Atheist teen prayer banner objection lands teen $44,000 scholarship!

A Rhode Island teen is learning that it pays to deny the existence of God: Prominent atheists plan to present Jessica Ahlquist with a scholarship of at least $44,000 — and possibly more.

It seems they were impressed with the way Ahlquist, 16, handled herself amid a roiling controversy that began in July 2010, when she complained about a prayer banner hanging in the auditorium at Cranston High School West that referred to “Our Heavenly Father.”

Is religious freedoms & freedom of speech and expressions under threat? Listen to audio…

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Michael Brown’s story of how he became probably the foremost Jewish Apologist of our time & how he interacted with rabbis in his early days, how he still does (in private) & how rabbis refuse to debate him because … “he’s a good debater”? Where are the good debaters of the Jewish world?

The site here was set up to encourage a debate between Brown & Rabbi Singer some time ago.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Obama: “our daughters need abortion to fulfill their dreams”!? Life action needed! “cities4life.org” – 10min

‘Pro-choice’ caller : “…baby in womb doesn’t have same right to life?”. Why?! Refuses to answer tricky question – 09min

Abortion ok in rape cases? Raped women calls & says no – 04min

Abortion: The ultimate statement of female empowerment?!! – 06min

Quote: Is “echad” the ideal word to express the Divine Unity? Chassidic teaching explains that “echad” explains a deeper unity than “yachid”. The oneness of “echad” is not undermined by plurality, indeed it employs plurality as the ingredients of unity!

Quite amazing isn’t it? …if you are aware of the background on this topic, that is. Listen to the audio extract for the full quote, discussion & comment from another Chassidic Rabbi on this.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Yes, his favourite music is the Muslim call to prayer. Strange isn’t it? But Aaron Klein still thinks he isn’t a Muslim. You make up your own mind.

Aaron Klein. Listen to full audio here.

The decision of the Girl Scouts of America to admit Bobby Montoya, a boy (yes, a boy in the Girl Scouts) has met with considerable controversy.  Several southern scout troupes have dissolved their charters in protest.

A girl, identified as Taylor, caused major headlines by calling for a Girl Scout USA boycott, in a YouTube video, based on this issue.

“Right now, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A…is not being honest with us girls, its troops, its leaders, its parents or the American public. Girl Scouts describes itself as an all-girl experience. With that label, families trust that the girls will be in an environment that is not only nurturing and sensitive to girls’ needs, but also safe for girls. I am asking you to take action with me and boycott Girl Scout Cookies. I ask all fellow Girl Scouts who want a true, all-girl experience not to sell any Girl Scouts cookies until GSUSA (Girl Scouts of the USA) addresses our concerns. I ask all parents who want their girls to be in a safe environment to tell their leaders why you will not allow your girls to make any more money for GSUSA.”

The video was prompted by the case of Bobby Montoya, whose mother told a CNN affiliate in October that a troop leader initially told her that Bobby couldn’t join the troop because Bobby “has boy parts,” even though her child identifies as a girl. The Girl Scouts of Colorado blamed the initial decision to exclude the child on ignorance of the scouts’ policy. The state scouts said Bobby was welcome to join Girl Scouts. “If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout,” said the Colorado Girl Scouts, in a statement to a CNN affiliate.

This clip has since been removed from YouTube – likely due to persecution from the increasingly violent American pro-gay, pro-LGBT lobby. You can speak freely in America, as long as you promote non-biblical sexual views. For more information, from “Girl Scouts for girls”-perspective see the Honest Girl Scouts site.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

The book below is also very relevant to the topic & should be read by Christians to have a greater understanding of this topic.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Aaron Klein. Listen to full audio here.

In the audio above Dr Michael Brown strongly denounces, like many other leaders, this bogus coronation ceremony.

Long, the controversial pastor of a Georgia-based megachurch, was anointed ‘king’ in a ceremony that has outraged some Jewish community leaders, the Associated Press reported.

The video, filmed at a service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, shows Messianic preacher Rabbi Ralph Messer instructing two men to wrap Long in a Torah. Then, Long is seated in a chair, covered in a prayer shawl while holding the sacred scroll and lifted by four men.

“He now is raised up from a commoner to a kingship,” Messer says in the video, as the men walk Long’s seat through the crowd.

Several Jewish leaders and religious scholars have spoken out against the ceremony, saying that Ralph Messer is not a representative Messianic Judaism or the religion as a whole.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

So, the criteria for the diagnosis for autism is being updated, one would wonder why…
“More than a year before a new definition is expected to appear in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–the standard mental-health reference used by psychiatrists and insurers–a scientific catfight has erupted over the best way to recategorize the spectrum of symptoms that comprise autism disorders. Many experts say the proposed definition, which is still being assessed, will narrow the criteria for autism. The question is, How much?”

Source: Time Magazine

…until we also hear that “nearly 40 percent of the children ever diagnosed with autism disorders didn’t currently have autism, the parents reported. That rate is much higher than ever found by autism recovery researchers. Outside experts said they doubt it reflects a true rate of recoveries. Autism could have been suspected and later ruled out for some of the children, the authors wrote.”

Source: Huffington Post (also in Time article, but not available there for free viewing, see link above)

AlbertMohler.com, The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

So, again, which picture shows an addiction scenario? Not the happy-looking people, we suppose, right? Don’t be deceived. Psychiatric drugs very often do not resolve the ‘condition’. Ask many people that experienced this themselves or that knew a family member on & off these drugs (like in my case). How well did it work? How was quality of life improved (or not)? Looking at the statistics alone tells us there is a massive problem … and we’re not addressing it in the right way. The book at the bottom of the page might be useful for more info (no, the author of this post doesn’t get sales commission). You can also see Dr Breggin’s site.

Check out AlbertMohler.com – The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

Jewish ritual washing (Mikvah) is repeated regularly – does it compare to Christian baptism at all?

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Are you pretending to be Christ? Preposterous? Not really – He commands us to live like Him, why would He ask us to do the impossible? Why indeed. Listen how C.S. Lewis describes it – even highlighting how the ‘pretend’ games kids play are actually quite important to prepare them for grown-up-life. Insightful. Really. Take a listen.

The images? …yes, they relate to the topic.

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

The prophecy of Judgement that America misunderstood & took to proclaim reassurance to its people – “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.” – Isaiah 9:10 NASB

Listen to the interview with the author – this has all the markings of a very significant book – even a prophetic book, yes, in our day. Also see message at bottom of page from the late David Wilkerson where he talks of the coming Judgement over America. The following information & summary from Amazon:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54 in Books (as on 03 Feb 2012)

#1 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Fiction
#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Mystery

Is it possible…
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America s future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgement are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its destruction as a nation, ancient Israel received nine harbingers, prophetic omens of warning. The same nine harbingers are now manifesting in America with immediate ramifications for end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretold recent American events down to the exact days. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened sceptics will find it hard to dismiss. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller with one exception… IT S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are revealed through an intriguing and engaging narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he tells of his encounters with The Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes a piece in a greater puzzle the ramifications of which will even alter the course of world history.

Interview audio from Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

When does a broken heart become a diagnosis? In a bitter skirmish over the definition of depression, a new report contends that a proposed change to the diagnosis would characterize grieving as a disorder and greatly increase the number of people treated for it.  The criteria for depression are being reviewed by the American Psychiatric Association, which is finishing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., the first since 1994. The manual is the standard reference for the field, shaping treatment and insurance decisions, and its revisions will affect the lives of millions of people for years to come.

From: Grief Could Join List of Disorders – New York Times

AlbertMohler.com, The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

Listen to the audio for acknowledgement from Shmuley to Michael Brown & Michael’s (limited) endorsement of this book.

Shmuley Boteach: “In December of this year I will G-d willing be publishing my book, “Kosher Jesus,” through Gefen Publishers in Israel. It has been a project of more than six years research and writing. The book seeks to offer to Jews and Christians the real story of Jesus, a wholly observant, Pharisaic Rabbi who fought Roman paganism and oppression and was killed for it.”

