Akkam’s Razor

Sometimes I wonder if my fear and skepticism over religion is unfounded.  Sometimes I wonder if the professions of faith by elected officials, especially when using religious overtones as "codes" to the faithful of their intent is a subjugation of democracy.  Sometimes I think I'm over-reacting.

Sometime I think when I read obvious tinfoil conspiracy-type sites like PrisonPlanet I'm left with goosebumps when I see something that I would normally regard as ridiculous that I recognize as correlated to other real-world news items.  All emphasis indicated below is mine.

PrisonPlanet had the following:

In March of this year the Pastor, who we shall refer to as Pastor Revere, was invited to attend a meeting of his local FEMA [county-level Emergency Management Agency] chapter which circulated around preparedness for a potential bio-terrorist attack, any natural disaster or a nationally declared emergency.

The FEMA [county-level Emergency Management Agency] directors told the Pastors that attended that it was their job to help implement FEMA and Homeland Security directives in anticipation of any of these eventualities. The first directive was for Pastors to preach to their congregations Romans 13, the often taken out of context bible passage that was used by Hitler to hoodwink Christians into supporting him, in order to teach them to "obey the government" when martial law is declared.

It was related to the Pastors that quarantines, martial law and forced relocation were a problem for state authorities when enforcing federal mandates due to the "cowboy mentality" of citizens standing up for their property and second amendment rights as well as farmers defending their crops and livestock from seizure. It was stressed that the Pastors needed to preach subservience to the authorities ahead of time in preparation for the round-ups and to make it clear to the congregation that "this is for their own good." 

Which correlates nicely with this pledge request by the NRA (National Rifle Association, you know, "take the rifle from my cold, dead hands" people?) to local and state level lawmakers: 

ABC News has learned that the powerful gun group will launch a new campaign on Thursday when it convenes its annual convention in Milwaukee. It will demand that police chiefs and mayors pledge to never confiscate weapons from law-abiding citizens in the wake of disasters such as hurricanes or terrorist attacks.

 

"We are going to ask every mayor and every police chief in America to take a pledge that they will never go door to door confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens," Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, told ABC News in an exclusive interview airing this evening on "World News Tonight."

 

"We're also going to go to state legislatures and Congress to pass legislation to make it a federal and a state crime for anyone that gives those orders and carries them out," he added.

 

The organization officials maintains that after Hurricane Katrina, law enforcement officers in Louisiana confiscated firearms from law-abiding gun owners

 

"We can't allow these local tyrannies to exist after disaster hits where they throw the Constitution out the window," LaPierre said. "That's what the police chief in New Orleans did."

And lastly, the quote from Romans 13 (NIV): 

Submission to the Authorities

1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
4 For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.
7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Sometimes, two unrelated items may be linked by conspiratorial thinking, seeing things that do not exist, and sometimes, maybe it's just coincidence.