Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :



Imagine if you will, that one day you decide to take your child to the city zoo. While you are enjoying all of God's natural creations at the zoo, you come upon an old grizzly bear. Unlike many of the other animals at the zoo which have been given habitats which have large open spaces, for some reason, the poor, forlorn-looking grizzly has been confined to a cage with steel bars. Obviously, he is not very happy. In fact, unless he has already accepted his imprisonment and succumbed to defeat, he may be seething with anger inside due to his dismal circumstances.

While you are distracted with taking your cell phone out of your bag so that you can take a video of the poor creature, unbeknownst to you, your child grabs a stick from the nearby bushes and begins to poke the bear, not realizing the danger in which he is placing himself. Suddenly, without warning, the bear lashes out through the bars and strikes your child, leaving a huge, terrible gash on his arm. Totally freaked out, you wrap the child's arm tightly in his jacket to try to slow down the flow of blood, and then you rush off to the zoo's first aid station as fast as your legs can carry you.

Thankfully, the first aid station isn't too far away, and your child soon receives medical attention. Although he is obviously quite visibly shaken by the horrible incident, you are relieved to learn that due to the child's distance from the bars of the cage, the wound is not quite as bad as it looks. At worst, he may possibly be left with a small scar on his arm. But concerning yourself, you are angry! In fact VERY angry! Once your child has been attended to, you march off to the zoo's central office full of indignation. Oh boy! You are going to let them have it! "Why in the world would they even keep such a dangerous animal at their zoo?", you ask yourself. Maybe you ought to sue them, right?

But let me ask you something; and I hope that you will give an honest answer. Who is really to blame with regards to this incident? The zoo's management, you, or your child? The zoo is obviously more than aware of the dangerous nature of the grizzly bear. In fact, it has long been their policy to post clear warning signs all around the zoo where particularly dangerous animals are being housed. Zoo visitors are advised to maintain a safe distance from certain habitats and cages at all times. Likewise, in certain cases, a double security fence has been constructed around the enclosures. The zoo is obviously concerned with liability. Thus, it has taken all necessary precautions to protect itself. In short, the zoo simply cannot be blamed for what happened to your child.

What about the bear? Can we blame the grizzly? Hardly. After all, it was unjustly provoked by your child, who innocently, and repeatedly, poked the bear with a stick, totally unaware of the dangerous situation that he was creating through his foolishness. In short, that old grizzly was simply acting according to its own nature, as had been given to it by God. So the truth of the matter is that if blame is to be cast on anyone, it would have to be on you -- for becoming distracted -- and on your child -- for behaving in a foolish manner that placed him in danger.

Let me give you another example. Imagine that you and a few of your buddies are out hiking in the beautiful forests of your country. While going down a particular winding trail, you happen upon a momma grizzly with a few of her whelps, or cubs. Now, all along the trail, the forestry department has posted signs which warn hikers to keep a safe distance from large wildlife. While your buddies quickly back away so that the grizzly and her whelps can pass by and be on their way, you foolishly decide that the cubs are just so cute, that you have to get up close in order to take a video of yourself petting one of them. After all, wouldn't it be so cool to be able to post the vid on some of your favorite social networks for all of your online friends to see and admire? Idiot!

Obviously, you are not the brightest crayon in the box. I am sure that I do not even need to inform you of what is going to happen next. First of all, that bear and her whelps are in their natural environment. It is you and your friends who are invading THEIR territory. It is THEIR neighborhood, not yours. Nevertheless, not happy with that alone, you stupidly decide to take it a step further, and endanger yourself by approaching the momma grizzly and her cubs. Tsk, tsk! What did you think would happen? A week later, your obituary is posted in the local newspaper.

It may interest you to know that even in the Holy Bible, an angry mother bear that has lost her whelps is metaphorically used several times as a picture of anger. Consider this set of verses:

"Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father [King David] and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people."


"Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly."


"Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them."


Moving on, if you are an intelligent and observant reader, I imagine that you have more than likely already comprehended the point that I am making with the previous two fictional stories. In fact, just looking at the graphic which I have made to accompany this series, clearly reveals why I shared those accounts with you.

So, let us get down to the gist of the matter, shall we? As my longtime readers will know, while I've written a number of politically-oriented articles and series during the course of the past two decades plus, I do not do it on a regular basis. Why is this? Well, as I've mentioned on a number of previous occasions, it is because that is not what I am really about. The primary emphasis of both the Bill's Bible Basics and the Christian Social Network ministries is to share the Word of God. It's to edify, educate, inspire, convict and motivate my fellow brethren in the Lord, by opening their understanding to the meaning of the Holy Scriptures, so that they can live fuller lives in service to the Lord, and be more effective witnesses of their Christian faith.

