The Startling Endeavors Of Humanity

Volume XXXVIII Issue IV April 2019

Last Trumpet The Startling Endeavors Of Humanity, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916

Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

The Startling Endeavors Of Humanity

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Matthew 24:7-8

"He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong."

Job 5:12-13

"The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect."

Psalm 33:10


In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will examine current events and the startling endeavors of humanity. As we consider the headlines of today, it will become evident that mankind suffers from destructive tendencies. For example, in last month's issue of this newsletter, I reported that scientists are planning to conduct experiments this spring that will involve an attempt to partially block the sun and thus reduce the effects of global warming on this planet. This story is bizarre enough, but now another report has surfaced detailing how scientists will soon be hard at work attempting to modify a dangerous strain of bird flu and make it more contagious and easily transmissible to humans, thus creating a more deadly virus. (1) This work, which is being done at the behest of the United States government, had been ongoing for years until a group of hundreds of scientists issued a statement in 2014 warning just how dangerous these experiments are. In response to the uproar, the government ordered a pause on the research at that time, but now the tests will resume. (2)

The work is to be done at two science labs. One is headed by Ron Fouchier in the Netherlands and the other by Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. (3) This development has raised the ire of Steven Salzberg, who is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biostatistics at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. In a piece published by Forbes Magazine, Professor Salzberg wrote, "I can't quite fathom why NIH (National Institutes of Health) seems to be so enraptured with the work of these two labs that, rather than simply deny them funding, it has ignored the warnings of hundreds of scientists and now risks creating a new influenza pandemic." (4) Dr. Marc Lipsitch, who is a professor of Epidemiology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also alarmed by this research and fears it could bring disastrous consequences to the whole world."This is a global issue, and standards we set in the United States will be imitated, whether they are high or low. The people at risk are not only Americans. If there's a big pandemic, it's a big pandemic for everybody." (5)

The notion that the United States government intentionally manufactures viruses is no longer just a conspiracy theory. If the modified virus that these scientists are developing ever escapes from their laboratories, it could have unthinkable repercussions on humanity. Interestingly enough, Jesus, speaking of the days before His return, warned us in Matthew 24:7, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." One of the dictionary definitions for the word pestilence is: "a deadly or virulent epidemic disease." (6) Pestilence already afflicts our world, especially in Africa where outbreaks of the Ebola Virus seem to surface every few years. A present epidemic of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in August 2018 and has infected nearly a thousand people since that time. (7) As such, we see that pestilence is one of the many dangers our fallen world faces today, and even though science and technology are supposed to be used to eradicate disease, the scientific community could actually cause more of it.

Vatican Cardinal: Encouraging Migration Misrepresents the Gospel

NICK WHITE/AFP
THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D. 1 Apr 2019

The prominent Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah, as his newly released book is causing furor in Europe, said it is wrong to “use the word of God to promote migration.”

The Guinean cardinal, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, said that using the Bible to promote migration constitutes “false exegesis,” adding that it is better “to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to Europe.”

In an interview last week, the cardinal condemned the Church’s push for migration into Europe in the strongest terms, insisting that most immigrants wind up “without work or dignity” and assume the condition of slaves.

“Is that what the Church wants?” he asked, adding that the Church should not support “this new form of slavery that is mass migration.”

“God never intended these fractures,” he said.

The cardinal also said that the demise of Christian Europe does not bode well for the future of the world.

“If Europe disappears, and with it the priceless values of the Old Continent, Islam will invade the world and we will completely change culture, anthropology, and moral vision,” he warned.

Cardinal Sarah has recently publisheda new book titled Evening Draws Near and the Day is Nearly Over (from Luke 24:29), in which he laments the “collapse of the West,” as well as the “migratory processes” that threaten Europe’s identity.

The cardinal insists that he wrote the book not to discourage believers but to “give hope” to all God’s people. “This is not the end of the world, the Church will rise,” he said.

Crisis': Progressives, Dems, and Pope Sound Alarm Over Threat to Close Border

Published on
Monday, April 01, 2019

by
Common Dreams


"Builders of walls, be they made of razor wire or bricks," declared Pope Francis, "will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build."

by
Eoin Higgins, staff writer




A section of the border wall ending in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego–Tijuana. (Photo: Tomás Castelazo, Wikimedia Commons)


President Donald Trump's threat to close the southern border was met with criticism and concern from politicians, activists, the public—and Pope Francis.

