If you think you're too smart to be duped by the devil, think again.

So. We've had our eyes on Obama, we've had our eyes on Islam. We've also had our eyes on Catholicism, some of us, and some Christians have had our eyes on certain movements within Christianity as well -- The Emerging Church, Dominionism, The Kansas City Prophets and so on. If we keep up on studies of the cults we are also aware of Mormonism's bizarre teachings and ambitions. I'm one of those who have pondered how the Antichrist Religion of the last days might stack up between Catholicism, Islam and Mormonism, with some version of Hinduism and its New Age offshoots thrown in. Mormonism is usually in the mix but I have to say I had no idea until this Glenn Beck rally over the weekend just how close they might be to fulfilling their crazy notions.

I can only STRONGLY recommend this radio broadcast, titled Are Christians Selling Their Soul For Patriotism? , all two hours of it, for the best reasoning on why Christians must not support Glenn Beck, showing just how deeply Beck's ambitions for America are rooted in his Mormonism. It's a crash course in Mormonism that might cause you to rethink the current political scene or at least convince you that what is happening isn't necessarily what it seems to be. This is a discussion between three experts on Mormonism and a radio hostess named Jan Markell, who is completely new to me, and for me it's an eyeopener.

Part 1 is a good solid introduction to the situation with Glenn Beck and Mormonism in general, but Part 2 opens up possibilities anybody who thinks about the end times HAS to be aware of. Here is the description of the broadcast from the website:

Jan's guests include Brannon Howse, Eric Barger, and Ed Decker. The issue is Glenn Beck. Over two hours, the ultimate question is: are Christians selling their soul for patriotism? Most conservatives love Glenn Beck. He exposes evil and he loves America. He hates what is happening to this nation. But Glenn has another agenda as the panel proves over two hours: The subtle promotion of Mormonism. Listen and learn what is happening, why it is happening, and who are the Christians participating. While many suggest he is a "saved Mormon," the panel says that is not possible. About a dozen sound bytes are played that are revealing. The Mormons want to "save America" because it is the "promised land." God has a covenant with America. Not so. We urge you all to pray for Glenn Beck.

One point that was made on that radio broadcast was that standing with him at the rally or in any religious capacity INVITES GOD'S JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATION. (Just as Bush's bringing together nonChristian religions in the National Cathedral to pray about 9/11 also did, as I've pointed out). The true God will not give His glory to another.

Putting the mosque restoration project in perspective

Well, I got the email about the US-taxpayer-funding of mosque restoration around the world and of course saw it mentioned in many other places as well recently. Sounds utterly outrageous on the face of it.

But then I got a follow-up email from a local pastor responding to that same mass emailing, who pointed out that US money goes to restore many ancient buildings around the world, not just mosques but also churches, cathedrals and monasteries:

Lets first put this in perspective. The US 2010 budget is 2.381 Trillion, so $6 Million dollars is equivalent to a person with a $50K salary spending $0.12 ... that's 12 cents. The gov't probably spent more just coming up with the list.

Additionally, look at these list items
28. (Episcopal Basilica in Macedonia, $72,000)
30. (13th century fortified church in Romania, $39,185)
31. (17th-century Church in Russia, $81,990)
49. (17th,18th century colonial chapels in Bolivia, $41,079)
52. (20th century cathedral in El Salvador, $43,430)
53. (18th century convent in Guatemala, $94,827)
56. (18th century church in Nicaragua, $90,243)
58. (17th, 18th century paintings in Church in Peru, $31,170)

61. (11th century Church, $625,000 !!!!!!)
62. (18th century Monastery, $575,000 !!!!)

I guess we could ask why we are paying for any of these things but in context it doesn't seem like such a big deal after all.

Wish the Right wouldn't rely on partial information. Things are bad enough.

Resuming reports on dark plots that may soon unfold.

I'm back to listening to Scott Johnson, since his new website (Contending for Truth dot com) is now easier to navigate. He was dropped from Sermon Audio a few months ago. A fan had set up an alternative website but it was full of distracting special effects and the teachings were no longer in order by date, or at least I couldn't find them. So I'd given up. Recently I took another look and found it to be much easier to access.

As usual, I have to prescribe a large grain of salt along with my recommendation of his teachings, which are definitely in the Far-Out category of End Times speculations. He draws from some of the most dramatic conspiracy-minded sources on the internet. I'm not going to say they are wrong, I simply don't know in many cases, I'm just saying you need to expect to hear some REALLY strange stuff -- about the New World Order, about intentionally produced diseases, about the mark of the beast, about UFOs, about DNA manipulation, about half-human creatures and more of that sort. For all I know some of it is true enough already, or truly prophetic of scenarios soon to unfold on our poor sick planet, so I'm not discounting any of it out of hand.

I did, however, write against some of it at Faith's Corner a while back, concerning the Skull and Bones Club and the Bohemian Grove, where it seemed to me he went so far overboard finding overtly satanic motivations in the most unlikely people from the flimsiest evidence, I had to object.

But if only a tenth of his information turns out to be based in reality (I suspect it will be more myself), it's a good thing to be up on it.

What he covers isn't ALL Beyond the Fringe, however, but much of it involves news stories we're all familiar with, such as the mosque plans in New York, Obama's programs to undermine America, the suit against Arizona over illegal immigration and the like, and he covers these things by delving into dark possibilities we aren't able to glean from any of the usual news sources, left or right. A Christian should readily recognize that all this is the working of Satan and his minions, and that being the case, there are bound to be dark dimensions that we are only vaguely aware of. Since we can tell without any special powers that things seem to be escalating rapidly into evil these days it only makes sense -- for Christians at least -- to anticipate some truly amazing displays of satanic powers some time in the nearish future, displays that could give Spiritual Warfare unprecedented new meanings, and that's something we NEED to know about.

(Part of his latest talk, by the way, concerns the possibility of a complete shutdown of internet blogs like this one and of course his own teachings and those he draws from).

===================

A technical note to anyone who wants to listen to these talks: If you merely click on the audio strip presented at the site there's no way to quit a particular teaching and come back to the same point later -- it resets to zero when you stop it. Each talk is roughly an hour, sometimes more, and listening through isn't always possible. If you want to be able to stop and start again later, you need to download it so you can hear it on Windows Media Player.