Political Cartoon: Holy Hypocrisy

Ahmadinejad is one of the biggest hypocrites on the planet...



he should practice what he preaches in his own country first...

Religious Insanity: 3 Pakistani Girls Killed for Wanting True Love

The European Union Monday has expressed outrage over the murders of three young girls in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The murders were carried out by relatives, who disagreed with the wishes of the women who wanted to marry men of their own choice.

The 27-member European bloc called for a full investigation into the matter and said it was absolutely essential that those responsible for the killings be brought to justice.

A statement by the current French EU Presidency voiced its deep concern over the extreme forms of violence against women reported in Pakistan.

It urged Pakistan to comply with its international human rights obligations, and in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Pakistan is party.

The EU also urged the Pakistani government to take steps to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

Mickey Mouse under threat of Fatwa

Islamic theologian says Mickey Mouse must die

Sunday, 14th September 2008. 7:47pm By: George Conger.

Mickey Mouse must die for the good of Islam, a leading Saudi cleric said last month in a broadcast on al-Majd TV.

On Aug 27 Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid told viewers of a religious affairs programme that mice were agents of Satan and that Sharia law called for the extermination of all mice: from the common house mouse (Mus musculus) to cartoon mouse (Mickey Mouse).

A former diplomat attached to the Islamic Affairs Department at the Saudi embassy Washington, al-Munajid appears regularly on Saudi television to discuss religious and ethical topics. On Aug 10 he denounced the Beijing Olympics as the “bikini Olympics,” saying the immodest dress of women athletes was “satanic” and earlier issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against women’s participation in the Olympics as the games were also “satanic”.

Al-Munajid’s aversion to sports is not new. In 2005 he denounced soccer, saying the short pants worn by players “reveal nakedness.” He called for a ban on women’s sports and public exercise as to do so would require them to don “tight fitting, short” tunics that were offensive to Muslim decorum.

Read the rest of this article here....

4 Minute Devotions: Honor Killings

We're hearing more about "honor" killings these days, even in our own nation. Sadly, it's an act of fanaticism that has its roots in the Bible.

Podcast version here

Deuteronomy 13:9 You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

They call it “honor killing,” although there’s nothing honorable about it. Young girls in the Middle East who get caught in the wrong company, or young men who convert to another religion, are cast out by family members and sometimes killed. It’s a horrible way of expressing faith and sadly, it’s one that has its roots in the Bible.

People get fanatical about their faith in God and take it to the extreme, so that nothing stands between them and their devotion to their Deity. Their love becomes an irrational zeal and they become obsessed with serving God perfectly, purely, and persistently. If a family member ‘dishonors’ the family faith, they can be tortured, raped, imprisoned, and killed. It’s a horrible aspect of how faith can destroy believers. It’s a wicked way of serving God.

People expect Christians to be holy and perfect, instead of ordinary and sinful. We have no honor, save that of Christ alone. He is the Sacred One who does everything right. He is the Holy Son of God, who serves His Father faithfully, purely, and perfectly. The grace of Jesus allows us to be restored to God through Christ’s good and godly works. There’s nothing that we can do to shield us from God’s wrath. We can only stand behind Jesus and ask Him to make things right for us. His Death completely paid the price of our sins. In our faith, if ever there was an ‘honor killing,’ it took place at Calvary when Jesus went to the Cross on our behalf.

I wish that those other faiths in the world could put an end to these dishonorable killings, but this will only happen if we keep spreading the Gospel through our churches and in our communities. Christ can release them from the burden of their fanaticism. We need to lovingly bring His message of grace and honor to the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there is a lot of injustice and wickedness in the world that is done in the name of religion. Help us, through Your grace, to present a loving witness to the world, so that other people may be attracted to Your words and ways. Grant us opportunities to confront fanaticism with peace, hope, and love. In Your Honorable Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Only in Saudi Arabia: Young Woman arrested for...driving.

JEDDAH, (Arab News) : Police arrested a woman in her twenties while driving her family’s car in the Aziziah district, a security source said Thursday.

The source said that police took the woman to the police station where she was released after her parents paid bail.

She will have to be brought to the station for further investigations, according to police spokesman Col. Misfar Al-Joaed. “Police stopped the woman after noticing her driving in the Aziziah district and took her for questioning,” he told Al-Madinah newspaper.

