$300 fine, 1 year probation, ordered to stay 1,000 feet away from scene of his ‘offense’

Strong Delusion

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
—Isaiah 5:20

“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.”
—Isaiah 59:14-15

The pastor of a Wichita, Kan., church who has been vocal in speaking out on homosexuality on public streets, the influence of abortion interests in his state and other biblical issues says he has been convicted on charges relating to his decision to hand out Bibles at a Muslim mosque – in a courtroom staffed and filled with Christians.

The counts against Pastor Mark Holick of Spirit One Christian Center, known as the church “without walls,” technically were two counts of loitering and one count of disrupting a business.

He was convicted by a 6-member jury in Wichita District Court and today was sentenced to a $300 fine, a year of probation and ordered not to be within 1,000 feet of the Islamic center where last fall he was caught handing out pamphlets containing portions of the Bible.

What’s going on in America’s courts? Find out in “Betrayed by the Bench”

What is startling, he told the judge and courtroom during a 15-minute statement in court, is that the conviction came about through Christians.

He told the court and judge:
Wichita, you are confused, I am not your enemy, Islam is.

‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’

Islamists believe that it is okay to lie if it is to help in the cause of Allah.

My own government called a foreign Islamist to testify for them against me, a born American, Christian peacefully handing out free Bibles.

How sad, how incredibly sad.

The arresting officer said he is Christian

The court/judge says it/he is Christian

The prosecutor says he is Christian

The city attorney says he is Christian

4 of the 6 jurors say they are Christian

And I have been convicted for handing out free Bibles.

Judgment must and will begin in the house of the Lord.
“But it is okay, for on judgment day when I am asked if there is enough evidence to convict me as a Christian I will off[er] this arrest, this prosecution, this conviction, and this sentence,” he said.

WND previously reported on the dispute that brought Holick into court again. At the time of his arrest, he warned that Muslim religion law, Shariah, is creeping into American through preferential treatment provided by law enforcement and the courts.

Today, he told WND that he was handing out a book containing English and Arabic versions of the biblical books of John and Romans, as well as a DVD containing testimony from former Muslims.

He said he was able to make the accusation about the court and jurors because of information he’s gotten from those who know the arresting officer and the judge and the prosecutor’s statement about attending church. Holick said he has dealt with the city attorney in previous cases and during jury selection four of the six jurors affirmed that they attend a regular worship service.

He said his attorney talked with jurors after the conviction and found out they were swayed by the police statements that Holick didn’t move, or didn’t move fast enough, when police told him to move.

Holick had been handing out the biblical portions on a sidewalk adjacent to the Wichita mosque, and also went into the driveway where it crossed the sidewalk to do the same. It apparently was that action that the police cited for their counts of loitering and obstructing a business. Holick noted, however, there was no testimony that he had obstructed anyone.

According to the report in the Wichita Eagle, Sedgwick County District Judge Phil Journey handed down the sentence to Holick.

“The only reason you were the one arrested is because you were the only one who disobeyed the police orders,” the newspaper reported the judge said.

The report also said Journey discussed how the First Amendment assured Holick’s right to express his religious beliefs – but also allowed laws that would regulate how he practices his faith.

A WND message requesting comment from the court left after hours was not returned.

Holick told WND he was a little surprised that the judge let him make a 15-minute statement, but noted that the judge later stated his disagreement with the pastor’s testimony.

He had said, “This is about an idolatrous government that has rejected the Lord God Jesus. This is about a government that has turned from the Lord God to the many gods of pluralism.

“Listen to the 911 call by the mosque. Not one reference to any traffic problems, no[t] one indication of cars being blocked. No, it is clear that the reason they called was because – we were there peacefully offering free Bibles,” he said. “To which the police, city attorney, and courts were all too willing to act with expediency and malice to silence the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

He continued, “Rest assured, your actions will have a great chilling effect on the Gospel of our Lord, but I suspect you know that and are glad. Rest assured that this conviction is already running through the Wichita Islamic social network like an August Texas grass fire. Because I use the public sidewalk to offer Bibles to those driving out, I stand here before this magistrate today.”

