Mo Money

Money is a man made commodity. It is nothing but a symbol of value.. a representation of the goods or services offered in exchange for other goods or services. So Man, whether in positions of govt power or not, has the ability to 'create' this symbol. The true wealth is the goods or services provided by human labor.

This System of money has evolved in the human animal over thousands of years. It is a better solution for storing & carrying the wealth we have created than the items themselves. The problem lies in the nature of the storage unit. It lends itself to corruption & manipulation by unscrupulous charlatans. Money has ALWAYS been counterfeited by crooks & scoundrels. Whatever the storage unit, it has been faked. And the problem becomes exponentially worse when the ISSUER of the currency/money is complicit in the faking. This is what has happened with the American dollar. It was once a stable currency, with the full force & confidence of the American System of government. But thieves & scoundrels have infiltrated this system, & manipulated the currency for their own enrichment & their cronies. They have, in essence, counterfeited the dollar. By printing more than the value it represents, they dilute the real value of the dollar, which causes inflation. But all that does is steal from those who own these symbols of wealth, by behind the scenes meddling with the currency. Instead of providing a stable, consistent, reliable symbol of American wealth & production, they print out billions of paper symbols with nothing but reputation & nostalgia to back them. It is like a ponzi scheme.. a bubble of their own creation that will burst at some time, if drastic steps are not taken to bring stability & security to this global currency.

Debt itself is not a major problem. Absurd, astronomical debt is obviously a problem, when the ability to pay it off becomes untenable. Govt induced debt, filled with corruption, redistribution, & cloward-piven strategies of overload, use the system of money to accomplish their dirty deeds.

This, IMO, is not a flaw of the system.. it is the Nature of Man. When the citizens of a nation of self rule do not keep a watchful eye on the administrators of the collective organizational system, it is too easy for unscrupulous scoundrels to weasel their way into positions of power & use it to enrich themselves & their cronies. Bankers & other money related industries are too happy to go along with the corrupting practices, as long as they can work the system too.

I don't know of a better way to prevent abuses of public currency management except a system of checks & balances, like the American Experiment. But even it has become corrupted, as charlatans have taken over EVERY phase of the system. There are no watchdogs to warn of these subtle, behind the scenes meddlings. And the currency is a critical part of any society. EVERYONE is affected by the currency manipulations. Those on the inside, with connections to the power mongers, can profit from monetary policy. But everyone else loses. It has become a corrupt system of looting the working man.. stealing his labors with invisible, behind the scenes juggling of the money supply.

When a currency is stable, those who create things become wealthy. Interest rates are moderate, & provide capital for investment. Nobody gets rich by shuffling money around. A successful business MAKES something, or provides a useful service. But when a currency is inflated & unstable, the creators of wealth are robbed by the issuers of the currency.  A cursory check of our current system shows that money shufflers are the ones getting rich, now. Most people getting 'rich' now have not created anything, but merely expanded their money stores by shuffling it around.. speculation.. insider trading.. political maneuvering. The farmers, builders, manufacturers, & workers who actually CREATE something are slowly being fleeced by the diluting process of monetary policy.

Wall street loves this. Money shufflers have exploited the system for nearly a century, now, to get rich without doing any productive work. Govt insiders love it too. They do not call politics 'the revolving door to riches' for nothing. It is a method of getting rich by fleecing the producers, the favorite tactic of thieves & scoundrels for all time. They do no work themselves, but merely TAKE from those who have. What is most insidious about them is their pretense of being 'public servants'. They act like they ache with compassion for the plight of the working man, while they rob him blind of what he has worked for. They are not even honest thieves.

Solutions? It will not be easy, or pretty. JUSTICE will have to be applied to deter thievery.

1. Strict & swift penalties for public corruption.. confiscation of property, capital punishment, labor camps, guillotines.. something negative that will deter corruption in the public administration.
2. Management & administration of the currency by ELECTED officials, held accountable by other ELECTED officials in an open, transparent forum. End the FED. Remove the management of the American currency from special interests & private bankers.
3. Link the money supply to actual production. Formulas can be calculated to determine the proper amount of money to 'create', based on the actual production of the nation. Voodoo economics & subjective opinions or ideology are removed, when the currency is tied to real numbers.
4. Phase out the old, & establish the new. The old dollar has been ruined & corrupted by the FED & those managing it. Let the Congress mint a stable currency, as they have been charged to do by the constitution. The old FED issued one can be phased out, & has become less viable & useful as a national currency. A lot of money shufflers will be screwed by this change, but they were complicit in the corruption of the dollar so they should bear the brunt of the collapse. The working, TAX PAYING American citizen should be given priority in the initial exchange of old to new dollars, then the banks, investors, foreign nationals, & anyone else who has profited from the manipulations of the dollar.

IMO, with the fundamentals of the currency in such shambles, it will not matter who is elected as president. Pick your poison. We are in a downward death spiral, & putting a new pilot in the cockpit will not make a difference. Unless & until we can make DRASTIC changes to monetary policy, & return the management of the currency to elected officials who have some accountability to the public trust, the plunder of the treasury & the working man will continue.

