Jews Wake Up!

Alert Focus: A Burdensome Stone / Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." THE JERUSALEM POST - By Caroline Glick - December 8, 2006 -- When the history of our times is written, this week will be remembered as the week that Washington decided to let the Islamic Republic of Iran go nuclear. Hopefully it will also be remembered as the moment the Jews arose and refused to allow Iran to go nuclear. With the publication of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group chaired by former US secretary of state James Baker III and former congressman Lee Hamilton, the debate about the war in Iraq changed. From a war for victory against Islamofascism and for democracy and freedom, the war became reduced to a conflict to be managed by appeasing the US's sworn enemies in the interests of stability, and at the expense of America's allies. Baker and his associates claim that the US cannot win the war in Iraq and so the US must negotiate with its primary enemies in Iraq and throughout the world - Iran and Syria - in the hopes that they will be persuaded to hold their fire for long enough to facilitate an "honorable" American retreat from the country. Like his unsupported assertion that the US cannot win in Iraq, Baker also asserts - in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary - that Iran and Syria share America's "interest in avoiding chaos in Iraq." Because of this supposed shared interest, Baker maintains that with the proper incentives, Iran and Syria can be persuaded to cooperate with a US withdrawal from Iraq ahead of the 2008 presidential primaries. The main incentive Baker advocates offering is Israel. Baker believes that Iran will agree to temporarily hold its fire in Iraq in exchange for US acceptance of Iran as a nuclear power and an American pledge not to topple the regime. Syria will assist the US in exchange for US pressure on Israel to hand over the Golan Heights to Syria and Judea and Samaria to Hamas. Obviously, if implemented, the Baker-Hamilton group's recommendations will be disastrous for Israel. Just the fact that they now form the basis for the public debate on the war is a great blow. But it isn't only Israel that is harmed by their actions. The US too, will be imperiled if their views become administration policy. Although Baker - and incoming Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who served on his commission until Bush announced his appointment last month - believes that there is a deal to be done that will end Iranian and Syrian aggression against the US, its vital interests and its allies, the fact of the matter is that there is no such deal. Contrary to what the Baker report argues and what Gates said in his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Iran is not analogous to the Soviet Union and the war against the global jihad is not a new cold war. Even if the US were to somehow get them to agree to certain understandings about Iraq, there is no reason to believe that the Iranians and Syrians would keep their word. Not only would the US be approaching them as a supplicant and so emboldening them, but to date the US has never credibly threatened anything either Syria or Iran value. Indeed, through supporting negotiations between the EU and Iran, empowering the UN to deal with Iran's nuclear program, and forcing Israel to accept a cease-fire with Hizbullah last summer that effectively gave victory to the Syrian and Iranian proxy, the US has consistently rewarded the two countries' aggression. Worse than that, from a US perspective, although Gates admitted Tuesday that he cannot guarantee that Iran will not attack Israel with nuclear weapons, he ignored the fact that Iran - whose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad daily calls for the destruction of the US - may also attack the US with nuclear weapons. Gates admitted in his Senate hearing that Iran is producing many bombs - not just one. Since it is possible to destroy Israel with just one bomb, the Americans should be asking themselves what Iran needs all those other bombs for. There are senior military sources in the US who have been warning the administration to take into consideration that the day that Iran attacks Israel with a nuclear bomb, 10 cities in the US and Europe are liable to also be attacked with nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, no one is listening to these voices today. IT IS particularly upsetting that Washington has chosen now of all times to turn its back on the war. Ahmadinejad hinted Monday that Iran has completed the nuclear fuel cycle and so has passed the point of no return on its nuclear program. He also made a statement indicating that Iran will have its nuclear arsenal up and running by March - just four months away. Serious disagreement exists in Washington over the status of the Iranian program. Some claim that Iran is four or five years away from nuclear weapons capabilities. Others maintain that Iran has recently experienced serious technical setbacks in their uranium enrichment activities and that the North Korean nuclear bomb test in October, in which Iranian officials participated, was a failure. But there are also engaged officials who agree with Ahmadinejad's assessment of Iran's nuclear progress. Those officials maintain first that the North Korean-Iranian test in October was successful and should be taken as a sign that Iran already has a nuclear arsenal. Second, they warn that the US and Israel have six months to act against Iran's nuclear installations and to overthrow the regime or face the prospect of the annihilation of Israel and the destruction of several US cities as a result of an Iranian nuclear offensive. Obviously, Israel cannot risk the possibility that the last group of officials is correct. And since Washington has decided to go to sleep, it is up to Israel alone to act. WHAT MUST Israel do? First, it must plan an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities and regime command and control centers. To pave the way for such an attack, the IDF must move now to neutralize second order threats like the Palestinian rocket squads and the Syrian ballistic missile arsenals in order to limit the public's exposure to attack during the course of or in the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Iran. Second, Israel must work to topple the Iranian regime. As the Defense Minister's advisor Uri Lubrani told Ha'aretz last week, the regime in Iran is far from stable today and ripe for overthrow. The overwhelming majority of Iranians despise the regime. There are rebellious groups in every ethnic group and province in the country - Azeris, Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmen and even Persians - that are actively working to destabilize the regime. Every day there are strikes of workers, women and students. Every few weeks there are reports of violent clashes between anti-regime groups and regime forces. Recently, oil pipelines were sabotaged in the oil-rich Khuzestan province in the south where the Ahwazi Arabs are systematically persecuted by the regime. Westerners who recently visited Iran claim that Israel operating alone could overthrow the regime by extending its assistance to these people. Thirdly, in his testimony in the Senate on Tuesday, Gates casually mentioned that Israel has nuclear weapons. In so doing, he unceremoniously removed four decades of ambiguity over Israel's nuclear status. While his statement caused dismay in Jerusalem, perhaps Israel should see this as an opportunity. With the threat of nuclear destruction hanging over us, it makes sense to conduct a debate about an Israeli second strike. While such a discussion will not dissuade Iran's fanatical leaders from attacking Israel with nuclear weapons, it could influence the Iranian nation to rise up against their leaders. Moreover, such a debate could influence other regimes in the region like Saudi Arabia which today behave as if Israel's annihilation will have no adverse impact on them. Americans like Baker, Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and their European friends need to understand that as goes Israel so go the Persian Gulf's oil fields. Such an understanding may influence their willingness to enable Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Tragically, in these perilous times, we are being led by the worst, most incompetent government we have ever had. Prime Minister Olmert's way of dealing with the Iranian threat is to pretend that it is none of his business. During his visit to the US last month, Olmert abdicated responsibility for safeguarding Israel from nuclear destruction to President Bush. It didn't bother him that Bush didn't accept the responsibility. By mindlessly adhering to non-existent cease-fires with Iranian proxies in Gaza and Lebanon and squawking about peace with them, Olmert continues to behave as if this is someone else's problem. For her part, reacting to the possibility of national extinction, Education Minister Yuli Tamir this week cocked her pedagogical pistol and shot at her rear. By ordering the public schools to demarcate the 1949 armistice lines on the official maps and so wipe Israel off maps of Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, Tamir worked to divide the nation over second order issues at a time when unity of purpose is most essential. Olmert, who refused to overturn her scandalous decree, was doubtlessly pleased with her political stunt. For two days the media devoted itself entirely to stirring up internal divisions and so ignored the threat hanging over our heads and Olmert's refusal to deal with it. Next Thursday, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein and former ambassador to the UN Dore Gold will hold a press conference in New York where they will call for the US to indict Ahmadinejad under the International Convention Against Genocide for his call to annihilate Israel. This is doubtlessly a welcome initiative. But it is insufficient. In a few months, Iran may well be in possession of nuclear weapons which it will use to destroy the Jewish state. With the US withdrawing from the war and Israel in the hands of incompetents, the time has come for the Jewish people to rise up. GUARANTEEING our survival begins with each of us deciding that we are willing to fight to survive. And today the challenge facing us is clear. Either the Iranian regime is toppled and its nuclear installations are destroyed or Israel will be annihilated. The Jews in the Diaspora must launch mass demonstrations and demand that their governments take real action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The citizens of the State of Israel must also take to the streets. The government that led us to defeat in Lebanon this summer is leading us to a disaster of another order entirely. All citizens must demand that Olmert, his ministers and the generals in the IDF General Staff make an immediate decision. They now hold the responsibility for acting against Iran. They must either act or resign and make way for others who will. America just abdicated its responsibility to defend itself against Iran and so left Israel high and dry. Nevertheless, the Jewish people is far from powerless. And the State of Israel also is capable of defending itself. But we must act and act immediately. ---------- Caroline B. Glick is the senior Middle East fellow at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., and the deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881847667&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Catch the Fire Appeal: Media Reports and Comment from Ros Phillips

Alert Focus: Persecution Mark 13:9 "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. SALT SHAKERS E-NEWS - By Jenny Stokes - December 17, 2006 Ros Phillips of Festival of Light in South Australia, has followed the Catch the Fire case closely from the beginning. In this report she analyses Justice Nettle's comments in the decision. Ros then goes on to ouline the proposals for 'vilification' laws to be added to South Australia's Equal Opportunity law. Although they will not apply to 'religion', the proposed victimisation (similar to Victoria's vilification laws) will apply to every 'ground' covered by 'discrimination' law in the Equal Opportunity Act - including marital status and sexuality! The debate on these proposals will continue in February 2007. If you live in South Australia, please contact your MPs and ask them to vote against these laws. Ros' letter analysing the decision on CTFM is attached. Here are the media reports on the decision.... Pastors will keep 'telling truth' on Muslims The Age, Barney Zwartz, December 15, 2006. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pastors-will-keep-telling-truth-on-muslims/2006/12/14/1165685825233.html Free speech win for Islam critics Craig Binnie, December 15, 2006 Herald Sun. At http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20930620-2862,00.html Preachers claim win The Australian, December 15, 2006 At http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20930443-2702,00.html A Lack of faith in these laws Andrew Bolt, December 15, 2006 YES, the Supreme Court yesterday overturned the convictions of Pentecostal pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot for preaching hatred at a church seminar on Islam. But how did it get so far? As I wrote at the time, Scot in particular had been found guilty by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal of breaking the Bracks Government's vilification laws by quoting the Koran, mostly accurately. The Supreme Court even confirmed that "on any analysis (Scot's) plea to love Muslims and to minister to them comes across as sincere". And it gave an extraordinary number of examples of VCAT accusing Scot of saying what he had not -- such as calling Muslims "demons" who thought killing was "good". Ten times it corrects VCAT with: "Pastor Scot did not say . . ." What drove the Government to pass such dangerous laws? What drove the Equal Opportunity Commission to hunt these pastors? How did VCAT rule as it did? There is a touch of Salem about this. At least the Supreme Court insists there is a "distinction between hatred of the religious beliefs of Muslims and hatred of Muslims". We should now be free again to criticise a faith without being found guilty of vilifying the believer. But until these laws are scrapped, can you be sure? At http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20928768-5006029,00.html Blog and comments at: http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_lack_of_faith_in_these_laws/ http://www.saltshakers.org.au/ Letter from Ros Phillips, Festival of Light.... 14 December 2006 Dear Friends, We are praising the Lord! This morning three Victorian Supreme Court judges - Nettle, Ashley and Neave - handed down their decision to uphold the appeal by pastors Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah against their conviction for religious vilification. You can read the entire 51 page judgement yourself on: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2006/284.html In my view, Justice Nettle's judgement is a damning indictment of Judge Higgins' original decision to convict the pastors in December 2004. Justice Nettle lists about 20 separate instances where Judge Higgins of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) misrepresented what Daniel Scot had said in his seminar on Islam in March 2002 (eg Higgins wrongly claimed that Scot had said "Muslims are demons"). Justice Nettle also points out that Judge Higgins in effect failed to recognise the difference between hatred of the sin and hatred of the sinner, and did not acknowledge that it is possible to criticise certain beliefs without inciting hatred against those who hold those beliefs. Justice Nettle says Judge Higgins' views on the accuracy or inaccuracy of Pastor Scot's views on Islam and the Quran were not relevant to the case, noting: "In my view it was calculated to lead to error for a secular tribunal [like VCAT] to attempt to assess the theological propriety of what was asserted at the Seminar." Justice Nettle also notes that Judge Higgins paid insufficient attention to Daniel Scot's emphasis on the need for his audience to love Muslims, to show sensitivity for Muslim culture and respect for the Quran and Mohammed. Justice Nettle says at one point: "I have listened to the tape recording of the Seminar... Unlike [Judge Higgins], however, I was unable to perceive from the tape anything in the manner of Pastor Scot's delivery which rendered his statements more likely to incite the audience to hatred and other relevant emotion of or towards Muslims. To the contrary, as it seemed to me, what one hears is a speaker who, although endowed with an admirable command of the English language, speaks it as a second language with all the difficulties which that sometimes entails. I hear a degree of nervousness in delivery, a pattern of speech which is idiomatically incongruous and consequent double entendre which the speaker sounds not to have intended. Admittedly, his style is given to ridicule in places, and the ridicule results in cynical laughter at places. But on any analysis his plea to love Muslims and to "minister" to them comes across as sincere enough as do the sounds of his audience's reaction to it." While Judge Higgins paid great attention to the hurt feelings of the three Muslims who attended the seminar, Justice Nettle says that "the affront to the feelings of the Muslim witnesses was largely if not wholly irrelevant. The concentration needed to be on the members of the audience who were not Muslims. What demanded to be assessed was whether the effect of the injunctions to love and to witness to Muslims was sufficient to prevent hatred and other relevant emotion by the non-Muslims towards Muslims. "In fact, the Seminar was replete with statements by Pastor Scot, to which neither Mr Thomas [a Muslim complainant] nor [Judge Higgins] made any reference, favourable to Muslims and ex facie calculated to persuade an audience of non-Muslims to love and 'witness' to Muslims (despite Pastor Scot's perception of the shortcomings of Islam)." Justice Nettle goes on to quote substantial parts of the seminar where Pastor Scot speaks of Muslims and their culture in positive terms. Justices Neave and Ashley have written briefer judgements than Justice Nettle, and while supporting his main conclusion, do not agree with him on all points. Judge Ashley was particularly critical of the conduct of the pastors' VCAT defence, which in his view took up too much time in irrelevant theological debate. In my view, Judge Higgins was more to blame for allowing such debate and presuming, with no theological training, to decide who was right and wrong. The orders (penalties) handed down in 2005 by Judge Higgins have been set aside - and we praise God that the two pastors are once again free to preach and teach about Islam and hold seminars like the one Pastor Scot conducted in a Melbourne church in March 2002. Yet the case is far from over. It has been sent back to VCAT - an action which could be perceived as passing the buck on this politically highly sensitive issue. The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) has been ordered to pay half the costs of the Supreme Court appeal. A VCAT judge (not