Is the CIA Infiltrating our Churches?

I now have ScribeFire for my FireFox browser.  It makes blogging about particular articles and topics so much easier.  With it, I can document some of the more interesting articles I come across.  (like the one below).   I can pull quotes from several articles if I want.  I can add images and other media.  All without having to log in to my blog.  I can even publish straight from this wonderful little add-on and see a preview beforehand.  ScribeFire has really made my life easier.

So, for example, just now as I was surfing, I came across this article.

Left Justified:  CIA is taking over the churches

Quote from article:

“Now, I’m not a paranoid person, and I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but the thought of ex-CIA agents taking over fundamentalist congregations seems too weird.”

Weird, Indeed.

More quotes:

“Because I remember when pastors were liberal and anti-war. I remember hearing of Catholic CIA agents who blew the whistle on atrocities committed in Vietnam and Central America. In fact, some of the best-known heroes of the left came from a religious background, entered the CIA and were appalled at what they were ordered to do.”

“Case in point: Daniel Ellsberg. Once a seminary student, then an officer in Vietnam, and finally working for the nation’s highest intelligence organization, he was ordered to compile all the records of our war in Vietnam into a readable history. Ellsberg got them published by The New York Times, instead of keeping them secret. Otherwise known as the Pentagon Papers, these records showed how America deceived its own citizens and fostered a war in that far Southeast Asian country, of which we are still feeling the effects today.”

“The FBI hounded most of these pastors and lay people. But it was a time of religious fortitude. The congregations, most of them, stood strong against federal intrigue. And they were proven correct: from Chile to Chiapas, the long arm of the CIA reached into innocent people’s lives.

“This may have triggered the CIA encouraging their members to find religion. I’m not saying it’s a program set up by the government. But if I were to write a novel, I would use the premise of evangelical churches getting lots of support from the United States government’s right wing.”

“There is talk that in the End Times, an Anti-Christ will show up preaching peace but planning wars. There is little that is more anti-Christ than the Central Intelligence Agency. And some of these churches believe God hates homosexuals and wants us to go to war and kill Muslims. They have little regard for immigrants, and some profess Jesus never asked us to help the poor. If that isn’t “anti-Christ,” I don’t know what is.”

It could bear further research.

Will Theocracy be our new Reality?

Please read these articles and watch the videos. I encourage you to research some on your own. I have been reading for months and am deeply troubled. I think we are on the verge of catastrophe. I hope with all my heart that I am wrong. But, it does explain an awful lot of what has been happening here in America.

There seems to be a faction of Right Wing Christians (NOT ALL Christians by any means) who are trying to subvert the U.S. Constitution and create a Theocracy. They want to rule by Biblical Law and any religion or denomination that does not agree with them will be illegal. There would be no more freedom of religion. I don’t think I would do well in a Theocracy. I probably wouldn’t live through it.

Palin seems to be deeply connected with the Dominionists and McCain is not expected to live (virulent form of cancer gives him 2-4 years on average). Don’t vote for Obama either – he seems to have an assistant (handler) that belongs to the same group of Dominionists. He changed the way he was speaking right after he got this assistant. I suggest – vote Green or don’t vote at all.

That is if we even have an election. There is a chance it will be “suspended due to emergency situtation”. Previously, The Protect America Act of 2007 gives Bush to declare Martial Law in the event of (loosely defined) emergency. Bush would then have complete power. (all part of the dismantling of our Constitution)

The only two (previous) candidates who actually did what they claimed and submitted resolutions for restoration of our Constitution were Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. They however, have been marginalized. There are a few other Senators and Representatives left (in both parties) who are working to preserve our Constitution and actually trying to serve the people of this country. But, not many. Both parties seem to have been infiltrated.

I am not sure I will vote at all this time. It will be the first time since becoming old enough to vote that I don’t. I have always believed in our system of government, but I no longer believe we have that system. I have read a lot this past year about the various resolutions and acts passed by Congress that have dismantled our Constitution. This has been done by both Republicans and Democrats.

I don’t really know what else to do but to inform people. It may be too late anyway.

There is a lot of evidence that voting machines are rigged and the election is a sham.

Someone once said that it matters not who votes, but who counts the votes.

