ARTICLES - HOT OFF THE FAGGOT

Religion’s death rattle

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Religeon’s death rattle

Pope Benedict’s recent pontificating on the use of condoms vividly demonstrates how hopelessly out of step the Vatican hierarchy is with 21st century society.

He’s in good company, though.

As with leaders of religions the world over, the other common denominator is the consistent inability to provide incontrovertible, or, indeed any, proof that a ‘god’, whatever that might be, exists….this, despite two thousand years to come up with something remotely plausible. The best physical evidence the might and wisdom of the Holy Roman Catholic church could come up with is the Shroud of Turin; a proven fake. Yet, the influence of these mysterious and highly-secretive organisations is omnipresent in ‘western’ society, from high-profile ceremonies such as Remembrance Day, state weddings, funerals to more sinister aspects such as politics, where sixty-five Anglican Bishops sit in the Upper House at Westminster, deliberating and presiding over future legislation, among other things.

Almost all religious organisations in the U.K. enjoy charitable status, which allows them to operate with little scrutiny, if any. The Church of England, via its Investment Committee, controls assets held in Property, Stocks and Government Bonds to the tune of seven hundred and eight-five million pounds (source: The Church of England Pensions Board Annual Report 2008). At one stage, the CofE enjoyed representation on the Board of Directors of G.E.C. (later to morph into BAE Systems) manufacturers of ‘Rapier’ surface to air missile system. God is, indeed, love.

My favourite, though, was the 1994 case whereby the CofE bankrupted a Warwickshire farmer over a church roof repair bill of ninety-five thousand pounds, invoked under the Act of Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535. The case went as far as the Law Lords (see above) and the farmer’s legal bill ended up at more than half a million pounds.

It is anybody’s guess what the Vatican’s investment strategy is. There has been speculation that the Vatican Bank has been involved in money laundering, although this was never proved; unsurprisingly. However, when the Chairman of Italian Bank, ‘Banca Ambrosiano’, Roberto Calvi was found hanging from London’s Blackfriars Bridge in 1982, his murder resonated with both Masonic and religious symbology.

The failure of the Vatican, governments and police forces to bring paedophile priests to justice is utterly unforgivable, particularly in view of collusion between these three parties to cover this vile practice up in Ireland.

Now all we need is a full-blown scandal to hit Islam, where ‘female circumcision’, better described as genital butchery, of pre-pubescent girls is far too commonplace. It will be a while before it breaks, but with ever-increasing numbers of forced marriages and ‘honour’ killings, it’s only a matter of time before that house of cards comes crashing down. The serial indoctrination of impressionable youngsters at part-time Islamic schools in the U.K. using textbooks from the Saudi Arabian national Curriculum, in which Jews are referred to as ‘pigs’ and non-muslims as ‘infidels’ and ‘the enemy’ does not foster social cohesion. None of these schools are subject to OFSTED, or any other, regulatory inspection. Successive governments’ pathological fear of insulting muslims, and their particular fraction of that religion, could be something that ferments into unprecedented social unrest in decades to come.

As things stand, it is fair game to lampoon Christianity, but not the religion ‘that must not be insulted’. I hope and believe that this will change in the next couple of decades, but only once the sons and daughters of the so-called devout shake off the fear of repercussions for not toeing the party line. I, for one, can’t wait.

 

By NEIL PROBERTRead more at www.nwemail.co.uk
 

China church ordains bishop over Vatican objection

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China church ordains bishop over Vatican objection

CHENGDE, China (AP) — China's government–backed Catholic church ordained a bishop who did not have the pope's approval Saturday, despite objections from the Vatican and comments by a key papal adviser that the move was "illegitimate" and "shameful."

The Rev. Guo Jincai's ordination at Pingquan Church in Chengde city was carried out amid strong security, with dozens of police blocking the building and denying entrance to reporters. But there was also an air of festivity, with colorful banners and traditional Chinese lanterns hanging outside the church and worshippers posing for photos.

China's first ordination without papal approval in almost five years threatens to hurt the officially atheist country's already shaky relations with the Vatican, and the Holy See had warned reconciliation efforts would be set back if bishops were forced to attend.

Eight Vatican–approved bishops participated in the ceremony, according to AsiaNews, a Vatican–affiliated missionary news agency that closely covers the church in China. Three of them, Monsignors Jei Junmin of Liaoning, Li Lianggui of Cangzhou and Feng Xinmao of Hengshui, had been sequestered by the government a few days ago to pressure them into participating, AsiaNews said, citing Chinese Catholic sources.

Communist China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, and worship is allowed only in state–backed churches, although millions of Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.

In recent years, under Pope Benedict XVI, relations have improved. Disputes over appointments in China's official church have been avoided by quietly conferring on candidates, leading to several ordinations of bishops with the Holy See's blessing.

However, Guo does not have the pope's approval and it was perhaps his role as deputy secretary of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the state–controlled group that runs China's Catholic churches, that raised Vatican concerns.

Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, said the Vatican knew about the need for a bishop in Chengde two years ago.

"I believe the pope loves China. I believe just a handful of people in the Vatican are hindering the improvement of relations," he said.

