Don’t Fear The End Times

 

Don’t fear the end times, and don’t fear the rise of evil. Because the rise of evil is a sure sign that God is at work and judging evil, and eventually this will happen for the final time, and the dragon will be slain. This is an excerpt from something I am writing, hopefully this will encourage you, and also give you a biblical reason not to the fear the end of days,

“Many nations and empires have fallen into decadence and rotted from within and then fallen to enemies from without. Evil is a spiritual cancer, and like cancer it consumes incessantly until it kills its host. This exact dynamic is seen when the world turns on Babylon.

As evil as Babylon was, we also read that it was the source of great wealth and a high standard of living for the kings of the world. The effects of its fall are devastating for all who relied on its trade and resources, and this marks the beginning of the end for the world system. Look at this cry from Revelation 18:

“1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk
    the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living” (Rev. 18:1-3).

What we will see in this chapter is how the kings of the earth hasten their own decline and destruction by their attack on the source of their power and wealth. It is obvious that they recognized the great power that Babylon affords to them but also that they resent it and want it gone. But you can’t have your cake and eat it too, as they say. It is God who puts in their hearts to destroy the harlot,

“15 And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:15-28).

One of the most consistent things we see evil do throughout history is attempt to unite humanity under one banner, with one or a few evil powers in the control. This is the impetus behind empire, this is the impetus behind business monopolies, this is the impetus behind even religious monopolies and often behind denominational battles; the desire for one power to rule them all, as in the Lord of the Rings where Sauron’s plan is to have one ring to rule all rings and secure for himself complete dominion across Middle Earth.

And in a great final irony evil will be granted this power in its final days on this earth, “17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” We also know that this power will be short, one hour (Rev. 17:12) according to John. God will give evil everything it wants, complete and total control over the world and its system, and this grant of power will hasten the destruction of evil, because to give over evil to what it wants is to give it over to its own self-destructive tendencies. Cancer has to eventually consume its host.”

For the life of me I cannot fathom how people can read the book of Revelation and find it depressing. It should fill us with incredible hope, because it shows us how the final battle goes. We are not left to wonder, we are not left to worry, we are told in no uncertain terms that the Lord beats everything evil has to throw at him. The best evil has, Jesus has it covered. And it shows us the self-destructive nature of evil, which should really encourage us when we lose out on things in this world for the sake of doing the right thing, because we are not losing when we do this, we are separating ourselves from things which could destroy us if we focused on them instead of the things of the Lord.

Don’t fear the end times, evil should fear the end. For in the end the light overcomes the darkness, and praise be to God, we will see this happen again and again in this world, and then once and for all on the final day.

Evil might be a terrifying dragon, but Jesus is a dragon slayer.

 

It Is Not Your Imagination

 

It is not your imagination, as a nation we are getting poorer and our money is quickly losing value,

“Australia is already experiencing a prolonged per capita recession.

As illustrated in the following chart, Australia’s per capita GDP has fallen for five consecutive quarters and six times in the last seven quarters:

Image: From Macrobusiness.

Next week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release the Q2 national accounts, which will show that per capita GDP fell for a sixth consecutive quarter…

…Given that Australia’s population increased by 0.65% in Q2, as implied by figures from the retail trade release, this suggests that per capita GDP declined another 0.45% over the quarter.”[1]

According to Macrobusiness household disposable income in Australia is falling at a fast rate while other OECD nations have seen increases. The retail sector has taken massive declines because of this, and the job market is deteriorating,

“Deloitte Access Economics cautioned that retail conditions won’t ease anytime soon amid reduced spending by households due to mortgage rates and cost-of-living pressures.

Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens described the retail sector as an “economic horror show” given the high cost of living, increasing insolvencies, elevated interest rates, and the deteriorating job market.”[2]

So, it is not your imagination. A family member showed me the other day what it cost them nearly $600 to get from the grocery store, and it was not fancy stuff, or what you would think $600 worth of groceries would be. We are being slowly strangled in this nation, and our government has the gall to act like wealth is increasing. There are even politicians who are suggesting that people should pay more wealth taxes, because houses, and some other assets, are worth so much more. But what use is your house being worth more to you, if you are not intending to, or cannot sell it and rebuy somewhere else?

With one of Australia’s leading exports, iron ore, having significantly dropped in value this year, it appears that the Australian economy is about to get the rude wake up call that many have been predicting for some time.

The thing about being a lucky country is that eventually your luck runs out. In this case the luck is running dry because of an increasingly arrogant nation that flaunts sexual depravity and other degradations continually, a lack of moral or courageous leadership from our governments across the board, and a terrible greed that has turned Australia’s housing market into a system for boomers to fleece all other generations so they can support lavish lifestyles right up to the time they leave this world. All of this is building towards a whirlwind of trouble for the Australian economy. Hold on to your hats.

List of References

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[1] Leith Van Olsen 2024, https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2024/08/deep-australian-recession-locked-in/

[2] Ibid.

Get Woke…You Know the Saying

 

 

Many Australians will remember how Woolworths started the year by saying it was reducing its sales of Australia Day Merchandise. Look what that has led to,

“In the 12 months up to July 1, Woolworths Group, which includes BigW, Milkrun and its New Zealand grocery arm, saw nearly $68 billion in sales, up three per cent from the previous financial year, and $108m in profits after tax, which was a 93 per cent reduction on its 2023 financial year result.

