In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes solves the case by pointing out a glaring anomaly. Namely, the hound in question didn’t bark when the perpetrator committed his crime. Because, you see, the criminal was not a stranger. He was the owner of the dog.
Ever since then, “the dog that didn’t bark” has become a staple of rhetoric; usually, it draws attention to the one who, by his silence, is the one who has the most to gain –or lose–should he say something.
Several weeks ago, Joe Biden did what he’d promised to do: he recognized the Armenian genocide that took place one hundred years ago in Turkey. Now, I have several issues with Biden as you all are aware but I have to admit that he stood up and did the right thing. None of his predecessors ever dared anger Turkey by recognizing this ancient atrocity. Biden did. Therefore credit goes to where it is due.
However, I can’t help but think that things are not always as they seem; the devil is in the details as they say. It’s also possible that there is less here than meets the eye.
Allow me to explain.
Make no mistake, this did anger the Turkish government. They’ve been fighting the recognition of what happened to the Armenians for decades. Having said that, their anger was rather muted in my opinion as it dissipated within a few days. There was no angry denunciations against the United States; President Erdogan for example, did not throw the Trail of Tears or African slavery back in America’s face. Both the Chinese and the Russians on the other hand, did so in earlier altercations with the Biden Administration. Erdogan demand that Turkish diplomats stationed in America depart in protest. Nor were American diplomats expelled from Ankara. In contrast, Russia recalled several of their diplomats after Biden called Putin a “killer” who “had no soul”.
Other actions could have been taken by Erdogan didn’t happen as well. He could have threatened to withdraw from NATO, or rattle his sabers in the Aegean, thereby threatening Greece (another NATO ally). He did not do any of those things. Erdogan, a man who is not shy about throwing his weight around to allies and adversaries alike, was remarkably unbelligerant, all things being equal. Surprisingly so.
So why the return to normalcy? Was it because the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the United States –significant as it was–was ultimately, inconsequential? Why do I say this? Because there will be no repercussions to the Turkish Republic. No new sanctions were placed to force Turkey to likewise recognize its role in the genocide. There will be no reparations to the present-day descendants of the original victims. Indeed, the question of reparations will not even be raised.
The reason is because things are going rather swimmingly for Turkey. Under Erdogan, Turkey has become a regional power, one well-respected on the world stage. Its economy has had its ups and downs but all things being equal, it’s not a basket case. With a resurgent China in the international catbird seat, it can also ride out American sanctions by threatening to trade in Chinese currency (as Iran currently doing, a prospect which would imperil the future of the petrodollar). Turkey also plays a subtle cat-and-mouse game between Ukraine and Russia, keeping both sides wondering about which side it will come down on. Consider also the fact that Turkey fought a proxy war in the Caucasus against Armenia which their Azeri allies handily won.
The idea that this will draw Erdogan closer to Russia is an intriguing one but I wouldn’t hold my breath. After all, Russia has long recognized the Armenian genocide (as have most other countries) and even celebrates an annual holiday in memory of this atrocity. Still, it could draw Turkey farther away from the US as far as the Ukraine is concerned. As far as the Ecumenical Patriarch is a Turkish captive/asset, it could complicate the State Department’s plans for the “autocephalous” church which they forced him to recognize.
Perhaps most importantly, and since we are talking about symbolic victories, one unfortunate fact remains, and that is that Hagia Sophia is still a mosque. This despite all the furor that that action by Erdogan generated last year. So let’s put our cards on the table: does anybody think that Biden will demand that Erdogan reverse that controversial decision?
Not on your life. When viewed in this light, Biden’s recent declaration is basically a wash. Yes, the Turks were angered by Biden’s declaration. But so was the rest of the world angered by Erdogan’s earlier action regarding Hagia Sophia. Still, at the end of the day, the Turks don’t care what the rest of the world says about Hagia Sophia. After years of playing an international game of “will they or won’t they”, the Turks bit the bullet and came out the winner. For them, it’s a net plus.
Let me restate this as bluntly as possible: the Armenian diaspora got a declaration out there which Turkey did’t want to acknowledge but Turkey got Hagia Sophia. One side got empty words from the President* of the United States, the other side got real estate.
That’s all international geopolitics however; secular stuff. As we should all be aware by now, there is also a spiritual element at play. And so we now come to “the dog that didn’t bark” after Biden made his declaration. Who is the one person who did not join the chorus of hosannas praising Biden (but should have)? A figure who continues to remain silent? Still can’t guess? Let me give you a hint: who is that person who claims universal jurisdiction in ecclesial matters and has put himself out as a major moral arbiter when it comes to “religious minorities”?
Why didn’t this man say anything laudatory about Biden when he stepped up and after several decades, did the right thing?
Is it because he cannot? That his own legacy of meddling in international affairs –particularly in the Ukraine–is based not on universal principles but on political expediency? And this, after Patriarch Kirill of Moscow gave him a wonderful opening when the former made some highly questionable assertions regarding this same genocide?
It would appear so.
I have not been able to verify this independently, but it is my understanding that on the Saturday of Lazarus, (which this year coincided with the Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide) Patriarch Kirill stated that “There were no genocides of Christian minorities during the Ottoman Empire. The following is a list someone has posted in response to the Patriarch’s statement.
In the last 25 years of the Ottoman Empire the following occurred:
Hamidian Massacres 1890-96 300,000 dead Armenians
Greek Genocide 1913-22 900,000 dead Greeks
Seyfo Massacre 1914-18 250,000 dead Assyrians
Armenian Genocide 1915-1918 1.5 million dead Armenians
For myself, surely the good Patriarch is aware that when Greeks were driven into the sea at Smyrna , English, French and US warships refused to help them while the Russian ships pulled them from the sea, aiding fellow Orthodox Christians. Also, some years ago I had the opportunity to speak with an elderly Armenian woman who, when a young woman, had her husband beheaded in front of her during the genocide.
No one destroyed Christian minorities
in Ottoman Empire – Russian patriarch
https://menafn.com/1101975004/No-one-destroyed-Christian-minorities-in-Ottoman-Empire-Russian-patriarch-VIDEO
[Video – 54 sec]
No one destroyed Christian minorities in Ottoman Empire, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill said in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel, Trend reports.
“There has never been anything like what is happening in the Islamic world. We can mention the Turkish, Ottoman Empire as an example. True, there were Christian minorities, but no one destroyed them,” noted Kirill. ‘
There are no subtitles on the video and I don’t speak Russian
so I am unable to confirm the translation is accurate.
However, if it is accurate, Patriarch Kirill is…ill-informed;
to put it politely.
Or, he was baiting Bartholomew, knowing full well that he’d be unable to say anything.
There’s also the geopolitical angle: Kirill was reaching out to Erdogan, offering him a lifeline of sorts.
Either way, the EP is bring pushed back into his Phanariote cage.
Was he baiting the Armenians as well?
Nah. The Armenians are tangential at this point. Turkey proved that they’re the Big Dog in Western Asia what with their sponsorship of Azerbaijan.
The Big Dog that barked?
Yannaro, this is what I meant when I said that Kirill gave a massive opening to Bartholomew when he made that highly questionable statement.
It was tailor-made for Bartholomew to swat it out of the ballpark. Instead, nothing.
You would have thought that thr EP would have something about the Greeks at least.
Again, nothing.
At this point the salient question is “why not?”
Can anybody give me an answer?
George, my guess is that he doesn’t want to ‘anger’ his Turkish landlords. Also, he doesn’t want to lose his tiny little wanna be Vatican compound with the 13 parishioners that come with it. (Though, what do I know?)
Yeah, that’s basically it.
Can anybody give me an answer?
Come now, George.
You know as well as anyone that His All-Holiness the Grand High Exalted Poo-Ba, absolute ruler of 300 million Orthodox Christians world-wide, is bold only in areas of perceived invulnerability and timid as a mouse toward those who have the power to evict him from that specific city from which he derives his grand high exalted title.
