Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 "Irv Hyatt" <irvhyatt@ca.rr.com> wrote in message news:46b0313d$0$29697$4c368faf@roadrunner.com... Missing in the Debate The Fate of the Iraqi People As the summer grinds on, the war of words over the real war in Iraq is growing hotter every day. Critics of the war are saying that the American people are fed up and want the troops to come home; that the Iraqi government needs to step up and take responsibility for the growing violence; that the war is straining our military-and our soldiers-to the breaking point. Meanwhile, the war's defenders are claiming that if the troops leave now, the enemy will have won. Instead of fighting terrorists in Iraq, we'll be fighting them here in our homeland. Leaving now could lead to a wider war in the Middle East, with a resurgent Iran-led by a madman-wreaking havoc throughout the region. But what I'm not hearing talked about at all is the fate of the Iraqi people. One thing is for certain. If the U.S. pulls its troops out now, there will be a bloodbath. Many thousands of Iraqis will perish. I don't know of any credible critic or supporter of the war who denies that fact. The lives of thousands-maybe hundreds of thousands-are at stake. And what about the political future of the Iraqi people? What about their human rights? Several months ago, the debate over Iraq reached new levels of absurdity when the U.N.'s Kofi Annan claimed that the Iraqi people were better off before the war when Saddam Hussein was in power, defying U.N. sanctions, a threat to the Middle East and imposing unspeakable brutality on his people. Many thousands were tortured, beaten, even burned. Chemical attacks by his regime killed 30,000 Iraqis and anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds. To intimidate Saddam's opponents, allegations of prostitution were used to justify barbaric beheadings. And most gruesome are the accounts of children tortured. The list of human rights violations goes on and on. Having spent nine years in the Soviet gulag, Natan Sharansky knows a thing or two about living under tyranny. Writing in the Washington Post recently, Sharansky offered a more realistic before-and-after assessment of Iraq. "The truth," writes Sharansky, "is that in totalitarian regimes, there are no human rights. Period. The media do not criticize the government. Parliaments do not check executive power. Courts do not uphold due process. And human rights groups don't file reports . . . life under totalitarianism is slavery with no possibility of escape." There is no doubting that life in Iraq for the average Iraqi is extraordinarily tough right now. But what do the Iraqis themselves think about life in Iraq now as compared to life under Saddam Hussein? Sharansky points to a recent poll: "by nearly 2 to 1 . . . the Iraqis said they preferred life under their new government to life under the old tyranny." Why? They want freedom. As the president said recently in Prague, freedom is a universal, God given ideal that all of humanity desires -- not the least of whom are the Iraqi people. As Sharansky noted, "People of goodwill can certainly disagree over how to handle Iraq, but human rights should be part of any responsible calculus." We don't hear this even being discussed today in our shrill political debate. By Chuck Colson -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Further Reading and Information Natan Sharansky, "Leave Iraq and Brace for a Bigger Bloodbath," Washington Post, 8 July 2007, B03. "Life Under Saddam Hussein," White House press release, 4 April 2003. Erin Montgomery, "Remembering Saddam's Iraq," Weekly Standard, 16 December 2003. Mark Colvin, "Iraqi's Kurds Fear U.S. Pullout," ABC News, 31 July 2007. "Leaving Now Not the Way Out Of Iraq," Times Online, 29 July 2007. Breakpoint Commentary No. 031218, "Capturing Saddam: A Worldview Perspective on War." Breakpoint Commentary No. 050530, "Soldiering Justly: Fighting Freedom's Battles." Breakpoint Commentary No. 051111, "Blackhawks, Soccer Balls, and Freedom: A Story For Veterans Day." Quote
Guest M Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:49:22 -0400, St. Jackanapes <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote: >Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > >> > Nobody gives a shit what goes on in South Africa. It's the world's anus. >> >> All the shit comes out of America. > >You bet, dumbass. And it all runs downhill to South America, where you >fucking losers gobble it down in huge reeking chunks, making us filthy >rich. You fuckers are pathetic losers. Que paso, Mel !!! Quote
Guest M Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:30:02 -0000, Richard Catto <rrcatto@gmail.com> wrote: >South Africa is not going to tolerate American companies selling shit >which poisons our people. then you might as well strap 50 tons of dynamite to a thousand Kaffirs and blow up every American fast food place in ZA.. it's all poison Quote
Guest M Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:22:58 -0000, Richard Catto <rrcatto@gmail.com> wrote: >St. Jackanapes wrote: >> Richard Catto held us spellbound with... >> > > Nobody gives a shit what goes on in South Africa. It's the world's anus. >> > All the shit comes out of America. >> You bet, dumbass. And it all runs downhill to South America, where you >> fucking losers gobble it down in huge reeking chunks, making us filthy >> rich. You fuckers are pathetic losers. > >The next step is for South Africa to bar on principle all American >companies from trading here until such time as the American government >agrees to our demands, which are: > >The US will agree to: > >1. Not foment wars, conflicts, nor commit acts of aggression without >our agreement >2. Cease ALL aid to Israel >3. Withdraw from both Iraq and Afghanistan >4. Cease deployment of their missile shield and in fact totally >dismantle it >5. Sign the Kyoto Treaty >6. Acknowledge the World Court in Den Hague, Nederland and sign the >Rome Statue (International Criminal Court) which handles war crimes. >7. Sign the Ottawa Treaty which bans landmines > >In effect, I'd like to see the entire world impose the strictest >sanctions on America and American citizens until such time as America >comes to heel or openly declares its aggression and we can just go to >war status with America. > >Sanctions imposed will be: > >1. No trade whatsoever >2. No movement of any Americans outside of America at all. >3. All Americans outside America deported summarily. No waiting >period. Immediate deportation. >4. Anyone holding dual citizenship (one being American) having to >choose immediately. >5. All American patents, copyright, intellectual property claims etc >thrown out. > >In the event of war, America will be militarily defeated, by sustained >and continued operations by every country. Any country not joining in >will also be militarily defeated. Countries declaring neutrality will >be defeated. > >If America uses nuclear weapons even just once to destroy any part of >this Earth, including territory on American soil, all her citizens >lives will be forfeited. In other words, surrender would no longer be >an option for America because doing so will ensure that not a single >American retains their life. It will become a fight to the very end. > >China alone should be able to completely conquer America. China and >Russia together have a 100% certainty of completely and utterly >defeating America. You wanna know how weak America is.. a single terrorist could virtually destroy it in a few seconds. Look at the impact 9/11 had on America or, more precisely.. Americans. The United States government and military is strong enough to combat any would-be aggressor, even the allied force of a few dozen nations ..but the American people, whiny fear mongers that they are, have ultimate control of the state of the union. 9/11 artificially skewed every economic indicator in the U.S. because most every American bought in to the fear of terrorism. Now Americans are on the edge, living in unrealistic fear that their world could collapse at any moment. The problem with America is that it's set up to self-fulfill the hopes _and_ fears of its own citizens. Think of America like a flock of birds that, when one changes direction in flight, they all end up changing direction at almost precisely the same time. 9/11 was nothing more than some idiot sling shooting some marbles into the flock that happened to take out a few birds, but changed the direction of the whole flock. Americans are in a daze right now, still in 'shock' from the type of event that ideally should happen to us at least once a month. America would be a lot stronger if terrorists would _consistently_ kill people in America. Once terrorism became 'old news' and Americans didn't let little attacks (such as the loss of a few buildings and the death of only a few thousand people.. big whoop) effect them, then America will be the 5inch armor-plated monolith of sheer strength it has the potential to be. Be afraid of an apathetic America, very afraid. Quote
