Sunday, November 04, 2007

911: MORAL COWARDS AND FBI ADMISSION

911: MORAL COWARDS AND FBI ADMISSION

By: Devvy
November 1, 2007

© 2007 - NewsWithViews.com

"One of our most precious freedoms is the right to learn the truth. The common man is in danger of losing that right when 90 percent of his mental food is prepared for him every day by those who select the news to prove a point -- and that point either reactionary or Marxist." --Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965), American Statesman

My recent column on 911 brought in a handful of emails calling me all kinds of colorful names and worn out labels. It never ceases to amaze me when people send email accusing me of saying all sorts of things in one of my columns that aren't there, i.e., "Read your most recent article about 9-11 on NewWithViews.com. Mr. Gage does not speak for all engineers and architects." Did I say that in my column? No, I wrote, "This slide presentation is endorsed by dozens of others in his profession (list on slides 3 & 4) demanding a real investigation." How about this work of higher intellect about my column: "You need to start blaming Islam, illegal immigrants, liberal Democrats and stop blaming America. You sound like Harry Reid!!!! You probably have his picture hanging on your wall!!!!" One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest....going once, going twice.

This was mail from one friend to another referring to this web site which contains the factual statements of family members, first responders and survivors regarding the government's version of 911- you know - people who were actually there and survived:

"Kim, this site is profoundly irresponsible. So too are all the people who would lend their names to it. If they really did say the things that are quoted on this site and were quoted in context, I would question their sanity or at least their motives.....Let me say this in the plainest of terms - Anyone who believes that 9/11 is an inside job or a conspiracy of the U.S. Government is either insane or incredibly naiive, misinformed and misguided. This issue warrants no more discusion from me. It is a complete waste of my time. The events of 9/11 happened just as reported. There may be a few crazies out there who see conspiracy where there is none, but the overwhelmingly vast majority of people who are professionals do not give these people the time of day....Satan must really love the craziness that is going on in the world right now, this 9/11 conspiracy nonsense being part of that craziness. I contine being disheartened to know that you actually buy in to this nonsense in any way."

Spoken like someone who hasn't done one single minute of real research. His words echo spin masters Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and other very high paid mouth pieces. Let me point out a couple of things here you may not know:

1. How can any of us forget the heart wrenching phone calls from passengers who perished that day? Phone calls to loved ones. The pain, anguish, fear and courage -- all conveyed via cell phones from these hijacked planes. Or were they? David Ray Griffin has authored several books on 911; a must read by Griffin is Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory. In an October 12, 2007, article Griffin drops a bomb shell:

"The most famous of the reported calls from the flights supposedly came from Barbara Olson, the well-known commentator on CNN who was married to Ted Olson, who was then the US solicitor general. Olson reported that his wife had called him twice from American Airlines Flight 77, stating that hijackers with knives and boxcutters had taken over the plane. Besides providing evidence of hijackers, this call also provided the only evidence that Flight 77 was still aloft (it had disappeared from radar and there had been reports of an airliner crash nearby). Although Olson went back and forth on the question of whether his wife had used a cell phone or an onboard phone, he finally settled on the latter.

"In the first edition, I challenged this claim on the basis of evidence from American Airlines that their Boeing 757 (which is what Flight 77 was) had no onboard phones. After publishing the book, however, I became worried, because of some new evidence, that the statement from American Airlines, made in 2004, had referred only to their 757s at that time - that their 757s in 2001 may well have had onboard phones. So I published a retraction, saying that the claim was uncertain.

"That retraction, however, evoked new evidence, including a statement made by American Airlines in 2006 that their 757s in 2001 had had no onboard phones, so that anyone calling out from Flight 77 had needed to use a cell phone. Barbara Olson, therefore, could not have used a passenger-seat phone. That left open, of course, the possibility that Ted Olson was correct when he said that his wife had used her cell phone.

"However, the evidence from the Moussaoui trial ruled out this possibility. In its report on AA 77, it listed one attempted call from Barbara Olson, which was "unconnected" and hence lasted "0 seconds." This was an astounding discovery. The FBI is part of the Department of Justice. And yet it had undercut the testimony of the DOJ's former solicitor general, saying in effect that the two calls that he reported had never happened. The implication is that unless Ted Olson had, like Deena Burnett, been duped, he had lied. Although this should have produced front-page headlines, it has thus far not been reported by any mainstream publication. The Revised and Updated Edition of "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" provides the documentation for these reports from American Airlines and the FBI, which pretty thoroughly undermine the idea that any of the reported calls were genuine: If the cell phone calls were faked, why should we believe that the reported calls from onboard phones were genuine?" Griffin has much more to say on this; click here.

2. The time line on 911 is crucial - especially for Bush; see here: "When Did Bush First Learn of the Attacks?" We know from historical live feed that Bush made a number of statements at the Booker Elementary School and after being informed about this attack, he sat there and continued to read about goats for another seven minutes. However, I have found by doing research, that questions asked using the Freedom of Information Act produced results that beg for answers. The presidential limousine is equipped with secure STU-III phones, not to mention a national security staff at the White House and all the intelligence apparatus money can buy. Yet, Bush seems not to have known what millions of people were watching live on TV?

And from this accurate time line: "Bush's Confused Recollection. Bush's own recollection of the first crash only complicates the picture. Less than two months after the attacks, Bush made the preposterous claim that he had watched the first attack as it happened on live television. This is the seventh different account of how Bush learned about the first crash (in his limousine, from Loewer, from Card, from Rove, from Gottesman, from Rice, from television). On December 4, 2001, Bush was asked: “How did you feel when you heard about the terrorist attack?” Bush replied, “I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower—the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I said, well, there's one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible accident. But I was whisked off there, I didn't have much time to think about it.” There was no film footage of the first attack until at least the following day."

What about any calls Bush received in his limo on the way to the Booker Elementary School? A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was made to the Defense Information Systems Agency for any and all visual transmissions to Bush before he ever got to that school. The FOIA was denied, but confirmed the records do exist, but are under control of the White House and the Executive Branch has no obligation to give them up. You can view the request and links to the official denial here. This raises more serious questions.

3. Sibel Edmonds is one of those rare individuals who believes in the truth no matter how painful. She is an FBI whistleblower who knows a lot about 911. Ms. Edmonds has been gagged and threatened by your government, but now she is ready to name names no matter the consequences:

"Attention CBS 60 Minutes: we've got a huge scoop for you. If you want it. Remember the exclusive story you aired on Sibel Edmonds, originally on October 27th, 2002, when she was not allowed to tell you everything that she heard while serving as an FBI translator after 9/11 because she was gagged by the rarely-invoked "States Secret Privilege"? Well, she's still gagged..."But if you'll sit down and talk with her for an unedited interview, she has now told The Brad Blog during an exclusive interview, she will now tell you everything she knows. Everything she hasn't been allowed to tell since 2002, about the criminal penetration of the FBI where she worked, and at the Departments of State and Defense; everything she heard concerning the corruption and illegal activities of several well-known members of Congress; everything she's aware of concerning information omitted and/or covered up in relation to 9/11. All of the information gleaned from her time listening to and translating wire-taps made prior to 9/11 at the FBI."

