Wednesday, April 16, 2008

POLYGAMOUS RELATIONSHIPS TEND TO BE..


"Polygamous relationships tend to be very successful"

20080409 mormon.jpg

Image taken from Mormon Polygamy: A History

Following a call from a 16-year-old girl claiming she was sexually abused and assaulted by her 50-year-old husband, a fundamentalist Mormon compound where men have several wives has been raided and 419 children taken into temporary custody by Texan authorities.

The raid took place last Thursday after a teenager called social services on March 19, saying she was forced to marry at 15 and was beaten and choked by her husband while he forced her to have sex with him. The ranch is the base of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day (FDLS), an off-shoot of the mainstream Latter-day Saints (LDS) who denounced polygamy over 100 years ago.

The contributors

"I wouldn't be human if I said I wasn't jealous"

Carlene Cannon lives in Davis County Cooperative in Salt Lake City; a similar compound and in contact with the FLDS community in Texas. For legal reasons, she cannot answer questions about her marital situation.

We're horrified about what's happened in Texas. If they can do this to our neighbours, they could do it to us too. To be handled in such a way, it's just total disregard for civil rights. We're helping the women there who've had their children taken away by exchanging letters of support. They need to get to the bottom of this case. It happened in our community once when somebody from outside called social services and children were taken away. If someone's got a problem with you, they will do that [make a false call].

I live this way because my parents lived that way and it's something very dear to me. If you're an adult you should be able to make that decision by yourself. It was definitely the right decision for me. There are so many benefits. For example, your children have more than one mother. While someone goes to work, someone else looks after the kids. I wouldn't be human if I said I wasn't jealous but there are more important feelings than that. What frightens me about monogamous relationships is that only half of them survive, whereas polygamous relationships tend to be very successful.

I think they should decriminalise plural marriage because then people wouldn't be forced to go underground; there wouldn't be a situation like this one. People would have access to services and a fair justice system, like normal people. I blame the government for this, for isolating us. We're just a different culture. You can't herd us away like cattle."

"The idea of polygamy has really soaked into the Mormon church"

Marie Drillhon volunteers for UNADFI, an association that defends sect victims.

The founder of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith, was himself a polygamist. He claimed that God had revealed to him that the principle of multiple wives was divine. He defended the principle by explaining that Jesus's disciples themselves had several wives. Mormons work on the basis of revelations transmitted through their prophets. They say that the bible is constantly being updated.

The official church abandoned polygamy, which they call "plural marriage", in 1890 during the unification of the US. If their State, Utah, had not renounced the practice, they wouldn't have been able to join the union. Because of their practicality, the Mormons chose to give it up it.

The idea of polygamy has really soaked into the Mormon church. Even today I meet young missionaries who don't appear particularly shocked by the idea of having several wives. And as the case of the Texs ranch reminds us, there are rebel groups that haven't given it up. The US holds a very strange position when it comes to religious freedom."

"Most Mormons find this really very odd"

Michael Nielsen was brought up as a Latter-day Saint - a branch considered as mainstream Mormonism. He's a member of the Mormon Social Science Association and a psychology professor.

Within Mormonism there are different reactions to this type of sect. People who understand the history of the religion are more open minded about the idea of polygamy. In the Mormon religion you are married to your wife for eternity, not just on earth. So if your wife dies and you remarry, then officially you are a polygamist. But most Mormons find this really very odd.

This is such a huge problem in the US; it's estimated there are 40,000 practising polygamists here, so the authorities have largely tried to ignore it. But with this case they felt they had to act. The FDLS church has become much more authoritative in the last 15 years. Except for their ability to bring more children into the church, women and children are not valued highly.

They carry on with this because they think that even though it's tough in this life, they will be rewarded in heaven. "The highest degree of glory is awaiting them". Most of them don't agree with child abuse, but those who suffer or see others suffering have a strong belief that "god is testing you" and "the prophet can do very difficult things but it's just part of life". A woman's job is to make babies - in fact part of her status is how many babies she has. And many of them are isolated and they can't get away. There are guards on the gates and when a woman goes into the town she's not allowed to take all of her children.

This event will strengthen the community. They're told that the people "outside" are sent by the devil to try to take them away, and this will only prove them right."

A film about escaping the FLDS


Laurie Allen, a woman who escaped from a polygamous compound at 16, has made a film about the FLDS community in Utah called Banking on Heaven. This is the trailer.

Big Love


America's HBO produces a series about a polygamous marriage called Big Love. This is the introduction to the show.

Source: http://observers.france24.com/en/comment/reply/15060

FDLS MEMBERS RESPONDED TO RAID IN SONG, PRAYER


FDLS members responded to raid with song, prayer

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas - When police officers armed with weapons and protective gear descended on a West Texas ranch owned by a polygamist church, its members responded by going to their knees in prayer.

Images released Tuesday show police entering the Yearning for Zion ranch on April 3 wearing body armor and carrying automatic weapons, backed by an armored personnel carrier.

"They responded by singing and praying," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney who serves as a spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He released four still photos and a slice of video to The Associated Press.

Sect members took the photos and video during the first few days of a seven-day raid that involved police agencies from six counties, the Texas Rangers, the state highway patrol and wildlife officers. Authorities were looking for a teenage girl who had reported being abused by her 50-year-old husband.

A sect member whose wife shot the video said ranch residents quickly got the impression that state officials "were doing something more than they said they were going to do." The man declined to give his name for fear that speaking out would cause problems for his children, who are in state custody.

Tela Mange, a state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, said officers are trained to protect themselves.

"Whenever we serve a search warrant, no matter where or when, we are always as prepared as possible so we can ensure the operational safety of the officers serving the warrant, as well as the safety of those who are on the property in question," Mange said.

The armored car was precautionary and designed to remove someone from the property, not to force entry onto the ranch, she said.

While there were hunting rifles at the ranch, search warrants filed in district court in Tom Green County don't show that police seized any weapons.

Eldorado is about 200 miles southeast of Waco, where federal authorities tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh for stockpiling guns and explosives in 1993. Four federal agents and six members of Koresh's sect died in the shootout that ensued. After a 51-day standoff, Koresh and nearly 80 followers died in an inferno that the government says was set by the Davidians but that survivors say started when authorities fired tear gas rounds into their compound.

Law enforcement surrounded the FLDS ranch, carrying a warrant seeking a 16-year-old girl who said she was trapped inside the church retreat and had been beaten and raped by her husband.

The search revealed that a soaring white limestone temple at the ranch held a bed where officials believe underage girls were required to consummate their spiritual marriages to much older men.

More than 400 children - all of whom lived in the large, dormitory-style log homes - were seized in the raid on suspicion they were being sexually and physically abused. They are being held in the San Angelo Coliseum and are awaiting a massive court hearing Thursday that will begin to determine their fate.

FLDS members carefully documented the raid in notes, video and still pictures of police and child protection workers talking with families, but much of that material was seized when police executed one of two search warrants on the ranch, Parker said.

