Monday, July 12, 2010

Feds Define Jesters


Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:56 PM EDT



The June 7 criminal complaint in the case of United States of America v. Michael Lesinski paints a clear picture of “Mirth and Merriment,” Royal Order of Jesters style.

That’s how they describe their activities to the IRS, you know.

The Jesters tell the IRS that their tax exempt mission is “promoting fellowship and fraternalism and extending good cheer to others” and that they hold annual events “devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer.”

Apparently, this is code for renting a limo to get about a dozen “Jester Girls” from the Buffalo, New York airport to work as prostitutes at a Jester national meeting held in Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada.

Lesinski is charged with “knowingly, willfully and unlawfully combining, conspiring and agreeing together with others, including Ronald Tills, to commit an offense against the United States, that is to knowingly transport women in interstate and foreign commerce, with the intent that said women engage in prostitution, in violation of Title 18 (Mann Act) and that at least one overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy, in that the defendant, Michael Lesinski, on April 18, 2005, did rent limousines in order to transport said women from the Buffalo airport to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, with the intent that the women engage in prostitution.”

The Royal Order of Jesters is an appendant body of Masonry. Once one becomes a Master Mason, they can join other groups such as the Scottish Rite, Knights Templar and Shriners. The Shriners are best known for their red fezzes and supporting a network of 21 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children. One must first be a secretly invited Shriner before joining the Jesters.

This all started when Dan Herbeck and Aaron Besecker of the Buffalo News reported on March 9, 2008 that three Jesters were under investigation after getting caught in an FBI human trafficking sting. All three confessed and pleaded guilty to either conspiring to or violating the Mann Act after they were caught driving an illegal alien Asian woman from a Buffalo massage parlor under surveillance for prostitution to a weekend meeting of the Royal Order of Jesters in eastern Kentucky.

Lesinski’s complaint begins by listing agencies that make up the New York Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance that are investigating the Jesters. These include the FBI, Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, and deputies from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. It then lists the criminal statute allegedly violated, that being the Mann Act.

Next, and for the first time, the Royal Order of Jesters are defined in their own self-titled section.

It begins:

“The Royal Order of Jesters (“ROJ”) is a worldwide fraternal organization whose membership is limited to individuals invited to join by other members. The motto of the ROJ is ‘mirth is king.’ The ROJ has local chapters or ‘courts.’ On occasion, a local court or group of local courts in the same geographical area sponsor social gatherings known as ‘books of the play’ or ‘books.’ The sponsoring courts organize the ‘books’ and arrange for food, lodging, and entertainment at the ‘books.’ The ROJ also sponsors a yearly national ‘book,’ the equivalent of a national convention. In April, 2005, the Jester’s national book was held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.”

“As set forth below, a typical feature of a ‘book of the play’ is the presence of prostitutes (‘Jester Girls’) who engage in commercial sex acts with members of the ROJ. Arrangements for the prostitutes are generally made by the organizer of the ‘books,’ or the region hosting the national ‘book.’ On occasion, individual Jesters make arrangements to transport prostitutes to ‘books.’”

According to the complaint, investigators began interviewing several Jesters in January and February of 2008. Jester John Trowbridge, a retired captain with the Lockport, New York, Police Department, told investigators about how he attended a number of “books” throughout the United States and Canada that provided prostitutes for those members in attendance.

Trowbridge described a number of occasions where members of the Buffalo Court, including Ronald Tills, then a New York State Supreme Court Judge, and his law clerk, Michael Stebick, made arrangements for Jester Girls to attend “books.” Tills was in charge of getting the prostitutes to the Jesters’ national “book.”

According to his plea agreement, in or about spring, 2006, Tills admitted to coordinating the prostitute’s travel with national Jester officers.

Trowbridge also described how Tills was in charge of getting the Jester Girls to the national meeting and that the judge asked Lesinski to take care of it.

Lesinski, at the time, was a deputy sheriff with the Erie County Sheriff’s Department.

Trowbridge then disclosed that Lesinski rented a limousine to transport about a dozen prostitutes from Buffalo to Canada.

The Jesters’ 2005 tax return lists $70, 049 for transportation. The complaint includes a receipt from Lakeview Limousine that indicates a deposit of $980 was paid for by check, with a total cost of $1,175.

The complaint then includes co-conspirator Michael Stebick’s description of how Jester ‘books’ are typically held in hotel hospitality rooms where members can pick from a list of Jester Girl prostitutes. It continues that in April, 2008, Trowbridge provided investigators with contact information for the 13 prostitutes as he’d spoken with each of them as they gathered at the Buffalo airport though there were other prostitutes he’d not spoken with.

In June 2008 Tills told investigators that there were about 30 women at the national book and “described a network of members who had the ability to supply such women.” It was then that he identified Lesinski’s renting of two limousines that took the prostitutes to Canada.

According to “Sex Traffic Rises, Along With Scramble for Solutions” by We-news correspondent Rich Daly:

“These (2010 United States Human Trafficking Report) statistics come out as Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus, is co-sponsoring a bill to establish an international registry of known sex offenders to help foreign and U.S. law enforcement agencies crack down on underage sex tourism also linked to trafficking.

‘This is modern day slavery and it's a winnable war,’ Smith said in an interview with Women's eNews.

The Smith bill, called the International Megan's Law, was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 28 and could come up for a House vote in the next few weeks, Smith said.”

Representative Smith’s bill can be found here. In summary, H.R. 1623:


  • Requires registered sex offenders to notify appropriate jurisdictions of their intent to travel not later than 21 days before their departure or arrival in the United States.Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to 10 years for failure to report such travel.

  • Requires diplomatic or consular missions in each foreign country to establish and maintain a countrywide sex offender registry for sex offenders from the United States who temporarily or permanently reside in such country.

  • Directs the Commissioner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to issue directives for the assessment of sex offenders whose travel is reported to determine whether such offenders are high risk sex offenders.

  • Directs the President to establish the International Sex Offender Travel Center to monitor the travel of high risk sex offenders.

  • Authorizes the Secretary of State to rescind the passports of individuals awaiting trial for a sex offense against a minor or a permanent resident who has been convicted of such an offense.

  • Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make convicted sex offenders inadmissible to the United States.

If passed as written, these new international sex offender laws would rescind the passports of any Jesters on trial for things like child sex tourism and require any other registered sex offenders to report their intention to leave the country at least 21 days before doing so.


All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/.

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Men in Obscene Red Fezzes!


Men in Obscene Red Fezzes!

http://www.ao.net/~jmo/john/personal/masons.html

I am going to tell you things here that you may have never heard, and some which will be hard to believe. If you have thought of Masons and the Shriners in a positive light because they do all those nice things for kiddies and old people, this will definitely burst your bubble. The Bible says that Satan walks to and fro on this earth masquerading as an 'angel of light' that many might be deceived. See if you don't agree.

