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The ‘impossible’ Crisis is trans- The church that The ultimate
new space telescope forming Germany ruled the world plan of God
SEPTEMBER 2021
THE
TYRANNY OF
‘SCIENCE’
The danger in putting faith in a false messiah
COVER
Scientific experts are dictating the COVID-19
response, and the world is blindly following.
(Reese Zoellner/Trumpet)
SEPTEMBER 2021 | VOL. 32, NO. 8 | CIRC. 240,596
The Jeroboam bulla
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
FROM THE EDITOR 1 Why Is July 4 Suddenly WORLDWATCH 28
A Tiny Artifact Proclaims a Scandalous? 14
SOCIETYWATCH 31
Powerfully Encouraging Message
‘At the Verge of Impossible’ 16
PRINCIPLES OF LIVING 33
COVER STORY 2
INFOGRAPHIC Beware Our Present-Tense Culture
The Tyranny of ‘Science’
Falsely So Called Preparing to Scrutinze the Stars 18 DISCUSSION BOARD 34
The NHS: Britain’s False Religion 4
The Ultimate Plan of God 20 COMMENTARY 35
Germany: Transformed A Humble Request
by Crises 7 The Modern King Jeroboam II 23
THE KEY OF DAVID TELEVISION LOG 36
The Church That
Ruled the World 10
DANI MACHLIS/BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s Trumpet executive editor Stephen Regular news updates and alerts News and analysis
weekly television program Flurry’s television program from our website to your inbox updated daily
theTrumpet.com/keyofdavid theTrumpet.com/trumpetdaily theTrumpet.com/go/brief theTrumpet.com
FROM THE EDITOR
GERALD FLURRY
A Tiny Artifact Proclaims a
Powerfully Encouraging Message
“Let the stones speak.” —Dr. Eilat Mazar
F
or more than four years, I have explained that United supervision of Ben-Gurion University Prof. Yuval Goren” (Times
States President Donald Trump fulfills a role prophesied of Israel, Dec. 10, 2020).
in the Bible of an end-time “King Jeroboam.” You can find The timing of this announcement was interesting. This bulla
this stunning prophecy in Amos 7, which talks extensively has been around for a long time. In fact, it was purchased from
about this national leader. a Bedouin antiquities merchant in the 1980s, more than 30
This prophecy is connected to 2 Kings 14, which records the years ago. For years, the man who purchased this tiny artifact
history of King Jeroboam ii in the eighth century b.c. As Israel’s assumed it was a forgery. There was no record of where it came
longest-serving monarch, this man presided over a remarkable from or how it was discovered. He paid about 10 shekels for
national resurgence in the kingdom. Like much of Israel and it—a few cents.
Judah’s ancient history, the events in 2 Kings 14 are dual, which About five years ago, Prof. Yuval Goren from Ben-Gurion
means there is also an end-time fulfillment. (Read our article University began testing the seal impression. The procedure was
explaining this on page 23 of this Trumpet issue.) intense. Professor Goren “followed a protocol he had forged over
Amos 7 and 2 Kings 14 are crucial passages to understanding the past decade, which includes a series of overlapping tests from
Donald Trump’s presidency, the current political situation in varied scientific disciplines.” Only after five years of scrupulous
America, and even broader trends in the world. testing was it announced that the bulla was authentic. The media
Even now, with Joe Biden in the White House, I continue in Israel and worldwide published many articles about it.
to believe Donald Trump will once again become America’s This wonderful artifact brings King Jeroboam ii to life. But
president. The reason is that I understand and believe God’s it also brings to life Amos 7 and 2 Kings 14, two prophecies
prophecy in Amos 7. If only more people really believed the about an end-time Jeroboam ii!
Bible, they would have so much more understanding and hope! I don’t believe the timing of this announcement was a
Right now, the situation may look dire for Mr. Trump, since coincidence.
he no longer leads the nation and his enemies are so wide- Faith is “the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). My
spread and fierce. Events appear to undermine the prophecy faith is in God’s Word—not in a tiny 2,500-year-old artifact.
in Amos 7, yet neither God nor His prophecies have changed— However, such a discovery can be an inspiring miracle that God
which means I cannot change my view either. often gives to those who believe His message. That encourages
Late last year, as it seemed that evidence disproving this us to build even more faith. As our faith grows, so do the mira-
prophecy was piling up, we learned about a very special discov- cles. Then our Bible comes alive as never before!
ery in Israel. I believe God had a hand in this discovery. The oval-shaped bulla is small: roughly 3/4 inch tall and 1 inch
In the world of archaeology, the discovery and authentication wide. Though tiny, it packs a powerful message!
of a seal stamp (bulla) mentioning a biblical king is rare. The last On the front is an image of a roaring lion standing with its
time it happened was in 2015, when it was revealed that archae- tail raised. Above the lion is a paleo-Hebrew inscription that
ologists had uncovered a bulla mentioning Judah’s King Heze- reads, “l’Shema eved Yerov’am,” which means “Belonging to
kiah. Last December was another one of those rare occasions. Shema the servant/minister of Jeroboam.” This bulla didn’t
What was the name of the biblical king inscribed on this seal? belong to King Jeroboam personally; it belonged to a servant,
It was King Jeroboam ii! or minister, who worked with the king.
The word Shema is used many times in the Bible. It means
The Lion of Israel hear, or listen. This is the word in Deuteronomy 6:4, where
Amanda Borschel-Dan, one of Israel’s finest archaeology God says, “Hear, O Israel ….” The word is used 10 times in the
journalists, wrote this about the bulla: “What is arguably the book of Amos, including in chapter 7. “Now therefore hear thou
earliest inscribed clay seal impression from the land of Israel— the word of the Lord …” (verse 16). Do you think God might be
used at the court of Israelite King Jeroboam ii—has been trying to tell us something with this bulla? I do.
authenticated after years of strict laboratory testing under the ARTIFACT PAGE 22 u
SEPTEMBER 2021 1
JULIA GODDARD/TRUMPET, LAURA LEZZA/GETTY IMAGES, DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES, CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES,ANAS
JEENAH
BABA/AFP/GETTY
MOON/GETTY IMAGES
IMAGES,
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES, LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES, FIONA GOODALL/GETTY IMAGES
THE TYRANNY
FALSELY SO CALLED
Society is making sacrifices to a false messiah.