The Vatican had no immediate comment Saturday.

Liu had said attendance by bishops at the ceremony would be voluntary.

"A Catholic diocese cannot be without a bishop, or the Gospel cannot be spread," Liu said. "We should not let any political reasons interfere with the spread of the Gospel in China."

He said that in time, China would elect bishops for more than 40 Catholic dioceses that are currently without them and expressed hope that the Vatican would endorse them.

Guo's ordination is the first without papal approval since 2006, when three bishop ordinations in China drew Vatican criticism, said an expert at a Catholic research center in Hong Kong who declined to be named.

The move came ahead of a meeting to choose the leadership of the government–backed church.

Recent estimates by scholars and church activists put the number of Chinese Catholics loyal to the pope as high as 60 million — three times the size of the official church.

Hong Kong's Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen, a key adviser to the pope, praised the Holy See for speaking out against the ordination as he arrived Friday at the Vatican for a meeting of cardinals to discuss religious freedom and other issues.

Zen, an outspoken advocate of democracy and religious freedom in China, has long been mistrusted by Beijing.

"It is really shameful, such an attempt to make another illegitimate ordination," Zen said. "It's against the whole civilization of today."

___

Associated Press (News - Alert) writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

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Controversial bishop faces expulsion for hiring lawyer with neo-Nazi ties

Controversial bishop faces expulsion for hiring lawyer with neo-Nazi ties

Vatican City, Nov 23, 2010 / 01:01 am (CNA).- Leaders of the Society of St. Pius X threatened to expel controversial member Bishop Richard Williamson for hiring a lawyer with neo-Nazi ties. The bishop will appeal charges in a German court for publicly denying the scope of the Holocaust.

Bishop Bernard Fellay – head of the St. Pius X society – ordered Bishop Williamson on Nov. 22 to fire his attorney Wolfram Nahrath, whom Bishop Williamson hired to represent him as he appeals an incitement conviction in Germany on Nov. 29.

The Associated Press reported that Nahrath has allegedly defended neo-Nazis in the past and is the former leader of a neo-Nazi group in Germany called Wiking-Jugend, or Viking Youth.

In April, a court in Regensburg, Germany fined the British-born Bishop Williamson almost $14,000, for his remarks in a 2009 interview with Swedish television on the Holocaust. The 70-year-old bishop had denied the magnitude of the Holocaust, saying only 300,000 Jews perished, and that there were no gas chambers.

It is considered a hate crime in Germany to deny the Holocaust, in which about six million Jews and millions of others were killed.

Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four society bishops this year, including Bishop Williamson, hoping to reconcile the group with the Catholic Church. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – who founded the Swiss-based group in 1969 which opposes some provisions of Vatican II – had ordained Bishop Williamson and two others without papal consent. He, along with Bishop Williamson and the two others, were excommunicated in 1988.

When Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications this year, Bishop Williamson's comments about the Holocaust caused controversy especially among Jewish groups. Bishop Williamson later offered an apology for his remarks, which the Vatican rejected as insufficient.

The society's general secretary Fr. Christian Thouvenot issued a statement on Nov. 20 explaining that “just ten days before his trial,” Bishop Williamson chose “to dismiss the lawyer charged with his defense, in favor of a lawyer who is openly affiliated to the so-called neo-Nazi movement in Germany, and to other such groups.”

“Bishop Fellay has given Bishop Williamson a formal order to go back on this decision and to not allow himself to become an instrument of political theses that are completely foreign to his mission as a Catholic bishop serving the Society of Saint Pius X,” he added.

Disobedience to this order, Fr. Thouvenot said “would result in Bishop Williamson being expelled from the Society of Saint Pius X.”

Related articles:

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The Associated Press: Pope: Vatican acted slowly, late in Legion scandal


Essential Tourist Traps, Part Seven: The Vatican

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Essential Tourist Traps, Part Seven: The Vatican

One of the coolest things that a tourist can do is to see an entire foreign country... All of it... From one end of the other.

This is activity that can literally take a lifetime in some cases, and for most of us, that's just too damn long. So how to choose?

Size matters. It has to be small, real small. So the best place is to start in Rome. The record books state that the City of Rome is home to three countries: Italy, of which it is the capitol,

The State of Vatican City, and the embassy of The Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta,

The Knights of Malta's embassy at Via dei Condotti 68, has official extraterritoriality, which means that, it's the territory, not of Italy, but of the Knights, which don't have a country back home like Belize or Monaco and thus, the small palace and it's courtyard are the whole shebang. They don't let tourists in, and there's nothing to actually see except a couple of trees and boring office space.

So that's why the Vatican's a must. It's an official country, and at 0.2 square miles, much of which is dedicated to one of the best museums in the world is doable, and thanks to the internet, now more than ever.

It used to be that getting a ticket to the garden tour, where you get to hike all the way to the helicopter pad on the western end of the country and back, was impossible. You had to send a fax to some monsignor somewhere, and wait a few weeks, and if the pope decided to take a jog or something, it could be canceled. Then you'd be stuck.

