Saturday, October 31, 2015

The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God



Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God found that these were the truths presented in Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter constitute a threefold warning (see Appendix) which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second coming. The announcement, "The hour of His judgment is come," points to the closing work of Christ's ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a truth which must be proclaimed until the Saviour's intercession shall cease and He shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself. The work of judgment which began in 1844 must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation. That men may be prepared to stand in the judgment, the message commands them to "fear God, and give glory to Him," "and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in the word: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment. The apostle Paul declares: "As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." And he says that "the doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:12-16. Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for "without faith it is impossible to please Him." And "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.

By the first angel, men are called upon to "fear God, and give glory to Him" and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In order to do this, they must obey His law. Says the wise man: "Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Without obedience to His commandments no worship can be pleasing to God. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." 1 John 5:3; Proverbs 28:9.

The duty to worship God is based upon the fact that He is the Creator and that to Him all other beings owe their existence. And wherever, in the Bible, His claim to reverence and worship, above the gods of the heathen, is presented, there is cited the evidence of His creative power. "All the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens." Psalm 96:5. "To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things." "Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it: . . . I am the Lord; and there is none else." Isaiah 40:25, 26; 45:18. Says the psalmist: "Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves." "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psalms 100:3; 95:6. And the holy beings who worship God in heaven state, as the reason why their homage is due to Him: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things." Revelation 4:11.


In Revelation 14, men are called upon to worship the Creator; and the prophecy brings to view a class that, as the result of the threefold message, are keeping the commandments of God. One of these commandments points directly to God as the Creator. The fourth precept declares: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:10, 11. Concerning the Sabbath, the Lord says, further, that it is "a sign, . . . that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Ezekiel 20:20. And the reason given is: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Exodus 31:17.

"The importance of the Sabbath as the memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God"--because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures. "The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this. The true ground of divine worship, not of that on the seventh day merely, but of all worship, is found in the distinction between the Creator and His creatures. This great fact can never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten."--J. N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath, chapter 27. It was to keep this truth ever before the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath in Eden; and so long as the fact that He is our Creator continues to be a reason why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will continue as its sign and memorial. Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man's thoughts and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel. The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God, "Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." It follows that the message which commands men to worship God and keep His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the fourth commandment.

In contrast to those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, the third angel points to another class, against whose errors a solemn and fearful warning is uttered: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Revelation 14:9, 10. A correct interpretation of the symbols employed is necessary to an understanding of this message. What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark?

The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His birth. The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.

The Great Controversy, pp.435-438.

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The Jesuits Under The Bushes - C. T. Wilcox






Published on Nov 24, 2013


C.T. Wilcox on the " Threshing Floor Radio Show" with Randy Maugans. Aired on March 18, 2009

Wilcox presents information never before published about the "smoking gun" which completely implicates the Vatican and the monarchies of Europe with both the Civil War and the murder of Lincoln.

http://threshingfloor-radio.com/index...

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Donald Trump This Week Abc On Carson 7th Day Adventist Comment & Jeb Bush Cuts





SDFU TV

Published on Oct 25, 2015


Donald Trump said Sunday that he didn't say "anything bad" about rival Ben Carson being a Seventh-day Adventist and saw no reason to apologize for raising the issue during a recent campaign rally. "I would certainly give an apology if I said something bad about it. But I didn't. All I said was I don't know about it," Trump said during an interview on ABC's "This Week," one of three Sunday talk shows in which the billionaire businessman talked about recent polls that showed Carson pulling ahead of him in Iowa. Trump dismissed a suggestion by host George Stephanopolous that by mentioning Caron's religious affiliation he was trying to "send a dog whistle" to "some conservatives [who] claim the Seventh Day Adventists are not Christian. "No, not at all," Trump said. Carson, in an interview on Fox News, noted that Trump "went ballistic" several weeks ago when Carson questioned Trump's faith. "So it seems a little interesting that he would now be doing that," Carson noted. In dueling appearances on the Sunday shows by the two top candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump kept up his aggressive rhetoric about his political prowess and Carson continued his confident but low-key approach to the campaign. Trump suggested in interviews on Sunday that he was a bit taken aback by polls that show Carson, whom he has criticized as lacking energy, pulling ahead of him in Iowa. "I was really surprised to see it, because three nights ago, I was in Iowa. We had a packed house. We had 4,000 people, and it was a lovefest," Trump said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union." "And I have done really well with the evangelicals and with the tea party and everything. And I just don't understand the number. But you know what? I accept the number. It means I have to work a little bit harder in Iowa." Carson, in an interview on Fox News, attributed his surge in Iowa to "the power of social media and of word of mouth because as you know ... a lot of the media has it in for me. But, you know, if people listen to them, you know, I would be polling at less than zero." And he declined to get strike back at Trump, who said during a rally in Florida on Saturday, "I'm Presbyterian. Boy, that's down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

[Ben Carson: I don't want to get into a 'gladiator fight' with Donald Trump]

Carson passed when Fox News anchor Chris Wallace reminded him of that comment, as well as Trump's criticisms about his rival's energy level and his stand on immigration.

"I really refuse to really get into the mud pit," Carson said, adding that Trump "is who he is. I don't think that's going to change. And I am who I am. That's not going to change, either."

He continued: "And the way I kind of look at it, if people resonate what I'm talking about ... And if they like that, and it works with them, and they feel I'm the good representative for them, that's great. I would love to have their vote. And if they don't want me, that's fine, too. Because I would never lie just to get an office. I wouldn't be happy, and the people wouldn't be happy."

Last month Carson drew Trump's ire when he explained that the difference between him and the former reality TV show star was that “I’ve realized where my success has come from, and I don’t in any way deny my faith in God.” He later apologized, saying, "If he took that as a personal attack on him, I apologize, it was certainly not the intent." Carson also drew criticism last month when he said he would not support a Muslim for president.Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump comes to “This Week.” where george stephanopoulos grilled trump on taking jabs at ben carson's religion and ben carson creeping up in the polls. donald trump then turns his attention to his favorite target jeb bush. trump talks about bush cutting campaign staffers salaries by 40% and how hes number one and spent the least

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Friday, October 30, 2015

World War lll ~ Planning Ahead - by Bill Hughes




Published on Oct 18, 2015

Pastor Bill Hughes author of 'The Secret Terrorists' and 'Enemy Unmasked', presents a message on how Albert Pike and the Jesuit order planned for 3 world wars in which the resulting chaos would lead to the pure doctrine of Lucifer- enforced Sunday worship.

Please write to him:
Box 1417
Eustis, FL 32727

Will the Antichrist Please Stand Up ? - by Bill Hughes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBFs7g...

The Secret Terrorists (pdf)
http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/Con...

The Enemy Unmasked (pdf)
http://www.theunhivedmind.com/wordpre...

Prophecy Arise - by Bill Hughes (playlist)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Bill Hughes (Sermons)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...


