Sometimes I have an idea for a topic to write about, and then shortly afterwards I see someone else has written about almost that exact topic. This happened in the last few days: last week I was thinking about how it seemed that everything is a PsyOp, and then Miri AF’s published a piece literally entitled How everything is a PsyOp and everyone is fake. I take that as a sign that it’s worth writing about!
What started me thinking about it last week was this piece from the Thinking Coalition blog:
The piece explores the history of folks such as Matt Goodwin, Frank Furedi and Claire Fox. It talks about how they used to be associated with very ‘left-wing’ ideas (e.g. as members of the Revolutionary Communist Party) but have become prominent more recently by publicly advocating for the opposite. I also read the piece on the same Substack about Montgomery Toms, and followed the link through to watch the video about Andrew Bridgen. In a nutshell, it seems that the ‘truth community’ (for want of a better word) is under sustained attack at the moment from people who (a) are only in it because of their own egos / some other politically expedient reason; (b) are deliberately trying to sabotage it.
Note: I spoke about some of these dirty tactics — in particular, infiltration — in my previous piece. The forces against us do not play fair, and it’s important to understand this:
The final straw, so to speak, was Miri’s piece, which talks about Lucy Connolly. When we first heard about Lucy Connolly, months ago, I started out believing it to be true. Someone arrested for a careless tweet had the ring of truth about it, especially given the crackdown on free speech since covid. But, as I read what Miri had to say about it and looked at the evidence she presented, she convinced me: Lucy Connolly was not a genuine political prisoner. Out of curiosity, I watched the first few minutes of Dan Wootton’s interview with her. I defy anyone to say that she sounds like a woman who’s just been released from prison. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would fire off a hastily worded, angry tweet — in fact, she didn’t seem like an ordinary person at all. More like a talking head who had just been hired to get across a particular message. (There are apparently also numerous factual issues compared to things we’ve been told previously).
This has also made me question whether the whole Southport attack was a PsyOp in general. I’ve taken it for granted here that it was real (e.g. my piece about Axel Rudakubana), but now I’m not so sure. I can’t point to any specific evidence apart from what subsequently happened with Lucy Connolly, plus one or two of the relatives going public to promote the establishment “don’t be angry with migrants” narrative. That said, from another angle the only evidence I have that the whole thing happened is what I’ve seen third-hand. I don’t know the people involved, I don’t live in the area, I wasn’t at the trial, etc. I can’t say definitively either way.
All of this has led me to the reluctant conclusion that Miri is right and that everything IS a PsyOp. Or, at least, everything is potentially a PsyOp. You simply can’t trust anything you see on the news or even on the alternative media. Even those who are seemingly ‘one of us’ might not be. The Enemy seems to be using manipulation at every point: either by keeping people blind to the real perpetrators (as I discussed in my post about 7/7), or by disrupting the ‘truth’ community so that we don’t even know what truth is or who to trust. It’s devilishly clever.
So, what should we do? Let’s think through why it is that we pay any attention to the news at all.
What’s the point of the news?
One of the things which I’ve been thinking a lot about over the last few days is, why should we have ‘news’ in the first place? (And I’m including social media / alternative ‘news’ sources in this, not just the mainstream). Why is it of any importance to me what’s happening in some far away country, or even in another part of my own country? Most of the time the news has little effect on my day-to-day life. Of course we should care about others, but in a world this big — when most of the time there’s nothing practical we can do — why is it of such great importance?
The problem with news is that it opens us up to being manipulated. There’s a fine line between news and propaganda, even at the best of times. Journalists have a slogan: “if it bleeds, it leads”. The media have long known that terrible and sensational news tends to get read more and therefore will sell more papers etc. We human beings tend to be attracted to bad news, perhaps because we like gossip, or we like to be distracted from the problems in our own lives. Maybe it makes us feel better to point the finger at other people and think that they are worse than we are. Either way, the media loves to focus on these stories which appeal to the less appealing side of human nature, in order to sell more papers: The media are effectively incentivised to make the news as extreme as possible in order to make more money.
This is before we even get to the government’s involvement with the media, e.g. how the mainstream media these days seems to be an arm of the State. The media are complicit in promoting the agenda of The Powers That Be (TPTB). Even to the point of pushing a particular story (or group of stories) so as to provoke a reaction. The other day we were in the car, listening to the news on the radio talking about the asylum protests around the country. My wife commented to me that it seemed we were now ‘allowed’ to be upset about the numbers of asylum seekers. Has this happened organically, or has this happened because TPTB have decided that it’s time to push us towards civil unrest? Who decides what is news and what isn’t?
