Monday, January 29, 2007

News roundup



I thought Id do a news summary of some of the stories that grabbed my attention in the past week or so. Starting with France, a member of the French Socialist party has been expelled for saying that there are too many blacks in the French football team. Using the moronic logic of the professional 'anti-racists', to be found further down this entry, I could claim that the French football association is racist because blacks are disproportionately more likely to play football for France. But seeing as I accept reality, I can see that there may well be some genetic or social reasons which lead blacks to be more likely to become footballers in France (just as there may be similar reasons that they are more likely to be stopped and searched in some inner city areas in Britain). That would of course make 'reality' racist, if we are to be consistent in the way we use the word 'racist'. Having said that the issue here is that these footballers, good though they may be, are not French and do not represent France. The issue of national teams using mercenaries seems to be cropping up all over Europe, even in places you wouldn’t expect. Greece has a black basketball player, Russia an American one, the Croatian football team a Brazilian etc etc. A piece of plastic does not change ones ethnicity!Coinciding with the sacking of this politician, a poll has shown that one third of French people are at least somewhat racist. In translation, that means one third of French people are willing to admit that they value their own ethnic group and heritage more than that of others. Hardly a surprising finding. If you surveyed Muslims in France I’m sure that you would find that they have only secondary loyalty and solidarity (if any) to France and French people, their primary loyalty lies with the Ummah and their Muslim brethren. Funny how the survey insinuates that its somehow morally wrong to favour your own group, but only voices concern about the natives. I should think the French are sick about not only about having this social experiment imposed on them, but then being told to appreciate it. I remember last year a charity was attacked for providing pork soup (traditional French food) to homeless people because it couldn’t be eaten by Muslims. Well what about charities that provide meat, which cant be eaten by vegetarians, or Muslim charities that provide Halal food that cant be eaten by those who don’t want to endorse animal suffering? People should have the right to be charitable to whomever they want. And its not immoral to provide first for your own, just as its not immoral to put your family ahead of your neighbours.
Moving on to Britain, the Daily Mail claimed Tony Blair was showing signs of losing his grip on reality yesterday as he claimed that the past 18 months had been his finest while in power! Personally I think he lost whatever grip he may have had a long time ago. Quite frankly the chickens are coming home to roost. He and his corrupt band of opportunists are being investigated in the ‘cash for honours’ enquiry in which they were giving away peerages in return for loans. Some democracy when a wad of cash will buy you entry into the House of Lords. Then we have the unravelling disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan, pointless and unjust wars, based not on honest mistakes but lies. And as for the Home Office it seems they couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery. Not only do we have countless dangerous criminals including paedophiles and terrorists on the run, but we don’t even know how many. And the reason is because of the ‘open prison’ system. WTF is the word ‘open’ doing next to the word ‘prison’? That might provide a clue as to the problem! The prison crisis in Bliars utopia, could all be solved in an instant: deport the 11000 foreign criminals clogging up the system (for a start). The result of all this is that paedophiles are not being sent to jail because theres not enough space!
After paying compensation to criminals for not giving them drugs while in prison, and paying school children to attend school, the latest big idea is to give drug addicts TVs, iPods and other assorted goodies if they can kick their habit. The lunatics are clearly in charge of the asylum (quite literally in the case of the open prisons).
And the polically correct fanatics are still whining about 'racist' police tactics. There is no more PC institution in the UK, so if they can be accused of racism anyone can. Supposedly 'stop and search' is racist because it targets black people disproportionately. Well if black areas have disproportionately more crime, for whatever reason, its not surprising that black people are more likely to be searched. I guess the law of probability is racist. In that case maybe the anti-terrorist unit should set up a branch in a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Even if theres zero crime, at least we'll be diverting resources from 'oppressing' people that are more likely to commit crime. Check out the ethnicity of the six men who were accused of plotting to bomb London. They all look very (for lack of a better word) foreign. Now we know that Muslims (predominantly Pakistanis, Africans and Arabs) are more likely to commit a terrorist attack (by a factor of at least a thousand), so it would be ludicrous not to use racial, religious, or any other statistically relevant profiling. And politically incorrect crime statistics can be found all over Europe. For example in Holland, asylum seekers are more than 3 times as likely to commit a crime than Dutch citizens. Is it therefore surprising or racist that they are more likely to be searched?

Friday, January 26, 2007

Science, the opiate of the masses

I'll start with 2 letters I read in a London newspaper the other day:

Just because science cannot currently explain everything about the Big Bang doesn't mean we should automatically jump to the conclusion that 'God' created the universe. Science continues to develop and the Hubble telescope has discovered and photographed new galaxies. One day, science may be able to explain more about the Big Bang. The human race will not continue to develop, discover and understand if we label our ignorance as 'God'.
-James Warmington, Essex

I could using his logic say, just because he knows so little about religion (if anything) he shouldnt automatically jump to the conclusion it is 'ignorant' and that the only other possibility is that the Big Bang occured.

I don't see why proof of an intelligent design to the universe proves there is a God. Such a fact does not tell us whether such a being exists, whether it is benign or even whether it cares about the existance of mankind. It still boils down to faith, in the abscence of hard facts.
-G Willits, Newcastle

I dont know his first name but we'll call him Gareth. Gareth has come to the remarkable conclusion that proof of an intelligent design would not imply an intelligent designer. This leaves unanswered the obvious question of who would be 'intelligent' and in what way it would be a 'design' as opposed to a random occurence.

