Friday, September 07, 2007

A NATION WITH NO FOUNDATION

Last Trumpet Newsletter

Volume XXVI Issue IX September 2007
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

America - A Nation With No Foundation!

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

Matthew 7:24-27

"How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends hath dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies……Her filthiness is in her skirts, she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation."

Lamentations 1:1-2, 9-10

"And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."

Revelation 2:21-22

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will look once again at a world that is crumbling into chaos and confusion. We will also focus on the United States of America as a once powerful nation that is now rapidly descending into a fading shadow of its erstwhile greatness. Clearly, the United States is in serious trouble and is under Divine judgment because of her iniquities and gross evils of every kind. America has ignored God's call and warnings for so long that she has completely lost her reference point with truth and morality. It is a sad fact that we now live in a nation whose leaders are crooked and perverse, whose churches are demon-infested, and whose society is afflicted with a social distemper that reflects on everything she does.

The problem with America is that she is not founded on the Lord Jesus Christ; and thus, when the storms of judgment come, she will have a great fall. It is the lack of foundation that is the problem! There is a reason why the crime rate is so high: babies are sacrificed to Satan in abortion clinics, animals are tortured, government officials are corrupt, the economy is failing, churches are spiritually dead and infested with homosexuals, there is no pride of workmanship, and people drive like idiots with cell phones glued to their ears. There is a reason why people everywhere are piercing their bodies, tattooing their flesh, and wallowing in addictions to pornography, alcohol, drugs, and perversions so vile that I cannot mention them here. What has happened to our once-beautiful land? There was a time not long ago when none of this would have been tolerated! Yes, America has lost her reference point with character and morality. People in their hedonistic frenzy who have commonly stated that they are going out to "raise hell" have been successful! Hell has been raised, and we now see it on the surface everywhere we look. America is a nation without a foundation; for she has denied, rejected, blasphemed, and insulted the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is true that these conditions exist, for they are continually visible and undeniable. The good news is that our Saviour is coming back again to bring all of this into judgment. You can be ready to meet him if you truly repent, call upon Him, and obey the Gospel. Time is almost gone, and the little time that is left is evaporating quickly. Your personal life can be founded upon the solid rock of the Saviour, and when time ends, you will meet the Lord Jesus as your friend. Why wait another minute? You can call upon Him right now and He will hear you!

The Entire Earth Is Becoming a Disaster Area!

Truly, this is the earthquake generation; not to mention the numerous other continual disasters that are happening everywhere in the world. On July 16th, 2007, while I was writing the August issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, a power 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Japan. The killer quake destroyed hundreds of buildings and severely damaged a nuclear power plant, causing radioactive water to pour into the Sea of Japan. The radiation contamination site caused United Nations' inspectors to scurry to the disaster location. (1)

On August 8th, 2007, a powerful 7.5 magnitude quake struck Indonesia. The Moslem city of Jakarta was severely shaken and tall buildings swayed. Multitudes of people ran into the streets calling upon their god Allah. This troubled area of the world is called the ring of fire, because of the numerous volcanoes and fault lines along the Pacific Rim area. This area of the world has never stopped shaking since the 2004 catastrophic tsunami. (2)

On August 6th, 2007, an earthquake of 3.9 magnitude struck in Utah, and it was followed by ten aftershocks. During this quake a mine collapsed and trapped the miners working inside. (3) On August 14th, 2007, a powerful quake struck Macquarie Island near Australia with a magnitude of 6.1. That very same day, a magnitude 5.4 quake rattled the big island of Hawaii while the residents were already on an alert for an approaching hurricane. (4) Then on the very next day, August 15th, 2007, an intense earthquake, registering a 7.9 magnitude, struck Peru. Tsunami warnings and alerts were issued as far away as Hawaii. In Peru, the capital city of Lima was greatly shaken, and in the nearby city of Ica, a church collapsed killing seventeen people and injuring seventy. (5)

We must remember that any earthquake with a magnitude of 4 or above is considered significant. With that in mind, we know that Scripture is being fulfilled as the words of our Saviour come alive in the news. In Luke 21:11, we read as follows: "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

As we ponder that amazing verse and consider that the U.S. Geological Survey reported 328 significant earthquakes in the past thirty days, we know that the coming of the Lord is at the very doors. In fact, I am writing this newsletter on August 16th, 2007, and it is currently 10:43 A.M. Central Daylight Time; and there have already been nineteen earthquakes just today all -- over magnitude 4! (6)

During this summer of 2007, every kind of disaster has troubled Europe. Intense heat waves, storms, tornadoes, and floods have caused massive loss of life and destruction over the entire continent. In England, flooding struck in a very significant area. We must remember that in the month of July 2007 the new Harry Potter book, and a new Harry Potter movie were released. Here let it be noted that the Harry Potter witchcraft movies were filmed in Gloucester at Gloucester Cathedral, which became Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here let it be noted that this is the very area, Gloucestershire, that was hit with the severe flooding! (7) Only a few days after the release of the latest Harry Potter book and movie, 340,000 people in that area found themselves without clean water for two weeks! (8) Filth was everywhere, and the water mercifully stopped only two inches short of swamping a major power station, which would have left 500,000 homes without power. (9)

Only a few days after the plague of flooding, foot-and-mouth disease broke out among the cattle prompting a ban on meat and dairy exports and halting all animal movement. (10) The British authorities are now saying they have evidence that the devastating animal disease was an act of sabotage and was purposely planted among the cattle in Surrey, England. (11)

In other parts of the world such as India, nineteen million people found themselves wading in filthy water up to their waists from monsoon flooding. (12) In Red China, floods, landslides, and killer lightning killed hundreds and knocked out power for more than thirty million people. (13) It should also be noted that Red China is also suffering from many other pollution problems. According to Reuters News Service in a report dated June 11th, 2007, two-thirds of Chinese cities have serious water and air pollution. (14) In fact, Red China is so polluted that it is also affecting the United States. On June 20th, 2007, which was the eve of the witches' sabat of Midsummer, the Wall Street Journal reported as follows: "An outpouring of dust layered with man-made sulfates, smog, industrial fumes, carbon grit, and nitrates is crossing the Pacific Ocean on prevailing winds from booming Asian economies in plumes so vast they alter the climate. These rivers of polluted air can be wider than the Amazon and deeper than the Grand Canyon." Atmospheric physicist V. Ramanathan at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, said, "There are times when it covers the entire Pacific Ocean basin like a ribbon bent back and forth…..on some days, almost a third of the air over Los Angeles and San Francisco can be traced directly to Asia." (15)

In the United States, problems continually arise. On July 19th, 2007, a powerful explosion rocked one of the busiest parts of Manhattan in New York City. A steam pipe exploded beneath a street near Grand Central Terminal, sending a giant scalding jet of brownish steam toward the sky. People in the area ran so fast that their shoes came off as the geyser of the foul cloud, mixing with steam, rust-colored gunk and pavement, shot high into the air. The roar was like that of Niagara Falls. Vehicles of all kinds were tossed into the air and then swallowed up by the abyss that was once a street. (16) It was as if a pit of hell had opened up in the streets of New York City! One person was killed and thirty were injured.