Articles on Palin

Sarah Palin used AK tax dolars to fund dominionist churches
The Battle Plan II:  Sarah “Evita” Palin, the Muse of the Coming Police State

Naomi Wolf also wrote End of
America
Read the Introduction to End of America
Read Part Two of the Introduction to End of America
The Battle Plan

5 videos on Dominion Theology – presentation by Cornell University (at
less than 10 minutes each, we are talking less than an hour to watch this)
Dominion Theology Part 1 of 5
Dominion Theology Part 2 of 5
Dominion Theology Part 3 of 5
Dominion Theology Part 4 of 5
Dominion Theology Part 5 of 5

Theocracy Watch (Cornell University) website

Check out my YouTube channel for a variety of videos, including some on the martial actions of the police in St. Paul during the Republican Convention. Scary what they are doing. The police sprayed pepper spray in the face of a young woman who was holding a FLOWER!

Article on Judaic Religions
Two Thousand Years of Lies – 60 Years of State Terrorism

Mentions “Secret History of the World” of which I have a copy and have
read twice. Very interesting regarding the history of the Judaic Religions.

Video from C-Span on the hearings about the bailout.
Let’s Play “WALLSTREET BAILOUT” The Rules Are…Rep Kaptur

Coming Soon to a White House Near You?

When McCain announced Palin as his running mate, I was pleased he picked a woman.  But, as I read up on this woman, I became uneasy.  The more I read, the more disturbed I become.

Today, I read this article:

Palin’s ‘Heretical’ Church: Censored Video the McCain Campaign Doesn’t Want you to See:

It includes some video that was banned (and removed) from You Tube for “inappropriate content”.  Reportedly, it has been put up again by another user.

What is inappropriate about documenting what some people believe?  Indeed, what is inappropriate about documenting the beliefs/doctrine of a church to which a potential vice president belongs?  We have heard all about Obama’s church…

Some quotes from the article (bold mine):

-Sarah Palin has every right to hold whatever religious views she chooses but, by the same token, the American people have every right to know what Palin’s religious beliefs are – especially to the extent that they may include the view that all other religious and philosophical views but her own are under the influence of demonic powers and that believing Christians must conquer the Earth and cleanse it of evil in this final generation.

In a TV report last night, the statement was made that Palin has said that she would not let her beliefs influence her decisions as vice president.  To back that up, her minister? said that he believed her and went on to say that it would not be like she would be quoting scripture in meetings…My question:  what does quoting scripture (or not) have to do with making decisions based on beliefs?

That does not prove or disprove anything to me.  Sure, maybe she won’t be quoting scripture, but one’s beliefs do inform one’s decisions and other actions (if one is living authentically).  To have a system of beliefs and then to set them aside when making decisions is hypocrisy.  To believe one thing and yet do another is to live unauthentically.

So, if she makes decisions based on her beliefs, she is authentic.  Then, we must deal with a leader with some scary (to me) beliefs.  On the other hand, if she sets her beliefs aside in order to make decisions as vice president, she becomes a hypocrite.  Either way, how can we trust her?

-From a standpoint of public policy it is significant that Third Wave doctrine teaches that their leaders are raising a generation of youth who will be imparted with supernatural powers and form a conquering Christian army.

-Third Wave doctrine is an example of an extreme religious exceptionalism – not only are all other religious and philosophical belief systems on Earth seen as invalid and under satanic influence, but Third Wave theology sees all competing branches, sects and denominations of Christianity, particularly other conservative Christians who refuse to join “the river” of these outpourings, as an obstacle to God’s divine will.

-On June 8, 2008 in the Wasilla Assembly of God, her church of over 25 years, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin declared United States military forces in Iraq to be “out on a task that is from God.”

-The American public has a right to know if Palin believes, as does the Third Wave movement in which her churches take part, that she has a divine mandate or “anointing” to do battle to purge those she views as evil from the world.

-Most Americans do not want an American jihad to conquer the world in the name of God let alone a global nuclear war. Judging from the churches Palin attends and from her public statements we have to take very seriously the prospect of having a Vice President, a heartbeat away from the United States presidency, who holds such apocalyptic goals.

Her church is reportedly part of “The New Apostolic Reformation” or “The Third Wave”.

Also given at the end of article, is this reference:

For documentation, video sourcing and background articles, see Talk To Action article on Palin’s Churches and The Holy Laughter Anointing

I think I will go read what that reference has to say…

Now I have heard Everything

I am in shock.  I just read this article:

Wasilla charged rape victims for their own forensic exams under Mayor Sarah Palin

Quote from article:

And according to an Alaskan news article in the local Wasilla paper in the year 2000, the City of Wasilla, under Mayor Palin, charged rape victims for their own forensic tests. Most Alaskan municipalities picked up the tab themselves, but not Wasilla, the article notes.

