Victory is the condition for the restoration of civilization

At the American Thinker today is a piece by Lars Møller entitled Upheaval and Pushback that shows us through several counter revoutionary defeats that our winning this one is by no means a sure thing. The modern left (for the left has always been with us. It is in fact ancient and goes by many names, though Lucifer will suffice) began with the French Revolution. Its counter revolutionaries, the Vendee were destroyed, slaughtered, and executed. Møller spends the first half of his article on the history of French Revolution and its subsequent loss of life, all to satisfy a belief in an ideology that has proven time and again to be false. All this to discuss the American experience with this same ideology:

There are striking parallels between the events of the French Revolution and its Russian counterpart. In both cases, on the one hand, there were revolutionary forces trying to reshape an entire country, gripped by utopian fantasies, whatever the human cost, and on the other hand, counter-revolutionary forces fighting to roll back the revolution and restore order. In Russia, the “Whites” suffered the same tragic fate as the insurgents of Vendée.

What has attracted relatively little attention, considering the severity of the cultural impact in our society, is the struggle between the forces that have driven the “woke” revolution and the counter-revolutionary forces that fight for the values ​​that underpin Western civilization. Many imagine that “woke” simply stands for (ridiculously) exaggerated “humanism” and “tolerance”. However, that is a monumental fallacy. It denotes in reality one side — the dark one, to be sure — in a life-and-death struggle between totalitarianism and freedom.

Under the guise of humanism, Democrats have been working to reshape the United States ever since Lyndon B. Johnson’s immigration bill of 1965. Although with the resemblance of a bitter parody, in this case too, it is as if there is a fantasy of a thousand-year empire guaranteed, not by the presence of enlisted savages with bayonets in the streets, but by the steady influx of immigrants dependent on public benefits and with the prospective right to vote in general elections.

...snip...

The reality is that the United States has had its own piecemeal revolution since Obama came to power in 2009. In a civilized society like the American one, where people generally trust legislators, judges, and executive authorities, many have long been reluctant to stand up to them. However, as absurdities and injustices have become increasingly obvious, not least the socially devastating mass immigration from the South, people across the country have begun to sense danger and fear for the future of their children.

Unfortunately, Marxism did not die with the Soviet Union in 1991, but lives on in disguise. Its goal, however, is the same as before: the destruction of Western civilization. In recent years, it has attacked its enemy in subtler ways than before, weaponizing ethnic and sexual minorities, and is constantly seeking new strategic alliances in political movements of importance, e.g. Islamism. At its core, therefore, it is as totalitarian, anti-human, and evil as ever. Revolution is a bloody affair. It begins with boundless dreams and promises, but invariably ends in “terror”. Justice, of course, has nothing to do with it.

I do not know if Møller realizes it or not, but the term "Western civilization" is a code term for Christianity. The entire edifice of Western Civilization was built on the Christian faith. The idea of Judeo-Christianity ignores the Old Testament, pretending that Christianity was something New and thus destroyed the Old. But in fact, Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and as Paul noted, we gentiles who call ourselves Christian are now grafted into the vine of God's chosen people Israel. The first disciples of Jesus were Jews. The first Christians were about 5,000 Jews baptized into Christ on Pentecost. Even today, there are Jews still being baptized into Christ. Glory hallelujah

Marx was virulently atheistic, as were the French revolutionaries and the Russian revolutionaries. Indeed, atheism has characterized all Communist and Marxist revolutionaries. One can think of them as teenagers rebelling against their parents, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous to the rest of us.

Since Obama, Americans have endured a revolution intended to dissolve any sense of national identity, cut it off from Western civilization, and drown it in multiculturalism, with invading masses of Third-World aliens acting as unwitting accomplices. The project has been truly revolutionary — all-encompassing and nihilistic.

It was not a given that Trump should win the November 2024 election. He did, however. And in doing so, he gave voice to all the decent people of the country who, for years on end, saw their national pride trampled and dishonored by hostile forces rooted in Marxism and other anti-Christian ideologies. Undoubtedly, he will unleash the righteous anger that has gripped the Americans, as it once gripped the brave counter-revolutionaries of the Vendée. Not to forget: It is a fight to the death!