Many people go into Freemasonry today believing that it is just a philanthropic organization that does a lot of good work. They see advertisements for the Shrine hospitals and the Masonic homes for the elderly; many view it as a fraternal organization, kind of an advanced boy scouts. One survey said that many men get into it out of social reasons; their friends are in it; or they think it is a good place to network and do business.

What Freemasonry is, claimed in their own books, is a revival of the ancient mystery religions of Egypt and Balbak, and from Persia and India. Albert Pike in his "Morals and Dogma" and Albert Mackey in his "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry" say that masonry is a religion and that every Masonic lodge is a temple of religion. It is interesting that many Christians have gotten into this religion not understanding how pagan it is.

For example, in a large church in Texas, the elders went to their pastor when they heard that a guest, who has written against Freemasonry, was to speak and asked that the booking be cancelled. It turned out that almost all of the elders were Masons of local lodges, the Sunday School superintendent was the Supreme Potentate of a Shrine, and many members of the congregation belonged to these organizations. They were given the facts, references to their own 'secret' documents and books, and cross references to Scripture on the subject. They held an emergency meeting which lasted unti 4 in the morning. After studying these discrepancies, they returned to the pastor and told him that every one of them had resigned from their lodges.

This is happening all over America and the world. The Masons, by their own statistics, have gone in the 1980's from 4 million members to under 2 million members in 1996 (according to the Dallas Morning News). As Masons examine their own writings, and look at what Freemasonry is teaching, they realize it is not compatible with being a Biblical follower of Jesus Christ.


Where Lodge Initiations and Rituals Originate

Everyone who joins the local lodge joins what is called the Blue Lodge, the meeting center, and has to go through an initiation ceremony. Every Mason, including those in our churches today, have gone through this initiation; it is the only way you can get into the lodge. The first thing that happens is that a blindfold is put on them, a noose (called a cabletoll) is hung on their neck, their shirt is opened to bare their chest, and they are brought to the outer door of the lodge. There, a sharp point (of a compass or a dagger) is placed on their chest. Someone then asks, "Who comes?" to which candidate states "A poor, blind beggar looking to move from darkness to the light of Freemasonry." They are then brought (pulled by the noose) into the Masonic lodge where they must bow at an altar. Behind the altar stands a man they call the Worshipful Master of the Lodge (the leader of the lodge). Again the candidate makes his plea for Freemasonry. After answering a series of questions, the mason to be takes a series of blood oaths and promises not to reveal the secrets of Freemasonry that he will learn -- upon having his throat cut from ear to ear.

These are some of the actual oaths a Mason must take: In the first degree of the Blue Lodge, "Binding myself under no less a penalty, than having my throat cut across, my tongue torn out from its roots and buried in the rough sands of the sea..." In the second degree, "Binding myself under no less a penalty, than that of having my left breast torn open, my heart plucked out and given as prey to the wild beasts of the field and the foul of the air..." In the third degree (Master Mason Degree), "Binding myself under no less a penalty, than that of having my body severed in twain, my bowels taken from thence and burned into ashes..."

For a Christian to go through this, you have to ask several questions: How can a follower of Jesus Christ, go to a Masonic Lodge, ask for membership, and say I am lost in darkness and I need the light of Freemasonry? If you read First John chapter One, it says, If you claim that you are lost in darkness the Light (of Jesus Christ) is not in you and you are living a lie.

Secondly: How can a Christian bow at an altar before a man that is called the Worshipful Master? Jesus said, You cannot serve two masters. There is only one Worshipful Master and that is Jesus Christ.

Lastly: How can a Christian take a pagan blood oath, swearing to have your throat cut from ear to ear, your heart given to the beasts of the field, your body cut in two and your bowels thrown into the sea? Those pagan blood oaths were forbidden by Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 and in the book of James.


Going Up?

And these aren't only in the initial initiations; as a Mason goes through the higher degrees o the Scottish and York rites, the oaths are more hideous. Once completing the three degrees of the Blue Lodge, a mason is then allowed to go into either the Scottish rite of Freemasonry which has 32 degrees or the York rite which has 13 degrees. These are advanced degrees where you learn the secrets of Freemasonry. As one progresses through the degree work of these rites, they tell you that you are on a quest to find the lost name of God.

The Masons have this story that somehow in the building of Solomon's Temple, the architect Hiram Abif lost the name of God. Masons claim that they have found this name and only very advanced Masons know the secret name of God. In a Masonic ceremony this name is whispered by three men in the lodge to one another. The name is "J-B-O", or "Jobulin"; three names put together -- Jehovah, Baal, and Osiris. Jehovah, the God of Israel, Isaac and Jacob; Baal, the fertility god of Balbak that Elijah fought against (and beat); and, Osiris, the Egyptian sun god of phallic worship. The Masons have combined this into a three headed monster which they say is the Trinity. Well, Jesus is not going to share His glory with any other; but the Masons attempt to do this. Is it a demotion of the Messiah or a promotion of the other two gods?


Who's Your God?

As a Mason goes through the 32 degrees of the Scottish rite, he ends up giving worship to every Egyptian pagan god, the gods of Persia, gods of India, Greek gods, Babylonian gods, and others. As you come to the 17th degree, the Masons claim that they will give you the password that will give him entrance at the judgment day to the Masonic deity, the great architect of the universe. It is very interesting that this secret password is "Abaddon".

Now I've heard that name before, so I looked it up in the Bible. Check it out for yourself, in Revelation chapter 9; it says, "The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss [the bottomless pit]...and smoke came out of the Abyss like that of a great furnace..." (It goes on to describe those in the abyss, then continues) They had a king over them, the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon..." The 'angel' of the Abyss (Hell) is really the chief demon whose name is Abaddon. Masons claim then, that the diety they worship is Abaddon! Not God. Not Jesus. But the number one servant of Lucifer (Satan).
Masons have mixed idolatry, paganism, the occult, fertility cults, demonology, and put it into a blender and come up with the Masonic religion. It is not of God; it is a false religion.


Can You Believe This ?

There are Christians, all over the world, who even today, suffer greatly and some have even give up their lives because they refuse to compromise their faith in Christ. And yet, professing Christians who are involved in the highest ranks of Freemasonry honor the persecution of Christians.

When a Mason gets to the highest degree of the Scottish rite or the York rite, he is then allowed to go into what is called the Shrine. You may have seen them in parades, wearing their red fezzes with the sword and crescent emblem on them. You hear about the Shrine circus and the burn centers for children run by the Shriners. People think isn't this a nice fun organization, they do so much good for crippled children and others. But . . .

