AND THE THIRD ANGEL FOLLOWED THEM, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, IF ANY MAN WORSHIP THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE, AND RECEIVE HIS MARK IN HIS FOREHEAD, OR IN HIS HAND. *** REVELATION 14:9
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
McCain calls for Holder, Napolitano, Jones to testify about Gunwalker under Oath
In a letter sent Wednesday, McCain said additional information released about the operation last week warrants a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, of which McCain is a member.
“The committee should hold a meeting as soon as possible to examine these new revelations and determine what additional measures are needed to help prevent this type of malfeasance from occurring again,” McCain wrote in a letter addressed to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
The veteran Arizona Senator is asking for the committee to call the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder; the Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano; and the ATF’s acting director, B. Todd Jones; as witnesses.
Before taking over for Ken Melson, Jones was briefed on Operation Fast and Furious, and may be just as complicit in allowing the operation to go on as DOJ officials.
This is going to get real ugly, real fast, for the Obama Administration.
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A White House 'Gunrunner'?
The Law: Operation Gunwalker, the rogue ATF operation to arm Mexico's cartels, extends now to three White House officials. A bell goes off with the one named Dan Restrepo.
Late last Friday, CBS News and the Los Angeles Times almost buried the news that Restrepo, the National Security Council's top man for Latin America, and two other officials, were in on ATF memos from the Gunwalker operation called "Fast and Furious."
That blows apart White House claims that it had no idea the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was encouraging frontmen for Mexico's cartels to buy weapons from U.S. gun dealers — to "trace" them afterward.
Some 2,000 U.S. guns were sold in Gunwalker but simply disappeared — until they turned up at massacres in Mexico and at the murder scenes of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata.
But outgoing ATF acting director Ken Melson and others who've been the fall guys in this scandal darkly hint that their orders came from the White House, and domestic critics think Gunwalker can only be explained as a White House bid to boost support for gun control. Restrepo's involvement distinctly raises both possibilities.
Restrepo is a political operative whose interests are more domestic than Latin American. As a result, he's botched every Latin American operation he's had his hand in, appeasing enemies and blaming the U.S.:
• Honduras: In 2009, Restrepo was behind a U.S. bid to swiftly declare Honduras' constitutional ouster of its president "a coup" and sanctioned the country, playing into the hands of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who had attempted to make Honduras a colony.
• Cuba: Restrepo was behind loosening sanctions on Castro's Cuba, which has emboldened the regime to act against Americans. While Castro imprisoned Alan Gross, a U.S. contractor who was distributing satellite phones to dissidents, the Obama administration said nothing.
Subscribe to the IBD Editorials Podcast • Colombia: Its troops captured drug "kingpin of kingpins" Walid Makled, who had extensive knowledge of Venezuelan official involvement in trafficking. U.S. attorneys wanted him extradited, but Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said President Obama never asked. When IBD asked Restrepo whether he advised Obama to ask, Restrepo defensively said he did. But that's at odds with what Santos said.
• Venezuela: Treasury Department officials complained Restrepo kept names of high-ranking Venezuelan officials with ties to drug dealers off its "Kingpin List," in a naive effort to keep pressure off Chavez.
• Now Restrepo tries to pin Mexico's drug war not on Hugo Chavez's trafficker allies, but on gun dealers from the U.S.
There's little doubt that's his line, because blaming U.S. gun dealers and calling for a U.S. assault weapon ban were his ideas from his days spent at the Center for American Progress, an Obama-linked think tank.
The U.S. "will work to inhibit the flow of weapons ... across our border," Restrepo told Mexican media.
Meanwhile, when Obama met with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, both erroneously declared that U.S. weapons fueled Mexico's drug war — on Restrepo's advice.
Blogger Mike Vanderbroegh thinks that if Restrepo wasn't the author of Gunwalker he'd know who is and should be called to tell Congress. Either he's kept Obama in the dark about Gunwalker, or Obama should be impeached.
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Medical schools failing to cover LGBT health issues: Study
Canadian medical schools are not teaching new doctors enough about the unique health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients, a new study suggests.Photograph by: Bruno Schlumberger, Ottawa Citizen
The average amount of time medical schools spend teaching students about health issues facing the LGBT community is about five hours over the entire curriculum, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine published in the Journal of American Medical Association.
In the study, researchers submitted a web-based survey to 176 medical school deans in the U.S and Canada, receiving responses from 85 per cent. Of those, 11 of the participants were Canadian institutions.
Although many medical schools do address some LGBT-related health issues in their curricula, the conversation needs to go deeper, said the study's lead author, Dr. Juno Obedin-Maliver, of the University of California, San Francisco.
"These are misconceptions in the public at large and because there isn't specific education in medicine about it, doctors-in-training — who are just people in society — don't get disavowed of their social thinking about this group," she said.
Of the 150 survey respondents, 70 per cent described their school's coverage of 16 LGBT-related topics, like HIV and STIs, gender identity, and mental health issues, as "fair", "poor" or "very poor."
Ninety-seven per cent said their school teaches students to ask patients if they have sex with men, women, or both when taking a sexual history. Seventy-two per cent of schools stated their students are taught the difference between behavior and identity, like men who have sex with men but still identify as straight.
However, less than a quarter of respondents did not know whether the difference was taught.
Without adequate education, the study's authors suggest new doctors are often left with fallacies about lesbians and gays that are rampant throughout society.
One of the common misconceptions is that lesbians don't need regular pap smears to screen for cervical cancer, which is related to the presence of the HPV virus, said Obedin-Maliver.
"Many physicians out there still believe HPV and other STDs can't be transmitted from a woman to a woman, which is not true," she explained.
Another often-overlooked issue is lesbians, compared to straight women, tend to have higher rates of breast cancer as they tend to have fewer children. Research has linked having children as playing a role in reducing the risk of developing breast cancer, said Obedin-Maliver.
Understanding the specific health needs of LGBT people can only begin when a comfortable dialogue is established between physician and patient, said Obedin-Maliver.
"LGBT people don't necessarily feel comfortable talking openly about their life to a doctor, and that can lead to difficulties in treatment if you don't have accurate information," she explained. "But most patients will talk about things if their providers are really openly interested and wanting to learn from their patients."
