05 December 2023
To say that "this ministry is under attack from Satan" would be accurate enough, but oversimplifying things. Most people who say things like that are trying to avoid discussing what to do about it.
My use of computer technology is far more than a hobby. I've been poking around in computers since the DOS days in the US military. But my goal has always been learning how to publish the gospel message. This is not a technology blog, but it's impossible to avoid discussing some of that stuff in order to explain the situation.
Surely you understand that the powers that be do not tolerate dissent. All the more so when the current model of holding power rests entirely on deception, and the use of actual force is only a backup plan. Physical force is expensive; manipulation is a whole lot easier, especially when they have gotten so very good at it. Most people in the West are all too willing to be deceived.
For us, this requires a little savvy about their methods so that we can get the message out there. No matter how we slice it, the gospel demands we say and do things contrary to the elites' convenience. We will inevitably point out their lies about any number of things in order to establish God's truth. I still insist that the current system is not specifically anti-gospel because that's not their fundamental aim. It could go that way, but near as I can tell, the opposition members of the elohim council have not taken that path just yet. When you examine the history of oppression, there's nothing in it to show a particular animus toward the message of Christ expressed by their human lackeys.
When we do see that, we will know we are in the End Times. For the time being, Satan is working largely alone on the issue of silencing the gospel, and it's not overt as the Bible describes for the Final Apocalypse. So, yes this ministry is under attack from Satan, but the solution is to take the path still open to us, and there is at least one.
On the one hand, it's a little frustrating how it works. If we want maximum exposure, we have to play along with the major Internet services. Inevitably, someone is going to get offended at the message and do whatever it takes to get us booted. It's not a question of fairness; complaining that it's unfair Catacomb Resident was shut out of Substack for "spam/phishing" reports is not the way forward. That's not germane to the message.
But even if Substack changes their mind, that won't remove the vulnerability of some crank doing it again. We already know that Substack is famous/notorious for hosting highly objectionable content and refusing to take it down. So the only attack vector left is a bogus complaint about some other element of the Terms of Service. Then again, if I were charging for access so Substack could take a cut, they'd be more motivated to protect me. But that would also defile this ministry.
I have already experienced serious difficulties with Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com) and their hosting, and now we get hassles from Substack. Are there any other free services, or low-priced services, that would even allow this ministry to set up on their turf? The one thing I have accomplished so far is that the "Catacomb Resident" brand has been ejected from several services; I cannot even get a free webmail account on most services. I've tried. (My Proton mail account was purchased before my nickname got so much attention: catacombrez@proton.me .)
If I change the branding and use another label for the same content, how long would that last? No matter what happens, I'm not going to abandon the Radix Fidem label, but I'd be willing to use a different nickname if it helped. The point is the content, not the branding. I'm sure my readers would recognize the same message (and perhaps writing style) regardless, but there is also the question of keeping to door open to new readers.
Keep in mind that the Catacomb Resident following is only about 100 max. How that came to the attention of the feds and apparently the Zionists is because a few zealots were careless about sharing this content with the wrong people. There's nothing I can do about that; it's native to risk of publicizing.
Unless you have a better plan, for now I'll stick to this blog and trust the readers to advertise it by word of mouth. We have had a slight advantage in that Synlogos was willing to keep us listed, following us from that obscure private blog to Substack, and I'd like to think this blog will show up there, too. Meanwhile, if you want to pray about something, ask the Lord to show us the path to sharing His Word. Maybe pray that someone rich and powerful adopts the Radix Fidem community, or someone with more savvy about how to work with the Internet powers-that-be.
Would anybody like to chime in with other suggestions? Changing the message is not an option, of course.
Comments
Jay DiNitto
What about starting up another mirror? You could self-host it or start it up with another blogging service. I don't know... might be more trouble that it's worth.
CatRez
It would be trouble, but whether it's worth it is probably a matter of time. There are too many variables right now, but we do need to pray for the Lord to show us what He has in mind.
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