The drop came from the supermarket giant’s poor performance across the Tasman where earnings in the New Zealand arm fell 57 per cent, a $1.5b loss, while its investment in Endeavour Group, which operates Dan Murphy’s and BWS, resulted in an overall loss of about $100m.

Without these impairments on the grocery chain, the group’s profit dropped just 0.6 per cent compared to FY23 with a $1.7b profit…

…Woolies’ profit posting comes a day after Coles announced a $1.1b during FY24, up 2.1 per cent from the previous financial year.”[1]

It appears the Corporate Cancer of the SJW’s has over taken one of Australians largest supermarket chains. This will be something to watch. Because if the SJW cancer is not excised it will strangle the company. And once it becomes too advanced it cannot be excised easily. Watch this space.

List of References

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[1] James Harrison, 2024, https://www.skynews.com.au/business/finance/woolworths-group-profit-plunges-staggering-93-per-cent-after-supermarket-giant-rocked-by-controversy-over-past-year/news-story/0ea682a0cd9c7975e339652a303dd4df

Is The Western Colony in Israel Coming to an End?

 

I have been contemplating the fate of the nation of Israel recently, because the war against Hamas in Gaza is not going well. Foreign policy experts like John Mearsheimer, Douglas McGregor and others have done some excellent presentations showing how the war in Gaza is not working out for Israel. They have not been able to defeat Hamas in nearly a year, and their bombing campaign has caused outrage across the world and isolated them both in their region and beyond. I have written about these things before. But what is interesting to contemplate now is that the very future of the nation of Israel appears to be in doubt.

I just want to state here that I support wholeheartedly the existence of the nation of Israel. I believe that all nations should have the chance for self-rule and self-determination, and for a variety of reasons having a Jewish state where the Jewish people can build their own farms, grow their own crops, make their own products, and build homes for generations of their descendants is necessary thing. But it becomes complicated when you need to do this at the expense of another people, and herein lies the source of the conflict between Gazans, wider Palestinians and Israel. Palestinians and Israelites both claim sovereignty and ownership of the same land. Palestinians have as much right to a sovereign state as do the Jewish people.

But something I have been contemplating lately is how Israel got into this situation. Over the course of the last year I have written many different theological, political, and philosophical posts on the war in Gaza, looking at it from different angles, but I have consistently pointed to it as being an unjust and foolish war. At one point I even shared an article from William S. Lind, the notable military strategist, which showed that state militaries cannot win wars against fourth generation, or non-state forces, using second generation, or conventional military tactics. This is not my opinion, it is the informed opinion of military experts like Lind and others, and these guys know what they are talking about.

But a consistent interesting response I got from some people either via email, or in comments, or in person, over the last year is how upset some people were that I was not acknowledging that Israel is in a battle for its very statehood here, and therefore, it is justified in using extreme methods. I always thought this comment was strange, because when you compare the IDF to the forces in Gaza, it is the Palestinians who appeared to be facing the imminent destruction of their state. I thought people had the situation completely backwards. But some of these people were extremely emotionally triggered about their concern that Israel was in the fight of its life. Ironically, one thing that has become more and more clear over the last few months is that the way Israel has conducted this war, by treating the attack on October 7^th as a justification for this bombardment of Gaza, has to some degree weakened its position in the region.

I had been considering writing something about this self-fulfilling prophecy, but others with far more knowledge of the situation have already outlined the situation that Israel is in better than I could. For instance, Simplicius has recently addressed the issue,  

“Netanyahu, who faces growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, has repeatedly said that Israeli forces are nearing their stated goal of eliminating Hamas and destroying its military capabilities. Addressing a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, he said: “Victory is in sight.”

But forensic analyses of Hamas’ military operations since it led attacks against Israel on October 7, which draw on Israeli and Hamas military statements, footage from the ground and interviews with experts and eyewitnesses, cast doubt on his claims.

Despite having its leader assassinated and taking all the other ‘blows’ Israel has claimed to have dealt, Hamas, CNN writes, continues to make a comeback:

And yet, the research, which covers Hamas’ activities up until July, shows that the group appears to have made effective use of dwindling resources on the ground. Several units have made a comeback in key areas cleared by the Israeli military after pitched battles and intensive bombardment, according to the new analyses, salvaging the remnants of their battalions in a desperate bid to replenish their ranks.”[1]

Despite facing superior numbers with superior firepower, the Palestinian forces in Gaza are increasingly replenishing themselves, and succeeding in refilling and re-equipping battalions for further action. Israel is not diminishing the enemy in any significant numbers. This is the exact opposite of what Russia has been achieving in the European front of this growing clown world war.

“One year of “the world’s most advanced military force”, and they can only degrade 3 enemy battalions? Meanwhile, Russia destroys that many Ukrainian battalions on some days.

They do go on to clarify that 8 of the 24 battalions are considered fully “combat effective”, while the remaining 13 have been somewhat degraded but continue to function in a more sporadic, guerilla style. But they admit that Hamas is actively working on reconstituting all of the degraded battalions.

While Israel naturally dismissed these findings, US military figures continue to poke back:

“If the Hamas battalions were largely destroyed, Israeli forces wouldn’t still be fighting,” said retired US Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who helped oversee the deployment of an additional 30,000 US troops to Iraq in 2007 – a counterinsurgency strategy known as “the surge.”

