Friday, April 10, 2026
Inside Iran’s ruling ideology: How a ‘holy mission’ and messianic doctrine fuel regime extremism
New IRGC commanders shaped by years of conflict may entrench the regime's extremist ideology even further, analysts warn
Published April 5, 2026 2:00pm EDT
Updated April 5, 2026 8:00am EDT
Inside Iran’s hidden power center: Expert says supreme leader’s office runs a ‘state within a state’
Kasra Aarabi of United Against a Nuclear Iran says the regime's durability lies not in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an individual, but in the institutional machinery surrounding him.
For Mehdi Ghadimi, the ideology behind Iran’s ruling system is not theoretical. It was something he was taught from childhood.
"You were told you are a part a small group chosen by God… to revive God’s religion and fight to defend it," the Iranian journalist told Fox News Digital, describing the message repeated in schools, mosques and state media.
That early indoctrination, he said, framed the world in stark terms: a divine struggle between good and evil, with Iran’s leadership positioned at the center of a religious mission.
Iran’s ruling system is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical — a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectation and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.
A banner featuring Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is displayed in Tehran, March 14, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
As a new generation of commanders rises within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following recent military blows under Operation Epic Fury, analysts warn that this ideology may become even more entrenched.
Figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ahmad Vahidi are often cited as part of a cohort shaped by years of conflict in Iraq and across the region — one that sees religion, security and survival as inseparable.
Thursday, April 09, 2026
The Mahdi’s Shadow: Eschatology’s Role in Iran’s Modern Geopolitical Strategy
By Dr Kerry Bolton
From New Dawn Special Issue Vol 18 No 4 (Aug 2024)
In the West, there’s a common misconception that ‘all Muslims are the same’. In reality, Islam comprises distinct branches, primarily Sunni and Shi’a, each with unique theological and eschatological beliefs. These eschatological views, which relate to end times and final events, significantly influence global politics and conflicts, despite often being overlooked.
The differing Sunni and Shi’a conceptions of a messiah, or saviour figure, often provoke anxiety among Jewish and Christian Messianists, as well as their more secular counterparts in the armed forces and governments of Israel and the USA. Regardless of whether these beliefs are taken literally, the perception of them plays a crucial role in international relations.
Historically, colonial powers faced fierce opposition from those who believed they were under divine protection, often manifesting as a belief in invincibility in battle. For example, the Sudanese Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, led a successful revolt against the British in the late 19th century, claiming divine support and inspiring his followers to believe they were invincible. Similarly, during the South Asian resistance to Western colonialism, various leaders and groups invoked religious and messianic beliefs to bolster their opposition to British rule, fostering a sense of divine mission and protection among their followers.
Pentagon Threatened Pope After He Criticized Trump?
It was so bad that Pope Leo changed his plans to travel to the U.S.
Tiziana FABI/AFP/Getty Images
Relations between the United States and the Catholic Church have not been the same since January, when senior U.S. defense officials shared an abrasive message with a Vatican official.
Days after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, to a closed-door Pentagon meeting for a bitter lecture.
“The United States,” Colby said, according to a blistering new report by The Free Press, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”
One U.S. official present at the meeting brought up the Avignon papacy, a period in the fourteenth century in which the French monarchy bent the Catholic Church into submission, ordering an attack on Pope Boniface VIII that led to his downfall and subsequent death and forcing the papacy to relocate from Rome to Avignon, a region inside France.
The Trump administration had taken issue with the pope’s critique of its militaristic proclivities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top Pentagon officials were particularly aggrieved by portions of Leo’s January 9 speech in which the pope argued that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force,” and that “war is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading.”
Jayapal on Iran ceasefire, Cuba energy crisis and DHS funding plan | Full interview
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P.S.
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
There are Plenty of Religious Underpinnings to Our Founding
(Terrance Emerson/Dreamstime.com)
Friday, 27 March 2026 04:56 PM EDT
Sometimes we are led to believe today that the Founding Fathers of America were men of the Enlightenment, meaning that, for the most part, they were not believers in Jesus.
But that’s not true that they were mostly skeptics.
There were a few, but they were the exception — not the rule.
And besides, Enlightenment thinkers, like Montesquieu, Sir William Blackstone, and John Locke — whose writings were important to America's Founders — were professing Christians, who often based their arguments on the Bible.
250 years ago from this month, the Continental Congress — the same men that would adopt the Declaration of Independence by voice vote on July 4 — proclaimed a Day of Prayer for the fledgling nation-to-be.
