A WordPress Blog-THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse. ALL CONTENT FROM HTTPS://RATHEREXPOSETHEM.BLOGSPOT.COM MOVED TO THIS NEW BLOG, MAY 2020
TRENTON, N.J. —Residents in the state of New Jersey may now more easily apply to amend their birth certificate to correspond with their “gender identity” rather than their birth sex after a new law took effect on Friday. The accommodation also allows residents to select a third option of “undesignated/nonbinary.”
The New Jersey Department of Health has posted information about the law on its website, characterizing the bill that was signed in July by Gov. Phil Murphy as being “landmark legislation.”
As previously reported, Murphy, a Democrat, similarly called the signing of the bill, S.B. 478, an “important day for New Jersey as we continue to strive toward equality for all of our residents, regardless of sex or gender expression.”
“Allowing vital records to match gender identity is an important step forward that will allow transgender individuals to control the disclosure of their transgender status,” he remarked.
The measure, known as the Babs Siperstein Law, instructs that the “State registrar shall issue an amended certificate of birth to a person born in this state who requests an amended certificate of birth which shows the gender and, if applicable, the name of the person as it has been changed.”
It is named after Babs Siperstein, the first elected “transgender” member of the Democratic National Committee.
The law eliminates the requirement to present documentation from the person’s physician that they have undergone a “sex change” operation. Applicants may now simply sign an attestation that the application is solely to “conform [their] legal gender to [their] gender identity and is not for any fraudulent purpose.”
Three options are provided on the request form: male, female and “undesignated/nonbinary.” The Department of Health outlines in its FAQ document that the term “encompasses all gender identities that are not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to: intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transsexual, Two Spirit, or otherwise unspecified.”
If the individual who wishes to amend their birth certificate is under age 18, their parent or guardian may apply on their behalf. Applicants may also change their birth name if they have obtained a court order granting their request to change their legal name.
“The Babs Siperstein Law is a historic, life-changing moment for transgender New Jerseyans,” Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, said in a statement, according to NJ Advance Media. “New Jersey has always been a leader for LGBTQ equality, and this law moves us one step further in bringing dignity, respect and affirmation to every transgender person in our state.”
New Jersey now joins California, Oregon and Washington in providing a “gender neutral” option for those who desire to amend their birth certificate.
As previously reported, the Bible teaches that all men are in the same predicament: All are born with the Adamic sin nature and are “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), having various inherent inclinations that are contrary to the law of God and being utterly incapable of changing themselves. It is why Jesus outlined in John 3:5-7 that men must be regenerated by the second birth, or they cannot see the kingdom of Heaven.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus saith unto him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ‘Ye must be born again.’”
In his sermon “Regeneration,” the late Anglican preacher J.C. Ryle once said, “Can any change his own heart? No! The thing is impossible. We can no more quicken and impart life to our souls than we can to our bodies; we can no more rise and become new men in our own strength than wash away sins by our own performances. It is impossible! The natural man is as helpless as Lazarus was when he lay still and cold and motionless in the tomb. We may remove the stone, as it were, and expose the sad work of death—but we can do no more.”
“There must be a power far mightier than any power of earth in exercise before the natural man can awake and arise and come forth as a new creature. And to do all this is the special office of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send. It is He who quickens; it is He who gives life.”
Swami Nirmalananda (formerly known as Rama Berch) is the originator of Svaroopa® Yoga as well as the founder of Master Yoga and of Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram. In 2009 she was honored with initiation into the ancient order of Saraswati monks.
Now wearing the traditional orange, she has openly dedicated her life to serving others. Usually called Swamiji, she makes the highest teachings easily accessible, guiding seekers to the knowledge and experience of their own Divine Essence.
For more information on Svaroopa® Yoga or to find a teacher near you, contact Master Yoga Foundation at 1-866-LUVYOGA (588-9642) or info@masteryoga.org, or visit the teacher directory at www.masteryoga.org. Rama’s clothing was supplied by Blisswear. To see more of their line visit blisswear.com or e-mail debby@blisswear.com.
“I remember the first time I looked into Swamiji’s eyes and saw consciousness. I had to look away. It was like being blinded by the sun. Today I yearn to look into her eyes and I do it whenever I can.” Melissa H., Australia
Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati
Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati is the spiritual head of the Svaroopa®Vidya Ashram. She was honored with the title “Sadguru” in 2015 by the Brahmin priests in her Guru’s home town of Ganeshpuri. As a Kundalini Master and renunciant, she has dedicated her life to serving those who want to become Self-Realized.
“She has so much love, compassion, understanding, and awareness. She sees so much.” — Phil (Krishna) Milgrom, Warren MA
“Hosting Swami Nirmalananda in Brisbane, Australia, I found her wonderfully personable and relatable.” — Lyndall (Leela) Madden, Bulimba QLD, Australia
As a modern-day sage and Guru, she awakens Kundalini, your inner spiritual energy, through Shaktipat. She is a Kundalini Master, addressing your yearning to know your inherent Divinity by propelling you into it. She supports you in the process of learning to live in the recognition of your own Divinity as well as to recognize the Divine in everyone and everything. With Swami Nirmalananda as your teacher, the inner process is deep and easy.
Affectionately referred to as “Swamiji”, she pioneered the Svaroopa® Sciences, based in the ancient teachings of Kashmiri Shaivism. She learned them from her Guru, Swami Muktananda, which enlivens these comprehensive practices including:
Shaktipat
meditation
mantra
chanting
sutra study
guided self-inquiry
breathing practices
yoga poses (asana)
and seva.
