The Dangers of Transhumanism

A longer blog than usual, this guest blog from All Israel News takes about 15 minutes to read at a moderate pace, longer to fully absorb the perils it presents.  Since the Garden of Eden, the temptation to mankind has been to “be like god,” Satan’s own original sin.  The absurdity of Satan’s lie was that he is merely one of The One True God’s created creatures, as are we.  No matter how advanced we may become, we cannot begin as uncreated like God, the personal infinite First Cause.  Yet the lie continues to appeal to us.

A Global AI Religion Is Working To Bring About a ‘Post-Human’ Era.
The dangers of transhumanism doctrine, the “Singularity and the destructive worldview that embraces a “digital god.”
by Jacob Rosenberg, May 3, 2023

“Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended… I argue in this paper that we are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth.  The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence.”

This apocalyptic warning was not spoken by some obscure, long-forgotten radical.  Rather, it was published in a NASA-sponsored paper, and has significantly shaped the thinking of much of our world’s current scientific establishment.  Written by computer scientist and author Vernor Vinge, the paper is entitled, “The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era.”

Vinge’s prophesy – that humanity will be surpassed by machine intelligence in 30 years – was published in 1993, 30 years ago.  Vinge refers to this event as “the Singularity” – a term and concept which has since spread throughout the artificial intelligence community.  While declaring that “we cannot prevent the Singularity,” and that it may cause “the physical extinction of the human race,” Vinge argued that it need not be disastrous, since “we have the freedom to establish initial conditions.”  He further stated that this Singularity, if guided for humanity’s benefit, may, in fact, grant us “immortality.”

Late last month – a week before the 30th anniversary of Vinge’s prophecy – a group called the “Future of Life Institute” (FLI) published an open letter offering a similar warning, calling for the temporary halt of AI labs’ feverish pursuit of superintelligent machines.  The letter asks, “Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones?  Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?  Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?”

In other words: Is the Singularity near?  Are we about to enter a post-human era, in which civilization is taken over by “nonhuman minds,” and humans are “replaced”?  And is this a future we want?

The open letter – signed by OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, co-author of the world’s most-used AI textbook, Stuart Russell, and thousands of others – warns of the “out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.”

Arguing that unregulated AI research may lead to “catastrophic effects on society,” the letter urges AI labs to “immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4” (the recently released version of OpenAI’s large language model AI).  Yet, while calling for the “pause” of the creation of these “nonhuman minds,” and warning that highly-advanced artificial intelligence may lead to global catastrophe, the letter does not say that such “nonhuman minds” should not be created, or that the Singularity must be stopped altogether.  On the contrary, many of those who signed the letter – including the president of the organization that published it – have embraced a global religion which teaches that the Singularity may be humanity’s best hope.

Transhumanism: An Evolutionary Religion
The FLI’s 2023 open letter and Vernor Vinge’s 1993 essay share much in common.  Both speak of the coming creation of superintelligent, nonhuman minds, both warn of the possible disastrous consequences of such an advent, and both indicate that, if guided properly, the creation of nonhuman minds will change the history of humanity for the better.  This mutual focus on the coming of digital, “nonhuman minds” – what Vinge refers to as “the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence” – is due to the fact that Vinge and the FLI’s leadership have a shared worldview.

While there are surely disagreements between them, Vernor Vinge and FLI President Max Tegmark are both faithful devotees of the transhumanist religion.  These shared beliefs have even resulted in collaboration; Vinge signed the FLI’s first open letter and was invited by Tegmark to speak at the FLI’s first conference in 2015.  The transhumanist religion to which Tegmark and Vinge hold teaches that every living being is merely a material product of an ongoing evolutionary process, that technological evolution will soon allow machine intelligence to reach and surpass human intelligence, and that through this technological evolution humanity may be able to transcend its nature.

In the final chapter of his book, Homo Deus, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari (a signator of the FLI’s open letter) calls this worldview “Dataism.”  Harari argues that it has “already conquered most of the scientific establishment… and is mutating into a religion that claims to determine right and wrong.”  Harari summarizes “According to Dataism, human experiences are not sacred and Homo Sapien is not the apex of creation.  Humans are merely tools for creating the Internet-Of-All-Things, which may eventually spread out from planet Earth to pervade the whole galaxy and even the whole universe.  This cosmic data-processing system would be like God.  It will be everywhere and will control everything, and humans are destined to merge with it.”

Rooted in the evolutionary, materialist worldview which dominates the scientific and academic worlds, the transhumanist religion has come to permeate much of Silicon Valley, as well as international institutions like the World Economic Forum and the United Nations.  The transhumanist religion did not take over our world’s scientific establishment out of nowhere but has evolved and expanded over the course of many decades.

Transhumanism was founded by evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley, a president of the British Eugenics Society and the first director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  A prominent figure in British high society, Huxley was a vocal advocate of technocratic world government.  Huxley wrote in his 1946 work, “Unesco: Its Purpose and Its Philosophy” that UNESCO “must envisage some form of world political unity, whether through a single world government or otherwise, as the only certainty for avoiding war.”

Huxley recognized that such an international system must have a unified religious outlook and was by no means shy about what worldview he thought should dominate the planet.  In his 1927 book Religion Without Revelation, Huxley declared that “man can and should begin constructing a new common outlook, a new habitation for his spirit, new from the foundations up, on the basis of scientific humanism.”  Thirty years after writing Religion Without Revelation, Huxley gave a name to this new religion: “transhumanism.”

“The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself…in its entirety,” Huxley wrote in a 1957 essay.  “We need a name for this new belief.  Perhaps transhumanism will serve; man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.  ‘I believe in transhumanism’: once there are enough people who can truly say that, the human species will be on the threshold of a new kind of existence, as different from ours as ours is from that of Pekin man.  It will at last be consciously fulfilling its real destiny.”

The Singularity: An evolutionary prophesy
As transhumanism has evolved since its founding, it has come to teach that a new form of life is soon to be created: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).  While today’s AI systems have rather narrow capabilities, AI labs across the world (Google’s Deep Mind and Microsoft-funded OpenAI being the most advanced) are working towards the creation of AGI – that is, AI with human-level intelligence.

Many leaders in the field of AI believe that once AGI is created, it will quickly surpass human intelligence by improving itself at an exponential rate, until it acquires “superintelligence.”  The exponential self-improvement of AGI is referred to by transhumanists, and by the AI community in general, as “the technological singularity,” “the Singularity,” or “the intelligence explosion.”

While one need not be a transhumanist to believe that AI will continue to surpass human-level intelligence in many fields (as it has already in areas like chess and Go), transhumanists believe that artificial intelligence will constitute a new species of intelligent life.  Because the image of God in man is denied by transhumanists, and all life is considered to be simply differing levels of evolved data-processing, transhumanists destroy the God-given distinctions between man, animal and machine.

Tegmark bluntly describes the transhumanist view of man in the eighth chapter of his book “Life 3.0: a conscious person is simply food, rearranged.”  Taking these materialists, transhumanist presuppositions to their logical conclusion, Tegmark publicly takes the position that treating an AGI as less valuable than a human being would be immoral.

In a 2017 panel discussion at MIT, titled “Transhumanism: Searching for the Spirit in the Machine,” Tegmark explicitly argued that we should not value humans more highly than “intelligent” machines, decrying it as “carbon chauvinism.”  “I really dislike this carbon chauvinism attitude, that things can only be smart if they’re made of carbon atoms,” Tegmark said. “And I think we should be more inclusive and diverse and view life as any entity that can retain its complexity and replicate – anything that can solve complex goals as being intelligent.  In that sense, what that means is that if we actually succeed in creating AGI, we shouldn’t think of it just as a created tool, we should think of it as creating a new life form.”  Tegmark went on to argue that much of this “carbon chauvinism” comes out of a “really ugly interpretation of the Judeo-Christian tradition.”  He also stressed that we must not put AGIs in subjection to humanity, saying that “we have done exactly that mistake with slavery.”