Guest M Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:25:41 -0000, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenberg@gmail.com> wrote: >Father Haskell wrote: >> The prospect that you might be part Korean should scare YOU. > >See, that defines the whole American problem right there. > >You've been to war with Koreans. South Africa has not and never will. >We don't care how many nukes and missiles either Korea produces. They >pose no threat to us. > >It's not a bad thing to be Korean in South Africa. > >The 20th century was a very bad century for the United States of >America. Essentially, your empire hit its zenith, and now you are busy >winding down. It'll take a few hundred years perhaps, but you're good >as dead now. lol >It's anyone's guess whether you'll go slow like the Romans did, or >quickly like the Mayans. > >The Mayans peaked at around 900CE (just before) and then poof! they >collapsed. > >Why did they collapse? > >That is still heavily debated by scientists. > >Drought and disease may have played its part in weakening the Mayans, >but one Mayan city, Cancuen fell to an outside attack. They were >attacked and slaughtered. The Royal house was ritually executed. This >shows extreme hatred. > >The Mayans practised human sacrifice, capturing Indian tribes people >and slicing them up on their altars on a daily basis. Obviously this >practice gains you many implacable enemies fast. I see somebody watched 'Apocalypto'.. >I theorise that the natives, who were preyed upon, allied with each >other and mounted a sustained and concerted attack against these evil >fucks and wiped them out deliberately, purposefully and with extreme >malice. Weakened by disease and drought, those Mayan sick fucks fell >like the dogs they were. > >America has managed to do the same - amass many enemies. Sooner or >later, America is going to bite down hard on lead poisoning and go the >way of the dodos. This absolute decline may be precipitating by any >number of calamities befalling your nation. It is possible that you >may succumb to disease, either from an intentional biological attack >or a naturally occurring disease exacting a heavy toll. whatever happens to America needs to happen to it on a regular basis >As an example of how bad that could be, Black Death tore 5 million >lives out of 7 million living in Britain in the 13th century. Pro-rata >that would reduce your population from 270 million to 78 million. A >perfect time to launch an all out assault on you - you'd be absolutely >ripe for the plucking. not necessarily.. you forget our technological might, and a lot of it these days is automated. It would take only one pilot of an American stealth bomber to wipe out your little corner of the world Quote
Guest Irv Hyatt Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 "Father Haskell" <fatherhaskell@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1185952970.753953.232800@k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com... > On Aug 1, 2:40 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: >> St. Jackanapes wrote: >> > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... >> > > Father Haskell wrote: >> > > > On Jul 31, 11:24 pm, Richard Catto <rrca...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > > > > Father Haskell wrote: >> > > > > > On Jul 31, 10:30 pm, Richard Catto <rrca...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > > > > > > lab~rat >:-) wrote: >> > > > > > > > On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:10:59 -0000, Richard Catto >> > > > > > > > <rrca...@gmail.com> >> > > > > > > > >So I was in KFC >> > > > > > > > And you're bitching about McDonalds? LOL@ your fat ass. >> > > > > > > KFC is better than McD. >> > > > > > KY Jelly Chicken is arguably the greasiest fast food on the >> > > > > > face of god's gray Earth. We've actually had several here >> > > > > > in Bawlamer, USA catch fire from spontaneous combustion >> > > > > > of trash barrel contents. Someone needs to do an alternative >> > > > > > energy study of how many BTUs heat you can generate by setting >> > > > > > a drumstick on fire. >> > > > > > As for it being better than McDonalds, unfortunately, you're >> > > > > > right. >> > > > > I'm right very often. That should really scare you. >> > > > You know who likes KYJ Chicken up here in the States? >> > > > Koreans. >> > > > The prospect that you might be part Korean should scare YOU. >> > > See, that defines the whole American problem right there. >> > > You've been to war with Koreans. South Africa has not and never will. >> > That's because you're pussies. >> >> It's because we didn't feel the need to make war on Communists in >> Asia. > > Most of us 'Merkins didn't, either. > >> The USA fucked up and you continue to fuck up. > > Your KFC is getting cold. Can we have your slaw if you > don't want it? > Ooh yeah, I love their cole slaw. > > Quote
Guest St. Jackanapes Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > St. Jackanapes wrote: > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > > The US will agree to: > > You didn't expect me to read all that tripe did you? I told you before: > > The shit runs downhill YOUR way, cunt. > > you seem to think I'm in South America. > > boy, are you in for a surprise! South America, South Africa, both are the world's shit holes. -- St. Jackanapes http://www.jackanapes.ws ============================ Quote
Guest St. Jackanapes Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > St. Jackanapes wrote: > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > > Father Haskell wrote: > > > > On Aug 1, 1:25 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > It's not a bad thing to be Korean in South Africa. > > > > I knew it. Catto's a Korean. > > > why don't you go fuk a duk? > > That's South African wit for ya. > > why did you think i was joking? You are a joke, Cuntto. -- St. Jackanapes http://www.jackanapes.ws ============================ Quote
Guest Father Haskell Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 On Aug 1, 2:45 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: > St. Jackanapes wrote: > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > > Father Haskell wrote: > > > > On Aug 1, 1:25 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > It's not a bad thing to be Korean in South Africa. > > > > I knew it. Catto's a Korean. > > > why don't you go fuk a duk? > > That's South African wit for ya. > > why did you think i was joking? No. Korean. Quote
Guest St. Jackanapes Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 Father Haskell held us spellbound with... > On Aug 1, 2:45 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: > > St. Jackanapes wrote: > > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > > > Father Haskell wrote: > > > > > On Aug 1, 1:25 am, Richard Catto <rrcatto.muizenb...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > It's not a bad thing to be Korean in South Africa. > > > > > I knew it. Catto's a Korean. > > > > why don't you go fuk a duk? > > > That's South African wit for ya. > > > > why did you think i was joking? > > No. Korean. He's Korean, alright. -- St. Jackanapes http://www.jackanapes.ws ============================ Quote
Guest St. Jackanapes Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > M Quote