The study's high survey response rate demonstrates medical schools are interested in improving the level of LGBT education offered in their curricula, said Dr. Raymond Curry, vice dean for education at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
However, Curry, who wrote an editorial on the study, said the researchers' method of calculating hours spent on teaching LGBT-related issues in the curriculum avoids some key questions about campus culture.
"Are there educational leaders or course directors that are gay or lesbian, or that are clear allies who speak to the issue?" asked Curry. "Seeing what the range of responses would be, whether there are easily identifiable faculty that students can relate to has a lot to do with how open and free the discussion is about patients' issues."
As the survey asked medical school deans to self-evaluate their institutions, Obedin-Maliver said it is possible their perceptions could be slightly skewed.
"We expect people to round up, so it could be quite a bit worse even," she said.
Obedin-Maliver said she hopes the study's results yield a greater focus on including LGBT education in medical school curricula in the future.
"I think that this is a topic whose time has come," she said.
tfletcher@postmedia.com
Source: http://www.canada.com/health/Medical+schools+failing+cover+LGBT+health+issues+Study/5366742/story.html#ixzz1XJoLxCH1
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Baghdad College And America's Shifting Role In Iraq
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Morning Edition
[5 min 54 sec]
Students play a basketball game on the campus of Iraq's Baghdad College, in this undated photograph.
September 7, 2011 A school founded by Americans in Iraq before the Saddam Hussein era is an emblem of a time when the United States was known in the Middle East not for military action, but for culture and education. That's the view of Puliter Prize-winning New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid, who recently wrote an essay about the school, titled "The American Age, Iraq."
First opened in the 1930s by New England Jesuits, Baghdad College became the Iraqi capital's premier high school. Classes were conducted in English — and the defining feature of the school was not proselytizing, but a rigorous education, Shadid says.
As Shadid tells Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep, the school was a symbol of Iraq's identity — which he says was more secular and universal in the middle of the 20th century than it is today.
The school "also represented something for both the United States and for Iraq, and the way that they saw each other," Shadid says, "that they could allow themselves an almost idealistic version of each other. I think that's impossible today, and I say that with a certain sense of sadness."
One reason for that change came in the late 1960s, Shadid says, when Saddam's Baath Party assumed power — and also placed all of Iraq's schools under state control. But international views of America have also changed since those days, he says, noting that the Jesuits ran their school in an era when many people held "a much gentler notion" of Americans' role in the world.
In conducting research for the article, Shadid says, he asked people "where they would mark the end of that kind of era, when that sense of American benevolence gave way to what a lot of people would see as American imperialism."
"Some people put it at the founding of Israel in 1948; some people put it in the Egyptian revolution in 1952," he says. "My own sense in reporting this story was that it was maybe even a little later, with Vietnam, with the change in government in Iraq. But it is clear that that image changed — and I think it changed unalterably, in some ways."
Shadid's essay "The American Age, Iraq" is in the latest issue of Granta, in which the British journal collects stories related to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
European Valuegenesis: a challenge!
As most of you know, during the next two years the churches within Europe will be under the spotlight with the biggest youth survey ever organised in our countries. This is the Valuegenesis Survey for Europe. Thousands of youth between 14 to 25 years old, living in 17 European countries will be invited to fill up a questionnaire to express their opinion on; Faith, Values, Commitment to Home, Church, School, Society, and so on. This will give the church a clear picture of a new generation which is growing with its own definition of Adventism.
Very often youth are judged at face value by their silences, their apparent apathy, their sitting in the back, or in the balcony, or chatting in the corridor etc. etc. Such a picture often comes out blurred with at best little clear definition and sadly often an incomprehensible or incomplete image. Through Valuegenesis we would like to give more focus to this picture and to enhance the potential of a generation of youth which is growing in spirituality, as showed by the first two Valuegenesis surveys held in the USA. Most crucially our picture will be that of European Adventist youth.
The Jose Figols Youth Centre, situated in Collonges, France will be the focal point of the European edition of Valuegenesis survey. Manuela Casti, the director of the Centre, has helped form a network that includes youth professionals from both the Euro Africa Division and Trans –European Division. The width of the survey will embrace 17 countries with many different languages, cultures and spiritual backgrounds. It will also involve the coordination of three European Adventists colleges, Collonges, Newbold and Friedensau, to guide the research.
Additionally an International company will be contracted to care for the data collection. It’s impossible to estimate how many hours and days of hard work is hidden behind this project and I thank Manuela Casti for her tremendous work Also a heartfelt appreciation also to all members of the Research Committee for their commitment.
But practically, how does Valuegenesis work?
The questionnaire has been based on the established Valuegenesis 2 survey instrument used in USA but with a clear European definition as directed by the Research teams from Collonges, Friedensau and Newbold. The questionnaire will then be available in a web-based formula and youth will be invited to complete the survey “on-line.” To make this possible a personal password will be made available for each young person which will expire when the questionnaire is completed.
This new formula to collect data on-line has been approved by Bailey Gillespie, the Valuegenesis’ coordinator in USA, and has several advantages:
1. It will involve not just a proportional sample of young people but a “census” including potentially ALL European Adventist youth aged 14-25 in the 17 participating countries (both baptised and non – baptised.)
2. There will no need to invest a long time in gathering a detailed demographic database of European Adventist young people.
3. Modern technology will help provide a very reliable survey, gathering the answers from even relatively “small” Conferences. .
4. The web-based survey will give immediate availability of the findings and also provide a ready base for flat score results and further more detailed analysis.
5. The process will be quicker and more cost effective as there will be no need of entering data by scanning, with the related consequent expenses and delays;
6. There will also be a greater accessibility of the questionnaire, without mailing and collecting printed forms.
Today youth use computers more or less daily. It will be very easy to fill up such a questionnaire. The biggest partners of this project are youth, so, offering this technological formula we hope to facilitate their involvement.
For those youth that do not have a computer, the same questionnaire will also be available in hard copy through the Union/Conference Youth Departments.
Within few weeks, all pastors of the Union/Conferences involved will receive a letter with the important details on how to promote and manage the survey. The pastors and the local churches are very important partners in this project as they will help distribute the passwords which will in turn make possible the data collection. I would like to thank all pastors which will manage carefully this part of the programme that will in many senses determine the success of the whole project.