The Mark of the Beast 666 - Third Angel's Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmRd8...

Sunday Law is coming - LRLTV Special Report׃ April 3rd, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyadZ...

See HOW the Sunday Law is being Pushed Today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tua5e...

Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen Wants SUNDAY LAWS !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uu_...

The Mark Of The Beast Is NOT A Microchip! (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgHoVZ...

RE: The Mark Of The Beast Is NOT A Microchip! [PART 2] (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADqnak...


RULERS OF EVIL - F. TUPPER SAUSSY
http://www.granddesignexposed.com/pdf...

The Secret History of Jesuits by Edmond Paris (1975).pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/mk4...



"My history of the Jesuits is not eloquently written, but it is supported by unquestionable authorities, [and] is very particular and very horrible. Their [the Jesuit Order's] restoration [in 1814 by Pope Pius VII] is indeed a step toward darkness, cruelty, despotism, [and] death. ... I do not like the appearance of the Jesuits. If ever there was a body of men who merited eternal damnation on earth and in hell, it is this Society of [Ignatius de] Loyola."
- John Adams (1735-1826; 2nd President of the United States)

"Above all I have learned from the Jesuits. And so did Lenin too, as far as I recall. The world has never known anything quite so splendid as the hierarchical structure of the [Roman] Catholic Church. There were quite a few things I simply appropriated from the Jesuits for the use of the [Nazi] Party.
- Adolph Hitler (1889-1945; Nazi leader and chancellor of Germany from 1933-1945)


((Ed. Comment: What follows is a similar quotation of Hitler taken from Edmond Paris' book The Vatican Against Europe.))

"I have learnt most of all from the Jesuit Order. So far, there has been nothing more imposing on earth than the hierarchical organization of the Catholic Church. A good part of that organization I have transported direct to my own party. The Catholic Church must be held up as an example. I will tell you a secret. I am founding an order. In Himmler (who would become head of the Nazi party) I see our Ignatius de Loyola (Jesuit founder)."
-- Adolph Hitler

"The Jesuits are a MILITARY organization, not a religious order. Their chief is a general of an army, not the mere father abbot of a monastery. And the aim of this organization is power -- power in its most despotic exercise -- absolute power, universal power, power to control the world by the volition of a single man. Jesuitism is the most absolute of despotisms -- and at the same time the greatest and most enormous of abuses."
-- Napoleon I (i.e., Napoleon Bonaparte; 1769-1821; emperor of the French)

"It is my opinion that if the liberties of this country -- the United States of America -- are destroyed, it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies to civil and religious liberty. They have instigated MOST of the wars of Europe."
-- Marquis de LaFayette (1757-1834; French statesman and general. He served in the American Continental Army under the command of General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.)


"Alas, I knew they [i.e., the Jesuits] would poison me; but I did not expect to die in so slow and cruel a manner." (1774)
- Pope Clement XIV (Who had "forever" abolished the Jesuit Order in 1773)

"The war [i.e., the American Civil War of 1861-1865] would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits."
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865; 16th President of the United States) "

[Wherever] a totalitarian movement erupts, whether Communist or Nazi [Fascist], a Jesuit can be found in the role of 'adviser' or leader; in Cuba [it was] [Jesuit-trained] Castro's 'Father' Armando Llorente..."
- Emanuel M. Josephson (American physician and historian)

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All Your Questions About Seventh-Day Adventism And Ben Carson Answered




It's All Politics





OCTOBER 27, 2015 5:51 PM ET




Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a North Texas Presidential Forum hosted by Faith & Freedom Coalition and Prestonwood Baptist Church last weekend.
Brandon Wade/AP



Ben Carson has surged into a lead in Iowa and is climbing nationally thanks to his appeal to evangelicals. But could his own beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist make him anathema to many of those same voters?

Donald Trump seemed to question the Republican neurosurgeon's faith over the weekend.

"I'm Presbyterian," Trump said at a Saturday rally in Florida. "Boy, that's down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

Trump later denied he was trying to send up a "dog whistle" questioning Carson's faith, but he seemed to be trying to exploit the fact that the faith largely remains a mystery to many Americans.

Just look at the top Google trends for Seventh-day Adventists. Questions people are Googling: Are they a cult? Are they Mormon? Are they anti-Catholic? Are they Protestant? Are they vegetarian?

Here are some background and some answers to those questions and others. First, the background:

When did the Seventh-day Adventist Church begin?

The Adventist movement can trace its influences back to William Miller, a farmer turned Bible teacher who predicted that Jesus would return to Earth sometime between March 1843 and March 1844, based on his interpretation of Old Testament passages and other Scriptures. His followers began selling their possessions, anticipating the rapture. When that didn't happen, Miller said it would happen on a new date: Oct. 22, 1844. That prediction didn't come true either, of course.

The church still considers his original prophecy (though wrong on its dates) one of the central tenets of its faith — that Jesus will soon return. "He was wrong in his prediction, because he predicted the date of when Christ would come," says G. Alexander Bryant, the executive secretary for Seventh-day Adventists of North America "What we learned from William Miller is that no man knows the date or the hour when Jesus will return."

What happened next?

After Miller's prophecy didn't come true, there was a period the church refers to as the "great disappointment" that led to much soul-searching — but the ensuing reflection eventually led to the church's official founding. Its name, the Adventists, reflects that its adherents are awaiting the Second Advent of Christ.

"Many were quite disappointed and disenchanted with the beliefs," Bryant says. "Others began to think more diligently, 'Where did we go wrong?' and continued studying and searching."

One of those people was Ellen G. White, who along with others officially founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. A prolific writer on faith and health, she is seen by the church as a prophetess who was instrumental in cementing many of the church's early beliefs. Overall, she wrote more than 40 books and over 50,000 articles.

While the influence of White's writings has drawn scrutiny, Bryant emphasizes that her writings are not seen as divine or meant to supersede the Bible.

"She was a complement to the Bible and a prophetic writer in her own right," he says. "She is viewed as a co-founder of a mission."

How many Seventh-day Adventists are there?

The Adventist Church boasts 1.2 million members in North America; with more than 18.7 million members worldwide it is among the fastest-growing denominations. The Pew Research Center found it to be the most racially diverse religious group in the U.S. earlier this year.

What makes Adventists unique?

Unlike most other Christian denominations, Seventh-day Adventists attend church on Saturdays, which they believe to be the Sabbath instead of Sunday, according to their interpretation of the Bible.y

"It's not just that we worship on the Sabbath; we honor that day as a day of rest," Bryant says. "We don't engage in secular activities, we don't work during that time, and we look at that time to be rejuvenated."

There is also an emphasis placed on health and wholeness, partly drawn from White's writings. That includes abstention from alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs and even meat. The church has an approach it abbreviates as "NEWSTART" — nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest and trust in divine power.

So, are all Seventh-day Adventists forbidden to do anything on Saturdays and to eat any meat?