4. If the government has nothing to hide, release all unedited, raw footage the FBI is holding (dozens of videos) of the Murrah Building in OKC and the Pentagon. As the Bush Administration refuses to do so, it simply begs the question: Why not? There are no more on-going investigations and the blanket "national security" is bull at this point in time.

5 - Still no answer on the missing Pentagon trillions: "Rumsfeld Buries Admission of Missing 2+ Trillion Dollars in 9/10/01 Press Conference. "On September 10, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a press conference to disclose that over $2,000,000,000,000 in Pentagon funds could not be accounted for. Rumsfeld stated: "According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. "Such a disclosure normally would have sparked a huge scandal. However, the commencement of the attack on New York City and Washington in the morning would assure that the story remained buried." Where is all that money?

I received one email from a real gentleman named David, who believes the government's fairy tale, but he's honest about it and I think does want the truth. However, like a whole lot of Americans, he doesn't want to believe anything other than the official story. Just like the families who lost loved ones. Just like former military who have served this country, some under Bush. No one wants to believe that rogue elements within this government would allow such a monstrous slaughter of humans and not lift a finger - or worse, have orchestrated events to allow it to happen for plausible deniability. It took me well over a year before I said to myself: "There's just too much here to ignore and, groan, what a lot of research this is going to require." However, my family didn't die that day, so I should complain about doing more research?

During a recent event featuring Bill Clinton, some folks from the 911 truth movement disrupted the event and this former president who brought shame to the Office of the President, assumed his Ebinezer Scrooge with the bony fingers posture and demanded, "How dare you?" Interesting question, Mr. Clinton because I say, how dare you shame this nation when the truth came out that you were getting your XXXXXX XXXXX by an intern in the Oval Office. How dare you flaunt your sluttish behavior in front of the world shaming our nation. How dare you, Mr. Clinton, sell our most sensitive defense secrets to our mortal enemy, the Communist Chinese. You, Mr. Clinton, should have been tried for treason instead of just being a tramp with a rape accusation hanging over your head. How dare you.

I am not in favor of disrupting events such as we've been seeing, but I know it's from frustration by those trying to get the media to do their job and follow up on the reasonable questions about 911 from family members and survivors. As I have said many times, there is a great deal of garbage, disinformation and sensationalist trash on the Internet about 911. I have done my level best to provide what I believe are the most credible sources for those who still have the ability to think and believe in truth and justice. As this is very complicated and time is an issue, for those who sincerely wish to learn the facts, I respectfully recommend the following: Griffin's book, The Revised and Updated Edition of Debunking 9/11 Debunking; 911: Press for Truth. 911 widows and their fight for the truth, DVD; 911 Mysteries: Demolitions video, short trailer, then below click on 'Watch this film now; Verifiable statements from family, first responders, ex-military, etc.

I say those who call family members, first responders, FDNY personnel, former commercial airline pilots and just average Americans who ask reasonable questions, nut cases and worse, and who haven't done a single minute of research, you are gutless cowards. Because to find out the truth would require you to step up to the plate and do the morally right thing: join millions of us in demanding a new, unbiased investigation and a grand jury and that would disturb the old comfort zone. Can't have that, now can we?

(I will be on Jeff Rense's radio show, Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 8:00 pm PST, 10:00 pm CST and 11:00 pm EST. I am going to discuss the conviction yesterday of my friend, Sherry Jackson; she was convicted on four counts of willful failure to file tax returns. Please tune in because what I have to say is very important. If you haven't listened before, you might get connected a few minutes ahead of time so you don't miss out.)

Important links:

1 - Extraordinary aerial photos that morning
2 - The Military Drills of September 11th: Why a New Investigation is Needed
3 - Pilot who previously flew planes used on 911 doesn't believe government story
4 - Can The Govt Get Their Story Straight? - Location Of Flight Data Recorder
5 - WTC 7: The Smoking Gun of 9/11 (short video)
6 - Pentagon picture analysis
7 - MIT Engineer Jeff King Says WTC Demolished
8 - Painful 9/11 truth
9 - Buried 60 Minutes Interview: Invade Iraq from day one of Bush Administration (short video)
10 - 9/11 First Responder Heard WTC 7 Demolition Countdown
11 - Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth!
12 - 911 Timeline
13 - 9/11 Revisited: Were explosives used? (Video)
14 - Rutgers Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor
15 - 911 Archives

© 2007 - NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd319.htm

*XXXXXX BLOGMASTER EDITED FOR VULGAR LANGUAGE.

WILL SECRET CLUBS PICK NEXT PREZ?

Will secret clubs pick next prez?
CFR, Bilderbergers, Trilateral Commission insiders usually run for, win White House, shows new book


Posted: November 1, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – It started in 1952.

Nearly every person elected as president of the United States since then – and nearly every opponent – has belonged to a secretive, globalism-oriented organization known as the Council on Foreign Relations.

Some presidents and their challengers have belonged to additional clubs of internationalists – the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission. Running mates, too, more often than not have had ties to the groups.

That the groups exert enormous influence on public policy is indisputable. What is disputed is whether such groups are, as adherents and members argue, just discussion forums for movers and shakers, or, as critics have long alleged, secret societies shaping a new world order from behind the scenes. On that last point at least, no one could challenge the critics: All these groups operate in considerable secrecy, away from the scrutiny of the American public.

Regardless of how one characterizes them, the fact that virtually all presidents belong to the same secret clubs prompts the author of a new book to wonder if the 2008 election will also be a contest between globalist insiders. Judging from the list of frontrunners of each party, Daniel Estulin, author of "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group," may be on to something.

According to a variety of sources, the following presidential candidates are either members of one of the groups or have strong ties: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, John McCain, John Edwards, Fred Thompson, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson.

Mike Huckabee, though not a member, spoke to the CFR in September. Since then, his political star has risen to the point that he has become a top-tier candidate.

So often throughout recent history it has been the case.

Ever since Democrat Adlai Stevenson challenged Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, the odds have significantly favored those with membership in the elite groups.

In 1960, both John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were members.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was not a member. Neither was his opponent, Barry Goldwater. But Johnson had already staffed his administration with plenty of insiders.

In 1968, it was Nixon versus club member Hubert H. Humphrey.

In 1972, it was Nixon again against Democratic Party CFR member George McGovern.

In 1976, it was CFR Republican Gerald Ford losing to CFR Democrat Jimmy Carter.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was not a member, but his running mate, George H.W. Bush, was. So were both of his opponents – Carter and independent John Anderson. Assuming office, however, Reagan quickly named 313 CFR members to his team.

In 1984, another CFR member, Walter Mondale, was nominated by the Democratic Party to challenge Reagan.

In 1988, CFR member Bush took on CFR member Michael Dukakis.

In 1992, Bush was challenged by an obscure governor from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, who won the "trifecta" by being a member of the CFR, Trlateral Commission and Bilderberg Group. He was also a Rhodes scholar – another favored credential of the worldwide elite.

In 1996, Clinton was challenged by CFR member Bob Dole.

In 2000, CFR member Al Gore ran against non-member George W. Bush, but his running mate, Dick Cheney, was.

