Sunday, December 25, 2016

Depressed Christians?

Can a mature believer experience depression?

When you recognize that depression is basically due to self-loathing and guilt over an increasingly acute sense of our extreme failure to trust God, yes depression can be and often is a part of the maturing Christians experience, possibly even in greater degrees as we mature because we become increasingly aware of how weak and untrusting of God we can be.

And that is because we are all extreme failures (Rom 3:23. For a fuller discussion click here and here) in trusting God totally.  This is in the godly sense not necessarily in the worldly sense i.e. not necessarily in the eyes of others (by world standards, we may be a great "success") but compared to God's original intended design, we are far from it. 

When we recognize we were in fact created to know God, enjoy him, and show forth his glory, reflecting his love back to him, spreading his love and greatness to other fellow image-bearers as well as all creation (i.e. stewarding the planet) and the scope and significance of this - when none of us even come close to meeting the mark - we began to see the extent of our failure. Who among the most mature of us can say we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves 24/7? Certainly not me. This awareness increases the more we know God and see our true condition more clearly.

Without the love of God moving us to show forth his glory we are all about ourselves; about self-promotion; being our own god. The very same disposition that Adam and Eve bought into and adopted. In short, we are totally incapable of fulfilling our design unaided... and were never intended to do so. Only by the life and love of God infused in us by His Spirit can we bring forth true, lasting life again (though we can bring temporary life to others and do daily).  

And what was God's warning? The day you seek to operate independently of me - to be your own god - you will die. Die? In what sense did we die? We rejected God, the source of life itself. We "unplugged" from the life source if you will. Our connection with the life and Spirit of God was immediately severed, eventually leading to our physical death. And from that day until now we have not sought to return to the source of life but have been desperately seeking to replace what we lost (God) by being our own god i.e. through self-effort...using creation - internally and externally - as a means. 

However, as God is diffusive (overflowing and out-flowing), we were designed to be diffusive, with one key difference. God is the source of life (Jn 17:3), we are the conduits through which his life flows. First from Him, reflected back to him from the Son, in, by, and through the Spirit, then out to others. If we cut ourselves off from the "life source" we can not and will not spread his love and glory as we were created to. We are empty of the love and life of God. It's simply no longer there to be diffused. We are takers without His love, not the givers we were originally designed to be.

So what then happens to us, as we become more and more *aware of our total spiritual bankruptcy? We feel guilty. And not just because it's some vague sense of self-imposed punishment, but because we are in fact guilty. We do not do what we were designed to do i.e. love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. This indeed is to greatest and most challenging order (greatest commandment) God gives us. 
 
So as maturing believers, we now battle. We battle with an increasing awareness of the depth of our brokenness hopefully, along with an increasing and matching awareness of the love of God for us as his broken but redeemed, adopted, and perfectly cherished children.  

The irony is our increasing awareness of being perfectly loved because of Christ, allows us to be increasingly honest with how unlovely we truly are. We know God does not and will not reject us due to our brokenness because Christ took our deserved rejection/ banishment and condemnation for us. And this work by him on our behalf is infinitely greater in depth and width than our brokenness (Rom 5:20). Thanks to Christ and his willingly giving himself up to restore us back to our original design.

So we struggle between growing awareness of God's perfect and infinite love and our total and complete desire to operate outside of this love i.e. our rejection of it and embracing self-love in various forms.

I propose that the awareness of our true guilt and any subsequent depression is an opportunity and possibly even a call by God to dig deeper into who Christ is, what he did, and why he did it. It is an opportunity to look hard at the extent of his work on our behalf and come to rejoice in it more and more. Our depression forces us to go back time and again and drink from an infinite, never-ending fountain of God's love and forgiveness. And thanks be to God, his is the final word; our brokenness is not.  

Who are some believers who have admitted to struggles with depression? King David, ("why are you cast down oh my soul..."),  Job, Moses, ElijahJeremiah, Jonah, Paul the apostle, Martin Luther. Charles Spurgeon, Henri Nouwen, John Piper to name some better-known believers. All of these great men of faith spoke of struggling with depression.

"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again." 2Co 1:8-10

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested click here in our bodies. 

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh...

