Hello its Thursday, July 31, 2008...the last day of the month...meaning that tomorrow begins the "Dog Days of Summer"!
Have you ever wondered why God would want us to give our hard earned money to His church? Or why when we get so obsessed with money that we begin to cringe when we read of Bank Failures? Read the following from the K-house news website:
INDYMAC AND THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS - (Print)
Earlier this month California mortgage lender Indymac was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (more commonly know as the FDIC). Media reports showed worried Indymac customers waiting in line for hours outside the failed bank. Because the bank was insured by the FDIC, customers with deposits under 100,000 dollars will get their money back. Customers with larger accounts, however, may take heavy losses. It is estimated that Indymac will cost the FDIC between 4 and 8 billion dollars.Indymac is the second-largest bank to fail in the FDIC's 75-year history. The bank's stock, which was valued at about 25 dollars per share one year ago, has dropped to about 10 cents per share. Indymac's failure is widely attributed to its risky investments and questionable lending practices. The bank routinely gave mortgages to customers with poor credit, and in some cases to customers without properly documented income. Indymac is the most recent casualty in a nationwide credit and housing crisis in which about one out of every 100 mortgages are expected to end in foreclosure. The mortgage disaster has taken a toll on the entire financial sector. Indymac is actually the seventh bank to fail since last summer. In the aftermath of the FDIC's seizure of Indymac, stocks in nearly all of the nation's banks dropped due to fears that more banks could fail in the coming year. Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, saw its stock dip 35 percent. Many commentators have pointed out that our current predicament isn't as bad as the savings and loan crisis of the late 80's and early 90's. During the S&L crisis over 1,000 banks and financial institutions failed (prompting a 125 billion dollar government bailout). However Indymac is much bigger than most of the institutions that crashed during the S&L scandal and experts say more banks could fail in the coming year. The subprime mortgage mess has become a full-blown global credit crisis. The International Monetary Fund estimates that financial losses could add up to as much as 1 trillion dollars. So far banks and securities firms have posted about 230 billion dollars in losses.The Big QuestionSo how does this affect us? How are we to respond to uncertain economic times? The Bible says that God uses money, not only to provide for our basic needs, but also to establish daily dependence on Him and to cause us to trust Him. He also uses money to build our faith, to teach us patience, and to illustrate His power. Money is a tool that is used to bring us closer to God.Take a minute and examine your heart. Are you letting fear and uncertainty keep you from trusting God? Or are you depending on our Heavenly Father to provide for your needs? Are you being a good steward of what God has given to you to use? Are you experiencing His blessings in your daily life? In times of trouble and uncertainty we can take comfort in His promises. Turn to the Scriptures for guidance. The Bible holds the answers to life's most difficult questions, and the key to understanding the times in which we live.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Good Wednesday afternoon!
I read an article from an e-mail alert that I get from AFA and thought I would pass it on:
Return to Christ, save the country
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 7/29/2008 9:55:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins says the only way Christians can change America is by seeking God individually and "winning people to the Lord one at a time."
Perkins took the unusual step of telling his staff members not to come to work yesterday in Washington, but rather to take part in a day of prayer and fasting for the nation. The pro-family leader says many Evangelicals and "values voters" are discouraged because there is not one presidential candidate who clearly lines up with their values and beliefs. "While we need to be involved in shaping public policy, just as we need to be involved in education or entertainment or any other realm of society, I think we have oftentimes placed our hopes on a political candidate in hopes of being able to turn the nation back into the right direction," Perkins contends. "I think we're left only with the choice of returning to God and to Jesus Christ." The church, according to Perkins, is the catalyst for that kind of change. And while his decision regarding FRC's staff on Monday may have been unusual, he says these are unusual times. "Literally before us, we're seeing God's institution of marriage being redefined – 5,000 years of human history disregarded. I think that the church needs to be awakened, and that begins with each of us as believers. And as we work alongside of pastors and churches, our hope is that, as a church, that we will repent, that we will take our rightful role in society," Perkins explains. "But first we must get right with God, and that begins with our personal relationships." According to Perkins, the nation is witnessing a rising tide of evil that threatens the very foundations of the Republic, but Christians should not lose perspective or get discouraged.
I read an article from an e-mail alert that I get from AFA and thought I would pass it on:
Return to Christ, save the country
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 7/29/2008 9:55:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins says the only way Christians can change America is by seeking God individually and "winning people to the Lord one at a time."
Perkins took the unusual step of telling his staff members not to come to work yesterday in Washington, but rather to take part in a day of prayer and fasting for the nation. The pro-family leader says many Evangelicals and "values voters" are discouraged because there is not one presidential candidate who clearly lines up with their values and beliefs. "While we need to be involved in shaping public policy, just as we need to be involved in education or entertainment or any other realm of society, I think we have oftentimes placed our hopes on a political candidate in hopes of being able to turn the nation back into the right direction," Perkins contends. "I think we're left only with the choice of returning to God and to Jesus Christ." The church, according to Perkins, is the catalyst for that kind of change. And while his decision regarding FRC's staff on Monday may have been unusual, he says these are unusual times. "Literally before us, we're seeing God's institution of marriage being redefined – 5,000 years of human history disregarded. I think that the church needs to be awakened, and that begins with each of us as believers. And as we work alongside of pastors and churches, our hope is that, as a church, that we will repent, that we will take our rightful role in society," Perkins explains. "But first we must get right with God, and that begins with our personal relationships." According to Perkins, the nation is witnessing a rising tide of evil that threatens the very foundations of the Republic, but Christians should not lose perspective or get discouraged.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Good evening! It is Saturday, July 26, 2008...I have begun to realize that even though we preach that Jesus is coming soon, multitudes are still living as if He never existed. I am saddened that people (Christians) are more concerned about everyday living than they are about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many believe that "witnessing is o.k." but that must be for those "paid preachers to do". The command clearly from our Lord Jesus Christ was directed at ALL belivers! If your church offers an evangelistic outreach program, let me encourage you to sign up, be faithful in attendance, learn how to share your faith, pray for opportunities and then...DO IT!
It is sad when Christians are more concerned that some meeting occurs than the gospel is presented to the lost; it is sad when more Christians are worried if the by-laws are adhered to than the word of God is adhered to. Do you realize that there are actually peopel out there who know the by-laws forwards and backwards but only know John 3:16? This is the sad state of the American church. May God forgive us and have mercy on us, but I am afraid that it is too late...I am afraid that the judgment of God will fall, and is beginning to fall on this nation because of the sinful condition of the church...CHURCH WAKE UP!
We can no longer afford to sit in the pew and wait for someone else to do it...we can no longer sit idly by while people are dying and headed for an eternity separated from God in a place prepared for the devil and his angels called hell...what will it take America? What will it take?
It is sad when Christians are more concerned that some meeting occurs than the gospel is presented to the lost; it is sad when more Christians are worried if the by-laws are adhered to than the word of God is adhered to. Do you realize that there are actually peopel out there who know the by-laws forwards and backwards but only know John 3:16? This is the sad state of the American church. May God forgive us and have mercy on us, but I am afraid that it is too late...I am afraid that the judgment of God will fall, and is beginning to fall on this nation because of the sinful condition of the church...CHURCH WAKE UP!
We can no longer afford to sit in the pew and wait for someone else to do it...we can no longer sit idly by while people are dying and headed for an eternity separated from God in a place prepared for the devil and his angels called hell...what will it take America? What will it take?
Friday, July 25, 2008
Hello everyone! Glad you have come to visit today...
I have been saying for sometime now that Jesus is coming soon! I really believe that...I hope that you can sense it as well and have your eyes on the eastern sky! With the recognition that Jesus is coming soon, we must realize that the enemy will be increasing his attacks against the believers...look at the following article...(this one is not very long)
'Bible' lawsuit may be sign of things to come
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 7/25/2008 10:50:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
Pro-family advocates say Christians should get used to legal harassment such as the lawsuit a homosexual activist recently filed against two Bible publishers.
Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Michigan, does not like the fact that the Bibles produced by Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Publishers both accurately convey God's prohibition against homosexual behavior. So he is suing in federal court, seeking $10 million from Thomas Nelson and $60 million from Zondervan.
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says Bible-believing Christians had better get ready for more of this type of sniping. "Obviously, this is a frivolous publicity stunt, but this is a portent of things to come," he warns.
"We know that the homosexual activists are now targeting, essentially, born-again Christians and committed Catholics and Mormons who oppose their agenda. They're out to re-write the Bible, to say that the Bible really does not condemn homosexual practice, which it obviously does," says LaBarbera. "Ultimately, we believe they'll be doing more and more of these lawsuits against Christians and Christian companies."
LaBarbera says the suit reminds him of British actor and homosexual activist Sir Ian McKellen, who has admitted to ripping pages that contain scriptures condemning homosexuality out of Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms. "The fact is whether you rip the pages out or not, or whether you sue, or whether you pass a law against it, the Word of God still stands," he emphasizes. "And God's authority on that issue still stands, no matter what man does." The judge in the case has denied Fowler's request for a court-appointed attorney, saying the court had "very genuine concerns" about the legitimacy of the claims in the lawsuit.
I have been saying for sometime now that Jesus is coming soon! I really believe that...I hope that you can sense it as well and have your eyes on the eastern sky! With the recognition that Jesus is coming soon, we must realize that the enemy will be increasing his attacks against the believers...look at the following article...(this one is not very long)
'Bible' lawsuit may be sign of things to come
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 7/25/2008 10:50:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
Pro-family advocates say Christians should get used to legal harassment such as the lawsuit a homosexual activist recently filed against two Bible publishers.
Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Michigan, does not like the fact that the Bibles produced by Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Publishers both accurately convey God's prohibition against homosexual behavior. So he is suing in federal court, seeking $10 million from Thomas Nelson and $60 million from Zondervan.
