On July 28, 2021

NOTES ON EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS: KNOWING WHEN TO HOLD ‘EM & KNOWING WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM

PART I: FALSE TEACHERS

PART II: False Grace

PART III: True Grit

SCRIPTURE. “For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, and will turn their ears away from the Truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].” – 2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4, AMP

QUOTATIONS

“Faustus, who embraced evil and shunned righteousness, became the foremost symbol of the misuse of Free Will, that sublime gift from God with its inherent opportunity to choose Virtue and reject Iniquity. ‘What shall a man gain if he has the whole world and lose his soul’ (Matthew 16:26) – but for a notorious name, the ethereal shadow of a career, and a brief life of fleeting pleasure with no true peace?” – E.A. BUCHIANERI, ‘Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World, Volume 1,’ 2010; edited

“There is beauty in Truth, even if it’s painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don’t teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one’s character, one’s mind, one’s heart or one’s soul.” – DR. JOSÉ N. HARRIS, author of ‘Mi Vida: A Story of Faith, Hope and Love,’ 2010; edited

“It is important to realize that a person with the Gift of Discernment can often tell the difference between what is of God and what is not. Such a person can often point out false teachings or false teachers—he has an almost uncanny ability to perceive hypocrisy, shallowness, deceit, or phoniness.” – BILLY GRAHAM, ‘Billy Graham in Quotes,’ 2011; edited

Selah.

FIRST THOUGHTS

Without even trying to document it, I think one thing most Americans can agree on is that we are living in ‘Times of Unprecedented Deception’ from virtually every corner of the culture – the Government, the Schools, the Media, the Arts, the Sciences, and even, or as some would argue – the Church.

The Problem is further complicated by the fact that we disagree more and more aggressively on WHO is doing most of the Lying. Which has led of course to our present Era of Mass Confusion and Division: Almost no one seems to recognize the one Antidote to all this craziness:

The Truth.

THE PROPHETS in both the Old and New Testaments wrote of such a Pedagogical and Moral Quagmire, predicting that there would come a time in history when Truth would be at a premium, nearly unrecognizable and effectively nonexistent.

“Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) stands far off; for truth has fallen in the street (the city’s forum), and uprightness cannot enter [the courts of justice]. Yes, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” – ISAIAH 59:14-15, AMPC

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord [inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it.” – AMOS 8:11-12, AMPC

“I write to you not because you are ignorant and do not perceive and know the Truth, but because you do perceive and know it, and [know positively] that nothing false (no deception, no lie) is of the Truth. Who is [such a] liar as he who denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah)? He is the antichrist (the antagonist of Christ), who [habitually] denies and refuses to acknowledge the Father and the Son.” – 1 JOHN 2:21-22, AMPC

THE IMPACT. When Truth is excluded by either ignorance, subterfuge or other vicious slaughter of it by the society’s many institutions, as with some mentioned earlier, history clearly shows that such a Nation becomes existentially subject to ‘Final Collapse.’

In looking for an Authoritative Source to emphasize this crucial point, I came across a Christian author with no fancy credentials, nor any other pedigree I could find. And yet, he brought this matter home in the simplest of terms in a brief essay entitled:

“When Truth Dies, Everything Dies,” by IAN VINCENT, ‘WordPress,’ August 29, 2014; edited.

“There is no relationship without Truth, and without Truth everything else is meaningless. As soon as a friend begins to bend the Truth, it means they are not really your friend. The spouse who lies to their spouse, similarly, is a dysfunctional spouse. When Truth becomes a casualty then love is the real casualty. When Truth falls out then everything else falls out.

When Truth dies, everything dies.

And this is especially true when it comes to relationship to Jesus Christ. If we are untruthful to Him, we have no real relationship with Him. His Word searches our hearts and minds, and how do we respond to Him, honestly or dishonestly?

When people take the Truth of the Word of God lightly, it shows they are not in relationship to the Lord Jesus, even though they may claim to be.”

DK’S TAKE. By extension, according to virtually all of our Founders and Framers, when Truth becomes the Casualty, that is the Beginning of the ‘Death of a Nation.’ And, beloved, for this single, tragic reason:

We are watching America Die.

FROM TRUTH TO PROPAGANDA

A PROPHECY. In his book, ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ (1935), SINCLAIR LEWIS wrote, “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a Flag and carrying the Cross.”