The 416 children held by Texas authorities had been accompanied by 139 women until Monday, when officials ordered all the women away except for those whose children are under 5.

Texas Children's Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said officials decided that children are more truthful in interviews about possible abuse if their parents are not around.

"I can tell you we believe the children who are victims of abuse or neglect, and particularly victims at the hands of their own parents, certainly are going to feel safer to tell their story when they don't have a parent there that's coaching them with how to respond," Meisner said.

The renegade Mormon sect is led by Warren Jeffs, who was convicted last year in Utah of being an accomplice to rape and is awaiting trial in Arizona on similar charges.

---

Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk contributed to this report.

Source: http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=TopStories&id=20080416/480579c0_3ca6_1552620080416-334139259

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

VIOLATION OF THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Pope arrives in US


Today, when the Bishop of Rome arrived at Andrews AFB, The concept of The Separation of Church and State was violated. Why would a Head of a religion be welcomed in such a manner? This is an Air Force base. Why share this base with a foreign entity, with no regard to any of the citizen's of these United States objections to such use of government property, and affording such tribute.

Well, the situation is unique in that the Bishop of Rome is not only the Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Catholic Church, but also the Prime Minister of the Vatican: Which is the world's smallest (richest) sovereign nation. Here's the quandry: It's a nation, and a religion. So there are conflicts of interests in entertaining and extending full diplomatic courtesies, when doing so would imply promoting a particular religion, to the exclusion of all other religions. This fundamentally is not only inappropriate, but unfair. For The United States of America was primarily founded by Christians who fled to these shores trying to escape the tyranny,
and influence of persecuting churches, such as the Church of Rome, and the Church of England.

Why treat the head of one of the many religions represented in our nation, as royalty? When there are countless other religions in this nation that do not acknowledge the Roman Catholic Church's dogma that claim universal (Divinely appointed temporal power) authority over all of humanity. And this pontiff represents a foreign government with an agenda of subverting the rights of the citizens of this free country. The first Amendment to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights strictly prohibits the sanctioning of a religion:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


Besides, the President of the United States takes this oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Image:George W. Bush inauguration.jpg

And if so he should abide by, and uphold the Constitution.

Lastly, I must refer to this article:

U.S. Constitution: Article VI :

...The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

...

Arsenio

THE WORLD WONDERED AFTER THE BEAST

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Revelation 13:3

Revelation 13

1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

9If any man have an ear, let him hear.

10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Monday, April 14, 2008

CBS - GORDON BROWN INTERVIEW: HE'S COMING TOO!

Meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown

He's U.K.'s Prime Minister, And Katie Couric Spoke With Him Exclusively On The Eve Of His U.S. Trip

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    Britain's PM Coming To U.S.

    In an exclusive interview, Katie Couric asks Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown about Iraq, the U.S. and world economics.



CBS) In London lately, the economic news is sounding very similar to that of the United States. Home prices are down and credit is tight.

The man heading the government has seen his approval ratings plummet. Prime Minister Gordon Brown leaves tomorrow for a U.S. visit.

But not before he agreed to an exclusive interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric.

Read the full transcript of Katie Couric's interview with Gordon Brown here.
His first 10 months have been an unexpected struggle for a man who's been preparing for this role for more than 10 years.

He's known as the stern Scotsman, who rarely smiles.

For a decade, Gordon Brown was the serious partner in an unlikely political pairing.

While the affable Tony Blair served as prime minister, Brown worked hard behind the scenes, running Great Britain's economy, which soared during their years together.

But he always wanted the top job.

He got it last year, when Blair finally left office, his popularity dragged down by the Iraq war.

But trouble quickly followed: A terrorist attack three days after taking office, floods and an economic slowdown.

A Financial Times/Harris poll out today shows 68 percent of Britons are not confident of his ability to handle the economic crisis. That's a bitter pill for the one-time financial wizard.

Brown is 57, married and the father of two sons. A gifted student, he entered the University of Edinburgh at 15, one of their youngest ever.

He lost one eye in a rugby accident, and nearly lost the other. We met today at the Prime Minister's resident, 10 Downing Street, where it's virtually impossible to avoid being reminded of his illustrious predecessors.

For the full interview, including what Brown had to say about why he hasn't met Barack Obama, what Europe thinks of the United States and what's on his iPod, click here.



LET THE COMMUNITY BE THE PULPIT,...

Let the community be the pulpit, Adventist Church president says

Paulsen urges church's leadership to demonstrate compassion, respect



It's up to individual church members to shape how the Adventist Church is perceived, world church president Jan Paulsen told a group of church leaders yesterday. [ANN file photo]

Don't confine spirituality to the church pew, Seventh-day Adventist world church president Jan Paulsen told a group of church leaders yesterday during remarks meant to kindle more deliberate community involvement by Adventists, who -- despite recent marginal improvements -- still score low in ministry beyond the pulpit according to church officials.

The conduct of church members within the community is either a "confirmation or a denial of our faith," Paulsen said, adding that "silence can be as much a failure as speaking the wrong words."

Addressing members of the church's Council on Evangelism and Witness who were gathered at world church headquarters near Washington, D.C. for one of the church's biannual business meetings, Paulsen said the Adventist faith shouldn't just exist in books or church archives.

"The faith we have is not best explained by academics or theologians. Our faith finds its most compelling expression in the everyday words and actions of Christians in their communities," Paulsen said.

During his comments, Paulsen referred to a pivotal question -- "Who are you Adventists, anyway?" -- asked by a reporter during his recent interview on Bloomberg television. Paulsen said Adventists must fill that knowledge gap by being "seen and heard. ... We want the public to know us," he said.

"There are moments when you must step back and consider how your life looks through the eyes of somebody who does not share your faith," Paulsen said. "What do you want them to see?" he asked, suggesting several traits he said Adventists would do well to embrace -- among them compassion, tolerance, respect and generosity.

"Am I talking about things that are at the core of Adventism?" he asked. "I hope they are." When community members meet Adventists, the attitudes and behavior of church members should illustrate those qualities, Paulsen said.

"Probably more than 99 percent" of the people Adventists meet have either never been invited to attend church meetings or consider such meetings a "waste of time. ... These people do not study Daniel and Revelation. They may even be strangers to basic Christian values. You have to ask yourself, 'What do I want them to know about my church?'"

Adventists should be know as "freedom fighters," Paulsen said -- "not the violent brand, but those who work not only for people who share our point of view, but for everyone, regardless of their beliefs." He cited the church's efforts to promote religious liberty around the world and added, "I want the public to think of Adventists as the strongest supporters of freedom -- freedom to think, freedom to hold convictions and freedom to communicate them."

Of the convictions held by Adventists, Paulsen said the church's commitment to education and healthy living are two ways Adventists can influence the public sphere by offering something relevant* rather than something divisive.