Higgins) will reconsider the evidence already given and make another decision next year - guided by comments of the three Supreme Court justices. DANGER LOOMS FOR SA The two Daniels have welcomed the Victorian Supreme Court decision and have again called for the repeal of the Victorian Racial and Religious Tolerance Act - which has demonstrably created more, not less, intolerance and disharmony in Victoria's religious community as a result of cases like theirs. Other cases such as the complaint of a convicted paedophile witch against a Salvation Army officer conducting a prison Alpha Bible course show that vilification laws like these can be and are used to harass groups with differing beliefs. South Australia would face the same trauma if the SA Equal Opportunity (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2006 - due for continued debate on 6 February 2007 - is passed. Clause 61 of this bill would introduce a new SA offence of "victimisation" - in reality vilification, similar to the definition in the Victorian Racial and Religious Tolerance Act: "engaging in a public act inciting hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule of a person or group" on any of the many unlawful grounds of discrimination in the Equal Opportunity Act. Unlike in Victoria, religion is not one of the unlawful grounds in SA - but almost everything else you can think of, and many things you haven't thought of, are included. No other state with anti-vilification laws has so many prohibited grounds for vilification. Marital status and sexuality vilification would be banned under this bill and the SA Commissioner for Equal Opportunity told a delegation from Festival of Light Australia on 9 November that she would NOT automatically dismiss complaints against doctors who publicly warn of health risks of the homosexual lifestyle, or pastors who expound Bible passages which condemn divorce or homosexual behaviour. Legal advisers to the SA Attorney-General told us that truth would not be a defence against such complaints, nor would there be an exemption for acts with a religious purpose. Christian schools who discriminate in employment against practising homosexual teachers would be required to publicise that policy and report it to the Commissioner, who would be empowered by the bill to publicise such schools and "name and shame" them. No school could discriminate against pupils on the ground of marital status or sexuality; Christian schools could be prohibited from teaching biblical sexuality since such teaching could be deemed to incite hatred or contempt for those who do not practise it. The Commissioner would be empowered under the bill to investigate, without approval by the Tribunal or the Attorney-General, any matter of her choice, even where no one has lodged a complaint. We could see a resurgence of witch hunts - or rather, "Christian hunts". Remember that even if such complaints are dismissed, there is no compensation for the lost time, stress and legal costs incurred in conciliation proceedings. Interstate, the result has been that newspapers choose not to publish important facts (eg about the homosexual lifestyle) because they are not considered worth the hassle of dealing with vilification complaints by homosexual activist groups. This issue is not yet on the radar of most media. Short, topical letters to the editor and to MPs (eg Premier Mike Rann - premier@saugov.sa.gov.au ; Opposition Leader Iain Evans - davenport@parliament.sa.gov.au ) could help bring this bill to the attention of people in high places who need to understand that our freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion are seriously under threat. [For MP details: http://www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/13/B/108 ] God bless! ROS Mrs Roslyn Phillips, B Sc Dip Ed Research Officer, Festival of Light Australia 4th Floor, 68 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Phone 1300 365 965 Email rhp@fol.org.au Website www.fol.org.au

Christian or "Christ Follower"

Alert Focus: The Falling Away / Deception Matthew 24:10-12 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH PROJECT - December 23, 2006 -- Christian or Christ follower. It's a distinction that is being made more and more today, and often the latter term, Christ follower, is replacing the former term, Christian. Even many Christian leaders are making the switch. But just what does it mean? Emerging church leader, Erwin McManus says his "goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ." In McManus' book, The Barbarian Way, he talks about being "awakened" to a "primal longing that ... waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ." McManus says that the "greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity [i.e., Christians]." A video series on YouTube.com called "Christian No More" (by Christian Community Church) exemplifies this view by portraying those who call themselves Christians as shallow church-goers who wear suits and ties, have Christian bumper stickers on their cars and prefer the King James Version. This video is evidence that it is increasingly more popular to call oneself a Christ follower rather than a Christian. Interestingly, most of those leaders who seem to be downplaying the name Christian and promoting the appropriation of the term "Christ follower" are contemplative spirituality proponents. One contemplative advocate, Rick Warren, has the term throughout his pastors.com website. Lee Strobel refers to it in his book Case for Christ (Student Edition), and Wesleyan pastor David Drury has a Christ Follower Pop Quiz on his web site to help determine if you are really a "Christ follower." This theme of anti-"Christian" sentiment is not going to disappear any time soon. Book titles, for example, express this growing attitude. One book, Why One Can Be a Christian or a Christ Follower (But Not Both), by Floyd Henderson, is a case in point. Emerging church leader and labyrinth promoter Dan Kimball has a new book coming out next spring called, "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church." The idea is that you can go for Jesus, but you don't have to identify yourself as a Christian or part of the Christian church. This concept spills over into some missionary societies too, where they teach people from other religions that they can keep their religion, just add Jesus to the equation. They don't have to embrace the term "Christian" (see The New Missiology). So what's the problem? So what if you want to be a Christ follower instead of a Christian. Well, the problem, when identified, will show you why the Spiritual Formation movement (which is promoted by Purpose Driven, Willow Creek, the emerging church, etc) is so dangerous and misleading. Let us explain. If you have researched the teachings of contemplative authors, you may have noticed a common message. That message says: If you want to be like Christ, then practice these certain disciplines and you can be like Him. Chuck Swindoll has bought into this when he wrote his book, So You Want to Be Like Christ: Eight Essential Disciplines to Get You There. But Swindoll exalts one particular discipline - the silence. In fact, he goes so far as to say you can't become a deep, meaningful Christian without it. Beth Moore, in the pro- contemplative film, Be Still, says: "[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There's got to be a stillness." And this is what contemplatives teach. The one common thread woven throughout spiritual formation teachings is that the silence and being a Christ follower are practically synonymous. You can't have one without the other. And of course, this silence is induced through meditative practices such as centering prayer, lectio divina, etc. So what we are witnessing is countless teachers, authors and leaders telling people they can become like Christ through a method that can be learned. Richard Foster teaches that anyone, not just believers, can practice contemplative prayer and become like Christ. Now here lies the difference between a Christian and a Christ follower. A person who is truly born-again has Jesus Christ indwelling him. Jesus lives inside that person. And it is His life in him or her that gives the power to become progressively more like Him (sanctification), as Paul said in his address to Corinthian Christians: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18). The believer draws his strength and power from Jesus Christ (who indwells him), and he realizes his salvation and any good thing in him is from Christ; as the Scripture says: "Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:9). But being born again or having the indwelling of Jesus Christ is not a prerequisite for the Christendom of today. Spiritual formation can be practiced by anyone. Jesus becomes a model or an example who can be followed and mimicked. For example, Ken Blanchard, says Jesus is a perfect model to follow. That's why he talks so much about leading like Jesus would lead. But Blanchard has shown time and again that he believes meditation is a key factor in becoming like Jesus. While Jesus was and is a model, that wasn't His primary mission. And when people refer to Him as a model, it is often because they see Him as a model for higher consciousness rather than the unique Son of God, Emmanuel (God with us) who came to die for us and be our Savior. And that's what you find across the board in contemplative writings. Contemplative icons Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen saw Jesus in this manner. This is why Nouwen said it disturbed him when he heard people say Jesus was the only way. He said it was his mission to help people find his or her own way to God (see Sabbatical Journey). That's also why he saw India as a source for many spiritual "treasures" for the Christian.1 In an eastern religion like Buddhism, Buddha was a model where his followers were imitators of him. But in Christianity the Spirit of Christ indwells us through faith. So Jesus becomes more than a model; He is a living presence in us. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). This is actually the heart of the whole spiritual formation movement. It supposedly teaches you how to be like Christ, but the power to do this doesn't come from Jesus Christ living in you (in fact that isn't a requirement, according to Richard Foster) - but the power to change has to come from somewhere. Where? It comes from meditation! So anyone at all, from any walk of life, from any religion, can be a "Christ follower." But this does not mean they have Jesus Christ in them. The contemplative prayer movement is misguiding millions into believing that if they practice certain disciplines they can be like Christ, thus securing their spiritual well being. They may come to believe that they have a christ consciousness and are Christ like, yet they do not have the actual power of Christ within. That power can only come from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Corinthians 1:18). This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ... Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (II Timothy 3:1,5). The man who virtually wrote the book on the subject (Centering Prayer), Basil Pennington, made the point of what we are trying to say when he penned these words: It is my sense, from having meditated with persons from many different [non-Christian] traditions, that in the silence we experience a deep unity. When we go beyond the portals of the rational mind into the experience, there is only one God to be experienced.2 Another major contemplative promoter stated: The new ecumenism involved here is not between Christian and Christian, but between Christians and the grace of other intuitively deep religious traditions. --Tilden Edwards These two men have both been leaders of the contemplative prayer movement for decades. And it is important to note that evangelical leader Richard Foster endorsed Edwards' book, Spiritual Friend, from which this last quote came (see back, Celebration of Discipline). Both Pennington and Edwards would call themselves Christ followers, following in the same spiritual path as Jesus Christ followed. But as you can see, both Pennington and Edwards do not accept the view that believing the gospel is a vital prerequisite for having a relationship with the living God. Otherwise they would not have said the above. With this mindset, the message of the cross is rendered useless. And so the question that we must ask ourselves is this: Will we, who have Jesus Christ living in us, call ourselves Christians? Let those of us who name the name of Christ, stand and say, yes, we will be called Christians. For a complete analysis and documentation of contemplative spirituality and its infiltration into Christendom, we encourage you to read A Time of Departing and Running Against the Wind. http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

Be Alert! Communiqué: Birth Pangs 24 December 2006

*This Blog Is updated daily as a running weekly tally. Alert Focus: Creation Groans / Pestilence / Birth Pangs Indonesia floods recede, at least 100 dead REUTERS - December 26, 2006 -- JAKARTA -- Floodwaters that killed scores of people in northwestern Indonesia have begun to recede, authorities said on Tuesday, as rescuers search remote areas for up to 200 people still missing. State news agency Antara said one district official reported 500 bodies found in a remote village in Aceh province, but senior government and Red Cross officials said they had no information to confirm that. Officials contacted by Reuters said the floods and subsequent landslides have killed at least 100 people in Aceh and neighbouring North Sumatra province, with tens of thousands forced to flee their homes for higher ground, officials said. In Aceh, still reeling from the devastating tsunami two years ago that left about 170,000 dead or missing in the impoverished province, the death toll rose to 69, the officials said. Another 31 have died in neighbouring North Sumatra, including 22 people killed in a landslide in Muara Sipongi district after getting approval to return home following an earthquake last week. "Today we are continuing to search for victims. There are 200 people reported missing," Syahbuddin Usman, head of Aceh's hard-hit Tamiang district, said by telephone. Washed out bridges, impassable roads, and no communications in some areas meant it was impossible to know whether the missing were dead or simply unable to alert family or the authorities that they had survived.... Authorities have blamed heavy rains and the effects of deforestation for the destruction. Lack of adequate forest cover leaves the ground less able to absorb excess water. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2006-12-26T125832Z_01_SP158069_RTRUKOC_0_UK-INDONESIA-FLOOD.xml&type=worldNews&WTmodLoc=World-C3-More-7 Victims of floods starving THE AUSTRALIAN - By Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta correspondent - December 27, 2006 -- HUNDREDS of thousands of Indonesians forced to flee their homes are threatened by starvation and disease after heavy floods in the nation's west. As Aceh marked the grim anniversary yesterday of the 2004 tsunami that wiped out much of its coastal society, it was the turn of those further inland on Sumatra island to face having lost everything. The death toll stood at more than 80 yesterday across west and north Sumatra and on nearby Riau island, with more than 200,000 people made homeless, four days after wild storms brought flooding, believed to have been made worse by the effects of illegal logging. Several more people were dead and tens of thousands homeless in neighbouring southern Malaysia. At least 21 central Sumatrans were killed by landslides hours after they returned to their homes on Monday, having fled when an earthquake measuring 5.7 rocked Mandailing Natal district last week. "From morning to afternoon on Monday we used military vehicles to collect refugees of the earthquake who wanted to return to their homes, and shortly afterwards in the evening the landslide hit," Mandailing Natal police spokesman Syarbani Harahap said.... Acehnese governor-elect Irwandi Yusuf, a former rebel leader who has been elected to represent his people in the restive province, warned that the illegal logging responsible for frequent landslides during the annual rainy season must be dealt with. "This activity must be halted so this kind of disaster does not keep happening," Mr Yusuf warned yesterday. At least 14 bridges were knocked out by the floods, and the Indonesian air force was airlifting food, blankets, tents, mattresses and clothing by helicopter and Hercules transports. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20977279-2703,00.html Violent Storms Hit Florida on Christmas ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Brent Kallestad - December 25, 2006 -- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Powerful storms damaged at least three dozen homes as heavy rain and strong wind swept across the Southeast on Monday. The worst damage was in Florida, between Tampa and the Georgia border, where three people were injured and three homes were destroyed.... The Tallahassee area was also swamped by rain as the storms moved through, with more than 5 1/2 inches falling at the regional airport, the most there on a Christmas Day since 1897, weather service meteorologist Ron Block said. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/25/D8M829980.html Fears of Tsunami Ease After Taiwan Quake ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Annie Huang - December 26, 2006 -- A powerful earthquake struck off southwestern Taiwan on Tuesday, briefly prompting fears of a tsunami on the second anniversary of the quake and deadly waves that killed thousands in south Asia. Taiwanese media reported one person died and three were injured when their home collapsed in the southern city of Pintung. Other reports said city streets had cracked and a major bridge was damaged. They said fires were burning out in the area, apparently caused by downed power cables. The quake was felt throughout Taiwan. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated its magnitude at 7.1, while Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau measured it at 6.7. It was followed eight minutes later by 7.0 magnitude aftershock, the USGS said. Two hours later, an official at Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no longer any danger of a destructive tsunami headed for the Philippines, as had been predicted.... Phone lines were cut in the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, possibly hindering reports of damage by residents, the CTI Cable News reported. Several high-rise hotels swayed violently in Kaohsiung, it said.... The initial tremor was centered at sea about 13 miles southwest of Hengchun on the southern tip of Taiwan, the bureau said. Hengchun is about 260 miles south of Taipei.... A 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004 caused a tsunami that killed at least 230,000 people in 11 countries. Those waves reached as high as 33 feet. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/26/D8M8M66O0.html Taiwan earthquake triggers false alarm -- in Switzerland DRUDGE REPORT NEWS FLASH - December 26, 2006 -- A Swiss official said an earthquake alarm reported in Switzerland on Tuesday was a mistake, triggered by the powerful quake that struck off southwestern Taiwan. Nicolas Deichmann, an official at the Swiss Seismological Service, said machines falsely interpreted the Taiwan earthquake in registering a separate 3.1 magnitude quake with an epicenter near the town of Ilanz, in the mountainous Swiss canton, or state, of Graubuenden. There was no evidence of an earthquake in Switzerland on Tuesday, he said. http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/data/2006/12/26/20061226_155715_flash.htm Bird Flu Kills Woman in Egypt, Infects Family Members BLOOMBERG - By Jason Gale - December 26, 2006 -- Bird flu killed a woman in northern Egypt as authorities attempt to eradicate the lethal virus that infected two other members of the woman's family. The infection killed a teenage girl in Cairo, Agence France-Presse reported. The woman from Zifta, in the northern province of Gharbia, had been in contact with infected poultry, Egypt's Ministry of Health said in a statement on its Web site today. Fowl kept by the family and neighbors have been culled, and people in contact with the birds are being tested, the ministry said in a separate statement on Dec. 24. A 15-year-old girl died from the H5N1 strain of avian flu in a Cairo hospital, AFP reported yesterday. She was transferred from a hospital in the Nile delta province of Garbiya, where she was admitted Dec. 20, AFP said. World health experts are trying to control the H5N1 virus, which risks infecting humans and mutating to become more contagious. A virus that spreads among people as easily as seasonal flu could spark a deadly pandemic capable of killing millions of people, health authorities have said. The H5N1 strain is known to have infected 258 people in 10 countries during the past three years, killing 154 of them, the World Health Organization said on Nov. 29, when it reported the last fatality. Avian flu has infected 19 people in Egypt -- including the four cases recorded during the past week -- killing nine of them. Infections in Egyptian poultry were reported for the first time in February. ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=&sid=aVw4.HxBKoSk Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island THE INDEPENDENT - By Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean - December 24, 2006 -- Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true. As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities. Eight years ago, as exclusively reported in The Independent on Sunday, the first uninhabited islands - in the Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati - vanished beneath the waves. The people of low-lying islands in Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, have been evacuated as a precaution, but the land still juts above the sea. The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented. It has been officially recorded in a six-year study of the Sunderbans by researchers at Calcutta's Jadavpur University. So remote is the island that the researchers first learned of its submergence, and that of an uninhabited neighbouring island, Suparibhanga, when they saw they had vanished from satellite pictures. Two-thirds of nearby populated island Ghoramara has also been permanently inundated. Dr Sugata Hazra, director of the university's School of Oceanographic Studies, says "it is only a matter of some years" before it is swallowed up too. Dr Hazra says there are now a dozen "vanishing islands" in India's part of the delta. The area's 400 tigers are also in danger. Until now the Carteret Islands off Papua New Guinea were expected to be the first populated ones to disappear, in about eight years' time, but Lohachara has beaten them to the dubious distinction. Human cost of global warming: Rising seas will soon make 70,000 people homeless Refugees from the vanished Lohachara island and the disappearing Ghoramara island have fled to Sagar, but this island has already lost 7,500 acres of land to the sea. In all, a dozen islands, home to 70,000 people, are in danger of being submerged by the rising seas. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2099971.ece In Shirt-Sleeve Holiday Season, Overcoats Linger on the Racks NEW YORK TIMES - By Michael Barbaro - December 23, 2006 -- NEW YORK CITY -- Retailers are calling it the Coat Crisis of 2006, a fashion fiasco measured in racks of unsold fur-lined shearlings at Saks Fifth Avenue and down puffer jackets at Bloomingdale’s. Balmy temperatures on the East Coast, with average highs this holiday season 15 degrees warmer than last year, have been disastrous for sales of all kinds of cold-weather clothing, from cashmere caps to wool scarves. What seemed like a meteorological aberration — the coatless, hatless, gloveless morning commute in Washington, New York and Boston — is starting to feel like the new normal, encouraging consumers to splurge on a flat-screen television instead of a peacoat. The glut of winter wear has sent a chill through the executive suites of major retailers, who count on big profits from coats in the crucial holiday shopping season. They are even starting to grumble about the first “global warming Christmas.” So like farmers praying for rain, merchants have begun scanning weather forecasts, hoping for a sudden drop in temperature to lift their sales. “At first, you start to chuckle in the morning when it’s 50 degrees, then you start to snicker and then you start to curse,” said Rick Weinstein, director of sales and marketing at Searle, a Manhattan retailer that supplies coats to high-end department stores. A few days before Christmas, temperatures remained in the mid-40s from Maryland to Maine. Alex Grossman, a 33-year-old New York City resident, buys a new winter coat every holiday season, waiting until the first cold snap. This year, it did not come. “Now it’s so late in the season I won’t even buy one,” he said, standing sans coat in Midtown Manhattan Thursday afternoon as temperatures reached 45 degrees. The NPD Group, a retail research firm, predicts that sales of outerwear will plunge at least 20 percent this holiday season, compared with last year, with the not-winter-like weather to blame. Retailers will not report holiday sales figures until January, but there are clear signs of trouble. Even apparel executives, generally an optimistic group, are acknowledging there is a problem. ... [more] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/23/business/23warm.html?ei=5065&en=874c9936c0f905f5&ex=1167454800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print Egypt reports two new human cases of bird flu AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - December 23, 2006 -- Two Egyptians were taken to hospital after testing positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the central Nile delta region, the health ministry said. The latest cases brings to 17 the total number of Egyptians infected, including seven who were killed by the virus. The two Egyptians from the village of Hanut in the Gharbiya governorate contracted the disease after coming into contact with infected ducks they had been rearing in their homes, according to a ministry statement carried by the official MENA agency.... The H5N1 strain of bird flu was first diagnosed in birds in Egypt in February, and the first case in humans was announced on March 18. In its most aggressive form, the H5N1 strain has killed 154 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/23/061223194046.mcmjylzx.html Storm Cuts Power to Thousands in Wisconsin ASSOCIATED PRESS - By James A. Carlson - December 23, 2006 -- MILWAUKEE -- A winter storm dumped 7 inches of wet, heavy snow on central Wisconsin, leaving thousands of people without electricity and disrupting holiday preparations. Wisconsin Public Service Corp. reported fewer than 17,000 customers without electricity Saturday night. About half of the outages were in the towns of Wausau and Stevens Point.... The snow began falling Friday night and did not let up until Saturday morning. The weight of the snow snapped power lines and tree limbs, causing the outages, she said. Nearly 30,000 customers initially had service interrupted. ... [more] http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/23/D8M6VPR00.html Denver Airport Operating Near Capacity ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Judith Kohler - December 23, 2006 -- DENVER -- Denver's airport was operating at close to capacity Saturday after being snowed in for two days, but for many travelers jammed in its terminals it was not expected to be enough to rescue their hopes of joining their families for Christmas. Thousands of travelers whose flights were canceled by a blizzard that backed up air traffic nationwide were stuck on standby, trying to grab a rare empty seat on planes that were mostly booked.... The jam in Denver backed up flights around the country heading into one of the busiest travel times of the year, and low visibility in Atlanta and wind in Philadelphia on Friday added to delays. About 9 million Americans planned to take to the air during the nine-day Christmas-to-New Year's period, the AAA estimates.... Overseas, fog had grounded flights for most of the week at London's Heathrow Airport, stalling tens of thousands of people who had planned on taking flights at Europe's busiest airport. The fog finally started to lift Saturday, and British Airways pledged to operate 95 percent of its scheduled flights. In South America, flight cancellations and hours-long delays caused by overbooking and equipment problems had haunted Christmas travelers across Brazil since Tuesday. Even the Brazilian air force was called in to help move passengers with its fleet of eight passenger jets. At Denver, more than 3,000 incoming flights alone were canceled or diverted during the 45-hour shutdown that began Wednesday. ... [more] http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061223/D8M6Q2O00.html Christmas travel chaos continues BBC NEWS - December 22, 2006 -- Christmas travellers have endured a third day of misery as thick fog caused flight cancellations and delays, but the weather should improve on Saturday. More than 300 flights were cancelled at Heathrow on Friday, including all British Airways domestic flights. BA plans to start domestic flights to and from Heathrow from midday on Saturday, and hopes to operate 95% of its Heathrow services through the day. Train firms provided extra services and the roads generally flowed on Friday. BA hopes to operate 87% of short-haul flights on Saturday, and plans a full Heathrow service on Sunday, including resuming services to Paris and Brussels. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6202349.stm Giant squid caught on video by Japanese scientists REUTERS - December 22, 2006 -- TOKYO -- Its mass of reddish tentacles flailing, a giant squid fought a losing battle to evade capture in a video unveiled by Japanese scientists on Friday. Images of the squid -- a relatively small female about 3.5 meters (11 ft 6 in) long and weighing 50 kg (110 lb) -- were the ultimate prize for zoologists at the National Science Museum, who have been pursuing one of the ocean's most mysterious creatures for years. "Nobody has ever seen a live giant squid except fishermen," team leader Tsunemi Kubodera of the museum's zoology department said in an interview on Friday. "We believe these are the first ever moving pictures of a giant squid." Little was known until recently about the creature thought to have inspired the myth of the "kraken", a tentacled monster that was blamed by sailors for sinking ships off Norway in the 18th century. ... [more] http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-12-22T133726Z_01_T148997_RTRUKOC_0_US-SQUID-GIANT-JAPAN.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 Hurricanes hardly happened, so it's a good year for the insurers LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH - By Caroline Muspratt - December 22, 2006 -- Fewer storms and natural disasters have made 2006 the least expensive year for insurers in almost a decade and the third-cheapest in the past 20 years. Natural and man-made catastrophes have triggered total economic losses of about $40bn (£20bn) and cost property insurers $15bn this year, according to estimates from insurer Swiss Re's Sigma report. An estimated 30,000 people lost their lives in catastrophes including earthquakes, windstorms and shipping disasters. "After years of record losses, property insurers appear to be getting off lightly in 2006," Swiss Re said. "Catastrophe losses of only $15bn will allow them to replenish their risk capital, depleted by record payments for hurricane damage in 2005 and 2004." ... [more] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/12/21/cnins21.xml

Oklahoma City Bombing: Probe of Islamic ties 'obstructed' by feds

Alert Focus: The Mystery of Lawlessness 2 Thessalonians 2:7a For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;... Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Ephesians 5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them Congressman who chaired panel says public'would be outraged if they knew the extent' WORLDNETDAILY - By Art Moore - December 23, 2006 -- Federal officials were "outrageously obstructive" during a congressional probe examining possible Islamic terrorist and foreign ties to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, according to a congressman who disclosed to WND some of the highlights of a subcommittee report scheduled for release next week. "The public would be outraged if they knew the extent of obstruction, or lack of cooperation, that has been given to this investigation," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who led the probe as chairman of the International Relations' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. One example was the Justice Department's handling of a lead Rohrabacher received from an independent investigator concerning a Muslim figure with suspected ties to the Oklahoma City bombing whose name curiously shows up on the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center attack. The New York City bombing was attributed to Muslim terrorists connected to al-Qaida. The report will document a series of correspondence between the subcommittee team and Justice officials that concluded with a refusal to turn over information about the suspect – for no apparently legitimate reason, according to Rohrabacher. "This may well reflect the way the Justice Department deals with legislative branch investigations in general, which is very disappointing," Rohrabacher told WND. "In this case, however, we're talking about the investigation of the mass murder of 168 Americans and how that relates to the threat we face today from al-Qaida, and we find that to be rather alarming." As WND reported, International Relations Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde, R, Ill., scheduled a hearing to look into a possible "foreign connection" to the bombing, but it was canceled, Rohrabacher said, due to an inability to secure witnesses. Rohrabacher initiated the probe after examining evidence gathered by independent investigators such as Jayna Davis, author of "The Third Terrorist: The Middle East Connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing." Davis asserts Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh were not the lone conspirators but part of a greater scheme involving Islamic terrorists and at least one provable link to Iraq. The explosion April 19, 1995, at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured another 684.... Rohrabacher concludes it was not good judgment on the part of the federal government to execute McVeigh – the primary witness – while questions remained and rumors of other conspirators persisted. "We call into question the thoroughness of the FBI investigation," he said. Rohrabacher said federal officials were unreasonably uncooperative. For example, armed with new evidence, he wanted to interview Nichols in prison in Colorado but was denied.... Rohrabacher said he also was denied access to others with suspected ties to the Oklahoma City bombing, including al Qaida-linked terrorists Ramzi Yousef and Abdul Hakim Murad, who reportedly has said Yousef was responsible for the Oklahoma City attack.... "Federal authorities were outrageously obstructive in our attempts to see these prisoners," Rohrabacher said. But the congressman said he could not assess motives. "This may just be a case of bureaucratic arrogance that carries over into all such investigations," he said, but added it's "completely unacceptable" in investigating a crime of the magnitude of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. ... [more] http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53485 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Rick Warren Interview: Three Purposes of Christmas

Alert Focus: False Teachers / The Falling Away / Deception Saddleback's Warren to address global audience over holiday weekend. CHRISTIANITY TODAY - By Timothy C. Morgan - December 22, 2006

Jeremiah 23:1 "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD. 2 Peter 3:3-4 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life, will be preaching to a global audience over Christmas thanks to Rupert Murdoch and the U.S. Defense Department.Related articles and links Over Christmas eve and Christmas day, Murdoch's Fox News Channel will air "The Purpose of Christmas with Rick Warren," a program based on the first of 13 weekend services at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California. The Armed Services Television Network will air a similar message from Warren, potentially reaching 800,000 servicemen and their families stationed in more than 177 countries. A website ( www.thepeaceplan.com ) will direct viewers to local churches. Last week, Tim Morgan, ct's deputy managing editor, spoke at length with Warren from New York City about his recent controversial trip to Syria, his commitment to fighting global poverty, and his plans for the new 40 Days of Vision to be launched in September 2007. This is an edited transcript. World Net Daily columnist Joseph Farah has been hugely critical of your trip to Syria and your explanations, suggesting that you exhibit behavior "bordering on sociopathic." What's your reaction? This is a fellow who's hooked his star to criticizing somebody. There's so many over-the-top things about it. There are lots of churches in Damascus [Syria]. I asked one person. He said maybe two or three hundred in Damascus. Most of them are the traditional churches. There's Syrian Orthodox and there's Greek Orthodox. But I met with the head of the evangelicals. He said they're getting ready to go into the building program because the Presbyterian church he leads—they've run out of space. I will go anywhere in the world if I'm allowed to preach the gospel without hindrance. I'd go to Iran; I'd go to Syria; I'd go to North Korea. A lot of the criticisms have come from people who politicize the Christian faith. To them, politics is more important than winning people to Christ. In fact, I think one of the greatest damages to the church in the last 20 years has been the politicization of the church. I'm also tired of the church being known simply as a political tool and being co-opted by politicians.