All further information can be downloaded from the website
http://www.valuegenesis.org/ .
This site will be operative as an information source until it will become the official Valuegenesis web site. To enter the site it will be necessary to have a password which will protect the identity of all responding youth as the questionnaire can be completed anonymously.
Now we are ready to take off and the project will last until 2008, a normal length for a scientific study of this size. At this point we do not have big claims but we do have the following message to our youth:
Who’s changing the church? You are! Your mouse can change it. Be our partner. Be church.
Corrado Cozzi
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Note: Text colors added by blogger for emphasis.
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Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Iceland's Katla Volcano Monitored After Seismic Activity Increases
PAISLEY DODDS and GUDJON HELGASON 09/ 6/11 06:47 PM ET
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — A surge of small earthquakes has been reported around Iceland's Katla volcano, but scientists said Tuesday there is no immediate concern that the increased seismic activity will trigger a dangerous eruption.
Although earthquakes around Katla are common, an increase in cluster earthquakes is not.
"It's one of the most feared volcanos, so we're closely monitoring it," said Pall Einarsson of the University of Iceland. "That said, it's normal for earthquakes to be detected around Katla. What's a bit unusual is that we're seeing swarms of small earthquakes, some occurring every 10 minutes or so."
After flying over the area to monitor the situation Tuesday evening, scientists said they could not yet determine what caused the increased seismic activity. Although they detected signs that Katla was preparing for an eruption, they also emphasized that the volcano had also seen similar activity without erupting before.
Nevertheless, "there are signs of Katla being more active now than in the past few years so there is every reason to keep an eye on her," said Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, after the flight.
Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.
Like earthquakes, predicting the timing of volcanic eruptions is an imprecise science.
Last year's eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano forced hundreds of people to be evacuated and paralyzed international air travel for weeks because of a hovering ash cloud.
And history has shown that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla – located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap – isn't far behind.
Katla, which threatens disastrous flooding if its ice cap melts, typically awakens every 80 years or so, and last erupted in 1918.
Activity around Katla started to increase around July but has since grown even stronger. The strongest earthquake detected so far has been a 3.0 magnitude. There also was flooding that wiped out a bridge in July.
Like people, each volcano has a different personality of sorts, says Einarsson.
"We look at the behavior, try to analyze patterns and then try to come up with an explanation," says Einarsson. "This is a bit difficult to interpret so far, but it's correct to say that it signals some sort of activity in the volcano and some sort of magna intrusions are probably taking place."
Geologists also are worried about the Hekla volcano, which unlike Katla, is not covered by a glacier and produces little seismic activity.
During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the Hekla volcano, the country's most active, the "Gateway to Hell," believing that souls were dragged into the fire below.
"If we saw earthquakes like this in Hekla, we would immediately signal a warning sign," Einarsson said.
Another one of Iceland's volcanos proved particularly deadly in 1783.
When Laki erupted, it freed gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the jet stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread.
"Everyone has their eyes on a big Katla eruption," said Andy Russell with Newcastle University's Earth Surface Processes Research Group, who travels frequently to Iceland for research. "You can never say never, but I don't think there's need for alarm right now."
Russell said past Katla eruptions have caused floods the size of the Amazon and sent boulders as big as houses tumbling down valleys and roads. Flooding occurred within 45 minutes of the eruption, he said.
Iceland is one of the few places in the world where a mid-ocean ridge actually rises above sea level. Many volcanic eruptions along the ocean basin often go undetected because they can't be easily seen.
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Dodds contributed to this report from London.
Don't be indifferent to difference
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Father Gary Riebe-Estrella, S.V.D.
Living with other cultures takes practice, Father Gary Riebe-Estrella, S.V.D. wrote in U.S. Catholic's July 2000 special issue on multiculturalism.
Last Sunday's bulletin had announced a parish meeting for 7 p.m. Wednesday. So, at about 6:40 a number of cars began to arrive in the parish parking lot. Slowly folks began to take their places in the parish hall. A few more straggled in at about five minutes to 7. By 7 o'clock there was a healthy turnout of parishioners, except for one thing-almost everyone in the hall was white!
At about 7:20 you could hear more cars arriving. Voices came from the parking lot as people greeted each other. Slowly these new arrivals filed into the parish hall. A few more cars drove up at 7:30 and unloaded their passengers. Somewhere around 7:40 p.m. it seemed that everyone who was coming to the meeting had arrived. The hall was almost full now, and everyone who had arrived after 7 o'clock was brown!
The white folks by this time were seething. "Why can't these people come on time?" they were saying to each other under their breath. "Do they always have to be late?"
A couple of the Latinos overheard the mumbling. "Why would anyone come so early to a meeting as these Americanos do?" they asked one another. "I don't understand why they're getting angry with us. Everybody knew the meeting wouldn't start until quarter to 8!"
This scene is not an uncommon one in parishes with Anglo and Latino parishioners. White some church leaders might claim that the multicultural reality of the Catholic Church in the United States is a gift from God, most of the people who have to live that reality every day find it a pain.
After all, what many of us experience in our parishes isn't so much multiculturalism (where people of different cultures live side by side with each other) but interculturalism (where people of different cultures have to interact with each other). Each group might live in its own little section of the parish, but when it comes to parish activities, our differences collide around meeting times, the role of women in ministry, how to relate to the pastor, which language to use at staff meetings, and on and on.
Intercultural living is always difficult because it means crossing into other people's cultural space and having them bring their customs and values into "my space." That produces tension and friction. It's always easier to live with "my own kind" than with people who think and act differently, whose behavior I don't understand, whose customs I find quaint if not downright strange.
The first step in dealing constructively with intercultural living is to recognize its difficulty and not to blame the tension on my own or the other's lack of goodwill. Learning to cross cultural borders is a set of skills that needs to be learned-it's not something we're born with.
Second, for most of us, the formal education we've received hasn't given us much help in acquiring that skill. Few of us, even if we've graduated from college in the U.S., know very much about how culture works. We know our own culture because we were brought up in it. But if someone asks us to describe our culture, to explain how it works, to teach them why Americans act the way they act in given situations, we're more often than not at a loss for words.
