Wisdom-Sapience

Sapience is closely related to the term “sophia” often defined as “transcendent wisdom”, “ultimate reality”, or the ultimate truth of things.

Tree of knowledge-obfuscation

Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.

The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue. Apollo was considered a god of wisdom, designated as the conductor of the Muses (Musagetes), who were personifications of the sciences and of the inspired and poetic arts.

Apollo was considered the god who prophesied through the priestesses (Pythia) in the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), where the aphorism “know thyself” (gnōthi seauton) was inscribed.

The Delphic maxims are a set of 147 aphorisms inscribed at Delphi. Originally, they were said to have been given by the Greek god Apollo’s Oracle at Delphi, Pythia and therefore were attributed to Apollo.

147 Delphic maxims
No.GreekEnglish
001.Ἕπου θεῷFollow God
002.Νόμῳ πείθουObey the law
003.Θεοὺς σέβουRespect the Gods
004.Γονεῖς αἰδοῦRespect your parents
005.Ἡττῶ ὑπὸ δικαίουBe overcome by justice
006.Γνῶθι μαθώνKnow what you have learned
007.Ἀκούσας νόειPerceive what you have heard
008.Σαυτὸν ἴσθιBe/Know yourself
009.Γαμεῖν μέλλεIntend to get married
010.Καιρὸν γνῶθιKnow your opportunity
011.Φρόνει θνητάThink as a mortal
012.Ξένος ὢν ἴσθιIf you are a stranger act like one
013.Ἑστίαν τίμαHonor the house
014.Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦControl yourself
015.Φίλοις βοήθειHelp your friends
016.Θυμοῦ κράτειControl anger
017.Φρόνησιν ἄσκειExercise prudence
018.Πρόνοιαν τίμαHonor providence
019.Ὅρκῳ μὴ χρῶDo not use an oath
020.Φιλίαν ἀγάπαLove friendship
021.Παιδείας ἀντέχουCling to discipline
022.Δόξαν δίωκεPursue honor
023.Σοφίαν ζήλουLong for wisdom
024.Καλὸν εὖ λέγεPraise the good
025.Ψέγε μηδέναFind fault with no one
026.Ἐπαίνει ἀρετήνPraise virtue
027.Πρᾶττε δίκαιαPractice what is just
028.Φίλοις εὐνόειFavor friends
029.Ἐχθροὺς ἀμύνουDefend against enemies
030.Εὐγένειαν ἄσκειExercise nobility of character
031.Κακίας ἀπέχουShun evil
032.Κοινὸς γίνουBe impartial
033.Ἴδια φύλαττεGuard what is yours
034.Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχουShun what belongs to others
035.Ἄκουε πάνταListen to everyone
036.Εὔφημος ἴσθιHave good reputation
037.Φίλῳ χαρίζουDo a favor for a friend
038.Μηδὲν ἄγανNothing to excess
039.Χρόνου φείδουUse time sparingly
040.Ὅρα τὸ μέλλονForesee the future
041.Ὕβριν μίσειDespise insolence
042.Ἱκέτας αἰδοῦHave respect for suppliants
043.Πᾶσιν ἁρμόζουBe accommodating in everything
044.Υἱοὺς παίδευεEducate your sons
045.Ἔχων χαρίζουGive what you have
046.Δόλον φοβοῦFear deceit
047.Εὐλόγει πάνταςSpeak well of everyone
048.Φιλόσοφος γίνουBe a seeker of wisdom
049.Ὅσια κρῖνεChoose what is divine
050.Γνοὺς πρᾶττεAct when you know
051.Φόνου ἀπέχουShun murder
052.Εὔχου δυνατάWish for things possible
053.Σοφοῖς χρῶConsult the wise
054.Ἦθος δοκίμαζεTest the character
055.Λαβὼν ἀπόδοςGive back what you have received
056.Ὑφορῶ μηδέναDown-look no one
057.Τέχνῃ χρῶUse your skill
058.Ὃ μέλλεις, δόςDo what you mean to do
059.Εὐεργεσίας τίμαHonor a benefaction
060.Φθόνει μηδενίBe jealous of no one
061.Φυλακῇ πρόσεχεBe on your guard
062.Ἐλπίδα αἴνειPraise hope
063.Διαβολὴν μίσειDespise a slanderer
064.Δικαίως κτῶGain possessions justly
065.Ἀγαθοὺς τίμαHonor good men
066.Κριτὴν γνῶθιKnow the judge
