No one reading through the prophetic books in the Old Testament (as I am now again doing) can fail to notice the stark contrast between the false prophets and the true prophets of God. The former delighted in whispering sweet nothings into the ears of the gullible, telling them cheery and pleasant things – what they wanted to hear. The real prophets said what they needed to hear.
The crowds simply loved listening to what the false prophets had to say, but they were outraged by what the prophets of Yahweh proclaimed to them. The same thing is true today – nothing has changed. And no surprises here: the masses always prefer the snake oil of lies and falsehoods to the strong medicine of truth.
And demagogues and tyrants have often made use of deceptive rhetoric to control and manipulate the masses. Those who do not have the best interests of the people at heart will enjoy plying them with flattering words and comforting platitudes, while they do their work of consolidating power and eliminating opposition.
The ability to manipulate language and deceive the masses through bogus rhetoric is always something we need to guard against. It happens far too often, and we certainly see this happening in the age of corona alarmism and political power grabs. Claiming to be there to save the people, we have too many megalomaniacs running around with some of the most tyrannical measures and clampdowns on freedom.
The other day as my wife and I were discussing my recent pieces on the prophets, she mentioned two related things. She is always offering incisive and helpful comments on what I do – I should just give CultureWatch over to her. She would likely do a far better job of running it!
Anyway, the first thing she mentioned was how so much of the media and those in the workplace are all about pushing various agendas with sweet-sounding platitudes – even with various “nice” religions. For example, Buddhism and the like are being promoted, as if it offers all that we need to get through this (sit around meditating and focusing within) while the hard-hitting truths of Christianity and what it offers are ignored.
(Oh, and by the way, the Victorian Chief Health Officer is a Buddhist – something the media keeps mentioning and thinks is so neat. Hmm, what if he were a Bible-believing Christian? He might be treated a bit differently if that were the case.)
And so much of the media is always assuring us that our rulers only have our best interests at heart; that we should just all go along with whatever they tell us; that we are all in this together; that we should just fully submit and be nice to each other in our captivity; and so on.
In contrast, people like me and so many others who are asking hard questions, who are not accepting everything we are being told, and who are seeking to warn others about the steady erosion of our basic freedoms and human rights seem to be mean-spirited and nasty and grumpy and unloving.
My wife also said that this apparent contrast, and the power of deceptive language, were so very powerfully spelled out in the middle of the great trilogy by Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. She reminded me of the chapter found in The Two Towers entitled “The Voice Of Saruman”.
Although recently defeated militarily, Gandalf has to remind the hobbits that the evil Saruman still had great powers to deceive and to lead astray. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas go to the great tower where he resides. This is how Tolkien tells the story:
Gandalf stood before the door of Orthanc and beat on it with his staff. It rang with a hollow sound. ‘Saruman, Saruman!’ he cried in a loud commanding voice. ‘Saruman come forth!’
For some time there was no answer. At last the window above the door was unbarred, but no figure could be seen at its dark opening.
‘Who is it?’ said a voice. ‘What do you wish?’
Théoden started. ‘I know that voice,’ he said, ‘and I curse the day when I first listened to it.’
‘Go and fetch Saruman, since you have become his footman, Gríma Wormtongue!’ said Gandalf. ‘And do not waste our time!’
The window closed. They waited. Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away. and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it.
A few pages later Tolkien continues to note this contrast. He records a brief speech by Théoden, and then we read this: “The Riders gazed up at Théoden like men startled out of a dream. Harsh as an old raven’s their master’s voice sounded in their ears after the music of Saruman.”
Yes, the soothing and deceptive words of Saruman. Such power and ability to manipulate the weak and confuse the simple, and to turn them against those with stronger minds who do not fall under the spell. How much like so many modern-day tyrants and dictators.
There is always a danger of smooth-tongued orators who will bewitch the masses and deceive the crowds. History offers us too many examples of this. And right now with all the hysterical corona alarmism and fear-mongering being played to the hilt by far too many politicians and media outlets, it seems quite clear that we have not learned any lessons yet from history.
Indeed, smooth and deceptive words welded to lavish servings of panic-porn and fear will do very nicely indeed to keep the masses docile, fully submissive, and ever willing to do whatever their masters bid of them. As such I for one – along with so many others – dread to learn what the Victorian premier will be telling his hapless subjects tomorrow.
