Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HAD "THE CRUSADES" THROWN IN YOUR FACE BY ANTI-CATHOLICS.MY LAST TIME WAS FROM A 19 YEAR OLD COLLEGE PUNK...AND I SWORE THE NEXT TIME...I WOULD BE PREPARED.KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.READ AND MEMORIZE THIS.
The Crusades
Muslims love talking about the Crusades… and Christians love apologizing for them. To hear both parties tell the story, one would believe that Muslims were just peacefully minding their own business in lands that were legitimately Muslim when Christian armies decided to wage holy war and "kill millions.”
The Truth:
Every part of this myth is a lie. By the rules that Muslims claim for themselves, the Crusades were perfectly justified, and the excesses (though beneath Christian standards) pale in comparison with the historical treatment of conquered populations at the hands of Muslims.
Here are some quick facts…
The first Crusade began in 1095… 460 years after the first Christian city was overrun by Muslim armies, 457 years after Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies, 453 years after Egypt was taken by Muslim armies, 443 after Muslims first plundered Italy, 427 years after Muslim armies first laid siege to the Christian capital of Constantinople, 380 years after Spain was conquered by Muslim armies, 363 years after France was first attacked by Muslim armies, 249 years after the capital of the Christian world, Rome itself, was sacked by a Muslim army, and only after centuries of church burnings, killings, enslavement and forced conversions of Christians.
By the time the Crusades finally began, Muslim armies had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world.
Europe had been harassed by Muslims since the first few years following Muhammad’s death. As early as 652, Muhammad’s followers launched raids on the island of Sicily, waging a full-scale occupation 200 years later that lasted almost a century and was punctuated by massacres, such as that at the town of Castrogiovanni, in which 8,000 Christians were put to death. In 1084, ten years before the first crusade, Muslims staged another devastating Sicilian raid, burning churches in Reggio, enslaving monks and raping an abbey of nuns before carrying them into captivity.
In 1095, Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I Comneus began begging the pope in Rome for help in turning back the Muslim armies which were overrunning what is now Turkey, grabbing property as they went and turning churches into mosques. Several hundred thousand Christians had been killed in Anatolia alone in the decades following 1050 by Seljuk invaders interested in 'converting' the survivors to Islam.
Not only were Christians losing their lives in their own lands to the Muslim advance but pilgrims to the Holy Land from other parts of Europe were being harassed, kidnapped, molested, forcibly converted to Islam and occasionally murdered. (Compare this to Islam’s justification for slaughter on the basis of Muslims being denied access to the Meccan pilgrimage in Muhammad’s time).
The Crusaders only invaded lands that were Christian. They did not attack Saudi Arabia (other than a half-hearted expedition by a minor figure) or sack Mecca as the Muslims had done (and continued doing) to Italy and Constantinople. Their primary goal was the recapture of Jerusalem and the security of safe passage for pilgrims. The toppling of the Muslim empire was not on the agenda.
The period of Crusader “occupation” (of its own former land) was stretched tenuously over about 170 years, which is less than the Muslim occupation of Sicily and southern Italy alone - to say nothing of Spain and other lands that had never been Islamic before falling victim to Jihad. In fact, the Arab occupation of North Africa and Middle Eastern lands outside of Arabia is almost 1400 years old.
Despite popular depiction, the Crusades were not a titanic battle between Christianity and Islam. Although originally dispatched by papal decree, the "occupiers" quickly became part of the political and economic fabric of the Middle East without much regard for religious differences. Their arrival was largely accepted by the local population as simply another change in authority. Muslim radicals even lamented the fact that many of their co-religionists preferred to live under Frankish (Christian) rule than migrate to Muslim lands.
The Islamic world was split into warring factions, many of which allied themselves with the Frankish princes against each other at one time or another. This even included Saladin, the Kurdish warrior who is credited with eventually ousting the "Crusaders." Contrary to recent propaganda, however, Saladin had little interest in holy war until a rogue Frankish prince began disrupting his trade routes. Both before and after the taking of Jerusalem, his armies spent far more time and resources battling fellow Muslims.
For its part, the Byzantine (Eastern Christian) Empire preferred to have little to do with the Crusader kingdoms and went so far as to sign treaties with their Muslim rivals on occasion.
Another misconception is that the Crusader era was a time of constant war. In fact, very little of this overall period included significant hostilities. In response to Muslim expansion or aggression, there were only about 20 years of actual military campaigning, much of which was spent on organization and travel. (They were from 1098-1099, 1146-1148, 1188-1192, 1201-1204, 1218-1221, 1228-1229, and 1248-1250). By comparison, the Muslim Jihad against the island of Sicily alone lasted 75 grinding years.
Ironically, the Crusades are justified by the Quran itself, which encourages Holy War in order to "drive them out of the places from whence they drove you out" (2:191), even though the aim wasn't to expel Muslims from the Middle East, but more to bring an end to the molestation of pilgrims. Holy war is not justified by New Testament teachings, which is why the Crusades are an anomaly, the brief interruption of centuries of relentless Jihad against Christianity that began long before and continued well after.
The greatest crime of the Crusaders was the sacking of Jerusalem, in which at least 3,000 people were said to have been massacred. This number is dwarfed by the number of Jihad victims, from India to Constantinople, Africa and Narbonne, but Muslims have never apologized for their crimes and never will.
What is called 'sin and excess' by other religions, is what Islam refers to as duty willed by Allah.
The Crusades
Muslims love talking about the Crusades… and Christians love apologizing for them. To hear both parties tell the story, one would believe that Muslims were just peacefully minding their own business in lands that were legitimately Muslim when Christian armies decided to wage holy war and "kill millions.”
The Truth:
Every part of this myth is a lie. By the rules that Muslims claim for themselves, the Crusades were perfectly justified, and the excesses (though beneath Christian standards) pale in comparison with the historical treatment of conquered populations at the hands of Muslims.
Here are some quick facts…
The first Crusade began in 1095… 460 years after the first Christian city was overrun by Muslim armies, 457 years after Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies, 453 years after Egypt was taken by Muslim armies, 443 after Muslims first plundered Italy, 427 years after Muslim armies first laid siege to the Christian capital of Constantinople, 380 years after Spain was conquered by Muslim armies, 363 years after France was first attacked by Muslim armies, 249 years after the capital of the Christian world, Rome itself, was sacked by a Muslim army, and only after centuries of church burnings, killings, enslavement and forced conversions of Christians.
By the time the Crusades finally began, Muslim armies had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world.
Europe had been harassed by Muslims since the first few years following Muhammad’s death. As early as 652, Muhammad’s followers launched raids on the island of Sicily, waging a full-scale occupation 200 years later that lasted almost a century and was punctuated by massacres, such as that at the town of Castrogiovanni, in which 8,000 Christians were put to death. In 1084, ten years before the first crusade, Muslims staged another devastating Sicilian raid, burning churches in Reggio, enslaving monks and raping an abbey of nuns before carrying them into captivity.
In 1095, Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I Comneus began begging the pope in Rome for help in turning back the Muslim armies which were overrunning what is now Turkey, grabbing property as they went and turning churches into mosques. Several hundred thousand Christians had been killed in Anatolia alone in the decades following 1050 by Seljuk invaders interested in 'converting' the survivors to Islam.
Not only were Christians losing their lives in their own lands to the Muslim advance but pilgrims to the Holy Land from other parts of Europe were being harassed, kidnapped, molested, forcibly converted to Islam and occasionally murdered. (Compare this to Islam’s justification for slaughter on the basis of Muslims being denied access to the Meccan pilgrimage in Muhammad’s time).
The Crusaders only invaded lands that were Christian. They did not attack Saudi Arabia (other than a half-hearted expedition by a minor figure) or sack Mecca as the Muslims had done (and continued doing) to Italy and Constantinople. Their primary goal was the recapture of Jerusalem and the security of safe passage for pilgrims. The toppling of the Muslim empire was not on the agenda.
The period of Crusader “occupation” (of its own former land) was stretched tenuously over about 170 years, which is less than the Muslim occupation of Sicily and southern Italy alone - to say nothing of Spain and other lands that had never been Islamic before falling victim to Jihad. In fact, the Arab occupation of North Africa and Middle Eastern lands outside of Arabia is almost 1400 years old.
Despite popular depiction, the Crusades were not a titanic battle between Christianity and Islam. Although originally dispatched by papal decree, the "occupiers" quickly became part of the political and economic fabric of the Middle East without much regard for religious differences. Their arrival was largely accepted by the local population as simply another change in authority. Muslim radicals even lamented the fact that many of their co-religionists preferred to live under Frankish (Christian) rule than migrate to Muslim lands.
The Islamic world was split into warring factions, many of which allied themselves with the Frankish princes against each other at one time or another. This even included Saladin, the Kurdish warrior who is credited with eventually ousting the "Crusaders." Contrary to recent propaganda, however, Saladin had little interest in holy war until a rogue Frankish prince began disrupting his trade routes. Both before and after the taking of Jerusalem, his armies spent far more time and resources battling fellow Muslims.
For its part, the Byzantine (Eastern Christian) Empire preferred to have little to do with the Crusader kingdoms and went so far as to sign treaties with their Muslim rivals on occasion.
Another misconception is that the Crusader era was a time of constant war. In fact, very little of this overall period included significant hostilities. In response to Muslim expansion or aggression, there were only about 20 years of actual military campaigning, much of which was spent on organization and travel. (They were from 1098-1099, 1146-1148, 1188-1192, 1201-1204, 1218-1221, 1228-1229, and 1248-1250). By comparison, the Muslim Jihad against the island of Sicily alone lasted 75 grinding years.
Ironically, the Crusades are justified by the Quran itself, which encourages Holy War in order to "drive them out of the places from whence they drove you out" (2:191), even though the aim wasn't to expel Muslims from the Middle East, but more to bring an end to the molestation of pilgrims. Holy war is not justified by New Testament teachings, which is why the Crusades are an anomaly, the brief interruption of centuries of relentless Jihad against Christianity that began long before and continued well after.
The greatest crime of the Crusaders was the sacking of Jerusalem, in which at least 3,000 people were said to have been massacred. This number is dwarfed by the number of Jihad victims, from India to Constantinople, Africa and Narbonne, but Muslims have never apologized for their crimes and never will.
What is called 'sin and excess' by other religions, is what Islam refers to as duty willed by Allah.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Some Things You Probably Do Not Know About Islam
1. When Muhammad was in his fifties he married a girl (Aisha) who was just six years old. The marriage was consummated when she was nine. This is one of the reasons why child brides are still common in the Muslim world. On coming to power in Iran in 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini reduced the age at which a girl could be married to 9 years, thus following the example of Muhammad.