OF ‘SCIENCE’
BY STEPHEN FLURRY
THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET
2
A
“
l ot o f wh at “15 days to slow the spread,” and later this pandemic. Claiming their deci-
you’re seeing as advocated unprecedented lockdowns sions were “backed by science,” health
attacks on me, for more than a year. He is the man who experts have recommended a labyrinth
quite frankly, initially advised that masks were unnec- of contradictory rules and insisted on
are attacks on essary, then claimed that he had been phenomenally oppressive measures that
science.” That misleading people so that they would have shuttered businesses, devastated
is Dr. Anthony leave enough masks for health-care education, upended millions of lives,
Fauci’s descrip- workers, and still later said that the effec- and created far more grievous problems
tion of Dr. tiveness of double masks was “common than they have solved.
Anthony Fauci, sense.” He is the man now telling the This is to say nothing of the fact that
from a June world that he has spoken “consistently scientists, including Dr. Fauci himself,
interview. “Because all of the things that from the very beginning,” and has, at the almost certainly caused the pandemic.
I have spoken about, consistently from same time, “evolved” his advice. One of Dr. Fauci’s many articles was
the very beginning, have been funda- Some people advance through the published in 2012 by the American Soci-
mentally based on science. … [I]f you are educational, medical, political or other ety for Microbiology. There he explicitly
trying to, you know, get at me as a public systems of our societies and become wrote that “gain of function” research on
health official and a scientist, you’re what we consider elite, wise, high- bat coronaviruses was worth the risk of a
really attacking not only Dr. Anthony
Fauci, you’re attacking science.”
Anthony Fauci is an alumnus of the
SOME PEOPLE ADVANCE THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL,
College of the Holy Cross and a doctor MEDICAL, POLITICAL OR OTHER SYSTEMS OF OUR SOCIETIES
of Cornell University Medical College.
He has received 50 honorary doctorates
AND BECOME WHAT WE CONSIDER ELITE, WISE, HIGH-MINDED.
from universities in the United States YET THIS DOES NOT IMMUNIZE THEM FROM BEING WRONG.
and other countries. According to a
government website, he is the 132nd minded. Yet this does not immunize pandemic if it increases our knowledge of
most-cited author of 992,000 authors them from being wrong. diseases. The government nevertheless
in general and internal medicine, the The Apostle Paul wrote this about some banned “gain of function” research only
32nd most-cited living researcher, the people in his day: “Professing themselves two years later. But Dr. Fauci and his
20th most-cited author of 2.4 million in to be wise, they became fools” (Romans colleagues at the National Institute of
the field of research and experimental 1:22). Look at the elites in the news today. Allergy and Infectious Diseases found
medicine, the ninth most-cited author Don’t these words apply to them? a loophole. They now admit to U.S. law-
out of 2.5 million immunologists, a pre- makers that, under Fauci’s guidance, the
senter of major lectures around the globe, Trusting Experts National Institute of Health earmarked
and a recipient of the National Medal of The scientific community is probably $600,000 for the Wuhan Institute of
Science, the George M. Kober Medal, the the second-most-trusted institution in Virology and funneled it to the Chinese
Mary Woodard Lasker Award, the Albany America, after the U.S. military. Only lab through the nonprofit EcoHealth
Medical Center Prize, the Robert Koch 20 percent of Americans say they trust Alliance. This money was used to study
Gold Medal, the Prince Mahidol Award, the government, but 44 percent say they whether bat coronaviruses could be
the Canada Gairdner Global Health have a great deal of confidence in the transmitted to humans. Now even leftists
Award, and the Presidential Medal of scientific community. who recently scoffed at the lab leak as a
Freedom, the highest civilian honor Fa i th i n s c i e nt i f i c ex p e r t s h a s conspiracy theory admit it is likely a fact.
awarded by the U.S. government. He is remained steady for the past 50 years— If it is true that covid-19 originated in
also the highest paid of all the govern- even after the drastic Fauci-recom- a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,
ment’s 2 million-plus employees. mended, government-enforced, covid-19 then Dr. Fauci may have directly contrib-
By all these measures, Dr. Anthony lockdown measures. A survey of more uted to the development of the covid-19
Fauci is a success. This is why he has than 20,000 Americans conducted by pandemic by funding this research.
come to the forefront of the government Prof. David Lazer found that both Demo- Yet fo r m a ny, th ei r d evot io n i s
in its response to the covid-19 outbreak. crats and Republicans trusted scientists unshaken. Mask mandates, social-dis-
And apparently, this is why he equates and doctors to handle the covid-19 pan- tancing measures, school closures,
the field of scientific study to himself. demic more than any other individual or business lockdowns: Millions have
Yet well-paid, award-winning, exten- institution, including state governments submitted to and been subjected to
sively cited, doctor-times-50 Anthony and the federal government. these acts of “faith in Fauci.” Americans
Fauci is also the man who initially helped This faith has remained despite have taken on $6 trillion more in debt
fund the lab where covid-19 likely origi- repeated misjudgments by scientists and sacrificed their economy before
nated, then opposed the lab-leak theory; and public health experts over the past a priesthood of scientific experts for
who initially said the outbreak would two years that have demonstrated that salvation from a pandemic that those
likely remain minor, then promoted they do not really know how to deal with experts likely caused!
SEPTEMBER 2021 3
Consequences demanded by the press and the political dealing with new information that the
There is no evidence that covid-19 is left are massive socialistic interventions? science is providing,” he said. But on the
substantially more contagious or deadly Or is it more reasonable to think that day that the cdc reversed its mask-wear-
than a normal flu, which infects some the scientific community is just as ing guidance, they did not publish any
9 to 45 million Americans each year. fallible—even biased and politically new research. Even the Washington Post
There is no evidence that wearing a motivated—as every other government asked, “Where’s the data?”
paper or cloth mask stops the spread institution? After the cdc’s flip-flop, a reporter
of a 20-nanometer coronavirus particle. Consider the Centers for Disease called out Joe Biden: “You said if you
But scientists, flanked by leftist politi- Control and Prevention’s recent series were fully vaccinated, you no longer
cians and progressive media, pushed of mixed messages about who should need to wear a mask.” Biden’s response:
these drastic, catastrophic interven- wear face masks. In early 2021, as “I didn’t say that.”
tions with stunning self-assurance, more people were vaccinated, many Even when the experts are plainly
quashing any dissenting concerns about wondered when mask mandates would wrong, they’re still right! To criticize
the broader consequences. be lifted. If the vaccine was as effective them is to attack science—and truth.
