http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:thebes1&section=today deviantART RSS for by:thebes1 en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:58:50 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/29015090/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/29015090/ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:20:55 PST The Facts

Published December 18, 2009

What a year it was for Texas, only 2009 wasn’t it. But let’s salute those people, occasions and over-the-tops which made this past year so forgettable. Mexia’s own Sir Allen Stanford was jailed after allegedly bilking investors out of $7 billion. Not only was his lordship stripped of his knighthood, but Stanford got into a fight with a fellow inmate over the use of a phone. The court-appointed receiver for Stanford’s business, Dallas lawyer Ralph Jarvey, billed $27.4 million for his first 14 weeks of work. The SEC objected, noting that the fee boiled down to $4,500 an hour. He got most of it.

Bones of Contention: Gov. Rick Perry broke his collar bone but not, as was rumored, while patting himself on the back.

Oceanfront Lots — Wide Beach: State Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, slipped a little-noticed exception to the Texas Open Beaches Act to allow a few oceanfront houses on Bolivar Peninsula to rebuild on what is now public land, since Ike washed away the beach in front. It seems Christian has a house there. Gov. Perry signed it.

We’re No. 1 (and 2): Newsweek rated the top public high schools in America. The Talented and Gifted School and the Science/Engineering School, both of Dallas, finished No. 1 and 2.

Biggest Loser: Willis Willis, 67, of Grand Prairie, was told by a convenience store clerk that Willis’ $2-million winning Lotto ticket was only worth $2. The clerk, Pankaj Joshi, went to Austin, cashed the ticket and left with the immediate payout of $750,006. He was last reported in Nepal.

The Longhorn of Plenty: UT Systems Regent Robert Rowling abruptly resigned as both regent and as head of the UT Investment Management Co. — which handles UT’s endowment — when questioned why the fund’s staff got $2.3 million in bonuses although the fund lost $2.5 billion in fiscal 2008.

Hullabaloo, Disconnect, Disconnect: Texas A&M President Elsa Murano was forced out after tangling with A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney. The ouster cost taxpayers a bundle.

Grope Therapy: DPS chief Col. Stanley Clark abruptly resigned after allegations he touched female co-workers in inappropriate ways, blew kisses, and called one “my girl.” Clark was the interim director after Col. Tommy Davis retired amid several charges and debacles including non-guarding the Governor’s Mansion which was almost destroyed by arson.

He Shudda Run in Houston: Three-term San Angelo Mayor J.W. Lown resigned before taking office for his fourth term (with 89 percent of the vote), saying he had fallen in love with an illegal Mexican — a male illegal Mexican, and was in Mexico trying to bring his lover back into the U.S.

Defective in the Police Farce: Conroe Police Sgt. Michael Edward Tindall allegedly robbed $28,672 from a Montgomery County bank. His disguise of a motorcycle helmet and dark glasses didn’t work, because — get this — he worked there as an off-duty security guard.



Lynn Ashby is a Houston-based columnist. Contact him at ashby2(at)comcast.net.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28978000/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28978000/ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:21:45 PST In the last few years, it’s become common to hear Israel called an “apartheid state” — a label that alleges that Israel maintains an oppressive legal system like the one once used in South Africa that institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and domination based on race.

Is there any truth to the charge? In apartheid-era South Africa, black citizens were totally disenfranchised, subject to oppressive laws that controlled every aspect of their behavior, and completely segregated from the ruling white minority. In Israel, on the other hand, Jewish and Arab citizens have equal protection under the law, enjoy freedom of religion and speech, and possess full voting rights. (In fact, Israel’s 120-member parliament, the Knesset, currently includes 12 Arab Israeli members.)

The Israel-South Africa comparison is so inapt that it would be laughable if it weren’t so insulting. What could possibly motivate those who apply this label and its evil connotations to the only democracy in the Middle East? Benjamin Pogrund, a South African Jew now living in Israel who saw firsthand the oppression and misery caused by the apartheid system in his native country, sums it up: “‘Apartheid’ is a lazy label for the complexities of the Middle East conflict. If it can be made to stick, then Israel can be made to appear to be as vile as was apartheid South Africa and, therefore, seeking its destruction can be presented to the world as an equally moral cause.”

Using human terms, Pogrund describes the vast difference between apartheid-era South Africa and Israel: “Two years ago, I had major surgery in a Jerusalem hospital,” he says. “The surgeon was Jewish, the anesthetist was Arab, the doctors and nurses who looked after me were Jews and Arabs. Jews and Arabs share meals in restaurants and travel on the same trains, buses and taxis, and visit each other’s homes. Could any of this possibly have happened under apartheid? Of course not.”

Those who protest “Israeli apartheid” usually have a noticeable lack of public indignation to express toward those countries and regions where real human rights violations are all too common. In Saudi Arabia, for example, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly simply don’t exist and women are second-class citizens (and that’s being generous). In Iran, politically motivated killings and kidnappings are common, ethnic and religious minorities harshly repressed, and freedom of the press is non-existent. In Zimbabwe, government security forces imprison, torture, and murder opponents. In Hamas-controlled Gaza, as well as parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority, a residual community of Christians is regularly harassed, intimidated, and even subject to murder by radical Islamists. During 2009, the regimes in both Gaza and Saudi Arabia expressed their approval of crucifixion as a punishment under the law.

But those who protest “Israeli apartheid” are silent about all that. Why? Because their real agenda is not to improve the plight of Palestinians, but rather to attack Israel. The “apartheid” slur is just another tool for Israel’s enemies to delegitimize and undermine the Jewish state’s right to exist. The comparison of Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy, to the brutal discrimination of a fallen, evil regime is false. Those who offer it simply reveal their own agenda.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28840968/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28840968/ Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:36:12 PST Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, reiterated on Thursday the Islamic Republic's continued support for the terrorist groups Hizballah and Hamas, Iran's government news agency reported. "The Islamic Republic of Iran supports Hizballah and Hamas because they are defending their countries' territories," Larijani said. "Iran does not conceal its support for Hamas and Hizballah and we openly declare that we support them." Earlier this week the Iranian regime reportedly "earmarked" $20 million to support terrorist groups opposed to Israel and the West. The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of international terrorism. Hizballah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist group except al Qaeda; Hamas has also killed Americans in terrorist attacks.

LEBANON ALLOWS HIZBALLAH TO KEEP ARMS

Lebanon's new government on Wednesday endorsed the Iranian-backed terrorist army Hizballah's demand that it be allowed to keep its weapons, the Associated Press reported. The decision came in a statement that lays out the government's goals for the next four years. The government is a shaky coalition of Western-backed factions plus Hizballah and its allies. Wednesday's move is the latest sign that Hizballah has no intention of adhering to the U.N. Security Council's demand that the terrorist army give up its arsenal. Hizballah has reportedly amassed more than 42,000 long- and short-range rockets and missiles-tripling the rocket inventory it had before its 2006 war against Israel.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28581988/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28581988/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:11:33 PST
An Israeli news article in 2007 by Paul E. Marek, brings current events into sharp focus. He remembers a wealthy German who survived World War II describing the situation that led up to Hitler. He said very few of the German common people were actually Nazis. They were quietly going about their lives, considering Hitler's crowd just "a bunch of fools." "So," he said, "The majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."

Marek goes on to describe how we are told that Islam is a peaceful religion. He says that the "peaceful" Muslims are irrelevant: "The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars world wide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or execute honor killings. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard, quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority" is the "silent majority," and it is cowed and extraneous."

Besides Hitler, the "peaceful majority" slept while the communists took control of Russia and China. Marek further reminds us of history. Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Bosnians, Afghanis, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians and many others, have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us, watching it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts: the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Soul winners, we cannot be part of that "silent majority." Too many Christians are like the German common people: going about their lives oblivious of the gathering storm. Americans have been given a freedom to witness that is rare in history. Most Christians over the centuries, have had to hide their faith, or risk imprisonment or death to share it. Today, more than half the world is basically hostile to the gospel. Some have estimated that over 50,000 Christians are martyred every year.

The burning question is: what are we doing with the precious freedom that we have? History tells us that that freedom was bought with blood and lost fortunes. Many Christian leaders are beginning to question how much longer we will have that freedom. Only God knows but His commission still stands to go and make disciples.

Sharing our faith with another person is our top priority as believers. But Satan has us moving so fast that it is difficult to stop long enough to personally share the gospel. But it only takes a second to hand someone a gospel tract or plant it where it will be noticed. We must share the gospel with anyone who will listen, and not forget to put a copy of the good news in their hands if they are too busy to listen.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28389988/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28389988/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:43:38 PST In the daily drumbeat of Mideast news, there is one story of historic proportion that is nearly unreported: the growing persecution and systematic destruction in the Islamic world of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

We hear when a Catholic bishop is murdered in Iraq, when machete-armed fanatics attack Egyptian Copt worshipers, or when churches are torched in Hamas-controlled Gaza. But what about the jailing in Saudi Arabia of foreign workers for holding forbidden Christian prayers? Or the arrest in Pakistan of a Christian man for marrying a Muslim woman? Or the continuing Islamic educational system that teaches the young that Christians (as well as Jews) are “the descendants of apes and pigs”?

The pattern is nearly the same wherever extremist Islam holds sway. From Bangladesh to Darfur, Christians have become regular targets for Islamic thugs and the governments that back them. Just this month, a Pakistani court upheld the kidnapping, conversion and “marriage” to older Moslem men of two Christian sisters, aged 10 and 13.

Yet even in lands that are not under orthodox Sharia law, Christian communities feel the pressure of persecution. In constitutionally secular Turkey, a legally recognized Protestant church in the capital of Ankara is under threat of closure by local Islamist police.

Many Christians in Islamic lands have become subject to such terror that they are fleeing the homelands their ancestors have known almost since the time of Jesus. Iraq’s Christian sects now feel forced to pray in secret. Others simply leave. Although they comprise less than four percent of Iraq’s population, Iraqi Christians now account for 40 per cent of its refugees.

Lebanon’s once politically powerful Christian community has already shrunken almost beyond recognition. Thirty years ago, Lebanon was 60% Christian; today it is barely 25%. The growing political power of Iran-backed Hezbollah is encouraging further departures.

Even in the Holy Land, where Jesus walked, there is an increasing Christian exodus from both the West Bank and Gaza. Part of it surely stems from the continuing Palestinian- Israeli conflict. But much of it results from a growing Islamic campaign to force Christians to sell their property and leave. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was once 90% Christian. Today it has a 65% Moslem majority.

The only place in the Mideast where Christian communities continue to grow is in the Jewish State of Israel. Israel’s tolerance is logical. What people of faith knows the dangers of religious persecution better than the people of Israel especially those whose families originated in the Islamic world? Between 1948 and 1956 more than 850,000 Jews were forced to flee the Arab lands where their families had lived for centuries.

Most found new homes in Israel; others settled in Western Europe and the Americas. Today there are almost no Jews in the Arab world. In Egypt, where 180,000 Jews once lived, there are fewer than 80. In Iraq, where Jews once comprised a third of Baghdad, there are possibly ten left. In Libya, there are none.

For much of Islamic history there was relative tolerance of both Jews and Christians. Though never treated as equals to Moslems, they were accepted as Dhimmi protected minorities. Today there seems to be a dangerous tendency in many Muslim nations to neither respect nor try to preserve the historic sanctity of these once sheltered cultures and faiths.

When Afghan fanatics destroyed two ancient statues of Buddha, the world was shocked. But the world should not forgot that between 1948 and 1967, when Islamic forces controlled the Holy City of Jerusalem, there was a systematic campaign to erase the historic Jewish presence. Synagogues were destroyed and ancient Jewish gravestones carted away. Even today, the Palestinian Authority not only denies Israel’s right to consider itself a Jewish state, but denies the historic Jewish connection to Jerusalem. It is an empty effort to enhance the Palestinian political narrative at the expense of others’ hard earned history.

If there is a hope of true peace in the Middle East, extremist Islam must reform its view of others. It cannot go on teaching that non-Islamic history in the Middle East is “fiction.”

There is a sacred opportunity now to take up the call for the Islamic world’s hard-pressed and ever shrinking Christian communities. All people of commitment and tolerance – Christian, Jew, and Moslem – should speak out loudly and forcefully so that the Islamic world’s Christians do not suffer the same fate as its now all but non-existent Jewish communities.
IFCJ

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28347786/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28347786/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:21:07 PST and Jehovah are Not the Same.
Issue Date: November/December 2009

The government of the Muslim-majority country of Malaysia has confiscated 15,000 Bibles because they use the word "Allah" for God. Although several western leaders have declared that Jehovah of the Bible and Allah of Islam are the same God, Muslim leaders disagree.

In nations where Islam is a minority, Muslim leaders go along with the false notion that Allah is the same "monotheistic deity" that Christians and Jews worship. However, when they gain sufficient power, they demand that only Allah be worshiped and persecution of Christians and Jews begins.

Chick Publications has been pointing out all along that the Pope and former President Bush were wrong in saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Now we have an example where Muslims agree. In Malaysia, Islam has become the dominant religion, backed by the power of the government. In confiscating only the Bibles that use Allah for the God of the Bible, they are saying: "This word, Allah, applies to our god but not yours."

Author Mohammad Ghazoli stresses this point in his book, Christ, Muhammad and I. He describes how he lived outwardly as a Muslim most of his life and became a successful economist and publisher. His family and teachers had refused to discuss probing questions about Allah when he was in school. So, as he pursued his career he secretly harbored a distrust of Islam and Allah.

When he was given a Bible late in life, he realized that the God of the Bible was nothing like Allah. No way could they be the same god. After placing his trust in the loving God of the Bible, he wrote Christ, Muhammad and I to help other Muslims to see how Allah and Jehovah could not possibly be the same.

Another book published by Chick Publications is called Who is this Allah? by G.J.O. Moshay. He describes in great detail how Allah of the Qur'an and Jehovah of the Bible cannot possibly be the same person. One key difference is that the Qur'an specifically says that Allah does not have a son. Yet Jesus is described in the Bible as the "only begotten of the Father."