This was no namby-pamby, "To Whom It May Concern," - type prayer — that we’re so often used to today. This was a bold Christian document by professing Christians, representing a population back home that was 99.8% professing Christians.
In that proclamation of a Day of Fasting, Prayer, and Humiliation, March 16, 1776, the founders declared, "In times of impending calamity and distress; when the liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publicly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God."
Based on this opening paragraph and other writings of the times, they said: We used to be happy and enjoy life here in these British colonies in North America.
We enjoyed our rights as Englishmen. Rights that dated back to the Magna Charta in 1215, which were affirmed in the British Bill of Rights of 1689.
Sometimes we are led to believe today that the Founding Fathers of America were men of the Enlightenment, meaning that, for the most part, they were not believers in Jesus.
But that’s not true that they were mostly skeptics.
There were a few, but they were the exception — not the rule.
And besides, Enlightenment thinkers, like Montesquieu, Sir William Blackstone, and John Locke — whose writings were important to America's Founders — were professing Christians, who often based their arguments on the Bible.
250 years ago from this month, the Continental Congress — the same men that would adopt the Declaration of Independence by voice vote on July 4 — proclaimed a Day of Prayer for the fledgling nation-to-be.
This was no namby-pamby, "To Whom It May Concern," - type prayer — that we’re so often used to today. This was a bold Christian document by professing Christians, representing a population back home that was 99.8% professing Christians.
In that proclamation of a Day of Fasting, Prayer, and Humiliation, March 16, 1776, the founders declared, "In times of impending calamity and distress; when the liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publicly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God."
Based on this opening paragraph and other writings of the times, they said: We used to be happy and enjoy life here in these British colonies in North America.
We enjoyed our rights as Englishmen. Rights that dated back to the Magna Charta in 1215, which were affirmed in the British Bill of Rights of 1689.
Romanism the Religion of Human Nature
There is great need that all who claim to be Bible Christians should take the Scriptures as they read. There is need of arriving at right conclusions as to what the Scriptures mean in their reference to the man of sin, who thought to change times and laws. He had no real power to change the time and the law of God, but he thought himself able to do this work; for he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” He is an imitator of the first great rebel, the originator of sin. In heaven Satan thought to change the laws of God, and for this purpose he changed his character and his position in the heavenly courts, and influenced others until they united with him in the work of rebellion against God; but he did not succeed in changing the law of God. God did not alter or change his form of government to suit Satan’s ideas, but made it manifest that the foundation of his government in heaven and earth is as unchangeable as is the throne itself.
When Satan could not induce all the angels to revolt against the law of God, he made the earth the scene of his rebellion, and through the man of sin seeks to carry out his diabolical purpose. Through the Papacy, the Roman power, the man of sin, the purpose of Satan is carried out among men; the law and the time of God are set aside. In this we see that Protestantism is giving encouragement to popery; and false systems of worship, against which our fathers manfully opposed themselves, imperiling even property and life, are fostered and cherished and encouraged to extend and gain wide influence. Protestants do not search their Bibles as they should, and do not heed the warning that has been given concerning the work of the man of sin. The Roman Church claims that the pope is invested with supreme authority over all bishops and pastors, and this claim of supremacy was once denied by Protestants. They took the position that the Bible, and the Bible alone, constituted the rule of faith and doctrine, that the word of God is the only unerring guide for human souls, and that it is unnecessary and harmful to take the words of priests and prelates instead of the word of God.
To the Romanist the Bible is a forbidden book, because it plainly reveals the errors of the Roman system; and whoever searches the Bible with an enlightened understanding, cannot long be in harmony with Romanism. He who searches the Bible to understand the truth, will find no authority in the word of God for the assumption of power on the part of popes and cardinals. There is no word of God that sanctions their assumed superiority or supremacy over their people, as there is no word to sanction the claim that Lucifer made in heaven of superiority over Christ. The claim of the Papacy to superiority is made under the influence of the first great usurper, who so persistently urged his right to supremacy over the host of God. Through the Dark Ages,—that long night of ignorance and superstition,—the claim of the Papacy to superiority and supremacy was conceded by emperors and kings, although God had sanctioned no such concession, and raised up men to dispute the claim, and to break the Romish yoke from the church of God. Through his appointed agencies God summoned the church to reassert her independence, and in the strength of God she stood forth in the liberty wherewith Christ had made her free. She broke away from the papal yoke, and with the word of God in her hand, met the giant evil of Romanism, even as David met Goliath in the name of heaven, using his sling and a few pebblestones. The defier of Israel was slain before the man of faith; and while men cling to the word of the Lord, they cannot affiliate with the great system of error.