2. Muhammad participated in the massacre of 800 Jewish men who had surrendered themselves following a famous battle. Trenches were dug and they were all beheaded and their bodies thrown into the trenches. The women and children were distributed among the victorious Muslims as slaves.
3. When a woman came to Muhammad confessing that she had conceived a child out of wedlock, he said that she should wean the child and then be stoned to death. This sentence was duly carried out. In 1994, a Sharia court in Nigeria passed the same judgement against Amina Lawal thus following Muhammad’s example exactly. Because Muhammad’s behaviour is seen by Muslims as sacrosanct these kinds of laws will be almost impossible to change.
4. Muhammad supported the use of slavery. He gave away slaves as gifts. He owned all kinds of slaves including males, females and Black slaves. He passed around slaves for the purpose of sexual pleasure for his companions — men who were his chief lieutenants. He stood by and prayed while others beat slaves. He shared the pleasure of forced sex with female slaves after conquest. He captured slaves and sold them to raise money for warfare.
5. Muhammad told his followers to raid caravans in order to boost the economy of his fledgling state in Medina. Bandits and pirates need look no further for justification.
6. Muhammad said, “Whoever insults a prophet, kill him”; this is one of the reasons why Muslims are so intolerant of anyone mocking Muhammad…and why anyone doing so is liable to get killed. It is also the reason why Islamic law requires the execution of anyone insulting Muhammad or Islam. A Christian woman in Pakistan is currently facing execution for “insulting Muhammad”.
7. Muhammad said, “Whoever leaves Islam, kill him”; this why it is so difficult for Muslims to leave Islam. Abdul Rahman was flown to safety in Italy from Afghanistan in 2004 because he was threatened with execution for converting to Christianity. Many others are less lucky. Islamic law requires that those leaving Islam be executed. Islamic countries are now campaigning to get criticism of Islam outlawed worldwide. They are pursuing this via the United Nations (and making good progress!).
8. Under Islamic law, the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man. That means that under Islamic law a woman is half as believable as a man.
9. At the end of his life, Muhammad boasted that he had been “made victorious through terror”. Is it any wonder that many Muslims are engaged in terrorism?
10. He also declared that he had been ordered to make war on non-believers until the whole world was dominated by Islam.
11. It is stated 91 times in the Koran that Muslims must follow the example of Muhammad in every detail. Just ponder the implications of that.
These are a small sample of facts about Islam. It should be enough to show you that the founder of Islam was a brutal warlord and that his words and deeds have given Islam its brutal and intolerant character. It is difficult to see what good can come from the teachings of a man like Muhammad. Take a look at the world and you will see that many of the most oppressive, brutal and backward societies are strongholds of Islam. They have become like this by following the teachings of Muhammad.
Islam now has a foothold in your country and we are seeing increasing pressure to make our society more Islamic. Do you want to live in such a society?
If the answer is “no”, it is important that you find out more about these issues. You can do so at:
1. When Muhammad was in his fifties he married a girl (Aisha) who was just six years old. The marriage was consummated when she was nine. This is one of the reasons why child brides are still common in the Muslim world. On coming to power in Iran in 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini reduced the age at which a girl could be married to 9 years, thus following the example of Muhammad.
2. Muhammad participated in the massacre of 800 Jewish men who had surrendered themselves following a famous battle. Trenches were dug and they were all beheaded and their bodies thrown into the trenches. The women and children were distributed among the victorious Muslims as slaves.
3. When a woman came to Muhammad confessing that she had conceived a child out of wedlock, he said that she should wean the child and then be stoned to death. This sentence was duly carried out. In 1994, a Sharia court in Nigeria passed the same judgement against Amina Lawal thus following Muhammad’s example exactly. Because Muhammad’s behaviour is seen by Muslims as sacrosanct these kinds of laws will be almost impossible to change.
4. Muhammad supported the use of slavery. He gave away slaves as gifts. He owned all kinds of slaves including males, females and Black slaves. He passed around slaves for the purpose of sexual pleasure for his companions — men who were his chief lieutenants. He stood by and prayed while others beat slaves. He shared the pleasure of forced sex with female slaves after conquest. He captured slaves and sold them to raise money for warfare.
5. Muhammad told his followers to raid caravans in order to boost the economy of his fledgling state in Medina. Bandits and pirates need look no further for justification.
6. Muhammad said, “Whoever insults a prophet, kill him”; this is one of the reasons why Muslims are so intolerant of anyone mocking Muhammad…and why anyone doing so is liable to get killed. It is also the reason why Islamic law requires the execution of anyone insulting Muhammad or Islam. A Christian woman in Pakistan is currently facing execution for “insulting Muhammad”.
7. Muhammad said, “Whoever leaves Islam, kill him”; this why it is so difficult for Muslims to leave Islam. Abdul Rahman was flown to safety in Italy from Afghanistan in 2004 because he was threatened with execution for converting to Christianity. Many others are less lucky. Islamic law requires that those leaving Islam be executed. Islamic countries are now campaigning to get criticism of Islam outlawed worldwide. They are pursuing this via the United Nations (and making good progress!).
8. Under Islamic law, the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man. That means that under Islamic law a woman is half as believable as a man.
9. At the end of his life, Muhammad boasted that he had been “made victorious through terror”. Is it any wonder that many Muslims are engaged in terrorism?
10. He also declared that he had been ordered to make war on non-believers until the whole world was dominated by Islam.
11. It is stated 91 times in the Koran that Muslims must follow the example of Muhammad in every detail. Just ponder the implications of that.
These are a small sample of facts about Islam. It should be enough to show you that the founder of Islam was a brutal warlord and that his words and deeds have given Islam its brutal and intolerant character. It is difficult to see what good can come from the teachings of a man like Muhammad. Take a look at the world and you will see that many of the most oppressive, brutal and backward societies are strongholds of Islam. They have become like this by following the teachings of Muhammad.
Islam now has a foothold in your country and we are seeing increasing pressure to make our society more Islamic. Do you want to live in such a society?
If the answer is “no”, it is important that you find out more about these issues. You can do so at:
Sunday, July 24, 2011
CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BOOMING
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:
All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.
The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.
Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.
In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.
It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:
All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.
The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.
Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.
In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.
It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
What Are Three Characteristics of Diabolical Influence? How Are They Manifest In Our Modern World?
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voie, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.. (Luke 8: 26-30)
You will then recall how Jesus drove the demon(s) out and into the herd of swine.
Bishop Fulton Sheen states that the following 3 characteristics are sure fire ways to determine diabolical activity.
Love of Nudity – For the text says: For a long time this man had not worn clothes.
Violence – For the text says: though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains. Mark 5:4 more vividly adds: For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
Division (Split Personality and divided from others) – for the text says, many demons had gone into him. Mark’s version has the demoniac reply My name is Legion, for we are many. (Mk 5:9). Further all the texts say the demoniac lived apart from others, in solitary places.
So here are three characteristics of the diabolic.It does not take much analysis to see how these three characteristics of the diabolic are alive and flourishing in the modern world, at least the Western branch of it. Let’s consider them
1. Love of Nudity - This is clearly manifest at several levels. First there is the widespread tendency of immodest dress. We have discussed modesty here before and ought to note that modesty comes from the word “mode” referring to the middle or to moderation. Hence, while we want to avoid oppressively puritanical notions about dress that impose heavy burdens (especially on women) and regard the body as somewhat evil, we must also critique many modern forms of dress at the other extreme. These “fashions” reveal more than is reasonable and generally have, as their intent to draw attention to aspects of the body that are private and reserved for sexual union in marriage. Too many in our culture see little problem parading about in various stages of undress, wearing clothing that are more intended to disclose and call attention to, than to conceal the private areas of the body. This love of disclosure and titillation is surely an aspect of the Evil One’s love of nudity, and he has surely spread his obsession to many in the modern West.
Pornography, though nothing new in this fallen world, has surely reached epidemic proportions via the Internet. Any psychotherapist, counselor or priest will tell you that addiction to pornography is a huge problem among people today. Pornographic sites on the Internet outpace all others tenfold. Multimillion Americans are viewing enormous amounts of pornography and the “industry” is growing exponentially. What was once hidden away in adult bookstores is now one click away on the Internet. And the thought that browsing habits are easily discoverable matters little to the addicts of this latest form of slavery. Many are on a steep slope downward into ever more deviant forms of porn. Many end up at illegal sites before they even know what has happened to them, and the FBI is knoocking on their door. Satan’s love of nudity has possessed many!
The overall sexualization of culture also ties in to Satan’s love of nudity. We sexualize women to sell products. We even sexualize children. Our sitcoms chatter endlessly about sex in a very teenage and immature sort of way. We are, collectively, goofy and immature about sex, and our culture giggles like horny teenagers obsessed with something we don’t really understand. Yes, Satan loves nudity, and everything that goes with it.
2. Violence – We have discussed here before how we, collectively, have turned violence into a form of entertainment. Our adventure movies and video games turn violent retribution into gleeful entertainment and death into a “solution.” Recent Popes have warned us of the culture of death, where death is increasingly proposed as the “solution” to problems. In our culture violence begins in the womb, as the innocent are attacked and it is called “choice” and “rights.” The violence and embrace of death continues to ripple through culture through contraception, violent gang activity, easy recourse to war and capital punishment. The past Century was perhaps the bloodiest ever known on this planet and untold people in the hundreds of millions died in two world wars, hundreds of regional wars and conflicts, horrific starvation campaigns in the Ukraine, in China and elsewhere, genocides in Central Europe, in Africa and Southeast Asia. Paul Johnson, in his book Modern Times estimates that over 100,000,000 died in war and violent ways in the just the first 50 years of the 20th Century. And with every death, Satan did his “snoopy dance.” Satan love violence. He loves to set fires, and watch us blame each other as we burn.
3. Division – Satan loves to divide. The devil wants to divide us, within our very own psyche and among each other. Surely he rejoices at every division he causes.! And thus, we see our families divided, the Church divided, our culture and Country divided. We are now divided at almost every level: racial, religious, political, economic. We divide over age, race, region, blue and red states, liturgy, music, language, and endless minutia.
Our families are broken, our marriages are broken. Divorce is rampant and commitments of any sort are rejected and deemed impossible. The Church is broken and divided into factions, so too the State, all the way down to the level of school boards. Though once we agreed on essentials, now even appeals to shared truth are called intolerant.