In 2004, Bush was challenged by CFR member John Kerry.

"David Rockefeller, whose family financed the CFR, is a common denominator among these parallel groups," writes Estulin. "Not only is he the CFR chairman emeritus, but he also continues to provide financial and personal support to the TC, CFR and Bilderberg Group."

What is the agenda behind these groups, which Estulin says are comprised of "self-interested elitists protecting their wealth and the investments of multinational banks and corporations in the growing world economy at the expense of developing nations and Third World countries"?

"The policies they develop," he writes, "benefit them as well as move us towards a one-world government."

Those questioning Estulin's conclusion as mere speculation need only recall organizational financer David Rockefeller's own words as recorded in his "Memoirs."

"Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will," he wrote. "If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."

With regard to insider roles in recent U.S. presidential races, two of the most interesting were 1976 and 1992.

"In the spring of 1972, a high-profile group of men gathered for dinner with W. Averell Harriman, the grand old man of the Democratic Party, a Bilderberger and a member of the CFR," writes Estulin. "Also present were Milton Katz, a CFR member and director of international studies at Harvard, Robert Bowie, who would later become deputy director of the CIA, George Franklin, David Rockefeller's coordinator for the Trilateral Commission, and Gerald Smith, U.S. ambassador-at-large for non-proliferation matters. The focus of their discussion was the not-too-distant 1976 presidential elections. Harriman suggested that if the Democrats wanted to recapture the White House, "we had better get off our high horses and look at some of those southern governors." Several names cropped up. Among them were Ruben Askew, governor of Florida, and Terry Sanford, former governor of North Carolina and, at the time, president of Duke University."

Katz reportedly informed David Rockefeller of the viability of Jimmy Carter, then governor of Georgia. According to the author, he could be sold politically to the American people. At a dinner in London, recorded by the London Times, Rockefeller got acquainted with Carter and became convinced he could become the next U.S. president. Carter was invited to join the Trilateral Commission and quickly accepted.

Later, U.S. News and World Report would have this to say about the Carter administration: "The Trilateralists have taken charge of foreign policy-making in the Carter administration, and already the immense power they wield is sparking some controversy. Active or former members of the Trilateral Commission now head every key agency involved in mapping U.S. strategy for dealing with the rest of the world."

In 1992, Estulin concludes Bill Clinton was similarly "anointed" for the presidency at the 1991 Bilderberg Conference in Baden-Baden. Following the meeting, Clinton immediately took a trip to Russia to meet with Soviet Interior Minister Vadim Balatin, then serving Mikhail Gorbachev. Later, when Boris Yeltsin won the presidential election, Bakatin became the new chief of the KGB.

The meeting went unnoticed in most of the press, with the exception of the Arkansas Democrat, whose headline told the story: "Clinton has powerful buddy in U.S.S.R – New head of KGB."

Estulin's book, first written in 2005 in Spain, has been translated into 24 languages, most recently this English edition. He has covered the Bilderberg Group as a journalist for more than 15 years.

Source: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58425

CHICKEN-PLANT WORKERS TEST 'POSITIVE' FOR TB

Chicken-plant workers test 'positive' for TB
212 out of 765 processing employees infected – company says HIV-privacy laws nix screening

Posted: November 4, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


Alabama health officials have identified 212 workers who have tested positive for tuberculosis at a single poultry plant owned by one of the largest processors in the U.S.

In two batteries of skin tests last month, given to 765 fresh processing employees at the Decatur, Ala., plant owned by Wayne Farms LLC by the State Department of Public Health's Tuberculosis Control Division, 28 percent were found to be infected, including one with active tuberculosis disease, which is contagious. Doctors have yet to evaluate X-rays for 165 current workers who tested positive to determine if any more are contagious.

The testing was prompted by an earlier active TB case – a former Wayne Farms worker.

Both employees with active TB are Hispanics born in countries where the disease is prevalent, heath officials said.

When the disease is latent, those with TB are not contagious, but the TB bacteria remains in the body for life unless it is treated. Once it becomes active it may cause permanent damage to the lungs and other organs and the airborne bacteria is easily spread by coughing, laughing or even talking. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 50 percent of those who have close contact with someone with active TB for 15 minutes will become infected.

Accompanied by the rise in illegal immigration, tuberculosis is making a comeback in the U.S., often eluding diagnosis by doctors who are unfamiliar with the disease.

Last year, WND reported more than three-quarters of the 2,903 cases in California in 2005 were among foreign natives, with a total of 14,093 cases nationwide.

Scott Jones, interim director of the Tuberculosis Control Division told the Decatur Daily he was not surprised at the large number of employees who tested positive.

"The majority of the folks that we're dealing with in this situation are foreign born," Jones said. "I would expect about 30 percent of them to test positive."

Of particular concern to public health officials are emerging strains of drug-resistant TB brought to the U.S. by illegal aliens who bypass the screening regularly done with legal immigrants.

The drug-resistant TB recently killed more than 50 people in South Africa. It has been found in limited numbers in the U.S. – 74 reported cases since 1993. The strain is nearly impossible to cure because it is immune to the best first- and second-line TB drugs. It is as easily transmitted through the air as the old TB.

There is another form of TB concerning U.S. health officials. It is called "multi-drug resistant." It responds to more treatments but can cost up to $250,000 and take two years to cure. This is the strain increasingly common throughout the world – rising more than 50 percent from about 273,000 in 2000 to 425,000 in 2004, according to a study published in August in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

In the U.S., 128 people were found to have it in 2004, a 13 percent increase from the previous year.

Stan Hayman, sales and marketing director for Wayne Farms, told the Decatur Daily the company had offered to reimburse the state for the measures taken at the plant.

Jones, who noted his office has only two X-ray technicians in the Division of TB Control to cover the entire state, said the offer was appreciated, but "if Wayne Farms is interested in investing something, my recommendation to them would be to invest within their own facility to establish a pre-employment screening routine.

"If their intent is to invest, I wish they'd think about ways they can invest toward the future as opposed to reimbursing for a one-time event."

Hayman earlier told Huntsville's WHNT-TV News the company was looking for ways to pre-test employees before they're hired but said the law imposed limits on what could be done.

"The laws today don't truly allow for pre-employment screening. You know HIV and all of these over the years have built cases where personal information is very guarded," he said. "So we struggle a little bit with the laws today to say can we truly implement a pre-screening, pre-employment process."

Hayman also said, despite the large number of foreign-born Hispanic employees working at the Decatur facility, all have been verified as legally working in the U.S.

"When we offer application of employment to an individual we use what's called the pilot program," Hayman told WHNT-TV.

The pilot program checks Social Security numbers. Wayne Farms requires job applicants to fill out an I-9 form confirming their identity and right to work in the U.S. and to provide their Social Security number.

"The system will give you a go, no-go at that point when you put that information into it," said Hayman. "So we don't allow those people that come back with non compliant to ever start work for us without contesting it or giving us additional information on really who they are."

The two Hispanic workers with active TB went through the same Wayne Farms hiring process.

"They all went through that process. They all came back verified the information came back compliant. It was in the system. So they all went through the exact process we are talking about," said Hayman.

