Pray for Nigeria and the City of Jos, Plateau State, Religious violence erupts again in Jos on Tuesday, 24-hour curfew declared
By AHMED SAKA
eligious violence between Christians and Muslims erupted again Tuesday in central Nigeria, and the state government called for more military units to enter the city where rioters have killed at least 27 people.
A burnt truck
PHOTO: Vanguard Newspapers
Security forces issued a 24-hour curfew after police and soldiers tried to contain the violence with roadblocks and searches but apparently failed. An Associated Press reporter could see smoke rising from the north side of Jos and could hear the sounds of gunshots echoing along the streets.
The rioting began Sunday after Muslim youths set a Catholic church ablaze. Witnesses said rioters armed with knives, homemade firearms and stones attacked passers-by and fought with security Read the rest of this entry »
Gerald Celente is founder and director of The Trends Research Institute, author of Trends 2000 and Trend Tracking (Warner Books), and publisher of The Trends Journal. He has been forecasting trends since 1980, and recently called “The Collapse of ’09.”
Autumn 2012, the “Greatest Depression” has spread worldwide. Billions are unemployed, homeless and desperate. Countries bankrupt, trade pacts broken, tariffs rise, borders close.
Protectionist, nationalist and anti-globalization movements have moved out of the margins and into the mainstream. Immigrants brought in during boom times – blamed for bringing down wages, stealing jobs and rising crime – are being rounded up and deported. Read the rest of this entry »
Oh, why am I here in this place of unrest When others have entered the land of the blest? God’s way of salvation was preached unto men; I heard it and heard it, again and again.
Why did I not listen and turn from my sin And open my heart and let Jesus come in? For vain earthly pleasures my soul did I sell The way I had chosen has brought me to hell.
I wish I were dreaming, but ah, it is true. The way to be saved I had heard and I knew; My time on the earth, oh, so quickly fled by, How little I thought of the day I would die.
When God’s Holy Spirit was pleading with me, I hardened my heart and I turned from His plea. The way that was sinful, the path that was wide, I chose and I walked till the time that I died.
Eternally now, I must dwell in this place. If I from my memory could but erase The thoughts of my past which are haunting me so. Oh, where is a refuge to which I can go?
This torture and suff’ring, how long can I stand? For Satan and demons this only was planned. God’s refuge is Jesus, the One that I spurned; He offered salvation, but from Him I turned.
My brothers and sisters I wish I could warn. Far better ‘twould be if I had not been born. The price I must pay is too horrid to tell My life without God led directly to Hell.
Oh, soul without Christ, will these words be your cry? God’s Word so declares it that all men must die. From hell and its terrors, Oh, flee while you may! So, come to the Saviour; He’ll save you today!
A Pope’s new world order: Pope Benedict XVI proposes stunningly radical approach to global economy
Wednesday, July 8th 2009, 4:00 AM
Pope Benedict’s encyclical on economic justice, delivered amid the global financial meltdown, is an extraordinary document, both in its tough challenges and in the remarkably radical solutions it prescribes.
The pontiff focuses on moral dimensions of markets, globalization, consumerism, environmental protection, the role of technology, workers’ rights and more. To call the document sweeping is an understatement.
Individually, many of Benedict’s teachings are profound ethical and social statements. A few examples:
- “Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.”
- “… there is no doubt that foreign workers, despite any difficulties concerning integration, make a significant contribution to the economic development of the host country.”
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a “world political authority” to oversee the economy and work for the “common good.”
He criticized the current economic system, “where the pernicious effects of sin are evident,” and urged financiers in particular to “rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity.”
He also called for “greater social responsibility” on the part of business. “Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty,” Benedict wrote in his new encyclical, which the Vatican released on Tuesday.
Benedict also called for a reform of the United Nations so that there could be a unified “global political body” that allowed the less powerful of the earth to have a voice, and he called on rich nations to help less fortunate ones.
“In the search for solutions to the current economic crisis, development aid for poor countries must be considered a valid means of creating wealth for all,” he wrote.
Article on CNN May 15, 2009 — Updated 1407 GMT (2207 HKT)By John Blake, CNN — Just so you know, Bart Ehrman says he’s not the anti-Christ.
Bart Ehrman says most of the New Testament is a forgery but it’s still an important body of work. He says he’s not trying to destroy your faith. He’s not trying to bash the Bible. And, though his mother no longer talks to him about religion, Ehrman says some of his best friends are Christian. Read the rest of this entry »
There are many who are unaware of the New Age Movement and do not know
The New Age movement agrees with many philosophers that when Christ was a youth at age 12 to the age of 30 Years old Jesus became an explorer who traveled to far off lands.
