Friday, November 18, 2011

Nov.

Why are they so afraid of prayer?: "Detroit Prayer Event puts Muslim community on edge" AP, 11-11-11

DETROIT (AP) — An area with one of the largest Muslim communities outside the Middle East is bracing itself for a 24-hour prayer rally by a group that counts Islam among the ills facing the U.S. The gathering in Detroit at Ford Field, the stadium where the Detroit Lions play, starts Friday evening and is designed to tackle issues such as the economy, race, same-sex relationships and abortion. But the decade-old organization known as TheCall has said Detroit is a "microcosm of our national crisis" in all areas, including "the rising tide of the Islamic movement." Leaders of TheCall believe a satanic spirit is shaping all parts of U.S. society, and it must be challenged through intensive Christian prayer and fasting. Such a demonic spirit has taken hold of specific areas, Detroit among them, organizers say. In the months ahead of their rallies, teams of local organizers often travel their communities performing a ritual called "divorcing Baal," the name of a demon spirit, to drive out the devil from each location."Our concern is that we are literally being demonized by the organizers of this group," said Dawud Walid, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter, which last week urged local mosques and Islamic schools to increase security. "And given the recent history of other groups that have come into Michigan ... we're concerned about this prayer vigil stoking up the flames of divisiveness in the community." TheCall is the latest and largest of several groups or individuals to come to the Detroit area with a message that stirred up many of its estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims. Recent visitors have included Florida pastor Terry Jones; members of the Westboro Baptist Church; and the Acts 17 Apologetics, missionaries who were arrested for disorderly conduct last year at Dearborn's Arab International Festival but were later acquitted. As with many other Christian groups, TheCall and its adherents believe Jesus is the only path to salvation. While they consider all other religions false, they have a specific focus on Islam, largely in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, terrorism overseas and fear that Islam, which is also a proselytizing faith, will spread faster than Christianity. TheCall is modeled partly on the Promise Keepers, the men's stadium prayer movement that was led in the 1990s by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney. TheCall's first major rally was in September 2000 on the national Mall in Washington, drawing tens of thousands of young people to pray for a Christian revival in America. Co-founder Lou Engle has organized similar rallies in several cities, including a 2008 event at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium two days before Election Day to generate support for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Theologically, Engle is part of a stream of Pentecostalism that is independent of any denomination and is intensely focused on the end times. Within these churches, some leaders are elevated to the position of apostle, or hearing directly from God. Muslims aren't the only ones concerned about Friday's event. A coalition of Detroit clergy plans to march to the football stadium Friday and hold their own rally. "We do not agree with the spread of a message of hate, but a message of peace and a message of love," the Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of Historic King Solomon Church in Detroit, said Wednesday. "We love our Muslim brothers. We love those who are homosexual and we are not scared ... to stand up when the time calls for us to." Engle declined interview requests from The Associated Press, and one of his representatives referred calls to Apostle Ellis Smith of Detroit's Jubilee City Church. Smith, who appeared with Engle and other Detroit-area clergy in promotional videos filmed at Ford Field, considers himself a point-person for TheCall in Detroit. Smith told the AP that fears of the event taking on an anti-Muslim tone are overblown. He said attendees won't be "praying against Muslims," but rather "against terrorism that has its roots in Islam." "We're dealing with extremism," he said. "We're against extremism when it comes to Christians." Still, in a pre-event sermon he delivered Oct. 9 at a suburban church, Smith called Islam a "false," ''lame" and "perverse" religion. He said it was allowed to take root in Detroit because of the city's strong religious base. That's why TheCall event is "pivotal," he said. "That's why I believe it's by divine appointment: Detroit is the most religious city in America," Smith said in the sermon, adding later, "What I'm saying to you is Detroit had to happen because we have to break these barriers that have hindered in so many ways." The sermon was archived on the online sermon library Sermon.net. Smith on Thursday said he was offering his personal perspective that Islam is "a false religion, as many others are."He said the main focus of Friday's gathering is "loving God, loving God's people." Dawn Bethany, 43, said she is attending with about 70 others from Lansing's Epicenter of Worship, where she is the church's administrator. Bethany said she believes the event will be a "monumental spiritual experience," and "the negativity is a distraction from seeing who God is." God, she said, "is love."

