May 27, 2005
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
A new study has found that boys who attend Christian schools view sex before marriage as morally wrong, that pornography is too widely available, and that abortion is nearly always wrong.
What? How can this be?
Aren't all Christian students, particularly hormone-driven young men, hypocrites? Even if they have been told by clergy that it's wrong to do, won't they just give in to their lesser selves and shag anyway?
The study, produced by Professor Leslie J. Francis from the University of Wales, found that only a handful of boys attending non-faith-based schools overwhelmingly believe that sex before the age of consent (not to mention marriage) was immoral vs. the nearly three-fourths of boys who attend Christian schools. The study also found that 62 percent of the boys surveyed believed that porn was too available in society, and that 73 percent disapproved of abortion under any circumstances. 13,000 boys participated in the survey, all aged 13-15 years old.
This type of statistical data defies the likes of the girl I rode with on the train from New York to Washington, D.C., just days ago. The young woman, we'll call her Tina, spent close to three hours explaining to me that as a future medical practitioner – and someone who would take great pride in providing abortions and condoms to women – she did not believe kids could be convinced to just not "do it."
Tina had traveled abroad and had spent some time in Uganda where the work of abstinence groups had seen quite effective drops in the rates of the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. She was curious to now actually be sitting next to someone who also believed in abstinence. She asked me about my belief and what it was about the abstinence message that seemed to work.
My response was simple. Kids want to know the truth. Tell them what's truly at stake (like STD's, HIV and death) in risky behavior (like sex before marriage, or infidelity afterward). Tell them what works (like abstaining until marriage and remaining faithful until death). And then encourage them to do it.
It was like someone had turned a light on for her. I thought it was pretty simple. But I guess I underestimated just how much the "give 'em a condom, cause their gonna do it anyway" message has penetrated the public conscience.
I received my copy of Ben Shapiro's new book today, titled "Porn Generation." It deals in pretty graphic detail with the kinds of things the "give 'em a condom" mentality is bringing to our kids. I haven't finished it yet, but I now know new terms like "sexiling" and "dormcest." (And for you moms and dads who have kids going to well-known "good schools" like UCLA and Harvard, it is just as bad as those words sound.) Ben also deals with the reality that if kids speak up against such behavior, often they receive the scorn that used to be reserved for people behaving badly.
One example too recent for Shapiro's book (which you need to buy, read, and pass on to a friend) came this week from the City University of New York, where a Brooklyn professor called Christians "moral retards." (Whatever happened to liberal political correctness where we don't use the word retard anymore?)
So back to my new friend Tina on the train ... she turns and asks me, "Don't you think that simply teaching kids to say no puts them in greater danger?"
My answer was, "No!"
My theory is kids will give us back what we expect of them. Educating young men in sound logical and moral standards has led Professor Francis to some very telling conclusions. The biggest of which may be that they just might live up to it.
I sure hope that future generations will be able to overcome the very low expectation that the liberals of our society pronounce over them when they say "they're just gonna do it anyway."
And evidently a good number of them in Christian schools already have.
WorldNetDaily: The secret lives of Christian school boys
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Indoctinating children in Islam to promote 'multi-racial harmony.'
Dhimmi Watch: UK Kids to get Islam Lessons
From the UK Muslim News, 'Borough kids first to get Muslim lessons'
STOCKPORT schoolchildren will be the first in the country to take part in a project to breed multi-racial harmony.
Council education bosses have teamed up with the Muslim Council of Britain to use new resource packs supporting the teaching of Islam in primary schools.
The initiative was launched at Cheadle Muslim association Community Centre and Mosque, Wilmslow Road, Heald Green, yesterday (Tuesday) and will now be rolled out across the borough.
Although it is a nationwide project Stockport was chosen for the launch after becoming the first area to use the resource packs.
Councillor John Pantall, executive member for diversity strategy, said: "If we can get to pupils at an early age we hope they can grow up understanding other cultures and religions and without prejudice.
"There is a great deal of ignorance about major faiths, resulting in dangerous and destructive myths. The use of the new materials will help develop understanding and encourage community cohesion throughout Stockport.
“This is part of having a forward thinking education department and prevention of a problem rather than cure.”
The resource packs were developed by the Muslim Council for Key Stage 1 (seven-year-olds) and Key Stage Two (11-year-olds). They contain books, CDs, videos and Islamic artefacts, which cover Muslim beliefs and practices...
Dhimmi Watch: UK Kids to get Islam Lessons
From the UK Muslim News, 'Borough kids first to get Muslim lessons'
STOCKPORT schoolchildren will be the first in the country to take part in a project to breed multi-racial harmony.
Council education bosses have teamed up with the Muslim Council of Britain to use new resource packs supporting the teaching of Islam in primary schools.
The initiative was launched at Cheadle Muslim association Community Centre and Mosque, Wilmslow Road, Heald Green, yesterday (Tuesday) and will now be rolled out across the borough.
Although it is a nationwide project Stockport was chosen for the launch after becoming the first area to use the resource packs.
Councillor John Pantall, executive member for diversity strategy, said: "If we can get to pupils at an early age we hope they can grow up understanding other cultures and religions and without prejudice.
"There is a great deal of ignorance about major faiths, resulting in dangerous and destructive myths. The use of the new materials will help develop understanding and encourage community cohesion throughout Stockport.
“This is part of having a forward thinking education department and prevention of a problem rather than cure.”
The resource packs were developed by the Muslim Council for Key Stage 1 (seven-year-olds) and Key Stage Two (11-year-olds). They contain books, CDs, videos and Islamic artefacts, which cover Muslim beliefs and practices...
Dhimmi Watch: UK Kids to get Islam Lessons
Going back to the basics of Christianity
Dr. Jack Chinn
Considering the lack of understanding by many people concerning the spiritual side of man, reveals there is a need of returning to some basic tenets of the Christian faith. Today's generation, by and large, is only nominally Christian for the reason many people still do not accept the Bible as the word of God. Young people are being taught to demand factual scientific evidences of its divine inspiration.
Thus, without a spiritual experience they are notable to reason that faith in God comes by hearing of the word of God which is found in the Bible. It stands to reason that the antichrist spirit that is in the world would attack the truth of that which is the basis of our faith in God. If their parents have not encouraged them to believe the Bible's truths, they will wither under the scornful, mocking criticism and disbelief of atheistic educators, who consider the Bible as a "myth full of legendary fables and superstitions that were written by individuals who are both unreliable and unscientific, and consequently outdated."
The Christian faith has added far more value for the human soul than Evolution's theory of life's beginning and subsequent "missing link", which is nothing more than imaginative speculation, fraud, and an uneven playing field on public institutions that allows its theories to go unchallenged while denying the free discourse of Christian scholar's rebuttals of their postulations. Christianity is at least built upon an actual Person of recorded history.
Yet, in spite of the absence of the "missing link" that is still missing, most of the fossil evidence cannot substantiate the claims made, especially since DNA has proven that what was claimed as a prehistoric bird fossil was actually a turkey bone, a proof that science is being used sensibly against speculations presented as facts.
Johnathan Wells in his book entitled "Icons of Evolution Science or Myth?" states, the following, "Clearly, biology students are being taught materialistic philosophy in the guise of empirical science." With this type of influence on the gullible, one can imagine the difficulties it poses in stimulating a faith in God. Logical reasoning deduces that the scientific method can never put faith, the human spirit, and God's Spirit under a microscope for examination.
The competition of modem entertainment's effects upon youth reveals they know more about the lives of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley than they will ever know about Jesus Christ's. The human heroes they worship are as spiritually lost as themselves--not because they cannot be saved, but because they do not know how to be saved.. They have difficulty believing because the antichrist spirit has them under its spell, which only faith in a greater supernatural power can break. That is why one needs to start with a simple faith in the premise that God is the basis of our reason for being, and let His Spirit prove it.
Dr. Harry Rimmer, a renowned scientist, once pointed out that discussions concerning "the creation or first cause" are fruitless if a vital law of logic is disregarded or violated. So, as Dr. Harris Gregg thoughtfully reasoned "it is a simple matter to discuss problems of origin with any person who has in his philosophy and logic an 'A' and a 'Z.' For example, a person's mind cannot reason at a point prior to the beginning of his 'A.' Thus, we start with something at the 'A' point of logic and it stops at the 'Z' point of the future, beyond which the mind cannot with clarity continue. Without an 'A' and 'Z' understanding in any discussion, the reasoning can only go around in circles.
Therefore, the first fundamental of the Christian faith is "that God is a person" which is universally conceded by everyone except the fool who has said in his heart, "there is no God." (Psalm 14: 1)
The factual basis of faith is in the written records of the creation of the universe, the origins of the human race, redemption of family life, the corruption of society, the nations, God's dealings with sin, and the salvation of man through Christ, all of these records have been supernaturally preserved through the ages. Biblical truth has been challenged in every conceivable manner, but it has withstood the attacks throughout the centuries, and still stands today recognized as God's method of revealing to man the who, where, what, when and how regarding man's created past, present, and future.
Scientists basically agree that whatever occupies space constitutes the substance of the physical universe. Everything that man can observe, touch, and feel is "matter." In other words, the earth, the sea, the sun, the stars, the breeze that stirs the air. He is able to observe all of those elements and objects, but he can only feel the heat of the sun, the cooling of the breeze, but can breathe its air, and actually touch the elements of water.
What is matter? The word is derived from the Latin "mater" or "mother." To many scientists, this is their god. They accept organic evolution without any evidence to explain its origin. In blind faith, they begin with a primeval something that once existed then imagine what evolved from fossils, chemical elements, or energy.
There are realities that are outside of science's capacity to examine and establish results based upon any scientific method, such as the mystery of God's spirit. God is a spirit who gave man a spirit or personality. Men seek to probe a man's person or spirit, yet, he cannot probe his own, but he knows it has substance. Man cannot probe God. He is not a material being. He is not to be apprehended by physical means. Yet, personality is ascribed to God in the scriptures. His attributes are identified from Genesis to Revelation. He repents, grieves, is angered, is jealous, loves, and hates which can only indicate personality and, in turn, is a substance. He declared. "I AM that I AM." Or "I AM, I Was, and I Shall Be." He condemned man to death for his sin of unbelief, then provided the sacrifice of the lives of animals to atone for that sin in order to save man from death, or eternal separation. Why is blood involved? Because "the life of the soul is in the flesh (Lev. 17: 11 ) and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22)."
The record of the old Covenant God made to man was temporary by requiring the sacrifice of an animal's life to atone for his sins.
The record of the new covenant was permanent and provided a once-for-all sacrifice when God's son kinned or related Himself to man as flesh, and then became the sacrifice Himself for all men born of flesh.
To fully understand this is impossible unless a supernatural event occurs in an individual's life. This is described in John 3:16; "except you are born again," or renewed in spirit from above, it cannot be understood nor attained unless faith in God is manifested by one's act of faith. Then God honors that faith by imparting His Holy Spirit.
The Lord stands at the door of one's heart and knocks (in other words He initiates the action, but the door only opens inward, if it is acknowledged and answered. If it is, at that instant a spiritual transformation occurs which has been experienced by millions upon millions of beings reborn anew by the mysterious implant of God's Spirit into human souls.
Neither the natural man, nor the scientists with all of their technological skills and instruments can explain this transformation of the soul and its effect upon values and personality.
Some have a belief that God created original matter, established the universe with its natural laws, and then left it to nature to operate, but are not willing to concede there will be a spiritual change in personality.
Creationists believe the Bible is God's record preserved for man not only to explain his origin, but also his destiny. Hebrews 11: 3 states, "By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made with things which do appear."
Faith is, "that which enables us to treat as real the things that are unseen."
The above scripture text is a profound paradoxical statement, but it takes no greater faith than that of the evolutionist who ignores the of his fossils.
The apostle John gave us the only valid reason for the recording of what is revealed in the Scriptures [John 20:3 1 ],
"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."
Oroville Mercury Register - Local
Considering the lack of understanding by many people concerning the spiritual side of man, reveals there is a need of returning to some basic tenets of the Christian faith. Today's generation, by and large, is only nominally Christian for the reason many people still do not accept the Bible as the word of God. Young people are being taught to demand factual scientific evidences of its divine inspiration.
Thus, without a spiritual experience they are notable to reason that faith in God comes by hearing of the word of God which is found in the Bible. It stands to reason that the antichrist spirit that is in the world would attack the truth of that which is the basis of our faith in God. If their parents have not encouraged them to believe the Bible's truths, they will wither under the scornful, mocking criticism and disbelief of atheistic educators, who consider the Bible as a "myth full of legendary fables and superstitions that were written by individuals who are both unreliable and unscientific, and consequently outdated."
The Christian faith has added far more value for the human soul than Evolution's theory of life's beginning and subsequent "missing link", which is nothing more than imaginative speculation, fraud, and an uneven playing field on public institutions that allows its theories to go unchallenged while denying the free discourse of Christian scholar's rebuttals of their postulations. Christianity is at least built upon an actual Person of recorded history.
Yet, in spite of the absence of the "missing link" that is still missing, most of the fossil evidence cannot substantiate the claims made, especially since DNA has proven that what was claimed as a prehistoric bird fossil was actually a turkey bone, a proof that science is being used sensibly against speculations presented as facts.
Johnathan Wells in his book entitled "Icons of Evolution Science or Myth?" states, the following, "Clearly, biology students are being taught materialistic philosophy in the guise of empirical science." With this type of influence on the gullible, one can imagine the difficulties it poses in stimulating a faith in God. Logical reasoning deduces that the scientific method can never put faith, the human spirit, and God's Spirit under a microscope for examination.
The competition of modem entertainment's effects upon youth reveals they know more about the lives of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley than they will ever know about Jesus Christ's. The human heroes they worship are as spiritually lost as themselves--not because they cannot be saved, but because they do not know how to be saved.. They have difficulty believing because the antichrist spirit has them under its spell, which only faith in a greater supernatural power can break. That is why one needs to start with a simple faith in the premise that God is the basis of our reason for being, and let His Spirit prove it.
Dr. Harry Rimmer, a renowned scientist, once pointed out that discussions concerning "the creation or first cause" are fruitless if a vital law of logic is disregarded or violated. So, as Dr. Harris Gregg thoughtfully reasoned "it is a simple matter to discuss problems of origin with any person who has in his philosophy and logic an 'A' and a 'Z.' For example, a person's mind cannot reason at a point prior to the beginning of his 'A.' Thus, we start with something at the 'A' point of logic and it stops at the 'Z' point of the future, beyond which the mind cannot with clarity continue. Without an 'A' and 'Z' understanding in any discussion, the reasoning can only go around in circles.
Therefore, the first fundamental of the Christian faith is "that God is a person" which is universally conceded by everyone except the fool who has said in his heart, "there is no God." (Psalm 14: 1)
The factual basis of faith is in the written records of the creation of the universe, the origins of the human race, redemption of family life, the corruption of society, the nations, God's dealings with sin, and the salvation of man through Christ, all of these records have been supernaturally preserved through the ages. Biblical truth has been challenged in every conceivable manner, but it has withstood the attacks throughout the centuries, and still stands today recognized as God's method of revealing to man the who, where, what, when and how regarding man's created past, present, and future.
Scientists basically agree that whatever occupies space constitutes the substance of the physical universe. Everything that man can observe, touch, and feel is "matter." In other words, the earth, the sea, the sun, the stars, the breeze that stirs the air. He is able to observe all of those elements and objects, but he can only feel the heat of the sun, the cooling of the breeze, but can breathe its air, and actually touch the elements of water.
What is matter? The word is derived from the Latin "mater" or "mother." To many scientists, this is their god. They accept organic evolution without any evidence to explain its origin. In blind faith, they begin with a primeval something that once existed then imagine what evolved from fossils, chemical elements, or energy.
There are realities that are outside of science's capacity to examine and establish results based upon any scientific method, such as the mystery of God's spirit. God is a spirit who gave man a spirit or personality. Men seek to probe a man's person or spirit, yet, he cannot probe his own, but he knows it has substance. Man cannot probe God. He is not a material being. He is not to be apprehended by physical means. Yet, personality is ascribed to God in the scriptures. His attributes are identified from Genesis to Revelation. He repents, grieves, is angered, is jealous, loves, and hates which can only indicate personality and, in turn, is a substance. He declared. "I AM that I AM." Or "I AM, I Was, and I Shall Be." He condemned man to death for his sin of unbelief, then provided the sacrifice of the lives of animals to atone for that sin in order to save man from death, or eternal separation. Why is blood involved? Because "the life of the soul is in the flesh (Lev. 17: 11 ) and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22)."
The record of the old Covenant God made to man was temporary by requiring the sacrifice of an animal's life to atone for his sins.
The record of the new covenant was permanent and provided a once-for-all sacrifice when God's son kinned or related Himself to man as flesh, and then became the sacrifice Himself for all men born of flesh.
To fully understand this is impossible unless a supernatural event occurs in an individual's life. This is described in John 3:16; "except you are born again," or renewed in spirit from above, it cannot be understood nor attained unless faith in God is manifested by one's act of faith. Then God honors that faith by imparting His Holy Spirit.
The Lord stands at the door of one's heart and knocks (in other words He initiates the action, but the door only opens inward, if it is acknowledged and answered. If it is, at that instant a spiritual transformation occurs which has been experienced by millions upon millions of beings reborn anew by the mysterious implant of God's Spirit into human souls.
Neither the natural man, nor the scientists with all of their technological skills and instruments can explain this transformation of the soul and its effect upon values and personality.
Some have a belief that God created original matter, established the universe with its natural laws, and then left it to nature to operate, but are not willing to concede there will be a spiritual change in personality.
Creationists believe the Bible is God's record preserved for man not only to explain his origin, but also his destiny. Hebrews 11: 3 states, "By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made with things which do appear."
Faith is, "that which enables us to treat as real the things that are unseen."
The above scripture text is a profound paradoxical statement, but it takes no greater faith than that of the evolutionist who ignores the of his fossils.
The apostle John gave us the only valid reason for the recording of what is revealed in the Scriptures [John 20:3 1 ],
"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."
