Pat Reardon is Eastern Orthodox, and the editor of an international magazine. See Dean's response below... this is a response to a Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox/Protestant debate list that the writer participates with.

PAT REARDON (Eastern Orthodox) SAYS:
I am not in a position to challenge you on any of this material. Indeed, a woman who works here at Touchstone, a very devout Catholic who would never consider leaving the RCC, was speaking to me last week about how poor and unbiblical the sermons are at her parish. I have heard other evidence, too, that you are not exaggerating the problem.

If I thought that problem could be cleared up by "following along" while the Bible is read in public at Mass, believe me, I would encourage it.

I believe, however, that the current problems in the Roman Catholic Church are far more serious. If I may, I append here a daily chronology of the month of April just published by the Catholic World Report. Please bear in mind that this chronology was not published by the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church but by those who love and cherish the Roman Catholic Church.

It is profoundly sad. I became deeply depressed from reading it.

Pat Reardon

A simple listing of the news headlines emerging each day illustrates the enormous scope of the scandal.

The current crisis over priests who engage in various type of sex abuse, usually with boys and young men, dates back several years, but it exploded into the consciousness of most American Catholics‹as well as onto the front pages of their daily newspapers‹in January 2002, when the Boston Globe received a court¹s permission to publish reams of documents that showed that the now laicized Father John Geoghan had been transferred from parish to parish, although Church leaders knew about his previous criminal and sinful acts. Since that time, the scandal has spread like a pandemic through the Church in the United States and around the world. Allegations of sexual abuse by priests, attendant cover-ups by members of the hierarchy, and lawsuits filed by the priests¹ alleged victims have dominated the news, providing a steady diet of horrific stories.

The sheer volume of information generated by news stories during the past several months has made it impossible for a reader to keep abreast with all the latest developments. CWR cannot hope to offer readers an exhaustive account of the many different charges that have come to light; even a quick summary of the lawsuits filed in the past year would fill an entire issue of the magazine.

At the same time, it is important for the reader to understand the cumulative effect of this avalanche of news stories‹the numbing impact that daily headlines have had on the consciousness of loyal Catholics in America. To convey some sense of that impact, we have chosen simply to list, in telegraphic form, the new stories that emerged, day by day, over the course of one month.

Herewith a chronology of headline stories that appeared in the daily ³Headline Digest² offerings provided by Catholic World News during the month of April 2002.

April 1

€ Reactions to Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston¹s Easter and Good Friday homilies include calls for his resignation. (Associated Press)
€ A Michigan priest admits to sexually abusing a minor more than 100 times over a five year period during the 1970s. (Flint Journal )
€ Diocese of Orange, California, reaches settlement agreement in abuse cases. (Reuters)
€ Laicized priest in Akron accused of abusing victim¹s son. (Reuters)
€ Lincoln, Nebraska, priest allegedly abused children decades ago; Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz suspended him immediately; now victims ask for $2 million to keep silent. (Associated Press)

April 2

€ Woman receives $1.2 million in Diocese of Orange abuse case. She promptly accuses another priest who denies the allegation and threatens to sue for defamation of character. (Associated Press)
€ Cardinal Francis George of Chicago announces former chancellor of archdiocese removed from ministry after accusations made. (Chicago Tribune)
€ Another abuse case surfaces against a Cleveland ex-priest. (WEWS-TV)
€ California priest goes on trial for rape. (Associated Press)
€ Doctor finds no mental illness in accuser of Boston priest. (WCVB-TV)

April 3

€ Report: Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, kept abuse claims quiet. Diocesan official, testifying in civil trial, says he didn¹t ³see a need to inform authorities.² (Philadelphia Inquirer)
€ Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland offers to resign, if necessary. He says more Cleveland abuse cases will be made public. (WEWS-TV)
€ Bishop John Smith of Trenton, New Jersey, suspends accused priest. (New York Times)
€ Attorney sues Holy See, three dioceses, and three religious orders under Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) law. (Associated Press)
€ Woman accuses Atlanta priest of kissing her inappropriately 40 years ago. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
€ New York priest accused of raping boy nearly three decades ago is arrested. (New York Times)
€ Woman in failing marriage alleges Boston priest took advantage of her. (WCVB-TV)
€ Florida priest resigns following allegation. (WPLG-TV)
€ Filipino archbishop urges psychological testing of seminarians. (Associated Press)