In order for a person to become a Shriner, he must not only go through all the degrees of Masonry, make all those blood-curdling oaths, worship gods who are not gods except they are of Satan, but he must make a blood both of allegiance to Allah as his god and Mohammed as his prophet.

The Shriner is then given a red fez with an Islamic sword and cresent jeweled on the front of it. This originates from 7th century Arabia when the Moslems, under the leadership of Mohammed, slaughtered all Christians who would not bow down to Allah. Allah, by the way, was not another (generic) name given to God by Mohammed; Allah is the tribal deity --the moon god-- of Mohammed; it was the name of the god in the tribe that Mohammed was born into. That is why every mosque today has a crescent moon on the top of its spire.

Now when Mohammed's army of men, out to slaughter all the 'infidels', came to the city of Fez, in Morocco, they found a community of Christians. After killing all the Christians there with their Islamic-style swords, they took their hats (called a fez) and dipped them in the blood of the Christians, and wore the fezzes throughout the land glorying in their victory over Christianity. Today Shriners put on red fezzes (representing the hats dipped in the blood of Christians) with the Islamic sword and crescent showing their allegiance to Allah and Mohammed (and the defeat of Christianity). If you are a Christian, and you are a Mason or a Shriner reading this, you have no business being part of a lodge, no business being part of a Shrine. I encourage you, for your own eternal sake to repent of it and get out of it immediately!


Will Building Hospitals Get You Into Heaven?

Many men have gotten involved with Freemasonry and do not (did not) know what they were really getting into. Yet, you have to ask, how could they go through the first initiation, and if they truly are Christians, not know this is wrong and diametrically opposed to God's Word. Are your loyalties with Jesus Christ or are they with the lodge?

One Mason, when asked, "If you were to die tonight, and stand before God, and He were to ask you 'Why should I let you into my Heaven'" said that he guessed he would have to tell God that "I was a good Mason". You see, many Masons believe that Masonry is a system of morality. Masonry teaches that through one's good works Masons can obtain the 'celestial lodge' above, the 'heavenly kingdom'.

Most masons, especially those who are professing Christians, would point us to the fact of all the good works they do. They'd ask, 'How can you say that we are not Christians?' Look at the Shrine homes for the aged, look at the work we do with children, all the good things, don't they count? There's nothing wrong with all of these things, but they are not going to save you. What gives us eternal life is faith in Jesus by His Grace only. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: "For it is by grace [unmerited favor] you are saved, through faith -- and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no man can boast." Masons pride themselves in all their works, but St. Paul tells us in Romans 10:1-3 "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness."
Jesus said on the cross: "It is finished!" There is nothing more that Masons -- or anyone -- can do, to add to what is already done. All one has to do is receive this free gift that Christ purchased for us.


Source: http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/obscene_red_fezzies.htm

Lost in translation: Matthew 18:11


At a fast food restaurant, I saw a man I recently met; He was engrossed in writing on a notepad with a Bible nearby. This man had previously told me he has a ministry and publishes a newletter for his supporters. As he was deep in his work, I attempted to comment on his Bible: "The verse I like most about the Bible", I said, "is Matthew 18:11"; Quite often this verse has shown me which Bible versions are corrupt. I attempted to find it in his Bible, but it was one of the numerous perversions. The man promptly looked for Matthew 18:11 (I thought he used the King James Version), in vain; It was as he stated the New Revised Version; He found no verse 11 in his version; He found instead a footnote that instructed him to go to Luke 19:10. What a sham!
I then stated that I only read the King James Version because it's the Protestant Bible, and I'm a Protestant. I then asked him if he was a Protestant. He replied: "I'm a Christian".
Here lies the basis for the ignorance that exists with Christians nowadays; They don't know history, and how they got where they are presently. It would behoove some of our uninformed brethren to read Foxe's Book of Martyrs for starters; Then, perhaps they will realize who the real Christians are. They might then decide to use only the King James Version, that was preserved and provided with the toil and blood of Protestant martyrs.

My brethren, look in your Bible for Matthew 18:11. If you can not find it in your Bible, it's because it's a perversion of the Holy Scriptures; and not a translation from the uncorrupted Textus Receptus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus). I would get rid of it immediately, you don't need a defective Bible. Get yourself a King James Version, it's the Protestant Bible; And, besides it's not copyrighted, unlike the other versions which have a registered trademark like Pepsi Cola.
Arsenio..

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

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God's Purpose for His Church


The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God's plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to "the principalities and powers in heavenly places," the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10.

Many and wonderful are the promises recorded in the Scriptures regarding the church. "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." Isaiah 56:7. "I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season;
there shall be showers of blessing." "And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord God. And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 34:26, 29-31.


"Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses." "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." Isaiah 43:10-12; 42:6, 7.

"In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for
He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them. And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be exalted. . . .
"Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me." Isaiah 49:8-16.

The church is God's fortress. His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.

Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.


During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.

"Whereunto," asked Christ, "shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?" Mark 4:30. He could not employ the kingdoms of the world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God's church is the court of Holy life, filled with varied gifts and endowed with the Holy Spirit. The members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless.

Wonderful is the work which the Lord designs to accomplish through His church, that His name may be glorified. A picture of this work is given in Ezekiel's vision of the river of healing: "These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: . . . and by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." Ezekiel 47:8-12.

From the beginning God has wrought through His people to bring blessing to the world. To the ancient Egyptian nation God made Joseph a fountain of life. Through the integrity of Joseph the life of that whole people was preserved. Through Daniel God saved the life of all the wise men of Babylon. And these deliverances are as object lessons; they illustrate the spiritual blessings offered to the world through connection with the God whom Joseph and Daniel worshiped. Everyone in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life.

God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God's will. In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because "they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, . . . their foolish heart was darkened." Romans 1:21. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption.

But the people of Israel lost sight of their high privileges as God's representatives. They forgot God and failed to fulfill their holy mission. The blessings they received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages they appropriated for their own glorification. They shut themselves away from the world in order to escape temptation. The restrictions that God had placed upon their association with idolaters as a means of preventing them from conforming to the practices of the heathen, they used to build up a wall of separation between themselves and all other nations. They robbed God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example.


Priests and rulers became fixed in a rut of ceremonialism. They were satisfied with a legal religion, and it was impossible for them to give to others the living truths of heaven. They thought their own righteousness all-sufficient, and did not desire that a new element should be brought into their religion. The good will of God to men they did not accept as something apart from themselves, but connected it with their own merit because of their good works. The faith that works by love and purifies the soul could find no place for union with the religion of the Pharisees, made up of ceremonies and the injunctions of men.