To highlight this difference, Chick Publications produced a tract called Allah Had No Son. In an illustrated conversation between a Muslim and a knowledgeable Christian, some of the differences between Allah and Jehovah are explained.

The politically correct view of the West is that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. But Muslim leaders in nations where Islam is in control do what Malaysia has done, strive to eliminate all Bibles and Christians as well. They know that if they don't, their people will discover the loving , merciful, trustworthy God that Ghazoli found. Then the truth about Allah being only an ancient Arabic moon god will come out.

It is almost impossible to get the gospel into a country where Islam is in control. But toleration has allowed millions of Muslims to immigrate to the West. Soul winners have a window of opportunity to reach Muslims right in our neighborhoods. Like Ghazoli, many are uncomfortable with their impersonal, unknowable god. If we take the time to show them the God of the Bible, some will come to trust Him just as he did.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28327320/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28327320/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:29:19 PST

One after another, the "mainline" churches are ignoring the Bible to follow politically correct paths that the Bible calls sin. The Episcopal church is experiencing a major split over the installation of a practicing homosexual bishop. Individual congregations are forced to decide whether to obey the Bible or follow the denominational leaders.

This August, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) also voted to lift a ban on homosexual clergy. Already, ELCA congregations are forming another denominational alliance claiming that the ELCA has "departed from the teaching of the Bible as understood by Christians for 2,000 years."

One reader of an internet article on this vote observed that the root of this controversy began in the 1970s. Branches of the Lutherans in the U.S. took two different views of the Bible. One, led by the Missouri Synod, took the position that the whole Bible is the word of God.

The others proposed that the Bible only "contained the word of God." The reader notes, "If the Bible only contains the Word of God, you can pick and choose what is of God and what is of men."

This "picking and choosing" began a long time before 1970, according the author and linguist, David W. Daniels. He has written extensively of another time when proud men made arbitrary decisions as to what should be in the Bible.

His book, Did the Catholic Church Give us the Bible?, gives a detailed history of one stream of manuscripts that contains thousands of examples of this "picking and choosing" by men. He describes how early copies of scripture arrived in Alexandria, Egypt to be studied by world-class "scholars" of that time. Because they did not believe Jesus was God and were infected with Greek philosophy, they began altering the text to fit their disbelief.

Those polluted manuscripts were the ones picked up by Westcott and Hort as the foundation Greek for the modern Bible versions. Since then, the "translators" of these modern versions took the same liberties based on the "pick and choose" philosophy that the Bible only contains the word of God. This has produced several dozen versions today, which omit and change hundreds of verses. They disagree among themselves and in some cases even contradict each other.

Daniels traces another stream of manuscripts that flowed from the original apostles in Jerusalem up through Antioch. Copies were preserved in Europe during the dark ages, sometimes in caves to avoid destruction. Ultimately, these faithful copies were used by the Reformers to give us God's preserved words in English, the King James Bible.

In another book called Look What's Missing, Daniels examines 40 of the most popular modern versions to show that they are missing hundreds of words, phrases and whole verses that were preserved for us in the King James Bible.

It is understandable that these denominations have lost their way when they are reading Bibles that are so corrupted that they do not believe that they have God's word. No wonder they "pick and choose" verses that support what they want to believe, rather than trusting the Bible for what it says.

We have a classic example of this confusion when dealing with homosexuals. In some cases where the KJV uses the clear word "sodomites," the modern versions read "temple prostitutes."

Homosexuals look at this and say, "We are not temple prostitutes, so the Bible is not talking about us." No wonder there is such confusion in these denominations when they are relying on these defective Bibles.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28286387/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/28286387/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:01:17 PST


*When all through our land,*



*Not a Christian was praying*



*Nor taking a stand.*



*See the PC Police had taken away,*



*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*



*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*



*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*



*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*



* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*



*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*



*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*



*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*



*Something was changing, something quite odd! *



*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*



*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*



*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*



* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*



*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*



*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*



*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*



*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*



*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*



*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*



*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*



*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*



*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*



* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*



*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*



*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*



*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*



*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*



*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*



*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,



not Happy Holiday !*



Please, all Christians join together and



wish everyone you meet



MERRY CHRISTMAS



Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27610346/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27610346/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:55:02 PDT
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27443055/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27443055/ Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:28:02 PDT
By: Pat Boone Article Font Size



“We’re no longer a Christian nation.” — Barack Obama, June 2007


“America has been arrogant.” — President Barack Obama


“After 9/11, America didn’t always live up to her ideals” — President Barack Obama


“You might say that America is a Muslim nation.” — President Barack Obama, Egypt 2009


Thinking about these and other statements from the man who wears the title of president, I keep wondering what country he believes he’s president of?


In one of my very favorite stories, Edward Everett Hale’s “The Man without a Country,” young Army lieutenant Philip Nolan stands condemned for treason during the Revolutionary War, having come under the influence of Aaron Burr. When the judge asks whether he wants to say anything before sentencing, Nolan exclaims defiantly, “Damn the United States! I wish I might never hear of the United States again!”


Stunned silence settles like a pall over the courtroom. After a long pause, the judge sternly tells the angry lieutenant: “You have just pronounced your own sentence. You will never hear of the United States again. I sentence you to spend the rest of your life at sea, on one or another of this country’s naval vessels — under strict orders that no one will ever speak to you again about the country you have just cursed.”


And so it was. Nolan was taken away and spent the next 40 years at sea, never hearing anything but an occasional slip of the tongue about America. The last few pages of the story, recounting Nolan’s dying hours in his small stateroom — now turned into a shrine to the country he foreswore — never fail to bring me to tears.

And I find my own love for this dream, this miracle called America, refreshed and renewed. I know how blessed and unique we are.


But reading and hearing the audacious, shocking statements of the man who recently was elected our president — a young black man living the impossible dream of millions of young Americans, past and present, black and white — I want to ask him: “Just what country do you think you’re president of?”


You surely can’t be referring to the United States of America, can you? America is emphatically a Christian nation and has been from its inception! Seventy percent of its citizens identify themselves as Christian. Christians framed, wrote, and ratified the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. It’s because this was, and is, a nation built on and guided by Judeo-Christian biblical principles that you, sir, have had the inestimable privilege of being elected president.


You studied law at Harvard, didn’t you, sir? You taught constitutional law in Chicago? Did you never read the statement of John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and an author of the landmark Federalist Papers, “rovidence has given to our people the choice of their rulers — and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation — to select and prefer Christians for their rulers”?


In your studies, you surely must have read the decision of the Supreme Court in 1892: “Our lives and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.”


Did your professors have you skip over all the high court decisions right up till the mid-1900s that echoed and reinforced these views and intentions? Did you pick up the history of American jurisprudence only in 1947, when for the first time a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson about a “wall of separation between church and state” was used to deny some specific religious expression — contrary to Jefferson’s intent with that statement?


Or, wait a minute, were your ideas about America’s Christianity formed during the 20 years you were a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ under your pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Is that where you got the idea that “America is no longer a Christian nation”? Is this where you, even as you came to call yourself a Christian, formed the belief that “America has been arrogant”?


Even if that’s the understandable explanation of your damning of your country and accusing the whole nation (not just a few military officials trying their best to keep more Americans from being murdered by jihadists) of “not always living up to her ideals”, how did you come up with the ridiculous, alarming notion that we might be “considered a Muslim na... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27335629/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27335629/ Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:54:58 PDT
I did not hear one news broadcast announcing the death of this quiet and humble man. No moment of silence, not even a whisper by the so-called talking heads that enter our homes each night on the Left-leaning STATE run news media. No 24/7 coverage of his accomplishments with his parachute jump behind enemy lines on D-day, the wounds he received, nor the three months he lived in a foxhole in the freezing temperatures in Bastogne. Not one word. I wonder why???
Shifty Powers died of cancer.
I am extremely pound of this man and will honor his service.
So as a tribute and memorial to him, I watched the series "Band of Brothers" again (actually I have seen this wonderful series seven times) to see this hero in action. Shifty Powers is one of the reasons why we can live our lives in peace. GOD bless ALL of our World War II heroes.
We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.
I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

From e-mail

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27146265/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/27146265/ Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:01:08 PDT
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]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26706929/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26706929/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:59:48 PDT >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>I don't know who wrote it but they should have signed it. Some powerful
>words. This woman should run for president.
>
>Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This is one
>ticked off lady.
>
>"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not
>started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11,
>2001?
>
>Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally
>murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our
>nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?
>
>Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible,
>burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?
>
>And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when
>an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I
>don't. I don't care at all.
>
>I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for
>incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.
>
>I'll care about the Koran when the fan
>atics in the Middle East start
>caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in
>Saudi Arabia.
>
>I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking
>off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed
>throat.
>
>I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and
>fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in
>mosques.
>
>I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of
>nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide
>bombs.
>
>I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First
>Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead
>of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights..
>
>In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up
>an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.
>
>When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have
>been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazin g incident, rest
>assured: I don't care.
>
>When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not
>to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank:
>I don't care.
>
>When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat,
>and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is
>complaining that his holy book is=2
>0being "mishandled," you can
>absolutely belie ve in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
>
>And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran"
>and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I
>don't care !!
>
>If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail
>friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this
>ridiculous behavior!
>
>If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you
>choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities
>committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may
>I add:
>
>"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a
>difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem" --
>Ronald Reagan
>
>I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope you
>forward all this.
>
>"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a
>nation gone under." Also by.. Ronald Reagan
>
>One last though thought for the day:
>
>In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American
>sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister
>Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his
>arliament members why he believes so much in America, he said: "A
>simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want
>in.. And how many want out."
>
>Only two=2
>defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
>1. Jesus Christ
>2. The American G. I.
>
>One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
>
>YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.
>AMEN!


And in other news.....Scottish Justice?

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26623619/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26623619/ Sun, 16 Aug 2009 07:17:36 PDT 19 because what is known about God is plain to them, since God has made it plain to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the universe his invisible qualities - both his eternal power and his divine nature - have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what he has made. Therefore, they have no excuse; 21 because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshipping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen. 26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion. 28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarrelling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless. 32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same.

[link]
The Complete Jewish Bible

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26525102/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26525102/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:58:53 PDT Arrested: March 2009
Days Imprisoned: 159
Print Fact Sheet

On March 5, Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor were arrested by Iranian security forces and labeled "anti-government activists," according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN).
Thirty year-old Marzieh and 27-year-old Maryam are being held at Evin Prison, which is notorious for treating women badly. "Both women are allowed just a one-minute telephone call everyday to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention," FCNN reported. During their last call on March 28, Mazieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, "I am dying."
Marzieh and Maryam's apartment was searched and their belongings were confiscated. "Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus," FCNN added. “They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti government activists' because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians."
The women have reportedly been interrogated numerous times and were held in three different police detention centers before being sent to Evin Prison. FCNN reported an exorbitant bail amount of US$ 400,000 has been set even though Marzieh and Maryam's families have been told on numerous occasions that a judge is not available to discuss the case.
Marzieh and Maryam's arrest is the latest incident highlighting increased government intimidation of Christians in Iran. Believers are subjected to surveillance, arrests, imprisonment, and sometimes torture.


[link]

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26419095/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26419095/ Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:46:23 PDT
]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26312461/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26312461/ Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:13:47 PDT
The accidental opposition leader — whose rise began only after her husband's assassination — died before dawn in a hospital after a yearlong battle with colon cancer, which had spread to other organs and left her bedridden since late June, her only son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said. She was 76.

Monsoon rains drenched Manila's streets as a convoy took Aquino's casket from the mortuary to the gym at De La Salle, the Catholic school where her remains will lie in state until Monday morning.

More than 100 military honor guards met the casket there. Eight in olive drab uniforms and berets carried it up a winding path to the gym while family and friends, many dressed in her trademark yellow, walked behind. Supporters dropped yellow confetti on the procession.

Her body will be moved later Monday to the Manila Cathedral where it will remain until her funeral on Wednesday. She will be buried beside her husband at the Manila Memorial Park.

Aquino's son said that days earlier he and each of his four sisters went to their mother's bedside where they "were told to say everything we wanted to say."

Aquino rose to prominence after the assassination in 1983 of her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. The uprising she led in 1986 brought down the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and served as an inspiration to nonviolent resistance across the globe, including those that ended communist rule in eastern Europe.

"She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestiges of an entrenched dictatorship," Raul C. Pangalangan, former dean of the College of Law at the University of the Philippines, said earlier this month. "We all owe her in a big way."

But Aquino struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially on social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.

Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as "Tita (Auntie) Cory."

Aquino's supporters had been holding daily prayers for her in churches around the country since she was rushed to intensive care after she had stopped eating in late June.

As the news of Aquino's death spread through Manila, radio and TV stations broadcast documentaries and stories of her life, accompanied by music dating back to the "people power" revolt and a love song based on a poem written by her husband.

Catholic priests held requiem Masses, and ordinary people tied yellow ribbons around trees, cars, lamp posts and house gates.

Others prayed at a shrine on Manila's EDSA highway, where hundreds of thousands of her supporters blocked Marcos' tanks in 1986.

"The nation lost its moral guiding light, but she will forever remain as the inspiration of this impoverished nation," said Al Roy, one of Aquino's godsons.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the United States, remembered Aquino as a "national treasure" who helped lead "a revolution to restore democracy and the rule of law to our nation at a time of great peril.

The Philippines will observe 10 days of national mourning, she said. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it would accord full military honors during the mourning period, including gun salutes and lowering flags to half-staff. The Aquino family, however, opted for a private instead of a state funeral.

With teary eyes, former aides and friends recalled their moments with "Tita Cory" in radio and TV interviews. A former speechwriter, Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., broke down saying that her "purity, nobility never failed."

Former top Cabinet aide Franklin Drilon said "President Cory was the most sincere person I have known in my life. ... Part of me died this morning."

