#justification — Public Fediverse posts

A quotation from Ambrose Bierce

EXPEDIENCY, n. The father of all virtues.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Expediency,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1884-06-07)

More about this quote: wist.info/bierce-ambrose/85383…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ambrosebierce #devilsdictionary #convenience #excuse #expediency #justification #opportunism #pragmatism #rationale #selfinterest #selfjustification #virtue

What Now?: Foreknown, Called, Justified, and Glorified

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i]

Introduction

Last week, Paul moved his readers from the introspection of chapter 7 to the extrospection of chapter 8, Paul exhorted the Roman Christians to understand the symbiotic relationship redeemed humanity has with all of creation yearning for liberation, specifically the liberation that comes with the presence of the glory of God made known in the revelation of the adopted children of God—the ones who are saved by faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit apart from any deeds. Christians, according to Paul, are the ones who understand that they are not the creator; they are the creature and God is the creator. This humble posture of the believer in Christ affirms and confirms that God is trustworthy and truthful (what God says about humanity and God’s self is true!); this is how we are justified because in affirming and confirming God’s trustworthiness and truthfulness, God deems the believer truthful and trustworthy. This then becomes the one who is adopted by God by faith and made one of Christ’s siblings, chosen to represent Christ in the world through truthful and trustworthy words and corresponding deeds. Once again, we were reminded that our salvation isn’t solely from something or someone or someplace, but, more importantly for something and someone and someplace. For Paul and the thrust of Romans, we are saved from ourselves for the wellbeing of our neighbor and creation and to the glory of God.

The last third of chapter 8 reinforces what Paul has been saying. As if he knew we could take what has been said thus far and run with it, thinking it is now up to us to save the world and our neighbor, Paul anchors it all in a subterranean dependence on the divine Spirit of God. From beginning to end, from start to finish, from the highest of heavens to the deepest mantel of the earth, this is all God’s activity—even when we pray and especially when we pray unintelligibly. While this may ruffle our American sensibilities, and specifically Western American sensibilities at that, it is important that we see how much we need God and must throw ourselves on God, on Christ, and on the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. Because, as Paul says at the end of chapter 8, if this is all of God then it is secure…absolutely nothing can undo what God has done in Christ for believers. And while this may sound like a “get-off-the-hook-of-giving-a-heck-about-the-world-and-its-inhabitants” card, it’s not. In being yoked to the One who is on the move, drafted by faith into God’s mission, and called into God’s purpose means that in our liberation from ourselves we, as Christ’s representatives and powered by the Holy Spirit, are free (in very imperfect ways) to help liberate others, to bring love where there is indifference, and to make sure life continues victorious over death.

Romans 8:26-39

Paul begins this portion of his letter by intensifying the believer’s dependence on the Spirit. Paul writes,

Now, in like manner, the Spirit takes hold of our weakness/frailty; for what we must pray for we have not perceived, but this same Spirit intercedes with/in groanings too deep for words. But the one who searches the heart has perceived the prudence of the Spirit because [the Spirit] pleads for the sake of the holy ones according to God (vv26-27).

Not even in our prayers and petitions do we find ourselves operating by our own power. In the words that we utter intelligibly and uttered unintelligibly, the Spirit intercepts and intercedes for us. When we are certain that what we pray for is what we want and even if it feels aligned to God’s will, the Spirit works in our hearts to conform our prayers and our wills to align with God’s own prayers and will.[ii] We may enter the state of prayer one way but we leave another, and that’s because the Spirit is working in us as we pray through the Spirit in the name of Christ to God. In and through prayer, we are changed as the Spirit intercepts us and our words, softening our hearts, informing and forming our minds.[iii] Also, the Spirit intercedes for us to God[iv] when we can only groan in response to the tragedies and terrors of the kingdom of humanity hallmarking the world around us.[v] In times when we cannot pray, the Spirit does so for us, bringing our moans and groans, our gnashed teeth, our collapsed posture into the throne room and pleads for our sake, rendering our inoperable and unintelligible prayers into viable communion with God.[vi] According to Paul, we do not pray alone even when we feel as if we’re the only ones praying. This is why Paul can then say, Now we have perceived that all things work together toward the good for those who love God, the ones who are being called according to purpose (v28).

