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Bread and Circuses
from Doug Perry -
March 18, 2007 - www.FellowshipOfTheMartyrs.com
(Click
here for printable PDF file)
I've long been
aware of this and what it means and how satan uses it to take over a
culture. America has been substantially co-opted already by
this ancient Roman strategy. In fact, I think it predates Rome
since it's a ploy of the enemy and you can see evidence of it being
used to destroy cultures and distract people all the way back to the
Garden of Eden.
Here are some
references so you can look it up on your own.
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This phrase
originates in Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal of the late 1st and
early 2nd centuries CE. In context, the Latin phrase panem et
circenses (bread and circuses) is given as the only remaining cares
of a Roman populace which has given up its birthright of political freedom:
.. Already long
ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated
our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military
command, high civil office, legions - everything, now restrains
itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses
(Juvenal, Satire 10.77-81)
Juvenal here makes
reference to the elite Roman practice of providing free wheat to some
poor Romans as well as costly circus games and other forms of
entertainment as a means gaining political power through popularity.
A reference in the
The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (1993) states that Juvenal
displayed his contempt for the declining heroism of his contemporary
Romans in this passage. Spanish intellectuals between the 19th
and 20th centuries complained about the similar pan y toros
("bread and bull[fight]s”).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses )
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The American
Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (Fourth
Edition. 2000) defines “bread and circuses” as a
plural noun meaning “Offerings, such as benefits or
entertainments, intended to placate discontent or distract attention
from a policy or situation. http://www.bartleby.com/61/39/B0463950.html
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There was a day
before God scrubbed it all out of me that I was quite the political
junkie and conspiracy theory nut. In that age, I watched Bill
O”Reilly regularly. I didn't remember it, but when I did a web
search on this topic, this artice that he wrote for World Net Daily
came up. It illustrates the situation in America pretty well. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21781
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I'm not writing
this as a condemnation of America – it is Rome and it does what
Rome does, which is dumb down the populace by keeping them
entertained, protecting the food supply and making sure they feel
safe and patriotic. That way, they won't notice that the whole
Empire is crumbling around them and a small number of elite are
running the show without oversight or accountability.
Only 50% of
America has enough motivation to get up off their sofas once every
four years and vote for president! I hope you can understand
that by feeding us an endless stream of NFL and NASCAR and WWE
Wrestling and thousands of cable stations and porn and video games
and concerts and cell phones and the internet and endless diversions
and holidays and parades and games, we are left in a state of such
continuous motion and overloaded input that we never can focus on the
important things. And as long as there is food and drink on the
shelves at the grocery store, the TV works and most of the people we
know have jobs, why worry? We're the greatest nation on earth.
What could happen? We're the only super power left, right?
Was that
condemning? I didn't really mean it to be, that's just the
“world” being the “world” and doing what it does
– which is obey satan.
I've long seen the
application of this and the danger of it and the insidious way it
which it distracts people and is used as part of the dangerous
dialectic drumbeat to get our focus away from the important
things. Americans are suckers for “bread and
circuses”. Can there be any doubt?
Here's the real
point of this writing.
One day, I'm just
minding my own business, driving in the car and God just plops this
phrase into my head.
“Bread and circuses.”
“OK, yeah, I
know what that is, Lord, what's the point?”
“That's what
the church is doing.”
Then it just all
hit me like a giant tidal wave and I almost slammed on the brakes. As
I recall, I pulled over to the shoulder of the highway in tears.
“OH! GOD!!!
They TOTALLY ARE!! They totally are! It's all about the
shows and the food!! They're keeping them entertained, engaging
them in so many things so fast that they can't slow down. They're
keeping them fat and comfy so they won't notice that they are blind
and naked and wretched and poor! Oh, God! I'm so
sorry! Please forgive us! We're not really addressing
their spirit at all, just their brain and their body! They can't slow
down long enough to even pray! Please forgive us. Please fix it.
Please crush that out of Your true church. Please make them stop! Oh,
my God! I'm so sorry!”