PROPAGANDA. “The expression of opinions or actions carried out deliberately by individuals or groups with a view to influencing the opinions or actions of other individuals or groups for predetermined ends and through psychological manipulations.” – HAROLD LASWELL, “The Theory of Political Propaganda,” ‘The American Political Science Review,’ 1927, 21, 3, 627-631.

As I watch the American Order implode under the light speed pace and culture-wide proliferation of Laswell’s Propaganda Machine, I now see it everywhere, beloved. In advertising and business especially, but just as much as in Politics and now, the Christian Religion.

Everybody is Lying!

Significantly, the very darling of and much acclaimed “Father of Public Relations” in America, EDWARD BERNAYS, had this to say about it as he peeled a page from Laswell’s work.

“The conscious and intelligent Manipulation [or ‘Engineering’] of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in Democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute ‘an invisible government’ which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” – ‘Propaganda,’ 1928; edited

Selah.

Some of you already know where I am headed here. The must unspeakable and hideous application of this new and exciting ‘Theory of Propaganda’ fueled by the heat of Cross-Fertilizing Information Systems and Political Theory pioneered by Laswell and Bernays, is found in the work of a then obscure little man from then Weimar Germany.

DR. JOSEPH GOEBBELS. I take some time with this, as it provides what I believe is an Historic Platform for what continues to flow into the Bloodstream of the American people, even after Donald Trump was defeated in the 2020 Presidential Election.

This Summary comes to us from another obscure author with the nom de plume of ‘Psywarrior,’ whose penetrating article I retrieved from the Internet on July 24, 2021, with my editing noted.

“German Nazi Party member Joseph Goebbels became Adolf Hitler’s Propaganda Minister in 1933, which gave him power over all German radio, press, cinema, and theater …

His work as a propagandist materially aided Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. When Hitler seized power in [that year], Goebbels was appointed Reichsminister for Propaganda and National Enlightenment. From then until his death, Goebbels used all media of education and communications to further Nazi propagandistic aims, instilling in the Germans [with] the concept of their ‘Leader as a veritable god,’ and of their Destiny as the rulers of the world. In 1938, he became a member of the Hitler Cabinet Council. Late in World War II, in 1944, Hitler placed him in charge of Total Mobilization.

As Reichsminister for Propaganda and National Enlightenment, Goebbels was given complete control over radio, press, cinema, and theater; later he also regimented all German culture. Goebbels placed his undeniable intelligence and his brilliant insight into mass psychology entirely at the service of his Party. His most virulent Propaganda was against the Jews. As a hypnotic orator, he was second only to Hitler, and in his staging of mass meetings and parades he was unsurpassed. Utterly cynical, he seems to have believed only in the self-justification of power. He remained loyal to Hitler until the end. On May 1, 1945, as Soviet troops were storming Berlin, Goebbels committed suicide.”

GOEBBELS PRINCIPLES OF PROPAGANDA. Under direct orders from Adolf Hitler, Goebbels defined no fewer than ‘19 Principles’ that would guide the Nazi Genocide of the Jews for a dozen years. Here they are, as summarized in the same article.

Propagandists must have access to intelligence concerning events and public opinion.

Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.

The propaganda consequences of an action must be considered in planning that action.

Propaganda must affect the enemy’s policy and action.

Declassified, operational information must be available to implement a propaganda campaign.

To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an audience and must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications medium.

Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output should be true or false.

The purpose, content and effectiveness of enemy propaganda; the strength and effects of an expose; and the nature of current propaganda campaigns determine whether enemy propaganda should be ignored or refuted.

Credibility, intelligence, and the possible effects of communicating determine whether propaganda materials should be censored.

Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations when it helps diminish that enemy’s prestige or lends support to the propagandist’s own objective.

Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the latter is less credible or produces undesirable effects.

Propaganda may be facilitated by leaders with prestige.

Propaganda must be carefully timed.

Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.

Propaganda to the home front must prevent the raising of false hopes which can be blasted by future events.

Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.

Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of frustration.

Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.

Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong counter-tendencies; instead it must offer some form of action or diversion, or both.

DK’S THESIS. I flatly propose to you that DONALD TRUMP, whether coincidentally or strategically, has consistently deployed nearly every one of these Nazi Propaganda Techniques during his four years of holding office. Further, he continues to try to organize a ‘Shadow Government’ from his home base in Mar–a-Lago in Florida.

THE ‘CHRISTIAN’ PROPAGANDISTS

I expect that subhead rattled a few of you. I fully intended it to. DR. MARVIN OLASKY used this strategy in his journalism courses and writings to describe what he called, ‘Biblical Sensationalism’ – or casting the Truth in language that engages or even shocks the reader into attention. – cf. ‘The Prodigal Press,’ 1988

MY POINT. As I have told it repeatedly, bolstered by endless polls by Gallup, Roper, Barna, Pew and others, the American Church continues to support Donald Trump Nationalism at the heady rate of 80 percent or more.

