There is a viewpoint out there that hates all things old and definite. We call it groupthink. All things refusing to align with the glossy and shiny Groupthink of the hour are to be despised and destroyed.
Quite intentionally, The Powers That Be (TPTB) have created division in our world, culture and church, and two classes have emerged.
There is the compliant class (Romans 12:2; 3 John 1:11).
The reasoning class (Isaiah 1:18).
Reasoning, with its stubborn reliance on facts, morality, conscience, responsibility, and rationality, will receive repeated ballistic strikes until they are dead (Revelation 13:15; 1 Peter 4:4).
Groupthink and its cousin Newthink, which is what TPTB wants, will replace it. The field of thought is persistently narrowed until there are only two viewpoints, one clearly good and the other clearly bad. Newthink operates under the assumption that there are no extrinsic moral values; that what is right is whatever the group (or TPTB) prefers.
Most everyone you know is a Groupthinker. The endless, merciless pounding of psychological operations, fear campaigns and "crisis governance" has turned the vast majority of people into mindless compliance robots who go along with whatever absurd demand being placed on them by coercive governments. (Such as "all pregnant women must receive COVID vaccines" or "all school children need to wear masks and be isolated from each other.")
No independent voices are to be platformed, no voice refusing to echo empty-calorie soundbites should be listened to.
Diversity and inclusion officers are hired with predictable physical and mental characteristics. The most notable characteristic is the mental one perpetuating the narrow monoculture of the moment. Whatever is in, is in, be it BLM, LGBTQI, the mandatory jab, or the ordination of the latest preferred class. From the biblical revelation that says all people are created in God's image and should be granted equality of opportunity, things slide over to the notion that we are to bend all facts until we have forced an imagined equality of outcome.
DEI (DIE)
Yes, there is something un-diverse about the sudden hollow proliferation of DEI officers across the fruited plain (especially since 2020). Fortunately, DEI jobs are now drying up. Rather than creating an inclusive workplace, DEI komisars at many companies generated controversies, alienated employees, reinforced stereotypes, and worsened the division of the workforce. End result: a very limited return on the investment.
But let's not talk about it.
The Failings of Fulcrum7
Fulcrum7 doubtless has its own list of mistakes. Who doesn't? Last I heard there were actual humans at the helm. Development of the Fulcrum7 AI—I hear in whispers down the corridor—has stalled.
Actually getting to the breakthrough benefits of conscious-less AIs which can write articles in full PC mode is harder than it looks, and Gerry's Amish programmers are still struggling with the upgrade to Windows95.
So send in your good articles and testimonies. The F7 audience has increased to 600k unique viewers per year (and growing)! Your stories have the potential to encourage lots of people.
The march is on to change the world. Everything must be destroyed, that the new world may live. Groupthink is in. Reasoning is verboten. No matter that none of the younger class really know what the new world will look like. Just think like the herd. Fake it till' you make it. You can be part of the herd too.
Fulcrum7 is still an island, an independent, non-manipulable voice, an outlet for those who still embrace the things the church used to believe, and a doorway to lay-empowerment. It is a place where people can communicate freely. Sometimes the comments are embarrassing, maybe even on occasion the stories. But at least they are not manufactured and manicured to suit a corporate agenda or public relations or the latest Groupthink from outside or inside the church.
A major paper warns in it's motto that freedom dies in darkness, although few see that paper as an authentic embodiment of that ethos. But it is also true for Christians. Just as truth dies in darkness, it flourishes in the light (1 John 1:5-7).
I am thankful for the voice of Fulcrum7. It is a light in Adventism in a time of darkness.
****
Larry Kirkpatrick serves as pastor of the Muskegon and Fremont MI Seventh-day Adventist churches. His website is GreatControversy.org and YouTube channel is “Larry the guy from Michigan.” Every morning Larry publishes a new devotional video.