...So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  2Co 4:8-11, 16-18  

For a discussion on healing trauma click here
For a discussion on whether pain is normal or just common click here
For a discussion on the greater our sin the greater God's grace click here
For a discussion on how we have God fully but not all of Him yet click here
For a discussion on the difference between good and bad guilt click here
For a discussion on how we can experience more of God's love through our suffering click here
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*An increasing and deeper awareness of our rebellious independence from God is actually a sign of increasing maturity. 




Friday, December 23, 2016

Competence – good or bad?

Is competence good or bad? It depends. 

Generally, it is defined as possessing the required skill, knowledge, qualification, or capacity to complete a task well. By this definition, it would be good.

But if competence is the basis from which we derive our sense of value/importance/meaning, it comes from a broken place; a place of emptiness/need.

If it is the fruit of knowing we are already valued/loved by God, it comes from a place of fullness/wholeness; it comes as a love response to God's love for us, i.e. its origin is God himself - he is the driving force, the "power supply" and impetus behind our applied skills and is therefore good.

Most of what society considers good is actually the fruit of rebellious independence from God. It is an attempt at making life work without God; at being our own god - to generate meaning/purpose/significance by and through our independent efforts i.e. efforts not driven by God's love but our seeking to feel important. It is operating in the flesh vs the Spirit; to get, not to give. 

Every action driven by the need to feel important/significant/valuable is an action of rebellious independence from God. It may be valuable to society and culture, but it does not bring honor to God and is therefore not of eternal/lasting value.

Every action driven out of a sense of importance/ significance/value derived through our relationship with God is an act of dependence on God. It is an act in response to God's love for us, i.e. God is the source of the power behind the action. His love is what moves us to act. We are acquiring our significance from God, and therefore do not need to obtain it outside of Him.  

Acts of rebellious independence bring honor to ourselves. Therefore, they only have temporary value.

Acts of dependence on God bring honor to him and are of eternal value, for only he is eternal and that which is done for his honor.

For a discussion on the "flip side" of this click here

"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire..." 
"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart (i.e. the motive behind our actions). Then each one will receive his commendation from God." 1Co 3:11-15; 4:5

"...who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness..." i.e. hidden motives.

"...The purposes of the heart…"  i.e. motives are the key to valid actions versus actions that are invalid. Things produced from a wrong purpose/motive are invalid actions i.e. have no eternal value and are therefore "burned up."

For a discussion on excellence click here


Sunday, December 18, 2016

The fallacy of the "prosperity gospel"

You may have heard the expression the "prosperity gospel" or the "health and wealth gospel." But what exactly is it? Is it truly the heart of God's good news? We definitely prosper through the gospel, but in what way? 

The prosperity gospel subtly implies God is not our ultimate pursuit but only a means to another goal of a healthy and wealthy life; a life where our greatest joy is in circumstantial or physical and material comfort/ benefits, not in our relationship with God. 

Tim Keller touches on this in the following quote:

"We tend to see God as a means through which we get things to make us happy. For most of us, He has not become our happiness." - Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc):

This is only "seeking and praising God" for what he 
¹gives us, not for who he is, therefore it is not actually seeking God in the truest sense, but created things. God is important only because he is considered the best means by which to obtain something else, i.e. health and wealth. In essence, the prosperity gospel does not truly seek God or seek to honor God but only use him. No one wants to be used in this way.

For these reasons, the "prosperity gospel" is ultimately destructive. Why? It can draw us away from God, not to him. It draws us to a sense of value and meaning in created things, which are temporary, when true meaning and value are only in Him. It is appealing because it caters to our fallen condition i.e. to our desire to be our own god (our bent towards independent self-trust) instead of dependence on the only true God. 

The problem however is not in the prosperity gospel in itself, it is in our hearts. Our hearts, in our present broken condition (even as his children), are naturally inclined to seek life apart from or outside of God. 

If our hearts were truly and fully inclined to God and not to rebellious distrust and independence from God, there would be no prosperity gospel. It would have no appeal.

Only when we find God to be the one and only true satisfier of our heart and the sustainer of life, might he grant us uncommon health and wealth if (and only if) it advances his good purposes in us and the world for his glory. 

This is contingent on two things. 

1. Our gifts/calling and 

2. our heart. 

Not all are gifted to do well in business and only he knows our hearts well enough to know when they are after him and not wealth. We only think we know.

