Since Denver Snuffer's last lecture the many people who hung on his every word are now gathering in 'communities'. Denver always insisted he did not want a following, but he has one. I guess since he has distanced himself from the creation of these communities, he can still claim (lawyer like claim) that he has no following, doesn't want one and will never start a church. It will just get done around him as he denies being the instigator.
They have a website http://www.zion.community/ where other his followers can meet up and create their groups. One of the things Denver claimed was that for a man to exercise the priesthood (he got from the LDS church) he must be 'sustained' by seven women--including his wife if he has one (at least that is how I interpreted it, but since some of these men won't have approval from their wives, that could get sticky) so they need to find enough women in their group to get that done, before they can officiate.
Another thing they need is another baptism. Apparently their LDS baptism wasn't good enough (even though their LDS priesthood if conferred before April 2014 IS valid) so they must be rebaptized--by a man whose been sustained by the prerequisite seven women.
Then they also need to meet together to have a proper sacrament, since the LDS one (which they got from the LDS church) is not good enough because you need to use wine or grape juice(for the hold outs who aren't ready to break with all LDS teachings). Oddly, here is a people who claim to believe everything Joseph revealed, but yet, water isn't good enough--even though Joseph received a revelation saying it was: D&C 27:2.
If you read some anger in my tone, you are perceptive. Personally, I do not begrudge anyone from leaving the faith, if they no longer believe and I would have no problem with these people leaving, but that's just it. They aren't leaving!
Only a couple have taken the step to resign or be honest with their church leaders. The rest, with Denver Snuffer's encouragement fully intend to remain in the LDS church, attend meetings (probably not all of them, but some) and then go to their clandestine 'community' meeting with other Snuffer followers where they can plan on how to gain more converts to the 'remnant' they are forming.
This is why I feel so strongly that they need to come out in the open and admit who they are and what they believe. If they are allowed to create a 'shadow church' within the LDS church we are in trouble.
Snuffer teaches his people the 'philosophies of snuffer...mingled with scripture'; an example is his belief that seven women need to sustain a man for him to use his priesthood. Where did he get this? He's interpreting Isaiah in a way he likes. He also told his followers that Zion, the New Jerusalem did not have to be in Independence, Mo. (even though the scriptures in D&C are crystal clear that it does need to be built in Independence Mo.) I suspect this is in anticipation of building his one temple-which will have to be built someplace other than Indep. Mo so he's got to receive 'revelation' that it can be someplace else.
He also encourages that after April 2014, if a person wants their son to receive priesthood in the LDS church, that they go ahead and do it--but then get together with the 'community' and redo the ordinance--properly...so it is 'binding'. What will this teach their children? Do they not see how dishonest this is?
THIS IS APOSTASY. There is no nice way to put it. These people cannot be allowed to hide within the LDS church and undermine the faith of others to bring more followers to Snuffer's cause.
I'm not sure what is going to be done, but I know something will need to happen. This cannot be allowed to play out as they hope it will.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Denver Snuffer's last lecture
Denver Snuffer gave his last lecture in a series of 10 in Arizona this past week. In it he finally showed the world his intentions.
First off, he's not going to start a 'church' because he's said numerous times he would not start one, but thinking like a lawyer, he encouraged his followers to create 'communities of believers' where they can meet together, preach, baptize, take the sacrament....but it's not a church. Yea right.
He said that the Lord appeared to him, again, in May 2014 and explained that the LDS church lost it's authority when they excommunicated him. He told his followers that after that date, the church has no authority to give priesthood, perform ordinances, etc. He also told them to not bother to waste their time at LDS church meetings, not to pay tithing to the church etc. Of course, it goes without saying to not bother to attend the temple to do proxy work, since they have no efficacy anymore. He said that women should not have priesthood (at least for now I assume) but that it takes seven women to sustain one man's priesthood.
He said he had power to 'bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him'. Sounds like a prophet to me. From his quoting D&C 84: 27-28, Denver seems to believe he is the modern day John the Baptist, an 'Elias', preparing the way for the second coming of Christ. He clearly believes he is the Lord's prophet now and those in the LDS church are not prophets after his 'manifestation's' proclamation in May.