But today, it's different. Go to Tuscan tourism's website to apply, then pay the 35€ when they reply, and when the time comes, go. It's worth the trouble.

The first thing you notice when you get off at the Ottaviano metro station is that the reason the Vatican still exists is that it's surrounded by a very high and thick wall. Across the street are literally hundreds of souvenir shops, at least on the side close to St. Peter's basilica, and these sell religious articles and pope stuff, and it's best to ignore these for now. So look for the huge line and find where it begins. You don't need to wait because you've already got a ticket. You enter the museum entrance and go through customs, which resembles airport security. You will then notices the first of many official souvenir shops, which dot the museum. After presenting you're ticket to the people at the guided tour they give you a little radio receiver.

That way the guide doesn't have to yell and disturb the priests who hang out in the gardens to shirk their hard spiritual labors.

What's there is almost unexpected. Aside from the formal gardens, there's areas of lush subtropical splendor palm trees and banana bushes with parrots screeching from here and there. There's Pope Pius IV's pleasure dome, which dates from the early 16th century, which is a sight to behold, a small temple to the Madonna and John Paul II's jubilee bell from ten years ago.

The priests and Swiss guards don't like tourists mucking up their private park, and after about two hours of hiking, we're sent back to the grounds of the museum and relieved of our radios. The tour covers about 75% of the country, and the rest is the museum and the office buildings. While the offices are of no real interest to anybody who doesn't have business there, the museums are.

The Popes didn't live in the Vatican until 1870. That's because they controlled all of central Italy until then, and would only use it as glorified panic room when the Romans would revolt, or the Saracens or Germans for French would invade or something like that, and since these things would happen far more frequently than one might assume, what is now the museum was a rather large palace.

This palace now contains literally centuries of plunder and collections, Rome being almost three thousand years old and all, every time someone found a sculpture, his holiness would get first dibs on it, and if he was generous would actually pay for it.

The amount of ancient Roman sculpture on display is mind boggling there are tens of thousands of busts of anyone and everyone between emperors and slaves, some of which are rather famous, such as Laocoön and his Sons by Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, and the iconic image of the Emperor Augustus.

But the Sistine Chapel beckons, and while the art is spectacular, the place is as crowded as a subway car during rush hour, and the conservators keep the room dark, and it's difficult to take it in.

Then once you're finished with that, there's the long trek back to the exit, and on the way, there's dozens of official souvenir stands selling Michaelangelo reproductions and Pope stuff.

There's also a pizzaria, which isn't bad.

Then you have to leave the country, return to Italy, and follow the walls to St. Peter's basilica, which is a trip in itself. There's the huge works of art, and at least three dead popes in glass cases (John XXIII, Clement XI, and Pius X) and a souvenir shops in the treasury area and near the statue of Constantine. The huge church is in fact built over a graveyard, and you can see that too, but aside from the graves of the two John Pauls, it's difficult to find any of the more interesting ones.

The area around the entrance to the basilica has a dozen or so official Tchotchke places, so it qualifies as a tourist trap. It is essential.

Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com
 

Vatican Confirms Shift on Condoms as AIDS Prevention - NYTimes.com


Does Grandma look like a terrorist?

Amplify’d from israelmatzav.blogspot.com



Does Grandma look like a terrorist?

Just how ridiculous has this gotten? Does Grandma look like a terrorist? Well, I suppose this Grandma does. In fact, she was one.

But this one?

Israeli security would have dismissed her in about 30 seconds. They would just make sure she packed her own bags.

Things have gotten so bad that Laura Rozen reports that a group of Congressional staffers was embarrassed by a TSA demonstration.
[A House staffer who attended the briefing] said that several House staffers were so uncomfortable they averted their eyes when the TSA demonstrated an enhanced pat-down in the room of 200 people.

“The dumbest part: they did two pat-down demonstrations – male on male, and female on female,” the House staffer said. And they used a young female TSA volunteer “and in front of a room of 200 people, they touched her breasts and her buttocks. People were averting their eyes. The TSA was trying to demonstrate ‘this is not so bad,’ but it made people so uncomfortable to watch, that people were averting their eyes.”

“They shot themselves in the foot,” the staffer continued.
Sounds like a description of pornography to me.

And then there are the TSA employees themselves - many of whom are also embarrassed (Hat Tip: Instapundit).
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union that represents TSA workers, is urging the TSA to do more to protect its employees from abuse from airline passengers angry over the new security methods. The union reports that some members “have reported instances in which passengers have become angry, belligerent and even physical with TSOs (transportation security officers). In Indianapolis, for example, a TSO was punched by a passenger who didn’t like the new screening process,” the union said in a Nov. 17 statement posted on its website.

Union President John Gage called on TSA to provide an educational pamphlet to each passenger describing both their rights and the details of the new procedures, which include full-body scans and enhanced pat-downs.

“This absence of information has resulted in a backlash against the character and professionalism of TSOs,” said Gage in a statement. “TSA must act now — before the Thanksgiving rush — to ensure that TSOs are not being left to fend for themselves.”

