Saturday, June 25, 2011
New Harvest Crusade
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Spiritual Proof
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
http://talklaw.co.nz/purchaseage
Wasted Life New Zealand's Alcohol Culture
Caught between two cultures | Stuff.co.nz
Page 1 of 4
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/teenage-drinking/2814219/Caught-between-two-cultures
Kim Thomas - The Press
Caught between two cultures
Last updated 09:04 31/08/2009
Why does New Zealand have such a bad youth binge-drinking culture? What can be done to fix it? KIM THOMAS
wraps up a week-long series on our teen-drinking problem.
Jason, 15, has a civilised glass of wine at dinner with his parents while they talk about the day. Later, he's dropped off
at his friend's birthday party where he and a few mates celebrate with music, snacks and alcohol-free drinks.
A typical Saturday night for a teen? Yeah right!
The odds of this really happening in everyday Kiwi Canterbury are about as low as . . . well the drinking age, some
might say.
It's what many parents, police and health experts would want for our young people, but instead they get severely
intoxicated 15-year-olds routinely raced to hospital for stomach pumping; vomiting young girls pulled by police from the
gutter; GPs prescribing morning-after pills to teens with hazy memories of unprotected sex while drunk.
Most people who deal with the fallout from teen drinking say the problem has worsened since 1999 when the
purchase age was lowered from 20 to 18 years, supermarkets started selling alcohol and Sunday trading was
extended.
In acknowledgement, the Law Commission recently released a lengthy report on possible changes to our liquor laws.
Suggestions include returning the legal alcohol purchase age to 20 and making it illegal for anyone other than parents
to supply teenagers with booze.
However, the report doesn't explain why we have developed such a bad binge- drinking culture.
Experts have tried - they point the finger at teens' natural tendencies to experiment, bad parenting, an already
entrenched Kiwi culture of binge drinking, and at those alcohol companies who aggressively target teenagers with
sugary alcoholic drinks.
It's a big, bad issue - is it too big to realistically fix?
Halswell mother Lorraine (not her real name) still has nightmares starring her 16-year-old son Alex's battered and
bruised face.
He was beaten up during a recent night out drinking.
She has never bought Alex alcohol and doesn't let him go to parties where there's booze.
But Alex still manages to get hold of it - lots of it - and ends up very drunk.
The beating happened a couple of weeks ago. Alex had climbed out his bedroom window late on a Thursday night to
meet friends for a drinking session in a local park.
He drank a bottle of wine then nine stubbies of beer, which he had stolen from home.
"One of his mates hit him numerous times in the face after accusing him of hitting on his girlfriend. I took him to our
local GP late Friday night, after three hours of throwing up the copious amounts of alcohol. Luckily, no broken bones or
teeth, and he will hopefully have no physical scars," Lorraine says.
12/10/09 5:48 PM
Caught between two cultures | Stuff.co.nz
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/teenage-drinking/2814219/Caught-between-two-cultures
"I am left not sleeping at night because every time I close my eyes I can see his face covered in blood and swollen to
the state where he was almost unrecognisable."
Lorraine says that from about the age of 14, Alex and his friends were drinking alcohol supplied by older friends or
bought by strangers they approached on the street.
"My older son has always been responsible and will take the few beers we give him to a party and not drink anything
more. But my middle son wants to experiment and cause trouble and drink. It seems no matter what I do, or what the
law is, his tendency won't be stopped."
Lorraine says no matter the purchase age, teenagers determined to get their hands on alcohol will do so.
But Canterbury police youth services senior sergeant John Robinson believes parents can stop their children binge
drinking.
He blames parents for being too soft to say no when children demand alcohol and for giving them freedom to drink it
unsupervised.
"I have arguments with people even in this police station who believe it is OK to give their 15-year-old a six-pack of
beer to take out to party," Robinson says.
"These parents think they are being responsible by supplying their child a small amount to drink, but what they are
doing is saying that drinking at a young age is OK. It's not like we say, it's OK to have a few drugs when you are
young so you can handle it later, or that a little bit of sex underage is OK, but we seem to think it's OK to train our kids
to drink from an early age."
Robinson says parents need to be "more courageous" in facing up to the reality of teenage drinking.
"Fifteen and 16-year-olds are on the turps, condoned by their parents. We seem to be living in a society where
parents want to be their child's friends, want to be hip and are afraid to say no. Parents need to talk to other parents
about parties and take back some of the control."
Christchurch mum Angelina Ria has taken a tough stance on her teenage daughter's drinking and says she has
copped a fair amount of flak for it.
Ria has a 17-year-old daughter, Jessica, who she bans from drinking at their house or at parties with friends.
"My daughter has been shunned in some ways because we refuse to provide her with alcohol to take to parties," Ria
says.
"A lot of parents have told me that I am being irresponsible in not teaching my daughter how to drink. They say they
are preparing their children for the adult social world by teaching them to handle their liquor rather than being fall-
down drunk sluts. Most parents will give their kids alcohol to take to parties, which I think is condoning underage
drinking and should not be done."
Ria says she's not sure whether raising the purchase age would make a difference.
"We've got a pretty bad culture of binge drinking and raising the age isn't really going to change that. Education and
parents taking more responsibility is really the only thing that is going to achieve anything."
Canterbury youth health specialist Sue Bagshaw agrees that adults are really to blame for teen binge drinking.
The doctor, mother and grandmother says teenagers simply reflect society.
"We are drinking more as adults," Bagshaw says. "Excessive drinking doesn't seem to be limited to youth or one
culture or socioeconomic group. It's a widespread Kiwi problem."
Bagshaw says one cultural flaw is the lack of rites of passage into adulthood that don't revolve around drinking.
The traditional coming-of-age party is a 21st where the new adult drinks from a yard glass until he vomits, she says.
That's mirrored by general boozy parties where young people now see this as the entry into adulthood. Dropping the
alcohol purchase age has made it worse.
"We don't want to stop using alcohol as a celebration, but we desperately need to change the culture of using alcohol
12/10/09 5:48 PM
Caught between two cultures | Stuff.co.nz
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/teenage-drinking/2814219/Caught-between-two-cultures
to get drunk rather than to have a good time," Bagshaw says.
"This needs to be done by education and social marketing campaigns such as the ones run by ALAC. Adults need to
debate our culture of drinking and turn the mirror on themselves to ask how much is their behaviour contributing to our
young people's excessive drinking problems."
Bagshaw says splitting the purchase age could be a positive step. That's where a young person would have to be 18
to visit a pub, but 20 to buy alcohol from an off- licence.
She says this recognises that young people need supervision with alcohol.
Canterbury addiction expert Dr Doug Sellman has seen too many young lives shattered by alcohol. He blames much
of it on the alcohol industry.
"They are grossly irresponsible. Over the past 10 years they have aggressively targeted young people and women
with the sole purpose of making money. It is not an accident or random event and they disassociate themselves with
the harm they cause."
Sellman is soon to embark on a lecture tour of the country pointing out the "insidious lengths" booze manufacturers
and retailers go to hook people into their products.
He represents Alcohol Action New Zealand. That's a group of doctors, police and other interested citizens trying to get
alcohol laws toughened.
Alcohol Action New Zealand wants greater controls on the booze industry's ability to market to the young.
Sellman points to France which is in the process of banning all alcohol advertising on television, in newspapers,
cinemas, on the internet as well as sports sponsorship.
Similar action is wanted here, but he doubts the New Zealand Government will be as brave.