067.Γάμους κράτειMaster wedding-feasts
068.Τύχην νόμιζεRecognize fortune
069.Ἐγγύην φεῦγεFlee a pledge
070.Ἁπλῶς διαλέγουSpeak plainly
071.Ὁμοίοις χρῶAssociate with your peers
072.Δαπανῶν ἄρχουGovern your expenses
073.Κτώμενος ἥδουBe happy with what you have
074.Αἰσχύνην σέβουRevere a sense of shame
075.Χάριν ἐκτέλειFulfill a favor
076.Εὐτυχίαν εὔχουPray for happiness
077.Τύχην στέργεBe fond of fortune
078.Ἀκούων ὅραObserve what you have heard
079.Ἐργάζου κτητάWork for what you can own
080.Ἔριν μίσειDespise strife
081.Ὄνειδος ἔχθαιρεDetest disgrace
082.Γλῶτταν ἴσχεRestrain the tongue
083.Ὕβριν ἀμύνουKeep yourself from insolence
084.Κρῖνε δίκαιαMake just judgements
085.Χρῶ χρήμασινUse what you have
086.Ἀδωροδόκητος δίκαζεJudge incorruptibly
087.Αἰτιῶ παρόνταAccuse one who is present
088.Λέγε εἰδώςTell when you know
089.Βίας μὴ ἔχουHave no violence
090.Ἀλύπως βίουLive without sorrow
091.Ὁμίλει πρᾴωςLive together meekly
092.Πέρας ἐπιτέλει μὴ ἀποδειλιῶνFinish the race without shrinking back
093.Φιλοφρόνει πᾶσινDeal kindly with everyone
094.Υἱοῖς μὴ καταρῶDo not curse your sons
095.Γυναικὸς ἄρχεInitiate / lead / guide your wife
096.Σεαυτὸν εὖ ποίειBenefit yourself
097.Εὐπροσήγορος γίνουBe courteous
098.Ἀποκρίνου ἐν καιρῷGive a timely response
099.Πόνει μετ’ εὐκλείαςStruggle with glory
100.Πρᾶττε ἀμετανοήτωςAct without repenting
101.Ἁμαρτάνων μετανόειRepent of sins
102.Ὀφθαλμοῦ κράτειControl the eye
103.Βουλεύου χρόνῳGive a timely counsel
104.Πρᾶττε συντόμωςAct quickly
105.Φιλίαν φύλαττεGuard friendship
106.Εὐγνώμων γίνουBe grateful
107.Ὁμόνοιαν δίωκεPursue harmony
108.Ἄρρητον κρύπτεKeep deeply the top secret
109.Τὸ κρατοῦν φοβοῦFear ruling
110.Τὸ συμφέρον θηρῶPursue what is profitable
111.Καιρὸν προσδέχουAccept due measure
112.Ἔχθρας διάλυεDo away with enmities
113.Γῆρας προσδέχουAccept old age
114.Ἐπὶ ῥώμῃ μὴ καυχῶDo not boast in might
115.Εὐφημίαν ἄσκειExercise (religious) silence
116.Ἀπέχθειαν φεῦγεFlee enmity
117.Πλούτει δικαίωςAcquire wealth justly
118.Δόξαν μὴ λεῖπεDo not abandon honor
119.Κακίαν μίσειDespise evil
120.Κινδύνευε φρονίμωςVenture into danger prudently
121.Μανθάνων μὴ κάμνεDo not tire of learning
122.Φειδόμενος μὴ λεῖπεDo not stop to be thrifty
123.Χρησμοὺς θαύμαζεAdmire oracles
124.Οὓς τρέφεις, ἀγάπαLove whom you rear
125.Ἀπόντι μὴ μάχουDo not oppose someone absent
126.Πρεσβύτερον αἰδοῦRespect the elder
127.Νεώτερον δίδασκεTeach a youngster
128.Πλούτῳ ἀπίστειDo not trust wealth
129.Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦRespect yourself
130.Μὴ ἄρχε ὑβρίζεινDo not begin to be insolent
131.Προγόνους στεφάνουCrown your ancestors
132.Θνῆσκε ὑπὲρ πατρίδοςDie for your country
133Τῷ βίῳ μὴ ἄχθουDo not be discontented by life
134.Ἐπὶ νεκρῷ μὴ γέλαDo not make fun of the dead
135.Ἀτυχοῦντι συνάχθουShare the load of the unfortunate
136.Χαρίζου ἀβλαβῶςGratify without harming
137.Μὴ ἐπὶ παντὶ λυποῦGrieve for no one
138.Ἐξ εὐγενῶν γένναBeget from noble routes
139.Ἐπαγγέλλου μηδενίMake promises to no one
140.Φθιμένους μὴ ἀδίκειDo not wrong the dead
141.Εὖ πάσχε ὡς θνητόςBe well off as a mortal
142.Τύχῃ μὴ πίστευεDo not trust fortune
143.Παῖς ὢν κόσμιος ἴσθιAs a child be well-behaved
144.Ἡβῶν ἐγκρατήςAs a youth be self-disciplined
145.Μέσος δίκαιοςAs of middle-age be just
146.Πρεσβύτης εὔλογοςAs an old man be sensible
147.Τελευτῶν ἄλυποςOn reaching the end be without sorrow

