This is a Miracle! THANK YOU JESUS! Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!What joy!
Remember this story broke in August , of this year, it was even posted on this site and Christians, World over have been Praying for this two ladies since then… to God be the Glory! They have been released from prison today, something that seemed impossible in the eyes of man, am sure many would have given up hope on their release but we know that there is nothing too hard for God to do, and today our God has done it again for His Children. I thank the Lord on their behalf and all that Prayed for them.
Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad
No bail required; charges of ‘proselytizing’ and ‘apostasy’ remain. ISTANBUL, November 18 (CDN) — Two Christian Iranian women, Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, were released from prison this afternoon with no bail amid an international campaign calling for their freedom since their arrest on March 5. The two women, whose health deteriorated while in detention at the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, are at their homes recovering from their nine-month ordeal, an Iranian source told Compass. They still could face charges of proselytizing and “apostasy,” or leaving Islam.
The women were released at 3:30 p.m.
“Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who have prayed and worked for our release,” the two women said in a statement from United Kingdom-based Elam Ministries.
Urgent Prayer is really Needed for these two children of the most High God
MARYAM AND MARZIEH: “We will not deny our faith”
In a dramatic session before the revolutionary court today in Tehran, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) were told to recant their faith in Christ. Though great pressure was put on them, both women declared that they would not deny their faith. Maryam and Marzieh were originally arrested on March 5, 2009 and have suffered greatly while in prison, suffering ill health, solitary confinement and interrogations for many hours while blindfolded.
On Saturday August 8, Maryam and Marzieh were summoned to appear in court on Sunday August 9 in order to hear a verdict on their case. The chief interrogator had recommended a verdict of ‘apostasy.’ However, when they arrived, no verdict was actually given. Instead, the court session focussed on the deputy prosecutor, Mr Haddad, questioning Maryam and Marzieh about their faith and telling them that they had to recant in both verbal and written form. This made it clear that in the eyes of the court, Maryam and Marzieh’s only crime is that they have converted to Christianity Read the rest of this entry »
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.
April 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, an openly lesbian minister in the American Episcopal Church, has caused a stir on the internet with a sermon, posted to her weblog, in which she called abortion a "blessing" and called for the suppression of rights of conscience for health care workers.
In her sermon, titled, "Our Work is Not Done," she wrote that there should be no restrictions whatever on abortion: "If we were to find that, while we were here, Congress had acted to insure that abortion would always be legal, that would be a very good thing; but our work would not be done."
"If we were suddenly to find a host of trained providers, insuring access in every city, town, village, and military base throughout the world, that would be a very good thing; but our work would not be done."
Rev. Ragsdale, a director of a left-leaning think tank, Political Research Associates, was appointed on March 30th as the next president of Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, MA. She was the unanimous choice of the School’s Board of Trustees and will begin her duties on July 1, 2009. Catholic Online news service reported that she has previously served on the boards of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
She posted the sermon, given in Birmingham Alabama in 2007, in August last year, but it has flashed around the "bloggosphere" in the last 24 hours after it was linked to by two of the most popular American Catholic bloggers on the internet, "Diogenes" and Fr. John Zhulsdorf.
The sermon was removed from her blog earlier today after 59 commenters urged her to repent of her support for abortion.
In her sermon, Ragsdale denied the assertions of some "progressive" clergy who call abortion a "tragedy," saying abortion is instead a "blessing." "When a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion," she said, "it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing."
She described various situations in which "abortion is a blessing", including in cases of foetal "anomalies," rape or incest, material poverty and "lack of social support."
"When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight — only blessing."
Rev. Ragsdale, described the "heroic" actions of abortion workers in keeping the local abortion facility running during a protest by "Operation Save America."
When a woman can receive an abortion at any stage, and for any reason or no reason, Rev. Ragsdale wrote, "our work" in the abortion lobby "will be done."
She said that although "we in the religious community" have a history of defending rights of conscience, the situation of health care workers and pharmacists who object to abortion is not analogous.
"There’s a world of difference between those who engage in such civil disobedience, and pay the price, and doctors and pharmacists who insist that the rest of the world reorder itself to protect their consciences," she said. If a doctor or pharmacist objects to abortion or dispensing contraceptives, she wrote, they should "choose another field."
The news that a virulent supporter of abortion has been appointed to a prominent leadership position in the US Episcopal Church has jumped the Atlantic with coverage by the UK’s popular Catholic blogger, Damian Thompson, who writes for the Daily Telegraph newspaper’s website.