Deposed President Joseph Estrada, who was toppled in the country's second "people power" revolt — backed by Aquino — in 2001, said the Philippines had "lost the true mother of democracy."

Aquino's successor, Fidel Ramos, who was the military's vice chief of staff when he broke with Marcos and embraced Aquino, said the former leader "represented the best of the Filipino of the past and the future."

President Barack Obama was deeply saddened by Aquino's death, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

"Ms. Aquino played a crucial role... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26248260/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/26248260/ Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:52:19 PDT

Baghdad, IraqThe robbery occured about 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. Five of the guards were off duty and may have been on break or asleep, and only three were actively on duty at the time of the break in.

Initial investigations in the capital city of Iraq reveal that pillows may have been used to muffle the gunshot noise rather than silencers.

"I have never seen such a brutal crime. Now robberies have become like foreign movies - they steal and kill and disappear," said a bank employee.

It is not certain at this time if the robbers were funding terrorist causes from the proceeds of the bank robbery.


Iraqi army, police and bank officials are investigating the robbery"While I cannot confirm that the attacks were terrorist related, it does fit past trends of terrorist groups in Iraq of financing their operations through crimes — like kidnappings for ransom, robberies and black marketeering," reported U.S. Army Maj. David Shoupe.

(Kill eight guards that are tied and gagged, sounds like the cowardly al-Qaida )

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25958269/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25958269/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:16:48 PDT
]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25832031/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25832031/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:36:37 PDT
Ed McMahon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ed McMahon

McMahon in November 2005
Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon, Jr.
March 6, 1923(1923-03-06)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died June 23, 2009 (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Comedian, game show host, announcer and spokesman
Years active 1957–2009
Spouse(s) Pam Hurn (February 22, 1992 – June 23, 2009) (his death)
Victoria Valentine (March 6, 1976 – 1989) (divorced) 1 child
Alyce Ferrill (July 5, 1949 – 1976) (divorced) 4 children

Edward Leo Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was a decorated war veteran, an American comedian, game show host, announcer, and television personality. Most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer and sidekick on The Tonight Show from 1962-1992, he was also host of the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983-95, co-host with Dick Clark of TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes from 1982-86, and became well-known as the presenter of the now-defunct American Family Publishers sweepstakes (not, as is commonly believed, its main rival Publishers Clearing House).

McMahon annually co-hosted the The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident (1967), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Full Moon High (1981), and Butterfly (1982), as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched (2005). According to Entertainment Weekly he is considered one of the "greatest sidekick's


Early years
McMahon was born in Detroit to Eleanor (née Russell) and Edward Leon McMahon, a fund-raiser and entertainer.[4] He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. He attended Boston College as a freshman in 1940-41 and later finished at Catholic University of America, majoring in speech and drama after his first military service 1942-45. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He was a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. McMahon began his career as a bingo caller in Maine when he was fifteen.

Prior to this, he worked as a carnival barker for three years in Mexico, Maine. He put himself through college as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in his native Lowell and he began his television career in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV.

Military service
During World War II, McMahon was a fighter pilot in the United States Marine Corps serving as a flight instructor and test pilot. He was a decorated pilot (six Air Medals) and was discharged in 1946, remaining in the reserves.

After college, McMahon returned to active duty. He met his first girlfriend, Jenifer P. Smith, on his first tour. He claims that she was the one to motivate him to become a better person. He was sent to Korea in February 1952. He flew unarmed OE-1 Bird Dogs on 85 tactical air control and artillery spotting missions. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1966 and was then commissioned as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

Several of his ancestors, including the Marquis d'Equilly, also had long and distinguished military careers. Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta was a Marshal of armies in France, serving under Napoleon III, and later President. McMahon once asserted to Johnny Carson that mayonnaise was originally named MacMahonnaise in honor of this ancestor, referring to him as the Comte de MacMahon.[6] In his autobiography, McMahon said that it was his father who told him of this relationship and he went on to suggest that he was not certain of the truth of the story.[7]


Entertainment career

The Tonight Show
McMahon and Johnny Carson first worked together as announcer and host on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? (1957-1962). McMahon and Carson left the show to join The Tonight Show in 1962. He describes what happened when the pair first met, the whole meeting being "... about as exciting as watching a traffic light change".[8]

For more than 30 years, McMahon introduced the Tonight Show with a drawn-out "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter alongside the "King of Late Night" earned McMahon the nickname the "Human Laugh Track" and "Toymaker to the King".

As part of the introductory patter to The Tonight Show, McMahon would state his name out loud, pronouncing it as Ed "Mc MAH yon", but neither long-time cohort Johnny Carson nor anyone else who interviewed him ever seemed to pi... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25768951/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25768951/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:49:32 PDT
Absalom's Tomb (Yad Avshalom)The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in connection with David's flight from Absalom (II Samuel 15:30): "And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up." The ascent was probably east of the City of David, near the village of Silwan. The sacred character of the mount is alluded to in the Ezekiel (11:23): "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city."[1] Solomon built altars to the gods of his wives on the southern peak (I Kings 11:7-8). During the reign of King Josiah, the mount was called the Mount of Corruption (II Kings 23:13).

The New Testament, tells how Jesus and his friends sang together - "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Gospel of Matthew 26:30. Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mt of Olives as recorded in the book of Acts 1:9-12. It will be the Mt of Olives to which he is to return as stated in the book of Acts 1:11 and Zechariah 14:4.



New Testament references
The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 21:1;26:30, etc.) as the route from Jerusalem to Bethany and the place where Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem. Jesus is said to have spent time on the mount, teaching and prophesying to his disciples (Matthew 24-25), including the Olivet discourse, returning after each day to rest (Luke 21:37), and also coming there on the night of his betrayal (Matthew 26:39). At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane.


From biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associated with Zechariah and Avshalom (Absalom). Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, author of Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, is also buried there. Important rabbis from the 15th to the 20th centuries are buried there, among them Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and his son Zvi Yehuda Kook. Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin asked to be buried on the Mount of Olives rather than Mount Herzl near the grave of Etzel member Meir Feinstein.[6]


Jordanian rule
King Hussein permitted the construction of the Intercontinental Hotel at the summit of the Mount of Olives together with a road that cut through the cemetery which destroyed hundreds of Jewish graves, some from the First Temple Period. Some fifty thousand Jewish graves out of a total seventy thousand were allegedly destroyed or defaced during the nineteen years of Jordanian rule, although this is disputed by many authorities( Arab no doubt). After the Six-Day War, restoration work began, and the cemetery was re-opened for burials.



Zechariah 14:4.
Revelation 19

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25499706/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25499706/ Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:13:03 PDT
Tommy Newsom
Birth name Tommy Newsom
Born February 25, 1929
Origin Portsmouth, Virginia
Died April 28, 2007 (aged 78)
Genre(s) Jazz
Instrument(s) saxophone
Label(s) Arbors Records
Associated acts Ken Peplowski
Thomas Penn "Tommy" Newsom (February 25, 1929 – April 28, 2007) was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, for which he later became assistant director. Newsom was frequently the band's substitute director, whenever Doc Severinsen was away from the show or filling in for announcer Ed McMahon. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" as a sarcastic take on his low-keyed, often dull persona, Newsom was often a foil for Carson's humor. His brown or blue suits were a marked contrast to Severinsen's flashy stage clothing.

Newsom joined the band in 1962, and left it when Carson retired in 1992.

Newsom won two Emmy Awards as a musical director, in 1982 with Night of 100 Stars and in 1986 for the 40th Annual Tony Awards. He also recorded several albums as a bandleader.

Newsom was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He earned degrees from the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary (now Old Dominion University), the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and Columbia University. He served in the Air Force where he played in the band, and later toured with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and performed with Vincent Lopez in New York. In addition to Carson's orchestra, Newsom performed with the orchestra for the Merv Griffin Show.

Newsom was as well known within the music industry as an arranger as he was a performer. He arranged for groups as varied as the Tonight Show ensemble and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and musicians Skitch Henderson, Woody Herman, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Byrd, John Denver, and opera star Beverly Sills.

On April 28, 2007, Newsom died of bladder and liver cancer at his home in Portsmouth. He was 78 years old. Newsom had been married to his wife Patricia for 50 years; they had one daughter, Candy.



Newsom and Carson used audiences' low expectations for Tommy to good advantage:

One night Carson turned to Newsom during his monologue and asked why he always had his hands clasped together behind his back. Newsom replied "Vapor lock!", bringing down the house with laughter. Carson quipped, "I'm out here busting my buns to get a laugh, with one joke after another, and you just say 'vapor lock' and crack us all up!"[citation needed]
Newsom, normally known for wearing bland suits, in contrast to Severinsen's colorful attire, once appeared in a loud sport coat. Carson, impressed by Newsom's bold change of appearance, asked him where he got the coat. Newsom responded simply, "I found it in my closet, Johnny," breaking up Carson and the audience.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25470231/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25470231/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:39:50 PDT
Basically, to be a Christian means to acknowledge who Jesus is, receive the atoning sacrifice, to repent of sin, and to try and live according to what the New Testament teaches.

The term Christian comes from the Greek cristianon (Christianon) and is found in Acts 11:26; 26:28, and 1 Pet. 4:16. Cristianon is derived from the Greek cristos which means "Christ" or "anointed one" the equivalent of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ "Messiah".

Acts 11:26, "and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."
Acts 26:28, "And Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”
1 Pet. 4:16, "but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God."
Within the correct teaching of Christianity is the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement of Christ. Though there are different theories regarding the atonement, the following verses make it clear that Christ took the place of our punishment due to our sins against God, became sin on our behalf, and bore our sins in his body on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4-6, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him and by His scourging we are healed.
2 Cor. 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
1 Pet. 2:24, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
Not all who claim to be Christian are Christian
Undoubtedly, Jesus was a tremendous figure of ancient times and his deep spiritual teachings found in the New Testament draw millions. But, just because someone says he or she is a Christian, does not mean he is.

Within Christianity are basic, essential doctrines as defined by the Old and New Testaments. The Bible teaches monotheism (Exodus 20:3; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8); that God is a Trinity (Matt. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14; Jude 20-21); that Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8); that Jesus rose from the dead physically (1 Cor. 15:14; 17); that salvation is by grace alone through faith (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 5:4; Rom. 3:20). However, there are those who claim to be Christian yet deny one or more of the essentials of the Christian faith. Such is the case with Mormonism that denies both monotheism and salvation by grace alone. Jehovah's Witnesses deny Jesus' physical resurrection and salvation by grace alone. Roman Catholicism denies salvation by grace alone and adds works of penance, indulgences, and sacraments. Oneness Pentecostal denies the Trinity. There are other such groups, but this article is not intended to cover them all.

Christian Statistics
Statistically speaking, Christianity (in the broad sense of the word) is the largest religion in the world with about 2 billion adherents. Catholicism is the largest group of those who claim to be Christian with Protestants the next largest after that. Unfortunately, there are more than 30,000 Christian denominations. If a group holds to the basics of the Christian faith but deviates in non-essentials such as which day to worship on, to baptize by immersion or sprinkling, etc., it is still Christian. It is the difference in the non-essentials that has lead to so many denominations. But, denial of an essential means the group is not Christian at its core, even if it claims to be Christian.


CARM

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25248990/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25248990/ Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:29:14 PDT
The convicted killer of Tejano music star Selena lost an appeal Wednesday in Texas' highest criminal appeals court because it was filed in the wrong county.
Yolanda Saldivar had asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to order an appeal filed nine years ago in Nueces County to move forward. But the court said the appeal should have been filed in Harris County, where she was tried and convicted of the 1995 shooting of the singer.
Saldivar is serving a life prison term for killing the 23-year-old singer at a Corpus Christi motel room. She had founded a Selena fan club and rose to overseeing the Selena Etc. clothing business, but was accused of embezzling thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors said Saldivar deliberately shot Selena after the singer went to the motel to confront Saldivar about the embezzlement claims. Saldivar said she accidentally shot the singer while gesturing with a handgun.
Saldivar becomes eligible for parole in 2025.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25192922/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25192922/ Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:34:38 PDT
In move that outraged the victim's family, David Gabriel Watson will serve just one year of the four-and-a-half-year sentence in the death of his wife of 11 days, Christina Mae Watson. She died in 2003 as the couple dove off the tropical coast of Queensland. The suspended sentence is not unusual in such crimes in Queensland.

Watson, of Birmingham, Alabama, was to stand trial in the Queensland Supreme Court for murder, which carried a potential sentence of life in prison, until the prosecution accepted the guilty plea to the lesser charge.

Prosecutor Brendan Campbell told the court the manslaughter plea was accepted on the basis that the 32-year-old Watson — trained to rescue panicked divers — failed in his duty as her dive buddy by not giving her emergency oxygen.

Campbell said Watson allowed his wife to sink to the ocean floor without attempting to retrieve her, and he did not inflate her buoyancy vest or remove weights from her belt.

"He virtually extinguished any chance of her survival," Campbell said.

Outside court, Christina's father, Tommy Thomas, said his family was in disbelief over the sentence.

"I'm sure that the entire Australian nation as well as our country back home shares in the shock at what we've just seen, because it's a total injustice ... it's ludicrous," Thomas said. "It's an embarrassment to everyone involved. We believe that Gabe Watson murdered our daughter."

Watson married Christina in a ceremony described by her friends as her dream wedding in Birmingham on Oct. 11, 2003.

Eleven days later, a dive instructor found her lying on the bottom of the ocean during a weeklong Great Barrier Reef scuba diving trip off the coast of Townsville city. Watson told police her death was an accident.

Coroner David Glasgow formally charged Watson with murder last June. Glasgow said it was likely Watson killed his wife by holding her underwater and turning off her air supply. The coroner said a possible motive was her modest life insurance policy.

Related StoriesNewlywed Charged With Murdering Wife While Diving at Great Barrier Reef
VideoWatch the video
Watson turned himself in last month to answer the murder charge in the northeastern city of Brisbane.