“Our concern is that the public not confuse the people implementing the policies with the people who developed the policies,” said Sharon Pinnock, the union's director of membership and organization.
Speaking of rights when you're being groped by the TSA, check this guy out.

By the way, is this true everywhere in the US? TSA now searches you after you go through customs before you leave the airport? If so, that's absurd.Read more at israelmatzav.blogspot.com
 

Here's looking at you: Professor embeds third eye - News - Mail & Guardian Online


Protestants Are Biblical Hypocrites, According To Vatican

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Protestants Are Biblical Hypocrites, According To Vatican
Lucifer worship alive and well in Rome
By Greg Szymanski, JD

Nov. 23, 2010

The Vatican openly in its own words has declared all Protestants who worship on Sunday true hypocrites for not adhering to Biblical truth.


The Vatican went on to say there are only two groups left to follow and all Christians, bar none,  should choose either to worship under the “Mother Church’s” authority on Sunday or follow the 7th day Adventists and worship on Saturday.


There is no other choice, according to Rome.


The Vatican  further went on to say the only true Protestants left are the 7th Day Adventists since they are the only denomination left who truly follow the Word.


“The Adventists are the only body of Christians with the Bible as their teacher, who can find no warrant in its pages for the change of day from the seventh to the first . . . Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.”–Catholic Mirror, September 2 and December 23, 1893 [The Catholic Mirror, a Baltimore journal was at this time the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons].


“The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”–The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4 [This is the political weekly newspaper at the Cleveland Catholic Diocese].


“Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says, No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And ho! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church.”–Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, and printed in the Hartford Kansas Weekly Call, February 22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic journal in June 1893, page 173.


“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act . . . AND THE ACT IS A MARK of her ecclesiastical power.”–from the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H.F. Thomas, November 11, 1895.


Rome in its own words shrewdly depicts and calls Protestants, save the Adventists, unfaithful to the word of God, declaring the Bible specifically calls for Sabbath worship on Saturday, the 7th day. Conversely, Rome declares they have the authority to change God’s commandment since the Pope is “God on earth”, of course making Sunday worship acceptable and eventually the law of the land.


It boils down to telling Protestants if you worship on Sunday you worship based on Rome’s authority, the “god on earth”,  thus becoming  Roman Catholic by accepting the Vatican’s authority.


Here are some more quotes, well worth reading, showing the Vatican’s stance:


“If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.”–Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter dated February 10, 1920.


“We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”–Peter Geiermann, CSSR, A Doctrinal Catechism, 1957 edition, p. 50 [Geiermann (1870-1929) received a papal approbation from the Vatican on his book on January 25, 1910].


“Q. What is the Third Commandment? [the fourth in Protestant Bibles, because the Catholic Church took out the Second Commandment--Exodus 20:4-6]

“A. The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

“Q. Which is the Sabbath day?

“A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.

“Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

“A. The Catholic Church, after changing the day of rest from Saturday, the seventh day of the week, to Sunday, the first day, made the third commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept as the Lord’s Day.”–Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 153.


“Ques. –What do we conclude from all this?

“Ans. –That Protestants have no Scripture for the measure of their day of rest,–that they abolish the observance of Saturday without warrant of Scripture,–that they substitute Sunday in its place without Scriptural authority,–consequently, that for all this, they have only traditional authority. Yet Protestants would look upon a man who would . . . keep the Saturday and profane the first day, as a victim of perdition. Hence we must conclude [from the Protestant belief of our teachings], that the Scripture, which does not teach these things clearly, does not contain all necessary truths, and, consequently, cannot be the only rule of faith.”–Stephan Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, pp. 334-335 [Keenan was a Scottish Catholic priest, whose catechism is much used in Roman Catholic schools to instruct children and youth].


“We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for keeping Sunday holy instead of Saturday as we have for every other article of our creed; namely, the authority of ‘the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Timothy 3:15); whereas you who are Protestants have really no authority for it whatever; for there is no authority for it in the Bible, and you will not allow that there can be authority for it anywhere else. Both you and we do, in fact, follow tradition in this matter; but we follow it, believing it to be a part of God’s word, and the [Catholic] Church to be its divinely appointed guardian and interpreter; you follow it [the Catholic Church], denouncing it all the time as a fallible and treacherous guide, which often ‘makes the commandments of God of none effect’ [quoting Matt. 15:6].”–The Brotherhood at St. Paul, The Clifton Tracts, Vol. 4, tract 4, p. 15 [Roman Catholic].


“The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”–The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4 [This is the political weekly newspaper at the Cleveland Catholic Diocese].


“By what authority did the [Catholic] Church change the observance of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

“The Protestant world has been, from its infancy in the sixteenth century, in thorough accord with the Catholic Church, in keeping ‘holy’ not Saturday, but Sunday . . . If however, on the other hand, the latter [the Catholics] furnish arguments, incontrovertible by the great mass of Protestants, . . . [they] appealing to their common teacher, the Bible, the great body of Protestants, so far from clamoring, as they do with vigorous pertinacity for the strict keeping of Sunday, have no other resource left than the admission that they have been teaching and practicing what is Scripturally false for over three centuries, by adopting the teaching and practice of what they have always pretended to believe an apostate church, contrary to every warrant and teaching of Sacred Scripture. To add to the intensity of this Scriptural and unpardonable blunder, it involves one of the most positive and emphatic commands of God to His servant, man: ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.’ “–The Christian Sabbath [a tract for Protestants], 2nd ed., The Catholic Mirror, 1893, pp. 6-7.