4 Minute Devotions: In God's Name

Religious fanaticism needs to be confronted and denounced no matter where it originates or operates. Christ is the Prince of Peace and we, as Christians, have a holy calling and distinct obligation to seek reconciliation and promote His peaceable Kingdom throughout the world.

Podcast version here

Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

Yesterday, I read an article about a Muslim cleric in Britain who is calling for Sharia laws to be upheld by British courts. He preaches vehemently and insists that thieves, male or female, should have their hands cut off, and that unmarried couples who have sex should be publicly flogged.

Meanwhile, over here in Oklahoma, a Baptist Church is giving away a semi-automatic assault rifle as a door prize at a YOUTH Conference.

What on earth is going on? And why isn’t God doing something about these fanatics?

We live in troubled times. I know that I can be ornery and stubborn when it comes to faith matters, but I would never dream of calling for punishing amputations or giving teenagers a machine gun. These people, pastors, and clerics are crazy and no matter how zealous they are for Allah or the Second Amendment, this is not faith as Jesus would have described it; this is religious fanaticism at its worst and we should all denounce it as an evil under the sun.

No wonder so many people get turned off by religion these days. If worshipping God turns us into limb-hacking, gun-toting devotees, then we should avoid it at all costs. Human history is littered with enough corpses attributed to religious fanaticism. We don’t need another Holy War, genocidal jihad, or holocaustic crusade to glorify God. I’m sure He’s just as sick as we are with those who use His Name to maim or murder infidels and sinners. After all, the world painfully tortured and unjustly killed His Son on a cross – no more blood needs to be shed to reconcile, redeem, and restore humanity to God’s holiness.

The challenge for us today is to stand up to these belligerent bullies and misguided maniacs by promoting the peace of Christ in our lives. After all, if the world does not see the Jesus within us through our outward acts of mercy and grace, then fanaticism will contaminate our communities and put this planet in peril for generations to come.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to find the high ground and empower us to effectively confront religious fanaticism without ourselves becoming vitriolic vigilantes or malicious messengers. Keep us on Your path to peace and reconciliation, without becoming appeasers or enablers to those who would forcefully oppress us with their fanaticisms. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Muslim Cleric Says Christian Women Should Wear Veils.

Outspoken Muslim cleric Taj al-Din al-Hilali has claimed that the Bible "mandates" the wearing of the veil by Christian women. Writing in a new book, Sheik Hilali, who lost his job as mufti of Australia after comparing scantily clad women to uncovered meat, argues that the Bible and the Koran make similar demands of a woman's modesty.

Hilali, who remains the head of Australia's largest mosque in the south western Sydney suburb of Lakemba, says the purpose of the book is to show the commonalities of Islam with the Jewish and Christian faiths when it comes to women's modesty and clothing.

In the soon to be published The Legitimacy of the Veil for Women of the Scripture - Evidence of the Veil in the Bible, he points to references in the Old and New Testaments to women wearing a veil. "

Through this, I hope to raise awareness and understanding and eliminate apprehensions and misunderstandings about the veil," news.com.au quotes him, as saying.

Read rest of the story here…

Religious Battles and Illegal Conversions in India

Christians in Northern India threatened with fines and imprisonment for converting local Hindus. Governor of Rajasthan vows to fight punitive religious legislation.

As reported by Religious Intelligence

By: George Conger.

THE CHURCH of North India has welcomed assurances from the governor of Rajasthan that he would block an anti-conversion bill passed by the state legislature.

Speaking at All Saints Cathedral in Ajmer, Gov Shailendra Kumar Singh said India’s secular government respected “all religions equally.” Last month the Hindu nationalist BJP party, which controls the Rajasthan state assembly, passed a bill over the protests of the opposition Congress Party prohibiting conversions to Christianity by “use of force, allurement or fraudulent means.”

Those found guilty of procuring “fraudulent” conversions would be jailed for up to five years and face a fine of £600.

"Some religious and other institutions, bodies and individuals are found to the involved in unlawful conversion from one religion to another by allurement or by fraudulent means or forcibly which at times has caused annoyance in the community belonging to the other religion," stated the bill. "In order to curb such illegal activities and to maintain harmony amongst persons of various religions, it has been considered expedient to enact a special law for the purpose."

However social harmony between faiths “could be brought only through our good behavior and not by bills and legislation,” Gov. Singh told the Easter congregation.