This above article is obviously biased. The news media is now so transparently left wing. Once again-why should they be afraid about prayer? What worries me is how so many Mosques openly preach Jihad.Next Article: "Islamic Tolerance meeting" tolerate Islamic genocide of Assyrians and Copts-but don't criticize Islam

Free Speech Concerns Ahead of Meeting With Muslim Nations on Religious Tolerance By Judson Berger, Fox News 11-11-11 A looming meeting with Islamic leaders hosted by the State Department has religious scholars and advocacy groups warning that the United States may "play into" the push by some Islamic nations to create new laws to stifle religious criticism and debate. The meeting on religious tolerance, which is scheduled for mid-December, would involve representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation -- a coalition of 56 nations which more or less represents the Muslim world. Critics describe the get-together -- the first in a series -- as a Trojan horse for the long-running OIC push for restrictions on speech. They note the track record of nations that want the dialogue, including Egypt, where recent military action against Coptic Christians raised grave concerns about intolerance against religious minorities. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton originally announced the meeting this past July in Turkey, where she co-chaired a talk on religious tolerance with the OIC. The event was billed as a way to foster "respect and empathy and tolerance" among nations. Delegates from up to 30 countries, as well as groups like the European Union, are also invited. A State Department official told FoxNews.com this week that the meeting is meant to combat intolerance while being "fully consistent with freedom of expression." A key worry is that the meeting could become a platform for Islamic governments to push for hate-speech laws which, in their most virulent and fundamentalist form, criminalize what they perceive as blasphemy. While Clinton has drawn a line in the sand, saying nations should not "criminalize speech," the upcoming meeting is seen by some as a misstep on a very sensitive issue."It's just an astonishingly bad decision," said Nina Shea, who sits on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and serves as director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. Shea, who joined a group of scholars specializing in religious defamation for an event last week on Capitol Hill hosted by The Federalist Society, warned that the United States is virtually alone among western nations in not having hate-speech laws. She said the Obama administration doesn't need to delve deeper into religious speech issues with OIC nations, considering their history. Shea said she doesn't yet fear the possibility that hate-speech laws are coming to the U.S. any time soon, "but I am concerned the culture is changing on this." Jacob Mchangama, director of legal affairs for Denmark's Center for Political Studies, noted that the U.S. has resisted following Europe with hate-speech laws, but the Obama administration may be willing to "relax" its approach. He noted the administration co-sponsored a resolution with Egypt in 2009 that expressed concern about "negative racial and religious stereotyping," and said the upcoming December conference lends credibility to the OIC agenda. The push by Islamic nations, especially Pakistan, for global religious sensitivity on its surface sounds innocuous. But the debate often pits their cause against free speech, and western officials have long complained the nations spearheading the push are keen on shielding Islam specifically from criticism. In some countries, perceived protections against religious insult are used as license to threaten, bully and attack those who offend, intentionally or not. Most recently, the office of a French satirical newspaper was attacked after it published a Muhammad cartoon. That follows widespread 2006 protests over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. And in Pakistan, whose blasphemy laws are internationally renowned for their broadness and severity, the legal protections on religious insult are used most often to protect Islam. Being charged with a blasphemy offense -- or criticizing the laws themselves -- can open the door to intimidation, or worse. Earlier this year, two Pakistani officials who had been critical of the laws were assassinated. The OIC, looking for international cooperation on the issue of religious tolerance, has pushed for so-called "defamation" resolutions before the United Nations for over a decade. Those resolutions were Islam-focused and called on governments to take action to stop religious defamation. Though the OIC took a pass on the resolution this year, the U.N. Human Rights Council in March approved a watered-down version that expresses concerns about religious "intolerance, discrimination and related violence." The adoption was generally seen as a successful move by the U.S. to replace the far-tougher resolutions the OIC has pushed over the past decade. But the upcoming meeting has been hailed by some OIC officials as a way to craft a tougher approach to curbing religious criticism. An August article from the International Islamic News Agency cited OIC "informed sources" saying the meetings were meant to develop a "legal basis" for the March resolution. The State Department official noted that the Human Rights Council's resolution does not call for limits on free speech or provide support for defamation or blasphemy laws. "Instead, the text notes the positive role that the free exchange of ideas and interfaith dialogue can have in countering religious intolerance," the official said. "We believe that implementing the specific, appropriate steps called for in the resolution will help to undercut support for such restrictions on expression and religious freedom." But Shea questioned why Clinton was moving to implement the non-binding measure. "It validates the OIC on speech," she said. "It plays into their agenda." The meeting has been set for Dec. 12-14, and is expected to be hosted by Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. It's unclear whether Clinton will attend. The meeting was announced around the same time as the Norway terror attacks, carried out by an individual said to harbor anti-Muslim views. December's meeting is the first in a series -- focusing on engaging religious minorities and training officials on religious awareness, as well as "enforcing laws that protect against" religious discrimination, according to the State Department. Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director with Open Doors USA, said her group is "cautiously optimistic" about the meetings. Vessey, whose organization advocates for persecuted Christians and has criticized the "defamation" resolutions in the past, said her organization remains hopeful the upcoming conference will turn out to be a "good thing." The conservative Traditional Values Coalition last month sent a letter to Clinton asking that the group be included as part of the discussion. President Andrea Lafferty told FoxNews.com her organization is "very concerned" the administration is becoming "cozy" with the OIC, which she claimed wants to "silence" voices critical of Islam.