One branch of the Svaroopa® Sciences is Svaroopa® yoga. Swamiji created it in order to bring asana practice back to its original purpose, the awakening of Kundalini and the knowing of Self. Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram continues to offer Svaroopa® yoga teacher training, with Swamiji serving as Master Teacher, directing and supporting our other Teacher Trainers.
“Yoga itself claims to be a science. It uses proven methodology to get predictable results, just like the battery in your car. On the physical level, the methodologies provide reliable results, often likened to medical therapies, yet the sages always targeted a deeper goal… [to] become one with consciousness… to know your own Divine Self (svaroopa), inherent within you.
The results are reliable: if you do what the sages teach, you will experience what they promise. This is yoga — pure mysticism, meaning it is about the mystery of life, the mystery that is hidden inside every human heart and being.”
This perspective informs all of Swami Nirmalananda’s teaching. Warm, lighthearted and down-to-earth, she makes the mystical teachings accessible through examples from our everyday lives and relationships. Students cherish their relationship with Swami Nirmalananda, as it carries them forward into yoga’s ancient promise:
“Swami Nirmalananda never ceases to amaze me… she is a master teacher and is both forthcoming and real in every moment.” — Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue, Calgary AB, Canada
“Her presence is like tapping into the main stream. The hot socket.” — Lori (Priya) Kenney, Portland OR
“She knows my mind better than I do.” — Melissa (Yogeshwari) Fountain, Southborough MA
Swami Nirmalananda credits her own Guru, Swami Muktananda, with everything. She describes that years of living in Baba’s Ashrams in the USA, Europe and India allowed her to indulge her total focus on Baba and his teachings. She says, “Six weeks before he left this world, he sent me back to America to raise my children and to teach.”
Now Swami Nirmalananda ensures these ancient teachings are alive and thriving. In Downingtown PA, the Ashram provides Lokananda, your “Bliss Place,” a full-service retreat facility for immersion programs, including Swamiji’s Shaktipat retreats, immersions for deeper practices, and professional training courses for yoga teachers, yoga therapists and meditation teachers. Weekly, Swamiji offers satsangs (free meditation programs) including chanting, meditation and teachings to guide you on your path.
Swami Nirmalananda also travels throughout the USA, Canada and Australia, offering free programs as well as weekend Shaktipat Retreats. She regularly leads pilgrimages to Ganeshpuri India, the home village of her Guru with the Samadhi Temple of his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda.
Her generosity is legendary, including an enormous library of free online teachings on this website. They include contemplation articles, daily e-quotes and recordings from her satsangs. She also offers tuition-based, multimedia distance learning in a year-long programme, beginning each spring.
Under her guidance, the Ashram runs charitable projects in the USA and India. In Downingtown PA, we offer Stress Relief Inservice, training schoolteachers in centering self-care, so they can better serve their students. In India, we have partnered with Fire Mountain Ashram to offer Yoga in the Village, bringing yoga to school children in impoverished areas.
Swamiji says, “It is such a privilege to give yoga back to the land of its origin, especially in the local schools in Ganeshpuri and the whole Tansa River valley. The native population of this region never had access to the yogic or Vedic tradition. Like Native Americans or Australian Aborigines, they were the forgotten people, now working to find their place in mainstream society in India. To bring them the heritage of their own land is a deeply fulfilling project.”
We call our building Lokananda – your Bliss Place, but the sign on the front says “Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center.” This is our downtown Downingtown campus, which houses two types of programs:
Meditation & Yoga:
We offer free meditation programs two or three times weekly, plus 5 or more yoga classes and periodic Half Day Workshops. Formal meditation courses are offered every two or three months. We have a well-stocked yoga shop for your convenience. Click here for more info.
Yogimmersions:
Our retreats and professional trainings are now housed in our “new” 130-year old historic building. Massive renovations have been completed with more underway, to make this beautiful “old dame” ready for modern-day yogis. This move offers two great benefits: lowered housing & meals fees plus the bliss of a dedicated spiritual environment.
Ashram — Residential Facility
1400 Hampton Drive, Downingtown PA 19335
This is Swami Nirmalananda’s residence, which she shares with other committed yogis. Residents have taken vows as brahmacharis (temporary monkhood) and participate in several hours of daily practice with Swamiji. She frequently welcomes invited guests for meals and other events. Click here for more info.
Airport Shuttle
We are happy to welcome Lyft and Uber to our area. They are now well established, providing cost effective transportation which you book through your smartphone. Due to their availability and affordability, we no longer provide airport shuttle service.
On Time Transport, our previous limo service, is also available and gives you a discounted rate when you use the name “Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram.” Call them at 610-647-1354.
We email you the course roster when your program is confirmed so you can coordinate shared rides to reduce your expense.
You may prefer to take the train from the airport to the Downingtown train station. We provide free shuttle service to and from this train station during these times:
Monday to Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday: from 2 hours before your program begins and up to 2 hours after your program ends.
You must arrange our train shuttle service at least 48 hours in advance so that we have a staff member available. For further information visit: septa.org or amtrak.com.
Since ancient times, the Sanskrit word ashram names the place where the Guru lives. The Ashram houses the Guru’s physical being, as well as the shakti, the divine energy of Grace, that flows through the Guru. If you have spent any time with Swami Nirmalananda, you have experienced this current of shakti. While it is present in everything that exists, it is stronger and more concentrated in a yogi who has dedicated herself to serve in this way. The deeper Swamiji takes her own practice, the stronger the shakti flows through her. The Ashram serves as a place to house it, to nurture it, and to “plant it” on the physical plane. As a visitor you will feel it, perhaps when you first enter, or after you’ve been there for a while, or even after you leave. Swamiji wants us to consider the Ashram our home, as well as hers.