He even cited a consent decree reached with the city earlier when he previously was arrested for speaking of Christianity in a “traditional public forum.”

The city paid $11,700 in damages and promised “to permit Mark Holick to engage in his First Amendment rights in the future on the same terms and conditions as all other citizens…”

“Honorable men keep their word,” Holick said.

In that earlier case Holick was caught by police sharing his religious beliefs with others on a public sidewalk outside a homosexual festival in the city. He was arrested but the charges eventually were dropped and he later brought a civil case.

It was settled and U.S. District Judge Thomas Martin described the situation:

“Plaintiff was preparing to share his religious beliefs with others on the public sidewalk near the entrance of Heritage Park in Wichita, Kansas, where a Gay Pride event was about to take place … within 5 minutes of arriving at that location, plaintiff was threatened with arrest if he did not leave, and then immediately arrested when he refused to leave, handcuffed, placed in a squad car in front of members from his church, including adults, youth, and children, processed at the police station by having his mug shot taken, fingers printed, and placed in a cell with others.”

The judge noted that all charges against Holick later were dismissed, and the civil rights complaint was filed for the wrongful arrest.

“The defendants do not contest that they violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights,” the judge wrote.

A video of the arrest was posted on YouTube:

“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said Joel Oster, a senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented Holick, at the time of the settlement. “We are pleased city of Wichita officials will now ensure that Pastor Holick is free to exercise his First Amendment rights in public without fear of arrest.”

President Obama required two heavy-duty teleprompters on Monday during a three-minute speech in which he nominated Alan Krueger to serve as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers.

Strong Delusion

“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”
—Jeremiah 5:31

“I am very pleased to appoint Alan and I look forward to working with him,” Obama said, staring at the large, flat-screen monitor to his right, then shifting his eyes to the teleprompter on his left. “I have nothing but confidence in Alan as he takes on this important role as one of the leaders of my economic team.”

Krueger stood silently to the right of Obama as the president spoke. Krueger will replace Austan Goolsbee, who recently stepped down as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. A professor at Princeton University, Krueger served two years in the U.S. Treasury Department under Obama. He also served as chief economic adviser for the Labor Department during the Clinton administration.

Obama did not give Krueger a chance to make any comments on Monday.

For the television reporter, clad in his red cagoule emblazoned with the CNN logo, it was a dramatic on-air moment, broadcasting live from Long Island, New York during a hurricane that threatened Manhattan.

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Days of Noah

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
—Matthew 24:37

Corruption

”The earth also was corrupt•Strongs 7843: shachath, shaw-khath´; a primitive root; to decay, i.e. (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively):—batter, cast off, corrupt(-er, thing), destroy(-er, -uction), lose, mar, perish, spill, spoiler, x utterly, waste(-r). before God,and the earth was filled with violence”.
—Gen 6:11

Strong Delusion

“But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth•Strongs 530: emuwnah, em-oo-naw´); or (shortened) hÎnUmTa }emunah, em-oo-naw´} feminine of 529; literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity:—faith(-ful, -ly, -ness, (man)), set office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily.
•Strongs 529: emuwn, ay-moon´; from 539; established, i.e. (figuratively) trusty; also (abstractly) trustworthiness:—faith(-ful), truth.
Strongs 539: aman, aw-man´; a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; interchangeable with 541) to go to the right hand:—hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.
•Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” is perished•Strongs 6: abad, aw-bad´; a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy):—break, destroy(-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, x and surely, take, be undone, x utterly, be void of, have no way to flee. and is cut off•Strongs 3772: karath, kaw-rath´; a primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):—be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ((covenant)), x lose, perish, x utterly, x want. from their mouth.”
—Jeremiah 7:28

