I hope you
have been using the right toothpaste because otherwise you might get
cavities. And if you don’t have the
right insurance, you might not be covered if a satellite crashes down on your
home. And just in case you are not
getting enough nutrition, and really who ever does these days, I hope you are
drinking a special vitamin drink.
Marketing companies have a vested interest in scaring you into buying
their products. They really want to sell
you something and fear is a great motivator.
Unfortunately you cannot always believe commercials to be true. Manipulation is everywhere, someone wanting
you to believe that what they have is something you need. It can be hard to not be emotionally swayed
by a snake oil salesman but for our own benefit we have to learn.
Sometimes
people think that if the medical community doesn’t seem helpful that herbs and
natural remedies are the way to go.
However holistic promoters use the exact same fear based marketing that
everyone else uses. No one, not even the
holistic marketers, have your best interest in mind only their bottom
dollars. Once I saw that someone was
selling an electrostatic mat that you plug into your wall to rid your home of
radiation. What? An electrostatic mat is
used in electronic companies for the worker to stand on so that the equipment
does not receive a static charge. So
someone told a wild story about radiation in your home being sucked away by an
electrostatic mat and people who don’t know anything about science buy these
mats, at $400 each. First of all you
cannot get rid of radiation in your home with your electrostatic mat plugged into your wall. If you want less radiation, get rid of the
granite counter tops, stone fireplace and any other natural materials your
house is made with. We can see that people
are gullible and willing to believe the stupidest things because they want to
feel better. Another great product that
is promoted as being natural and better for your health than the Teflon
alternative is a clay rice cooker. Well
it is natural but what someone isn’t telling you is that clay comes from the
ground and has heavy metals in it naturally, as well as insecticides,
herbicides, and pesticides. No one can
clean the clay so that the clay does not contain contaminates before making the
rice cooker. What people think is a
healthy way to cook rice has now become more dangerous than the man made
alternative. Again, marketing companies
get paid to sell us; they don’t get paid to tell us the truth.
This idea
of using fear to get you to buy something is not unfamiliar in the Christian
church. Church has become a big part of
the marketing manipulators of the world as churches have become more of a
business than a place of worship. We use
fear and intimidation in God’s name to get people saved and coming to
church. And while we should fear God we
should not be motivated by men selling fear about God. As we all have seen from the pulpit, if we
don’t buy someone’s latest book we may not make it to heaven. Better we buy the book just in case. Also if we don’t ______ (you fill in the
blank), the pastor will know we are not good enough to go to heaven. I’m pretty sure God did not give that
judgment to any man, nor has He left it up to any man’s opinion. We have to see what the Bible says about fear.
Gen 9:1-3
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth.2 And the fear [4172]of you and the
dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the
air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;
into your hand are they delivered.3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be
meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.KJV
OT:4172 mowra'
(mo-raw'); or mora' (mo-raw'); or morah (Ps 9:20) (mo-raw'); from OT:3372;
fear; by implication, a fearful thing or deed:KJV - dread, (that ought to be)
fear (-ed), terribleness, terror.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers
and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003,
2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Here God
tells Noah that the animals will fear them and that He has given all the
animals and herbs to humans for food.
Now let me ask the question, do we fear animals? They should fear us.
Ps 2:11
Serve the Lord with fear [3374], and rejoice with trembling.KJV
OT:3374 yir'ah
(yir-aw'); feminine of OT:3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally,
reverence: KJV - dreadful, exceedingly, fear (-fulness).(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Here we
see we are to serve the Lord with fear. We are to be conscious in the way we
serve, morally and with reverence. That
is truly how we are to come before God.
So if we are sitting in front of the television and someone tries to
make us afraid of the political election candidates, we are to remember that
the fear we have is not godly fear, it is human fear. Instead when we serve God, no matter what we
do to serve, we should be conscious of what we are doing, are we doing a sloppy
job or our best?