“The fact that they’re still in Gaza, still trying to rout out elements of the Hamas battalions shows me that Prime Minister Netanyahu is wrong,” he added. “The ability of Hamas to reconstitute its fighting forces is undiminished.”[2]

This ongoing situation vindicates the position of Lind, whom I quoted above. Lind argued that in fourth generation conflicts the power for non-state forces to continue fighting comes down to their being perceived as the plucky David facing off an unjust Goliath, which motivates new soldiers to join their ranks. This creates a situation where the more a state force uses conventional methods to fight a non-state force the more the non-state force recruits new fighters, creating a quagmire for the state forces involved. This appears to be exactly what is happening in Gaza.

“Expert Robert Pape tells CNN that Israel’s actions are only making Hamas stronger:

“Israel is generating exactly the kind of additional political anger, the additional grief, the additional emotion that will lead additional people to become fighters,” said Pape.

“The actual strategic power of Hamas is growing,” he said. “The power of Hamas is in its power to recruit.”[3]

I know my blog does not have much effect on world affairs, I get that. But for those of you who simply brushed aside Lind’s analysis and prediction, you should now be able to recognize that the man knew what he was talking about. And he was not the only one. By going after a terrorist attack with planes, tanks and assault rifles instead of advanced policing and cultural and social tactics, you end up losing the moral high-ground in the eyes of many. This is happening with Israel right now. The United States did this in War on Terror.[4] It sowed more terror around the world than any other actor, I have addressed this previously as well. And this caused much of the world to lose faith in the moral uprightness of the United States as the leader of the world. It had lost the Mandate of Heaven, as the Chinese would say. The difference between the U.S. and Israel is that America is far more powerful and resilient, at least at the moment. 

Of course, people in Israel can see how badly this war is going, and are leaving, as Simplicius also notes,

“Hundreds of thousands of essential Israeli farmers and citizens from the north have fled, many of them stating openly they will never return. Israel’s economy is in freefall, with its only port on the Red Sea, Eilat, having been in complete shut down for months with the port operator announcing the lay off of most of the workers.”[5]

Israel is a nation that relies heavily on international support, particularly from the United States, tourism, religious pilgrimages, immigration into its new colonies, and military supplies from nations with larger productive capabilities. It is losing much of this because of the way the war is going.  

There are those within Israel who are recognizing the bad position this war has put Israel in, as this opinion piece from the Israeli Newspaper Haaretz notes,

“I assume that Defense Minister Gallant already understands that the war has lost its purpose. Israel is sinking deeper into the Gazan mud, losing more and more soldiers as they get killed or wounded, without any chance of achieving the war's main goal: bringing down Hamas.

The country really is galloping towards the edge of an abyss. If the war of attrition against Hamas and Hezbollah continues, Israel will collapse within no more than a year.”[6]

I have no idea if this man’s prediction will be correct, as I am not an expert on the situation of Israel. However, it is clear that things are not going well. These are not the only sources that are tolling this bell as well, John Mearsheimer has been consistently outlining how bad the war in Gaza is going, and so have many others.

I know some of my readers are those who are of the persuasion that Israel is the land of the people of God, and they likely also believe that he will step in and miraculously crush Israel’s enemies. But even if you were to do the biblically impossible and mount a successful case that the modern state of Israel was in the lineage of the Israel of David, the Israel of David was not guaranteed success across its history anyway. Success was contingent on faithfulness. This was true for Abraham, and true for his descendants. Notice the conditional way in which the people of God experience blessing according to the Bible, “4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Gen. 26:4-5). Isaac was blessed because of his father’s obedience, and it was obedience which would carry this blessing down the family line. It is not automatic.

My contention for some time has been that Israel is simply a colony of the West in the Middle East. Now that this western globalism is failing, it should not surprise us that we see aspects of this unravelling. Israel’s existence in the Middle East depends upon either friendship with its surrounding nations, or complete military dominance. With both of those things fading, this now makes the situation a lot more difficult. The United States might pledge full support and aid to Israel, but it is not the force it once was, either in the Middle East or elsewhere. So, that support does not guarantee success.

Theologically I do believe that God has some future plan for salvation for ethnic Israelites, but I do not believe that the true Israel is anything other than the Church of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I have made the biblical case for this in other pieces on my blog. But putting my theological beliefs on that issue aside, we should draw our attention to another biblical issue of note, Just War.

The Bible shows again and again that God judges nations who engage in wickedness. The West collectively has done much evil in the Middle East, rather than increasing this or supporting more of it, we should be calling for repentance from our nations and our leaders for the evil already done. Foolishness is seen in its fruit, after all. Look at the fruit of these wars. Western nations across the world are in decline, and so are their satellites. It is time to withdraw from supporting these wars.

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[1] https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/israels-path-of-peril

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] One of the most mocked terms in the history of the world.

[5] Ibid, Simplicius.

[6] https://archive.md/r8nP9#selection-1133.0-1149.173

Beware A Former Opponent.

 

There has been a lot of talk going around about RFK Junior joining Donald Trump in his campaign. Though many of us have zero confidence in the reality of this election campaign, and know that it will not be a fully above board and honest election, still there is something exciting about two anti-establishment figures joining forces to create change.

Both of these candidates are seriously flawed, both support abortion in some measure, though Trump did manage to get Roe vs Wade overturned with his supreme court picks. Both are well below reasonable on the Israel issue, because they are both committed to tying the United States and its destiny to its pseudo-Colony in the Middle East. Both of them have other flaws as well. But still Trump did bring some change in his previous term, they are both committed to avoiding World War 3 getting any worse, and the announcement that Trump gave Kennedy power to address some of the serious health issues caused by food and health standards corruption in the United States is a very good thing. There is certainly more good to look forward to in a joint Trump-Kennedy team than there is anywhere else.

