First Temple seal found in Jerusalem
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200475897717&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.
The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig.
According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.
The family was among those who later returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.
The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to 538-445 BCE, portrays a common and popular cultic scene, Mazar said.
The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical seal is engraved with two bearded priests standing on either side of an incense altar with their hands raised forward in a position of worship.
A crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian god Sin, appears on the top of the altar.
Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling Temech, Mazar said.
The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city." [Nehemiah 7:6]... "The Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55].
The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian chief god seemed not to have disturbed the Jews who used it on their own seal, she added.
The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the Temple, or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said.
"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between archeology and the biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the archaeological find."
The find will be announced by Mazar at the 8th annual Herzliya Conference on Sunday.
The archeologist, who rose to international prominence for her recent excavation that may have uncovered King David's palace, most recently uncovered the remnants of a wall from Nehemiah.
The dig is being sponsored by the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem research institute where Mazar serves as a senior fellow, and the City of David Foundation, which promotes Jewish settlement throughout east Jerusalem.
Hurricane Hysteria Revisited
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327368,00.html
Will global warming increase hurricane activity? Two studies published in the last week arrived at opposite conclusions.
A link between warmer sea surface temperatures and increased North Atlantic hurricane activity “has been quantified for the first time,” according to a study by University College London researchers that was published in Nature (Jan. 30). They claim to have associated a 0.5 degree Celsius increase in sea surface warming with a 40 percent increase in Atlantic hurricane activity during 1996-2005 as compared to the average activity during 1950-2000.
“The scientists who have linked global warming to stronger storms said the study makes sense, and is, if anything, just repeating and refining what they have already said,” the Associated Press reported (Jan. 30).
But the study result isn’t surprising considering it was derived from a computer model that included only two variables — sea surface temperature and atmospheric wind field — which the researchers claim explain about 75 percent of the variance in Atlantic hurricane activity between 1965-2005. They claim to have teased out the association between sea surface temperature and hurricane activity by statistically removing the influence of wind from the model.
Sea surface temperatures and wind, however, aren’t the only factors affecting hurricane activity. The model omitted at least two other known factors — atmospheric humidity and sea level pressure — and other more mysterious factors such as the tendency of hurricane activity to occur in cycles that are decades long.
Even though sea surface temperatures seem to have warmed, it’s not at all clear that Atlantic hurricane activity has truly increased. As recently described in World Climate Report, the average hurricane activity during 1995-2005 was greater than that during 1971-1994, but the 1970s and 1980s witnessed unusually low hurricane activity. So the increased hurricane activity of 1995-2005 “thus appears to represent a recovery to normal hurricane activity, rather than a direct response to increasing sea surface temperature,” according to World Climate Report.
Finally, regardless of whether warmer sea surface temperatures are associated with increased hurricane activity, the University College London researchers admitted that, “Our analysis does not identify whether greenhouse gas-induced warming contributed to the increase in water temperature and thus to the increase in hurricane activity.”
Since the entire global warming debate depends on whether manmade greenhouse gas emissions drive climate change, without a link between such emissions and sea surface temperature changes, the claimed sea surface temperature-hurricane activity link is, at best, an academic point.
The other hurricane study, published in Geophysical Research Letters (Jan. 23) and not widely reported by the media, comes from climate scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA researchers compared sea surface temperatures with hurricanes that made U.S. landfall — the most reliable hurricane measurement over the long-term, according to the researchers. They found a slight decrease in the trend of landfalling hurricanes with warmer sea surface temperatures.
“This paper uses observational data to demonstrate that the attribution of the recent increase in Atlantic hurricane activity to global warming is premature and that global warming may decrease the likelihood of hurricanes making landfall in the United States,” the researchers concluded.
As leading hurricane forecaster William Gray of Colorado State University put it, “Meteorologists who study tropical cyclones have no valid physical theory as to why hurricane frequency or intensity would necessarily be altered by small amounts (plus/minus 0.5 degrees Centigrade) of global mean temperature change.”
Dr. Gray continued, “In a global warming or global cooling world, the atmosphere’s upper air temperatures will warm or cool in unison with the sea surface temperatures. Vertical-lapse rates [differences between the atmospheric and sea temperatures that, when increased, tend to favor storm formation] will not be significantly altered.”
In observing that there were 80 major hurricanes during 1945-1969 when the global temperature was cooling, but only 38 major hurricanes during 1970-1994 when global temperature was warming, Dr. Gray note that “Atlantic sea-surface temperatures do not necessarily follow global mean temperature trends.”
Even the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) acknowledged in its most recent assessment that although average Northern Hemisphere temperatures in the last half of the 20 century were very likely higher than at any other time during the last 500 years, “There is no clear trend in the annual number of tropical cyclones [hurricanes].
And, of course, Al Gore learned this lesson the hard way. His attempt in “An Inconvenient Truth” to link manmade greenhouse gas emissions with the Hurricane Katrina tragedy was sound rejected by a British High Court judge who succinctly ruled that, “In scene 12 Hurricane Katrina and the consequent devastation in New Orleans is ascribed to global warming. It is common ground that there is insufficient evidence to show that.”
