fortune telling,  seance (a ritual mean to try to communicate with the dead or spirits) or is “goth”. These are three things to be mindful of.
• Evolution/Athiesm Promotion: You’ll mostly see this on subscription streaming services like HBO Max, Netflix and HBO Prime Video and in cable shows geared toward adults. On a drama I saw on Amazon Prime Video last year, a character who said “God is a human contruct created by people to control others.” Yes, really. This is why it’s extremely important to be aware of efforts in the media to normalize denying the existence of God. It’s not like a few decades ago when you only had to eyeroll at “Millions of years ago”  or “Mother Nature” in nature documentaries. Studios are no longer trying to hide their Athiesr agenda. Some Adventist pastors raised the alarm over part of the plot in a futuristic movie on Amazon Prime Video in which monsters threatening humanity in the movie only had one weakness: They hibernated “every seventh day”. The inference is pretty hard to miss to say the least. It’s a blantant attack on the only day of the week scripture makes clear is both a time and a law.
• Abusing The Lord’s Name: I won’t use any examples but in the past, you mostly saw this in R-rated movies. It is now becoming pervasive on both cable and broadcast TV Shows. On the surface, it’s done for dramatic effect but when you look deeper it’s easy to understand it’s being done to encourage viewers to talk like that. It’s funny no one would stand for their own name being abused like that. Yet for some reason most of the world feels it’s to abuse The Lord’s name. That’s quite a diabolical conspiracy to say the least.
• Extramarital Relationships: This has obviously been prevelent for the better part of the last 30 years in American TV especially certain “reality” TV shows. During a candid interview a few years ago, the actress Jada Pinkett-Smith–wife of fellow actor Will Smith–unemphatically told the world she does no longer believes in the sanctity of marriage because infidelity or affair are inevitable. She said this while talking about common relationship struggles so prevalent in high-profile couples like herself and her husband. That was basically her answer to why most high-profile marriages do not last. I don’t care how much Evangelists and Televangelists want to push Homosexuality, traditional marriage was under attack long before that went mainstream 16 years ago. Mass Media told young people and children for the better part of the last 30 years real, long-lasting relationships are a thing of the past. Don’t believe that narrativefor a second even if you either had a failed relationship (or several) or came from a broken family. You can be the one to break the cycle.

These are just a few things. I plan to cover this topic in more depth in a future article.

 

Q: My husband and I are planning to do a Screentime Detox with our kids aged 8, 13 and 16. They’ll spend most of their free time either watching TV, playing video games or using Social Media. Admittedly, we allowed them unrestricted screen use up to now and now we want to put a stop to that. What are some things we can do to avoid a revolt or giving in?

A: I know most Pastors and Evangelists will dramatically tell you to just unplug everything and throw everything out but first things first sit down with your kids and let them know life will pass them know there is more to life than what they see on their screens. Let them know effective immediately, everyone’s going to need to find new things to do with their time because all screens are going into storage. It helps when you tell them in advance it’s expected.

If any kids have smartphones, you can buy touchpad flip phones and just swap the SIM card. That way they can still make calls or text for communication but lose access to apps. On both Windows and iOS computers, you can set up restricted profiles that require Admin approval to do almost anything. Same for internet browsers. This is for if a child needs a computer for schoolwork. That’s as far as you compromise.

As for their Social Media accounts. Change the passwords and write it down somewhere as a failsafe in case they try to log in behind your back. If Two Factor Authentication is available or activated, change the cellphone number required for verification to yours. If they’re active on Facebook, you can tell them to make a post announcing their parents are taking them off Facebook.

Any streaming services or online video game related subscriptions should be stopped so you’re not hit with recurring charges since most do monthly subscriptions. Once that’s all done, start teaching your kids how to make the most of their time. Teach them life skills, encourage critical thinking and so on. It’s a process but after a while, they will see life beyond screens.

The key is you need to be proactive, disciplined and model what you want from them. Screens became another parent because it was convenient for you until it wasn’t. You can’t afford to have a double standard with the Screentime Detox either. At the very least, your kids should not see you watching TV. If you need to check the weather or news, use a smartphone or computer with headphones. Let neighbors, family and friends know about the Screen Detox as well and ask that they respect your boundaries.