Um, guess what Dan? Hundreds of Victorians have already died and are still dying as a direct result of your criminal negligence and utter incompetence in handling all this, especially with the utterly disastrous hotel quarantine debacle. Instead of 6 million Victorians being imprisoned for months on end with no letup in sight, you are the one who should be imprisoned for what you have allowed under your watch.
If we are looking for some modern day Sarumans, one cannot go much past Dan Andrews and his unelected and unaccountable health officer Brett Sutton. They only want to keep us “safe”! And those of us who dare to sound the alarm and warn others as to what is happening will be seen to be the bad guys.
Let me repeat the words of Tolkien: “Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell.”
13 Replies to “The Dangers of Sweet, Pleasant and Deceptive Words”
It is said that Covid-19 is not a pandemic but rather an intelligence test.
94% of Americans who die ‘of’ Covid had two or more co-morbities.
90% of positive Covid tests are in fact negative.
Mask wearing is a known health hazard and people have already died from wearing face masks.
As a global society – and despite flu vaccines – we live our lives constantly with an ongoing flu pandemic that claims very, very many more lives than this current corona flu strain, yet world economies have not previously been locked down and have continued to thrive.
“Are we too frightened or too brainwashed to defend our freedoms?” – Alan Jones, ‘The Alan Jones Show’, Sky News channel, 19.8.2020.
Warning to all: Wake up and stand up before it is too late!
Our country is now in recession. With ongoing negative economic growth, it is anticipated that early next year Australia will be in economic depression.
Remember – silence is complicity!
Thanks for that, Bill. I pray that Andrews will come to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
To that end, pray – that’s all I know to do right now.
I worry for those with no money coming in and the loneliness of those who can’t see their families. So I pray that there will be relief for people after tomorrow. Please Lord.
Postscript: Economic depression = heavy duty very widespread suffering!
There is a song which is a bit like Saruman. That is “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. If you listen to the song without hearing the words it seems OK. Taylor Swift sings in a trailer park where all the caravans are in pretty colours and the other people wear bright clothing. That is part of the song being attractive like the Saruman. There are other parts that are NOT attractive. The song is about LGBTIQ people. She is telling people who are against gay marriage to “calm down”. She even insults people who are against gay marriage. She says that they are “in the dark ages”. There are some people protesting against gay marriage in the video. They look roughly dressed and their hair is untidy. Two of the signs has a spelling mistake. She sings “That sign must have taken you all night.” So the video is implying that only very rough, poorly educated people are against gay marriage. She accuses people who are against gay marriage of hating LGBTIQ people. It really is offensive to people who do not believe in gay marriage. This song is similar to what Saruman does. It sounds nice until you look at the words.
They’re manipulating Americans with a subtle mind control trick just in the frequently used phrase ,” We’re all in this together”. Uh, no, we’re not. The people, the unaware and the easily controlled, are the sheep and there’s some bad shepherds herding them, right to slaughter.
Sort of continuing on with Suzanna Balfour’s thoughts,I should have elaborated . “We’re all in this together” Manipulating people to accept the idea of Globalism. To get them comfortable with being global citizens that will come together to defeat the virus. Those left behind at the time that the Church is caught up, at the Rapture of the Church will be forced to be global citizens. The new world leader will not tolerate sovereign nations . He will fool the masses into believing that he has the answer to all the world’s problems. It’s clear that the groundwork for this system is being laid all around us right now. My real citizenship is in Heaven and “m just passing through as this world and it’s systems is soon to pass.
The left has always out matched us linguistically. In one MASH episode I don’t recall all the details but the line was “he could sell brass knuckles to Ghandi” and I think it is true of the left. Through their linguistic skills they often can get people to do the seemingly impossible. We are trained to believe simple arguments are wrong only complex ones are right. And at the same time we are taught simplicity in knowledge. Everything is boiled down to simple phrases or sound bytes. Even in the church. Pleasant dreams are from God scary ones from satan. God won’t make you feel uncomfortable only satan does that. Too much milk not enough, or ANY, meat!
I am also reminded of after Solomon’s death the next king advice shopped to hear what he wanted after his father’s advisers gave him the advice he didn’t want. How many times does that happen know?? Especially politically. It how many search out other explanations for scripture because they don’t like the one given???? They are told to repent but want a second opinion. Yet if told God is going to give you great wealth they never ask for another opinion but accept what is told to them. While we shouldn’t blindly accept what is said by anyone we can’t simply go by whether we like it or if it is convenient. Or worse how it makes us feel.