April 4

€ Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles says victims¹ requests led to secrecy, denies any connection between homosexuality and the homosexual abuse of minors. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Palm Beach, Florida, priest steps down after past molestation charge surfaces; attorney demands resignation of apostolic administrator. (WPBF-TV)
€ San Diego police department fires Paul Shanley, retired priest-chaplain who had allegedly abused children as a Boston priest. (KGTV)
€ Friends say Cleveland priest who admitted abuse abused dozens. (WEWS-TV)
€ Dozens more allege abuse by late Boston priest, Joseph Birmingham. (Boston Globe)
€ Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of US bishops¹ conference, comments on scandal, defends discipline of celibacy and Church teaching on women¹s ordination. (New York Times)
€ Report: Dioceses have spent at least $50 million for treatment of priests at places like the St. Luke Institute and Servants of the Paraclete. (Boston Globe)
€ Archdiocese of New York turns over names of accused priests to district attorneys. (Bloomberg News)
€ Archdiocese of Atlanta reveals abuse claims; settlements so far exceed $500,000. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
€ Archdiocese of Detroit removes former vocation director from ministry after misconduct charge surfaces. (Detroit Free Press)
€ Priest of Rockville Centre, New York, removed after accusation. (Newsday)

April 5

€ Youth worker who raised questions years ago about conduct of then Father, now Bishop, Anthony O¹Connell was sworn to silence, then fired by Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri. O¹Connell resigned from Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, in March. (CWNews.com)

April 6, 7, & 8

€ Bishop Robert Banks of Green Bay, Wisconsin, when auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Boston, had told California parish that Father Paul Shanley¹s record was clean, despite several accusations on file. Shanley and another Boston priest had operated a gay bed-and-breakfast in California during the 1990s. (Boston Globe)
€ Lawyer for alleged victim of Paul Shanley in Boston releases over 800 documents outlining three decades of accusations, and showing that the archdiocese knew of Shanley¹s role at a conference that founded North American Man-Boy Love Association. (Boston Globe)
€ Private emails between Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles and subordinates leaked to press. Emails disclose attempts to manage revelations about accused priests in his archdiocese and efforts to control press coverage. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Cardinal Mahony denies molestation claims by woman. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Mahony accused of covering up abuse while bishop of Stockton, California. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Detroit priest charged with sexual assault. (Detroit Free Press)
€ Six New York priests suspended. (Associated Press)
€ Accused Cleveland priest dies in apparent suicide. (Associated Press)
€ Complaints force Sacramento, California, priest from parish. (Sacramento Bee)

April 9

€ Alleged victims of Paul Shanley in Boston detail torment. (Boston Globe)
€ Shanley alleged he was abused by unnamed cardinal. (Boston Herald)
€ New details in harassment allegations against Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida. (Tampa Tribune)
€ Diocese of Cleveland suspends nine priests. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
€ Brooklyn, New York, priest pleads not guilty to assault. (Boston Globe)
€ New abuse allegation in Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey. (New York Times)
€ Catholic Church in Ireland opens inquiry into abuse. (New York Times)

April 10

€ Leaders of US bishops¹ conference confer with Pope John Paul II at Vatican in unusual lunch conference. (CWNews.com)
€ In Manitoba, Canada, abuse suits force Oblates of Mary Immaculate to file for bankruptcy protection. (Associated Press)
€ Archdiocese of Detroit reveals it investigated 18 priests since 1988, removed 12 from ministry. (Detroit News)
€ Togo priest who served in Detroit turns himself in to police. (WJXT-TV)
€ In 1990, Cleveland auxiliary bishop James Quinn told canonists at conference, ³Comb through your files² and ³if there¹s something there you really don¹t want people to see, you might send it off to the apostolic delegate,² because ³they have immunity to protect something that is potentially dangerous.² Attorney accuses him of obstruction of justice. (WEWS-TV)
€ Massachusetts attorney general refuses to rule out criminal charges against Cardinal Law of Boston. (WCVB-TV)
€ Call to radio talk show prompts Santa Barbara, California, Capuchin priest¹s removal. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Santa Rosa, California, priest, on trial for rape, charged with attack on photographer. (KPIX-TV)
€ Oakland, California, priest arrested, charged with abuse. (KPIX-TV)
€ New accuser of New Jersey priest comes forward. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
€ Joliet, Illinois, priest removed as hospital chaplain after abuse allegations resurface. (Chicago Daily Herald)
€ Akron, Ohio, priest removed from ministry. (Akron Beacon-Journal)