On August 8th, 2007, there was more trouble in New York City. A massive storm hit the city, including a powerful tornado that twisted for nine miles from Staten Island to Brooklyn. (17) Roofs were ripped off and trees were strewn around everywhere. Heavy rain brought flooding that literally shut down the transportation system of this city known as the "Capital of the World." Subways were flooded and streets were impassable. There was flooding at Penn Station, and lines of over one thousand people waited for taxi rides. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "I don't know that God had rush hour in mind when the storms hit." (18) One of the things that shocked people the most is that there had not been a tornado in Brooklyn, New York, in 118 years. (19) Even the studios of the CBS "Morning Show" were flooded out as water poured into the building. The program could not be aired. (20)

In addition to the devastating floods in President Bush's home state of Texas, the wildfires in twelve states, and the violent storms, there are other strange things happening. A strange virus that attacks fish is popping up in lakes all over Wisconsin. The Great Lakes are also becoming plagued by the virus known as VHS, and Gary Whelan, fish production manager of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said, "The disease will never disappear. It is now a permanent part of our communities." (21)

In another report released on June 15th, 2007, by the National Audubon Society, more shocking information was given. Our common birds are disappearing. In recent years there has been a decrease of 65 to 87 percent of the popular birds that used to fill the air with their little songs. The Northern Bobwhite has decreased by 87%, the Evening Grosbeak by 78%, the Boreal Chickadee by 73%, the Eastern Meadowlark by 72%, and the Field Sparrow by 68%, just to name a few. (22)

We are told in Amos 7:17 that people who reject the Lord will "die in a polluted land." We have been told by the U.S. Government that we are in no danger of radiation in the United States, and that all radioactive waste is securely disposed of. In fact, President Bush has been accepting radioactive waste from other countries who don't want it in their lands. On August 5th, 2007, the Associated Press reported that two dairy farms in Fallon, Nevada, about sixty miles east of Reno, have been dumping their milk because of the highly radioactive polonium-210 contamination. It was discovered that twenty-five drinking water wells contained this deadly element! (23) Polonium-210 does not occur naturally by itself and must be extracted from uranium ore, or it can also be made by bombarding bismuth with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Polonium-210 is a powerful and deadly alpha-emitter and was the poison used to kill the Russian spy in England a number of months ago. How did it get into twenty-five wells?

When we consider all of the turmoil on earth, we must also look up to the heavens, for our Saviour instructed us to do so. In Luke 21:25 we read as follows: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring."

In the realm of the stars, amazing things are happening. On May 7th, 2007, NASA released a report about a colossal exploding star that stunned NASA astronomers. This event was five times brighter than any supernova ever witnessed by astronomers. It looked like millions of illuminated diamonds bursting forth with blood-red clouds surrounding it. The NASA scientists also speculated that there will be another large explosion like this, only much closer to the earth, and that it would be sometime soon. (24) We also know that a large nebula is now set to blow, according to Dr. Peter Tuthill of Cornell University in New York. The recently discovered nebula is called the Red Square Nebula, and it is a brilliant white cross that turns blood-red in all directions from the center. The nebula is a perfect four-square pattern, and Dr. Tuthill made the following statement: "The thing that really takes your breath away is the astonishing degree of symmetry within the intricate linear forms. It's almost like a crystal." (25) As I read the report and looked at the picture, I was reminded of Revelation 21:16, which says: "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal." As I thought about the professor's words, "It is almost like a crystal", I remembered Revelation 21:10-11, which says: "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." We must also remember that in the science of astronomy a red shift means an object is moving toward you. Is this a sign of the approaching city of God, or is it the city itself? We will soon find out!

A Fallen Bridge Over Troubled Waters!

On August 1st, 2007, the day of the witches' high cross-quarter sabat of Lughnasaid, disaster struck in the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. During the time of rush hour with a heavy flow of traffic, the I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed. It was soon discovered that initially seven people were dead, at least sixty were injured, and over twenty were missing. A school bus with sixty children in it was pinned in the wreckage, but all were safely rescued. It was a disaster of major proportions. Trucks were on fire, and twisted metal and broken concrete made the area look like a bomb had been dropped. The river was full of debris and mangled cars. (26) Within an hour we were told that it was not a terrorist attack, which means it probably was; but then, who are the terrorists? How can it be determined within an hour that there was no foul play involved? Furthermore, the very next day a report was issued by the Federal Highway Administration that there are 70,000 bridges in the United States that are rated deficient. (27) That is also fast work! If it is true and they knew it, why didn't they tell us this before? Another report, issued on August 2nd, 2007, focused on New York City and questioned the safety of its bridges. It is an amazing fact that New York City has 2,027 bridges. (28)

There are a number of things that should be brought out regarding the collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minnesota. For one thing, it was directly in the way of the NAFTA Super Highway that is to be built connecting Mexico, the United States, and Canada. (29) It should also be noted that immediately after the tragedy, high-level Republicans, including President Bush and the First Lady, came to view the wreckage. After all, Minneapolis-St. Paul is where the forthcoming Republican National Convention is to be held. The Twin Cities area is also the home of the largest publisher of occult and witchcraft books in the United States, Llewellen Publishing Company. This publisher has always been the driving force behind the huge convention of witches, known in the craft as the Aquarian Arts Festival, held in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twin Cities are the most occult cities in the Midwest; and Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes as it is called, is sacred to Wiccan witchcraft.

One more thing about this area that must be mentioned is an event that happened in Hampton, Minnesota, at the beginning of July 2007. The largest Buddhist temple in the United States was completed and dedicated by seventy Buddhist monks in a four-day ceremony. Five thousand Buddhists were gathered there, and along with chanting and ceremonies, there was a consecration of a large image of Buddha. (30) Satan is very much at work in Minnesota, especially in the northern part of the state because of the high populations of witches, who believe that the iron and copper ores of that region have magical qualities.

Old Spirits of a New Reich!

A very strange spirit is rising in the world today, and it is one that we have experienced before. Those who have studied the history of the rise of Nazi Third Reich in Germany or are old enough to have lived during it, should recognize this spirit. It is the spirit of Satan himself, who is now rising up in a final crescendo of a full manifestation of evil devices. In Revelation 12:12 we read as follows: "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

We have heard the stories about the Gestapo torture interrogations, the medical experiments using pathogenic germs, the baby factories encouraging free sex to populate the "Fatherland", and other such diabolical enterprises. Now it is all beginning to happen again, except that it is not confined to one country. This intense spirit is rising everywhere, and primarily in the United States, Russia, and Red China. There is always a spirit behind the endeavors of tyrants, and this spirit of antichrist is now becoming overt and obvious. Sadly, it is all happening at a time when people seem to welcome it.

On July 21st, 2007, the Associated Press featured an article entitled "Interrogation Program Revived." This is the same weekend that the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released with celebrations worldwide during the darkness of midnight. The article revealed that President Bush had just signed an executive order that would allow harsh interrogation of those considered to be terror suspects. This executive order by Herr Bushler allows the CIA to use its methods of torture, which in the past had to be kept secret. The Americans always wanted to perpetuate the illusion that we are the "good guys." The article states the following: "In the past, the methods are believed to have included sleep deprivation and disorientation, exposing prisoners to uncomfortable cold and heat for long periods, stress positions, and a simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding. The Bush Administration has portrayed the interrogation operation as one of the most successful tools in the war on terror…." (31)

Is it any wonder why so many nations who know these things hate the United States? President Bush tells us that they hate us because of our American way of life, but obviously there is more to it than that. This world has become a very ugly place, and nobody is right if everybody is wrong!

