Christian Convert From Islam Beheaded in Somalia
Islamic extremists from Somalia's rebel al Shabaab militants killed a Christian in Somalia's coastal city of Barawa on Nov. 16, accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam, Morning Star News reports. The extremists beheaded 25-year-old Farhan Haji Mose after monitoring his movements for six months, underground Christians in Somalia said. Mose drew suspicion when he returned to Barawa in December 2011 after spending time in Kenya, which is nearly 83 percent Christian, opposed to Somalia, which is close to 100 percent Muslim. Mose had converted to Christianity in 2010 while in Kenya. Sources said a crowd assembled in Barawa to watch the slaughter of Mose. "His body was split into two, then carried away, only to be dumped near the beach of Barawa city," a Christian who witnessed the murder said. Other Muslim witnesses independently described the same scene, saying the extremists accused Mose of being a spy for foreigners and of embracing the "foreign religion of Christianity." Al Shabaab rebels have killed dozens of Christian converts from Islam since embarking on a campaign to rid Somalia of Christianity. The extremists, variously estimated at 3,000 to 7,000 seek to impose a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) on Somalia.
Nigeria: Suspected Islamic Militants Kill 10 Christians in Machete and Gun Attack
Suspected Islamist militants killed 10 Christians in an overnight machete and gun attack in the remote village of Chibok in Nigerian's Borno state on Dec. 2, BBC News reports. Residents said a group of men went from house to house in a largely Christian area of Chibok, setting people's houses on fire before slitting the throats of 10 people. Later, gunmen attacked government targets and churches near the border with Cameroon, killing five policemen. It is still unclear who is behind the attacks, but the army suspects the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has targeted churches and government establishments in the region in the last few years, killing more than 3,000. The group is fighting to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of sharia or Islamic law.
Washington State to Eliminate "Bride" and "Groom" on Marriage Certificates
The words "bride" and "groom" are about to become archaic language in Washington state as officials prepare to remove the terms, along with "husband" and "wife," from marriage and divorce certificates, Todd Starnes reports. Tim Church, a spokesman for the Washington health department, told Fox News they will likely be removing those words in favor of more gender-neutral terms in response to the same-sex marriage law that takes effect in the state December 6. "We've been quickly moving ahead to change our marriage certificate to make sure it fits for everyone who is going to be using it," Church said. The words "bride" and "groom" could be replaced with "Spouse A" and "Spouse B" or "Person A" and "Person B." The department has been taking public input, but the state's secretary of health will ultimately decide which terms are used. "We want our form to work for everyone who is getting married," Church said. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council said: "It is one sort of symbolic indication of how radical a change the legalization of same-sex marriage is. Symbolically, they are doing away with the whole concept of bride and groom, husband and wife - at least in the eyes of the law."
(Religion Today Daily Headlines, Nov. 21 and Dec. 4, 2012)
Some scientific facts -
The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity. While other sources declared the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true - "He hangs the earth on nothing."
Creation is made of particles, indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until the 19th centruy was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements.
The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel ( Genesis 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the widtth. Keep in mind, God told Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago.
When dealing with disease, clothes and body should be washed under running water (Leviticus 15:13). For centuries people naively washed in standing water. Today we recognize the need to wash away germs with fresh water.
Sanitation industry birthed (Deuteronomy 23:12-13). Some 3,500 years ago God commanded His people to have a place outside the camp where they could relieve themselves. They were to each carry a shovel so that they could dig a hole (latrine) and cover their waste. Up until world War I, more soldiers died from disease than war because they did not isolate human waste.
Oceans contain springs (Job 38:16). The ocean is very deep. Almost all the ocean floor is in total darkness and the pressure there is enormous. It would have been impossible for Job to have explored the "springs of the sea." Until recently, it was thought that oceans were fed only by rivers and rain. Yet in the 1970s, with the help of deep diving research submarines that were constructed to withstand 6,000 pounds-per-square-inch pressure, oceanographers discovered springs on the ocean floors!
