Today, mobs, messiahs, and manipulators. In this highly charged political season, the people tend to degenerate into mobs, candidates pose as messiahs, and those in factions with powerful interests to protect do their best to manipulate both the mobs and the messiahs. Mobs, messiahs, and manipulators. This is the reality behind the American presidential race, and few people see it for what it is. The manipulators try to portray this election process as democracy in action.

The people exercising the franchise. America casting her sacred right, the ballot. But in practice, we know it is something else again. What is that something? It goes to the heart of the age-old triad of mobs, messiahs, and manipulators.

Have you seen the mobs lately, dear listener? The establishment so hates Donald Trump that it sends out organized hate groups to harass him and his supporters. For example, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a group called ANSWER, which is an acronym for ACT NOW to Stop War and End Racism. And then, of course, there's the old standbys, La Rasa and Black Lives Matter. Remember, these groups use passive-aggressive methods in order to provoke otherwise peaceful supporters of candidates.

And they do this at large, boisterous rallies. Have you seen them? They join arms, for example, and go sweeping through the crowds, knocking people down, looking for someone to respond violently, intentionally doing so. And then, of course, they'll have film of conservatives' reaction, which will be looped on progressive propaganda media. These groups shout obscene and violent slogans.

They try to provoke reactive responses like the one we saw of that ponytailed white male punching out a Black Lives Matter protester at a Trump rally, right? Now, these so-called community groups develop provocative strategies like this in order to make their targets, that is, a man or an organization they wish to isolate and demonize, try to make them look violent and abusive while they appear to be innocent victims. Now, we have observed deliberate stirrings of racial divisiveness, for example, in the Ferguson, Missouri riots back in August of 2014, following the shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson.

Now, Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder accused the Ferguson Police Department of racial discrimination and, quoting from the report, a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct, unquote. This only provided a license to riot in mobs by the locals in Ferguson. Businesses were looted in Ferguson, vandalized, burned, gunshots were fired, bottles thrown, including Molotov cocktails at police. Now, Obama has met with Black Lives Matter leaders coordinating community organization for these kinds of protests. And we have seen a regular procession of riots and mobs and violence ever since.

For example, the shooting of two police officers in St. Louis in March of 2015, the shootings and protests in Baltimore, Maryland, after the death of Freddie Gray in April of 2015, and, of course, the multiple nights of protests and riots by mobs in St. Louis after the shooting death of Von Derritt Myers Jr. in October of 2014. Now, there's no end in sight to our new national pastime, what I call mob ministry. Yes, mob ministry.

It's the new method of self-expression for the United States of America as our constitutional mode of self-expression, that is the individual ballot in a free republic, is increasingly made empty and meaningless in a naked tyranny. You're going to see more of mobs, not less, in days to come, unless this constitutional republic is restored.

We have all observed how the two major political parties, at the behest of powerful banking and corporate interests, which virtually own these political parties, they have desperately tried to forestall the nominations of the people's choices in the parties, that is, Donald Trump for Republicans and Bernie Sanders for Democrats. Never has this arrogant manipulation been so clear for all to see. Mob ministry is actually an ancient, primitive response to the frustration of the popular will.

Steal the land of the people, plunge them into despairing debt, and you get the bread mobs, the grain mobs in Rome under the Gracchi brothers during the period of the Republic in Rome. Repeat essentially the same set of circumstances in France under the monarchy, presided over by a small, elite aristocracy, and you get the bloody French Revolution, with hysterical, hypnotized mobs, which later became known as the Reign of Terror. Yea, even in our own constitutional republic, there have been periods of mob ministry, if you will, when the popular will has been frustrated by the powers that be.

The whiskey rebellion in the period of the Articles of Confederation, leading to the calling of the Constitutional Convention. Oh, there was the anti-draft riots in New York City during the Civil War, when a mandatory military draft was first instituted. And then, of course, there were the anti-war protests and riots by mobs in the 60s, and, of course, the race riots of the same period, especially after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Circumstances are such in this presidential election year that the whole country is seemingly gearing up for mobs and riots and protests this summer at the party conventions, especially the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, since Donald Trump has become such a lightning rod of hatred and frustration for not only the Republican establishment, but also far-left progressive groups. For example, Cleveland's police department is literally gearing up, buying riot gear for their officers, armored vehicles for the streets, special training in crowd control and rules of engagement for a number of weapons, including those of deadly force.

Community organizers across the country are also busy training protesters in the fine art of passive-aggressive provocation. Make no mistake about this, listener. The disciples of Saul Alinsky, author of the Handbook for Progressives, that is, Rules for Radicals. They are alive and well, and they're practicing his methods, Alinsky's methods for achieving social change. They are the social justice warriors, of course.

