Next coronation to involve other faiths besides Christianity

Transcription

Next coronation to involve other faiths besides Christianity
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page
No. EDS022: June –July 2013
Next coronation to involve other
faiths besides Christianity
By Cole Moreton 18 May 2013
www.telegraph.co.uk
The coronation of the next monarch will include a role for people of other faiths besides
Christianity, in a break with a thousand years
of history, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
the sense of a ceremony that treats all faiths as
equal.
Representatives of other religions are likely to be
asked to participate in a neutral symbolic act such
as the lighting of candles, or to read from a text
expressing shared values, rather than praying out
loud or reading their own sacred texts....
There was some consternation in the Church
seven years ago when it was reported that the
Prince of Wales would like a multi-faith service
to follow the Christian one, with readings and
prayers by people of the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish
faiths.
Three arrested over attack on Lee Rigby
in Woolwich, London have been bailed
AFP http://www.news.com.au May 27, 2013
The coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953 Photo: PA
Church of England leaders have accepted the need
to be “hospitable” to other faiths within any future
service at Westminster Abbey, in order to reflect
the spiritual diversity of modern Britain.
The Church has resisted calls for a multi-faith
service in recent years, preferring to stress that the
Christian nature of the coronation is preserved by
law.
Senior church figures told this newspaper that it
was now accepted that other faiths should be recognised within the coronation service for the first
time.
It will not, however, be a “multi-faith” service in
CONTENTS
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6-8
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Coronation; From Christian Family to Brutal
Murder; Afghan war veteran
Editorial: 75th Anni; Recommendations
Churches-destroyed; First Muslim Woman
Lego banned; Canonizing; Abusive Priests
City Harvest Church; Ashes/Dust; Cremation
Water; Star People; Ham; Metro-Tabernacle
Mystery of Iniquity
Eye Tattoos, Body Markings
Power to Kill; bones 2Million years; 6,000
year earth; Abortion Protests; Parent 1 & 2
Marriage=Prostitution; Gay-Marriage
Hip—; Jerusalem; Syria-Russia; Egypt-USA
Feminism; RCC; Rudd-same sex
Michael Adebolajo (C), seen after a 2010 arrest
in Kenya on
suspicions of
being linked
to Islamists Al
-Shabaab,
remains under armed guard in hospital. Three other suspects linked to the brutal murder of drummer Lee
Rigby have been released on bail in London.
Picture: AFP
THREE people arrested over the grisly murder of a soldier in London have been released on bail, British police said on Monday, while the two main suspects remain in
hospital.
Detectives are trawling through CCTV footage,
social media, forensic evidence and intelligence
reports relating to the hacking to death of 25year-old Lee Rigby near a barracks in Woolwich
by two Islamists.
They have arrested a total of nine people, but
have yet to formally interview the prime suspects
because of the men's injuries sustained in police
gunfire at the scene. Michael Adebolajo, 28, and
Michael Adebowale, 22, both British Muslim converts from Nigerian Christian families, remain
under armed guard at separate London hospitals.
They are "in a stable condition and will be formally
interviewed when it is possible to do so", Scotland
Yard said on Monday.
Those who are truly born again (John
3:3, 5, 7), cannot lose their salvation.
Likewise, some may come from Christian families but that doesn’t make
them Christians.
Jesus Christ said, “My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me: 28And I give unto
them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my
hand,”
(John 10:27, 28).
Lee Rigby's family speaks about their grief
following the soldier's Woolwich murder
May 25, 2013 http://www.abc.net.au
The family of Lee Rigby has spoken for the
first time about their shock and grief following the soldier's
murder in London.
The 25-year-old
Afghan war veteran
was killed near the
Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich,
south-east London,
on Wednesday….
At an emotional media conference at the regimental headquarters of Drummer Rigby's
unit, his widow Rebecca said she expected
him to be safe after his tour of Afghanistan….The two men suspected of murdering
Drummer Rigby were previously known to
the intelligence services, but were reportedly
assessed as not posing a deadly threat.
Adebolajo had attended meetings of a nowbanned Islamist group and reportedly sold
extremist leaflets in Woolwich.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 2
EDITORIAL
The Faith and Freedom Ministries which began
under the guidance of the late Rev. John
MacKenzie 48years ago in 1965 has been extended an invitation to present the ministry at the
75th Anniversary of the Collingswood Bible
Presbyterian Church, New Jersey USA, 26th27th October 2013 (Reformation Sunday)
FAITHFUL ONLINE COURSES: There are folk who have written and
asked about the availability of online Bible College Courses. A most
faithful suggestion are the courses available through the Far Eastern
Bible College, which has 51 Years of Faithfulness 1962-2013, withstanding the attacks from instruments of the Adversary.
The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the
efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as Carl McIntire, J. Oliver
Buswell and Allan MacRae. Francis Schaeffer was the first minister to be ordained in the new denomination. The First General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church was held in 1938 in Collingswood, New Jersey.
Bible Presbyterian Church of Collingswood
http://www.carlmcintire.org
We are a people who believe the Bible is the Word of
God. - We believe the Almighty God has given us this
record in order that we may know Him as the great
Creator, that we may know man's relationship to his
Maker. In the Bible we learn that man is a sinner,
estranged from God, but that He in His mercy has
provided a Saviour, His only begotten Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and whosoever believes in Him is forgiven of his sins and washed in His blood and receives eternal life as a gift from God. We believe the Bible reveals God's
plan for your life and for the future of the world and all mankind.
The Bible Presbyterian Church is not a part of the regular U.S.A. Presbyterian Church. Until 1936 most of us were members of that denomination, but the leadership of that denomination began to turn away from
the Bible and the teachings of the Presbyterian Church. For several
years faithful members of the Presbyterian Church vigorously protested
this unbelief manifested in mission boards and educational institutions,
with the result that some of these true Presbyterians were put on trial,
the ministers deposed, and congregations which would not compromise
with unbelief were dispossessed of their property.
The congregation now meeting in the tabernacle on the corner of Haddon Avenue and Cuthbert Boulevard was dispossessed of its beautiful
stone building standing on the corner of Fern and Maple Avenues, Collingswood. The congregation of 1200 had to choose between obedience
to the mandates of men or obedience to God. In March of 1938 the
court of New Jersey upheld the decision of the church courts and ordered the building with all its contents surrendered to the denomination.
The last service was held there Sunday evening, March 27, 1938, at the
close of which the large congregation walked out singing, "Faith of Our
Fathers, Living Still," the benediction being pronounced by the pastor as
the people stood on the lawn. A very small group who were willing to
bow to the commands of unbelieving church leaders retained the building while the majority of the congregation left behind all that their own
money had paid for, to start all over, first to worship in a tent, and since
then in the tabernacle. The reason - they chose to obey God rather than
men.
God has blessed the faith of this congregation. A new denomination has
resulted, with Bible Presbyterian churches now in 27 states and many
faithful missionaries, on every continent.
Online courses available 15th July to 8th Nov. include: Knowing
God’s Will; the Theology of Giving; and 1st Peter. For further
information please contact FEBC's IT Manager Murray Ong at
[email protected]
FAITHFUL CHURCHES: There are often folk who arrive at certain places around the world and cannot find a faithful Bible believing Church. The suggestion given in such situations is to
pray about using the 24 hour Bible Witness web radio Singapore
at http://www.biblewitness.com/webradio
How to Become a Member of the Bible Presbyterian
Church: To become a member of the Bible Presbyterian Church a
person must confess that he believes that Jesus Christ is his personal
Saviour. At some time he has seen himself a sinner, lost for eternity,
and by faith be has accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and acknowledges,
as the Bible says in I John 11:7: "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son
cleanseth us from all sin." He promises, with God's help, to be obedient
to the will of God as made plain in 'the Bible.
