Israeli Medal Linking Trump with Cyrus
There is a link between Trump's political fascism and theological heresy coming out of his administration. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Fascism doesn't stop at the boarder between world and spirit. It will eventually usurp the place of spirit and this is what is probably meant about the mark of the beast. Follow the fascism course far enough you will crowd out all devotion to other authority even God. There is a fine article by Fin O'Toole in the Irish times,[1] It really highlights Trump as part of an international fascist movement. O'Toole argues that people have to be brought into fascism gradually and desensitized to cruelty,[2]
Babies in cages "were no mistake by Trump but Test marketing for Barbarism."[3] O'Toole tells us "to grasp what is going on in the world right now, we need to reflect on two things. One is that we are in a phase of trial runs. The other is that what is being tried is fascism – a word that should be used carefully but not shirked when it is so clearly on the horizon. Forget 'post-fascist' – what we are living with is pre-fascism." [4]
Trump is an idiot but he understands Test marketing. According to O'Toole Fascism needs trial runs. People must get used to giving up freedom.
Fascism does not need a majority – it typically comes to power with about 40 per cent support and then uses control and intimidation to consolidate that power. So it doesn’t matter if most people hate you, as long as your 40 per cent is fanatically committed. That’s been tested out too. And fascism of course needs a propaganda machine so effective that it creates for its followers a universe of “alternative facts” impervious to unwanted realities. [5]
But when you’ve done all this, there is a crucial next step, usually the trickiest of all. You have to undermine moral boundaries,inure people to the acceptance of acts of extreme cruelty. Like hounds, people have to be blooded. They have to be given the taste for savagery. Fascism does this by building up the sense of threat from a despised out-group. This allows the members of that group to be dehumanised. Once that has been achieved, you can gradually up the ante, working through the stages from breaking windows to extermination.[6] He gives examples of international fascism other than America's rigged elections, also the French President and he sees Brexit as such an example. Then people must be desensitize to cruelty as with babies in cages.
O'Toole has some important things to say about the international nature of the new fascist movement, But here I am going to depart from his article to make my point about spiritual truth I will follow up on O'Toole another time. At this point I observe the arbitrary nature of Fascist power. It not only subsumes all logic and authority but it subsumes all other forms of authority because it has to be absolute and thus the only real authority. That can't help but lead to the corrosion of the sacred.
Observe the arbitrary nature of Trump's standard of free speech: “See, I don’t think that the mainstream media is free speech either because it’s so crooked. It’s so dishonest. So to me, free speech is not when you see something good and then you purposely write bad. To me, that’s very dangerous speech, and you become angry at it. But that’s not free speech.”[7] This is a very confused pronouncement. He actually gets the person wrong in the perspective from which he is speaking. Based upon what I think he means I would re-write it like this: "I shall deem as permissible speech which does not make me angry, speech that is not crooked and that takes my side in all matters." At this point Mazzza's Huffpost article turns to some twitterers to use as docs:
from the Twitter feed:
TrumpMore accountability meaning revenge on those who don]t support him? More Tweets:
Today, I am directing my Administration to explore all regulatory and legislative solutions to protect the free speech rights of ALL AMERICANS. We hope to see more transparency, more accountability, and more FREEDOM! #SocialMediaSummit pscp.tv/w/b_e28TFvTlFs…
Replying to @jjmacnab
The creepiest comment came when Trump said that any mainstream media that he thinks are biased against him are not protected by free speech.
This is why a poll found nearly 50% of Trumpers would support Trump if he closed down media outlets for being unfair to Trump: Trump Says It's Not Free Speech to 'Write Bad' About 'Something Good': That's 'Dangerous Speech' [8]Trumps blurts incoherent answers: 'artcle 2 gives me all these rights at a level no one has seen before. they ruled no collusion no obstruction. they ruled?" [9] They ruled? Who ruled? There has been no ruling of any kind saying there was no obstruction. Muller said he found 10 possible instances of obstruction.
In order to garner the kind of support that level of total power needs the forces of fascism must control all notions of authority,We can see how this has eroded basic values by looking at the theological heresy that Trump and his co hearts indulge in. Keep in mind that no major evangelical watchdog has dared to call them on it in a public way. Start with Trumps spoilsport adviser Paula White. A prosperity teacher she asks people to send her their First month's salary for the year.[10]
That could be a pretty significant loss of income for a lot of people. Of course it assumes the jaundiced prosperity teaching which I think misappropriates the covenant relationship that God had with Israel and imposes it upon the religion of the individual and God.
White, who has no seminary degree or formal religious training, became a millionaire through her Florida church and successful televangelism of the so-called “prosperity gospel,” which claims that material wealth is an indication of God’s favor and that the faithful will also prosper financially so long as they give all their money to church leaders. As recently as last year, according to The Guardian, White was openly telling families they could reliably incur God’s good will if they sent their first month’s salary to her ministry. White has also famously defended Trump’s policy of separating migrant children from their families by suggesting that all people who break the law are inherently “sinful.”[11]White has declared that the white house is holy ground. The reason? Because Paula White has been their and wherever she walks is Holy ground.“I HAVE EVERY RIGHT AND AUTHORITY TO DECLARE THE WHITE HOUSE AS HOLY GROUND BECAUSE I WAS STANDING THERE AND WHERE I STAND IS HOLY”[12]
So why doesn't the presence of any Christian make a place holy ground? If that's the case than Obama made the white house holy ground already. In that blurs the distinction between sacred and profane.