These are the manipulators in the trenches, the first lieutenants in the army of the establishment. Obama was such an officer, a community organizer in the mold of Saul Alinsky. And now, ironically, Obama commands a master seat of power for progressivism as literally the commander-in-chief. And the respective political parties are too busy plotting how they can minimize the popular rage against them on the one hand and still manipulate the nomination process, getting their candidate on the other hand. Oh, dear listener, we have ahead of us mobs, messiahs, and manipulators this summer.

All of these forces will converge in Cleveland this summer. The potential for mob ministry is great. This is because of the forces that create mobs out of the masses. There are four forces, historically, that create mobs out of the masses of the people. So, number one, of the four forces that create mobs, there is number one, unmet legitimate grievances.

Unmet legitimate grievances. This is what I referred to earlier as the frustration of the popular will. Hunger, privation, tyranny, war, brutal oppression, and threat to private property. These are all classical grievances, which, when gone unredressed, turn masses into mobs. And it's the reason for our First Amendment, too, where the Founding Fathers wisely sought in the First Amendment that we have the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, because when they go unmet, there are mobs.

Secondly, the second force creating mobs from the masses. Number two, unreconcilable polarization. Unreconcilable polarization. When the two sides are either incapable or unwilling to come to terms and compromise, those disadvantaged and those without power turn to their only perceived recourse, which is violence in mob action. The situation is usually one of extreme differences, the only solution for which is the force of arms and or violent protest, violence in mob action by the people.

Third force that creates mobs out of the masses is the appearance of a messiah to transform a mob, the masses into a mob, the appearance of a messiah. The energy and power of the masses is generally unfocused and far too diffuse to be of any consequence. However, one man, a charismatic, gifted, and persuasive man, can take that energy and power of the masses and focus and direct it in a particular direction to make it effective. So, the fourth force, then, that helps to create mobs out of masses, number four, is the presence of manipulators behind the scenes to direct the messiah and the mob.

All too often, men with other agendas than that of the mob and the messiah particularly combine to manipulate those forces for their own ends. This was true in the trial of Jesus. Look at the Sanhedrin or the Russian Revolution, the Maoist-Chinese Revolution, even the mobs of the Vietnam War protests of the 60s in the United States of America. We thought we were protesting the war, but it is now proudly acknowledged by radicals in groups like the SDS, the Students for a Democratic Society, that they were being coached and partially financed by foreign Marxists.

Well, these four forces historians have discerned are present whenever the masses are transformed into mobs, and they are all extant in the United States of America today, presently converging to transform the American masses into mobs in very short order. And you will see this transpire over the course of the summer during the party conventions. There will be pro-Trump rallies and supporters in the streets in Cleveland. There will be anti-Trump mobs and protesters in the streets at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, and they will all do battle with one another and the police.

This may be reprised at the Democratic Convention as well in Philadelphia. The question then becomes, where will you be in the mob, dear listener? Where will you be in the mob? There is no such thing. Remember, O Christian, there is no such thing as a Christian mob.

That's an oxymoron. Have nothing to do with mobs this summer or at any time. If you find yourself, O Christian, in a crowd that's turning into a mob, get out, flee, run. Not only is there no Christian mob qua mob, but the thinking that leads to mob behavior is sinful in and of itself. There is no de-individuation.

We'll be getting into that concept here shortly. But there is no de-individuation. That is, you do not become an un-individual before the living God as you do in a mob. You are responsible for your behavior, and God will hold you responsible for it. There is no anonymity before the omnipresent, omniscient God who made you as there is in mobs, anonymity in mobs.

So pray for the peace of our land in this presidential cycle. May we choose our leaders based upon the policy of magistrates and not the passion of mobs. There is a psychology to mob mentality. Be careful, watchful for it. There is a psychology to the application of mob ministry in America.

Consistent characteristics manifest themselves wherever mobs congregate to burn, kill, and destroy. What is that psychology? Listen closely, dear listener. The primary phenomenon in mob behavior is called de-individuation. Psychologists call it de-individuation.

And this is a situation in which the individual loses his sense of self-awareness. He is less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions, and more likely to lose his sense of individual identity in the identity of the group, the mob. He's part of a group. He is black and with others for whom black lives matter. He is part of a group that knows its history and will make America great again.

He is part of a group, a mob, La Rasa, the race, who for the race will have everything for those outside the race, nothing, as is the motto of La Rasa. Or he may be part of an oppressed, misunderstood gender minority in solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered persons everywhere. So, one person in a large group is moved by this emotional excitement leading to behaviors that he would not engage in if left alone. In mobs, dear listener, being swept up in a large mob leads to a greater likelihood of violence due to two primary characteristics of mobs. There are two primary characteristics of mobs.