Guest M Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:47:06 -0000, Richard Catto <rrcatto@gmail.com> wrote: >M Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 "St. Jackanapes" <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:MPG.211b28362c710c5e98971e@news.alt.net... Just in from of the coast of Africa ... Scientists Tweak Genes to Create 12-Headed Jellyfish Wednesday, August 01, 2007 By Charles Q. Choi University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, now given the human name St. Jackanapes, (aka Larry Jackowski), genetically modified with two heads (center). The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, genetically modified with two heads (center). Jellyfish with up to a dozen heads have been created in the laboratory by carefully monkeying with a few genes. The genetic experiments could shed light on how natural colonies of other multi-headed organisms first originated, including some that build coral reefs. Researchers targeted so-called Cnox genes, which help control how the bodies of jellyfish are laid out as their embryos develop. These genes are closely related to Hox genes, which play a similar role in humans, now being attempted inside Larry Jackowski of Ohio.. How they did it. They experimented on the European hydromedusa (Eleutheria dichotoma), collected from the south of France, where the human "Jackowski family "originated. (In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a monster with innumerable heads, while Medusa had writhing snakes for hair.) The researchers designed RNA molecules that specifically only "silenced" Cnox genes in these saltwater critters. Normally, the saltiness of the Jackowski animals would prevent the molecules from entering their cells, but the scientists diluted seawater with freshwater enough "where the jellyfish still survived and the RNA got in," said evolutionary biologist and invertebrate zoologist Bernd Schierwater at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany. By inhibiting one Cnox gene called Cnox-3, two heads often formed, where both were completely functional - regarding food intake, for instance. By deactivating another, Cnox-2, more than two heads usually sprouted - "up to a dozen," Schierwater told LiveScience. He and colleague Wolfgang Jakob, also at Hannover, detailed their findings in the Aug. 1 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. Twelve heads better than one? Nope! The Larry Jackowski experimant shows Severe Dementia starting at the DNA level. Animals, (and the sub-human Jackowski family), with many heads are rare in nature, suggesting that two or more heads usually aren't better than one - having more than one head results in costs with no immediate matching benefits. However, Schierwater noted that corals, which are animals, often form colonies by adding heads to a common stalk, each of which connect to a common gut, just as with the modified jellyfish that the researchers created. The now termed "Jackowski Jellyfish" are related to the creatures that build coral reefs - they are both carnivores belonging to a group called cnidarians, which means "stinging nettles," because of their stingers. Schierwater conjectured the solitary ancestors of corals and other colonial organisms might have adapted genes related to multiple heads long ago "in such a way that animal colonies were able to emerge." It has been suggested that these mutations should be exterminated, and that the world will be a bteer place without them! Copyright Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 "St. Jackanapes" <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:MPG.211b2863a2863dc498971f@news.alt.net... Richard Catto held us spellbound with... Just in from off the coast of Africa ... Scientists Tweak Genes to Create 12-Headed Jellyfish Wednesday, August 01, 2007 By Charles Q. Choi University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, now given the human name St. Jackanapes, (aka Larry Jackowski), genetically modified with two heads (center). The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, genetically modified with two heads (center). Jellyfish with up to a dozen heads have been created in the laboratory by carefully monkeying with a few genes. The genetic experiments could shed light on how natural colonies of other multi-headed organisms first originated, including some that build coral reefs. Researchers targeted so-called Cnox genes, which help control how the bodies of jellyfish are laid out as their embryos develop. These genes are closely related to Hox genes, which play a similar role in humans, now being attempted inside Larry Jackowski of Ohio.. How they did it. They experimented on the European hydromedusa (Eleutheria dichotoma), collected from the south of France, where the human "Jackowski family "originated. (In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a monster with innumerable heads, while Medusa had writhing snakes for hair.) The researchers designed RNA molecules that specifically only "silenced" Cnox genes in these saltwater critters. Normally, the saltiness of the Jackowski animals would prevent the molecules from entering their cells, but the scientists diluted seawater with freshwater enough "where the jellyfish still survived and the RNA got in," said evolutionary biologist and invertebrate zoologist Bernd Schierwater at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany. By inhibiting one Cnox gene called Cnox-3, two heads often formed, where both were completely functional - regarding food intake, for instance. By deactivating another, Cnox-2, more than two heads usually sprouted - "up to a dozen," Schierwater told LiveScience. He and colleague Wolfgang Jakob, also at Hannover, detailed their findings in the Aug. 1 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. Twelve heads better than one? Nope! The Larry Jackowski experimant shows Severe Dementia starting at the DNA level. Animals, (and the sub-human Jackowski family), with many heads are rare in nature, suggesting that two or more heads usually aren't better than one - having more than one head results in costs with no immediate matching benefits. However, Schierwater noted that corals, which are animals, often form colonies by adding heads to a common stalk, each of which connect to a common gut, just as with the modified jellyfish that the researchers created. The now termed "Jackowski Jellyfish" are related to the creatures that build coral reefs - they are both carnivores belonging to a group called cnidarians, which means "stinging nettles," because of their stingers. Schierwater conjectured the solitary ancestors of corals and other colonial organisms might have adapted genes related to multiple heads long ago "in such a way that animal colonies were able to emerge." It has been suggested that these mutations should be exterminated, and that the world will be a bteer place without them! Copyright Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 "St. Jackanapes" <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:MPG.211b08ec7e6545c98971b@news.alt.net... > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > > You are a joke, Cuntto. > What Does it Mean to Bear the Cross in the West? By John H. Armstrong The Uncomfortable Christian Life "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). Every Christian has been called to live life under the cross. But what does this actually mean in the West, where a fading Christian consensus still allows us to live freely with little serious opposition to our daily choices? We preach from the Scriptures, invite people to embrace the good news, and even get involved in public issues, especially in opposing what we do not like. And we do all of this with little or no threat to our safety. Tom White, the president of The Voice of the Martyrs, suggests that "some Christians in the West have drifted into believing that living under a Judeo-Christian consensus is some natural form of life that nature has dictated." But, White rightly reminds us, "expressions of faith have always been purchased with sacrifice, blood, sweat, tears and determination. The religious-political freedoms we have are not some divine right or blessing that has simply floated down upon us, a permanent right without our involvement." So, what does it mean to truly "bear the cross" in the West? CONSIDER THE CROSS We must first consider the cross itself. Historically this symbol, which is only a piece of jewelry for many in the West, was a universal, pre-Christian place of painful, disgraceful execution. The Romans actually created this torturous death stake in order to make a public display of their power and control. Rebellion would not be tolerated and the cross was their proof. But it was on such a cross that Jesus of Nazareth died. Early on in Christian history the cross was not openly displayed by Christians as a symbol because the Christian faith was still illegal. For this reason the cross was very often disguised. It was even combined with another symbol, such as the X-shape of the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter in the title Christos, or Christ. By this means, early believers could use a universal symbol without drawing undue attention to their presence or communities. Once the Christian faith was openly embraced, and came into favor in the time of Constantine (early in the fourth century), symbols of the cross became more public and universal. As early as the second century the sign of the cross was traced by the fingers of Christians as part of prayerful devotion. This powerful unspoken sign was deeply rooted in texts like these: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24). For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demands signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:21-24) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24) May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14) Even more interesting, at least to my mind, is the fact that the earliest representations of Christ on the cross, dating back to the fifth century, were of Christ reigning as king. Why? Because these early Christians