The Greatest Mystery of the 21st Century: Money

At least so far... We are still relatively early in the 21st century.

This spring i've been dealing with a lot of collective organizations. ..attending commencements, interacting with police, fire depts, insurance companies, charitable fund raisers, etc. I am always amazed at the levels of entitlement among people involved in public institutions. The widening chasm in the American Discourse is also a matter of great concern to me, as entitlement sweeps the next generation, & each new crop of young people seem more entitled than the one before. Why? What is the source of this mindset? Why do people believe that other people owe them a living? 

I have been a philosopher & a student of the human animal all of my life. I am constantly intrigued by the root motivations of people, & the source of thinking & the evolution of philosophical agendas. The more i observe humanity, & analyze the thinking processes, motivations, & mindset of people, the more i have concluded that there are core differences in our perceptions about Reality. There are misconceptions that build upon each other, to arrive at a mythical view of Reality that has no basis. The fundamentals are flawed, & the subsequent conclusions are based on faulty assumptions.

Myth: Govt creates money.
IMO, this is the central flaw of modern progressivism. This is where leftist thought begins in their perception of reality, & where all other flaws in their thinking & conclusions originate. The reason is that this is not really a myth. Govt DOES print money. But they do not create the SOURCE of wealth.. they do not originate the True Source of money. Unfortunately, this myth is not only with the progressive left. It is sweeping the thinking of conservatives & other philosophical world views.

Money is merely a symbol of wealth. It is a means of exchange. All wealth in the human collective is created by Labor. Somebody has to work to create wealth, which is then represented by govt printed money. The ONLY source of wealth is in productive labor. The engine that drives the Human Economic Train is productive labor for the survival needs of humanity.

Sustenance: Food & water
Protection: Housing, clothing, defense from the elements & predators.
Those are the essentials. You can live without a smart phone, but not without water. You don't need tv or music, but you won't live long without food. EVERYTHING that we do is predicated on someone working for these essentials, & the rest of us buying their products with the fruits of our own labors.THAT is the Human Economy: You work & produce a needed commodity. Someone else does the same. You trade your products. ALL of the wealth generated in a society is done at the survival level. Luxuries & incidentals come later. Observation of many 3rd world countries, all of the animal kingdom, & the history of man should make this plainly obvious, but for some reason, it is increasingly mysterious, & the source of wealth is seen as coming from a Magical Provider: The Govt.

Bastiat wrote of this in the 1800s:
"Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." ~Frederic Bastiat

For the most part, people do not see themselves as mooching off of other people. They believe that Govt has a Mystical Ability to provide all the necessities of life: Food, clothing, housing, health care, pensions, & jobs. But that is a flawed perception of govt. Human governance is merely a collective action for justice & social protection. That is its prime directive. The working people of the land provide their hard earned wealth to PAY someone to administer justice & protection in society. That is the essence of Govt. And when those in this protective role use their assigned power to plunder & exploit the working man, they have failed in their basic duty, & no longer provide a useful service. They have become complicit with the looters of the working man, & no longer protect his labors. They have joined with the predators & eventually the working producers of the land cast them out & organize a new collective system of govt. Historically, the changes in human governance have not always brought periods of freedom & prosperity. Most of the time, it has been, 'Meet the new Boss... same as the old Boss'.

The Reality is that SOMEONE has to work & produce the necessities of life. Govt does not create food, housing, or clothing. They can only TAKE from those who have. That is why redistribution has a look & feel of Govt as the source of these things. The recipients of the free stuff do not see the force employed in taking it from someone else. They imagine huge warehouses of stuff.. a goose that lays golden eggs, or a money tree that generates the necessities of life automatically. They do not see themselves as mooching off of other people, but merely taking their fair share from the govt.

But it is a lie. It is Fiction. Govt has NOTHING, except what they take by force from someone who has worked. The champions of govt like to portray it as govt making things fair. The evil corporate exploiters of the working man are the targets of their Social Justice, not the actual working man. But that is a diversion. The corporate exploiters of the working man are ALMOST ALWAYS complicit with the govt looters. They work together in harmony to fleece the producers of the nation, to enrich themselves & to empower themselves with votes from useful idiots who believe the Lie. But they do not actually fleece the evil corporatists. All they ever do is plunder the working man.

As long as this perception of money & wealth remains, entitlement & collectivist delusion will continue. People do not see their survival needs coming through productive interdependency, but from a Magical Provider. Govt has become the new god, & the free stuff is manna in the wilderness.

Sola Scriptura

One of the central elements of Christianity is the concept of the authority of scripture, or 'Sola Scriptura'. It is perhaps THE most important part of christianity, for how can one define it without the historical appeal to the founders? Without the written accounts of the life & teachings of Jesus & His followers, there can be no continuum.. no continuity in the christian faith. We would be left floundering about in a sea of relativity, subject to the opinions & whims of the moment, with no anchor of history or record of the message He brought.