(101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge, www.eternal-productions.org and www.creationmoments.com)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Scary Obituary
In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. Duriing those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back to bondage."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2008 Presidential election:
Number of States won by: Obama: 19 McCain: 29
Square miles of land won by: Obama 580,000 McCain: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million McCain: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2 McCain: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
Of course we are not a democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. Someone should point this out to Obama. Of course we know he and too many others pay little attention to The Constitution.
"Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured....but not prove they are a citizen."
(unknowns author, written May 31, 2012)
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. Duriing those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back to bondage."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2008 Presidential election:
Number of States won by: Obama: 19 McCain: 29
Square miles of land won by: Obama 580,000 McCain: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million McCain: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2 McCain: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
Of course we are not a democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. Someone should point this out to Obama. Of course we know he and too many others pay little attention to The Constitution.
"Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured....but not prove they are a citizen."
(unknowns author, written May 31, 2012)
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Thoughts, Friday, December 7, 2012
"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which ws crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay." Matthew 28:5,6
There are many now who insist that all religions are good and needful and equal and that it is not politically correct to suggest that the Gospel is other than just one among many. There is something unique about the Gospel that no religion has or ever will, duplicate, and it is the empty tomb.
Paul wrote, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12) All men, all the founders of philosophies, teachings and religions, met death and went to their graves and, "death reigned" (Romans 5:17) until the day death met a man that it did not reign over and could not keep in the grave.
It is this fact of the empty tomb that is the divider of the Gospel from all other religions and beliefs. Someone said it this way, "The empty tomb says to Science and Philosophy; 'Explain this event.' It says to History; 'Reproduce a like event.' It says to time, 'Blot out this event.' It says to faith; 'Receive this event.'"
Our faith is in a Savior Who rose from the dead, "as He said" and left an empty tomb for the world to consider. Neither the religious officials, nor the Roman guards made an attempt to deny that the tomb was empty. They concocted various explanations as to why and how the tomb had become empty but they never denied that it was.
They also fabricated numerous stories as to what happened to Jesus but within 40 days over six hundred people would be able to say, "Jesus is alive, like He said, and I saw Him." There are still those who attempt to explain the empty tomb but faith just believes the obvious that the tomb is empty because it had contained a man that it could not hold.
Pilate told the guards to make the tomb as secure as they could (Matthew 27:65) but the security has never been invented that could keep Jesus in a tomb. Later He would say to John on Patmos, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore...." (Revelation 1:18). It is this truth that sets Christianity apart from all other beliefs.
(Pastor Bill Cummins, Sheridan, WY, drbc@bresnan.net)
There are many now who insist that all religions are good and needful and equal and that it is not politically correct to suggest that the Gospel is other than just one among many. There is something unique about the Gospel that no religion has or ever will, duplicate, and it is the empty tomb.
Paul wrote, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12) All men, all the founders of philosophies, teachings and religions, met death and went to their graves and, "death reigned" (Romans 5:17) until the day death met a man that it did not reign over and could not keep in the grave.
It is this fact of the empty tomb that is the divider of the Gospel from all other religions and beliefs. Someone said it this way, "The empty tomb says to Science and Philosophy; 'Explain this event.' It says to History; 'Reproduce a like event.' It says to time, 'Blot out this event.' It says to faith; 'Receive this event.'"
Our faith is in a Savior Who rose from the dead, "as He said" and left an empty tomb for the world to consider. Neither the religious officials, nor the Roman guards made an attempt to deny that the tomb was empty. They concocted various explanations as to why and how the tomb had become empty but they never denied that it was.
They also fabricated numerous stories as to what happened to Jesus but within 40 days over six hundred people would be able to say, "Jesus is alive, like He said, and I saw Him." There are still those who attempt to explain the empty tomb but faith just believes the obvious that the tomb is empty because it had contained a man that it could not hold.
Pilate told the guards to make the tomb as secure as they could (Matthew 27:65) but the security has never been invented that could keep Jesus in a tomb. Later He would say to John on Patmos, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore...." (Revelation 1:18). It is this truth that sets Christianity apart from all other beliefs.