What is it like to visit the Ashram?
If you are enrolled in a Svaroopa® Yoga & Meditation course in Pennsylvania, you will likely be invited for lunch at the Ashram. The house appears from the outside like any other large suburban home in the neighborhood. You’ll be greeted at the door with a traditional arati, a waving of a candle flame, and a dot of sacred ash on your forehead. These honor your inherent Divinity, which is the that which Swamiji bows to in herself and in her Guru.
Upon entering, you’ll remove your shoes and coat, and be invited to walk through the downstairs rooms, which are filled with photographs of our lineage and murtis (divine statues), all to invoke your profound and deep experience of your own Self. You’ll sit in the meditation room for a few minutes with Swamiji and participate in the lunchtime japa, mantra repetition, one of our three daily sessions that Ashram residents share with Swamiji.
Lunch is in the sunny dining area off the kitchen, and consists of a vegetarian meal, served by ashram chefs who follow Ayurvedic cooking guidelines. Swamiji eats with her guests, making sure everyone is well fed. After a delicious dessert, she presents you with a blessed gift of a rudraksha bead (sacred bead).
May I stay or live at the Ashram?
Yes! Swami Nirmalananda encourages those who are committed to the exploring the deeper science of the Self to deepen their practice and experience of the Self. If we have available space, you may apply for residency. We also have a B&B program so that visitors may experience the gifts that the Ashram offers.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
New York – -(AmmoLand.com)- This week New York State took another drastic leap towards totalitarianism with eight new “progressive” gun laws that were passed by the government which is controlled entirely by the Democrats and will all become law as Andrew Cuomo, who pledged to sign them all once they reach his desk.
All of the laws that New York ran through with little opposition were introduced and sponsored by legislators from New York City, which has not only never looked kindly upon gun owners in other parts of the country but isn't known for even being friendly to citizens from other parts of New York State. Upstate New York is overwhelmingly Republican and conservative, New York City is primarily liberal, progressive, and is known for some of the most liberal ideas this side of California. Here is a rundown of who is to blame and the new laws they are so proud of.
Senator Todd Kaminisky (D): Banned Shooting Sports in Schools
Senator Todd Kaminisky (D)
One of the most unnecessary and just cruel laws to pass was introduced by Senator Todd Kaminisky (D) who represents part of Long Island was Senate Bill S101A, which effectively allows the state of New York to tell educators they cannot have anyone on the grounds of a public school who is not a resource officer to be armed or possess any firearm. Before that, it was up to the school board to make those decisions. What the law does is effectively ban all shooting sports in the state. No more rifle teams, no more hunter safety courses, nothing. Those kids must be awful terrifying to Andrew Cuomo and those Democrats to have been punished like that. They're now the new definition of criminals in New York State.
Senator Michael Gianaris (D): Banned Gun Shows in New York State
Senator Michael Gianaris (D)
Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents part of Queens, sponsored S2374, which institutes a thirty-day background check on all firearms purchases. What that means, you can kiss gun shows goodbye since who is going to want to go to a gun show, pay for a gun and even if they would normally pass the NICS check, have to drive to wherever the dealer's shop is in another month. The original plan was that it was to be ten days, but Andrew Cuomo commented earlier in the day that if it were up to him, it would be thirty days. He is going to get his wish.
This now gives New York State, in addition to so many other things, the longest waiting period in the country. Congratulations to all those gun owners who stayed home on Election Day, these are the consequences to sitting things out.
Senator Brian Kavanagh (D): Sponsored NY's New Red Flag Gun Confiscation Law & a Ban on Gun Parts, Tax Payer Funding of Buy Backs
Senator Brian Kavanagh (D)
Some of the other bills were what we here in this state were expecting from the last legislative session, Cuomo's quest was to enact the “Red Flag” law, which in this case is S2451 and was introduced and sponsored by Senator Brian Kavanagh (D), whose district covers part of Brooklyn and Manhattan is known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order, which of course, if someone makes a complaint and thinks a person is a risk to themselves or others, a court order is issued and their guns are confiscated, their pistol permit suspended and they have to prove to the judge that they are not a danger if they want to get their firearms back. This system is rife with potential problems and the fact that a gun owner can have their rights taken from them without ever having committed a crime. It's no wonder that this was Governor Cuomo's favorite piece of legislation.
Other bills like a ban and period for turning in of bump-stocks was passed, even though under the Safe Act, most guns that you could even attach one to had already been made illegal in New York.
Also now gun buy back programs would be funded and conducted through the New York State Police, so taxpayer funds will go to these programs that have never done anything for crime except get a few old guns out of Grannie's attic or in the case of a gun that might have been stolen get turned in for a few dollars or a gift card.
HERO: State Senator Daphne Jordan (R):
State Senator Daphne Jordan (R
If there are any heroes out of all this, it is State Senator Daphne Jordan (R) who held nothing back concerning these new bills.
“The governor’s unrelenting assault on our Second Amendment freedom is something I and millions of New Yorkers strongly oppose. Our focus should be partnering with law enforcement to crack down on vicious criminals who don’t care about the law and use firearms in the commission of a crime. More Cuomo gun control is not the answer. As an FYI to the governor, a new federal regulation banning bump stocks is already slated to take effect March 26.”