Both James and Gareth are granting Science some kind of omnipotent all-explanitory power. What Science fails to explain, they claim it will provide if we only give it enough time. Failing that they would no doubt denounce the existance of that which cannot be explained by Science. They have neatly sidestepped the fact that Science, by definition, cannot posit a supernatural force as an explanation, because science has no means of empiracally testing supernatural events or causes. Therefore, it is outside the realm of science. There is nothing wrong with Science, it has developed into an extraordinary process which does accurately describe the physical, material world in most cases (and the psychological in some cases). But if science by definition, cannot posit the existence of a supernatural force, then science cannot be used to prove the absence of a supernatural force. For instance, if I determine a priori that no matter what I observe, I shall never observe X, I cannot then turn around and argue, "Ah ha! In all of my research I have never observed X, so I have now proven that X does not exist."If science cannot be used to prove the absence of a supernatural force, then neither can it be used to prove that such a force is of no effect. Science has therefore disqualified itself from arguing that anything supernatural ever did or didn't do anything, or that anything supernatural either exists or does not exist. What has been observed is larger than science.
As Fred says:
Here is the chief defect of scientists (I mean those who take the sciences as an ideology rather than as a discipline): an unwillingness to admit that there is anything outside their realm. But there is. You cannot squeeze consciousness, beauty, affection, or Good and Evil from physics any more than you can derive momentum from the postulates of geometry: No mass, no momentum. A moral scientist is thus a contradiction in terms.
But we have the supreme arrogance of Professor Dawkins claiming that he has found no evidence for the existance of God. But what kind of evidence has he been searching for? Spiritual evidence? No, Scientific evidence! What was he expecting; that he could map the DNA of God in the laboratory, or that he could empircally test for God by repeated sampling? If his discipline can only explain phenomena in the physical realm, but not the spiritual, it has indeed disqualified itself from testing that which is spiritual. So instead of examining the physical with the physical and the spiritual with the spiritual, he expects God to conform (or presumably perform) to his own limited and contradictory preconceptions. He would have infinitely more success examining the existance of God if he opened his heart, and with humility tried to search for answers using the same domain as that which he is testing. If I want to test the robustness of a Scientific principle then I will undertake a Scientific experiment. Likewise if I want to open myself up to God, then I will use spiritual means (which are documented through the Saints and Holy Tradition). This strikes me as a logical modus operandi. But not for Dawkins. Lacking belief in the divine, he has given his beloved Science the status of divinity. He expects it to answer even that which is not within its remit!
Again from Fred:
Trouble comes when the sciences overstep their bounds. It is one thing to study physical phenomena, another to say that only physical phenomena exist. Here science blurs into ideology, an ideology being a systematic and emotionally held way of misunderstanding the world. A science is open and descriptive, an ideology closed and prescriptive. A scientist says, in principle at least, “Give me the facts and I will endeavor to derive a theory that describes them.” The ideologist says, “I have the theory, and nothing that does not fit it can be a fact.” Having chosen his rut, he never sees beyond it.
And to finish off with (since the title of this entry is contained within):
That being said, at worst the religions of the earth are gropings toward something people feel but cannot put a finger on, toward something more at the heart of life than the hoped-for raise, trendy restaurants, and the next and grander automobile. And few things are as stultifying and superficial as the man not so much agnostic (this I can understand) as simply inattentive, whose life is focused on getting into a better country club. Good questions are better than bad answers. And the sciences, though not intended to be, have become the opiate of the masses.

I think it would be fitting that I link every article Fred has written on religion, now that Im on the subject. Seeing as I have just read all of them and most people wont be motivated to examine them in detail, I will provide a section that I found myself in particular agreement with in each article:

Of knowing and not knowing
The difficulty is that the sciences can apprehend only the repeatable.
The War against Religion
Things in Heaven and earth
In the limitless confidence of this physics-is-all ideology there is a phenomenal arrogance. Perhaps we overestimate ourselves. As temporary phenomena ourselves in a strange universe we don’t really understand, here for reasons we do not know, waiting to go somewhere or nowhere as may be, we might display a more becoming humility.
Yet more Evolution
One plausible explanation for this rigid evolutionary monotheism, though I think an incorrect one, is a fear that the children might come to believe in Creationism. Unlikely, but again, so what? A belief in Creationism does not prevent one from working in the sciences. A goodly number of scientists, to include biochemists, are in fact Christian and, some of them, Creationists. Others presumably are Buddhists or Hindus. The only thing for which acceptance of Creationism renders one unsuitable is…Evolutionism.
A more likely explanation is a fear that children might realize that a great deal of Evolution, not having been established, must be accepted on faith, and that a fair amount of it doesn’t make a lot of sense. While Creationism is unlikely to convert children into snake-handlers, it does suggest that orthodox Evolution can be examined critically.
Evolution
Now (and I hope this doesn’t bore those who have read me before on the matter), an entertaining way to study the politics is to ask the Evolutionists questions that a scientist would answer (since scientists are not ashamed not to know things), but that an ideologue can’t afford to. They are simple. (1) Has the chance occurrence of life been demonstrated in the laboratory? Yes or no. (2) Do we really know, as distinct from guess, hope, or imagine, of what the primeval seas consisted? Yes or no. (3) Do we know, as distinct from guess, pray, wave our arms, and hold our breath and turn blue, what seas would be needed for the chance formation of life? Yes or no. (4) Can we show mathematically, without crafted and unsupportable assumptions, that the formation of life would be probable in any soup whatever? Yes or no.I once posed these questions in a column on Fredoneverything.net and, in another place, to a group of committed evangelicals of Evolution. A tremendous influx of email resulted. Much of it was predictable. Many Christians congratulated me on having disproved Evolution, which I had not done. The intelligent and independent-minded wrote thoughtfully. Of the Knights Templar of Evolution, none—not one—answered the foregoing yes-or-no questions. They ducked. They dodged. They waxed wroth. They called names.
Questions of faith
Thus we have the spectacle of the scientist who is horrified by the latest hatchet murder but can give no scientific reason why. A murder after all is merely the dislocation of certain physical masses (the victim's head, for example) followed by elaborate chemical reactions. Horror cannot be derived from physics. It comes from somewhere else.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Serbia on CNN