Trump is taking the action, he said, because of what he believes is a crisis in drug smuggling and human trafficking.

In remarks to reporters Sunday on the papal plane en route from Morocco to Rome, Pope Francis said that Trump—and people who think the way the U.S. president does about migrants—are ultimately trapping themselves in an inhumane situation.

"Builders of walls, be they made of razor wire or bricks, will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build," the pope said.

The comments preceded a tweet made by the pope Saturday in which he celebrated the rights of migrants to self-determination.

"Every human being has the right to life, to dream and to find his or her rightful place in our 'common home!'" posted the pontiff. "Every person has a right to the future."

The measure to close the border comes as the administration plans to cut aid to Central American countries—a move that experts argue is almost certain to increase, not curtail, the number of immigrants at the border.

Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, speaking to ABC News anchor Jon Karl Sunday, said that unless "something dramatic" changed, the closure would happen this week.

Mulvaney pushed back on the idea that an increase in aid would lead to lower numbers of people on the border in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, also aired Sunday.

Pope Francis Signs Ecumenical Declaration in Jerusalem

This Colorado sheriff is willing to go to jail rather than enforce a proposed gun law

By Scott McLean and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN



Updated 2:11 AM ET, Sun March 31, 2019

Denver (CNN) -- Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams disagrees so much with a gun bill making its way through the Colorado legislature that he's willing to go to jail rather than enforce it.

"It's a matter of doing what's right," he said.

He's not the only one who feels so strongly.

The controversial "red flag" bill aims to seize guns temporarily from people who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams 

Colorado's state Senate passed the bill Thursday by a single vote, without any Republican support, and the bill is expected to pass the House, possibly this week. With Democratic majorities in both chambers, state Republicans have too few votes to stand in the way.

But more than half of Colorado's 64 counties officially oppose the bill. Many have even declared themselves Second Amendment "sanctuary" counties in protest.

Failure to enforce a court order to seize a person's guns could mean sheriffs being found in contempt. 

A judge could fine them indefinitely, or even send them to jail to force them to comply.

Reams says it's a sacrifice he'd be forced to make.

What is the bill?

Colorado's "extreme risk protection order" bill would allow a family member, a roommate, or law enforcement to petition a judge to take someone's firearms if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. 

The push for legislation followed the death of Zack Parrish, the 29-year-old Douglas County sheriff's deputy killed in 2017 by a man with an arsenal of weapons who authorities said had a history of bizarre behavior, including threats to police.

Matthew 24 / Pastor Bill Hughes 03*01*2019

Rubicon, Pastor Bill Hughes, Feb 2, 2019

Continuing Coups, Kremlin Kontrol & Copyright Crackdown - #NewWorldNextWeek

The Vatican's sweeping new legislation on preventing sexual abuse - ENN ...

Let Him Prey: High-Ranking Jesuits Helped Keep Pedophile Priest Hidden By Peter Jamison

SF Weekly

Wed May 25th, 2011 4:00am

FeatureNews

Jesuit priest and former USF professor Donald McGuire with one of his alleged victims in Walnut Creek in 1982.

 

Illustration by Brian Stauffer

The conservative Catholic family lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in Walnut Creek and took pains to observe the traditions of a church racked by social change. Their lives appeared driven by the famous motivational phrase of Saint Ignatius, “Ad majorem Dei gloriam” — for the greater glory of God. It was the same motto that ostensibly guided the Jesuit priest, Donald McGuire, to whom they turned for spiritual guidance.

Then, in 1993, they learned that McGuire had done unthinkable things with their 16-year-old son, Charles, who traveled with him as his personal assistant. The boy and the priest had allegedly looked at pornographic magazines, masturbated, and taken showers together. The family took this devastating news to an esteemed San Francisco priest, Joseph Fessio, who, like McGuire, had once been a teacher at the University of San Francisco.

