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CHURCH / PLURALISM
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- JEWISH SEMINARY OPENS TALKS WITH EVANGELICALS
AP, via The Daily Camera, USA - Dec. 10, 2005 - Richard N. Ostling,
AP Religion Writer - www.dailycamera.com "..... Director
Abraham Foxman told the Anti-Defamation League's national leadership
"the key domestic challenge" now facing Jews is arrogant
"Christian Right" leaders' campaign to "Christianize
all aspects of American life." "The stakes for the
Jewish community could not be higher," he said. Foxman targeted
the work of evangelical groups including the Alliance Defense
Fund, American Family Association, Family Research Council, Focus
on the Family and Florida-based TV preacher D. James Kennedy.
Meanwhile, President Eric Yoffie rebuked the "Religious
Right" at the Union for Reform Judaism convention, though
he did not name evangelicals as such.
"What could be more bigoted than to claim that you have
a monopoly on God?" he asked. "When they cloak themselves
in religion and forget mercy, it strikes us as blasphemy."
A third figure, Reform Rabbi James Rudin, will turn up the heat
with a January book, "The Baptizing of America: The Religious
Right's Plans for the Rest of Us" (Thunder's Mouth). Rudin's
assault is significant because he spent 32 years with the mainstream
American Jewish Committee specializing in Christian relations.
- Until recently, Rudin considered himself an optimist. Now
he believes America's "most significant internal struggle
since the Civil War" is imperiling the Constitution and
democracy. To Rudin, "the extreme Christian right"
is campaigning to impose theocracy — or, as he prefers,
"Christocracy" — and take "permanent control
of the major political, cultural, educational, medical, judicial,
economic, media and legal institutions of the United States."
Jewish complaints about evangelicals have historically
centered on their zeal for converts, in some instances specifically
seeking out Jews...." Whole story:
- http://www.cephas-library.com/church_n_state/churchnstate_interfaith_meetings_upcoming_with_jews_and_evangelicals.html
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- JEWISH LEADERS TO DEVISE STRATEGY
THE WASHINGTON TIMES BY By Julia Duin - Published December 5,
2005
A group of Jewish leaders meets in New York this week to develop
a response to the religious right, which they say is eroding
civil liberties and planning to "christianize America."
Led by Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL), and Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for
Reform Judaism, the private meeting is set for today, said an
assistant to Mr. Yoffie. Both men were unavailable for comment
Friday, and neither organization would divulge details of the
meeting, including who else is attending and where it is being
held.
- But the meeting is the culmination of a month of attacks
by Mr. Foxman and Mr. Yoffie on conservative Christian groups,
starting with Mr. Foxman's speech Nov. 3 at an ADL function in
New York. "We face a better-financed, more sophisticated,
coordinated, unified, energized and organized coalition of groups
in opposition to our policy positions on church-state separation
than ever before," he said. "Their goal is to implement
their Christian worldview. To Christianize America. To save us."
{Bob asks these Leftist Jews: "Is it their goal to de-Christianize
America and implement their secular worldview?"}
- The chief villains, he said, were the Colorado Springs-based
Focus on the Family; the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense
Fund; the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association; and
the Family Research Council, based in Washington. "This
issue is serious enough for us to develop a strategy, and, clearly,
our first task is to win the support of the American public,"
Mr. Foxman said. "We also need to come together with other
Jewish organizations ... and to find allies beyond our community."
On Nov. 19, Mr. Yoffie compared the religious right to Nazis.
{Bob asks: "What is wrong with these leftist atheist Jews?
Michael Savage says "Liberalism is a mental disorder."}
"We understand those who believe that the Bible opposes
gay marriage, even though we read that text in a very different
way," the rabbi said. "We cannot forget that when Hitler
came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was
ban gay organizations." Criticism has been strong among
conservative-leaning Jews.
- -----
- AUTHOR BLASTS CRUISE'S SCIENTOLOGY BELIEFS
Evening Standard, UK - Dec. 14, 2005 - Alexa Baracaia - www.thisislondon.co.uk
- Best-selling crime writer Patricia Cornwell has attacked
Hollywood star Tom Cruise, claiming his Scientology beliefs
are "dangerous" and could endanger the lives of impressionable
young fans.