The Serbian elections took place today, I dont think the results will be known for a while yet. Im not really interested anyway, probably all they will result in is another coalition of losers with the biggest single party (the Radical party) not included. I came accross 2 of the Serbian tourism organisations advertisements which were placed on CNN. They are actually quite good, shame that they are paying the same people that demonised us (and will do so again if we dont take orders like good little servants).


Saturday, January 20, 2007

There's a war on today, a holy war...


Long time no post. Ive finally got some free time and was browsing through some of my old posts on a discussion forum in order to find this interview. I hope its of interest to people. Its more than 10 years old, but as relevant now as it was in the 90's.

"The Zionists want to rule the world", warned holy monk of Mt. Athos Elder Paissios before his death in 1994.
Translated from a Russian translation of the Greek original.

Elder Paissios of Mt. Athos

Editor's note: On a remote, narrow peninsula in the Aegean Sea lies the monastic republic of Mt. Athos, spiritual heart of the Orthodox Christian world. For centuries monks have lived and prayed here for the salvation of their souls and the world, and every devout Orthodox Christian male strives to make the pilgrimage to Mt. Athos at least once in his life. Elder Paissios (1924-1994) is considered by many to have been the Holy Mount's greatest ascetic of the 20th Century. Over the course of his life the words of this humble Greek monk, who came to be honored by believers as an "holy elder" (geronta in Greek, starets in Russian), were recorded by the thousands who journeyed to seek his advice and prophecies. In the following quotes Paissios warns of the great cataclysms which await us in our Apocalyptic times. His counsel of spiritual preparedness and how to achieve it will be of use to all those who strive to do good while maintaining spiritual equilibrium in a world growing increasingly hostile to our salvation. Paissios seems to have foreseen everything: the ever more frequent and senseless wars and the growing totalitarianism of "Schengen Europe", "Homeland Securitized" America and "Putinized" Russia, the downward slide of our modern, globalized world into licentiousness and madness, the approaching Last Judgement.