The Law Commission report suggests the alcohol industry regulate itself, hinting that strong moves to curb it may not
be on the cards, Sellman says.
Lion Nathan corporate affairs director Liz Read hotly disputes that the alcohol industry targets teenagers.
"Alcohol producers and retailers are not legally allowed to promote to young people because they cannot legally buy it
. . . the RTD market evolved out of adult consumer demand for convenient, ready- to-drink products. Although the
flavour profile does admittedly appeal to new drinkers, more than beer and wine used to," Read says.
"The youth binge-drinking culture is an incredibly complex issue and it is oversimplistic for Professor Sellman to say it
is something the alcohol sector should largely take the blame for . . . it has developed over time and generations and
is due to a number of things including a huge liberalism of parental control."
Read says exerting greater control over the industry would not "miraculously" solve the problem, although the sector is
always trying to work with Government to minimise harm.
"I heard a 45-year-old the other day telling war stories about a night he went out with his mates and got really pissed.
Minutes later he was talking about how concerned he was about his teenage son's binge drinking. That just sends a
hypocritical message," says ALAC chief executive Gerard Vaughan.
Vaughan says New Zealand needs to change its binge-drinking culture and that it's possible.
It's already changed a great deal over the past century - from abstinence and the six o'clock swill to now - and that just
shows change is possible if society wants it.
And he's seeing a strong desire for change from communities tired of waking to broken glass and vomit in their
neighbourhoods.
Any adult can make a difference by modelling responsible drinking behaviour, he says.
Otago University research, reflecting contemporary international studies, shows the earlier a person starts drinking, the
more likely they are to suffer a number of negative outcomes, such as having run-ins with police, being unemployed
and having mental health problems, Vaughan says.
12/10/09 5:48 PM
Caught between two cultures | Stuff.co.nz
Page 4 of 4
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/teenage-drinking/2814219/Caught-between-two-cultures
For this reason, he says parents should delay their children's drinking as long as possible.
Returning the drinking age to 20 and introducing a minimum price per alcoholic unit would help too, Vaughan says.
A minimum unit price would put harder liquor, such as spirits, out of the reach of younger drinkers and make it too
expensive for binge drinking. This approach has not been tried anywhere in the world, although Scotland is seriously
considering the idea, Vaughan says.
Another law change ALAC supports is decreasing the hours alcohol can be sold from off-licences and supermarkets,
although it is still considering what ideal closing hours would be.
Whatever Government decides to do with alcohol laws, it will most certainly improve the situation, Vaughan says.
"It is time for a change. We need to change. The societal will is there. We won't ever get an ideal situation but I'm
sure we can make some difference so our young people end up less harmed by alcohol than they are today."
And that seems to be the key to answering how to save more teens from binge drinking. It is for adult society to
genuinely want change and to be prepared to lead the change.
Thanks to Stuff newspapers, this is too important to limit to just a newspaper I think..
A Word from Derek Prince Ministry..
Walking…and Resting…in Faith
Let us fear lest we fail to rest in Christ.
The one basic reason that the Israelites did not enter their God-given inheritance was unbelief. The same thing will keep us from our inheritance, too. The writer of Hebrews applied their situation to us, saying, “The word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2). God’s Word can come to us, but it does us no good, nor does it accomplish God’s purposes of blessing, if it is not combined with faith. It takes faith to make the Word of God work in our lives. The next verse says, “For we who have believed do enter that rest” (verse 3). True faith brings us into rest. Do you have that rest of faith? Have you met those conditions, or are you in danger of being like the Israelites, who hardened their hearts? Because of their unbelief, they missed all that God had for them. What a tragedy if that should happen to us today! Yet the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear that it can happen—indeed, that it will happen—if we are not diligent about entering that rest. A little further on in Hebrews, we have the practical application of this lesson: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). You may have heard me say, “When you find a therefore in the Bible, you need to find out what it is ‘there for.’” The above verse begins with a “therefore.” The point is, let us not go astray in the same way that the Israelites did in the Old Testament. Let’s guard ourselves against unbelief. Let’s be diligent and apply ourselves to walking in faith, conserving and cultivating our faith, strengthening and encouraging one another’s faith. Let’s not make the same terrible and tragic error that Israel made through unbelief. Bear in mind that there is a direct, causal connection between unbelief and disobedience.
Thank You, Lord, for the promise of entering Your rest. I proclaim that true faith brings me into rest. I shall fear lest I fail to rest in Christ. Amen. Faith, Part 1 (audio)
www.dpm.co.nz
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Some Call it Karma...
WHAT YOU SOW, YOU REAP
Let us not become weary in doing good... we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9 NIV
The name Corrie ten Boom is widely recognised in Christian circles, but few people know about her nephew Peter who was also instrumental in saving Jews from Nazi persecution. When Dutch patriots heard SS troops were sending Jewish orphans to concentration camps, they smuggled kids out of orphanages and brought them to the ten Boom house until they could be placed for adoption. At sixteen, Peter, a committed Christian, defied the Germans by pulling out all the stops on the church organ and playing the Dutch national anthem while the congregation stood up and sang. He was imprisoned for his defiance. After World War II he travelled the world with the same message as his aunt - that forgiveness is the only answer to hatred. On tour in Israel Peter had a heart attack and needed surgery. Talking with him the night before his operation the cardiologist asked, 'Are you by any chance related to the ten Booms of Holland?' Peter replied, 'Yes, that's my family.' The doctor responded, 'I'm one of the babies your family saved!' Next day the man whose life had been saved forty years earlier, repaid the debt by saving Peter ten Boom's life.
The Bible says when you, 'Cast your bread upon the waters... after many days you will find it again' (Ecclesiastes 11:1 NIV). What you sow - good or bad - comes back to you. So, 'Let us not become weary in doing good... at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.' Remember, God is no man's debtor, and no matter how long it takes He will honour His Word.
You can receive these words for Today via email every day by visiting this web site and signing up:
www.rhema.co.nz
Sunday, June 07, 2009
A Word Every Day
Above And Beyond
If someone forces you to go one mile, go... two... - Matthew 5:41 NIV
In Roman times soldiers could make Jewish citizens carry their gear for a mile. But Jesus says: '"If someone forces you to go one mile, go... two."' Max Lucado writes: 'We've a second-mile servant in our church. By profession he's an architect; by passion, a servant. Prior to each worship service he does his rounds through the men's restrooms... wipes sinks, cleans mirrors, checks toilets and picks up paper. He tells no one and requests nothing in return... Let me tell you how to spot [second-milers]. They don't wear badges or uniforms; they wear smiles. They've discovered... joy in the extra effort... satisfaction in helping others... that the real reward rests at the base of the second mile-post... Why? Liberation! They've passed from slave to volunteer. When Mary anointed Jesus' feet, one-milers like Judas criticised the deed as wasteful. Not Jesus. He received the gesture as a demonstration of love, a friend surrendering her most treasured gift. There's an elderly man in your community who just lost his wife. An hour of your time would mean the world to him. Some kids in your city have no dad to take them to the cinema or football games. Maybe you can. They can't pay you back but they'll smile like a cheshire cat at your kindness. How about this one? Down the landing is a person who shares your last name. Shock them with kindness... your homework done with no complaints... coffee served when they awake... a love letter written for no special reason. Alabaster poured out 'just because.' Jesus chose the servants' quarters. Can't we?' John Gardner said, 'When people are serving, life is no longer meaningless.' You're not called to 'get by,' you're called to go 'above and beyond.'
