Friends, my latest article examines the threat to our democracy -- nay, our civilization! -- posed by Big Tech, and social media, in particular. I also explore a potential fix to the market domination of many of the social media conglomerates: antitrust consent decrees. It's increasingly obvious that something needs to be done about social media. The question is...what?
If you want answers to all this, read "The Damnation of a Nation" by the late Peter Ruckman.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting book, Ray. Where does Ruckman think it's all heading?
ReplyDeleteThe late Peter Dr. Ruckman was a Baptist Preacher (Minister, Pastor if you like), who was a staunch defender of The King James Bible, and who firmly believed that it was The Word of God. He claimed that all other versions in the last 100 plus years were designed to subvert the truth of The King James Bible.
DeleteConsequently and subsequently he made lots and lots of enemies, through his sermons and the many books he wrote, just one of which was "Damnation of A Nation". He was long associated with Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, where that church runs a book store with his published works.
His followers are called "Ruckmanites", as a derogatory term of course. I like Ruckman because as a Christian he tells it like it is, and I also like his style because he does not suffer fools in delivering his message based entirely on The King James Bible.
Generally speaking, and in my opinion, Ruckman can be a difficult read at times. Basically "Damnation of A Nation" is an expression of Ruckman's view that The United States of America began to deteriorate over 100 years ago, and picked up speed when FDR became President.
Clearly he detests the media, and academia, and the film industry where he says the real rot set in many many decades ago. He also believes we are too far gone to ever return to normal in our society.
Personally, I like his attack style. No doubt any Leftist listening to him would dismiss him immediately as a religious fanatic and nut case. However, just about any Pentecostal, Charismatic, or Evangelical Christian can't stand him for the most part.
I don't agree with every single thing he says, but I believe he is essentially on the right (no pun intended) track. Again, his premise is that The King James Bible is God's truth in the English language, and the only truth in that language.
Ruckman also believes that much of science (evolution), philosophy (pagan), and psychiatry is nonsense. The bottom line is that Satan is doing a great job screwing up everything in the world, working through the media and so on.
However, for those who can't deal with Peter Ruckman types, there is always "The New World Order" by Pat Robertson. It's a masterpiece, and as relevant today as when Robertson wrote it. Of course Robertson has been dismissed many time over by The Left as a religious fanatic and nut case.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy and Ray from Jack:In considering the assertions and recommendations you have made about a subject for which I have no technical preparation ,my immediate reaction is that I reflexively and automatically reject any criticism which the left might level and I laugh at any accusation of "bigotry" it might level to any of the many who share my antipathy for the totalitarian disdain for any opposition consistently displayed by the left.Beyond that, I may,I'm sure ,express some concern without fear of antiintellectual onslaught! I'm much motivated,being a believer in the probability of Christian truth, to read Robertson's book.
ReplyDeleteHowever, (always a great qualifying word, Ha!) Ruckman and Robertson aside, the very best site for news from a Christian perspective is "WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE" maintained for many many years now by David Cloud, who happens to be a Baptist Pastor. Lots of well written articles about what's going on in this country now and where it is going. Highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the precis on Ruckmanism, Ray. He sounds like a cantankerous fellow, not unlike yourself. :) I certainly agree with him that many of the dogmas of modernity are the purest nonsense. For a long time the quasi-religion of the Left was psychiatry. Eventually they took note of the fact that it was all smoke and mirrors, and the psychiatrists were, if anything, more deranged than their patients. Now we've wandered off into critical race theory and other delusions, but it seems to me that Marxism is still the keystone of leftism. I suppose, if you look underneath the Marxism, a contempt for God, supernaturalism, and tradition, and a heady optimism about human reason, might be even more fundamental to the Left.
ReplyDeleteThis is to both of you: how does your Christian faith inform your view of politics? I get the general impression that Ray is more of a fire and brimstone Christian -- he anticipates that God will punish America for straying from the right path -- and Jack is more of an optimistic Christian -- he anticipates that God will rally to the righteous and ultimately the "real (Christian) America" will defeat the infidels. Or something like that. What say you? I'm a Christian myself, but I hesitate to prognosticate when it comes to God's will. Seems to me He works in VERY mysterious ways!
DR. NICK
ReplyDeleteYou are totally correct about God's will. All human (Christian) understanding about God comes from various versions of The Bible.
