AND THE THIRD ANGEL FOLLOWED THEM, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, IF ANY MAN WORSHIP THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE, AND RECEIVE HIS MARK IN HIS FOREHEAD, OR IN HIS HAND. *** REVELATION 14:9
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Friday, June 30, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
This Passport Is so Rare, Only 500 People on Earth Have It
Getty Images
It’s well-known that some passports are more powerful than others. Take, for example, the German passport, thought of as the most powerful global entry tool on Earth. As Travel + Leisure previously reported, German passport holders can visit 177 countries around the world without needing a visa.
And while being able to visit more countries is cool, what may be even cooler is being a card-carrying member of the world’s most exclusive passport: the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
What Your Passport Color Really Means
It’s well-known that some passports are more powerful than others. Take, for example, the German passport, thought of as the most powerful global entry tool on Earth. As Travel + Leisure previously reported, German passport holders can visit 177 countries around the world without needing a visa.
And while being able to visit more countries is cool, what may be even cooler is being a card-carrying member of the world’s most exclusive passport: the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
What Your Passport Color Really Means
Most passports come in shades of red, blue, green, and black. Sometimes the reason behind the color is geographical, sometimes it's political, sometimes its religious. Other times? It matches the flag or is faith-based.
According to the Independent, the Catholic order, which had its sovereignty recognized by Pope Paschal in 1113, is home to the world’s rarest passport. In fact, only 500 of these passports are in circulation around the globe right now, according to the Order.
Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Diplomatic passports, according to the Sovereign Order of Malta, are granted only to “the members of the Sovereign Council (the government), to heads and members of its Diplomatic Missions (as well as their consort and minor children), and – with very few exceptions – to senior figures in charge of a special missions within the Order of Malta.”
The passports only remain valid for four years and are strictly linked to the duration of a given assignment by the Order.
The Sovereign Order of Malta maintains diplomatic relations with 106 states, meaning all of these states accept the diplomatic passports as a valid form of identification. The passports even include biometric features and are compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
Currently, the Sovereign Order of Malta is active in 120 countries, where it helps to care for people in need through its medical, social, and humanitarian works. The Order is especially involved in helping people living in the midst of armed conflicts and natural disasters. It is also a permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Additionally, as the Order noted on its site, “It is neutral, impartial and apolitical.” As the Independent explained, the order is currently made up of over 13,500 knights, dames, and chaplains along with 80,000 permanent volunteers and 25,000 employees, so obtaining one of those 500 coveted passports is even rare among this limited crowd.
Source
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Australian Cardinal, a Top Adviser to Pope, Is Charged With Sexual Assault
Australia
Cardinal George Pell at an Easter vigil mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in April.
MAX ROSSI / REUTERS
By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS
JUNE 28, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s senior Roman Catholic prelate, and one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, has been charged with sexual assault, the police in the Australian state of Victoria said on Thursday.
The prelate, Cardinal George Pell, became the highest-ranking Vatican official in recent years to face criminal charges involving accusations of sexual offenses.
“Cardinal Pell has been charged on summons, and he is required to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court” on July 18, Shane Patton, the deputy police commissioner, said at a news conference.
The charges were served on the cardinal’s legal representatives in Melbourne. Commissioner Patton said there were multiple complainants, but refused to provide further details about them, including their ages.
MAX ROSSI / REUTERS
By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS
JUNE 28, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s senior Roman Catholic prelate, and one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, has been charged with sexual assault, the police in the Australian state of Victoria said on Thursday.
The prelate, Cardinal George Pell, became the highest-ranking Vatican official in recent years to face criminal charges involving accusations of sexual offenses.
“Cardinal Pell has been charged on summons, and he is required to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court” on July 18, Shane Patton, the deputy police commissioner, said at a news conference.
The charges were served on the cardinal’s legal representatives in Melbourne. Commissioner Patton said there were multiple complainants, but refused to provide further details about them, including their ages.
Bible belt town says sorry after workmen put up signs on a Sunday
Bible belt town says sorry after workmen put up signs on a Sunday
Society
One of the village’s several churches.
Photo: Michiel Verbeek via Wikimedia Commons
The town council in Hardinxveld-Giessendam, a Bible belt municipality with some 18,000 people, has apologised to residents after workmen put up warning signs about roadworks on a Sunday. ‘The council regrets the fact that a contractor has placed up signs about the resurfacing work on the Nieuweweg on a Sunday,’ the official statement said. ‘This goes against agreements and was not ordered by the council.’ The council was prompted to say sorry after several people complained that local rules had been broken. Sunday is a day of absolute rest in strict Protestant circles. Hardinxveld-Giessendam council is run by a coalition formed by a local issue party and the fundamentalist Protestant SGP. The actual roadworks went ahead on Monday as planned.
Read more at DutchNews.nl: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/06/dutch-bible-belt-town-says-sorry-after-workmen-put-up-signs-on-a-sunday107393-2/
Read more at DutchNews.nl: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/06/dutch-bible-belt-town-says-sorry-after-workmen-put-up-signs-on-a-sunday107393-2/
11 things you might not know about Bergen County's blue laws
John Brennan | Staff Writer, @BergenBrennan6:00 a.m. ET June 23, 2017
An error in a "Jeopardy" clue brought the ever-simmering issue of Bergen County's blue laws back to the surface.
1. Blame It On Rome
The idea of setting one day per week aside for leisure is said to date back to the Roman Emperor Constantine about 1700 years ago.
The Roman Colosseum was built more than 200 years before Emperor Constantine is said to have ...more
AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)
AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)
2. What's "Blue" About This Law, Anyway?
The most commonly-cited reason is that these business-related descriptions originally were written on blue paper, or in books that had blue covers. Historians say it more likely has to with the 18th-century custom of the word "blue" being used to describe any moral code cultural restrictions.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
President Trump Broke Clinton – Obama Tradition of Hosting Ramadan Dinner
On Jun 27, 2017
President Donald Trump walks out from the Oval Office to make a joint statement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
For the first time in nearly two decades, the White House decided to skip hosting the annual Eid al-Fitr dinner celebrating the end of Ramadan. The dinner began under the Clinton administration and continued through the Obama years.
Instead, President Donald Trump issued a statement wishing warm greetings to Muslims.
“Muslims in the United States joined those around the world during the holy month of Ramadan to focus on acts of faith and charity. Now, as they commemorate Eid with family and friends, they carry on the tradition of helping neighbors and breaking bread with people from all walks of life,” the statement read in part.
Ramadan is considered the Muslim holy month, marked by prayer and fasting. Eid al-Fitr is the “break” to that fast.
Liberal mosque opens in Germany where men women worship together with female imams
34
Pagan elements of worship crafted into modern Islam
67
The State Department also rejected an offer to host a Ramadan dinner.
For the first time in nearly two decades, the White House decided to skip hosting the annual Eid al-Fitr dinner celebrating the end of Ramadan. The dinner began under the Clinton administration and continued through the Obama years.
Instead, President Donald Trump issued a statement wishing warm greetings to Muslims.
“Muslims in the United States joined those around the world during the holy month of Ramadan to focus on acts of faith and charity. Now, as they commemorate Eid with family and friends, they carry on the tradition of helping neighbors and breaking bread with people from all walks of life,” the statement read in part.
Ramadan is considered the Muslim holy month, marked by prayer and fasting. Eid al-Fitr is the “break” to that fast.
Liberal mosque opens in Germany where men women worship together with female imams
34
Pagan elements of worship crafted into modern Islam
67
The State Department also rejected an offer to host a Ramadan dinner.
Duty of Parents to Their Children
The Watchman
2 months ago
8 min read
One of the signs of the “last days” is the disobedience of children to their parents. 2 Timothy 3:2. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to lose sight of the watch-care they should ever have over their children, and suffer them to indulge in evil passions, and to disobey them. They take but little notice of them until their own feelings are raised, and then punish them in anger.
Many parents will have to render an awful account at last for their neglect of their children. They have fostered and cherished their evil tempers by bending to their wishes and will, when the wishes and will of the children should bend to them. They have brought God’s frown upon them and their children by these things. Parents, have you forgotten that which is written in the Holy Word: “He that spareth the rod hateth his son.” Children are left to come up instead of being trained up. The poor little children are thought not to know or understand a correction at ten or twelve months old, and they begin to show stubbornness very young. Parents suffer them to indulge in evil tempers and passions without subduing or correcting them, and by so doing they cherish and nourish these evil passions until they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.