According to one story, Jesus came to Japan in his early 20s, studied Japanese culture and religion and then returned to Judea when he was 33 to begin his ministry. He was never crucified because he switched places with his younger brother Isukiri and managed to flee across Siberia to Alaska and back to Japan by boat. Jesus settled in Shingo married, and had three daughters and lived until age 106. This theory first emerged in the 1930s when researchers claimed to have found a “will of Christ,” which indicated a burial mound that was believed to fit the theory found in the village about 370 miles north of Tokyo.
This is what is called the “lost 18 years”-promoted in The Aquarian Gospel and Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s book the lost years of Jesus. They try to fill in his history that is supposedly missing in the bible to account for his great powers and miracles. So they have stories of Jesus who traveled to spiritual centers in India and Egypt, and Tibet. He studied under spiritual masters, in India. Jesus is known to them as Issa (the Muslims name of Jesus the prophet), he became a master Hindu yogi, experiencing self-realization through Kundalini yoga. He later studied and mastered Vedic and Buddhist teaching. He then attained God- consciousness. He was initiated in the Hermetic mystery school in Heliopolis, approved by a world council. When he returned to his native people in Israel, He taught a Hindu world view that was veiled in terms that the Hebrews would understand. There is different levels to his teaching. One was literal which was for the masses the other is the true Spiritual knowledge that are secret teachings discovered by the initiates who are trained in occult knowledge.
If you have heard these kind of stories your not alone. Today they are quite common among adepts of occult knowledge. Much of all this can be traced to a hopeful rumor started almost a century ago. The most widely circulated report was alleged by Nicholas Notovitch who claimed that while traveling in Tibet in the late 1800s he was told by Tibetan lamas that a record of Jesus visiting them existed in a Himalayan monastery. In the early 1900s another visitor to Tibet was allegedly told the same thing. no one who had the ability to read and translate such “records” ever saw them, no copy was ever brought to the West as proof of these claims. The story now is that the “records” have been destroyed. (reference- Berean Call).
How convenient! This is too similar to the gold plates of Mormonism and Islam’s tablets for the Koran. No proof except an experience or hearsay.
This contradicts everything Jesus said and did, which was the very opposite of the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism. These fraudulent stories demonstrate how difficult it is to invent a fictitious history of Jesus and to make it fit into actual events on this earth. The theory of Jesus studying in India under the gurus simply does not fit into the New Testament record. The gurus are all vegetarians. Jesus ate the Passover lamb, fed multitudes with fish, after His resurrection ate fish demonstrating to He was actually resurrected bodily. Jesus taught one life and then judgment, heaven or hell as places of location for eternal occupancy, not reincarnation or karma.
Not only are these new age stories antithetical to Judaism but even more to what Jesus taught as there being only one God separate from his creation and sin needing to be dealt with. There are 3 feasts, 2 in spring one in fall that every Jew must attend or they would have broken the law. If Christ had broken even the smallest law he would have become a sinner like the rest of us and would have been disqualified to the Messiah. To travel to India or Tibet and return back for any of the feasts in Israel makes this an impossibility; much less his being gone for 18 missing years. Remember this all occurred before he was revealed as the messiah so he was not using any supernatural abilities. He never quoted any other book but the Old Testament, no other prophet except his own, which makes this all unlikely if he learned all this knowledge elsewhere.
The Scripture has a completely different view than the occultists. What is used as silence as missing years is actually used against Jesus for his claims as a being the Messiah the Son of God.
Luke 4:22 ” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” Luke 2:41-47 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. … they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.” Jesus did not have to travel and study to get his knowledge, he already possessed it. How? He was born with it, he was God. Luke 2:11: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” He was Christ when he was born, he didn’t become a Christ or have the Christ spirit to come upon him. He was Yahweh, the Lord who incarnated only once among the people he gave His laws to and prophesied by the words of their own prophets (Isa.9:6).
After the incident in the temple we find the scripture state Luke 2:51-52: “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” He didn’t go travel seeking wisdom he had it and he stayed with his mother.
Jesus was specifically taught by His Father unlike any other person. Isaiah 50:4-7: “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, he awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” Mark 6:2-3: “He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they were offended at Him.” The peoples argument is clear, we know him and his family how is this possible, he did not have the time to go off and study like others who devoted their lives to the scriptures.
John 7:26-27: “Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? “However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” Again the peoples argument we know Jesus so how can he be the Christ.
The term “Christ” is an interesting one because it means the one and only anointed one of God- according to the Bible. The New Age borrows the scriptural term and states it is an office. While this is partially true, it points to a person whose office is not succeeding, but uniquely for only one that would be born of a virgin, sinless and before the 2nd temple would be destroyed.
Hilton Hotema in his book Mystery man of the Bible Surmises that Christ is actually Appolonius and that Jesus did not exist. Others who are equally enlightened have similar opinions, but all are assumptions.
