Violence against American diplomats in Libya

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Wars of Religion


Thursday, September 13, 2012 (All day)

 Violence against American diplomats in Libya remind us how quickly religion can inflame the region.



[Darris McNeely] The Middle East has once again erupted into violence. Unfortunately this week, an attack took place on the American Embassy Compound in Libya, the city of Benghazi. Four American diplomats were killed, including the ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. It was a very unfortunate situation. This marks the first time since 1979 that a sitting ambassador has been killed in the country in which he is serving. And it highlights once again the volatility of the entire region, but as well the impact of religion and what it can do to suddenly provoke a problem and a reaction, and again even a larger war within this highly important area of the Middle East.



[Steve Myers] There's no doubt that religion had a major part to play in this whole incident because that was the backdrop, whether the leaders were actually convinced of that, but it was certainly used to provoke this whole incident. And it shows how easily people can be motivated by some of these kinds of things.



[Darris McNeely] In this case it was a video that was done that was purporting to cast the Prophet Muhammad in an unfavorable light. And yet likely this was planned because it also took place on the anniversary of 9/11 - the attacks on Washington and New York City 11 years ago. But again it just brings up the point that the wars of religion - we did a program on Beyond Today a few years ago about the wars of religion. Religion is still a very potent force in world affairs and culture. And as much as some people in the West especially would like to think that religion in a sense does not play a significant role, things like this happen in the Middle East to remind us that religion does play a very important role.



[Steve Myers] It's a huge role, and it's a prophetic role that we can't ignore. Daniel 11 talks a lot about that, it talks about the coming times, and how religion really will be a cornerstone to some of the issues that are going to be facing the world here shortly.



[Darris McNeely] Daniel 11:40And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.



See All... is a key verse in Bible prophecy that we are looking at to be fulfilled. It talks about the time of the end yet ahead of us when "The king of the South shall attack him and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind." Now what in general terms this prophecy is doing is describing a provocation where it says, "The king of the North shall attack." Excuse me, "The king of the South will attack." The king of the South is identified as the power coming out of the Middle East and in whatever way it provokes a reaction against another power here called the king of the North to come and to invade into the region. And interestingly as this prophecy goes on - of course, this is verse 40 - it goes on in verse 43 to mention even the very country Libya that we're talking about here (Daniel 11:43But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.



See All...).



[Steve Myers] It certainly does. And do you see these attitudes already there today? If you read through all of Daniel 11 you find these descriptors of people's attitudes and their minds, where it talks about strife, where it talks about violence, where it talks about stirring things up. And boy have we seen that this week. That's what's happening.



[Darris McNeely] And we don't know yet what will happen additionally this week with other problems, but it just points up the fact to continue to be watching the Middle East. Be aware of what is taking place and understand how quickly events can unfold - even small events can become very big. This is a very significant event. It's not something to take lightly.



[Steve Myers] That's BT Daily . We'll see you next time.

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Life Lessons: The Peacemaker

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Life Lessons: The Peacemaker

by Gary Petty


In American West folklore the Colt .45 revolver was known as the "Peacemaker." Gunning down anyone who disagrees with you is a violently aggressive concept of peace making, especially if you're the one getting shot. Many people go through life as verbal gunfighters ready to slay their opponent with words at the slightest provocation.



One of the most important principles of conflict resolution is to be assertive without being aggressive. This means that you have to be able to voice your opinions and feelings without attacking the other person.



Let's say you feel like your spouse doesn't listen to your ideas. Next time you're upset instead of saying something like "You know what your problem is..." Try starting your comment with, "Sometimes I feel like we do not understand each other..."



By using this method you can make your point without attacking the other person and increasing the level of conflict. Wise King Solomon wrote, "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.



See All...).







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"The New Atheism"

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Compass Point




I have been working on a Beyond Today program called "The New Atheism". My reading has taken me through a couple of books recently written by noted atheists. "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens are two that are currently on best seller lists.



Reading these books has not changed my mind about God. I have not read any atheist argument that has moved me off my long held faith and belief in God. reading the thoughts of these men leave me cold and lonely. I have to read them in short segments. But you need to read what the other side is thinking and saying to stay current.



This "new atheism" is really nothing new. The arguments are the same as those of of atheists through the ages. It comes down to to what Paul said in his letter to the Romans, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting". (Romans 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;



See All...)



