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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Peace In A Time Of Trouble!


Volume XXXII      Issue III      March 2013
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org



"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth."
Psalm 37:7-9

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
John 14:27

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7

"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Matthew 24:12-13


In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will closely examine the current events of our day and look to the Scriptures to discover how the children of God can be at peace despite the harsh realities of this modern age. For those who dare to read the news, it quickly becomes obvious that this world is in a deep state of turmoil and despair. It is for this reason that many people choose to forgo following the news altogether because it is a burden too hard for them to bear. Yet we know that it was Jesus Himself who warned us of the dangers of being unaware of what is happening around us and failing to watch and pray. In Luke 21:34-36 we read, "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

As I prepared to write this newsletter, numerous stories came across my desk which told of economic distress, moral decay, earthquakes, flooding, droughts, meteors and asteroids, famines, pestilences, the rise of dark forces, wars and rumors of wars, and a plethora of other distressing news. The current state of the world has caused many of the brightest and best scientists to scramble for solutions to save the world. However, even they are sometimes willing to admit that they may be fighting a losing battle. On January 14, 2013, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that their symbolic doomsday clock would remain at five minutes to midnight, which indicates that the complete destruction of the planet and the end of the world could be near. (1)

Thankfully, the Christian people can be at peace and entirely free of fear despite everything we know of this world's present condition. In John 14:27 Jesus tells us, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." In like manner, the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Those who do not know Jesus Christ cannot have this peace, nor can they comprehend it. However, we know from Isaiah 9:6 that our Saviour is also our Prince of Peace. By putting your faith and trust in Him, you can be completely free of all fear. If you have not yet fully given your heart to God, I urge you to do so now.

Signs From Heaven!

As people go about their day-to-day lives, they seldom contemplate the plethora of threats to the planet earth from outer space. Yet, we know that Jesus warned us in Luke 21:11 that "great signs shall there be from heaven" in the last days. In recent days, the people of Russia received a sobering reminder of the ever-present danger we face from meteors and asteroids, which sometimes strike the earth unexpectedly. On February 15, 2013, a meteor exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in a blast which injured over one thousand people. (2) This meteor is estimated to have weighed approximately 10,000 tons and measured 55 feet in diameter before exploding with 500 kilotons of force. (3) Amazingly enough, the blast was about thirty times more powerful than the explosion produced by the nuclear bombing on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. (4) Scientists around the world and the Russian government were completely caught off guard by this unusual event according to reports. "Our ground facilities and, as I understand, those abroad too did not monitor this celestial body," stated a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscomos. (5)

In an amazing coincidence, an asteroid, known as 2012 DA14, which was only discovered last year, passed within 17,200 miles of the earth on the same day that the meteor struck in Russia. "It's like a shooting gallery here. We have two rare events of near-earth objects approaching the earth on the same day," declared NASA scientist Paul Chodas. (6) Paul Dimotakis, a professor of aeronautics and physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, expressed grave concern over the threat of near-earth objects. "This is a shot across the bow. It illustrates the challenge of the observation campaign which is now in progress," Dimotakis said. Regarding the close call with asteroid 2012 DA14, Dimotakis declared the following: "It's a good thing it's not hitting us, because truth be told there's nothing we could do about it except possibly evacuate, which is not going to be easy given the uncertainty about where the impact would take place." (7)

Threats from the heavens have also garnered special interest from the United Nations as scientists ramp up their efforts to improve their abilities to detect and predict the course of near-earth objects. "This event in Russia and the pass of the larger asteroid 2012 DA14 are good reminders that many thousands of objects like it pass near earth daily," stated Ray Williamson, an advisor to the Secure World Foundation. Williamson further went on to say, "Work is continuing with the United Nations on developing international responses to future threatening asteroids. Given the uncertainties concerning where such asteroids might strike earth and how much damage they might do, international responses will be critical." (8)

Oddly enough, the United States military announced in 2009 that they would no longer share data from government spacecraft with the scientific community. "It's baffling to us why this would suddenly change. It's unfortunate because there was this great synergy... a very good cooperative arrangement. Systems were put into dual-use mode where a lot of science was getting done that couldn't be done any other way. It's a regrettable change in policy," said an unnamed scientist quoted in a report from 2009. (9) The data derived by government spacecraft was used by scientists to study near-earth objects and approaching fireballs. "These fireball data together with astronomical observations of larger near-earth asteroids define the nature of the impact hazard and allow rational planning to deal with this issue," said David Morrison, a NASA scientist at the Ames Research Center. (10) This strange policy can only make me wonder what the United States military is attempting to hide from the scientific community and the population at large. It is interesting to note that a large asteroid, known as Apophis and named after an Egyptian god of chaos, is expected to closely pass by the earth in 2029 and could strike this planet when it comes near again in 2036. (11)

The recent meteor strike in Russia and the threat of asteroids pummeling the earth are intriguing when we consider them in Scriptural context. In colloquial terms, the visible path of an incoming meteor is often known as a "shooting star." In Revelation 6:13 we read the following, "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

Manifestations Of A Rising Police State!

To the average American, the notion that a tyrannical police state is rising in the United States may seem like a far-fetched notion. Yet, recent trends suggest that the Obama Administration has grown bolder in its attempt to inflict its will upon the American people. This is a point highlighted in a recent article published by the Associated Press entitled "How Obama is Wielding Executive Power in 2nd Term." The article describes an onslaught of far-reaching new rules that affect gun control, health care, and energy policy amongst numerous other issues. (12) In fact, Barack Obama has grown so comfortable using "executive actions" that he even threatened to do so during the 2013 State of the Union Address. Speaking on the topic of climate change, Obama told his audience, "Now, the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct... I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy." (13) Barack Obama's propensity to use executive actions has raised the ire of Marco Rubio, a Republican Senator from Florida. "Making matters worse is that President Obama is again abusing his power by imposing his policies via executive fiat instead of allowing them to be debated in Congress. President Obama's frustration with our republic and the way it works doesn't give him license to ignore the Constitution," Rubio declared. (14)