During discussion that followed Paulsen's comments, other church leaders made similar observations. "There have been times in the past when the only time the public saw us was when we were either asking for money or trying to convert them," said Gary Krause, director for the church's Office of Adventist Mission. "I think we should always have that ambition to lead people to Jesus, but unless people see that we care for them even if they never decide to become Seventh-day Adventists, we will never be seen as the caring church."

Allan Handysides, director of the church's department of Health Ministries, said church members must steer clear of a "culture of negativity" that leads to "killjoy religion" instead of a "ministry of healing."

"People are more concerned with who we are than with who we say we are," Handysides added during his comments on the role of health in church outreach. "Evangelism only lets them see what we want them to see. But witness, whether we like it or not, allows them to see who we truly are."

People should see Adventists as peacemakers, but not people who dodge defending the rights of others, Paulsen said, noting the church's failure to respond to the Rwandan genocide. "Silence in the face of evil is complicity in what is wrong," he said. "Let us speak from the pulpit and show from our actions that we oppose anything that instills hatred or inflames violence."

Paulsen then urged church leaders in particular to "avoid tainting the church" with so much as the "aroma of partisan politics." Adventists must be "people of integrity" in a time when "corruption of all kinds dominates headlines."

"I want Adventists to be known as honest people who teach and practice morality, people with the highest ethical standards, people who speak out against greed and against the self-serving attitudes that do so much damage to society," he said.

"Source: Adventist News Network"


Source: http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1206721420/index.html.en

P.S. If I could ask President Paulsen a few questions, I'd ask:

  • Where does the Third Angel's Message fall in these plans?
  • Who will warn the perishing world?; if we just play nice?
  • What, has the Seventh Day Adventist mission changed?
  • Who will prepare a people to stand in the day of the Messiah's second coming?
  • Finally, I'd ask: Did you say, relevant*? What's next on your agenda, a Purpose Driven SDA Church Message?

Arsenio

PRESIDENT DONATES LAND TO ADVENTISTS IN D.R.

Dominican Republic: President donates land to Adventists

Fernandez commends church presence; permanent youth retreat planned



Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, right, with Cesario Acevedo, left, president of the church in the Dominican Republic. Fernandez donated 31 acres of public land to the church last month. [photo: Dominican Union]

The Dominican Republic national leader donated 31 acres of public land -- already used by Seventh-day Adventist young people for annual retreats -- to the church last month. During the March 28 donation ceremony, he applauded the church's work and image in the country.

"There is a natural kindness in each one of you that I know is a result of having God as a guide in your attitudes and your behavior," President Leonel Fernandez told hundreds of church leaders and members gathered for the ceremony. "I would like that same spirit to be extended to the entire Dominican nation."

The donated land -- part of a university-owed campground earlier decreed public by the Dominican national government -- is located in the island nation's San Cristobal province outside its capitol, Santo Domingo.

In 2006, the church in the Dominican Republic established a public relations campaign to bring its ministries and activities to the attention of government leaders. Late last year, Fernandez took note of the 250,000-member church's mission in the nation of 9.4 million, its positive impact in the community and the involvement of its young people, church officials said.

The church will build new facilities to house thousands of Adventist young people who already use the land during annual retreats, said Silvestre Gonzalez, Adventist Church spokesman in the Dominican Republic.

Gonzalez also said for a national leader to recognize a non-Catholic denomination was unusual, and the church was grateful.

The Adventist Church in the Dominican Republic operates six regional offices, more than 1,000 congregations, nearly 100 elementary and secondary schools, one university, one hospital and eight radio stations.

"Source: Adventist News Network"

Source: http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1207930880/index.html.en

UNCERTAIN CHURCH AWAITS POPE IN U.S.

Uncertain Church Awaits Pope in U.S.
Richard Perry/The New York Times

Leah Vassallo’s church in Malaga, N.J., is slated to close as part of a plan to cut the number of parishes in her diocese by half.




Published: April 14, 2008

Less than two weeks ago, as final preparations were being made for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, the bishop of Camden, N.J., announced plans to close or merge nearly half the parishes in his diocese. Meanwhile, Catholics in New Orleans, Boston, New York, Toledo, Ohio, and nearly three dozen other dioceses are mourning the loss of parishes and parochial schools they grew up in.

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A Papal Discussion

PhotoTimes reporters and experts discuss Benedict XVI’s papacy and his visit to the United States.

The Papal Visit

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Richard Perry/The New York Times

St. Mary’s in Malaga, N.J., is to close. Financial woes and changing demographics are pressuring parishes across the country.

So when the pope arrives in the United States on Tuesday, he will find an American church in which many Catholics are eager not only for his spiritual guidance, but also for his acknowledgment that their church is going through a time of pain and uncertainty.

Hundreds of parishes are being closed and consolidated, and the reasons are usually intertwined with the other big challenges facing the church: a shortage of priests, fallout from the sexual abuse scandal, insufficient funds to maintain aging churches, demographic changes and sometimes not enough people attending Mass to justify keeping parishes open.

And yet for most observant Catholics, their primary experience of the church is their local parish.

“It’s frustrating because you start to see the bishop as the enemy, and it puts you where you’re conflicted,” said Leah Vassallo, a lawyer whose parish in Malaga, N.J., is among those to be closed. “Obviously you don’t want to give up your faith or go to a different religion, or not go to church at all. But it does disenfranchise you. We’re going to be a lot more hesitant before we give money to the church.”

A resistance movement to church closings that began in Boston has spread to other dioceses. On Sunday, Catholics in six dioceses — New York, Boston, Buffalo, Camden, New Orleans and Toledo — announced that they were forming a national group, the Coalition for Parishes, to try to prevent the closing or merging of viable churches.

In addition to the issues the closings and consolidations present, this will be the first visit by any pope since the sexual abuse scandal erupted in 2002, taking a spiritual, emotional and financial toll on Catholics across the country. The scandal revealed more than 5,000 victims, and left behind five bankrupt dioceses. It has cost the church more than $2 billion, so far, and it is not over. Last week the family of two young boys filed a civil lawsuit against a Massachusetts priest accusing him of molesting the boys as recently as 2005.

One of the scandal’s repercussions is that lay Catholics across the country are demanding more financial accountability from their bishops and more control over decisions, especially when it comes to closing parishes.

Many dioceses are also closing parochial elementary, junior and high schools that have provided a rigorous education for generations of Catholics and non-Catholics.

The cost of legal fees and settlements to abuse victims has put financial pressure on many dioceses. But in many cases, the far larger reason for the closings is demographic.

Urban enclaves of Italian, Irish, Polish and Eastern European Catholics who had their own ethnic parishes are dispersing to the suburbs and seeing their previous parishes shuttered — or having to learn to share their churches with immigrants from Latin America, Asia and Africa. In some parishes the new mix has been joyous, in others uneasy.

The pope is expected to praise the American church’s vibrancy during his visit, and there is much for the church to celebrate. Catholics are the biggest religious group in the United States, about 23 percent of the population, a proportion that has held steady. Many parishes are healthy, and some are growing, with the influx of immigrants, especially Hispanics.