Those broader consequences were as the experts claimed, why wear the And the same week that the new
colossal. In addition to the financial mask? In May, the cdc revised its cdc guidance came out—effectively
and economic disruptions, and the guidelines, prompting Joe Biden to showing that vaccines do not prevent
physical and mental health problems announce, “If you are fully vaccinated, people from contracting and spreading
caused by compulsory social isolation, you no longer need to wear a mask.” Just coronavirus—Joe Biden announced
these lockdowns helped politicians two months later, however, the science strict new measures cracking down on
push last-minute changes to mail-in again changed. In July, the cdc discov- all unvaccinated federal workers. The
ballot rules that helped throw the 2020 ered that vaccinated individuals could contradictions are head-spinning.
presidential election into chaos. still contract, carry and spread covid-19. This pandemic is a massive and painful
Is it a coincidence that the dire pre- Back to the masks! Are you following case study proving that Americans’ faith
dictions pushed by scientific experts the science? in the scientific community is misplaced.
have had major political ramifications? Anthony Fauci defended the cdc, say- In reality, science stands exposed as a
Is it a coincidence that the solutions ing they weren’t flip-flopping. “They’re false messiah.
THE NHS: BRITAIN’S FALSE RELIGION
B ritain’s National Health Service is apparently the best
thing ever. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called it “our
country’s greatest institution.” Former Health Secretary Matt
about is the nhs. It has been weakening Britain from within
for decades.
The National Health Service began after World War ii, when
Hancock went one better, saying, “The nhs is the best gift a the British voted out Winston Churchill and elected the Labour
nation has ever given itself.” Party. Labour celebrated by singing “The Red Flag,” the Com-
On July 5, the nation celebrated the “birthday” of the nhs. A munist anthem, in Parliament. Aneurin Bevan was one of the
thanksgiving ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Buck- most extreme of these socialists, having been briefly kicked out
ingham Palace hosted a garden party. Most remarkable was the of the Labour Party six years earlier due to vocal support for
awarding of the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian award communism. Then he became minister of health and helped
for “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous establish the nhs. His biographer, Labour Party leader Michael
courage in circumstances of extreme danger,” to the nhs. Foot, said his thinking was “rooted in Marxism.”
In the venerated name of the nhs and its covid-19 directives, The nhs was part of a reformation of the welfare state that
the British have surrendered freedoms that their ancestors deeply rooted socialist thinking into the British psyche. These
fought and died for for hundreds of years. reforms minimized personal freedom and responsibility,
Yet the nhs is measurably worse than health services in other replacing them with a collectivist approach. Any man’s per-
developed countries. Dr. Kristian Niemietz, head of policy at sonal failings became society’s problems. If he failed to care for
the Institute of Economic Affairs, compared nhs performance his health, ran out of cash, or fathered children out of wedlock,
in four common cancers and found that Germany’s health sys- the nation would bear the expense.
tem yields 12,000 fewer deaths every year. James Bartholomew Of course, any just society needs a safety net. No one wants to
crunches even more numbers in his 2013 book, The Welfare see a child die because his or her parents can’t afford to pay the
State We’re In, and concludes that if the nhs functioned as well bills. But the new welfare state went much further. And the result
as an “averagely good health-care system,” it would yield about was not just an economic decline but a decline in character.
48,000 fewer deaths each year. Bartholomew writes, “It is not going too far to say that there
Britain has been shut down for the last year “due to covid.” seems to have been a revolution in the culture and character
In fact, the infectious virus we really ought to be concerned of the British people in the last 60 years. The evidence is
4 THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET
An Exact Description True science is true knowledge. Our came from a Creator and are thus com-
The Bible describes our situation per- Creator intends us to receive true edu- pelled to devise explanations for how
fectly. It prophesies of the society that cation, engage in true scientific study, creation came about on its own. Ignoring
would exist “in the last days.” It says that and acquire true knowledge about the and suppressing all evidence to the
among those who are “lovers of their creation around us. But there is such contrary, they accept as absolute fact
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, a thing as science falsely so called. In the alternative faith of godless evolution.
blasphemers” and even “traitors,” there fact, science falsely so called dominates Unable to support that theory with any
are those who are “highminded” (2 Tim-
othy 3:1-4). These verses apply to the
“perilous times” of our generation. This
TRUE SCIENCE IS TRUE KNOWLEDGE.
perfectly describes many of the educated OUR CREATOR INTENDS US TO RECEIVE TRUE EDUCATION,
elites behind the covid-19 pandemic.
God also inspired Paul to write this
ENGAGE IN TRUE SCIENTIFIC STUDY, AND ACQUIRE
insightful admonition to his assistant: TRUE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CREATION AROUND US.
“O Timothy, keep that which is com-
mitted to thy trust, avoiding profane our society. And in recent months, it is of the proof they insist on in all other
and vain babblings, and oppositions of increasingly turning into a tyranny! scientific inquiry, they contradict their
science falsely so called: Which some Why is this? own standards and the foundation for
professing have erred concerning the In these “last days” of human civili- true science. Nevertheless, they thereby
faith” (1 Timothy 6:20-21). zation, scientists so called assume the anoint themselves—along with their
Science falsely so called! nonexistence of the Creator. They are high-minded observations and reason-
The New King James Version trans- almost all taught and trained to reject ings—as the highest authority in the
lates verse 20, “avoiding the profane and revelation from God and God’s Word and universe!
idle babblings and contradictions of what to deny God’s existence. This rejection This is why science and academia are
is falsely called knowledge.” The Greek of God is the very foundation of human so prone to, as the New Living Trans-
word for “science” in this verse is gnosis, knowledge production. lation renders it in verse 20, “godless,
which means knowledge. Scientists scorn the idea that creation foolish discussions.” Scientists and
overwhelming that they are less polite and more violent. … A responsibility. It too is rejecting any ambition to help or even
picture emerges of a country that has become brutish and even set an example for the wider world.
degenerate compared to how it was.” This is perhaps the most pernicious effect of the welfare
The whole world has suffered in this collapse. Defense state. It took Britain’s focus off a wider vision and turned it
spending suffered cut after cut to pay for the nhs. For many, inward. No longer would we dare great things. And when a dis-
January 1968 marks the official end of the British Empire. ease came along which 99.97 percent of healthy people survive,
Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced that Britain would we cowered in fear and prayed to the nhs for salvation.
withdraw all its forces east of the Suez Canal. United States The desire to place faith in a big government to take care of
Secretary of State Dean Rusk was incredulous and “could not us is alluring but deadly. We were created to thrive in personal
believe that free aspirin and false teeth were more important responsibility, striving to look after ourselves and each other,
than Britain’s role in the world.” But Britain had no interest in rather than sitting back and waiting for a bureaucracy to do
empire or even in a responsible drawdown of the empire. It just it for us.
dropped everything, heedless of the lives it shattered. A society that encourages individuals to strive is one that
In India, the result of Britain’s hurried handover to native allows them to thrive—and enables them to then give to others.
elites was a disaster. As British authorities pulled out of India, No society has ever been perfect, but some have been far better
the ethnic tensions they had kept under control exploded. than others. Those are the nations, like Britain, that have
Estimates vary wildly, but somewhere in the region of 1 million acknowledged that men are created to exercise freedom, bear
people died in the violence. As Britain pulled out of Uganda, responsibility, help others and build society.