Strike-through by author of this blog post to indicate disagreement with Rabbi Boteach on why Jesus (Yeshua) was killed. Disagreement with a surprisingly small portion of a statement that would be welcomed by many Christians & Messianic Jews.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Chicago Tribune: In a shocking upset Sunday, the Broncos heisted the Super Bowl dreams of the heavily favored Steelers, capping wild-card weekend with the wildest of wins — a 29-23 victory in overtime. Minutes after the game, Tebow recounted his memories of the final play as if they were snapshots in his head. “When I saw him scoring?” he said. “First of all, `Thank you, Lord!’ And then I was running pretty fast chasing him — like I could catch up to DT — and then I just jumped in the stands. First time I’ve done that. That was fun. Then just got on a knee and thanked the Lord again and tried to celebrate with my teammates.” Tebow threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, pumping new hope into a franchise that backed into the postseason while losing its last three games. Tebow became just the second Broncos quarterback, along with Hall of Famer John Elway, to both pass and run for a touchdown in a postseason game. What’s more, Tebow and Thomas joined Elway and Michael Young as the only quarterback-receiver tandems to connect on a pair of 50-yard completions in the same playoff game.

Line of Fire : Does Tim Tebow embarrass you? Why? Maybe because of how you would be embarrassed if you were in Tebow’s shoes. Are you as open as Tebow about your faith? Should you be? Why are you not?

Some videos – for those that has not yet seen Tim in action & hear him talk about his Lord & saviour.

1. 50th Peer-Reviewed Pro-ID Scientific Paper Published. The intelligent design movement hit a major milestone in 2011 with the publication of the 50th peer-reviewed pro-ID scientific paper. Two ID research labs have been major contributors to the list. Biologic Institute, headed by molecular biologist
Doug Axe, which is “developing and testing the scientific case for intelligent design in biology.” Biologic conducts both laboratory and theoretical research on the origin and role of information in biology, the fine-tuning of the universe for life, and methods of detecting design. Another ID research group is the Evolutionary Informatics Lab, founded by William Dembski along with Robert Marks, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University. Their lab has attracted graduate-student researchers and has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in technical science and engineering journals showing that computer programming “points to the need for an ultimate information source qua intelligent designer.” Together, these labs and individual researchers have published peer-reviewed pro-ID scientific papers in journals such as Protein Science, Journal of Molecular Biology, Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling, Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics, Quarterly Review of Biology, Cell Biology International, Rivista di Biologia/Biology Forum, Physics of Life Reviews, Annual Review of Genetics, and multiple others. Collectively, this body of research is converging upon a consensus: complex biological features cannot arise by Darwinian mechanisms, but require an intelligent cause.
2. The Design of the Butterfly Continues to Inspire and Amaze. Inventors made an artificial butterfly modeled on the tiger swallowtail. First they made the wing without veins. It didn’t fly as well as when they added veins like the real butterfly, according to a short video clip in an article on New Scientist. The veined wing provided more lift. The inventors at Harvard’s microrobotics lab power their “butterfly-type ornithopter” or BTO with just a rubber band. It’s the first flying insect replica that matches the real thing in size and weight, they said. Meanwhile, another group of researchers say they have shown for the first time that swallowtail butterflies have an array of sensors on their forelegs that allow them to get a flavor of the leaves they land on. The team said the larvae of plant-eating insects
need specific types of plants to feed on. They said the female’s ability to select the right plant on which to lay her eggs is key to the survival of the larvae when they hatch. Scientists said they found that swallowtails lay eggs only when they detect the presence of specific chemicals in the leaf as they drum their forelegs on the surface. PhysOrg reported on this, but there is much more information with visuals in the new documentary DVD Metamorphosis: The Beauty and Design of the Butterfly.
3. Woodpecker Drumming Inspires Shock-Absorbing System. Through careful study and reverse-engineering of the woodpecker, scientists have developed a new shock-absorbing system. A woodpecker is known to drum the hard woody surface of a tree at a rate of 18 to 22 times per second with a deceleration of 1200 g, yet with no sign of blackout or brain damage. As a model in nature, a woodpecker was studied to find clues to develop a shock-absorbing system for micro-machined devices.
Its advanced shock-absorbing mechanism, which defies common explanation, is analyzed in terms of endoskeletal structures. In this analysis, the head structures (beak, hyoid, spongy bone, and skull bone with cerebrospinal fluid) of the golden-fronted woodpecker are explored with x-ray computed tomography images, and their shock-absorbing mechanism is analyzed with a mechanical vibration model and an empirical method. Based on these analyses, a new shock-absorbing system is designed to
protect commercial micro-machined devices from unwanted high-g and high-frequency mechanical excitations. Meanwhile other scientists are conducting similar research on the woodpecker with hopes of designing a better helmet. This is yet another example of biomimetics revealing advanced design in nature that appears to elude both the inventive mind of man and the limited capabilities of natural selection.
4. Stylus Aims to Bridge Gap Between Real World and Artificial Evolutionary Simulation. Many computer simulations that purport to simulate Darwinian evolution have deficiencies: Pro-ID scientists like William Dembski or Robert Marks have shown how programs smuggle in information such that they are pre-directed to evolve their targets. Doug Axe’s work demonstrates that such programs typically evolve solutions to artificial, rather than real-world problems. A new peer-reviewed paper in BIO-Complexity by Axe, Philip Lu, and Stephanie Flatau explains that the “functions” of the digital organisms in these simulations are often divorced from real-world meaning. According to Axe they designed Stylus to present a more accurate picture of what evolution might be able to accomplish in the real world: “The motivation for Stylus was the recognition that prior models used to study evolutionary innovation did not adequately represent the complex causal connection between genotypes
and phenotypes.” Basic to life is an information conversion, where the information carried in genes (the genotype) is converted into an organism’s observable traits (the phenotype). Those biological structures then perform various functions. Stylus uses Chinese characters as digital objects as explained in the paper: “These translation products, called vector proteins, are functionless unless they form legible Chinese characters, in which case they serve the real function of writing. This coupling of artificial genetic causation to the real world of language makes evolutionary experimentation possible in a context where innovation can have a richness of variety and a depth of causal complexity that at least hints at what is needed to explain the complexity of bacterial proteomes.” There probably will never be a perfect computer simulation of biological evolution, but the free Stylus software brings new and improved methods to the field of evolutionary modeling. This tool will help those interested in testing the viability of Darwinian claims to assess whether complex features can be created by random mutations at the molecular level.
5. Explosive Radiation of Flowering Plants Confirmed. In March 2011 Nature reported the recent fossil discovery in China of a strikingly beautiful mature flowering plant. A taxonomic analysis of the plant’s form has led to the fossil being placed among the Ranunculaceae, a family within the eudicots that includes buttercups and crowroot plants. By all assessments, the description in the journal Nature reveals a “remarkably developed species” rather than a primitive ancestral form. The sedimentary rock preserving this fossil has also yielded several other significant angiosperm species with an age considered to be about 124 Ma. The earliest flowering plants are represented by pollen grains and considered to be about 130 Ma years old. This fossil find presents new challenges to Darwin’s theory to explain the origin of flowering plant species over a relatively short geologic time period by incremental transformations.
6. Golden Orb-Weaver Fossil Spider Provides New Evidence for Stasis. The largest fossilized spider was discovered recently in China providing new evidence for stasis (a period of little or no evolutionary change in a species). The newly reported fossil golden orb-weaver spider is a giant female with a leg span of about 15 cm. Until this new fossil turned up in Inner Mongolia, the most ancient example from this grouping, or genus, was about 35 million years old. This discovery pushes the
existence of the Nephila genus back to the Jurassic Period (165 ma), making them the longest ranging spider genus known. Today, these same insects adorn tropical rainforests, with giant females of Nephila maculate (legs spanning up to 20 cm), and small males (just a few centimeters across). The incredible detail of this fossil specimen, including the fine hair on the legs, help classify the find a “living fossil” showing very little evolutionary change over 135 million years.
7. Complexity in the Universe Appears Earlier Than Thought. More evidence has been discovered that galaxies formed very early. A mature galaxy detected through gravitational lensing was announced by the Hubble Telescope team, with an estimated redshift of 6.027. In the conventional big bang chronology, that dates it at 950 million years after the big bang. Other galaxies have been detected at redshift 10 or more, but this appears to have mature stars, “pushing back the epoch of its formation to about 200 million years after the Big Bang, much further than we had expected,” a NASA spokesperson said in the Hubble press release. That is about 1.5% of the assumed age of the universe. “This suggests,” he continued, “that the first galaxies have been around for a lot longer than previously thought.”
8. An Identity Crises for Human Ancestors. The last decade has witnessed three contenders for the title: earliest identifiable human ancestor. These are Ardipithecus, Orrorin and Sahelanthropus. All of them generated great excitement at the time of their discovery and, for many, they were evidence that the lineage of the human genus was being clarified. However, those willing to read research papers (rather than media reports) were more aware that the research community was not of one mind about the significance of these fossil remains. Recently, Bernard Wood and Terry Harrison have contributed a major review paper in Nature that revisits these arguments and finds that the various claims for human ancestry are not rigorous. They offer alternative explanations for these three fossil hominines. Some scientists are calling for an end to Ancestor Worship, which drives discoverers and news media to claim every new fossil find as the “earliest known human.”
9. DNA Repair Mechanisms Reveal a Contradiction in Evolutionary Theory. New research reveals that DNA repair mechanisms limit the capability for evolution by unbounded random change. Both digital codes in computers and nucleotide codes in cells are protected against mutations by complex error correction mechanisms. In the February 2011 issue of Open Evolution Journal William DeJong and Hans Degens explore how mutation protection affects the random change and selection of
digital and nucleotide codes. They illustrate their findings with a computer simulation of the evolution of a population of self-replicating digital amoebae. The authors show that evolutionary programming of digital codes is a valid model for the evolution of nucleotide codes by random change within the boundaries of mutation protection, not for evolution by unbounded random change. The findings are of considerable interest. They show that any evolutionary theory which ignores mutation protection is missing out a factor of great importance. The consequence of protection is that limitations of the evolutionary dynamics of digital and nucleotide codes are highly probable. Contradiction in evolutionary theory is a short YouTube presentation that summarizes the authors’ findings.
10. The Limits to Self-Organization Identified. University of British Columbia professor, Richard Johns, published an article in the philosophy journal Synthese, which argues that there are “limitations on the kinds of structure that can self-organize.” Evolutionists have increasingly turned to theories of self-organization to explain the origin of life as previous theories such as the prebiotic soup have been discarded for lack of evidence. Johns’ primary argument is to prove a “limitative theorem” that certain types of objects cannot self-organize through the laws of nature. His limitative theorem entails ideas very much like Dembski’s conservation of information. According to Johns, just as there are logical limits to the amount of information that can be derived from a given set of axioms or premises, there are
physical limits to the kinds of structures can be derived from a given set of physical laws. At the UncommonDescent blog Johns goes on to comment on the implications of his theorem: “While the paper doesn’t address intelligent design as such, it indirectly establishes strict limits to what such evolutionary mechanisms as natural selection can accomplish. In particular, it shows that physical laws, operating on an initially random arrangement of matter, cannot produce complex objects with any reasonable chance in any reasonable time. … My argument is not especially concerned with the creative powers of natural selection, since it covers self-organisation in general. But the limitative theorem does entail that natural selection cannot have the powers that are often claimed. In this respect my argument
is similar to, for example, Michael Behe’s argument involving the notion of irreducible complexity (e.g. in Darwin’s Black Box).”