So, I have to say, I am glad Denver finally came out and said what many of us have known all along. Denver is deceived into believing he is the one, 'mighty and strong' that so many fundamentalist sects have been built around. He is openly hostile now to the church. He speaks out against many LDS teachings (word of wisdom) and now is not even veiling his attacks. Will his followers admit it?
Not if the LDS Freedom Forum http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/ is any indicator. This board is populated with diehard supporters of Denver Snuffer. Apparently they've been congregating and collecting there over the past few years and within the last 18 months, have become the majority of regular posters, including the owner and moderators. They have a private area they reserve for sharing their mutual love of DS away from the critical and prying eyes of the mainstream LDS posters.
Surprisingly, they are not happy about Denver's recent declarations. They did their best to downplay his statements and their implications after his Tuesday last lecture. They became very upset when any suggestion that Denver was starting a church was examined. They insisted that no discussion should take place until the Transcripts are available (of course when that happens, they will find some other excuse to shut down discussion.) and even questioned long time supporters who keep blogs such as Tim Malone; http://latterdaycommentary.com/2014/09/09/a-few-notes-from-the-mesa-lecture/ who took copious notes which he shared.
The fact is, now they must choose. For as long as I've been on LDSFF, his fans have had one foot in the LDS church and one foot in Denver's camp. If what Tim said is true (and I'm certain it is) then they will have to choose. They can no longer insist they can remain active, believing LDS and still follow Snuffer. He is making them have to choose and I think unconsciously, they don't like it. But, what did they expect? Snuffer is tired of being ignored and shunted aside.
He's always claimed all he wants to do is 'bring souls to Christ' but it is clear now, what he wants is to bring souls to Denver Snuffer. He will be their priesthood head, offer baptism in his non-church, ask for tithes to fulfill his vision for his non-church's efforts and teach his teachings.
First off, he's not going to start a 'church' because he's said numerous times he would not start one, but thinking like a lawyer, he encouraged his followers to create 'communities of believers' where they can meet together, preach, baptize, take the sacrament....but it's not a church. Yea right.
He said that the Lord appeared to him, again, in May 2014 and explained that the LDS church lost it's authority when they excommunicated him. He told his followers that after that date, the church has no authority to give priesthood, perform ordinances, etc. He also told them to not bother to waste their time at LDS church meetings, not to pay tithing to the church etc. Of course, it goes without saying to not bother to attend the temple to do proxy work, since they have no efficacy anymore. He said that women should not have priesthood (at least for now I assume) but that it takes seven women to sustain one man's priesthood.
He said he had power to 'bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him'. Sounds like a prophet to me. From his quoting D&C 84: 27-28, Denver seems to believe he is the modern day John the Baptist, an 'Elias', preparing the way for the second coming of Christ. He clearly believes he is the Lord's prophet now and those in the LDS church are not prophets after his 'manifestation's' proclamation in May.
So, I have to say, I am glad Denver finally came out and said what many of us have known all along. Denver is deceived into believing he is the one, 'mighty and strong' that so many fundamentalist sects have been built around. He is openly hostile now to the church. He speaks out against many LDS teachings (word of wisdom) and now is not even veiling his attacks. Will his followers admit it?
Not if the LDS Freedom Forum http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/ is any indicator. This board is populated with diehard supporters of Denver Snuffer. Apparently they've been congregating and collecting there over the past few years and within the last 18 months, have become the majority of regular posters, including the owner and moderators. They have a private area they reserve for sharing their mutual love of DS away from the critical and prying eyes of the mainstream LDS posters.
Surprisingly, they are not happy about Denver's recent declarations. They did their best to downplay his statements and their implications after his Tuesday last lecture. They became very upset when any suggestion that Denver was starting a church was examined. They insisted that no discussion should take place until the Transcripts are available (of course when that happens, they will find some other excuse to shut down discussion.) and even questioned long time supporters who keep blogs such as Tim Malone; http://latterdaycommentary.com/2014/09/09/a-few-notes-from-the-mesa-lecture/ who took copious notes which he shared.
The fact is, now they must choose. For as long as I've been on LDSFF, his fans have had one foot in the LDS church and one foot in Denver's camp. If what Tim said is true (and I'm certain it is) then they will have to choose. They can no longer insist they can remain active, believing LDS and still follow Snuffer. He is making them have to choose and I think unconsciously, they don't like it. But, what did they expect? Snuffer is tired of being ignored and shunted aside.