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says Bible-believing Christians had better get ready for more of this type of sniping. "Obviously, this is a frivolous publicity stunt, but this is a portent of things to come," he warns.
"We know that the homosexual activists are now targeting, essentially, born-again Christians and committed Catholics and Mormons who oppose their agenda. They're out to re-write the Bible, to say that the Bible really does not condemn homosexual practice, which it obviously does," says LaBarbera. "Ultimately, we believe they'll be doing more and more of these lawsuits against Christians and Christian companies."
LaBarbera says the suit reminds him of British actor and homosexual activist Sir Ian McKellen, who has admitted to ripping pages that contain scriptures condemning homosexuality out of Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms. "The fact is whether you rip the pages out or not, or whether you sue, or whether you pass a law against it, the Word of God still stands," he emphasizes. "And God's authority on that issue still stands, no matter what man does." The judge in the case has denied Fowler's request for a court-appointed attorney, saying the court had "very genuine concerns" about the legitimacy of the claims in the lawsuit.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Good Morning! As each day goes by, we find that the Lord Jesus is coming again very soon! Because of this, the enemy is pulling out all stops to discredit the Bible as the Word of God. It amazes me that people continue to fall for the same old tactics of the enemy. Just as Eve in the garden fell for the lies of the devil when he questioned the word of God and called God a liar, so it continues today. In the following article, a new PBS documentary is coming out this fall that tries to discredit Abraham, Sarah and their descendants as having never even existed!
Holy Moses! PBS documentary suggests Exodus not real
Hal Boedeker Sentinel Television Critic
July 21, 2008
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen?The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor."It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down."The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics Association.
The program says the Bible was written in the sixth century BC and that hundreds of authors contributed."At least the first five books of the Bible come together during the Babylonian exile," says producer Gary Glassman.The program challenges long-held beliefs. Abraham, Sarah and their offspring probably didn't exist, says Carol Meyers, a religion professor at Duke University."These stories are unlikely to represent real historical events, but rather there's some kernel of ancient experience in there which has survived and which helps give identity to the people at the time the Bible finally took shape centuries and centuries later," Meyers says.There's no archaeological evidence of the Exodus, either, she says, but "it doesn't mean that there's no kernel of truth to it."Nova series producer Paula Apsell says she found it "extremely shocking" to learn that monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years."I was always brought up to believe that the minute Abraham and the patriarchs came on the scene, the Israelites accepted one God and there was just always one God and that was it," Apsell says. "I think people are going to really be stunned by that."Another shocker: The program contradicts the biblical view that the Israelites came from somewhere else into the land of Canaan. "The film shows that they were Canaanites," Apsell says.
Holy Moses! PBS documentary suggests Exodus not real
Hal Boedeker Sentinel Television Critic
July 21, 2008
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen?The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor."It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down."The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics Association.
The program says the Bible was written in the sixth century BC and that hundreds of authors contributed."At least the first five books of the Bible come together during the Babylonian exile," says producer Gary Glassman.The program challenges long-held beliefs. Abraham, Sarah and their offspring probably didn't exist, says Carol Meyers, a religion professor at Duke University."These stories are unlikely to represent real historical events, but rather there's some kernel of ancient experience in there which has survived and which helps give identity to the people at the time the Bible finally took shape centuries and centuries later," Meyers says.There's no archaeological evidence of the Exodus, either, she says, but "it doesn't mean that there's no kernel of truth to it."Nova series producer Paula Apsell says she found it "extremely shocking" to learn that monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years."I was always brought up to believe that the minute Abraham and the patriarchs came on the scene, the Israelites accepted one God and there was just always one God and that was it," Apsell says. "I think people are going to really be stunned by that."Another shocker: The program contradicts the biblical view that the Israelites came from somewhere else into the land of Canaan. "The film shows that they were Canaanites," Apsell says.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Good Morning...
Sometime back, I brought to your attention the sheer mess in California concerning the state Supremem Court out there allowing same-sex marriage. Well, news has reached us that the state Supreme Court has handed down another decision. This time they are correct. It seems that those who favor marriage to be defined and recognized in California to be one mand and one woman began getting petions signed to but the measure to a vote by the voters of California. Those who want same-sex marriage filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the voters of California from voting on the issue. Here is what the court said:
Marriage amendment to stay on Calif. ballot
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 7/17/2008 4:00:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
The California Supreme Court has ruled that the marriage protection amendment will remain on the state's November ballot.
Following the California's Supreme Court ruling that legalized homosexual "marriage" in that state, activists sued to keep the marriage protection amendment off the November ballot. However, they failed in their attempt on Wednesday when the court ruled in favor of Proposition 8's inclusion on the ballot.
Story continues below ...
Will the involvement of churches, pastors, and church-goers
be a factor in the passage of Prop. 8 in November?
Vote in our poll
Glen Lavy with the Alliance Defense Fund says the homosexual activists trying to keep the amendment off the ballot showed their contempt for the will of the people and the democratic process by filing such a baseless lawsuit. "I would have been shocked if the court had prevented this amendment from going on the ballot," he comments. "The lawsuit was frivolous. There was no basis for the arguments. It would have been ridiculous for the court to rule in their favor," Lavy contends. Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel represented the Campaign for California Families and argued in defense of the amendment. "[We] really didn't know which way the court was going [on this particular issue]," he says. "But the good news is they've rejected the argument by same-sex advocates to remove the marriage amendment from the ballot.
"Now the secretary of state is free to print all the information to notify the voters and, in fact, the voters will speak in November," the Liberty Counsel founder continues. "And when they speak, I believe they'll pass these 14 words. These 14 words will overrule the 4-to-3 decision of the California Supreme Court and restore marriage as the union of one man and one woman." Those 14 words are: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." According to Staver, passage of Prop. 8 would invalidate all same-sex marriages performed in California prior to the enactment of the amendment.
Sometime back, I brought to your attention the sheer mess in California concerning the state Supremem Court out there allowing same-sex marriage. Well, news has reached us that the state Supreme Court has handed down another decision. This time they are correct. It seems that those who favor marriage to be defined and recognized in California to be one mand and one woman began getting petions signed to but the measure to a vote by the voters of California. Those who want same-sex marriage filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the voters of California from voting on the issue. Here is what the court said:
Marriage amendment to stay on Calif. ballot
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 7/17/2008 4:00:00 AM
var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';
The California Supreme Court has ruled that the marriage protection amendment will remain on the state's November ballot.
Following the California's Supreme Court ruling that legalized homosexual "marriage" in that state, activists sued to keep the marriage protection amendment off the November ballot. However, they failed in their attempt on Wednesday when the court ruled in favor of Proposition 8's inclusion on the ballot.
Story continues below ...
Will the involvement of churches, pastors, and church-goers
be a factor in the passage of Prop. 8 in November?
Vote in our poll
Glen Lavy with the Alliance Defense Fund says the homosexual activists trying to keep the amendment off the ballot showed their contempt for the will of the people and the democratic process by filing such a baseless lawsuit. "I would have been shocked if the court had prevented this amendment from going on the ballot," he comments. "The lawsuit was frivolous. There was no basis for the arguments. It would have been ridiculous for the court to rule in their favor," Lavy contends. Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel represented the Campaign for California Families and argued in defense of the amendment. "[We] really didn't know which way the court was going [on this particular issue]," he says. "But the good news is they've rejected the argument by same-sex advocates to remove the marriage amendment from the ballot.
"Now the secretary of state is free to print all the information to notify the voters and, in fact, the voters will speak in November," the Liberty Counsel founder continues. "And when they speak, I believe they'll pass these 14 words. These 14 words will overrule the 4-to-3 decision of the California Supreme Court and restore marriage as the union of one man and one woman." Those 14 words are: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." According to Staver, passage of Prop. 8 would invalidate all same-sex marriages performed in California prior to the enactment of the amendment.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Good morning! This is Thursday...meaning that another week is drawing to a close and that means that Sunday is coming! I trust that you will be in the house of worship of your choice...and if you are in the area of Columbus, Georgia, I would invite you to join us at Fairview Baptist Church! We begin at 9:30 am for Sunday school and that is followed at 10:30 am for a time of worship...
In our world today, there are those who believe that we as a race of human beings, descended from monkees...that the evolutionary process brought us to who we are and where we are. The "radicals" don't want us to even take a glimpse at any other interpretation of scientific evidence. In other words, in education, the place where learning is supposed to take place, the place where minds are to be open to explore the evidence and where it might lead, freedom has been doused! Freedom of inquirery is a thing of the past...there is the evolutionary way or no way at all. In Louisana, Govornor Bobby Jindal has signed a new law that I find quite interesting. read about it here from K-House eNews:
PRO-CONTROVERSY ACT MADE LAW IN LOUISIANA - (Print)
This week marks the anniversary of the Scopes “Monkey Trial” (July 10-25, 1925), and folks are getting busy to celebrate down in Dayton, Tennessee where it all went down. Of course, the trial was quite a lot different than the play "Inherit the Wind" that is taught so faithfully in high schools across the nation – but most people don’t know that. Most people just know that a well-known battle in the Creation/Evolution debate occurred in Dayton that July of 1925. And, even though John T. Scopes was declared “guilty,” the trial was really a propaganda win for the side of the evolutionists. Of course the war isn't over. This week, 83 years later, we Americans are still arguing over what our public school teachers are allowed to teach our kids about origins. In 1925, the trial was about whether teachers could legally teach that men descended from monkeys. Today, it’s just the opposite – will teachers be legally allowed to question Darwinian orthodoxy? In Louisiana this week, Governor Bobby Jindal has opened himself to a whole hurrah of criticism from the liberal community because he has signed into a law a state bill that basically allows academic freedom when it comes to controversial subjects like evolution or global warming. The law does not mandate the teaching of anything. It merely allows teachers to teach the controversies, a long as they do so objectively without an attempt to promote religious doctrine. The law states that school districts may allow teachers to "use supplementary textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner." Controversial issues that can be handled include Darwinian evolution, cloning, and global warming. The school district can still control which supplemental materials are used, but the law gives teachers and school districts more working room for informing students about difficult topics. The new Science Education Act received widespread support from both parties and only three legislators voted against it. Several scientists testified in favor of the new law. Yet, a notably liberal faction tried to defeat the bill by demeaning it as an effort to get religion into schools. As attorney Michael Wolf told the Baton Rouge Press Club, "This does nothing but ruin the image of our state... basically by dumbing down [science education and political discourse]. It's political pandering."