April 11

€ Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, to turn over files to prosecutors. (Associated Press)
€ Paul Shanley has disappeared from San Diego. Speculation that he is in Thailand. (Boston Herald)
€ Judge orders Archdiocese of Boston to turn over documents in civil case related to convicted molester/former youth minister Christopher Reardon. (Boston Herald)
€ Students at Boston College say Cardinal Law is unwelcome at graduation. (Boston Globe)
€ Lawsuit ties boy¹s death to abuse by Boston priest. (Boston Globe)
€ Another case of abuse develops in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune)
€ Convicted Ukrainian Catholic priest in Florida ordered to step down. (Tampa Tribune)
€ Rochester, New York, priest quits after report of abuse. (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
€ Seattle priest on leave after second claim. (Seattle Times)
€ Police say Oakland, California, priest confessed to abuse. (KPIX-TV)
€ Bavarian priest investigated. (Associated Press)

April 12

€ Cardinal Law announces he will not resign. (CWNews.com)
€ Bishop Gregory, president of US bishops¹ conference, says Pope told him he is ³eager, willing, and anxious² to help Church in US to overcome rash of abuse cases. (CWNews.com)
€ Police clear Cardinal Mahony following accusation by paranoid schizophrenic woman. (Associated Press)
€ Associate vocation director of Archdiocese of St. Louis arrested and charged with sodomy. (Reuters)
€ Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco says he will turn over files to district attorney. (San Francisco Chronicle)
€ Another man files complaint against Seattle priest. (Seattle Times)
€ Suffolk County, New York, to form grand jury to investigate alleged abuse and the actions of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. (Associated Press)

April 13, 14, & 15

€ Pope John Paul II summons all American cardinals and leaders of US bishops¹ conference to Rome for extraordinary conference. (CWNews.com)
€ Four hundred and fifty alleged victims have come forward in Boston. (Associated Press)
€ Archdiocese of Detroit to share files with prosecutors. (Detroit Free Press)
€ Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee accused of keeping silent about priest. (Washington Post)
€ Mission Viejo, California, priest removed from parish. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Mexican bishops comment on abuse in that country. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Officials strongly deny allegation that Cardinal Edward Egan of New York knew and failed to report allegation. (New York Times)
€ Rector of Cleveland cathedral suspended. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
€ Auxiliary Bishop Franziskus Eisenbach of Mainz, Germany, resigns after being accused of sexual misconduct with woman during exorcism; protests innocence. (CWNews.com)

April 16

€ Allentown, Pennsylvania, priest removed following credible allegation. (Allentown Morning Call)
€ Cleveland priest under investigation for new charge. (WEWS-TV)
€ Bishop Frank Rodimer of Paterson, New Jersey, expresses remorse, prepares to hand over names. (New York Times)
€ Accused Kansas City priests still working in diocese but not with children; none has been convicted. (KMBC-TV)
€ Charlotte, North Carolina, priest removed following allegations. (WXII-TV)

April 17

€ Cardinal Law, who dropped from sight in Boston previous week, turns up in Rome; says he had encouraging meeting with Pope. (CWNews.com)
€ Cardinal George says there is no quick fix for scandal. (Associated Press)
€ Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore says charges of abuse must be reported. (Baltimore Sun)
€ Mexican bishop acknowledges cases. (Washington Post)
€ Los Angeles priest sent to therapy is accused of abuse. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Allegations resurface against Santa Rosa, California, priest after alleged victim discovers he is still in ministry. (KPIX-TV)
€ Diocese of Orange priest files slander suit against woman who accused him. (Associated Press)
€ Up to 21 Milwaukee priests have been accused. (WISN-TV)