Source: ARN.

Check out Intelligent Design The Future. Listen to full audio here.

Blood libel (also blood accusation) is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays. Historically, these claims—alongside those of well poisoning and host desecration—have been a major theme in European persecution of Jews. (Wikipedia)

A note on ‘Palestine’. Consider the continued Jewish presence in Palestine & the quotes below. Who can lay claim to Palestine is its “original inhabitants”? Surely the Jews cannot be excluded, at least.

In 1888, Professor Sir John William Dawson wrote: Immigration took place from Europe, from North Africa (mainly to Jaffa) and from the Yemen.

“Until today (1888), no people has succeeded in establishing national dominion in the Land of Israel. No national unity, in the spirit of nationalism, has acquired any hold there. The mixed multitude of itinerant tribes that managed to settle there did so on lease, as temporary residents. It seems that they await the return of the permanent residents of the land.” (Wikipedia)

Prior to the Ottoman Empire’s dismemberment, the population of the area comprising modern Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip was not exclusively Muslim. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century, there were [?no more than?] 10,000 Jews in Palestine, (Wikipedia)

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Traditional / orthodox Jews today believe that God cannot appear in any physical form – obviously this means they have a big problem with Jesus (Yeshua) & the doctrine of the Trinity. How much does the books of Moses (Torah) support the view Maimonides codified in Jewish thought for generations? See the analysis & listen to the audio.

Quote: The codifier of Torah law and Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (“Maimonides” also known as “The Rambam”), compiled what he refers to as the “Thirteen Fundamental Principles” of the Jewish faith, as derived from the Torah. The Thirteen Principles of Jewish faith are as follows:

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.
2. The belief in G-d’s absolute and unparalleled unity.
3. The belief in G-d’s non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
4. The belief in G-d’s eternity.
5. The imperative to worship G-d exclusively and no foreign false gods.
6. The belief that G-d communicates with man through prophecy.
7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
10. The belief in G-d’s omniscience and providence.
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

Based on text here.

Numbers 12:8
With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Note below, that Strongs 8544 is the word used for “form” when Israel was warned against idolatry.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Yes, now pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs are “disabled” & can get paid for it!!! But that’s not all, pyromaniacs, compulsive gamblers, fetishists and sadomasochists are also in on the “disability” fiasco. Note the blog subtitle “observing wordly wisdom unravel” – observe it & think about it.

ATHENS (AP) — Disability groups in Greece expressed anger on Monday at a government decision to expand a list of state-recognized disability categories to include pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs.

The National Confederation of Disabled People, calling the action “incomprehensible,” said that pedophiles could be eligible for a higher disability pay than some people who had received organ transplants.

The Labor Ministry said the categories added to the expanded list — that also includes pyromaniacs, compulsive gamblers, fetishists and sadomasochists — were included for purposes of medical assessment and used as a gauge for allocating financial assistance.

But leader of the disability group, Yiannis Vardakastanis, who is blind, warned that the new list could create difficulties for disabled Greeks who are already facing benefit cuts because of the financial crisis.

“What’s happened is incomprehensible,” he said. “I think there is some big mistake. The ministry should have a different policy on disability. The list contains major changes to disability quotients, which could effectively remove many people from access to benefits.”

The new list gives pyromaniacs and pedophiles disability pay up to 35 percent, compared to 80 percent for heart transplant recipients.

Source: NY Times

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

This is old news, but for those that didn’t see it yet, it’s still news.

A few months before he died, one of the nation’s most prominent rabbis, Yitzhak Kaduri, supposedly wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note which he requested would remain sealed until now (i.e. 2007). When the note was unsealed, it revealed what many have known for centuries: Yehoshua, or Yeshua (Jesus), is the Messiah. With the biblical name of Jesus, the Rabbi and kabbalist described the Messiah using six words and hinting that the initial letters form the name of the Messiah. The secret note said:

Concerning the letter abbreviation of the Messiah’s name, He will lift the people and prove that his word and law are valid.

Thisis I have signed in the month of mercy,
Yitzhak Kaduri

The Hebrew sentence (translated above in bold) with the hidden name of the Messiah reads: Yarim Ha’Am Veyokhiakh Shedvaro Vetorato Omdim

The initials spell the Hebrew name of Jesus, Yehoshua. Yehoshua and Yeshua are eectively the same name, derived from the same Hebrew root of the word “salvation” as documented in Zechariah 6:11 and Ezra 3:2. The same priest writes in Ezra, “Yeshua son of Yozadak” while writing in Zechariah “Yehoshua son of Yohozadak.” The priest adds the holy abbreviation of God’s name, ho, in the father’s name Yozadak and in the name Yeshua.

With one of Israel’s most prominent rabbis indicating the name of the Messiah is Yeshua, it is understandable why his last wish was to wait one year after his death before revealing what he wrote.

When the name of Yehoshua appeared in Kaduri’s message, ultra-Orthodox Jews from his Nahalat Yitzhak Yeshiva (seminary) in Jerusalem argued that their master did not leave the exact solution for decoding the Messiah’s name.

The revelation received scant coverage in the Israeli media. Only the Hebrew websites News First Class (Nfc) and Kaduri.net mentioned the Messiah note, insisting it was authentic. The Hebrew daily Ma’ariv ran a story on the note but described it as a forgery.

Jewish readers responded on the websites’ forums with mixed feelings: “So this means Rabbi Kaduri was a Christian?” and “The Christians are dancing and celebrating,” were among the comments.