“We are in, right, now…the right eye wall, no doubt about that…there you see the surf,” he said breathlessly. “That tells a story right there.”
Stumbling and apparently buffeted by ferocious gusts winds, he took shelter next to a building. “This is our protection from the wind,” he explained. ‘It’s been truly remarkable to watch the power of the ocean here.”
The surf may have told a story but so too did the sight behind the reporter of people chatting and ambling along the sea front. There was a man in a t-shirt, a woman waving her arms and then walking backwards. Then a bicycle glided past.
Across the screen, the “Break News: Irene Batters Long Island” caption was replaced by an order from the Federal Emergency Management Agency: “Stay inside, stay safe.”
The image summed up Hurricane Irene – the media and the United States federal government trying to live up to their own doom-laden warnings and predictions while a sizeable number of ordinary Americans just carried on as normal.

There was almost palpable disappointment among the TV big guns rolled out for the occasion when Irene was downgraded to a mere ‘tropical storm”. In New York city, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, more usually seen in a tight t-shirt in a famine or war zone, was clad in what one wag dubbed “disaster casual”.
His face fell and he was briefly silent when a weatherwoman told him that the rain was not going to get any worse. “Wow, because this isn’t so bad,” he said. “It’s an annoying rain but it isn’t even a sideways rain.”
Then came the press conferences from the politicians, with Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey stating that his evacuation of the Jersey Shore was “a pre-emptive measure that I am confident saved lives”.
Janet Napolitano, who, like the TV reporters was still trying to milk the event for all it was worth, declared that “with the evacuations and other precautions taken we have dramatically decreased the risk to life”.
The truth is that the dire warning beforehand suited both politicians and journalists. Just as with the minor earthquake that shook the east coast last week causing no loss of life and virtually no damage, Irene became a huge story because it was where the media lived.
For politicians, Irene was a chance to either make amends or appear in control. The White House sent out 25 emails about Irene on Saturday alone.
There were photographs of President Barack Obama touring disaster centres. With his poll ratings plummeting, Mr Obama needed to project an aura of seriousness and command. He was all too aware that the political fortunes of his predecessor George W. Bush never recovered after the Hurricane Katrina in 2005, The press mostly reported the message the White House had carefully crafted: “Obama takes charge” read the headline of one wire service story.
At the state level, Irene was a chance for political redemption. Mr Christie had been lambasted a few months ago for taking a holiday during one of the worst snow storms in New Jersey history.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, who ordered a mandatory evacuation of residents in low-lying areas during Irene that thousands ignored, had been widely criticised for inadequate clean-up plans during the same blizzards.
There was some loss of life during Irene, though significantly less than during dozens of other weather events across the US this year.
Preparation for the worst-case scenario makes sense and could have saved hundreds during Katrina. But the worst-case scenario was largely portrayed as inevitable.
The media and politicians enjoy a symbiotic relationship during possible impending disasters. The resultant perfect storm of hype over Irene runs the risk of making Americans even more like to ignore warnings in the future.
By lunchtime on Sunday, the sun was peeking through over New York. The TV anchors were expressing their relief at the good news that the east coast had “dodged a bullet” and Irene had not been the apocalypse they had predicted.
Perhaps it would be a bit too much to hope that they and certain politicians felt a little sheepish too.

OSHKOSH — Bishop David Ricken always wanted to go to Lifest. But since taking over as head of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay in 2008, something else always came up.

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The Falling Away

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away•Strongs 646: apostasia, ap-os-tas-ee´-ah; feminine of the same as 647; defection from truth (properly, the state) (“apostasy”):—falling away, forsake. first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
—2 Thessalonians 2:3