Number one, the mob manifests a diffusion of responsibility, a diffusion of responsibility. This is unchristian, dear listener. Individuals in a mob believe they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior when part of a mob, because the violent action is the groups and not their own. It's that old, hey, everyone was doing it syndrome. And secondly, second characteristic of a mob, the mob acts under the cover of physical anonymity.

Number two, the mob acts under the cover of physical anonymity. When people feel their behavior cannot be traced back to them as individuals, they're far more likely to break social norms and engage in violence. This is especially true when a high emotional pitch has been achieved through the manipulation of a messiah-like figure.

So, when the forces that turn masses into mobs converge with the phenomenon of de-individuation, and that includes the diffusion of responsibility and physical anonymity, well, then you will have the magic of violent mobs that we saw in Ferguson, Missouri, that we see now at Trump rallies, and which we will see in Cleveland this summer, guaranteed. Do not underestimate the power of mob mentality to affect you, too, dear listener. You don't have to be out in the streets storming the barricades and ramparts of the police. You don't have to be looting and burning down a local business to be part of a mob.

It is a prior mob mentality that leads to mob behavior. It is mob thinking that comes long before it's linked to mob action. Such prior identifications, as I have detailed for you, set the conditions for participation in the mob when you are finally placed in it, dear listener. Other community street activists and organizers understand this phenomenon very well, even if they can't articulate it, as I have for you at this time.

This is why all across the major cities of America, men and women like Barack Obama are busy training groups of people in mob techniques that will be employed this summer, not only in Cleveland, but wherever opportunity for social change by social justice warriors presents itself, as happened in Ferguson, Missouri. No one knew in June of 2014, for example, that Officer Wilson would shoot Darren Brown, but community organizers and race hustlers wasted no time in portraying it as a racial incident. They converged upon the scene and propagandized the party line into every microphone and camera put in their face.

The forces were already at work and the masses in Ferguson were transformed into mobs in the twinkling of an eye. In this regard, America must also be aware of the role that the Messiah plays in mobs, messiahs, and manipulators. I use messiah here in its figurative term, not literally referring to Jesus Christ, but those who are leaders and deliverers of the social masses. The Messiah figure is the charismatic person who arises to lead and save the group. One who will take them to the promised land.

The one who will make their Black Lives Matter. The one who will make America great again. The one who will bring everything to the race. The one who will mainstream their gender identity. And as I pointed out earlier, the kinetic energy of the masses is only potential until it is ignited and directed towards a goal and a target.

The leader, messiah, does this. He is able to articulate their grievances, to set a clear goal and direction, and tell the group what they must do to get there. And Donald Trump is exhibit A in this regard. He has articulated the grievances of most Americans. Things like there are no borders anymore.

There are no jobs in America anymore. And America is the patsy of the world being pushed around by bullies far inferior to America. Trump has also set a clear goal and direction. That is, make America great again. What an ingenious political and campaign phrase, isn't it?

And Trump is also busy telling us how to get there. For example, we need to build a wall that Mexico will pay for. We need to bring American companies back into the country. And we need to make American interest top priority in a tough, common-sense foreign policy. None of this demands mob activity, however.

And I'm not saying that Trump is provoking and advocating mob behavior. In fact, it's quite the opposite. He's tamping it down whenever it comes up. But the potential is there. And more unscrupulous men have taken advantage of this potential of the masses into a mob, and they have unleashed it in mob action.

Robespierre, for example, actualized the potential energy of the French masses into the mob action of the reign of terror in the French Revolution in 1789 that killed hundreds of thousands of French aristocrats and commoners. V.I. Lenin actualized the potential energy of the Russian masses into the mob action of the Red Terror of the Russian Revolution in 1917. And Mao Zedong actualized the potential energy of Chinese student masses into the mob action of the so-called Cultural Revolution in the 1960s that killed millions of Chinese. Messiahs mobilize masses into mobs.

That's what they do. In America, Daniel Shays mobilized the masses into the mob of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1786 and 1787. In 1831, Nat Turner, an articulate, educated, charismatic slave in Virginia, mobilized the masses of slaves in his region into the mob that swept through the Virginia countryside, killing 13 men, 18 women, and 24 children. And recently, dear listener, Dr. Martin Luther King serves as an example of another closely related phenomenon when we come to Messiahs, another closely related phenomenon, and that is martyrs mobilize the masses into mobs. Martyrs mobilize the masses into mobs.