Paul then moves to speak of God’s foreknowledge about those who have been and are being called—further emphasizing the believer’s dependence on God. Paul writes,

Because God knew beforehand those [who are being called] also foreordained [them] to be conformed to the image of God’s son in order that [Christ] may be the firstborn among many siblings. And those [God] foreordained these ones [God] also called; and those [God] called, these ones [God] justified also; and those [God] justified, these ones [God] glorified also (vv29-30).

Rather than causing hackles to go up, Paul’s point here is to bring comfort to those who believe in Christ, those who have received the Holy Spirit, and those who are trying to do this thing called life while straddling the kingdom of humanity and the reign of God. What matters most here is not who is in and who is out of heaven. Rather, the point is those who are found in Christ by faith are sealed by God[vii]: foreknown, called, justified, and glorified. Believers may be able to boast about a lot of things in the world, but they are forbidden from boasting in their salvation as if it were their own; they didn’t earn it, they didn’t achieve it, they didn’t do it for themselves. Also eliminated is the aspect of chance; for Paul, believers are foreknown, called, justified and glorified intentionally.[viii] Paul here in Romans 8 anchors the very identity and ontology of the Christian in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in God. All of it, from beginning to end, is because of God’s grand and great love for the whole entire cosmos[ix] (ref. Jn 3:16). And in light of this, it makes sense to hold on to the spiritual fact that not only will all things work together toward the good for those who are being called (even when things look really bad[x]) (v28) but also that If God is for these ones, who is against these ones?? [xi] (v31).

Paul’s declaration and proclamation of the gospel rings through the halls of the church in Rome,

God who did not spare God’s only son, but handed him over in defense of all of us, how will God not give freely all things to us with [Christ]? Who will bring to account against the elect of God? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who will give judgment against [the elect of God]? Christ, the one who died, and so much more, the one who was raised, who also is at the right hand of God who also intercedes on behalf of us! (vv32-34).

As elsewhere in the Second Testament epistles by Paul, Paul works himself up in a ripe gospel moment resulting in fervent proclamation as he recalls for the Romans the good word of God in Christ! And he brings the conversation full circle, linking the work of the Spirit and Christ together through active intercession on behalf of the ones who pray intelligibly and unintelligibly. Humanity is fully represented in the throne room of God as our prayers mingled with divine intercession and intervention fill up bronze bowls pleading that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

And if that wasn’t enough, Paul weaves in the divine love of God for the cosmos, humanity, and the elect. This very God, who flung the stars and the great and lesser lights into the sky is for them. This God who did not spare God’s only Son is for them. [xii] This one who is the judge of judges, the king of kings, the priest of priests is for them.[xiii] Thus, these ones can cast their entire selves onto this God not in the sense of giving up but in the sense that behind them stands this one who cannot be defeated by anything and who will not forsake them. God’s love, according to Paul, binds and entwines, grafts and drafts, grows together with and through the beloved of God—those who are called, hear their name, and follow Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That God loves humanity first is the catalyst for our love of God, the type of love that is born from within seeking the glory of the beloved. Nothing, says Paul in the remaining verses, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will ever be able to separate you from God and God’s love in Christ made known by the power of the Holy Spirit (vv35-39).