But we must also keep in mind, we are in a broken world, and in this world, we will always have tribulation i.e. 
trouble (John 16:33), not to mention we will all eventually die. Our joy does not come primarily from God granting us circumstantial bliss and success but that he redeems our brokenness and the brokenness of this world in bondage, for our ultimate good and His greatest glory i.e. he has overcome this broken world by allowing himself to be broken by it and raised back to life. Because he was raised to life, so will we be in him. The ultimate hope of the prosperity promised in the gospel is a life of bliss in God's presence for all eternity - not necessarily in this life.

Once we find God to be our life - not use Him for personal/private gain - our health and wealth is no longer our focus, for we have true life in him now and will experience it fully (i.e. circumstantially) once we are in his once obscured, unfettered presence and totally restored (glorified) in eternity with him.  

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1Cor 13:12(ESV)


"People knew God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him. 

Their ideas were all useless. There was not one good thought left in their foolish minds. They said they were wise, but they became fools. 

Instead of honoring the divine greatness of God, who lives forever, they traded it for the worship of idols—things made to look like humans, who get sick and die, or like birds, animals, and snakes. 

People wanted only to do evil. So God left them and let them go their sinful way. And so they became completely immoral and used their bodies in shameful ways with each other. 

They traded the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down and worshiped the things God made instead of worshiping the God who made those things. He is the one who should be praised forever. Amen." - Rom 1:21-25

For a discussion on excellence click here

For a discussion on diligence click here

For a discussion on the importance and necessity of sowing click here.

Is competition good or bad? click here
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¹This way of "approaching God" leads to disastrous results. I think it is the reason many walk away from Christianity. In truth, they are not walking away from Christ but from an adulterated version of Christianity called the "property gospel." If you listen to Kanye West's reason for walking away from Christianity, he basically said it was because he asked God to do certain things that He didn't do. When God didn't do them, Kanye decided he could take care of it better than God i.e. basically he decided he is better at being God than God is. This is the very attitude Adam took in the garden and the exact opposite of Paul's response when Paul asked God to remove his thorn three times.

The desiring and pursuit of creation over the Creator is actually at the heart of mankind's problem and why we turned (and turn) away from God.
 
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." - i.e. created things. -  Romans 1:21-23 ESV‬

Thursday, December 15, 2016

The perfect law of liberty

Living out the truth is more instructive than studying the truth.

It is in living it out that we learn it best.

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." - Jas 1:25   

For a fuller discussion on the above click here

However to properly live out "the law of liberty" we must first properly understand the gospel of grace.

Until we fully understand the grace of God, we assume obedience is performance. We approach God's commandments as if they are hoops to jump through to earn his approval and gain his love, instead of loving directions for us to take part in to experience the fullness of life in him.

True obedience, however, is not to get something from God but to give something to him; the rightful honor and glory due him, i.e. we are to give ourselves in the same way Christ gave himself to us i.e. sacrificially. It is in our giving we receive, i.e. experience his love and empowerment.

True obedience is the fruit of God's love for us, not the cause. It is ¹evidence of our love for God vs a means of gaining or earning God's love.

God already fully poured out his love on us, in and through the life and death of Christ. There is nothing we can do to cause God to love us. It was while we were still sinners he loved us. 

Once we are in Christ, his infinite love is "locked in" and fixed upon us and will ²never be removed from us. He will never love us anymore or less than he already does right now in Christ.

When we fully receive and abide in this love, then and only then will we bear much fruit.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing... As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. John 15:4-5;9  
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¹John 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

This tells us what God does for us when we seek to "do" for Him. God is all about our business when we're all about his.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

This tells us what we do for him because of what He did for us.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

This tells us what God does for us that empowers us to do for him.

Obedience is the fruit of his love for us and the evidence of our love for him.

John 14:15 
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."

John 14:23
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.

John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.

1 John 2:3
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,

2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.

²Though our everyday experience of his love can be suppressed, i.e. we can grieve and quench the Spirit.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Weakness OR power?

We must be careful not to have an "either-or" mindset when it comes to weakness/humility vs power/effort. To say it another way, humility does not negate the importance of excellence in execution. It only addresses the disposition (motive) with which execution is carried out. 

Excellence in execution should always be how we seek to honor -- bring glory to -- God. In fact, it is a significant part of how we do so. 

