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December 31, 2011 Bread and Circuses - part 3
We will address the part that the Christian Church has played into the decline of the American Empire at the end of this article. At this point, having established that America is indeed an Empire, we need to address the decline of its various components. While we cannot pinpoint a specific time, or a particular event which has started the decline, it is safe to say that it has rather been a combination of factors which have been allowed to go uncorrected and to fester until, as in a terminal cancer, they have became incurable. In light of recent and not-so-recent events, anybody looking with a critical eye the state of the USA, would, without any doubt, agree that things are falling apart, step by step, and day by day, despite all the "cures" politicians are trying to apply, and, if at all possible, they are speeding up the process. America is, and has been from its inception, a democracy, which has guaranteed to its citizens the widest freedoms possible, and has exported its system worldwide, sometimes even forcing it upon unprepared nations. Democracy is not the most perfect way to govern a people, but it's the best form that man has found so far as compared to other systems. In order for democracy to work at its best, it needs mature and responsible. Moreover, democracy, being a human process, is subject to human frailties and inconsistencies such as petty (and not-so-petty) interests and manipulations. Unfortunately, as it happened in Rome, comfort and arrogance have bred the ego and inverted the citizens' response to society so that what is good for me, my family, my company, my own interests has become the new "raison d'être" at the expense of the more comprehensive and unselfish whole. At one time, the saying was: "what is good for my country is good for me." Today the saying has been diametrically reversed. Basically this is what has happened. Greed, the love of money, at the end wins the day, and the following are the bitter fruits America is gathering: Military: after the victories of World War 2, the USA has embroiled itself in un winnable wars and kept at bay by various rag-a-tag groups of militants, who rightly or wrongly believe that America is their enemy. Despite its drones, robots, sophisticated telemetry, satellites and sci-fi weapons the USA are losing the "war" of hearts and minds, and on the battlefield. No need to make a list, as recent history speaks volumes. Certainly it shocks to find out that the most awesome army in the history of mankind, is literally walking on thin ice. And I am not even commenting on the recent resolution concerning both homosexuals and lesbians to serve openly in the Armed Forces archiving the more discrete "don't ask don't tell" policy. Economy: the decline of the almighty dollar is another undeniable fact. The US debt is beyond reasonable and all this point to the fact that is citizens have been living beyond their means. Way beyond. And at the end of the meal, the bill is presented. In all this economic disaster, we also have seen those who have taken advantage of the system, namely, bankers, financiers and their pet companies. Funny how the government races with extraordinary force to bail out banks, credit institutes, and pet companies, while letting all the rest (read little people, and little companies) go fend for themselves. To imagine that an ex-communist like Putin calls the USA the "parasite of world economy" is a sure sign of how low the USA has fallen down. "They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Putin told the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi while touring its lakeside summer camp some five hours drive north of Moscow. Sociality: Americans have become discontent (and greedy) against each other, witness the vertical increase in the number of people suing each other for the most banal cause. There is no comparison anywhere in the world. Spirituality: to jaded eyes, America has a high religious/spiritual backbone, but when we get into details we find that both of those words hardly depict what they imply. Having spent the last decades fighting Christianity, and placing Jesus out of the classrooms, out of government buildings, out of public events etc., America today is a melting pot of old and new "religions" and rites which have replaced sound Biblical doctrine with the weirdest theological assumptions. But why this has happened? The answer is simple: the Christian Church has not delivered on its promise and it has failed in its work. Maybe, in the scheme of things, it was inevitable, but the failing of the Church has allowed the spread of all these "religious" practices. Let me count the failures: (2Tim 3:5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2) The love of success, more than the love of God. Christian ministers forget all too easily that they are servants, and useless at that. Instead they lift themselves high and with not too much veiled pride they lead luxurious lifestyle worthy of any Hollywood star. I am not implying that ministers of the Gospel should live in poverty, but soberly and in good taste, without splurging and showing off, as the almost totality of tele-evangelists rather does. The unbelievers watch and judge: (Jas 5:5) You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 3) the love of their ego more than the love of God. In the last decades we have been flooded with teachers who, instead of preaching the sound doctrine as indicated in the Word, have moved out into unfathomed territory, espousing the most damnable heresies that a perverted mind could conceive, all this in the name of a "superior" revelation or interpretation which has been "trusted" to them. These new "doctrines" have destabilized an already biblical illiterate flock and have launched the basis of the Great Apostasy, which is upon us. (2Tim 4:3-4) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4) Believing more in their personal ability than in the power of God. It seems that any major and minor pastor has "a plan" that drives their life and occupies their time. Granted, some of these plans are legit, while some, for their presumptuous purpose, are an offence to God and His Word. And in this field I also place Christians who enter politics to do "the work of God." I resent strongly those who use Christianity for their political ambitions. The word is: "well, if we Christians don't go to power, we are going to leave all that lawmaking to unrighteous unbelievers." These would-be politicians willingly forget that God can rule the heart of the most tyrannical leader, IF CHRISTIANS BOW DOWN AND PRAY. (2Chr 7:14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. It is also a disgrace and an aberrant custom that, in time of elections, professional politicians are admitted in churches, on sunday services to prime the flock. Those churches who do this, and those pastors who allow this should be eminently ashamed of themselves and they will have to answer God for this outrage. The pulpit should be used only to preach the Word of God, not the vanities of men. (Mark 12:17) Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him. And what of the sex scandals, and the plague of divorces in the Church, which includes top name pastors? I I could easily continue on these strange "ways" into which the Church is threading at present, but I think that most other issues depend from these listed above. The world is reveling in big entertainment, be it movies, musical shows, sport events, or just about anything, as long as it is big, possibly in 3D and ETX Enhanced and all artfully made to stupefy and to leave the spectator comfortably numb. Who cares about rising unemployment, financial crises, or from where the next $ or € is coming from, We've got 3D at home! And the Church is blissfully joining the hoopla, copycatting the ways of the world. It appears that for anything the world has to offer, the Church comes up with a "christian" alternative. How sad that we have to copy the world, as if the Holy Spirit is not able to creatively inspire the hearts of christians, and while conveniently forgetting that God hates the ways of the world: (Jas 4:4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Bread and Circuses were given to the Romans with the purpose of pacifying and manipulating a restless populace until the end came and took them all away. As the saying goes, "those who ignore history, are bound to repeat it," and today it seems we are having a Bread and Circuses replay, but only apparently so. This time, the powers-that-be have been planning things well, and they will succeed in their plans. For a little while, of course, say 7 years, give and take a few days.
