“If the American people knew what this government is planning, they woul...

The Pentagon's Missing Trillions: What You Need to Know

The Midterm Elections: Why the American People No Longer Have a Voice

A Symptom of American Implosion:

Our Broken and Rigged Voting System

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

For a website view, click here :-)

Now that the mid-term elections have come and gone, we the people – the voting electorate – have been reminded once again of two inescapable facts about America's voting system. These two facts have existed for longer than I have been alive, and I can assure you all that 63 years is plenty long enough. The first fact I'd like to state is that nearly half the country simply never makes it to the polls. In spite of the fact that there was record voter turnout for a mid-term election this time around – and that's always a good thing – still in all, only 61% of eligible voters cast ballots. Thirty-nine percent of eligible voters either didn't bother, or couldn't.

First, let me give an honorable mention to those who couldn't vote because they had to work. The vast majority of these individuals would have voted if they could, but their employment kept them from doing so. That's the nicest way I can think of to put that at the moment, but let's be realistic. The reason these workers can't take time off to go and vote is because they'd lose their jobs, or, because they make so little money as it is that losing as little as one hour's pay is more than they can bear. That, my dear readers, is an economic barrier to voting imposed on the masses by the wealthy business owners, most of whom tend to vote conservative. Working class folks, by and large, are independent or 'blue' voters who vote for 'blue' or progressive candidates. What better way for the wealthy to keep their congressional reps in Washington than to keep their employees from voting for the opposition?

On the other hand, we have those voters, the rest of the 39%, who simply don't bother. They think their vote doesn't matter, that it won't make any difference as far as fixing a broken government is concerned. So they either stay at home and play games on their computers or gaming consoles, hang out with friends and family, and a few just sit home and party all night long. I guess they must think their stupid games and their equally stupid buddies are more important than the broken world that everyone should be devoting all our time to fixing. I guess they must think it feels better to get drunk and stoned than it does to be a part of the solution, to be a part of humanity that's on the rise instead of settling for being victims of their circumstances. America is a country that's in serious trouble from a number of standpoints, and people who won't help fix America's problems make themselves little more than dead weight to the rest of us who really care. People who don't care leave holes in time.

The second fact of life that America must reconcile herself with is our election system is being gamed by the candidates on both sides, and there are many candidates who cheat and get away with it. This is nothing new – stories like this have circulated for as long as I've been alive. It is now an established fact, for example, that Bernie Sanders got cheated out of the Democratic nomination back in 2016. The local elections can be even worse. Here in Atlanta where I live, we had a case back in 2004 where a man who got elected sheriff of DeKalb county, Georgia was assassinated by a hit man hired by the opposing candidate. The loser of that election got life without parole. And just days ago, again here in Georgia, Democrat Stacy Abrams lost the governor's race to Brian Kemp, Georgia's Republican Secretary of State who waited until after the election to resign his post. That's because the Secretary of State is responsible for Georgia's elections. So Brian Kemp used his position as Georgia Secretary of State to ensure his election to the governor's mansion. Nicely done, Governor Kemp, way to shoe-horn your way into the top job in the state! Bravo (not).

To call this disheartening simply doesn't do it justice. Brian Kemp's former opponent, Stacy Abrams, has called off her campaign, but understandably refuses to concede. Accusing the governor-elect of cheating his way into office, Abrams has vowed to file a federal lawsuit charging “gross mismanagement of the entire election”. The apostle Paul wrote about circumstances similar to this during his own time. “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God?....” (1^st Corinthians 6: 7-9) In this instance, Paul wrote about lawsuits among believers, but the same logic still applies. Why not rather be the loser than to cheat and win? Why not rather be defeated in the eyes of men and women while being victorious in the presence of the Lord?

But cheating during the elections is exactly what's been going on in America for at least the last six decades or more, and the Georgia governor's race is only the latest example. If our elections are broken, the people no longer have a voice. That's the ugly truth facing Americans today. The voice of the people is being silenced, and I offer the following excerpt from Yahoo Money News, Saturday November 17th, 2018 as proof: “Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) appeared to endorse voter suppression during a campaign stop this month, saying efforts to undermine voting among liberals at certain colleges would be a “great idea.” “And then they remind me that there’s a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who maybe we don’t want to vote,” Hyde-Smith can be heard telling a small crowd of young people outside her campaign bus in a video taken Nov. 3 and posted on online Thursday. “Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think that’s a great idea.” Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to the Senate in April following the retirement of Thad Cochran, faces Democrat Mike Espy in a Nov. 27 runoff election. The Trump-backed Republican also came under fire last weekend for apparent racist remarks, joking with a crowd about attending a public hanging.....”

If recently-elected, or appointed, public officials are saying things like this, it makes me wonder what those who are well-established might be saying among themselves. With talk like I just documented above, there's no telling what's being said, but you can be sure it's contemptuous of working people. That's us. Because of this, the American people have a big problem on their hands. They are no longer in control of their country. The government has been in the hands of the Shadow Government, a.k.a. the Deep State, ever since the assassination of president Kennedy back in 1963. I was 8 years old when Kennedy was killed, and I still remember his assassination quite clearly even to this day. It was as traumatic back then as 9/11 was when it occurred. And the country hasn't been the same since.

We have got to figure out a way to take our country back from these Deep State operators. The prophet Zechariah mentioned this in his prophecy for Judah, one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. “The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like a sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd. My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for his flock, the house of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.” (Zechariah 10: 2-3) Those words were written nearly 2,600 years ago. Today, the 'lost tribes of Israel' are generally viewed by many theologians as the United States, which has the world's largest population of Jewish people. So these words can be just as easily applied to the USA today as they were to the ancient Kingdom of Israel back in Zechariah's day.