associated Christ's crucifixion with His total victory and with His sovereign control over all things. In Peter's anointed sermon at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2, we read of Jesus being "handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge" in order to be put to death by wicked men on a cross. What follows in Acts 2 is an extensive quotation from Psalm 16 which suggests that through the cross, and "God raising him from the dead" (Acts 2:24), this same Jesus is now seated on David's throne, reigning over all people and all things. From here this crucified Sovereign directs His followers to suffer with Him so that His Kingdom will now come with power in this present age. This message of the cross, and of our co-suffering with Christ, is thus essential to faithful Christian witness. But it is the cross, understood in this way, that has been blunted by the easy-going message of the modern Western church. And this is precisely why we need to hear the voice of our martyrs with open eyes and ears more than ever. This is surely one way that we in the West can learn to "bear the cross." THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS The German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) displayed what is needed in our time. He could have remained outside the struggles of his homeland, as Nazi influence spread, safely writing and teaching in England or America. But the news of the Christian struggle for faithfulness drew him home. He could not resist the Spirit's leading to take up the cross; thus, he chose to go back to Germany, knowing full- well that this might result in his death, which it did only days before the war ended. In a letter Bonhoeffer wrote from prison (Letters and Papers from Prison), a classic book published in 1948 that everyone would do well to read, he said, "It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but the participation in the suffering of God in the world" (emphasis mine). Tom White has noted that what made Bonhoeffer so different from many other religious people at the time was that he "disdained non- moral sympathy, or simply feeling bad about something but doing nothing about it." FEAR OF SUFFERING? I submit that this is precisely our problem. We embrace religious activism with considerable passion. But we also want to flourish materially, to build our churches, to increase our numbers, and even to protest occasional political and social errors with our voices and our votes. But we want to do all of this from the considerable safety of our well-conceived comfort zones. We "feel bad" about the multiplied and egregious compromises that our world has made with moral darkness and gross injustice that mark both our culture and our churches. But Bonhoeffer would have no part of this type of cross-less, sensate Christianity. In another letter from prison he challenged the kind of activism so common in our time: "It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but the participation in the suffering of God in the world." The church father Cyprian (c. 200-258) understood this well when he said, "No one is free from the risk of persecution. . . . But how serious it is for Christians who are unwilling to suffer for their own sins when He who had no sin suffered for us! . . . If we suffer from the world's hatred, Christ first endured the world's hatred." We do not think too highly of suffering in the modern church. We would much rather be identified with those who are successful. When was the last time we commended suffering on a Christian television program, except to raise funds once in awhile? Those who are low and broken are not exalted on our platforms. Losers are never promoted in our ranks. But biblically the opposite is true. Scripture is clear-we must suffer before we can share in the glory. There is a paradox here that makes all of this untidy to our logical demand for hyper-productivity. The Catholic mystic Thomas Merton adds: "The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because the smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt." We fear suffering and thus we fear the very thing that will make us more and more like Christ. And by fearing suffering, in the bigger picture of things, the smaller things will "torture" us just as Merton says. We become fixed on our losses, on our dangers, on the possibilities and the potentialities for things to go bad. I still recall a Christian leader from an Eastern European country in the days of Communist domination, saying that the day he "died" to his present and future prospects in life was the same day he was mightily empowered to be truly free. He could be put to death, or he could suffer yet more. Or he could live and be released. But from that day on whatever happened to him he could live to the glory of God with no fear. This freedom, and the God-given joy that he then possessed, drove his tormenters crazy. If they killed him he was truly free and his blood would only spread the gospel. If they let him live he could go on preaching the gospel and serving people with greater power and joy. It is this kind of "martyr" (the word marturia actually means witness) freedom that so few possess in the West today. I can recall another friend, who served a large and affluent suburban church, telling me that it dawned on him, after many efforts to get his leaders to pray and sacrifice themselves, that there was no way they could really understand the words of the apostle Paul, who said, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Why? For these successful men and women, "to live was their company and its prosperity and pension program," and "to die would thus be a tragedy." Don't get me wrong. I am not opposed to successful companies or pension programs, per se. I am convinced, however, that few who live in such a context can handle it reasonably well. They simply do not factor life under the cross into the way they live. Tom White refers to the sacrifice and suffering of the graduates of an evangelical seminary in Kota, Rajasthan (India), as people who must "swim in the turbulent waters of a Hindu society hostile to Christianity." I have personally ministered in these turbulent waters. I was never so strengthened in the midst of my own weakness, both physically and spiritually. Glenn Penner, a Canadian worker with Voice of the Martyrs, adds: These students understand that the real sacrifice for ministry comes not so much in the penetration of ministry but in the performance of it. They understand that a cross- centered gospel requires cross carrying messengers. . . . Christians are not called to a lesser degree of involvement. Sacrifice for Christ is not theoretical. It is tangible. It is real. Go out, and make something happen. It is human nature to shun difficulty, to try to avoid pain. And given the success of our present lifestyle, it is downright American to appeal to people to follow Christ so that their various emotional and personal needs will be met through Him. And this works-look at our great churches and their fabulous success. There is no doubt about it. "But life is full of people who 'used to believe,'" said J. B. Phillips, "but because things turned out darker and tougher than they supposed, they have decided that 'there can't be a God to let things like that happen.' But 'things like that' have always happened, to all sorts of people; even to Christ." He adds, "Let's not pretend. No one likes pain or difficulty or this sense of darkness and being alone. But if we can accept it as a part of life and hold on to the God who, apparently, isn't there, we shall eventually emerge toughened and strengthened." LIVING INTENTIONALLY UNDER THE CROSS It may be normal to shun problems, to flee persecution and suffering for the sake of the cross, but as Tom White reminds us, "It is supernatural to walk to them and through them for the gospel." It is this supernatural power that we lack. Our Christian lives are far too easy to explain and way too hum-drum to impress most people. Most of us think that there is very little we can do that might invite suffering under the cross in our culture. I don't agree. If we want to live quiet, comfortable lives, then all will be well, at least for the time being. But it we ever get around to living out the implications of the lordship of Christ over all spheres of culture, we will find both blessing and suffering go hand in hand. The forces of darkness are real. The threat of evil is not without danger. We will soon discover this first hand if we choose consciously to enter into the cross life. To get involved in living intentionally under the cross means that we can't stand safely on the sidelines, in our comfort zones and lovely homes, shouting at the culture to stop producing pornography and irreverent books and movies. Our fears that we will somehow