Enemies of the Christian Faith: Those who deny the Bible to
be the Word of God are enemies of the Christian faith. There are many
religions in the world based upon the teachings of men who reject
Christianity. Communism, as a political system, is openly opposed to
Christianity, but a more subtle enemy is in our midst to be feared and
opposed. The Lord Jesus Christ as well as the apostles warned the
church of those who would he enemies from within. Jesus said, in Matthew 7:15: "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." The Bible has many
such warnings, and we believe there are many today with the cloak of a
lamb, gentle and kind, but underneath they are wolves that tear and
destroy the souls of men.
FAITHFUL DAILY DEVOTIONAL: The recommendation for a
daily reading is the RPG (Read, Pray & Grow), a daily Bible
reading guide published by Tabernacle Books, Singapore.
Today, by God’s grace, RPGs are helping Christians around the
world read God’s Word regularly and meaningfully. The writers
are conservative Bible –believing pastor-teachers of fundamentalist persuasion, with a “high view” of Holy Scripture. RPG
uses the King James Version of the Holy Bible, the Bible of the
Reformation, most loved and trustworthy, and a bulwark in the
path of unbiblical ecumenical union. http://calvarypandan.sg/rpg
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 3
TOP SAUDI CLERIC ORDERS CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES DESTROYED
by markulyseas
Saudi Arabia's top Muslim cleric,
Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al alShaikh, issued a fatwah against his
country's Christians in March,
demanding that every Christian
church on the Arabian Peninsula
be demolished. Photo Credit:AP
Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim leader recently issued a religious decree
calling for all Christian churches on the Arabian peninsula to be
demolished, a move that elicited protests from the U.S. government
and undermines recent efforts in the kingdom to promote interfaith
tolerance….
http://my.telegraph.co.uk April 7th, 2012
Abusive priests prey on the devout: expert
By Genevieve Gannon, AAPUpdated April 4, 2013
Children of devout religious families are an attractive target for pedophile priests because they are less likely to report abuse, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Exposing an abusive religious leader puts such a child at risk of isolation from their community, their peers and their family, experts said.
Even if children do muster the courage to tell their mother or father that
a priest has abused them, there is a chance they won't be believed….
Whistle blowing priest
April 23, 2013, 6:18 pm Kristy Wettenhall Today Tonight
The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has recently began and a
priest has accused the Victorian Archdiocese of a cover-up.
It's the Royal Commission thousands
of child sex abuse victims have wanted
for decades - a chance to finally expose the truth through investigating
institutions like the Catholic Church.
Pakistan-born first Muslim female to enter Australian state parliament
By Web Desk Published: April 24, 2013 http://tribune.com.pk
AUSTRALIA: A Pakistan-born migrant
Mehreen Faruqi became the first Muslim
woman to enter the Australian state parliament as she was selected by the New South
Wales Greens to fill a position in the upper
house of the state legislature, Voice of America (VOA) reported on Wednesday.
But one man fears criminal clergy will
carry on undetected, claiming the
Victorian Archdiocese is determined to keep its sordid secrets buried.
Victor Buhagiar has recently quit his post as a Catholic priest, walking
away from the faith after 12 years leading parishes across Victoria.
Buhagiar claims it has became impossible to continue after he found out
the Church was deleting records relating to child sexual abuse….
Cardinal George Pell appears at Victorian
Government inquiry into child abuse
Lego withdraws 'anti-Islamic' Star Wars Jabba the
Hutt palace model from sale after complaints
From: News Limited Network April 02, 2013
The Lego kit at the centre of
the row. Source: Supplied
TOY giant Lego has reportedly agreed to stop producing a Star Wars toy product
Muslims find offensive.
According to Britain's Independent newspaper, Lego
agreed to withdraw the Jabba’s Palace product from production in 2014
to appease those who think it depicts Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, a churchturned-mosque, which is now a museum and one of the city's top tourist
attractions.
Muslim groups also said the watchtower/spire of the toy palace - a Lego
version of Hutt Castle, a monastery-turned-palace belonging to crime
lord Jabba the Hutt - resembled the minaret of a Beirut mosque.
Pope Francis canonises his first saints
From: AAP May 12, 2013
POPE Francis has created the first saints of his reign, canonising some 800
Italian martyrs who refused to convert to Islam in the 15th century, as well
as a Colombian and a Mexican who founded congregations.
Thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday to attend the service to formally bestow the sainthoods, which had been
approved by Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI.
The new saints include Italian cobbler Antonio Primaldo, who was
killed along with an estimated 800 other Italians in 1480 by Ottoman
forces for refusing to convert to Islam.
Also canonised was Colombia's Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena
Montoya y Upeguila, and Mexico's Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala,
who both died in the 20th century...
http://www.abc.net.au 31/05/2013
•
•
•
Key points: What Pell told the inquiry
• Apologised for decades of abuse in
Melbourne diocese.
• Admitted a systemic cover-up of child
abuse within the Church.
• Said former Ballarat bishop Ronald
Mulkearns destroyed documents relating to abuse cases.
Said former Melbourne archbishop Frank Little covered up cases of abuse.
Said abuse became widespread because the clergy did not talk about the
problem….
Defended maximum compensation level of $75,000 for victims of abuse.
(Roman) Catholic Church reveals names of 29
priests it acknowledges are guilty of child sex abuse
Anthony Bongiorno, John Byrne, Peter Chalk, David Daniel, Bernard Day, Anthony
Eames, Nazareno Fasciale, Desmond Gannon, Michael Glennon, Jack Gubbels, Barry
Gwillim, Penn Jones, Bernie Mackin, Terry Merivale, Syd Morey, John O'Callaghan,
Kevin O'Donnell, Tom O'Keefe, Paul Pavlou, Dominic Phillips, Ronald Pickering, Terrence Pidoto, Victor Rubeo, Peter Searson, Ray Whitehouse.
“THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH-A DOCTRINE OF DEMONS”
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking lies
in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot
iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain
from meats, which God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth,”
(1 Tim. 4:1-3)
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 4
Church on trial in pop star scandal
By HEATHER TAN | Associated Press May 16, 2013, 4:47 pm
Singapore has opened a long-anticipated corruption trial of six church leaders accused of embezzling more than $40 million to fund the pop music
career of the wife of their evangelical movement's founder.
City Harvest Church faithful queued at a
Singapore court overnight and packed the
public gallery to show support for the accused
who prosecutors say diverted the congregation's funds into "sham" investments to advance the career of aspiring star Ho Yeow Sun, popularly known as Sun Ho.
The church with affiliates in neighboring Malaysia and other countries is
one of Singapore's richest and biggest, with membership of more than
30,000. It is known in the region for staging large-scale, elaborate services
resembling pop concerts which are conducted by Ho's husband, Kong Hee.
Ho is not on trial but turned up in court Wednesday dressed in a black
leather jacket, skinny pants, stiletto boots and sporting streaky blonde hair
and grey contact lenses. Her husband chatted confidently with his lawyers.
Kong is charged with conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust.
Also charged are church pastor Tan Ye Peng, church members Chew Eng
Han and Lam Leng Hung, and accountants Serina Wee Gek Yin and Sharon
Tan Shao Yuen. The six, who have yet to say how they will plea, could face
prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years.
The prosecution's opening statement ridiculed the contention of church
leaders that pop music was a tool of evangelism that would help spread
God's message.
It said Ho recorded and launched secular music albums to influence people
"who would never choose to step foot into a church to listen to a preacher."
Investments by the church in two companies, Xtron Productions and Firna,
were in substance fake transactions that were orchestrated by the accused
who were all involved in the planning and financing of Ho's music career,
according to prosecutors.
State media reported that 24 million Singapore dollars ($19 million) was
channeled through Xtron and Firna and another S$26 million was misappropriated to cover up the initial sum.
Prosecutors allege that the falsification of church accounts occurred in
2009.