"If the Metropolitans are silent, then who will speak?"
What unsettles me is the reigning mood of tranquility. Something is in the works. We still haven't understood properly either what's going on, or the fact that we will die. I don't know what will come of this. The situation is very complicated. The fate of the world depends on just a few people, but God is still putting on the brakes. We have to pray a lot, and with pain in our hearts, so that God will intervene: our times are very hard to understand. A lot of ash, rubbish, and indifference has accumulated, and a strong wind will be needed to blow it all away. It's frightening! The Tower of Babel is upon us! Divine intervention is needed: Great upheavals are happening. What a bedlam! The minds of whole nations are in confusion. But in spite of the ferment I feel a certain consolation inside, a certain confidence. God still dwells in a part of the Christians. God's people, people of prayer, still remain, and God in his all-goodness still tolerates us and will put everything in order. Don't be afraid! We've gone through many storms, and still haven't perished. So should we be afraid of the storm which is now gathering? We'll not perish this time either! God loves us. In Man there's a hidden power which comes out when necessary. The difficult years will be few. Just a lot of thunder. Don't get upset in the least, for God is above everything. He rules everyone and will bring all to the defendant's bench to answer for what they've done, according to which each will receive his just desserts from God. Those who've in some way helped the cause of good will be rewarded, and those who do evil will be punished. God will put everyone in their place in the end, but each of us will answer for what they did in these difficult years, both in prayer and in deeds. Today they're trying to destroy faith, and for the edifice of faith to fall they quietly pull out one stone, then another. But we're all responsible for the destruction; not just those who destroy but we who see how faith is being undermined and make no effort to strengthen it. As a result the seducers are emboldened to create even greater difficulties for us, and their rage against the Church and the monastic life increases. Today's situation can be resisted only spiritually, not by worldly means. The storm will continue to rage a bit, will throw all the flotsam, everything unnecessary, onto the shore, and then the situation will become clearer. Some will receive their reward, while others will have to pay their debts. Today there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it's a true witness to speak up for one's people, for the state is waging war against divine law. It's laws are directed against the Law of God. But we are responsible for not letting the enemies of the Church corrupt everything. Though I've heard even priests say: "Don't get involved in that. It's none of your business!" If they had reached such a non-striving condition through prayer I would kiss their feet. But no! They're indifferent because they want to please everyone and live in comfort. Indifference is unacceptable even for laymen, and all the more so for the clergy. An honest, spiritual man doesn't do anything with indifference. "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully", says the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 48:10). There's a war on today, a holy war. I must be on the front lines. There are so many Marxists, so many Masons, so many Satanists and assorted others! So many possessed, anarchists and seduced ones! I see what awaits us, and it's painful for me. The bitter taste of human pain is in my mouth.
* * *
The spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There's no manliness at all! We've been spoiled for good! How does God still tolerate us? Today's generation is the generation of indifference. There are no warriors. The majority are fit only for parades. Godlessness and blasphemy are allowed to appear on television. And the Church is silent and doesn't excommunicate the blasphemers. And they need to be excommunicated. What are they waiting for? Let's not wait for someone else to pull the snake out from its hole so that we can live in peace. They're silent out of indifference. What's bad is that even people who've got something inside have begun to grow cool, saying: "Can I really do anything to change the situation?" We have to witness our faith with boldness, because if we continue to be silent we'll have to answer in the end. In these difficult days each must do what's in their power. And leave what's out of their power to the will of God. In this way our conscience will be clear. If we don't resist, then our ancestors will arise from their graves. They suffered so much for the Fatherland, and we? What are we doing for it?.. If Christians don't begin to witness their faith, to resist evil, then the destroyers will become even more insolent. But today's Christians are no warriors. If the Church keeps silent, to avoid conflict with the government, if the metropolitans are silent, if the monks hold their peace, then who will speak up?
* * *
Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit. Do you know what Christians are suffering in other countries? There are such difficulties in Russia! But here many exhibit indifference. There's not enough disposition to kindness, love of devotion. You see, if we don't begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger. If we throw aside fear then the faithful will be emboldened a bit. And those who wage war against the Church will have a harder time. In the past our nation lived spiritually, so God blessed her, and the saints helped us in miraculous fashion. And we were victorious against our enemies, who always outnumbered us. Today we continue to call ourselves Orthodox Christians, but we don't live Orthodox lives.
* * *
A lukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, leaves them in their former condition so they won't be upset. "Look", they say. "By all means don't say that there'll be a war, or the Second Coming, that one must prepare oneself for death. We must not make people alarmed!" And others speak with a false kindness, saying: "We mustn't expose heretics and their delusions, so as to show our love for them." Today's people are water-soluble. There's no leaven in them. If I avoid upsetting myself to protect my fleshly comfort then I'm indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and softness and indifference are quite another. Some say: "I'm a Christian and therefore I have to be joyful and calm." But they're not Christian. They're simply indifferent. And their joy is only a worldly joy. He in whom these worldly seeds are present is no spiritual person. A spiritual person consists of nothing but pain. In other words, he's in pain at what's going on, he's in pain for people's condition. And divine comfort is bestowed upon him for his pain. "He Who Goes Low Goes Sure" Our goal is to live an Orthodox life, not just to speak or write Orthodox. If the preacher has no personal experience then his sermons won't go to the heart, won't change people. To think like an Orthodox is easy, but to live an Orthodox life requires effort. Today God tolerates what's going on. Tolerates, so that evil people will be unable to justify themselves. God expects patience, prayer and struggle from us. If you anger when you yourself are offended, your anger is unclean. But if someone is offended in the service of holiness, that means the zeal of God is in him. Indignation can be righteous when it's indignation for God's sake. That's the only justifiable kind of indignation in a person. It's unseemly to become angry in one's own defense. Resisting evildoers is another matter, however, when it's in defense of serious spiritual matters, when our holy faith, Orthodoxy, is concerned. Then it's your duty. To think of others, to counter the blasphemers in order to defend one's neighbor -- this is pure, because carried out in love.
* * *
Evil lies within us. There is no love in us, so we don't feel all people to be brothers and are tempted by [the knowledge of] their sinful ways. But it's not right when moral failings become known to all. The injunction of the Gospels to "tell it unto the church" (Matt. 18:17) doesn't mean that everything has to become known to everyone. By exposing the moral failings of our brother we arm the enemies of the Church, give them another pretext to escalate the war against Her. And the faith of the weak is shaken in this way too. If you want to help the Church, then try to mend your own ways, rather than others'. In straightening yourself out you straighten out a particle of the Church. If everyone were to do that then the Church would be in perfect order. But today's people attend to everything under the sun, only not to themselves, because it's easy to teach others, while mending one's own ways requires effort.
* * *