As Sen. John McCain emerged from the Florida Republican primary as the Republican front runner, Politico.com observed that “After hitting it in most every appearance he made in New Hampshire and Michigan, John McCain now rarely brings up the topic of global warming.” In talking to reporters after a campaign event in West Palm Beach, McCain said, “I try to bring it up in areas that I think that it is of great import to people.”
Given the scientific evidence, it’s quite easy to understand why Floridians might not think that alleged global warming-hurricane link is of great import.
Poll: Americans Won't Vote for an Atheist
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/poll_zogby_atheist/2008/01/31/69172.html
The American Bible Society has discovered what America wants in a President, based upon research done through a Zogby Poll. A nationwide survey of likely voters shows that the majority of those questioned want someone who mirrors biblical ideals of leadership. Truthfulness and integrity, by far, topped the list of the characteristics respondents feel are most important. And they say they want a leader who is, in essence, a servant and mindful of accountability to God.
Three-quarters of the likely voters agree that it is appropriate that every President since George Washington has been sworn into office with a hand on a Bible. Also, about six in ten say that they would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who speaks publicly about following the example of admirable leaders from the Bible and who consistently uses the Bible for guidance in both public and personal matters.
A whopping 78 percent of respondents—86 percent of women and 68 percent of men—view candidates citing Scripture, when speaking about political positions, as positive.
A surprising number of respondents (95 percent) said they have some interaction with the Bible, ranging from well aware to exploring the contents of the Bible.
Interestingly, younger respondents are more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who sees the office as a privilege to serve others, with a responsibility to God. Some 84 percent of those 18-29 said this would have an impact on their vote, while only 62 percent of respondents 50-64 said this would influence their decision.
In addition, nearly 50 percent of likely voters indicated that they would not vote for a presidential candidate who does not believe in God, while 20 percent said they would vote for such a candidate and another 20 percent agree that this would not affect their vote.
Participants in the poll, conducted January 25-27, were evenly divided geographically and mirror the U.S. population with reference to age and race. The survey of 1008 adults has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.
Pope Defends Bioethics Teaching
http://www.newsmax.com/international/pope_bioethics/2008/01/31/69116.html
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday defended the Vatican's right to speak out on bioethics, including its opposition to artificial procreation methods and embryonic stem cell research.
He also dismissed criticism that the Roman Catholic Church blocks scientific progress.
"Church teaching certainly cannot and must not weigh in on every novelty of science, but it has the task to reiterate the great values which are on the line and to propose to faithful and all men of good will ethical-moral principles and direction for new, important questions," Benedict said.
Benedict brushed off those who criticize the church "as if it were an obstacle to science and to humanity's true progress."
The pope singled out as "new problems" the freezing of embryos, selecting which embryos should be implanted after testing them for defects, research on embryonic stem cells and attempts at human cloning.
He decried them as proof that "the barrier protecting human dignity has been broken."
Benedict was addressing a meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a powerful Vatican office which safeguards doctrinal orthodoxy. He headed that office before being elected pope in 2005.
China Threat Resonates With American Public
http://www.newsmax.com/navrozov/china_threat/2008/01/31/69104.html
On Jan. 18, I received an e-mail from Larry (all family names are intentionally omitted) which concludes: “I agree with the making of a movie that will show what can happen when [the dictatorship of] China decides it’s time.”
The day earlier I had received the following e-mail from Ralph in California:
Having a Chinese wife, tutoring a Chinese scholar, and having visited China last year, I agree with you that America is in mortal danger.
Maybe we cannot elect a president who sees this, but we can try to awaken more people to speak up to the politicians.
Your proposed film is a wonderful idea. I would offer to help in writing, but you are already skilled in that field. I’d be glad to help with publicizing all of this, or be generally helpful. I am a retired teacher of world history, a military veteran of Army Air Force, and in reasonable health. THANK YOU FOR WRITING.
A Jan. 18 e-mail from Gordon, a U.S. lawyer:
Sir: You confirm everything I concluded (based upon my research) about China and her current aims while attending the U.S. Army War College a couple of years ago before my deployment to Iraq with the 116 Calvary Brigade, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Nevertheless, you are akin to a “prophet in the wilderness.” Realistically, what can we do?
John Stuart Mill (the author of “On Liberty,” published in 1859) treated newspapers and magazines with scornful horror. He was never connected with any university either. He wrote books — and is still world-known as a sage. Now, we live in a society in which the president is elected by a majority, and the prophets for a majority are television “hosts” and their “guests” for whom China does not exist as a threat as it does not for President Bush.
But the enlightenment of the electorate is not hopeless: We can make a film that will be seen by as many voters as PBS has viewers and Random House has readers.
On Jan. 7, I received an e-mail from Donald, containing four lines of approval of my China columns — and 15 pages of his text showing “the China threat.” What is wrong?