Copied from 'The Word For Today' emails sent free every day from www.thevine.co.nz
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
5th of the 5th Last Century
Sunday, March 29, 2009
This Is Good As
He did what was right. - 2 Kings 22:2 NIV
Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, was a violent king who filled "Jerusalem from one end to the other with [the people's] blood" (2 Ki 21:16 NLT). His father, King Amon, died at the hands of his own officers. "He did what God said was wrong," reads his epitaph. Josiah was only eight when he ascended the throne. Immediately he chose righteousness, and didn't stop doing what was right all his life (See 2 Ki 22:2). What's the point? We can't pick our parents, but we can pick our role-models.
When Josiah was rebuilding the temple he discovered a scroll containing God's law. As he read it he wept, realising his people had drifted far from God. So he sent word to a prophetess and asked, "What will become of our people?" She told Josiah that since he had repented when he heard God's Word, his nation would be spared (See 2 Chron 34:14-27). Wow! An entire generation received grace because of the integrity of one man.
So, you can rise above your past and make a difference. Your parents may have given you your DNA, but God can give you a new birth and a new beginning. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Eph 5:1 NIV). Just like Josiah, you cannot control the way your forefathers responded to God, but you can control the way you respond to Him. Your past does not have to be your prison; you have a say in your life, you have a voice in your destiny, you have a choice in the path you take. Choose well and some day - generations from now - others will thank God for the legacy you left.
SoulFood Bible Readings: Job 24-28, Matt 26:1-13, Ps 69:1-18, Pr 8:27-29
These are great emails that you can also receive into your email box each day. They are sent out by signing up first at Radio Rhema New Zealand, web site addy is: http://www.rhema.co.nz
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Loveless
Pro-Abortion Sebelius New HHS Nominee
from the March 03, 2009 eNews issue
http://www.khouse.org (visit our website for a FREE subscription)
It hasn't taken long for President Obama to show his pro-abortion agenda on several fronts. His newest health secretary nominee, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, is an ardent pro-abortion advocate. Sebelius has caught attention for her support of George Tiller, the abortionist famous for performing late-term abortions.
Kathleen Sebelius, the newest nominee for secretary of health and human services, has drawn criticism for her extreme pro-abortion agenda. She has repeatedly vetoed legislation passed by the Kansas legislature that would have strengthened limits on abortion. For instance, in April 2008 she vetoed a bill intended to mandate more information for women seeking an abortion, protect women from being coerced into having abortions, and allow families to sue abortion providers for illegal abortions.
In 2007 Sebelius vetoed portions of a bill that would have required doctors to explain reasons for performing abortions on fetuses old enough to survive outside the womb. According to Kansas law, late-term abortions can only be performed in order to protect the mother from irreversible physical damage. Yet, doctors like George Tiller have allegedly performed a significant number of third-trimester abortions for less serious reasons than those required by law. Sebelius argued that the 2007 bill would have compromised women's privacy, when in fact doctors assign numbers to patients for reporting purposes. Sebelius has also vetoed other sensible legislation aimed at protecting women from an over-eager abortion industry.
Operation Rescue in Kansas has accused Sebelius of corruption:
"Sebelius is joined at the hip with the abortion industry," Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, told LifeNews.com. "She owes them her political career and has been more than willing to pay them back with personal favors that have shielded them from legislation and criminal prosecution. Her corrupt abortion politics make her unfit to serve."
One of the most serious connections she has is to the infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller, whom she has supported. Tiller is known for his willingness to perform abortions on women whose unborn infants are capable of living outside the womb. Last week a judge ruled that his trial can go forward; he's charged with 19 counts of having a financial relationship with a second doctor who signed off on the abortions he performed. Two independent doctors are supposed to approve late-term abortions in Kansas. Sebelius' veto of the 2007 abortion reporting bill protected Tiller from having to justify his high number of late-term abortions. He also won a dinner at the governor's mansion in a silent auction at a pro-abortion group's fundraiser.
Her extreme views may not hold Sebelius back from confirmation. Pro-life senators might be impressed that abortion rates declined in Kansas during Sebelius' time as governor, and envision the pro-life Senator Sam Brownback as a possible governor of Kansas if Sebelius takes the cabinet position. Pro-Life groups intend to fight Sebelius' appointment as health secretary, however. While Obama would likely choose somebody equally as pro-abortion as Sebelius if she's not confirmed, there is also a chance he could get the message and appoint somebody who is more moderate and less connected with corruption.
Related Links:
• President Barack Obama Names Pro-Abortion Kathleen Sebelius Health Secretary - Life News
• Tiller To Go To Trial On Late-Term Abortion Charges - Kansas City Star
• Sebelius Vetoes Abortion Report Measure - AP
• Sebelius Vetoes Bill Banning Coerced Abortions - KansasLiberty.com
• 'The Factor' Comes Face-To-Face With George Tiller - The O'Reilly Factor
• Anti-Abortion Activists Plan to Fight Sebelius' Nomination for HHS - Fox News
• The Population Control Agenda II - Koinonia House
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
A Big Mess Follows Every Big Bang
"The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good." (From Psalm 14 in the Holy Bible.) Atheists have no comfort or joy in Creator God and will try to make others believe their nothing- made- everything- theory too. But, if they say they have been made 'by nothing', then surely it follows they are still 'nothing', so who would trust them or their 'nothing' belief/culture?
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tis The Season To Be Jolly Glad
Monday, December 22, 2008
This aint my home I's just a passin thru, thank God
PRO-HOMOSEXUAL MEDIA GOING BANKRUPT
By Cliff Kincaid
December 19, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
Before Newsweek created a controversy with its laughably absurd cover story that the Bible supports homosexual marriage, lame duck President George W. Bush declared in an interview with Cynthia McFadden of ABC News that he doesn’t believe the Bible to be the literal word of God. So Adam and Eve could just as easily be Adam and Steve? We needed a follow-up from McFadden.
Bush spoke with conviction during the interview about how Jesus Christ has changed his life while McFadden played “gotcha” journalism on the subject of evolution, which has nothing to do with his record as president. What should be addressed is one of his precious few “legacies”—that of promoting the acceptance of homosexuality—which some conservatives do not want to admit or address. It is a record that Barack Obama will build and expand upon.
Bush would prefer to call it “compassionate conservatism,” but there is nothing compassionate about wasting taxpayer dollars promoting a “lifestyle” that spreads disease and death.
Consider the “International Medal of Peace” that Bush was given on December 1, World AIDS Day, by Pastor Rick Warren. One of the many problems with such an award, which sounds humanitarian, is that while it was designed to honor Bush for spending billions of our tax dollars to fight AIDS, it diverts attention from what has become an extremely corrupt, pork-laden and wasteful program. By any rational analysis, it is not “compassionate” to misspend taxpayer dollars that the taxpayers can’t afford to spend or waste. The United Nations still doesn’t even know how many people have AIDS in Africa, which is where Bush has spent most of our tax dollars.
In one of the latest examples of this scandal, Senator Tom Coburn has highlighted how 116 U.S. federal employees joined 22,000 people attending this year’s International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. According to Coburn, the event was supposed to feature a “Sex Workers Mini Film Festival” and a session led by a pro-prostitution group that bragged of bringing in “lots of tourist dollars” for Thailand. Another workshop was titled, “Good Catholics Use Condoms.” The only story I could find about this mess was written by Amanda Carpenter of the conservative Townhall.com website.
