Greetings from totalitarian Germany

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Mission21

Pathfinder
Mar 12, 2019
913
805
93
#21
Welcome CC.
---
'Totalitarian Germany'
- Interesting perspective.
It is becoming.. another Nazi Germany?
- Many historians view that Germany under Hitler was
'Totalitarian State'..
---
You said,
"..I am a kind of Quaker."
- Some Quakers believe in 'spiritual gifts'...mentioned in New Testament.
I had an interesting conversation/discussion with a few Quakers..
some years ago.

Blessings,
 
Feb 19, 2021
17
11
3
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Germany
#22
Hello Mission21, many thanks for your post.

'Totalitarian Germany'
- Interesting perspective.
It is becoming.. another Nazi Germany?
- Many historians view that Germany under Hitler was
'Totalitarian State'..
I would define "totalitarian" as: a state in which there is a divide between on the one side the government bureaucracy and on the other side the people, AND where the government and its bureaucracy are intentionally and by design keeping the people subjected to them. I.e. a totalitarian state works on the model of a slave system; in the eyes of the government bureaucracy, the people (outside of the government bureaucracy) are not worth as much as those in government.

My model example for a totalitarian state is Egypt under the Pharaos, and the ancient Mesopotamian states (like Uruk). The king was God, totally above his subjects.

In the past year months in Germany, Germany has in my view crossed the threshold, and changed from a "democratic state" into a "totalitarian state". And it has done this by misuse of the Corona scare. Specifically, on November 18th 2020, the German federal government has passed the law called the "Drittes Gesetz zum Schutz der Bevölkerung bei einer epidemischen Lage von nationaler Tragweite" (Third Corona-Law) https://www.buzer.de/s1.htm?g=Dritt...pidemischen+Lage+von+nationaler+Tragweite&f=1 , also called the "Infektionsschutzgesetz" (Infection Safety Law), which has (in my view) drastically curtailed basic civil rights from the German constitution. The most important points are this law allows authorities (federal government and local authorities) to violate the right of freedom of assembly, and the right of "Inviolability of the home".

The effect of the first point is that assembly of more than five people is now forbidden everywhere (even in the small town where I live, which is one of the least Corona-affected parts of Germany), unless you first register your meeting with the authorities, after which the police, even when there are only 6 people meeting, will then show up with TWO police officers at your meeting, and will enforce that everyone wears their mask, and that the person who registered the meeting passes around a form in which every attendant enter their name and contact details, and that people keep a distance of 1.5 meters from each other.

The effect of the second point is that authorities are now by law allowed to enter a person's home without warrant, on the mere SUSPICION that you MIGHT be infected, and that the authorities are then allowed to view and make copies of EVERY document in your possession. And it is not possible to refuse the authorities to enter your home, it is only possible to fight the thing AFTERWARD, after it has already taken place.

I have to admit that I personally have not yet seen the second measure actually being enacted. But the first measure (the assembly thing) I have, it is in my view ridiculous. Church services are falling under the same regulation. I am not a church-goer and do not know the details personally, but in the internet am seeing reports saying that going to a church service should now be allowed only when you register beforehand (where?) and even that SINGING(!!) should now be disallowed in church (https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/gottesdienste-corona-101.html).

And another thing that you see happening everywhere in Germany is that all of a sudden since about 4 months now, the POLICE is being used in public to enforce the Corona rules (mask wearing, distance) in a way that, in my view, has overstepped into the area of terrorizing the population. There are police in public places everywhere, keeping a look out for mask violations, and they are acting in a heartless way. I've seen a group of 5-6 black-clad police in riot gear accost an old lady in a train station because (allegedly) she didn't follow the mask rules strictly enough. Via rumour (an aquaintaince with an acquaintance working for the police) I heard that police authorities are *instructing* their officers to act in that severe way. As a civilian who has always respected the police as the defenders of public order, I now view them as an instrument that is (it seems to me) being misused by the government for the purpose of instilling fear in the population.

Another thing in Germany is that since about 4-5 months now, EVERY SINGLE restaurant, diner, pub has been totally closed by the government. They have entirely closed down that part of economy. So as a result, people now can only meet in small groups, and either at home or in the open air.

So the thing that is, in my view, happening here is that the FEAR of Corona, as propagated by the mass media, has been misused by the government to put in laws that curtail civil rights (and that repress social life). In my view, the main culprit here is however the PEOPLE, namely the German people are so ridiculously cowardly and law-abiding. It seems they dumbly carry out every stupid law that any authority enacts, regardless of whether the law is sensible and regardless of any pain the law brings them. There is (in my view) almost no spirit whatsoever of rebelliousness.