The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed to run about the house, play, talk and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, “confusion.” This is enough to bring God’s displeasure, and shut his presence from our assemblies. His wrath is kindled for these things, and he will not while these things exist, go out with Israel to battle against their enemies. The enemies of our faith will be suffered to triumph on account of God’s displeasure.
Parents stand in the place of God to their children and they will have to render an account, whether they have been faithful to the little few committed to their trust. Parents, some of you are rearing children to be cut down by the destroying angel, unless you speedily change your course, and be faithful to them. God cannot cover iniquity, even in children. He cannot love unruly children who manifest passion, and he cannot save them in the time of trouble. Will you suffer your children to be lost through your neglect? Unfaithful parents, their blood will be upon you, and is not your salvation doubtful with the blood of your children upon you? children that might have been saved had you filled your place, and done your duty as faithful parents should.
God says: “I know Abraham, that he will command his household after him,” and God gave him the honor of being the father of the faithful. Parents, it is your duty to have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to know, and understand where they are. That they are not at home, but where God meets with his people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will turn his face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.
If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the truth will have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so much needed will be encouraged and there will be power in the truth to stir up the depths of the soul and a death-like stupor will not hang upon those who hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It has seemed evident that in some places the Ark of God was removed from the church, for the holy commandments have been violated and the strength of Israel has been weakened.
Parents, correct your children. Commence while they are young, when impressions can be more easily made, and their evil tempers subdued before they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.
You should correct your children in love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of remedying it. After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then carry them to God and ask him to help you. Tell him that you have done your part, and then in faith ask God to do his part, that which you cannot do. Ask him to temper their dispositions, to make them mild and gentle by his Holy Spirit. He will hear you pray. He will love to answer your prayers. Through his Word he has enjoined it upon you to correct your children, to “spare not for their crying,” and his Word is to be heeded in these things.
It certainly must bring God’s displeasure upon parents when they leave him to do what he has left, and commanded them to do. God corrects us when we disobey, and go astray from him; and parents are bound by the word of God to correct their children when they disobey them, and show evil temper. Check the very first manifestation of passion. Break the will, (but do it with feelings of tenderness, and with discretion,) and your children will be far happier for it, and you will be happier. Your effort will be remembered of God, and he that is so particular as to observe the falling of the sparrow; he that noticed and commended Abraham’s faithfulness, will not pass by your efforts. He that never slumbers nor sleeps will be ready to aid you with his Spirit and grace, and will reward your feeble efforts.
Parents, above every thing, take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God’s holy day by playing in the house or out of doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your children to wander about, and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as Sabbath-breakers. Your children, that are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be their law. Will not parents wake up to their duty before it shall be too late, and take hold of the work in earnest, redeem the time, and make unsparing efforts to save their children?
Children are the lawful prey of the enemy, because they are not subjects of grace, have not experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, and the evil angels have access to these children; and some parents are careless and suffer them to work with but little restraint. Parents have a great work to do in this matter, by correcting and subduing their children and then by bringing them to God and claiming his blessing upon them. By the faithful and untiring efforts of the parents, and the blessing and grace entreated of God upon the children, the power of the evil angels will be broken, a sanctifying influence is shed upon the children, and the powers of darkness must give back.
When the destroying angel was to pass through Egypt, to destroy the first-born of man and beast, Israel was commanded to gather their children and families into their houses with them, and then mark their door-posts with blood, that the destroying angel might pass by their dwellings, and if they failed to go through with this process, there was no difference made between them and the Egyptians.
The destroying angel is soon to go forth again, not to destroy the first-born alone, but “to slay utterly old and young, both men, women and little children” who have not the mark. Parents, if you wish to save your children, separate them from the world, keep them from the company of wicked children; for if you suffer them to go with wicked children, you cannot prevent them from partaking of their wickedness and being corrupted. It is your solemn duty to watch over your children, to choose the society at all times for them. Learn your children to obey you, then can they more easily obey the commandments of God, and yield to his requirements. Don’t let us neglect to pray with, and for our children. He that said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” will listen to our prayers for them, and the seal, or mark, of believing parents will cover their children, if they are trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 1White, Ellen G. “Duty of Parents to Their Children.” The Review and Herald [Battle Creek] 19 Sept. 1854: n. pag. EGW Writings. EGW Estate. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
References [ - ]
1. ↑ White, Ellen G. “Duty of Parents to Their Children.” The Review and Herald [Battle Creek] 19 Sept. 1854: n. pag. EGW Writings. EGW Estate. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
2 months ago
8 min read
One of the signs of the “last days” is the disobedience of children to their parents. 2 Timothy 3:2. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to lose sight of the watch-care they should ever have over their children, and suffer them to indulge in evil passions, and to disobey them. They take but little notice of them until their own feelings are raised, and then punish them in anger.
Many parents will have to render an awful account at last for their neglect of their children. They have fostered and cherished their evil tempers by bending to their wishes and will, when the wishes and will of the children should bend to them. They have brought God’s frown upon them and their children by these things. Parents, have you forgotten that which is written in the Holy Word: “He that spareth the rod hateth his son.” Children are left to come up instead of being trained up. The poor little children are thought not to know or understand a correction at ten or twelve months old, and they begin to show stubbornness very young. Parents suffer them to indulge in evil tempers and passions without subduing or correcting them, and by so doing they cherish and nourish these evil passions until they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.
The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed to run about the house, play, talk and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, “confusion.” This is enough to bring God’s displeasure, and shut his presence from our assemblies. His wrath is kindled for these things, and he will not while these things exist, go out with Israel to battle against their enemies. The enemies of our faith will be suffered to triumph on account of God’s displeasure.
Parents stand in the place of God to their children and they will have to render an account, whether they have been faithful to the little few committed to their trust. Parents, some of you are rearing children to be cut down by the destroying angel, unless you speedily change your course, and be faithful to them. God cannot cover iniquity, even in children. He cannot love unruly children who manifest passion, and he cannot save them in the time of trouble. Will you suffer your children to be lost through your neglect? Unfaithful parents, their blood will be upon you, and is not your salvation doubtful with the blood of your children upon you? children that might have been saved had you filled your place, and done your duty as faithful parents should.
God says: “I know Abraham, that he will command his household after him,” and God gave him the honor of being the father of the faithful. Parents, it is your duty to have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to know, and understand where they are. That they are not at home, but where God meets with his people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will turn his face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.
If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the truth will have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so much needed will be encouraged and there will be power in the truth to stir up the depths of the soul and a death-like stupor will not hang upon those who hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It has seemed evident that in some places the Ark of God was removed from the church, for the holy commandments have been violated and the strength of Israel has been weakened.
Parents, correct your children. Commence while they are young, when impressions can be more easily made, and their evil tempers subdued before they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.
You should correct your children in love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of remedying it. After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then carry them to God and ask him to help you. Tell him that you have done your part, and then in faith ask God to do his part, that which you cannot do. Ask him to temper their dispositions, to make them mild and gentle by his Holy Spirit. He will hear you pray. He will love to answer your prayers. Through his Word he has enjoined it upon you to correct your children, to “spare not for their crying,” and his Word is to be heeded in these things.
It certainly must bring God’s displeasure upon parents when they leave him to do what he has left, and commanded them to do. God corrects us when we disobey, and go astray from him; and parents are bound by the word of God to correct their children when they disobey them, and show evil temper. Check the very first manifestation of passion. Break the will, (but do it with feelings of tenderness, and with discretion,) and your children will be far happier for it, and you will be happier. Your effort will be remembered of God, and he that is so particular as to observe the falling of the sparrow; he that noticed and commended Abraham’s faithfulness, will not pass by your efforts. He that never slumbers nor sleeps will be ready to aid you with his Spirit and grace, and will reward your feeble efforts.
Parents, above every thing, take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God’s holy day by playing in the house or out of doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your children to wander about, and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as Sabbath-breakers. Your children, that are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be their law. Will not parents wake up to their duty before it shall be too late, and take hold of the work in earnest, redeem the time, and make unsparing efforts to save their children?
Children are the lawful prey of the enemy, because they are not subjects of grace, have not experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, and the evil angels have access to these children; and some parents are careless and suffer them to work with but little restraint. Parents have a great work to do in this matter, by correcting and subduing their children and then by bringing them to God and claiming his blessing upon them. By the faithful and untiring efforts of the parents, and the blessing and grace entreated of God upon the children, the power of the evil angels will be broken, a sanctifying influence is shed upon the children, and the powers of darkness must give back.
