[Vision2020] [Bulk] A Caution

Wed Oct 10 21:05:01 PDT 2007

You might be intrested in what this fellow did:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

>
> I can agree that money and consumerism has replaced religion to some
> degree, but I would also add the manipulation of our media to the list.
> By this, I don't mean just the propaganda put out by the government, but
> also the massive marketing campaigns of the huge corporations who are
> desperately trying to mold us into a society that will buy their crap at
> the drop of a hat. I think part of the religious "gig" early on was to
> control the communications. Before the printing press, only the clergy
> could actually read or have the access to read the holy books so people
> were dependent upon them for their information about the disposition of
> their souls. Now anyone can read their holy book of choice online in
> most cases. So now the media can sway us just by focusing on one piece
> of trivia and ignoring the issues that matter. Thankfully, the Internet
> is here - a perfect place for anarchy and the perfect means of finding
> your own answers (if we can stop the people that want to control that too).
>
> Paul - your friendly neighborhood subversive and underpinner of
> ideological foundations
>
> Ted Moffett wrote:
>>
>> Paul et. al.
>>
>> While I don't mean to express a totally cynical view of organized
>> religion, it has been one of the most effective ideological means of
>> control ever devised. Promises of eternal bliss and threats of
>> eternal damnation, if truly believed, are perhaps the biggest
>> ideological carrots and sticks anyone has conceived. Religion is for
>> the most part about enforcing social conformism to an ideology, to
>> serve various social, political and economic goals, critical to
>> society, though I don't want to discount the personal needs religion
>> satisfies in a positive manner: solace in the face of death or loss,
>> loving structured community, ethical coherence, etc.
>>
>> But a solitary individual (Paul?) who attempts a spiritual quest to
>> discover "religion" on their own, and is willing to follow what they
>> find, is thus engaging in one of the most subversive activities,
>> posing a threat to the fundamental purpose of organized religion, to
>> the very ideological foundations of society.
>>
>> However, we now tolerate the agnostics and atheists and "alternative
>> religions" among us more than in the past, in part because the worship
>> of money and consumerism has to some extent replaced God and religion
>> as a new ideology. As long as the agnostic or atheist show the proper
>> worship for money and consumption, they are buying (no pun intended)
>> into one of the dominant ideological social status and personal
>> identity reinforcing trends of our time, a trend that was not as
>> evident before the rise of modern industrial consumer capitalism, so
>> their lack of conformism to dominant traditional religions is thus
>> less of a threat to the social/political system.
>>
>> Is it true that money and consumerism has to some extent replaced
>> religion as a focal point for organizing society? Many think so...
>>
>> Ted Moffett
>>
>>
>> On 10/9/07, *Paul Rumelhart* > > wrote:
>>
>> I would go one further and suggest that it's your personal
>> relationship
>> with whatever gods and or goddesses you believe in that matters. All
>> the rest is window dressing.
>>
>> I can understand the need for fellowship. As far as I'm aware,
>> I'm the
>> only person who believes what I believe within a hundred miles of
>> here.
>> It's my considered opinion, however, that you'll be better off
>> avoiding
>> all large-scale religious institutions. Read your holy books of
>> choice,
>> study them alone or with friends, do your meditations, commune with
>> nature, discuss the finer points of the Matrix over some beers with
>> friends, or have your seances in your own parlor - whatever your
>> manner
>> of worship is. Cut out the middle-man.
>>
>> Of course, that's just my opinion.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> Giselle McCourt wrote:
>>>
>>> *Dear Friends in Christ and Neighbors of Goodwill,*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This short message is addressed to those of you from other area
>>> churches who attended the Launch Service of Real Life Ministries
>> last
>>> Sunday and to those that might like to attend further services in
>>> order to see if Real Ministries could become the church of your
>> choice.
>>>
>>> There are certain pastors in this area who look upon their
>>> congregations as their personal property. They covetously regard
>>> members of their congregations as chattel to be used as they decree
>>> rather than as souls to be lovingly guided into the arms of Our Lord
>>> Jesus Christ, and into the way of righteousness, goodwill, and
>> eternal
>>> salvation.