Thompson wrote, "Do not, please, make the mistake of assuming that she is an unrepresentative extremist: liberal Anglicans in America are among the most fervent supporters of abortion in the world, outstripping even atheists in their enthusiasm for this gruesome procedure."
The extremely popular pseudonymous blogger, "Diogenes," wrote on the Catholic Culture website that the presence of such pro-abortion clergy in the Episcopal Church is ultimately due to the failure of leadership in the Anglican Church as a whole, and specifically the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
"Doctor Williams’ ‘big tent’ approach to doctrinal deviance has earned him the congratulation of the media (and the deviants)."
"At some point a man has to make a choice: he can either be a critic — aloof, sceptical, ironic — or he can commit himself to the battle. But Williams wants to have it both ways, watching the game from the sidelines and then trying to crowd into the team photo when it’s over."
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."
Below are News Summaries from the Direct Compass News you can go through the links and select the one you would prefer to read and and pray on… God bless
“Say ‘God Bless’ and We’ll Sack You” Christian Legal Centre – March 29, 2009
A homelessness Prevention officer with Wandsworth Council has been suspended from work for nearly two months for encouraging a homeless woman with an incurable medical condition to look to God for help, after doctors told her they’d given up hope. Duke Amachree, aged 53 who has worked for the local authority for almost 18 years was suspended on 28 January 2009 for discussing his faith with a client, and was told in an investigatory interview on 17 March that he should not raise the issue of religion at work. Not only was Mr Amachree told it was inappropriate to ‘ever talk about God’, he was also told that he may not even say ‘God bless’. Mr Amachree, a member of the UK World Evangelism Church in London, was summoned to an interview as a result of a complaint made against him by a member of the public. Mr Michael Phillips, a solicitor working with the Christian Legal Centre, which was consulted by the worker, said: “On 26 January, Mr Amachree met a client who was due to be moved out of her home because her landlord wished to sell the property. Doctors had told the client that she had an incurable illness and, as such, could only work part time. In general conversation, Mr Amachree asked the lady why she believed her condition was incurable, and in encouragement, commented that sometimes doctors do not have all the answers. So concerned was he that the lady was in despair and without hope, he suggested she put her faith in God. The lady, however, explained that she had tried religion and because she did not have any faith she was satisfied with what the doctors had told her and was able to move on. She smiled, thanked Mr Amachree and left.” Two days later Mr Amachree was handed a letter informing him that a service user (the lady) had made serious allegations against him and he was therefore suspended. Mr Phillips, who was present at the meeting, added: “On 17 March, Mr Amachree’s employers told him that ‘God had to be kept out of the workplace’. He was accused of crossing boundaries. The issue of religion, according to the interviewer, should not be raised in a housing issue. Mr Phillips, on behalf of Mr Amachree, queried this statement by asking if ‘God bless’ would be an appropriate comment. He was told that it would not be appropriate and that any complaint would again lead to an investigation.” Mr Amachree is taking legal action against the Council. His claim is that their decision effectively ‘privatises’ Christian faith and is against his human rights. His case comes after a number of public sector workers have seen their employers forcing secularist views on them . The Christian Legal Centre, and its legal team has supported Caroline Petrie, the nurse who was suspended for offering to pray for a patient, a Christian magistrate forced to resign over his reluctance to place children into the care of homosexual couples; a Police Officer sacked for using the internal email system to respond to blatant pro-gay advertising in his force, and a myriad of cases where Christian foster parents have been refused the opportunity to care for children on the grounds of their faith and practice. CLC has instructed leading Human Rights barrister, Paul Diamond, to take up the case. Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of the CLC said: “We are supporting Mr Amachree in this case because it is absurd to think that any public body could be in a position to enforce a policy which means that you can’t even say ‘God Bless’ . This would effectively mean that faith would become entirely privatised. A Christian cannot leave faith out of any aspect of his or her life including work .” ‘If you would like to support Mr Amachree we would be very grateful. To do this, please make a donation to the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) by clicking on one of the two links below.’ www.christianlegalcentre.com/view.php?id=716 Andrea Minichiello Williams 020 7467 5421 Christian Legal Centre www.christianlegalcentre.com
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."
Attacker said he aimed to stop Christian conversions; Hindu extremist connection suspected.
NEW DELHI, March 10 (Compass Direct News) – In an effort to stop conversions to Christianity in the eastern state of Bihar, a 25-year-old ailing man on Sunday (March exploded a crude bomb in a church and shot the pastor.
Police Inspector Hari Krishna Mandal told Compass that the attacker, Rajesh Singh, had come fully prepared to kill the pastor, Vinod Kumar, in Baraw village in the Nasriganj area of Rohtas district, and then take his own life.
