Saturday, October 10, 2009

STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE 64th SESSION OF THE U. N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY...


STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE 64th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE WORK OF THE ORGANIZATION , 10.10.2009

STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE 64th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE WORK OF THE ORGANIZATION

Here below is the statement by H.E. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda item 107: "Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization" (New York, 6 October 2009):

Mr President,

My delegation wishes to thank the Secretary-General for his report on the work of the organization and its clear call for the membership to restore hope and solidarity so that the 64th Session of the General Assembly becomes a point of renewal for this organization.

This past year the global community became more aware of the fragility of prosperity and growth. The world was hit by an economic crisis which has led to unprecedented numbers of people losing their jobs, security and the ability to provide even the basic necessities for their families. This crisis raised a number of questions about the causes and consequences of the economic downturn and created even more questions as to what the future will hold. Therefore, as we begin this 64th Session of the General Assembly one year after the deepening of the financial crisis, we do so with a new sense of purpose to learn from the mistakes and renew our commitment to the need for cooperation.

One area for a renewed sense of commitment to addressing the world’s problems is working to lift the burdens placed upon so many in this world due to the lack of economic resources. On numerous occasions, my delegation pointed to the need for greater global solidarity in order to tackle the moral implications which currently face the world and to give a renewed priority to the poor. We welcome the Secretary General’s recognition of the moral grounds which underlie the need to give priority to the most vulnerable in this endeavor.

In such an effort, my delegation reiterates the urgency for the United Nations and developed countries to come together to give assistance to the many countries unable to respond to the financial crisis and who continue to face security and development challenges. In some countries which lag behind the rest of the world, the precarious and drifting economic situation was not created but rather was accentuated by the current financial crisis. Development aid will be effective only to the extent local governments and civil society confront the situation with an impetus of responsibility to address the chronic political, administrative and social malfunctioning.

My delegation welcomes the Secretary General’s efforts to call for an increased commitment to peacebuilding and peacekeeping, for these are the vital cornerstones upon which the United Nations was created. All this will be achieved only in the context of a renewed commitment to responsible sovereignty both at the national and international levels.

Mr. President, the upcoming Copenhagen Conference on climate change will test the ability of the international community to work together to attend to a problem which has both global causes and consequences. At the heart of the climate change debate is the moral and ethical need for individuals, companies and States to recognize their responsibility to use the world’s resources in a sustainable manner. With this responsibility comes the duty of all States and international corporations that have somehow disproportionately used and abused global resources to shoulder their fair share in solving the problem.

With the agreement to work towards a legally binding instrument on the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, the Convention on Cluster munitions and the recent consensus by major nuclear powers to reduce nuclear stockpiles, there has been an increasing commitment by some States to address this fundamental issue. However, the ongoing proliferation of nuclear arms and the desire by some States to continue to spend disproportionate amounts of money on weapons suggest that further efforts are needed if we are to make serious progress in controlling and unilaterally disarming these instruments of destruction.

Our efforts to renew the work of the United Nations will remain unfulfilled unless the international organizations and individual States are able to incorporate the voices of civil society into all aspects of the work of the Organization. Civil society partners are critical players in delivering humanitarian relief, promoting the rule of law and bringing to light gross violations of human rights. In this regard, faith-based organizations play a vital role in providing insight into the local needs of the community, delivering care and fostering solidarity both locally and internationally for the needs of people around the world. My delegation welcomes the Secretary-General’s recognition of the critical role of civil society actors and we hope to work with delegations to further include civil society organizations in providing life saving care to those in need.

Mr. President, widespread corruption, health pandemics, persistent maternal mortality in some regions of the world, economic crisis, terrorism, food security, climate change and migration, all illustrate that in an increasingly globalized world, national solutions are only one part of the formula for contributing towards peace and justice. These global problems call for an international response and it is, therefore, imperative that the United Nations and other international organizations look inward and outward in order to make the necessary reforms to respond to the challenges of this interconnected world. In commending the Secretary General’s leadership, my delegation looks forward to working with you and the membership in the next year to help create an Organization guided by duty, morality and solidarity with those in need. Thank you Mr. President.

[01467-02.01] [Original text: English]

[B0625-XX.01]



P.S. Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis.

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Obama praises Catholic Church for new U.S. saint


By Michael O'Brien - 10/09/09 03:26 PM ET


President Barack Obama praised Friday the Roman Catholic Church's canonization of the priest who founded a lepers' colony in Hawaii.

Obama issued a statement professing his "deep admiration" for the life of Father Damien de Veuster, who established the island of Molokai in Hawaii as a haven for lepers in the late 19th century.

"I wish to express my deep admiration for the life of Blessed Damien de Veuster, who will be canonized on Sunday by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI," Obama said in a statement. "I also want to convey my best wishes to the Kingdom of Belgium and its people, who are proud to count Fr. Damien among their great citizens."

"Father Damien," as he is colloquially known to American Catholics, takes on a special significance to Hawaiians, where the president spent formative years in his youth.

Fr. Damien will be the ninth U.S. saint in history, and is expected to be canonized this month by Pope Benedict XVI.

The president called on the world to learn from the lesson of the soon-to-be saint when it comes to treating victims of HIV and AIDS.

"In our own time as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Fr. Damien’s resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick," he said.


*Bolds and highlights added for emphasis.
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Obama Addresses Gay Rights Group


Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
President Obama speaking at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington on Saturday.




By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: October 10, 2009


WASHINGTON — President Obama on Saturday renewed his vow to allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, but failed to offer a timetable for doing so — an omission likely to inflame critics who say he is not fighting aggressively enough for gay rights.

“I will end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ Mr. Obama told an audience of nearly 3,000 people at a fund-raising dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay advocacy group. “That is my commitment to you.”

The president’s emphatic declaration, on the eve of a major gay rights rally here, brought a huge roar from the crowd at the star-studded black tie dinner, where tickets cost as much as $1,000 and entertainment was provided by the singer Lady Gaga and the cast of the new Fox television comedy “Glee.” But outside the room, the president’s words met with a chillier reception.

Bil Browning, a blogger for Bilerico Project, a Web site aimed at a gay audience, said moments after the speech ended that the site was flooded with critical comments by people who said they had heard nothing new. “I could have watched one of his old campaign speeches and heard the same thing,” one wrote.

And even inside the room, reaction was mixed. Terry Penrod, a real estate agent from Columbus, Ohio, said some gay rights advocates were being too impatient with the president, while Raj Malthotra, 29, a management consultant from Washington, said he thought the speech was merely a rehash of Mr. Obama’s past promises.

“For him, it’s buy more time until he needs our votes again,” Mr. Malthotra said.