“All the names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that He is over the church, all the same names are applied to the pope.”–Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, De Conciliorum Auctoritate–On the Authority of the Councils), Bk. 2, chap. 17 [Bellarmine (1542-1621), a professor and rector at the Gregorian University in Rome, is generally considered to have been one of the outstanding Jesuit instructors in the history of this organization].


On April 30, 1922, in the Vatican throne room, a throng of cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, boys, and girls, who had all fallen on their knees in reverence of the one before them, were addressed from the throne by Pope Pius XI, who said: “You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on the earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means I am God on the earth.”–Pope Pius Xl, quoted in The Bulwark, October, 1922, p. 104 [Pius Xl (1857-1939) was pope from 1922-1939, and was the one who signed the Treaty of the Lateran with Mussolini in 1929, whereby Vatican City was established. He consistently backed Mussolini's policies and government until he met with military reverses] . . .


“The Pope can modify [change] the Divine Law.”–Lucius Ferraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary [Ferraris (d. before 1763) was an Italian Catholic official of the Franciscan order, highly placed in the Church].


“We define that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff holds the primacy over the whole world.”–Philippe Labbe and Gabriel Cossart, The Most Holy Councils, vol. 13, col. 1167, on “The Council at Trent.”


“The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God. He is the divine monarch and supreme emperor, and king of kings. Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions.”–Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, vol. 6, art. “Papa II” [Ferraris (d. prior to 1763) was an Italian Catholic canonist and consultor to the Holy Office in Rome].


“We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”–Pope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, p. 304 [Leo XIII (1810-1903) was pope from 1878 until his death. He was one of the most forceful popes of the nineteenth century]


Not the Creator of the universe, in Genesis 2:1-3,–but the Catholic Church “can claim the honor of having granted man a pause to his work every seven days [!]“–S. C. Mosna, Storia della Domenica, pp. 366-367 [This is a recent work of the twentieth century (1969), prepared by the author under the direction of the leading Jesuit university in the world--the Gregorian, in Rome].



The following Catholic tract was originally published in The Catholic Mirror (the magazine of Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore), on September 2, 1893. In it, a contrast is made between the Biblical faith and practice of the Hebrews, the Seventh-day Adventists, and the other Protestant churches, in order to ridicule the usual Protestant position in regard to Sunday:

“The Israelite respects the authority of the Old Testament only, but the Adventist who is a Christian, accepts the New Testament on the same ground as the Old, viz.: an inspired record also. He finds that the Bible, his teacher is consistent in both parts; that the Redeemer, during His mortal life, never kept any other day than Saturday. The Gospels plainly evince to him this fact; while in the pages of the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles and the Apocalypse [Revelation], not the vestige of an act canceling the Saturday arrangement [seventh-day Sabbathkeeping] can be found.

“The Protestant world at its birth [as he thinks, at the time of the Sixteenth Century Reformation] found the Christian Sabbath too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence [to oppose Sundaykeeping]; it [Protestantism] was therefore planted under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement, thus implying the Church’s right to change the day . . . The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is therefore to this day the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church, as Spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant world.”–The Christian Sabbath, 2nd ed., The Catholic Mirror, 1893, p. 31.


“All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the apostles changed [the day] from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Church outside the Bible.”– “To Tell You The Truth,” The Catholic Virginian, 22, October 3, 1947, p. 9.


“Protestants often deride the authority of Church tradition, and claim to be directed by the Bible only; yet they, too, have been guided by customs of the ancient Church, which find no warrant in the Bible, but rest on Church tradition only! A striking instance of this is the following:–The first positive command in the Decalogue is to ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,’ . . . But the Sabbath Day, the observance of which God commanded, was our Saturday. Yet who among either Catholics or Protestants, except a sect or two, ever keep that commandment now? None. Why is this? The Bible, which Protestants claim to obey exclusively, gives no authorization for the substitution of the first day of the week for the seventh. On what authority, therefore, have they done so? Plainly on the authority of that very Catholic Church which they abandoned, and whose traditions they condemn.”–John L. Stoddard, Rebuilding a Lost Faith, p. 80 [Stoddard (1850-1931) was an agnostic writer most of his life, who later was converted to Catholicism].


“A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”–Peter Geiermann, CSSR, A Doctrinal Catechism, 1957 edition, p. 50 [Geiermann (1870-1929) received a papal approbation from the Vatican on his book on January 25, 1910].


However, what Rome doesn’t tell you is that by worshiping on Sunday, the day authorized by the Vatican, you are actually without knowing it paying homage to the Vatican’s god, Lucifer. Yes, pagan Babylon is alive and well, mixing sun and Lucifer worship together with a touch of Christianity all rolled up into a nice tidy Vatican ball of confusion and nonsensical biblical doctrine.