Singapore's media have painted Ho, who is in her early 40s, as an aspiring
superstar who hoped for international fame to help spread her church's
influence. She collaborated on a song and raunchy music video 'China Wine'
with rapper Wyclef Jean in 2007 and attended the 46th annual Grammy
Awards ceremony in 2004.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable,”
(Rom. 12:1-2)
Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust Bible Verse
http://www.reference.com
The phrase "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust" is spoken as part of a eulogy at many funerals, leading to a widespread
misconception that it comes from the Bible. It does not; it is a
text in "Book of Common Prayer" from the following eulogy: In
sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through
our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God: (name). We
commit her body...
CREMATION
“Burning of the dead. The following are the reasons we are convinced that cremation should not be practiced by Christians:
Cremation has a heathen origin and purpose. Why do the Hindus and those of other heathen religions cremate?...
God's people have always practiced burial. Abraham (Gen.
25:8-10), Sarah (Gen. 23:1-4), Rachel (Gen. 35:19-20), Isaac
(Gen. 35:29), Jacob (Gen. 49:33; 50:1-13), Joseph (Gen. 50:26),
Joshua (Joshua 24:29-30), Eleazar (Joshua 24:33), Samuel (1
Sam. 25:1), David (1 Kings 2:10), John the Baptist (Matt. 14:1012), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5-10), Stephen (Acts 8:2). In
Rom. 15:4 and 1 Cor. 10:11 God tells us that we are to follow the
Bible's examples as well as its direct instructions. Even in difficult
circumstances God's people in olden days practiced burial. For
example, Joseph's body was kept for over 400 years in Egypt and
then carried through the 40 years of wilderness wanderings before
being buried in the Promised Land. We read of this in Gen. 50:2425; Ex. 13:19 and Josh. 24:32.... From this important example, we
learn that even if cremation is less expensive or easier than burial,
it is still to be rejected, as the Israelites rejected the economical
and simpler way to transport Joseph's body.
Burial looks forward to resurrection. The reason God's people
have always been careful to practice burial is not difficult to understand. We believe in a bodily resurrection (Ro. 8:22-23; 1 Cor.
15:20-23; 2 Cor. 5:1; 1 Cor. 15:51-57). Yes, the buried body will
decompose in time. Yes, there are occasions in which Christians
die in ways which render burial impossible--in the sinking of ships,
in fires, etc. But when at all possible we bury. Why the trouble?
Because it is our certain hope that the same individual will be
raised in the same body, only changed.
The physical body is called the seed for the resurrection body.
When planted, a seed decomposes, and the new plant comes
forth. The Bible uses this to illustrate resurrection. In 1 Cor. 15:3544 the Apostle answers those who would ask how it is possible for
God to raise again a decomposed body. The terminology used by
the Holy Spirit in this passage is that of husbandry--planting seed.
The farmer does not destroy his seed; he plants it, then from the
decaying seed comes forth the new life. Such is burial and the
resurrection. When we bury a Christian loved one, we are planting
the seed for the resurrection body!...the promise of bodily resurrection. Contrast heathenism. They have no such knowledge or hope.
The Hindus and Buddhists, for example, believe in reincarnation.
Though they believe in a human soul which is distinct from the
body, they do not believe that soul, once departed from the body at
death, will be resurrected in any relation whatsoever to the first
body. Rather they believe the soul will be reincarnated in another
entirely unrelated body, or into a non-physical sphere of existence.
God's people have always buried their dead with this magnificent hope burning in their hearts. "We will see that brother or sister
again in that same body, only changed, glorified!" Hallelujah! Only
through the death and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ can we have this certain hope. He has taken upon Himself
on the cross the punishment for our sins, carried our sins into the
grave, and risen again in eternal triumph three days later….
God practices burial (Deut. 34:5, 6).
Cremation is a sign of God's curse. Throughout the Bible the
destruction of a human body...by fire is used as a sign of divine
wrath (Ex. 32:20; Lev. 10:1-2; Deut. 7:25; Num. 16:35; 2 Kings
10:26; 1 Chron. 14:12; Acts 19:18-19; Rev. 20:15).
For a person not to have a proper burial was considered a
dishonor (1 Kings 21:23-24; Psalm 83:9-10).
The Christian's body belongs to God. The body is not ours to
destroy by fire or by any other means (Ro. 14:8; 1 Co. 6:19-20).
God has plainly called cremation wickedness (Am. 2:1).
The Lord Jesus Christ was buried, and He is our great example (John 19:38-42)”….FundamentalBaptistLibrary
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 5
Controversial Televangelist Peter Popoff
Hawks 'Miracle Water'
WE ARE STAR PEOPLE
By Leonardo Blair , CP Contributor April 4, 2013 http://www.christianpost.com
DON'T be alarmed, but you have alien DNA in
your genetic code. Science says so.
Scientists from Kazakhstan believe that human
DNA was encoded with an extraterrestrial signal
by an ancient alien civilisation, Discovery.com
reports.
They call it "biological SETI" and the researchers claim that the mathematical
code in human DNA cannot be explained by evolution.
In a nutshell, we're living, breathing vessels for some kind of alien message which
is more easily used to detect extra terrestrial life than via radio transmission.
"Once fixed, the code might stay unchanged over cosmological timescales; in fact,
it is the most durable construct known," the researchers wrote in scientific journal,
Icarus. "Therefore it represents an exceptionally reliable storage for an intelligent
signature.
"Once the genome is appropriately rewritten the new code with a signature will
stay frozen in the cell and its progeny, which might then be delivered through
space and time."
The scientists also claim that human DNA is ordered so precisely that it reveals an
"ensemble of arithmetical and ideographical patterns of symbolic language".
Their research has led the scientists to conclude that we were invented "outside
the solar system, already several billion years ago".
The thesis supports the hypothesis that Earth is the result of interstellar life forms
distributed by meteors and comets.
Peter Popoff, the controversial televangelist
who amassed millions from a "prophetic
anointing" that was later revealed to have
come, at least in part, from information fed
to him over a radio by his wife, Elizabeth, is
now hawking baggies of "miracle spring
water" that promises to rid its drinkers from debt.
The wealth-attracting water is being marketed through Popoff's website and
early morning and late night broadcasts on popular Cable TV channels like
Black Entertainment Television (BET) despite a wealth of evidence, including a report by noted skeptic, James Randi, that his miracle ministry reeks of
chicanery.
The Christian Post reached out to a representative of BET programming on
Thursday who said questions regarding the Popoff broadcasts should be
directed to its public affairs section. A response to questions directed to that
section has not been returned.
In the electric infomercial about the miracle water, which Popoff provides for
"free," several of its sippers swear by its potency and report hundreds, even
thousands of dollars in debt being cancelled by the water's power.
"This lady right here, Gloria Freeman, guess how much money she got after
you prayed with her and sent her the miracle spring water, how much did you
get?" prompts an excited host in the infomercial.
"Um, $23,000," replied Freeman to delirious applause from an awestruck
crowd. "It was close to $11,000," gushed another miracle water drinker.
"When you don't have that in your wallet, $11,000 is like $2 million to you
and I give God praise for that," she said. "So trust and believe God, It'll happen for you. That's a true prophet," she charged. Follow us.
The miracle spring water comes with a miracle tool and its peddlers suggest it
can get you on your way to debt free living. It can also influence divine
money transfers directly into your account.
The Christian Post reached out to Popoff's toll free number to get a sample of
the water rushed to the publication's office, but was met with an automated
recording of Popoff's voice asking for a name and contact information in
order to send the water in a rush.
CP decided to rely, however, on the YouTube testimony of "Josh," who
posted a recording of his order of the miracle water last March under the
username Ankh Infinitus.
One commenter on the video identified as MissSwaggaLovesYou noted
three weeks ago that: "I sent off for that crap a week ago. It came today, I
threw it in the trash. The stories I've read seem like witchcraft or wiccan nonsense."
The Better Business Bureau (BBB), which gave Popoff's People United for
Christ an F rating in the past, does not have a current rating for his organization.