I believe that Hillary Clinton is a traitor to the United States of America. Lets look at what she is doing. She is attending an Islamic conference that is about introducing "blasphemy" laws globally-to make it an international crime to criticize or question Islam in any way. And the sponsors of this conference have the audacity to title it a "tolerance" conference, while at the same time they have zero tolerance among the ethnic Christian minorities that live in their region-Christians who they not only persecute and discriminate against, but also carry out pogroms and massacres against.

STEALTH JIHAD: Network TV show portraying this as 'all-American' ... 'Danger is in the deception and obfuscation of the truth' Posted: November 10, 2011 8:40 pm Eastern By Michael Carl

According to The Learning Channel, its coming new "All-American Muslim" program is a "powerful series" taking viewers "inside the rarely seen world of American Muslims." And it uncovers a "unique community struggling to balance faith and nationality." Critics, however, say it is nothing more or less than a video version of jihad. The program launches on Sunday on the TLC Cable Channel. The producers went to Dearborn, Mich., the U.S. city that has the highest concentration of Muslims in the United States, and a producer who declined to be named told WND the stories focus on people. Ultimately, our shows are about telling the stories of the families featured in them. So, to some extent, the history of American Muslims settling in Dearborn may be touched upon, but ultimately, this is about the families' stories and what's going on in their lives today, not the past, per se," the producer said. The producer said he believes the program is a glimpse into a lifestyle with which most Americans are unfamiliar. "Like many of our programs, it offers viewers a glimpse into a world they may not otherwise experience, introducing them to real-life families who are going through everyday experiences that really resonate with our audience – from getting married, to having a baby to rooting for your favorite football team," the producer said. "We're excited about that because we think this group of families really will give our audience a taste of what life is like in Dearborn, Mich., for a variety of American Muslims – some quite traditional, and some not." But Islam analyst Pamela Geller says that perspective on the show is also its danger. "Clearly this program is designed to counter the fictional threat of 'Islamophobia' by showing Muslims who aren't terrorist monsters, but ordinary people living ordinary lives, balancing tradition and modern life, dealing with their families, their jobs, and a host of other issues," Geller said. "It is an attempt to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to bully them into thinking that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show. The problem is not people; it's ideology. The show doesn't address that," Geller said. The producer of the program says that for the most part, program makers purposefully avoided getting too deeply into some of the deeper issues surrounding Islam. "This show is not about politics. Viewers will gain insight into Islam, definitely, but more from the perspective of cultural traditions, how modern American Muslims in Dearborn live, family matters and so on," the producer said. "But we think there are interesting insights that will be offered by the show, so we hope people will tune in, just knowing that this is not an academic-type documentary about Islam, it's really about day-to-day life in Dearborn, as seen through the eyes of the families featured in the show, who are pretty diverse," the producer said. He said the program tried to avoid the issue that some Islamic clerics want to bring Islamic law – Shariah – into America. "As I say, viewers will get an insight into Islam and Muslim traditions as practiced by the families featured in the show who have varying practices when it comes to their faith. The show focuses on how each of these families balances their beliefs and traditions in their day-to-day lives," the producer said. Jerry Newcombe, Truth in Action Ministries' senior producer and analyst, says the major problem with the program is that it's not going to show the reality of "pure Islam." "It's a free country. Muslims are free to practice their religion here (thanks to Christianity, ultimately). What is sad, though, is that the truth about the goals of radical Islam are hidden from many Americans through programs like the one on TLC. Islam wants to take over the world. If they have to use force, they'll do that. But otherwise, they'll do it by what Robert Spencer calls 'stealth jihad,'" Newcombe said. A line from one of the first two episodes illustrates what both Geller and Newcombe are describing, when one of Muslim women says in a panel discussion, "We live our lives just like anyone else." That perception is one of the reasons why Jihad Watch publisher and Executive Director Robert Spencer shares the concerns expressed by Geller and Newcombe. Spencer says the program is attempting to produce a neutral view of Islam. "The show apparently is trying