Mr. Obama campaigned as a “fierce advocate” of equal rights for gays, and he used Saturday’s speech to lay out his vision for the day when, as he said, “we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women are just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman,” and when “no one has to be afraid to be gay in America.”

Yet the president’s relationship with the gay community has been a conflicted one. He does not support gay marriage — as a matter of Christian principle, he has said — and he got off to a bad start with the gay community when he invited the Rev. Rick Warren, who opposes same-sex unions, to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

In the nine months since, Mr. Obama has made only limited progress on the issues that are important to gays. He has pushed for hate crimes legislation, and a bill, approved in the House on Thursday, now appears headed for passage.

He has put forth a package of domestic partnership benefits for federal workers, but faced criticism that the effort did not include health benefits. He has said he would push to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in other states, but it remains on the books.

But of all the issues Mr. Obama has vowed to address, the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is perhaps the one that arouses the most emotion. Mr. Obama said Saturday night that he is working with the Pentagon and with House and Senate leaders to repeal the policy, but many in the gay rights supporters have accused him of dragging his feet.

In the days before the speech, many said they expected him to lay out a timetable for overturning the policy or otherwise offer specifics on how he will achieve his goal.

“An opportunity was missed tonight,” Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents gay and lesbian soldiers, said in a statement afterward.

Mr. Obama spoke for about 20 minutes inside the packed Washington Convention Center here; outside, a small band of protesters stood on the sidewalk, carrying banners urging the president to live up to his promises. Among them was Mark Katzenberger, a software trainer from San Francisco, who said that despite his disillusionment with Mr. Obama, he would probably vote for him again.

Capturing the feeling of many, Mr. Katzenberger said, “Even our friends sometimes need a kick in the butt.”

Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.
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Interview - Dr. Alden Thompson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcYJaW5sPyAhttp://

jaredwrightus
September 08, 2008

I speak with Dr. Alden Thompson, professor of Biblical Studies at Walla Walla University. A backstage discussion of Adventism, Diversity, Scripture, Ellen White, and the Good News Tour.

Interview - Pastor Chris Oberg

Friends and Brethren,

I am providing this information for the many that are out of the information loop; Those that don't know the real condition of the SDA Church. As quiet as it's kept there are plenty of ordained Women pastors, Celebration worship services, New Theology proponents, and numerous other innovations. This is just the tip of the glacier.

Here let it be known that many will defend a church in a Laodicean state to the point of violence; "No, not my church". They may utter.

I choose to defend the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). My allegiances are with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in whose mouth was found no guile.

If you are living in a conservative pocket (a bubble) of the SDA spectrum?
Here's proof of the modern changes... Yet, they still call it Seventh Day Adventism?


Arsenio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU0kJiaAt0khttp://



jaredwrightus
September 08, 2008

I interview Chris Oberg, senior pastor of the Calimesa SDA Church. Pastor Oberg shares her response to a presentation by Dr. Desmond Ford at the Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda.


Related:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5zFwOJ_5o8http://

pastorikim

March 19, 2009


This is the farewell rap that was performed by the young families group.

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The Two-Horned Beast Of Rev XIII



Booklets & Pamphlets by J N Loughborough


The Two-Horned Beast Of Rev XIII.
Page 24


"It appears probable to us that this Sunday institution is the very point on which this union will finally be effected. Here is a point on which nearly all the Protestant sects can unite. A point which we may safely say is the important item in the faith of Protestants is their Sunday worship. And a thing which increases our suppositions concerning a union on this point is that we see the sects already reaching forward and urging the importance of more stringent laws for Sunday-keeping.

Verse 15. “And 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.” From this text we may draw two conclusions:

1. The image of the beast is to be made in the same territory where the two-horned beast rules; for the two-horned beast can exercise that authority in no territory but its own.
2. That it already has it in its “power to give life to the image of the beast,” or cause the decree to be made and executed. Is it not in the power of the United States to pass such laws? They declare by their constitution, “all men shall be protected in worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences.” We see the mass hold the first day of the week as a holy day. If a memorial should be sent into congress with 1,000,000 names signed to it, declaring that their rights were infringed upon, and praying them to pass a solemn enactment that the first day should not be profaned by labor, how soon the result would be a law upon the point.

Were the United States as a body to pass a law that Sunday should be kept holy, or not profaned by labor, there would be, I conceive, an image to Papacy; for the law would then be in the hand of the church, and she could inflict penalties on those who did not obey the Sunday institution.

Matters are moving here similar to the way they moved in the formation of the Papal beast. In A. D., 321, laws were passed prohibiting labor in cities and towns; but in 538, when the Pope was made supreme head of all the churches, this law was made universal. We claim that then commenced the union of church and State. Here we already have several stringent State statutes, and in most of our incorporated cities laws as rigid. Read the following concerning the law of Texas."

Special Note: For more on the "Daily" see J N Andrews "The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days." Or send me a rerquest on our contact form.


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Great is Thy Faithfulness


Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain




Music: Faith­ful­ness (Run­yan),
William M. Run­yan, 1923




Friday, October 09, 2009

"How the End Begins"


"How the End Begins"

by Pastor Kirk DiVietro,

Grace Baptist Church, Franklin, MA


Download the ASCII text version of this sermon

Text: Genesis 13:5-12

Introduction:

If you throw a ball straight up in the air when does it start to come down? If a nation begins to build an empire, when does that empire begin to decline? When does the Sun or the Moon begin to set? When do mountain climber start their descent? When does a Christian begin to backslide? When does the fervor for Christ begin to slip? When does the power begin to dissipate? When does it happen?

Genesis 13:5-12 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

He Pitched His Tent Toward Sodom

I. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom

This began Lot's decline. One day he woke up on the side of a mountain from a drunken stupor. Each of his daughters carried his child. His wife was a pillar of salt in the valley below. All of his earthly goods, his home, his wealth, his flocks, his prestige lay buried in the ashes of fire and brimstone. And it all started on the day when he pitched his tent toward Sodom. He had had it all!

II. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom

This made good sense, to the natural mind. Plenty of provisions but a discernable distance between he and the world. You have to interact with the World. His position toward Sodom would place him in position to be a witness to the inhabitants. As God blessed him, the world would be able to see it, and would come and ask "How" and "Why" giving him great influence with the people. He could demonstrate that being one of God's does not make one a dangerous extremist.

III. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom

This allowed the brilliant prospects of the immediate to blind him to the ultimate and unavoidable conclusion. He thought that he was strong enough to withstand the temptations. He thought he could protect his children from their influence.

IV. Application - We are No Different from Lot.

A.We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual things but go to the world for entertainment.

B. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual advice but go to the world for other advice.

C. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church to get spiritual and to the world to get fashionable.

D. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Message from the Bible but our Method from the World.

E. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our vision from the Bible but our Priorities from the World.

F. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our focus from the Bible but our motivation from the World. "Doing a right thing in the flesh is only one step away from doing a wrong thing in the flesh. (Dr. Jack Hyles)"

G. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we set our standards from the Bible, but our behavior from the Flesh.

H. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Commission from the Scriptures but our Resources from the flesh.

I. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our song lyrics from the Bible and our Music from the World.

J. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Assignments from the Holy Ghost and our Excuses from our world

K. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we want our children to serve the Lord after we have educated them to succed in the World.

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Death, No Gateway To Heaven — Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D.


Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D. — Death, No Gateway To Heaven

May 11, 2009 at 3:59 pm ·


In the Christian realm today there is unscriptural teaching concerning the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are constantly being told by well-meaning Christians that at death, “We go to be with the Lord.” This phrase is used especially at funerals where preachers misquote or take the Scriptures out of context to reassure the sorrowing that their loved ones are not really dead, but are really enjoying Heaven in God’s presence. This teaching promotes belief in the lie of Satan, rather than what God told Adam and Eve when He placed them in the Garden.

In Gen. 2:17 God said, “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die.” In the Hebrew this could read “Dying thou shalt die.” This was a certainty.

In Gen. 3:1, Satan speaks for the first time in the Scriptures. He asks Eve (by the Figure Erotesis for emphasis), “Yea, hath God said,” or “Can it be that God hath said…?”

In Gen. 3:4, Satan’s second utterance, we read, “And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die’….” This is a plain contradiction of God’s Word in Gen.2:17. As one has said long ago, “This has become the foundation of spiritism and traditional belief as to death.”

Let us search the Scriptures for ourselves and see what God has said and inspired His saints to record regarding the dead.

After the fall of Adam in Gen. 3:6, when he deliberately disobeyed what the Lord had commanded in Gen. 2:16-17, we read in Gen.3:19 God saying to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”

Notice that there is no mention of the traditional “hell.” The sentence is that man returns to dust.

In Job 14 we read in verse 10, “But man dieth and wasteth away: yea, man give up the ghost, and where is he?” Verse 12 reads, “So man lieth down and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Vs. 13-15 reads, “O Thou that wouldest hide me in the grave, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee…“

These verses in Job 14 teach us that Job, a believer, in God, acknowledges that man is but dust and returns to the dust at death. In that state, Job, as a believer, awaits a resurrection when God will call him to awake, and Job will answer. Death is but a sleep to the believer. This is what our Lord taught in John 11, and what Paul taught in 1Thess.4 and 1Cor.15. We shall speak of these passages later.

In Psalm 89:48, the writer says, “What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul (himself), for the hand (power) of the grave?”

We read in Psalm 115:17, “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.”

Psalm 49 teaches that man is not able to redeem himself, but is doomed to corruption. He is like the beasts that perish, (v. 12 &20). God alone redeems us from the grave or dust (v. 15).

In Ecclesiastes 9:5 we read that the dead know not anything, neither have they anymore a reward (advantage); for the memory of them is forgotten (ceases to exist). See also v.10.

The context of Eccl. 12 concerns the approaching old age of the individual. The once strong body is now like a frail trembling person unable to help himself. Verse 7 tells us that dust (body) returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. The word for spirit is the Hebrew word “ruach“, not nephesh (soul).

According to Gen. 2:7 the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth, or ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Heb. neshamah) of life and man became a living soul (Heb.-nephesh). So man is a soul, and without life (given by God) man is-or becomes-a dead soul. It is the spirit, or life, that God gives and takes away. There are no souls (as separate parts of the person) in Heaven.

What did our Lord say just before He died in Luke 23:46? “And when Jesus cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.” Jesus breathed life and it was committed into the Father’s care. Jesus for 3 days and three nights was dead.

Now back to the Old Testament again to see what God caused to be recorded.

In Gen. 25:8, we read, “Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.” This last phrase is an idiomatic figure of expression for death and burial. Abraham’s people were idolaters. See Joshua 24:2. So Abraham, the man of God, the man of faith, at his death went to the grave (dust of the earth), just as his people did who were idolaters.

In Gen. 35:29, we read, “And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”

In Gen. 49:29 we read, “And he (Jacob) charged them, and said unto them, “I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.” Verse 33 reads, “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”

Again we say that this expression “gathered unto his people” was a Hebrew idiom used for death and burial. There is no suggestion here of any one going to a place of bliss. It will take the resurrection power of God to raise the dead ones.

In Deut.32:49 the Lord told Moses to go to Mount Nebo to view the land of Canaan. In verse 50 God said, “And die in the mount….and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people.”

In Deut.34:5-7 we have recorded the burial of Moses by the Lord, which is said of no other. Verse 5, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the Word of the Lord.” Verse 6, “And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-Peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” Verse 7, “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.”

In Psalm 6:5, David in his prayer said, “For in death there is no remembrance of Thee. In the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” Also, in Psalm 30:9, “What profit is there in my ‘blood’ (or life), when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? shall it declare Thy truth?” Lev.17:11 says,”For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”

Turning now to the New Testament we see in John 3:16“…that whosoever believeth on Him (Christ) should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life…” Again in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” These verses do not teach us that the believer will not die, for in the next verse the Lord tells us, “..The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” This living is in the resurrection. The eternal life promised us will be fulfilled completely in the resurrection.

In John 11 we see the glory of God shown by the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In verse 11 Jesus said to His disciples, “…Our friend Lazarus; but go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”

Take note here that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was already dead. He was not in heaven. Verses 13 and 14 tells us exactly what the Lord meant in verse 11 when He said, “Lazarus sleepeth.” Verse 14 reads, “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ Now Lazarus is seen here as already decaying (verse 39). In verse 24, Martha says to the Lord, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She did not believe that her brother was in some place of bliss, such as Abraham’s bosom. This is the error that the unbelieving Pharisees taught the Jews. It was a false teaching that the Lord exposed in Luke 16 when He addressed these unbelieving Pharisees.

We remember the Old Testament teaching that man is a soul (Gen.2:7), and that at death his spirit, or life, goes back to God who gave it.

In John 11:33, when Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews which came with her, He groaned in the spirit (or Himself), and was troubled. The word ‘groaned’ has the meaning to snort as a horse does from fear or anger. Hence, to feel strong emotion or to be indignant.

The grave, or death is the realm of Satan, and Christ was about to remove Lazarus from this realm ahead of the resurrection time. The Lord was soon to go to the cross and die and be raised to break the power of the grave which Satan held. Of course, Lazarus had to die again as he did not have a resurrected body.