Many Christians exercise false humility as an excuse to not pursue excellence. As a result, many things "Christian" are often of inferior quality. I know, because I used to think this way. I took the attitude, "God loves me no matter what, so the quality of my work or the diligence of my effort doesn't matter." In one sense, this is true. As far as God's love for us, it does not matter. His love is based on the work of Christ, not ours. But as far as our flourishing and participating in and experiencing all that God has for us, all he designed us to be and accomplish, and bringing him the greatest glory possible, it totally matters. 

How can doing things with less than excellence be more honoring to God than things executed excellently? They can not. God is the overflowing God and author of excellence, beauty, majesty, bounty, love etc. 


How many times have we heard (or felt) regarding a "Christian" enterprise - such as a movie or song - that this is a "typical"  Christian production i.e. implying it is inferior -- not in substance/content of the message, but in presentation or form -- compared to what nonbelievers produce?

This has not always been the case. Think of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach or Michelangelo or the quality of education provided by some of the earliest higher learning institutions, such as Harvard and Yale. These were all the fruit of a desire to honor God through the diligent use of God's gifts to produce something excellent for his glory. 

Paul gives us an example of how we are to go about things. 


Col 1:29  For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. 

We are also told that whether we eat, drink or whatever we do, do all to the glory of God 1Co 10:31This suggests we act not just with the intent of pointing others to him but with the degree of effort necessary to produce the best possible result/outcome for his honor. Loving God with all our strength (energy, effort) is part of the greatest commandment, is it not? This says great effort driven by a desire to honor God is superior to efforts seeking to exalt self i.e. God is superior to self.

If we have to choose between operating with humility and operating with excellence the former is always the better choice. No amount of excellence in itself will bring the greatest honor to God -- at least not deliberately i.e. it is not the intent of the producer. But if we can operate with both humility (1st) and excellence as a fruit of humility, that is the preferred option and should always be our ultimate desire and goal.

For a further discussion on the importance of excellence click here

For a further discussion on how a great outcome is in proportion to great effort click here. 



Friday, December 2, 2016

Tension - a mark of maturity

Maturity is marked by a tension of an increasing awareness...

* Of the total extent of our brokenness i.e. our persistent tendency to try and be our own god; to make life work without God. 

* That we make very poor gods and can not make life work as it should without God. 

While at the same time becoming increasingly aware...

* That God's love for us has nothing to do with our brokenness (or "goodness") and has everything to do with Christ being broken for us, 

* Resulting in our increasing love for, trust in and pursuit of God.

Our awareness of this tension/contrast between our brokenness and God's complete remedy for it increases as we continue to mature. As this awareness grows so does our love for God and trust in him.


Monday, November 28, 2016

Fake News

For those only interested in the topic "Fake News" feel free to skip the following disclaimer and head right to the post below.

Disclaimer:

The below post is out of character for a blog addressing the things of God...or is it?

Why am I writing a post about fake news? Even though my blog is about God, God is also a God of truth. Not only so, but also because lies are powerful and very destructive. It also saddens me to see all the divisiveness in our nation and the world. I would suggest this is possibly being stirred up deliberately and hope this post will help explain why, at least in part.

I have been aware of media control for years (in large part due to working in the financial services industry for 11 years [holding a series 6 and 63 license in the securities industry] and later in areas related to tax law through an estate planning business I partnered and co-directed for 14 years). In light of the 2016 presidential election, it became clearer to a larger number than ever that something was going on, in and through the mainstream media outlets. Statistics now show only 30% to as low as 6% in America believe the news media is telling us the truth. Therefore, I felt now was a good time to peek behind the curtain so to speak. I trust why will become apparent as you read the below.

This is not a typical post for this blog. While I seek only to speak the truth, this particular post is about the truth of a practical, not theological kind. For my regular readers who come to see the truth of the theological variety, this kind of non-theological discourse may be of no interest to you. So I am letting you know up front this is about deception within the mainstream news media, before you take time to read this post in its entirety (though I certainly encourage you to).
  
If you find this topic of fake news of no interest, thanks for taking the time you have so far!  

I trust you will return in the future for my usual posts on

"Thoughts about God"

Now to the topic at hand...
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Fake News

The following is an excerpt from no less than the Congressional Record published in 1917 on page 2949. 

The key excerpt is immediately below and a photo copy of the entire page is at the end of this post to verify it is in fact from the Congressional record.

