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femmefatalevibe · 11 months

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do you ever have trouble reconciling the focus on aesthetics/making money that dark femininity tends to have as a feminist/anti-capitalist?

Hi love! This is a great thought-provoking question. In short, in some ways yes, and in some ways I say yes/no/idk. I believe that it all comes down to the reason why someone is attracted to the dark feminity aesthetic and the financially-focused culture surrounding it. Personally, I'm naturally drawn to the creativity and craftsmanship aspect of elements – like the outfits, environments, beauty routines, editorial images, etc. – of the dark feminity aesthetic. I see the value of creating several mood boards and similar activities to find your personal style and discover the best wardrobe staples for you that you can style/repurpose in several different ways.

I also believe in investing in a few items (clothes, home decor, etc.) that are beautifully constructed and, therefore, made to last. At the same time, though, unless you're purchasing resale/vintage items, I do believe that constant inspiration could further issues of overconsumption, which I do not really support in principle. Like everyone else who is conscious of this issue, I try to be as mindful as I realistically can be of my consumption habits.

When it comes to making money, I believe that financial freedom, considering that we are forced to live in a capitalist system (you still need a roof over your head, food to eat, healthcare, etc. no matter your beliefs and this is our only way most of us can maintain these necessities at this point in time, at least in the U.S.) is a feminist pursuit as it gives you the means to do as you please and the power to make more decisions that align with your values/ability to invest in your community (hopefully for mentorship/positive change). I see a huge difference between encouraging financial greed (something I could never support) and promoting self-sufficiency that doesn't compromise the prioritization of a social safety net (like many capitalist/mixed economic systems outside of the U.S.). I believe the issue is more than we are not set up to win as a culture, especially for the millennial/gen Z generations. The failure of the system and greed/power imbalances within the systems are the roots of all evil – not the pursuit of making money itself.

I believe the areas where feminism and capitalism truly butt heads are in the dynamic of committed partnership/ parenthood and a desire to perform for the male gaze. Typically, women are forced to either perform two full-time jobs – one for paid and the other for unpaid labor or purely an unpaid role, which makes her financially dependent on someone else and creates an inherent power imbalance that tethers women to the patriarchy and its ties to capitalist systems of oppression. I believe that my decentralization of men and childfree lifestyle (two lifestyle choices that I believe the dark feminity movement encourages women to pursue if they choose to) has allowed me the mental freedom to not have to face this conundrum. Honestly, I believe being single and childfree by choice is one of the main ways I'm able to equally feel in alignment with my "dark feminine" side and my feminist/pro-social-safety net values.

However, on a societal level, I do believe that this issue is something I have difficulty reconciling as the nuclear family/idealization of the nuclear family (even if legal/logistically disjointed) is the greatest enabler of capitalism, – the isolationism, hierarchy, performance of gender roles, comphet, it promotes, etc.

Anyways, these are my half-baked thoughts on the subject.

TL;DR: I believe the best way to break the system is to find unconventional ways to navigate within the current system that feels authentic to you and enable you to use your values as a roadmap to help you navigate the realities in front of you – contorting the pragmatic elements of your daily life to cater to your ideology, not the other way around.

Hope this was helpful in some way xx

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mckitterick · 4 years

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Y'know what, I'm going to stop using the word "capitalism" and start calling it what it is, as practiced by billionaires and most of those in charge of megacorporations and nations: GREEDISM

In theory, capitalism could be non-destructive. For example:

if planned obsolescence wasn't a thing

if top officials didn't get paid so ridiculously much

if stock-traders weren't in control of the entire economy and leeching out most value added

if workers earned compensation for their labor commensurate with their contributions

if corporations were responsible... well, that's it really, but specifically if they were responsible for their consumption and waste

if we had a truly free market rather than privileged monopolies that prevent small business from competing and stifle innovation every time it threatens their ever-increasing stock valuation

But that's just not how capitalism works today. And probably never actually has.

So: Greedism.

Let's all start using this more-accurate term, because the only way to (start) countering greedist propaganda is to use accurate language. Words have power and help frame our worldviews.

Greedism serves none but Greed and its privileged disciples. Greed is the root of most evil. Greed Is Not Good.

Want to save the world? End the worship of Greed.

That's already kinda the foundation of so many enduring religions. But, under the constant barrage of Greedism, people seem to have forgotten - even in their churches (and in the case of Greedist mega-churches, especially there).

Greedism is the religion of modern capitalism, and the festering illness it spawns is a big reason we're seeing such a surge of right-wing hate-politics ever since the USA and other nations put Greedists in charge.

Of course fascism is on the rise. It's just a sect of Greedism. Not even that radical to many Greedists.

We must eliminate Greedist privilege before we can fix anything else. Including capitalism, if we decide to keep that product of Greedism.

