Saturday, August 20, 2011
Big Brother wants to know where you will be going today.
At first, it starts out innocently enough. Insurance companies are interested in safe drivers, so some companies are offering discounts if drivers will agree to the installation of monitoring devices in their cars to prove how safe they are and where they are going. Okay, is that so bad? Well, let’s look a little deeper. The data collected by the insurers doesn’t necessarily stay with the insurers. The police and the courts will have access to that data. The federal government has also decided that it likes the idea of tracking people’s movements, so much so, that the government is considering a mandate that all vehicles must have event data recorders. Inch by inch our privacy and our rights are being removed, so slowly that we don’t even realize it. That is why everyone should read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception. Go to http://amzn.to/coxpMM for ordering information.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Consider the Ant, thou Christian Sluggard
We are all familiar with Proverbs 6:6 which says, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
This popular passage provides us with one particular trait of ants. What are some of the other traits that are unique among this, one of the lowliest of God’s creatures? The Proverbs passage refers to gathering food for lean times. What it doesn’t tell us, is that ants commonly cooperate with each other and collectively gather food. When one ant finds a source of food, he marks the trail on the way back to the colony. This trail-marking enables other ants find the same source of food and bring it back to the nest. Should an obstacle suddenly block the pathway to the food, the ants will randomly search for a new pathway to the food. Once an ant rediscovers the pathway to the food, he will mark a new trail and the harvest will continue. Successful trails are followed by more and more ants, reinforcing better routes and gradually finding the best path.
Other than gathering and storing food, what else do ants do for each other? As a group, they fight off their enemies and rescue captured ants. They groom each other and remove dangerous pathogens from the colony. A knowledgeable forager has been found to lead naïve nest-mates to newly discovered food. In learning from his experienced brother, the young ant obtains the necessary knowledge to gather food for himself. Ants are known to chip in to care for the eggs of as-yet un-hatched ants. Everything an ant does, is ultimately for the welfare of the whole colony.
What does this little biology lesson about ants have to do with Christians? Jesus may very well have been thinking of ant behavior when speaking about the Good Samaritan, the two greatest commandments, and the parable of the King inviting the Righteous into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mark 12:28-31 discusses the Greatest Commandments, namely we should love God with everything we’ve got, and we should love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s rather easy to say that we love God with everything we’ve got…but what about the second part…that part about loving our neighbor as ourselves? And, exactly who is our neighbor? Is it the person who sits next to us at church?
Luke 10:25-37 tells us who our neighbors are. This passage describes the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then told the lawyer about a man who was attacked by thieves. They robbed him, wounded him and left him for dead. When a priest spotted the wounded man, he crossed to the other side of the road and continued on his way. Likewise, a Levite also avoided helping out the man. Finally, a Samaritan took the time and effort to help the wounded man. Take notice that the Samaritan didn’t go to the Temple and put in extra money in the offering pan that was dedicated to helping the poor and needy. No, this man stopped, cared for the man’s wounds, and transported him to the nearest inn where he left money with the innkeeper instructing him to continue caring for the wounded man.
Once finished with his story, Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who was the neighbor to the man who fell among thieves?” The lawyer had no choice but to answer that the one who showed mercy to the wounded man was the one who was the neighbor. On hearing the lawyer’s answer, Jesus commanded him, “Go and do likewise.”
So, we Christians now know that our neighbor is anyone we run across, acquaintance or not, who is in need. Mark 12:28-31 tells us that one of the greatest commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves, and then in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus commands us to do as the Good Samaritan did.
This principle is further reinforced in Matthew 25:34-40 where the King said to the Righteous, “Come you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I had no clothing and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, and I was in prison and you came to me.”
A bit confused, the Righteous asked the Lord, “When did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we take you in? When did we provide you with clothing? When did we care for you when you were sick or in prison?”
Quick to answer, the King said, “When you do those things for other people, you are doing them directly for me.”
Like it or not, we Christians tend to be rather anti-social. We rush out the door in the morning, work at climbing the corporate ladder, step on other people’s ambitions in order to get what we want, rush back home, close the garage door without even waving to our neighbors, and then hide in our homes until the next morning when we do it all over again. Yes, we go to church on Sunday morning to appease our conscience. We might even volunteer to help out of some church activities, but a record of regular church attendance does not even come close to satisfying God’s greatest commandment. According to scripture, fellow church members are not defined as our neighbors; they are our family. Who wouldn’t care for their own family? Even thieves and robbers care for members of their own families, and we know that thieves and robbers aren’t too likely to be invited to pass through the Pearly Gates. According to scripture, our neighbors are more accurately defined as strangers or people we barely know.
The ant which is among the lowest of creatures, blindly obeys God’s law of loving his neighbor. Yet we humans, who are the greatest of God’s creation, tend to make the conscious choice to ignore God’s law, all the while proclaiming that we love God with all our hearts.
It would be wise to remember that the way God expects us to love Him is to express that love by caring for our neighbors who are in need.
This popular passage provides us with one particular trait of ants. What are some of the other traits that are unique among this, one of the lowliest of God’s creatures? The Proverbs passage refers to gathering food for lean times. What it doesn’t tell us, is that ants commonly cooperate with each other and collectively gather food. When one ant finds a source of food, he marks the trail on the way back to the colony. This trail-marking enables other ants find the same source of food and bring it back to the nest. Should an obstacle suddenly block the pathway to the food, the ants will randomly search for a new pathway to the food. Once an ant rediscovers the pathway to the food, he will mark a new trail and the harvest will continue. Successful trails are followed by more and more ants, reinforcing better routes and gradually finding the best path.
Other than gathering and storing food, what else do ants do for each other? As a group, they fight off their enemies and rescue captured ants. They groom each other and remove dangerous pathogens from the colony. A knowledgeable forager has been found to lead naïve nest-mates to newly discovered food. In learning from his experienced brother, the young ant obtains the necessary knowledge to gather food for himself. Ants are known to chip in to care for the eggs of as-yet un-hatched ants. Everything an ant does, is ultimately for the welfare of the whole colony.
What does this little biology lesson about ants have to do with Christians? Jesus may very well have been thinking of ant behavior when speaking about the Good Samaritan, the two greatest commandments, and the parable of the King inviting the Righteous into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mark 12:28-31 discusses the Greatest Commandments, namely we should love God with everything we’ve got, and we should love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s rather easy to say that we love God with everything we’ve got…but what about the second part…that part about loving our neighbor as ourselves? And, exactly who is our neighbor? Is it the person who sits next to us at church?
Luke 10:25-37 tells us who our neighbors are. This passage describes the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then told the lawyer about a man who was attacked by thieves. They robbed him, wounded him and left him for dead. When a priest spotted the wounded man, he crossed to the other side of the road and continued on his way. Likewise, a Levite also avoided helping out the man. Finally, a Samaritan took the time and effort to help the wounded man. Take notice that the Samaritan didn’t go to the Temple and put in extra money in the offering pan that was dedicated to helping the poor and needy. No, this man stopped, cared for the man’s wounds, and transported him to the nearest inn where he left money with the innkeeper instructing him to continue caring for the wounded man.
Once finished with his story, Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who was the neighbor to the man who fell among thieves?” The lawyer had no choice but to answer that the one who showed mercy to the wounded man was the one who was the neighbor. On hearing the lawyer’s answer, Jesus commanded him, “Go and do likewise.”
So, we Christians now know that our neighbor is anyone we run across, acquaintance or not, who is in need. Mark 12:28-31 tells us that one of the greatest commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves, and then in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus commands us to do as the Good Samaritan did.
This principle is further reinforced in Matthew 25:34-40 where the King said to the Righteous, “Come you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I had no clothing and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, and I was in prison and you came to me.”
A bit confused, the Righteous asked the Lord, “When did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we take you in? When did we provide you with clothing? When did we care for you when you were sick or in prison?”
Quick to answer, the King said, “When you do those things for other people, you are doing them directly for me.”
Like it or not, we Christians tend to be rather anti-social. We rush out the door in the morning, work at climbing the corporate ladder, step on other people’s ambitions in order to get what we want, rush back home, close the garage door without even waving to our neighbors, and then hide in our homes until the next morning when we do it all over again. Yes, we go to church on Sunday morning to appease our conscience. We might even volunteer to help out of some church activities, but a record of regular church attendance does not even come close to satisfying God’s greatest commandment. According to scripture, fellow church members are not defined as our neighbors; they are our family. Who wouldn’t care for their own family? Even thieves and robbers care for members of their own families, and we know that thieves and robbers aren’t too likely to be invited to pass through the Pearly Gates. According to scripture, our neighbors are more accurately defined as strangers or people we barely know.
The ant which is among the lowest of creatures, blindly obeys God’s law of loving his neighbor. Yet we humans, who are the greatest of God’s creation, tend to make the conscious choice to ignore God’s law, all the while proclaiming that we love God with all our hearts.
It would be wise to remember that the way God expects us to love Him is to express that love by caring for our neighbors who are in need.
Friday, August 12, 2011
ST Excerpt Chapter Two
This excerpt is from Chapter Two of Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Chapter Two
Preparing the Way
Political Correctness
In our nation’s history, some very legitimate concerns regarding racial and ethnic hatred have existed. Our country, which was founded on the belief that all men are created equal, should never allow bigotry of any kind to go unchecked. Such situations need to be identified and corrected. In the past we have implemented the necessary changes in unfair laws and treatments toward a number of minority groups. We have made progress in many areas, however, a popular mindset that is growing in our nation today demands tolerance, acceptance, love, equality, and sensitivity for a number of groups, which express neither legitimate nor necessary societal concerns.
Political correctness has literally burst onto the American landscape. It is the knight in shining armor, which has come to the rescue of many groups of individuals who feel downtrodden by mainstream society. Below is a short list of allegedly insensitive terms and phrases with the more respectful, sensitive, and inclusive terms listed in the adjacent column:
Occult....................New Age
Black......................African American
Homosexual.........Gay
Girl........................Woman
Waitress...............Server
Stewardess..........Flight attendant
Chairman.............Chairperson
Oriental................Asian
Blind......................Visually challenged
Broken home....... Dysfunctional family
Dish washer.........Utensil sanitizer
Fat.........................Person of substance
Freshman.............First year student
Homeless..............Outdoor urban dweller
Janitor...................Sanitation engineer
Mankind...............Humankind
Midget..................Little person
Elderly..................Senior citizen
Prostitute.............Sex care provider
This mindset programs society to be increasingly receptive to the ever-more radical progressions of change that are currently seeping in to our culture, today. When we accept and begin to implement these politically correct ideas, we become fertile ground for embracing tolerance, acceptance, and promotion of all sorts of questionable activities, immoralities, and value systems, regardless of their negative impact on society. The innocent appearance and often even humorous notion of political correctness is one of the baby steps that are propelling us down a road of obscurity where Shadow Truths prevail.