Well, George, Bartholomew is a Turkish citizen . . .
If you discount the Greek and Armenian genocides from earlier in the 20th century, I’m not sure you have many incidences of attempts at eradicating the dhimmis prior to that. I think what Kirill was describing was the general conditions of dhimmitude and the change from that to ISIS/Al Qaida, etc. When a Russian says “destroyed” he means completely. I watched the actual video. The word he used means destruction in the sense of annihilation/”wiping out”/eradication.
That being said, he could have referred to the Armenian genocide or the massive expulsion, persecution and murder of Greeks earlier in the 20th century. Islam has never been a friend of the Church, indeed, it is a mortal enemy. However, there are significant Muslim minorities in the RF and on its borders as well as a long established relationship with the Iranians. Russians are ok with Muslims so long as they focus on Sufism rather than Jihad.
Agreed/ For me, however, the question remains, why did Moscow see a need to do this? They are all playing games to the great detriment of the faith.
I don’t disagree with you, Yannaro. These “games” are most unfortunate. Still, it was not Moscow which started this game.
If I may be blunt and distill the actions and words of Kirill and Bartholomew: what Kirill said was most unfortunate (and historically inaccurate); what Bartholomew did in the Ukraine was despicable. The former’s words were tedious; the latter’s actions have led to death and destruction.
No argument here.
This wasn’t “doing the right thing”. It was a signal that the Atlantic Alliance is now opposed to Turkey instead of supportive of it. Or perhaps it’s Erdogan who first signalled his withdrawal from the prospect of entering the Alliance by moving the country in a more anti-secular direction. Probably “Biden”‘s announcement has something to do with China or Russia or one of the various Muslim countries we keep steamrolling over. I wasn’t aware we had “Kurdish allies” until I was informed that Trump was going to betray them, so this is probably something like that.
Biden doesn’t make decisions. He just signs papers and reads teleprompters. The people who control him are entirely demonic, and therefore it is impossible for them to do the right thing. Even if they do something that is right on a technicality, it’s still for malicious motives, because, again, all of this is Satanic.
Why Are Gates and Pentagon Releasing
GMO Mosquitoes in Florida Keys?
http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO11May2021.php
‘ On April 30 the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and the Oxitec biotechnology company announced they will begin release of what will ultimately be some 750 million genetically manipulated or gene-edited Aedes Aegypti mosquitos using CRSPR gene editing technology. The Aedes Aegypti makes up only about 4% of the mosquito population in the Keys. The release is bitterly opposed by residents and environmental groups who demanded a referendum in last year’s election ballot, but which the Mosquito Control Board refused, curiously. Oxitec and the Board claim the release is to kill off the presence of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which is believed to carry dengue fever, Zika and other diseases.
The project, which sounds positive in the press statements, is alarming in many respects. First, the refusal to allow a citizen vote on the controversial GMO release. Second, there exists no cost-benefit analysis of the risks versus benefits of releasing millions of mosquitoes whose genetic traits are mutating in often unpredictable ways. Is it worth the risk that an ever more robust variety of mosquito will mutate from the project? No one can say. Traditional mosquito control techniques have worked well until now. …
At another trial by Oxitec for the same Aedes Aegypti gene-edited mosquito in Bahia, Brazil, in a test to see if the gene-edited mosquitoes would mate with local mosquitoes carrying Zika, malaria or other mosquito-borne diseases, following an initial reduction of the target population of mosquitoes, after some months the “population which had been greatly suppressed rebounded to nearly pre-release levels,” according to a study published in Nature Reports journal. A team of scientists from Yale University and several scientific institutes in Brazil monitored the progress of the experiment. What they found was that after an initial period in which the target mosquito population markedly declined, after about 18 months the mosquito population recovered to pre-release levels. Not only that, the paper noted that some of the mosquitos likely have “hybrid vigor,” in which a hybrid of the natural with the gene-edited created “a more robust population than the pre-release population” which may be more resistant to insecticides, in short, resistant “super mosquitoes.” That Brazil Oxitec study concluded, “It is unclear how this may affect disease transmission or affect other efforts to control these dangerous vectors.”
In short, the genetic mutations were unpredictable. Another 2020 scientific study revealed that the “sterile” insects revert back to being fertile, resulting in resistant GMO populations persisting in the environment. The study, published by scientists in China, Germany and the USDA in the United States, shows that spontaneous mutations in laboratory flies can arise, leading to genetic resistance to the intended trait. In other words, “super flies,” or mosquitoes. …
What further draws suspicions about the entire gene edited mosquito release in Florida is the fact that the Oxitec project is being supported by two highly controversial agencies—The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA. Gates— not only a major financial backer of the gene-edited COVID-19 “vaccines” of Pfizer and Moderna, and the largest private donor to the WHO–has funded gene-editing research for more than a decade. Gates is well aware of the malevolent potential of gene-editing technology. It can be used as a bioweapon maker. In 2016 Gates declared, “the next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus.” In July 2017, John Sotos, of Intel Health & Life Sciences, stated that gene editing research could “open up the potential for bioweapons of unimaginable destructive potential.” …
DARPA has been working for several years on genetic editing of mosquitoes. Through its “Insect Allies” program, DARPA has been working, using CRISPR gene-editing and gene drive technologies, on manipulating the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The US Department of Defense has spent at least $100 million in the controversial technology known as “gene drives” making the US military a top funder and developer of the gene-modifying technology. “Gene drives are a powerful and dangerous new technology and potential biological weapons could have disastrous impacts on peace, food security and the environment, especially if misused,” said Jim Thomas, co-director of ETC Group, an environment safety group. “The fact that gene drive development is now being primarily funded and structured by the US military raises alarming questions about this entire field.”
Entomological warfare is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to transmit diseases. The Pentagon, using DARPA research, has allegedly performed such entomological tests secretly in the Republic of Georgia and Russia. Is the DARPA development, together with Gates’ foundation and Oxitec, of the gene edited mosquitoes a covert program in entomological warfare?
The Pentagon presently has top security bio laboratories in 25 countries across the world funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP). They are in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa. Among their projects, Phlebotomine sand fly species were collected under the heading, “Surveillance Work on Acute Febrile Illness,” in which all (female) sand flies were tested to determine their infectivity rate. A third project, also including sand flies collection, studied the characteristics of their salivary glands. This is weaponization research. … ‘
This is the ultimate parasitical protection racket:
“We used your money to invent a new technology.
Bad people might use this technology to cause trouble.
Therefore we must use your money to test this technology
to see what would happen if bad people were to use it to cause trouble.
When this technology goes wrong [as it will] we must use your money to fix it.
When this technology is fixed bad people might use it to cause trouble.
Therefore we must use your money to… ad infinitum.”
I listened to the 54-second excerpt, and it seems to me as a gesture of trying in various manners to promote peace in general, such as telling the interviewer in the days preceding Pascha that, in his soothing words:
Christians were not annihilated under the Ottoman Empire;
[technically true although there were indeed massacres, especially under the Young Turks against the wishes of the Sultan];
there was a system of relations (I think referred to as the “millet” system;
an Arab Muslim holds the keys to the Holy Sepulcher;
Moslems had the responsibility for protection of Christian holy places;
Christians could fulfill their religious obligations;
there were Patriarchates and churches.
[general content by listening]
It is my opinion that Patriarch Kiril knows history very well but is in a position of assisting Russia under President Putin to help bring peace to a region beset by much interference by Western powers. (E.g. by supporting President Assad of Syria in a struggle against Western-supported jihadists that would have been lost, with much disaster for all, if Russia hadn’t intervened in full accordance with with international law.)
The dog didn’t bark in the Sherlock Holmes short story “Silver Blaze”.
Oops! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I deserve a spanking, having read all of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories as a youngster. (A precious gift from my late mother.)
Still, the metaphor stands, does it not?