Of Israel God declared: "I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?" Jeremiah 2:21. "Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself." Hosea 10:1. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

"And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant: and He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." Isaiah 5:3-7. "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them." Ezekiel 34:4.
The Jewish leaders thought themselves too wise to need instruction, too righteous to need salvation, too highly honored to need the honor that comes from Christ. The Saviour turned from them to entrust to others the privileges they had abused and the work they had slighted. God's glory must be revealed, His word established. Christ's kingdom must be set up in the world. The salvation of God must be made known in the cities of the wilderness; and the disciples were called to do the work that the Jewish leaders had failed to do.


The Acts of The Apostles, E. G. W., pp.9-16.
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Saturday, July 10, 2010

President Edmond's Final GC Notes07/06/10

President Edmond's Final GC Notes07/06/10


Elder D. C. Edmond, President, South Central Conference

Final General Conference Session Report

The 59th Session of the General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists has ended. Here is my final report, on the final two days (Friday and Sabbath):

Friday was different in that I did not get to attend any portion of the business session. Mrs. Edmond and I attended a farewell breakfast given by the North American Division (NAD) Conference Presidents for the outgoing NAD Conference President, Elder Don Schneider. Elder Schneider was not re-elected last week.

He and Mrs. Schneider seemed to take the decision of the delegates very well. People who do not have to face an election are very good at saying, "If you are not re-elected, you should not take it personally, and your feelings should not get hurt."

Well, the first part is true; often, not getting re-elected is not personal. People have the right to say to someone who is holding an elected position, "We appreciated your service, but we think that it is best to go in a different direction." Each of us who accepts being elected, also accepts the possibility of not being re-elected. It is the right of the constituents to make whatever changes they deem necessary. Not only that, but this is the Lord’s work, we are all soldiers in the Lord’s army and He can assign or reassign any of us according to His will and divine plan.

But that does not mean that it does not hurt. It is roughly the secular equivalent of losing one’s job; and I do not believe that most people who lose their job feel completely happy about it.

But Elder and Mrs. Schneider took what happened with grace and humor. There seemed to be a genuine affection for them, and an appreciation for their ministry. A number of the conference presidents knew the Schneiders over the years, had worked with them; a few had even gotten their starts in ministry under their leadership.


Elder Schneider apparently was noted for his sense of humor. When he was president of a conference out west, one of his all-time pranks was to stage a scene where one of the pastors pretended to shoot another pastor as a result of an argument. The "shooting victim" went all out, even secreting a ketchup packet, which he managed to open without being noticed, to make it look as though he was "bleeding" from being "shot."

What the pranksters did not count on was the "victim’s" wife showing up, unexpectedly, and fainting at the sight of her husband being "shot." Elder Schneider said he did not pull that particular prank again after that.

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Just before Elder Wilson preached, he read a letter from President Barak Obama to the delegates of the General Conference. That letter, from the first black President in the history of the United States, written to a church that is now, "majority minority," is evidence of how much things have changed since I attended my first GC in Detroit many years ago.

We greeted people after church (I saw someone I hadn’t seen in 40 years) and waited for a shuttle. After waiting 45 minutes, we realized that we were better off walking back to our hotel, even though it was 90 plus degrees and virtually none of my wife’s 11 pairs of shoes were suited for walking 6 blocks. But my wife was a good solider and walked (albeit, very slowly) back to our hotel. By the time we finished eating, it was 5:30 p.m., and almost time to go back to the Dome for the famous "Parade of Nations" program.

I walked back to the Dome, leaving my wife to catch the shuttle while I saved seats once more. I had cut my morning walk short this morning to get to church on time, but I am making up for it!

The legendary Parade of Nations featured representatives from every country in the world that has a Seventh-day Adventist presence. The representative(s) carry the flag of their particular country and come attired in their native dress. Once again, the Inter American Division electrified the crowd.

The United States was represented by someone from SOUTH CENTRAL, one of our church school principals, Mrs. Queen Robinson, of F.H. Jenkins, in Nashville, Tennessee. We were very proud.

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Source: http://www.scc-adventist.org/news-press-releases-detail.cfm?id=780

South Central's First Female Pastors


07/03/10


(L-R) Pastor Lola Moore, President Dana Edmond, Pastor Josie Frampton, First Lady, Jill Edmond at the 59th General Conference Session, Atlanta, GA (Photo: M. Harpe)

I am grateful to announce the first females added to our pastoral staff in the history of our conference, Pastors Lola Moore (Assistant Pastor, Oakwood University SDA Church) and Josian Frampton (Assistant Pastor, Birmingham Ephesus).

We take this historic step, not to be politically correct, but for the following reasons:

1. We believe that it is the Conference Administration’s responsibility to get the very best people that we can find to work in the South Central Conference, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, etc.

2. We believe that the more diversified our staff is, the more people we can reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I recognize that this represents a major change in how ministry is done in the South Central Conference. Often, change is difficult. I recognize that this particular change represents a seismic shift that not everyone may be prepared to accept immediately. I can personally relate to that-once upon a time, I was not prepared to accept this kind of change.

But I believe that the end of the day, the people of this conference will give to these ladies the same opportunity that it gave to me and all of our other male Pastors: The opportunity to prove the call of God upon their lives.

These ladies are gifted, spiritual young people, whom I believe will be an asset and a blessing to the mission of the South Central Conference, which is, to paraphrase that old AYS aim, “The Advent message to all our conference in this generation.”

Elder D. C. Edmond, President South Central Conference

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Elder Michael A. Harpe
Director of Communication
South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
http://www.scc-adventist.org/
michael.harpe@scc-adventist.org

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21).
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P.S. Meanwhile, at the General Conference Session one of the subjects of diversion was the ordination of women as Deacons? While all over the place they are ordaining women pastors as if there was a thus saith the Lord to support this paradigm shift. No, they aren't "trying to be politically correct"; They're following another principle: "When you go to Rome, do as the Romans do".
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Thank God for the Bible! Thank God for discernment - Thank God for His faithful servants, and the eleventh hour remnant that have not bent the knee to Baal. They have no guile in their mouths......
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Arsenio.
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P.S. II:
South Central's First Female Pastors? How about calling themselves SWP (Sisters with Pulpits), straight out of South Central? Or, maybe Females in the Hood? How about, G's in the House?
The possibilities for this topsy turvy situation are endless. Might as well make light of this end time phenomenon.
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The General Conference Confronts Apostasy


General Conference Confronts Apostasy

While a number of excellent histories of the Seventh-day Adventist church have been written, The General Conference Confronts Apostasy is unique. No other historical volume has documented in detail the manner in which church leaders have dealt with apostasy in our midst from its earliest times.

