While watching the movie Killing Jesus, which was based on the book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, I noticed a stark similarity between how the Romans and the Jewish priests manipulated the mob (otherwise known as the court of public opinion) and how today's media does the same thing.
Before making the move to have Jesus crucified, the Roman government and the Jewish priests conspired to cast Jesus as a false prophet first, as a message to any future "false prophets" that might threatened their power and authority.
During the time of Jesus, those in power influenced people's opinions primarily throughout the church and gossip on the streets. They used lies and spies to get the people to believe what they wanted them to believe, so that the people would still "respect" their control over them, and not stage violent riots against them.
There was no Nightly News, Cable News, Newspapers or Internet to give the people another side of the story. Thus, they told them what they wanted them to believe.
Once some of the priests and some of the mob bought into the false prophet accusation, then the prevailing Roman official gave the OK to crucify Jesus, and they did. Though an unfair, tragic, and painful end to the life of Jesus, it was a prophecy fulfilled. But ...
The mob killed Jesus.
Today, the media and liberals have to contend with information sources that did not exist during the time of Jesus. But some of them still work at creating public perception that fits their need for sensationalism and their political agenda, even if they have to use lies, distortions and deceptions.
That's what happened to the family-owned pizza restaurant in Indiana that was forced to shut down because of hateful threats against them for expressing their religious beliefs – a freedom the First Amendment to our Constitution affords them.
The media had a feeding frenzy on the lie that the original Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act discriminated against gays, lesbians and other members of the LGBT community. It does not and has never been used to discriminate in any similar laws on the books in at least 20 other states.
The mob shut down that pizza restaurant with the help of the media.
Existing law does not allow discrimination against any groups or individuals in public places or institutions. Discrimination means to deny. Choice means to choose. If there arises a specific situation that seems to be in the gray area between the two, the court system will resolve. Somebody will sue somebody.
All of the opponents of the original RFRAs made their objections on hypothetical situations that had never happened in the over 20 years since the first such law was passed at the federal level.
But the present-day mob was so loud and angry that the governors of Indiana and Arkansas added some words of "clarification" that watered down a business's right to choose, and made it easier for groups to sue. The mob ruled!
This happens all the time, especially when Democrats and liberals continue to say things that do not match the facts until enough gullible people start to believe it's true. Climate change is a crisis! The rich are stealing from the little people! CEOs make too much money! Income inequality is a problem! You didn't build that! More government is the answer!
Then! Instead of a false leader being voted out of office, they get re-elected.
The mob continues to be manipulated to elect incompetent officials, just like the mob was manipulated to believe that Jesus should be crucified.
We need a smarter mob!