However, if I were close to anyone who knew Trump, I’d counsel him, “Beware of trusting in a former opponent.” One of the things that plagued Trump’s first presidency was his consistent habit of trusting the wrong people to hold powerful roles in his administration. I can’t help but be a little sceptical of a long term Democrat, someone who was basically born to the blue, being willing to support not only a Republican, but one of the most controversial Republicans ever. It is exciting to think about how they could work together, and this excitement has me thinking, “Is this too good to be true?” Kennedy would have been a good pick for Trump’s vice-president spot, much better than the man he has chosen, but that such an opponent would join the opposing side in amyway sounds a little too good to be true. Does it not? 

Whenever this happens we should be wary. As this advice from The Tale of Melibeus warns us,  

“Solomon says that the words of a flatterer are a snare wherewith to catch innocents. He says also, that he who speaks sweet words to his friend, sets before his feet a net to catch him. And therefore says Tullius Cicero:

'Incline not thine ears to flatterers, nor take counsel of flattering words.' And Cato says: 'Be well advised, and avoid sweet and pleasant words.' And you must also eschew the counsels of such of your former enemies as have become reconciled to you. The Book says that no one can safely trust to the goodwill of a former enemy. And Aesop says: 'Trust not to those with whom you have been sometime at war or in enmity, neither tell them of your intentions.' And Seneca tells us the reason for this. 'It may not be,' says he, 'that, where fire has long existed there shall remain no vapour of heat.' And thereto says Solomon: 'The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.' For, certainly, though your enemy may be reconciled, and appear before you in all humility, and bow his head to you, you should never trust him. Surely he feigns this humility more for his advantage than for any love of you; for he thinks to gain some victory over you by such feigning, the which he could not gain by strife of open war. And Petrus Alfonsus says: 'Have no fellowship with ancient foes; for if you do good to them, they will pervert it into evil.' And, too, you must eschew the advice of those who are your own servants and bear themselves toward you with all reverence; for perchance they speak more out of fear than for love.”[1]

Be wary of they who have recently changed sides. This is good advice. 

Maybe I am being too sceptical? 

Someone might say that this is how American presidential races work, candidates sound each other out as they move along and then fall into alliances to work together for power. But if you have read my blog for any period of time you will know about my longstanding scepticism of alliances as well.

In his last term as President it is safe to say that having the wrong people in many positions in the administration probably caused as many or more issues for Trump that the lying harlot media constantly telling stories about him did. But I am willing to be shown wrong on this.

It is possible for an opponent to become a true friend. This can and does happen. But I would still say that the advice given in this Canterbury Tale is good advice. Beware those who suddenly sound too good to be true, wherever they turn up in your life, and especially if they had once long opposed you.

 

List of References

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[1] Chaucer, Geoffrey .. The Canterbury Tales: FREE Hamlet By William Shakespeare (JKL Classics - Active TOC, Active Footnotes ,Illustrated) (p. 177). JKL Classics. Kindle Edition.

Fifty Shades of Grey and Ephesians 5

 

Ephesians 5 is one of the most maligned passages in the whole Bible today because it tells wives that they should submit to their husbands. A lot of people would like to ignore what it says, and many others try to mitigate what it says or change it. But it is actually a vital passage for understanding the relationship between a husband and wife and how it is supposed to work.

If you want to have a healthy marriage you cannot get away from the need to look at this passage for several reasons: 

- This is the most significant passage explaining what marriage is in the whole Bible. 

- The rejection of this passage has actually led to many of the problems that both society and individuals experience in their marriages today. 

- The abuse of this passage in the Church is manifest all over the place, usually by bad men, and this should be addressed. 

- But also, I don’t think this passage is as radical to accept as people think. In fact, I am going to argue that it actually understands men and women very well, and those who adhere to it will be ahead of the curve. 

Wives - Let’s start by looking at what Paul says to wives,

“22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

Wow, you could almost say considering what our culture is like today that this passage is anti-Australian “Wives, submit to your husbands”? Woh!! But is this actually as un-Australian as it sounds? Let’s look at what it does not say:

-        It does not say, husbands make your wives submit.

-        It does not say, husbands force your wives to submit.

-        It does not say put your wives in a Burqa until she submits.

It says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands.” Paul is saying that wives should choose to bring themselves into the frame, the leadership of their husbands. Now, I know our culture struggles with this idea, but does it really?

I don’t think it always does, if you frame the issue of submission right. Let me ask this question: what is the largest selling Romance novel of all time? Fifty Shades of Grey, the first book itself sold over 100 Million copies. Together the series has sold over 150 million books. In the age of screens, no less. To put that in perspective, the beloved and very famous romance novel Pride and Prejudice has sold about 20 million copies.

This means Fifty Shades of Grey is a phenomenon. A story cannot resonate with so many people, and not reflect reality in some way. Putting aside the sex - which plenty of other books have anyway and so it can't stand out because of that - why did this story resonate with so many people? Especially women?

Well, what is this story about? It is about a woman finding a man whom she wants to submit to. And it is the biggest selling romance book ever. Breaking all kinds of records. It is about a woman finding a powerful man she wants to submit to, and over time he becomes the kind of man that will love her. That’s the story.