According to the company website, "Wayne Farms LLC is one of the top six fully integrated poultry processors in the United States. With a focus on quality every step of the way, 'from farm to fork,' more than 250 million chickens or 1.8 billion pounds of poultry are processed annually in our 13 facilities."

Humans cannot become infected with TB bacteria from chickens, and it cannot be transmitted through chicken meat.

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58501

THOUGHTS ON GLOBALIZATION

The near monopoly of power once enjoyed by sovereign entities is being eroded ... states must be prepared to cede some sovereignty to world bodies ... Globalization thus implies that sovereignty is not only becoming weaker in reality, but that it needs to become weaker ... The goal should be to redefine sovereignty for the era of globalization, to find a balance between a world of fully sovereign states and an international system of either world government or anarchy."

Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Feb. 21st, 2006

PRO-ALITO PASTOR RECEIVED FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Pastor Of Church Hosting Alito Rally Received Financial Support From Bush Administration

Church-State Watchdog Group Notes That 'Justice Sunday III' Pastor Has Received $1 Million In 'Faith-Based' Funds

Pastor Herb Lusk, the Philadelphia preacher hosting the Religious Right-led “Justice Sunday III” rally this weekend, has a long history of partisan activity on behalf of Republicans and has been awarded more than $1 million in “faith-based” grants by the Bush administration, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The event at Greater Exodus Baptist Church, which will be broadcast nationwide, is intended to rally support for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Jr., President George W. Bush’s choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

“I’m not at all surprised that Pastor Lusk would turn his pulpit over to the Religious Right for partisan purposes,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Lusk long ago decided to play ball with the Bush administration in exchange for government grants.”

Lynn noted that Lusk endorsed Bush from his church by video hookup during the Republican Convention in July of 2000. Speaking on behalf of his congregation, Lusk said, “We are supporting Gov. Bush, and we are supporting him because we know that he understands that we must give faith a chance.” After Bush was elected, his administration began funneling tax money to Lusk’s church.

According to media accounts, Lusk’s ministry has received more than $1 million in “faith-based” grants. Lusk is now allowing his church to be used by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and other far-right figures who want to help Bush stack the courts with judges like Alito, who oppose church-state separation.

“Lusk’s case highlights one of the often overlooked dangers of the faith-based initiative,” Lynn said. “Government funding too often sucks churches into partisan politics. After all, if church leaders want to keep the pipeline to tax funding open, they had better back administration policies.”

“Justice Sunday III” is sponsored by the Family Research Council, a Washington-based Religious Right group headed by Tony Perkins. The event, scheduled for Jan. 8 from 7-8:30 p.m., is the third in a series designed to pressure Congress to stack the federal courts with judges hostile to church-state separation and to promote Republican political hopefuls.

The event this weekend has been timed to coincide with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings of Alito, which get under way Jan. 9. Speakers include Lusk, Falwell, Perkins and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). (Santorum faces re-election this year and is locked in a tight race.)

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Source: http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr005=hl06q2gu92.app5b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=7775&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

CAN YOU REMEMBER ELECTION 2004?



CAN YOU REMEMBER ELECTION 2004?


If so, remember that George W. Bush and John Kerry were the candidates (candy dates). You'll probably remember that they were, and are both Skull and Bones members. If such a sham of a presidential race produced these secret society darlings, in spite of all the verifiable similarities. How can you rely on a political system where two clones of the same feather can be portrayed as a contrast of choice? Are you expecting a different outcome come November 2008? I hate to sound cynical, but, even Jose Feliciano can see the scheme.

The scientific method can be used in other aspects of the living experience; Not just science. Like they say: "The proof is in the Pudding"; And, from where I'm sitting, the proof is clear. Can you also see through the hogwash?

Remember, as it's been said, "It's not who votes that matters, but who does the counting of the votes".

Remember the last "two" elections? What a travesty of laws and the Constitution. Who would of thought that such things happened in the good-ole USA? Why wasn't Jimmy Carter summoned to monitor these election results? Mr. Carter goes around the world ensuring that elections are won 'truthfully'.

"We are living in revealing times, my friend." Sit back, relax, there's plenty more, where that came from.
Arsenio.

SPACE ODYSSEY OR ODDITY?

The broken Solar panels, the malfunctioning mechanical arms, the assembling of space gadgets, and the difficult space walks can all be avoided if they just didn't go out there. It's that simple; If you don't go out of your way for a problem, you probably won't experience its concequences! There is enough insanity on Earth to warrant going to space looking for 'murphy's law'. KISS: the Keep it simple stupid concept is suggested here for the space cadets and rocket scientists. "Earth calling Space Cadets and Rocket Scientist, we have intelligent life down here on Earth!"
Earth the final frontier!

THITHER WIL THE EAGLES BE GATHERED TOGETHER

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

25But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32Remember Lot's wife.

33Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

37And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

LUKE 17:20-37.

ACTIVISTS DETAINED IN PAKISTAN EMERGENCY

Activists Detained in Pakistan Emergency



Sunday, November 4, 2007Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Authorities rounded up opposition leaders Sunday after military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief justice and blacked out independent TV outlets, saying the country must fight rising Islamic extremism.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but had given a conditional pledge to step down as military chief and become a civilian president this year, declared a state of emergency Saturday night, dashing recent hopes of a smooth transition to democracy for the nuclear-armed nation.

"Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times.

Across Pakistan, police arrested political activists and lawyers at the forefront of a campaign against military rule.

Among those detained were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the country's main intelligence agency and a staunch critic of Musharraf's support of the U.S.-led war on terror.

"It's a big blow to the country," said Gul, as a dozen officers took him away in a police van near the parliament in the capital, Islamabad. Hashmi said the army general would not "not survive the people's outrage."

Up to 40 activists were hauled in when police raided the office of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, including its director, I.A. Rahman, a harsh Musharraf critic, said Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office in the eastern city of Lahore.

Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which was expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election win. Hearings scheduled for next week were postponed, with no new date set.

Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and commentators in the domestic media that Musharraf had imposed martial law - direct rule by the army - under the guise of a state of emergency.

"There is no martial law in the country," Qayyum said, noting that the prime minister and parliament were still in place. "Only a state of emergency has been declared."

In Islamabad, phone service that was cut Saturday evening appeared to have been restored by Sunday morning. But transmissions by TV news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air in major cities.

Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Otherwise the streets of the capital appeared calm, with little sign of demonstrators.

"Nobody cares about us or about what we think," said Mohammad Amin, 31, wearing a black prayer cap as he took a break from his work with fellow laborers to sip sweet tea.

Western allies had urged Musharraf not to take authoritarian measures despite recent his country's recent turmoil.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a return to democracy in Pakistan, as the American embassy urged citizens in the country to remain at home and defer all nonessential travel. But Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the emergency declaration "does not impact our military support of Pakistan" or its efforts in the war on terror.

Bhutto, who had traveled abroad again in the wake of an Oct. 18 suicide attack that narrowly missed her but killed 145 others, immediately flew back to the southern city of Karachi, and declared that the emergency was the "blackest day" in Pakistan's history.

"I believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship," she told Sky News television in a report available via satellite.

In his televised address late Saturday, Musharraf, looking somber and composed, said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists who are "taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates.