Sadly her voice was in the minority. Even sadder was almost a complete lack of any attention from the National Rifle Association, of which many New Yorkers are members, on this issue. A check today of their website and social media pages and I had not even found a press release about these laws when I typed this. Many gun owners I have talked to in this state have felt abandoned by the NRA, and we have to rely on our own rights groups which are much smaller and don't have the financial muscle to take on the state of New York and the Governor's mansion.
The passage of these laws should be a warning and a beacon in the blizzard of things to come. Had more gun owners and Republicans gotten out and voted in the last election here, we might not have defeated Andrew Cuomo, but we could have held the state senate. Now that the Democrats have total control, they're passing new gun laws with impunity, and they don't care about the rights of anyone involved. To them, they're furthering their brave new “progressive” agenda with an aim to make the country like they want to make New York. Pay attention to what you see happening to New York, as New York City is, for the most part, dictating to the rest of us how we are going to live.
Andrew Cuomo is running for the White House in 2020, or at the very least gunning for a slot as Vice President, and he's trampling on the rights of gun owners, and with the passage of his horrendous abortion bill, one can only imagine what he's got planned for the rest of America.
For those of us here in New York, we are now living in occupied territory, behind enemy lines if you will, and hopefully, this will galvanize gun owners and conservatives to get out and vote, in every election. Our kids and grandkids are depending on it. If we don't fight now, if we don't get up and do something and take a stand, the only things we will be leaving to them are memories and fond regrets for the rights we lost.
David LaPell has been a Corrections Officer with the local Sheriff's Department for thirteen years. A collector of antique and vintage firearms for over twenty years and an avid hunter. David has been writing articles about firearms, hunting and western history for ten years. In addition to having a passion for vintage guns, he is also a fan of old trucks and has written articles on those as well. __________________________________________
BETTER THAN RENT CONTROL?
We Will Seize Their Buildings':
NYC's de Blasio Targets Private Property
Billy wants to take a bite out of the Big Apple's private property with the force of government action.
The BDS movement is an obvious emulation of the Nazis, who began their actions against the Jews with boycott of Jewish-owned businesses. It is also an attempt to legitimize and give a patina of righteousness to what is in its essence a jihad operation with aims that are frankly and often avowedly genocidal. And the Left in the West has bought into it in a big way.
“‘Terrorists in Suits’: Over 100 links revealed between terrorists and BDS groups,” World Israel News, February 3, 2019:
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs revealed over 100 links between terror groups and BDS-promoting NGOs, including the employment of 30 current and “retired” terror operatives.
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (MSA) released its “Terrorists in Suits” report on Sunday, revealing over 100 links shared between the internationally-designated terrorist organizations Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) with at least 13 anti-Israel BDS promoting NGOs.
Elaborating on a previous report, the ministry reveals how Hamas and the PFLP are utilizing a network of NGOs promoting boycotts against Israel as an additional tactic in their ultimate goal of dismantling the State of Israel. These organizations have successfully placed over 30 of their members, 20 of which have served time, including for murder, in senior positions within BDS-promoting NGOs.
The report documents how boycott organizations and terrorist designated organizations raise finances together, share the same personnel, and showcases that contrary to popular belief, these officials have not abandoned their support for terrorism, but instead, continue to maintain organizational, financial, and active ties with terrorist groups. Funding from Europe, philanthropic foundations
The Israel-boycott organizations in question were also shown to have received millions of euros in funding from European countries and philanthropic foundations, while gaining access to additional funds through financial, crowdfunding and banking systems.
Examples of terrorists working in support of organizations that promote the boycotting of Israel include Leila Khaled and Mustafa Awad.
Khaled became infamous for hijacking two civilian airliners, Flights TWA 840 and El Al 219, and to this day remains active in the internationally-designated terrorist group the PFLP. She has fundraised for, and promoted, anti-Israel boycott NGOs both in Europe and South Africa. In 2011 she was found to have taken coordinated actions for a terrorist cell planning on attacking sites in Jerusalem. Furthermore, in October 2018 Khaled was quoted in an interview saying, “Palestine will be liberated through resistance in all its forms, first and foremost through armed struggle.”
Awad, is currently serving time for his involvement in several terrorist organizations, including serving as a member of the PFLP and received training from Iranian terrorist group Hezbollah. He also represented Samidoun in Brussels, an organization known for promoting boycotts against the State of Israel and advocating for the release of Palestinian security-prisoners in Israeli jails, including those convicted of murdering civilians in terrorist PFLP attacks. Connections to Hamas, Islamic Jihad
Another instance includes the BDS National Committee (BNC), the Ramallah-based leadership of the global Boycott movement toward Israel, consists of 28 Palestinian boycott groups. The lead member of this coalition is the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces (PNIF), which includes five internationally-designated terrorist organizations including Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The American fundraising platform Donorbox recently suspended the BNC’s account after finding the group did indeed maintain ties to terrorist groups.
Over the past year, and following MSA activities to expose NGO terror ties, several European countries have announced the reexamination and decrease in funding granted to organizations which promote boycotts against the State of Israel.
The report also showed how members of terrorist organizations operate under the guise of “boycott activists” to gain access, and meet with, senior Western government officials and exert pressure to release convicted terrorists held in Israeli prisons….