He's always claimed all he wants to do is 'bring souls to Christ' but it is clear now, what he wants is to bring souls to Denver Snuffer. He will be their priesthood head, offer baptism in his non-church, ask for tithes to fulfill his vision for his non-church's efforts and teach his teachings.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Joseph Fielding Smith was right
In one of Denver Snuffer's blog posts he mentions Joseph Fielding Smith's book "Doctrines of Salvation", titled 'Borrowed Doctrine' dated Oct. 29, 2011. He says that he believed what JFSmith wrote when he first read it but came to realize that this was wrong and he was 'troubled' and 'disappointed' and did not want to admit that JFSmith was 'in error'. No worries, Denver, Elder Smith was NOT wrong:) He was absolutely correct because what he was telling you was the same thing Jesus told Thomas. The manifestation of the Holy Ghost IS more lasting and more powerful than a visitation, believe it or not!
Elder Smith explains on page 44 (vol.1) That 'Christ has himself declared that the manifestations we might have of the Spirit of Christ, or from a visitation from an angel, a tangible resurrected being, would not leave the impression and would not convince us and place within us that something which we cannot get away from which we receive through a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. Personal visitations might become dim as times goes on, but this guidance of the Holy Ghost is renewed and continued, day after day, year after year, if we live worthy of it'. When I read this, I knew exactly what Elder Smith was referring to--he was talking about Jesus' teaching to Thomas, the one who earning the nickname, 'doubting' because he demanded a physical manifestation before he would believe but Christ explained that a witness of the Holy Ghost was more powerful. If Elder Smith was wrong, would Bro. Snuffer declare that Jesus was also wrong?
In my own experience I can attest to this. I have had some power physical manifestations or witnesses and they have dimmed with time, but witness of the Holy Ghost can be given numerous times as we read and ponder and serve in the gospel.
This is one example where Denver Snuffer gets it wrong and unfortunately the truth is pretty easy to see and yet, he has missed it and used his error to condemn another man wrongfully.
Elder Smith explains on page 44 (vol.1) That 'Christ has himself declared that the manifestations we might have of the Spirit of Christ, or from a visitation from an angel, a tangible resurrected being, would not leave the impression and would not convince us and place within us that something which we cannot get away from which we receive through a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. Personal visitations might become dim as times goes on, but this guidance of the Holy Ghost is renewed and continued, day after day, year after year, if we live worthy of it'. When I read this, I knew exactly what Elder Smith was referring to--he was talking about Jesus' teaching to Thomas, the one who earning the nickname, 'doubting' because he demanded a physical manifestation before he would believe but Christ explained that a witness of the Holy Ghost was more powerful. If Elder Smith was wrong, would Bro. Snuffer declare that Jesus was also wrong?
In my own experience I can attest to this. I have had some power physical manifestations or witnesses and they have dimmed with time, but witness of the Holy Ghost can be given numerous times as we read and ponder and serve in the gospel.
This is one example where Denver Snuffer gets it wrong and unfortunately the truth is pretty easy to see and yet, he has missed it and used his error to condemn another man wrongfully.
Musings on Denver Snuffer
In my travels through the Internet, I've run across the writings of Denver Snuffer. He is an LDS philosopher who was excommunicated a year ago for refusing to stop his writing, publishing, blogging, and lecturing when requested to by the Stake Presidency disciplinary counsel which was held. I've seen some claim he was exed for his beliefs but that is not the case. Each of these 'heretics' was given the chance to keep their membership but that required not speaking. Remember Gallileo when he ran into trouble with the Catholic church--'and yet it moves'. If Br. Snuffer had submitted to the court's decision and agreed to stop his activities he could have remained a member, as Avraham Gileadi did when he found himself challenged by church authorities for his writings.
I've been reading for some time the LDS freedom forum message board and many of Denver's followers (they don't consider themselves by that term but that is what they are) reside and they will often claim they 'feel the spirit' when they read his writings (I'm not surprised, he quotes an awful lot of scripture, it would be hard not to) and more importantly, Denver doesn't 'want' followers and he doesn't want people to look to him, that they should look to no man but only follow Christ. If that meant only following the teachings of Christ, it might not be a problem, where it gets murky is that Denver has had a visitation by the Savior (in 2002) and so he feels that the only way to follow and 'know' Christ is through personal physical manifestation and any thing less is just that--not worth much.
