'The Two Popes', A Poverty Of Understanding; The Climate Encyclical, 12 Signs That The U.S. And China Are Moving Towards War

The Two Popes

Pope Francis issued a lengthy encyclical last week calling for radical change in human behavior to confront climate change. He presented climate change as the moral issue of our time. “Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it,” the pope declared. 

The United Nations Secretary General position has been referred to by some as that of a “secular pope,” because he is expected to speak out on issues of public concern as the moral conscience of the world. On the issue of climate change, the current “secular pope” at the UN, Ban Ki-moon, spoke strongly in support of Pope Francis’s encyclical and said that he is looking forward to Pope Francis’s address to the United Nations General Assembly this September. Ban Ki-moon has made climate change his own number one issue and attended a summit on climate change hosted by the Vatican last April. He has called climate change “a true existential threat to the planet.” Ban Ki-moon is pushing for all UN member states to complete a legally binding global agreement to curb carbon emissions in Paris this December.

Technology is no answer to the problem of climate change, according to his encyclical. “To seek only a technical remedy to each environmental problem which comes up,” he said, “is to separate what is in reality interconnected and to mask the true and deepest problems of the global system.” Continuing this theme, the pope added that the “alliance between the economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests.”

Pope Francis’s prescription is more stringent and enforceable global governance.

He calls for “global regulatory norms” and “stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions, with functionaries who are appointed fairly by agreement among national governments, and empowered to impose sanctions.” 

He also espouses “a better distribution of wealth,” which would include a massive transfer wealth from developed countries to the less developed countries on the theory that the richer countries are largely responsible for the plight of the poor and owe them an historical debt. The pope does not use the term “reparations,” but that is for all and intents and purposes what he is calling for.

Pope Francis would have been more credible if he had not tried to cross the line from religious leader to secular public policy opinion maker in his encyclical.

 And the UN Secretary General will be more credible if he sheds the role of “secular pope” who over-moralizes the issue of climate change. 

Without the greatest engine for betterment of the human condition that the world has ever known - the free market and its concomitant of technological change—much of the world today would be living in far more dire circumstances reminiscent of the rigidity, disease and poverty of pre-Renaissance feudal society.

Economic freedom and individual liberties must not be sacrificed at the altar of religious or secular dogma, including the dogma that climate change is an immediate existential crisis and that it can only be solved by top-down dictates and government-controlled wealth redistribution.

A Poverty of Understanding; the Climate Encyclical

St. Francis of Assisi was known for his loving care for the poor and suffering. Our current Pope took the name Francis to honor the gentle saint (who, it may be pointed out, came from a wealthy family and had wealthy donors to sustain his mission of love to the poor) and he has written yet another love letter to the Left, this time under the guise of a Papal encyclical (LAUDATO SI’) about the environment and global warming. 

Timed to coincide with the run-up to a major conference designed to implement an international agreement to create a legal framework to “reduce Man’s carbon footprint” worldwide. The reality is it will be a tool wielded by the international elites to suck massive amounts of wealth out of those who have produced it, and to reduce everyone’s standard of living

Francis peppers his work with “everyone knows that…” So false narratives are used to justify his call to fundamentally transform the human political landscape. “Everyone knows the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer”. “Everyone knows the planet is warming.” “Everyone knows the sea levels are rising”. He makes a defensible case by making no case at all. As William Paley said of Gibbons “who can refute a sneer?”

But the meat of LAUDATO SI’ is the harsh criticisms of capitalism, of globalization, and the concern of Francis for the poor. The primary argument here is that industrial civilization is polluting the air, water, and land and injuring the poor.

How does he think we should get there?

This calls for the use of the law to force political, economic, and social change. But what is the Law?

If you want a model of how God intended the Law to function one need only look to ancient Israel. The Israelites lived in a loose confederation of tribes, and had no central ruler. In time of need God raised up Judges, men who would act as temporary central authorities to lead military defenses and whatnot. But the Judge model was not popular with a certain sort of people, as indeed limited government is not popular with a certain sort of people today, and the uncertainty of a weak, decentralized system of governance led the Israelites to demand a king “like the other nations”. Samuel, the Prophet, gave them the Word of the Lord in 1 Samuel 12:

“And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.”

“Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”

So the very God Pope Francis has sworn to serve finds asking for a King to be a rebellious act, and here the Pope is asking to empower many kings and establish an international framework, a meta-king, to rule over capitalists. But what are capitalists? They are anyone who, through the work of their own hands, tries to make a living by serving others or creating goods. In short, capitalists are the People.

Then too, this is reminiscent of the Book of Revelation 13:17:

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

So, a world governing body will regulate economic activity in a fashion quite similar to that advocated by Pope Francis. “Models of Global Development” pre-planned by a central authority just reeks of the system spoken of by John the Divine.