Barack Obama has the distinction of being the first president to order the execution of American citizens abroad through the use of drone strikes. Despite the fact that the Constitution guarantees every American the right to a fair trial, the Justice Department declared in a recent memo that such killings are acceptable if the target is considered to be a terrorist even if there is no evidence that the individual is planning an attack. "The condition that an operational leader present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future," states the memo. (15) The memo was heavily criticized by Mike Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah. "If you're going to regard somebody as presenting an imminent threat of an attack on the U.S. simply because you have concluded that they are an 'operational leader' or they are involved in planning an attack in one way or another, you find yourself giving way too much discretion to the government," Lee stated. (16)

The willingness of the Obama Administration to assassinate American citizens through the use of drones is particularly disturbing when we consider the sizable fleet of drones now being unleashed over the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has issued 1,428 permits for domestic drones since 2007. The government agency estimates that there could be as many as 10,000 drones, which would primarily be used for surveillance, soaring over American skies by the year 2020. (17)

Meanwhile, much attention has been given to the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled massive quantities of ammunition in recent months. Officials from the agency insist that the bullets will primarily be used for training; however, the volume of their stockpile has led many people to wonder if Homeland Security's motivation is something more nefarious. The Department of Homeland Security has purchased more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition, which is scheduled to be delivered over the next five years. (18)

It is also interesting to note that a company known as Law Enforcement Targets Inc. has released an unusual line of targets for use by law enforcement agencies to train their personnel. The official description for these targets is as follows: "No More Hesitation Targets were designed to give officers the experience of dealing with deadly force shooting scenarios with subjects that are not the norm during training. No More Hesitation faded background enhances the isolation and is meant to help the transition for officers who faced with these highly unusual targets for the first time." (19) These targets depict pregnant women, young mothers, small children, and the elderly. (20) The production of these targets has caused such a backlash from the public that the company which produced them announced on January 21, 2013, that they had removed them from their online catalog. "We apologize for the offensive nature of our 'No More Hesitation' products," the company wrote in an online statement. "These products have been taken offline due to the opinions expressed by so many, including members of the law enforcement community." (21)

In another development, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties recently determined that the government has the right to search and seize any electronic devices being carried on the person of anyone within one hundred miles of an American border. This decision reaffirms and expands on a policy which has been in place since 2008. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security searched the electronic devices of 6,500 people between the years 2008 and 2010. In a statement justifying its policy, the government agency stated the following, "We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits." (22)

An Unholy Spirit Of Death!

In these dark and immoral days, there seems to be an ever-decreasing respect for the sanctity of human life. We know that abortion results in the loss of millions of lives in the United States and other countries such as China. Sadly, it has also become apparent that there is now a concerted effort to speed up the passing of people who are sick or elderly. This point is highlighted in a statement issued in January 2013 by Taro Aso, the finance minister of Japan. "Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government. The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die," Aso stated. (23)

Euthanasia, or medically assisted death, has become increasingly common in Europe. For example, the practice is legal in the nation of Belgium and does not even require those who request the procedure to be terminally ill. According to a report, two deaf twin brothers were put to death in December 2012. Describing the incident, the doctor who performed the procedure stated the following, "They were very happy. It was a relief to see the end of their suffering. They had a cup of coffee in the hall. It went well and [had] a rich conversation. Then the separation from their parents was very serene and beautiful. At the last there was a little wave of their hands and then they were gone." (24) In another incident, a Belgian man was shocked to discover that his estranged mother had been euthanized in April 2012. The rationale for allowing the procedure to take place was that the woman suffered from chronic depression. (25) Shockingly, it has now been proposed by Belgian Senator Philippe Mahoux that youth which have not yet reached the age of adulthood should be allowed to seek euthanasia. (26)

Each and every man, woman, and child is a unique creation of God. It should not be left to doctors to decide when a man should die. In Job 33:4 we read, "The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." It is Satan's business to destroy human lives. How sad it is when people give up on living and allow the medical profession to assist them in ending their lives.

Unclean Religion And Blasphemy In The Last Days!

The days in which we live are truly remarkable as we see an ever-increasing amount of strange and shocking headlines. These stories range from bizarre to blasphemous and indicate we are living in a time unlike any other in history. One such story tells of a new church in the United Kingdom comprised entirely of atheists. The church, which is known as "The Sunday Assembly," claims to be a "godless congregation that will meet on the first Sunday of every month to hear great talks, sing songs and generally celebrate the wonders of life." One of the church's founders, Sanderson Jones, explains his rationale for forming the congregation as follows: "It is intended to tap into a feeling of wonder that atheists have like believers, to challenge beliefs and give you something to think about for the week ahead. People also love to feel part of something and in a sense you lose that when you lose God. Our view is you don't need to believe to get that back." (27) According to reports, two hundred people attended the first service, and by the second service that number had swelled to three hundred participants. (28)

Yet another indicator that many professing Christians have a severe deficiency of God-given discernment is the growing popularity of a new band of musicians amongst the mainstream Christian community. The band, which calls itself "Micah's Rule," consists of an openly gay man, a transgender woman, and a lesbian. The band members have sought to downplay their background saying that they just like to make gospel music. "It's just our back story, plain and simple, but we're not using that as a marketing tool for our music, positively or negatively. We want to be a musical group like any other, but we realize our back story will get out," said band member Greg McCaw. (29) In addition to the songs which the band claim are Christian in nature, they have also recorded a medley of John Lennon's "Imagine," The O'Jays "Love Train," and Bob Marley's "One Love." Although the song "Imagine" is heavily favored by music fans around the world, the lyrics paint a clearly anti-god picture. The song starts out with the words, "Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky." Despite these disturbing facts, the fan base of the band is growing. Referring to the band's CD, one churchgoer was quoted as saying, "I listen to it day and night. It's a message I think everyone needs to hear." (30)

