Once in a while, I tune into KJSL, a St. Louis Christian talk radio station. I do this as part of a conscious effort to make myself listen to people with views that are dramatically different from my own. Perhaps I will understand those views better if I take the time to listen more.
While I was driving last week, the station featured a show called “News and Views,” hosted by a man named “Dr. Larry Bates.” The host repeatedly painted the future of the US as bleak, thanks to irresponsible financial policies by the federal government. Because I have some sympathy with that general conclusion, I continued to listen. It turned out that Bates was predicting the imminent financial collapse of the United States. Although I doubted that conclusion, I continued to listen.
Bates then indicated that he is also a big proponent of religious “End Times.” In short, he believes that Jesus will soon be returning to Earth in order to sort things out. I have no sympathy for this religious view. In fact, I find End Times beliefs to be irresponsible and destructive for the numerous reasons. For example, I do not hold the Bible to be inerrant. Based on my study of the Bible, although it offers some good stories and some reasonable moral instruction, it is also rife with bad advice, contradictions and senseless violence.
“Dr. Larry Bates” wears many hats. He claims to be an economist, publisher, editor, former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, former bank CEO and a “nationally recognized expert on political systems and the Federal Reserve.” Bates is also the President of First American Monetary Consultants, Inc. (FAMC), an organization that allegedly does “economic and market forecasting, in addition to offering a wide variety of other End Times services. “News and Views” is a syndicated radio show, available dozens of radio stations across the U.S. Larry Bates is thus well known in some circles.
After listening to Bates for only a few minutes, I learned that the United States needs to immediately and mercilessly bomb Iran because of what “those people” have done to “support terrorism.” I also learned that we need to support Israel without question, based upon what the Bible says. I persevered to the end of the show, saddened by and frustrated with the flimsy manner in which Bates attempted to support his conclusions.
At the end of the show, it was announced that Bates was going to be featured at a half-day conference in St. Louis, I took the bait. I thought it would be interesting to better understand the basis for the views of End Times (both economic End Times and religious End Times) proponents. The conference was called “Perilous Times: Significant End Time Events.” I paid $20 and showed up at the Crystal Ballroom of the Renaissance St. Louis Grand and Suites Hotel in downtown St. Louis. Here’s my ticket:
At the registration desk, I received a folder full of information. One of the pamphlets advised me that legalized gay marriage is a major obstacle to democracy:
When the US Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas last year that sodomy is a constitutional ‘right,’ the director of the lambda legal fund-a radical homosexual-agenda of pressure group-gleefully explained that this marks the beginning of the end to traditional marriage.
Another pamphlet advised that the United States is officially a Judeo-Christian nation. It quoted William Penn: “Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.” This pamphlet, printed by FAMC, “proves” that the United States is a Christian nation based upon the fact that the Constitutions of many of the states mention “God,” or “the Creator.” As though non-Christian religions don’t believe in a “God” or a “Creator.”
There were numerous products displayed and advertised at the conference. These products are the sorts of things you’ll need to have if you are going to be prepared for the economic and religious End Times. If you want to prevent cancer, you need to load up on Glutathione. The pamphlet says “your life depends on Glutathione.” To buy it, contact FAMC, according to the pamphlet.
What if you just want to make sure that you have access to “the most universal antibiotic” known to man, colloidal silver? It’s a “tasteless, odorless, non-toxic, purer, natural substance consisting of submicroscopic clusters of silver particles suspended by a tiny electric charge placed on each particle.” According to the pamphlet, you drink it. It kills all those pesky pathogens and protects all your good cells. According to the pamphlet, it is useful for treating allergies, boils, herpes, stomach flu, lime disease, gonorrhea, bladder irritations and chickenpox. The list goes on and on. Colloidal silver can be used vaginally, anally or dropped into the eyes.” You can even make your own colloidal silver out of silver wire, using the $189 generator you can buy from FAMC.
Another pamphlet advised me of my right to participate in jury nullification whenever anyone is being prosecuted for a gun crime. That is because “corrupted, anti-gun prosecutors and judges are common.” This information is distributed by the Fully Informed Jury Association.
After the economic collapse, you’ll need to make better use of all that expensive gasoline that all of us are going to need. Therefore, make sure you buy the “Power Plus Mpg” additive. Using this Power Plus, you can save 25 to $.50 per gallon. During his talk (which I’ll discuss in detail further down), Larry Bates bragged that his 5 mpg SUV improved its mileage 50% (to 7.5 mpg) after he started using this Power Plus. Those attending the conference were even invited to sign up as Power Plus distributors.
