Threat Assessment 4

Our primary advantage as non-activists is that we don’t touch anyone’s paycheck. If you don’t threaten the gravy train, you are background noise to most of them. That should surprise no one.

We don’t promote de-funding, boycotting or divestment, much less attacking Modern Israel. We don’t engage the political battles regarding laws and social policies on abortion and gays, nor much of anything else. We don’t talk about destroying or even reforming mainstream churches. For the most part, we’ll attract a little ire for being different, but everyone knows that pulling away vast numbers of their donors is wholly unlikely. In the materialistic Western mind, our lack of interest in money, influence and power makes it hard to justify attacking us. We are aware of the horrible things they could do to us, but aware also that the nature of the battle makes us mostly invisible. To the degree we address ourselves to sensitive issues at all, it is simply a matter of noting the biblical otherworldly view of things.

The real danger is almost purely random, but in that sense, it is hard to imagine. It’s hard enough simply to recognize that this world is entirely deceptive in its very nature, but our modern Western world struggles to make the deception more real. It’s almost as if they bludgeon you for daring to have an independent thought. They aren’t just lying, but demanding forcefully that we echo those lies and act as if they are all true.

But the victims vastly outnumber the psychopaths, so the workload is massive. The competence of their willing servants is variable at the best of times. Nonetheless, should you find yourself in the path of their movements, it is hard to describe the depth of contempt and hatred they hold for us. Nobody wants to believe their fellow humans can be so cruel, but there is a sense in which those who serve governments, officially or in effect, are seriously damaged and operating under a harshly enforced schizophrenia. It is hardly unanimous, but so pervasive that you should be surprised when you discover someone in such service who treats you humanely.

As such, they are part of the sadness of the illusion. Their decency is frequently overwhelmed by the fundamental evil of the system. Our biggest problem is how subtle that evil is. Very few of those in positions of power and authority are consciously evil, but they are committed to something so utterly perverted, yet so utterly common, it hardly matters what they actually think about it.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against demons that use flesh and blood. Resentment against the tools serves no purpose, and hinders our mission. God is able to change the game in our favor at His whim, and often does so in the most unexpected ways.

To recapitulate: As Christian Mystics, we are mostly likely to face resistance on a low level from other religious folks. That resistance will be generally low level and episodic, unless our message brings us to their attention too often. In general terms, our biggest problem is when the Enemy provokes some religious fool to obsess about any of us. No other human threat can match the destructiveness of the crusader. This is our greatest threat, and such will eventually act in ways no different from secular threats.

However, the purely secular threats will be more devastating while more random. Your biggest computer security problem is the random attacks based on attempts to take control of every system for any number of nefarious purposes. Because of the methods used by the likes of NSA, FBI, etc., there is no difference between them and admitted criminal hackers in terms of their attacks. The difference is in their particular aims. For the crooks, control is just a means to profit. Please notice that the distance between lawful business and criminal enterprise is narrowing daily, particularly in terms of seeking control over our computers. The government criminals pretty much have the money they want for their activities, but aim more directly at control for its own sake. In general, the defenses we use are the same for all threats.

I’ve written probably too much about computer security elsewhere, so we won’t discuss that here. Pray and make the most sensible choice in your given context, then pile on as much security as you can bear without hindering your mission. Be savvy as the crooks in your choices.

But then, what really is at risk here? This world doesn’t own us, and we dare not forget that Jesus considered the unconscionable crucifixion as His greatest success. Be wise as a serpent, but don’t expect to change anything yourself. This is God’s show and He is the star.