Oroville Mercury Register - Local
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Go Forth and Replicate
The age of human cloning has arrived.
by Eric Cohen
05/30/2005, Volume 010, Issue 35
CONSCIENCE IS A SLIPPERY THING. In 2001, during the first few months of the Bush presidency, America engaged in a debate about the ethics of embryo research. The policy question was narrow: Should the federal government use public funds to support stem cell research that involves embryo destruction? But everyone knew that the issue was actually much larger--about whether we should be the kind of country that uses some (nascent) lives to benefit others, the kind of country that plunges ahead in revolutionary new areas of biotechnology without establishing clear moral limits.
Research advocates made their case by saying that thousands of embryos in fertilization clinics were "going to die anyway," and that of course no one was suggesting we create human embryos solely for research. The ethical argument was unconvincing--being destined to die hardly turns human beings into things, otherwise no one would feel safe in a nursing home. But at least the research advocates endorsed the notion that there was a line they did not want us to cross.
Today, most advocates of embryonic stem cell research offer no limits and seem to accept no compromises. Last week, a team of South Korean and American researchers announced a successful experiment: They had created scores of cloned human embryos that they then destroyed to produce 11 stem cell lines. So we have truly entered the age of human cloning. Any competent team of researchers in a laboratory anywhere in the world can now create cloned human embryos to the blastocyst stage--and then try to implant them in efforts to initiate a pregnancy. If they fail, they can--and some will--try and try again. To be sure, there will be many grotesque failures along the way to cloned babies--just as there were when Dolly the cloned sheep was created. And the children who make it to birth will inevitably suffer deformities and health problems. But the first cloned child is coming soon, and with it a new, terrible moment in the history of modern science.
In America, there are currently no prohibitions and no limits on human cloning. There are no limits on the creation and destruction of human embryos. There are no limits on the implantation of human embryos into animal wombs to generate fetuses for spare parts. There are no limits on the creation of man-animal hybrids using animal sperm and human eggs or human sperm and animal eggs. There are no real ethical limits on anything.
This week, the House of Representatives will likely vote on a bill (sponsored by Delaware Republican Mike Castle and Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette) to provide federal funding for research involving the destruction of embryos left over in fertility clinics. Castle-DeGette is being sold as a moderate measure--very strange, because the current funding policy is already so moderate. Embryo research proceeds in the private sector; many avenues of stem cell research are funded by the government; but those citizens who believe embryo destruction is a grave evil are not forced to be directly complicit in this activity.
The Castle-DeGette bill is also strange because any imagined federal funding in this area would be tiny compared with the $3 billion California has already made available for this research. And it is strange because the loudest advocates for funding research on "spare" embryos are also the loudest advocates for advancing research involving the creation and destruction of cloned human embryos for research.
Go Forth and Replicate
by Eric Cohen
05/30/2005, Volume 010, Issue 35
CONSCIENCE IS A SLIPPERY THING. In 2001, during the first few months of the Bush presidency, America engaged in a debate about the ethics of embryo research. The policy question was narrow: Should the federal government use public funds to support stem cell research that involves embryo destruction? But everyone knew that the issue was actually much larger--about whether we should be the kind of country that uses some (nascent) lives to benefit others, the kind of country that plunges ahead in revolutionary new areas of biotechnology without establishing clear moral limits.
Research advocates made their case by saying that thousands of embryos in fertilization clinics were "going to die anyway," and that of course no one was suggesting we create human embryos solely for research. The ethical argument was unconvincing--being destined to die hardly turns human beings into things, otherwise no one would feel safe in a nursing home. But at least the research advocates endorsed the notion that there was a line they did not want us to cross.
Today, most advocates of embryonic stem cell research offer no limits and seem to accept no compromises. Last week, a team of South Korean and American researchers announced a successful experiment: They had created scores of cloned human embryos that they then destroyed to produce 11 stem cell lines. So we have truly entered the age of human cloning. Any competent team of researchers in a laboratory anywhere in the world can now create cloned human embryos to the blastocyst stage--and then try to implant them in efforts to initiate a pregnancy. If they fail, they can--and some will--try and try again. To be sure, there will be many grotesque failures along the way to cloned babies--just as there were when Dolly the cloned sheep was created. And the children who make it to birth will inevitably suffer deformities and health problems. But the first cloned child is coming soon, and with it a new, terrible moment in the history of modern science.
In America, there are currently no prohibitions and no limits on human cloning. There are no limits on the creation and destruction of human embryos. There are no limits on the implantation of human embryos into animal wombs to generate fetuses for spare parts. There are no limits on the creation of man-animal hybrids using animal sperm and human eggs or human sperm and animal eggs. There are no real ethical limits on anything.
This week, the House of Representatives will likely vote on a bill (sponsored by Delaware Republican Mike Castle and Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette) to provide federal funding for research involving the destruction of embryos left over in fertility clinics. Castle-DeGette is being sold as a moderate measure--very strange, because the current funding policy is already so moderate. Embryo research proceeds in the private sector; many avenues of stem cell research are funded by the government; but those citizens who believe embryo destruction is a grave evil are not forced to be directly complicit in this activity.
The Castle-DeGette bill is also strange because any imagined federal funding in this area would be tiny compared with the $3 billion California has already made available for this research. And it is strange because the loudest advocates for funding research on "spare" embryos are also the loudest advocates for advancing research involving the creation and destruction of cloned human embryos for research.
Go Forth and Replicate
Friday, May 27, 2005
Oprah: Daytime Talk’s Jihadi Sister
May 25, 2005
By Debbie Schlussel
Oprah is the affable Joseph Goebbels of daytime talk . . . of chick magazines . . . of Oprah seminars—and every other medium in which the self-anointed high priestess of the religion of Oprah has her hands.
Through all of these, Oprah preaches “how to be your best self” and “live your best life.”
Unfortunately, a predilection for radical Islam and excusing terrorists is a prominent element of Oprah’s “best self.”
Read more here...
Debbie Schlussel
Full article:
Oprah: Daytime Talk’s Jihadi Sister
May 25, 2005
By Debbie Schlussel
Ann Coulter says Katie Couric is “the affable Eva Braun” of daytime TV.
But Couric’s got nothing on Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah is the affable Joseph Goebbels of daytime talk . . . of chick magazines . . . of Oprah seminars—and every other medium in which the self-anointed high priestess of the religion of Oprah has her hands.
Through all of these, Oprah preaches “how to be your best self” and “live your best life.” Unfortunately, a predilection for radical Islam and excusing terrorists is a prominent element of Oprah’s “best self.”
Cheating husbands don’t get off as easy as Islamic terrorists, murderers, and torturers in Winfrey’s world.
Take “O” Magazine, Oprah’s monthly print version of self-conceit. Like every other month, the cover of the June issue of “O” features Oprah—for the gazillionth time. Unfortunately, also for the gazillionth time, the inside of the glossy mag features Oprah’s unique brand of understanding and empathy for terrorists and radical Islam.
Last month, Oprah’s “O” asked readers to understand “The Heart of a Destroyer,” Mohammed Atta. You remember him—the Al-Qaeda ringleader of the 9/11 hijackers who murdered 3,000 Americans.
But that’s not exactly the way “O”’s “reading room” wants you to remember him.
Beneath a picture of young Mohammed and his smiling sister on the Egyptian beach, “O” exhorts you to read a book that “sets out to understand the hearts and minds of the men behind the photos” of the 9/11 hijackers, a group of “lonely, exiled young men.”
But the fatherless and motherless children who lost their parents to Atta—they aren’t lonely, are they?
The book, “O” tells us, “is a simultaneously passionate, compassionate, and dispassionate book that [doesn’t] indict Islam.” Just what we need—the CEO of the Oprah Book Club urging America’s women to have compassion for Mohammed Atta. On the next Oprah, “Stupid Talk Show Hosts and the Terrorists Who Love Them.” (Or is that, “Brave Terrorists and the Stupid Talk Show Hosts Who Love Them”?)
I think Stedman’s starting to get jealous.
To add insult to injury, the latest issue, “O”'s June 2005 edition, demands that we understand the pain and turmoil of Yusra Abdu, a teen-age Palestinian would-be homicide bomber, fiancée of Hani Akad, leader of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group. Akad’s group, funded by Libya (one of “O” Mag’s “Five Places to See in Your Lifetime”), murdered 27 children and injured 134 when they attacked a Jewish school in Ma’a lot, Israel. Note the map of hate and swastika in the group’s May 22, 2005 Syrian-based newsletter.
But in Oprah’s world, Muslims aren’t terrorists, and terrorists aren’t Muslim (more on that, below). Instead, “O” calls Akad “a charismatic and young rebel.” “O” describes the cold-blooded, hateful Abdu and Akad as “a Shakespearean tragedy.” Yes, in Oprah’s world, Islamic terrorists aren’t terrorists. They’re James Deans, Romeos, and Juliets.
And it’s not their fault that they’re homicide bombers. Or Islam’s fault. “O” quotes Saudi-funded Islam apologist John Esposito blaming not Islam, but the desperate “context” of their lives. Reality: Most Palestinian homicide bombers, like the 9/11 hijackers, come from wealthy families, but they hate Jews, Christians, and Americans. That’s the “context.”
Incredibly, super-heroine Oprah calls this psychobabble-ish, understanding-the-world’s-Islamic-terrorists sob-story, “Rescuing the World’s Girls, Part Five.” And some people actually have the nerve to say Savioratrix Oprah is conceited.
And what is Oprah’s solution? That’s easy. Donate to Oprah’s Angel Network, “which is awarding a grant to one or more programs that work to prevent Palestinian children from becoming suicide bombers. No thanks. Or donate to UNICEF, “which runs summer camps and trauma programs for Palestinian children.” No, actually, UNICEF helps UNRWA (both UN agencies) propagandize future Islamic terrorists from cradle to grave.
What about Israeli children’s trauma? How about donating to some Israeli children who are victims of Palestinian terror and need prosthetic limbs, even face implants—because half of their faces were blown off at the Dolfinarium Disco in Tel Aviv? Not a word about them in “O.” They simply don’t exist.
Oprah’s agenda isn’t new. Her unique understanding of Islamic terrorists is manifest in:
A post-9/11 “Islam 101” show —a pandering presentation featuring Jordanian Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. Rania claimed she doesn’t have to wear a hijab head-covering and that honor-killings of raped women doesn’t really happen in her country. Of course it doesn’t, since “her country” is a swanky Fifth Avenue New York apartment in the US, where she mostly lives.
A September 2004 show, discussing the terrorist massacre of children in Beslan, Russia, on which Oprah banned the use of the word Islamic, saying the terrorists “came from the mountains.” (Okay, so they were Mountainese terrorists, not Islamic ones.) Oprah stated that the Beslan massacre was “a watershed because terrorists never before killed children.” Remember those murdered Jewish kids in Ma’alot (and throughout Israel) by the DFLP? I’m sure they’d disagree with the “Queen of Daytime Talk.” If they were still around.
An episode on which a guest claimed Jews practice ritual sacrifices of babies. Oprah: “I want to make it clear that this is one Jewish person, so don’t go around now, saying to people, you know, ‘Those Jewish people, they’re worshipping . . . .’ This is the first time I heard of any Jewish people sacrificing babies, but anyway – so you witnessed the sacrifice?”
Ignoring the mass-murder, rape, torture, and slavery of Black Christians by Sudan’s Arab Muslim government, despite repeatedly teasing a group of Colorado children (who bought some Black Christian slaves’ freedom) that they’d be on her show. She told them the issue was “too complicated.”
Refusing President Bush’s invitation to serve our country by touring Afghani girls’ schools on his behalf. The normally vocal Oprah had “The View’s” Star Jones speak on her behalf, saying the Bush White House “used” her.
Repeated fundraising for “Women to Women, International,” a Muslim women’s charity that claims it stops honor killings, but whose spokeswoman denies that honor killings have anything to do with Islam. Right.
Over the past year, Oprah and her publicity team have pushed Oprah’s latest weight loss—to loud, gushy media acclaim. Oprah, girlfriend, if only you could have gained the weight of a conscience.
The next time we need someone to “Rescue the World’s Girls,” keep Oprah out of it.
By Debbie Schlussel
Oprah is the affable Joseph Goebbels of daytime talk . . . of chick magazines . . . of Oprah seminars—and every other medium in which the self-anointed high priestess of the religion of Oprah has her hands.
Through all of these, Oprah preaches “how to be your best self” and “live your best life.”
Unfortunately, a predilection for radical Islam and excusing terrorists is a prominent element of Oprah’s “best self.”
Read more here...
Debbie Schlussel
Full article:
Oprah: Daytime Talk’s Jihadi Sister
May 25, 2005
By Debbie Schlussel
Ann Coulter says Katie Couric is “the affable Eva Braun” of daytime TV.
But Couric’s got nothing on Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah is the affable Joseph Goebbels of daytime talk . . . of chick magazines . . . of Oprah seminars—and every other medium in which the self-anointed high priestess of the religion of Oprah has her hands.
Through all of these, Oprah preaches “how to be your best self” and “live your best life.” Unfortunately, a predilection for radical Islam and excusing terrorists is a prominent element of Oprah’s “best self.”
Cheating husbands don’t get off as easy as Islamic terrorists, murderers, and torturers in Winfrey’s world.
Take “O” Magazine, Oprah’s monthly print version of self-conceit. Like every other month, the cover of the June issue of “O” features Oprah—for the gazillionth time. Unfortunately, also for the gazillionth time, the inside of the glossy mag features Oprah’s unique brand of understanding and empathy for terrorists and radical Islam.
Last month, Oprah’s “O” asked readers to understand “The Heart of a Destroyer,” Mohammed Atta. You remember him—the Al-Qaeda ringleader of the 9/11 hijackers who murdered 3,000 Americans.
But that’s not exactly the way “O”’s “reading room” wants you to remember him.
Beneath a picture of young Mohammed and his smiling sister on the Egyptian beach, “O” exhorts you to read a book that “sets out to understand the hearts and minds of the men behind the photos” of the 9/11 hijackers, a group of “lonely, exiled young men.”
But the fatherless and motherless children who lost their parents to Atta—they aren’t lonely, are they?
The book, “O” tells us, “is a simultaneously passionate, compassionate, and dispassionate book that [doesn’t] indict Islam.” Just what we need—the CEO of the Oprah Book Club urging America’s women to have compassion for Mohammed Atta. On the next Oprah, “Stupid Talk Show Hosts and the Terrorists Who Love Them.” (Or is that, “Brave Terrorists and the Stupid Talk Show Hosts Who Love Them”?)
I think Stedman’s starting to get jealous.
To add insult to injury, the latest issue, “O”'s June 2005 edition, demands that we understand the pain and turmoil of Yusra Abdu, a teen-age Palestinian would-be homicide bomber, fiancée of Hani Akad, leader of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group. Akad’s group, funded by Libya (one of “O” Mag’s “Five Places to See in Your Lifetime”), murdered 27 children and injured 134 when they attacked a Jewish school in Ma’a lot, Israel. Note the map of hate and swastika in the group’s May 22, 2005 Syrian-based newsletter.
But in Oprah’s world, Muslims aren’t terrorists, and terrorists aren’t Muslim (more on that, below). Instead, “O” calls Akad “a charismatic and young rebel.” “O” describes the cold-blooded, hateful Abdu and Akad as “a Shakespearean tragedy.” Yes, in Oprah’s world, Islamic terrorists aren’t terrorists. They’re James Deans, Romeos, and Juliets.
And it’s not their fault that they’re homicide bombers. Or Islam’s fault. “O” quotes Saudi-funded Islam apologist John Esposito blaming not Islam, but the desperate “context” of their lives. Reality: Most Palestinian homicide bombers, like the 9/11 hijackers, come from wealthy families, but they hate Jews, Christians, and Americans. That’s the “context.”
Incredibly, super-heroine Oprah calls this psychobabble-ish, understanding-the-world’s-Islamic-terrorists sob-story, “Rescuing the World’s Girls, Part Five.” And some people actually have the nerve to say Savioratrix Oprah is conceited.
And what is Oprah’s solution? That’s easy. Donate to Oprah’s Angel Network, “which is awarding a grant to one or more programs that work to prevent Palestinian children from becoming suicide bombers. No thanks. Or donate to UNICEF, “which runs summer camps and trauma programs for Palestinian children.” No, actually, UNICEF helps UNRWA (both UN agencies) propagandize future Islamic terrorists from cradle to grave.
What about Israeli children’s trauma? How about donating to some Israeli children who are victims of Palestinian terror and need prosthetic limbs, even face implants—because half of their faces were blown off at the Dolfinarium Disco in Tel Aviv? Not a word about them in “O.” They simply don’t exist.
Oprah’s agenda isn’t new. Her unique understanding of Islamic terrorists is manifest in:
A post-9/11 “Islam 101” show —a pandering presentation featuring Jordanian Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. Rania claimed she doesn’t have to wear a hijab head-covering and that honor-killings of raped women doesn’t really happen in her country. Of course it doesn’t, since “her country” is a swanky Fifth Avenue New York apartment in the US, where she mostly lives.
A September 2004 show, discussing the terrorist massacre of children in Beslan, Russia, on which Oprah banned the use of the word Islamic, saying the terrorists “came from the mountains.” (Okay, so they were Mountainese terrorists, not Islamic ones.) Oprah stated that the Beslan massacre was “a watershed because terrorists never before killed children.” Remember those murdered Jewish kids in Ma’alot (and throughout Israel) by the DFLP? I’m sure they’d disagree with the “Queen of Daytime Talk.” If they were still around.
An episode on which a guest claimed Jews practice ritual sacrifices of babies. Oprah: “I want to make it clear that this is one Jewish person, so don’t go around now, saying to people, you know, ‘Those Jewish people, they’re worshipping . . . .’ This is the first time I heard of any Jewish people sacrificing babies, but anyway – so you witnessed the sacrifice?”
Ignoring the mass-murder, rape, torture, and slavery of Black Christians by Sudan’s Arab Muslim government, despite repeatedly teasing a group of Colorado children (who bought some Black Christian slaves’ freedom) that they’d be on her show. She told them the issue was “too complicated.”
Refusing President Bush’s invitation to serve our country by touring Afghani girls’ schools on his behalf. The normally vocal Oprah had “The View’s” Star Jones speak on her behalf, saying the Bush White House “used” her.