Even if the AIDS money were being spent legitimately, it would still be objectionable. The FAIR Foundation exists because of the inequities in disease research spending by the federal government and notes that AIDS gets far more money than 16 diseases that kill a million more Americans than AIDS annually. More than $200 billion in federal money has been spent on AIDS here and abroad since the virus was discovered. No cure or vaccine has been found, but the money keeps flowing because a moneyed special interest group, based in Hollywood, the media, and the homosexual community, demands it.
Washington Post property Newsweek, which acts like an official organ of the homosexual rights movement, a year ago ran an interview with Michael Guest, one of several open homosexuals appointed by Bush to various posts. Guest was given the position of U.S. Ambassador to Romania. During Guest’s swearing-in ceremony, it was reported that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell made a point to recognize Guest’s “partner.” In 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice swore in another openly homosexual Bush appointee, Mark Dybul, to be the global AIDS coordinator, and acknowledged his “partner.” First Lady Laura Bush looked on with approval.
Guest later quit, saying that the State Department was not sufficiently pro-homosexual, and is now an adviser to the Council for Global Equality, which is pressuring the Bush Administration to endorse a pro-gay rights statement being considered this week by the United Nations General Assembly. The group is demanding that Secretary of State Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad, and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Brian Hook approve the resolution.
Don’t expect to see any critical coverage of this effort by the national media. Even the “conservative” Fox News was a sponsor of this year’s National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA). Other sponsors were CBS, CNN, ESPN, Gannett, Hearst Newspapers, NBC Universal, the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post, and Bloomberg.
And you thought that Fox News and NBC were rivals? Not on the matter of cozying up to the gays. They’re strange bedfellows on the matter of gay rights. This crowd considers criticism of homosexuality a hate crime.
Indeed, the FoxNews.com website has run a bizarre story on how “journalists and activist groups” are blasting the Vatican for its “grotesque” opposition to the pro-gay rights statement being considered by the U.N. Fox News ran photos of the anti-Vatican protests, highlighting a lesbian wearing a noose to signify her treatment by Christians.
Americans who support traditional marriage are not threatening anyone. They are just trying to preserve traditional values. As we saw recently with the homosexual rampage in California, following approval of the pro-traditional marriage Proposition 8, Christians should be fearful. A 69-year-old woman carrying a Styrofoam cross had it ripped out of her hands and stomped on by “gay” activists. White powder, designed to make people think it contains the deadly anthrax bacteria, has been sent to Mormon temples and offices to protest the fact that members of the church supported Proposition 8.
The real threat comes from the militant homosexuals, their media allies, and President-elect Barack Obama, a double-talker on the subject who claims he opposes gay marriage but opposed Proposition 8.
In regard to Newsweek’s ridiculous cover story, “The Religious Case for Gay Marriage,” a leading Bible authority, Professor Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has written at length about how Newsweek author Lisa Miller distorted the bible and deceived her readers. It is interesting to note that, at about the same time this sorry excuse for a cover story was being distributed, Newsweek announced more job cuts. It cut more than one hundred jobs in the Spring.
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In a major article posted one day before the national election, Gagnon went beyond the issue of media bias to write ominously about “Obama’s Coming War on Historic Christianity over Homosexual Practice and Abortion.” He said the record indicates that, in the area of free speech rights, Obama and/or his appointees to federal agencies will seek to enact “severe restrictions” against alleged “homophobic” utterances. Those who violate these new rules and regulations will “incur financial penalties and loss of license,” he warned. Such a scheme could be the forerunner to the re-imposition of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” on broadcasters.
But wait. Aren’t we being told by liberal and conservative columnists and commentators that Obama is coming across as “moderate?”
As we have argued in the past, especially in regard to the handling of the financial crisis, Obama looks like a “moderate” only because Bush has moved so far to the left. That’s also true in regard to promotion of homosexuality. Bush did not support homosexual marriage, but he promoted the homosexual agenda in many other ways, earning sympathetic press releases from the “gay” Log Cabin Republicans. Their heroes are Republicans such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who believes Proposition 8, the pro-traditional marriage amendment which the majority of people in the state voted for on November 4, is unconstitutional.
Under pressure, alleged Republican homosexual Senator Larry Craig will be gone when the new Senate convenes next year, but the problem will remain. Alan Stang’s incendiary book, Not Holier Than Thou, will be an eye-opening experience for those unfamiliar with the significant number of homosexuals in official Republican ranks. He names names.
For those who say none of this is relevant and that it doesn’t impact public policy, Stang points to the ongoing scandal on the other side of the aisle, involving Democratic Party Rep. Barney Frank. You may recall that he hired a “hot bottom” out of the Washington (Gay) Blade and then let him use his apartment as the base of a homosexual prostitution ring. Frank also tried to fix his parking tickets. Frank was reprimanded for this conduct by the House of Representatives, but the Democrats have lower standards than Republicans and did not expel or force him out of Congress.
Frank found a new “partner” or “lover,” Herb Moses, who became assistant director for product initiatives at Fannie Mae while Frank was on the House Banking Committee, which had jurisdiction over Fannie. In this case, Bill Sammon of Fox News did the necessary digging, noting the obvious conflict of interest. He reported, “Although Frank now blames Republicans for the failure of Fannie and Freddie, he spent years blocking GOP lawmakers from imposing tougher regulations on the mortgage giants. In 1991, the year Moses was hired by Fannie, the Boston Globe reported that Frank pushed the agency to loosen regulations on mortgages for two- and three-family homes, even though they were defaulting at twice and five times the rate of single homes, respectively.”
Doesn’t it seem newsworthy that a Congressman who received campaign donations from Fannie was romantically involved with a Fannie executive?
But in the famous October 2 interview with Frank over his role in the mortgage crisis, Bill O’Reilly of Fox News never once brought up the subject. It’s probably because Frank would have brought up O’Reilly’s own sex scandal. The Fox News personality settled with a former employee who charged him with sexual harassment.
To take the story one step further, it turns out the Freddie Mac Foundation has given more than $125,000 to gay-activist groups since 2005, while the Fannie Mae Foundation has donated about $80,000 to such groups over the last decade.
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth has documented how the media have a deliberate policy of not reporting anything that puts homosexuals in a bad light. The group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays says this is due to the efforts of NLGJA, which “boasts over 1,300 journalists embedded in the nation’s leading newspapers, television and radio stations, and new media” and which has announced that it is monitoring the “new generation of journalists” to make sure they toe the line.
These are the people who give Bush “credit” for wasting money on AIDS and will portray Obama’s expanded pro-homosexual and anti-Christian agenda as one of tolerance and diversity.
It’s no wonder “mainstream” media outlets like Newsweek are losing readers and jobs. They deserve to go economically bankrupt because they have demonstrated they are morally bankrupt.
© 2008 Cliff Kincaid - All Rights Reserved
Good Will Warning
SUBVERTING THE WORD OF GOD
By Marsha West
December 19, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
Recently we learned that President Bush, an evangelical Christian, doesn’t take the Bible literally. During an interview ABC’s Cynthia McFadden asked him if the Bible is literally true and he replied “probably not.” He said he does believe you can learn a lot from the Bible, “but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son.’” [1] Important lesson? No, Mr. President, the New Testament contains Good News…and “the important lesson” is not that “God sent a son” it’s the reason He sent His Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The president certainly knew that his words would be heard by millions of people, yet this professing Christian stopped short of explaining the Good News of the Gospel. President Bush’s answer was a huge let down for true Christians.
Another quote from the president:
"It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy."