Matt
10:24-33 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his
lord.25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant
as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much
more shall they call them of his household?26 Fear [5399] them not
therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid,
that shall not be known.27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light:
and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.28 And fear
[5399] not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear [5399] him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father.30 But the very hairs of your head are
all numbered.31 Fear [5399] ye not therefore, ye are of more value than
many sparrows.32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father which is in heaven.33 But whosoever shall deny me
before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.KJV
NT:5399 phobeo
(fob-eh'-o); from NT:5401; to frighten, i.e. (passively) to be alarmed; by
analogy, to be in awe of, i.e. revere:KJV - be (+sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly),
reverence.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Jesus says
that if they call Him Beelzebub what do you think they will call you, his
servants? What the people were trying to do is instill fear into the hearts of
those who were not followers. Beelzebub is another name for satan, also known
as the dung god. In essence people were
calling Jesus the god of dung and that was to inspire fear into those who might
think about following along. Jesus says
if they call me the god of dung what are they calling you? Jesus says not to
fear them because one day it will be revealed who said what and why. Then he goes on to say not to fear those who
can kill your body because those people cannot kill your soul, instead we
should fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell. People use fear, intimidation, to make you do
what they want, and killing people is a good motivator. However if Jesus points out that all people
can do is kill your body we must be more than just our bodies. At that time the Holy Spirit had not come,
and the day of Pentecost had not come, people’s spirits were not born
again. Therefore since people were body,
soul and spirit un-renewed, Jesus points out to them that they should be more
concerned with God who can destroy their soul in hell. He then points out that nothing happens
without God knowing, even our ever changing number of hairs does not go unnoticed.
Jesus says not to fear because we are worth more than sparrows. Then He says
something we should be concerned about.
Jesus says if we confess him before men (remember people were saying
Jesus was the god of dung) he will confess us before the Father in heaven, and
if we deny him before men, well, he will deny us. If there is something to fear here it would
be that we continue confess him until the day we die.
In this
passage we see that there are people that will use fear to keep us from God just
as they will use fear to drive us to God.
There is only one way to live our lives that is to not be afraid of what
people are saying. We can turn off the
television, we can stop reading the papers, we can stop reading the news on the
internet, but at some point we will have to deal with people. How can we live in the world and not deal
with people? All we can do is weigh
everything that we hear and see, and not make snap or rash decisions. If you hear someone asking for money, don’t
give any right away. Wait a day or two
and pray about it. If the need is still
there and God says give then do so, but after a day or two if God is not
leading you to do it, don’t. Do not be motivated by the pictures of sad
children. God knows they have need too, it’s not just the Americans He sees, He
knows the number of hairs on their heads as well.
1 Peter
2:13-20 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake:
whether it be to the king, as supreme;14 Or unto governors, as unto them that
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them
that do well.15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to
silence the ignorance of foolish men:16 As free, and not using your liberty for
a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.17 Honour all men. Love
the brotherhood. Fear [5399] God. Honour the king.18 Servants, be
subject to your masters with all fear [5401]; not only to the good and
gentle, but also to the froward.19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for
conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.20 For what glory is
it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if,
when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable
with God.KJV
NT:5401 phobos
(fob'-os); from a primary phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright:KJV -
be afraid, exceedingly, fear, terror.(Biblesoft's
New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
This
section in Peter, no one likes to read, I think we all read this with a
cringe. Submitting to ordinances, or
corrupt kings or governors seems so awful, we surely should be justified to not
follow the laws of the corrupt. But as
Peter says, that with well doing, the foolish men who call us followers of the
dung god will be put to silence. Again he
says here fear God, and as servants be subject to our masters with fear. Again meaning use concern and morality and
reverence in all that we do at work or in service to God, by doing so we will
be a great example of the followers of Christ.
And if we suffer for something we have done wrong, there is nothing
wrong with that but if we suffer for serving God and we patiently endure, we
will be rewarded by God.