This one is definitely barking…
Prince Harry angers Americans after calling First Amendment ‘bonkers’
https://www.rt.com/usa/523801-prince-harry-angers-americans/
‘ Prince Harry…said, “I’ve got so much I want to say about
the First Amendment. I still don’t understand it, but it is bonkers.” …
“Yeah we know he doesn’t get it, his family is the reason it exists”. ‘
🙂
Them hold thine own tongue, Your royal Celebrity Highness,
Indeed. What a fool.
Viral Visualizations: How Coronavirus Skeptics
Use Orthodox Data Practices to Promote
Unorthodox Science Online
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.07993.pdf
‘ 5 DISCUSSION
… Most fundamentally, the groups we studied believe that science is a process, and not an institution. As we have outlined in the case study, these groups mistrust the scientific establishment (“Science”) because they believe that the institution has been corrupted by profit motives and politics. The knowledge that the CDC and academics have created cannot be trusted because they need to be subject to increased doubt, and not accepted as consensus. In the same way that climate change skeptics have appealed to Karl Popper’s theory of falsification to show why climate science needs to be subjected to continuous scrutiny in order to be valid [42], we have found that anti-mask groups point to Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to show how their anomalous evidence—once dismissed by the scientific establishment—will pave the way to a new paradigm (“As I’ve recently described, I’m no stranger to presenting data that are inconsistent with the narrative. It can get ugly. People do not give up their paradigms easily.[…] Thomas Kuhn wrote about this phenomenon, which occurs repeatedly throughout history. Now is the time to hunker down. Stand with the data,” August 5, 2020). For anti-maskers, valid science must be a process they can critically engage for themselves in an unmediated way.Increased doubt, not consensus, is the marker of scientific certitude. …
6 IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
… While academic science is traditionally a system for producing knowledge within a laboratory, validating it through peer review, and sharing results within subsidiary communities, anti-maskers reject this hierarchical social model. They espouse a vision of science that is radically egalitarian and individualist. This study forces us to see that coronavirus skeptics champion science as a personal practice that prizes rationality and autonomy; for them, it is not a body of knowledge certified by an institution of experts. … ‘
SHOCK! HORROR!
MIT discovers skeptics are rational!
And think for themselves!
Use of fear to control behaviour in Covid
crisis was ‘totalitarian’, admit scientists
https://archive.ph/fdNyd#selection-1109.0-1109.86
Members of Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on
Behaviour express regret about ‘unethical’ methods
‘ Scientists on a committee that encouraged the use of fear to control people’s behaviour during the Covid pandemic have admitted its work was “unethical” and “totalitarian”.
Members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour (SPI-B) expressed regret about the tactics in a new book about the role of psychology in the Government’s Covid-19 response.
SPI-B warned in March last year that ministers needed to increase “the perceived level of personal threat” from Covid-19 because “a substantial number of people still do not feel sufficiently personally threatened”.
Gavin Morgan, a psychologist on the team, said: “Clearly, using fear as a means of control is not ethical. Using fear smacks of totalitarianism. It’s not an ethical stance for any modern government. By nature I am an optimistic person, but all this has given me a more pessimistic view of people.” …
“Without a vaccine, psychology is your main weapon… Psychology has had a really good epidemic, actually.” … ‘
Always look on the bright side of life:
Psychology has had a really good epidemic.
Switzerland cancels its currency
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/switzerland/switzerland-cancels-it-currency/
‘ Responsibility may soon become a crime. ‘
Swiss Roll-ed Over
Tucker Carlson Interviews Dr. Peter McCullough
on COVID Worldwide Conspiracy
https://rumble.com/vgzvh1-tucker-carlson-interviews-dr.-peter-mccullough-on-covid-worldwide-conspirac.html
[Video – 45:29]
Why do doctors not treat COVID patients?
Gary D. Barnett: The Intentionally Planned Coming
Cyber ‘Pandemic” Will Devastate this Country
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2021/05/gary-d-barnett/the-intentionally-planned-coming-cyber-pandemic-will-devastate-this-country/
‘ “Liberty is not for these slaves; I do not advocate inflicting it against their conscience. On the contrary, I am strongly in favor of letting them crawl and grovel all they please before whatever fraud or combination of frauds they choose to venerate…Our whole practical government is grounded in mob psychology and the Boobus Americanus [et Britannicus] will follow any command that promises to make him safer.”
~ H. L. Mencken
Mencken’s quote above could not possibly be more appropriate for the coming cyber storm that is being openly plotted and telegraphed by the controlling powers and their government whores. The entirety of a takeover of this citizenry, regardless of the particular methods employed, relies completely on the total ignorance and obedience of the masses. This state of being, that state which is one of blind acceptance that every single threat whether claimed to be domestic or foreign in nature, is natural, accidental, or perpetrated by some mysterious enemy from afar. This always-propagandized narrative comes from the same source; that of the prevailing government and the controlled mainstream media. Because of this, the same governing system forever declares itself to be the only savior and protector of the lowly proletariat, thereby assuming a position of god and king. This solidifies among the weak that in order to be safe, one must rely on government.
Safety after all, has become the first priority of the masses, and this absurd notion did not occur accidentally. The people’s masters have hammered it into the psyche of Americans since birth, and due to this, individual freedom has taken a back seat to being protected by the state. How convenient for those that seek to control all of society, as when the populace bases every aspect of their lives on safety and dependence, control over them is not only desired, it is demanded. This is the essence of slavery, and why is readily accepted by today’s deplorable populace. …
There is no time to rest, as the terror that began in March of 2020 has only just begun. The coming months will see an escalation in the abuse of the common people, and more tyrannical measures meant to solidify the state’s position of power and control. The deeper the people fall into this bottomless abyss of state domination, the less chance of survival that exists. Mass resistance is imperative, and without it, we face a living hell. Stand up against this monster, and regain a love of life and family, and reclaim your lost self-respect. Are you up to the task?
“Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.”
~ Albert Camus ‘
‘Let sleeping dogs lie!’
Comes the cry. And while dogs sleep,
Wolves may safely graze…
From last year, but still relevant…
Enough With Romans 13
https://bionicmosquito.blogspot.com/2020/05/enough-with-romans-13.html
‘ Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
God will have to give me much more patience….
This passage from Romans is trotted out countless times by Christian leaders, and infinitely more than this in recent weeks. I will use as an example something offered by Becky Akers, who has been excellent on this topic of churches closing during this time. She writes a piece entitled Lobbyists From Hell.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/05/becky-akers/lobbyists-from-hell/
In it she cites, as one example out of…oh, I don’t know…one-hundred thousand, a statement from the Joseph Council of the “Citizens for Community Values” of Columbus, Ohio. The Joseph Council identifies as “an Evangelical and Catholic coalition of Christian leaders in Ohio.” Romans 13 is one of the “Scriptural Reflections” they offer as justification for closing houses of worship to God.
Read that last sentence again. They are offering Biblical justification for closing houses of worship.
Back to Romans 13. The reference above, which many Christians seem to love, is from the New International Version. What does the King James say?
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Higher powers vs. governing authorities. That’s a bit different. I have also read, from Gerard Casey, a further examination on this point. He offers:
Whereas some English translations use the word “governing” in verse 1, the Greek text does not. It reads “Let every soul be subject to the superior powers.”
Well, that might make a difference as well.
There are countless examples in the Bible of individuals ignoring and violating the commands of the “governing authorities” (in the meaning that countless Christians take this phrase). I will only offer one, perhaps the most meaningful because if these orders were not violated, well none of this would really matter.
In Matthew 2 we read of Herod questioning the chief priests and scribes: where is the child to be born? He questioned the wise men: when did the star appear? Once he had his answers, he asked the wise men to return to him after they had seen this newborn “King of the Jews.”
Of course, the wise men – anticipating today’s modern Christians – did exactly as Herod asked. After all, they were subject to the governing authorities. No, not exactly. Instead, they took a different route home. Now, was it against Scripture to walk back the way one came? No. God told them to disobey the governing authority.