The underlying premise of political correctness is that we should take all necessary precautions to avoid offending one another, especially with regard to race, position, politics, religious beliefs, gender, physical weaknesses, or chosen lifestyles. On the surface, it would seem that the idea of political correctness is innocent enough. After all, we shouldn’t discriminate or treat each other as inferior because of sex, race, or religious beliefs. What possible harm can come to a society simply because we choose to employ such sensibilities? The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves, doesn’t it? Yet, this mindset, regardless of its virtuous-sounding argument, is moving us steadily in the direction of destroying the moral fabric of our nation because it is not based on Absolute Truth.
In every society basic rights and wrongs exist. If the agents of Shadow Truth, humanists, liberal politicians and others can successfully cast societal wrongs in a different light, they will be able to advance their destructive causes. Satan is striving to convince us that the issues raised in their agendas are no different than the societal wrongs that genuinely need to be corrected. When we come to view such complaints in the same light as genuine wrongs against society, we will accept his deceit and believe the lie. In turn, we will begin to make changes that will ultimately unravel the fabric of our nation.
In our society, we would never justify outright murder. We all know it is wrong to kill another human being. However, if a person kills someone else who has broken into their home and is trying to harm their children, that would be another story. Our court systems would deem that murder as justifiable homicide because the circumstances that provoked the murder cast it into a different light.
Likewise, Shadow Truth attempts to take things like improper value systems and immoral lifestyles and cast them into a different light. It attempts to portray such behavior as liberties that should be viewed differently and protected by society’s laws. This is a daunting task for our enemy, but he has had a lot experience in this realm of deceit.
The cunning logic of Shadow Truth is that it builds its legitimacy on the foundation of absolute biblical truth. For instance, no one would say that it is wrong to respect another person’s right to maintain his own beliefs. Americawas founded on these principals. And it certainly is true that just because another person may have some very different ideals, beliefs, and traditions than we do, we do not have the right to hurt them, torture them, or kill them. This is the foundation upon which Shadow Truth grows. However, from that solid foundation of truth, Shadow Truth begins to whisper into our collective ear that civilized people should tolerate every belief and moral behavior of others.
After becoming accustomed to tolerating every behavior, soon things that are harmful to society begin creeping in and are allowed to go on, unchecked. Certain groups begin practicing immoral lifestyles that we genuinely detest, but because of the increasing pressure from society not to speak against anyone’s practices, we tolerate behavior that we hate. As a matter of fact if we look deep enough, we might even find that we harbor feelings of distrust toward the people who are engaged in such activities. However, as Shadow Truth progresses in our modern society, those who harbor such dangerous emotions as these are considered to be too unhealthy for a progressive society. Instead of just tolerating the behavior of these people, we are expected to accept their behavior.
After more time goes by, society eventually conforms to accept certain behaviors rather than just tolerating them. Then, it’s time for yet another progression of Shadow Truth’s deception. There are those in our society who we don’t particularly agree with, but we have learned to accept them and their behavior. However, acceptance of a behavior still implies a disagreement and distrust of that behavior. Even though we are accepting them, those groups can clearly discern that we disagree with them and distrust them.
Our perceived air of supremacy begins to make them feel uncomfortable and unworthy. Our unspoken attitude loudly proclaims that we are the moral majority and they belong to the amoral minority. Our feelings of distrust are causing those people to feel downtrodden and sub-human, and that prevents them from leading the good and happy life guaranteed to them by our forefathers. Our Declaration of Independence states that we are all created equal and we all have certain rights including the pursuit of happiness. Rather than just accepting them, why can’t we offer some entitlements and preferential treatments for those poor, unfortunate, and downtrodden people?
After even more time passes, Shadow Truth is ready to introduce its next step. There are certain people within our society who act somewhat differently than we do. While our preferential treatment has permitted them to rise in our society at an accelerated rate, they still feel that we are not completely understanding of their behavior. Why can’t we promote their behavior as a lifestyle to be desired? If we do that, then they will finally feel that they really are a part of our society. At long last, we will truly love our neighbor as ourselves.
There are many more sub-progressions than those indicated above. Each tiny step of Shadow Truth deception is so incredibly small and insignificant that it can’t be discerned to be the destructive societal evolution it really is. When viewed up close on a microscopic level, each deceitful step is characterized to be good, healthy and necessary for the good of mankind. However, if we were to step back and view where we are today compared to where we were many years ago, we would be shocked at the radical changes we have embraced.
Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus is attributed to the quote: “Poison is in everything, and no thing without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.” It may be a shock to some people, but the same substances that are being used to kill rats are routinely used to save human lives. Many times, the only difference between a death sentence and a life-saving procedure is the dose that is being administered.
Water happens to be one of the most basic of nutrients required by the human body. No one can survive without the life-giving qualities provided by water. Doctors often encourage us to drink lots of water in order to maintain good health. Water is considered to be an essential life-giving substance. There is no way, you might say, that a person could be harmed by drinking lots of water. Well, Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus just might disagree with you. Paracelus’ theory that the dose makes the poison suggests that any substance, no matter how safe or how dangerous can be a poison if consumed at too great a dosage. Consequently Paracelsus might disagree with the person who believes that any amount of water is harmless.
In 2007, a radio station sponsored a water-drinking contest. The listener who could drink the most water in one sitting would win a prize. What the sponsors of the contest failed to realize was that the consumption of any substance, no matter what that substance is, can kill a person if it is consumed in excess. The person who won the prize was never able to enjoy her winnings because of the little-known fact that water consumed in great enough quantities is capable of diluting certain vital fluids in the body to the point of rendering the body incapable of survival.
Shadow Truth has a way of doing the same thing. By introducing seemingly innocent and benign concepts into society, people are encouraged to accept these small and incremental societal changes in unhealthy excesses. Like the radio contestant who died after drinking too much water, eventually our society will have swallowed more change than it can safely handle. That which once seemed good and healthy will become a deadly poison and once that happens, society is destined to crumble and fall.
It is common knowledge that there is a moral, yet silent, majority in our society. This silent majority is so-named because of its tendency to follow along like a herd of sheep and not stand up for its rights. This silent majority is being convinced by a passionate and vocal minority that it should alter its own morals and beliefs in order to comply with the needs, beliefs, and demands of those in the minority. That is why a strong and mighty majority can be manipulated and corralled by a very vocal minority. Just as a lone sheep dog can easily round up an entire herd of sheep, so too, political activists can control the actions others take.
Therefore, what began as a docile and benign desire to avoid offending the sensibilities of others becomes the framework for suppressing the beliefs of the moral majority in favor of the minority’s position. With hardly a whimper, they discontinue offering prayer in public; stop mentioning the name of Jesus in public; quit publicly wishing others Merry Christmas; apologize for celebrating Easter; and remove God from classrooms, and public meetings.
Satan’s Multifaceted Attack against Mankind
The agents of Shadow Truth as defined throughout this book are attacking us on three primary fronts. The first theater of attack is focused on separating us from our God. The second is focused on separating us from our values. The third arena of attack is dedicated to the task of destroying our self-dependence and forcing us to be dependent on others. Once Shadow Truth successfully alters our behavior on each of these fronts, Satan will be able to claim his victory over mankind. Shadow Truth starts off very slowly and meticulously. By taking one imperceptible step at a time, Shadow Truth eventually builds strength and momentum. As time passes, each subsequent step will no longer be baby steps. Instead, the steps will be giant strides. Today, Shadow Truth’s march to victory is accelerating as in no previous time in history.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Chapter Two
Preparing the Way
Political Correctness
In our nation’s history, some very legitimate concerns regarding racial and ethnic hatred have existed. Our country, which was founded on the belief that all men are created equal, should never allow bigotry of any kind to go unchecked. Such situations need to be identified and corrected. In the past we have implemented the necessary changes in unfair laws and treatments toward a number of minority groups. We have made progress in many areas, however, a popular mindset that is growing in our nation today demands tolerance, acceptance, love, equality, and sensitivity for a number of groups, which express neither legitimate nor necessary societal concerns.
Political correctness has literally burst onto the American landscape. It is the knight in shining armor, which has come to the rescue of many groups of individuals who feel downtrodden by mainstream society. Below is a short list of allegedly insensitive terms and phrases with the more respectful, sensitive, and inclusive terms listed in the adjacent column:
Occult....................New Age
Black......................African American
Homosexual.........Gay
Girl........................Woman
Waitress...............Server
Stewardess..........Flight attendant
Chairman.............Chairperson
Oriental................Asian
Blind......................Visually challenged
Broken home....... Dysfunctional family
Dish washer.........Utensil sanitizer
Fat.........................Person of substance
Freshman.............First year student
Homeless..............Outdoor urban dweller
Janitor...................Sanitation engineer
Mankind...............Humankind
Midget..................Little person
Elderly..................Senior citizen
Prostitute.............Sex care provider
This mindset programs society to be increasingly receptive to the ever-more radical progressions of change that are currently seeping in to our culture, today. When we accept and begin to implement these politically correct ideas, we become fertile ground for embracing tolerance, acceptance, and promotion of all sorts of questionable activities, immoralities, and value systems, regardless of their negative impact on society. The innocent appearance and often even humorous notion of political correctness is one of the baby steps that are propelling us down a road of obscurity where Shadow Truths prevail.
The underlying premise of political correctness is that we should take all necessary precautions to avoid offending one another, especially with regard to race, position, politics, religious beliefs, gender, physical weaknesses, or chosen lifestyles. On the surface, it would seem that the idea of political correctness is innocent enough. After all, we shouldn’t discriminate or treat each other as inferior because of sex, race, or religious beliefs. What possible harm can come to a society simply because we choose to employ such sensibilities? The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves, doesn’t it? Yet, this mindset, regardless of its virtuous-sounding argument, is moving us steadily in the direction of destroying the moral fabric of our nation because it is not based on Absolute Truth.
In every society basic rights and wrongs exist. If the agents of Shadow Truth, humanists, liberal politicians and others can successfully cast societal wrongs in a different light, they will be able to advance their destructive causes. Satan is striving to convince us that the issues raised in their agendas are no different than the societal wrongs that genuinely need to be corrected. When we come to view such complaints in the same light as genuine wrongs against society, we will accept his deceit and believe the lie. In turn, we will begin to make changes that will ultimately unravel the fabric of our nation.
In our society, we would never justify outright murder. We all know it is wrong to kill another human being. However, if a person kills someone else who has broken into their home and is trying to harm their children, that would be another story. Our court systems would deem that murder as justifiable homicide because the circumstances that provoked the murder cast it into a different light.
