The 'Fear Industry' and Why I Have Faith

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume XII, Issue V 

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing." -- 1 Timothy 2:8

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." -- Isaiah 41:13

There are souls perplexed with doubt, burdened with infirmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the Unseen; but a friend whom they can see, coming to them in Christ's stead, can be a connecting link to fasten their trembling faith upon Christ." -- E. G. White, The Desire of Ages


An Alaska bush pilot flies above the Misty Fjords.

An Alternative to Despair

I really shouldn't read so many marketing articles. Recently I read one about "the way to sell alternative financial strategies and precious metals." The author pointed to the fact that in financial news reporting, fear gets you to read the article and the article gets you to buy the gold! He said: "Looming Economic Collapse" is a headline that puts you at the top of the results every time. Design your book with an exploding atomic bomb on the cover and you are pretty much guaranteed sales.

Some people will pretty much ignore you (including, I've found, a lot of real experts who are quite aware of and acknowledge  very real and serious problems), some will turn up their music and avoid the issue all together... but some will buy the books, go to the seminars and become 'experts,' ready to lead you into your own personal panic attack... but here's why I pretty much avoid the tawdry tabloids and happily devour City Journal and American Conservative instead.

I see a mandate in Holy Writ, not to spread the stuff. The world has serious problems, it needs the Hope of a Solid Gospel. Here the Church is often seen by those around us in the wrong light. Some see the simplistic presentation of the prosperity message and go away because it is unrealistic, but some see the bringers of bad news and are equally repulsed. Wait a minute! The Gospel is Good News! Why do we need Good News? Because at face value the world of things seen tells us to despair.

We are at odds over so many things right now, and frankly, there are those who profit from dividing us... but our national motto: E Pluribus Unum actually describes an action: Many uniting into one. An accurate translation of the motto is "From Many, One" or "Out of Many, One" – a phrase that captures the symbolism on the shield of the United States. When our nation was first brought forth, there were many factions and nationalities. The first committee charged with creating a shield design in 1776 originally entertained a design that recognized our diverse roots.

It contained the rose (England), thistle (Scotland), harp (Ireland), fleur-de-lis (France), lion (Holland), and an imperial eagle (Germany),accompanied by the motto: E Pluribus Unum. One needs to recognize the significance of this in light of the bloody wars that the European Continent had experienced in the Centuries prior to our founding. Catholic Maryland could join with Puritan New England in the common good. Diversity of a good sort could indeed exist while the common defense and the common good were tended to.

In the 1830's it could have accepted a Cherokee State in the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Sadly, immoral gain is not excluded even in the best crafted institutions, and greedy speculators brought the demise of this great experiment. Through bloody war, the enslaved people of African descent were granted citizenship and the issue of Federal powers overshadowed those of the individual states as the following generations would grapple with what Constitutional restraints prohibited.

In the Twentieth Century, the unity of our diversity allowed us to win global wars and maintain the peace which so many of us take for granted. The Navajo Nation gave us our best code for winning the war in the Pacific.

So, in the Twenty-first Century, with the world as it is, should we be concerned? Indeed we should. Concerned, Yes!, but despairing?, No! We do indeed need to fight against those who would tribalize us for their own political gain. We need to look to core basic functions of good government again, eschewing sweeping attempts to 'fundamentally transform' our nation from Washington. Yes, we need to weed out a few bad cops, but we need to open our eyes and see that across the nation, local police forces have become quite diverse. An officer and his or her partner can be of a variety of ethnicities and they take care of each other. Don't listen to the merchants of fear and distrust, there are many good people in public safety roles!

We need to beware of the merchants of fear and distrust who want to re-craft our institutions to 'protect' those that THEY identify as 'oppressed.' They are all too ready to scrap TRUE Liberty, such as Religious Liberty, in their quest to transform. The merchants of fear and distrust populate the academy, and it bears mentioning that they were telling us that we would run out of oil in the 1970's as the world descended into its next great Ice Age! Still, their foggy spectacles are the portal through which too many view the world today.

Global Warming' is preached in the academy (and by way of them through the media) with religious imperative!, though their data is far from complete or conclusive. At the same time, the role of Christian thought is marginalized, though there is much documentation of our Nation's institutions being founded upon it. [1.] But in addition to acknowledging the existence of lofty ideals, we must remember that this Nation was built by some terribly flawed men.


A pet store sign in Staunton, Virginia asks G-d to protect our police officers.

A Call to Action

There is a perpetual parade of celebrities who have stated that they will leave the country if Donald Trump is elected President. I say: "good riddance." They are the merchants of fear and distrust in entertainment. One needs to understand that Washington promoted an agenda while ignoring the will of the people. THEY created the problem that led to the rebellion. Indeed, there is a general frustration with the political establishment right now and here there are a few points worth noting.

1. The Government has created the problem. Indeed their reckless borrowing and policies that strangle real economic growth add to the damage caused by bad trade deals that undermine legitimate protections for American industries. We're losing our middle-class and we need to stop doing so. Also, activist judges have used the courts to create legislation, circumventing the will and good of the people. It is imperative that we elect leaders who will NOT appoint activist judges... it is imperative that we elect legislators who take seriously the checks and balances prescribed in our Constitution. They are there for our protection.

2. The party in power has effectively neutralized legitimate opposition through voter fraud, executive orders and plain out misrepresentation to the media of their honest opposition. In eight years they have had little or no opposition as they created massive financial bailouts and took over the health insurance market, but there is no evidence that they have actually fixed anything. Health insurance is more expensive. The economy is stagnant. They look out of their windows in Washington at projects they have funded with borrowed money and declare that "all is right with the world." They're even replacing the grass on the National Mall. Construction cranes fill the Washington Skyline, but 'Flyover Country' languishes. That's most of America.

3. They want us to think our vote doesn't count. They WANT us to think that we need to give them more power. These merchants of fear and distrust want us to believe that they are putting things aright and just need more power (and money) in order to do so. They want us to overlook the travesty of Benghazi while telling us that their opponent is unfit to lead! They WANT us to stay home or vote a 'protest' (third party) vote.

But we must not believe them. History tells us this Nation has been in peril before. History tells us that the right man to build a Transcontinental Railroad may have feet of clay (as Thomas Clarke Durant indeed did), but in the wake of the railroad came the Gospel. America was so built. [2.] That is not to say we shouldn't desire moral men and women to lead us, but we need to understand the place of historical figures like Cyrus, the Medo-Pesian Ruler who provided for the rebuilding of Israel and her Temple [3.] The text says of this heathen king: “...who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.” -- Isaiah 44:28-45:6 [4.]

Though there are many IN the household of Faith who will quickly caution me that you can't compare a specific prophecy of Israel to America today (even as a few devour the latest work of a well publicized novelist who mixes Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, with scripture to do just that). But I am not looking for prophecy... I am looking for principles, to guide me as I participate in the upcoming election. The principle I find is this: A leader who gives place for the Divine is always preferable to one who does not. Cyrus materially participated in the restoration of Israel. Donald Trump has promised to work to repeal the Johnson Amendment, effectively giving people of Faith a place at the table. [5.] One candidate brings Mike Pence and Ben Carson to the table, the other does not and brings the same group who have been there for eight years.

So, I see a clear choice in the upcoming election. I will vote for Donald Trump, Mike Pence and a host of good State and Local candidates. I do not look for a Saviour in a candidate... but I DO look for a BUILDER. [6.] Specifically, I look for a Bridge Builder [click to read]. We need a robust plan to rebuild our economy and bring our diverse people together again. [7.] We need to ignore the merchants of despair and division. We need to prove that they are wrong!

As I write this, I realize that I have dear friends who will abstain from voting or vote third party because they feel that Trump is not morally fit to hold the office. I would ask them if Mrs. Clinton, with her many scandals, is? Moreover, I would point out that John Kennedy was no paragon of virtue. He had a terrible temper, and an incredibly foul mouth when the press were absent. Children from a local school were invited to the White House for a ceremony of some sort and they were, I was told, treated to some rather rough language from Kennedy, who was unaware that they had entered the room. Yet we see him as a great President. He cut taxes to unleash private economic development, bolstered our national defense and gave us collective vision.

