Replies

However, Antony Sutton didn't believe in standard conspiracy theories and actually criticized them.

Of course, one must separate truth from falsehood, as well as admit to oneself when something is uncertain. If I keep getting flat tires, it may be the neighbor's kids, or it may be due to the fact that my tires are baloney skins. Yes, one must simply filter out evidence that is not solid; if not sure, then "set aside" for a second look later, but never simply "assume" what one reads is true.

...John Birch Society. I started out as gung-ho as you can imagine but I came to see some very ugly things about them.

I read some of their stuff, but I've never belonged to any "organization" other than churches, Little League, Boy Scouts, etc. I have seen really bad things done by people in those groups, but they did not turn me off on the Bible, baseball, the outdoors, etc. I read the Birch stuff, got what I could out of it, read other stuff and compared and contrasted. I was able to make use of only pieces and parts.

My experience has turned me off on conspiracy theories

But hopefully not on the truth. The word conspiracy is now interpreted so negatively, it's come to be synonomous with the word lie. But of course, there is such a thing as conspiracy, it is used to desribe certain crimes, i.e., when two or more people conspire to commit a crime. A conspiracy is usually difficult to prove because the actions of more than one person, over time, have to be considered all together in order to understand the planning and execution of the crime; no one person by themselves took on all the planning and execution, the conspirators shared the criminal tasks involved. Of course, criminal conspiracies are sometimes investigated and brought all the way through to conviction or plea deal.

especially those theories that blame "communism" on "banksters"

I thought the idea was nuts, but I can't argue with history. It's difficult to square up Wall Street / Federal Reserve guys going to Russia on a "Red Cross" mission, I can't square the Ford plant built in Russia, etc. Once you get to a whole laundry list of the same pattern of activity, and the same names keep turning up - as well as the same organizations - at some point to deny the cooperative effort is to put one's head in the sand ("I just want the Wall Street in my mind to go back being the one I grew up hearing about"). I can't tell you how cool it was the first day I went to work on Wall Street as a programmer. As an entrepreneurial type from practically birth, I was extremely pleased to be there; I liked everything about it. It makes absolutely no sense at all to me from a business perspective, then, when I find out that there could be any connection whatsoever with anything left-leaning on Wall Street. I was really "shocked", and not like Claud Rains was. But then again it's difficult for me to see business from the perspective of a monopolist, not having a monopoly myself (other than the game, and I always wanted to be the hat).

I hope you will understand, even if you don't share, my concerns. I appreciate that you are not an anti-Semite.

If your concerns are persecution, the tables have turned on the remnant of Christians that still hold to the doctrinal standards of the "Pilgrims", who are seen as anathema by the pagan secular humanists who now control the America that they significantly influenced for perhaps only three generations. Such Christians hold that the Old Testament moral law - as written - was never abrogated and applies to all people. The Reformation came about from people actually "thinking" about what they were saying, believing and doing, seeking the truth, and conflicts ensued. America has rejected the Old Testament moral law, and its government now views the religion of its founders as its enemy; it rejoices in its filthy sin and increasingly persecutes all who place Biblical law over civil law, in the manner of ancient Rome. America's leaders are bringing judgement upon it.

Though we would perhaps disagree on the application of "ceremonial" law, true believing Christians are exhorted in the Bible to get along with everyone else, to the extent it is up to them (of course, staying obedient to Scripture). While we see no exceptions to the moral law, persecution of anyone, therefore, is sinful without a doubt. Christians went through hundreds of years of conflict over, among other things, doctrine relating to true conversion (for instance the "U" and "I" in Jean Calvin's TULIP), and the fact that man does not, and can not, convert others or even himself. I actually found that an ancestor was born "after" the escape as opposed to "before", i.e., if the escape was not successful, the ancestor might not have been born. Not a day goes by that these things do not spring to mind, and I find myself praying about the hard-learned lessons regarding the necessity to live according to Scripture. Of course, there are always the blessings of perseverance and faith of which we should remind each other and offer encouragement.