I am not addressing the canon of scripture, or the process by which the biblical texts were included as the authoritative written basis of christianity. That is another topic. This article is about the USE & AUTHORITY of the scriptures already canonized into what we now call the Bible. The early bishops, writers, historians, & apologists in the church attested to the importance of these scriptures. They were reaffirmed during the reformation, & many times before & since. The authority of the canon of scripture is a constant thread in the history of the christian church. The ONLY record of the words & teachings of Jesus are from the historical gospels, & the men who wrote & compiled the accounts. No apocryphal writings or later 'commentaries' or revisions have any basis, but are superfluous at best, & deceptions at worst.

Sola Scriptura has several key parts:
1. Inspiration. It is a revelation from God to man. That is the basis for its authority.
2. Sufficiency & Final Authority. The teachings from scripture override any mandates or decrees of men or councils, & is sufficient for faith. No additions or subtractions from the clear teachings of scripture are needed or desired.
3. Clarity (or perspicuity) & scripture interpreting scripture. "...those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them." ~ Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646. This concept is one of textual hermeneutics, a process of determining the intent of the writer. No special gifts or dispensation is required, but only typical reason & understanding of human communication. "The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly." ~ Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646

Here are some quotes from early church fathers.
"We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith." ~ Irenaeus, “Against Heresies” 3.1.1, c. AD 180

"Have thou ever in your mind this seal , which for the present has been lightly touched in my discourse, by way of summary, but shall be stated, should the Lord permit, to the best of my power with the proof from the Scriptures. For concerning the divine and holy mysteries of the Faith, not even a casual statement must be delivered without the Holy Scriptures; nor must we be drawn aside by mere plausibility and artifices of speech. Even to me, who tell you these things, give not absolute credence, unless thou receive the proof of the things which I announce from the Divine Scriptures. For this salvation which we believe depends not on ingenious reasoning , but on demonstration of the Holy Scriptures." ~"The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril" Lecture 4.17, c. AD 347
This is a very good summary of the early church fathers, their esteem of the scriptures, & their place in early church history.

Irenaeus: He knew Polycarp who was a disciple of the apostle John. He lived from c 130 to 202 AD. He quotes from twenty-four of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, taking over 1,800 quotations from the New Testament alone.
Clement of Alexandria: He lived from 150 to 215 AD. He cites all the New Testament, books except Philemon, James and 2 Peter. He gives 2,400 citations from the New Testament.
Tertullian: He lived from 160 to 220 AD. He makes over 7,200 New Testament citations.
Origen: He lived from 185 to 254 AD. He succeeded Clement of Alexandria at the Catechetical school at Alexandria. He makes nearly 18,000 New Testament citations.
By the end of the 3rd century, virtually the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from the writings of the Church Fathers.
source:http://www.christiananswers.net/q-ed...rlychurch.html

This is a very interesting perspective from Cyril, from his lectures around AD 347.

33. Now these the divinely-inspired Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament teach us. For the God of the two Testaments is One, Who in the Old Testament foretold the Christ Who appeared in the New; Who by the Law and the Prophets led us to Christ's school. For before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, and, the law has been our tutor to bring us unto Christ. And if ever thou hear any of the heretics speaking evil of the Law or the Prophets, answer in the sound of the Saviour's voice, saying, Jesus came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it. Learn also diligently, and from the Church, what are the books of the Old Testament, and what those of the New. And, pray, read none of the apocryphal writings : for why do you, who know not those which are acknowledged among all, trouble yourself in vain about those which are disputed? Read the Divine Scriptures, the twenty-two books of the Old Testament, these that have been translated by the Seventy-two Interpreters.

34. For after the death of Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, and the division of his kingdom into four principalities, into Babylonia, and Macedonia, and Asia, and Egypt, one of those who reigned over Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelphus, being a king very fond of learning, while collecting the books that were in every place, heard from Demetrius Phalereus, the curator of his library, of the Divine Scriptures of the Law and the Prophets, and judged it much nobler, not to get the books from the possessors by force against their will, but rather to propitiate them by gifts and friendship; and knowing that what is extorted is often adulterated, being given unwillingly, while that which is willingly supplied is freely given with all sincerity, he sent to Eleazar, who was then High Priest, a great many gifts for the Temple here at Jerusalem, and caused him to send him six interpreters from each of the twelve tribes of Israel for the translation. Then, further, to make experiment whether the books were Divine or not, he took precaution that those who had been sent should not combine among themselves, by assigning to each of the interpreters who had come his separate chamber in the island called Pharos, which lies over against Alexandria, and committed to each the whole Scriptures to translate. And when they had fulfilled the task in seventy-two days, he brought together all their translations, which they had made in different chambers without sending them one to another, and found that they agreed not only in the sense but even in words. For the process was no word-craft, nor contrivance of human devices: but the translation of the Divine Scriptures, spoken by the Holy Ghost, was of the Holy Ghost accomplished.