Likewise, Shadow Truth attempts to take things like improper value systems and immoral lifestyles and cast them into a different light. It attempts to portray such behavior as liberties that should be viewed differently and protected by society’s laws. This is a daunting task for our enemy, but he has had a lot experience in this realm of deceit.
The cunning logic of Shadow Truth is that it builds its legitimacy on the foundation of absolute biblical truth. For instance, no one would say that it is wrong to respect another person’s right to maintain his own beliefs. Americawas founded on these principals. And it certainly is true that just because another person may have some very different ideals, beliefs, and traditions than we do, we do not have the right to hurt them, torture them, or kill them. This is the foundation upon which Shadow Truth grows. However, from that solid foundation of truth, Shadow Truth begins to whisper into our collective ear that civilized people should tolerate every belief and moral behavior of others.
After becoming accustomed to tolerating every behavior, soon things that are harmful to society begin creeping in and are allowed to go on, unchecked. Certain groups begin practicing immoral lifestyles that we genuinely detest, but because of the increasing pressure from society not to speak against anyone’s practices, we tolerate behavior that we hate. As a matter of fact if we look deep enough, we might even find that we harbor feelings of distrust toward the people who are engaged in such activities. However, as Shadow Truth progresses in our modern society, those who harbor such dangerous emotions as these are considered to be too unhealthy for a progressive society. Instead of just tolerating the behavior of these people, we are expected to accept their behavior.
After more time goes by, society eventually conforms to accept certain behaviors rather than just tolerating them. Then, it’s time for yet another progression of Shadow Truth’s deception. There are those in our society who we don’t particularly agree with, but we have learned to accept them and their behavior. However, acceptance of a behavior still implies a disagreement and distrust of that behavior. Even though we are accepting them, those groups can clearly discern that we disagree with them and distrust them.
Our perceived air of supremacy begins to make them feel uncomfortable and unworthy. Our unspoken attitude loudly proclaims that we are the moral majority and they belong to the amoral minority. Our feelings of distrust are causing those people to feel downtrodden and sub-human, and that prevents them from leading the good and happy life guaranteed to them by our forefathers. Our Declaration of Independence states that we are all created equal and we all have certain rights including the pursuit of happiness. Rather than just accepting them, why can’t we offer some entitlements and preferential treatments for those poor, unfortunate, and downtrodden people?
After even more time passes, Shadow Truth is ready to introduce its next step. There are certain people within our society who act somewhat differently than we do. While our preferential treatment has permitted them to rise in our society at an accelerated rate, they still feel that we are not completely understanding of their behavior. Why can’t we promote their behavior as a lifestyle to be desired? If we do that, then they will finally feel that they really are a part of our society. At long last, we will truly love our neighbor as ourselves.
There are many more sub-progressions than those indicated above. Each tiny step of Shadow Truth deception is so incredibly small and insignificant that it can’t be discerned to be the destructive societal evolution it really is. When viewed up close on a microscopic level, each deceitful step is characterized to be good, healthy and necessary for the good of mankind. However, if we were to step back and view where we are today compared to where we were many years ago, we would be shocked at the radical changes we have embraced.
Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus is attributed to the quote: “Poison is in everything, and no thing without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.” It may be a shock to some people, but the same substances that are being used to kill rats are routinely used to save human lives. Many times, the only difference between a death sentence and a life-saving procedure is the dose that is being administered.
Water happens to be one of the most basic of nutrients required by the human body. No one can survive without the life-giving qualities provided by water. Doctors often encourage us to drink lots of water in order to maintain good health. Water is considered to be an essential life-giving substance. There is no way, you might say, that a person could be harmed by drinking lots of water. Well, Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus just might disagree with you. Paracelus’ theory that the dose makes the poison suggests that any substance, no matter how safe or how dangerous can be a poison if consumed at too great a dosage. Consequently Paracelsus might disagree with the person who believes that any amount of water is harmless.
In 2007, a radio station sponsored a water-drinking contest. The listener who could drink the most water in one sitting would win a prize. What the sponsors of the contest failed to realize was that the consumption of any substance, no matter what that substance is, can kill a person if it is consumed in excess. The person who won the prize was never able to enjoy her winnings because of the little-known fact that water consumed in great enough quantities is capable of diluting certain vital fluids in the body to the point of rendering the body incapable of survival.
Shadow Truth has a way of doing the same thing. By introducing seemingly innocent and benign concepts into society, people are encouraged to accept these small and incremental societal changes in unhealthy excesses. Like the radio contestant who died after drinking too much water, eventually our society will have swallowed more change than it can safely handle. That which once seemed good and healthy will become a deadly poison and once that happens, society is destined to crumble and fall.
It is common knowledge that there is a moral, yet silent, majority in our society. This silent majority is so-named because of its tendency to follow along like a herd of sheep and not stand up for its rights. This silent majority is being convinced by a passionate and vocal minority that it should alter its own morals and beliefs in order to comply with the needs, beliefs, and demands of those in the minority. That is why a strong and mighty majority can be manipulated and corralled by a very vocal minority. Just as a lone sheep dog can easily round up an entire herd of sheep, so too, political activists can control the actions others take.
Therefore, what began as a docile and benign desire to avoid offending the sensibilities of others becomes the framework for suppressing the beliefs of the moral majority in favor of the minority’s position. With hardly a whimper, they discontinue offering prayer in public; stop mentioning the name of Jesus in public; quit publicly wishing others Merry Christmas; apologize for celebrating Easter; and remove God from classrooms, and public meetings.
Satan’s Multifaceted Attack against Mankind
The agents of Shadow Truth as defined throughout this book are attacking us on three primary fronts. The first theater of attack is focused on separating us from our God. The second is focused on separating us from our values. The third arena of attack is dedicated to the task of destroying our self-dependence and forcing us to be dependent on others. Once Shadow Truth successfully alters our behavior on each of these fronts, Satan will be able to claim his victory over mankind. Shadow Truth starts off very slowly and meticulously. By taking one imperceptible step at a time, Shadow Truth eventually builds strength and momentum. As time passes, each subsequent step will no longer be baby steps. Instead, the steps will be giant strides. Today, Shadow Truth’s march to victory is accelerating as in no previous time in history.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Friday, August 5, 2011
ST Excerpt Chapter One
This excerpt is from the Introduction of Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Chapter One
Early Examples of Shadow Truth
The Garden of Eden
In the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve an Absolute Truth when He instructed them that they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He told them that if they ate of it they would surely die. Following God’s command was easy at first, but deception also had its beginning in the Garden of Eden. Satan found a way to deceive Adam and Eve by blurring God’s truth. It is hard for us to imagine how they could have believed his lies, but perhaps it went something like this:
One day as Eve was walking in the midst of the garden, she happened upon the serpent. One can only imagine the following conversations as they actually occurred. After some pleasantries regarding the loveliness of the garden and the wonderful fruits in it, the serpent drew her attention to the tree that was right in the center of the garden. “How do you like the fruit of this tree?” he inquired.
“Oh…I don’t know,” said Eve. “We’re not permitted to eat the fruit from this tree.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said the serpent. Gingerly yet with confidence, he removed one of the fruits from the tree and examined it closely, as Eve peered curiously over his shoulder. After what seemed to be a rather long period of silence, the serpent said, “This fruit looks absolutely perfect.”
“Yes it does,” agreed Eve in a timid voice.
Holding the fruit out to Eve, the serpent said, “Here, examine it for yourself.” Realizing that Eve was backing away, the serpent softly said, “God may have told you not to eat this fruit, but I don’t think he warned you against touching it too.”
Eve stretched out her hand and carefully took the fruit from the serpent. With nervousness showing on her face, she slowly turned the fruit over in her hands and examined every inch of it.
This time, it was the serpent that was peering over Eve’s shoulder. “Look at this wonderful fruit, Eve. Why on God’s green earth aren’t you permitted to eat the fruit from this lovely tree? Surely, it’s as good and nutritious as the fruit from all the other trees. Wouldn’t you just love to sink your teeth into it right now? I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.”
After a few minutes, Eve answered, “I don’t have any idea why we are forbidden to eat this fruit. We don’t have any rules except this one, and it can’t be broken under any circumstances. We are to simply avoid eating the fruit from this tree at all costs; otherwise, we will surely die.”
“Well, Eve,” said the serpent. “I’m sure God had a very good reason for telling you not to eat the fruit from this tree. After all, we know God’s words are true.” Pointing to a nearby boulder, the serpent said, “Come, let’s sit and talk for a few minutes.” Still holding the fruit in her hands, Eve followed the serpent. After they sat down on the boulder, the serpent said, “Eve, what is the name of this tree?”
“This is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” answered Eve.
The serpent pondered her answer for a few moments. Suddenly, a smile spread across his face. “Eve, I believe I understand why you are to avoid the fruit from this tree.”
Leaning forward in anticipation, Eve said, “You do? Please, mister serpent, tell me what it is. I really am curious about this tree and the wonderful-looking fruit that adorns its branches.”
“Certainly,” answered the serpent. “I will be happy to help you understand this better. Since only God has all knowledge of good and evil, if you eat the fruit from this tree, then you too will have all knowledge of good and evil. Doesn’t that sound logical to you?”
Eve’s eyes widened as she marveled at the level of his reasoning. “I believe you are right. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Eve. You’ve been so enamored with this wonderful garden you probably just haven’t taken the time to consider the advantages of eating the fruit from this particular tree. I’m sure that you would have eventually figured it out on your own.”
After staring at the fruit in her hands for a couple of minutes, Eve asked the serpent, “What would it mean if I were to gain the knowledge of good and evil?”
With a look of compassion on his face, the serpent answered, “Well, Eve, right now only God has all knowledge of good and evil. It appears to me that once you too have the knowledge of good and evil then you will be like God. Come to think about it, you would probably be on the same level as God.”
As if she was in a hypnotic trance, Eve seemed to look right through the serpent as she considered the possibilities of being like God. After a few minutes she came back to the subject at hand and said, “I see it so clearly now. Once we eat this fruit, we will both be just like God.”
The serpent allowed a few minutes to pass while Eve considered the apparent advantages of eating the fruit. Mustering up a look of sincerity, he asked, “Eve, is God eternal?”
“Of course, God is eternal. Why do you ask?”
“Well, Eve, it seems to me that if you become like God, then you too will be eternal and there won’t be any risk of death because you will be just like God—God cannot die!”
Eve’s face brightened as she carefully considered the serpent’s last statement. Her lips pursed as if she was going to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead, she turned and looked up into the tree. Finally, she turned back to the serpent and said, “Of course, now I understand, you’ve made it crystal clear to me. God forbade us to eat the fruit from this tree because He wanted to keep us from becoming like him.”
