Category Archives: Religion

Thinking Orthodox

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | December 28, 2023

Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind

For me, ‘Thinking Orthodox’ was a page turner … answering questions I have about Orthodox Christianity and answering many questions I didn’t know I should be asking.  In short, this book represents a feast of new breakthroughs and understandings for me personally. Until recently, I thought the Christian world consisted of the Roman Catholics and their rebellious stepchildren, the Protestants.  I was unaware that Orthodoxy was and is the root of both: the Catholics spun off from their Orthodox foundations in 1054, later the Protestants separated from the Catholics in 1517.   The result of these departures –from the consistent and unbroken tradition of Orthodoxy– created thousands of Protestant denominations and a Church in Rome whose Pope claims universal jurisdiction.  In sum, Rome added to Orthodoxy’s unbroken tradition and Protestants subtracted from Orthodoxy in their earnest efforts to correct the many missteps of Rome after Rome’s break with Orthodoxy in 1054. Both the Protestants and the Roman Catholics, however, are left without the full context or the full gospel of their faith, and like me, most are unaware of what they are missing.

In ‘Thinking Orthodox‘, Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou introduced me to a new and useful word called the ‘phronema‘ (mindset or outlook).  She describes the Protestant and the Roman Catholic phronema and then shows how the Orthodox phronema differs.   I was left with a much clearer understanding of what it means to be Orthodox and the impact Western philosophy has had on both Rome and the Protestants.  In this regard, Protestants and Roman Catholics are more alike in their Western thought processes than Orthodox.

Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind

  • Author: Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou
  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches
  • Publisher: Ancient Faith Publishing
  • by Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou

What does it mean to “think Orthodox”? What are the unspoken and unexplored premises and presumptions underlying what Christians believe? Orthodox Christianity is based on preserving the mind of the early Church, its phronema. Dr. Jeannie Constantinou brings her more than forty years’ experience as a professor, Bible teacher, and speaker to bear in explaining what the Orthodox phronema is, how it can be acquired, and how that phronema is expressed in true Orthodox theology – as practiced by those who are properly qualified by both training and a deep relationship with Christ.

About the Author: Dr. Eugenia Constantinou hosts the popular podcast Search the Scriptures Live! on Ancient Faith Radio. She has been a professor and visiting lecturer on the Bible, patristic interpretation of Scripture, and early Christianity at Orthodox and non-Orthodox universities and schools of theology. She holds master’s degrees in theology from the University of San Diego, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and Harvard Divinity School; a juris doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law; and a Ph.D. from Université Laval in Quebec City in the history of biblical interpretation. She is married to Fr. Costas, a Greek Orthodox priest.

THE GREAT SCHISM

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The Orthodox Study Bible, Ancient Faith Edition, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World

THE GREAT SCHISM

Conflict between the Roman Pope and the East mounted—especially in the Pope’s dealings with the bishop, or patriarch, of Constantinople. The Pope even went so far as to claim the authority to decide who should be the bishop of Constantinople, in marked violation of historical precedent. No longer operating within the government of the New Testament Church, the Pope appeared to be seeking by political means to bring the whole Church under his domination.

Bizarre intrigues followed, one upon the other, as a series of Roman popes pursued this unswerving goal of attempting to control all Christendom. Perhaps the most incredible incident of these political, religious, and even military schemes occurred in the year 1054. A Cardinal, sent by the Pope, slapped a document on the altar of the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople during the Sunday worship, excommunicating the Patriarch of Constantinople from the Church!

The Pope, of course, had no legitimate right to do this. But the repercussions were staggering. Some dismal chapters of Church history were written during the next decades. The ultimate consequence of the Pope’s action was that the whole Roman Catholic Church ended up dividing itself from the New Testament faith of Orthodox Christianity. The schismhas never been healed.

As the centuries passed conflict continued. Attempts at union failed and the Roman Church drifted farther and farther from its historic roots. There are inevitable consequences in deviating from the Church. The breaking away of Rome from the historic Orthodox Church would prove no exception.

FURTHER DIVISIONS IN THE WEST

During the centuries after AD 1054, the growing distinction between East and West was becoming indelibly marked in history. The East maintained the full stream of New Testament faith, worship, and practice—all the while enduring great persecution. The Western or Roman Church, crippled because of its schism from the Orthodox Church, bogged down in many complex problems. Then, less than five centuries after Rome committed itself to its unilateral alteration of doctrine and practice, another upheaval was festering—this time not next door to the East, but inside the Western gates themselves.