The dirty little secret is that government derives it’s authority from violence. 

Try openly defying the government; announce you refuse to pay taxes, for instance. Marshall will come to arrest you. If you resist the SWAT teams will storm your home and kill you if they must. Violence is at the root of Law. It’s been that way since the Agricultural revolution.

Which essentially makes Pope Francis a promoter of violence against his fellow Man. Like all thoroughly modern men Francis can only think of the good he may do, and he ignores the evil he must do to bring his vision of goodness about. He can be forgiven for this foible, as it is quite common in these times, but the man should be able to look at the reality of what the Law is, of why God did not want an intrusive, invasive legal system. He joins the Israelites in wickedness.

Forced charity is no charity at all. It is theft. Not just from those who lose money unwillingly, but from those who would do good works for the benefit of others and their own souls.

And Francis repeatedly claims technology will not solve the problems. Strange; he seems to misunderstand the problem in the first place; the reason the numbers of the poor are growing is because there are so many more of them who actually survive thanks to technology.

And Francis argues in favor of a neo-paganism. He argues repeatedly for the interconnectedness of Man, animals, plants, and Mother Earth, in what sounds surprisingly like a diatribe from James Lovelock, or from pantheistic pagans. I warned about this at American Thinker a few years ago. Environmentalism is a return to the ancient forms of worship. Isn’t Pope Francis aware that Baal, the god of the Canaanites, was a nature god, and worship of him brought the rath of Yahweh down on Israel?

Oh, and Francis also calls labor a right in this document. I am mindful of another group that saw it that way; embossed on the gates of a former brewery in the town of Auschwitz were the words Arbeit macht frei “Work makes you free”. A job may give a life dignity, but it is no more a right than the beer that formerly flowed from what would be the most infamous death camp in history. Rights do not presuppose obligation on the part of others.

In the end Pope Francis shows himself to be a utopian socialist, believing that a de-industrialized society would be infinitely preferable to what we now have, not bothering to consider the economics of supporting a large population with 19th century technology. His solution is to steal from the rich to give to the poor, something that has been tried and found wanting repeatedly throughout history. Francis is a product of his environment (as are we all to a degree) and, having been raised under the fascists of Peronism, believes utterly in class warfare rhetoric. He also has allowed the return of Liberation Theology, which was a powerful intellectual force in Latin America and suppressed by both St. John Paul II (who Francis canonized a saint in 2014)and Pope Benedict XVI.

Francis further leads these assaults on free markets and limited government at a time when the world has real problems he should address; the rise of radical Islam comes to mind. Francis of Assisi was a staunch foe of radical Islam in his day. Why is his namesake tilting at windmills instead?

Most non-Catholics and many Catholics think the Pope is always infallible according to Catholic teaching. This is not true; he must be speaking on a matter of Faith and Morals and then only Ex Cathedra, invoking infallibility. Generally the matter must be closed, the “science settled”. Pope Francis, by producing so political a document, has done the Body of Christ a great disservice, sewing confusion and discord. In the end what he misses is that Sin is the opposite of Love, and Love can never be forced.

12 Signs That The United States And China Are Moving Toward War

Most Americans typically assume that a real, actual shooting war between the U.S. and China could never possibly happen, but as you will see below the Chinese are actu

In fact, the Chinese are working feverishly to develop new offensive weapons systems that would only be used in such a war.  Of course it is extremely unlikely that a military conflict between our two nations will happen in our immediate future, but without a doubt we are moving in that direction.  And this is how wars typically happen – things build up over a period of time before they finally reach a breaking point.  

Just think about what took place between the United States and Japan in the lead up to our war with them.  There were years of diplomatic troubles before Japan finally made the decision to launch a “surprise” attack on Pearl Harbor.  Right now, I believe that we are moving into a similar period of diplomatic trouble with China.  Initially, this will likely affect our trade relationship with the Chinese, but ultimately it could be much more than that.  The following are 10 signs that the United States and China are moving toward war…

#1 China’s moves in the South China Sea have greatly angered Obama administration officials. 

Some of the islands that China has grabbed are also claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines.  The United States is bound by treaty to defend the Philippines in any conflict with China, and Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam are all slated to be parties to the new super secret global trade treaty that Obama is currently negotiating.  The following comes from Business Insider…

China’s reclamation of more than 2,000 acres of land on disputed islands and atolls in the South China Sea since last year has raised international alarm over its territorial ambitions. Washington took the unusual step last month of publicizing a U.S. military surveillance flight that showed the massive scale of China’s island-building.

China says the islands are its sovereign territory, but Washington argues that the continuation of building work and militarization of the islands could enflame complex territorial disputes with China’s neighbors, with whom the U.S. is seeking to forge closer ties while preserving freedom of navigation in sea lanes crucial for world trade.