And within too, we struggle with many divisive drives and forms of figurative and literal schizophrenia. We are drawn to what is good, true and beautiful and yet what is base, false and evil also summons us. We know what is good, but desire what is evil, we seek love, but indulge hate and revenge. We admire innocence but often revel in destroying it or at least replacing it with cynicism.
And Satan dances his “snoopy dance.”
Three characteristics of the diabolic: love of nudity, violence, and division. What do you think? Is the prince of this world working his agenda? Even more important: are we conniving? The first step in over-coming the enemy’s agenda is to know his moves, to name them and then rebuke them in the Name of Jesus.
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voie, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.. (Luke 8: 26-30)
You will then recall how Jesus drove the demon(s) out and into the herd of swine.
Bishop Fulton Sheen states that the following 3 characteristics are sure fire ways to determine diabolical activity.
Love of Nudity – For the text says: For a long time this man had not worn clothes.
Violence – For the text says: though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains. Mark 5:4 more vividly adds: For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
Division (Split Personality and divided from others) – for the text says, many demons had gone into him. Mark’s version has the demoniac reply My name is Legion, for we are many. (Mk 5:9). Further all the texts say the demoniac lived apart from others, in solitary places.
So here are three characteristics of the diabolic.It does not take much analysis to see how these three characteristics of the diabolic are alive and flourishing in the modern world, at least the Western branch of it. Let’s consider them
1. Love of Nudity - This is clearly manifest at several levels. First there is the widespread tendency of immodest dress. We have discussed modesty here before and ought to note that modesty comes from the word “mode” referring to the middle or to moderation. Hence, while we want to avoid oppressively puritanical notions about dress that impose heavy burdens (especially on women) and regard the body as somewhat evil, we must also critique many modern forms of dress at the other extreme. These “fashions” reveal more than is reasonable and generally have, as their intent to draw attention to aspects of the body that are private and reserved for sexual union in marriage. Too many in our culture see little problem parading about in various stages of undress, wearing clothing that are more intended to disclose and call attention to, than to conceal the private areas of the body. This love of disclosure and titillation is surely an aspect of the Evil One’s love of nudity, and he has surely spread his obsession to many in the modern West.
Pornography, though nothing new in this fallen world, has surely reached epidemic proportions via the Internet. Any psychotherapist, counselor or priest will tell you that addiction to pornography is a huge problem among people today. Pornographic sites on the Internet outpace all others tenfold. Multimillion Americans are viewing enormous amounts of pornography and the “industry” is growing exponentially. What was once hidden away in adult bookstores is now one click away on the Internet. And the thought that browsing habits are easily discoverable matters little to the addicts of this latest form of slavery. Many are on a steep slope downward into ever more deviant forms of porn. Many end up at illegal sites before they even know what has happened to them, and the FBI is knoocking on their door. Satan’s love of nudity has possessed many!
The overall sexualization of culture also ties in to Satan’s love of nudity. We sexualize women to sell products. We even sexualize children. Our sitcoms chatter endlessly about sex in a very teenage and immature sort of way. We are, collectively, goofy and immature about sex, and our culture giggles like horny teenagers obsessed with something we don’t really understand. Yes, Satan loves nudity, and everything that goes with it.
2. Violence – We have discussed here before how we, collectively, have turned violence into a form of entertainment. Our adventure movies and video games turn violent retribution into gleeful entertainment and death into a “solution.” Recent Popes have warned us of the culture of death, where death is increasingly proposed as the “solution” to problems. In our culture violence begins in the womb, as the innocent are attacked and it is called “choice” and “rights.” The violence and embrace of death continues to ripple through culture through contraception, violent gang activity, easy recourse to war and capital punishment. The past Century was perhaps the bloodiest ever known on this planet and untold people in the hundreds of millions died in two world wars, hundreds of regional wars and conflicts, horrific starvation campaigns in the Ukraine, in China and elsewhere, genocides in Central Europe, in Africa and Southeast Asia. Paul Johnson, in his book Modern Times estimates that over 100,000,000 died in war and violent ways in the just the first 50 years of the 20th Century. And with every death, Satan did his “snoopy dance.” Satan love violence. He loves to set fires, and watch us blame each other as we burn.
3. Division – Satan loves to divide. The devil wants to divide us, within our very own psyche and among each other. Surely he rejoices at every division he causes.! And thus, we see our families divided, the Church divided, our culture and Country divided. We are now divided at almost every level: racial, religious, political, economic. We divide over age, race, region, blue and red states, liturgy, music, language, and endless minutia.
Our families are broken, our marriages are broken. Divorce is rampant and commitments of any sort are rejected and deemed impossible. The Church is broken and divided into factions, so too the State, all the way down to the level of school boards. Though once we agreed on essentials, now even appeals to shared truth are called intolerant.
And within too, we struggle with many divisive drives and forms of figurative and literal schizophrenia. We are drawn to what is good, true and beautiful and yet what is base, false and evil also summons us. We know what is good, but desire what is evil, we seek love, but indulge hate and revenge. We admire innocence but often revel in destroying it or at least replacing it with cynicism.
And Satan dances his “snoopy dance.”
Three characteristics of the diabolic: love of nudity, violence, and division. What do you think? Is the prince of this world working his agenda? Even more important: are we conniving? The first step in over-coming the enemy’s agenda is to know his moves, to name them and then rebuke them in the Name of Jesus.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
If you're NOT being treated with love & respect, check your "price tag". Perhaps you have marked yourself down. It's you who tell people what you're worth BY WHAT YOU ACCEPT. Get off the "clearance rack" and get behind the glass where they keep all the "valuables." The bottom line is....."value" yourself more. Repost if you like...You might help someone get off the "clearance rack"..
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
IT'S A GOOD THING...
The Netherlands to Abandon Multiculturalism
The Dutch government says it will abandon the long-standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society within the Netherlands.
A new integration bill (covering letter and 15-page action plan), which Dutch Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner presented to parliament on June 16, reads: "The government shares the social dissatisfaction over the multicultural society model and plans to shift priority to the values of the Dutch people. In the new integration system, the values of the Dutch society play a central role. With this change, the government steps away from the model of a multicultural society."
The letter continues: "A more obligatory integration is justified because the government also demands that from its own citizens. It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands. The integration will not be tailored to different groups."
The new integration policy will place more demands on immigrants. For example, immigrants will be required to learn the Dutch language, and the government will take a tougher approach to immigrants to ignore Dutch values or disobey Dutch law.
The government will also stop offering special subsidies for Muslim immigrants because, according to Donner, "it is not the government's job to integrate immigrants." The government will introduce new legislation that outlaws forced marriages and will also impose tougher measures against Muslim immigrants who lower their chances of employment by the way they dress. More specifically, the government will impose a ban on face-covering Islamic burqas as of January 1, 2013.
If necessary, the government will introduce extra measures to allow the removal of residence permits from immigrants who fail their integration course.
The measures are being imposed by the new center-right government of Conservatives (VVD) and Christian Democrats (CDA), with parliamentary support from the anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV), whose leader, Geert Wilders, is currently on trial in Amsterdam for "inciting hatred" against Muslims.
As expected, Muslim organizations in Holland have been quick to criticize the proposals. The Moroccan-Dutch organization Samenwerkingsverband van Marokkaanse Nederlanders, which advises the government on integration matters, argues that Muslim immigrants need extra support to find a job. The umbrella Muslim group Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid says that although it agrees that immigrants should be better integrated into Dutch society, it is opposed to a ban on burqas.
But polls show that a majority of Dutch voters support the government's skepticism about multiculturalism. According to a Maurice de Hond poll published by the center-right newspaper Trouw on June 19, 74 percent of Dutch voters say immigrants should conform to Dutch values. Moreover, 83 percent of those polled support a ban on burqas in public spaces.
The proper integration of the more than one million Muslims now living in Holland has been a major political issue ever since 2002, when Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated for his views on Muslim immigration, and since 2004, when Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death for producing a movie that criticized Islam.
Muslim immigration to the Netherlands can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, when a blue collar labor shortage prompted the Dutch government to conclude recruitment agreements with countries like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. In the 1980s and 1990s, Muslims also arrived in the Netherlands as asylum seekers and refugees, mainly from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia.
There are now an estimated 1.2 million Muslims in the Netherlands, which is equivalent to about 6 percent of the country's overall population. Moroccans and Turks comprise nearly two-thirds of all Muslims in the Netherlands. Most Muslims live in the four major cities of the country: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
As their numbers grow, Muslim immigrants have become increasingly more assertive in carving out a role for Islam within Dutch society. For example, a documentary aired by the television program Netwerk in June 2009 reported that Dutch law was being systematically undermined by the growth of Sharia justice in the Netherlands.
In December 2004, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior published a 60-page report titled From Dawa to Jihad. Prepared by the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD, the report says that the Netherlands is home to up to 50,000 radical Muslims whose key ideological aim is to target the Western way of life and to confront Western political, economic, and cultural domination.
The report concludes that Dutch society is poorly equipped to resist the threat of radical Islam because of "a culture of permissiveness" that has become synonymous with "closing one's eyes" to multiple transgressions of the law.
As for Interior Minister Donner, he has undergone a late-in-life conversion on the issue of Muslim immigration. In September 2006, while serving as justice minister, Donner provoked an outcry after saying that he welcomed the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in the Netherlands if the majority wants it. He also said Holland should give Muslims more freedoms to behave according to their traditions.
After applauding Queen Beatrix for respecting Islam by not insisting that a Muslim leader shake hands with her during a visit to the Mobarak Mosque in The Hague, Donner said: "A tone that I do not like has crept into the political debate on integration. A tone of: 'Thou shalt assimilate. Thou shalt adopt our values in public. Be reasonable, do it our way.' That is not my approach."
Fast forward to 2011 and Donner now says his government "will distance itself from the relativism contained in the model of a multicultural society." Although society changes, he says, it must not be "interchangeable with any other form of society."
The Netherlands to Abandon Multiculturalism
The Dutch government says it will abandon the long-standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society within the Netherlands.
A new integration bill (covering letter and 15-page action plan), which Dutch Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner presented to parliament on June 16, reads: "The government shares the social dissatisfaction over the multicultural society model and plans to shift priority to the values of the Dutch people. In the new integration system, the values of the Dutch society play a central role. With this change, the government steps away from the model of a multicultural society."
The letter continues: "A more obligatory integration is justified because the government also demands that from its own citizens. It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands. The integration will not be tailored to different groups."
The new integration policy will place more demands on immigrants. For example, immigrants will be required to learn the Dutch language, and the government will take a tougher approach to immigrants to ignore Dutch values or disobey Dutch law.