A poll released on Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University showed a mixed performance review for the American bishops: 22 percent of Catholics are “very satisfied” with the bishops, 50 percent are “somewhat satisfied,” 21 percent are “somewhat dissatisfied,” and 6 percent are “very dissatisfied.” It is an improvement from 2002, the outbreak of the scandal.

But most priests, and even many bishops, will acknowledge the woes.

Of 18,634 parishes in 2007, 3,238 were without resident pastors. More than 800 parishes have been closed since 1995, most since 2000. (Some bishops are preparing their parishioners for more closings ahead.) The number of priests ordained in 2007 fell to 456, less than half the number of new priests in 1965. Nearly 3 in 10 Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more said they had been personally affected by the priest shortage, according to the Georgetown poll.

“There’s a crisis,” said William V. D’Antonio, a fellow of the Life Cycle Institute at the Catholic University of America. “We’re running out of priests. The average age of priests currently active is over 60. We have recruitment of new priests way below replacement level.”

Groups that advocate opening the priesthood to women and to married men are using the pope’s visit to promote their causes. But there is nothing to suggest that the Vatican is close to reversing itself. The solutions promoted by American bishops are to work harder at recruiting candidates for the priesthood, and to ordain permanent deacons — laymen who can preach and perform many ministerial duties.

Peter Borre, a parishioner who helped form the Council of Parishes in Boston, said that if he could address Pope Benedict XVI, he would say: “The shortage of priests, Your Holiness, is both a symptom and a problem itself. The deeper problem is not a responsibility of the flock, it’s a failure of bishops to inspire and draw more people into the priesthood.”

Some bishops, like Joseph Galante in Camden, have tried to involve the laity in the painful restructuring process. But since the sexual abuse scandal, they are finding many of their parishioners have become more confrontational.

The restiveness is not only among laity. In Belleville, Ill., last month, 45 priests took the step of publicly releasing a letter to the Vatican’s representative in Washington calling for their bishop to step down. They accused the bishop, Edward K. Braxton, of poor communication with priests and of misappropriating more than $17,000 and using it to buy liturgical garments and furniture. (The bishop has apologized, but said he would not resign.)

In Boston, Catholics have spent the last four years taking turns camping inside five churches that the archdiocese wants to close. They figure that if the church is occupied, the archdiocese will not be able to padlock it.

In Boston and Toledo, some Catholics are suing the church to prevent the closings.

The quandary for the church is that the agitation is coming from some of the most religiously committed Catholics, said Mr. D’Antonio, co-author of a recent book that surveyed the members of “Voice of the Faithful,” another church reform group.

“These are really the loyal Catholics speaking out for change,” Mr. D’Antonio said. “They are the ones who have been the Eucharistic ministers, they went to Catholic parochial schools and colleges, got a terrific education, and now they want to change the church.”

Ms. Vassallo, the lawyer in Camden who objects to the closing of her parish (the diocese there is reducing the number to 66 from 124), spends every Thursday from 11 p.m. to midnight in her church praying before the Blessed Sacrament. She is one in a chain of parishioners who keep up this Eucharistic Adoration for 48 uninterrupted hours every week.

As Catholics they are devoted to their church, but don’t necessarily agree with all of its decisions. As Americans, accustomed to life in a democracy, they think they have a right to say so.

Dan Thiel, a contractor and excavator in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, was in a ministerial training program for five years in the Toledo diocese, which assigned him to help gather information from parishes on which ones could be closed or clustered. In the end, he said, he was appalled because some very alive parishes were cut. His own was reduced to a chapel, without a resident priest.

“They’ve totally abandoned our community,” said Mr. Thiel, who is now president of United Parishes, a group that is fighting parish closings in Toledo. “They took the buildings, they took the money, and said, ‘You guys can go somewhere else.’ ”

“There are so many people that want to be active in this church, that want to know more about their faith, and now they’re so offended,” Mr. Thiel said. “I tell people all the time, ‘Don’t leave your church. It’s not the pope. It’s not the bishop. It’s your community.’ ”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/us/14church.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=all

FINDING THE MYSTERY (@ YANKEE STADIUM)


Sunday, April 13, 2008



Finding The Mystery


After hearing about the Boston Red Sox jersey, which was buried in the visitors club house in the new Yankee Stadium. The mystery was found, and broken out of the ground.


Gino Castignoli, who is a construction worker; he confessed to burying the Red Sox jersey in the Yankees visitors club house.

"In August, a Red Sox T-shirt was poured in a slab in the visitor's clubhouse. It's the curse of the Yankees," Castignoli said. "Nobody knows about it. It's in the floors, it's buried."

The second worker said he respects the New Yankee stadium, and doesn't want to be blamed for their future failures. "I don't want to be responsible for sinking the franchise," said a second worker, who witnessed the Red Sox jersey being buried. "I respect the stadium."

This unexpected news, exploded all over New York, and many Yankee fans weren't happy about the actions that occurred. "If I was a Yankees fan, that is my house. I don't want a Red Sox (jersey) under my house," Castignoli said. "I guess if the Yankees go 86 years in the new ballpark without a win we'll know if we are on to something."

Before the Red Sox jersey was found, Castignoli expected the future turn out to occur. "I won't be surprised in the least bit to see that visiting locker room torn up and relaid right away," he said. "This what makes the game special for baseball fans. It's not a mean thing, but something they will take seriously."

After reading the New York Post article, the two workers told the construction manager and said they knew Castignoli. He worked at the stadium for only one day, and said they had an idea of where the Red Sox jersey is buried. When they found the spot, the two construction workers got the jackhammer, and drilled into the ground for nearly five hours. "They absolutely pinpointed that if it was in the ground, that's where it was," Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said.

"The workers came forward this morning and said that they thought if there was a shirt buried, this is where it was," said McGillon. McGillon was happy he found out about the buried Red Sox jersey, and gave credit to the New York Post for reporting the news. "We want to thank The Post for raising the issue," McGillion said. "The [two] workers were terrific in coming forward. They wanted the shirt out of there."

Hank Stainbrenner wasn't happy about the Red Sox jersey being buried, and said some harsh words. "I hope his coworkers kick the s- - - out of him," said Hank. "It's a bunch of bull- - - -."

Castignoli wasn't pleased with Hank's comments, and he had some harsh words in-return. "So, then, why is he (Hank Stainbrenner) making such a big stink about it?" said Castignoli. "If it's no big deal, why not let it lay? Apparently, it's bothering him. Tell Hank he can come meet me if he wants to try - and tell him to bring (Yankees catcher Jorge) Posada, because he's the one Yankee I can't stand."


A PRAYER FOR TERRORISTS AT GROUND ZERO


A Prayer for Terrorists at Ground Zero

By The Daily Telegraph
April 14, 2008


Pope Benedict XVI will pray for the redemption of Islamic terrorists when he visits the site of the attacks of September 11 this week.


The pontiff will call for terrorists to convert to Christianity, saying: "Turn to Your way of love thosewhose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.


"God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance."