Learning how to cross into someone else's cultural world first requires some understanding of the dynamics of culture in general and, only then, the particular contours of the Euro-American or Latino cultural world. Often too much attention is given to the specifics of individual cultural groups and almost none to helping people understand how culture works. As a result, when I see behavior among African Americans that I didn't learn about in the last workshop I attended, I have no way of understanding what that behavior means.
Cultures are really like worlds. The behaviors, values, family systems, and customs that make up that world form a fabric with each other, each piece interwoven with the other pieces of that culture.
The attitude a cultural group has toward time, for example, is usually linked to its understanding of relationships, to its sense of personal identity, to how it understands hospitality, and so on. To begin to understand someone else's cultural world is to begin to understand how it's organized, how the pieces fit together, not just to understand one particular value or behavior.
The Euro-Americans in my initial story arrived at the parish hall before 7 p.m. because in their cultural world time is a commodify to be used wisely. It's something that belongs to me ("my time"), and how well I use it says a lot about how mature and responsible I am. Moreover, it's my integrity as an individual (doing what I know to be right) that is of paramount value in that cultural world.
The Latinos in the story inhabit a very different place. In their cultural world, time exists for exercising relationships with others. So if friends drop by unannounced, I visit with them rather than rush off to the parish meeting. Living out the responsibilities and obligations of those relationships is the mark of a truly mature person. And it's the quality of my relationships with others that is of paramount value.
Unless I understand the different way someone else's cultural world is organized, I won't be able to negotiate my way through that world without painfully colliding with behaviors and values that are quite different from mine.
Learning how to live interculturally is a complicated set of skills that can be developed only by understanding how cultures work, how another's cultural world is organized, and then how the individual pieces of that world play themselves out with each other.
Learning that set of skills takes a good deal of time and effort. So it's no wonder that many parishes settle for multicultural, rather than intercultural, living. They really don't try to form a community, to help people learn how to cross cultural boundaries and negotiate new cultural worlds. Rather they opt to be two or more communities that happen to share the same parish facilities, where one group is usually the "owner" and the other groups just "rent" space.
Settling for multicultural instead of intercultural living in our parishes, however, backs away from the central mission of the church in the United States.
When I was studying in Spain in 1989 and 1990, many Spaniards asked me why people in the United States couldn't get along with each other. With a certain attitude of condescension they would express their amazement that blacks, whites, and Latinos couldn't seem to live in peace.
When I returned to Spain three years later, the European Community had become a reality. The border checkpoints had been dismantled. Spain now had growing communities of Romanians and Czechs and Slovaks. Those same Spaniards who had made fun of the U.S. three years before now wanted to know what they could learn from us that would help them deal with their increasingly diverse population!
Demographers assert that never before in the history of humanity have so many people been on the move at the same time. The population shifts that occurred in the United States during the 20th century with the large immigrations from Europe and Latin America are now beginning to be experienced by countries throughout the world.
How to live with each other across our cultural differences is becoming a pivotal question for many nations. At the same time, the news is full of the disastrous consequences that can happen when cultural worlds collide: ethnic cleansing, tribal genocide, religious wars. Historically speaking, the statistically "normal" way for human beings to deal with difference is to kill the other.
As Christians, however, we believe that the value of the human person is not determined by culture or race or religion. The human person is valuable because we are all children of God, made in God's image and likeness. As people of faith from many cultures, we Catholics in the United States are being challenged to live what we believe. We are being challenged not just to tolerate cultural difference but to engage it. We are being challenged not just to live next to each other but to live with each other, not just to rent parish space to other groups but to form a community with them.
If the power of our faith doesn't provide us with the strength to form intercultural communities in our parishes, how can we expect others to live across cultural difference? As a church in this culturally plural country, we have a chance to create new models of how peoples of various cultures can live with each other on the basis of their real value, as children of God. It's our challenge, but it's also our mission, the witness we can offer our world.
Father Gary Riebe-Estrella, S.V.D. was associate professor of cross-cultural ministries and vice president at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago when he wrote this article. It appeared in U.S. Catholic's July 2000 special issue on multiculturalism (Vol. 65, No. 7, pages 19-21).
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Walter Veith at La Sierra University
Walter Veith at La Sierra University
Driven With the Wind
March 1997
By Ralph Larson
On November 15 and 16, 1996, Elder Willard Santee, a minister of the Oregon Conference, delivered a series of five messages in a tent on the grounds of Prophecy Countdown in Mt. Dora,Florida. As a result of these messages, as well as some more private conversations, the leader of Prophecy Countdown, John Osborne, along with some of his staff, responded to an altar call by Elder Santee in which he appealed to them to "return to the Seventh-day Adventist Church."
As he stood on the platform beside Santee, John Osborne said, "I don’t want to be a historic Seventh-day Adventist."
These words created consternation on the part of many historic Seventh-day Adventists who have been trusting in the leadership of John Osborne and have been giving generous financial support to his ministry. What did these words mean?
A historic Seventh-day Adventist is by definition a person who is holding steadfastly to the principles of truth that were established by the pioneers of our church, and that have been repeatedly confirmed and re-confirmed by the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Had John Osborne decided to abandon these principles of truth? This was the question that troubled many hearts, and triggered many anxious inquiries. An apparent attempt to answer these questions was made one week later by Dianne Osborne, the president of Prophecy Countdown. She stood before the television cameras and made a statement that included these lines:
"We are seeking to have unity with God’s Church, but we will not unify with apostasy. We must be separate from the evil practices, from apostasy, and from sin both inside and outside the church . . . We realize that you cannot go where error is being preached, nor allow your children to go where error is being taught . . . We will continue to defend the truth."
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Inter-American seminary achieves full accreditation status
Dr. Jaime Castrejon, president of the Inter-American Theological Seminary, holds the accreditation letter from the Association of Theological Schools. The institution is a distributed campus and operates in 10 countries. [photo: Libna Stevens]
Institution offers graduate degrees free for pastors in region
6 Sep 2011, Miami, Florida, United States
Libna Stevens/IAD/ANN
The Association of Theological Schools granted the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary full accreditation status this summer, giving the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the region its own fully accredited institution offering graduate degrees in theology and religion.
The institution, operated with a distributed campus, offers degrees taught in English, Spanish and French to active Adventist ministers in 10 countries throughout the church in Inter-America. It offers a Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology, a Master of Arts in Religion, and a Doctor of Ministry.