“The disciple Jesus of 2,000 years ago has by now become one of the most senior Masters in the Hierarchy: the Master Jesus. He reached His state of perfection in the course of His next life as Apollonius of Tyana. Many of those who followed Him during His life as Jesus were still alive during this subsequent incarnation — and many of them became convinced that Jesus had reappeared in their midst. It was Apollonius who undertook a journey to India which became the basis for the story, which many believe, that Jesus did not die on the cross but went to India and died in Kashmir, having lived to a venerable old age” (Jesus of Nazareth and Maitreya the Christ by Peter Liefhebber, Share International) (published by Lucis Publishing Co.) Peter Liefhebber is a veteran Dutch journalist.
He also states “In reality Jesus was a fourth-degree initiate and one of the older disciples of the Masters of Wisdom. He appeared before in biblical times as Joshua, the son of Nun, then as Isaiah, and again as Joshua in the book of Zachariah. In Palestine he made the great sacrifice of allowing himself to be used by Maitreya to fulfill His mission during the three years following the baptism in the River Jordan.
This is a fable which many of the occultists and initiates into secret wisdom teachings of the far east invent because they must deny the validity and accuracy of the Bible.
WHO IS GOD?
Marilyn Furgueson tells a story of a friend having a pantheistic revelation of God.” All of a sudden I saw that she was God and the milk was God, I mean, all she was doing was pouring God into God. (Aquarian conspiracy)
When Jesus said, ‘I am the door,’ he meant that I AM in each soul is the door through which the life, power and substance of the great I AM which is God comes forth into expression through the individual.” (Teachings of the Masters of the far East p.39)
Creme agrees and explains “…the forces of evil are part of God. They are not separate from God. Everything is God. … “YOU are God. I am God. This microphone is God. This table is God, All is God (The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters Of Wisdom, Benjamin Creme pp. 103,110)
Creme’s opinion given to him by his master, Lord Maitreya, you and I are not God and Jesus did not claim to be God.” The Christ is the Master ‘Of all the Masters , but He is not God, and never claimed to be God.”
Maitreya says “In Awe do men await Me. My friends, I am not God. As your Brother, your Friend, your Teacher, do I come. Forget this not.” (EXCERPT of MAITREYA’s MESSAGE NO. 67) This is probably a freudian slip of the truth by our friendly Christ impersonator to say he is not God. (To dispel any confusion…
Then he contradicts himself and teaches we are all god.
My Task will be to take you into the Light of your own true nature, and realise for you the Gods you are. (EXCERPT of MAITREYA’s MESSAGE NO. 71)
“May the Divine Light and Love and Power of the One Most Holy God be now manifest within your hearts and minds. May this manifestation lead you to see each other as the gods you are. (Message 13 Feb. 1982) So he is not God who is called the master of masters but we are. HMMM.
My plans unfold, My way is cleared. There are growing around Me now those who recognize Me as the spirit of the New Time. They give Me their trust and allegiance, and I speak for them. When you see Me, My friends and brothers, you, too, can join this band of workers, this Company of Light, and make manifest the God within. (EXCERPT of MAITREYA’s MESSAGE NO. 67)
“Do not try to worship Me” Maitreya counsels. “If you worship Me, you are trying to lower yourself. I do not want this. I want you to be equal. You are a spark of the Supreme Being. Do not think you are below Me.” (‘Maitreya’s Mission Vol. II, by Benjamin Creme; (Share International; Amsterdam, London and Los Angeles) In other words you can worship yourself. This is what the masters have been falsely telling there adherents for centuries. “We know the greatest of all teachers came to show more fully that the Christ in him and through whom he did his mighty works is the same Christ that lives in you, in me in all mankind; that by applying his teachings do all the works that he did and greater works” (Baird Spalding Teachings of the Masters of the Far East p16).
“Decked in all of the colors of the rainbow, glowing with the Light of God, man, one day will stand upright in his divinity. This I promise you.” (Message no. 4)
Benjamen Creme says, “One doesn’t pray to oneself, one prays to the God within. The thing is to learn to invoke that energy which is the energy of God. Prayer and worship as we know it today will gradually die out and men will be trained to invoke the (inner) power of deity” (The Reappearance of Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, pp. 135-136)
Benjamen Creme and others also tell Christians and others not to pray to Jesus because Jesus is not God but a disciple of Lord Maitreya. Even the Apostle Paul, who is now called “the Master Hilarian” is ahead of Jesus in the spiritual hierarchy: “… Christ is not God. He is not coming as God…. He would rather you didn’t pray to Him but to God within you.”
Benjamen Creme and the New Age Christ says to go inside yourself this is where all knowledge is found. If this were true then one would not have to read any books or learn from any educator, they would just go inside themselves and learn it all. We can dispense with all our education and teach people meditation and other occult techniques to learn everything we need to know. Jesus never taught Hinduism, and to remove him from his culture and time is inventing a fable, it is to have another Jesus (2 Cor.4,14.) The New age, the gurus, the spiritual masters need to have a meeting to decide what they are actually going to teach as error. It’s become so confusing to choose which falsehood one will follow these days. Its more assuring to stay with the literal truth which has had many infallible proofs. The Bible has been proven to be the eternal Word of God to people of all generations.
