Amplify’d from www.nydailynews.com

Sect of Brooklyn 'nun' who falsely cried rape has bizarre history, mysterious members

Gabel for News The Apostles of Infinite Love's house in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

www.magnificat.ca The Apostles of Infinite Love's Quebec compound.

A Brooklyn nun's confession in a bogus rape case has opened a window on a shadowy sect that broke from the Catholic Church decades ago and has been called a cult.

The Quebec-based Apostles of Infinite Love has run the East Flatbush convent since 1984 - and the nuns strike an odd presence in the neighborhood as they periodically emerge to walk the streets single file in their blue habits.

"We are a begging order. We go door to door for donations," said Sister Lydwina, the order's mother superior. "It's a hard life, but providence has managed to help us."

The group - which has no affiliation with the Catholic Church - has up to 500 members in Canada, the U.S. and South and Central America. There are just seven or eight in the Brooklyn home.

Among them was a 26-year-old French Canadian novice, Mary Turcotte, who had been working as a cook for about a month when she made the shocking claim that a towering black man raped her in a snow bank.

She later admitted she'd made up the story as cover for a consensual romp that also might have been fiction, sources said. She was not charged.

"She was a troubled girl," Lydwina said. "We sent her back to her family in Quebec."

The Turcottes are one of several large families that live in the Apostles' sprawling rural compound in the mountains north of Montreal, former members of the order said.

"[She] grew up in the order. Her parents still live in the compound," said a woman who has fled the group. "My guess is that she, the same as I, figured out that she wants more than this life."

The ex-member, like others who spoke with the Daily News, demanded anonymity out of fear she would be cut off from relatives still in the sect.

The group has its origins in France, where a Catholic priest named Michel Collin declared himself Pope Clement in 1950 and was defrocked.

In 1961, he joined forces with a French Canadian named Jean-Gaston Tremblay, who had founded a monastery in Quebec. When Collin died, Tremblay became leader, calling himself Pope Gregory.

Preaching an isolationist and apocalyptic vision, Tremblay attracted a small following among Catholics unhappy with Vatican II reforms.

"They were saying the end of the world was coming and true days of darkness were coming and we had so many hours and days to join," said Joseph Daeges, 43, who fled in 1998 after 30 years of Apostles membership.

"This group was targeting people who didn't like the changes going on around them," said another former member. "What's the easiest thing to do at a time of change? Go back to tradition."

At its peak, the group had as many as 900 followers. Members cut themselves off from the outside world and focused on farming and publishing religious texts.

"No phones, no TV, magazines, nothing," the former member said. "People gave up their worldly possessions to the Apostles, so that's where their properties and some money came from."

Children were separated from their parents and boys and girls lived apart.

"The boys became priests; the girls nuns," the former member said. "They thought they had a choice but it was really brainwashing."

Some who fled complained of physical and sexual abuse. That led Canadian authorities to raid the compound and arrest Tremblay and other church leaders in the late 1990s. The charges were later dropped.

Experts say the Apostles bear all the hallmarks of a cult.

"In my opinion, it is a very destructive cult," said Rick Ross, a well-known cult deprogammer who has interviewed several former members. "It runs the whole gamut - physical abuse, psychological coercion, financial control."

Officials at the monastery declined to discuss the order. "The subject you wish to write about cannot be dealt with in a few lines or paragraphs," it said in a statement.

As its members have died off, the group has dwindled in numbers. Tremblay, now 82, is in poor health and no longer runs day-to-day operations, the former members said.

lalpert@nydailynews.com Read more at www.nydailynews.com

 

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Amplify’d from www.heraldsun.com.au

Pope Benedict wanted priests to have sex

When he was younger, Pope Benedict believed that relaxing celibacy rules would attract more men to the priesthood / AP Source: AP

DOCUMENTS reveal that as a young priest, the Pope signed a memorandum suggesting celibacy rules be relaxed to attract priests.

Father Brian Lucas, general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said there was a range of opinions on the matter, AdelaideNow reports.

He said the present mind of the Vatican was to keep the current practice, despite a perceived shortage of priests.

"Shortage is a relative term," Father Lucas said.

"The discipline and practice of celibacy would be an obstacle for some. Others see it as important," he said.

Father Dean Marin, director of vocations for the Adelaide Archdiocese, said the priesthood was a way of life.