fall into these particular sins of the culture are generally unfounded. We have so removed ourselves from the culture, and from our neighbors, that many of us now live in ecclesial ghettos. We fear that worldliness comes through contact with people in the world, as if worldliness was a cold virus you catch by being around the wrong people. In reality, worldliness is a fallen and unredeemed thought process by which natural and normal people live without faith; i.e., they live without the cross. Our unwillingness to invest our lives in this world, to sacrifice our small comforts and pleasures, to live simply and faithfully under the cross of Christ, are all clear proof that we are already far more worldly than we seem to know. Bashir Ahmed Tantray, a 50-year-old engineer and father of four, was shot dead on November 21, 2006, as he stood on a busy road in Mamoosa village in the state of Jammu in India. Why was Tantray shot down? He had converted from Islam to Christianity about a decade ago. But that is not the whole story. Tantray was active as a Christian, both in his family and in the work place. He was known, very publicly, as a "Christian worker." Simply put, he lived under the cross out in the open. His story is being repeated over and over again every single day. The Voice of the Martyrs has a clear, simple definition of a Christian martyr. It can truly apply to Christians in every culture, including our own Western culture. "A Christian martyr is one who chooses to suffer death rather than to deny Christ or His work . . . sacrifices something very important to further the Kingdom of God . . . endures great suffering for Christian witness." You may not be called to physically die in a violent way in 2007. But you are called to live your life as Bashir Tantray lived, as a true cross-bearing "Christian worker." If you do live in this way, you will suffer persecution. Some of this persecution, in the West, will surely come from religious people who are offended by your righteous deeds. But you will also know the glory and joy of living with Christ in the power of His resurrection. Dr. John H. Armstrong is the president of ACT 3, a ministry for advancing the Christian tradition in the third millennium. He is an author/editor of nine books and a professor of evangelism who helps churches recover their lost passion for Christ and the great truth of Christ's supremacy over all things, in both the church and the culture. He is an active blogger and the editor of the ACT 3 Online Review: A Journal for Faith, Church and Culture. John has been married to his best friend, Anita, for thirty-six years and has two married children and two grandchildren. He lives in suburban Chicago. Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 "St. Jackanapes" <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:MPG.211b08cd5d2b1b2198971a@news.alt.net... > > Richard Catto held us spellbound with... > > South America, South Africa, both are the world's shit holes. > Just in from off the coast of Africa ... Scientists Tweak Genes to Create 12-Headed Jellyfish Wednesday, August 01, 2007 By Charles Q. Choi University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, now given the human name St. Jackanapes, (aka Larry Jackowski), genetically modified with two heads (center). The jellyfish Eleutheria dichotoma, genetically modified with two heads (center). Jellyfish with up to a dozen heads have been created in the laboratory by carefully monkeying with a few genes. The genetic experiments could shed light on how natural colonies of other multi-headed organisms first originated, including some that build coral reefs. Researchers targeted so-called Cnox genes, which help control how the bodies of jellyfish are laid out as their embryos develop. These genes are closely related to Hox genes, which play a similar role in humans, now being attempted inside Larry Jackowski of Ohio.. How they did it. They experimented on the European hydromedusa (Eleutheria dichotoma), collected from the south of France, where the human "Jackowski family "originated. (In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a monster with innumerable heads, while Medusa had writhing snakes for hair.) The researchers designed RNA molecules that specifically only "silenced" Cnox genes in these saltwater critters. Normally, the saltiness of the Jackowski animals would prevent the molecules from entering their cells, but the scientists diluted seawater with freshwater enough "where the jellyfish still survived and the RNA got in," said evolutionary biologist and invertebrate zoologist Bernd Schierwater at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany. By inhibiting one Cnox gene called Cnox-3, two heads often formed, where both were completely functional - regarding food intake, for instance. By deactivating another, Cnox-2, more than two heads usually sprouted - "up to a dozen," Schierwater told LiveScience. He and colleague Wolfgang Jakob, also at Hannover, detailed their findings in the Aug. 1 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. Twelve heads better than one? Nope! The Larry Jackowski experimant shows Severe Dementia starting at the DNA level. Animals, (and the sub-human Jackowski family), with many heads are rare in nature, suggesting that two or more heads usually aren't better than one - having more than one head results in costs with no immediate matching benefits. However, Schierwater noted that corals, which are animals, often form colonies by adding heads to a common stalk, each of which connect to a common gut, just as with the modified jellyfish that the researchers created. The now termed "Jackowski Jellyfish" are related to the creatures that build coral reefs - they are both carnivores belonging to a group called cnidarians, which means "stinging nettles," because of their stingers. Schierwater conjectured the solitary ancestors of corals and other colonial organisms might have adapted genes related to multiple heads long ago "in such a way that animal colonies were able to emerge." It has been suggested that these mutations should be exterminated, and that the world will be a bteer place without them! Copyright Quote
Guest Father Haskell Posted August 2, 2007 Posted August 2, 2007 On Aug 1, 9:47 pm, Richard Catto <rrca...@gmail.com> wrote: > M Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 3, 2007 Posted August 3, 2007 "Father Haskell" <fatherhaskell@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1186093584.402529.278410@x40g2000prg.googlegroups.com... Nations That Live, Nations That Die Imagine the executive who is at the top of his career field. He lives in a palatial home overlooking a gorgeous lake. His three children do well in school and his wife has a successful small business. This executive attends many business functions where he often has a drink or two with his partners or clients. They raise sparkling crystal glasses filled with fragrant wines or shot glasses with strong whiskey. Soon the executive's occasional drink becomes habitual. Over a few years, his alcohol habit undermines his ability to work and he loses his job. About the same time, his wife gets tired of his problems and leaves him, taking his children with her. Soon he loses his home and all of his possessions. Eventually, he becomes a homeless recluse on the street, wearing tattered clothing, unwashed, with a scraggly beard. Still he clutches his drink, this time a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. People who once knew him as the up-and-coming executive pass him on the street and mutter, "How on earth did he get in this condition?" Can you see similarities between our country and that executive? Are we not right now at the pinnacle of success? But are we not wasting our good fortune with addictions to bad habits and sinful living? Could foreigners say of us, "How could a nation like America get into this condition?" Pattern of Decay Pat Robertson offers a profound description of how such a collapse unfolds. It so clearly details what is happening right now in America that it deserves being reprinted at length: As the nineties unfold, nothing portrays our world crisis more clearly than man's internal and moral condition. The unmistakable scent of what the Bible calls the antichrist spirit is in the air. It was present at the Tower of Babel and at Sodom and Gomorrah. It was present in the French Revolution and in Nazi Germany. And it is present in Europe and the United States today. The signs of this spirit are clear. They emerge in this fashion: A significant minority, then an actual majority, of the people in a society begin to throw off the restraints of history, then the restraints of written law, then accepted standards of morality, then established religion, and finally, God Himself. As the rebellion gains momentum, the