However, as I said, sometimes I do deviate from that primary goal on occasion. What I am about to say will no doubt ruffle the feathers of some patriotic Americans, including some of my own Christian brethren. What quite often motivates me to momentarily change course in my writing, is the fact that I will observe some of my own online Christian friends being deceived by, and promoting the lies of, the spin doctors. I am of course referring to the mainstream media, as well as some government figures, certain television and radio hosts, some book and magazine publishers, and even movie producers and directors.

What you need to understand -- perhaps you do already -- is that whether they are an individual, or an institution, even if they do not personally realize it -- which is doubtful -- they are all propaganda agents for one side or the other. In other words, they're being used to promote a perspective that is in agreement with what the government desires for you to believe. Their job is to psychologically manipulate you, and to shape your personal perspective, so that it conforms to the worldview of your government. In short, their job is to induce you to drink the Kool-Aid, and to get you on board with the government's agenda, whatever it happens to be.

So, when I see a lot of my online Christian brethren drinking their poisonous brew, and not only drinking it, but spouting it off like mindless parrots, at first I'll do my best to try to keep quiet for a while, simply because I already have a lot on my plate with both facets of my online ministry. That is, with Bill's Bible Basics and the Christian Social Network. However, if such deceptive nonsense is constantly thrown in my face on the social networks, then eventually I'm motivated to say something about it. I will write an impromptu article about it, as in this case. I will share my personal views for your consideration. You are under no obligation to agree with me if you don't want to. That is your choice.

So let's get back to the story of the bear. It should already be obvious to you who the bear represents in the previous two fictional stories. Of course, it is Russia. In fact, in 1998, I wrote two articles called "Communism: The Raging Bear Out of Control!" and "Communism: Is the Dead Beast Really Dead?". If you are interested in reading them, you'll find links for them at the end of this same series. Over the years I have also composed a few poems, and created a few graphics, where I have Russia represented by a bear.

Just as occurs in my two stories, not just for years, but in fact for decades, the Russian bear has been poked, prodded and provoked by the foolish behavior of the Western Bloc; meaning the U.S.A. and its NATO allies. Don't think for a minute that the United States of America and its NATO allies didn't know exactly what they were doing with their slow but gradual expansion into the former Eastern Bloc nations of Europe; namely East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. The U.S.A. and her European cohorts purposely provoked the Russian bear again and again. Worse yet, they didn't want to just take pictures of the cubs as occurs in my story. They have wanted to, and have in fact succeeded in, stealing most of momma Russia's whelps! They have really crossed the line! Why should it surprise anyone then when Russian president, Vladimir Putin, finally decides to react in a very decisive manner by trying to take back at least one cub, meaning Ukraine?

In my view, Putin is right about one thing. Contrary to what you may be reading in the American press, the United States was purposely asking for this war. She, along with her NATO allies, pressured and pushed Mr. Putin to make the decision that he made just a few days ago. They cornered the grizzly, and then they started poking at her, just like in my previous story. They wanted to see how far they could go, and how many bear cubs they could steal, before momma bear would strike back. Then, when she finally did strike -- by invading Ukraine -- they totally twisted the facts and painted the bear as the villain, just as the parent wanted to blame the zoo for the bear hurting their child. We all know that the Devil is the same way. He will entice you to do something which you know you shouldn't do, and then when you do it, he accuses and condemns you for having done it, right?

As I noted earlier, every government has their spin doctors whose job it is to convince the public of the government's point of view. These deceivers will twist the facts, or omit certain facts which may be contrary to what they want you to believe, or embellish and exaggerate some facts, for the sole purpose of convincing you to accept the party line. They will lie to your face, while smiling all the while. Not only that, but some of them actually believe what they are saying. This reminds me of the following two verses:

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"


"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."


Right now, despite the facts which I have presented to you here, the American mainstream media, and the government, are both painting a false narrative. They are painting Vladimir Putin as the big, bad wolf who is invading another country, while purposely neglecting to inform you that for about the past thirty years, ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, they've been taking advantage of Russia's post-Soviet era weakness, by slowly pushing ever eastward towards Russian borders. They forced the bear into a corner, stole her cubs, and then forced her to finally fight back.