Father Marin said priests were a living sign of the presence of God and of God's kingdom: "By remaining celibate, the priest witnesses to the possibility of living totally for God," he said. Read more at www.heraldsun.com.au

 

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Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

Is this secretive Christian group a threat to US church/state division?

The Family, which has links with senior politicians including Barack Obama, has been dogged by controversy in recent years

Becky Garrison

George W Bush and Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2008. Photograph: Rex Features

More than 3,000 religious leaders, US politicians and representatives from foreign governments will convene in Washington DC today for the annual National Prayer Breakfast. This event, which began in 1953, marks the only publicised function for The Family [or The Fellowship], a private Christian organisation that has been described by religion scholar Jeff Sharlet in his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power as one of the most powerful Christian fundamentalist movements in the United States.

Keynote speakers who have addressed this breakfast include Tony Blair, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Bono. Beneath this public display of civil religion, Sharlet reported that internal documents describe this as a gathering "where anything could happen … The Koran could be read, but JESUS is there. He is infiltrating the world."

Unlike populist Christian conservative organisations whose members make frequent appearances on the cable news networks, The Family prefers to function mostly under the radar, away from the glare of the national spotlight. Sharlet wrote: "The Family maintains a closely guarded database of its associates, but it issues no cards, collects no official dues. Members are asked not to speak about the group or its activities."

Most people were unaware of The Family until 2009, when the news broke that high-ranking US politicians including a senator, John Ensign, a governor, Mark Sanford, and a representative, Charles Pickering Jr, conducted extramarital affairs while living in a town house called C Street that was owned by The Family. Further controversy followed when news reports connected The Family to David Bahati and the anti-gay legislative efforts in Uganda. The Family denied playing an active role in supporting this legislation and rescinded Bahati's invitation to attend the 2010 National Prayer Breakfast. However, when Bahati came to the United States in December 2010, Rachel Maddow's interview with him on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show demonstrated a clear link between The Family and Uganda's anti-gay legislation.

In light of these scandals, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog organisation, penned a letter asking President Obama and members of Congress to skip the 2010 National Prayer Breakfast and will issue a similar letter this year. Melanie Sloan, the executive director of CREW, said: "While the president has pledged his commitment to transparency, The Family engages in statecraft in secret. The Family leverages its connections with members of congress and its ability to persuade the president to appear at its breakfast to buttress its power and influence." Also, a group of religious leaders launched an alternative American Prayer Hour in 2010 in a public move to condemn The Family's role in the anti-gay bill that was pending in the Ugandan parliament.

Furthermore, organisations such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Atheists argue that the National Prayer Breakfast represents a blatant disregard for the separation of church and state as outlined in the first amendment to the US constitution. Despite the fact that this breakfast is sponsored by a private Christian organisation, invitations are issued on congressional letterhead and members of the press respond to them via the White House. Each year, the US president addresses this group with members of congress and other government officials in attendance. David Silverman, the president of the American Atheists, said: "The fact that so many representatives, who are supposed to represent all of America's diverse citizenry, are involved with this organisation should worry every American, be they Christian or otherwise. It is our position that every elected official should proudly look to the US Constitution as their top law – otherwise they are just proxies for preachers and agents of intolerance."

Some media outlets such as the New Yorker and Newsweek, take a more benign view of The Family – but even Newsweek admits that Sharlet has levelled certain substantive charges against The Family that demand answers. To date, The Family continues to operate in a code of silence as they once again prepare to pray.

Comment is free Cif belief Read more at www.guardian.co.uk

 

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Amplify’d from www.couriermail.com.au

Police called in over baggage fee fight on Ryanair flight

AP

MORE than 100 passengers onboard a Ryanair flight from the Canary Islands had to be removed by police after a large scuffle broke out over baggage fees.

Spanish newspaper La Provincia said the disruption happened when low-cost Ryanair tried to charge one passenger extra for carry-on baggage and his friends aboard the plane "mutinied".

An Interior Ministry spokesman said the pilot was preparing for takeoff at Guacimeta airport on the Lanzarote island resort for Charleroi, Belgium, when she radioed for police assistance.

He said that, of the 168 passengers, only 64 were allowed to re-board the flight. The rest had to find other carriers and some spent the night on Lanzarote. He spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry rules.

Ryanair confirmed the passengers "became disruptive and refused to comply with crew instructions" after a requirement to pay a gate bag fee "for outsized luggage".