“The idols speak deceit” could be considered our televisions and computers (and let's not forget all those phones), and “diviners that see visions that lie”, could be all the phony preachers and bogus televangelists who preach the Word of God for profit. We also are stuck with a crop of leaders who lead for profit, putting their own self interests ahead of the country, as well as their own constituents. “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for his flock....” I warn you all solemnly as I have before, the United States of America is coming under judgment. The outrageous mistreatment of America's citizens by our leadership in politics, business and the clergy has infuriated Almighty God. The cries of those who just barely live from paycheck to paycheck have reached his ears, and He has, I am certain, much compassion for his people who work so diligently for so little. This situation cannot continue indefinitely. At some point, something's got to give. The only question remains, will our country survive what's coming? It won't take very long to find out. Pray for America!

The Saudi Crown Prince, Assassinations and the Prince of Peace

The Saudi Crown Prince, the late Jamal Khashoggi,

and the Prince of Peace

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

To view this on my website, click here :-)

This past week, we found ourselves viewing the macabre pre-halloween spectacle of the murder of a Saudi national in a Saudi embassy in Turkey, as if it was a play-by-play for a sporting event. I would first like to say that we as a society have now been reduced to being unwilling witnesses to organized international assassination. The best way for all of us to force this intrusion out of our lives is to cancel our subscriptions to cable and satellite TV. But in the meantime, we are faced with the reality that political assassination is a common occurrence in today's politics. Our own Central Intelligence Agency has been directly linked to at least five political assassinations in the last 5 decades. They are Chilean dictator Salvador Allende, Muammar Khadafy of Libya, Osama Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, our very own John F. Kennedy, the 37^th president of the United States and his younger brother Robert 5 years later. The life sentence currently being served in federal prison by deposed Nicaraguan dictator Manuel Noriega is effectively the sixth instance of the CIA removing someone 'undesirable' (meaning, someone who puts people over profits instead of the other way around) from the reigns of power. The same can be said of Servia's Slobodan Milosevic, who has since died in captivity.

It is American petrodollars that have made the Saudi's into one of the wealthiest nations on earth. Their capitalist economic system mirrors that of the US. So it should be no surprise when a nation and a people emulate their economic and political fathers by assassinating those who have views and opinions contrary to their own. Just as America has been directly responsible for political assassinations in the past, their proteges the Saudi's have evidently killed Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, after he entered the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. As of this writing, president Trump is blaming “rogue elements” within the Saudi government, mostly because that's what the Saudi's are telling the world. Unfortunately for the Saudi's, the world doesn't believe them and neither do I. The main reason president Trump is going easy on the Saudi's – at least for now – is because of his, and the military's, business interests in that country. We are still citizens of a country that puts profits ahead of people, namely the USA, and which is an accessory to murder if we let the Saudi's off the hook with respect to Jamal Khashoggi.

Everybody knows that one of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20: 13), which can be translated in modern terms as, “Don't you dare even think about killing another human being, excluding matters of self defense.” As I sit and contemplate what I just wrote, I cannot think of a single instance when it is OK to kill someone, say, for profit for example. Jesus Christ added to this more than 1,000 years later and clarified it further when he said, “21) “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22) But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca', is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23) 'Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5: verses 21-24)

I think a better translation of verse 22 would be, 'Anyone who holds a grudge against, or who refuses to forgive, another person for any reason calls down judgment upon themselves.' To the same degree they are angry with another, God will show that same anger back to that individual. In that same verse, the word 'raca', which is a profane Aramaic term of contempt, calls down God's judgment for the same reason. “And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” This can be interpreted as an allegedly 'worthless' person, because there is no such thing in actuality. There is no way we can say we love God while hating other people all at once (see 1^st John 4: 19-20). If we sincerely want to be used by the Lord Almighty for the betterment of his Kingdom, we must be willing to minister to anyone. There is also Biblical scripture that supports being a peace-loving person. Being tranquil and loving, practicing nurturing and compassion, these are ways of living taught by Jesus Himself at the Sermon on the Mount, and it's in all four gospels. Allow me to quote our Savior in this regard:

“You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth'. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who loved you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: verses 38-48)

But instead, Jesus said this prior to making that last statement, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matt: 5: 7) Is our supposedly Christian nation living by these standards and obeying the commands of Jesus Christ? Quite the contrary, the US “leadership” and its military-industrial complex are embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently in Yemen and Libya, and has been playing the role of global policeman since the 1940's. For the last year or two, the Pentagon has been muttering about “regime change” in Syria and Iran. Maybe what America needs is some regime change at home instead of abroad. The Deep State, the Federal Reserve, the 'alphabet soup' spy and law enforcement agencies, and the Pentagon all need to either be done away with or merged and right-sized into something smaller and more accountable. Osama Bin Laden died long ago. The Drug War is an utter failure. And the Pentagon's ultimate creation, the Saudi “royal family”, has morphed into a murderous monstrosity.

One Sunday night nearly a decade ago, I watched the news as it crescendoed around the president’s speech declaring the death of Osama bin Laden. The talking heads worked capably with what few details they had. On the split screen, familiar spliced video footage replayed what little most of us know — or care to know — about bin Laden: wearing a turban, sitting drinking tea, a long salt and pepper beard, speaking to friends, crouching holding a machine gun, skyscrapers smoking. Blah, blah, blah. Twitter gave a way to take the public temperature. Some passed information without editorial: “Bin Laden is dead!” Others tried to score political points: “took Obama 2 years to do what Bush couldn’t do in 7,” or “THAT’S a ‘mission accomplished.’” Reports said impromptu crowds gathered in front of the White House and at Ground Zero exuberantly chanting “USA! USA!,” singing our anthem. Others – like myself – retorted that they would not celebrate any person’s death, no matter who it was. Still others retrieved reams of unsettling data about what it has cost us to find and kill bin Laden, in dollars and human lives.

Finally, from those with an intimate connection to the innocents of 9/11, there were tweets about tears. Tears of relief? Tears because the news dragged them back to the still-tender memories of a 9/11? Yes and yes. All of these responses are authentic for a Christian who lives in America. Bin Laden has had more influence in the last decade over the way we live our lives than any other person. He was a wedge in our politics, he disrupted our ability to come and go freely; he triggered a vast global security and surveillance apparatus. He was directly or indirectly the focus of two Middle Eastern wars that affected the material well-being and peace of mind of millions here in America and across the world. He desecrated Islam and radicalized Christianity, making some Christians more enthusiastic about military action than they might have been otherwise, while making others more enthusiastic about trying to find peaceful solutions to global problems. He robbed people of mothers and fathers, took away their children. He made a whole nation feel vulnerable and fearful of unpredictable catastrophic violence.