Is the local church being asked to do too much to save the world from poverty and disease? No—if everybody does their part. One drop of rain makes no difference at all, but a million drops of rain can turn a desert area into a garden. Is the Great Commission for every believer, or do you believe it's only for missionaries? We live in a world where we are the first generation that can actually to go into all the world. When Jesus gave that commandment, it was physically impossible for the disciples to go into all the world. If anybody had a right to be discouraged, it would be a group of Middle Eastern disciples who had no planes, trains, automobiles, fax machines, internet, cell phones, and were quite poor. Yet they accepted the task: We are to go into all the world. They didn't say, "Mission board go into all the world." They said, "All of us should go into all the world." We are the wealthiest church in history. We are the most technologically advanced church. The option is — not an option. For 50 years or even longer, missions have been, where you either completely commit your life and move to Zanzibar and live there and serve there the rest of your life, or you don't do anything. As you know, the PEACE plan is about everybody doing something. If every Christian went on one single mission trip in their life, how would it change them? How would it change the church? How would it change churches around the world? Should local churches have saving souls as "job 1"? I don't believe that. I believe saving souls is one of five jobs that the church has. That's the whole idea of the Purpose Driven paradigm, that balance is what creates a healthy church. God has not called us to do one thing. He's called us to do five things. He's called us to worship, he's called us to fellowship, he's called us to disciple, he's called us to serve, and he's called us to reach out and share the gospel. Now we can't say, we're only going to do two of these, because we're tired. Or I think we're only going to do two of these because we're over-committed. They're all important. Para-churches are allowed to specialize; the church has to do them all. In what ways has your focus on fighting HIV and global poverty changed you? I cannot care just about my community anymore. For too long I did, and I really believe that in my heart God has called me to care about the whole world. When Wesley said the world was his parish, something in that resonates with me. Once you go overseas, you see how much the church is doing with so little and yet how much more they could do if they were just given some encouragement, or some training, or some love, or some funding. In terms of my own personal life, my heart gets more and more broken. The more I see, the more I am overwhelmed by two things. First is the enormous size of the task. Second is the enormous potential of ordinary people filled with God's spirit and letting God use them. I genuinely believe that it is possible to take the gospel to every person. The timing? I have no idea. I've already told my staff that when I die, I want four words on my tombstone: At Least He Tried. We may not reach all the goals that we're setting out for, but that is irrelevant. The issue is: Do we love enough to even make the effort? Do we love enough to care? When people say to me: "Who do you think you are?" My response is, "That's the wrong question. The right question is: Who do you think God is?" Let your vision of God, your perception of God determine your vision, and what's possible. Look at God, and all of a sudden a whole lot gets easier when we think of the enormous number of people that are doing nothing and the enormous potential of ordinary people empowered by God, making a difference together. That's what the PEACE plan is all about. I'm not in a hurry. I may be one of the most patient people. The biggest problem, I think, with many leaders today in the area of faith is we set goals too low and we try to accomplish them too quickly. What we need to do instead is the exact opposite. We need to let God expand our vision, our dreams and we need to take longer to do that, give our lives to do it. When you heard for the very first time about the whole Ted Haggard scandal, how did you react? First was grief for that family. I can't imagine what it was like for the children and the wife of Ted Haggard to be put under all of that pressure. One thing that put fear into me to maintain my own integrity was to think about, what the look of my children would be, or the look of my wife, that pain. To imagine that in my mind was almost unbearable, to think of how that would hurt my kids and hurt my wife. Second, I love Jesus Christ and [I wondered] how would that hurt Jesus? Third, I love the church, and how would that hurt the church? Nothing surprises me anymore. I have been around long enough to know that given the right situation, I or you or anybody is capable of any sin. The moment you don't think that, you're already in trouble. The moment you say, "Oh that could never happen to me," you've already taken a step down that slippery path toward immorality. Since I was ordained to ministry, which was in 1975, 31 years ago, I have kept in my file cabinet a file called "the warnings file." Every time I read an article about somebody in ministry who has messed up it is either with their finances or with their ego or with their sex life, I cut it out and put it in that file. About every 6 months, I open up that file, and I just read through the wreckage that Satan has wreaked and the havoc of lies, just to put the fear of God back in me. That file is now more than two inches thick. How would you describe your most challenging setback in this past year? The most challenging setback was the transitioning of the Purpose Driven [organization] back into Saddleback Church. God had to hit us with a hammer on that one and say, "I don't want you becoming an organization. I want this to be about my kingdom not about another parachurch organization." And he made that clear as he often does, through finances and through direction. You are putting emphasis on the Purpose Driven conceptual framework and its value to local church leaders. It's not only valuable, it's now going to the next phase. One thing that I learned from Peter Drucker is a concept that he got from Joseph Schumpeter. He talked about systematic abandonment. Systematic abandonment means you intentionally stop stuff in order to start something new. The way Jesus would say it: You've got to prune the branches so there's more fruit. Anybody who has roses, and I grow roses, knows that you have to cut the roses back or they can't grow for the next season. You have to cut back and then they grow to the next phase. We've been doing that for years and years at Saddleback. That's why we continue to keep growing. One year for instance, probably six years ago, I told our staff and my key management team, I said, "Guys, let's cut $1 million of staff out of the budget this year." Now we didn't need to do that, it was just seeing what we could do without it because we want to do something else. And one of the things you have to do is cut something off before it starts sliding down. What is on your ministry horizon? Saddleback is going to be doing this fall: 40 Days of Vision. I'm taking The Purpose-Driven Church, and I'm going back into writing mode on January 1. I'm going to revise that book, including what have I learned in the past 11 years. I wrote that in 1995. I wrote the first book for pastors. This one I'm going to write for every Christian. What is my role in the church, because I'm committed to the local church. What is my role, and what is God's purpose for me in my local church? I'm going to put it in the 40-day format. The next wave is going to be huge, and it's going to be next fall. The fourth one is 40 Days of Peace. That's moving people into the last campaign, which is deployment. Is the Warren household still giving a 90 percent tithe? Well, we can't go back on it. I actually set it up legally. What's the text you're going to be preaching on during Christmas services? This year, I'm going to preach on the purpose of Christmas. The three purposes of Christmas are in the three statements that the angel made at the very first Christmas. First, he said, "Fear not for I bring you good news of great joy." Then he said, "For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord." Then he said, "And peace on earth, goodwill toward men." Now that's the three purposes of Christmas. The first purpose is celebration, the second purpose is salvation, and the third purpose is reconciliation. At the end, I'm actually going to talk about the PEACE plan and how to keep Christmas going all year—just do the 5 things Jesus did. There's peace of God and there's peace with God and then there's peace with Man, once you have the first two. Related elsewhere: Christianity Today's special section, Rick's Rwanda Road Map on his PEACE plan. Other Christianity Today coverage of Rick Warren includes: Quotation Marks Comments on same-sex marriage, Syria, Twinkies, and the Republican defeat. (December 19, 2006) Painful Decline Saddleback Church assumes Purpose Driven, scales back programs. (November 21, 2006) Evangelical Leaders, Bush at Odds Over North Korea Franklin Graham opposes sanctions, Land and Cizik encourage broader focus from White House. (August 8, 2006) Warren's North Korea Trip Delayed Stadium event still planned for next year. (July 7, 2006) Forget Your Bliss The success of The Purpose-Driven Life reveals a cultural opportunity. A Christianity Today editorial (March 9, 2004) Saddleback's Social Capital The author of Bowling Alone discovers Evangelicals can be trusted at the civic table. (March 2, 2004) A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy Rick Warren's genius is in helping pastors see the obvious. (Nov. 8, 2002) FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Be Alert! Communiqué: Israel & Jerusalem; the prophetic pieces are falling into place

