Tag Archives: Churches

A Double Whammy, by Laurence M. Vance

Posted on July 6, 2020 | Leave a comment

By and large, America’s houses of worship have been abysmal during the coronavirus outbreak. From Laurence M. Vance at lewrockwell.com:

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” ~ Acts 17:16

Many Christians recently received a double whammy of blasphemy and idolatry because the Fourth of July fell on a Saturday this year.

Most churches—and especially conservative, evangelical churches—usually have some kind of a patriotic service on the Sunday before the Fourth of July. If you have the misfortune of attending, there you will see the church building and the grounds around the church decorated with American flags, hear special prayers for the troops and government officials, see military personnel wearing their uniforms to church, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, see veterans recognized, read the church bulletin with an American flag on the cover, see men wearing cross and flag lapel pins, and sing hymns of worship to the state.

What happened this year is that some churches moved their patriotic services to Sunday July fifth since that is only one day removed from the fourth. But not being content with just one Sunday of blasphemy and idolatry, some churches also had in addition a mini patriotic service on the Sunday before the Fourth of July, hence the double whammy.

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Posted in Civil Liberties, Government, Religion

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The First Freedom, by Andrew P. Napolitano

Posted on June 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

With a few isolated exceptions, religious figures capitulated to the state’s decrees on coronavirus without protest. From Andrew P. Napolitano at lewrockwell.com:

Here is a pop quiz on the Constitution. What is the first freedom protected by the Bill of Rights? If you guessed speech or press, then you are close. The first protected freedom is religion. The two religion clauses in the First Amendment keep the government out of our pockets for religious purposes and out of our churches for all purposes. That was, at least, the intent of the framers.

The tyrannical behavior of many state governors, who have issued executive orders purporting to regulate private behavior on private property — even religious behavior in houses of worship — and in the process have enforced these orders as if they were laws, has ignored this. In America, governors do not write laws; only legislatures do. There are no pandemic or public health or emergency exceptions in the Constitution.

Here in New Jersey, Catholics were permitted — permitted — to attend public Masses last Sunday for the first time in 88 days.

This has deeply troubled many of the faithful, and many non-adherents, who understand the concepts that only legislatures write laws and that no legislature can write a law telling a religious institution when and how to permit worship.

So, who closed all the houses of worship? Why did Catholic bishops dispense with a nearly 1,600-year-old rule — which survived all sorts of wars and pestilence — requiring attendance at Sunday Mass? What became of the wall of separation?

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Posted in Civil Liberties, Collapse, Governments, History, Law, Medicine, Religion

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The Military-Evangelical Complex, by Paul Rosenberg

Posted on April 12, 2016 | 1 comment

Use a state-sanctioned gun, go to heaven. Perhaps soldiers are to be pitied because they’re young when they sign up and they don’t know what they’re getting into when they become instruments of the US’s disastrous interventionist foreign policy. Pity them if you will, but don’t lionize them. Paul Rosenberg, with a hit-the-nail-right-on-the-head article at freemansperspective.com:

There are evangelical Christians whom I love and respect. Nonetheless, it’s time to face this: The military-evangelical complex is not just politically dangerous; it’s a corruption of the Judeo-Christian tradition and thus of Western Civilization itself.

Definition

Let’s start by defining this clearly: The military-evangelical complex is an intricate partnership between the US government and thousands of churches, typically evangelical. These churches support and glorify government-authorized violence. Their messages to their members are clear: To enforce laws is noble and righteous; to bleed on a foreign battlefield is godly; the US military is a great force of goodness upon Earth; America, manifested especially through military action, is God’s special tool.

Every American past high-school age should recognize this description, but to be clear, here are a few exemplary images:

• It is announced in church that Johnny has joined the military. He is asked to stand and is heartily applauded by all.

• Memorial Day church services (or Veteran’s Day or July 4th) feature dedicated sermons and proud displays of flags and uniforms. There is effusive praise for soldiers, casting them as godly heroes.

• Military-themed ceremonies are held before every major sporting event.

• Children are encouraged to choose “service” as a life plan; if not in war, at least enforcing state laws.

• Enacting violence on behalf of the state is certain to get you public praise and pats on the back.

• Government-ordered violence is prejudged to be good and right.

• Funerals include the ritual touching of flags by military veterans.

• Churches promote slogans like, “Jesus died to save us; soldiers die to keep us free.”

• Rituals of saluting flags, singing anthems, and thanking soldiers for ‘service’ are obligatory.

Now, let’s be honest about this. Military service has become a sacrament in these churches; soldiers are the new missionaries, and wounded soldiers are the new martyrs.

And let’s be honest about something else: If we found records of such things in ancient inscriptions, we’d define them as the rituals of a military cult… and we would not be wrong.

To continue reading: The Military-Evangelical Complex

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