Dr. Jaime Castrejon, president of the Inter-American Theological Seminary, holds the accreditation letter from the Association of Theological Schools. The institution is a distributed campus and operates in 10 countries. [photo: Libna Stevens]
Based at the division headquarters in Miami, IATS was launched in three countries in 1996 in partnership with United States-based Andrews University. School officials later expanded the number of sites and in 2003 began seeking independent accreditation. Its 10 sites are now located in Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Venezuela.
ATS is a membership organization for the United States and Canada that accredits schools and approves post-graduate professional and academic degrees in the practice of ministry and research in theological disciplines. Its accreditation of IATS is effective as of June 2011 until 2018.
"This is such a milestone," said Jaime Castrejon, IATS president. "To have this prestigious accreditation is simply wonderful."
IATS also received accredited in 2000 from the Adventist Accrediting Association.
Church officials said the seminary was originally launched to enable ministers to study and work within their own territory and culture.
"This has been a long awaited accomplishment," said Israel Leito, president of the Inter-American Divison. "It confirms to us that we have been on the right path now to offer all of our ministers the opportunity to get an advanced degree so that they can help our churches better, preach better sermons and minister to the educated member of today."
Ministers from across Inter-America are able to obtain a degree from IATS free of charge, thanks to a 0.5 percent share of tithe sent from each field territory as of this year. In previous years, the division covered all the costs, according to Filiberto Verduzco, treasurer for the church in Inter-America.
The investment has already produced 408 pastors, who graduated with masters and doctorate degrees from IATS while it remained in candidacy status awaiting accreditation from ATS, Verduzco said.
Castrejon, the IATS president, who holds a Ph.D. in Religious Education, says he has seen and felt the benefits of IATS throughout the territory.
"We have intelligent, thinking people sitting on the pews who are not content with mediocre sermons," Castrejon said. "Our members are educated, informed, so it is important that our ministers are trained to communicate at their level. I have seen a change in the spiritual adequacy of the members and I credit that to better professional sermons."
IATS originally launched by offering graduate degrees from Andrews at three sites: Montemorelos University in Mexico, Antillean Adventist University in Puerto Rico and Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica.
Two additional sites were later added: the University of Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Colombia Adventist University in Colombia. Four additional sites were added in the 1990s.
But as ministers traveled to Andrews, the operation proved to be expensive for their employers in the short term, and costly in the long run as many graduates found jobs in the U.S.
"We were facing a brain drain in our territory with this situation, as pastors would get their visa and just stayed in the United States," Castrejon said.
While awaiting accreditation, IATS established its central site for academic operations at the Antillean Adventist University campus in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, in 2009.
Pursuing accreditation with ATS took longer than usual because of the need for the accrediting organization to understand the structure of a seminar like IATS, with multiple educational sites spread across many countries, Castrejon said.
For more information on the Inter-American Theological Seminary, visit www.interamerica.org.
Source Adventist News Network
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European shares fall as banks hit by debt worries
* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 1 pct
* Euro zone peripheral worries hit banks
* Swiss stocks gain on SNB intervention
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday in a choppy session, reversing earlier gains, with banks exposed to the euro zone peripheral among the worst performers as political discord around the handling of the regional debt crisis grew.
There were doubts about Italy and Greece's willingness to push through austerity measures as resistance grew in the countries against their implementation, while paymaster Germany started to take a hardening opposition to further aid.
The worries about the euro zone peripheral debt concerns grew after news that the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had said Greece may not receive another aid tranche if the delayed "troika" report was not positive.
French bank stocks, which have high exposure to the euro zone peripheral markets were standout losers, with Credit Agricole , BNP Paribas and Societe Generale down 0.9 to 2.6 percent.
Adding to the concerns earlier had been a rise in Italian 10-year yields on worries about the implementation of austerity cuts which are vital to keep European Central Bank support, although they had since fallen back.
"We are negative on banks as they still need to raise more capital," said Colin McLean, managing director of SVM Asset Management. "There is a lot of concerns about the euro zone peripheries and a cloud remains over their balance sheets."
Concerns about European political unity needed to contain the euro zone peripheral debt crisis had been shaken in the previous session after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition lost ground in a state election on Sunday.
Compounding the worries about political unity in the region was nervousness about a German court ruling on Wednesday about Berlin's involvement in the region's bailout fund.
"Yesterday did quite a lot of damage and opened up more concerns about whether politicians can resolve the euro zone debt crisis," McLean added.
By 1229 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1 percent at 901.02 points after dropping 6.5 percent in the past two days on recession fears, sparked by Friday's dire U.S. jobs data.
Trade was choppy with the FTSEurofirst 300 having been up as much as 922.08 and down as low as 899.90 points.
SWISS GAINS
The index had earlier been higher, with Swiss stocks flooding the best performers list after the Swiss National Bank said it would set a minimum exchange rate target of 1.20 francs to the euro.
The Swiss index gained 4 percent, in volume 85 that was percent of its 90-day daily average, outperforming the other European indices.
A stronger Swiss franc had posed a risk to the economy and had been hurting exporting stocks.
"Statements from SNB were pretty bold and should ease Swiss franc strength at least for the next weeks," Switzerland-based hedge fund manager Trung-Tin Nguyen at TTN AG said.
"For Swiss stocks good news today on a relative basis ... there are big earnings per share upgrades to come through to consensus if the rate is now 1.20 francs."
Nestle , the world's biggest food group, took the top spot on the , rising 3.5 percent in strong volume at 100 percent its 90-day daily average.
Following closely behind were drug maker Novartis and engineer ABB up 5.6 percent and 6.1 percent respectively also in strong volume nearing their 90-day daily average.
Britain's biggest hotel and coffee-shop operator Whitbread took the top spot on Britain's FTSE 100 index, jumping 6 percent in volume 95 percent of its 90-day daily average after it reported accelerating sales growth. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
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The Lord’s Day Controversy
The Sabbath in Jesus’ Day
Established at Creation
The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good;” and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Genesis 1:31.
Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it”—set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God’s power and His love. The Scripture says, “He has made His wonderful works to be remembered.” “The things that are made,” declare “the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world,” “even His everlasting power and divinity.” Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.