There do exist small protests, but they are very lukewarm, and the people participating in them are a small minority of the population, I would estimate 5% or less. I've been on the streets in the small town where I live trying to interest people for meetings critical of these laws, and the response I got was that roughly 20% agrees with me, that roughly 40% have no opinion and do not care, and that roughly 40% actually blame me for being irresponsible in pushing for and advertising these meetings (irresponsible because they totally buy into the mass media message that Corona is a total emergeny situation, even though the data says that the number of deaths from Corona are no larger than any normal influenza wave). (But note the majority of these 20% who agree with me cowardly stay at home and never engage in any kind of protest.)

I currently live in the formerly communist, eastern, part of Germany (near Leipzig). Older people who have lived here under the communists tell me that they feel that the situation now is actually worse than under the communists, namely that right now the depth of indoctrination under the population is deeper than under the communists.

A pensioner neighbor says to me that Hermann Göring (of the Nazis in 1933-1945) has said in the Nuremberg Trials that the only thing he had needed to keep populations suppressed was FEAR. I think the same thing is happening right now, in Western Europe as a whole.

With regard specifically to your question about Nazis: It's slighly more subtle than that. The same thing is happening all over Western Europe; that is governments seem to be doing (or attempting) the same everywhere in Western Europe. The problem is in my view especially bad in Germany because the population in Germany is by nature so cowardly, so much on the side of valuing safety above freedom. (My analysis is that all the courageous and freedom-loving Germans probably have already left for the US a long time ago.) And the new totalitarianism is not the old Nazi ideology, but is the new "neo-marxist" ideology (the one that relativizes good and evil, the one that propagates the idiotic new gender nonsense, the one that believes in global warming or climate change and all these new hypes, the one that condones the antifa movement). One characteristic of this ideology is that it *demonizes* all critics: discussion is not welcomed, but instead divergent opinions are treated as "sin", and people not touting the line are viewed as less than human (exactly as under the communists in Russia). The mass media in Western Europe are constantly spouting vitriol against Poland and Hungary (whose governments are to some extent resisting those neo-marxist hypes), and have been doing exactly the same against Trump and his movement. I'm not very familiar with US politics, but I would tend to classify Biden as sitting in the same camp as those neo-marxist / leftist politicians who are now in power in Western Europe and who are right now enacting those over-the-top regulations (which are allegedly to "protect" the population from the "Corona emergency").

---
So how is the situation in your part of the world with respect to government rules enacted on the pretext of Corona? How stringent are these rules, how much do they curtail basic civil rights? How are these rules enforced? How does the population react to these rules? Are church services still allowed, and is it still allowed for a person to visit a church service without RSVPing beforehand? Are restaurants and diners still open?

With best Greetings and may the Spirit and the Light be with you.
 

Mission21

Pathfinder
Mar 12, 2019
913
805
93
#23
I have a friend from Germany.
- He told me about 'lockdown' rules in Germany.. Covid 19.
We have been discussing...issues on 'lockdown, restrictions, etc..'
- In Germany & United States.
------
It seems that you have interest/focus on 'totalitarian state'..
Maybe you can start 'new thread' on that topic.
- You might get more comments/posts.

Blessings,
 

TimothyGirl

Active member
Jul 19, 2019
187
152
43
#24
You know, Josh, reading some of what you have written, it made me appreciate that we were raised in totally different worlds. I'm not writing this to argue or make a point. I hate debates. I'm writing this because I feel convicted to share my story. So please don't read it defensively, but receive the heart and the sincerity that it was written in...

I grew up in a broken land where if you didn’t put your faith in God, you perished. He is as real to me as the air that I breathe. I cannot deny His existence. But you see, that’s what the Word says, doesn’t it? (that’s a rhetorical question I guess!!)

“God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith.”

We all need God. But some of us have no “need” in the natural to have to draw on Him.

When I was younger, I struggled with my upbringing (I thank the Lord for it now). There were times that the cupboard was empty. There were times that I had personal needs and there was no money. Not because my parents were lousy providers, but because we lived in a volatile and unstable economy. I’m not talking about daily inflation – I’m talking about hourly inflation. It was ONLY God who sustained us in that time. We saw miracles of provision on a daily basis. We learned to pray. We learned to trust. And we learned that God is a Father who loves us.