1 John
4:18 There is no fear [5401] in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.KJV
Love NT:26
agape (ag-ah'-pay); from NT:25; love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially
(plural) a love-feast: KJV - (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.(Biblesoft's
New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Perfect
NT:5046 teleios (tel'-i-os); from NT:5056; complete (in various applications of
labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with
NT:3588) completeness:KJV - of full age, man, perfect.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Casteth NT:906
ballo (bal'-lo); a primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or
less violent or intense):KJV - arise, cast (out), dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike,
throw (down), thrust. Compare NT:4496.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Torment
NT:2851 kolasis (kol'-as-is); from NT:2849; penal infliction: KJV - punishment,
torment.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Perfect NT:5048
teleioo (tel-i-o'-o); from NT:5046; to complete, i.e. (literally) accomplish,
or (figuratively) consummate (in character):KJV - consecrate, finish, fulfil,
make) perfect.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Literally
there is no terror in benevolence but complete benevolence violently throws out
terror because terror has punishment and penalties. He who has terror is not consummated in
benevolence.
What we
see in first John is a verse of scripture we should memorize and teach everyone
around us. If we think with the filter
of love, if we act with the filter of love, if we do with the filter of love, hence
if we walk in love, then we should not be fearful. If we are motivated by love, love will
override our fear. When we act in love,
our actions will cast out fear. People
who have fear are tormented, tormented in every area of life where there is not
perfect love. Not only are people who
have fear tormented, they are not made perfect in love. This is where we need to understand that
witchcraft wants us to live and abide in fear.
Then we will not live fully in Jesus.
The soul purpose of fear motivation, or witchcraft, is to make you imperfect
in loving others. If you are fearful,
you will make others fearful. Instead we
should be motivated by love and benevolence which will keep us from being
afraid of things in this life.
One of the
biggest motivators of Christian fear is in trying to get Christian people to
think they are helpless, being ruled by evil doers and that every scheme and
plan evil people have will somehow harm us.
This is where we need to grab hold of our minds and again put on
love. It is true that evil people run
the governments of the world, if not there would not have been genocide in
Rwanda, or starvation in Somalia. There
would not be wars or threats of wars either.
There would not be corrupt people stealing, lying and taking advantage
of others, large scale and small scale.
Yet in all of that we have to understand that we are still sons and
daughters of a God who knows when one of my hairs falls off my head and onto
the floor. He is a God who knows me,
even if I don’t understand Him very well.
Therefore there should not be anything that inspires fear into us, which
motivates us fearfully, instead we should walk in love and not fear. There are evil people ruling the world but by
doing as Peter suggests, we make them ashamed.
If we live a life of benevolence we will not be caught up in useless
fears.
I’ve
included the following article I read last week in my End Notes. This is sure to inspire fear into the hearts
of Christians. For what purpose? In the Christian worldview, we could be
“made” to think against Jesus and our moral compass. Here is where we see the
need for us to walk in love. What matters in love is the here and now. Not the
possibility of what could happen in the future.
Most of those who will read this article will probably think the same
way I did and ask, ‘aren’t they already doing that?’ ‘Isn’t the media the
puppet of political agendas, and doesn’t the media already only tell us what
someone else wants us to hear?’ That’s what I thought. Again, here is a partial solution, turn off
the media that scares you, read the Bible that empowers you. Look at the world from the seat of a 747,
things look different. Everyone, whether
Christian, witch or pitchman, wants to sell you something, throw out what is
foolish, and cling to that which is good.
When
confronted by people who want to put you in fear, ask the question, ‘what can I
do about that’. If it is something that
is in the realm of your ability to change, then change it. If it is out of the realm of your ability to
change, then don’t waste time worrying about it, simply walk in love. The distraction of witchcraft is to keep us
from the one thing we are called to do, which is to make disciples. If we live
scared, in a corner, away from everyone else, we will be safe from witchcraft
but we will not be making disciples.
The entire purpose of the devil’s tricks and schemes is to keep us from
making people disciples of Jesus.
End Notes:
New Bill Would Make It Legal To Target Propaganda And
“Psychological Operations” Directly At U.S. Citizens
Should it be legal for
the U.S. government to spend billions of dollars on propaganda designed to
change public opinion in the United States? Should it be legal for the U.S.
government to use television, radio, newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
blogs and Internet forums to conduct “psychological operations” targeted at the
American public?
An amendment that has been added to a new defense bill in Congress would make it legal to target propaganda and “psychological operations” directly at U.S. citizens. The latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act would overturn the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987. Those two laws essentially make it illegal for propaganda that is used to influence public opinion overseas to be targeted at U.S. citizens back here at home.