It will take time but even with teenagers, they will get used to no more screen time. While I do agree with the years of research that proves introducing screens to kids from a young age interferes with early brain development, I also believe the final decision on that should lie with the parent. PBS, Nick Jr. and similar networks geared toward kids aged 6 and under would have you think “at least they’re being exposed to educational content”. They are but one key component is still not present: The human factor. There isn’t much Early Child TV Shows offer that your child can’t learn better from you, other people, daycare or preschool.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that researchers really started looking into the effects mass media was having on children in America. What they found was horrifying. At the least, kids exposed to TV supervised or not for dozens of hours a week were the ones who saw their academic performance plummet. More so those who live in urban areas and can’t go outside much due to street violence. At worst, some kids lost the ability to differentiate between fantasy and reality. That’s just assuming they’re not watching programming geared toward adults.

Unlike when I was a kid during the 80s and 90s, TV networks are no longer trying to pretend to care about morality or enriching children. In 2001, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviewed the research and declared networks that ran a Kids Block on broadcast TV had to include educational programming if they wanted to keep their Kids block. You know what they did? Almost immediately, they moved their kids block to cable. Some kept their Kids Block on broadcast TV due to contractual obligations but as soon as they expired, they cut them.

Of course, viewers and the general public were never made aware of the reason the kids blocks disappeared from Broadcast TV 20 years ago. I knew about it at the time because I read the paper and one of the studies was featured on 20/20. The study I watched was used for a class action lawsuit against TV Networks and snack makers that used cartoon characters to sell products. In one test done, they placed a 4 year old child in front of a banana and a rock covered with cartoon stickers. The child picked the rock. They repeated the test a few times with a 5 and a 6 year old and each time, the child picked the rock. Let that sink in, no pun intended.

I’ll talk about this more in a future article.

 

Q: Although we’d like to send our child to a Private Christian school, it’s just not financially realistic. Neither of us are able to Home School either so that leaves Public School. What are some things we should be mindful of?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: First and foremost, do your research on both the school and district your child may be going to. I know most will tell you “don’t send them to a school in an urban district” but since many of them tend to receive aid and volunteers  from nonprofit organization compared to rural school districts, it doesn’t matter. I worked in Urban Education for 10 years and others who have worked in rural schools will tell you they have problems too. In short, where doesn’t really matter. I am going to cover a lot of things here so strap yourself in.

Once you’ve made your choice, visit the school and meet your child’s teachers. You should already know this but due to the separation of Church and State in the U.S., your child will receive a secular education. Though it is true many who work in Public Education are themselves devout Christians, they are well aware that they need to leave that at home if they want to keep their job or in more serious cases, not be sued. Students can ask a teacher if they believe in God or if they believe God exists and vice versa though 9 out of 10 times the teacher will immediately change the subject to avoid it turning into a theological discussion or debate in class for similar reasons.

I have long been aware that in some parts of the U.S.–especially in the Midwest and South–some school officials don’t care about the separation of Church and State. In more recent years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has started aggressively going after these districts because more often than not, they are not just violating the separation of Church and State but sometimes violating someone’s non-Christian religious beliefs.

 

You may already be aware of this but most U.S. students study Biology starting in high school. In years’ past, the Biology teacher would send home a permission slip or notice to let parents know when they would cover Evolution and The Big Bang Theory in class, usually in the middle of the year. This was to allow Christian parents who believe in Genesis 1:1 advance notice to either prepare their child or get their child excused from class on those days.

It was never required or anything like that. Teachers only did it as a courtesy. This no longer happens as much though most Biology teachers will let students know at least a few days in advance as a courtesy. Unlike in the past, it is no longer explained as “Many believe…” or “Researchers believe…”. Now both Evolution and Big Bang–as a reminder, both are THEORIES meaning ideas–are taught as irrefutable fact. In lower grade science classes, things are prepped in this regard by introducing the idea Earth is hundreds of millions of years old.