Conclusion

So, why proclaim such good news to us? What do we do with this very good news? What now? Well, we treasure it, let our weary and skeptical minds bath in it, our broken hearts heal in it, and our fatigued and exhausted bodies rest in it. We should let it wash over us, soak us down to the marrow, and let it begin to take root in our souls so that it can begin to form and inform, mold and sculpt our identity and action to conform to God’s reign, as those who are foreknown, called, justified, and glorified by God. We, through our hearing of the proclamation of Christ and our solicited believing in the Christ Jesus, this man who is God, we are created anew to become the representatives of God in a world that has either all too quickly forgotten this magnificent, unconditional, always and forever love of God or has given up hope that anything could ever be different, that there is only indifference, death, and captivity, that all is lost. As the adopted children of God, the “holy ones,” the saints, we are to bring the light of the word of truth to illuminate the darkness of falsehood and expose it, we are to use the keys of the reign of God to liberate anyone who is caught in captivity by the biased policing of the kingdom of humanity, and we are to use our voices and bodies against the authorities, and the principalities of darkness ruling this decrepit world to push back death in the name of life. We are called to live and spread grace, overhauling the power of sin and death one person at a time.[xiv] We are called to love because we were first loved.

[i] LW 54:157-158; Table Talk 1590.

[ii] LW 25:365 “For unless the Spirit is helping, it would be impossible for us to bear this action of God by which He hears us and accomplishes what we pray for.”

[iii] LW 25:367 “…so God comes upon our feeling and thinking, seeing what it is praying for, what it is suitable for, and what it desires; then heeding the request He begins to mold the form which suits His art and His counsel. Then of necessity the form and model of our thinking is destroyed.”

[iv] Lancaster, Romans, 148. “Because the Spirit groans with us and intercedes for us, God knows our longing even when we are unable to articulate it.”

[v] Sarah Heaner Lancaster, Romans, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2015), 148. “Living in and for a new reality and way of doing things puts us at odds with the way things are done now, so we do not rise in social standing or have the usual kinds of influence. Even in such weakness, we are empowered by the Spirit. To persevere in allegiance to God when something else constantly calls for our allegiance takes prayer. Because we stand between times, hoping for things not yet seen we do not see properly how to pray, so the Spirit works with us to assist us in prayer.”

[vi] Lancaster, Romans, 148. “So inevitably our prayers are expressed in words and concepts that fall short of divine understanding. But the Spirit sees beyond our articulation to the prayer that lies beneath our utterance, and it makes our thoughts and words into real communion with God.”

[vii] Lancaster, Romans, 150. “The emphasis on calling and predestination is a way of affirming God’s initiative in salvation. Those who are called, foreknown, and predestined will be conformed to the image of the Son, so the Son Jesus Christ will be the firstborn among a large family of adopted children (8:29). When God decides to save (predestines), Go calls. Those who are called are also justified and glorified (8:30). What God begins, God also completes. God initiates salvation as well as carries it out to its fulfillment.”

[viii] LW 25:371 “For if it were not the purpose of God, and if our salvation depended upon our will and works, it would depend upon chance…he is showing that the elect are not saved by chance but by necessity.”

[ix] Lancaster, Romans, 150. “The theologically important meaning of predestination in this letter is about God’s initiative in our salvation, about God’s faithfulness in fulfilling God’s purpose for us to be saved, and about how both these affirmations remove all grounds for human boasting in what we have done for ourselves.”

[x] Lancaster, Romans, 149. “For those who ‘love God,’ all things work together for good. Even though the subject of the sentence is ambiguous (is it God, the Spirit, or the things themselves that are bringing this about?), the affirmation is not in doubt. Because we know and love God, we may be confident that good will come even out of the suffering that is now endured.”

[xi] Lancaster, Romans, 153. “The only rightful judge on that day is God; so if God is for us, no one could oppose us.”

[xii] Lancaster, Romans, 153. “Jesus Christ himself, who took on weakness and died a shameful death to glorify weak people, who was raised and with whom we also will be raised, and who has a place of honor with God, now intercedes for us. How could anything possibly sperate us from such a love?”