He stirs up controversy wherever he has tried to settle and he and his family are always on the run due to what he proclaims himself to be.
He believes he is the deity and the father of Jesus Christ. For this, he claims to have escaped countless attempts on his life.
Wanyonyi with his ‘holy’ sword and staff, with which he will punish evildoers. [PHOTOS: Titus Munala/Standard]
Meet ‘Jehovah Mungu Mwenye Enzi’ Wanyonyi, 92.
You might easily dismiss him for an insane man suffering from illusions but for the confidence he exudes when asserting that there is no other god but he.
He claims not to be human and came to the world just like his ‘son’ did more than 2,000 years ago. He will, therefore, not die as humans do.
In Wanyonyi’s homestead at Chemororoch location, Uasin Gishu District, are five small grass thatched houses. In the middle of the compound stands a red flag and a table on which is placed a sword.
He boasts 15 wives and over 60 children, who labour on people’s farms in order to earn a living and feed the old man whose advanced age does not allow him to work.
flag, also red, are a sign that the end of the world is nigh. The sword will be used to punish the evil people of the world, Wanyonyi declares.
When we drove into the compound children, young men and women milled around the car inquiring about our mission.
A woman I later learn is referred to as ‘Roho Mtakatifu’ (holy spirit) asks me if I have brought anything for ‘Jehovah’ before he can give me audience.
“Vile unavyo ona Jehovah amezeeka na ana mabibi wengi na vile vile watoto chungu nzima. Ukienda kuongea naye lazima utoe kitu mzuri,” ‘Roho Mtakatifu’ says. (As you can see Jehovah is old and has many wives and children. You must give him a substantial gift after the interview.)
After complying with this condition a young man is sent to go and request ‘god’ to allow me in his presence. The young man kneels before addressing ‘god’, who accepts my request.
I enter a small open hut where ‘Jehovah’ is seated and after exchanging pleasantries, he demands to know the reason for my visit.
The ‘Creator’
Wife Sarah Navai, also known as ‘Roho Mtakatifu’, kneels before her master.
He then asks if I have brought anything for ‘Jehovah’ because he has a family to feed and is too old to travel long distances.
After explaining the purpose of my visit, I pose my questions: Has he been to heaven? When does he plan to end the world? Is he in touch with Jesus and how? Has he performed any miracles? Why is he living in abject poverty if he really is God?
Wanyonyi is clearly shocked that I have the audacity to ask him such questions.
“You humans will simply perish because of your foolishness,” he replies sternly. “How dare you ask your father if he knows his home or talks to his children?”
After the outburst he is silent for about a minute, then looks upwards and asks ‘Jesus’ to pardon me for doubting the ‘creator’. There follows a tense moment and I fear the interview might come to an abrupt end.
His wives and children are equally appalled by my questions and stare at me as if I have lost my mind.
‘Jehovah’ sneezes and asks for a handkerchief and his crown, which are brought to him by one of his wives, who kneels before handing them over.
Stop the sun
“Go tell your people that one of these days, I will stop the sun at midday and it will not proceed to set for three months. You will all come running to me for forgiveness due to your lack of faith,” he tells me.
To my relief, he allows the interview to continue and says that we are no different from the many unbelievers who have tried to kill him to see if he truly is God.
“I cannot die,” he declares. “I came to conquer the world. This is just your flesh that I am wearing but I’m the lord your god. Those who believe in me will not perish.”
It is 11am and as the interview progresses, his followers stream into the compound.
They bow and kneel before him as they exchange greetings. All refer to him as ‘Jehovah’. He has a special chair with ‘Jehovah’ inscribed on it.
“If there was any other god superior to me, would he allow an impostor to live? He would have killed me with lightning for pretending. I would do the same to anyone pretending to be me, your god,” Wanyonyi explains.
Displaying his palms, Wanyonyi claims to have created the earth just as it is written in the book of Genesis.
He will end the world in the way as it is written in the holy book, he adds.
“I will turn the sun into fire, resurrect the dead and embark on judgement. I will create 12 doors in heaven through which the righteous will go while fire will be on earth where the sinners will burn for eternity,” says Wanyonyi.
He says he has no fixed abode because wherever he goes, unbelievers chase him away accusing him of blasphemy.
Weapons of death
“I only settled in Uasin Gishu about three years ago and almost immediately about 200 youths attacked me and wanted to slash me to see if blood would come out,” he says.
The youths, armed with machetes, demanded that he gets out of his house to face their weapons and death. But he remained indoors and they were afraid to break into the house to get him.
“I knew they would not kill me and did not go out to face them because I did not come to this world to die like my son Jesus,” he says.
Neighbours and his wives corroborate the story and confirm that indeed youths attacked his home one night.
According to them, the youths comprised of locals and others who had followed Wanyonyi from his previous home at C,hwele, Bungoma District, from where he was chased away.
“I’m certain they had been sent to kill me. They want to kill me but I am beyond death,” he says and breaks into prolonged laughter.
One of his grass-thatched houses is his throne. Due to his large family, food is cooked on about 20 fireplaces constructed outside.
Wanyonyi, or ‘Jehovah’ as he insists on being called, was born in Kamukuywa in the larger Bungoma District, to parents he says are now in heaven.
“When I was born, my parents knew I was god and they took good care of me. I did not go to school. Instead I embarked on seeking followers,” he says.
He has four married sisters who, says, recognise him as their god rather than their brother.
Wanyonyi says all his wives and 75 children will accompany him to heaven so long as they do not sin.
“If they sin they die here on earth because I have sired them with humans,” he says.
Wanyonyi says he had intended to marry 400 wives but the thought of begetting many children who would succumb to ‘this sinful world’ made him change his mind.
None of his wives or children has ever fallen sick, he claims. And because he is not human, he also does not fall ill.
“My only regret is that you humans have refused to take care of me,” he complains adding the warning that if people fail to do so in the next five years, they will regret it.
Save the world
And although he has harem, Wanyonyi says men will be judged harshly when the world comes to an end because they worship women.
“You worship women and that is why there is so much immorality in the world. Unless men change, they will be severely punished for idolising women,” he warns.
Wanyonyi cautions that churches will lead many people to hell because they are full of people who are hypocrites and liars. He does not go to church and says that since he is God, his followers instead come to his home for blessings, especially on Saturday, which he says is the Sabbath day.
“I have a sizeable number of followers and I do not mind that. I am not after offerings to make me rich. I have come to save the world and not to make money. That is why I’m not rich as you would expect,” he says.
His parting words: “Do not let church leaders deceive you because they are led by the Satan who has also blocked yours eyes and minds to the fact that I am lord your God. Come to me instead.”
My Comment:
May God forgive you for your evil ways and bring you to repentance if you can really repent.
SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) — Ann Holmes Redding has what could be called a crisis of faiths.
Ann Holmes Redding says she sees no contradiction in being both a Christian minister and a Muslim. For nearly 30 years, Redding has been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Her priesthood ended Wednesday when she was defrocked.
The reason? For the past three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a Muslim.
"Had anyone told me in February 2006 that I would be a Muslim before April rolled around, I would have shaken my head in concern for the person’s mental health," Redding recently told a crowd at a signing for a book she co-authored on religion.
Redding said her conversion to Islam was sparked by an interfaith gathering she attended three years ago. During the meeting, an imam demonstrated Muslim chants and meditation to the group. Redding said the beauty of the moment and the imam’s humbleness before God stuck with her.
"It was much more this overwhelming conviction that I needed to surrender to God and this was the form that my surrender needed to take," she recalled. "It wasn’t just an episode but …. was a step that I wasn’t going to step back from."
Ten days later Redding was saying the shahada — the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Mohammad as his prophet.
But Redding said she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister.
The imam at the Islamic Center in Seattle, Washington, where Redding prays said she brings the best of both traditions to her beliefs.
"Coming from an example of wanting to be Christ-like and coming from the perspective of wanting to follow the best example — the example of our prophet Mohammed — it all makes sense then," Benjamin Shabazz said.
There are many contradictions between the two religions. While Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, Christianity worships him as the son of God.
James Wellman, who chairs the department of comparative religion at the University of Washington, said that while it is not unusual for people to "mix and match" beliefs, it is almost unheard of for a minister to claim two religions.
"When you take ordination as a Christian minister, you take an explicit vow of loyalty to Jesus. It’s hard for me to understand how a Christian minister could have dual loyalties," Wellman said.
Redding said she sees the theological conflicts but that the two religions, at their core, "illuminate" each other.
"When I took my shahada, I said there’s no God but God and that Mohammed is God’s prophet or messenger. Neither of those statements, neither part of that confession or profession denies anything about Christianity," she said.
To her parishioners and family, though, Redding has turned her back on her faith and office. There was, she said, "universal puzzlement" at her decision to convert to Islam but still remain an Episcopal minister.
"I have people who love me very much who really don’t want me to do this, and I love them very much. And I would love to be able to say, ‘Because I love you I will renounce my orders’ or ‘I will renounce Islam’ … I hate causing pain to people who love me, that’s not my intention," Redding said.
The Episcopal Church also rejected Redding’s religious choice.
"The church interprets my being a Muslim as ‘abandoning the church,’ " she said. "And that [there] comes an understanding that you have to be one or the other, and most people would say that. It simply hasn’t been my experience that I have to make a choice between the two."
The Diocese of Rhode Island, where Redding was ordained, told her to leave either her new Muslim faith or the ministry. A diocese statement said Bishop Geralyn Wolf found Redding to be "a woman of utmost integrity. However, the Bishop believes that a priest of the Church cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim."