Though many in the West had spoken out against Roman domination and practice in earlier years, now a little-known German monk named Martin Luther inadvertently launched an attack against certain Roman Catholic practices which ended up affecting world history. His famous Ninety-Five Theses were nailed to the Church door at Wittenburg in 1517. In a short time those theses were signalling the start of what came to be called in the West the Protestant Reformation. Luther sought an audience with the Pope but was denied, and in 1521 he was excommunicated from the Roman Church. He had intended no break with Rome. Its papal system of government, heavy with authority, refused conciliation. The door to future unity in the West slammed shut with a resounding crash.

The protests of Luther were not unnoticed. The reforms he sought in Germany were soon accompanied by demands of Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, John Calvin in Geneva, and hundreds of others all over Western Europe. Fueled by complex political, social, and economic factors, in addition to religious problems, the Reformation spread like a raging fire into virtually every nook and cranny of the Roman Church. The ecclesiastical monopoly to which it had grown accustomed was greatly diminished, and massive division replaced its artificial unity. The ripple effect of that division impacts even our own day as the Protestant movement itself continues to split and shatter.

If trouble on the continent were not trouble enough, the Church of England was in the process of going its own way as well. Henry VIII, amidst his marital problems, replaced the Pope of Rome with himself as head of the Church of England. For only a few short years would the Pope ever again have ascendency in England. And the English Church itself would soon experience great division.

As decade followed decade in the West, the many branches of Protestantism took various forms. There were even divisions that insisted they were neither Protestant nor Roman Catholic. All seemed to share a mutual dislike for the Bishop of Rome and the practice of his Church, and most wanted far less centralized forms of leadership. While some, such as the Lutherans and Anglicans, held on to certain forms of liturgy and sacrament, others, such as the Reformed Churches and the even more radical Anabaptists and their descendants, questioned and rejected many biblical ideas of hierarchy, sacrament, historic tradition, and other elements of Christian practice, no matter when and where they appeared in history, thinking they were freeing themselves of Roman Catholicism. To this day, many sincere, modern, professing Christians will reject even the biblical data which speaks of historic Christian practice, simply because they think such historic practices are “Roman Catholic.” To use the old adage, they threw the baby out with the bathwater without even being aware of it.

Thus, while retaining, in varying degrees, portions of foundational Christianity, neither Protestantism nor Catholicism can lay historic claim to being the true New Testament Church. In dividing from the Orthodox Christianity, Rome forfeited its place in the Church of the New Testament. In the divisions of the Reformation, the Protestants—as well-meaning as they might have been—failed to return to the New Testament Church.

Source: The Orthodox Study Bible, Ancient Faith Edition, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World

Timeline Of Church History | A Consistent and Unbroken Tradition: Timeline Of Church History | The Roman Catholic Church added to Orthodoxy and the Protestants subtracted from Orthodoxy.

More from Fr. Stephen De Young on Ancient Faith Radio

Orthodox Christian priests Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young host this live call-in show focused on enchantment in creation, the union of the seen and unseen as made by God and experienced by mankind throughout history. Listen live or recorded:  Lord of Spirits

 

On the matter of Orthodoxy

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | July 19, 2023


The Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia

What we have here is a failure to comply!

Many Christians must feel abandoned by their church leaders as these leaders seek to harmonize debased social absurdities with core church principles.  These social transformations include normalizing the killing of a baby in a mother’s womb and promoting  countless sexual aberrations including child sexual mutilation.   These changes are aimed squarely at recasting what was formally the traditional family into a mangled parody of its former self that is isolated, powerless, easily corruptible and controllable.  Unsurprisingly, these destructive ideologies align nicely with social engineering efforts promoted by a philosophy of secular materialism whose endpoint is a single, unifying system of global governance — a scientific dictatorship.  Despite many church leaders’ impulse to comply with these trends, the Christian Orthodox Church has remained remarkedly unchanged for over 2,000 years.  Can Orthodoxy’s consistent and unbroken tradition serve as an effective teacher and a bulwark protecting sacred Christian doctrine against these self-inflicted detours into spiritual bondage and corruption?