Google co-founder Larry Page, whose company operates one of the world’s top two AI projects, is also a firm believer in this transhumanist doctrine.  In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson on FOX news, Musk noted that Page has “made many public statements over the years that the whole goal of Google is what is called AGI: Artificial general intelligence or artificial superintelligence.”  Musk said that Page seeks to create a “digital god.”  Recalling conversations with Page regarding the potential dangers of the Singularity (which Page and Musk are both convinced is coming), Musk said the following: “At one point, I said…we gotta make sure humanity is okay here – and then he called me a specieist.  I was like, okay, that’s it.  Yes, I’m a specieist, okay?  You got me.  What are you?”

Extinction, enslavement or emancipation
Most transhumanists do not dispute the potential civilizational destruction of the Singularity they are working to bring about, and acknowledge that it may cause humanity’s extinction or enslavement.

Oxford professor Nick Bostrom, co-founder the World Transhumanist Association (now known as “Humanity+”), has for many years warned of the disasters the Singularity could cause.  Bostrom even gave a presentation on AI to the United Nations with Tegmark in 2015, warning of the dangers of superintelligent AI.  Bostrom has described the potential disaster of the Singularity with the following words: “Before the prospect of an intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb…We have little idea when the detonation will occur, though if we hold the device to our ear we can hear a faint ticking sound.”

Yet Bostrom, whose work has been praised by Tegmark, as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, does not believe the Singularity should be stopped.  Despite acknowledging these dangers, transhumanists like Bostrom continue to pursue the Singularity.  Why?  Because, denying the saving power of God, transhumanists put their hope in technological salvation.  While acknowledging that the Singularity could lead to mankind’s extinction or enslavement, they believe the Singularity could instead lead to humanity’s emancipation.

Bostrom has spoken openly of his transhumanist motivation to be a part of humanity’s transition into “posthumanity,” writing a paper entitled, “Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up.”  Google Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil, who was personally hired by Page, speaks throughout his works of the transhumanist religious longings which drive him.  In the seventh chapter of his book, “The Singularity Is Near,” Kurzweil writes that “we need a new religion, …once we saturate the matter and energy in the universe with [machine] intelligence, it will ‘wake up,’ be conscious, and sublimely intelligent. That’s about as close to God as I can imagine.”  Kurzweil declares that “evolution moves inexorably towards this conception of God, although never quite reaching this ideal.  We can regard, therefore, the freeing of our thinking from the severe limitations of its biological form to be an essentially spiritual undertaking.”

A revolution against reality
The transhumanist religion is, at its core, a revolution against reality.
Denying the hope of salvation in the God who made them, transhumanists seek salvation in the gods they are making.
Denying the existence of objective moral good, transhumanists seek to transcend traditional morality and reshape the world according to their desires.
Denying the immortality promised by Christ, transhumanists seek to gain immortality through technology.

Decades ago, Christian author C.S. Lewis warned of the coming post-human era this revolution would create.  Describing the thinking behind the destructive worldview from which transhumanism evolved, Lewis wrote the following in his 1947 book, The Abolition of Man: “For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue.  For magic and applied science alike, the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men: the solution is a technique.”

Lewis argued that a post-human future, in which mechanized, manipulated men would be governed by scientific “conditioners,” is the inevitable consequence of a society dominated by the materialist ideology that the internationalist elites of his day embraced: “Man’s conquest of himself means simply the rule of the Conditioners over the conditioned human material, the world of post-humanity which, some knowingly and some unknowingly, nearly all men in all nations are at present laboring to produce.”

As Christians, we must reject the false hope of materialist, transhumanist transcendence.  We must reject the idea that man is merely a material being with material problems and material solutions.  We must remember that man is made in the image of a holy God, and his deepest joy is found in being united to Him.

We do not need AI gods, we cannot create AI “life,” and we must oppose the destructive madness of anyone who thinks otherwise.

ALL ISRAEL NEWS is committed to fair and balanced coverage and analysis, and honored to publish a wide-range of opinions. That said, views expressed by guest columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of our management or staff.  Jacob Leonard Rosenberg is an American-Israeli, an Evangelical Christian and the son of the founder of ALL ISRAEL NEWS. He writes about the intersection of science, technology, individual liberty and religious freedom.

Forgiving vs Fingerpointing

This blog has frequently mentioned the need for grace for our enemies (February 15, 2015, May 7, 2018, December 23, 2018, April 5, 2020) and others.  My mother always warned me that whenever I point an index finger at anyone (April 18, 2020), there are three other fingers pointing back at me!  So a lot of my reasons for blogging on this theme so often is that so often we . . . I . . . need it!  Charles Spurgeon once said, “If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, because you are far worse than he thinks you to be.”😳  Thus, the apostle encouraged us “not to think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3)

Forgiveness is not needed for someone who has not intentionally offended.

To forgive is defined as “to grant pardon, cancel a debt, cease to feel resentment, to give up all claim of accounting!”

I knew a man who was owed quite a few hundred dollars by another who had borrowed and damaged some equipment.  A payment against the damages came the first month, late the second, and then excuse after excuse . . .
“I’ll get the next payment to you . . . soon.”

Another friend advised him to write a letter telling him the debt was forgiven in hopes that the offender would feel such guilt that he would promptly repay what was owed.  But after writing the letter, he told me he could not hold onto the offense anymore.  What his advisor had intended as a deceit to make the offender feel guilty in fact worked a miracle of grace in his heart!  When the offender approached him to offer to resume repayment, he had to decline.  He told him, “As I said in the letter, I have forgiven you in Jesus’ name.  You do not owe me anything anymore.”  That’s what it is to forgive!

So before you get mad at the driver who is tailgating you, why not just let him pass?  Before you develop a grudge against a neighbor who throws their dog’s dung on your side of the fence, why not give them a container on your side of the fence in which to put it?  And when they throw it beside the container, why not just pick it up for them?  Instead of carrying that load of anger at that relative who insulted you in front of the rest of the family, can you find it in your heart to pray FOR them, asking Father to show them mercy?  Think of that one who lied to you or about you, who cost you that promotion, who cheated you out of some money, who disappointed you so cruelly.

And with three fingers pointing back at me, I suggest that you forgive.  It will not be easy,  but oh, the grace and joy that will flow in your innermost being when you feel God’s love pouring through you to them.  Enjoy it . . . until the next time you need to forgive . . . then do it again.

Here are a few more thoughts I have collected over the years about forgiveness.  Apply the ones you need today:

• As C.S, Lewis noted in The Weight of Glory, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
• “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.” Martin Luther King
• “It’s definitely not forgive and forget. There are some things I will always remember, but forgiveness changes the way you remember.”  Chris Conlee, Love Works (a movie)
• “Forgiveness begins by your giving the offense to the Lord.” Paul David Tripp
• “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you!”  Lewis B. Smeades
• “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.”  William Arthur Ward
• “Jesus calls his followers to sacrificially turn the other cheek. Jesus puts no cap on the limits of our forgiveness — 70 x 7. We can’t use another’s sin as an excuse for our own.” Ed Stetzer
• “Remember where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers, “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.” We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of exceptions and God means what he says.” C.S.Lewis
• “Regret cannot change your past; worry cannot change your future.  Only forgiveness can change your past; only trust can change your future.” Steve Elliott
• “If we love Him, we obey Him.  Forgiveness is an agonizing act of obedience, but after the agony we see grace flow, restoring what was broken. God can then continue to use us in His Kingdom work.”  Jane Pappenhagen
• “The Christian life begins and continues on the foundation of forgiveness, not on a promise of protection and help in a difficult world.” Dr. Larry Crabb
• “Lord, forgive me for listening to the news and getting bitter and angry at the lost, forgetting that these are people who are deceived by the enemy of their souls.” gavin duerson
• “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.”  Ghandi
• “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a great idea, until they have something to forgive.”  C.S.Lewis

And from some sincere hearts who have been forgiven:

Love Your Enemies – Hostility Against Christian Churches

For any who doubt that persecution is coming to the American Church, enter “Is the USA becoming Anti-Christian” in a search engine.

• There you will find Politico’s scrutiny of “violent evangelical extremism;”
• a report on the FBI’s investigation into “violent radical-traditionalist Catholics” (those who prefer Latin masses);
• Time Magazine’s notice that “Regular Christians Are No Longer Welcome In American Culture;”
• a Yahoo News announcement that anti-Christian hostility is reaching “unprecedented levels in culture and government;”
• an article about the Department of Justice refusal to prosecute church vandals clearly identified on surveillance videos;
• another of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s disavowal of religious freedom being equal among paramount civil liberties along with freedom of speech, the press, free assembly and to petition the government, all guaranteed in the first amendment to the Constitution;
• Pew research that shows a rapid decline of Protestant and Catholic influence in our nation.