It is a 15-page message of a “prophet in the wilderness” to another such prophet (myself). Yet we do not live in England in 1859, but in the West in 2008, and in particular in the United States, where the destiny of the civilization is determined by the majority of the electorate, not by prophets.
Donald has demonstrated an outstanding knowledge in the field and fierce intellectual courage. So? His 15 pages must be translated into a cinematographic language to become known to the electorate.
In his Jan. 17 e-mail, Gregory writes that he has been reading my columns and is “really disturbed by the whole China threat.” But the Subject line of his e-mail is: “Question.”
What is the question? “I am curious as to how you have come across this information and how serious it actually is.” Well, when a civilian object or process is studied, it is possible to check how accurate the data are. But Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese author of “The Art of War,” said that basic to the art of war are (1) concealment and (2) deception.
The war with the United States, which Japan began by attacking Pearl Harbor, ended brilliantly for the United States: Japan surrendered unconditionally. Why? Because the United States had managed to keep secret its giant Manhattan Project — development of nuclear weapons.
Does Gregory expect the dictatorship of China to divulge to me (or someone else anxious to protect the West) all the secret data on their war preparations? Does Gregory believe in the efficacy of the CIA or the British Intelligence Service in China though they failed in Saddam Hussein’s tiny (compared with China) Third-World Iraq, where a coalition of Western countries, led by the U.S., got stuck for five years!
Roy’s e-mail on Jan. 15 begins as follows: “Lev: You are a genius. I was taught that China would be a threat to the world when I was 14 yrs old — I’m now 47.”
Again, Americans who are 47 years old, if not those who are14, should understand that China is a threat to the West, which no presidential candidate, except Duncan Hunter, has stated whether young or old.
For months, I was explaining to those working for Hunter that if a majority of the electorate saw our film showing that China is a mortal threat to the United States, he would be the U.S. president. My message bogged down among those who worked for him. As of Jan. 18, CNN reported that he had received so few votes that he decided to drop out of the presidential race.
In an e-mail dated Jan. 10, Russel writes: “What positively amazes me is that few people are scared and I find that even my closest friends seem to be in denial and are poorly informed. I remember a Holocaust survivor commenting on how quickly his comfortable German middle class life evaporated. He commented that “Americans are living in a fool’s paradise.”
Timothy ends his Jan. 11 e-mail with the question, “What do you think can be done at this point?” My answer is the same: “A film that can deliver the U.S. electorate from a fool’s paradise.”
In his e-mail on Jan. 17, Keith notes that one-sixth of the population of China were Internet users by the end of 2007.
But what about Hu Jintao’s call last year to “purify” the Internet?
On the other hand, it is the Western (“subversive”) information that the dictatorship of China cannot completely stop, which makes it imperative for the dictatorship of China to establish world domination, not to be overthrown by another Tiananmen movement with a replica of the Statue of Liberty on the Tiananmen Square.
Roy’s e-mail on Jan. 10 is almost two pages long, and I hope it will be used in the film. Here I will quote his last paragraph.
Do we need a film as you suggest? Yes we do. But we need a few good men and women to put together a solid group and not be afraid to warn our nation as to what is coming if significant changes are not made immediately regarding our morals, our return to constitutional law instead of the farce our justice system has become, and unite as a nation to return to the principles our Founding Fathers fought and died to author. Such a group will be ridiculed and called wackos, but who in history did not experience that for standing on truth and principle. I for one am willing to face that.
Says Scott in his e-mail on Jan. 9: “I read your articles almost every week. You think that the U.S. is not doing Nanotechnology research. Then what of this website [the e-mail address follows]? There seems to be such research going on.”
Eric Drexler coined the word “nanotechnology” as he published his book about it in 1986. Since then “nanotechnology” has grown into a huge field, none of which may have anything to do with “molecular nano weapons.”
Indeed, though only one chapter of his book was devoted to nano weapons, Drexler could not receive a cent from the Congress for his Foresight Institute, because the commercial producers of consumer nano goods and services managed to assure the Congress that Drexler’s nano weapons (just one of the chapters of his book) are sheer fantasies.
Charles begins his e-mail of Jan. 3: “I cannot help but read every article you write. It’s scary and intriguing.”
Then Charles plunges into a hopeless gloom. “May God help us in these ominous times!”
By contrast, in his mail of Jan. 10, Carl proposes two actors for our film: “Kiefer Sutherland of ‘24’ and Dennis Haysbert of ‘The Unit.’”
Isn’t it too early to choose the actors for our film? Fortunately, created 30 years ago was our not-for-profit Center for the Survival of Western Democracies, Inc., of which I am the president, and the Advisory Board of which has contained a dozen or so world-known figures (such as the Nobel Prize winning novelist Saul Bellow). We need those who would collect (tax-deductible) donations for the production of our films, whose mission is to save the United States (and Western Europe).
Michael’s Jan. 20 e-mail contains two pages in fine print. No doubt they will be useful for the film, but here I have no space to quote them.
