International Social Pulse -October 2004

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MORE WEAPONS IN LESS SECURITY, VATICAN SAYS AT THE U.N.
Archbishop Migliore Stresses Importance of Meeting Disarmament Goals
Zenit.org NEW YORK, OCT. 10, 2004 - A widespread sense of fear is leading to an increase in dependence on armaments which, instead of guaranteeing security, leads away from this objective, the Holy See told a U.N. panel.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore expressed this concern during the 59th Session of the U.N. General Assembly, when he addressed the first Committee on "General and Complete Disarmament."
The Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations said that a sign of the fear of terrorist attacks, new wars, and "a breakdown in the processes of international law" is the "surge in global military spending," which last year reached $956 billion, up 11% from 2002.
"Military spending, which will exceed $1 trillion this year, will soon surpass even the Cold War peaks," but increased "reliance on guns -- large and small -- is leading the world away from, not towards, security," warned the archbishop. The text of his speech was distributed Friday by the Vatican press office.
"A clear result of such overspending on the instruments of death is that governments are much less able to meet long-term commitments to education, health care and housing," he said. "The Millennium goals are left lagging while military priorities claim scarce funds." .....

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PASTOR SAID THAT CHURCHES AND GOVERNMENT HAVE NO RIGHT TO KEEP HOMOSEXUALS FROM MARRYING

THE BEREAN CALL - 10-12-2004 Associated Press/Agape Press A defrocked Methodist pastor has told a pro-homosexual "marriage" rally in Washington that churches and governments have no right to keep homosexuals from marrying. Jimmy Creech gained national recognition a few years ago when his ordination was revoked by the United Methodist Church after he performed so-called "blessing ceremonies" for same-sex couples. At the Washington rally, he made no apology for his actions and chastised those who are trying to stop the legalization of homosexual marriage. "Marriage is a human right that cannot be taken from you," Creech told the rally. "It is a spiritual bond; it is not a religious institution, it is not a civil matter. It is a spiritual bond that we create ourselves." He added that a minister's first responsibility is to help people "love and affirm and embrace themselves."

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CATHOLIC BISHOPS MEET IN ZIMBABWE, MUGABE DENIES 'FOOD FOR VOTES'

Canterbury, England (ENI). Bishops from the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference are meeting in Harare this week as an exiled leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Britain predicted Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's expulsion of black squatters from once white-owned farms could trigger a new civil war. And the South African Council of Churches has warned if elections
scheduled for Zimbabwe in 2005 are not declared free and fair, it could have catastrophic consequences for Africa. [ENI-10-14-04]

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VATICAN CONDEMNS LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE
VATICAN CITY, Italy - The Vatican criticized a literal interpretation of the Bible
and said the fundamentalist approach to scripture was a kind of intellectual suicide. A Vatican document said fundamentalism refuses to admit that the inspired Word of God has been expressed in human language... by human authors possessed of limited capacities and resources.
The 125-page document, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, was written by the Pontifical Biblical Com-mission, a group of scholars who assist the Pope in the study of scripture. It noted that a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible had been gaining strength. The Vatican is increasingly concerned about the number of Catholics, especially in Latin America, who have abandoned the church for fast-growing fundamentalist sects. The fundamentalist approach is dangerous, for it is attractive to people who look to the Bible for ready answers to the problems of life, the document said. Fundamentalism actually invites people to a kind of intellectual suicide. A fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible began during the Reformation, when Protestants showed an increasing concern for fidelity to the literal meaning of scripture.
The document said fundamentalism refused to admit that there was a human element in the transmission of the Word of God. One member of the commission, Jesuit Father Joseph Fitzmeyer, said fundamentalists failed to recognize that several years elapsed between the time Jesus spoke and the time when the gospels were written. There was no stenographer, no one with a tape recorder on that time, said Fitzmeyer. The Star, 1994 Manila, Philippines
http://www.techplus.com/bkjv1611/bd0156.htm