And on like that
for about a half hour until He told me to stop. Lots of crying
when it all crystallized. I have understood for a long time how
devastatingly dangerous this strategy is and how it can totally
co-opt a nation, but I'd never made the leap and seen how the enemy
of our souls had inserted it so thoroughly into the whole of the
church of America. Can there be any doubt? Are we not the most
overstimulated, overfed, spiritually starving people on the
planet? Even getting a church member to slow down long enough
to be introspective about the true state of their soul and their
salvation is a miracle in itself!
We told them that
they were saved and safe – their Roman citizenship is secure
– either because they said a little prayer or they prayed the
Rosary enough times or because their name is on the roles of our
denomination and they're tithing.
“There are no
worries now! You're safe! Now come for dinner on Wednesday night and
fellowship with us. Bring a pie. And don't miss the Christmas
cantata! We have a real, live baby camel! And here's a sign-up
sheet for the softball league. And the senior adults are taking
a bus trip together to go shopping in Amish country next month.
OH! And the youth are going on a mission trip to Cancun during Spring
Break. And if you call now you can register for our special
“Jesus Cruise” around the Carribean – we're going to
have several major Christian celebrities and musicians there that you
might get to actually touch! Maybe you could even sit with
Michael W. Smith and eat from the 500 item buffet!! We might
even have a baby camel on the ship! Oh, you just HAVE to come! God
will be so pleased if you can make it.”
It's all bread and
circuses. And it's all from the enemy of our souls.
How can I tell? Because if God were really in charge, we would be
like Jesus and we'd all be on our faces crying until we sweat blood
for the horrible state of things and a clear vision of the cup that
has been and will be poured out on us before we get through
this. We'd be weeping and repenting in sackcloth and ashes for
the missed opportunities and millions (or billions) of souls that
have been lost while we entertained ourselves and got fatter and
fatter. If God was in charge, we would have Fear of the Lord and we
would cry until we ran out of tears for the mess we've made of His
Body. We'd sincerely apologize to the “world” because
we had the Light that they needed, but we blew it out so that we
could become just like them. Even while we kept telling them we
were “different.”
If God was in
charge of the “church,” He'd take a flamethrower to our
structures and our systems and our programs and our leaders and our
own lives and burn off all the chaff instead of catering to it.
He'd turn over the tables and cleanse the temple.
Hmmm. I
don't think we can put Him off forever. I wonder when that's
gonna start? Now would be nice.
If you have the
guts, please pray this with me:
Father God, I
know we have dishonored You in ways I can't even get my head around.
I know that you can't possibly be happy with our fancy shows that
just entertain our own brain, but leave people untransformed for the
Gospel and dead in their sins. Please make the “bread and
circuses” stop by whatever means necessary. I'm sorry for
the mess I've made of my life, my home, my city, my nation, the
Bride. Please, Lord, please bring a flamethrower to all of
it. Please wreck it all. Anything that stands in the way
between me and You, please do whatever it takes. Rip it, tear it,
shred it, kill it, crush it, burn it – if I can't lay it down
then just snatch it out of my grip. For the structures and systems
that I've helped build, I repent. Wreck them all. Have Your way. Use
what You can and flatten the rest. Please, Father, let NO ONE stand
in front of Your sheep anymore and say, “Mine is the kingdom,
Mine is the power, Mine is the glory.” If they're not going to
repent, then take them home. You know who can be redeemed, but make
them sit down and shut up and weep and mourn – or take them
home. There is so much blood on their head already, it's just mercy
to make it stop. Do whatever You have to do to me so that I'll be a
useful vessel for Your kingdom, broken and contrite and circumcised
of heart. Teach me humility and give me more Fear of the Lord.
Please pour out a gift of repentance on me by Your Holy Spirit so
that I can cry rivers of tears in front of anybody until this thing
turns around. Please let me see through Your eyes and share in Your
suffering. I'm so sorry, Lord. Please do it. I trust You. Make me
useful. Turn this around! In the mighty Name of Jesus Christ my
Lord. Amen.
And don't stop
praying until things change.
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