Questions and Answers

What is Christian Orthodoxy?

What are the roots of Orthodoxy and what do they believe?

Why have there been so few changes in Christian Orthodoxy for over 2,000 years?

Common questions:

  • How many people are baptized members of Orthodoxy?  ~225 million.
  • Do Orthodox Christians worship Mary? No, they honor Mary.
  • Do Orthodox Christians worship icons? No.
  • Do Orthodox Christians worship saints? No, they honor saints.
  • Do Orthodox Christians use the Old and New Testament? Yes. The Orthodox Study Bible is the English translation of the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint edition for the Old Testament, and utilizes the New King James Version for the New Testament.
  • Are Orthodox Christians the same as Roman Catholics? No. Roman Catholics are considered by many as the 1st Protestants since they reformed / broke away from the ancient tradition still practiced by Orthodoxy today.
  • Are Orthodox Christians non-denominational? No, they are pre-denominational.
  • Are the Orthodox considered to be a Christian denomination?  No, Orthodox Christians are pre-denominational.
  • Does the Orthodox Church have a pope? No. (Orthodoxy rejects the Pope’s claim to universal jurisdiction.) Orthodox view on Papal Supremacy.
  • Does the Orthodox Church believe in The Nicene Creed? Yes.

A Consistent and Unbroken Tradition: Timeline Of Church History | The Roman Catholic Church added to Orthodoxy and the Protestants subtracted from Orthodoxy.

The Symbol of the Faith

Composed at the1st Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325,
And completed at the 2nd Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381.

THE NICENE CREED:

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, the only begotten, begotten  of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made; of one essence[1] with the Father; through Whom all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And the third day He rose again, according to[2] the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father; And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit [3], the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father[4], Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke through the prophets.

In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

[1] or “consubstantial”
[2] or “in fulfillment of”
[3] At this point the original Creed of Nicaea 325 ended; the remainder was added at the 2nd Ecumenical Council in 381.
[4] Here the Roman Catholics add the Latin word Filioque, which means “and from the son.”

Definition of (lower case) catholic:

adjective
1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.

2. universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all. *

*’Know the Faith’ by Rev Michael Shanbour (pg. 37): Unfortunately, the word catholic is usually translated as “universal.” But the Greek word indicates fullness and completeness.  St. Ignatius of Antioch, the first known to use the word, applies it to the local church: “Wherever the bishop appears, the whole congregation is to be present, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the whole [catholic] Church.”  (Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 7.2, in Apostolic Fathers, p. 113)

Thinking Orthodox | Understanding and Acquiring the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN MIND
by Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou. Ph.D.

More from ClearNFO:

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò Speaks at the Second Congress of the Intl Russophile Movement & the Multipolarity Forum in Moscow on February 26, 2024

The Whole Counsel of God: An Introduction to Your Bible by Stephen De Young

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | June 28, 2023

The Whole Counsel of God: An Introduction to Your Bible by Stephen De Young

Stephen De Young’s excellent book entitled ‘The Whole Counsel of God’ provides the substance and essence missing from many excellent secular studies on the Bible.

Bart Ehrman’s two secular books from an archeological perspective:

  • Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman
  • Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman

Excerpts: Bible recommendations by Stephen De Young from ‘The Whole Counsel of God: An Introduction to Your Bible’:

English Standard Version (ESV – 2001)

P.96: Since its publication in 2001, the English Standard Version has become very popular and with good reason. It represents the most accurate and readable English rendition of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament to date.  It is highly recommended for regular day-to-day reading.

New American Standard Bible (NASB – 1995)

P.97: The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is the English Bible that moves furthest in the direction of formal equivalence, often accomplished at the expense of readability. The Primary effort of the translators was to convey the original text word for word, as well as mirror the grammar and syntax of the original languages. This often does not conform to a good English style. The NASB is therefore helpful as a second translation to be used for study alongside a more readable text.

New English Translation (NET- 2006)

P.97 – 98: Finally, the best English Bible for those interested in a more serious and detailed study is the New English Translation (NET).  The NET was produced by the Biblical Studies Foundation and published by Biblical Studies Press.  In its full-notes edition, it contains the most copious textual notes of any English Bible, giving the reader unparalleled access to the original Manuscripts.