to show that Muslims go to clubs, like to have fun, etc. But this doesn't really establish anything," Spencer said. "The problem people have with Islam is its teachings of violence against and the subjugation of unbelievers. The problem is not with every Muslim person. It is with the supremacist ideology and the fervent believers in those noxious doctrines of warfare and subjugation," Spencer also said. Geller agrees. "It is trying to show nominal Muslims as the norm, as if their existence takes away the threat from devout Muslims," Geller said. "It is mentioned once but never explained: the man has to convert to Islam because a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man. This is a supremacist measure designed to make the Muslim community always expand at the expense of the non-Muslim one. But there is no hint of that in this show," Geller said. Geller is making reference to the major issue in the program's first episode. One of the program's main subjects former Roman Catholic Jeff McDermott. McDermott converts to Islam so that he can marry Shadia Amen, the daughter of one of the five families featured in the program. While the program honestly portrays one of the Muslim men saying that anyone who marries a Muslim must be a Muslim, the subtle nature of the prevailing attitude can be missed by the average viewer. In an interview sequence, Jeff sits with Shadia in front of the camera and says, "They (referring to her family) made me feel comfortable." Shadia replies, "We (including herself with her family) wanted you to feel comfortable." Spencer believes the result might have been different if the couple had chosen the other possible path, which was for her to become a Catholic. "What if he and his bride to be decide to get married in the Roman Catholic Church, or leave Islam at some later date? In that case he may find her Muslim relatives somewhat less solicitous of their desire to put their happiness above all other things," Spencer said. When asked if the program is actually showing a more subtle version of strict Islam by subtly forcing the young Catholic man to convert to Islam to marry the young woman, Spencer said, "Precisely." Newcombe also believes the conversion issue for marriage isn't being dealt with realistically. He points to the ultimate question. "I'm sure the young man who converted from Catholicism to Islam to marry someone has no clue what he gave up in rejecting Jesus Christ. But it's a free country, and people can convert different ways. At least, Christians wouldn't attempt to kill him for leaving our religion – in the way that Muslims attempt to kill their own who leave their religion. In a strict Muslim country, it is a death sentence to leave Islam," Newcombe said. Spencer adds that the program also gives subtle clues to the realities of Islam's beliefs. "Another way the program is carefully presenting strict Islam is the 'traditional' Muslim man says that women should not be opening up clubs. There are lots of small clues here and there," Spencer said. Spencer was referring to a scene in episode two in which one of the young women wants to open a night club and her father objects saying, "Muslim women don't do that." Spencer and Geller agree that the focus of the program plays down the major emphases of Islam. Geller adds that the ultimate danger posed by a program presenting the "normal" side of life for American Muslims is that it isn't accurate. "The danger is, it's misleading. The Muslims portrayed in the show are free to choose their path. That is the beauty of living in a free society. But so many aren't, not only in Muslim countries, but here in America," Geller said. Geller points to two instances that reveal the consequences of Islam growing in any country where it gains the upper hand. "Who speaks for Jessica Mokdad who lived not far from where this show is taping? Mokdad was honor murdered by her stepfather, Rahim Alfetlawi, for 'not following Islam'. That happened in the same city that refuses to run my freedom bus ads. The ads were designed to help girls like Jessica. Despite our free speech victories in the Detroit court, Mokdad was honor murdered the week my ads were supposed to run," Geller said. "The danger is in the deception and obfuscation of the truth which results in the intellectual disarming of the American people," Geller also said. Dearborn often is called "Dearbornistan" by cultural critics because it has the largest concentration of Arab peoples outside of the Middle East. Dearborn's population is 30 percent Arab, with most of the people coming from Lebanon. A 2009 Associated Press report says that the large Lebanese population in Dearborn makes the Michigan city, "The heart of Shiism in the United States." Dearborn has also grown progressively more compliant with Shariah law. The city recently was the subject of controversy when members of a Christian group wanted to hand out Christian literature at a public park during a Muslim festival and were arrested and charged with creating a public nuisance. The Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center represented the Christians in the case, who eventually were acquitted.