This whole context of chapter 11 was to show forth the glory of God as Jesus said in verse 40. If you, as a Christian, one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, believe that upon death a part of you can exist apart from the body, (which is exactly what the unbelieving Pharisees taught the Jews) and this part of you is enjoying himself in this state, then tell me: why did the Lord bring back Lazarus to this realm of woe and sorrow?

Also, why was the command given to the 12 in Matt.10:8 to raise the dead? And again, why did Elijah the prophet raise from death the widow’s son in 1Kings 17:17-24? And why did Paul in Acts 20:10 bring to life Eutychus, who was taken up dead? There is no place in the Scriptures where who were raised from death ever spoke of being in Heaven, or in a place of bliss.

Turn to Acts 2:29. Peter, speaking to Jewish people shortly after the day of Pentecost, said, “Men and brethren, let me freely (or frankly) speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre (or tomb) is with us unto this day.” Can anyone truthfully say that David, in some form, has gone to heaven to be with Christ? What does verse 34 tell us? “For David is not ascended into the heavens…”

Peter had just received the promise of God spoken of in Luke 24:49 by the resurrected Christ. This promise was to be endued (or filled) with power from on high. Peter received this on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. We must believe this Spirit-filled man when he said David has not ascended up to the heavens. David is seen as still sleeping in the dust. He is awaiting the call to life by his Lord.

In Acts 13, we find the apostle Paul speaking in Antioch (in Pisidia) to men of Israel, and those that fear God. In verses 16-37 Paul is giving forth a short summary of the history of Israel as a nation. The climax of this discussion is that God sent His son to Israel to be their Savior; they crucified Him, but God raised Him up. In verses 35-37 Paul writes, “Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, ‘Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption; For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on asleep, and was laid unto His fathers, and saw corruption. But He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”

Here we see the contrast between David and God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The expression “fell on sleep” is used by Paul for David’s dying and remaining in the grave, or state of death, until resurrection. David’s body experienced decay and corruption. Christ’s body did not see corruption as he was raised the third day. So Paul’s teaching agrees with Peter concerning the state of David.

Paul, the apostle of God, and chosen by God to preach good news to the nations concerning His Son Jesus Christ, was inspired to reveal more light on death of the believer and his resurrection from the state of death.

In 1Cor.15:12-23, Paul answers the objection of some in his day who said that there is no resurrection of dead ones. Paul said, “…if there be no resurrection of dead ones then Christ never was raised.”

In verse 17, Paul carries the case one step further and said, “…if Christ be not raised, then is our preaching vain (to no purpose), ye are yet in your sins.” Note here, the believers who have died (fallen asleep) are also perished. If believers go immediately to Heaven at death, could Paul have uttered this strong statement-”are also perished“? In verse 20 Paul shouts forth the the truth: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Note how often in these Scriptures we read of them that sleep, have fallen asleep, asleep in Christ. We cannot ignore these words which the Holy Spirit inspired, and say of the dead that they are not really dead, but immediately ushered into God’s presence.

Paul tells us in verse 22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Verse 23 “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” Christ is and has to come again. Verse 26 tells us the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death has not yet been put down, but because of Christ’s death and resurrection Satan’s hold on the power of death will eventually be put down.

We as believers in Christ are yet mortals, but we have the promise of immortality. In 1Tim.6:16 Scripture says that God only has immortality.

In 1Cor.15:51-55 we see more of God’s truth being revealed or made known. In verses 51 and 53 Paul says, “Behold, I show you a mystery (secret); We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. For this corruptible must put on corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Paul then says that when all the above happens, when shall be brought forth to pass the word that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is thy sting, O grave where is they victory?” See Isa.25:8 and Hosea 13:14.

When Paul wrote these truths to the Corinthians during the Acts period, Israel as a nation was on trial before God. The rulers and high priests had rejected their Messiah who had come according to their prophets. God answered Christ’s prayer on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

So, Israel had a second chance to repent as a nation and turn to Jesus their Messiah as Peter states in Acts 2 and 3. But stubborn Israel refused and God started to deal with individuals rather then the nation of Israel. The time element was such that Israel’s Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s Trouble spoken by Daniel the prophet, was very close at hand.

Paul’s message in 1Co.15 includes truths concerning this period of Israel’s tribulation as seen in versed 51 and 52. Paul expected that he could be one of those that would be alive at the end time of Israel’s Great Tribulation.

In verse 51 Paul said, “Behold, I shew (or tell) you a mystery (secret); We shall not all sleep (but be actually alive), but we shall all be changed (that is we shall instantly put on a resurrected body). Verse 52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumped shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (the living) shall be changed. “Verse 53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Verse 54, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ “Verse 55, “O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?”

These verses teach us that at this time, the living believer, as well as the dead believer in Christ, must put on a resurrected, glorified body in order to be partaker in Christ’s second coming. The dead ones have to be made alive and be clothed in an incorruptible body, and the living mortals must put on immortality, or instantly be changed with a spiritual glorified body.

Another area in Scriptures that is constantly used by both preachers and laymen is 2Cor. 5:8. This verse is taken out of it’s context to show that at death the believer is immediately alive in Heaven. This is not what the verse or context teaches us.

The subject matter form 4:14 to 5:8 is the believer’s resurrection and his present body and resurrection body. We have the Apostle Paul explaining to the Corinthians in 5:1 that there is a spiritual body that God has in His power to give at the time resurrection.In verse 2 Paul says, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house (habitation) which is FROM Heaven.” Paul expected and looked for the return of the Lord in his own lifetime during the Acts. He earnestly wanted a changed body ( the on spoken of in 5:1). Paul did not want to die, but rather the opposite, he wanted to be alive at Christ’s coming.

Paul said in 5:4 “For we that are in this tabernacle (or body) do groan, being burdened; not that we would be unclothed (dead and naked state with no body), but clothed upon (with that new or resurrected spiritual body of v. 1), that mortality might be swallowed up by life (eternal life). “

Paul was looking for the return of Christ in his lifetime, and so while still living in the flesh he could groan at for that new body. He could not groan at all if he were dead. He did not want to be found naked, or dead at Christ’s coming, but hoped to be alive, or clothed.

In v. 6 Paul explains that if we are at home (alive) in this body, we are absent from the Lord (without a change taking place or resurrection we do not see Christ). Verse 8 is often taken out of context of resurrection, to tell people that their loved ones who have died are now with the Lord. This is not what Paul is saying at all.

He sums up the context from 4:14 to 5:8 which concerns the earthly body (mortal) and the spiritual body (resurrection body).