Sapience is closely related to the term “sophia” often defined as “transcendent wisdom”, “ultimate reality”, or the ultimate truth of things. Sapiential perspective of wisdom is said to lie in the heart of every religion, where it is often acquired through intuitive knowing. This type of wisdom is described as going beyond mere practical wisdom and includes self-knowledge, interconnectedness, conditioned origination of mind-states and other deeper understandings of subjective experience. This type of wisdom can also lead to the ability of an individual to act with appropriate judgement, a broad understanding of situations and greater appreciation/compassion towards other living beings.

The word sapience is derived from the Latin sapientia, meaning “wisdom”. The corresponding verb sapere has the original meaning of “to taste”, hence “to perceive, to discern” and “to know”; its present participle sapiens was chosen by Carl Linnaeus for the Latin binomial for the human species, Homo sapiens.

Loyalty-Fidelity

“our ancient Brethren worshiped a deity under the name of Fides or Fidelity, which was sometimes represented by two right hands joined, and sometimes by two human figures holding each other by the right hands. “

Loyalty-Fidelity, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. 1375–1425; late Middle English fidelite (< Middle French) < Latin fidēlitās, equivalent to fidēli- (stem of fidēlis loyal, equivalent to fidē(s) faith + -lis adj. suffix) + -tās -ty

Fides (Latin: Fidēs) was the goddess of trust and bona fides (good faith) in Roman paganism. it is said that “our ancient Brethren worshiped a deity under the name of Fides or Fidelity, which was sometimes represented by two right hands joined, and sometimes by two human figures holding each other by the right hands.” Her priests were covered by a white veil as a symbol of purity which should characterize Fidelity. No victims were slain on her altars, and no offerings made to her except flowers, wine, and incense. Her statues were represented clothed in white mantles, with a key in her hand and a dog at her feet. The virtue of Fidelity is, however, frequently symbolized in ancient medals by a heart in an open hand, but more usually by two right hands clasped. She was one of the original virtues to be considered an actual religious divinity. Fides is everything that is required for “honor and credibility, from fidelity in marriage, to contractual arrangements, and the obligation soldiers owed to Rome.”. Fides also means reliability, “reliability between two parties, which is always reciprocal.” and “bedrock of relations between people and their communities”, and then it was turned into to an Roman deity and from which we gain the English word, ‘fidelity.’.

The Roman deity may have example in Regulus “who refuses to save himself at the expense of the Republic. Regulus defied his own best interests for those of his country. In this act alone, he acted with fides.”

She was also worshipped under the name Fides Publica Populi Romani (“Public (or Common) Trust of the Roman People”).