All things were created by the Son of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He “who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.
It was this thought that awoke the song,—
“For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
O Lord, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep.”
Psalm 92:4, 5.
And the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah declares: “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? . . . Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. . . . To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. . . . He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:18-29. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10. “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22. This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel hallow His Sabbaths, He said, “They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God.” Ezekiel 20:20, R. V.
The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?” Exodus 16:28.
The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law.” Matthew 5:18. So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator’s power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. “From one Sabbath to another” the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up “to worship before Me, says the Lord.” Isaiah 66:23. . . .
Corrupted by Man
As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God’s rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.
Upon one Sabbath day, as the Saviour and His disciples returned from the place of worship, they passed through a field of ripening grain. Jesus had continued His work to a late hour, and while passing through the fields, the disciples began to gather the heads of grain, and to eat the kernels after rubbing them in their hands. On any other day this act would have excited no comment, for one passing through a field of grain, an orchard, or a vineyard, was at liberty to gather what he desired to eat. See Deuteronomy 23:24, 25. But to do this on the Sabbath was held to be an act of desecration. Not only was the gathering of the grain a kind of reaping, but the rubbing of it in the hands was a kind of threshing. Thus, in the opinion of the rabbis, there was a double offense.
The spies at once complained to Jesus, saying, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” Matthew 12:2.
When accused of Sabbathbreaking at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself by affirming His Sonship to God, and declaring that He worked in harmony with the Father. Now that the disciples are attacked, He cites His accusers to examples from the Old Testament, acts performed on the Sabbath by those who were in the service of God.
The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the Saviour’s answer there was an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. “Have you not even read this,” He said, “what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, . . . which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” Luke 6:3-4. “And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27. “Have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.” Matthew 12:5-6. “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:28.
The Desire of Ages, pp. 281-285
Next part: The Sabbath in Jesus’ Day, Part 2: Sabbath Work That Is Approved by God
Source
A Call for Sunday Observance

The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet's words: "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17.
The Great Controversy, p. 592.
Monday, September 05, 2011
6.6-magnitude quake hits Indonesia
(AFP)
5 September 2011
JAKARTA — A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the northern part of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake struck at 12:55 am (1755 GMT on Monday) at a depth of 52 kilometres (30 miles), USGS said, with its epicentre around 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Banda Aceh.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was too far inland to generate a tsunami.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and Sumatra is particularly prone to earthquakes.
Aceh was devastated when a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra in December 2004 triggered a huge tsunami which killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
USGS initially gave a magnitude of 6.5 for Tuesday’s quake.
Source
Familiar Obama Theme on Labor Day
President Obama spoke to an estimated crowd of 13,000 in Detroit, Michigan, on Labor Day.
By JACKIE CALMES
Published: September 5, 2011
DETROIT — Labor Day must seem like the movie “Groundhog Day” to President Obama. On Monday, for a third year he celebrated the holiday that honors workers with union members and their families in a political swing state, promising job-creation measures to reduce a 9 percent unemployment rate and calling on the Republican opposition to “put country before party.”
Mr. Obama, speaking to a riverfront crowd estimated by the police to number 13,000, said he would propose “a new way forward on jobs” in his speech on Thursday to a joint session of Congress, which returns this week from its August recess.
Mr. Obama did not provide details — “Tune in on Thursday,” he teased — but he said millions of unemployed construction workers would be able “to get dirty” building roads, bridges and other public works under his infrastructure proposals.
Organized labor and business leaders are on board, Mr. Obama said. “We just need Congress to get on board,” he said, prompting cheers of “Four more years!” from an audience filled with members of unions for autoworkers, public employees, service industry workers and teachers.
It remains unclear what new ideas Mr. Obama will propose on Thursday. But he faces high expectations after recent evidence that job growth has stalled and because of his own buildup since announcing a month ago that he would lay out a short-term stimulus program after Labor Day.
Mr. Obama also faces skepticism because of persistent unemployment. Recent polls give him his lowest ratings to date for job approval and his handling of the economy, though the ratings of Congress, and especially Republicans, are even more negative.
Mr. Obama has indicated that besides infrastructure proposals, he will call for extending and expanding temporary tax cuts for businesses and individuals, including a payroll tax cut for which he won Republicans’ support in December after agreeing to extend the Bush-era tax cuts on high income. He is expected to propose that employers get a tax credit for each new person hired, and to help local governments avert more teacher layoffs.
Separately next week, Mr. Obama is expected to recommend ways to reduce annual budget deficits to a special Congressional committee charged with finding up to $1.5 trillion in savings over 10 years. He plans to propose more than that in deficit reductions, aides say, partly to offset the stimulus costs.
But in Detroit Mr. Obama emphasized job creation. His backdrop was the high-rise headquarters of General Motors, which, along with Chrysler, has restructured and returned to profit and hiring after their rescue early in his administration.
“We’ve got a lot more work to do to recover fully from this recession,” Mr. Obama said. “I’m going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems.”
That expression of faith in bipartisanship drew loud groans of skepticism, reflecting a growing sentiment among Obama supporters that he is too conciliatory toward Republicans.
As if acknowledging the skeptics, Mr. Obama quickly added, to applause: “But we’re not going to wait for them. We’re going to see if we’ve got some straight shooters in Congress. We’re going to see if Congressional Republicans will put country before party.”
Flying here with Mr. Obama were several union leaders, including Richard Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., who has been critical of his compromises with Republicans.
Also joining Mr. Obama was Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, who, as Mr. Obama told his audience, gave the president a Labor Day address that President Harry S. Truman delivered in Detroit in 1948, the year of his come-from-behind election after campaigning against “do-nothing” Republicans.
Afterward, Mr. Levin said he told the president, “Here’s a ‘give ’em hell’ kind of speech.”
En route to Detroit, an Obama spokesman, Josh Earnest, volunteered to reporters that the president was in “a good mood.” Yet the familiarity of the day’s theme had to be sobering, particularly since Mr. Obama is just over a year away from Election Day — too little time for unemployment to fall much from heights that give Republicans hope of recapturing the White House.
The president’s Labor Day speeches trace the stubbornness of the crisis he inherited.