(Pastor Bill Cummins, Sheridan, WY, drbc@bresnan.net)
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Cross Returns
A long legal battle over the Mojave Desert monument comes to a happy end.
WORLD News Service - Hardy supporters reinstated a World War I memorial cross in the Mojave Desert on Veterans Day - after a 13-year battle over the constitutionality of a religious symbol on federal ground.
More than 100 people showed up for the ceremony - including cross caretakers Henry and Wanda Sandoz, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), attorneys from the Liberty Institute, and an honor guard.
The Sandozes have taken care of the cross since 1984 when they promised a World War I veteran they would watch over it. In 2001, The American Civil Liberties Union sued VFW, calling the cross unconstitutiional because it violated the separation of church and state. Throughout the court process, the cross was bagged and covered in a plywood box.
A 2010 Supreme Court ruling allowed for the VFW to transfer the federal land beneath the cross, allowing for the cross to stand on private property. But the cross was stolen days after the ruling. The land transfer finally was completed early in November, and the stolen cross was found in Northern California. But Henry Sandoz decided to put up a newly made cross for the ceremony.
The site is now fenced off and includes a plaque stating that the cross is a memorial for World War I veterans. "We are so, so happy that it's going up and staying up without opposition since the Veterans of Foreign Wars owns it now," Wanda Sandoz said. "We are so happy that it all came together and the veterans can have their memorial now."
(Angela Lu writes for WORLD News Service)
WORLD News Service - Hardy supporters reinstated a World War I memorial cross in the Mojave Desert on Veterans Day - after a 13-year battle over the constitutionality of a religious symbol on federal ground.
More than 100 people showed up for the ceremony - including cross caretakers Henry and Wanda Sandoz, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), attorneys from the Liberty Institute, and an honor guard.
The Sandozes have taken care of the cross since 1984 when they promised a World War I veteran they would watch over it. In 2001, The American Civil Liberties Union sued VFW, calling the cross unconstitutiional because it violated the separation of church and state. Throughout the court process, the cross was bagged and covered in a plywood box.
A 2010 Supreme Court ruling allowed for the VFW to transfer the federal land beneath the cross, allowing for the cross to stand on private property. But the cross was stolen days after the ruling. The land transfer finally was completed early in November, and the stolen cross was found in Northern California. But Henry Sandoz decided to put up a newly made cross for the ceremony.
The site is now fenced off and includes a plaque stating that the cross is a memorial for World War I veterans. "We are so, so happy that it's going up and staying up without opposition since the Veterans of Foreign Wars owns it now," Wanda Sandoz said. "We are so happy that it all came together and the veterans can have their memorial now."
(Angela Lu writes for WORLD News Service)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
For Christians, It's Never Over
(Written on Nov. 14, 2012)
WORLD News Service - After a self-imposed news blackout from Tuesday night, Nov. 6, to Friday, Nov. 9, I began catching up on what was happening in the country. One of the things I learned was the people in Maine, Maryland, and Washington state chose to redefine the word "marriage" to include people of the same sex, and Minnesota voters rejected a measure that would have amended the state constitution to prohibit the redefinition of marriage.
"The campaign against same-sex 'marriage' is over," Cal Thomas wrote a few days after the election. "Conservatives might want to focus on strengthening their own marriages." He also wrote that with only 27 percent of the Hispanic vote going to Mitt Romney, Republicans "need a new strategy to attract Hispanics whose values mirror those held by conservatives."
Every day, pregnant women have the precious babies in their wombs slaughtered for the sake of convenience. It's legal, but the campaign to end abortion will never be over. Younger Americans generally support the redefinition of marriage, and it's a downward slide from here. But we must always oppose it and campaign and vote against it.
Hispanics who vote for liberals generally support amnesty, and I don't think anything short of that platform will shift numbers in the other direction. Blacks who vote for liberals generally don't consider Big Government a threat to an individual's liberty. In fact, I think these days, many people don't even understand what the word means and why it's important.