In the Gospel of Matthew 6:24, Jesus states, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”. This relates to the authority of a master over his servants (as per Ephesians 6:5), who, according to Biblical law, owe undivided loyalty to their master (as per Leviticus 25:44–46). On the other hand, the “Render unto Caesar” of the synoptic gospels acknowledges the possibility of distinct loyalties (secular and religious) without conflict, but if loyalty to man conflicts with loyalty to God, the latter takes precedence.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition defines loyalty as “allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one’s country” and also “personal devotion and reverence to the sovereign and royal family”. It traces the word “loyalty” to the 15th century, noting that then it primarily referred to fidelity in service, in love, or to an oath that one has made. The meaning that the Britannica gives as primary, it attributes to a shift during the 16th century, noting that the origin of the word is in the Old French “loialte”, that is in turn rooted in the Latin “lex”, meaning “law”. One who is loyal, in the feudal sense of fealty, is one who is lawful (as opposed to an outlaw), who has full legal rights as a consequence of faithful allegiance to a feudal lord.

Often cited as one of the many virtues of Confucianism, means to do the best you can do for others.

“Loyalty” is the most important and frequently emphasized virtue in Bushido. In combination with six other virtues, which are Righteousness (義 gi?), Courage (勇 yū?), Benevolence, (仁 jin?), Respect (礼 rei?), Sincerity (誠 makoto?), and Honor (名誉 meiyo?), it formed the Bushido code: “It is somehow implanted in their chromosomal makeup to be loyal”.

Loyalty to duty. It is this which the story teaches us, and my readers may be interested to know that the same theme is taught in the Mahabarata, in the legend of the Last Journey of Yudisthira, which relates how he goes on a long journey which ultimately ends at the gates of Heaven. There he is told that he is welcome, but his dog, who has followed him, cannot enter Heaven, for Heaven is not the place for dogs. Whereupon the Indian king replies that the dog has followed him loyally throughout his lone, weary journey, and that to forsake a friend is as vile as to commit a murder. Rather than do such a foul deed he is prepared to give up all hope of Heaven. Immediately on his utterance of these words the dog changes form and stands beside him as Dharma, the god of Duty, and he enters into heaven.

Charity-love (agape)

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

Charity/Love/Agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agapē) is a Greco-Christian term referring to love, “the highest form of love, charity” and “the love of God for man and of man for God”. The word is not to be confused with philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. It goes beyond just the emotions to the extent of seeking the best for others. The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in “greet with affection” and “show affection for the dead”. Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to eros (an affection of a sexual nature).

The Greeks had a word, charisma, meaning a gift, and a number of words from the same root, variously suggesting rejoicing, gladness. The Latins had a similar word, carus, and meaning dear, possibly connected with am or, signifying love. From these roots came “grace,” meaning a free, unbought gift, as in the theological phrase, “the grace of God,” and “charity.” Strictly speaking, charity is an act done freely, and spontaneously out of friendship, not as a civic duty and grudgingly, as is sometimes the case in public charity.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing” (First Corinthians 13:1-2).

The apostle, in comparing it with faith and hope, calls it the greatest of the three. We must not fall into the too common error that charity is only that sentiment of commiseration which leads us to assist the poor with pecuniary donations.

In its application, is more noble and more extensive. The word used by the apostle is, in the original, love, a word denoting that kindly state of mind which renders a person full of good-will and affectionate regard toward others.

Guided by this sentiment, the true ethical man will “suffer long and be kind.”

He will be slow to anger and easy to forgive.

He will stay his falling Brother by gentle admonition, and warn him with kindness of approaching danger, He will not open his ear to the slanderers, and will lose his lips against all reproach.

His faults and his follies will be locked in his breast, and the prayer for mercy will ascend to God for his Brother’s sins.

As ethical men we must practice charity. Not the Charity circumscribed by the narrow limits of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, binding up the wounds of the afflicted, but that broader nobler Charity that regards all men as Brothers.

Hope

In other words, hope was defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.

Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: “expect with confidence” and “to cherish a desire with anticipation.”