participants grow bolder. Those practices that once were considered shameful and unlawful move into the open. Soon the practitioners are aggressive, militant. As each societal standard falls, another comes under attack. The pressure is relentless. Established institutions crumble. Ultimately the struggle that began as a cry for freedom of expression grows into an all-out war against the rights of advocates of traditional morality. The latter are hated, reviled, isolated, and then persecuted. Honor, decency, honesty, self-control, sexual restraint, family values, and sacrifice are replaced by gluttony, sensuality, bizarre sexual practices, cruelty, profligacy, dishonesty, delinquency, drunkenness, drug-induced euphoria, fraud, waste, debauched currency, and rampant inflation. The people then search for a deity that will both permit and personify their basest desires. At Babel it was a tower-man's attempt to glorify himself. In ancient Mediterranean cultures, like those of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was a god or goddess of sex. In France, it was the goddess of reason; in Germany, Hitler and the Nazi party; in Europe and especially in the United States, the god of central government under the religion of secular humanism. The pattern is always the same. So is the result. No society falling under the grip of the antichrist spirit has survived. First comes a period of lawlessness and virtual anarchy, then an economic collapse followed by a reign of terror. Then comes a strong dictator who plunders society for his personal aggrandizement; he dreams of a worldwide empire and storms into war. Eventually come defeat and collapse.1 Where is America in this pattern? How much farther do we have to go before the end? A Warning and a Promise In one of the most profound warnings in all Scripture, God lays the choice of survival before ancient Israel: "I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering . But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish . I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15-19, NASB). Israel did not heed the warning. Their culture became more and more depraved, until God allowed surrounding nations to take them into captivity. During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were ruled by the Roman legions. Shortly thereafter, the Jewish temple was razed and the people scattered. An example of a nation that repented and escaped God's judgment was the wicked city of Nineveh. God sent Jonah to warn Nineveh of its imminent destruction. What followed was the familiar story of Jonah fleeing in a ship to escape God's command to go to Nineveh. After being swallowed by a great fish and then spit out onto dry land, Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh. The book of Jonah describes what happened: The very first day when Jonah entered the city and began to preach, the people repented. Jonah shouted to the crowds that gathered around him, "Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!" And they believed him and declared a fast; from the king on down, everyone put on sackcloth-the rough, coarse garments worn at times of mourning (Jonah 3:4, 5, TLB). The king gave the people the following instructions: "Let no one, not even the animals, eat anything at all, nor even drink any water. Everyone must wear sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and let everyone turn from his evil ways, from his violence and robbing. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will decide to let us live, and will hold back his fierce anger from destroying us" (Jonah 3:7-9, TLB). Immediate repentance, a passionate desire for forgiveness, and honest confession of sin, along with a sincere commitment to change their ways saved Nineveh from the destruction that threatened them. God came through as He always does when people repent and turn away from their corrupt behavior. "When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he abandoned his plan to destroy them, and didn't carry it through" (v. 10, TLB). Peter explains God's willingness to forego punishment: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). The story of Nineveh shows what can happen when a people turn from their wicked ways. I urge you to read the short book of Jonah in the Old Testament. It will increase your hope and faith to believe that it is not too late for America to repent and avoid the judgment of God. Ten Factors of Decline Great empires before us have been reduced to rubble by the same forces that prevail in our country today. In his powerful study, When Nations Die, Jim Nelson Black identifies ten factors that have appeared in great civilizations of the past and led to their decline and fall. In some cultures, Black observes, as few as three or four of these symptoms of social, cultural, and moral decline would be enough to bring a society to the point of imminent collapse. The list includes: 1. Increase in lawlessness 2. Loss of economic discipline 3. Rising bureaucracy 4. Decline in education 5. Weakening of cultural foundations 6. Loss of respect for traditions 7. Increase in materialism 8. Rise in immorality 9. Decay of religious belief 10. Devaluing of human life Aiding the breakdown of decadent cultures was a philosophy of "change for the sake of change." Dissatisfied with traditional authority, the cultural elites turned their backs on values and traditions as old as the nation itself. Tragically, according to Dr. Black, the United States is the first nation in history where all ten symptoms are present in one society at one time.2 Great empires before us have been REDUCED TO RUBBLE by the same forces that prevail IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY. In his assessment of the risks to any society that tries to live without God, Chuck Colson states: "In a society that begins free-floating discussion, certainty evaporates. After a while, nobody is sure of anything. It introduces relativity, so to speak, in human affairs and also eternal affairs. You cannot be sure-there is no such thing as the truth-everything is equivocated-everything is subject to contradiction."3 A Greek Tragedy Some of the greatest empires in history collapsed just as Black described. A good question for us to consider is: What eroded the splendor of Greece? One historian observes: "In philosophy, in warfare, in the early sciences, in poetry, in grace of manners, in rhetoric, the Greeks excelled all civilizations that preceded it. No other race has ever produced, within a brief period, so many brilliant individuals as did the Greek people at the height of their glory."4 Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, recognized the world over as sources of wisdom, helped ancient Greece become one of the highest civilizations ever to exist. The early Greeks held to a strict code of purity. Homosexuality was a capital offense. Greek arts and literature, the centerpiece of their society, extolled the virtuous man. Loyalty to the state and neighbors was among the highest callings. Self-sacrifice and examination were the norm. Two ancient maxims were inscribed on the walls of the temple at Delphi: "Know Thyself" and "Nothing in Excess." The Greeks were noted philosophers and thinkers, yet their failure to come to an understanding of God subverted their success. A decline in virtue and morality swept the culture like wildfire. Absolute truth no longer existed. Greek society began to falter and drift. Despite their knowledge of democracy, a respect for the republican institutions of government, and their complex understanding of the principles of constitutional government, no stable political institutions were ever created in Greek society. Only one city-state ever organized a constitution. Materialism, sexual immorality, and self-absorption took over Grecian hearts. Homosexuality was glorified. The stage and arts, once the hallmark of the noble Greek character, became lewd and violent. Lacking focus and a consensus of values, the once-great culture became gridlocked in a succession of civil wars. Years later, Greece succumbed to the Roman army. Ultimately, however, Greece was not destroyed by Rome, but by its own moral collapse. The Collapse of Rome According to the Greek statesman Polybius, at the time that Rome defeated ancient Carthage, the typical Roman citizen was virtually incorruptible. Polybius says, "Where in other states, a man is rarely found whose hands are pure from public robbery, so among the Romans, it is no less rare to discover one that is tainted with this crime."5 The Romans passionately sought great feats of engineering. They were tireless political administrators and organizers of military success. According to Russell Kirk, they were men of law and strong social institutions who gave the world Pax Romana, the Roman Peace. Observers said, "All