Not really. Bryant emphasizes that the church takes very seriously setting aside and respecting the Sabbath, but that it also recognizes that some work must take place, such as in the medical field. (The church also has a vast network of hospitals.)

Carson has said he tries to respect the Sabbath, but he has campaigned and made stops on his book tour on Saturdays. "Sabbath is still a precious day for us. We go to church as often as we can. Even if we're on the road we treat it as a different day than all the others," he told an Adventist news network in 2013.

"We do not believe that the only way you can be saved is to keep the Sabbath," says Bryant, noting that the Bible is their only source for their doctrine and that Adventists don't believe other churches to be heretical if they worship on Sundays instead of Saturdays.

As for some of the dietary guidelines, they're just that — guidelines. Not eating meat also isn't a requirement to be a Seventh-day Adventist, though it is encouraged.

"We don't beat people up if they don't choose it, because we still believe it is a personal choice," Bryant says. "But we believe [vegetarianism or veganism] is the healthier choice."

Do their beliefs differ from traditional evangelicals?

Not much. Aside from different days of worship and an outsize emphasis on health and nutrition, doctrinally the two are about the same. Evangelicals and Adventists believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and many of their original members came from other related denominations, like Methodism, or even some from Roman Catholic traditions. The current Seventh-day Adventist Church considers itself to be Protestant.

"If you know our faith, you can't say we don't have the same beliefs as other Protestants," Bryant says.

Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth College, concurred that there weren't many differences in beliefs or theology. But some of the notable stylistic differences may be why Adventists can be viewed very skeptically by some evangelicals.

"I think there's kind of a cultural difference and a residual suspicion because they worship on Saturday rather than Sunday," Balmer said. "My observation is that Seventh-day Adventists are looked askance [at] to some degree. It's not because of anything heretical in what they believe, but it's just kind of a cultural difference."

Do some evangelicals believe Adventists are a cult or are not Christian?

Some may, and there is still some residual skepticism. Earlier this year, Carson was disinvited from speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention's Pastors' Conference because of theological concerns.

On the website of the SBC's North American Mission Board, the church classifies Adventists as a "sect" of Christianity, not a cult, "because it has a number of distinctive doctrines not in accord with the mainstream of historic Christian faith."

Could Carson's faith impact his standing in the GOP primary?

Probably not. Evangelical voters are far more skeptical of Mormonism, which deviates more from their brand of Christianity than do Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. So if Republicans could nominate Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon, Carson's own religion shouldn't be a stumbling block either.

And if Trump is trying to throw doubt on Carson's own faith, there remain plenty of questions about his own — including the fact that the church he says he attends says he isn't an active member.

Carson has drawn scrutiny for some of his comments on abortion and other social issues. Where does the church stand on those?

The church says it does not condone abortion except in cases to save the life of the mother, and abortions are not performed in any of its hospitals.

It also recognizes marriage as solely between a man and a woman. But Bryant says that Adventists "also have a compassionate heart in terms of fellowship and acceptance for all those who come in fellowship and worship in our churches [and] do not condone singling out any group for scorn or derision, let alone abuse."

But while a same-sex couple would be welcome to fellowship with their church, they would not be allowed to join as members or be baptized.

Are Seventh-day Adventists endorsing Carson?

Definitely not. When he announced in May, the church released a statement reiterating its neutrality and reaffirming its belief in separation of church and state.

"We have a very strict and very strong focus on religious liberty," Bryant says. "We advocate and we believe deeply that church and state should be separated."

These beliefs would seem counter to Carson's assertion last month that a Muslim shouldn't be allowed to be president.

Are there other notable Seventh-day Adventists in politics?

Senate Chaplain Barry Black, who gained notoriety for his pointed prayers during the government shutdown two years ago, is the first Seventh-day Adventist chaplain in Congress. Two House members also hail from the church: Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas; and Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., who like Carson is a doctor. Former Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., was also a Seventh-day Adventist.


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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Ben Carson Puts Spotlight on Seventh-Day Adventists


POLITICS




Ben Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist, has also taken his message to other churches, among them the Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church in Des Moines in August.


JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES

By ALAN RAPPEPORT
OCTOBER 27, 2015


Each time Ben Carson prepared to cut into a human brain, the neurosurgeon, who was the first to separate twins conjoined at the head, said a prayer. He would scrub his hands, close his eyes and ask for God’s help. “Lord, you be the neurosurgeon,” he has described himself thinking. “I’ll be the hands.”

Since packing up his scalpel and becoming a Republican presidential candidate, Mr. Carson has not shied from talking about his Christian faith and sprinkling policy pronouncements with prayer as he travels the country talking to voters in his blunt but soft-spoken style. So far it has worked — he has overtaken Donald J. Trump in a new national poll of Republicans and is beating him in Iowa, the crucial caucus state.

But Mr. Carson’s religion has been cast in a harsher light in recent days, as Mr. Trump, whose support among evangelicals is falling, suggested that the doctor is not a mainstream Christian because he is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.

“I’m Presbyterian,” Mr. Trump proclaimed at a rally in Florida last Saturday. “Boy, that’s down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about.”
Source

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The Internet is getting less and less free



The Switch


By Brian Fung October 28





(Amanda Slater / Flickr)

Surveillance, attacks on digital speech, outright censorship and imprisonment are making the Internet less and less free, an annual Freedom House study has concluded.

The organization's latest Internet freedom report marks the fifth year in a row that digital civil liberties around the world have been curtailed. Of the 65 countries Freedom House looked at, 29 percent are considered "not free," while even fewer — 27 percent — are said to have a "free" Internet.

In other words, there are now more countries with an un-free Internet than there are countries with a free Internet. (Last year's rankings showed 19 countries as "free" and 15 as "not free.")



(Freedom House)


Some surprising findings: France's score dropped by four points, one of the most dramatic declines of the past year. That's due in part to what Freedom House said was a "problematic" crackdown on free speech and a rise in government surveillance after the attacks on the staff of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Cuba's standing, on the other hand, rose by eight points amid warming relations with the United States and a decision by state telecom operators to slash the price of Internet access in half. Even though the cost of Internet in Cuba is still prohibitively high for many, the Obama administration recently made it legal for U.S. Internet providers to start doing business there, opening a door to better, faster, cheaper broadband — if the Cuban government cooperates.

In the United States and Europe, political battles over encrypted Internet traffic cast a shadow over the free and open Web, according to Freedom House. Tech companies have accused law enforcement of trying to undermine user privacy and security by demanding that they install "back doors" into their software; authorities argue that the concessions are necessary to fight crime and terrorism.

Freedom House calculates its index as a composite of several factors, such as the amount of access to Internet a country enjoys, the extent to which authorities restrict content on the Web, and whether the government punishes Internet users.





Brian Fung covers technology for The Washington Post, focusing on telecommunications and the Internet. Before joining the Post, he was the technology correspondent for National Journal and an associate editor at the Atlantic.


