Laurel C. Kriegler's Blog

Right. Time to address a new elephant that has entered the room: disease burdens. How am I qualified to talk about this? I have a more-than-passing interest in medical science, and am conversant with, and make daily use of, complementary health systems (which, for clarity, literally complement, and are not diametrically opposed to, modern medical advancements). Also, as a trained economist with links to work being done in developing countries, I have a working understanding of the socio-economic effects of health burdens. I also have friends whose quality of life is directly affected by the current US Health Secretary’s wilfully profound medical science illiteracy.

In the US president’s Executive Order of the 13th of February 2025, sweeping statements are made about life expectancy, health burdens and other socio-economic health indicators. However, the EO completely ignores the main drivers of disease burdens (usually HIV/AIDS, infectious and non-infectious diseases, respiratory infections and nutritional deficiencies, among others) and focuses instead on antidepressants, autism (?) and ADHD.

While the high need for anti-depressants is concerning (stress, anyone? Poor diet, anyone? Sometimes, it’s just how a person’s body functions), the production and use of anti-depressants is not in itself a driver of health burdens. It’s most frequently a symptom of deeper societal issues (see stress, poor diet). Classing autism and ADHD as “diseases” … well, while they can both be categorised as “dis-ease”, they are certainly not key drivers of health burdens.

Current US policy appears to be:

Don’t track the spread of infectious diseases. This is the effect of the very early freeze on external communications imposed on federal health institutions.Reduce, or cease, vaccination programmes.Ignore infectious diseases as a driver of greater health burdens on the economy, and of lower life expectancy.Attempt to remove the modern treatments that improve quality of life for those struggling with depression – SSRIs, anti-depressants, etc.Ignore the research that has proven that autism is neither a disability nor a disease, but, rather, is how a person is.

And all of this without taking cognizance of the actual drivers of poor societal health, such as nutritional deficiencies (eg. ultra-processed foods), stress (the Trumpomuskovia regime is likely to CAUSE more stress than it cures), infectious diseases that we have spent a century and more trying to eradicate – with the help of vaccination programmes – and last but not least, the simple fact that not all human beings are created equal, with the result that our bodies operate on an individual basis, and sometimes we need a little extra help in order to function optimally and be the best we can be.

All countries have a baseline of how many births and deaths they can expect in a year. When the number of people who die is more than is expected, this is called “excess deaths”. We saw this phenomenon during the COVID pandemic, where more than the usual/expected number of people died. It will not surprise me if we see the US experiencing excess deaths over the next few years as a result of the current health secretary’s policies.

But the big question is: will we even know?

Further reading:

https://www.newsweek.com/rfk-jr-antidepressants-ssris-drugs-maha-2032297https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/establishing-the-presidents-make-america-healthy-again-commission/https://newrepublic.com/post/192059/rfk-jr-vaccines-flu-covid-hhshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/14/louisiana-vaccination?fbclid=IwY2xjawIhBJtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHa9FcUhV7m1P-_-Qk8PWGs5uvr3kjtD0-50btN2a4Pus_5b7p0ngKcGOxA_aem_1yYGGPxqspEUN9D0Vbaghghttps://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KwF7fUTss/https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/gbd

First up, I want to state for the record that I’m not a theologian. I have no desire to be one. However, I have been a Christian all my life, so have a pretty good handle on what Christianity is, and is not. So while a discussion on theology forms part of this essay, I’m going to try to keep it as simple as I can – purely because I myself can’t handle more complex theological discussions – and also, I don’t want to bore you.

In recent weeks, several statements have been made by various members of the new leadership in the United States that have caused significant disturbance among Christians (and non-Christians, it must be acknowledged) worldwide. There are several influences behind the new leadership in the US, including more than one “Christian”-affiliated influence. The statements in question are:

“There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.” – JD Vance“The so-called Bishop…brought her church into the World [sic] of politics in a very ungracious way … inappropriate statements” – DJ Trump“Do not commit the sin of empathy.” – Ben Garrett

My purpose here is to identify the origins of these statements, to clarify why they are un-Christian, even anti-Christian, and to consider what Christianity, by contrast, should represent.

Without going into too much detail, as I’m short of time – I may expand on this briefing at a later date – the three influences are: Christian Fundamentalism / the patriarchy (a cult), liberation theology (a heresy), and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR – a cult). Liberation theology underpins the teachings of the NAR. I will briefly look at each in turn.