I can remember as a child, counting up the debt we had as a family to clear all the bills at that time: $50,000. (Converted to USD at that time - $5,000). I prayed and prayed because there was no other way. Salaries were paid in the local currency and it amounted to less than USD$200 a month. It was a joke! We literally walked around with wheelbarrows full of (useless) money to buy just a packet or two of groceries. Survival in itself was a miracle. Do I mention powercuts, water shortages and petrol queues that were so long you had to sleep in them, wondering if you would even get served...

Back to our family debts. This was the beginning of my faith walk and I was taught to WRITE IT DOWN. So, in child-like faith, I did. I prayed, I trusted, and I waited. A month later, to the day, a family friend came to visit. They were leaving the country. They had sold all their possessions and they said they heard the Lord tell them to give the money to my parents… do you know the total amount? $50,000 exactly. Do I believe in God? Oh, absolutely!!

Do I take the Bible literally? You bet! Do I believe that Jesus is the Son of God? How can I deny it?

My life testifies to His existence…

I appreciate that you believe that there is “good” inside each of us and that is the Light that connects us… but you know what? I have seen what comes out of my heart: the anger, the hatred, the lust, the bitterness… I’m in agreement with the Apostle Paul, that in me, no good thing dwells.

I don’t say that lightly or for effect. To my shame, I grew up rather self-righteous. I was a religious zealot and I had a fear of disappointing God. I aspired to “perfection” and in my heart I told myself that “no one is perfect, but I’ve come pretty close!”

Oh, I believed I was a good person – I really did! But then life happened. My squeaky-clean shoes became muddied, and soon enough my iniquities tripped me up. I found that it came out of me despite my best efforts to hide it – rebellion, unforgiveness, hatred, anger… the list continues. Like a good hypocrite – I mean Christian – I tried to hide it through what I thought was good works. But I lived with guilt and incredible shame. According to the law, the outside of my cup was squeaky clean… you couldn’t fault my morals. But I knew what was lurking on the inside.

I’ve been a Christian my entire life; I can remember asking Jesus into my heart when I was just two years old. But it was only in my 20s that I truly got saved. The Lord, by His grace, pushed me into a position where I had to stop denying the “bad” that was inside me and own up to it. It’s a comical story, but at the time it was extremely traumatizing. There was no hiding the “wicked me” any more – it was out for everyone to see. It was the day I embraced the truth about myself: that I am twisted, full of iniquity and corrupt to the core. How I had spent my whole life denying this – fighting this!

And at the lowest point in my life is where the Lord took the spotlight and shone bright into my dark heart… it was there that I met Jesus. He came to me and do you know what? He loved me I was ashamed of myself. But He wasn’t. It was THAT day I realized what He did on the Cross... where I should have died… In fact, until that point, I was dead inside. And that day, He gave me life. That day I knew what it meant to tell the world about Jesus because I encountered Him. He filled me and I became a NEW CREATION. I became born again. And now, I don’t live for myself: I live for the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. I cannot deny Him.

My prayer is that others too, would have blessing of encountering Him the way I got to. To know that He loves you with all your baggage on board…. And He knows how to reach you. He’s desperate for you to come to Him and leave that baggage at the Foot of the Cross so He can wash you in His Blood. He paid the price for it – you don’t have to carry it anymore.

I feel I am writing this for someone specific. It may not be for you, Josh, but dear friend, whoever you are reading this right now, know that Jesus loves you and He is talking to you right now; He has forgiven you. And He wants you to draw near to Him. He is waiting with His arms stretched out for you to accept His acceptance. You can let it go, because He has heard you and He has forgiven you…

I am that leper that He was willing to cleanse; that prostitute with seven devils living inside her that He set free. I am the blind man that received his sight and the little boy He raised to life… The Son of David had mercy on me…


You may scoff at it, Josh, and will probably reject it, maybe even despise it – I don’t know. But I can’t deny the truth… and my prayer is that the Truth would shine so brightly in your heart that you would see light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ, who is the Image of God.


I leave you with this:

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 1:15
 
Feb 19, 2021
17
11
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Germany
#25
Hello TimothyGirl,

That is a very very interesting post indeed! Many thanks for your post.

I really like your candidness and honesty.

I need a little more time to process your post. You make some very interesting points, on at least some of which I would like to reply.

It seems clear that we do view at least *some* things differently, however even after your post I still continue to believe that, AT THE CORE, much (but maybe not all) of your and my understanding and experience of Jesus (or God) is the same, and that the main difference is how we express this thing that we are experiencing, how we formulate it in words.

I apologize for my somewhat late reply (I seem to have underestimated the demands that my work is making on my time). I hope to get back to some of the points you made in a few days.

Thanks again for your interesting post and may the Light continue to be with you.