“I think you may be on to something, Eve. Why don’t you go ahead and eat some of this fruit. It seems to be the most beautiful fruit in the garden. What have you got to lose?”
“I believe I will, and I am going to tell Adam what you and I have figured out. Together, Adam and I will become just like God.”
Eve’s Shadow Truth Tree
Satan craftily twisted God’s Absolute Truth into his own version of truth. Through his cunning manipulation, Eve was deceived into believing that she would become like God by eating the fruit of the tree. Satan’s lies were based on the undeniable fact that there was a tree in the midst of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had forbidden them to eat. He then took the truth and began corrupting it by building an alternate, or Shadow Truth. He did this by calling into question God’s motives and character, and presenting Eve with another version of truth. His cunning words seemed logical, good, and even right, and culminated in convincing Eve that if she ate the fruit of the tree she had nothing to lose. She would gain the knowledge of good and evil and become like God. Satan began with God’s Absolute Truth and in his craftiness, twisted it into his Shadow Truth. This, coupled with Eve’s covetous desire, created a situation where she believed his lie.
Shadow Truth Tree of Eve's Temptation
Below, is an illustration of how Satan twisted God's Truth. First of all, following is God's Truth: There is a tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do not eat of the fruit of that tree. If you eat of that fruit, you will die.
Now, here is how Satan twisted God's Truth, one step at a time: God who has all knowledge of Good and Evil planted this tree. Eating of that tree will result in you having the knowledge of Good and Evil. If you have the knowledge of Good and Evil, then you will be like God. God is eternal, God will not die. If you are like God, then you will not die.
Satan’s Temptation of Jesus
Another example of how Satan uses “Shadow Truth” can be seen in the well-known temptation of Jesus, in the Book of Matthew. In this instance, Satan said to Jesus, “…If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6, KJV).
Satan attempted to convince Jesus to jump off a high place by quoting Scripture to Him. Jesus knew that although Satan was quoting truth, he was twisting its meaning. Jesus saw through Satan’s cunning deception and responded with another Absolute Truth, which fit the circumstance. He said, “…thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7, KJV). The lesson we can learn and apply from how Jesus dealt with Satan’s lies is this: We are obligated to test every so-called truth that comes our way against God’s Word before accepting and implementing it into our lives.
Shadow Truth Tree of Jesus' Tempation
The illustration below represents the steps Satan used in his failed attempt to deceive Jesus with Shadow Truth. First of all, let's look at God's Absolute Truth: Jesus is the Son of God. The angels are obligated to protect Jesus. God is not to be tempted.
Now, here is how Satan twisted God's Truth, one step at a time: You are the Son of God. God says that the angels are charged with your protection. Therefore, if you jump from this high place, you will be protected by the angels.
Moving on to the Rest of Mankind
Satan successfully used his Shadow Truth against Eve. While not successful, he even tried it on Jesus. Satan wants to rule the world, not for now, but forever. The concepts of Shadow Truth have been implemented on mankind, all of the way from Adam and Eve to you, me and the modern world we live in.
Every well-functioning society operates from a basis of commonly held rules, laws, and truths relating to human behavior and relationships. A firm foundation of truth must be established in order for a society to be established and function properly. America had such a beginning. Our forefathers established certain governing rules and truths which were based on biblical principles such as: we have a Creator, murder is prohibited, we are to honor and obey our parents, we are to obey those in authority, the family unit is of utmost importance, morality must be a part of our very being, adultery is wrong and must be avoided, we are not to steal that which belongs to others, we are obligated to respect the rights and possessions of others, we must always tell the truth, it is not healthy to covet that which our neighbor has, sexual lust will result in great harm to ourselves and our families, we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us, we are obligated to support our selves, and we are not to expect others to take care of our personal needs.
In their beginnings, young societies are usually focused on survival. Once they have progressed to a point beyond basic survival, they begin focusing on other goals, such as prosperity and achievement. During this phase, societies tend to rise and strengthen. They have ambition and they have purpose. Their citizens are working toward a common goal. They are reaching out toward the future. They are marching toward something greater.
Once societies arrive at a certain degree of greatness, a feeling of complacency overtakes them. They begin to relax and lose sight of their basic goals. They forget the fact that hard work, dedication, and independence was the source of their success. They no longer have a deep and driving purpose. Soon, those successful societies begin drifting toward humanistic practices and rituals. They begin focusing more on pleasure than on survival. Their lust for pleasure results in a cancerous formation of corruption and perversion. Then there comes a point when they begin to fail as a society.
Just as it was in the Garden of Eden, it is in the early periods of the successful era that the ground is most fertile for Satan to begin planting his seeds of deception. His ultimate goal is deceit. He attacks mankind in every facet of society. However, his attacks do not appear to be attacks. Instead, they are disguised as logical and needed answers to genuine societal problems. For instance, many great kingdoms and societies have risen and fallen in the course of human history. When looking at theRoman Empire, the Greek rule, and many other societies, there may be some parallels. A nation grows when there is purpose, but when greatness is achieved, a certain relaxing occurs, thus causing the nation to forget where it came from.
Satan has time on his side. He has no pressing need to corrupt mankind in a single generation. In order to corrupt all of mankind and completely take over theKingdomofGod, he convinces mankind with one tiny little twist of truth at a time.
Eve’s temptation was the beginning of his form of Shadow Truth deception. Once his plan was determined to be immensely successful, the stage for the actual implementation had to be set. Mankind is weak and sinful. Many times we are our own worst enemies. Often times, we blame Satan for our own weaknesses. Sure, Satan may present certain opportunities to us, but we dwell and fantasize on those things until we willfully embrace them.
On a macro level, Shadow Truth is a multifaceted attack on mankind. On a micro level however, humanity is being convinced that Shadow Truth is the salvation of many individual and seemingly unrelated problems. Most of mankind has no idea that they are being led to slaughter. They are swallowing each new progression as if it was the best thing that ever happened. Shadow Truth has mankind smiling, laughing and merrily marching all the way to their ultimate demise.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Chapter One
Early Examples of Shadow Truth
The Garden of Eden
In the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve an Absolute Truth when He instructed them that they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He told them that if they ate of it they would surely die. Following God’s command was easy at first, but deception also had its beginning in the Garden of Eden. Satan found a way to deceive Adam and Eve by blurring God’s truth. It is hard for us to imagine how they could have believed his lies, but perhaps it went something like this:
One day as Eve was walking in the midst of the garden, she happened upon the serpent. One can only imagine the following conversations as they actually occurred. After some pleasantries regarding the loveliness of the garden and the wonderful fruits in it, the serpent drew her attention to the tree that was right in the center of the garden. “How do you like the fruit of this tree?” he inquired.
“Oh…I don’t know,” said Eve. “We’re not permitted to eat the fruit from this tree.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said the serpent. Gingerly yet with confidence, he removed one of the fruits from the tree and examined it closely, as Eve peered curiously over his shoulder. After what seemed to be a rather long period of silence, the serpent said, “This fruit looks absolutely perfect.”
“Yes it does,” agreed Eve in a timid voice.
Holding the fruit out to Eve, the serpent said, “Here, examine it for yourself.” Realizing that Eve was backing away, the serpent softly said, “God may have told you not to eat this fruit, but I don’t think he warned you against touching it too.”
Eve stretched out her hand and carefully took the fruit from the serpent. With nervousness showing on her face, she slowly turned the fruit over in her hands and examined every inch of it.
This time, it was the serpent that was peering over Eve’s shoulder. “Look at this wonderful fruit, Eve. Why on God’s green earth aren’t you permitted to eat the fruit from this lovely tree? Surely, it’s as good and nutritious as the fruit from all the other trees. Wouldn’t you just love to sink your teeth into it right now? I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.”
After a few minutes, Eve answered, “I don’t have any idea why we are forbidden to eat this fruit. We don’t have any rules except this one, and it can’t be broken under any circumstances. We are to simply avoid eating the fruit from this tree at all costs; otherwise, we will surely die.”
“Well, Eve,” said the serpent. “I’m sure God had a very good reason for telling you not to eat the fruit from this tree. After all, we know God’s words are true.” Pointing to a nearby boulder, the serpent said, “Come, let’s sit and talk for a few minutes.” Still holding the fruit in her hands, Eve followed the serpent. After they sat down on the boulder, the serpent said, “Eve, what is the name of this tree?”
“This is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” answered Eve.
The serpent pondered her answer for a few moments. Suddenly, a smile spread across his face. “Eve, I believe I understand why you are to avoid the fruit from this tree.”
Leaning forward in anticipation, Eve said, “You do? Please, mister serpent, tell me what it is. I really am curious about this tree and the wonderful-looking fruit that adorns its branches.”
“Certainly,” answered the serpent. “I will be happy to help you understand this better. Since only God has all knowledge of good and evil, if you eat the fruit from this tree, then you too will have all knowledge of good and evil. Doesn’t that sound logical to you?”
Eve’s eyes widened as she marveled at the level of his reasoning. “I believe you are right. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Eve. You’ve been so enamored with this wonderful garden you probably just haven’t taken the time to consider the advantages of eating the fruit from this particular tree. I’m sure that you would have eventually figured it out on your own.”
After staring at the fruit in her hands for a couple of minutes, Eve asked the serpent, “What would it mean if I were to gain the knowledge of good and evil?”
With a look of compassion on his face, the serpent answered, “Well, Eve, right now only God has all knowledge of good and evil. It appears to me that once you too have the knowledge of good and evil then you will be like God. Come to think about it, you would probably be on the same level as God.”
As if she was in a hypnotic trance, Eve seemed to look right through the serpent as she considered the possibilities of being like God. After a few minutes she came back to the subject at hand and said, “I see it so clearly now. Once we eat this fruit, we will both be just like God.”
The serpent allowed a few minutes to pass while Eve considered the apparent advantages of eating the fruit. Mustering up a look of sincerity, he asked, “Eve, is God eternal?”
“Of course, God is eternal. Why do you ask?”
“Well, Eve, it seems to me that if you become like God, then you too will be eternal and there won’t be any risk of death because you will be just like God—God cannot die!”
Eve’s face brightened as she carefully considered the serpent’s last statement. Her lips pursed as if she was going to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead, she turned and looked up into the tree. Finally, she turned back to the serpent and said, “Of course, now I understand, you’ve made it crystal clear to me. God forbade us to eat the fruit from this tree because He wanted to keep us from becoming like him.”
“I think you may be on to something, Eve. Why don’t you go ahead and eat some of this fruit. It seems to be the most beautiful fruit in the garden. What have you got to lose?”
“I believe I will, and I am going to tell Adam what you and I have figured out. Together, Adam and I will become just like God.”