 

I saw an advertisement for this TV show in "Entertainment Magazine." It showed a woman wearing a hijab that was made out of an American flag-sort of like "Uncle Sams" and "Captain America's" attire. If you believe in Sharia law-you are inherently anti-American, I don't care what kind of patriotic clothing you wear. Sharia is Islamic constitutional law. It is a political system. If you are trying to replace the US constitution with Sharia law-the Islamic constitutional system, you are clearly anti-American and a fifth-columnist and are in no way "all American." Now, why is this show on TV? Is there a demand for it? Are Americans clamoring for their programming to be clogged with Islamic propaganda? I am sure that the Saudis and Leftists are behind this programming. I was thinking about a movie that came out called "Red State" by Kevin Smith. In it, terrorists aren't Muslims-no, its born again Christians we need to be afraid of. How did this hateful garbage get made? Of course, nobody watched it-but it amazes me that this trash was financed. So, we see Holly wood lionizing Muslims and demonizing evangelical Christians.


 

Syria kicked out of Arab League Syria is massacring its own citizens. The Arab League responding by calling upon the Alawite regime of Syria to stop murdering its own people. Syria refused. In response they were kicked out of the League. Syria retaliated by having mobs ransack the embassies of Arab League members. I told a Syrian friend of mine that I expect that Assad won't make it to the end of next year-he replied that he doesn't expect him to make it to the end of this year. The King of Jordan said that it is in the best interests of Assad and of Syria for him to relinquish control and begin a smooth transfer of power. I think that Assad is going to try to flee to France (if they will take him) that or we will see him being beaten to death as we saw happening to Moammar Khaddaffi.

Israel to strike Iran? British intelligence chiefs have warned that Israel will launch military action to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons development efforts as early as Christmas, according to a report in The Telegraph. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency this week confirmed that Iran is developing a nuclear warhead that could fit on an existing missile. "Sources say the understanding at the top of the British government is that Israel will attempt to strike against the nuclear sites 'sooner rather than later' — with logistical support from the U.S.," The Telegraph reports. British ministers have reportedly been told to expect Israeli military action, and a senior Foreign Office official said the attack is expected "as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year." Read more on Newsmax.com: Report: Israel to Strike Iran by December

Frank Miller Condemns Islamic terrorism and "Occupy Wallstreet" extremism Note to comic book artist, Frank Miller: Kudos Frank! I think the "Holy Terror" was right on-as are your comments on "Occupy Wall Street". And-I have been to Iraq with the military twice. I have lived in the Middle East with Coptic Christians when I was a teenager-it opened my eyes to the danger ad threat of Islamic fanaticism. We must deal with this threat head on. They say art is meant to be "provocative and controversial" and you are the only artist I am aware of that has had to courage to artistically explore the relevant issue of Islamic extremism in the world today.

Family of victims of Maj. Hassan sue government: Hasssan was known to be an Al-Qaida agent, but the military promoted him for interests of tolerance, diversity, multi-culturalism and the fear of being discriminatory. So now the families are suing the army for negligence.