You see, the city of Wasilla, didn’t want to “burden” taxpayers with
having to support victims of rape. Yes, they were more interested in
lowering taxes. It would have cost the city between $5,000 and $14,000
a year to pay for the rape victims’ police medical exams. And if the
City of Wasilla, circa the year 2000, wants to go there in terms of
balancing rape vs, burdening taxpayers, you should know that each and
every Alaskan gets a check from the state government each year, it
contains their portion of that year’s oil revenues. The latest check, I
read, was for over $2,000. I think the citizens of Wasilla had the
money.

What???  As I commented to this article:  I am speechless.

Evolution of Christianity?

The more I read, the more questions I have.

I used to love Greek and Egyptian Mythology. In High School, we had a new program that allowed us to choose electives. I took Greek Mythology and World Religions as part of this opportunity. I did not think much in terms of comparing these mythologies with each other or with Christianity. Recently, this has changed.

Apparently there are more similarities than I ever imagined!

I have done a lot of reading these past few weeks. This is a very complex subject and I certainly have no where near expert understanding. One of the problems is that I find various sources give differing dates for particular events and even for when a specific civilization was in existence. I also find various versions of the stories within specific cultures. Even so, I have come across some interesting ideas. According to my current understanding of what I have read…

Freedom Versus Tyranny

I have written more than once on the Garden of Eden. I keep getting drawn back to that story. It seems to be central to our continued struggle between freedom and tyranny.

Consider memes as defined by Wikipedia:

A meme (pronounced /miːm/), as defined by memetic theory, constitutes a theoretical unit of cultural information, the building block of culture or cultural evolution which spreads through diffusion propagating from one mind to another analogously to the way in which a gene propagates from one organism to another as a unit of genetic information and of biological evolution.^[1] Multiple memes may propagate as cooperative groups called memeplexes (meme complexes).

Biologist and evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins coined the term meme in 1976.^[2] He gave as examples tunes, catch-phrases, beliefs, clothing fashions, ways of making pots, and the technology of building arches.

Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (similarly to Darwinian biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity’s reproductive success. So with memes, some ideas will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and, for better or for worse, mutate. “Memeticists argue that the memes most beneficial to their hosts will not necessarily survive; rather, those memes that replicate the most effectively spread best, which allows for the possibility that successful memes may prove detrimental to their hosts.”^[3]

A short story written in 1876 by Mark Twain, A Literary Nightmare, describes his encounter with a jingle so “catchy” that it plays over and over in his mind until he finally sings it out loud and infects others (also known as an earworm).

I have only recently begun looking at the topic of freedom from the perspective of memes. What follows are some of my thoughts.

Did God Lie?

I use the New International Version of the Bible as it was my grandfather’s Bible, given to me by my grandmother after Grandpa died.

Find this version (and many other versions and translations) at BibleGateway.com, a searchable online bible.

In Genesis, in the story of the Garden of Eden, God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He told them they would die if they ate from this tree.

Genesis 2:15,16,17

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” – Bible, New International Version

But, then, they ate of it and did not die. God got mad instead, cursed them, and kicked them out of the garden.

Genesis 3:1-5

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And here seems to be the motive…”For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” I know, everyone believes the serpent is a liar. But, Adam and Eve did not die when they ate of that fruit…and I wonder why God does not want us to know good and evil…would we then see not only what is good and evil in ourselves, but would we then be able to recognize good and evil in others? Why would God not want this, but the serpent would?

Constantine

A while back, I joined the “de-Conversion Forum“. It is a forum dedicated to those who have “deconverted” from their religions. Some have become agnostic, some athiest, some merely doubt. A very diverse and interesting crowd, they welcomed me.

On my introductory thread, one member (after having read my “Letter to My Mother” had a problem with one of my statements.

Leopardus said:

“There was one paragraph in your letter I had to call out. Know that I’m an apostate too. So I’m not pointing this out for any reason other than that I think we should have the truth in all matters.”

Leopardus quoted this excerpt from my “Letter to My Mother“:

“Constantine knew this when he created the Roman Catholic Church. He was a pagan, himself, but the relatively new “Christianity” was growing. This early Christianity taught people that they did not need church or priests to commune with God. They were not as controllable with these beliefs. So, Constantine got a committee together to decide on what books would be in the bible. People were much more biddable when they had to follow the priests rules.”

Leopardus goes on to say:

“That’s just wrong all the way through. The Church was already around. Constantine wasn’t in Rome. The decision about what books went into the Bible went on before and after Constantine. The priesthood and ideals of obedience were quite entrenched.

OK. Enough. More history only if you want it.”

See, even when correcting my assertion, this member is still quite civilized. Thank you Leopardus.

Now, I know I had read somewhere about Constantine and Christianity, but it had been so long ago, I could not remember the details. So, I did a search.

First, of course, I went to Wikipedia: