Category Archives: Christian Living and Practice

The Global Two Minute Drill: What Happens When the Cracks in the Foundation Are Too Obvious to Ignore, Cover, or Patch? Steven Menking

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Posted on September 18, 2016 by The Amateur Society

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In the past I’ve written about how our economic and governmental institutions are currently maintained because of a perception of confidence. In A Collapse in Credibility I anticipated a hastening erosion of confidence in the Federal Reserve. Fast forward three months and even mainstream media outlets are questioning the effectiveness of the ongoing emergency monetary policy at the Fed in light of their lies concerning data dependence and their lack of direction. Some are even openly declaring that the unprecedented monetary policy pursued over the last decade has failed. While this was by no means a difficult forecast, to this day it remains opaque to those who hold on to the beliefs that the Fed has their best interests in mind, is focused only on its stated objectives, has the power to achieve its stated objectives, and provides accurate forecasts.

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The Night When No Man Can Work – Steven Menking

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I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
John 9:4

These are the words of Jesus Christ. Here Jesus first declares His imperative to perform the will of God the Father. The second statement, a future tense proclamation with prophetic undertones, is more challenging to understand. Interpretations of this night when no man can work are numerous and varied. I believe that this verse is multifaceted. The night could refer to the death of Jesus specifically, death in general, the new heavens and new earth where our work will cease, a time during the Great Tribulation where because of either Satan’s wrath or God’s wrath our work will not be possible, or even several among these and others not listed here. I don’t claim to offer a definitive interpretation of this verse, but I’d like to pose a question that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart.

What if there is soon coming a time when the disruption of the global financial system leads to a general inability to work?

When I began to ponder the potential practical and economic implications of the verse several other questions arose…

What happens if the credit cycle freezes for a month?
What happens if the unemployment rate goes to 100%?
What happens if our ability to work out God’s calling in our lives is interrupted?
How should we act in light of these possibilities?

I won’t be able to address all the aspects of these complex questions here, so instead I’ll offer some thoughts and considerations from scripture and then provide some encouragement to my brothers and sisters in Christ on that last and most important topic: what we should do.

If you have responded to the call of God then you have taken on an incredible role as a child of the King and a bondservant of Christ. In order for the love of God to be made manifest, we have been created with free will. Love inevitably involves choice simply by definition. Suppose we program a computer to say ‘I love you’ whenever a particular command is entered. Even if we hear those words millions of times in such a manner true love will have never entered into the equation. God loves us so far beyond our capacity to imagine that even the degree to which our understanding is eclipsed is beyond our comprehension. You could even call it a known unknown unknown. We know that we don’t know how much we don’t know. Eat your heart out Donald Rumsfeld!

As part of the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus makes a remarkable statement:

For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:14

Responding to the call of God is on the short list of the most important and valuable things that you can do in this life. Few are chosen because we have the free will to ignore the calling that God has given us. Sadly many of us ignore God totally, most of us ignore God for extended periods of time, and all of us – if we’re honest with ourselves – ignore God in intervals and moments.

But what is the calling of God? Let’s again go to the Word of God made flesh, Jesus Himself:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 8:34

Notice how Jesus literally called the people as well as the disciples. The call to take up our crosses is universal. There is but one way to God. Believe on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, His death, burial, and resurrection, and follow Him.

But weren’t we talking about economics? What’s the relevance of all this calling stuff?

Don’t miss this: believe it or not we never stopped talking about economics. Economics at its most basic concerns how we deal with scarce resources. Our primary scarce resource in this life is this life itself. Time is the scarcest resource because we’ll never know how much of it we have. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not promised. As such, economics is concerned with virtually all of the decisions we make during our lives, including the eternally critical decision whether or not to follow the calling of God.

Through following God’s calling we know that we are called to follow God. However, each of our callings is definitively unique. My calling is different than yours even though they have many similarities – such as all three parts of Mark 8:34 listed above. God can call you to be a preacher, but the vast majority of Christians are not called to professional ministry. We are all called to be disciples of Christ, but we can also be called to be doctors, teachers, athletes, politicians, scientists, lawyers, sailors, cashiers, salespeople, musicians, bankers, miners, artists, writers, business owners, mechanics, homemakers, judges, assistants, nurses, and thousands more.

I believe there is coming a time when no man can work. I don’t know exactly what that would look like, but it won’t be pretty. But be encouraged brethren. While there is daylight left, while there is still time for you to respond to the call of God, while others still need to be saved, while the Holy Spirit still convicts us, and while we can still advance the Kingdom of God regardless of the position we have been called to, it is our responsibility to work with diligence and fervency.

After looking at the global financial landscape for as long as I have, I can tell you that a sense of urgency has developed toward my work. Take note: urgency is not the same as panic. We should be diligent and focused on accomplishing the tasks that God has given us, but that doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit can’t still provide us with patience, peace, calm, joy, and rest in Christ as well.

Answer God’s call. Press in to Jesus through the Word, prayer, and work. After all, God’s promises are sure, and that includes this one:

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much
Luke 16:10

A great reward will be ours both in this life and the next if we rely on God to give us the ability to accomplish His calling and purpose for our lives. Let us endure to the end, run the race, and fight the good fight of faith my brothers and sisters in Christ!

For more great insights from Steven visit his website The Amateur Society here.