When the destroying angel was to pass through Egypt, to destroy the first-born of man and beast, Israel was commanded to gather their children and families into their houses with them, and then mark their door-posts with blood, that the destroying angel might pass by their dwellings, and if they failed to go through with this process, there was no difference made between them and the Egyptians.
The destroying angel is soon to go forth again, not to destroy the first-born alone, but “to slay utterly old and young, both men, women and little children” who have not the mark. Parents, if you wish to save your children, separate them from the world, keep them from the company of wicked children; for if you suffer them to go with wicked children, you cannot prevent them from partaking of their wickedness and being corrupted. It is your solemn duty to watch over your children, to choose the society at all times for them. Learn your children to obey you, then can they more easily obey the commandments of God, and yield to his requirements. Don’t let us neglect to pray with, and for our children. He that said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” will listen to our prayers for them, and the seal, or mark, of believing parents will cover their children, if they are trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 1White, Ellen G. “Duty of Parents to Their Children.” The Review and Herald [Battle Creek] 19 Sept. 1854: n. pag. EGW Writings. EGW Estate. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
References [ - ]
1. ↑ White, Ellen G. “Duty of Parents to Their Children.” The Review and Herald [Battle Creek] 19 Sept. 1854: n. pag. EGW Writings. EGW Estate. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
“The Vatican is like us Americans. A Global Power able to Influence the World”
Dispatches sent to Washington before Bergoglio settled in. The first evaluations on the Pope: He is a conservative; He will not change the doctrine of the Church
Pubblicato il 27/06/2017
Ultima modifica il 27/06/2017 alle ore 17:00
paolo mastrolilli
correspondent from New york
“Despite the disparity in size, governance, and history, we are both global powers, with global interests and influence. From many points of view, the Holy See is unique to the world in its ability to pursue its own agenda. The Vatican, with its diplomatic relations counting 180 countries is second only to the United States.”
The report dated March 14, 2013, sent from American Embassy to the Holy See to Vice President Biden, in view of his participation to Pope Francis’ inaugural ceremony, presents the smallest state and the oldest democracy in the world as equal powers. Along with other documents written a year after, during President Obama’s visit, that La Stampa has obtained in compliance with the law, these dispatches describe straightforwardly the contact points and divergences, ranging from Syria’s strategy to suspicions concerning American funding for evangelical groups.
The “cable” sent immediately after the election quotes “officials of the Curia are curious and nervous” for Bergoglio’s choice. The Obama administration had had problems with Benedict, especially on “the themes of life,” and longed for a new relationship: “Beyond finding himself between the New and the Old World, the Pope could also bridge between the “conservative and moderate wings of the church. On social issues, he is a “true-blue” conservative a determined opponent of abortion, gay marriage and contraception. At the same time, he is deeply committed to social justice in favor of the poor, a priority for the most liberal wing of the Church and for the Jesuits.” The text, then, cites Bergoglio’s interview with La Stampa when he was still cardinal, where he criticized the vanity of some members of the Curia anticipating its reform.
CNN Producer Criticizes Network's Russia Coverage in Undercover Video
Getty
6:21 AM PDT 6/27/2017 by Jeremy Barr
The video, which arrives after three journalists resigned over a retracted Russia story, is from conservative provocateur James O'Keefe.
CNN has had a difficult few days. On Monday, three staffers resigned following the removal late last week of a reported article about a supposed congressional investigation into a Russian investment fund and a financier with ties to President Trump's administration.
On Tuesday, the network was hit with an undercover video, shot by a right-leaning government watchdog group, that purports to show a CNN producer critiquing the network's frequent coverage of potential collusion between Russia and the Trump administration.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Work the Cities from Outposts
June 25
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 2 Corinthians 6:17.
As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.
As far as possible, our institutions should be located away from the cities.... It is not God's will that His people shall settle in the cities, where there is constant turmoil and confusion. Their children should be spared this; for the whole system is demoralized by the hurry and rush and noise. The Lord desires His people to move into the country, where they can settle on the land, and raise their own fruit and vegetables, and where their children can be brought in direct contact with the works of God in nature. Take your families away from the cities is my message.
The truth must be spoken, whether men will hear, or whether men will forbear. The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination.
The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes; not by God's people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.”
When iniquity abounds in a nation, there is always to be heard some voice giving warning and instruction, as the voice of Lot was heard in Sodom. Yet Lot could have preserved his family from many evils had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them, even if they had lived in a place some distance away from the city. Enoch walked with God, and yet he did not live in the midst of any city polluted with every kind of violence and wickedness, as did Lot in Sodom.
He [Enoch] did not make his abode with the wicked.... He placed himself and his family where the atmosphere would be as pure as possible. Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with his God-given message.... After proclaiming his message, he always took back with him to his place of retirement some who had received the warning.
Maranatha, p.184.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Gather The Wheat Into My Barn! (Matthew 13:30 KJV)
Notice:
Personally, I do not believe in the RAPTURE as it is told by contemporary Evangelicals per se, but I do believe His Coming is very near as it's portrayed in this video.
Blogger.
Filmmaker Discusses Documentary on Adventists in Army’s Project
Operation Whitecoat
“Operation Whitecoat” used thousands of volunteers for biodefense research studies.
Adventist Review Online | Filmmaker Discusses Documentary on Adventists in Army’s Project
“Operation Whitecoat” used thousands of volunteers for biodefense research studies.
Adventist Review Online | Filmmaker Discusses Documentary on Adventists in Army’s Project
Friday, June 23, 2017
James Comey makes appearance with his father at New Jersey parish
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 4:29 PM
Days after the dramatic testimony of his firing and dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump, former FBI Director James Comey made an appearance at a Catholic church on Holy Trinity Sunday, accompanying his father to Mass at a New Jersey parish.
The (Bergen) Record newspaper, via its website www.northjersey.com, released video of Comey and his wife accompanying his father to Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Allendale, a borough of Bergen County in northern New Jersey.
Though Comey did not respond to questions from a reporter outside the church, the video shows a group of teens outside Guardian Angel Church June 11 introducing themselves to the former FBI man who was fired by Trump May 9. The teens stop to pose for photos with Comey, who keeps an eye on his father heading for a car using a walker.
Comey, who was appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama in 2013, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee June 8 that Trump had asked him to pledge his loyalty but he had refused. Comey said the president also told him he hoped the agency would drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, after allegations of his questionable dealings with foreign governments. One day after Comey's testimony, the president denied Comey's account of events.
On the same day Comey was visiting his father, the president, too, found himself in New Jersey and took to Twitter to denounce his former FBI director and said what Comey had done was "cowardly."
The newspaper story said Comey regularly attended the Catholic church he visited June 11 when he was a boy, but the United Methodist Church claims him and his family as members. In a 2013 news release, the United Methodist Church said the Comeys are active members of the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington and the former director and his wife, Patrice, have taught Sunday school.
Rhina Guidos | Catholic News Service
Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington June 8. (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
Dutch royals return from Vatican with royal heirloom
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the leader of the Roman Catholic religious order of the Jesuits, left, presents King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands with the commander's baton attributed to William of Orange during a meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Alessandro Bianchi/Pool Photo Via AP)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Dutch king and queen are returning home from a state visit to the Vatican with a royal heirloom: the baton purportedly carried by William of Orange during the 16th century Dutch War of Independence from Spanish rule.
The head of the Jesuit religious order, the Rev. Arturo Sosa Abascal, handed over the wooden baton Thursday at a ceremony in the Apostolic Library after King Willem-Alexander and his Argentine-born wife, Queen Maxima, met with Pope Francis.
Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the leader of the Roman Catholic religious order of the Jesuits, left, presents King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands with the commander's baton attributed to William of Orange during a meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Alessandro Bianchi/Pool Photo Via AP)
According to the Dutch royal household, Spanish Catholic forces took possession of the baton after they quashed the Protestant revolt headed by William of Orange at the Battle of Mookerheide in 1574.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands holds the commander's baton attributed to William of Orange, which was presented to the Dutch Royals by Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the leader of the Roman Catholic religious order of the Jesuits, during a meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Alessandro Bianchi/Pool Photo Via AP)
The baton had been housed in a Jesuit convent in Spain. It's going on display at the Dutch military museum in Soesterberg.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
California Supreme Court Clarifies Day-of-Rest Statutes
Published on The National Law Review (http://www.natlawreview.com)
Article By:
Evelina Shpolyansky
The California Supreme Court recently clarified a question plaguing many California employers. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asked the Supreme Court of California to address several unresolved questions concerning the construction of California’s day-of-rest statutes.