Additional Pamphlets were available advising how to support efforts to find those “30,000 POWs [who] were known to be behind alive after WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf and War on Terror.” There was also a table full of conservative-message bumper stickers.
The nice old fellow minding that table offered me a chance to take any one of those bumper stickers for free. I really struggled to find anything that didn’t offend my politics (maybe I am a liberal). After searching for a full minute, I picked up Smoke – Choke – Stroke – Croak.
I wasn’t really at the conference to dwell on the End Times products, however. I was there to listen to “Dr. Larry Bates,” just like the 200 other people who attended. Although the crowd included a handful of young adults, most of those attending were in their 60s or 70s. As is often the case with groups of conservative Christians, this was an extremely polite and orderly group. People held doors for each other and took time to exchange pleasantries.
Dr. Larry Bates introduced himself and then introduced a local preacher who opened the meeting with a prayer. Almost everyone bowed their heads respectfully. Then it was time to offer a few door prizes. The winners had a choice of two books: The Coming Financial Wipeout or America’s Christian Heritage.
Then it was time for four-hours of lecture. Bates bemoaned the lack of pastors in the audience. He complained that too many church leaders were “eating the sheep rather than feeding the sheep.” He asked for a show of hands of those who believe that we were in the last days, and perhaps a third of the audience raised their hand. When he asked whether we were in the very last days, 15% raised their hands.
Bates informed the audience that their job was to “raise up wisdom.” This has to be done by taking back the media, he explained, although “Fox news is one of our best news channels.”
He explained that the next election is the most important one ever. It will be about “class warfare.” The election whether we’ll have less government and bigger government. It’s between monopolistic versus competitive capitalism. Although the Republicans are imperfect, according to a distressed Bates, the only real choice in this upcoming election is Republican. More on this further down.
The United States is under attack by economic and political elitists who want to keep the middle class trapped as pawns and serfs in this elitist version of a caste system. These are desperate times, because “There are only two countries in the entire world where the middle class runs the government or has the opportunity to run the government: the United States and Israel.”
The elitists are “One World Socialists” according to Bates. They want to level everyone out to make everyone equally poor, except for themselves. A repeated target of Bates was the Federal Reserve, which “only looks federal and has no reserves.” Bates could barely contain his scorn for the Federal Reserve, which, he repeatedly emphasized, was totally owned by private bankers.
Bates is highly suspicious of George W. Bush’s “New World order.” It is a conspiracy against the people of the United States, and it amounts to “one world socialism,” an attempt to make everyone poor except for an elite ruling class. He exhorted that the creation of the Federal Reserve was a conspiracy to rob the American middle class. The Federal Reserve is a “criminal syndicate.” According to Bates, the head of the Federal Reserve is more powerful than the president of the United States. In all earnestness, he told the crowd that the 1938 panic-provoking radio adaptation of “War of the Worlds” was not entertainment. It was a test by the government elite to see if the federal government could maintain control over the New World Order.
What are the elitists trying to do? They are trying to create a North American Union. They want to merge the United States, Mexico and Canada and to destroy the sovereignty of the United States. That’s why we have a lax immigration policy, he warned. What’s the solution? “Build a fence and keep them out.” If the rate of immigration exceeds your rate of assimilation, “you lose your country.” Throughout his talk, Bates insinuated that the impending economic collapse will coincide with the religious Second Coming.
The Democrats are the party of big government, militant homosexual “rights and domination.” The Democrats are Socialists, from the party of Karl Marx, where the government owns and controls everything, including all means of distribution and production. “Liberals hate property rights.” Bates drew numerous parallels to the Soviet Union, where people had to wait in long lines for everything. That’s what the Democrats would bring us, he urged.
He warned that you can’t overlook the Republicans just because are imperfect. He understands that “Jesus Christ is not on the ballot.” If you hurt the Republicans, “you hurt yourself.” “Dingy Harry Reid “is corrupt and Nancy Pelosi is “a disaster.” Whenever you have a strong economy, you’ve got limited government. “It’s that simple.” Are there any litmus test for politicians? Absolutely. Don’t vote for anybody who believes in any right to abortion. “Nothing tells you more about politicians that sanctity of life. If they don’t get this right, they get nothing right.”
What else did he think about some the candidates? There was no holding back. Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be president because God has a natural order for things. Bates paused to caution the audience, “I’m not a chauvinist.” Then he forged on: “God is the head of man and man is the head of women. A two-headed family is a freak.” He offered this evidence of his position: Indonesia is struggling because it is a matriarchy. To allow women to run the country is to violate God’s order. God says there should not be a woman president. It is as aberrant as “letting children run a household.”