If we expose someone out of love, with pain in our hearts, then a change will occur in his heart whether he understands us or not. But to expose without love, with partiality, only enrages to object of our exposure. Our hostility strikes against his egoism, producing sparks like flint against steel. If we tolerate our brother out of love, he will feel it. But he also feels our hostility, even if we keep it inside and don't express it. Our hostility arouses alarm in him. We must always ask ourselves: "Why do I want to say what I'm about to say? What is motivating me? Do I really care about my neighbor or do I just want to show him how wonderful I am, to show off a bit?" If someone tries to solve ecclesiastical problems allegedly out of faith, but really thinking of his own advantage, then how can such a person win God's blessing?
* * *
Sweet words and great truths have value when uttered by righteous lips. They take root only in people of good will and clean conscience. Truth, when used without judgment, can commit a crime. And he who possesses sincerity without reason commits a twofold evil, first against himself, then against others. Because there's no empathy in his sincerity. A Christian must not be a fanatic but have love in his heart for all. He who throws words around carelessly, even true words, does evil. Veneration is a good thing, and the predisposition for good is also good, but spiritual judgment and breadth are needed to guard against fanaticism, that false companion of reverence.
* * *
Wakefulness and sobriety are needed. All that a person does he must do for the sake of God. Christ must be at the source of every movement. Much attention is required, for when we do something with the aim of pleasing others we gain no benefit. We ascend to the heavens not through earthly striving but by humbling ourselves spiritually. He who goes low goes sure and never falls. Ours is an age of sensationalism and hullabaloo. But the spiritual life is not noisy. Divine enlightenment is required and when it's not there the person abides in darkness. He may act out of good intentions but create many problems in his confusion, both for the Church and for society. There was a time when the Holy Spirit enlightened us and showed us the way. A grand business! Today it finds no reason to descend to us. Difficult years are ahead. The Old Testament Tower of Babel was child's play compared with our age. The Seal of the Antichrist Becomes a Reality It's possible that you'll live through much which is described in the Book of Revelations. Much is coming to the surface, little by little. The situation is horrible. Madness has gone beyond all bounds. Apostasy is upon us, and now the only thing left is for the 'son of perdition' (2 Thess. 2:3) to come. The world has turned into a madhouse. A great confusion will reign, in which each government will begin to do whatever comes into its head. We'll see how the most unlikely, the most insane, events will happen. The only good thing is that these events will happen in very quick succession. Ecumenism, common markets, a one-world government, a single made-to-order religion: such is the plan of these devils. The Zionists are already preparing their messiah. For them the false-messiah will be king, will rule here, on earth. A great discord will arise. In this discord everyone will clamor for a king to save them. At that moment they'll offer up their man, who'll say: "I'm the Imam, I'm the fifth Buddha, I'm the Christ whom Christians are awaiting. I'm the one whom the Jehovah's Witnesses have been waiting for. I'm the Jewish messiah."
* * *
Difficult times are ahead. Great trials await us. Christians will suffer great persecutions. Meanwhile, it's obvious that people don't understand that we're on the verge of the end times, that the seal of the Antichrist is becoming a reality. As if nothing's happening. That's why Holy Scripture says that even the chosen will be deceived. The Zionists want to rule the earth. To achieve their ends they use black magic and satanism. They regard satan-worship as a means to gain the strength they need to carry out their plans. They want to rule the earth using satanic power. God is not something they take into account. One sign that the fulfillment of prophecy is near will be the destruction of the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem. They'll destroy it in order to restore the Temple of Solomon which used to be on the same place. In the end the Jews will pronounce the Antichrist messiah in this rebuilt temple. The rabbis know that the true Messiah has already come and that they crucified Him. They know this, and yet they are blinded by egoism and fanaticism.
* * *
Two thousand years ago it was written in the Book of Revelations that people will be marked with the number '666'. As Holy Scripture says, the ancient Hebrews laid a tax on the peoples they conquered in various wars. The yearly tax was equal to 666 talents of gold. (3 Kings 10:14, 2 Chronicles 9:13.) Today, in order to subjugate the whole world they'll once again introduce the old tax number linked to their glorious past. That is, '666' is the number of mammon. Everything is going as planned. They put the number a long time ago on credit cards. As a result, he who is not marked with the number '666' will be unable to buy, sell, get a loan, or find work.
* * *
Providence tells me that the Antichrist wants to subjugate the world using this system. It will be foisted upon people with the help of the mechanisms which control the world economy, for only those who receive the mark, an image with the number '666', will be able to take part in economic life. The mark will be an image which will first be placed on all products, and then people will be compelled to wear it on their hand or forehead. Little by little, after the introduction of ID cards with the three sixes, after the creation of a personal dossier, they'll use cunning to introduce the mark. In Brussels a whole palace with three sixes has been built to house a central computer. This computer can keep track of billions of people. And we Orthodox are resisting this because we don't want the Antichrist and we don't want dictatorship either. "The most we can suffer is martyrdom." There will be three and a half hard years. Those who don't agree with the system will have a rough time. They'll constantly be trying to imprison them, using any pretext they can find. They won't torture anyone, but without the mark it will simply be impossible for a person to live. "You're suffering without the mark", they'll say. "And if you had just accepted it you would have had no difficulties." For this reason, by learning to life a simple, moderate life here and now you'll be able to get through those years. By getting a little bit of land, raising a little wheat and some potatoes, planting some olive trees, and keeping animals of some sort, a goat or chickens, the Christian will be able to feed his family. Stockpiling is of little use: Food doesn't keep for long before spoiling. But these oppressions will not last for long: three, three and a half years. For the sake of the chosen the days will be hastened. God won't leave a person without help. Tomorrow thunder will strike, and the brief dictatorship of the Antichrist-satan will come. Then Christ will intervene, will give the whole anti-Christian system a good shaking up. He'll trample upon evil and turn everything to good use in the end. - And if someone receives the mark unknowingly? It'd be better to say "uncaringly". How can one be unknowing, when everything is crystal clear? And if a person doesn't know, then he should become interested and find out. By accepting the mark, even unknowingly, a person loses Divine Grace and gives himself up to demonic influence. When a priest immerses the infant in the baptismal font, the infant receives the Holy Spirit without knowing it, and Divine Grace begins to abide in him. Some people say: "What's destined by God to be will be. What business is it of ours?" They can say whatever they want, but in reality it's not like that! Unfortunately, some modern priests diaper their flock like infants, to keep them from getting upset. "What's going on today isn't important", they say. "Don't be alarmed. All you need is to have faith in your hearts." Or they scold: "Don't speak on that topic, about ID cards or the mark of the beast. It will just upset people." If they were to say instead: "Let's try to live more spiritually, to be nearer to Christ and not to be afraid of anything. You see, the most we can suffer is martyrdom," then they'd at least be preparing their flock for the coming tribulations. Knowing the truth, a person will begin to mull things over and shake himself out of his sleep. What's going on will begin to cause him pain. He'll begin to pray and to be on his guard, so as to not fall into that trap.
* * *