But here is where he gets into trouble. If you refuse to listen to any other people on earth, but only the voice in your head that you believe is the spirit of Christ influencing you, you are ripe for being led astray. You've got nothing to challenge that voice if there is no standard on which to judge it. Like the 'two nails in the board' Analogy, that one little lone nail cannot hold anything steady, it will move all over on the board. Satan knows this and it is one way that he can lead good people astray--people who would never lie, steal, commit adultery, kill etc. When he comes across someone like that Satan doesn't give up ('Oh forget it, he's impenetrable, move on'), he keeps searching and observing until he finds the weak spot--the way to gain influence and be able to tempt. As I've been reading Denver's blogging, it's pretty clear what his weak spot is and it is one of the most common with highly intelligent and talented individuals. Pride. Some will vehemently disagree because they read his false modesty--but the Pride is there throughout his writings. As he points out others' failings there is a veiled smugness. He has moved past the typical mistakes others make and just wishes they could be helped--but they are beyond help.
He believes that the Joseph set up the church perfectly and that subsequent leaders and Prophets have slowly moved away from the correct model of restoration and so have taken the church into apostasy. I'm not sure he's ever stated it that way, but that is what he is inferring. He preaches that we don't need men to stand between us and God, we should bypass them and move away from the church structure to find God within our own hearts. The problem is that Christ set up a church when he came in the flesh, among the Jews and among the Nephites and it's clear he fully expected that church to continue or the world would move into darkness. It did and it took a restoration through Joseph Smith to return it. I've read the scriptures and I'm pretty sure there is no restoration after Joseph, in fact the prophecies are that the church will never be taken away, but will fill the whole world--not in numbers or popularity, but in access or knowledge.
This is where Br. Snuffer goes awry. He teaches people that present leaders are uninspired and the church has lost its footing by having rejected restored truths. I don't see how he can NOT realize he has apostatized from the CofJCofLDS. And of course, his decision to reject their decision that he stop his activities clearly shows his rejection of their authority over him as representatives of Christ's church.
I've been reading for some time the LDS freedom forum message board and many of Denver's followers (they don't consider themselves by that term but that is what they are) reside and they will often claim they 'feel the spirit' when they read his writings (I'm not surprised, he quotes an awful lot of scripture, it would be hard not to) and more importantly, Denver doesn't 'want' followers and he doesn't want people to look to him, that they should look to no man but only follow Christ. If that meant only following the teachings of Christ, it might not be a problem, where it gets murky is that Denver has had a visitation by the Savior (in 2002) and so he feels that the only way to follow and 'know' Christ is through personal physical manifestation and any thing less is just that--not worth much.
But here is where he gets into trouble. If you refuse to listen to any other people on earth, but only the voice in your head that you believe is the spirit of Christ influencing you, you are ripe for being led astray. You've got nothing to challenge that voice if there is no standard on which to judge it. Like the 'two nails in the board' Analogy, that one little lone nail cannot hold anything steady, it will move all over on the board. Satan knows this and it is one way that he can lead good people astray--people who would never lie, steal, commit adultery, kill etc. When he comes across someone like that Satan doesn't give up ('Oh forget it, he's impenetrable, move on'), he keeps searching and observing until he finds the weak spot--the way to gain influence and be able to tempt. As I've been reading Denver's blogging, it's pretty clear what his weak spot is and it is one of the most common with highly intelligent and talented individuals. Pride. Some will vehemently disagree because they read his false modesty--but the Pride is there throughout his writings. As he points out others' failings there is a veiled smugness. He has moved past the typical mistakes others make and just wishes they could be helped--but they are beyond help.
He believes that the Joseph set up the church perfectly and that subsequent leaders and Prophets have slowly moved away from the correct model of restoration and so have taken the church into apostasy. I'm not sure he's ever stated it that way, but that is what he is inferring. He preaches that we don't need men to stand between us and God, we should bypass them and move away from the church structure to find God within our own hearts. The problem is that Christ set up a church when he came in the flesh, among the Jews and among the Nephites and it's clear he fully expected that church to continue or the world would move into darkness. It did and it took a restoration through Joseph Smith to return it. I've read the scriptures and I'm pretty sure there is no restoration after Joseph, in fact the prophecies are that the church will never be taken away, but will fill the whole world--not in numbers or popularity, but in access or knowledge.