According to Bates, “Barack Hussein Obama” (he repeated this full name several times) is a radical muslim who was educated in a radical muslim school. His Church is full of people who, according to Bates, hate white people. [For those who are concerned about Obama based on Bates’ outrageous claims, check out this and this].
Are there some good Republican candidates? You bet, according to Bates. For instance, Tom Tancredo got it right when he recently got tough with Muslims. Bates described it like this: “if you use a nuclear device in the United States, then we will use a nuke to take out Mecca and Medina . . . [applause] . . . Brutal force is the only thing these birds understand.” Upon hearing and seeing this, I was stunned. Though I tried, I couldn’t recall the particular verse of the Bible where Jesus said, “If someone shits on you, shit on them.”
But Bates wasn’t done with the Muslims. According to Bates, the goal of Islam is “world domination under sharia law.” There are three types of followers of Islam, according to Bates. Type 1 is a revolutionary who sets off bombs. These people are terrorists. The second type is an evolutionary follower, distributing propaganda and prolifically “breeding.” The third type is a westernized Muslim who probably hasn’t even read the Koran. Nonetheless, those westernized Muslims will fall right in line, especially when those other Muslims threaten to cut off their heads or attack members of their families. The Koran “tells you “to kill and who to kill,” according to Bates. It tells you to kill Christians and Jews.
According to Bates, Sam Brownback of Kansas is misguided (too liberal) on immigration, perhaps because of his Catholic conversion. He doesn’t understand that we’ve simply got to keep those immigrants out.
What are some of the big issues of the upcoming election? National health insurance is a big issue. If we have national health insurance, it will “ruin the country. The country ends when we enact national health insurance.” What’s the evidence for this dramatic prediction? Tennessee has free government medical care, yet (according to Bates) nobody signs up for it. Therefore, there’s no need for national health insurance. Under national health insurance, Bill Clinton would have had to wait six weeks to get an appointment and six months to get his necessary surgery. National health insurance involves the “efficiency of the post office and the compassion of the IRS.” Furthermore, it will “drive the cost of health care way up.” National healthcare will bankrupt the country: “The government that can give you everything you want must, by definition, take everything you’ve got.”
Bates warns that people need to quit concerning themselves with the healthcare establishment. In fact, he’s suspicious of the healthcare system. People need to focus on preventing disease rather than treating it. They need a laugh more. “Laughter is better medicine.” People would “rather be victims-our diseases are other people’s faults.” People need to take responsibility for their own good health, said Bates, who looks to be a few pounds overweight. It all starts “with what you put in your body.” Bates then spent a serious chunk of time touting the healthcare products displayed on the tables in the lobby.
Bates explained that churches will need to get more into the healthcare business, because they have more to offer than the healthcare establishment. Churches have the courage to “tell the bums that they are bums” (I wondered what the bum lobby would think of this statement.
We have too much Blue Cross and Blue Shield. We depend too much on man and not enough on God. We’ve replaced God on the throne with government on the throne. We look to Jehovah government instead of God.
Bates announced that if anyone gets sick, it’s that person’s own fault. There are plenty of things you can do so that you don’t get sick, according to Bates. You can take regular doses of that colloidal silver I first learned about from the handouts. He announced that colloidal silver kills all bacteria. Someone in the back of the room then announced “Amen!” Gee, Larry, I wondered. Are you sure you want to kill all the bacteria in your body, including the beneficial bacteria that reside in your gut? He marched on, undeterred. Bates claims that he puts silver in his milk to keep it from spoiling. It will never spoil as long as you put silver in your carton of milk. He urged the audience to buy the colloidal silver generating kit, so they can make their own colloidal silver. He warned the audience that the FDA does not want people to know about the amazing healing powers of silver. The FDA doesn’t want the competition—it would put some big pharmaceutical companies out of business. In fact, the FDA is about to try to outlaw the use of silver as a medicine. Modern pharmaceuticals are “witchcraft.”
What else can you do to stay healthy? If you’ve got cancer, make sure you consider getting vitamin C injections. These have been phenomenally successful, according to Bates. This new knowledge about the healing powers of vitamin C reminded him that the Bible predicted “God’s plan of healing.” This kind of “new important knowledge” is another sign of “the last days.” We need to be the “salt” (disinfectant of the evil people) and the “light” (spreading wisdom). Bates warned that many believers are going to have to do God’s work on their own because churches “have been corrupted by world government.”
What would you do if you’re laid-off in the impending economic collapse? You need to get a trade. You need to do something with your hands, such as plumbing or electrical work. “The time will come when you have to barter your skills for someone else’s skills.” The End Times are apparently not going to be pretty.