Who can forget the stirring charge: "Ask NOT what your country can do for you, but what YOU can do for your country!" Also, Kennedy deftly placed the need for technological parity with the Soviet Union into a civilian program with a mandate to put a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. Like Winston Churchill, who won the Battle of Britain, Kennedy was a man with faults he did not apologize for. C.S. Lewis admired Churchill, acknowledging his faults. Lewis praised Churchill and supported him (though he turned down a titled potential appointment to government service).

Lewis feared his quest for Christian Vision would be watered down in an attempt to debunk Socialism, though he himself had no desire to PROMOTE the ideology. That is why he refused Churchill's offer. Here I think Lewis leads us in seeing a greater vision for the person of Faith... that of building the unseen Kingdom. History tells us that the heathen Romans built the roads. The First Century evangelists traveled them. Isimbard Kingdom Brunel [8.] built the railroad that revitalized Bristol, but it was George Müller who revived the city's spirit as he lifted the abandoned children of a needy city and gave them hope and a future in Christian Love. We need a BUILDER of the America we love and want to preserve,  [9.] but we must, as people of Faith, fill that land with the work of the Divine Kingdom.


Firefighter, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Finding the Permanent in the Political
[click to read]

John G. West, Jr. — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute

The year was 1951, and England was embroiled in a bitter general election campaign. Six years earlier the Conservative Party of Winston Churchill had been thrown out of power. Now the same party, still led by the same indomitable Churchill, was attempting a comeback. The conventional wisdom was that the attempt would fail. The conventional wisdom was wrong. Voters went to the polls on October 25, and the next morning the whole world knew that the the Conservative Party had recaptured control of Parliament and Churchill had regained the post of Prime Minister. (read more)

Winston Churchill
[click to read]

How a Flawed Man Became a Great Leader
— By John Simpson

In 2002 the BBC broadcast a series called 100 Greatest Britons. After each programme in which particular figures were proposed and examined - they were mostly but not exclusively the usual suspects, such as Darwin, Shakespeare and Elizabeth I - viewers were invited to vote. In the end, there was no doubt about their verdict - Sir Winston Churchill was the greatest Briton. The case for him is a powerful one, of course. He was first a government minister in 1908, and occupied most of the top jobs in politics during half a century. He finally retired in 1955, having served as prime minister for a total of nine years. But it was his extraordinary leadership in World War Two that marked him out. Bold, brave and tireless in his resolve to take on the might of Nazi Germany, he inspired a nervous and hesitant Britain through his sheer energy and force of personality to defy stark odds and never give in. The entire world's history would have been different if he hadn't come to power in Britain in 1940. Still, Churchill made huge mistakes in his long political life. (read more) 

The America I Love


Mill at the Cyrus McCormick Farm. Birthplace of the reaping machine that revolutionized agriculture.


Fir trees on Elliott Knob. Once thought to be the highest mountain in Virginia until Mount Rogers was found to be taller.


Tree on North Mountain.

Demanding a King!

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume XI, Issue XIa

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.

And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
-- 1 Samuel 8

Demanding a King

By Bill Bill Blankschaen

2016 will not be the first time the people of God made political decisions born of fear instead of faith.

Evangelicals who know their biblical history will recall the time of the judges after the Israelites had left Egypt and entered the Promised Land of Canaan.

It was a chaotic and lawless time during which foreigners routinely invaded. The people of God grew tired of it all. They demanded a savior, a ruler who would fix all their problems and make Israel great again.

More [click to read]

THYME Magazine: Gifted

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume X, Issue X

Benjamin S. Carson MD

There is no such thing as an average human being. If you have a normal brain, you are superior." -- Dr. Benjamin Carson

Many of us first learned about Dr. Benjamin S. Carson when he addressed the National Prayer Breakfast. He was straightforward then with his prescription for America and presented it unflinchingly as President Obama became visibly unsettled by it. Carson's story is an amazing one. His illiterate Mother pressed him to read as a child. She put a check mark on his book reports, so that he would think she had read them. Although he was not a stellar student, he found his passion and became a great Neurosurgeon. He went on to lead his department at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the Nation's premier medical centers.