The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues, also blamed the Supreme Court for punishing state officials and tying the hands of the government by postponing the validation of his recent election win. The court was expected to rule soon on opponents' claims that Musharraf's Oct. 6 victory was unconstitutional because he contested the vote while army chief.

Musharraf on Saturday replaced the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who had emerged as the main check on the president. His name was deleted from the court's Web site.

"We have to create harmony among judiciary, legislative and executive ... This is how we would tackle the issue of terrorism in a better way," Musharraf said.

He said there would be no change in the government and its top offices, and parliament - set to dissolve by Nov. 15 - would complete its term. He also vowed to go ahead with parliamentary elections, originally due by January, but gave no time line.

Deputy Minister for Information, Tariq Azeem, said Sunday he hoped the polls would go ahead soon.

"But unfortunately everything has been put on the back burner," he said. "I'm still hoping the election will happen shortly ... but I can't give you the exact date."

Musharraf's emergency order imposed a provisional constitution.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected Musharraf's emergency order, which suspended the 1973 constitution, and only five agreed to take the oath of office under the provisional constitutional order.

"We will send flowers to those judges who didn't take oath, and shame on those who did it," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the six party coalition, United Action Forum.

Authorities arrested Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer who represented Chaudhry when Musharraf unsuccessfully tried to fire him earlier this year. Another opposition party leader, Imran Khan, was put under house arrest Saturday.

The emergency comes as Musharraf's security forces struggle to contain pro-Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who have gained control of large tracts of the volatile northwest, near Afghanistan.

Violence has reached major cities with deadly suicide attacks in Islamabad and Karachi underscoring the failure of Musharraf's administration to combat the threat despite huge financial support from the United States.

Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and respected analyst, said the emergency declaration was a pre-emptive move in case the court ruled against him, and said the move could "further aggravate terrorism and extremism in the country and slide the country into anarchism."

Rick Barton, a Pakistan expert at the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies, said Musharraf's move would likely only postpone his political demise. "He's obviously not very popular, and it's not going to increase his popularity."

Musharraf issued two ordinances toughening media laws, including a ban on live TV broadcasts of "incidents of violence and conflict." Also, TV operators who "ridicule" the president, armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state can be punished with three years in jail.

---

Associated Press writers Khalid Tanveer in Multan, Zarar Khan, Sadaqat Jan, Munir Ahmad, Robin McDowell and Alisa Tang in Islamabad and Ashraf Khan in Karachi contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


Source: http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=TopStories&id=20071104/472d51d0_3ca6_1552620071104-45573094

P.S. MARTIAL LAW OR STATE OF EMERGENCY
Might this be a harbinger of what lies ahead for 'other' governments around the world? When they 'feel' an imminent threat? Such as an overthrow or coup d' etat? Might another declining 'Dictator', seize the reins of power into his own hands, to prevent them from being taken away? The potential danger in Pakistan is real and palpable; But, when you consider that this has been a 'nuclear reactor' of a country since (1947) day one;
All this fear and speculation is similar to preparing for a storm when the rains have already begun to fall. You wonder where were the sanctions and international protests when Pakistan acquired its nuclear capabilities? Where was the U.S. and its new found ally Russia (U.S.S.R.), then? Was there a method to this madness? I don't recall any major objections raised to Pakistan acquiring 'the bomb'? And now they are all worried about the potential disaster if the wrong people get their hands on the technology?????? Blogmaster.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

BENNY HINN CRUSADE ENDS IN CONTROVERSY


Benny Hinn Healing Crusade Ends in Controversy

LEO IGWE

In April 2005, American Evangelist Benny Hinn arrived in Nigeria for his much-advertised Healing Crusade. He flew into the country aboard his Gulfstream III jet with a retinue of bodyguards. But a few days later, Hinn left Nigeria in annoyance and disappointment. He was irked by the low turnout at the event: only an estimated 300,000 people attended the crusade instead of the six million that had been expected.

Hinn was visibly angry because of the huge amount of money he had invested in the crusade. "Four million dollars down the drain," he is said to have shouted on the final day of the event. The vice president of Benny Hinn Ministries, Jon Wilson, gave a breakdown of the money. He said $3 million was spent on hotel accommodations and technical infrastructure, while $1 million more was used up by members of the local organizing committee.

But the Benny Hinn Healing Crusade generated a lot of interest and debate in the local media. A Nigerian pastor, writing in The Guardian, one of the national dailies, urged the Pentecostal leaders to "bury their heads in shame," given the "prevailing rot" in their churches. And as a face-saving measure, the Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN)-the umbrella group of most Pentecostal churches in Nigeria-had to expel Bishop Dr. Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe, the president of the PFN chapter in Lagos, General Overseer of the El-Shaddai Bible Church, and a coordinator of the Benny Hinn Healing Crusade, and other pastors who served on the local committee.

With the growing decline in religious belief in America and the entire Western world, evangelists are looking to Africa for converts, followers, and disciples. Many Pentecostal churches in Africa receive millions of dollars in aid from their American counterparts to "bring Africans to Christ." Luis Bush, a cousin of president George W. Bush and one of the leading evangelists in the U.S., supports missionary work in more that thirty African countries. Other American evangelists, such as Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley, and Oral Roberts, as well as the German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, sponsor miracle crusades across the continent.

Pentecostalism has therefore become a thriving business in Africa. In fact, it has become the shortest route to wealth and affluence for the continent's teeming population of unemployed youths. Local pastors employ all sorts of tricks and techniques to extort money from gullible folks (as well as foreign friends). They use this money to build magnificent churches, erect costly dwellings, buy luxurious cars and aircraft, and live ostentatiously, while their church members languish in poverty, misery, and squalor.

In most cases, pastors tell the faithful to give money to God so that God will bless them in return. They tell the people of the divine favors that come to those who pay their tithes and make offerings regularly. Or they use the biblical injunction that says, "givers never lack"-though in Africa, they often do-to squeeze money out of the people. In Nigeria, there have been instances where people have even stolen money to give to their pastors and churches. In March 2003, a cashier in a hotel in Abuja was arrested for allegedly stealing nearly forty million naira (about $40,000) from his employer. The man later confessed to the police that he gave the money to his church, Christ Embassy. And in another case of theft for God, a bank clerk stole forty million naira from his employer and gave ten million to his church as seed money, in the belief that the seed would germinate and yield several times that amount in return, as promised by his pastor. The man, according to the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine, got appointed to the office of assistant pastor. But before his seed could germinate, the crime was detected and he was arrested.

Miracles in Africa

Africans are suckers for magic, miracles, and paranormal claims. Generally, among Africans, there is a deep-seated belief in supernatural forces that intervene and alter human destinies for good or ill. These spiritual forces are believed to work in magical and miraculous ways, through signs and wonders that confound the human mind. And the evangelical churches are capitalizing on this superstitious element in African thought and culture to peddle and propagate their paranormal services. They promise divine healing and instant solutions for problems and diseases.