Meanwhile, God appeared to Joseph and told Joseph to obey Herod. Just kidding. God told Joseph to take Mary and the baby and flee to Egypt.
Let’s look at more of the passage from Romans, from the NIV:
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
Mmmm. What if rulers do hold terror for those who do right? It’s not like it doesn’t happen. Was God (or Paul) naïve? No. There is only one “governing” authority that consistently does not hold terror for those who do good – that being God. With this in mind, continuing:
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
Can this be read without the context of the preceding verse? Would that make any sense to you? The Apostle Paul, after all, was an extremely learned scholar. Is he just stringing together random thoughts?
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
I won’t get into the taxes part, other than reminding of 1 Samuel 8, when God warned Israel that the king that they are desiring would have the nerve to take all of 10% of their crop. Ten-percent!
But, past this: we owe respect to those for whom we respect. We ow[e] honor for those deserving of honor. Close churches on Sunday. Is it possible that it is to such as these that God, through Paul, is commanding us to respect and honor? Really?
But it gets worse. … ‘
Context is all…
Interstingly, Pat Bartholomew has been saying that the Russian Church has been threatening to recognize as autocephalous two provinces of the Georgian Church –South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
As we can tell from the following article, Bartholomew if he believes this, he is “misinformed”, according to Met Hilarion Alfeyev.
https://orthochristian.com/139321.html
Maricopa County Audit Team Admit Files Were
Deleted but THEY WERE ABLE TO RECOVER THOSE FILES
https://rumble.com/vh94xz-maricopa-county-audit-team-admit-files-were-deleted-but-they-were-able-to-r.html
This should be fun…
[Much squealing from off-stage left…]
Facebook Whistleblowers Expose LEAKED
INTERNAL DOCS Detailing New Effort to Secretly
Censor Vaccine Concerns on a Global Scale
https://www.brighteon.com/d1cb8f17-66ae-445b-bba0-308abde78679
[Video – 22:27]
There are still some who will do
what needs to be done…
Thank God
CDC Acts On GreatGameIndia Report,
Removes VAERS Entry Without Providing Details
https://greatgameindia.com/cdc-removes-vaers-entry/
‘ Last month, GreatGameIndia published a story on the VAERS entry regarding the death of a 2-year-old from Pfizer vaccine. Since, the vaccination trials were only for children from age 5 to 11 officially, we asked “how come a 2 year old baby got vaccinated” and that “the incident should be investigated by CDC immediately.” Now the CDC has removed the VAERS entry without providing any details. …
A two-year-old girl received her second (Dose 2) experimental Pfizer mRNA shot on February 25. She apparently developed some sort of serious adverse reaction on March 1. The baby was dead on March 3. No further details were provided. …’
How utterly [un]astonishing!
Presidential Election drives home
Syrian sovereignty and Western irrelevance
https://off-guardian.org/2021/05/28/presidential-election-drives-home-syrian-sovereignty-and-western-irrelevance/
‘ … I asked former UK Ambassador to Syria and Bahrain, Peter Ford, for a statement, this is what he wrote:
“The most significant thing is that the elections were held at all. With three foreign armies occupying part of their soil (Turkey, the US and Israel), with the West waging savage economic war on them to turn them against their President, with years of indescribable suffering at the hands of Western-backed militants behind them, the Syrian people delivered a resounding verdict in favour of stability as represented by the holding of elections on schedule.
The high turnout, the participation of Syrians in parts of the diaspora, and the popular rallies all underlined the message of the people to the West: leave us in peace, stop persecuting us.
Let us be honest. There are no circumstances in which these elections could have been held under impartial international supervision. The example of the OPCW whistleblowers is there to teach us that Western-dominated institutions cannot possibly be impartial. No UN observers who valued their careers or the safety of their families could have conceivably testified to the fairness of an election which gave victory to President Assad. This is the real fraud, corruption of faith in the integrity of institutional institutions which have been weaponised by Western powers.
The election has delivered a rebuff to those who thought that occupation and sanctions would make the people rise up against the government. How much longer before Western governments and their media mouthpieces like the BBC realise that their regime change by stealth policy is not going to work?” … ‘
And there we have it: Syria is not Libya. Neither is it Ukraine.
Instead, it marks the turning tide of an ebbing Empire.
Yeah, the wooly mammoth is stuck in the tar pit and you can expect him to be quite vocal on the way down. But it’s inevitable, God willing.
The open corruption, undisguised, defended by lying about matters obvious and in evidence – this is an indication that the end is nigh. Remember Baghdad Bob? “Most secure election in history.”
It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work for this reason:
Nobody likes Karen.
Not the red states, not the European nationalists who are on the rise, not the Chinese, not the Russians, not the Indians (dots, not feathers). The American Left has gone so far out on a limb that they are paying jihadists to overthrow Assad, the protector of multi-confessional Syria/Lebanon. Political correctness of the LGBT/Climate Change/BLM/Antifa variety is anathema throughout the world outside America and Western Europe. And it’s losing ground here.
The Left here is near defeat because America is a house divided against itself. Russia knows its mind, its business and its nuclear arsenal. China knows its mind, its business and its nuclear arsenal. America is divided in mind, in business and its nuclear arsenal is irrelevant because its enemy is within and it dare not use its arsenal against other nuclear powers. So one story comes out of Russia. One story comes out of China. But competing stories are coming out of Western Europe and America.
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
The reason the Right will win in America is that Russia, the European nationalists and the American Right are solid sources of stable propaganda in the Western ecosphere. China is a stable source of its own propaganda. But the American Establishment is an unsteady source of propaganda in that it has to compete with the New Right. Trump emanated one thing, Biden another and 2022 will throw a monkey wrench into the whole operation.
If your adversaries are stable (backed by nukes) and advancing and you are erratic and unallied, a house in disarray, it’s only a matter of time. The cultural decadence is perhaps the loudest canary in the mine. It’s unsustainable gravitating toward insanity.
Canada: Suspend Elections During
Pandemics = Trudeau For Life [?]
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/canada/canada-suspend-elections-during-pandemics-trudeau-for-life/
‘ In Canada, there is a bill claiming it is unreasonable to ask people
to put their lives in danger to vote during a pandemic.
Thus, all elections should be suspended during a pandemic…
” … in the opinion of the House, holding an election during a pandemic would be irresponsible, and that it is the responsibility of the government to make every effort to ensure that voters are not called to the polls as long as this pandemic continues.” ‘
Proposed by the *opposition*…???
A truly Canadian coup…
Civil war officially begins in Turkey –
Imam in Hagia Sophia [calls] Kemal infidel and tyrant
https://wyjdmrrppqq2rr6i4katzcnnqa-ac4c6men2g7xr2a-crashonline-gr.translate.goog/diethni-nea/1490125/archizei-episima-o-emfylios-stin-tourkia-imamis-mesa-stin-agia-sofia-eipe-ton-kemal-apisto-kai-tyranno/
‘ We have rewritten it that the sultan will not have a good end with the path he has chosen . Turkey enters an official civil orbit, after the speech of an imam in Hagia Sophia. He attacked Mustafa Kemal – Ataturk, the father of the Turks – calling him an infidel and a tyrant because he turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum and did not leave it as a mosque. And all this happened in front of Erdogan !
The attacks on the Kemalists are being continued by Erdogan’s Islamists and it is more than certain that they will respond!
The official opposition reacted badly and called for a public inquiry, while Erdogan’s silence provoked questions. ‘
What is Turkey? There was no Turkey until Kemal.
Remove him and what is left?
Russian FM Lavrov Speaks Out Against Unconstitutional Persecution of Jan. 6 Protesters Held in Isolation by US Govt. — Something Timid GOP Leaders Refuse to Do
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/russian-fm-lavrov-speaks-unconstitutional-persecution-jan-6-protesters-held-isolation-us-govt-something-timid-gop-leaders-refuse/
No comment…
Covid: Half of UK adults fully vaccinated against virus
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19348234.covid-half-uk-adults-fully-vaccinated-virus/?action=success#comments-feedback-anchor
‘ Half of adults in the UK are estimated to have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the latest figures.