Again, and again, even after the Barbarism of January 6, 2021, at the Capitol.

THE ANECDOTE. I returned from church on Sunday where a Jewish-Christian guest speaker, AMIR TSAFARTI, was promoting his slightly veiled Trumpian View of the Faith. The congregation roared their approval, greeting him with a thunderous standing ovation.

Dismayed, I went to his book table in the lobby to speak with a middle-aged female staffer, about his support of the former president. I gave her my business card and spoke quietly, almost in a whisper, to ask some questions for her to pass along to Tsafarti, including about the ‘January 6^th Christian Insurrection.’

Her Angry Response to my documented claim: “I don’t care what the [Internet] says, I was there! And it was all Antifa and none of us Christians!” Selah.

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in Philosophical Reflections to logically conclude that this dominant wing of the American Church endorses a Pathological Liar as their preference for political (and even religious) leadership.

The Consequences of course, shall prove to be horrific.

FOLLOWING GOEBBELS. Now this from a ‘US News’ report not long ago when Trump was still in office. Keeping the 19 Principles of Joseph Goebbels in mind, do consider this, beloved.

“President Donald Trump accused schools of teaching students ‘hateful lies about this country’ and said he would be taking steps to ‘restore patriotic education’ as he continued his opposition to efforts to raise awareness about racial inequalities.

Speaking at what the White House described as a ‘Conference on American history,’ Trump said that he plans to sign an Executive Order soon to create a National Commission to support Patriotic Education,’ called the ‘1776 Commission’ and that he is directing funding to create a ‘patriotic curriculum’ for schools. ‘Our youth will be taught to love America with all of their heart and all of their souls,’ Trump said. The White House declined to say when Trump would sign the executive order.” – SHANNON PETTYPIECE, September 17, 2020; edited

DK’S TAKE. Without much effort or reach, therefore, I unapologetically define Trump Christians as a theological and historical Anomaly – make that read, a twisted ‘Aberration or Deviation from the Gospel’ – who effectively become shills for Donald Trump’s brand of Christian Nationalism.

The Apostle writes a most sobering Warning about this.

“Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world. By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God [has God for its source]; And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [but would annul, destroy, sever, disunite Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him]. This [nonconfession] is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you heard that it was coming, and now it is already in the world.” – 1 JOHN 4:1-6, AMPC

TRUMP’S PROPAGANDA ARMY. To close out this section and its arguments, I now cite award winning Communication Professor JENNIFER MERCIECA, historian of American political rhetoric at Texas A&M University.

Quoted at considerable length for its terrible importance to the present American Moment.

“The U.S. is in an Information War with itself. The public sphere, where Americans discuss public issues, is broken. There’s little discussion – and lots of fighting. One reason why: Persuasion is difficult, slow and time-consuming – it doesn’t make good television or social media content – and so there aren’t a lot of good examples of it in our public discourse. What’s worse, a ‘New form of Propaganda’ has emerged – and it’s enlisted us all as Propagandists …

The Jan. 6, 2021 Insurrection was a direct result of the ‘Manufacture of Dissent.’ Right-wing politicians, citizens and media used disinformation, misinformation, conspiracy, fear appeals and outrage circulated via the old and new propaganda to cast doubt on the nation’s electoral process. President Trump primed his followers [including the vast majority of the Church] to believe that the election would be ‘rigged,’ which led people to look for and circulate so-called ‘evidence’ of fraud. Courts and election officials certified the integrity of the election. Conspiracists saw that as further evidence of the ‘plot’ and supported Trump’s Big Lie that the Election had been stolen. Trump’s supporters amplified the conspiracy via posts on social media, videos, text messages, emails and secret groups – spreading doubt about the election to their friends, neighbors and audiences. When Trump told people to march on the Capitol to defend their freedom, they did.