We have also learned that the Federal Government is about to build a huge new laboratory where killer germs such as anthrax, avian flu, foot and mouth disease, and other such plagues are studied. The cost of the laboratory is a whopping $450 million. They are about to choose the site where it will be built, and they have narrowed their choices down to five possibilities, including undisclosed areas in Texas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The Department of Homeland Security declined any comment. (32)

As previously mentioned, the strange spirit of antichrist, manifesting as a worldwide Reich of socialism, is rising up everywhere. I previously mentioned the baby factories of Nazi Germany where facilities dedicated to free sex were used to populate the "Fatherland." Now we have the same thing going on in Russia, or "Mother Russia" as it is known. Vladimir Putin's Kremlin is promoting a youth organization almost exactly like the Hitler youth. There are millions of Russian youth involved in the Putin programs, and one of the youth organizations is known as Nashi, which means Ours. One of the functions of the youth group is to gather young people, ten thousand at a time, at camps. Tents are set up and the youth participate in a mass State marriage. The youth enter the tents and have sex for the purpose of repopulating "Mother Russia." Condoms are forbidden, and the tents are set up in a heart shape. This youth movement of uniformed and militant Russians is currently 100,000 strong. The Kremlin doesn't really care who the parents of this forthcoming baby boom are; the government is only interesting in repopulating the country. (33)

We have also learned that Russia and Red China are holding joint war games in the Ural Mountains. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Communist Chinese leader Hu Jintao stood together as they watched the thousands of Russian and Chinese forces unite for these games of war. (34)

On August 2nd, 2007, Russia sent a submarine to the North Pole and planted a tricolor cast in titanium onto the seabed, 14,000 feet below the waters of the North Pole. This metallic Russian flag represents Russia's claim to not only the North Pole but to the entire Arctic region with its vast energy resources. The United States and Canada are denying Russia's claim. (35)

We are living during a time when all of the old powers are rising once again. Even Japan, which has been constitutionally restricted from raising anything but a defensive military, is becoming provocative with a recent hyperactivity. Japan has been involved with the U.S. military in war games in the Western Pacific Ocean. The Japanese have been dropping 500-pound live bombs on the small island of Farallon de Medinilla about 240 miles north of Guam. It has been reported that there is a new wave of pride in the Japanese military, and they are in an active weapons acquisition program. The Japanese Air Force is now boasting about its new F-2 fighter plane that can fly 1,700 miles without refueling. (36) It seems as if the entire world is preparing and bracing for a final global war. The signs of it are everywhere.

The war with Iraq continues on and is not only intensifying, but it is the very blasting cap that is ready to set off the entire Middle East. The war in Iraq, which was started on a ruse of willfully false information, has cost the United States approximately $500 billion, which is about $4,000 per second, and the clock continues to tick. (37)

We also know that our military government continues to insult its own fallen men and women. In Fort Lewis, Washington, it was announced that our slain soldiers would no longer be given individual memorial services. All of the dead would be grouped together for one service each month. There has been a great outcry of rage from the families who not only lost a loved one, but now they must put up with one final slap in the face from our opportunistic government. (38)

It is bad enough that the war has gone on so long with its scandals and atrocities, but now it appears that the Bush Administration is picking a fight with Iran, an ally of Russia. Iran is currently in the process of buying 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets from Russia. (39) Iran has also been buying numerous other weapons and bombs from the Russians. The many roadside bombs that have been killing our troops in Iraq have been identified as Iranian, according to Lt. General Raymond T. Odierno, the number two commander in Iraq. (40) Now the volatile situation will intensify as the United States has decided to designate Iran's 125,000-strong Revolutionary Guard as terrorists. (41) This is nothing short of a declaration of war with Iran! We are no doubt on the very eve of destruction. Are you ready to meet the Saviour when He breaks through the skies?

The British government is now making it known that they intend to withdraw their troops from Iraq shortly, and President George Bush is becoming very nervous about the British withdrawal. (42)

With all that is known about the war in Iraq, some people have wondered why there have not been massive nationwide protests and uprisings against it. The reason is because there is no military draft like there was during the Viet Nam War. Now, President Bush's new war advisor, or war czar as he is called, Army Lt. General Douglas Lute, stated the need for a military draft in an interview on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" program. General Lute said the following regarding a military draft, which would force young people into the military: "And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another…..I think it makes sense to certainly consider it." (43)

These are trying times! Here in America, the problems are mounting. Our economy is so bad that panic is beginning to develop on Wall Street. Investors have lost over one and one-halt trillion dollars in the past few weeks. In some cases, an entire year's gains was wiped out in a matter of hours. (44) This will soon affect everyone. A recent report revealed that food prices will rise dramatically very soon, and the increase will be an average of seventeen percent initially. (45) In the depression that followed the 1929 market crash, about eighty percent of our population was Christian-minded. Now that number is closer to five percent. How would this current population react if they were reduced from luxury to begging for bread? Seek the Lord now! It's later than you think!

In closing, I once again thank all of you who support this end-time prophetic ministry. Your prayer requests are always welcome. God bless you all for your faithfulness! Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

David J. Meyer

Acknowledgements

01. AFP News Service, Jul 22, 2007, Tokyo, Japan.
02. Associated Press, Aug. 8, 2007, by Robin McDowell, Jakarta, Indonesia.
03. Associated Press, Aug. 8, 2007, by Alicia Chang, Los Angeles, CA.
04. Earth Changes Media, Aug. 14, 2007, by Mitch Battros, http://earthchangesmedia.com.
05. Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2007, by Leslie Josephs, Lima, Peru.
06. U.S. Geological Survey, Aug. 16, 2007, http://www.iris.edu.
07. USA Today, Jul 24, 2007, by Jeffrey Stinson, London, England, UK.
08. The Press Association, Jul. 24, 2007, http://www.breitbart.com
09. News Sky.com, Jul 24, 2007, Gloucestershire, England, UK.
10. Associated Press, Aug. 4, 2007, by Romina Spina, Wanborough, England, UK.
11. London Times, Aug. 8, 2007, by Lewis Smith, London, England, UK.
12. Associated Press, Jul. 21, 2007, by Biswajeet Banerjee, Lucknow, India.
13. Reuters News Service, Jul. 22, 2007.
14. Reuters News Service, Jun 11, 2007, Beijing, China.
15. Wall Street Journal, Jul. 20, 2007, by Robert Lee Hotz, New York, NY.
16. New York Times, Jul. 19, 2007, by James Barron, New York, NY.
17. New York Post, Aug. 10, 2007, by John Doyle, Jeremy Olshan & Lukas Alpert, New York, NY.
18. Newsday, Aug. 8, 2007, by Cristian Salazar, New York, NY.
19. New York Post, Aug. 9, 2007, New York, NY.
20. Associated Press, Aug. 8, 2007, by David Bauder, New York, NY.
21. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 15, 2007, by Lee Bergquist and Dan Egan, Milwaukee, WI.
22. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jun 15, 2007, by Seth Borenstein, Milwaukee, WI.
23. Helena Independent Record, Aug. 5, 2007, AP, Fallon, Nevada.
24. Staten Island Advance, May 8, 2007, by Seth Borenstein, Washington, D.C.
25. Melbourne Herald Sun, Apr. 15, 2007, by Scott Anderson, Melbourne, Australia.
26. WCCO News, Aug. 2, 2007, Minneapolis, MN.
27. Associated Press, Aug. 2, 2007, by H. Josef Hebert & Sharon Theimer, Washington, D.C.
28. CBS News, Aug. 2, 2007, by Lou Young, New York, NY.
29. WorldNetDaily, Aug. 6, 2007, by Jerome R. Corsi, http://www.worldnetdaily.com.
30. Star Tribune, Jul. 3, 2007, by Richard Sennott, Minneapolis, MN.
31. Traverse City Record Eagle, Jul. 21, 2007, AP Washington, D.C.
32. Traverse City Record Eagle, Jul. 12, 2007, AP Washington, D.C.
33. The Daily Mail, Jul. 30, 2007, by Edward Lucas, London, England, UK.
34. Associated Press, Aug. 17, 2007, by Ivan Sekretarev, AP Russia.
35. The Daily Telegraph, Aug. 2, 2007, by Adrian Blomfield, Moscow, Russia.
36. International Herald Tribune, Jul. 22, 2007, by Norimitsu Onishi, Guam.
37. The Daily Mail, Aug. 2, 2007, by David Gardner, London, England, UK.
38. New York Times, Jul. 24, 2007, by William Yardley, Ft. Lewis, WA.
39. Jerusalem Post, Jul. 30, 2007, by Yaakov Katz & Herb Keinon, Jerusalem, Israel.
40. New York Times, Aug. 8, 2007, by Michael R. Gordon, Baghdad, Iraq.
41. Washington Post, Aug. 14, 2007, by Robin Wright, Washington, D.C.
42. The Guardian, Aug. 8, 2007, by Ewen MacAskill, Washington, D.C.
43. Associated Press, Aug. 10, 2007, by Richard Lardner, Washington, D.C.
44. Reuters News Service, Aug. 15, 2007, by Kristina Cooke, New York, NY.
45. McClatchy Washington Bureau, Aug. 15, 2007, by Kevin G. Hall, Midland, VA.