The last section of the presentation was an indictment of US monetary policy. Bates pointed out that the United States now has $25 trillion in domestic debt which must be serviced, whereas the M2 money supply is only $7 trillion. This sets the stage for the economic End Times. The government can either go into default work or print fake money to dilute real wealth. He warns that the U.S. is busy printing lots of fake money. That’s what the recent $300 billion injection of “new money” was. It was used to allegedly stabilize the stock market. He warns that it would take a 7.1% added payroll tax to service our current debt, an amount that would break the backs of most families. Bates sees a massive restructuring of the social security system forthcoming, including raised taxes and reduced benefits, as well as means tests.
What can we do about the impending economic collapse? One thing is that we can make sure that no one takes away our guns, said Bates.
There will be no total economic collapse until there is total gun control. The tyrants don’t want to deal with an armed populace. The enemies of liberty hate your guns. The Second Amendment protects the First Amendment.
Here’s what else you can do, according to Bates. Elect people who will build fences to keep out the immigrants. Hone your communications skills, because the upcoming wars will be wars of world views. According to the Bible, “when you see the enemy, you’ll need to warn the city.”
As far as protecting your assets, Bates gives this advice: Stay away from “Loanership” assets, such as Money Market funds, T-bills and CD’s. They are “pieces of paper: IOU’s. Beware of real estate, in this age when the government is taxing it heavily and abusing eminent domain. Instead, load up on precious metals, such as gold and silver coins. This is especially important, given that the U.S. has long been off the gold standard, which has invited the dollar’s slide versus most currencies. He claims that you should not get gold or silver bullion because federal law gives the government the right to confiscate these in times of economic emergency.
Who’s going to buy your precious metal coins in the time of economic collapse? Bates is convincing to me when he answers that question with another question: “Who is going to buy your paper dollars?” He characterizes gold and silver as “money.” Everything else is only “credit.”
So Bates’ program includes both saving and eating silver! Where are you going to get all of those precious metals? From a reputable company like FAMC, of course. Bates tells you to buy precious coins and his company is happy to sell them to you. He told the crowd that precious metal coins are “real money” and that they will be exchangeable until the absolute end of time. Didn’t the Bible say that people will throw their gold and silver into the street? Absolutely, says Bates. But that will be toward the end, when we’ll see a “large scale transfer of wealth from the wicked to the righteous.” It’s all in the Bible, according to Bates. Up until those End Times, then, rely on precious metals, says Bates, citing Ezekiel 7:19 (“Precious metals very valuable until the time that God’s wrath is poured out”) and Haggai 2:6-9 (End time transfer of wealth using precious metals”).
Bates is not embarrassed about having money. “God doesn’t mind if you have nice things.” You should use and enjoy your money, he stresses. Have as much of it as you need, even if you use it to buy expensive houses, cars and vacations. No problem. It’s only the “love of money” that is the root of all evil. His literature cites Proverbs 28:20 (“Eager to get rich; will not go unpunished”), Ecclesiastes 2:26 (“One who pleases Him receives wealth”) and Genesis 2:11-12 (“God put gold in the earth for a reason”).
—
It’s hard to know how to sum up this Perilous Times Conference. The lessons taught by Bates are laced with radical conservative values, that is true. His characterizations of both Republicans and Democrats are cartoonish. His xenophobia and racism (especially toward women and people from the Middle East) are intense. His plan to capitalize upon the fears he drums up, both economic and religious, is predictable and obvious.
Bates has a ready and willing audience, because his targets are big and fat. Anyone with energy and creativity can vigorously hack away at pharmaceutical companies, drug companies, bankers, politicians and bureaucrats. If you can convince your audience that it might lose much of what it has worked for, you could readily stir up their deep fears about out-groups such as gays, women, atheists and immigrants.
Bates is playing a game that is played by many people who have some legitimate credentials. During the final portion of this conference Bates sometimes sounded like someone who was giving some reasonable economic advice based on sophisticated training. He sometimes spoke as person who relied on his training and experience in economics and banking. I am not an economist or a banker, and I have not read nearly enough to know the extent to which Bates is giving decent economic advice, though what I have read about United States fiscal policy also concerns me greatly. I’ve seen similar admonitions regarding the United States fiscal policy on “liberal” shows such as Bill Moyers. I think it is this part of the show that gives Bates the foot in the door with his audience.
Nonetheless, it is a standard trick to parlay one’s legitimate credentials far beyond the realm of one’s expertise. When Bates talks with ultra-assurance of the alleged Second Coming of Christ or when he touts the medical quackery he is so happy to peddle, he looks both naïve and devious. Shame on his audience members, though, if they really step up to buy that little bottle of fuel additive that will allegedly make their humongous SUVs get 50% better gas mileage. Shame on the people who think that the FDA is trying to outlaw silver potions because drinkable silver is so incredibly good that it would put pharmaceutical companies out of business. Shame on people who trust people who sell snake oil.