"This charitable organization either has not responded to written BBB requests for information or has declined to be evaluated in relation to BBB
Standards for Charity Accountability. Charity participation in BBB review is
voluntary. However, without the requested information, it is not possible to
determine whether this charity adheres to all of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability," noted the BBB on its website. "The BBB encourages
charities to disclose accountability information beyond that typically included
in financial statements and government filings, in order to demonstrate transparency and strengthen public trust in the charitable sector," it said.
Scientific proof we were created by aliens
by: Staff Writers From:news.com.au April 10, 2013
Creationist Ken Ham Calls Out Atheists
for Intolerance, Self-Righteousness
Stoyan Zaimov http://www.christianpost.com
22/05/2013 (Photo: AP / Ed Reinke)
Ken Ham, founder of the nonprofit ministry
Answers in Genesis, poses with one of his
favorite animatronic dinosaurs during a tour of
the new Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky.,
Thursday, May 24, 2007.
Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum has posted a video
of atheist Internet users who are planning on protesting his participation at a
homeschool convention in Texas.
In a two-hour video chat titled "Home School Abuse by Creationists," the
atheist members talk about their opposition to Ham's planned speech at the
Texas Home School Coalition Convention on Aug. 1–3.
"Every pastor, Christian leader, homeschooler, teenager, Christian parent,
and, in fact, all Christians need to see this video chat featuring a number of
very intolerant atheists (and some are hateful and angry)," the creationist
writes about the video, which he breaks down into separate parts in his blog
post to address the various criticism thrown at him.
Metropolitan Tabernacle Annual Conference
2013 School of Theology
Friday, March 29, 2013 http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org
RECOVERY FROM
SPIRITUAL DECLINE
Proving the Methods of
Scripture
School of Theology 2-4 July 2013
How may evangelical witness be
rebuilt to reach vastly more people in our day? The answer to evangelical decline is not to be found in radical new ways of ‘doing
church’, and the adoption of entertainment culture, as some claim.
Worldly methods will only produce worldly churches.
The answer lies in much greater effort and prayer being invested in
the ‘old paths’ and the ‘good way’.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 6
Pope Francis Elected, Mystery of Iniquity Continues
By Richard Bennett http://www.bereanbeacon.org
As Pope Francis moves onto the world stage, many people are wondering how he will
be generally accepted. The pleasant aura of John Paul II still lingers for many, while
the shortcomings of Benedict XVI still color the current scene. More importantly,
given the Pope’s exalted position in the world, many will be asking how Pope Francis
will change the Papacy. The fact remains, however, that since the early 19th century
the Office of the Papacy has been set on a course of action that no individual pope will
reverse. How can this be so?
Constantine decreed Christianity the religion of the Roman
Empire
Setting the Stage for the Mystery of Iniquity
In 330 A.D., Emperor Constantine moved the seat of the Imperial Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. By that
time, he had decreed Christianity the religion of the Empire in
hopes that by means of its acceptance a new unifying strength
could be infused into his crumbling empire. The new “state
religion” was organized much like the Roman Empire’s military.
It was divided into four major districts, having a head over each. Without persecution,
the simple faith of the early church had declined, so that by the fifth century, the church
at Rome was no longer a fellowship of strong believers under Christ Jesus. Rather it
had become part of an institution dominated by a hierarchy in which the Bishop of
Rome eventually commanded the most power.
Mystery of Iniquity becomes Manifest: Scripture speaks of the “mystery of iniquity.”
This particular lawlessness arose gradually within the church as the Imperial Roman
Empire gave way to what became the Holy Roman Empire. The mystery of iniquity
has been visible in the form of the “man of sin” for well over eight centuries. The
Reformers and general population of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century did
not recognize it, however, until the recovery of the Gospel and the Bible.
The outcome of apostasy is the “deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Such apostasy is
marked by hypocrisy and deceit, while appearing righteous and holy, and is aimed at
deceiving even the very elect, were that possible. For centuries, the reigning Pope has
assumed to himself the titles of “Holy Father” and “Vicar of Christ,” which fulfills in
the unqualified sense the definition of Antichrist given by the Apostle John: “who is a
liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” The Pontiff, in taking these designations to himself, denies the supremacy and honor due both the Father and the Son alone.
A further qualification of “the man of sin” is that he sits in the temple of God showing
himself to be God. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the destruction of the
temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., it is clear from Scripture that it is true Christians who
are the temple of God. They are scattered throughout the world. While the Pope calls
true Christians schismatics, because they are not in “his” church, he nevertheless purports to be the head of the church of Jesus Christ on earth and parades himself about
under the titles of Holy Father and Vicar of Christ.
Emperor Justinian I, more than anyone else, was the one to
establish the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome in the sixth
century. He did it in a formal and legal manner, bringing even
things religious under the control of civil law. Le Roy Edwin
Froom summarized,
“Justinian I (527-565) [was the] greatest of all the rulers of the
Eastern Roman Empire ... [His] great achievement was the
regulation of ecclesiastical and theological matters, crowned
by the imperial Decretal Letter seating the bishop of Rome in
the churches as the ‘Head of all the holy churches,’ thus laying the legal foundation for
papal ecclesiastical supremacy.”
Justinian’s decree did not create the Office of the Papacy but rather set a legal foundation for the acquisition of civil ruling power by the bishops of Rome. Soon the
bishops of Rome desired to reign like kings. The very thing that the Lord had
warned against was now transpiring, “And he said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them…but ye shall not be so.” Vitalian the Bishop of
Rome from 657-672 A.D., was the first to actually be addressed with the title
“Pope,” when he was called in Latin, “Papa Vitalianus”; i.e., Pope Vitialian. It took
time for the Pope of Rome to spread the exercise of his state-given title over the
bishops of Europe and the British Isles. For example, even in northern Italy in 800
A.D., Claude, the bishop of Turin, did not recognize the bishop of Rome’s authority.
The Papacy Grows Strong via Civil Power
From the fourth century through the eighth century, much of the growth of papal
power was acquired in trade-offs with kings throughout what had been the old
Imperial Roman Empire. To be sure, in these centuries there was evangelism with
the true Gospel throughout the area. However, the pagan religion of those still
heathen was not so different from the religion of the Pope, which was more easily
accepted than the Gospel. Then, too, in the eighth century, when the Pope needed
defending against the Saracens and the Lombards, the French kings provided it and
presented the Pope with ruling title to the cities they had won. As a reward, in 800
A.D., Pope Leo III famously crowned Charlemagne Emperor and Augustus. Thus
began the Holy Roman Empire, ever in turmoil over issues of the legal limits of
jurisdiction of each sovereign: the Pope on one hand, and the Emperor on the other.
These issues could not be solved except throughout the actual course of history.
In 1203 as head of the state religion, the Pope Innocent III began through its courts
of Inquisition mandatory subjection to its unbiblical doctrines enforced by the civil
state. This papal killing machine worked tirelessly for six hundred years, standing
at least on par with the largest bloodbaths that Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot, and
other 20th century dictators managed to inflict on
humanity. Thus the form of the mystery of iniquity, the state-ordained Roman Catholic Church
with its Office of the Papacy, grew in strength and
civil power throughout the Dark and Middle Ages.
It had amassed to itself wealth, property, and
influence through the Inquisition and other cruel,
unethical, totally unbiblical means, including
murder and wholesale theft.
Pope Innocent III who in 1203 started the Inquisition of Torture and Burning at the stake.
The Reformation Brings the Rise of the Modern Era
In 1547, the Church of Rome went fully apostate at the Council of Trent when
it formally declared, If anyone shall say that justifying faith is nothing else
than confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake, or
that it is this confidence alone by which we are justified: let him be anathema
[cursed].
From the sixth century until the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the mystery
of iniquity had acquired great political power and earthly wealth. Nevertheless, the
murderous Inquisition of the Papacy was unable to stop the spread of the Reformation throughout northern Europe, England, Scotland, and the Scandinavian countries. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, thousands of Bible believers were
unmercifully persecuted. Providentially, many were able to flee to the new land of
America, a
country born out of the Reformation.