35. Of these read the two and twenty books, but have nothing to do with the apocryphal writings. Study earnestly these only which we read openly in the Church. Far wiser and more pious than yourself were the Apostles, and the bishops of old time, the presidents of the Church who handed down these books. Being therefore a child of the Church, trench thou not upon its statutes. And of the Old Testament, as we have said, study the two and twenty books, which, if you are desirous of learning, strive to remember by name, as I recite them. For of the Law the books of Moses are the first five, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And next,Joshua the son of Nave , and the book of Judges, including Ruth, counted as seventh. And of the other historical books, the first and second books of the Kings are among the Hebrews one book; also the third and fourth one book. And in like manner, the first and second of Chronicles are with them one book; and the first and second of Esdras are counted one. Esther is the twelfth book; and these are the Historical writings. But those which are written in verses are five, Job, and the book of Psalms, and Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, which is the seventeenth book. And after these come the five Prophetic books: of the Twelve Prophets one book, of Isaiah one, of Jeremiah one, including Baruch and Lamentations and the Epistle ; then Ezekiel, and the Book of Daniel, the twenty-second of the Old Testament.

36. Then of the New Testament there are the four Gospels only, for the rest have false titles and are mischievous. The Manichæans also wrote a Gospel according to Thomas, which being tinctured with the fragrance of the evangelic title corrupts the souls of the simple sort. Receive also the Acts of the Twelve Apostles; and in addition to these the seven Catholic Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude; and as a seal upon them all, and the last work of the disciples, the fourteen Epistles of Paul. But let all the rest be put aside in a secondary rank. And whatever books are not read in Churches, these read not even by yourself, as you have heard me say. Thus much of these subjects. ~"The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril" Lecture 4, c. AD 347

Without the authority of scripture, we are left with relativity. The scriptures are the anchor for the christian faith. Opinions of men can come & go, but the historical canon of scripture has stood the test of time.. it has remained the foundation upon which the believer's faith is built.

"Centuries of experience have tested the BIBLE. It has passed through critical fires no other volume has suffered, and its spiritual truth has endured the flames and come out without so much as the smell of burning" ~W.E. Sangster

Simple Economics

At almost any time in any nation's history, the issue of the economy is in the forefront. A vibrant economy creates jobs, brings prosperity, & enriches the nation. It provides a broader tax base for infrastructure, & can become a juggernaut of growth & affluence. And conversely, a weak economy brings poverty, austerity, & decline.

The wealth of a nation is tied DIRECTLY to several factors:
1. The Industry of the Citizens. A small nation like the early US & more modern examples of Germany & Japan show that an industrious people with a strong work ethic can work their way to prosperity, even with limited natural resources. Minimal dependency, minimal collective demands, and a culture of industry, opportunity, & growth all work together to bring prosperity to the nation.
2. Natural Resources. The more resources a nation has, the more they can harvest the bounty from the earth & convert it to national wealth. The US has abundant natural resources, & they used them to build the most prosperous economy in the history of man. Conversely, some nations with abundant resources seem unable to overcome the lack of industry from the people, or the corruption in the governmental system. Mexico is an example of this malady, as is Haiti & many African nations.
3. Minimal demands from the collective organizational system, AKA, Government. Some nations have an industrious people, but are hampered by an oppressive collective organization. Corruption & an elite ruling class burden the producers, & sap their motivation to excel. The more the working man is able to keep the fruits of his labors, & reinvest them in HIMSELF, the more industrious he is, & it snowballs the entire national economy. This one is the most crucial, as it can kill the other 2.

Those are the 3 basic factors needed for a prosperous society. As they decline, so does the national economy. All other 'fixes' are smoke & mirrors, & do not address the fundamentals. If we want a vigorous, vibrant economy, we have to encourage & stimulate these 3 things. With this as a foundation, here are a few basic Truths in any human economic system:

1. Wealth comes through production. It is not declared, & it cannot be printed. Only intelligent, industrious LABOR produces what is needed for human survival. All wealth begins with food production, as it is the most basic need. After the food needs are met, whatever is left goes toward shelter, protection, play, & luxuries.
2. All of society DEPENDS on the producers. Food, housing, energy, protection, clothing.. anything necessary for existence has to be WORKED for & created. The very young, the old, & the infirm all depend on the PRODUCTION of the working people around them. The more people there are in productive, useful labor, the richer & more prosperous the society is. And conversely, the more people there are in dependency, the poorer the society, & the greater burden on the working producers. The producing worker can have too many dependents, & be unable to overcome that financial drain on his resources.
3. Govt can do little to promote a healthy economy, but it can do a great deal to kill it. Too much govt interference, red tape, & bureaucracy only increases corruption, crony deals, & is a hindrance to a prosperous society.

Govt is the Great Fiction, that deludes people into thinking that everybody can live off of everybody else. It is a lie. It has NEVER worked, & has been attempted numerous times in human history. Too much collective dependency, with too many leeches on the working man take too much of his increase & discourage industry. Govt is an expense of the working producers, & needs to be kept in check, or it will become infested with looting moochers who will plunder the treasury & fleece the producers of the nation.