An experienced diver who has since remarried, Watson had said in videotaped police interviews that 26-year-old Christina, a novice diver, started having trouble a few minutes into their dive.

He said he decided to go for help rather than attempt a rescue himself. One of the dive leaders pulled the woman to the surface, but efforts to resuscitate her failed.

A fellow diver told Glasgow's inquest last year he saw Watson engaged in an underwater "bear hug" with his petite wife, after which he headed to the surface while she sank to the ocean floor.

Watson told police his wife knocked his mask off and then sank too quickly for him to retrieve her. But the prosecution rejected his explanation, saying it would not have been possible for her to sink rapidly.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25174992/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25174992/ Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:54:26 PDT

Career

Beginnings
Early roles included a gunslinger in the film Taggart, a 1964 western based on a novel by Louis L'Amour. He starred on the Broadway stage in The Royal Hunt of the Sun and won a Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance in 1965.[9][10] Moving to TV, he played the title role in Shane, a 1966 series based upon the 1949 novel of the same name. In 1972, he starred as 'Big' Bill Shelly in Martin Scorsese's film Boxcar Bertha, costarring Barbara Hershey.


1970s
Carradine starred as Kwai Chang Caine on the hit TV series Kung Fu (1972–1975). He earned critical praise as folksinger Woody Guthrie in Bound for Glory (1976). He played Abel Rosenberg in Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg (1977).


1980s
In 1983, he narrated the PBS anthropology series "Faces of Culture".[citation needed]

He appeared in a supporting role in North and South, a miniseries about the American Civil War with a large cast that included Patrick Swayze in a leading role. It was telecast in six parts in November 1985, and spawned two sequel miniseries. Carradine also appeared in North and South, Book II, telecast in six parts in May 1986.


1990s
Early in the decade, he was a spokesperson for Lipton[11] ("This ain't no sippin' tea") in a memorable TV ad where he paid homage not only to Kung Fu but also The Three Stooges. He returned to series TV in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993–97) as the grandson of his original character.

In 1999, he portrayed Tempus, a powerful demon with the ability to manipulate time, on the series Charmed.


2000s
In 2001, he appeared in an episode of the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (on which his brother Robert was a regular performer). Also in 2001, he provided the voice for Lo Pei, the ancient warrior responsible for Shendu's petrification on the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures. In 2002, Carradine voiced a character on King of the Hill in the episode Returning Japanese, portraying Hank's Japanese half-brother. In 2003, he appeared as Conrad on the series Alias.


Carradine signing autographs in Malmö, 2005In 2003, he produced and starred in several instructional videos on the martial arts of Tai chi and Qi Gong. These made him a natural as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004).

In 2005, he took over hosting duties from his brother Keith on Wild West Tech on the History Channel. On two episodes of the animated series Danny Phantom (2005-2006), he provided the voice for "Clockwork", a supernatural being with the power to control time (similar to his 1999 role on Charmed). In 2006, he became the spokesman for Yellowbook, a publisher of independent telephone directories in the United States.

Carradine also appeared in the music video for "Minus You" by the Southern California band Chapel of Thieves, which was co-directed by YouTube personality Boh3m3.[citation needed] He also worked with the Jonas Brothers in their video Burnin' Up, playing a Kung Fu master, and planned to work with Miley Cyrus.[citation needed] In 2009, he played a 100-year-old Chinese gangster in Crank: High Voltage.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25067554/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/25067554/ Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:49:34 PDT
George Szell (pronounced /ˈsɛl/) (June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is remembered today for his long and successful tenure as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, and for the recordings of the standard classical repertoire he made in Cleveland and with other orchestras.

Szell came to Cleveland in 1946 to take over a respected, but undersized, orchestra which was struggling to recover from the disruptions of World War II. By the time of his death he was credited, to quote the critic Donal Henahan, with having built it into "what many critics regarded as the world's keenest symphonic instrument." Through his recordings, Szell has remained a presence in the classical music world long after his death, and in some circles his name remains synonymous with that of the Cleveland Orchestra. While on tour with the Orchestra in the late 1980s, then Music Director Christoph von Dohnányi remarked, "We give a great concert, and George Szell gets a great review."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24885551/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24885551/ Fri, 22 May 2009 05:45:30 PDT The mother replied, 'Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her
life.'
The child thought about this for a moment then said, 'So why is the groom wearing black?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!'
While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started
running again! As she ran she once again began to pray, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...But please don't shove me either!'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, 'My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50.'
The second boy says, 'That's nothing.
My Dad scribbles a few words on piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give him $100.'
The third boy says, 'I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

An elderly woman died last month.. Having never married , she requested no male pallbearers. In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, 'They wouldn't take me out while I was alive, I don't want them to take me out when I'm dead.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

A police recruit was asked during the exam, 'What would you do if yo u had to arrest your own mother?' He answered, 'Call for backup.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Sunday School teacher asked her class why Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem . A small child replied, 'They couldn't get a baby-sitter.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to 'Honor thy father and thy mother,' she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?' Without missing
a beat, one little boy answered, 'Thou shall not kill.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Sunday School they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out
of one of Adam's ribs.
Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and she said, 'Johnny, what is the matter?' Little Johnny responded, 'I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two boys were walking home from Sunday school after hearing a strong
preaching on the devil. One said to the other, 'What do you think about all this Satan stuff?'
The other boy replied, 'Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It's probably just your Dad.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24868782/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24868782/ Thu, 21 May 2009 06:20:03 PDT

NEW YORK – Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near a synagogue and community center and plotting to shoot down a military plane were bent on carrying out a holy war against America, authorities said Thursday.

The suspects were arrested Wednesday night, shortly after planting a 37-pound mock explosive device in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Jewish Center, a few blocks away, authorities said.

Police blocked their escape with an 18-wheel truck, smashing their tinted SUV windows and while apprehending the unarmed suspects.

At a news conference outside the Bronx temple, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quoted one of the men as saying, "If Jews were killed in this attack ... that would be all right."

James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said.

"They stated that they wanted to commit Jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."

An official told The Associated Press that three of the men are converts to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation. Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens and one is of Haitian descent, officials said.

Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque. His statements on Islam often had to be corrected, according to Assistant Imam Hamin Rashada, who met Payen through a program that helps prisoners re-enter society.

The defendants are due in federal court Thursday in suburban White Plains.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin said the defendants planned to detonate a car with plastic explosives to destroy the temple and Jewish center.

They also planned to shoot Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at planes at the Air National Guard base in Newburgh, about 70 miles north of New York City.

The FBI and other agencies monitored the men and provided an inactive missile and inert C-4 to an informant for the defendants.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Kelly met privately with congregants Thursday inside the Riverdale Temple.

"The shock and being floored was followed by relief," David Winter, executive director of the Riverdale Jewish Center, said afterward.

Bloomberg warned against stereotypes, emphasizing that the temple is open to people of all faiths, including a Muslim girl who sometimes prays there.

Kelly said the temple may have been chosen because of "convenience" — it is near a highway. He said the suspects had scouted the location twice before.

Kelly said the uniformed officers who flooded the neighborhood were there to improve residents' "comfort level," even though "No one was at risk. This was a very tightly controlled operation."

"It's a little scary being so close to home, but you have to just move on sometimes," said Maria Patuhas, 18, a senior at the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy, across the street from the temple.

Officials told The Associated Press the arrests came after a nearly yearlong undercover operation that began in Newburgh.

"This latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor is expected to appear at Riverdale Jewish Center morning services with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

The defendants, in their efforts to acquire weapons, dealt with an informant acting under law enforcement supervision, authorities said. The FBI and other agencies monitored the men and provided an inactive missile and inert C-4 to the informant for the defendants, a federal complaint said.

In June 2008, the informant met Cromitie in Newburgh and Cromitie complained that his parents had lived in Afghanistan and he was upset about the war there and that many Muslim people were being killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by U.S. military forces, officials said.

Cromitie also expressed an interest in doing "something to America," they said in the complaint.

In October 2008, the informant began meeting with the defendants at a Newburgh house equipped with concealed video and audio equipment, the complaint said.

Beginning in April 2009, the four men selected the synagogue and the community center they intended to hit, it said. They also conducted surveillance of military planes at the Air... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24684183/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24684183/ Sun, 10 May 2009 10:32:00 PDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Star Trek" beamed itself up to the top of the box office, earning $76.5 million in its opening weekend.

Paramount Pictures had estimated that the movie would make about $50 million for the weekend, but figured that strong reviews helped carry it to the bigger opening.

The studio said director J.J. Abrams' reboot of the beloved sci-fi franchise made $4 million just in pre-midnight screenings Thursday - plus a record $8.2 million in IMAX showings.

"Star Trek," which reveals the back stories of Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, received 96% positive reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24492169/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24492169/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:03:34 PDT Arrested: March 2009
Days Imprisoned: 55

On March 5, Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor were arrested by Iranian security forces and labeled "anti-government activists," according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN).
Thirty year-old Marzieh and 27-year-old Maryam are being held at Evin Prison, which is notorious for treating women badly. "Both women are allowed just a one-minute telephone call everyday to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention," FCNN reported. During their last call on March 28, Mazieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, "I am dying."
Marzieh and Maryam's apartment was searched and their belongings were confiscated. "Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus," FCNN added. “They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti government activists' because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians."
The women have reportedly been interrogated numerous times and were held in three different police detention centers before being sent to Evin Prison. FCNN reported an exorbitant bail amount of US$ 400,000 has been set even though Marzieh and Maryam's families have been told on numerous occasions that a judge is not available to discuss the case.
Marzieh and Maryam's arrest is the latest incident highlighting increased government intimidation of Christians in Iran. Believers are subjected to surveillance, arrests, imprisonment, and sometimes torture.



Location: Pakistan
Arrested: October 2008

Twenty- year-old Sandul Bibi is in prison in Pakistan, charged with violating section 295-B of the Pakistani legal code, the “blasphemy” law. Sandul is falsely accused of ripping pages from the Quran. On Oct. 9 a large crowd of Muslims attacked Christian families at a church, throwing stones and firing guns. They were shouting, “Kill Gulsher and his daughter Sandul.” Sandul and her father, Gulsher Masih, were arrested after a mob from the local mosque surrounded their house. Loudspeakers from different mosques broadcast accusations that Christians had disgraced the Quran, calling Muslims to attack and burn their homes. The angry crowd threw stones at Sandul’s home. Christians believe Sandul and her father were targeted and arrested because they were aggressively winning villagers to Christ.
Sandul has written several letters to her family from prison. In her latest letter she says, “I am praying a lot that God releases me from here and I can meet you, but I don’t know when. He will give answers for our prayers. Please pray for me.” If convicted, Sandul faces at least four years in prison. She and her family desperately need your prayers and encouragement



Location: China
Arrested: February 2009
Days Imprisoned: 84

On Feb. 4, Gao Zhisheng, was abducted by Chinese secret police from his hometown. Since 2005, Gao has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned and severely tortured by Chinese authorities, mostly for his work defending Chinese Christians. In 2006, he and a group of prominent human rights lawyers created the Association of Human Rights Attorneys for Chinese Christians. In 2007, he was arrested and spent over 50 days behind bars where he was tortured. “I was beaten so badly that my whole body began shaking uncontrollably on the floor,” Gao writes of his torture in an open letter.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24457800/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24457800/ Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:07:53 PDT
You may have heard. During Sunday's Miss USA pageant openly "gay" activist and pageant judge Perez Hilton – the self-styled "Queen of Media" – ambushed Carrie Prejean – the openly Christian Miss California – with a politically loaded question on so-called "same-sex marriage." Prejean's candid answer – as both Hilton and Miss USA organizer Donald Trump later admitted – likely cost her the crown.

From the moment she opened her mouth, Prejean has given liberals a clinic in class. Hilton, on the other hand (a.k.a. Mario Armando Lavandeira), has provided the world a sneak peek into the soul of homosexual activism.





This is one for the up-is-down-black-is-white hall of fame. The media's fabricated flap over Prejean's answer – a public defense of legitimate marriage – has a reasonable America scratching its collective noggin in stunned disbelief. Not because of the answer she gave Perez – which was both well received by the pageant audience and overwhelmingly shared by about 70 percent of Americans – but, rather, because of Hilton's hate-filled, misogynistic response to her answer and the disgraceful, knee-jerk defense of that response by liberals in Hollywood, the media, and organized homosexuality.

After Hilton asked the lovely and talented Miss California whether "every state" should legalize "same-sex marriage," Prejean responded: "In my country, in my family...I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be – between a man and a woman.

Oh the humanity!

Evidently this was not the rooty-tooty-fresh-n'-fruity answer Hilton had hoped for. He promptly marked Prejean's score card with a zero, plopped down in front of the television cameras, and publicly called the pageant contestant a "dumb b****".

He then yammered to a sympathetic Norah O'Donnell on MSNBC that, not only was he refusing to apologize, he was actually "thinking the C-word." This, of course, one of the vilest things anyone can call a woman. Yet, rather than taking Hilton to task, O'Donnell joined in on the bash-fest, criticizing Prejean for her traditional view.

But Hilton wasn't done yet. Ramping up his vicious attack on the Christian California bombshell, he dove headlong into the annals of dirt-baggery lore by salaciously defacing a photo of Prejean.

How did Prejean react?

While talking to Matt Lauer on NBC's Today Show she said, "I knew at that moment after I answered the question, I knew, I was not going to win because of my answer, because I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God....I wouldn't have answered it differently. The way I answered may have been offensive. With that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct. For me it was being biblically correct."

On the Fox News Channel's Hannity program, Prejean shared, "You know, I forgive him. I know that he's angry for whatever reason. I know there must be a bigger issue going on in his life."

Like I said – class.

Still, Perez Hilton isn't alone in his hatred for Prejean or the three-fourths of Americans who share her opposition to the novel and incongruous concept of "gay marriage."