Israel Today spoke to two of Kaduri’s followers in Jerusalem who admitted that the note was authentic, but confusing for his followers as well. “We have no idea how the Rabbi got to this name of the Messiah,” one of them said.

Yet others completely deny any possibility that the note is authentic. Kaduri’s son, Rabbi David Kaduri, said that at the time the note was written (September 2005), his father’s physical condition made it impossible for him to write.

Extract from this site.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

University Q&A #1:

University Q&A #2:

How some sell a “new cross” that doesn’t represent death to the sinner, no, it promises the same attractive products the world does, only ‘better’ & ‘more wholesome’. Really? Listen to the audio. Think.

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” – Mat 19:24

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

“…it is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.” – Ecc 7:5

God does not condone this kind of behaviour. Men dressed as women is outright shameful… or it used to be. How did it change?

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

God bless America?! REALLY? Which God?

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. – 2 Cor 4:4 NLT

May the remnant in the US & nations be spared the coming judgement.

As bizarre as these questions are, the fact that they keep coming up means that they need to be addressed, so here are some simple responses (for more details, see What Do Jewish People Think About Jesus, question #38).

The original Hebrew-Aramaic name of Jesus is yeshu‘a, which is short for yehōshu‘a (Joshua), just as Mike is short for Michael. The name yeshu‘a occurs 27 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, primarily referring to the high priest after the Babylonian exile, called both yehōshu‘a (see, e.g., Zechariah 3:3) and, more frequently, yeshu‘a (see, e.g., Ezra 3:2). So, Yeshua’s name was not unusual; in fact, as many as five different men had that name in the Old Testament. And this is how that name came to be “Jesus” in English: Simply stated, this is the etymological history of the name Jesus: Hebrew/Aramaic yeshu‘a became Greek Iēsous, then Latin Iesus, passing into German and then, ultimately, into English, as Jesus.

Why then do some people refer to Jesus as Yahshua? There is absolutely no support for this pronunciation—none at all—and I say this as someone holding a Ph.D. in Semitic languages. My educated guess is that some zealous but linguistically ignorant people thought that Yahweh’s name must have been a more overt part of our Savior’s name, hence YAHshua rather than Yeshua—but again, there is no support of any kind for this theory.

The Hebrew Bible has yeshu‘a; when the Septuagint authors rendered this name in Greek, they rendered it as Іησους (I­­ēsous, with no hint of yah at the beginning of the name); and the same can be said of the Peshitta translators when they rendered Yeshua’s name into Syriac (part of the Aramaic language family). All this is consistent and clear: The original form of the name Jesus is yeshu‘a, and there is no such name as yahshu‘a (or, yahushua or the like).

What about the alleged connection between the name Jesus (Greek I­­ēsous) and Zeus? This is one of the most ridiculous claims that has ever been made, but it has received more circulation in recent years (the Internet is an amazing tool of misinformation), and there are some believers who feel that it is not only preferable to use the original Hebrew/Aramaic name, Yeshua, but that it is wrong to use the name Jesus. Because of this, we will briefly examine this claim and expose the fallacies that underlie it.

According to the late A. B. Traina in his Holy Name Bible, “The name of the Son, Yahshua, has been substituted by Jesus, Iesus, and Ea-Zeus (Healing Zeus).”

In this one short sentence, two complete myths are stated as fact: First, there is no such name as Yahshua (as we have just explained), and second, there is no connection of any kind between the Greek name I­­ēsous (or the English name Jesus) and the name Zeus. Absolutely none! You might as well argue that Tiger Woods is the name of a tiger-infested jungle in India as try to connect the name Jesus to the pagan god Zeus. It is that absurd, and it is based on serious linguistic ignorance.

Here is another, equally absurd statement:

Basically, to keep it simple, “Jesus” is a very poor Roman translation from Latin, that was also poorly translated from the Greek, which IN NO WAY resembles His Hebrew name, “Yahushua.” Whew! Get all that? Moreover, according to the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, the name Ieusus (Jesus) is a combination of 2 mythical deities, IEU and SUS (ZEUS, a Greek god). In Gnostic and Greek mythologies they are actually one and the same pagan deity. So, it appears the name “Jesus” has some documented pagan origins. That’s not good! In fairness, some Messianic believers disagree and state that there is no definitive evidence to connect “Jesus” to “Zeus.” However, I disagree with them. (http://www.wwyd.org/)

The response to this statement (which has as much support as the latest Elvis sightings) is quite simple: We know where the name I­­ēsous came from: the Jewish Septuagint! In other words, this was not some later, pagan corruption of the Savior’s name; rather, it was the natural Greek way of rendering the Hebrew/Aramaic name Yeshua at least two centuries before His birth, and it is the form of the name found in more than 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. This is saying something! The name I­­ēsous is also found in Greek writings outside the New Testament and dating to that same general time frame.

Although it is claimed that the Encyclopedia Britannica says that “the name Ieusus (Jesus) is a combination of 2 mythical deities, IEU and SUS (ZEUS, a Greek god)” it actually says no such thing. This is a complete fabrication, intentional or not. In short, as one Jewish believer once stated, “Jesus is as much related to Zeus as Moses is to mice.”

Unfortunately, some popular teachers continue to espouse the Jesus-Zeus connection, and many believers follow the pseudo-scholarship in these fringe, “new revelation” teachings. Not only are these teachings and practices filled with error, but they do not profit in the least. So, to every English-speaking believer I say: Do not be ashamed to use the name JESUS! That is the proper way to say his name in English – just as Michael is the correct English way to say the Hebrew name mi-kha-el and Moses is the correct English way to say the Hebrew name mo-sheh. Pray in Jesus’ name, worship in Jesus’ name, and witness in Jesus’ name. And for those who want to relate to our Messiah’s Jewishness, then refer to him by His original name Yeshua – not Yahshua and not Yahushua – remembering that the power of the name is not in its pronunciation but in the person to whom it refers, our Lord and Redeemer and King.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Note how they pretend something praise-worthy was done & how it should be celebrated. Nothing was done. The discussion was postponed. Key players don’t want to play at all. It’s a mess and a farce (see also “the meltdown of the climate campaign“), but hey, let’s celebrate it anyway, right??!

A new global climate [?]deal has been struck[?] after being brought back from the brink of disaster by three powerful women politicians in a 20-minute “huddle to save the planet”. A major crisis had been provoked after 3am on Sunday morning when the EU clashed furiously with China and India over the legal form of a potential new treaty. The EU plan to bind all countries to cuts was close to collapse after India inserted the words “legal outcome” at the last minute into the negotiating text. EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard, backed by UK energy secretary Chris Huhne, said it would have made the EU plan legally meaningless and would have forced the EU to walk away, effectively collapsing the negotiations. With ministers exhausted after nearly six days and three nights of intense discussions, Hedegaard told the 194 countries in Durban: “We need clarity. We need to commit. The EU has shown patience for many years. We are almost ready to be alone in a second commitment period [to the Kyoto protocol]. “We don’t ask too much of the world that after this second period all countries will be legally bound. Let’s try and have a protocol by 2018.” The Indian environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, responded fiercely that developing countries were being asked to sign up to the deal before they knew what was in the proposed treaty, and whether it would be fair to poor nations. “Am I to write a blank cheque and sign away the livelihoods and sustainability of 1.2 billion Indians, without even knowing what the EU roadmap contains? “I wonder if this is an agenda to shift the blame on to countries who are not responsible [for climate change]. I am told that India will be blamed. Please don’t hold us hostage. We will give up the principle of equity.” China’s chief negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, lambasted the EU in a passionate speech, saying: “Who gives you the right to tell us what to do?” With tempers rising and the talks minutes from being abandoned, the chair, South African foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, ordered China, India, the US, Britain, France, Sweden, Gambia, Brazil and Poland to meet in a small group or “huddle”. Surrounded by a crowd of nearly 100 delegates on the floor of the hall, they talked quietly among themselves to try to reach a new form of words acceptable to all. But it was Brazil’s chief negotiator, lawyer Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, who came up with the compromise, proposing to substitute “an agreed outcome with legal force” for “legal outcome”. This, said an EU lawyer, was much stronger, effectively meaning “a legally binding agreement”. “Yes, yes,” cheered the crowd of onlookers around the politicians, and the talks were back on track. Two hours later the 16-day talks were effectively over, with a commitment by all countries to accept binding emission cuts by 2020. As part of the package of measures agreed, a new climate fund will be set up, carbon markets will be expanded and countries will be able to earn money by protecting forests. Chris Huhne hailed the conclusion of the talks as “a triumph of European co-operation”.

