By Your Cross, O Christ our Savior, death’s dominion has been shattered; the devil’s delusion destroyed. The human race, being saved by faith, always offers You a song. (Lord I Call… Resurrection Verse Tone 3)
This verse from the Saturday Vespers service is a powerful message. Our Lord, through the Cross, has destroyed death’s dominion, and the devil’s delusion is destroyed. What is the devil’s delusion? It seems that in his delusion, he believed he permanently held those in Hades captive, and there was no escape. According to the Law he may have been right, but according to the Truth who is Christ, the devil was blown away in an overwhelming, unanticipated defeat of his power over the dead in Hades.
Delusion is a powerful spirit that impacts our daily lives. It is difficult to make decisions about the truthfulness of what we read because others constantly challenge whatever is offered as true or credible. So in the end, no one knows what to believe.
I imagine this is a difficult issue families face as we hear about the rising cases of Covid taking place once again. How can we believe such authorities as the CDC and Health Departments when many repeatedly question the truthfulness of what is reported? How do we address delusion in this area? How do we keep a health care issue from becoming a political issue?
Instead of me coming up with answers, I would like any of you who have read this post to respond in the comments section. Tell me what you rely on to help you discern what you read (particularly about the recent developments in the Pandemic) that you trust to be credible and truthful. Thank you.
The blessing of the Lord be upon you,
With love in Christ,
Archbishop Paul
7 Comments on “Who should we believe?”
Bless, Master. Greetings in Christ,
Your Eminence.
In answer to your question, for myself, I have found more peace in my soul NOT to watch much news on TV, especially those sources that have been known for not telling the truth, and those that promote propaganda.
I will research online trusted sources of federal and state governments and health organizations (public and private), as well as, some various public news information.
It also helps me to use the common sense the Lord have me, along with praying for wisdom and discernment when it comes to what is best for the health of my soul and body.
Love in Christ,
Helen H
Your Eminence,
I trust my Jewish doctor (yes, I know about the Canon), my primary care physician for my health care and advice concerning the pandemic, nutrition, exercise, etc. In short, the physical, but not spiritual, though the two closely interract. He advised the vaccine (along with flu shots, tetanus boosters, etc.), mask wearing, hand washing, and yes, staying home from church and relying on the live streaming when things were really bad. While I have faith in The Lord, I am not a snake handler – Jesus was tempted by Satan to jump off the pinnacle of the temple trusting God would save him. I give thanks to God that our family and church family have made it through this pandamic so far, except for my wife Marlene’s younger sister Cheryl, who died of COVID while she was under Hospice care for brain cancer, and was not eligible for the vaccine.
Your Eminence,
I stay off social media and do not look at other media except at most important times, such as the past election. Even that, I find, was troublesome. Therefore, I trust my “need” of COVID news and direction to come from those that do have the best knowledge, hence the CDC and our governor.
I find that media, and especially social media, is too worldly for my own good and it hinders my walk of faith and my ability to clearly serve God and others in humility. I am too weak to engage in these things.
Thank you for your good work,
Lisa L Gierlach
Master Bless.
We are long past the point of the situation being politicized. “Scientism & Safetism,” a political ideology with political goals for power, money, & authority use the virus to make a mockery of Christianity by manipulating & abusing the concept of alturism (the Savior Complex), especially using the scripture of The Good Samaritan. This tactic is often used by those that hate Christianity. Those that are on the front lines deal with arguments from these folks that wait for an opportunity to call Christians hypocrites. It’s a crafty trap constructed to prove that Christianity is not the Way, the Truth, or the Life…
First, it should be noted that GenX & younger DO NOT rely on the news from Corporate Media (also called Mainstream). Corporate Media is biased to the left & right of the political spectrum. Even news sources like NPR or Mother Jones are biased left & no longer Center. It’s easy to identify news that’s biased right. My generation grew up in the computer age. Oddly enough, we’ve reverted to the age of Radio for our news or alternative news platforms for videos corporate media has censored (loss of Free Speech).
There’s a saying in my generation *Follow the Money.* Who are the investors & contributors of these news organizations? Corporate Media & even old liberal news stations are bought & paid for by political interest groups. How many commercials are for pharmaceuticals? That’s why my generation got rid of Cable TV years ago.
Moving on to the Science & Medical community, this pandemic has exposed the greed & political interests. Medical & Science Bureaucracy has always been entrenched in politics, but even more so with this virus. Unfortunately any dissenting information from the Corporate Media narrative is censored & demonized, hence the use of radio & alternative platforms to hear information & share it.
So, how does my family navigate through the different views on Science & Medicine? What do we look for?
*We look for balanced – information that doesn’t push the vaccine & masks nor does it promote it. *It offers alternative treatments. Many tools available in the medical tool kit – like good doctors usually give a patient, leaving the decision up to the individual. *We look for medical educators. FEAR & PANIC is not their primary tool, but explain & share options, as well as agreeing with some data & pointing out the flaws in other data. *We listen to *Several* Censored Scientists & Doctors – not just one. Such as: Evolution Virologist, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, Immunologist, Medical & Science Professors at prominent Universities, Emergency Medicine Specialists, Evolution Biologists, Molecular Virologist from all over the world, & even the inventor of the mRNA Technology, along with a WHO Consultant, a former CDC Director, & quite a few former NIH associates.
These censored individuals have one thing in common: the plea for open dialogue of doctors & scientists from multi-disciplines with the Bureaucrat & Corporate Science & Medical Community.
I’m unable to post another my final note due to this platform’s rule of technical information, but please feel to email me if you’re interested.
In closing, We rely on common sense & healthy skepticism – the ability to ask questions & open discussion. We trust that God is helping us to discern the situation & we have a deep sense of peace & trust in God’s will.
“I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents & innocent as doves.”
May the Lord our God guide you in wisdom, courage, & strength.
What I meant to say was that my final note on this subject was censored by your tech platform & to please reach out via email if you’re interested in hearing in the rest of it. Sorry, didn’t edit my note in time for the correction to post.
Master, Bless.
I grew up reading the Chicago Tribune, The Daily News, and the Sun-Times. Of course, I believed them all! These days, however, I limit myself to reading Reuters and BBC World (not, BBC for Americans). I trust Reuters since they are the newsfeed for pert ne’er everyone else. Having lived in England during an American election cycle, I also trust the BBC for providing straitforward news rather than opinion… unless you particularly want to read/listen to one of their opinion features. For medical issues, I will read info from The Cleveland Clinic as well as the NIH. In all news-related issues, I will research to find who owns whom. Ultimately, if one or two media moguls own everything, then we really only have one or two points of view.
In His Joy,
Laura.