Zimbabwe, Egypt and elsewhere, men like Idi Amin, Robert God allowed the decline of Britain and now America to
Mugabe and Gamal Abdel Nasser took over. pave the way for a new society—one that takes care of its
The nhs has been part of an agenda that has diminished poorest and ensures the sick don’t die for lack of funds, but
personal responsibility, destroyed families, and extinguished not by stripping individual and family responsibility. You can
Britain’s sense of duty toward the world. America is rapidly read more about it in our free booklet The Wonderful World
hurrying down the same path, expanding the welfare state Tomorrow—What It Will Be Like, by Herbert W. Armstrong.
and government power, and smothering individual liberty and RICHARD PALMER
SEPTEMBER 2021 5
other experts have knowledge, but These people were not Satan worship- Eve had to make was this: Whom would
much of it is false knowledge. It is filled ers, as we usually think of the term, yet they believe? God gave them the choice
with authoritative pronouncements Jesus Christ told them to their faces, to believe Him and obey Him. Satan gave
that conflict with other statements of “Ye are of your father the devil …. He … them the choice to reject God, promis-
irrefutable fact. We are floating in a abode not in the truth, because there is ing, “For God doth know that in the day
flood of information that is truth mixed no truth in him …” (John 8:44). What a ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
with error, good mixed with evil. revealing statement! The devil doesn’t opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
just inspire “satanic” people—he influ- good and evil” (verse 5).
The Traditions of Men ences everyone (see 2 Corinthians 4:4 That is an appeal to the human mind
Read what the Bible says about knowl- and Revelation 12:9). and intellect. It is an appeal to disbelieve
edge and so-called experts, and ask For someone who has excelled in the and disobey the God who created that
yourself if it doesn’t perfectly describe tradition of men, who holds 50 honorary mind and intellect. It is an appeal to
the intellectual arrogance motivating degrees, it is easy to assume that he decide good and evil for yourself, to
the authoritarian scientific regime is like a god. That is how he can say, I experiment as you see fit, to set your
increasingly dominating our society. am science! I am the truth! while he own boundaries.
Paul wrote that those who reject God’s deceives people who face a society-wide Verse 6 says, “And when the woman
truth are conceited, ignorant and pas- life-and-death situation. saw that the tree was good for food, and
sionate for controversy and argument, This is deeply ingrained in human that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
which leads to envy, dissension, insults nature. Paul encountered it in Athens tree to be desired to make one wise, she
and insinuations (1 Timothy 6:3-4). He among the intellectuals of Greece: took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and
decried “[p]erverse disputings of men “[A]ll the Athenians and strangers which gave also unto her husband with her;
of corrupt minds, and destitute of the were there spent their time in nothing and he did eat.”
truth, supposing that gain is godliness”— “They pioneered in deciding for them-
and concludes with the sage counsel: selves what is right and what is wrong—
“from such withdraw thyself ” (verse 5).
BEING SMART AND what is righteousness and what is sin!”
D u r i n g J e s u s C h r i s t’s d ay, t h e BEING GOOD ARE TWO Mr. Armstrong wrote in The Missing
governing elites were knowledgeable, Dimension in Sex. “And humanity has
highly acclaimed, wealthy and powerful.
DIFFERENT THINGS. been doing what seems right in its own
They even believed in God and devoted MANY VERY INTELLIGENT eyes ever since. And how did they do
much of their lives to their religion. it? They 1) rejected revelation, 2) used
They excelled within that system. They
PEOPLE HAVE DONE VERY observation, 3) used experimentation
gained status, respect and much more. EVIL THINGS. and 4) used human reason. And that is
Yet religious as they were, they were precisely the ‘scientific’ method used by
steeped in intellectual vanity. They and else, but either to tell, or to hear some modern science today!”
others supposed they were godly—yet new thing” (Acts 17:21). These thinkers The false “scientific method” started
when they encountered knowledge devoted their lives to gaining new knowl- with the first human beings! They
from the very Son of God, they wanted edge. They were amazed by the human rejected revelation from God and
to destroy it and destroy Him! mind, but they worshiped it rather than relied instead on their own five senses
In Mark 7:7-9, Christ said, “Howbeit worshiping God and building God’s char- and human minds. This marked the
in vain do they worship me, teaching for acter. As Herbert W. Armstrong wrote foundation of the world as we know it!
doctrines the commandments of men. in “The Modern Athenians in Today’s Human beings have continued to build
For laying aside the commandment of Universities,” our educational system civilization by rejecting God’s revealed
God, ye hold the tradition of men …. And worships the human mind! truth and relying on observation, exper-
he said unto them, Full well ye reject the Our system of education is founded imentation and human reasoning. And
commandment of God, that ye may keep on this belief. It exalts knowledge and what we have constructed is increas-
your own tradition.” science falsely so called. It worships it as ingly unstable—and ready to collapse!