But the Big Lie that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, Insurrection was merely part of an even Bigger Lie. Since the 1990s and the emergence of the manufacture of dissent, right-wing propaganda’s major premise has been that ‘Politics is War and the enemy cheats.’ Every news story from that perspective is an elaboration on that theme, including those about the 2020 Election. When Politics is seen as War and the Enemy can’t be trusted, then every election is seen as dire and the electoral process that denies your side victory is seen as ‘unfair’ …

[Thus] The New Propaganda ‘Manufactures Dissent.’ It uses Communication as Force to keep people engaged and outraged – and it sets us in motion to trample and destroy things.” – “We Are All Propagandists Now,” ‘The Conversation,’ July 20, 2021; edited

THE SPIRIT OF PROPAGANDA. “Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold and silver, with precious stones and with expensive things.” – DANIEL 11:38, AMP

Yes, beloved, this New American Propaganda Model issues straight from the bowels of that ‘Spirit of Antichris’t described by the Prophets, the Apostles and Christ Himself. Significantly, its War-Like Mentality demands a fight to the death.

Which is why I argue so passionately for all true Christians to: (1) Shore up proper Alliances with the Righteous; (2) Cut all ties to the False Brethren (and Pastors) who form alliances with the Spirit of Antichrist; and (3) Do all we can to Witness to those who have not yet fallen too far, both religious and secular.

THE TEACHING

It is clear by now – or should be – that I am Redefining the Biblical Concept of the False Teacher and their many Followers as what we have learned as ‘The New Propagandists.’ While you find these New Propagandists along the entire political spectrum, I have argued for months that Trump’s ‘New (Alt) Right Nationalists’ currently present the greatest immediate threat to both Church and State in American memory.

And here’s why.

FROM TRUTH TO MYTHS. Precisely here is where you find the Nexus of the American Crisis: The sustained and utter Rejection of the Truth of Jesus Christ in blasphemous exchange for ‘Man-Made Myths.’ This is fast becoming the American Epitaph, just as the Law and the Prophets, the Apostles and the Messiah predicted it would.

Truth be told, I just never really thought I’d be here to see it in full, toxic bloom. So here we go for a bit of Deep Dive.

FICTION. From the Greek term, ‘Muthos’ [μῦθος], or: “From the root word for ‘instruct;’ it is the word from which mythology is derived; commonly rendered as an idle tale or fanciful story or fable [fit for children]; a false account, yet posing to be the truth; ‘a fabrication’ (fiction) which subverts (replaces) what is actually true; a human invention, a falsehood; constructed by the mind set over against the real and actually true; issues from the kingdom of darkness and lies.”

CONSPIRACY. The Connection is unmistakable. NOAH WEBSTER (1830) defines it this way: “A combination of men for an evil purpose; an agreement between two or more persons, to commit some crime in concert; particularly, a combination to commit treason, or excite sedition or insurrection against the government of a state; a plot; as a conspiracy against the life of a king; a conspiracy against the government. In law, an agreement between two or more persons, falsely and maliciously to indict, or procure to be indicted, an innocent person of felony.”

MATTHEW HENRY. “People will turn away from the Truth, they will grow weary of the plain Gospel of Christ, they will be greedy of Fables, and take pleasure in them. People do so when they will not endure that preaching which is searching, plain, and to the purpose. Those who love souls must be ever watchful, must venture and bear all the painful effects of their faithfulness, and take all opportunities of making known the pure Gospel.” – ‘Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK’S TAKE. And there you have it, beloved. When America began to Turn from her love of the Truth, and the sober pursuit of Godly Ideas, she began to die. Here am I quickly reminded of several articles today heralding the Return to a Second Roaring 20s,” on the backs of Covid fatigue and a burgeoning economy.

I continue to propose that America’s Last Calls began sometime around the turn of the 20^th Century – 1900 AD – and it was not long after that the First Roaring 20s occurred. Seems we have come full circle, as America now wishes to accomplish what the brilliant New York University professor NEIL POSTMAN accurately predicted we’d end up doing in his highly regarded book in 1985:

‘Amusing Ourselves to Death.’ Or as the iconic song by SHERYL CROW declares it in here vintage song of 1993: “All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die.” This was Crow’s most successful song by all market profiles. Ever.

Selah.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Now to some of the most troubling conclusions about America that I have ever given voice to. It is based not only on respected Research and Commentary pieces, alongside a sense of History that I have developed over the decades, but also on the Anecdotal ‘street interview’ evidence I conducted on my 4,000-mile Circuit Ride in June of this year.

A PLEA FROM THE OPPRESSED I. Here is what I found that we must pay attention to, from an impassioned piece by a member of “Survivors of Authoritarian Regimes. This is his Introduction to a sanguine essay about where America is fast heading by an emigrant from a despotic regime.