Last Note: I have been reading Jeremiads, Patrick J. Buchanan gets terminology correct in "Suicide of a Superpower" speaking of the October 31, 2010 massacre at "the Assyrian Catholic Church" and speaks of "Assyrian Catholics known as Chaldeans." See page 117. I think much of the book is right on. Calling Mesopotamia's Aramaic-speaking Christians "Assyrians" should please many Assyrians. I think his terminology is correct. The sensitivity of proper titles causes me stress sometimes. Please check out my blog at www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com and my youtube at www.youtube.com/aramaic12. I have hundreds of videos up.

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE November 2011 edition contains an article on the persecution of Coptic Christians. It is good to see the word get out-however, the author writes about his journeys and the things he saw-I have done the exact same things-I wish I could write and article for Smithsonian or get that kind of national exposure.

Friday, November 11, 2011

November Newsletter

The Lost Syriac-Aramaic Chronicle of the Magi

In the Vatican Library an ancient Aramaic text tells the story of the "Wise Men" who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. According to the text, there were not just three magi. They were a group of twelve. They claimed to be from the land of "Shir" and were the descendents of Seth the third son of Adam and they were the guardians of an ancient prophecy that a star of incredible brightness would appear "heralding the birth of God in human form." The rest of the story is found in the November/December 2011 edition of Biblical Archeological Review.


 

New Ancient Aramaic Inscription Discovered

The inscription is on a bone box (ossuary) found in Israel. It reads "Miriam daughter of Yeshua son of Caiaphas priest of Ma'aziah from Beth Imri." This is an important artifact because it tells us that the "priestly course" to which Caiaphas, the high priest who sentenced Jesus to death, was the family of Ma'aziah (mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:18). This story is featured in the November/December edition of BAR.


 

The Problem with Modern Liberalism

I noticed how there are many liberal organizations that monitor the supposed "right." There are groups such as "Right Wing Watch" and so on. However, there are few, if any, conservative groups that monitor the left. Why is that? The reason is because conservatives are actually more tolerant of different opinions and beliefs than liberals are. Liberals claim to believe in "diversity" but they have no tolerance for dissent, for those whose beliefs and convictions contradict their own. My experience is that the most intolerant people that I have ever come across are liberals. If you don't agree with liberalism, liberals will call you names and ostracize you. This actually can be very hurtful to society as a whole. You are not allowed to question liberal orthodoxy. Liberals are sometimes described as "bleeding heart liberals." They are not bleeding hearts. They are arrogant and condescending. They think that because they are liberals they are wiser and better than people who are not. If a policy doesn't work because it is based on liberalism in some manner, the issue cannot be addressed because those who question liberalism become a target. Say, a certain liberal program is actually doing more harm than good. Conservatives could try to put an idea on the table and say, let us try a new approach that may actually help more people. Just bringing new ideas to the table exposes them to attack. You can't do anything about it-because liberalism doesn't tolerate dissent, debate and dialogue on such matters. If you try to discuss things liberals start yelling and using inflammatory rhetoric and claim those who have a different opinion are hateful or are stupid. The other issue is that the radical left wing has become so widespread and prevalent. They control everything-TV, movies, the nightly news, publishing, and the courts. It is the greatest threat Freedom loving Americans face-and they have formed an alliance with the Muslim terrorists.


 

Moderate Sharia?

The liberal media has decided to support and defend the implementation of Sharia law around the world and to become its apologists and defender.

This week Liberals sued the Catholic University of America-because Muslim students find the crosses and pictures of Christ displayed there offensive. I can't believe this is happening in America. All these things that are happening is the American people getting what they wanted when they voted for Obama.


 

Battle-lines

Sometimes I am concerned with how I call the Liberals or Obama into account. But now I realized that I was absolutely right and this is something that I must do. I heard Rush Limbaugh accuse the Liberal News Media of advocating Sharia law and describing it as "moderate." I have seen several reports for myself and I know that it is true. The Liberal News Media establishment is advocating the establishment of Sharia Law. Political Correctness has embraced Sharia Law. We must oppose this with all our strength. Sharia law is evil and it includes religious persecution. It must be stopped at all costs. So, I will oppose both the radical left and Islamism-and I will do so unapologetically. Hypocrisy: Comedian Orlando Jones called for the murder of Sarah Palin at his "twitter" account. The left is OK with that-but blamed Palin for the shooting of a liberal congresswoman Giffards-who was shot by a deranged liberal. The Left-wing News Media attacked the TEA party-but they celebrate the "Occupy Wall Street" riots.