Now, I have not read the book or seen the movie, it is not my thing. But I have spoken with plenty of those who have and they have confirmed that my summation is right. And you know what, this is what the book had to be about, because for a book to sell so well, and be loved by so many, it has to be based on real human dynamics. It had to in some way reflect the kind of men women want, and it had to show such a man coming around to be the loving man that women want their man to be.

This shows us that Paul wasn’t wrong, he was not out of date, he was ahead of his time and ahead of the curve. Fifty Shades of Grey was a phenomenon because it understood women. It understood that a woman wants her man to be powerful, and for him to use that for her good.

And it is not just this book that does this. The stereotypical Romance novel is a picture of a woman being carried onto a boat by a pirate, or held by a fireman, or by some other strong man whom she has submitted to. On these covers the man exudes strength and the woman falls into his arms. This is a picture of strength and willing submission. This stuff sells, because it speaks to a biblical truth built into humanity, even if the stories are often immoral themselves. Women want to find a man whom they can respect and fall into the arms of. It is also why so many classic movies are classic movies, because they understand this dynamic. So, I don’t think Ephesians 5 is that radical at all, and it shows that Paul knew what he is talking about. Which of course he should because he was inspired by the Spirit of the Lord God who created us to write this passage.  

One of the sources of marriage conflict is this dynamic, a woman will constantly, especially in the early stages of a marriage, test her husband’s ability to lead her by challenging him (shit testing). This is her way of testing if he is that man she wants to come under the leadership of, or if he is still that man. This can go one of a few ways:

-        The man passes these tests and they die down over time, and the couple live in relative harmony.

-        The man seeks to be domineering to his wife to stop her, this can lead to being abusive.  

-        The man fails these tests because he just finds it easier to defer to his wife, she comes to dominate him and they both are less happy, even miserable. This is the most common response.

-        She finds another man who she wants to submit to.

One of the biggest mistakes men make is thinking that they are loving their wife by giving in to her, they are not, they are showing weakness, which diminishes her respect over time.

I think, therefore, that part of what Paul is saying to wives is this: reign in this natural tendency to want to challenge your husband. Love him by respecting him, just like the Church does with Jesus. How does the Church submit to Jesus? Willingly, by choice, it is not forced to do so.

This is vital to understand: forced submission is not Christianity, there is another religion that calls for that, but it is not Christianity. Christianity is a religion where Jesus’ bride chooses to be with him, chooses to obey, chooses to submit to him, and which he fills us with his spirit to help us in this process. Force completely undermines this and completely undermines our faith. Just like Christ wants people who want to follow him, wives need to reign in their desire to challenge, contradict, or override their husbands to test his authority. How the wife does this shows how much she respects her husband and shows an image of how the church follows Jesus.

Husbands – Let’s look at what Paul says to husbands now. I think that if you can make a case that women struggle the most with respecting their husband's leadership, men struggle the most with the temptation to take advantage of their wives by not loving them properly. What is incredible is that this behaviour is easily observed all over the place, but also that Paul decided to address it nearly two thousand years ago in a book many people consider irrelevant,

“25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

One thing that we men are prone to do is to forget the importance of loving our wives. Not just in words, not just having told them we love them, not just by demonstrating it when we married them, but on a day-to-day basis reaffirming and reassuring that love. Just like men long for respect, women want to see visible signs that we love and cherish them.

This is why Paul tells the men here to love their loves. You might expect him to say we should love each other, and we should. But he is being very deliberate here to strike at the heart of the difference between men and women.

Women show their love for their husbands by deferring to them when necessary. Men show their love to their wives by cherishing them, “28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,…”

We saw before how women are largely drawn to stories about a woman finding a man she can submit to or fall into the arms of. What kinds of stories do men love? Actions movies, often ones where the good guy beats the bad guys and gets the girl. Think Die Hard, think The Patriot, think every good Bond movie (not you Daniel Craig…), think classic old school action movies.

Men like moves where the guy either beats the bad guy to win the girl, to rescue the girl, or they were motivated to destroy the bad guy because he hurt the girl, or killed the girl, or because he wants to make the world safer for his girl. These are the simple stories that most men love, and we will watch a thousand different versions of that, and when Hollywood forgets that formula, we generally stop watching. Because it is hardwired into the man to risk himself for the girl.

This is exactly what Paul says Jesus did for his bride, the church,

“25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

What has Jesus done for his bride? He has given himself on her behalf. He sacrificed himself to save her. In Jesus’ case he has rescued his bride from her sin, cleaned her so she can stand right before God, so that he can present her blameless on that final day before the Lord. This is why the story of the man rescuing the woman is so popular amongst us all, because it is baked into creation, it is baked into God’s design for the role the man plays for the woman.

The average man is not likely to need to rescue his wife from thieves pretending to be terrorists in Nakotomi tower when he goes to visit her at her Christmas party. But there are many other ways that a man is to act like a shield for his wife in this world. To protect her from her own sins, from his own bad decisions, and from many of the pressures of this world. 

Peter the Apostle reminds us that women are the weaker vessel, which means we men can hurt our wives if we ask too much of them. Which sadly many modern men do. How many men want their wives to work all day, and then all night after they have come home from work?

Some men have seen this dynamic in this passage in Ephesians and twisted it to use as an excuse to abuse their wives, but for the life of me I cannot see anywhere in this passage where that is encouraged, allowed or supported. As Paul says, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.”