California Labor Code Sections 550–558.1 prohibit an employer from “caus[ing] his employees to work more than six days in seven” (§ 552), but do not apply “when the total hours of employment do not exceed 30 hours in any week or six hours in any one day thereof” (§ 556). Two related provisions of the Labor Code ensure day of rest protection for employees. First, “[e]very person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest therefrom in seven” (§ 551). Second, “[n]o employer of labor shall cause his employees to work more than six days in seven” (§ 552).
In the opinion, the Supreme Court first addressed the question of whether the day of rest required by Labor Code Sections 551 and 552 is calculated by the workweek, or whether it applies on a rolling basis to any seven consecutive days worked.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Tropical Storm Cindy Public Advisory
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/graphicast.php?basin=at#contents
U.S. Watch/Warning Local Products
000 WTNT33 KNHC 212345 TCPAT3 BULLETIN Tropical Storm Cindy Intermediate Advisory Number 9A NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL032017 700 PM CDT Wed Jun 21 2017 ...HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES TO AFFECT THE NORTHERN GULF COAST... ...THESE RAINS COULD PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODING... SUMMARY OF 700 PM CDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...28.3N 93.3W ABOUT 125 MI...200 KM S OF LAKE CHARLES LOUISIANA ABOUT 115 MI...185 KM SE OF GALVESTON TEXAS MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 8 MPH...13 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...992 MB...29.29 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY: None. SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT: A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * San Luis Pass Texas to the mouth of the Mississippi River A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within the next 12 to 24 hours. Interests elsewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast from the central Texas coast to the western Florida Panhandle should monitor the progress of this system. For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office. DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK ------------------------------ At 700 PM CDT (0000 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Cindy was located near latitude 28.3 North, longitude 93.3 West. Cindy is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph (13 km/h). A turn toward the north-northwest is expected tonight and Thursday, with a turn toward the northeast expected on Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Cindy will move inland over southeastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana early Thursday, then move near or over extreme eastern Texas, western and northern Louisiana, and southeastern Arkansas Thursday and Thursday night. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected before landfall, with weakening expected thereafter. An elevated oil platform located southwest of the center recently reported a wind gust of 75 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure based on recent observations from oil rigs near the center is 992 mb (29.29 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- RAINFALL: Cindy is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 9 inches with isolated maximum amounts up to 15 inches over southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and western portions of the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash flooding in these areas. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 7 inches can be expected farther west across western Louisiana and eastern Texas through Thursday night. Rainfall should spread northeastward across Arkansas and into portions of the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys through Friday, with total rain accumulations of 3 to 5 inches with locally higher amounts possible. WIND: Tropical storm conditions should spread westward and northward through the Tropical Storm Warning area this evening through Thursday. STORM SURGE: Inundation of 1 to 3 feet above ground level is expected along the coast in portions of the Tropical Storm Warning area. Inundation of 1 to 3 feet above ground level is also possible elsewhere along the coast from southeastern Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle in areas of strong onshore winds. TORNADOES: A few tornadoes are possible tonight from the far western Florida Panhandle across southwestern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and southern Louisiana. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- Next complete advisory at 1000 PM CDT. $$ Forecaster Stewart
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
Elijah Interfaith Institute
Elijah Interfaith Institute is a nonprofit, international, UNESCO-sponsored interfaith organization which was founded by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1996.
The Elijah Interfaith Institute
Motto
Sharing Wisdom, Fostering Peace
Formation 1996
Type NGO
Headquarters Jerusalem, Israel
Head Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
Affiliations UNESCO
Website elijah-interfaith.org
The mission of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, encapsulated in its slogan “Sharing Wisdom, Fostering Peace,” is to foster unity in diversity, creating a harmonious world. Through its various activities, Elijah deepens understanding among religious leaders and scholars, and through them, spreads its vision to their various communities. In 2016, the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders articulated Elijah’s message: “The world’s great religions radiate wisdom that can heal the world. The spirit of Elijah is wisdom, inspiration, friendship and hope across religious traditions.”
Headquartered in Jerusalem, Elijah has offices and representatives in different countries, and holds its activities in multiple international settings.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Live: Casualties as van hits people leaving London mosque
Live: Casualties as van hits people leaving London mosque: Several people have been injured after a van ran over worshippers leaving a north London mosque.
Police were alerted just after 12.20 am on Monday to a col
Police were alerted just after 12.20 am on Monday to a col
Several injured in London after reports of vehicle ramming pedestrians -police
Emergency services are seen near Finsbury Park as British police say there are casualties after reports of a vehicle colliding with pedestrians in North London, Britain June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ritvik Carvalho
By Ritvik Carvalho and Costas Pitas | LONDON
LONDON Several people were injured in north London early on Monday after reports that a vehicle rammed into pedestrians, British police said.
Police said they were called just after 12:20 a.m. (2320 GMT) to reports of a collision on Seven Sisters Road, which runs through the Finsbury Park area of the city. The Sun newspaper said a van
"There are a number of casualties being worked on at the scene," London police said, describing it as a major incident. "There has been one person arrested."
A Reuters witness saw at least one person being loaded into an ambulance. A number of police and ambulances were in attendance.
The incident followed a series of attacks in Britain.
Eight people were killed and 50 injured on June 3 when three Islamist militants drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars.
Also In World News
Gunmen attack resort outside Mali's capital, two dead
Macron wins strong parliamentary majority, estimates show
On March 22, a man drove a rented car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London and stabbed a policeman to death before being shot dead. His attack killed five people.
On May 22, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England.
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Peter Cooney)
This Secret Catholic Exorcist Cult in Brazil Is Making a Deal with the Devil
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast
HEADSPINNING
The Vatican is looking into a group of exorcists who apparently made a pact with Satan on climate change and the death of Pope Francis.
Barbie Latza Nadeau
06.18.17 12:00 AM ET
ROME—Plinio Correa de Oliveira is almost as peculiar in death as he was in life. Dr. Plinio, as he is still known by his devout followers, was a right-wing Catholic figure who founded the ultra conservative Tradition, Family and Property Association, known in Catholic circles as the TFP.
In the early 1960s, he famously came to Rome to protest the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which sought to modernize the Catholic Church in a changing era. He called such attempts at renewal “a point in history as sad as the death of our Lord” and handed out propaganda with similar sentiments.
In death, Dr. Plinio is said to be in close contact with Satan, who supposedly can be channeled by Brazilian exorcists. He also apparently rules the so-called afterlife to such an extent that his followers are convinced he controls climate change and is working toward the death of Pope Francis, according to Andrea Tornielli, who writes the Vatican Insider blog, and has published a series of articles outlining this saga worthy of a Dan Brown bestseller.
By getting rid of Pope Francis, some of the doctor’s followers believe, the way would be open for the Catholic Church to elect a more conservative leader in line with their more traditional practices.
HEADSPINNING
The Vatican is looking into a group of exorcists who apparently made a pact with Satan on climate change and the death of Pope Francis.
Barbie Latza Nadeau
06.18.17 12:00 AM ET
ROME—Plinio Correa de Oliveira is almost as peculiar in death as he was in life. Dr. Plinio, as he is still known by his devout followers, was a right-wing Catholic figure who founded the ultra conservative Tradition, Family and Property Association, known in Catholic circles as the TFP.
In the early 1960s, he famously came to Rome to protest the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which sought to modernize the Catholic Church in a changing era. He called such attempts at renewal “a point in history as sad as the death of our Lord” and handed out propaganda with similar sentiments.
In death, Dr. Plinio is said to be in close contact with Satan, who supposedly can be channeled by Brazilian exorcists. He also apparently rules the so-called afterlife to such an extent that his followers are convinced he controls climate change and is working toward the death of Pope Francis, according to Andrea Tornielli, who writes the Vatican Insider blog, and has published a series of articles outlining this saga worthy of a Dan Brown bestseller.
By getting rid of Pope Francis, some of the doctor’s followers believe, the way would be open for the Catholic Church to elect a more conservative leader in line with their more traditional practices.