SOUTHERN BAPTIST RUSSELL MOORE DEMANDS VIRGINIA “BLACKFACE ” GOVERNOR NORTHAM RESIGN, SAYS IT’S AS BAD AS ABORTION~MOORE HAS NEVER CONDEMNED NORTHAM’S PRO-ABORTION STANCE
Russell Moore – the president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission – whose last known political affiliation was the Democratic Party while serving as a staffer for a Democratic legislator, is joining his fellow Democrats in calling for the resignation of Ralph Northam. Northam, a Democrat who won the Virginia governorship from Republican, Ed Gillespie in 2017 (took office on January 13, 2018), is under pressure by his own party to resign his seat after it was discovered that he posed for a ‘racist’ photo while in college, which was posted in his medical school yearbook. The year was 1984. Democrats, as well as some Republicans, have called for Northam’s resignation and include Corey Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro, and Kamala Harris.
The 35 year-old photo shows Northam in “blackface,” as pictured below.
Russell Moore has not called on Northam to resign for being a pro-abortion Democrat. Russell Moore has not called on Northam to resign for believing in the redistribution of wealth, which violates the 8th Commandment. Rather, Moore is demanding that Northam resign for a bad decision 35 years ago, which was to put on black make-up for a Halloween photo in poor taste.
Taking to Twitter to signal his virtue, as usual, the ‘woke’ Southern Baptist leader demanded Northam resign using the hashtag #NorthamResign.
Please note that Russell Moore uses classical Marxist terminology in his tweets, reducing the complicated issue of race relations to one of “power dynamics.”
Moore also equivocates, likening abortion to “racial injustice.” Of course, wearing blackface, while insensitive, is not injustice. It may be distasteful. It may be insensitive. But in order for racial insensitivity to be a matter of “justice,” someone would have to demonstrate that they have suffered actual personal harm from the costume. In 35 years since the photo was taken, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
While all Christians should be happy that a Democrat has to leave office, the reason for Moore’s anger and hashtag slacktivism seems overdone, especially compared to Moore’s relative silence on the topic of abortion, which never seems to vex him as terribly as perceived racial insensitivity.
There is zero doubt in anyone’s mind that Russell Moore would not demand the resignation of any politician who had an abortion 35 years ago. Moore’s outrage is selective.
Yesterday, Moore spoke alongside Nancy Pelosi at the same event, hosted by the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), the organization that we wrote about changing its ‘transgender’ and homosexual policy, which now supports an expansion of the law that would give ‘transgender’ and homosexual people extra legal protections the rest of us do not have. The name of that post was ERLC-Backed Group Secretly Supports Expansion of Gay Rights.
The NAE also took part in the event. The NAE is a sister organization of the National Council of Churches, which is affiliated with the World Council of Churches. The NAE is an ecumenist organization, which from its inception was branded as being theologically liberal. Russell Moore fits in with the NAE like a duck takes to water and a pig rolls in mud. These are his people.
The CCCU hosted event yesterday included both Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat acolyte, Russell Moore, as you can see from the screenshot above, taken from the NAE Facebook page.
According to Religion News Service, Pelosi used the opportunity to speak about a topic that both she and Russell Moore are in complete agreement upon…illegal immigration.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of Christian educators gathering in the nation’s capital this week that she intends to uphold her responsibility to “act upon our beliefs in the dignity and worth of every person.”
Those people include refugees seeking to cross our borders…
Moore, who helps to run the Soros-funded EIT, would no doubt have little problem with Pelosi’s statements to the pro-gray NAE or CCCU or her ambitious agenda to destroy America’s sovereign borders.
ABOVE: Pope Francis Embraces Ahmed el-Tayeb Pope Francis holds Arabian Peninsula’s largest mass
It was billed as the largest show of Christian worship ever seen on the Arabian Peninsula. Pope Francis celebrated mass in the Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates. More than 130,000 people attended the event in the capital Abu Dhabi. The mass wrapped up a three day trip to the country, the first ever by a pontiff. Pope Francis condemned war and said his main aim was to promote harmony and tolerance between Christians and Muslims.
UAE: More than 130,000 gather for historic
Pope Francis Mass in Abu Dhabi
More than 130,000 Catholics attended Holy Mass, led by Pope Francis at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The Pontiff was greeted by a cheering crowd as he arrived at the stadium in a popemobile. Thousands of worshippers waved Vatican flags to welcome the Pope.
Worshippers came to the venue in advance by cars and buses. The UAE government reportedly organized free buses to ensure that the attendees are able to access the Mass, with multiple pick-up locations opened across the UAE.
Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national airline, broadcast the Papal Mass on board its flights and at the airline’s lounges worldwide.
Pope Francis arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, marking the first time a pope comes to the Arabian Peninsula.
On Monday, the Pope visited St. Joseph’s Cathedral, the seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, where he prayed and blessed 300 selected parishioners from all walks of life and social standing, including families with disabled children and elderly worshippers.
On the same day, the Pope also participated in a meeting on interfaith dialogue with Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb and members of the Muslim Council of Elders. Together with the Grand Imam, the Pope signed a document promoting ‘human fraternity.’
POPE FRANCIS TELLS ISLAMIC IMAM WHO WANTS TO KILL CHRISTIAN CONVERTS “YOU’RE MY BROTHER___”
Practitioners of Islam use ‘Interfaith Dialogue’ as an intentional strategy to win the hearts and minds of professing Christians and to reaffirm the faith of questioning Muslims. The practice is called Dawah, and unsuspecting people happily engage in Interfaith Dialogue with Muslims, either ignorant of their tactics or self-assured in their own hubris, convinced of their inability to be suckered.