Source: Guardian UK

Albert Mohler, The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

Now these “animals are gay too” poster penguins have abandoned their LGBT fans. So sad.

Make no mistake – this was classified as “world news”, yes, some people make a big deal of this.

Toronto’s so-called gay penguins, Buddy and Pedro, have officially split, say zoo keepers, after one of them found a female mate. They were separated last month by zoo officials who said they needed to reproduce because African penguins are an endangered species. Buddy has now paired with a female, but Pedro has yet to get lucky, though it is not said to be for lack of trying. – BBC

Toronto’s zoo has split up a pair of male penguins whose affection for each other drew headlines and speculation about whether they might be gay. The birds’ separation was one that zoo officials said was necessary because penguins are an endangered species and the two needed to mate with females. The African penguins had shared the nest they built since coming to the zoo about a year ago. Zoo curator Tom Mason describes their bond as social not sexual and said when the birds rejoined the general population they were likely to stay with their female matches and go their separate ways. The story of the pair, who came to be known as Toronto’s “gay penguins”, went viral online. Late-night TV comics jumped into the icy waters of penguin passion. Jimmy Kimmel riffed on the story during a recent monologue, calling it Brokeback Iceberg and claiming the lovebirds were spotted at a Lady Gaga concert. – Guardian UK

He experienced anti-semitism in the South African army (and mentioned this is the same spirit that is behind racism also). He spent some time in Israel & now lives in Texas. You can see some of his messages & his personal story here.

Growing up thinking that Jesus was the son of Mr & Mrs Christ he was shocked, years later, by Psalm 22 that eventually pointed him to the real Messiah, quoted below (even given the “like a lion” translation ‘issue’ that anti-missionaries often raise). He never even knew or considered that Jesus was actually Jewish … and the anti-semitism he encountered from ‘church people’ didn’t give him much reason to think so either.

Is Psalm 22 a messianic prophecy? We would need to consider, among other things, how the Jewish sages of old interpreted this Psalm before the influence of the ‘Christian era’ was felt by many Jewish commentators to review ancient interpretations in a more “non-Christian” light … and yes, there is support for the “Christian interpretation”, from Rashi, no less (among others) as mentioned at the bottom of the post.

Audio extract from Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.^[b]

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.^[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth^[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce^[e] my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you^[f] I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

About Craig Keener’s latest work:

Biography: Craig Keener is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. Three of his many books have won national awards, and his background commentary has sold over half a million copies.

“Perhaps the best book ever written on miracles”

Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume’s argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume’s argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Reviews:

“This book is the kind of performance that reviewers of opera like to call ‘bravura’ or ‘virtuoso’ and that philosophers call a tour de force. After putting it down, I’m standing up, clapping, and shouting, ‘Bravo! Bravo!’”
–Leonard Sweet, Drew University; George Fox University

“Seldom does a book take one’s breath away, but Keener’s magisterial Miracles is such a book. It is an extremely sophisticated, completely thorough treatment of its subject matter and, in my opinion, it is now the best text available on the topic. The uniqueness of Keener’s treatment lies in his location of the biblical miracles in the trajectory of ongoing, documented miracles in the name of Jesus and His kingdom throughout church history, up to and including the present. From now on, no one who deals with the credibility of biblical miracles can do so responsibly without interacting with this book.”
–J. P. Moreland, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

“An exhaustive treatment of the subject, encompassing a range of sources from antiquity to contemporary times, from the Bible to modern Africa. It brilliantly serves not only biblical scholars but also–equally important–mission thinkers and practitioners.”
–Wonsuk Ma, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

“From the very beginning of the modern approach to the Gospels, the question of miracles brought controversy. Over the last few centuries, most historical-critical scholars have dismissed them out of hand. However, in recent years, the tide has turned for a growing number of Gospel scholars. It is within this context that Craig Keener’s new two-volume work can be fully appreciated. Those familiar with Keener’s past volumes will not be surprised by the remarkable level of scholarship in this work. The depth and breadth of research is stunning. The interdisciplinary synthesis is as careful as it is brilliant. The arguments are evenhanded and nuanced. In short, this work takes scholarship on miracles to a new level of sophistication and depth. A truly amazing set of books.”
–Paul Rhodes Eddy, Bethel University

“Craig Keener has produced an impressive work that is meticulously researched, ambitious in historic and geographic scope, and relevant to current cultural concerns. Keener’s bold exploration of the plausibility of past and present miracle claims should provoke interest–and debate–among a wide range of readers.”
–Candy Gunther Brown, Indiana University
“Any history of the rise and growth of Christianity that fails to take account of the belief in miracles and healings and signs and wonders is missing a very large part of the story. That statement is truer than ever today when we look at the booming churches of Africa and Asia. Craig Keener’s Miracles is thus a major contribution to understanding the Christian faith, past and present. The book is all the more valuable because of Keener’s thoughtful and bold analysis of the scientific method and the means by which we can test the miraculous. This massively researched study is both learned and provocative.”
–Philip Jenkins, Pennsylvania State University

“Craig Keener’s discussion of New Testament miracles adduces a uniquely–indeed staggeringly–extensive collection of comparative material. That eyewitnesses frequently testify to miraculous healings and other ‘extranormal’ events is demonstrated beyond doubt. Keener mounts a very strong challenge to the methodological skepticism about the miraculous to which so many New Testament scholars are still committed. It turns out to be an ethnocentric prejudice of modern Western intellectuals. So who’s afraid of David Hume now?”
–Richard Bauckham, St. Andrews University; Ridley Hall, Cambridge

“Craig Keener’s magisterial two-volume study of miracles is an astounding accomplishment. The book covers far more than the subtitle implies, because Keener places the debate over the biblical miracles in many different contexts, including the philosophical debate over miracles, views of miracles in the ancient world, contemporary evidence for miracles, and the relationship of the issue to science. Although this book is clearly the product of immense learning and a mind at home in many disciplines, it is clearly written and argued and shows good sense throughout.”
–C. Stephen Evans, Baylor University

“In an age of a global church, the time has come for Bible scholarship to be enriched by considering the way Christians read and understand Scripture in non-Western countries and cultures. In Miracles, Craig Keener offers an invaluable example of how that enrichment can take place through hard scholarly work and a passion for integrity. He gives us an exhaustive wealth of historical understanding, anthropological richness, and missiological savvy.”
–Samuel Escobar, Palmer Theological Seminary; Theological Seminary of the Spanish Baptist Union, Madrid

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

AlbertMohler, The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

Question to Orthodox Jewish leader: “How important is the Temple to Jews?”
Answer: “The Temple is like blood to the body… if only the world knew how important the Temple was…”.

Click to view slideshow.Israel National Radio, listen to full audio here.

Bertrand Russell (British mathematician & philosopher) described a common materialist position when he said:

“Whatever knowledge is attainable, must be attainable by scientific methods, and what science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.”

Note, however, that this statement is extreme Scientism and that it is logically incoherent in itself. It is not a statement of science but an article of blind faith. Thus by its own assertion we cannot know if it is true. Note the use of the term “blind faith” because it likely describes a belief held in spite of evidence.

John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Oxford, observes that Scientism even denies the validity of any non-scientific fields such as philosophy, ethics, literature, poetry, art and music. He also said:

“Science can tell you that if you add strychnine to someone’s drink, it will kill her, but it cannot tell you whether it is morally right or wrong to put strychnine in your grandmother’s tea in order to get your hands on her property.”

It is, as obviously true to most people, possible to have such knowledge of right and wrong, even though it is clearly beyond the scope of science.

Note that the re-established Sanhedrin is very likely to have implications in terms of where we are in the prophetic timetable – in case you’re wondering what the relevance of this post is.