We can see that Paul was not only not out of date, he absolutely knew what he was talking about, and because of this his advice in this passage is genuinely timeless. If you can get this dynamic right in your marriage it will make a massive difference.

 

Gathering as Intended > Professional Therapy

 

I have been critiquing the profession of psychology a lot recently on my blog, and those criticisms are necessary, because this profession has a real stranglehold on many things in our society that it should not. A class of professional pseudo-human mind experts has inserted itself into society, it is ubiquitous in the culture, and even a large segment of the Church defers to it. You do not need a professional therapist to walk you through life so you can be mentally well, or content. You do not need psychiatric medication for a whole host of things that psychiatrists prescribe such medicines for. Yet still many people rely on these things in our society, and this is in large part because the Church has failed to be the Church as intended. 

“Failure of the church to support biblical counseling and to encourage all Christians to be involved turns counselors with the required degrees in psychology into humanistically trained “professionals.” The counselor has to make a living, and the counselee becomes one of many clients in a busy day who come in and out on a strict schedule. But the healing of broken lives is not likely to be accomplished by an hour of counseling once or even several times a week in a professional-to-client relationship. It is far more likely to take place in the context of the caring and loving family of God, the body of Christ, the local church, concerned for the welfare of each member.

There ought to be older couples, mature in the Lord and leading exemplary, Spirit-filled lives of leadership, who give the time and expend the effort to take under their wing younger couples who may be having marital, financial, or other personal problems. Many youth are floundering under the ungodly peer pressures and temptations of today’s world, and yes, under the entertainment-centered programs of the average youth group. The young need loving counsel from respected believers who are setting a godly example. The church must return to God’s Word as the only and sufficient guide for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3–4)—and everyone must be involved in bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).

The restoration of true Christianity is an individual matter. Revival begins with each of us. We dare not wait for someone else to say or do what is needed, but each of us, before the Lord, must step out in the leading and power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that ministry to which God has called us. God’s Word enjoins us: “Warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men” (1Thessalonians 5:14).

It is very clear from God’s Word that the local church was intended to be the place where counsel was given by loving brothers and sisters to those needing help. The following scriptures are a few of the many that make this fact abundantly clear: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4); “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2), etc. Many more scriptures carry the same exhortation.”[1]

It may be absolutely true that psychology is an artificial profession which puts itself in a position that it should not be. In fact, this is absolutely true. But this has only happened because the Church stopped being a place of true discipleship and largely became a social club that serves to pump people up on a week to week basis with a motivational talk. The Church allowed this situation to happen by abdicating its role, and now pastors are happy to recommend to people with spiritual issues that they should seek psychological experts to grant them healing. This ought not be.

Yet it is the situation as it is.

Many things have contributed to this happening in society, but probably none more than the low view of church that most modern westerners, and even Christians today have. Catholics would say this was a result of the Protestant Reformation, Protestants would say this is a result of the enlightenment and secularism. But all branches of Christianity are facing the same issue today: many people just have a low view of the gathering. Many of those same people would simply say this was the Church’s fault, and in large measure, how can you argue with that? You can’t.

What should be simply asserted is to remind people that the Church is not an institution, it is not a building, it is not an organization. The Church is the collected body of believers in Jesus Christ, and if we have issues with where the Church is today, then we can help turn the ship around by seeking to fulfill our role as believers wherever we are. The one another passages in the Bible show how important it is for us all to rely on each other, and to help counsel and walk with each other through this life. You do not need professional counsellors, but you do need people to help carry your burdens from time to time. Wherever we are as believers we can do that, at the very least.

 List of References 

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[1] Hunt, Dave; McMahon, T. A.. Psychology and the Church: Critical Questions, Crucial Answers (pp. 181-182). The Berean Call. Kindle Edition.

Equality Cannot Preserve Human Value

 

Equality cannot preserve human value. It's not possible, and it is why egalitarian cultures are so violent towards the unborn.

Why is this? Well two things can be of equal value and still be of zero or little value. Two pennies are of precisely equal value. So are two one hundred dollars note of equal value to each other. Equality is not a measure of intrinsic value, its a measure of comparative value.

Therefore, a society can say all people are of equal value and still be of no value. Like communism. In such a system all people are equally valueless. I believe Thomas Hobbe's made a similar case in one of his great works, we are all equally valueless, and therefore a tyrant needs to rule. These bleak views of humanity may include Equality, but how does that help anyone? 

No, value cannot be measured in a unit of comparison, because what happens if society has a low view of humanity, like our modern society that says humans are killing the environment and are the problem to be solved? Our society promotes a low value of humanity every day in a thousand ways. What use is there in saying people are of equal value if you think of them more like pennies than precious jewels?

Value must be found in something that cannot be devalued. Hence the Church was foolish to tie Equality to the idea human value, because this comes from an extra-biblical source and has the effect of devaluing humanity. Value must be found in something that cannot be debased; this is why we need to base it solely in the concept of the image of God.

Humans are each created in God' image and are therefore of great value intrinsically, no matter their size, age, mental capacity, or abilities. We are of immeasurable value. A society that values humans as such would not lay a hand on an infant to do it violence, in the womb or not.

Don't Be Quick To War: The Tale of Melibeus

 

War is upon us. And more war is coming. So we need to take a moment to consider why we should not be quick to go to war. 