National economics is much simpler than it is presented. It is just simple human economics on a larger scale. But the same principles are in play. To have a vibrant, prosperous economy, you need the above dynamics. Industrious citizens, abundant natural resources, & minimal demands from govt are the 3 key factors for a growing, healthy economy. There are no short cuts. There are no magic pills or beans. It takes intelligent work from a majority of the citizens, with minimal govt, to bring prosperity to a nation. Govt does not help this process with energetic intrusion into the collective. The economy grows best when govt is unnoticed & minimal.

Revival

40 years ago, during the 'Jesus Freak' movement, the hubub was 'the late great planet earth', where Hal Lindsey predicted the end within a few years.. Before that, there was some guy who talked a bunch of people into sitting on a hill to wait.. he knew the date when the world would end. Of course, there are the real wack jobs, who drink kool aid & try to catch a ride on a comet as they die, but some kind of apocalyptic view of the world seems to be universal. Martin Luther.. the reformer.. was in a time of great persecution. Martyrs were dying regularly. Someone asked him what he would do if he knew the Lord was coming back tomorrow. 'I would plant a tree', was his reply.

If you're 60 or so, these are the last days. You might live a few more years, but plenty of your friends are gone who died much younger than you, so you know it can happen. I have been a philosopher obsessed with death my whole life, so it seems like a familiar friend. But i have no idea how i will cross the river.. whether with great faith & victory, or in terror & despair. My will is inadequate in this matter. I leave the welfare of my soul (if there is one) with the Creator.

But as far as the last days of America, that seems fairly obvious. All of the fundamentals for a stable collective system of organization (aka, govt) are out of whack. The currency is in shambles. Dependency is rampant. Enemies of America have infiltrated every institution. Corruption, lies, & every imaginable immorality runs freely in this land that was once a beacon of stability, morality, & freedom. The cry of innocent blood rises against us, & demands justice. We will have to face our Maker, & we have no excuse. We have loved amusements & opulence, & have lost our place in the universe, history, & humanity. Instead of the light of Liberty, we bring the stench of Death.

If there is a judgement in my lifetime.. If fire & brimstone falls from heaven & leaves the land barren.. If gnashing & wailing are all we have to look forward to, all i can say is that God is just. Our collective sins have risen to the heights, & cry out against us. Millions of dead babies will stand in judgement upon this generation, & all we can do is hang our heads. We have stood idly by while thieves, murderers & liars have taken control of our once proud system of self rule, that once shook the world & was the envy of the nations.

But while there is life there is hope. A spiritual awakening.. a moral revival.. a return to the standards that brought us to the pinnacle of human freedom.. these *might* turn away the wrath & judgement of God. But that has become a trite saying.. a religious cliché that people parrot, but without feeling. Revival. It could save America, but it seems impossible. The irreligious are entrenched, & there is no fear of God in our culture.

Hos 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2There is only cursing, lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.
4“But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.
5You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother—
6my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

Spiritual Awakenings, Part 2

WW2 was, IMO, the pinnacle of enlightenment thinking. The concepts of the scientific method, technology, human equality, & Natural Law were in sharp contrast to the axis views of power, elitism, & racial superiority. Post WW2 church attendance was very high, & the baby boomers were the result. Strong religious views & family values are connected. But by the 60s, the trend began going the other way.

In 1950, 2% of people said 'none' for religious preference in the gallup poll. By 2010, this had grown to 16%. I'm sure it is higher, now. Why is this? Has science proven that there is no god? Why has atheism exploded in western culture? I see one central reason:  Indoctrination

IMO, atheists are made, not born. Years of indoctrination from the naturalistic, atheistic, secular humanist educational system, complicit with the media, entertainment, sesame street, national parks, & nearly EVERY worldly institution have convinced young people from an early age that belief in God is quaint & outdated. Science has proved that religion is all a myth, they assert, & the naturalistic view of the universe has become the default western view. Years of affluence & opulence have removed the sense of fear & dependency on nature for survival. Beginning in the late 60s, the super-naturalistic view of the universe has steadily declined. This is not because of any scientific discoveries, or proof of naturalistic origins, but is mere indoctrination & removal of any competition in the educational system. Evolution is no more a proven fact than it was in the mid 19th century. In fact, the discovery of dna & the science of genetics has dealt the 'theory' a severe blow. But the indoctrinaires have not been deterred, & not only has evolution been allowed to be taught since 1925, it is now the ONLY allowed theory, as creation is forbidden as being 'religious'.

And as the spiritual beliefs of people in the west have declined, so has the expansion of socialism & marxism. People no longer look to God for their direction, provision, & wisdom for life's problems, but to the state. It has become the new god, & the alter of statism has become the new place of worship.

It seems to me that the growth of socialism/Marxism EXACTLY parallels the growth of atheism in the west. Marx believed that religion was the 'opiate of the masses', & had to be eliminated. Atheism was the necessary ideological basis for Marx's brand of collectivism to flourish. And in those places where atheism flourishes, Marxism is the dominant ideology. In the 50s, America was at war with the 'godless commies'. But now, godless Marxism has become mainstream in American politics. Admitted socialists are valid candidates for president. Anarchic Marxists openly protest & commit violent, anarchist acts in the streets, under racial cover.

