Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The U.N.'s Internet Sneak Attack




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No longer covert: Once unable to get security clearance, LGBT employees embraced by the CIA

BY STEVE ROTHAUS,  srothaus@MiamiHerald.com

It wasn’t long ago that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women couldn’t get security clearance from the CIA. Now the national spy agency is actively recruiting them.



The CIA and Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday night will sponsor a community-wide networking event at the LGBT Visitor Center in South Beach.

“This is the first one ever,” said Michael Barber, the CIA’s LGBT Community Outreach and Liaison program manager. “This is the first of what I hope will be similarly networking events with LGBT chambers across the nation.”

Barber — “a straight ally” — along with gay CIA employees Engineering Development Chief Bill French and Technical Information Officer Tracey Ballard, will speak to prospective employees about the benefits of joining the agency.

“I look at my job as informing and educating about the CIA’s mission. And in the LGBT community, debunking those myths,” Barber said, referring to the widely held assumption that gay people are unwelcome.

In 1989, a federal appeals court found evidence that the CIA routinely denied security clearances to gay people.

“There was a history of discrimination against LGBT persons in the federal government,” Ballard said. “The process was extremely difficult for LGBT people to get security clearance prior to 1995."

That year President Bill Clinton signed an executive order stating “the United States Government does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability of sexual orientation in granting access to classified information.”

Clinton’s order opened the door to gay employees coming out at the CIA, said Ballard, who in 1996 founded ANGLE (Agency Network of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Employees and Allies), an agency-sanctioned employee group.

ANGLE, which Ballard still co-chairs, has more than 230 “known members,” she said.

“There were a number of LGBT people at the agency prior to 1996,” Ballard said. “We’ve always been there. But at that point of time, a small handful of us began finding each other and talking. We did informal networking among ourselves.”

The presidential order “allowed our LGBT officers to be more comfortable in the workplace and to be themselves,” she said. “It allowed conversations among our peers. True conversations. We didn't’ have to hide anymore. That's a cultural shift, to allow our peers to be seen as equal, based upon the work they do.”

More than 50 people have signed up for the free networker. Many are bringing resumes “and seriously thinking of the CIA for employment,” chamber President Steve Adkins said.

The CIA proposed the networker. “They obviously had a lot of LGBT employees,” Adkins said. “They want to make sure we know their stories and, in addition, make people aware that they’re an open and inclusive employer. Who knew?”
IF YOU GO

The CIA and Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will present ‘LGBT CIA Stories’ 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the LGBT Visitor Center, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Call 305-673-4440 or RSVP atRSVP@gaybizmiami.com. Free with complimentary food and beverages.


Posted by Steve Rothaus at 12:00 PM


Source
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Is a National Sunday Law Coming Soon? The Eternal Gospel Church Weighs in on the Ever-growing Controversy


Today, a National Sunday Law is being agitated under the guise of “saving the family” and the “economy.” Does this mean that a religious test will soon be required by law? The Eternal Gospel Church, a ministry founded in 1992 by Seventh-day Adventist Believers, has recently published a full-page ad in the USA Today, New York Times, LA Times, and the Tampa Tribune on the controversial and complex issue surrounding Sunday Laws.

U.S. President Barack Obama, Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney pray together at a Catholic charity event on October 18


" In matters of conscience the majority has no power."




West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) November 27, 2012

“The re-institution of a National Sunday Law would help save the workers, the family, and the economy. This is what the churches, the governments, the secular media, and the labor unions are lobbying for today," says Pastor Raphael Perez of the Eternal Gospel Church. He says his church, which is a member of the General Assembly of Free Seventh-day Adventists, has been on a nation wide newspaper campaign to raise awareness to what he calls "a revival of religious/political ideas of medieval times that are a threat to civil and religious liberties."

Pastor Raphael Perez cites several recent newspaper articles in which he sees society trying to reestablish Sunday as a national day of worship and rest. For example, Perez says that the USA Today newspaperrecently endorsed Sunday observance by law in an article written by Gladys Edmunds on Oct. 24, 2007 entitled: “Better Take a Break, Or You’ll Break Down.” In this article, the columnist reminisced about a “time when almost all retail establishments recognized Sunday as a day of Sabbath and rest from work. They honored and respected that day by closing.” She concluded the article by giving one possible solution: “Shut yourself down for a day of rest.” And if not one would suffer the consequences of resting by “force.”

A similar article appeared in the Wall Street Journal by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway entitled: “The decline of the Sabbath in America: Less praying, more working and playing.” This article published June 15, 20017 and was circulated nation-wide promoting Sunday-keeping and Sunday closing laws as necessary for saving our culture.

A World-wide Phenomena

The Eternal Gospel Church claims that there is a world-wide call to restore Sunday as the day of rest through civil legislation. They claim that laws are being agitated that would compel people to observe Sunday by refraining from work; and, that the media is complicit in this because they only give one side to this issue. Look at a few of these headlines:

“National Back to Church Sunday Set for Sept. 18 Across America,” PRWeb.com, Sept. 14, 2011
“Sunday Shopping banned in Croatia,” Associated Press, July 15, 2007
“Louisiana Barber Ticketed for Working on Sunday,” FoxNews.com, May 27, 2008
“Sunday Shopping? France Says No,” Time Magazine, Dec. 17, 2008
“New Sunday Shopping Rules Make No Sense,” Winnipeg Sun [Canada], May 23, 2012
“Do we really need more Sunday shopping hours?” Express & Starr [England], March 29, 2012.
“Trade Unionists Campaign Against Sunday Trading” PolskieRadio, [Poland, March 5, 2012
“North Dakota Catholic Conference Says Sunday Law Benefits All People” EWTN News, July 15, 2011
“Sunday Shopping Linked With Less Happiness,” New York Times, Sept. 3, 2010
“Guarantee that Sundays will be Work-free, EU Leaders Urged,” The Sofia Echo [Europe], March 24, 2010
“German Court Enforces Day of Rest,” ABC News, Dec. 3, 2009


Preparing the World for a Universal Sunday Law?


The Vatican, head of the world’s largest Christian denomination, has also weighed in on the Sunday Law question: “The pope said traditional family values and Sunday rest were key to escaping the ills of modern society… Particularly in a period of economic crisis and social unease, families should celebrate Sunday as the day of man and his values.” - Pope Says Family Values are Key to Escaping Modern Ills, AFP News, June, 3, 2012.

Surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled in two separate cases [McGowan v. Maryland, 1961, and Braunfeld v. Brown, 1961] that Sunday laws are not a violation of the First Amendment – which separates church from state – but rather, Sunday Laws are “secular” and are designed to improve “health, safety, recreation, and general well-being” of its citizens.

A Lesson from History

Pastor Raphael Perez says that we should learn from history and not make the same mistakes of the past. He says that on the surface all these Sunday Laws sound quite refreshing. However, he claims that we cannot ignore that in Colonial America, Sunday Laws, or Blue Laws, were established as early as 1655 by the Puritan Christians in an effort to try to compel the people to attend their religious services - by law! Failure to do so would result in fines, imprisonment, and even death.

"Also in Europe, during the Middle Ages, at the Council of Laodicea 363-364 A.D., Canon 29, church and state united to persecute those who didn’t follow the Sunday Law" says Pastor Perez, a former Roman Catholic seminary student now turned Seventh-day Adventist.

Voice of Dissent

Not everyone is convinced that Sunday Laws are good for society. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas gave a dissenting opinion against the establishment of Sunday by law in MCGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420 (1961): “The Court picks and chooses language from various decisions to bolster its conclusion that these Sunday laws are in the modern setting are civil regulations. No matter how much is written, no matter what is said, the parentage of these laws is the Fourth Commandment; and they serve and satisfy the religious predispositions of our Christian communities.”

Also Charles Spurgeon, the famous 19th Century Baptist preacher, sums up his dissent against Sunday Laws when he said: “I am ashamed of some Christians because they have so much dependence on Parliament (government) and the law of the land. As to getting the law of the land to touch religion, we earnestly cry, ‘Hands off! Leave us alone!’ Your Sunday bills (Laws) and all other forms of act-of-Parliament religion seem to me to be all wrong.” American State Papers, Bearing on Sunday Legislation, p. 737.

"Remember that religious legislation, regardless of how innocent or beneficial it may appear, always seems to bring persecution to minority groups," explains Pastor Raphael Perez. Perez feels that he is in the minority group because His church keeps the Seventh-day, or Saturday, as the Sabbath instead of Sunday. He concludes by reiterating a call to religious liberty and calls for toleration, "America became great because if its free institutions. Our U.S. Constitution forbids the establishment of a state church and forbids the church from using the state to punish the voice of dissent. These principles established by the Founding Fathers made this nation a bastion of liberty, freedom, and justice for all.

About The Eternal Gospel Church: Eternal Gospel Church was founded in 1992 by Seventh-day Adventist Believers, and has been engaged in a world-wide newspaper campaign for over 20 years with the goal of teaching people about the sensitive nature, complexities, and history of Sunday Laws. Their most recent full-page ads were published in the USA Today, the New York Times, the LA Times, and the Tampa Tribune. Their mission is to protect the spirit of liberty and encourage religious and civil liberty. The Eternal Gospel Church works in collaboration with the General Assembly of Free Seventh-day Adventists.

Source
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An Unruly Woman



A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

To call passengers who go right on their ways:

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Proverbs 9:12-18.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" 10th anniversary



Rick Warren is a pastor, philanthropist, global strategist, and best-selling author of "The Purpose Driven Life." He spoke to Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell about morality, politics and tolerance.
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Never on Sunday

This past week (as has become the routine) just one day after Thanksgiving was the beginning of the Christmas shopping season;  It started out with Black Friday, when people line up outside major Chain Stores to gain access to the latest gadgets in demand.  Then, came the American Express invented Small Business Saturday, when folks are encouraged to shop 'locally' and patronize their mom and pop stores. On Saturday President Obama and his girls - Malia and Sasha, jumped on the photo op to promote the event by shopping for books at a small bookstore...
Yesterday was Cyber Monday, a day geared towards generating sales on the Internet with rock-bottom pricing and spectacular deals on goods bought via the Web.

It went Friday, Saturday, ----, Monday.

Why was Sunday skipped?
Well, why was Sunday a SALELESS Day?

Shop until you drop; but not on Sunday?

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Google Mountain View Headquarters Walking Tour



Uploaded by jsfnnyc on Jan 8, 2011

Chris DiBona guides you through the Google Mountain View headquarters complex (a.k.a., the Googleplex) in preparation for the 2007 Science Foo Camp conference, held in August 2007.
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All Eyes and Ears


And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

Isaiah 32:3

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Matthew 13:16
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The Messengers


The Lord has often given me a view of the situation and wants of the scattered jewels who have not yet come to the light of the present truth, and has shown that the messengers should speed their way to them as fast as possible, to give them the light. Many all around us only need to have their prejudices removed and the evidences of our present position spread out before them from the Word, and they will joyfully receive the present truth. The messengers should watch for souls as they that must give account. Theirs must be a life of toil and anguish of spirit, while the weight of the precious but often-wounded cause of Christ rests upon them. They will have to lay aside worldly interests and comforts and make it their first object to do all in their power to advance the cause of present truth and save perishing souls.
They will also have a rich reward. In their crowns of rejoicing those who are rescued by them and finally saved will shine as stars forever and ever. And to all eternity they will enjoy the satisfaction of having done what they could in presenting the truth in its purity and beauty, so that souls fell in love with it, were sanctified through it, and availed themselves of the inestimable privilege of being made rich, and being washed in the blood of the Lamb and redeemed unto God.
I saw that the shepherds should consult those in whom they have reason to have confidence, those who have been in all the messages, and are firm in all the present truth, before they advocate new points of importance, which they may think the Bible sustains. Then the shepherds will be perfectly united and the union of the shepherds will be felt by the church. Such a course I saw would prevent unhappy divisions, and then there would be no danger of the precious flock being divided and the sheep scattered without a shepherd.
I also saw that God had messengers that He would use in His cause, but they were not ready. They were too light and trifling to exert a good influence over the flock and did not feel the weight of the cause and the worth of souls as God’s messengers must feel in order to effect good. Said the angel, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” They can accomplish but little good unless they are wholly given up to God and feel the importance and solemnity of the last message of mercy that is now being given to the scattered flock. Some who are not called of God are very willing to go with the message. But if they felt the weight of the cause and the responsibilities of such a station, they would feel to shrink back and say with the apostle, “Who is sufficient for these things?” One reason why they are so willing to go is that God has not laid upon them the weight of the cause. Not all who proclaimed the first and the second angel’s message are to give the third, even after they fully embrace it, for some have been in so many errors and delusions that they can but just save their own souls, and if they undertake to guide others, they will be the means of overthrowing them. But I saw that some who have formerly run deep into fanaticism would be the first now to run before God sends them, before they are purified from their past errors; having error mixed with the truth, they would feed the flock of God with it, and if they were suffered to go on, the flock would become sickly, and distraction and death would follow. I saw that they would have to be sifted and sifted, until they were freed from all their errors, or they could never enter the kingdom. The messengers could not have that confidence in the judgment and discernment of those who have been in errors and fanaticism that they could have in those who have been in the truth and not in extravagant errors. Many, also, are too apt to urge out into the field some who have but just professed the present truth, who have much to learn and much to do before they can be right in the sight of God themselves, much less point out the way to others.
I saw the necessity of the messengers, especially, watching and checking all fanaticism wherever they might see it rise. Satan is pressing in on every side, and unless we watch for him, and have our eyes open to his devices and snares, and have on the whole armor of God, the fiery darts of the wicked will hit us. There are many precious truths contained in the Word of God, but it is “present truth” that the flock needs now. I have seen the danger of the messengers running off from the important points of present truth, to dwell upon subjects that are not calculated to unite the flock and sanctify the soul. Satan will here take every possible advantage to injure the cause.
But such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.

If the chosen messengers of the Lord should wait for every obstacle to be moved out of their way, many never would go to search for the scattered sheep. Satan will present many objections in order to keep them from duty. But they will have to go out by faith, trusting in Him who has called them to His work, and He will open the way before them, as far as it will be for their good and His glory. Jesus, the great teacher and pattern, had not where to lay His head. His life was one of toil, sorrow, and suffering; He then gave Himself for us. Those who, in Christ’s stead, beseech souls to be reconciled to God, and who hope to reign with Christ in glory, must expect to be partakers of His sufferings here. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5, 6.

Early Writings, pp. 60-63. 
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Palm scanners get thumbs up in schools, hospitals


Brian Shane, USA TODAY

Palm-scanning technology uses unique vein patterns as a handy ID system.



Students at Cranberry Station Elementary School in Westminster, Md., use a palm-scanning device to pay for their school lunches.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

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11:32PM EST November 25. 2012 - At schools in Pinellas County, Fla., students aren't paying for lunch with cash or a card, but with a wave of their hand over a palm scanner.

"It's so quick that a child could be standing in line, call mom and say, 'I forgot my lunch money today.' She's by her computer, runs her card, and by the time the child is at the front of the line, it's already recorded," says Art Dunham, director of food services for Pinellas County Schools.

Students take about four seconds to swipe and pay for lunch, Dunham says, and they're doing it with 99% accuracy.

"We just love it. No one wants to go back," Dunham says.

Palm-scanning technology is popping up nationwide as a bona fide biometric tracker of identities, and it appears poised to make the jump from schools and hospitals to other sectors of the economy including ATM usage and retail. It also has applications as a secure identifier for cloud computing.

Here's how it works: Using the same near-infrared technology that comes in a TV remote control or Nintendo Wii video game, the device takes a super high-resolution infrared photograph of the vein pattern just below a person's skin. That image, between 1.5 and 2.5 square inches, is recorded and digitized.

The PalmSecure device is made by document-scanning manufacturer Fujitsu. So far, no other company has a palm scanner on the market — though at least one other company is working on the technology.

Like many technological breakthroughs, the development began accidentally. A decade ago, a Fujitsu engineer in Tokyo mistakenly ran his hand over a page scanner and it yielded an output that piqued his curiosity. Testing eventually showed that the veins in the palm of your hand are as unique as a fingerprint and can be photographed under infrared light.

Fujitsu has seen double-digit quarterly sales growth in each of the last two years, says Bud Yanak, director of product management and partner development for Fujitsu Frontech North America.

Palm scanners are installed in more than 50 school systems and more than 160 hospital systems in 15 states and the District of Columbia, Yanak says.

Pinellas County Schools were the first in the nation to bring palm scanning to their lunch lines about 18 months ago. They are being used by 50,000 students at 17 high schools and 20 middle schools. Soon, the program will expand to 60,000 more students at 80 elementary schools, Dunham says. The 2% of students who opt out can still use cash.

He says hygiene isn't a concern because students don't need to touch the device, but only hold their hand directly above it, to register a scan.

At hospitals, the scans are making patient registration more efficient, and prevent sharing of information by patients that could lead to insurance fraud, says Carl Bertrams, senior vice president of sales and marketing for palm scan software maker HT Systems in Tampa.



Cranberry Station cafeteria manager Peggy Vincent runs the computer that links the scan to a student's account. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)


A palm scan's precision record-keeping also avoids possible confusion if patients have the same name. For instance, a hospital system in the Houston area with a database of 3.5 million patients has 2,488 women in it named Maria Garcia – and 231 of them have the same date of birth, Bertrams says.

HT Systems president David Wiener won't reveal revenue but says that since 2007, they've got more than 160 hospitals for clients and have scanned more than 5 million patients.

At Wisconsin's UW Health system, palm scans have been used for about two years, says Dawn Gramse, a senior systems analyst. Soon, they'll start using self-service palm-swiping kiosks for patients to check themselves in.

"You'd hear about other biometric scanners that are out there, and you'd see the Mission Impossible movies with the eye scanners, and you'd never think you can integrate that kind of technology into a hospital," she says, "but you can."

Not everyone loves the idea of scans.

Students in Carroll County, Md., schools are using lunch line palm scanners, but 7-year-old Ian Webb isn't one of them. His father, Michael Webb, decided to have Ian, a second-grader, opt out of the program at Piney Ridge Elementary in Eldersburg.

"My son is not using the technology," he says. "I'll be honest, I think it's horrible. It's an intrusion into our children's rights."

Webb says he's concerned that use of the scanners by elementary school students normalizes the use of biometrics and anesthetizes young children to recognizing privacy violations later in life.

"I understand taking an iris scan of a pilot at an airport, so you know it's the right pilot flying the plane" he says. "This is that level of equipment they're installing in a line that serves steamed corn. I don't think it rises to the level of steamed corn."

Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, says the key to this particular kind of biometrics — that is, the kind a user consents to, unlike some facial recognition software — is ensuring that all data be treated sensitively.

"If it's a technology that works really well, it won't be long before you're offering your palm in a lot of different locations, and you will be concerned about who's got access to that information and what they want to do with it," Calabrese says.

The technology is expanding. Fujitsu in September launched a new line of palm-scanning ATMs in Japan, according to a company news release. Customers of Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank now can access cash machines without a bank card or personal identification number.

And while Fujitsu says it's the only company with such a product on the market right now, computer company Intel Corp. is working with palm-scanning technology.

Palm scanning can be used as a substitute for clunky, hard-to-remember passwords, says Sridhar Iyengar, director of security research at Intel Labs.

"There is a way around it, and biometrics is one option," Iyengar. "Replacing what you know — passwords — with what you are ... it's an ease of use issue. It's harder to spoof, and you're not likely to forget your fingerprints anytime soon."

Shane also reports for The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times


Monday, November 26, 2012

Bible Prophecies Unsealed



Uploaded by confutatis2000 on Sep 30, 2011

Now I have to warn you, some of this content might be very offensive to some of you, but I would still like to see some comments on this one; tell me what you think about it.
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It's CyberMonday!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in ...

It's CyberMonday!

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-cyber-monday-deals-20121126,0,7676866.story
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Jamie Foxx: "Our Lord and Savior Barack Obama"



Published on Nov 26, 2012 by Am Journal

Was Jamie Foxx simply joking when calling President Obama 'Lord and Saviour'?
The Comedian is causing an uproar in mostly right-wing Conservative circles with the controversial statement.
Was Foxx out of line,what's your opinion..

http://the-american-journal.com/

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Who invented the nativity scene?

Who invented the nativity scene?


Sunday, November 11, 2012
Kathleen Manning


Giotto di Bondone (1266-1336). Nativity, c. 1305. Fresco. Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. ©Alfredo Dagli Orti / Art Resource, N.Y.

If you missed the feast of Francis of Assisi in October, the Christmas season offers another opportunity to commemorate the saint. Anyone who has erected a nativity scene is following Francis’ 13th-century example.

On Christmas Eve 1223, the saint created the first nativity in the Italian city of Greccio. With the help of a local nobleman, Francis celebrated the birth of Jesus in a cave outside the town. The liturgy featured a hay-filled manger in front of the temporary altar, and as Francis preached, the nobleman arranged to have an ox and a donkey stand at the altar as well.

The Franciscans quickly spread the practice of creating nativity scenes with live animals and actors. Living scenes remained popular, but static nativities also developed, allowing the scene to remain on display for longer periods for meditation.

As the tradition was introduced to new regions throughout the world, nativity scenes adapted to local tastes and customs. Incorporating local elements was especially popular in Francis’ native Italy, where the participants in the scene looked less like biblical figures and more like characters from the local village.

A few years ago, however, there were complaints that this localism had gone too far when a figurine of former Italian prime minister, the scandal-plagued Silvio Berlusconi, appeared in a nativity scene in Naples.

By the 19th century Protestant churches, which initially rejected nativity scenes as a form of idolatrous Catholic superstition, slackened their opposition to the scenes, and their popularity spread through the wider Christian world. Last Christmas, a church in Southampton, England gathered shepherds, angels, and wise men of all sizes in an attempt to break the record for the largest living nativity. At 298 participants, however, they fell well short of the record of 567 people.

Francis’ original nativity was inspired by his trip in 1221 to the Holy Land and Jesus’ traditional birthplace. He was deeply moved visiting the site where God became fully human. Hoping others could enjoy the same profoundly spiritual experience, Francis encouraged believers to make pilgrimages to Bethlehem. By 1223, however, conflict among the powers vying for control of the Holy Land made the trip too dangerous for pilgrims. Francis decided to do the next best thing—bring Bethlehem to the pilgrims.

Accounts of Francis’ original nativity do not include much information about the congregation that gathered. We do not know if the Italian villagers standing in the cold on Christmas Eve nearly eight centuries ago were as moved as Francis was by the idea of an omnipotent God so capable of love and humility that he took the form of a vulnerable infant and was born outdoors among the animals.

The popularity of nativity scenes, however, indicates that over the centuries people were drawn to the possibility of building their own Bethlehem. Setting up a nativity scene not only allows us to remember and celebrate the drama of Jesus’ birth but also the saint so enraptured with that drama that he brought it to life.


By Kathleen Manning, a Ph.D. candidate in history at Rutgers University. This article appeared on the December 2012 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 77, No. 12, page 46)


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How Josephine Benton Blazed the Trail for Women in Ministry

Story by Taashi Rowe/Visitor
Published 11/19/12


Rob Vandeman, Columbia Union executive secretary, speaks of Josephine Benton’s accomplishments during the Notable Person of Honor award ceremony while Dave Weigley, Columbia Union president, nods in appreciation.

Looking back, Josephine Benton, now 87, knows exactly where her desire to minister came from. Her father was a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist who frequently moved their family around the country. “I would sit and listen to my dad’s sermons, and I always knew that if I had been born a boy, I would have been a preacher,” she said. “But that path didn’t seem open to me.”

So she did the next best thing and majored in speech so she could teach pastors how to preach. When other denominations started becoming more open to women pastors, she took several pastoral courses at the Wesley Theological Seminary, which was then based in Takoma Park, Md. Little did Benton know this step would help her blaze a trail for women to fully minister in the Adventist Church.

She then applied to pastor in the Potomac Conference and went to speak with Dale Hannah, senior pastor of the Sligo church in Takoma Park. “I said to him, ‘If you ever want a woman on staff, let me know.’ I thought he would laugh and I would laugh, but he thought about it,” she recalled.

The Mohaven Papers

The conference however, turned her down. Benton, married with two sons, didn’t give up. She went to each member of the conference executive committee and shared her vision for ministry.

That was in 1973, the year she served on the famous General Conference ad hoc committee to study the role of women in ministry at Camp Mohaven in Danville, Ohio. The group of 13 men and 14 women published 29 “Mohaven Papers” and recommended that women be ordained as local church elders and that those with theological training be employed as associates in pastoral care. The group also proposed that a pilot program be developed to lead to ordination by 1975.

That same year, Benton was ordained as an elder, and she became an associate pastor at Sligo church. While she did get some support from members, she recalled one man approaching her as she walked through the hallways of the church. “He said, ‘Josephine you know I don’t believe in what you’re doing.’ I told him, ‘I know,’” she said. She also knew that he was thinking about Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he wrote that women should be silent in church (see Cor. 14:34).

Despite that verse, Benton said, “I felt called to ministry, and even before I was hired, the Lord opened doors for me in ministry. I served as a chaplain at a camp and served at Loma Linda University [in California].”

When pressed more about the Corinthian verse, Benton pointed to Acts 10:23-48 where Peter meets Cornelius the gentile and the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the Word. “That text shows me that whomever God chooses to send His Spirit to, has no choice but to accept it.”

As she served at Sligo, she said, “There was enough work for me to do that didn’t require me to be ordained.” She joyfully ministered to children and singles and helped lead a church plant in nearby Washington, D.C. She then went on to the Rockville (Md.) church where she served as senior pastor from 1979 to 1982. Afterward she served as an administrator in the Adult Evening Program at what is now known as Washington Adventist University.



Back to Ministry

When Benton retired, she moved to the Hagerstown, Md.-area and secured a chaplaincy post at the Williamsport Retirement Village. She ministered there for 19 years. During that time, she worked with Rob Vandeman, then president of the Chesapeake Conference to get her chaplaincy license. She was thrilled. “I could now do weddings, which was a big thing because up until then I was only allowed to do funerals and anybody can do those,” she joked. As an elder at Chesapeake’s Williamsport (Md.) church she still gives Bible studies and ministers to those in need.

Benton said although it’s taking a while for women pastors to gain their ordination credentials, she has seen it coming for a long time and believes it will come to the entire world church. She even watched the live stream of the Columbia Union Conference Special Constituency Meeting in July where the union became the first in the North American Division to ordain women without regard to gender.

Earlier this fall, when the Columbia Union approved 16 female pastors for ordination, it was a young female pastor at Sligo church who called to invite Benton to the first of such services in the union. A very happy Benton sat in the front row and watched the ordination of Debbie Eisele, a Sligo associate pastor. This was something that had not been possible when she served there 40 years ago.

“I’m Thankful God Opened the Door”

On that same day, Dave Weigley, Columbia Union president, told her that union leaders also approved her name to receive emeritus ordination credentials. Benton who is now a grandmother of five and great-grandmother of five joked, “I’m glad they didn’t wait until 2015 to do this because by then I would be a very old woman.”

Last week Columbia Union leaders also presented Benton with their Notable Person of Honor award at their year-end meetings. “We’ve been talking about equality in ministry in the Columbia Union for 40 years,” Vandeman said before presenting Benton with the award. “Shame on us that when Josphine Benton was an associate pastor at Sligo church, then senior pastor at the Rockville church, that we as a church family didn’t have the courage to ordain her. We don’t know how to apologize as a church for the time it has taken us to recognize the contribution that you and other women have made to the ministry.”

On that same day, Joyce Newmyer, president of Washington Adventist Hospital, shook Benton’s hand and thanked her for blazing a trail for other women to serve as leaders in the church. After the awards ceremony, William Cox, president of the Allegheny West Conference, sought Benton out. “I just wanted to come and shake your hand and tell you, ‘Thank you for your service and commitment,’” he said.

With a smile on her face, Benton softly said, “I’m really thankful God opened the door for women to become pastors, even senior pastors at some of our churches. I’m just glad to see more people use their gifts for God’s church.”


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Church: Remember the Fourth Commandment


Posted: Friday, November 23, 2012 10:28 pm




Depending on your age, you may have heard the phrase, “The Lord’s Day.” You may even know that today it is observed on Sunday because this is when all the church going people put on their Sunday best and go to a place of worship. What you may not know is the fact that the Lord’s day looks very different in our country than it did 30 to 40 years ago. You may recall (again, based on your age and what part of the country you are from) that on Sunday, most stores and restaurants were closed. Most people didn’t work on Sunday. It was considered a day of complete rest. Rest, that is something I know most people today could use a little more.

This principle of rest comes from the Ten Commandments. The Fourth Commandment states in Exodus 20:8-10: “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.”


The Jewish nation followed this commandment almost to a fault. In fact, the religious leaders of that day created about 613 specific laws that enforced or clarified this commandment. When Jesus arrived on the scene, He did not follow the expected norm. Jesus did not follow man’s rules, He clarified God’s law. Of course, this did not set well with the religious leaders of His day, those following the many “rules.” Jesus never abolished the Sabbath. He simply helped to clarify it. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This means that God asked people to rest and focus on Him for their benefit, not to make that day a burden, for His commands are never burdensome.

When the New Testament church began, the new believers met together often, but especially on the Lord’s Day (resurrection day), which was the first day of the week. Ever since then, Sunday has been a special day set aside to rest and focuses on God and Godly matters. Some have referred to this day as the Christian Sabbath.

I believe the principle of the Fourth Commandment still applies today. I believe the Ten Commandments are all still valid and not just nine of them. So how does that work for us today in a culture that has moved Sunday from a special day set aside for rest, worship, and devotion to a day like all the rest?

When I asked myself this question, one particular scripture helped put a few things into perspective. Isaiah 58:13-14 says, “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Our family began to make some changes in our Sunday activities, based on God’s word; and, we have begun to see significant differences in our lives. Rest and a dedicated focus on God and family has been a joy and delight to our household. I encourage you, if you are a believer, to seek out how God would have you live out the Fourth Commandment. You may be pleasantly surprised to find how following God’s commands truly benefits your life.



Jon Church is pastor of Katy Baptist Church


Source


FYI: 

The fourth commandment clearly states Remember the Seventh Day to keep it Holy; Not the first day!
Nowhere in the Bible does it state that the Sabbath HOLYNESS was changed to SUNDAY!.Nowhere whatsoever.  That change was not done by anyone of the Apostles or the early Christians.  But rather, that change was instituted by the Roman Catholic Church.

All work makes Jack an unhappy American


Hub Opinion


Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2012 7:00 am | Updated: 11:39 pm, Fri Nov 23, 2012.



Some countries reserve parts of the day for rest and family time. On weekdays in many parts of the world, no village merchant would think of keeping his shop open from 1-5 p.m. when everyone is dining or enjoying a nap.

The ritual of down time is all but lost in the United States. That fact came through clearly this weekend as Americans either reveled in the pleasures of giving thanks and then shopped, or they worked behind buffets and counters serving those with time off.

Hundreds of thousands now work on holidays and most weekends, and some of them are wondering if it really is a holiday when they are required to work. The more than 200,000 Americans who signed an online petition prefer to keep Thanksgiving as a day off, just as Sundays used to be for worship and rest.

“ ... For what we buy on the Lord’s day we will pay a high price indeed: the loss of time and space to do other things, to think other thoughts, to be other people,” columnist Rob Manoff wrote in 1977 in the New York Times, Manoff’s point is poignant, but much about our nation’s culture and economy has changed in 35 years.

In 1977, fewer families had both spouses working. While one worked, the other spouse tended to the household. Today, weekends are the only time many families can make trips to the store.

Americans eat at their desks and in their cars, and when they finally arrive home, they’re stuck on computers and cellphones while they rush between their children’s evening activities.

Bedraggled by the loss of their own down time, parents now show their children how to stay on a run by signing them up for piano, dance, soccer, Scouting and other activities.

Here’s a fact that won’t surprise a soul: An Expedia study found that of the 12 days most Americans are allotted for vacation, only 10 days are used.

There are many reasons our lives have become a rat race, but the stress of too much work takes a toll on health, relationships and the next generation.

Americans will never close their shops on weekdays for lunch and a siesta, but something has to change because too many of us are wound too tightly.

It takes work to succeed on the job, but each of us needs time to slow down to savor the good in our lives. We need to taste some slow-cooked barbecue with family and friends, stroll in the park and watch a few sunsets. We need down time so we can remind ourselves of what makes life meaningful.

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The Cleansing of the Sanctuary - Ron Spear



Published on Apr 28, 2011 by Michael Walston

No description available.
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Saturday, November 24, 2012

More buying and selling: Small Business Saturday

As if Black Friday wasn't enough:   


Small Business Saturday | November 24, 2012





Saturday, November 24, 2012 is Small Business Saturday® – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. Please join the SBA and organizations across the country in supporting your local small business by shopping at a small business.


Read more
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Alpha & Omega of Apostasy - Speaker Michael Bauler



 Uploaded by Genesisone 29 on Dec 10, 2011
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A mighty fortress is our God (Vocals & Organ)



Uploaded by smallchurch on Mar 20, 2009

More hymns sung by Janet on http://www.smallchurchmusic.com/index.php?RPlayer=27 .
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Eliyahu: The God of Abraham, Issac and Israel (Jacob) is my God.



The brook dried up -  I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

1 Kings 17

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of theLord, which he spake by Elijah.

17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Happy Sabbath


He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.


1 John 2:4-6
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Why Christianity Is Dying While Spirituality Is Thriving


Steve McSwain

'Voice of the SBNR (spiritual but not religious),' award-winning author, speaker, thought leader, spiritual teacher

Posted: 10/10/2012 3:38 pm




The title of this post alone will put some branches of the Christian church immediately on the defense. The fact is, however, I travel all over this country coaching religious leaders and consulting with congregations of every stripe imaginable. And there is one overarching conclusion to which I've come:Christianity is dying. Or, to put it more accurately, the Christian church is dying while the Christian faith, in too few places still, seems to be slowly, but gratefully, morphing into something new.

And better.

Admittedly, there are a few churches that are growing in the U.S. Some are evangelical; others are Catholic, although most of their growth is largely the consequence of the influx of Hispanics who are, almost universally, Roman Catholic. To those blinded by illusion, however, the few churches that are growing has made some feel driven to object, particularly if they happen to be part of such a church, by saying, "The church is doing quite well, thank you!"


The truth is, it is not. And when church leaders are honest, and many of them are not, they will acknowledge that they are drawing most of their growth from the disaffected, disavowed and disillusioned who have left or leaving other churches. If you were to interview those who are leaving and going to these few growing churches, as I have, you would discover that for many of them, they feel spiritually disconnected and displaced, while still desiring to know and to feel a vital spiritual life. Unable to find it in much of the madness they've chosen to leave behind, they turn to these rapidly growing churches, many of which have become "mega" churches as a result of this phenomenon, in a kind of last ditch effort to find something that resembles spiritual sanity.

Regrettably, however, what many of them soon find even in many of these growing churches is just a polished-up and well-rehearsed, as well as well-performed, version of the same madness they left. Before long, scores of them wind up leaving even these and then join the ranks of those persons known today as "Nones" -- who are, by the way, now one in every five Americans. These "Nones" have all but given up on organized religion and now simply regard themselves as spiritual but not religious. It is to these and for these I regularly write and blog.

So, what do I mean by the statement, "the Christian faith seems to be morphing into something new?"

I do not mean by this a new religion. To the contrary, what I'm seeing is a new and refreshing emergence within the Christian religion itself. Perhaps, as at no other time in Christian history, except perhaps the first few decades following the death of Jesus, the church today is slowly becoming, but in too few places as yet, something that I suspect Jesus himself might actually recognize. There is within this new emergence an affinity for those matters of social and personal justice, compassion, spiritual wholeness and unity within and among all people and faiths. Thesewere the obsessions of Jesus while here on earth.

I regard these few churches as glimmers of hope scattered here and there. So, what does this new emergence within the Christian religion look like?

1. This new, emerging church is made up of people who are desperately seeking ways of understanding, and in many cases, rewriting Christian theology. It needs to be rewritten. For decades now, the church has sought to survive on a doctrine of salvation that depended on the shedding of innocent blood to appease an obsessively angry God so as to rescue humanity from what would otherwise result in their conscious and eternal torment in hell. It's crazy theology. It is not what Jesus taught. And as a consequence, it is more pagan than it is Christian.

2. These new churches have a healthier view of their sacred text known as the Bible.They revere the Bible without making a god of it. Instead worshipping the Bible as a kind of "Constitution," as Brian Mclaren dubs it in "A New Kind of Christianity," they interpret the Bible for what it is: an inspired book, capable of providing inspiration, wisdom and spiritual direction, not a textbook on science or morality or answer-book preachers might use for "Stump the Preacher" talk-shows.

3. These Christians no longer feel the enemy is liberalism, even "secular humanism," as it is commonly labeled in the declining and dying branches within Christianity.Admittedly, they see dangers in any extreme notions, whether in liberal theology or humanistic philosophy, but they have awakened to the realization that the church has met the "real" enemy -- and the real enemy is the church itself. Furthermore, these Christians no longer believe gays will destroy the institution of marriage when heterosexuals have successfully accomplished that all by themselves. Waging war against gays, lesbians and those within the transgender community is like trying to defend slavery. Furthermore, these have given up the church's war with science and psychology, choosing instead to embrace the truths science teaches us, not only about the origins of the universe, but about the complexities of the human mind, human development and sexuality.

4. Further, I see this new evolving Christianity being birthed in the hearts of sincere and devoted Christ-followers who are open to what other religions can teach us about spirituality, too. They would regard, for example, Desmond Tutu's statement "God is not a Christian," as the truth. While affirming that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19), and cherishing that belief within their own faith confessions, these Christians would embrace and, in fact, do embrace the spiritual insights that may come from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and scores of other spiritual traditions. They have exchanged the insanity of the dying church that insists "We're right! You're wrong," for the sane "We're in and you are, too" approach to human and religious solidarity. Together, these Christians seek spiritual awareness -- spiritual enlightenment -- and they seek the good of all people, too, even those who embrace no religion.

5. Finally, but I could go on and on in my observations, this emerging new Christianity no longer interprets Christian "hope" as some "pie-in-the-sky" future paradise that they alone will enjoy, along with those who agree with their theology, their eschatology and their exclusivist beliefs. No, these Christians would view "hope" the way Jesus their leader viewed it; the way the prophets of old viewed it; the way the entire biblical narrative views it: as a vision of the world wherein peace and justice and plenty for everyone exists in the here and now; a world that reflects "God's will on earth just as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10); a world where all people are treated equally, cared for, respected, fed and nurtured for the wonderful creations of God that they are; a world where all people regardless of color, sex, race, religion, political party, nationality or sexual orientation have a voice and a place; a world where people and nations, as the Prophet Isaiah put it, "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; where nation no longer takes up sword against nation; where war is no longer learned" (Isaiah 2:1-5).

It is this kind of church that will emerge and thrive. The others will die a slow and agonizingly painful death.

For all the reasons above, and a host of others, spirituality is thriving both inside and outside these new and emerging expressions of the Christian faith. For me, and a growing number of other progressive-minded Christians, that is a cause for hope.


Source
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I came not to send peace, but a sword


Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: .

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 

Matthew 10:32-37.
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