Image courtesy Melody_ART via www.pixabay.com
The Parable of the Frog and the Scorpion:
One day a scorpion came to the river’s edge. He wanted to cross but couldn’t swim. He saw a frog and asked if the frog would transport him across. The frog refused saying he was afraid the scorpion would sting him and both would drown. The scorpion promised he wouldn’t as that would be self destructive. The frog finally agreed and began to transport the scorpion across the river. Halfway across, the scorpion stung the frog and they both drowned. Before going under the water the frog asked the scorpion why he’d done that. The scorpion simply replied, “It’s my nature.”
When it comes to the Trojan Horse Ideologies I’m presenting, please understand there may be some overlap. The point of this is not to over analyze the specific method being used against you when you’re speaking with someone (or a group, if you’ve been subjected to an ambush). The real purpose for this post is to let you identify that something is off, and your guard needs to be up in defense. Those with whom you’re meeting to discuss [insert topic here] may be all smiles and warm and accommodating, but there may be another motivation hidden just below the surface. You’ll need to identify this reality as quickly as possible so you don’t find yourself entangled in something you can’t get out of. They may present to you preaching peace, peace, love, unity and happiness, but are in fact waiting for you to drop your guard so they can go for your throat.
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
-Matthew 10:16-20 (NKJV-bold and italicized mine for emphasis)
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
-John 2:23-25 (NKJV-bold and italicized mine for emphasis)
If it’s possible for Jesus to keep his guard up while interacting with people, it’s not inherently sinful for you to do so either. In fact, it may be the wisest choice.
Channel your inner Han Solo, when he was in the cantina with Greedo. Be willing to meet with the (potentially adversarial) individual/ group. Keep your back to the wall. Stay laser focused on the one or more sitting across from you. Keep one hand on your “blaster” beneath the table (just in case). Be ready to “shoot” first, if necessary (this is meant to be hyperbolic or metaphoric-I’m not calling for literal violence to be enacted when meeting with someone).
Trojan Horse Ideologies 1-5:
1. The Motte and Bailey
This strategy is one in which there are two positions being exchanged. One is a weak, disputable, contentious position such as: “We need to enact ‘climate justice’ to save the world from apocalypse.” When the weak, disputable, contentious position is attacked or critiqued, the individual falls back to the strong position such as: “So…you’re not committed to ‘justice’.” When it’s safe once again, the individual switches back to the weak, disputable, contentious position. James Lindsay has an excellent video explaining in detail how it works. You can find it here: https://youtu.be/t2_-G49utdY?si=pVXlNu7xg2wkOrEd
2. The Accusation Vomit/ Struggle Session
This is one of the most popular today. It’s essentially a rapid fire set of accusations to overwhelm you. These are all of the [insert updated list of “isms” and “o-phobes” here]. When you are flustered by the sudden unjustified attack, your emotionally unsettled state will then be used as confirmation of your guilt. Please look-up, the Kafka Trap to understand it better. Kafka Trap: https://youtu.be/JqCFpm5tsoc?si=srYCkY7-ZE1fZHTR. The real reason behind the Accusation Vomit/ Struggle Session is to break down dissent and manufacture a false consensus through false accusations and unwarranted guilt. Understanding this will be critical to reading the book of Job. This is essentially what Job’s friends are doing to him. It’s understandable why God’s anger against his “friends” is so intense. It’s reasonable to believe God’s anger is likewise burning against elders and ministry staff who’ve been complicit in falsely accusing (systemically ‘racist’, Christian Nationalistic, etc.) the portions of the flock God has entrusted them with. Ezekiel is especially poignant regarding the shepherds, whose primary purpose is to serve their own interests while the flock is intentionally scattered/ driven away, and what their fate will be when they give an account before God. For a better understanding of the struggle session, please consider: https://youtu.be/MjQp-ZLu0oI?si=B3XKE-pb8bmvyMto
3. The Verbal “3 Card Monty”
This is a technique whereby the conversation moves so fast, you can’t keep track of it. If you find yourself in a situation where you go into a conversation believing such-and-such topic will be the topic, only to find the subject/ focus is constantly changing and when you begin to objectively address something there’s always a shift and no resolution to the previous topic/ focus-this is what’s happening. Just like the street version with the playing cards and the money you’re losing, this is a conversational scam. Don’t waste your time in a situation like this or with people who engage in this manner.
4. Poisoning the Well
This includes things such as gossip, slander, defamation, etc. It’s also implemented by employing the aforementioned techniques. It would be exemplified by perhaps a group speaking and saying so-and-so isn’t committed to ‘justice’ (see number 1 above), or perhaps did not react in [insert lack of reaction here] as it relates to [insert cause, etc. here] thus, confirming their guilt. These types of things will of course be done without the accused party being present and will create a (false) consensus regarding their guilt. Once encoded as true (by ecstatic repetition in an echo chamber) the reputation of the accused will be forever tainted. Which is the point. Nancy Pelosi referred to this as the “wrap-up smear”: https://youtu.be/9LlHU53G2Z0?si=2G0OavYS0TNfIYPW.