This can be very confusing for a child introduced to Genesis 1:1 at home and church to also be taught the secular creation narrative that everything happened by chance and there is no purpose to life. You may have gone through this yourself in high school or college so you shoul be able to understand a little. What you need to do is sit down with your child and have this conversation with them in advance. Let them know they will learn about another Creation Story that has nothing to do with God in school. Though it’s not the one they learned at home and church, the one the learn about in school is the only one society wants everyone to know about.

I know the topic of kids learning about Evolution and Big Bang hasn’t been a thing on the minds of parents as much in recent decades, that’s all the more reason to take an active role in your child’s learning. You want to teach your kids in a way that when they’re not with you, other influences don’t lead them astray. Because like it or not, you won’t be able to keep cetain influences and ideas away from them when they go to Public School.

That brings me to LGBTQ+ students and staff. This is a conversation you will need to have with your child once they are at least 8 or 9 years old. Most LGBTQ+ staff practice “Don’t tell, don’t advertise”–and on that note, don’t assume every teacher with a rainbow flag decal in their classroom is LGBTQ+–though with some you can tell they are with a glance. Students who are LGBTQ+ typically tend to keep that hidden until 6th to 9th grade though curiousity and exploration usually begins much earlier. I saw it openly expresssed in 5 and 6 year olds for reference.

On that note. Weather they go to public or private school, make sure to tell your child from an early age that there are parts of their body no one but their parents, a doctor or nurse are allowed to see or touch. It might feel uncomfortable to you but be as specific as possible regardless of their age. Tell them if they need to change their clothes at school, tell them they must do it in a bathroom or a bathroom stall female or male.  You should also instruct them to tell their teacher at school and you when they get home if someone touches them in a forbidden area or touches them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

More so these days, “kids being kids” is no longer ok without getting too graphic. I don’t just mean in regards to certain sexual feelings but from a pure mental health standpoint. This is why I said earlier as much as you might want to, you can’t protect your kids from everything. Kids dealing with problems at home and personally tend to bring those problems with them to school. The School Shooting problem that’s been pervasive in the U.S. over the last 25 years is one thing. Kids in public schools dealing with severe emotional trauma due various factors is nothing new but people have become more aware and are educating themselves on things to look out for. So should you.

Peer pressure will always be a thing even between siblings. When your kids make friends at school, you should find out who they are and more importantly, try to find out who their parents are. When your kids’ friends know  their parents and you talk to each other, they are far less likely to intentionally lead your kid astray. That brings me to the subject of teenage dating. First things first, have the sex talk regardless of gender. Due to society’s “Love is Love” doctrine you should encourage your child to not only turn down advances from someone of the same gender who comes out to them but to also say “I am not ok with that.”

Getting back to talking to your kid about sex. Tell them firmly and clearly what the consequences of having sex before marriage can be and that you will make them take responsability if something happens. If they still choose to become sexually active–there is only so much you can do–at least encourage them to use contraceptives. This is a conversation to have weather they go to school or are Home Schooled.

Oh and when I say “if something happens”, I’m specifically talking about teenage pregnancy. If a girl and her family comes to you saying your son got their daughter pregnant, don’t immediately deny it even if you didn’t know your son is sexually active or you didn’t know the girl prior to this. Something that you should first ask is if the pregnancy is confirmed and then tell them you don’t know all the details but your son will take responsability. Request a joint family meeting with both the girl and your son present to work out the details.

If you find out your teenage daughter is pregnant, seek out her sex partner’s parents. Tell them your just learned your teenage daughter is pregnant, it is confirmed and you’re willing to do a DNA test to prove their son is the father if they try to deny it. If they are willing to negotiate, hold a join family meeting with both the boy and your daughter present to work out the details.

Either way, the main thing to decide is what is to be done with the baby regardless of the teen parents’ relationship status be it “close friends” or “dating”. As a Christian, Abortion is firmly off the table and you need to make that clear to the other family. Once that’s been worked out, you sort out the remaining details. I’ll just leave it at that.

I know this was a long-winded answer to the question but it goes without saying much of this is based on my professional experience. Public Education is a respectible line of work and like I said, there are many Christians who are a partt of it.

 

Q: I’ve seen Biblbe Truth making its way across all denominations but I’m not seeing any signs Christianity is becoming any less divided. What’s going on?