If you look at this world map, it is hard to not see the correlation between atheism & the embrace of Marxist ideology.



And it is also plain to see that in places where state indoctrination is high, so is the perception of atheism. And of course, this has no bearing on reality. Atheism is no more a proven fact than theism, from empirical evidence. The mysteries of life, origins, & the universe have no scientific explanation, but only philosophical ones, either by naturalistic or supernatural assumptions. So these percentages do NOT indicate a presentation of Truth, but only successful indoctrination by the propaganda of statism. Reason & enlightenment have not compelled these beliefs, but state sponsored, ideologically driven propaganda.

Is there another 'awakening' on the horizon? I don't know. But without a spiritual revival, & a return to enlightenment values of Natural Law, freedom, & human equality, western civilization is finished. The other competing world views are both based in elitism, power, & control. Both Islamism & Progressive leftism will destroy the basis for western civilization, & return us to the dark ages.

To wrap up this article, i challenge the reader to consider the source of their beliefs. Is it based on personally acquired knowledge, or from sources with an agenda? The universe is vast & mysterious. Don't limit your perceptions with dogma from propagandists. Wake up! Don't be driven underground by a bullying ideology that tries to trivialize & ridicule any alternate beliefs. Seek the truth, & don't let anyone deter you from that noble quest.

You shall know the Truth, & the Truth shall make you free.
Jesus

Spiritual Awakenings

One of the great flaws of a secular education is the ignoring of spiritual movements in history. Great effort is made to interpret the actions & thoughts of people through the lens of purely secular motivations. But this ignores the very real & very significant impact of spiritual beliefs in society. It would be like future historians trying to explain the current terrorist actions without the driving belief system of Islam. You can explain everything with a purely secular view, but it misses some important factors in our interactions.

I won't be going back too far. Any discussion about spiritual awakenings has to include the biggest one in human history: The reformation. Some people view this as just political maneuvering. But they ignore the great volume of written works that provided the ideological basis for resisting the established religious institution. The Anabaptists, the Huguenots, & the concurrent protestant revival that swept through Europe unhinged the status quo, & threatened their power base. The establishment fought vigorously against it, killing, torturing, & undermining this spiritual awakening, for it not only upset the basis for their rule, but it went against their core beliefs. The divine right of kings, a professional priesthood, an aristocracy of privilege, & their right & duty to control the rest of humanity were all under attack by this awakening.

So they fought it. They killed the apostates. They gave them 'second baptisms' by drowning them. They tortured them to deny this new found faith in late night inquisitions. They burned them openly at the stake, to deter any more departures from the status quo. But it did not work. Instead of nipping this new awareness in the bud, it spread like wildfire. The priesthood of believers, not a professional religious class. The authority of scriptures, not the ruling elite. The equality of man, not a divine order of elitism. These were earth shaking revelations. It changed the course of history, & opened up the enlightenment era of reason, human freedom, & human equality. Philosophers began to question the authority structures, & called for them to be based on Natural Law, not mandates from a monarchy. The king was a mere man, & was not above the law.

About this same time, the new world was being settled with refugees & rejects from the European inquisitions. Quakers, Presbyterians, & Puritans moved en masse to start their religious utopias. They fled the intolerance & oppression of the European status quo, but at first, kept the intolerant part, demanding strict conformity to the tenets of their faith. Many religious colonies formed in the new world.

Massachusetts- Puritan separatists, with some English congregationalists.
Pennsylvania- Quaker, Mennonites, Moravians, Calvinists, Lutherans & more. A large segment from Germany came here.
New Amsterdam- Primarily a trading port, it become more diverse than some of the others. Jews, Lutherans, Scandinavian & Dutch fortune seekers mingled with the varied religious beliefs.
Virginia- Anglicans, loyal to the church of England were the bulk of the colonists there.
Maryland- In the irony of the reformation, English Catholics were no longer comfortable in protestant England, & many came to Maryland.
Rhode Island- The famous 'religious tolerance' colony, where outcasts from all the other colonies could come. It was not a large colony, but significant as a refuge for dissenters.

Almost all the colonies had some kind of religious basis.. they were formed as religious utopias, where the faithful could practice their beliefs without fear of persecution; all of them a direct result of the reformation. But after a few generations, the original religious fervor waxed cold, as it always does. Heartfelt piety gave way to ritual instruction, & the power of spiritual living waned.

But by the mid 1700s, a significant movement began sweeping across protestant Europe, & it found its way to the new world. This was the first Great Awakening. George Whitefield, a preacher in this time, drew huge crowds in New England, & Benjamin Franklin, a non Christian, was so impressed with his speeches that he printed the text in his newspaper. It was a movement that emphasized PERSONAL spirituality.. a living relationship with God, & centralized Jesus as the way of salvation. It was characterized by great emotion, often with tears.. 'white gutters' on the cheeks of weeping coal miners. The idea of the priesthood of believers was rekindled, & itinerant preachers fanned out across the new world bringing the message of salvation. Lost souls were their targets, & they sought to bring people back to God. Race was immaterial to many of these preachers, & many targeted plantations & slaves, & included them as equals in the Kingdom of God.