For example, Wayne Besen, a prominent leader in the homosexual activist community, unbelievably went on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor to defend Hilton. He picked up Hilton's anti-Christian torch, incredibly charging that it was Prejean, not Hilton, whose millennia old recognition of biblical marriage "was divisive." Besen then added insult to injury and revealed his true rainbow colors by tagging the 70 percent of Americans who oppose "gay marriage" as "bigots."

This whole hateful affair provides the perfect metaphor for the current divide between defenders of traditional sexual morality and the extremist "queer" activist movement. As Congress debates the constructive repeal of both the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of "equal protection under the law" and the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and freedom of religion through passage of discriminatory and wholly unnecessary "hate crimes" legislation, this little episode once again reminds us that the self-described champions of "tolerance" and "diversity" are the most intolerant and hateful among us.


Read Matt Barber's earlier commentary: Separate but unequal protection


How soon we forget. Just hearken back a few months to the passage of California's Proposition 8, which restored the definition of natural marriage to the Golden State. There we all played witness to "gay" activist calls for church burnings, Mormon Temple vandalism, death threats against Prop 8 supporters, and quasi-riotous assaults against peacefu... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24269065/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24269065/ Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:26:20 PDT
A conservative Christian leader says a new Department of Homeland Security report warning of a potential rise in "right-wing extremism" is nothing but a "political hack job" by the Obama administration to silence its conservative critics.





The unclassified report from Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also "groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

However, the report notes that DHS "has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emerging issues." It also contends that the return of war veterans could grow the ranks of white-supremacist militias.


Read the Homeland Security report


Dr. Don Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Association, says he is ashamed the U.S. government would issue such a report.

"They say [to] watch these soldiers coming home from Iraq because they could turn out to be terrorists in our own country," Wildmon notes. "These are kids basically who have gone over there and risked their lives -- and many of them have given their lives -- and here we put out a nine-page report from Homeland Security saying, 'Watch these soldiers that come home because they could be possible terrorists in their own country.'

"This is nothing in the world but using tax dollars to belittle anyone who disagrees with the current administration's social policies," he exclaims.

Wildmon says the Homeland Security Department under Janet Napolitano is attempting to portray anyone who opposes abortion, same-sex "marriage," and illegal immigration as a "right-wing extremist" or potential domestic terrorist.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24084620/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24084620/ Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:58:04 PDT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The UN has been unable to adopt a comprehensive convention against terrorism. The Organization of the Islamic Conference insists blowing up Israelis and Americans in the name of self-determination doesn't count. The Security Council serves as the conduit for Palestinian claims that terrorists are martyrs.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24036641/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24036641/ Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:01:10 PDT Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says President Obama's plan to raise taxes on upper-income earners is designed to create bigger government and a more secular America.



Author and political commentator Newt Gingrich of American Solutions calls President Obama's tax program a "war against churches and charities." Gingrich accuses President Obama of "deliberately" trying to take away the charitable deduction for successful people so they will not give as much money to churches or charities.

"I think there's a clear to desire to replace the church with a bureaucracy, and to replace people's right to worship together with a government-dominated system," he contends.

The former House Speaker says the Obama administration is talking seriously about taking away the right of conscience in terms of performing abortions.

"This is most aggressive, militant, secular program I can remember," Gingrich admits. "And I think you have to be really clearly aware that they want an America which is radically different than the country which was created by those pioneers who first landed back in 1607 at Cape Henry and erected a cross to thank God for having allowed them to cross the Atlantic Ocean."

Gingrich believes people often forget that the first act of the first successful American colony was to "erect a cross at Cape Henry, to thank God for their survival and their salvation, and then to go up to Jamestown to found the colony."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24018954/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/24018954/ Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:07:52 PDT Ronen Medzini Published: 04.02.09, 12:24 / Israel News
A terrorist carrying an axe attacked and a seven year-old child in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin in Gush Etzion Thursday noon. The boy sustained moderate injuries.
At least one other person was wounded in the incident.
According to the police, the terrorists managed to escape the scene. Last month two police officers were shot dead near the community of Masua in the Jordan Valley. Three months ago an Israeli citizen was severely injured after Palestinian opened fire at his car east of Ramallah.
from [link]

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" Gal. 4:16

Jesus was a Palestinian?
Issue Date: January/February 2009

"Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus." Hundreds of such distortions and lies were found in a five-year study of 28 of the most widely used social studies textbooks in U.S. public schools. These findings are published in a book, The Trouble with Textbooks, by researchers Dr. Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra. They found many instances where the history of Israel was belittled and Islam was presented favorably.

Some of the distortions include: Jesus was a "Palestinian", not a Jew; the Arab nations never attacked Israel; Arab-Israeli wars "just broke out," or Israel started them; Arab nations want peace but Israel does not.

The study concludes that the textbooks "come dangerously close to perpetuating the idea that Jews caused the crucifixion of Jesus and are guilty, as a group, of deicide (the killing of God)."

This study focused primarily on revisions of history related to Israel and the Jews. Other studies find that many text books are short on details of the founding of America or pivotal events of world history. Testing of high school graduates finds a large percentage cannot accurately date the Civil War or even know the meaning of "holocaust."

State laws are forcing school teachers to present homosexuality favorably. Parents are being arrested when they demand to be notified when their child will be fed unbiblical propaganda. Judges are declaring that, once parents send their children to the public schools, they have no right to meddle with what they are taught.

Our culture, and even the government, are not our friends when it comes to raising our children. Protecting their innocence is nearly impossible. Instead we have to give them large doses of the truth so they can recognize the lies they are being fed.


Hindu Militants Offer $250 to Kill a Pastor
Issue Date: January/February 2009

Hindu militants in the Orissa state of India have mounted a campaign to eliminate as many Christians as possible from their state.

Dozens, possibly hundreds, have been murdered, thousands of churches and homes destroyed. Tens of thousands of Christians have been left homeless by the destruction. Local police make little effort to protect them or may actually join the persecution.

Christians in Orissa claim that pastors have a price on their head. Anyone who kills a pastor is promised the equivalent of $250 reward. For destroying churches or property belonging to Christians, one can get a chicken, liquor, or weapons.

This is not the only place Christians are suffering. In Iraq, about 20 percent of the population professed some brand of Christianity under Saddam Hussein. Now, with the government largely controlled by Muslim factions, hundreds of thousands of Christians are being driven out of the country.

In most countries in the northern half of the African continent, Muslims are attempting to gain full control and any who are not Muslim are forced to convert or die for their faith.

Churches are burned, homes destroyed, pastors executed, women raped and children kidnapped and placed in Islamic training schools. Civil war has erupted when non-Muslims attempt to defend themselves.

Muslims Main Persecutors

The Hindu persecution is unusual in that most pressure is coming from societies where Islam has some dominance. However, in nations where they are in a minority, they are using legislation, courts and human rights tribunals to discourage Christians from speaking out.

In the United Nations, a conference of Muslim nations led by Saudi Arabia are pushing a declaration on “religious freedom” that would make it an offence to “blaspheme” another religion.

The goal is to criminalize “insulting” speech or activities. Islam’s definition of “insulting” was displayed recently when street riots broke out in Muslim nations over some cartoons published in Europe disparaging Muhammad.

Singapore Persecution

Christians in so-called “democraticÂ... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23844854/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23844854/ Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:43:47 PDT
An English-language advocate says a recent union contract that will replace Labor Day with a Muslim holiday at a Tyson Foods processing plant is an example of multiculturalism run amok.

Jim Boulet of English First shares that he was flabbergasted when he read the report that the non-Islamic union employees at Shelbyville, Tennessee's Tyson plant will no longer have Labor Day as a paid holiday, but instead will have October 1 off, which corresponds to the end of the Islamic festival of Ramadan.

The company says only about 250 of the 1,000 employees affected by the contract are Muslim, mostly refugees from Somalia. Boulet contends a new immigrant to America, legal or illegal, enjoys more rights than taxpaying American citizens.

"A Christian or Jew in an Islamic country would not even receive close to this accommodation. You can't even build a Christian church in Saudi Arabia, let alone a synagogue. But Christians and Jews in the United States get to give up their Labor Day holiday in honor of this Muslim holiday," Boulet adds. "This is political correctness run amok. Wait and see what is going to happen to this country if we tolerate this kind of creeping Islamization."

Boulet believes the story is of the same ilk as Barack Obama saying it is the duty of American children to learn Spanish.


Dear Editor: So many letter writers have based their arguments
on how this land is made up of immigrants..
Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear
down the Statue of Liberty because the people
now in question aren't being treated the same as
those who passed through Ellis Island and other
ports of entry.
Maybe
we should turn to our history books and point
out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's
American is not willing to accept this new kind
of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there
was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to
the United States, people had to get off a ship
and stand in a long line in New York and be
documented. Some would even get down on their
hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a
pledge to uphold the laws and support their new
country in good and bad times. They made
learning English a primary rule in their new
American households and some even changed their
names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give
their children a new life and did everything in
their power to help their children assimilate
into one culture. Nothing was handed to
them. No free lunches, no welfare, no
labor laws to protect them. All they had
were the skills and craftsmanship they had
brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II
broke out. My father fought alongside men whose
parents had come straight over fromGermany , Italy , France and Japan
. None of these 1st generation Americans
ever gave any thought about what country their
parents had come from. They were Americans
fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan
. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
When we liberated France,
no one in those villages were looking for the
French-American or the German American or the
Irish American. The people of France
saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that
represented one country.. Not one of those
immigrant sons would have thought about picking
up another country's flag and waving it to
represent who they were. It would have been a
disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so
much to be here. These immigrants truly knew
what it meant to be an American. They stirred
the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant
who wants the same rights and privileges only
they want to achieve it by playing with a
different set of rules; one
that includes the entitlement card and a
guarantee of being faithful to their mother
country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an
American is all about. I believe that the
immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the
early 1900's deserve better than that for all
the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising
future generations to create a land that has
become a beacon for those legallysearching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being
used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue
of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are
voting on t... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23775518/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23775518/ Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:27:14 PDT Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 3/18/2009 8:00:00 AM

Updated 3/19/2009 7:20 AM



President Barack Obama has decided to drop any consideration of billing veterans' private insurance companies for the treatment of combat-related injuries, the White House said Wednesday. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the idea was on the table as the administration sought "to maximize the resources available for veterans."



Veterans groups complained that the proposal would reverse government policy of taking responsibility for caring for the war wounded and said it could cause difficulties for veterans in getting future insurance or even jobs.



Earlier story:



The nation's largest veterans group warns there will be negative moral and practical ramifications from President Obama's plan to charge "wounded warriors" for the medical treatment they need for service-related disabilities or injuries.




American Legion Commander David Rehbein, along with ten other representatives from Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), met with President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Monday. The meeting was precipitated by a letter of protest drafted by the VSOs against an Obama budget proposal that would require wounded veterans to pay for their own health insurance if they had private insurance.

American Legion spokesman Craig Roberts says the veterans group left the meeting outraged after President Obama signaled he would move forward with the plan.

"We're outraged because it is the government's charge to take care of our wounded warriors. It's the VA's charge to do that directly. That's the way it has always has been and the way it should be," he contends. "It is not the insurance companies, not Blue Cross-Blue Shield sending our young men and women into harm's way. It is, in fact, the United States government, so it's the United States government's charge to take care of them. And that's just from the moral standpoint."

Roberts notes that a wounded warrior who is an amputee and in need of continued care would quickly reach his maximum insurance coverage limits for the year and his family would be without private health insurance. In addition, he says some employers would be reticent to hire veterans with service-related disabilities because of the medical costs the company's insurer would have to cover.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23655322/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23655322/ Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:43:43 PDT
Amid concerns that history textbooks are downplaying the important role of Christianity in America's founding comes a report that Islam extremism is being treated with kid gloves in some of those textbooks.





Christian historian David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders, has for years advised parents to examine their children's school textbooks. "Always remember that your children do not know as much about history as you do -- and consequently have no basis for identifying bias," Barton says on his website.

No doubt he would caution parents if their children's classroom were using World History: The Modern World (Prentice Hall) -- a textbook that the director of The American Textbook Council points out as one example in an educational trend that presents a biased view of Islam and a sugarcoated picture of Islamic extremism.

In his report "Islam in the Classroom: What the textbooks tell us" [PDF] Gilbert T. Sewall says he finds "uniquely disturbing" what he perceives as deficiencies in Islam-related lessons.

"[K]ey subjects like jihad, Islamic law, [and] the status of women are whitewashed," Sewall tells Fox News -- a treatment he attributes to pressure from Islamic activists on publishers to downplay Islamic terrorism and shine a favorable light on the religion. "The picture is incomplete...and the reason for this is that publishers are afraid of the Islamic activists. They don't want trouble."

In his review process, Sewall asked questions such as "What do textbooks say about terrorism?" and "What do they say about the September 11 air attack on the United States?"

According to Fox News, Sewall discovered that Prentice Hall's The Modern World omits direct mention of the 9/11 hijackers' religion, instead referring to them as "teams of terrorists."

"In terms of content [about the historic attacks], so much is left unanswered," he tells Fox News. "Who were the teams of terrorists and what did they want to do? What were their political ends?" And with such questions unanswered, he says it is hard to understand why the attacks took place.

Another question he asked: "Do [textbooks] describe and explain looming dangers to the United States and world?" The textbook History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond (Teachers Curriculum Institute), he says, glosses over the violent aspects of Islamic jihad.

That textbook states that "Jihad is defined as a struggle within each individual to overcome difficulties and strive to please god. Sometimes it may be a physical struggle for protection against enemies."

In his conclusions, Sewall states: "Deficiencies about Islam in textbooks copyrighted before 2001 persist and in some cases have grown worse. Textbook coverage of jihad and sharia are cases in point. Instead of making corrections or acknowledging contested facts, publishers and their editors defend misinformation and content evasions against the record. Bias persists. Silences are profound and intentional."

He adds: "From what they read in history textbooks, students and teachers are not likely to grasp why the United States and its allies consider militant Islam an enemy. Students will not learn that broadly based Islamist factions sanction violence in countries all over the world. They will not grasp the connection between jihad and September 11."