Interestingly enough, the law’s biggest opponent was Humanist and atheist Barbara Forrest. It has come to the point in America where religion is equated with anti-science, which is ridiculous. Some of the greatest scientists in recent centuries have been theists who saw science as an effort to explain God’s creation.
"Liberal" used to mean open and generous. What today is called "liberalism" is not so. The narcissistic, hedonistic, anti-God worldview that has had a stranglehold on public schools, and especially the public university system, is anything but liberal. True liberal thought would hold open the doors of young minds to carefully and honestly weigh evidence – wherever it leads. That has often not been the case. When it comes to highly charged political issues like evolution or global warming, dissenting views are often shoved off the stage without apology.
As John G. West recently noted on National Review Online,
"Opponents allege that the Louisiana Science Education Act is 'anti-science.' In reality, the opposition’s efforts to silence anyone who disagrees with them is the true affront to scientific inquiry. Students need to know about the current scientific consensus on a given issue, but they also need to be able to evaluate critically the evidence on which that consensus rests. They need to learn about competing interpretations of the evidence offered by scientists, as well as anomalies that aren’t well explained by existing theories."
Scientific understanding is always in a state of flux. We are constantly learning new things about our world, and narrow views about what is and what isn’t “science” only slows scientific progress. Scientists need to be willing to follow the facts wherever they lead - even if they are found to point to God.
Related Links: • Louisiana Confounds the Science Thought Police - National Review Online • Evolutionists Fear Academic Freedom - Townhall.com • Great Questions Of Human Destiny Don't Change; Science's Answers Do - Tennessean.com • Science Law's 2 Sides Debated In Baton Rouge - The Times-Picayune • Creation/Evolution Study Resources - Koinonia House
In our world today, there are those who believe that we as a race of human beings, descended from monkees...that the evolutionary process brought us to who we are and where we are. The "radicals" don't want us to even take a glimpse at any other interpretation of scientific evidence. In other words, in education, the place where learning is supposed to take place, the place where minds are to be open to explore the evidence and where it might lead, freedom has been doused! Freedom of inquirery is a thing of the past...there is the evolutionary way or no way at all. In Louisana, Govornor Bobby Jindal has signed a new law that I find quite interesting. read about it here from K-House eNews:
PRO-CONTROVERSY ACT MADE LAW IN LOUISIANA - (Print)
This week marks the anniversary of the Scopes “Monkey Trial” (July 10-25, 1925), and folks are getting busy to celebrate down in Dayton, Tennessee where it all went down. Of course, the trial was quite a lot different than the play "Inherit the Wind" that is taught so faithfully in high schools across the nation – but most people don’t know that. Most people just know that a well-known battle in the Creation/Evolution debate occurred in Dayton that July of 1925. And, even though John T. Scopes was declared “guilty,” the trial was really a propaganda win for the side of the evolutionists. Of course the war isn't over. This week, 83 years later, we Americans are still arguing over what our public school teachers are allowed to teach our kids about origins. In 1925, the trial was about whether teachers could legally teach that men descended from monkeys. Today, it’s just the opposite – will teachers be legally allowed to question Darwinian orthodoxy? In Louisiana this week, Governor Bobby Jindal has opened himself to a whole hurrah of criticism from the liberal community because he has signed into a law a state bill that basically allows academic freedom when it comes to controversial subjects like evolution or global warming. The law does not mandate the teaching of anything. It merely allows teachers to teach the controversies, a long as they do so objectively without an attempt to promote religious doctrine. The law states that school districts may allow teachers to "use supplementary textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner." Controversial issues that can be handled include Darwinian evolution, cloning, and global warming. The school district can still control which supplemental materials are used, but the law gives teachers and school districts more working room for informing students about difficult topics. The new Science Education Act received widespread support from both parties and only three legislators voted against it. Several scientists testified in favor of the new law. Yet, a notably liberal faction tried to defeat the bill by demeaning it as an effort to get religion into schools. As attorney Michael Wolf told the Baton Rouge Press Club, "This does nothing but ruin the image of our state... basically by dumbing down [science education and political discourse]. It's political pandering."
Interestingly enough, the law’s biggest opponent was Humanist and atheist Barbara Forrest. It has come to the point in America where religion is equated with anti-science, which is ridiculous. Some of the greatest scientists in recent centuries have been theists who saw science as an effort to explain God’s creation.
"Liberal" used to mean open and generous. What today is called "liberalism" is not so. The narcissistic, hedonistic, anti-God worldview that has had a stranglehold on public schools, and especially the public university system, is anything but liberal. True liberal thought would hold open the doors of young minds to carefully and honestly weigh evidence – wherever it leads. That has often not been the case. When it comes to highly charged political issues like evolution or global warming, dissenting views are often shoved off the stage without apology.
As John G. West recently noted on National Review Online,
"Opponents allege that the Louisiana Science Education Act is 'anti-science.' In reality, the opposition’s efforts to silence anyone who disagrees with them is the true affront to scientific inquiry. Students need to know about the current scientific consensus on a given issue, but they also need to be able to evaluate critically the evidence on which that consensus rests. They need to learn about competing interpretations of the evidence offered by scientists, as well as anomalies that aren’t well explained by existing theories."
Scientific understanding is always in a state of flux. We are constantly learning new things about our world, and narrow views about what is and what isn’t “science” only slows scientific progress. Scientists need to be willing to follow the facts wherever they lead - even if they are found to point to God.
Related Links: • Louisiana Confounds the Science Thought Police - National Review Online • Evolutionists Fear Academic Freedom - Townhall.com • Great Questions Of Human Destiny Don't Change; Science's Answers Do - Tennessean.com • Science Law's 2 Sides Debated In Baton Rouge - The Times-Picayune • Creation/Evolution Study Resources - Koinonia House
Monday, July 14, 2008
Good Morning!
I have been hearing a lot lately about Todd Bentley who is holding "revival" or "healing" services in Lakeland, Florida. This morning, I spent some time researching what is going there and I have been frightened by what I have seen and heard and read. It seems that Mr. Bentley is lead by an "angel" named Emma. In one such service that was recorded, he is seen screaming for the heavens to send down the angels and he works the crowd into a frenzy to scream the same thing. There is no talk of the saving power of Jesus Christ; there is no exaltation of Jesus Christ...all the talk is about the angels. Colossians 2:18 tells us, "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind."
Let me implore you as a believer to always study the scriptures for yourself and recognize the false prophets that are among us!
I have been hearing a lot lately about Todd Bentley who is holding "revival" or "healing" services in Lakeland, Florida. This morning, I spent some time researching what is going there and I have been frightened by what I have seen and heard and read. It seems that Mr. Bentley is lead by an "angel" named Emma. In one such service that was recorded, he is seen screaming for the heavens to send down the angels and he works the crowd into a frenzy to scream the same thing. There is no talk of the saving power of Jesus Christ; there is no exaltation of Jesus Christ...all the talk is about the angels. Colossians 2:18 tells us, "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind."
Let me implore you as a believer to always study the scriptures for yourself and recognize the false prophets that are among us!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Good afternoon!
We had a wonderful time of worship in our services at Fairview Baptist Church this morning! I pray that you were at the church of your choice this morning...