Source
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How 7 years of Obama brought the world from Kumbaya to chaos



By Post Editorial Board

October 3, 2015 | 6:27pm

Modal Trigger


Photo: Zumapress.com/Getty Images


Just three years ago, President Obama famously ridiculed GOP opponent Mitt Romney’s statement that Russia remained America’s main geopolitical foe by taunting: “The 1980s are calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”

Four years before that, Obama stood at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to declare that once he became president, all people would join him around a global campfire, hold hands and put an end to the world’s evils and miseries.

Well, seven years into Obama’s presidency, the promised worldwide Kumbaya is instead global chaos — caused in large measure by his willful retreat from America’s position of leadership.

Washington’s traditional allies increasingly feel abandoned, its enemies emboldened. The United States isn’t even leading from behind — it’s cowering in weakness.

And no one is taking better advantage of this than Vladimir Putin, now storming headlong into the yawning chasm of American retreat and reasserting Russia’s global influence and power — just as Mitt Romney said.

Putin remains unchallenged in his invasion of Ukraine, leaving him free to intervene — again unchallenged — in the Middle East.

In Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world hasn’t ended the threat of terrorism. On the contrary, it has seen the rise of “JV team” ISIS and new power for the Taliban. Israelis and Palestinians remain as far apart as ever — because only Israel has been targeted to make concessions.

This president accuses his political foes of wanting to wage war as their first option and warns of the limits of unilateral military power.

But in his eagerness to leave office as the president who ended America’s wars, he refuses to consider any use (or even a credible threat) of US force — even when hundreds of thousands are being massacred in Syria, many by the chemical weapons he claimed to eliminate.

His premature abandonment, against all military advice, of Iraq and Afghanistan (where the pullout is still under way) has left both countries worse off. Iraq, in particular, is bleeding far more than it did even in the worst years of “George Bush’s war.”

Equally eager to open America’s arms to longtime adversaries, this president has begun new relationships with Iran (all but giving Tehran a direct path to a nuclear arsenal) and Cuba without any concessions in return — even on such basic issues as human rights.

It’s no accident Obama has twice spoken in Berlin — at the very spot where Ronald Reagan famously demanded Mikhail Gorbachev “tear down this wall.” Two years later, the Berlin Wall came down. Two years after that, the Soviet bloc collapsed, ending the Cold War.

Obama chose Berlin as the place to call on all nations to join him in “tearing down the walls” to “remake the world.” But his soaring rhetoric was followed by indecision, hesitation and outright appeasement.

America’s allies are calling, Mr. President. They want Ronald Reagan’s assertive foreign policy of the 1980s back.

They want an America that leads — not retreats.

I don't know is on First, What's on Second, and Who's on Third?

In this Topsy-Turvy world things are really confusing.

Yesterday, I made a list of some crazy nooze...

Here's part of what I am referring to:


Then, today a ten year old adopted girl born in China wants the Constitution amended, so she can run for president. This silly, phony bologna HEADLINE on the same day that China announces that it is going to abandon the One Child Only Policy.  You can't make this stuff up!  It's like a sick Abbott and Costello episode meets the Wizard of Oz.

10-Year-Old: Change Law So I Can Be POTUS
http://www.newser.com/story/215244/10-year-old-change-law-so-i-can-be-potus.html

China one-child policy to end
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/29/asia/china-one-child-policy/


Here's the epitome of my observation - Xi Jinping, the president of China was given the red carpet treatment by Obama when he visited Washington D.C., recently; However, almost daily there are growing tensions with China in the South China Sea, where China has built an island and is practically 'daring' the United States into armed conflict.   On the other hand, Russia has now begun to bomb Syria, and now the United State's administration is pondering sending in ground troops into Syria to fight ISIS, IS, ISIL, etc. And NASA has all types of missions to deep space exploring moons of plaNETs, flying near Pluto;  Yet, to get to the INTERNATIONAL Space Station, American Astronauts need to hitch rides with Russia's COSMONAUTS on Soyuz Spacecraft. Russia is calling our Bluff and so is China!  What, what, what!  So, who's number ONE, What's on Second, and definitely, I don't know is on Third.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

"Jesuit" Attack on Truth Seekers




Published on Oct 26, 2015

Prophecy is being fulfilled. We are living in the last days and those of us who hold to the truth, as seen in this video are being attacked and labelled as "crazy" and "extremists".

But stand fast in the truth, because the Lord Jesus Christ is with you.

http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/

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Monday, October 26, 2015

Ellen G. White Statements Concerning Cancer (and Meat Consumption)

 


First Mention of Cancer—1864

I have been shown that children who practice self-indulgence previous to puberty, or the period of merging into manhood and womanhood, must pay the penalty of nature’s violated laws at that critical period.

Many sink into an early grave, while others have sufficient force of constitution to pass this ordeal. If the practice is continued from the ages of 15 and upward, nature will protest against the abuse she has suffered, and continues to suffer, and will make them pay the penalty for the transgression of her laws, especially from the ages of 30 to 45, by numerous pains in the system and various diseases such as affection of the liver and lungs, neuralgia, rheumatism, affection of the spine, diseased kidneys, and cancerous humors. Some of nature’s fine machinery gives way, leaving a heavier task for the remaining to perform, which disorders nature’s fine arrangement, and there is often a sudden breaking down of the constitution, and death is the result....

Females possess less vital force than the other sex, and are deprived very much of the bracing, invigorating air by their in-doors life. The results of self-abuse in them is seen in various diseases such as catarrh, dropsy, headache, loss of memory and sight, great weakness in the back and loins, affections of the spine, the head often decays inwardly. Cancerous humor, which would lay dormant in the system their lifetime, is inflamed and commences its eating, destructive work. The mind is often utterly ruined and insanity takes place.—An Appeal to Mothers, 27


Calomel and Cancer

My attention was then called to still another case. I was introduced into the sickroom of a young man who was in a high fever. A physician was standing by the bedside of the sufferer with a portion of medicine taken from a vial upon which was written Calomel. He administered this chemical poison, and a change seemed to take place, but not for the better....

The third case was again presented before me. It was that of the young man to whom was administered calomel. He was a great sufferer. His lips were dark and swollen. His gums were inflamed. His tongue was thick and swollen, and the saliva was running from his mouth in large quantities. The intelligent gentleman before mentioned looked sadly upon the sufferer and said:

“This is the influence of mercurial preparations. This young man had remaining sufficient nervous energy to commence a warfare upon this intruder, this drug-poison, to attempt to expel it from the system. Many have not sufficient life forces left to arouse to action, and nature is overpowered and ceases her efforts, and the victim dies.”…

The third case was again presented before me, that of the young man to whom had been administered calomel. He was a pitiful sufferer. His limbs were crippled, and he was greatly deformed. He stated that his sufferings were beyond description, and life was to him a great burden. The gentleman whom I have repeatedly mentioned looked upon the sufferer with sadness and pity, and said:

“This is the effect of calomel. It torments the system as long as there is a particle left in it. It ever lives, not losing its properties by its long stay in the living system. It inflames the joints, and often sends rottenness into the bones. It frequently manifests itself in tumors, ulcers, and cancers years after it has been introduced into the system.”—Selected Messages 2:445, 447, 449.