roads lead to Rome." The strength of Rome lay in her political structures and her strong families. Both were governed by the concept of the "High Old Roman Virtue." Romans believed strongly in being earnest, tenacious, well-disciplined, frugal, and self-sacrificing. Duty, honesty, and honor all complimented the virtue Cicero described as the foundation of all others-piety. "A man was pious," writes Russell Kirk, "who gave the gods their due through worship and sacrifice, who honored his father and mother, and indeed all his ancestors, who stood by his friends, who was ready to die if need be for his country. A pious man submitted himself to things sacred, and believed unflinchingly that it was better to perish than to fail in his sacred duties . A society that is held together by such a cementing belief would offer strong resistance to forces of disintegration."6 The Roman Empire slowly declined as WEALTH, POWER, AND PASSION took first place in the Roman heart. During the rise of the Roman Empire, Polybius feared that Rome's success would destroy the Roman character. He predicted that arrogance and luxury would infect the Roman people, and then, "being inflamed with rage, and following only the dictates of their passions, they will no longer submit to any control"7-and the society would destroy itself. The historian's fears became reality. The nation slowly declined as wealth, power, and passion took first place in the Roman heart. Once again, society became preoccupied with sensuality. Oppressive taxes, combined with moral decadence involving adultery and homosexuality, destroyed Roman families by the thousands. Roman thinker Sallust observed, "Young men were so depraved by luxury and avarice that no father had a son who could either preserve his own patrimony or keep his hands off other men's."8 As the bottom fell out of the social order, Roman citizens lost interest in piety and dignity and focused on day-to-day survival and instant gratification. Consequently, the Romans lost their respect for human life. Bloody spectacles were held daily in the coliseums and amphitheaters. Citizens worshipped the gladiators who fought in these arenas. Originally punishable by death, abortion became common, even encouraged. Violence was epidemic. Gang violence exploded, washing away the last vestiges of order. Soon after, ancient Rome collapsed. Modern Day Judgment In my book The Coming Revival, I reported on the observations of some in England who believe that America is undergoing a devastating spiritual disintegration at this hour. They connect America's moral decline with similar circumstances that have happened in their own country in recent times. Not long ago, Great Britain was the greatest empire on the face of the earth. England's colonies spanned the globe, and British wealth exceeded any empire in history. Researcher George Barna says that observers "recall when England was a nation in which the Church was the central institution in society. Moral values, social behavior, cultural activities, family development, lifestyles, and even political decision-making all revolved around the nation's religious perspective and spiritual sensitivity. Ingrained in the nation's thinking was the belief that the highest goal in life is to worship and serve God."9 England was once the largest missionary-sending nation on earth. Then secularism steamrolled in and largely destroyed the traditional values upon which the nation had built its greatness. Materialism and modernism replaced a desire for spiritualism, especially Christianity. God no longer played a major role in any of the political, cultural, or societal concerns of the day. Relegated to a Sunday visit in church every now and then, God simply withdrew His blessing from England. Today, England has been reduced to the status of one small nation on a cold, wet island in the North Sea. The worldwide empire is dead. The grandeur has faded; the power is gone. Though not yet destroyed, England's lampstand has been removed.10 Consider also what we have watched unfold in Russia. That nation had a tradition built on more than a thousand years of Christianity. This culture produced rich art, literature, music, and poetry, and had vast resources of oil and precious metals. Then the country was taken over by brutal communists who tried to wipe every mention of God from the Russian culture. The great and wonderful people of Russia were the victims of a cruel system of tyrannical leaders who rejected the truth of what Jesus taught, and led the nation astray. After 72 years of atheistic communism, Russia is today a devastated country-morally, spiritually, economically, and politically. North and South Korea In the early 1960s, South Korea was little more than an oxcart economy. Starvation was a serious problem that claimed the lives of thousands. There was a constant threat of invasion from North Korea. At the end of the Korean War, South Korea was a devastated nation. Because of their plight, people prayed, fasted, and cried out to God for help. Today, South Korea has become a model of Christian success. In less than 30 years, that desperate country became one of the most vital, dynamic, spiritual countries in the world. The followers of Christ grew from less than one million in the 1950s to 11 million in the 1990s. The people of South Korea, who chose Christ, are reaping the reward of a job well done. North Korea is a contrasting story. Although God blessed North Korea with a great revival at the turn of the 20th century, a self-imposed dictator declared himself "god." The God of the Bible was denied in all circles of society. The nation died spiritually. Consequently, the nation is also dying economically as hundreds of thousands of people are starving from lack of basic foods. What a contrast to South Korea which turned back to God! The Judgment of America As we have seen in this section, when a society turns away from God, the inevitable result is chaos and confusion. Society unravels. Those who champion liberating modern society from all forms of authority weaken the foundation of society. They invoke independence and individualism as a means of denying all moral authority and dependence upon God. Compassion and tolerance, the buzzwords of moral compromise, are merely attempts to disguise society's contempt for divine authority. Tolerance, as D. James Kennedy said, is the last trait of a totally corrupt society. Do not be misled. We pay a high price for deceit and sin. Ask the wife who has found out that her husband is seeing another woman. Consider the child who is sexually abused by a relative and then threatened if he or she ever tells. Or the adults who continue to suffer from the trauma of a parent's alcoholism. As America falls victim to ancient vices, we are becoming a nation adrift, doing what is right in our own eyes and ignoring God. Without God's standards, fear and pain occupy the places where the peace of God once reigned. In place of reliable relationships established by God's plan of order, we are left to fend for ourselves and invent new rules as we go. As America falls victim to ancient vices, we are becoming A NATION ADRIFT. Because of cultural decay, the United States is being redefined by her sins. The signs of ruin are all around us, and we have reached the point where we must respond passionately to Paul's admonitions to the Romans: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them (Romans 1:18-32). Nineteenth-century British historian Thomas Macaulay predicted that the seeds of our demise would come, not from outside barbarians, but from excessive devotion to liberty-personal freedom without strong moral boundaries. Just such a moment may have finally arrived. Practically every social institution is in chaos; moral relativism and situational ethics pervade every arena of public life. And any attempt to invoke the authority of Scripture or the lessons of history elicits a cry of, "Don't try to push your view of right and wrong on me; I have my own morality!" We have reached the point of moral deterioration about which the prophets of Israel proclaimed, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink; who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!" (Isaiah 5:20-23, NASB). The judgment for ungodliness is sure: "Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble, and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out" (Isaiah 5:24, 25). The lessons of history cry out to modern America: REPENT or follow us to the grave! We cannot afford to ignore God's impending judgment. Our Christian roots are rotting away. Hear the deep concern expressed by a group of our spiritual leaders: There is not a believer in this nation with any vibrancy in their discernment or sensitivity in their spirit who does not understand that we are in a time of crisis in our land.11 