Fessio runs the Ignatius Press, a Catholic publishing house based in the Sunset District that is the primary English-language publisher of the pope's writings. He and McGuire shared a reputation for doctrinal orthodoxy. McGuire, for his part, was a cleric of worldwide renown, functioning as adviser and confessor to Mother Teresa. While family members considered reporting the abuse to secular authorities, Fessio urged them to stay quiet until he could confer with Jesuit higher-ups.

Confronted with the allegations, McGuire, a famously manipulative man known both for his charm and periodic rages, denied Charles's accusations or made excuses. His Jesuit bosses in Chicago, where McGuire was technically based, ordered him to undergo a residential treatment program at a psychiatric hospital for priests. In about seven months, McGuire was released and returned to active ministry. He continued to prey on other children for the next nine years.

McGuire, who was officially defrocked by the church in 2008, is serving a federal prison sentence stemming from his acts of child molestation. In 2009, SF Weekly published a story revealing his extensive ties to families and institutions in the Bay Area. But not until last month did newly released court documents in a lawsuit against the Jesuits reveal the full extent to which his colleagues and bosses were aware of his highly questionable relationships with teenage boys.

Despite this knowledge, fellow priests did not report McGuire's behavior outside the Church. In California, that silence may, at times, have amounted to a violation of state law, which requires professionals who work with children to immediately report suspected child abuse to police or child welfare workers.

“It boggles the mind how you could have something so well documented and nobody could act on it,” says Mark, a second Walnut Creek man who asserts he was molested by McGuire and is part of the lawsuit filed in Illinois against the Jesuits' Chicago Province. He joins three others — Charles, George, and Dominick — in the ranks of alleged victims who were abused by McGuire in the Bay Area or reported their abuse to local clergy. Only Mark and Dominick have taken legal action against the church. (SF Weekly is identifying three of the men by pseudonyms because they are victims of childhood sexual abuse whose names have never been made public. The fourth victim has already been identified in federal court proceedings by his real first name, Dominick, though his last name has not been disclosed.)

Pope Francis Is Setting Up The Revelation 13 One World Religion (2019)

Pope to Moroccan authorities: Fanaticism and fundamentalism must be coun...

Pope Francis and Moroccan King sign joint appeal for Jerusalem |

2019/03/30

During the first day of the pope's visit to Morocco, the Moroccan king and Pope Francis signed an unexpected but important statement on the special status of Jerusalem.

Both leaders urge respect for “its spiritual significance and its special vocation as a city of peace.”

They ask that the holy city of Jerusalem preserved the “common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions.”

The two assert the city is “as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.” Thus, they say it is essential to protect and promote “the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem.”

Finally, the document included the desire for “full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed,” so Jerusalem is home to “a future of peace and fraternity on the earth.”

Source

Joint signing of appeal for Jerusalem by Pope Francis and King Mohammed ...

'Eating' (Documentary)

Religions Use Robots to Connect With the Public

Roboticist Gabriele Trovato designed SanTO, a robot shaped like a figurine of a Catholic saint, to provide comfort and assistance to the elderly.

GABRIELE TROVATO

THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING

Deus Ex Machina: Religions Use Robots to Connect With the Public

The 15th century had the printing press. Today, a handful of religious institutions are developing interactive machines to share doctrine and converse with the faithful


By
Rebecca Heilweil

March 28, 2019 10:20 a.m. ET


Gabriele Trovato is worried about tomorrow. Or at least that’s what he confesses to SanTO, one of his religion-inspired robots. Just shy of 17 inches tall, SanTO resembles those small figurines of saints often found in Catholic homes—except with a computer, microphone, sensors and a facial recognition-enabled camera. As Mr. Trovato touches and speaks to the machine, its deep, echoing voice responds with a Bible quote: “From the Gospel according to Matthew,” it says, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Mr. Trovato, a roboticist and assistant professor at Japan’s Waseda University, designed SanTO to provide comfort and assistance to the elderly. Interactive, social robots like ElliQ, a robot companion for seniors, or Sony’s Aibo robot dog are increasingly seen as a means to alleviate loneliness, entertain and provide information. But they can do better at making users comfortable with the technology, Mr. Trovato said, by incorporating cultural touchstones including religious features. At the same time, a handful of religious institutions are developing robots to converse with visitors and share doctrine. These robots are not meant to replace religious leaders, but they can make religious information more accessible or spur attendance to places of worship. “Religion has evolved through history, from oral tradition to written tradition to press and mass media. So it’s very reasonable to think that AI and robotics will help religion to spread out more,” Mr. Trovato said.