So as far as I am concerned, the U.S.A. and her NATO allies asked for this war through their own belligerent attitude in adamantly rejecting any requests which were made by Putin to seriously consider the national security concerns of Russia. What are Putin's concerns? As I stated before, they include the fact that a number of former Eastern Bloc nations which either directly touch Russia's western border -- that is, the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- or which border Belarus and Ukraine -- that is, Poland, Slovakia (formerly Czechoslovakia), Hungary and Romania -- are now NATO members, and host both NATO troops and NATO military hardware. If you have been following the latest developments closely, then you probably already know that Mr. Putin has demanded that NATO's presence in those countries be reduced immediately and significantly.

Putin's second demand is that Ukraine never be permitted to become a member of NATO. After all, in addition to being the second largest nation in Europe after Russia itself, Ukraine is flush against Russia's border. So, if Ukraine were ever to be admitted as a new member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it would put NATO forces right at Russia's very doorstep, just as now occurs with the Baltic States to the north. This is obviously unacceptable to Mr. Putin.

Now, to put all of this in proper perspective for you, and to help you to better grasp exactly why Putin is so upset, and why he would even risk starting World War III, I ask you to please consider the map below. It might interest you to know that the Ukraine-Russia border is 1,426.07 miles in length. Of that total, 1,226.61 miles constitute land border, while another 199 miles constitutes sea border. My friends, that is a lot of border to be controlled by NATO, staring right in the face of Russia!



Now do you get it? If Ukraine were ever to be admitted to the NATO alliance, the only remaining buffer zone between Russia and NATO members would be Belarus, which as of this moment is siding with, and aiding, Russia in its current incursion into Ukraine. Now, for my American friends who still don't get it, then consider this. Imagine if roles were reversed. How would you feel if Russia stationed both troops and lethal military hardware in Canada, Mexico, and on some of the Caribbean islands? How would Uncle Sam react if this were to occur? Do you think the American government would just roll over and say "I'm cool with that."? Hardly! In fact, some of you are old enough to remember the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and how close we may have come to actual nuclear war.

For those of my younger readers who may not be familiar with this incident, after the U.S.A. placed ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, and following the 1961 failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba, in response, then First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, chose to accept Fidel Castro's invitation to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. Castro's plan was for the missiles to serve as a deterrence against the potential future invasion of Cuba by American forces. This occurred during the presidency of John F. Kennedy.

So what happened? Well, when photographic evidence confirmed the presence of missile launch facilities in Cuba, as was to be expected, the situation exploded. Rather than strike Cuba, President Kennedy ordered that a naval quarantine be set up around the island, in order to prevent additional missiles from entering Cuba. But that is not all; and this is the real clincher which ties into what is currently happening with the situation in Ukraine. In addition to the quarantine, Kennedy also demanded that any existing weapons already in Cuba, be dismantled, and then returned to the Soviet Union.

"Wait! What did you just say, Bill?" That's right, my friends. President Kennedy demanded that any existing weapons already in Cuba be dismantled, and then returned to the Soviet Union. So now we jump ahead exactly sixty years to 2022, and we find Russian president, Vladimir Putin, making very similar demands with regards to the NATO troops, missiles and other military hardware which are currently in position in the former Eastern Bloc nations. So tell me, my friends; how are Putin's demands any less valid than President Kennedy's demands sixty years ago? Can you smell the American hypocrisy yet?

Again, if you have been following the news, the United States and its NATO partners have absolutely refused to even consider Putin's demands with regards to keeping Ukraine out of NATO, and removing NATO troops and military hardware out of Eastern Bloc countries. According to news reports, such considerations are not even on the table; and that is exactly what has led to the current situation in Ukraine. Unlike the Soviet Union which backed down sixty years ago and removed its missiles from Cuba, the U.S.A. and its NATO allies refuse to budge even an inch! So who is to blame? Is it really Putin who has legitimate security concerns? Or is it America whose head is filled with thoughts of hegemony?

Don't be deceived, my friends. That's what this is really all about. Hegemony. That is to say, American dominance over other nations, and extending the American sphere of influence as far and as wide as possible, while at the same time hindering the advancement of its competitors; namely Russia and China. Many of my older readers will be familiar with the Berlin Wall which divided western Germany from eastern Germany, the latter of which was a member of the Soviet Bloc of nations. While that physical wall eventually came down in 1989, guess what? For the past thirty years, the U.S.A. and its partners in Europe have been building an invisible wall in order to box in the Russian Federation, just as that zoo in our story kept its grizzly bear behind bars.

What am I talking about? That wall is called NATO, and there are only two blocks left to add, before the construction of the wall will be completed. Those two blocks are Ukraine and Belarus. Once that is accomplished, Russia will be totally blocked from any westward expansion, which is exactly what the United States of America wants. You know, for forty-six years, from about 1945 to 1991, the so-called "Iron Curtain" separated the peoples of the Eastern Bloc countries from the peoples of the Western Block countries. If you stop and think about it, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S.A. and its NATO partners in Europe have been slowly building a new Iron Curtain. We could even say that they have simply moved the original Iron Curtain further east, right up to Russia's western border.