This Awakening led DIRECTLY to the American revolution, the Declaration of Independence, & the writing of the constitution. Reformation concepts, such as the equality of man, Natural Law, & individual sovereignty found its collective expression in the revived spiritual climate of America.

Thus was born the Experiment in self rule. These was not academians, pontificating about dry concepts of philosophy, but fiery eyed true believers, filled with zeal for God & inspired to LIVE and DIE for a cause higher than themselves. It was religious revival that sparked the American revolution, that brought not only the philosophical basis for the beliefs, but the earnestness & passion that is needed for any social change.

It should be clear that the earnest beliefs of the early American Christians did not predispose them to intolerance.  They saw the value in FREEDOM, & preferred that over partisan theology.  That is why so many of the founders did not support a Christian based govt, but only in the principles of freedom & Natural Law.  Multitudes of reference were given to God, as the Creator, or the Lord of Nature, but defining Him in denominational terms went beyond their desire.  They saw the State as the enemy of religion, & THAT was the basis for the separation clause, not that religion was in enmity toward the state.

The inclusion of the spiritual condition of the people provides a much clearer, insightful analysis of history, rather than trying to force humanity to act from purely secular motivations. The reformers in Luther's time, & the Awakening in the mid 1700s provide a better foundation for the actions of the people, their motivations, & their ideological basis. Man is not a pure animal, but acts from his beliefs. It is ridiculous to ignore those beliefs when learning from history.

After the American Revolution came another period of slow spiritual decline.  The first Great Awakening in the US brought vigorous activity: the founding of universities, outreach to the Indian tribes, & conversion of African slaves.  But the subsequent generation had only the stories of the revival, & were not smitten by 'holy ghost power' like their predecessors.  So expediency trumped idealism, & acceptance of moral decline became the norm.

Slavery as a symbol of human oppression was not widely embraced, until the next Great Awakening, which occurred early in the 19th century.  There was some reaction to the advent of Deism & the age of reason, where skepticism & cold rationalism became a popular mode of communication, writing, & speaking.  The second awakening was characterized by more emotion & romantic views of life & God, & not just the cold, calculating reasonings of the logicians.  Intermingled in this was the view that the Advent, or the second coming of Christ was imminent, & some believed it was their Christian duty to prepare the way, by promoting social change & legislating morality.  Abolitionism exploded during this time, & radical actions were taken by some to usher in this era of moral purity.  The civil war was the ultimate expression of the second great awakening, & the north, especially, carried the banner of Jesus & took the moral high ground.

Consider the lyrics & even the tune of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on.

CHORUS:
Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on.
CHORUS

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His Judgement Seat.
Oh! Be swift, my soul, to answer Him, be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
CHORUS

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
CHORUS

The significance of this 'hymn' cannot be overlooked.  The tune comes from 'John Brown's body', a pop tune ridiculing abolitionists.  'John's Brown's body lies a moldering in his grave', was replaced with the coming glory of the Advent.  The call was for the faithful to follow Christ's example, & 'die to make men free'.  The south lacked this moral high ground, & was much more laid back in their religious overtones, though they still tried to rally the troops to die for the southern cause.  But it was not as altruistic as dying for the freedom of Man, in service to the Almighty.  For the common soldier in the south, dying so the plantation owners could keep their way of life did not have the same appeal.  Of course there were many factors for the south's loss, but the spiritual drive of the northern moralists was certainly one of them.

But the second great awakening laid the foundation, morally & spiritually, for not only the abolition of slavery in the US, but throughout all of Europe, where the same spiritual fires were burning.  That movement went on to be the source of classic liberalism, fought for women's suffrage, the banning of alcohol, & promoted moral purity in schools & public life.  Education was hailed as a great tool for instructing morality & the foundation of their views, & literacy exploded in the nation.  History, science, & religious instruction went on simultaneously, with no conflict.  The second great awakening moved into our collective social structures farther than the previous awakenings had.  Earlier ones concentrated on individual piety, & the personal transaction of salvation between God & man.  The second awakening included social activism, & was the logical next step for a nation of self rule taking charge of their governance.

This religious revival early in the 19th century had a profound impact on not only the fledgling nation, but the world.  'Manifest Destiny' was the belief in not only America's right & duty to conquer & subdue savage people, but was the basis for European imperialism.  Add to that the mix of Darwinism, that took off mid 19th century, & the moral imperative was clear for the white man to subjugate the uncivilized world.  The western culture was one of science, technology, & moral superiority, & they forced the whole world into the modernization of the 20th century.  With expanded travel methods, global communication, & a superior war machine, no one could argue that the white Europeans (which included America) had every right & duty to civilize the world, & bring order, justice, hygiene, & Law to the uncivilized, barbaric worlds they invaded.