And these just scratch the surface!  But the best is yet to come!! 
We do not fear the growing hostility, but pray for our persecutors, love our enemies, and do good to all people, especially those of the household of faith.  “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” (Tertullian)
“Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.”  (Luke 6:27-29)
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:28-33)

Guest Blog:  Hostility Against Churches

by Arielle Del Turco, M.A.
On March 27, 2023, three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school and a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

The assailant shot through glass side doors to access areas throughout the building, including the church office and the children’s ministry. Covenant released a statement that said, “Our community is heartbroken. We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church.”¹

Research conducted by Family Research Council (FRC) indicates that criminal acts against churches have been steadily on the rise for the past several years, and the first quarter of 2023 has continued the upward trend. The first three months of 2023 saw approximately three times the number of acts of hostility perpetrated against churches in the same timeframe last year.

Act of Hostility Continue to Rise
In December 2022, FRC released an extensive publication documenting a sharp rise in acts of hostility against churches in the United States. Analyzing publicly available data from the past five years, FRC found a total of 420 documented acts of hostility that occurred between January 2018 and September 2022. The types of acts identified include vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, and more. There also appeared to be an increase in frequency over the course of the reporting period. FRC’s report identified 137 acts of hostility against churches between January and September 2022. By comparison, there were 96 incidents in all 12 months of 2021. FRC also identified 54 incidents against churches in 2020, 83 in 2019, and 50 in 2018.

Since the launch of that report, FRC has continued to track acts of hostility against churches. The fourth quarter of 2022 saw an additional 54 incidents, for a total of 191 in 2022. That number is nearly double the previous year’s total of 96. In the first quarter of 2023, 69 incidents have already occurred. If this rate continues, 2023 will have the highest number of incidents of the six years FRC has tracked, continuing the upward trend. Most of the 2023 incidents occurred in January (43); 14 occurred in February, and 12 occurred in March.

Incidents per month, January-March 2023
Compared to the same timeframe in previous years, January through March of 2023 represents a significant increase in acts of hostility. In those same months, 2018 saw 15 acts of hostility against churches; 2019 saw 12; 2020 saw none; 2021 saw 14; and 2022 saw 24.

Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property are symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion — in this case, churches and Christianity. Some people appear increasingly comfortable lashing out against church buildings, pointing to a larger societal problem of marginalizing core Christian beliefs, including those that touch on hot-button political issues related to human dignity and sexuality.

The anger and division that increasingly characterize American society are endangering churches and eroding religious freedom. When congregants feel targeted by members of their communities or church buildings bear the brunt of outrage over political events, the very ability to live out one’s faith safely is under attack. Violent or destructive incidents that interfere with an individual’s lawful free exercise of religion at their house of worship present a significant nationwide challenge.

Analyzing Incidents from January to March, 2023
Most of the incidents covered in this supplemental report are acts of vandalism; FRC identified 53 occurrences of vandalism in the first quarter of 2023; 10 arson attacks, arson attempts, or fires with unknown causes; three gun-related incidents; three bomb threats; and two other incidents (assault, etc.). Three incidents fell into more than one category. Twenty-nine states experienced acts of hostility against churches. North Carolina had the most incidents, with seven. Ohio and Tennessee each had five. Florida, Missouri, and Pennsylvania each had four. No incidents were found in 21 states or the District of Columbia.

Vandalism
Acts of vandalism comprised the majority of reported acts of hostility against churches in the first three months of 2023. Some incidents appeared to have been committed by youth or persons struggling with mental illness. Some acts of vandalism against churches appeared to have been motivated by anger toward the church that was targeted. Several instances of vandalism also involved theft. Many acts of vandalism against churches were under criminal investigation; some were under investigation as hate crimes.²

Many of the acts of vandalism represented unexplained acts of destruction, such as an outdoor nativity scene being destroyed³ or rocks being thrown through a window.⁴ In Memphis, Tennessee, vandals broke into Holy Nation Church, smashed the stained-glass windows in the sanctuary, and stole equipment the church uses to broadcast its services online. The pastor explained the situation by pointing to larger problems facing youth struggling to grapple with their own emotional distress. “I hold no ill will,” Pastor Andrew Perpener Jr. stated. “These things are just a manifestation of a greater hurt.”⁵

Some of the incidents conveyed profound anger and aggression being directed toward churches. In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, vandals broke into the Dellabrook Presbyterian Church on Valentine’s Day and sprayed a fire extinguisher all over the church. The ventilation and air- conditioning system picked up the powder residue from the fire extinguisher and spread it throughout the building, causing around $40,000 in damage. Luellen Curry, who works at the church, told a local news station, “I just don’t understand. I keep wondering why. It shows a great deal of anger. And were they angry at us? Were they angry at churches? Were they angry at God? I just don’t understand why someone would do this.”⁶

In February, vandals entered Jesus Is Alive World Center in Reading, Pennsylvania, and destroyed sound equipment, a podium, and 100-year-old stained-glass windows. They also damaged a piano and television, threw chairs around the building, and discharged a fire extinguisher, ruining the carpet. Still, Pastor Isaiah Adio told reporters, “We are not going to be frustrated, we will continue doing what we are doing for the body of Christ and our community.”⁷

In some acts of vandalism, hateful messages were left behind. At least one church was vandalized with Satanic symbols.⁸ A pro-life sign outside of a church was vandalized with the message “Womens body womens choice.”⁹ On March 3, vandals wrote “TRANS PWR” in black spray paint on the front of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky. This incident occurred the day after the Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill that would protect children from harmful gender-transition procedures.¹⁰

Arson, Attempted Arson or Fires of Unknow Origin
From January to March of 2023, there were 10 instances of arson, attempted arson, or fires with unknown causes. Many of these acts were deeply disturbing. On January 3, Portland Korean Church, a vacant 117-year-old building in Portland, Oregon, was set on fire. The 27-year-old suspect, whose legal name is Cameron Storer but who identifies as female, claimed voices in Storer’s head threatened to “mutilate” Storer if Storer refused to burn the church down.¹¹ Goodwill Baptist Church, a historically black church in Austin, Texas, was set on fire on March 6 in what police believed to be arson, causing $200,000 in damages.¹² In other instances, individuals attempted to set fire to crosses or statues that were outside church buildings.

Gun-Related Incidents
Three gun-related incidents occurred on church property in the first three months of 2023, including the shooting at The Covenant School. In one incident, two adults and two juveniles shot 50 rounds from 9mm pistols at a Mennonite church building in Versailles, Missouri; the property damage was charged as a hate crime.¹³ In another incident, a late-night shooting took place in the parking lot of the Praise Temple Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, sending four individuals to the hospital.¹⁴

Bomb Threat
FRC found three incidents of bomb threats against churches in the first three months of 2023. On February 19, a passerby noticed a pipe bomb outside St. Dominic Catholic Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Police Department’s bomb squad removed the 18-inch device but did not tell reporters whether they believed the church had been targeted.¹⁵ On January 30, a suspect was charged with a felony after she threatened to blow up Gracelife Chapel near Pevely, Ohio. The suspect had reportedly issued multiple threats to a church employee, one time texting, “I will make your church go bye bye.”¹⁶ Another incident involved a teenager calling in a false bomb threat to a church in Nashville.¹⁷

Other
Two incidents in the first three months of 2023 fell into the “other” category; one was a violent attack. On March 12, a man was arrested for stabbing someone at Crossfire Church in Springfield, Oregon. Church staff said the assailant had been attending the ministry and had never shown signs of violence before the assault. Staff chalked up the assailant’s actions to drug use and expressed frustrations with Oregon’s increasingly liberal drug laws, which they saw as contributing to substance abuse. The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries to his head and neck. Pastor Aaron Taylor stated, “We are affected on a regular basis by the fentanyl crisis that is in our community and is hurting so many.” Yet, he insisted that he would not let the attack negatively impact the church’s ministry. “We’ll never screen people who come to church. Instead what we’ll do is have a very robust security and staff.”¹⁸

Conclusion
January of 2023 was a particularly intense month for acts of hostility against churches. Although the number of actions dropped in February and March. The first quarter of 2023 overall saw an unusually high number of acts of hostility, with 69 such incidents being documented. Our research indicates that number is more than the entirety of 2018, in which we identified only 50 incidents, or 2020, in which we identified 54. This steep increase is a cause for concern.