Paul in verse 8 would be well pleased and delighted to leave this body (mortal body) and to present with the Lord (in his resurrected body). Now the error that is prevalent is, that apart from resurrection one at death can be immediately with the Lord. This error is taught in spite of what Paul teaches in 1Tim 6:16, that God only has immortality, but only in resurrection, not at death. Paul said in 1Cor.15:53, “This mortal must put on immortality.” This is in the context in resurrection.

At almost every funeral we find the preacher contradicting his message in which he has assured the bereaved that their loved one is now in God’s presence. After he quotes 2Cor.5:8 and not the previous verses of the context, he will most likely turn to 1Thess. 4:14-18. These verses flatly contradict the teaching that at death the believer departs to be with the Lord. Let us examine the context of this passage more closely.

Both epistles to the Thessalonians contain teaching concerning the soon coming of the Lord as predicted by the Lord himself in Matt.24 and Acts 1:1-7. The exact time of Christ’s second coming was not for His disciples to know, but the signs of that early period of Acts pointed to His soon appearance. Paul taught these things during all of missionary journeys, and wrote them to 1 & 2 Thess. and also 1 & 2 Cor. In Thess 1:10 Paul admonishes the believers who turned from idols to serve the true and living God, “…to wait for His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised out from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.” These believers in Christ were told to wait, to look for Christ’s coming in their lifetime.

But now since Paul had first visited them, some of the new converts had died. This had caused much sorrow among them, for now their dead ones would miss Christ’s coming.

So Paul had to write words of comfort to these people and he does this in Thess. 4:13-18. In verse 13 Paul writes, “I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (have died), that you sorrow not, even as others (unbelievers) which have no hope.” Notice the expression Paul uses here as he does so much else where, ‘them which are asleep.’ For Paul this meant that death is likened to sleep. Now in verse 14 Paul is showing the bereaved ones why they should not sorrow over their dead ones. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God (through Jesus) bring with Him.”

Here are the comforting words of Paul for the bereaved saints. They will come with Jesus at His coming to earth. But, you say, they are sleeping in death. Yes, but the next few verses explain how they will come with the Lord.

Verse 15: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive (have not died) and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede (go ahead) of the sleeping ones to meet the Lord.”

In verses 16 and 17 Paul explains just how this takes place and the sequence of events. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout (word of command), with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive, and remain (the living believers at this event), shall be caught up (snatched away) together with them (the risen dead ones) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so (by this order of events) shall we ever be with the Lord.”

This context the reveals the truth of God for this great event and the sequence in which it unfolds. These words of Paul were given in comfort to believers in verse 13.

Do you not see the contradiction of words of those who tell us our loved ones are already enjoying the bliss of Heaven? Friends, it takes a resurrection time to unite dead believers unto a living spiritual or resurrection body. The Scriptures demand such an explanation.

It seems to me that it is high time for the scriptural truth to be taught regarding the state of the dead that the Holy Spirit has given us to understand.

To sum up this teaching regarding the state of the believer who had died in Christ, we offer the following points:

1. Adam was created by God and was or became a living soul when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7). There is no basis for teaching that the man Adam had a soul in this or any other passage of Scripture.

2. If Adam disobeyed God by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam would die. (Gen 2:17).

3. Satan told Eve that she would not surely die. (Gen. 3:4)

4. The penalty of death was to return to dust of the earth. (Gen. 3:17-19).

5. The Old Testament teaches us that at death, the believers in God, gave up the spirit and were gathered to their people. This was and idiomatic expression for dying and being buried, just as their people before them had done. (Gen.49:29-33, 35:29, Deut.32:48-50).

6. The Psalms and Ecclesiastes teach that at death the spirit (that which is life) goes back to God who gave it. Also, in death, there is no memory, for the dead know nothing (Psalms 89:48, 115:17, Ecc.9:5, 12:7).

7. Our Lord taught His disciples that belief in Him would assure them of eternal life. They had this hope and joy within them, but it was in the resurrection that this promise was to be fully realized (John 10:27-28, 11:25-26, 5:24, 3:14-18, 3:36).

8. The expressions asleep, asleep in Christ, fallen asleep, and dead in Christ, were used by Christ and the Apostle Paul to show that the believer who had died was not to remain in the grave or death state forever. The time in the grave for the believer is so short that it is likened to going to sleep and awakening in the morning. Time for the dead believer does not exist (John 11:11-15, Acts 13:36, 1Cor.15:18-20, 1Thess.4:13-18).

9. Paul teaches us that only in the resurrected body can the saint, or Christian, be at home with the Lord. No one can live eternally with the Lord apart from his resurrection body. Paul strongly affirms that only God has immortality in Himself. We as living or dead believers have to put on immortality, and this is not when we die, but when Christ gives us a resurrection body in that day. (1Cor.15:42-44, 5-1-55, 2Cor.5:1-8; 1Tim.6:14-16).



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The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you


23And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
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Obama the Nobel Laureate


President Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Prizes »

Literature Chemistry Physics Medicine


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fgw-obama-nobel10-2009oct10,0,6126035.story

Previously we heard of several Nobel prizes awarded.

NOW:

After gallivanting (charismatically) over to Copenhagen, Denmark to personally appeal for the Olympics to be held in Chicago, Illinois in 2016; President Obama struck out in the contest for the Olympics; However, he now gets a consolation prize from the the Nobel committee of Oslo, Norway: A Nobel Peace Prize.

War is peace!


Solid! Now, Obama can get back to business of WMDs - What MacChrystal Desires: Another 60,000 troops, a surge (escalation) in the war on terror to defeat the elusive Taliban/Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

While we are on the subject of war and peace; Another homicide car bomber has killed scores of Pakistanis in Islamabad.
How much longer will it be before a surge is required in Pakistan? Until they branch off into the homeland of the Urdu?

Pakistan is next on the peace plan!


Arsenio.
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US spacecraft crash into the Moon


By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News


Nasa has crashed two unmanned spacecraft into the Moon in a bid to detect the presence of water-ice.

A 2,200kg rocket stage was first to collide, hurling debris high above the lunar surface.

A second spacecraft packed with science instruments analysed the contents of this dusty cloud before it also crashed into the Moon.

The identification of water-ice in the impact plume would be a major discovery, scientists say.

Not least because a supply of water on the Moon would be a vital resource for future human exploration.

The rocket stage hit the Moon's south pole at 1231 BST (0731 EDT), travelling at roughly twice the speed of a bullet.

That impact was expected to throw an estimated 350 tonnes of debris to altitudes of 10km (6.2 miles) or more.

The "shepherding spacecraft", designed to look for signs of water in the plume, followed it down, striking the surface at 1235 BST (0735 EDT).

