Or,
The Danger of Believing Your Own Propaganda
I listened to this podcast awhile back and wanted to share a
few thoughts. This is Albert Mohler's interview programme where he sits down
with a fellow intellectual and conducts about a 45 minute interview with some
of his commentary along the way. Sometimes it's interesting, but often I find
it to be not only intellectually dull but often misguided. But that assessment
would go for most things Mohler does. As a leader of the Christian Right I
believe he is completely misguided with regard to history, theology, politics
and most of all, the Bible. That may sound like a harsh and needless insult but
since I believe he (and many like him) are a great danger to the Christian
Church... I feel the denunciation to be more than warranted.
Is he a fellow believer? I have no idea. That's hardly for
me to decide. But, on earth he's diligently playing the part of the lamb
speaking with the dragon's voice. He's part of the Harlot mission to seduce the
Church into adulterous apostasy and the worship of the Beast.
Is he as bad as some? By no means, but his influence is
vast. On the one hand he's an 'orthodox Christian' that stands for many
historic doctrines, but history alone is not our guide. The historical Church
has been riddled and afflicted by error and apostasy. Anyone who is not a Roman
Catholic or a member of the Eastern Orthodox Churches must admit this fact.
It's not a matter of whether or not we think the historic Church slipped into
grievous error or apostasy. We all agree on that. The question is to what
extent? And what exactly are the foundations of this departure from Biblical
Christianity?
History cannot be ignored. How we answer these basic
questions will determine how we view the contemporary Church and men like
Mohler. Do they represent Biblical fidelity? Compared to the theological
liberalism, Mohler seems a shining star. He's certainly correct on issues like
the Resurrection, the Incarnation and the Virgin Birth. His verbal affirmation
that the Bible is the Word of God is to be appreciated.
Rome also maintains these truths. Does this grant Rome
legitimacy? Some think so but I digress. For those would grant Rome the status
of a legitimate ecclesiological entity, they have a host of other questions
they must now answer that are beyond the scope of this piece.
Why do I listen to his show? I can't help it. I want to hear
what is being said because like it or not these folks wield a tremendous
influence and over the years I've run into more than a few people who respect
if not revere Mohler. In one case the leader of a church plant who was a
dedicated disciple and former student of Mohler was echoing his ideas. Since I
was attending, I was less than pleased and it generated some confrontation. I
was not keen to go along with his nationalistic, militarist and legalistic form
of Hyper-Calvinism.
I found this particular show to be illustrative of one
glaring facet of their error. At the end of the podcast Mohler took a moment to
praise the work of the Think Tanks and their great contribution to society.
The Think Tanks are of course very influential. Needless to
say most politicians are hardly brilliant minds and do not actually craft their
own legislation, nor are they experts (at least initially) on much of anything
to do with the Washington process. Behind every committee and every piece of
legislation are teams of scholars, intellectuals and lawyers helping to craft
and shape not only individual bills but the overall policy. They provide the
technical help in seeking to implement ideas and avoid legal challenges along
the way.
Well, calling them scholars and intellectuals can be a bit
of a stretch at times, especially when it comes to the Think Tanks. It's mostly
propagandists and lawyers...the lawyers in some ways being the most important
element. These are agenda-driven and funded organisations that exist to promote
the ideas of those backing them. Scholarly pursuit of the truth is not really
on the table. Manipulation of statistics is more like it.
For years I have received piles of propaganda from the
Heritage Foundation and other groups. And it is just that...propaganda. The
word itself is not problematic unless tied to its negative connotation and
that's exactly how I'm using it. It's material that is deliberately obfuscating
or manipulating information, a deliberate misrepresentation in order to shape
thinking. Fundamentally it's a lie.
They send out these ridiculous surveys and brochures which
are so engineered, rigged and biased that it beggars belief. I consider it
rather insulting to my intelligence and am astonished that anyone would
actually turn in these rigged surveys where you can't answer the question
except in the way they want you to. You're either a patriotic Capitalist or a militant
Communist. There are no other options.
I'm neither of these things but I know what they are. These
are people that have no integrity whatsoever. And that's a pretty sad reality
when a group like Heritage employs many Christians and is presently headed by Jim
DeMint the former senator, and a member of the Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA).
Of course the Think Tanks produce propaganda their adherents
want to hear. They interpret the world, not according to a truthful attempt to
understand reality, let alone what the Bible teaches, but according to the
dictates and interests of their backers and their gullible audience which has
been manipulated mostly through scare tactics.
And sometimes it is nothing less than laughable.
It's dangerous and perhaps a little frightening when people
who wield power not only seek to implement the policy based on the false data,
but what's really disturbing is when they actually believe it. For those trying
to make money and garner power as well as for those who willingly believe
lies...the problem lies in the heart.
And in the case of Heritage not only have they re-written
the history of the 1980's but they have sought to exonerate themselves of any
guilt. The truth is they have blood on their hands...literally. The blood of
many in Central America and Africa was shed as a result of Heritage policies
being implemented. And that's just for starters....
I'm afraid in my experience the most gullible audience out
there is the Christian Right. For various reasons they are the most susceptible
to this kind of propaganda that feeds them a message, a delusion they want to
hear. What is the message? The Kingdom of God is best served by an American
Empire, legally enforced Christianity, militarism, and Capitalism. They don't
put it that way, but to expect truthfulness and transparency from a Think Tank
is to expect the impossible. A tree is known by its fruit.