We live in an interesting time, because we live in a time where so many people have an inherent sense of superiority, particularly regarding people of the past, and yet we are actually intellectually inferior in a host of ways. One way to demonstrate this is simply to read a book written by some of the intellectual greats of the past, prior to at least 1911, and observe how much more a command of language, philosophy and the understanding of the human mind many of them had. I think there are many reasons for this. One of which is that in today's day and age so many topics are considered verboten that people’s intellectual progress has been stilted and directed away from discussing these things. Another is that systematized education creates a certain a type of thinker who is trained to think within a particular range, and this has the danger of suppressing individual thought. But I think there are probably other significant reasons for this, which we will not go into in this piece.

One of these areas where moderns ardently consider themselves so superior is with regards to war. It is not uncommon to hear westerners talk about previous generations as the times of warmongers and petty chieftains, and our day as an enlightened age that has learned so much from the downsides of war that we are much more peaceable. But nothing could be further from the truth, just give people the right justification, the right inspiration and a dose of the right kind of propaganda and they will be hankering for war against almost anyone. It is a disturbing trend to see, and one many people would seek to say they are not prone to, but it is very real. People are easily provoked into supporting, signing up for and barracking for malicious ill conceived wars, and this is a problem. 

This is one of many reasons why I was so encouraged when I read The Tale of Melibeus recently in The Canterbury Tales. The Canterbury Tales is a famous work of literature in the English language, dating back to the medieval era, that contains a bunch of stories and poems told by a varied group of people written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Tale of Melibeus is a powerful story about a man who is thinking about how he should respond to a violent attack made on his family. 

The tale begins by showing us how Melibeus’ family was attacked while he was not at home, and at leisure,

“A young man named Melibeus, mighty and rich, begot on Prudence, his wife, a daughter who was called Sophie.

It happened one day that, for his amusement he went into the fields to play. His wife and daughter remained at home, the doors of his house being all fast shut and locked. But three of his old enemies, having spied out the state of things, set ladders to the wall of the house and entered therein by a window; and they beat the wife and wounded the daughter with five dangerous wounds in five different places; that is to say, in her feet, in her hands, in her ears, in her nose, and in her mouth; and they left her for dead and went away.

When Melibeus returned to his house and saw all this mischief, he, like a madman, rending his clothes, began to weep and cry.”[1]

Melibeus is rightly angered by this attack and begins to plot how he can respond. His wife Prudence, who counsels him with biblical advice through the tale, encourages him to bring over his friends to seek their counsel,

"Call, then," said Prudence, "all of your true friends and those of your kindred who are wise; tell them your trouble and hearken to what they say in council; and then govern yourself according to their advice. Says Solomon: 'Do nothing without advice, and thou shalt never repent.'"[2]

Once he has gathered his friends, he asks their advice and he finds that some counsel him to act wisely and be patient to consider his response, but others encourage him to declare war and to act with violence against his enemies,

“His neighbours, full of envy, his false friends who feigned to be reconciled to him, and his flatterers, made a semblance of weeping; and they greatly aggravated the matter by praising Melibeus, speaking of his might, his power, his wealth, and his friends, and disparaging the strength of his enemies; and they said outright, that very swiftly he should begin the war and wreak vengeance upon his foes.

Then arose an advocate, a wise man, by leave and advice of others who were wise, and said: "Masters, the matter for which we are assembled here is a heavy thing, and a high, what with the wrong and wickedness that have been done, and by reason of the great evil that may follow hereafter from this same cause; and, too, by reason of the great wealth and power of both parties. For all of these reasons it were dangerous indeed to err in this matter. Wherefore, Melibeus, this is our judgment: we counsel you above all things, that, without delay, you take steps to guard your own person in such wise that you shall lack neither spy nor watchman.

And we counsel, that in your house you establish a sufficient garrison, so that the house may be as well defended as you yourself. But, to say truth, as to initiating warfare in order to obtain a sudden revenge, we can give no opinion, in so short a time, on whether such a move will be profitable. Therefore we ask for leisure and time wherein to deliberate upon the matter more fully.”[3]

The wise men want more time to consider how they will advise Melibeus. But the foolish men counsel, “Vengeance, war, fight, fight!” What is significant is that the tale makes sure to note that many of those who are advocating that he go to war immediately do not have his best interest in heart, but actually want to see him act rashly, so they can gain an advantage over them. They are not true friends those who counsel unwisely. However, because of his emotional state it is the cries for vengeance that win him over, as he is emotional and hankering for revenge.

His wife is standing by watching all of this, and when the time is right she seeks to privately give her husband her counsel,

“When Melibeus heard that the greater part of his councillors were agreed on war, straightway he showed himself in accord with them and confirmed their judgment. Then Dame Prudence, seeing that her husband shaped his course for war and revenge, humbly and after biding her time, said to him: "My lord, I beseech you as earnestly as I dare and can, that you go not too hastily in this matter; and for your own good give me a hearing. For Petrus Alfonsus says: 'And if one man do to another any good or any evil, let there be no haste to repay it in kind; for then will the friend remain friendly, while the enemy shall but the longer fear.' The proverb has it: 'He hastens well who wisely can delay.' And in foolish haste there is no profit."[4]

At first Melibeus rebukes his wife, and actually insults her saying that he should not listen to her, because some of the scriptures appear to say that women are evil, and he may be seen as a man who does not keep his word, and who also submits to his wife, and does not lead. But through biblical wisdom she proves to him from scripture that a wife is given to a man for his own good, to be his helper, and it is right for a man to seek the advice of the one who is closest to him in this life. So if he changes his mind based on good advice this is to his benefit. “For understand now, you ask counsel to do wickedness; and if your will is to work wickedness, and your wife restrains such an ill purpose and overcomes you by reason and good counsel given, then, certainly, your wife ought rather to be praised than blamed.”[5] So he deigns to listen to her advice, and she starts to take him through a biblical theology of war and shows her name Prudence is well given. 