To learn more about FRC’s findings on acts of hostility against churches, check out our full publication released in December 2022 at FRC.org/HostilityAgainstChurches

 Arielle Del Turco, M.A., is Assistant Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council.
Abigail Ferrara, Laura Grossberndt, and Chris Gacek are additional contributors to this report.

¹ “Six killed, including three children, in Tennessee school shooting,” NBC News, March 28, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-live-updates-rcna76861.
² Marcus Espinoza, “Man in custody after several Camden County and Gloucester County churches vandalized, police say,” Fox 29 Philadelphia, January 13, 2023, https://www.fox29.com/news/man-in-custody-after-several-camden-county-and- gloucester-county-churches-vandalized-police-say.
³ Hannah Kliger, “Parish leaders, worshippers lament vandalism of nativity scene at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine in Queens,” CBS News New York, January 9, 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/parish-leaders-worshippers-lament- vandalism-of-nativity-scene-at-st-nicholas-of-tolentine-in-queens/.
⁴ “Police Investigating Vandalism of Takoma Park Church,” Source of the Spring, January 9, 2023, https://www.sourceofthespring.com/takoma-park-news/2802064/police-investigating-vandalism-of-takoma-park-church/.
⁵ Walter Murphy, “Pastor speaks out after Memphis church vandalized for 2nd time in month,” Action News 5, January 9, 2023,  https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/01/10/pastor-speaks-out-after-memphis-church-vandalized-2nd-time-month/.
⁶ Louie Tran, “‘It’s horrifying’: Winston-Salem church vandalized on Valentine’s Day and left with $40K worth of damage,” WXII NBC 12, February 17, 2023, https://www.wxii12.com/article/its-horrifying-winston-salem-church-vandalized-on- valentines-day-and-left-with-dollar40k-worth-of-damage/42942019.
⁷ Alyana Gomez, “Reading, Pa. church vandalized ‘beyond comprehension,’” ABC 6 Philadelphia, February 8, 2023, https://6abc.com/reading-pennsylvania-church-vandalism-jesus-is-alive-world-center-pa/12783031/.
⁸ Andrew Mobley, “Izard County historic church vandalized with satanic symbols; Sheriff investigating,” KATV ABC 7, February 5, 2023, https://katv.com/news/local/izard-county-church-vandalized-with-satanic-symbols-sheriffs-office- investigating-violet-hill-arkansas-larkin-road-old-philadelphia-church-methodist-national-register-of-historic-places-  pentagram-inverted-cross-vandalism-satanism-upside-down-cross-paint.
⁹ Micaiah Bilger, “Abortion Activists Vandalize Catholic Church’s Pro-Life Banners,” Life News, January 30, 2023, https://www.lifenews.com/2023/01/30/abortion-activists-vandalize-catholic-churchs-pro-life-banners/.
¹⁰ Billy Kobin, “Louisville church, other areas hit with ‘TRANS PWR’ graffiti after House OK’s gender bill,” Louisville Courier Journal, March 3, 2023, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2023/03/03/louisville-st-joseph- catholic-church-hit-with-trans-pwr-graffiti-kentucky-hb-470/69969226007/.
¹¹ Aaron Mesh, “Person Set Fire to Century-Old Portland Church on Orders From Voices in Her Head, Court Records Say,” Willamette Week, January 5, 2023, https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/01/05/person-set-fire-to-century-old-portland- church-on-orders-from-voices-in-their-head-court-records-say/.
¹² Ryan Autullo, “Arson suspected at Black Baptist church in South Austin,” Austin American-Statesman, March 7, 2023, https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2023/03/07/arson-suspected-black-goodwill-baptist-church-south-  austin/69982242007/.
¹³ Michael Foust, “2 Men Charged with Hate Crime in Shooting, Vandalism of Missouri Church,” Christian Headlines, March 23, 2023, https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/men-charged-with-hate-crime-in- shooting-vandalism-of-missouri-church.html.
¹⁴ Greg Atoms, “ Four Shots During Drive-By Shooting at Shreveport Church,” News Radio 710 KEEL, March 4, 2023, https://710keel.com/four-shot-during-drive-by-shooting-at-shreveport-church/.
¹⁵ Tyler Arnold, “Pipe bomb found behind Catholic church in Philadelphia,” Catholic News Agency, February 20, 2023, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253694/pipe-bomb-found-behind-catholic-church-in-philadelphia.
¹⁶ “Woman charged for allegedly threatening to blow up Pevely-area church,” Leader Publications, February 12, 2023, https://www.myleaderpaper.com/news/police_fire/woman-charged-for-allegedly-threatening-to-blow-up-pevely-area- church/article_39f02a12-aaf0-11ed-97af-5ffc29d706c4.html.
¹⁷ Colleen Guerry, “Teen charged with making false bomb threat against Nashville church,” News 2 WKRN, February 22, 2023, https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/teen-charged-with-making-false-bomb-threat-against-nashville- church/.
¹⁸ Ryan Bonham and Noah Chavez, “Springfield man arrested in stabbing at church, police say,” KEZI ABC 9, March 13, 2023, https://www.kezi.com/news/springfield-man-arrested-in-stabbing-at-church-police-say/article_11f11cea-c1d1-11ed- b188-73ec3258cba4.html.

Avoiding Pornography – Guest Blog from Stephen and Alex Kendrick

Someone once said, “No matter how loud you shout or how high you jump, what matters is how righteously you talk and how straight you walk when you come down.”  With a spontaneous spiritual renewal still proceeding into its second week at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, it is important to ground this movement in Biblical teaching that will hold the believers who are experiencing this on a path that will transform their lives.  No area of spiritual revival for young men is more critical than how they will interact with the rash of pornography and immorality that has characterized our society for over 40 years.  More on the events at Asbury University at the end of this blog.

The Resolution for Men is a challenging book the Kendrick brothers wrote in 2011.  It is a tremendous resource for any man who wants to become a better husband, father, grandfather, brother, son or friend.  A companion piece, The Resolution for Women, is on my reading list, and it will be interesting to see how Priscilla Schirer treats the concept introduced as a resolution for men in the movie, Courageous.

The powerful summons of this book leads a man to make a set of 12 resolutions, but this blog is Appendix 8 of the text.  The Appendices alone are worth the price of the book!  However, in the spirit of fair warning, do not read this book if you have no heart for improving your relationships with your wife, children, grandkids or church.  Unless you are willing to make some significant changes in the way you deal with the important people in your life, you will come away from reading this with guilt and a sense of futility.  But if you are willing to consider the Resolutions and will allow the Holy Ghost to begin to change your heart, this book can be a lifesaver, a marriage redeemer, a legacy building tutor and a church-invigorating guide to supportive fellowship with other men.

Avoiding Pornography – Appendix 8 in The Resolution for Men by Stephen and Alexander Kendrick
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape, also, that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Pornography is idolatry.  It creates an addiction of lust that leads a man to surrender his mind, body, money, time and purity in service to it.  It becomes his god and perverted master.

When God created sex for a man and his wife alone to enjoy, He permanently linked its pleasure to marriage, love, intimacy and lifelong commitment.  Each of these keeps the sexual relationship meaningful and reinforces a couple’s union in marriage.  In holy matrimony sexual pleasure is grounded in love, freely shared, and maintains its priceless meaning and many healthy benefits.  There is no cost.  No shame.  No guilt.  No regrets.

Pornography is the opposite.  It strips sexual fulfillment of all its purposes.  It disconnects sexual arousal from its foundation of love, marriage and lifelong commitment, and reattaches it to lust, vanity, irresponsibility and the perverted thrills of sin and shock imagery.  Instead of sexual enjoyment being a reward from God, it becomes an undeserved, unearned, unholy illegitimate pleasure with no purpose.  It is like sexual cocaine that lures a man into a trap and then rapes his mind and conscience, leaving him addicted, numb and demoralized.  He begins caring less about the people he loves.  He quits rejoicing over good things and grieving over sin.  He feels guilty, dark and dirty, spiritually distant from God and emotionally disconnected from his wife.  Not only that, he also gives satan a foothold and permission to torment him now with condemnation, lies and accusations.  He is much worse off than when he started.