“Cancerous Germs”

Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continually eating flesh that is filled with tuberculous and cancerous germs. Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communicated.—Ministry of Healing (1905).



Meat Eating and Cancer

The tables of many professed Christian women are daily set with a variety of dishes which irritate the stomach and produce a feverish condition of the system. Flesh meats constitute the principal article of food upon the tables of some families, until their blood is filled with cancerous and scrofulous humors. Their bodies are composed of what they eat. But when suffering and disease come upon them, it is considered an affliction of Providence.—Testimonies for the Church 3:563 (1875).



Cancers, tumors, and all inflammatory diseases are largely caused by meat eating.

From the light God has given me, the prevalence of cancers and tumors is largely due to gross living on dead flesh. I sincerely and prayerfully hope that, as a physician, you will not forever be blinded on this subject, for blindness is mingled with a want of moral courage to deny your appetite, to lift the cross, which means to take up the very duties that cut across the natural appetites and passions....

I have the subject presented to me in different aspects. The mortality caused by meat eating is not discerned; if it were, we would hear no more arguments and excuses in favor of the indulgence of the appetite for dead flesh. We have plenty of good things to satisfy hunger without bringing corpses upon our table to compose our bill of fare.—Medical Ministry, 278.

The meat diet is the serious question. Shall human beings live on the flesh of dead animals? The answer, from the light that God has given, is No, decidedly No. Health reform institutions should educate on this question. Physicians who claim to understand the human organism ought not to encourage their patients to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. They should point out the increase of disease in the animal kingdom. The testimony of examiners is that very few animals are free from disease, and that the practice of eating largely of meat is contracting diseases of all kinds—cancers, tumors, scrofula, tuberculosis, and numbers of other like affections.—Counsels on Diet and Foods, 388.

We do not mark out any precise line to be followed in diet, but we do say that in countries where there are fruits, grains, and nuts in abundance, flesh food is not the right food for God’s people. I have been instructed that flesh food has a tendency to animalize the nature, to rob men and women of that love and sympathy which they should feel for everyone, and to give the lower passions control over the higher powers of the being. If meat eating were ever healthful, it is not safe now. Cancers, tumors, and pulmonary diseases are largely caused by meat eating.—Testimonies for the Church 9:159.



Pork and Cancer

God expressly commanded the children of Israel not to eat swine’s flesh. The heathen used this meat as an article of food. God prohibited the Hebrews the use of swine’s flesh because it was hurtful. It would fill the system with humors, and in that warm climate often produced leprosy. Its influence upon the system in that climate was far more injurious than in a colder climate. But God never designed the swine to be eaten under any circumstances....

In order to preserve health, temperance in all things is necessary. Temperance in labor, temperance in eating and drinking. Because of intemperance a great amount of misery has been brought upon the human family. The eating of pork has produced scrofula, leprosy, and cancerous humors. Pork-eating is still causing the most intense suffering to the human race.—Spiritual Gifts 4a:146


Those who subsist largely upon flesh meats inflame the stomach, thereby the blood becomes torpid and impure, headaches and indisposition follow. The system is filled with humors; fevers, scrofula and cancers are the consequences. Especially is this true of those who eat swine’s flesh. Yet so great is the tendency to ignore these evils that few can be brought to realize the true effects of this sort of diet upon the human system.—The Signs of the Times, January 6, 1876.


Physical Injury and Cancer

Satan is constantly devising some new style of dress that shall prove an injury to physical and moral health, and he exults when he sees professed Christians eagerly accepting the fashions that he has invented. The amount of physical suffering created by unnatural and unhealthful dress cannot be estimated. Many have become life-long invalids through their compliance with the demands of fashion. Displacements and deformities, cancers and other terrible diseases, are among the evils resulting from fashionable dress.—Testimonies for the Church 4:634, 635.



Ellen G. White Estate



Washington, D. C



February 12, 1964; revised August, 1990


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Caitlyn Jenner Can’t Be Woman Of The Year



The Sexes

Shouldn’t the person who wins this nod from Glamour magazine be a woman, at least?
By Nicole Russell

October 23, 2015 

To prove either that they have reached the pinnacle of patriarchal leftism, or that they are making the biggest joke in the history of mankind (on us), Glamour magazine has named Caitlin nee Bruce Jenner “Woman of the Year.” To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of this award, Reese Witherspoon will accompany him on the December cover.


This is not only absurd, but patriarchal posturing at its finest; not to mention an insult to real women everywhere.


Guys? We’re in Crazy Territory

It was all fun and games—except when it wasn’t—when Jenner announced he was going to begin playacting a woman for the foreseeable future. As if that wasn’t enough, the transgender lobby prodded their ideal posterboy further Left. Next, ESPN awarded him with its Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and he secured his own reality show, “I Am Cait.”


Enough is enough. Glamour goes too far. Jenner cannot be woman of the year because—kids, close your eyes—he has a penis. Jenner might feel like he is a woman, he might want to be a woman, he might be living as a woman, but thoughts do not generate biology or reality. (I’d like to think I’m a millionaire and living in Turks and Caicos year-round, but that doesn’t make it so.)


The fact that Glamour is even passing this off as some kind of convoluted, uber-progressive fact is absolutely mind-bending. It’s as if we’ve taken the blue pill a long time ago and Neo is actually Trinity. When “The Matrix” is the only working analogy, we have a problem.

This Is a Cultural Ploy

The progressive left is to culture what Hollywood is to “House of Cards:” Sure, there’s some real elements incorporated, but some things get exaggerated—or altogether lost—in the shuffle. Grant it, this is Glamour. It’s not like we expected them to pick Laura Bush as woman of the year. So one could consider the source and just as easily shrug it off. But as a college professor once said, “A movie is never just a movie,” and likewise a magazine cover is never just a magazine cover.
By choosing Jenner as woman of the year, Glamour endorses the idea that men are better at being women than we are.

By choosing Jenner as woman of the year, Glamour endorses the idea that men are better at being women than we are. Glamour is sending a clear message about a new kind of feminist-driven patriarch, who pushes women out of our spaces and expects submissiveness of their feminist enablers. Transgender women tend to be hyper-aggressive. Remember when Zoey Tur told Ben Shapiro he’s going out in an ambulance? Martine Rothblatt, a transgender woman, graced the cover of New York Magazine as highest-paid female CEO in the nation. Apparently real women can’t cut it, so we’ve got to import men into our ranks to win awards.