On the Septuagint, Young writes on page 84:

“The best text for the study of the Greek Old Testament in English is the New English Translation of the Septuagint, produced by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) and published by the Society for Biblical Literature, the guild for biblical studies.   This edition has copious notes and introductions to each book discussing the test, the manuscripts, and their history.  Where there are multiple versions of the book in Greek that differ greatly, these are translated in parallel columns for comparison.  The translation is made for literal precision, however, over readability.  While it is excellent for learning more about the Greek Old Testament tradition, it is not ideal for personal devotional use and general reading.”

Good Reads: The Whole Counsel of God: An Introduction to Your Bible by Stephen De Young

Additional reading:

The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis by Matthieu Pageau

The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis by Matthieu Pageau

 

Collective Intelligence: Angels in Scientific Terms | with John Vervaeke

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John Vervaeke & Jonathan Pageau

Collective Intelligence: Angels in Scientific Terms | with John Vervaeke

Angels in Scientific Terms | pt.2 | with John Vervaeke

John Vervaeke, PhD: John Vervaeke is a lecturer at the University of Toronto.  Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream. Perception, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto.  YouTube Channel

Jonathan Pageau’s Web site: Pageau carves Eastern Orthodox | Jonathan Pageau Bio | YouTube Channel

Grammar

Quick note from ClearNFO: I liked their discussion about attention, relevance realization and connectedness; and resultant power – and how this has changed over time from the village context to the internet—thinking cell phones, Twitter, TickTok, etc. here.

Loved the Spinoza reference by John toward the end of part 1.  John provides a very clear logical cut and basis for additional discussion using this as a starting point (Time marker 1:04:40):  “I don’t think there is a consciousness for that collective intelligence and I don’t think there is an agency to it in the same way we understand the agency in living things…”

Not sure if this (the higher power –God—has agency and consciousness) will ever be sorted out using language  due to the limitation imposed by our ego-centric predicament and the limits of language, but I do appreciate the effort and have always supported philosophical inquiry and the disciplined mind led by logic that can result from this pursuit.

It is important undergirding all philosophical inquiries like this, is the nature of the continuous and interconnected world which may not yield all its secrets by way or our discrete pieces (words) that we then string together with perhaps unrealistic expectations.

Related information from ClearNFO

On Religion

Opus 014: The Hoax of Materialism

Contact: ClearNFO on MeWe, Gab, VK, BitChute; or via email at ClearNFO@gmail.com

APPEAL FOR AN ANTI-GLOBALIST ALLIANCE (ARCHBISHOP VIGANO)

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | November 19, 2021

I’m no Catholic, but Archbishop Vigano hits the nail squarely on the head with this speech.  Nice to see not everyone in the Catholic hierarchy is going along with the current head of the church.  The danger is real; it is now, and growing despite worldwide protests.  It’s hard to organize effective resistance when anyone who speaks too much truth is deplatformed, censored or worse.  Organs of the state have been weaponized against their own citizens.  We are witnessing the merger of state and corporations with the resultant evaporation of individual rights designed to advance a global agenda few understand.  God help humanity if this can’t be stopped.

ARCHBISHOP VIGANO APPEALS TO PEOPLE OF FAITH TO UNITE AGAINST THE DARK FORCES OF GLOBALISM (video)

ARCHBISHOP VIGANO

“The whole pandemic issue is instrumental to the Great Reset, and it is the latter that we must fight. I think that, at this moment, it is most appropriate to create a movement of the people that calls together, in an Anti-globalist Alliance, Catholics, Christians, and people of goodwill. This is the first appeal I make to that effect.”

Full text of Archbishop Vigano’s speech (pdf) : 540484236-Appeal-Anti-Globalist-Alliance

PSB update – News, MTV and Religiosity

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | September 25th, 2021

PSB (Patriot Soap Box) is one of my favorite channels on the net, but this is a love- hate relationship.  I love the fact they are on 24X7, but hate some of their content.  Now, understanding how difficult it must be to keep this channel up and running with good content, I forgive PSB for any perceived shortcomings they may exhibit.   They do have some first-class content and are doing an incredible job keeping this community and channel together despite being banned from almost every platform imaginable … yet somehow they survive.