Faced with a lurking, uncompromising enemy of everything we hold dear, we cannot take victory for granted because we have justice on our side, but must fight until victory is truly won. As Trump shouted to the crowd during the Pennsylvania campaign rally: “Fight, fight, fight!” Victory is the condition for the restoration of civilization.

The Infinite Monkey Theorem

 When I was in college, studying to become an engineer, one of the courses I took was statistics.  But since I wasn't trying to become a theoretician, I took a course in the application of statistics.  But I did learn at least enough to know that the more data points you have, the better your statistics reflect reality.  One of these theorems was called the infinite monkey theorem. There are various versions, but it goes like this:

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys independently and at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, including the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Of course, being young and quite full of myself, I thought this was quite clever. Actually, it points to both the power, and the limitations of statistics. The power, of course, is in the ability to tease out small signals from a great deal of data that looks like random noise. The limitation however is that there is never an infinite anything, especially time.

Of course, I thought that this was a proof that evolution was correct. Whether one believed in a god or thought that we came about through random mutations, the infinite monkey theorem seemed to prove evolution to be true. At the same time, however, I was training to become an engineer, a profession where one designed things which, we all hoped, would make people's lives better. In my defense, I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate things metaphysical as I was busy learning about the physical.

I have mentioned before that though I was raised in the Church, I was an agnostic, not sure that there was in fact a god, and in any case, I couldn't see that if He existed, that He had much sway over world affairs. Boy, was I stupid. The infinite monkey theorem may serve a useful purpose in statistics, but it bears no relation to the real world. In the real world, if I placed an infinite bunch of parts of a clock in a box and then shook it for an infinite amount of time, it would never become a clock. It is only when some craftsman specifically designs and constructs a clock that it becomes a clock.

God is the greatest mathematician, the greatest physicist, the greatest chemist, and so on. He is the Great Engineer of the Universe and the Creator of everything that is and everything that is not. Reading the Bible where Christ rebukes the Sadducees and Pharisees, people smarter than I am, it is only by His grace that my eyes have been partially opened.

SCOTUS Wrapped Around an Axle

 You have probably read by now that the Supreme Court has stabbed the Second Amendment and its supporters in the back with its recent ruling upholding the Biden era ATF ruling on so-called "ghost guns." John Woods has a post at the American Thinker mocking the SCOTUS ruling:

I have a suggestion for the nation about SCOTUS: the Supreme Court judges should be required to trade out their black robes for open-in-the-back hospital gowns and pink Crocs. The nine judges -- except for two -- seem incapable of keeping the lower court activist judges on the reservation. The SCOTUS judges should also be required to write all their opinions in red crayon, starting with their nonsensical decision on unserialized “ghost guns.” Looking at the Second Amendment with a powerful magnifying glass, I have yet to find or have overlooked the part that mentions serial numbers.

...snip...

SCOTUS should dress the part, since we seem to have a complete clown show in the Judiciary. Maybe the need to use their hands to keep their rosy red cheeks from peeking out of the hospital gown will prevent them from getting their hands on the people's rights. With their red crayon, they may want to circle and highlight the parts of the Second Amendment that mention age requirements or serial numbers.

I would like to see the return of the little red cartoon devil on the shoulders of each of these judges. He should have a baseball bat with the words “Read the amendment as it was written.” Every time these activist judges and SCOTUS add any words or additions to the amendment in the Bill of Rights, the little devil should whomp them up aside the head and scream, "Read it as it was written, Stupid!" in their ear.

I can't help but think that Woods may be onto something here. After all, where the weapon was made, or by whom, should have no bearing on a case of an unlawful shooting. In fact, serial numbers are frankly for the use of the manufacturer who needs to know when and to whom a weapon was sold for warrantee reasons. As Mike McDaniel has noted many times, neither knowing the serial number nor trace data has never solved a murder case. What has is standard police procedures. SCOTUS has apparently gotten wrapped around an axle that was spun up by anti-gun lawyers and they overlooked common sense.

