Request for Feedback

Joseph Herrin (08-09-2014)

Recently a couple of subscribers to the Parables Blog notified me that they had ceased receiving the blog posts some time back. They asked if I could add them back to the mailing list if they had been removed. The Parables Blog uses a free subscription service called Feedburner (owned by Google) to mail out new posts to readers. The e-mails generally go out in the late evening around 8:00-9:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time.

The Parables Blog is hosted freely with Blogger (also owned by Google). These free services have been a great benefit during the past six years. The first Parables Blog was posted in April of 2008. There were approximately 300 subscribers to my mailing list back in 2008. It was taking quite a bit of time to maintain the list in those days as I had to manually add, remove, or edit people’s mailing information. FeedBurner was a great boon, for subscriptions are handled automatically without any action required on my part today. Readers are able to sign up to receive blog posts via e-mail by clicking on the Subscription link at the top right side of the blog. They can also unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the “Unsubscribe Now” link that is included at the bottom of every post that is mailed out.

The number of people subscribed to the Parables Blog is four times what it was in 2008. While the subscriber list is relatively small in comparison to many Christian ministries and blog sites, I have recognized that those teachings the Father has given me to share with His people are only attractive to a remnant of believers. The masses of people frequently deserted Yahshua after he spoke some difficult word which they were unable to receive. The same response is met with today when Christ’s ministers speak words that offend the flesh and soul of man. Consequently, the faithful flock of Christ remains the “little flock” (Luke 12:32).

The statistics that are built into Blogger and FeedBurner reveal that the page views to the Parables Blog amount to a few million since 2008. It takes a lot of people to view a blog millions of times. Despite this, the number of regular subscribers has fluctuated between 1,100 and 1,200 for a year or more. Even as the curious sought out Christ, many have visited the Parables Blog out of curiosity. Most have been attracted by the more exciting posts that deal with current events and prophecy. When they encounter more challenging posts admonishing Christians to embrace the disciple’s cross and to live a surrendered life to the leading of the Spirit, or when they encounter doctrines that are contrary to what they have previously received, most go their way and do not return.

As I keep my finger on the pulse of society I have concluded that the hour is fast approaching when the freedom to post controversial, or politically incorrect writings will no longer be available. There is already a growing censorship manifested both in the government and media. Companies like Google are only able to prosper as they get in bed with the global powers that be. They are instruments in the hands of the Luciferian globalists and will do their master’s bidding by increasingly acting to stifle voices of truth and righteousness.

Recently, an editor of a small newspaper was fired because he criticized the publishers of a homosexual Bible translation called “The Queen James Version.” Notably, the criticism of this profane Bible translation was not posted by the editor in the newspaper. It was posted on his personal blog page.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/newspaper-editor-fired-for-criticizing-pro-gay-bible-files-federal-complaint-against-former-employer-123815/

Also in the news recently was the report of Mark Jackson, an outspoken Christian and coach for the Golden State Warriors basketball team, being fired. The team president, Rick Welts is openly homosexual. Some have suggested that Mark Jackson’s response to the announcement of Jason Collins, the first openly homosexual player in the league, though cordial, was not enthusiastic enough to satisfy his homosexual boss.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/05/07/Claim-Warriors-Coach-Fired-for-Christian-Views-on-Homosexuality

Then there was Brendan Eich, developer of Javascript and one of the founders of Mozilla, the creator of the popular FireFox web browser. Brendan Eich was forced out of the company because he supported California’s Proposition 8. Proposition 8 was a ballot initiative to amend the state’s constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/mozilla-setting-precedent-for-failure-in-firing-ceo-over-support-of-marriage-117582/

Taking away from Christians the opportunity to speak out about their faith, was in my judgment the motive for pushing Tim Tebow to the periphery of professional football. The immoral angelic and human rulers of this world will no longer tolerate a popular righteous voice to be heard among the people.

There is a danger in being too dependent upon secular companies such as Google. Many have used their services because they are of high quality and they are free. Increasingly, these companies are promoting an anti-Christ, immoral social agenda. The flip side of this promotion of degeneracy is that they are demonstrating intolerance for all Christian morality. The media backlash against Chick-fil-a because of a rather mild statement in support of the traditional definition of marriage by the company’s president reveals the lengths the world powers are now going to in order to silence dissent to their Satanic agenda. The comment by Chick-fil-a’s president was not hateful. It was simply expressing support for the Biblical definition of marriage, and it was spoken in an interview with a rather obscure Baptist publication.

Similarly, when Russian President Vladimir Putin upheld a moral stance against homosexuality in his nation in the run-up to the Sochi Olympics, the media, and many governments and NGOs, attacked him viciously. Google did not miss an opportunity to use its influence to promote unrighteousness, and to suppress morality. Their official doodle for the inaugural day of the Sochi Olympics displayed the rainbow colors of the homosexual movement.

Clicking on the image would direct the viewer to a statement of the International Olympic Committee’s charter that focused on non-discrimination. I believe the day is not far off when Google will refuse to allow any of its vast array of Internet services to be used to promote a Christian  world view. Hypocritically, Google’s company motto is “Don’t be evil.”