Even though she has been defrocked, Redding said she is not capable of turning her back on either faith. She said she wants to continue speaking about and teaching religion and perhaps even travel to the Hajj, a journey to Mecca that every Muslim is supposed to make in their lifetime.
Redding said she does not want her belief in two religions to diminish the value she holds for both Christianity and Islam. Each faith by itself is enough to fulfill a person spiritually, she said.
"It’s all there. I am not saying you have to go somewhere else to be complete. Some people don’t need glasses, some people need single lenses. I need bifocals."
THE MOVIE “ZEITGEIST” IS A TERRIBLE LIE FROM THE PITS OF HELL, I CAN NOT BELIEVE WHAT AM WATCHING, J E S U S C H R I S T HAVE MERCY ON US FOR WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE ARE DOING. I urge you to take your time to read this post and also watch the first video and get the word out there for this is clearly from the devil himself, also if you have the time please watch the second video which is a rebuttal to the first video the Zeitgeist, I will spend time watching them too. For I have a lot to learn especially with regards to our Christian traditions for I agree with Richard Rives that:He thinks it makes a profound one, contending, "If Christianity does not start telling the truth about the fact that many Christian traditions never had anything to do with Jesus, the antichrists will continue to claim a substantial victory." I so agree with this point . . . we have a duty to help our fellow brethren to understand what True Christianity is about, which a lot of us including myself do not really get…. sadly.
An online movie documenting the close ties between ancient pagan religions and today’s Christianity is "antichrist" in nature, destroying the faith of believers by combining some astonishing truth with plenty of error. That’s the claim of a Christian historian and author who, ironically, has himself been educating the public about the impact heathen sun worship has had on traditional Christianity. Richard Rives, author of "Time is the Ally of Deceit" and "Too Long in the Sun," is sounding the alarm about "Zeitgeist," a 2007 documentary written and narrated by Peter Joseph, a freelance film editor, composer and producer in New York City.
Literally meaning "spirit of the time," "Zeitgeist" was released on DVD and the Internet, and Joseph claims it has been viewed more than 50 million times on Google Video, and more than 100 million times when other formats and public screenings are taken into account.
Horus was born on December 25th of the virgin Isis-Meri. His birth was accompanied by a star in the east, which in turn, three kings followed to locate and adorn the newborn savior. At the age of 12, he was a prodigal child teacher, and at the age of 30 he was baptized by a figure known as Anup and thus began his ministry. Horus had 12 disciples he traveled about with, performing miracles such as healing the sick and walking on water. Horus was known by many gestural names such as "the Truth," "the Light," "God’s Anointed Son," "the Good Shepherd," "the Lamb of God," and many others. After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, buried for three days, and thus, resurrected. …
Attis, of Phyrigia, born of the virgin Nana on December 25th, crucified, placed in a tomb and after three days, was resurrected.
Krishna, of India, born of the virgin Devaki with a star in the east signaling his coming, performed miracles with his disciples, and upon his death was resurrected.
Dionysus of Greece, born of a virgin on December 25th, was a traveling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine, he was referred to as the "King of Kings," "God’s Only Begotten Son," "the Alpha and Omega," and many others, and upon his death, he was resurrected.
Mithra, of Persia, born of a virgin on December 25th, he had 12 disciples and performed miracles, and upon his death was buried for three days and thus resurrected, he was also referred to as "the Truth," "the Light," and many others. Interestingly, the sacred day of worship of Mithra was Sunday.
While many of today’s Christians might recognize similarities to their own beliefs, they may be unaware some pieces of information in the film are not biblical at all.
For instance, the Bible does not assign Dec. 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth, and "three kings" or "three wise men" are never mentioned in the related gospel accounts. As WND previously reported, no wise men at all are shown to be visiting baby Jesus the night he was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. The Book of Matthew states an unspecified number of wise men showed up later to meet Jesus for the first time in a "house" when Jesus was a "young child." "What is happening is that ‘antichrists’ are turning the false traditions of the theologians right back on them and the theologians do not have a biblical leg to stand on," Rives told WND. "All those who present the traditions of men can do is throw up their hands in defeat. The theologians know it and so do the antichrists such as ‘Zeitgeist.’" Rives, also known for his hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, added, "Millions of believers have watched ‘Zeitgeist’ and many are throwing away their long held faith in Jesus as a result. I am receiving calls from people concerned about family members who are doing just that." Rives has designed a PowerPoint presentation to educate people about what is true and what is not when it comes to "Zeitgeist," and has recently created a rebuttal website featuring videos he posted on YouTube.