>>>
>>> These unholy pastors often resort to dire and to unchristian
>> measures
>>> to either persuade or to force members to remain shackled in the
>>> ungodly, grasping jaws of their spurious ministries. Hence, I
>> repeat
>>> the following from my first message (also appended). *(If you know
>>> any trapped and struggling Christians caught in such circumstances,
>>> please, please help them by forwarding this message.*
>>>
>>>
>>> The choice you make of the Christian church to attend is a matter
>>> between you and God, only. You do not need to ask or receive
>> anyone's
>>> permission to change Christian churches, nor do you owe anyone
>> notice
>>> or an explanation if you do. It is a decision between you and God
>>> alone. If your pastor or members of your church attempt to
>> coerce or
>>> to wheedle you in any way to remain in the grasp of their church –
>>> persistent pressure, guilt, promises, visits, telephone calls,
>>> threats, spying, extortive tactics, feigned sweetness, feigned
>> concern
>>> for your soul, etc, – you are not in a church which preaches the
>> True
>>> Teachings of The Lord Jesus Christ and who sincerely loves The Lord
>>> Jesus Christ. If any of the above unchristian tactics has been
>>> applied or is applied to you please let the good folks at Real Life
>>> Ministries know: askreallife at reallifeministries.com
>> 
>>> > ?subject=Ask%20Real%20Life>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Reminder:* *Great news!* The fastest growing church in America,
>>> *Real Life Ministries*, is now in Latah County.
>>>
>>> http://www.reallifeministries.com/index.php
>>>
>>> http://moscowreallife.com/home.html
>>>
>>> Come, join, and start to be united with the community and God
>> through
>>> Our Lord Jesus Christ.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Real Life Services*
>>>
>>> *Sunday, October, 7th 9:00 and 11:00 AM, 3148 Tomer Rd.*
>>>
>>> Directions:
>>>
>>> From Moscow: Travel east on Highway 8. Turn right onto Carmichael
>>> Road. Turn left onto Tomer Road. Continue until you reach Palouse
>>> Hills Christian School.
>>>
>>> From Troy: Travel west on Highway 8. Turn left onto Lenville Road.
>>> Turn right onto Tomer Road . Continue until you reach Palouse
>> Hills
>>> Christian School.
>>>
>>>
>>> Your neighbor and friend in Our Lord Jesus Christ,
>>>
>>> Giselle McCourt
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This message has neither been officially approved nor sent by the
>>> Boards of Directors of Real Life Ministries, Inc., Real Life
>>> Ministries, Ltd., Real Life Ministries, Cie. nor any member thereof.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ************************************************************
>>> Previous Message
>>>
>>> *Dear Neighbors and Friends in Our Lord Jesus Christ,*
>>>
>>> *Please pass this message on to anyone it might benefit.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> */Regardless of the church you now attend/*, for the sake of
>> your own
>>> eternal salvation in Our Lord Jesus Christ, please take some time to
>>> consider very carefully in your heart of hearts the following
>> questions.
>>>
>>> Does your pastor unite the community or does your pastor divide it?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor respect everyone equally or does your pastor have
>>> favorites amongst your congregation?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor disdain or ignore the worth of any or many of God's
>>> children?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor display way too much self-love?
>>>
>>> Is your pastor much too fond of rich foods, fine wines, and other
>>> voluptuary pleasures?
>>>
>>> Is your pastor ever vindictive, spiteful, punitive, or dishonest
>>> especially towards those with whom your pastor disagrees or
>> those who
>>> have chosen in God's name to leave the clutches of his ministry?
>>>
>>> Would you trust your pastor with your purse? With your real estate
>>> agent? With your wife?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor hold wacko ideas like the antebellum slaves were a
>>> happy lot and lived in wonderful harmony with their masters?
>>>
>>> At your pastor's rigid insistence is your church music full of
>> dark,
>>> chilling, mournful words and music rather than raising a "Joyful
>> noise
>>> unto the Lord" as commanded by the bible? Psalms 100
>>>
>>> Has your pastor engineered the purchase land for a new church
>> that is
>>> not only too small for a church and cemetery, but even too small
>> for a
>>> moderately sized church? Did your pastor pay about twice the market
>>> value for the land? Is that land now known as "------'s Folly?"