Willow Creek’s crash shows why denominations still matter

March 25, 2019
7 Min Read

By: Tish Harrison Warren

 

The main campus of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. The megachurch has been in turmoil since sexual misconduct allegations came to light against its founder, Bill Hybels. Photo courtesy of Global Leadership Summit



(RNS) — It’s become common among some Protestants — and especially evangelicals — to call themselves “Jesus followers.”

Not Christians. Not Baptists or Pentecostals. Not members of the Presbyterian Church in America or the Anglican Communion. Not Wesleyans or Methodists or Lutherans.

Just people following Jesus.

I appreciate the spirit behind the moniker.

Christians want our first loyalty to be to Jesus, not a particular institution or tradition. But I am wary of referring to myself (or anyone else) as simply a “Jesus follower” because no one follows Jesus in some pure, individual way, free of institutional ties or a larger and longer tradition.

I understand the desire to wash our hands of denominations. Linking ourselves to older institutions implicates us in past and present evil, and the damage caused by bickering and splintering within denominations can scarcely be overstated. The 20th-century evangelical rallying cry of “doctrine divides” is, in some sense, self-evidently true.

RELATED: As Willow Creek reels, churches must reckon with how power corrupts

In reaction to the pitfalls of denominations, the mid-20th century birthed the baby boomer phenomenon of the “nondenominational megachurch.” American evangelicalism saw a rising tide of churches that were explicitly or implicitly anti-doctrinal and nontraditional, focused on relevance, extraversion, positivity, attractional style and seeker-sensitivity. Often these churches are helmed by a charismatic male head-pastor.

Eating small amounts of red and processed meats may increase risk of early death

Date:
March 27, 2019

Source:

Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center

Summary:

A new study suggests that eating red and processed meats -- even in small amounts -- may increase the risk of death from all causes, especially cardiovascular disease.

FULL STORY

A new study out of Loma Linda University Health suggests that eating red and processed meats -- even in small amounts -- may increase the risk of death from all causes, especially cardiovascular disease.

Saeed Mastour Alshahrani, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, said the research fills an important gap left by previous studies that looked at relatively higher levels of red meat intake and compared them with low intakes.

"A question about the effect of lower levels of intakes compared to no-meat eating remained unanswered," Alshahrani said. "We wanted to take a closer look at the association of low intakes of red and processed meat with all-cause, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer mortality compared to those who didn't eat meat at all."

This study, "Red and Processed Meat and Mortality in a Low Meat Intake Population" is part of the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), a prospective cohort study of approximately 96,000 Seventh-day Adventist men and women in the United States and Canada. The principal investigator of AHS-2 is Gary E. Fraser, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Loma Linda University Health.

Adventists are a unique population -- approximately 50 percent are vegetarians, and those who consume meat do so at low levels. This allowed researchers to investigate the effect of low levels of red and processed meat intake compared to zero-intake in a large setting such as the Adventist Health Study.

Malta’s armed forces storm merchant ship taken over by rescued migrants

By Chico Harlan

March 28, 2019 at 12:34 PM

Maltese armed forces stand aboard the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1, which was taken over by migrants Thursday. (Rene Rossignaud/AP)


ROME —Maltese armed forces on Thursday stormed a merchant vessel taken over by rescued migrants who were allegedly demanding to be transported to Europe, rather than back to Libya.

In what Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, described as a “sensitive operation on the high seas,” the Maltese special operations team restored control of the tanker and escorted it to port. The migrants on the El Hiblu 1 vessel would be “handed over to police for further investigations,” Malta’s government said in a statement.

Before the operation began, the captain “repeatedly stated that he was not in control of the vessel and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta,” the government statement said.

The situation was a particularly volatile example of tensions in the Mediterranean, where European countries have tightened the door to migrants and curtailed rescue operations on the high seas. Nonetheless, hundreds of migrants every month attempt the journey.