In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years’ War between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran and Calvinistic princes. The Reformation first of all
had restored the absolute authority of God’s written Word, the Bible. Then with the
widespread recovery of the Gospel of grace, and the Bible being made available in
the ordinary languages of the people, the forms of civil government were bound to
change because the religion of many people had changed. Thus, it was agreed that
each nation was to be sovereign; there was to be no Holy Roman Empire to which
sovereign nations bowed. With that idea manifested in force by treaty, the Modern
Era began. Clearly, such a monumental change as the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire might have signaled the end of the Roman Catholic Church. However,
the mystery of iniquity, the heart and soul of the Papacy, was not so easily finished.
Mystery of Iniquity’s Transition into a Modern Nation State
In 1798, after the removal of Pope Pius VI from his throne by a staff general of
Napoleon’s army, it appeared that the Papacy as an institution of the collapsed Holy
Roman Empire might also be at an end. That was not the case. Rather, throughout
the nineteenth century, the Papacy was reorganizing. True, it had lost its power in
the civil arena, having now no official civil status over the modern nation states.
However, it still had its visible institutional structure, infrastructure, and Jesuits; its
religious rituals, false gospel, and traditions; its clergy and laity. All these remained
in place; oiled and functioning.
Externally, the Papacy lost no time in attacking England, which had produced so
many strong and staunch Puritans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In
the nineteenth century, England was still in the forefront of sending forth many
Evangelical missionaries to far corners of the earth.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 7
Continued from p. 6
Thus, in 1844, the Papacy launched the Oxford Movement through John Henry
Newman to bring the Church of England back under its thumb. The strategy was to
gradually remove by stealth the teaching of the Gospel and the great doctrines of
faith from the Bible. These were to be replaced with rituals and personal testimonials. If the Papacy could accomplish this, England could again be a Catholic country.
Internally, to strengthen the hold on ordinary Catholics, the Papacy in 1854 declared
Mary to have been immaculately conceived. With their elevated Mary, the Papacy
had manufactured an alternate but “visible” figurehead to which the Catholic faithful
could be united in prayer. The attention of the faithful was thus deflected away from
the “invisible” Lord Jesus Christ and His Written Word. Without these, their attention naturally focused on the visible image in front of them as the center of their
prayers.
Further, Pope Pius IX was highly instrumental in bringing about the declaration of
“papal infallibility.” With remarkable ingenuity, against not only the Scriptural
absurdity of the concept, but also in spite of the historical fact of popes declared
heretical by the same Roman Catholic Church, this was made doctrine at Vatican
Council I in 1870. This doctrine consolidated in the hands of the reigning pope
dictatorial powers heretofore unknown within the Catholic Church. Succeeding
popes reestablished the Papacy internally by reorganizing Roman Catholic law into
the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
Vatican Achieves Civil Status in the Modern Era
The apparent mortal wound of 1798 was healed in 1929, when, under Mussolini, the
Vatican was again recognized as a sovereign civil power, known as the Holy See,
where Vatican City is seated geographically within the city of Rome that encompasses all seven hills. The concordat with Mussolini was only the beginning of
many civil concordats, one of the most infamous being that between Pope Pius XII
and Adolf Hitler. Thus, the Papacy had consolidated its power from within by the
1917 Code of Canon Law and from without by legal concordats with various nations. Consequently, the Vatican has a growing civil power with which to be reckoned—for it has its own faithful living within most sovereign nations around the
world while its civil agreements with the same nations allow the Catholic Church to
teach the faith to its people. This is a double cord of power.
The individual Catholic fearing for his salvation, and laden with his first allegiance being to “Holy Mother Church,” becomes a pliable pawn in the hand of
the Papacy.
Mystery of Iniquity Makes Strategic Change
Vatican Council II (1962-1965) formally declared the Papacy’s strategic change of
tactics regarding the reunification of Protestants under Catholicism, along with
incorporating other faiths under its rule. Therefore, the Council moved from a position of “separation from other religions” to one of an all-encompassing ecumenism,
not only with the religions of the world, but also with Bible believers in particular.
“Separated brethren” was the new term for these Bible believers who previously
were called heretics. Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism previously called pagan
religions were now accepted as religions that contain, “what is true and holy.” This
new approach was established by the Roman Catholic Church to win the world to
herself, primarily by means of dialogue. The Council formulated its rules and goals
of dialogue, which are carefully spelled out in her post-Conciliar Document No. 42,
on ecumenism. It states that, “dialogue is not an end in itself ... it is not just an
academic discussion.” Rather, “ecumenical dialogue…serves to transform modes of
thought and behavior and the daily life of those [non-Catholic] communities. In this
way, it aims at preparing the way for their unity of faith in the bosom of a Church
one and visible.”
Unlike the Body of Christ, whose unity is in Jesus Christ, the unity for which the
Roman Church strives is an outward, visible unity, and one that will be enforceable
through civil law – as her “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church”
spells out by means of many deceptive words.
The Pope’s official position is that “ecumenical encounter is not merely an individual work, but also a task of the Roman Church, which takes precedence over all
individual opinions.” The Papacy expects this process of dialogue to take time. The
Roman Catholic Church’s aim of bringing “all Christian churches” under her authority is her clearly stated goal. She says, “…little by little, as the obstacles to perfect
ecclesial communion are overcome, all Christians will be gathered, in a common
celebration of the Eucharist [the Mass] into that unity of the one and only Church…
This unity, we believe, dwells in the Catholic Church as something we can never
lose.”
Pope John Paul II, while initially having been thought to be liberal and modern,
further consolidated the dictatorial powers afforded him by the 1917 Code of
Canon Law and by his purported infallibility, bequeathed him by Vatican Council
I. This he did by revising the 1917 Code, making it even more conservative than
it had been, and he was careful to appoint new bishops in line with his centralized
way of thinking….
Mystery of Iniquity: Power Player in the Post-Modern Era
The Roman Catholic Church is not content to rule only over her own faithful.
Rather, now with the dawn of the Post-Modern era, globalism is the manifesting
idea of the day, a day for which the Papacy throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been preparing. The “Compendium of Social Doctrine of the
[Catholic] Church,” which began to be collected by the end of the nineteenth
century under Pope Leo, is a catalog of Catholic law. It lays out the Papal ideas
and strategies for restructuring the current civil political world and extends the
application of its laws and dictates to all individuals worldwide. For instance, it
states that all human individuals worldwide are part of “the common good.”
Everybody has a share in the common good and everybody has something to
contribute to the common good. The rallying cry of the Compendium is for
“fairness, equality, social justice, economic justice, etc.,” which defined by them
means that everyone must participate in sharing what he has with whomever the
state says he must, regardless of whether or not one agrees with this view. For a
while, those who maintain such backward and recalcitrant attitudes will be tolerated; then individuals will be coerced into taking part.
Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI called for a new governmental structure to
rule over the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). This new governmental body, conferring among themselves, is to hand down laws and dictates
which the nation states of the UN would then enforce – in other words, a new
sovereign world empire in which the nation states are simply to enforce the laws
and dictates of a higher, unelected body. All goods, resources, and property of
any kind would be subject to management by the UN and the nations.
In a word, the Papacy wants a totally centralized world government, one in which
the Roman Catholic Church will be the moral and juridical authority. To that end,
the Roman Church has been increasingly bold in infusing into national and international public forums her agenda for restructuring the civil secular world. Regardless of the type of persona Pope Francis displays, he will not change this
central objective of the Papacy.
The Compendium is constantly being updated as information is gathered, collated, and taught to individual lay Catholics. Most Catholics have not recognized
the agenda that is behind the change in what they are being taught.
Yet, it is the specific duty of all lay Catholics to change the thinking within their
societies to align with the Papal understanding of church and civil government.
In the fifty years since Vatican Council II, dutiful lay Catholics in every walk of
life have been quite successful at rolling Catholic social doctrine like a new Trojan horse into all sorts of religious, political, and social groups. The Evangelical
church, for the most part, has felt honored to receive such a prize.