July 16, 2011 Bread and Circuses - part 2
The question at hand here is: Is America an Empire? Technically, the word empire means direct rule by a nation or person upon territories and people it has conquered, either by force or by stealth. But this description is too rigid and lacks modern dynamics, as we shall see further ahead. Some may find the equation United States of America (American Empire)=Ancient Rome (Roman Empire) to be a fabricated, misleading, false and or pure fantasy. But if we consider the facts carefully, we come to the conclusion that the equation fits like a glove. Please remember that this is only a small no-pretence article whose only purpose is to show parallel analogies and not to provide elaborate argumentation for them. For those inquiring minds who want to know more, at the end of this article, there are links to more extended works. And if you need more, just google "american empire". You'll be surprised what you will find. Rome is considered the greatest of the Empires of old. That can hardly be disputed. Empires such as the Egyptian, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek, and others, cannot be compared to the greatness and uniqueness of what the Roman Empire achieved in its time and how it influenced the world during and even after its demise. I could draw other parallels, but these will suffice for the purpose. The Christian Church in America, and this is an indictment, has failed the country in many many ways. And therein lies the real tragedy. Instead of preaching the Word and behaving accordingly, the Church in America has scandalized the country with its unconsecrated leaders and pastors, and an unending stream of financial, sexual and doctrinal scandals. LINKS: Ancient Rome The Rise and Fall of an Empire - (6 parts Youtube series)
June 8, 2011Panem et Circenses - Bread and Circuses
The Roman poet Juvenal, who lived about a century after the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, coined the famous expression "Panem et Circenses," in current language, Bread and Circuses. Actually, a more accurate rendition of the Roman meaning would be "bread and horse races" which is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace. The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man (l'homme moyen sensuel). To students of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire it also represents the turning point in the decline of this great empire. Having conquered countries and all of value upon which they could lay their armed hands, the Romans fell victims to their own success, thereby becoming arrogant, lazy, corrupted and degenerate, abandoning themselves to all sorts of vile practices. Juvenal, a keen observer of his times, saw what was coming, but, alas, could not offer any valid escape other than his books of satires through which he criticized the manners and customs of his contemporaries, just as his compatriot Cicero, the Roman statesman, philosopher and orator whose works and most famous descriptive phrase "O Tempora O Mores" (Oh what times! Oh what customs!) are still in use to this day. In the specific phrase, "Bread and Circuses," Juvenal was pointing to the authorities ruse in furnishing Rome's populace with free bread and free spectacles in the arenas and circuses. In Rome, the Circus Maximus was a huge construction which could contain about 200,000 people and was used mainly for chariot races, the most popular sport of ancient Rome. Giving people free and cheap food while keeping them busy with year-round entertainment served the roman authorities well: . 1) it kept the populace acquiesced and numbed out, and therefore easily controllable. Once food was sufficiently handed out and people's time was constantly occupied by the spectacles, the game was complete, as most people, once their basic needs are satisfied, don't seem to care about much else (I said most not all people, thank God). 2) it promoted political and personal favor. Certainly, people would hardly revolt against those who fed and entertained them. All things being equal, this was a near perfect way to manipulate the hearts and minds of a subtly enslaved populace. Of course, this situation could not go on forever. Apart from the cost of maintaining such programs running, this state of things was sapping at the very core of the roman society, transforming its once strong and martial, stoic, and for many verses heroic character into a weak, demotivated and lascivious one. So, Rome, caput mundi, having lost its spirit and drive moved from superpower status to decadence and oblivion in a relatively short time. But Rome is simply the best example we probably have of causes of the rise and fall of nations and empires. History repeating itself and the template never changes. What is amazing in all of this is the clockwork precision within which these events follow each other: a spark, then conquest, victory, empire, and after some time at-the-top, decline kicks in, slowly and inevitably, and always originated from within, leading in a matter of time to a final collapse and conquest at the hands of the barbarians of the hour.