In Matthew 11:24, Christ gave this if it were a messiah! This is why, despite What a powerful insight from the
shocking warning: “[I]t shall be more producing amazing advancements, it Bible. God is not the only spirit being
tolerable for the land of Sodom in the has also propagated egregious evils. out there. The same spirit being that
day of judgment, than for thee.” My Being smart and being good are two gave Adam and Eve false education is
father quoted this remarkable passage in different things. Many very intelligent still educating people today. That is why
“The Fatal Flaw in Modern Science” and people have done very evil things! our society is the way it is!
wrote, “Intellectual vanity is more dan- How deep does this fatal flaw go?
gerous than the sexual sins of Sodom!” Philosophy and Pride
(Trumpet, January 2018). The Origin of the Scientific Method “Beware lest any man spoil you through
In verse 25, Jesus thanked God the Genesis 3 records Satan the devil subtly philosophy and vain deceit, after the
Father for hiding the truth from the reasoning with the first woman ever tradition of men, after the rudiments
elites and revealing it to the lowly. created. The ultimate choice Adam and SCIENCE PAGE 32 u
6 THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET
People stand on a rivers flooded in 2002, Chancellor
street destroyed by
floods in western Gerhard Schröder appeared as crisis
Germany on July 16.
manager and used his power to help
his people. His rival, Bavarian State
Premier Edmund Stoiber, was in no
position to make a difference and nar-
rowly lost the election.
In the early days of the recent flood-
ing, Laschet failed to make such an
impression. But he was able to provide
economic relief to his own state, while
others could only make promises. The
rivals to Merkel and Laschet’s Christian
Democratic Union (cdu) are the Greens,
and they hoped to use the flood to score
political points, but polls indicate they
failed; some even saw their attempts to
GERMANY
do so as inappropriate.
In a July 21 Forsa/rtl/n-tv survey
regarding which of the candidates should
replace Merkel, the most popular answer,
Transformed by Crises
at 44 percent, was “none of the above.” In
the crisis, Germans looked for leadership
and found none. While the effect on the
election remains to be seen, the effect on
the public mood is already clear.
In editorials, online posts and beer halls, the sentiment is the same: Our Many Germans and media outlets
leaders are pitifully powerless. Something must change. BY JOSUÉ MICHELS blamed the government for not doing
enough to warn citizens and provide
U
nfähig, machtlos, selbstsüchtig: invisible in her party’s campaigning. Her help. The European Flood Awareness
incompetent, powerless, selfish. departure from politics comes as the Ger- System did issue warnings, but many
Th at is h ow m a ny G e rm a n s man mood is ready for drastic changes. residents were still caught by surprise.
would describe their government right Some called it a monumental failure
now. Katastrophe is how they would Record Floods of the system. One hydrologist told
summarize the government’s coronavi- On July 16, as Central Europe was hit Science that researchers “were stupidly
rus response and its preparedness for by devastating floods, German Defense congratulating ourselves that we were
recent record flooding. Some are saying Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer forecasting something so early. … The
this in private, others in public. And declared a military disaster alert. Rivers assumption was that would be really
some are growing impatient. A survey of water rushed through major cities, helpful,” she told Science. “We should
published on May 17 showed more Ger- people were evacuated, houses were not be seeing this number of people
mans than ever (61.5 percent) desiring a destroyed, and emergency workers dying in 2021 from floods. It just should
big shift within the federal government. were brought to their limits, with some not be happening” (July 20).
Germany has stumbled from the euro losing their lives. About 200 people were Floods are common in Germany. So
crisis to the refugee crisis to the coro- confirmed dead and 1,300 were reported why isn’t it better prepared for such a
navirus crisis to the recent flood crisis. missing during the height of the flooding. crisis? Some are blaming privacy con-
Each has transformed Germans. The damage was estimated in the billions. cerns. While other countries routinely
Germans love stability and strong The disaster could not have come at a warn citizens through mass text mes-
leaders, especially in unstable times. worse time. Following months of lock- sages, German lawmakers have resisted
The prolonged lack of such leadership downs, Germany’s economic reserves such measures. But within days of the
has grievously agitated them. It is an are meager and trust in the government floods, priorities changed and the nation
alarming repeat of history. is at a low. green-lighted mobile providers to text
In September, Germans will vote in The flooding also hit Germany’s emergency warnings to specific areas.
SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
national elections, hoping for a leader to North-Rhine Westphalia, the home state This is just a small example of how a
steer the nation through choppy waters. of chancellor candidate Armin Laschet. crisis can change Germany. Once people
Angela Merkel, chancellor for the past 16 The German Army used tanks to clear feel powerless, they quickly give up free-
years, is not running again, so whatever debris from the streets. doms in favor of stronger government.
stability she provided will disappear. Past floods have changed election The coronavirus crisis revealed a
In recent months, she has been almost outcomes. When the Elbe and Oder similar trend.
SEPTEMBER 2021 7
Dysfunction and Pandemic further at the time-hallowed perception the national government’s coronavirus
Despite Germany’s world-class economy, of German excellence in organizational measures, she would “have to consider
medical infrastructure and pharmaceu- matters” (Telegraph, April 4). whether we will find [other] ways” to
tical industry, its management of the On March 20, Der Spiegel’s cover push the decisions through, perhaps
covid-19 outbreak has been a crisis of story was “Descent of a State: The New giving the national legislature “a greater
its own. Politicians, commentators and German Incompetence.” It asked: “Why role.” This was a demand for nothing less
everyday citizens agree that this crisis is can’t we get a handle on the coronavirus than a major transfer of power from Ger-
self-inflicted. They don’t blame individ- mess? It’s about more than scandals man states to the national government.
ual politicians or parties, but their form and mishaps: The republic’s systemic In April, Germany ended up passing
of government. weakness is being revealed, and the the amendment that Merkel and others
Mr. Laschet was elected party leader citizens’ patience is at an end. … A rude demanded. The power to enforce lock-
of the cdu on January 16 and is now in awakening is taking place, coupled with downs was centralized in Berlin. When
it was signed into law, Germany’s most
popular newspaper, Bild, called it “A
Black Hour for Freedom!”