“For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted•Strongs 7725: shuwb, shoob; a primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again:—((break, build, circumcise, dig, do anything, do evil, feed, lay down, lie down, lodge, make, rejoice, send, take, weep)) x again, (cause to) answer (+ again), x in any case (wise), x at all, averse, bring (again, back, home again), call (to mind), carry again (back), cease, x certainly, come again (back), x consider, + continually, convert, deliver (again), + deny, draw back, fetch home again, x fro, get (oneself) (back) again, x give (again), go again (back, home), (go) out, hinder, let, (see) more, x needs, be past, x pay, pervert, pull in again, put (again, up again), recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, + say nay, send back, set again, slide back, still, x surely, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, self again, away, back, back again, backward, from, off), withdraw. thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.”
—Isaiah 47:10

Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: :plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing., that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

“But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth•Strongs 530: emuwnah, em-oo-naw´); or (shortened) hÎnUmTa }emunah, em-oo-naw´} feminine of 529; literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity:—faith(-ful, -ly, -ness, (man)), set office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily.
•Strongs 529: emuwn, ay-moon´; from 539; established, i.e. (figuratively) trusty; also (abstractly) trustworthiness:—faith(-ful), truth.
Strongs 539: aman, aw-man´; a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; interchangeable with 541) to go to the right hand:—hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.
•Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” is perished•Strongs 6: abad, aw-bad´; a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy):—break, destroy(-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, x and surely, take, be undone, x utterly, be void of, have no way to flee. and is cut off•Strongs 3772: karath, kaw-rath´; a primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):—be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ((covenant)), x lose, perish, x utterly, x want. from their mouth.”
—Jeremiah 7:28

“So last year I put it on the schedule to be here today,” Ricken said Sunday. “I’ve heard just wonderful things about it, so I’ve got a lot to learn. I just need to be around as many young people as I can. They’re not only the future but the present, so we’ve got to reach out to them and thank them for what they’re doing.”

Ricken led 9 a.m. Mass from the Thrivent Café Stage on the final day of the 13th annual Lifest celebration at Sunnyview Expo Center. Hundreds worshipped as intermittent showers trickled down on the large tent.

“It’s exciting that the bishop is taking time out of his day and out of his Sunday to be here,” Becky Livingstone of Oshkosh said.

Sharon Oberkrieser of Oshkosh, who attends St. Raphael’s in Oshkosh with husband Bill and son Jacob, appreciated the Mass after having enjoyed the music, ministry and prayer at Lifest, she said.

“We want to get all the flavors of the church,” Lifest founder Bob Lenz said. He’s also founder and president of the sponsoring Life Promotions, a non-profit organization reaching more than 350,000 youth each year. Since 1982, Lenz has spoken to millions of hurting youth in all 50 states and around the globe, teaching a message of grace and love.

Protestant devotions, a children’s service and the Catholic Mass each were held separately before joint worship at 11 a.m. on the grandstand featuring Lenz; Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., and head of the international Harvest Crusades; and acclaimed worship leader Lincoln Brewster.

During the five-day event, the diocese held special activities for festival-goers such as handing out free Holy Hotdogs, Blessed Brats and Sacred S’mores, said the Rev. Daniel Schuster, diocese vocation director and a Lifest speaker.

“It was very successful and created a bridge between the different (faith) communities that are here,” he said.

That’s the goal of Lifest, Lenz said.

“Lifest is five days a year, but Life Promotions is living out the purpose of Lifest 360 other days a year, just to get kids to really come to life in Jesus,” he said. “We want to say let’s stop fighting about those that are in church and reach those who are not.”

— Cheryl Anderson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton

That’s the message that Central United Methodist Church is spreading throughout their community via a digital billboard, launched on Monday.

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Days of Lot

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly•Strongs 808: aschemosune, as-kay-mos-oo´-nay; from 809; an indecency; by implication, the pudenda:—shame, that which is unseemly., and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”
—Romans 1:27

“We lie down in our shame, and our confusion•Strongs 3639: klimmah, kel-im-maw´; from 3637; disgrace:—confusion, dishonour, reproach, shame. covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
—Jeremiah 3:25

Jesus Said

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.”
—Mark 10:6

Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing. , that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

This “simple statement,” the church announced, is “intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.”