#2 In China, there is talk that a war may be necessary to defend China’s interests in the South China Sea.  In fact, a newspaper that is a mouthpiece for the Communist Party actually stated that war with the United States “is inevitable” if the U.S. continues to insist that the Chinese must halt activities on those islands…

Coinciding with the publication of the white paper, an editorial in The Global Times – a tabloid newspaper mouthpiece for the ruling Communist Party – issued a warning to the US to halt its protests over the South China Sea.

Last week, China’s foreign ministry revealed it had lodged a complaint with the US over an American spy plane that flew over parts of the disputed archipelago.

The article read: “We do not want a military conflict with the United States, but if it were to come, we have to accept it.”

It added that China should “carefully prepare” for the possibility of war with Washington and that “if the United States’ bottom line is that China is to halt activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea”.

#3 The theft of the information of up to 14 million federal workers is being described as “an act of war“.  At this point, the Obama administration appears convinced that this horrible act was committed by the Chinese government…

So was China behind this theft?

Perhaps we will never know for sure, but without a doubt this incident has raised tensions between the two nations.

And as tensions continue to increase, it is likely that the cyber espionage being committed by both sides will only get worse.  Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group, recently told Business Insider that he believes that a “virtual war” between our countries has already begun…

“We should be very clear: China is at virtual war with the United States, and the threat is far higher than that of terrorism, which gets the lion’s share of attention — and, in the post-9/11 world, funding.”

#4 China recently conducted a series of massive military exercises that simulated an attack against Taiwan.  Since the U.S. is committed to protecting Taiwan, a real conflict of this nature would almost certainly involve the United States.  The following comes from an article that was posted on janes.com…

In a new analysis by Richard Fisher and James Hardy, IHS Jane’sreports that “A series of Chinese military exercises between late May and early June showcased the ability of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to project land, air, and naval power into the area around Taiwan.”

#5 According to Paul Joseph Watson, thousands of Chinese merchant ships are being retrofitted for military purposes.  The only possible conflict in which the Chinese military would need “thousands of merchant ships” would be a war with the United States…

#6 The Chinese have developed a “carrier killer” missile which was specifically designed to destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.  There are some that have suggested that these new missiles may have made U.S. aircraft carriers obsolete…

#7 The Chinese now have the capability of equipping their nuclear missiles with MIRV warheads.  According to Bill Gertz, this has significantly equalized the balance of power between the U.S. and China…

#8 Of much greater concern than the MIRV warheads are the new hypersonic glide vehicles that China has developed.  These ultra-high-speed missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads and represent a huge threat to the United States…

#9 The Chinese Navy is building a series of extremely quiet ballistic missile submarines.  These subs could potentially creep up to our coastlines and rain nuclear missiles down on us within just a few minutes.  The following comes from an article by Bill Gertz…

#10 The Chinese have developed submarine-based nuclear missiles that could potentially reach all 50 states from the waters of Hawaii…

#11 At a time when the U.S. military is actually shrinking, Chinese military spending is increasing each year by double digits…

#12 The Chinese military is not the only one preparing for a war between our two nations.  It turns out that the U.S. military has been conducting military exercises that are specifically geared toward simulating a conflict with China.  The following comes from the BBC…

Over in China, their military operates under the assumption that a war between the two superpowers will definitely take place at some point, and the Chinese are working feverishly to figure out ways that they can come out on top in such a conflict.

Yes, the Chinese have become exceedingly wealthy selling us goods.  In the process, we have lost thousands of businesses, millions of jobs and we now owe the Chinese more than a trillion dollars.  The Chinese never intended to have a balanced and fair trading relationship with us, because it has always been their plan to emerge as the sole, dominant superpower on the entire planet.

Once our debt-fueled economy collapses, the Chinese won’t have too much use for us anymore.  Instead, we will just be a barrier in the way of their goal of total global domination.

If you don’t think that the Chinese view us in this manner, just read some of the white papers produced by the Chinese government and the Chinese military.  They do not consider us to be a “friend” at all.  Rather, they consider us to be an enemy that must ultimately be vanquished.

Sadly, most Americans seem to assume that the global community is just one big, happy family these days.

In the end, we will likely pay a very great price for being so naive.

Also see:

Hunting Deep Panda: investigation into cyberattack on US government continues

PLA recalls retired NCOs for S China Sea contingency: Duowei｜WantChinaTimes.com

US stations 1,200 special forces in Asia-Pacific｜WantChinaTimes.com

Chanting 'Death to America,' Iran MPs vote to bar military inspectors | The Times of Israel

Pentagon chief planning for longer-term rift with Russia | Reuters

Fiji quake unlikely to pose threat

Greek talks heading 'in right direction'

Ex-CIA director: U.S. wide open to grid attack