April 19

€ Bishop Joseph Imesch of Joliet, Illinois, defends policy of assigning abuser-priests to limited ministry; ³I don¹t believe in zero tolerance.² (Chicago Daily Herald)
€ Angry prosecutor accuses Archdiocese of Cincinnati of withholding information. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk receives subpoena. (Associated Press)
€ Second RICO lawsuit filed against US bishops. (Associated Press)
€ Prosecutors seek more files from Archdiocese of Boston. (Boston Herald)
€ Palm Beach, Florida, priest accused of abuse of teen. (WPBF-TV)
€ Priest indicted in Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, missing from Canada where he had been living. (WCVB-TV)
€ Cardinal Law ordered to give deposition in Shanley case. (Boston Globe)
€ Diocese of Santa Rosa, California, asks priest on trial for rape to request laicization. (KPIX-TV)

April 20, 21, & 22

€ An anonymous cardinal tells the Los Angeles Times that he is lobbying for Cardinal Law¹s removal at Vatican. He and an anonymous bishop say US bishops are almost unanimous in desiring removal. Most US cardinals later refute the claim and the desire for Law¹s removal. (Los Angeles Times)
€ In comments to Nigerian bishops, Pope John Paul reaffirms priestly celibacy and the grave obligation to report scandalous violations. (CWNews.com)
€ Cardinal Mahony schedules numerous media interviews, says Vatican summit must include discussion of celibacy. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut, names five priests accused of misconduct. (Associated Press)
€ Milwaukee priest accused by four serves at hospitals. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
€ Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul and Minneapolis replaces Bishop John McCormack of Manchester, New Hampshire, as head of US bishops¹ panel on priestly abuse. McCormack has been sued for negligence in failing to take action in several cases while he was in Boston. (New York Times)
€ Salvadoran archbishop says homosexuals should not be ordained; Scottish archbishop calls for end to priestly celibacy. (CWNews.com)

April 23

€ First day of Vatican meeting between 12 American cardinals, leaders of US bishops¹ conference, Vatican curial officials, and Pope. (CWNews.com)
€ Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington defends clerical celibacy and says, ³Give Cardinal Law a chance;² Bishop Wilton Gregory: ³We¹ve passed the time for mea culpas. We¹re in the season for action.² (Associated Press)
€ Msgr. Eugene Clark, rector of New York¹s St. Patrick¹s Cathedral, in homily attributes scandal to immorality in society and homosexual behavior; says it was a ³grave mistake² to accept homosexually inclined men into seminaries. Spokesman distances archdiocese from his comments. (New York Daily News)
€ Philadelphia ex-police official: Allegations against clerics were routinely not investigated. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
€ Eight Benedictines at St. John¹s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, admit abuse. (Insight Magazine)
€ Police charge Las Vegas priest with homosexual abuse of teens. (Associated Press)
€ New Orleans police and archdiocese meet to discuss case. (WDSU-TV)
€ Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, suspends priest. (WTAE-TV)
€ St. Petersburg, Florida, priest resigns following allegation. (Reuters)
€ Saginaw, Michigan, priest admits abuse. (WEWS-TV)
€ Irish bishops meet to discuss abuse. (Associated Press)
€ German bishops to study abuse issue. (Associated Press)

April 24

€ Second day of Vatican summit meeting. (CWNews.com)
€ Cardinal Mahony reports: Cardinal Law¹s resignation and celibacy were not discussed. Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit: ³It¹s not truly a pedophilia-type problem but a homosexual-type problem² that bishops must ³cope with and address.² Bishop Gregory: ³It is an ongoing struggle to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men.² (Associated Press)
€ Cardinal George: ³If you have a man who cannot see himself as a married man with children, I don¹t think he has a vocation to the priesthood.² (Chicago Tribune)
€ US Cardinals announce that ³notorious, serial abusers² will be subject to national ³one-strike² policy, but that single accusations will be handled by local bishop. (CWNews.com)

April 25

€ Allegations surface against retired bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming, who denies them. (KMBC-TV)
€ Archdiocese of Boston uncovers more files on Paul Shanley, including files on his NAMBLA activity. (Boston Herald)
€ Grand jury to probe Philadelphia allegations. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
€ Archdiocese of New York releases victims from confidentiality clauses. (Associated Press)
€ Diocese of Sacramento named in two lawsuits. (Sacramento Bee)
€ Archdiocese of Milwaukee¹s liaison to Boy Scouts‹a layman who is director of religious education for a parish and school‹is arrested in Internet teen solicitation sting. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
€ Another accusation against another priest in Diocese of Joliet. (WMAQ-TV)
€ Accused Los Angeles priest blames allegations on cultural differences; says contact with girls common among Filipinos. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Inmate accuses Diocese of Orange priest with sexual abuse. (San Francisco Chronicle)
€ Two more lawsuits filed against New Hampshire priests. (Manchester Union Leader)
€ Three more Dallas Jesuits accused. (KEYE-TV)
€ Miami priests deny allegations. (Miami Herald)
€ Newspapers move to unseal court documents on Cardinal Egan¹s handling of abuse cases while bishop of Bridgeport. (New York Times)