“The Church seeks nothing less than the healing of the world, and Central UMC wants to offer words and acts of healing to those hurt and marginalized,” the website states.

Jeff Buchanan, the director of Exodus Church Equipping & Student Ministries, agrees that the Church must display love and compassion for those in the LGBT community. But he opposes the message that CUMC is sending through their “Being Gay is a Gift from God” campaign.

“Why would God bestow this ‘gift’ only to condemn it throughout the Bible? This would seemingly contradict His character as a God who is loving and just.”

The Toledo church’s controversial billboard ad is directly connected to a long month-long sermon series by its new pastor, Bill Barnard. The church is hoping that the ad will move the public towards tolerance, reported ABC 13, and not perpetuate anti-gay attitudes and behaviors, which were harming the LGBT community.

The purposes of their recently launched campaign are threefold: to offer welcome to all persons who are gay; to challenge the larger Church to fully accept persons who are gay into the life of the Church; and to call on all people to bring all the gifts of who they are to God.

“By welcoming and living in community with faithful Christians who happen to be gay, we have come to understand that being gay is part of who God made them to be,” CUMC proclaims on their site. “And by gay Christians bringing all that they are to God, the body of Christ has been strengthened.”

“In fact, we would experience the body of Christ as incomplete without LGBT persons.”

Barnard told ABC, “We really believe that being gay is a gift from God, and it’s not anything that anyone has to apologize for or be ashamed about. So that’s how [the campaign] came to be.”

Believing sexuality to be a “good gift from God” – or as they declared yet another way in God’s infinite diversity – CUMC defines sin as denying who God created them to be.

“The overwhelming scientific evidence is that people are born with their sexual orientation, that it is not a choice,” the church contends. “Fully accepting one’s sexual orientation and identity is key to leading a normal and healthy life.

“Forcing people to act against their God-given sexual orientation will lead to disordered lives. Allowing people to act in accordance with their God-given sexual orientation leads to reconciliation.”

While deeming the marginalization of LGBT persons as “unjustified” – mentioning that Jesus did not speak directly regarding homosexuality – the Toledo church recognizes that the Church today continues to be divided over interpretation of Scripture related to homosexuality.

Just two months ago, 33 retired United Methodist bishops urged the denomination to remove its ban on homosexual clergy, prolonging the undying debate within the church body.

CUMC hopes to unify believers by focusing more on “things that [they] agree on, such as kindness, justice, and humility,” instead of contributing to hate and discrimination, which they believe leads not to reconciliation, but to self-destructive practices within the LGBT community.

“Holding people responsible for matters in which they have no control is irrational and immoral,” the church declares. “We believe that both those within and without the Church are hungry for dialogue about homosexuality that reflects compassion and humility rather than intolerance and strife.”

Buchanan contends that CUMC’s message “tells people that the only option they have is a gay identity.”

But “people need to understand that thousands of men and women have found there is another way and have found freedom from homosexuality through the power of Christ,” he says.

Even if there was conclusive evidence supporting the theory that people were “born this way,” Buchanan stresses that Christians were called to be “born again.”

“While we may not choose our desires, we do have the ability and responsibility to choose whether or not we act on those desires. Our goal should be living a life that is congruent with Scripture,” he says.

“Genesis describes the fall of man and the permanent effects that sin has on us spiritually, mentally, and physically. Just because something may be inherent does not mean it was intended.”

Despite the outcry of many from the Christian community against CUMC’s campaign, Barnard continues to proclaim that homosexuality is a “gift” and has people come and remain just “as they are.”

Working to accept persons who are gay into the full life of the Church, CUMC is a founding member of the Reconciling Ministries Network, which is the United Methodist movement for gay equality in the denomination.

Two of the volunteer staff members at their church, including the music director and lead team chair, live with their partners and have served the church for over seven years.

Grieved over the misinterpretation of Scripture and false teaching that is being promoted by CUMC and many other churches like them, Buchanan encourages churches to deliver the message of Christ with love and grace, but also with accuracy and uncompromised truth.