A total of 26,422,303 second doses have now been delivered since the vaccination rollout began almost six months ago across the four nations.
It comes after new data yesterday showed that three-quarters of adults had received their first dose.
In Scotland, the percentage of first doses given to adults was 74.6% and second doses was 48.2%, as of June 2. … ‘
The Scots are not what they used to be…
Ministry of Truth: Facebook Posts Deemed
‘Fake Vaccine Theories’ May Be Referred to Australian Police
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2021/06/02/ministry-of-truth-facebook-posts-deemed-fake-vaccine-theories-may-be-referred-to-australian-police/
‘ Australia’s national medicines regulator is considering referring social media posts it deems vaccine “misinformation” to police over fears they could be in breach of the criminal code. … ‘
Fears? Fears? Don’t worry!
If they’re not in breach now,
they very soon will be…
Dr. Judy Mikovits warns spike protein
“vaccine” injections may kill 50 million Americans
https://www.brighteon.com/4e0bdf1b-c0a8-4bd0-b777-ad610fabcea7
[Video – 40:54]
Interviewed by Mike Adams, Judy Mikovits makes a bleak prognosis.
However, she also offers hope – things people can do…
From the blog of a physician with whom I have dealt for many years.
https://beyondthesoulsmeridian.org/2021/04/07/the-experimental-covid-injections-informed-consent-ethics-and-human-consciousness/#more-20283
“Doctor 2: …I trust Dr. Fauci …”
‘Nuff said…
I have a daughter that has, so far, listened to me, but for how long? She is surrounded by liberals and is being pressured by her job.
Her dad is uncharacteristically terrified of COVID to the point of forgoing visits with her so he’s probably pressuring her to do just the opposite of what I’m telling her to do.
We’re being forced into a paradigm where at any juncture our loved ones can and probably will buckle under the pressure.
This will sound ridiculous, but when I talk to my daughter I avoid all disagreements because I’m so afraid she might get mad at me and stop listening to me. She can’t comprehend the potential repercussions. I’m trying to save her life but I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way. To be honest, she at least suspects I’m overreacting. If I were somehow able to communicate to her what’s really going on, I’m not sure she could wrap her brain around it. I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around it!
Critical thinking has gone out the window and thanks to the media, no one is being told the truth. If they at least had the proper tools, maybe they could figure it out but they don’t. Let’s be honest, even the man I think should be president isn’t working with a full box of crayons. When I hear Trump congratulate himself on how he pressured the FDA into moving forward, I just want to cringe. Where are his handlers? Why doesn’t someone let him know this could blow up in his face? Today, it’s Fauci. Tomorrow, it’s likely going to be Trump.
I cannot believe any of this stuff is happening. It is surreal.
Gail,
With regard to the perception among loved ones of our overreacting – particularly when it comes to the ‘vaccine’…
In my view it is actually very important that we do not overreact for their sakes. What I mean is this:
Reports of initial reactions to the ‘vaccine’ are well known. Not highly publicized, but well known. They are few as a percentage of doses injected, but they speak for themselves. They are what they are, and people will ultimately make their own choices. When, however, we read warnings from some of horrible long-term effects (however accurate they may prove to be) we have to be careful when dealing with the skeptical. And this is because long-term effects have not yet occurred and are thus not yet proven.
And so, among the skeptical I believe it is far more helpful to focus on the absolute knowns and the unknowns.
The knowns:
There have been reactions, some very serious.
The risk of serious complications or death from Covid for most people is extremely low for most people. This data is documented and readily available.
The unknowns:
Long-term side effects/complications. It is well documented that no one knows with certainty. Both those who insist it is safe and those who make dire predictions are – in purely scientific terms – speculating.
Bottom line: Who’s speculation carries more potential risk, and who’s speculation entails more risk?
Very true.
Perhaps it might help if you refer her to this post:
https://www.monomakhos.com/about-that-gain-of-function-thing/#comment-176684
and particularly to the biodistribution study:
https://www.docdroid.net/xq0Z8B0/pfizer-report-japanese-government-pdf#page=16
which shows where the spike protein goes and where it accumulates.
The text is in Japanese but the tables are in English letters and Western digits.
Table 2.6.5.5B on pp 6-8 is particularly relevant.
And it’s Pfizers data – they know this…
As you know, it travels. From the injection site in the arm muscle to the liver, to the brain, to the blood, to the feces (which explains the bleeding disorders occurring in those who have been around recently vaccinated people).
I don’t think I’ve seen one long-term study on mRNA; probably because the animals in previous studies all died.
Had there not been a pandemic, they would not have gotten this far. The fact that they cut the trials short and vaccinated everyone in the placebo group all but eliminates the possibility of discovering long-term effects until they appear in the general population. This is one of the problems with calling it a “vaccine.” In the report, they say something to the effect that a two-month follow-up period is sufficient for adverse events to occur with all vaccines so it’s safe to assume this will be the case with mRNA. It isn’t.
I agree. Pfizer knew.
Indeed.
Perhaps it might help your daughter decide whether she can safely trust
the major ‘vaccine’ manufacturers if she saw their corporate rap sheets:
Pfizer record:
https://www.dmlawfirm.com/crimes-of-covid-vaccine-maker-pfizer-well-documented/
Johnson & Johnson record:
https://www.corp-research.org/jnj
Astra-Zeneca record:
https://www.corp-research.org/astrazeneca
Moderna has never before brought a product to market.
All its previous attempts have failed at the animal test stage.
Its new COVID 19 ‘vaccine’ has had no animal tests.
Hence humans are now its new animal test cohort;
and the experiment continues…
Sending it to her now . . .
Gail, IMHO your best writing is when you write on subjects that “hit close to home”. Millions of people around the country and the world are in the same position. I feel for your struggle, but also want to tell you to try open your heart to whatever your daughter may say. In my family, I have the same divide, but I’m on the side your ex-husband is probably on. Therefore – no guidance or advice from me, but I want to say that what you wrote touched me. As you probably know from my past scribbles, me and you don’t always align. Maybe never. But reading things like this from you, inspires me to be like Joe Manchin (haha, poor old boy. Pray for him.), and want to reach across the aisle. We’re all human… but the culture wars and identity politics create artificial divides.
Wish you and your daughter many, many years of happiness and health. Also, that this terrible thing will pass ASAP, and that you two won’t have to navigate a minefield in discussing current events. Blood is everything – that’s what I think – and in this regard I am the most traditional, and has to be kept above everything, regardless what side of the aisle we’re on. Only a real loser would let family slip through his fingers through some ideological dispute. That’s why what you are doing with your daughter is the right thing, regardless of what you may think inside. You’re a good mom!
Correction/edit: You’re a great mom!
Thank you, Dan. Truly.
I talked with my daughter tonight who just got home from yet another wedding of one of her roommates. This one was in Puerto Rico. She told me one of the family members (I believe) was a Democratic congressman and he wanted to exclude people who were not vaccinated from the wedding party. She had to sit there why they quizzed her about her choice. She said it was incredibly uncomfortable but they finally let her attend.
So much pressure. Some of her clients are telling her she has to have a card to do business with them.
Since the ‘vaccine’ makers have unblinded the control groups,
why don’t we (the unvaccinated) constitute ourselves as a new control group
to be compared over short, medium and long term with the vaccinated?
I’m sure some very interesting scientific data will be accumulated over time.
Meanwhile, we will be able to say to those pushing the jags on us:
“Sorry. We mustn’t take it. We are the Covid Control Group”.
That’s a great idea.
I wish I’d thought of it.
Speaking of which, the CDC’s own data shows that 41.9% of the US population have been fully ‘vaccinated’ while 51.5% have received a first dose.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
That leaves a minimum of 48.5% who are ‘unprotected.’ Yet the reopening of most everything is going strong, and mask mandates are largely gone in most places. Thus, with so many ‘unprotected’ people freely moving about should we not be seeing a rather rapid spike in COVID cases? But on the contrary, what we are seeing is this:
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailytrendscases
If cases do not begin to spike in the next few weeks among the ‘unprotected, what explanation can there be other than that…
-The previous number of cases was grossly inflated.