Many people in our society believe that Oprah Winfrey is without question a most trustworthy person with only "our best" in mind. She has developed, over the last several years, a theology that would be diametricaly opposed to orthodox Christ belief. It is time that those who claim to follow Jesus Christ take another look at exactly what she is peddling. The following article will help :
Oprah’s unorthodox gospel comes under scrutiny
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/oprahs_unorthodox_gospel_comes_under_scrutiny1/
Oprah Winfrey has become a catalyst for a new journalistic project and increasing news coverage by conservative Christians questioning and criticizing her spiritual beliefs.Some evangelical Christians have voiced alarm that Winfrey is introducing the 46 million viewers who watch her each week to nontraditional spirituality they don't condone.In May, two dozen Christian newspapers pooled their resources to publish an article titled "Oprah's `gospel'" that prompted higher readership and more letters to the editor than any story some of the individual papers had ever published.In a first-of-its-kind venture, the evangelical newspapers hired Colorado writer and editor Steve Rabey to write the story."For some Christians who have considered themselves part of Oprah's electronic family, her sins against evangelical orthodoxy have increased in number and seriousness," Rabey said.In recent months, Southern Baptist newspaper editors also have written editorials declaring "It's time for Christians to `just say no' to the big `O'" and calling her a source of "foolish twitter and twaddle." And Charisma, a prominent charismatic and Pentecostal magazine, ran a story in its July issue with the headline "Oprah's Strange New Gospel.'"Lamar Keener, publisher of the Christian Examiner regional newspapers in California, came up with the idea to work with a dozen "mom and pop" publishers to address Winfrey's theology."Our point is we want our readers to be aware that what she is teaching does not represent traditional, historical Christianity, according to the Scriptures," said Keener, who also is president of the Evangelical Press Association.Twenty-three monthly papers from across the country and Canada published the story and distributed 500,000 copies to churches, Christian bookstores, doughnut shops and other outlets.Keener was inspired after viewing a video titled "The Church of Oprah Exposed," which has had more than 7.2 million hits on YouTube."It's taking actual clips off programs," Keener said. "That's what got my attention."One of Winfrey's quotes highlighted in the story is her belief that "there couldn't possibly be just one way" to God."One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way to live," Winfrey said.A spokesman for Winfrey's Harpo Productions said the celebrity is a Christian."Oprah was raised Baptist and has stated many, many times that she is a Christian and that she believes in only one God," said the spokesman, who asked not to be named. "She has also said, `I'm a free-thinking Christian who believes in my way, but I don't believe it's the only way, with 6 billion people on the planet.'"The spokesman noted Winfrey is hardly alone; 70 percent of Americans said "many religions can lead to eternal life" in a recent survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.Part of the evangelicals' concern stems from Winfrey's recent embrace of Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" as the first spiritual book she included in her hugely popular book club. In the July issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, she said the book's advice on "putting the ego in check" had a "profound impact" on her."Spirit to me is the essence of who we are," she said. "That essence doesn't require any particular belief. It just is."Charisma editor J. Lee Grady said Winfrey's recent discussions of hypnotism on her show may have prompted more people to question her views.He has long thought Winfrey did not embrace "an orthodox belief in Jesus Christ," but he thinks other Christians may just be starting to draw that conclusion, sparked in part by what they learn about her on the Internet."There's definitely an alarm because so many people watch her, that she could lead people into New Age belief or deception," he said.Religion writer Marcia Nelson, author of "The Gospel According to Oprah," said criticism of Winfrey by conservative Christians dates to 1998 when she included a spiritual emphasis on her TV show."Back then she got pretty much lambasted the way she is being lambasted now, for telling us what to believe and telling us the wrong thing to believe in, according to conservative Christians," said Nelson.But Nelson, who studied a year of Winfrey's shows, differs with those who call Winfrey's spiritual ideas "New Age." She says Winfrey would be more related to the "New Thought" movement, which is more mainstream, focusing on positive thinking as a spiritual tool rather than crystals, for example."I absolutely regard her as a Christian but ... she's one of those capacious Christians," Nelson said.
We had a wonderful time of worship in our services at Fairview Baptist Church this morning! I pray that you were at the church of your choice this morning...
Many people in our society believe that Oprah Winfrey is without question a most trustworthy person with only "our best" in mind. She has developed, over the last several years, a theology that would be diametricaly opposed to orthodox Christ belief. It is time that those who claim to follow Jesus Christ take another look at exactly what she is peddling. The following article will help :
Oprah’s unorthodox gospel comes under scrutiny
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/oprahs_unorthodox_gospel_comes_under_scrutiny1/
Oprah Winfrey has become a catalyst for a new journalistic project and increasing news coverage by conservative Christians questioning and criticizing her spiritual beliefs.Some evangelical Christians have voiced alarm that Winfrey is introducing the 46 million viewers who watch her each week to nontraditional spirituality they don't condone.In May, two dozen Christian newspapers pooled their resources to publish an article titled "Oprah's `gospel'" that prompted higher readership and more letters to the editor than any story some of the individual papers had ever published.In a first-of-its-kind venture, the evangelical newspapers hired Colorado writer and editor Steve Rabey to write the story."For some Christians who have considered themselves part of Oprah's electronic family, her sins against evangelical orthodoxy have increased in number and seriousness," Rabey said.In recent months, Southern Baptist newspaper editors also have written editorials declaring "It's time for Christians to `just say no' to the big `O'" and calling her a source of "foolish twitter and twaddle." And Charisma, a prominent charismatic and Pentecostal magazine, ran a story in its July issue with the headline "Oprah's Strange New Gospel.'"Lamar Keener, publisher of the Christian Examiner regional newspapers in California, came up with the idea to work with a dozen "mom and pop" publishers to address Winfrey's theology."Our point is we want our readers to be aware that what she is teaching does not represent traditional, historical Christianity, according to the Scriptures," said Keener, who also is president of the Evangelical Press Association.Twenty-three monthly papers from across the country and Canada published the story and distributed 500,000 copies to churches, Christian bookstores, doughnut shops and other outlets.Keener was inspired after viewing a video titled "The Church of Oprah Exposed," which has had more than 7.2 million hits on YouTube."It's taking actual clips off programs," Keener said. "That's what got my attention."One of Winfrey's quotes highlighted in the story is her belief that "there couldn't possibly be just one way" to God."One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way to live," Winfrey said.A spokesman for Winfrey's Harpo Productions said the celebrity is a Christian."Oprah was raised Baptist and has stated many, many times that she is a Christian and that she believes in only one God," said the spokesman, who asked not to be named. "She has also said, `I'm a free-thinking Christian who believes in my way, but I don't believe it's the only way, with 6 billion people on the planet.'"The spokesman noted Winfrey is hardly alone; 70 percent of Americans said "many religions can lead to eternal life" in a recent survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.Part of the evangelicals' concern stems from Winfrey's recent embrace of Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" as the first spiritual book she included in her hugely popular book club. In the July issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, she said the book's advice on "putting the ego in check" had a "profound impact" on her."Spirit to me is the essence of who we are," she said. "That essence doesn't require any particular belief. It just is."Charisma editor J. Lee Grady said Winfrey's recent discussions of hypnotism on her show may have prompted more people to question her views.He has long thought Winfrey did not embrace "an orthodox belief in Jesus Christ," but he thinks other Christians may just be starting to draw that conclusion, sparked in part by what they learn about her on the Internet."There's definitely an alarm because so many people watch her, that she could lead people into New Age belief or deception," he said.Religion writer Marcia Nelson, author of "The Gospel According to Oprah," said criticism of Winfrey by conservative Christians dates to 1998 when she included a spiritual emphasis on her TV show."Back then she got pretty much lambasted the way she is being lambasted now, for telling us what to believe and telling us the wrong thing to believe in, according to conservative Christians," said Nelson.But Nelson, who studied a year of Winfrey's shows, differs with those who call Winfrey's spiritual ideas "New Age." She says Winfrey would be more related to the "New Thought" movement, which is more mainstream, focusing on positive thinking as a spiritual tool rather than crystals, for example."I absolutely regard her as a Christian but ... she's one of those capacious Christians," Nelson said.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Good morning!
There are many fiction writers out there and for my money, few are better than Joel Rosenberg. In fact, much of what Joel writes comes to past in reality not long after he has written it! I read an interesting article from Joel just this morning and wanted to share this with you today...after you read this I pray that you know Jesus as savior and Lord!
WAR IN NOVEMBER? A military showdown with Iran may be fast approaching.
By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., July 8, 2008) -- War clouds continue to build in the epicenter. Last month in Rome, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the United States and Israel would soon be "annihilated," language he had not used so explicitly since October 2005 when he promised to wipe Israel "off the map" and urged Muslims to "envision a world without the United States." This week, his regime authorized a new series of Iranian war games. He ordered the digging of 320,000 graves to bury the enemies of Islam. He is calling for the unification of the Islamic world politically and economically, including the creation of a single currency. What's more, Iranian TV is running a new anti-Semitic documentary film series entitled, "The Secret of Armageddon." Setting the stage for a coming apocalyptic war that will usher in the Islamic Messiah known as the Mahdi or the "Twelfth Imam," the series focuses on a series of Bible prophecies that inform Jewish and Christian End Times theology. While the presentation is grossly distorted, some facts do emerge. Iranian scholar Dr. Ismail Shafe'i Sarustani , for example, tells viewers that the word "Armageddon" is "originally a Hebrew word" and "is a real geographical region, situated south of Haifa," noting that "the place was shelled by Hizbullah during the 33-day [July 2006] war." Iranian historian Mohammad-Taqi Taqipour notes that "these [Evangelical Christians], along with the Jews, believe that the War of the End of Days will take place in the desert of Megiddo, in Palestine. They believe that Jesus will return, and that then there will be a millennium of happiness." The series, however, accuses Jews who were victims of genocide -- during the very Holocaust Ahmadinejad denies ever happened -- of actually planning to commit genocide. "There is a genocidal Zionist Jewish plan for the genocide of humanity at the hand of the Zionist Jew-boys," claims one Iranian researcher interviewed for the program. "The Zionist Jew-boys talk about a 'Greater Israel' -- from the Euphrates to the Nile -- but their actual goal is world domination." At one point, Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani argues that "the goal of the Zionists is the total destruction of Islam." During the June 7th episode, the narrator embraces anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and proceeds to try to justify Iran's own war plans. "Today, there are many indications that the 'hidden hands' of world Zionism were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. According to a large group of Western intellectuals, the Zionists are the real rulers of the United States. According to irrefutable documents published by independent American media outlets, the Zionists used intelligence agents and spies, with the full cooperation of agencies with the country, to carry out this terrorist operation in full view of the world, in order to prepare the ground for taking over Afghanistan and Iraq, and to realize the dream of a greater Israel." Top Israeli intelligence officials, meanwhile, increasingly believe that time is running out. They believe that Iran could have nuclear weapons within a year and one former Mossad chief is urging his country's leadership to launch a massive series of air strikes against Iranian nuclear and other military facilities before it is too late. Israel's Air Force just conducted a test run of such a bombing mission. John Bolton, the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., says he believes Israel may strike Iran sometime in late fall or early winter, after the U.S. elections in November but before the inauguration of the next American President on January 20. A senior Pentagon officials told the Washington Post several days ago he is worried about the same scenario -- a November surprise -- prompting both President Bush and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to make strong public statements warning the Israelis not to take such actions. Until just a few weeks ago, it was widely believed in Israel that new parliamentary elections would be held in November. But at the last moment, Defense Minister Ehud Barak withdrew his threat of voting to bring down the Olmert government for a few more months, leading some to speculate that Barak may be calculating that Israelis couldn't be fully immersed in an electoral campaign and a bombing campaign simultaneously. The U.S. does not want Israel to strike. After all, the repercussions of such a war with Iran would be global in nature. Israel would face tens of thousands of incoming missiles not just from Iran but likely from Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and possibly the West Bank. Some of these missiles could have chemical and/or biological warheads, even if the nuclear warheads in Iran are not yet ready. Ballistic missiles would also be likely fired from Iran at the oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, at oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Straight of Hormuz, and at U.S. bases and forces in Iraq. Tens of thousands of suicide bomber cells could be activated in the region -- especially in Iraq and Israel -- and perhaps even in Western Europe and the U.S. and Canada. Iranian efforts to topple Jordan's King Abdullah II and/or Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in favor of radical Islamic regimes friendly to Tehran could also be set in motion. Oil prices could shoot from $140 a barrel to $300 a barrel or more. U.S. gas prices could spike to $7-$10 or more, with horrific domestic and global economic repercussions. No wonder Washington doesn't want a war with Iran. No wants such a war. I certainly do not, and neither do the Israelis. Yet, the U.S. does not have a convincing plan to stop the Iranian nuclear weapons program in time. Nor does the U.N., or the E.U. Diplomacy isn't working. Economic sanctions have been imposed on Iran since 1979 to little strategic effect. Unfortunately, the words of Sen. John McCain keep echoing in my head this week. In April 2006, the senior Senator from Arizona appeared on NBC's Meet the Press. He said, "there's only one thing worse than using the option of military action, and that is the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons." For if Iran gets the Bomb, he said, "I think we could have Armageddon."