Our president obviously lacks a clear understanding of Christianity. Sadly, he admitted that he’s not a literalist. Translated this means he doesn’t believe in the authority of Scripture. In other words, he takes the Bible cafeteria style. And he’s not alone! Today many professing Christians don’t hold to the authority of the Bible, and like Bush they pick and choose what they like and ignore what doesn’t make sense to them or seems offensive. One example of this is the doctrine of hell. Many Christians choose to reject the idea that a good and loving God would send those who deny Jesus Christ to eternal damnation. A literalist believes He will do just that. Literalists hold that all Scripture is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. The Apostle Paul called the scriptures “God-breathed.” Simply put: God spoke into the minds of the writers.
“Our authority is not our own,” Albert Mohler reminds us. “We are called to the task of preaching the Bible, in season and out of season. We are rightly to divide the Word of truth, and to teach the infinite riches of the Word of God. There are no certainties without the authority of the Scripture. We have nothing but commas and question marks to offer if we lose confidence in the inerrant and infallible Word of God. There are no thunderbolts where the Word of God is subverted, mistrusted, or ignored.” [2]
In an effort to promote same-sex “marriage,” “Newsweek” went after conservative Christianity in a big way when Lisa Miller attempted to make “the religious case for same-sex marriage.” [3] “Newsweek,” it seems, has taken the “progressive” view of homosexuality. "Biblical literalists will disagree,” said Miller, “but the Bible is a living document, powerful for more than 2,000 years because its truths speak to us even as we change through history."
She’s right. Biblical literalists disagreed -- vehemently. Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council said in a recent Washington Update:
“Newsweek magazine effectively declared war on marriage this week, running a long essay on "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage" as their cover story. In the wake of the victory of California's marriage amendment (Proposition 8) on Election Day, homosexual marriage advocates realize that their opponents are not going to fade away or compromise their convictions. Not content any longer to make a "separation of church and state" argument for same-sex "marriage," they are instead mounting a direct attack on Christian opposition to homosexual conduct and to same-sex "marriage" on biblical grounds.”
The tone of the “Newsweek” essay was arrogant and condescending. Lisa Miller presumes to know what Christians think and feel. She went so far as to say that some followers of Jesus operate out of prejudice. She even tried to make the case that Christians oppose same-sex “marriage” because they’re uncomfortable with same gender sex which is simply not true. Christians oppose same-sex “marriage” because the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sexual perversion.
Perkins went on to say:
“The article included blatant factual errors, such as the claim that Jesus never "explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman" (see, e.g., Mark 10:6-8-"But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh."), and the claim that "nowhere in the Bible do its authors refer to sex between women" (see Romans 1:26). It also had logical contradictions, arguing for the Bible's support of "gay marriage" while simultaneously dismissing the Bible as supportive of slavery and anti-Semitism.” [4]
Romans 1:26 says, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.”
“For the record,” said Chuck Colson, “nowhere in the Bible is homosexual activity praised or advocated. The only mentions of it condemn the practice, some calling it an abomination. On the other hand, the Bible has plenty to say about the marriage of one man to one woman. Take a look at God’s commands in the garden, or Christ’s words on leaving and cleaving and becoming one flesh, or look at Paul’s instructions specifically for “husbands” and “wives” in Ephesians 5.” [5]
A well-known evangelical “shifting” on same-sex “marriage” is Richard Cizik. The chickens have come home to roost for Cizik. On Dec. 12 he resigned as vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization that claims to represent 45,000 churches. His resignation came after protests over a Dec. 2 interview on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" show with Terry Gross. Cizik told Gross that he voted for pro-abortion Barack Obama in the Virginia primary and “suggested that Christians should not be afraid to vote for candidates who support abortion and same-sex "marriage." He also admitted on that broadcast that he was "shifting" on the issue of marriage and that he supports homosexual civil unions.” [6]
Emergent Church leader Tony Jones recently came out in support of same-sex “marriage.” In my article, “Tony Jones’ Continuous Leftward Slide Into Apostasy” I took him to task for making the announcement that practicing homosexuals can be Christians. Among other things, I pointed out that his “opinion” does not line up with what Scripture teaches on homosexuality. Sadly, in his zeal to promote same-sex “marriage,” Tony neglected to mention that same gender sex has HUGE health risks! (More on this later.) Since Christians are to strive to be like Christ the obvious question is can a practicing homosexual who engages in risky deviant behavior be like Christ? I await Tony’s answer on this.
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Another theological liberal, Tony Campolo, claims he doesn’t support same-sex “marriage” yet in his book “Red Letter Christians” he says otherwise. So what gives? (To find out, read Joseph Farah’s article “Campolo on same-sex marriage.”) Does Tony Campolo really oppose same-sex “marriage”?:
"Allow me to suggest a way out of this conflict and the difficult questions being raised these days about whether our country should approve of homosexual marriages," he writes. "I propose that the government should get out of the business of marrying people and, instead, only give legal status to civil unions. The government should do this for both gay couples and straight couples, and leave marriage in the hands of the Church and other religious entities. That's the way it works in Holland: If a couple wants to be united in the eyes of the law, whether gay or straight, they go down to city hall and legally register, securing all the rights and privileges a couple has under Dutch law. Then, if the couple wants their relationship blessed – to be married – they go to a church, synagogue or other house of worship.
"Marriage should be viewed as an institution ordained by God and should be out of the control of the state. Of course, homosexual couples could go to churches that welcome and affirm gay marriage and get their unions blessed there, but isn't that the way it should be in a nation that guarantees people the right to promotion religion according to their personal convictions?"
Sorry, Tony, but this is not what the Bible teaches. What it does teach is, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Lev. 18:22)
Campolo’s wife, Peggy, who is an activist involved in homosexual causes, said, “We both believe that homosexual orientations are not chosen any more than heterosexual orientations are chosen.” There’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support her claim, still it’s what she and her husband choose to believe, in spite of what the Bible teaches. Peggy thinks, “homosexuals are entitled to the same rights and privileges I claim for myself, including being able to marry legally and in the sight of the church...”
Tony and Peggy go around the country debating homosexuality. Tony defends his view of what the Bible teaches, Peggy defends homosexuals. (Read one debate here…footnote [7])
Without getting too far afield, Peggy tells of her personal experiences with “gays” she’s known. What she wants is for the church to love and accept homosexuals just as they are. Tony wants that too. Peggy’s words tug on your heart strings! But this well-meaning woman never once warns the audience of the inherent risks in same gender sex! She has harsh words for the Christian community, yet she fails to mention the pain HIV-AIDS causes its victims and their families and friends, or the medical cost to society. No mention of drug resistant MRSA, the virulent staph that’s infecting the “gay” community, either. Also on the rise is gay bowel disease, but no warning from the Campolos.
Why would they want to withhold this kind of important information from the public? People deserve to know the truth! But progressives are mute.
Since we live in a free country liberals have the right to say whatever they want to about Christianity. Moreover, they’re free to demonize Christians and criticize them for having what they perceive as Stone Age moral values. Progressives have the freedom to make bogus claims in regards to what the Bible does and does not teach on a whole host of subjects, including homosexuality. And they have a perfect right to promote tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism. But do they have the right to lie about and try to silence those who disagree with them? This is exactly what liberals, who claim to be loving and tolerant, are doing. After the passage of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex “marriage” in California, here’s how they reacted:
“[It] stirred the ire of gay activists like little else,” noted Chuck Colson. “Besides thuggish vandalism of church property, that anger is being translated into mockery of the faith community.”