-What we were told initially was closer to the truth, i.e., that “We cannot stop this; we can only slow it down until it goes through the population.”
Of course, it will be claimed that the ‘vaccine’ is responsible, but how can this explain a continued dramatic decrease in cases (with no spikes) among the other 48.5%?
…and/or lock-downs and mask mandates and/or the ‘vaccine’ itself were almost completely unnecessary. And I say this as one who doesn’t deny that masks can (and probably did) reduce the spread of all types of respiratory infections.
Okay, so 42 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. That’s 139 million people fully vaccinated. Many of the rest of the U.S. population has probably already contracted COVID and has now recovered with some natural immunity.
At last glance, there’s been a total of 33.4 million reported cases of COVID in the U.S., but the actual cases of COVID are estimated to be three times higher than this number, or perhaps 100 million actual cases. If so, that means a total as high as 239 million Americans may now have some immunity to COVID, either through vaccination or natural recovery from the illness. That would put the U.S. population at around 70 percent having some immunity, and this is within the threshold of “herd immunity”.
They should stop the vaccinations. Those who wanted it have gotten it. Those of us who never wanted it aren’t going to change our minds, especially now that it’s 100% curable. Why risk the future health of more people, especially children?
Why then, Steve, are they still pushing for more ‘to be vaccinated’? And recommending it for those who have already had COVID to boot!
They ask us to believe their numbers and their “estimates of unreported number of actual cases/natural immunity, etc.” Yet when we (in this case you) accept their numbers and their estimates even at face value, they are still not satisfied and now want to push these vaccines on children as well as adults irrespective of natural immunity..
There’s certainly going to be social pressure in the near future to be vaccinated, but once the cases of Covid have mostly ceased, then that pressure should die out also. If Americans want to get vaccinated, then that option is available to them.
My understanding is that employers are not allowed to fire people based on their vaccination status, so there is at least that legal protection.
As for why governments are pushing vaccination for everyone, well, that’s only to be expected. Governments are interested in keeping healthcare costs down. Vaccination is conceivably far cheaper than treating people sick with Covid in hospitals.
Unfortunately, Steve, your understanding is not quite correct.
https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-issues-updated-covid-19-technical-assistance
“As for why governments are pushing vaccination
for everyone, well, that’s only to be expected.”
Vitamins C and D3, Zinc, Quercetin, Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin would have saved hundreds of thousands (without any need to destroy the economy); had the efficacy of such treatments not been deliberately suppressed by the Pharmaceutical-Industrial Complex through its command of Academia, the MSM, the ludicrous ‘Fact-Checkers’ and the almost the entire political class.
Brendan, what’s happening in Japan? Last I checked, only 3 percent of the population has been vaccinated, but their economy seems no better for it. The Japanese government has shown great reluctance in making the vaccine available to it’s citizens. At the same time, Japan has had to reintroduce lockdowns and “State of Emergencies” just last month. This summer’s Olympics in Tokyo is expected to be a huge economic flop for them because Covid has not been controlled yet in Japan.
Surely they are well aware of the alternative treatments you mention?
They probably are reluctant to vaccinate because of the possibility of long-term consequences. More than half of its population is over the age of 46 and they are packed together. If their population took the “vaccine”, half of their people could die within 3 years.
They could wipe themselves out entirely.
Of course, their economy is going to be impacted regardless of what they do because their economy is dependent upon the economy of the rest of the world.
Steve,
At this early stage in the game, it’s Lockdown that kills economies.
Not vaccination.
“Surely they are well aware of the alternative treatments you mention?”
I expect they are no more aware of them than other peoples that only follow the MSM.
Brendan, and not only that, but they’re much cheaper than the newer modalities.
Steve, I wish that were true, but it is not. Employers can absolutely request their employees be vaccinated, not just for covid. My employer has put us on notice that as soon as the FDA approves one of the jabs, we are mandated to get it or else be terminated. My only hope is a religious waiver, which is less and less likely for me to receive, as my parish priests are vaccinated and don’t see cause for alarm. It’s a very tragic reality and a profoundly difficult crossroads to be at.
Even though employers can make vaccination “mandatory”, an employee can still request a medical or religious exemption, and I believe that exemption is legally protected. Wouldn’t it suffice to say that one was a member of the Church of Monomakhos to qualify for a religious exemption?
“Church of Monomakhos”
???
We’ll have to change the name to a “Band of Brothers” or something.
“Brothers and Sisters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFBOQzSk14c
I remember this! Weird seeing it in the context of today’s world.
The Amish are not allowed religious exemptions from vaccines in my state, so I am not sure how far “religious exemptions” go. The state just closed all of the churches, regardless of “religious exemptions” and 1st amendment “rights.” Be careful if you think the law protects you.
I think the best bet is a medical excuse.
The bottom line in terms of exemptions is that the burden is on the employee to prove that he/she qualifies for an exemption. Then he/she may have to fight for it if the employer is adamant and may deny it.
I’d like to say the the “church” (or brotherhood) of Monomakhos would qualify, but it won’t. And as to a medical excuses, once again the burden is on the employee. Good luck with that if you work in medicine!
Christine, I sympathize. Two weeks after all residents 18 and over were eligible for the vaccine in my state, my employer pulled the HR records to see who had complied with his numerous requests for us to be vaccinated and who had not. Those of us who had not been vaccinated were taken aside and spoken to.
Here was my experience: I had actually had Covid along with some of my peers on the Sunday of the Cross, so perhaps three weeks prior. I was also recovering from a bout of rotavirus, which is never fun, and was worse for my daughter and I than Covid was. My body was in a vulnerable state when I received the vaccine, which was unfortunate; but of course receiving the jab is not about our personal health, and so CV-S pharmacy rescheduled my appointment for later in the week.
I opted for the J&J due to it not using mRNA technology. The J&J still uses a genetically modified virus to cause your body to create a “spike protein,” whatever that means. How we pretend that fighting an experimental GMO virus with another experimental GMO virus is the correct course of action is beyond me.
The vaccine hurt much worse than expected. I prayed when the druggist injected me and the image of St Seraphim came to mind to comfort me. I could immediately feel the drug travel down my arm into my hand and up my neck into my ear. I had a flare up of resentment and rage.
I was quite ill for about two and half weeks due to the vaccine. It is hard to describe. I was in physical pain beyond what I expected — the injection site, but also an overall feeling of malaise. I did return to work immediately but I should have stayed home to rest for three days or so. The vaccine was worse than Covid and the rotavirus.
Overall, God will provide what you need. We should not fear death from the vaccine in the same way that we should not fear death from Covid.
My bishop provided some guidance about the vaccine, which was, “it is a medical decision between you and your doctor.” The guidance I would have preferred to receive would have been in response to the question, “What does obedience mean in a secular world?” This is the question we are all asking, and it will certainly become more pressing with time.
As an aside, Fr. Peter Heers’ new online course, Russian New Martyrs & the Catacomb Church, he has offered for free on YouTube. It has been excellent so far.
Possible fertility effects to monitor:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskWomenOver30/comments/mwuv9d/anyone_noticing_menstrual_cycle_changes_after/
Michelle, last week I read about Eric Clapton’s experience with the AstraZeneca vaccine. It was as horrible as you describe, perhaps a little more so. Also, he may not be able to play guitar again.
On the other hand, Ted Nugent did get COVID and did not take a vaccine. He suffered horribly from the symptons of the disease but has bounced back.
Thanks so much for your compassionate reply, Michelle. Very much appreciated.