The authorities are well aware that news isn’t simply information — it can motivate people to action. If protests against asylum seekers are reported in the media, it makes it more likely for those protests to break out in more areas. In my town, lots of the roundabouts and pedestrian crossings have been daubed with red paint to make St George Flags, part of the ‘raise the colours’ movement. Would this have happened if these things weren’t reported in the media? I suspect that TPTB are rubbing their hands with glee at how easy it is to manipulate us.
One more angle which cuts much closer to home for me is the question of ‘truth seeking’ alternative news. For example, Candace Owens’ series on the Macrons: why is it important to know the details of the horrible things that some of our leaders have been involved with? Does it actually help me to live and respond to what’s going on in the world, or is it more like some kind of intellectual voyeurism where I simply want to know the gory details? At the end of the day, we know that those who are rich and powerful are into things which are dark — really dark.
Note: this shouldn’t surprise us as Christians, although as I said before, part of the problem with the church at the moment is that it thinks everybody is nice:
The key question to ask is, does knowing the truth about the ins and outs of the terrible evil being done by our leaders actually help us to live our lives rightly? Let’s turn to look at how Jesus dealt with these issues.
Lessons from Jesus
The more I study the Bible, the more I realise how the world really hasn’t changed that much in the last two thousand years or so. Human nature remains a constant, and the fact that we have better technology now doesn’t change anything fundamental! Jesus lived in a day which was much like our own. There were high taxes (the gospels often use the phrase “tax collectors and sinners”, suggesting that tax collectors were seen as so bad that they needed their own category!) There was plenty of corruption; bribes were common (Acts 24:261). The rich and powerful were doing terrible things, just look at the history of the Roman Emperors.2
The point is, Jesus’ day was much like our own in many important respects. So, how did Jesus respond to it?
Firstly, he virtually never made reference to the evils of the authorities. This is not to say that he condoned them, but rather that Jesus didn’t waste his breath denouncing the sins of others when he wasn’t talking to them. Jesus criticised people to their face; he didn’t criticise them in front of others.
People did once try to drag Jesus in to a question of the authorities here. He was asked a question about whether to pay taxes to Caesar or not. He simply replied: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God’s what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Jesus was content to leave the authorities for God to deal with — at the end of the day, their authority comes from him and they will be answerable to him for how they use it (e.g. Psalm 2).
Secondly, Jesus focussed on the people who were there in front of him. Jesus put the person or people he was speaking to first. He knew that it was more important to address their spiritual condition, the sin in their own hearts, rather than denouncing the sins of other people. We as human beings love to be self-righteous, we love to denounce the sins of other people because it deflects from our own sins. Jesus loved us too much to allow us to do that — he continually taught people to consider themselves and their own sins, rather than judging others. (“Do not judge” from the Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus’ most famous sayings, even if people often misunderstand it).
This is a something we need to listen to with respect to the sins of the elites. It’s so easy to look at the terrible things they are doing and shake our heads at how wrong it is. Almost unbelievably so! At the same time, are we applying the same level of scrutiny to ourselves and our own sins? Do we spend more time pointing the finger at others rather than searching our own hearts and asking the Lord to help us? This kind of moralising serves as a substitute for personal repentance rather than an aid to it. That’s probably why it’s so popular at the moment; whereas true penitence is as unpopular as it ever was.
Thirdly, Jesus told us not to worry about things going on in the world. I’ve had Matthew 24:6 on my mind a lot lately: “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” What is particularly striking about this verse is how Jesus says “wars and rumours of wars”. He tells his disciples that they will hear about all sorts of things going on, some of which might be true and others of which might be rumours. But, Jesus says, don’t be alarmed, and don’t get distracted.
Similarly, Paul uses a military metaphor and instructs us not to get concerned with “civilian affairs” but try to please our “commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:43). In other words: ‘Remember what’s most important. Remember what you’re here for. Remember who you are trying to please.’ He knew how easy it is to get distracted with all the comings and goings in the world, and so he says that we should keep our eyes first and foremost on what’s most important.