The prayer is likely to further incense the Muslim world, which has already attacked the pope for publicly converting a journalist and one of Italy's most high-profile Muslims, Magdi Allam, at Easter.


Osama bin Laden accused the pope of trying to provoke "a new crusade" against Islam.


A leading scholar and proponent of peaceful relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Islam, Aref Ali Nayed, said that there were "genuine questions about the motives, intentions, and plans of some of the Pope's advisers on Islam."


He said that religious conversion should not be "made into a triumphalist tool for scoring points."


The pope will also ask for "eternal light and peace to all who died" in the September 11 attacks. His prayer will remember "the heroic first-responders: our firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers… along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy".


The prayer will also mention the victims "on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania."


The pope will conclude: "Bring Your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth." He will then sprinkle the crater with holy water and bless the site.


Source: http://www2.nysun.com/article/74611

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE "ELITIST"

Ms. Rodham Clinton several dacades before all the plastic surgery and $400 coiffures.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made headlines this week-end by focusing on a statement that Senator Barack Obama made recently in Pennsylvania. Obama said that some people there were "bitter"; That's what the latest brouhaha is all about. It seems that there's something wrong with saying people are bitter. Well let's pull out the Roget's Thesaurus and find a more suitable euphemism. How about acrid? Or absinthian, or embittered? How about sardonic or acrimonious? Does this sound elitist to you Ms. Junior Senator from New York, ex-First Lady of the U.S., ex-First Lady of Arkansas, and ambitious Lawyer-Yale alumnus? What was the recent revelation of her net worth? Not, $109 Mill-ion? Elitist, hah? What balderdash? Poppycock, even!



Ms. Rodham Clinton ought to just fold her carpet bag, and go back to Washington to run the business of representing her "home" state. I think if anyone's an elitist it's Hill-ary. Obama doesn't stand a change in winning the election. But, pesky Clinton doesn't either. She should just give it a rest. The nation needs you as president, as much as New York needs you to represent it. Take two aspirins and report to congress where there's never enough "hot air".



Arsenio.


P.S."I don't make the news, I just have a negative reaction to horsefeathers".

UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR STUDY OF NEOCONS' ROLE IN 911




U.N. Official Calls for Study Of Neocons' Role in 9/11



By ELI LAKE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 10, 2008



WASHINGTON — A new U.N. Human Rights Council official assigned to monitor Israel is calling for an official commission to study the role neoconservatives may have played in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.



On March 26, Richard Falk, Milbank professor of international law emeritus at Princeton University, was named by unanimous vote to a newly created position to report on human rights in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. While Mr. Falk's specialty is human rights and international law, since the attacks in 2001, he has devoted some of his time to challenging what he calls the "9-11 official version."



On March 24 in an interview with a radio host and former University of Wisconsin instructor, Kevin Barrett, Mr. Falk said, "It is possibly true that especially the neoconservatives thought there was a situation in the country and in the world where something had to happen to wake up the American people. Whether they are innocent about the contention that they made that something happen or not, I don't think we can answer definitively at this point. All we can say is there is a lot of grounds for suspicion, there should be an official investigation of the sort the 9/11 commission did not engage in and that the failure to do these things is cheating the American people and in some sense the people of the world of a greater confidence in what really happened than they presently possess."



Mr. Barrett, who is the co-founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, said in an interview yesterday of Mr. Falk, "I would put him on a list of scholars who are sympathetic to the 9/11 truth movement."



He added, "Unlike most public intellectuals today, he is both honest and very, very knowledgeable in that he understands the probable reality of 9/11. He understands that the evidence that it was a false flag operation is very strong."



The narrative that the attacks from 2001 were a "false flag" operation is a recurring theme in the literature challenging the consensus that 19 Al Qaeda hijackers flew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. False flag refers to espionage or covert actions taken by one government made to seem like the work of another. The false flag thesis has it that the Bush administration is somehow responsible for the September 11 attacks as a pretext for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.



Mr. Falk yesterday did not return e-mails and phone calls asking for a comment. But in 2004 he wrote the foreword to the book "The New Pearl Harbor," by David Ray Griffin. Mr. Griffin has posited that such an inside job is the likely explanation for the attacks.



In the preface, Mr. Falk writes, "There have been questions raised here and there and allegations of official complicity made almost from the day of the attacks, especially in Europe, but no one until Griffin has had the patience, the fortitude, the courage, and the intelligence to put the pieces together in a single coherent account."



When asked for a comment about the appointment of Mr. Falk, a former American ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton said, "This is exactly why we voted against the new human rights council." A spokesman for the American embassy at the United Nations offered no comment yesterday when asked.



A spokeswoman at the United Nations, Nancy Groves, yesterday also declined to comment. "I would not make a comment on how the member states vote on appointments. It is their council, they make their decisions," she said.



Mr. Falk's selection to the post as rapporteur has already prompted the government of Israel formally to request that Mr. Falk not be sent to their country. The Israeli press has reported that he may even be barred from entering the country.



The deputy permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations in New York, Daniel Carmon said, "We are asking the U.N. not to send him. We cannot agree to Mr. Falk's entrance into Israel in his capacity as the rapporteur."



One reason the Israelis are concerned about his appointment is that Mr. Falk has compared Israel's treatment of Palestinian Arabs to the Nazi treatment of Jews in the holocaust. In an April 8 BBC interview, Mr. Falk said he stood by the Israel-Nazi comparison.



The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, issued a statement yesterday saying, "This was clearly a singularly inappropriate choice for this position. Falk's startling record of anti-Israel prejudice should have been enough to preclude him from a position where an unbiased observer is needed to report on the status of human rights in the territories."



In a February 16, 1979, op-ed for the New York Times, Mr. Falk praised Ayatollah Khomeini and bemoaned his ill treatment in the American press. He wrote, "The depiction of him as fanatical, reactionary and the bearer of crude prejudices seems certainly and happily false."Nearly nine months later, student followers of Khomeini invaded the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 diplomats hostage for the following 444 days.



Source: http://www2.nysun.com/article/74465?page_no=1

ISAIAH 52



Isaiah 52


1Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

3For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

4For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

6Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

7How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

8Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

9Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

10The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

12For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.

13Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

15So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

ABOUT 'FALSE PROPHETS'



"FOR I TESTIFY UNTO EVERY MAN THAT HEARETH THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK, IF ANY MAN SHALL ADD UNTO THESE THINGS, GOD SHALL ADD UNTO HIM THE PLAGUES THAT ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK: AND IF ANY MAN SHALL TAKE AWAY FROM THE WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THIS PROPHECY, GOD SHALL TAKE AWAY HIS PART OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND OUT OF THE HOLY CITY, AND FROM THE THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK." REVELATION 22:18, 19.