Commencing with fanatical worship services, moving to the Messenger and the Marian offshoots, the entry of what is now commonly known as the "new theology" with the defection of Pastor Dudley Canright, this book takes up the earth-shattering 1888 General Conference session, the promotion of pantheism, the holy flesh movement of Indiana in 1900, hierarchical church governance, the issue of self-supporting work, the military issue of World War I, and the trend-setting 1919 Bible conference. This book examines each one in detail, presenting the impact upon God's church in the twenty-first century.

Authors: Russell R. & Colin D. Standish
Pages: 637
ISBN: 0923309721
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P.S.
Of course there are Jesuits in our church. They have infiltated all Christendom.
Satan would not be so foolish as to spare the Seventh-day Adventist Church this infiltration.
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The General Conference Confronts Apostasy, p. 201.
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Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils,..


Luke 13


1There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

6He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

7Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

15The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

16And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?


17And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

18Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?

21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.


22And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

31The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

32And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.


King James Version (KJV)
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Persecution Cleanses the Church


Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges them out of the church.--4T 89 (1876).

The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church.--5T 81 (1882).

In the absence of the persecution there have drifted into our ranks men who appear sound and their Christianity unquestionable, but who, if persecution should arise, would go out from us.--Ev 360 (1890).

When the law of God is made void the church will be sifted by fiery trials, and a larger proportion than we now anticipate will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.--2SM 368 (1891).


Last Day Events, E. G. W. pp.173-174.
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Friday, July 09, 2010

NSA: Secret 'Perfect Citizen' project does not spy on US




The US National Security Agency (NSA), the world's premier codebreaking and eavesdropping organisation, has strongly denied that it is setting up monitoring equipment on American privately-owned networks deemed to be critical national infrastructure.

A story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, which we reported on here, said that defence contractor Raytheon was working on a classified technology project dubbed "Perfect Citizen" for the NSA, which would see infrastructure networks - for instance power, telecoms or transport systems - "instrumented" in order to detect possible attempts to attack them.

This naturally raised some worries in a domestic-surveillance context, with an internal Raytheon email quoted by the WSJ as stating that "Perfect Citizen is Big Brother". Naturally, a lot of information residing in infrastructure systems would be a bonanza for those interested in massive automated monitoring of the US population.

We contacted both the NSA and Raytheon for comment. Raytheon was unable to say anything, but NSA spokesperson Judith Emmel answered by email. It appears that Perfect Citizen does exist, but according to the NSA it is not as menacing as the WSJ report made it seem.

"PERFECT CITIZEN is purely a vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development contract," wrote Emmel. "This is a research and engineering effort. There is no monitoring activity involved, and no sensors are employed in this endeavor. Specifically, it does not involve the monitoring of communications or the placement of sensors on utility company systems."

According to Emmel, the PERFECT CITIZEN tech will merely "provide a set of technical solutions that help the National Security Agency better understand the threats".

As for seeking to spy on US citizens by means of examining their power or phone usage, tracking them through transport systems etc, the NSA would simply never think of such a thing.

"Any suggestions that there are illegal or invasive domestic activities associated with this contracted effort are simply not true. We strictly adhere to both the spirit and the letter of US laws and regulations," insisted Emmel.

Which reads rather as though the NSA is not yet actually "instrumenting" any utility companies, but is developing the necessary tools to do so if required.

The agency would contend that this is purely in order to safeguard vital computer systems in charge of critical things such as power grids, railway signals, traffic lights etc. Many such systems were designed in the days before widespread networks with little thought for security, but are nowadays accessible via the internet.

Without some local access, it would be hard for the NSA even to know what probes into such systems may be underway: packets might reach a given portal by any route across the wider internet. The agency does have a legitimate interest here, being part of the US military and thus expected to defend American networks from enemies both foreign and domestic.

Unfortunately such local access to utility networks would seem to offer scope for disturbing "mission creep" once in place.

And people are bound to ask just why it was thought necessary to keep PERFECT CITIZEN secret. We've asked the NSA's Emmel, in fact: we'll let you know as and when we hear back.

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Former Brethren Worst Persecutors


Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Matt. 24:10.


As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. {Mar 196.1}

The season of distress before God's people will call for a faith that will not falter. His children must make it manifest that He is the only object of their worship, and that no consideration, not even that of life itself, can induce them to make the least concession to false worship. {Mar 196.2}
At that time the gold will be separated from the dross. . . . Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ's righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness. {Mar 196.3}

Among earth's inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night, these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. . . . In the hour of deepest apostasy, when Satan's supreme effort is made to cause "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive, under penalty of death, the sign of allegiance to a false rest day, these faithful ones . . . will "shine as lights in the world." . . . Philippians 2:15. The darker the night, the more brilliantly will they shine. {Mar 196.4

Maranatha, E. G. White, p.196.

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Thursday, July 08, 2010

A deal that protects us and our privacy


By Cecilia Malmström


08.07.2010 / 05:15 CET


MEPs can vote in favour of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme agreement with the US with full confidence that privacy will be protected.



The European Parliament is expected today (8 July) to vote on the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) agreement negotiated between the European Commission and the United States.

It is a crucial decision for the fight against terrorism. The TFTP, managed by the US Treasury Department, was established following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. It allowed US authorities to monitor terrorists' financing activities and prevent attacks across the world. The attempted liquid bomb plot at Heathrow airport in 2006, the Islamic Jihad Union in Germany in 2007, and the Jakarta hotel bombings in 2009: these are examples of terrorist plots and attacks where information from the TFTP played a significant role in identifying, investigating or prosecuting the individuals responsible.

The agreement allows the transfer to US authorities – under strict data-protection conditions – of certain categories of data regarding bank operations conducted via the SWIFT system. Once transferred, the data are accessible only when relevant to anti-terrorism investigations. Each extraction must be justified by evidence.

From 2001 to 2009, US authorities had access to information on money transfers via the SWIFT database based on US territory. But when the SWIFT servers moved to Europe on 1 January 2010, the US authorities lost access to significant amounts of data. Leads on some known suspects went cold.

This February, a first interim agreement that would have renewed the US authorities access to these data was rejected by the Parliament, which felt it did not protect EU citizens' privacy sufficiently.

That was during my very first week as commissioner for home affairs and it became one of my top priorities to negotiate a new agreement that both the EU institutions and the US could agree on.

I have now done this. The US Treasury Department is now committed to making information available so that EU citizens know what activities are carried out within the TFTP framework. Unlike the agreement rejected by the Parliament, the new draft grants EU citizens access to administrative and judicial redress. They will have the right to have their data corrected, cancelled or blocked if any errors are found.

Europol, the European police office, will verify that information requested by the US authorities is necessary for fighting terrorism. To limit the amount of data transferred, Europol will also have to verify that each and every request is tailored as narrowly as possible. If the US request does not meet these require-ments, the data will not be transferred.