I couldn’t help but conclude that there is much in common among the sorts of people that listen to Bates and the sorts of people with whom I more commonly associate. We are all worried about our corrupt government, our poisoned food and water, our shortsighted fiscal policies, our many failing schools, our own deaths, about numerous people illegally pouring over our borders, about the many people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol and about a media with an agenda secretly dictated by those who hold disproportionate power. Many Believers and non-Believers are downright suspicious of organized religions. We differ profoundly, however, in the ways in which we would address these threats. What Bates offers is a bomb-shelter mentality. He relentlessly warns his audience of the need to hunker down and protect one’s own and let everyone else be damned.
As I left Perilous Times Conference, I wondered whether it would be an impossible task to convince the people in that audience to put down their Bibles and roll up their sleeves when they discuss politics. I wondered whether these people would ever be willing to open their minds to diverse ideas from people who might look and act differently than they do. I wondered whether Bates’ fans would ever be willing to look at their own cherished ideas as skeptically as they look at the ideas of others. I wondered whether they would ever be capable of pretending, even for a moment, that they were not under attack by all of those people of the world who they don’t know well. I wondered whether they could ever be convinced to consider that strangers are, for the most part, people with hopes, dreams and fears much like their own.
After mega-doses of Larry Bates, is it even possible for people to consider that there is a vast commonality all people share and that this could really be a starting point for a functional world view, one that is not based on paranoia?
I have to agree that Bates seems to know his stuff. I listened to him today and I did not gather him to be anything but a sincere guy trying to offer some help to Americans trying to survive our new governments liberalistic, socialistic, spend happy agenda. (don't forget who has controlled the senate for over two years now-our lovable Dems) Our government is making decisions that are not even remotely sane. I think Bates has some great ideas on how we can make it through. I think each American should take the time to research the issues and make their own decisions.
Note: that does not mean rely on the evening news for info
I am impressed that you took the time to listen to Dr Bates, rather than simply blindly repeat the negative things you heard others say as truth. Personally, I cannot stand Dr. Bates. I think he is using Christianity to make himself rich. I find his business ethics suspect due to a personal experience, which I won't go into here. However — I believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. I believe Jesus to be the son of God. I believe most of what Dr. Bates says. I believe abortion is murder. I am not a gullible, doddering senior citizen. I am educated, articulate, and very cognizant of what's going on in our crumbling world. (Why is it that many out there think that anyone past the age of 65 has lost their mind??–my father is 80, and still sharp as a tack–nobody will put one over on him!!) I just wonder….what do some of you think now, that B. Hussein Obama has become president — Do you now agree that this nation is firmly on the path to socialism? If not — have you been sleeping?–or afflicted with Alzhiemers? American FELL on election day last November, it will never be the same. I emptied out my 401 K's, took the tax and penalty hits, and invested in non-confiscatable metals. (It's not loosing near as much as our stock market, thank you!!!) I firmly believe that, had I not cashed them out, my 401 K's would soon be "confiscated" and poured into our bankrupt social security system and used to support the illegal aliens who hate our country, and those too lazy to work, who also hate our country. The readers of this article probably think I'm crazy, but I'll bet they wish they'd done the same before 2012, when that very thing has happened to their life savings!! As for the colodial silver — have you ever tried it?????? If you haven't, don't knock it. It is amazing stuff. It's saved me a ton of money on antibiotics — It works on me, and it works on my pets. And you don't get those nasty yeast infections when you use it, like when you use prescription antibiotics. Also, if you get an external wound, it will generally clear it up better than anything you can buy over the counter. You don't have to buy it from the crazed Dr. Bates, you can get it in any health food store. In synopsis — I agree with you that Dr. Bates is a crazy — simply because I feel he uses what he preaches for profit. Otherwise, I believe most of what he says, and I believe those "end times" you scoff about are right upon us. Take a look around you!!!! Hunkering down in Texas…….
Did you watch the video???
Check out the first five minutes…you're boy Larry is in it. It's 15 years old!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-51531956…
Before you put your life in the hands of atheism and its never ending realm of theory and philosophy consider this : genuine christianity is not a belief system or religion or even a cult of small minded wierdo's
I personally dont know any believers that have been indoctrinated from birth but have come to a knowledge of the truth by being open to their own conscience resulting in being born again an actual experience promised by the Christ for every believer .