I have a feeling this will be resolved soon. Christina, (this goes for everyone), if you’re back is really against the wall, email us privately.
today’s Gospel reading, heard at Vigil tonight — this comforted me:
Mark 16:18
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God…
Michelle,
I appreciate this vey much:
Since some of my loved ones, including Orthodox Christians, have chosen to follow the prevailing narrative, it occurred to me the other day that partaking of the Body and Blood of our Lord (“for the healing of soul and body”) must surely be a remedy even in the case of a vaccine that may prove harmful. I pray so anyway.
Remain with us, O Lord of Hosts
In affliction we have no other helper but Thee
O Lord of Hosts have mercy on us!
How horrible. I am truly sorry to hear about your experience. I had no intention of letting myself or my family get this vaccine, and this has made me even more resolute.
RE: ‘My bishop provided some guidance about the vaccine, which was, “it is a medical decision between you and your doctor.'”
Michelle, would your bishop provide the same “guidance” regarding the “choice” of abortion?
Father bless,
Both your Patriarch and Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev have received the vaccine. I am wondering if you have any thoughts on that ?
Also, do you believe that the synods of all autocephalous Orthodox Churches worldwide are in error on the issue ? (since to my knowledge none have stated that getting the vaccine is problematic from a bioethical perspective, and many have actually encouraged it)
May the Lord bless you,
You raise a fair and excellent question.
My more than four decades of work as an Orthodox moral theologian include numerous publications, presentations, and panel discussions where I have analyzed the proclamations, writings, and activities of Orthodox hierarchs as well as other clergy and scholars in terms of Orthodox moral tradition as I have come to understand that gift to us from God the Holy Trinity. Genuine scholarship requires the pursuit of truth wherever that journey takes us.
As it happens, in my second book titled The Price of Prophecy: Orthodox Churches on Peace, Freedom, and Security (long out-of-print but the second revised edition in 1995 is still available via amazon.com and other booksellers) I was quite critical of those Orthodox bishops, other clergy, and prominent laity who collaborated in many ways with the despicable, evil Communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Romania in the twentieth century in contrast to those intrepid Orthodox souls who resisted and never betrayed the Church. One chapter also analyzed the social moral witness of five Orthodox jurisdictions in the USA on issues of war and peace, freedom and human rights (including the divine right to life of preborn children), and ethnic conflict.
In that same spirit and with the same scholarly pursuit of theological, moral, and spiritual truth, I stand by my initial public commentary on the COVID-19 vaccine question here on monomakhos.com, notwithstanding the decisions and preferences of Orthodox hierarchs of any jurisdiction to the contrary–including bishops in the Church of Russia.
Moreover, your reference to “the synods of all autocephalous Orthodox Churches worldwide” is a bit hasty. In my article on COVID-19 vaccines here on monomakhos.com, I quoted extensively from official public statements and publications by Orthodox hierarchies in Russia, Greece, and Romania (and one bishop of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Australia) that explicitly condemn the harvesting or exploitation of “embryos” or “embryonic organs” for various scientific or medical purposes. Those are the public baseline positions of those Churches on the issue at hand. If such hierarchs were to proclaim a different moral position on the question of COVID-19 vaccines, then the moral inconsistency would be theirs alone.
As you have very nicely exposed, during communism there was a pressure on the churches in communist countries to join the “peace movement”, which was ultimately a soviet ruse to use the naive western christians to weaken their governments’ anti-communist fight.
However, I do not think one can extrapolate this to our present situation. There is absolutely zero cohesion between Putin, the pro-NATO governments in Bucharest, Sofia, and Warsaw, the Greeks, Assad, the Serbians, Erdogan and the Albanians. It is very difficult to believe that all these governments have colluded to force all the Orthodox synods in their countries to accept vaccines tested on cell lines. A much more likely explanation is that most of these Holy Synods have decided freely that there is no theological reason to oppose these vaccines.
I think it is important to focus on the Synods of autocephalous churches. Individual bishops can err, can be infected by ideologies, can be blackmailed by politicians. The likelihood of ALL Synods to err on a certain point is much much smaller.
Fr Alexander, you always great questions!
My bishop would under no circumstances approve of abortion. I can attest that clearly from the outset.
The vaccine may be as harmful as abortion. It may also be a life-saving instrument. How we respond to the vaccine is a matter of our past experiences, our present social milieu, the types of communications and activities that we have exposed ourselves to since the “pandemic” began, and of course, how purified we are and what other forces are dwelling in us that stir up reactions or quell them, directing those reactions or inactions for good or for evil.
What the vaccine actually is, none of us know.
IMO A priest would be better suited to sort all of these factors out and decide for each whether he or she might receive the vaccine than a doctor, however, considering that churches were forced to close and the proportion of laity to priests, these lengthy conversations would probably not be possible within the timeframes required by employers and vaccine campaigns.
My bishop’s advice was practical. Tailoring the decision to the individual was of course correct.
I apologize for any criticism that I may have had. My criticisms are always that I want my bishop or priest to do more. This of course is because I love him and need him. Wanting more from him only speaks of a deep lack and longing on my end.
We could discuss my particular question at length, “What are some general guidelines for obedience to managers / employers to whom we are obliged, for whom we pray every morning?” My guess is that the proper response to this is similar to the the response to, “Should I get the vaccine?” — the response needs to be tailored to each individual circumstance. But perhaps some general guidelines about compelled vaccinations should be given.
There are many things the government may compel us to do. We will receive our $300/month “universal basic income” starting in July without our consent. Is there a way to send the checks back?
Anyway. I particularly liked your question because I DID ask my confessor, “Who I should vote for?” last year, and he purposefully did not respond. There are perhaps many things that we should not burden our confessors’ consciences with. They are already carrying the bulk of the weight, and my role is to strengthen myself so that I can carry more.
I received a letter from the IRS moments ago. The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit, aka Universal Basic Income of $300/mo. per child per family, DOES have an opt-out option. A URL is provided so families can opt out.
Payments will otherwise automatically be made.
This is a temptation if I have ever seen one!
Michelle, what’s the catch?
If you accept the money, you’ll keep up with inflation. Plus it’ll help pay the mortgage, daycare, vacation, retirement, etc.
If you accept the money, you’ll be responsible for the inflation (compounded by the derivatives market, remember). Which will hurt many more than just you. Especially your children.
There are so many ways to justify accepting the money! “Everyone’s doing it.” “Wealthy retirees earn social security that they don’t need.” “It’s automatically deposited.”
The opt-out option makes us culpable for the long-term costs.
If Covid is roulette,
the ‘vaccine’ is Russian roulette.
You do not want your number to come up in either case,
but only in the latter will you have done it to yourself.
My personal belief is that we should not fear death, but we should fear the consequences of failing to follow God’s will in our particular circumstances.
Exactly, Michelle.
Covid-19 is like playing Russian roulette.
The unvaccinated are just choosing a random bullet from a normal box of 1,000. The vaccinated are choosing a random bullet from a box of 1,000 where upwards of 950 of the bullets in the box are duds.
Tom A: “Covid-19 is like playing Russian roulette.
The unvaccinated are just choosing a random bullet
from a normal box of 1,000.”