Eve’s Shadow Truth Tree
Satan craftily twisted God’s Absolute Truth into his own version of truth. Through his cunning manipulation, Eve was deceived into believing that she would become like God by eating the fruit of the tree. Satan’s lies were based on the undeniable fact that there was a tree in the midst of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had forbidden them to eat. He then took the truth and began corrupting it by building an alternate, or Shadow Truth. He did this by calling into question God’s motives and character, and presenting Eve with another version of truth. His cunning words seemed logical, good, and even right, and culminated in convincing Eve that if she ate the fruit of the tree she had nothing to lose. She would gain the knowledge of good and evil and become like God. Satan began with God’s Absolute Truth and in his craftiness, twisted it into his Shadow Truth. This, coupled with Eve’s covetous desire, created a situation where she believed his lie.
Shadow Truth Tree of Eve's Temptation
Below, is an illustration of how Satan twisted God's Truth. First of all, following is God's Truth: There is a tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do not eat of the fruit of that tree. If you eat of that fruit, you will die.
Now, here is how Satan twisted God's Truth, one step at a time: God who has all knowledge of Good and Evil planted this tree. Eating of that tree will result in you having the knowledge of Good and Evil. If you have the knowledge of Good and Evil, then you will be like God. God is eternal, God will not die. If you are like God, then you will not die.
Satan’s Temptation of Jesus
Another example of how Satan uses “Shadow Truth” can be seen in the well-known temptation of Jesus, in the Book of Matthew. In this instance, Satan said to Jesus, “…If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6, KJV).
Satan attempted to convince Jesus to jump off a high place by quoting Scripture to Him. Jesus knew that although Satan was quoting truth, he was twisting its meaning. Jesus saw through Satan’s cunning deception and responded with another Absolute Truth, which fit the circumstance. He said, “…thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7, KJV). The lesson we can learn and apply from how Jesus dealt with Satan’s lies is this: We are obligated to test every so-called truth that comes our way against God’s Word before accepting and implementing it into our lives.
Shadow Truth Tree of Jesus' Tempation
The illustration below represents the steps Satan used in his failed attempt to deceive Jesus with Shadow Truth. First of all, let's look at God's Absolute Truth: Jesus is the Son of God. The angels are obligated to protect Jesus. God is not to be tempted.
Now, here is how Satan twisted God's Truth, one step at a time: You are the Son of God. God says that the angels are charged with your protection. Therefore, if you jump from this high place, you will be protected by the angels.
Moving on to the Rest of Mankind
Satan successfully used his Shadow Truth against Eve. While not successful, he even tried it on Jesus. Satan wants to rule the world, not for now, but forever. The concepts of Shadow Truth have been implemented on mankind, all of the way from Adam and Eve to you, me and the modern world we live in.
Every well-functioning society operates from a basis of commonly held rules, laws, and truths relating to human behavior and relationships. A firm foundation of truth must be established in order for a society to be established and function properly. America had such a beginning. Our forefathers established certain governing rules and truths which were based on biblical principles such as: we have a Creator, murder is prohibited, we are to honor and obey our parents, we are to obey those in authority, the family unit is of utmost importance, morality must be a part of our very being, adultery is wrong and must be avoided, we are not to steal that which belongs to others, we are obligated to respect the rights and possessions of others, we must always tell the truth, it is not healthy to covet that which our neighbor has, sexual lust will result in great harm to ourselves and our families, we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us, we are obligated to support our selves, and we are not to expect others to take care of our personal needs.
In their beginnings, young societies are usually focused on survival. Once they have progressed to a point beyond basic survival, they begin focusing on other goals, such as prosperity and achievement. During this phase, societies tend to rise and strengthen. They have ambition and they have purpose. Their citizens are working toward a common goal. They are reaching out toward the future. They are marching toward something greater.
Once societies arrive at a certain degree of greatness, a feeling of complacency overtakes them. They begin to relax and lose sight of their basic goals. They forget the fact that hard work, dedication, and independence was the source of their success. They no longer have a deep and driving purpose. Soon, those successful societies begin drifting toward humanistic practices and rituals. They begin focusing more on pleasure than on survival. Their lust for pleasure results in a cancerous formation of corruption and perversion. Then there comes a point when they begin to fail as a society.
Just as it was in the Garden of Eden, it is in the early periods of the successful era that the ground is most fertile for Satan to begin planting his seeds of deception. His ultimate goal is deceit. He attacks mankind in every facet of society. However, his attacks do not appear to be attacks. Instead, they are disguised as logical and needed answers to genuine societal problems. For instance, many great kingdoms and societies have risen and fallen in the course of human history. When looking at theRoman Empire, the Greek rule, and many other societies, there may be some parallels. A nation grows when there is purpose, but when greatness is achieved, a certain relaxing occurs, thus causing the nation to forget where it came from.
Satan has time on his side. He has no pressing need to corrupt mankind in a single generation. In order to corrupt all of mankind and completely take over theKingdomofGod, he convinces mankind with one tiny little twist of truth at a time.
Eve’s temptation was the beginning of his form of Shadow Truth deception. Once his plan was determined to be immensely successful, the stage for the actual implementation had to be set. Mankind is weak and sinful. Many times we are our own worst enemies. Often times, we blame Satan for our own weaknesses. Sure, Satan may present certain opportunities to us, but we dwell and fantasize on those things until we willfully embrace them.
On a macro level, Shadow Truth is a multifaceted attack on mankind. On a micro level however, humanity is being convinced that Shadow Truth is the salvation of many individual and seemingly unrelated problems. Most of mankind has no idea that they are being led to slaughter. They are swallowing each new progression as if it was the best thing that ever happened. Shadow Truth has mankind smiling, laughing and merrily marching all the way to their ultimate demise.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Liberalism: Is it all that bad?
A person would have to be deaf and blind in order to deny the fact that our nation is slowly but surely growing more and more liberal as each year goes by. Entitlements are being handed out to new groups of people nearly every day. Welfare, food stamps, assistance to unwed mothers, head start programs, and government subsidized housing seem to be getting passed out to anyone who steps up and asks for it. Dependence on the government and its programs is spreading like wildfire. With little hope for advancement and success, the masses are turning to Big Brother for help and support.
Capitalists are being described as rich, evil people who hoard the nation’s wealth in a selfish attempt to prevent the common man from achieving even the most basic of needs. Rules, restrictions, threats of litigation, demands for handing out additional benefits and higher taxes are clamping down on business owners as never before.
What exactly is Liberalism? It’s all about freedom. Huh? Yes, that’s right…at least that’s how it starts out. It is a philosophy that permits every person to live how they want, work when and if they want, do as they want, play as often as they want, and believe as they want. That isn’t such a bad philosophy, is it? Maybe not, until one examines it a little closer. In a nutshell, it a philosophy that considers government as the crucial instrument for the identification of social inequities and then replacing them with programs, policies and support mechanisms that ensure equality among all people in all facets of life. This “me” philosophy results in a broken down society where “working” is a dirty word. After all, why work when the government is offering to assist you in every aspect of your life?
On the surface, such equality can sound rather attractive. That’s the problem with most people who desire all of the help and support that that their government is offering. “Our elected leaders are looking out for the common man,” some may say. “Liberalism and ultimately Socialism stands for the betterment of mankind, and the leaders we have chosen are idealistic, true believers in our overall well-being.”
Now, really? First of all, maybe we should determine what Socialism is. The common view point of Socialism is that it is an economic and societal theory which advocates governmental administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, services, benefits, support and wages. In other words, people are led to believe that the government is their friend, their benefactor, their “daddy.”
The actual definition goes way beyond that simplistic definition. Think about this little bombshell for a moment. A good percentage of our elected leaders are educated, rich and powerful. There aren’t many candidates who can make it all of the way to the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the Presidency without being very comfortable around money and power brokers. Hence the first question: Why would our rich and powerful leaders pass laws that are designed to separate the rich from their money and power, and give it to the poor and needy? Why would these leaders desire to lower themselves to the level of the common man? Why would these driven and goal-oriented people want to give up the very attributes that made them rich and powerful so that they could flounder around in the same pond of neediness and lethargy that their “subjects” are helplessly floating in? Things just don’t seem to add up. Our leaders say they are changing society and redistributing the wealth for the benefit of the poor. But if they were to really do that, then their own wealth and power would have to be sacrificed and they would end up being counted as commoners themselves.
Socialism as defined above does not truly exist except in the idealistic imagination of the uninformed. If you were to look at Socialism objectively, you would come to the conclusion that this destructive theory means something entirely different than is commonly believed. Socialism is in fact, a clever means of fooling mass numbers of people into following a select few leaders to the point of handing those leaders political power, military power, economic power and ultimately, Absolute Power.
To be fooled, the population is given theories and promises that are palatable to the masses. Those who gladly accept greater and great government intrusion into their lives are little more than willing fools. The recipients of seemingly unending government handouts refuse to believe or accept the fact that their acceptance of aid is an act of transferring all of the advantage to leaders who don’t have the slightest genuine concern for their “subjects.”
Do all of our liberal leaders believe they are setting up society to make them supreme rulers over the masses? No, even some of our leaders have been sucked into believing the idealistic yet unachievable notion that all men can be equal in wealth, possessions and status. Some however know exactly what is going on. When liberal and socialistic policies are fully entrenched, a group of people will be ready to step in and capitalize on a population that is ready and willing to be taken advantage of.
It has been said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was in convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. Perhaps the greatest trick that socialism ever pulled was in convincing the world that it does exist, but at a level that is beneficial to the masses.
Just keep one point in mind: Socialism is far more than the redistribution of wealth and services from the haves to the have-nots. Instead, Socialism is a system in which there is no private property and all means of production and services is owned and controlled by the state. Liberalism and Socialism have but one ultimate goal: the enslavement of the masses while transferring great power and wealth to the few. People often infer that Capitalism results in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. When Socialism gets fully entrenched, the gap between the haves and the have-nots will be even larger than it appears to be under Capitalism.
For an in-depth insight into the evolution of society, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception by Larry J Tate. Go to http://amzn.to/coxpMM for ordering information.
Capitalists are being described as rich, evil people who hoard the nation’s wealth in a selfish attempt to prevent the common man from achieving even the most basic of needs. Rules, restrictions, threats of litigation, demands for handing out additional benefits and higher taxes are clamping down on business owners as never before.
What exactly is Liberalism? It’s all about freedom. Huh? Yes, that’s right…at least that’s how it starts out. It is a philosophy that permits every person to live how they want, work when and if they want, do as they want, play as often as they want, and believe as they want. That isn’t such a bad philosophy, is it? Maybe not, until one examines it a little closer. In a nutshell, it a philosophy that considers government as the crucial instrument for the identification of social inequities and then replacing them with programs, policies and support mechanisms that ensure equality among all people in all facets of life. This “me” philosophy results in a broken down society where “working” is a dirty word. After all, why work when the government is offering to assist you in every aspect of your life?
