Timothy Snyder's on How to Avoid or Resist Tyranny: His quotes with my thoughts-11

Last night, Thursday night, I watched a very old movie, produced in 1940. The Mortal Storm with a great many well-known stars, well known if you are in your eighties, include Margret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young, Frank Morgan, and Robert Stack. The movie is one of the earlier Hollywood movies that addressed the horror of Nazi Germany and was made before the United States entered the war. There are about 10 others. 

 The Mortal Storm focuses on a German family in a small university town. The family is shattered, torn apart, by the rise of Hitler. The movie is both sad and romantic. It does not have a happy ending. Part of the back information states: “What may seem small and personal is instead towering, a bold revelation of the brutality of the Nazi regime that so infuriated propaganda minister Goebbels that he banned all MGM movies in Germany.” 

This was an interesting time in America, many were unaware of the reality of Nazi brutality toward those in Germany who disagreed with their ideology. Some were more interested in doing business with Germany and some simply agreed with their insistence that some of humanity was less than human. I have written about that here, The Second Coming of Fascism to the United States.   

There were several movie producers, Jewish, who produced movies about Nazi Germany while many in the United States continued to fight over which side we should be on, if any. There was even a senatorial committee formed to investigate the producers, seemingly to suggest that their productions were unlawful because they might formant warmongering groups. Two senators started the investigation, Gerald Nye of North Dakota, and Bennett Clark of Missouri. Steven Ross author of Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews foiled Nazi Plots against Hollywood and America writes of that investigation:

 “Clark opened the September Senate hearings by condemning the motion picture industry for glorifying ‘England’s Imperialism’ [Remember England was under attack at that time begging America for arms.] and creating ‘hatred of the people of Germany’. Nye joined the vilification by calling Hollywood the ‘most potent and dangerous Fifth Column in our country.’ … Both senators insisted that their investigation was driven by patriotism and not prejudice. Nye declared the Jews have themselves to blame.” 

 Notice how familiar this all seems. Accusations based supposedly on Patriotism, accusations of hatred because of truth telling against bullies, a nation being accused of “imperialism” although they are the ones under attack. Nonetheless the investigation came to nothing after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Germany and Italy joining with Japan against the United States. 

 One must read long and well researched materials to understand the truthfulness of what is happening in our world. History and well written journal material is important in crisis times. Here is Timothy Snyder’s 11th point in his book On Tyranny:

 Investigate: “Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad), Take responsibility for what you communicate with others.”

 Most of the secular news and opinions I listen to are on the internet. The Dispatch, The Atlantic- of course they both have Christians on staff and religious articles. Also, some articles and opinion pieces in the New York Times. I also subscribe to some religious journals, Touchstone, Christianity Today and Voice of the Martyrs. There are religious programs on the internet that deal with both religion and culture as well as news that I find immensely helpful. 

The point is there are a lot of good solid offerings to be had but this should go along with the advice from Snyders last point—read books. Most of the views I hold are formed by Scripture reading, daily, and by love of books both fiction and non-fiction. I have always loved history and believe we can not understand where we are at without some knowledge of history.

 

There is danger here!

So often religious groups that are extreme and yet insist they are biblical, using Scripture to under gird their ideology, are dangerous. They pull apart people’s lives, in some cases even endanger their lives. I mentioned in my last posting about a trip I took with a friend going from Sacramento to the Midwest. I will say a bit about that trip as I write about, in this posting, a dangerous movement connected to the MAGA movement. 

The trip with my friend was to eventually divide us in Wisconsin. She was dropping me off in Madison where my sister and her two young daughters lived. She was to go on to Indianapolis where she had been invited to live with a friend and the friend’s mother and help with the church they were attending.

 All along the way God kept speaking to my heart telling me to go all the way to Indianapolis with my friend. I kept saying no, she’s a bit cranky and if I do that she will have to turn around and take me back to Madison. 

We landed in Madison for the night. My friend with her expensive camera took pictures of my two nieces and then left the next morning. Without her camera. I in the mean time was trying to get a plane out of either Chicago or Indianapolis and found either was going to be almost impossible when she called to see if her camera was there. Needless to say we both left together for Indianapolis and her friend’s house. 

Have you ever entered a place and experienced what could be called red lights flashing in your mind. We both did when we entered the home. The next morning after the friend and her mother left for work we went searching for some clue that would explain our concerns. We found a hand written sermon in a kitchen cabinet. 

They, the people in the church, were going to Mars! 

 We spent the rest of the morning trying to get the friend to return to Sacramento, and chasing down the moving van to send my friend’s furniture back to Sacramento. We were unsuccessful with the first and successful with the last. I should say that I was so thankful for our church, Ware house Ministries, at the time. As we kept in touch with them, getting their advice and feeling their prayers. 

So I write all of this to remind all of us that people can sound biblical, give biblical advice and be totally off the wall with heresy and possible hurt. And this is the main message of my posting. I have written several times about the false prophet Julie Green who is a part of the New Apostolic Reformation movement. She is also friends with a large group of MAGA and Qanon people including Clay Clark, Michael Flynn and Eric Trump Jr. the son of President Trump.

 Green is often a speaker at the Reawaken Tour led by the three just mentioned. These meetings are filled with many conspiracy speakers and of course their important focus is Donald Trump. Green reads her prophecies almost daily and listening it is supposedly God speaking through her. Lately with the presidential election she has God continue to give out judgement on most of the “establishment.” They will be fired, and/or imprisoned and this includes judges who supposedly covered up the “election fraud.” In fact, this includes chief Justice John Roberts. 

 And now she points to Elon Musk’s many firings as proof that her prophecies are true. I could go two ways with this. Green is being told ahead of time what is going to happen in the Trump government, but that would be pushing conspiracies myself which I despise. But the other way is that it is so much in the heads and hearts of MAGA people that the Democrats are enemies’ intent on destroying Christians and America that such information as the destruction of their enemies is a main theme in their dreams and Green’s prophecies. 

 So, to hopefully bring some rational questions to this because Green insists the American Christians are like the Israelites in Egypt, in bondage: Are we slaves or citizens in America? Have we been whipped, beaten, imprisoned, starved, burned at the stake, had our heads cut off as Christians in some other places and times have experienced?

 No! 

 Green keeps pushing this and falsely allowing God, supposedly through her, to call down judgement on enemies, even other Christians. She brings all of the promises of God from the Scriptures to her listeners but then places them in a false time of great persecution. She is bringing harm to the message of the gospel; she may eventually bring harm to those Christians who are not aligned with Trump or his followers. 

 In another posting I did several years ago, I wrote this: “The Church was born in tribulation, and still endures the tribulation, not in all places but in some places all the time. From Nero to Hitler, from Domitian to Idi Amin, from North Korea to radical Islam the anti-Christs keep appearing and being destroyed by the will of God. And yes, there will undoubtedly be a final anti-Christ destroyed by Christ’s glorious return.

 But not out of the tribulation is there safety, rather in the midst of common life and tribulation, normal workdays and dark eras the Christian finds peace, safety and comfort in the arms Jesus Christ. His people are united to him, nourished by him, kept faithful by him.” If you are a Christian find your peace in Christ and don’t listen to the wild prophecies of MEGA or NAR today. They quote Scripture while teaching a political ideology.