In 2009, he spoke to an A.F.L.-C.I.O. picnic in Cincinnati, just after the government reported 216,000 jobs lost in August — relatively good news because it marked a second month of declining losses from a high of 750,000 as Mr. Obama took office. Six months earlier, in February, a Democratic-controlled Congress had passed his two-year, $800 billion stimulus program of tax cuts and spending.
“It’s working,” Mr. Obama said then. Most economists agreed, though many have since concluded that the package was not forceful enough to counter a recession and crises in the financial and housing sectors. Republicans, who generally opposed it, continue to say that the stimulus program failed and that they will not support another round.
“We’re on the road to recovery, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Mr. Obama said two years ago. That would become a refrain.
Last year, Mr. Obama was in Wisconsin with union families. While private-sector hiring had expanded for eight months, the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent — just a tenth of a percentage point lower than the year before. With his two-year stimulus plan winding down, Mr. Obama announced new plans for infrastructure projects and more.
“Now the plain truth is, there’s no silver bullet or quick fix to the problem,” he said in Milwaukee. “Even when I was running for this office, we knew it would take time to reverse the damage of a decade’s worth of policies that saw a few folks prosper while the middle class kept falling behind.”
But his infrastructure plans went nowhere before Republicans, capitalizing on voters’ economic frustrations, won control of the House in November.
Source
Roubini: Global Economy Worse Off Than in 2008
By Forrest Jones
The world's developed economies are in worse shape than they were in 2008 due to shaky financial sectors and calls for economic austerity rather than stimulus, says New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini.
The U.S. economy, meanwhile, stands a 60 percent chance of falling back into recession, says Roubini, who accurately called the Great Recession way before it happened.
"We are in a worse situation than we were in 2008. This time around we have fiscal austerity and banks that are being cautious," Roubini says, according to CNBC.
(Getty Images photo)
Forward-looking economic indicators show business and consumer confidence is down across developed world and show tough times await.
"The hard economic data (which has come out recently) is all relevant to July while the soft data which has come out is for the future and that’s all moving in the wrong direction," Roubini says.
Europe, at least, may avoid a new recession, the Standard & Poor's ratings agency says
"Although most of Europe experienced a slowdown in GDP growth in the second quarter, we still anticipate that the region will escape a genuine double-dip recession," S&P says in a research note, according to the AFP newswire.
Some experts say the U.S. never really emerged from the recent recession and point out faulty economic indicators allow politicians to claim recovery that never occurred.
"It has been our contention for some time that we never really emerged from the recession of 2008," Bert Dohmen, founder of Dohmen Capital Research Institute, an economic and investment research firm, told Moneynews.
"If you correct the GDP numbers with the right number for inflation, we are right now in a serious contraction of the economy again."
Source
World Markets Plunge on Fears of New US Recession
Wall Street braced for losses on Tuesday after world stock markets took a beating over fears that the U.S. economy was heading back into recession. Any troubles in the world's largest economy cast a long shadow over the markets, and a report Friday that the U.S. economy failed to add any new jobs in August caused European and Asian stock markets to sink sharply Monday. The full impact of the jobs report will hit U.S. markets on Tuesday
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Faithfully given the warning
Conscientious obedience to the word of God will be treated as rebellion. Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward the believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children will be disinherited and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally fulfilled: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God's fear and love are removed.
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.
In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord's servants will be tried. They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to His word alone. God's Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, some, overwhelmed with consternation, will be ready to exclaim: "Had we foreseen the consequences of our words, we would have held our peace." They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they could not forbear to proclaim it.
The Great Controversy, p.608-609.
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Sunday, September 04, 2011
More European Sunday Law Pressure
September 01, 2011 V[click to listen]
...
But the world is all going in another direction. Even Christian churches are heading in another direction. They are advocating Sunday observance, a substitute for the seventh day Sabbath of the moral law, even while they claim the righteousness of Christ. They are working to bring God’s Ten Commandment law into contempt by advocating for an alternate day, Sunday. Eventually, this will cause serious problems for God’s people.
Listen to this from the Review and Herald, June 8, 1897, “When the law of God is most derided and brought into the most contempt, then it is time for every true follower of Christ, for those whose hearts have been given to God, and who are fixed to obey God, to stand unflinchingly for the faith once delivered to the saints.” “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” “It is time to fight when champions are most needed.”
Now, at the very time when God’s people are coming closer and closer to Christ and His law, Satan is busy stirring up the people to reject His law and enact laws of their own to replace God’s law, particularly His fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. They are trying to substitute another day for God’s day. For instance, one of the important developments to watch is the Sunday movement in Europe. On June 20, 2011, the European Sunday Alliance was formed. It has been in the planning stages for some time, but it came into existence and began yet another push to agitate protecting Sunday as a day of rest.
Led by the Roman Catholic Church, which is always promoting its own day of worship in opposition to the law of God, the sixty-five organizations that joined in this alliance so far are all dedicated to building up Sunday laws in Europe. They want to establish a Sunday rest law that would require all workers to have Sunday off from work and keep it as a day of rest in all countries of the EU.
While this kind of law would not prevent God’s people from keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment holy, it would be a serious step toward the Sunday worship laws prophesied in the Bible. This is a very important movement to watch. Don’t get confused, as some do, that a Sunday rest law would be a conscience-violating law. It isn’t. But it is the foundation of them. You can’t really have a Sunday worship law without lower-level Sunday laws to undergird it. Eventually, conscience-violating laws will arise from them.
Read the whole article here.
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How Will Sunday Laws Work (reprint)
Here's a solemn comment from one of the many brethren around the world, who do not have the benefits of having received the many blessings which have been afforded us by our blessed Creator; Where He allowed us to receive not only the 'true' light of the 'Everlasting Gospel', but also, the freedom of conscience to worship God as we understood Him. Apparently, he/she lives in a country where Christians are a minority, and perhaps they worship the Lord in secret, and are probably at this very moment persecuted for their belief in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (Israel), and for having the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed be His name. Blessed be these faithful Saints. Lord protect them, and bless them always.