Unfortunately feelings are easy to manipulate which is why a emotional argument will always win over a logical one. God always make you feel warm and fuzzy only satan makes you feel scared. I wouldn’t feel good if it was wrong and conversely I wouldn’t feel bad if it was right. Love it the feeling manipulated most I think. Don’t you love me??? Those 4 words cause much damage.
Last of all sometimes we just want to be lied to. We know it is a lie but since someone else said it we justify listening to it. If anything goes wrong we have someone else to blame.
William, the false positive results and statistics of deaths with co-morbidities, are reflected also here in Oz.
For our wonderful country needlessly to be led to the brink of economic depression is a tragedy and utterly irresponsible. This is not the recession we had to have!
During a depression, the government will not be able to afford such generous handouts. In the last depression, the only welfare was for old-age pensioners and deserted wives – hence so many swaggies, who left home out of love for their families, who would then be able to receive some government assistance.
With the colossal debt incurred by popularity-craving Morrison, termed now the ‘quintessential Labor leader’, Australia may well face the need to declare bankruptcy.
Is China our country’s creditor?
We must not forget that debt is a form of bondage to the creditor!
As a medical practitioner, I would be interested in the source for Suzanna Balfour’s claim that “90% of positive Covid tests are in fact negative.” My understanding is that there is a 20% false negative rate with the current PCR Covid testing. This means that of every 100 people that front up for a Covid test and receive the reassuring text message that it was negative, 20 have in fact got Covid infection but aren’t aware of it.
hi I don’t have the source right now but can explain it a bit it has to do with amplification cycles they are supposed to use 30 but are often using 35-40 which will pick up a lot of dead cells or ones with such low viral load the cases should be considered negative. in fact a great deal of asymptomatic people have viral loads so small that it should render them negative. I think it was surprisingly published in the New York Times. but I would have to check on that. most MSM dont want to cover it because how can you have a NONinfectious pandemic.
“Local lockdowns have been imposed because infections are deemed dangerously high, but research by experts at Oxford University suggests as many as half of the “positive” tests relied upon could actually be false. This is because the current test is so sensitive it can pick up dead and harmless viral particles that are shed once the infection has passed.”
It is said that Covid-19 is not a pandemic but rather an intelligence test.
94% of Americans who die ‘of’ Covid had two or more co-morbities.
90% of positive Covid tests are in fact negative.
Mask wearing is a known health hazard and people have already died from wearing face masks.
As a global society – and despite flu vaccines – we live our lives constantly with an ongoing flu pandemic that claims very, very many more lives than this current corona flu strain, yet world economies have not previously been locked down and have continued to thrive.
“Are we too frightened or too brainwashed to defend our freedoms?” – Alan Jones, ‘The Alan Jones Show’, Sky News channel, 19.8.2020.
Warning to all: Wake up and stand up before it is too late!
Our country is now in recession. With ongoing negative economic growth, it is anticipated that early next year Australia will be in economic depression.
Remember – silence is complicity!
Thanks for that, Bill. I pray that Andrews will come to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
To that end, pray – that’s all I know to do right now.
I worry for those with no money coming in and the loneliness of those who can’t see their families. So I pray that there will be relief for people after tomorrow. Please Lord.
Postscript: Economic depression = heavy duty very widespread suffering!
There is a song which is a bit like Saruman. That is “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. If you listen to the song without hearing the words it seems OK. Taylor Swift sings in a trailer park where all the caravans are in pretty colours and the other people wear bright clothing. That is part of the song being attractive like the Saruman. There are other parts that are NOT attractive. The song is about LGBTIQ people. She is telling people who are against gay marriage to “calm down”. She even insults people who are against gay marriage. She says that they are “in the dark ages”. There are some people protesting against gay marriage in the video. They look roughly dressed and their hair is untidy. Two of the signs has a spelling mistake. She sings “That sign must have taken you all night.” So the video is implying that only very rough, poorly educated people are against gay marriage. She accuses people who are against gay marriage of hating LGBTIQ people. It really is offensive to people who do not believe in gay marriage. This song is similar to what Saruman does. It sounds nice until you look at the words.
They’re manipulating Americans with a subtle mind control trick just in the frequently used phrase ,” We’re all in this together”. Uh, no, we’re not. The people, the unaware and the easily controlled, are the sheep and there’s some bad shepherds herding them, right to slaughter.