The airline said in a statement that police had required the entire aircraft be offloaded and each passenger identified.

"Following further disruptive behaviour, the police required for security reasons that this entire group be refused travel," the statement said. Read more at www.couriermail.com.au

 

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Delaware diocese settles priest abuse claims for $77M

Amplify’d from spirituallysmart.blogspot.com

Delaware diocese settles priest abuse claims for $77M

By Associated Press Lawyers involved with the Delaware Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's $77 million settlement with nearly 150 alleged victims of sexual abuse said the church's agreement to release unredacted documents is a historic step toward making sure it doesn't happen again. And lawyers for the alleged victims said they will post the documents on the Internet. "When people see the documents, they will be able to judge for themselves" how the church dealt with pedophile priests, attorney John Manly said. The diocese agreed Wednesday to settle the lawsuits, which claimed child sexual abuse by dozens of diocesan and religious order priests dating to the early 1960s. Attorney Thomas Neuberger, who represented 99 of the 146 alleged victims, said they would each receive $530,000 on average. Diocese attorney Anthony Flynn said church officials were pleased with the settlement. "It's been a long struggle, but we've finally reached agreement," he said. Delaware law created a two–year "lookback" window that allowed claims of abuse to be brought regardless of whether the statute of limitations had expired. The abuse cases created a potential liability that drove the diocese to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009. At the time, it was the seventh U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy since allegations erupted years earlier against Catholic clergy in Boston. Numerous multimillion dollar settlements between alleged victims and dioceses across the country have been reached in the aftermath. The Wilmington Diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and serves about 230,000 Catholics. The bankruptcy filing had delayed some trials, but Judge Christopher Sontchi ruled in August that lawsuits against several parishes could go forward. On Dec. 1, a Delaware jury awarded $30 million in damages to a man who claimed he was abused by a priest — a verdict that was exceptional for both the amount and for finding the local parish liable, not just the diocese. The lawsuit by John Vai claimed that he was abused repeatedly as a boy in the 1960s by Francis DeLuca when the former priest was a teacher at St. Elizabeth's parish in Wilmington. Advocates for victims of clergy abuse said the value of the compensatory damages was the largest ever awarded in such a lawsuit in the United States and that a parish had never before been found liable for abuse. Manly said he thought December's verdict played a role in the settlement. "The verdict made it very clear to diocese that things were going to get a lot worse," he said. The Associated Press typically does not name victims of sexual abuse, but Vai has spoken publicly about the allegations and testified at trial. Neuberger told the Wilmington News Journal that each victim also would benefit in the future from any settlement or judgment from lawsuits filed against religious orders including the Oblates, Capucians and Norbertines. He expects that will produce another $80 million for the victim trust. The settlement still needs approval from the bankruptcy judge. Read more at spirituallysmart.blogspot.com

 

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Knight of Columbus Attacks Alberto Rivera while defending Pedophile Priests

Amplify’d from spirituallysmart.blogspot.com

Knight of Columbus Attacks Alberto Rivera while defending Pedophile Priests

Open Letter to "a Catholic Texan" from Thomas Richards Kenneth, I left off supporting Tony Alamo as soon as it was verified he was a criminal child abuser. Why haven't you stopped supporting the Catholic "church" after the verified thousands of cases of child molestation have come to light? Instead I have noticed a lot of activity online by you continuing to justify predatory pedo priests and make excuses for them. Link And then here you are at the same time having blogs attacking Alberto Rivera. Was it ever alleged that Alberto abused children? You're obviously way off in your balancing of judgment and justice. I've seen also your comparison of priests who sexually molest children vs Public School teachers. That is the worst comparison someone can make. First of all there are thousands more public schools with public school teachers than priests who have access to children (Link to data that proves you wrong). This comparison you make links directly to your agenda to smear the deceased Alberto Rivera and totally destroys your credibility as an honest and neutral reporter. Because you show yourself to be a person who defends the Catholic "church" no matter what. So it has nothing to do with Alberto's legitamacy because you would make him your enemy simply because he exposes the Vatican. Not to mention that you are also a Knight of Columbus which swear upon an Oath to serve the Pope rather than the U.S. Constitution which are forever and inevitably at odds. you are the perfect example of why there were laws against Catholics serving in Politics. All this does is strengthen me in my position that is expressed on my web site @ spirituallysmart.com Screen Shots showing "a catholic Texan" is a Knight of Columbus: My info verifying Alberto Rivera's Authenticity Expose' on another attacker of Alberto Rivera Read more at spirituallysmart.blogspot.com