April 26

€ Bishop Gregory says US bishops divided on how to deal with past abuse. (Associated Press)
€ Eight hundred new documents in the Paul Shanley case discovered by Archdiocese of Boston and turned over to attorneys. Shanley allegedly tried to blackmail the late Cardinal Humberto Medeiros by threatening to make public details about seminary. (Boston Herald)
€ Raleigh, North Carolina, priest suspended. (Raleigh News Observer)
€ Settlement talks fail in Providence, Rhode Island, lawsuit. (Boston Globe)
€ Four complaints filed against Kansas City, Kansas, priest. (KMBC-TV)
€ San Jose, California, bishop reveals more cases. (San Jose Mercury News)

April 27, 28, & 29

€ Legal brief in lawsuit against Cardinal Law hints that possible defense may include accusation of negligence by six-year-old victim and parents. (Boston Globe)

€ Associated Press reports that 177 priests in 28 states have been removed from ministry so far‹less than 0.5 percent of American priests

€ Cardinal Law says policy changes must wait until June meeting of US bishops¹ conference. (NBC)
€ Eight military chaplains have been punished in past 25 years. (Associated Press)
€ Cardinal Law denies he will be transferred to Rome. (CNN)
€ Report: Despite self-congratulatory claims, Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Diocese of Orange have zero-tolerance policies only because a victim insisted the policy be part of a settlement. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Boston priest resigns following accusations, lawsuits. In letter to parishioners he asks for forgiveness. (Boston Globe)
€ Two men sue Diocese of Sacramento again. (Sacramento Bee)
€ South African bishops issue sex-abuse policy. (CWNews.com)

April 30

€ Racketeering lawsuit filed against Cardinal Mahony. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Cardinal Mahony hospitalized with blood clot. (CWNews.com)
€ Priest assigned to Los Angeles cathedral accused of molesting four; takes early retirement. (Los Angeles Times)
€ Bishop Daily of Brooklyn signs prosecutor¹s memo requiring reporting of all abuse allegations to civil authorities. (New York Times)
€ Saginaw, Michigan, priest resigns. Dayton, Ohio, priest resigns, and Archbishop Pilarczyk offers apology. (Associated Press)
€ Two Colorado priests who committed abuse continued in ministry‹one in Oklahoma, one in Mexico. (Denver Post)
€ Allegations surface against Worcester, Bridgeport priests; lawsuit filed against New Hampshire priest. (Boston Herald)

I COULDN'T bring myself to read the whole thing - and I am not rejoicing at all because the RCC is now under such a terrible scandal. Of course, I believe that BAD THEOLOGY provides no power of virtue - and I blame these failures on their errant religion - but truly, ALL of Christianity is being stained by these scandals - and I am not happy about it. The enemies of Christianity are gleefully making much of these scandals, and their object is to tar all of us professors with the same brush. They (the enemies of Christianity) will not recognize any distinctions - we (Christians) are ALL THE SAME to them. This was not good for any of us.

But this does portend a great loss of power and influence by the RCC, and someone (or group) is sure to step up to fill the gap - and I fear that it will be the new ecumenical/apostate religion.

I have said for years that THE end times apostasy cannot be described by general principles - simply denouncing this or that group for their perpetual heresies does not indicate the great and final apostasy that the Bible describes. THAT final apostasy is not only the accumulation of heresies, but it is also (and primarily) the DEFECTION from past resolves and dogmas. The RCC made that first step at Vatican II, and now it seems like the flood gates are opened and nothing is sancrosanct any more. Homosexual priests being protected and defended..... the rejection of Special Creation; discussions about women priests being taken seriously; the mitigation of exclusivist claims (now the Pope admits well intentioned Muslims and Buddhists into "heaven"). All the Protestant denominations are doing the same - accepting as 'equal brethren' those who confess contradictory doctrines.