Alert Focus: A Burdensome Stone Zechariah 12:2-3 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. Hamas confirms meeting with group of Democrats WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - December 10, 2006 -- TEL AVIV – A key Hamas official has confirmed reports from last week the terror group held meetings with "important Democrats." Ahmed Yousuf, chief political advisor to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, told the Maannews Palestinian news website that Hamas officials met recently with high-ranking American figures, "especially members of the Democratic party." He said Hamas also met with European leaders, including members of the British parliament. Yousuf did not say when the meetings took place or which members of the Democratic party the terror group allegedly held dialogue with, but he stated the meetings were fruitful in introducing the Hamas political vision. Last week, Maannews quoted a Hamas source claiming the terror group met with a delegation of "important Democrats" who expressed interest in relations with Hamas even if it doesn't recognize the right of Israel to exist. Stacie Paxton, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, told WND the party was not aware of any meeting. According to the report, the alleged meeting with the Democrats took place in a European country following a series of preliminary meetings with representatives from the British and French governments. The source told Maannews the Democrats expressed an understanding with the Hamas principal of not recognizing Israel and applauded Hamas' willingness to accept a long-term cease-fire with the Jewish state in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal to what is known as the pre-1967 borders – meaning an evacuation of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Last month, overall Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said his group would accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and eastern Jerusalem. ... more http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53312 Syrian guerrillas 'to launch resistance within months' WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - December 11, 2006 -- GOLAN HEIGHTS – If Israel does not vacate the Golan Heights within months, a guerrilla organization allegedly formed in Syria will soon launch "resistance operations" against Israeli positions and Jewish communities in the Golan, an official from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Baath party told WND in an exclusive interview. "If in the coming months an agreement is not forged between Israel and Syria [for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan], the Committees will begin attacks," said the official, who spoke on condition his name be withheld during an in-person interview with WND and with the G. Gordon Liddy national radio show. The official was referring to the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights, a Hezbollah-like guerrilla organization Baath party sources claim was formed in Syria to attack Israeli positions in the Golan.... The Baath official told WND Syria's new Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights was formed this past June and that the group consists of Syrian volunteers, many from the Syrian border with Turkey and from Palestinian refugee camps near Damascus. He said Syria held registration for volunteers to join the Committees in June. The official said attacks by the Committees may include the infiltration of Jewish communities in the Golan, rocket attacks against Israeli positions or raids of Golan-based Israeli military installations. He said all attacks would be launched from the Syrian side of the border.... Israeli warning: Syria preparing its army for war The Baath official's claim of possible attacks against Israel follows a warning yesterday by the intelligence branch of the Israeli Defense Forces that Syria is preparing its army for war against the Jewish state. Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research division, said the Syrian army has been placed on high alert for attacks. He said Assad ordered increased production of long-range missiles and instructed the Syrian military to position antitank missiles closer to the Syrian border with Israel. But Baidatz said while Assad is preparing for war, "on the other hand, he is not ruling out the possibility of reaching a political settlement with Israel." IDF holds military exercises near Syrian border In response to the information, senior military officials say the IDF is preparing for a possible breakout of hostilities by the summer. Israeli military positions in the Golan have been put on heightened alert, according to military sources. Border fences and checkpoints have been fortified. Golan residents say they noticed the placement of additional IDF positions the past two months.... Military officials here said the past few weeks Syria and Iran have been smuggling weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. They said the smuggling is taking place in front of a contingent of international troops stationed in Lebanon. "Israeli overflights have detected the weapons smuggling," said an Israeli intelligence official. "We've shared the information with the U.N. and yet nothing is being done about it. Hezbollah is openly re-establishing itself in south Lebanon," an Israel military intelligence official told WND. Assad: 'War with Israel coming' The IDF actions come amid statements by top officials in Damascus saying Syria is preparing for a war against Israel. The officials, including Assad, claimed the Jewish state would attack Syria first. "We must remain ready at all times. We have begun preparations within the framework of our options," Assad told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba last month. He gave a series of interviews to other media outlets making the same statements. Assad said Israel could attack Syria "at any moment" and that Israeli leaders have abandoned the peace process and are seeking a war. Last month, in a rare visit to the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, Syria's information minister, Mohsen Bilal, delivered what amounted to a pep speech to Golan residents, telling them Damascus would use "resistance" to liberate the strategic territory if a "political solution" does not ensure Israel vacates the Golan Heights within the next few months. "If in the next coming months there will not be a political solution, military resistance will be the only solution for Syrians," announced Bilal, shouting on a loudspeaker from the Syrian border just feet from a fence that separates the Israeli controlled sections of the Golan from Syria. 'Damascus prepping public for war' Security officials here told WND there have been indications Syria is seeking to launch a provocation. Besides Assad's statements, the officials say state-run Syrian media have been broadcasting regular warlike messages unseen since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which Syria and Egypt launched invasions from the Golan and the Sinai desert. "The tone [in Syria] is one of preparing the public for a war," said a senior security official. He said any Syrian provocation would likely be coordinated with Iran. Tehran and Damascus, which both support Hezbollah, have signed several military pacts. Reuven Erlich, a Syrian expert and director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at Israel's Center for Special Studies, told WND Assad's threats "are to be taken seriously." "Assad's support for terrorism, for the insurgency in Iraq, for Hezbollah and his alliance with Iran are all indication of the direction in which Syria is headed. Assad needs to demonstrate he is willing to sue for peace, but everything seems to indicate the opposite. Especially following the war in Lebanon," Erlich said. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53310 Olmert agrees to release $100m. in PA tax revenue THE JERUSALEM POST - IBy Herb Keinon And Khaled Abu Toameh - December 23, 2006 --Israel will turn over $100 million in tax revenue that it has collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority but held up since Hamas came to power earlier this year, Israeli officials said after a surprise meeting in Jerusalem Saturday night between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The tax issue was one of several, including the release of Palestinian security prisoners and Cpl. Gilad Shalit, that Olmert and Abbas discussed at the Prime Minister's residence. ... http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881957035&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull DEBKAfile Reports: The Israeli gestures “agreed” at the first Olmert-Abbas talks Saturday night in Jerusalem were conferred weeks ago DEBKAFILE - December 24, 2006 -- The same package of gestures, concessions and benefits was doled out in the three weeks leading up to the first heart-to-heart Saturday night, Dec. 23, between prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the prime minister’s private home in Jerusalem. DEBKAfile reports it consisted of automatic weapons and ammunition (as disclosed by DEBKAfile), a portion of the frozen Palestinian assets and permission to move the PLO’s Badr Brigade from its Jordanian base to the Gaza Strip. The last concession is stalled by the Palestinian insistence on the incoming troops bringing their families and settling permanently, which looks to Israel suspiciously like a back-door migration of Palestinian refugees, rather than a military boost for the Palestinian Authority. In any case, according to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the Badr troops have not had any military training in years. The Americans and Europeans knew about the concessions; not so the Israeli public. The disclosure would have added to Olmert’s deepening unpopularity at a time when Qassam missiles continue to ravage towns and villages in the south, there is now word on the fate of the Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit,and the Hamas-ruled Palestinian government has forged an alliance for war with Tehran. Therefore, the Israeli prime minister needed the meeting with Abbas to show he was capable of some diplomatic momentum. US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice leaned hard on both leaders to get together to demonstrate successful US-sponsored diplomacy in at least one corner of the Middle East. She turned to Jerusalem in Ramallah in a region where everywhere else Washington’s fortunes are in reverse. The White House must cast about for a new strategy to save Iraq, Lebanon’s prime minister turns to Moscow for help against Hizballah, the UN Security Council is helpless to halt Iran’s nuclear program and Syria carries on defying the UN and the West. Therefore, both the US and Israel pushed the meeting forward, even though the Palestinian leader, because of his chronic weakness and the violent feud between his Fatah and Hamas, can offer nothing. As to what he received, $100m of Palestinian assets frozen since Hamas took power in March has already been released; and the joint Israeli-Palestinian committee the release of jailed Palestinians in return for Gilead Shalit will stand idle until Hamas’ boss, Khaled Meshaal in Damascus gets the go-ahead from his Syrian and Iranian masters. http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3673 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.