 

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Depression and the Christian

Amplify’d from www.spectrummagazine.org

Depression and the Christian

Bruce Anderson

“I tried to kill myself yesterday.”  The words tumbled from the mouth of the young woman seated in front of me.  I noticed skin staples and a reddened wound under the soiled dressing she removed from her left wrist.  She continued tearfully,  “I cut my wrist without thinking.  I didn't want to live anymore.    My father found out I was not paying the car insurance and was spending on marijuana and cigarettes and sodas. I was tired of being yelled at and didn't want to face my dad's disappointment with me.”  She was hospitalized under 5150, the California law which provides emergency seventy-two hour hospitalization for mentally ill persons who are a danger to themselves or others, or who are unable to care for their basic needs.

Gentle questioning revealed that a month earlier she had made another attempt to end her life.  That time she had tried to poison herself with CO, positioning one end of a garden hose in the tail pipe of her car, and deploying the other end in the car window.  “My boyfriend messed with my head.  He told me he was having a kid with someone else.”  She admitted she was “stoned on marijuana” at the time, and stated her suicidal plan “wasn't working out” because the hose kinked.  She drove home and never told her family what she had done.

Finally she mentioned that when she was fifteen she had attempted to hang herself.   Living with a depressed and abusive alcoholic mother, she was smoking pot and failing her high school classes.  She started to hang herself, but the thought that her two younger siblings might find her stopped her.  When she told her mother what she had planned to do, she was told to stop seeking attention with such behavior.

I completed taking the history and performed a mental examination, determining that she had never hallucinated, was not delusional and that she was of normal if underused intelligence.  She was inactive physically, and embarrassed that her weight was 215 pounds even though her height was 5' 1''.  I formulated a diagnosis: major depression, recurrent, severe and non-psychotic. I dictated a psychiatric examination and treatment plan, then ordered close nursing observation, laboratory studies, and a commonly used antidepressant.

The story I have synthesized is composed from common elements of stories heard on a hospital mental health unit. Such stories are so familiar that they garner no surprise for anyone who cares for troubled  people.  They may seem far removed from one's normal life, but they are not.  As suggested by the title of this week's SS topic, “Hope Against Depression,” depression is an ancient and common scourge of humanity.  It has been called “the common cold of mental illness.”  The term melancholia, coined by Hippocrates of Cos, means “black bile” suggesting a humoral cause of depression.  The term still lives, and is used to describe certain severe forms of depressive illness.  Reading the familiar laments of David in Ps. 32, 39, 42, and 51 suggests extremes of despair and hopeless despondency very close to the symptoms of persons suffering from depressive illness today.

A graphic example is the depressed dialogue of David with God contained in Psalm 42.

My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  vs. 3. I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?  Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”  Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  vs. 9-11 NIV

The term depression is expressive if imprecise.  Its meanings range from economic troubles to sadness to severe mental illness.  It is a term used in common parlance to suggest conditions ranging from mild unhappiness like a “bad hair day” to true mental illness.  Even within categories of mental disorders there is a range of conditions included with differing symptoms and prognosis.  Among these categories are dysthymic disorder, major depression, bipolar depression, and schizoaffective disorder. It may be worth defining two of the most important of these conditions.

Major depression is a condition lasting at least two weeks and requiring either depressed mood or diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities, most of the time, nearly every day.  A variety of other symptoms may also be present, including marked weight loss or gain, severe sleep disturbance, fatigue or loss of energy, agitation or psychomotor retardation (being slowed down markedly), feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, diminished ability to think or concentrate, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.  Five of these nine elements are required to diagnose major depression which can occur with or without psychotic features.

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder featuring at least one episode of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood lasting at least a week.  However, bipolar patients suffer mostly from depression, accounting for as much as two thirds of their mood disturbance.  The stereotype of the happy manic person having a good time and doing only fun things is far from the unpleasant, disturbed reality such people experience.

