The Fourth Way

*Please note that I am not particularly critiquing the actions taken by government or individuals, provided their actions are based on honest and educated assessments of data. Isolating everyone vs. isolating only a certain population (e.g. those over 60, those with preexisting conditions, etc) is a judgment call. We don't have all the data necessary to make perfect decisions, so we're experimenting and learning as we go. At what point does shutting down the economy do more harm than good, particularly in countries where they live day to day, hand to mouth? I don't know, and I don't want to judge anyone for difficult decisions.

However, what I do intend to point out in this episode is that my group has erred (as a broad generalization, of course) in our discernment. Many in my group have politicized the virus to the point that we were unable to assess the gravity of the situation, we were unable to effectively love in our actions, and we were unable to wisely discern common sense judgment and action in the situation. While I am not judging for making the wrong decisions given limited information, I am judging our political idolatry and our dismissal of truths which don't fit our desired narrative.

• A huge thanks to Joseph McDade for his generous permission to use his music: https://josephmcdade.com/
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Discord Discussion Board: https://disboard.org/server/474580298630430751
• The 80% (My Book): https://www.amazon.com/80-Conservative-Evangelicals-Prove-Relativists-ebook/dp/B07RDPW2NZ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=j.g.+elliot&qid=1573560697&sr=8-1
• Various reflections related to consequentialism: https://www.dckreider.com/blog-theological-musings/category/pragmatism-and-consequentialism
• A fantastic moral overview of the pandemic from a Christian perspective: https://mereorthodoxy.com/moral-reasoning-coronavirus-pandemic/
• Mars Hill Audio, which featured the above article in audio format: https://www.marshillaudio.org
• Conservative Responses to COVID-19 Image Gallery: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CMNQ-kj1dN37sxBUPjffKwZCk1vi0dRE
• Democrat vs. Republican:
  https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/816501871/poll-as-coronavirus-spreads-fewer-americans-see-pandemic-as-a-real-threat?utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social
• Liberty University and Falwell: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
• Falwell continue classes: https://www.businessinsider.com/jerry-falwell-jr-suggests-coronavirus-is-plot-to-hurt-trump-2020-3
• Governer difference between KY and TN: https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/kentucky-vs-tennessee-on-coronavirus-may-be-the-best-example-of-elections-matter-in-decades/?fbclid=IwAR0QBc9J9X37IwUjxyhfRovCTTliRV7SyBgCNtWPKYvTC--w7wW6gwu2o9U
• FOX Hype and Changing Tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DmW_H4U-MI&t=145s
• Fox Questioning the Virus as a Hoax/Conspiracy: https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fox-news-contributor-i-am-seeing-videos-twitter-empty-hospital-parking-lots
• Georgia Conservative questions legitimacy of the pandemic: https...

• A huge thanks to Seth White for the awesome music!
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thewayfourth/?modal=admin_todo_tour
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTd3KlRte86eG9U40ncZ4XA?view_as=subscriber
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theway4th/
• Kingdom Outpost: https://kingdomoutpost.org/
• My Reading List Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21940220.J_G_Elliot
• My Reading List Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10h_yL0vO8-Ja_sxUJFclff11nwUONOG6/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103262818858083924733&rtpof=true&sd=true
• A great conversation on a philosophy behind abstention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqEc3NNGol8&feature=youtu.be
• Phil Vischer on abortion and politics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWD7ykNjCc&feature=youtu.be
• Voting as coercive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiiyZsCzP9k&t=1s
• Voting as an abdication of responsibility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBAs9jmanzs&t=9s
• Christian Sacralism in "Anatomy of a Hybrid:" https://www.gospeltruth.net/verduin/hybrid.htm
• Electing Not to Vote: https://www.amazon.com/Electing-Not-Vote-Christian-Reflections-ebook/dp/B00YD5D0Z0/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=electing+not+to+vote&qid=1577199172&sr=8-1
• Essay on Civil Disobedience (Thoreau): https://users.manchester.edu/Facstaff/SSNaragon/Online/texts/201/Thoreau,%20CivilDisobedience.pdf
• Kierkegaard Quotes on Politics: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/politics/politics-and-the-state
• The Myth of a Christian Nation: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Christian-Nation-Political-Destroying/dp/0310267315/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+myth+of+a+christian+nation&qid=1583004622&sr=8-2
• Consequentialism Series (beginning ep. 24): https://thefourthway.transistor.fm/episodes?utf8=%E2%9C%93&year=2019&month=
• Romans 13 Part 1 (Biblical Case): https://thefourthway.transistor.fm/episodes/rebuttal-romans-13
• Romans 13 Part 2 (Practical Case): https://thefourthway.transistor.fm/episodes/rebuttal-romans-13-part-2

As Christians in the U.S. start thinking about voting for a commander in chief this fall, I thought I'd throw out an unpopular option for everyone to chew on. I've done a significant amount of reflection on politics, voting, and Kingdom living over the past few years, and I have concluded that the option of abstention is something that needs to be on the table for Christians. It may not be something you do in this election, or any future election, but it needs to be a tool you have available to you and one you can respect others using. In this podcast episode I lay out that case for this option, but if you want the summary and don't want to listen to a ninety minute episode, I'll summarize below.

https://thefourthway.transistor.fm/episodes/se2-abstention-from-political-idolatry

1. Many Christians view what James calls true religion as optional (helping orphans, widows, etc), as few Christians judge others for not doing these things. Only people who are "called" to those things are required to do them. Few people in our churches adopt, volunteer at the food pantry, etc. We view those things as optional, and understand if congregants don't have the time to participate. However, many view voting as morally necessary and the responsible thing to do. This mismatch of moral obligations seems to me to be political idolatry. How is it that orphans and widows are optional, ...