What do we see now? It's bad enough that cunning 'interpreters of Scripture' are commenting prophecy after their own fashion. They're representatives of the clergy, but they're more cowardly than lay people. And it would behoove them to exhibit a healthy spiritual unease and help Christians by sowing beneficial concern so they'll be strengthened in their faith and receive divine consolation. I'm amazed: Doesn't what's happening give them any cause for concern? And why don't they at least add a question mark to the interpretations they come up with? And if they help the Antichrist and the mark, lead other souls to perdition? No, behind the "perfected credit card system", behind "computerized security" lurks worldwide dictatorship and the yoke of the Antichrist. "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." (Rev. 13:16-18) "You must be ready for death." The world has lost control of itself. Honor and self-sacrifice have abandoned people. The taste of sacrificial joy is unknown to today's people, and that's why they're so tortured. For only when you co-participate in the pain of another do miracles happen. If a person doesn't cultivate in himself the spirit of self-sacrifice then he thinks only of himself and doesn't receive Divine Grace. The more a person forgets himself, the more God remembers him. Those who die heroically don't really die. And where there's no heroism nothing worthwhile can be expected. Our time is like a bubbling and steaming cauldron. One needs temperament, audacity, courage. Take care not to be caught unprepared, if something is to happen. Start getting ready now so that you'll be able to resist difficulties. Christ Himself tells us: "Therefore be ye also ready" (Matt. 24:44), doesn't He? Today, living in such complicated times, we have to be not merely ready, but triply ready, at the minimum! Possibly we may meet not only with sudden death, but with other dangers. So let's drive away the desire to arrange our lives comfortably! May love of honor and the spirit of self-sacrifice live in us.
* * *
I see that something is in the works, that something lies just around the corner, but it's constantly being put off. Little delays all the time. Who's creating the delays? God? Another month passes, then another couple of months! That's how it all goes. But since we know what awaits us, let's develop love in ourselves, to the degree that we can. That's the main thing: for true brotherly love to exist between us. Kindness, love -- that's strength! Guard the secret as well as you can and don't indulge in excessive frankness. If "he and I and the bell-ringer" are all in on the secret, then what will come of that? Death in battle adds greatly to God's mercy, for a person who dies the death of the brave sacrifices himself to defend others. Those who give up their lives out of pure love in order to defend their neighbor are imitating Christ. These people are supreme heroes. They arouse fear in our enemies. Death herself trembles before them, because they scorn her due to their great love, and attain immortality in this fashion, finding the key to eternity under the gravestone. They enter into eternal blessedness without difficulty. That's why I say to you: Cultivate self-sacrifice, brotherly love. May each of you attain a spiritual condition which will allow you to get out of difficult situations. Without a spiritual condition a person loses courage, because he loves himself. He can renounce Christ, betray Him. You must be ready for death. We believe that nothing is in vain, that our sacrifice has meaning.
* * *
Remove your "I" from everything you do. The person who leaves his "I" rises above the earth, moves in another atmosphere. As long as he remains inside himself he cannot become a heavenly being. There is no spiritual life without sacrifice. Try to remember, at least a little bit, that death exists. And since we'll die in any case, let's not take care of ourselves too much. Look after your health, but not to the degree where you begin to bow down before your peace and well-being. I'm not asking anyone to throw themselves headlong into dangerous adventures, but you have to have at least a bit of heroism, my brother!.. Feats are committed not by the tall in size but by the audacious, the heartfelt, and the self-sacrificing. There's no barbarity in spiritual audacity. Such people don't fire at the enemy, but over his head, forcing him to surrender. A kind man prefers being killed to killing. The harmonious person is prepared for accepting divine powers. The mean, the cowardly, and the small of spirit, on the other hand, use impudence to hide their fear. They're afraid of themselves as well as others and shoot without stopping. Courage and audacity are one thing; criminality and malice quite another. In order to succeed at anything one needs a wild streak, in the positive sense. He who lacks this wild streak can become neither a hero nor a saint. The heart must become uncalculating.
* * *
In our age audacity has become a rarity. Water, not blood, flows in people's veins. So if a war were to break out, God forbid, many would simply die of fright while others would lose heart, because they're used to an easy life. Fear is necessary when it helps a person turn to God. Fear from lack of faith, from lack of trust in God, on the other hand, is ruinous. Such fear is driven out by audacity. We must remember: The more a person fears, the more he is tempted by the enemy. If a person refuses to strive to become courageous, and doesn't strive for real love, then when a difficult situation arises he'll become a laughingstock. The warrior takes joy in the fact that he's dying so that others won't have to. If you dispose yourself this way then nothing will be frightening. Courage is born from much love, kindness and self-sacrifice. Today people don't even want to hear about death. However, he doesn't remember about death is living outside of reality. Those who fear death and love life's vanities are in a state of spiritual stagnation. Bold people, who always keep death before them and think about it constantly, on the other hand, conquer vanity and begin to live in eternity and heavenly joy while still here on earth. May he who fights in the war for Faith and Fatherland cross himself and not fear, for God is his helper! God Himself will decide whether he is to die or to live. One needs to trust God, not oneself. The Russians will take Turkey. The Chinese will cross the Euphrates. Providence tells me that many events will happen: The Russians will take Turkey and Turkey will disappear from the world map because a third of the Turks will become Christians, another third will die in the war and another third will leave for Mesopotamia. The Mid-East will become a theater of a war in which the Russians will take place. Much blood will be spilled. The Chinese, with an army of 200 million, will cross the Euphrates and go all the way to Jerusalem. The sign that this event is approaching will be the destruction of the Mosque of Omar, for its destruction will mark the beginning of work by the Jews to rebuild the Temple of Solomon, which was built on the same spot. There will be a great war between Russians and Europeans, and much blood will be spilled. Greece won't play a leading role in that war, but they'll give her Constantinople. Not because the Russians adore the Greeks, but because no better solution will be found. The city will be handed over to the Greek Army even before it has a chance to get there. The Jews, inasmuch as they'll have great power and the help of the European leadership, will become proud and insolent beyond measure and conduct themselves shamelessly. They'll try to rule Europe. They'll play all sorts of tricks, but the resulting persecutions will lead Christians to unite completely. However, they won't unite in the way desired by those who are now engaging in various machinations to create a single church united under a single religious leadership. Christians will unite because the unfolding situation will naturally separate the sheep from the goats. Then the prophecy: "one flock and one shepherd" will actually come to pass.
* * *
Don't give in to panic. Cowards are of use to no one. God looks at a person's situation and helps him. We have to remain cold-blooded and use our brains. No matter what happens, we must continue to pray, think and act. It's best to always stand up to a difficult situation using spiritual means. However that spiritual boldness which is born of holiness and striving towards God is missing today, as is the natural boldness needed in order not to turn coward in the face of danger. In order to hold back a great evil, great holiness is needed. A spiritual person can hold back evil and help others. In the spiritual life the biggest coward can attain great courage by entrusting himself to Christ and His divine help. He can go to the front lines, do battle with the enemy, and win! So therefore we will fear God alone, not people, no matter how evil they may be. The fear of God makes any coward into a hero! A person becomes fearless to the extent he unites with God.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Analysis of a typical British newspaper