I hope this has been a helpful look at how we should be thinking about these things from a Biblical perspective — but I appreciate that there are still questions when it comes to what we should actually do. Let’s finish by thinking about that.
‘Give me the cash value…’
Let me finish with a few practical points about how we should live today.
Firstly, don’t pay too much attention to what’s going on in the world. I’m honestly not sure that it’s helpful. God is big enough to take care of the world. Too often news causes us to worry and stress about things and take our minds away from God. But, as we’ve seen, there have always been wars and threats. Perhaps the path of faith is to step away from it all and pray that God would help you to trust he can take care of it.
What does that look like practically? Well, for me, over the last year I’ve deleted all my social media accounts — the last one to go was X, a couple of weeks ago. I am also spending less time watching things on YouTube about the state of the world. It’s not a sin to be informed, but I think sometimes we need to take a step back, I’ve felt God saying that to me and maybe he is to you as well.
Secondly, don’t be too concerned about the sins of people you’ll never meet. This is where I am preaching to myself as much as anyone, but it’s easy to have an unhealthy attitude towards the sins of the elites. They are sinners, they are great sinners even — but, for most of us, there’s nothing we can do about it. One practical thing that means for me will be being careful what I’m watching and why I’m watching it. For example, I’ve mentioned Candace Owens’ series on the Macrons a couple of times. I’m going to stop watching it, not because it’s wrong but because it’s unproductive for me. Why should I be outraged about what they are doing? God will judge them.
As I read in my Psalm this morning: “Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment” (Psalm 7:14). We don’t need to be the judge of others whom we have no place to judge; leave it to the Lord.
Note: obviously there are times when it is appropriate for us to judge, e.g. as parents, or pastors, or the police, etc. It’s also important not to be naïve about our political leaders, especially when we are voting. Please don’t misunderstand me here! This is about wisdom, rather than hard and fast rules.
Thirdly, do be more concerned about your own sins. One of the most important things in the Christian life is recognising that you are a great sinner, like the rest of mankind. Sometimes dwelling on the sins of others feeds our sense of self-righteousness. “Lord, I thank you that I am not like those terrible paedophiles and murderers…” — just like the proverbial tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). We need to be reminding ourselves daily of the many ways that we fall short, and asking God to teach us how to live in his ways of righteousness.
Fourthly, do be more concerned with those around you. As we saw a moment ago, the apostle Paul used the imagery of God as a commanding officer directing his troops. God knows what he is doing. He has put you and I where we are for a reason. You have the opportunity to make a difference in the world right where you are. If we trust God and ask him to direct us, we will be far more effective doing what he wants us to do than by focussing on what’s wrong with the world. Fundamentally, God cares about people, and if we dedicate ourselves to loving them it will be enough. There may be people God wants you to love in a particular way, in which case he will make that clear. But only love is strong enough to overcome evil, and love can only be shown in relationships.
The more I think about it, the more I think that the best thing for us to do is to take a step back from focussing on the news cycle or the sins of the elites and simply focus on loving others. As I argued a couple of months ago, the best defence we have against being manipulated is simply to trust God and obey him. If we are seeking to do what is right, it doesn’t matter what lies come our way: we will be protected. At the end of the day, the media can lie — and, because they’re at a distance, we can’t always tell what’s real and what’s fake. However, it’s much more difficult for a real person to lie to you face-to-face. Real relationships require honesty and truth. That’s why cultivating them will strike such a blow against the establishment.
I said on my podcast about the future of Sacred Musings that I want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I’d love to focus more on how we can get away from the traps of the news cycle and instead focus on practical things we can do to love one another at this time. I truly believe that, even though it may seem like we’re not taking a blow against the forces of darkness in the world, this is actually the very best thing we can do — and why it is that they’re working so hard to distract us from that.
Let me finish by quoting Francis Schaeffer’s sermon “No Little People”, which I quoted in one of my own sermons recently but is worth repeating:
We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in God’s place for us, at each moment. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation.4
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“At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.”
Caligula (who reigned 37-41AD) was the most famously decadent of all the Roman emperors. The BBC did a series called “I, Claudius” back in the 1970s, based on Robert Graves’ book, which is worth watching if you want to know more about the crazy world of what went on in the upper echelons of the Roman Empire.
“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.”
Schaeffer’s sermon “No Little People” was published by Crossway in a collection of his sermons, also called “No Little People”.