IS THERE A MYSTERIOUS DARK FORCE THAT HOVERS OVER THAT SPOT CALLED PINELLAS?
There is a mysterious feeling around the Schiavo case, and we wish we knew what it was.
The feeling is this: Pinellas County or parts of it seem to be under the oppression of a dark spirit. From Scripture we know that powers and principalities are the real force with which we contend, and that they hover over vicinities (see Daniel and the "prince of Persia").
Is there one hovering over towns in that county, towns with names like Pinellas Park and Clearwater?
These are places, of course, that figure prominently and at times bafflingly into the Schiavo catastrophe.
There is something in or over Pinellas that is darker than black.
Clearwater, as many of you may recall, is where there is that office building that once had a reflection of the Blessed Mother, perfectly proportionate to the Virgin of Guadalupe (who is the emblem of pro-life in the U.S.).
Last year, it was smashed.
We ran stories about that, and about how this area seems to be the epicenter of a spiritual war. We did not know that the epicenter would be for a quake of this magnitude.
The spirit seems to have a stranglehold on officials at all levels in this area. Let us not name names. There are many involved, and they are perhaps unknowingly blinded by the devil, who of course is prince of darkness. Is there a residue from pagan Indian worship? Is it the strip clubs, the lewdness? Is it an occult spirit?
Oh, many good people here, for sure; real warriors. So many devout people here. And they have their war cut out for them.
Strange vibrations. Could it be something in the air? Could it be a spiritual "hotspot"?
There is the headquarters for the Shriners, a seemingly innocuous group of Masons who ride around on tricycles and raise money for hospitals. That's actually in the next town called Tampa. There are fortune-telling parlors. In Clearwater itself, there is the headquarters for Scientology.
Is Scientology evil? It is certainly deceived. And it is certainly a cult.
Let's hover here a moment. And let's say this: the "church" of Scientology is certainly well-connected in the Pinellas area. A hotel Scientology owns called the Fort Harrison is its headquarters. Clearwater is near where Terri has been kept. It is home to Michael Schiavo. It is home to many players in this drama. Can a spirit rub off?
Ironically, Scientologists in Clearwater faced a major lawsuit a while ago over the death of a member named Lisa McPherson, who, the suit alleged, was isolated, starved, and dehydrated as part of an attempt to make her fall back into line. The lawsuit asserted that "Scientologists are ordered to and have been successful in infiltrating other organizations and government agencies, newspapers, medical associations, psychological associations, and psychiatric associations throughout the world." Scientology's "mecca" is Clearwater, says the literature.
The Church of Scientology was established by Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986). He was a highly successful author, publishing hundreds of novels, novelettes and short stories, most of them science fiction.
In 1950, his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health was published; it has since sold over twenty million copies worldwide. In 1951, Hubbard formed the religious philosophy of Scientology. The Founding Church of Scientology was opened in Washington, D.C. during 1955.
Scientologists follow Hubbard's belief that a person is neither mind nor body, but a spiritual being -- a soul. However, notes one website, the word "soul" is an ambiguous term, which had been given many meanings by many religions. In order to avoid confusion, Mr. Hubbard selected the word "thetan" from the Greek letter "theta" which has traditionally meant "thought" or "life."
"The magical cults of the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th centuries in the Middle East were fascinating," Hubbard once wrote. "The only modern work that has anything to do with them is a trifle wild in spots, but is a fascinating work in itself, and that's the work of Aleister Crowley -- the late Aleister Crowley -- my very good friend."
Crowley was one of the blackest figures in history, a man his own mother called "The Beast," and one who is cited as the inspiration for the Church of Satan.
Said Hubbard's son in an interview: "I believed in Satanism. There was no other religion in the house! Scientology and black magic. What a lot of people don't realize is that Scientology is black magic that is just spread out over a long time period. To perform black magic generally takes a few hours or, at most, a few weeks. But in Scientology it's stretched out over a lifetime, and so you don't see it. Black magic is the inner core of Scientology --and it is probably the only part of Scientology that really works. Also, you've got to realize that my father did not worship Satan. He thought he was Satan. He was one with Satan."
Beware, Clearwater. Beware, Pinellas County!
What else is in Pinellas? What attracts a dark force? Oh, let us not be quick to condemn. Let us not deem the above as all evil. But it is very spooky.
Is there an occult virus in Pinellas? Or is something like Scientology just a symbol of the secular humanism that pervades our society?
Scientology, or at least certain Scientologists, have held the view that disabled people are a burden to society and founder L. Ronald Hubbard once lamented the way society "will not hear of euthanasia or 'mercy killing.'"
Oh, woe; woe when we rub the wrong elbow, Clearwater. 
A cult? Or just human blindness?
The devil is there and in many parts of the United States and around all of us when we exhibit arrogance. He was around police, around lawyers, around medical caregivers, around judges. He was around that poor kid who busted the image in that office building. Something in Clearwater!
Can we pin it to a cult? We can say that the devil has sway in any number of organizations and can cause a movement of darkness that surrounds men and offers them blindness. The Schiavo saga is at least that: one of blindness.
And so, yes, it appears as that the devil is the big winner, victor in the Schiavo case; it seems like that.
But there is resurrection after crucifixion (Christ showed that) and we have a knowledge that no cult possesses:
That the devil may look like the big victor right now -- yes, big victor! -- but that he loses, big-time, in every way, in the end.
[resources: Prayer of the Warrior]