- The author said she was horrified by Cruise's dismissal of
psychiatry and his claim that mental disorders are imaginary
and the medication to treat them is an attempt to suppress people.
Writing on her website, Cornwell, who has studied psychiatry
while researching her books, said: "There are misconceptions
about psychology, especially when people out there like Tom Cruise
say there's no evidence of chemical imbalance and psychiatric
disorders. There's going to be some girl or boy who worships
this megastar, who decides, 'I'm not going to take my antidepressants
because Tom Cruise said I don't need drugs'." One of the
key principles of the wealthy cult is the condemnation of psychiatry.
- The Scientology website explains it is the duty of all members
to "expose and help abolish any and all physically damaging
practices in the field of mental health". Cruise has repeatedly
added to the criticism. He has also railed against the use of
drugs to control chemical imbalances in children. This year he
criticised Brooke Shields for her use of antidepressants to treat
postnatal depression. Shields replied that Cruise "should
stick to saving the world from aliens and let women [with] the
condition decide what treatment options are best for them".
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- INHERENTLY EVIL, WHAT ABOUT CHRISTMAS?
- A quick scan of the Internet will reveal passionate discussions
both for the observance and for the non-observance of Christmas.
Some people point out that it is a Catholic mass of the birth
of Jesus that was deliberately created to take place on the day
of most of the pagan deities’ birthdays. They point out
that the ancient druids worshipped trees (especially the oak),
and how that the decorating of the tree had pagan roots. They
point to the roots of Saint Nicholas, the giving of presents,
and the mistletoe to have Catholic and pagan origins. And all
of these points may be true. So, should we, then, as Christians,
refuse to observe this day?
- 1) The incarnation of Christ has been observed on December
25th since the third century. At that time, the most popular
of all gods, including those of Rome, was the sun god. The worship
of this god began hundreds of years before in Babylon with the
deification of Nimrod, and it spread across much of the world
until almost every culture worshipped the sun god. It is believed
that early Christians began celebrating the birth of Jesus on
December 25th as a statement to the pagans that the god they
blindly served was, in fact, Jesus.
- The early Christians were opportunistic. They used every
opportunity to promote Jesus. Consider the following thoughts:
http://www.cephas-library.com/believers/inherently_evil_what_about_christmas.html
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- PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE CHAIRMAN GIVES $8.5 MILLION TO ACLU
- Gift helps ACLU in their War on Christmas
In one of his recent columns, Chuck Colson relates the following
story. In a Texas classroom, children were told to draw a tracing
of their foot, and then put a message on the drawing. One little
girl wrote "Jesus Loves Me" on hers. What happened
next shows the abysmal state of religious tolerance in America.
As Fox news anchor John Gibson relates in his new book, The War
on Christmas, the child's teacher ripped the tracing off the
board. "Don't you ever do this again," she said. The
little girl burst into tears. When her outraged father called
the school, nervous officials told the child to make another
tracing. She did so—but this time, instead of scrawling
"Jesus Loves Me," she drew a tiny cross that was so
small it was almost invisible.
Behind nearly every such incident you will find the ACLU. According
to the New York Times, Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Insurance,
believes in the mission and work of the ACLU so much that he
gave them $8.5 million. Chairman Lewis' gift helps the ACLU promote
their anti-Christmas agenda such as:
- Removing nativity scenes from
public property
- Banning songs such as Silent
Night from schools
- Refusing to allow students
to write about the Christian aspect of Christmas in school projects
- Renaming Christmas break Winter
break
- Refusing to allow a city sponsored
Christmas parade to be called a Christmas parade
- Not allowing a Christmas tree
in a public school
- Renaming a Christmas tree
displayed on public property a Holiday tree
In addition to their war on Christmas, the ACLU uses gifts like
that from Chairman Lewis to:
- Sue states to force them to
legalize homosexual marriage
- Force libraries to remove
porn filters from their computers
- Sue the Boy Scouts to force
them to accept homosexuals as scout leaders
- Help legalize child pornography
- Legalize live sex acts in
bars in Oregon
- Protect the North American
Man Boy Love Association whose motto is "sex by eight or
it is too late"
- Censor student led prayer
at graduation
- Remove "under God"
from the Pledge of Allegiance
- Remove "In God We Trust"
on our currency -
- Donald E. Wildmon, Founder
and Chairman, American Family Association
-----
- WORSHIP AT SADDLEBACK: ANY WORLDLY WAY YOU WANT IT.