Pentecostal pastors claim they have the power to make the deaf hear, the blind see, the lame walk, and the infertile give birth. Recently, Gilbert Deya, a self-proclaimed archbishop from Kenya, got himself into trouble: he said he could make infertile black couples give birth to miracle babies. But police investigations revealed child theft and baby trafficking. (See my article "The Kenya Miracle Babies Scandal," in the September 2005 Skeptical Briefs.) Some years ago, a Nigerian pastor, Temitope Joshua, of the Synagogue of All Nations, announced to the world that he could cure HIV/AIDS.

In 2001, German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke was reported to have raised a person from the dead. There have been a lot of such indiscriminate claims of miracles and divine healing by Nigeria's televangelists and end-time preachers-Chris Oyakhilome, Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Helen Ukpabio, Matthew Ashimolowo, et al. These faith healers use the money from miracle seekers to put up billboards and sponsor radio and television programs advertising their miracles. Last year, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission had to ban the broadcast of miracles on national television.

Faith healing is the greatest threat to scientific medicine and health-care delivery in Africa. Miracles have no basis in science, reason, or common sense. All claims of divine cures and healing cannot be reconciled with the dire health situation in Africa. Africa has the highest infant-mortality rate in the world. And millions there are still dying of preventable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. According to the United Nations, 6,000 African children die from-and 11,000 become infected with-HIV/AIDS every day. And if there are indeed people with supernatural powers to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cure all ailments, why are human beings suffering and dying? It is quite obvious that all claims of miracles and faith healing are fake. As the French philosopher and writer Ernest Renan rightly pointed out, "No miracle has ever taken place under conditions which science can accept."

Experience shows, without exception, that "miracles" occur only in the presence of persons who are disposed to believe in them. So, faith healers are just taking advantage of the African predicament. They are cashing in on the desperation and gullibility of Africans to enrich themselves and to promote their churches.

Africa needs science, not superstition; critical thinking, not dogma; open mindedness, not blind faith; reason, not revelation; and industry and technological advancement, not the Holy Spirit and miracles. Africa needs skepticism, not Pentecostalism.

Source: http://www.csicop.org/sb/2006-09/hinn.html

"TOTAL LIFE PROSPERITY"


Preaching a Gospel of Wealth in a Glittery Market, New York

Published: January 15, 2006

It is time to pass the offering buckets at World Changers Church New York, and Troy and Cheryal Anderson are eager to give the Lord his due. They wave their blue offering envelope overhead, as all around them worshipers whoop and holler their praises to God.

Skip to next paragraph
Ting-Li Wang/The New York Times

The Rev. Creflo A. Dollar Jr. teaches "total life prosperity."

Inside the envelope is 10 percent of the weekly pay Mr. Anderson takes home as an electrician's apprentice - he earns about $30,000 a year - and a little more for the church's building fund.

The Andersons, who live in the Bronx, are struggling financially. A few weeks ago, the couple, who have two young children, had no money to buy groceries. But they believe what their pastor, the Rev. Creflo A. Dollar Jr., said on this recent Saturday night about the offering time: "It's opportunity for prosperity."

"Remember," said Mr. Dollar, a familiar figure across the country because of his "Changing Your World" television show and best-selling books, "if you sow a seed on a good ground, you can expect a harvest."

Mr. Dollar, whose Rolls-Royces, private jets, million-dollar Atlanta home and $2.5 million Manhattan apartment, furnish proof to his followers of the validity of his teachings, is a leading apostle of what is known as the "prosperity gospel."

It is a theology that is excoriated in many Christian circles but is becoming increasingly visible in this country, according to religious scholars. Now, it is beginning to establish a foothold in New York City, where capitalism has long been religion.

Mr. Dollar - his real name - is the most prominent among a host of prosperity preachers that have put down roots in the city. He is quick to insist that he warns Christians to "love God, not money" and teaches "total life prosperity," meaning prosperity not only in finances but in everything from health to family life.

"Money by itself cannot define prosperity," Mr. Dollar said in a recent phone interview. "When you say, 'prosperity,' people think money. They are not incorrect, but they are incomplete."

Asking the faithful to donate is a part of virtually all religions. Outside of Christianity, Muslims pay zakat, and Jewish synagogues have membership dues. Conservative Protestants see tithing - offering a portion, usually a tenth, of one's income back to God and the church - as a biblical mandate.

Many Catholic churches suggest that tithing be divided between the local church and a charity of their choice. Most teach that believers can trust God to take care of their needs.

It is the connecting of religious faithfulness, especially in giving, to material riches that causes many Christians, including other evangelicals, to accuse prosperity teachers of verging on heresy.

"There's no question that almost every Christian leader - reformed, Pentecostal, however you want to call it - sees it as a blight on the face of Christianity," said Timothy C. Morgan, deputy managing editor at Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine. "Yet it's so seductive."

The theology taps into the country's self-help culture, said William C. Martin, a professor emeritus of religion and public policy at Rice University in Houston. "One of the goals of America is for you to become prosperous," he said. "For the church to put a blessing on that and say, 'God wants you to be rich,' is quite appealing."

While prosperity preachers were largely discredited in this country in the late 1980's with the rash of scandals involving religious broadcasters, the booming television ministries of a coterie of new prosperity kings, including Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn and Mr. Dollar, demonstrates its staying power. Mr. Dollar, 41, a former college football player, started World Changers Church in Atlanta in an elementary school cafeteria in 1986.

The church now has almost 25,000 members, according to church officials.

But New York City is Mr. Dollar's largest television market. And just over a year ago, Mr. Dollar began flying up from Atlanta to preach at Saturday night services in the theater at Madison Square Garden. Membership at World Changers Church New York is now at more than 5,000, church officials said.

THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL (NAME IT AND CLAIM IT)

The prosperity gospel

The end of the 1980s was a bad time for TV preachers.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch/November 18, 2003
By Bill Smith and Carolyn Tuft

One moment, men like the PTL Club's Jim Bakker and television's Jimmy Swaggart seemed bigger than life, supermen blessed with an uncanny ability to attract followers and money. The next instant, they were only men -- fragile, flawed and the butt of barroom jokes and newspaper cartoons.

In many ways, it seemed like the beginning of the end for big-time TV religion. Look, the critics said, the emperors really do have no clothes.

But Americans, at least many of them, seem to have forgotten and forgiven. TV's salvation shows are still here, bigger and flashier than ever, thanks to the proliferation of the internet and the continued spread of satellite and cable TV.

The names may have changed -- Juanita Bynum, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, T. D. Jakes, St. Louis' Joyce Meyer and a dozen others have replaced Bakker, Swaggart and Oral Roberts at the top of the evangelical mountain -- but the message remains virtually identical.

Believe with all your heart and soul, they tell the faithful. And give, give, give until you can't give any more.

God, they say, loves a cheerful giver.

In the late 1980s, when the sex-and-fraud scandals boiled over into America's living rooms, Joyce Meyer's little radio ministry was scarcely a blip on the evangelical radar screen.

Today, Meyer heads a ministry fast approaching $100 million a year and is among a dozen or so evangelical superstars headlining a revived, and very healthy, industry.

The prosperity gospel also has been called the "name it and claim it" theology. God wants His people to prosper, evangelists like Meyer maintain. Those who follow God and give generously to his ministries can have anything, and everything, they want.