“We Survivors of Authoritarianism have a terrible, terrible foreboding, because we are experiencing something we should never do: ‘Deja vu.’ Our parents fled from collapsing societies to America. And here, now, in a grim and eerie repeat of history, we see the scenes of our childhoods played out all over again. Only now, in the land that we came to. We see the stories our parents recounted to us happening before our eyes, only this time, in the place they brought us to, to escape from all those horrors, abuses, and depredations …

‘Never again.’ It’s the vow every survivor makes.That’s why we are trying to warn you. It is happening all over again, here, exactly — exactly, precisely, absolutely — the way that we saw it happen before, and before, and before. Hear our warning. None of us have the time left now for petty divisions, intellectualizations, the games pundits play, the way I lost my column when I began to warn of all this. I didn’t pay the bigger price — you did.

You don’t have another mistake left to make. This is it, and you’re blowing it, sleepwalking into collapse, letting the Fascists steal your futures. Do not let it happen here.” – UMAIR HAQUE, “We Don’t Know How to Warn You Any Harder. America is Dying,” ‘Eudaimonia,’ August 29, 2020; edited

A PLEA FROM THE OPPRESSED II. Now to something closer to home for me: The testimonies of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. I have cited this before in sidebar comments online (and been rebuked several times for it), but this is the first time I have ever included it in a formal essay.

Listen carefully, beloved, from these who know vastly more than do we all.

“ERIKA JACOBY was a child when virulent anti-Semitism swept through Hungary in the 1930s and 1940s. She remembers her brother being beaten. She remembers thugs grabbing her grandfather and shaving off his beard. She recalls how she was not allowed to go to the park on Sundays. Simply being there and being Jewish was a provocation …

On the day Erika earned her American citizenship, she thought she had ‘reached heaven.’ She “felt safe” in America. She could sleep soundly at night. ‘Until Trump was elected,’ she says …

When the Trump administration authorized the use of smoke cannisters and flash-bang grenades to disperse peaceful protesters so Trump could pose with a Bible in front of a church, Erika was aghast. She is a religious woman. For her, the Bible “should be everything relaxing and loving.” But Erika says Trump wielded the Bible like a warrior flaunting his weapon.

Erika similarly recoiled when Trump deployed camouflaged federal officers in unmarked cars to crack down on American citizens in Portland. She knows what can happen when the military is used against its own people. She was also frightened when Trump adherents, encouraged by the president, threateningly brandished weapons in state capitals. The public display of guns terrifies Erika. She has experienced what it’s like to have a gun pointed at you. In Auschwitz, she witnessed people being shot to death.

Erika holds Trump responsible for this poisonous and combustible brew. She describes the words that come out of his mouth as ‘ugly’ and ‘venomous.’ She says they make her physically ill. That’s why Erika is not sleeping. For the first time since she immigrated to this great country, she no longer feels safe.

Rather than remaining passive, this 92-year-old Holocaust survivor feels compelled to speak out. She wants to warn her fellow Americans of the danger they’re facing. She wants them to know that ‘this is what it feels like’ when a society begins to lose its decency and humanity.” – ALAN GARFIELD, “92 Year Old Holocaust Survivor Has a Warning for America About Trump,” ‘USA Today,’ October 25, 2020; edited

CODA. So, what more can I say to try to wake a few folks up. Just sat down with a 27-year-old medical student and friend, headed for her MD degree, about the entire Vax Anti-Vax controversy that sent this community a roiling for days on end.

“It’s so troubling. America is so divided over this and other things. The Delta Variant is rising, but only among the non-vaccinated. It’s just crazy. We could see another major surge in the coming months.”

Name withheld since she cannot speak of this in her own medical community. And her highly educated (white) parents are aggressively pro-Trump. Selah.

WHEN TRUTH DIES. As Ian Vincent observed at the outset of this piece: “When Truth dies, everything dies.” So do the False Teachers and Faux Prophets and happy talk Soothsayers drown out those of us who want the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help us God.

In a phrase: They are killing us, beloved! Killing us.

Thus, America continues to position herself at The Brink, slowly but steadily committing National Suicide, all the while crying out lustily to ‘Make America Great Again!’ Rather ought we to say with our Jewish brethren, “Never Again!” a poignant phrase associated with the Holocaust and other genocides.

And I use it in Closing, to express in the most precise terms, that with God’s help, I shall never give in to the seismic Disintegration of the American Order toward an American Reich. I cannot. I will not. Rather let me say in Final Conclusion to us all:

“¡Nunca más!” Never again! On my life, or on my death, as God would have it: “¡Nunca más!”

Ever your servant, DK

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/zyWMUfN8s7Y