One thing we might do well today is give permission to each other to feel all of the things that we might be feeling. There was no one manner by which to respond to Bin Laden’s death, because his life impacted all of us, sometimes in radically divergent ways. Beyond our feelings, we might also spend time considering our Lord’s call to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. This is not easy. If we call ourselves Americans as well as Christians, we may feel a strong civic sense that what our government did in our name was the embodiment of public justice. But our political identity and our identity as followers of Jesus are rarely reconcilable. Jesus did not meet enemies with violence. He asserted that the way to loose ourselves of our enemies was, counter-intuitively, by loving them and forgiving them — by wanting God’s best for them and believing in the Holy Spirit’s power to convert any person to faithful obedience. Jesus implied that if the Spirit does not convert them to goodness in this life, any judgment of their deeds is to be left in the hands of their creator — God alone. Our job is to never cease praying that they receive God’s blessing.

In a way, I am not surprised by news of Jamal Khashoggi's death at the hands of the Saudi's. By becoming their sponsors on the world scene, mainly with respect to oil, in my eyes, bin Laden and the American Empire died long ago. We have died to goodness; we have died to mercy; we have died to peace. We have died to the things that God cares most about. Jamal Khashoggi was alive until this week — but we died to life a long time ago for being the sponsors of those who murdered him. I have wondered over the years about the confounding ability of human beings to resist the love of God. I wonder about these things for Jamal Khashoggi, and I wonder about the same things with respect to my own life. Today, as I have many days before, I pray for my enemy, the US military-industrial complex. I pray them all into the hands of the God of Justice and of Mercy.

The ongoing nuclear disaster in the western Pacific ocean, and why the US is to blame

The Ongoing Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima,

Japan, and the Culpability of the United States

in the Destruction of the Pacific Ocean

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

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The worst nuclear disaster to strike Japan since a single bomb fell over Nagasaki in August 1945 occurred on March 11, 2011 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and epic tsunami of that fateful day. The New York Times reported the disturbing news some months afterwards that a wide area around the Fukushima plant "could soon be declared uninhabitable, perhaps for decades, after a government survey found radioactive contamination that far exceeded safe levels. The formal announcement was the first official recognition that the March accident could force the long-term depopulation of communities near the plant, an eventuality that scientists and some officials have been warning about for months." Just two weeks later, it was reported that radiation readings at the site had reached their highest points to date. The wide release of radiation, and fear of same, has forced the Japanese and others all over the world to reflect on what happened to the country in 1945, and the continuing existential threat of nuclear weapons and energy today.

In its main story in August 2011 marking the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombings, the Times highlighted the new activism of survivors of the bombing (the “hibakusha”) this year; campaigning against nuclear power, which has provided most of their country's energy needs. No one in the world can relate to the fears of a wide populace terrified that they (and perhaps the unborn) may be tainted forever by exposure to airborne radiation. One may ask how it is possible that Japan, after its experience with the atomic bombings, could allow itself to draw so heavily on the same nuclear technology for the manufacture of about a third of its energy? There was resistance, much of it from Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. But there was also a pattern of denial, cover-up and cozy bureaucratic collusion between industry and government, the last especially notorious in Japan but by no means limited to that country.

Sumiteru Taniguchi, now 82 and currently director of the Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors Council, recently commented about the above NYT article, "When the conversation turns to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant it is as if the floodgates open," Taniguchi said. "Nuclear power and mankind cannot coexist. We survivors of the atomic bomb have said this all along. And yet, the use of nuclear power was camouflaged as 'peaceful' and continued to progress. You never know when there's going to be a natural disaster. You can never say that there will never be a nuclear accident." Taniguchi is perhaps the main iconic symbol of the “hibakusha” today, thanks to footage of him taken after the bombing, showing him, months after the attack, still on a floor, spread-eagled, his entire back an open wound, flaming red. It was part of footage shot by a US film crew, and suppressed for decades.

In April, 2011, five survivors' organizations including Taniguchi's Nagasaki group submitted a statement to the Japanese government declaring the collapse of the "safety myth" around nuclear power and demanding a change in the government's energy policy to prevent creating any more “hibakusha”. Their statement further demanded that it distribute health record booklets — similar to the ones that are distributed to atomic bomb victims and can be used as proof of radiation exposure — to nuclear power plant workers and residents living close to them, and also provide periodic health examinations to those populations. It is a well-hidden fact (thanks to the lame stream media) that numerous A-bomb survivors over the decades sought help from the government after falling ill or suffering cancer and other diseases, allegedly from radiation exposure, but by many accounts had been abandoned. Will the people who are suffering from invisible dangers in Fukushima be subjected to the same treatment? Probably, unless more people start speaking up.

As I write this, Japan and TEPCO, the Japanese utility company that has been in charge of this ever-widening disaster, are making futile attempts to stop the gushing leakage of many tons of radioactive seawater that is coming from the three melted-down reactors. The entire northern Pacific ocean is now contaminated by this radioactive seawater. It will remain this way for a very long time afterward – decades at the very least. Contrast this to God's original instructions that he gave to us at the creation of the earth. “Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground'.” (Genesis chapter 1, verses 26-28) In other words, God put humankind in charge of the planet right from the start. If a manager did to a company what we have done to the earth, we'd all be in jail!

The book of Revelation states quite clearly what will ultimately happen to those who pollute the earth, such as what happened at Chernobyl in the 1980's and in 2011 at Fukushima – and what America did to Japan in 1945. “And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: 'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great – and for destroying those who destroy the earth'” (Rev. chapter 11, verses 16-18). 'Destroy those who destroy the earth'? So much radioactive leakage from Fukishima, Japan has polluted the northern Pacific ocean that it is now effectively dead. All life from Japan eastward to Midway atoll and beyond, all the way north to the Aleutian islands and as far away as the Canadian west coast have been wiped out. And it's all our fault!