---
PS: Very very very minor point:

You may scoff at it, Josh, and will probably reject it, maybe even despise it
May I politely protest that scoffing and despising is very very far from my intention?

I may indeed *reject* some things, but please note that when I write that I "reject" something I mean it in the philosophical sense (namely that I reject some idea or theory); and not in the sense that I reject you (or other people) personally.
 

TimothyGirl

Active member
Jul 19, 2019
187
152
43
#27
I appreciate your response, Josh, and especially your 'minor point' at the end :)
Sometimes my honesty and candidness lands me up in a bit of trouble, so you'll have to forgive me for being defensive at the end there :oops:
Take all the time you need. I did not share for a debate, but merely out of transparency and conversation. You said you are searching, seeking answers. I'm merely sharing with you my story, because Jesus changed my life, and my heart's desire is to share Him with others so that He can change their lives too.

Have a blessed week, Oom Josh! :LOL::)
 
Feb 19, 2021
17
11
3
57
Germany
#28
Hello dear TimothyGirl,

Sometimes my honesty and candidness lands me up in a bit of trouble
That is so interesting. It is the same for me. (I would even describe myself as *naive* in many ways.) So that seems to be one reason that explains why we are "resonating".

My opinion is that it is better to be naive and make a thousand mistakes, than to be cautious and avoid mistakes. Because mistakes are how you learn.

I did not share for a debate, but merely out of transparency and conversation. You said you are searching, seeking answers. I'm merely sharing with you my story, because Jesus changed my life, and my heart's desire is to share Him with others so that He can change their lives too.
I am pretty convinced that the core idea behind the teachings of Jesus (idea of Love) has already changed my life pretty drastically. I was such a mess, until relatively recently, namely totally corrupted inside by Narcissism. But since a few months, I feel that inside I am full of Love and Light, so full that there is no more capacity for any more, i.e. full to the brim and overflowing. That is, I am not seeking for any more *salvation*.

The thing that I am seeking is to understand more clearly how Christianity *works*, how it works in people.

If that is OK with you, I still intend to reply to some points in your extremely interesting long post of Sunday, not as debate, but mainly simply to formulate my thoughts for myself. I am a kind of extravert, I need conversation and need to express my thoughts "aloud", in order to think.

Be well and may the Spirit and the Light be with you.
 

TimothyGirl

Active member
Jul 19, 2019
187
152
43
#29
That is so interesting. It is the same for me. (I would even describe myself as *naive* in many ways.)
I can relate with that, Oom Josh! (Sorry, the title has stuck!) When I think of my life in this respect, it is a scene from the movie "Crocodile Dundee" when he visits the City and sees the python the snake charmers are charming. To him he just sees "snake" and deals with the problem... oblivious to the stir he causes as he goes along!

My opinion is that it is better to be naive and make a thousand mistakes, than to be cautious and avoid mistakes. Because mistakes are how you learn.
In my short life, I've taken both approaches and I'm not sure which I prefer yet?! :unsure: But I can agree that "Mistake" is one of the best teachers you'll find in life! He's a strict teacher that likes to fail you and make you get up again afterwards! Many refuse to rise from his stern rebuke and make friends with Self Pity instead... :)

I am pretty convinced that the core idea behind the teachings of Jesus (idea of Love) has already changed my life pretty drastically.
That's awesome, it really is, and a work of God in itself. But may I say that is the Teacher that gives meaning to the teachings. They are merely an expression of His Person. To accept the teachings and deny the Teacher is... is accept the water but refuse the vessel that it is contained in. I'm afraid I don't get that.

If that is OK with you, I still intend to reply to some points in your extremely interesting long post of Sunday, not as debate, but mainly simply to formulate my thoughts for myself. I am a kind of extravert, I need conversation and need to express my thoughts "aloud", in order to think.
You're very welcome! I'm not quite sure whether I'm an extravert or an intervert anymore! But I'm the same in that I need the conversation in order to "think"! So I'm happy to participate if it helps you come "to the knowledge of the truth" :) (Just don't quote me line for line as I have just done here, because then we'll both be behind our screens for a REALLLYY LOOONG TIME! :eek::LOL: )

Be well and may the Spirit and the Light be with you.
Every time you say that, I think of Star Wars - "May the Force be with you!" :oops::)
But then, if I think about it, Jesus is the Light, so I suppose that means both the Spirit and the Light are with me? :unsure:
(there I go thinking aloud again!)

Til next time!...
 

TimothyGirl

Active member
Jul 19, 2019
187
152
43
#30
(sorry for all the typo's - I tend to think faster than my fingers can type and it leads to omissions! Oops! :oops:)