That, my friends, is precisely what has Vladimir Putin riled up and on the war path right now. He sincerely believes, and even openly declares, that Russia has just as much right to have its own sphere of influence, as does the United States. The truth of the matter is that Russia is widely recognized as being a part of Europe. It is not a part of Asia. Oddly enough, despite this truth, in the United States of America, the spin doctors are engaged in a game to try to convince the American public that Putin's Russia is a totally separate beast. Not only is it a separate beast, in their view, but it is an evil beast which must be kept behind NATO's bars, just like the grizzly bear at that zoo.

Before continuing, I would like to make two important points. The first one is the following. No doubt some of my liberal leaning readers -- if there even are any -- and perhaps some of my more patriotic Christian readers as well, are probably thinking to themselves, "Wow, Bill! It certainly sounds like you are supporting Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation! What kind of American are you? Are you a Communist, or what?" No, my friends; I am certainly not a Communist. Neither do I like Mr. Putin, or support the Russian Federation. As I have mentioned a number of times in previous articles, while I'll sometimes write about political issues, I am not political in any way. I do not belong to any political party, and I don't support any national government. In fact, I have never voted a single time in my entire life.

"WHAT???!!! You have never voted, Bill???" That's right, my friends. I have never voted, not even one time. My longtime readers will already know that I have a very different view when it comes to our relationship with the world. I believe that while we are currently in the world, we are not a part of it; and that we should only interface with it, as much as may be necessary, in order to accomplish the task which the Lord has given each of us to do. I base my beliefs on the following verses, and others which are similar to them:

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."


"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"


"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."


So, I firmly believe that it is our job as Bible-believing Christians, to support and promote the Kingdom of God, and not the corrupt kingdoms of men, which will someday meet an end anyway. We are to be the ambassadors of Christ, and not the ambassadors of earthly governments. In the previous set of verses, the Apostle Paul says that we are not to entangle ourselves "with the affairs of this life." Taken together with the rest of the verses, personally, I feel compelled to not vote for political leaders. You may believe otherwise.

Now concerning Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation, while I do not like or support them, I do believe in sharing the truth; at least as I personally understand it. I don't like it when people -- particularly my Christian brethren -- are purposely manipulated by the lies and deceptions of the spin doctors of this present world. As I have already made clear, that is precisely what I see happening with some of my friends on the social networks, such as on Facebook. The American government, along with its propaganda organs, is intentionally painting a distorted narrative, by purposely omitting important facts from the story, such as why Putin has finally resorted to violence.

Do I approve of Putin's military incursion into Ukraine? Of course not! As a Bible-believing Christian, for many years now, based on my personal understanding of the Scriptures, I have embraced the view that all violence and killing is just wrong. That certainly includes war between nations. Again, I base my beliefs on Bible verses such as the following ones:

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."


"But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."


"My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war."


"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."


"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."


"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth . . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God . . . But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."


"And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus [meaning the Apostle Peter] stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"


"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,‭ And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.‭ And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.‭ And when his disciples James and John saw ‭this‭, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?‭ But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.‭ For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save ‭them‭. And they went to another village.‭"


"When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?‭ And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.‭ And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.‭"


"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"


"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."


"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)"


"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."


"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."


Because of Scriptures such as the above, I have never owned a single gun or rifle of any kind during my entire life. I simply do not like them, and I am in fact somewhat nervous around them. You may not agree, but I sense evil in them. I strive to live a very peaceful life with everyone, as the Apostle Paul admonishes us to do in the previous verse, and I trust God for my protection. To date, He has never failed me one single time. Your faith may run differently from mine.

But getting back to Ukraine, what irks me is the fact that the Western Bloc is painting Vladimir Putin as the aggressor, while purposely ignoring the fact that for thirty years, the U.S.A. and its NATO cohorts have been slowly and aggressively encroaching closer and closer to Russia's borders. So Putin's Russia is NOT the only aggressor in this case. There is blame on BOTH sides of the fence. The truth of the matter is that Russia is a part of Europe, and this is a European affair. As such, I am of the opinion that the United States of America needs to stay out of it. That's precisely one of the problems which I've mentioned before in other articles. It seems that America has declared itself the policeman of the world. Just like the neighborhood gossiper, it wants to stick its nose in everyone else's business. Of course, this goes back to what I said earlier regarding the U.S.'s hegemonic ideology.

Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.