When it comes to nuclear issues — from atomic weapons to nuclear power — no two nations could be more irredeemably intertwined than Japan and the US. The United States is the country that 'introduced' the world to the splitting of the atom. This has resulted in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and atomic energy, and it has threatened to wipe us out as a species ever since. After the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, despite dissenting voices of some of its own citizens, America drew mostly wrong conclusions as it plunged into nuclear expansion. There was a relentless public relations campaign — unleashed by the Truman administration almost within hours of the Hiroshima bombing — that led to the erroneous conclusion that blinded the Americans (and later the Japanese) to the insidious, long-term damage of radiation. Prominent journalists and media outlets of the time embraced, with enthusiasm, the so-called “Dawn of the Atomic Age” and America fell into a kind of nuclear trance that remains with us to this day.

Psalm 24, verse 1 says, “The earth is the Lord's and everything in it”, and Psalm 108 verse 5 finishes the thought with, “and let your (God's) glory fill all the earth”. This planet isn't ours, we're supposed to be caretakers. We didn't make this place, God did. So who are we to just wantonly ruin the earth for the shallow and meaningless goal of profit? Is there anybody who seriously thinks that God is pleased with us because we have ruined the planet? I will tell you this much, because this is all I know about what God thinks. God is furious and thoroughly enraged at what humanity has done. I warn you all with a sternness you don't always see and hear from me that the consequences of our actions will define and make manifest God's response. The first two sets of people God is coming for are the militaries and rich industrialists of the world. They're the ones who financed and developed nuclear power. So, when world war three commences, and it will sooner or later, God is going to let it happen so He can destroy them all at once. That what Jesus really meant when he said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5: 5) What a great day that will be!

The problem with modern American Christianity

I Was Just Wondering Why More Christians Aren't Protesting in the Streets Against War and Injustice Instead of Abortion and Gay Marriage

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

For website, phone or tablet viewing, click here :-)

Being involved with a brick and mortar church as a musician as well as this on-line ministry, it's been my experience that trying to get conservative American Christians to join the antiwar, American resistance or Progressive movements is like trying to persuade an orthodox Jew to convert to Islam. My considerable research on the Web and with local ministries here in Atlanta tells me that conservative Christians from other nations are far more politically liberal than their American counterparts.

Why, for example, was there such resistance by conservative American Christians to the Occupy movement? Or to the “we are the 99%” campaigns, for that matter? Why have they not joined the rest of America in protesting the forcible separation of children from their parents at America's southern border? What are conservative “Christians” so afraid of? After all, aren't those who are involved in the 'Occupy', '99%' and pro-immigration Movements trying to speak out for those in need while opposing an economic system based on greed and the abuse of authority? Why would any conservative American Christian not want to join a group that tells us that our future depends on how well we cooperate with each other?

I also can't imagine why any rational person would have a problem with people who are protesting against firmly entrenched economic inequality and endless wars. And why would any American Christian not want to join a group that promotes a more participatory and balanced democracy than what we have now? I chronicled all these things in my 2011 book, “The Middle and Working Class Manifesto” (a 4^th updated edition will be published in the fall), Jesus preached against social and economic injustice (see Luke 6, verses 20-26, Matt. 5: 6), and so we Christians should be doing the same.

Lately, some leftist writers and social media movers and shakers have attributed the political convictions of American conservative Christians to their faith, as if faith in God and opposition to social or economic injustice are mutually exclusive of one another. I insist that quite the reverse is true, that in fact those who care for the poor and needy, or for the sick or the hospitalized, or for the incarcerated, the institutionalized, and the homeless – the very least of humanity – it is they who do God's will here on earth, not hoarding for themselves but ministering and empathizing for all of the above! It is they who maintain their only source of faith and grace as being none other than Jesus Christ himself.

But what we have instead is a cadre of people mixing their man-made religion with extremely conservative politics for personal gain instead of worshiping the one true Almighty God for Spiritual gain. The majority of such Christians, however, are not American, which should give us a hint as to why many conservative American Christians are not out in the streets protesting as they should.

The reason why right wing Christians are not out in the streets protesting is not because of their faith. It's because when one is raised as a conservative Christian in America there are certain associations made with that 'brand' of Christianity. Many of us were taught since birth that our nation was founded as a Christian nation by Christian Founding Fathers. Therefore, the American way, at least back when America was still an allegedly Christian nation, is the Christian way and vice versa. To criticize our Founding Fathers is to allegedly ridicule Christianity and Christ. Protesting against any part of this Christian nation of ours, by conservative standards, must be tantamount to attacking the Gospel and therefore constitutes betrayal of one's country as well as a great sin against God for which there will be divine retribution.

Any attempt at reconciling our nation's history with the notion that America was ever a Christian nation places enormous demands on one's logical skills. While it is true that many of our founding fathers were Christians, the genocide and ethnic cleansing of North America's indigenous people, combined with our nation's enslavement and abuse of African-Americans, doesn't jibe with authentic Christianity. From long before the start of the US Civil War up until the 1964 Civil Rights Act, along with our emerging American Empire and its use of dictators as proxy rulers over other countries, all these things make it problematic to attempt to reconcile American history with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And even when our history is partially acknowledged by these conservative American Christians, there seems to be an emotional disconnect that protects such individuals from the dissonance of racism that would otherwise be clanging like a fire alarm.

That is, we might acknowledge some of the abuses from back in the past, but can we still seriously call ourselves a Christian nation and a "city on a hill" without batting an eye? Knowing what I've seen and heard about America lately, I certainly can't. And yet I love my country. It's my government and it's unequal and unfair economic system that I'm having some genuine problems with. In the end, what patriotic American Christians are saying to the world is that, despite the evidence, they must feel good about themselves and what they have accomplished. Well-to-do right-wing Christians demand their Constitutional right to exalt so-called “American exceptionalism”, forgetting Jesus' warning about this very thing when He said, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but they who humble themselves will be exalted”. Meaning, “American exceptionalism” is a sin against Christ.