She begins by encouraging him to be free of anger, "First, he that takes counsel within himself, certainly he must be free from anger, and this for many reasons.”[6] Then that he should drive covetousness out of his heart, and also hastiness. He needs to make sure he is cold, rational and deliberate in considering his response. This is fantastic advice. How many wars have happened because a nation has been attacked and then it responds straight away leading to a war that drags on and makes the situation worse than it was at the start? This could summarize many modern wars. People are quick to be overtaken by war propaganda and wicked warmongers will often take advantage of this.

Once he has deliberated he should keep his counsel close to himself for a time, so as not to be taken advantage of. Then he should call a counsel of his true friends, not just sycophants, so that he can hear what he needs to hear, not just what he would like to hear. After this he needs to evaluate whether or not even his true friends are wise, and he should defer to those with some experience and age, as they are more likely to be tempered. She especially advises him to ignore the fools and the flatterers, “'Incline not thine ears to flatterers, nor take counsel of flattering words.' And Cato says: 'Be well advised, and avoid sweet and pleasant words.' And you must also eschew the counsels of such of your former enemies as have become reconciled to you.”[7] Listen to that advice people, be wary of recent enemies who claim to be now on your side. 

She then encourages him to consider whether he has the power to achieve his ends of vengeance and what are the root causes of the conflict, and whether or not he did something to provoke it, and therefore, should he do something to make that right? This is to cause him to think about the wisdom of going to war. Maybe he cannot win, maybe they have more friends and family to back up their cause than he does, maybe they have more resources? He may be rich, but they may have much larger families, and he may win one battle and find himself fighting many more. Maybe he should be seeking to right a wrong that he has actually done which provoked this war?

“Nor should anyone take upon himself a burden so heavy that he cannot bear it. For says the proverb: He that too much embraces, confines but little. And Cato says: 'Attempt only what thou hast power to do, lest the great task so oppress thee that it shall behoove thee to forgo that which thou hast begun.' And if it be that you are in doubt whether you can perform a thing, choose rather to suffer than to begin. For Petrus Alfonsus says: 'If you have power to do any thing which you must later regret, it is better to say nay than yea.' That is to say, it is better to keep silence than to speak.”[8]

And once he has considered all of this, it is time to ponder how he could change his response? Maybe temperance is the better approach? Maybe reconciliation? Maybe some other response? Either way, make sure that you have gotten the advice of a host of wise men who can examine your purpose. 

Just as we have seen here she continues to counsel him about the wisdom of rashly going to war, and over the course of the discussion helps him to think rationally about what he is planning to do, rather than just acting on emotion. There is much more to the tale as well, and the whole conversation between Melibeus and Prudence is excellent. I highly recommend reading the whole thing, you could find a free or cheap copy of this book in a host of places online, as it is an ancient text. And it shows just how lacking in wisdom so many of our modern political leaders are. 

I could not help but think while reading this tale how easy modern populations are to provoke either to engage in a war, or to support a war. I know about false flags and green flags and all that, put those aside for the moment. If a population were raised on a strong diet of the kind of biblical counsel that Prudence gave her husband in this tale you would find that people would be far harder to manipulate. The kind of wisdom in this short story is incredible, but it all comes either from the Bible, the apocrypha, or classical authors and is there for anyone to find and to consume. But all of these sources of wisdom are so highly denigrated by our modern society, and often inside the church as well. This puts us in a position of intellectual poverty compared to many people in the past who lived on a steady diet of such sources. I think a tale like this, and especially the wisdom behind it should be mandatory teaching for all teenagers at some point in their high school education. It would give them the wisdom to see through so many lies in our society, but also temperance about how to respond to attacks and offenses of many kinds. We should not fear conflict when it is necessary, and national leaders should have the courage to defend their countries and people, but to act rashly is to act foolishly. 

Read The Tale of Melibeus, mediate on its wisdom. Especially if you have found yourself justifying a particular war recently based off of news reports designed to make you emotional. I have seen a lot of this in the last couple of years, and our new media, whether left or right, knows how to play most people like a fiddle. It is rather sad to see so many otherwise serious and good thinkers being manipulated so easily into throwing their support behind our nation funding a war here, or there, or somewhere else, because of news reports that are designed to provoke them. Whenever you are finding yourself provoked, that is when you need to stop, wrestle yourself with cold reason and sit down and evaluate either how you are being manipulated, or how you are being foolish. Praise God for Prudence, and Chaucer who placed that wisdom in her mouth for us all to read.

List of References

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[1] Chaucer, Geoffrey .. The Canterbury Tales: FREE Hamlet By William Shakespeare (JKL Classics - Active TOC, Active Footnotes ,Illustrated) (p. 166). JKL Classics. Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid, p. 168.

[3] Ibid, pp. 168-169.

[4] Ibid, pp.170-171.

[5] Ibid, p. 173.

[6] Ibid, p. 174

[7] Ibid, p. 177.

[8] Ibid, p. 178.