How much valid theology can we derive from ‘near death experiences’ like these? Some of these accounts are easy to dismiss (in the cases that don’t match up with biblical teaching), but people do easily fall in love with books like this for the ‘story value’ – similarly as with “The Shack”. Bottom line, be cautious. Some of these accounts may have some value, but they differ substantially from person to person & we should know that “extra-biblical revelation” is not to be accepted where it does not square up with the Bible. The primary danger, these days is likely that on average biblical literacy is dangerously low & isn’t rising (Barna Survey 2009: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the US). This obviously prepares the ground for all kinds of doctrines that are not taught by the scriptures, not “…once for all delivered to the saints” – Jude 1:3

It would be better to steer clear. After all, we already have “…all scripture given by inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” – 2 Timothy 3:16

Reasonable Faith Podcast. Listen to full audio here.

Albert Mohler, The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

…the above audio continues to discuss, according to secular reasoning why / if polygamy is worse than homosexuality.

…and then they apologised for printing the ad!

There is immense pressure (as can be seen from this article “Homosexual agenda can’t make ‘fearless one’ tremble”) from the pro-gay lobby in the US & Canada. This is why an ad like this is not allowed to run unchallenged.

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20

Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

“Pentagon chief laments Israel’s growing ‘isolation’ from traditional partners like Turkey” – Washington Post

Did the US have no impact on this “growing isolation”? Maybe it depends on the media & spin you’ve been exposed to. Really – check out the history of the “peace process” & see where offers & concessions happened. Check how many concessions the PA, Hamas & Hezbollah made.

Also, an update on future politics in Egypt. Concerns around the elections in Egypt – 60% thus far (at time of this recording) went to Islamist parties. Realistically the hopes for peace would have been in victories for secular parties.

…and insurgency warning in weeks or months ahead in pro-western Jordan. Would the US support Jordan or also ‘assist’ in terms of toppling the government of the only likely peaceful border that Israel has?

Aaron Klein. Listen to full audio here.

Fire School missionary in China. Real existing persecution in China, as also mentioned in the book by Brother Yun. The terrible pain caused by the one-child-policy & the struggle for the Chinese church to even start to counter abortion & infanticide.

Fire School missionary among homeless in Atlanta. How he realised that “following Jesus” meant the end of his live & the start of completely new life in Jesus. Joel carries a big wooden cross around as a tool to witness – which might seem weird & foolish, but it actually draws people to him & it also gets everyone that comes to talk to him right to the topic at hand. Brilliant actually.

Fire School missionary in Tanzania. Previously suicidal & used to “pretty things & luxury” she made a new life in Africa at age 50.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

The “180″ Movie – Murder of the weak & defenceless.
Abortion. 50 million abortions have occurred to date; the “American Holocaust”. Within days, “180″ had over half a million views on YouTube.

180 Movie Preview : Pro-Choice to Pro-Life . . . in Seconds!

Full 180 Movie (publicly available on YouTube)

“180″ The full Interview with Alicia …and how this interview was a ‘strange coincidence’ in her life.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28

Audio excerpt from Epicenter.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, famously converted to Christianity, served for over a decade as the Shin Bet security service’s most valuable source in the militant organization’s leadership. The intelligence he supplied Israel led to the exposure of a number of terrorist cells, and to the prevention of dozens of suicide bombings and assassination attempts on Israeli figures. Mosab was considered the Shin Bet’s most reliable source in the Hamas leadership, earning himself the nickname “the Green Prince” – using the color of the Islamist group’s flag, and “prince” because of his pedigree as the son of one of the movement’s founders.

Get the audiobook here or book here.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

More info on the image displayed here.

Will Israel attack Iran? Don’t underestimate the military capability of this blessed nation. They are not a nation of saints, but be sure that the God of Israel doesn’t take kindly to the nations messing around with Israel & her interests.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” – Zechariah 12

Another Blast in Iran, This Time Followed by Rockets Landing in Israel
Former MI chief: Iran has enough material for 4 or 5 nuclear bombs
Israel could mount pinpoint raids on Iran: analysts

Aaron Klein. Listen to full audio here.

Also, Spanish government failure. Average of 21% unemployment and for ages 20-25 years 47%. I thought Africa had bad numbers. What is wrong with the younger generation? Is it their fault? …likely more to do the parents & popular culture.

This post doesn’t try hard to fit these trends into the ‘stack trace trend line’, but you can be sure that all this fits. In a culture that doesn’t understand the “morality of debt” or “if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” these things should not be too surprising. The Bible tells us where this trajectory will lead.

Listen to full audio here.

LA Times: McInerney shot King in a school computer lab at E.O Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008, after days of conflict between the boys. Students and teachers at the trial testified that King had been dressing in women’s accessories and wearing makeup, and was flirting aggressively with male students on campus who did not want the attention.

School administrators sent a memo advising teachers to give King his space, but to report safety problems. Teachers at the trial testified that when they tried to report growing tensions between King and several boys, school leaders shunned them.

The victim’s mother, Dawn King, revealed for the first time Monday that she had contacted school officials four days before the shooting in an effort to solicit their cooperation in toning down her son’s behavior. The boy had been taken from the Kings’ home two months earlier by authorities because of problems at home.

She said she was told that her son had a civil right to explore his sexual identity.

“I knew, gut instinct, that something serious was going to happen,” she said. “They should have contained him, contained his behavior.”

Prosecutors said the first trial showed that the case was too emotional to take to trial a second time.

“The first jury was unable to keep their emotions out of it,” Ventura County Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Frawley said. “This really tugged powerfully at people’s hearts.”

See also: “Brandon McInerney gets 21 years: School faulted in gay teen slaying“

Listen to full audio here.

7 minute extract of the Epicenter book, or get it as audiobook:

The following “boycott Israel” satire video illustrates the scope & influence of Israel:

Israel in numbers:

Economics:

• Israel has the largest number of startup companies per capita in the world.
• Israel is the world’s largest wholesale diamond center, finally surpassing Antwerp in the 1970′s. Most of the cut & polished diamonds in the world come from Israel.
• Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies outside of the US and Canada.
• Israel was the first country to have a free trade agreement with the United States.
• Apart from the Silicon Valley, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world.
• The cell phone was developed in Israel at Motorola’s largest development center.
• The Voice Mail technology was developed in Israel.
• In the early 80′s, IBM chose an Israeli-designed computer chip as the brains for its first personal computers.
• The first anti-virus software for computers was developed in Israel in 1979.
• Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed in Israel by Microsoft.
• Both the Pentium-4 and Centrino processors were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.
• The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
• Israel has the highest number of home computers per capita in the world.
• The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ was developed in 1996 by 4 young Israelis.
• Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to launch a satellite, the Ofek 1, on September 19, 1988.

Military/Security:

• Israel has the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the US.
• Israel has the world’s most impenetrable airline security.
• Israel spends more money per capita on its own protection than any country in the world.

Geography:

• Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of the Middle East.
• Israel is roughly half the size of Lake Michigan.
• The Sea of Galilee, at 695 ft. below sea level, is the lowest freshwater lake in the world.
• The Dead Sea is the lowest surface point on earth, at about 1,373 feet below sea level.
• Israel is the only nation in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
• Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world.

Demographics:

• Israel’s population is half the size of Metro New York City.
• Israel has only 2% of the population of the Middle East.
• Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees per capita in the world.
• Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation in the world – by a large margin.
• Israel has the highest number of scientists and technicians per capita in the world – by a large margin.
• Israel has the highest number of engineers per capita in the world.
• Israel has the highest number of PhD’s per capita in the world.
• Israel has the highest number of physicians per capita in the world.
• Israel has the largest percentage of its workforce employed in technical professions in the world.
• Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation in the world, per capita.
• Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Christian population has grown over the last 50 years.
• Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Muslims and Jews are all free to vote.
• Israel is the only country in the Middle East where women enjoy full political rights.

Culture:

• Hebrew is the only case of a dead national language being revived in all of world history. Hebrew had not been spoken as a native tongue by anyone for centuries. Today it is the native tongue of millions of people.
• Israel has more museums per capita than any other nation in the world.
• Israel has more orchestras per capita than any other nation in the world.
• Israel publishes more books per capita than any other nation in the world.
• Israel publishes more books translated from other languages than any other nation in the world.
• Israel reads more books per capita than any other nation in the world.
• The most independent and free Arabic press in the Middle East is in Israel.

Other:

• Israel’s dairy cows are the most productive dairy cows in the world. They average 25,432 pounds of milk per cow per year, compared to just 18,747 pounds from American cows; 17,085 from Canadian cows; 13,778 from European Union cows; 10,207 from Australian cows; and 6,600 from Chinese cows.
• Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than anywhere in the world, and it’s free.
• Israelis, per capita, are the world’s biggest consumers of fruits and vegetables.
• Of the 175 UN Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel. Of the 690 UN General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.