For at least seventy years, Catholic social doctrine has been mainstreamed into
the political arena. Witness the buzzwords of today, coined not by Muslims,
Hindus or Buddhists, but by the Roman Catholic Church: phrases such as
“redistribution of wealth,” “social justice,” “economic justice,” “dignity of the
human person,” “the common good,” “fairness,” and the “right to life, food,
clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, education, and employment.” Catholic social
doctrine is pushed worldwide by individual Catholics and Catholic groups, as the
latest addenda to what the Papacy says are included in evangelization. The Papacy says this is the particular duty of the Catholic laity. Thus, the “mystery of
iniquity,” made manifest in the institution of the Roman Catholic Church and its
Office of the Papacy, has for the last century been moving effectively into the
civil governmental sphere, everywhere pressing its own unbiblical ideas into the
public forum.
These ideas are to be formulated into ruinous and unjust laws to the enslavement
of those living under them. Utopianism, socialism, communism, totalitarianism
are children of the Papacy’s doctrine and practice. These ungodly ideas are found
in the Compendium as integral parts of Roman Catholic social doctrine.
Under the civil title of Holy See, the Catholic Church has ambassadors in many
nations. Declining to come under the dominion of the United Nations, she preferred to take an official place as observer rather than member. The Holy See has
observer status in many other international bodies as well. Moreover, the Roman
Church has a viable infrastructure in most countries of the world.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 8
Continued from p. 7
Therefore, she is in an excellent position to take advantage of the burgeoning idea
of globalism in every sector of life that the statists, utopians, and totalitarians intend
to harness to their own ends. She, with her “fifth column” in every nation, is able to
pervert the Gospel, sideline the truths taught in the Scripture as irrelevant or false,
and deceptively divert Bible believers away from the love of the truth. What then is
to stop her from once again making wholesale merchandise of men’s souls in deals
with modern leaders of the nations to the glory of her own power?
Conclusion: The “mystery of iniquity” arose under the Imperial Roman Empire
and survived the empire’s demise. In 537 A.D., Justinian gave the legal base for it
to acquire civil power, which it did throughout the course of the next ten centuries.
Its temporal power was arrested by the recovery of the Bible and the Gospel during
the Reformation of the sixteenth century. It was held at bay by the Puritans of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Nevertheless, it survived the demise of the
Holy Roman Empire to become a sovereign nation in the 20th century and is now set
to be a major power player in the Post Modern Era.
Currently Pope Francis is the visible head of the Roman church; but the mystery of
iniquity is still the power behind the throne. The mystery of iniquity is nothing less
than the satanic counterfeit of the mystery of godliness. The Scripture states,
“without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up into glory.”
The “mystery of godliness” is the great revelation of God, which had its full manifestation in the Person of the Christ of God. Thus, Scripture proclaims, “God, who
at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by
the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high.”
As we behold the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Father, we also behold the
power, wisdom, and goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ; for as mediator, He has the
nature and perfections of God in Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ alone can satisfy
our hearts. There is absolutely no church system that satisfies; it is only our personal relationship with our Lord that truly satisfies. Thus, His Word expresses it,
“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside
thee.”
How trivial and vain are the promises of the Papal system compared to the Person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is revealed as the “chiefest among ten thousand.”
Were it not for the recovery of the absolute authority of the Bible alone and the
Gospel of grace in salvation during the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the
“mystery of iniquity” might still be undetected. Contrary to this, and in spite of the
mystery of iniquity being so rampantly displayed in the world today, the Holy Spirit
still convicts individual men of their sin before Holy God, sends them repentance
unto life in Christ Jesus. “For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
The true believer is thus “accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
The frightening words of the Lord in Matthew 7:21 ought to ring in the ears of those
who have spent their whole lives believing a religious system, “not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
No person, by merely acknowledging Christ’s authority, believing in His divinity,
professing faith in His perfection and in the infinite merit of His atonement, shall
have any part with God in His glory, but only he who does the will of His Father.
The Lord put the command to believe in a nutshell when He said, “this is the work
of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” Likewise, the Apostle Paul
and Silas declared, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and
thy house.” The godliness of Jesus Christ stands, so also is His call on your life.
Before you the question stands, have you tasted of “the mystery of godliness”? To
personally know Christ Jesus is to know the everlasting arms of the All-Holy God.
Does your very heart and soul cry out to Him, “Abba, Father”? The water of life is
offered to you in the abundance of grace, which far surpasses the evils of sin. Thus,
the Lord’s call in Scripture says, “the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him
that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely.”
Once a convicted sinner believes on Christ Jesus alone, by grace alone, through
faith alone, as his only surety and refuge before the All-Holy God, he finds himself
not only freed from his sins, but made to “reign in life ... for if by one man’s offence
death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Those who receive the
abundant grace given by Christ are not only redeemed from the dominion of death,
they live and reign with Christ as they are sanctified daily through His Word by the
Holy Spirit, and by constant fellowship with Him. With Him, they shall reign
forever and glorify Him for all eternity. Believe on Him alone and you will be
secure in Him, “to the praise of the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved.” Then you will behold “the mystery of godliness.” “Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new.”
By Richard Bennett http://www.bereanbeacon.org
Mathew Whelan, Britain's Most Tattooed Man
Legally Changes Name To ‘Body Art'
Caters News | By Sara C Nelson Posted: 05/03/2013
A tattoo enthusiast who has spent 300 hours in the chair and more
than £20,000 on ink, has legally changed his name to ‘Body Art’.
Born Mathew Whelan, the 33-year-old has even had the white of
one of his eyes tattooed.
With ink covering 80 per
cent of his body, he is believed to be Britain’s most
tattooed man.
Born Mathew Whelan, Body Art is
believed to be Britain's most tattooed man
An occasional volunteer for the Liberal Democrats, Body Art is
keen to share his enthusiasm for tattooing, and even likens his
fervour to a religious passion.
http://metro.co.uk Tuesday 5 Mar 2013
Born-again Christian Terry O’Neill shows off a similarly impressive tattoo (Picture: Cascade News)
‘I’ve got so much respect for the
history of body modification,’ explained the Birmingham native.
‘It’s an art and a culture and when
a group of kids stare at me, I’ll talk
to them and explain the history of
it.
‘People who do what I do treat
their body like a temple. Like
Christian’s have Jesus, we have
our bodies.’
Body Art has set up his own nonprofit organisation, called Modify, to help those with body modifications to get work.
He said: ‘For me it’s a lifestyle. I have a personal belief in skinology and bodistry which is my adaptation of skin and story of the
body.
‘I don’t see why someone should be discriminated against just
because of the way they look, so I want to help those people as
much as I can to find employment.’
Earlier this year, a tattoo-ly in love woman hit the headlines after
she had her partner’s name inked on her face.
The Old Testament is specific about the prohibition against tattoos (Lev.
19:28; cf. 1 Cor. 6:19-20). During Bible times, tattoos were common in both
pagan culture and amongst pagan priests.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 9
The Government Is Gaining Power To Kill Anyone
Who Does Not Have Proper "Quality of Life"!
[email protected] 25/04/203
Legislation is being considered by the Texas Legislature which would grant
physicians the power to
withhold critical medical
treatment to terminally ill
patients.
No one will be able to stop
this medical doctor from
withholding treatment, not even the family or the patient himself.
Hitler called this a "Quality of Life" issue and murdered countless
numbers of patients by withholding treatment.
NEWS BRIEF: "Surprise! Look who's getting power to kill
you", World Net Daily, April 24, 2013
"A new bill advancing through the Texas Legislature would allow doctors to decide when you die, giving them the authority to
issue 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders regardless of the wishes expressed by patients or their families. The legislation, known as
Texas S.B. 303, is sponsored by State Sen. Bob Duell, vice chair
of the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.
Duell is a Republican, and the GOP holds the majority in the
chamber. The bill has already been approved by the committee."