Dawah is no conspiracy, and is taught boldly as an Islamic “evangelism” (that term does not quite fit) strategy of Muslims. From the Imams Online website…
[Speaking of Dawa] This then constitutes the core and the essence of Islam. Other Abrahamic faiths will also find resonance in these core beliefs. A true Muslim who loves God and the Messenger (peace be upon him) and who knows salvation can only be achieved through devotion and good work, he is truly God conscious. The God bound and God conscious soul feels a gentle urge to take the faith to others…The spirit of this witnessing is one of sharing, learning from others and being a pilgrim with fellow believers. This “invitation” and “giving good news” is to be taken with the spirit of meeting fellow humans both Muslims and non-Muslims. It is for building trust and mutual understanding and to remove stereotypes. This spirit of witnessing builds trust and brings people together to work for the common good.
Pope Francis, who as the Bishop of Rome views himself as the de facto representative of Christ on Earth, landed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula. The purpose of the event was for the Pope to meet with Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, for an Interfaith Dialogue to unite Roman Catholicism and Islam.
Francis, being escorted to the Islamic meeting upon his arrival in the UAE.
Francis is engaging in a conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, the purpose of which was to promote what is considered a more “moderate brand of Islam.” Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb is an Imam of Sunni Islam and trains clerics and scholars from around the world.
Prior to leaving for the United Arab Emirates, Francis did a video praising his “friend and dear brother,” el-Tayeb, and congratulated him for calling the meeting to assert that “God unites and doesn’t divide.”
“I am pleased with this meeting offered by the Lord to write, on your dear land, a new page in the history of relations among religions and confirm that we are brothers despite our differences.”
The supposedly “moderate” el-Tayeb is on record calling for the death of any Muslim who leaves the Islamic faith for Christianity. The Imam’s desire to kill Christian converts came as recently as 2016.
El-Tayeb affirmed on his television show during the 2016 Ramadan celebration, “Contemporary apostasy presents itself in the guise of crimes, assaults, and grand treason, so we deal with it now as a crime that must be opposed and punished…. Those learned in Islam [al-fuqaha] and the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence consider apostasy a crime and agree that the apostate must either renounce his apostasy or else be killed.“
Despite him being an enemy of the Christian church, the Pope still referred to el-Tayeb as his brother.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Pope Francis and the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, have published a “A Document On Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” and it’s as filled with falsehoods and wishful thinking as one would expect coming from a practiced deceiver such as el-Tayeb and someone so eager to be deceived as Pope Francis. Christine Douglass-Williams has already detailed here some of the reasons why any thinking person should be suspicious of el-Tayeb’s sincerity, and I plan over the next few days to highlight some of the more egregiously false statements in the document itself.
Here’s one: Terrorism is deplorable and threatens the security of people, be they in the East or the West, the North or the South, and disseminates panic, terror and pessimism, but this is not due to religion, even when terrorists instrumentalize it. It is due, rather, to an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression and pride. This is why it is so necessary to stop supporting terrorist movements fuelled by financing, the provision of weapons and strategy, and by attempts to justify these movements even using the media. All these must be regarded as international crimes that threaten security and world peace. Such terrorism must be condemned in all its forms and expressions…
Terrorism is due to “an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression and pride.”
So are the authoritative sources in Sunni Islam, the schools of Sunni jurisprudence (madhahib), all incorrect in their interpretations of the Qur’an and Sunnah? Here is what they say about jihad warfare against non-Muslims:
Shafi’i school: A Shafi’i manual of Islamic law that was certified in 1991 by the clerics at Al-Azhar University, one of the leading authorities in the Islamic world, as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy, stipulates about jihad that “the caliph makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians…until they become Muslim or pay the non-Muslim poll tax.” It adds a comment by Sheikh Nuh Ali Salman, a Jordanian expert on Islamic jurisprudence: the caliph wages this war only “provided that he has first invited [Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians] to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya)…while remaining in their ancestral religions.” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o9.8).
Of course, there is no caliph today, and hence the oft-repeated claim that Osama et al are waging jihad illegitimately, as no state authority has authorized their jihad. But they explain their actions in terms of defensive jihad, which needs no state authority to call it, and becomes “obligatory for everyone” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o9.3) if a Muslim land is attacked. The end of the defensive jihad, however, is not peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims as equals: ‘Umdat al-Salik specifies that the warfare against non-Muslims must continue until “the final descent of Jesus.” After that, “nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus’ descent” (o9.8).
Hanafi school: A Hanafi manual of Islamic law repeats the same injunctions. It insists that people must be called to embrace Islam before being fought, “because the Prophet so instructed his commanders, directing them to call the infidels to the faith.” It emphasizes that jihad must not be waged for economic gain, but solely for religious reasons: from the call to Islam “the people will hence perceive that they are attacked for the sake of religion, and not for the sake of taking their property, or making slaves of their children, and on this consideration it is possible that they may be induced to agree to the call, in order to save themselves from the troubles of war.”
However, “if the infidels, upon receiving the call, neither consent to it nor agree to pay capitation tax [jizya], it is then incumbent on the Muslims to call upon God for assistance, and to make war upon them, because God is the assistant of those who serve Him, and the destroyer of His enemies, the infidels, and it is necessary to implore His aid upon every occasion; the Prophet, moreover, commands us so to do.” (Al-Hidayah, II.140)
Maliki school: Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), a pioneering historian and philosopher, was also a Maliki legal theorist. In his renowned Muqaddimah, the first work of historical theory, he notes that “in the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and (the obligation to) convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force.” In Islam, the person in charge of religious affairs is concerned with “power politics,” because Islam is “under obligation to gain power over other nations.”