The government will also stop offering special subsidies for Muslim immigrants because, according to Donner, "it is not the government's job to integrate immigrants." The government will introduce new legislation that outlaws forced marriages and will also impose tougher measures against Muslim immigrants who lower their chances of employment by the way they dress. More specifically, the government will impose a ban on face-covering Islamic burqas as of January 1, 2013.
If necessary, the government will introduce extra measures to allow the removal of residence permits from immigrants who fail their integration course.
The measures are being imposed by the new center-right government of Conservatives (VVD) and Christian Democrats (CDA), with parliamentary support from the anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV), whose leader, Geert Wilders, is currently on trial in Amsterdam for "inciting hatred" against Muslims.
As expected, Muslim organizations in Holland have been quick to criticize the proposals. The Moroccan-Dutch organization Samenwerkingsverband van Marokkaanse Nederlanders, which advises the government on integration matters, argues that Muslim immigrants need extra support to find a job. The umbrella Muslim group Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid says that although it agrees that immigrants should be better integrated into Dutch society, it is opposed to a ban on burqas.
But polls show that a majority of Dutch voters support the government's skepticism about multiculturalism. According to a Maurice de Hond poll published by the center-right newspaper Trouw on June 19, 74 percent of Dutch voters say immigrants should conform to Dutch values. Moreover, 83 percent of those polled support a ban on burqas in public spaces.
The proper integration of the more than one million Muslims now living in Holland has been a major political issue ever since 2002, when Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated for his views on Muslim immigration, and since 2004, when Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death for producing a movie that criticized Islam.
Muslim immigration to the Netherlands can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, when a blue collar labor shortage prompted the Dutch government to conclude recruitment agreements with countries like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. In the 1980s and 1990s, Muslims also arrived in the Netherlands as asylum seekers and refugees, mainly from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia.
There are now an estimated 1.2 million Muslims in the Netherlands, which is equivalent to about 6 percent of the country's overall population. Moroccans and Turks comprise nearly two-thirds of all Muslims in the Netherlands. Most Muslims live in the four major cities of the country: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
As their numbers grow, Muslim immigrants have become increasingly more assertive in carving out a role for Islam within Dutch society. For example, a documentary aired by the television program Netwerk in June 2009 reported that Dutch law was being systematically undermined by the growth of Sharia justice in the Netherlands.
In December 2004, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior published a 60-page report titled From Dawa to Jihad. Prepared by the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD, the report says that the Netherlands is home to up to 50,000 radical Muslims whose key ideological aim is to target the Western way of life and to confront Western political, economic, and cultural domination.
The report concludes that Dutch society is poorly equipped to resist the threat of radical Islam because of "a culture of permissiveness" that has become synonymous with "closing one's eyes" to multiple transgressions of the law.
As for Interior Minister Donner, he has undergone a late-in-life conversion on the issue of Muslim immigration. In September 2006, while serving as justice minister, Donner provoked an outcry after saying that he welcomed the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in the Netherlands if the majority wants it. He also said Holland should give Muslims more freedoms to behave according to their traditions.
After applauding Queen Beatrix for respecting Islam by not insisting that a Muslim leader shake hands with her during a visit to the Mobarak Mosque in The Hague, Donner said: "A tone that I do not like has crept into the political debate on integration. A tone of: 'Thou shalt assimilate. Thou shalt adopt our values in public. Be reasonable, do it our way.' That is not my approach."
Fast forward to 2011 and Donner now says his government "will distance itself from the relativism contained in the model of a multicultural society." Although society changes, he says, it must not be "interchangeable with any other form of society."
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
TODAY IS THE MEMORIAL OF THOMAS MORE...
Sir Thomas More’s Psalm on Detachment (Written while imprisoned in the Tower of London, 1534)
Give me thy grace, good Lord:
To set the world at nought;
To set my mind fast upon thee,
And not to hang upon the blast of men’s mouths;
To be content to be solitary,
Not to long for worldly company;
Little and little utterly to cast off the world,
And rid my mind of all the business thereof;
Not to long to hear of any worldly things,
But that the hearing of worldly phantasies may be to me displeasant;
Gladly to be thinking of God,
Piteously to call for his help;
To lean unto the comfort of God,
Busily to labor to love him;
To know mine own vility and wretchedness,
To humble and meeken myself under the mighty hand of God;
To bewail my sins passed,
For the purging of them patiently to suffer adversity;
Gladly to bear my purgatory here,
To be joyful of tribulations;
To walk the narrow way that leadeth to life,
To bear the cross with Christ;
To have the last thing in remembrance,
To have ever afore mine eye my death that is ever at hand;
To make death no stranger to me,
To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of hell;
To pray for pardon before the judge come,
To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me;
For his benefits uncessantly to give him thanks,
To buy the time again that I before have lost;
To abstain from vain confabulations,
To eschew light foolish mirth and gladness;
Recreations not necessary — to cut off;
Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss
at right nought for the winning of Christ;
To think my most enemies my best friends,
For the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good
with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred.
These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasure
of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it
gathered and laid together all upon one heap .
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
See-through plane by 2050?
PARIS - A see-through plane that gives passengers a "panoramic" view of the earth and sky may sound far-fetched, but it's a vision for air travel in 2050 being touted by Airbus.
The aircraft manufacturer unveiled the futuristic plan this week ahead of the Paris airshow.
In addition to walls that can become transparent, the so-called "concept cabin" includes vitamin and antioxidant-enriched air, aromatherapy and morphing seats that change with the passenger's body shape.
In a release, Airbus says the passengers of 2050 will "recharge in a vitalizing seat whilst watching the planet spread out beneath their feet."
The cabin, still in the concept stage, would also allow travellers to play a virtual game of golf or join an interactive conference.
"There are no limits to the kinds of social scenarios in the centre zone of the concept cabin — the 'interactive zone,' " the company says.
"The virtual pop-up projections in this area can transform you to whichever social scene you want to be in, from holographic gaming to virtual changing rooms for active shoppers."
The cabin, Airbus adds, will also have mood lighting.
Details of the concept cabin follow an Airbus announcement last fall about the concept plane it would be housed in. The aircraft, the company said, would feature environmental benefits, including reduced fuel consumption, emissions, and noise.
The aircraft's structure "mimics the efficiency of bird bone," and features an "intelligent cabin wall membrane which controls air temperature and can become transparent," it said.
For more details visit www.thefuturebyairbus.com.
PARIS - A see-through plane that gives passengers a "panoramic" view of the earth and sky may sound far-fetched, but it's a vision for air travel in 2050 being touted by Airbus.
The aircraft manufacturer unveiled the futuristic plan this week ahead of the Paris airshow.
In addition to walls that can become transparent, the so-called "concept cabin" includes vitamin and antioxidant-enriched air, aromatherapy and morphing seats that change with the passenger's body shape.
In a release, Airbus says the passengers of 2050 will "recharge in a vitalizing seat whilst watching the planet spread out beneath their feet."
The cabin, still in the concept stage, would also allow travellers to play a virtual game of golf or join an interactive conference.
"There are no limits to the kinds of social scenarios in the centre zone of the concept cabin — the 'interactive zone,' " the company says.
"The virtual pop-up projections in this area can transform you to whichever social scene you want to be in, from holographic gaming to virtual changing rooms for active shoppers."
The cabin, Airbus adds, will also have mood lighting.
Details of the concept cabin follow an Airbus announcement last fall about the concept plane it would be housed in. The aircraft, the company said, would feature environmental benefits, including reduced fuel consumption, emissions, and noise.
The aircraft's structure "mimics the efficiency of bird bone," and features an "intelligent cabin wall membrane which controls air temperature and can become transparent," it said.
For more details visit www.thefuturebyairbus.com.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Expert: homosexuality clearly a factor in new priest abuse data
NEW YORK, May 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A leading authority on the clerical sex abuse crisis has criticized those who conclude that new data has ruled out homosexuality as a significant cause in the scandal - even though the vast majority of priest abuse was perpetrated against adolescent males.
Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a top psychiatrist and expert in handling sexually abusive priests, says criminologists “crossed a line” by pronouncing on the psychological causes behind the data released May 18.
“Analysis of the research demonstrates clearly that the major cause of the crisis was the homosexual abuse of males,” said Fitzgibbons in an interview with the Catholic News Agency. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/critics-say-new-study-misses-real-reasons-for-priest-abuse-crisis/
The new study, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and commissioned by the U.S. Bishops, shows that nearly 80 percent of victims were post-pubescent and adolescent males. However, the study concludes that available data “do not support the hypothesis that priests with a homosexual identity ... are significantly more likely to sexually abuse.”
The report marks the third such effort by U.S. Bishops to address the causes and manifestations of the clerical sex abuse scandal since it first erupted publicly in 2002.
The data also shows that less than 5 percent of abuse involved prepubescent children, contravening rumor that the scandal largely manifested as acts of pedophilia. But homosexuality, according to Fitzgibbons, was clearly the primary sexual aberration driving the bulk of abuse.
“One can conclude that these priests have strong same-sex attraction,” said Fitzgibbons. “When an adult is involved with homosexual behavior with an adolescent male, he clearly has a major problem in the area of homosexuality.”
The psychologist said that, while the college has done good work collecting data, criminologists “lack the professional expertise to comment on causes of sexual abuse.”
“If the (U.S. bishops) conference wanted an analysis of the causes of complex sexual behavior with adolescents, don’t turn to criminologists,” said Fitzgibbons. “They are not trained to understand those causes - that training is given to mental health professionals.”
NEW YORK, May 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A leading authority on the clerical sex abuse crisis has criticized those who conclude that new data has ruled out homosexuality as a significant cause in the scandal - even though the vast majority of priest abuse was perpetrated against adolescent males.
Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a top psychiatrist and expert in handling sexually abusive priests, says criminologists “crossed a line” by pronouncing on the psychological causes behind the data released May 18.
“Analysis of the research demonstrates clearly that the major cause of the crisis was the homosexual abuse of males,” said Fitzgibbons in an interview with the Catholic News Agency. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/critics-say-new-study-misses-real-reasons-for-priest-abuse-crisis/
The new study, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and commissioned by the U.S. Bishops, shows that nearly 80 percent of victims were post-pubescent and adolescent males. However, the study concludes that available data “do not support the hypothesis that priests with a homosexual identity ... are significantly more likely to sexually abuse.”
The report marks the third such effort by U.S. Bishops to address the causes and manifestations of the clerical sex abuse scandal since it first erupted publicly in 2002.