On the surface, such equality can sound rather attractive. That’s the problem with most people who desire all of the help and support that that their government is offering. “Our elected leaders are looking out for the common man,” some may say. “Liberalism and ultimately Socialism stands for the betterment of mankind, and the leaders we have chosen are idealistic, true believers in our overall well-being.”
Now, really? First of all, maybe we should determine what Socialism is. The common view point of Socialism is that it is an economic and societal theory which advocates governmental administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, services, benefits, support and wages. In other words, people are led to believe that the government is their friend, their benefactor, their “daddy.”
The actual definition goes way beyond that simplistic definition. Think about this little bombshell for a moment. A good percentage of our elected leaders are educated, rich and powerful. There aren’t many candidates who can make it all of the way to the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the Presidency without being very comfortable around money and power brokers. Hence the first question: Why would our rich and powerful leaders pass laws that are designed to separate the rich from their money and power, and give it to the poor and needy? Why would these leaders desire to lower themselves to the level of the common man? Why would these driven and goal-oriented people want to give up the very attributes that made them rich and powerful so that they could flounder around in the same pond of neediness and lethargy that their “subjects” are helplessly floating in? Things just don’t seem to add up. Our leaders say they are changing society and redistributing the wealth for the benefit of the poor. But if they were to really do that, then their own wealth and power would have to be sacrificed and they would end up being counted as commoners themselves.
Socialism as defined above does not truly exist except in the idealistic imagination of the uninformed. If you were to look at Socialism objectively, you would come to the conclusion that this destructive theory means something entirely different than is commonly believed. Socialism is in fact, a clever means of fooling mass numbers of people into following a select few leaders to the point of handing those leaders political power, military power, economic power and ultimately, Absolute Power.
To be fooled, the population is given theories and promises that are palatable to the masses. Those who gladly accept greater and great government intrusion into their lives are little more than willing fools. The recipients of seemingly unending government handouts refuse to believe or accept the fact that their acceptance of aid is an act of transferring all of the advantage to leaders who don’t have the slightest genuine concern for their “subjects.”
Do all of our liberal leaders believe they are setting up society to make them supreme rulers over the masses? No, even some of our leaders have been sucked into believing the idealistic yet unachievable notion that all men can be equal in wealth, possessions and status. Some however know exactly what is going on. When liberal and socialistic policies are fully entrenched, a group of people will be ready to step in and capitalize on a population that is ready and willing to be taken advantage of.
It has been said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was in convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. Perhaps the greatest trick that socialism ever pulled was in convincing the world that it does exist, but at a level that is beneficial to the masses.
Just keep one point in mind: Socialism is far more than the redistribution of wealth and services from the haves to the have-nots. Instead, Socialism is a system in which there is no private property and all means of production and services is owned and controlled by the state. Liberalism and Socialism have but one ultimate goal: the enslavement of the masses while transferring great power and wealth to the few. People often infer that Capitalism results in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. When Socialism gets fully entrenched, the gap between the haves and the have-nots will be even larger than it appears to be under Capitalism.
For an in-depth insight into the evolution of society, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception by Larry J Tate. Go to http://amzn.to/coxpMM for ordering information.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
ST Excerpt Introduction
Introduction
This excerpt is from the Introduction of Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
This Is the Book Everyone Fears
■The left is afraid that their tried and proven humanist-driven tactics will be laid bare for the entire world to see.
■The right is afraid to face the fact that despite their claims to be morally conservative, they are doing little, if anything, to combat the successful leftist agenda.
■The left is afraid that the right might finally take a strong stand.
■The right is afraid to let their dim and flickering light of morality and conservatism shine.
■The admitted liberal will be mad because this book insults him.
■The hard-core conservative will be mad because he will discover just how much he is being subjected to liberal policies.
■The moderate, who is conservative on fiscal issues but left on social and moral issues, will be mad because this book exposes just how much he has been fooled into embracing the tenets of Shadow Truth. Then, there are the other self-proclaimed moderates and progressives. Most of those folks don’t really know what they are, or what they stand for. Our nation is struggling with a myriad of fiscal policies, social policies and moral issues. The so-called moderates and progressives tend to be left-leaning on one or two of those issues, and right-leaning on the remaining issues. Regardless of which way they land, the moderates and progressives will be mad because this book exposes their hypocrisy by revealing just how much they have been fooled and manipulated by the tenets of Shadow Truth deception.
What Has Happened to Us?
How have we lost control of the world we live in? We have gotten to this place, through a seemingly innocent and logical progression of societal change. We have fallen for the most cunning form of deception, something that I call, Shadow Truth.
A Word from Our Enemy
My name is Satan, which means adversary. I also have a number of titles, such as the Prince of this World and the Angel of Light. I am on a mission of utmost importance to me. My objective is to conquer, and gain possession of, the Kingdom of God.
I have already initiated a variety of plans, tactics, and strategies in order to accomplish this daunting task. In the beginning, I even made an overt attempt to overthrow God, Himself. Through cunning and craftiness, I was able to recruit a significant number of His angels to assist me in that planned coup. To my disappointment however, I found myself, and my army of renegade angels, unable to fight against God.
Not one to easily give up, I redirected my efforts to overthrow God by seeking to influence his most cherished creation—mankind. Since I was unable to conquer God face-to-face, I decided that winning the allegiance of human beings would be the best way to infiltrate and destroy God’s kingdom. I determined that if I could persuade men and women to follow me, I would effectively conquer God’s empire. What else is there other than the sun, the moon, and the stars? God doesn’t care about those material objects. Mankind is His only passion. With them on my side, God’s kingdom will finally be mine.
I have devised a number of methods of deception. I once developed a plan that involved sharing falsehoods about God, His creation, and the purpose of human existence. However, I eventually had to discard that tactic. I discovered that most people would not follow me if I tell them outright lies. Then one day I stumbled upon the ideal way to lure mankind over to my way of thinking. I have created a very effective tactic which involves ever-so-gradually moving the bar of truth into something that is nowhere near the truth.
To my delight, humans have become clay in the potter’s hand, but now I am the potter. They now follow me wherever I choose to lead them. They are like a flock of sheep going to slaughter. I have finally settled on the ultimate and foolproof plan for overthrowing the kingdom of God.
My plan is very effective. It is the ultimate deceit. Mankind won’t realize what is happening to them. They won’t even have the ability to comprehend that I am fooling them into following me. By the time they finally do figure out what is happening, I will have already conquered the kingdom of God and they will have no way of reversing the damage I have done.
What is my plan? My plan goes far beyond just fooling the average human being. My plan is so devious that it is capable of ensnaring even the most devout of Christians. I have learned that God’s followers won’t easily believe a lie, but they are always eager to embrace truth. How can I deceive God’s followers with truth? It is easy. It is sure. It is devious. Like a grand chess master, I will trap them and leave them with no possible move—no way of escape.
I’ve found the most effective form of deception is to base it on truth. Even Christians will often accept my manipulations because of their eagerness to embrace God’s truth. Starting with God’s truth as my foundation, I have built an operation of deceit. Building on that first foundation, I can easily entice mankind to believe another version of truth. On top of that, I will convince them to believe yet another truth. My plan is so clever; I should receive a prize. Oh, that’s right, I will receive a prize! I will have the entire kingdom of God handed over to me. Without even realizing it, God’s own followers will hand me the kingdom of God on a silver platter. What do I call my ultimate plan of deception? I call it Shadow Truth.
What Is Shadow Truth?
Everywhere we look, we see customs, laws, policies, and other conditions that cause us to scratch our heads and ask ourselves, how did we as a society get to where we are today? All you have to do is open the morning paper or listen to the news on any given day—the headlines are filled with events that just don’t sound right. For instance:
In 2007 one school in Maine was reported to be handing out birth control pills to eleven year-old girls without their parents’ consent. Are other schools also doing this?
More schools and communities are taking Christmas out of their holiday events, and implementing more tolerant labels for the long-held Christian tradition such as, Winter Holiday.
A town in Colorado considered banning red and green Christmas lights from city property because those bright and cheerful colors might be offensive to certain members of the community.
We hear of city councils voting to deny certain religious displays because they may be offensive to certain minority beliefs that exist in our society.
Decisions and policies are being implemented which prohibit prayer on school properties, at school functions, and in other school environments.
Some school textbooks are now being produced with no teaching related to God being the Creator of the world.
Schools are convincing our impressionable children that it is no longer important to excel in what they do, especially when it comes to playground activities, school functions, and grade achievement.
Public meetings commence without a prayer being recited so as not to offend anyone who does not believe in God.
Public meetings that do begin with prayer often prohibit the mention of Jesus Christ in those prayers.
Assisted suicide is increasingly being accepted and utilized.
Certain school systems are being required to promote and encourage acceptance of homosexual lifestyles to children.
Some churches are allowing homosexual clergy to lead their congregations.
Situations like these are occurring because today’s society is locked in the firm grip of deception. How is it that so many people in our society are falling for, and accepting, such obviously wrong policies? How is it that we find ourselves obligated to comply with, and be subjected to, such policies? How is it that we can be threatened by lawsuits if we refuse to comply with some of these newly implemented policies? How can these deceptive things be accepted by the mainstream of today’s society without so much as a whimper?
Practice Makes Perfect
How have we lost control of the world we live in? There once was a time when the culture and traditions of various nations were proudly upheld by the majority members of those nations. Many of the Middle Eastern and Muslim cultures still do so. Where the U.S.and other Western nations utilize sensitivity and political correctness to suppress the traditions and cultures of the majority segment of the nation, the Eastern nations do not permit “outsiders” to change their ways and practices. Western nations tend to permit political correctness to suppress the beliefs and traditions of the majority, and bow down to the beliefs of those in the minority. It seems that if just one person complains that Christmas displays offends him, then those displays must come down. Every time we give in to someone who says that they are offended at our culture, we are losing more control of our nation.
The popular movie, Groundhog Day, is the story of a man who finds himself repeatedly waking up to the same morning, and living the same day over and over again. At first, he finds this to be a tremendous nuisance. However, eventually he realizes that since he is being forced to relive the same situations each day, he may as well learn from his mistakes. With each passing day he discovers the actions that result in negative outcomes and alters his behavior the next time around. Finally he has a day when he handles every circumstance in exactly the right way, producing the precise outcome he wants.