'Jesus' banned -- so chaplain resigned
Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 3/11/2009 4:30:00 AM
A former chaplain with the Virginia State Police says he had no choice but to step down after a new policy took effect requiring generic prayers at department events

Last summer, Rex Carter and five others resigned from the volunteer chaplain program. The move came after a new rule was instituted that restricted prayers by the volunteer chaplains. Carter, who is still a State Police officer, said he had no other choice once he was told he could not pray in the name of Jesus.

He says many people in society today simply do not want to be confronted with the truth of the gospel of Christ.

"The cross reveals man at his worst. People don't want to look in the mirror and say, 'I'm just an old rotten sinner.' When you preach a precept like that, that bothers people," he notes. "So what do we do? Well, let's [quiet] people and let's let the Christian crowd be quiet because we don't want to hear that we serve a righteous and holy God, we don't want to hear there's judgment coming, we don't want to hear that there was a man who died for my sins."

Recently, a State Senate panel killed a bill that would have prohibited State Police officials from restricting prayers by volunteer chaplains.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23604788/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23604788/ Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:06:55 PDT
This is the English translation of an article
witten by an Israeli Youth, Liel


Ami's mother, Leah writes: The first part is a pretty accurate account of what happened on March 20, 2008, but the second part is an interview with Ami. So far, you've been reading about him, but now - Ami speaks for himself!

PERSECUTION The persecution began when in the streets of Ariel, Flyers were distributed, and on them Pictures of David Ortiz and other Messianic believers. The flyers carried the following warning: Citizens of Ariel, Beware! These people are Christian Missionaries that masquerade as Jews and belong to a cult called Messianic Judaism."
On March 20, 2008, a man with his head lowered, entered a residence in Ariel, dressed in an army uniform. He climbed three floors up to the apartment of the Ortiz Family. Security cameras in the building filmed him putting a package by the door of the apartment and leaving. It was the Purim holiday and a big, beautiful Purim package was waiting by the door of the house of the Ortiz Family on the 3rd floor of an apartment building in the middle of the city of Ariel. Happy Purim was written on the package in black magic marker. The cleaning lady brought the package inside.

Ami woke up late, because he didn't go to school that day. He saw the package, but decided to take the dog out first. When the cleaning lady went downstairs to throw out the trash, having left for the day, Ami opened up the package. The deafening blast and the silence that was heard a moment after echoed loudly throughout the streets of the neighborhood. The apartment windows were blown out, and smoke and a hot, scorching smell filled the place. Amiel was left lying on floor of the kitchen, critically injured, dripping blood and yelling out from pain. "It was a Purim package", he told the paramedics who were treating him.

Ami was badly wounded as a result of the terror attack: three toes on his left foot were partially amputated, he has many tears in the muscles of his legs, on his left leg there is a muscle that is deeply lacerated, he has scars as a result of the burns in the area of his stomach, shrapnel in his body and also eyes, significant hearing loss, and damage to his nerves that causes him sensitivity and pain especially in his left hand. In spite of the physical difficulties, Ami has lifted his eyes to God.

In the first stages of the investigation, there were difficulties in making a decision concerning the ones responsible for the attack. There were two possibilities, one that it was of a nationalistic background, as David Ortiz is known as an evangelist to the Arabs, and there are among them many Muslims that are not happy with that - and the other, that it was carried out by a group of radical Orthodox Jews. Sorry to say, it turned out that those who are under the commandment "Thou Shalt not Kill" are those whose hands are contaminated with the blood of Ami Ortiz.


TRUST IN THE LORD We turned to Ami with the request that he share with us how he is feeling after the incident.

"When I woke up after being in an induced coma for 8 days, I was still under the influence of the drugs the doctors gave me so that I wouldn't feel the horrible pain. I couldn't differentiate between reality and hallucination, but despite the strange feeling, I knew that God was with me all the time. Also when my mind was hazy, and I was having hallucinations, I was able to trust in the Lord. There were many questions that went through my mind but I understood that I have to trust him in the hard times in order to be able to pass through this period in my life with less difficulty. During this whole time, I understood that my life was 100% dependent on the Lord and I was nothing without Him. This strengthened my faith and trust in Him.

Today, looking back, I can say that for certain this incident caused me to grow in the faith in an amazing way. The Lord is working in my heart and is changing me every day. Suddenly I value life. I don't take for granted the fact that I am alive. I know that I am here because of the Lord Yeshua. I thank Him for how He protected me from the evil and because of Him I am alive today and I can tell others how He is working in my life. I don't have anger in me towards the people who are responsible for this incident. I have forgiven them. I am sure that God is the righteous judge, and He knows everything. He knows who is responsible for everything and He will judge.

My injuries are many and painful, but I am able to overcome. The fear that this incident will happen again to me, to my family or to someone in the Body of Messiah exists. When this fear attacks me, I try not to allow it to take control of me. I pray and know that God is with me, and is guarding and watching over me... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23383616/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23383616/ Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:11:10 PST © 1996 Research and Education Foundation

When you pick up a copy of the Qur'an, several questions should immediately come to your mind:

WHO? AUTHORSHIP
WHAT? LITERARY NATURE
WHERE? PLACE OF ORIGIN
WHEN? TIME OF WRITING
HOW? MEDIUM OF TRANSMISSION
WHY? JUSTIFICATION OF NEED

These questions are good and necessary. But how can we find answers to them? There are two different approaches to answering these questions

1. The Muslim approach depends upon secondary sources which were put together generations after Muhammad died. The Sira and the Hadith supply the Muslim with the official answers to these questions. Thus while the Qur'an does not answer the questions above, the Hadith does. Note: Muslims are guilty of circular reasoning at this point: They prove the Qur'an by the Hadith and then prove the Hadith by the Qur'an!

2. The secular approach focuses on the issue of primary sources. It questions the veracity of the Traditions as well as the veracity of the Qur'an. It does not want material written in the ninth or tenth century telling them what was written in the seventh century. They want actual material from the seventh and eight century. The failure of the Muslims to come up with anything has great implications.

Part I: The Muslim Approach

The Hadith is sometimes called the second inspiration with the Qur'an being the first inspiration. The Hadith claims to be the record of Muhammad's exposition and application of the Qur'an, biographical material on Muhammad, and the history of the writing, collection, and composition of the text of the Qur'an. (Bukhari vol. VI, no. 564). The authority and authenticity of the Qur'an depends entirely upon the integrity and teachings of the Hadith. In other words, the Qur'an is valid only if the Hadith is true. If it is false, then the Qur'an is automatically false.

A. The Integrity of Muhammad

The integrity of Muhammad is all important. He was either whom he claimed to be, a liar or a nut case (mentally insane or demon possessed). This is why the Traditions went to such great lengths to create a model of Muhammad that depicts him as a "super man" as well as a prophet. What do we find in the Hadith?

1. Muhammad's credentials for prophethood are unacceptable. The two prominent Hadithic "proofs" of his prophethood came from pagan ideas of what a shaman would look like and the manner in which he would be inspired.
A. The Hadith explains that when the Qur'an refers to the seal of prophethood being upon Muhammad (Surah 33:40), the seal was a large hairy mole on his back. This is found in both Bukhari (vol. 1, no. 189; vol. IV, no. 741) and Muslim (vol. IV, no. 5790,5793). This mole was the physical proof that Muhammad was a prophet according to Tabari and other later Muslim authorities. They even claimed that the mole was a fulfillment of such Scriptures as Isa. 9:6. We cannot accept this proof. While such ideas can be found in pagan traditions from many primitive cultures, it is not a part of the religion of Abraham, the prophets, the apostles or Jesus.

B. Both the Bukhari and Muslim Hadiths describe what happened to Muhammad when inspiration came upon him. He heard ringing in his ears, fell to the ground, turned red, sweated profusely, made moaning sounds, spit ran from his mouth, etc. While ancient pagans placed a great deal of importance on such things, they were never a part of the biblical prophets.
2. He failed a direct test of his claim to prophethood. He was asked to explain why a child will look like one parent as opposed to looking like the other. He claimed that Gabriel came and gave the inspired answer. See Bukhari vol. IV: no. 546. So, we are dealing with revelation and not just his personal opinion. He said that the child will look like which parent reaches his or her sexual climax first. The study of genetics and DNA forever disproves this idea.

3. He believed in magic, the evil eye, amulets, omens, spells, etc. He was superstitious about many things and made up weird rules about bathroom duties (Bukhari vol. 1, no. 144; vol. IV, nos. 110, 111; vol. VII, nos. 636, 648, 649, 650; Muslim vol. I, no. 458; vol. III, 3 nos. 5424, 5427). He was afraid whenever a strong wind blew (Bukhari vol. II, no. 144) and of eclipses (Bukhari vol. II, no. 167).

While this is bad enough, the Hadith tells us that Muhammad was at times under magical spells, i.e., bewitched, and told lies and did things while under those spells. (Bukhari vol. IV, nos. 400, 490; VII, no. 660; Muslim vol. III, no. 5428) Once it is admitted that he told lies and did things while under satanic influence, then the entire Qur'an could be satanic in origin.

Later Muslim authorities even went so far as to say that he was at one time inspired by Satan to put some verses into... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23337663/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23337663/ Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:12:58 PST Date: Feb 5th, 09:12
As I drove back to Colorado Springs from Denver today, the fog was so thick I could barely see the car ahead of me, much less the usual splendor of the Rocky Mountains to the west. I was listening to Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, who made some interesting points about the nature of faith. In the ongoing dialogue between theists and atheists that permeates society today, theists are often said to rely on faith while atheists rely on reason in the formation of their respective worldviews. Yet, such a stark dichotomy is too simplistic and out of touch with reality.

Adherents to both views arrive at their beliefs through a combination of faith and reason. Neither the atheist nor the theist relies solely on reason. Both rely on a component of faith. For that matter, there are very few beliefs any of us hold that do not involve faith to some degree. The simple act of driving through a green light requires faith that nearby drivers who are faced with a red light will actually stop.

Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins suggests that religious “faith” is a “virus of the mind.” In his 1991 article entitled “Viruses of the Mind,” he states that, “Like some computer viruses, successful mind viruses will tend to be hard for their victims to detect. If you are a victim of one, the chances are that you won’t know it, and may even vigorously deny it.” So, sufferers of the memetic virus of religious faith may not even know they have been affected by an outside agent.

Conversely, the apostle Paul wrote of non-believers that, “their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.” (2 Cor. 3:14) According to Christianity, Richard Dawkins may have been similarly blinded; a viral virgin infected by a God who disdains his arrogant air of superiority.

But here’s the rub. It wasn’t the fact that faith exists within all of us that beguiled Dr. Keller; it was how each of us expresses our faith that captured his imagination. Think about it. By virtue of our various worldviews, each of us discovers a sense of belonging. Whether you are a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu or a Freethinker, you will find other people who share your belief system. You will also soon appreciate that there are many more people who disagree with your beliefs and consider them simply wrong. What is common to all of us is the tendency to marginalize those who don’t believe as we do; to consider ourselves better than those who haven’t been similarly enlightened.

In this sense, we can’t help but agree with Christopher Hitchens. Religion does spoil everything. And he certainly made that point clearly in his debate with Frank Turek. Christopher emoted, “Isn’t it as plain as could be that those who commit the most callous, the most cruel, the most brutal, the most indiscriminate atrocities of all, do so precisely because they believe they have divine permission?” In many cases, we must humbly admit, he is correct. However, wasn’t Pol Pot cruel and indiscriminate? Wasn’t Joseph Stalin callous and brutal? Stalin was also indiscriminate. He copiously murdered people of all religions.

Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, suggests that while these men were indeed atheists, it wasn’t their atheism that drove them to commit such atrocities. Stalin’s atheism may not have led him to murder had it not been that his atheism first led him to marginalize the masses. His atheism led to self-supremacy and the marginalization of others, which in turn led to his genocidal acts. In his Contribution to Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, Karl Marx described religion as the “opiate of the masses.” Supremacist thoughts would come easily to someone convinced that everyone else is walking around in a metaphorical drug-induced stupor. When it comes to atrocities, all religions, and even atheism, are in a dead heat.

But why is this so? The bottom line is that people are not led to commit atrocities by either religion or atheism, but rather by the insidious seduction of power and the serpentine invasiveness of pride. These lead to a misguided sense of moral superiority. When an individual of one group sees himself as superior to those of another group - as more deserving, more enlightened, more noble - he is bound to subjugate outsiders mentally, verbally and eventually physically.

This process of self-aggrandizement is fueled to an even greater degree when one’s holy book(s) specifically encourage the mindset of supremacy. Consider the writings of Muhammad in The Koran:

You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad] are the best peoples ever raised up for mankind… And had the people of the... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23283392/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23283392/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:16:50 PST On Oct. 9 a large crowd of Muslims attacked Gulsher’s home throwing stones and firing guns. They were shouting, “Kill Gulsher and his daughter Sandul.” Gulsher and Sandul were arrested after a mob from the local mosque surrounded their house. Loudspeakers from different mosques broadcast accusations that Christians had disgraced the Quran, calling Muslims to attack and burn their homes. The angry crowd threw stones at Gulsher’s home. Christians believe Gulsher and Sandul were targeted and arrested because they were aggressively winning Muslims to Christ. If convicted, Gulsher faces at least four years in prison. Gulsher, Sandul and their family greatly appreciate your prayers during this challenging time.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23035405/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/23035405/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:51:09 PST
When someone says to you, “the Bible is just a bunch of legends put together decades or centuries later,” he is not aware of the facts. Archeologists in the Holy Land are continually digging up proof of the accuracy of Bible history.

Each new civilization added a layer on top of the ruins of the last. Pottery, coins, and signet seals lace each layer and they match the periods of Bible history.

Recent finds include two small seals found in the layer of the time of Solomon’s temple. Inscriptions on the seals name men mentioned in the Bible at that time. One is Gedaliah, son of Pashur and the other is Jucal son of Shelemiah, both mentioned in Jeremiah 38.