Hanbali school: The great medieval theorist of what is commonly known today as radical or fundamentalist Islam, Ibn Taymiyya (Taqi al-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya, 1263-1328), was a Hanbali jurist. He directed that “since lawful warfare is essentially jihad and since its aim is that the religion is God’s entirely and God’s word is uppermost, therefore according to all Muslims, those who stand in the way of this aim must be fought.”
This is also taught by modern-day scholars of Islam. Majid Khadduri was an Iraqi scholar of Islamic law of international renown. In his book War and Peace in the Law of Islam, which was published in 1955 and remains one of the most lucid and illuminating works on the subject, Khadduri says this about jihad:
The state which is regarded as the instrument for universalizing a certain religion must perforce be an ever expanding state. The Islamic state, whose principal function was to put God’s law into practice, sought to establish Islam as the dominant reigning ideology over the entire world….The jihad was therefore employed as an instrument for both the universalization of religion and the establishment of an imperial world state. (P. 51)
Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Assistant Professor on the Faculty of Shari’ah and Law of the International Islamic University in Islamabad. In his 1994 book The Methodology of Ijtihad, he quotes the twelfth century Maliki jurist Ibn Rushd: “Muslim jurists agreed that the purpose of fighting with the People of the Book…is one of two things: it is either their conversion to Islam or the payment of jizyah.” Nyazee concludes: “This leaves no doubt that the primary goal of the Muslim community, in the eyes of its jurists, is to spread the word of Allah through jihad, and the option of poll-tax [jizya] is to be exercised only after subjugation” of non-Muslims.
How did someone with incorrect interpretations of religious texts become a professor on the Faculty of Shari’ah and Law at International Islamic University?
Anyway, as for the idea that poverty causes terrorism, it’s just a call for Western nations to write more checks to governments of Muslim countries. It’s also demonstrably false. The New York Times reported that “not long after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001…Alan B. Krueger, the Princeton economist, tested the widespread assumption that poverty was a key factor in the making of a terrorist. Mr. Krueger’s analysis of economic figures, polls, and data on suicide bombers and hate groups found no link between economic distress and terrorism.”
CNS News noted in September 2013 that “according to a Rand Corporation report on counterterrorism, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2009, ‘Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated, or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, their most important characteristic is normalcy (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.’ One of the authors of the RAND report, Darcy Noricks, also found that according to a number of academic studies, ‘Terrorists turn out to be more rather than less educated than the general population.’”
Yet the analysis that poverty causes terrorism has been applied and reapplied and reapplied again. And now here is the Pope signing on to this falsehood.
But el-Tayeb said this as recently as 2016: “Contemporary apostasy presents itself in the guise of crimes, assaults, and grand treason, so we deal with it now as a crime that must be opposed and punished….Those learned in Islamic law and the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence consider apostasy a crime and agree that the apostate must either renounce his apostasy or else be killed.”Has el-Tayeb renounced this view? Doubtful, since it is standard Islam. The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an:
My previous article for FrontPage Magazine focused on specific threats to the United States that were linked to border security issues raised in the January 29, 2019 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Worldwide Threats that was itself predicated on the Intelligence Community’s just-released World-Wide Threat Assessment.
I used the information disclosed at the hearing and contained in that threat assessment report about the dangers to America created by transnational criminal organizations and translational gangs such as MS-13 and the drug cartels in Mexico, as well as the crimes and activities of human traffickers that support the Trump administration’s demands for a border wall, a wall that unbelievably, the leaders of the Democratic Party adamantly oppose.
However, the report included much more material about other global threats that confront the United States and its interests. Simply stated, the world is a dangerous place.
Among the other threats addressed in the report were those posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Today we will take a hard look at China and how its aggressive and relentless pursuit of global dominance threatens America.
Before we go any further, we must remember that China is led by a totalitarian Communist regime that is not an ally but rather a serious adversary of the United States.
President Trump is the first American President in decades to take a strong position against Chinese transgressions against the United States where trade, currency manipulation and espionage are concerned.
China has moved swiftly to consolidate its stranglehold on its own citizens by politically eliminating presidential term limits and exploiting ever more sophisticated technological tools such as social media, facial recognition technology, and other such hi-tech means.
On January 13, 2019 CBS News’ 60 Minutes aired a report on the developments in artificial intelligence (AI) brought about by venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee’s investments and China’s effort to dominate the AI field.
There is no shortage of specific examples of Chinese espionage committed against the United States and U.S. companies. Such espionage has become so routine and commonplace that the U.S intelligence services have come to refer to this as “Chinese Take-Out”!
Frequently Chinese citizens who acquire lawful immigrant status and United States citizenship use that status to facilitate espionage against America and American companies.
Hongjin Tan, a 35 year old Chinese national and U.S. legal permanent resident, was arrested on Dec. 20 and charged with theft of trade secrets. Tan is alleged to have stolen the trade secrets from his employer, a U.S. petroleum company.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Trent Shores for the Northern District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Kathryn Peterson of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.
“Hongjin Tan allegedly stole trade secrets related to a product worth more than $1 billion from his U.S.-based petroleum company employer, to use for the benefit of a Chinese company where he was offered employment,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “The theft of intellectual property harms American companies and American workers. As our recent cases show, all too often these thefts involve the Chinese government or Chinese companies. The Department recently launched an initiative to protect our economy from such illegal practices emanating from China, and we continue to make this a top priority.”
On January 28, 2019 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release, Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng charged with financial fraud.
On that same day, January 28th, the Justice Department issued a press release about the same investigation, Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction Of Justice /Huawei Corporate Entities Conspired to Steal Trade Secret Technology and Offered Bonus to Workers who Stole Confidential Information from Companies Around the World.