Satan has a similar advantage. While he cannot relive a day, as the movie character did, he has had the opportunity to study human nature and learn from one generation to the next, those tactics that work best. He has had thousands of years of trial and error to perfect his plan. It seems that many fronts of evil appear to be compounding right now as Satan sets the stage for his end-play. He is now deceiving mankind as in no other time in history. His greatest triumph is that most of today’s people don’t even realize that they are being deceived. The deceitfulness of his Shadow Truth is conceived in the realm of darkness and shadows, which is the habitat of Satan. Scripture warns us to be wary of the darkness of evil:
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Proverbs 4:19 (KJV)
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Ephesians 5:11 (KJV)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
Isaiah 59:9 (NIV)
For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
Psalm 11:2 (NIV)
Is It Really Truth?
Shadows have no actual form or substance of their own—they are a faint representation of the real thing. Likewise, the idea behind the term, “Shadow Truth,” is that it has an appearance of truth, but none of the substance that comprises Absolute Truth. Shadow truth is an evil deception cleverly veiled as truth.
God’s Absolute Truth is found in the Bible and it is a firm foundation. It cannot fall; it will not fail. It is the solid ground upon which all of creation exists. God and His truth is the foundation of all that is. In natural terms, a building’s foundation is the support of the entire building. We see the building, but we don’t see the foundation because it is flush with the top of the soil. Satan, in order to be believable, builds his deceit on God’s very foundation of truth. A foundation cannot cast a shadow because it is buried in the soil. Using the same analogy, God’s foundation of truth cannot cast a shadow. Being that Satan builds his deceit from a foundation of truth, and being that anything built on top of a foundation is capable of casting a shadow, it can be assumed that Satan’s brand of “truth” casts a shadow. In that shadow are lies and deceit.
Quite cleverly, Shadow Truth was launched on the firm foundation of God’s undisputable truth. The underlying premise of Shadow Truth is to slowly and meticulously alter God’s Absolute Truth. This ingenious brainchild of Satan deceives mankind by way of its ever-so-gradual and unceasing truth-building process. Each so-called truth is constructed and derived through seemingly logical progressions of truth building. The progressions are so gradual that it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern that any change is occurring at all.
The first few progressions of Shadow Truth are likely to be just as true as the foundation of Absolute Truth on which they stand. In order for subsequent truths to be genuinely true, each must be fully supportable by Absolute Truth. However, there comes a time when a subsequent truth only has a previous truth as its foundation. As each ensuing truth is constructed, shadow truth becomes more and more unstable.
Each progression of Shadow Truth is so incredibly tiny and minute that it is barely discernable from the previous step. To be believable, the progressions that create each new truth must appear to be unarguably valid and logical. Deceit is achieved when a subsequent truth appears to be founded upon the most recent previous truth. This process continues until the final truth is actually an outright lie that is veiled as the truth.
Eventually, Satan’s desired deception manifests itself in society as a belief, a practice, a policy, a custom, or a law. Unlike where it began, the ultimate shadow truth has no basis on, or connection to, Absolute Truth. There comes a time when the foundation known as Absolute Truth no longer supports the Shadow Truth on which society is now operating. However, since mankind is so caught up in the seemingly logical and necessary progressions of Shadow Truth, they end up believing outright deceptions and lies.
After a sufficient number of progressions of building its so-called truths on top of previous so-called truths, Shadow Truth begins casting a long and dangerous shadow of deceit. Just as there is no substance to a shadow, there is no substance to Shadow Truth either. In order for Shadow Truth to be successful, most of mankind must be thoroughly convinced to believe that the resulting lie is a truth. All of this is done without people even realizing what has happened to them.
The manipulation of truth begins very slowly, and gradually builds momentum. This manipulation of truth may cross over several generations. Each new generation is raised to believe that their current level of truth is the status quo. Hence, it becomes easier and easier to continue the trend of shadow truth building. With each subsequent generation, the momentum of truth building increases at a faster rate.
Most societies are founded upon a basic set of rules and laws. Those laws typically mirror many of the laws and traditions found in the Bible’s moral code. Then, Shadow Truth’s deception creeps into society and begins altering and changing those basic truths one seemingly innocent baby-step at a time, until they become accepted policies that have little or no relationship or comparison to the original principles on which they started. The final truths have no foundation on, or connection to Absolute Truth.
Mankind should have the forethought to investigate each and every progression to see if it is still fully supportable by Absolute Truth. Due to our shortsighted nature however, we tend to examine a new truth’s merits only against the merits of the previous truth. On the surface, Shadow Truth seems to be the right thing to do. This is due to the fact that it is crafted and designed to look good, sound good and feel good. Shadow truth appears to be based on perfectly sound logic.
The key to Shadow Truth’s success is that it starts out by coming to the rescue of genuine societal problems. To do so, it must have its beginnings on the foundation of Absolute Truth. In that way, it has the ability to deceive the masses. Each subsequent and evolving step of Shadow Truth is built on top of a previous Shadow Truth. People tend to accept each of these seemingly logical progressions because they appear to be completely valid and trustworthy. Each new step is such a small step, and such a logical step that is difficult to find any fault with the logic of the progression. Each new step is so incrementally small that is difficult to realize that it is in fact, evolving at all.
Absolute Truth is like the house that will continue to stand because it is built on a rock. Conversely, Shadow Truth is like the house built on sand, and is destined to fall.
24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV)
There is only one Absolute Truth. It was established by God before He created the world. Then there is Shadow Truth, which is being twisted and fabricated by Satan. Without a proper foundation, Shadow Truth is destined to fall, but not before it causes irreversible damage to mankind. Today, the entire world is traveling merrily along on the treacherous pathway of Shadow Truth that is being constructed by Satan. All societies that insist on blindly following Satan’s deception will eventually fail.
We need to realize that Shadow Truth is a series of deadly attacks against every aspect of our society. In order for the ploy to be successful, mankind must be thoroughly convinced to believe that they are improvements rather than attacks. Satan’s task is to cause us to believe that his attacks are actually needed changes and improvements in our society. We must be so deceived that we actually embrace each attack even as it is hitting us in the face.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
This excerpt is from the Introduction of Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
This Is the Book Everyone Fears
■The left is afraid that their tried and proven humanist-driven tactics will be laid bare for the entire world to see.
■The right is afraid to face the fact that despite their claims to be morally conservative, they are doing little, if anything, to combat the successful leftist agenda.
■The left is afraid that the right might finally take a strong stand.
■The right is afraid to let their dim and flickering light of morality and conservatism shine.
■The admitted liberal will be mad because this book insults him.
■The hard-core conservative will be mad because he will discover just how much he is being subjected to liberal policies.
■The moderate, who is conservative on fiscal issues but left on social and moral issues, will be mad because this book exposes just how much he has been fooled into embracing the tenets of Shadow Truth. Then, there are the other self-proclaimed moderates and progressives. Most of those folks don’t really know what they are, or what they stand for. Our nation is struggling with a myriad of fiscal policies, social policies and moral issues. The so-called moderates and progressives tend to be left-leaning on one or two of those issues, and right-leaning on the remaining issues. Regardless of which way they land, the moderates and progressives will be mad because this book exposes their hypocrisy by revealing just how much they have been fooled and manipulated by the tenets of Shadow Truth deception.
What Has Happened to Us?
How have we lost control of the world we live in? We have gotten to this place, through a seemingly innocent and logical progression of societal change. We have fallen for the most cunning form of deception, something that I call, Shadow Truth.
A Word from Our Enemy
My name is Satan, which means adversary. I also have a number of titles, such as the Prince of this World and the Angel of Light. I am on a mission of utmost importance to me. My objective is to conquer, and gain possession of, the Kingdom of God.
I have already initiated a variety of plans, tactics, and strategies in order to accomplish this daunting task. In the beginning, I even made an overt attempt to overthrow God, Himself. Through cunning and craftiness, I was able to recruit a significant number of His angels to assist me in that planned coup. To my disappointment however, I found myself, and my army of renegade angels, unable to fight against God.
Not one to easily give up, I redirected my efforts to overthrow God by seeking to influence his most cherished creation—mankind. Since I was unable to conquer God face-to-face, I decided that winning the allegiance of human beings would be the best way to infiltrate and destroy God’s kingdom. I determined that if I could persuade men and women to follow me, I would effectively conquer God’s empire. What else is there other than the sun, the moon, and the stars? God doesn’t care about those material objects. Mankind is His only passion. With them on my side, God’s kingdom will finally be mine.
I have devised a number of methods of deception. I once developed a plan that involved sharing falsehoods about God, His creation, and the purpose of human existence. However, I eventually had to discard that tactic. I discovered that most people would not follow me if I tell them outright lies. Then one day I stumbled upon the ideal way to lure mankind over to my way of thinking. I have created a very effective tactic which involves ever-so-gradually moving the bar of truth into something that is nowhere near the truth.
To my delight, humans have become clay in the potter’s hand, but now I am the potter. They now follow me wherever I choose to lead them. They are like a flock of sheep going to slaughter. I have finally settled on the ultimate and foolproof plan for overthrowing the kingdom of God.
My plan is very effective. It is the ultimate deceit. Mankind won’t realize what is happening to them. They won’t even have the ability to comprehend that I am fooling them into following me. By the time they finally do figure out what is happening, I will have already conquered the kingdom of God and they will have no way of reversing the damage I have done.
What is my plan? My plan goes far beyond just fooling the average human being. My plan is so devious that it is capable of ensnaring even the most devout of Christians. I have learned that God’s followers won’t easily believe a lie, but they are always eager to embrace truth. How can I deceive God’s followers with truth? It is easy. It is sure. It is devious. Like a grand chess master, I will trap them and leave them with no possible move—no way of escape.
I’ve found the most effective form of deception is to base it on truth. Even Christians will often accept my manipulations because of their eagerness to embrace God’s truth. Starting with God’s truth as my foundation, I have built an operation of deceit. Building on that first foundation, I can easily entice mankind to believe another version of truth. On top of that, I will convince them to believe yet another truth. My plan is so clever; I should receive a prize. Oh, that’s right, I will receive a prize! I will have the entire kingdom of God handed over to me. Without even realizing it, God’s own followers will hand me the kingdom of God on a silver platter. What do I call my ultimate plan of deception? I call it Shadow Truth.
What Is Shadow Truth?
Everywhere we look, we see customs, laws, policies, and other conditions that cause us to scratch our heads and ask ourselves, how did we as a society get to where we are today? All you have to do is open the morning paper or listen to the news on any given day—the headlines are filled with events that just don’t sound right. For instance:
In 2007 one school in Maine was reported to be handing out birth control pills to eleven year-old girls without their parents’ consent. Are other schools also doing this?
More schools and communities are taking Christmas out of their holiday events, and implementing more tolerant labels for the long-held Christian tradition such as, Winter Holiday.