This is where Br. Snuffer goes awry. He teaches people that present leaders are uninspired and the church has lost its footing by having rejected restored truths. I don't see how he can NOT realize he has apostatized from the CofJCofLDS. And of course, his decision to reject their decision that he stop his activities clearly shows his rejection of their authority over him as representatives of Christ's church.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Modern LDS Heretics and Heresies
I should mention that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints aka, Mormon and lately in the News I've heard rumors about a number of church disciplinary courts which are being held for some semi prominent Mormon members. They are John Dehlin, who puts together the Mormon Stories Podcasts, Kate Kelly of Ordain Women and Rock Waterman, the blogger behind 'Pure Mormonism'.
First, John Dehlin. I'm actually quite familiar with him. I used to be a follower and be a participant of LDS message boards. I belonged to two of them, FAIR, which is now called Mormon Dialogue and Discussion and another board, Mormon Discussions. Both can be rough, nasty places--Mormon Discussions is the worst because many of the posters are angry hostile individuals, especially when it comes to the Mormon Faith. Mormon Dialogue and Discussions can be a nasty place because the atmosphere is angry, sarcastic and mean spirited and the moderators, who you'd think might want to avoid that sort of thing, at times, joined in with the general angry atmosphere. I decided to leave them. MD, because I got sick of the offensive attacks and MD&D, because I realized I was learning nothing from my participation there, except to dislike other members of my faith! However while participating, I was introduced to John Dehlin.
My impression of John is limited to what I've read from him, not from meeting him in person. He struggles with many doctrinal concepts in the church as well as the social culture of Mormonism on the Wasatch front. He makes podcasts, interviewing many disaffected and ex LDS (also aka Mormon) members. His claim for doing this is to get their stories out and I've read him claim many times that he's helping people stay in the church. I've even read posters back up his statements that his podcasts keep them in the church. I have no complaints about that.
Kate Kelly is the leader of a movement called Ordain women which wants to pressure the LDS church into giving women the Priesthood (we have a lay priesthood of males over the age of 12 only). She and her followers have been staging protests (non violent but pushy by church mores) and she's been trying to drum up support among members for her cause.
Rock Waterman is a blogger who writes about the church. He's a member but he's critical, but couches that criticism in humor and sarcasm. He likes to hearken back to the church's past history to criticize how things are run today.
What these three have in common is that they are being threatened with church discipline. I use the word 'threatened' because it is a real threat--to their cause. When an LDS person loses their church membership, they also lose their influence with mainstream members and so each of these people will lose a great deal of their influence with their targeted audience. Just look at any of the other high profile excommunicants and you will see that it severely limits their ability to gain followers to their way of thinking or their cause.
My own feeling is that the church is justified in threatening them, using the only real power they have to silence detractors. All three of these people have a 'following'; they are the leaders of 'movements' and they preach their own 'doctrine' in opposition to what the church teaches. That makes them what the early Christian church called "Heretics". And so, the church must protect the 'flock', it's members, from the heresies and from the Heretics who would draw people away from what they deem the true gospel to believe in false teachings.
The church does not discuss these proceedings, but I believe that each of them was given the opportunity to stop their teaching, pull down their websites and cease their activities, in order to remain a member in good standing. And if they refuse, they will be considered 'out of harmony' with the church and must be removed from being able to use their position within the church to draw others to their cause.
If you feel I am dispassionate and harsh, I'm sorry, but one must look at this frankly. The early church had to deal with the same kind of problems and when they allowed the heretics to proselyte within the church branches, they lost members to these break off groups. The church has an obligation to keep the doctrine pure and protect the membership.
As members of the church we each have the freedom to believe as we choose, but we do not have the freedom to teach our beliefs to others in order to foment dissatisfaction and disaffection. Our church is unique also in that we believe in one Prophet at the head of our church who receives ongoing revelation for how the church is run. This means no one else can receive revelation for the church as a whole and we don't take kindly to agitators.