With conversion comes sacrifice on many levels and indicates to the authenticity of the gospel message were as from my understanding ,atheism can be quite convincing but more than that it is quite convenient .
yours respectfully from lancashire UK
Sir, your review of Dr. Bates' conference is well written. Although I share in his beliefs of the coming age and Bible validity, I enjoyed your objective writing and respectful way of relaying your thoughts. You covered every subject that he speaks on and you made it easy to read.
Continue seeking truth.
And may you and your family
Have a nice week.
For those of you who keep insisting that Larry Bates was the only person out there sounding the alarm regarding the financial meltdown, consider this:
"U.S. Regulator Sheila Bair was one of the first to speak out about the subprime lending crisis, and Born warned a decade ago that unregulated financial contracts, including credit default swaps, could pose dangers to the economy."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/18/sheila-b…
Concerning your May 28 post, Larry Bates was not the first person to talk about the financial meltdown. I first heard about it in the early 1970's from Willard Cantelon, author of The Day The Dollar Dies(see his book here: http://www.amazon.com/Day-Dollar-Dies-William-Can…. After reading this book, I began looking into the subject and found that this is basically the same argument that the John Birch Society has been making since the 1950's. Now I realize that even mentioning the JBS qualifies me as a kook, but, nevertheless, I take information where I find it, check it out, and then draw conclusions. I used the information to leave the stock market at 13,500, and I am looking into buying metals because anyone would have to be insane not to see that our currency is being debauched by the crazy "stimulus packages" Obama is pushing. I did enjoy reading your article, however, and I appreciate your willingness to share your point of view.
This site is hilarious!! How many of you wackos are paid by Bates himself? Seriously, I have slightly used bridge in Brooklyn I will sell you for a steal. PS- It goes straight to heaven.
Having listened to Bates' program for the very same reason Mr. Vieth did, it didn't take too long to realize the purpose of this program. Bates is a salesman and his only motive is to sell people his books and pamphlets, and in doing so line his pockets with cash. He uses places of worship and people who are easily duped to run his scam. People believe him for one simple reason, they don't think someone who is a "Christian" could steal from them. They say, "Why would someone tell lies about The End Times and try to steal our money?" Well, people like Mr. Bates have been around a long long time and they come in many forms.
Of note for those who feel we are living in "End Times"; we, and I mean humans (homosapians) here, have only been on earth for about a hundred thousand years and this is a microsecond in the life of the universe, so technically we are living in End Times…OUR OWN SPECIES' END TIMES. As in, we are eventually going to die off just like the dinosaurs (that is if you have brain and believe that the earth is indeed older than 5000 years and therefore believe in dinosaurs).
Concerning colloidal silver:
Using it internally should be limited as it can lead to an irreversible condition known as argyria which is the permanent staining of the skin to a blueish gray color. As a registered pharmacist, I have seen actual cases of this in patients of my pharmacy who insist on taking colloidal silver on a regular basis.
Concerning Gold and Silver coins:
Most of the economists I have been reading and listening to recommend that you should have 20 to 30 percent of your total net worth invested in precious metals as a hedge against hyperinflation which is the result of the government "printing money" or "quantitative easing" as they like to refer to it.
Concerning End Times:
I do believe we are in the End Times now and Jesus will soon be returning. However, I am very disappointed in Mr. Bates hostile attitude toward Muslims countries. We should not be bombing them with nukes, but rather inundating them with the Gospel, because they are lost and going to hell. Don't get me wrong, I believe we should defend ourselves, but these acts of aggression should cease. All we are doing is stirring up a hornets nest. We should not be living our lives in "hunker down and to heck with everyone else" attitude. If anything, we should be preparing to help our fellow man once the proverbial "poo hits the fan". When hyperinflation hits and the economy falls further and people become hungry and desperate, it is the duty of Christians to extend a helping hand as well as hope by sharing the Gospel message of the Kingdom of Heaven with them. Anything less is false Christianity.
Concerning Women in Power:
I have no problem with a woman being president. I have serious problems with Hillary Clinton becoming president and it has nothing to do with her genitalia. I would have voted for Sarah Palin had she been the presidential nominee. I could not in good conscious vote for John McCain as many of his policies and voting record were in stark contrast to my beliefs. I voted 3rd party this past election out of disgust for both of the two major parties.
Comments:
Mr Vieth, I think you did a good job with this article. Very objective. I know some will have a hard time swallowing your observations of Mr. Bates short comings, but you were very honest and fair in your opinions. However, as a Christian, I cannot dismiss my beliefs because a fellow Christian has made mistakes. After all, we are all sinners and no one is perfect according to the Bible. I hope that one day you too may join the ranks of those who claim Jesus Christ as savior.