Perhaps this just shows a split among liberal feminist types, but doesn’t it seem odd after hearing them rail for years about men setting standards (even for things like heart attack symptoms) that we’re now supposed to be hailing someone who’s lived all his life as a man as an exemplar of all that is good among women? Now women don’t even get to decide for ourselves what marks the best and most impressive qualities of our own sex? That feels ideologically oppressive.


If anything, Jenner should win man of the year for winning woman of the year. Usurping a women’s award is pretty much the most male thing ever, is it not?

This Is Insulting to All Women

As a bona fide woman with real ovaries and breasts and who’s experienced countless menstrual cycles and given birth to four babies—all uniquely female issues—I’m slightly offended a man was named woman of the year. Men boast their own unique strengths, but so do women. To laud a man for living as a woman is to insult and patronize women who have borne and overcome incredible odds and achieved great successes because of their uniquely womanly traits.
If we’re going with a man for woman of the year, why not consider Vladimir Putin’s suggestion: Barack Obama.

If we’re going with a man for woman of the year, why not consider Vladimir Putin’s suggestion: Barack Obama. More sincerely, why not the three American men who subdued the gunman on the train in France? Surely acts of sacrifice and heroism warrant more praise than dressup.


As for women, what about Dafne Almazan? Just barely a woman, at 13, she has become the world’s youngest psychologist and according to Forbes is one of Mexico’s 50 most powerful women. This year on her birthday, Malala Yousafzai, winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize (the youngest winner ever), opened a school for Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, near the Syrian border. Yousafzai was targeted and nearly killed by the Taliban for advocating for women’s education. She, too, is a worthy role model.


If Glamour’s staying stateside, why not consider Elizabeth Holmes, the college dropout who developed technology that can retrieve blood samples easier, cheaper, and with only a few pricks to the finger. Her partnership with Walgreens pharmacies is growing. Heck, even Taylor Swift would have made a better woman of the year, if only because of her philanthropy.


Kayla Mueller was an American relief worker whom ISIS members captured, held hostage, and repeatedly raped. Before she was killed, she reportedly tried to protect other women who were forced to be sex slaves, too. What about the quieter resolve of the mother who, diagnosed with cancer a second time, refused treatment that would harm her baby in utero and succumbed to the disease when her newborn was six weeks old? I’ve undoubtedly left out dozens of other women who have embraced their unique qualities and left their mark on 2015.


It’s time to stop the patriarchy-reinforcing posturing about Jenner’s transition. He may have his own show, but it need not go on in real life the way it does on reality TV. It’s patronizing to women because it overlooks their very makeup. It’s demoralizing to women who have used their gifts, led by example, and made the world a better place.



Nicole Russell is a senior contributor to The Federalist. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and four kids.


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Showdown in Houston over LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance


Houston Mayor Annise Parker (left) kisses her partner, Kathy Hubbard, Jan. 2 after Parker was sworn in for her third term as mayor during the inauguration ceremony for Parker, City Controller Ronald Green and the 16-member Houston City Council at Wortham Theater Center in Houston. After a drawn-out showdown between Houston's popular lesbian mayor and a coalition of conservative pastors, on Nov. 3, 2015, voters in the nation's fourth-largest city will decide whether to establish nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people. (AP file photo)


Showdown in Houston over LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance

Associated Press By JUAN A. LOZANO and DAVID CRARY 19 hours ago


HOUSTON (AP) — After a drawn-out showdown between Houston's popular lesbian mayor and a coalition of conservative pastors, voters in the nation's fourth-largest city will soon decide whether to establish nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people.
Nationwide, there's interest in the Nov. 3 referendum: Confrontations over the same issue are flaring in many places, at the state and local level, now that nondiscrimination has replaced same-sex marriage as the No. 1 priority for the LGBT-rights movement.

"The vote in Houston will carry national significance," said Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights group. She noted that Houston, with 2.2 million residents, is more populous than 15 states.

The contested Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is a broad measure that would consolidate existing bans on discrimination tied to race, sex, religion and other categories in employment, housing and public accommodations, and extend such protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

The outcome is considered uncertain. Two recent polls commissioned by Houston TV stations showed supporters of the ordinance with a slight lead, but each poll indicated that about one-fifth of likely voters were undecided.

Opponents contend the ordinance would infringe on their religious beliefs against homosexuality. Copying a tactic used elsewhere, they also have labeled it the "bathroom ordinance," alleging that it would open the door for sexual predators to go into women's restrooms.

"Even registered sex offenders could follow women or young girls into the bathroom," says an ad produced by Campaign for Houston, which opposes the ordinance.

The measure's supporters denounce these assertions as scare tactics, arguing that such problems with public bathrooms have been virtually nonexistent in the 17 states that have banned discrimination based on gender identity.

Mayor Annise Parker, whose election in 2009 made Houston the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor, is among those expressing exasperation.

"The fact there is so much misinformation and not just misinformation, just out and out ludicrous lies, is very frustrating," Parker recently told reporters. "I'm worried about the image of Houston around the world as a tolerant, welcoming place if this goes down."

Parker has vented some of her frustration on Twitter in tweets criticizing former Houston Astros player Lance Berkman. In ads for Campaign for Houston, Berkman said the ordinance would "allow troubled men who claim to be women to enter women's bathrooms, showers and locker rooms."

Parker, who is completing her third and final term, has encountered criticism herself. When opponents sued the city — seeking to force a referendum on the ordinance after the city council approved it in May 2014 — city attorneys tried to subpoena sermons from five pastors who opposed the measure. The pastors said the request violated their religious freedom, and the city later dropped the effort.

The lawsuit eventually reached the Texas Supreme Court, which in July ruled the conservative activists should have succeeded in their petition drive to put the issue before voters.

In a sermon last month, Ed Young, pastor of Second Baptist Church, one of the nation's largest churches, called the ordinance "totally deceptive" and urged his congregation to vote against it because "it will carry our city ... further down the road of being totally, in my opinion, secular and godless."

Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for Houston Unites, which supports the ordinance, said the measure is not simply about anti-LGBT discrimination but about multiple forms of bias. Between May 2014 and September 2015, most discrimination complaints in the city related to race and gender; only about 5 percent involved LGBT discrimination.

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014 file …

Several national LGBT-rights groups have deployed staff in Houston to support the ordinance, including Freedom for All Americans. Its CEO, Matt McTighe, praised Houston's cultural diversity, but said it was the only one of the 10 largest U.S. cities without LGBT non-discrimination protection.

For years, the top priority of the gay-rights movement in the U.S. was winning nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. When that occurred via a Supreme Court ruling in June, there was broad agreement among activists that the next priority should be obtaining nondiscrimination protections in all 50 states.

At present, Texas is one of 28 states with no statewide protections, although many municipalities in those states have adopted local nondiscrimination policies. Of the other 22 states, 17 prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations, and New York will soon join that group. Four states have less sweeping protections.