And the same thing goes for capitalism. Since capitalism is our economic system and we are a Christian nation, right-wing logic seems to dictate that capitalism has become God's preferred economy, as if God needed an economic system in which to operate. Many conservatives, whether Christian or secular, are rationalizing that since the greatest prosperity in the history of the world has been enjoyed by Americans and we practice capitalism, capitalism must also be God's chosen economy. But the problem I see with this is that it compels us to ask a very damning question: When in the history of capitalism has it prospered without exploiting large numbers of people? Many times those who were exploited were hidden from the view of most Americans, but the invisibility of capitalism and militarism does not contradict the fact that they exploit untold multitudes.

And so what originally caused the Occupy and the “99%” Movements to emerge in 2011 continues to this day unabated. The fact is that far too large of a percentage of Americans have now become the victims of the same capitalist economy that they helped create. All of our hard work was for nothing. In fact, it has backfired on us all in the worst possible way by making homeless people out of formerly middle class workers. These throngs of disenchanted and disenfranchised Americans are transforming American patriotism and public dissent by opposing the military and prison industrial complexes while challenging capitalism by insisting that people and their needs have priority over profits.

Suggesting that being patriotic includes being capitalistic, which is conservative Christianity's true religion, has spread more evil than good. As before, that's because of the close association many conservative Christians have made between both patriotism and capitalism. They that do this are forgetting the historical reasons for Jesus' crucifixion. He preached against organized government, which infuriated the Romans, and against organized religion, which enraged the Jewish ruling council of that time. If Jesus came back today and walked into a mega-church unannounced, one of two things are guaranteed to occur. Either the conservative Christians, “hawks”, Evangelicals, and Charismatics would crucify him all over again, or the entire church would fall out of their pews face down on the floor, crying like children and begging for mercy. That's who the real Jesus Christ is!!

There is one final reason why conservative American Christians have still not joined the Resistance movement. That is because the Resistance movement is seen as a protest movement that does not respect authority. From an early age, conservative American Christians were injected with spiritual steroids when being taught to respect authority, mostly from Romans 13 while ignoring the Four Gospels. It is one thing to learn to respect authority, but it's an entirely different matter to be compelled to worship it.

On the other hand, that command cuts both ways, as it is written in James chapter 5, verses 1-6: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay your workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.”

And just as self-exaltation (American exceptionalism) is the reason why we equate American patriotism and capitalism with Christianity, so self-interest is the reason why we have a hyper-regard for those in authority. That self-interest tells us to be good little boys and girls so that those in charge will reward us rather than incarcerate us. And perhaps, it is a desire of some – you know who you are – to remain child-like while in authoritarianism's embrace, seeing surrender as preferable to a personal relationship with the Son of God.

Self-interest is the desire to spend more time playing around with what-or-whom-ever than making responsible decisions, from spend more time enjoying our trivial pursuits than being engaged with the serious issues of life – such as how we relate to each other and profit for the good of all concerned – that causes selfish people to prefer rule by elites over autonomy. The reason why most conservative American Christians won't resist the New World Order (and the Antichrist that is to follow) isn't because of their faith or a lack thereof. It is because of the extra ingredients added to their faith. Meaning, their faith is polluted with worldly things and concerns, another thing Jesus warned us about when he said, “A man cannot serve two masters. He will either cling to one and despise the other, or he will serve the other and reject the former. You cannot serve both God and materialism”. (Matt. 6: 24)

Enforcing the law and America's alleged Christianity

Submission To Authority, the Bible, and Common Sense

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

For website, phone or tablet viewing, click here :-)

Although I don't often have to write follow-ups to my postings, I'm making an exception with this Sunday's commentary. (For those who may have missed it, you can read last week's column from right here.) Here in the early 21^st century, we live in a world where authority has gotten completely out of control, even to the point of being abusive. This abuse of authority has now reached such an extreme that we treat toddlers like criminals! The problem with this is those who enforce America's laws have been proven to be criminals themselves! America was lied to back in the 1950's so our government could start the Viet Nam war. We were lied to about President Kennedy's assassination by the Warren Commission, and we were lied to again five years later concerning the murder of Robert Kennedy. We were lied to yet again about Rev. Dr. King's assassination that same violent year of 1968. President Nixon lied to us about Watergate. We were lied to in 2003 as a pretext for invading Iraq the second time. And we were lied to by president Obama when he won the 2008 election while telling us all that he would bring us “change we can believe in”. We got some serious changes all right, resulting in the largest spy and unmanned drone network the world had ever seen.

Meanwhile here at home, the police have become thoroughly militarized and they are having lots of fun on the job thanks to all their new toys and gadgets, not to mention fully automatic weapons and even tanks! They can stop you and search you without cause and without the Constitutionally mandated search warrant. They are breaking our doors down in the middle of the night and murdering unarmed citizens. A 92-year-old Black woman was shot 19 times and killed by the police more than a decade ago right here in Atlanta where I live and work, and people of color as well as the poor are being arbitrarily killed everywhere by the police, often on the flimsiest of pretexts. Back in 2012 when I tried to renew my drivers license, I was turned away due to a speeding ticket I got back in 1994 in North Carolina – even though I had paid the fine more than two decades previously. So now I no longer own a car, but I'm saving a lot of money by relying on public transportation and “going green”. Still, the state of Georgia's refusal to renew my drivers license makes me feel resentful and disenfranchised by the very system that is sworn to protect and serve us all. (Earlier this year I finally managed to pay off the $418.00 fine for allegedly being clocked at 70mph in a 65mph zone).