- Friday Church News Notes, December 16, 2005 www.wayoflife.org
- Saddleback Church in southern California, where Rick Warren
is senior pastor, features nine different "worship venues."
There is a worship style to suit every worldly taste. The Overdrive
venue is "for those who like guitar-driven rock band worship
in a concert-like setting that you can FEEL." The Ohana
venue comes "complete with hula and island-style music,"
and on the first Saturday of every month you can take hula lessons
during the potluck following the service. The Country venue features
line dancing. I didn't make this up, folks. It is right from
Saddleback's web site. "Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will
of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17).
- -----
- RICK WARREN LIKENS BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISTS TO MUSLIM EXTREMISTS
AND ATHEISTIC SECULARISTS. Friday Church News Notes, December
16, 2005 www.wayoflife.org - In his interview on Larry King Live
on December 2, 2006, Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life fame
likened biblical fundamentalists to Muslim extremists and atheistic
secularists. He said: "There are all kinds of fundamentalists,
Larry, and they're all based on fear. There are Christian fundamentalists.
There are Muslim fundamentalists. I've met some Jewish fundamentalists.
You know that there are secular fundamentalists. They're all
based on fear. Secular fundamentalists are afraid of God."
This statement is a vicious libel against Christian fundamentalists.
George Dollar, in his history of fundamentalism, defined it in
this way: "Historic fundamentalism is the literal interpretation
of all the affirmations and attitudes of the Bible and the militant
exposure of all non-biblical affirmations and attitudes"
(Dollar, A History of Fundamentalism in America, 1973). Looking
back over the fundamentalist movement since the 1930s, John Ashbrook
defined it as follows: "Fundamentalism is the militant belief
and proclamation of the basic doctrines of Christianity leading
to a Scriptural separation from those who reject them" (John
Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation, nd., p. 10). That is the type
of fundamentalism that tens of thousands of churches throughout
the world seek to emulate. Rick Warren has set himself up against
this scriptural position and has likened it to Islamic terrorism
and secular atheism. If fear is a central aspect of biblical
fundamentalism it is the fear of God that leads to strict obedience
to His Word, and that is scriptural and right. That was exactly
how Paul instructed the believers at Corinth to live: "Having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). Paul instructed the church
at Philippi to "work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling" (Phil. 2:12). Hebrews 12:28 says we are to "serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." If Rick Warren
does not have this fear, he is not a true Christian, and if he
does, let him apologize publicly for saying that fear is a wrong
thing and for likening those who practice it to dangerous extremists.
I won't hold my breath, though. Friends in Christ, beware of
Rick Warren. This popular Southern Baptist preacher is an
extremely dangerous man.
-
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GLOBAL / LOCAL
POLITICS
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- LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER - Hold off on that chip, says Thompson
- Ex-Bush Cabinet officer in no rush for implant Posted: December
12, 2005 - © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com - Tommy Thompson
- WASHINGTON – When former Secretary of Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy Thompson joined the board of directors
of a company promoting the broad implantation of microchips into
Americans for identification purposes, he pledged to get
chipped himself as an example. But Thompson doesn't appear
to be in any hurry to get the implant. Last July, Thompson, who
now sits on the board of VeriChip Corp., the leading manufacturer
and promoter of the technology, encouraged Americans to get chipped
so their electronic medical records would be available in emergencies.
- "It's very beneficial and it's going to be extremely
helpful and it's a giant step forward to getting what we
call an electronic medical record for all Americans,"
he told CBS MarketWatch. When asked later by a CNBC reporter
if he would take the chip himself as an example for Americans,
he replied: "Absolutely, without a doubt."
- But when authors Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht, who
researched human chipping for their book "Spychips: How
Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move
with RFID," contacted VeriChip Corp. earlier this month,
they were told that the chipping never took place.
- VeriChip spokesman John Procter said Thompson has been "too
busy" to undergo the chipping procedure, adding that he
had no clear plans to do so in the future. "I wouldn't put
any type of time line on it," Procter said.
- The VeriChip spokesman also attributed the protracted delay
in the chipping to Thompson's desire to investigate the procedure,
according to the authors.