In an act of complete blasphemy, a woman by the name of Browyn Lundberg, who refers to herself as an artist, has created a new image entitled "Lesbian Last Supper." In the so-called art piece, Jesus Christ is replaced with lesbian actress Ellen Degeneres, who is then surrounded by fellow lesbians Jane Lynch, Sandra Bernhard, Rachel Maddow, Linda Perry, Portia De Rossi, Heather Matarazzo, Wanda Sykes, KD Lang, Lily Tomlin, Melissa Etheridge, and Rosie O'Donnell. The fictional lesbian character of "Shane McCutcheon" from the Showtime television network's program known as "The L Word" takes the spot of Judas Iscariot. Speaking of her artwork, Lundberg was quoted as saying, "I drew it because it made me smile and because I wanted to pay tribute to the woman who made it easier to be myself. Religious art will inevitably strike strong responses in some people but those are issues I can't worry about because I really can't identify with them." (31)

In a move that stunned the world, 85 year-old Pope Benedict XVI announced on February 11, 2013, that he would resign from the papacy, becoming the first pope to do so in 600 years. Citing poor health in his announcement, Pope Benedict declared, "Both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter." (32) After the pope's announcement, much speculation was made over his real motivation for stepping down. According to a report published by USA Today, Pope Benedict reached his decision to abdicate after receiving the results of an internal investigation which found that the Vatican had become a hotbed of homosexual activity. "What's coming out is a very detailed x-ray of the Roman Curia that does not spare even the closest collaborators of the pope. The pope was no stranger to the intrigues, but he probably did not know that under his pontificate there was such a complex network and such intricate chains of personal interests and unmentionable relationships," declared Ignazio Ingrao, a well-respected expert on the Vatican. (33) The internal investigation, performed by three Cardinals at the Vatican, reportedly uncovered an underground network of homosexual priests who would meet in several locations, including a villa outside of Rome and a beauty parlor in the Vatican for shameful homosexual activity. (34)

In closing, I know these are troubling times in which we live, and we will continue to face numerous challenges in the days ahead. Even as the second presidential term of Barack Obama is now fully underway, we are already beginning to see new economic hardships coming upon the United States. In fact, economists were recently shocked to discover that the economy in the United States shrunk by 0.1 percent in the final quarter of the year 2012. (35) Meanwhile, the European Commission has warned that they expect a recession to continue in the European Union at least through the year 2013. The European nations of Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Netherlands, and Portugal are all expected to have shrinking economies. (36) Despite all of this trouble and the myriad potential problems facing the United States and the entire world, we can put our faith and trust in God, and in doing so we can have peace in our lives. In Psalm 29:11 we read, "The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." It is my hope and prayer that all who read this newsletter will embrace this peace and fully give your lives to God.

Thank you to all who so generously support this ministry. We at Last Trumpet Ministries realize the importance of proclaiming the Gospel in these tumultuous times, and we could not do what we do without your help. If you have any prayer requests, small or great, please feel welcome to send them our way. Our dedicated teams of intercessors will carry your petition through prayer to the throne of the Almighty. We take prayer seriously, and we always give each request individual attention. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel David Meyer

Acknowledgements
01. Live Science, January 15, 2013, By Live Science Staff, http://livescience.com.
02. Huffington Post, February 16, 2013, By Tariq Malik, http://huffingtonpost.com.
03. Ibid.
04. RT News, February 15, 2013, By RT News, http://rt.com.
05. Ibid.
06. Reuters News Service, February 15, 2013, By Irene Klotz, Boston, MA.
07. Ibid.
08. NBC News, February 17, 2013, By Leonard David, http://nbcnews.com.
09. Space.com, June 10, 2009, By Leonard David, http://space.com.
10. Ibid.
11. The Register, January 9, 2013, By Iain Thomson, San Francisco, CA, http://theregister.co.uk.
12. Associated Press, February 10, 2013, By Matthew Daly, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Mary Clare Jalonick, and Sam Hananel, Washington, D.C.
13. The Washington Post, February 12, 2013, State of the Union Address transcript, By Barack Obama, http://washingtonpost.com.
14. The New York Times, January 16, 2013, By Charlie Savage, http://nytimes.com.
15. NBC News, February 19, 2013, By Michael Isikoff, http://nbcnews.com.
16. Washington Examiner, February 18, 2013, By Joel Gehrke, http://washingtonexaminer.com.
17. Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2013, By Brian Bennett and Joel Rubin, Washington, D.C.
18. Associated Press, February 14, 2013, By Associated Press, http://ap.org.
19. Law Enforcement Targets, Official Website, February 21, 2013, http://letargets.com.
20. Reason Magazine, February 19, 2013, By Mike Riggs, http://reason.com.
21. Law Enforcement Targets, February 21, 2013, http://facebook.com/LawEnforcementTargets.
22. Wired Magazine, February 8, 2013, By David Kravets, http://wired.com.
23. The Guardian, January 22, 2013, By Justin McCurry, http://guardian.co.uk.
24. ABC News, January 14, 2013, By Russel Goldman, http://news.yahoo.com.
25. Mercator Net, February 4, 2013, By Tom Mortier, http://mercatornet.com.
26. Life News, January 31, 2013, By Dr. Peter Saunders, http://lifenews.com.
27. The Blaze, February 12, 2013, By Billy Hallowell, http://theblaze.com.
28. Ibid.
29. Religion News Service, February 15, 2013, By Amanda Greene, Wilmington, NC.
30. Ibid.
31. The Guardian, January 9, 2013, By Kelly J. Newson, http://guardianlv.com.
32. Reuters News Service, February 11, 2013, By Philip Pullella, Vatican City.
33. USA Today, February 22, 2013, By Doug Stanglin, http://usatoday.com.
34. Ibid.
35. Associated Press, January 30, 2013, By Christopher S. Rugaber, Washington, D.C.
36. The Telegraph, February 22, 2013, By Rachel Cooper, http://telegraph.co.uk.

Source: http://lasttrumpetnewsletter.org/2013/03_13.html

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The News Media Coverage on the Pope and Catholic Church



swayne (292 posts)




The News Media Coverage on the Pope and Catholic Church
 
Been watching it for the last few days. A couple of things come to mind...