LGBT activists would like to replace this patchwork of laws with a comprehensive federal nondiscrimination law, and such a measure — the Equality Act — was introduced in July. But it's given no chance of passage in the current Republican-controlled Congress; none of its more than 200 co-sponsors are from the GOP.

Faced with that reality, LGBT-rights supporters are waging a state-by-state, city-by-city campaign to extend anti-bias protections.

FILE - In this Saturday, June 28, 2014 file …

"We're now at a moment where we're having conversations with more conservative parts of the country — it's not easy," said Sarah Warbelow. "These are educational efforts — bringing people along on what it means to provide protections for the LGBT community and helping people understand that the sky doesn't fall when you do that."

At the state level, activists consider Pennsylvania the most likely to join in establishing statewide protections.

LGBT nondiscrimination has been on the Pennsylvania legislature's agenda for more than a decade but there's never been a floor vote, largely due to Republican opposition. Now there's growing GOP support for the latest measure, introduced in August, and supporters believe it will prevail if skeptics can be assured it won't erode religious liberties.

"I'm confident that if this bill is given a vote in the Senate and House, it will pass," said state Sen. Pat Browne, a lead Republican sponsor. "The people we represent believe this is something we should do."

In Indiana, prospects are unclear for a Democratic plan — backed by many major corporations — to push for statewide LGBT protections. The topic has been divisive since the spring, when Republican Gov. Mike Pence and the GOP-controlled Legislature incurred a backlash for a religious objections law that critics said would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT people.

In the absence of a statewide law, several smaller Indiana cities — including Pence's hometown of Columbus — recently joined Indianapolis and Bloomington in adopting local LGBT protections. Similar efforts failed in the cities of Goshen and Elkhart.

There's been action recently in several other states. In September, Fayetteville became the fifth Arkansas municipality to pass an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance in defiance of a new state law aimed at prohibiting such local protections. In Alaska's largest city, the governing assembly of Anchorage passed an ordinance Sept. 29 by a 9-2 vote. In Arizona, an ordinance was approved in Sedona.

Other cities across the U.S. will be watching Houston on Nov. 3, said James Douglas, a supporter of the ordinance who is president of Houston's NAACP chapter.

"All those cities that are smaller than us are looking to us because they want to be like us," Douglas said. "And we want to give them a perfect example of what a major, diverse city ought to look like."

___



David Crary reported from New York.


Source

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Sunday, October 25, 2015

Catholic bishops at synod call for a more welcoming church




NICOLE WINFIELD AND DANIELA PETROFF,

Last updated 14:47, October 25 2015




ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/REUTERS

Pope Francis, centre, chats with Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, right, as he is flanked by Jesuit Superior Adolfo Nicolas Pachon as they leave the synod on the family in the Synod hall at the Vatican.





Catholic bishops have called for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, but their stance on homosexuality has not changed.

Bishops from around the world adopted a final document on Saturday (Sunday, NZT) at the end of a divisive, three-week synod that exposed the split in the church between conservatives and progressives over how to better minister to Catholic families today.

In a win for the progressive camp, the document emphasized the role of discernment and individual conscience in dealing with difficult family situations, especially the vexing issue of whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

Conservatives had resisted offering any wiggle room on the issue, since church teaching holds that such Catholics are committing adultery and are therefore barred from receiving the sacraments. While the document doesn't chart any specific path to receiving Communion as originally sought by the liberals, it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions.

"We are so happy that we could give this to the pope," said German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the progressive camp on the issue. He called the document a "historic step".

The Reverend James Martin, a Jesuit author, said discernment and the examination of one's conscience in spiritual direction have always been part of the church's tradition.

"But its encouragement by the synod is notable, and should be seen as a welcoming gesture," he said.

Martin explained that discernment - a key concept in Francis' Jesuit spirituality - "relies on the idea that God can deal directly with us, through our inner lives. It is another encouragement to remind people, especially remarried Catholics, that an informed conscience is, as the church has always taught, the final moral arbiter."

The three paragraphs dealing with the issue barely reached the two-thirds majority needed to pass, but conservatives couldn't muster enough votes to shoot them down. The most controversial paragraph 85 - which says a case-by-case approach is necessary when dealing with remarriage since not everyone bears the same responsibility for the preceding divorce - only cleared by a single vote.

But the document's passage overall will give Francis the room to maneuver that he needs if he wants to push the issue further in a future document of his own. Marx said he hoped that Francis would issue it during his upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which starts December 8.

In a final speech to the synod, Francis took some clear swipes at the conservatives who hold up church doctrine above all else, saying the church's primary duty isn't to condemn or judge but to proclaim God's mercy and save souls.

Francis said the synod had "laid bare the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the church's teachings and good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families."

"The synod experience also made us better realize that the true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulas but the free availability of God's love and forgiveness," he said.

But in a bit of levity, Francis also included an acrostic in the footnotes of his speech _ perhaps a papal first - spelling out "Famiglia" (family in Italian) with poetic descriptions for each letter.

In a clear sign that the conservatives had failed to shut the door on the Communion issue, an umbrella group of 26 conservative pro-life organizations said in a statement late Saturday that there was now a "crisis of trust" in the church over the vote.

"Only the pope can restore trust between Catholic laypeople and church authorities in Rome," the group said in a statement.

The document was the culmination of a two-year process launched by Francis to put in practice his call for a church that is more a "field hospital for wounded souls" than an exclusive club for the perfect.

The bishops took his direction, finding ``positive elements" in couples who live together even though they are not married. Rather than condemning these couples for living in sin, the document says pastors should look at their commitment constructively and encourage them to transform their union in a sacramental marriage.

On gays, the synod document repeats church teaching that gays should be respected and loved and, in a novelty, says families with gay members require particular pastoral care. However, the document strongly rejects gay marriage and "gender theory," but omits references to church teaching that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered".

Only the 275 synod "fathers" were allowed to vote - none of the handful of women invited to participate - even though one of the 'fathers" with voting rights wasn't even a priest, much less a bishop.

Brother Herve Janson of the Little Brothers of Jesus told reporters he considered refusing to accept the invitation to participate, given that his status in the church is the same as a sister who heads a religious order of nuns.

"I was very upset, because while before the distinction (between voting and non-voting members) was between the clergy and laity, now it has become between man and woman," he said.

It wasn't clear if Francis intended to raise the issue of broader participation in the synod by letting Janson vote, or if his role was a one-time anomaly.

Francis took some of the most divisive wind out of the debate before the synod began by passing a new law making it easier for divorced couples to obtain an annulment, a church declaration that their marriage was invalid. That was aimed at answering a complaint by generations of Catholics who have been denied the sacraments because they divorced and remarried outside the church without an annulment.

The synod was about far more than just contentious issues, however, including how the church should provide better marriage preparation to couples and how to encourage families torn by migration, poverty and war to persevere in their faith.