US attorney general Jeff Sessions recently quoted Romans 13 as being sufficient justification for America's immigration policies. Speaking as a minister of the Gospel and as an ambassador for Jesus Christ, I have done a little research as to what the Bible says about governmental authority and the abuse of power. It turns out that there is ample argument to be minted for both sides of this same coin. The first part has to do with submission to authority in the context of being a law-abiding citizen as the apostle Paul saw it when he wrote the Book of Romans approximately 1,950 years ago. At the time when this was written, all of what is now modern-day Israel was under the military occupation of the Roman empire. Similarly, much of the world today is occupied by the American Empire. Paul wrote these words in that context, so I will begin with the book of Romans, chapter 13 and verses 1-5.

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” (Romans 13: 1-5)

At the time the apostle Paul wrote this, the death penalty was commonplace. Capital punishment existed as a means of intimidation and absolute control, and that punishment was carried out with utter ruthlessness and without mercy. Moreover, unlike the Jewish religious establishment of that era, Paul was a Roman citizen and as such he was given rights and privileges that were not shared equally with his fellow Jews. But how does this compare with life in the early 21^st century? Although the death penalty is still administered for capital crimes such as murder and treason, it is carried out with relative infrequency compared to the days of the Roman empire. There were also debtors prisons in Paul's day. People who ran into financial trouble back in those days were routinely imprisoned until their debts were paid. In contrast, today if one gets into financial difficulty, bankruptcy laws exist that are much more fair and equitable than prison. Compared to the times in which the apostle Paul lived, we get a complete picture of a much more fair, equitable and even lenient world in the present day. Let me now make some comparisons between Paul's world and ours using this passage of scripture as a backdrop to the picture that I will now paint for you with my words.

“The authorities that exist have been established by God”. Although Paul sincerely believed at the time that he wrote these words that he was absolutely correct, he was speaking more as a Roman citizen and a Hebrew religious scholar than he was as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In modern America, our rule of law is the Constitution of the United States and so I am writing today in this same context, but as an American citizen. We have the right to free speech and freedom of religion today that did not exist in St. Paul's time. That right, which is established under the first amendment to the US Constitution, allows me to write these words without fear of punishment. As such I am within the law and I will remain so for as long as the law is fair. It's when it's unfair, unjust or both that things can get pretty dicey. But hold that thought as I continue.

The apostle Paul continues with this same theme as he writes further: “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.” The same applies today. Take the “patriot movement” and so-called “preppers” of today. Organizing any armed revolt in modern-day America is an idea that I am totally against, preaching and teaching as a man of peace who tries his best to emulate Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Besides, the police have well-armed SWAT teams, and there is always the National Guard that exists within any given state. So, I think one would be foolhardy to try and take on authority in an American armed revolt.

On the other hand, it is perfectly legal, and I would also say that it is even necessary, to engage in peaceful protests and passive resistance against laws and policies that we disagree with, mainly because they are unjust. The US Supreme Court's decision that money equals free speech is one good example. The counterproductive and sometimes downright stupid War on Drugs is another one. The first amendment gives us this right, something that did not exist during Paul's time all those centuries ago. In this regard, we can interpret this passage of scripture a little differently than what Paul wrote back then.

Paul then continues making his point, and so will I. “Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.” It is sad to say that this is not always true in the modern world. Trying as I do to be a law-abiding citizen, I often find myself looked down on by the many godless, faithless people living in our world of today. I put up with the occasional ridicule and those who troll my blog just because I am openly Christian, but I do so knowing that God is watching everything I do and He is listening to everything I say. But to get back to the topic at hand, it is wise to be “free from fear of the one in authority”. The best way to follow this principle is to obey the commandments and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Just by doing this, we can keep ourselves out of a whole lot of trouble. Besides, the Bible says in the Old Testament to “obey the laws of the land, that it may go well with you in the place you are abiding”. Those words were written at least three thousand years ago, and they are still just as true today as they were back then.

I have, however, another Bible verse or two for Mr. Jeff Sessions that he, and his entire staff, along with the rest of the Trump administration, seems to have overlooked. For example, what does the Bible say about so-called “illegal aliens”? “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress them, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Exodus 22: 21). For those who were unaware, the ancient Israelis (or Israelite's, as the Bible calls them) were slaves to the Egyptian Pharaoh's for 400 years prior to being led out of Egypt by Moses. This applies to the US as well, since America has the world's second-largest Jewish population. Only Israel has more. If it wasn't OK for Israel's ancestors to be oppressed by Pharaoh, it's not OK for her descendants here in America to be mistreating so-called “illegal aliens” either! Especially when we are breaking up families and traumatizing children!

Allow me just one more verse, Attorney General Sessions, before I conclude this week's message: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalms 9: 9). Based on this verse of Scripture I would say America has been demonstrably acting in exactly the opposite way that King David wrote about. There are other things happening and situations unfolding within the US government that are similarly contrary to God's laws. Take the ten commandments as an example. The eighth commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”, which can be expanded to include this simple command: You shall not lie and gossip about people you dislike. Yet America found itself embroiled in a war in Iraq that was based on a lie. Specifically, that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was still in power. Of course, those WMD's turned out to be non-existent, and it took more than 4,400 US fatalities – and well over 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths, nearly half of which were children – to find that out!

The same applies to Afghanistan – our troops have been there for 17 years! At first it was to find Osama Bin Laden even though everybody in Southern Asia and the Middle East knew he was in Pakistan. Now that he is deceased, are our troops all back home yet? Absolutely not, effectively making Afghanistan a defacto US territory with an open ended US military presence. And what are US troops still doing way over there? They're guarding the vast fields of opium for the CIA so American pharmaceutical companies can have an ample supply to fuel America's opiate epidemic, that's why!! (The CIA mainly handles the brokerage and logistics.) The US government has been spending $6 billion dollars a week on this occupation, a thoroughly obscene sum of money by any standard. Well over 50,000 Americans per year die from heroin and opiate pain-killer overdoses as a direct result, something I find even more obscene.