[xiii] Lancaster, Romans, 153. “Neither sufferings in history nor cosmic powers nor anything else will succeed in separating us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

[xiv] Lancaster, Romans, 149. Those who love God are called according… “This description sets our love for God in the context of what God is doing, so love for God is neither merely emotional nor does it arise apart from God’s own work. Paul addressed the recipients of this letter in 1:7 as ‘God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints.’ Recalling this opening address shows us that we love God because we are beloved, that is because God first loved us; and because we are loved, we are called to be saints, that is, called to be holy or set apart as God’s …Being set apart for God means living in the dominion of grace—loyal to God rather than to sin.”

Doubts are growing regarding the justification for the proposed reform of the Federal Freedom of Information Act (IFG). Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius re... https://news.osna.fm/?p=55335 | #news #amid #government #ifg #justification

Doubts are growing regarding the justification for the proposed reform of the Federal Freedom of Information Act (IFG). Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius re... https://news.osna.fm/?p=55335 | #news #amid #government #ifg #justification

Complementary Justice: Effects of "Poor But Happy" and "Poor But Honest" Stereotype Exemplars on System #Justification and Implicit Activation of the Justice Motive
#religion
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/complementary-justice-effects-poor-happy-poor-honest-stereotype

Complementary Justice: Effects of "Poor But Happy" and "Poor But Honest" Stereotype Exemplars on System #Justification and Implicit Activation of the Justice Motive
#religion
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/complementary-justice-effects-poor-happy-poor-honest-stereotype

Regina Christiansen analyses outcome-driven moral justification in Philosophical Psychology's open access article, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515089.2026.2681783#abstract

"Under emotional and normative pressure, moral reasoning can reorganize itself in ways that are internally coherent yet ethically shallow... In this way, favorable outcomes confer apparent moral legitimacy, stabilizing agent's moral self-understanding without fully engaging the underlying ethical tensions... Outcome-driven justification can produce the appearance of moral coherence, offering reasssurance, yet it risks bypassing the reflection necessary for deeper ethical understanding."

#ethics #reasoning #moral #philosophy #psychology #epistemology #moraali #paattely #justification #oikeutus #perustelu

Regina Christiansen analyses outcome-driven moral justification in Philosophical Psychology's open access article, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515089.2026.2681783#abstract

"Under emotional and normative pressure, moral reasoning can reorganize itself in ways that are internally coherent yet ethically shallow... In this way, favorable outcomes confer apparent moral legitimacy, stabilizing agent's moral self-understanding without fully engaging the underlying ethical tensions... Outcome-driven justification can produce the appearance of moral coherence, offering reasssurance, yet it risks bypassing the reflection necessary for deeper ethical understanding."

#ethics #reasoning #moral #philosophy #psychology #epistemology #moraali #paattely #justification #oikeutus #perustelu

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new; nor can it keep people persuaded once they have ceased to believe. It penetrates only into minds already open, and rather than instill opinion it articulates and justifies opinions already present in the minds of its recipients. The gifted propagandist brings to a boil ideas and passions already simmering in the minds of his hearers. he echoes their innermost feelings. Where opinion is not coerced, people can be made to believe only in what they already “know.”

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 83 (3.14.83) (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/11263/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #agitprop #belief #confirmation #confirmationbias #conviction #disinformation #fear #ideas #justification #opinion #passion #predisposition #prejudice #propaganda #reinforcement #truebeliever

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new; nor can it keep people persuaded once they have ceased to believe. It penetrates only into minds already open, and rather than instill opinion it articulates and justifies opinions already present in the minds of its recipients. The gifted propagandist brings to a boil ideas and passions already simmering in the minds of his hearers. he echoes their innermost feelings. Where opinion is not coerced, people can be made to believe only in what they already “know.”