Christian Fundamentalism is found within the evangelical tradition, primarily in the United States. One of its underpinnings is the teachings of Gothard and his “Umbrella of Authority”, which is a perversion of God’s teachings on authority as contained in the Bible.[5] In particular, it places a heavy emphasis on submission, which results in psychological, and sometimes physical, abuses. Levings [4] points out that the phrase “sin of empathy”, which many of us had never heard before, is very well-known to women trapped in Christian Fundamentalism / the patriarchy – and that it is abusive. Her exposition on it makes for interesting, and disturbing, reading. I would remind the reader that God is a compassionate God. In John 11:35, we read “Jesus wept.” The reason? Compassion. Jesus told us the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). A perfect example of loving one’s neighbour – doing to another what you would have them do to you. That’s empathy. And finally, Jesus, God Himself, became a man and lived among us, SO THAT HE COULD EMPATHISE WITH US as He represents us before God as the perfect High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). Empathy is biblical.

This is the first group that we find as an influence behind the current leadership in the US.

Liberation theology originated in South America in the mid-20th century, in an attempt to draw the attention of Western/rich evangelical (in particular) churches to the plight of the poor and downtrodden in developing countries. It did achieve this aim – of making the evangelical church aware of its obligations to the poor and the needy. However, its roots are in Marxist teachings, with the result that it defines “classes” – specifically, oppressed and oppressors – of people, and necessarily identifies an “enemy” – in this case, the oppressor. These are both problematic elements for the Christian, as the Bible says we are all equal in God’s sight (Galations 3:28; Ephesians 6:5-9), and that our enemy is explicitly NOT people (Ephesians 6:12). Attempting to define people as being “unhumans”[9] does not suddenly render them not “flesh and blood”. Liberation theology also places the socio-political order first, before the Bible, with the result that the teachings in the Bible are effectively dismissed. This negates the injunctions, in both the Old and the New Testaments, to use the Bible (or God’s teachings, specifically) as the measure/guide by which to live and interact with the world (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In my life I’ve learned, the hard way, about putting anything else above God. It doesn’t work.

Further issues with liberation theology include:

It necessitates action towards societal change [1] [2] – the society is not favourable towards the oppressed, so they must change the society accordingly. This is negated by Jesus (John 18:36), who says He did not come to enact an earthly kingdom.It does not rule out the use of violence [1] – Returning to John 18:36, Jesus explicitly rules out the use of military power. Christians are not to use wars and murder to attempt to further God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is explicitly a spiritual kingdom in this age.There is a phrase that raises my hackles – that violence may be “for the enemy’s good”. For the life of me, I cannot find it, but there’s a quote by somebody about some of the worst abuses being committed “for their own good”. And I agree with the sentiment.

The founder of the New Apostolic Reformation, C. Peter Wagner, took liberation theology and applied it to Christians in the US.[9] The Christians who have followed his teachings have adopted the mantle of victimhood – because they are in the minority in their country, and the majority of citizens of the country wish to live in a more liberal state. (As an aside, surely it is the majority that sets the tone in a democracy?) Unwilling to accept the status quo – against all logic and against everything the Bible teaches – and with the application of liberation theology, they have long sought (and now may well have succeeded) to overthrow the liberal state and apply their outdated patriarchal practices to the entire society.[10]

The Bible explicitly does not give Christians the ability to call themselves victims. In fact, Paul in Romans 8:37 states that we are already conquerors IN Jesus’ death and resurrection. There is no room for Christians to consider themselves victims. Further to this, by calling us “salt of the Earth” (Matt. 5:13), Jesus immediately implies that authentic Christians will be vanishingly scarce in the world. That is, we will ALWAYS be in the minority.

Over the last four decades, the NAR took the tenets of liberation theology and dressed it up in the pentecostal/charismatic movement, spreading their talking points through the use of modern-day “apostles” and “prophets”. And there is evidence of them applying radicalisation tactics in the lead-up to the 2024 US elections [7] to stir up a literal army willing to do violence upon the enemy.

The NAR leadership have been located close to the new leadership in the US, and form the second religious influence.[9]

Sources and Further Reading

Liberation Theology

[1] Coffey, J. (2017). A Critique of Liberation Theology. Philosophical Investigations. December 26, 2017. Available at: https://peped.org/philosophicalinvestigations/critique-liberation-theology/.

[2] Frame, J.M. N.D. Liberation Theology. The Gospel Coalition. Available at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/liberation-theology/.

[3] BBC – Religions – Christianity: Liberation theology.

The Patriarchy

[4] Levings, T. 2025. What is the sin of Empathy. Facebook post. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18gYe2a8PG/.

[5] The Umbrella of Oppression.

[6] By Tia Levings: A Well-Trained Wife – TIA LEVINGS.