For if the truth be known, Lucifer is exactly who the beast in Rome worships, of course, masquerading behind the robes of Jesus, using Him as its main shill.


The Vatican also doesn’t bother to tell you how the ecumenical movement is geared for nothing else then moving all the religions of the world into Lucifer’s camp, the Pope of course being Lucifer’s main man on earth.


This false ecumenical movement and false unification movement, of course includes every single Protestant denomination in America, leading to a sad state of affairs for those who somehow find it necessary to worship on Saturday like the 7th Day Adventists.


However, the Vatican and Lucifer will not be content until even the Adventists are totally infiltrated and that is going on as we speak. Here is a portion of a web site of interest, outlining this infiltration at  www.theirmanygods.blogspot.com


EXPERTS ON JESUIT TACTICS


Dr. Walter J. Veith took studies in zoology at Stellenbosch (old SA) and the University of Cape Town. Since then he’s taught at several universities in the Cape. http://amazinghealth.org/AH-SpeakersWrit… He has published authoritative works in areas like zoology, history, Bible prophecy, nutrition, music, Jesuits, and free masons. Dr. Veith’s current focus is ecumenism and its roll in fulfillment of the prophecies of Revelation.



Dr. Colin Standish is a veteran Adventist educator with great experience in managing, and even starting, colleges. He has published works dealing with apostasy, prophecy, and Jesuit infiltration.


AND THEIR OPPOSITION


“The greater man’s influence for good, under the control of the Spirit of God, the more determined will be the enemy to indulge his envy and jealousy toward him by religious persecution.” (Ellen White, Selected Messages Book 3, p 402)


PROFESSIONAL ENVY AND JEALOUSY – TROUBLED PRIESTS


Dr. Veith has documented changes made to some modern Bible translations to fit in with new-age theology in his Total Onslaught series. Dr. Ekkehardt Mueller of the Adventist Biblical Research Institute (BRI) has a problem with this. He wants Veith to stick to zoology, leaving Bible text interpretation to the priests.



And his basis? “it is — in good catholic fashion — the church that controls the Scripture and not vice versa“. (Dr. Ekkehardt Mueller, reference)


Dr. Veith was slow to take the hint, so the BRI published an article in their house journal Reflections in an attempt to discredit Dr. Veith. The article admitted 1) there had been many changes made to the “modern” versions, 2) they were based off papers “found” in the Vatican library, 3) at least one material change was made which watered down the Christ-centered theology of the Bible. Author Kovar provided the unsupported opinion that the changes weren’t all that bad, and expressed the wish that Dr. Veith would quite irritating people (like those pictured at left) with his teachings.


WHY THE HARASSMENT?


Why would Adventist theologians have a problem with their fellow Adventist Dr. Veith giving well-documented presentations on religious matters? These men don’t object to any of his specific sources or authorities, so what problem could they have with truth?


TELLTALE SIGNS OF INFILTRATION


“in the nineteenth century the Jesuits penetrated the Anglican Church in force. This infiltration led to the formation of what became known as the Oxford movement early in that century. This movement among young Anglican clerics upheld the re-introduction of Catholic practices”. The Oxford movement dominated the efforts to revise the King James Version of the Bible in the 1870s. (Colin D. Standish, Celia Standish, Modern Bible Translations Unmasked, 2nd ed., Hartland Publications, 2006, p 9)


CATHOLIC WORSHIP FEATURES, SYMBOLS, AND PRACTICES


“The Early Reformers, when they came out of Rome, removed them [organs] as the monuments of idolatry. Luther called the organ an ensign of Baal” (John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. 6, Harper & Brothers, 1883, p 762)


INFILTRATORS ROLL BACK REFORMATION


Today, Adventist churches typically have organs. And so many more of the symbols of idolatry.


INFILTRATORS WORK TO BRING ADVENTIST CHURCH BACK TO ROME


“Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed the commitment of the Catholic Church to the ecumenical movement, and stated that ecumenism would be the “primary task” of his pontificate.”


Once again, the infiltration has been successful. Today, the Adventist church has “ecumenical tendencies”. (Reinder Bruinsma, Conspiracies, Adventist Review, 10 Sep 2009, p 27) (fully documented here) “Reinder Bruinsma, Ph.D., is the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Netherlands”. http://www.ministrymagazine.org/authors/…


BUT DIDN’T THE REFORMERS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?


“Nicholas P. Miller is director of the International Religious Liberty Institute at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.” He observes that Rome engaged in some severe repression of religious liberty “including the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the war on heretical groups such as the Waldenses”. (Nicholas Miller, The Pope Calls for a World Political Order, Adventist Review, 9 Jul 2009)


How would the Jesuits deal with this objection?