Make Friends video statement (English subtitles) ECUMENICAL- PROPHETIC
Make Friends video statement (English subtitles)
Make Friends
Published on Jun 14, 2017
The World's Most Prominent Religious Leaders Call On Everyone To Make Friends Across Religions #MakeFriendsWelcome to the Make Friends channel. On June 14, 2017 many of the world’s most prominent religious leaders made a joint statement encouraging people everywhere to make friends across religions. Friendship and getting to know one another are the antidotes to negativity and divisions in society, enhancing understanding and unity. We invite you to download our toolkits for friendship and study:
https://tinyurl.com/yd8y3qcx. We pray that the message and example of unity, shown by these leaders, will contribute to bridging divisions by inspiring you and your friends to start new conversations with people of different faiths. Follow the example, spread the message.
Please share this video #MakeFriends
The video statement was compiled from a series of in-depth standardized interviews made exclusively for this purpose. These interviews can be found below.
On this Make Friends channel you will find:
- Main video statement of the Religious Leaders (without subtitles and with English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, German, Italian, French, Portugese, Russian, Bangali, Punjabi, Hebrew, Persian, Dutch subtitles)
- Full interviews with religious leaders (without subtitles and with English, Spanish, Arabic subtitles)
- Press material and video compilation of the press conference (without and with English subtitles)
- Additional interviews on friendship
Press inquiries
Please share this video #MakeFriends
The video statement was compiled from a series of in-depth standardized interviews made exclusively for this purpose. These interviews can be found below.
On this Make Friends channel you will find:
- Main video statement of the Religious Leaders (without subtitles and with English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, German, Italian, French, Portugese, Russian, Bangali, Punjabi, Hebrew, Persian, Dutch subtitles)
- Full interviews with religious leaders (without subtitles and with English, Spanish, Arabic subtitles)
- Press material and video compilation of the press conference (without and with English subtitles)
- Additional interviews on friendship
Press inquiries
Follow this link https://tinyurl.com/y8hrf7lw for press releases (16 languages), FAQs, overview and biographies of religious leaders, research report, videos, visuals and more.
Send us your questions and contact details via PressMakeFriends@gmail.com or PressRelationsElijah@gmail.com
Father's Day and Mother's Day (Evil Holidays)
Mother's Day dates back to ancient cultures in Greece and Rome. In both cultures, mother goddesses (Queen of Heaven). were worshipped during the springtime with religious festivals. The ancient Greeks paid tribute to the powerful goddess Rhea, the wife of Cronus, known as the Mother of the Gods (Queen of Heaven). Similarly, evidence of a three-day Roman festival in Mid-March called Hilaria, to honor the Roman goddess Magna Mater, or Great Mother, dates back to 250 BCE.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the celebration of the "Mother Church" replaced the pagan tradition of honoring mythological goddesses. The fourth Sunday in Lent (Weeping for Tammuz), a 40-day fasting period before Easter, became known as Mothering Sunday. To show appreciation for their mothers, they often brought gifts or a "mothering cake" (Jeremiah 7:18) and over time, it began to coincide with the celebration of the Mother Church. Mother's Day always falls on the second Sun-day of May, and like so many other holidays rooted in pagan sun-worship including Father's Day which always falls on the third Sun-day of June, usually fall on the day named in honor of their most powerful god -- The Sun!
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Excommunicating mobsters? Vatican eyes new legal doctrine
ABCNews
By The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — Jun 17, 2017, 2:30 PM ET
The Associated Press
Pope Francis has long railed against corruption and the mafia, but now the Vatican is considering developing a whole doctrine around excommunicating corrupt and mafia-tinged Catholics.
The Vatican this week hosted its first conference on corruption and organized crime, inviting 50 prosecutors, U.N. officials, bishops and victims of organized crime for a day of talks.
Organizers said in a statement Saturday that the time had come to develop a new legal doctrine for the Catholic Church around "the question of excommunication for corruption and mafia association."
Excommunication is one of the most severe penalties in the Catholic Church, with the guilty party forbidden from participating in the sacraments and effectively excluded from the "communion" of the church.
"Our effort is to create a mentality, a culture of justice, that fights corruption and promotes the common good," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's retired ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, who participated in the conference.
Francis has already declared off-hand that mobsters were destined for hell. During a 2014 visit to the heart of Italy's 'ndrangheta mafia heartland, he denounced the 'ndrangheta for its "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good" and declared that those who follow in the mob's path were automatically excommunicated.
He has similarly denounced corruption, in politics, business and even at the Vatican. While he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, he penned a booklet "Curing Corruption," where he makes the distinction between sin and corruption and explores the culture that allows corruption to thrive.
He is up against a tough reality in Italy, however, where both organized crime and corruption are deeply embedded. Transparency International ranked Italy 60 out of 176 in its corruption perception index last year. Only Greece performed worse in Western Europe.
The Catholic Church has produced many anti-mafia campaigners in Italy, some of whom have been killed for their efforts. And a few years ago a Calabrian archbishop proposed a 10-year moratorium on the naming of godfathers when children are baptized to break the "padrino" system that mobsters use to spread their influence over the next generation.
But the church is also deeply integrated in the cultural fabric of the parts of Italy where the mob holds sway. In one famous incident just weeks after Francis' 2014 excommunication of the 'ndrangheta, a religious procession carrying a statue of the Madonna detoured from its route in Calabria and went to the home of a convicted mobster under house arrest in a show of honor.
Pope Francis has long railed against corruption and the mafia, but now the Vatican is considering developing a whole doctrine around excommunicating corrupt and mafia-tinged Catholics.
The Vatican this week hosted its first conference on corruption and organized crime, inviting 50 prosecutors, U.N. officials, bishops and victims of organized crime for a day of talks.
Organizers said in a statement Saturday that the time had come to develop a new legal doctrine for the Catholic Church around "the question of excommunication for corruption and mafia association."
Excommunication is one of the most severe penalties in the Catholic Church, with the guilty party forbidden from participating in the sacraments and effectively excluded from the "communion" of the church.
"Our effort is to create a mentality, a culture of justice, that fights corruption and promotes the common good," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's retired ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, who participated in the conference.
Francis has already declared off-hand that mobsters were destined for hell. During a 2014 visit to the heart of Italy's 'ndrangheta mafia heartland, he denounced the 'ndrangheta for its "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good" and declared that those who follow in the mob's path were automatically excommunicated.
He has similarly denounced corruption, in politics, business and even at the Vatican. While he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, he penned a booklet "Curing Corruption," where he makes the distinction between sin and corruption and explores the culture that allows corruption to thrive.
He is up against a tough reality in Italy, however, where both organized crime and corruption are deeply embedded. Transparency International ranked Italy 60 out of 176 in its corruption perception index last year. Only Greece performed worse in Western Europe.
The Catholic Church has produced many anti-mafia campaigners in Italy, some of whom have been killed for their efforts. And a few years ago a Calabrian archbishop proposed a 10-year moratorium on the naming of godfathers when children are baptized to break the "padrino" system that mobsters use to spread their influence over the next generation.
But the church is also deeply integrated in the cultural fabric of the parts of Italy where the mob holds sway. In one famous incident just weeks after Francis' 2014 excommunication of the 'ndrangheta, a religious procession carrying a statue of the Madonna detoured from its route in Calabria and went to the home of a convicted mobster under house arrest in a show of honor.
Abraham Lincoln’s views about Rome, the Pope, the Vatican, the Jesuits and their influence on American society
Posted on December 11, 2011
by James Arendt
May 27, 2017
Abraham Lincoln in 1863 when President of the USA
Abraham Lincoln in 1863 when President of the USA
Abraham Lincoln blamed the cause of the American Civil War on Rome!
The following quotes are from the book, “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome” by Charles Chiniquy, who was a priest in the Roman Catholic Church for 25 years and later left the Roman church and became a Presbyterian pastor. He was a close friend of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln and had several personal interviews with him. The following are quotes from Abraham Lincoln during one of his talks with Charles Chiniquy. Read http://www.biblebelievers.com/chiniquy/cc50_ch61.html for the entire text. The emphasis in bold and comments in italics are mine.