Why is there such obvious grandstanding (especially from reporting Catholics) and fawning positive coverage of a manifestly religious event? I can't think of an instance where the American media would cover another religious event in this matter unless there was scandal associated with it.....

and speaking of scandal...

Why is the coverup of rapes in the Catholic Church being covered up so much in the coverage of this event? I mean, unless I have got it wrong, this is an organization that has covered up child rapes and molestation for decades. What am I missing here?


Source
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The Firm Foundation of Our Faith


Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Joseph Bates, Father Pierce, [Older brethren among the pioneers are here thus reminiscently referred to. “Father Pierce” was Stephen Pierce, who served in ministerial and administrative work in the early days. “Father Andrews” was Edward Andrews, the father of J. N. Andrews.—Compilers.] Elder [Hiram] Edson, and others who were keen, noble, and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them, and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word. Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to the point in their study where they said, “We can do nothing more,” the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood. A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given me.

During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren knew that when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they accepted as light direct from heaven the revelations given.

For two or three years my mind continued to be locked to an understanding of the Scriptures. In the course of our labors, my husband and I visited Father Andrews, [See note on page 206.] who was suffering intensely with inflammatory rheumatism. We prayed for him. I laid my hands on his head, and said, “Father Andrews, the Lord Jesus maketh thee whole.” He was healed instantly. He got up, and walked about the room, praising God, and saying, “I never saw it on this wise before. Angels of God are in this room.” The glory of the Lord was revealed. Light seemed to shine all through the house, and an angel’s hand was laid upon my head. From that time to this I have been able to understand the Word of God.

What influence is it would lead men at this stage of our history to work in an underhand, powerful way to tear down the foundation of our faith—the foundation that was laid at the beginning of our work by prayerful study of the Word and by revelation? Upon this foundation we have been building for the past fifty years. Do you wonder that when I see the beginning of a work that would remove some of the pillars of our faith, I have something to say? I must obey the command, “Meet it!”... 

I must bear the messages of warning that God gives me to bear, and then leave with the Lord the results. I must now present the matter in all its bearings; for the people of God must not be despoiled. 

We are God’s commandment-keeping people. For the past fifty years every phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding the teaching of the Word—especially concerning the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of Heaven for these last days, as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His Word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.


Selected Messages Book I, pp. 206-208.
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Care for your job? Hide your religion

#159 - April 2013


On balancing equality policies and freedom of religion


Can one object on grounds of religion to the performance of certain activities at the work place? The Strasbourg Court has hardly contributed to finding a solution and bringing more clarity to the issue…




Let’s try to imagine two persons, one working as a registrar of births, marriages and deaths at a local public authority and another one providing sex therapy and relationship counselling services. Both are convinced Christians with firm views that entail a refusal to endorse homosexual relations in any way. On the other side there are their employers, proudly implementing their internal “dignity for all”/equality/diversity/equal opportunities policies (also covering discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation). One day, with the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples in the relevant country, the public authority decides to designate all of its births, marriages and deaths registrars as the right and proper people for conducting the relevant ceremonies. The registrar is particularly unlucky, as other local authorities in the same country had allowed registrars with a sincerely held religious objection to performing same-sex civil partnerships to ‘opt out’. The registrar’s refusal to conduct or be associated with civil partnerships ultimately leads to a disciplinary action and to her final dismissal. The counsellor does not fare better, as his reservations, on religious grounds, to commit himself to providing counsel to same-sex couples brings about the very same, dire consequences. This is the true story of two British citizens (Ms. Ladele, a registrar, and Mr. McFarlane, a counsellor, respectively), whose applications were decided on by the European Court of Human Rights after unsuccessful national judiciary proceedings. Ms. Ladele’s complaint was of indirect discrimination on grounds of religion (Article 14 in combination with Article 9 of the Convention), while Mr. McFarlane mainly centred his arguments on Article 9 (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion).



The verdict of the Court

It is interesting to note that while the considerations on the right to freedom of religion made in the judgment (described in last month’s edition of europeinfos with regard to two other applicants covered by it) also apply to the two cases at issue, the final result is different and comparatively negative.

In the case of Ms. Ladele, the Court rejected her claim by underlining that the aim pursued by the employer was legitimate (providing a service in a way that promoted equal opportunities and countered discrimination); and that the means used were proportionate: although Ms. Ladele’s entering into her contract of employment did not entail a ‘waiver’ of her right to manifest her religious belief in the aforesaid way (the requirement to perform civil partnership was introduced by the employer at a later date), the local authority’s policy aimed to secure the rights of others, also protected under the Convention, and the national authorities had not exceeded the wide margin of appreciation at their disposal in striking a balance between competing Convention rights.

As regards Mr. McFarlane, the Court in his case as well had to verify whether a ‘fair balance’ had been struck by the State between the competing interests. The judges significantly underlined that an individual’s decision to enter into a contract of employment and to undertake responsibilities which he/she knows will have an impact on freedom to manifest religious belief is not decisive with reference to the assessment of whether there has been an interference with his/her right to freedom of religion. However it went on to add that this element has to be weighed in the balance when assessing the aforementioned ‘fair balance’. For the Court, the most important factor was again that the employer’s action was intended to secure the implementation of its policy of providing a service without discrimination; and that the State authorities benefitted from a wide margin of appreciation in deciding where to strike the balance (again, not exceeded, according to the judgment).

The outcome is made even more striking by the fact that the Court accepted two key elements with regard to both applicants: their refusals constituted a manifestation of their religion and the ‘no exception’ approach of their employers had entailed particularly serious and severe consequences for them.



A fair solution?