The power shift from the people and
“Germany is facing an epic the states to the central government is
identity crisis. After 16 years said to be only temporary and only for
lockdowns during pandemics. But the
in the saddle, Angela Merkel’s threshold has been crossed. In peace-
legacy is a disoriented and time, Germans are content with democ-
racy, but in crisis, they seek something
divided country.” more akin to autocracy.
thomas kielinger Expect the central government to help
itself to that power whenever it pleases.
a prime position to become the next resentment against politicians” (Trum- In Crises, Freedoms Vanish
chancellor. As such, the eyes of millions pet translation throughout). It used to be that protests were an incen-
of people were on him in the crisis With many, though, it is resentment tive for the government to change its
months of early 2021. But when leader- against their entire system of government. policies. Today, protests seem to be an
ship was needed, Laschet was nowhere In “Weakness of Federalism: Make excuse to increase governmental power.
to be found. Germans in a crisis heard Germany Finally Ready for Crises” Citizens fed up with restrictions have
him say he was “contemplating” what (April 2), Spiegel’s Martin Knobbe wrote: marched in the streets. Authorities have
to do. This downgraded him from being “Germany’s small-scale federalism is responded by trying to lock them up.
merely unpopular among the average failing in the coronavirus pandemic.” He On April 28, the Federal Office for the
German to being a laughingstock: The praised the nation’s small-state model as Protection of the Constitution warned
social media hashtag #laschetden- “a success story that goes back centuries,” that since the government began enforc-
ktnach (“Laschet contemplations”) and he described the Hitler era as “a ing measures to contain the covid-19
trended in Germany. warning for today of what a monopoly pandemic, the nation’s “democratic order,
But something more serious is taking of power at the head of the state can do.” as well as state institutions … faced multi-
place: Demand for decisive leadership However, the nation’s Basic Law, drafted ple attacks.” For this reason, the domestic
is building. Many Germans believe the with the help of the Allies in 1948 to pre- secret service put certain citizens under
coronavirus is killing thousands as vent the rise of dictators, is proving “dys- nationwide surveillance. This surveil-
a direct consequence of government functional” in the age of the pandemic. lance includes monitoring meetings,
failure. Some say the government is Knobbe reasons that Germany’s entire intercepting e-mails, even screening
implementing lockdowns in an incon- way of governing itself must change “to bank accounts and financial flows.
sequential, haphazard, irresponsible equip Germany for special challenges, Such surveillance has been used on
manner. Also, some politicians have for extraordinary crises—of which there far-left and right-wing extremists, as
profited from the crisis through dubious will probably be more rather than fewer well as Islamists who pose a terrorist
business deals and rank corruption. It in the future.” threat. Now the government is target-
is as if the coronavirus exposed weak- Case in point: During the pandemic, ing a movement called Querdenker
nesses in the German system itself. Chancellor Merkel was leading one way (“Lateral Thinkers”), which, it argues,
TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
In “Germany Is Facing an Epic Identity while the state premiers chose their is causing an “anti-democratic and/or
Crisis,” Thomas Kielinger wrote, “After own paths. In most cases, this is a sign security-endangering delegitimization
16 years in the saddle, Angela Merkel’s of a functioning democracy, but it visibly of the state,” according to Spiegel Online.
legacy is a disoriented and divided coun- bothered Ms. Merkel. In a March 28 This movement doesn’t quite fit into any
try. [O]ur woefully inadequate response interview, she threatened Germany’s 16 of the previously established categories,
to the covid pandemic is chipping away state premiers: If they failed to support and it draws its support from people of
8 THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPETmany diverse backgrounds. Yet millions Governments across Europe are European project knew that creating
of citizens who support the lockdowns passing more anti-terrorist laws and the euro—a unified European cur-
have criticized the Querdenker move- tightening their screening methods for rency—without all the other aspects of
ment, so don’t expect much backlash migrants. They are introducing new a unified government would provoke
from the general populace. surveillance measures and granting economic crisis,” Mr. Flurry wrote. “Yet
Still, this is an alarming development. security authorities more power. Behind they still deliberately proceeded with
If Querdenker supporters can be the scenes, military strategists are pre- their plan, knowing that crisis would
surveilled for “delegitimizing the state,” paring to deal with the problem head on. provide the pretext for transforming
what German is immune from surveil- Without the crisis, such trends would Europe into a superpower!”
lance? Government critics of all sorts have been unthinkable in multicultural, Jean Monnet, an EU founding father,
can expect to be targeted. tolerant Europe. said, “Europe will be forged in crises and
In the July 2020 Trumpet, editor in will be the sum of the solutions adopted
chief Gerald Flurry warned of the early Euro Crisis for those crises.” Former German
stages of this dictatorial approach: All these crises have created serious Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble
“European leaders are increasingly financial concerns for Germany and kept said, “Crisis represents an opportunity.
behaving like dictators and assuming its government and people off-balance. Europe always moves forward in times of
dictatorial power. The people of Germany is surrounded by failing econo- crisis. Sometimes you need a little pres-
Europe are being conditioned to mies, all bound together in one common sure for certain decisions to be taken.”
accept more tyrannical leadership.” currency, the euro. Germany was repeat- The euro crisis has paved the way for a
Now we see European states trying to edly forced to bail out European countries worse crisis to hit Germany. Germany’s
force citizens to take the vaccine. These after the economic crisis of 2008. economy hinges, like so many others, on
and other measures would have been covid-19 has also caused an epidemic of the United States dollar. When the tick-
unthinkable if not for the media over- debt across Europe. With the exception of ing debt bomb of the U.S. Federal Reserve
hyping the covid threat. Once again, a Ireland, every single country that needed explodes, it will also leave Europe’s
crisis has transformed nations. a bailout in the last economic crisis now system in ruins. When this occurs and
has even worse debt problems. Even Europeans fall into despair, one nation
Refugee Crisis large economies like Italy and France will emerge as the natural leader to
Overshadowed by the recent flooding are in deep danger. Across the eurozone, resolve the emergency: Germany.
and the coronavirus crisis is another government debt has increased by The upper echelons in Germany know
grinding crisis that has already trans- $1.3 trillion. Much of southern Europe this is coming. They know that all of
formed Germany and Europe, yet is far only stayed afloat due to the European Europe will look to their nation for solu-
from over: immigration. Central Bank printing €1.3 trillion tions. They also know the German peo-
In the first half of 2021, the number of
Europeans realize that their leaders cannot
migrants arriving in Italy was three times
higher than during the same period last
year. Between the start of the year and solve their problems. They are growing
more in favor of authoritarian rule.
June 10, authorities counted 15,252 boat
migrants arriving at Italy’s shore—a
sevenfold increase over 2019 (yet still a
fraction of what Italy experienced at the (us$1.5 trillion). This has made Germans ple are fed up with weak leadership and
peak of the refugee crisis in 2015). very worried that runaway inflation could with bailing out other countries; they
The next refugee crisis looms. Fol- soon destroy their savings. don’t want to risk their savings to save
lowing the withdrawal of nato forces, “Many experts will tell you that Europe Greeks. All of Germany’s recent troubles
violence is escalating in Afghanistan. is about to break apart,” Mr. Flurry wrote are about to culminate into one decisive
Clashes between the Taliban and the last year. “If these nations’ response crisis. This is prophesied to unite
Afghan government are causing more to the coronavirus does not cause an Europe into a sleeker, pared-down ver-
and more to flee the country. While immediate economic meltdown, the sion of the European Union. European
many seek to escape to Turkey, Europe debt they are accumulating will still leaders often talk about a “two-speed
will be their next destination. On July 27, come due at some point. Some kind of Europe” or “core Europe”—but it will
Germany’s Welt asked: “Is Europe in financial crisis is inevitable. When it take a crisis to turn these dreams into
Danger of the Next 2015?” comes, watch what happens! A crisis reality. It will also take strong leadership.