“We must always remember that authentic love is built upon a foundation of grace and truth.”

Aliens may have interfered with US and Soviet nuclear weapons during the Cold War in an attempt to send “a sign to Washington and Moscow that we are playing with fire”, according to a UFO researcher.

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Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing. , that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
—2Corinthians 11:14-15

“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
—Revelation 12:12

Robert Hastings, a long-time UFO researcher, who collated the information, said at a press conference in Washington that “this planet is being visited by beings from another world who for whatever reason have taken an interest in the nuclear arms race”.
He claimed to have gathered witness testimony from more than 120 military personnel showing infiltration of nuclear sites. Six retired officers and one former NCO spoke of their personal experiences.

In some cases, nuclear missiles supposedly malfunctioned while a disc-shaped object hovered nearby. Although the officers produced fresh affidavits detailing their experiences, the incidents, many of them the 1960s, had previously been publicised by UFO enthusiasts. Some of them were first disclosed decades ago.
Mr Hastings stated that beings from UFOs had also tinkered with Soviet nuclear weapons and speculated that the aliens had been seeking to send “a sign to Washington and Moscow that we are playing with fire”.
Captain Robert Salas, a former US Air Force Inter-continental Ballistic Missile Launch officer, said he was on duty during one missile disruption incident at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 1967 when a “large glowing, pulsating red oval shaped object” hovered over the front gate.
He then noticed that the Minuteman missiles he was overseeing had shut down. “The indicators for all or nearly all 10 missiles showed as red-coloured ’fault’ lights, which meant that the missiles were disabled and could not be launched.”
He said he was ordered not to discuss the matter but was never given an explanation by his superior officers.
In another case in Britain, Colonel Charles Halt said that in 1980 he watched a UFO directing beams of light down into the RAF Bentwaters airbase near Ipswich.
His security team “observed a light that looked like a large eye, red in colour, moving through the trees”. After a few minutes “this object began dripping something that looked like molten metal. A short while later it broke into several smaller, white-coloured objects which flew away in all directions.”
Sceptics pointed out that there was a lighthouse nearby but Col Halt maintains that the objects were “extraterrestrial in origin” and that “the security services of both the US and the UK have attempted – both then and now – to subvert the significance” of what happened near Ipswich.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US astronomers said Wednesday they have discovered an Earth-sized planet that they think might be habitable, orbiting a nearby star, and believe there could be many more planets like it in space.

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Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing. , that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

“For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth”
—Lamentations 3:31-34

The planet, found by astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is orbiting in the middle of the “habitable zone” of the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which means it could have water on its surface.
Liquid water and an atmosphere are necessary for a planet to possibly sustain life, even it it might not be a great place to live, the scientists said.
The scientists determined that the planet, which they have called Gliese 581g, has a mass three to four times that of Earth and an orbital period of just under 37 days.
Its mass indicates that it is probably a rocky planet and has enough gravity to hold on to an atmosphere, according to Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and one of the leaders of the team that discovered the planet.
If Gliese 581g has a rocky composition similar to Earth’s, its diameter would be about 1.2 to 1.4 times that of the Earth, the researchers said.
The surface gravity would be about the same or slightly higher than Earth’s, so that a person could easily walk upright on the planet, Vogt said.
Gliese 581g was discovered by scientists working on the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey, during 11 years of observing the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is only 20 light years from Earth.
For astronomers, eleven years of observation is considered a short time and 20 light years, which is roughly 117.5 trillion miles, rather close. The sun is around eight and a half light minutes from Earth.
“The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common,” said Vogt.
The planet is tidally locked to its star, meaning that one side is always facing the star and basking in perpetual daylight, and the other is in perpetual darkness because it faces away from the star.
With surface temperatures decreasing the further one goes toward the dark side of the planet and increasing as one goes into the light side, the most habitable part of the new planet would be the line between darkness and light, which is known as the “terminator”.
The researchers estimate that the average surface temperature of the planet would be between -24 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-31 to -12 degrees Celsius).
But actual temperatures would range from “blazing hot on the side facing the star to freezing cold on the dark side,” they said.
The findings, which will be published in the Astrophysical Journal and posted online at arXiv.org, “offer a very compelling case for a potentially habitable planet,” said Vogt.
“Any emerging life forms on the new planet would have a wide range of stable climates to choose from and to evolve around, depending on their longitude,” Vogt said.
In their report, the scientists in fact announce the discovery of two new planets around Gliese 581, bringing the total number of known planets around this star to six.
That is the most yet discovered in a planetary system other than Earth’s solar system.
Like planet’s in Earth’s solar system, the planets around Gliese 581 have nearly circular orbits.
Two previously detected planets around Gliese lie at the edges of the habitable zone, one on the hot side and one on the cold side of the star, and are probably not habitable.
The newly discovered planet g, however, lies right in the middle of the habitable zone.
“We had planets on both sides of the habitable zone — one too hot and one too cold — and now we have one in the middle that’s just right,” Vogt said, recalling the porridge that Goldilocks found in the children’s story “The Three Bears.”