- "He wants to see it [the VeriChip] in a real-world environment
first," said Procter, who said he's trying to arrange a
tour for Thompson at Hackensack University Medical Center, the
first hospital to implement the technology in its emergency room.
- According to Procter, only about 60 living persons
in the U.S. have agreed to be chipped. In addition to the voluntary
recipients, the company's implants were injected into the deceased
victims of hurricane Katrina, and there are plans to chip
mentally disabled patients at a residential center in Chattanooga.
VeriChip has also had talks with the Pentagon about chipping
military personnel, though Procter said that "no formal
agreements have been reached."
- Whole article: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47853
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- PROTESTERS BATTLE PAST POLICE, REACH WTO CENTER IN HONGKONG
 AP - Dec. 17, 2005-
HONG KONG - Hundreds of protesters broke through police lines
and came close to storming into the WTO's meeting venue Saturday
before security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas in central
Hong Kong. It was the worst street violence the city has experienced
in decades, and police quickly locked the doors to the convention
center, where trade ministers from around the world were in the
final hours of a six-day negotiation. Police Commissioner Dick
Lee said 41 people -- including five police -- were injured and
two of them were hospitalized. Lee said police have detained
900 people and were determining whether to formally arrest them.
"If necessary we will make arrests. We will not let them
go easily," he said. Security forces spent much of the afternoon
fighting running street battles with the protesters, including
South Korean farmers, Southeast Asian groups and activists from
Europe and America. It wasn't immediately clear if there were
serious injuries. The demonstrators oppose the World Trade Organization's
efforts to open up global markets. The protesters hit police
with bamboo sticks and used a metal barrier to ram a line of
officers armed with riot shields. The police fought back with
clubs, pepper spray and water cannons that shot water mixed with
a chemical that burned the skin and eyes.
- -----
 AWAKENS - CHINA: A NEW WORLD SUPERPOWER?
"...China has been the only nation who has boasted that
it can field a two million man army, precisely as the Bible predicted
they would 2,000 years ago. And today, China has been playing
a major role in the world. And moreover, China has been moving
upon the world stage and aligning itself with the Biblical scenario
predicted for it. Despite a pledge by Beijing, China has continued
to provide missile help to Iran and Syria. U.S. officials said.
These are the nations the Bible predicted China would ally itself
with against Israel. The officials said Chinese companies are
providing components and technology to Scud-class programs in
both Damascus and Teheran. These include the sale of missile
engines and weapons of mass technology to Iran. The State Department
has identified China's Jiangsu Yongli Chemicals and Technology
Import and Export Corp. as a leading exporter to Teheran. Jiangsu
has already appeared on the State Department list of companies
sanctioned by the United States because missile and WMD exports.
The list bans the U.S. government or companies from dealing with
sanctioned firms. Jiangsu was also identified as a supplier of
missile and WMD components for Syria military programs. Syria
has obtained Chinese helop for its development of Scud-class
missiles. Even though U.S. administration officials said China
pledged to end missile help to such countries as Iran and Syria.
But by late last year, U.S. officials said the pledge had been
violated.
China Fulfills Another End-Time Prophecy By Signing Compact With
Russia - The presidents of Russia and China have signed their
first treaty in more than half a century. But as well as agreeing
a friendship pact, presidents Jiang Zemin and Vlademir Putin
also found common ground in their opposition to US missile defense
plans. They issued a separate declaration stressing their commitment
to the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which the US
wants to redraw as part of its missile project. The statement
calls the treaty a "cornerstone of strategic stability and
the basis for reducing offensive weapons", reported Russian
news agency Tass. The friendship pact itself contains no military
or political alliances, focusing instead on boosting the two
countries' mutual interests and boosting trade. The BBC's Adam
Brooks says trade between the countries is only a tiny part of
their economic interests, hut the developing relationship between
Moscow and Beijing will he watched more for its strategic importance.
Russia and China have found common ground in their opposition
to Washington's 'Son of Star Wars' anti-missile program, which
had its latest test at the weekend..." [Source: Today, The
Bible & You, John Barela]
- Whole article: http://www.cephas-library.com/nwo/nwo_awakens_china_a_new_world_superpower.html
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- ISRAEL
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