Sort of continuing on with Suzanna Balfour’s thoughts,I should have elaborated . “We’re all in this together” Manipulating people to accept the idea of Globalism. To get them comfortable with being global citizens that will come together to defeat the virus. Those left behind at the time that the Church is caught up, at the Rapture of the Church will be forced to be global citizens. The new world leader will not tolerate sovereign nations . He will fool the masses into believing that he has the answer to all the world’s problems. It’s clear that the groundwork for this system is being laid all around us right now. My real citizenship is in Heaven and “m just passing through as this world and it’s systems is soon to pass.
The left has always out matched us linguistically. In one MASH episode I don’t recall all the details but the line was “he could sell brass knuckles to Ghandi” and I think it is true of the left. Through their linguistic skills they often can get people to do the seemingly impossible. We are trained to believe simple arguments are wrong only complex ones are right. And at the same time we are taught simplicity in knowledge. Everything is boiled down to simple phrases or sound bytes. Even in the church. Pleasant dreams are from God scary ones from satan. God won’t make you feel uncomfortable only satan does that. Too much milk not enough, or ANY, meat!
I am also reminded of after Solomon’s death the next king advice shopped to hear what he wanted after his father’s advisers gave him the advice he didn’t want. How many times does that happen know?? Especially politically. It how many search out other explanations for scripture because they don’t like the one given???? They are told to repent but want a second opinion. Yet if told God is going to give you great wealth they never ask for another opinion but accept what is told to them. While we shouldn’t blindly accept what is said by anyone we can’t simply go by whether we like it or if it is convenient. Or worse how it makes us feel.
Unfortunately feelings are easy to manipulate which is why a emotional argument will always win over a logical one. God always make you feel warm and fuzzy only satan makes you feel scared. I wouldn’t feel good if it was wrong and conversely I wouldn’t feel bad if it was right. Love it the feeling manipulated most I think. Don’t you love me??? Those 4 words cause much damage.
Last of all sometimes we just want to be lied to. We know it is a lie but since someone else said it we justify listening to it. If anything goes wrong we have someone else to blame.
William, the false positive results and statistics of deaths with co-morbidities, are reflected also here in Oz.
For our wonderful country needlessly to be led to the brink of economic depression is a tragedy and utterly irresponsible. This is not the recession we had to have!
During a depression, the government will not be able to afford such generous handouts. In the last depression, the only welfare was for old-age pensioners and deserted wives – hence so many swaggies, who left home out of love for their families, who would then be able to receive some government assistance.
With the colossal debt incurred by popularity-craving Morrison, termed now the ‘quintessential Labor leader’, Australia may well face the need to declare bankruptcy.
Is China our country’s creditor?
We must not forget that debt is a form of bondage to the creditor!
On the same note of resisting deception, take action against a ‘comedic’ pro-abortion/anti-life film:
https://www.ifamnews.com/en/petition/demand-hbo-max-cancel-unpregnant-and-review-leadership-choices/
https://www.ifamnews.com/en/new-low-hbo-max-to-stream-comedy-about-teen-abortion/
As a medical practitioner, I would be interested in the source for Suzanna Balfour’s claim that “90% of positive Covid tests are in fact negative.” My understanding is that there is a 20% false negative rate with the current PCR Covid testing. This means that of every 100 people that front up for a Covid test and receive the reassuring text message that it was negative, 20 have in fact got Covid infection but aren’t aware of it.
hi I don’t have the source right now but can explain it a bit it has to do with amplification cycles they are supposed to use 30 but are often using 35-40 which will pick up a lot of dead cells or ones with such low viral load the cases should be considered negative. in fact a great deal of asymptomatic people have viral loads so small that it should render them negative. I think it was surprisingly published in the New York Times. but I would have to check on that. most MSM dont want to cover it because how can you have a NONinfectious pandemic.
a video on the covid negative tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GmQVm-kLoM
Thanks guys. This is interesting:
“Local lockdowns have been imposed because infections are deemed dangerously high, but research by experts at Oxford University suggests as many as half of the “positive” tests relied upon could actually be false. This is because the current test is so sensitive it can pick up dead and harmless viral particles that are shed once the infection has passed.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1331999/UK-lockdown-coronavirus-test-leeds-middlesborough-tynside-corby