4/4/2008
(Anonymous)
I live in a country where 9 per cent of the population are Christians. How will the Christian minority in my country be able to convince the other religious groups to keep the Sunday Law? Also, it is estimated that 33 per cent of the world's population are Christians. How will the Christian minority be able to convince the other 67 per cent to keep the Sunday Law? Can it be achieved through conquests (via warfare) or dishing out substantial economic benefits? A very detailed explanation of the steps that the Christian minority will take to enforce Sunday law on the rest of the world will be appreciated.
Thank you!
Beloved Brethren,
First, let's pray so that the Lord will allow his Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth that will prepare us for His coming.
Heavenly Father who art in Heaven, Blessed be your name. We come to you this day to give you all the honor and glory, for your mercy and love. We ask you to reveal to us this day the things that will show us the enemy's devices, not that we may be made wise by him, but, by Thee. Your word is truth, and we hunger, and thirst for every word that proceeds out of thy mouth. Blessed be the Saints that at this moment don't have the freedom that we enjoy in this great nation that you have created as a city of refuge for your children, to reveal to them the fulness of your character. Bless and protect your children around the world, Father. You have faithful servants around the world and they too depend on You. We humbly ask that you impart to us this day the wisdom that will prepare 'all' your children for Jesus' soon return to Earth; And the knowledge that will prepare us for the tribulations that the enemy of souls has in store for us. We recognize that you are faithful and will deliver every soul that relies and believes in you. We thank you Father. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Dear friend, dear Brother:
First let me point out that the forces of evil have as a primary goal to take away the attention from our Creator, and place them on trivial things. The Lord has always wanted a faithful people to worship Him and obey his commandments; But, since Lucifer's rebellion, He (The FATHER) has tried to warn His elect to be wary of the crafty and devious workings of Lucifer. In these latter times, Lucifer has confused the whole world so profoundly that it's virtually impossible to discern what is truth, and to distinguish it from error. The same beliefs that were once commonly practiced in Babylon (the cradle of civilization), after the great flood, have now been spread around the whole planet.
The Roman Catholic Church's Holy See, and the Vatican have spread this Babylonian religion more fully than any other political system (they're not only a church, but also a government) on Earth. Sunday worship is their distinctive "mark".
Some overlook the fact that the whole world has been conquered by this Roman Empire, under the guise of the Holy Roman Apostolic Church. The Calendaer that most nations use save for a couple, is a Julian Calendar. This the product of a Julius Caesar1 the Roman Emperor. This is what is referred to in Daniel 7:25 as follows:
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
The Sunday institution is another creation of the Catholic Church. The whole word is also influenced by its Holy day, Sunday. Look around the world, and you'll see a common fact that Sunday is the end of the week. So they have spread their concept of Sunday as the "7th" day of the week; When in fact since creation the Sabbath has always been the 7th day of rest, instituted by God as His Holy Day. It's the day that would be remembered as a memorial to the Creator's magnificent work = Creation of the Universe. The Sabbath is the Lord's sign:
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. ................Exodus 31:13.
Constantine, the Roman Emperor decided that he would "nomally" accept the Christian faith. To attract the pagans of his day he legislated that Sunday would be the Holy Day throughout the entire Roman Empire.
In an Edict in March 321 A.D., Constatine declared the venerable Day of the Sun ("Venerable die Solis").2
How do these historical facts affect the world we live in toda, you might wonder? They do because the same Roman Empire that ruled the world when Jesus Christ was crucified, is still ruling the world indirectly, today. The Roman Empire took on a different character when it transformed from a political government into a religio-political entity, called the Holy Roman Apostolic Catholic Church. Behind the scenes it works as a world government, unbeknownst to most except the few that interact with it at the upper echelons of world affairs. At this very moment the forces within this behemoth of an organization are secretly devising plans to change the Constitution of the United States of America. They, in conjunction with the Evangelicals (no longer Protestant- they do not protest if they are in accord with the Roman Catholic Church) are planning to legislate Sunday restriction to address (so they think) global warming, world hunger, drug abuse, teen-age pregnancy, AIDS, etc. But, the Lord has never willed that any government enforce any laws. Not even His holy laws. These were to be accepted by His people 'willingly', to show their obedience to Him. The Lord never forces the conscience! These tactics and means are used by tyrants, dictators, and Popes...His will is that all should come to Him in good faith. Blessed be His name!
When these Laws are passed in the United States of America. They will then be enforced world wide. Because who can resist the world's only SuperPower and The Holy Roman Catholic Church, a.k.a The Vatican??? Here are the "two" beasts of Revelation 13; The Beast that is Rome; And the Beast that is Apostate Christianity.
Revelation 13
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Here's the conclusion of this whole matter, brother; That the Beasts will impose their beliefs around the world by treaties and by force. "Who can resist the Dragon?" The Beast from the West will abdicate all his power to the Beast of the East, The Vatican, and together they will first enforce Sunday restrictive laws to appease the "evil" spirits. For they will claim that the reason why their are so many natural calamities, and disasters are because the Sunday is not kept. Yet, the faithful around the world will resist all persecution. Many will be chased, deported, imprisoned, and some executed for defying these Sunday Laws. But, The Lord is faithful, as sure as His Word is. He will not tolerate much longer than it is required, to boldly sustain, and defend His chosen. And will promptly intervene and put an end to all this false worship, for only He is worthy of being worshiped... He will make sure that "all" know what the mark of the Beast, The name of the Beast, and what his Number is, so that "all" are clearly warned of the consequences for worshiping "IT", are. So, the Lord is conveying this very moment to you dear brother, dear sister. This is not me speaking. He wants you not to listen to the error, and the false 'profits', preaching prosperity, peace and security, and conformity with the world. He wants you to be separate. A royal priesthood, not to conform to the Dragon and his agents. He is faithful and will make "all" see and hear; The whole truth visible to those that want to see His Son's triumphant return. Blessed be the Father, blessed be His Son the Messiah.
"This is a warning against the coming national Sunday law which will affect your paycheck and put innocent people in jail."3
As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example.--6T 18 (1900). {LDE 135.1}
Thank you. God Bless the brethren around God's creation.
Happy Sabbath! Maranatha!
Arsenio.
Footnotes:
1 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar
2 www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sunday.htm
" www.seventh-day.org/historians.htm
" www.pathlights.com/theselastdays/tracts/tract_22a.htm
3 www.reg6.com/reg6/index.html
This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them
1Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
2And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
3And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luke 15
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