The Commission will appoint an independent person who will have direct and on-the-spot access to data searches within the TFTP and who will monitor compliance with the privacy provisions in the agreement. In addition, a review team, including representatives of data-protection authorities, will regularly check that privacy rules are being fully respected. If they are not being respected, the agreement can be terminated.

Furthermore, the agreement provides for the EU to build its own system, equivalent to TFTP. An EU programme would reduce data transfers to the US. The US is committed to helping to create such a European system.

I believe this new agreement fulfils the Parliament's tough demands. It offers European citizens a two-fold guarantee: first, complete transparency as far as access and use of data are concerned; and, second, access to appropriate tools and redress procedures to ensure that privacy is protected. And, of course, it meets its initial purpose, to retain what has proven to be a key instrument in the fight against terrorism.

I now expect the Parliament to give its consent. Given our painful history with totalitarian regimes, the transfer of data is a very sensitive issue in Europe. This agreement is proof that we can find appropriate safeguards to accommodate legitimate concerns about both security and privacy.

Cecilia Malmström is the European commissioner for home affairs.

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Rowan Williams under siege over gay bishop veto

David Cameron urged to consider appointing cleric blocked by church committee

Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 July 2010 21.51 BST

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams speaks on the final day of the Lambeth conference. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, is embroiled in a new crisis within the Church of England over the decision to block the appointment of a gay cleric as bishop of Southwark.

Liberals and mainstream Anglicans are furious that the archbishop has once more failed to exert any leadership over mutinous forces threatening to split the church over the sensitive issue of homosexuality.

Dr Jeffrey John, the dean of St Albans, was in the running for the senior position at Southwark until his name was leaked, enabling conservative clerics to stop the appointment. An embattled Williams has now launched an inquiry at Lambeth Palace to find out who divulged the name .

The archbishop was appalled that John's name was disclosed in a successful attempt to derail his candidacy, exactly seven years after he was forced to stand down as the prospective bishop of Reading following a previous outcry by conservative evangelicals against John's sexuality. Fingers are being pointed at the same evangelical hardliners who orchestrated the 2003 campaign.

The theologian, who is now dean of St Albans and has entered a civil partnership with another clergyman, his partner of many years, has long maintained that the relationship is chaste and thus complies with Church of England rules for its gay clergy.

But conservative evangelical pressure groups claimed John's appointment would split the church, threatened to seek oversight from foreign bishops and promised to stop supporting the church financially.

The revival of the row over the place of gays in the clergy comes as Williams confronts the Church of England's next great divisive row at the start of this weekend's general synod in York: over whether female clergy can become bishops – a dispute that threatens to split the church in another direction and which he is desperately trying to head off with delaying tactics.

John's supporters called for David Cameron to demonstrate his gay-friendly credentials by overruling the Crown Nominations Commission and insisting that John's name be considered further. They accused the archbishop of betraying his old friend a second time.

One senior cleric said: "The time of reckoning has come for Rowan. The events of seven years ago have bitten him hard in the very week women bishops comes to the crunch. He should realise there are greater considerations, like truth, justice, openness, fidelity to the rules and all those things the church proclaims. Many are dismayed by his constant capitulation to the fringe noisemakers.

"He could recover some credibility if he went mitre in hand to the PM and asked him to intervene and use his constitutional prerogative to consider the second name, whoever that is, and then to reject both if he so chooses."

Another senior cleric said: "The system of appointments is busted. What is needed is more transparency over how appointments are made. Obsessive secrecy is damaging the church."

Giles Goddard, chair of the liberal Inclusive Church movement, who is himself a gay vicar in south London, said: "This is a disaster for the church – another example of shooting itself in the foot. It would be much better to have a more open system."

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and former Anglican cleric, who is also gay, said: "I have long supported the election of bishops. If the clergy and people of a diocese want a gay bishop they should be able to vote for one, in which case Jeffrey John would have been archbishop of Canterbury by now. There are not many men who combine his spiritual depth and insight. The way things are conducted now does not do the church any favours." Downing Street sources suggested, however, that the prime minister was unlikely to intervene.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/08/rowan-williams-gay-bishop
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Guilty Pleas from all 10 Russian Spies, Heading Home Tonight

Anna Chapman(Courtesy) FACEBOOK


Largest Spy Swap Between the U.S. and Russia Since the Cold War

By BRIAN ROSS, ANNA SCHECTER, AARON KATERSKY and MEGAN CHUCHMACH
July 8, 2010


All 10 Russian spies arrested last week in one the biggest spy ring busts in recent history pleaded guilty today in a New York court to conspiracy to act as unregistered agents of a foreign country. They are headed home to Russia tonight in the first spy swap between the U.S. and Russia in 24 years.

American and Russian diplomats negotiate high stakes exchange of spies.Before their guilty pleas, the 10 spies met with Russian diplomats to discuss the life they'd have when they returned to Russia, according to their attorneys.

In the case of Vicky Pelaez, believed to be the only spy not born in Russia, her attorney told the court that she has been given special assurances from the Russian government that she would be given free housing in Russia, a monthly stipend of $2000 for life, visas with her children, and an all-expense paid trip for her children to travel to Russia.

Robert Baum, an attorney for Anna Chapman, said she is "happy to get out of jail" and may move to Britain after being sent home to Russia today. The 28-year-old redhead beauty made international headlines with her femme fatale looks, party hopping, and sex pictures released by an ex-husband in Britain.

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Religious sisters’ support for US health care bill discussed at Vatican meetings


Cardinals William Levada and Franc Rode.




Rome, Italy, Jul 8, 2010 / 03:31 am (CNA).- The Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ (LCWR) support for the U.S. health care bill passed in March was a topic in lengthy discussions between LCWR officials and Vatican leaders, who also discussed the doctrinal investigation of the group.

In meetings with Vatican officials last April, LCWR officials answered several questions about the group’s support for the legislation despite the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) opposition to the bill on the grounds it lacked strict restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

Following the meeting, the LCWR sent a letter to its membership, according to the National Catholic Reporter which obtained a copy of the letter. The letter said the LCWR officers’ April 23 meeting with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), focused on both the status of the doctrinal assessment and on the LCWR’s support for the health care legislation.

“We clarified that LCWR does not support abortion and that we have made this position clear,” the letter said, according to the Reporter. The conference officials reported that they explained to the cardinal that they felt a “moral imperative” to ensure health care coverage for all persons.

“We were very clear in stating that our actions were not in opposition to the U.S. bishops,” the letter also said.

The LCWR reported that Cardinal Levada was concerned the organization’s actions were being interpreted as “a public display of disunity within the church.” He was also concerned that they undercut “the perception of the church as one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic.”