I wish I was a "fire and brimstone" Christian, but I am not. Most mainstream Protestants (all types) believe that the world is coming to an end in this century, and denominations such as The Baptists believe in the rapture and so on. The thought of people flying away in the clouds to meet Jesus (99 percent approved Baptists, Ha!), amuses me more than anything.
In this country, Christianity has been so integrated into society that it's hard to tell the difference from a rock concert in the city park and a Sunday morning so called worship service in a so called sanctuary.
The most common church now is the so called nondenominational Community Church where you get a charismatic jolt with people waving their hands in the air followed by a pep talk about Jesus. Constant noise and people moving around. Certainly none of this "Be Still and Know That I Am God" approach. Definitely not my style, but seems to provide an emotional outlet for lots and lots of Christians.
Frankly (although I attend a Community Church because my wife likes it) I don't care much for church at all. I kind of like The Jehovah's Witnesses (consider a "cult" by most "real" Christians. They have some theology that I tend to agree with. In any event, I doubt I will be able to check them out. I check their official website out once in a while. Their illustrations I do not like, way too superficial for my tastes, and their writing tends to be "dumbed down" for the lowest common denominator.
I hate to say this, because I will never ever accept Islam, but I like the way The Muslims get down on their hands and knees. Very little noise in mosques. That's more my style. Too bad more Christian churches are not the same.
But you know, there are lots and lots of Christian denominations to choose from. It's like an ice cream store with lots of flavors. Pick the flavor you like the best.
DR. NICK
ReplyDeleteJust a note. A big question, Is The United States of America a Christian country? My answer to that is a somewhat reluctant NO! What we do have is freedom of religion, which is very nice, but it ends up with the all religions are equal concept. The United States of America is a secular country that permits religion, and MARXISM is one of those religions. However, many Americans believe that The United States of America is a Christian country. If it really was, then how come Jesus Christ is not mentioned once in The Constitution?
No matter what, Religion in the United States of America (especially Christianity) is a BUSINESS. All churches tend to be religious social clubs with dues and a pecking order, based on the 4PS of: People, Personalities, Power Plays, and Politics. Many are based on the personalities of their founders. Jimmy Swaggart is an excellent example of this. He was kicked out of Assembly of God Churches (where he was already popular) in a sex scandal, and then started his own church, where he is more popular (and richer) than ever, with his son and grandson set up to carry on his Family Worship center as a dynasty. He even has his own version of The Bible where his commentary is built into scripture, with his comments in red. The man is a genius! Ha!
ReplyDeleteDR. NICK
ReplyDeleteApologies for getting way off subject. The main theme of your article was Big Tech/Social Media. I went off on a tangent. Sorry.
Dr. Nick
ReplyDeleteBut you know, big tech/social media is a religion. People worship their smart phones don't they? Another American religion is sports, especially football. The players are the gods in this case. Eat, sleep, poop, watch football, repeat.
Test from jack
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: I am convinced our universe was created by an intelligent being.The Christian religion holds that he expects principled behavior from humans and that he has both made this clear and sent his son to show us how to live right. In addition,that son gave us, on the cross, the best possible incentive to do good - salvation. As a humane and constructive moral foundation for a nation, Christianity has proven itself enduring and redeeming. The high civilization of Christian Britain and it's beneficiary nations demonstrates this. I am convinced we are a fundamentally Christian country. For example, even the smallest town has a church.
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: President Lincoln believed the Declaration to be our essential founding document. In it's preamble it affirms belief in a creator who gives us rights but in making us equal enjoins us all,equally, to live responsibly. It is the certainty that he expects this and is watching, which informs our most important actions both as individuals and in the concert of government. The current widespread rejection of this view has had predictably disastrous consequences.
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: HE has made his will known and has endowed us with the freedom and sentience to realize it. If we as individuals or nations flout it, well, we have been warned. Does the US flout it? In some ways, I believe so. The hardly restrained killing of the essentially innocent, the unborn, is an example. Let the main objective of our politics be the disempowerment of those for whom their perceived right to make this awful decision is their flagship, defining, essential issue.
ReplyDeleteRay, if it's quiet reverence you like in a church, try out Episcopalianism sometime. The churches themselves are gorgeous, and the worship is on the staid side. I grew up Episcopalian and still identify as such. The downside is that the church is largely moribund. Almost everyone who attends is at death's door, and the clergy is in the tank for progressivism, 99% of the time.