>>>
>>> Does your pastor demand, coerce, or wheedle so much tithe that it
>>> hurts your ability to give what they need and they deserve to your
>>> family and community? Have you been asked to sacrifice heavily
>> and to
>>> tithe in God's name so that your pastor can pursue his ambitious,
>>> mostly personal goals?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor's money management problems and love of his pet
>>> projects that serve him more than God often lead to calls for
>> further
>>> tithing and sacrifices? Does your pastor try to con and to
>> manipulate
>>> you by insinuating that the amount of your tithe is directly
>>> proportional to your love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, champion of the
>>> poor? Matthew 19:16 - 30, Matthew 25:31 - 46
>>>
>>> Does your pastor pack the various parts of his ministry's
>> payroll with
>>> overpaid relatives and kowtowing friends and their relatives, thus
>>> putting even more stress on church finances and leading to further
>>> demands for tithes?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor look at new members more as a source of tithes and
>>> straw and mud with which to build his empire, rather than as
>> souls to
>>> guide into the loving arms of Our Lord Jesus Christ?
>>>
>>> Does your church have a hidden missing funds problem? If so, is it
>>> possible that some of those funds have disappeared into off-shore
>>> accounts of which your pastor is the sole signatory?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor flout the civil law? Romans 13:1 – 7
>>>
>>> Does your pastor ever direct members of your church to perform
>> illegal
>>> or sinful activities or to ignore illegal or sinful activities
>> done by
>>> church members?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor ever practice flagrant dishonesty in the name
>> of The
>>> Lord or in claiming to do the work of The Lord? Is this something
>>> Jesus would do?
>>>
>>> Are your pastor's theological views so far out that were recently
>>> rejected by over 96% of a very large body of his fellow Reformed
>>> Disciples that carefully examined them?
>>>
>>> When vehemently defending his version of The Word of God as the
>> only
>>> "correct one," does your pastor sometimes appear to be mentally
>>> disturbed?
>>>
>>> Is your pastor more interested in enriching himself and his family
>>> then your pastor is in exhibiting himself as shining, living
>> example
>>> of the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ, especially doing this by
>>> showing agape towards all, showing humility, showing disdain for
>>> wealth and its trappings, and showing great concern and charity for
>>> all the poor and unfortunate? Matthew 19:16 - 30
>>>
>>> Does your pastor have a double standard when it comes to adultery?
>>> When it comes to rape and adultery in church schools?
>>>
>>> Has your pastor encouraged divorces when it would benefit him in a
>>> very personal way, or encouraged divorces with unchristian
>>> vindictiveness to inflict great pain and sorrow upon certain critics
>>> of his actions and claimed beliefs?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor ever appear to place himself on an equal
>> footing or
>>> above God?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor place himself as a barrier between you and
>> God? Does
>>> your pastor blasphemously style himself/herself as a necessary
>> conduit
>>> between you and God?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor blame others for his shortcomings?
>>>
>>> After having made a serious mistake in judgment does your pastor own
>>> up to it, or does your pastor sometimes claim he/she has a
>> secret plan
>>> and the congregation must "trust" him/her that eventually all
>> will be
>>> right?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor keep important church information secret from not
>>> only the congregation, but from some of the elders and deacons too?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor unchristianly operate your church like a secret
>>> society in the community rather than like the open arms of Our Lord
>>> Jesus Christ?
>>>
>>> Has your pastor imported child molesters into the community? If
>> so,
>>> is it possible that your pastor knew something of their particular
>>> sinful proclivities beforehand, but imported them anyway?
>>>
>>> Has your pastor written a letter supporting leniency for a
>> convicted
>>> child molester, one who did dreadful, despicable things to many
>>> different children, who attended one of the ministry's schools, and
>>> one who defiled the children of the church family with whom he
>>> boarded? If so, was that letter hypocritically contrary to your
>>> pastor's past preaching, and most important, blasphemously
>> contrary to
>>> the requirements of The Word of God?