- AP


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"Love at Work" Musical National Cathedral



"Love at Work" Musical National Cathedral Oct 3, 2015 6 PM





Published on Aug 4, 2015

This is a 2 minute 30 second promo for the Love At Work 10 Commandments Musical scheduled for October 3 from 6-8 pm at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Filmed by Main Sail Production. Edited by Todd Gessele of Totally INSPIRED Media INC. Produced by Yolanda Palmer of Heart & Soul International. Music used by permission from Schubert & Yolanda Palmer. Copyright 2015. Please Share.
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Donald Trump: No apology for questioning Ben Carson’s Seventh-day Adventist faith

Post Politics

Donald Trump: No apology for questioning Ben Carson’s Seventh-day Adventist faith




By Vanessa Williams October 25 at 1:12 PM 



Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 8, 2015. (John Locher/AP)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday that he didn't say "anything bad" about rival Ben Carson being a Seventh-day Adventist and saw no reason to apologize for raising the issue during a recent campaign rally.

"I would certainly give an apology if I said something bad about it. But I didn't. All I said was I don't know about it," Trump said during an interview on ABC's "This Week," one of three Sunday talk shows in which the billionaire businessman talked about recent polls that showed Carson pulling ahead of him in Iowa.

Carson, in an interview on Fox News, noted that Trump "went ballistic" several weeks ago when Carson questioned Trump's faith. "So it seems a little interesting that he would now be doing that," Carson noted.

[Donald Trump seeks contrast with Ben Carson's Seventh-day Adventist faith]

In dueling appearances on the Sunday shows by the two top candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump kept up his aggressive rhetoric about his political prowess and Carson continued his confident but low-key approach to the campaign.

Trump suggested in interviews on Sunday that he was a bit taken aback by polls that show Carson, whom he has criticized as lacking energy, pulling ahead of him in Iowa.

"I was really surprised to see it, because three nights ago, I was in Iowa. We had a packed house. We had 4,000 people, and it was a lovefest," Trump said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union." "And I have done really well with the evangelicals and with the tea party and everything. And I just don't understand the number. But you know what? I accept the number. It means I have to work a little bit harder in Iowa."

Carson, in an interview on Fox News, attributed his surge in Iowa to "the power of social media and of word of mouth because as you know ... a lot of the media has it in for me. But, you know, if people listen to them, you know, I would be polling at less than zero."

And he declined to get strike back at Trump, who said during a rally in Florida on Saturday, "I'm Presbyterian. Boy, that's down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

[Ben Carson: I don't want to get into a 'gladiator fight' with Donald Trump]

Carson passed when Fox News anchor Chris Wallace reminded him of that comment, as well as Trump's criticisms about his rival's energy level and his stand on immigration.

"I really refuse to really get into the mud pit," Carson said, adding that Trump "is who he is. I don't think that's going to change. And I am who I am. That's not going to change, either."

He continued: "And the way I kind of look at it, if people resonate what I'm talking about ... And if they like that, and it works with them, and they feel I'm the good representative for them, that's great. I would love to have their vote. And if they don't want me, that's fine, too. Because I would never lie just to get an office. I wouldn't be happy, and the people wouldn't be happy."

Last month Carson drew Trump's ire when he explained that the difference between him and the former reality TV show star was that “I’ve realized where my success has come from, and I don’t in any way deny my faith in God.” Carson also drew criticism last month when he said he would not support a Muslim for president.

Carson, who has gotten high marks for likability from grass-roots Republican Party activists, continues to struggle to explain his policy positions. Wallace spent several minutes trying to get him to clearly articulate his plan for personal health-care accounts, which Carson has suggested could replace Medicare for some older Americans.

Wallace kept saying that Carson was not being clear about whether and how much the government would contribute to the accounts and whether such accounts are simply a new form of Medicare.

"If we take those same dollars and divert them into a system that gives you control over your home health care, you and your health-care provider cut out the middle man, the bureaucracy. Those dollars go much further. We won't have to use many of them. The dollars are already there, Chris," Carson said.

Wallace seemed unconvinced and ended by interview by saying: "Well, this is interesting, obviously, to be continued.... With more prominence in the polls, more discussion of your proposal."

Trump, in his "This Week" interview, said he agreed with Carson's proposal.

"I'm okay with the savings accounts. I think it's a good idea; it's a very down-the-middle idea. It works. It's something that's proven," he said.

Vanessa Williams is a staff writer at The Post. Contact her atVanessa.Williams@washpost.com.



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Pope at Synod's End: 'Today Is a Time of Mercy'



EUROPE



By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OCT. 25, 2015, 6:36 A.M. E.D.T.



VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis declared Sunday that "Today is a time of mercy!" as he closed out a historic meeting of bishops that approved an important new direction in welcoming divorced and civilly remarried Catholics into the church.

The synod's endorsement, by a single vote, of Francis' call for a more merciful, less judgmental church was a clear victory for Francis and progressive prelates who have been seeking wiggle room in church teaching to allow these remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Conservatives had objected, citing church doctrine, but they couldn't muster the votes needed to block passage of the final document.

With the badly divided church hierarchy before him in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, Francis took veiled aim at those in the church who place more importance on doctrine and law than on God's mercy and forgiveness.

He warned them of the risk of "becoming habitually unmoved by grace," of turning a cold shoulder to God's most wounded children and of a "spiritual illusion" that doesn't let them see the reality of their flock before them and respond to it.

"A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts," he said, adding that moments of suffering and conflict are precisely the occasions for God to show mercy.

"Today is a time of mercy!"

Without changing church doctrine, the 275 synod "fathers" on Saturday approved a 94-point final document on responding better to the needs of today's Catholic families. The text covered a host of issues — migration, poverty, single parents and polygamy — but the most disputed section of the document concerned whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that without an annulment, these Catholics are essentially committing adultury and cannot receive Communion.

While the document doesn't chart any specific path to receiving the sacraments as originally sought by liberal prelates — and doesn't even mention the word Communion — it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions by citing the role of discernment and individual conscience in spiritual direction.

The key paragraph 85 says a case-by-case approach is necessary when dealing with remarriage since not everyone bears the same responsibility for the preceding divorce. It passed with only one vote more than the two-thirds majority necessary.

Its passage will give Francis the room to maneuver that he needs if he wants to push the issue further in a future document of his own. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the German theological initiative that was decisive to getting the majority, said he hoped that Francis would issue it during his upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which starts Dec. 8.

Speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square after Mass Sunday, Francis recalled that the word "synod" means to "walk together" — a key concept for the pope, who has called for the church to walk with the faithful and accompany them through life's ups and downs.


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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Bible Beliefs Defined as Hate! - Forrunner 777



BIBLE BELIEFS DEFINED AS HATE!!!



Published on Oct 24, 2015

The U.S.A Department Of Justice has created a domestic terrorism counsel that will criminalize PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS!!!
THIS IS A MUST SEE!
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