These are just small examples of the thousands of items that have been found in the layers of history in the Holy Land. Another seal found is thought to be of Queen Jezebel in 1 Kings 16. 12,000 pieces of intricately carved ivory come from a layer of the time of Ahab in 1 Kings 22 which speaks of him building an “ivory house.”

Typing “biblical archeology” into Google leads to a huge amount of proof that the history in the Bible is beyond question. No other ancient story has anywhere near the historical record that the Bible does.

The other accusation against the Bible is that it has been changed over the centuries so that we cannot trust what we have to really be God’s inspired words. Proof that this is not true lies in over a million pages of old Bibles available in museums around the globe. Officials agree that none of these manuscripts contain anything significantly contradictory to the Bible as we have it today.

God preserved the Old Testament by placing an awe in the hearts of the scribes who made copies down through the centuries. The system was so tight that, even if one letter was left out of a copy, they would know it. They counted the number of words and even letters in each book and would discard a copy if the numbers did not add up.

The New Testament history is somewhat different. Author David W. Daniels describes two streams of manuscripts that originated in Jerusalem when the apostles wrote the first copies. His book, Did the Catholic Church Give Us the Bible? shows how one stream flowed north through Antioch and into Europe culminating with the King James Version that set the standard for the English language of the next three hundred years.

The other stream flows through Alexandria, Egypt, where “learned scholars” of the day took liberties with the text to include their own philosophical or theological slant. Only a few of the manuscripts that we have today came from Alexandria, and they are full of omissions, contradictions and “corrections.”

Yet, these are the manuscripts used for the basis of the modern Bible versions. Daniels details how the thousands of consistent manuscripts in the northern stream were ignored by the translators of the modern bibles.

They used the flawed Alexandrian manuscripts that omit important passages and change the actual meaning of others. Daniels’ other book, Answers to Your Bible Version Questions, helps you understand why the KJV is the only Bible in English that you can trust to be God’s preserved words.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22997877/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22997877/ Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:39:02 PST
"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me" (Isaiah 43:10).

JESUS
IS
GOD, "YAHWEH"

John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
Col. 1:16-17, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Creator
Job 33:4, "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
Isaiah 40:28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."
Rev. 1:17, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’"
Rev. 2:8, "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again."
Rev. 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." First and Last
Isaiah 41:4, "Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD -- with the first of them and with the last -- I am he."
Isaiah 44:6, "This is what the LORD says -- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."
Isaiah 48:12, "Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last."
John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (NKJV)
John 8:58, "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" See Exodus 3:14
John 13:19, "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He." I AM

"ego eimi"
Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’"
Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me."
See also Deut. 32:39
2 Tim. 4:1, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge..."
2 Cor. 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." Judge
Joel 3:12, "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side."
Rom. 14:10, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."
Matt. 2:2, "...Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
Luke 23:3, "So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied."
See also John 19:21 King
Jer. 10:10, "But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath."
Isaiah 44:6-8, "This is what the LORD says -- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."
See also Psalm 47
John 8:12,"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Luke 2:32, "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
See also John 1:7-9 Light
Psalm 27:1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?"
Isaiah 60:20 ,"our sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end."
1 John 1:5, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
1 Cor. 10:, "...for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."
See also 1 Pet. 2:. Rock
Deut. 32:4, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."
See also 2 Sam. 22:32 and Isaiah 17:10.
... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22957866/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22957866/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:39:29 PST
When Bible believers discuss the “Word of God” they assume everyone agrees they are referring to the Bible. But if you are talking to a Roman Catholic, he is probably thinking of more than that.

In October a Synod of Bishops was called to discuss “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Guidelines for discussion contain this statement: “Both [the Bible and Tradition] are channels of communication of the Word of God. Therefore, the Word of God finds its completeness of meaning and grace in experiencing both, ‘one inside the other.’ In this way, both can be called, and indeed are, the “Word of God.”

This may seem like so much doublespeak, but it essentially expands the definition of the “Word of God” to include the Roman Catholic Tradition. Therefore, when we speak of the “Word of God” to a Roman Catholic, he is not thinking just the Bible, but also the Tradition or “Magisterium.” It is this official Tradition that encrusts the Bible with all the ritual, superstition and priestcraft so contradictory to Scripture.

So, when you use the Bible to witness to a Roman Catholic, he does not see it as God’s complete word for him. In fact, he has been taught that he cannot even understand the Bible unless it is interpreted by Roman Catholic “Tradition.”

The guidelines for the Synod go on to confirm this: “…the faithful have the responsibility to listen to [the Bible] and meditate on it; but to explain it is the responsibility only of those who by right of sacred ordination have the task of teaching or those who have been entrusted with the exercise of this ministry.” While the layman may “listen to and meditate on [the Bible],” only the pope and his priests are allowed to “explain” it.

This is no different from the Jehovah’s Witness who is told he is not capable of understanding the Bible, but must rely on the Watchtower Society to interpret and “explain” it.

In Matthew 15, Jesus told the Pharisees, “…ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” Can the pope avoid the same condemnation when the Bible says Jesus is the only mediator but Vatican “Tradition” says pray to the Virgin Mary goddess? Or the Bible says God is Spirit to be worshiped “in spirit and truth” but the pope says worship a wafer god, instead? Or, the Bible says the Holy Spirit will guide us to truth but the pope says the “church” and its “Tradition” must “explain” what is truth?

How this spiritual bondage plays out is graphically illustrated by a young lady who this writer attempted to witness to. When encouraged to study the Bible, she responded, “No, if I read the Bible it will raise questions that I do not understand. If I have a problem, I go to my priest and he solves it for me.”

"Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"
Gal. 4:16

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22858867/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22858867/ Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:24:06 PST
One of the objectives of the presidency of George W. Bush is to have an agreement for a Palestinian State in place by the end of his term. Several “agreements” have been made with Israel and Palestinian leaders during Bush’s 8-year term. The primary goal of all of them has been to establish two states living “eacefully,” side by side in Palestine.


Diplomatic pressure has increased at each stage of the negotiations to resolve the “Jerusalem issue.” Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has steadfastly declared that Jerusalem is not on the negotiating table, even when U.S. Secretary of State, Condaleezza Rice pushed to include it.


When God told the Children of Israel to go in and possess the land, He set the borders from the “River of Egypt” in the south, all the way up to the Euphrates River. Even though Israel has been scattered from their land because of disobedience, God has not changed His mind about it being His land. The promise that He would bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who try to harm Israel still stands.

When God chose Abram out of Ur, He promised that in his decendants “shall all the earth be blessed.” But God also put a curse on anyone who tried to harm him. This was demonstrated centuries later in Egypt, where God devastated their nation for mistreating Israel. He repeated this blessing and curse through the prophet Balaam in Numbers 24:9.

Israel was later punished for disobedience and rejecting their Messiah, but it did not change God’s attitude toward “His land.” He kept His promise to draw them back to it and fight for it in the last days. Today, we are exactly where God predicted in Zechariah 12:3. “In that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”

This threat hangs heavy over America’s head as we pressure Israel to give up more of “His land” including the present plan to give away part of Jerusalem for a capital of a “alestinian state.”

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22817799/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22817799/ Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:44:04 PST
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 17

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.


1 Corinthians 5

For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:


Hebrews 9

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22647216/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22647216/ Sun, 18 Jan 2009 07:01:00 PST January 2009

These words are written a short distance away from the most northern hit, so far, of the Hamas missiles, which are methodically aimed only at civilian population in Israel. You may refer to this message as "A View from the Target Zone".

For eight years, approximately 5000 rockets have been sent deliberately into Israeli population centers, by the Hamas terrorists. The rockets are extremely inaccurate. The good news is that they often hit an empty field. The bad news is that, when they do hit buildings and people, they kill, maim and destroy. It is a very ugly game of Iranian Roulette.

But the most significant fact is that the undisputed purpose of the rockets is to kill civilians in a random manner. Since they miss entire towns, they could not possibly be aimed at military or strategic targets. No claim is made by the Hamas of anything other than a deliberate attempt to kill civilians within Israel. The world knows about the rockets but rarely mentions that they are aimed only at the civilian population and at nothing else.

The Hamas consistently refers to Israel itself as "the occupied territory". It refers to any town in Israel as an "illegal settlement". Its declared aim is to destroy Israel. It has proudly endorsed, initiated and sent numerous suicide murderers into Israeli buses, supermarkets, shopping malls, weddings and other crowded places. It explicitly states that it will continue to do so. Since Israel succeeded in preventing the suicide murders by a combination of the protective wall, other defensive measures and good intelligence penetration, the missiles became the preferred way of killing Israeli civilians.

Hamas is declared to be a terrorist organization, not only by Israel, not only by the US, but also by the European Union, who is not suspected of being pro-Israeli. This is the same European Union that refuses to label the Hizbullah as a terror organization, but repeatedly and officially declares the Hamas as such. Hamas is fully funded and largely controlled by Iran, a country openly and totally committed to the destruction of Israel, while continuing to enjoy trade with much of the western world.

The Hamas media, and especially its independent TV station, carry daily children programs (including programs for kindergarten age) depicting the Jews (and not only the Israelis) as pigs, dogs, scum of the earth and creatures that must be killed. One of these program features a rabbit which eats Jews. There is plenty of documentation of these programs, including animations and programs with child presenters. Major western news media never report on this phenomenon, while some of them publish op-ed pieces by declared Hamas leaders.

The favorite hour of launching the daily Hamas rockets during the last eight years was 7:45 in the morning, but only on weekdays. Why? Because this is the time in which the streets are full of Israeli children, on their way to school. No one wants to waste rockets when no children are in the streets, during the weekend.

Eight year old children in the Israeli town of Sderot, a few miles from the Gaza border, live, since they were born, with these rockets. They know no other life. When the alarm sounds, they have exactly 15 seconds to reach an improvised cover. Eighth grade children, age 13, have never gone to school, since kindergarten, without the real threat of having a rocket hit them on the way. Their parents have never felt safe about sending their child to school. It is very difficult for anyone living in a normal safe place, to imagine what it means to send your child to school, every single day, for eight years, with the fear that he or she may never reach school because of a missile attack, aimed at killing the children. The world seems to accept this.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip in 2005. Not one Israeli soldier or civilian remained there. Everything was ready for the people of Gaza to start a new life and economic development. There was no blockade, border crossings were open. Instead came increased shooting of rockets into Israel, a Hamas coup, throwing Fatah Palestinians from roofs of buildings to their death and torturing their own people in their prisons. It is regrettable that Israel did not react with full force to the very first rockets after its withdrawal from Gaza, but there was always the naïve illusion that perhaps talks, discussions, verbal threats and temporary closings of the border crossings, might do the job. What Israel did not take into account was that Iran, directly or through Hizbullah, was paying the Hamas operatives, per rocket launch.

Through the elaborate system of tunnels dug by the Hamas under the Gaza-Egypt border, thousands of tons of explosives and larger and better Iranian missiles have been continuously smuggled into Gaza. The Israeli Government stupidly agreed in mid 2008,... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22538558/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22538558/ Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:03:02 PST A former Palestinian terrorist says the West continues to pursue a failed idea that somehow terrorism against Israel will stop when the Palestinians get their own homeland.



Walid Shoebat is a former member of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a convert to Christianity. He now runs the Walid Shoebat Foundation, which is an organization that cries out for the justice of Israel and the Jewish people. Shoebat, author of the recently published God's War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible, believes the recent terrorist rocket attacks by Hamas have nothing to do with wanting a Palestinian homeland.

"The core issue is not an issue of land whatsoever. It's an issue of wiping the state of Israel out. If you look at even suicide bombing -- historically, if you look from 1980 until 2003, let's say -- 224 suicide bombings out of 300 existed in Islamic countries with no occupation whatsoever," he notes. "So it's not simply the desire to create a Palestinian state. It is the desire to destroy the Jewish state, and that's what we see."

Shoebat contends this effort is being carried out by a huge network of Islamic enemies. "It's a rebel network involved between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, Syria. Many Islamic countries are involved in this," he points out. "Saudi Arabia was funding...this kind of thing. So it's a huge network that we're dealing with."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22505897/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22505897/ Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:35:31 PST A conservative Jewish columnist predicts that Israel will fail to completely destroy the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and agree to a so-called "cease-fire" demanded by the international community because it has no "true end goal" in its current war with Palestinian terrorists.



The Israeli military, according to some media reports, has been targeting single windows in Gaza buildings to ensure there are no civilian casualties. Nationally syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro says, in Israel's efforts to appease Europeans and the international media, she has failed to destroy the command and control centers for Hamas as well as support for the terrorist group, which was recently elected by a majority of Palestinians.

"The best thing that Israel can do at this point is to stand up [and] say, 'Look, there are going to be civilian casualties here, and we're not looking for a cease-fire. What we're looking for is the destruction not only of Hamas, but the destruction of the will of the Palestinian people to do violence to us,'" he contends. "And that's what it's going to take because they're not going to be bought off."

Shapiro believes Israel, unfortunately, always concedes and leaves her enemies intact.

"In America, when [terrorists] bomb two of our buildings and take down the World Trade Centers, we take over two of their countries," he points out. "In Israel, when they fire rockets daily from Gaza into southern Israel, Israel goes in and hits a few empty buildings and then withdraws, and actually gives up more territory."

According to Shapiro, after 60 years of war Israelis are "tired" and "exhausted" and thus "have become foolishly optimistic" about peace with their Arab neighbors.

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22466497/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22466497/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:39:52 PST
A media watchdog organization says no one should be surprised that media coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists has been overwhelmingly pro-Hamas.


In his first public comments on the conflict since Israel launched a ground offensive over the weekend, President George Bush recently said the Jewish nation is justified in protecting itself against Hamas terrorists. He told reporters that the situation "was caused by Hamas."

The mainstream media, however, continues to point out the civilian casualties inflicted upon the Palestinians in Gaza while ignoring stories about Israeli casualties at the hands of Hamas terrorists.