Two million-year-old creature
had mix of ape, human traits
Reuters April 13, 2013
Australopithecus sediba had a narrow rib cage similar to apes' but a
flexible spine more similar to that of a human.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) A 2 million-year-old ancestor
of man had a mixture of ape
and human-like features that
allowed it to hike vast distances on two legs with as
much ease as it could scurry
up trees, according to research published on Friday.
Discovered in cave near Johannesburg in 2008, the fossils of a species named "Australopithecus sediba" have given researchers clues
about the evolution of man and which traits in our ancestors fell by
the wayside….
The “biblical age of the earth and universe of about 6,000
years” http://www.answersingenesis.org
A YOUNG EARTH
by Dr. Terry Mortenson, AiG–USA http://www.answersingenesis.org
The evolution-creation controversy began in earnest in
the early 19th century when the geological theories of a
millions-of-years-old earth became popular, a half century before Darwin published his controversial Origin of
Species (1859).
Up until the mid to late 1700s, the dominant view in
Europe regarding earth history was based on a literal
interpretation of Genesis: the earth is only about 6000
years old and Noah’s Flood was a global catastrophe...
Key abortion facts for Tasmania’s upper house
Jim Collins of FamilyVoice Australia 18.04.13 http://tasmaniantimes.com
Photo: The Government has
been asked to take action against
the school involved in the antiabortion protest. (ABC)
...The latest gold-standard
study on abortion and mental
health, published two weeks
ago on 3 April 2013, found no
evidence that abortion reduces
mental health risks associated with an unwanted pregnancy. On the
contrary, this study led by pro-choice NZ researcher Dr David Fergusson found that abortion significantly increases the risk of subsequent
mental ill-health including anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal
thoughts, compared with carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term.
...The penalties in the O’Byrne bill for protests, including silent, non
-obstructive protests, within 150 metres of an abortion clinic, are
horrendous ($65,000 fine and/or one year in jail) – breaching any
reasonable understanding of freedom of speech. There is also a very
onerous penalty for a pro-life counsellor who declines to participate in
an abortion, so does not refer a pregnant woman for counselling by
another person who supports abortion. The health minister has demonstrated extreme hypocrisy, since harassing, obstructing and intimidating are already offences under Tasmanian law and there is no law
against silent, non-obstructive protests against whale killing or
tree-logging….
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee.”
(Isa. 49:15)
Doctor accused of severing babies' spines
with scissors in 'house of horrors'
By Mark Morgenstein, CNN March 4, 2013
Dr. Kermit Gosnell is accused of performing illegal abortions past the
24-week limit prescribed by law.
(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania doctor is accused
of running a "house of horrors" in which he
performed abortions past the 24-week limit
allowed by law -- even allegedly as late as
eight months into pregnancy.
He used scissors, authorities say, to sever the spinal cords of newborns
who emerged from their mothers still alive.
Department of Education to Eliminate
'Mother,' 'Father' From Federal Student
By Bethany Blankley , CP Contributor May 11, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will no
longer use the terms "mother" and
"father" when collecting information
about a student's legal parents when
those parents apply for federal student aid. Instead of using the words
"mother" and "father," the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid
form (FAFSA) will use "Parent 1" and "Parent 2."
Picture: Apostasy Alert
The announcement states that the changes to the 2014-2015 federal student
aid form "more accurately and fairly assess students' need for aid" and that
"Gender-specific terms fail to capture income and other information from
one parent when a student's parents are in a same-sex marriage under state
law but not federally recognized under the Defense of Marriage Act."
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 10
About the Prime Minister’s atheism
US florist refused to serve gay couple
by Dwight A. Randall http://lifeministries.org.au 2006
http://news.ninemsn.com.au April 10, 2013
In the lead up to the recent (Australian) federal election, I noticed that
many people, including some Christians, stated that they believed that
Julia Gillard’s atheism is a matter of little or no concern….
There is a marked difference between Christians and atheists. This
traces back to their most deeply held convictions.
Atheists believe, for example, that there is no God. Atheists believe
that human beings are nothing more than complex animals. Atheists
believe that humans determine right from wrong for themselves. Atheists believe in human autonomy—that self, or the collective—must be
the first consideration. Indeed, atheists of the socialist persuasion believe that truth is whatever will serve their understanding of the collective good. This is exactly the opposite of what Christians believe…
Julia Gillard rejects God. When attending Mitchum Baptist Church in
her childhood, Julia received awards for her memorisation of Bible
verses. However, at some point in time, probably when she became
deeply involved in radical feminism at university, she abandoned her
belief in God. On June 29th of this year, radio host Jon Faine on ABC
Melbourne Radio asked her, “Do you believe in God?” to which she
responded, “No, I don’t, John.”
Julia Gillard rejects marriage. In 1983, under Julia’s leadership of the
Australian Union of Students, the AUS declared that marriage is a
form of prostitution — “sex in return for love, security and housekeeping” (The Australian, 6 April 1984). Over two decades later Julia
remains unmarried, but has had several de facto relationships, including one with a Labor frontbencher who was at the time, and still remains married with children.
Julia’s ongoing disregard for the importance of marriage can be
seen in her choice to live with her partner, Tim Mathieson, outside of
marriage. She is the first Prime Minister of Australia to live in fornication (to coin a biblical phrase) with a “partner” in Kirribilli. At a time
when marriage and family are fracturing in Australia, to the detriment
of couples, their children and society, our new Prime Minister sets a
very poor example for the young people of this nation...
The attorney-general in the US state of Washington has filed a
lawsuit against a florist who refused to provide flowers for the
wedding of longtime gay customers, citing her religious opposition to same-sex marriage….
Gillard, Abbott unmoved by NZ gay
marriage vote
April 18, 2013 http://www.smh.com.au
Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Photo: Wayne Taylor
Prime Minister Julia Gillard
says she won't be moved from
her stance against gay marriage
despite New Zealand passing
legislation allowing same sex
couples to tie the knot….
As Ms Gillard was speaking at Ringwood, a conscience vote in New
Zealand parliament passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage)
Amendment Bill with a convincing 77-44 vote.
New Zealand is the 13th country to legalise gay marriage and the first
in the Asia-Pacific.
When comment was sought on the NZ development from Opposition
Leader Tony Abbott, his office pointed to a previous interview in
which he reiterated that while Coalition policy stated that marriage
was between a man and a woman, MPs would not be allowed a conscience vote on this issue.
Last year, an attempt to legalise gay marriage failed in the Australian
parliament, with Ms Gillard opposed to the move, and Mr Abbott refusing Coalition MPs a conscience vote….
Arlene's Flowers on Lee Boulevard
in Richland.
Bob Brawdy — Tri-City Herald
JD Bristol, attorney for Arlene's,
said his client has many customers and employees who are gay
and the claim that she is
"discriminating on the basis on
sexual orientation is nonsense."
"This is about gay marriage, it's
not about a person being gay,"
Bristol said. "She has a conscientious objection to homosexual
marriage, not homosexuality. It violates her conscience."…
In its suit, the attorney-general's office said the florist discriminated against Ingersoll based on his sexual orientation and is
seeking $US2,000 ($A1,915.98) in penalties and a permanent
injunction requiring the florist to comply with state laws….
"I one hundred percent believe this is a freedom-of-expression
and free-exercise-of-religion issue," he said. "What the government is saying here is that you don't have the right to free religious exercise."
According to the Bible, marriage is instituted by God
and is the witnessed union and covenant of God between a man and a woman as husband and wife (Prov.
2:17; Ezekiel 16:8; cf. Mal. 2:14).
Sign of the times controversy
By CAMERON WHITELEY April 23, 2013
PUBLIC DISPLAY: Graham
Hodge's sign at Somerset, that features a male and female gender
symbol and two wedding rings, has
sparked debate. Picture: Grant
Wells.
A SIGN at Somerset featuring a
male and female gender symbol and two wedding rings has sparked controversy.
The Advocate was yesterday inundated with calls from members of the public on
both sides of the same-sex marriage argument about the sign near the Cam River.