An alien – ‘no matter how many tentacles it has’ – could have a soul, says pope’s astronomer

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False Proplets

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
—Matthew 7:15

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try•Strongs 1381: dokimazo, dok-im-ad´-zo; from 1384 ;to test (literally or figuratively); by implication, to approve: — allow, discern, examine, x like, (ap-)prove,
•Strongs 1384: dokimos, dok´-ee-mos; from 1380; properly, acceptable (current after assayal), i.e. approved: — approved, tried. the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
—1 John 4:1

“Having a form•Strongs 3446: morphosis, mor´-fo-sis; from 3445; formation, i.e. (by implication), appearance (semblance or (concretely) formula): — form. of godliness•Strongs 2150: eusebeia, yoo-seb´-i-ah; from 2152; piety; specially, the gospel scheme: — godliness, holiness., but denying the power•Strongs 1411: dunamis, doo´-nam-is; from 1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself): — ability, abundance, meaning, might(-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work. thereof: from such turn away.”
—2 Timothy 3:5

Aliens might have souls and could choose to be baptised if humans ever met them, a Vatican scientist said today. The official also dismissed intelligent design as “bad theology” that had been “hijacked” by American creationist fundamentalists.

Guy Consolmagno, who is one of the pope’s astronomers, said he would be “delighted” if intelligent life was found among the stars. “But the odds of us finding it, of it being intelligent and us being able to communicate with it – when you add them up it’s probably not a practical question.”

Speaking ahead of a talk at the British Science Festival in Birmingham tomorrow, he said that the traditional definition of a soul was to have intelligence, free will, freedom to love and freedom to make decisions. “Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul.” Would he baptise an alien? “Only if they asked.”

Consolmagno, who became interested in science through reading science fiction, said that the Vatican was well aware of the latest goings-on in scientific research. “You’d be surprised,” he said.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, of which Stephen Hawking is a member, keeps the senior cardinals and the pope up-to-date with the latest scientific developments. Responding to Hawking’s recent comments that the laws of physics removed the need for God, Consolmagno said: “Steven Hawking is a brilliant physicist and when it comes to theology I can say he’s a brilliant physicist.”

Consolmagno curates the pope’s meteorite collection and is a trained astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican’s observatory. He dismissed the ideas of intelligent design – a pseudoscientific version of creationism. “The word has been hijacked by a narrow group of creationist fundamentalists in America to mean something it didn’t originally mean at all. It’s another form of the God of the gaps. It’s bad theology in that it turns God once again into the pagan god of thunder and lightning.”

Consolmagno’s comments came as the pope made his own remarks about science this morning at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham. Speaking to pupils, he encouraged them to look at the bigger picture, over and above the subjects they studied. “The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world,” he said. “We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray.”