In modern usage, the phrase has become an adjective to describe a populace that no longer values civic virtues and the public life. To many across the political spectrum, left and right, it connotes the triviality and frivolity that characterized the Roman Empire prior to its decline. WikipediaThat was ancient Rome. Now let's fast forward to the year of our Lord 2011. We have a carbon copy situation happening live in modern Rome: the United States of America. It is neither secret nor news that in the last decades the U.S.A. has been running the show on planet earth, especially after the fall and dismemberment of the only contender for top status, the U.S.S.R., another interesting case study in its own right. America the beautiful has turned into America the harlot, who spins and spreads her artful witchcraft far and wide, while blissfully ignoring the sword posed on its head.
March 28, 2011 The Times, They Are A-Changing
To their great embarrassment, the "big players" have been caught practically unawares, and to their utter shame they have reacted in the most confused, disparaged and much criticisable way. Makes you wonder, with all the money they spend on espionage, satellite monitoring, telephone and internet surveillance and God knows what else, that they had no inklings of the smoldering cauldron the Middle East has turned out to be. As if all things were under control, as if all the small-time and big-time tyrants (mostly enthroned by them) could forever hold down their oppressed people, while generating untold fortunes for themselves, their families and friends. As usual, the hypocrisy of most of the reporting media is hallucinating: why, until yesterday, nary an article on these tyrants, who went about their daily business and today all sort of evil is reversed upon them, as if magically, some mysterious portal has been opened for the very first time revealing an endless litany of horror and evil. Disgusting. 1) to point to the foolishness of it all 2) to point the real outcome of all this Sometimes, in the course of history, even tyrants have played a somewhat mediated role. The expression "benevolent tyrant" has been used to describe such men. In our "cultured" western thought, however democracy has shaped our thinking in ways that we feel repelled by the very word a "tyrant," while leaving plenty of space for being inclined otherwise in regards to other countries. So, we are well disposed to close one eye, or both upon foreign dictators, in classical 3-monkeys style, as long as it serves our interests. In the Middle East, a lot of more or less enlightened countries have been fighting an underground war with Islamic fundamentalists, who, when the dust shall settle, will have carte blanche to carry out all of their distorted heart's content, and Israel, mainly, will be at the receiving end. So much is clear from statements and proclaims banded about by the new official rabble-rousers emerged as by magic from the desert sand. If the Western countries really believe they will be left unscathed by all these new developments, and it is only Israel's business, they are indeed insane and criminally so. So, the players are being set and there is no confusion to those who know and trust the Word of God. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against Jerusalem. God rules.
January 8, 2011It's the end of the wwworld as we know it ...
When the Wiki Leaks furor broke out, a friend asked me what I thought the outcome of this "scandal" would be. Promptly I answered: "this will be the beginning of the end of the internet as we have been accustomed to." In fact, just a few days after, strange news began to surface whose theme was the "need" of a better control of the internet. My reasoning is this: Radio, television, phones, cellulars, satellites, Wifi, and all upcoming technologies are all tied together by the properly named NET. They were not kidding when they started by naming it the Word Wide Web. That's what those funny www mean, when we write a web address: world wide web, otherwise known as The Net. Makes you wonder if those who started it were on into something. Another thing that must not be overlooked is that the Net is "free." Yes I know, there is no free lunch, but were we able to make free phone calls when they invented the phone? No, we paid and paid and so with any other service. But to get into the Internet is basically free, all you need is a device that can access it. They made it all very easy to partake and I smell a rat or should I say a Trojan Horse. Wiki Leaks may provide the turning point (awaited) for placing controls on something which apparently has been quite anarchic from its very inception. It may be that all that "freedom" is not good for people, you know, the terrorists, the criminals, the crazies, why they all have access to the Internet and God only knows what evil and havoc their limb hands over a keyboard can wreak. So, let's go and regulate all this anarchy, they are starting to say (aloud). In truth, some nations (notably China, Islamic countries and regimes) have already placed controls on what can be distributed on their territories. But these web rascals find always new ways to get around controls. It has been a cat and mouse game up to now. But now, the biggies (ONU, the American Government and diverse Western democracies) are jumping into the band wagon. Since I am not a believer in secret plots, I have to say that it is all coincidental, as far as humans go.
And as I am writing this article this news comes up: January 7, 2011 4:31 PM Here it goes, folks! I am keeping this short, (just Google "internet control", if you need to amplify) but I think what I am trying to say here is evident, for those who have eyes to see it. Since we are a web site which deals with Christianity some may ask "what has this to do with Jesus Christ." Quite a bit. A tale of two NETS: Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." In which NET are you in?
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Circus Maximus
In these last few weeks, we have been assisting to historical, epic (and may I add, prophetical) changes in the geo-politics of the Middle East and African quadrant, the outcome of which is clear to those who know and understand the Word of God: the final re-alignment of countries and allegiances, in line with the prophetic Word of God for the End Times, while unpredictable and shocking to the big players (read U.S.A., Europe). 