There are many fiction writers out there and for my money, few are better than Joel Rosenberg. In fact, much of what Joel writes comes to past in reality not long after he has written it! I read an interesting article from Joel just this morning and wanted to share this with you today...after you read this I pray that you know Jesus as savior and Lord!
WAR IN NOVEMBER? A military showdown with Iran may be fast approaching.
By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., July 8, 2008) -- War clouds continue to build in the epicenter. Last month in Rome, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the United States and Israel would soon be "annihilated," language he had not used so explicitly since October 2005 when he promised to wipe Israel "off the map" and urged Muslims to "envision a world without the United States." This week, his regime authorized a new series of Iranian war games. He ordered the digging of 320,000 graves to bury the enemies of Islam. He is calling for the unification of the Islamic world politically and economically, including the creation of a single currency. What's more, Iranian TV is running a new anti-Semitic documentary film series entitled, "The Secret of Armageddon." Setting the stage for a coming apocalyptic war that will usher in the Islamic Messiah known as the Mahdi or the "Twelfth Imam," the series focuses on a series of Bible prophecies that inform Jewish and Christian End Times theology. While the presentation is grossly distorted, some facts do emerge. Iranian scholar Dr. Ismail Shafe'i Sarustani , for example, tells viewers that the word "Armageddon" is "originally a Hebrew word" and "is a real geographical region, situated south of Haifa," noting that "the place was shelled by Hizbullah during the 33-day [July 2006] war." Iranian historian Mohammad-Taqi Taqipour notes that "these [Evangelical Christians], along with the Jews, believe that the War of the End of Days will take place in the desert of Megiddo, in Palestine. They believe that Jesus will return, and that then there will be a millennium of happiness." The series, however, accuses Jews who were victims of genocide -- during the very Holocaust Ahmadinejad denies ever happened -- of actually planning to commit genocide. "There is a genocidal Zionist Jewish plan for the genocide of humanity at the hand of the Zionist Jew-boys," claims one Iranian researcher interviewed for the program. "The Zionist Jew-boys talk about a 'Greater Israel' -- from the Euphrates to the Nile -- but their actual goal is world domination." At one point, Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani argues that "the goal of the Zionists is the total destruction of Islam." During the June 7th episode, the narrator embraces anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and proceeds to try to justify Iran's own war plans. "Today, there are many indications that the 'hidden hands' of world Zionism were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. According to a large group of Western intellectuals, the Zionists are the real rulers of the United States. According to irrefutable documents published by independent American media outlets, the Zionists used intelligence agents and spies, with the full cooperation of agencies with the country, to carry out this terrorist operation in full view of the world, in order to prepare the ground for taking over Afghanistan and Iraq, and to realize the dream of a greater Israel." Top Israeli intelligence officials, meanwhile, increasingly believe that time is running out. They believe that Iran could have nuclear weapons within a year and one former Mossad chief is urging his country's leadership to launch a massive series of air strikes against Iranian nuclear and other military facilities before it is too late. Israel's Air Force just conducted a test run of such a bombing mission. John Bolton, the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., says he believes Israel may strike Iran sometime in late fall or early winter, after the U.S. elections in November but before the inauguration of the next American President on January 20. A senior Pentagon officials told the Washington Post several days ago he is worried about the same scenario -- a November surprise -- prompting both President Bush and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to make strong public statements warning the Israelis not to take such actions. Until just a few weeks ago, it was widely believed in Israel that new parliamentary elections would be held in November. But at the last moment, Defense Minister Ehud Barak withdrew his threat of voting to bring down the Olmert government for a few more months, leading some to speculate that Barak may be calculating that Israelis couldn't be fully immersed in an electoral campaign and a bombing campaign simultaneously. The U.S. does not want Israel to strike. After all, the repercussions of such a war with Iran would be global in nature. Israel would face tens of thousands of incoming missiles not just from Iran but likely from Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and possibly the West Bank. Some of these missiles could have chemical and/or biological warheads, even if the nuclear warheads in Iran are not yet ready. Ballistic missiles would also be likely fired from Iran at the oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, at oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Straight of Hormuz, and at U.S. bases and forces in Iraq. Tens of thousands of suicide bomber cells could be activated in the region -- especially in Iraq and Israel -- and perhaps even in Western Europe and the U.S. and Canada. Iranian efforts to topple Jordan's King Abdullah II and/or Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in favor of radical Islamic regimes friendly to Tehran could also be set in motion. Oil prices could shoot from $140 a barrel to $300 a barrel or more. U.S. gas prices could spike to $7-$10 or more, with horrific domestic and global economic repercussions. No wonder Washington doesn't want a war with Iran. No wants such a war. I certainly do not, and neither do the Israelis. Yet, the U.S. does not have a convincing plan to stop the Iranian nuclear weapons program in time. Nor does the U.N., or the E.U. Diplomacy isn't working. Economic sanctions have been imposed on Iran since 1979 to little strategic effect. Unfortunately, the words of Sen. John McCain keep echoing in my head this week. In April 2006, the senior Senator from Arizona appeared on NBC's Meet the Press. He said, "there's only one thing worse than using the option of military action, and that is the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons." For if Iran gets the Bomb, he said, "I think we could have Armageddon."
Monday, July 7, 2008
Good afternoon! Welcome to Pastor Thoughts...I was thinking the other day about that Mayan Calendar thing that has been going around lately...if you are not familiar with it, it basically boils down to this: The Mayan calenadr ends in 2012 (4 years from now) and so the world will end...The following article is from Jack kinsella of the Omega Letter. You will need to read through carefully:
2012 - Again? Prophecy - Signs Friday, June 27, 2008 Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor As one reads through the Bible, one notes that the story of humanity is told using both words and numbers. Indeed, it is this use of numbers in the text to tell the story that give the Word of God its unique character and consistency.In a sense, God is the Author of two Great Books -- the Bible, and the Book of Creation in which we are all characters. It is in the reading of these two Books that one sees that continuity of character and style unique to God.
God's creation is 'by the numbers' and those numbers are as precise and necessary to the Big Picture as are the words used to describe it. The universe operates according to precise mathematical rules.
Look at the sublime precision of chemistry, for example.. All the elements combine in very precise mathematical ways to produce their various compounds. Each of the elements are recorded on a valance chart -- the precise number and weight of each atom can be counted and measured.
Every plant has a precise number of leaves or petals, arranged in a precise order. Every living thing has a certain number of chromosomes in its cellular structure according to its design. Man has twenty-three paired chromosomes. A dog has thirty-nine. An ape has twenty-four.
God uses numbers to illustrate truths -- and just as often to conceal them until the appointed time. Take the number One. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is One God."
For God, the number one signifies completion, whereas for man, it takes two to make man complete; "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for the labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
The number Three is the simplest compound unity -- it is the first and simplest compound unit of mathematical science.
God is one God in Three Persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three is the number of the Godhead.
Four signifies the number of this created world. There are four seasons, winter, summer, spring and fall. There are four points on a compass, north, south, east and west.
The living creatures (cherubim) of Ezekiel chapter 1 are four in number. They each have four faces, four sides, four wings and move on four wheels, representative of God's creation and providence.
Five and ten also have Scriptural significance. Man has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. We have five senses. Added together we have ten fingers and ten toes. The decimal system is based on this system of tens.
We think in tenths. A tithe is ten percent. No man could be consecrated as a priest under Jewish law unless he had all ten fingers and toes. Five, doubled to ten, stands for human completion.
The number six is the number of man. As we'll see in a moment, the number seven is the sacred number of spiritual perfection, so six falls just short of it. Man was created on the sixth day. The Divinely-appointed work week is six days, with the seventh set aside for God.
Hebrew slaves were appointed to serve for six years before manumission. Goliath had six fingers and six toes. His spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron. Goliath's height is recorded as six cubits and a span.
Nebuchadnezzar's golden image was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. Jesus Christ was crucified on the sixth hour of the sixth day of the week.
And of course, there is the most famous six of all as recorded in Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that understandeth count the number of the best, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six." (666)
Six units six tens, six hundreds. Three sixes, each successively higher on the decimal scale. The number 666 represents the antichrist -- the number of imperfect, spiritually incomplete man, multiplied 100 times over.
Then we come to the number seven. The number seven is representative in Scripture of spiritual perfection. For example, four is representative of the world, three representative of the Trinity.