The data also shows that less than 5 percent of abuse involved prepubescent children, contravening rumor that the scandal largely manifested as acts of pedophilia. But homosexuality, according to Fitzgibbons, was clearly the primary sexual aberration driving the bulk of abuse.
“One can conclude that these priests have strong same-sex attraction,” said Fitzgibbons. “When an adult is involved with homosexual behavior with an adolescent male, he clearly has a major problem in the area of homosexuality.”
The psychologist said that, while the college has done good work collecting data, criminologists “lack the professional expertise to comment on causes of sexual abuse.”
“If the (U.S. bishops) conference wanted an analysis of the causes of complex sexual behavior with adolescents, don’t turn to criminologists,” said Fitzgibbons. “They are not trained to understand those causes - that training is given to mental health professionals.”
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Scholar: China Notices Link Between Christianity, U.S. Economic Success
The officially atheist Chinese government is surprisingly open to Christianity, at least partially, because it sees a link between the faith and economic success, said a sought after scholar who has relations with governments in Asia.
But while the Chinese government is open to Christianity, it also “wants to control Christianity.” Those in authority are very much aware of the Church’s role in bringing down the Berlin Wall and advancing democracy in the Soviet bloc.
“They view Christianity as a belief system that if not controlled will potentially overthrow the government,” said Jeynes during his lecture titled, “God, China & Capitalism: Is Christianity in China the Key Ingredient for Economic Success?” “But on the other [hand], they see that if you try to oppress Christians that it could lead to this explosion as it did in Eastern Europe and [they could] lose control that way.
“So they want Christianity for the benefits but they want to control it, and that is the balance they are currently trying to achieve.”
The scholar, who has multiple degrees in different disciplines and graduated first in his class at Harvard University, recalled an incident that confirms that China believes Christianity is responsible for the economic prosperity in the U.S. At a Harvard Business Conference years ago, Jeynes recalled top Chinese CEOs one after another asking Harvard scholars not about their talking points but about the relationship between Christianity and economic prosperity in the United States.
The Harvard scholars, Jeynes noted, were baffled and did not know how to respond.
China, however, is not the first to make a connection between the Christian faith and economic prosperity. German sociologist and political economist Max Weber wrote the book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in which he argued that ascetic Protestantism was a major reason behind the rise of capitalism and the economic success of the Western world.
Weber observed that Christianity produces good work ethic and subsequently economic prosperity because it instills a sense of calling and people are more determined and more passionate about their work. The German economist also contended that Christianity promotes honesty, which is necessary to build trust that is essential in economic transactions; encourages people to be their best and be concerned about their neighbors’ standard of living; and discourages materialism.
Other world religions do not promote economic prosperity like Christianity, contended Weber.
Hinduism believes Hindus are born and not made so there is a large degree of passivity in the religion, Weber observed. Also, the Hindu caste system is not conducive to instilling a work ethic where people push themselves harder with the hope that they can rise above their current situation.
In Buddhism, which shares many similarities with Hinduism, followers are taught the importance of respect and deference to the point that they support the status quo instead of change. Buddhism also defines “desire” as fundamentally wrong, whereas in Christianity there is a distinction between the desire to glorify God and love people versus selfish and evil desires.
Meanwhile, Confucianism, dominant in East Asia, leaves less room for social mobility than Christianity because it emphasizes hierarchy. It also is more supportive of dominating forms of government than Christianity, Weber noted.
And with Islam, the hierarchical value is even more emphasized than in Confucianism. Islam emphasizes compliance rather than freedom of grace that Jesus brings. Christianity’s teaching of God’s love encourages followers to help raise the living standards of others, the economist also observed.
As Weber, other scholars, and now the Chinese government observe, where Christianity is dominant there is economic prosperity.
American Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Lapin, who is a political commentator, noted that 90 percent of scientific discoveries over the last 1,000 years were in nations where Christianity was dominant.
Many in the Chinese government, said Jeynes, believe that Christianity might be China’s best hope to establish morality as well as economic prosperity. Immorality is so “out-of-control” in China that a Chinese leader confided to him that if one were to randomly call someone from the Beijing phone book and offer the person $2,500 to come to a hotel room for sexual relations, then one out of three strangers would agree.
The Chinese believe that if the level of immorality that exists today, sexual immorality especially, persists, then the economic strength of the country cannot continue,” said Jeynes. “So they very quickly want to teach morality, especially to the young before their economy might indeed collapse.
“It is not that they embrace Christianity with the most pure motive,” Jeynes noted. “A lot of their motive is it is good for our country, the morality of the country, and if we want economic prosperity to continue we need to have a more invitational approach to those who are Christian.”
There are an estimated 100 million Christians in China, about 75 million of whom are in the “underground” church, said Jeynes, and the number of believers is growing by six to seven million a year.
The professor of education at California State University in Long Beach also spent time talking about arrests and persecution of house church Christians in China. He ascribed the crackdown to China being nervous about Christianity and its potential threat to the government’s power.
Christians in China are divided into two groups: those in the independent house church and those in the government-approved registered church. Jeynes revealed that the key difference between the two is whether the Gospel can be shared with minors, those under 18. Christians in registered churches are not allowed to share the Gospel with minors.
Jeynes concluded by saying that the key message he wants to convey is that China is both open to Christianity and nervous about the religion because of the potential problems it could bring to the communist government.
The officially atheist Chinese government is surprisingly open to Christianity, at least partially, because it sees a link between the faith and economic success, said a sought after scholar who has relations with governments in Asia.
But while the Chinese government is open to Christianity, it also “wants to control Christianity.” Those in authority are very much aware of the Church’s role in bringing down the Berlin Wall and advancing democracy in the Soviet bloc.
“They view Christianity as a belief system that if not controlled will potentially overthrow the government,” said Jeynes during his lecture titled, “God, China & Capitalism: Is Christianity in China the Key Ingredient for Economic Success?” “But on the other [hand], they see that if you try to oppress Christians that it could lead to this explosion as it did in Eastern Europe and [they could] lose control that way.
“So they want Christianity for the benefits but they want to control it, and that is the balance they are currently trying to achieve.”
The scholar, who has multiple degrees in different disciplines and graduated first in his class at Harvard University, recalled an incident that confirms that China believes Christianity is responsible for the economic prosperity in the U.S. At a Harvard Business Conference years ago, Jeynes recalled top Chinese CEOs one after another asking Harvard scholars not about their talking points but about the relationship between Christianity and economic prosperity in the United States.
The Harvard scholars, Jeynes noted, were baffled and did not know how to respond.
China, however, is not the first to make a connection between the Christian faith and economic prosperity. German sociologist and political economist Max Weber wrote the book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in which he argued that ascetic Protestantism was a major reason behind the rise of capitalism and the economic success of the Western world.
Weber observed that Christianity produces good work ethic and subsequently economic prosperity because it instills a sense of calling and people are more determined and more passionate about their work. The German economist also contended that Christianity promotes honesty, which is necessary to build trust that is essential in economic transactions; encourages people to be their best and be concerned about their neighbors’ standard of living; and discourages materialism.
Other world religions do not promote economic prosperity like Christianity, contended Weber.
Hinduism believes Hindus are born and not made so there is a large degree of passivity in the religion, Weber observed. Also, the Hindu caste system is not conducive to instilling a work ethic where people push themselves harder with the hope that they can rise above their current situation.
In Buddhism, which shares many similarities with Hinduism, followers are taught the importance of respect and deference to the point that they support the status quo instead of change. Buddhism also defines “desire” as fundamentally wrong, whereas in Christianity there is a distinction between the desire to glorify God and love people versus selfish and evil desires.
Meanwhile, Confucianism, dominant in East Asia, leaves less room for social mobility than Christianity because it emphasizes hierarchy. It also is more supportive of dominating forms of government than Christianity, Weber noted.
And with Islam, the hierarchical value is even more emphasized than in Confucianism. Islam emphasizes compliance rather than freedom of grace that Jesus brings. Christianity’s teaching of God’s love encourages followers to help raise the living standards of others, the economist also observed.
As Weber, other scholars, and now the Chinese government observe, where Christianity is dominant there is economic prosperity.
American Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Lapin, who is a political commentator, noted that 90 percent of scientific discoveries over the last 1,000 years were in nations where Christianity was dominant.
Many in the Chinese government, said Jeynes, believe that Christianity might be China’s best hope to establish morality as well as economic prosperity. Immorality is so “out-of-control” in China that a Chinese leader confided to him that if one were to randomly call someone from the Beijing phone book and offer the person $2,500 to come to a hotel room for sexual relations, then one out of three strangers would agree.
The Chinese believe that if the level of immorality that exists today, sexual immorality especially, persists, then the economic strength of the country cannot continue,” said Jeynes. “So they very quickly want to teach morality, especially to the young before their economy might indeed collapse.
“It is not that they embrace Christianity with the most pure motive,” Jeynes noted. “A lot of their motive is it is good for our country, the morality of the country, and if we want economic prosperity to continue we need to have a more invitational approach to those who are Christian.”
There are an estimated 100 million Christians in China, about 75 million of whom are in the “underground” church, said Jeynes, and the number of believers is growing by six to seven million a year.
The professor of education at California State University in Long Beach also spent time talking about arrests and persecution of house church Christians in China. He ascribed the crackdown to China being nervous about Christianity and its potential threat to the government’s power.
Christians in China are divided into two groups: those in the independent house church and those in the government-approved registered church. Jeynes revealed that the key difference between the two is whether the Gospel can be shared with minors, those under 18. Christians in registered churches are not allowed to share the Gospel with minors.
Jeynes concluded by saying that the key message he wants to convey is that China is both open to Christianity and nervous about the religion because of the potential problems it could bring to the communist government.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A GOOD THING...
Fish on Friday is back: a sign that we are proud to be Catholic
Catholic bishops have not always been proud to be Catholic. They are always wary of triumphalism, always nervous of sticking out of the so-called faith community. They’re not sure they like Catholic schools that are too Catholic (hence the recent tussle over the Cardinal Vaughan school in London) or figureheads, like Ann Widdecombe, who are too conscious of their Catholic identity. Their reluctance to show off their true colours has left the Church open to attacks from secularists who hate it as antideluvian. When the recent spate of child abuse scandals rocked the image of the Church, few raised their voice to remind outsiders that there were good priests as well as bad ones, and that the Church’s charitable legacy should not be ignored because of horrible tragedies.