His story is told in the book: Gifted Hands, and although his calm demeanor has many dismissing him as a Presidential candidate, he recently reminded us of the stuff he is made of. The loaded question was this: "Should a Muslim be elected President?" Carson stated the viewpoint that one who embraced Shariah Law could not pledge to: "Uphold and Defend the Constitution." The media was all over it, pretty much trying to force Carson to recant his position... but Carson wouldn't budge. He clarified the issue and stuck to his guns. In doing so, he proved that he has the fortitude and the knowledge necessary for the job.

Here is an Interview [click to read] with Dr. Carson which should serve as an inspiration to many young people. That it is not more heralded has me asking the media: "What's wrong with you?" In this special double issue of THYME we will examine a possible reason our culture misses the greatness of men like Ben Carson.


Dr. Carson addresses the National Prayer Breakfast.

Elites and Intellectuals
Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume X, Issue XI

The Vacuum at the Top

There was a time when the "elite" truly seemed to be better than most people. For example, Leonardo da Vinci was an architect, cartographer, engineer, painter, sculptor, writer and legendary inventor among other things. Socrates was a superb stonecutter, soldier, politician and philosopher. Galileo studied medicine, mathematics, physics and has been referred to as "the father of modern science." For much of human history even the lesser "elites" from noble families had a tremendous advantage over the average man in a time when an education was hard to come by and their wealth and position in society provided them with opportunities to acquire skills that the general populace couldn't." writes John Hawkins. In an article entitled: Elites Are No Longer Elite [click to read], Hawkins explores the reason this is so. Essentially, Hawkins says that there are no more Renaissance men and women, as people tend to become highly proficient in one area of expertise while remaining woefully ignorant of the world outside of their area of expertise. That was not always so.

There was a time when brilliant people like Claudius Crozet and Isambard Kingdom Brunel needed to know a broader range of knowledge in order to do the works they were able to accomplish. They needed to know more than engineering tables. They needed to understand commerce and markets. These men built railroads, but their work ultimately built communities as they provided avenues of commerce and prosperity. Crozet and Brunel seem far closer in stature to da Vinci than their modern counterparts. Hawkins continues: "Today, in a world where there is a nearly infinite supply of news sources, there are far fewer shared activities than there used to be; college educations are commonplace and people can become extraordinarily wealthy based on a terribly narrow skillset." Indeed, my own experience often included such exercises as drawing for architects who couldn't draw and sometimes in the presentation process, creating design for designers who couldn't. Indeed, I was sometimes amazed that by simply stepping back and taking in a larger picture, the resulting contribution to a work would be better than imagined.

The Académie des Beaux-Arts taught through the process of drawing. The advent of computer drafting led to a whole era of designers who's drawings, though they guided the mouse, where essentially drawn by someone else! The art once deemed so essential to design remains as a brief portion of the course, but it is no longer something a designer immerses oneself in every moment. One feels at times, watching the process, as if the designer is connecting lines and templates. The window manufacturer provides the cuts which are pasted into the drawing on screen. To be sure, the computer has opened up new vistas for the exploration of complex forms, but the buildings we live our everyday lives in do not require complex forms. Before the Second World War, in the early Twentieth Century, there existed a beautiful Classicism that made small houses noble. There was a sense of scale and proportion. There was a sense of shadow and texture. I learned much copying the styles of the renderers of those days.

On a far larger scale, Hawkins observes that our leaders often emerge having shown little or no expertise beyond their small sphere. Virginia boasts an 'elite' Senator who's 'expertise' consists of making a fortune by buying cell phone licenses. His good fortune in acquiring wealth is his credential. He does not know what it is like to struggle for years, paying your employee but not yourself to build a business. That might not be such an issue but for his stated derision of those who do: ""you’re going to see a coalition that has just about completely taken over the Republican Party in this state and if they have their way, it’s going to take over state government. It’s made up of the Christian Coalition, it’s made up of the right to lifers, it’s made up of the NRA, it’s made up of the homeschoolers, it’s made up of a whole coalition of people that have all sorts of different views that I think most of us in this room would find threatening to what it means to be an American." -- Mark Warner [1.]