NAR

[7] McCrummen, S. (2024a). “The Christian radicals are coming.” The Atlantic. October 1, 2024.Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/eau-claire-tent-revival/680097/.

[8] McCrummen, S. (2024b). “The news, directly from God.” The Atlantic. November 3, 2024. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/flashpoint-new-apostolic-reformation/680478/.

[9] McCrummen, S. (2025). “The army of God comes out of the shadows.” The Atlantic. January 9, 2025. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-movement-trump/681092/.

US Politics and History

[10] Richardson, H.C. (2025) “February 4, 2025”. Letters from an American. Available at: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/february-4-2025?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1b7ve0.

This passage from the book of Ephesians, in the New Testament of the Bible, is clear. When one believes in God, there is reconciliation, peace, no hostility. Between Jews and non-Jews, and between non-Jews – the latter is not explicitly stated, but it can be read as implied.

If you call yourself a Christian, and say that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is a logical impossibility for you to also hate your fellow human being, seek to degrade them, dehumanise them, bully them, reject them, enslave them, oppress them, deny them their God-given humanity.

No matter how different they may be from you.

No matter if they sin in a way you do not – or if you sin in a way they do not.

No matter if they are foreigners in your country.

No matter if they are refugees from war.

No matter if they are victims of oppression and slavery.

If you cannot recognise a person’s basic humanity, and as a result have no compassion, no empathy, are unmoved to treat them with respect, whether in word or in actions, then I would strongly recommend that you examine your beliefs and whether they align with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. Because if you call yourself a Christian, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles come first, a very long way before any kind of nationalism or party allegiance. And the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles necessarily MUST transcend such artificial distinctions. Humanity is ONE race, the human race, according to Jesus Christ and the apostles.

___________________________

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

— Eph. 2:11-22.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matt. 7:12 (ESV)

The Greatest Commandment. The Golden Rule. The Golden Law.

It is found in the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – and the writings of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Sanskrit, Ancient Tamil, Ancient Persia, Ancient Rome, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, to name but a few. It is, in short, embedded in every major world religion and philosophy.

A universal code of ethics, encapsulated in one very simple statement. No ifs, no buts.

In the Gospel of Luke, an expert in the Jewish law rephrases the Golden Rule, substituting the word “neighbour” for “others”. To which Jesus poses the question, “Who is my neighbour?”, and proceeds to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan.

For those unfamiliar with the parable, the Jews and the Samaritans were not exactly friends. Enemies is perhaps one way to put it. Yet the story Jesus relates is of a Samaritan assisting a Jew who has been beaten – and likely left for dead – at considerable cost to himself, setting any animosity and differences aside because he saw a fellow human in need.

Humanity… Humanitarian aid… Human rights…

Hatred of another human is not loving your neighbour.

Causing another human to fear you is not loving your neighbour.

Enslaving another human is not loving your neighbour.

Degrading or dehumanising another human is not loving your neighbour.

Torturing another human is not loving your neighbour.

Killing another human is not loving your neighbour.

Threatening to put another human into an internment camp is not loving your neighbour.

Threatening to deport another human who is simply seeking a better life, and potentially place them in danger, is not loving your neighbour.

This week, the majority of Americans have chosen Donald Trump for their next president. Naturally, those who voted for him are pleased “their man” won. Meanwhile their neighbours…

Well.

Many of those neighbours who also live inside the borders of America are now fearful. They fear his policies.

Us neighbours outside of America – neighbouring countries, the rest of the world – we’re worried. Both for all American citizens, and the wider world.

Those of us who pay attention to history are fairly sure we’ve seen or read about leaders like Trump. In different times and different places, and with different names, throughout history. There are certain personal characteristics, and a sequence to events. A blueprint, if you will. We’re fairly sure we know where things are heading.

I hope we’re wrong. I pray we’re wrong. For the sake of the world, and the sake of all my American friends.

But I’m quite certain we’re not wrong, and many all over the world think the same.

All I’m going to do, for now, is ask two very simple questions:

1. Who is your neighbour?

 2. What is loving your neighbour?

Perhaps you, dear reader, can ask them with me.

* Originally posted on Facebook towards the end of November 2024.

Many in the English-speaking world grew up in churches in the last century (acknowledged, many didn’t too). I did. And over the years I have watched the exodus of young people from the church institutions, many citing it as being irrelevant to modern-day life.