Chris
This may be hard for you to believe, but Hell is a real place and anyone who has not been cleansed by the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins is going there and you will be there forever. I can not imagine being responsible for my children going there.
Think about it. Read those books Wayne suggested.
Bill
Bill: I'll take your advice for what it's worth. I know that you are well intentioned and that you want to keep the devils from sticking me in my rear end with their pitch forks after I'm dead.
Bill,
You have no idea how absolutely infantile you sound. Well intentioned or not, I suggest you go read Other Books and get over this idea that universe has the least interest in what you did or didn't do or what you do or don't believe. None of us are that important that the Cosmic All would set aside a pocket of space-time that would defy all the rules set up for the rest of the universe only to preserve dubiously-coherent memory engrams in order to eternally torture non-sentient memes. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's all right—there is still time to read a physics book and Be Saved!
OK, Chris: you scare me.
You start intelligently (colloidal silver and argyria). Continue in the semi mainstream (hedging with precious metals).
Then go batshit crazy with talk of 'End Times' and voting for Palin as president were she the nominee!
I won't even start with the 'end times' – since that would simply start a flame war with no end (kinda armageddon in a blog)
But from a purely factual perspective, doncha think your President should be even a little bit informed about world events? Or events right here in the States? And maybe you'd like your President to understand the content and history of those two little documents: the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights?
Ms Palin, who has recently resigned as Alaska's Governor amidst a firestorm of controversy of her own making, is demonstrably unfit for any public office, let alone the highest office in the land.
My 13 year old son has a better grasp of macro economics, world events, geography, history, and politics, than your putative 'leader of the free world'.
You scare me. Your 'kind' scares me.
Please explain to me, if you would, Ms Palin's qualifications for POTUS. If you could, please reference where her qualifications are equal of better than other previous nominees or holders of that office.
I'm looking forwards to hell, if it exists (I presume I'm going there since I expressly do not believe and decline to be saved)
As Mark Twain said "Heaven for the climate. Hell for the company"
Tony writes:—"Please explain to me, if you would, Ms Palin’s qualifications for POTUS. If you could, please reference where her qualifications are equal of better than other previous nominees or holders of that office."
But, but, but…Tony! She's not only an Am-ur-ikan, she's been on "Saturday Night Live"!
She appeals to people who are themselves likely not qualified to cast an informed vote, so she must be one of them.
I'm a Christian and I find Larry Bates and people like him offensive to my intelligence and my faith. He is creating fear and paranoia to make himself money. He was previously a bank CEO. I've never met a banker who cared about anything but money. Bankers have no problems kicking you out of your house if you lose your job. Does he ever blast Wall Street greed as the reason for our economic troubles? No.. because he must believe greed is good. We don't need to fear a coming so called 'New World Order", we need to fear what we have now. Jobs being shipped to China to be done by pseudo-slaves, 47 million Americans without access to healthcare, unfair trade deals, workers' wages stagnating while CEO's rake in millions, unregulated Wall Street investment banks and corporate-run government.
I believe that people who listen to and believe him are good people looking for answers. We should never forget though that in America, we have the power to shape our own future. We shouldn't have hate in our hearts for other peoples, shouldn't we even love our enemies?
If I was a poor Mexican, I would get here any way I could to provide for my family. Wouldn't any decent father or mother do the same?
Aren't muslims human beings created in the image of God? Of course we can't tolerate terrorism, but most muslims aren't terrorists, they are people of faith, like a Christian. Shouldn't everyone have the right to belive as they want? Isn't that Freedom of Religion?
I became a Christian because I was convinced through reasoning and because of the qualities of love, mercy and grace presented to me. I find none of these attractive qualities in Larry Bates. I find malice, hate, fear, slander and white male supremacy. Themes played on by Hitler and the Nazi's.
Why would wealthy elitists want socialism? Isn't it capitalism that made them wealthy elitists? Why would they want to destroy that system? Aren't we already their "serfs"? We do all the work, they get all the wealth.
I believe a true Christian wants healthcare for all, decent wages and working conditions for all, better schools for all, and more equal distribution of societal wealth. If that's socialism, I'm a socialist.
According to Bates, these are all evils. Why? Because he could no longer oppress and exploit for his own profit.
Great job, stand your ground, you are a smart and fair person; I hope you have a lot of readers.
There is no reasoning with religious fanatics…they have to have their way
best of luck friend
Some good comments in your article and mostly fair taking into account your position . . .
which must all be taken into the context of you not giving the Bible much respect .. which brings into question "where you're coming from".