Although untreated depression is the cause of untold misery as well as impaired productivity and economic loss, the greatest risk is that of suicide.  Death by suicide is a major health hazard, the cause of more than thirty thousand unnecessary deaths in our country annually.  It is a greater hazard by far than murder which accounts for about twenty thousand deaths in the U.S. each year.  During the Viet Nam war years suicide deaths far exceeded combat deaths.  Although a major cause of death among the young, suicide rates advance with age, and are greatest among elderly males.  Suicide rates are increased related to all major psychiatric conditions, especially disorders of mood and schizophrenia.  More than sixty percent of people who take their lives have major depression.

Chemical dependencies are common among depressed and bipolar patients increasing the already substantial risk of suicide.  Suicide is a growing hazard among American military personnel and may be related at least in part to the stresses on family life caused by frequent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is well known that although women are about four times more likely to attempt suicide, men are nearly four times more likely to complete a suicidal act.  Past history of suicidal behavior confers a nearly forty-fold increased risk of suicide.

What can be done to treat this group of illnesses we call depression?  A great deal.  Although the most severely depressed persons such as my patient quoted at the outset require hospitalization for self-protection and the initiation of treatment, most people do not require such intervention.  For most, outpatient treatment is needed, and for most severely depressed people antidepressant treatment is likely to be necessary.  Effective antidepressant and mood-stabilizing medication is of recent origin.  For example, lithium, first used in Australia in 1949, is recognized as the gold standard of treatment for bipolar disorder though many newer medications are now used.  FDA approved in 1970, lithium revolutionized the treatment of bipolar disorder.  It has the rare ability to decrease the incidence of suicide as much as ten-fold.

As recently as 1988 fluoxetine or Prozac was introduced, a vast improvement on the tricyclic medications then available because of increased safety and diminished risk of overdose death.  Creative combinations of antidepressants and newer “atypical” agents can offer hope to many who fail to respond to single agents.  Today we expect chemical miracles to be the rule rather than the exception.  Unfortunately such hopes may be disappointed, and we often need to seek non-medical alternative treatments.

Psychotherapy or talking therapy is still very useful, and is often most effective when used with medication.  The combination of psychotherapy and medication may work better than either one alone.  Bright light therapy may be very effective especially for seasonal or winter depression.  Regular exercise may function as antidepressant treatment or as enhancement to other treatments being used.  An antidepressant exercise program might consist of vigorous walking for forty-five minutes five days per week.  Doing so in early morning light may enhance its benefit.  TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, is a newer treatment which has now been used on about 3000 patients in the United States.  This FDA-approved treatment is generally very safe, with minimal discomfort and does not require anesthesia as does ECT or electroconvulsive treatment.  The latter is still dramatically effective for certain forms of very severe depression as described by Kitty Dukakis in her recent book Shock: The Healing power of Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Are there any advantages to being an Adventist Christian when it comes to preventing or treating depression and other illness?  There are many.   The practice of a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important benefits even though many of us fall short of the ideal of health advocated by Ellen White.  These benefits are confirmed by the Adventist Health Study and include increased longevity and lower incidence of many diseases.  In addition to the benefits to health,  Christian faith offers a satisfying explanation of the human condition and the human need for redemption and forgiveness.  It offers relationship with a benign deity who offers Himself as the answer to human alienation from God and each other which is the result of sin.  Belief in a forgiving God who united Himself with humanity, and who accepts and forgives failing mortals changes people and gives meaning to our lives.  This transforming interaction between man and God does not confer immunity to accident or disease, but it does place man at the center of divine concern, and for the Christian union with the divine is the hope and ultimate glory of human existence.

A specific disadvantage to some depressed believers is the conviction that a committed Christian life should inoculate one against illness, particularly any mental illness.  Why should anyone who believes in God and practices a life of Christian virtue become depressed?  Does such depression not suggest a lack of faith or an absent prayer life?  Or it is assumed that unconfessed sin must be the source of depression.   At one extreme severely depressed Christians may become delusional, convinced that they have committed “the unpardonable sin” also known as “sin against the Holy Spirit.”   Reasoning with such a person that if they had truly committed this sin they would be unconcerned rather than guilty and pointing out God's forgiving grace will not be persuasive.