On April 24, the LCWR leaders met with Cardinal Franc Rodé, head of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. They discussed LCWR support for the health care bill “at length.” According to the conference’s letter to its members, Cardinal Rodé stated his belief “that we cannot defend our position because it was contrary to the bishops.”

In reply, the conference officials repeated that they did not support abortion and were “quite aware that we are citizens of our country who must take action.” They defended their actions as being based upon their understanding of “all the moral imperatives brought to the table” by the health care legislation.

Cardinal Rodé reportedly said that the LCWR cannot declare a “pastoral direction,” which is the sole responsibility of the episcopal conference. He added that “by our actions we broke unity,” the LCWR letter reported, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

CNA inquired about the discussions with LCWR at the Rome offices of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life but did not receive any reaction.

According to its website, the LCWR claims to have more than 1,500 members representing more than 90 percent of the 59,000 women religious in the U.S. Its president, Sr. Marlene Weisenbeck, F.S.P.A., took part in the meetings with Vatican officials.

In her capacity as LCWR president, Sr. Weisenbeck was a signatory to a March 17 letter by the NETWORK Lobby urging the passage of the health care bill. The letter came at a critical time when the passage of the bill was uncertain. The letter was praised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and other backers of the legislation.

Though the NETWORK letter purported to represent 59,000 nuns and religious sisters, USCCB spokeswoman Sr. Mary Ann Walsh said NETWORK “grossly overstated” these numbers.

In a commentary in late March 2010, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said NETWORK’s letter was a “critical demonstration of support.” She praised how the nuns “most importantly broke with the bishops and the Vatican to announce their support for health care reform.”
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Priest Stole Church Money for Male Escorts and More, Say Cops

July 8, 2010 12:07 PM


Kevin Gray (WFSB)


WATERBURY, Conn. (CBS/WFSB) A 64-year-old Roman Catholic priest has been arrested after an investigation into the theft of church money. He is accused of stealing funds in order to support some very un-priestly habits.

Kevin Gray turned himself in to Waterbury Police Tuesday morning after learning of a warrant for his arrest on larceny charges, reports CBS affiliate WFSB.

The former pastor of a Waterbury church is accused of stealing $1.3 million dollars over the course of seven years, and using the money to pay for personal expenses, including hotel rooms, restaurants, clothing, and male escorts.

Cops say that Gray racked up $200,000 on various Manhattan restaurants, $100,000 on hotels, $80,000 on clothing and designer suits and $45,000 on rent and tuition for two men, says WFSB.

When questioned as to why, police say Gray told them that "he felt the church owed it to him" because he was unhappy with his church assignments.

As a result of this controversy, officials say Gray was suspended last month by the Archdiocese of Hartford and can no longer function as a priest in Connecticut or anywhere in the county.

Prior to the scandal and investigation, Gray served as the priest at Sacred Heart from Jan. 1, 2003 through April 15, 2010, reports WFSB.

At that time, he was placed on an indefinite leave of absence for medical reasons; however, the archdiocese is now looking into Gray's medical claims in order to make sure they are true.

When asked for medical records documenting his illness, Gray failed to produce any kind of evidence, saying his illness deterred him from keeping up-to-date with his records.

The investigation was launched last month after the archdiocese went to police.
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Catholic Church says Cuba offers to free 52 political prisoners


Cardinal Jaime Ortega, leader of Cuba's Catholic Church (R), shakes hands with Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Havana July 6, 2010. Moratinos is on a visit to lend support to the Catholic Church's efforts to gain the release of Cuba's political prisoners. Enrique De La Osa/Reuters


Prisoners would also be allowed to leave country; liberation could take three or four months, says church

Will Weissert

Havana, Cuba — The Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, Jul. 07, 2010 4:39PM EDT

Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 07, 2010 4:47PM EDT


Cuba's Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday that the communist government has agreed to free 52 political prisoners and allow them to leave the country in what would be the island's largest mass liberation of prisoners of conscience in decades.

Five would be released in a matter of hours and planned to head to Spain, while the remaining 47 would be liberated in “a process that will take three or four months starting now,” according to the statement by the office of Havana's Roman Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Ortega.

The deal was announced following a meeting between President Raul Castro and Cardinal Ortega. Also participating was visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez.

The scope of the agreement “is a surprise,” said Elizardo Sanchez, head of the independent Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation. “We were hoping for a significant release of prisoners, but not this.”

Cardinal Ortega's office said that those to be released were all members of a group of 75 leading political opposition activists, community organizers and journalists who report on Cuba in defiance of state controls on media. They were rounded up in a crackdown on dissent in March 2003.

Some had previously been freed for health reasons or after completing their terms, or were allowed into exile in Spain. But at least 52 have remained behind bars — most serving lengthy prison terms on charges of conspiring with Washington to destabilize Cuba's political system.

Church official Orlando Marquez said that by the cardinal's count, only 52 prisoners were left imprisoned from that group. But Sanchez said there were actually 53 still behind bars and that one, a former police official named Rolando Jimenez, had been left off Wednesday's list.

He also said it was not clear which five inmates would be freed immediately, adding that “the forced exile in Spain” that awaits them is not the same as unconditional freedom.

“These liberations will not mean a significant improvement in the terrible situation of human rights that exists in Cuba,” said Mr. Sanchez, whose Havana-based commission is not recognized — but largely tolerated — by Cuba's government, which officially brooks no organized opposition.
“It's opening the prisons a little, and not to everyone,” he said.

But others cheered the news including Sarah Stevens, head of the Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas, which supports lifting the United States' 48-year-old trade embargo against the island.

“This is joyful news for the prisoners and their families, a credit to the Cuban Catholic Church,” she said in a statement, “and a lesson for U.S. policy makers that engagement — talking to the Cubans with respect — is accomplishing more, right now, than the embargo has accomplished in 50 years.”

Indeed, the Catholic Church has recently become a major political voice in Cuba, though only with the consent of the Castro government.

In May, Cardinal Ortega negotiated an end to a ban on marches by a small group of wives and mothers of political prisoners known as the Ladies in White.

The cardinal and another church leader subsequently met with Fidel Castro for four hours. Church officials then announced the government would transfer political prisoners to jails closer to their families and give better access to medical care for inmates who need it. That led to 12 transfers last month, and freedom for paraplegic Ariel Sigler.

Those discussions apparently laid the groundwork for Wednesday's large-scale agreement.

It appeared to cast some doubt on the future of Guilermo Farinas, an opposition activist and freelance journalist who has refused food and water since February to demand freedom for dozens of political prisoners, all among the 75 imprisoned in 2003.

He said by phone from the hospital in the central city of Santa Clara, where he has received nutrients intravenously, that he would continue his hunger strike and was prepared to go until he dies. Cuba's state-controlled media has reported he recently suffered a potentially fatal blood clot in his neck.