Besides imposing tariffs against Chinese imports, President Trump has also imposed restrictions on Chinese students who are studying in the United States. This was the focus of my article, “Trump Administration Restricts Chinese Students – Finally, America confronts a massive espionage operation.”
This is a welcome change by the administration to protect America and Americans. I have written several articles about Chinese espionage and belligerence and how, for decades, our universities have been training foreign students who seek to exploit our educational system to further the goals and agendas of America’s adversaries, including hundreds of thousands of Chinese STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students who, as they acquire first-rate education in the United States, have been able to work for American companies under the auspices of Optional Practical Training that enables foreign students to apply their training and education in real world jobs for American companies in the United States. This program has facilitated Chinese espionage against American companies including ones that have military contracts.
These long-overdue efforts of the Trump administration should be cheered and supported by all Americans and even American allies around the world who should take similar actions.
Three of my relatively recent articles highlight China’s massive espionage campaign against the United States:
When American companies, in a quest for cheap labor and reduced regulation, have set up factories in China, China has seized the opportunity to engage in industrial espionage against those companies proving that sometimes short-term savings cost more, often much more, in the end.
In some instances, American companies have voluntarily cooperated with China’s totalitarian regime. For example, Google has been enlisted by the Chinese government to help crack down on civil liberties in China against its own citizens even as Google actively and aggressively opposes any efforts by the U.S. government to protect America and Americans from the threat of international terrorists.
My recent article “Google vs Border Security” referenced an article published by The Intercept, titled, “Google Plans To Launch Censored Search Engine In China, Leaked Documents Reveal.”
Eager to do lucrative business in China, Google was willing to “go along to get along” while its dealing with the U.S. government went in precisely the opposite direction.
A September 21, 2018, Newsweek article, “Google Brainstormed Ways To Combat Trump’s Travel Ban By Leveraging Search Results For Pro-Immigration Causes,” included the following excerpt: “Google, along with Apple, Facebook and other technology companies, filed a joint amicus brief challenging the travel ban, stating that it “inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation and growth.“
Now let’s turn to the Threat Assessment. Consider this excerpt that is found on pages 24 and 25:
China
The Chinese Communist Party’s Concentration of Power
China is deepening its authoritarian turn under President Xi Jinping, and the resulting hardening of Chinese politics and governance probably will make it more difficult for the leadership to recognize and correct policy errors, including in relations with the United States and our allies and partners.
President Xi removed one of the few remaining checks on his authority when he eliminated presidential term limits in March 2018, and the Chinese Communist Party has reasserted control over the economy and society, tightened legal and media controls, marginalized independent voices, and intensified repression of Chinese Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities.
The Chinese Government also is harnessing technology, including facial recognition, biometrics, and vehicle GPS tracking, to bolster its apparatus of domestic monitoring and control.
Beijing’s increasing restrictions on scholars’ and researchers’ freedom of movement and communication with US counterparts may increase the prospects for misunderstanding and misinterpretation of US policies.
Universities in the United States have been willing to accept Chinese demands for changes in curricula in exchange for funding from China. On January 17, 2018 Politico published a report, How China Infiltrated U.S. Classrooms that begins with this passage:
Last year, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte made an announcement to great fanfare: The university would soon open a branch of the Confucius Institute, the Chinese government-funded educational institutions that teach Chinese language, culture and history. The Confucius Institute would “help students be better equipped to succeed in an increasingly globalized world,” says Nancy Gutierrez, UNC Charlotte’s dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and “broaden the University’s outreach and support for language instruction and cultural opportunities in the Charlotte community,” according to a press release.
But the Confucius Institutes’ goals are a little less wholesome and edifying than they sound—and this is by the Chinese government’s own account. A 2011 speech by a standing member of the Politburo in Beijing laid out the case: “The Confucius Institute is an appealing brand for expanding our culture abroad,” Li Changchun said. “It has made an important contribution toward improving our soft power. The ‘Confucius’ brand has a natural attractiveness. Using the excuse of teaching Chinese language, everything looks reasonable and logical.”
Li, it now seems, was right to exult. More than a decade after they were created, Confucius Institutes have sprouted up at more than 500 college campuses worldwide, with more than 100 of them in the United States—including at The George Washington University, the University of Michigan and the University of Iowa. Overseen by a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Education known colloquially as Hanban, the institutes are part of a broader propaganda initiative that the Chinese government is pumping an estimated $10 billion into annually, and they have only been bolstered by growing interest in China among American college students.
Yet along with their growth have come consistent questions about whether the institutes belong on campuses that profess to promote free inquiry. Confucius Institutes teach a very particular, Beijing-approved version of Chinese culture and history: one that ignores concerns over human rights, for example, and teaches that Taiwan and Tibet indisputably belong to Mainland China. Take it from the aforementioned Li, who also said in 2009 that Confucius Institutes are an “important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.” Critics also charge that the centers have led to a climate of self-censorship on campuses that play host to them.
Remarkably, even as Antifa thugs and university administrations seek to block American conservatives from providing their perspectives on college campuses across the United States, Communist China’s outrageous propaganda is embraced and welcomed on American college campuses.
Lenin has been quoted as saying, “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” Today there is a fire sale on rope in America and it must end. The sooner the better!
As previously reported, the Bible teaches that all men are in the same predicament: All are born with the Adamic sin nature and are “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), having various inherent inclinations that are contrary to the law of God and being utterly incapable of changing themselves. It is why Jesus outlined in John 3:5-7 that men must be regenerated by the second birth, or they cannot see the kingdom of Heaven.