You are misinformed. The numbers say otherwise…
John P A Ioannides: “Infection fatality rate of COVID-19 inferred from seroprevalence data”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7947934/
‘ Findings
I included 61 studies (74 estimates) and eight preliminary national estimates. Seroprevalence estimates ranged from 0.02% to 53.40%. Infection fatality rates ranged from 0.00% to 1.63%, corrected values from 0.00% to 1.54%. Across 51 locations, the median COVID-19 infection fatality rate was 0.27% (corrected 0.23%): the rate was 0.09% in locations with COVID-19 population mortality rates less than the global average ( 500 COVID-19 deaths/million people. In people younger than 70 years, infection fatality rates ranged from 0.00% to 0.31% with crude and corrected medians of 0.05%. ‘
Ronald B Brown: “Outcome Reporting Bias
in COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Clinical Trials”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33652582/
‘ Abstract
Relative risk reduction and absolute risk reduction measures in the evaluation of clinical trial data are poorly understood by health professionals and the public. The absence of reported absolute risk reduction in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials can lead to outcome reporting bias that affects the interpretation of vaccine efficacy. The present article uses clinical epidemiologic tools to critically appraise reports of efficacy in Pfzier/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccine clinical trials. Based on data reported by the manufacturer for Pfzier/BioNTech vaccine BNT162b2, this critical appraisal shows: relative risk reduction, 95.1%; 95% CI, 90.0% to 97.6%; p = 0.016; absolute risk reduction, 0.7%; 95% CI, 0.59% to 0.83%; p < 0.000. For the Moderna vaccine mRNA-1273, the appraisal shows: relative risk reduction, 94.1%; 95% CI, 89.1% to 96.8%; p = 0.004; absolute risk reduction, 1.1%; 95% CI, 0.97% to 1.32%; p < 0.000. Unreported absolute risk reduction measures of 0.7% and 1.1% for the Pfzier/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, respectively, are very much lower than the reported relative risk reduction measures. Reporting absolute risk reduction measures is essential to prevent outcome reporting bias in evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. ‘
Absolute Risk Reduction figures (the ones that matter to the population as a whole) are effectively not statistically significant for these ‘vaccines’.
“SARS-CoV-2 infection rates of antibody-positive compared with antibody-negative health-care workers in England: a large, multicentre, prospective cohort study”
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00675-9/fulltext
‘ Interpretation
A previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with an 84% lower risk of infection, with median protective effect observed 7 months following primary infection. This time period is the minimum probable effect because seroconversions were not included. This study shows that previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 induces effective immunity to future infections in most individuals. ‘
If you have had it, why vaccinate?
Tom A: “The vaccinated are choosing a random bullet from a box of 1,000 where upwards of 950 of the bullets in the box are duds.”
Again, the numbers do not agree with you.
‘We Made a Big Mistake’ — COVID Vaccine Spike Protein Travels From Injection Site,
Can Cause Organ Damage
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-vaccine-spike-protein-travels-from-injection-site-organ-damage/
‘ … “We made a big mistake. We didn’t realize it until now,” said Byram Bridle, a viral immunologist and associate professor at University of Guelph, Ontario. “We thought the spike protein was a great target antigen, we never knew the spike protein itself was a toxin and was a pathogenic protein. So by vaccinating people we are inadvertently inoculating them with a toxin.” … ‘
There are no dud bullets in the vaccine box.
Every shot contains billions of mRNA instructions
They all make human cells produce spike proteins.
All spike proteins are toxic to the system.
Nobody knows the long-term effects of this.
For the vaccinated the trigger continues to be pulled…
I have an Orthodox friend in a neighboring state that says that. When people ask him if he’s gotten it, he says he’s part of the control group. And he says he usually gets responses like “Oh, that’s neat. I didn’t know about that.” Like they are clueless and really find it interesting.
“The previous number of cases was grossly inflated.”
Case numbers is a function PCR test amplification cycles.
Increase the cycles, increase the case numbers.
As the teens used to say, No Dah!
Funny how the amplification cycles were cut in half within hours of Biden’s inauguration. Anyone with an understanding of PCR testing knew this was artificially inflating the numbers.
But who cares about the truth, let alone science? There was a narrative to maintain.
“…There was a narrative to maintain.”
“was” ?
Sadly I think we are far closer to the beginning of this journey than the end. And as bad as 2020 was, I don’t have high hopes for smooth sailing ahead. As for my family, we will stay close to the ark and are striving to be ready, God willing, if the rains come.
Andrew P Napolitano: Torture Enters the Courtroom
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2021/06/andrew-p-napolitano/torture-enters-the-courtroom/
‘ For the first time in American history, a federal judge last week authorized the government to admit as evidence in a criminal case in a public courtroom words uttered by the defendant that were obtained under torture.
The fruits of torture — which is any cruel or degrading or intentionally painful or disorienting behavior visited upon a person in captivity to induce compliance or to gratify the torturer — are not permitted in any court in the United States, and their inducement is criminal. …
If the trial judge had followed the law and our values, he would have dismissed the case against […] because the government’s behavior shocks the conscience. If the trial judge had followed the law, he would have ordered the torturers into his court room and had them arrested on the spot.
But the trial judge in this case did not follow American law and rejected American values and all sense of human decency when he authorized the government to introduce at trial a partial transcript of the statements […] allegedly made under torture. He also broke with 230 years of precedent. He also gave judicial credibility to governmental barbarism and nihilism in the extreme, which holds that individual human beings are subject to the state and, since their rights come from the state, they and their rights exist at the pleasure of the state.
The government lies, cheats, steals and kills; and it has written laws that permit it to do so and make legal recourse against it nearly impossible.
But nothing it does is more damnable than torture.
Torture is the ultimate triumph of the state over a person and the ultimate degradation of personhood. It is a complete rejection of the values of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. And it doesn’t work.
The history of torture is the history of victims divorced from reality by overwhelming fear and unbearable pain and willing to say whatever the torturers demand in return for a cessation of the pain. Stated differently, the fruits of torture are divorced from the truth. As a truth-producing mechanism, torture is a failure. .. ‘
Dostoevsky: ‘Without God…everything is permitted”.
https://infidels.org/library/modern/andrei_volkov/dostoevsky.html
PS: The Dostoevsky quote from The Brothers Karamazov
is said by Mitya Karamazov in a conversation with the journalist Rakitikin.
Rakitikin’s rely is chilling. Here it is in context:
” And Rakitin doesn’t like God, oof, how he doesn’t! That’s the sore spot in all of them! But they conceal it. They lie. They pretend. ‘What, are you going to push for that in the department of criticism?’ I asked. ‘Well, they won’t let me do it openly,’ he said, and laughed. ‘But,’ I asked, ‘how will man be after that? Without God and the future life? It means everything is permitted now, one can do anything?’ ‘Didn’t you know?’ he said. And he laughed. ‘Everything is permitted to the intelligent man,’ he said. … ”
Everything is permitted to the intelligent man?
Fauci? Gates? Epstein? Peter Daszak? Mengele? …?
Lawsuits Challenging Covid-19 False Claims…
Last Updated: 10 Jun…
https://ratical.org/PandemicParallaxView/Lawsuits-C19-False-Claims.html
‘ As Constitutional Lawyer Rocco Galati has observed, “The framers of the U.S. Constitution had it right when they talked about inalienable rights, meaning the rights that were given to you by your Creator, even if you believe your creator is just your mother.” Our inalienable rights are being threatened to the point of no return. The antidote to this are the lawsuits in process, challenging official claims Covid-19 justifies locking down global society. This compilation summarizes and references well-conceived legal cases being pursued through judicial proceedings to force government disclosure that answer fundamental, critical questions … ‘
I particularly recommend reading:
Brian Gerrish’s testimony to Reiner Füllmich:
Our oppressors are very frightened people
https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/brian-gerrishs-testimony-to-reiner-fullmich-our-oppressors-are-very-frightened-people
They have not won yet…
PCR Test Class 1 Recall – FDA Says
Innova PCR Tests Are Dangerous & Inaccurate
https://www.bitchute.com/video/b7MV9vuk5SHx/
[Video – 35:58]
It seems the swabs are sterilised with Ethylene Oxide which is a dangerous carcinogen. The British Government spent 3 billion quid on these.
In the UK the boxes have been reprinted without Ethylene Oxide listed on the label,
though it remains on the insert; which (of course) almost nobody will read…
Crimes against humanity
https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/crimes-against-humanity/
[Video – 31:26]
Retired police officer makes criminal complaint to UK police
concerning vaccine rollout and effect in injuries and deaths…
This is a compelling recitation of the evidence of a crime.
BoJo at the Royal Audience
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57584417
[Video – 31 sec]
HMQ: “I’ve just been talking to your secretary of state for health, poor man.
He came for Privy Council. He’s full of…”
BoJo: “Full of beans.”
[Moi: Full of…]