http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

Source: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/2007/September2007.html

GIVE ME THE BIBLE

Give Me The Bible

Give me the Bible, star of gladness gleaming,
To cheer the wand’rer lone and tempest tossed;
No storm can hide that radiance peaceful beaming,
Since Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Refrain

Give me the Bible, holy message shining;
Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way;
Precept and promise, law and love combining,
Till night shall vanish in eternal day.

Give me the Bible, when my heart is broken,
When sin and grief have filled my soul with fear;
Give me the precious words by Jesus spoken,
Hold up faith’s lamp to show my Savior near.

Refrain

Give me the Bible, all my steps enlighten,
Teach me the danger of these realms below;
That lamp of safety o’er the gloom shall brighten,
That light alone the path of peace can show.

Refrain

Give me the Bible, lamp of life immortal,
Hold up that splendor by the open grave;
Show me the light from Heaven’s shining portal,
Show me the glory gilding Jordan’s wave.

Refrain

Words:
Pri­scil­la J. Ow­ens (1829-1907).

Music:
Edmund S. Lorenz (1854-1942) (MI­DI, score).

Source: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/i/givemetb.htm

'STUDY THE SCRIPTURES'

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was to be put to death and to rise again from the tomb, and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds; and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them. So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them unready. {GC 594.1}

When God sends to men warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven, He requires every person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful judgments denounced against the worship of the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11), should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecies to learn what the mark of the beast is, and how they are to avoid receiving it. But the masses of the people turn away their ears from hearing the truth and are turned unto fables. The apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days: "The time will come when they will not
595
endure sound doctrine." 2 Timothy 4:3. That time has fully come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love.
{GC 594.2}

But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority--not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain "Thus saith the Lord" in its support. {GC 595.1}

Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract attention to man in the place of God. He leads the people to look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of theology, as their guides, instead of searching the Scriptures to learn their duty for themselves. Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can influence the multitudes according to his will. {GC 595.2}

When Christ came to speak the words of life, the common people heard Him gladly; and many, even of the priests and rulers, believed on Him. But the chief of the priesthood and the leading men of the nation were determined to condemn and repudiate His teachings. Though they were baffled in all their efforts to find accusations against Him, though they could not but feel the influence of the divine power and wisdom attending His words, yet they incased themselves in prejudice; they rejected the clearest evidence of His Messiahship, lest they should be forced to become His disciples. These opponents of Jesus were men whom the people had been taught from infancy to reverence, to whose authority they had been accustomed implicitly to bow. "How is it," they asked, "that our rulers and learned scribes do not believe on Jesus? Would not these pious men receive Him if He were
596
the Christ?" It was the influence of such teachers that led the Jewish nation to reject their Redeemer.
{GC 595.3}

The spirit which actuated those priests and rulers is still manifested by many who make a high profession of piety. They refuse to examine the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the special truths for this time. They point to their own numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with contempt upon the advocates of truth as few, poor, and unpopular, having a faith that separates them from the world. {GC 596.1}

Christ foresaw that the undue assumption of authority indulged by the scribes and Pharisees would not cease with the dispersion of the Jews. He had a prophetic view of the work of exalting human authority to rule the conscience, which has been so terrible a curse to the church in all ages. And His fearful denunciations of the scribes and Pharisees, and His warnings to the people not to follow these blind leaders, were placed on record as an admonition to future generations. {GC 596.2}

The Roman Church reserves to the clergy the right to interpret the Scriptures. On the ground that ecclesiastics alone are competent to explain God's word, it is withheld from the common people. [SEE APPENDIX NOTE FOR PAGE 340.] Though the Reformation gave the Scriptures to all, yet the selfsame principle which was maintained by Rome prevents multitudes in Protestant churches from searching the Bible for themselves. They are taught to accept its teachings as interpreted by the church; and there are thousands who dare receive nothing, however plainly revealed in Scripture, that is contrary to their creed or the established teaching of their church. {GC 596.3}

Notwithstanding the Bible is full of warnings against false teachers, many are ready thus to commit the keeping of their souls to the clergy. There are today thousands of professors of religion who can give no other reason for points of faith which they hold than that they were so instructed by their religious leaders. They pass by the Saviour's teachings almost
597
unnoticed, and place implicit confidence in the words of the ministers. But are ministers infallible? How can we trust our souls to their guidance unless we know from God's word that they are light bearers? A lack of moral courage to step aside from the beaten track of the world leads many to follow in the steps of learned men; and by their reluctance to investigate for themselves, they are becoming hopelessly fastened in the chains of error. They see that the truth for this time is plainly brought to view in the Bible; and they feel the power of the Holy Spirit attending its proclamation; yet they allow the opposition of the clergy to turn them from the light. Though reason and conscience are convinced, these deluded souls dare not think differently from the minister; and their individual judgment, their eternal interests, are sacrificed to the unbelief, the pride and prejudice, of another.
{GC 596.4}

Many are the ways by which Satan works through human influence to bind his captives. He secures multitudes to himself by attaching them by the silken cords of affection to those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Whatever this attachment may be, parental, filial, conjugal, or social, the effect is the same; the opposers of truth exert their power to control the conscience, and the souls held under their sway have not sufficient courage or independence to obey their own convictions of duty. {GC 597.1}

The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it matters not what one believes, if his life is only right. But the life is molded by the faith. If light and truth is within our reach, and we neglect to improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we virtually reject it; we are choosing darkness rather than light. {GC 597.2}

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25. Ignorance is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity
598
to know the will of God. A man is traveling and comes to a place where there are several roads and a guideboard indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the guideboard, and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, he may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability find himself on the wrong road.
{GC 597.3}

God has given us His word that we may become acquainted with its teachings and know for ourselves what He requires of us. When the lawyer came to Jesus with the inquiry, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" the Saviour referred him to the Scriptures, saying: "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" Ignorance will not excuse young or old, nor release them from the punishment due for the transgression of God's law; because there is in their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right or what the minister tells him is right. His soul's salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out every waymark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at anything. {GC 598.1}

It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help we are to form our opinions for ourselves as we are to answer for ourselves before God. {GC 598.2}

The truths most plainly revealed in the Bible have been involved in doubt and darkness by learned men, who, with a pretense of great wisdom, teach that the Scriptures have a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not apparent in the language employed. These men are false teachers. It was to
599
such a class that Jesus declared: "Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God." Mark 12:24. The language of the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given the promise: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible as it reads, if there were no false teachers to mislead and confuse their minds, a work would be accomplished that would make angels glad and that would bring into the fold of Christ thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in error.
{GC 598.3}