A couple of times in the last month Ive been tempted to pick out some of the news stories that really bugged me. Ive passed off the temptation...until now. Todays London Lite will be the source.

First up London fertility clinics have been found to be making blunders including dropping embryos, eggs and sperm on the floor or samples being mistakenly thrown into the rubbish. Furthermore frozen embryos had been allowed to thaw due to failed storage equipment. Clearly you couldnt trust these clinics to hold a piss up in a brewery. The worst blunder was when mixed-race babies were born to a white couple after a woman's eggs were fertilised with the wrong mans sperm.
Due to EU laws 2 ambulance crews were forced to ignore an emergency call by a dying man. A third crew, futher away than the other 2 had to respond because rigid EU working rules stated that the nearest 2 ambulance crews 'must take a break'. Presumably victims should synchronise their suffering with the EU enforced timetables for ambulance crews.
A channel 4 'probe' revealed that Londons busiest mosque has been letting preachers of hate 'flourish'. This kind of reporting is very sly. Channel 4 regards it as outrageous that one preacher said: 'The whole delusion of equality of women is foolishness'. Im with the preacher on that one. Another preacher stated that the Koran calls for men to 'beat women lightly'. Now this is unacceptable. But the media uses this obviously distasteful 2nd point to drive home a liberal viewpoint on the 1st point. By bunching these 2 points together, they seek to associate the two, and are encouraging the reader to come to a hasty and lazy conclusion. Also there was no need for the journalist to go snooping around central London mosques to find the viewpoints of contemporary 'radical' preachers. He could just as easily have sat on his news desk and opened a copy of Koran and the Hadiths and he would have come accross the very verses in which Mohammed encourages his followers to physically chastise women. He might even have come accross the verse which allows Muslims to rape female prisoners of war. But no its so much easier and PC to 'expose' 'extreme' individuals, rather than investigate the faith system of a noisy and violent minority group. It really pisses me off how these journalists dismiss a priori the possibility that these preachers could simply be preaching authentic Islam. Surely if a leader of that faith claims something that you regard as 'outrageous', the next logical step would be to investigate all the relevant religious texts, and the historical interpretations. The fact that they dont shows that they are not honest seekers of the truth.
Page 13 carries a picture of a topless black hero brandishing a sword. Credit where credit is due, the man jumped onto a train track to rescue a girl who was stuck. But only when you read the story do you realise that there was another man (unnamed) who jumped onto the tracks first and that it was this action that, by the black mans admission 'triggered' him to do the same. I'll leave it up to you to guess the reason why the first (and more heroic) man does not even get his name mentioned, but the second gets a glamorous 8inch pic complete with interview. By the way, the reason he was topless and brandishing a sword is that he is an actor for the Shakespeare theatre company. He plays the role of Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman. Im thinking they probably wouldnt allow an actor to play the part in tracksuit bottoms, after all it isnt an accurate representation of what a Roman soldier would have looked like. So why do they allow a black man to play the part of a white European? Would they allow whites to play the part of black slaves in a play about the slave trade?
The disastrous institution that is the education system features prominently in todays paper. And no its not standards falling (although they are no doubt), but more hypocrisy from those in power. The public are constantly being told that standards are rising, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Ruth Kelly, the former Education secretary has decided to send her son to a private school, because the local state school is inadequate for dealing with her childs special needs. Im sure it is, but why then did she close down so many special schools? If the state system was working properly it would be able to deal with children who have special needs. She is a hypocrite for stating that state provision for special needs is adequate. Why are people surprised though, every government has been full of people who purchase advantages, look at 2 Jags Prescott, playing croquet in luxury accomodation at tax payers expense. Or remember the 200m trip in his Jaguar as Transport secretary because the lazy, fat oaf had probably finished servicing his secretary and couldnt muster the energy to walk.
Anyone who doesnt have an idea of how bad education is in this country need only to take a look at the following extract I took from the latest edition of the 'Private Eye':
Weakest Link, BBC 2
Anne Robinson: What G was the complex knot severed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC?
Contestant: Granny
You cant make it up. If you dont know the answer keep your trap shut, dont just blurt out the first word beginning with 'G' that you can think of.