Both of these (more on oil, more on oil & gas as well as BBC : Could Israel be another Middle East oil giant?) have since happened & this is not the first “lucky guess” from Rosenberg’s books. Oil production has some challenges, but potential is starting to look more actual as months pass by:

Quote (from BBC, 30/09/2011):

The project could be lucrative. The World Energy Council estimates Israel is sitting on enough shale to produce around four billion barrels of oil, enough at today’s usage to keep the country in oil for more than 40 years. Mr Nguyen’s company claims Israel may turn out to have oil deposits comparable to Saudi Arabia, which sits on an estimated 260 billion barrels. Corben says it may not be a fair comparison. He says in Saudi Arabia “oil is actually oil” whereas in Israel a lot of money needs to be spent heating the rock and recovering the oil. And there’s a long way to go before the company proves its technology will work, and before it gets all the necessary government permits.

How is it possible to predict headlines such at this? That’s what hundreds of interviewers have asked him. He says he gets it from the Bible. Does the Bible really talk of things like this? Some people have started taking both Rosenberg & more importantly, the Bible more seriously.

Some background over the ‘weird coincidences’ that seemed to match what Rosenberg wrote as fiction…

From Wikipedia:
A Modern Nostradamus?
Rosenberg’s novels have attracted those interested in Bible Prophecy, due to several of his fictional elements of his books that would occur after his writing of books. Nine months before the September 11th attacks, Rosenberg wrote a novel with a kamikaze plane attack on an American city. Five months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he wrote a novel about war with Saddam Hussein, the death of Yasser Arafat eight months before it occurred, a story with Russia, Iran, and Libya forming a military alliance against Israel occurring the date of publishing, the rebuilding of the city of Babylon, Iran vowing to have Israel “wiped off the face of the map forever” five months before Iranian President Ahmadinejad used similar language, and the discovery of huge amounts of oil and natural gas in Israel (a major gas discovery occurred in January 2009). A brief article in U.S. News & World Report referred to him as a “Modern Nostradamus” (quoted below) although Rosenberg tries to play down those proclamations, stating that “I am not a clairvoyant, a psychic, or a ‘Modern Nostradamus,’ as some have suggested.” He gives the credit for his accurate predictions to studying Biblical prophecy and applying to the modern world.

U.S. News & World Report:
It’s getting a little weird being Joel Rosenberg, the New York Times bestseller of terrorism thrillers and speechwriter in Steve Forbes’s 2000 presidential campaign. First, he wrote The Last Jihad about a terrorist’s kamikaze attack on a U.S. city and the subsequent hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. That was well before 9/11. Now he has written The Last Days, which opens with a Palestinian attack on a U.S. convoy, just like what happened a few weeks back. And look out, Yasser Arafat: Rosenberg offs you on Page 28. “People,” said Rosenberg, “are starting to think these books are ripped from tomorrow’s headlines.”

Those with access to the following audio can also listen to more details on this here.

Listen to full audio here.

From the LA Times:

“…the family unit itself has markedly changed since the mid-1970s, when the Federal Communications Commission pressured the top three networks to institute a “family viewing hour” from 8 to 9 p.m. Over the last four decades — as divorce and single parenthood climbed sharply — the percentage of children younger than 18 living in a two-parent household slid from roughly 85% to 67%, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the family viewing hour policy, born from protests about the rising tide of sex and violence on TV in the early 1970s, was scrapped by the courts within a couple of years, leaving the networks to pledge their best effort in maintaining suitable family programming in that prime-time hour.

The dearth of family programming today can also be traced to a longstanding tension between the major networks and the creative community, which has gravitated toward darker and edgier material, particularly as cable became more of a force in Hollywood, said TV historian Tim Brooks.”

Listen to full audio here.

Listen to full audio here.

Quote:
The story concerns a two-year old girl in Foshan, in southern China. She was hit by a van, as captured in a video so gruesome that I’m not providing a link. Then she lay in the road for a period of minutes, injured but alive, as a total of 18 other people walked or bicycled by and ignored her — until another vehicle came by and ran over her again. Eventually a street-cleaning woman stopped to tend to her and get help, but the girl was declared brain-dead in the hospital. If anybody had bothered to pull her out of the street after she was hit the first time she presumably would have survived.

Also reported by The Guardian:
The van driver stops for a moment, presumably realising in horror that he has just hit a toddler. Then he drives on – crushing her again beneath his rear wheels.

Several pointed out that it was a rubbish collector – among the poorest and often worst-educated members of society – who stopped to help, while others carried on.

Listen to full audio here.

Quote:
The U.N.—General Assembly or Security Council—has no power to create states or to grant all-important formal ‘recognition’ to state aspirants. The right to recognize statehood is a fundamental attribute of sovereignty and the United Nations is not a sovereign. Those who cite as precedent the General Assembly’s 1947 resolution providing for the partition of Palestine misread that instrument and its legal significance.

Resolution 181 outlined a detailed (and rigorous) process whereby the British Mandate in Palestine was to end and two new states, one Jewish and one Arab, were to be established. It recommended that process to Great Britain (as the mandate-holder) and to other U.N. members. It did not create or recognize these states, nor were the proposed states granted automatic admission to the United Nations. Rather, once the two states were established as states, the resolution provided that “sympathetic consideration” should be given to their membership applications.

In the event, the Arab countries rejected partition and Israel declared (and successfully defended) its independence. Israel’s statehood was recognized, in accordance with international law, by other states—including the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Palestinian Authority, by contrast, does not meet the basic characteristics of a state necessary for such recognition. These requirements have been refined through centuries of custom and practice, and were authoritatively articulated in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. As that treaty provides, to be a state an entity must have (1) a permanent population, (2) a defined territory, (3) a government, and (4) the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

As of today, the PA has neither a permanent population nor defined territory (both being the subject of ongoing if currently desultory negotiations), nor does it have a government with the capacity to enter into relations with other states. This pivotal requirement involves the ability to enter and keep international accords, which in turn posits that the “government” actually controls—exclusive of other sovereigns—at least some part of its population and territory. The PA does not control any part of the West Bank to the exclusion of Israeli authority, and it exercises no control at all in the Gaza Strip.

The PA does not, therefore, qualify for recognition as a state and, concomitantly, it does not qualify for U.N. membership, which is open only to states. All of this is surely understood by the PA and its backers, and is also why the administration has correctly labeled this effort as a distraction—”stunt” being a less diplomatic but even more accurate term in these circumstances. What is unfortunate is that the Obama administration has failed to present the case against a Palestinian statehood resolution in legal rather than tactical terms, even though these arguments are obvious and would greatly reinforce the U.S. position, also providing a thoroughly neutral basis for many of our allies, particularly in Europe, to oppose Mr. Abbas’s statehood bid.

The stakes in this battle are high. The PA’s effort to achieve recognition by the U.N., even if legally meaningless, is not without serious consequences. To the extent that state supporters of that measure may themselves have irredentist populations or active border disputes with their neighbors—as do Russia, China, Britain and Turkey—they will certainly store up future trouble for themselves.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Listen to full audio here.

Note that I personally I don’t dogmatically hold to the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture anymore, even though I don’t see it as a doctrine worthy to spend much study on or to cause division.

The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

Aaron Klein. Listen to full audio here.

This Jewish method gets its name from the first letter of each ‘level of interpretation’. The Jewish Encyclopaedia notes that the “Christian mode of exegesis (which was well known to the Spanish Jews) probably served as a model; in this the fourfold sense (historical or literal, tropological or moral, allegorical, and anagogical) had long since been formulated”.

Peshat (פְּשָׁט) — “plain” (“simple”) or the direct meaning[1].
Remez (רֶמֶז) — “hints” or the deep (allegoric: hidden or symbolic) meaning beyond just the literal sense.
Derash (דְּרַשׁ) — from Hebrew darash: “inquire” (“seek”) — the comparative (midrashic) meaning, as given through similar occurrences.
Sod (סוֹד) (pronounced with a long O as in ‘bone’) — “secret” (“mystery”) or the mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.