Thanks.
Thank you Larry. I believe your presentation of these facts can help anyone who is willing to discern the times. I do not feel that you were using scare tactics and in fact, thought your presentation was extremely sensible and Biblical. Obviously, many will not be able to do everything suggested. But, anyone can be more prepared for what's already written on the wall and take steps within their means, to protect themselves and to help others. Christians must realize that God is our provider, not the government.
wyona magee, there's nothing biblical about encouraging nuclear war and using racist, sexist, islamophobic rhetoric to further your twisted political agenda. And about your "God is our provider, not the government" comment, the bible does not endorse your far right political beliefs, stop peddling that nonsense.
Your comment, "For example, I do not hold the Bible to be inerrant. Based on my study of the Bible, although it offers some good stories and some reasonable moral instruction, it is also rife with bad advice, contradictions and senseless violence." indicates your personal bias.
The Bible is indeed inerrant word of God himself and I defy you to point out one single instance where it has been scientifically, or any other way, demonstrated incorrect. Despite attempts to the contrary, science continues to uncover more facts that support the Bible.
Now I'm not defending Larry Bates, and you don't have to listen to him or others like him. But you would do well to reevaluate you position vis a vis the Bible and End Times prophecy. I assure you, like hundreds of other prophecies, it is quite real and, though we cannot know the hour, we can know the 'season' just as we know when the cold winds blow in the Fall that Winter is about to set in.
Barack Obama said it best when he said that "America is not what it once was…" to the little girl during his 2008 election campaign. He's right…and when was America at it's best? Answer: before the doctrine of secular humanism, rampant materialism, and wanton homosexuality (BTW Levitican Law is real good public health policy but I doubt you're capable of understanding that given your bias) began to be shoved down everyone's throat by the leftists in this country. The Founders understood that without morality there can be no self-government. And without religion, there can be no morality.
This country was founded on Christian principles. Since moving away from those principles we have been sliding downhill. The Left has destroyed the educational system, replaced legitimate social discourse with pop culture pap and BS, and corrupted the goverment beyond recognition. So the questions hangs in the air: If you secular humanists are so smart, why are things so screwed up?
Lee: Your comment also violates our anti-preaching policy, but I printed it anyway.
To answer your question (the last sentence of your comment): Because secular humanists are not in charge of running this country. Far from it.
I'm sure you would love to convince the audience to put down their Bibles. Thats what the government has been trying to do for so long now. Thats why we are in the condition that we are in, in these Christian established United Stated of America.
I wish the people who are making these comments as well as yourself would actually read the Bible and see what it has to say. Then meet Jesus Christ of the Bible and have their eyes opened up and realize the real truth.
[Admin note: Comment truncated because it was in flagrant violation of DI's preaching policy].
Lee, Levitican law is only implemented in places controlled by groups like the Taliban. Even they don't advocate keeping order via mandatory stoning of back-talking teens, required selling of daughters who have the temerity to pass puberty without first bagging a husband, and killing anyone who owns fields containing multiple types of grain or breeds of sheep.
Not bad for rules mostly copied intact from Hammurabi a few generations before Moses.
But wa-ay off the point of Larry Bates' odd ideas on health and commodities.
Lee writes:—"The Bible is indeed inerrant word of God himself and I defy you to point out one single instance where it has been scientifically, or any other way, demonstrated incorrect."
Um…you're joking, right? There's a long, long list of bonehead science in the Bible. We can go from Joshua calling for the sun to stop in the sky to actual raising of the dead…
Never mind. This is like kicking puppies.
to the writer of this article:
your ignorance to the obvious is apparent. it's really too bad someone of your supposed intellectual caliber can not the writing on the wall. i suppose you will still deny the economic collapse that turned out to happen . . . who's not being honest with the people now? answer: YOU. suggestion: pick up a bible, which IS by the way inerrant-and read it. You will learn alot (at least I hope so). First in order to receive the Holy Spirit which will help you understand the truth, you will need to take Christ as your Lord and Savior. Should you like to do that, just say, "Jesus I take you as my Lord and Savior and I ask You to give me the Holy Spirit," which help you discern and dissect the TRUTH (not the lies of this passing world and ITS god).
Wow Lee, you've restored my faith in why those who take the bible literally should be feared. The fact that arguing for laws that include stoning homosexuals and mouthy children rings of mental illness. I guess Jesus never really did believe in that 'love they neighbor' crap.
In fact lets get back to religious roots of the country. Lets burn some witches and own some slaves, thats what made us prosperous right? Not natural resources, hard work and American ingenuity? Right?
Your right Mark, this is like kicking puppies.