 

Not Being Judgmental or folly?

My brother was arguing with a liberal who says we should never say negative things about Islam because that is being judgmental. He sent her video showing the Egyptian army running over Coptic Christians in the streets of Cairo with military vehicles. (At the same time the Egyptian state media was inciting attacks against Coptic Christians.) She was offended that she sent him the video. She wasn't offended that the Muslims were slaughtering Christians-what offended her was that my brother exposed her to the shocking facts. Instead of being appalled by the actions of Muslims, she was infuriated at my brother for showing the footage. Christians are literally being slaughtered in the street. One Islamic state after another is falling to radical Sharia law (oddly, with Obama's helping it along). Libya and Tunisia have fallen to the Islamists. Egypt obviously has also. So, we have a global movement of violence against Christians and the violence isn't limited to the Middle East. It has struck Europe and America. Why is this happening? What are the goals of this world wide movement? What can we do to protect ourselves? Ignoring these important issues because it isn't politically correct to discuss them-or because to do so is "judgmental" is folly!


 

Ten Politically Correct Liberal Lies that Christians Believe

Why are Evangelical Christians losing so much ground in American society? It is estimated that within the next ten years, Evangelical Christians (Protestants) will be a minority in America-for the first time. There are a number of reasons for this. The problem is that Christians are unable to change things or gain any ground. The election of Obama, with his radical left-wing agenda, has been a huge setback. But part of the problem is that Christian claim to have the answer, but what have they done with it for the past 2,000 years? It seems to be all negative. An unbeliever says, "You say Christ is the answer-and yet you Christians have made a mess of things for the past 2,000 years. It must be that Christ isn't the answer. Otherwise, you would have done much better." Have Christians really made a mess of things? In reality this is all indoctrination and anti-Christian polemics. However, Christians believe the worst about themselves. And, so we are already defeated. Here are the top ten lies Christians believe:


 

  1. The Church Fathers introduced paganism into the church. Oh really? What Church Father and when? The Church Fathers preserved the New Testament for us and battled heresy such as Gnosticism-which taught the Creator of the Universe is evil and that the Old Testament is to be rejected.
  2. Constantine Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and that was somehow a bad thing. Constantine ended the persecution of Christianity and that was a good thing. Eventually there was going to be a Christian head of state. If it wasn't Constantine it would have been someone else. Constantine is constantly demonized. Finally, a balanced approach has been taken in the book "Defending Constantine."
  3. Christians burned down the Library of Alexandria. This absolutely never happened. It is total fiction-but most people believe it. This was depicted in Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" and in the Spanish made movie "Agora." Total fiction.
  4. Christianity brought about a "Dark Ages" upon Europe. Most academics that have devoted themselves to the study of the Medieval period do not look upon it as a dark age-that is really an idea that comes from movies and television-not academia. Many important Christian philosophers were active in the Medieval period and it was Christian monasteries and Christian leaders such as Charlemagne who preserved the Classical Legacy of ancient Greece and Rome.
  5. Christianity is a European Religion. Egyptian Coptic Christianity, Ethiopic African Christianity, Asian/Indian Syriac Church of the East are all Asian and African forms of Christianity-still in existence-that are hundreds of years older than most European Christian communities.
  6. Christians enjoyed tolerance under Islamic rule and the Crusades are the Reason there is animosity between Christians and Muslims. Christians were put to death in Islamic Cordova. The Coptic Christians were so intensely persecuted that they went to war against the Muslims. Christians have been massacred by Muslims-all the way until 1915-when one million Armenians and Assyrian Christians were slaughtered. The killing continues until today. About the Crusades-please read Rodney Stark's "God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades." An excellent book that shows that most of what people think about the Crusades is false. The deceit about the Crusades has provided powerful anti-Christian ammunition for the polemicists-and they are not going to let the facts get out if they can help it. The fact is that the Muslims basically forgot about the Crusades-the anti-Crusader sentiment began among Arabs and Muslims in the late 1800s and early 1900s when they re-learned about the Crusades when studying under Europeans.
  7. The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church. In reality, long, sustained persecution (not sporadic persecutions like under the Romans) has led to the extinction of what used to be large, vigorous Christian communities-such as North Africa and Central Asia.
  8. The "founding fathers" established the "separation of church and state" in America. The American Constitution says nothing about the separation of church and state and they stated that a constitutional republic was a fit form of government only for a religious people and they had congress opened with prayer-as it still is. Also, America was founded in Jamestown in 1607-and not on 1776.
  9. Christians should not be involved in political issues. (In reality, the only reason that they state this is because the evildoers realize that we are the only ones who can stop them.) Christians have always been involved in "political issues." It was the Christian abolitionist movement that led to the demise of slavery in America.
  10. Christian western civilization has been the greatest force of evil that the world has ever known. Musical notation was created by Christians. Modern theatre traces its origins to the church. The university system-in both Europe and America- was founded by the church. The hospital system was created by the church. Most great composers, such as Bach and Handel were Christians as were important scientists such as Isaac Newton and Blaise Paschal. Christianity has been the greatest force of good and progess in the world.