And that all begins with using accurate language.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

#greed #Greedism #Greedists #capitalism #how to save the world #language #my writing #my edits #Risto Turunen #op

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thefreeblackwomanslibrary · 6 years

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“I am often much vexed, and I feel great sorrow when I hear some people in this country say, that the slaves do not need better usage and do not want to be free. They believe the foreign people who deceive them, and say slaves are happy. I say, Not so//All slaves want to be free- to be free is very sweet. I will say the truth to English people who may read this history//I have been a slave myself - I know what slaves feel - I can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me. The man that says slaves be quite happy in slavery - that they don’t want to be free - that man is either ignorant or a lying person.” - THE HISTORY OF MARY PRINCE/A West Indian Slave Narrative by Mary Prince

Read this brutally sad story of an enslaved Caribbean woman named Mary Prince for The Free Black Women’s Library Challenge. Born in Bermuda in 1788, sold into slavery at the age of 12, subjected to extreme cruelty for decades of her life. I am always shook and floored by the stories of ancestors who lived through daily whippings, beatings, rapes. Slavery was/is a truly evil institution rooted in greed and violence, the connections between capitalism and racism are blatant, and the depth of depravity and lack of moral character shown by the Europeans is disgusting. I’m really stuck on the fact that Black folks had to buy their own freedom!!

Like my brain is having a hard time processing the idea of paying this person that’s been beating your ass for decades to just allow you to be free and live your life.

And in Mary’s case, the bastard who enslaved her refused to allow her to purchase her freedom. She took him to court and ended up being the first Black woman to obtain freedom in the British colonies.

“Slave narratives” are always rough for me and honestly if not for the challenge I might not have read this one but I’m glad I did because this history is relevant and important, there are remnants of these moments that persist and remain today. To know our history, is to understand our present and plan for our future.

#blackwomanbibliophile #books #mobilelibrary #blackbooks #freeblackwoman #book #freeblackwomenslibrary

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fear-god-shun-evil · 6 years

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Can Man Be Saved After the Baptism?

We believers in the Lord have been baptized. Does it mean that we have gained the approval of the Lord and been saved after the baptism?

I Stepped Onto the Path of Believing in God

I believed in Bodhisattva with my mother when I was very young. After marriage, my husband suffered from depression, which always threw the whole family into confusion. At that time, I thought it was no use believing in Bodhisattva or Buddha. I was in a bad mood all the time. Later, I met an old auntie persuading me to believe in the Lord Jesus. The auntie told me that the Lord Jesus is the true God who can not only create the heavens and earth and all things, but also can bring the dead back to life and transfigure the living. I was moved by her words. I expected that the Lord would be my ever-present help and my support after I believed in Him. So I had great drive to believe in God. Every weekend I went to the church to have meetings with the auntie, and I didn’t want to miss even once.

I Was Baptized Into Christ

Several months later, the church informed the brothers and sisters who would be baptized to attend the training. Hearing “baptism,” I found it new. I felt so curious that I asked the auntie what baptism was and why we should be baptized. She answered, “Receiving baptism looks like a ritual, but it is a necessary process of following the Lord. After being baptized, we will become members of God’s family. God will help us in big or small maters, and He will care for us wherever we are. Although you have believed in the Lord now, you are still outside the house of God because you haven’t been baptized.” From her words, I knew that being baptized was very important. I thought to myself, I want to be baptized and become a member of God’s family. I don’t want to be an outsider. So I had got prepared ever since, eagerly looking forward to that day.

The day came at last. When I arrived at the meeting place early, there had been a dozen people waiting in line to be baptized. I looked around to see how to do it. Then the pastor preached and read a verse: “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). He also stated the significance of receiving baptism for Christians. And then the baptismal service began. Because there was no river in the city, the service seemed very simple: There was a basin of water, a towel, a pastor, and an assistant. As a sister was kneeling on the floor, the pastor stood beside her and another person carried the basin of water before him. The pastor called the sister’s name, and she replied. Then the pastor said, “I baptize you into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” While saying that, the pastor scooped up some water with his hands and sprinkled it onto the sister’s head. The assistant wiped the water off quickly. This was the process of the baptism. When the pastor baptized me, I felt unspeakably happy and excited at the thought that I was going to become a real Christian—a member of God’s family.

The little service made me understand receiving baptism is the Lord’s demand on all believers. And it shows believers identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In the service, our immersion in water means that we die in sins, and our emersion out of water means that the clean and holy life comes through the Lord’s salvation. Romans says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Since we have accepted Christ and died together with Jesus, sins will no longer have dominion over the dead, because the Lord said: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12). And a verse in 2 Corinthians says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I Firmly Believed That I Who Believed and Was Baptized Would Be Saved

I felt very happy after the baptism. From the moment that I was baptized, my life would no longer belong to sin, to evil force, or to myself; instead I would be cared for and protected by God and have His presence. For God had forgiven us and our sins. Moreover, the Lord said: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Therefore, in the following daily life, I paid more attention to practicing according to God’s words. Sometimes my husband scolded me in a bad mood. I felt painful and didn’t want to care whether he had food to eat or whether he was hungry. I made up my mind not to speak any word to him again. But the Lord taught us to forgive others seventy times seven. And the Bible says, “Be you angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath: Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). When I thought of that, I would first spoke to my husband and still looked after him. I often helped a sister nearby who had difficulty in living. In festivals I would give some money to her to improve her family’s living condition. Usually, if any sister was in hospital, I would take some nourishment to visit and prayed for her with other sisters. No matter how busy I was, I would go to take the holy communion every month, because I firmly believed that since I had been baptized, the Lord would not remember my sin. Even though I committed sins, the precious blood of Christ would cleanse my sins repeatedly through partaking of the holy communion. I would certainly be sanctified in Christ. When the Lord Jesus comes into His kingdom, I would surely be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.