The motivation of the judgment seems to lack the soundness and scrupulousness which the delicacy and complexity of the cases would have demanded. It is doubtful whether the Court made any effort at truly giving guidance on how to balance the rights at stake and the decision will surely not go down in history as a significant contribution to legal certainty. The question of how and why policies that have as their stated objective that of ensuring ‘dignity for all’ and equality can lead to such seemingly self-contradictory effects might be disturbing, but it has some pertinence. From an EU perspective, although the reference point for these cases is the already existing Directive 2000/78/EC, the persistent reservations concerning further EU non-discrimination legislation are also related to sincere concerns for the way the right to freedom of religion (as well as other core fundamental rights) can be effectively ensured in this context.

On a more general level, when cases such as these - that could be settled through reasonable, flexible and sensible solutions - end up in front of an important body such as the Strasbourg Court, the signal is a worrying one. The way towards the guaranteeing of “…the right to express one's own personality at the workplace without suffering any affront to one's conscience or personal dignity” (Centesimus Annus, § 15) also requires a greater effort of all the parties involved in constantly working out together the way to reconcile opposing positions. Rigidity leads to tensions and from there, the step towards conflict is all too short.



More questions than answers

Apart from the doubtful solidity of the arguments used by the Court to support it, many questions remain open after this judgment and some additional ones are raised by it: was the concrete impact of the two applicants’ behaviour on the overall effectiveness of their employers’ service truly significant or rather marginal? Is enough being done to ensure that the religious convictions of single employees are respected and that they are not forced to act against them, while avoiding a genuine disruption of the services provided? Will the judgment have a negative effect (and if so, to what extent) on those people who intend to act in accordance with their faith and conscience at the workplace in morally delicate situations? Does the decision entail the acceptance of the risk that other persons in a similar situation to the applicants could be de facto prevented from, or have a much steeper and more unpleasant climb, in order to gain access to certain occupations?

The outcome of the proceedings signals the recognition of a sort of stifling, implicitly dominant position for equality policies over core human rights, such as the one to freedom of religion; as well as a rather embarrassing disregard of discrimination on grounds of religion in comparison with other, more ‘popular’, grounds of discrimination. On the other hand, the credibility of such serious concerns does not need to be undermined by exaggerated statements, like the ones used in the dissenting opinion to the decision, which referred to the role of freedom of conscience vis-à-vis Nazi firing squads or the Spanish Inquisition.

The maturity of a society is also measured by the extent to which it manages (or fails) to find acceptable and convincing solutions in intricate matters involving balancing conflicting rights. For the moment, we seem to be ‘not quite there yet’…


Alessandro Calcagno

COMECE


Fuente
.

Apologies, Apologies, Apologies



The Tyranny of Political Correctness

In the last few days there have been 3 outstanding instances of  'hate speech':

1. Rep. Don Young Apologizes for ‘Wetbacks’ Comment
Rep. Don Young, who used the term “wetbacks” to describe Mexican immigrants in a radio interview Thursday night, issued a full-scale apology this afternoon for using the derogatory slur after a barrage of criticism from...
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/03/rep-don-young-apologizes-for-wetbacks-comment/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hopkins-surgeon-ben-carson-apologizes-for-choice-of-words-on-gay-marriage/

3. Michigan Republican Dave Agema says he is refusing to resign after promoting an article that said “part of the homosexual agenda is to get the public to affirm their filthy lifestyle."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/dave-agema-resignation_n_2984735.html

Here begins a 'cluster' of Apologies.  Isn't that nice?  After all the insensitive words, apologies.

Arsenio
,

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Ben Carson: ‘I apologize’ for gay remark



 By BREANNA EDWARDS | 3/29/13 2:47 PM EDT


Neurosurgeon Ben Carson apologized Friday for comments he made about gay marriage on Sean Hannity’s TV show earlier this week.

“I think in terms of what was said on Sean Hannity’s show, that was taken completely out of context and completely misunderstood in terms of what I was trying to say,” Carson told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “As a Christian, I have a duty to love all people and that includes people who have other sexual orientations, and I certainly do, and never had any intention of offending anyone… If anyone was offended, I apologize to you.

The John Hopkins doctor came under scrutiny when he appeared to liken homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, sparking the outrage of the LGBT community.

“My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition,” the doctor, who is the director of pediatric neurosurgery, said on Hannity’s show Tuesday.

His comments also led to a petition by students at Johns Hopkins University, who want him to be removed as commencement speaker, as was initially planned. Students, colleagues and the media alike have harshly criticized Carson for his choice of words.

(Also on POLITICO: Ben Carson '16? Incredibly slim chance)

“They make him look nasty, petty, and ill-informed. It doesn’t tell us anything about his amazing abilities as a surgeon,” Professor Todd Shepard, co-director of the university’s Program for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, said in a statement to Media Matters. “It does remind us, however, that those abilities do not mean we should listen to what he says in any other domain.”

Carson said that he would “absolutely” withdraw as commencement speaker if necessary, saying the “last thing” he would want to do is “rain on their parade.”

However, the doctor remained firmly rooted in his belief that the term “marriage” should not be extended to same-sex couples, although he said the couples should be treated “kindly” and have whatever legal agreements they desire in order to transfer property and have visitation rights, among other rights.

(Also on POLITICO: Conservative pundits split on gay marriage)

“Marriage is a very sacred thing and we need to maintain it as a sacred thing. When I say we don’t want to change it or degrade it by calling everything marriage, that’s not aimed at any particular group,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is, the Bible and God have set very specific standards. It’s very clear what’s being said. God doesn’t change, man changes. Our duty is to allow for that change and to still love them and in terms of what happens with them, that’s a decision that’s up to God, that’s not our decision.”


Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/ben-carson-gay-remark-apology-89475.html#ixzz2OzscrISu

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A Great Reformation


The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganisation. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organisation would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.

Who has authority to begin such a movement? We have our Bibles. We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit. We have a truth that admits of no compromise. Shall we not repudiate everything that is not in harmony with this truth?

I hesitated and delayed about the sending out of that which the Spirit of the Lord impelled me to write. I did not want to be compelled to present the misleading influence of these sophistries. But in the providence of God, the errors that have been coming in must be met.

Selected Messages, book 1, p 204-205
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The False Revival


Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. 2 Thess. 2:8, 9.

Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, points to the special working of Satan in spiritualism as an event to take place immediately before the second advent of Christ. Speaking of Christ's second coming, he declares that it is "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

Before the final visitation of God's judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord's second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world.

Young men and women will be lifted up, and will regard themselves as wonderfully favored, called to do some great thing. There will be conversions many, after a peculiar order, but they will not bear the divine signature. Immorality will come in, and extravagance, and many will make shipwreck of faith.


Maranatha, p.168
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Chocolate and Scripture






Mar. 18, 2013

Michal Rakowski

Young Adventists from Krakow, Poland, walk a neighborhood distributing chocolates along with a printed Bible verse on Saturday, March 16, as part of the Adventist Church’s Global Youth Day. Adventist youth worldwide participated in community service projects as part of the special emphasis day. [photo: Michal Rakowski]


Source: © 2013, Adventist News Network



Related
Chocolate and Cocoa  http://drc.whiteestate.org/files/6831.pdf
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Financial Slavery (Escravidão Financeira) - David Kang



5. Escravidão Financeira - David Kang


EvangelhoEterno1

Published on Jan 12, 2013


CONSTRUINDO EM CRISTO - PR. DAVID KANG
1. Construindo em Cristo
2. Como Se Preparar Para a Chuva Serôdia
3. A Verdade Presente
4. Reexaminando Mateus 24
5. Escravidão Financeira
6. Condescendência de Jesus

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Adventists and the Catholic Church: What is Possible?


SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013


Submitted By: Hugo Mendez


In recent days, I was invited by Matthew Lucio, a friend, blogger, and pastor in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, to discuss how Adventists approach the Papacy today, and what might yet be possible even within a commitment to the historic Adventist prophetic interpretation. The conversation was spurred on some level by my recent Spectrum article. In this interview, I've tried to answer his question from a perspective sensitive to that of Adventism. I've reproduced it below from his blog, which I urge you to visit often!


On the bus with a future Pope.


ML: The title of a recent article you wrote, “Is the Pope Good for Christianity?”, leads Adventists to consider whether something that is good for Christianity can be good for them. Though we claim to be Christians, many Adventists are all the same suspicious of their fellow Christians. So I’d like to ask you whether you think it’s possible for this pope (or any pope) to be good for Adventists, specifically
.



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Apostasy At The Jordan - Moses Mason



Moses Mason - Apostasy At The Jordan


Maschil

Published on Mar 8, 2012


Moses Mason preaches at the New Covenant SDA Church in Gallatin, Tennessee. Brother Mason deals with the parallels of literal Israel with Spiritual Israel (Seventh-day Adventist) as Israel was about to reach Canaan, and Seventh-day Adventist are about the experience the Second Coming, the heavenly Canaan.

More audio sermons from Brother Mason can be found athttp://breachrepairers.webs.com under the Mason Mason videos tab. For more information on his ministry please visithttp://apocalypseministries.org

.

Spiritualism - Seances and Sorcery by Pastor Emiliano Richards



4 - Spiritualism - Seances and Sorcery by Pastor Emiliano Richards



FVT144000

Uploaded on Aug 7, 2011

Spiritualism - Seances and Sorcery by Pastor Emiliano Richards
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Friday, March 29, 2013

Fill my cup Lord



Fill My Cup, Lord


crcworship

Uploaded on Feb 2, 2008


Fill My Cup, Lord

Like the woman at the well
I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy;
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from My well
that never shall run dry."

Fill my cup, Lord,
I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench
this thirsting of my soul;

Bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more --
Fill my cup, fill it up
and make me whole!

So, my brother, if the things
this world gave you
Leave hunger that won't pass away, My blessed Lord
will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray:

Fill my cup, Lord,
I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench
this thirsting of my soul;

Bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more --
Fill my cup, fill it up
and make me whole!

Fill my cup, fill it up
and make me whole!

.

Standing on the Promises




Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 (J. Brahms),  - Gracias Choir


IYFWorldCamp NY

Uploaded on Aug 8, 2011


IYF World Camp 2011 - Korea

Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 (J. Brahms), Standing on the Promises - Gracias Choir

.

Andrew Parker named as new head of MI5

28 March 2013 Last updated at 12:38 ET



Mr Parker was the deputy director general


Related Stories
MI5 issues cyber-attacks warning
MI5 chief to step down next month


The new director general of the domestic security service, known as MI5, is to be the current deputy, Andrew Parker.

Mr Parker will take over from the outgoing head, Sir Jonathan Evans, next month.

Mr Parker led the security services' response to the 2005 London attacks.

Announcing the appointment, Home Secretary Theresa May said Mr Parker had a "wealth of experience and knowledge".

Mr Parker, 50, a keen ornithologist, has worked for MI5 for 30 years. He has worked on terrorism in the Middle East and Northern Ireland, counter espionage, and serious and organised crime.


“I am extremely proud of the extraordinary work that the men and women of MI5 do to keep the country safe in challenging circumstances.”
Andrew ParkerMI5 director general


He oversaw an expansion in counter terrorism capability and the development of the service's regional network.

In 2006, his teams played the lead role in the disruption of Al-Qaeda's attempt to attack multiple airliners with bombs hidden in drinks bottles.

He has been the deputy director general since 2007.

He said: "It is a great honour to be appointed Director General of MI5.

"I am extremely proud of the extraordinary work that the men and women of MI5 do to keep the country safe in challenging circumstances. I look forward to leading the Service through its next chapter."

Ms May added: "I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Parker as the new DG of the Security Service, a role to which he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge.

"Under his leadership the Service will continue to stay ahead of global and domestic threats to our national security and further develop its reputation as one of the world's most effective security agencies."


Predecessor's work

Sir Jonathan's departure was announced last week.

He succeeded Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller to become head of MI5 in April 2007.

He will leave at the end of his contract, having spent 33 years with the security service.

Sir Jonathan's work included investigating counter espionage, developing and implementing key policies on security and most-recently countering the threat of international terrorism.