But now, the bishops have declared that the age of self-doubt is over. There’s no encyclical, no drum-rolling for a big announcement. But the bishops are introducing once again the traditional diet of fish on Friday. It’s a brilliant move, calculated to bind Catholics in Enlgand and Wales in an ancient observance many will remember as children. A change in diet may seem a small thing, but make no mistake about it: this is about strengthening the group’s identity, drawing a clear line distinction (even if only at meal times) between Catholics and the rest. Finally, the bishops believe Catholics are proud of their faith, and are ready to show it every week.
Fish on Friday is back: a sign that we are proud to be Catholic
Catholic bishops have not always been proud to be Catholic. They are always wary of triumphalism, always nervous of sticking out of the so-called faith community. They’re not sure they like Catholic schools that are too Catholic (hence the recent tussle over the Cardinal Vaughan school in London) or figureheads, like Ann Widdecombe, who are too conscious of their Catholic identity. Their reluctance to show off their true colours has left the Church open to attacks from secularists who hate it as antideluvian. When the recent spate of child abuse scandals rocked the image of the Church, few raised their voice to remind outsiders that there were good priests as well as bad ones, and that the Church’s charitable legacy should not be ignored because of horrible tragedies.
But now, the bishops have declared that the age of self-doubt is over. There’s no encyclical, no drum-rolling for a big announcement. But the bishops are introducing once again the traditional diet of fish on Friday. It’s a brilliant move, calculated to bind Catholics in Enlgand and Wales in an ancient observance many will remember as children. A change in diet may seem a small thing, but make no mistake about it: this is about strengthening the group’s identity, drawing a clear line distinction (even if only at meal times) between Catholics and the rest. Finally, the bishops believe Catholics are proud of their faith, and are ready to show it every week.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
ZENIT - Pope Encourages Re-reading "Story of a Soul"
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM GONNA DO...GET OUT MY COPY OF THERESE'S BOOK.
ZENIT - Pope Encourages Re-reading "Story of a Soul"
ZENIT - Pope Encourages Re-reading "Story of a Soul"
Friday, March 18, 2011
Weekend full moon biggest in about 20 years
If the moon looks a little bit bigger and brighter this weekend, there's a reason for that. It is.
Saturday's full moon will be a super "perigee moon" -- the biggest in almost 20 years. This celestial event is far rarer than the famed blue moon, which happens once about every two-and-a-half years.
"The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," said Geoff Chester with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. "I'd say it's worth a look."
Full moons look different because of the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit. When it's at perigee, the moon is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its orbit, also known as apogee.
Full Worm Moon – March... As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.
If the moon looks a little bit bigger and brighter this weekend, there's a reason for that. It is.
Saturday's full moon will be a super "perigee moon" -- the biggest in almost 20 years. This celestial event is far rarer than the famed blue moon, which happens once about every two-and-a-half years.
"The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," said Geoff Chester with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. "I'd say it's worth a look."
Full moons look different because of the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit. When it's at perigee, the moon is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its orbit, also known as apogee.
Full Worm Moon – March... As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
I EXHORT MY BLOG BUDS TO MAKE A DONATION TO THE JAPAN CRISIS VIA CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES...NO MATTER HOW SMALL...EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS.THEY HAVE PAYPAL ON THEIR SITE...MAKING IT EASIER TO DONATE.
THOSE VACUOUS-MINDED MUSLIMS ARE AT IT AGAIN...
Muslims ask for use of empty French churches
Catholic Culture 16 March 2011
Muslims in France have asked for the use of empty Catholic churches, saying that this would "prevent Muslims from having to pray in the streets." Father Samir Khalil Samir, a Jesuit expert on Islam, explains why the proposal is absurd.
Christian churches are consecrated: sacred places, dedicated to worship, Father Samir says. If they are now empty, it is not by design; they are intended to be filled by a Christian community. (...)
Muslims ask for use of empty French churches
Catholic Culture 16 March 2011
Muslims in France have asked for the use of empty Catholic churches, saying that this would "prevent Muslims from having to pray in the streets." Father Samir Khalil Samir, a Jesuit expert on Islam, explains why the proposal is absurd.
Christian churches are consecrated: sacred places, dedicated to worship, Father Samir says. If they are now empty, it is not by design; they are intended to be filled by a Christian community. (...)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
FROM INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE
A Litany for Japan
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,Have mercy upon us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us and for the people of Japan.
Hear our prayers, O Christ our God. Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who have died in the earthquake and tsunami striking Japan that they may be given entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of all your saints, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who grieve the death of family, friends, and fellow citizens that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit that they may be comforted, healed, and given courage and hope, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all aid workers, that they may be filled with strength, generosity, and compassion, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For the wisdom, resources, and technological skill that a nuclear disaster might be averted, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For eyes to see that you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and linked our lives one to another that we may never forget our common life depends on each other’s toil and that we will always work for the common good, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Litany for Japan
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,Have mercy upon us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us and for the people of Japan.
Hear our prayers, O Christ our God. Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who have died in the earthquake and tsunami striking Japan that they may be given entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of all your saints, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who grieve the death of family, friends, and fellow citizens that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit that they may be comforted, healed, and given courage and hope, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For all aid workers, that they may be filled with strength, generosity, and compassion, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For the wisdom, resources, and technological skill that a nuclear disaster might be averted, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
For eyes to see that you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and linked our lives one to another that we may never forget our common life depends on each other’s toil and that we will always work for the common good, Arise, O Christ, and help us.
Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Celebrate Pi Day!
The Ides of March are coming tomorrow, but today is Pi Day! The Greek letter π is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle, equivalent to 3.1415926535...
We can't let the mathematicians have all the fun. Classicists love the number π because it's also a Greek consonant letter!
Pi day is celebrated every March 14, the fourteenth day of the third month, or 3/14.
To find out more about Pi Day, visit the Official Pi Day website, where you can find out all about the history of pi, discuss the number pi, send an e-card, buy pi stuff, get ideas for your own pi party, and much more! There are also some great lesson ideas at the Teach Pi website.
A lesser known, and less-often celebrated mathematical holiday is Square Root Day.
The Ides of March are coming tomorrow, but today is Pi Day! The Greek letter π is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle, equivalent to 3.1415926535...
We can't let the mathematicians have all the fun. Classicists love the number π because it's also a Greek consonant letter!
Pi day is celebrated every March 14, the fourteenth day of the third month, or 3/14.
To find out more about Pi Day, visit the Official Pi Day website, where you can find out all about the history of pi, discuss the number pi, send an e-card, buy pi stuff, get ideas for your own pi party, and much more! There are also some great lesson ideas at the Teach Pi website.
A lesser known, and less-often celebrated mathematical holiday is Square Root Day.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Feeling unappreciated?Things got ya down? Well then, consider these...
In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 a.m., regardless of their medical condition This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 A.M. Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 A.M. all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.. Just when the clock struck 11:00, Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
Still having a bad day???
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a Bad Day???
A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his iPod.
Are ya OK now? - No?
Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn, Germany. Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly, trampling to death the two helpless protesters.
What?!? STILL having a Bad Day???
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet did not pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits. God is Good!
There now, feeling better?
In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 a.m., regardless of their medical condition This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 A.M. Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 A.M. all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.. Just when the clock struck 11:00, Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
Still having a bad day???
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a Bad Day???
A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his iPod.
Are ya OK now? - No?
Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn, Germany. Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly, trampling to death the two helpless protesters.
What?!? STILL having a Bad Day???
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet did not pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits. God is Good!
There now, feeling better?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Number of baptized Catholics in the world grows by 15 million :: EWTN News
Number of baptized Catholics in the world grows by 15 million :: EWTN News
Former Planned Parenthood director, now pro-life, to become Catholic
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- A woman who walked away from her job as a Planned Parenthood clinic director after helping with an ultrasound-guided abortion is preparing to enter the Catholic Church. Abby Johnson, 30, who has been speaking at pro-life events around the country, will become a Catholic, along with her husband, Doug, in her native Texas within the next few months. The couple has a 4-year-old daughter. "When we went to the Catholic Church for the first time, we knew that was where we were supposed to be and we have been there ever since," said Johnson, who said she particularly loves the church's reverence for Mary as the mother of God. "The more we started learning about the beliefs of the church and the Eucharist and everything, it seemed like this was what had been missing our whole lives." After eight years as a Planned Parenthood volunteer and employee, Johnson walked away from her job as director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan/College Station, Texas, Oct. 6, 2009, during a prayer vigil by 40 Days for Life. Johnson, who had one abortion at age 20 and another at 23, first began working as a clinic escort while a student at Texas A&M University. Assisting with an ultrasound during an abortion in September 2009 turned her into a pro-life advocate. She describes the experience in her book "Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of the Planned Parenthood Leader Who Crossed the Life Line to Fight for Women in Crisis," written with Cindy Lambert (Ignatius Press, 2011).
Former Planned Parenthood director, now pro-life, to become Catholic
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- A woman who walked away from her job as a Planned Parenthood clinic director after helping with an ultrasound-guided abortion is preparing to enter the Catholic Church. Abby Johnson, 30, who has been speaking at pro-life events around the country, will become a Catholic, along with her husband, Doug, in her native Texas within the next few months. The couple has a 4-year-old daughter. "When we went to the Catholic Church for the first time, we knew that was where we were supposed to be and we have been there ever since," said Johnson, who said she particularly loves the church's reverence for Mary as the mother of God. "The more we started learning about the beliefs of the church and the Eucharist and everything, it seemed like this was what had been missing our whole lives." After eight years as a Planned Parenthood volunteer and employee, Johnson walked away from her job as director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan/College Station, Texas, Oct. 6, 2009, during a prayer vigil by 40 Days for Life. Johnson, who had one abortion at age 20 and another at 23, first began working as a clinic escort while a student at Texas A&M University. Assisting with an ultrasound during an abortion in September 2009 turned her into a pro-life advocate. She describes the experience in her book "Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of the Planned Parenthood Leader Who Crossed the Life Line to Fight for Women in Crisis," written with Cindy Lambert (Ignatius Press, 2011).
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
This is the oldest known footage of a Pope in existence. This film of Pope Leo XIII was created in 1896. The audio portion is the oldest known audio recording of Pope, also of Pope Leo XIII recorded in 1903. The audio is Pope Leo XIII chanting the Ave Maria in Latin.
Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903), born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903 in succession to Pope Pius IX. Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind his immediate predecessor Pius IX and John Paul II. He is known for intellectualism, the development of social teachings with his encyclical Rerum Novarum and his attempts to define the position of the Church with regard to modern thinking.
Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903), born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903 in succession to Pope Pius IX. Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind his immediate predecessor Pius IX and John Paul II. He is known for intellectualism, the development of social teachings with his encyclical Rerum Novarum and his attempts to define the position of the Church with regard to modern thinking.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. -Voltaire, philosopher and writer (1694-1778)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
WANNA SEE A COYOTE IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO...
Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day he’ll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter, and if he doesn’t, it means spring’s around the corner.
The origins of the tradition aren’t clear, but it’s likely related to the fact that Groundhog Day falls midway between the start of winter and the beginning of spring.
Last year, several of the furry forecasters predicted six more weeks of winter.
WE HAVE 2 RESIDENT PROGNOSTICATORS IN THE PROVINCE...SHUBENACADIE SAM ON THE MAINLAND AND TWO RIVERS TUNNEL ON THE ISLAND.NEITHER ONE SAW THEIR SHADOW...SPRING IS IN THE AIR...DEO VOLENTE.
Two Rivers Tunnel predicts early spring
At 11:22 a.m. Two Rivers Tunnel, the resident groundhog at Two Rivers Wildlife Park, emerged from his den and didn’t see his shadow, meaning Cape Breton is in for an early spring.
The annual weather prediction was made Wednesday at Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Huntington.
As part of the groundhog day festivities, the park is also hosting sleigh/wagon rides until 2 p.m.
Severe weather for groundhog day; but Shubenacadie Sam says spring on the way
The first of North America’s furry forecasters to pop out of his burrow this Groundhog Day did not see his shadow, a harbinger of an early spring.
“I like to think of Sam as a bold predictor,” said Theresa Adams, a nature interpreter at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park. “He’s going against the grain.”
Sam emerged into a special enclosure to the sound of bagpipes and the shouts of school children who had come to watch the event.
“Sam, like usual, came out and greeted the crowd although he did seem a little sleepy.”
Ontario’s Wiarton Willie, Alberta’s Balzac Billy and Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil followed Sam and Tunnel's prognostications.
Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day he’ll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter, and if he doesn’t, it means spring’s around the corner.
The origins of the tradition aren’t clear, but it’s likely related to the fact that Groundhog Day falls midway between the start of winter and the beginning of spring.
Last year, several of the furry forecasters predicted six more weeks of winter.
WE HAVE 2 RESIDENT PROGNOSTICATORS IN THE PROVINCE...SHUBENACADIE SAM ON THE MAINLAND AND TWO RIVERS TUNNEL ON THE ISLAND.NEITHER ONE SAW THEIR SHADOW...SPRING IS IN THE AIR...DEO VOLENTE.
Two Rivers Tunnel predicts early spring
At 11:22 a.m. Two Rivers Tunnel, the resident groundhog at Two Rivers Wildlife Park, emerged from his den and didn’t see his shadow, meaning Cape Breton is in for an early spring.
The annual weather prediction was made Wednesday at Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Huntington.
As part of the groundhog day festivities, the park is also hosting sleigh/wagon rides until 2 p.m.
Severe weather for groundhog day; but Shubenacadie Sam says spring on the way
The first of North America’s furry forecasters to pop out of his burrow this Groundhog Day did not see his shadow, a harbinger of an early spring.
“I like to think of Sam as a bold predictor,” said Theresa Adams, a nature interpreter at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park. “He’s going against the grain.”
Sam emerged into a special enclosure to the sound of bagpipes and the shouts of school children who had come to watch the event.
“Sam, like usual, came out and greeted the crowd although he did seem a little sleepy.”
Ontario’s Wiarton Willie, Alberta’s Balzac Billy and Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil followed Sam and Tunnel's prognostications.
Friday, January 28, 2011
SCENES OF OUR HORSE FARM...
O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Percy Bysshe Shelley
One of my favourite poems...
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
ROBERT FROST
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Simple morality dictates that unless and until someone can prove the unborn human is not alive, we must give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it is (alive). And, thus, it should be entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. –Ronald Reagan
‘The human race has nothing to boast about to God’
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
"As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' And I answered, `Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, `I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' Acts 22:6-8
Monday, January 24, 2011
Hundreds of thousands assemble against abortion in DC :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
THE MASS FOR LIFE AT THE WASHINGTON CATHEDRAL ON THE EVE BEFORE WAS UPLIFTING.
Hundreds of thousands assemble against abortion in DC :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Hundreds of thousands assemble against abortion in DC :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
It's Grand Children week! If you have beautiful Grand Children who you love more than you can describe, copy and post this to your blog. They will hold your hand only for a little while, but will hold your heart for a lifetime. Post this if you have the most beautiful GRAND CHILDREN in the world!!!............MATTHEW AND LAUREL...TE AMO.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Rome scrambles to prepare for 2 million pilgrims for John Paul's beatification at Easter time
VATICAN CITY — Crowd control experts were rushing to ready Rome for an estimated 2 million pilgrims for Pope John Paul II's beatification on May 1, when the city will be thronged with Easter week tourists.
No tickets or invitations will be necessary — as many faithful who want to be there to see the Polish-born pontiff beatified, the last formal step before possible sainthood, can come, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said Saturday.
"We don't give estimates" of the size of the crowds who will come, Benedettini. But Italian news reports say authorities in Rome were planning for 2 million pilgrims.
With St. Peter's Square and the boulevard leading from the Tiber to the Vatican able to hold a few hundred thousand people, large video screens are expected to be set up in nearby streets so the spillover crowd can watch the ceremony led by Pope Benedict XVI.
The last turnout so big in Rome was the 3 million mourners for John Paul's funeral and other ceremonies following his death in April 2005 after he struggled for years with Parkinson's disease.
Even the more popular ceremonies in his papacy didn't come near to drawing so many faithful. When an ailing John Paul beatified Mother Teresa in 2003 in St. Peter's Square, 300,000 pilgrims attended. Padre Pio's sainthood ceremony, led by John Paul in June 2002, saw about 200,000 faithful swelter the square in one of the larger turnouts in his 26-year-long papacy.
In 2000, about 700,000 young Catholics streamed into Rome for church World Youth Day events stretched out over several days at locations throughout the city as well as at the Vatican.
La Stampa, an Italian daily, said the national civil protection agency personnel hope to rein in any chaos by meeting pilgrims' buses and channeling the faithful down selected streets to the square.
Easter falls on April 24, meaning Rome's hotels will be brimming with Easter week tourists, when many students are on school break and families pour into Italy, so organizers might look to Romans to open their homes to pilgrims.
May 1 is also national labour day, and traditional May Day concerts near St. John in Lateran Basilica usually draw hundreds of thousands of young people from throughout Italy to enjoy the free music.
On Friday, Benedict set the date for beatification after declaring that a French nun's recovery from Parkinson's disease was the miracle needed for John Paul to be beatified. A second miracle, attributed to John Paul's intercession after the beatification ceremony, will be needed for the widely popular pontiff to be honoured with sainthood.
Once he is beatified, John Paul will be given the title "blessed" and can be publicly venerated.
Veneration is the word commonly used to refer to that worship given to saints, either directly or through images or relics, which is different in kind from the divine worship given to God only, according to reference work, the Catholic Encyclopaedic Dictionary.
John Paul's entombed remains, currently in the grotto underneath St. Peter's Basilica, will be moved upstairs to a chapel just inside a main entrance for easier access by throngs of admirers.
VATICAN CITY — Crowd control experts were rushing to ready Rome for an estimated 2 million pilgrims for Pope John Paul II's beatification on May 1, when the city will be thronged with Easter week tourists.
No tickets or invitations will be necessary — as many faithful who want to be there to see the Polish-born pontiff beatified, the last formal step before possible sainthood, can come, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said Saturday.
"We don't give estimates" of the size of the crowds who will come, Benedettini. But Italian news reports say authorities in Rome were planning for 2 million pilgrims.
With St. Peter's Square and the boulevard leading from the Tiber to the Vatican able to hold a few hundred thousand people, large video screens are expected to be set up in nearby streets so the spillover crowd can watch the ceremony led by Pope Benedict XVI.
The last turnout so big in Rome was the 3 million mourners for John Paul's funeral and other ceremonies following his death in April 2005 after he struggled for years with Parkinson's disease.
Even the more popular ceremonies in his papacy didn't come near to drawing so many faithful. When an ailing John Paul beatified Mother Teresa in 2003 in St. Peter's Square, 300,000 pilgrims attended. Padre Pio's sainthood ceremony, led by John Paul in June 2002, saw about 200,000 faithful swelter the square in one of the larger turnouts in his 26-year-long papacy.
In 2000, about 700,000 young Catholics streamed into Rome for church World Youth Day events stretched out over several days at locations throughout the city as well as at the Vatican.
La Stampa, an Italian daily, said the national civil protection agency personnel hope to rein in any chaos by meeting pilgrims' buses and channeling the faithful down selected streets to the square.
Easter falls on April 24, meaning Rome's hotels will be brimming with Easter week tourists, when many students are on school break and families pour into Italy, so organizers might look to Romans to open their homes to pilgrims.
May 1 is also national labour day, and traditional May Day concerts near St. John in Lateran Basilica usually draw hundreds of thousands of young people from throughout Italy to enjoy the free music.
On Friday, Benedict set the date for beatification after declaring that a French nun's recovery from Parkinson's disease was the miracle needed for John Paul to be beatified. A second miracle, attributed to John Paul's intercession after the beatification ceremony, will be needed for the widely popular pontiff to be honoured with sainthood.
Once he is beatified, John Paul will be given the title "blessed" and can be publicly venerated.
Veneration is the word commonly used to refer to that worship given to saints, either directly or through images or relics, which is different in kind from the divine worship given to God only, according to reference work, the Catholic Encyclopaedic Dictionary.
John Paul's entombed remains, currently in the grotto underneath St. Peter's Basilica, will be moved upstairs to a chapel just inside a main entrance for easier access by throngs of admirers.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
POPE Benedict XVI has urged parents to use proper Christian names when naming their children.
The Pope was believed to be speaking out against the trend of copying obscure celebrity baby names.
Several Italian celebrities have fallen foul of religious tradition, most notably Formula One boss Flavio Briatore, whose son is called Falco, meaning Falcon.
Christian names are an “indelible sign from the Holy Spirit” that help protect family life, the Pope said.
Theologian Gianni Gennari said the Pope was “simply asking for seriousness when it comes to baptism”.
DRAMATIC FOOTAGE OF TODAY'S TSUNAMI-LIKE FLOODING IN AUSTRALIA...
The Pope was believed to be speaking out against the trend of copying obscure celebrity baby names.
Several Italian celebrities have fallen foul of religious tradition, most notably Formula One boss Flavio Briatore, whose son is called Falco, meaning Falcon.
Christian names are an “indelible sign from the Holy Spirit” that help protect family life, the Pope said.