A Sister’s Words Suddenly Made Me Awaken

I considered my baptism as the proof of my salvation. Furthermore, the Lord promised: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” So I firmly believed that I would be raptured first into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord Jesus came again to take His believers. Later, Sister Xia came to our company. Once when I chatted with her, we talked about believing in the Lord. I knew she had believed in the Lord with her mother since she was very young. Now she was a preacher. I confidently told her my thoughts. But she said, “It’s true that the Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. But it doesn’t mean we have no sins, free from the shackles of sins to be holy.” She asked me, “The Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. What do the sins mean?” I answered, “Resentment, murder, jealousy, and …”

Seeing that I couldn’t answer her question, Sister Xia went on, “Committing adultery, stealing, and all that go against the law, the commandments, and God’s words are sins. All behaviors that resist God, condemn Him, and judge Him are sins. Blaspheming Him is sin all the more, and is an unforgivable sin. The Lord Jesus came among man. He was crucified in the flesh to be the sin offering for us mankind. As long as we pray to the Lord, repenting and confessing our sins, we will not be condemned or put to death. That is to say, God will not consider us as sinners. And due to His forgiveness of our sins, we can pray to the Lord to enjoy His grace. This is the real meaning of the forgiveness of sins. Although our sins have been forgiven because of the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, it doesn’t mean that we will no longer commit sins to resist God. This is because our sinful nature still remains within us, and we still resist God, betray Him, and make an enemy of Him. Through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, our sins have been forgiven, but not our corrupt dispositions. The satanic dispositions such as arrogance, selfishness, greed, and craftiness still remain within us. These corrupt dispositions are something deeper and more stubborn than sins. They are also the root of our sinning and resisting God. If these satanic corrupt dispositions are not resolved, we will often sin, even judge and condemn God relying on our conceptions and imaginations. In persecution and tribulation, we will deny God, and even betray God like Judas. We will even set up our own kingdom to oppose God when attaining status. Some will steal offerings and then they will be condemned and destroyed by God because of offending His disposition. … So it’s impossible for these people to be taken into the kingdom of heaven. For Jehovah God said: ‘You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19:2). And the Lord Jesus said: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever’ (John 8:34-35).”

Hearing this, I was surprised at her thorough and deep words, and I admitted what she said was the fact. The pastors in our church often judged and attacked each other for the things about the church with endless jealousy and strife. I was often overcome by transgressions living in sins too. For example, whenever my husband willfully made troubles, I hated him and brushed him off. I knew a relatively cowardly sister. She had houses in the city and she didn’t need to worry about food or clothing. So I became jealous of her and even looked down upon her…. When I reflected on myself carefully, I found that I indeed was not holy. How could I be eligible to enter the kingdom of heaven? It seems that being baptized is not the prerequisite for entering the kingdom of heaven. Only when I rid myself of sins and become holy, can I be worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven. Thus, I awakened somewhat.

After Studying Some Verses, I Saw There Would Be Judgment of the Lord in the Last Days

From then on, I no longer considered being baptized as my capital or imagined being taken into the kingdom of heaven by the Lord. Every day, I read the Bible and prayed carefully. And I shared the testimonies with other sisters when getting together. One day, I read a verse casually, saying, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Then I thought of many verses in which judgment is mentioned. So I found some and shared them with Sister Xia. I asked her how she understood them. She said sincerely, “I used to think like you that we would be saved since we had been baptized into Christ, and then we would be taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes again. Later, I read the verse, saying, ‘So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation’ (Hebrews 9:28). After reading it, I realized the Lord Jesus hadn’t finished His work. When He appears to us for the second time, He will judge us humans. But the judgment is to work for saving us instead of condemning and destroying us….” Hearing these words, I felt astonished. I couldn’t believe it was true. But the verse tells so clearly that I had nothing to dispute. I couldn’t help crying to God in my heart, O Lord, may You reveal Your will to us. When will You come back to execute judgment? Your child is looking forward to the coming of the day….

#Baptism #God #Salvation #Boble #Jesus

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remedialaction · 7 years

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How do you reconcile Christianity with Libertarian ism, or Capitalism? Christ was all about charity, working for others, abstinence from personal wealth, profit sharing, and the fact that these were obligatory for all followers of His.

It is precisely because of the Biblical teachings that I am both libertarian and a capitalist, in as much as I find it to be one of the only systems that is both compatible with the moral strictures and also functional.

To head this off, I think you’re throwing a bit of your own bias in to assert that Christ was ‘all about’ many of these things. Charity, sure, which is fantastic and a thing I love. Indeed, that would be part of why I oppose the state and their restrictions on it, and making it much harder to actually engage in actual charity. Working for others is somewhat ambiguous, but certainly being of service to others was a big part.

However, you betray an ideological bias when you say Christ advocated ‘abstinence from personal wealth’ and you engage in, as far as I’m concerned, fairly major misrepresentation when you say He taught ‘profit sharing.’ I’m curious what your reasoning is.