The pope’s astronomer said the Vatican was keen on science and admitted that the church had got it “spectacularly wrong” over its treatment of the 17th century astronomer Galileo Galilei. Galileo confirmed that the Earth went around the sun – and not the other way around – and was charged with heresy in 1633. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest in Tuscany. Only in 1992 did Pope John Paul admit that the church’s treatment of Galileo had been a mistake.

Consolmagno said it was a “complete coincidence” that he was speaking at the British Science Festival at the same time as the papal visit.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation plans to put messages on 50 billboards in metro Atlanta this week as part of a blitz through the Bible Belt shunning religion and advocating separation of church and state.

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Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing. , that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

The signs, which will be up for a month, are planned in DeKalb, Fulton and Cobb counties. Other cities targeted by the Wisconsin-based nonprofit are Louisville, New Orleans and Tulsa.

Messages include: ” Imagine No Religion” and “Sleep In On Sundays.” One quotes the late Thelma “Butterfly” McQueen, who played the maid Prissy in “Gone with the Wind.” McQueen, who was an atheist, said: “As my ancestors are free from slavery, I am free from the slavery of religion.”

Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said the educational nonprofit hopes the “splash” in Atlanta will help enhance its visibility and break through a taboo surrounding criticism of religion.

“You can talk about everything else, but you sure aren’t supposed to say anything bad about religion,” Gaylor said.

Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta said the campaign is, indeed, provocative.

“Honestly, I prefer to see those billboards and Christian billboards over a Hooter’s billboard any day,” he said. “At least this is something to get us thinking.”

But, Lesser added, “Unfortunately, these folks are missing the opportunity to have allies in the religious community who are free thinking by having such antagonistic tag lines. It’s good marketing, but I don’t think good marketing always makes for good relationships.”

Perry Mitchell, a retired ad agency executive who lives in Druid Hills, is a foundation member and thinks it’s a good campaign, although he knows it may offend some people. “I just feel like any group has the right to espouse their own ideas and beliefs and the Freedom from Religion Foundation has that right as well as any church or synagogue.”

Mitchell said he grew up a Methodist but became an atheist nearly 50 years ago. He began questioning religion with the start of the civil rights movement. He said members of his church didn’t want blacks to attend. “If your skin is the wrong color, you can’t come into this church,” he said. “What kind of religion is that? What kind of God is that?”

Don Kemp of Suwanee has seen the billboards in other cities. He thinks the message is flawed, but the organization has the right to express it.

“Freedom from religion? I think that’s a pipe dream,” said Kemp, a business owner, who is a Christian. “You’re going to have some system of world view. Either it’s going to be a biblically-based Christian world view. Or maybe a Muslim world view. Or maybe a Jewish world view. Maybe an atheist world view. Maybe an agnostic world view.”

Craig Gleason, a Johns Creek musician, said the billboards are doing what many who are non-religious accuse Christians and others of doing – proselytizing.

They want “to get people to come across to their way of thinking,” he said. Gleason said he was once an agnostic, someone who doesn’t believe in either the existence or nonexistence of God, but is now a Christian.

“You folks don’t have a clue who you’re messing with,” he said of the foundation. “You’re not messing with Craig Gleason or the little church on the corner. This is between you and the Creator.”

The foundation has more than 16,000 members nationally and 270 in Georgia. It is the same organization behind a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.

This could be called the church of “The Powerless Cross-less Christianity.”
—ITD Editor

(See video by clicking Continue reading below.)

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Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong•Strongs 1753: energeia, en-erg´-i-ah; from 1756; efficiency (“energy”):—operation, strong, (effectual) working. delusion•Strongs 4106: plane, plan´-ay; feminine of 4108 (as abstractly); objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety:—deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.
•Strongs 4108: planos, plan´-os; of uncertain affinity; roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an impostor or misleader; –deceiver, seducing. , that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
—1 Corinthians 1:18

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
—Romans 1:16

Church Tries to Be More Inclusive.