Homosexual activists have learned that one very effective tactic to be employed against Christians is to complain to companies with whom the Christians do business. Following is an excerpt from an article about a popular Christian writer and blogger who lives in Brazil. Homosexual activists launched a campaign against Julio Severo and succeeded in getting Blogger to shut down his blog. Later they also were successful in getting PayPal to cancel his account, and to put a 6 month hold on all money in his PayPal account.
---
September 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Under pressure from homosexual activists, PayPal has decided to deny service to famed Brazilian pro-life and pro-family Christian activist Julio Severo.

In additon, at least two Christian organizations targeted by the same activists remain under investigation by PayPal and may also lose use of the service.

Severo, an Evangelical essayist who also translates for LifeSiteNews, maintains a highly influential blog in Portuguese that is read and commented on by politicians in Brazil’s federal government.  He is also the author of several books, including a work on the homosexual movement in Brazil. (See his blog in Portuguese here and his blog in English here.)

Severo’s use of PayPal has been targeted in recent weeks by the homosexual group “All Out,” which has created an online petition to urge PayPal to dump Severo and nine other PayPal users as purveyors of “hate” and “extremism.” Severo’s site expresses love of homosexuals and a concern that homosexual behavior is destructive to those who participate in it.

Following the initiation of the campaign, Severo and several others on the list have been contacted by PayPal, asking for information on their organizations and implying that they are not in compliance with PayPal policies.

Following Severo’s response noting that he is not an organization, only an individual, PayPal responded today stating, “We appreciate your interest in PayPal. However, due to legal and regulatory constraints, PayPal Private Limited is unable to process donation payments for non-registered charities and non-profit organizations (NPOs); political party/organizations; religious institutions; personal/organizational fundraisers, etc in countries under its jurisdiction.”

“This is not a decision we make lightly, and we deeply regret any inconvenience or frustration this matter may cause you,” PayPal adds.  “Please understand that this decision is final.”

The organization adds that it will not permit Severo to access any funds remaining in the account for 180 days, after which it will inform him of how to recover them.

Homosexual militants have sought to silence Severo for years, and the elimination of his PayPal account is the third major success scored in their campaign.

In 2009 Severo was forced to flee Brazil with his family after police launched an investigation of him for criticizing the behavior of homosexuals during their marches.  Criticism of homosexual behavior is restricted in Brazil.

Homosexuals also managed to remove Severo’s blog from Blogger for a short period of time in 2008, after complaining about its content. However, following a massive outcry from Brazilian Christians, his site was restored.
[Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-activists-get-lifesitenews-translator-and-pro-family-activist-julio-sev]

PayPal also shut down the accounts of several other Christian ministries that have publicly stood against the spread of homosexuality. The homosexual advocacy group “All Out” has a webpage announcing their victories in this area, and calling for further attacks against Christian voices.

https://www.allout.org/en/actions/paypal

The present issues I have had with undelivered blog posts have nothing to do with censorship. They appear to be the result of changes being made by major Internet service providers to cut down on e-mail scams. A policy group called DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) has developed security standards for e-mail providers. As these standards are being implemented one result is that a significant amount of legitimate e-mail is no longer being delivered. This is especially true in the case of e-mail being delivered by subscription services such as FeedBurner. You can read about the issue at the following links:

http://yahoo.tumblr.com/post/82426971544/an-update-on-our-dmarc-policy-to-protect-our-users

http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2014/05/switching-feedburner-mad-mimi-dmarc-yahoo-aol-issue/

Due to this issue, I am brought to consider whether I will need to switch to a paid subscription service that has a solution to this problem. It also seems a good time to give some thought to moving away from Google altogether. I have been very dependent upon Google as I have used their blog service, their subscription service, and their e-mail service. It seems likely that Christians will experience discrimination from global companies like Google and PayPal before they experience a complete censorship of the Internet by western governments. Undoubtedly, the day will come when there will be no opportunity left for the disciples of Christ to speak truth and righteousness openly across the Internet, but until that day comes we must seek to continue to work while we can.

John 9:4
“We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.”

In seeking to know the extent of the problem currently being encountered with delivery of blog posts, I would like to hear back from readers of the blog. Of course, if you are not receiving the posts, you will not receive this via e-mail. I am hopeful, however, that some will read the blog online at the website and let me know if they are no longer receiving the e-mails. This seems to be a problem especially with Yahoo and AOL right now. Whether Google will present a solution for their FeedBurner service is unknown to me. I do not relish incurring further expense, especially that which recurs monthly, but it may be necessary to do so to insure that writings continue to be delivered to those who have requested them.

If you use Yahoo Mail or AOL, please drop me a line and let me know if you are receiving the blog posts via e-mail. A short note saying either “I am receiving the blog posts,” or “I am not receiving the blog posts” will let me know your status. I would be interested in hearing from people who are using other mail services as well. Please understand that I likely will not be able to reply to each individual e-mail, but I will check them all to see which e-mail providers are working properly.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Joseph Herrin

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063