An attempt is also made to associate Jesus with Easter and the worship of the fertility goddess. While being right about the pagan nature of Easter, once again they are wrong about Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible was not crucified at the time of Easter. The Bible never says that. He was crucified at the time of Passover. It was almost three hundred years after the birth of Christ before the Council of Nicaea set that date. Even then, what they did was actually change the date for the observance of Passover. Theologians know that and so do the producers of "Zeitgeist."
But does knowing all this information make any difference? Rives thinks it makes a profound one, contending, "If Christianity does not start telling the truth about the fact that many Christian traditions never had anything to do with Jesus, the antichrists will continue to claim a substantial victory."
Joseph rejects the notion "Zeitgeist" is an attack on Christians. "The only thing the film addresses is ideology and beliefs," he explains. "Sadly, many don’t realize that one’s ideology is not them. We are emergent beings and everything we believe is taught to us one way or another. Therefore, to say the film is attacking ‘Christians’ is about as absurd as saying the film attacks people with baseball caps." Joseph calls the claims propaganda to stop people from critically analyzing the information he presents. "The same kind of propaganda has materialized where the project has been called ‘new world order,’ ’satanic’ ‘Marxist’ and other irrational, thoughtless distinctions not worth bringing up." Meanwhile, Peter Joseph – who actually goes by his first and middle names, preferring not to disclose his last name – is continuing to spread his message through seminars and support of the worldwide Zeitgeist Movement. On March 15, which his group calls "ZDay," short for "Zeitgeist Day," he headlined a large New York gathering, one of an estimated 1,800 similar events in 70 countries. At that event, according to the New York Times, Joseph said he had recently "moved away from" the idea of the 9/11 attacks being an inside job. The Zeitgeist Movement says its ultimate aim is global "unity and equality." According to its website, "The goal is to revise our world society in accord with present day knowledge on all levels, not only creating awareness of social and technological possibilities many have been conditioned to think impossible or against ‘human nature,’ but also to provide a means to overcome those elements in society which perpetuate these outdated systems." The movement takes a harsh view of any religion, claiming, "we have been conditioned by society to think that crime, corruption and dishonesty is ‘the way it is’ and that there will always be people who want to abuse, hurt and take advantage of others. Religion is the largest promoter of this propaganda, for the ‘us and them’ or ‘good and evil’ mentality promotes this false assumption."
Friend you would not believe this website offers subscriptions for one to be prayed for by a computer program, This is totally wrong and unscriptural. This is Idolatry!!! Am sure you will find the site scary to say the least, Do you want to pray for luck? Do you want A nice, short prayer, that has all the basic essentials important in a daily prayer? Am afraid this tells of what we should expect in the future in our world where the doctrines of the new agers and the one World religion promulgators will be shoved down our throats and only then will the elect of God stand and defend their faith in Christ. my dear friend Fishhawk of the blog Asthecrackerheadcrumbles drew my attention to the site for he said he knew I would be interested in this and I am but, it is really sad that many Christians and other well meaning human beings will fall for this demonic scheme, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other" (Matt. 6:24). for I wonder which God they are Praying to ? for my God is one God! Halleluyah.
NOTE TO CHRISTIANS: DO NOT PAY FOR PRAYERS; NO MATTER WHAT, IT IS NOT THE WAY OF OUR GOD WHO SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO DIE FOR US EVEN WHILE WE WERE YET IN SIN!!!
MATTHEW 10: 7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
About Information Age Prayer
Information Age Prayer is a subscription service utilizing a computer with text-to-speech capability to incant your prayers each day. It gives you the satisfaction of knowing that your prayers will always be said even if you wake up late, or forget.
We use state of the art text to speech synthesizers to voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying. Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen.
At Information Age Prayer we think our service should be used like a prayer supplement, to extend and strengthen a subscriber’s connection with God. Traditional prayer is an integral part of this connection and should never be forgone, even after signing up.
You can subscribe for yourself, or you can purchase a subscription as a gift to friends or family.
Promotional Rates for New Users, Limited Time Only!Choose a Religion from the left menu. Did you know we give 10% of all revenue to charity! Would you like us to donate to your organization? Click Here
The Bible talks about the Great Apostasy
1 timothy 4:1,1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons
2 Thessalonian2:3 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Nehemiah 9:6 "Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou has made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts, the earth, and all things that are therein"
My dear friend Jerry pointed out to me that I left out, an important part of this post: He said, !For the kind of prayer that He delights in hearing comes from our hearts, and involves us just wanting to talk to Him. This is something that cannot be planned”.
Of course Prayer is our way of communicating with our God and no machine can do that for us. So in a way, I see that not only is it sinful to subscribe to this types of Prayer services but, I think it is also a covert way for the devil to make people (Christians) prayerless or worse of make them feel there is no need to communicate with God …. which is why He created us in the first place i.e. to fellowship and worship Him in the beauty of His Splendor and Holiness
NOTE: anyone who is willing to visit such sites and request for Prayers should please drop a Prayer request on this site or any other site that offers the Prayer Request form for free and you shall surely be Prayed for, in the spirit of fellowship but, that does not in any way take away the quality time you should have with your God and Maker.