FROM THIS TEXT IT IS CLAIMED THAT GOD, WHO AT SUNDRY TIMES AND IN DIVERS MANNERS SPAKE IN TIME PAST TO THE FATHERS BY THE PROPHETS, AND, IN THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL DAY, BY JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES, HAS HEREBY SOLEMNLY PROMISED NEVER TO COMMUNICATE ANYTHING MORE TO MAN IN THAT WAY. THEREFORE ALL PROPHESYING AFTER THIS DATE MUST BE FALSE. THIS, IT IS SAID, CLOSES THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. IF SO, WHY DID JOHN WRITE HIS GOSPEL AFTER HIS RETURN FROM PATMOS TO EPHESUS? IN DOING SO DID HE ADD TO THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THAT BOOK WRITTEN IN THE ISLE OF PATMOS? IT IS EVIDENT, FROM THE TEXT, THAT THE CAUTION AGAINST ADDING TO, OR TAKING FROM, REFERS NOT TO THE BIBLE AS WE HAVE THE VOLUME COMPILED, BUT TO THE SEPARATE BOOK OF REVELATION, AS IT CAME FROM THE HAND OF THE APOSTLE. YET NO MAN HAS A RIGHT TO ADD TO, OR SUBTRACT FROM, ANY OTHER BOOK WRITTEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD. DID JOHN, IN WRITING THE BOOK OF REVELATION, ADD ANYTHING TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY? NOT AT ALL. A PROPHET HAS NO RIGHT TO ALTER THE WORD OF GOD. BUT THE VISIONS OF JOHN CORROBORATE THOSE OF DANIEL AND GIVE MUCH ADDITIONAL LIGHT UPON THE SUBJECTS THERE INTRODUCED. I CONCLUDE, THEN, THAT THE LORD HAS NOT BOUND HIMSELF TO KEEP SILENCE, BUT IS STILL AT LIBERTY TO SPEAK. EVER BE IT THE LANGUAGE OF MY HEART, SPEAK, LORD, THROUGH WHOM THOU WILT; THY SERVANT HEARETH.


THUS THE ATTEMPT TO PROVE FROM SCRIPTURE THE ABOLITION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PROVES A TOTAL FAILURE. AND SINCE THE GATES OF HADES HAVE NOT PREVAILED AGAINST THE CHURCH, BUT GOD STILL HAS A PEOPLE ON EARTH, WE MAY LOOK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GIFTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE, A MESSAGE WHICH WILL BRING BACK THE CHURCH TO APOSTOLIC GROUND AND MAKE IT INDEED THE LIGHT--NOT DARKNESS--OF THE WORLD.


AGAIN: WE ARE FOREWARNED THAT THERE WOULD BE FALSE PROPHETS IN THE LAST DAYS, AND THE BIBLE GIVES A TEST BY WHICH TO TRY THEIR TEACHINGS IN ORDER THAT WE MAY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TRUE AND THE FALSE. THE GRAND TEST IS THE LAW OF GOD, WHICH IS APPLIED BOTH TO THE PROPHESYINGS AND TO THE MORAL CHARACTER OF THE PROPHETS. IF THERE WERE TO BE NO TRUE PROPHESYINGS IN THE LAST DAYS, HOW MUCH EASIER TO HAVE STATED THE FACT, AND THUS CUT OFF ALL CHANCE FOR DECEPTION, THAN TO GIVE A TEST BY WHICH TO TRY THEM, AS IF THERE WOULD BE THE GENUINE AS WELL AS THE FALSE.


IN ISAIAH 8:19, 20, IS A PROPHECY OF THE FAMILIAR SPIRITS OF THE PRESENT TIME, AND THE LAW IS GIVEN AS A TEST: "TO THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY: IF THEY SPEAK NOT ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, IT IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO LIGHT IN THEM." WHY SAY, "IF THEY SPEAK NOT," IF THERE WAS TO BE NO TRUE SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATION OR PROPHESYING AT THE SAME TIME? JESUS SAYS, "BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS. . . . YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS." MATTHEW 7:15, 16. THIS IS A PART OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, AND ALL CAN SEE THAT THIS DISCOURSE HAS A GENERAL APPLICATION TO THE CHURCH THROUGH THE GOSPEL AGE. FALSE PROPHETS ARE TO BE KNOWN BY THEIR FRUITS; IN OTHER WORDS, BY THEIR MORAL CHARACTER. THE ONLY STANDARD BY WHICH TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEIR FRUITS ARE GOOD OR BAD, IS THE LAW OF GOD. THUS WE ARE BROUGHT TO THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY. TRUE PROPHETS WILL NOT ONLY SPEAK ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, BUT THEY WILL LIVE ACCORDING TO IT. ONE WHO SPEAKS AND LIVES THUS, I DARE NOT CONDEMN.



IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CHARACTERISTIC OF FALSE PROPHETS THAT THEY SEE VISIONS OF PEACE; AND THEY WILL BE SAYING, "PEACE AND SAFETY," WHEN SUDDEN DESTRUCTION COMES UPON THEM. THE TRUE WILL BOLDLY REPROVE SIN AND WARN OF COMING WRATH.


PROPHESYINGS WHICH CONTRADICT THE PLAIN AND POSITIVE DECLARATIONS OF THE WORD, ARE TO BE REJECTED. THUS OUR SAVIOUR TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES WHEN HE WARNED THEM CONCERNING THE MANNER OF HIS SECOND COMING. WHEN JESUS ASCENDED TO HEAVEN IN THE SIGHT OF HIS DISCIPLES, IT WAS DECLARED MOST EXPLICITLY BY THE ANGELS THAT THIS SAME JESUS SHOULD SO COME IN LIKE MANNER AS THEY HAD SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN. HENCE JESUS, IN PREDICTING THE WORK OF THE FALSE PROPHETS OF THE LAST DAYS, SAYS, "IF THEY SHALL SAY UNTO YOU, BEHOLD, HE IS IN THE DESERT; GO NOT FORTH: BEHOLD, HE IS IN THE SECRET CHAMBERS, BELIEVE IT NOT." ALL TRUE PROPHESYING ON THAT POINT MUST RECOGNIZE HIS VISIBLE COMING FROM HEAVEN. WHY DID NOT JESUS SAY, REJECT ALL PROPHESYING AT THAT TIME; FOR THERE WILL BE NO TRUE PROPHETS THEN?






Early Writings (1882), page 137-139.



Chapter Title: Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1



(INTRODUCTION)

Source: http://www.egwtext.whiteestate.org/cgi-bin/egw2html?C=20136574&K=100941041410814844&M=P

Sunday, April 13, 2008

PREPARING FOR THE SUNDAY LAW

Preparing for the Sunday Law

#095 - July 2001
This sermon is part of a series entitled MEETING THE CRISIS (8 of 9)


By Elder Lawrence Nelson


Let us begin with the words of Christ found in Matthew 7:24 - 27, "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."


Please note how this passage of scripture begins with the word "therefore." This infers that the following four verses are the conclusion of Christ's Sermon on the Mount in which He foretold of coming events. I quote, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 5:10 - 12.


