The Usury Dilemma Revisited (II)

To me the issue is not about specifically paying usury or even enabling those who sin by taking it from me. I don't expect otherwise from the world - though I do admit I struggle with loving these people who right and left beat me down and steal the money right out of my pocket - money I literally earned by my own sweat. And unlike them I labour assiduously to be honest and fair in my dealings - to my own hurt if need be. I would rather have a clear conscience then shrug my shoulders and be like them.

My real issue is with those Christians who have jumped the fence and stand on the Babylonian side - exploiting not just society at large but fellow Christians. I expect the lost to engage in dog-eat-dog ethics - Darwin's survival of the fittest. This is as old as Cain and Lamech. But I do have a problem with the Christians who have entrenched themselves in the system and are right at home in these various industries and sectors of society - making money hand over fist on the basis of what is essentially legal extortion and Babylonian alchemy. I have a problem with Christians who have baptised this law of the jungle, this atheistic ethic that is completely opposed to New Testament religion.

More Disease Ridden Cures: Attacking Lausanne on the Basis of Right-Wing Politics (Part 2)

It was appropriate that in the Old Testament order there was a certain earthly glory and indeed like Abraham we are 'wealthy' pilgrims. But wealth and riches have to be understood in spiritual terms which Proverbs (ironically) defines as spiritual wisdom, something the New Testament elaborates upon. Once again I say ironic because the proponents of Christo-capitalism heavily rely on Proverbs to make their fiscal case but never see the questions in light of the New Testament and actually ignore the foundational concepts regarding wealth that are laid out in the early chapters.

More Disease Ridden Cures: Attacking Lausanne on the Basis of Right-Wing Politics (Part 1)

I was eager to read ES Williams' Ecumenism: Another Gospel (Lausanne's Road to Rome) which was published in 2014. It was in certain respects a 'good read' and at times helpful, even insightful. But in the end I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone.

Alongside a rightly guided Biblical critique of the movement which has become the international platform of post-war Evangelicalism, there was an unfortunate Right-wing aspect or angle which seems to govern Williams' thought.

Chinese Evangelicals and the NED

https://www.mintpressnews.com/hong-kong-protest-united-states-destabilize-china/261712/

The National Endowment for Democracy isn't just a US government backed NGO that promotes democratic institutions. In the case of Hong Kong it is actively involved in promoting the protests. That the NED often functions as an arm of US intelligence, interferes with democracy and promotes regime change is actually old news for those who have been watching for many years.

This is why (once again) it is tragic that Chinese and in this case Hong Kong based Evangelicals are getting involved with what amounts to a US intelligence operation. Are the protests wholly the creation of the United States? I doubt anyone would actually suggest that. There are plenty of social forces and tensions at work that are helping to fuel the protests and yet as they ebb and flow, the Americans are there to make sure people stay out on the street. Money can work wonders. It's much the same with striking workers. They can keep going, keep protesting as long as the money is there for them to feed their families and pay their bills.

This is where the NED (and sometimes USAID) and US intelligence (often operating through the embassy or consulate) is able to step in. This was the playbook in Iran in 1953 that led to the overthrow of Mosaddegh. It's been used many times.

These are the games empires play. We shouldn't be shocked or even surprised.

A New Phase in the Syria War: The Kurds Betrayed Again and the Turkish Invasion of Rojava

I've been writing about Syria and the Kurds for many years as I was fascinated by these topics long before they became part of the nightly news cycle.

With that perspective I can honestly say that I've been more or less dismissive with regard to the present commentary on the part of the Establishment media and certainly the statements being made by the Right and the Evangelical audience.

The Kurds have been betrayed by the US on multiple occasions and while there was some protest in the wake of the Gulf War, for the most part few have cared... except now the situation is in reference to Syria and the presidency of Donald Trump.

OBOR, Atlanticism and Trumpism: Setting the Stage for Proxy Conflicts and Battlegrounds in the New Cold War (Part 2)

China's economy must continue growing. Continued Western investment is risky, all the more as it's clear the West is gearing for war. A capitalist economy must grow. Without investment and returns, stagnate capital begins to depreciate.