Every evening during bedtime with my young daughter, we read a Bible story, pray, and sing a song (or two). We’re currently working through the Junior Praise song book. Tonight one of the songs was “What a Friend we have in Jesus”. While singing through it, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how lonely people can get these days as people grow more and more suspicious of their neighbours, and how this loneliness leads to loss of hope, despair, depression, anxiety and for some, suicide. And I couldn’t help but think, “If only we could sing this song more to ourselves.” For it is such a beautiful reminder that there is ALWAYS a friend standing by who can be closer to us than a brother, sister, husband, wife, partner, BFF, parent or child can EVER be.

I’ve known that comfort that comes from knowing that Jesus loves me even as He knows my deepest, darkest secrets, even as He knows the terrible mistakes I’ve made (the ones I’ve struggled to forgive myself for before realising His love covers even them). Have you?

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do your friends despise, forsake you?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield you;

You will find a solace there.

Blessèd Savior, Thou hast promised

Thou wilt all our burdens bear

May we ever, Lord, be bringing

All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright unclouded

There will be no need for prayer

Rapture, praise and endless worship

Will be our sweet portion there.

– John Scriven, 1855

[image error]Palimpsest. Noun. a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text. (link)

Stasis. Noun. a state or condition in which there is no action or progress. (link)

Agent Pierce is a member of Stasis, an organisation of time travellers who have tasked themselves with the preservation of humanity and the recording of humanity’s history. His initiation into Stasis was to murder his grandfather – effectively writing himself out of the history books. When he survives an ambush, he is contacted by a doctoral researcher he eventually marries. But things fall apart when he travels through time to the Final Library and finds no record of the time line in which he marries the researcher.

I really really enjoyed this story. It certainly was a great way to end off my travels through The Time Traveller’s Almanac. In Palimpsest Stross creates an explosive cocktail of some of the themes I love best from scifi: deep time, time travel and the time travel paradox. While this novella is somewhat complex, at the same time it’s relatively simple. I could definitely see scope for it being expanded considerably, but I also like that Stross leaves some of the story to my imagination to fill in.

Definitely a huge thumbs up to this story from this scifi fan.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

[image error]The narrator of this story remains nameless. Her husband is Yuri Malenkov, and when we meet them, Yuri is dying – having cheated death for around three hundred years – apparently that’s what people do. In the last six months Yuri has made many time travel trips, and he dies the night after he returns from his final trip.

The reason Yuri made those many trips was so his wife could travel to meet him again after he has left her. And eventually she does make use of the time slots he logged and visits with him as time passes.

It isn’t explained how people in this setting cheat death, but apparently they can rejuvenate – but only for so long. Then they age rather rapidly.

This was a really lovely, gentle story of timeless love, and I enjoyed it very much. And there’s a bit of a plot twist that just put the cherry on top of the cake.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

 

[image error]Alan Strong works in the Archives Department at the Colson Time Studies Institute some three hundred years in the future. One day, when he arrives at work, his friend Joe Twofingers draws his attention to a fiction story in a magazine from the 20th century called Woman’s Secrets. The story is about a man called Alan Strong from the 24th century who travels back in time because he sees a photo of a lady called Cecily Walker, falls in love with her. And apparently this man works at the Archives Department at the Colson Time Studies Institute…

What ensues is a humorous account of Alan’s attempt to find Cecily. Time travel gets tough when you don’t have all the instructions.

I enjoyed reading this story. Brown’s writing is vivid and concise, and the story tickles the time travel paradox nicely. Definitely a thumbs’ up from me.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

[image error]In this story, the narrator is visiting an Anthony Carling. After dinner, all the other guests leave, and the narrator remains as an overnight guest. Anthony is quite a philosophical character, and the discussion turns to time and eternity, how time is an invention, whereas eternity is outside of time. Then Carling goes on to describe some events he’s experienced that he believes prove that eternity does not follow the same conventions as time.

I felt it a bit of a stretch to include this story in a book about time travel, but there you go, that decision was not mine. As a story, yes. I quite enjoyed it. Pretty much a narration of supernatural events is my assessment – some events of which had not occurred at the time they were witnessed by Carling. So he saw a foreshadow of them, basically. Or precogged them. The story is well-written and easily accessible.

Rating: 3/5 stars.

[image error]Marek, a musician and soundscaper, is excitedly anticipating the return of Dany, a crew member on the first close-to-light-speed space trip. But who is Dany, and what will happen?

This story had a distinctly “The Forever War” feel to it, but from the other side of the coin, so to speak. Fascinating, really, and somewhat disturbing too. I really enjoyed Davidson’s vision of the near future, of how the cities had evolved and/or degenerated, and his depiction of disconnect was excellent.

Rating: 4/5 stars.