This is why Christ ends this sermon with a two-fold parable. He is appealing to the individual who heareth because he who listens sufficiently to grasp the message has sufficient light to act and become responsible before God. It is dangerous to hear the truth and then not to translate such into action. The sons of God who follow the leading of the Spirit will discover that obedience transforms the words of Christ into personal character. Thus the words of Christ, "I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house (that is his character) upon a rock (which is the Lord Jesus Christ)," and he will discover that his mind will remain steadfast when the Sunday Law is enforced. Such individuals have dug deeply upon the solid rock for a firm foundation. Let the winds of temptation and trial burst upon them for they will remain faithful. Praise God, their house will not fail.


Will you join me now as we pray for guidance. Dear Heavenly Father, we are going to study how to prepare for the coming Sunday Law. Please enlighten our eyes with the Holy Spirit that we may understand how to prepare for this final test. This we ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.



First of importance, we need to take a look at the close call for Sunday legislation. On July 7, 1998 at the Vatican City there was released the pope's one hundred page apostolic letter entitled "Dies Domini" - "The Day of the Lord." This is the pope's call for Sunday observance and legislation. How has the world reacted to the pope's call for Sunday observance and legislation? - Let me give you an example. The Washington Post contained an article on Wednesday, July 8, 1998 (p. A-20) which summarized the pope's apostolic letter. This article says that the pope strongly underlines the importance to observe Sabbath. He used the word "Sabbath" for "Sunday." The pope said, "Holiness of the Lord's Day must be protected at all costs." He described the Sabbath as, "a day of joy, rest and solidarity." The Sabbath, he said, "should be a day for worship and a day for the family." The pope's apostolic letter comprises five chapters, which set forth his conviction of the importance of the obligation of Sunday observance and the need for legislation to facilitate Sunday worship now.


Let's look for more of these details at how the pope did this in his apostolic letter.


1. First, the legislation passed by Constantine is favorably commented on. Sunday observance was not enforced prior to the civil legislation passed by the Roman emperor Constantine in AD 321. Prior to this edict Christians would, in many cases, attend an early morning worship service and then spend the rest of Sunday working at their various occupations. Therefore the Sunday Law, which was legislated by Constantine, was not "a mere historical circumstance of no special significance for the church." (p. 72). But in the pope's opinion it was a providential protection that made it possible for Christians to observe Sunday without hindrance. (p. 72). For the pope the same legislation is to be applied today.


2. The pope mentions the church's role in making sure there was civil legislation guaranteeing Sunday rest after the fall of the Roman Empire. "Even after the fall of the Roman Empire, the councils did not cease to insist upon arrangements (that's civil legislation) regarding Sunday rest." (p. 72).


3. (Listen carefully) The pope expresses his belief in the need for civil legislation to guarantee Sunday rest by directly mentioning that the church made laws to govern Sunday, which were to be enforced by the state. Concerning the church making such laws I quote, "Through the centuries she (the Roman Catholic Church) has made laws concerning Sunday rest." (p. 73).


4. The pope concludes, "Therefore, also in the particular circumstance of our time Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy." (p. 75).


From this we can clearly see that the pope is calling for Sunday legislation now. The important thing to understand is that the Sunday issue is taking place in three stages: First, by agitation; second by legislation; and to be followed by the third step, enforcement. Since Pope John Paul is recognized by the world as the spiritual leader of this planet this apostolic letter strongly agitates for Sunday legislation now.


What does the Spirit of Prophecy tell us about such legislation? "The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama." Christian Service p. 50. Therefore it is possible that the National Sunday Law in America could be issued at any time now. "America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6, p. 18.


Inspiration continues, "And all who prove their loyalty by obedience to the law of Jehovah must be prepared to be arrested, to be brought before councils that have not for their standard the high and holy law of God." Maranatha p. 195. From this we can see that we must not have the smallest doubts about the fundamental pillars of our faith. And most important we must personally experience true justification by faith (that's the New Birth) which will give us a living, loving relationship and a friendship with Jesus our Savior and Lord. Without Him, when the storm comes, we will be blown away like leaves in autumn.


We must not be discouraged for we know that God is love and He is full of mercy. He wants us all to be with Him for eternity. If we commit our souls to Him and cooperate with Him He will prepare us for the Sunday Law and sustain us. Why has God revealed this time of trouble to come? - Let the Spirit of Prophecy answer, "God has revealed what is to take place in the last days that His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and wrath." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 452. "Those who delay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble or at any subsequent time. The case of all such is helpless." Great Controversy p. 620.


Through His prophet, Ellen White, God warns us, "I saw that the remnant were not prepared for what is coming upon the earth. Stupidity, like lethargy, seemed to hang upon the minds of most of those who profess to believe that we are having the last message. My accompanying angel cried out with awful solemnity, 'Get ready! get ready! get ready! for the fierce anger of the Lord is soon to come. His wrath is to be poured out, unmixed with mercy, and ye are not ready.'" Early Writings p. 119.


Romans 13:11 also contains an urgent message for you and me today which says, "Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep." This can only mean that we should arouse from our lukewarm condition. But when? - the Scriptures says, "Now." Why? - Because we need to be ready for the last act in the drama.


If I should ask you, "Who believes that the end is near?" I am sure that every one of you would raise your hand. But this is the problem - we have always believed that the end is near. But now, when we live in the very end of the last and final generation the "end" in reality is not near, it is here now. If the pioneers of the Advent Movement, with Ellen White, were to be resurrected today and they could see the last end-time prophecies fulfilling before their very eyes they would shout, "Adventist people, wake up! The Lord is coming."


Inspiration tells us, "If you are right with God today, you are ready if Christ should come today." Heavenly Places p. 227. So we must remain right with God every day and in every moment of our lives or we won't be ready for the Sunday Laws and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Procrastination is not only the thief of time but also the thief of eternity.


But some may ask, "How can I be right with God all the time?" In the book Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4, p. 84 we are given this very wise counsel, "God would have His servants become acquainted with the moral machinery of their own hearts." We need to consider what is the meaning of the word "heart." In a spiritual sense it is our mind. Let us now consider how this moral machinery of our own heart functions and works. If we can understand this then we will come to know our own spiritual condition - if we are right with God today.


The seed of sin is in what the Bible calls the "heart" or the "mind." God tells us, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23. Christ reveals that it is the person's thoughts that defile for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matthew 15:19. It is by the heart that the entire person, the intellect, the will, the affections, emotions and the body is influenced. Because "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Jeremiah 17:9.


Our human nature can be described as corrupt, depraved and thoroughly sinful, so we can see that the control center of sin is in the human mind. Now the question: "What is God's divine plan to change our sinful hearts?" The Spirit of Prophecy says, "It was Christ's mission to bring to man complete restoration." Ministry of Healing p. 17. Putting this in simple words, Christ came to restore what sin had marred. How can this restoration take place in my life? - In Bible Commentary, Volume 7, p. 926 the Spirit of Prophecy answers, "Jesus came to earth that He might restore to man the original mind which he lost in Eden."