“TRUST US”


“Clifford R. Goldstein is a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor. He is a leading figure in the denomination.” (Clifford Goldstein, Wikipedia) “I’m sure Jesus looks approvingly on ‘loving, monoganamous, and committed’ homosexual sodomy”. (Clifford Goldstein, reference) Elder Goldstein is a member of the Executive Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. http://www.adventistyearbook.org/ViewAdm… “let’s all reclaim a righteous confidence that those we have asked to serve us as leaders will certainly not ignore, hide, or minimize any genuine threat to the liberties we justly prize.” (Bill Knott, Adventist Review Editor, Those Conspiracy Theories, Adventist Review, 10 Apr 2008, p 5)


BUT NOT EVERY ADVENTIST HAS THAT RIGHTEOUS CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERS


“the leaders of the church in both the North American Division and the General Conference—the offices for which are located less than 14 miles from the White House—are ignorant of events occurring in their very backyard, lulled into a fatal sense of end-time complacency, or worst of all, somehow in league with the enemies of religious freedom.” (Bill Knott, Adventist Review Editor, Those Conspiracy Theories, Adventist Review, 10 Apr 2008, p 5)


THAT LEAGUE IS CALLED THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES


“The Roman Catholic Church is very influential within the WCC”. (John Graz, Director of Public Affairs, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Is The General Conference Involved in Ecumenism?, Reflections – A BRI Newsletter, Number 19, July 2007, p 2) Since the establishment of the World Council of Churches in 1948, Adventists have been present at the meetings. (Reinder Bruinsma, Genève, 28 Aug 2009, http://reinderbruinsma.com/index.php/200…) (“Maar vanaf de oprichting van de Wereldraad in 1948 zijn adventisten altijd als ‘waarnemer’ aanwezig geweest.”)


And the purpose of this league? “The purpose of the WCC is to promote Christian unity.” (John Graz, Director of Public Affairs, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Is The General Conference Involved in Ecumenism?, Reflections – A BRI Newsletter, Number 19, July 2007, p 2)


Which is exactly what the pope is working for — “the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers.” (Matthew Bunson, Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Almanac, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2009, p 578)


NOT JUST THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES


The top Jesuits who operate openly in monastic robes at the Vatican find that they like to meet with their Jesuit brethren (in mufti) in the Adventist church more often than just at the World Council of Churches meetings. And so they get together annually at the “Conference of Secretaries of the Christian World Communions”. “The Conference of Secretaries represents about two billion Christians and covers more churches than any other organization, including the WCC. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church are represented and so are the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Mennonite Conference, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Baptist World Alliance, and others. Adventists have played an important role in this Conference in opening it to Evangelicals. Bert B. Beach was the Secretary of the Conference for 32 years.” (John Graz, Is The General Conference Involved in Ecumenism?, Reflections – A BRI Newsletter, Number 19, July 2007, p 2) “Some, understanding the deliberate infiltration of men bent upon the destruction of God’s church, often seek to expose the identity of such men.” “Of course there are Jesuits in our church.” (Russell R. Standish, Colin D. Standish, The General Conference Confronts Apostasy, Hartland Publications, 2006, p 201)


LEAGUE/ASSOCIATION WITH ROME CONFIRMED BY ADVENTIST REVIEW


Accordingly, “a person must also conclude that the leaders of the church in both the North American Division and the General Conference … in league with the enemies of religious freedom.” (Bill Knott, Adventist Review Editor, Those Conspiracy Theories, Adventist Review, 10 Apr 2008, p 5)


Just “in league”? Make that full unity. Edinburgh 2010.


BUT “ENEMIES OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM” (PER KNOTT)?


“there can be no doubt that Benedict XVI, like his predecessor, favors using the instruments of civil government to enforce a Sunday day of rest”. (Bill Knott, Adventist Review Editor, Those Conspiracy Theories, Adventist Review, 10 Apr 2008, p 5)


“The Catholic Church has, in the past, tried to prohibit the reading and distribution of the Word of God. In fact, the Scriptures were listed under the: “Index of Prohibited Books” by Pope Paul IV in 1599 and Archbishop Adolphus in 1462 broke up the printing establishments of Gutenberg and Schoeffer in order to prevent their circulation.” (Walter J. Veith, Truth Matters, Amazing Discoveries, 2007, p 207) And now you can see why the BRI is so irritated by Dr. Veith’s study and promotion of the Word of God.


“Of course there are Jesuits in our church.” (Russell R. Standish, Colin D. Standish, The General Conference Confronts Apostasy, Hartland Publications, 2006, p 201)


DAYS OF TRIUMPH AND GLORY


Friends and fellow believers!!! Brother Walter Veith has had to endure some opposition.


But now the tide has turned!!! Top officials throughout Adventism have come together in providing authoritative confirmation of Brother Veith’s research!!!


YES, ECUMENISM IS GOING ON


The Adventist Review proclaims that the Adventist church has “ecumenical tendencies”. (Bruinsma, supra) Dr. Veith, you got it right!! Top Adventist officials run the principal ecumenical conferences!! (Graz, supra)


YES, CATHOLIC WORSHIP PRACTICES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK


So many Roman worship practices, with the attendant idolatry, have been brought into the Adventist church. The Bible speaks against this sort of thing, but “Sure, once you dismiss the clear reading of the texts, then you can justify and rationalize any practice you want.” (Clifford Goldstein, reference)


WHY NOT TRUST THOSE JESUIT PRIESTS?