“It is with the Southern leaders of this civil war as with the big and small wheels of our railroad cars. Those who ignore the laws of mechanics are apt to think that the large, strong, and noisy wheels they see are the motive power, but they are mistaken. The real motive power is not seen; it is noiseless and well concealed in the dark, behind its iron walls. The motive power are the few well-concealed pails of water heated into steam, which is itself directed by the noiseless, small but unerring engineer’s finger.
“The common people see and hear the big, noisy wheels of the Southern Confederacy’s cars; they call they Jeff Davis, Lee, Toombs, Beauregard, Semmes, ect., and they honestly think that they are the motive power, the first cause of our troubles. But this is a mistake. The true motive power is secreted behind the thick walls of the Vatican, the colleges and schools of the Jesuits, the convents of the nuns, and the confessional boxes of Rome.
“There is a fact which is too much ignored by the American people, and with which I am acquainted only since I became President; it is that the best, the leading families of the South have received their education in great part, if not in whole, from the Jesuits and the nuns. Hence those degrading principles of slavery, pride, cruelty, which are as a second nature among so many of those people. Hence that strange want of fair play, humanity; that implacable hatred against the ideas of equality and liberty as we find them in the Gospel of Christ. You do not ignore that the first settlers of Louisiana, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, South California and Missouri were Roman Catholics, and that their first teachers were Jesuits. It is true that those states have been conquered or bought by us since. But Rome had put the deadly virus of her antisocial and anti-Christian maxims into the veins of the people before they became American citizens. Unfortunately, the Jesuits and the nuns have in great part remained the teachers of those people since. They have continued in a silent, but most efficacious way, to spread their hatred against our institutions, our laws, our schools, our rights and our liberties in such a way that this terrible conflict became unavoidable between the North and the South. As I told you before, it is to Popery that we owe this terrible civil war.
“I would have laughed at the man who would have told me that before I became the President. But Professor Morse (Samuel Morse, the man who invented the telegraph and who also warned extensively about Jesuit infiltration and its undermining American culture) has opened my eyes on that subject. And now I see that mystery (also known as MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT of Revelation 17:5); I understand that engineering of hell which, though not seen or even suspected by the country, is putting in motion the large, heavy, and noisy wheels of the state cars of the Southern Confederacy. Our people is not yet ready to learn and believe those things, and perhaps it is not the proper time to initiate them to those dark mysteries of hell; it would throw oil on a fire which is already sufficiently destructive.
“You are almost the only one with whom I speak freely on that subject. But sooner or later the nation will know the real origin of those rivers of blood and tears, which are spreading desolation and death everywhere. And then those who have caused those desolations and disasters will be called to give an account of them.
“I do not pretend to be a prophet. But though not a prophet, I see a very dark cloud on our horizon. And that dark cloud is coming from Rome. It is filled with tears of blood. It will rise and increase till its flanks will be torn by a flash of lightning, followed by a fearful peal of thunder. Then a cyclone, such as the world has never seen, will pass over this country, spreading ruin and desolation from north to south. After it is over, there will be long days of peace and prosperity: for Popery, with its Jesuits and merciless Inquisition, will have been for ever swept away from our country. Neither I nor you, but our children, will see those things.”
Ben Carson breaks with Trump over Mueller
Ben Carson: Give Mueller a chance on Russia probe
Julia Manchester12 hrs ago
© Provided by The Hill Ben Carson: Give Mueller a chance on Russia probe
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson says special counsel Robert Mueller should be given a "chance" to conduct a fair investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
"I would give him the chance to see if he could do that because if there's nothing there - he's not gonna find anything anyway," Carson told Fox News Radio in an interview Friday.
That has been the case now for nearly a year - there's nothing to find, that's why they keep going down these empty rabbit holes. That will continue to be the case because there's nothing there," Carson added.
The Cabinet official called the investigation "frustrating," saying it was impeding the Trump administration's productivity.
"It's frustrating because it keeps us from getting to the things that need to be done, and I'm not sure that that isn't the real reason for it," he said.
Carson's comments come as speculation mounts that Trump could attempt to fire Mueller, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to lead the Russia investigation last month.
The president appeared to lash out at Rosenstein in a tweet Friday lamenting a "witch hunt," saying he was under investigation for firing of FBI Director James Comey last month "by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!"
Source
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson says special counsel Robert Mueller should be given a "chance" to conduct a fair investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
"I would give him the chance to see if he could do that because if there's nothing there - he's not gonna find anything anyway," Carson told Fox News Radio in an interview Friday.
That has been the case now for nearly a year - there's nothing to find, that's why they keep going down these empty rabbit holes. That will continue to be the case because there's nothing there," Carson added.
The Cabinet official called the investigation "frustrating," saying it was impeding the Trump administration's productivity.
"It's frustrating because it keeps us from getting to the things that need to be done, and I'm not sure that that isn't the real reason for it," he said.
Carson's comments come as speculation mounts that Trump could attempt to fire Mueller, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to lead the Russia investigation last month.
The president appeared to lash out at Rosenstein in a tweet Friday lamenting a "witch hunt," saying he was under investigation for firing of FBI Director James Comey last month "by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!"
Source
Living into the Sabbath
June 16, 2017
Christine Sine
In her book Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture, Francine Klagsbrun introduces us to the wonder of the Sabbath day. She calls it a miracle because no such day existed until it appeared full-blown in the Talmud — and it is the one rhythm of life that has no counterpart in the natural world.
She reflects on her father’s impressions of the Sabbath or Shabbat as it is called in Hebrew. “ ‘When I was a young man, an immigrant from Russia,’ he would say, ‘the United States had no labour laws regulating working conditions. People worked long hours, seven days a week, without rest. But imagine, more than three thousand years ago the Bible commanded that all work stop for an entire day every single week, and not only for the ancient Israelites but for all who lived among them, including slaves. And not only for people, but for animals as well. What a revolutionary practice that was. What a miracle!’ ”
Klagsbrun explains, “the rhythm of the Jewish calendar flows around this day of rest and reflection. In every week of every month of every year, the Sabbath arrives to re-create that moment after Creation when God rested and the entire cosmos was in peace and harmony. Shabbat may be a miracle, as my father taught me. It is also a unique gift only fully appreciated when used.”
The celebration of Sabbath rest is one of the most beautiful rituals in Jewish culture. At dusk on Friday, joyous services at the synagogue welcome its arrival. Even before that, Jews focus on preparation for this day that is for many the culmination of the week, the day that sets the purpose for every other day. The ritual greeting, Shabbat Shalom, bridges the close of the work week and the beginning of the Sabbath celebrations. Sabbath is a family event. The woman of the house lights two candles to symbolize the first act of creation, the separation of light from darkness, and a canopy of peace and repose descends as the family sings a Sabbath hymn. Then there is a time of blessing — parents bless their children as an act of love and concern, then they pay tribute to each other by singing from the Book of Proverbs. The kiddush, recited over a brimming cup of wine, sanctifies the Sabbath before dinner beings.
There is no better place to connect to God’s rhythms than in the reclaiming of Sabbath and our God-ordained need for rest and spiritual refreshment. Evidently in Jesus’ time, Romans despised Jews for their day of rest. They viewed it as a sign of laziness, though some did recognize its importance as a time of refreshment for the body to provide renewed strength into the week ahead. From the Jewish perspective, however, the Sabbath day is far more than a day of rest to allow our souls to process the data input of the previous week into wisdom — a view which is probably more Greek or Roman than Hebrew. For the Jews, Sabbath is fundamental to life and to both their spiritual and emotional health — it is the culmination of the week, the day that gives purpose to all other days.
In her book Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture, Francine Klagsbrun introduces us to the wonder of the Sabbath day. She calls it a miracle because no such day existed until it appeared full-blown in the Talmud — and it is the one rhythm of life that has no counterpart in the natural world.
She reflects on her father’s impressions of the Sabbath or Shabbat as it is called in Hebrew. “ ‘When I was a young man, an immigrant from Russia,’ he would say, ‘the United States had no labour laws regulating working conditions. People worked long hours, seven days a week, without rest. But imagine, more than three thousand years ago the Bible commanded that all work stop for an entire day every single week, and not only for the ancient Israelites but for all who lived among them, including slaves. And not only for people, but for animals as well. What a revolutionary practice that was. What a miracle!’ ”
Klagsbrun explains, “the rhythm of the Jewish calendar flows around this day of rest and reflection. In every week of every month of every year, the Sabbath arrives to re-create that moment after Creation when God rested and the entire cosmos was in peace and harmony. Shabbat may be a miracle, as my father taught me. It is also a unique gift only fully appreciated when used.”