Anne Robinson: What is the highest mountain in Scotland, Ben...what?
Contestant: Ben Everest

Talksport radio's Christmas day quiz
Presenter: Prince Albert was married to which Queen?
Contestant: Nathalie
Ok we all know that they dont teach British history in Britain, demonisation of the Nazis is considered far more important. But even I know that theres no British Queen in history called Nathalie.

Celebrity Mastermind, BBC1
John Humphrys: Who was Bill Clintons vice-president until 2002?
Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Lewinsky
If the aristocracy are this politically aware, what help is there for the masses? Confusing vice-presidents for shameless tarts. Actually when I put it like that its an easy mistake to make.

I could go on, there was a few more stories I wanted to cover, but Ive got a long day tomorrow. So goodnight and God bless.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Christmas


Seeing as Ive ranted a fair amount about how the spiritual meaning of Christmas has been ignored, it would only be proper for me to provide some insightful pieces regarding Christmas and Christ. You might think its a bit late in the day, but much of the Orthodox Christian world celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January. Probably wont be online for the coming days for that very reason. So in advance: Христос се роди to my Serbian brothers and sisters, and Happy Christmas to all other Christians celebrating the birth of Christ tomorrow!!!

From 'The Prologue from Ochrid'
I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world (John 16:28).
The only-begotten Son of God, brethren, begotten in eternity of the Father without a mother, was born in time of a mother without a father. That first begetting is an unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity in eternity, and the second is the unfathomable mystery of God's power and love for mankind in time. The greatest mystery in time corresponds to the greatest mystery in eternity. Without entering into this greatest mystery with the small taper of our understanding, let us be content, brethren, with the knowledge that our salvation had its origin not from man or from earth, but from the greatest heights of the divine invisible world. So great is God's mercy, and so great is the dignity of man, that the Son of God Himself came down from eternity into time, from heaven to earth, from the throne of glory to the shepherd's cave, solely to save mankind, to cleanse men from sin and to return them to Paradise. I came forth from the Father, where I had everything, and am come into the world, which cannot give Me anything. The Lord was born in a cave to show that the whole world is one dark cave, which He alone can illumine. The Lord was born in Bethlehem-and Bethlehem means "the House of Bread''-to show that He is the only Bread of Life worthy of true men. O Lord Jesus, the Pre-eternal Son of the Living God and the Son of the Virgin Mary, enlighten us and nourish us with Thyself. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

And from 'Prayers by the Lake':
The One wished for has come, and will come again, and yet you ask: "Who will prove to us that He is God?"
I shall ask you, somber brethren, and you respond to what I ask: "If you were to have God come to earth, in what form would you wish to see Him?"

"We should wish to see Him as a man, fairer than all the sons of men, mightier than all the sons of men in word and mightier than all the sons of men in deed. We should wish to see Him as an exceedingly handsome prince; not haughty but as meek as a lamb; someone who would come under our roofs, eat and drink with us, and share everything in common with us except our weakness and sin."

Then I tell you: "You yourselves have already proven that God was among us."

"We should wish to see Him as a man, although He can reveal Himself in any fleshly form. When He speaks, He should speak mightily, as no man has ever spoken. When He walks through this world, He should not walk as a hireling and a slave but as a Lord. Water and winds should listen to Him, people should follow Him, evil spirits should flee from Him. He should be of assistance to people every day: comforting those who mourn, healing the sick, resurrecting the dead. We should wish Him to be this sort of God among us."

Then I tell you: "You yourselves have proven that God was among us."

"We should wish for Him to come to us not as a king with a wealth that perishes, with an army that vanishes, or with a luster that tarnishes -- not as a king but as One greater than kings. And we should wish for Him to come to us not as an ordinary prophet, but rather as the One who was prophesied from the beginning of time, as One who would dare to say that He is older than time, as One who would prophesy to us what will happen at the end of time and after the end of time. And we should wish for Him to come to us not as a priest but as a high priest, in whom all three appear together, God, priest,
and sacrifice. This is how we should wish for God to manifest Himself among us."

Then I tell you: "You yourselves have proven that God was among us."

"We should wish for Him to come and go quickly, for we should not be able to endure Him for long. Once He were to come, however, we should wish for His word to reverberate throughout time and space, never ending or stopping; and we should wish. for the earth to be kindled by His steps and to burn with heavenly fire, as long as the earth lasts."

Then I tell you: "You yourselves have proven that God was among us."


The One wished for came among men in whatever way men could have wished, and even better still, and mightier still, and fairer still, and even so, even then people said: "Who will prove to us that this is God?"
The One wished for will come again, my soul. Like a fiery dragon He will fly up to you and, if you do not recognize Him, He will fly away, and truly you will see Him no more. Arise, my soul, do not sleep but keep watch. Implant in yourself the image of the One wished for, what He is like, so that you may recognize Him when He comes.
Let the images of all worlds leave you, my soul, and let His image fill you entirely, from east to west, from north to south --so that you may recognize Him when He comes.
For He will come and go like a fiery dragon, and yet you will be dozing and saying: "Who will prove to us...?"
If you do not prove it to yourself, no one will ever prove it to you.
If your everlasting life does not prove Him to you, your everlasting death will.