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk





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The Net


The Net

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." {COL 122.1}


The casting of the net is the preaching of the gospel. This gathers both good and evil into the church. When the mission of the gospel is completed, the judgment will accomplish the work of separation. Christ saw how the existence of false brethren in the church would cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. The world would revile the gospel because of the inconsistent lives of false professors. Even Christians would be caused to stumble as they saw that many who bore Christ's name were not controlled by His Spirit. Because these sinners were in the church, men would be in danger of thinking that God
123
excused their sins. Therefore Christ lifts the veil from the future and bids all to behold that it is character, not position, which decides man's destiny.
{COL 122.2}

Both the parable of the tares and that of the net plainly teach that there is no time when all the wicked will turn to God. The wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest. The good and the bad fish are together drawn ashore for a final separation. {COL 123.1}

Again, these parables teach that there is to be no probation after the judgment. When the work of the gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and the evil, and the destiny of each class is forever fixed. {COL 123.2}

God does not desire the destruction of any. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" Eze. 33:11. Throughout the period of probationary time His Spirit is entreating men to accept the gift of life. It is only those who reject His pleading that will be left to perish. God has declared that sin must be destroyed as an evil ruinous to the universe. Those who cling to sin will perish in its destruction. {COL 123.3}


Christ's Object Lessons, E. G. W., pp.122-123.

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Thursday, October 08, 2009

US spacecraft set for Moon crash

By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News




The "shepherding spacecraft" will analyse the impact debris


Nasa is set to crash two unmanned spacecraft into the Moon in a bid to detect the presence of water-ice.

A 2,200kg rocket stage will be first to collide, hurling debris high above the lunar surface.

A second spacecraft packed with science instruments will then analyse the contents of this dusty cloud before meeting a similar fate.

The identification of water-ice in the impact plume would be a major discovery, scientists say.

Not least because a supply of water on the Moon would be a vital resource for future human exploration.


There is hydrogen down in that crater, we're going to go dig some of it up

Anthony Colaprete, Nasa



The existence of water-ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles had previously been postulated by scientists, but never confirmed.

The $79m mission is called LCROSS (the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite).

There are two main components: the large Centaur rocket upper stage and a smaller "shepherding spacecraft".

These have been connected since they were launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in June.

The shepherding spacecraft is designed to guide the rocket to its target at the Moon's south pole, a shaded 98m-wide depression called Cabeus crater.

Rocket separation

In the early hours of Friday morning (BST), the Centaur and shepherding spacecraft will separate.

At a scheduled time of 1231 BST (0731 EDT), the rocket stage will hit the Moon's south pole at roughly twice the speed of a bullet, throwing an estimated 350 metric tonnes of debris to altitudes of 10km (6.2 mile) or more.

With an energy equivalent to that released by one-and-a-half tonnes of TNT, the collision will carve out a crater some 20m (66ft) wide and about 4m (13ft) deep.

The shepherding spacecraft will follow in the Centaur's wake, descending through the debris plume to hit the lunar surface four minutes after the initial impact.


We will have to be careful to keep some areas as 'protected parks' on the Moon

Bernard Foing, chief scientist, Esa



It will use onboard spectrometers to look for signs of water, hydroxyl compounds (OH), salts, clays, hydrated minerals and organic molecules in the sun-lit plume.

The spacecraft will collect data continuously until it too slams into the Moon, generating a second, smaller debris cloud.

Craters such as Cabeus are permanently draped in darkness and thus very cold, receiving heat only from space and from the Moon's interior (which is not thought to be geologically active).

Here in the lunar "shadowlands", ice - perhaps delivered by cometary impacts - is protected from the Sun's rays and could remain stable over geological timescales.

"If ice is present in the permanently shaded craters... it could potentially provide a water source for the eventual establishment of a manned base on the Moon," said Dr Vincent Eke, from Durham University, UK, who is not a member of the LCROSS team.

Excess hydrogen

But Dr Bernard Foing, chief scientist at the European Space Agency (Esa), said it would be desirable to protect some of this polar ice, if it indeed exists.

"We will have to be careful to keep some areas as 'protected parks' on the Moon. This is so that we could, for instance, send a lander, drill down and obtain a core sample a few metres in depth," he told BBC News.

The red dots show impact points for the two spacecraft in Cabeus crater


"Then we could eventually study the history of delivery of water to the Moon and the Earth."

Dr Foing will work with the LCROSS team to compare the data from LCROSS with those collected when Esa's Smart-1 probe which was brought down on the Moon's surface in 2006.

The idea that reserves of water-ice might persist in these dark craters was given a boost by Nasa's Lunar Prospector mission, which launched in 1998.

By looking at the energy of neutrons coming from the Moon, scientists found excess hydrogen at both poles.

This result does not confirm the presence of water-ice; the hydrogen could be in another form. But if it does exist in the form of ice, data suggest the lunar poles could hold hundreds of metric tonnes.

Anthony Colaprete, principal investigator on the LCROSS mission, said data received in the past few days backed the team's decision to target Cabeus crater.

"There is hydrogen down in that crater, we're going to go dig some of it up," he explained.

Professional astronomers will study the impacts using ground-based telescopes, including the Magdalena Ridge and Apache Ridge Observatories in New Mexico, US, and the MMT Observatory in Arizona.

The Centaur impact plume may be visible through amateur-class telescopes with apertures as small as 10 to 12 inches, mission scientists said.

Earth-orbiting satellites are also geared up to observe the collisions, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Odin satellite, an astronomy and aeronomy mission led by Sweden.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8297811.stm
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P.S.
  1. Where are the conservationists protesting this destruction of the moon?
  2. Where's Al Gore with the Global Warming agenda on this issue?
  3. I guess there are no polar bears on the moon.
  4. What is the carbon foot print of this crash?

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Mother of Slain Chicago Teen Says Adults are 'Afraid'

Posted by Jeff Mays on Oct 5th 2009 5:00PM



An-Janette Albert is right. We've become a bunch of onlookers and rubberneckers, watching while an entire generation destroys itself.

Albert is the mother of Derrion Albert, the Chicago honors student who was killed recently when he was hit in the head with a railroad tie and then stomped and kicked as he lay injured during a fight just blocks from his high school. The 16-year-old was a good kid who some say was trying to help out a friend or just happened to walk into the middle of a melee.

During a heartbreaking interview with CNN, An-Janette touches on what I think is one of the primary reasons that some teenagers are running wild: fearful adults."I believe they are afraid. If these kids are beating kids in school with sticks, what do you think they are going to do to a woman trying to take her bags and stuff out the car. I'm afraid. I'm scared of standing out on the porch," Albert said when asked by CNN's Don Lemon about the role adults could have played to stop this tragedy. "I don't want to go anywhere, and I don't want my baby to go anywhere."