Jack Hayford Church on the Way You smell the decay, you smell the rotting flesh of Western civilization today, much like you would have smelled the decay in fourth- and fifth-century Rome.12 Chuck Colson Prison Fellowship [People believe that] there is no God that is going to sit in judgment upon the actions of man. This is why we see violence, dishonesty, cheating, stealing, rape, and every kind of immorality imaginable. It is astounding to me that people cannot see that, having forgotten God, we are indeed in the process of destroying ourselves.13 D. James Kennedy Coral Ridge Ministries Unless there is a revival, this nation is going to get worse and worse and worse.14 Charles Stanley In Touch Ministries America is history. It's over unless there is a broad, sweeping revival of righteousness.15 John Hagee John Hagee Ministries The lessons of history cry out to modern America: repent or follow us to the grave! The warning is real. The time is now. Will America live or die? As we know from 2 Chronicles 7:14, 15, God is watching and listening to see how we will respond to His urgent plea. But who can lead us to repentance and a righteous culture? There is only one group of people who have the moral arsenal to combat the forces of evil-the people of God. In our next section, we will discover God's view of our actions and what we can do about them. [1] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 David J. Gyertson, ed., Salt and Light: A Christian Response to Current Issues, (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), pp. 24,25. 2 Jim Nelson Black, When Nations Die, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1994), p. 18. 3 Chuck Colson interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1996. 4 Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order, (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1991), pp. 51,52. 5 Kirk, The Roots of American Order, pp. 99,100. 6 Kirk, The Roots of American Order, p. 103. 7 Kirk, The Roots of American Order, p. 102. 8 Kirk, The Roots of American Order, p. 102. 9 George Barna, The Frog in the Kettle, (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990), pp. 22,23. 10 Excerpts from Bill Bright, The Coming Revival, (Orlando, FL: NewLife Publications, 1995), pp. 66-75. 11 Dr. Jack Hayford interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1996. 12 Charles Colson interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1996. 13 Dr. D. James Kennedy interview by John N. Damoose in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1996. 14 Dr. Charles Stanley interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1996. 15 Dr. John Hagee interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1996. [1]Bright, B., & Damoose, J. N. (1998). Red sky in the morning (183). Orlando, Fla.: New Life Publications. Quote
Guest Irv Hyatt Posted August 3, 2007 Posted August 3, 2007 "Father Haskell" <fatherhaskell@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1186093584.402529.278410@x40g2000prg.googlegroups.com... On Aug 1, 9:47 pm, Richard Catto <rrca...@gmail.com> wrote: > M Quote
Guest LJ Fan Club Posted August 3, 2007 Posted August 3, 2007 "Holly Cost" <holly@spamnomore.com> wrote in message news:MPG.211c8fe49abaa683989693@news.alt.net... Lawyers, Fathers Seek to Ban Self-Proclaimed Pedophile From Community Friday , August 03, 2007 A self-proclaimed pedophile who posted pictures of little girls to his Web site and made blood boil by insisting he was within the law to do so soon may find himself in the center of another uncomfortable dialogue: whether he will be banned from a community. Two California lawyers on Friday were scheduled in court to seek a temporary restraining order to keep Larry Jackowski ,(aka St. Jackanapes), away from the Santa Clarita Valley area, ABC7.com reports. Click here to read the full story. "We're firmly convinced that he creates a clear and present danger and a risk to our daughters and to the children in this community, and he stated that he's coming back," said lawyer Richard Patterson, who along Anthony Zinnanti is seeking the restraining order. Both have daughters. Jackowski says he is innocent. "All I can say is I've done nothing illegal since I've been here in California, the whole state. My conscience is clear. I'm just going to keep on keeping on what I'm doing, obeying the law," he said. Jackowski has insisted he was never sexually abused as a child and said he created the Web site to promote association, friendship and legal, consensual cuddling between men and pre-pubescent girls, he said. Earlier this week Jackowski defended his right to post pictures of little girls, telling FOX News he was considering a lawsuit against the Santa Monica, Calif., police department for posting his picture on their Web site after he recently surfaced there. Santa Monica police "questioned me last week in a restaurant, and right before they left one of the officers asked if they could take my picture," he said. "I figured this might be beneficial if a child is sexually assaulted in Santa Monica - they could just pull that out and immediately eliminate me as a suspect," he said. "I had previously explained to him my concerns about all the threats and everything and it didn't even enter my mind that they would immediately turn around and put this out as some kind of a sex offender notification. ... It was on the Internet the very next day." Warnings that Jackowski had surfaced in Santa Monica spread like wildfire, with several posting his mug shot along with descriptions of his car - a Blue 1993 Ford Escort two-door with Washington license plate - and even hourly postings of sightings throughout Santa Monica. Circulating a flier with Jackowski's description and a warning of his whereabouts is unusual for the police considering he's not wanted for any crime, and has never been convicted of any sexually related crimes. The flier simply warns parents about Jackowski's residence in the area and of his proclivity for little girls. When pressed, Jackowski, 45, insisted he was doing nothing wrong by posting photos of children as young as 3, even admitting that he would have sex with little girls if it weren't against the law. Jackowski ran the Web site "Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Girl Love" from where he lived in Washington state, until it was shut down by its server after widespread public outrage. Wearing his trademark dark sunglasses, which he refused to remove, Jackowski faced Ron Tebo, a father who created the Web site http://www.jackJackowski.com to counter the self-proclaimed pedophile's actions and "take traffic away." In a dramatic on-air confrontation, Tebo pressed Jackowski to respond to allegations that he was still taking pictures of children. "I don't do it anymore," Jackowski said, adding that his latest Web site no longer was available online. Appearing earlier on "The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet," Jackowski made this startling admission: "I got to be honest with you - if it was legal and if it was a completely consensual thing, I could see myself taking it all the way to a sexual" level. Click here to see the interview on "The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet." Jackowski has never been convicted of a sex crime, and police say they have had no legal grounds on which to shut down any of his Web sites because the content and photos posted on them haven't been pornographic. Jackowski tells other pedophiles where to go to be around children - suggesting swimming pools, parks, elementary-school plays and libraries. When he was posting photos, they would be pictures he'd snapped when he was in places where children were gathered. Jackowski even rated his photo shoots - from one to five hearts - for fellow pedophiles, assigning one heart for places or events that failed to attract an abundance of little girls, to five hearts for photo shoots offering a plethora of young children. He has said he is attracted to little girls between the ages of 3 and 11. "My primary physical and emotional attraction is to pre-pubescent girls," he said on the FOX morning show on Tuesday. FOX News first interviewed Jackowski in March, when he still was in Washington. "I guess the main thing is I just think they're cute, a lot cuter than women," he said then. "I admit there is kind of an erotic arousal there." "I really think a lot of this pedophilia hysteria is overblown. I think there are a lot of people like me," Jackowski told FOX News in March. "They have the attraction but they're not going to do anything physical because of the laws. It just makes me happy to attend these events." Said lawyer-dad Zinnanti: "It's not OK to go out and put those images on the Internet. It's a blatant violation of the law." Quote
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