God can be proven by many undeniable proofs from nature, reason and the Bible. But the most important proof lies in something we must make a conscious decision to do. That is to prove God by doing what He says and determining by the fruits of life live His way that He is and He stands behind His word. By this we develop a relationship with Him that establishes proof to us that He exists. It is probably the most important way we can approach the subject. It is available to everyone.

In Brief... "It's the Russians, Stupid"

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In Brief... "It's the Russians, Stupid"






article by Cecil Maranville, Darris McNeely, David Palmer, John Ross Schroeder, Peter Eddington





President Bill Clinton had a sign taped to his desk at the beginning of his first term in office that read, "It's the Economy, Stupid."



President Bill Clinton had a sign taped to his desk at the beginning of his first term in office that read, "It's the Economy, Stupid." He should have taped one on his desk at the beginning of the Kosovo affair that said, "It's the Russians, Stupid." From the beginning to the end of this crisis, it has been the Russians, not the Serbs, who were the real issue facing NATO.



It's not about Kosovo. It is not about humanitarianism or making ourselves the kind of people we want to be. It's about the Russians, stupid! And about China and about the global balance of power (STRATFOR's Global Intelligence Update Weekly Analysis, June 14, 1999).

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Child Sacrifice: We're Not So Different Today

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Child Sacrifice: We're Not So Different Today


article by Darris McNeely

Of all ancient practices of pagan religion, the most hideous were those that involved child sacrifice.

A child being offered as a sacrifice to a Molech idol.

Source: Wikimedia Commons - 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us: Containing 400 Illustrations from the Old and New Testaments

In the lands of the Middle East and areas around the Mediterranean Sea, this involved the ritual murder of children, often in fire and presided over by a priesthood with the approval of the worshippers.



A child could be placed on an open fire or into an open burning chasm of a metal idol representing gods such as Baal or Molech. Done to appease a god and to gain favor for an abundant harvest, victory in battle or the defeat of one's enemies, these cruel acts litter the ancient world.



One well-known cemetery, full of the bones of thousands of infant sacrifices, has been found at the site of ancient Carthage in North Africa. Burials of infant bones and skulls with signs of violent death have been unearthed. Sadly, even the Bible tells of a time in the biblical kingdom of Judah when child sacrifice was carried out in Jerusalem under certain kings.



Any modern nation that chooses to commit child sacrifice in the name of "pro-choice," "family planning" or "abortion rights" should learn a lesson from these examples. The lesson is this: Any culture or people that has participated in child sacrifice has declined and disappeared from history. Ancient Carthage was destroyed by Rome. The Romans sowed salt into its land so it would never rise again. Idolatry eventually won out in Judah, and it was invaded and destroyed by Babylon—its temple razed and the people deported.



We're not so different today. While ancient people would murder their children to please a false god, modern people do the same in honor of a different kind of god—the god of self. This is a hard saying, but it is the truth. The unborn are slaughtered in the millions when they interfere with the pursuit of selfish pleasure and the gods of convenience.







[ Read the article: The Abortion Debate: What Does God Say? ]

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Abortion and God's Purpose for Human Life

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Abortion and God's Purpose for Human Life


 by Scott Ashley

 Recently a New York judge tossed out any restriction on the age a person has to be to purchase, without a prescription, a "morning-after pill" to terminate a pregnancy.



Prior to his ruling a woman had to be at least 17 to legally get the drug. If his ruling stands, a girl as young as 12 or 13—or her male partner—can buy a pill that will cause her body to spontaneously abort her "problem," ending that unborn life.



This follows on the heels of a 2012 decision by the New York Department of Education to make morning-after pills available to schoolgirls as young as 14 without parental consent.



Ironically, if that same 14-year-old were to go her school nurse to get an aspirin for a headache, the nurse would have to get parental permission to do so. But courtesy of this education department, children can be given abortion-inducing drugs without their parents ever knowing.



What a horrifying message to send to girls who are little more than children themselves—that destroying an unborn human life is of such little consequence—or none at all.



What does it say about a society when, on the grounds of protecting citizens' health, a city bans the sale of sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces (a third larger than the most common size), but it allows, and even pays for, abortion-inducing drugs for its schoolchildren?



In what kind of twisted universe does that make sense?



This is the kind of blind and perverse reasoning we see when a people and their leaders increasingly turn their backs on God. As our Creator, He gave us an instruction manual in the form of His Word, the Bible. But rejecting its revelation for how we should live and what makes for a peaceful, purposeful, well-ordered society, we've increasingly decided to create our own rules and ignore the lessons of history—bringing curses on ourselves in the process.