With every wave of migration, Europe- like the current one is exactly what This is exactly what Bible prophecy
ans are increasingly concerned that they European leaders have longed for to says Europe is about to get.
are losing a part of their identity. More forge a European superstate!” (ibid).
and more people are willing to resort to It is precisely such a financial crisis Bible Prophecy
extremes: attacks on refugees; refugee that is needed to transform Europe into All the above-mentioned crises make
centers set ablaze; far-right parties the single federal power its founders Europeans realize that their leaders
voted into national parliaments. dreamed of. “The founders of the GERMANY PAGE 27 u
SEPTEMBER 2021 9system. What was the result? That
history teaches us where today’s renais-
sance of Vatican diplomacy is leading.
Holy Roman Empire: Force of Nature
“[N]ull, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust,
damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of
meaning and effect for all time.” That
was Pope Innocent x’s official and infal-
lible verdict on the Peace of Westphalia.
THE
CHURCH
What made the pope so wrathful
against this series of peace agreements?
Those agreements, though they put an
end to some of the bloodiest warring in
Europe’s history, also acknowledged the
legitimacy of separate sovereign nation
states. The system of international law
created by the Peace of Westphalia forms
THAT
the very foundation of modern inter-
RULED
national relations. The pope’s hostility
reveals a lot about how Roman Catholics
view their church’s role in the world.
Prior to the rise of Christianity, the
idea of a unified world religion was alien.
Different races and peoples had not only
their own histories and characteristics
THE
but also their own local gods. But as the
WORLD
idea of a universal religion and church
spread, it became natural for people to
believe in a universal government.
“Because divinity was divided, human-
ity had been divided likewise; the doc-
trine of the unity of God now enforced
the unity of man, who had been created
in His image,” James Bryce wrote in The
Holy Roman Empire. “The first lesson of
Christianity was love, a love that was to
join in one body those whom suspicion
and prejudice and pride of race had
hitherto kept apart. There was thus
formed by the new religion a community
What happens when the Vatican gets involved in politics? of the faithful, a holy empire, designed
History tells. BY RICHARD PALMER to gather all men into its bosom, and
standing opposed to the manifold poly-
O
n March 5, the elderly Pope instrumental in a Nobel-prize winning theisms of the older world ….”
Francis arrived in what was peace agreement in Colombia. Many Bryce described a common theme that
recently a war zone. Popes John people applaud such efforts; after all, developed in Western theories of world
Paul ii and Benedict xvi both tried to in a world full of war, injustice and per- government: that is, “a world-monarchy
visit Iraq, and Francis had been trying secution, surely we need a great moral and a world-religion.” People came to
for years. Despite the risk to his life, he force in international relations. believe that what the world needed was
traveled into what was once the core of But when put in its historical context, a single empire led by a world ruler who
the Islamic State. the pope fulfilling this role gives pause could referee disputes between rival
Around the world, the pope is active for thought. kings, avoid war, and bring justice.
in politics and international relations. This is hardly the first time the Catho- To the people of the Middle Ages, a
ISTOCK.COM/VLADACANON
A secret letter from him in 2014 to lic Church has had a major role in inter- world of competing states with no over-
then United States President Barack national relations. For nearly a thousand arching authority is “null, void, invalid,”
Obama helped open U.S. relations with years it was a genuine superpower and an aberration, a sign of something going
Communist Cuba. His officials were dominated the European international horribly wrong.
10 THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPETBryce wrote that throughout the That was the theory. In practice, this
Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire neat hierarchy wasn’t always followed—
was seen as “an institution divine and or even recognized. But often it was. SEVEN
necessary, having its foundations in “Popes served as arbiters, and papal RESURRECTIONS
the very nature and order of things.” legates served as peacemakers,” the OF THE
People “went on for centuries believing
in the necessary existence of the Roman
Encyclopedia Britannica notes. “Papal
ambassadors held status above those HOLY
Empire, because they believed in its nec- from mere states.”
ROMAN
EMPIRE
essary union with the Catholic Church.” How far did the pope’s power extend?
He described the way that the Cath- When Spain and Portugal discovered
olic Church of this period interpreted the entire rest of the world and disputed
Bible history and prophecy to claim that who owned what, it was Pope Alexander
“The seven heads are seven
a Holy Roman Empire, ruling over all vi who drew a line on a map that divided
mountains, on which the
other states, was God’s divine order for the territory between them.
the world. No form of international relations was
woman sitteth.”
Pasadena City College philosophy pro- beyond the reach of the Catholic Church. revelation 17:9
fessor Edward Feser wrote that under In business, the church also reigned
this worldview, it is not aberrant for the supreme. For example, alum, a vital The Apostle John compares the Holy
Mongol Empire or the nation of Yugosla- material for textile dyes, was heavily reg- Roman Empire to a mountain range
via, for example, to expire, but in this ulated by the church. The pope awarded comprised of seven mountains.
view, “there is something abnormal, and himself a monopoly on it: No one was Just as yawning valleys separate
contrary to natural law and the super- allowed to sell it but the papal states. mountains, there are valleys
natural order, that there is no longer Granted, the church’s involvement in distinguishing these seven peaks,
a Holy Roman Empire. Indeed, on this the alum trade was the exception, not the
or resurrections, of the Holy Roman
view of things, given that the natural and rule. But in that age, it was big business.
Empire. These troughs mark a lull in
supernatural orders require that there It showed that any industry could find
the power and activity of the
be such an empire, it is not quite correct itself brought under papal regulation.
to say that the Holy Roman Empire no When Sir Thomas More fought King Roman Catholic Church and the Holy
longer exists. It is more accurate to say Henry viii’s attempts to break England Roman Empire.
that it is dormant.” away from the Catholic Church, he
argued that this wasn’t simply a reli- a.d. 554
The Reality gious system. England, he said, was “but IMPERIAL
Catholicism teaches that human beings one member and small part of … the
RESTORATION
have a soul and a body. Their theory of church. It could not make a particular
world politics taught that the Catholic law disagreeable with the general law
of Christ’s Universal Catholic Church.”
774
Church was the soul, and the Holy Roman
Empire was the body. Each had its own It was like London “being but one poor FRANKISH KINGDOM
role, but the two could not separate any member in respect of the whole realm,
more than body and soul could separate. might make a law against Parliament to 962
This vision of universal church and bind the whole realm.” England was not HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
empire never governed the entire globe. a sovereign state, More asserted: It was
But in Europe, it was reality. part of a much larger hierarchy. 1530
The Catholic Church’s role in regulat- Thomas More was articulating ortho-
ing religious life is well known. When dox Catholic doctrine, and the Vatican HABSBURG DYNASTY
King Henry viii wanted a divorce, he later made him a saint. As England con-
first asked permission from the pope, tinued to reject the church’s authority, 1804
for example. But the authority of the Pius v declared that God had made NAPOLEON’S
church extended even further. the pope “ruler over all peoples and
KINGDOM
In a very real sense, Catholic canon kingdoms, to pull up, destroy, scatter,
law was international law across Europe. disperse, plant and build,” and that Hen-
1870–1945
It did not concern itself merely with ry’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth i, must
religious disputes. be overthrown. ITALIAN & FASCIST
The one-empire-one-religion theory But before the Catholic Spanish REGIMES
meant that it wasn’t up to states to Armada was dashed on the rocks in 1588,
negotiate disputes through diplomacy. the pope’s vision of world government Today
Instead, they were to take them to the was already crumbling. England was
higher power: the emperor of the Holy not the only country to embrace a new
UNITED EUROPE
Roman Empire and the pope. religion and a new system.
SEPTEMBER 2021 11This brings us back to the Peace of submit their international disputes to pressure the United States to open up its
Westphalia. More than a century after his supreme verdict any time soon. relations with antagonistic, Communist
the Protestant Reformation, Europe was Or will they? Cuba. Negotiations took place in the
hopelessly fractured. Persecutions and One way the Catholic Church has been Vatican, and the pope offered to act as
wars designed to put it back together rebuilding its international role has guarantor to the agreement.
had claimed 50 million lives. When more been through mediation. In 2014, Catholic bishops met with
than 100 delegations arrived in Westpha- One early example was the 1978 high-ranking ayatollahs in Iran to try
lia in 1648, they ended the Thirty Years’ conflict between Chile and Argentina to help then-President Barack Obama’s
War and established a new international over the Beagle Channel, a conflict that nuclear deal with Iran. In 2016, Colom-
system on a core principle familiar to seemed headed for war. Pope John bian President Juan Manuel Santos
anyone who has had an argument that Paul ii stepped in and reconciled the received the Nobel Peace Prize for
nobody can win: Let’s agree to disagree. two sides. negotiating a peace deal with Marxist
But this idea completely contradicted militant rebels from the Revolutionary
Catholic doctrine. It rejected the princi- Armed Forces of Colombia. Vatican Sec-
ple of the Holy Roman Empire holding retary of State Pietro Parolin, probably
authority over lesser states and replaced the most powerful figure in the church
it with a principle of legal equality besides the pope, personally attended
between states. The Holy Roman the deal’s signing ceremony prior to
Empire continued to exist, but as one the referendum. The Catholic Church
of several major European powers, not attended the peace negotiations in Cuba,
as a body with any theoretical claim to pushing both sides to reach a deal.
overarching power. The current pope has also been active
The Catholic Church’s period of dom- in the Middle East, traveling to Israel
inating international relations had been and hosting the Palestinian Authority
deemed a complete failure and compre- in Rome. He stopped for a photo op at
hensively rejected. In time, the Peace
The Vatican-led world an Israel security barrier. The photo
of Westphalia became the standard for quickly became an iconic implication
international relations around the world. order in the Middle Ages that the Israelis are the oppressors. In
ended in one of Europe’s March he visited Iraq, attempting to
The 20th Century most destructive solve a conflict America has spent tril-
Ideologically, it was the Protestant
conflicts in generations. lions trying to bring to an end.
Reformation that sent the Catholic The Konrad Adenauer Foundation
theory of world empire into remis- The Bible tells us the wrote that “there are clear indications of
sion. Yet the Catholic Church did not new era will be much efforts being made under Pope Francis’s
change its teachings on this until the shorter but much more leadership to reach out beyond the faith
Second Vatican Council in 1962, when
destructive. by putting forward ethical-universal
it softened—but did not eliminate—the arguments rather than Catholic-moral
doctrine. Pope John Paul ii’s Catechism ones. … Consequently, the Holy See is
of the Catholic Church states that “the In a world split between capitalism developing into an informal authority
church shows forth the kingship of and communism, the pope represented on moral standards reaching far beyond
Christ over all creation and in particular an ancient institution that was aligned the boundaries of Catholicism.” The
over human societies.” It states that with neither side. The two sides quickly pope is now reaching out to the world,
societies that reject the church’s vision accepted the pope’s mediation. “not just as head of the church and head
“arrogate to themselves an explicit or The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the of state, but as a moral authority.”
implicit totalitarian power over man think tank for German Chancellor Angela The foundation noted that the Vatican
and his destiny.” Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, “has the oldest diplomatic service in the
Professor Feser noted that “the Cath- produced a paper in 2015 called “Micro- world. Only few other actors of interna-
olic doctrinal principles still reflected in state and Superpower—The Vatican in tional politics take a similarly clear and
the Catechism are those that informed International Politics.” It described the consistent stance with respect to global
the theory of the empire.” In other Vatican’s role as being “involved in central challenges. Also, no other religious
words, the Middle Ages theory of Catho- decision-making and events of world community or secular worldview has
lic supremacy in international relations politics for a long time, acting patiently produced an institution that comes
is still alive and well within Catholicism. behind the scenes, particularly since the close to the Catholic Church in terms of
But the rest of the world continues middle of the 20th century.” durability, centralization, global pres-
to reject that authority. So the pope has This effort has accelerated under ence and membership.”
had to find for himself a new role. No for- Pope Francis. He deployed “forceful, Their conclusion: “At first glance, the
eign ministries or state departments will confidential” letters and secret visits Vatican is a microstate without massive
be waiting at his ornate Vatican doors to from high-ranking archbishops to resources,” the authors wrote. “Be that
12 THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPETYou can also read