Together, they equal seven. Seven days make up one of the four quarters of the moon. There are but seven basic notes in music.
On the seventh day, God rested.
The Book of the Revelation is addressed to the seven Churches of Asia Minor. There are seven star representing the seven angels who represent the seven churches. In Revelation 3:1, Jesus is identified as having the 'Seven Spirits of God' -- or the whole and complete Spirit of God.
In Revelation 5:6, the Lamb is pictured as having seven eyes (representing omniscience) and seven horns ('horns are representative of power, symbolizing the Lamb as all-powerful (omnipotence).
There are seven seals, seven thunders, seven vials; the dragon has seven heads and seven crowns upon his heads. There are seven mountains, seven kings, etc.
The Bible specifically says there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David; fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian captivity, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ. (Matthew 1:17) Fourteen is seven doubled. The Passover is on the fourteenth of Nisan, and fourteen lambs are offered on each of the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Pentecost is on the fiftieth day, after the passage of the full 49 (7x7) days from Passover. The Jubilee Year is the fiftieth year after the passage of seven 'weeks' of seven years each.
Under OT Law, an animal must be at least seven days old before it can be sacrificed. The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days. A male child could not be circumcised until after seven full days had passed. The rules of cleansing (as in cleansing a leper) involved seven sprinklings of war. The Day of Atonement demands seven sprinklings of blood.
The menorah has seven branches and seven lights. Noah entered the ark on the seventh day. (Genesis 7:4,10) Noah's ark came to rest on Mt Ararat on the seventh month. (Genesis 8:4) Jacob worked for seven years for Rachel.
Joshua sent seven priests who marched around Jericho for seven days blowing seven trumpets. On the seventh day, the circled the city seven times before the 'walls came tumbling down.'
Samson's marriage feast lasted seven days. Samson had seven locks of hair (Judges 16:9) It took Solomon seven years to build the Temple. Job had seven sons. His friends grieved in silence with him for seven days and seven nights. Job offered seven bullocks and seven rams for a burnt offering.
Jesus told the Pharisees to forgive trespasses seventy times seven. He imposed seven 'woes' on the Pharisees. Romans 8:35 lists seven afflictions; 12:6-8 enumerates the seven gifts. James 7:17 lists the seven qualities of heavenly wisdom. 2nd Peter 1:5-8 outlines the seven virtues imparted by faith.
The seventieth week of Daniel lasts for seven years. The disciples took up seven baskets of fragments after the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.
The Bible, therefore, speaks in the two different languages of sentience; the spoken word and the universal language of mathematics.
A few months back, the OL published a column entitled "2012 TEOTWAWKI". (TEOTWAWKI is an acronym for "The End of The World As We Know It.")
The column was focused on secular prophecy's confluence on the year 2012. The Mayan calendar ends on December 24, 2012 with the destruction of mankind on the earth.
Nostradamus pictures the end of the world sometime in the first part of the 21st century, as does the Catholic seer, St Malachy.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops contains a staircase that is said to be equal to the number of years before the end of the world. It runs out of steps at the year 2012.
I don't give extra-Biblical prophecy much credibility -- but I don't totally discount it, either. Here is why. God is omniscient, (all-knowing) whereas Satan is just a really smart created being with a plan.
Satan knows what he has planned, so it seems likely he is capable of communicating that plan. And Paul says that Satan can appear as an angel of light. But Satan's 'prophecies' are merely an outline of plans in the works, whereas Bible prophecy is 100% accurate, 100% of the time.
The Bible does not give us an 'end date' for the last generation -- at least, not in so many words. But what about the other universal language with which it is written? Can we find a clue there?
Perhaps. We've seen how God uses numbers to communicate certain truths. And Proverbs 25:2 tells us; "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."
As Christians, each of us are kings and priests with Him, so while we cannot know for certain, (since God has drawn a veil around the exact date and time,) we ARE permitted to search out those things God has concealed.
Are you still with me? I don't know the date and time of the Rapture, and I am not about to pretend that I do. But the Bible does provide us with clues -- that is, after all, the purpose of Bible prophecy. To let us know when "it is near, even at the door," Jesus said.
The population of Planet Earth on the day Noah exited the Ark was eight - Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives. Noah is a type of 'redeemer' the other seven were the redeemed.
Abraham was the eponymous father of the Jewish race, from which the Redeemer Christ was born. Matthew 1:17 tells us there were fourteen generations (7x2) from Abraham to David, fourteen more to the Babylonian captivity, and fourteen more generations to the Birth of Christ.
Three epochs of fourteen generations each. Three is the number of the Trinity, fourteen is twice the number of God, so fourteen times three is equal to seven (the perfection of God) times six (the imperfect number of man.)
The population of the earth at the time of Christ was roughly 100 million. It took 1800 years for the population to reach one billion.
It took only 130 years to reach two billion -- around 1930. It took only thirty years to reach three billion (1960) and only another fifteen years to top four billion (1975). We passed the five billion mark in the late 1980's.
And, in 1999, as the sixth millennium of man drew to a close, the population topped six billion. Six, you will recall, is the full number of man, one short of the spiritual completeness of God represented by the number seven.
According to the United Nations census estimates, the population of man will reach seven billion -- in 2012.
Coincidence? Maybe. I'll let you know for sure, sometime in 2013.
Additional Resources: 2012: TEOTWAWKI
2012 - Again? Prophecy - Signs Friday, June 27, 2008 Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor As one reads through the Bible, one notes that the story of humanity is told using both words and numbers. Indeed, it is this use of numbers in the text to tell the story that give the Word of God its unique character and consistency.In a sense, God is the Author of two Great Books -- the Bible, and the Book of Creation in which we are all characters. It is in the reading of these two Books that one sees that continuity of character and style unique to God.
God's creation is 'by the numbers' and those numbers are as precise and necessary to the Big Picture as are the words used to describe it. The universe operates according to precise mathematical rules.
Look at the sublime precision of chemistry, for example.. All the elements combine in very precise mathematical ways to produce their various compounds. Each of the elements are recorded on a valance chart -- the precise number and weight of each atom can be counted and measured.
Every plant has a precise number of leaves or petals, arranged in a precise order. Every living thing has a certain number of chromosomes in its cellular structure according to its design. Man has twenty-three paired chromosomes. A dog has thirty-nine. An ape has twenty-four.
God uses numbers to illustrate truths -- and just as often to conceal them until the appointed time. Take the number One. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is One God."
For God, the number one signifies completion, whereas for man, it takes two to make man complete; "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for the labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
The number Three is the simplest compound unity -- it is the first and simplest compound unit of mathematical science.
God is one God in Three Persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three is the number of the Godhead.
Four signifies the number of this created world. There are four seasons, winter, summer, spring and fall. There are four points on a compass, north, south, east and west.
The living creatures (cherubim) of Ezekiel chapter 1 are four in number. They each have four faces, four sides, four wings and move on four wheels, representative of God's creation and providence.
Five and ten also have Scriptural significance. Man has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. We have five senses. Added together we have ten fingers and ten toes. The decimal system is based on this system of tens.
We think in tenths. A tithe is ten percent. No man could be consecrated as a priest under Jewish law unless he had all ten fingers and toes. Five, doubled to ten, stands for human completion.
The number six is the number of man. As we'll see in a moment, the number seven is the sacred number of spiritual perfection, so six falls just short of it. Man was created on the sixth day. The Divinely-appointed work week is six days, with the seventh set aside for God.
Hebrew slaves were appointed to serve for six years before manumission. Goliath had six fingers and six toes. His spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron. Goliath's height is recorded as six cubits and a span.
Nebuchadnezzar's golden image was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. Jesus Christ was crucified on the sixth hour of the sixth day of the week.
And of course, there is the most famous six of all as recorded in Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that understandeth count the number of the best, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six." (666)
Six units six tens, six hundreds. Three sixes, each successively higher on the decimal scale. The number 666 represents the antichrist -- the number of imperfect, spiritually incomplete man, multiplied 100 times over.
Then we come to the number seven. The number seven is representative in Scripture of spiritual perfection. For example, four is representative of the world, three representative of the Trinity.
Together, they equal seven. Seven days make up one of the four quarters of the moon. There are but seven basic notes in music.
On the seventh day, God rested.
The Book of the Revelation is addressed to the seven Churches of Asia Minor. There are seven star representing the seven angels who represent the seven churches. In Revelation 3:1, Jesus is identified as having the 'Seven Spirits of God' -- or the whole and complete Spirit of God.
In Revelation 5:6, the Lamb is pictured as having seven eyes (representing omniscience) and seven horns ('horns are representative of power, symbolizing the Lamb as all-powerful (omnipotence).
There are seven seals, seven thunders, seven vials; the dragon has seven heads and seven crowns upon his heads. There are seven mountains, seven kings, etc.
The Bible specifically says there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David; fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian captivity, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ. (Matthew 1:17) Fourteen is seven doubled. The Passover is on the fourteenth of Nisan, and fourteen lambs are offered on each of the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Pentecost is on the fiftieth day, after the passage of the full 49 (7x7) days from Passover. The Jubilee Year is the fiftieth year after the passage of seven 'weeks' of seven years each.
Under OT Law, an animal must be at least seven days old before it can be sacrificed. The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days. A male child could not be circumcised until after seven full days had passed. The rules of cleansing (as in cleansing a leper) involved seven sprinklings of war. The Day of Atonement demands seven sprinklings of blood.
The menorah has seven branches and seven lights. Noah entered the ark on the seventh day. (Genesis 7:4,10) Noah's ark came to rest on Mt Ararat on the seventh month. (Genesis 8:4) Jacob worked for seven years for Rachel.
Joshua sent seven priests who marched around Jericho for seven days blowing seven trumpets. On the seventh day, the circled the city seven times before the 'walls came tumbling down.'