This is the point where Capitalism turns the imperialist corner. If there aren't any more markets, then you must find them, create them and if necessary force them open. And you must angle and strategise in order to make sure your rivals don't beat you to it.

Xi does not want to fight a war with the United States but his solution to the problem was to re-cast and expand China's already growing global economic footprint. OBOR also known as the New Silk Road gives China something to invest in and creates a multitude of new markets and opportunities.

OBOR, Atlanticism and Trumpism: Setting the Stage for Proxy Conflicts and Battlegrounds in the New Cold War (Part 1)

Announced in the fall of 2013, China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR) also known as the New Silk Road continues to garner attention as the magnitude and scope of the project is beginning to set in.

And indeed the largest coordinated infrastructure project in recorded history extends well beyond the geography of the historical Silk Road. The focus hasn't come from American mainstream media outlets as such stories are of little interest to the domestic audience. However, international news outlets like the BBC are starting to really pay attention. The stage is being set.

Pakistan: Imperial Blowback and the Shapur Effect

In 1757 the British defeated a joint Mughal-French army at the Battle of Plassey. This set them on a course to dominate the whole of the Indian Subcontinent forever changing its history.

Imperial Narratives, Urban Planning and Architecture

The movie Downfall (Der Untergang) contains many fascinating scenes but there's one in particular that recently came to mind. In the movie Hitler is pondering a magnificent scale model of the Berlin he imagined, the Berlin that he dreamed up with his architect Albert Speer. This Berlin was not just the Berlin of Bismarck and the Hohenzollerns but a new Ultra-Imperial Berlin, the "Welthauptstadt Germania" the city of not just a European power but a world empire. It was a city that would exhibit art and culture from around the world.

Addendum to the Fifth Republic

This is a follow-up discussion to the previous essay:

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-us-fifth-republic.html

In that article I posited the following scenario:

Bearing Witness in Sodom

As of late, listening to the media makes my head spin. I often find myself not agreeing with anyone or how anyone frames the debate. This is true when it comes to economics and Ukraine but especially when it comes to this escalation regarding homosexuality.

Constantine Defended and Revisited

Leithart's "Defending Constantine" instantly became popular in the realm of Christian Right academia. We live in a time that historical events such as The Crusades are being revisited, run through the filter of Dominionist Revisionism and robustly defended. It hasn't happened yet with the Inquisition, but give it some time.

Truth, Myth, and the Baptizing of Lies in the American Church

Part 3 (Final)

Even supposed America-hating liberals praise the military. Just tonight Admiral Stockdale came up in a conversation. For those who don't remember he was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. He was also a Vietnam POW who with John McCain participated in Operating Rolling Thunder. By the time Johnson ended the campaign in November 1968 somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 Vietnamese were dead. Long before its conclusion both McCain and Stockdale were rotting in the Hanoi Hilton.

Neo-Byzantinism: Russia and the New/Old Paradigm Wars

Russia’s actions have to be understood in light of history. Americans have often made the mistake of assuming that the world really and truly changed after 1945 and that the events of 1991 set the changes in stone. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Unipolar v. Multipolar Paradigms

The Cold War vis-a-vis Eurasian History

While some heralded the end of the Cold War as the victory of Democracy others were more sceptical. In some cases the end of the bipolar world order has created a time of instability and fear. Not a few movies and novels in the 1990’s reflected this.

Some in the United States believed not only had America won, America would now go on to dominate the earth and certainly America’s actions during the latter part of the Clinton era and ever since has been geared toward this end.

Geopolitical Entanglements- Syria and Russia

Watching the unfolding tragedy in Syria I've often been shocked at how blatantly the American media seems to be trying to push the American government into action. Or of course it could be posited the forces within the American government (via their mouthpieces in the media) are trying to prick the consciences of the American people.

Whatever the case may be, I'm used to seeing pretty graphic images of war being aired on networks like Al Jazeera English which doesn't believe in filtering out the bloodshed. However American mainstream media is usually pretty selective in what they'll show. Several months ago when I saw dead children on the CBS Evening News, it seemed pretty clear they're trying to fire up the public. Newspaper articles about the Maine or the Lusitania, or even news of Germans in Belgium won’t quite do it anymore.