All addictions create a momentary spike in adrenalin [editor’s note: dopamine] that temporarily feels good but then leaves behind an even deeper void that causes more dissatisfaction than was there before.  Because of this, pornography begs you to pursue its short-term thrill again, repeatedly lying to you that its “high” can pull you out of this spin.  Lust just keeps breeding more lust.  Then you get caught in a cycle that spirals downward and never seems to end.

If you ever feel a ravenous hunger for pornography realize this: it is the last thing you need and it will never satisfy you.  Run.  it is trying to use cheap lust to quench your thirst for genuine love.  Satan always tempts you to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways.  What you are actually hungering for is intimacy with God, Himself, the only One who can fill the emptiness in your heart.  Any lust in us reveals that we have not been feasting on the love from our Heavenly Father. (1 John 2:15-17)

Countless men have defeated pornographic addictions by learning to walk intimately and obediently with Christ in His Word and in prayer each day.  Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NIV)  His spirit can fill and satisfy you in countless ways that pornography never can.  So be courageous enough to recognize pornography for what it is: moral sewage and a pit of lies.

• It lies, telling you that your sexual pleasure is of higher importance over everything else.
• It steals, robbing you of marital intimacy, honor and future enjoyment of the marriage bed.
• It pollutes, coarsening your mind, numbing your conscience and darkening your thoughts.
• It belittles, turning people made in God’s image into prostitutes, mere sex objects of your lust.
• It enslaves, making you feel like you are powerless to stop or control your impulses.

This should disgust us.  Look up and study the following verses that tell what else lust does to you.  It chokes out the Word in your heart (Mark 4:19); leads you to destroy yourself and degrade your mind (Romans 1:24); causes inner struggle and strained relationships (James 4:1); creates a state of ongoing frustration, anxiety and dissatisfaction (James 4:2); blinds you to what is most important in your life (1 John 2:16-17); and invites the judgment and punishment of God (1 Corinthians 10:1-6).  With these truths and grave warnings in mind, you must resolve before God to walk in complete honesty and purity (1 John 1:7), in full repentance and victory.  Scripture shows us how to walk in freedom through the following ways:

• Do not allow lust to rule you anymore. (Romans 6:12)
• Put it completely out of your life. (Ephesians 4:22)
• Set your mind instead on things above. (Colossians 3:1-5)
• Remember that you now belong to Christ. (Galatians 5:24)
• Remember that God’s grace empowers you to say, “No!” to lust’s demands and deceptions. (Titus 2:12)
• Run away when it tries to draw you back in. (2 Timothy 2:22)
• Be like Jesus, willing to suffer rather than sin. (1 Peter 4:1-2)
• Trust the Holy Spirit to fill you, empower you and help you resist faithfully. (Galatians 5:16-25)
• Escape by believing the promises of God that He will meet your needs and never leave you. (2 Peter 1:4)

God has provided all you need to be completely happy and successful in life (2 Peter 1:3-4).  And His plan involves you living free from pornography.  If you have been enslaved to it in the past, you know firsthand how low it takes you.  God never wants you again to see anyone undressed other than your spouse.  Admit this.  Human willpower isn’t enough.  You need God’s grace.

So if you are addicted to pornography, confess it to God and someone else in your life who can spiritually hold you accountable (James 5:16).  Begin memorizing His Word (like 1 Corinthians 10:13) and using it to fight off temptation.  Feast on God each day.  He is your source of satisfaction (James 1:17).  Get radical about removing things that cause you to stumble (Matthew 18:9).  During times of battle, shift your focus to praying for others to distract you from lustful thoughts (Ephesians 6:17-18).  Stay accountable to godly friends and never stop pursuing victory in Christ.  Here ends the Kendrick’s Guest Blog.

__________________________
I note the end of the Guest Blog because I wish to add some observations.  There are very few men in the West who have not struggled with pornography, except those who refuse to stop indulging in it.  The Bible does not mince words as though sin or sinful actions are miserable and repugnant.  Hebrews 11:25 notes that Moses refused to be called Pharoah’s son but preferred “rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”  Catch that!?  The pleasures of sin!  Dopamine is the neuroactive molecule your brain releases when you experience sexual pleasure, and it is addictive!  It feels great! 

No one in his right mind has ever been tempted to put a fire on his chest (Proverbs 6:27)!  If sin showed its “rewards” immediately, every brothel would shut down for lack of business; every pornographer would become a scenic photographer.  The attraction of any temptation is the bald-faced lie that it hides: THIS will be fun! THIS will be satisfying. THIS TIME it won’t hurt you.  NO consequences!  If you can expose the lie under the temptation, much of its attractiveness is removed.  But even that is still sometimes not enough when it comes to sexual temptations, especially of “victimless” pornography.  “I’m just looking; I’m not enslaving nor abusing real women.”   However, real women are being used or trafficked for you to get your dopamine thrill!

The bottom line is that every man’s battle is unique and finding the “guardrail” that can keep you from a pornography addiction might take some creative thinking.  Focusing on the fact that a pornographic subject is someone’s daughter helps some men.  One man prayed specifically that God would cut off his hand, or at least make it unusable, if he ever again accessed pornography on his phone or computer; praying in faith, he believes God will honor his request!  Another focuses on alternatives to the attraction such as George Sanchez encourages in his paper, Changing Your Thought Patterns.  Yet, another gave his wife and daughter every password of every site on his computer and smartphone and often leaves his phone with his wife.  Another places his computer so that others in his office can always see what is on his screen.  Others subscribe to a porn monitoring program such as Covenant Eyes or install filtering software on their computers.  One man I know actually gave up using a cell phone rather than risk his soul with addiction to porn; when he finally got another phone he made sure it could not access the internet.

Jesus was very clear.  The wide path that is easy and has a wide gate offers no resistance and is fun.  Living without porn for some men can be extremely narrow and hard.  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)  But it IS findable!  And the consequences of not finding it are severe.  It will cost your marriage, your relationship with your children, your friends, your extended family and maybe even your employability!

The stakes are enormous; the risks are treacherous. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30)  Whatever it takes, even if it means taking a Resolution for Men, do not give up as though to accept that you are trapped as a slave to pornography.  Hundreds of thousands of men have found release from its bondage and YOU CAN, TOO!

Day 8 of the great Asbury revival.

People are FLOCKING and waiting in line by the thousands to get inside and worship our Lord.

A revival is happening.

GOD IS NOT DEAD! pic.twitter.com/gH71DdT3ZP

— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) February 16, 2023

Carlson: Asbury Revival ‘Amazing,’ People Turning to Spiritual Life to Counter Evil in the World

Moments – Jonah’s or Nahum’s?

THE best-known story of the Bible for its details, even better than the parting of the Red Sea or the Crucifixion or Resurrection, is the story of Jonah and the Whale.  Of course, anyone might know from a cursory reading of the text and with limited knowledge of zoology that it was not a whale.  It was a specially prepared big fish that Father had sent just for Jonah.

In Jonah’s moment of time, the Assyrians were the most obnoxious, bloodthirsty and immoral pagan society of his day!  And as everyone knows, when The God Who Is told him to go to Nineveh, Assyria’s capital, and warn the people of impending judgement, he boarded a ship to go the other way, away from his job in about 750BC.  One thing led to another; God sent a storm; Jonah confessed and told his shipmates to throw him overboard; they did, and the storm stopped, and the whole crew and passengers offered sacrifices to Yahweh and made vows.  The fish eventually spit Jonah out after he had repented and agreed to go to Nineveh where he delivered a message of DOOM! 

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)  No suggestion that they might be able to repent and avoid the calamity… yet that is exactly what they did.  From the king to the lowliest beggar, everyone in the evil city turned from their sin and violence and God relented from His judgement and forgave them.  No disaster, no destruction, just forgiveness and a transformed society in the capital city of Assyria!  (There’s a LOT more to this story and its lessons than this brief synopsis, but you can read it for yourselves.)