From Middle English hope, from Old English hopa (“hope, expectation”), from Proto-Germanic*hupô, *hupǭ, *hupō (“hope”), from Proto-Germanic*hupōną (“to hope”), from Proto-Indo-European*kēwp-, *kwēp- (“to smoke, boil”). Cognate with West Frisian hope (“hope”), Dutch hoop (“hope”), Middle High German hoffe (“hope”). Extra-Germanic cognates include Latin cupio (“I desire, crave”) and possibly Latin vapor (“vapor; smoke”).

hope (countable and uncountable, plural hopes)

  1. (countable or uncountable) The belief or expectation that something wished for can or will happen.

I still have some hope that I can get to work on time.After losing my job, there’s no hope of being able to afford my world cruise.There is still hope that we can find our missing cat. (countable) The actual thing wished for. (countable) A person or thing that is a source of hope. We still have one hope left: my roommate might see the note I left on the table. (Christianity, uncountable) The virtuous desire for future good.

Hope and forgiveness can impact several aspects of life such as health, work, education, and personal meaning. There are three main things that make up hopeful thinking:

  • Goals – Approaching life in a goal-oriented way.
  • Pathways – Finding different ways to achieve your goals.
  • Agency – Believing that you can instigate change and achieve these goals.

In other words, hope was defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.

Hope is the second round in the theological and Masonic ladder, and symbolic of a hope in immortality. It is appropriately placed there, for, having attained the first, or faith in God, we are led by a belief in His wisdom and goodness to the hope of immortality. This is but a reasonable expectation; without it, virtue would lose its necessary stimulus and vice its salutary fear; life would be devoid of joy, and the grave but a scene of desolation. The ancients represented Hope by a nymph or maiden holding in her hand a bouquet of opening flowers, indicative of the coming fruit; but in modern and Masonic iconology, the science of Craft illustrations and likenesses, it is represented by a virgin leaning on an anchor, the anchor itself being a symbol of hope .
Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry

Faith

Fowler defines faith as an activity of trusting, committing, and relating to the world based on a set of assumptions of how one is related to others and the world.

Faith, derived from Latin fides and Old French feid, is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, one can define faith as confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief. Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant* ( *The theory of justification is a part of epistemology that attempts to understand the justification of propositions and beliefs. Epistemologists are concerned with various epistemic features of belief, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, and probability. Loosely speaking, justification is the reason that someone (properly) holds a belief.)

James W. Fowler (1940–2015) proposes a series of stages of faith-development (or spiritual development) across the human life-span. His stages relate closely to the work of Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg regarding aspects of psychological development in children and adults. Fowler defines faith as an activity of trusting, committing, and relating to the world based on a set of assumptions of how one is related to others and the world.

Stages of faith

  1. Intuitive-Projective: a stage of confusion and of high impressionability through stories and rituals (pre-school period).
  2. Mythic-Literal: a stage where provided information is accepted in order to conform with social norms (school-going period).
  3. Synthetic-Conventional: in this stage the faith acquired is concreted in the belief system with the forgoing of personification and replacement with authority in individuals or groups that represent one’s beliefs (early-late adolescence).
  4. Individuative-Reflective: in this stage the individual critically analyzes adopted and accepted faith with existing systems of faith. Disillusion or strengthening of faith happens in this stage. Based on needs, experiences and paradoxes (early adulthood).
  5. Conjunctive faith: in this stage people realize the limits of logic and, facing the paradoxes or transcendence of life, accept the “mystery of life” and often return to the sacred stories and symbols of the pre-acquired or re-adopted faith system. This stage is called negotiated settling in life (mid-life).
  6. Universalizing faith: this is the “enlightenment” stage where the individual comes out of all the existing systems of faith and lives life with universal principles of compassion and love and in service to others for upliftment, without worries and doubt (middle-late adulthood (45–65 years old and plus).

No hard-and-fast rule requires individuals pursuing faith to go through all six stages. There is a high probability for individuals to be content and fixed in a particular stage for a lifetime; stages from 2-5 are such stages. Stage 6 is the summit of faith development. This state is often considered as “not fully” attainable.

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
― Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street

In the theological ladder, the explanation of which forms a part of the instruction of Masonry, faith is said to typify the lowest round. Faith, here, is synonymous with confidence or trust, and hence we find the essential qualification of a candidate is that he should trust in God.

Against all enemies

I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

By Lee Cary —— October 2, 2019

America’s domestic enemies are the Democratic Party and its allies

Those who’ve taken the oath remember it as a rite of passage.