Over the last few years, they have lost some of their best talent and hosts; and after the Trump coup, Trump’s continued support for the clot-shot and the abrupt cessation of Q posts on December 8th, 2020,  PSB has become less trusting of Trump and Q generally but they do not completely disown these two.  They have learned to be more skeptical and less trusting which is good.

TOO MUCH RELIGIOSITY FOR MY TASTE

Content is king, and if I wanted to listen to a sermon, I’d go to church:  In full disclosure, I am a Christian today, was raised in a Christian home and have been a Christian from my youth.  Despite this, PSB has too much religiosity for my taste.  I’m sure Pam and Radix (owners & operators of PSB) approve of all this religious content.  I do think Radix has about the right touch for my taste when she starts off her afternoon program with a Psalm.  Educated in a Catholic school, Radix appreciates the good her Catholic training provided, yet does not hesitate to criticize the bad.  She is also open-minded enough to venture off into Orthodoxy and brave enough to criticize Zionism.  This goes against many in her audience who are apparently Christian Zionist, but she soldiers-on in search for  lady truth.  Radix is smart, and objective enough to know something is wrong with Christian Zionism and point it out.  BTW, Tim Kelly and James Perloff did a great podcast on this very topic.

TOO MANY MUSIC VIDEOS FOR MY TASTE

Each PSB segment starts with a music video and ends with a music video, so if there are two segments one hour each, you would see / listen to four (4) music videos.  Additionally, many hosts pepper their program with music videos in lieu of real content.   What this means is that a news junky like me is tortured with an almost endless stream of music videos with little to no real content.  Content is king, and if I wanted to listen to music videos, I’d turn to MTV or YouTube.

Despite my criticism above, I realize this is my own personal taste which is not for everyone. PSB has some great content and I love listening to their hosts horribly mispronounce words which are common in my lexicon.  This is great entertainment and I have great belly laughs.   This is really not a criticism, since these folks are obviously common, average people who are doing their best, and more:  they are actually standing up and making a difference unlike me or others who are sitting on the sidelines as a critic. We have way too many critics.

So I say to my friends at PSB, keep up the great work and thank you for keeping this great channel together and functioning.

References:

Notes:

  • I haven’t written about PSB since July 1, 2018
  • I continue to support PSB financially
  • James Perloff, Jay Dyer and many others have converted to Orthodoxly

Meet Rudolf Steiner

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | March 7th, 2021

Important dates / information to keep in mind:

  • World War I: 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 (4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks)
  • Rudolf Steiner: 27 February 1861 to 30 March 1925 (64 years)
  • Born in Murakirály, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire (now Donji Kraljevec, Croatia) Died in Dornach, Switzerland.

The Karma of Untruthfulness | Secret Societies, the Media, and Preparations for the Great War
Vol 1, 13 Lectures 1916

The Karma of Untruthfulness | Secret Societies, the Media, and Preparations for the Great War
Vol 2, 12 Lectures 1917

As I’m listening to and reading Rudolf Steiner’s Karma of Untruthfulness, I am struck by how much detail he is able to provide from history and his current events surrounding WWI.   What a wonderful treasure-trove of fascinating information.

I was completely unaware of Steiner’s Anthroposophy or spiritual science and would tend to dismiss this kind of foolishness out of hand, but on closer inspection I can find some agreement with his motives and some of his conclusions.  Worth a look, and Wikipedia seems to do a great job on Anthroposophy– worth reading the entire article.

Wikipedia: Anthroposophy’s supporters include Hilma af Klint, Pulitzer Prize-winning and Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow,[15] Nobel prize winner Selma Lagerlöf,[16] Andrei Bely,[17][18] Joseph Beuys,[19] Owen Barfield, architect Walter Burley Griffin,[20] Wassily Kandinsky,[21][22] Andrei Tarkovsky,[23] Bruno Walter,[24] Right Livelihood Award winners Sir George Trevelyan,[25] and Ibrahim Abouleish,[26] child psychiatrist Eva Frommer,[27][28] Fortune magazine editor Russell Davenport, Romuva (Lithuanian pagan) religious founder Vydūnas, and former president of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Albert Schweitzer was a friend of Steiner’s and was supportive of his ideals for cultural renewal.[29] The historian of religion Olav Hammer has termed anthroposophy “the most important esoteric society in European history.”[30] However, many scientists and physicians, including Michael Shermer, Michael Ruse, Edzard Ernst, David Gorski, and Simon Singh have criticized anthroposophy’s application in the areas of medicine, biology, agriculture, and education to be dangerous and pseudoscientific.