Earth Catastrophe Cycle | IMPACTS

The Theology Beneath the Trump-Comey Conflict

How the former FBI director’s interest in Reinhold Niebuhr shaped his approach to political power.

STEVEN WEITZMAN

MAY 19, 2017

Matt McClain / The Washington Post via Getty


Two months before he was fired, FBI director James Comey inadvertently revealed something about his theological leanings that may have pointed to his inevitable fallout with President Donald Trump.

In March, Gizmodo reporter Ashley Feinberg followed a string of clues to the Instagram and Twitter accounts of a user named after Reinhold Niebuhr, who she believed to be Comey. Many of the user’s tweets had to do with the FBI, including one linking to a report about a meeting between Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, and a Russian emissary. But what tipped off this particular account was its user name.
Looking to go deeper?

Five Things You Should Know about Reinhold Niebuhr.

While a student at the College of William and Mary, Comey wrote his undergraduate thesis on Niebuhr. The Protestant theologian seems to have left an impression, judging from Comey’s references to him in public speeches and from this apparent pseudonym. Within a few days of Feinberg’s article, the owner shut the accounts down, though not before sending one last tweet that seemed to confirm the identification: a link to FBIjobs.gov—perhaps a job offer to Feinberg—and a quote from the movie Anchorman: “Actually I’m not even mad. That’s Amazing.”

Pennsylvania House Opening Prayer criticized March 25, 2019

Arturo Sosa S.J. visits a Jesuit complex in Bombay Province, India

We’ve All Just Made Fools of Ourselves — Again

The awful corruption of scandal politics.

By David Brooks
Opinion Columnist
March 25, 2019

Representative Adam Schiff speaking in 2017 about the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into possible ties between the Trump administration and Russia.

Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

“You have a president who, in my opinion, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sought to, however ham-handedly, collude with the Russian government, a foreign power, to undermine and influence our elections.” — Beto O’Rourke, presidential candidate
“I think there’s plenty of evidence of collusion and conspiracy in plain sight.” — Adam Schiff, chairman of House Intelligence Committee
“I called [Trump’s] behavior treasonous, which is to betray one’s trust and aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim.” — John Brennan, former C.I.A. director
“The biggest scandal in U.S. history is coming into focus. On Friday Rachel Maddow made it clear. Donald Trump conspired with the enemy.” — Rob Reiner, film director

Maybe it’s time to declare a national sabbath. Maybe it’s time to step back from the scandalmongering and assess who we are right now.
Democrats might approach this moment with an attitude of humility and honest self-examination. It’s clear that many Democrats made grievous accusations against the president that are not supported by the evidence. It’s clear that people like Beto O’Rourke and John Brennan owe Donald Trump a public apology. If you call someone a traitor and it turns out you lacked the evidence for that charge, then the only decent thing to do is apologize.

Marvel's First Female Superhero, SJWs Want Captain Marvel To Be Gay

It's Not Enough She's Marvel's First Leading Female Superhero, Now SJWs Want Captain Marvel To Be Gay

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

By EMILY ZANOTTI
@EMZANOTTI

March 25, 2019


Captain Marvel may be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's biggest female star, but simply commanding her own movie and having no faults or weaknesses to speak of isn't enough for the social justice warriors; Captain Marvel must also openly embrace the LGBT lifestyle.

Comic book and nerd culture site, CBR.com, has published an extensive dive into the subject on its website, suggesting that "revealing Captain Marvel as gay would be a winning move for Disney, and an important step forward for the MCU."

The piece argues that the MCU should embrace "progressive storytelling" more fully after "Avengers: Endgame," the conclusion to the "Infinity War" saga, and the end of the first generation of Marvel superhero films — and by "progressive storytelling," it's apparent they mean targeting specific quotas rather than genuine inclusiveness. Since Marvel already has successful minority superhero franchises ("Black Panther") and a moderately successful female-led franchise ("Captain Marvel"), it's simply time to check the next box.

"The Brie Larson-helmed film has opened the door for the studio to make an even bigger statement by presenting the new face of the MCU as a straight-up LGBT character," CBR opines. "Why can't the strongest Avenger out there, the one who's leading the new era of Marvel movies, be gay?"