Repeated fundraising for “Women to Women, International,” a Muslim women’s charity that claims it stops honor killings, but whose spokeswoman denies that honor killings have anything to do with Islam. Right.
Over the past year, Oprah and her publicity team have pushed Oprah’s latest weight loss—to loud, gushy media acclaim. Oprah, girlfriend, if only you could have gained the weight of a conscience.
The next time we need someone to “Rescue the World’s Girls,” keep Oprah out of it.
Prayer's healing studied
Thu, May 26, 2005
By Matt Conn
Marshfield News-Herald
Some medical research supports what the faithful have long believed - prayer not only can help heal the sick and soothe the spirit, it may also prevent health problems.
Throughout the United States, about 45 percent of the adult population prayed for health in 2002, according to estimates released last year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Whether praying for herself or others, 59-year-old Karen Mitchell, a nurse practitioner at Marshfield Clinic, said a day doesn't go by without it.
"I feel more centered, I think, with it. More sure of my direction," said Mitchell, who is a member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshfield. "I don't make any big decisions without it."
In medical classification, prayer is part of research supported by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health that examines a broad range of therapies and beliefs previously considered separate from traditional medicine, such as prayer, meditation, acupuncture or herbal remedies.
Researchers have unearthed a growing body of evidence linking the body and mind, and through "mind-body medicine," which includes prayer, the NCCAM is continuing to study spirituality and its potential effect on physical mechanisms in combination with traditional medicine.
These methods are not a panacea, according to the NIH. Thus far, various researchers have defined prayer, spirituality and related concepts in different ways, and say that religious practices and their beneficial effect may be a product of stress reduction, which itself produces health benefits, according to the NIH.
But many faithful attribute the benefits of prayer to the hand of God.
"Maybe I'm in a situation where I need help from the outside in what I can do, and when I ask God to help me, God does," said John Freel, senior pastor of the Believers Church in Marshfield. "It's a huge benefit to know that there's someone outside myself that can bring all kind of resources to bear in a situation."
At the church, prayer is encouraged for a vast array of situations, such as for healing, wisdom or simply God's intervention, Freel said.
"When I pray, sometimes God immediately gives me the answer or insight or drops something in my mind to go on," he said. "I know that when I pray, when every Christian talks to God about things, or when you're not a Christian and you talk to God about things, I think it brings peace, love and grace. It helps people feel better."
In a study published this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers found that of 134 adolescents from a suburban high school who completed a questionnaire evaluating spirituality, 89 percent reported a belief in a higher power, and those with spiritual well-being - even if it was not religious - had fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risk-taking behaviors.
Faith can also create a desire to help others.
After several trips to Honduras through Missionary Health Service, Mitchell, of the town of Green Valley said prayer helped her reach a major decision. After a nearly 20-year-long career at the Marshfield Clinic, she has decided to retire and volunteer in Honduras until the spring of 2008.
Mitchell said she had originally been saving for retirement, but will instead use that money to help fund her trip. As a nurse practitioner, she will act as a medical provider for an orphanage, as well as work at a clinic for Missionary Health Service, both about a half hour from Trujillo.
"This is something that I've wanted to do since I was in college," she said. "I was going to do it after I retired in five years, but I just decided that the time was now." "I think my faith plays a big role in this," she said.
Marshfield News Herald - Prayer's healing studied
By Matt Conn
Marshfield News-Herald
Some medical research supports what the faithful have long believed - prayer not only can help heal the sick and soothe the spirit, it may also prevent health problems.
Throughout the United States, about 45 percent of the adult population prayed for health in 2002, according to estimates released last year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Whether praying for herself or others, 59-year-old Karen Mitchell, a nurse practitioner at Marshfield Clinic, said a day doesn't go by without it.
"I feel more centered, I think, with it. More sure of my direction," said Mitchell, who is a member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshfield. "I don't make any big decisions without it."
In medical classification, prayer is part of research supported by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health that examines a broad range of therapies and beliefs previously considered separate from traditional medicine, such as prayer, meditation, acupuncture or herbal remedies.
Researchers have unearthed a growing body of evidence linking the body and mind, and through "mind-body medicine," which includes prayer, the NCCAM is continuing to study spirituality and its potential effect on physical mechanisms in combination with traditional medicine.
These methods are not a panacea, according to the NIH. Thus far, various researchers have defined prayer, spirituality and related concepts in different ways, and say that religious practices and their beneficial effect may be a product of stress reduction, which itself produces health benefits, according to the NIH.
But many faithful attribute the benefits of prayer to the hand of God.
"Maybe I'm in a situation where I need help from the outside in what I can do, and when I ask God to help me, God does," said John Freel, senior pastor of the Believers Church in Marshfield. "It's a huge benefit to know that there's someone outside myself that can bring all kind of resources to bear in a situation."
At the church, prayer is encouraged for a vast array of situations, such as for healing, wisdom or simply God's intervention, Freel said.
"When I pray, sometimes God immediately gives me the answer or insight or drops something in my mind to go on," he said. "I know that when I pray, when every Christian talks to God about things, or when you're not a Christian and you talk to God about things, I think it brings peace, love and grace. It helps people feel better."
In a study published this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers found that of 134 adolescents from a suburban high school who completed a questionnaire evaluating spirituality, 89 percent reported a belief in a higher power, and those with spiritual well-being - even if it was not religious - had fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risk-taking behaviors.
Faith can also create a desire to help others.
After several trips to Honduras through Missionary Health Service, Mitchell, of the town of Green Valley said prayer helped her reach a major decision. After a nearly 20-year-long career at the Marshfield Clinic, she has decided to retire and volunteer in Honduras until the spring of 2008.
Mitchell said she had originally been saving for retirement, but will instead use that money to help fund her trip. As a nurse practitioner, she will act as a medical provider for an orphanage, as well as work at a clinic for Missionary Health Service, both about a half hour from Trujillo.
"This is something that I've wanted to do since I was in college," she said. "I was going to do it after I retired in five years, but I just decided that the time was now." "I think my faith plays a big role in this," she said.
Marshfield News Herald - Prayer's healing studied
‘Scopes Monkey Trial’: authors seek to set record straight
May 26, 2005
By Brooklyn Noel
DAYTON, Tenn. (BP)--Tucked behind towering trees along the quiet main street of Dayton, Tenn., the grand redbrick courthouse once was the setting for a trial that continues to affect worldviews 80 years later.
John Thomas Scopes, a first-year schoolteacher, was prosecuted by the state at the Rhea County Courthouse in July 1925 on charges of teaching evolution in a high school classroom.
The so-called “Scopes Monkey Trial” received international media attention and continues to influence the creation vs. evolution debate more than three-quarters of a century later.
"It’s not the trial, but the distortion of the trial that had an impact," said Marvin Olasky, coauthor of a new book, “Monkey Business,” that seeks to set the record straight to readers whose opinions and stereotypes may be largely based on inaccurate media coverage of the 1925 trial.
"The journalistic coverage led to a stereotype in American life of essentially the smart evolutionist vs. the stupid creationist," said Olasky, editor in chief of World magazine and journalism professor at the University of Texas, Austin.
The Broadman & Holman division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention released the book that Olasky coauthored with John Perry.
Olasky said reporters flocked to the "trial of the century" with mostly selfish agendas.
"Reporters were in a propaganda frame of mind and were looking to promote their religion," he said. "It was a perfect example of how religious and ideological views of reporters strongly influence their coverage."
While researching Monkey Business, the authors examined countless newspaper accounts, conducted interviews with experts and read the official court transcript, which Perry said differs greatly from the story most people know.
"[Monkey Business] gave us the chance to unscramble the misrepresentations of what happened, of what creation science is and who creation scientists are," said Perry, editor of Home and Christian Life Review.
The Scopes trial began as a public relations campaign organized by Dayton town leaders who wanted to boost the town’s economy after a triad of mining accidents had devastated the area.
Town leaders responded to an American Civil Liberties Union advertisement outlining the organization’s desire to challenge Tennessee’s new Butler Act that made it illegal to teach any theory contrary to divine creation. Leaders convinced Scopes to become the defendant even though, as he later wrote in his autobiography, he couldn’t recall ever teaching evolution.
The publicity stunt succeeded initially as about 200 reporters descended on Dayton in July 1925, and stories about the trial made headlines as far away as Japan.
Unfortunately, most of the stories the press generated cast a negative light on Dayton, its residents and creationists in general that still affects public conscience today.
"Their interpretations of events are more familiar today than the events themselves," the authors write in Monkey Business. "The facts of the case have been obscured by half-truths and pure fiction."
Perry and Olasky said they hope the book can rectify 80 years of historical understanding based mostly on the words of opinionated reporters such as H.L. Mencken, a renowned journalist with The Baltimore Sun.
According to Monkey Business, before the trial even began Mencken wrote that "so-called religious organizations which now lead the war against the teaching of evolution are nothing more, at bottom, than conspiracies of the inferior man against his betters."
Olasky said one of the most frustrating assumptions concerning the Scopes trial is that it was a battle of science vs. religion. That mindset implies that beliefs are tied to a person’s level of intelligence.
"The battle then and the battle now is not science vs. religion," Olasky said. "It’s the battle of two religions, of two worldviews. Both views are held by intelligent people.
"It’s not smart against stupid."
Scopes never returned to teaching after a jury found him guilty, but that doesn’t mean classrooms haven’t felt his influence.
Perry said the debate between evolution and creation continues to rage throughout the country because "what you think about where you came from affects everything."
According to a recent Gallup poll, 38 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds believe God created human beings. Forty-three percent believe humans "developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided" the process.
Olasky said those statistics show that schools don’t have much effect on students’ beliefs concerning the origin of man. "There’s a natural human tendency that evidently can’t be beaten out of people that something can’t come out of nothing, and that is essentially what schools are trying to teach."
Perry would like to see Monkey Business used in classrooms as an accurate record of the Scopes trial instead of literature such as the play "Inherit the Wind," which veers greatly from the court transcripts of the case, but often is the only exposure students receive to the trial.
"If you’re educating your children properly, you must present them with all the facts," Perry said. "People need to know they don’t know the truth about the Scopes trial, they don’t know the truth about evolution, they don’t know the truth about creationism."
By Brooklyn Noel
DAYTON, Tenn. (BP)--Tucked behind towering trees along the quiet main street of Dayton, Tenn., the grand redbrick courthouse once was the setting for a trial that continues to affect worldviews 80 years later.
John Thomas Scopes, a first-year schoolteacher, was prosecuted by the state at the Rhea County Courthouse in July 1925 on charges of teaching evolution in a high school classroom.
The so-called “Scopes Monkey Trial” received international media attention and continues to influence the creation vs. evolution debate more than three-quarters of a century later.
"It’s not the trial, but the distortion of the trial that had an impact," said Marvin Olasky, coauthor of a new book, “Monkey Business,” that seeks to set the record straight to readers whose opinions and stereotypes may be largely based on inaccurate media coverage of the 1925 trial.
"The journalistic coverage led to a stereotype in American life of essentially the smart evolutionist vs. the stupid creationist," said Olasky, editor in chief of World magazine and journalism professor at the University of Texas, Austin.
The Broadman & Holman division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention released the book that Olasky coauthored with John Perry.
Olasky said reporters flocked to the "trial of the century" with mostly selfish agendas.
"Reporters were in a propaganda frame of mind and were looking to promote their religion," he said. "It was a perfect example of how religious and ideological views of reporters strongly influence their coverage."
While researching Monkey Business, the authors examined countless newspaper accounts, conducted interviews with experts and read the official court transcript, which Perry said differs greatly from the story most people know.
"[Monkey Business] gave us the chance to unscramble the misrepresentations of what happened, of what creation science is and who creation scientists are," said Perry, editor of Home and Christian Life Review.
The Scopes trial began as a public relations campaign organized by Dayton town leaders who wanted to boost the town’s economy after a triad of mining accidents had devastated the area.
Town leaders responded to an American Civil Liberties Union advertisement outlining the organization’s desire to challenge Tennessee’s new Butler Act that made it illegal to teach any theory contrary to divine creation. Leaders convinced Scopes to become the defendant even though, as he later wrote in his autobiography, he couldn’t recall ever teaching evolution.
The publicity stunt succeeded initially as about 200 reporters descended on Dayton in July 1925, and stories about the trial made headlines as far away as Japan.
Unfortunately, most of the stories the press generated cast a negative light on Dayton, its residents and creationists in general that still affects public conscience today.
"Their interpretations of events are more familiar today than the events themselves," the authors write in Monkey Business. "The facts of the case have been obscured by half-truths and pure fiction."
Perry and Olasky said they hope the book can rectify 80 years of historical understanding based mostly on the words of opinionated reporters such as H.L. Mencken, a renowned journalist with The Baltimore Sun.
According to Monkey Business, before the trial even began Mencken wrote that "so-called religious organizations which now lead the war against the teaching of evolution are nothing more, at bottom, than conspiracies of the inferior man against his betters."
Olasky said one of the most frustrating assumptions concerning the Scopes trial is that it was a battle of science vs. religion. That mindset implies that beliefs are tied to a person’s level of intelligence.
"The battle then and the battle now is not science vs. religion," Olasky said. "It’s the battle of two religions, of two worldviews. Both views are held by intelligent people.
"It’s not smart against stupid."
Scopes never returned to teaching after a jury found him guilty, but that doesn’t mean classrooms haven’t felt his influence.
Perry said the debate between evolution and creation continues to rage throughout the country because "what you think about where you came from affects everything."
According to a recent Gallup poll, 38 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds believe God created human beings. Forty-three percent believe humans "developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided" the process.
Olasky said those statistics show that schools don’t have much effect on students’ beliefs concerning the origin of man. "There’s a natural human tendency that evidently can’t be beaten out of people that something can’t come out of nothing, and that is essentially what schools are trying to teach."
Perry would like to see Monkey Business used in classrooms as an accurate record of the Scopes trial instead of literature such as the play "Inherit the Wind," which veers greatly from the court transcripts of the case, but often is the only exposure students receive to the trial.
"If you’re educating your children properly, you must present them with all the facts," Perry said. "People need to know they don’t know the truth about the Scopes trial, they don’t know the truth about evolution, they don’t know the truth about creationism."
Homeschooler Wins National Geographic Bee
[AP]
A 13-year-old Christian home-schooler from Minnesota has won the 2005 National Geographic Bee in Washington, DC. Nathaniel Cornelius topped young people from across the nation to win a $25,000 college scholarship. It was Cornelius' third straight trip to the national event. He also represented Minnesota in the 2003 and 2004 National Geographic Bees. Cornelius and his family belong to the Marshall Area Christian Home Educators Association. Besides being an expert in geography, Cornelius plays piano and classical guitar and enjoys photography.
News from Agape Press
A 13-year-old Christian home-schooler from Minnesota has won the 2005 National Geographic Bee in Washington, DC. Nathaniel Cornelius topped young people from across the nation to win a $25,000 college scholarship. It was Cornelius' third straight trip to the national event. He also represented Minnesota in the 2003 and 2004 National Geographic Bees. Cornelius and his family belong to the Marshall Area Christian Home Educators Association. Besides being an expert in geography, Cornelius plays piano and classical guitar and enjoys photography.
News from Agape Press
Going to Church May Improve Mental Health
Spirituality Lowers Risk of Substance Abuse, Adds Meaning to Life, Study Shows
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
Thursday, May 26, 2005
People who regularly attend church, synagogue, or other religious services are less likely to suffer from depression and other psychiatric illnesses than those who don't.
Going to church is good for your mental health.
A new survey of nearly 37,000 men and women shows that people who regularly attend church, synagogue, or other religious services are less likely to suffer from depression and other psychiatric illnesses than those who don't.
"The higher the worship frequency, the lower the odds of depression, mania, and panic disorders," says researcher Marilyn Baetz, MD, of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. The findings add to growing evidence that faith may positively affect your mental well-being, she says.
Duke University's Marian Butterfeld, MD, MPH, agrees. "Going to church may be a proxy for social support. And studies show social support is protective against both physical and mental illness."
Spiritual Values May Protect Against Drug Abuse
For the survey, nearly 37,000 people over age 15 were asked how often they attend religious services and to rate, on a scale of 1 to 4, whether their spiritual values help to provide meaning to their lives.
Higher spiritual values seemed to protect against the risk of substance abuse.
Men and women who reported a greater sense of meaning in their lives were significantly less likely to have an alcohol and drug problem, Baetz says.
"Spirituality is dramatically important" to avoiding a destructive pattern of alcohol and drug abuse, she says.
"A psychiatric disorder is a BIG thing," she tells WebMD. "It causes you to search for what's going on, for meaning and significance. Pushed to their limit of their own personal resources, the illness causes people to search for answers outside themselves."
Going to Church May Improve Mental Health
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
Thursday, May 26, 2005
People who regularly attend church, synagogue, or other religious services are less likely to suffer from depression and other psychiatric illnesses than those who don't.
Going to church is good for your mental health.
A new survey of nearly 37,000 men and women shows that people who regularly attend church, synagogue, or other religious services are less likely to suffer from depression and other psychiatric illnesses than those who don't.
"The higher the worship frequency, the lower the odds of depression, mania, and panic disorders," says researcher Marilyn Baetz, MD, of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. The findings add to growing evidence that faith may positively affect your mental well-being, she says.
Duke University's Marian Butterfeld, MD, MPH, agrees. "Going to church may be a proxy for social support. And studies show social support is protective against both physical and mental illness."
Spiritual Values May Protect Against Drug Abuse
For the survey, nearly 37,000 people over age 15 were asked how often they attend religious services and to rate, on a scale of 1 to 4, whether their spiritual values help to provide meaning to their lives.
Higher spiritual values seemed to protect against the risk of substance abuse.
Men and women who reported a greater sense of meaning in their lives were significantly less likely to have an alcohol and drug problem, Baetz says.
"Spirituality is dramatically important" to avoiding a destructive pattern of alcohol and drug abuse, she says.
"A psychiatric disorder is a BIG thing," she tells WebMD. "It causes you to search for what's going on, for meaning and significance. Pushed to their limit of their own personal resources, the illness causes people to search for answers outside themselves."