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study’s authors said.
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however, Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration, according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren’t Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990.Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don’t belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don’t usually attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found. Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships, salvation and other issues.
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5 percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7 million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren’t religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed.
This is the 2005 Christmas Message from the Pope to the Catholics/the World, This is the revelation that the Vatican is preparing to support the call for a new global economic order: and the prayer sounds “New age” to me at least in the translation I can see in front of me ,in my humble opinion I don’t know about you my dear friend . This worries me a lot.
I am using these few verses of the Scriptures to say what I need to say to these Churches/Ministries that go on with these practices, (All the sex talk etc) for I may sound judgmental to some if I should speak my words let alone express my views on this subject. so I will let the Bible speak on this and you my friend will know where I stand on this issue.
2 Timothy 4:2-5
2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
1Now 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;
1 Corinthians 8:9-13
9But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 10For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Watch this video from Grace Church Ohio upcoming ‘Bringing Sexy Back’ sermon series You may or may not believe this is happening in Churches
February 14, 2009 Terry Neal The Hamilton Spectator(Feb 14, 2009)
A new faith needed to unify humankind as we march into future
We need faith, but the faiths of our fathers are tired now, or are spent forces. We must recognize this.
Barack Obama is now leader of the most influential nation on earth. Are we yet capable of dancing to his song of hope?
Obama was elected by default by a desperate nation drowning in faithlessness and cynicism. He was simply the best bet for change.
This bleak outlook is the chronic disease of our day. We are pessimistic about our economic and ecological futures. We distrust government officials, officers of the law, bureaucrats and the principles of big business (while we scramble to enhance our own bottom line.) We doubt the trustworthiness and ambitions of people of other colours and other religions. We have our phones and e-mails rigged to monitor the fidelity of our mates.
We are a society shorn of hope and faith.
Every past society that devolved to a world view only admitting the materiality of the physical world eventually disintegrated. On the other hand, every political and spiritual genius of his particular time understood human nature and its needs. Those superior minds attempted to unite people "in one mind" — of moral rectitude and faith; of faith in the ultimate triumph of goodness.
The vigour of Zoroaster’s religion propelled ancient Persia to world-class status. Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Soter after him recognized the spiritual need in man and attempted to unite the Greek world with a "universal religion." Later, Caesar Augustus reinvented and reinvigorated the Roman religion, and Rome survived a few more centuries. Constantine recognized this human need and modern Christianity was born. Then came Mohammed, who lifted a fractious and barbarous people into the most civilized and scientifically advanced empire of the age.
We must seek God … or Goodness (or Love, if you prefer) for our own mental health. Belief is our sustenance as much as is the food we eat and the air we breathe. Spiritual food gives us the confidence to walk into the future with clarity and optimism. A healthy individual and a healthy society must have hope and confidence that the ultimate outcome of all things will be for the good. That is the essence of religion and has been since antiquity.
Strong beliefs bond differing minds and group into a working whole. It creates internally integrated morals — internal laws that need no outside coercion to ensure. It gives us the courage to live justly, and to die well.
If Barack Obama is indeed the political unifier that Americans — and us — have put our atrophied hopes in, perhaps he will take the steps so necessary to heal his nation of its distrust and cynicism. Perhaps he will have the courage to harness the will to believe in some transcendent goodness.
But he must lead. He must demonstrate how to believe again in what is demonstrably true: That there is something out there that is greater and grander than the individual.
We need faith, but the faiths of our fathers are tired now, or are spent forces. We must recognize this whether we are Muslims, Sikhs, Jews or Christians. We are now a global village, and only a global world view will suffice.
As in the past, this new and unifying faith must be novel, vibrant and inclusive. In this new global era of widespread education and immediate communication, this new faith must also be credible. It must align with scientifically obtained knowledge yet be aware also of the undiscoverable — the great mysteries that hold us rapt and in awe.
The marriage of a believable faith with the husbandry of government is the union that must be contracted.
Only then can there be a United Nations, only then shall we have peace on Earth and goodwill toward all.
I Appreciate your Prayer Requests,(Thanks to God for all who have been sending already) Keep them coming in Please, I love Praying for you... Lets Trust Jesus Together! HALLELUYAH!!! Thank you Holy Spirit
eligious violence between Christians and Muslims erupted again Tuesday in central Nigeria, and the state government called for more military units to enter the city where rioters have killed at least 27 people.
By RACHEL DONADIO
By John Blake, CNN — Just so you know, Bart Ehrman says he’s not the anti-Christ.
He stirs up controversy wherever he has tried to settle and he and his family are always on the run due to what he proclaims himself to be.
flag, also red, are a sign that the end of the world is nigh. The sword will be used to punish the evil people of the world, Wanyonyi declares.
Loading ...