Of wealth, the most direct link would be to the young wealthy man who thought himself pure and good but balked at giving up that wealth to follow Christ. To take from that the message that ‘wealth is bad’ is to miss the point. The message is not ‘money and wealth are bad,’ but rather the intent was to show that no, he was not actually righteous at all, and valued his wealth and did not actually understand the law, much like the Pharisees and their overly legalistic attempts at the scriptures rather than following the meaning.

The other verse often invoked would be the one invoking the camel passing through the eye of a needle, but this must be addressed in full, because like so many verses, context is stripped when folks invoke it alone:

Matthew 19:23-26 English Standard Version (ESV)

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

That his verse ends with Christ literally stating that through God, all things are possible, and the disciples asking broadly who can be saved, the intent here is to speak on how man cannot save themselves, and yes address that wealth, as was also shown in the case of the man, absolutely can be a stumbling block, and indeed is a major one for many people.

Yet the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments, are full of faithful, righteous people who are not only wealthy, but their wealth is described as being a blessing. So clearly wealth itself cannot be said to be evil, or wrong. Not even 1st Timothy, which folks often invoke, says that wealth (or money) is the root of all evil, but rather that money is the root of many kinds of evil. Which, obviously, it is. After all, pride and greed go hand in hand as the first and, in my opinion, greatest of sins.

Now, I question what you take libertarianism and capitalism to be. As I see it, the clear moral teachings of the Bible point towards such things as the non-aggression principle, and indicate clearly that ownership of things exists, and that theft is wrong further more. Capitalism, that is a system of economics based around private ownership and voluntary exchange, therefor fits the precepts, as does libertarianism. Indeed, I hold that anarchism is also clearly Biblical, on related grounds.

Heck, Christ used the metaphor of investing wealth to teach a moral lesson. He explicitly invokes terms of wealth and investment, and speaks of bankers and interest, and so on. I find it doubtful that Christ would speak of God using metaphors for morally wrong behaviors, to say the least.

#anarchism #libertarianism #capitalism #anarcho-capitalism #Christianity #explodingbat

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cfijerusalem · 5 years

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GOD RESTORING ISRAEL FULFILLING HIS PLANS

One good look at the headlines each week, and every believer should be thankful and be reminded that God is still on His throne and in control. I can tell you that when you live in Jerusalem, that reassurance is more tangible and reliable than anywhere else I have ever been. To know that you are at the center of focus for the Creator, who always has His eyes on Jerusalem, provides a true sense of security and purpose. To be part of the revealing of His eternal covenant with His Chosen people also brings a humbling, sobering, and overwhelming sense of the miraculous.

Each day in Israel the promises of God continue to be seen. These promises are being fulfilled and the prophetic future is being revealed. Israel is moving from a nation reborn to being a nation restored. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of the restoration of the fortunes of Jacob and God pouring out His Spirit upon Israel, and I can tell you that it is happening at a tremendous pace. While the US saw most of its gains on the markets lost by the fall of this year, Israel’s economy continues to remain strong with its stock exchange continuing to rise over the last two years. Despite the months of violent riots and constant onslaught of rocket attacks against Israel by the Arab Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has set new records for tourism in 2018, and is projected to break that record next year. For the third straight year, Aliyah (new immigration of Jews to Israel) is on the increase as more and more hear the call to “come home.” This year saw the launching of Israel’s latest modern defense system known as “David’s Sling” providing greater security for the nation. Medical advances continue to pour out of Israel with the latest this November when Israeli researchers announced a new breakthrough in organ repair using a person’s own cells to repair damage to vital body parts such as the heart, brain, spinal cord and other organs. God is pouring out His spirit and His blessing upon His nation and His people.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. and I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:25-29).

GOD’S HAND OVER JERUSALEM

What a difference a year can make in the change of atmosphere and direction. For decades US presidents had kept a commitment of a close alliance with the state of Israel. As many have kept positive rhetoric and financial assistance for Israel’s security, it is the current US president that has made the most tangible statement to the world by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. While US President Donald Trump did not run as a religious or even conservative candi-date, his commitment to keep his word by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem seems to have aligned with Scripture concerning Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. That decisive action was quite opposite the atmosphere of the previous administration where former president Barak Obama used his last weeks in office to abstain on the UN resolution 2334, viewed by many as true anti-Israel politics. Watching the changing of world leaders over the last few years as Jerusalem celebrated 50 years of reunification under Jewish hands, and experiencing Israel’s 70th birthday as a nation re-born have truly been both inspiring and encouraging for so many in Israel and around the world. As Christians, knowing that our Jewish Messiah will return to Jerusalem to set up His kingdom makes the times seem closer than ever before.

In observing elections over the past few years, it’s good to recall Romans 13 where Paul reminds us that the authority of God supersedes all others and is the assurance that all Christians should have that no matter who is leading nations at any given moment. They are placed there for the fulfillment of the purposes of Almighty God. God is not surprised by any election, appointment or resignation of any political figure anywhere in the world.