Christians Attacked by Hindu Militants in Chhattisgarh, India
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06822.shtml
Several Christians were injured in two separate attacks over the past week in Chhattisgarh state.
On January 16, Hindu militants attacked a large group of believers who were meeting together in a makeshift structure in the Durg district. The militants beat several believers and local villagers present, injuring at least 80 people. The militants also vandalized the structure.
On January 17, a mob of Hindus attacked a missionary health camp in the Dhamtari district. The militants accused the Christians of participating in a conversion ceremony and beat and injured at least a dozen believers.
Ask God to give healing to those injured in the attacks. Pray that Christians in India will put their hope in the Lord as the One who upholds their cause (Psalm 146). Pray that their faithfulness will be a light that draws others to Christ (Matthew 5:14-16).
For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, go to www.persecution.net/country/india.htm. Check out their video reports on India on www.persecution.tv.
ESPN Anchor Sinks to New Low with Christian Bashing
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06821.shtml
SAN DIEGO -- ESPN's anchorwoman Dana Jacobson ought to be fired for her bigoted, anti- Christian tirade at a recent ESPN function, says Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti- Defamation Commission.
Speaking at an event in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor ESPN Radio personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic let go with vulgar remarks like "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus."
"The hypocrisy and double standards are outrageous," said Dr. Cass. "If she were a Christian and said the same things about Jews, Blacks, homosexuals or Muslims, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, or the NAACP, or the Human Rights Commission or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, aided and abetted by the politically correct media, would demand nothing less than internment in rehab, court ordered psychiatric evaluations, mandated psychotropic drugs and a humiliating public apology."
"Celebrities such as actor Mel Gibson, radio host Don Imus and bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman have suffered career setbacks after making offensive remarks and have spent countless hours trying to placate the aggrieved groups. This situation is no different and the consequences should be the same.
"Because she was allegedly intoxicated at a bawdy event, this is supposed to mollify her critics. But people speak out of the abundance of their heart. Alcohol reveals a dark, hateful heart, it does not cause it," said Dr. Cass.
The CADC is calling on people of faith to contact ESPN and register their disapproval of anti-Christian bigotry.
E-mail ESPN: espn_inc@espn.com
Call ESPN: 860-766-2000
The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting the rights of Christians to confidently live their faith. Dr. Gary Cass has degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, an outreach of Coral Ridge Ministries founded by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy.
Tiller's Bold-Faced Lie Insults Community, Victims
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06820.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas -- The following is an opinion by Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue:
On the 35th memorial of Roe v. Wade, late-term abortionist George R. Tiller defiantly posted a self- promoting banner on the fence surrounding his infamous abortion mill, Women's Health Care Services, which stated, "Wichita Stands with Dr. Tiller, 35 years of saving women's lives."
But according to information collected by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDH&E), there has never been a reported abortion since reporting was mandated that was done for the purpose of saving the life of a woman.
It is obvious from state records that Tiller has never saved the life of a single woman by giving her an abortion. Frankly, his statement is insulting to the family of Christin Gilbert, a Tiller patient who died from complications of a botched third-trimester abortion two years ago.
The absurdity of Tiller's claim at life-saving becomes tragically evident when we couple Gilbert's avoidable death with the fact that Tiller currently faces 19 criminal charges for illegally taking the lives of 19 viable babies that should have had the protection of law. A grand jury is also in the process of investigating allegations that Tiller committed hundreds more illegal abortions beyond viability - about half of which would have been done on girl babies.
And as far as community support goes, over 15,000 citizens of Sedgwick County who signed petitions calling for two grand juries to investigate Tiller might differ with the abortionist's boast that Wichita stands with him. In fact, nearly 70% of Wichita households oppose abortion and Tiller's abortion business, according to a poll commissioned by Operation Rescue.
Tiller's banner would have more accurately read: "George Tiller: 35 years of exploiting women and taking lives."
If he is going to lie about this, what else is he lying about?
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Early Release from Hubei Labor Camp for Three Female House Church Leaders
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06819.shtml
WUHAN, Hubei, China -- In another stunning legal victory, three female house church leaders have been unconditionally released from their labor camp in Hubei province. The decision was made at 4:30 PM Beijing time on January 23, and follows on the heals of the January 11, appellate ruling to release four male house church leaders from their labor camp following dismissal of charges from government officials.
The church leaders were arrested and sentenced to 18 months and 12 months re-education through labor respectively on August 6, 2007 after they were detained on July 15 and accused of the "crime of engaging in organizing and making use of evil cult organization to undermine the enforcement of State laws."
In an interview with one of the recently released male pastors, China Aid Association was told that the director of the Hubei labor camp made a formal apology to the house church leaders for their wrongful imprisonment.
Furthermore, the director went on to state that he and other officials had learned their lesson and would seek to do a better job in the future. He then expressed to the leaders that they should be patriotic and upright citizens.
The admonition from the director was easy to take for the leaders who find empowerment in their true Christian faith to be the best citizens they are able to be in society.