A: As has been proven throughout history, whenever there is a traumatic event people look for God. The ongoing Pandemic has been no exception to say the least. I touched on this while answering an earlier question but more and more Christians are reading the Bible for themselves for the first time than in the last few decades. People want to know what the Bible has to say about a lot of things for themselves and they are seeing that what the Bible says and what church traditions say are two different things.

As for Christianity not seeming to be more united. There’s been a lot of upheaval over the last 20 years between the Roman Catholic Church’s Sex Abuse Scandals, Protestant Churches in North America having a reckoning with the issue of Homsexuality and more recently, the COVID-19 Vaccines.

This is to say nothing of Pope Francis working overtime to build as many bridges as possible with Protestant and Orthodox Churches all over the world. Why? Christian “Unity”. The calculation is to first unite Catholics and Protestants under the one thing both sides have in common: Sunday Worship. Despite what that coalition insists, The Reformation is far from over. People simply forgot what it was about is all.

This is why It Is Written, Hope TV, Lineage Journey, Amazing Facts and others are making sure to educate Christians today of not only why the Reformation sparked Martin Luther 500 years ago began but more importantly, why the Roman Catholic Church wants you to believe it’s no longer relevant. Eventually, what the Bible foretells will happen and Christianity will split firmly into just two groups: Those who want to obey Scripture and those who obey tradition for the sake of unity.

As much as many hardline Adventists may want you to believe only those who keep the original 4th Commandment concerning the Sabbath are “doing it right”, that’s dangerous AND untrue. So is the attiude some well-meaning Adventists I know seem to have which is “I told my Sunday-oberserving friend about the Sabbath, they understand and still observe Sunday. They’re not gonna make it since they know the truth and refuse to obey.” Knowing the truth and feeling convicted by it are two different things and that’s something many of these same Adventists who often tout “The Truth” don’t seem to understand. I’ll get into that further in a future article and don’t want to digress further.

 

Q: I’m a longtime Adventist and I have become very concerned for some friends who elevated Ellen G. White’s writings over the Bible for years despite the fact she always points readers back to the Bible. In recent years, these friends have come to church far less and more so now that they have found preachers online who hold similar views as theirs, referencing Sister White’s writings more than scripture. How can I reach them before it’s too late?

 

A: First things first, pray for them. Second, bring this to your church community as this is a bigger problem than you may think and the General Conference has been taking steps to further discourage this.

For those who may not know who she was, Ellen G. White was one of the founders of the SDA Church. She has over 100 books and writings to her name. Her books on the Health Message have since been considered 100 years ahead of their time. Her writings on Prophecy are due to hundreds of visions she had over the course of her life, all of them documents and some of them witnessed by many in person.

While she was a legit prophet–she passes the Bible’s strict checklist for identifying a legit prophet–in the 100 years since her death, the church has struggled with the delicate balance of recognizing her more prophetic writings and resisting the temptation of elevating her writings above the Bible. I remember reading an Adventist Review article about 20 years ago that featured a story out of California about a family who allowed their baby to starve to death because they wanted to strictly follow the health message outlined in Ellen G. White’s writings. The parents were charged with child abuse and they lost custody of their other child.

That was when I first became aware of the dangers of religious extremism and this was before the events of 9/11 happened. Almost 10 years ago, the SDA Church General Conference made the controversial and abrupt decision to vote to bar Female Ordaination. They explained in the press release the reasoning for this was there was not strong support for it in scripture which obviously is not true. The vote which no one saw coming caused a lot of public backlash especially in North America, some of it really nasty. Some churches even voted to go independent. At the very least, it exposed some deep divisions within the North American Conference.

It was after that time that I really started to notice Hope Channel, which is the SDA Church’s official network promoting “Sola Scriptura”, which is Latin for “Scripture Alone” in ad spots. I didn’t realize it at the time but looking back, this was being directed at those who were placing Ellen White’s writings on the same level as or in many cases above the Bible. This is also why some Protestants of other denominations believe Adventists worship Ellen White which is not true. The weird thing about that is throughout her life, Ellen White constantly referred to herself as a Lesser Light and the Bible to be the Greater Light. Before she died, she publicly urged people to prioritize the Bible and not her words in all things Spiritual.

