Dear KAG: 20210922 Open Thread

I did not expect today to be spiritual warfare day here at Wolf’s sanctuary, but a handful of things changed my mind.

The first was an article by Dennis Prager.

Here is something any honest person must acknowledge: As America has become more secular, it has become less free.

Individuals can differ as to whether these two facts are correlated, but no honest person can deny they are facts.

It seems to me indisputable that they are correlated. To deny this, one would have to argue that it is merely coincidental that free speech, the greatest of all freedoms, is more seriously threatened than at any time in American history while a smaller-than-ever percentage of Americans believe in God or regularly attend church.

The United States became the freest country in the world, the sweet land of liberty, the recipient of the Statue of Liberty, the country whose flag freedom fighters around the world have often waved. This freedom was rooted in the deeply religious nature of its founding ideals. America was founded by God-centered individuals to be a God-centered country. The claims that America’s founders were mostly deists and that America was founded to be a godless secular society are not true.

The Couch Commando protests that “less Christian” is what Prager was aiming for (how that works given that Prager isn’t Christian, I’m not sure), but the kicker comes later in the piece.

The Founders linked freedom inextricably to God. That is why the inscription on the Liberty Bell is from the Bible: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.” The verse comes from Leviticus, the third book of the Bible. The Founders knew their Bible. The present adult generation of Americans is more ignorant of the Bible than any in American history. And most young people know even less. I suspect that most students at Harvard could not identify Leviticus, let alone cite any of its verses.

The bell was named “the Liberty Bell” by the abolitionists. Their opposition to slavery was based entirely on the Bible. Their motivating principle, “All men are created equal,” came from the Bible. They did not get it from the ancient Greeks, who would have scoffed at such a notion.

Freedom permeates the Old Testament: The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve, a story about man’s assertion of his God-given freedom … freedom even to disobey God. The primary story of the Old Testament is the Exodus, a story about God liberating slaves.

For the Founders, the most obvious reason freedom was dependent on faith in God was that only if God is regarded as the source of freedom could men not rightfully take it away. If men are the source of the freedom, men can rightfully retract it. This is precisely what is happening today. Freedom is being destroyed primarily by those who scorn the idea that freedom comes from God.

For those among us who do not believe, this can be irritating as a concept, but is it really? That tyranny is a feature of man, not God, and that freedom does include the option to ignore God’s commands.

The rule that the end of religion means the end of freedom does not mean that secularism would not be a welcome replacement for totalitarian theocracies such as Iran. But eventually that, too — a secular Iran — would lead to tyranny. Wherever God is delinked from freedom, freedom ultimately withers. When Christianity died in Europe, it was replaced by fascism, Nazism and communism.

And in the United States, it was replaced with consumerism. In the spiritual realm, that is known as materialism.

This popped into my feed.

As did this:

Pope Benedict XVI@P_BenedictXVI·

Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world. — Benedict XVI

And here we are. Spiritual warfare. We’ve done this before:

Time to take it all back, and that’s for all people of faith.

Obligatory memes:

Remember this?

Was someone trying to tell us something?

Have a good day y’all.

(I don’t remember who brought this to a daily in the comments, but thanks.)

And, of course, the obligatory George Carlin:

Per the Boss:

The common, used man beats the machine with the help of God.

And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:

Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

1. No food fights.
2. No running with scissors.
3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone

Please, stock up on blanks for celebratory gunfire, be ready to swing from the chandeliers…and no messing with the nuclear weapons.

Please remember to remain locked and loaded and ready for trouble should the insurrectionists try to invade your space.

Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. You’re welcome to visit over there and say hi to anyone hanging out over there. The “Rescue Thread” is also over there. In the event a rendezvous of the tree is needed, please check it out.

Auntie DePat’s requests as we are all, ahem, adults, not uncivilized pygmies:

If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.

The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.

Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.

One other vital note:

Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. it won’t take long.

__________________________________________________

TOBIT 13:2-4, 7-8

2For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades, and brings up again, and there is no one who can escape his hand. 3Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel; for he has scattered us among them. 4Make his greatness known there, and exalt him in the presence of all the living; because he is our Lord and God, he is our Father for ever. 7I exalt my God; my soul exalts the King of heaven, and will rejoice in his majesty. 8Let all men speak, and give him thanks in Jerusalem.

“Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace. Peace will be the last word of history” – St. Pope John Paul II

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

Please include: President Donald Trump, the Q team, our soldiers in the field, special forces, tactical units, first responders and those working behind the scenes…and any and all people with family members in the hospital, COVID or not.

Wolf Moon

July 6, 2021 17:07
Thanking everybody for your patience. Whether happenstance, coincidence, or enemy action, I’m dealing with some technical issues. In addition to those, and the obvious spiritual attacks, I am dealing with the obvious site stuff in what are best maintained as unobvious ways.

I suspect we struck a nerve.

A combined technical / spiritual / strategic response by all of us will prevent this attack from succeeding. Hold the line – bite the bullet – gird the loins – bite the lip – pray for guidance, discernment, and strength – whatever YOU believe keeps the ship aright for the moment. Everything else is lower priority.

In that spirit, the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel from Tuesday’s threads, and the Breastplate of St. Patrick, not to mention the Litany of Humility are favorites recommended by exorcists in spiritual warfare.

This describes half the people in music I know.