If those two laws are struck down, there will be essentially very few limits to what the U.S. government can do to shape our opinions. The government would be able to bombard us with propaganda messages on television, on the radio, in our newspapers and on the Internet and there would not even be a requirement that those messages be true.
In fact, just as happens so often overseas, it would likely be inevitable that the government would purposely disseminate misinformation to the American public for the sake of “national security”. That is why it is imperative that this bill not become law.
As an article posted on LegalInsurrection.com correctly noted, this bill has already been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives….
Their bill was included as amendment 114 to the Defense Authorization Act and passed out of the House on Friday, May 18. It would amend two existing acts: the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (1987).
Fortunately, it looks like this amendment might run into some trouble in the U.S. Senate. But during an election year, not many politicians want to appear “soft” when it comes to national security, so it is definitely not a sure thing that the Senate will reject this amendment.
This amendment has been kind of “flying under the radar”, so now would be a good time to contact your U.S. Senators and let them know exactly how you feel about this.
So precisely what would this new amendment do?
A recent article by Michael Hastings of Buzzfeed.com did a good job of explaining how it would change things….
The new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. “It removes the protection for Americans,” says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.”
Do you want the Obama administration to use mass media in the United States to push a particular political or social agenda?
Do you want the State Department and the Pentagon to conduct psychological operations targeted at you, your family and your friends?
Do you want to see and hear government propaganda everywhere you go?
In a previous article I detailed 25 ways that America is becoming more like Nazi Germany, and I suppose I now have another item to add to the list.
Sadly, the government is already “pushing the envelope” when it comes to using the media. In his recent article, Michael Hastings detailed some examples of how the Pentagon is already attempting to shape public opinion in the United States….
In December, the Pentagon used software to monitor the Twitter debate over Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearing; another program being developed by the Pentagon would design software to create “sock puppets” on social media outlets; and, last year, General William Caldwell, deployed an information operations team under his command that had been trained in psychological operations to influence visiting American politicians to Kabul.
According to U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, one of the sponsors of the bill, current law “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.”
Apparently we cannot think for ourselves and we need the government to help us to see things more clearly.
But when it comes to “psychological operations”, the people that run them do not always play nice.
Just check out what happened recently to two USA Today reporters….
A USA TODAY reporter and editor investigating Pentagon propaganda contractors have themselves been subjected to a propaganda campaign of sorts, waged on the Internet through a series of bogus websites.
Fake Twitter and Facebook accounts have been created in their names, along with a Wikipedia entry and dozens of message board postings and blog comments. Websites were registered in their names.
If this new bill becomes law, there will be very few limits on what the government can do.
And just like the two USA Today reporters, you could end up being a target.
If the government propaganda experts decide that they don’t like you, it is quite likely that you could end up being the target of a massive misinformation campaign.
It could come down to the fact that they simply do not like your blog or what you are saying on Facebook. They could decide that it is best to destroy your reputation for the sake of “national security”.
These kinds of “Big Brother tactics” are absolutely disgusting, but they are becoming part of who we are as a nation.
According to one recent DHS report, if you revere “individual liberty” or if you “believe in conspiracy theories” you are a potential terrorist. And if you are a potential terrorist, then it would only make sense to conduct psychological operations against you before you become an “active” threat.
Sadly, many Americans already act as if they have been brainwashed by propaganda. Recently, a shocking video from North Carolina of a teacher yelling at a high school student and telling him that disrespect of Barack Obama is not permitted in the classroom went viral all over the Internet.
The teacher honestly seemed to believe that it was forbidden to “disrespect” Barack Obama.
That is frightening.
Our founders insisted on a limited federal government for a reason.
They greatly feared what might happen if the federal government became too large and too powerful.
At this point, not only is our freedom of speech under attack, but our freedom of thought is under assault as well.
If we are not very careful, America is going to be turned into a giant prison.
Those of us that still love freedom and liberty must be willing to speak out now before it is too late.
Once our freedoms and liberties are gone they will be incredibly hard to get back.