The General Conference’s vote to bar Female Ordaination was clearly intended to reign in those who were taking their study of Ellen White’s writings too far but big picture, it made things worse. Not just to those who felt the church was trying to erase one of its founders from the church’s history (not true) but the many female Adventist pastors and clergy worldwide who were basically stripped of their Ordaination because of the vote.

All that said. Unfortunately, I think the fact the church didn’t outright say what the real problem was is why a lot of the virtriol towards the General Conference both then and since is misplaced. Personally, I think the issue of some Adventists and other Protestants elevating Ellen White over the Bible is another example of religious extremism but not calling it what it was at the time is why distrust toward the General Conference is so high in North America these days.

Q: I know you’ve been critical of Jan Marcussen’s National Sunday Law due to the senationalisn the book can invoke but don’t you think the Prophecy-related information is still important?

A: Yes but even at the time the book was written and published 40 years ago, much of that same information including decoding the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation can be found elsewhere.

Like I’ve talked about quite a bit in 2021, religious extremism is almost never talked about in the Christian world despite obvious examples of it from history past and more recently. Personally, I’ve become very concerned by the fact many Christians have built their entire theology and belief system around Prophecy and end times. I mean to the point more often than not, they are basically in fear of what awaits them when persecution of true belivers begins.

 

Q: A followup to the previous question. What do you think will happen to True Christians during End Times before The Second Coming?

A: Well, you don’t really have to imagine a whole lot since we have already been given bits and pieces of what to expect just over the last 100 years.

Do a Google Image Search of “Ten Stages of Genocide” and you’ll quickly find this:

Ask any U.S. politician in private and they will tell you to your face the U.S. has always gone between steps 1 to 3 during most of its history. During election cycles, it goes to 4. After 9/11, it jumped to 6. Trump’s Muslim Ban in 2017 and the Immigrant Detention Centers during the two years that followed as well as the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II took it to 7. The events of January 6, 2021 brought it to 8. So, don’t you DARE say “It will never happen here in the U.S.”

The most imfamous and well known genocide in human history is of course the Holocaust. The interesting thing about the Eugenics Nazi Germany openly practiced is that is actually the logical outcome when a government embraces and promotes Darwinism and “Survival of the Fittest”. All ten steps were played out in plain sight for the world to see as it happened. The Nazis systematically rounded up 6 million Jews, other ethnic minorities and those with severe mental illness and wholesale slaughtered them on an industrial scale. Not just in Germany but in the territories they conquered.

Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 pulled the U.S. into World War II. In the immediate aftermath of that incident, America’s second-biggest Civil Rights violation after Slavery was committed: The internment of Japanese Americans who lived on the U.S. West Coast for the duration of World War II. I first became aware of this during a convention I was a part of back in 2004 where one of the survivors spoke. There are still a few hundred Japanese Americans who were interred during that time still alive now. To say they were outraged by the Trump Administration’s Immigrant Detention Centers goes without saying. In fact, they wasted no time reminding Americans “Yes, we did this before.”

The government-sponsored internment of Japanese Americans–they were all American citizens–was done because of Xenophobia. The government seized their homes and businesses, rounded them up and put them on trains to six internment camps in the middle of the U.S. After the war ended, most of them basically had to start over with nothing. They were offered no help despite what their own government had done to them.

As a reminder, these were American citizens. In the eyes in the government, their civil rights didn’t matter because of their ethnicity. One thing America is and always has been good at is mass incarceration. The state of California has more prisons than schools on that note. President Bill Clinton apologized for the Japanese American Internment on behalf of the U.S. government in 1994 but by then, most of those who lived during that time had passed away. Financial compensation was given but only to those still alive, not the descendants of those who since died.

 

The combination of QAnon Conspiracy Theories, Trump’s Election Denialism, the Immigrant Detention Centers and the U.S. Capitol Attack give us a more recent and modern look at what will likely happen to Sabbath-keeping Americans should the National Sunday Law be passed in the U.S. in the near future and more importantly, HOW that will happen. It will be a slow, gradual process in short.

 

Q: Do you believe The Second Coming will happen in our lifetime?

A: In short, no. In fact, it can’t and won’t. Why?