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SPITTING TRIGGERS JEWISH-CHRISTIAN TENSION IN JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY
Jerusalem (ENI). Tensions in Jerusalem's Old City have flared following an incident in which a Jewish seminary student spat at an archbishop during a procession from the city's Armenian Quarter to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a site commemorating Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Israeli police arrested the
seminary student, but Christian clerics living in the walled Old City say such assaults by ultra-Orthodox Jews is a frequent occurrence. [ENI 10-14-04]

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PUPILS FEARING THE DEVIL BURN HUNDREDS OF BIBLES IN ZAMBIA
Lusaka (ENI). The distribution of New Testament pocket Bibles to pupils in the central Zambian town of Kabwe triggered unexpected results recently when a group of school students went on the rampage and destroyed hundreds of copies of the holy book. The pupils burnt the Scriptures on 1 October after rumours that the pocket Bibles had some "devilish" remarks bearing the number 666 and the words, "welcome to hell" and "go back to hell" on both the front and back covers. [ENI-10-12-04]

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SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH SHOWS GROWTH; NOW 13.6 MILLION

New York (ENI). Fueled by membership growth in Latin America, Africa and Asia, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is reporting its membership worldwide climbed in one year by more than 1
million to 13.6 million. The Protestant denomination, whose world headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland, claims that if such a rate holds, there will be one Adventist for every 100 people on
earth by the year 2034. [ENI-10-12-04] [Ednote: I wonder if the members have ever been to Ellen White's grave. The grave stone is no less than an obelisk, a symbol of Freemasonry. Check the following index: http://www.cephasministry.com/index_masonic_files.html]

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A RADICAL BRITISH MUSLIM GROUP THAT HAS BACKED OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS SHUT DOWN - CALLING ON ALL MUSLIMS TO UNITE AGAINST A "GLOBAL CRUSADE" - London, Reuter (UK) October 13, 2004 - : A radical British Muslim group that has noisily backed Osama bin Laden has shut down, calling on all Muslims to unite against a "global crusade".

Al Muhajiroun, led by radical cleric Omar Bakri, said it had disbanded to encourage Muslims to give up political groupings. "There is no need any more for al Muhajiroun. Basically, the Muslims are uniting together under the banner of all those people who are following the messenger of Islam, Muhammed," Bakri's deputy, Anjem Choudary, told Reuters.
Islamism is a totalitarian ideology adhered to by Muslim extremists (e.g. the Taliban, Wahhabis, Hamas and Osama bin Laden). It is considered to be a distortion of Islam. Many Islamists engage in terrorism in pursuit of their goals.

Adherents of Islam are called "Muslims." The term "Arab" describes an ethnic or cultural identity. Not all Arabs are Muslims, and not all Muslims are Arabs. The terms are not interchangeable.

"We find that Muslims need to shed their party banners and unite in order to defend the lives of Muslims against this global crusade," he said.

The organization, which called for an Islamic state in Britain and praised al-Qaeda leader bin Laden, has long been a prominent target of tabloid newspapers.

It received widespread press coverage for calling conferences lauding the hijackers in the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the United States as "the magnificent 19", although the conferences were cancelled at the last minute. Bakri has frequently been compared to two other radical clerics, Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza al-Masri, both jailed in anti-terrorism cases. Police have closely monitored him but never charged him with any crime. It was never clear how big the group's following was, but its high public profile worried mainstream UK Muslim groups, afraid of a backlash against a community of nearly two million Muslims in the country.

"They will not be missed," said Inaya Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, the largest group representing Muslims. "Al Muhajiroun has been the focus of a lot of anger in the Muslim community because it is the ordinary Muslim who has to face the brunt of the backlash because of their antics."

But he added that he did not expect Britain has heard the last from Bakri. "I'll treat this statement with some caution, based on past experience. I'll be surprised if he quietly walks off into the sunset never to be seen again. I'm sure pretty soon it will become apparent what game they are playing at." http://www.expressindia.com - http://www.religionnewsblog.com/_8976.html

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YOUNG BACHMAN, MORMON NO MORE

The Edmonton Sun (Canada), Oct. 13, 2004 By Mike Ross. Tal Bachman has left the Mormons! Kind of makes the usual screwed-by-the-record-company story pale by comparison, doesn't it? Bachman plays this afternoon at 3 at the Nest on the NAIT campus - a solo "story and song" gig to promote his new CD, Staring Down the Sun. ....