The celebration of Sabbath rest is one of the most beautiful rituals in Jewish culture. At dusk on Friday, joyous services at the synagogue welcome its arrival. Even before that, Jews focus on preparation for this day that is for many the culmination of the week, the day that sets the purpose for every other day. The ritual greeting, Shabbat Shalom, bridges the close of the work week and the beginning of the Sabbath celebrations. Sabbath is a family event. The woman of the house lights two candles to symbolize the first act of creation, the separation of light from darkness, and a canopy of peace and repose descends as the family sings a Sabbath hymn. Then there is a time of blessing — parents bless their children as an act of love and concern, then they pay tribute to each other by singing from the Book of Proverbs. The kiddush, recited over a brimming cup of wine, sanctifies the Sabbath before dinner beings.
There is no better place to connect to God’s rhythms than in the reclaiming of Sabbath and our God-ordained need for rest and spiritual refreshment. Evidently in Jesus’ time, Romans despised Jews for their day of rest. They viewed it as a sign of laziness, though some did recognize its importance as a time of refreshment for the body to provide renewed strength into the week ahead. From the Jewish perspective, however, the Sabbath day is far more than a day of rest to allow our souls to process the data input of the previous week into wisdom — a view which is probably more Greek or Roman than Hebrew. For the Jews, Sabbath is fundamental to life and to both their spiritual and emotional health — it is the culmination of the week, the day that gives purpose to all other days.
Calls for Freedom at the 15th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner
By Sierra Emilaire
Dr. Ben Carson, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, delivers the keynote address during the Religious Liberty Dinner on June 1, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Dan Weber
More than 150 diplomats, religious liberty advocates, and guests gathered on June 1 for the 15thannual Religious Liberty Dinner held in the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C. The annual event is held to celebrate and bring attention to a central human right: the freedom of religion or belief.
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, delivered the keynote. During his address, Carson made the clear distinction between simply being free to worship and being free to exercise religion not only in the public sphere, but in private businesses and institutions. Carson praised the United States’ stance on religious liberty.
"The Founding Fathers were very aware of the sectarian strife that affected Europe," Carson said. "They thought of a better way, they instituted a better way. A government that would not establish a single religion. They left the choice of religion up to each individual person. This was more than tolerance, it was religious liberty."
Carson further encouraged attendees to promote mercy and compassion, rejecting hateful speech and actions in response to the recent murders of two heroic Portland, Oregon, men who were killed by a white supremacist for intervening when said supremacist attacked two Muslim women with hate speech and biased language.
"While he represented the worst in humanity, his victims represented the best," Carson said.
Two awards and a special recognition of service were presented during the dinner to honor national and international religious liberty pioneers and advocates.
Kimberlee Colby, director of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom, was awarded the national award for dedicating more than 35 years to domestic religious liberty cases.
Colby commented on the importance of religious freedom and the recent cultural lack of respect for religious freedom, voicing concerns regarding the repercussions this shift in mindset may have on the capacity at which people may be free to live according to their religious conscience.
"I think if you are wanting religious freedom for everyone," Colby said. "The golden rule is the religious freedom you wish for yourself, you must extend to others. [Religious freedom] is really the basis for tolerance."
More than 150 diplomats, religious liberty advocates, and guests gathered on June 1 for the 15thannual Religious Liberty Dinner held in the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C. The annual event is held to celebrate and bring attention to a central human right: the freedom of religion or belief.
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, delivered the keynote. During his address, Carson made the clear distinction between simply being free to worship and being free to exercise religion not only in the public sphere, but in private businesses and institutions. Carson praised the United States’ stance on religious liberty.
"The Founding Fathers were very aware of the sectarian strife that affected Europe," Carson said. "They thought of a better way, they instituted a better way. A government that would not establish a single religion. They left the choice of religion up to each individual person. This was more than tolerance, it was religious liberty."
Carson further encouraged attendees to promote mercy and compassion, rejecting hateful speech and actions in response to the recent murders of two heroic Portland, Oregon, men who were killed by a white supremacist for intervening when said supremacist attacked two Muslim women with hate speech and biased language.
"While he represented the worst in humanity, his victims represented the best," Carson said.
Two awards and a special recognition of service were presented during the dinner to honor national and international religious liberty pioneers and advocates.
Kimberlee Colby, director of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom, was awarded the national award for dedicating more than 35 years to domestic religious liberty cases.
Colby commented on the importance of religious freedom and the recent cultural lack of respect for religious freedom, voicing concerns regarding the repercussions this shift in mindset may have on the capacity at which people may be free to live according to their religious conscience.
"I think if you are wanting religious freedom for everyone," Colby said. "The golden rule is the religious freedom you wish for yourself, you must extend to others. [Religious freedom] is really the basis for tolerance."
Dwayne Leslie, an associate director of the General Conference's Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL), presents Kimberlee Colby, director of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom, an award in recognition for her more than 35 years of dedication to domestic religious liberty cases.
Photo by Dan Weber
Thomas Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, was awarded the international award for more than 20 years of advancing the cause of religious liberty.
Farr believes religious liberty is the first freedom of not only the Constitution, but of the human soul. He shared concerns about the currently skewed perception of religious liberty both domestically and internationally. Farr then proposed ways to become involved in the fight for religious liberty.
"Individuals can live their lives and do what they do as citizens by protecting religious liberty, said Farr. "If they happen to be religious people, exercise religious liberty publicly not just in your church, synagogue, or house of worship. If you are an entrepreneurial type or working in an allied field, get involved either with your church or religious organization or with a separate NGO that advocates religious freedom. Finally, if you're an American, push your own government to do what its required by law to do, but is not doing very well; and that is advance religious freedom in our foreign policy."
The third person honored is long-time religious liberty leader for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Bert Beach, Ph.D. Nearly 90, the man who is known to have defined his church’s interdenominational relations, responded with self-effacing humor to the well-deserved honor.
The annual religious liberty dinner is sponsored by Liberty Magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association, North American Religious Liberty Association, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Religious Freedom Center at the Newseum Institute.
— Sierra Emilaire is a student at Southern Adventist University. She is interning for the NAD Public Affairs & Religious Liberty department this summer.
Photo by Dan Weber
Thomas Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, was awarded the international award for more than 20 years of advancing the cause of religious liberty.
Farr believes religious liberty is the first freedom of not only the Constitution, but of the human soul. He shared concerns about the currently skewed perception of religious liberty both domestically and internationally. Farr then proposed ways to become involved in the fight for religious liberty.
"Individuals can live their lives and do what they do as citizens by protecting religious liberty, said Farr. "If they happen to be religious people, exercise religious liberty publicly not just in your church, synagogue, or house of worship. If you are an entrepreneurial type or working in an allied field, get involved either with your church or religious organization or with a separate NGO that advocates religious freedom. Finally, if you're an American, push your own government to do what its required by law to do, but is not doing very well; and that is advance religious freedom in our foreign policy."
The third person honored is long-time religious liberty leader for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Bert Beach, Ph.D. Nearly 90, the man who is known to have defined his church’s interdenominational relations, responded with self-effacing humor to the well-deserved honor.
The annual religious liberty dinner is sponsored by Liberty Magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association, North American Religious Liberty Association, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Religious Freedom Center at the Newseum Institute.
— Sierra Emilaire is a student at Southern Adventist University. She is interning for the NAD Public Affairs & Religious Liberty department this summer.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Katy Perry Says Donald Trump’s Win ‘Retriggered’ Her Strict Christian Upbringing
Yahoo Celebrity
June 15, 2017
As an artist, Katy Perry hasn’t shied away from having a sexual image. But as the daughter of two Pentecostal pastors, she says her sexuality was initially repressed. When Donald Trump won the election in November, it brought back a lot of emotions for the 32-year-old singer.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, she admitted that she had been “retriggered” that night. She said, “I was retriggered by a big male that didn’t see women as equal. And that had been, unfortunately, a common theme in my upbringing.”
Born Katheryn Hudson, Perry has talked about being raised in a strict religious household. Trump’s victory brought the singer memories from her childhood. “I went to that dark place that I had been avoiding, and I dug out the mold. It was not fun, but I did that — I’m still doing that,” she added.