Early in the 20th century, the Nazis & American eugenicists took it to the next logical step, that of purifying the human race into better suited, more highly evolved beings.  This same ideological movement into social activism extolled the virtues of a centralized State, empowered to enable the superior social engineers to do their necessary job of managing the inferior masses.. supported, of course, by these same masses.  It was a return to aristocracy, or maybe just a simple changing of the guard.  The jumbling together of religious morality, righteous indignation, social Darwinism, & the new concepts of collectivist atheistic Marxism, coalesced into the perfect storm of progressive, liberal thought.  This is the mismatched jumble of ideology that progressives try to combine into a single ideology, & provides the charges of irrationality that are so often thrown their way.  They have conflicting ideals, but cling to them with the same religious fervor that their predecessors had.

I get it.  This is not  a popular subject, especially in a post Christian, revisionist age, where the past is viewed through the prism of secular humanism, & all advances are proclaimed to be from atheistic scientists.  But that is an illusion, & it too will pass.  IMO, there are other awakenings before us, yet to occur, that will revive the soul of the nation & return America to her spiritual roots.  But that is a future hope.  This is an analysis of the past.  Let us continue.

During the period from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, there were not any major spiritual revivals.  The 'gay 90s' was a time of abundance & affluence for many, & the cult of youthful idealism took off.  Parties & socializing became a mainstream event.  Epicurean ideals of pleasure & self gratification rose, replacing the age old monastic, austere values of more difficult times.

Technology & mechanization took off during this time, as travel & communication shrunk the world.  Great ships made ocean voyages easy, & the internal combustion engine changed the world forever.  One man with a tractor could out produce 10 men with horses.  Food production exploded & became cheaper.  Wealth building of the nation grew, as more money was available for consumer items, & new industries burst onto the scene every year.  Change & advancement became the norm, & modernism swept the civilized world.  The old notions of spirituality were fading, & the self made man burst onto the scene.  Man makes himself, & is not subject to provision from God or gods.  A brave new world was forming before everyone's eyes, & nothing was impossible.

Political upheaval continued in Europe through the 19th century, & into the new millennium. Monarchies continued to fall, & enlightenment thinking regarding Natural Law & Absolute morality lost traction.  Collectivist Marxism & social Darwinism replaced the trend toward human freedom & equality.  Among the intelligentsia & social elite, the concepts of a Creator granting 'unalienable rights' seemed old fashioned & quaint.  This was a new age of elitism.  The highly evolved rose to the top.  Their technology & knowledge of machinery & harnessing the laws of physics seemed boundless.

The Russian revolution began the national experiment of Marxism, a totalitarian system of collectivism, that claimed to be the wave of the future.  They held the keys to the future, & would usher in a human utopia, free from oppression, war, famine, & any of the typical fears of man.

Imperialism became the duty of these new elite.  They were bound by nature to lead all humanity into their brave new world of technology, hygiene, medical advancements, & civilized rule.  The new ruling elite brought a world of order & control, & the British hegemony exemplified the European's burden to civilize the world.

This was a time of European expansionism, & included America & her responsibility of manifest destiny.  But with great social pride & elitism came competition among the major players.  Large central power was the new god.  More area.  More colonies.  More expansion.  The world was not enough, so they began to covet their neighbor's turf.

The Kaiser began expanding Germany to his view of superior domination.  He was the first grandson of Queen Victoria, ironically, but envied & hated the British hegemony.  Power was the only true god.  Massive war machines were built, & the first world war ushered in a global conflict, where the imperialistic nations battled for supremacy across the globe.  In less than a blink of an eye, historically, the world went from WW1 to WW2, as the Germans again pursued their right to dominate the world, based on their evolutionary superiority.  The Nazis blended the collectivist, state centered ideology of Marxism with the ideals of Darwinism & the duty of the highly evolved elite to manage & control the earth.

Many people in America supported the National Socialists in Germany.  It was good & proper, they reasoned, for the more highly evolved among us to weed out the inferior stock.  Everyone knew who the elite were.  They were the white Europeans, who held the keys of power & technology.  Their weaponry was proof of that.  Their intelligent harnessing of technology was proof to the world of their right & duty to dominate.  God & gods are always appealed to by despots, but these new power mongers worshiped the god of technology, & the fear of that god swept the world.  The Japanese added to the fear, as they also used their cultural superiority to vanquish the lessor beings.

This set the stage for a new spiritual awakening, not based on the typical philosophical concepts of the individual soul, but on national survival.  Across Europe & much of the world, a cry to heaven arose to deliver them from the godless aggressors.  This was a mini awakening, but it became the mainstream view.  Church attendance boomed, & talk of God & religious devotion became mainstream again.  Politicians & civic leaders openly prayed & acknowledged God in their civil duties.  'There are no atheists in foxholes', & in a time of national crisis, the call was for mercy & strength to face the evil foe.  For a time, the rise of modernism stalled.  Their victories in the Scopes trial in 1925, where evolution won the right to be taught alongside of creation was forgotten, & calls to the Creator for deliverance drowned out the rising global elitism.  WW2 became a symbol of God fearing traditionalists vs godless elitists.  It was 'God vs the Devil', in this never before seen global conflict.

I don't really consider the early 20th century revivals 'great awakenings', on par with previous ones.  They were significant, but they were more of a reaction to world events, rather than shaping them, as the earlier ones did.