We should exert all the powers of the mind in the study of the Scriptures and should task the understanding to comprehend, as far as mortals can, the deep things of God; yet we must not forget that the docility and submission of a child is the true spirit of the learner. Scriptural difficulties can never be mastered by the same methods that are employed in grappling with philosophical problems. We should not engage in the study of the Bible with that self-reliance with which so many enter the domains of science, but with a prayerful dependence upon God and a sincere desire to learn His will. We must come with a humble and teachable spirit to obtain knowledge from the great I AM. Otherwise, evil angels will so blind our minds and harden our hearts that we shall not be impressed by the truth. {GC 599.1}

Many a portion of Scripture which learned men pronounce a mystery, or pass over as unimportant, is full of comfort and instruction to him who has been taught in the school of Christ. One reason why many theologians have no clearer understanding of God's word is, they close their eyes to truths which they do not wish to practice. As understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness. {GC 599.2}

The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those
600
things easy to be understood, or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God's word that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by its promises. We should make the psalmist's petition our own: "Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." Psalm 119:18. Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God's promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus "when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19.
{GC 599.3}

Excerpt from chapter: 'The Scriptures a Safeguard' / The Great Controversy, Ellen G. White, pp. 594-600.

WHO'S THE ENEMY?

Who's The Enemy:
-- The "End of Days" Begun?

As we first reported to you last year in our (admittedly unfinished) “End of Days” series, we believe that the world has crossed a Rubicon into a new and extremely dangerous phase. The portent of this new period was defined by the passing of Sirius across the Giza meridian at precisely 12:00 midnight on January 1, 2000, an event which we have shown could NOT have been “coincidental.” At that time, we asserted that this singular event, dictated by a series of deft manipulations of the western Gregorian calendar, had been planned and worked towards for perhaps more than two millennia. The authors of this extraordinary and meticulously planned celestial event were a series of groups which have come to be loosely known as “secret societies” -- semi-hidden bands of hand picked and self-appointed “leaders” who frequently attempt to manipulate secular political events.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO READ MORE:

SOURCE: http://www.enterprisemission.com/tower2.htm

OSAMA'S NEW VIDEO


Bin Laden plans to release new video
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 7, 5:09 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070907/ap_on_...bin_laden_video

CAIRO, Egypt - The first new images of Osama bin Laden in nearly three years will be released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, al-Qaida's media arm announced, a move that would end the terror mastermind's longest period without a message.

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it had no credible information warning of an imminent threat to the United States, and analysts noted that al-Qaida tends to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary with a slew of messages.

Still, bin Laden's appearance would be significant. The al-Qaida leader has not appeared in new video footage since October 2004, and he has not put out a new audiotape in more than a year.

The announcement and photo appeared in a banner advertisement on an Islamic militant Web site where al-Qaida's media arm, Al-Sahab, frequently posts messages.

"Soon, God willing, a videotape from the lion sheik Osama bin Laden, God preserve him," the advertisement read, signed by Al-Sahab. Such announcements are usually put out one to three days before the video is posted on the Web.

One difference in his appearance was immediately obvious. The announcement had a still photo from the coming video, showing bin Laden addressing the camera, his beard fully black. In his past videos, bin Laden's beard was almost entirely gray with dark streaks.

Bin Laden's beard appears to have been dyed, a popular practice among Arab leaders, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terror messages.

"I think it works for their (al-Qaida's) benefit that he looks young, he looks healthy," Katz said.

IntelCenter, which monitors Islamic Web sites and analyzes terror threats, said the video was expected within the next 72 hours, before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 suicide hijacker attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The anniversary has always been a major media event for al-Qaida — a chance for it to drum up support among extremists, tout itself as the leading militant group and show off its continued survival.

"They've always gone out of their way to commemorate it," said Ben Venzke, chief executive officer of IntelCenter, which is based in Alexandria, Va. "Historically the anniversary of 9-11 has never been drawn to attacks. It's drawn to video releases."

But the fact that bin Laden is delivering the message is significant, he said. Whether the message will indicate a potential attack will depend on what bin Laden says.

The White House said that any new video message from bin Laden would only underscore the threat the United States and other nations face from extremists.

"Six years after 9/11, the arrests in Germany and Denmark this week and the battles we fight against al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, southeast Asia and around the world remind us of the continuing threat we face from extremists and why we must continue to take the fight to them wherever they are," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said he could not confirm the existence of a tape, "and there is no credible information at this time warning of an imminent threat to the homeland." But he said increased activity overseas and recent arrests of militants in Germany reinforce the department's assessment that the country is currently in a period of increased risk.

If bin Laden does appear in new footage, it would be the first images of him since an Oct. 29, 2004 videotape, just before the U.S. presidential elections. In that appearance three years ago, he said America could avoid another 9-11 style attack if it stopped threatening Muslims.

The new video would also end the longest period bin Laden has gone without releasing a message. His last audiotape was on July 1, 2006, in which he welcomed new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq succeeding the slain Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Bin Laden went silent for a similar long stretch before — from Dec. 28, 2004 to Jan. 19, 2006. That absence sparked widespread speculation he was ill, wounded or possibly dead.

There has been little such speculation since then. U.S. officials have repeatedly said over the past year they believe the al-Qaida leader is alive. He is thought to be hiding in the tribal regions of western Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.

During bin Laden's silence, his deputy Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri has been frequently issuing videos and audiotapes.

Al-Zawahri appeared in a 2006 video marking the 9-11 anniversary. An anniversary video in 2003 showed footage of bin Laden and al-Zawahri walking through mountain paths, with voice-over messages from both leaders.

TESTING, ONE-TWO. THIS IS OSAMA!


WARNING, AVERTISSEMENT:


He's coming to a screen near you.
Tune in and tremble. He's so scary. SO TERRIBLE.
He's stealing our sleep, scaring our children. Keeping us on the edge of our seats.
What are we to do? Just watch and wait.
Our brave soldiers are looking for him to put an end to these EVIL and mean broadcasts. (
EVENTUALLY) Once and for all.

DOING GOD'S WORK FOR THE TALIBAN

AP
VIEW FROM SEOUL
Doing God's Work For The Taliban
The global mission of spreading Christian faith seems to have run smack into the US and NATO global mission against terrorism. Korean Christian missionaries end up bolstering the terrorists in Afghanistan
Shim Jae Hoon

They go anywhere – from African jungles to tribal villages of Afghanistan. Self-designated foot soldiers of Jesus Christ, Korean missionaries travel the globe, looking for souls to save with the good book in one hand and cash in another. The apostles carry a special message mixing religion and politics, insisting that the Gospel saved South Korea from communism. Belief in Jesus not only saves souls, but delivers nations from poverty.

But if press reports turn out to be true that the South Korean government, working on behalf of the missionaries kidnapped in Afghanistan, paid millions of dollars in ransom, then the church work may have merely alleviated the poverty of a terrorist group. The global mission of spreading Christian faith has run smack into the US and NATO global mission against terrorism.

A Reuters news agency report quoting a senior Taliban official as saying that a ransom of more than US$20 million was paid to secure the hostages’ release, though unconfirmed, is sure to add fuel to growing criticism of Korean missionaries and expose the growing complexity of an old globalizing force.