“Nowhere do we see it more clearly than the viral video, “Proposition 8: The Musical,” created by “Hairspray” composer Marc Shaiman, which has now been seen by 2 million people online. In it the religious characters sing, “It's time to spread some hate/ And put it in the constitution.”
“The short video is full of distortions, and even lies. As radio commentator Dennis Prager of the Hoover Institution puts it, “Hatred based on ignorance is known as bigotry.” [8]
Progressives are out to knock Christianity off its orthodox foundation that’s based on absolute truth and are trying to rebuild it on a foundation of moral relativism, where truth is unknowable. You heard what Lisa Miller said about the Bible being a “living document.” Well the same has been said of the U.S. Constitution! In 2000 Al Gore said if elected he promised to appoint judges "who understand that our Constitution is a living and breathing document," and who understand that "it was intended by our founders to be interpreted in the light of the constantly evolving experience of the American people."
The question people of faith need to ask is did God intend for the Bible to be a living and breathing document that should be interpreted in the light of the constantly evolving experience of moral relativists?
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Another question people of faith need to ask themselves is what would happen in terms of group marriage, incestuous marriage, and polygamy if same-sex “marriage” becomes legal? What else are we opening up the doors to? And if you think this kind of thing will never happen, think again. For years radical “gay” activists, public school teachers, and the Hollywood elite have been indoctrinating kids to believe that the homosexual, bisexual, and other sexually deviant behaviors are the moral equivalent of biblical heterosexuality. What’s next on their agenda!
Something people of faith need to ask themselves about same-sex “marriage” is does it help create a healthy society? We preach to our kids about good nutrition and exercise. We warn kids of the hazards of smoking and alcohol and drug abuse. We even try to protect them from secondhand smoke, yet we say little or nothing about secondhand sex, which is more of a health risk than secondhand smoke!
Parents who love their kids limit their time on electronics, protect them from sexual predators, try to keep them from viewing unseemly TV programs and movies, and buckle them into car seats. Many teachers scare students with all the hype about so-called dangers of global warming and then get them fretting over polar bear extinction. What kids should be fretting over is the risks inherent in anal sex because more and more of them are engaging in this perversion!
Anal sex isn’t the only area parents and teachers fall short. Young girls are not being told that lesbians have higher rates of alcohol and drug use, especially among young lesbians, plus poor nutrition and obesity. Thus there’s an increased risk of breast, ovarian, endometrial, and other cancers. Girls need to be informed of health risks! Telling the truth is loving, not hateful!
Sadly, I have yet to hear words of warning from the lips of neo-evangelicals who proudly promote same-sex “marriage.” They pat themselves on the back for not sitting in judgment of anyone and spout the Left’s mantra that the Church must become tolerant and inclusive. While these phonies are preaching acceptance of every perversion imaginable, Christ’s lambs are being led over a cliff by these moral degenerate wolves!
The truth is, neo-evangelicals are feeding the wolves and starving the sheep! Sound harsh? Jesus was even harsher. He called the religious leaders “hypocrites.” He also called them a “generation of vipers.” He told them that God had been right about them when he said, “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus loved people but he condemned the religious leaders as the blind leading the blind, calling them “whitewashed tombs containing dead men’s bones.”
Paul wrote in Phil. 3:16-17 “Let us walk by the same rule let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” The New Testament was not in circulation so Paul used himself and the other apostles as examples to follow. They were servants of God. They were not worried about their reputations -- and they certainly didn’t care if they were politically correct! Their purpose was to spread the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to challenge anyone who taught a false gospel.
Christianity is under assault! God’s people must forget about their reputations and start defending the faith! Should followers of Christ do less than Paul, who warned the Church to, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!” (Phil. 3:2). Paul was talking about false teachers!
It’s astonishing how masses of professing Christians will sit idly by and allow a small number of liberals to change the face of Christianity. In this article I provided a few examples of this -- but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Lisa Miller’s hack job article for “Newsweek” is the most recent attempt, but rest assured plenty more like it will soon follow. By running the article “Newsweek” has put forth its agenda to normalize same-sex “marriage.” But in order to accomplish this, Christianity must be redefined so that it blends into a culture where happiness and pleasure, not truth, are of primary importance.
“Newsweek” is a secular magazine. But until recently Richard Cizik was a representative of the largest evangelical organization of in the country! Where does he get off speaking for evangelicals, when his views on same-sex “marriage” and abortion don’t represent the organization’s view? And what gives emergent church guru Tony Jones the right to declare that homosexuality is compatible with Christianity when the Bible says it’s not? Who are Tony and Peggy Campolo to bash historic orthodox Christianity because they feel the need to placate sinful behavior?
As for President Bush, not long ago he shocked conservative Christians when he said he believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Clearly, he doesn’t grasp one of the essentials of the Christian faith: The Trinity. True Christians hold that God exists as a unity of three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person is divine and there is only one God. Muslims reject the Trinity. They hold that Jesus Christ is not God, he was a prophet. Since the Christian God is Trinitarian, anyone who believes that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God is dead wrong.
Serious Christians are to:
“have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).
Moreover:
“ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3-4).
And remember:
“there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Peter 2:1-2).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wasted Youth
People who had the power to make a difference to the moral fiber of our country didn't and people who will now have the power to change hopefully will.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
In Man They Trust
'Why Believe in a God?' Ad Campaign Launches on D.C. Buses
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. — You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.
Ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday.
In lifting lyrics from "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," the Washington-based group is wading into what has become a perennial debate over commercialism, religion in the public square and the meaning of Christmas.
"We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you," said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."
To that end, the ads and posters will include a link to a Web site that will seek to connect and organize like-minded thinkers in the D.C. area, Edwords said.
Edwords said the purpose isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds."
The group defines humanism as "a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity."
Last month, the British Humanist Association caused a ruckus announcing a similar campaign on London buses with the message: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
In Washington, the humanists' campaign comes as conservative Christian groups gear up their efforts to keep Christ in Christmas. In the past five years, groups such as the American Family Association and the Catholic League have criticized or threatened boycotts of retailers who use generic "holiday" greetings.
In mid-October, the American Family Association started selling buttons that say "It's OK to say Merry Christmas." The humanists' entry into the marketplace of ideas did not impress AFA president Tim Wildmon.
"It's a stupid ad," he said. "How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world."
Also on Tuesday, the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group, launched its sixth annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign." Liberty Counsel has intervened in disputes over nativity scenes and government bans on Christmas decorations, among other things.
"It's the ultimate grinch to say there is no God at a time when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Christ," said Mathew Staver, the group's chairman and dean of the Liberty University School of Law. "Certainly, they have the right to believe what they want but this is insulting."
Best-selling books by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have fueled interest in "the new atheism" — a more in-your-face argument against God's existence.
Yet few Americans describe themselves as atheist or agnostic; a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll from earlier this year found 92 percent of Americans believe in God.
There was no debate at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over whether to take the ad. Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency accepts ads that aren't obscene or pornographic.
Click here for a video report from MyFOXDC.com.
NOW FROM THE ONEWHOKNOWS DESK...
Anyone who uses the GOOD word should consider where it comes from. It is from GOD who is the only one worthy to be called 'GOOD', for ONLY GOD IS GOOD. Read Matthew 19:17 in The Bible.
Maybe the churches should put up some proclamations on buses too.
Some declaring:
"USA FOUNDED ON CHRISTIANITY AND BLESSED WE KNOW WHAT GOOD IS"
'GOOD AND EVIL, BLESSED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.'
"'ONLY GOD IS GOOD. (The reason we sinners need the Savior now!)' MATHEW 19:17.