Each type of Pardes interpretation examines the extended meaning of a text. As a general rule, the extended meaning never contradicts the base meaning. The Peshat means the plain or contextual meaning of the text. Remez is the allegorical meaning. Derash includes the metaphorical meaning, and Sod represents the hidden meaning. There is often considerable overlap, for example when legal understandings of a verse are influenced by mystical interpretations or when a “hint” is determined by comparing a word with other instances of the same word.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Part 1:

You can also download the MP3s here: Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.

What makes people lose their faith? Most due to reason & argument? Hardly.

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

Listen to John Lennox’s comments.

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science, and Pastoral Advisor at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He is also an adjunct Lecturer at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University and at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. In addition, he teaches for the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at the Executive Education Centre, Said Business School, Oxford University.

Proverbs 6:16 – There are six things that the Lord hates,seven that are an abomination to him: a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 16:5 – The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 11:2 – When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Psalm 10:4 – In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Job 40:11 – Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low.
Deuteronomy 8:14 – Your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God.
2 Chronicles 26:16 – His pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God.
Psalm 59:12 – For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride.
Proverbs 13:10 – Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23 – A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 – The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Isaiah 2:11 – The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 13:11 – I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
Isaiah 23:9 – The LORD Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
Daniel 5:20 – But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
Psalm 138:6 – Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.
Proverbs 16:19 – Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
Proverbs 18:12 – Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
Isaiah 2:12 – The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled).

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

Do you realise that the NT supports what most Jews think on this topic in 1 John 4:12 & John 1:18? – “No one has ever seen God”. How do we make sense of this then?

What about “the Trinity” & the Shema? What about the “10 Sefirot”, the Memra, Shekhinah & Ruach HaKodesh? Clearly there has been efforts to express an understanding of God’s essential nature, but how do those square up with the ‘picture’ God gives of Himself in the scriptures?

Part 1 – 13min :

Part 2 – 7min (“you saw no form” … or did they?) :

Part 3 – 7min (10 Sefirot, Isaiah 9) :

Part 4 – 10min (Memra, the ‘personified Word’ – link to Jewish Encyclopedia) :

Part 5 – 15min (Introduction to second segment) :

Part 6 – 4min (Midrash – How could the tabernacle contain God’s glory?) :

Listen to full audio here.

Listen to full audio here.

Listen to full audio here.

Listen to full audio here.

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

Male leadership in marriage. Why does a marriage need ‘veto power’ in either the man or the woman? Why need it at all? Permanence of marriage has something to do with it…

Patriarchy outdated? Some interesting & unexpected comments on this topic in the documentary Demographic Winter. Trailer here.

Also, should the world be expected to live up to the demands of biblical marriage? No.

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

No wonder divorce should be considered more as an ‘emergency absolute last resort surgery’ than dissolving of a business partnership or social arrangement.

The audio is an extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, probably the most famous book by C.S. Lewis.

An extract taken from “Mere Christianity”, by CS Lewis. A book I cannot recommend wholeheartedly, but which surely contains some good wisdom.

Check out AlbertMohler.com – The Briefing. Listen to full audio here.

Well, Sam Harris & Richard Dawkins think they are very clever, but Dr Jonathan Sarfati can play blindfolded chess against both of them and 10 other people as well … simultaneously. Really. He also has a doctorate, like them, but he and his equally educated friends think that the earth is only a few thousand years old … like the Bible seems to indicate through the most plain sense of the text.

Listen to this to see if you really have reason to disagree.

Also interesting that in 2006, evolutionist administrators at Wikipedia attempted to turn the Wikipedia page about Sarfati into an attack piece. This went so far as to go to Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee.^[7] After the evolutionists were not allowed to have their way, they twice tried to get the article deleted.^[8][9]

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Transferred blessings & promises to the church? … and the curses remained with the Jewish people? Think again.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

“Towards the end of his recent book, Civilization, the historian Niall Ferguson drops into his analysis an explosive depth-charge. He quotes a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, part of a team tasked with the challenge of discovering why it was that Europe, having lagged behind China until the 17th century, overtook it, rising to prominence and dominance.

At first, he said, we thought it was your guns. You had better weapons than we did. Then we delved deeper and thought it was your political system. Then we searched deeper still, and concluded that it was your economic system. But for the past 20 years we have realised that it was in fact your religion, Christianity. It was the Christian foundation of social and cultural life in Europe that made possible the emergence first of capitalism, then of democratic politics.

Equally arrestingly, Ferguson repeats the point made by the editor and Washington correspondent of The Economist, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, two years ago in their book God is Back. While Christianity is in decline in Britain and most of Europe, it is growing and thriving in China, where the number of people in church on Sunday is greater than the total membership of the Communist Party, in the land that in 1958 Chairman Mao had declared “religion free”.

The people flocking to the churches are not, as Karl Marx would have predicted, the poor and oppressed searching for the opium of the people. They are the young, hard-working, upwardly-mobile entrepreneurs for whom Christianity offers an ethical framework, a structured view of life and its disciplines, in a society experiencing rapid transition.”

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Extract 1:

Extract 2:

Extract 3:

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Cobain and Hendrix biographer Charles R. Cross writes, “The number of musicians who died at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. [Although] humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27.” – Wikipedia

They all seemed to live fast, loose & lawless (as rock and roll would have it), but maybe death at this marker has a message – who knows what…?

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Reasonable Faith Podcast. Listen to full audio here.

What about the crusades? What about the anti-semitic writings of the ‘church fathers’? How can a Jew consider Christianity with a past like that? What about some denominations that believe the others believe pure heresy worthy of hell? Do many Christians believe that of other denominations?

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN IS A SOLDIER — of Christ — a hero “par excellence!” Braver than the bravest — scorning the soft seductions of peace and her oft repeated warnings against hardship, disease, danger and death, whom he counts among his bosom friends.

THE OTHERWISE CHRISTIAN IS A Chocolate Christian! Dissolving in water and melting at the smell of fire. “Sweeties” they are! Bonbons, lollipops! Living their lives in a glass dish or in a cardboard box, each clad in his soft clothing, a little frilled white paper to preserve his dear little delicate constitution.

To the Chocolate Christian the very thought of war brings a violent attack of ague, while the call to battle always finds him with the palsy. “I really cannot move,” he says. “I only wish I could, but I can sing, and here are some of my favourite lines:

“I must be carried to the skies
On a flowery bed of ease,
Let others fight to win the prize,
Or sail through bloody seas.

Mark time, Christian heroes,
Never go to war;
Stop and mind the babies
Playing on the floor.

Wash and dress and feed them
Forty times a week,
‘Til they’re roly poly—
Puddings so to speak.

Chorus:
Round and round the nursery
Let us ambulate,
Sugar and spice and all that’s nice
Must be on our slate.”

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Listen to the rest of the program for details on this topic…

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

If the rabbis know who isn’t the messiah, how do they know who is? What principles do they use to identify messianic passages in the Tanakh (i.e. Hebrew scriptures)?

What about some of the so-called ‘New Testament corruptions’ of the Hebrew scriptures? Is there a way to explain them?

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Check out Reasonable Faith Podcast. Listen to full audio here.

What does the “growing omnipresence of screens” do for reading in this digital age?

Recently a group of researchers at the New York University School of Medicine considered the difference that a screen makes. In other words, what’s the kind of attention that is required by listening into a classroom lecture, by reading a book, or by staring at a digital screen. One of the interesting things they discovered is that many children and young people who have attention deficit problems don’t have a problem staring at a screen and the reality is that the screen is giving them immediate gratification, immediate rewards, there are changes in pattern, there is movement on the screen. The child or the young person does not have to invest any kind of imagination in the task. The screen is providing everything for them. These researchers and pediatricians are beginning to wonder if the screen is not having a dramatic effect on the way that young people and for that matter, let’s just be honest many older people are having their brains taught to learn, and to think, and yes even to read.

Check out AlbertMohler.com, Thinking in Public. Listen to full audio here.

Think again friend. God hates sin. Avoid it & strive for holiness (separation from the world & its sinful ways)!

Listen to full audio here.

Check out Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Fire Radio (30.36-37.51). Listen to full audio here.

True? How well do you know Jewish traditional & Talmudic interpretations? Let’s test the challenge…

Line of Fire Radio (12:21-24:00). Listen to full audio here.

Line of Fire Radio. Listen to full audio here.

Recent debate between Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Eric Smaw on Same-Sex Marriage at the University of Central Florida:

Thinking in Public. Listen to full audio here.