But critics, from Bible-quoting theologians to groups devoted to preserving the separation of church and state, abound. At best, they say, such a theology is a simplistic and misguided way of living. At worst, they say, it is dangerous.

Michael Scott Horton, who teaches historical theology at the Westminister Theological Seminary in Escondido, Ca., calls the message a twisted interpretation of the Bible -- a "wild and wacky theology.

"Some of these people are charlatans," Horton said. "Others are honestly dedicated to one of the most abhorrent errors in religious theology.

"I often think of these folks as the religious equivalent to a combination of a National Enquirer ad and professional wrestling. It's part entertainment and very large part scam."

Sociologist William Martin of Rice University said that most people who follow TV religious leaders put so much trust in them that they want them to thrive. Martin is a professor of sociology at the university, specializing in theology.

The preachers' wealth is "confirmation of what they are preaching," Martin said.

Ole Anthony's Trinity Foundation, best-known for working with the national media to uncover questionable activities involving TV evangelists, often resorts to digging through preachers' trash to find incriminating evidence. Anthony said that most of the preachers begin with a "sincere desire to spread the faith. But the pressure of fundraising slowly moves all of them in the direction of a greed-based theology."

Even J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma & Christian Life magazine has become alarmed at what he sees as the excesses of some TV preachers.

Grady defends the principle that if you are stingy with your money, you will lack things in life; and if you are generous, you will get things in return.

"But that doesn't mean you can treat God like a slot machine," Grady said in an interview.

Bakker, who spent five years in prison for defrauding Heritage USA investors, says he has had a change of heart about the prosperity gospel.

The same man who once told his PTL coworkers that "God wants you to be rich," now says he made a tragic mistake.

"For years, I helped propagate an impostor, not a true gospel, but another gospel," Bakker has said in his 1996 book, "I Was Wrong."

"The prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of the Scripture," he said. "My heart was crushed to think that I led so many people astray."

While Bakker may have changed his tune, many more TV preachers are steadfast in their conviction that if you give money, you will receive it many times in return.

Meyer spends most of her three-day conferences on lessons in giving, and she is blunt when she addresses what the critics say about her seed-faith interpretation of the Bible. She says that those preachers who believe that to be godly is to be poor are the ones who have it wrong.

"Why would He (God) want all of His people poverty stricken while all of the people that aren't living for God have everything?" Meyer said. "I think it's old religious thinking, and I believe the devil uses it to keep people from wanting to serve God."


Source: http://www.rickross.com/reference/tv_preachers/tv_preachers4.html

HOSEA 6

Hosea 6

1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

4O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

5Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

8Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

9And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

10I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

11Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.


MINISTERS SHOULD NOT BE IDOLIZED


There can be no stronger evidence in churches that the truths of the Bible have not sanctified the receivers than their attachment to some favorite minister, and their unwillingness to accept and be profited by the labors of some other teacher who is sent to them in the providence of God. The Lord sends help to his church as they need, not as they choose; for short-sighted mortals cannot discern what is for their best good.
75
It is seldom that one minister has all the qualifications necessary to perfect any one church in all the requirements of Christianity; therefore God sends other ministers to follow him, one after another, each one possessing some qualifications in which the others were deficient. {8Red 74.3}

The church should gratefully accept these servants of Christ, even as they would accept their Master himself. They should seek to derive all the benefit possible from the instruction which ministers may give them from the Word of God. But the ministers themselves are not to be idolized; there should be no religious pets and favorites among the people; it is the truths they bring which are to be accepted, and appreciated in the meekness of humility. {8Red 75.1}

REDEMPTION, The Teachings of Paul, Ellen G. White, pp. 74-75.

THE EVANGELICAL SUBCULTURE

The Evangelical Subculture

Shall we be disciples of Jesus together? Or would you rather just participate in a Religious System?

Two Different Conversions - Like Joining a Club - The Subculture, Institutionalism, & Deception - Articles

Two Different Conversions

When I became a follower of Jesus Christ I underwent two different conversions, although I didn't realize it at the time. First, I was converted from my old life into the Body of Christ by reconciliation with God through Jesus. Hallelujah! At about the same time I bought into the Evangelical Subculture under the false impression that it WAS the Body of Christ. It took me years to realize the difference between the two.

I had been aware of "Christendom": that worldly religious structure consisting of political and economic empires and bureaucracies, both Protestant and Catholic, that had fought religious wars and undertaken crusades to retake the "Holy Land", that had burned people at the stake, that continued to preach false Christs and false gospels of works, and that continues to talk about the counterfeit unity called Ecumenicalism.

But I had not understood the nature of the Evangelical Subculture, that is a part of the worldly structure of "Christendom". This subculture has its own organizations and institutions, denominations, parachurch organizations; its own magazines and radio stations and TV networks; its own schools and colleges and universities; its own celebrities; its own music industry and book stores; its own marketing and advertising worlds.

Like Joining a Club

The tragedy of the Evangelical Subculture is that people who have a sincere desire to follow Jesus get side tracked into a zeal for being a part of this worldly system. It is like joining a club. The club member begins to wear the clothes and trinkets bought at the "Christian" book stores; watch "Christian" TV and listen to "Christian" radio; buy the latest fad books that sweep the "Christian media"; subscribe to the "Christian" magazines; worship the "Christian" celebrities; use all the latest jargon promoted in the latest books by the celebrity authors.

A cult-like mentality develops among people who see this Evangelical system as identical to the Body of Christ. Their zeal is for the trappings of the subculture. It is its own religion. If someone tries to point out the unbiblical nature of some aspect of this subculture people will take offense because you are criticizing their religion. The subculture becomes the message. The "gospel" that people preach is for conversion to the system, not really to Jesus Christ.

The Subculture, Institutionalism, & Deception

The pop culture of Evangelicalism feeds on institutionalism, denominationalism, "non-denominational" institutional church organizations, and the professional clergy system. The professional clergy and their church organizations, in turn, find an indoctrinated constituency to fill their pews and programs. Both the subculture and the institutional churches turn a relationship with Jesus and his people into a participation in a religion and a lifestyle.

This Evangelical subculture has played a major role in setting professing Christians up for deception. It seduces people to think and act like the subculture instead of reading the Bible for themselves and deriving their understanding from the Bible. It has been this subculture that has infected the Evangelicals with psychology, self-esteem, political action and social activism, unity at the expense of sound doctrine, mysticism, and cult attachments to gurus, movements, and organizations. Ultimately, the end of this deception is a merging of the Evangelical Subculture with the global counterfeit religious vision.

We ought to be content with the simplicity of following Jesus and being the Body of Christ together with those the Lord provides for fellowship, according to the teachings of the Apostles in the New Testament.

Please consider the following articles that explore this issue of the Evangelical Subculture vs. the true Bride of Christ.

Churchianity - Dictionary Definition

Four Ways Christians Are Deceived

Questions About Churchianity vs. The Church

Lucifer, the Garden of Eden, & the Tower of Babel

What is the Church?

The True Nature of the World System

What I Recommend

Crusades for "Morality", Political Action, Social Activism

Dove Awards on TBNThe World Christian Movement
Counterfeit Christs: Is your pastor a one-man show?
Professing Evangelical Christians are effectively becoming Unitarians.