Yet all the while, there is unemployment here in the USA that is officially around 3.5%, but that doesn't count all the millions of long-term unemployed who have stopped looking for work, as well as those who are working part-time when full-time work is what is needed. If these facts were figured into this equation, the true unemployment rate is hovering at around 21 percent. There is no money to create over a million badly needed jobs in our country, but there is an unlimited supply of cash for multiple illegal military occupations and drone strikes all around the globe. This is a moral outrage, and anybody with even a little bit of a conscience should be out in the streets protesting against the US military-industrial complex, of which ICE is an integral part. That may not be in the words of the Bible, but it most certainly is in the Spirit thereof.

In closing, Paul then writes in verse 5, “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” This is just as true today as it was when it was first written. Being an outlaw will only get us into trouble, and jail is no place for anybody to be except for the worst criminals. For example, it is a bad idea to drive your car at 90 miles an hour because it is against the law, but also because it is dangerous. By the same token, the ten commandments must be obeyed, and let's be sure to include the teachings of Christ while we're at it. We should not steal, lie or commit adultery, nor should we have any false gods in our lives. This includes electronic devices like computers. To find out if something is an idol, simply compare how much time you spend in front of screens to how much time you spend in prayer (time spent in church doesn't count – sorry!).

We are commanded to “love the Lord your God with all your strength, all your mind, all your soul and all your spirit”, and to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves”. We can and should worship the one true God and Him alone, who sent His only Son to die for our sins and then to rise from the dead on the third day after He was crucified. In the same way that we submit ourselves to God, we should, as far as it is possible, submit to authority here on earth. And we should do so not only “because of possible punishment but also because of conscience”. But here in the 21^st century we can and should oppose and protest against the government's immigration policies, also because of matters of conscience. It is part of the laws of our land, and we should exercise this right because our rule of law says we can. This is also in keeping with God's commands, and I hope and pray that it always remains so.

The forcible separation of families at the US border being done in the name of the law

A Few Words About Separating Children From Their Parents

and What the Real Bible Has to Say About It

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

For better small screen or website viewing, click here :-)

 By now most everyone has heard about the outrageous remarks made by White House Propaganda Minister (um, I meant Press Secretary) Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, when she said that since the Bible says we have to be law-abiding citizens, it's perfectly fine to forcibly separate children from their parents at America's southern border. Before I get too deep into this, let me give a partial quote from the original article.

White House cites Bible to defend child separation border policy
Sarah Sanders slammed for saying US-Mexico border policy was justified because it's 'biblical to enforce the law'.

(Al Jazeera News) “White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has seemingly invoked the Bible to justify the Trump administration's policy of separating children from migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border, drawing anger and ridicule from many online. At a press briefing on Thursday evening, Sanders responded to a question put forward by CNN journalist Jim Acosta on US Attorney General Jeff Sessions' use of Christian scripture to justify detaining children separately from their parents. Acosta asked Sanders to point out where in the Bible the policy found its moral justification. "Where in the Bible does it say it is moral to take children away from their mothers?" he asked. Sanders responded: "I am not aware of the attorney general's comments or what he would be referencing ... I can say it is very biblical to enforce the law, that is repeated a number of times throughout the Bible." When pressed to point out a specific verse justifying the policy by Acosta, Sanders lashed out at the journalist. "I know it's hard for you to understand even short sentences I guess," she said, before going on to blame "loopholes" created by the Democrats for the policy. The comments from Sanders and the similar sentiment expressed by Sessions have earned the ire of many on social media.”

“Some cited biblical passages that emphasized the need to do justice by the poor and oppressed, while others pointed out the contradiction in justifying a policy, only to blame (the Democrats) for its existence..... "So, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is blaming Democrats for the Trump regime's ripping children away from their families and throwing them in prison camps whilst her and Jeff Sessions are citing the Bible to explain why it's all okay. They are about as Christian as Kim Jong Un is," wrote twitter user Ricky Davila.”

“The issue of child separation on the US-Mexico border has drawn widespread protests since it came to light last month..... In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated the threat to prosecute those who made the crossing. "If you're smuggling a child, then we're going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you, probably, as required by law." The "zero tolerance" approach has drawn criticism from those on both sides of the political spectrum, including from the UN human rights office, which said the practice "amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life, and is a serious violation of the rights of a child". The number of interior removals - or deportations of those already in the US - grew by 37 percent during Trump's first year in office when compared with the same period in 2016, according to government data. Sessions has also recently come under fire for issuing a ruling that may make it nearly impossible for domestic abuse and gang violence survivors to seek asylum in the US.”

First of all, I assume you saw where this article came from – Al Jazeera! The reason I picked this article was to show you all you can't trust the American news media to tell you the real story. And the real story is that we now live in a country where many people – but not all, since people like myself practice unconditional love and compassion – think it's perfectly OK to forcibly separate children from their parents because they are allegedly “illegal aliens”. Let me remind Sarah Sanders, president Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions that there is no such thing as an illegal human being (“The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it”, Psalm 108: 1 and, “The whole earth is full of His glory”, Isaiah 6: 3). People have been coming to America illegally for 400 years, so this is nothing new. Some came on slave ships, but that was legal. So how come it's illegal to cross our borders when they are not slaves?

Moreover, America's northern border with Canada is at least as porous as its southern border, if not even more so. Nobody says a word about this. Do you know why? It's because Canadians are mostly white. Latino/Latina people are mostly brown. It's all about race, Jeff Sessions and Sarah Sanders and all those before you, the multitudes of bigots who insist that it's 'my way or the highway'. Nonwhite people please stay away from us Anglo's, they say when no one is around. Blacks and Hispanics are not welcome in many Caucasian neighborhoods, and would be told (not asked, mind you) to leave most conservative white churches. The state of American spirituality is pathetic indeed!

So what was the Bible passage Jeff Sessions and Sarah Sanders were quoting from? It was Romans chapter 13, the first 5 verses, and I quote: ““Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, then pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

There is another infamous person from history who quoted from that passage of scripture often to control the masses – Adolf Hitler. The problem with using this passage of Scripture in this context is that it says nothing about separating children from their parents. It sure as hell says nothing about locking children in cages away from their parents just after locking up their parents while the children watch helplessly. These poor kids will be traumatized for life by what's being done to them, and still more people will hate our country because of all these things. This is no way to run a country; separating parents from their children in the name of 'law and order'. Separating children from their parents is also unconstitutional because it's an 8^th Amendment violation!