A town in Colorado considered banning red and green Christmas lights from city property because those bright and cheerful colors might be offensive to certain members of the community.
We hear of city councils voting to deny certain religious displays because they may be offensive to certain minority beliefs that exist in our society.
Decisions and policies are being implemented which prohibit prayer on school properties, at school functions, and in other school environments.
Some school textbooks are now being produced with no teaching related to God being the Creator of the world.
Schools are convincing our impressionable children that it is no longer important to excel in what they do, especially when it comes to playground activities, school functions, and grade achievement.
Public meetings commence without a prayer being recited so as not to offend anyone who does not believe in God.
Public meetings that do begin with prayer often prohibit the mention of Jesus Christ in those prayers.
Assisted suicide is increasingly being accepted and utilized.
Certain school systems are being required to promote and encourage acceptance of homosexual lifestyles to children.
Some churches are allowing homosexual clergy to lead their congregations.
Situations like these are occurring because today’s society is locked in the firm grip of deception. How is it that so many people in our society are falling for, and accepting, such obviously wrong policies? How is it that we find ourselves obligated to comply with, and be subjected to, such policies? How is it that we can be threatened by lawsuits if we refuse to comply with some of these newly implemented policies? How can these deceptive things be accepted by the mainstream of today’s society without so much as a whimper?
Practice Makes Perfect
How have we lost control of the world we live in? There once was a time when the culture and traditions of various nations were proudly upheld by the majority members of those nations. Many of the Middle Eastern and Muslim cultures still do so. Where the U.S.and other Western nations utilize sensitivity and political correctness to suppress the traditions and cultures of the majority segment of the nation, the Eastern nations do not permit “outsiders” to change their ways and practices. Western nations tend to permit political correctness to suppress the beliefs and traditions of the majority, and bow down to the beliefs of those in the minority. It seems that if just one person complains that Christmas displays offends him, then those displays must come down. Every time we give in to someone who says that they are offended at our culture, we are losing more control of our nation.
The popular movie, Groundhog Day, is the story of a man who finds himself repeatedly waking up to the same morning, and living the same day over and over again. At first, he finds this to be a tremendous nuisance. However, eventually he realizes that since he is being forced to relive the same situations each day, he may as well learn from his mistakes. With each passing day he discovers the actions that result in negative outcomes and alters his behavior the next time around. Finally he has a day when he handles every circumstance in exactly the right way, producing the precise outcome he wants.
Satan has a similar advantage. While he cannot relive a day, as the movie character did, he has had the opportunity to study human nature and learn from one generation to the next, those tactics that work best. He has had thousands of years of trial and error to perfect his plan. It seems that many fronts of evil appear to be compounding right now as Satan sets the stage for his end-play. He is now deceiving mankind as in no other time in history. His greatest triumph is that most of today’s people don’t even realize that they are being deceived. The deceitfulness of his Shadow Truth is conceived in the realm of darkness and shadows, which is the habitat of Satan. Scripture warns us to be wary of the darkness of evil:
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Proverbs 4:19 (KJV)
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Ephesians 5:11 (KJV)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
Isaiah 59:9 (NIV)
For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
Psalm 11:2 (NIV)
Is It Really Truth?
Shadows have no actual form or substance of their own—they are a faint representation of the real thing. Likewise, the idea behind the term, “Shadow Truth,” is that it has an appearance of truth, but none of the substance that comprises Absolute Truth. Shadow truth is an evil deception cleverly veiled as truth.
God’s Absolute Truth is found in the Bible and it is a firm foundation. It cannot fall; it will not fail. It is the solid ground upon which all of creation exists. God and His truth is the foundation of all that is. In natural terms, a building’s foundation is the support of the entire building. We see the building, but we don’t see the foundation because it is flush with the top of the soil. Satan, in order to be believable, builds his deceit on God’s very foundation of truth. A foundation cannot cast a shadow because it is buried in the soil. Using the same analogy, God’s foundation of truth cannot cast a shadow. Being that Satan builds his deceit from a foundation of truth, and being that anything built on top of a foundation is capable of casting a shadow, it can be assumed that Satan’s brand of “truth” casts a shadow. In that shadow are lies and deceit.
Quite cleverly, Shadow Truth was launched on the firm foundation of God’s undisputable truth. The underlying premise of Shadow Truth is to slowly and meticulously alter God’s Absolute Truth. This ingenious brainchild of Satan deceives mankind by way of its ever-so-gradual and unceasing truth-building process. Each so-called truth is constructed and derived through seemingly logical progressions of truth building. The progressions are so gradual that it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern that any change is occurring at all.
The first few progressions of Shadow Truth are likely to be just as true as the foundation of Absolute Truth on which they stand. In order for subsequent truths to be genuinely true, each must be fully supportable by Absolute Truth. However, there comes a time when a subsequent truth only has a previous truth as its foundation. As each ensuing truth is constructed, shadow truth becomes more and more unstable.
Each progression of Shadow Truth is so incredibly tiny and minute that it is barely discernable from the previous step. To be believable, the progressions that create each new truth must appear to be unarguably valid and logical. Deceit is achieved when a subsequent truth appears to be founded upon the most recent previous truth. This process continues until the final truth is actually an outright lie that is veiled as the truth.
Eventually, Satan’s desired deception manifests itself in society as a belief, a practice, a policy, a custom, or a law. Unlike where it began, the ultimate shadow truth has no basis on, or connection to, Absolute Truth. There comes a time when the foundation known as Absolute Truth no longer supports the Shadow Truth on which society is now operating. However, since mankind is so caught up in the seemingly logical and necessary progressions of Shadow Truth, they end up believing outright deceptions and lies.
After a sufficient number of progressions of building its so-called truths on top of previous so-called truths, Shadow Truth begins casting a long and dangerous shadow of deceit. Just as there is no substance to a shadow, there is no substance to Shadow Truth either. In order for Shadow Truth to be successful, most of mankind must be thoroughly convinced to believe that the resulting lie is a truth. All of this is done without people even realizing what has happened to them.
The manipulation of truth begins very slowly, and gradually builds momentum. This manipulation of truth may cross over several generations. Each new generation is raised to believe that their current level of truth is the status quo. Hence, it becomes easier and easier to continue the trend of shadow truth building. With each subsequent generation, the momentum of truth building increases at a faster rate.
Most societies are founded upon a basic set of rules and laws. Those laws typically mirror many of the laws and traditions found in the Bible’s moral code. Then, Shadow Truth’s deception creeps into society and begins altering and changing those basic truths one seemingly innocent baby-step at a time, until they become accepted policies that have little or no relationship or comparison to the original principles on which they started. The final truths have no foundation on, or connection to Absolute Truth.
Mankind should have the forethought to investigate each and every progression to see if it is still fully supportable by Absolute Truth. Due to our shortsighted nature however, we tend to examine a new truth’s merits only against the merits of the previous truth. On the surface, Shadow Truth seems to be the right thing to do. This is due to the fact that it is crafted and designed to look good, sound good and feel good. Shadow truth appears to be based on perfectly sound logic.
The key to Shadow Truth’s success is that it starts out by coming to the rescue of genuine societal problems. To do so, it must have its beginnings on the foundation of Absolute Truth. In that way, it has the ability to deceive the masses. Each subsequent and evolving step of Shadow Truth is built on top of a previous Shadow Truth. People tend to accept each of these seemingly logical progressions because they appear to be completely valid and trustworthy. Each new step is such a small step, and such a logical step that is difficult to find any fault with the logic of the progression. Each new step is so incrementally small that is difficult to realize that it is in fact, evolving at all.
Absolute Truth is like the house that will continue to stand because it is built on a rock. Conversely, Shadow Truth is like the house built on sand, and is destined to fall.
24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV)
There is only one Absolute Truth. It was established by God before He created the world. Then there is Shadow Truth, which is being twisted and fabricated by Satan. Without a proper foundation, Shadow Truth is destined to fall, but not before it causes irreversible damage to mankind. Today, the entire world is traveling merrily along on the treacherous pathway of Shadow Truth that is being constructed by Satan. All societies that insist on blindly following Satan’s deception will eventually fail.
We need to realize that Shadow Truth is a series of deadly attacks against every aspect of our society. In order for the ploy to be successful, mankind must be thoroughly convinced to believe that they are improvements rather than attacks. Satan’s task is to cause us to believe that his attacks are actually needed changes and improvements in our society. We must be so deceived that we actually embrace each attack even as it is hitting us in the face.
The above excerpt is from the copyrighted book, Shadow Truth by Larry Tate
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Attention Parents: Your Parental Rights are Being Eliminated
Are parental rights secure? As a parent don’t you think you can make the best choices for your child, not anyone else? The right of parents to raise their children as they choose is so fundamental that our founding fathers saw no need to include it in the Constitution. However, this fundamental right seems to be eroding. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has a different idea on how you raise your children. It is a treaty which creates binding rules of law. A few things under this treaty are:
· The CRC would automatically override almost all American laws on children and families because of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in Article VI.
· Congress would have the power to directly legislate on all subjects necessary to comply with the treaty.
· A committee of 18 experts from other nations, sitting in Geneva, has the authority to issue official interpretations of the treaty which are entitled to binding weight in American courts and legislatures. This effectively transfers ultimate authority for all policies in this area to this foreign committee.
· Under international law, the treaty overrides even our Constitution.
· The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
· A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
Do you want to see your parental rights taken away? We live in a society that is attempting to do away with every value we hold dear. To see in a nut-shell the many seemingly unrelated societal changes that are happening under our noses, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception by Larry J Tate. This book will remove the shades from your eyes and make you aware of how dangerously close we are to becoming a world of slaves to a small ruling class.
For more information about Shadow Truth, go to http://bitly.com/bCKGlW.
To order the book from Amazon, go to http://amzn.to/coxpMM
· The CRC would automatically override almost all American laws on children and families because of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in Article VI.
· Congress would have the power to directly legislate on all subjects necessary to comply with the treaty.
· A committee of 18 experts from other nations, sitting in Geneva, has the authority to issue official interpretations of the treaty which are entitled to binding weight in American courts and legislatures. This effectively transfers ultimate authority for all policies in this area to this foreign committee.
· Under international law, the treaty overrides even our Constitution.
· The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
· A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
Do you want to see your parental rights taken away? We live in a society that is attempting to do away with every value we hold dear. To see in a nut-shell the many seemingly unrelated societal changes that are happening under our noses, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception by Larry J Tate. This book will remove the shades from your eyes and make you aware of how dangerously close we are to becoming a world of slaves to a small ruling class.
For more information about Shadow Truth, go to http://bitly.com/bCKGlW.
To order the book from Amazon, go to http://amzn.to/coxpMM
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