Distinguishing between guilt which is irrational and guilt which represents a violation of the patient's own moral code requires the judgement of experienced therapists who are mature in their own moral and spiritual growth.  Such recognition of sin as a human reality will never justify an attitude of criticism or condemnation.  Rather it recalls the therapeutic intervention of our master who in  a similar situation said “Neither do I condemn you,”  then furnished the injunction “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  John 8:11, NIV

Conscientious patients may suffer the double sting of depressive illness with the added guilty burden of believing that this illness is a reliable sign that they are unconverted.  Well-meaning friends who recommend confession instead of effective treatment are likely to add to the suffering of a depressed Christian.  Such “Job's comforters” should be kept away from sick people.  Instead of offering the comfort of faith, they needlessly add to the stigma and self-loathing many severely depressed people feel.

Finally I suggest we return to the extraordinary prayers of David, a warrior-chief and poet of dramatic mood variations including what appear to be deep troughs of despondency and depression.  Although his moods are expressed poetically, the extremes of sadness and hopelessness which contrast with devoted faith and commitment seem spontaneous and unedited.  One could imagine  these psalms as the free associations of a patient on the couch instructed to say whatever comes to mind.  The intimacy and freedom of his prayers demonstrate a full range of human emotion and also suggest a remarkable relationship with the God he knew well.  It is also clear from this poetry that David perceived a link between his sin and his mood.  Whether he suffered from diagnosable depressive illness or not his graphic expression of mood may be a model of uninhibited prayer.

“When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”-- And you forgave the guilt of my sin.  Ps.32: 3-5 NIV Read more at www.spectrummagazine.org

 

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Amplify’d from sabbathsermons.com

No New Thing Under the Sun

by Sabbath Sermons

By Camron Schofield

Audio: Some Things Never Change

Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.

This world is a world of change.  Humanity gets bored very quickly and they have to change things. Some may blame it on the weather.  When it’s hot, you long for winter and then on the cold mornings you wish you could have a hot day. Wouldn’t it be nice if every day was the same?  Mild and pleasant, truly spring days are the most pleasant. Change often comes as the result of indecision or inconsistency. Have you ever dealt with someone who is constantly changing their mind?  One day they say yes I will do this and they make a promise and the next day they haven’t done it?  The next day they say I changed my mind.  Friends in this world can be very inconsistent. One of the greatest pains of humanity today is the unreliability of this world, the weather. Weather forecasters of today do not get it right. The unreliability of machinery and technology. About ten years ago I worked for a mining company supporting their technology and at 3.00 am I would be woken up to go back to the mine site to resolve this issue.  Churches today are unreliable.  Friends, family, what is there today that is actually reliable. Man is battling away on the ocean seeking something firm and solid.

Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

57:21 [There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. Does that not describe the world today? Water is described in the bible as nations, peoples and tongues.  Heaving and surging. The Inconsistency of Man What causes the change? James 1:8 A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways. There is a condition in the medical world called the bipolar disorder and everyone has this disorder. Man is always changing his mind as he has multiple minds to change into. One day he can be thinking this and the next second thinking that.  We need something that can be relied upon.  A time is coming when this whole earth is going to reel to and fro like a drunkard, like a boat tossed about in the ocean. In that time we want something that will remain. Some are seeking to enter this rest yet how many fail of it? Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. We say yes lord I will be a Christian, I will be like Jesus.  Are you like Jesus? Are you finding it hard in this crazy world to be a Christian?  To stay true to that thought instead of changing your mind? Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Here God is saying make up your mind, stop changing your life where one day you are committed and the next day you are compromising. Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: [and] meddle not with them that are given to change: 24:22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? Do we find in our midst there are people constantly given to change?  It says stay away from them.  We thank the Lord that sanctification is a work of a lifetime and as God is long suffering toward us, likewise we are to be with others.  We are admonished that those who are going to take up the name and not live that name, from such turn away. We need to be consistent Christians.  We need to say okay I’m going to reform my life and do it. Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. We have people that walking in our door and they sit down on our chairs and they listen and then afterwards they testify of how beautiful, true, healing and nourishing that the word they heard was and they even say yes I will come back next week but they don’t come back.  If you walk through that door, stay in that door.  Christ is saying be hot or be cold.  Either be for me or against me.  Don’t sit on the fence, one or the other, make up your mind. We are to find stability of mind and stick to it. Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven: 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 12:27 And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. How did the devil go?  How successful is he in shaking your resolve?  Perhaps a little minute instruction from the Lord comes in regard to your lifestyle or in the pew or as you study at home, and you think I want to do that and you make a commitment in your heart and you go to do it and it is not as easy as you hoped it would be, I will try again next week. We are in the shaking time and if our resolve can be shaken, we will not remain.  Only those that will be consistent shall not be moved. Psalms 15:1 A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 15:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 15:3 [He that] backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. [He that] sweareth to [his own] hurt, and changeth not. 15:5 [He that] putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved. Who will never be moved?  Those that swear to their own hurt. What does that mean?  It means that if you make a resolve, if you make a vow, that you will fulfill that vow no matter what it costs even if it means the very life blood is sucked out.  He that changes not, he that is not double minded. There are many in the church who at heart belong to the world, {RH, January 9, 1894 par. 10} Where are they? In the church but in the heart the world. but God calls upon those who claim to believe the advanced truth, to rise above the present attitude of the popular churches of today. Where is the self-denial, where is the cross-bearing that Christ has said should characterize his followers? {RH, January 9, 1894 par. 10} Where do you see it today?  Where amongst the churches today do we see self-denial. Self-denial required inconsistency in keeping the word and staying true to that resolve. The reason we have had so little influence upon unbelieving relatives and associates is that we have manifested little decided difference in our practices from those of the world. {RH, January 9, 1894 par. 10} How often does Christian think today we will compromise a little and slowly win them over.  How often do we go amongst our families where we say I don’t want to offend them so we comprise?  How is your influence? The sop testifies we are too compromising. Parents need to awake, and purify their souls by practicing the truth in their home life. When we reach the standard that the Lord would have us reach, worldlings will regard Seventh-day Adventists as odd, singular, straight-laced extremists.  {RH, January 9, 1894 par. 10} That is comforting as we must be somewhat on the right road here as we’ve been called that.  But we are not there yet. The shaking must continue and we must become firmer and firmer. Straight laced extremists, singular, they are not nice names but it’s better to?? A consistent Christian life will accomplish more good than could be accomplished by many sermons. {LP 299.2} No man can exert an influence for Christ, unless he is a decided and consistent Christian. {RH, June 20, 1882 par. 4} Why is it that we are so inconsistent and fluctuating and vacillating and changing in our purposes?  Here is the answer that why we are not yet in heaven; Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. We have heart strings, we have natural affections and these have been attached to the earth. When we want to go one way there is another force that comes in to work against that.  What we set our affections on will determine our consistency. It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. {GC 555.1} Why are we inconsistent?  Our mind is constantly changing, we are setting our mind on different things so our resolve fluctuates and changes.  We see it very much so in the world today. It is very hard it seems for a human being to have their own individuality. The young men and women out there they model themselves on someone else.  Some movie star, a singer, the way in which they talk, they brush their hair and their clothing, it is dependent upon that which they fix their affection. If we want to be consistent Christians our affections must be on Jesus Christ.  If we take our eyes of him we will fluctuate in our Christian walk. We need to behold constantly a model which is consistent.  Something which will remain constant. Something That Does not Change Something we can anchor our heart, mind, soul and affections on. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Change and decay in all around I see and by beholding we will become changed.  