Perhaps the most egregious example is that Miram Adelson, wife of major Trump contributor Sheldon Adelson wants to add a book of Trump to the Bible.
“Would it be too much to pray for a day when the Bible gets a ‘Book of Trump,’ much like it has a ‘Book of Esther’ celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from ancient Persia?” Adelson asked, Adelson called President Trump’s unpopularity among American Jews “an oddity that will long be pondered by historians.” According to Adelson, Trump has benefited Jews by moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, by “purging” the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which was opposed by many in the Jewish community.[13]I am prepared to accept that this is levity, If not it means this woman has no regard for the Bible as sacred. But it brings up a hilarious aspect, The Israelis have given Trump a medal linking Trump with King Cyrus in the Bible. Cyrus is a hero of the Jews because he led the Persians to destroy Babylon and thus freed Jews to return to Palestine. But they are quite aware that Cyrus has no idea he was doing God's will, Thus Trump being said to be a modern day Cyrus is their way of politely saying he is a useful idiot who is easily played.
Sources
[1] Fin O'Toole, "Trial Runs for Fascism are in full flow." The Irish Times, (Jn 26, 2018)
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375?mode=amp&fbclid=IwAR3k0E4sd9mtVgFDfrepJu4V72tzWozVy4FaFPY0_oAqQaD84yF4o_Zm3EA (accessed July 14,2019)
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Trump quoted by Ed Mazza, "Trump: Mainstream Media Is Not Free Speech, People Who ‘Write Bad are Dangerous’" HuffPost, (July 12, 2019)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-media-free-speech_n_5d282394e4b0bd7d1e1a0592
(accessed July 14,2019)
[8] from Thye Mazza article in Huffpost, doesn't say what polls.
[9] TYT Nation, "Delusions ofPower," video, You Tube, (Premiered Jul 12, 2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrFC3NHIwI
(accessed July 14,2019)
[10] Alex Kasprak, "Did Trump's Spiritual Adviser Ask People to Send Her Their January salaries?"Search Snopes.com. Snopes Media Group Inc.
(Feb 1,2019)https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/paula-white-january-salary/ (accessed July 14,2019)
[11]Staff, "Trump Spiritual Adviser Paula White Announces Ambitious Plans to Expand Religious Empire," Women in the World, (May 11,2019 ).
https://womenintheworld.com/2019/05/11/trump-spiritual-adviser-paula-white-announces-ambitious-plans-to-expand-religious-empire/ (accessed July 14,2019)
[12] ALISON LESLEY "Paula White Says Whitehouse HolyGround" World Religion news (Jyl 10,2019)
https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/paula-white-says-white-house-holy-ground
(accessed July 14,2019)
[13] Benjamen Gladstomne, "Book of Joshua, Book of Ester, Book of Trump..." Fast Froward, (July 11, 2019) https://forward.com/fast-forward/427462/miriam-adelson-republican-bible-book-of-trump-jerusalem-embassy-iran/ (accessed July 14,2019)
[14] Tara Isaellea Burton, "The Biblical Story The Christian Right uses To Defend Trump" Vox (March 5, 2018)
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/5/16796892/trump-cyrus-christian-right-bible-cbn-evangelical-propaganda (accessed July 14,2019)
Yes. This is why we have to keep protesting, keep calling our Congressmen, keep insisting that the children be released from those cages. We can't let ourselves become inured to it. It's still going on. Those little kids are awakening again this morning to the cage.
ReplyDeletetotally right on Kristen
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Trump as Cyrus doesn't, I believe, originated with Israel. It's a widespread belief among Trump's evangelical supporters. It seems to date back to the primaries. Lancd Wallanu claims “the Lord spoke” to him predicting Trump's election and that he's Cyrus (see https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/23/cyrus-prophecy-evangelical-support-donald-trump). The belief has currency among enough people that Christianity Today ran an article last October titled "Is Trump Our Cyrus? The Old Testament Case for Yes and No" (https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/october-web-only/donald-trump-cyrus-prophecy-old-testament.html).
ReplyDeleteYour discussion around theology, if you look carefully at what you wrote, is really about the theology of those who surround him and support him. Trump is quite happy to let everyone else cast him in these terms.
First, the movements that we're all tempted to call Fascist are not Fascists. Fascism didn't exist before the 20th century for a reason; it certainly wasn't a useful label for Cyrus. And, the door to Fascism closed in the late 20th century. They certainly have a lot of echoes but there are fundamental differences in regards to the nature of the world today, the nature of governance (see in particular Shield of Achilles by Phillip Bobbit) and the constraints that exist (particularly in the US). The figures and back story you bring up are definitely good illumination. And, I'm certainly expecting things to get worse after he's re-elected. Or is it better to say that the pace will pick up? On the other hand, those fundamental differences will blind side you. For example, Trump, Erdogan and Putin will never care about things like trains running on time nor be the obssessive record keepers that their fascists antecedants were. The challenge is understanding what's new. Using the old labels is comfortable. But it obscures what we're going through as much as it helps.
Well Tim we don't a new label.Besides I think it's fascism. o it's am update it;s still fascist. Yes it the theology of those around Trump,I;m sure he has no concept of theology himself.
ReplyDelete