Personally, I hope and pray that these three will let go of the pride that binds them and submit to the instructions of their church leaders and keep their membership. Humility is one of the best teachers for intellectually bright, talented people. It is also one of the best ways to become more like the Savior in a way that they will never know, if they continue down the path of putting their pride in their positions and accolades of their followers before accepting censure from those they claim to uphold. It doesn't matter if you are right. It matters if you can accept upbraiding for your weaknesses because I can guarantee, you have them, I have them. We all can bear a little chastising.
First, John Dehlin. I'm actually quite familiar with him. I used to be a follower and be a participant of LDS message boards. I belonged to two of them, FAIR, which is now called Mormon Dialogue and Discussion and another board, Mormon Discussions. Both can be rough, nasty places--Mormon Discussions is the worst because many of the posters are angry hostile individuals, especially when it comes to the Mormon Faith. Mormon Dialogue and Discussions can be a nasty place because the atmosphere is angry, sarcastic and mean spirited and the moderators, who you'd think might want to avoid that sort of thing, at times, joined in with the general angry atmosphere. I decided to leave them. MD, because I got sick of the offensive attacks and MD&D, because I realized I was learning nothing from my participation there, except to dislike other members of my faith! However while participating, I was introduced to John Dehlin.
My impression of John is limited to what I've read from him, not from meeting him in person. He struggles with many doctrinal concepts in the church as well as the social culture of Mormonism on the Wasatch front. He makes podcasts, interviewing many disaffected and ex LDS (also aka Mormon) members. His claim for doing this is to get their stories out and I've read him claim many times that he's helping people stay in the church. I've even read posters back up his statements that his podcasts keep them in the church. I have no complaints about that.
Kate Kelly is the leader of a movement called Ordain women which wants to pressure the LDS church into giving women the Priesthood (we have a lay priesthood of males over the age of 12 only). She and her followers have been staging protests (non violent but pushy by church mores) and she's been trying to drum up support among members for her cause.
Rock Waterman is a blogger who writes about the church. He's a member but he's critical, but couches that criticism in humor and sarcasm. He likes to hearken back to the church's past history to criticize how things are run today.
What these three have in common is that they are being threatened with church discipline. I use the word 'threatened' because it is a real threat--to their cause. When an LDS person loses their church membership, they also lose their influence with mainstream members and so each of these people will lose a great deal of their influence with their targeted audience. Just look at any of the other high profile excommunicants and you will see that it severely limits their ability to gain followers to their way of thinking or their cause.
My own feeling is that the church is justified in threatening them, using the only real power they have to silence detractors. All three of these people have a 'following'; they are the leaders of 'movements' and they preach their own 'doctrine' in opposition to what the church teaches. That makes them what the early Christian church called "Heretics". And so, the church must protect the 'flock', it's members, from the heresies and from the Heretics who would draw people away from what they deem the true gospel to believe in false teachings.
The church does not discuss these proceedings, but I believe that each of them was given the opportunity to stop their teaching, pull down their websites and cease their activities, in order to remain a member in good standing. And if they refuse, they will be considered 'out of harmony' with the church and must be removed from being able to use their position within the church to draw others to their cause.
If you feel I am dispassionate and harsh, I'm sorry, but one must look at this frankly. The early church had to deal with the same kind of problems and when they allowed the heretics to proselyte within the church branches, they lost members to these break off groups. The church has an obligation to keep the doctrine pure and protect the membership.
As members of the church we each have the freedom to believe as we choose, but we do not have the freedom to teach our beliefs to others in order to foment dissatisfaction and disaffection. Our church is unique also in that we believe in one Prophet at the head of our church who receives ongoing revelation for how the church is run. This means no one else can receive revelation for the church as a whole and we don't take kindly to agitators.
Personally, I hope and pray that these three will let go of the pride that binds them and submit to the instructions of their church leaders and keep their membership. Humility is one of the best teachers for intellectually bright, talented people. It is also one of the best ways to become more like the Savior in a way that they will never know, if they continue down the path of putting their pride in their positions and accolades of their followers before accepting censure from those they claim to uphold. It doesn't matter if you are right. It matters if you can accept upbraiding for your weaknesses because I can guarantee, you have them, I have them. We all can bear a little chastising.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
America is hurting
I've been thinking a lot about the Book of Revelation by John, mostly because I feel we are in the last days and the signs are all around us.