If we are permitting our affections to dwell upon this earth, change and decay will be our experience but if we are focusing on Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, then we shall not be moved.  Something to focus on and let sink deep within your being. Keep on an even keel as the wicked are like a troubled sea. We are forming characters for heaven. No character can be complete without trial and suffering. We must be tested, we must be tried. Christ bore the test of character of our behalf that we might bear this test in our own behalf through the divine strength He has brought to us. Christ is our example in patience, in forbearance, in meekness and lowliness of mind. He was at variance and at war with the whole ungodly world, yet He did not give way to passion and violence manifested in words and actions, although receiving shameful abuse in return for good works. He was afflicted, He was rejected and despitefully treated, yet He retaliated not. He possessed self-control, dignity, and majesty. He suffered with calmness and for abuse gave only compassion, pity, and love. . . .  {TDG 263.2} Have you ever been abused, afflicted, rejected and despitefully treated? It’s amazing how quickly your resolve can change when you meet those experiences. When someone steps on your toes ouch, isn’t that your instant reaction?  Jesus suffered to with calmness. We are called to suffer. We make a resolve to suffer.  We have been educated that if we are going to build that tower there is suffering involved and we have counted the cost. Imitate your Redeemer in these things. Do not get excited when things go wrong. Do not let self arise, and lose your self-control because you fancy things are not as they should be. Because others are wrong is no excuse for you to do wrong. Two wrongs will not make one right. You have victories to gain in order to overcome as Christ overcame.  {TDG 263.3} Christ came as you and I.  Your sinful flesh was his sinful flesh, the trials, tribulations were his. Those who love and obey the law of Jehovah will meet with trial and temptation; but these are only what Jesus met, {RH, February 6, 1900 par. 11} Those trials that want to weaken our resolve Jesus met. Christ never murmured, never uttered discontent, displeasure, or resentment. He was never disheartened, discouraged, ruffled, or fretted. He was patient, calm, and self-possessed under the most exciting and trying circumstances. All His works were performed with a quiet dignity and ease, whatever commotion was around Him. Applause did not elate Him. He feared not the threats of His enemies. He moved amid the world of excitement, of violence and crime, as the sun moves above the clouds. Human passions and commotions and trials were beneath Him. He sailed like the sun above them all. {TDG 263.4} Does that make you jealous? Is it your experience? Look at that, seriously. Meeting your experiences and just seemingly having an easy time with them. Yet He was not indifferent to the woes of men. His heart was ever touched with the sufferings and necessities of His brethren, as though He Himself was the one afflicted. He had a calm inward joy, a peace which was serene. His will was ever swallowed up in the will of His Father. Not My will but Thine be done, was heard from His pale and quivering lips.–Letter 51a, Sept. 11, 1874, to Edson and Emma White.  {TDG 263.4} He went through it and sailed over it so you can learn today how to sail over it. He did not have an easy time. He had it harder than any of us ever could but he was consistent. He was consistent in looking upon that which was consistent and of God is written there is no variableness or turning. Ought we to be ashamed of our change mindedness? Should we be ashamed of our inconsistent Christianity? Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun. 1:10 Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. Have you ever gone through a trial and thought no one has ever gone through this before.  Can you say see this is new?  Your experiences which are have already been, Jesus Christ has already lived. He has already experienced and endured it. That which you make in your exp today which is hard and powerful in seeking to sway your mind away from your resolve he has already met it and he has already set his face like a flint and stuck true to principle. There is no new thing under the sun. how often we apply this verse and we look at history and the occurrence of the nations and the cycle of humanity.  There is no new thing in your experience. Your tears that you cry, that grieve your heart, perhaps your own inconsistency. Psalm 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book? The book that Jesus Christ is the author of, today we are just reading it.  Our lives are but a manifestation of the exp that Jesus has already met. There is no need for us to become disheartened and fluctuating in our resolve and discouraged when we do fluctuate. We can get up again. Be hot or cold. I know you can be hot for me.  The words I share I share with my own self.  I am not as consistent as I should be.  I am not as resolute as I should be.  I am certain that in my lack of resolve I often set bad examples.  I thank the lord for his long suffering.  When we focus on Jesus Christ we are put to shame.  And we should focus on him so much more that we should be put to shame.  If he does not change meeting the same circumstances as us in the same flesh, what excuse have we?  It is true we often say I am a sinful human being and because I am I have an excuse.  Looking at Jesus Christ we see we don’t.  There is one sinful nature that does not fluctuate.  When we see this and when we see Jesus Christ we will hang our head in shame for our lack of consistency. Sempre idem is Latin for always the same.  That is the very words Rome uses to describe themselves.  Rome never changes.  The wicked are like a troubled sea and a double minded man unstable in all his way.  Have you met a stable Muslim, catholic, protestant or atheist?  There are many people in this world today who are not double minded. They make up their mind and stick to it. They are faithful and true to the principles they have.  I have found the faithfulness of the faithless to be far stronger than I am to my faith.   Read more at sabbathsermons.com

 

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Bush cancels Switzerland visit under threat of protests, efforts to arrest him

Bridget Johnson The Hill Feb 6, 2011

President George W. Bush has canceled an event in the famously neutral country Switzerland because of expected protests to his presence there.

Bush was supposed to give the keynote address at a Jewish group’s charity gala on Feb. 12 in Geneva.

Leftist groups had planned to protest the visit, according to news agencies. But several human rights groups had also filed criminal complaints against Bush, demanding that he be taken into custody if he stepped on Swiss soil and investigated for allegations of ordering torture.

A right-wing member of the Swiss parliament also demanded last week Bush’s arrest on war crimes allegations if he came to the country, according to Reuters.

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