“…. For there is no authority that is not from God, and the existing authorities have been placed where they are by God.” (Romans 13:1, CJB)

In Israel, November brought the election of a new mayor for the city of Jerusalem, replacing the existing Mayor, Nir Barkat. With an initial race of five candidates, the race was extremely close and the top two candidates, Moshe Lion with 33 percent of the vote and Ofer Berkovitch with 29 percent had to compete in a runoff election since neither achieved the 40 percent of the electorate required to win office. What I found as a testimony to the times in which we live, was the story written concerning the very serious comments given to each of the final candidates from the Jewish Sanhedrin as reported on November 8th “The nascent Sanhedrin has addressed a letter to the two candidates emphasizing the role of the Third Temple in municipal current policy.” (BIN). While the exact contents of the letter were not revealed, the fact that the new mayor was to be aware of temple considerations in future city planning was awakening. Moshe Lion, who is religiously observant, won the election over Berkovitch, a progressive secular who campaigned heavily to keep Jerusalem businesses open on Shabbat. While Tel Aviv continues promoting the secular and progressive lifestyles of the world, voters seem to have agreed that Jerusalem should continue to hold on to its traditional roots of being a city of biblical values.

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:10-11)

AN AWAKENING OF THE END

The upcoming year of 2019 is poised to see the unveiling of even more prophetic fulfillment as God continues to reveal His plans of restoration for Israel. Many are waiting with bated breath to hear about the United States proposal for a restart of negotiations between Israel and the Arab Palestinians concerning a possible path to peace. Since entering office, US President Trump has been announcing that he has placed his son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of drafting the plan. This October, the president announced that the proposal would be revealed in about four months, placing the timing in the first quarter of 2019. Will this be just another failed attempt at a political solution for a spiritual problem, or could it set the stage for the next click forward on the spiritual time clock of Israel and produce a manmade peace? For Jews and Christians alike, we remain in agreement that there will be no real and lasting peace until the coming of the Messiah!

As things continue to progress in Israel, and especially in Jerusalem, so many around the world are beginning to wake up to the fact that “something’s up.” While Israel’s rebirth as a nation was a “wake-up call” to Christian theologians around the globe, especially those fully rooted in replacement theology, the focus of so many is turning to Israel NOW more than ever. As God continues to restore the nation’s land, its people, its wealth, and its ruined cities many Chris-tians are watching and asking about the coming of Messiah. Does this all point to the prophesied end of days? If so, when will these “end of days” be here? There are, and always have been, those around the world that feel they have the answer to those questions. Yet so many predicted dates have come and gone. However, when His disciples asked the same question, Yeshua explained many of the conditions concerning the last days, and let them know that “No one knows about that day or hour, … but only the Father.” Another reference concerns the times being as in the days of Noah. A quick look back to Genesis 6: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, NKJV). Looking at our world full of selfish sinful desire, greed, anti-Semitism and even anti-God conditions today, it is quite easy for even non-believers to see things painted more and more in this light of wickedness and evil. As Scripture reminds us that the intent and the thoughts of the heart are only seen by God, we must also remember that only the Father will know about that day or hour, which means the hearts of humanity will be playing a part in the timing of the end as well.

At the same time, it appears that many from different backgrounds and faiths are discussing the last days today. Jewish Rabbis say we have entered the darkest dark, just before the break of day. The footsteps of the Messiah can be heard. Christian leaders speak with great urgency of the return of Yeshua at any moment. Even secular progressive non-believers are sensing the planet can’t take much more, and the end is in sight. It seems that deep inside the spirit of all human kind, there is a stirring of urgency. For those who understand that scripturally, Israel is the time clock of biblical prophecy, the fact that so much is now being focused on and turned to Israel has many reconsidering their past understanding and teaching.

With today’s reach of technology, satellites blanket the entire earth with broad-cast service, and even in the remotest of areas of continents where you find the poorest and most deplorable conditions. Yet those living there have cell phones, and satellite television. Has the message of salvation reached the whole of the earth? When examining the full text in Scripture it reads the “good news of the kingdom” and perhaps that message of the kingdom is what is now spreading as God himself is repairing the breach between Jew and Gentile and preparations for a kingdom are underway. Is it possible that the unifying of all the true believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, is also part of that good news of the kingdom? The restoration of the understanding that we are connected to and nourished by the root of a single tree and this is the message that has taken hold and is spreading in our time.

CROSSING THE BARRIER OF DIVISION

The enemy is masterful at creating division within the church. When I ask my Jewish friends how much division there is in the Jewish faith, they usually men-tion five, six, or so different “divisions” of Judaism. In a faith group numbering, just over 15 million on the planet that’s not so many. Yet I was surprised one day when I was asked the reverse question by my Jewish friend. How many divisions are there in the Christian faith? A quick Internet search will reveal numbers in the thousands, with some saying even the tens of thousands. In pondering the numbers, I was instantly reminded of an image from childhood. I had been walking in the woods with my father, and we came upon a tree that had been struck by lightning. I could not believe how the blow had turned such a strong and mighty tree into thousands of splinters heading off in different directions that no human could ever put back together. As believers many have received the revelation of the need to repair the breach between Jews and Christians. I feel the Lord is also wanting us to consider the division within our own camp. While the nation of Israel was once divided into 12 tribes and two kingdoms, it pains me deeply to think of how many “tribes and kingdoms” the “church” has today. What kind of witness is this to our Jewish brothers and sisters as we reach across the table to offer a hand of friendship and unity, while our own house is so divided?