What are some additional examples of what the Bible says about the treatment of children? “Train a child in the way they should go, and when he gets older he will not forget about it”, (Proverbs22: 6) is one example. How can these incarcerated children learn when their parents are not there to teach them? Another example is Proverbs 29 verse 15, “A child left to himself disgraces his mother.” Jesus mentioned children on numerous occasions. One of his most memorable is from Matthew's gospel chapter 19, verse 14: “Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them. For I tell you truthfully, the kingdom of Heaven is made of such as these.” So you see, people, God made all the little children just like you and me. And God made these various children from various cultures, backgrounds, races and ethnicity's with different skin colors to teach us all about the richness of diversity, as well as teaching us to have some tolerance for those whose physical appearance and mannerisms are different than our own. Never forget that the same Almighty God has made us all!

Reasons Why the New "Tax Deal" Is So Unfair, and What We Can Do About It

Fair Warning to All Rich Oppressors;

Not From Myself, But From God

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

For better small screen viewing, click here :-)

 

I am finding myself witnessing once again what amounts to the enforced liquidation of America's middle class, coming in the form of president Trump's new tax bill. This recently-passed piece of legislation cuts funding for the poorest, most vulnerable of Americans and gives it all to the richest 10% of US taxpayers. These funds will be distributed in the form of various tax breaks for individuals and corporations who don't need them because they already pay too little – with the bulk of the tax burden shouldered by America's middle and working classes. Even though our tax refunds will be bigger next year, so will the tax rate for the bottom 50% of all Americans. This week I want to share with you all a quotation from the Bible that ties in with this topic very well.

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice for my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Nothing will remain except to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand still upraised.” (Isaiah chapter 10, verses 1-4)

What's a modern example of what the prophet Isaiah wrote about here, which was roughly 2,700 years ago? The pathetic state of wages, globally speaking, is the first thing that comes to my mind. If any one of you has ever had to take a minimum wage job – and I would define anything under $12.00 per hour to be a 'minimal wage' – then you know exactly what I mean. Here in Atlanta, Ga. the minimum is still set at a paltry $7.25 per hour. There are lots of homeless shelters in and near downtown Atlanta, and they all stay full, and with 'waiting lists' to boot. Georgia's ultra-low minimum wage is the reason why. Do the math and it's easy to see why these hapless individuals can't rent apartments.

Another example of a modern-day “unjust law” is most definitely the Drug War, which is actually a massive race-based roundup of the poor. These are mostly people of color, mainly Black and Latino(a), and it is no coincidence that they are the ones who can least afford to hire a lawyer. Moreover, as I proved conclusively in my 2016 book, “Cannabis Legalization and the Bible: Compatible or Not?”, the Marijuana plant was made by God on the third day of Creation (see Genesis 1: 11). Cigarettes are legal, they kill over 50,000 people annually, and everybody's just fine with that, particularly law enforcement (“You will smoke these and you will like them”). But marijuana, which is classified as a dangerous drug when it is not, remains illegal. This is a whole series of laws designed to prosecute those who use a substance that can't be taxed. The Drug War is all about the money, including the huge profits being “earned” by the private prison industry. It has nothing to do with justice whatsoever!

What's an example of an “oppressive decree”? One example would be the federal income tax, which was passed in 1919 so America could pay her debts incurred by the First World War. This was a law passed at 3AM and signed by only a handful of people. By the time Congress found out about it when they convened around the first of the following week, and since news traveled so slowly back then, there was nothing they could do even though a lot of lawmakers were very upset at that time. Another example of an “oppressive decree” would be the Patriot Act, which has been renewed 3 times since 2001 even though it is being used against American citizens as well as foreign nationals. In this respect, the Patriot Act as it is currently written and being implemented is unconstitutional!

“What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” I have already shown that the prophet was referring to the End Times, or Last Days, which I have clearly depicted in previous weekly commentary's. I have also proven conclusively that the United States is Mystery Babylon in Ezekiel chapter 7, Zechariah chapter 12, and Revelation chapter18. I fully realize that what I'm about to write here is not a popular topic, but the Bible clearly states that the USA is going to endure a nuclear attack at some point in the not-too-distant future. Whether this attack comes in the form of a lone terrorist bomb or from a nuclear tactical first strike from Russia and China combined, I can't say. I do not have access to any such information except that which God gives me, or that He helps me deduce on my own. So the conclusion here in verse 3 is that the “day of reckoning” is a day in the fairly near future when the Nuclear Age, which was started by the USA with the twin nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, will soon come back and bite America in the backside. This 'blow-back' from 73 years ago will be absolutely devastating to America! Personally, I have become concerned enough about my country's future that I just went and got myself a passport!

“Nothing will remain except to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand still upraised.” As I mentioned before, there are still a lot of people who get infuriated when I write or tell them that this verse and others like it throughout the Bible are talking about the United States. But it's true! Just look around you. America's military is stretched dangerously thin in a number of places around the globe. America now has over 750 military bases scattered around the world in about 160 countries at last count. It takes lots and lots of people to man those bases. Many of them are costly and simply unneeded. 

 

But before any of them can be shut down, the Deep State itself must first be shut down. But is it moral for Christians to participate in such seditious activities? Not normally, but in cases where the government is corrupt to the core, and in cases where the government threatens the livelihood and personal safety of its citizens, then yes – it is not only OK, but such activities should be encouraged whether in or out of church. There are a number of nonviolent ways this can be accomplished, like hack attacks on their computer infrastructure or ransomware attacks, to name 2 examples. Similar attacks on its 'players' would be still another. I'm sure you can think of more, and then implement them. But by all means, do something! Because if we don't, what little is left of civil liberties in America, like the freedom of speech that makes my writing this Web posting possible, will be gone forever.