“Meanwhile, beware of false teachers in your church, and beware of their greed (2 Peter 2:2)!” (Angel Manuel Rodríguez, Gloomy Dungeons for Evil Angels, Adventist World, September 2009)  www.amazingdiscoveries2010.org.za


“Such attitudes toward the church’s elected leaders are repugnant, and hold up to contempt the men and women whose wisdom, experience, and character are every day being used by the Lord Jesus to advance His cause in this world.” (Bill Knott, Adventist Review Editor, Those Conspiracy Theories, Adventist Review, 10 Apr 2008, p 5)


THAT VOICE OF WISDOM, EXPERIENCE, AND CHARACTER:


“You can get something more accurate out of a fortune cookie than from the Word of God”. (Clifford Goldstein, reference) “Of course there are Jesuits in our church.” (Russell R. Standish, Colin D. Standish, The General Conference Confronts Apostasy, Hartland Publications, 2006, p 201)


ADVENTIST LEADER BRUINSMA CONFIRMS JESUIT INFILTRATION


“And no wonder, for the church has been infiltrated by the very same forces of darkness that he has come to expose!” (Reinder Bruinsma, Conspiracies, Adventist Review, 10 Sep 2009, p 27) “we can be sure that the enemy has breached our lines.” (David Asscherick, reference)


We congratulate Professor Walter J. Veith of South Africa for his brilliant insights and solid proclamation.


BUT KEEP IN MIND:


The Church of the living God is in good shape, as it always has been. “Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God.” (Ellen White, S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 7 (1957), p 949)


RELATED READING:


Walter Veith breaks BRI Monopoly / Adventist Biblical Research Institute wants him to stick to zoology



Edinburgh 2010 – Adventist Church and Rome get Engaged: Why they needed the new Bible versions


Getting to Know the Top Jesuits at the General Conference / Plenty of Pictures


The Ecumenical Movement in the Adventist Church


Graphics:

 http://www.nystartilivet.dk/files/billed…


 http://bestuff.com/images/images_of_stuf…


 http://www.e-ccet.org/Papal.JPG


 http://www.revelation-today.com/Huguenot…


 http://parl.gc.adventist.org/images/Pict…


Jesus of Nazareth

 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51…


 http://www.hartlandpublications.org/GCCA…


Other acknowledgments: “Reflections is the official newsletter of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference. It seeks to share information concerning doctrinal and theological developments among Adventists and to foster doctrinal and theological unity in the world church. The newsletter is only accessible to pastors, theologians, and administrators of the church.” http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org…

Read more at www.arcticbeacon.com
 

'Hundreds' arrested in Gaza as 'collaborators'

Amplify’d from israelmatzav.blogspot.com



'Hundreds' arrested in Gaza as 'collaborators'

The Christian Science Monitor reports - sympathetically - on the arrest of 'hundreds' of supposed 'collaborators' with Israel in the Gaza Strip. While many of those 'collaborators' allegedly undertook to help Israel in return for their relatives being admitted to Israeli hospitals for medical treatment (a claim we hear all the time, but which I frankly find not believable), what the Monitor finds 'shocking' is that the top echelons of 'Palestinian society' are involved in 'collaborating.'
The campaign to root out spies for Israel has near unanimous support in Gaza. Nearly everyone agrees that collaboration is a serious problem and the spies should be found and brought to justice (the death penalty is widely supported for collaborators). And few are surprised that poor Gazans who need medical treatment outside the enclave would provide information in return for permission to travel. [And therefore deserve the death penalty? CiJ]

What has shocked people, and caused worry, was the arrests of doctors, engineers, and even members of the Hamas government, who are reported to be collaborators.

“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” says Ihab El Helu, a nut seller in Gaza City’s market. “After this campaign we discovered some of the most respected people in society were collaborating with Israel. So who can we trust anymore? If the elite and intellectuals are involved, who else? Who is not involved?”
But nothing has been discovered or proven. Most of these cases have nothing to go on other than the fact that 'someone' turned them in. Eventually, they will all be tortured into signing 'confessions' (the Monitor hints at that but glosses over it) and they will all be put to death although many of them may not have even collaborated. We don't know how many of these people really are 'collaborators' and how many were turned in by vindictive spouses or angry relatives or acquaintances.

On the other hand, one cannot be surprised by the fact that the Strip's intellectuals are willing to work against the Hamas 'government.' Perhaps if Hamas had used the international aid that it received and continues to receive to build decent medical centers - so that people don't have to go to Israel or Egypt for treatment - rather than using it to create an Islamist terror state, doctors and other intelligentsia of the society would not feel the need to work against Hamas by any way possible, including 'collaborating' with Israel.

The picture at the top is a 2006 execution that took place in Samaria. The person lying on the ground is the 'collaborator,' the white bag standing over him and spitting on him is his mother. Details of that execution (which was carried out by the 'moderates' of the 'Palestinian Authority') are here.Read more at israelmatzav.blogspot.com