Inside a military induction center, in the company of strangers in civilian clothes, with a few military personnel in uniform, a commanding voice orders the civilians to line up single file outside the door, to an empty room, displaying the national flag.

The door opens, the civilians file in, and, in equal increments, peel off to form a block of rows where they are called to attention for the first of many times to come.

When directed, they raise their right hands and repeat, phrase by phrase, these words:

I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

For many of the oath-takers, other important and memorable oaths will be taken in their lives. Like wedding vows, and their oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” in a court of law. But, for those who take this oath, no other will be more memorable.

The oath originated during the American Revolutionary War. It was altered in 1789. Then, later, it was amended, on 5 May 1960, during the Cold War.

On 5 October 1962, the newest words took effect. The oath-takers pledged to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.

The “enemies” are unnamed. For while the oath is fixed in place, the enemies change over time. 

The leading foreign enemies of the 20th Century were clear.  The Empire of Japan. The Third Reich. Then the USSR, the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Korean War. Followed by an episode of the Cold War turned hot in Vietnam.

The domestic enemies—those inside our borders—were Soviet spies, many known to exist but identified only by their code names, particularly in the era of nuclear arms development.  Later came spies from the Peoples’ Republic of China entering America as foreign students in U.S. universities, not just searching for state secrets but for industrial secrets enabling the theft of intellectual property.

Today, the leading domestic enemies of the U.S. Constitution are not dispatched to America from foreign shores. They were born in the USA.  English is their first language.

They include Government Service employees in the U.S. “intelligence community”— a soft moniker for a hard bunch.  Not all of them, of course. But enough to matter.

Some act openly, others are clandestine operators. They designed and staffed the Trump-Russian Hoax operation.  We know the field leaders, many of them, but we can’t yet prove who authorized their mission. And we may never be able to document who gave the “go,” and when. 

The field trade craft doesn’t appear to have relied on the standard pedestrian techniques like dead drops, brush passes, or one-time pads.

They used other espionage tools against the Executive Branch of their own government:  black propaganda, cut-outs, even a swallow—many of the standard tools were used one time or another during the Trump-Russian Hoax by GS-rated personnel and a few agency stringers, operating under the guise of the “intelligence community”. A harmless sounding label conveying the image of block parties, pot-luck suppers and book clubs. A family affair. 

In their efforts to overthrow a President, the “intelligence community” solidly earned the designation of a domestic enemy of the U.S. Constitution.

The role of liberal media newsrooms as domestic enemies is, also, well-established. Akin to the Nazi-controlled newspapers Vőlkischer Beobachter, Der Angriff and Boersen Zeitung, they toe the Democrat Party line under the banners of the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, et al. 

On the internet, they edit POLITICO, Daily Kos and Mother Jones where news means spreading each new narrative defined by the thought leaders of the American Left.  Facts and truth matter not. Today there is no “news”. 

The most modern invention in political propaganda is practiced by the censors, and with the logarithms, of big social media and search engine outlets: e.g., Facebook, Twitter and Google.  Domestics enemies of the U.S. Constitution.

Among their various campaigns are open borders, unhindered access to lethal drugs, unlimited abortions, unenforced laws, unbounded genders. 

Identity politics is a propaganda tool for torquing disorder leading toward the reformation of the old civil order by spreading incivility.

Their agenda, once heralded as fundamental transformation of America by a former U.S. President, is fundamental deformation of American society. Tear down the old to bring on the new.

Their end-game goal is the optimization of federal power – which they will control because they know best—over the citizenry.

Elsewhere in time and place, they’ve used other labels—Communism, Fascism, Socialism – but it always comes down to control over people.  How they live.  Where they work. What they read. What they think. What they own.

The Politburo, the Stasi, the Gestapo, the Communist Party, the Central Planning Committee—same play, different actors.

And now we have the newest rendition of control being directed from the hive of America’s leading domestic enemy—free stuff for everyone funded by confiscating the property of the rich.

Today, the domestic enemies of the U.S. Constitution live in our midst as the Democratic Party and its allies.

They put on a clown show, but we had better take them seriously.  For they are not joking.