Bachman, who was well on his way to becoming a church leader before his unpleasant epiphany about a year ago, says he never set out to refute the religion that had formed his entire life.

What happened was that the more he studied Mormonism, the less he believed in its claims. Distraught and confused, he finally went to his stake president - who oversees several congregations - only to be told, as Bachman says, " 'Yeah, a lot of these things didn't happen the way that they say they did.' And he even went on to say that the president of the church had essentially conceded that in a private meeting he attended about 15 years ago. I was in a total stupor. Book of Mormon Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, claimed that his Book of Mormon was "the most correct book of any on earth."

In reality, the Book of Mormon is a mixture of fantasy and plagiarism, not only unsupported by also contradicted by science, history, Christian theology as set forth in the Bible, and plain common sense.

Research resources on the Book of Mormon

"He actually made a pitch to continue on: 'Keep it quiet and as long as you're willing to work within the church and enjoy the spiritual experience, the camaraderie and the support, and allow it to help make you a better man, why not stay in?'

"I thought about it for a few days, but as the days passed I thought about what the church was and all it had done, good and bad - bad that I hadn't even recognized before - and I just realized there's no way I can stay in this thing and put my children in this environment where they're being taught stuff that isn't true. I can't stomach it. It makes me ill. It's like I'm facilitating a conscious fraud."

An atheist might ask: How could you not know it's a fraud? The very idea of God is a fantasy invented by human beings uncomfortable with death. http://www.canoe.com

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/8970-.html

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ANTI-POLYGAMY GROUP OPPOSES UTAH'S AMENDMENT 3
The Associated Press (USA), Oct. 12, 2004 - SALT LAKE CITY -- An anti-polygamy group came out in opposition Monday to Utah's gay marriage amendment, saying polygamists could use it to avoid prosecution.

Tapestry Against Polygamy said Amendment 3 could become a tool for polygamists to avoid prosecution if the proposed amendment is passed by voters Nov. 2.

The amendment says: "Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent effect."

For many opponents of the amendment, the second part is the sticking point. Opponents argue it could endanger Utah's common law marriage statute and say it makes it impossible for a couple to visit each other in the hospital, throws into question automatic inheritance benefits and invalidates health insurance benefits.

Polygamists usually only get marriage certificates for their first marriage, any other marriage is considered a domestic union that the state recognizes as marriages for purposes of prosecuting polygamy. http://www.harktheherald.com - ReligionNewsBlog.com

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PROFESSORS OPPOSE BUSH 'THEOLOGY' [IT'S ABOUT TIME!!]

Pasadena Star-News (USA), Oct. 8, 2004 - By Marshall Allen - PASADENA -- A group of Fuller Theological Seminary professors, saying they are responding to a "grave moral crisis' in America, are signing a statement opposing President Bush's alleged convergence of God, church and nation and what they call his "theology of war.

Glen Stassen, Fuller's Louis B. Smedes professor of Christian ethics, said Bush's religious rhetoric confuses the cause of Christianity with that of a nation at war. See Also 'Divided by a Common Faith'.

Bush's misuse of religion is inexcusable. Research details use of religion to help sell war on terror, Iraq

Bush puts God on his side. Bush's Religious Language: Policy decisions, not religion, should shape your voting. Church leaders object to casting God on U.S. side. A president beyond the law sets a bad example. Iraq War Weakens Bond Between Bush, Evangelicals, Politics and the Church. For more go to:

http://www.cephas-library.com/nwo/nwo_professors_oppose_bush_theology.html

God Willing?

By David Domke

Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the 'War on Terror' and the Echoing Press

By David Domke
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: PLUTO PRESS; (August 1, 2004)
ISBN: 0745323057

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A NEW WAVE: 'CAT AND DOG THEOLOGY'

http://nicholassrolls.cephasministry.com/archive_volume_2_number_2.html#9181