Because the conditions are nowhere close to being in place that’s why. The world falling into decay morally is the one most of the Christian world focuses on but it’s not the only condition. Neither is the National Sunday Law being passed in the United States which most Adventists in North America are fanatically watching for.

The Bible Makes it clear in Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:28-30:

Of course, most Christians are familiar with these two passages. Most know but easily forget The Great Commission which stipulates everyone on Earth must be given the opportunity to choose Jesus before he can return. Everyone doesn’t have to choose but they must be given the opportunity. Until that condition has been fulfilled, the second coming can’t happen.

While it is true we now have the means to do this, the problem is the lack of will from the Christian world to actually do it. I know most will want to blame the distractions of this world but if Evangelism actually was a priority for most Christians, I wouldn’t be saying this. I’ve said this in past posts but the main concerns of Adventists in the U.S. is digging in and waiting for the National Sunday Law in the U.S. Many believe when that happens, the Probationary period mankind is currently in will end for Adventists at that time. It will continue for everyone else for a bit longer.

 

Q: What should we do as Christians from now to prepare for End Times? How should we live our lives?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: When I hear someone ask the first question, they’re usually specifically wondering about the persecution of Christians which by the way is happening daily in certain countries right now. They’re also wondering about when they should head to the middle of nowhere to avoid being collateral damage.

Jesus answers this question by simply saying “Be ready”. Not just for End Times but if you die before then, your next conscious thought will be The Second Coming. How do you prepare for that? Jesus set the example: Live as an example to others and be a faithful witness.

That brings me to the second question. Believe it or not, Jesus reveals in parables what we should NOT be doing is keeping our beliefs to ourselves. We also should not be isolating ourselves socially from our non-Christian coworkers, classmates, neighbors and friends. How can we be a faithful witness if we are unwilling to interact with those who need to hear the Gospel Message?

That aside. It’s ok to have hopes, dreams, aspirations and ambitions. It’s ok to date, marry and have kids if that’s what you want to do. It’s ok to go to college, study something you’re passionate about or just find work without going to college if you want. Most importantly, it’s ok to have hobbies. It’s ok to have fun, make friends, travel, make things, learn, explore new places and so on if you want to. It’s ok to enjoy life. Your walk with Christ is supposed to be a happy walk, not a sad or stressful one. Remember that.

Before I get to the final question, I want to make sure I say two things. First and foremost, learn to tell the difference between when another Christian is being well-meaning by trying to give you advice and when they’re trying to make you conform to their views of what a Christian should be. Second, don’t let someone define what your walk with Jesus is supposed look or feel like. Only you can do that.

Q: With everything going on in our society these days–especially in the U.S.–I don’t see the point in real Christians involving themselves in the affairs of this world, let alone politics. Daniel 2:21 states in part “He removes kings and sets up kings”. Isn’t that text reason enough to not vote?

Note: This was actually a compilation of several questions on this topic that I merged.

A: Lately, I’ve been seeing some use this verse to reinforce their anti-government conspiracy theories. The problem is it’s only part of a longer text.

Here’s the full text for context:

In case the image breaks: “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” ~ Daniel 2:21

As a reminder, Jesus did nothing to change the Romans’ occupation of Israel. Many are familiar with Jesus’ quote “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but give to God what belongs to God.” This is recorded in not one but THREE of the Gospels: Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25. I’ll take it further and drop Matthew 18:16 here for good measure: “By the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established.”

That first quote is actually the second time Jesus emphasizes the importance of being good citizens to the countries we live in on Earth. The first time as explained in Matthew 17:24-27 involves Jesus sending Peter to go fishing where he finds two coins in the mouth of a fish with which to pay taxes for both himself and Jesus. Clearly, Jesus felt paying taxes was important enough to provide a way for Peter to do it in a pinch.

That aside. I find it disheartening and shameful to see the attitude of most Christians in the U.S. today is to “stay out of it” when it comes to social justice and civil rights issues. This country was founded in part for the sake of religious liberty. Christians led the anti-Slavery Abolitionist movement. Christians were on the front lines during the fight for Civil Rights in the 60s and 70s. Today? Most Christians in America are no longer willing to put themselves on the lines for a cause bigger than themselves anymore. Even worse is those who do are often ridiculed by those who won’t yet want the benefits of progress made.