Going to Church May Improve Mental Health
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Discovery of Complex, Precise DNA Language Points to Intelligent Design of Life
Toronto, May 24, 2005
(LifeSiteNews.com) - Science, seen as the enemy of religious faith for over a hundred years, is now becoming the believer’s best friend. As scientific discoveries continue, the recourse to Darwinian Evolution is becoming more improbable as attested in a recently published article on DNA by Mario Seiglie in the May edition of “The Good News.”
Mr. Seiglie’s article, which compiles evidence from various scientific sources, presents the amazing reality that our DNA is, in essence, the carrier of an intricate and complicated language that could not possibly have come about by random chance. Mr. Seiglie writes that “As scientists began to decode the human DNA molecule, they found something quite unexpected—an exquisite 'language' composed of some 3 billion genetic letters. "One of the most extraordinary discoveries of the twentieth century," says Dr. Stephen Meyer, director of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Wash., "was that DNA actually stores information—the detailed instructions for assembling proteins—in the form of a four-character digital code" (quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 2004, p. 224).”
To put it into layman’s terms “the amount of information in human DNA is roughly equivalent to 12 sets of The Encyclopaedia Britannica—an incredible 384 volumes" worth of detailed information that would fill 48 feet of library shelves!”
At the same time this immense amount of information is contained in a space that is only 2 millionth of a millimeter thick. Quoting molecular biologist Michael Denton, Sieglie explains that a teaspoon of DNA, “could contain all the information needed to build the proteins for all the species of organisms that have ever lived on the earth, and "there would still be enough room left for all the information in every book ever written" (Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, 1996, p. 334).”
Critics of the idea that DNA has its own language fail to consider the fact that, as a language, it is extremely precise. As Mr. Seiglie points out “the average mistake that is not caught turns out to be one error per 10 billion letters. If a mistake occurs in one of the most significant parts of the code, which is in the genes, it can cause a disease such as sickle-cell anemia. Yet even the best and most intelligent typist in the world couldn't come close to making only one mistake per 10 billion letters—far from it.”
Most schools in the developed parts of the world are still using textbooks that present Darwinian evolution as fact. In the United States, however, there is an increasingly vocal push to present Creation Science as an alternate theory. This movement gains credibility as more scientists admit (some reluctantly) that science is disproving Darwinian Evolution. Sieglie refers to just such converted by writing: "As recently as twenty-five years ago," says former atheist Patrick Glynn, "a reasonable person weighing the purely scientific evidence on the issue would likely have come down on the side of skepticism [regarding a Creator]. That is no longer the case." He adds: "Today the concrete data point strongly in the direction of the God hypothesis. It is the simplest and most obvious solution . . ." (God: The Evidence, 1997, pp. 54-55, 53). “
Pro-life supporters are welcoming the information and are eager to see the implications of this growing scientific awareness play out. The three great pseudo-scientific legs to modern thought are falling one by one. Quoting Professor Philip Johnson, Seiglie writes: “Every history of the twentieth century lists three thinkers as preeminent in influence: Darwin, Marx and Freud. All three were regarded as 'scientific' (and hence far more reliable than anything 'religious') in their heyday.
"Yet Marx and Freud have fallen, and even their dwindling bands of followers no longer claim that their insights were based on any methodology remotely comparable to that of experimental science. I am convinced that Darwin is next on the block. His fall will be by far the mightiest of the three" (Johnson, p. 113).
The growing scientific support for the premise of an Intelligent Design to the created Universe, which points to a Creator of all humanity, will give further encouragement to those who champion life issues such as the right to life, as well as authentic and moral bio-ethics.
Full Article:
DNA: The Tiny Code That's Toppling Evolution
Discovery of Complex, Precise DNA Language Points to Intelligent Design of Life
(LifeSiteNews.com) - Science, seen as the enemy of religious faith for over a hundred years, is now becoming the believer’s best friend. As scientific discoveries continue, the recourse to Darwinian Evolution is becoming more improbable as attested in a recently published article on DNA by Mario Seiglie in the May edition of “The Good News.”
Mr. Seiglie’s article, which compiles evidence from various scientific sources, presents the amazing reality that our DNA is, in essence, the carrier of an intricate and complicated language that could not possibly have come about by random chance. Mr. Seiglie writes that “As scientists began to decode the human DNA molecule, they found something quite unexpected—an exquisite 'language' composed of some 3 billion genetic letters. "One of the most extraordinary discoveries of the twentieth century," says Dr. Stephen Meyer, director of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Wash., "was that DNA actually stores information—the detailed instructions for assembling proteins—in the form of a four-character digital code" (quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 2004, p. 224).”
To put it into layman’s terms “the amount of information in human DNA is roughly equivalent to 12 sets of The Encyclopaedia Britannica—an incredible 384 volumes" worth of detailed information that would fill 48 feet of library shelves!”
At the same time this immense amount of information is contained in a space that is only 2 millionth of a millimeter thick. Quoting molecular biologist Michael Denton, Sieglie explains that a teaspoon of DNA, “could contain all the information needed to build the proteins for all the species of organisms that have ever lived on the earth, and "there would still be enough room left for all the information in every book ever written" (Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, 1996, p. 334).”
Critics of the idea that DNA has its own language fail to consider the fact that, as a language, it is extremely precise. As Mr. Seiglie points out “the average mistake that is not caught turns out to be one error per 10 billion letters. If a mistake occurs in one of the most significant parts of the code, which is in the genes, it can cause a disease such as sickle-cell anemia. Yet even the best and most intelligent typist in the world couldn't come close to making only one mistake per 10 billion letters—far from it.”
Most schools in the developed parts of the world are still using textbooks that present Darwinian evolution as fact. In the United States, however, there is an increasingly vocal push to present Creation Science as an alternate theory. This movement gains credibility as more scientists admit (some reluctantly) that science is disproving Darwinian Evolution. Sieglie refers to just such converted by writing: "As recently as twenty-five years ago," says former atheist Patrick Glynn, "a reasonable person weighing the purely scientific evidence on the issue would likely have come down on the side of skepticism [regarding a Creator]. That is no longer the case." He adds: "Today the concrete data point strongly in the direction of the God hypothesis. It is the simplest and most obvious solution . . ." (God: The Evidence, 1997, pp. 54-55, 53). “
Pro-life supporters are welcoming the information and are eager to see the implications of this growing scientific awareness play out. The three great pseudo-scientific legs to modern thought are falling one by one. Quoting Professor Philip Johnson, Seiglie writes: “Every history of the twentieth century lists three thinkers as preeminent in influence: Darwin, Marx and Freud. All three were regarded as 'scientific' (and hence far more reliable than anything 'religious') in their heyday.
"Yet Marx and Freud have fallen, and even their dwindling bands of followers no longer claim that their insights were based on any methodology remotely comparable to that of experimental science. I am convinced that Darwin is next on the block. His fall will be by far the mightiest of the three" (Johnson, p. 113).
The growing scientific support for the premise of an Intelligent Design to the created Universe, which points to a Creator of all humanity, will give further encouragement to those who champion life issues such as the right to life, as well as authentic and moral bio-ethics.
Full Article:
DNA: The Tiny Code That's Toppling Evolution
Discovery of Complex, Precise DNA Language Points to Intelligent Design of Life
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Girl buried alive thanks God for rescue
Officer tells of finding 8-year-old under concrete slabs
Monday, May 23, 2005
An 8-year-old girl was found inside a trash container at a closed landfill.
LAKE WORTH, Florida (CNN) -- An 8-year-old girl who police say was raped and left for dead in a landfill asked for a pastor 'so she could thank God' shortly after her rescue from beneath a pile of stones, her godmother said Monday.
Police said the girl also identified her attacker even before she was removed Sunday from a trash bin at the abandoned South Florida landfill.
"She stated that she wanted a pastor to pray with her so she could thank God for saving her life," Lisa Taylor, the godmother, told CNN. "She's 8 years old. Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever heard?"
Full article at:
CNN.com - Girl buried alive thanks God for rescue - May 23, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
An 8-year-old girl was found inside a trash container at a closed landfill.
LAKE WORTH, Florida (CNN) -- An 8-year-old girl who police say was raped and left for dead in a landfill asked for a pastor 'so she could thank God' shortly after her rescue from beneath a pile of stones, her godmother said Monday.
Police said the girl also identified her attacker even before she was removed Sunday from a trash bin at the abandoned South Florida landfill.
"She stated that she wanted a pastor to pray with her so she could thank God for saving her life," Lisa Taylor, the godmother, told CNN. "She's 8 years old. Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever heard?"
Full article at:
CNN.com - Girl buried alive thanks God for rescue - May 23, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Persecution of Converted Christians in Bangladesh
Christian Group Reveals Persecution of Converted Christians in BangladeshPosted: Monday, May 23 , 2005, 13:11 (UK)
President of Christian Freedom International (CFI), Jim Jacobson has found increasing evidence of persecutions against Christians that are converted from Islam, during his visit to Bangladesh. He urged Bangladeshi authorities to stop such practices.
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam, with approximately 88%, 11% Hindu and the 1% remaining is Buddhism and Christianity. In 1988 Islam became the state religion, but the constitution guarantees all citizens to "to profess, practice or propagate any religion," according to Article 41.
However, the pressure of Islamic fundamentalists has caused the government to make certain restrictions applied to the Christian community. Even when proselyting is not restricted by the law, the social atmosphere allows only Hindus to evangelise openly. As a result, the Christian community is divided into two: visible ones, and invisible ones with converted Muslim members.
Jacobson, during his visit to Bangladesh reported about the cases of two women - Kumkum Roy and Shahanaz Alam, now in hiding, since they converted to Christianity. They cannot go back home, as they face threats from neighbours and pressure of forced marriage and conversion back to Islam.
The cases of these women are not the only ones and as reality has shown, converted Muslims face threats of violence and even death. Jacobson commented on the situation of one of the women: "Kumkum Roy’s situation is all too common in Bangladesh, where women who have converted to Christianity are abducted, beat, raped, and forced to marry and reconvert to Islam."
The police fail when it comes to help people in this kind of situation. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Bangladesh to its Watch list this year as the Bangladeshi government has not taken any steps to change the situation.
Christian Today > Christian Group Reveals Persecution of Converted Christians in Bangladesh
President of Christian Freedom International (CFI), Jim Jacobson has found increasing evidence of persecutions against Christians that are converted from Islam, during his visit to Bangladesh. He urged Bangladeshi authorities to stop such practices.
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam, with approximately 88%, 11% Hindu and the 1% remaining is Buddhism and Christianity. In 1988 Islam became the state religion, but the constitution guarantees all citizens to "to profess, practice or propagate any religion," according to Article 41.
However, the pressure of Islamic fundamentalists has caused the government to make certain restrictions applied to the Christian community. Even when proselyting is not restricted by the law, the social atmosphere allows only Hindus to evangelise openly. As a result, the Christian community is divided into two: visible ones, and invisible ones with converted Muslim members.
Jacobson, during his visit to Bangladesh reported about the cases of two women - Kumkum Roy and Shahanaz Alam, now in hiding, since they converted to Christianity. They cannot go back home, as they face threats from neighbours and pressure of forced marriage and conversion back to Islam.
The cases of these women are not the only ones and as reality has shown, converted Muslims face threats of violence and even death. Jacobson commented on the situation of one of the women: "Kumkum Roy’s situation is all too common in Bangladesh, where women who have converted to Christianity are abducted, beat, raped, and forced to marry and reconvert to Islam."
The police fail when it comes to help people in this kind of situation. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Bangladesh to its Watch list this year as the Bangladeshi government has not taken any steps to change the situation.
Christian Today > Christian Group Reveals Persecution of Converted Christians in Bangladesh
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Lawyer defends intelligent design - York Daily Record
By JOSEPH MALDONADO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News
Sunday, May 22, 2005
'The social implications of Darwinism have been disastrous,' said Richard Thompson, the president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. 'Nazi Germany used Darwin to justify a master race based on the idea that it's survival of the strongest.'
Thompson’s perception that teaching evolution is socially destructive is just one of the reasons why he volunteered to defend the Dover Area School District’s school board and administration against a lawsuit brought against them last December, he said.
Eleven parents sued the district, saying a statement issued by the district to ninth-grade biology students that intended to teach students that there were gaps and problems with Darwinian evolution, was unconstitutional.
The problem, they said, was that the statement also included the mention of “intelligent design theory.”
Intelligent design suggests that life is too complex to have evolved on its own through the process of natural selection, which Darwin conceived. Intelligent design suggests that all living organisms were designed by a supernatural being or entity.
Critics say the “designer” in intelligent design is God in disguise. And while many of the plaintiffs have said they have nothing against God, they do have a problem with religion being taught in a secular classroom funded with taxpayer money that comes from people of all faiths or no faith at all.
A decision made by Dover’s board Oct. 18 authorized a curriculum change that makes specific mention of intelligent design.
Repeatedly since October, board members such as Alan Bonsell, William Buckingham and Sheila Harkins have said intelligent design is legitimate science and has nothing at all to do with God. But if that is true, opponents of the curriculum change ask, then why has Thompson volunteered to defend the board?
Thomas More’s Web site states the group is “dedicated to the defense and promotion of the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values and the sanctity of human life.”
The reason Thompson said he took on the case is because Christians, including himself, support intelligent design.
“And because Christians support it, the ACLU wants it out of the classroom,” Thompson said. “(Thomas More) is like the anti-ACLU.”
Evolution, which is the current state standard for biological science in Pennsylvania, has positive implications for atheists in America, Thompson said. “But anything that has a positive implication for Christians is not OK,” he added. “That’s discrimination.”
When the case comes to trial in mid- to late September, Thompson said, intelligent design’s links to creationism won’t matter because his experts will prove that intelligent design is good science.
“We have credible scientists on both sides of the issue who will say that the one-minute statement does a good service for students,” Thompson said. “The statement has already been read once and the roof didn’t cave in.”
But Vic Walczak, ACLU attorney for the plaintiffs, said Thompson’s got nothing.
“Nothing gets my fires burning faster than the way the ACLU is associated with liberal causes,” he said. “We are defenders of constitutional freedoms for people of all religions, including Christians.”
He cited cases last year in which the ACLU supported an Amish fight for horse and buggy rights in Cambria County, a black church near Pittsburgh that had zoning problems with a local government, and a woman in Beaver County who needed counseling but insisted that it be Christian counseling.
“Thompson said we interfere with the rights of people to worship,” Walczak said. “But the truth is Thomas More, and others like them, are trying to impose their religious views, symbols and prayers on everyone.”
Thompson said that while schools are not allowed to teach origins of life, biblical or otherwise, intelligent design will lead students to wonder where life comes from.
Members of Dover’s school board have said the “designer” could be anything, including an alien.
“But for many, the answer will be God,” Thompson said. “And it’s that connection that certain people have problems with.”
People such as Walczak.
“Once you strip away all the rhetoric you are not left with science,” he said. “You are left with something that closely resembles creationism. And that does not belong in any science classroom.”
Lawyer defends intelligent design - York Daily Record
For the Daily Record/Sunday News
Sunday, May 22, 2005
'The social implications of Darwinism have been disastrous,' said Richard Thompson, the president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. 'Nazi Germany used Darwin to justify a master race based on the idea that it's survival of the strongest.'
Thompson’s perception that teaching evolution is socially destructive is just one of the reasons why he volunteered to defend the Dover Area School District’s school board and administration against a lawsuit brought against them last December, he said.
Eleven parents sued the district, saying a statement issued by the district to ninth-grade biology students that intended to teach students that there were gaps and problems with Darwinian evolution, was unconstitutional.
The problem, they said, was that the statement also included the mention of “intelligent design theory.”
Intelligent design suggests that life is too complex to have evolved on its own through the process of natural selection, which Darwin conceived. Intelligent design suggests that all living organisms were designed by a supernatural being or entity.
Critics say the “designer” in intelligent design is God in disguise. And while many of the plaintiffs have said they have nothing against God, they do have a problem with religion being taught in a secular classroom funded with taxpayer money that comes from people of all faiths or no faith at all.
A decision made by Dover’s board Oct. 18 authorized a curriculum change that makes specific mention of intelligent design.
Repeatedly since October, board members such as Alan Bonsell, William Buckingham and Sheila Harkins have said intelligent design is legitimate science and has nothing at all to do with God. But if that is true, opponents of the curriculum change ask, then why has Thompson volunteered to defend the board?
Thomas More’s Web site states the group is “dedicated to the defense and promotion of the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values and the sanctity of human life.”
The reason Thompson said he took on the case is because Christians, including himself, support intelligent design.
“And because Christians support it, the ACLU wants it out of the classroom,” Thompson said. “(Thomas More) is like the anti-ACLU.”
Evolution, which is the current state standard for biological science in Pennsylvania, has positive implications for atheists in America, Thompson said. “But anything that has a positive implication for Christians is not OK,” he added. “That’s discrimination.”
When the case comes to trial in mid- to late September, Thompson said, intelligent design’s links to creationism won’t matter because his experts will prove that intelligent design is good science.
“We have credible scientists on both sides of the issue who will say that the one-minute statement does a good service for students,” Thompson said. “The statement has already been read once and the roof didn’t cave in.”
But Vic Walczak, ACLU attorney for the plaintiffs, said Thompson’s got nothing.
“Nothing gets my fires burning faster than the way the ACLU is associated with liberal causes,” he said. “We are defenders of constitutional freedoms for people of all religions, including Christians.”
He cited cases last year in which the ACLU supported an Amish fight for horse and buggy rights in Cambria County, a black church near Pittsburgh that had zoning problems with a local government, and a woman in Beaver County who needed counseling but insisted that it be Christian counseling.
“Thompson said we interfere with the rights of people to worship,” Walczak said. “But the truth is Thomas More, and others like them, are trying to impose their religious views, symbols and prayers on everyone.”
Thompson said that while schools are not allowed to teach origins of life, biblical or otherwise, intelligent design will lead students to wonder where life comes from.
Members of Dover’s school board have said the “designer” could be anything, including an alien.