Samson's marriage feast lasted seven days. Samson had seven locks of hair (Judges 16:9) It took Solomon seven years to build the Temple. Job had seven sons. His friends grieved in silence with him for seven days and seven nights. Job offered seven bullocks and seven rams for a burnt offering.
Jesus told the Pharisees to forgive trespasses seventy times seven. He imposed seven 'woes' on the Pharisees. Romans 8:35 lists seven afflictions; 12:6-8 enumerates the seven gifts. James 7:17 lists the seven qualities of heavenly wisdom. 2nd Peter 1:5-8 outlines the seven virtues imparted by faith.
The seventieth week of Daniel lasts for seven years. The disciples took up seven baskets of fragments after the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.
The Bible, therefore, speaks in the two different languages of sentience; the spoken word and the universal language of mathematics.
A few months back, the OL published a column entitled "2012 TEOTWAWKI". (TEOTWAWKI is an acronym for "The End of The World As We Know It.")
The column was focused on secular prophecy's confluence on the year 2012. The Mayan calendar ends on December 24, 2012 with the destruction of mankind on the earth.
Nostradamus pictures the end of the world sometime in the first part of the 21st century, as does the Catholic seer, St Malachy.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops contains a staircase that is said to be equal to the number of years before the end of the world. It runs out of steps at the year 2012.
I don't give extra-Biblical prophecy much credibility -- but I don't totally discount it, either. Here is why. God is omniscient, (all-knowing) whereas Satan is just a really smart created being with a plan.
Satan knows what he has planned, so it seems likely he is capable of communicating that plan. And Paul says that Satan can appear as an angel of light. But Satan's 'prophecies' are merely an outline of plans in the works, whereas Bible prophecy is 100% accurate, 100% of the time.
The Bible does not give us an 'end date' for the last generation -- at least, not in so many words. But what about the other universal language with which it is written? Can we find a clue there?
Perhaps. We've seen how God uses numbers to communicate certain truths. And Proverbs 25:2 tells us; "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."
As Christians, each of us are kings and priests with Him, so while we cannot know for certain, (since God has drawn a veil around the exact date and time,) we ARE permitted to search out those things God has concealed.
Are you still with me? I don't know the date and time of the Rapture, and I am not about to pretend that I do. But the Bible does provide us with clues -- that is, after all, the purpose of Bible prophecy. To let us know when "it is near, even at the door," Jesus said.
The population of Planet Earth on the day Noah exited the Ark was eight - Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives. Noah is a type of 'redeemer' the other seven were the redeemed.
Abraham was the eponymous father of the Jewish race, from which the Redeemer Christ was born. Matthew 1:17 tells us there were fourteen generations (7x2) from Abraham to David, fourteen more to the Babylonian captivity, and fourteen more generations to the Birth of Christ.
Three epochs of fourteen generations each. Three is the number of the Trinity, fourteen is twice the number of God, so fourteen times three is equal to seven (the perfection of God) times six (the imperfect number of man.)
The population of the earth at the time of Christ was roughly 100 million. It took 1800 years for the population to reach one billion.
It took only 130 years to reach two billion -- around 1930. It took only thirty years to reach three billion (1960) and only another fifteen years to top four billion (1975). We passed the five billion mark in the late 1980's.
And, in 1999, as the sixth millennium of man drew to a close, the population topped six billion. Six, you will recall, is the full number of man, one short of the spiritual completeness of God represented by the number seven.
According to the United Nations census estimates, the population of man will reach seven billion -- in 2012.
Coincidence? Maybe. I'll let you know for sure, sometime in 2013.
Additional Resources: 2012: TEOTWAWKI
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Good morning!
I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July holiday tomorrow! I love America and I love the 4th of July, the date that our country began...on the calendar anyway! This country actually began long ago in the mind of God. For, you see, God is the founder of these United States of America. He brought forth this nation, conceived in liberty that the gospel of Jesus Christ might resound throughtout the world. This nation has been blessed by God in more ways than can ever be renumerated. We have seen great wealth, unprecedented military power and scientific breakthroughs that have benefited the entire world. But the greatest export, the greatest benefit to the world have been the multitude of missionaries that have been placed throughout the world sharing the greatest story and the greatest truth: Jesus Saves!
So as you celebrate the 4th, remember that true liberty is found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone! For when the Son makes you free, you are free indeed!
Have a Great 4Th!
I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July holiday tomorrow! I love America and I love the 4th of July, the date that our country began...on the calendar anyway! This country actually began long ago in the mind of God. For, you see, God is the founder of these United States of America. He brought forth this nation, conceived in liberty that the gospel of Jesus Christ might resound throughtout the world. This nation has been blessed by God in more ways than can ever be renumerated. We have seen great wealth, unprecedented military power and scientific breakthroughs that have benefited the entire world. But the greatest export, the greatest benefit to the world have been the multitude of missionaries that have been placed throughout the world sharing the greatest story and the greatest truth: Jesus Saves!
So as you celebrate the 4th, remember that true liberty is found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone! For when the Son makes you free, you are free indeed!
Have a Great 4Th!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Lord is coming soon! I really believe that and I trust that as you are watching what is happening in our world, the reality of the soon return of Jesus Christ will be impressed upon your heart. The following article is from raptureready.com:
Jun 30
The Storm Before the Calm
By Jim Fletcher
We can look at it one of two ways: the rotten nature of our society and larger world is something to be feared, or accepted. Maybe I’m weird, but I like where we are. It shows me that God is in control and he’s “working His plan.”
I just returned from a week in Ecuador. I kept looking for an angel wielding a sword, guarding the entrance to the garden. Amazingly beautiful, Ecuador is a South American country with enviable natural resources. An enormously rich gold mine was just located. Gas hovers just over a dollar a gallon, sure to drop after a refinery is repaired. They import no food, since everything from beef to vegetables and fruits grow massive in the soil-rich countryside.
I mention this because there are good reasons to long for such a place. The U.S. is moving closer to sanctioning gay marriage. Abortion proponents have cleverly diverted our attention to global warming. After all, if you’re talking incessantly about preserving ecosystems, you don’t have to talk about the barbarism inherent in abortion. Emergent church leaders are birthing Something Wicked This Way Comes in the Christian community.
We are where we are.
All this seems relevant to me because they illustrate the twin terrors of our time: societal degradation, and hatred of Israel.
What is all this if not confirmation of Scripture?
Almost 4,000 years ago, in the wilderness, God told the Israelites exactly what would happen to them. In detail. Deuteronomy and Numbers aren’t boring books in the Old Testament; they are alive with supernatural prediction.
Man is always looking for ways to see into his future. There are reports from time to time of paranormal investigation. We try to find ways to see into the future.
All the while, the Bible has already done that for us.
Paul predicted, through the Holy Spirit, that society would plunge into darkness in the last days. The prophets predicted that Israel would be pushed to the brink.
Sadly, Israel’s current prime minister is so weak, he’s become embarrassing. Clinging to power after a bungled war in Lebanon and unseemly corruption charges, he vows to stay in office.
Perhaps the most ominous sign for Israel is Iran. Not only is the Islamic state close to having nukes, but it’s been made clear to the Jewish state that if it chooses to go it alone and strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, there will be various responses, all bad. Oil at $200 a barrel is threatened, and that represents perhaps the worst threat of all: economic.
My friend (and yours) Avi Lipkin recounted several years ago a dinner meeting he had with Texas oilmen. They told their Israeli guest point-blank that they were tired of fighting wars on Israel’s behalf. They hinted darkly that Israel would find herself alone if oil supplies were threatened again, as they were in 1973.
Ominous.
A personal aside: several years ago, I did myself a favor and internalized the concept of Abraham being a “sojourner” in this world. He described himself as essentially just passing through, that this world was not his real home.
Until I absorbed that, I had hunkered down and thought that life was really about clinging to the past, to things I knew were sure.
Life has taught me that very little is sure, and that we can’t rely on people or things. We can only rely on God. And God has provided us abundant evidence of what our future is. It is not longing for an earthly Eden. It is not “taking back America.” It is not hoping that someone can bring peace to the Middle East.
This life is really about preparation for the next life. The permanent life. Abraham is there.
I hope you will be, too.
Jun 30
The Storm Before the Calm
By Jim Fletcher
We can look at it one of two ways: the rotten nature of our society and larger world is something to be feared, or accepted. Maybe I’m weird, but I like where we are. It shows me that God is in control and he’s “working His plan.”
I just returned from a week in Ecuador. I kept looking for an angel wielding a sword, guarding the entrance to the garden. Amazingly beautiful, Ecuador is a South American country with enviable natural resources. An enormously rich gold mine was just located. Gas hovers just over a dollar a gallon, sure to drop after a refinery is repaired. They import no food, since everything from beef to vegetables and fruits grow massive in the soil-rich countryside.
I mention this because there are good reasons to long for such a place. The U.S. is moving closer to sanctioning gay marriage. Abortion proponents have cleverly diverted our attention to global warming. After all, if you’re talking incessantly about preserving ecosystems, you don’t have to talk about the barbarism inherent in abortion. Emergent church leaders are birthing Something Wicked This Way Comes in the Christian community.
We are where we are.
All this seems relevant to me because they illustrate the twin terrors of our time: societal degradation, and hatred of Israel.
What is all this if not confirmation of Scripture?
Almost 4,000 years ago, in the wilderness, God told the Israelites exactly what would happen to them. In detail. Deuteronomy and Numbers aren’t boring books in the Old Testament; they are alive with supernatural prediction.
Man is always looking for ways to see into his future. There are reports from time to time of paranormal investigation. We try to find ways to see into the future.
All the while, the Bible has already done that for us.
Paul predicted, through the Holy Spirit, that society would plunge into darkness in the last days. The prophets predicted that Israel would be pushed to the brink.