The kidnapping of 23 Christian aid workers in mid-July, two of whom were killed before release of the remainder, has revived criticism of missionaries’ no-holds-barred proselytizing. The zeal of some churches, often offending local sensitivities, has made the Korean missionaries controversial at home and abroad. Some countries such as China and Cambodia, with a historical view that foreign missionaries are agents of imperialism, have banned them. South Korea’s foreign ministry frowns on work where the missionaries are not officially welcome and restricts travel to war-torn countries like Iraq and Somalia.

Eager to serve, however, some ignore the warnings, risking capture and death; Kim Son Il, a young, novice evangelical worker, was beheaded by Iraqi insurgents in 2004.

This time, in addition to possibly paying ransom, South Korea obtained release of the missionaries by promising to keep them and all South Korean non-governmental organization workers out of Afghanistan and withdraw troops from that country.

Officially, the South Korean foreign ministry has not responded to speculation about ransom payments. The source of funds is alleged to be the hostages’ church, Saemmul Presbyterian. Church officials did announce plans to repay the government for airfare, hospitalization and other costs. But if reports of ransom payment are confirmed, it would trigger a public outcry, increasing taxpayer resentment about missionaries visiting danger zones explicitly prohibited by the government.

The news of the 29 August agreement won’t quiet debate already raging within churches. While the two biggest Protestant organizations in Korea – the liberal-oriented Korean National Council of Churches and conservative Christian Council of Korea – issued statements accepting Taliban conditions, critics suggest that Korean missionaries pause and moderate their course.

Overall, such changes, they said, would require Korean missionaries to avoid many war-torn regions, especially where Islam is the dominant religion. They would have to show greater respect for local cultures and religions. Mission emphasis should shift from total converts reported to pragmatic projects. Thus humanitarian projects – such as providing medical, child-care or education services in Asia and Africa – should be given priority.

Voices within the church call for moderation: Korean missionaries are "too loud and aggressive in their ways and self-centered," commented one missionary worker writing in www.newsandjoy.com, a church blog, withholding his identity.

Next
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(1 of 2)

Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070905&fname=koreans&sid=1

Thursday, September 06, 2007

CATHOLIC AND AMERICAN: A CONTRADICTION



CATHOLIC AND AMERICAN -- A CONTRADICTION -

It is not possible to owe allegiance to two different political entities that have conflicting security-survival interests. One entity must prevail. Most American Catholics recognize that there are many contradictions when one attempts to be both Catholic and American. The Vatican has recognized this problem for 200 years. In his book, The Unholy Ghost: Anti-Catholicism in the American Experience (1992), Bishop Mark J. Hurley, consultor to the Congregation for Education for the Vatican, states, "...Vatican curial prelates were skeptical that a true believer in the American proposition could be a true believer in Catholicism."

The Vatican has relied heavily on a principle it created called the primacy of conscience, on the loyalty to God over loyalty to the state 208 to demand and get allegiance. Since the pope is God's representative on earth and his spokesman, this principle translates to loyalty to the pope over loyalty to the state. Most American Catholics do not share this interpretation. President John F. Kennedy publicly denounced the Vatican's interpretation repeatedly, seriously weakening the Vatican's position in the U.S. (More about this later.)

Most American Catholics do not owe their allegiance to the Vatican as the pope would like to claim. It has been evident for decades that the Vatican does not control the Catholic voting population. It can create, finance and control political machines that do have successes but it does not control voting populations as it once did in cities with large Catholic immigrant populations.209

According to Bishop Hurley, "The record shows that American Catholics were held suspect both in the halls of government and in the...Vatican."210 "While progress of Catholics in the United States is unmatched in history, yet there remains the underlying suspicion that a Catholic cannot be a true believer in the American scheme of things."211 "For two centuries Catholics have striven to alleviate the apprehension and doubt of their fellow citizens....While these efforts have in the main been successful, yet a surprisingly significant part of mainstream American society continues to entertain doubts."212 Catholics are sensitive to this reality.

However, according to Hurley, the Catholic hierarchy and the Vatican have not accepted what he refers to as "the secularist interpretation of the First Amendment, "the theory that it meant absolute separation not merely of the state from the establishment of religion but of religion itself from public life."213 The Vatican has its own theory about what our First Amendment means and to the extent possible, uses its own theory to determine its behavior.

For example, Hurley recalls, "During the [Kennedy] primary campaign in Oregon on May 20, 1960, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano declared in Rome that the Catholic hierarchy had the right and duty to intervene in politics and to expect dutiful discipline from Catholics. The hierarchy alone, it said, has the right to judge whether the higher principles of religious and moral order are involved in political issues." 214 Though the Vatican had to do this story in order to maintain control, it did not endear it to American non-Catholics. Most American Catholics reject the Vatican concept of our first amendment and are well aware of non-Catholic objections to it.

More recently, the Vatican claimed (or repeated) the right to protect itself against harmful laws -- even when democratically legislated. The central difficulty here, of course, is that what the Vatican views "harmful" to itself and its authority is just what lay Catholic men and women, as well as non-Catholics, consider beneficial to themselves and their families. In a letter sent to all American bishops by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful Vatican office, Cardinal Ratzinger reminded them that "The Church has the responsibility to protect herself from the application of harmful laws." This letter was keep secret from 55 million American Catholics until a brief notice written by Peter Steinfels for The New York Times appeared July 10, 1992. The actual text remained hidden from the public until it was leaked to the press on July 15, 1992.215

This had to be a great embarrassment to American Catholics. From Cardinal Ratzinger: we resent the concept of American democracy. No doubt the pope had given his blessing. His message -- if we don't like your democratically legislated laws, we will just ignore them and follow our own dictates. Nothing like a little anarchy for "God's" benefit, perpetrated by the Vatican against the American people.

Obviously, if an institution has the "responsibility," it also claims the "right." The Vatican exercised its "right" to protect herself from the application of harmful laws, in the autocratic way it defines "harmful," when it blocked U.S. adoption of the Rockefeller Commission recommendations and implementation of the NSSM 200 policies approved by President Ford. "To protect herself," the Church moved quickly and efficiently to kill the two most important initiatives to control population growth in American history.

In its March 1995 issue, Church & State reports that the Vatican claims a unique role in world politics: "The Roman Catholic Church has the right to intervene in world politics through the United Nations by virtue of its centuries of existence and its possession of the truth, a Vatican official told a Catholic newspaper recently. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Archbishop Renato Raffaele Martino, the Vatican's permanent observer at the UN, defended the church's participation in last year's international population conference in Cairo. Some delegates had criticized the church for delaying the conference by refusing to approve policies related to abortion and birth control...'Our diplomacy is the oldest in the world,' Martino said...Agreeing with the [National Catholic Reporter] that the church speaks `with one voice,' Martino added, `[T]he one voice is a message of salvation, found in the scriptures and lived in the tradition of the church over the centuries. It is an objective truth that remains changeless.'...Pope John Paul II echoed Martino's views during his annual New Year's address January 9..."215a

The National Catholic Register reported in its October 15, 1995 issue: "The U.S. bishops are recognized as one of the most powerful lobbyist groups on Capitol Hill."215b Many long-time observers are convinced that the bishops have no equal in this regard. But if "the Church speaks with one voice," as Archbishop Martino and the pope claim, then obviously the U.S. bishops are lobbying on behalf of the pope, not American Catholics. These clerics are necessarily protecting Vatican interests, but not those of American Catholics. Why?