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 83 (3.14.83) (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/11263/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #agitprop #belief #confirmation #confirmationbias #conviction #disinformation #fear #ideas #justification #opinion #passion #predisposition #prejudice #propaganda #reinforcement #truebeliever

In this second of two essays, I discuss the immorality of property, even deeper than the first post yesterday.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/before-the-fence-the-self

#philosophy #language #ontology #criticaltheory #blog #podcast #property #rights #privateproperty #propertyrights #justification #metaphysics #consciousness #phenomenology #ethics #philosophyofmind #identity #personalidentity #apples #essay #substack

In this second of two essays, I discuss the immorality of property, even deeper than the first post yesterday.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/before-the-fence-the-self

#philosophy #language #ontology #criticaltheory #blog #podcast #property #rights #privateproperty #propertyrights #justification #metaphysics #consciousness #phenomenology #ethics #philosophyofmind #identity #personalidentity #apples #essay #substack

A quotation from Hannah Arendt

Caution in handling generally accepted opinions that claim to explain whole trends of history is especially important for the historian of modern times, because the last century has produced an abundance of ideologies that pretend to be keys to history but are actually nothing but desperate efforts to escape responsibility.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 1, ch. 1 “Antisemitism as an Outrage to Common Sense” (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/46497/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arendt #hannaharendt #excuse #explanation #historiography #history #ideology #justification #responsibility #theory #bias

A quotation from Hannah Arendt

Caution in handling generally accepted opinions that claim to explain whole trends of history is especially important for the historian of modern times, because the last century has produced an abundance of ideologies that pretend to be keys to history but are actually nothing but desperate efforts to escape responsibility.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 1, ch. 1 “Antisemitism as an Outrage to Common Sense” (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/46497/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arendt #hannaharendt #excuse #explanation #historiography #history #ideology #justification #responsibility #theory #bias

A quotation from Orwell

History is thought of largely in nationalist terms, and such things as the Inquisition, the tortures of the Star Chamber, the exploits of the English buccaneers (Sir Francis Drake, for instance, who was given to sinking Spanish prisoners alive), the Reign of Terror, the heroes of the Mutiny blowing hundreds of Indians from the guns, or Cromwell’s soldiers slashing Irishwomen’s faces with razors, become morally neutral or even meritorious when it is felt that they were done in the “right” cause. If one looks back over the past quarter of a century, one finds that there was hardly a single year when atrocity stories were not being reported from some part of the world; and yet in not one single case were these atrocities — in Spain, Russia, China, Hungary, Mexico, Amritsar, Smyrna — believed in and disapproved of by the English intelligentsia as a whole. Whether such deeds were reprehensible, or even whether they happened, was always decided according to political predilection.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/46140/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #atrocity #cause #condemnation #endsandmeans #history #justification #nationalism #ourside #partisanship #politics #takingsides #tribalism #truthiness #usvsthem #warcrime

A quotation from Orwell

History is thought of largely in nationalist terms, and such things as the Inquisition, the tortures of the Star Chamber, the exploits of the English buccaneers (Sir Francis Drake, for instance, who was given to sinking Spanish prisoners alive), the Reign of Terror, the heroes of the Mutiny blowing hundreds of Indians from the guns, or Cromwell’s soldiers slashing Irishwomen’s faces with razors, become morally neutral or even meritorious when it is felt that they were done in the “right” cause. If one looks back over the past quarter of a century, one finds that there was hardly a single year when atrocity stories were not being reported from some part of the world; and yet in not one single case were these atrocities — in Spain, Russia, China, Hungary, Mexico, Amritsar, Smyrna — believed in and disapproved of by the English intelligentsia as a whole. Whether such deeds were reprehensible, or even whether they happened, was always decided according to political predilection.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/46140/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #atrocity #cause #condemnation #endsandmeans #history #justification #nationalism #ourside #partisanship #politics #takingsides #tribalism #truthiness #usvsthem #warcrime

A quotation from Lincoln

   If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B. — why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?
   You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.
   You do not mean color exactly? — You mean the whites are intellectually the superior of blacks, and, therefore, have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.
   But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest, you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Note (1854-07-01?), On Slavery (fragment)

More about this quote: wist.info/lincoln-abraham/5166…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #lincoln #abrahamlincoln #debate #enslavement #justification #racism #rationalization #reasoning #slavery #superiority

@molybdomantic I got rejected for a job once due to "###JUSTIFICATION###". I felt so special, 😄 .