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25, NKJV)

In knowing that full message, I truly believe the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is what has brought this revelation. In considering how many of you have come to this revelation, my heart continues to ache for those around us bearing the “title” of Christian, yet still not understanding their connection to the roots of the faith. Far too many are still caught up in Christian anti-Semitism, and Replace-ment Theology. Perhaps our personal commission may be to begin crossing the manmade divisions of denominational differences, incorrect teaching, language and cultural barriers, and begin to leave the comfort of spending time with those who are “like minded.” I believe it’s time to begin to spread the understanding of the kingdom beyond our own circles.

I would ask each of you, to seek the Lord in finding ways to enlarge your own “tent pegs” in the year ahead. Ask the Lord to help you develop a true sense of urgency for the time and season we are in, and to keep a keen eye on developments in Israel, while reaching across those traditional division lines and sharing the message of the coming kingdom of Messiah with those who may not fully understand it scripturally. Some statistics say that each of us has the potential to impact the understanding of thousands of people within our sphere of connection on any issue, and as many as 80,000 people over our lifetime. With today’s technology that number is continually increasing, and produces a ripple effect, reaching those in your circle, and they in turn reaching out to theirs and so on. Let’s all work together for the glory of our Lord, doing all things according to and in His perfect will. Let’s be eager to share the message of His coming kingdom and how Israel, and especially Jerusalem, is the prophetic time piece, and the location of the throne of the coming Messiah.

As a final thought for you to consider, let me say that Israel has now turned seventy and the families of the land of Israel are reuniting from the four corners of the Earth. Jerusalem has been declared the eternal capital and its shaking off its dust and putting on new garments while the city is being rebuilt and fully restored. If there’s going to be a wedding, I suggest the bride start gathering her family together, and begin preparing as well.

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love-god-forever · 6 years

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Is Baptism the Prerequisite for Entering the Kingdom of Heaven?

By Cheng Hang, United States

I Stepped Onto the Path of Believing in God

I Was Baptized Into Christ

I Firmly Believed That I Who Believed and Was Baptized Would Be Saved

A Sister’s Words Suddenly Made Me Awaken

Seeing that I couldn’t answer her question, Sister Xia went on, “Committing adultery, stealing, and all that go against the law, the commandments, and God’s words are sins. All behaviors that resist God, condemn Him, and judge Him are sins. Blaspheming Him is sin all the more, and is an unforgivable sin. The Lord Jesus came among man. He was crucified in the flesh to be the sin offering for us mankind. As long as we pray to the Lord, repenting and confessing our sins, we will not be condemned or put to death. That is to say, God will not consider us as sinners. And due to His forgiveness of our sins, we can pray to the Lord to enjoy His grace. This is the real meaning of the forgiveness of sins. Althoughour sins have been forgiven because of the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, it doesn’t mean that we will no longer commit sins to resist God. This is because our sinful nature still remains within us, and we still resist God, betray Him, and make an enemy of Him. Through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, our sins have been forgiven, but not our corrupt dispositions. The satanic dispositions such as arrogance, selfishness, greed, and craftiness still remain within us. These corrupt dispositions are something deeper and more stubborn than sins. They are also the root of our sinning and resisting God. If these satanic corrupt dispositions are not resolved, we will often sin, even judge and condemn God relying on our conceptions and imaginations. In persecution and tribulation, we will deny God, and even betray God like Judas. We will even set up our own kingdom to oppose God when attaining status. Some will steal offerings and then they will be condemned and destroyed by God because of offending His disposition. … So it’s impossible for these people to be taken into the kingdom of heaven. For Jehovah God said: ‘You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19:2). And the Lord Jesus said: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever’ (John 8:34-35).”

After Studying Some Verses, I Saw There Would Be Judgment of the Lord in the Last Days

#Lord Jesus #the church #believe in God #be saved #enter the kingdom of heaven

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anti-capitalist-historian · 7 years

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May Day Was for Men: The History of May Day and the 8-Hour Movement

Mango Mussolini has ushered in a new wave of resistance to political oppression, and my organization encourages workers of all genders, races, sexualities, and abilities to strike back against the regime. May 1 marks the 100th day of the rapist-in-chief’s reign and what better way to “celebrate” his rule than by having a General Strike. Something I recently discovered is that May 1 originated in the norther bloc of the Western hemisphere, and its history is tied directly to the 8-hour movement for men in Chicago. Before we can discuss possible responses to the jackass-in-chief we should understand the history of the movement. Only by understanding and critiquing its limitations can we create a stronger general workers’ movement to overthrow capitalism. We cannot separate May Day from the 8-hour movement, which will be the focus on the discussion, and from here we can learn the lessons of the past to understand the obstacles of the present since the historic structures have remained today.