The June 30, 1995 issue of the National Catholic Reporter reads: "Approximately 40 U.S. bishops have endorsed a 12-page document that challenges peers to take a less subservient, more proactive stance in relationship to the Vatican." The implication is that at present the bishops are subservient to the Vatican. The report continues: "Noting that Vatican II laid the foundation for `significant changes in our working relationship with the whole church and with the Holy Father,' the document questioned whether collegiality is a reality or an illusion: `When formulating documents in the past, we did not submit them to Rome until we had fully discussed them...and voted. Now they are frequently submitted beforehand by the committee chairperson, and upon receiving the results there is no dialogue. The response from Rome is treated as a directive...There is a widespread feeling that Roman documents of varying authority have for some years been systematically reinterpreting the Vatican II documents to present the minority positions at the council as the true meaning of the council.'"

"According to the document, the College of Cardinals has emerged as a `supracollegial body' that `weakens the role of the bishops' conferences.' But open discussion of such matters is often impeded because many bishops cling to `strict and undifferentiated application of all Roman norms and the notion of the church as a multinational corporation with headquarters in Rome and branch offices (dioceses) around the world.'"215c

No one can pretend that U.S. bishops who are lobbying the Congress represent the interests of U.S. Catholics. With their 12-page statement, these 40 bishops make it clear that it is corporate interests in Rome that are protected by Church lobbying efforts in the Congress. These are often at odds with the interests of individual American Catholics, as demonstrated on innumerable occasions by their private decisions on abortion and family planning and attitude toward illegal immigration. For example, a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute estimated that abortion rates among American Catholic women are 29 percent higher than among Protestants and that 31 percent of women who get abortions are Catholic.215d Thus, in 1995 alone, when 1.52 million abortions were performed, Catholic women demonstrated on nearly half a million occasions they believed that their interests were best served by obtaining a safe, legal abortion.

In his article, "A Traitorous Shepherd," in the June 22, 1995 issue of The Wanderer, A.J. Matt, Jr. labels as disloyal any bishop who would represent American Catholics at the expense of the Vatican, citing the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: "Together with their head, the Supreme Pontiff, and never apart from him, they have supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff."215e This arrangement is written into the Church Constitution. According to Matt, bishops who do not conform are traitors.

China offers a concrete example. In the March 26, 1995 National Catholic Register, the article, "In China, Catholics must choose Pope or Party," reveals that Catholic bishops in China who stay loyal to the pope must pay a price. There are two kinds of Catholicism in China: the state run Catholic Patriotic Association, which requires Catholics to swear allegiance to China and its people, and other Catholics who maintain their allegiance to Rome and represent the underground Church. The Chinese Government takes this matter very seriously. For example, Roman Catholic Archbishop, Dominic Tang, once the underground bishop of Canton, spent 22 years in prison "because he refused to renounce his allegiance to the Vatican.215f The Chinese government considered Tang just as traitorous as Matt labels any bishop who exercises his power without papal consent. In the United States, we do not require Catholic bishops to swear allegiance to our country -- despite the fact that our security-survival interests are indisputably in direct conflict with those of the Vatican. Yet the U.S. bishops have emerged as the most powerful lobbying group on Capitol Hill.

Thomas C. Fox, editor of the National Catholic Reporter, in a New York Times article, "Rome's Lengthening Shadow: U.S. bishops squelched by Vatican," writes: "Pope John Paul II's pontificate, long characterized by the strict enforcement of church law, especially on sexual matters, is moving beyond authoritarianism. In dealing with his bishops, the Pope has abandoned the collegial guidelines set down by the second Vatican council in the 1960's; he treats them not as conferees but as his personal delegates. The bishops shudder at criticizing Rome lest their action be viewed as a sign of disloyalty....For Western Catholics, versed in pluralism and democracy, the way in which Rome is treating their bishops has one redeeming feature: it forces the bishops to share with their people the sense of powerlessness they have felt throughout this pontificate."215g Sadly, even if the U.S. bishops wanted to represent the interests of American Catholics in their lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, they are powerless to do so.

In his book, The Unholy Ghost, Bishop Hurley admitted: "That non-Catholics had good reason to question their Catholic fellow citizens about their allegiance in the early days of the Republic can scarcely be disputed."216 [given the behavior of the Church in Europe]. But since the early days, popes and the hierarchy have committed one hostile act after the other, keeping these suspicions in full bloom. The Church is rabidly anti-democratic and anti-American. After 200 years, nothing has changed.

There is a continuous flow of evidence. Only a few examples can be presented here. At the October 1, 1989 annual Red Mass in Washington, which is dedicated to members of the legal profession, the archbishop of Philadelphia, Anthony J. Bevilaqua, told his audience, "The time has come to restore the vital relationship between religion and law, church and society." The Washington Times reported that Bevilaqua blasted separation of church and state during his remarks, charging that conflicts between church and state during the past 30 years have excluded religion from public life. Stated Bevilaqua, "This opposition, this impregnable wall...cannot endure much longer." In attendance were Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and associate justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and William J. Brennan, Cabinet members Louis W. Sullivan and Manuel Lujan, several congressmen and numerous judges and lawyers. Bevilaqua misses the obvious point that if the wall was impregnable, the mass when he spoke would not have taken place. 217

In a November 1991 speech to a national religious group, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago stated that in some circumstances it is necessary for religious groups to take direct action, rather than rely on persuasion. "While dialogue and persuasion must be religion's first impulse in the public sector," the cardinal said, "we cannot automatically exclude the possibility that, at certain moments, religious groups may have to move into the power mode in order to preserve certain basic moral values in a society....The escalating power of the communications media, for example, is a growing cause of concern because of its ever-increasing ability to mold the public ethos in the contemporary world, far more perhaps than either the political or legal realms."

Bernardin expressed concerns about the media's ability to set the terms of debate on political issues such as abortion. He was admitting that the Catholic Church must control the terms of the debate if it is to win on the abortion issue and other issues important to the papal agenda for America. The cardinal observed, "we may see a growing number of troubling situations relative to the media which only a well-organized...group of religious leaders can confront. Control of language is an immensely powerful force in any society."218 In other words, the cardinal and his Church are now ready to suspend the U.S. Constitution in order to protect papal security interests. Freedom of speech is now clearly a threat.

In July 1993, the National Catholic Register interviewed Msgr. George Kelley, who heads the right-wing Fellowship of Catholic Scholars; "'When I became a priest [circa 1940], we had a great Church,' he says, adding that `our system was so good I could have played golf five times a week and nobody would have missed me.' It was a time he recalls, when churches were filled and parishes operated schools which charged little or no tuition thanks to the contributions of religious order teachers. That American Church, he says, `was the eighth wonder of the world' of Catholicism. But it has largely been lost, he says, because `a lot of [U.S. Catholics] have become more like the culture. A lot of our people have been trained to be Americans and not to be Catholics.'"219

Msgr. Kelley's phraseology suggests that, in his mind, to be American (and part of the American culture), and to be Catholic, are mutually exclusive. He is also offering further evidence, with his own observations, that the Church is self-destructing as a result of exposure to American culture. Apparently, training in Catholic schools is necessary in order to become a Catholic but even then this training is often not sufficient. He also makes clear that to have a healthy Catholic Church in America, the Church must keep its followers separated from American culture (I'll touch on this further, in another context in the next Chapter).

These are but three examples of the realization by the Church that it cannot successfully coexist with the American Way. There have been hundreds of others in recent years. American Catholics, of course, witness these examples and, as a result, many have distanced themselves from the Church, preferring to be Americans instead.