A quotation from George Orwell

All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage — torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians — which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/17246/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #hypocrisy #justification #moralrelativism #motivation #nationalism #ourside #perspective #relativism #selfrighteousness #side #tribalism #tribe #usvsthem

A quotation from George Orwell

All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage — torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians — which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/17246/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #hypocrisy #justification #moralrelativism #motivation #nationalism #ourside #perspective #relativism #selfrighteousness #side #tribalism #tribe #usvsthem

We do well to strive toward holiness while always remaining humbly dependent upon God in Christ through the Spirit for our #cleansing and #justification.

We do well to strive toward holiness while always remaining humbly dependent upon God in Christ through the Spirit for our #cleansing and #justification.

Australia is sending weapons to the Gulf
Not in my name >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/mar/10/australia-sending-weapons-gulf-war-full-story-podcast
#war #NotInMyName #Crusades #violence #justification

Australia is sending weapons to the Gulf
Not in my name >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/mar/10/australia-sending-weapons-gulf-war-full-story-podcast
#war #NotInMyName #Crusades #violence #justification

Operation Epic Fury - How Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are selling the Iran war to Americans

"We see the secretary of defense constantly putting [the war] in the framework, the narrative, of a big video game...We're blowing up a lot of stuff, we're killing a lot of people' … it's so distasteful to me...I think there probably is a good reason for why we are doing this, but we're certainly not hearing it from the administration." Professor VanLandingham >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-09/trump-hegseth-white-house-frame-iran-middle-east-war-as-a-game/106427790

„Crusades“ and the “Secretary of War” - The man in charge of the world’s most powerful military. "‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war" >>
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/08/pete-hegseth-pentagon-trump-iran
#war #hyperreality #media #movies #VideoGames #reality #DesertOfTheReal #spectacles #narratives #crusades #crusader #iconography #extremism #rhetoric #military #justification #GodWillsIt

Operation Epic Fury - How Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are selling the Iran war to Americans

"We see the secretary of defense constantly putting [the war] in the framework, the narrative, of a big video game...We're blowing up a lot of stuff, we're killing a lot of people' … it's so distasteful to me...I think there probably is a good reason for why we are doing this, but we're certainly not hearing it from the administration." Professor VanLandingham >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-09/trump-hegseth-white-house-frame-iran-middle-east-war-as-a-game/106427790

„Crusades“ and the “Secretary of War” - The man in charge of the world’s most powerful military. "‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war" >>
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/08/pete-hegseth-pentagon-trump-iran
#war #hyperreality #media #movies #VideoGames #reality #DesertOfTheReal #spectacles #narratives #crusades #crusader #iconography #extremism #rhetoric #military #justification #GodWillsIt

Schiff Denounces Obama's Libya Justification When He Thinks It's Trump's Iran Justification

https://misryoum.com/us/today/schiff-denounces-obamas-libya-justification-when-he-thinks/

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) denounced as “Totally vague” a statement that he thought was the rationale used by the Trump administration to justify force in Iran when it was actually the statement...

#Schiff #Denounces #Obamas #Libya #Justification #When #Thinks #Its #Trumps #Iran #Justification #US_News_Hub #misryoum_com

Schiff Denounces Obama's Libya Justification When He Thinks It's Trump's Iran Justification

https://misryoum.com/us/today/schiff-denounces-obamas-libya-justification-when-he-thinks/

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) denounced as “Totally vague” a statement that he thought was the rationale used by the Trump administration to justify force in Iran when it was actually the statement...