"ON THE COIN OF AN ATHEIST STATE: 'IN MAN WE TRUST'" ( a large coin with those words on it would be an eye catcher)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Happy Birthday Radio Rhema
Friday, November 07, 2008
Palin Significance
It was sad Sarah Palin's day to shine as Vice President hasn't come yet but I think she will shine on anywhere and all the time. She is a breath of fresh air woman and copped heaps of flack for being a lady significantly comfortable in skirts, high heels and lipstick and not knowing her geography! That is so cool in this day of hairy legs, butch haircuts, intelligentsias and the like...
I can't wait to vote here tomorrow. I cannot vote for any party but a Christian Party and so will be voting for the Family Party. I want change Lord, please.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Son of Hamas Leader Now Christ's Child
Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity
Tuesday , August 12, 2008
By Jonathan Hunt
Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.
Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.
The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian.
• Click here to view video of Mosab Hassan Yousef speaking out.
• Click here to view video 'Renouncing Islam.'
JONATHAN HUNT: Why, after 25 years, did you change?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I believe that all those walls that Islam built for the last 1,400 years are not existing (sic) anymore. They don't recognize this. They built those walls and made people ignorant because they're afraid. They didn't want people to discuss anything about the reality of Islam, about the big questions of Islam and they asked their followers, the Muslims, 'Don't ask about those certain questions.'
But now, people have media. If the father closes the door for his daughter not to leave the house, she's going to go behind her computer and travel the world. So people easily can get information, knowledge, searching (sic) engines, so it's very, very available for everybody to study about Islam, about other religions. Not from the Islam point of view, but from other points of view.
So for the next 25 years this is for sure going to make huge change in the Muslim and the Arab world.
JONATHAN HUNT: You speak from a unique perspective, a man who grew up not just in an Islamic family but as part of an organization seen by many people around the world as an extreme force in Islam: Hamas. What is the reality of Islam? You say people don't see the reality; What is the reality of Islam?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There are two facts that Muslims don't understand ... I'd say about more than 95 percent of Muslims don't understand their own religion. It came with a much stronger language than the language that they speak so they don't understand it ... they rely only on religious people to get their knowledge about this religion.
Second, they don't understand anything about other religions. Christian communities live between Muslims and they're minority and they (would) rather not to go speak out and tell people about Jesus because it's dangerous for them.
So, all their ideas about other religions on earth are from Islamic perspectives. So those two realities, most people don't understand.
If people, if Muslims, start to understand their religion — first of all, their religion — and see how awful stuff is in there, they'll start to figure out, this can't (be) ... because most religious people focus on certain points of Islam. They have many points that they are very embarrassed to talk about.
JONATHAN HUNT: Such as?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Such as Muhammad's wives. You will never go to a mosque and hear about anyone talking about Muhammad's wives, which is like more than 50 wives — and nobody knows (this), by the way. If you ask the majority of Muslims, they will not know this fact.
So they're embarrassed to talk about this, but they talk about the glory of Islam, they talk about the victory, the victories that Muhammad made. So, when people just like look at themselves and see they're defeated, they have ignorance, they're not educated, they're not leading the world as they're expected to do. They’re think they want to get back to that victory by doing the same, what Muhammad did, but disregarding (sic) the timing. They forget that this happened 1,400 years ago and it's not going to happen again.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do they want to destroy Christianity?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Islam destroyed Christianity from the beginning and Muslims don't recognize that they stabbed Christianity (in) its heart when they said that Jesus wasn't killed on the cross. They think that they honor him in this way.
Basically, any Christians understand that this way, (but Muslims) tell Jesus, okay, we don't care, you didn't die for us. Someone sacrificed his life for you, (but) you tell him, okay, you didn't do it!
This is what Muslims are doing basically. But they don't understand that this is the most important part of Christianity: the cross!
So, they are ignorant, they don't know what they are doing and it explains what an evil idea it is behind this Islam.
JONATHAN HUNT: What specific event or events began to change your mind about Islam?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Since I was a child I started to ask very difficult questions, even my family was telling me all the time, 'You're a very difficult person and we were having trouble answering your questions. Why are you asking so many questions?' This was from the beginning, to be honest with you.
But I felt that everybody — and my father was a good example for me because he was a very honest, humble person, very nice to my mother, to us, and raised us on the principle of forgiveness, okay? I thought that everybody in Islam was like this.
When I was 18 years old, and I was arrested by the Israelis and was in an Israeli jail under the Israeli administration, Hamas had control of its members inside the jail and I saw their torture; (they were) torturing people in a very, very bad way.
JONATHAN HUNT: Hamas members torturing other Hamas members?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Hamas leaders! Hamas leaders that we see on TV now, and big leaders, responsible for torturing their own members. They didn't torture me, but that was a shock for me, to see them torturing people: putting needles under their nails, burning their bodies. And they killed lots of them.
JONATHAN HUNT: Why were they torturing people?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Because they suspected that they had relations with the Israelis and (were) co-operating with the Israeli occupation against Hamas ... So hundreds of people were victims for this, and I was a witness for about a year for this torture. So that was a huge change in my life. I started to open my (eyes), but, the point (is) that I got that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. Good Muslims, such as my father, and bad Muslims, like those Hamas members in the jail torturing people.
So that was the beginning of opening my eyes wide.
JONATHAN HUNT: You talk about the good Muslims, like your father, yet you still now renounce the faith of your father. Could you have not been a good Muslim?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Now, here's the reality: after I studied Christianity — which I had a big misunderstanding about, because I studied about Christianity from Islam, which is, there is nothing true about Christianity when you study it from Islam, and that was the only source.
When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.
Islam is my father. I grew up for (one) father — 22 years for that father — and another father came to me and told me, 'I'm sorry, I'm your father.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about? Like, I have my own father, and it's Islam!' And the father of Christianity told me, 'No, I'm your father. I was in jail, and this (Islam) is not your father.'
So basically this is what happened. It's not easy to believe this (Islam) is not your father anymore. So I had to study Islam again from a different point of view to figure out all the mistakes, the huge mistakes and its effects, not only on Muslims — (of) which I hated the values ... I didn't like all those traditions that make people's lives more difficult — but its effects also on humanity. On humanity! People killing each other (in) the name of God.
So definitely I started to figure out the problem is Islam, not the Muslims and those people — I can't hate them because God loved them from the beginning. And God doesn't create junk. God created good people that he loved, but they're sick, they have the wrong idea. I don't hate those people anymore but I feel very sorry for them and the only way for them to be changed (is) by knowing the word of God and the real way to him.
JONATHAN HUNT: Does it worry you that in saying these things — and given your background and your words carrying extra weight — there is a danger that you will increase the difficulties, the hatred between Christians and Muslims in the world right now?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: This could happen if a Christian person will go talk to them about the reality of Islam. They put Christians on the enemy list anyway, before you talk to them about Islam. So if you go to them and tell them, as a Christian, they will be offended immediately and they will hate you and this will definitely increase the vacuum between both religions — but what made someone like me change?
Years ago, years ago, when I was there, God opened my eyes, my mind also, and I became a completely different person. So now, I can do this duty, while you as Christians can help me do it, but maybe you wouldn't be able to. (Muslims) have no excuse now.
JONATHAN HUNT: How difficult a process has this been for you to effectively walk away from your family, leave your home behind? How difficult is that?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Taking your skin off your bones, that's what happened. I love my family, they love me. And my little brothers, they’re like my sons. I raised them. Basically, it was the biggest decision in my life.