The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.
When Satan could not induce all the angels to revolt against the law of God, he made the earth the scene of his rebellion, and through the man of sin seeks to carry out his diabolical purpose. Through the Papacy, the Roman power, the man of sin, the purpose of Satan is carried out among men; the law and the time of God are set aside. In this we see that Protestantism is giving encouragement to popery; and false systems of worship, against which our fathers manfully opposed themselves, imperiling even property and life, are fostered and cherished and encouraged to extend and gain wide influence. Protestants do not search their Bibles as they should, and do not heed the warning that has been given concerning the work of the man of sin. The Roman Church claims that the pope is invested with supreme authority over all bishops and pastors, and this claim of supremacy was once denied by Protestants. They took the position that the Bible, and the Bible alone, constituted the rule of faith and doctrine, that the word of God is the only unerring guide for human souls, and that it is unnecessary and harmful to take the words of priests and prelates instead of the word of God.
To the Romanist the Bible is a forbidden book, because it plainly reveals the errors of the Roman system; and whoever searches the Bible with an enlightened understanding, cannot long be in harmony with Romanism. He who searches the Bible to understand the truth, will find no authority in the word of God for the assumption of power on the part of popes and cardinals. There is no word of God that sanctions their assumed superiority or supremacy over their people, as there is no word to sanction the claim that Lucifer made in heaven of superiority over Christ. The claim of the Papacy to superiority is made under the influence of the first great usurper, who so persistently urged his right to supremacy over the host of God. Through the Dark Ages,—that long night of ignorance and superstition,—the claim of the Papacy to superiority and supremacy was conceded by emperors and kings, although God had sanctioned no such concession, and raised up men to dispute the claim, and to break the Romish yoke from the church of God. Through his appointed agencies God summoned the church to reassert her independence, and in the strength of God she stood forth in the liberty wherewith Christ had made her free. She broke away from the papal yoke, and with the word of God in her hand, met the giant evil of Romanism, even as David met Goliath in the name of heaven, using his sling and a few pebblestones. The defier of Israel was slain before the man of faith; and while men cling to the word of the Lord, they cannot affiliate with the great system of error.
The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.
Tuesday, April 07, 2026
Monday, April 06, 2026
US lawmakers visit Cuba as embargo pressure intensifies
P.S.
Thinking of Cuba's 1959 Socialist Revolution brings to mind the idiom:
"You've made your bed, now lie in it"
Sunday, April 05, 2026
Pope Leo’s Easter message to the world: ‘Let those who have weapons lay them down!’
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As wars intensify across the globe, Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter address to deliver a stark warning against growing indifference to violence, urging both world leaders and ordinary people to reject fear and choose peace through dialogue.
Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Claire Giangravé
April 5, 2026
VATICAN CITY (RNS) – During his first Easter address on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV made an impassioned global appeal to end wars and embrace dialogue, following a series of celebrations leading up to Easter in which the pope emphasized the theme of peace.
“Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” Leo said in his Urbi et Orbi address, Latin for “to the city and to the world,” as 50,000 gathered in the square beneath him, according to Vatican News.
Recent popes have made the traditional Easter address an occasion to call out injustices and conflict in the world. Leo’s Holy Week celebrations, including a prayer vigil on Saturday to “make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts,” kept that focus — with added urgency as conflict escalates in the Middle East.
Saturday, April 04, 2026
Trump Admin Signals Clarity on Church Speech
By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 03 April 2026 12:23 PM EDT
The Trump administration announced Friday that it will "provide additional clarity and guidance" to religious organizations after a federal judge's decision this week to dismiss a case seeking to overturn the 70-year-old ban on political activity by houses of worship.
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued a statement saying the move is aimed at reinforcing First Amendment protections while helping churches better understand how existing law applies to their communications.
"Religious liberty is foundational to our Constitution," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding that the administration is committed to ensuring Americans can "practice one's faith openly and in community" while laws are applied fairly.
The new guidance will focus on clarifying how the Johnson Amendment, the 1954 law that restricts tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates, applies in real-world settings, particularly within religious services.
According to Treasury, internal communications between houses of worship and their congregations, when delivered through customary religious channels and tied to matters of faith, may not constitute prohibited political activity under current interpretations of the law.
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