#Schiff #Denounces #Obamas #Libya #Justification #When #Thinks #Its #Trumps #Iran #Justification #US_News_Hub #misryoum_com

A quotation from Ben Franklin

It’s common for Men to give 6 pretended Reasons instead of one real one.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1745 ed.)

More about this quote: wist.info/franklin-benjamin/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #benfranklin #benjaminfranklin #poorrichard #poorrichardsalamanac #dishonesty #dissembling #excuse #explanation #justification #lying #pretending #pretense #reason #makingexcuses

Democrats question Trump administration's justification of Iran war

https://misryoum.com/us/us/democrats-question-trump-administrations-justification-of-iran-war/

At his first public event on Monday since the start of the Iran war, President Trump said the war will continue until Iran's missile capabilities, nuclear ambitions and navy are all destroyed. He justified the attacks' timing, citing Iran's...

#Democrats #question #Trump #administrations #justification #Iran #war #US_News_Hub #misryoum_com

Do you remember how the US made a special 3D #presentation for the #Iraq #War to show that Iraq had #weapons of mass destruction?

#Trump doesn't bother with all that #work and just starts #bombing away.

#usa #news #history #politics #military #pentagon #warfare #problem #ethics #humanrights #president #whitehouse #government #justification #Iran #Israel #middleeast #womd #future #bomb

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/01/trump-and-netanyahus-attack-on-iran-is-an-act-of-aggression. "Donald Trump’s & Benjamin Netanyahu’s #military #attack on #Iran is an #illegal act of #aggression. There is no lawful #justification for it. It is no different from #Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of #Ukraine or #Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of #Congo."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/01/trump-and-netanyahus-attack-on-iran-is-an-act-of-aggression. "Donald Trump’s & Benjamin Netanyahu’s #military #attack on #Iran is an #illegal act of #aggression. There is no lawful #justification for it. It is no different from #Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of #Ukraine or #Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of #Congo."

A quotation from William O. Douglas

Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order, to efficiency of operations, to scientific advancement, and the like.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American jurist, US Supreme Court justice (1939–75)
Points of Rebellion, ch. 1 “How America Views Dissent” (1969)

More about this quote: wist.info/douglas-william-o/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #williamodouglas #BigBrother #efficiency #government #justification #lawandorder #nationalsecurity #privacy #privatesector #profit #publicsector #surveillancestate

A quotation from William O. Douglas

Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order, to efficiency of operations, to scientific advancement, and the like.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American jurist, US Supreme Court justice (1939–75)
Points of Rebellion, ch. 1 “How America Views Dissent” (1969)

More about this quote: wist.info/douglas-william-o/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #williamodouglas #BigBrother #efficiency #government #justification #lawandorder #nationalsecurity #privacy #privatesector #profit #publicsector #surveillancestate

A quotation from Bastiat

At least let no one argue that, because an abuse cannot be suppressed without injuring those who profit from it, the fact that it has existed for a time gives it the right to last forever.
 
[À moins qu’on ne prétende que, parce qu’un abus ne peut être détruit sans froisser ceux qui en profitent, il suffit qu’il existe un moment pour qu’il doive durer toujours.]

Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) French philosopher, economist, politician
Economic Sophisms [Sophismes Économiques], 1st Series, ch. 20 “Human Labor, National Labor [Travail Humain, Travail National]” (1845) [tr. Goddard (1964)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/bastiat-frederic/824…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bastiat #abuse #correction #exploitation #harm #justice #justification #precedent #problem #profit #profitability #profiteering #solution #wrong

🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥*THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!*& ALWAYS WILL BE A LIAR!*& EVIL TRUMP (AN ANTICHRIST) IS A LIAR!*& WILL ALWAYS BE A LIAR!🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥

#EVIL #Trump #Liar #Justification #Takes #A #Long #Time #To #Try #To #Convince #People #Union #Address #Bull

🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥*THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!*& ALWAYS WILL BE A LIAR!*& EVIL TRUMP (AN ANTICHRIST) IS A LIAR!*& WILL ALWAYS BE A LIAR!🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥

#EVIL #Trump #Liar #Justification #Takes #A #Long #Time #To #Try #To #Convince #People #Union #Address #Bull

🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥*THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!*& ALWAYS WILL BE A LIAR!*& EVIL TRUMP (AN ANTICHRIST) IS A LIAR!*& WILL ALWAYS BE A LIAR!🤥☝🏿☝️☝🏻🤥

#EVIL #Trump #Liar #Justification #Takes #A #Long #Time #To #Try #To #Convince #People #Union #Address #Bull

A quotation from Salman Rushdie

From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable.

Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) Indian novelist
The Satanic Verses, Part 2 “Mahound” (1988)

More about this quote: wist.info/rushdie-salman/82033…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #salmanrushdie #satanicverses #blame #excuse #God #holywar #humanity #justification #religion #selfrighteousness #zealotry

A quotation from Wendell Berry

Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in “justice” or in affirmation of “rights” or in defense of “peace” do not end violence. They prepare and justify its continuation.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1999), “The Failure of War,” Citizenship Papers (2003)

More about this quote: wist.info/berry-wendell/81928/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #wendellberry #cycleofviolence #excuse #justification #violence

A quotation from Wendell Berry

Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in “justice” or in affirmation of “rights” or in defense of “peace” do not end violence. They prepare and justify its continuation.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1999), “The Failure of War,” Citizenship Papers (2003)

More about this quote: wist.info/berry-wendell/81928/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #wendellberry #cycleofviolence #excuse #justification #violence

Property is Violence: My continuing dialogue with Claude on the Two Valleys parable.

🏠 https://philosophics.blog/2026/02/06/comrade-claude-3-state-violence/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #power #property #rights #violence #markets #justification #redistribution #instability #challenge #politics #history #blog #podcast

Property is Violence: My continuing dialogue with Claude on the Two Valleys parable.

🏠 https://philosophics.blog/2026/02/06/comrade-claude-3-state-violence/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #power #property #rights #violence #markets #justification #redistribution #instability #challenge #politics #history #blog #podcast

A quotation from Euripides

MEDEA: I think the unjust man who can speak cleverly
   incurs the greatest penalty for, feeling confident
   to cloak injustice in fair speech,
   he dares the utmost villainy.
 
[ΜΉΔΕΙΑ: ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὅστις ἄδικος ὢν σοφὸς λέγειν
   πέφυκε, πλείστην ζημίαν ὀφλισκάνει:
   γλώσσῃ γὰρ αὐχῶν τἄδικ᾽ εὖ περιστελεῖν
   τολμᾷ πανουργεῖν.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 580ff (431 BC) [tr. Ewans (2022)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/81800/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #argument #boldness #coverup #debate #deceit #deception #dishonesty #eloquence #emboldening #evil #evildoer #fasttalker #glibness #injustice #justification #knavery #persuasion #silvertongue #smoothtalker #talkaway #wrongdoer

A quotation from Euripides

MEDEA: I think the unjust man who can speak cleverly
   incurs the greatest penalty for, feeling confident
   to cloak injustice in fair speech,
   he dares the utmost villainy.
 
[ΜΉΔΕΙΑ: ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὅστις ἄδικος ὢν σοφὸς λέγειν
   πέφυκε, πλείστην ζημίαν ὀφλισκάνει:
   γλώσσῃ γὰρ αὐχῶν τἄδικ᾽ εὖ περιστελεῖν
   τολμᾷ πανουργεῖν.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 580ff (431 BC) [tr. Ewans (2022)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/81800/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #argument #boldness #coverup #debate #deceit #deception #dishonesty #eloquence #emboldening #evil #evildoer #fasttalker #glibness #injustice #justification #knavery #persuasion #silvertongue #smoothtalker #talkaway #wrongdoer