“But for many, the answer will be God,” Thompson said. “And it’s that connection that certain people have problems with.”
People such as Walczak.
“Once you strip away all the rhetoric you are not left with science,” he said. “You are left with something that closely resembles creationism. And that does not belong in any science classroom.”
Lawyer defends intelligent design - York Daily Record
The humanist's blind science
May 21, 2005
WorldNetDaily.com
In the now-famous Scopes trial of 1925, the American Civil Liberties Union defended the teaching of evolution in public schools. True educational freedom, Clarence Darrow argued, requires the teaching of both theistic and naturalistic versions of origin. Any person with a well-rounded education should know the differing views on something as important as the most basic question in the universe.
Now, I don't think for a split second the ACLU in 1925 was nearly so well-intentioned as to simply want academic freedom for all. But the case could be made that a well-educated person should understand the arguments for and against the major theories about how we got here. Building on the momentum started by Scopes, however, the ACLU has fought hard to keep creationism from being taught in America's public schools. With the aid of the National Education Association and other liberal groups, it has been stunningly successful in the censorship of facts and reality. Red-faced and veins bulging, these radical liberals verbally assault conservatives that seek the true educational freedom of teaching both Darwinian evolution and creation.
Since the ACLU and National Education Association have always been supported by prominent humanists, we should not be shocked by their contempt for the creationist worldview. Evolution, as outlined in the Humanist Manifesto I, II and 2000, is a major doctrine of Secular Humanism. Instead of believing in God as the basis for their religion, humanists believe in nature or "natural science" – naturalism. The reason is supposedly to avoid resting an intellectual foundation on what secularists call "blind faith."
The Christian faith, however, is anything but blind from an intellectual standpoint. Arguments for the God of the Bible are well-founded. What liberal humanists have substituted for a reasonable faith in a Creator God is, I would contend, blind science. Dr. D.G. Lindsay agrees and describes the intellectual underpinnings of evolution this way:
Evolution is a religion that attributes everything to "nature." It demands a faith that is totally blind. Since the evolutionist believes nature and its laws are the guiding force in the universe, he is totally at odds with the Christian faith and the essential miraculous aspect of creation. The miraculous events of the Bible deviate from the known laws of nature, or at least from our understanding of them.
However, the evolutionist is blind to the fact that his religion, evolution, violates every known law for its own existence, making atheistic evolution more incredible (miraculous) than the Christian faith.
In real life, logic applies. If we see a painting, we assume there was a painter. If an airplane flies overhead, there's a pilot. It doesn't matter that we don't see the painter or the pilot. Elementary logic guarantees in our minds that they exist. If something looks like it was designed – a building, a watch, an airplane or a cosmos – we are safe to assume it was. Not so, however, in the world of blind science. Naturalistic humanists believe there is no God, not because that is the logical conclusion but because that is their preference.
Don't ever think for a minute they have the intellectual high ground. Much to the contrary, they abandoned the heights occupied by deeply committed Christian scientists like Galileo, Copernicus, Pasteur and Newton long ago. The humanist has no choice but to reject God and believe in man and naturalistic evolution because the alternative is to say there is a Supernatural Creator and Intelligent Designer. Their problem is that if such a Creator exists, then He is the author of the laws of nature, and we are accountable to Him. But being accountable to anyone other than self is not acceptable to the humanist. As a result, humanists reject out of hand any and all evidence that challenges their desired reality.
The liberal, then, who has faith in evolution does not do so out of compelling intellectual honesty but because the alternative requires accountability to God (both in this life and the next). Naturalists look only at theories that don't contradict their presupposition. Consider the a priori discounting of evidence advocated by the Humanist Manifesto II:
We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity.
Anything that calls into question the original presupposition (that there is no God) is rejected, even if it means having faith in an idea, belief or theory that is mathematically not possible and even it if it contradicts bedrock scientific facts or the laws of physics. Their version of science must blind itself to logical deductions in order to draw the conclusion they prefer.
Four years after the ACLU worked the Scopes trial, Professor D.M.S. Watson, one of the leading biologists and science writers of his day, explained that the real goal behind evolution is to reject the alternative – a belief in God. Watson notes, "Evolution [is] a theory universally accepted not because it can be proven by logically coherent evidence to be true, but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible."
Professor Richard Lewontin, a geneticist and self-proclaimed Marxist, reveals why the dogmatic humanist continues to accept evolution despite its improbability and the unscientific propositions on which it is built:
We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so-stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.
So why has materialism become the assumption behind science? Is it because it provides the most rational foundation? No. Professor Lewontin explained it quite clearly. It's because only materialism provides the liberal humanist's preferred philosophical base.
It is really quite pathetic when you consider the mental gymnastics a humanist must perform – and the ACLU must defend – to uphold the new version of educational freedom that allows only one view of origins to be taught in our public schools. Although the humanist typically mocks as unscientific those who believe in a creator God, when the science of their worldview is proven to be unscientific and mathematically impossible, they ignore the facts and create preposterous theories simply to sidestep the logical belief in an Intelligent Designer. Which brings me to the one summary statement that explains what is truly the foundation of Blind Science: Note its initials.
WorldNetDaily: The humanist's blind science
WorldNetDaily.com
In the now-famous Scopes trial of 1925, the American Civil Liberties Union defended the teaching of evolution in public schools. True educational freedom, Clarence Darrow argued, requires the teaching of both theistic and naturalistic versions of origin. Any person with a well-rounded education should know the differing views on something as important as the most basic question in the universe.
Now, I don't think for a split second the ACLU in 1925 was nearly so well-intentioned as to simply want academic freedom for all. But the case could be made that a well-educated person should understand the arguments for and against the major theories about how we got here. Building on the momentum started by Scopes, however, the ACLU has fought hard to keep creationism from being taught in America's public schools. With the aid of the National Education Association and other liberal groups, it has been stunningly successful in the censorship of facts and reality. Red-faced and veins bulging, these radical liberals verbally assault conservatives that seek the true educational freedom of teaching both Darwinian evolution and creation.
Since the ACLU and National Education Association have always been supported by prominent humanists, we should not be shocked by their contempt for the creationist worldview. Evolution, as outlined in the Humanist Manifesto I, II and 2000, is a major doctrine of Secular Humanism. Instead of believing in God as the basis for their religion, humanists believe in nature or "natural science" – naturalism. The reason is supposedly to avoid resting an intellectual foundation on what secularists call "blind faith."
The Christian faith, however, is anything but blind from an intellectual standpoint. Arguments for the God of the Bible are well-founded. What liberal humanists have substituted for a reasonable faith in a Creator God is, I would contend, blind science. Dr. D.G. Lindsay agrees and describes the intellectual underpinnings of evolution this way:
Evolution is a religion that attributes everything to "nature." It demands a faith that is totally blind. Since the evolutionist believes nature and its laws are the guiding force in the universe, he is totally at odds with the Christian faith and the essential miraculous aspect of creation. The miraculous events of the Bible deviate from the known laws of nature, or at least from our understanding of them.
However, the evolutionist is blind to the fact that his religion, evolution, violates every known law for its own existence, making atheistic evolution more incredible (miraculous) than the Christian faith.
In real life, logic applies. If we see a painting, we assume there was a painter. If an airplane flies overhead, there's a pilot. It doesn't matter that we don't see the painter or the pilot. Elementary logic guarantees in our minds that they exist. If something looks like it was designed – a building, a watch, an airplane or a cosmos – we are safe to assume it was. Not so, however, in the world of blind science. Naturalistic humanists believe there is no God, not because that is the logical conclusion but because that is their preference.
Don't ever think for a minute they have the intellectual high ground. Much to the contrary, they abandoned the heights occupied by deeply committed Christian scientists like Galileo, Copernicus, Pasteur and Newton long ago. The humanist has no choice but to reject God and believe in man and naturalistic evolution because the alternative is to say there is a Supernatural Creator and Intelligent Designer. Their problem is that if such a Creator exists, then He is the author of the laws of nature, and we are accountable to Him. But being accountable to anyone other than self is not acceptable to the humanist. As a result, humanists reject out of hand any and all evidence that challenges their desired reality.
The liberal, then, who has faith in evolution does not do so out of compelling intellectual honesty but because the alternative requires accountability to God (both in this life and the next). Naturalists look only at theories that don't contradict their presupposition. Consider the a priori discounting of evidence advocated by the Humanist Manifesto II:
We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity.
Anything that calls into question the original presupposition (that there is no God) is rejected, even if it means having faith in an idea, belief or theory that is mathematically not possible and even it if it contradicts bedrock scientific facts or the laws of physics. Their version of science must blind itself to logical deductions in order to draw the conclusion they prefer.
Four years after the ACLU worked the Scopes trial, Professor D.M.S. Watson, one of the leading biologists and science writers of his day, explained that the real goal behind evolution is to reject the alternative – a belief in God. Watson notes, "Evolution [is] a theory universally accepted not because it can be proven by logically coherent evidence to be true, but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible."
Professor Richard Lewontin, a geneticist and self-proclaimed Marxist, reveals why the dogmatic humanist continues to accept evolution despite its improbability and the unscientific propositions on which it is built:
We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so-stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.
So why has materialism become the assumption behind science? Is it because it provides the most rational foundation? No. Professor Lewontin explained it quite clearly. It's because only materialism provides the liberal humanist's preferred philosophical base.
It is really quite pathetic when you consider the mental gymnastics a humanist must perform – and the ACLU must defend – to uphold the new version of educational freedom that allows only one view of origins to be taught in our public schools. Although the humanist typically mocks as unscientific those who believe in a creator God, when the science of their worldview is proven to be unscientific and mathematically impossible, they ignore the facts and create preposterous theories simply to sidestep the logical belief in an Intelligent Designer. Which brings me to the one summary statement that explains what is truly the foundation of Blind Science: Note its initials.
WorldNetDaily: The humanist's blind science
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Muslims Will Rule America and Britain
Palestinian Friday Sermon by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris: Muslims Will Rule America and Britain, Jews Are a Virus Resembling AIDS
The URL below links to excerpts from a Friday sermon on Palestinian Authority TV. The preacher is Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris. PA TV aired this sermon on May 13, 2005.
Worthy News - News from a Christian View
The URL below links to excerpts from a Friday sermon on Palestinian Authority TV. The preacher is Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris. PA TV aired this sermon on May 13, 2005.
Worthy News - News from a Christian View
Bashing Newsweek
We're in the middle of an ideological war against people who want to destroy us, and what have the most powerful people on earth become? Whining media bashers. They're attacking Newsweek while bending over backward to show sensitivity to the Afghans who just went on a murderous rampage.
Talk about the bigotry of low expectations.
Maybe we should all focus on what's important. Newsweek's little item was seized and exploited by America's enemies in a way that was characteristically cynical, delusional and fascistic.
The people who seized upon this item, like the radical clerics in Afghanistan, are cynical in the way they manipulate episodes like this to whip up hatred and so magnify their own standing.
At the same time, they believe everything that could be alleged about America - and more. They've spent so many years inhabiting a delusional mental landscape filled with conspiracy theories and paranoia that you could drill deep into their minds without ever touching reality.
Finally, they are strategically ruthless. Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker, who has spent years reporting on extremists, says they use manufactured spasms of hatred to desensitize their followers. After followers spend a few years living through rabid riots and vicious sermons, killing an American or a Jew or even a fellow Muslim seems no more consequential than killing a mosquito. That's how suicide bombers are made.
The rioters are the real enemy, not Newsweek and not the American soldiers serving as prison guards. Just to restore some proper perspective, let me quote a snippet from a sermon delivered by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris, which ran last weekend on the Palestinian Authority's official TV station:
"The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world - except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a life of tranquillity under our rule because they are treacherous by nature, as they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be relieved of the Jews - even the stones and trees which were harmed by them. Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew."
These are the extremists, the real enemy. Let's keep our eye on the ball.
Dhimmi Watch: Anti-dhimmitude in (gasp) the New York Times!
Talk about the bigotry of low expectations.
Maybe we should all focus on what's important. Newsweek's little item was seized and exploited by America's enemies in a way that was characteristically cynical, delusional and fascistic.
The people who seized upon this item, like the radical clerics in Afghanistan, are cynical in the way they manipulate episodes like this to whip up hatred and so magnify their own standing.
At the same time, they believe everything that could be alleged about America - and more. They've spent so many years inhabiting a delusional mental landscape filled with conspiracy theories and paranoia that you could drill deep into their minds without ever touching reality.
Finally, they are strategically ruthless. Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker, who has spent years reporting on extremists, says they use manufactured spasms of hatred to desensitize their followers. After followers spend a few years living through rabid riots and vicious sermons, killing an American or a Jew or even a fellow Muslim seems no more consequential than killing a mosquito. That's how suicide bombers are made.
The rioters are the real enemy, not Newsweek and not the American soldiers serving as prison guards. Just to restore some proper perspective, let me quote a snippet from a sermon delivered by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris, which ran last weekend on the Palestinian Authority's official TV station:
"The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world - except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a life of tranquillity under our rule because they are treacherous by nature, as they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be relieved of the Jews - even the stones and trees which were harmed by them. Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew."
These are the extremists, the real enemy. Let's keep our eye on the ball.
Dhimmi Watch: Anti-dhimmitude in (gasp) the New York Times!
Christians Emphasise Opposition to Religious Hatred Bill
Evangelical Christians Emphasise Opposition to Religious Hatred
Friday, May 20 , 2005
UK
The Incitement of Religious Hatred Bill has been outlined again in the Queen's Speech this week, and although the government claims that the revised bill will not affect 'criticism, commentary or ridicule of faiths', religious groups and Christian organisations have spoken out very openly against the bill. They have emphasised that it could lead towards restrictions on freedom of speech."
"The announcement of the Government's intention to re-introduce this controversial legislation that was successfully opposed during the last Parliament is no surprise, given Labour's manifesto commitment and election pact with the Muslim Council of Britain," expressed Dr. Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs for the Evangelical Alliance.
Similar proposals appeared prior to the election, and ministers as well as the government expressed that under the current rules for offences of incitement to racial hatred in the Public Order Act 1986, members of some religions are protected against religious hatred, but some are still not. They defended proposals saying that "the offence would not be an assault on people's rights to simply disapprove of the beliefs, teachings or practices of a religion."
According to the Government, the offence applies to "members of extremist organisations who stir up hatred against members of minority faiths and to individuals who seek to stir up hatred against those who do not share their faith."
However, with the penalties imposed being up to seven years in jail for those deemed to incite religious hatred, there is concern that this legislation could serve to even criminalise certain preachers.
"Despite its noble intention, we still consider that this legislation, unless significantly altered, is likely to undermine freedom of speech, damage community relations and usher in a new climate of illiberalism and repression," added Dr. Horrocks
"Whilst we are opposed to hatred being whipped up against any section of the community, we believe there are sufficient laws already in place through the criminal law to ensure that such behaviour can be dealt with. The Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill will in fact and in law, curb freedom of speech about which every Christian should care passionately," protested Andrea Minichiello Williams, the Public Policy Officer for the Lawyer's Christian Fellowship.
"Every member and minister of the Church of England should fight for this great freedom. With the proposed new offence we will see a chilling effect on how people talk about their faith in the public square and our opportunities to share the Gospel will suffer," emphasised Mrs. Minichiello Williams.
Christian Today > Evangelical Christians Emphasise Opposition to Religious Hatred Bill
Friday, May 20 , 2005
UK
The Incitement of Religious Hatred Bill has been outlined again in the Queen's Speech this week, and although the government claims that the revised bill will not affect 'criticism, commentary or ridicule of faiths', religious groups and Christian organisations have spoken out very openly against the bill. They have emphasised that it could lead towards restrictions on freedom of speech."
"The announcement of the Government's intention to re-introduce this controversial legislation that was successfully opposed during the last Parliament is no surprise, given Labour's manifesto commitment and election pact with the Muslim Council of Britain," expressed Dr. Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs for the Evangelical Alliance.
Similar proposals appeared prior to the election, and ministers as well as the government expressed that under the current rules for offences of incitement to racial hatred in the Public Order Act 1986, members of some religions are protected against religious hatred, but some are still not. They defended proposals saying that "the offence would not be an assault on people's rights to simply disapprove of the beliefs, teachings or practices of a religion."
According to the Government, the offence applies to "members of extremist organisations who stir up hatred against members of minority faiths and to individuals who seek to stir up hatred against those who do not share their faith."
However, with the penalties imposed being up to seven years in jail for those deemed to incite religious hatred, there is concern that this legislation could serve to even criminalise certain preachers.
"Despite its noble intention, we still consider that this legislation, unless significantly altered, is likely to undermine freedom of speech, damage community relations and usher in a new climate of illiberalism and repression," added Dr. Horrocks
"Whilst we are opposed to hatred being whipped up against any section of the community, we believe there are sufficient laws already in place through the criminal law to ensure that such behaviour can be dealt with. The Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill will in fact and in law, curb freedom of speech about which every Christian should care passionately," protested Andrea Minichiello Williams, the Public Policy Officer for the Lawyer's Christian Fellowship.
"Every member and minister of the Church of England should fight for this great freedom. With the proposed new offence we will see a chilling effect on how people talk about their faith in the public square and our opportunities to share the Gospel will suffer," emphasised Mrs. Minichiello Williams.
Christian Today > Evangelical Christians Emphasise Opposition to Religious Hatred Bill
From Apostle to Apostate: Revenge of the Sith as Cautionary Tale
Dr. Marc Newman
MovieMinistry.com
May 20, 2005
(Editor's Note: This article contains explanations of scenes from Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- so if you want to be surprised, archive this article and read it when you return from the cinema.)
(AgapePress) - No one who is remotely theologically grounded would ever equate the Jedi of the "Star Wars" films with the Church -- but since, in the Star Wars mythology, they are the agents of good, Christians attending these films naturally identify with them. And why not? They are dedicated to peace and are, as old Ben Kenobi told young Luke Skywalker, the guardians of peace in the Old Republic.
But as the Star Wars legend unfolds, viewers discover that instead of continuing the clear good-versus-evil theme of the first film, the later films demonstrate that the Jedi operate heavily in what some might call the "gray areas." The Jedi are ascetics, but not in the mold of the Christian ascetics who subdued their bodies in order to get closer to God and become more holy. The Jedi are more closely aligned with the pagan ascetics who used self-mastery to gain power. (A detailed explanation of this similarity is available on the MovieMinistry website).
