-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0830816240/ref=lm_lb_5/106-7006444-3082 036 Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0830816240/ref=lm_lb_5/106-700644 4-3082036">Amazon.com: buying info: Secrets, Plots & Hidde…</A> ----- Secrets, Plots & Hidden Agendas : What You Don't Know About Conspiracy Theories by Paul T. Coughlin List Price: $12.99 Category: Nonfiction Paperback - 226 pages (March 1999) Intervarsity Pr; ISBN: 0830816240 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.58 x 8.18 x 5.40 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 135,452 Avg. Customer Rating: Number of Reviews: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Customers who bought this book also bought: Editorial Reviews The publisher, InterVarsity Press , February 11, 1999 A balanced, Christian analysis of conspiracy theories. Were the government actions at Ruby Ridge and Waco "planned executions"? Has the national debt been deliberately increased to give evil international bankers control over the country? Is there a secret organization of top political, economic, military, academic, religious and media leaders whose goal is to control the entire planet? News of conspiracies has spread broadly by the Internet, radio talk shows and thriving publishing efforts. The theories are confirmed by some of the government's own declassified reports, by prominent leaders who publicly favor global government, and by some interpretations of Bible prophecy and alleged Bible codes that predict such events. But what is the truth? Is there substantial counterevidence, or does the weight of data confirm the conspiracies? In this book Paul Coughlin summarizes the main ideas conspiracy theorists have about a one-world government as well as the role of the media, end-times teachings and the Jewish community. He uncovers the facts about secret plots and the reasons that so many people believe them to be true. This objective and comprehensive survey offers clear data and a compelling analysis of the truth about conspiracy theories. Paul T. Coughlin has been a staff writer for Medford Mail Tribune and editor of Upper Rogue Independent, a weekly newspaper in southern Oregon. He also h osted the Paul Thomas Show on KDOV in Oregon for several years. "Few things block unbelievers from serious consideration of the gospel more than conspiracy theories. Paul Thomas Coughlin confronts some of the more outrageous ones and vaporizes them. Of course, anyone with any sense must conclude that he is part of a giant conspiracy!" Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist "Paul Coughlin has spent years reviewing the origins of the hundreds of conspiracy theories in this country and has personally interviewed dozens of men and women at `ground zero,' those who were there during the alleged incident, or those who were the makers of such theories. As an FBI Agent for twenty-five years, including service with the FBI's Behavioral Science or `Silence of the Lambs' Unit, it is clear to me that Paul has one open agenda the truth. It is out there, and it is in this book." Clinton R. Van Zandt, the FBI's former Chief Hostage Negotiator and Behavioral Science Unit Supervisor Was this content helpful to you? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ All Customer Reviews Avg. Customer Rating: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other shoppers! 4 of 7 people found the following review helpful: An Encouraging Volume From An Unlikely Source, August 15, 1999 Reviewer: A reader from Palmerston North, New Zealand It is good to see evangelical Christians who recognise that members of the fundamentalist community are implicated in political extremism,and take a stance against racist and anti-Semitic elements within that community. I would encourage non-evangelicals to read this book, and I hope that the author is not the target of reprisals from extremist members of his community. Here in New Zealand, most of our Christian Right has had links to the neofascist League of Rights over the last decade or so, and there has been little denunciation of right-wing extremism from this quarter. Deserves wider distribution. Was this review helpful to you? 5 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Shooting Jewish children in 1999!, August 14, 1999 Reviewer: Thomas Headland ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) (see more about me) from Da llas, Texas This is not a book on conspiracy theories in general. Rather, it focuses almost exclusively on variations of a particular type of religiously-driven conspiracy theory, that type formed by a far right segment of Protestant fundamentalism, those Christians who are overconcerned with end-times apocalyptic tribulation predictions which they believe may occur within the decade. While certainly critical of people who believe and promote these conspiracy theories (e.g., Pat Robertson, Bill Gothard, and especially Hal Lindsey), author Coughlin is surprisingly fair to them. He persuades his readers that most of these people, excepting the hard-core militia-type disciples, are decent Christians who have been persuaded by charismatic conspiracy theorists into blaming specific groups (the CIA, United Nations, the democrats, the Masons, the "Jew-controlled" media, etc.) for the world's problems (inflation, Ruby Ridge, the Oklahoma City bombing, Waco, a New World Order, Y2K, etc.). Coughlin argues that we must acknowledge "that the Christian conspiracy community harbors legitimate concerns" (191). Not everything they say is stupid, or even wrong (199). Occasionally, their explanations have an element of truth. A weakness of this book is that its documentation consists mostly of secondary (even tertiary) sources, rather than primary sources. This author did not always do his own homework. He is a journalist/reporter type, not a scholar/academician. Still, I found the book helpful and worth reading. On August 11, the day after I finished the book, the national headline news was focused on Buford Furrow, the white supremacist who had allegedly just shot five people at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles. Furrow was clearly caught up in the very conspiracy theories described in this book. It underscored for me that Coughlin's thesis has something to teach us today. Conspiracy theories are serious business, indeed. Was this review helpful to you? 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Excellent contribution, July 19, 1999 Reviewer: Dr. Gregory S. Camp (see more about me) from Chattanooga, TN As a fellow conspiracy research who has published an anti-conspiracy book of my own ("Selling Fear"), I welcome Coughlin's contribution as yet another nail in the coffin of paranoid Religious Right zealots within Christianity in general. A "Bravo"! needs to said about the book. A Must! BUY IT! © 1996-2001, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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