Still, appealing to people through race or ethnicity is an undignified solution. Idealistic? Perhaps. Compromising principles isn't the solution, either. For example, I believe offering amnesty to illegal aliens is wrong, and I won't support it for political expediency. Additionally, I became a conservative after I examined what I believed and why, and realized which candidates' values more closely aligned with mine. I didn't need or want anyone to "reach out" to me or craft a special message based on my skin color or racial group membership grievance, and I don't want to support any candidates that do.
As fellow Christians,Thomas and I are of one mind about the power of Christ,who can change hearts and minds no matter who's in the White House. And we, individuals, have the power to starve the "government beast" by helping those in need and reminding them why people fought and died to break the shackles of government tyranny.
So, what now? We keep writing, speaking, persuading, influencing, and voting, even if the tide turns against us. We advocate strong, traditional families, even though family instability is rampanat. We openly oppose abortion and resist the pressure to cave to the homosexual lobby. We appeal to fellow Americans through faith and values, not skin color or sex or age. Now more than ever, we must be diligent and watchful. We must be prayerful and hopeful. We must influence by example: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
(LaShawn Barber writes for WORLD News Group)
WORLD News Service - After a self-imposed news blackout from Tuesday night, Nov. 6, to Friday, Nov. 9, I began catching up on what was happening in the country. One of the things I learned was the people in Maine, Maryland, and Washington state chose to redefine the word "marriage" to include people of the same sex, and Minnesota voters rejected a measure that would have amended the state constitution to prohibit the redefinition of marriage.
"The campaign against same-sex 'marriage' is over," Cal Thomas wrote a few days after the election. "Conservatives might want to focus on strengthening their own marriages." He also wrote that with only 27 percent of the Hispanic vote going to Mitt Romney, Republicans "need a new strategy to attract Hispanics whose values mirror those held by conservatives."
Every day, pregnant women have the precious babies in their wombs slaughtered for the sake of convenience. It's legal, but the campaign to end abortion will never be over. Younger Americans generally support the redefinition of marriage, and it's a downward slide from here. But we must always oppose it and campaign and vote against it.
Hispanics who vote for liberals generally support amnesty, and I don't think anything short of that platform will shift numbers in the other direction. Blacks who vote for liberals generally don't consider Big Government a threat to an individual's liberty. In fact, I think these days, many people don't even understand what the word means and why it's important.
Still, appealing to people through race or ethnicity is an undignified solution. Idealistic? Perhaps. Compromising principles isn't the solution, either. For example, I believe offering amnesty to illegal aliens is wrong, and I won't support it for political expediency. Additionally, I became a conservative after I examined what I believed and why, and realized which candidates' values more closely aligned with mine. I didn't need or want anyone to "reach out" to me or craft a special message based on my skin color or racial group membership grievance, and I don't want to support any candidates that do.
As fellow Christians,Thomas and I are of one mind about the power of Christ,who can change hearts and minds no matter who's in the White House. And we, individuals, have the power to starve the "government beast" by helping those in need and reminding them why people fought and died to break the shackles of government tyranny.
So, what now? We keep writing, speaking, persuading, influencing, and voting, even if the tide turns against us. We advocate strong, traditional families, even though family instability is rampanat. We openly oppose abortion and resist the pressure to cave to the homosexual lobby. We appeal to fellow Americans through faith and values, not skin color or sex or age. Now more than ever, we must be diligent and watchful. We must be prayerful and hopeful. We must influence by example: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
(LaShawn Barber writes for WORLD News Group)
Saturday, December 1, 2012
CDC: U.S. Abortion Rate has Fallen
(WORLD New Service) - U.S. abortions fell 5 percent in 2009, the biggest onne-year decrease in at least a decade, according to a report from Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) on Nov. 21.
While the exact reasons for the decline are difficult to pinpoint, an Associated Press report attributed the falling numbers to more people using contraceptives like intrauterine devices, condoms, and the "morning-after" pill. It also said the economic recession may have led more women to be more careful because they cannot afford to get pregnant.