Drawing from the Bhagavad Gita, Gov Singh noted that the Hindu god Krishna had told Prince Arjuna that all are equal in society, and that one’s true “dharma,” or right way of living, is to fulfill one’s responsibilities.The free practice of one’s faith “brings mutual confidence,” he noted, and would “create an atmosphere of love and brotherhood.”

The Bishop in Rajasthan, the Rt Rev Collin Theodore said the Governor’s words “came as a reassurance” as Christian leaders in the northwestern Indian state fear the new law would be used to persecute missionaries.

Read the rest of the story here…

Christian Video : Blindness

Christians are very bad at pointing out other people's mistakes. This video and song that I wrote and produced tried to make us aware of our self-righteous ways. It's called "Blindness," referring to the spiritual arrogance and blindness of our church people today.



If you can't see the video player, click on this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz6whQRXyzk

I'd be interested in your comments.

Tertullian Revisited: Chapter 4: Tolerating Heretics destroys the Church

Some people find it difficult to call others in their midst, “heretics.” We live in a culture where tolerance is the panacea to all our troubles, and intolerance is anathema to peace and unity. But it was Jesus Himself who pointed out that heretics would be in our midst. We delude ourselves if we believe that He is totally tolerant of those who would twist His words and bend the truth of the Gospel. Heresy happens because we are phobic about being called “intolerant.” We have believed the world’s propaganda that we are narrow-minded, conservative reactionaries instead of faithful servants of Christ. We are not Torquemada and the Inquisition; we are followers of Christ and of His Kingdom. The world crucified Christ – are we so deluded that we think it will deal with us without hostility?

Those who are heretics often present themselves in the noblest of terms. They are seeking to be inclusive and non-judgmental. They want peace in the world and equality for everyone. They preach a message of tolerance, yet beneath their words there is a deep intolerance of those who keep to the old ways, the lasting virtues, and Gospel values. They want to devour the Church and make it bend to their universalistic will. They forget that the Church is Christ’s Bride – it submits to no will but His own.

It is both sad and shocking to realize that most heretics come from the ranks of the clergy. They have their own personal agenda to make the Church what they want it to be. They lead with deceit and seek to make more followers of themselves. They preach their own gospel and set aside Christ’s words, work, and ways. They look for weak-minded people and lovers of selves, hoping to bring them into their pack by disguising it as a flock. On the outside, their congregations look like a church, but on the inside false teaching, narcissistic nurturing, and worldly views are treated and presented as being Christian.

The heretics proclaim a rosier future where all people can live in peace throughout the world – a utopian place where all thoughts are acceptable, all notions are tolerated, and all religions are the same. They seek a perfect world, but not the perfect kingdom; they want a united world, but not a united faith; they seek the glory of God for themselves and look to plunder the Church. Heretics are dangerous teachers – they contaminate souls and dismember the body of Christ.

The object of heresy is to make as many disciples as possible to strengthen their ideas and to bolster their opinions. They denounce their opponents as uncaring, unloving, and unchristian people. They seek to divide and conquer. They gloat when some sheep leave the fold. They glory in apostasy and revel in the moral ambivalence of the people. Heretics abound where Biblical ignorance exists. They confound the faithful by willfully misinterpreting the scriptures and questioning Biblical authority. They are more interested in the present times than the past. They are more concerned with things happening now, than those which are still to come. They judge people today, forgetting about the judgment that awaits all of us tomorrow.

The ability of heresy to camouflage itself in the life of the Church is what makes it so dangerous, and needs to be exposed. The choosing of Church leaders needs to be carefully scrutinized; the positioning of teachers in our seminaries needs to be fully recovered by the Church; and the publishing of heretical works under the guise of being academic needs to be halted. Gospel values are undermined when the Church neglects to uphold traditional beliefs and to promote the Gospel. If the Church has become a channel for promulgating Christless studies and false teachings by our preachers, doctors, and professors, then we have become apostate in nature and need to repent. And remember, heretics do not see the need for repentance, nor do they wish to humble themselves before God.

Just because a heretic can present his or her false teachings in a sound and studious manner, does not mean that their heresy is any less. The arch advocate for apostasy eloquently argued with Christ in the wilderness, using scripture and doctrine, flattery and logic to present his case. Christ, however badly He was tempted, did not succumb to the heretic from hell’s words. Christ resolutely remained loyal to God and stuck to the Truth. He did not compromise His beliefs; He did not yield to false arguments in order to be accommodate His opponent, nor did Christ respect the devil’s research and knowledge. In order to remain faithful to Christ, we must be ready to do the same.