The latest installment, Revenge of the Sith, details Anakin Skywalker's descent from prospective Jedi Master to Sith Lord, Darth Vader. And while George Lucas' characters like to talk a lot about "destiny," it seems clear that the actions of the Jedi were more than mere coincidental factors in Anakin's transformation. What I saw in the film could be a primer in how to turn an apostle to an apostate. For Christians willing to use a fictional movie as a mirror to examine their own behaviors, Revenge of the Sith can serve as a cautionary tale, particularly about how some churches treat their young members. When the Church feels like a hostile place, acts hypocritically, is insensitive, and avoids dogma, it, like the Jedi, can contribute toward pushing people to an embracing, waiting Dark Side.
Kept at Arm's Length
A slave since birth, Anakin is forced to leave his mother on Tatooine because he is going to be made part of something bigger than himself -- the Jedi order. But once he is presented to the Jedi Council, their initial inclination is to reject the boy as too old and full of anger (never mind all of the things he might have to be angry about). But by Revenge of the Sith, Anakin has proven his worth on many occasions, including saving his master Obi-Wan ten times. That Anakin is a powerful Jedi is without question, but other than Obi-Wan, none of the other Jedi actively befriend the young man. When Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that the Jedi Council are afraid of Anakin's power and are keeping him down because they fear they will be unable to control him, the accusation has a ring of truth to it -- and not simply because Anakin is liable to pride.
In some of our churches, young people are viewed as a curiosity. They are kept at arm's length. They are separated from the main body of adult believers by means of special church services for teens and separate Bible studies. Other times, churches spend more time entertaining the young than discipling them. After all, there will always be adults in the church who can do things faster, and better, than young believers. Also, the zeal of the young can be infectious, but also threatening -- and can expose our own weaknesses. After a while, young people develop an identity that has little connection with the church as a whole. There seem to be few programs to see people through the difficult transition from teenager to adulthood -- instead colleges serve that function, and unfortunately many young people do not survive that fiery baptism. Unable to connect at church, they connect elsewhere once they are away from home.
Hypocrisy
Anakin commits a serious sin -- slaying the evil Count Dooku on the order of Chancellor Palpatine. As soon as he does it, he feels regret, saying that to kill an unarmed prisoner is "not the Jedi way." Palpatine tries to assure Anakin that the desire for revenge is natural -- but Anakin is troubled by his own actions. He wants to believe in, and follow, the way of the Jedi. But soon after, he discovers that even the guardians of the Jedi order lack the purity he seeks. His own mentor, Obi-Wan, asks him to spy on the chancellor, to use his position of friendship as a means to funnel information to the Jedi Council. Anakin balks at this treachery, citing it as a violation of the Jedi Code, but Obi-Wan tells him that the ongoing war justifies this breach of the rules. Later, after Anakin discovers the true identity of Chancellor Palpatine, that he is a Sith lord, he does what is right and reveals it to the Jedi Council. But when Anakin arrives at the scene of what is supposed to be an arrest, he finds Jedi Master Mace Windu about to execute the Chancellor in direct violation of the Jedi Code which demands that the unarmed prisoner be brought to trial. Again, Windu makes an excuse -- it is the same excuse the chancellor gave Anakin for killing Count Dooku -- and attempts to follow through on his threat until Anakin stops him, and mayhem ensues. It is the Jedi's abandonment of their own principles that leads to Anakin's abandonment of the Jedi way.
Hypocrisy leads to disillusionment. The old joke is that a man says that he doesn't want to go to church because it is filled with hypocrites, to which his friend replies, "Then you'll feel right at home!" As long as there are humans involved in churches, there will always be sin issues. It is how we handle those sins, particularly among leadership, that is important. When young people hear adults say one thing, yet do another, it causes them to question the veracity of other teachings. We are on dangerous ground when the Church does not appear to have any more claim to holiness than the world. The young are watching, looking for examples to follow.
Insensitivity
Anakin is troubled by what he perceives to be unfair treatment at the hands of the Jedi Council. He is also plagued by premonitions of his wife's death in childbirth. What he seeks are justice and understanding. What he gets are platitudes and indifference. His friend and master teacher, Obi-Wan, advises patience -- eventually the Jedi Council will come around. Never does Obi-Wan commiserate with Anakin or explain, let alone defend him against, the perceived injustice. Troubled, Anakin tells his dreams of Padme's death to Yoda, who advises detachment rather than care for loved ones in danger. Feeling abandoned and ill-advised, it is not surprising that Anakin seeks aid and comfort from his friend, the Chancellor.
Young Christians have problems, doubts, and insecurities. Even if older believers think them unwarranted, they are real to those experiencing them. Dismissing the problems of young Christians as "phases" -- something the young will "grow out of" is insensitive, even if true. Additionally, sometimes advisors do not know how to act when faced with tragedy. When Yoda tells Anakin that death is a natural part of life and should be embraced, I thought of the many platitudes that people use when discussing death -- "well, they've gone to a better place," "death can be a blessing," etc. As someone who sat in the hospital room as my mother died from lung cancer, I can attest to the hollowness of such words. Death is the enemy -- we should hate it. When people have loved ones who die, and want to sob, Scripture says we are to cry with them (Rom. 12:15). This generation is marked by people desperate for understanding and community. One way or another, they will find it.
Abandoning Dogma
From Obi-Wan's brief hesitation in explaining the death of Luke's father in the original Star Wars, to his denunciation of absolutes (while, I might add, making an absolute statement himself) in Revenge of the Sith, I have been bothered by the loose sense of the truth exhibited by the Jedi. Considered to be teachers, custodians of the Jedi way and the Jedi temple, whenever they are caught in a lie, or in a compromise of their principles, they are quick to say that their explanations or actions are true "from a certain point of view." Anakin is a quick study. He comes to believe that whatever is convenient to move your agenda forward can be justified by identifying it as your point of view. And yet, when there is a final clash between Anakin's point of view and Obi-Wan's, Obi-Wan wastes no time in judgmentally accusing Anakin of being "lost" -- as if there actually is a way. When assertions of truth serve convenience, we cannot complain when others find them inconvenient.
Being dogmatic no longer is a descriptor of fidelity to truth, but a pejorative indicating intolerance. Harry Blamires, in his book In Defense of Dogma, claims that in a misguided attempt to court friends, the Church has lost its willingness, and prerogative, to speak truth. Instead, we are told to act in false humility, "as if we don't have all the answers." In fact, the Scriptures are full of principles for living that cover the range of human experience. If we did not have answers to the pressing issues of life, why would anyone ever want to join with us? People are not looking for subjective points of view; they want to know how to live life fully and rightly. As C.S. Lewis points out in The Abolition of Man, humans need to know The Way. People may reject the Church because they do not like the answers they receive when they pose questions, but they are at least equally inclined to leave when they conclude that the Church's answers are not authoritatively different from ones they simply come up with on their own. Christians are commanded to speak the truth in love, but that still requires that we speak the truth. If the Church has nothing true to offer, the young drift away.
The Role of Cautionary Tales
The prequels to the original Star Wars Trilogy are nearly a primer on how to create an environment conducive to loss of faith. And lest this look simply like a "blame the Church" screed, I admit that Anakin's arrogance and pride were the primary factors that led to his fall. Individual rebellion is still the hallmark of those who stray from the path. Nevertheless, those in the Church should be willing to examine themselves to see if they are inadvertently creating a culture hostile to the growth of young believers.
Fictional stories have the tremendous capacity to enable us to look at ourselves by looking at others. But they work only to the extent that we are willing to change. By making our houses of worship inviting to all, by nurturing the gifts of our members, seeking forgiveness when we act inconsistently with our preaching, being sensitive to people who are hurting, and by bravely speaking the truth we can show the world the love of Christ. And in doing so, perhaps even those who have apparently abandoned their faith can turn around, as Anakin eventually does, and see embodied in the Church something to believe in.
News from Agape Press
MovieMinistry.com
May 20, 2005
(Editor's Note: This article contains explanations of scenes from Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- so if you want to be surprised, archive this article and read it when you return from the cinema.)
(AgapePress) - No one who is remotely theologically grounded would ever equate the Jedi of the "Star Wars" films with the Church -- but since, in the Star Wars mythology, they are the agents of good, Christians attending these films naturally identify with them. And why not? They are dedicated to peace and are, as old Ben Kenobi told young Luke Skywalker, the guardians of peace in the Old Republic.
But as the Star Wars legend unfolds, viewers discover that instead of continuing the clear good-versus-evil theme of the first film, the later films demonstrate that the Jedi operate heavily in what some might call the "gray areas." The Jedi are ascetics, but not in the mold of the Christian ascetics who subdued their bodies in order to get closer to God and become more holy. The Jedi are more closely aligned with the pagan ascetics who used self-mastery to gain power. (A detailed explanation of this similarity is available on the MovieMinistry website).
The latest installment, Revenge of the Sith, details Anakin Skywalker's descent from prospective Jedi Master to Sith Lord, Darth Vader. And while George Lucas' characters like to talk a lot about "destiny," it seems clear that the actions of the Jedi were more than mere coincidental factors in Anakin's transformation. What I saw in the film could be a primer in how to turn an apostle to an apostate. For Christians willing to use a fictional movie as a mirror to examine their own behaviors, Revenge of the Sith can serve as a cautionary tale, particularly about how some churches treat their young members. When the Church feels like a hostile place, acts hypocritically, is insensitive, and avoids dogma, it, like the Jedi, can contribute toward pushing people to an embracing, waiting Dark Side.
Kept at Arm's Length
A slave since birth, Anakin is forced to leave his mother on Tatooine because he is going to be made part of something bigger than himself -- the Jedi order. But once he is presented to the Jedi Council, their initial inclination is to reject the boy as too old and full of anger (never mind all of the things he might have to be angry about). But by Revenge of the Sith, Anakin has proven his worth on many occasions, including saving his master Obi-Wan ten times. That Anakin is a powerful Jedi is without question, but other than Obi-Wan, none of the other Jedi actively befriend the young man. When Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that the Jedi Council are afraid of Anakin's power and are keeping him down because they fear they will be unable to control him, the accusation has a ring of truth to it -- and not simply because Anakin is liable to pride.
In some of our churches, young people are viewed as a curiosity. They are kept at arm's length. They are separated from the main body of adult believers by means of special church services for teens and separate Bible studies. Other times, churches spend more time entertaining the young than discipling them. After all, there will always be adults in the church who can do things faster, and better, than young believers. Also, the zeal of the young can be infectious, but also threatening -- and can expose our own weaknesses. After a while, young people develop an identity that has little connection with the church as a whole. There seem to be few programs to see people through the difficult transition from teenager to adulthood -- instead colleges serve that function, and unfortunately many young people do not survive that fiery baptism. Unable to connect at church, they connect elsewhere once they are away from home.
Hypocrisy
Anakin commits a serious sin -- slaying the evil Count Dooku on the order of Chancellor Palpatine. As soon as he does it, he feels regret, saying that to kill an unarmed prisoner is "not the Jedi way." Palpatine tries to assure Anakin that the desire for revenge is natural -- but Anakin is troubled by his own actions. He wants to believe in, and follow, the way of the Jedi. But soon after, he discovers that even the guardians of the Jedi order lack the purity he seeks. His own mentor, Obi-Wan, asks him to spy on the chancellor, to use his position of friendship as a means to funnel information to the Jedi Council. Anakin balks at this treachery, citing it as a violation of the Jedi Code, but Obi-Wan tells him that the ongoing war justifies this breach of the rules. Later, after Anakin discovers the true identity of Chancellor Palpatine, that he is a Sith lord, he does what is right and reveals it to the Jedi Council. But when Anakin arrives at the scene of what is supposed to be an arrest, he finds Jedi Master Mace Windu about to execute the Chancellor in direct violation of the Jedi Code which demands that the unarmed prisoner be brought to trial. Again, Windu makes an excuse -- it is the same excuse the chancellor gave Anakin for killing Count Dooku -- and attempts to follow through on his threat until Anakin stops him, and mayhem ensues. It is the Jedi's abandonment of their own principles that leads to Anakin's abandonment of the Jedi way.
Hypocrisy leads to disillusionment. The old joke is that a man says that he doesn't want to go to church because it is filled with hypocrites, to which his friend replies, "Then you'll feel right at home!" As long as there are humans involved in churches, there will always be sin issues. It is how we handle those sins, particularly among leadership, that is important. When young people hear adults say one thing, yet do another, it causes them to question the veracity of other teachings. We are on dangerous ground when the Church does not appear to have any more claim to holiness than the world. The young are watching, looking for examples to follow.
Insensitivity
Anakin is troubled by what he perceives to be unfair treatment at the hands of the Jedi Council. He is also plagued by premonitions of his wife's death in childbirth. What he seeks are justice and understanding. What he gets are platitudes and indifference. His friend and master teacher, Obi-Wan, advises patience -- eventually the Jedi Council will come around. Never does Obi-Wan commiserate with Anakin or explain, let alone defend him against, the perceived injustice. Troubled, Anakin tells his dreams of Padme's death to Yoda, who advises detachment rather than care for loved ones in danger. Feeling abandoned and ill-advised, it is not surprising that Anakin seeks aid and comfort from his friend, the Chancellor.
Young Christians have problems, doubts, and insecurities. Even if older believers think them unwarranted, they are real to those experiencing them. Dismissing the problems of young Christians as "phases" -- something the young will "grow out of" is insensitive, even if true. Additionally, sometimes advisors do not know how to act when faced with tragedy. When Yoda tells Anakin that death is a natural part of life and should be embraced, I thought of the many platitudes that people use when discussing death -- "well, they've gone to a better place," "death can be a blessing," etc. As someone who sat in the hospital room as my mother died from lung cancer, I can attest to the hollowness of such words. Death is the enemy -- we should hate it. When people have loved ones who die, and want to sob, Scripture says we are to cry with them (Rom. 12:15). This generation is marked by people desperate for understanding and community. One way or another, they will find it.
Abandoning Dogma
From Obi-Wan's brief hesitation in explaining the death of Luke's father in the original Star Wars, to his denunciation of absolutes (while, I might add, making an absolute statement himself) in Revenge of the Sith, I have been bothered by the loose sense of the truth exhibited by the Jedi. Considered to be teachers, custodians of the Jedi way and the Jedi temple, whenever they are caught in a lie, or in a compromise of their principles, they are quick to say that their explanations or actions are true "from a certain point of view." Anakin is a quick study. He comes to believe that whatever is convenient to move your agenda forward can be justified by identifying it as your point of view. And yet, when there is a final clash between Anakin's point of view and Obi-Wan's, Obi-Wan wastes no time in judgmentally accusing Anakin of being "lost" -- as if there actually is a way. When assertions of truth serve convenience, we cannot complain when others find them inconvenient.
Being dogmatic no longer is a descriptor of fidelity to truth, but a pejorative indicating intolerance. Harry Blamires, in his book In Defense of Dogma, claims that in a misguided attempt to court friends, the Church has lost its willingness, and prerogative, to speak truth. Instead, we are told to act in false humility, "as if we don't have all the answers." In fact, the Scriptures are full of principles for living that cover the range of human experience. If we did not have answers to the pressing issues of life, why would anyone ever want to join with us? People are not looking for subjective points of view; they want to know how to live life fully and rightly. As C.S. Lewis points out in The Abolition of Man, humans need to know The Way. People may reject the Church because they do not like the answers they receive when they pose questions, but they are at least equally inclined to leave when they conclude that the Church's answers are not authoritatively different from ones they simply come up with on their own. Christians are commanded to speak the truth in love, but that still requires that we speak the truth. If the Church has nothing true to offer, the young drift away.
The Role of Cautionary Tales
The prequels to the original Star Wars Trilogy are nearly a primer on how to create an environment conducive to loss of faith. And lest this look simply like a "blame the Church" screed, I admit that Anakin's arrogance and pride were the primary factors that led to his fall. Individual rebellion is still the hallmark of those who stray from the path. Nevertheless, those in the Church should be willing to examine themselves to see if they are inadvertently creating a culture hostile to the growth of young believers.
Fictional stories have the tremendous capacity to enable us to look at ourselves by looking at others. But they work only to the extent that we are willing to change. By making our houses of worship inviting to all, by nurturing the gifts of our members, seeking forgiveness when we act inconsistently with our preaching, being sensitive to people who are hurting, and by bravely speaking the truth we can show the world the love of Christ. And in doing so, perhaps even those who have apparently abandoned their faith can turn around, as Anakin eventually does, and see embodied in the Church something to believe in.
News from Agape Press
Friday, May 20, 2005
"Tiny Miracle" Baby Weighs in at 11 Ounces
Buffalo, NY
May 20, 2005
She's being called a tiny miracle -- a baby born in Buffalo who weighed in at just 11 ounces.
Little Dakota is the smallest baby ever born at Women and Children's Hospital.
She was born on May 9. Her parents are Ron and Sahara Guido.
Young Dakota was delivered 14 weeks early after mom had some complications from diabetes and was hospitalized back in April.
Sahara said, "I have a journal that I'm keeping, and I'm going to just tell her that she had a rough ride; we both... the three of us... had a rough ride."
Dakota will remain at the hospital for at least the next three months until she can breathe on her own without a ventilator and is able to feed.
WIVB TV4 Buffalo, NY - "Tiny Miracle" Baby Weighs in at 11 Ounces
May 20, 2005
She's being called a tiny miracle -- a baby born in Buffalo who weighed in at just 11 ounces.
Little Dakota is the smallest baby ever born at Women and Children's Hospital.
She was born on May 9. Her parents are Ron and Sahara Guido.
Young Dakota was delivered 14 weeks early after mom had some complications from diabetes and was hospitalized back in April.
Sahara said, "I have a journal that I'm keeping, and I'm going to just tell her that she had a rough ride; we both... the three of us... had a rough ride."
Dakota will remain at the hospital for at least the next three months until she can breathe on her own without a ventilator and is able to feed.