What Does Digital Physics Have To Do With Hanjin Shipping? – Steven Menking

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No, fellow amateurs, I have not delved into a John Nash style madness a la ‘A Beautiful Mind’. However, I may in fact out myself as a quintessential nerd by admitting that when the movie came out and I was 13 I wept at the loss of intellectual genius portrayed in the film. I’d like to blame hormone imbalances due to puberty, but instead I’ll just own up to it. After all, I’m going to be writing about digital physics here, so we’re getting into some unorthodox, nerdy material in any case.

What is digital physics?

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The Dog Whistle Point, Faith, and ‘The Voyage of Life’ – Steven Menking

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Amateurs,

We’re living during a temporal juncture that has a certain ethereal quality to it. It’s almost like when you take a hearing test and the increasing pitch of the sound exceeds your hearing threshold and goes into dog whistle territory. You are simultaneously cognizant that a sound is still being generated and that it is no longer audible. You know that there is something to be heard, but you don’t hear it.

This summer has seen incredible, unbelievable, and shocking events from all quarters, yet it seems as if for all this stimulus there is little to no response. By now it should be obvious to anyone paying attention that our primary institutions of government, finance, and media here in the US are terminally corrupt at best and overtly criminal at worst. For all of the startling revelations it appears that the general populace is content to let events that even a decade ago would have generated national outcry simply roll off their shoulders.

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The Final Swan – Steven Menking

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For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

Mark 4:17

I haven’t been as active as usual for the past two weeks. This is mostly because I needed to be refreshed. Following global events and analysis in real time is cognitively, emotionally, and spiritually taxing. While I toned down my efforts, some absolutely incredible events have taken place. The status quo has proven itself profoundly robust to new information that should be earth-shattering. Perhaps this stands as a testimony of the general obliviousness of a populace subject to 24/7 propaganda. Maybe, just maybe, it’s something else. Can you feel the tension? Can you sense the desperation? Can you see the truth?

The NSA has been hacked and it’s cyberwarfare weapons are up for auction

George Soros was hacked and his geopolitical influence exposed

Contradicting Obama, the State Department admitted that it paid $400M in ransom to Iran

Russia is now bombing ISIS from Iran

Turkey announced a deeper partnership with Russia via the Turkish Stream oil pipeline

1,000 year flood in Louisiana due to a stationary storm system

Hillary Clinton’s questionable health came into the spotlight

Julian Assange’s lawyer apparently killed himself via a train

The DoD Inspector General found that the Pentagon can’t account for $6.5 TRILLION

And on and on it goes. In my opinion we’re seeing the cracks in the facade become the tremors that precede the earthquake. It seems like people will brush off one thing after another of any degree of seriousness unless they wake up to find the stock market imploded or World War III begun. However, if you can see the trends you’ll notice that the unprecedented is now a weekly – or even daily – occurrence.

The United States has lost the Middle East

With Turkey swinging to Russia after the failed coup, the new Turkish Stream pipeline deal in place, the Russians beginning aerial bombardments from Iran, the Yemenis failing to roll over to the Saudis, the US signing a nuclear accord only to have Iran demand and receive ransom for political prisoners while chanting ‘Death to America’, and now the Chinese getting more seriously involved in the affairs of the region, it is past time that everyone acknowledges that the neoconservative plan implemented during George W. Bush’s tenure and escalated under Obama’s is now a ruinous heap. Mission failed. PNAC is over. The 21st Century will not be another American century. The Pax Americana is finished. The Middle East is under new management.

This is an historic development made more dramatic by its amazing rapidity and limited visibility. Ask your friends about Incirlik and see what they say. Shouldn’t it be front page news that the US is no longer the arbiter of power in such a strategically important sphere? It is everywhere but the US. It’s time that we here in Amaruca recognize that no matter what we say and what tantrums we throw (former Deputy Director of the CIA demonstrates our insane geopolitical logic) that the idea of our sole hegemony is an outdated relic.

The truth is bubbling to the surface

Lies are fragile. The web of deception that has been built up over decades and centuries has persisted because of the ability to compartmentalize and control information. Total informational control is no longer possible.

The truth is potent. Sometimes all it takes is one truth to obliterate an armada of lies. When we see the State Department have to walk back a now-blatant falsehood from Mr. Obama about paying Iran $400M ransom in cash in less than a week – while it is still in the same news cycle no less – we know that there is an acceleration of the truth.

Hacks, leaks, and other data dumps are exposing plainly that plenty of hypothesis dismissed as conspiratorial are actually fact. In order to avoid tumbling down the rabbit hole of tens of thousands of emails and documents and communications, I’ll leave it at this: we’re seeing an escalation of volcanic activity in the truth department. When the real eruption will occur is anybody’s guess.

Despite all this, we’re still…

In more normal times, any one of the topics discussed would command the strict attention of the entire nation and a comprehensive, actionable solution would be demanded. We are not in normal times. The “new normal” is a garbage twist on words and a vain attempt to explain away why the structure of society is deteriorating.

In this summer we’ve been fed a steady diet of other shoes, black swans, and last straws. Yet the facade persists. I can’t shake the feeling that there is something else in store. Maybe it’s the Final Swan: a black swan, feet adorned with the other shoes and wings made of straw. An inelegant picture perhaps, but it does have the inevitability of Icarus in its imagery.

If any amateurs out there put together some concept art for the Final Swan – patent pending – email it to amateursociety@gmail.com. For the record, I’d prefer an actual swan to Natalie Portman, but far be it from me to impose any formal creative limitations. After all, I’m an amateur too.

This artricle was posted originally on The Amateur Society here.