I have also reproduced the text following the snapshot below for easier reading.

I challenge you to seriously consider what you are about to read. The ramifications affect all of us daily and are enormous; even life-altering when clearly understood. So without further ado,


The following is a reproduction of the above for easier reading:

"In March, 1915, the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interests, and their subsidiary organizations, got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world and employed them to select the influential newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of the daily press of the United States. 

These 12 men worked the problem out by selecting 179 newspapers, and then began, by an elimination process, to retain only those necessary for the purpose of controlling the general policy of the daily press throughout the country. They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. The 25 papers were agreed upon: emissaries were sent to purchase the policy, national and international, of these papers; an agreement was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnished for each paper to properly supervise and edit information regarding the questions of preparedness, militarism, financial policies, and other things of national and international nature considered vital to the interest of the PURCHASERS (emphasis my own).


This contract is in existence at the present time (1917), and it accounts for the news columns of the daily press of the country." (emphasis mine)

END OF QUOTE!

Below is the quote again with some interjected and emboldened comments, preceded with >>>, and sections quoted from the Congressional Record lead by 3 dots ...

"In March 1915,

>>> 1915 is not a typo. This has been going on for a looooong time. So long that when we DO hear the truth in the news media we often don't even know it.  

...the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interests, and their subsidiary organizations,

>>> J.P. Morgan also happened to be a stakeholder in the privately-owned (often thought to be government-controlled) Federal Reserve Bank. For more click here. There is tons of information on this if you find the link inadequate. Just do a YouTube or general search on "Federal Reserve Deception" or the like. You will find more than you have time to read.

...got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world

>>> Do you think this may have carried through to other forms of cultural influence today, such as entertainment, movies, TV shows, the music industry, public education, sports, the government itself...even Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube (YouTube is owned by Google btw). All of these social media platforms are censoring news at this time that goes contrary to the mainstream narrative. For more on this click here

It also happens that executive types from Google made more visits to the white house during the Obama administration than any other business industry. Does this prove anything? Not necessarily, but it's worth raising the question of why all the visits. Especially in light of what we have seen recently with censorship of "fake news" on FB, and YouTube and the complete cancellation of certain accounts. To see an example of this click here

...and employed (i.e. paid) them to select the influential newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of the daily press of the United States (emphasis added by me).

These 12 men worked the problem out...

>>> Problem? What problem? Who's got a problem? We the people? NO, JP Morgan and "interests!"

...by selecting 179 newspapers, and then began, by an elimination process, to retain only those necessary for the purpose of controlling the general policy of the daily press throughout the country.

This is the second reference to "controlling the...press."  When something is mentioned once, it's important...twice, it's critical. 

This alone should shock us. If it doesn't we don't fully understand the far-reaching destruction of mass deception through controlled media and how we have been misled on the most vital information necessary in making an accurate assessment of critical issues shaping the direction of our country for 110 years. If you think this is overstated, I encourage you to give this serious thought in light of the direction our nation has taken on the most significant issues in the last 110 years...covid 19, the Ukraine War, and election fraud are some examples of the biggest stories being "reported on" (or not in most cases) today.

>>> What does that mean... to control the general policy of the press? The rest of the report clarifies. The point is the media is controlled, which is not the intent of the founders and also why freedom of the press is vital i.e. the press is not to be controlled by any special interests but is there simply to report facts and raise awareness of what is going on in the world and in government for the benefit and protection of the nation as a whole i.e. you and I, and not for a select group within America their private special interests (sometimes referred to as the "1%" or the "elite"). 

Freedom of the press was intended to be a check on government corruption and controlled media; Sometimes referred to as the 5th estate.

...They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. The 25 papers were agreed upon: emissaries were sent to purchase the policy, national and international, of these papers...

>>> emissaries.

1. a representative sent on a mission or errand: emissaries to negotiate a
peace.
2. an agent sent on a mission of a secret nature, as a spy (not conspiracy theory but plain old fashion conspiracy).

... an agreement was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnished for each paper to properly supervise and edit information regarding the questions of preparedness, militarism, financial policies, and other things of national and international nature considered vital to the interest of... in short to lead people in the direction the controllers wish to take them i.e. to mislead them, not give them the facts needed to make an accurate assessment of the best course of action for the nation as a whole, verses a small group and their private special interests.