WIVB TV4 Buffalo, NY - "Tiny Miracle" Baby Weighs in at 11 Ounces
'It's a miracle ... that I am here,' Ramsey County deputy says
Heron Marquez Estrada
Star Tribune
May 20, 2005
Ramsey County sheriff's deputy Glen Pothen never saw the pickup truck that hit him. He only heard it, then felt it propel him from the side of the road and into some marshy ground.
"I feel very lucky, very fortunate to be alive," Pothen said Thursday at a news conference. "It's a miracle. It's only by the grace of God that I am here."
Pothen, 35, was thrown 20 to 25 feet after being hit Wednesday morning while helping motorist Tiffany Whitlow. Her car had gone off the road at the juncture of Interstate Hwys. 35E and 694 in Little Canada because of wet weather. Pothen had stopped to assist a State Patrol trooper with Whitlow's car.
The incident was captured on video by the trooper's dashboard camera. The remarkable video, shown at the top of just about every newscast in the Twin Cities on Wednesday night, has since been picked up all over the world.
On the tape, Whitlow, 22, of Circle Pines, is almost struck in the head by the oncoming truck.
"I do not remember hearing anything," she said. "I just looked up by instinct. I did not realize I was that close. I perceived it as [being] 4 or 5 feet back."
On Thursday, more than 24 hours after the incident, no one could explain how Pothen managed to escape serious injury. He thinks it helped that he landed on soft ground.
He also said he believes his gun holster and gun absorbed much of the impact.
The State Patrol is investigating the incident for possible charges against the 40-year-old truck driver from White Bear Lake, Capt. Jay Swanson said.
Swanson said the State Patrol and Fletcher decided to release the video as a warning to drivers locally and nationwide to give emergency personnel room as they work on the side of the road.
Minnesota state law says motorists must move one lane away when they see flashing lights on a highway.
Mary Pothen said she watched the video with her husband Wednesday afternoon at home, several hours after he was released from Regions Hospital in St. Paul with only bumps and bruises.
"It was difficult to see, but thank God he's still here," she said Thursday. "Everyone who is married to someone in law enforcement has some concern for their line of work. ...
'It's a miracle ... that I am here,' Ramsey County deputy says
Star Tribune
May 20, 2005
Ramsey County sheriff's deputy Glen Pothen never saw the pickup truck that hit him. He only heard it, then felt it propel him from the side of the road and into some marshy ground.
"I feel very lucky, very fortunate to be alive," Pothen said Thursday at a news conference. "It's a miracle. It's only by the grace of God that I am here."
Pothen, 35, was thrown 20 to 25 feet after being hit Wednesday morning while helping motorist Tiffany Whitlow. Her car had gone off the road at the juncture of Interstate Hwys. 35E and 694 in Little Canada because of wet weather. Pothen had stopped to assist a State Patrol trooper with Whitlow's car.
The incident was captured on video by the trooper's dashboard camera. The remarkable video, shown at the top of just about every newscast in the Twin Cities on Wednesday night, has since been picked up all over the world.
On the tape, Whitlow, 22, of Circle Pines, is almost struck in the head by the oncoming truck.
"I do not remember hearing anything," she said. "I just looked up by instinct. I did not realize I was that close. I perceived it as [being] 4 or 5 feet back."
On Thursday, more than 24 hours after the incident, no one could explain how Pothen managed to escape serious injury. He thinks it helped that he landed on soft ground.
He also said he believes his gun holster and gun absorbed much of the impact.
The State Patrol is investigating the incident for possible charges against the 40-year-old truck driver from White Bear Lake, Capt. Jay Swanson said.
Swanson said the State Patrol and Fletcher decided to release the video as a warning to drivers locally and nationwide to give emergency personnel room as they work on the side of the road.
Minnesota state law says motorists must move one lane away when they see flashing lights on a highway.
Mary Pothen said she watched the video with her husband Wednesday afternoon at home, several hours after he was released from Regions Hospital in St. Paul with only bumps and bruises.
"It was difficult to see, but thank God he's still here," she said Thursday. "Everyone who is married to someone in law enforcement has some concern for their line of work. ...
'It's a miracle ... that I am here,' Ramsey County deputy says
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Homosexual Group Admits Obscene Material Was Handed Out at Conference
'Outed,' GLSEN Boston Confesses Sexually Explicit Literature Was Made Available to Kids at Its Event
Caution: This story contains terms that some may find offensive.
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
May 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Boston health clinic has admitted to distributing pornographic books to middle school students and others at a Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) conference hosted by a Massachusetts high school. Initially GLSEN Boston categorically denied its recent 15th Annual Conference event at Brookline High School featured sexually explicit materials.
However, the Fenway Community Center health clinic has admitted to passing out copies of 'The Little Black Book -- Queer in the 21st century,' a graphic how-to manual on homosexual sex. The superintendent of Brookline Schools has also acknowledged that the sexually explicit materials were made available at the conference when they should not have been, and he has apologized for that fact.
Prior to the health clinic and the school system confirming the truth, GLSEN Boston's office had maintained that the allegations of pornographic books at its conference were "categorically untrue," and were nothing more than lies "from the far right." As late as yesterday, the chapter's website had a notice posted on its "news & announcements" page, stating that the group "wants to assure everyone that there were no sexually explicit materials at the conference."
According to the web notice, the pro-homosexual organization prohibits "sexually explicit materials of any kind" at its conferences, and to permit them at one of its events "would be in violation of clearly stated policy." GLSEN Boston executive director Sean Haley was even quoted on the website as saying that the group assigns monitors to every workshop and event to assure that all policies are strictly enforced.
"No such materials, from AAC or anyone else, were ever present at the GLSEN conference in Brookline," Haley claimed, adding, "These allegations are simply lies." Wednesday night (May 18), however, GLSEN admitted to American Family Radio News that the inappropriate materials were indeed present at the April 30 event -- but would never be made available at one of its conferences again.
See earlier story:
'Family Advocates Outraged by Pornographic Handouts at GLSEN Event'
An Ex-Homosexual Viewpoint: The Impact of Indoctrinating Kids
Stephen Bennett is a former homosexual who now heads a Christian ministry that reaches out to individuals and families affected by homosexuality, offering hope, help and healing through Christ. As a national spokesman for this kind of outreach and as an evangelist to the homosexual community, he has been investigating the GLSEN Boston controversy.
In light of the latest developments, the founder of Stephen Bennett Ministries says he is "very thankful to Christ, because the truth has come out. The Bible does say whatever is done in the darkness is going to be made manifest in the light. I just thank God that this organization has had the guts to come forward and publicly admit that they made a very grave error."
The ex-homosexual spokesman says his whole purpose in getting involved in these events was not to demean anyone or anything, but to focus on the welfare of young people. "My whole drive on this was that this was affecting children. This pornographic, extremely graphic material was given to young children, which is completely unacceptable," he says.
Although Bennett was, along with other pro-family advocates, outraged over what happened at Brookline High School, he feels it is important to move forward. "I think that we need now to extend forgiveness on this issue," he says, "but I think we also need to reexamine the social impact of what happens when homosexuality is taught to children as normal and natural."
A Medical Opinion: The Risks of Homosexual Sex
Bennett is by no means singular in his contention that the material distributed at the GLSEN Boston conference is harmful to youth. Dr. John R. Diggs, MD, a Massachusetts physician and expert on sexually transmitted disease, issued a statement May 15 regarding the recent distribution of "The Little Black Book" at Brookline High School, contending that much of the so-called health information offered in the sexually graphic brochure "is patently wrong."
For instance, Diggs points out that the pro-homosexual booklet suggests that condoms have been shown to stop HIV when, at best, there is only an 85 percent reduction in transmission among stable couples engaged in intercourse. Meanwhile, he notes, most data on condom use and STD prevention is based on heterosexual intercourse, not sodomy, which is clearly riskier. The medical expert says the rates of anal cancer caused by HPV infection are very high and can be fatal, and condoms have not been shown to significantly reduce this risk.
But besides encouraging homosexual activity and promoting the condom-based "safe sex" myth, the Massachusetts doctor says "The Little Black Book" addresses abstaining from risky activity in a tongue-in-cheek manner, implicitly promoting "fun" over safety. "It is alarming, disheartening, and medically unethical," he asserts, "that this information be distributed to anyone."
Furthermore, Diggs states, the fact that the AIDS Action Committee's Little Black Book is "distributed at taxpayer expense to vulnerable and confused youth should awaken every citizen and legislator to immediately defund this organization, and the attorney general to pursue prosecution for endangering minors on a grand scale." He feels the pro-homosexual material in the booklet, which appears to have the endorsement of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is unfit for consumption by anyone -- least of all children.
News from Agape Press
Caution: This story contains terms that some may find offensive.
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
May 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Boston health clinic has admitted to distributing pornographic books to middle school students and others at a Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) conference hosted by a Massachusetts high school. Initially GLSEN Boston categorically denied its recent 15th Annual Conference event at Brookline High School featured sexually explicit materials.
However, the Fenway Community Center health clinic has admitted to passing out copies of 'The Little Black Book -- Queer in the 21st century,' a graphic how-to manual on homosexual sex. The superintendent of Brookline Schools has also acknowledged that the sexually explicit materials were made available at the conference when they should not have been, and he has apologized for that fact.
Prior to the health clinic and the school system confirming the truth, GLSEN Boston's office had maintained that the allegations of pornographic books at its conference were "categorically untrue," and were nothing more than lies "from the far right." As late as yesterday, the chapter's website had a notice posted on its "news & announcements" page, stating that the group "wants to assure everyone that there were no sexually explicit materials at the conference."
According to the web notice, the pro-homosexual organization prohibits "sexually explicit materials of any kind" at its conferences, and to permit them at one of its events "would be in violation of clearly stated policy." GLSEN Boston executive director Sean Haley was even quoted on the website as saying that the group assigns monitors to every workshop and event to assure that all policies are strictly enforced.
"No such materials, from AAC or anyone else, were ever present at the GLSEN conference in Brookline," Haley claimed, adding, "These allegations are simply lies." Wednesday night (May 18), however, GLSEN admitted to American Family Radio News that the inappropriate materials were indeed present at the April 30 event -- but would never be made available at one of its conferences again.
See earlier story:
'Family Advocates Outraged by Pornographic Handouts at GLSEN Event'
An Ex-Homosexual Viewpoint: The Impact of Indoctrinating Kids
Stephen Bennett is a former homosexual who now heads a Christian ministry that reaches out to individuals and families affected by homosexuality, offering hope, help and healing through Christ. As a national spokesman for this kind of outreach and as an evangelist to the homosexual community, he has been investigating the GLSEN Boston controversy.
In light of the latest developments, the founder of Stephen Bennett Ministries says he is "very thankful to Christ, because the truth has come out. The Bible does say whatever is done in the darkness is going to be made manifest in the light. I just thank God that this organization has had the guts to come forward and publicly admit that they made a very grave error."
The ex-homosexual spokesman says his whole purpose in getting involved in these events was not to demean anyone or anything, but to focus on the welfare of young people. "My whole drive on this was that this was affecting children. This pornographic, extremely graphic material was given to young children, which is completely unacceptable," he says.
Although Bennett was, along with other pro-family advocates, outraged over what happened at Brookline High School, he feels it is important to move forward. "I think that we need now to extend forgiveness on this issue," he says, "but I think we also need to reexamine the social impact of what happens when homosexuality is taught to children as normal and natural."
A Medical Opinion: The Risks of Homosexual Sex
Bennett is by no means singular in his contention that the material distributed at the GLSEN Boston conference is harmful to youth. Dr. John R. Diggs, MD, a Massachusetts physician and expert on sexually transmitted disease, issued a statement May 15 regarding the recent distribution of "The Little Black Book" at Brookline High School, contending that much of the so-called health information offered in the sexually graphic brochure "is patently wrong."
For instance, Diggs points out that the pro-homosexual booklet suggests that condoms have been shown to stop HIV when, at best, there is only an 85 percent reduction in transmission among stable couples engaged in intercourse. Meanwhile, he notes, most data on condom use and STD prevention is based on heterosexual intercourse, not sodomy, which is clearly riskier. The medical expert says the rates of anal cancer caused by HPV infection are very high and can be fatal, and condoms have not been shown to significantly reduce this risk.
But besides encouraging homosexual activity and promoting the condom-based "safe sex" myth, the Massachusetts doctor says "The Little Black Book" addresses abstaining from risky activity in a tongue-in-cheek manner, implicitly promoting "fun" over safety. "It is alarming, disheartening, and medically unethical," he asserts, "that this information be distributed to anyone."
Furthermore, Diggs states, the fact that the AIDS Action Committee's Little Black Book is "distributed at taxpayer expense to vulnerable and confused youth should awaken every citizen and legislator to immediately defund this organization, and the attorney general to pursue prosecution for endangering minors on a grand scale." He feels the pro-homosexual material in the booklet, which appears to have the endorsement of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is unfit for consumption by anyone -- least of all children.
News from Agape Press
Muslim protests planned in advance?
Security official says Newsweek article served as trigger
May 18, 2005
By Aaron Klein
WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM - Muslim protests throughout the Middle East regarding a now-retracted Newsweek report that claimed U.S. Army interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Quran down the toilet are being organized by anti-Western jihadists and were planned several months ago with the magazine article serving as a convenient trigger, a senior Israeli security source told WND.
He warned that if not quelled, the gatherings can turn into violent mass anti-American revolts.
'Jihadists have been planting the seeds for quite some time for mass anti-American protests in the Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where pro-Taliban elements have been looking for an excuse to revolt against what they see as Western imposed governments,' the security official said. 'The Newsweek article was just the excuse they needed.'
WorldNetDaily: Muslim protests planned in advance?
May 18, 2005
By Aaron Klein
WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM - Muslim protests throughout the Middle East regarding a now-retracted Newsweek report that claimed U.S. Army interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Quran down the toilet are being organized by anti-Western jihadists and were planned several months ago with the magazine article serving as a convenient trigger, a senior Israeli security source told WND.
He warned that if not quelled, the gatherings can turn into violent mass anti-American revolts.
'Jihadists have been planting the seeds for quite some time for mass anti-American protests in the Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where pro-Taliban elements have been looking for an excuse to revolt against what they see as Western imposed governments,' the security official said. 'The Newsweek article was just the excuse they needed.'
WorldNetDaily: Muslim protests planned in advance?
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Palestinians used Bible as toilet paper
Muslims' desecration of holy book received little notice
May 18, 2005
WorldNetDaily.com
While Muslims have responded with deadly outrage to the now-retracted report by Newsweek of alleged Quran desecration by U.S. interrogators, there was little outcry three years ago when Islamic terrorists holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity reportedly used the Bible as toilet paper.
Catholic priests in the church marking the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born said that during the five-week siege, Palestinians tore up some Bibles for toilet paper and removed many valuable sacramental objects, according to a May 15, 2002, report by the Washington Times.
Newsweek is under fire for a report in its May 9 edition that sparked protests and rioting across the Muslim world resulting in 17 dead, scores injured, relief buildings burned down and a setback to years of coalition-building against terrorists.
Newsweek's Periscope column written by Michael Isikoff and John Barry included a brief item alleging U.S. military investigators at the Guantanamo Bay prison found evidence that interrogators placed copies of the Quran down the toilet in an effort to get prisoners to talk.
Despite Newsweek's retraction, the outrage in the Muslim world continues.
In Saudi Arabia yesterday, the country's top religious authority, Grand Mufti Adul-Aziz al-Sheik, condemned the alleged desecration and called for an investigation "to alleviate the sorrow that befell Muslims."
"We condemn and denounce this criminal act against Muslims' most sacred item," al-Sheik said.
Afghanistan's government said Newsweek should be held responsible for damages caused by the demonstrations, and Pakistan said the magazine's apology and retraction were "not enough."
In contrast, during the 2002 church siege, the muted complaints of Christians under the Muslim-dominated Palestinian Authority gained little traction.
The Palestinian gunmen, members of Yasser Arafat's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, seized church stockpiles of food and "ate like greedy monsters" until the food ran out, while more than 150 civilians went hungry, the Washington Times report said.
The indulgence lasted about two weeks into the 39-day siege, when the food and drink ran out, according to an account by four Greek Orthodox priests trapped inside. A church helper told the Times the quantity of food consumed by the gunmen in the first 15 days should have lasted six months.
Angry Orthodox priests showed reporters empty bottles of whiskey, champagne, vodka, cognac and French wine on the floor along with hundreds of cigarette butts.
"They should be ashamed of themselves. They acted like animals, like greedy monsters. Come, I will show you more," said one priest, who declined to give his name.
Computers were taken apart and a television set dismantled for use as a hiding place for weapons.
"You can see what repayment we got for 'hosting' these so-called guests," said Archbishop Ironius, according to the Times report.
WorldNetDaily: Palestinians used Bible as toilet paper
May 18, 2005
WorldNetDaily.com
While Muslims have responded with deadly outrage to the now-retracted report by Newsweek of alleged Quran desecration by U.S. interrogators, there was little outcry three years ago when Islamic terrorists holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity reportedly used the Bible as toilet paper.
Catholic priests in the church marking the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born said that during the five-week siege, Palestinians tore up some Bibles for toilet paper and removed many valuable sacramental objects, according to a May 15, 2002, report by the Washington Times.
Newsweek is under fire for a report in its May 9 edition that sparked protests and rioting across the Muslim world resulting in 17 dead, scores injured, relief buildings burned down and a setback to years of coalition-building against terrorists.
Newsweek's Periscope column written by Michael Isikoff and John Barry included a brief item alleging U.S. military investigators at the Guantanamo Bay prison found evidence that interrogators placed copies of the Quran down the toilet in an effort to get prisoners to talk.
Despite Newsweek's retraction, the outrage in the Muslim world continues.
In Saudi Arabia yesterday, the country's top religious authority, Grand Mufti Adul-Aziz al-Sheik, condemned the alleged desecration and called for an investigation "to alleviate the sorrow that befell Muslims."
"We condemn and denounce this criminal act against Muslims' most sacred item," al-Sheik said.
Afghanistan's government said Newsweek should be held responsible for damages caused by the demonstrations, and Pakistan said the magazine's apology and retraction were "not enough."