• A huge thanks to Joseph McDade for his generous permission to use his music: https://josephmcdade.com/
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Discord Discussion Board: https://disboard.org/server/474580298630430751
• Christian Attitudes to War, Peace, and Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Attitudes-War-Peace-Revolution/dp/1587432315/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=war+peace+and+revolution+yoder&qid=1584391613&sr=8-2

-----

George Cannon, predecessor of the Truman Doctrine, in a memo (1948): https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Memo_PPS23_by_George_Kennan
"Furthermore, we have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. This disparity is particularly great as between ourselves and the peoples of Asia. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security. To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction."

• Scene On Radio's episode on the American Empire: http://www.sceneonradio.org/s4-e9-american-empire/
• Bible Project Revelation 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nvVVcYD-0w
• A book looking at all of the major American wars: https://amishcountrygoods.com/product/christianity-war-and-americas-salvation-story/
• America Invades: The Controversial Story of How We've Invaded or Been Militarily Involved with Almost Every Country on Earth: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R1ZXKMW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o06?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Behind the Bastards Podcast on Soleimani (explicit language): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-bastards/id1373812661?i=1000461883289
• War is a Racket: https://www.amazon.com/War-Racket-Antiwar-Americas-Decorated-ebook/dp/B00E25IYES/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=war+is+a+racket&qid=1592924412&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
• Only 3 Countries in which the U.S. hasn't had boots on the ground, and only 2 with which we've had no military dealings whatsoever: https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/these-are-the-only-3-countries-america-hasnt-invaded
• America's assassination in the Congo: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary-assassination
• Tuskegee Experiment: https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study
• Forced Eugenics of Minorities: https://today.duke.edu/2020/07/new-paper-examines-disproportionate-effect-eugenics-nc%E2%80%99s-black-population
• Jesse Washington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiyQFG6uHgg
• Torture and Burning of Henry Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Smith_(lynching_victim)
• Dan Carlin on torture: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-61-blitz...

• A huge thanks to Seth White for the awesome music!
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thewayfourth/?modal=admin_todo_tour
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTd3KlRte86eG9U40ncZ4XA?view_as=subscriber
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theway4th/
• Kingdom Outpost: https://kingdomoutpost.org/
• My Reading List Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21940220.J_G_Elliot
• My Reading List Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10h_yL0vO8-Ja_sxUJFclff11nwUONOG6/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103262818858083924733&rtpof=true&sd=true
• Video on Benjamin Lay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv3v9m6PY6c
• Fearless Benjamin Lay: https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Benjamin-Lay-Revolutionary-Abolitionist/dp/0807060984/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+fearless+benjamin+lay&qid=1605836939&sr=8-1
• All Slavekeepers Apostates: https://www.amazon.com/Slave-Keepers-That-Innocent-Bondage-Apostates-ebook/dp/B088Q5GH7P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=all+slavekeepers+apostates&qid=1605836920&sr=8-1
• Wilberforce Prolonged Slavery: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/aug/03/wilberforce-slavery-sierra-leone
• Noll on the Civil War: https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Crisis-Steven-Janice-Lectures/dp/1469621819/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mark+noll+civil+war&qid=1605836883&sr=8-1
• John Woolman: https://metrovoicenews.com/john-woolman-the-conscientious-quaker-who-paved-the-way-for-abolition/
• Britain paid on debt to slave owners through 2015: https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Britains-Loan-toPay-Off-Slave-Owners-Not-Repaid-Until-2015-20180223-0016.html#:~:text=Her%20Majesty%27s%20Treasury%20recently%20revealed%20that%20British%20taxpayers,that%20were%20formerly%20part%20of%20the%20British%20empire.
• A little more background on Lay and the Colonies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FALMgWNCXjI
• Conceived in Liberty Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933550988/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1XW48KH6KFJ1TFTDRVNP
• NonviolenceL 25 Lessons: https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolence-Lessons-History-Dangerous-Chronicles/dp/0679643354/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nonviolence+25&qid=1607126298&sr=8-1
• Waging Nonviolence: https://wagingnonviolence.org/
• New Tactics: https://www.newtactics.org/
• Victories Without Violence: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.63305
• Nonviolent Action: https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Action-Christian-Demands-Christians/dp/1587433664/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nonviolent+action&qid=1603136228&sr=8-1
• Is There No Other Way: https://www.amazon.com/There-No-Other-Way-Nonviolent/dp/1893163164/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Is+There+No+Other+Way&qid=1603136269&sr=8-1
• Why Civil Resistance Works: https://www.amazon.com/There-No-Other-Way-Nonviolent/dp/1893163164/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Is+There+No+Other+Way&qid=1603136269&sr=8-1
• Walter Wink: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Walter+Wink&ref=nb_sb_noss
• Erica Chenoweth TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJSehRlU34w&feature=emb_logo

• Phillip Mast
• patrick H
• Laverne Miller
• Jesse Killion

I am releasing this episode on the 70th anniversary of their execution, at 8:00 PM EST, the time at which the Julius and Ethel were executed.