At MI5, he initially focused on Irish-related terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s, before moving on to international counter-terrorism investigations in 1999.

He was appointed director of international counter-terrorism just 10 days before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

Source
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North Korea: We are Ready to Strike the U.S. Mainland With Missiles

Science
Jason Mick (Blog) - March 29, 2013 1:17 PM


Defense experts say North Korea's claims are purely bombastic and delusional

Kim Jung-Un, supreme ruler of North Korea (NK) and son of late dictator Kim Jong-Il, loves Dennis Rodman and American culture, but he hates the American government after they cut off his imports of luxury items due to his insistence on nuclear weapons development. Now the dictator's bipolar attitude towards the U.S. has seemingly taken, with Mr. Jung-Un scrapping a six decades old armistice with America and South Korea (SK).




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The Pagan Origin Of Easter


Easter is a day that is honered by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham", decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.

Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter.

Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the resurrection of our Saviour?

The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions.

The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."

"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.

In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's son named Ham.

Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis.Cush and Semiramis then had a son named him "Nimrod."

After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.

The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon.

Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom.

Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.

That missing part was his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.

Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship.

Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess.

Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived.

She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.

She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River.

This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg became known as "Ishtar's" egg."

Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive.

The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz.

Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter.

The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig.

Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit.

Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion.

The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.

She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz.

During this time, no meat was to be eaten.

Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped.

They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.

Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made.

It was Ishtar's Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs.

Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday.

By now, the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary "Christian" churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.

The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also know that Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Some have wondered why the word "Easter" is in the the King James Bible.

It is because Acts, chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to celebrate Easter, and not the Christians.

The true Passover and pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great distance apart.

So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of the truth.

We know that the Bible tells us in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits,hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon.These are all antichrist activities!

Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with idolatry.

These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian.

You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children.

These customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the "Rising Sun" and his house is the "House of the Rising Sun."

How many churches have "sunrise services" on Ishtar's day and face the rising sun in the East?

How many will use colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon.

These things are no joke, any more than Judgement day is a joke.

I pray to God that this tract will cause you to search for more truth.

We will be glad to help you by providing more information and by praying for you.

These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate.

David J. Meyer

Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916


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Boy Scouts in the Crosshairs of the 'Homosexuality is Normal Movement'


By Lloyd Marcus
March 28, 2013
NewsWithViews.com

Think of us as crew members on the star-ship Enterprise of the Star Trek TV show, boldly going where no one has gone before. Folks, this is what it feels like challenging the. It is extremely dangerous.

Homosexual activists attempt to humiliate and politically destroy anyone who dares even criticize their agenda. Meanwhile, the MSM (mainstream media) casts us who believe marriage should remain between one man and one woman as the aggressors, hate-filled villains.



Have the Homosexuality is Normal Movement stolen our kids? Despicably, while we were not looking, homosexual activists sneaked their agenda in the back doors of our elementary schools indoctrinating our kids early.Unquestionably, lack of access to your child for indoctrination contributes to the Left's hatred for home schools and their relentless attempts to close them down.

Here is another example of homosexual activists in-your-face aggressive indoctrination of our kids. A Massachusetts charter school, grades 7-12, will host a production of the play, “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”, a retelling of the biblical story of Genesis with gay characters. Keep in mind folks, America schools have a cow when a kid brings a Bible or wears a t-shirt with religious, patriotic or U.S. Military images. And yet, this school gleefully hosts a play which blasphemes Christianity while promoting homosexuality.

Our forty year old son and twenty year old granddaughter support homosexual marriage. Their attitude is what's the big deal, it is only fair that gays be allowed to marry. America's youths are parroting the liberal's argument that opposition to same sex marriage is discriminatory and bigoted. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, support for gay marriage is at 65 percent among those 18 to 29 years old. The gay marriage approval rating is probably even higher among high school kids.

A twenty-something year old Christian youth pastor picked me up from the airport in California. Justifying his support of same sex marriage, he said, “God does not care who we love.” Wow, I could hardly believe my ears. This young man who claimed to be a minister of God chose to ignore the Bible and spout the liberal pop-culture spin.

From cooking shows to home improvement and everything in between, it has become difficult to watch TV without the Homosexuality is Normal agenda being forced down your throat. If you do not believe these people are outrageously aggressive, listen to this. The Green Street United Methodist Church will not perform heterosexual marriages until gays can marry.

Folks, I have dear friends and beloved relatives who are homosexual. I am loving and kind to their mates. My 85 year old dad has been a Christian pastor over 50 years. Dad said he loves the homosexuals in his life, but they know were he stands on this topic which is the biblical view.

Dad's tolerance is not enough to please the aggressive Homosexuality is Normal Movement bullying America today. They seek to politically bend Dad's arm behind his back forcing him to declare homosexuality normal against his faith.

My point is homosexual activists are extremely aggressive while portraying themselves as innocent victims of an intolerant society. In reality, we who believe in traditional values are the ones being bullied. The MSM gang vilifies anyone who dares to stand up for traditional marriage. Come hell or high water, they are going to make us embrace homosexuality as being normal by severely punishing those who refuse to comply.

And will someone please tell me why homosexual activists are so hellbent on forcing Christian institutions to betray their faith by embracing the homosexual agenda? Homosexual activists have sued the Boy Scouts of America and launched a war on the Catholic Church.

No one is opposing homosexuals doing their own thing. Rather than aggressively trying to infiltrate the Boys Scouts and the Catholic Church, why not form their own Fabulous Scouts of America and the Church Of 'If It Feels Good Do It' and leave Christian institutions another?

Christian institutions are simply saying you can not come into our house and force us to change the rules – especially when those rules come from God. And what is the MSM's response to Christian institutions defending their religious freedom? The MSM campaigns to brand the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church intolerant haters. We are living in crazy insidious evil times folks.

The Homosexuality is Normal Movement takes no prisoners, not even new Pope Francis. They have already begun finding fault with him because Pope Francis is against gay marriage and gay adoption.

Question. Will homosexual activists get away with branding the Pope a hater?