But the AP report didn't mention other factors, like the undeniable growth of the pro-life movement, which draws hundreds of thousands of people - many of them young - to the annual March of Life in Washington, D.C. in March and to other public pro-life events. Pro-life groups are also growing: 40 Days for Life started eight years ago and promotes prayer vigils in 400 cities, while participation in Students for Life has doubled in the past five years.
Another attributable factor would include the growth of pregnancy resource centers across the country, informing women they have options other than abortion. Care Net has doubled the number of its affiliated centers to 1,100 in the past decade.
The secular media has also failed to mention recent polls that found public opinion of abortion changing, with a majority of Americans identifying themselves as pro-life, with only a little more than 40 percent being pro-abortion.
The CDC study found that Mississippi had the lowest abortion rate at four per 1,000 woman of childbearing age. The state has only a couple of abortion providers and the nation's highest teen birthrate - because most babies are allowed to live.
New York, second to California in number of abortion providers, had the highest abortion rate, roughly eight times Mississippi's. California did not participate in the report, which used numbers from 43 states and two cities. The researchers found that abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age fell from about 16 in 2008 to roughly 15 in 2009. That translates to nearly 38,000 fewer abortions in a single year.
The study also found that white women had the lowest abortion rate, at about 8.5 per 1,000 women of childbearing age. The rate for black women was about four times that. The rate for Hispanic women was about 19 per 1,000.
While the exact reasons for the decline are difficult to pinpoint, an Associated Press report attributed the falling numbers to more people using contraceptives like intrauterine devices, condoms, and the "morning-after" pill. It also said the economic recession may have led more women to be more careful because they cannot afford to get pregnant.
But the AP report didn't mention other factors, like the undeniable growth of the pro-life movement, which draws hundreds of thousands of people - many of them young - to the annual March of Life in Washington, D.C. in March and to other public pro-life events. Pro-life groups are also growing: 40 Days for Life started eight years ago and promotes prayer vigils in 400 cities, while participation in Students for Life has doubled in the past five years.
Another attributable factor would include the growth of pregnancy resource centers across the country, informing women they have options other than abortion. Care Net has doubled the number of its affiliated centers to 1,100 in the past decade.
The secular media has also failed to mention recent polls that found public opinion of abortion changing, with a majority of Americans identifying themselves as pro-life, with only a little more than 40 percent being pro-abortion.
The CDC study found that Mississippi had the lowest abortion rate at four per 1,000 woman of childbearing age. The state has only a couple of abortion providers and the nation's highest teen birthrate - because most babies are allowed to live.
New York, second to California in number of abortion providers, had the highest abortion rate, roughly eight times Mississippi's. California did not participate in the report, which used numbers from 43 states and two cities. The researchers found that abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age fell from about 16 in 2008 to roughly 15 in 2009. That translates to nearly 38,000 fewer abortions in a single year.
The study also found that white women had the lowest abortion rate, at about 8.5 per 1,000 women of childbearing age. The rate for black women was about four times that. The rate for Hispanic women was about 19 per 1,000.
The Issue of Abortion
I believe that the greatest ethical issue today is that of aborion. In recent years many have come to see terrorism as more concerning than abortion. I am baffled by that, because more people were killed on September 10 in the womb of U.S. women than were killed on 9/11 in New York City. More babies were slaughtered on September 12 than adults were killed on 9/11. If we had a camera on the womb so that CNN could show us graphic videos of what actually happens in the slaughter of unborn children, abortion would be quickly abolished, but the reality of it is covered up. If there is one thing I know about God, it is that he hates abortion. The German ethicist Helmut Thielicke indicated something unusual in his massive mid-twenthieth-centruy work on Christian ethics. The work apeared before Roe v. Wade; that is, before Western civilization had embraced abortion on demand. In his book Thielicke wrote that abortion has always been considered a monolithic evil in Christian thought among both liberals and conservatives. That is clear from the very first century, in the Didache, which called abortion "murder." Abortion is an unspeakable evil that God abhors, one that the American church tolerates and winks at. That troubles me deeply, and I do not understand it.
(R. C. Sproul, Romans, St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary)
(R. C. Sproul, Romans, St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary)
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