Fear God (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

FEAR GOD

Revelation 14: 7 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Universality and Cosmology

ANALYZING UNDERLYING IMPETUSES AS REFLECTED IN HISTORY (1840's-present)
Religion Civil Rights Science and Technology Space Forms of government Wars and conflicts
Crimes against humanity Literature Entertainment

Universitarianism reflected in religions, military, and politics. (1800's) III

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Demagogy

Demagogy

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Demagogy or demagoguery (Ancient Greek: δημαγωγία, from δῆμος dēmos "people" and ἄγειν agein "to lead") is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes. What qualifies as demagogy has been the subject of debate and ambiguity since Aristophanes first used the term, in reference to Cleon.[1]

[edit] Uses and definitions

20th-century American social critic and humorist H. L. Mencken, defined a demagogue as "one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots."

As George Bernard Shaw said:

But though there is no difference in this respect between the best demagogue and the worst, both of them having to present their cases equally in terms of melodrama, there is all the difference in the world between the statesman who is humbugging the people into allowing him to do the will of God, in whatever disguise it may come to him, and one who is humbugging them into furthering his personal ambition and the commercial interests of the plutocrats who own the newspapers and support him on reciprocal terms.

Max Weber:

Political leadership in the form of the free 'demagogue' who grew from the soil of the city state is of greater concern to us; like the city state, the demagogue is peculiar to the Occident and especially to Mediterranean culture. Furthermore, political leadership in the form of the parliamentary 'party leader' has grown on the soil of the constitutional state, which is also indigenous only to the Occident.

Though this definition emphasizes the use of lying and falsehoods, skilled demagogues often need to use only special emphasis by which an uncritical listener will be led to draw the desired conclusion themselves. Moreover, a demagogue may well believe his or her own arguments (for example, there are good reasons to assume that Adolf Hitler—certainly one of the most successful demagogues in history—sincerely believed his own anti-Jewish diatribes).

[edit] History and examples

The leaders of the Athenian democracy, who were called Demagogues, learned their rhetoric and law from the Sophists. Plato reacted against this reality:

These impractical [political] schemes reflect at once Plato's discontent with the demagogy then prevalent in Athens and in his personal predilection for the aristocratic form of government[2]

In the 19th Century, political reactionaries branded their opponents as demagogues and directed numerous reprisals and censorship against them. Representatives of the German Confederation of German-national and liberal groups were accused of Demagogenverfolgung, subversion, and sedition. After the July Revolution of 1830, the measures against the "demagogic machinations" were renewed, and especially, Fritz Reuter.

A famous usage was by the aging Erich Ludendorff, who was for a time a strong supporter of the early rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. After learning of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, he expressed his disappointment to German President Paul von Hindenburg:[3][4] "By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."

Hitler indeed would become regarded as perhaps the epitome of a demagogue, having successfully risen to power through appeals to the ethnic and nationalistic prejudices and vanities of the German people.

[edit] Famous demagogues

  • Alcibiades: Convinced the people of Athens to attempt to conquer Sicily during the Peloponnesian War, with disastrous results. He led the Athenian assembly to support making him commander by claiming victory would come easily, appealing to Athenian vanity, and appealing to action and courage over deliberation.
  • Cleon: Another leader of Athens, criticized by Thucydides for anti-intellectualism and for such rhetorical devices as accusing his political opponents of having been bribed and appealing to savage desires such as aggression.
  • Charles Coughlin: This American Catholic priest was one of the first to use radio to reach a mass audience in the 1930s. While initially a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, he later became a harsh critic of Roosevelt. Coughlin's themes eventually became increasingly antisemitic and supportive of some of the fascist policies of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
  • Adolf Hitler: Led the Nazi party to power in Germany by appeals to ethnic pride and conspiracy theories that blamed
    Jews for the nation's economic troubles. He instituted government control over the news media, and used his charisma and great oratorical skills to lead Germany into a war aimed at expanding its territory.
  • Joseph McCarthy: U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. A poor orator,[1] he rose to national prominence during the early 1950's by accusing a number of politicians and other individuals of being either communists or communist sympathizers. He presented himself as being above reproach while anyone who questioned or disagreed with him he branded as disloyal to the US government. Ultimately his inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate in 1954 and to fall from popularity.

[edit] See also

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