The “Great Commission”

Many times we misinterpret the command to “make disciples” by divorcing this command unintentionally from other commands of Jesus, as if the imperatives of Jesus are weighted, with some being more valuable than others.

Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Usually this verse uses the word “disciples”. The word “disciple,” which is “mathetes” in Greek, literally means “pupil”. The Greek term μαθητής (mathētēs) refers generally to any “student,” “pupil,” “apprentice,” or “adherent,” as opposed to a “teacher.”

The Gospel of Matthew does not specifically use the term “Great Commission”. It does not appear until late in Christian history. Some scholars argue that it was coined by Baron Justinian von Welz, a 17th-century Lutheran nobleman, who argued that the words in Matthew 28 meant that all Christians were required to spread the faith, not just Jesus’ closest disciples.

There is evidence that personal discipleship was carried on among the Greeks and the Jews. Though the term “disciple” is used in different ways in the literature of the period, there are examples of discipleship referring to people committed to following a recognized leader, emulating his life and passing on his teachings. In these cases, discipleship meant much more than just the transfer of information. Again, it referred to imitating the teacher’s life, inculcating his values, and reproducing his teachings. For the Jewish boy over thirteen this meant going to study with a recognized Torah scholar, imitating his life and faith, and concentrating on mastering the Mosaic Law as well as the traditional interpretations of it.

Disciplship then is the kind of teaching that takes place through modeling the Christian life before others. More than simply drilling information into young believers, Christians should serve as mentors, coming alongside others and showing them what it means to walk as a disciple of Jesus. This emphasis on guidance coincides with the ancient Israelite concept of teaching, “. . . the task of a teacher was to create the conditions in which learning could occur—and those conditions would be most effective when the learner had direct contact with relevant ‘on the job’ experience.”

Many times we misinterpret the command to “make disciples” by divorcing this command unintentionally from other commands of Jesus, as if the imperatives of Jesus are weighted, with some being more valuable than others.

We would do well to remember Mark 6:14; “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”

Discipleship requires teaching by the example of emulating the Great teacher and pupils willing to receive the instruction. It is a gift to be given freely and accepted gratefully by the recipient. To make disciples we must be an exemplar that the unschooled want to emulate.

Justice

The Lord’s mission was to redeem us from sin, not to redistribute our property or impose an economic equality on us.

The concept of justice is based on numerous fields, and many differing viewpoints and perspectives including the concepts of moral correctness based on ethics, rationality, law, religion, equity and fairness. It is the moderation or mean between selfishness and selflessness – between having more and having less than one’s fair share.

Plato’s definition of justice is that justice is the having and doing of what is one’s own. A just man is a man in just the right place, doing his best and giving the precise equivalent of what he has received. This applies both at the individual level and at the universal level.

Socrates argues that lovers of wisdom – philosophers, in one sense of the term – should rule because only they understand what is good, (moral). If one is ill, one goes to a medic rather than a farmer, because the medic is expert in the subject of health. Similarly, one should trust one’s government to an expert in the subject of the good, not to a mere politician who tries to gain power by giving people what they want, rather than what’s good. Socrates uses the parable of the ship to illustrate this point: the unjust government is like a ship in open ocean, crewed by a powerful but drunken captain (the common people), a group of untrustworthy advisors who try to manipulate the captain into giving them power over the ship’s course (the politicians), and a navigator (the philosopher) who is the only one who knows how to get the ship to port. For Socrates, the only way the ship will reach its destination – the good – is if the navigator takes charge.

But we must be wary of the current “social justice” snare. Many good people over many years have been beguiled by the Left’s use of the term “social justice.” This is because fair-minded folks rightly love justice and hate injustice. But “social justice”—or, at least, how it’s often used by liberal Leftists—isn’t necessarily justice.

The modern left’s “social justice” strives for absolute economic equality. It endeavors to reduce, if not erase, the gap between rich and poor by redistributing wealth. This is “justice” more akin to Marx and Lenin, not according to Moses or Jesus. It is a counterfeit of real justice, biblical justice. Modern notions of “social justice” are often wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The fundamental error of today’s “social justice” practitioners is their hostility to economic inequality, per se. “Social justice” theory fails to distinguish between economic disparities that result from unjust deeds and those that are part of the natural order of things.