Perry had been an outspoken supporter of Hillary Clinton throughout Clinton’s campaign. On election night, Perry and Lady Gaga were at New York’s Javits Convention Center. They were both preparing to celebrate, potentially, the first female U.S. president. Instead, they had to comfort each other after Clinton’s loss.
Perry said, “It was a revelation, it was a reckoning. Gaga and I just looking at each other and being like, [expletive] it, we need to touch each other.”
As an artist, Katy Perry hasn’t shied away from having a sexual image. But as the daughter of two Pentecostal pastors, she says her sexuality was initially repressed. When Donald Trump won the election in November, it brought back a lot of emotions for the 32-year-old singer.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, she admitted that she had been “retriggered” that night. She said, “I was retriggered by a big male that didn’t see women as equal. And that had been, unfortunately, a common theme in my upbringing.”
Born Katheryn Hudson, Perry has talked about being raised in a strict religious household. Trump’s victory brought the singer memories from her childhood. “I went to that dark place that I had been avoiding, and I dug out the mold. It was not fun, but I did that — I’m still doing that,” she added.
Perry had been an outspoken supporter of Hillary Clinton throughout Clinton’s campaign. On election night, Perry and Lady Gaga were at New York’s Javits Convention Center. They were both preparing to celebrate, potentially, the first female U.S. president. Instead, they had to comfort each other after Clinton’s loss.
Perry said, “It was a revelation, it was a reckoning. Gaga and I just looking at each other and being like, [expletive] it, we need to touch each other.”
Ivanka and Jared don’t let Sabbath get in the way of golf
Ivanka and Jared don’t let Sabbath get in the way of golf
By Gabrielle Fonrouge and Bruce Golding
June 14, 2017 | 12:45am | Updated
Getty Images
President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law don’t let their religious practices interfere with their love of the links at his Bedminster country club.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner follow the Jewish prohibition on Sabbath business transactions by not paying the caddy who carries their golf bags on Saturdays until the next day, a club worker said.
Their tips are generous — usually $100 on top of the $200-per-round, the worker said.
But experts in Jewish law say that playing golf on Saturdays isn’t kosher — even without exchanging cash or using carts, which the couple shuns.
The Rabbinical Assembly, part of Judaism’s Conservative movement which is less strict than the Orthodox tradition embraced by Jared and Ivanka, ruled against Sabbath golf in 2015 — because golfers can create divots on the fairway.
“Both the digging and the repair of the hole . . . constitute melakhot [forbidden work],” according to the ruling.
Ivanka and Jared have also been spotted dining at non-kosher restaurants in DC.
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P.S.
The N.Y. Post is keeping tabs on who keeps the Sabbath?
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Vatican hosts seminar on migration ahead of Global Compact
Vatican Radio
The voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue with the World
Vatican \ Activities
Eritrean migrants in the hold of a wooden boat crossing the Mediterranean - REUTERS
13/06/2017 17:09
(Vatican Radio) A two day seminar on migrants and refugees concluded in the Vatican on Tuesday, with experts from countries across the globe looking ahead to an intergovernmental conference due to take place at the United Nations in 2018.
Representatives of bishops conferences from over 20 countries have drawn up a document to be presented to world leaders, as they prepare to adopt two Global Compacts on safe, orderly migration flows. The document is based around four principles that Pope Francis himself named to sum up the Catholic response to the current forced migration phenomenon –that is, Welcome, Protection, Promotion and Integration.
The Rome meeting was organised by the Migrants and Refugees section of the new Vatican office for Integral Human Development. Among those taking part was Pakistani Father Bonnie Mendes, former executive secretary of the office for human development at the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences.
Listen to Fr Bonnie talking to Philippa Hitchen
Fr Bonnie says the issues under discussion are “a matter of human rights” for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, who are on the move for a variety of different reasons. It’s very important to have a charter, he says, to make sure that they don’t’ suffer, especially women and children. He notes that this is a preparatory phase, ahead of the Global Compact discussions in 2018, in the same way that Catholic experts prepared proposals ahead of the Cop 21 conference on climate change in 2015.
Making the Catholic voice heard
Fr Bonnie says that Pope Francis’ voice on this issue is held “in very high esteem” in Asia, especially among Muslim leaders. While he is “popular among people”, Fr Bonnie says, it’s harder to make the Catholic voice heard at the level of governments or political leaders.
While the document urges governments to adopt a “human security perspective”, rather than simply a “national security perspective” on migration, Fr Bonnie says these two should not be seen in conflict with each other, but rather melded together.
Looking for long term solutions
He notes that the increasing difficulties in obtaining regular visas are leading people to become more and more desperate, putting children “on boats, trawlers, anything to get them across borders”. He challenges a negative, short term vision of the current challenges, recalling the case of the Rohingya refugees from Burma. In the 1980s, he said, civil society in Pakistan proposed they could be settled in Arab countries, but leaders there said “They’re Muslims, but not Arabs, so we can’t take them”.
West needs migrant labour
Fr Bonnie highlights how Pope Francis sees the long term needs, not from a legal perspective, but with the mind of a pastor who “understands the sufferings of the poor”. His focus is on compassion, mercy and charity, he says, but also on justice which is important.
The current challenges have been exacerbated by the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Fr Bonnie says, yet western countries today need migrants to fill the labour market. A country like Canada or Australia “could open its doors to many more”, he says, but also Arab countries like Saudi Arabia which has lots of space, jobs and opportunities.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney gets email threat: ‘One down, 216 to go’
Investigators confer before looking for evidence around the baseball field in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, June 14, 2017, that was the scene of a shooting involving House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., and others, during Congressional baseball practice. (AP Photo/Alex ...
By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Wednesday, June 14, 2017
U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney says she contacted Capitol Police about a threatening email she received in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia.
“One down, 216 to go,” a Boonville, New York, resident wrote in the email, published by Politico.
“Did you NOT expect this?” the person wrote. “When you take away ordinary peoples very lives in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are forfeit. Certainly, your souls and morality were lost long before. Good riddance.”
Ms. Tenney, a freshman New York Republican told Syracuse.com that she immediately reported the email to Capitol Police.
“We should be having robust debate, but this is beyond another realm,” she said.
The email came after a leftist gunman opened fire on Republican congressmembers practicing at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria Wednesday morning, injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, two Capitol police officers and a congressional aide. The shooting has prompted calls by Republicans for opponents to tone down their rhetoric out of respect for the contentious political climate.
Ms. Tenney’s office told Politico it “regularly” receives threatening messages, but that “today’s message was particularly disheartening following this morning’s tragic events.”
“The level of discourse in politics today is truly unfortunate,” Ms. Tenney’s office stated. “Our nation was founded on the principle of free speech, and it’s vitally important that we have a robust debate on the issues. However, protections under the first amendment do not extend to violence.”
Ms. Tenney reportedly plays for the bipartisan congressional women’s softball team.
Source
Southern Baptists reconsider condemning 'alt-right' movement
By rachel zoll and angie wang, associated press
PHOENIX — Jun 14, 2017, 4:48 PM ET
The Associated Press
Dr. Steve Gaines gives the president's address during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, Tuesday, June 13, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
A national meeting of Southern Baptists will consider condemning the political movement known as the "alt-right" amid an uproar over the denomination's commitment to confronting prejudice.
Leaders of the faith group initially refused to take up a proposal that they repudiate the political group that emerged dramatically during the U.S. presidential election, mixing racism, white nationalism and populism. Barrett Duke, a Southern Baptist leader who led a committee that decided which resolutions should be considered for a vote, said the resolution as originally written contained inflammatory and broad language "potentially implicating" conservatives who do not support the "alt-right" movement.
But the decision caused a backlash online and at the gathering in Phoenix from Southern Baptists and other Christians, especially African-American evangelicals. The denomination has been striving to overcome its founding in the 19th century in defense of slaveholders. Thabiti Anyabwile, a black Southern Baptist pastor, tweeted that "any 'church' that cannot denounce white supremacy without hesitancy and equivocation is a dead, Jesus denying assembly. No 2 ways about it".
Southern Baptist leaders responded late Tuesday night with a dramatic call for attendees to return to the assembly hall, then announced they would take up the proposal after all on Wednesday. It was a highly unusual move for the denomination's tightly choreographed conventions, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue and the alarm among leaders that their initial rejection of the proposal would be viewed as an unwillingness to fight racism. In encouraging the meeting to reconsider, Steve Gaines, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said he wanted to send the message that "we love everybody on this planet."