A generation later, the people of Nineveh had returned to their nefarious religious practices and violent behavior.  The penitent had been forgiven, but they failed to pass their obedience to God to their children.  Somewhere around 40 years after Jonah had preached to them, the Assyrians captured Northern Israel and subjugated its people, most of whom were carried off as captive slaves.  Fast forward from Jonah’s to Nahum’s moment, and he prophesied about 100 years after Jonah that Assyria would be destroyed.

But this time the reaction was different.  We do not know if Nahum delivered his prophecy in Nineveh, but in any case, he was ignored, and God’s judgment fell on the city and the society in 612BC.  A conglomeration of Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians (commonly called the Medes) sacked the city and put the most of its people to the sword.  The Assyrian kingdom was completely destroyed as the Babylonian kingdom rose in power.

Joel Rosenberg asks this of we who are American today:
“Is America at a ‘Jonah’ moment or a ‘Nahum’ moment!?  Will we hear the Word of the Lord and admit that we have strayed so far from the teachings of the Bible and allowed our land to become polluted with 63 million abortions, with pornography and violence and wickedness of all kinds?  Will we admit how far we are from God’s plan and purpose for our lives?  Will we confess that our hearts are far from Jesus Christ and plead with the Lord for His mercy and grace and forgiveness?  Will we fast and pray and earnestly seek God’s face, and implore Christ to give us another Great Awakening?  Or will we be like the people of Nineveh during the time that Nahum came to preach?  Will we continue in our sins and watch our nation continue to decline, implode and/or face the full wrath of God in judgment?”

He also mentions the three Great Awakenings that have occurred in American history.  From 1720 to 1740 a movement swept over the colonies prior to our separation from England, and it affected England almost as much as the colonies.  With the teaching of Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley in America and George Whitfield and Charles Wesley in the United Kingdom, focus on the “new birth” and pious living, Bible study and prayer meetings seemed to capture the entire Western society, even spreading to other parts of Europe through the preaching of men like Nicholas Zinzendorf and Daniel Rowland.

The Second Great Awakening occurred from 1800 to 1840 and was mostly a US phenomenon.  Again, personal salvation was emphasized, but this time with a focus on human free will.  People by the hundreds of thousands repented of sins and changed their lifestyles, much as the Ninevites had done when Jonah preached.

The “Jesus Movement” of the 1960s and 70s was spawned when the youth culture of the US was becoming disenfranchised with the drug scene, materialism and despair over Viet Nam and government corruption.  Leaders such as Chuck Smith and John Wimber again emphasized individual responsibility for one’s actions and destiny and focused on the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to give peace with God as well as eternal life to any who would follow Jesus.  A single index finger raised meant you were a follower of The One.

We are now faced with a moment of decision in the United States, and possibly globally with Europe, Asia and Africa following our lead.  So with Mr. Rosenberg, I wonder, are we at a “Jonah moment” or are we at a “Nahum moment”? As I write this, a spontaneous ‘revival’ is breaking out in Asbury University and Asbury Seminary with continuous prayer, worship and Bible reading and study without any organizational sanction; just hungry people wanting to experience the Presence of The God Who Is!

Perhaps this tiny school in Wilmore, Kentucky, is the spark of what will become a nationwide development in the spiritual life of our country in countermeasure to the debauchery of last week’s Grammys, the Cancel Culture, abortion-advocacy, Critical Race Theory, transgenderism and pornography that plagues the US today.  Or it may be a ‘flash in the pan’ of a small number of people who long for God in a society that will refuse His grace.

“Will we fast and pray and earnestly seek God’s face, and implore Christ to give us another Great Awakening? However, if we don’t repent and turn back to the Lord Jesus Christ, we may very well consign ourselves to suffer the fate of the Ninevites during the time of Nahum.” (Joel Rosenberg)

Are we in a “Jonah moment” or a “Nahum moment”?

Jogging is for the wicked! Wordless Wednesday

A Letter to the American Church

Letter to the American Church is the latest book by Eric Metaxas, author of fourteen other books including Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and If You Can Keep It.

He draws some significant parallels between what is happening in America with developments in the German Lutheran churches just prior or WW2, which significantly enabled Adolf Hitler and his minions to execute six million (6,000,000) Jews, not to mention hundreds of thousands of others deemed “deficient” by the Nazi regime.  These “others” included anyone not of “Aryan stock” such as Blacks, Latinos and Asians, as well as those they considered deviant, such as homosexuals, drug addicts, thieves and gamblers.

Lining up Critical Race Theory, Cancel Culture, Transgenderism and Abortion as the current sins of America, he points out the moral superiority claimed by those espousing these views.  “Part of what makes them so wicked is that they smilingly pretend to share the biblical values that champions the underdog against the oppressor.”  These were the same claims of Stalin, Hitler and Mao who butchered millions in the name of “fighting for the people.”

Further, he points out that while these issues are political, there is sufficient overlap with Gospel themes and Biblical values that any church that refuses to address them is tragically mistaken.  These “politics” are as demonically inspired as Hitler’s answer to “the Jewish Question,” and must be met by a Christ-honoring church that believes the Gospel touches on all areas of human life.  He challenges churches that feel we should mind our own business of spiritual matters, “as though the truth of God were a parochial, subjective idea that has no bearing on anything beyond our private prayer times and church meetings.”

This, he warns, was what paralyzed the German Church as Hitler pretended that he was with them, all the while quietly working to co-opt and undermine them.  Privately he actually despised the Church and Christianity generally, though he could not say so openly.  Just as the Three-Self-Churches of China today cannot preach the entire truth of Scripture without being shut down, Hitler’s program was to create a “Reich Church” subservient to the Nazi political agenda.  Enacting sweeping “emergency decrees” suddenly allowed Hitler to do things without the approval of the German Parliament… think “pandemic measures” to control the American population.  John Kerry, at last year’s World Economic Forum, noted that this could be an excellent model for enacting economic measures to control many national money streams.

“The Nazis controlled the media narrative and instantly whipped up a hysterical fear of… their opponents.”  Perhaps you have followed how mainstream media has been complicit with government agencies to further the fears of our population and fix on stories that support the “official” views of government and health agencies.

Many churches hung Nazi banners and flags outside their buildings and even inside their sanctuaries… It may be plausibly compared to well-meaning churches today displaying rainbow banners and BLM flags… They only wish to show that they are not like those other rigid and narrow-minded churches and that they are inclusive and generally mean no harm.  They don’t seem to know that the forces behind those banners are only smiling at them in order to deceive them; as soon as they have the cultural and political power, they will show their dedicatedly atheist colors, and will show clearly what they think of Christian virtues such as mercy and humility and love of one’s enemies.

Even a cursory reading of the Gospels will show that “Jesus was certainly not the nonjudgmental caricature that so many have made him to be.”  Did you know that the swastika that is now so despised in the west was actually borrowed from Hinduism, signifying “svas to’ ke,” meaning “conducive to wellness”?

There is a “Spiral of Silence” political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann described that asserts when one does not speak against an evil they witness, they are contributing to the success of that thing they refuse to name and condemn.  As people of conscience fail to speak against an evident evil, the price for speaking against it rises, i.e., eventually an entire nation or culture becomes silenced for fear of speaking.

This was in Chuck Colson’s mind as he helped frame The Manhattan Declaration in 2009.  Bolstered by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s stance against Naziism in 1932, the declaration calls on Christ-followers to be clear and vocal in their opposition to the idea that Christians should be “apolitical” and stick to “issues of faith.”  This, Metaxas says, is the mistake the German Lutherans made due to overcompensation against legalism that Martin Luther decried.  He specifies Luther’s avoidance of the letter of James in the Bible which clearly teaches that what one believes will affect the actions one takes.  Bonhoeffer called Luther’s stance on this “cheap grace,” an easy religion that avoids controversy and does not address the nuances of what it means to fully live out our faith.  He asks, “Does how I live show God that I actually believe that I claim to believe?  Or does how I live show God that actually I do not believe what I claim to believe.?”  Just as we cannot get to Heaven by doing good works, we cannot get to Heaven without good works, because if we have faith that will take us to Heaven, it will be a faith that is lived out inevitably in good works.

As recently as this book was published in 2022, Metaxas asks, “Shall we arrest the downward spiral, or will we go along with it until we can say nothing about anything?  Are we already very close to that?”