Theologian Gianni Gennari said the Pope was “simply asking for seriousness when it comes to baptism”.
DRAMATIC FOOTAGE OF TODAY'S TSUNAMI-LIKE FLOODING IN AUSTRALIA...
Saturday, January 8, 2011
GO TO THE SAINT GENERATOR TO FIND YOUR PATRON SAINT FOR THIS YEAR.
http://jenniferfulwiler.com/saints/
MINE IS...
St. Ignatius of Antioch,Feast: October 17
Patronage: Against Throat Diseases; Church in Eastern Mediterranean; Church in North Africa
http://jenniferfulwiler.com/saints/
MINE IS...
St. Ignatius of Antioch,Feast: October 17
Patronage: Against Throat Diseases; Church in Eastern Mediterranean; Church in North Africa
Friday, January 7, 2011
FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION TIMES...
Birds and Fish are now Dying all Around the World
Something strange is happening in the world. First they (the authorities) claimed it was the cold which was killing the birds and the fish but now it’s happening all around the world, in hot places too. So it’s not the cold which is killing these animals.
It’s not pollution either, such as poisoned water or something in the air because it would have been detected by now and besides it’s happening everywhere in the world. It’s simply not possible that the entire world would suddenly turn poisonous. So what’s really happening here? No one really knows yet but everyone is speculating and creating theories of their own.
Some have even ventured to fairy tale lands into explaining that the birds died because they were terrified by fireworks which were used on January 1st 2011, but what about the fish? And why hasn’t this happened in previous years because this year is definitely not the first year in which people use fireworks.
HAARP has also been named as a cause of these mysterious mass deaths, but HARRP is based in Alaska, and could it reach and affect the entire world?
The truth is that no one really knows what’s happening and everybody is speculating. This strange world event will definitely not be ignored by us.
This is definitely not normal, not a routine event and not something that happens everyday. Some of these events have happened a few months ago while most of these events are happening right now, but never the less the listed older events still might give some clues to what could be causing this strange world event.
This mysterious apocalyptic phenomenon has happened so far in the following places:
Brazil-Mysterious killing of fish in coastal
Canada-Update 1 – 10,000s of Birds found dead in Manitoba,Update 1 – Dead Birds and Fish reported in St. Clair River, Ontario,Update 1 – Goldstream River, at Goldstream Provincial Park, Victoria mysteriously turns bright green
Chile-Thousands of Birds fall from the sky in South America
China-Eagles and Birds are falling from the sky in China
Italy-Thousands of Doves are Dying
Japan-Japan on alert after finding dead birds
New Zealand-Hundreds of snapper dead on beaches,Update 2 – Penguins, petrels and other seabirds, mass deaths
Philippines-Update 2 – Residents gather, eat dead fish floating in barangay Ibo
South Korea-Dead Teal Ducks With Bird Flu Strain Found In South Korea
South Africa-Mystery of dead birds on Cape roads
Sweden-50 birds were found dead,Hundreds of dead birds found in the middle of the road in Sweden
United Kingdom-Dead fish discovered in canal marina near Abergavenny,Update 1 – 40,000 ‘devil’ crabs found dead on the beach
Vietnam-Update 2 – Tonnes of farm fish found dead
United States of America-Arkansas,Nearly 3000 Dead Birds Fall From Arkansas Sky,First Birds Fall, Now 100000 Fish Dead in Arkansas
Florida-Thousands Of Fish Dead In Spruce Creek
Illinois-Dead Birds Reported by Residents in Southern Illinois
Kentucky-Update 1 – Dead birds found in Kentucky, Sweden, as crabs wash up on U.K. shores in latest mass animal deaths
Louisiana-Dead Birds Fall From Sky AGAIN In Louisiana, 300 Miles From Arkansas Incident Days Earlier
Maryland-2 Million fish die in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Michigan-Update 1 – Hundreds of Dead Fish Appear In Lincoln Park
North Carolina-Dead pelican count escalates in Topsail Beach,Update 1: Reward offered for information on what’s causing dead pelicans at Topsail Beach
Tennessee-Update 3 – Flock Of Birds Found Dead In Wilson County
Texas-Update 1 – Now East Texas also reports hundreds of dead birds,Update 1 – Experts in Texas are weighing in after large amounts of dead birds were reportedly found across the Country and around the World
Birds and Fish are now Dying all Around the World
Something strange is happening in the world. First they (the authorities) claimed it was the cold which was killing the birds and the fish but now it’s happening all around the world, in hot places too. So it’s not the cold which is killing these animals.
It’s not pollution either, such as poisoned water or something in the air because it would have been detected by now and besides it’s happening everywhere in the world. It’s simply not possible that the entire world would suddenly turn poisonous. So what’s really happening here? No one really knows yet but everyone is speculating and creating theories of their own.
Some have even ventured to fairy tale lands into explaining that the birds died because they were terrified by fireworks which were used on January 1st 2011, but what about the fish? And why hasn’t this happened in previous years because this year is definitely not the first year in which people use fireworks.
HAARP has also been named as a cause of these mysterious mass deaths, but HARRP is based in Alaska, and could it reach and affect the entire world?
The truth is that no one really knows what’s happening and everybody is speculating. This strange world event will definitely not be ignored by us.
This is definitely not normal, not a routine event and not something that happens everyday. Some of these events have happened a few months ago while most of these events are happening right now, but never the less the listed older events still might give some clues to what could be causing this strange world event.
This mysterious apocalyptic phenomenon has happened so far in the following places:
Brazil-Mysterious killing of fish in coastal
Canada-Update 1 – 10,000s of Birds found dead in Manitoba,Update 1 – Dead Birds and Fish reported in St. Clair River, Ontario,Update 1 – Goldstream River, at Goldstream Provincial Park, Victoria mysteriously turns bright green
Chile-Thousands of Birds fall from the sky in South America
China-Eagles and Birds are falling from the sky in China
Italy-Thousands of Doves are Dying
Japan-Japan on alert after finding dead birds
New Zealand-Hundreds of snapper dead on beaches,Update 2 – Penguins, petrels and other seabirds, mass deaths
Philippines-Update 2 – Residents gather, eat dead fish floating in barangay Ibo
South Korea-Dead Teal Ducks With Bird Flu Strain Found In South Korea
South Africa-Mystery of dead birds on Cape roads
Sweden-50 birds were found dead,Hundreds of dead birds found in the middle of the road in Sweden
United Kingdom-Dead fish discovered in canal marina near Abergavenny,Update 1 – 40,000 ‘devil’ crabs found dead on the beach
Vietnam-Update 2 – Tonnes of farm fish found dead
United States of America-Arkansas,Nearly 3000 Dead Birds Fall From Arkansas Sky,First Birds Fall, Now 100000 Fish Dead in Arkansas
Florida-Thousands Of Fish Dead In Spruce Creek
Illinois-Dead Birds Reported by Residents in Southern Illinois
Kentucky-Update 1 – Dead birds found in Kentucky, Sweden, as crabs wash up on U.K. shores in latest mass animal deaths
Louisiana-Dead Birds Fall From Sky AGAIN In Louisiana, 300 Miles From Arkansas Incident Days Earlier
Maryland-2 Million fish die in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Michigan-Update 1 – Hundreds of Dead Fish Appear In Lincoln Park
North Carolina-Dead pelican count escalates in Topsail Beach,Update 1: Reward offered for information on what’s causing dead pelicans at Topsail Beach
Tennessee-Update 3 – Flock Of Birds Found Dead In Wilson County
Texas-Update 1 – Now East Texas also reports hundreds of dead birds,Update 1 – Experts in Texas are weighing in after large amounts of dead birds were reportedly found across the Country and around the World
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
So far this Christmas, Religion of Peace devotees have bombed a
church in the Philippines, blown up 45 flood refugees waiting in line
for Western food aid, plotted to bomb a Christmas tree lighting in
Oregon and a recruitment center in Maryland, massacred 86 innocents
in attacks on Nigerian churches, planned to poison American food
buffets and implant bombs in human bodies, plotted the slaughter
of civilians in Holland, London and a newspaper office in
Denmark... and even set off the first suicide blast in Sweden,
which was intended for Christmas shoppers.
So when do we stop pretending that Islam is just another religion?
Planetary tremors shake Earth in 1st and 2nd successive waves
Posted on January 2, 2011 by The Extinction Protocol
We are now in the midst of the second wave of global tremors to strike the planet in 48 hours. The first planetary tremor of the New Year dubbed the 11:11 event occurred on January 1. The second wave registers another planetary event between 11 and 12:00 .The 2nd tremor shows the heaviest seismic disturbances under Chile (above), Brazil and Antarctica.
church in the Philippines, blown up 45 flood refugees waiting in line
for Western food aid, plotted to bomb a Christmas tree lighting in
Oregon and a recruitment center in Maryland, massacred 86 innocents
in attacks on Nigerian churches, planned to poison American food
buffets and implant bombs in human bodies, plotted the slaughter
of civilians in Holland, London and a newspaper office in
Denmark... and even set off the first suicide blast in Sweden,
which was intended for Christmas shoppers.
So when do we stop pretending that Islam is just another religion?
Planetary tremors shake Earth in 1st and 2nd successive waves
Posted on January 2, 2011 by The Extinction Protocol
We are now in the midst of the second wave of global tremors to strike the planet in 48 hours. The first planetary tremor of the New Year dubbed the 11:11 event occurred on January 1. The second wave registers another planetary event between 11 and 12:00 .The 2nd tremor shows the heaviest seismic disturbances under Chile (above), Brazil and Antarctica.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
ARE YOU HAVING A WHITE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR...METHINKS OURS WILL BE GREEN...AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY...
GREEN CHRISTMAS,FULL GRAVEYARD.
In Canada,a Christmas is considered "white", if there are 2 cm. of snow on the ground on December 25th.
In England,a Christmas is considered "white" if a single snow flake is observed falling onto the roof of the London Weather Centre in the... 24 hours of 25 December, even without a perceivable quantity of snow.
In America,a "white" Christmas has a snow depth of at least 1 inch on the ground at 7 AM on December 25th.
Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicine, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
GREEN CHRISTMAS,FULL GRAVEYARD.
In Canada,a Christmas is considered "white", if there are 2 cm. of snow on the ground on December 25th.
In England,a Christmas is considered "white" if a single snow flake is observed falling onto the roof of the London Weather Centre in the... 24 hours of 25 December, even without a perceivable quantity of snow.
In America,a "white" Christmas has a snow depth of at least 1 inch on the ground at 7 AM on December 25th.
Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicine, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
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