>>> To properly supervise and edit?! For whose benefit!? NOT the citizens, not even our country BUT...

...the PURCHASERS  (i.e. J.P. Morgan and interests. My emphasis)

>>> Freedom of the Press was and is totally ignored in this arrangement and has been ignored for the last 100 + years of this nation's existence!! It is with good reason the founders thought freedom of the press was so important. We are seeing the fruit of ignoring their wisdom today. 

...This contract is in existence at the present time (as of this report which was in 1917), and it accounts for the news columns of the daily press of the country."

END OF QUOTE!

If you wish to see another online copy of this quote click here

For a short video (just over 4 minutes) also addressing this CLICK HERE

The clip immediately above is older but the only difference now is new "players" have been added. If you have followed the recent censoring of news by Twitter (before Elon Musk), Facebook, and YouTube (owned by Google) it is painstakingly clear they are also now part of controlled media. In fact, they have recently gone on a very open campaign to censor anyone who does not go along with their narrative. James O'Keefe - founder of Project Veritas and now OMG (O'Keefe Media Group) - has done some interesting undercover reporting exposing their agenda.

The 4-minute clip above refers to the CFR (Council on Foreign Relations). Why mention the CFR? Most top-level people in mainstream media are members of the CFR. To see the "who's who" of the CFR in 2008 click here. For a current "who's who" specifically in media alone click here. You can go to the CFR's own site for this as well. Listings are in alphabetical order. To understand more of the CFR's global agenda click here.

As a side note, but very relevant, 3 very important pieces of legislation were put in place in 1913, just two years prior to J.P. Morgan buying up control of the top 25 newspapers of the country. It just so happens that J.P. Morgan had financial interests and was part owner of the Federal Reserve Bank. Coincidence?  
1. The Income Tax Act, which resulted in a direct tax on the earnings of all US Citizens for only the 2nd time in our countries history (The first was the Wilson–GormanTariff Act of 1894, which was overturned by the Supreme Court later in the Pollack Decision).

2. The 16th Amendment was added which gave the appearance of authorization for this direct tax (later to be struck down by the Supreme Court only to be ignored by Congress).

3. The Federal Reserve Act, which turned our monetary system over to a privately owned bank called the Federal Reserve. Which is Federal in name only.  
So what does the income tax have to do with the Banking system? Taxes according to former Fed Chairman Beardsley Ruml are used to mask "inflation" caused by the creation of money through the Federal Reserve Bank. If you wish to read the actual speech click here or here.  

What effect has the above circumvention of the free press, begun over 100 years ago, had on us today?

If we are not getting straight information on "...militarism (wars), financial policies (banking, the financial markets, etc), and other things of national and international (terrorism, pandemics etc) nature..." could that play any part in influencing the masses into accepting policies - with very little resistance - our government decides to push through? Policies not truly in the interest of the people (but only made to look like they were and are), but in the "financial interests" of their handlers, who also control the news? Keep in mind this means that what drives the news is economic in nature, not to present the truth or for the benefit of the country but in the best interest of the "Purchasers" the 1%, the elite, etc.

To say it directly, we are only hearing those things that unknowingly sway us to support actions that help best line up with the agenda and the pockets of the purchasers, not what is in the best interest of you and me, the people.
For those who object to the current President (Trump at the time of this post) tweeting, keep in mind he is bypassing the mainstream news media in doing so. It's also worth mentioning MSM took issue with his Tweeting once he got in office, not before. Wonder why!? He had been posting tweets long before he became President and saying pretty much the same things he said before he got elected. 

The Banksters and their agenda 

Guess what makes the most money for lenders? Lending money, i.e. DEBT (Not by them but to them by countries that borrow from them to finance the cost of war). Especially when they collect interest on money that is being printed out of thin air. How would you like to collect interest on a $1 million loan that costs you NOTHING (outside of admin costs) to make it? The more I lend (at only the admin costs to lend it), the more I make. That is 100k/yr at 10% interest on $1 million and $100 million/yr on a billion dollars!! Now do the numbers on our current debt of around 30 plus TRILLION (as of this update). Remember, as the bank, they are not coming out of pocket to make the loan, they are simply having the money printed. Pretty nice business, don't you think (if you can live with being a thief)?