“However,” Mandal said, “believers caught him before he could do more damage or kill himself.”
The 35-year-old pastor was taken to a hospital in nearby Varanasi, in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh and at press time was out of danger of losing his life, according to a leader of Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS) who requested anonymity.
The church, Prarthana Bhawan (House of Prayer), belongs to GEMS. Around 30 people were in the church when the attack took place. Some women in the church sustained burns in the blast.
“Rajesh Singh threw a crude bomb from the window of the church, and the sound of the explosion created a chaos in the congregation,” said Inspector Mandal. As members of the church began to run out, he added, Singh came into the building and shot the pastor with a handmade pistol from point-blank range.
Singh had more bombs to explode and three more bullets in his pistol, but church members caught hold of him and handed him over to police, the inspector said.
“In his statement, Singh said he was personally against Christian conversions and wanted to kill the pastor to stop conversions,” Mandal said. “He wanted to take his own life after killing the pastor, and this is why he had more bullets in his pistol and an overdose of anesthesia in a syringe.”
Asked if Singh had any links with extremist Hindu nationalist groups, the inspector said no such organization was active in the area, though local Christians say Hindu extremist presence has increased recently. The GEMS source said people allegedly linked with a Hindu nationalist group had sent a threatening letter to the pastor, asking him to stop preaching in the area.
The source said the incident could have been fallout from conversions in nearby Mithnipur village, where a Hindu family had received Christ after being healed from a mental illness around six months ago. Singh also lives in Mithnipur.
“Pastor Kumar had not been visiting the village, fearing opposition from the villagers who were not happy with the conversion of this family,” the GEMS source said. “The same church’s cross had also been damaged about a year ago by unidentified people.”
The source said he believes that although Singh’s affiliation or linkage with a Hindu nationalist group has not been established, it is likely that he was instigated to kill the pastor by an extremist group. Pastor Kumar, married with three children, has been working in Rohtas district for the last 12 years.
Local Christians complain that the presence of the Hindu extremist Sangh Parivar (a family of organizations linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, India’s chief Hindu nationalist group) has recently increased in the area. They say the Hindu nationalist conglomerate has been spewing hate against Christians for more than 10 years, accusing them of using monetary incentives and fraudulent means and foreign money to convert Hindus.
The attacker has an amputated hand and was said to be mentally disturbed since 1996, when he was diagnosed with cancer, Inspector Mandal said.
“According to the villagers,” he said, “Singh had been mentally disturbed ever since he was diagnosed with cancer, and later tuberculosis, although there is no medical report to substantiate this.”
The government of Bihar is ruled by a coalition of a regional party, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) party, and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The JD-U is also part of the National Democratic Alliance, the main opposition coalition at the federal level led by the BJP. The JD-U, however, is not perceived as a supporter of Hindu nationalism.
Of the 82 million people, mostly Hindu, in Bihar, only 53,137 are Christian, according to the 2001 census.
This world as we know it, is really coming to end!!!
A controversial Italian doctor known for his work allowing post-menopausal women to have children has claimed in an interview to have cloned three babies who are now living in eastern Europe.
"I helped give birth to three children with the human cloning technique," Severino Antinori, a prominent gynecologist, told Oggi weekly in an interview to appear Wednesday.
"It involved two boys and a girl who are nine years old today. They were born healthy and they are in excellent health now."
He did not provide proof of his claims, but said cells from the three fathers, who were sterile, allowed the cloning to be carried out.
The women’s egg cells were impregnated in a laboratory through a method called "nuclear transfer," he said.
Antinori, who became famous after allowing a 63-year-old woman to have a child in 1994, said "respect for the families’ privacy does not allow me to go further."
He added that the method used was "an improvement" over the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1996.
Reminded by the journalist that such cloning is prohibited in heavily Catholic Italy, the doctor said he preferred to "speak of innovative therapies" or "genetic recoding" rather than cloning.
Two weeks ago, Antinori sparked controversy by announcing that he would artificially impregnate a woman whose husband is in an irreversible coma following a brain tumour.
It would be the first procedure of its kind in Italy if successful.
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.
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
Remember this story broke in August , of this year, it was even posted on this site and Christians, World over have been Praying for this two ladies since then… to God be the Glory! They have been released from prison today, something that seemed impossible in the eyes of man, am sure many would have given up hope on their release but we know that there is nothing too hard for God to do, and today our God has done it again for His Children. I thank the Lord on their behalf and all that Prayed for them.
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.
exploded a crude bomb in a church and shot the pastor. 
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