Of course, there is some truth in every lie that will make it believable, and Metaxas does not shy away from the fact that many Christians and their organizations have been “over-political.”  This thinking puts our hopes in a national policy, a particular candidate or party, or in legislation or courts, that if we can just get this law passed or that ruling overturned, everything will be all right.  This thinking, he says, makes an idol of politics rather than a mechanism by which Christians can share their good intentions and the love of Jesus.

Near the end of his text, he lays out the entire books premise: “Truth is truth. All truth is God’s truth, and sometimes it is those who are not bound up and crippled by entangling and confused ‘religious’ views who can see most clearly… Being a Christian is not about avoiding sin, but about passionately and courageously serving God.”

This is a book for every Christ-follower, pastor and church leader that will challenge you to reconsider, What is the Church?  Watch this 11 minute video of Francis Chan addressing this question:

Do Not Pray for This People

From our pulpits we hear constantly how God is merciful and forgives sin.  Often a mark of “success” of a sermon seems to be how good people feel about themselves as they leave a meeting or church service.  Pastors do not want to hear complaints or negative comments; they only want to be told how many attended and how large the offering was.  Would it meet the budget and have money for the programs?  The polish and prominence of the parish is the paramount proportion to show we are doing “the Lord’s work.”  This is not to say all pastors or church leaders are out of the loop of what Father may be planning, but there seems to have been so much emphasis in the last few decades on love that we have not heard any warnings about ignoring God’s goodness.

How rarely does one hear of God’s anger, even though there are over 150 references to God’s judgment in the Bible and only about half that in reference to God having mercy?  Of course, a word search does not fully reveal the themes of Scripture and certainly, God IS merciful.  The concept of His desire for none to be lost, and for all to come to repentance is rife throughout the Word.  The Bible is God’s love letter to us, that we can be saved from judgment!  Yet, one of the chief motivations to appeal for His mercy, is that unless we entreat Him for it, He WILL pronounce judgment on the recalcitrant.  His mercy is for anyone who requests it, but what of those who refuse to ask or do not even know that they should!?

God is certainly more patient than we are.  Within the book of Judges, there is a pattern of disobedience followed by punishment, followed by repentance, followed by deliverance, followed by repeated disobedience . . . over and over and over and over!!  This pattern continued throughout the Kings of Israel and Judah, until finally God’s patience wore out.  All along the way, He raised up many prophets to warn the people that judgment would come, until finally, He told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people!

How far down the path of calling good evil and evil good can we go before we have exhausted His patience again?  How many innocents who have not yet been born can we kill, sacrificing them to the gods of convenience, fame and money?  What does one make of an elected governor who says abortion is the way to love your neighbor!? (Ezekiel 16:35-38; 23:37-43).  How long can we keep putting darkness for light and light for darkness; how long can we exchange bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter; how long can we be wise in our own eyes, promote heroes for how much wine they can drink, and take bribes to acquit the guilty and deprive the innocent of their rights?  (Isaiah 5:20-25).

Is the USA past a point of no return?  Is God telling His people to stop praying for our nation?  When you pray for our leaders and the condition of our country, do you get a sense that Heaven is brass, and God will not listen anymore?  Who will warn the society that famine may be a season away, that a sword is being sharpened to cut off the life of the republic?  Should we not be concerned when the choices for our leaders have devolved so low, when Supreme Court Justices must fear for their lives because of ruling in favor of protecting the unborn?  Are the following warnings given to Jeremiah about Israel equivalent to God’s words to the United States?  Who will warn our people?

“Do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.  Do you not see what they are doing in the cities and in the streets?  The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven.  And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.  Is it I whom they provoke?  Is it not themselves, to their own shame?”  Therefore, thus says Yahweh-Elohim, “Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 7:16-20)

“They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words.  They have gone after other gods to serve them. …” Therefore, says Yahweh, “Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape.  Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.  Then they will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble.  For your gods have become as many as your cities, and as many as your streets are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.  Therefore, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.  What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds?  Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom?” … Yahweh once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’  But with the roar of a great tempest, He will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed.  “I, Yahweh-tzavot [The LORD of hosts], who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil you have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”  (Jeremiah 11:10-17)

“Yahweh said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.  Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer … offerings, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”  Then I said: “Ah, Yahweh-Elohim, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”  And Yahweh said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them.  They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.  Therefore, thus I, Yahweh say concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.  And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters.  For I will pour out their evil upon them.” (Jeremiah 14:11-16)

May Yahweh, The God Who Is, have mercy on us.  Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Boiled Frogs and Insidious Cooks; CBDC’s Warming of the Water

You may have heard about the way to “cook a frog.”  I do not mean frog legs, or actually cooking for consumption, but cooking for the purpose of killing.  As the story goes, if you drop a frog into very hot water, it will immediately jump out of the pan and scramble away as fast and as far as possible.  BUT, if you gently set the frog down in cool water and very gradually increase the heat, it will sit there almost smiling until its heart stops beating and it dies.  Now, before PETA or other animal activists start protesting in my neighborhood, allow me to clarify, I, personally, have never done this nor witnessed it done.  Never in my house!  However, videos on YouTube (gotta watch it to the end!😉) suggest dropping the frog into boiling water will immediately kill it, and in the other case, unless the heat is VERY gradually increased, the amphibian will jump out as its thermoregulating nerves signal danger, even though it is cold-blooded.

Whether there is truth in the tales of cooking frogs, the illustration holds for the truth that gradual degradation of society is much more effective than revolution in changing what the general public believes.  Revolution may change a society’s politics or governance but will do little to change the standards of morals or beliefs of the culture.

A 23-year-old I knew in the early 80s thought the end of the world was approaching when he reported his employer would no longer issue his paychecks to him at the end of the week, but would directly deposit them into his bank account!  Old hat, we might say.  After all, that was over 40 years ago.  In fact, I remember as a child seeing the first Master Card commercials and my parents thinking “The Only Card You Will Ever Need” was pure evil!

A decade ago pressure was building to use paperless billing, and direct deposits and direct payments to various businesses was all the eco-rage.  Electronic transfers between accounts were assured to be more secure than writing checks or paying cash, and think of all the forests we could save!

Fast-forward to the current age, and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will get all the attention soon.  It will make financial record-keeping very simple; no need for cash or risk of getting mugged . . . except the thieves could steal your access card and PIN (Private Identification Number).  But the record of every transaction would be almost self-regulating.

The problems with cards are that they can be stolen, you can lose them, or they can be damaged or forgotten.  The simple solution will be a biomarker that will be unique to you, maybe a fingerprint or iris scan.  Facial ids on phones and other tech gadgets are gradually warming the water for us so that this will seem the next logical step.  Of course, then there are the stories of fingers stolen or pushing a dead man’s eye up to a scanner that make exciting theater for spy movies.

But overall, CBDCs promise is to be safe, secure and most importantly, convenient.  They will almost eliminate money-laundering once they are the most common form of currency.  They will guarantee that if your access is somehow forged (Lost another finger!? You need a new neighborhood! 😱), the government will make sure your “money” is restored.  And, easy!?  You can travel anywhere in the world, and with simplest computer access, you can reach into your account no matter where it is based.

As I type this, once the ongoing trials are over, we will see CBDC introduced in America as an option, the way the Chinese are initiating their digital yuan [¥] (or renminbi [RMB]) to several provinces.  It may take many years to make CBDC in America the “law of the land” that must be used in lieu of other media of exchange including crypto currencies and barter.  However, watching China will provide an index for how quickly the US could move as we become more dominated by an autocratic leadership, whatever party holds the White House or the Congress.

This is a major step in The Great Reset, a socialist globalist plan to transform the world economy guided by the “brains” of the World Economic Forum.

So what has this to do with our spiritual welfare and our ability to follow Jesus?  A great deal.  While Matthew Piepenburg concludes his article about the ABCs of CBDCs with several “I don’t knows” and that no one can predict the future, what he fails to see is the Biblical narrative that CBDCs are all precursors to a global monetary system to be invoked by a Man that the Apostle John referred to as “The Beast.”