Be Prepared

You may have noticed that the Left has decided to take down Elon Musk because he is pointing out all the waste fraud and abuse in the government one agency at a time.  In particular, they seem especially upset that he has pointed out the utterly ridiculous wasteful spending at the USAID, which was established by an executive order and can be eliminated by the same means. Of course, they really want to get rid of President Trump, but since he is too hard to get to, they have selected Musk, who is merely the messenger.  He can't fire anyone.

In typical manner, the Left has decided to take what they call "direct action" by committing arson on Tesla dealerships, and intimidating Tesla owners by damaging or burning their cars.  As Tom Knighton notes in a post at Bearing Arms entitled Things Are Getting Ugly. Be Ready, all patriots should upgrade their awareness. In the parlance of Col. Jeff Cooper, you should be at condition "yellow" most of the time. But these are not normal times, and you may want to go to "orange."

In 2018, I wrote a piece here at Bearing Arms about the dangers of the mob going after ideological opponents. At the time, left-leaning mobs were hounding any Republican they could find out and about, even if they were just trying to eat a meal. I was actually looking for something else I was sure I wrote here and stumbled on it, but it sort of felt important to look at it a bit in light of what we're currently seeing all around us.

At the time, I feared escalation. Sooner or later, I worried the mob mentality would kick in and someone would go too far and then things would get really ugly.

...snip...

My fears last time were misplaced, thankfully. This time, I don't know that we'll be as fortunate. The thing is, we all tend to hope for the best, prepare for the worst, so I highly recommend that you get in a little extra range time, carry anywhere and everywhere you can, and be ready if the next target of this kind of stuff--or worse--is you and yours.

If you haven't been to the range lately, and I am one who doesn't go as often as I should, recommend you all go and sharpen your skills. Also clean and do any maintenance on your weapons. Finally, keep your weapons close by at all times.

A Word About Bible Translations

 Something that I wanted to discuss yesterday, and it slipped my mind is Bible translations.  Now, I don't know either Greek or Hebrew, but these are the original languages of the Bible.  Latin is not, and as we all said in Latin class, "Latin is a dead language, dead as it can be.  It killed off all the Romans, and now it's killing me."  My point is that I am forced as probably most of you, to rely on my pastor who knows these languages.

So, the King James Version (KJV) is a fairly good translation.  Considering the date it was translated, and the limited sourcing of original materials, one can only think that the Holy Spirit was guiding the translators.  It gets most of the main points correct.  Its language is archaic and often hard to read, especially for our young people, who aren't exposed to Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, or Shakespeare.  In the early 90s, I was convinced to purchase a New International Version translation in the Oxford Study Bible, which included the Apocrypha.  This was all the rage in the early at the time.  However, this translation is heavily influenced by Calvinist theology, and one finds too many places where one has to mark through and put a better translation above the marked language. The English Standard Version, which claims to be a modern update of the original KJV misses the mark in that it translates the "seed" of Adam as "offspring."  This is an attempt to erase Christianity.

There are other translations and paraphrases of Holy Scripture.  Some are better than others.  But I have settled on the New King James Version, which preserves the all-important "seed" of Adam, while giving us a more readable Bible that maintains the majesty of the original KJV.    

The Bible in School

 Dr. Steven Cutchins has an intriguing article over at the American Thinker today entitled The Bible in Schools? Research Says It Matters. Why is it so intriguing? Well, I have some personal experience to share, but first I want to tell you what the research says.

Research from the Center for Bible Engagement’s Power of 4 study, which examined over 400,000 people, found that casual Bible reading doesn’t change lives. But engaging with Scripture four times a week or more does.

Those who did saw significant improvements in mental health, decision-making, and moral behavior -- including lower levels of loneliness, anger, substance abuse, and pornography use.

While the study analyzed individuals of all ages, its findings suggest that younger people -- who are increasingly grappling with depression, anxiety, and identity confusion -- would likely experience similar benefits.

The research found that individuals who engage with the Bible regularly experience 30% less loneliness, 32% fewer anger issues, and a 60% decrease in feelings of spiritual emptiness. Additionally, pornography use declined by 62%, substance abuse by 57%, and gambling by 74%, while participation in faith-sharing increased by 228%.

If a secular program yielded these results, every school in America would adopt it. However, since it’s the Bible, they are compelled to ignore its benefits.