Fidel Castro said Cuba held 15,000 political prisoners in 1964, but officials in recent years say none of their prisoners are held for political reasons — all for common crimes or for being paid “mercenaries” of U.S.-funded groups trying to overthrow Cuba's government.

According to a report released this week by the island's leading human rights group, the number of Cuban political prisoners has fallen to 167, the lowest total since Fidel Castro took power on New Year's Day 1959 — but that tally included those now set to be released as part of Wednesday's agreement.

“There are more than 100 remaining prisoners and we don't see any in this agreement,” he said. “The government of Cuba should free all political prisoners in Cuba.”


Monday, July 05, 2010

Wilson Calls Adventists to 'Go Forward'

Greetings from Obama read at Sabbath worship
3 Jul 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Mark A. Kellner, Adventist Review



Ted N. C. Wilson delivers his first sermon as president of the Adventist Church. In addressing attendees of final day of General Conference Session, he emphasized the Adventist Church as the remnant church and called for a recommitment to the writing's of church co-founder Ellen White. [photo: Josef Kissinger]

Addressing a crowd of 69,989 Seventh-day Adventists and friends, Ted N. C. Wilson, in his first Sabbath sermon as General Conference president, urged members to "go forward" in confidence through the days ahead.

Wilson's message -- delivered as he was surrounded by the Church's 13 division presidents, nine general vice presidents, and his two immediate predecessors -- came in a morning service where worshippers heard the fourth movement of Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, the "Reformation Symphony," and where the world church leader read words of welcome from United States President Barack Obama.

"Throughout history, faith has shaped our philosophies, our perspectives, and our lives," Wilson read. "As we face the challenges and opportunities of this unique moment in history, may faith move us to unite in common cause to serve our fellow brothers and sisters. ... I wish you all the best for a wonderful event."

Wilson began his sermon stressing the "heaven-directed journey" of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: "With the power of His truth, God has carved out of this chaotic world the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We are to be a peculiar people, God's remnant people, to lift up Christ, His righteousness, His three angels' messages of Revelation 14, and His soon coming," he said.

"God is the Creator and is to be worshiped on His Sabbath day as a sign of our loyalty to His Word and creative power," Wilson said, adding later, "Brothers and sisters, look to the Almighty God who can take you through anything you will face in the future. Never lose your full confidence and trust in Him. Always obey His command to 'Go Forward.'"

"God has a plan for your life and for this church," Wilson urged the massive crowd. "Never doubt the destiny of this mighty Advent movement. It is in God's hands. God has given us prophetic instruction to know the culmination of the great controversy -- God is the Victor."

The new world church leader also stated, "Go Forward in lifting up Christ and proclaiming God's grace; Go forward in presenting the three angels' messages; Go forward in pleading for revival and reformation; Go forward in following the Bible as it reads; Go forward in reading and adhering to the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy; Go forward in proclaiming to the world the good news of salvation and the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ."

After cautioning against adopting unscriptural fads in end-time ministry, Wilson mentioned some specifics: "We must be vigilant to test all things according to the supreme authority of God's Word and the council with which we have been blessed in the writings of Ellen G. White. Don't reach out to movements or megachurch centers outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church which promise you spiritual success based on faulty theology. Stay away from non-biblical spiritual disciplines or methods of spiritual formation that are rooted in mysticism such as contemplative prayer, centering prayer, and the emerging church movement in which they are promoted."



The divine service on the final day of the 2010 General Conference Session. Nearly 70,000 worshipers attended church in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Saturday, July 3. [photo: Robert East]

Instead, he said, believers should "look within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to humble pastors, evangelists, Biblical scholars, leaders, and departmental directors who can provide evangelistic methods and programs that are based on solid Biblical principles and The Great Controversy theme."

Believers were also cautioned to use discernment in worship styles: "Use Christ-centered, Bible-based worship and music practices in church services," Wilson said. "While we understand that worship services and cultures vary throughout the world, don't go backwards into confusing pagan settings where music and worship become so focused on emotion and experience that you lose the central focus on the Word of God. All worship, however simple or complex should do one thing and one thing only: lift up Christ and put down self."

On a related issue, theological trends, Wilson said, "Don't succumb to fanatical or loose theology that wrests God's Word from the pillars of Biblical truth and the landmark beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Don't be swayed with every little whim of 'new' theology or complicated time chart purporting to carefully explain unusual or obscure concepts that have little to do with our overall theology and mission. The historic Biblical beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will not be moved. The Biblical foundation will stand secure to the end of time."

Wilson also counseled his hearers to stand firm for what the Bible says about origins: "Don't go backwards to misinterpret the first eleven chapters of Genesis or other areas of Scripture as allegorical or merely symbolic. As just this week we have once again affirmed in an overwhelming manner, the Seventh-day Adventist Church both teaches and believes in the biblical record of creation which took place recently; in six literal, consecutive, contiguous 24 hour days," he said.

"The Seventh-day Adventist Church will never change its stand or belief in that foundational doctrine," Wilson added. "If God did not create this world in six literal days and then blessed the Sabbath day, why are we worshipping Him today on this seventh-day Sabbath as Seventh-day Adventists?"

Wilson also pointed his audience towards the Church's traditional understanding of scriptural interpretation: "Let Scripture be its own interpreter. Our church has long held to the Historical-Biblical or historical-grammatical method of understanding scripture, allowing the Bible to interpret itself; line upon line, precept upon precept. However, one of the most sinister attacks against the Bible is from those who believe in the Historical-Critical method of explaining the Bible. This unbiblical approach of 'higher criticism' is a deadly enemy of our theology and mission," he said.

Additionally, Wilson also encouraged Adventists to remember the special gift God has given the Adventist movement.




[photo: Josef Kissinger]






"Accept the Spirit of Prophecy as one of the greatest gifts given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church not just for the past but even more importantly for the future," he said, referring to the writings of church co-founder Ellen White. "While the Bible is paramount in our estimation as the ultimate authority and final arbiter of truth, the Spirit of Prophecy provides clear, inspired council to aid our application of Bible truth. It is a heaven-sent guide to instruct the church in how to carry out its mission. It is a reliable theological expositor of the Scriptures." The Spirit of Prophecy is to be read, believed, applied and promoted."

However, he added, "it is not to be used as a "club" to beat people over the head, but it is to be regarded and employed as a marvelous blessing to direct God's church in the last days of this earth's history."

Wilson closed his message with a direct appeal: "I invite you to accept Christ's marvelous grace in your life, to renew your commitment to Him and this great Advent movement, to proclaim God's grace, and to ask the Lord to help this church 'Go Forward.'"


Source: Adventist News Network.

Source: http://news.adventist.org/2010/07/sabbath-sermon-story.html

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