As I've been watching things unfold in the world, I think of things that John spoke of. Everything that is happening in the Middle East should not be ignored. The Ancient Prophets wrote explicitly of things that would happen in Babylon and Assyria (Iraq and Iran), Syria, Egypt, Moab (Jordan), Lebanon, and of course, Israel. Satan rages in the hearts of men--we see this today.
The Islamist Extremist movement is dangerous to the well being of the world. Some Americans think we can ignore this threat, but it will be on our doors soon.
Unfortunately, America is weak. We've been weakened by our loss of a moral center. Most Americans are not religious, they don't have a belief system, living their lives to gain money, power, social standing, social, pleasure pursuits and acquiring their idols--things. We educate our children in a public school system that is hostile to religious faith and god in general. Children are taught moral relativism and their education is so dumbed down, it is difficult for them to develop critical thinking skills. This was by design. John Dewey, the architect of our modern school system planned it that way. Why? Because he was a progressive humanist. He wanted a population which could be controlled and manipulated by the elitist leaders at the top. Americans who could be kept in line by keeping them from questioning too much. He ended up training the bulk of the teachers and administrators who ended up influencing the Teachers colleges across the country. The results of this are obvious. People who have no common sense, who are easily duped and ruled by their emotions--on full display it seems, every time we have an election. Climate change is a great example. The doomsayers of climate change, demanding that we tax this and outlaw that, are the biggest climate polluters out there. Does anyone really think that if they TRULY believed what they preached they would live that way? Of course not. If they really believed the planet was about to be destroyed, they'd stop flying in jets and living in huge mansions and wasting resources. They live carefully and use modern technology to limit their carbon footprint. But they don't, because it is all a big scam to make money and have control over others.
So....you see why I have to put my thoughts on this blog rather than share with others? Yes, I'm boring to read as well as listen to, but this works. It makes me feel better to have shared my thoughts with someone, even if that someone is no one:).
As I've been watching things unfold in the world, I think of things that John spoke of. Everything that is happening in the Middle East should not be ignored. The Ancient Prophets wrote explicitly of things that would happen in Babylon and Assyria (Iraq and Iran), Syria, Egypt, Moab (Jordan), Lebanon, and of course, Israel. Satan rages in the hearts of men--we see this today.
The Islamist Extremist movement is dangerous to the well being of the world. Some Americans think we can ignore this threat, but it will be on our doors soon.
Unfortunately, America is weak. We've been weakened by our loss of a moral center. Most Americans are not religious, they don't have a belief system, living their lives to gain money, power, social standing, social, pleasure pursuits and acquiring their idols--things. We educate our children in a public school system that is hostile to religious faith and god in general. Children are taught moral relativism and their education is so dumbed down, it is difficult for them to develop critical thinking skills. This was by design. John Dewey, the architect of our modern school system planned it that way. Why? Because he was a progressive humanist. He wanted a population which could be controlled and manipulated by the elitist leaders at the top. Americans who could be kept in line by keeping them from questioning too much. He ended up training the bulk of the teachers and administrators who ended up influencing the Teachers colleges across the country. The results of this are obvious. People who have no common sense, who are easily duped and ruled by their emotions--on full display it seems, every time we have an election. Climate change is a great example. The doomsayers of climate change, demanding that we tax this and outlaw that, are the biggest climate polluters out there. Does anyone really think that if they TRULY believed what they preached they would live that way? Of course not. If they really believed the planet was about to be destroyed, they'd stop flying in jets and living in huge mansions and wasting resources. They live carefully and use modern technology to limit their carbon footprint. But they don't, because it is all a big scam to make money and have control over others.
So....you see why I have to put my thoughts on this blog rather than share with others? Yes, I'm boring to read as well as listen to, but this works. It makes me feel better to have shared my thoughts with someone, even if that someone is no one:).
This is my blog for my thoughts. It will probably not interest anyone, that's why I've named it the Weed Patch.
Many times I think and have thoughts I'd like to share, but they really are of no interest to anyone around me, but I still feel I should not leave them in my mind, so this will be a journal of sorts. I think I will enjoy it.
Many times I think and have thoughts I'd like to share, but they really are of no interest to anyone around me, but I still feel I should not leave them in my mind, so this will be a journal of sorts. I think I will enjoy it.
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