But you don't have to go that way. You can learn from God's Word the awesome purpose of human life , and why abortion is so wrong in His sight . You can know why you are here and why you were born, as described in the cover article of the latest issue of The Good News, arriving in your mailbox shortly.



We hope you'll carefully read the articles in this issue to learn about the future God has in store for you. Understanding that, you'll then understand how God views one of the most divisive and controversial issues affecting our society today—that of abortion.







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May Day, like Halloween, is a Celebration of Evil & World News and Trends: Riots erupt across the globe

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May Day, like Halloween, is a Celebration of Evil

Halloween: A Celebration of Evil

http://www.ucg.org/booklet/holidays-or-holy-days-does-it-matter-which-days-we-observe/halloween-celebration-evil/



Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious.

Why are such bizarre practices so popular? Why would anyone celebrate a holiday emphasizing the morbid and macabre? Where did such strange customs originate?

As with Christmas and Easter, we can trace the roots of Halloween far back into the pagan past. The Encyclopedia of Religion says, "Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints' Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-en ], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)" (1987, p. 176, "Halloween").

Besides Halloween, the Celts observed many other holidays including the winter solstice (later transformed into Christmas), spring fertility rites (reborn later as Easter) and May Day as a harvest festival.

Concerning Halloween The Encyclopedia of Religion continues: "On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.

"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land ... Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (pp. 176-177).

On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits ... The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes" ( Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").

Ancient practices continued today

As with Christmas and Easter, church leaders adopted this ancient celebration to serve their own purposes. "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain. The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" ( The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 177, "Halloween").

Several ancient Halloween practices still exist in modern observances. Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite an apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the coming year ... The jack-o-lantern ... represent[ed] a watchman on Halloween night or a man caught between earth and the supernatural world" (Jack Santino, All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations in American Life, 1994, p. 26).

The Bible condemns the occult

Although some may dismiss the demonic symbolism and divination associated with Halloween as harmless fun, the Bible reveals the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering and sorrow inflicted on the human race. Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

See All... speaks of "the great dragon ... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan ... [who] deceives the whole world ..."

The name given him in the Bible, Satan, means adversary or enemy. The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

See All...). Satan and the other fallen angels (demons) constantly try to keep humanity spiritually blinded, turning them aside from their awesome destiny as part of the family of God.

As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harm us. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

See All...).

In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evil spirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occult practices: "There shall not be found among you anyone who ... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord " (Deuteronomy 18:10-12 [10] There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

[11] Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

[12] For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.



See All...).

God has called His people to a different standard. Instead of superstitions and myths, God tells us to look to Him for our blessings, direction and future.

Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious. Fortune-telling, Ouija boards, astrology, voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic and the like can all be related to occult, satanic forces or the worship of natural phenomena and are forbidden in Scripture.

Jesus Christ tells us that "the first and greatest commandment" is to love our Creator "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37-38 [37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

[38] This is the first and great commandment.



See All...). God alone is the giver of life and all good things. To give recognition to false gods, and to imitate practices that honored them, is unacceptable and idolatrous.







World News and Trends: Riots erupt across the globe

http://www.ucg.org/news-and-prophecy/world-news-and-trends-riots-erupt-across-globe/



article by John Ross Schroeder, Melvin Rhodes



This may be the year of the riot.

Anarchists across the world have united in street conflagrations. Annual May Day celebrations deteriorated into fistfights. Macedonian Slavs rioted over NATO peace deals. On the island of Jamaica 23 died in riots. Violent protesters marred the EU summit in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Anticapitalist radicals tried to ruin the G8 meetings in Genoa. Three former mill towns in Lancashire, England, sustained three nights of race-inspired rioting. Riots occurred on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. In Belfast 23 police officers were hurt in riots.

Much has been written about the human right to protest peacefully, but what begins as a peaceful demonstration often winds up as an old-fashioned riot, sometimes with severe injuries to rioters and police. Professional troublemakers travel the globe to protest against capitalism and other imagined evils.

A British journalist remarked on the enjoyment rioters seem to gain from bloody confrontations. Obviously, human nature has a violent downside. It had become so pronounced in the pre-Flood world of Noah that "the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

See All..., 13). Much later Jesus Christ said that, just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

See All...). Are our crimes and violence signs that we may be in the end time? (Sources: The Times , The Observer [London].)