Guess what is one of the main generators of debt? War! Nothing like a perpetual war on terrorism (or some other excuse) to drive demand for loans aka debt. The war on terror began under Bush and increased under the Obama administration in great part by a failed policy in the Middle East. In the 8 years under Obama, we doubled what it took our entire 240 plus year history to reach (we were around 10 trillion debt in 2004 and were close to 20 trillion at the end of his administration. An estimated 7 trillion has been spent on conflicts in the Middle East and the so-called war on terror under the Bush and Obama administrations. Most of it under Obama).

For a powerful visual example of how much this debt is watch the 2-minute video at the top of the site here.

Here's the million (or maybe I should say trillion) dollar question? Who does our government owe all those TRILLIONS of dollars to, themselves?! If that was the case, why not simply dismiss the debt?

"Hey self! What? You know that money I owe you. I'm just going to cancel the debt." Self replied, "OK! Great!" (I am using an absurd conversation to make a point. It is in fact absurd). 

NO! The government doesn't owe this money to itself. They owe it to a private banking system called the Federal Reserve Bank (owned in part by JP Morgan and interests. Remember that guy?!)

Now you may be wondering why the government would even allow this arrangement to occur or continue. Though it's involved, generally, with this arrangement the government can get all the money they want and need (not real money with actual value, mind you, but simply have the private bank lend it i.e. it's debt, not money) to do whatever they wish without getting the direct ok of the people to raise taxes to cover the ever-increasing spending i.e. it removes or at least postpones accountability for their decisions. Decisions hid from the public eye, because the public is never consulted in what the government borrows and the amount of debt isn't disclosed until after the fact. Decisions that are beginning to bear their ugly fruit. 

BTW beware of the upcoming CBCD (Central Bank Digital Currency). This is not true decentralized cryptocurrency that gives you complete control and privacy over your transactions. If you think the current Central banking system is bad, it will be far worse with CBDC. 

If you wish to learn more, just do a YouTube search on the Federal Reserve Scam as mentioned before. OR for a quick overview 3-minute video click here.

If you want to really dig in, there is also an excellent series called "The Hidden Secrets of Money" by Mike Mahoney. I highly recommend it for a thorough explanation. It's a 7 part series. Click here for the first episode.

Now, let's take it to the next level. What if someone started questioning the honesty of the "official" news - i.e. mainstream news media - and provided evidence these "official" information outlets were in collusion with the "banksters" who have influence over the government/politicians and the political decisions they make? How would the "official news" (and politicians) likely respond? Would they be happy? Might they attempt to discredit their accusers? Maybe even assert they are "Fake News?"

What if someone (such as the mainstream news [I put FoxNews in this group as well] or other centers of influence such as entertainment, sports, the public school system, the government itself, etc.) had a history of lying and folks, over time, started to catch on. And some of these folks catching on (those annoying, inconvenient whistleblowers) even started to point it out and provide evidence we were being lied to? What would those "official" information outlets do then (outlets that have had a significant amount of influence/power over the ones they have lied to, allowing them to maintain control over them and the policies of those who govern them)? Might those outlets start to accuse the whistleblowers of being charlatans, liars i.e. **FAKE NEWS? And might those outlets trot out others who will lie (not always, but strategically, subtly, when and where needed...so called "fact-checkers") to "prove" the whistleblowers are fake?

*This was originally written before the hysteria over COVID-19 AKA Coronavirus. We are now at 31 Trillion in debt as a nation, mainly to help small businesses keep their staff, many of which are not working due to the shutdown. For some additional thoughts on the virus click here.

**btw one of the main whistleblowers labeled as "fake news" used to be the "Drudge Report." I mention them to show the absurdity of the claim. If you have ever been to Drudge, what they use to do is find articles from other sources and link to them. They simply scour the internet for news articles that often slip under the radar (aren't always headlines) and list them on their site. That's it! The articles then have to stand or fall on their own merits. The point is these were not articles written by the Drudge Report. Many are even articles from mainstream sources but buried on the 5th or back page. What is most interesting is Drudge has been labeled as an "alt-right" media source by the mainstream media. He has since gone more left-leaning in the articles he highlights and the "alt-right" smears by MSM have since stopped. Are you starting to get the picture yet?