5. “The Golden Rule”/ Parable of the Good Samaritan Perversion
This is basically where the principle of: treat others the way you want to be treated is used to initiate judgment against someone while the one initiating the judgment does not live by the standard him/ herself. These days it’s exclusively associated with immigration. We’re told to put ourselves in the position of the immigrants. Fine, how many immigrants have these people allowed to come into their private residence? I’m guessing zero. If “they” genuinely believed in this as a principle “they” would have at least one and perhaps several immigrants living with them. “They” would be paying for the immigrants care out of their own pocket. “They” would allow the immigrant to use their car without limit and add the immigrant to their insurance, etc. “They” would be fine with any immigrant showing up at their door and not insist on a background check or any form of vetting.
Obviously, none of this will happen because the “Golden Rule” is not a principle they have any interest in living by. It’s a way for someone to curry cultural capital with their preferred peer group. It’s called a “luxury belief”. For a better discussion of this please refer to: https://youtu.be/yKiwp9TDw7s?si=vNummvwH9nfC5OTB
In closing…
Image courtesy of TheOtherKev via www.pixabay.com
From time to time you may find yourself in a situation in which you’re under the mistaken belief you’ll be having a genuine conversation/ interaction on a level playing field. In reality the appearance of “safety” is in fact a trap. Thus, the “Trojan Horse” belief. Understand, under these circumstances the other party wants your guilt. Why? Who knows? I can’t account for the pathology of every individual out there. Don’t worry so much about the why and instead focus on the fact this is the case. As tempting as this may be, don’t shut down or be intimidated. Instead, have fun with it. Channel your internal “wolverine” and go for the throat! Figuratively speaking of course. I’m not advocating for you to become violent in any physical form. If the person with whom you’re interacting thinks “words are violence” and they’re willing to use “violence” (words) against you, defend yourself accordingly (according to their own standard).
Let me close by paraphrasing a quote from the series Band of Brothers from the character Ronald Speirs:
None of us want to be falsely accused. We shrink back because we mistakenly believe the other party is being genuine with us. Our only hope is to accept the fact the other party wants us to be guilty, whether we are or not. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we’ll be able to answer them the way they need to be answered. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. Their mental, emotional and spiritual health depend on it.
Paraphrase of a quote from Band of Brothers by the character Ronald Speirs
The one thing you should learn, more than any other, is the double standard. Identifying this will do more to help you in your spiritual life than anything else I can think of. That will be the topic of the next section (available soon-ish).
WARNING-The next section (when it comes) regarding the double standard is going to be very blunt. One thing I’ve been laughing about since 2016 is religious leaders/ celebrity/ founding couples/ A-List influencers of religious organizations posting about how they don’t want their posts to be “political”, then proceeding to make political posts (reposting the BLM manifesto, anti-Trump, etc.). What they really meant was (if they were honest), “Anything which is posted that contradicts or challenges my preferred narrative will be considered ‘political’ and removed from my timeline.”
Religious organizations desperately need to be slapped upside their heads. Ministry staff have made it clear sin is only sin under certain circumstances, under other circumstances it’s no longer sinful. The elders who’ve chosen to make the mistake of not bringing their ideologically rabid ministry staff to heel, need correction. It seems elders may only be in it for the prestige of the title as opposed to being the caretakers of the flock. Their job entails correcting the ministry staff when they suffer an extreme case of “stupid”. If said staff cannot be corrected, then the job of the elder is to terminate the employment of said staff, or it should be. Too many claim to be “teachers” who are in fact completely unqualified for the position. It’s obvious, being a “teacher” is a good gig. Too many are obviously in it to carve out their own niche. They should be publicly removed.
Anyway…
The point of the next section will be to cut through some of the bulls##t these three groups have made the mistake of bringing into the “Church”. Like I said, the first part will be blunt (very), no holds barred. The second part…
Will be graphic. There’s a reason I was inquiring about the unredacted, unedited footage of the October 7th attack. It’s time for some accountability and it’s time to cut through the bulls##t which has been introduced by religious organizations to scatter the sheep. It’s time to channel the internal “wolverine” and rip some throats out-FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING! This is NOT a call for physical violence against anyone. It is rather hyperbole.
Buckle up…
Disclaimer:
James Lindsay, Stephanie Winn, the Critical Thinking Project, Nancy Pelosi, the DNC, Spiked, Rob Henderson, Frasier Myers, et al do not endorse and are in no way affiliated with www.simplifiedtheology.org. Likewise, www.simplifiedtheology.org does not necessarily endorse the aforementioned parties and has no affiliation with them of any kind. The linked video is being utilized simply as a visual reference. All rights are retained by the respective parties.