In the nineteenth-century during the industrial revolution, people worked fourteen to sixteen hours a day from sunrise to sunset. Gradually, during the 1820s and 1830s men demanded and won a 10-hour shift, a much-needed reduction from the incredulous workday. In 1837, President Martin van Buren decreed that all government workers have a 10-hour shift, a nod to the power and strength of the men and women who fought for shorter hours. With this victory in mind, men set their sights on an 8-hour day, and in 1857, unions made this demand; they mimicked the Australian slogan “8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest.” This movement did not gain steam until the 1880s due to fragmentation within the working class, when they were able to overcome religious differences within the movement.

The eight-hour movement had three specific sects, which caused tension within it. In the first group, approximately 30,000 native-born mostly Protestant workers (when I say workers, I mean men), formed nineteen unions through the Chicago Trade and Labor Assembly (CTLA). The second group consisted of Irish Catholics along with some native-born Protestants who joined the Chicago District Assembly of the Knights of Labor whose membership in 1878 contained 1,000 members and ameliorated to 25,000 in 1886. The last group contained 10,000 to 15,000 workers of German and Eastern European origin and who were organized by the anarchist Central Labor Union (CLU), the International Working People’s Association (IWPA), and the Socialist Labor Party (SLP). Religious differences divided the working class along these lines as radicals took militant stances against organized religion in comparison to the CTLA and the Knights of Labor who both believed the labor movement could restore the Republic by combating corrupt monopolists. Further, the Knights of Labor and the radicals shared an inclusive vision of a labor movement which composed of skilled and unskilled workers, native- and foreign-born workers, men and women, unlike the CTLA who only included Anglo-American workers in its imagination.

Women also joined the campaign for an eight-hour week, most notably under Lucy Parsons who formed the Working Women’s Union along with Aliza Stevens. Women worked across lines of class, race, ethnicity, and religion. They welcomed the Knights of Labor and other radicals. And these women began to raise the conditions of workingwomen before the public and working women in the hopes of achieving legislation to restrict the hours of women’s labor. The eight-hour movement was a universal one in this sense because it appealed to everyone regardless of gender, religion, or nationality.

By 1884, organized labor was ready to make a city and nationwide eight-hour demand. At the time of their meeting, the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions voted to inaugurate the eight-hour day on May 1, 1886. It was clear to all organizations save for the Knights of Labor that the ruling class had no interests in legislating an eight-hour day. Since the 1860s, the bourgeoisie found numerous ways to circumvent any legal attempts to mandate a shorter workweek; frequently they had their courts declare the pro-worker legislation unconstitutional. Strikes became the accepted weapon for workers to secure a shorter workday, and as history has shown, the only way to meet the capitalist class by force. Tensions between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie increased by the mid-1880s, which lead workers to two conclusions: that overwork as evil, and unjust, and that the capitalist class by their own sinful greed as well as through the introduction of labor- replacing technology was the objective root cause of the injustice.

This religious framework alienated the socialist and radicals of the movement who say little hope in relying on religion to accomplish anything practical. The anarchist especially believed that the State and religion were the same. Socialists and anarchists continually made antireligious arguments, and frequently meet with religious leaders of the other two sects of the working class. They made three arguments: overworked men and women had no time to develop the moral values the clergy so highly praised or to become Christians. Second, they exclaimed that the clergy were uninformed about industrial conditions. Third, if the Christian clergy truly wanted to follow their founder Jesus, then they must be willing to challenge the capitalist churchgoers and support and eight-hour movement. Although they met with these leaders, they firmly believed that these discussions were fruitless and that the religious leaders would not accept these challenges.

Employers opposed the eight-hour movement because eight-hour shops could not compete with those that maintained long hours. If Chicago reduced the workday, employers threatened to relocate their operations to towns or cities where they could operate as they pleased. Liberal institutions as well as business owners claimed that the laws of supply and demand could not accommodate labor’s demands for shorter hours. They frequently depicted labor radicals as wild, dangerous, and drunkards who entire purpose was to overthrow the American industrial order. Initially, religious leaders existed in the liminal space between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, but as May Day approached, they sided with the workers. They recognized the unjust treatment of their members by their employers. Protestant leaders especially stated, “Christianity is a form of Socialism.” When the religious leaders broke ranks with bourgeoisie, the working class pounced. The opium that placated the pain of life under capitalism no longer worked, and the workers could fight back.

On May 1, 1886, divisions and animosities within the labor movement were unexpectedly replaced with solidarity avant le mot and anticipation as the promised general strike and demonstrations for eight-hours were launched in Chicago and across the country. Membership in unions affiliated with the CTLA, the Knights of Labor, and the CLU soared as workers believed they could reduce the hours of labor through a united action. Immediately on that day 340,000 workers across the country struck to reduce their working day. Chicago alone witness 287 strikes in 1886, all for the reduction of hours. Nearly 80,000 workers were involved, and half of these workers only threatened to walk out to get their employers to promise a reduced day. Despite the success of this movement, the capitalist state combined with employers attempted to delegitimize the movement by destroying labor leaders. This came about on May 3 and 4, which ended with an explosion at Hay Market Square. Although we will never know who threw the bomb into the police ranks and killed seven, we do know that the police used it as a chance to kill and suppress the workers’ movement. The pigs responded by opening fire and killing an unknown number of workers. What we can confirm is that the capitalist state continued the violence to suppress workers.