In contrast, during the 2002 church siege, the muted complaints of Christians under the Muslim-dominated Palestinian Authority gained little traction.
The Palestinian gunmen, members of Yasser Arafat's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, seized church stockpiles of food and "ate like greedy monsters" until the food ran out, while more than 150 civilians went hungry, the Washington Times report said.
The indulgence lasted about two weeks into the 39-day siege, when the food and drink ran out, according to an account by four Greek Orthodox priests trapped inside. A church helper told the Times the quantity of food consumed by the gunmen in the first 15 days should have lasted six months.
Angry Orthodox priests showed reporters empty bottles of whiskey, champagne, vodka, cognac and French wine on the floor along with hundreds of cigarette butts.
"They should be ashamed of themselves. They acted like animals, like greedy monsters. Come, I will show you more," said one priest, who declined to give his name.
Computers were taken apart and a television set dismantled for use as a hiding place for weapons.
"You can see what repayment we got for 'hosting' these so-called guests," said Archbishop Ironius, according to the Times report.
WorldNetDaily: Palestinians used Bible as toilet paper
The Real Lesson of Newsweekgate
By Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com
May 18, 2005
When in April EBay offered a consecrated host for sale, imagine if Catholics had rioted and seventeen people were killed.
The media would have been full of stories about the dark side of the “Christian Right.”
Imagine if, when Muslims desecrated the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus in 2000, destroying it with hammers, rampaging Jewish mobs had killed dozens of Palestinians.
The establishment media response would again have inundated us with stories about the heroic Palestinians and their Israeli oppressors.
Neither of those things really happened. But seventeen people have been killed and hundreds wounded in riots by Muslims since Newsweek published its story about an American interrogator flushing a Qur’an down the toilet at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
And yet the media establishment seems preoccupied only with the fact that Newsweek, in publishing a false story that it has since retracted, has done a very bad thing. And that the Bush Administration must do something to calm tempers and soothe feelings in the Islamic world.
There is no excusing Newsweek’s irresponsibility in this. But this is not really a story about media bias or carelessness at all. There is a much larger story that is getting hardly any attention at all. The gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur’an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder.
This aspect of the story is being ignored by spokesmen on both the Left and the Right. After the initial reports of rioting, Juan Cole sputtered, “Whatever goddam military genius came up with the bright idea of flushing the Koran down the toilet at Guantanamo should be court-martialed, and Bush had better get out there apologizing before this thing spirals further out of control.” On the other side of the political spectrum, Paul Marshall wrung his hands in National Review: “Even if Newsweek publishes a full retraction, the damage is done. Much of the Muslim world will regard it merely as a cover-up and feel reconfirmed in the view that America is at war with Islam.”
Neither Cole nor Marshall, however, made any moral judgment about the rioters. Marshall was furious with Newsweek: “It would be charitable to think that if Newsweek had known how explosive the story was it may have held off until it had more confirmation. If this is true, it is an indication that the media’s widespread failure to pay careful attention to the complexities of religion not only misleads us about domestic and international affairs but also gets people killed.” Cole, for his part, directed his anger at the Bush Administration: “As a professional historian, I would say we still do not have enough to be sure that the Koran desecration incident took place. We have enough to consider it plausible. Anyway, the important thing politically is that some Muslims have found it plausible, and their outrage cannot be effectively dealt with by simple denial. That is why I say that Bush should just come out and say we can’t be sure that it happened, but if it did it was an excess, and he apologizes if it did happen, and will make sure it doesn’t happen again (if it did).”
Neither one says anything whatsoever about a culture that condones — celebrates —wanton murder of innocent people, mayhem, and destruction in response to the alleged and unproven destruction of a book.
The question here is one of proportionate response. If a Qur’an had indeed been flushed, Muslims would have justifiably been offended. They may justifiably have considered the perpetrators boors, or barbarians, or hell-bound unbelievers. They may justifiably have issued denunciations accordingly. But that is all. To kill people thousands of miles away who had nothing to do with the act, and to fulminate with threats and murder against the entire Western world, all because of this alleged act, is not just disproportionate. It is not just excessive. It is mad. And every decent person in the world ought to have the courage to stand up and say that it is mad.
I suspect that even Juan Cole and Paul Marshall, somewhere in the back of their minds, know that it is mad too. But why don’t they say so? Because Rule #1 in the establishment (Left and Right) view of this present conflict is that it has nothing to do with Islam. To bring a moral judgment to bear upon Muslim people, or to explore the ways in which Islam fuels the conflict, is therefore absolutely forbidden.
This kind of analysis, dominant as it is in the media, does the Western world an enormous disservice. The reaction to the Newsweek story in the Muslim world only shows how critical it is that the elements of Islam that give rise to fanaticism and violence be examined and confronted. Lives are at stake. But Cole and Marshall, and many others like them on both the Left and the Right, can’t see this necessity through the enveloping fog of political correctness.
FrontPage magazine.com :: The Real Lesson of Newsweekgate by Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com
May 18, 2005
When in April EBay offered a consecrated host for sale, imagine if Catholics had rioted and seventeen people were killed.
The media would have been full of stories about the dark side of the “Christian Right.”
Imagine if, when Muslims desecrated the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus in 2000, destroying it with hammers, rampaging Jewish mobs had killed dozens of Palestinians.
The establishment media response would again have inundated us with stories about the heroic Palestinians and their Israeli oppressors.
Neither of those things really happened. But seventeen people have been killed and hundreds wounded in riots by Muslims since Newsweek published its story about an American interrogator flushing a Qur’an down the toilet at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
And yet the media establishment seems preoccupied only with the fact that Newsweek, in publishing a false story that it has since retracted, has done a very bad thing. And that the Bush Administration must do something to calm tempers and soothe feelings in the Islamic world.
There is no excusing Newsweek’s irresponsibility in this. But this is not really a story about media bias or carelessness at all. There is a much larger story that is getting hardly any attention at all. The gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur’an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder.
This aspect of the story is being ignored by spokesmen on both the Left and the Right. After the initial reports of rioting, Juan Cole sputtered, “Whatever goddam military genius came up with the bright idea of flushing the Koran down the toilet at Guantanamo should be court-martialed, and Bush had better get out there apologizing before this thing spirals further out of control.” On the other side of the political spectrum, Paul Marshall wrung his hands in National Review: “Even if Newsweek publishes a full retraction, the damage is done. Much of the Muslim world will regard it merely as a cover-up and feel reconfirmed in the view that America is at war with Islam.”
Neither Cole nor Marshall, however, made any moral judgment about the rioters. Marshall was furious with Newsweek: “It would be charitable to think that if Newsweek had known how explosive the story was it may have held off until it had more confirmation. If this is true, it is an indication that the media’s widespread failure to pay careful attention to the complexities of religion not only misleads us about domestic and international affairs but also gets people killed.” Cole, for his part, directed his anger at the Bush Administration: “As a professional historian, I would say we still do not have enough to be sure that the Koran desecration incident took place. We have enough to consider it plausible. Anyway, the important thing politically is that some Muslims have found it plausible, and their outrage cannot be effectively dealt with by simple denial. That is why I say that Bush should just come out and say we can’t be sure that it happened, but if it did it was an excess, and he apologizes if it did happen, and will make sure it doesn’t happen again (if it did).”
Neither one says anything whatsoever about a culture that condones — celebrates —wanton murder of innocent people, mayhem, and destruction in response to the alleged and unproven destruction of a book.
The question here is one of proportionate response. If a Qur’an had indeed been flushed, Muslims would have justifiably been offended. They may justifiably have considered the perpetrators boors, or barbarians, or hell-bound unbelievers. They may justifiably have issued denunciations accordingly. But that is all. To kill people thousands of miles away who had nothing to do with the act, and to fulminate with threats and murder against the entire Western world, all because of this alleged act, is not just disproportionate. It is not just excessive. It is mad. And every decent person in the world ought to have the courage to stand up and say that it is mad.
I suspect that even Juan Cole and Paul Marshall, somewhere in the back of their minds, know that it is mad too. But why don’t they say so? Because Rule #1 in the establishment (Left and Right) view of this present conflict is that it has nothing to do with Islam. To bring a moral judgment to bear upon Muslim people, or to explore the ways in which Islam fuels the conflict, is therefore absolutely forbidden.
This kind of analysis, dominant as it is in the media, does the Western world an enormous disservice. The reaction to the Newsweek story in the Muslim world only shows how critical it is that the elements of Islam that give rise to fanaticism and violence be examined and confronted. Lives are at stake. But Cole and Marshall, and many others like them on both the Left and the Right, can’t see this necessity through the enveloping fog of political correctness.
FrontPage magazine.com :: The Real Lesson of Newsweekgate by Robert Spencer
Faked 'Gay Bashing' Incident
Faked 'Gay Bashing' Incident Not Cause for Derision, Says Former Homosexual
By Jim Brown
May 18, 2005
(AgapePress) - A speaker and author who was formerly homosexual is urging Christians to respond in love to homosexual students who fabricate "anti-gay" incidents on campus.
Police in Mill Valley, California, have revealed that a recent series of homosexual-bashing incidents at a local high school were perpetrated by a student homosexual leader who claimed she was the victim of hate crimes. The student, who heads the school's Gay Straight Alliance, has admitted the hoax, which included scrawling anti-homosexual epithets on her car and school locker and making threatening phone calls to lesbian teachers.
Ex-homosexual Chad Thompson is the founder of Inqueery, an organization that addresses homosexuality on high school and college campuses. Thompson says although the lesbian student faked the incidents to get attention, she should not be treated with ridicule.
"I think the right response from the Christian community is that we need to recognize that some of the hardship, some of the harassment, some of the ridicule that gay and lesbian people face is real -- and we need to be willing to acknowledge that without endorsing homosexuality," Thompson says. "I think a lot of Christians think that if we acknowledge that some of the social problems gay and lesbian people face are real, then we are giving our seal of approval to homosexual behavior -- and we're not."
It is important, he continues, that Christians not lose sight of the fact that homosexuals have spiritual needs. "[T]hey hurt like we do -- and they need a Savior like we do," Thompson says.
But sometimes "politics gets mixed up with people, and we can't tell which is which," he adds. "There is a political agenda behind many gay and lesbian organizations that is evil -- but gay and lesbian people are precious, precious souls that God loves just as much as He loves anyone else."
By Jim Brown
May 18, 2005
(AgapePress) - A speaker and author who was formerly homosexual is urging Christians to respond in love to homosexual students who fabricate "anti-gay" incidents on campus.
Police in Mill Valley, California, have revealed that a recent series of homosexual-bashing incidents at a local high school were perpetrated by a student homosexual leader who claimed she was the victim of hate crimes. The student, who heads the school's Gay Straight Alliance, has admitted the hoax, which included scrawling anti-homosexual epithets on her car and school locker and making threatening phone calls to lesbian teachers.
Ex-homosexual Chad Thompson is the founder of Inqueery, an organization that addresses homosexuality on high school and college campuses. Thompson says although the lesbian student faked the incidents to get attention, she should not be treated with ridicule.
"I think the right response from the Christian community is that we need to recognize that some of the hardship, some of the harassment, some of the ridicule that gay and lesbian people face is real -- and we need to be willing to acknowledge that without endorsing homosexuality," Thompson says. "I think a lot of Christians think that if we acknowledge that some of the social problems gay and lesbian people face are real, then we are giving our seal of approval to homosexual behavior -- and we're not."
It is important, he continues, that Christians not lose sight of the fact that homosexuals have spiritual needs. "[T]hey hurt like we do -- and they need a Savior like we do," Thompson says.
But sometimes "politics gets mixed up with people, and we can't tell which is which," he adds. "There is a political agenda behind many gay and lesbian organizations that is evil -- but gay and lesbian people are precious, precious souls that God loves just as much as He loves anyone else."
Pornographic Handouts at GLSEN Event
Family Advocates Outraged by Pornographic Handouts at GLSEN Event
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
May 18, 2005
(AgapePress) - A pro-family group in Massachusetts is blowing the lid off an obscene homosexual education conference put on by the Boston chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
GLSEN Boston's 15th Annual Conference was held at Brookline High School on April 30. Although the purported theme of the conference was 'Challenging Intolerance -- Sustaining Hope,' some conservatives feel a more fitting theme might have been 'challenging public decency standards and sustaining moral outrage.'
Among other things, the pro-homosexual network's "educational" conference featured distribution of pornographic materials encouraging homosexual acts. And according to at least two witnesses' estimates, the event was mostly attended by children of middle school age and up.
Brian Camenker, head of the Massachusetts conservative group Article 8 Alliance, notes that among the first handouts distributed at the conference was something called "The Little Black Book." In a recent interview with American Family Radio news, he says he was scandalized at this graphically illustrated pamphlet, subtitled "Being Gay in the 21st Century," and at "the fact that this would be available to kids, the first thing you got when you got there. And when you saw this thing ... I can't even describe it on the radio -- it is essentially [explaining] how you can do various homosexual acts."
Camenker is one of many pro-family activists in Massachusetts who are enraged over GLSEN's taxpayer-funded homosexual education conference and the obscene materials the group put into the hands of attendees -- materials effectively encouraging middle school and high school students to engage in homosexual sex acts. And of the so-called "Little Black Book," he says, "I've never in my entire life seen anything so vulgar, so gross, so disgusting, and just demeaning. It's almost animalistic."
In the interest of informing people about the magnitude of the outrages being committed by homosexual activists since the legalization of homosexual marriage in Massachusetts, the Article 8 Alliance has posted a link to the obscene pamphlet on its website. The pro-family group's spokesman feels it is important to document exactly what kind of perverse material was put into the hands of children at the GLSEN conference, "although," he warns, "I wouldn't necessarily suggest people look at it, because it's that bad."
Stephen Bennett, a national pro-family spokesman and former homosexual, agrees. He calls the booklet handed out at the GLSEN Boston conference "nothing less than hard-core pornography with vulgarity," and says the adults responsible for "polluting these young children's minds need to be arrested and thrown in jail for what they have done -- including the [school] faculty, staff and all state officials involved."
A Dangerous and Deadly Agenda
Bennett is the executive director of Stephen Bennett Ministries, an organization that works to educate the public about the dangers of the radical, extremist homosexual agenda being carried out all over the U.S. He says what happened at GLSEN Boston's 2005 conference is no less than indoctrination, and he warns, "This is just the beginning of the attack on America's children by militant homosexual activists."
The "Little Black Book" handout was created by the AIDS Action Committee and the Massachusetts Department of Health, which latter agency is directed by a man who recently married a same-sex partner. Besides the publication's gratuitous descriptions of homosexual acts, Brian Camenker notes, "it has 'health advice,' which -- according to a local physician who is an expert on sexually transmitted diseases -- is misinformation. It's basically [telling you] how to kill yourself."
Besides the taxpayer dollars used to pay for the GLSEN Boston 15th Annual Conference, Camenker says corporate dollars also flowed into the event. Among those companies supplying generous donations to help fund the conference were Bank of America and the Massachusetts Teachers Union.
News from Agape Press
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
May 18, 2005
(AgapePress) - A pro-family group in Massachusetts is blowing the lid off an obscene homosexual education conference put on by the Boston chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
GLSEN Boston's 15th Annual Conference was held at Brookline High School on April 30. Although the purported theme of the conference was 'Challenging Intolerance -- Sustaining Hope,' some conservatives feel a more fitting theme might have been 'challenging public decency standards and sustaining moral outrage.'
Among other things, the pro-homosexual network's "educational" conference featured distribution of pornographic materials encouraging homosexual acts. And according to at least two witnesses' estimates, the event was mostly attended by children of middle school age and up.
Brian Camenker, head of the Massachusetts conservative group Article 8 Alliance, notes that among the first handouts distributed at the conference was something called "The Little Black Book." In a recent interview with American Family Radio news, he says he was scandalized at this graphically illustrated pamphlet, subtitled "Being Gay in the 21st Century," and at "the fact that this would be available to kids, the first thing you got when you got there. And when you saw this thing ... I can't even describe it on the radio -- it is essentially [explaining] how you can do various homosexual acts."
Camenker is one of many pro-family activists in Massachusetts who are enraged over GLSEN's taxpayer-funded homosexual education conference and the obscene materials the group put into the hands of attendees -- materials effectively encouraging middle school and high school students to engage in homosexual sex acts. And of the so-called "Little Black Book," he says, "I've never in my entire life seen anything so vulgar, so gross, so disgusting, and just demeaning. It's almost animalistic."
In the interest of informing people about the magnitude of the outrages being committed by homosexual activists since the legalization of homosexual marriage in Massachusetts, the Article 8 Alliance has posted a link to the obscene pamphlet on its website. The pro-family group's spokesman feels it is important to document exactly what kind of perverse material was put into the hands of children at the GLSEN conference, "although," he warns, "I wouldn't necessarily suggest people look at it, because it's that bad."
Stephen Bennett, a national pro-family spokesman and former homosexual, agrees. He calls the booklet handed out at the GLSEN Boston conference "nothing less than hard-core pornography with vulgarity," and says the adults responsible for "polluting these young children's minds need to be arrested and thrown in jail for what they have done -- including the [school] faculty, staff and all state officials involved."
A Dangerous and Deadly Agenda
Bennett is the executive director of Stephen Bennett Ministries, an organization that works to educate the public about the dangers of the radical, extremist homosexual agenda being carried out all over the U.S. He says what happened at GLSEN Boston's 2005 conference is no less than indoctrination, and he warns, "This is just the beginning of the attack on America's children by militant homosexual activists."
The "Little Black Book" handout was created by the AIDS Action Committee and the Massachusetts Department of Health, which latter agency is directed by a man who recently married a same-sex partner. Besides the publication's gratuitous descriptions of homosexual acts, Brian Camenker notes, "it has 'health advice,' which -- according to a local physician who is an expert on sexually transmitted diseases -- is misinformation. It's basically [telling you] how to kill yourself."
Besides the taxpayer dollars used to pay for the GLSEN Boston 15th Annual Conference, Camenker says corporate dollars also flowed into the event. Among those companies supplying generous donations to help fund the conference were Bank of America and the Massachusetts Teachers Union.
News from Agape Press
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