(There is truth even in the mainstream often, but it's usually buried never to be repeated. They know most folks are busy and won't dig so they will likely never notice these buried articles. This gives them a certain "plausible deniability" of never reporting the truth. Clue: when you see a story hammered on over and over again and on the front page, there is usually some really important news buried, sneaking under the radar, somewhere else in the back pages. Also often when a front-page story is proven false, if there is ever a retraction, it's also buried in the back, if one is ever made at all. Check it if you don't believe me. I have been watching this happen for years now). 

How many reports have you read or did you read by the major news outlets (or other media) during this past election season (2020 at the time of this post) that simply proved to be either error (sloppy reporting) or a flat out fabrication i.e. lie (with rarely a retraction when caught)? Of course, if you only listen to the mainstream media (and other centers of influence listed above) you won't even be aware the problem exists. How can you? You are only listening to those who are pushing the elite narrative posing as truth-tellers, not those the mainstream media is accused of lying i.e. what they are calling "Fake News." You may wish to actually check into alternative media. If you never have, you may be surprised at the level of research and collaboration of facts actually given. Hint...it's usually far more than what mainstream news gives us. Mainstream stories (notice I didn't say reporting) are often innuendo, conjecture and anonymous sourcing with little third party collaboration. 

(I have known about the history above behind controlled media for several years and had seen their lies over time. I noticed it heavily during Ron Paul's two presidential runs. This past election the misleading reports were so over the top it actually exposed this to the masses for the first time). 

The mainstream media has several problems however as a large majority of America have figured their agenda out in the last 18 months. They are controlled and there are third-party sources to verify this (not provided by the mainstream news, however. Surprise, surprise! Only from the so-called "fake news" i.e. the whistleblowers who are actually telling us the truth). The mainstream news has been caught lying repeatedly. And there is information that has inconveniently been leaked (thanks in great part to *WikiLeaks) from their own mouths to verify this. The best source to collaborate with any story is the perpetrator, i.e. the source themselves and direct eyewitnesses. Everything else is **"hearsay"
** hearsay:

1.
unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another andnot part of one's direct knowledge:
I pay no attention to hearsay.
2.
an item of idle or unverified information or gossip; rumor:
a malicious hearsay. 
Very in depth interview with Wikileaks head Assange dispelling much of the confusion and myths around Wikileaks as of 1/3/17 click here
For information that Assange may now be free click here. We'll keep you posted.  

The wheels of the fake news media continue to come off

CNN agenda exposed.  

3 CNN reporters resign over fake news.

For more on what exactly WikiLeaks is and does click here

For a further discussion of how to combat fake news click here

Bottom line. The actual fake news is coming from those who are calling the truth-tellers fake i.e. the "gatekeepers" mainstream news, entertainment (comedy, movie, TV, sports, etc) and other centers of influence and information outlets are the actual perpetrators of fake news. Accusations, however, are nothing more than accusations, but only hearsay. To become fact, they have to be substantiated.

The following is a list of mainstream "reporters" who, by their own emails (i.e. their own words) admit they colluded with the Clinton campaign this past election. You will notice, these are the stations that have been pushing the "fake news" accusations regarding the actual truth-tellers (whistleblowers). These are also the outlets that are labeling the whistleblowers as "alt-right" media. Also note CNN is listed most, with NY Times and MSNBC tied for 2nd and ABC third.




Just a tad different view than that held by the founders of this country. 



Not all conspiracies are theory

By way of an Analogy: 

I offer you the following as an analogy of our present situation regarding the "fake news" discussion.

Think of Grima, known as Wormtongue, the chief adviser to King Theoden in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Thanks to Gandalf, Wormtongue was exposed and Middle Earth was eventually saved.

Click here to see the scene from Lord of the Rings.

As you watch it, the following is some food for thought:

Gandalf - represents the whistleblowers and truth-tellers, known as the "Fake News" by the mainstream media.

Grima Wormtongue - The mainstream news along with other centers of influence such as music and entertainment media (comedy shows, movies, sports etc).

King Theoden under a trance. American before it woke up.

King Theoden freed from his trance. American awakened.  
-----
The Matrix is another good analogy. Morpheus is the "fake news" guy (who was actually telling the truth) and Neo is someone who believed the mainstream information outlets before he took the read pill. 

Of course, this is all a "great right-wing conspiracy" according to the greatest "truth-teller" of all time, Hillary Clinton herself.

By the way, if you think all this is nuts let me know. I have personal friends who worked in government psyops who will be glad to explain it.