Why should we fear sitting on the porch in our own communities, bringing groceries from the car or (dare I say it) disciplining one another's kids.

One time, my wife and I were waiting for an elevator in an apartment building while visiting a friend. A young lady walked in and was unwrapping an ice pop. Once she got the wrapper off and put the blue ice in her mouth, she threw the wrapper on the ground. All of a sudden my wife yelled, "Pick that up now! Who's supposed to clean up after you?"

The young woman immediately bent down and picked up the wrapper and apologized. Not only that, her friends began ribbing her for being a litterer and not caring about the cleanliness of her own community. She knew what she did was wrong; she just needed a responsible adult to remind her.

Now I'm not saying that we should run to the corner and wrestle the gun from a drug dealer's hands, but adults need to get themselves together and take control. Adults had to know that the fighting at Derrion Albert's high school was a chronic situation. An adult should have been there to yell, "Put that board down. Take your behinds home."

We need adults to intervene in young people's lives before they pick up a gun or a board.

After tragic events like this, we always hear about how there aren't enough after-school programs or how we need better schools or more police presence. We should come together first and then the resources to deal with the problem will line up behind us. In fact, these resources are not going to come close to solving the problem unless parents, relatives, neighbors and friends step up.

President Obama is sending U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to Chicago Wednesday to talk about the violence there.

I hope this is the message he delivers: "We will provide resources, but the most important resource is you, the parent."

An-Janette can barely make it through the interview without breaking down. She is amazed, as we all should be, that no one stepped in to help her son until it was too late.

"If that was anybody's child...there's no way in the world I could have just stood by and watched that happen...to anybody," said Albert.

Neither should we.
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House OKs measure to make anti-gay violence a hate crime

The legislation, attached to a defense bill despite GOP protests, is supported by President Obama. It also covers attacks on members of the military.
By Richard Simon

October 9, 2009

Reporting from Washington - A long-debated bill to strengthen the federal hate-crime law to cover violence against gays moved through the Democratic-controlled House today over Republican objections that it was attached to a defense bill.

The measure, expected to go before the Senate within days, had faced a veto threat from President George W. Bush, but enjoys President Obama's support. The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, said the vote puts the bill "closer to becoming law than ever before."

"It's a very exciting day for us here in the Capitol," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said, noting that she has pushed for strengthening the law since her arrival in Congress 22 years ago.

"What makes these crimes so bad is they are not just crimes against individuals; they are crimes against entire communities," openly gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said during the debate.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said that the president looks forward to signing the bill.

"As the president said back in April, the hate-crimes bill takes on an important civil rights issue to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association," he said.

The legislation -- the first major expansion of the 1968 hate-crimes law -- would expand the law to cover acts of violence motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity. Existing federal law defines hate crimes as those motivated by bias based on religion, race, national origin or color.

The measure also would give federal authorities more leeway to aid state and local law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles and to train law enforcement officers in investigating, prosecuting and preventing hate crimes.

House approval of the measure, long championed by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), comes as Obama prepares to address the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday.

The gay rights group will present an award to Judy and Dennis Shepard, whose gay son, Matthew, was brutally beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die 11 years ago in Wyoming. The legislation is named after him and James Byrd, a black man who was dragged to death behind a truck the east Texas town of Jasper, also in 1998.

The measure passed by a vote of 281 to 146, with Republicans attacking Democrats for putting them in the politically awkward position of voting against a defense bill.

"We should not be doing social engineering on this bill," Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) objected. To the Democrats, he added: "Shame on you."

The bill includes also creates a new federal crime for attacking members of the military because of their service.

Opponents have argued that existing laws cover hate crimes. "Violent attacks on people are already illegal regardless of the motive behind them," said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), warning that the legislation would "put us on a slippery slope of deeming particular groups as more important than others under our system of justice."

A number of Republicans also assailed the measure as "thought crimes" legislation, contending it could lead to a prosecution of a pastor delivering sermons against homosexuality if one of his church members committed a hate crime. They have hinted at a constitutional challenge.

"Congress should protect all Americans equally and not provide special protections to a few politically favored groups," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement. "It violates the principle of equal justice under the law and also threatens to infringe on the free speech rights of the American people."

The bill's supporters say that they added language to the measure to protect freedom of religious expression.

"There are ample safeguards in the bill for constitutionally protected speech," said Brian Moulton, chief legislative counsel of the Human Rights Campaign.

The group's president, Joe Solmonese, added: "The day is within sight when lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people will benefit from updating our nation's hate-crimes laws and giving local law enforcement the tools they need to combat hate violence."

richard.simon@latimes.com


Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times


Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hate-gays9-2009oct09,0,3652953.story?track=rss

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President Obama to Speak to Gay-Activist Group

10-6-09
President Obama to Speak to Gay-Activist Group

by Steve Jordahl, senior correspondent

'It’s going to be very difficult for him to move forward with a real activist agenda, and my hope is the conservatism of America will continue to balance him out.'


President Barack Obama will deliver the keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) 13th Annual National Dinner on Saturday.

Obama has made many promises to gay activists. One of those promises came at the signing of a memorandum granting same-sex benefits to federal employees.

"Among the steps we have not yet taken, is to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)," he said. "I believe it is discriminatory, I think it interferes with state’s rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it."

Many gay activists are growing impatient. The president has had his hands full with health-care reform and declining political capital. On top of that, Dr. Michael Brown, director of the Coalition of Conscience said, the public largely opposes the gay agenda — but that’s not why he thinks Obama has moved slowly.

"I don’t think it’s religious conviction, I don’t think it’s moral conviction, I think it’s simply political expediency," he said.

This will be the second time a sitting president has addressed HRC. President Bill Clinton spoke in 1997.

HRC is lobbying the administration to take action on gays in the military, hate-crimes legislation and the repeal of DOMA, but Brown said time is running out.

"It’s going to be very difficult for him to move forward with a real activist agenda," he said, "and my hope is the conservatism of America will continue to balance him out."

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn about the myths of homosexuality.


Source: http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000011152.cfm

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World Council of Churches 5th Annual United Nations Advocacy Week

Follow the links for information on what churches are participating in this "celebration" at the U.N. Follow the links; I've marked each one with a numeral and highlighted the key word for reference. You can verify it for yourself...

(URL Links supercede the articles/information.)



1. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/unaw.html



UN Photo/ Andrea Brizzi


World Council of Churches
5th Annual

United Nations Advocacy Week
15-20 November 2009

We are churches together to transform the world.