ReplyDeleteSo what is it you like about the Jehovah's Witnesses? I admire their strong faith and their evangelical zeal, but otherwise I know virtually nothing about them.
Is America a Christian country? It used to be, surely. The context in which our Founders created the United States was strongly Christian. The schools used to teach Christian principles and reference the Bible. The vast majority of Americans attended church regularly. Granted, there's always been a measure of formal separation between church and state, but Christians were not banned from positions of power, nor were Christian principles thought out of bounds, politically and socially.
Today, though, religion doesn't unite America -- it divides it. A big part of the country (mostly the Republican part) remains deeply invested in the Christian faith. An even larger part is only casually Christian, agnostic, or downright hostile to organized religion. Those are mostly the Dems, of course. I think it's pretty clear that Christianity was evicted from our popular culture, our education system, and our mass media a long time ago. So I would agree that, today, it would be a mistake to call this a Christian country. It's probably more heathen than Christian.
Is Marxism a religion? Is social media a religion? I dunno. The analogy is instructive, no doubt, but religion is, for me, a means of giving life some kind of transcendent meaning. Usually that meaning springs from faith. In that sense, you could call the Left's secular humanism, or its Marxism, a kind of religion... Yeah, I know the Left would say its principles and values are based on SCIENCE and FACT, but we all know that's a load of hooey. They have faith just like you or me -- but their faith is in themselves. Is that "religion"? You tell me.
I see Jack believes that a Christian core abides in America, and we are still a Christian country. There is evidence for that view: we are certainly a FAR MORE CHRISTIAN country than anywhere in Europe, if it's a question of how important religion is in people's daily lives. How many young people are believers, though? If we're Christian now, I wonder how long we will be able to make that claim?
Jack, I agree that salvation is the best part of Christianity -- or, I should say, the promise of salvation even if it's not earned. Salvation, we're told, is a gift from God. A matter of grace. Grace is a beautiful concept. In simple terms, the basis of Christianity is the idea that we have only to believe that Christ died for our sins, and we are therefore saved, and -- bam! -- it is so. Meanwhile, God loves us, despite our unworthiness. Seems to me that the Christian God is an awfully good sport, because man's unworthiness knows no bounds... When I get caught up in life's trials and tribulations, I try to remember that this earthly existence is nothing if not transitory, and God's will and God's mercy last forever -- and, while we may struggle to discern the former, we're always guaranteed the latter. That's good enough for me!
Test from jack
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy and Ray: Marxism sprang from the mind of one who embraced a by then perverted view of pre Rousseauvian Enlightenment views. In the century and a half since, it has received a thorough practical test and has proven to be the destructive belief ever to curse mankind. When Marxists gain power they reprise Marxism's summary origins by casually presuming to "build" on it's tenets. Marxism became Marxism - Leninism and hundreds of millions of lives were ruined.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy and Ray from Jack: Christianity in it's 2000 year life has been the subject of trial, reform, introspection and study unequaled,I think, by any other institution in Western Civilization. It has afforded to billions consolation, guidance and redemption and has been the moral foundation of most of the highest contemporary cultures. I agree, Marxists do display a kind of faith but if Christianity can be termed a religion, then Marxism, a screed proven incalculably murderous and bereft of redeeming features, cannot. It has produced only theretofore unimaginable suffering and it's advocacy is condemned.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Jack! Agreed: Marxism is "a kind of faith", but it is a FALSE RELIGION that corrupts and degrades its adherents and its hapless victims (who are often one in the same) in equal measure. Christianity is about forgiveness, grace, and redemption. Marxism is about oppression, conflict, and, ultimately, revenge. Marxism promises a better world -- a perfect world, in fact -- founded on the deaths of millions of its enemies who, we are told, will be consigned to the "dustbin of history". If that sounds like a recipe for a better world, well, have at it, but you'll only be sowing the seeds of your own destruction...and of the demise of Western Civilization.
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy and Ray: I think Islam is a great religion in that it has proven itself byprolonged historical trial, introspection,extensive study and willing adherence by great multitudes. It promotes a good many positive and constructive lifestyles (I especially admire it's intolerance of crime and criminals ) and serves as a solid and orderly moral foundation for many nations. I think it's relationship to the other Abrahamic religions credits it even more. BUT: I think it has some atavistic rough edges and that it needs an Enlightenment similar to the 17th and 18th (not 19th) centuries Enlightenment which reformed Christianity, among it's other achievements. Islam has fostered murderously intolerant branches and worn out notions of some social relations. That it could benefit from such reform is an idea publicly endorsed by some Muslims thinkers ( eg. a former leader of Egypt).