"The Chinese house church is deeply committed to helping China realize the goal of becoming a 'Harmonious Society,'" said Bob Fu. "The released leaders expressed their gratitude to the labor camp officials for their willingness to discern true Christianity from common criminality and for setting a remarkable precedent of progression towards true religious freedom and rule of law in China."
The leaders are also thankful to the international community for their efforts and prayers during this time.
Missionary Killed in Mindanao, Philippines
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06817.shtml
Father Jesus Reynaldo Roda, a Catholic missionary with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was murdered by a suspected al-Qaeda related group of Islamic militants on the evening of January 15 in the chapel at Notre Dame of Tabawan School in the city of Tabawan.
The armed group forced its way into the chapel where Father Roda was praying. When he resisted their attempt to kidnap him, he was shot and killed.
Pray that Father Roda's colleagues will find strength, courage and peace in Christ. Pray that God will raise up other cross-bearing disciples to continue His work in the Philippines.
For more information on the difficulties facing Christians in Philippines, go to www.persecution.net/country/philippines.htm.
French Out-of-Wedlock Birthrate Shows Impact of Marriage Substitutes
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06816.shtml
ROCKFORD, IL -- Last year, France became the first non-Scandinavian country in Western Europe where a majority of births are now out-of-wedlock. World Congress of Families International Secretary Allan C. Carlson called it, "a troubling development which underscores the danger of weakening the natural family by accepting marriage-substitutes."
In France, 50.5% of the 816,500 births registered last year were to unmarried parents, up from 48.4% in 2006 and 40% a decade ago. Out-of-wedlock births kept pace with the rise of civil unions. In 2007, there were 305,385 of said "unions" registered in France, compared to only 266,500 marriages.
In Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Bulgaria, out-of- wedlock births have also passed the 50% mark. In the United Kingdom, births to the unmarried were 44% in 2006, up a percentage point from 2005.
In Catholic countries like Italy and Spain, births to married couples are still the norm (illegitimacy is 27% in Spain and 17% in Italy). Even so, in those countries, the percentage of out-of-wedlock births has doubled in the past decade.
Guy Desplanques, head of France's agency for compiling demographic data, notes, "Marriage is now seen more as a celebration held to bring together family and friends, and less a necessary institution, especially given the growth of civil unions."
Said Carlson: "Civil unions and same-sex marriages are society's signal that traditional marriage is optional - that it's an occasion for a party, instead of a solemn joining of two individuals intended to last a lifetime."
Carlson warned that while still behind France, the U.S. (with an out-of-wedlock birthrate of 36.9%) is moving in the same direction, driven by the same forces.
"When society tells the young that marriage is optional, a growing number will choose the path of least resistance, which is living together," Carlson commented. "That's bad for children, because cohabitation and civil unions have less permanency, and it's bad for society."
In The Warsaw Declaration, World Congress of Families IV (Warsaw, May 11-13, 2007) proclaimed: "The natural family, a creation of God, is the fundamental human community, based on the lifelong marriage between a man and a woman, in which new individuals are conceived, born and raised."
To read the entire Warsaw Declaration, to this web page: www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.dec.htm . To learn more about World Congress of Families, visit www.worldcongress.org.
The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60 countries that seeks to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society. The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois (www.profam.org). To date, there have been four World Congresses of Families - Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).
The Church of the Nazarene Accredited by National Financial Accountability Organization
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06815.shtml
WINCHESTER, VA -- At a time when some faith- based groups are under scrutiny for their financial operations, one large Protestant denomination - the Church of the Nazarene - has received accreditation by and approved as a member of The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).
Founded in 1908 and based in Kansas City, Mo., the Church of the Nazarene has more than 1.6 million members in approximately 15,000 churches in 151 different nation-like geographical areas. Membership of nearly 650,000 in the United States constitutes the largest for any one country, although there are more total members outside the United States.
ECFA accreditation is based on seven standards of responsible stewardship, including financial accountability, transparency and ethical fundraising.
The Church of the Nazarene joins more than 2,000 evangelical organizations, churches and educational institutions across America that have earned the right to display the ECFA seal. When an organization is accredited by ECFA, it demonstrates its willingness to follow the model of biblical accountability.
"ECFA is extremely pleased that the Church of the Nazarene has been approved as an accredited member," said Kenneth Behr, president of ECFA. "We look forward to providing the general, district and local levels of the church with resources enabling it to advance the Kingdom of God in an even greater way."
"We find great meaning in joining with 2,000 religious organizations for the common cause of holding fast to best practices of financial responsibility," said David P. Wilson, general secretary of the Church of the Nazarene. "Being part of this broader faith community can only enhance the existing standards by which we operate as God's people, who comprise the Church of the Nazarene."
"This membership recognizes the Church of the Nazarene's continued commitment to fiscal responsibility," said Marilyn J. McCool, general treasurer of the denomination. "Considering that generations of generous giving enabled our ministries to reach around the globe, we seek the highest level of financial accountability to our donors. ECFA can provide tools and resources for the general, district and local church to help us be consistent in our understanding of faithful financial stewardship."