Unyoked

Audio version here

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? NIV



Sometimes Paul reminds me of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament. They were the messengers of God who ‘purified’ the Jewish people by casting out foreigners from their community. Men, women and children were all thrown out of Jerusalem if they did not have “pure” blood in them. Paul does the equivalent here by insisting that unbelievers and Christians should never be partnered or yoked together. Paul wants to keep the faith pure; he doesn’t want any ‘outsiders’ influencing the church.

Over the centuries, this scripture has been used to shun outsiders and isolate the church from the popular community. It’s been emphasized by spiritual elitists who have used it to promote racism, abuse, and intolerance all over the world. Whatever Paul originally intended, his words have been used to justify lynching blacks, destroying families, killing Jews, and even promoting White supremacy. I wonder if Paul realized what his words would one day represent, would he have retracted them from this letter?

It seems to me that Jesus had a different mission from Paul. Jesus was constantly surrounded by unbelievers, sinners, and outcasts. His ministry tended to reach out to those who were unholy and He sanctified them (made them holy) with His love, mercy, and grace. There was nothing elite about Jesus; there was nothing that suggested supremacy. In fact, we are constantly reminded by Paul of all people that Christ humbled Himself to come among us. The Sinless One came to save sinners. The Perfect One came to die for the imperfect. The Holy Son of God came to make unholy people sons, daughters, and heirs of God’s Kingdom.

Today, we are all going to meet other people. When we do, let’s try to reach out with grace and love, tolerance and mercy. It’s not going to be easy, especially when we come across folk who are radically different from us, but with practice we will learn the art of tolerance, love, unity and peace. And aren’t those goals worthy of our Savior? Aren’t those qualities why the Church exists?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to get out of our spiritual comfort zones and reach out to those who are on the ‘outside’ of Your church. Grant us the courage to get along beside them to offer them help in times of trouble, cheer in times of gladness, and love in times of fear and uncertainty. Remind us that we were all unbelievers at one point in our lives and that without someone reaching out to us, we would never have known of Your acceptance, forgiveness, grace, and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Sand Lines

John 10:37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.

It’s time to draw a line in the sand. One of Britain’s newspaper, the Daily Mail, has reported today that the Holocaust will no longer be taught in High schools because it offends Muslims. Islamic religious schools have been teaching for years that Jews weren’t slaughtered by Hitler in their millions during World War II. They have protested so much about this in some regions of Britain, that, in order to keep the peace, the Holocaust is not being taught. This is political correctness gone much too far. This is unbelievable.

In our wee congregation at Erin, we have two special people whose lives were deeply affected by Hitler’s holocaust. Sonja was a child of the Holocaust, whose parents were murdered by the Nazis in a concentration camp. She escaped death as a young child because her parents handed her over to Dutch Christians. Are the British schools going to deny that Sonja’s painful and terrifying experience ever occurred, simply because her personal history offends Muslims?

Bill was a soldier during World War II and he was amongst the first wave of American troops who entered the concentration camps. He saw, smelled and heard the sickening sight of thousands of bodies that had been burned, gassed and mutilated by the Nazi guards. He met with the survivors first hand and saw how scrawny, filthy and skeletal they had become. Are the British schools going to tell Bill it was only a hallucination, a bad dream, even a nightmare?

It’s time to wake up and smell what’s happening to our civilization. For too long we have been tolerant of these intolerant religious fanatics. We are in a war where two sides are struggling to control and triumph over civilization. Are we going to bury our heads in the sand until it’s too late, leaving our grandchildren to be overcome by holy warriors who want to take away our freedoms, liberties, our history and traditions.

If we don’t believe this is happening, then we need to start informing ourselves of what’s really going on. If you don’t like what I’m writing, then try this link for size and read it as your leisure:

Muslims in Nigeria Club Christian Teacher to Death - Obed Minchakpu
Students, extremists stone, beat and burn her after 'desecration' of yet-unfound Quran.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are evil forces in the world today that seek to rewrite history and cross out events like the Holocaust. As we head into Holy Week, remind us of this solemn and somber time, where evil sought to triumph and extinguish Your good. Open our hearts and minds and help us to draw lines in the sand. In Your Holy Name, we fearfully pray. Amen.