I left everything behind me, not only family. When you decide to convert to Christianity or any other religion from Islam, it's not (enough) to just say goodbye and leave, you know? It's not like that. You're saying goodbye to culture, civilization, traditions, society, family, religion, God — what you thought was God for so many years! So it's not easy. It's very complicated. People think it's that easy, like it doesn't matter. Now I'm here in the U.S. and I got my freedom and it's great, but at the same time, nothing is like family, you know. To lose your family —
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you lost your family?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My family is educated and it was very difficult for them. They asked me many times, especially for the first two days, to keep my faith to myself and not go to the media and announce it.
But for me it was a duty from God to announce his name and praise him (around) the world because my reward is going to be that he's going to do the same for me. So I did it, basically, as a duty. I (wonder) how many people can do what I can do today? I didn't find any.
So, I had to be strong about that. That was very challenging. That was the most difficult decision in my life and I didn't do it for fun. I didn't do it for anything from this world. I did it only for one reason: I believed in it. People are suffering every day because of wrong ideas. I can help them get out of this endless circle ... the track the devil (laid) for them.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you spoken to your father recently?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance to communicate with my father because he's in jail now and there is (sic) no phones in the jail to communicate with him.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have other members of your family told you how he's reacted?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They've visited him from time to time. Till this moment, I don't know his reaction exactly but I'm sure he's very sad (over) a decision like this. But at the same time, he's going to understand, because he knows me and he knows that I don't make any decisions without (believing strongly in them).
JONATHAN HUNT: Is it making his life more difficult among fellow Hamas members?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. My family, including my father, had to carry this cross with me. It wasn't their choice. It was my choice, but they had to carry this cross with me and I ask God — I pray for (my father), all my brothers and my sisters here in this church, praying all the time for them — 'God, open their eyes, their minds, to come to Christ. And bless them because they had to carry this cross with me.'
JONATHAN HUNT: Tell me about Hamas and the way it works. Is Hamas a purely Islamic religious organization as you see it, and that's where, in your eyes, its faults lie, or are there other parts of it which are a problem for you? Or is Hamas a good organization? What is Hamas to you?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: If we talk about people, there are good people everywhere. Everywhere. I mean, good people that God created.
Do they do their own things? Yes, they do their own things. I know people who support Hamas but they never got involved in terrorist attacks, for example ... They follow Hamas because they love God and they think that Hamas represents God. They don’t have knowledge, they don't know the real God and they never studied Christianity. But Hamas, as representative for Islam, it's a big problem.
The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea. And about Hamas as an organization, of course, the Hamas leadership, including my father, they're responsible; they're responsible for all the violence that happened from the organization. I know they describe it as reaction to Israeli aggression, but still, they are part of it and they had to make decisions in those operations against Israel, (for) which there was the killing of many civilians.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe Israel blameless in the conflict?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Occupation is bad. I can't say Israel — I'm not against any nation. We can't say Israelis, we can't say Palestinians, we're talking about ideas. Israel has the right to defend itself, nobody can (argue) against this. But sometimes they use (too much) aggression against civilians. Sometimes many civilians were killed because those soldiers weren't responsible enough, how they treat people at the checkpoints.
My message even to the Israeli soldiers: at least treat people in a good way at the checkpoints. You don't have to look really bad and it's not about nations, it's about just wrong ideas on both sides and the only way for two nations really to get out of the endless circle is to know the principles that Jesus brought to this earth: grace, love, forgiveness. Without this, they will never be able to move on, or break this endless circle.
JONATHAN HUNT: You've seen your father jailed, you've been in prison yourself. You've seen Hamas carry out acts of terror against Israelis, and yet you say everybody needs to rise above that?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. This is the only choice. Nobody has magic power to do something for the Middle East. No one. You can ask any politician here in the U.S., you can ask any Palestinian politician or Arab politician, Israeli leaders; no one, no one can do anything. Even if they believe in peace now: they're part of the game.
They're part of the trick. They can't, even if you find a brave person, like Rabin, who was called by an Israeli to make peace with the Palestinians and give them a state, no one, even if you find a strong leader, they can't do this. You can't force an independent country to give another country independence. (Especially when) the other country wants to destroy it.
Everybody is hurt. Israeli soldiers, they lost their friends. Palestinians, they lost their children, their fathers. (There are) many people in prison still, and many people were killed. Thousands. So everybody will never forget this. If they want to keep looking to the past, they will never get out of this circle. The only way to start (is just by) moving on. They were born under the occupation as Palestinians.
The last two generations, it's not their choice. The new generations from Israel — if we say disregarding the existence of Israel is right or wrong, what's the guilt of those people who were born in Israel and they have no other country to go to? It's their country now, that's how they see it. And they are going to keep their resistance and defense against whomever. (They will) say, 'Get out of this land!' So the only way is for both nations to start to understand the grace, love and forgiveness of God, to be able to get out of this.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe that Israel can ever strike a peace deal with Hamas?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water? There is no chance. Hamas can play politics for 10 years, 15 years; but ask any one of Hamas' leaders, 'Okay, what's going to happen after that? Are you just going to live and co-exist with Israel forever?' The answer is going to be no ... unless they want to do something against the Koran. But it's their ideology and they can't just say 'We're not going to do it.' So there is no chance. It's not about Israel, it's not about Hamas: it's about both ideologies. There is no chance.
JONATHAN HUNT: Aren't you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that's it, they're already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? ... They can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul.
JONATHAN HUNT: You're not afraid?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: As a human, you know, I can be very brave now, I'm not thinking about it at this moment and I feel that God is on my side. But if this will be the challenge, I ask God to give me enough strength.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you been threatened?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Honestly, most Muslims and Muslim leaders here in the U.S. community, European communities, they are trying to get ahold of me. They are calling my famiily, my mother, and asking for my contacts. They are telling her, 'We want to help him.'
JONATHAN HUNT: They think you need help?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, they think that Christians took advantage of me, and this is completely wrong. I've been a Christian for a long time before they knew, or anyone knew. I love Jesus, I followed him for many years now. It wasn't a secret for most of the time, and this time I just did it to glorify the name of God and praise him.
They're not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I'm educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn't make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you miss Ramallah?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. You've been there and you know how a wonderful country (it is). Very, very beautiful. It's a very small spot and it has everything — this is why people are fighting for that piece of land. I definitely miss Ramallah. Jereusalem. The Old City.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe you will ever be able to go back?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I think I belong to that land, and sooner or later I'm going to go back, no matter what. If they want to kill me, they (will) do whatever they want to do. I have a family there, they love me, they completely support me now with my decisions. Maybe they don't want me to talk to the media but they believe that I made a decision that I completely believe in. So they support me, so I love my family. I'm going to go back there again one day. I love my town.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you think you'll ever go back to a Middle East living in peace?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There will be a 100-person peace when Jesus comes back, when he judges everybody. His kingdom's going to be 1,000 years and it's going to be completely peaceful and it's going to be the kingdom of God.
JONATHAN HUNT: What is your basic message to any Muslim listening to this right now?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My message to them is, first of all, to open their minds. They were born to Muslim families — this is how they got Islam and this is just like ... any other religion, like growing up (in) a Christian family, or growing up (in) a Jewish family.
So my point is that I want those people to open their eyes, their minds, to start to understand and imagine that they weren't born for a Muslim famiily. And use their minds.
Why did God give them minds? Open their hearts. Read the Bible. Study their religion. I want to open the gate for them, I want them to be free. They will find a good life on earth just by following God — and they're also going to guarantee the other life.