Wynyard resident Maire MacCana was upset after noticing the sign while driving
past. "I found it upsetting that an idea that I find discriminatory was displayed in
such a public place," she said. "While I recognise that people believe that marriage should be between a man and woman, 10 per cent of the population are
homosexual."
The man who put up the sign, Graham Hodge from Cam River Signs, admitted
he knew the sign would be controversial. However, Mr Hodge said it was "a
subtle way of saying that man plus woman equals marriage." "It's not about
marriage equality, that's a complete misnomer, it's about destroying the institution of marriage completely."
Mr Hodge, a Christian, said he was entitled to voice his opinion.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 11
“Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip, Hooray”
Was Once an Anti-Semitic Phrase
http://www.todayifoundout.com Daven Hiskey September 9, 2010
Today I Found Out the
“Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip,
Hooray” was once antiSemitic.
This phrase is thought to
have its origins in the middle-age Latin battle-cry
“Hieroslyma est perdita’,
which means “Jerusalem
is fallen” or “Jerusalem is lost”. This was later shortened by Germanic tribes fighting Jews to “Hep Hep Hu-raj”, meaning loosely
“Jerusalem is fallen and we are on the way to paradise.”
White House map 'erases'
Jerusalem, biblical territories
http://www.wnd.com 03/19/2013 by Aaron Klein
Aaron Klein is WND's senior staff reporter and Jerusalem bureau chief.
Sources say Obama already has pledged to discuss land for peace
TEL AVIV – The White House has released what it says is a map of Israel.
The only problem is that Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Golan
Heights are missing.
An Obama administration video highlighting the president’s plans for his
Mideast trip depicts Jerusalem, the Golan and the West Bank – also
known as Judea and Samaria – as non-Israeli territory.
The Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the discrepancies,
noted the video shows the Golan Heights as part of Syria; Jerusalem is
depicted as part of the West Bank; and northern Israel is shown as part of
Lebanon….
WND reported in August 2012 when the White House refused to name
the capital of Israel – not once, but twice – as the two most senior White
House correspondents cornered Obama’s press secretary, doggedly questioning him on whether the Obama administration considered Jerusalem
or Tel Aviv to be the capital of the Jewish state….
WND previously reported Palestinians are building illegally in Jewishowned areas of Jerusalem, creating Arab majorities in certain neighborhoods.
Israel in Moscow talks to halt supply of
missiles to Syrian regime
Intelligence figures make attempt to prevent anti-aircraft weapons
reaching Assad or others who could attack Israel.
Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv http://www.guardian.co.uk Wednesday 29 May 2013
Israeli intelligence officials
have flown to Moscow to try to
stop Russian S-300 anti-aircraft
missiles being delivered to
Syria's Assad regime. Photograph: Ivan Sekretarev/AP
Top-level Israeli intelligence figures flew into Moscow on Tuesday
night in a last-ditch attempt to talk the Kremlin out of supplying sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to the Assad regime, which once
installed in Syria would have the range and power to target civilian
and military aircraft over Tel Aviv…
Lawmakers question gift of 20 F-16s to Morsi's Egypt
By Maxim Lott http://www.foxnews.com December 11, 2012
Turmoil in Egypt isn't stopping a
shipment of 20 F-16 fighter jets, including this one - already emblazoned
with Egypt's flag. (Courtesy: Carl
Richards)
Key lawmakers expressing concerns
about the Obama administration's
plan to send 20 F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, where new President Mohamed
Morsi's allegiances are as uncertain as his grip on power.
Under a foreign aid deal signed in 2010, when Morsi's U.S.-friendly predecessor Hosni Mubarak was in charge, the U.S. is giving the planes to Egypt's air
force, which already has more than 200 of the aircraft. The first four jets are to
be delivered beginning Jan. 22, a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth,
where the planes have been undergoing testing, told FoxNews.com. But the
$213 million gift is raising questions on Capitol Hill as Morsi is under fire for
trying to seize dictatorial powers and allegedly siccing thugs and rapists on
protesters.
Netanyahu cool to Arab land-swap initiative
By William Booth, May 01, 2013 washingtonpost.com
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday
that Israel and the Palestinians could not achieve a peace deal based on
land swaps alone and insisted that the most important thing is for Palestinians to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state.
“You saw what happened when we left the Gaza Strip. We evacuated the
last settlers, and what did we get? Missiles,” he said, referring to Israel’s
unilateral withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from the Palestinian coastal
territory in 2005….
“The Title Deeds to the Promised Land”
“O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob
his chosen. 7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are
in all the earth. 8He hath remembered his covenant for
ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. 9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and
his oath unto Isaac; 10And confirmed the same unto
Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: 11Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,”
(Psalm 105:6-11)
Disclaimer: Faith and Freedom Ministries Inc. does not always agree with
views or doctrine printed from the secular, Christian or so-called Christian
articles that appear in the magazine. The magazine committee stand
strongly on biblical separation from apostasy (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Articles
represent church history and biblical prophecy being fulfilled and must be
read discerningly . Articles are not necessarily error free.
FAITH AND FREEDOM June—July 2013 Page 12
Russian Orthodox Patriarch
denounces 'dangerous feminism'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk Agence France-Presse in Moscow 10 April 2013
The Russian Orthodox Patriarch has cautioned against
the dangers of feminism, denouncing "propaganda"
that encourages women to take roles beyond housekeeping and rearing children.
Jesus not found outside the Church,
Pope preaches
By Estefania Aguirre http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Pope Francis celebrates Mass
in St. John Lateran on March
29, 2013. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA.
Vatican City, Apr 23, 2013
(CNA/EWTN News).Pope Francis said that people cannot be fully united
to Jesus outside of the Church during a Mass to commemorate
Saint George, the saint he is named after.
“You cannot find Jesus outside the Church,” he said April 23 in
the Apostolic Palace’s Pauline Chapel.
Patriarch Kirill is a champion of the government's drive to restore socalled family values Photo: EPA
"I consider the phenomenon called feminism very dangerous," said
the powerful Patriarch Kirill in a speech posted on the official Russian Orthodox Church website.
"Feminist organisations proclaim a pseudo-freedom of women,
which should be manifested outside marriage and family."
He argued: "The man should be focused on matters outside (of the
house), he must work and earn money, but the woman is always directed to the inside, towards her children and her home."
"If that very important function of the woman is broken, then this is
followed by the breaking of everything else: family, and in a larger
sense, the motherland."
“FEMINISM. A movement which denies, to various degrees, the
Bible's teaching on the nature and created position of the
woman,”
(FundamentalBaptistLibrary2000)
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh
holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of
good things; 4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to
love their husbands, to love their children, 5To be discreet, chaste,
keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the
word of God be not blasphemed,”
(Titus 2:3-5)
“It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the
identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging,” he declared in
his homily.
No Salvation In The (Roman)
Catholic Religion!
By David J. Stewarthttp://www.jesus-is-savior.com
"...for,behold,thekingdomof Godiswithinyou."—Luke17:21
When will (Roman) Catholics ever wake up and
realize that the kingdom of God is not found
in a building, or a religion, or a bunch of ceremonies and superstitions. Jesus said that the
kingdom of God is within the Christian believer by faith alone.
Kevin Rudd declares his support for same sex marriage
by: Daniel Piotrowski and Leigh van den Broeke From: news.com.au May 20, 2013
Source: news.com.au
FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd has
thrown his support
behind same sex marriage in a blog post
on his website.
"I have come to the
conclusion that church
and state can have different positions and practices on the question of same sex marriage," Mr Rudd said. "I believe the secular
Australian state should be able to recognise same sex marriage."
Mr Rudd said any marriage equality legislation brought forward
should not place any requirement on churches or religious institutions to conduct same sex marriages.
The former PM and current backbencher's announcement marks a
significant shift for Mr Rudd.
In September 2012, Mr Rudd voted against gay marriage legislation introduced by fellow ALP backbencher Stephen Jones.
“In those days...every man did that which was right in his
own eyes,”
(Judges 21:25)