“Christians should not be involved in politics”? Not those who only want power to use to their own ends, no. There’s more I wanna say on that but this has gone on for long enough so I’ll save it for another time.

…Whew.

The word count for this one article surpassed 10,000. I know the title is “December” Mail Bag but I didn’t want to rush through this down the stretch. I started writing this article 3 weeks ago just so you know. In comparison, the one I did for News and Politics took me a week to write and has a bit under 6,000 words. I had a lot more questions I wanted to answer here is why. I’ll definitely do another Mail Bag article later this year, probably in the Spring.

 

One more thing before I forget and I’ll be blunt: I am in need of financial support. I’ve included the PayPal links in my posts for several years now and at this point I’m going to make an effort to make this request for financial considerations at least a few times a month across all my blogs.

I write these blogs for free and that will continue. I am only ask for financial support because I am in need of it first and it would be appreciated in general second. However much you can give is fine. You can even set up recurring payments if you’d like as well. Either way, it will be secure and you do not need a PayPal account to do this.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

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Four Months Later, people are only contacting me about just ONE Blog Post [UPDATED]

Edit 10/28/2021: Updated a few things as well as Disabled Comments to this Article.

 

Specifically, this one.

To save folks a click, it’s the post in which I give my analysis on the SDA Church announcing its endorsement of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines.

 

I revised that post a few times but I now feel the need to make a separate post to remind everyone of a few things:

1. I am not affiliated with the SDA Church General Conference, Adventist Review, Hope Channel, Adventist Health Ministries, Adventist Disaster Relief Agency, etc . or anyone who works for them. There are certain decisions made by the General Conference that I personally disagree with–which I will keep to myself–but big picture, those matters are not a big deal.
2. I do have a separate blog for political topics. If you want to talk politics, that blog would probably be a more appropriate fit for a lot of the things people have contacted me about.
3. On the subject of vaccination in general, the evidence speaks for itself. Vaccines save lines. Full stop. If you don’t want to get vaccinated in general for personal reasons, to each their own. That’s none of my business or concern.
4. On the subject of the COVID-19 vaccines. While I have made my position on the topic obvious all year, I do recognize the fact some have chosen not to get a COVID-19 vaccine for personal reasons. I take no issue with that and even more so in recent months. What I do take issue with are those who have chosen to ignore my warning at that top of that article.
5. Speaking of said warning. I have disabled comments on that article as well as this one. I will also just go ahead and disable comments on past and future articles regarding that article as needed. I have absolutely no problem disabling comments for the entire blog if that’s what’s needed.
6. I do not work for a media outlet and I do not personally know anyone who does as of this writing. I also do not personally know every single person who has subscribed to this blog or any of my other 11 blogs. My main policy for this blog is the same as my policy for the others: It’s my blog first and foremost. WordPress is the platform but as long as they continue to allow me to write on their platform, I have the same final say on what I or anyone else posts on it.
7. Sometimes I will mix my opinion with facts. Admittedly, I have a track record of not always naming or linking to media sources for some topics. When I do provide those links–especially here or on my blog on politics in particular–I will sometimes get angry emails from people telling me why <Insert Media Outlet Here> can’t be trusted and why <Insert “Conservative” or Right-Leaning Media Outlet Here> is “the only media source(s) any serious  “Conservative(s) Christian” should be using. Not that I care about their opinion of course.
8. On that note and most importantly: Weather you agree or disagree with my opinion on things, I don’t care personally. I never have and never will. This goes for all of my blogs. If you really don’t like what I write, just stop reading and find something else to do with your time. If you knowingly want keep reading a blog with content you don’t personally like or disagree with, it says more about you than me.

 

I didn’t want to waste my time on an blog post like this but I did for the sake of transparency. I have a new section of this blog that recently went live. That Page and the articles I plan to write for it are a longterm project of mine but they will be the centerpiece for this blog overall. I plan to put most of my time into the articles of that section. I will announce here in blog posts as articles start going live.

The reason that section will take 5 to 10 years to complete is because of how much time and research I plan to put into each article.

 

 

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