I hope not to outrage my Protestant friends - but I have to say that Robin Johnson (though he be an heretic), is NOT a promoter of THIS apostasy. He is TOO EXCLUSIVE to be labeled as a typical last days apostate. The last days apostasy is the destruction of all doctrinal particulars - it is "broadmindedness". SO NO, the last days apostasy is not 'all the denominations going back to Rome' (as some say) - it is the amalgamation of all the denominations into a "mush" religion with very few particulars.

I ask PAT - what are consequences of the Roman Catholic errors/distinctions that he (Pat) rejects? NOTHING?

5-30-2001

http://home.talkcity.com/InspirationAv/jforjesus/religion.html

The above is the URL to a slightly long-ish article on the growth and development of the New One World Religion, with special attention being paid to this Maitreya character that we have been hearing about for so many years now.

Please notice how this Maitreya is willing to "borrow" and "honor" the symbols of the traditional Monotheistic religions, claim them as his own, and at the same time DISMISS these religions as only "stepping stones" to the New Thing that is sweeping over the world.

I do not affirm that this Maitreya IS The Antichrist (but do not deny, either, at this time) - but only want to point out that the apostate religion that is coming (and is already here hidden beneath the gutted terminology of a nominalistic Christendom) is NOT the ascendnency of any past FORM of faith - it is a "new" faith - a faith which has no problem with "borr owing" Christian crosses and weeping Madonna's, and neither is it offended that the Hindu Gods seem to be able to drink the milk that is offered to them. It's "all one" to Maitreya, and all of it (so says his disciples) testifies to Maitreya - that he is the Messiah for the age.

The political reality of these times is that RELIGION IS the big problem for worldly peace. Not that it is the religions, 'per se': but that these religions provide excuse for the nationalism and racism that cause so many wars. The ultimate point of external identity and separation between the major opposing groups in the world is religion. The Middle East conflict is under the flag of religion, as is the fighting in the Balkans; and so in Ireland. The demolition of these religious distinctions is the biggest step towards world cooperation that could be made. After all - the reason I am not at the pep-rally in the synagogue down the street from me is because of religious distinctions: I think my religion is superior to theirs, and can see no good or honorable way to join the cattle that pull their crooked, shallow plow.

You see - I don't believe that anyone really believes in a false religion - they just prop it up and wave it as a flag over their cultural and racial identity. They invent or concede to a "god" that represents their culture, their race, their family and themselves, and this is the only god they will defend and serve. There are no "true believers" in a false religion anywhere in the world - these religions are merely constructs erected to distinguish and dignify themselves while they snub the God of History and Creation. These false religions are like "uniforms" - that once a man has donned that uniform, he presumes authority to act and think a certain way.

That is why every professor and defender of a false religion is found to be a LIAR when they are damned - they are not liars because they were convinced of the wrong story - but because THEY ALWAYS REALLY KNEW that there was really "nothing to it" and that the religion they embraced had no power WITHOUT THEM. Whether they submerge themselves in a huge mass of people for safety or they invest themselves in a relatively minority cause in order to feel heroic - NONE OF THEM really believes "the religion" itself - it is but a mask, a facade. Their religion is not an end, but only a means, and the end, for them, is merely the perpetuation of what they and their race and their culture and their family already are.

Race, culture, nationality and family ties (extra-Biblical tradition) are the chief public adversaries to The True Faith. These are all "competing churches" against The True Church. NOTE how you often hear terms like, "American Christian", or Russian Christian", or "Oriental Christian" - you rarely if ever see these terms reversed, as in "Christian Lebanese", or "Christian Brazilian".... WHY? ....because the primary identity of these people is NOT their religion, and those who use these terms automatically see the nationality as telling a great deal more about the person than their profession of faith. Face it - the Buddhist we work with in the office every day; who wears a suit and a tie and eats in our restaurants; who drives his kids to soccer in a mini-van....... we feel automatically closer to him than we do to the Othodox "Christian" Serbian in Yugoslavia.