The Church of the Nazarene (www.Nazarene.org) supports personnel, local churches, missions and ministries around the world. Ministries include schools, literature, discipleship training, hospitals and clinics, development programs and disaster relief efforts. The message of Jesus Christ is also shared with through multimedia efforts. Construction is underway in nearby Lenexa, Kan., for the Global Ministry Center, which will serve as the administrative hub of the global church.
ECFA, founded in 1979, provides accreditation to evangelical Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with established standards for financial accountability, fund-raising and board governance. For more information about ECFA, including information about accreditation and a listing of ECFA-accredited members, visit www.ECFA.org or call 1-800-323-9473.
National Black Pro-Life Union President Speaks Out on Abortion and the Black Church
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06814.shtml
WASHINGTON -- One time the church was not only a beacon of light leading down-trodden and lost souls toward salvation...it was also the place where we became unified in our struggle for freedom and civil rights.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was like that for me. I remember sitting on the floor in front of our black and white television set mesmerized by this black knight in shining armor. I was raised in a God-fearing and God- loving home and Dr. King helped make God real for me.
I saw him as the David facing down Goliath whenever he marched for freedom and equality. It was somehow evident to me, even as a youngster, that this man was truly Spirit-driven.
I think one of the reasons I hold the memory of Dr. King so dear is because there are so few David's in today's church.
Today's mega-churches come with hefty price tags and huge debt. Many Ministers are afraid of losing part of their congregation in a time when they financially can't afford to lose them. Consequently, many church leaders preach a watered down message to their congregations. A message that will include the sins of adultery, prostitution, alcohol and drug use and ALWAYS the importance of tithing--but fail to teach about sins involving the killing of those who God says He knows "from the very moment of conception." Psalm 139:13-16. They fail to teach what God says is the punishment for killing unborn children--"An eye for an eye." Exodus 21:22-24.
Today, too many churches and black ministers close their eyes to the 15 million deaths of black children slaughtered by abortion since 1973. Many pastors are not only they afraid they will offend congregation members who have had abortions, but are also afraid they may offend many family members--wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters who have traveled down the road to abortion providers.
Most women who have suffered through an abortion are hurting and ashamed. What these ministers fail to preach is that abortion is NOT the unforgivable sin. They need to stand boldly as I believe Dr. King would have--shouting from the mountaintop that we serve a mighty Savior that can forgive every sin and will heal every pain.
I believe if Dr. King were alive today, he would not rest until every unborn child was granted his or her basic right to life.
We do not serve a wimpy God and Christians everywhere need to be reminded of that fact.
Abortion and abortion providers are the Goliath of today. We are David--and we know how the story ends.
LoveFest 6 Taps Hollywood Actress to Headline Annual Abstinence Conference - Music by Christian Rocker and Top 'Clean' Comedian Round out the All Star Event
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06813.shtml
ARCADIA, CA -- Our Savior Lutheran Church announced today an all-star line-up for its annual event, LoveFest 6: Shine, being held on February 9th and 10th, 2008. Sure to satisfy all in attendance, LoveFest offers its most diverse casting to date with renowned Christian entertainment plus soul- searching sessions at this year's weekend event.
Hosted by Rev. Roger Sonnenberg, LoveFest 6 expands upon its core and central topic of abstinence and the physical, emotional and relational consequences of sexual activity, by including sessions by well-known speakers such as Tina Marie, Al Menconi, Karen Kropf, and more. Sessions will tackle topics on relationships, emotional concerns for teens, the media and its impact on youth, ethics in an unethical world, as well as parents learning what your kids are really experiencing in school. Says Sonnenberg, "We will discuss how our faith helps us in all matters and how our faith is being challenged on a daily basis. We plan to present to the attendees the tools necessary to meet this challenge head on."
LoveFest headliner, Tina Marie, has appeared in numerous film and TV shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Young and the Restless," "Lizzie Maguire," "Boston Legal," and the ABC special "Domino Day." Her mission in life nowadays is to expose the lies of the media and inspire people to create change in their life. Tina Marie will elaborate on how today's media and its' impact affects our culture and particularly effects our youth.
Ben Kolarcik serenades the LoveFest audience with his unique sound and his progressive pop/rock style that goes beyond mere entertainment to what many describe as engaging and passionate. The event continues with Michael Joiner - the national renown touring 'clean-comedian', contributing writer for Jay Leno, and one of Los Angeles' finalists for 'top comedian' in Los Angeles. Joiner will have the LoveFest 6 audience roaring with laughter.
Tickets are now on sale. All registrants receive lunch by IN-N-OUT BURGER and an Italian Dinner with paid admission. Seats are limited. Call (626) 447-7690 for registration information or visit the church website at www.oslcarcadia.com or email LoveFest6@altrionet.com. Also go to GodTube.com and YouTube.com to view the promotional video.