THE BIBLICAL WARNING OF WORLD-WIDE DECEPTION

Please consider asking those you care about, "Shall we be disciples of Jesus together? Or would you rather just participate in a Religious System?"

Source: http://procinwarn.com/evansub.htm

Friday, November 02, 2007

WHY DO PROTESTANTS KEEP SUNDAY?

Rome's Challenge Why do Protestants Keep Sunday?

February 24, 1893, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists adopted certain resolutions appealing to the government and people of the United States from the decision of the Supreme Court declaring this to be a Christian nation, and from the action of Congress in legislating upon the subject of religion, and remonstrating against the principle and all the consequences of the same. In March, 1893, the International Religious Liberty Association printed these resolutions in a tract entitled, "Appeal and Remonstrance." On receipt of one of these, the editor of the Catholic Mirror of Baltimore, Md., published a series of four editorials, which appeared in that paper, September 2, 9, 16, and 23, 1893. The Catholic Mirror is the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons and the papacy in the United States. These articles, therefore, although not written by the Cardinal's own hand, appear under his official sanction, and are the expression of the papacy on this subject, are the open challenge of the papacy to Protestantism, and the demand of the papacy that Protestants shall render to the papacy an account of why they keep Sunday, and also of how they keep it.

READ MORE: @ http://www.sdabol.org/basic%20SDA%20Studies/romeschallenge.html

CHURCH LOSING INSTITUTION, FOLLOWING...

Church Losing the Institution, Following Jesus

By
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Nov. 02 2007 08:50 AM ET

Church is no longer going to be a once-a-week Sunday morning experience, says a megachurch pastor. And gone will be the days when church titles and affiliations matter.

"I think we're in a new era in the Church," said the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. "And that era is 'denominationless.'"

Already, Americans have come years into waning membership across mainline denominations and an increasing thirst for something less institutional, something closer to a relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

So what's church going to look like in the near future?

"I think the Church is actually going to reflect what Jesus Christ has envisioned the Church being since day one – a body of believers, not necessarily congregated in a specific location, but those who have a sincere faith and a heart and love for Jesus Christ, who are committed to him, and worship God and worship the tri-nature of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ in unique ways that is yet to be determined," commented Schuller in an interview with The Christian Post.

Schuller leads a mega congregation that is part of the Reformed Church in America. But the church his father, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, built is anything but traditional in the denomination's sense and communicates across the globe that it's a church to the world, a church literally without walls. The Crystal Cathedral is made of 10,000 windows.

In the past, denominations played a larger role, providing spiritual resources, governance and organization for local churches. That's not necessarily the case anymore, said Schuller. Although denominations still are an important function for churches today, their role is shifting. And Schuller believes denominations will be unifying.

The shift in the role of denominations comes as studies find a lack of denominational loyalty among today's churchgoers. LifeWay Research revealed earlier this year that 54 percent of people who switch churches change denominations.

Younger Americans today are also less prone to follow their parents to church.

"I don’t think there’s strong allegiance to denomination. And I think that’s appropriate and right," Schuller observed. "I think our allegiance needs to be to Jesus Christ. And the denominations are there to serve the body of Jesus Christ."

Mark Batterson, innovative leader and pastor of National Community Church in Washington, also emphasizes the importance of following Jesus over an institution.

"What Jesus was about was inviting people to follow him on a spiritual journey and that’s a little different deal," he has said.

A Gallup Poll in June found that Americans have less confidence in organized religion. Only 46 percent said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in church/organized religion which was one percentage short of being the lowest in Gallup's history since 1973.

"I would say that [the drop is] because organized religion is organized and it’s religious,” Batterson said.

Among teens, many are not as interested in learning the traditions of their faith or listening to religious teachings as much as they are in making a connection with God and seeking a better understanding of what they believe, a recent Barna study showed. Most teens prefer a church that teaches how their faith should influence everyday decisions and lifestyle rather than one that teaches the traditions and background of their faith.

And as churches begin to break institutional walls and increasingly reflect the body of Jesus Christ, Schuller sees the Church becoming a 24-hour experience.

"[Church] is going to be experiential and lived out in daily lives,” he stated. “If people ask me ‘Where’s your church?’ I’ll often say ‘What time of the day is it?’ This is a good illustration of my point. So, okay it’s 9:00 Wednesday. Elder John is over at his store selling suits. So part of the church is over there. Sister Mary’s just getting back from dropping her kids off at school, so that part of the church is over there.

"I can go with every member of the church and say that’s where the church is," Schuller said.

"I’m talking about where the church of Jesus Christ is recognized not as an institution, not as a building, but is recognized as the individuals that make up the body of Jesus Christ, living by faith and caring for one another and loving one another," he stressed.

Source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071102/29929_Church_Losing_the_Institution,_Following_Jesus.htm

FENCE DRIVING CHRISTIANS OUT OF HOLY LAND

'Fence driving Christians out of Holy Land'


Socioeconomic hardships caused by the West Bank security barrier are contributing to the decline in the Christian population in the Holy Land, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

A section of Israel's security barrier
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file]

"I recently met with Christians in Bethlehem, people by no means extreme, and they told of the daily burdens driving in and out of the city that were created by the wall," Williams said by telephone during a break in his 24-hour visit to these parts.

Williams did not mention other, long-standing, explanations for the exodus from traditionally Christian towns.

Muslim violence against Christians coupled with Hamas's victory in the latest Palestinian Authority election and economics hardships caused, in part, by Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel, are the most commonly cited reasons for the steady decrease in the number of Christians living in the PA.

Williams said he was aware of "claims" that the project had reduced the number of victims of Palestinian terrorism, but felt that in the long-term, building a barrier between two populations was "causing deeper problems" for the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

"The fence does not solve the basic underlying causes of the conflict. That's why I am unhappy with it," Williams said.

It was not just the present route of the barrier that he opposed. Rather, barriers between populations were inherently problematic, he said.
This is not the first time that Williams, the spiritual head of the 77-million member Anglican Communion, has voiced criticism of the security barrier or of Israeli policy regarding Palestinians.

The official reason for Williams' visit was a meeting with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar in Jerusalem Wednesday. The Reverend Michael Jackson, bishop of Clogher, and Haifa Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen were present as leaders of their delegations to the Anglican Jewish Commission, as was Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem Suhail Dawani.

Last year the leaders decided to convene in alternate years in London and Jerusalem.
The meetings and the creation of the Anglican-Jewish Commission, which includes religious leaders and academics from both religions, are meant to foster mutual understanding and trust.

In a joint statement, the chief rabbis and Williams called for "the release of hostages and in particular for the release of [abducted IDF soldiers] Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, and Gilad Schalit."

They also referred to the Iranian threat, saying, "Continuing use of aggressive language by President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad of Iran toward Israel is wholly unacceptable to us."

Williams said that he and the chief rabbis encouraged the use of educational material conducive to peaceful coexistence. The archbishop said he did not know for certain, but "we hear that there are learning materials being used in Palestinian schools that are defamatory against Jews and that present Judaism in a false and misleading way."

Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380703144&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull