Monday, August 05, 2013

The Long Hot Summer a Harbinger of Fall 2013

I.

Three Prison breaks in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.
 


Several high-profile escapes have garnered headlines in recent weeks:

  • -- On July 23, an al Qaeda group claimed responsibility for attacks on two Iraqi prisons that a lawmaker said freed more than 500 inmates, including some senior members of the group. Militants used suicide bombers with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns to attack prisons as inmates inside rioted and set fires.
  • -- On July 26, about 1,200 inmates spilled out of a prison in Benghazi, Libya.
  • -- And on July 30, Taliban gunmen wearing police uniforms attacked the largest jail in a northern Pakistani province, allowing about 200 inmates to escape, authorities said.
(U.S. Embassies close)
 

A recently intercepted message among senior al Qaeda operatives alarmed the U.S. State Department and led to the closing of 22 embassies and consulates Sunday, August 4, across the Middle East and North Africa. On Sunday afternoon, the State Department said it had extended the closures in 15 of the locations until Saturday, August 10, and added four other posts to the list. Click through to see which facilities are affected, beginning with the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, which is closed for the week.



The U.S. embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was closed August 4 but was scheduled to reopen on Monday, August 5.



The U.S. Embassy in the Saudi capital of Riyadh will be closed for the week along with the consulates in Dhahran and Jeddah.



The U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, will remain closed through August 10.



The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, is closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, was closed on Sunday and reopened Monday. The consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif was also closed and reopened.



The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, shown here under construction in October 2007, reopened August 5. The consulates in Basrah and Erbil, which were closed, also resumed normal business on Monday.




The U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, shown here during a demonstration on September 11, 2012, will remain closed.



The U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar, was one of four embassies added to the list of facilities to remain closed for the week. The others were the embassies in Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.



The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, is closed until August 10.




The U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, is closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, closed on August 4 and reopened the next day.



Officials announced that they would add the U.S. Embassy in Port Louis on the island of Mauritius to the list of facilities that will be closed for the week.



The U.S Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, will remain closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, will remain closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, will remain closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, reopened August 5.



The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait, will remain closed for the week.



The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti will remain closed.



The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will remain closed along with the consulate in Dubai.




II.

Edward Snowden finally receives asylum in Russia (new and improved USSR)  
 
 
informer

 

It will be madness in America soon, Out of control



Politics / US Politics Aug 03, 2013 - 05:09 PM GMT

By: Michael_T_Bucci



I bought a copy of USA Today Weekend at the supermarket and wanted to gag. A front-page lead story showing a picture of Edward Snowden's Russian permit was titled: "Welcome, Comrade Snowden" (Is John McCain now writing their headlines?). To read American mainstream news is to collide with an illusory but impenetrable wall of rigid propaganda (rah, rah, America #1; rah, rah, S&P 1700; rah, rah, Washington vs. a world of enemies). In short, the paper's almost one-million readers were encouraged. In so many words, "Don't worry about NSA. Congress has heard the American people and is now moving to reform it. Sleep well tonight, Senator Patrick Leahy is awake."

The mood is critically nervous among those who have written for years about America's war atrocities, descent into post-democracy, vulture economics, systemic corruption and international lawlessness; they might be seeing their worst nightmares - the ones they wished to prevent - occurring, and ones worse becoming more probable.
Why write for a people who appear to have done nothing to preempt their current security (police) state and growing despotism? Why write (or be a whistle-blower) to be demonized, criminalized and decapitated by the very people you are trying to warn? On one hand, writers might pay a heavy price for what they commit to print; on the other hand, they fulfill themselves and fulfill the First Amendment - they speak the truth as they see it. At this juncture, however, the time for using words freely, casually and directly might be changing.

And the time for sustaining the juvenile notion of a world jealous of America's wealth and liberty needs be long buried.

Writer Paul Craig Roberts is correct this week in his vitriol:

"The schizophrenic denizens of Washington have made Americans a hated people. Those with the foresight to know to escape from the growing tyranny also know that wherever they might seek refuge, they will be seen as vermin from the most hated nation and subjected to being scapegoated as spies and evil influences, and at risk of being decimated in reprisals against Washington’s latest atrocity.

"Washington has destroyed the prospects of Americans both at home and abroad."

Not one person wants "the People" to share blame or wants to apply the word "fascism" to the American security-state. Yet, it is the majority of people in America who, for one reason or another, are responsible for their predicament, as the majority of German people during WWII were responsible for theirs and the Japanese people theirs. A democracy thrives from awake, alert individuals; an unbiased press; a tolerance of diverse opinions; and laws (the Constitution and international treaties). As it stands today, Americans have chosen authoritarianism over democracy; consumerism over citizenship; censorship over free-thought; militancy over diplomacy; financial oppression over equity. When they should have they didn't force President Obama to close Gitmo; end the wars; constrain the FBI, CIA, NSA and Gen. Keith B. Alexander; indict financial CEOs and officers. They didn't rebel over airport body scanners; RFID chips in passports; indefinite detentions; torture; state-sponsored assassinations; death squads; military war crimes; drones; Wall Street and corporate pillage of Main Street; or, for that matter, they didn't criminalize anyone except those who "blew the whistle" or dissented. Mr. Obama's constituents are "waking up" (after five years) if comments left at The New York Times over Snowden revelations are any indication. But I place much blame on "Obama people" who, on the one hand, voted for the president to reverse the tide of war and international disgrace generated by former President George W. Bush (or so they claimed); and on the other enabled if not cheered Mr. Obama as he perpetuated the same and worse practices. These are hypocrites.

What destruction and death has been and is propagated by the United States armed forces against the world will now be visited on "the People". What economic exploitation has been waged against the third world countries by American banks and investors will now be waged against "the People". What civil wars the Pentagon and CIA have engineered in the Mid-East will now be applied at home. And if it takes a regime change in Washington, it too will be done. It will be madness in America from this point forward; the world is in its cross hairs and knows it.

Some Americans will cheer a military coup, an assassination, a civil war, a de facto war against most of the planet. The world believed in a president who was never his own man; who sold out early; who relied on stage managers and PR to conceal his identity and conceal the identities of controllers from finance, the Pentagon and intelligence community. Since Snowden, the world has a clearer idea of the untrustworthiness of America's leadership, its corporations and military.

(I believe Mr. Obama might not continue as President, and believe a financial-military coup might have already occurred.)

In this week's Asia Times, Pepe Escobar concludes:

"For the moment, what we have is an Orwellian/Panopticon complex that will persist with its unchecked powers; an aphasic populace; a quiet, invisible man in a Moscow multitude; and a POTUS consumed with boundless rage. Watch out. He may be tempted to wag the (war) dog."

It will be madness in America soon, out of control.

(c) 2013 Michael T Bucci. All Rights reserved.

(Note: responses to emails might be delayed or not met.)

Michael T Bucci is a retired public relations executive from New Jersey presently residing in New England. His essays have appeared at The Market Oracle (UK). He is the author of nine books on practical spirituality including White Book: Cerithous.


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Interpol issues global security alert


 Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY 11:18 a.m. EDT August 3, 2013

The alert comes a day after the U.S. issued a global travel warning to Americans about a possible al-Qaeda attack.



Pakistani policemen stand guard outside the central prison after an overnight armed Taliban militant attack in Dera Ismail Khan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 30.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)


Interpol has issued a global security alert calling for increased vigilance for terrorist activity after suspected al-Qaeda involvement in prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

The international police organization says prison breakouts have occurred in nine Interpol member countries in the past month alone and requests the agency's 190 member countries' assistance to figure out whether such events are linked, the group said in a statement on its website Saturday.

Interpol's alert comes a day after the State Department issued a global travel alert because of an al-Qaeda terrorist threat, saying the potential for terrorism is particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa. That travel alert goes through Aug. 31.





The U.S. also announced this week that it would close more than a dozen embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world on Sunday, and possible longer.

The full statement from Interpol's alert reads:


Following a series of prison escapes across nine INTERPOL member countries in the past month alone, including in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters has issued a global security alert advising increased vigilance.

With suspected Al Qaeda involvement in several of the breakouts which led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals, the INTERPOL alert requests the Organization's 190 member countries' assistance in order to determine whether any of these recent events are coordinated or linked.

INTERPOL is asking its member countries to closely follow and swiftly process any information linked to these events and the escaped prisoners. They are also requested to alert the relevant member country and INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters if any escaped terrorist is located or intelligence developed which could help prevent another terrorist attack.

Staff at INTERPOL's 24-hour Command and Coordination Centre and other specialized units are also prioritizing all information and intelligence in relation to the breakouts or terrorist plots in order to immediately inform relevant member countries of any updates.

August is the anniversary of violent terrorist incidents in Mumbai, India and Gluboky, Russia as well as in Jakarta, Indonesia. This week also marks the 15th anniversary of the US Embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in which more than 200 mostly African citizens were killed and 4,000 others injured.

In recent years, terrorist attacks focusing on diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan, Greece, India, Kenya, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey and Yemen have also resulted in hundreds of casualties of all nationalities.

The US State Department has also issued a global travel alert in response to credible intelligence suggesting that Al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks between now and 31 August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to the US authorities announcing the one-day closure of more than 20 diplomatic missions on Sunday 4 August, the UK Foreign Office has also confirmed the closure of the British embassy in Yemen on 4 and 5 August.


Contributing: Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY; The Associated Press



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Interpol, United States National Central Bureau





CARYN E. NEUMANN


As the United States branch of Interpol, an international police organization, the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Washington, D.C., serves as a communications clearing-house for police seeking assistance in criminal investigations that cross international boundaries. Directed by the U.S. Attorney General and representing sixteen law enforcement agencies under the Department of Justice in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury, the USNCB focuses on fugitives, financial fraud, drug violations, terrorism, and violent crimes. It can refuse to respond to any of the 200,000 annual inquiries from other nations and, as required by Interpol bylaws, does not assist in the capture of people sought for political, racial, or ethnic reasons.

Although Interpol dates back to 1923, the USNCB did not come into existence until the 1960s because of a lukewarm American attitude toward the organization. Hesitant about the benefits of international policework, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Department of Justice did not post wanted notices with Interpol until 1936. When J. Edgar Hoover (1895–1972), head of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, observed Interpol's success in apprehending criminals, his subsequent support of the police force prompted Congress to order the Attorney General to accept Interpol membership in 1938. Hoover became the permanent American representative to Interpol with only the FBI authorized to do business with the group. In 1950, Hoover pulled the FBI out of Interpol for reasons that remain unclear. The Treasury, however, continued to maintain informal contact with the organization and became the official U.S. representative in 1958. When the U.S. decided to establish an NCB in 1962 as part of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's fight against organized crime, the history of American involvement dictated a sharing of power between the two agencies, with Justice as the dominant partner.

The NCB became operational in 1969 with a staff of three and an annual caseload of 300. Agents are complemented by computer specialists, analysts, translators, and administrative and clerical support personnel drawn largely from the ranks of the Department of Justice. The agents operate in divisions dedicated to specific investigative areas while the analysts review case information to identify patterns and links. The law enforcement agencies represented at the USNCB include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Environmental Protection Agency; the FBI; the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; the Fish and Wildlife Service; the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Customs Service; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; the Department of State; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Mint; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the U.S. Secret Service. Additionally, each state, the District of Columbia, and New York City have established points of contact to receive international criminal reports from the NCB.

The USNCB operates by linking the Treasury Enforcement Computer System, the FBI's National Crime Information Center, the INS files, and the DEA records to Interpol. The international organization then funnels information from country to country. Classified information, including the vast majority of international terrorism cases, is not placed by the U.S. into Interpol channels because the flow of intelligence cannot be controlled and there are concerns that terrorists may tap into Interpol's intelligence system to plan strikes against the U.S. However, Interpol is utilized as a weapon against potential terrorists. The U.S. began accepting counter-terrorism cases in 1985. In 1990, the U.S. and Canadian governments established an Interpol Interface between the USNCB and the Canadian NCB in Ottawa. This link allows police to tap into law enforcement networks across the border to verify driver registrations and vehicle ownership.

The USNCB has grown considerably since its founding, responding to the increasing internationalization of crime as well as a jump in the numbers of foreign nationals entering the country. As these trends are likely to continue, the USNCB will likely see its crime fighting role increase in the future. 
 
 
FURTHER READING:
BOOKS:

Anderson, Malcolm. Policing the World: Interpol and the Politics of International Police Co-operation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.

Bresler, Fenton. Interpol. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1992.

United States Department of Justice and United States Department of the Treasury. Interpol: The International Criminal Police Organization. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2002.



Source: http://www.faqs.org/espionage/In-Int/Interpol-United-States-National-Central-Bureau.html#ixzz2b76hMP34
 
 
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The Vatican and the Jesuits

 

 

 
 
 
from WikiCompany Website
 
recovered through WayBackMachine Website
 
  
  
"The very word secrecy is repugnant, in a free and open society. For we are, as a people, inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret proceedings and to secret oaths"...
  
"For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence - on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. 
 
It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried not headlined. 
 
Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed."
 
- John F. Kennedy
secret society speech on April 27, 1961
(murdered on November 22, 1963).

 
 
 
 
Introduction
 
The Jesuit Order is an almost 500-year old covert operations, geo-political, male-only organization, structured as a secret military operation:
 
demanding secret oaths and complete obedience to each direct superior, which is ultimately the Superior General (often nicknamed as the Black Pope, since he dresses in black and 'stands in the shadow' of the white Pope).
 
The "Society of Jesus" - as they are officially known - was originally used by the Vatican to counter the various Reformation movements in Europe, to which the Vatican lost much of its religious and political power. 
 
 Absolute-temporal-ruling power has always been the Vatican institution's primary objective.
 
The Jesuit Order is since 1814 in complete control of the - obscenely wealthy - Vatican institution (and its Catholic clergy hierarchy) and presently also controls various other organizations together with the Military Order of Malta, such as:
 
 
  

 
 
265th Pope Joseph Ratzinger and 30th Jesuit General Adolfo Nicolás.
 
 
  
35th Jesuit general congregation at the Vatican in 2008


 
 
Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City
 
 
  
 
 It is also important to note that the Jesuit-controlled Vatican is since 1929 being cast (and accepted) as a sovereign microstate called Vatican City, with its own: 
 
 
  • Head of State and cabinet (the Holy See, which consists of the Papal non-hereditary monarchy and the Curia).
  •  Central bank (Vatican Bank).
  •  Jurisdiction rules (Canon Law, Admiralty law).
  •  Some 147 international agreements (diplomatic treaties which where formerly called Concordats or Lateran Treaties, which grant the Vatican special national privileges).
  •  Large radial underground network of secret archives (estimated at 84 kilometers of shelving space), and a large collection of ancient art works in the Vatican Museums.
  •  Universal Inquisition office (headed by the American William Levada since 2000), an Italian police force and a Swiss military guard consisting of only Catholic single males with Swiss citizenship and Swiss military training.
 
Furthermore note that the Jesuit Order, the Catholic clergy and the Military Order of Malta (and many of the other Papal and Royal military orders) have an extremely patriarchal culture.
  
This type of rigid social structure is one of the main aspects of fascistic groups.
 
 
 
"The Jesuits have no women. They have no love of a woman. Because to have a wife, to have a woman, means you have an allegiance to your wife and family, and you cannot obey the General. That’s why they will NEVER be married, and that’s one of the great KEYS to their success."
 - Eric Jon Phelps
 
 
Today the Jesuit Order has about 19.000 members.
  
Of the about 13.500 priest members, some have taken the 4th vow secret oath in which killing a 'heretic' is not considered a crime. The ranks of Jesuits are thinning; From 36,000 members at the order's zenith in the mid-1960's, to 26,000 in 1983, to 23,000 in 1995 [10]. The Jesuits are geographically organized by 91 provinces (61?), which each belong to one of 10 assistancies around the world.
 
The Military Order of Malta has about 12.500 members (excluding volunteers), and Opus Dei has about 26,000 celibate members (excluding volunteers).
 
The Vatican-Jesuit-Masonic crusades, up to our present time, show their criminal "full-spectrum dominance" doctrine is effectuated all over the world by:
  
  • War, genocide and depopulation (recent examples: Canadian natives genocide between 1880-1984, the "Vatican managed Serbian genocide during WWII" with an ongoing US court case, and the ongoing Shia Muslim genocide in Iraq with over 1.217.892 deaths) 
  • Political subversions
  •  Economic slavery
  •  Poor quality nutrition, healthcare and housing
  •  Government propaganda (via education, media, science, and religion)
  •  Suppression of sovereignty, consciousness and spirituality.


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Battle of the Bibles - Walter Veith



Walter Veith (13) Battle of the Bibles /Total Onslaught



TheClosingOfTime

Uploaded on Dec 23, 2011

www.AmazingDiscoveries.org

Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Spiritual forces would wish to rob man of the only source of inspiration outlining the road to salvation. In the Battle of the Bibles hard evidence is provided for how the enemy has worked behind the scenes to create the stage for the final attack on the Word of God itself. The history and affiliations of those who have dared to reshape Gods Word to suit the occult philosophy is clearly exposed.
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Sunday, August 04, 2013

Critics Fear Free Speech Crackdown amid Mideast Riots (9/12)

Deja vu, all over again!


Today, Sunday, 4 of August, 2013, twenty-two American Embassies are closed because of undisclosed chatter of an imminent terrorist attack from Al Qaeda


The news is full of these stories:

Threats against embassies 'very reminiscent' of pre-9/11 chatter


Let`s look back at an article from last year, a time when in several cities of the Muslim World, American Embassies and Consulates were being attacked:

 
 
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
 

Critics Fear Free Speech Crackdown amid Mideast Riots

By Paul Strand

CBN News Washington Sr. Correspondent

Sunday, September 16, 2012
RSS

Podcasts




 WASHINGTON -- The violent attacks on the U.S. embassies in the Muslim world this week in part stemmed from a chaotic call to restrict speech: Rioting Islamists demanded a film that casts Mohammad in a negative light be banned.

Those keeping an eye on the stifling of religious freedom already taking place in America are worried scenes the Mideast unrest could increase pressure to shut up controversial speech by Christians.

Their biggest concerns: access to the Internet and the so-called New Media companies that control it.

Officials at the National Religious Broadcasters charge Web giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook already silence religious speech.

"We have continued to see examples of censorship which we believe we all ought to feel uncomfortable about and find them to be somewhat disturbing," Craig Parshall, general counsel for the NRB, said.

Parshall cited examples of YouTube blocking pro-life videos by the group Live Action that exposed questionable practices and standards at some Planned Parenthood branches.

Then there was the mysterious shut down of former Gov. Mike Huckabee's Facebook page after he organized a petition supporting Chick-fil-A and traditional marriage. Facebook called it a mistake, but Huckabee said he believed it was no accident.

"We caught a 12-hour bug. Apparently it hits when large numbers of Christians support something and post about it on Facebook!" Huckabee wrote in a Facebook post after the incident.

One of the first public cases of this censorship resulted from The Manhattan Declaration, organized by Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson.

Apple pulled the declaration's iTunes App because its signers opposed abortion and same sex marriage.

Colby May, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, said it's easy to see why those running the New Media would want to quell controversial speech.

"From their perspective as companies, they want to have as little controversy in the public eye as possible," May told CBN News.

"So if they can simply say, 'Let's not talk about those things that create controversy,' well then they're naturally, just instinctively going to do it, whether they want to do it with animus or not," he said.

Now the NRB and its allies have drafted the "Free Speech Charter for the Internet." It calls for the New Media's protection of all speech that flows through cyberspace, just like the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of all Americans.

"Whatever the Supreme Court has said about what the First Amendment allows is what you should allow," Parshall said.

The charter, Parshall explained, declares the only prohibited speech would be the kind that's criminal or violent or obscene.

"You can't incite people to violence. You can't communicate obscenity," Parshall said. "If the FCC were involved, you can't communicate indecency to children."

"We're asking the same kind of standard here," he said. "Those very limited number of exceptions. Everything else ought to be allowed."

"What's good is to have more speech, not less speech," Colby said. "And don't put yourself in the position of trying to decide whether this viewpoint is acceptable or that viewpoint is acceptable."


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A typical night on EndrTimes (for Mountain View, California)



Mountain View, California arrived from google.com on "EndrTimes
    

Current time: 01:13:25 GMT-0400 (Eastern Standard Time)



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No, the Jesuits didn’t kill Abraham Lincoln

*Read this article and remember that Jesuits wrote it as you do:

The Society of Jesus has inspired some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories you will ever read

By Jonathan Wright on Thursday, 11 July 2013




Abraham Lincoln: a supposed target of the Jesuits

The election of the first Jesuit pope was unexpected, but the response in some of the more delusional corners of the internet was depressingly predictable. It took no time at all for the conspiracy theorists to dust off their fictions and start warning us against the centuries-old Jesuit plot to take over the world.

The Society of Jesus has been putting up with this kind of nonsense for a very long time and no myth has been quite so persistent as the supposed Jesuit addiction to political assassination. In the mid-17th century, one William Crashaw denounced the burgeoning Jesuit educational project as a sham: the real reason behind all the schools, Crashaw opined, was to “pick out the finest young wits of the world” and “train them up [so] that the pope will never want instruments to kill kings”. The subsequent roster of supposed Jesuit targets (some despatched, others not) is impressive: Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIV of France, various English monarchs and an alarming number of US Presidents: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James A Garfield, William McKinley and Abraham Lincoln among them.

The anti-Jesuit myth-making machine has spiralled out of control. One of the most striking examples is a late 18th-century tract in which every aspect of Jesuit activity was pilloried. Jesuits were very good at science, the author wrote, but this was only because they required chemists and pharmacists to concoct poisons “as shall be able to infect dishes, plates, salt cellars, basins, kettles, and all sorts of utensils, though they be 10 times washed and cleansed”. Jesuits had some impressive buildings, but this was only in order to conceal “magazines of iron bullets, fire balls, ordinance, muskets, harquebuses, pikes and halberds” and “resist force by force should their secret intrigues meet with unexpected resistance”.

At several hundred years’ distance, this is all quite amusing, but there is a significant cultural phenomenon at the heart of the anti-Jesuit myth-making. Anyone interested in the nature of modern-day conspiracy theorising would do well to look at how Jesuit history has been misinterpreted. The perennial themes are all there.

It is crucial to stress that not every Jesuit has been a loyal and upstanding citizen. Some of those missionary priests back in Elizabethan England would presumably have been pleased if a plotter had managed to do away with the Virgin Queen, but these are aberrations and one would struggle to identify any religious order that was entirely free of rotten apples.

Have some Jesuits sought political influence (by non-regicidal means)? Yes, of course they have, but this hardly damns the entire Jesuit enterprise.

Crucially, the notion of a secretive, centuries-old, institutional campaign is bunkum. Are we really to believe the tall tales of hidden silver mines in Mexico and Peru, or the covert rites in which assassins’ daggers were blessed with holy water? Are we to accept that figures as various as Fidel Castro, Cardinal Richelieu, and emperors from China to Ethiopia were little more than Jesuit stooges? Of course we’re not.

The bile and nonsense continue to flow, however. One couldn’t help but notice that, in the wake of Francis’s election, quotations from the infamous Monita Secreta appeared with alarming frequency around the blogosphere. This 17th-century text – a work of pure fantasy – claimed to reveal the sinister “secret instructions” of the Society of Jesus: cosying up to wealthy widows, securing political influence by whatever means necessary, and much worse besides. It is one of the most ludicrous books ever written, but it shows few signs of falling out of fashion.

A counterblast of common sense is therefore called for, so here is a rule of thumb. If a conspiracy theory manages to take in everything from starting the Great Fire of London, to inaugurating the American Civil War, to sinking the Titanic, then you can safely assume it is bonkers. Not that this will silence the fantasists. They are a determined bunch, as I know from personal experience.

Back in 2004 I wrote what I regarded, and still regard, as an even-handed history of the Jesuits. I was scrupulous about identifying both the saints and the sinners, and there have been plenty of both over the past five centuries. This was not enough for some of my internet-based critics. One of them accused me of putting too positive a spin on Jesuit history and of being, no joke, a Jesuit secret agent in thrall to the Society’s dark and ancient machinations. Oh, the glamour! But I’m sorry to report that I was just a historian doing my job by delving into both the gaffes and the glories of a complex religious tradition.
This incident taught me two things. First, try to resist the temptation to Google your name and, second, whenever you encounter an outlandish Jesuit conspiracy theory, shrug your shoulders and get on with the more important business of studying the Jesuit past and present with objectivity. The Jesuits have made enough actual mistakes to keep their critics busy, and have done enough wonderful things to keep their fans happy. There is no need to make things up.

Jonathan Wright is an honorary fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University and editor of The Jesuit Suppression: Causes, Events and Consequences (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming)

This article first appeared in the print edition of The Catholic Herald dated 12/7/13
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Francis: To Muslims throughout the World



MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS TO MUSLIMS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
FOR THE END OF RAMADAN ('ID AL-FITR)



To Muslims throughout the World

It gives me great pleasure to greet you as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr’, so concluding the month of Ramadan, dedicated mainly to fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

It is a tradition by now that, on this occasion, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends you a message of good wishes, together with a proposed theme for common reflection. This year, the first of my Pontificate, I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders.

As you all know, when the Cardinals elected me as Bishop of Rome and Universal Pastor of the Catholic Church, I chose the name of “Francis”, a very famous saint who loved God and every human being deeply, to the point of being called “universal brother”. He loved, helped and served the needy, the sick and the poor; he also cared greatly for creation.

I am aware that family and social dimensions enjoy a particular prominence for Muslims during this period, and it is worth noting that there are certain parallels in each of these areas with Christian faith and practice.

This year, the theme on which I would like to reflect with you and with all who will read this message is one that concerns both Muslims and Christians: Promoting Mutual Respect through Education.

This year’s theme is intended to underline the importance of education in the way we understand each other, built upon the foundation of mutual respect. “Respect” means an attitude of kindness towards people for whom we have consideration and esteem. “Mutual” means that this is not a one-way process, but something shared by both sides.

What we are called to respect in each person is first of all his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices. We are therefore called to think, speak and write respectfully of the other, not only in his presence, but always and everywhere, avoiding unfair criticism or defamation. Families, schools, religious teaching and all forms of media have a role to play in achieving this goal.

Turning to mutual respect in interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims, we are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values. Particular respect is due to religious leaders and to places of worship. How painful are attacks on one or other of these!

It is clear that, when we show respect for the religion of our neighbours or when we offer them our good wishes on the occasion of a religious celebration, we simply seek to share their joy, without making reference to the content of their religious convictions.

Regarding the education of Muslim and Christian youth, we have to bring up our young people to think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to avoid ridiculing or denigrating their convictions and practices.

We all know that mutual respect is fundamental in any human relationship, especially among people who profess religious belief. In this way, sincere and lasting friendship can grow.

When I received the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See on 22 March 2013, I said: “It is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam. At the Mass marking the beginning of my ministry, I greatly appreciated the presence of so many civil and religious leaders from the Islamic world.” With these words, I wished to emphasize once more the great importance of dialogue and cooperation among believers, in particular Christians and Muslims, and the need for it to be enhanced.

With these sentiments, I reiterate my hope that all Christians and Muslims may be true promoters of mutual respect and friendship, in particular through education.

Finally, I send you my prayerful good wishes, that your lives may glorify the Almighty and give joy to those around you.

Happy Feast to you all!

From the Vatican, 10 July 2013



FRANCIS


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L.A. Priest Molested Over 100 Boys And Visited Gay Prostitutes, Files Say

Published August 02, 2013
Fox News Latino



LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 01: Alleged sexual abuse victim Jim Robertson (R) holds up a quilt with pictures of other alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles during a news conference urging victims to come forward on February 1, 2013 at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California. Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony of Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who avoided criminal charges over the way he handled pedophile priests during his career, was reportedly stripped of his archdiocese duties February 1, by his successor Archbishop Jose Gomez. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (2013 Getty Images)


A priest in Los Angeles confessed to a horrific string of atrocities, including molesting over 100 young boys and visiting male prostitutes while serving for years in a California parish, recently released documents reveal.

Ruben Martinez’s confession is part of nearly 2,000 pages of documents highlighting years of sexual abuse by priests, brothers and nuns in the Los Angeles archdiocese. As part of a 2007, $660 million settlement, the papers give a glimpse into the complicity of the L.A. archdioceses into the abuses cases that have plagued much of the Catholic Church for over a decade.

The graphic details compiled from therapy notes and psychiatric investigations of Martinez are some of the most gruesome and damning accounts of sexual abuse in the L.A. dioceses. They tell the tale of how Martinez was shuttled in and out of programs and treatment centers and the thousands of dollars that his religious order, the Oblates, spent trying to “cure” him of self-admitted pedophilia.

A report from 1993 revealed that Martinez began molesting children in the early 1970s by playing “giddy up” games with them on his lap. He allegedly stopped “direct sexual contact” with young boys in 1982, when a mother of one of the children complained, and stopped touching boys altogether after another complaint in 1986.

His religious order bounced him around from various treatment centers and parishes throughout the years as Martinez continued to draw complaints and suspicions from parents and children. While serving at a small parish in Westmorland, Calif., Martinez would drive for miles into San Diego to pick up male prostitutes.

In 1993, he was moved to then Oblates’ offices in Oakland and enrolled in a sex offender program. But soon after, another complaint surfaced and he was put in administrative roles for the rest of his career.

While Martinez has not faced criminal charges, one man – who asked the Daily Mail newspaper for anonymity – sued for abuse.

“He would have us wrestle each other and then wrestle with him, which means we'd get down into our skivvies and he'd take pictures of us. He was always taking pictures,” the man said, according to the Daily Mail. “I just remember the smell of the old Polaroid flash cubes. He would go through them like crazy.”

While working at his order headquarters in Washington D.C., Martinez was also reprimanded multiple times for making sexual jokes, looking at sexually suggestive pictures of young boys on the Internet and downloading a floppy disk filled with “references to topics dealing with the gay lifestyle.”

“It has not been easy to face what I did, to admit it and to talk about it with others,” Martinez wrote to the order's provincial in 2006. “I have had to deal with depression, self-hatred, the inability and unwillingness to forgive myself, and the desire and tendency to isolate.”



Source: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/08/02/la-priest-molested-over-100-boys-and-visited-gay-prostitutes-files-say/#ixzz2as60kGLG

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"A Third Way: Beyond the Conservative/Liberal Divide to a Christian Identity Refreshed"


2013 Adventist Forum Conference--"A Third Way: Beyond the Conservative/Liberal Divide to a Christian Identity Refreshed"


Public · By Spectrum/ Adventist Forums

Friday, September 6, 2013


Get Tickets (spectrummagazine.org)


Join us for the 2013 Adventist Forum Conference, Sept. 6-8, 2013, at the Sheraton Read House Hotel in Chattanooga, Tenn. Speakers include:

-Brian D. McLaren, activist, public theologian, and author of “Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?”
-Samir Selmanovic, consultant, founder of “Faith House Manhattan” and author of “It’s Really All About God.”
-William Johnsson, former editor of the Adventist Review and Adventist World, who represents the Seventh-day Adventist Church in interfaith and interchurch activities.

Is it possible to express a strong identity while relating to others with respect and generosity? How should we express our unique identity in a multifaith world? For community conversation on these questions and more, we look forward to seeing you in Chattanooga this fall.

To register, please click the the "Get Tickets" link above. Print the registration form and send it to us by mail or fax, or call to register by phone.

For more information, visit http://spectrummagazine.org/sites/default/files/2013%20AF%20Conference%20Flyer2.pdf.

BONUS: The first 25 people to register for the conference will receive a copy of "Adventist Women + Unity = Equality," Spectrum's newest DVD. Hosted by Dan Matthews and Bonnie Dwyer, the DVD combines Spectrum's interviews of women pastors with exclusive historic footage.



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Saturday, August 03, 2013

New Age Bible Versions - Gail Riplinger


Uploaded on Jul 14, 2011
 
Based Off The Book - New Age Bible Versions, Gail Riplinger Took 6 Years To Make The Book. In The Book She Exposes ALL The New Bible Versions With Undeniable Proof, In This Video She's Doing The Exact Same Thing On The Prophecy Club, Exposing The NIV, NASB, NKJV, RSV, TLB, ect.... ( ALL THE NEW VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE), And What She Shows Might REALLY SHOCK YOU. She Also Shows In This Video How Satan Has Created And Is Using This New Versions To Push His Anti-Christ Doctrine In & Through The Church, To The World.
ENJOY!

IN JESUS NAME.......AMEN !

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Time To Leave The Cities





damianplus

Uploaded on Feb 18, 2010

Time is now to leave the major cities. Work in the cities, do mission work there, the gospel still has to be preached, but when possible move your families out of major urban areas.



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"If You`re Happy & You Know it"



Cockatiel sings "If Your Happy & You Know it" and talks



MsQuakerparrot


Uploaded on Jan 8, 2010


I have a very smart and lovable cockatiel named Nanners. He sings "If Your Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands and the Andy Griffith Theme Song. Listen to him say whatcha doin, hello, peek a boo, & hello pretty bird. He can also say I love you, Scooby dooby doo and hello baby.



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30 Amazing Bird Species in 1 Video





HighFlyingDutchman

Uploaded on Sep 5, 2008


Watch peafowl,birds of paradise and many more interesting birds and see their magnetic nature.
Rate up the video Please!
Thanks & Peace :D

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Trumpet of the LORD! By Bob Trefz





MrPioneerlight2011


Published on Jul 21, 2013


Are we seeing the LAST Warning Signs right before the return of Jesus Christ?

For More Information Please SEE Our Website: www.exposingdeceptions.org


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I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:



1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.

9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:

18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.

20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.

21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

22 Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.

23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

25 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;

26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.


Jeremiah 9


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Friday, August 02, 2013

Happy Sabbath!



Europe and the Issue of Rest



Published in the January/February 2011 Magazine
by Edwin C. Cook




On May 31, 1998, Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Dies Domini (on keeping the Lord's Day holy), in which he attempted to provide a biblical argument for Sunday worship. While both the argumentation used and the appeal to Scripture are questionable, the practical application of the letter is not. In article 67, paragraph 2, Pope John Paul II admonished: "Therefore, also in the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy. In any case, they are obliged in conscience to arrange their Sunday rest in a way which allows them to take part in the Eucharist, refraining from work and activities which are incompatible with the sanctification of the Lord's Day, with its characteristic joy and necessary rest for spirit and body" (italics supplied).

Sunday Laws in Europe

Since release of Dies Domini, bishops and priests alike have obediently heeded the admonitions contained therein. In Croatia, a country comprised of a predominant Catholic populace (90 percent), efforts to pass a national Sunday law found fruition on January 1, 2009, after the cabinet had spent four years preparing the legislation.1 The law, making exceptions for bakeries, flower shops, newsstands, and stores located in bus, train, and metro stations, requires all businesses to remain closed on Sundays.2 Despite the lack of support from the populace, the highly influential leadership of the church pressured Parliament to pass the law, without consideration of the effects upon minority religious groups who hold as sacred a day other than Sunday.

During the same year, debate on Sunday legislation escalated in Germany. Berlin had passed legislation allowing stores to be open for ten Sundays a year, per contra the national law. Catholic and Lutheran churches had opposed Berlin's law and the case made its way to Germany's Constitutional Court, which ruled against Berlin's law of leniency.3 The court's ruling went into effect on January 1, 2010. Germany's protection for Sundays is found in article 140 of Germany's Basic Law, a holdover from the Weimar Constitution of 1919.

While these steps were being taken in Croatia and Germany, the Commission of Bishops for the European Community (COMECE) had given hearty approval and support to the proposal brought by five ministers of state to the European Parliament, arguing in favor of a Sunday law for all of Europe since Sunday served as a proper "cultural patrimony and social model" for European society.4 They argued for recognition of Sunday as a day of rest for the well-being of society. They reasoned that, in light of the current economic crisis, economies continued to function, indicating that the common seven-day workweek is not as essential as believed. They concluded that amid the hectic demands of modern, fast-paced society, families needed time together. Adeptly sidestepping any religious connotations to their appeal, they focused their arguments on the detriment to society's moral tone due to parents who had no time for their children, or for their own health.

Other supporters have included pro-labor and pro-family organizations from numerous European countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, Croatia, Spain, France, and Italy. Most recently, debate on the topic was aired on the British Broadcasting Corporation's program The Big Questions,5 which pitted Dr. Michael Schluter, director of the organization Keep Sunday Special, Alex Goldberg, head of the London Jewish Forum, Jenni Trent Hughes, work-life relations expert, and Cristina Odone, writer and broadcaster, against Richard Haddock, farmer and entrepreneur, and other U.K. citizens who are against Sunday legislation.

All of these Sunday legislation developments in Croatia, Germany, and possibly for all of Europe, due to the European Union's legislative decision, the central issue, beg the big question of motivation. What is the motivation behind calls for Sunday rest? Is it solely to rest from labor, thus allowing time for families? Or, does it have another facet related to religious overtures? Sunday-rest advocates answer affirmatively the former question, and negatively the latter. The Commission of Bishops for the European Community recognizes that Europe is comprised of a variety of religious groups that do not all share the sanctity for Sunday as the Catholic Church does.6 Respecting those differences, the bishops concede that any day could be set aside as a day of rest from labor, but the customary practice in European society is that public institutions and schools are closed on Sundays. Thus, to facilitate family time, a work-free Sunday law should be enacted for all of Europe that contains not a hint of religious terminology or connotations.

As fair-minded as this argument sounds, however, its central weakness is that it does not answer the question Upon what foundation—religious, or merely social—does the customary practice exist of closing public institutions and schools on Sundays? When presented in this light, one avoids defending a practice just because it may have the advantage of ages of existence. Therefore, the issue demands further investigation, especially in light of the historic argument. As the eminent historian A. H. Lewis, D.D., stated: "History is an organic whole, a series of reciprocal causes and effects. No period can be separated from that which has gone before, nor be kept distinct from that which follows. . . . Every effort to remodel existing Sunday legislation, or to forecast its future, must be made in the light of the past."7 Thus, it is necessary to examine both the theological and the historic rationales surrounding the current Sabbath debate.

Saturday Worship and Sabbatarians

Sabbatarians are believers who observe Saturday as the biblical Sabbath. They find in Scripture support for this practice as opposed to Sunday as the day of worship. Because the biblical Sabbath is typically associated with Judaism, Sabbatarians are often mistakenly identified as Jewish believers, or "Judaizers." However, Sabbatarians understand the perpetuity of God's Ten Commandment law,8 and recognize the fourth commandment at the heart of it. They believe that the Sabbath is a memorial both of Creation and of redemption.

God created the world in six literal days and rested on the seventh, thus completing His work of Creation.9 Jesus Christ taught that the Sabbath was for humankind, bypassing any reference to the Jewish nature of the Sabbath, when He referred to the Creation week: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."10 The apostle Paul, many decades after Christ's crucifixion, continued this Creation-theme emphasis when he referred to the Sabbath of Creation and its enduring blessings to all who observe it: "For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. . . . There remaineth therefore a rest [Greek, sabbaton] to the people of God."11

Sabbatarians also believe the Sabbath serves as a memorial of redemption. During the Passion Week, Jesus was crucified on Friday, rested in the tomb on Sabbath, and was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday.12 On the Friday of His crucifixion, Christ declared, "It is finished!" as He breathed His last breath, indicating that His supreme sacrifice for humankind was a completed act.13 During the Sabbath, Christ rested from His completed work of salvation; symbolic of the spiritual "rest" into which His followers enter by observing the Sabbath.14 Thus, those who observe the Sabbath as a sign of their salvation in Jesus Christ cannot be accused of trying to "work their way to heaven" out of good merit, since they have "ceased from [their] own works, as God did from his" and trust fully upon the merits of a crucified and risen Savior.15 Although Sunday was the day of Christ's resurrection, there are no scriptural passages supporting the observance of it as a day of worship.16

In contrast to Sabbatarians, numerous Christians worship on Sunday. Lacking strong biblical support, Christians who observe Sunday as their sabbath have historically relied upon the tradition of the church and their desire to dissociate themselves from any Jewish overtones that they believe are central to Sabbath (Saturday) observance. The historical record during the Christian Era is replete with numerous periods of struggle between Sabbatarians and Sunday-observing Christians, which repeatedly resulted in legislatively enacted Sunday laws.

Sunday Laws and the Roman Catholic Church
 

The history of Sunday legislation clearly indicates that it is integrally related to religious beliefs. History records that Sunday legislation traces as far back as the Roman emperor Constantine, who on March 7, 321, enacted into law a decree to honor the "venerable day of the sun," by which citizens were to abstain from work on Sunday, a day dedicated to the worship of the sun god and to the observance of "its venerable rites."17 As one Catholic historian transparently acknowledged regarding Constantine's efforts on behalf of the church: "He invested the judicial decisions of the bishop with civil authority. He modified the Roman Law in the direction of Christian values. Sunday, the day when Christians assembled, was made a day of rest. . . . Under Constantine the Church was firmly set on the road to union with the state."18

Several decades later, in A.D. 364, the Catholic Church convened the Council of Laodicea. One of its decisions related to a practice dating back to the middle of the second century, to roughly A.D. 150. At that time, the church had begun to encourage Christians to observe Sunday instead of the biblical Sabbath in order to distinguish Christians from Jewish believers, a change without scriptural support. By the time of the Council of Laodicea, Christians were observing both days of the week. In order to make a complete break with the Sabbath, and substitute it with Sunday, the council stated, in Canon 29: "CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath [Saturday], but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord's Day [Sunday]; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ."19 The church's overtly antagonistic stance toward the biblical Sabbath paved the way for atrocious and grueling torture of "Judaizers" during the Inquisition many centuries later.

A short 16 years after the Council of Laodicea, the church had gained such influence over the masses that emperors Gratian and Theodosius finally established it as the basis of the whole social order."This is the intent of the epoch-making decree promulgated by Theodosius from Thessalonica on February 27, 380, which began: 'We desire that all peoples who fall beneath the sway of our imperial clemency should profess the faith which we believe has been communicated by the Apostle Peter to the Romans and maintained in its traditional form to the present day. . . .' Paganism was declared illegal, while privileges were granted to the Catholic clergy; they were accorded immunity from trial except in ecclesiastical courts. Roman law was revised in harmony with Christian principles: The Sunday observance laws of Constantine were revived and enlarged, with the banning of public or private secular activities."20

Not even the passage of time has altered the vehement attitude of the church toward Sabbath-observing Christians. A little more than a thousand years after the time of emperors Gratian and Theodosius, the church again thundered its opposition against Sabbathkeeping believers at the Council of Florence (1438-1445).

Catholic theologians failed to see the distinction between the moral Sabbath (Saturday) of God's Ten Commandment law and the ceremonial sabbaths, which required animal sacrifices that symbolized the long-awaited Messiah. The moral Sabbath of the Ten Commandments (Saturday) was to be observed on a weekly basis,21 but the ceremonial sabbaths sometimes occurred in the middle of the week, and sometimes on the Sabbath (Saturday) of the Ten Commandments.22 Ceremonial sabbaths were also associated with circumcision, animal sacrifices, and the Jewish covenant.

Although the ceremonial sabbaths were fulfilled by the death of Jesus at Calvary,23 the moral Sabbath of the Ten Commandments (Saturday) remained in vigor as part of God's moral law for humanity,24 just as the apostle Paul stated, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God."25 Misunderstanding these fine theological nuances, Catholic theologians mistakenly conflated ceremonial sabbath observance with moral Sabbath observance. Thus, at the Council of Florence, they declared that all who observe the Sabbath (Saturday) are "alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation, unless someday they recover from these errors."26
 



The Council of Trent as depicted by the artist Pasquale Cati in 1588.



Within a century later, the Protestant Reformation had occurred and the Catholic Church was already organizing its forces for the Counter-Reformation. Seeking to counteract Protestant advances, the church at the Council of Trent ordered the preparation of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, in which leading theologians formulated responses to the perceived Protestant heresies.27 One of the doctrines reemphasized was the teaching regarding the Sabbath (Sunday) commandment.28 Here again, the Catholic Church acknowledged the (attempted) transference of the sanctity of the biblical Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, claiming the church's authority to tamper with the divine law of God: "But the Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday." Of utmost concern to the discussion of Sunday-rest laws, the Council of Trent not only solemnly admonished all to abstain from work on Sunday, but also continued to expound upon the obligation of all to use the day in "worship of God, which is the great end of the Commandment." Such worship included attendance at church, confession to the priest, performance of the Sacrament of Penance, and participation in the "Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."29

With such mistaken zeal about the moral law of God, the Catholic Church justified itself in the torture and murder of numerous "Judaizers" during the Inquisition. Historical records confirm that not all who observed the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) were Jewish in faith, yet they were classified as "Judaizers" because, in the eyes of the church, they maintained an affinity to the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments.30 Not only was the Catholic Church a persecuting force to Sabbatarians, but also the Reformed faith in Transylvania persecuted and confiscated property of Sabbathkeepers during the Great Persecution of 1638.31 Thus, history records that both Catholics and Protestants united in their efforts to suppress other Christians who held convictions about the Sabbath that were contrary to their own.

It becomes evident that any emphasis upon Sunday-rest does not involve the mere abstinence from work, but naturally leads to the observance of religious rites. As recently in the modern era as 1864, the church voiced its authority, declaring that the state does not have the authority to allow servile work on certain holy days and feasts, contrary to the teachings of the church—such men "make the impious pronouncement . . . that the law should be repealed 'by which on some fixed days, because of the worship of God, servile works are prohibited [by the church].'"32 In those countries where governments acquiesce to the demands for Sunday-rest legislation, they will acknowledge by default that the church has the upper hand. This in turn will lead to the church not only obligating citizens to rest on Sunday, but to worship on it as well.

Some may argue that such accounts refer to Roman Catholicism of the past and that Vatican II (1962-1965) introduced dramatic reforms within the church. While there is some veracity to such an argument, one must not overlook the immutable position of the church with respect to Sunday. In Dies Domini, article 3, paragraph 1, Pope John Paul II stated: "The fundamental importance of Sunday has been recognized through two thousand years of history and was emphatically restated by the Second Vatican Council: 'Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery. This is a tradition going back to the Apostles, taking its origin from the actual day of Christ's Resurrection—a day thus appropriately designated "the Lord's Day."' Paul VI emphasized this importance once more when he approved the new General Roman Calendar and the Universal Norms which regulate the ordering of the Liturgical Year." The calendar reform—the idea of making calendars with Sunday as the last day of the week, rather than Saturday—has found continual support from the church and is gaining headway in Europe.

Not only was the immutable position of the church regarding Sunday worship evident at Vatican II, but Catholic theologians have written extensively to promote Sunday worship. For example, one of the leading Catholic scholars in the "nouvelle théologie" movement, Henri de Lubac, refers to the periods of world history, the sixth one having begun with the incarnation of Jesus and the seventh one beginning with His resurrection. By using numerology, mystical symbolism, and church tradition, De Lubac attempts to rationalize why Sunday should be considered as a true Sabbath of rest in honor of the Resurrection.33 Calendars should reflect this teaching, hence, the substitution of God's holy Sabbath (Saturday) with the Sabbath (Sunday) of the church's own creation.

In light of the foregoing efforts of the church to exalt Sunday worship, and especially when one considers the examples of Sunday laws being passed in Croatia and Germany mentioned at the beginning of this article, there remains an immovable shadow of doubt upon the position of the church as a champion of religious freedom for those of other faiths.

Conclusions

Current debate regarding Sunday as a day of rest from labor cannot overlook the direct impact of Dies Domini and the centuries-long struggle over the Sabbath (Saturday) as a day of worship. The apostolic church, founded by Christ and under the guidance of the apostles, observed the biblical Sabbath, Saturday. While the Catholic Church does acknowledge this fact, it also has declared in various councils the authority of the church to command the observance of Sunday, not only as a day of rest, but also as a day of worship. Not content with mere didactic efforts, the church has also sought on various occasions to enforce its teachings regarding Sunday observance through legislative enactment.

Through the centuries various Christian groups have rediscovered the truth regarding the biblical Sabbath and have consequently begun worshipping on Saturday instead of Sunday. If one were to apply the specious reasoning and coercive spirit of the Catholic Church as recorded in the history of the Sabbath-Sunday debate and briefly outlined in this article, then such groups in our day as Seventh Day Baptists, Jews who observe the Sabbath, Seventh-day Adventists, members of the Worldwide Church of God (Seventh-day), the Church of God of Prophecy, and various other Pentecostal Christians would be subject to the anathema, execration, and condemnation of the Catholic Church (and possibly subject to that of other Sundaykeeping Christians, too). God forbid, but is it possible that in our enlightened age of civility, religious pluralism, and respect for differing views, we shall see a return to the barbaric and heinous crimes of religious persecution of medieval times?



Edwin Cook, a minister of religion, is currently completing his doctoral studies in church-state relations at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.



1Accessed on 5/11/2010 from www.topnews.in/croatian-retailers-sack-workers-never-sunday-law-kicks-2106643.
2 Accessed on 5/11/2010 from http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=5378375.
3 Acessed on 5/11/2010 from www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4953600,00.html.
4 Accessed on 5/11/2010 from www.aciprensa.com/noticia.php?n=24334.
5 Aired on March 24, 2010; www.bbc.co.uk/thebigquestions.
6 Accessed on 5/11/2010 from www.elimparcial.es/contenido/35248.html.
7 A. H. Lewis, A Critical History of Sunday Legislation From 321 to 1888 A.D. (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1888), pp. v, vi.
8 There are several laws mentioned in Scripture: (1) the Ten Commandment law (Exodus 20:1-17), (2) the "law [of sacrifices]", (Hebrews 10:1), (3) the "law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2), and, (4) the "law of faith" (Romans 3:27). Recognizing the multiple laws mentioned in Scripture requires close scrutiny to determine which ones were abolished by Christ's death at Calvary (the law of sacrifices and, partially, the law of sin and death, at least with respect to mankind's condemnation) and which ones were upheld (the Ten Commandment law as identifying sin, the law of sin and death as requiring the death of the sinner, in this case, Christ who bore our sins, and the law of faith, by which we gain access to God's grace).
9 Genesis 2:1-3.
10 Mark 2:27, 28, NKJV. Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
11 Hebrews 4:4-9.
12 Luke 23:54–24:1.
13 John 19:30, NKJV; Hebrews 4:5, 9-11.
14 Hebrews 4:5, 9-11.
15 Hebrews 4:10: "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
16 There are only eight references in the New Testament that refer to "the first day of the week" and none of them give the command to worship on that day as the fourth commandment orders the observance of Saturday: Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4.
17 Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), pp. 18, 19.
18 Thomas Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday, 1990), p. 39.
19Accessed on 5/9/2010 from http://reluctant-messenger.com/council-of-laodicea.htm.
20 Bokenkotter, p. 57.
21 Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
22 For example, the observance of the Day of Atonement occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month and was considered as "a sabbath of rest," even though it did not fall on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) in some given years (Leviticus 23:27-38). Nonetheless, God made a clear distinction between it and the weekly, moral Sabbath when He commanded the observance of these feasts of atonement (verse 37) "besides [or, in addition to] the Sabbaths of the Lord" (verse 38, NKJV).
23 Daniel 9:27; Colossians 2:14-17.
24 Romans 3:31.
25 1 Corinthians 7:19.
26 "A Decree in Behalf of the Jacobites," from the bull "Cantata Domino," Feb. 4, Florentine style, 1441, modern, 1442, as cited in Henry Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma (Fitzwilliam, N.H..: Loreto Publications, 2002), p. 229 (par. 712).
27 Originally convened December 13, 1545, it was not until February 26, 1562, when a commission was actually appointed to prepare the catechism. Pope Saint Pius V, xxiii.
28 Pope Saint Pius V, The Catechism of the Council of Trent (Rockford, Ill.: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1982), pp. 402-407.
29 Ibid., p. 403.
30 Haim Beinart, ed., Records of the Trials of the Spanish Inquisition in Ciudad Real (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1985), vol. 4, pp. 409-525. This section, Biographical Notes, relates personal information about the 700 citizens of Ciudad Real who were tried, and many of whom were burned at the stake, for observing the Sabbath (Saturday).
31 Daniel Liechty, Sabbatarianism in the Sixteenth Century: A Page in the History of the Radical Reformation (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1993), pp. 68-77.
32 Pius IX, from the encyclical Quanta cura, Dec. 8, 1864, as cited in Denzinger, p. 431 (par. 1693).
33 Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man (San Francisco, Calif.: Ignatius Press, 1988), pp. 150-155.

Author: Edwin C. Cook

Edwin Cook has a doctorate in church-state studies from Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He writes from Waco.


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