Bit by bit, the grip of "exclusive religion" and particular doctrine is being loosened on the population - and in the end, those who use religion as a means to some end other than the vindication of the religion itself, are NOT willing to live in perpetual turmoil for the sake of "mere doctrines" (which they account as nothing in themselves, anyway) - but they will slowly but surely give up and sell out on all that makes their religion exclusive for the sake of a clean street and a good job. OF COURSE this will not be an open defection from and repudiation of their historic religion - this would imply a denunciation of their own family, race, nationality and ancestry (pride never dies): but this is happening through a gradual redefinition of terms. What is being proposed, is that all "godly people" have been groping after the same thing all along, and that all that has separated us are misunderstandings about what "those others" really MEANT by what they said. There is sweeping over the world the hopeful conception that we are all really hoping for and speaking of the SAME THINGS in regard to religion - we just have to solve "the semantic problem". The cardinal doctrinal requirement of the New Religion is "good intentions" and to prove good intentions, you need only be a "decent, respectable citizen".

The objective of this plan to homogenize all the world's religions is to reduce chaos and war - to encourage cooperation and mutual support among the people; to eliminate poverty and to level out the economic/social classes. It's the old Communist idea - that when a man has house and a stove and a chicken to cook; a wife to sleep with, and a color TV to distract himself with - he will not risk losing what he already has in order to get more. Of course this is not true - but to the downtrodden and oppressed masses in Russia and China, this deal looked pretty good. After all, the Bible says, "For a piece of bread, a man will offend". (Prov. 28:21)

AND THE FACT IS - that the United Nations view of the "religious problem" is more than 99% correct! They know that these religions are just dignifying costumes for cultural and racial pride (and that IS what they are), and that the removal of the "religious justification" for these "wars of cultural supremacy" will trivialize each of these cultures to the effect that it is realized that NO CULTURE is worth dying for (and they are correct, in this, too). We all know that a sarong is not "better" than a pair of pants, and that one religious ceremony is hardly different than another in it's existential realities. All over the world, from the civilized nations to the isolated tribes in the bush, people have their traditional religious ceremonies, and the psychological transactions in all of these are the same - especially in those ceremonies that must be repeated "on a schedule". The people go through a rehearsed routine, and then they tell themselves that "something happened" or that "the god" noticed - they then go home and resume "real life" just like the rest of us. Karl Marx was NOT WRONG when he said that "Religion is the opiate of the people".

There is True religion and it is not a facade nor a means to some other end. The goal of those who have true religion is to vindicate the religion - not themselves. We (real) Christians are desperate for Jesus Christ to have His total victory over the world and OVER OURSELVES. But the number of people who have such True Religion is so small that "we" do not count in the affairs of the world.

ANYWAY - this is how the apostasy of Christendom works: The rallying cry is "Why can't we all just get along?", and close behind that is "We're all God's children anyway!"..... but we simply cannot get along as long as some of us are saying things that damn the rest of us - so all this kind of talk must be suppressed. We are not allowed to doubt or challenge another person's sincerity unless they are a rank criminal. We are not allowed to call anyone a LIAR because we do not know how sincere their intentions are... and etc. The new truth is,"Whatever seems to work immediately is THE ONLY TRUTH" - and the goal is a TOLERANT, decent, orderly, cooperative, productive, tax paying society. Anyone or anything that appears to get in the way of THIS is NO GOOD, and any religion that does not foster this "toleration and approval all around for all" cannot be embraced.

From the United Nations perspective, I can see why and how they are right. Because of mass and instantaneous communications, there is no stopping this trend. There is arising a New Religion, which is presented as the SUMMARY OF and the REPLACMENT FOR all previous religions - my name for it is NOMINALISM. It presents itself in the deformed language of every theology now - where grace is the same as mercy, where repentance is mere lament, and where salvation is the same as "enlightenment" or moral reform.

I rarely write on these things, since it doesn't make any difference what I say about these things to anyone, anyway. I will not be able to reform or convert any NWO man or woman with such speeches, for such speeches are NOT the Gospel of Salvation.

The Law of Entropy states, that excepting outside influence, all matter and energy is ever homogenizing into an indistinct and uniform mush. It's like putting four differently colored drops of ink in four corners of the fish tank - for a little while, the inks and their colors can be seen as completely distinct from each other and the water: but soon, they are so absorbed by the water that the ink and the water become one uniform new compound. So it is with religion. Soon, the red, the yellow, the green and the blue will homogenize into a faint brown, and neither the red, nor the yellow nor the blue nor the green will mean ANYTHING anymore.
Psalm 35:27
Just Another Christian
"US" 1 John 4:6
www.apostasynow.com