You are here: UNAW
WCC

UNAW
Advocacy week 2009
About us (2)
News
Resources
Press room
Previous years
Contact


2. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/unaw/about-us.html


About Us


UN Photo/ Eskinder Debebe

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement. The WCC brings together 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians.
As a fellowship of churches, the WCC has been mandated by its member churches (3) to take a leading role in this public witness by facilitating, networking, coordinating and challenging churches and organisations within the ecumenical movement. The challenge that came to us through the theme of the Assembly, "God in Your Grace, Transform the World," continues to be both relevant and urgent. When we look at the state of our world today, we see that the task of transformation has not ended - it remains the dominant theological and missiological paradigm for the churches and Christians in the twenty-first century.
In this framework, the WCC undertakes a prophetic role with emphasis on the theological and spiritual imperatives of speaking truth to power as part of the global churches' public witness for justice, peace and reconciliation. The WCC will continue to accompany churches and the ecumenical movement as they participate in transformative action.

United Nations Liaison Office
The WCC's United Nations Liaison Office (UNLO) works to make the voices of the churches and ecumenical organizations heard in order to influence the policy decisions made at the United Nations. The UNLO places special attention on enhancing ecumenical cooperation and coordination in advocacy, witness, accompaniment and ethical and moral input at the international level. The UNLO works to ensure that a common ecumenical perspective is developed and communicated and that the voices of the ecumenical community of the global south and most specifically the voices of victims are heard.
Indeed, throughout the WCC work with the ecumenical movement in general and through the WCC United Nations Liaison Office in particular, advocacy has become a leit-motiv of ecumenical collaborative work. Currently, the WCC's United Nations Advocacy Week (UNAW) is an evolving model of this ecumenical collaboration.

The United Nations Liaison Offices is part of the WCC's programme Public witness: Addressing power, affirming peace.


Important links

Ecumenical Prayer Cycle
Internships
Decade to Overcome Violence
Frequently Asked Questions
Library at the Ecumenical Centre
Online document depository
WCC Video Productions
WCC Book Publications



3. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches.html


You are here: WCC > Member churches

WCC member churches and councils: Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships
Click on the map to find your country and your church! Discover the main church families and the global Christian bodies!




Welcome!
This section is based on the "Handbook of Churches and Councils", published in 2006 by the World Council of Churches.
This knowledge database shares a wide variety of data about the churches, conciliar and confessional bodies related to the WCC (statistics on church memberships, number of churches, congregations, pastors, links, etc.), as well as information about the different regions and countries they represent.

For an alphabetical list of all WCC member churches click here.

Church families
Information on main Christian traditions. Not all of them include WCC member churches.
African Instituted churches
Anglican churches
The Assyrian Church
Baptist churches
The Catholic church
Disciples of Christ / Churches of Christ
Evangelical churches
Friends (Quakers)
Holiness churches
Lutheran churches
Mennonite churches
Methodist churches
Moravian churches
Old-Catholic churches
Orthodox churches (Eastern)
Orthodox churches (Oriental)
Pentecostal churches
Reformed churches
The Salvation Army
Seventh-day Adventist Church (4)
United and Uniting churches
Free and independent churches

Regions
Africa
Asia
Caribbean
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Pacific
Global ecumenical bodies
World Council of Churches
Global Christian Forum
Community of Churches in Mission
Council for World Mission
United Evangelical Mission




4. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/church-families/seventh-day-adventist-church.html



You are here: WCC > Member churches > Church families > Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a denomination of conservative evangelical Christians. The church arose out of the eschatological expectations of the middle nineteenth century (epitomized by the Millerite Movement), but was only formally organized in 1863. The Millerites had set October 22, 1844, for the return of Christ. With the failure of this date, the movement fell into disarray. One of the small Adventist groups adopted the Seventh-day Sabbath, reinterpreted the events of 1844, and became, in due course, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The roots of Adventism, however, go back much further - to the Reformation and the church of the New Testament.
Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as the inspired word of God. In essence, the Bible is their only creed, though they do have a statement of 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which is subject to revision at any General Conference World Session, as new light is received or better language is found, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These beliefs include the Trinity, believers' baptism, spiritual gifts, death as an unconscious state until the resurrection, and the New Earth as the home of the redeemed after the millennium. SDAs are creationists and believe that man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of the Biblical creation week. With the entry of sin, God's plan of salvation was put into effect. In Christ's life of perfect obedience to God's will, his suffering, death and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept the gift of salvation may have eternal life. Since the very beginning, Seventh-day Adventists have been consistent advocates of religious freedom for all, and have taken a lead in its international promotion, including at the UN.
Global mission and evangelism are essential elements of the SDA ethos. The church is intent on sharing the good news of justification, righteousness by faith, salvation through Jesus Christ, and his imminent return. As a result, the SDA Church is probably the most widespread Protestant denomination, with work in over 200 countries. Though cradled in North America, less than 8 percent of her membership today resides there, and there is considerable growth in various parts of the world. Adventists wish to live lives of service to God and humankind. To help achieve this goal the church owns and operates many institutions: over 6,000 schools (from kindergarten to university), 720 hospitals and health-care facilities, publishing houses, and health food factories. Media centres (worldwide satellite TV and radio) have been established in recent decades. Adventists believe in a healthy lifestyle, which includes a good diet (many Adventists are vegetarians) and abstention from harmful drugs, including alcohol and tobacco products. Adventists also promote public health. The church operates the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which is well-known internationally for its work on behalf of disaster victims and third world development projects.
The SDA church sees herself not as a federation of local or national churches, but as one world church. There is an effective form of representative government. The church's polity provides for four key organizational levels: 1) the local church, a united body of individual believers, 2) the Conference, a united body of local churches, 3) the Union Conference, the united body of several conferences (a larger territory, often a nation), 4) the General Conference, the worldwide body whose constituent units are the approximately 100 Unions. The General Conference operates through its 13 Divisions (branch offices).
Seventh-day Adventists "recognize those agencies that lift up Christ before men as a part of the divine plan for the evangelization of the world" (General Conference Working Policy, 075). They enter into fellowship with other Christians and practice open communion. They believe that in a certain sense they are a prophetic movement with a time of the end message centering on the "eternal gospel" to give to the world. While they welcome opportunities to dialogue and reach better understanding, they have not formally joined the organized ecumenical movement by becoming members of councils of churches. They do, however, in many cases have observer, consultant, or advisor status. Adventists wish to preserve and protect their unique identity and give life to their God-given evangelistic and service mission.
The office of the general conference is located in Silver Spring, USA. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is comprised of 14 million baptized believers, representing with children a fellowship of some 25 million Adventists.


The Seventh-day Adventist Church is not a member of the World Council of Churches.