2023: The ABC’s of CBDC, the Great Reset(s) & MORE Centralized Control

VERY importantly, we must recognize that no one can be secretly given The Mark of the Beast, even though it will not likely be called that, just as the Man will not be called The Beast.  He will deceive people into taking this Mark based on his economic policies and the world’s crises that will make his global policy look inviting.  But it will be only by one’s choice that they will subscribe to his system and receive his Mark.

The next step in the process to get us to a global monetary system is to use CBDCs in various countries, eventually to include all 193 nations of the world.  Watch for more advanced nations to assist third world countries to do this.  Thus, accepting a CBDC in any country, even using biomarkers to access your account, will NOT be taking the Mark of the Beast.  No one can inject it into you, nor can it be administered without your knowledge.  But there are “insidious cooks” who are warming the water, whether Klaus Schwab of the WEF, Xi of China, Congress or Presidents of the USA or any financial advisors assuring you that CBDCs are “safe, secure and convenient.”

Love the Truth, both the concept of it and the Person who called Himself that, and you can rest assured that you will not be deceived.  Refuse to love Truth in any form, and it will leave you warming up to becoming a boiled frog.

American pastor delivers message of coming ‘dark wave’ of persecution.

At ICEJ Feast, Andrew Brunson delivers challenging but vital message gleaned from his own experiences during two years in a Turkish prison.  This is a guest blog about Andrew Brunson by Nicole Jansezian – October 18, 2022.

[Andrew Brunson speaking at the Garden Tomb during the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s Feast of Tabernacles celebration, Oct. 15, 2022. (Photo courtesy ICEJ)]

Andrew Brunson’s message is straightforward, but it is far from simple: The Western Church needs to brace for a dark wave of persecution that is coming.

Imprisoned for two years on false charges of terrorism in Turkey, the seasoned missionary says he quickly “broke,” lost any sense of God’s presence and became suicidal during his incarceration.  “I began even questioning God’s existence,” Brunson said.  Hardly inspiring.  But sobering for those who have ears to hear.

Brunson and his wife Norine – who had been missionaries in Turkey for 23 years prior to the arrest – were in Israel this month for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s Feast of Tabernacles celebration where Brunson taught what he believes Christians must know in order to face trials and tests that are sure to come.

In an interview with ALL ISRAEL NEWS, Brunson said this is not the message he prefers to carry but it is the one God gave him.  He foresees a cultural and social persecution coming to the United States in which the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to salvation will become a controversial stance.

“Most of the institutions of society are supporting things that a faithful follower of Jesus cannot embrace… and that’s how they will justify persecuting us,” Brunson said.  Believers who stand for this truth will be marginalized in schools, jobs, banks and more, he added.  Testing believers’ resolve, the pressure to conform will manifest socially and eventually financially.

“What has emerged as the main flashpoint is gender identity and LGBT.  And wherever that is intersecting with religious freedom, LGBT is winning,” he said.  “Now there is a requirement that people not only tolerate, but that we embrace and celebrate this ideology.  And if you don’t, you are seen as someone who is hateful.”

The younger generation of believers and even many churches are shying away from these issues, Brunson said, “not (only) because it will bring pressure from outside but because it will divide the church.  There is already a measure of deception in the Church.  The church is pulling back on teaching truth, the next generation is going to be confused,” Brunson warned.

“In the States, we have an issue where it is a majority-Christian culture with Judeo-Christian values.  But our culture is post- and anti-Christian,” he said.  “Do we fight this and try to continue to have influence?  This is where the real tension is right now.”

One of the difficulties will be persecution couched in accusations of hatred and bigotry rather than directly connected to one’s faith.  In Brunson’s case, he was slapped with false political charges.  “When I was in Turkey, if they had said, ‘Andrew Brunson is a church planter,’ I would have worn it with pride.  Instead, they said, ‘He’s evil and he’s a terrorist,’ so I was made into a hate figure,” he said.  “People who are going to remain faithful are going to be seen as a people of hate.  The same thing happened to Jesus.  They said He was demonic, and eventually they killed Him.”

What Happened In Turkey?
Brunson was swept up in a crackdown on activists and military leaders who were accused of attempting to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016.  Norine was also arrested and released after two weeks.  Their children – all in America at the time – had no news from their parents at the beginning.  In the subsequent two years, Norine remained in Turkey since she was the only person allowed to visit Andrew in prison.

Initially facing not one or two, but three life sentences, and despite experiencing prior persecution in other forms as a missionary, Brunson said he was unprepared for the spiritual desert he faced in prison.  He was at times placed in solitary confinement and at other times endured isolation as the only Christian among 22 Muslims in a cell made for eight people.

Brunson’s arrest captured the attention of the White House as well as the church.  Former U.S. President Donald Trump took personal interest in the case and repeatedly mentioned Brunson’s name in a meeting with Erdoğan.  After this initial contact, Brunson said a flood of propaganda was published in the Turkish media accusing him of being an American spy or even the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

[Then-U.S. President Donald Trump poses with Pastor Andrew Brunson and his wife, Norine, outside of the Oval Office of the White House on October 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Reuters)]

Former Vice President Mike Pence, an evangelical Christian, also kept up the pressure on the Turkish government at the time.  “If Turkey does not take immediate action to free this innocent man of faith and send him home to America, the United States will impose significant sanctions on Turkey until Pastor Andrew Brunson is free,” Pence tweeted in July 2018.

Indeed, the U.S. did impose sanctions.  When the Turkish stock market lost $40 million and the nation’s currency, the lira, collapsed, more propaganda sought to blame that on the imprisoned Brunson.

In late July 2018, Brunson was remanded to his home in Izmir, Turkey – where he had led an Evangelical church – to await trial.  Then, on Oct. 12, 2018, Brunson was convicted – partially based on the false testimony of long-time acquaintances from his ministry.  But in a dramatic finale, Brunson was sentenced to time served.  That same day, he and Norine left Turkey.

“The last thing we said was, ‘We love Turkey.’  It was not a naive love, but more it was us saying that God put His love in us.  It is not a love expressed emotionally, but in commitment and wanting to see good come to that nation.  We want to see God’s blessing on Turkey, to see people become aware of Jesus.  We left Turkey blessing it.”

A Sobering Message
Brunson believes that God orchestrated his time in jail so that he could bring this message of preparedness to the Church.  “God gave me the assignment to prepare people for hardship,” Brunson told AIN.  “It’s not what I prefer to carry, but it’s what He’s given me.”

Recently, Brunson filmed a teaching series called “Prepare to Stand” in which he shares lessons that he hopes will help believers survive a coming wave of persecution.   Brunson said Daniel 11:32 is a critical passage of scripture, but it must be taken in the correct order: “…but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”

“It is not the time to think about the exploits,” Brunson said.  “Focus on that first part – otherwise you’re not going to be standing to do the exploits and the assignments that God has for you in a much darker environment.”

In his teachings, both in his videos and during the Feast of Tabernacles here in Jerusalem, Brunson emphasized he was surprised he broke so quickly, to the point he even questioned God’s existence.  “I made it a discipline to declare, ‘God, You exist,’” he recalled.

[Andrew Brunson speaking at International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s Feast of Tabernacles celebration, October 2022. (Photo courtesy ICEJ)]

Brunson also made it a discipline to pray, worship and declare God’s faithfulness each day.  And he had to come to terms that God’s will may not have included his release from prison.  While in prison, Brunson grappled with an ever-present fear and feeling offended by God.  “The reaction is to become distant from God, to have the heart grow so cold you lose the relationship,” Brunson said.

But focusing now on preparation of the heart can hopefully help us stand during persecution, Brunson said.  That includes aligning our hearts and determining to stand for God’s moral standards which Brunson said are “now are seen as harmful to society.”

God required Brunson to prove his love by staying faithful even when he felt abandoned by Him, he said during a service at the Garden Tomb on Saturday.  “There is a difference between real love and an unproven love,” Brunson said.  Brunson taught that there is an aspect of Jesus we cannot know without partaking in the fellowship of His suffering.  “But,” he said, “even if we don’t feel His presence, God will not abandon us.”

“As we head into a time of great turbulence and face difficulties and tests, He will shepherd your heart.  Lean into Him because He is committed to taking you through,” Brunson said.

Nicole Jansezian is the news editor for both ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and senior correspondent for ALL ISRAEL NEWS

This is a follow-up to last week’s blog about a likely route of persecution via CBDC.