Dr. King was by any measure an American Messiah figure, was he not? He did not advocate mob action or violence, though, in any way, shape, or form. His tactics were peaceful demonstration and passive civil disobedience. And as a consequence of his charismatic personality, inspiring rhetoric, and fearless leadership, Dr. King became a Messiah figure for his community, yea, the nation. Now, while he could have actualized the potential of mob action in the black community at almost any point in the civil rights movement, Dr. King strenuously dissuaded any move to do so.

But his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 changed all of that, didn't it? Every factor articulated for you was present at that moment in America. There were unmet legitimate grievances in the black community. There was unreconcilable polarization between white and black. There was the appearance of a Messiah figure, that is Dr. King.

And there was also the presence of manipulators behind the scenes to direct the Messiah and the mob. And it was arguable that the assassin, James Earl Ray, did not act alone, but in concert with other conspirators. That is still left unsolved, however. But King's assassination turned him into a martyr for the civil rights movement, and it also sparked what has become known as the race riots of the 1960s. The summer of 1968 became known as the long, hot summer, owing to the waves of riots in the black community that brought death, fire, and chaos to American cities like Watts, Detroit, and the nation's capital.

The case of Dr. King is exhibit A, that martyrs mobilized the masses into mobs. Martyrs mobilized the masses into mobs, even though that was the last thing Dr. King would have wanted. Yet another corollary of the Messiah in principle in mobs, that is, messiahs and manipulators, is that anti-messiahs mobilize the masses into mobs as well. Anti-messiahs mobilize the masses into mobs. The very same person who is perceived to be a messiah by one mass of people capable of being turned into a mob can be perceived to be an anti-messiah by that group's opponents, who perceive that messiah to be a threat to them and their interests.

This is exactly the case materializing before our eyes in reaction to Donald Trump by groups like Black Lives Matter and the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights. As we speak, community organizers from groups such as these are preparing and training their masses to morph into mobs this summer in Cleveland at the Republican National Convention. And if we are not careful, there will be pitch battle in the streets between the supporters of Trump and these radical groups. The masses are preparing to mobilize into mobs. What are we to do then, dear Christian?

How should we respond to the hype, hysteria, and potential chaos inherent in a summer of mobs, messiahs, and manipulators? One of my favorite examples of one who knew precisely how to handle mobs, messiahs, and manipulators is the Apostle Paul from the book of Acts in the New Testament. Paul faced many mobs as he preached the gospel across the Mediterranean basin. For example, in the city of Lystra, in the peninsula of Asia Minor, Paul and Barnabas healed a crippled man in Lystra. When the pagan crowd saw what he had done, they repeatedly shouted, the gods have come down to us in human form.

So enthralled did they become, thinking of Paul and Barnabas in messianic terms, that they were preparing to offer sacrifices of bulls and victory garlands to them. But instead, Paul preached the gospel to them, revealing the true God to them. Even then, Luke tells us in Acts, even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowds from sacrificing to them. Here, indeed, is the Messiah component of the mob being swept away in great emotion over perceived deliverers and saviors. But the fickleness of the mob is also manifest here in Lystra.

The Bible says, then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the mob over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. How quickly the worm turns. Behold the behavior of the mob. As Churchill said of the Germans, one moment they're at your feet, the next moment they are at your throat.

The mob in Lystra is the ministry, in the ministry of Paul, displayed all of the characteristics given you in mobs, dear listener. In the Bible, listener, mobs are never a good thing. The mob wants to rape the male angels in Lot's household in Sodom. The pagan mobs are transported in messianic passion for Zeus and Hermes and Lystra, and then later for the pagan goddess Artemis of the Ephesians when Paul was in Ephesus. The mobs seek to kill Paul in Lystra and Ephesus, and then finally at the temple in Jerusalem.

Oftentimes, Paul barely escapes with his life. Of course, the epitome of mob behavior is in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, provoked and instigated by the Jewish Sanhedrin. These are the manipulators. The mob experiences the de-individuation of which we spoke, as each individual finds himself anonymous, not responsible for behavior as an individual. And of course, they cry repeatedly, crucify him, crucify him.

Friend, there is no such thing as a Christian mob. Have nothing to do with them this summer or at any time. If you find yourself in a crowd that's turning into a mob, get out, flee, run, go the other way. Not only is there no Christian mob, qua mob, but the thinking that leads to mob behavior is sinful in and of itself. There is no de-individuation before the living God.

You are responsible for your behavior, and God will hold you responsible for it. And there is no anonymity before the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God who made you. So, dear listener, pray for the peace of our land in this presidential cycle. May we choose our leaders based upon the policy of magistrates and not the passion of mobs. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

We meet for holy worship at 10 a.m. Sunday at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Call us at 523-0196 for feedback and more information. 523-0196. Don'tcla истор факuralist in rural half. Thank you.

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