We are different from each other. We are unequal in aptitude, talent, skill, work ethic, priorities, etc. Inevitably, these differences result in some individuals producing and earning far more wealth than others. To the extent that those in the “social justice” crowd obsess about eliminating economic inequality, they are at war with the nature of the Creator’s creation.

The Bible doesn’t condemn economic inequality. You can’t read Proverbs without seeing that some people are poor due to their own vices. There is nothing unjust about people reaping what they sow, whether wealth or poverty.

Jesus himself didn’t condemn economic inequality. He told his disciples, “ye have the poor always with you” (Matthew 26:11), and in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:24-30) he condemned the failure to productively use one’s God-given talents—whether many or few, exceptional or ordinary—by having a lord take money from the one who had the least and give it to him who had the most, thereby increasing economic inequality.

The Lord’s mission was to redeem us from sin, not to redistribute our property or impose an economic equality on us.

By all means, let us tackle persistent injustices. But let us be careful to abide by the biblical standard of impartiality and equal treatment by law, lest we create additional injustices.

Prudence-the mother of all virtues

Culture and disciplined actions should be about the beneficial action.

Prudence (Latin: prudentia, contracted from providentia meaning “seeing ahead, sagacity”) is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason.

It is often associated with wisdom, insight, and knowledge. In this case, the virtue is the ability to judge between virtuous and vicious actions, not only in a general sense, but with regard to appropriate actions at a given time and place. Although prudence itself does not perform any actions, and is concerned solely with knowledge, all virtues had to be regulated by it. Distinguishing when acts are courageous, as opposed to reckless or cowardly, is an act of prudence.

In modern English, the word has become increasingly synonymous with cautiousness. In this sense, prudence names a reluctance to take risks, which remains a virtue with respect to unnecessary risks, but, when unreasonably extended into over-cautiousness, can become the vice of cowardice.

Aristotle gives a lengthy account of the virtue phronesis (Ancient Greek: ϕρόνησις), traditionally translated as “prudence”, although this has become increasingly problematic as the word has fallen out of common usage. More recently ϕρόνησις has been translated by such terms as “practical wisdom“, “practical judgment” or “rational choice“.

The function of a prudence is to point out which course of action is to be taken in any concrete circumstances. It has nothing to do with directly willing the good it discerns. Prudence has a directive capacity with regard to the other virtues. It lights the way and measures the arena for their exercise.

Without prudence, bravery becomes foolhardiness; mercy sinks into weakness, free self-expression and kindness into censure, humility into degradation and arrogance, selflessness into corruption, and temperance into fanaticism.

Culture and disciplined actions should be about the beneficial action. Its office is to determine for each in practice those circumstances of time, place, manner, etc. which should be observed. So it is that while it qualifies the intellect and not the will, it is nevertheless rightly styled a moral virtue. The difference between prudence and cunning lies in the intent with which the decision of the context of an action is made.

Consider how much improved our plight would be if folks in general and our public servants in particular exercised rational judgement and prudence in their affairs both personal and public.

Fortitude or Courage

Thucydides, a 5th Greek historian said; “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”

Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, death or threat of death, while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, discouragement, or personal loss.

“First, in feelings of fear and confidence the mean is bravery (andreia). The excessively fearless person is nameless…while the one who is excessively confident is rash; the one who is excessively afraid and deficient in confidence is cowardly.“
— Aristotle

Fear and confidence in relation to courage can determine the success of a courageous act or goal. The confidence that is being discussed here is self-confidence; Confidence in knowing one’s skills and abilities and being able determine when to fight a fear or when to flee from it. The ideal in courage is not just a rigid control of fear, nor is it a denial of the emotion. The ideal is to judge a situation, accept the emotion as part of human nature and, we hope, use well-developed habits to confront the fear and allow reason to guide our behavior toward a worthwhile goal.

Civic courage is described as a sort of perseverance – “preservation of the belief that has been inculcated by the law through education about what things and sorts of things are to be feared.”

Thucydides, a 5th Greek historian said; “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”

Our Founding Fathers understood the virtue of courage. What a pity that so many of our citizens, and particularly our public servants have lost sight of it.