There was a time when Beauty, Truth, Virtue and Nobleness were seen to spring from a Divine origin. The problem with Senator Warner's statement is that he summarily dismisses a whole group of people who embrace that. The Right to Life springs from the concept of IMAGO DEI, that belief that mankind is created in the Image of G-d. The Second Amendment acknowledges the belief that government serves the people and that power remains with the people. The ability to engage in self-defense is simply an expression of that greater principle. Homeschoolers simply acknowledge that the parent is the first one responsible for training up a child. They extend that responsibility in providing instruction in a broader body of knowledge than early language. Here Hawkins swerves into a greater truth. Modern relativism has rendered obsolete the concept that there is an ultimate source of Wisdom and Truth. The Academy, believing this, no longer teaches it.

Until recent times the Divine underpinning was foundational to learning. By its very nature it invited exploration of a broader world. Design had its inspiration in nature. Flawed human nature was continually challenged by a Divine benchmark. Relativism states that "all truths are equally valid," resulting in a diminished sense of the need to pursue absolute truth. Indeed, there is NO need to pursue absolute truth, for it doesn't exist in their thinking. This immediately serves to narrow one's experience. The celebration of 'Diversity' does NOT serve to broaden because it rails against the notion that there is an absolute. One steps up to the human experience like a consumer of a buffet, sampling interesting dishes but learning nothing about the creation of a meal! Indeed, Hawkins notes that one phenomenon inherent in this mindset is that now we have people who are famous simply for being famous. They need not present a resume of accomplishment. Hawkins cites the example of our President, who was elected despite the conspicuous absence of a resume of accomplishment.

As his election was sealed and his inauguration began, news anchors remarked: "We know VERY LITTLE about him!" A colleague of mine lamented the general lack of investigative journalism in our day, remarking that they must not have the resources for it. NO!, all you needed to do was READ HIS BOOK and you would come away with a strong sense of his Anticolonialist Socialist sentiments. But such is the Modern Age, that we can style the blank canvas of a Presidential candidate to be whatever we want him to be. Because many in our day are unfamiliar with true accomplishment, we fail to look for it!

That is why this publication has recently presented a series of stories of great accomplishment. Neil Armstrong and President Kennedy show us something of it. They showed us how to lift our eyes to the horizon. Kennedy, though a flawed man like most of us, did heroic things in the Pacific War and wrote a book called Profiles in Courage. I read it in Middle School... not as an assignment, mind you, but because it sat on Dad's voluminous bookshelves. Those people assigned to find counterfeit money do not spend a lot of time studying counterfeit money. Instead, they study real money in GREAT DETAIL. By doing so they develop a sense for what the true currency looks like. Even when presented with a very skillful counterfeit they can "feel" it. That is why THYME Magazine has become, if you will, Profiles in Faith! Indeed, there is a real vacuum of true stories of accomplishment that, if we knew them, would inspire us to set our vision higher.

Da Vinci was in fact the illegitimate son of a peasant woman. Nobles in Eighteenth Century England were often useless "idle rich," yet there is a greater nobility that is recurring in the human experience. The First Earl of Mansfield, William Murray, might never have understood fully the depravity of slavery without the presence of his great-niece, Dido Elizabeth Belle in his life! She was an illegitimate child of a slave but because of her father's love, she was accorded the status of a noblewoman. Like Esther of old, she became in a way a representative for the humanity of her people. George Gist was derided by his neighbors, but he created a language for his people. Such is the true nobility that a free society is able to nurture in its people. America has been such an incubator for human brilliance for over two centuries! Those who would cast her aside in the pursuit of their Socialist solutions would do well to reconsider!

The Magician's Twin
C. S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism


C. S. Lewis explores the modern tendency to elevate science to the status of religion.



Special Book Section

Several weeks ago we began the serial presentation of "Pontifus, The Bridge Builder's Tale in Three Parts." [1.] This week we present the second chapter of the third book: "Little House at the End of the World" Here [click to read]. This special book section will continue through the Summer. The full publication of THYME will resume in the Fall. Look for a new installment of Pontifus each Wednesday morning.