The Homosexuality is Normal Movement is not passive well meaning victims simply seeking tolerance and their place in the sun. They are relentless, viscous and hell bent on forcing all of us, particularly Christians, to say their behavior is normal. God help us!

Lloyd Marcus, Proud Unhyphenated American
Chairman – CampaignToDefeatObama.com

© 2012 Lloyd Marcus - All Rights Reserved


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How Ambien Helped Kill Osama bin Laden


MILITARY


By Brian Anderson




Let’s talk about some of the details trickling out of No Easy Day, Navy SEAL Matt Bissonette’s firsthand retelling of the bin Laden raid, for a minute. There’s the cover story, for one. Should the dark-of-night sweep on the Abbottabad compound really have screwed the pooch the troops were under orders to march in lockstep in telling folks that, no, we weren’t carrying out a hit on the world’s most wanted man. We were tracking down a lost drone.

One of the more truly head-shaken revelations, though, is that the SEALs ate a bunch of Ambien on the eve of the raid. Dudes just couldn’t sleep. Understandably so. And yet it’s pretty remarkable that dudes were able to clear the fogs of a mass, pilled hangover to pull off the whole bang-up – and put on those $65,000 night-vision specs the right way – with only a few hitches.

It’s part and parcel of systemic drug use throughout the Armed Forces. In 2011 alone, upwards of 110,000 active-duty troops were on antidepressants, sedatives, and a veritable constellation of other prescription meds. And that’s just the Army, and legal substances. Who knows how many cuts of that fine Colombian marching powder, to pull just one illicit head-feed from the barrel, were racked to liven up the malaise of war. Licit highs and meds doled out to those in uniform are even more plentiful. Here are just a few.


Read more: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/how-ambien-helped-kill-osama-bin-laden#ixzz2OrUSihe0
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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Not Even Gold Will Save You From What Is Coming - MARC FABER


Matthew Boesler | Mar. 27, 2013, 4:53 PM


Bloomberg Television
Marc Faber


See Also


Instead Of Doing His Job, Jeroen Dijsselbloem Has Given Us A Glimpse Of The Euro 'End Game'



ANALYST: The Market Reaction To Cyprus Has Been 'Fantastic' Thanks To 'Massive Manipulation'



Global Financial Stress Is Starting To Pick Up Steam, And That's Bad News For StocksMarc Faber, who authors the Gloom Boom & Doom newsletter, is usually pretty bearish on stocks and bullish on gold.



Lately, though, gold doesn't seem like it can catch a bid.

"Despite the continued reverberations regarding the Cyprus bailout and its involvement of bank deposits, gold struggled to maintain the positive momentum created in the first two weeks of March and instead now looks very likely to move lower, towards $1580/oz," wrote Deutsche Bank commodities analyst Xiao Fu in a note this morning.

So, what does Faber have to say about it?

This morning, on Bloomberg Surveillance with Tom Keene and Alix Steel, Dr. Doom was asked why gold wasn't holding up.

Here's his explanation:

When you print money, the money does not flow evenly into the economic system. It stays essentially in the financial service industry and among people that have access to these funds, mostly well-to-do people. It does not go to the worker. I just mentioned that it doesn't flow evenly into the system.

Now from time to time it will lift the NASDAQ like between 1997 and March 2000. Then it lifted home prices in the U.S. until 2007. Then it lifted the commodity prices in 2008 until July 2008 when the global economy was already in recession. More recently it has lifted selected emerging economies, stock markets in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, up four times from 2009 lows and now the U.S.

So we are creating bubbles and bubbles and bubbles. This bubble will come to an end. My concern is that we are going to have a systemic crisis where it is going to be very difficult to hide. Even in gold, it will be difficult to hide.

Faber is, of course, still bearish on U.S. stocks. He told Bloomberg that he sees "considerable downside risk" in the market.


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U.S. flies Stealth bombers over South Korea in warning to North



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SEOUL | Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:35am EDT

(Reuters) - The United States flew two Stealth bomber practice runs over South Korea on Thursday, in a second show of force to North Korea after a B52 bomber made a similar run earlier this week amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The flights came after North Korea said it would attack American bases in the Pacific following a U.S.-led drive to impose sanctions on North Korea for its third nuclear weapons test.

The North has also threatened U.S. "puppet" South Korea with war and the U.S. mainland with nuclear attack.

"This mission by two B-2 Spirit bombers assigned to 509th Bomb Wing...demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the United States Forces in Korea said in a statement.

North Korea has put its armed forces on readiness to fight what it says are "hostile" war drills by the United States and South Korea. The U.S. says the annual drills are defensive.

Pyongyang has also cancelled an armistice agreement with the United States that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and cut all communications hotlines with U.S. forces, the United Nations and South Korea.

The U.S. military said that its bombers had flown more than 6,500 miles to stage a trial bombing raid from their bases in Missouri as part of Foal Eagle war drills being held with South Korea.

The U.S. military announced on March 15 it was bolstering missile defenses in response to threats from the North, including a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States.

Despite the shrill words, few believe North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will risk starting a full-out war.

North and South Korea are still technically at war anyway after their 1950-53 civil conflict ended with the armistice, not a treaty.

North Korea conducted a third nuclear weapons test in February in breach of U.N. sanctions and despite warnings from China, its one major diplomatic ally.

Despite the tide of hostile rhetoric from Pyongyang, it has kept a joint economic zone with the South open as it generates $2 billion a year in trade from the venture, money the impoverished state can ill-afford to lose.

North Korea will celebrate the anniversary of the birth of its founding father, Kim Il-sung, on April 15. The current ruler is Kim Jong-un, his 30-year old grandson.

While the North has an armory of Soviet-era Scud missiles that can hit South Korea, its longer-range missiles remain untested.

Independent assessments of its missile strike force suggest that it may have the theoretical capacity to hit U.S. bases in Japan and Guam, but the North has not tested these missiles.

North Korea shelled a South Korean island in 2010 and is charged with the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in the same year. Pyongyang denies it sank the ship.

(Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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