I have to confess that 10 years ago I would have found these results astounding. Today, I say "But of course." When I escaped from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and joined the Missouri Synod, my new pastor suggested I start reading the Bible every day, following a program put out by the Missouri Synod. He had been following it for 37 years. I took it to heart but found I could only follow it for perhaps 4-6 months at a time. Finally, I decided made a commitment to read the entire Bible in a year following the prescribed readings each day. I will say that it has been eye opening. Each time I read a chapter, or a verse, I find new meanings. Sometimes I read a book and wonder what it has to do with me, only on a later reading it suddenly becomes clear that it was written just for me.

Daily Bible readings generally take between a half hour and 45 minutes. You read a Psalm a day (except for Psalm 119) Then you read a chapter or two or three depending. By the end of the year, you have read the entire Bible, and read the Psalms twice. For those who have only read the New Testament, you may think that God changed his mind about mankind. Nothing could be further from the truth. God appears in the Old Testament as all three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And because you read it in bite sized chunks, you form a habit; you begin to look forward to it.

I read the Bible for His truths; for religious and theological reasons. It is a great story with one central character, namely God. But it is also literature with a number of genres. It is history (and archeologists keep uncovering things that prove the Bible true), poetry, prophesy, Gospels, epistles or letters, and apocolypse. Today, our laws are ultimately grounded in God's laws presented in the 10 Commandments. But it wasn't always so. For much of human history, human life was dirty, brutal and short. And in many places where Christianity has been rejected, it still is. It was God who said that we shouldn't murder each other, that we shouldn't kill our children, that we shouldn't steal our neighbor's stuff and so on. For the first time he demanded that the Israelites exercise the same justice on strangers as they did for themselves. They must not discriminate on a someone because he was poor. This was revolutionary stuff in its day. It is only because of the spread of Christianity that we do not see it as revolutionary today.

One can teach the Bible in schools as history, as poetry, as the shaper of our culture, without teaching Christianity. Students are free to believe what they and their parents want to believe. But it is important as citizens of the United States, and the state and community in which they live to understand our place in history.

Gun Control Doesn't Work As Advertised

 How many ways can we point out that gun control doesn't work as advertised

Tom Knighton has a post at Bearing Arms entitled British Teen Getting Gun Shows Gaping Hole in Strict Gun Control System. We can all admit that (formerly) Great Britain has one of the most restrictive gun control systems in the world. And yet, a teenager managed to get around all those laws to obtain a shotgun and kill his family members. He also planned to kill his classmates at school. You can read the quote from the Tottenham and Wood Green Independent for yourself.

This is always the case though. The law-abiding people who want a gun can buy a gun, and indeed likely already have. The law abiding who want a carry permit likely again, already have one. Meanwhile, criminals do not bother to obtain a permit; but they carry anyway pretty much anywhere.  You may be disarmed but the criminal never is.

Right now, the North Carolina legislature is on track to approve a version of Constitutional carry in the state. The governor is sure to veto the bill, and the Republican majority no longer has a veto proof majority. While Paul Valone, founder and head of Grass Roots North Carolina is confident enough legislators will override the governor's veto, I have my doubts. They should have done it last year when they had a veto proof majority.

In any case, I was listening to the Democrats' objections, and it seemed to center around the notion that everybody would be carrying (and of course there would be blood in the streets.) But that did not happen in the other 29 states that have passed Constitutional carry. Indeed, there have been no problems that would not have happened anyway because...see two paragraphs above. But one wonders that supposedly smart lawyers seem to think that something written in a book with far too many laws as it is, will somehow prevent someone who isn't supposed to have a gun from acquiring one. But out here in realville it doesn't work that way.

One unfortunate impact of this, beyond the loss of innocent life, is the fact that now the rules will get tightened in England yet again, all while a teenager was able to navigate the system that's already one of the toughest in the world and would likely get past any additional rules, too.

I'm sorry, but this is really just evidence that no matter what you do, some enterprising soul will figure out a way around the system. This time, it was with something as simple as a fake ID. I'm pretty sure that happens here in the United States more often than we'd like to think, too.