Tim Graham, director of media analysis at the Media Research Center, argues that liberal media outlets portray Israel as the "bully" in the conflict.

"You can see the bias in the way they present the deaths," he offers. "For example, on the front page of the Washington Post you saw this story about a [Palestinian] man who lost five of his daughters in a missile attack -- and that's very heart rending.

"[But] on the other hand, when Israelis lose brothers and sisters and mothers and children in Hamas attacks, they're not [considered to be] newsworthy. Why? Because apparently the numbers aren't quite as impressive."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22241350/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22241350/ Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:15:11 PST CRAWFORD, Texas - The U.S. on Saturday blamed the militant group Hamas for breaking a cease-fire and attacking Israel, which retaliated with strikes of its own during what became the single bloodiest day of fighting in years.




The White House called for the cease-fire to be restored, yet there were few indications that the violence, which has left more than 200 people dead and nearly another 400 wounded, was waning. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the operation in Gaza would widen if necessary.



It was "completely unacceptable" for Hamas, which controls Gaza, to launch attacks on Israel after a truce lasting several months, said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.



"These people are nothing but thugs, so Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas that indiscriminately kill their own people," Johndroe said in Texas as President George W. Bush was spending the week before New Year's at his ranch here. "They need to stop. We have said in the past that they have a choice to make. You can't have one foot in politics and one foot in terror."



President-elect Barack Obama was receiving an intelligence briefing on Saturday from various security agencies, Johndroe said. Bush has spoken to regional leaders and the administration will remain in close contact, he said.

Obama also spoke during the day with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was keeping Bush abreast of the situation.



Brooke Anderson, Obama's national security spokeswoman, said Saturday that Obama "is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza, but there is one president at a time."



As Israel bombed Gaza, defiant Hamas leaders threatened revenge. Hamas "will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," vowed spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.



Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West Bank, condemned Israel. Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to express condemnation and opened its border with Gaza to allow ambulances to drive out some of the wounded.



Asked if the United States would back a continuation of the retaliatory strikes by Israel, Johndroe said: "The U.S. doesn't want to see any more violence. I think what we've got to see is Hamas stop firing rockets into Israel. That's what precipitated this."



At his ranch, the president took a call from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who wanted to discuss the violence that began eight days after a six-month truce between Israel and the militants expired.



"The United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and holds Hamas responsible for breaking the cease-fire and for the renewal of violence in Gaza," Rice said in a statement. "The cease-fire should be restored immediately. The United States calls on all concerned to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the innocent people of Gaza."



Israeli warplanes launched counterattacks on dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes. Most of those killed were security men, but an unknown number of civilians were also among the dead.



Hamas said all of its security installations were hit, threatened to resume suicide attacks, and sent at least 70 rockets and mortar shells crashing into Israeli border communities, according to the Israeli military. One Israeli was killed and at least six people were hurt.



With so many wounded, the Palestinian death toll was likely to rise. The strikes caused widespread panic and confusion in Gaza. Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas as children were leaving school, and women rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children.



Johndroe said the U.S. was concerned that humanitarian needs were being met in Gaza. He urged Israel to avoid striking civilians, but he refrained from commenting specifically on positions that had been hit on the ground.

"I know they are targeting security and Hamas headquarters facilities," Johndroe said. "We urge them (the Israelis) to avoid civilian casualties."



"The message from the United States is that Hamas is a terrorist organization that is firing rockets into Israel and they fired them onto their own people as well," Johndroe said, noting reports he'd seen about the death of two Palestinian girls. "Hamas has done nothing for the people of Gaza."



The offensive has sparked angry protests throughout the Arab world. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Vatican, the U.N. secretary-general and... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22187121/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22187121/ Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:02:19 PST
Zech. 12:10,
"And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.

Rev. 1:7,
"Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22079330/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22079330/ Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:24:26 PST
Investigators say the fire that destroyed Wasilla Bible Church in Alaska on December 12 was likely the work of an arsonist, but the mainstream news media, with the exception of The Associated Press, has largely ignored the story.

Terry Mattingly is the editor of the website GetReligion.org, a Scripps Howard columnist, and director of the Washington Journalism Center. He says because the fire occurred in a remote area, major networks may not want to fly reporters in from Los Angeles, Washington, or New York. Mattingly believes a regional bias could be at play, but adds that he has no doubt that if a fire occurred at the church of a socially accepted victim group, the coverage would have been more extensive.

"To give you an example: right now in a parallel case down in California, we have demonstrations and some vandalism and stuff at Mormon churches....We're beginning to see some coverage of that," he points out. "Yet I think that if you had some sort of corresponding mirror image situation, say, conservative crowds that were doing vandalism and picketing, say, a congregation in the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church, you'd be seeing that on page one of the Los Angeles Times."
Mattingly contends news outlets need to probe whether the fire at Palin's church was a hate crime, considering an Alaska statute "criminalizes destruction of real or personal property belonging to religious or charitable organizations."
AP's report says an accelerant -- possible gasoline -- was poured around the exterior of the church and the fire was set near the entrance. A small group of people, including two children, was inside. No one was injured in the blaze.


Jesus 'not banned' from public schools

Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow - 12/19/2008 7:00:00 AM
A religious rights advocate is troubled by a recent occurrence of censorship at a Mississippi school.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi, sixth-grader Andrew White was given a creative expression assignment as part of his language class. Students were allowed to choose from three topics, and Andrew chose "What Christmas Means to Me."

Andrew wrote a poem titled "A Great Christmas" that reads: "The best Christmas ever is when everyone is there. It is when everyone is laughing here and there. That is the Christmas I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus' birth. About peace on Earth. This is what Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger. And the three wise men come to see. That's what it means to me."

After Andrew referenced Jesus in his poem, his teacher Latasha Atkins docked his grade and told him that mentioning Jesus was not allowed. She then instructed him to write a new poem.

Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, disagrees with Atkins' point-of-view. "The good news is that the principal, Carrie Hornsby, eventually sided with Andrew and his parents, changing his grade to a 100 and conceding that there was nothing improper in using the name of Jesus," he notes.

The most horrifying part of the story, according to Staver, is that this sixth-grader was told that Jesus is not allowed in public school. "I think some educators need education that the story of Christmas, and the birth of Jesus, is not banned from our public schools," he points out.

Principal Hornsby did, in fact, tell school teachers to write letters home to parents informing them that religious expression is permitted under federal guidelines. However, Andrew's paper was supposed to be displayed at the Winter's Writers Board, and it was not.

"I think there is still work that needs to be done," Staver concludes. "I think that this school needs to hear loud and clear from people around the country that this is not going to be tolerated, that in fact they should not censor, they must not censor, the name of Jesus or the essence of Christmas."

Andrew's mother Leah White contacted OneNewsNow and said this particular situation has frustrated her and her husband, James, to the point that they will be looking into home-schooling options. According to Leah, she would not have known about the situation had her son not been late in turning in the rewritten project, and she wonders what else is going on in the classroom without her knowledge.

Leah also stated that she will be contacting her state representatives and urging them to pass legislation protecting religious freedom in school.



Court favors Scientologists over Jewish family.

Parents of faith have lost a legal case over school tax deductions.

A Jewish couple has been waging a court battle in California, calling it unfair... ]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22018315/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22018315/ Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:48:29 PST
Thomas More Law Center filed suit Monday morning against the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board. Law Center president Richard Thompson is asking the court to halt all bailout funds from going to American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Thompson explains why.





"Because that company has a branch that is controlled by Islamic scholars and who basically support the religion of Islam through Shariah and ultimately finance terrorist activities," he says.

That gives the government an 80-percent stake in the business, which in part has a religious orientation -- which raises constitutional questions, says Thompson. "[I]t also shines a light on serious national security issues that our own government has created by direct financial support and ownership of a business that supports anti-American, radical Islamic activities," he states in a press release.

According to that release, AIG employs a three-person Shariah Advisory Board in its promotion of Shariah-compliant businesses and insurance products. Dr. Muhammed Imran Ashraf Usmani, the Pakistani member of that board, supports the belief that Muslims in Western countries have an obligation to wage violent jihad against their host country.

Thompson explains that Shariah-compliant financing includes "zakat" -- a form of obligatory charitable contribution to assist those who wage jihad.

"A certain percentage of the profits go to Islamic charities such as the Holy Land Foundation," the attorney notes, "and we know that many of those charities are nothing but fronts for terrorist organizations."

In conclusion, that means there is an "internal cultural jihad" under way against America, says Thompson. The question then is: Is the American government, throughout its AIG bailout, perhaps financing the next 9/11 attack?

"Absolutely," states Thompson. "There's no question about it.

"This lawsuit is as much about protecting constitutional principles as it is about protecting our national security and preventing another 9/11 -- whether it be overt through flying planes into buildings, or covert through appropriating taxpayer money to fund an Islamic cultural jihad."

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22014739/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/22014739/ Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:20:32 PST
Jesus is the most important figure in all of human history. He is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9), physically risen from the dead, Lord (Luke 24:34; John 2:19-21) and Savior (Acts 5:30-32). He came to die for sinners (Rom. 5:8) to deliver people from the righteous wrath of God upon us.

Are you a sinner?

I ask you, are you a sinner? Have you ever lied, stolen, lusted, coveted, or been angry with someone unjustly? If so, then you have broken the Law of God. God has said "You shall not steal; You shall not lie; You shall have no other gods before Me; You shall not murder, etc.," (Exodus 20). He has given the standard of righteousness and if you have broken any of God's commandments then you have fallen short of that standard and are under the inevitable judgment of God. When you die, you will face Him and on the Day of Judgment He will punish all sinners.
If you do not like this teaching, then throw away your Bible and turn from Christ, for this is the message of God's word -- that Jesus came to die for sinners and to save them from the wrath to come.
Jesus is the One you need. He alone. Not your works (Rom. 3:10-12; Isaiah 64:6). Not your sincerity. Not your goodness. You have nothing to offer God except your sinfulness. It is only by the love and grace of God found in Jesus and His sacrifice that you can be delivered from the righteous wrath of God upon all who have broken His law. Jesus saves you from God.

God's wrath on the Day of Judgment is upon sinners

On the Day of Judgment God will judge all people for their sins against Him. He will judge all who have lied, stolen, cheated, lusted, dishonored their parents, etc. He will do this because He is holy and righteous. God must punish the sinner. God cannot and will not ignore the person who has broken His righteous law. The Law is a reflection of the character of God. Therefore, to break God's law is to offend God and deny the holiness of His character. He will be vindicated. He will judge.
The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). That means that your sins have caused a separation between you and God (Isaiah 59:2) and the result is death (Rom. 6:23) and wrath (Eph. 2:3). The only way to be saved from the wrath of God, is to be saved from it by faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:1). You must trust in what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of your sins and not trust anything else, not even your own sincerity or works. It is Jesus and only Jesus who can turn away the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner.

The Gospel

The gospel is that Jesus died for sinners on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-4). His death was a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God (1 John 2:2). This is the only way to be saved.
Jesus is the one who died for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). He is the only way to the God the Father (John 14;6). He alone reveals God (Matt. 11:27). He has all authority in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18). It is only through Him that you can be saved from God's wrath (Eph. 2:3). He can forgive you of your sin (Luke 5:20; Matt. 9:2). He can remove the guilt that is upon your soul. Jesus can set you free from the bondage of sin that blinds your eyes, weakens your soul, and brings you to despair. He can do this because He bore sin in His body on the cross (1 Peter. 2:24) that those who trust in Him would be saved.
If you are not a Christian, and want to be delivered from the righteous judgment of God upon you due to your sin against Him, then come to the One who died for the sins of the world. Come to the One who died for sinners (Matt. 11:28). Turn from your sins. Believe and trust in Jesus. Receive Jesus, who is God in flesh, who died and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-4) as your Lord and Savior. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. Receive Christ (John 1:12). Only He can wash you clean from your sins and only Jesus can deliver you from the righteous judgment of a holy and infinite God. Pray to Jesus. Seek Him. Ask Him to save you.
He will.

I would like to note, that the Jesus of Mormonism (the brother of the devil), the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witnesses (an angel made into a man), the Jesus of the New Age (a man in tune with the divine consciousness), etc., cannot save you from your sins. Faith is only as good as who you put it in. Only the Jesus of the Bible can do that. Jesus is God in flesh, the creator. God is a trinity and Jesus is the second person of the trinity.

If you have prayed and asked Jesus to deliver you from your sins and save you from God's wrath, then please email us at carm and let us know. [link]

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/21975560/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/21975560/ Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:00:55 PST
by Marcia Segelstein

Gay marriage supporters in California are still fuming over the passage of Proposition 8. They continue to vent their anger against those who exercised their constitutional right to vote for Prop 8, and their religious right to support traditional marriage. As part of what the National Organization for Marriage is calling “a new McCarthyism,” businesses and business owners who supported Prop 8 are being boycotted and harassed. No doubt the hope is that in the future, supporters of traditional marriage will be too intimidated to stand up to the threat of bullying.

The National Organization for Marriage has launched "Bust theBlacklist" to support those businesses. The NOM is letting supporters of traditional marriage know the businesses that are being threatened, and urging them to patronize those businesses. They’re also asking people to report any incidents of hate or harassment against Prop 8 supporters. Find out more at the NOM's website. [link]

]]> ~thebes1 http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/21909781/ http://thebes1.deviantart.com/journal/21909781/ Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:39:32 PST


On their second try, federal prosecutors won sweeping convictions Monday (24th) against five leaders of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the U.S., The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The defendants were convicted of support of terrorism, money laundering, and tax fraud. The group was accused of funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Islamist organization the U.S. government declared a terrorist group in 1995. “Money is the bloodline of terrorism,” Richard B. Roper, the U.S. attorney whose office prosecuted the case, said Monday (24th). “The jury’s decision demonstrates that U.S. citizens will not tolerate those who provide financial support to terrorist organizations.”

]]> ~thebes1