Despite the awesome victory in 1886, we must remember this triumph came at the expense of women. Women did not receive any reduction in their hourly labor until 1909 when four women—Agnes Nestor, Elizabeth Maloney, Anna Willard, and Lulu Holley—from Chicago secured the passage of a law that made ten-hours the maximum legal working day for a significant portion of women in Illinois. These women represented the Chicago Women’s Trade Union League (CWTUL), which consisted of glove makers, laundresses, and waitresses. They sought to distance themselves from the Haymarket bombing, and fought for shorter hours, higher wages, and safer working conditions to obtain a fuller, more secure life. Although 1909 may seem like a victory, the four previously mentioned women demanded an eight-hour working day, but were only able to win a ten-hour one, which covered only women who worked in the factories, laundries, and in mechanical establishments; the waitresses who spearheaded the campaign were excluded from the law. Fortunately, in 1911, Nestor secured a partial victory for women in Illinois by having a maximum workweek of fifty-four hours. And continuing the fight, women would finally receive an eight-hour day in 1937, a full fifty-one years after the men.

Men in the ruling-elite were the biggest obstacle for women reducing their hours. Male success in the 1880s rendered women invisible, which allowed for business leaders to continue their exploitation of women. They continued to sludge through twelve- to fourteen-hour days. One man, Clarence Knight, president of the Oak Park Elevated Road, boasted that “we give our girls no vacations…[and] if the hours of their labor are shortened they are likely to get a permanent vacation (emphasis mine).” Further, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, a union of business leaders who blocked progressive legislation, even stated that they opposed any legislation that “restrict[ed] the privilege of women to sell their labor (emphasis mine).” Women filed lawsuits against their employers about their decrepit working conditions and repeatedly the capitalist State sided with the employers. The judges argued that an eight-hour working day stripped women of their liberty to choose their schedules or women freely agreed to toil a twelve- to fourteen-hour shift. The ruling elite used its legislative power and presented often contradictory arguments to justify the exploitation of women. This shows the relationship between capitalism and the patriarchy as it is men using the state and economic apparatus to control women and their labor to keep them subservient to men.

In response to repeated patriarchal capitalist exploitation, women shifted their attention from union organization to diverting resources to securing an hours’ law that would cover all Illinois’ wage-earning women. In challenging the courts, women like Margaret Dreier Robins stressed the necessity of an eight-hour day highlighting that a woman’s health and happiness directly impacted her role at the home, in the family, and for all future generations. On March of 1909 proletarian women began to exert pressure on the legislative system through strikes and petitions, which culminated in bill number 343 of the Labor, Mines, and Mining Committee, condescendingly named the “girls bill.” As men of the ruling elite debated and obstructed Senate Bill 343 women from all over the state and country traveled to Springfield to exert more and more pressure on the government. As many as 200 women a day continued entered the capital and continually forced men to stay on topic; they did this all throughout the months of March, April, May, and June 1909. Politicians believed that the passage of an eight-hour day for women would force businesses to move out of state or would replace women workers with men—typical scare tactics. Finally, in June of 1909 women earned a ten-hour working day because the capitalist class refused to give women an eight-hour day, but could not ignore the increasing pressure women exerted upon them. This campaign exhausted all funds of the CWTUL. Eventually women in 1937 earned a forty-hour workweek (one year before the federal government mandated that all workers have a forty-hour week regardless of gender expression).

The success of May Day in 1886 spread across the Western world for on July 14, 1889 the Second International adopted May Day as an international workers’ holiday. To counteract this, the capitalist class in the northern bloc of the Western hemisphere changed the day to “Law and Order” day to erase the power of the working class. Recently, May Day has come back as a workers’ holiday as on May 1, 2006, undocumented labor in tandem with organized labor launched “A Day without an Immigrant” to remind the agricultural industry and the rest of the ruling class that they cannot exist without labor to exploit. The tradition is slowly coming back. By striking back and withholding our labor, we can send a clear message to the predator-in-chief that the working class will not tolerate his misogyny, racism, homophobia, apathy to the environment. To do this, students must organize walkouts at schools, and refuse to participate in a system that teaches them obedience to the state rather than promote individual curiosity. Workers can withhold their labor and block off highways to constrict the flow of capital; the bourgeoisie only listen when they feel it in their pockets. We must not succumb to symbolic, performative protests.

Work Cited

Chase, Eric. “The Brief Origins of May Day.” Industrial Workers of the World. 1993. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.iww.org/history/library/misc/origins_of_mayday.

Gaitis, Dawen. “The History of May Day.” Marxists. 2007. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.marxists.org/subject/mayday/articles/tracht.html.

Hoy, Suellen. “Chicago Working Women's Struggle for a Shorter Day, 1908-1911.” Journal of Illinois State Historical Society (1988-) 107, no. 1 (Spring 2014): 9-44.

Mirola, William A. “Marching to Haymarket and the 1886 Eight-Hour Campaign.” In Redeeming Time: Protestantism and Chicago's Eight-Hour Movement, 1860-1912, 91-116. Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2015.

Sawant, Kshama. “Why We Should Strike on May Day.” Socialist Alternative. February 22, 2017. Accessed April 12, 2017. https://www.socialistalternative.org/2017/02/22/strike-day/.