Here are a few statements from the Spirit of Prophecy that tell us about the original mind that was lost in Eden after the fall into sin:


1. "The heaven-entrusted faculties of the mind are to be treated as the higher powers, to rule the kingdom of the body. The natural appetites and passions are to be brought under the control of the conscience." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 8, p. 63.


2. Before Adam's fall, man's "appetites and passions were under the control of reason." Patriarchs and Prophets p. 45.


3. "The body is to be brought into subjection. The higher power of the being are to rule. The passions are to be controlled by the will, which is itself to be under the control of God." Ministry of Healing p. 130.


From these statements we see that when God created man He gave him the higher powers of reason, will and the conscience to control the lower powers of appetite, desire and passions. All is to be under the control of the Holy Spirit, who from the very beginning dwelt in Adam and Eve. The Spirit of Prophecy says, "From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator." Desire of Ages p. 161. This is why Adam and Eve had spiritual minds before they sinned. In the human nature before the fall the spiritual mind of reason, the will and the conscience were the higher powers of the brain or "heart" and they controlled the lower powers of appetite, desire and passion.


Please see the chart that accompanies this sermon. This was the original mind that man lost in Eden. The higher powers consisting of reason, will and conscience function in the frontal lobe of the brain. Functions of the lower powers such as the appetite, desires and passions are located in the back lobe called the limbic system. Both the higher powers and the lower powers are directly connected to all parts of the body by an intricate chemical and electrical system. All parts minister to the needs of all the other parts and each responds to impulses from all the others.


Now the question: "What change took place as a result of Adam's sin?" - Just the reverse. The human nature after the fall was governed by the carnal or the lower power of the mind in which appetite, desires and passions now controlled the reason, the will and the conscience. Now you can understand the change that took place. Before the fall into sin, Adam and Eve had a spiritual mind, but after the fall they had a carnal mind. So what's the solution to this problem? - It's not simple to stop sinning or to stop doing sinful acts because our sinful acts are only a symptom of the problem for it is the nature of the carnal mind to sin.


How can we then resolve the matter of sin in our lives? - Let's see how the Apostle Paul discovered the answer. I am reading from Romans 7, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. ...For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ...O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" It is here that Paul, through the Holy Spirit discovered the problem for Romans 7:14 says, "I am carnal, sold under sin." Who sold him under sin? - It was Adam by his personal decision to obey Satan rather than God.


From this you can see with Paul that the real sin problem in our sinful, carnal mind condition was brought about by the fall of Adam. It is this condition of our minds that underlies all our sinning. It is well to keep in mind that we are not personally guilty for Adam's sin, yet we are still very much affected by the results of that transgression. Every child of Adam that is born into the world, except Jesus, is born with a selfish human nature.


Then in what way was Jesus different? - Christ "was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking the nature, but not the sinfulness, of man." Signs of the Times May 29, 1901. This is why we read, "In him was no guile or sinfulness; he was ever pure and undefiled; yet he took upon him our sinful nature." Review and Herald December 15, 1896. From this we can see that sinful nature, or sinful flesh, which Christ and we inherited does not constitute sin. But the sinfulness of the carnal mind that Jesus didn't take we inherited from Adam and this is what causes us to sin. This is the real problem of humanity.


As I mentioned before, the seed of sin is in what the Bible calls the "heart" which we know as the mind. "From the heart springs the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23. Christ reveals that it's the person's thoughts that defile. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matthew 15:19.


Beloved, I have some good news. A person who has experienced justification (or the New Birth) does not have the sinfulness of a selfish, carnal mind, because he has the mind of Christ - the spiritual mind. However, he still has sinful flesh as did Jesus. The majority of people today think and concentrate only on avoiding acts of sin and forget the source from which sinful acts emerge. They do nothing about their sinful, carnal mind condition. This is why they continue sinning and confessing, sinning and confessing. If we stay in this condition we will be "justly condemned by the holy God." Review and Herald September 17, 1895.


But, praise the Lord, in Romans 8:1 it says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after (according to) the flesh, but after (according to) the Spirit." This means that those who are "in Christ" do not walk according to the carnal mind but according to the spiritual mind.


How can I be delivered from the dominion of sin of the carnal mind and instead be "in Christ" and walk according to the spiritual mind? Is it possible for man to deliver himself from this carnal dominion and be "in Christ"? The messenger of the Lord says, "It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. 'Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? Not one.' Job 14:4. 'The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' Romans 8:7. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but there they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart....


"It is not enough to perceive the...wisdom and the justice of His law, to see that it is founded upon the eternal principle of love. Paul the apostle saw all this when he exclaimed, 'I consent unto the law that it is good.' 'The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.' But he added in the bitterness of his soul anguish and despair, 'I am carnal, sold under sin.' Romans 7:16, 12, 14. He longed for the purity, the righteousness, to which in himself he was powerless to attain and cried out, 'O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?' Romans 7:24. (Now comes the answer that we have been looking for...) Such is the cry that has gone up from burdened hearts in all lands and in all ages. To all there is but one answer, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' John 1:29." Steps to Christ p. 18, 19. We should praise God for only Jesus can reverse and transform our hearts so that the spiritual mind of reason, the will and the conscience takes their rightful place as the higher powers. Look once more at that illustration that accompanies this sermon.


Oh what a Savior! Jesus made this possible on Calvary's cross and the only way we can obtain this change of heart is to come to Christ. Do I hear someone ask, "How do we come to Jesus?" We have the answer from the Lord Himself, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. This means come to Christ just as you are - with all your sins, with all your worry. Come in your lost condition with your sinful, carnal mind; yes, in the condition where your lower powers are dominating your higher powers. Jesus wants us to come to Him just as we are. We are to come with an entire surrender, having faith in Him and in His sacrifice.


The Spirit of Prophecy says, "As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus." Christ Object Lessons p. 163. Oh what a wonderful God we have! What a wonderful plan of salvation!


"If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. These two acts of forgiveness and cleansing are tied together and can never be separated. The holy scripture says, "A new heart also will I give you, (that's the original mind before the fall) and a new spirit (the spiritual mind) will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart (the carnal mind) out of your flesh." Ezekiel 36:26.


"To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives." Sons and Daughters of God p. 100. "When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature." Desire of Ages p. 324. So, when Jesus dwells in our hearts (our minds) with His righteousness, then he produces righteousness which will be revealed in a character filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22, 23).


Now we know how to be born again and justified by faith. This makes it possible to receive the Holy Spirit in the Early Rain. The Early Rain of the Holy Spirit will prepare us for the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Latter Rain to give the Loud Cry through which we will be able to finish the work, ready for the coming Sunday Law. Ready for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


Would you like to recommit your life to God today, asking Christ to give you a spiritual mind in which He rules your life? If so, please join me in earnest prayer. Oh Loving Father, please change our carnal minds by Thy creative power that our minds may become spiritual with divine power controlling our reason, our will and our conscience. We want to be ready now and every moment to come. For this we ask in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.


Source: http://www.ktfministry.org/resources/sermons/ser_ln095.htm