RAPID RESPONSE REPORT

 

DEFENDING HISTORIC CHRISTIANITY IN A POSTMODERN WORLD

 

7/21/2000  #1 

 

EDITOR: Bill Crouse

 

Christian Information Ministries has had the goal of an e-mail newsletter for several years.  We have hesitated for a number of reasons.  One is inadequate support staff.  We still are lacking in this area, but we decided to plow ahead and experiment.  You have been chosen because we assumed you might be interested.  Please send us the simple message of "unsubscribe" if you don't want your e-mail box clogged.

 

The purpose statement is simple:  "Helping Christians defend the faith in a postmodern world."

 

We spend many hours on the web downloading articles and examples of postmodernism.  We would like to share some of the choice ones with you. 

 

The format will evolve and so will our presentation.  Please be liberal with your feedback and feel free to send us e-mail addresses of people you think would be interested in receiving a sample.  Eventually, we plan for RRR to be in your mailbox every Monday morning.  Notice we said "eventually."  It also will not always be free.  When It evolves to where we envision it to be, there will be a small yearly subscription fee.

 

Over the last several years it has been my personal conviction that the most important briefing outline we produced was the study we did on Fascism.  If you have not read it you can find it here:            http://www.fni.com/cim/briefing/fascism.html

 

 

The other briefing paper you should be familiar with is our general overview of postmodernism which you can find at     http://www.fni.com/cim/briefing/post.html

                        

Fascism, I am convinced, is alive and well, although I wouldn't expect many to refer to it as fascism.  However, a few brave souls are.  Fascism was one of the first postmodern movements of the last century.  Prior to WWII it was solidly entrenched in most European universities.  There are constant rumblings of renewed interest in Fascism in Europe.  Recently a Hitler apologist won one of Europe's most prestigious literary prizes.  This article is from the New York Times.  You can find it here:  http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/062100nolte-prize.html

 

A life-long democrat decries the fact that his party is taking on many characteristics of fascism.  This is an incredibly insightful article.  For awhile I thought Gene Veith was the only intellectual to see Fascism in America (His book is: Modern Fascism by Concordia Press).  (The article that the author refers to from Newsweek does not seem to be available on the web.)  Here is Bob Just's article: "Fascism, Corruption, and My Democratic Party."  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_excomm/20000725_xex_fascism_corr.shtml

 

You all know who the unabomber is.  Last month, Atlantic Monthly published a rather lengthy article about his worldview, and how it was developed at Harvard in the late 50's.  This is an absolute must read!  It is long, but believe me, you won't regret the time.  Did you know Kaczynski was part of strange psychological experiment going on at Harvard?  The psychologist, Harry Murray, was the mentor of Timothy Leary.  You will also learn that during that time period, Harvard was going through a major curriculum change, a change that largely rejected modernity.  The author knows what he is talking about; he was a student then, and still corresponds with Kaczynski in prison.  If you are interested in exactly what the intellectual milieu was like at America's intellectual center just before the turbulent 60's and 70's, this is a must read.  If you only read one of the articles I'm recommending, this is the one to read.  Warning!  When you try to download it, it is in four parts.  You can find it here:  http://www.theatlantic.com/cgi-bin/o/issues/2000/06/chase.htm

 

If you are a prophecy buff, you might be interested in the following article on world government.  Some interesting developments are (and have been) in the works.  Even if you are not interested in prophecy you might be interested in the role radical environmentalism plays in globalization.  Remember, radical environmentalism is a significant plank in the fascist worldview.  The article suggests that more change towards global government will come through environmentalism than any other cause.  This is not a current article; it first appeared in National Review in Sept. 1, 1997.  One of the things you will learn from the article is who the major players are in the quest for global governance.  http://www.afn.org/~govern/strong.html

 

As they used to say in the 60's; these articles are heavy!

 

For Christ and His Kingdom

 

cim@fni.com

 

www.fni.com/cim