Sadly, Israel’s current prime minister is so weak, he’s become embarrassing. Clinging to power after a bungled war in Lebanon and unseemly corruption charges, he vows to stay in office.
Perhaps the most ominous sign for Israel is Iran. Not only is the Islamic state close to having nukes, but it’s been made clear to the Jewish state that if it chooses to go it alone and strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, there will be various responses, all bad. Oil at $200 a barrel is threatened, and that represents perhaps the worst threat of all: economic.
My friend (and yours) Avi Lipkin recounted several years ago a dinner meeting he had with Texas oilmen. They told their Israeli guest point-blank that they were tired of fighting wars on Israel’s behalf. They hinted darkly that Israel would find herself alone if oil supplies were threatened again, as they were in 1973.
Ominous.
A personal aside: several years ago, I did myself a favor and internalized the concept of Abraham being a “sojourner” in this world. He described himself as essentially just passing through, that this world was not his real home.
Until I absorbed that, I had hunkered down and thought that life was really about clinging to the past, to things I knew were sure.
Life has taught me that very little is sure, and that we can’t rely on people or things. We can only rely on God. And God has provided us abundant evidence of what our future is. It is not longing for an earthly Eden. It is not “taking back America.” It is not hoping that someone can bring peace to the Middle East.
This life is really about preparation for the next life. The permanent life. Abraham is there.
I hope you will be, too.
Good morning! In our day, we are faced with an onslaught of cultural demise...In California recently, the State Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in that state...the second such state to do so...now, the latest twist to this sordid ordeal is that the people of California, recognizing that this was possibly going to happen, gathered up enough signatures to put the question on the November ballot...and guess what, the gay lobby along with, you guessed it, the ACLU, have filed suit to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM VOTING! This could happen in every state in the union! Read the followign article so that you and I will not be caught unaware:
'Gay' rights group to Supremes: Don't let people voteLawyers try to cut California marriage amendment from ballot
Posted: June 30, 20089:01 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Homosexual-rights advocates have asked California's Supreme Court to block citizens from voting this fall on a measure voters originally brought to the ballot: Proposition 8, the California Marriage Protection Act.
Proposition 8, so labeled when Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified it earlier this month for placement on the Nov. 4 ballot, is a constitutional amendment that states, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The amendment was created by voter initiative with the signatures of 1.1 million voters, more than the required 694,354 needed to place an issue on the ballot.
Lawyers representing the ACLU and the homosexual-rights group Equality California, however, filed a petition earlier this month in the state's highest court to strike Proposition 8 from the ballot. The opponents claimed the measure is not merely an amendment, but a revision, which a lawyer told WND is defined as a radical rewrite of the Constitution that would drastically upset the social fabric of California and require convening a constitutional convention to approve.
Liberty Counsel founder Mathew Staver told WND that if there was any radical reconstruction of California's social fabric, it was done last month when the state Supreme Court ignored over a century of precedent in the its definition of marriage with a 4-3 ruling that deemed a law defining marriage between one man and one woman unconstitutional.
"They're suggesting the Supreme Court can rewrite the entire institution of marriage, but people can't amend the Constitution to go back to its historical definition," Staver said. "It's absolutely ridiculous to argue that courts can turn society upside down in 30 days, but the people have no right to define it."
Criticizing homosexual marriage's legal advocates, Staver said, "Their agenda is to trample the will of the people and elevate by force the will of four individuals on the Supreme Court over the will of millions of voters."
(Story continues below)
Today Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation organization dedicated to religious freedom and the traditional family, filed a motion in the state's Supreme Court to intervene in the case, allowing Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families and former California Assemblyman Larry Bowler to defend Proposition 8.
Stating that the state's current attorney general has never effectively defended traditional marriage, Staver told WND, "It's prudent to have a rigorous defense of Proposition 8. These two guys have been involved in the 'gay' marriage issue for years, and they would be disenfranchised if same-sex groups succeed at blocking them from voting."
California voters first sought to protect the traditional definition of marriage when in 2000 a ballot initiative called Proposition 22 was passed with 61.4 percent, or roughly 4.6 million people, voting in favor of it.
Last month, however, the state's Supreme Court ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional, opening the doors for same-sex marriages in California, which began earlier this month.
Even before the landmark case, aware that Proposition 22 might be overturned, many of the state's citizens began work on collecting signatures for initiating a constitutional amendment that would define marriage between one man and one woman. Now that their initiative, Proposition 8, has been certified for the Nov. 4 general election, only a court order can prevent the people from voting on it.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen "has a ministerial duty to certify any initiative when they qualify through the petition process," a spokesman for the secretary told the Associated Press. "She can't remove an initiative without a judge's order."
The Associated Press also reports that two ballot propositions were challenged in 2005, but that the state Supreme Court overruled lower courts on both cases and allowed the propositions to remain on the ballot.
Staver told WND that the attempt to manipulate the courts to trump the will of the people is an elitist approach to social change.
"Same-sex marriage advocates think that voters are ignorant and backwards because they support traditional marriage," he said.
Therefore, he said, they use courts in an "absolute dictator approach to force 'gay' marriage down the throats of California citizens."
Further, Staver warned, if judges disarm people from voting, effectively rendering their political voice impotent, "the people will not sit back and allow courts to suppress their freedom to vote."
Ron Prentice, chairman of the ProtectMarriage.com Executive Committee, previously told WND, "The people's overwhelming support to protect the longstanding meaning of marriage as between a man and a woman has been staggering. The California Marriage Amendment will allow the people of California, not politicians or judges, to reaffirm the definition of marriage by placing it in the Constitution."
Of 28 states where such an amendment has been considered, voters in 27 states – all but Arizona – have passed the amendment. A Los Angeles Times poll last month reported 54 percent of Californians polled supported the amendment, while 35 percent opposed it. A simple majority of the vote is needed to add Proposition 8 to the California Constitution.
'Gay' rights group to Supremes: Don't let people voteLawyers try to cut California marriage amendment from ballot
Posted: June 30, 20089:01 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Homosexual-rights advocates have asked California's Supreme Court to block citizens from voting this fall on a measure voters originally brought to the ballot: Proposition 8, the California Marriage Protection Act.
Proposition 8, so labeled when Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified it earlier this month for placement on the Nov. 4 ballot, is a constitutional amendment that states, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The amendment was created by voter initiative with the signatures of 1.1 million voters, more than the required 694,354 needed to place an issue on the ballot.
Lawyers representing the ACLU and the homosexual-rights group Equality California, however, filed a petition earlier this month in the state's highest court to strike Proposition 8 from the ballot. The opponents claimed the measure is not merely an amendment, but a revision, which a lawyer told WND is defined as a radical rewrite of the Constitution that would drastically upset the social fabric of California and require convening a constitutional convention to approve.
Liberty Counsel founder Mathew Staver told WND that if there was any radical reconstruction of California's social fabric, it was done last month when the state Supreme Court ignored over a century of precedent in the its definition of marriage with a 4-3 ruling that deemed a law defining marriage between one man and one woman unconstitutional.
"They're suggesting the Supreme Court can rewrite the entire institution of marriage, but people can't amend the Constitution to go back to its historical definition," Staver said. "It's absolutely ridiculous to argue that courts can turn society upside down in 30 days, but the people have no right to define it."
Criticizing homosexual marriage's legal advocates, Staver said, "Their agenda is to trample the will of the people and elevate by force the will of four individuals on the Supreme Court over the will of millions of voters."
(Story continues below)
Today Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation organization dedicated to religious freedom and the traditional family, filed a motion in the state's Supreme Court to intervene in the case, allowing Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families and former California Assemblyman Larry Bowler to defend Proposition 8.
Stating that the state's current attorney general has never effectively defended traditional marriage, Staver told WND, "It's prudent to have a rigorous defense of Proposition 8. These two guys have been involved in the 'gay' marriage issue for years, and they would be disenfranchised if same-sex groups succeed at blocking them from voting."
California voters first sought to protect the traditional definition of marriage when in 2000 a ballot initiative called Proposition 22 was passed with 61.4 percent, or roughly 4.6 million people, voting in favor of it.
Last month, however, the state's Supreme Court ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional, opening the doors for same-sex marriages in California, which began earlier this month.
Even before the landmark case, aware that Proposition 22 might be overturned, many of the state's citizens began work on collecting signatures for initiating a constitutional amendment that would define marriage between one man and one woman. Now that their initiative, Proposition 8, has been certified for the Nov. 4 general election, only a court order can prevent the people from voting on it.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen "has a ministerial duty to certify any initiative when they qualify through the petition process," a spokesman for the secretary told the Associated Press. "She can't remove an initiative without a judge's order."
The Associated Press also reports that two ballot propositions were challenged in 2005, but that the state Supreme Court overruled lower courts on both cases and allowed the propositions to remain on the ballot.
Staver told WND that the attempt to manipulate the courts to trump the will of the people is an elitist approach to social change.
"Same-sex marriage advocates think that voters are ignorant and backwards because they support traditional marriage," he said.
Therefore, he said, they use courts in an "absolute dictator approach to force 'gay' marriage down the throats of California citizens."
Further, Staver warned, if judges disarm people from voting, effectively rendering their political voice impotent, "the people will not sit back and allow courts to suppress their freedom to vote."
Ron Prentice, chairman of the ProtectMarriage.com Executive Committee, previously told WND, "The people's overwhelming support to protect the longstanding meaning of marriage as between a man and a woman has been staggering. The California Marriage Amendment will allow the people of California, not politicians or judges, to reaffirm the definition of marriage by placing it in the Constitution."
Of 28 states where such an amendment has been considered, voters in 27 states – all but Arizona – have passed the amendment. A Los Angeles Times poll last month reported 54 percent of Californians polled supported the amendment, while 35 percent opposed it. A simple majority of the vote is needed to add Proposition 8 to the California Constitution.
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