I’ve been listening to an audio version during my morning exercises but have discovered I must actually read these writings if I hope to have any retention.  Still, listening to the audio version does raise my interest in reading, thinking and discovering more of the meaty little morsels contained in Steiner’s dense writing.    There is just too much information to provide a summary or high-level review, but I have picked out a few tidbits below to perhaps whet your apatite.

Steiner speaks of the old slogan of 1789: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and compares it to the new slogan of 1914: Order, Duty, Justice.

Steiner: “Looking more closely we find that these so-called new words are in fact quite old and pretty threadbare. Comparison between the two reveals the ancient conflict that characterizes human spiritual life, the conflict between an inner world of free personal activity and an outer world of rigid laws, coercive measures. Even as long ago as the time of Christ, justice as the fulfilment of the law was balanced by mercy, duty by love, and the legal order by voluntary imitation of Christ.”

WWI was pre-planned and orchestrated: “I have told you before that in certain secret brotherhoods in the West—I have proof of this—there was talk in the 1890s about the present war. The pupils of these brotherhoods were given instruction by means of maps which showed how Europe was to be changed by this world war. The English brotherhoods in particular discussed a war that was to take place—indeed, that was to be guided into being and properly prepared. I am speaking of facts, but there are certain reasons why I have to refrain from drawing maps for you, though I could quite easily draw for you the maps which figured in the teachings of those western secret brotherhoods.”

Propaganda against Germany: “Without stating my own opinion one way or the other, I must admit that outside Germany I have hardly met a single judgement about Germany that is really understanding and friendly. Judgements have been pronounced with immense confidence, yes, but not with genuine understanding. On the other hand, there are innumerable extraordinarily benevolent judgements about everything in the periphery. Nobody need believe that this surprises me. It certainly does not. I am not in the least surprised, but I do try to understand why it is so. The reason is that there is absolutely no will to gain a proper perspective. People do not even suspect that a judgement about what lives today in Central Europe has to be made from a perspective that differs utterly from that needed to judge what lives in the periphery. They have no idea what it means that with everything contained in Central Europe each single individual is vulnerable and threatened, and therefore that the scale of affairs is at a human level, whereas in the periphery the scale is that of state and political affairs which require to be judged from an entirely different perspective. Each is judged on the same basis, but this is meaningless in this case.”

Steiner on the MSM aka the Press: “Nevertheless, we do stand in the world and it does influence us via at least one fatal indirect route, for we always allow ourselves to be influenced by what some people have called a major power: the Press! The effect of the Press really is most disastrous, for it falsifies and blurs virtually everything. How little would be written if those who write were really called upon to write properly! Who does not write today about the relationship of Romania to Russia, or Romania to any of the other states? It does not even occur to them that a fundamental prerequisite for saying anything about these relationships is to read the memoirs of the late King Carol of Romania.  Those who write without having done this only write things which are not worth reading, even by the simplest people.

Times are grave; therefore only grave and earnest views of the world and of life can serve in these times. So it is important to sense something of a feeling that I have often described as essential: above all not to judge rashly but, instead, to look at things side by side and wait for them to speak. In the course of time they will say a good many things to us. To acquaint oneself with as many aspects as possible is the best preparation for penetrating thoroughly into the difficult and complicated conditions of life today.”

The Karma of Untruthfulness V.1, Lecture five (Dornach, 16 December 1916), Page 95
Secret Societies, the Media, and Preparations for the Great War
13 Lectures by Rudolf Steiner

Things now developed in such a way that in 1888, a year in which war could have broken out just as it did in 1914, the crisis was averted because Crispi remained loyal to the Triple Alliance. He remained loyal to the Triple Alliance because France was proceeding to spread herself in North Africa. France embarked at that time on a political tactic aimed at Italy, who was starting to turn away from her. The French themselves said this tactic was intended to bring about the ‘re-conquering of Italy by means of hunger’, that is, a kind of trade war was attempted against Italy, and this trade war certainly played an important role at that time. The consequence was that Italy’s practical links with Central Europe were increasingly strengthened. It is perhaps just as well if I give you the opinion of a Frenchman on this, rather than that of a German. He said that modern Italy was economically a German colony.