An amendment that has been added to a new defense bill in Congress would make it legal to target propaganda and “psychological operations” directly at U.S. citizens. The latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act would overturn the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987. Those two laws essentially make it illegal for propaganda that is used to influence public opinion overseas to be targeted at U.S. citizens back here at home.
If those two laws are struck down, there will be essentially very few limits to what the U.S. government can do to shape our opinions. The government would be able to bombard us with propaganda messages on television, on the radio, in our newspapers and on the Internet and there would not even be a requirement that those messages be true.
In fact, just as happens so often overseas, it would likely be inevitable that the government would purposely disseminate misinformation to the American public for the sake of “national security”. That is why it is imperative that this bill not become law.
As an article posted on LegalInsurrection.com correctly noted, this bill has already been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives….
Their bill was included as amendment 114 to the Defense Authorization Act and passed out of the House on Friday, May 18. It would amend two existing acts: the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (1987).
Fortunately, it looks like this amendment might run into some trouble in the U.S. Senate. But during an election year, not many politicians want to appear “soft” when it comes to national security, so it is definitely not a sure thing that the Senate will reject this amendment.
This amendment has been kind of “flying under the radar”, so now would be a good time to contact your U.S. Senators and let them know exactly how you feel about this.
So precisely what would this new amendment do?
A recent article by Michael Hastings of Buzzfeed.com did a good job of explaining how it would change things….
The new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. “It removes the protection for Americans,” says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.”
Do you want the Obama administration to use mass media in the United States to push a particular political or social agenda?
Do you want the State Department and the Pentagon to conduct psychological operations targeted at you, your family and your friends?
Do you want to see and hear government propaganda everywhere you go?
In a previous article I detailed 25 ways that America is becoming more like Nazi Germany, and I suppose I now have another item to add to the list.
Sadly, the government is already “pushing the envelope” when it comes to using the media. In his recent article, Michael Hastings detailed some examples of how the Pentagon is already attempting to shape public opinion in the United States….
In December, the Pentagon used software to monitor the Twitter debate over Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearing; another program being developed by the Pentagon would design software to create “sock puppets” on social media outlets; and, last year, General William Caldwell, deployed an information operations team under his command that had been trained in psychological operations to influence visiting American politicians to Kabul.
According to U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, one of the sponsors of the bill, current law “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.”
Apparently we cannot think for ourselves and we need the government to help us to see things more clearly.
But when it comes to “psychological operations”, the people that run them do not always play nice.
Just check out what happened recently to two USA Today reporters….
A USA TODAY reporter and editor investigating Pentagon propaganda contractors have themselves been subjected to a propaganda campaign of sorts, waged on the Internet through a series of bogus websites.
Fake Twitter and Facebook accounts have been created in their names, along with a Wikipedia entry and dozens of message board postings and blog comments. Websites were registered in their names.
If this new bill becomes law, there will be very few limits on what the government can do.
And just like the two USA Today reporters, you could end up being a target.
If the government propaganda experts decide that they don’t like you, it is quite likely that you could end up being the target of a massive misinformation campaign.
It could come down to the fact that they simply do not like your blog or what you are saying on Facebook. They could decide that it is best to destroy your reputation for the sake of “national security”.
These kinds of “Big Brother tactics” are absolutely disgusting, but they are becoming part of who we are as a nation.
According to one recent DHS report, if you revere “individual liberty” or if you “believe in conspiracy theories” you are a potential terrorist. And if you are a potential terrorist, then it would only make sense to conduct psychological operations against you before you become an “active” threat.
Sadly, many Americans already act as if they have been brainwashed by propaganda. Recently, a shocking video from North Carolina of a teacher yelling at a high school student and telling him that disrespect of Barack Obama is not permitted in the classroom went viral all over the Internet.
The teacher honestly seemed to believe that it was forbidden to “disrespect” Barack Obama.
That is frightening.
Our founders insisted on a limited federal government for a reason.
They greatly feared what might happen if the federal government became too large and too powerful.
At this point, not only is our freedom of speech under attack, but our freedom of thought is under assault as well.
If we are not very careful, America is going to be turned into a giant prison.
Those of us that still love freedom and liberty must be willing to speak out now before it is too late.
Once our freedoms and liberties are gone they will be incredibly hard to get back.