Ahmadinejad: Israel has reached its 'final stage'
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2314
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the State of Israel, established 60 years ago this year, has reached the "final stage" before its destruction.
And he called on the West to accept the fact of the Jewish state's "imminent collapse."
Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly threatened Israel with destruction, chose to make his comments while touring the town of Bushehr, where Russia is currently constructing a nuclear reactor for Iran.
The Iranians are believed to be pursuing nuclear power in order to build atomic bombs.
Earlier this week Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak publicly aired his belief that the Iranians are already working to build nuclear warheads for the surface-to-surface missiles.
"What we have right now is the last chapter, which the Palestinians and regional nations will confront and eventually turn in Palestine's favor," the Iranian leader said in a nationally televised message.
"Accept that the life of Zionists will sooner or later come to an end."
Hizb'allah: We will kidnap more Israeli soldiers
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2313
Lebanon's terrorist Hizb'allah organization said Tuesday it was ready to kidnap more Israeli soldiers as it had Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in July 2006.
Their abduction triggered the Second Lebanon War in the summer of that year; a war Israel is widely considered to have lost.
Addressing the media, Hizb'allah deputy leader Naim Kassem stressed that the group would not drop its demand for the release of a single one of the Lebanese terrorists held by Israel in exchange for the two Israelis.
"We will continue the forceful position that influences the exchange equation, and from the position of patience, considering our steps and sure to reach results." he said.
Kassem's word come days after supreme Hizb'allah leader Hassan Nasrallah gloated in graphic detail on Lebanese television about the body parts of Israeli soldiers he was holding.
Whether "Palestinians," Syrians, Egyptians or Lebanese, Israel's Arab enemies have frequently down the years exhibited unrestrained bloodlust and perverse pleasure in its handling if captured, wounded and dead Jewish soldiers.
The wrong inquiry
http://www.stangoodenough.com/?p=100
Days before January 30, 2008, the date set for the release of the Winograd Commission’s final report into the Second Lebanon War, everything that could be said about that war and the commission’s findings had already been said.
The nation’s experts – both the qualified and the self-appointed, (especially its so-called elites, the journalists and intellectuals) – had flogged this horse to death, secure in the knowledge that it was a safe bet, a sure win: No-one likes Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – virtually the entire nation supports the media effort to remove him from his chair.
Night after night, on prime time television, the talking heads have taken Olmert apart for all the things he did wrong, all the mistakes he made as he sent the IDF into Lebanon in July 2006 to secure the release of kidnapped soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
Clearly the Israeli leader made mistakes, some of them grievous. As prime minister he is responsible for his errors and should without question face the consequences.
And yet, the mistakes he made were mistakes. He did not deliberately send Israeli boys to their deaths, did not mean for Israel to lose the battle against Hizb’allah (for insofar as Olmert achieved none of the goals for which he said he went to war, Israel did lose). But these were errors, not the foreseen outcome of coldly-calculated acts.
Some of the talking heads calling for his dismissal, and many of those encouraging them to make those calls, are themselves guilty of a far greater crime; a crime that has tainted virtually every politician in the Knesset, many senior officers in the security establishment, and every Israeli journalist that supported what they did and, since the crime was committed, chose to sweep it under the rug.
It was a criminal offense, an act of cruel injustice perpetrated against thousands of Israeli Jews - men, women and children. And – as has become clearer with each passing day – it was a crime against the nation of Israel as a whole.
And it was carried out deliberately, purposefully, with the full intent of seeing it through.
Chiefly responsible was then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, together with his son and closest advisor, Omri Sharon. Ariel is languishing in a coma; Omri will go to prison next month for political corruption and perjury. Senior IDF and police figures involved with the implementation of this crime against their own people have been removed from their posts, but for other reasons – not for what they did.
No-one is calling for an inquiry into what happened in August-September 2005 – a year before the Second Lebanon War – when Israel’s government sent tens of thousands of policemen and troops into Gaza to rip 9,000 Jews from their homes and demolish entire communities.
Prime Minister Sharon, in a pre-meditated act that flowed with the purposes - and enjoyed the blessing - of the Bush administration, expelled its citizens, withdrew its forces from strategic territory, and handed that territory to Israel’s sworn and hate-driven enemies who built, on their newly won land, not a state, but terrorist training camps and rocket launching sites from which to wage unrelenting terror against the people of Sderot.
Where is the call for a commission of inquiry into this debacle, the crime of the “Disengagement?”
Where, instead of all the baying for the blood of Ehud Olmert, are the cries for justice for the people of Gush Katif and all the other destroyed communities? Where is the condemnation and repudiation of the Hitnatkut - an un-Jewish and unpatriotic act which, - as has been exhaustively shown – left this nation’s security dangerously compromised?
Where is the demand, not only for the punishment of those who ordered and carried it out, but for the passing of a law that would make the repetition of anything like the Disengagement an act of treason against the Jewish state and its people?
Where are the declarations of resolve, that not only will such an act of surrender and betrayal never be repeated, but that it should indeed, at the right moment, be reversed?