Certainly not all Catholics wish to distance themselves from the Church. The Spring 1994 issue of Conscience, published by Catholics for a Free Choice, offers a superb but frightening overview of a long list of right-wing Catholic organizations which owe their allegiance to the pope. This array of organizations provide an estimated total of perhaps 200,000 activists, less than one percent of the U.S. Catholic population.220 Their purpose: implement Vatican policy in America. This formidable collection of organizations gives new meaning to the old saying, "they are among us but they are not of us." No doubt, most are products of Catholic schools


Source: http://www.population-security.org/21-CH13.html#4

THEOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP ON THE MARCH

THEOCRACY HAS CRASHED ONTO THE AMERICAN SCENE

Breaking Down the Protective Wall of Separation Between Church and State

THEOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP

IS ON THE MARCH

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

They call it a War. In this metaphorical warfare, the Church of Rome and the Religious Right can be described as advancing in a two-pronged enveloping pincers movement. The pincers have either already been snapped shut, or will be in the near future.
It is essential to note that the campaign has been waged by stealth. In the case of the Church of Rome it has been waged for over one hundred years. Here is documentation of that fact:

ROME ADVANCED STEALTHILY

(READ MORE CLICK LINK BELOW):

Source: http://adventistlaymen.com/THEOCRATIC%20DICTATORSHIP.htm

SHAW'S RECALLS BEEF PATTIES

Shaw's recalls beef patties




Thursday, September 6, 2007 12:15 PM EDT

Some ground beef patties, sold fresh under the Shaw's Supermarket label have been recalled after concerns about possible contamination with E.coli bacteria.

The 85 percent lean ground beef, made by Fairbank Farms, could have been purchased by consumers in Shaw's New England stores between about 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Customers who may have purchased the beef patties should check the package. Each of the 1.33-pound trays is marked with the establishment number "Est. 492" inside the USDA mark of inspections, and the nutritional information label bears a time stamp between "17:05" and "17:25." The packages also have a date code of "243."

A majority of the product was isolated in the company's warehouse. Some affected product was shipped to stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The affected product has been pulled from store shelves.

- Associated Press

Source: http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/09/06/news_update/news_update2.txt

CIA ENGINEERED CONTROLLED OPPOSITION?

Daily Kos: CIA Engineered Controlled Opposition?

Kurt Nimmo

August 9, 2007

Is it possible Markos Alberto Moulitsas Zúñiga, leader of the "Kossaks," that is to say followers and fawners of the Daily Kos, is a CIA operative? Francis Holland, posting on the My Left Wing messageboard, details Moulitsas’ relationship with the CIA:

"Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, owner of the DailyKos website, now admits that he spent six months in the employ of the US Central Intelligence Agency in 2001," writes Holland. "In a one-hour interview on June 2, 2006 at the Commonwealth Club, Moulitsas, also known as 'Kos,’ admitted that he was a CIA employee and would have 'no problem working for them’ in the present."

"I applied to the CIA and I went all the way to the end, I mean it was to the point where I was going to sign papers to become Clandestine Services," Moulitsas admits in the interview. "And it was at that point that the Howard Dean campaign took off and I had to make a decision whether I was gonna kinda join the Howard Dean campaign, that whole process, or was I was going to become a spy. (Laughter in the audience.) It was going to be a tough decision at first, but then the CIA insisted that if, if I joined that, they’d want me to do the first duty assignment in Washington, DC, and I hate Washington, DC. Six years in Washington, DC [inaudible] that makes the decision a lot easier."

Moulitsas considers the CIA "a very liberal institution," never mind the agency, according to John Stockwell, former CIA Station Chief in Angola (see my John Stockwell: The Third World War video), is responsible for killing more than six million people.

This is a very liberal institution. And in a lot of ways, it really does attract people who want to make a better, you know, want to make the world a better place…. Of course, they’ve got their Dirty Ops and this and that, right but as an institution itself the CIA is really interested in stable world. That’s what they’re interested in. And stable worlds aren’t created by destabilizing regimes and creating wars…. I don’t think it’s a very partisan thing to want a stable world. And even if you’re protecting American interests, I mean that can get ugly at times, but generally speaking I think their hearts in the right place. As an organization their heart is in the right place. I’ve never had any problem with the CIA. I’d have no problem working for them

Is it possible Mr. Moulitsas does not have a problem with the documented fact the CIA’s predecessor, the Overseas Secret Service, imported Nazis to work for the soon to be created CIA under General Reinhard Gehlen? "Gehlen was far from the only Nazi war criminal employed by the CIA. Others included Klaus Barbie (’the Butcher of Lyon’), Otto von Bolschwing (the Holocaust mastermind who worked closely with Eichmann) and, SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny (a great favorite of Hitler’s)," writes Mark Zepezauer (The CIA’s Greatest Hits, Odonian Press, 1994). "There’s even evidence that Martin Bormann, Hitler’s second-in-command at the end of the war, faked his own death and escaped to Latin America, where he worked with CIA-linked groups.

Or that the CIA financed the P-2 Masonic lodge, connected with the Vatican and the Mafia, and enthusiastically supported Operation Gladio, the "strategy of tension" terrorist "stay behind army" effort in Europe, responsible of train station bombings and assassinations, run by former SS Nazis? Is it possible Mr. Moulitsas supports the CIA effort to create shell banks such as the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, accurately characterized by former CIA director and current Sec. Def. Robert Gates as "the Bank of Crooks and Criminals International"? Does Moulitsas support the idea of MK-ULTRA, a program designed to test "radiation, electric shocks, electrode implants, microwaves, ultrasound and a wide range of drugs on unwitting subjects, including hundreds of prisoners at California’s infamous Vacaville State Prison," as Zepezauer notes? Or what about the CIA getting into the heroin business with the Corsican Mafia, paving the way for highly profitable drug importation operations in Central America and Afghanistan, money used not only to enrich the "investment" (in death and misery) bankers but also used for the CIA’s black budget? How liberal is it to engage in assassination, genocide, and plotting the overthrow of governments in Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia (where more than 500,000 people were put to death, many of them due to CIA drafted "death lists"), and dozens of other countries?

Of course, the CIA long ago penetrated the "liberal" as well as the "conservative" corporate media in America. "Among the executives who lent their cooperation to the Agency were William Paley of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Henry Luce of Time Inc., Arthur Hays Sulzberger of the New York Times, Barry Bingham Sr. of the Louisville Courier-Journal and James Copley of the Copley News Service. Other organizations which cooperated with the CIA include the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, The Miami Herald, and the old Saturday Evening Post and New York Herald-Tribune. By far the most valuable of these associations, according to CIA officials, have been with The New York Times, CBS, and Time Inc.," writes Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein (Rolling Stone, Oct. 20, 1977). "From the Agency’s perspective, there is nothing untoward in such relationships, and any ethical questions are a matter for the journalistic profession to resolve, not the intelligence community."

Indeed, it would appear Markos Moulitsas finds nothing "untoward in such relationships," if we are to believe his above quoted comments.

Finally, Moulitsas’ relationship with the CIA makes perfect sense, as Daily Kos appears to be yet another political front operation tasked with cracking the whip over "progressive" Democrats and marching them off to support the Bilderberger Queen Hillary Clinton and her probable running mate, Barack Obama, both on record as supporting the neocon plan to reduce the Muslim world to a smoldering wasteland, albeit with stylistic policy changes. It is no secret the CIA has long stage managed the controlled opposition and Moulitsas’ admitted relationship with the agency should be considered a coup de grâce, an effort designed to reduce the "progressive" Democrat opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq and the impending attack to be leveled against Iran as little more than an empty and absurd rhetorical slogan.


:: Article nr. 35220 sent on 10-aug-2007 02:33 ECT

www.uruknet.info?p=35220

Link: kurtnimmo.com/?p=950

:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Uruknet .

Source: http://uruknet.info/?p=m35220&s1=h1