Pre-Episode Introduction
0:00:00 - Introduction and Robert's story
0:08:40 - Manichean nature of propaganda
0:12:40 - Government destroys culture, not just resistance
0:14:35 - Timing of this episode

Interview with Robert
0:18:05 - Propaganda in the case of Robert's parents
0:23:35 - Role of fear and othering in propaganda
0:31:45 - Why was it important for propaganda that the kids of the Rosenbergs were targeted as threats?
0:42:45 - Propaganda in the media as a sedative that gets people to work within the system rather than buck it
0:56:10 - How can we know truth in a world saturated by propaganda?
1:04:50 - Why can't the government bring itself to admit they're wrong?
1:16:05 - Why do we need activists today if we solved discrimination with Civil Rights?
1:26:10 - Resource recommendations and plugs

• A huge thanks to Seth White for the awesome music!
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thewayfourth/?modal=admin_todo_tour
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTd3KlRte86eG9U40ncZ4XA?view_as=subscriber
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theway4th/
• Kingdom Outpost: https://kingdomoutpost.org/
• My Reading List Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21940220.J_G_Elliot
• Propaganda Season Outline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xa4MhYMAg2Ohc5Nvya4g9MHxXWlxo6haT2Nj8Hlws8M/edit?usp=sharing
• Episode Outline/Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wXPgp06Xp5Hc-IlB3x81Fwi6ZCCHL4uu2Xs8Wu1rKJs/edit?usp=sharing
• YouTube version of our interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbzPXxJ2PTo
• PRE-RELEASE EPISODE 1 INTRODUCTION: https://share.transistor.fm/s/4fec1099
• PRE-RELEASE EPISODE 2 HOW PROPAGANDA FUNCTIONS: https://share.transistor.fm/s/7f9c0a8c
• PRE-RELEASE EPISODE 3 THE FALSE PROPHET OF PROPAGANDA: https://share.transistor.fm/s/89025034
• An Execution in the Family (Robert's Book): https://www.amazon.com/Execution-Family-One-Sons-Journey-ebook/dp/B003J5UJJK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=252RAVF2FZJCL&keywords=an+execution+in+the+family&qid=1650622614&s=digital-text&sprefix=an+execution+in+the+family%2Cdigital-text%2C193&sr=1-1
• Executing the Rosenbergs: https://www.amazon.com/Executing-Rosenbergs-Death-Diplomacy-World-ebook/dp/B015P7A066/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IUJQLH31QLL9&keywords=executing+the+rosenbergs&qid=1650622585&s=digital-text&sprefix=executing+the+rosenberg%2Cdigital-text%2C190&sr=1-1
• Rosenberg Fund for Children: https://www.rfc.org/
• Ellul's "Propaganda": https://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/B08YJ3V7F4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GGCP6WP3WUXW&keywords=ellul+propaganda&qid=1650622694&sprefix=ellul+propagand%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1
• Chomsky on Propaganda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suFzznCHjko
• The Radical King (on King and Communism): https://www.amazon.com/The-Radical-King-audiobook/dp/B0799ZNCQQ/ref=sr_1_39?crid=1FHIRH7P45O7X&keywords=martin+luther+king&qid=1650620746&sprefix=martin+luther+kin%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-39
• "Strange Fruit" sung by Billie Holiday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI
• "The Rosenbergs" poem by W.E.B. DuBois: https://minervasperch.wordpress.com/2020/12/11/the-rosenbergs-june-1953-by-w-e-b-du-bois/
• Robert Williams and Radio Free Dixie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Dixie
• Negroes with Guns by Robert Williams: https://www.amazon.com/Negroes-Guns-Robert-F-Williams/dp/1773230522
• Slavery into the 1940's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4kI2h3iotA
• Slavery into Modernity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OXbJHsKB3I
• Terror Factory: https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Factory-Inside-Manufactured-Terrorism/dp/1632460653/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RHU33LH9VVFD&keywords=terror+factory&qid=1650622428&s=books&sprefix=terror+factory%2Cstripbooks%2C211&sr=1-1
• Nixon's War at Home: https://www.amazon.com/Nixons-War-Home-Guerrillas-Counterterrorism/dp/B09HVC31CS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DHD4VELWJKKK&keywords=nixon%27s+war+at+home&qid=1650622483&s=books&sprefix=nixon%27s+war+at+ho%2Cstripbooks%2...