>>>
>>> Does your business or relationships with your neighbors suffer
>> because
>>> your pastor has – with his outré views, unchristian actions, and
>>> harsh, in your face, unchristian polemics – caused many of the
>>> community to shun your business or avoid yourself and your family?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor use divisive tactics and polemics to persuade you
>>> from listening to the words of your neighbors and dividing you
>> from them?
>>>
>>> Does the majority of your community regard your pastor as a crook,
>>> clown, or perhaps even an anti-Christ?
>>>
>>> Does your pastor ever bring to mind the following passage from
>> Matthew
>>> 7:15 - 20?
>>>
>>> 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing
>> but
>>> inwardly are ravenous wolves.
>>>
>>> 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from
>>> thorns, or figs from thistles?
>>>
>>> 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the
>> bad tree
>>> bears bad fruit.
>>>
>>> 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear
>> good fruit.
>>>
>>> 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
>>> into the fire.
>>>
>>> 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.
>>>
>>>
>>> Does your pastor make up insulting, abusive names for those that
>>> question his bizarre views and actions? Does your pastor
>> belittle his
>>> critics and assassinate their characters or take other vindictive,
>>> punitive measures rather than act like Our Loving Lord Jesus would?
>>> Matthew 5:38 - 48
>>>
>>> Does your pastor attempt to coerce and to wheedle your continuing
>>> church membership rather than trust in your faith in God and
>> God-given
>>> conscience to guide you to make the right choice of church to
>> attend?***
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Does any answer to any of the above questions about your pastor
>>> trouble you?* Does any answer trouble you especially considered in
>>> the light of the Teachings of The Lord Jesus Christ and your
>> God-given
>>> conscience? If so, then perhaps it is time for the sake of your
>>> immortal soul to consider moving to a true church of Our Lord Jesus
>>> Christ in God, and away from a church that will only lead you away
>>> from the path of righteousness, goodwill, and eternal salvation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Great news!* The fastest growing church in America, *Real Life
>>> Ministries*, is coming to Latah County.
>>>
>>> http://www.reallifeministries.com/index.php
>> 
>>>
>>> http://moscowreallife.com/home.html
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Come, join, and start to be united with the community and God
>> through
>>> Our Lord Jesus Christ.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Real Life Launch Services*
>>>
>>> *Sunday, October, 7th 9:00 and 11:00 AM, 3148 Tomer Rd.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Directions:
>>>
>>> From Moscow: Travel east on Highway 8. Turn right onto
>> Carmichael
>>> Road. Turn left onto Tomer Road. Continue until you reach Palouse
>>> Hills Christian School.
>>>
>>> From Troy: Travel west on Highway 8. Turn left onto Lenville
>> Road.
>>> Turn right onto Tomer Road . Continue until you reach Palouse
>> Hills
>>> Christian School.
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope to see you there.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Your neighbor and friend in Our Lord Jesus Christ,
>>>
>>> Giselle McCourt
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ***The choice you make of the Christian church to attend is a matter
>>> between you and God, only. You do not need to ask or receive
>> anyone's
>>> permission to change Christian churches, nor do you owe anyone
>> notice
>>> or an explanation if you do. It is a decision between you and God
>>> alone. If your pastor or members of your church attempt to
>> coerce or
>>> to wheedle you in any way to remain in the grasp of their church –
>>> persistent pressure, guilt, promises, visits, telephone calls,
>>> threats, spying, extortive tactics, feigned sweetness, feigned
>> concern
>>> for your soul, etc, – you are not in a church which preaches the
>> True
>>> Teachings of The Lord Jesus Christ and who sincerely loves The Lord
>>> Jesus Christ. If any of the above unchristian tactics has been
>>> applied or is applied to you please let the good folks at Real Life
>>> Ministries know: askreallife at reallifeministries.com
>> 
>>> > ?subject=Ask%20Real%20Life>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This message has neither been officially approved nor sent by the
>>> Boards of Directors of Real Life Ministries, Inc., Real Life
>>> Ministries, Ltd., Real Life Ministries, Cie. nor any member thereof.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> =======================================================
>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>> http://www.fsr.net
>>> mailto: Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> 
>>> =======================================================
>>
>> =======================================================
>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>> http://www.fsr.net
>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com 
>> =======================================================
>>
>>
>
> =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================

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