Israel’s Jews are focusing all their attention on the wrong inquiry.
If only they would see this; if only they – the ordinary Israeli in the street – would awaken to the terrible reality of what they did, as they sat quietly by or even applauded – while their countrymen were hauled, weeping, from their homes.
With the right leadership and a healthy dose of survival instinct and love of their own, they could still turn this round.
As the rockets from Gaza continue to fall on Sderot, and the refugees from Gush Katif wait for their lives to be restored, support could be won for a widely-demanded commission of inquiry into the “Disengagement.”
Apart from redressing the wrong, such an inquiry would sound the death knell for the suicidal “peace process,” drawing a line under this conclusion: that the surrender of land to the Arabs can never bring peace to the Jews.
It would help to restore much that has been lost, not least the national sense of dignity and pride Israelis once had in their Jewish values and principles – a dignity which the Hitnatkut trampled underfoot.
There will be relatively little benefit to be gained for Israel out of the inquiry into the Second Lebanon War.
Conversely, a commission to investigate the Disengagement from Gaza from the viewpoint of its enormous cost to Israel could immeasurably profit the Jewish state.
And it would go a long way towards helping secure Israel’s existence in the Middle East.
Israel braces for war report
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2311
After months of media speculation, days of discussion and columns of commentary, the final report of the Winograd Commission on mistakes made in the prosecution of the 2006 Second Lebanon War will be released Wednesday evening Israel time.
Unlike the inquiry's interim report, released last April, the details made public on January 30 are not expected to shock Israelis, who have been saturated with information, including leaked details of its contents, every day since at least the start of the new year.
The interim report assigned responsibility for the major failures in the war to former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, to Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Halutz and Peretz no longer hold their positions: The former resigned last January - before the interim report was released - and the latter handed in his notice a few weeks after its release, after he had already been ousted from his position as Labor Party leader by former Prime Minister and current Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Olmert, however, retained his position despite a flood of criticism and numerous calls for his resignation.
While there was a lot of speculation back then that Winograd's final report would force the prime minister to step down, this is no longer anticipated.
Although the findings are expected to be harsh, no recommendations for personal sanctions are reportedly in the works.
One-hundred-and-forty-four Israeli soldiers and 44 Israeli civilians were killed in the Second Lebanon War.
Despite the high cost, Israel's goals - primarily to secure the release of kidnapped soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - were not realized.
Hizb'allah is widely acknowledged by Israel's friends and foes alike to have won that war.
Treacherous Israeli MKs attend arch-terrorist's funeral
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2310
Israeli Arab Knesset members traveled to Amman, Jordan, Sunday for the funeral of dead terrorist chief George Habash.
MKs Ahmed Tibi, Jamal Zahalka and Wassal Taha proudly lauded Habash, who led the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - a "Palestinian" terrorist group that exists to bring about the destruction of Israel.
"I have come to pay my respects to a leader who has become a symbol of the struggle for freedom and national liberty," Tibi said,
Israel's Jewish parliamentarians - keen to prove their fealty to "true democracy" - frequently allow their Arab colleagues to openly side with the enemies of the Jewish state.
Many of Israel's 1.2 million Arab citizens, while enjoying the privilege of living in the most freedom-loving society in the Middle East, support the "Palestinian" effort to divide and destroy “their” country.
US evangelical group adopts terror-victim hospital
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2309
An evangelical Christian group from the United States has reportedly "adopted" the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, a hospital that cares for many of Israel's victims of Arab terrorism.
According to a report in The Jerusalem Post Wednesday, representatives of the Joshua Fund visited the center for the first time last Sunday to cement the new relationship.
The fund plans to invest at least $1.2 million in humanitarian aid relief over the next year for Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian families devastated by war and terrorism, the Post said.
"The visitors praised the hospital's treatment of violence victims and promised to help raise the funds needed to complete Barzilai's new hospitalization wing and purchase vital medical equipment."
On its website the Joshua Fund says it has launched a three-year humanitarian relief strategy that will endeavor to bless Israel with more than $100 million, and Israel's neighbors with more than $20 million in humanitarian relief.
Two Charged with Arson in Church Fire.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/314156.aspx
CLANTON, Ala. - Two men who allegedly broke into a rural church and set it ablaze last month were arrested on arson and burglary charges, authorities said Thursday.
Billy Ray and Brian Henry, both 31, were charged in a fire that heavily damaged Providence Baptist Church in northern Chilton County on Jan. 12.
"This investigation is by no means over," said State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk. "In fact, we anticipate that further arrests will be made."
The men were held in the Chilton County Jail, awaiting a bond hearing and records did not indicate whether either man had a lawyer. Authorities said the suspects live together in a rural area south of Calera.
Investigators are still trying to determine if the blaze was linked to suspicious fire that destroyed another Chilton County church on Dec. 29.
"We're working as hard as we can to bring closure to these churches and to bring those responsible to justice," said Sheriff Kevin Davis.
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