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: I do much value your endorsement of my view on Marxism. Historically, Marxism was subjected to exhaustive proof very early on contrasted to Christianity. But it forced it's will with unparalleled brutality propelled by a doctrine formed only in the fevered minds of unrestrained intellectuals and tragically unproven by history.This, over one hundred years, vast spaces and many morethan a billion unfortunate lives. Christianity has thrived over two thousand years of tortuous trial and is endorsed by it. Would any thinking person endorse Nazism? How then could anyone, their academic rank notwithstanding, endorse a doctrine far more proven sociopathic - Marxism - or any of it's seed as dominant as the American left which owns the Dem party?
ReplyDeleteJack, I suppose the obvious answer a leftist could make to the historical failures of Marxism, which are beyond questioning, is to say, as many say of Christianity, it is a "diverse" and multifaceted "faith", and it is capable of great good AND great evil. There may be truth in that...although the "great good" remains mostly theoretical, of course! The other answer that a leftist could make is: "Me? A Marxist? I don't even know what Marxism is." And there could be truth in that as well!
ReplyDeleteDoes Islam need an Enlightenment? I'm torn on that one, because look at all the mischief our Enlightenment unleashed, including Marxism! I'm inclined to think that Muslims might be better off cowering in a fundamentalist daze. A little "enlightenment" is a dangerous thing! Look at it this way: millions of people have been killed in the past few decades in the Middle East. How many were killed because of fundamentalism, and how many were killed by contorted versions of Western ideology, i.e. by nationalism, fascism, Marxism, etc.? Some interesting calculus there.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: Maybe ! I would venture that an incredibly still believing Marxist would say "Aw,we just didn't get it right the first time; we need another chance and we're gonna take it!" My response: "Well, the world population has much increased, no thanks to Marxists in the 20th century but tell me,how many deaths at the hands of their governments need we expect this time? 200 million perhaps? Tell ya wot! Go to NY State: there's alot of empty prisons there since the compassionate Governor has trouble sleeping when he thinks about all the restrained murderers and rapists (sniff). Now I'm sure he'd lend ya one of 'em. Now you take it and try out your new and humanized Marxism there. If there is anything you lefties are good at, it's imprisoning people, lots of people too!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Ray: "Now since every prison needs an education dep't, even though a conventionally educated criminal is still a criminal, I'm sure Bill Ayres would be glad to lead yours and his Manson loving paramour, Bernardine, would gladly regale inmates with stirring tales of anarchic presumption. For recreation? Why Neil Young would be thrilled to reprise 'Ohio', his moving anthem of contempt for anticommunist military action. No doubt Jane Fonda and Joan Baez would join with today's Marxist junta running the Dem party, in joyous exaltation around the camp fire, of unassailable Marxist verities." Oh do, do!
ReplyDeleteJack, excellent suggestion! Give the Marxists a prison, or an island, or even a whole state, and let them have it. I mean, let them really indulge their penchant for utopian overreach. See what happens. Why not? Arguably, the closest thing we have to a laboratory for proving or disproving extreme leftism in this country is our big cities. As we all know, they're firing on all cylinders and are practically problem-free!
ReplyDeleteWho knows, maybe after Trump's re-election the "progressive" secessionists will spring into action and "liberate" a few of our least desirable states from "fascist" oppression. It might be prudent to let them go... If they took Hollywood and NYC with them, the outlook for America's soul (which, despite appearances to the contrary, is NOT in Joe Biden's hip pocket) would start to look infinitely brighter.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: Overall the country would be better but alot of good Americans would be left behind. Remember the partition of India. A reelected President Trump will put the quietus to secession or any in between declaration of autonomy of some sort beyond statehood.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right, Jack. A Trump win would likely mean a lot of groaning from the Left, but no effective moves towards secession. Still, Trump is an outside the box kind of guy. Maybe he would be tempted to let California go? It would be good riddance, and he might figure that the Golden State could demonstrate the futility of the enterprise? Another option, if one wanted to guarantee Republican primacy in the Senate indefinitely, would be to carve up the states anew. Create 100 or so red states and a handful of blue ones. Sounds like a winner to me!
ReplyDelete