It has often been stressed, not only by Germans but by others as well, that Italy was saved by her close economic ties with Germany from the danger of being conquered by France through hunger—not a nice prospect. All this contributed to the peaceful settlement of the crisis at the end of the eighties. It is most interesting to study this crisis in all its details. It reveals something quite special to someone who is inclined to take account of interconnections and not be deceived. I did the following: I called to mind the events of 1888 and superimposed on them the date 1914. The events are absolutely identical! Just as in 1914 the incitements in the press were started in Petersburg and then taken up in Germany, so it was in 1888. As then, so also in 1914, a conflict was to be brought about between Germany and Austria. In short, every detail is the same. It is interesting that I have read aloud to various people a speech made in 1888 in which I replaced the date 1888 by 1914. Everybody believed that the speech was made in 1914!

When such things are possible we are not inclined to speak of coincidences. We have to understand that there are driving forces and that these driving forces work in a systematic way.

Related resources:

Text: https://bibleandbookcenter.com/read/the-karma-of-untruthfulness/
Audio: https://youtu.be/VBuynSLfTcg
Rudolf Steiner Audio web site: http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/
Rudolf Steiner Web Site: https://www.rudolfsteiner.org/
calibre reader: https://calibre-ebook.com/download
epub version for Vol 1 & 2: https://www.e-bookdownload.net/search/the-karma-of-untruthfulness-v-1

Psychology & the separation of the conscious and subconscious
Freud and Steiner: Contemporaries:
-♦ Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939 (83 years)
-♦ Rudolf Steiner: 27 February 1861 to 30 March 1925 (64 years)

►Steiner’s separation of the conscious and subconscious: Our Connection with the Elemental World
►Freud’s separation of the conscious and subconscious: Observations on Psychology

END

You can contact David Brown at ClearNFO@gmail.com |  You can catch up with him on MeWe here… mewe.com/i/davidbrown24 | And on Telegram here @ClearNFO

On the matter of Iran:

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by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | June 22, 2019

I know everyone wants to hate Iran, but they didn’t get here by themselves…

On the matter of Iran:

  • Iranians are Persian not Arab
  • Iranians are Shia Muslims
  • Arabs are Sunni Muslims 
  • Shia has about 200 million followers 
  • Sunni has about 1.2 billion followers
  • Shia and Sunni don’t like each other
  • Iranians are well-educated, sophisticated, intelligent people. 
  • Iran is currently a Theocracy or an Islamic Republic which the Iranian people do not like. How did they get this reprehensible government?

Mosaddeq coup – CIA Operation Ajax:
Mohammad Mosaddegh was the 35th prime minister of Iran, holding office from 1951 until 1953, when his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d’état orchestrated by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency and the United Kingdom’s MI6.

The USA replaced Mohammad Mosaddegh by a brutal, murderous U.S. lap dog and psychopath known as the Shah of Iran. The CIA ran the Shah and his secret police SAVAK. My Iranian friends here in the USA were terrified of SAVAK even while studying here in the land of the free and the brave. They would only whisper and speak of certain things privately because of their abject fear of SAVAK. They knew my government put the Shah in power, yet they did not hold this against me, a U.S. Citizen.

Ruhollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader 1979 – 1989 founded the cruel Islamic Republic of Iran of today. This new and improved psycho murdered many people including little 13 year old girls because they were of the Bahá’í Faith. He would hang 6 at a time from cranes.

Khomeini’s fatwa ‘led to killing of 30,000 in Iran’

Q: Why is the rest of the Middle East in such a mess?

A: Sykes–Picot Agreement* for starters which partitioned the Ottoman Empire in 1916 across culture and religious lines assuring continued destabilization of the Middle East. From here the US meddling and bloody regime change just gets worse.

So put away the hater-AID until you’ve taken some time to think.

* Lines were drawn to impose maximum destabilization to make it easier to rule. “The line across a map of the Middle East it drew created colonial spheres of influence that cut directly and artificially across a region that had previously been divided along ethnic, linguistic and religious lines.”

The Sykes-Picot Agreement and the making of the modern Middle East