 

(Additional lies: The Salem Witch Trials were a watershed event in Global History. A tragic incident but with very little historical importance. It gets a lot of focus because it serves as great anti-Christian polemics. You can't legislate morality. Laws are morals. If laws are unjust then they must be abolished. This idea is self-referentially incoherent. Another important one, "The reason that Evangelical Christians are in decline is because they focused on political issues such as abortion and gay marriage and not on preaching the Gospel." God's people, including Jesus, have always addressed social and moral concerns. It is an inherent part of the Gospel. The real cause of decline is that liberals put out anti-Christian messages on movies, tv, news reports and in classes in colleges and universities. I need to write up "Ten Islamic Lies Most Christians Believe" and "Ten Political Lies Most Christians Believe.") Christians have a proud heritage and we must defend and celebrate it.


 

A Semitic Influence on Proto-Germanic?

The Germanic substrate hypothesis attempts to explain these features as a result of creolization between an Indo-European and a non-Indo-European language. Writing an introductory article to the Germanic languages in The Major Languages of Western Europe, Germanicist John A. Hawkins sets forth the arguments for a Germanic substrate. Hawkins argues that the proto-Germans encountered a non-Indo-European speaking people and borrowed many features from their language. He hypothesizes that the first sound shift of Grimm's Law was the result of non-native speakers attempting to pronounce Indo-European sounds, and that they resorted to the closest sounds in their own language in their attempt to pronounce them. According to Vennemann, Afroasiatic seafarers settled the European Atlantic coast and are to be associated with the European Megalithic Culture. They left a superstratum in the Germanic languages and a substratum in the development of Insular Celtic. He claims that "Atlantic" (Semitic or Semitidic) speakers founded coastal colonies beginning in the fifth millennium BC. Thus "Atlantic" influenced the lexicon and structure of Germanic and the structure of Insular Celtic. According to Vennemann, migrating Indo-European speakers encountered non-IE speakers in northern Europe who had already named rivers, mountains and settlements in a language he called "Vasconic". He considered that there were toponyms on the Atlantic coast that were neither Vasconic nor Indo-European. These he considers derive from languages related to the Mediterranean Hamito-Semitic group. Vennemann bases his theory on the claim that Germanic
words without cognates in other Indo-European languages very often belong to semantic fields that are typical for loanwords from a superstratum language, such as warfare, law and communal life. Likewise, he proposes Semitic etymologies for words of unknown or disputed origin; for instance he relates the word bee to Egyptian
bj-t or the name Éire, older *īwerijū to *ʼj-wrʼ(m), 'island (of) copper', as in Akkadian
weriʼum 'copper'. Other evidences he adduces for a Semitic superstratum are a Semitic influence on the Germanic form of the Indo-European ablaut system and similarities between Germanic paganism and Mesopotamian mythology, for instance the parallelism between Freyja and Ishtar, goddesses of war and love. The idea that there is a connection between Insular Celtic and Afroasiatic goes back to John Davies (1632). It was expanded by John Morris-Jones in 1913 and developed further by Vennemann. This position is supported by Pokorny (1927–49) and Vennemann identifies Phoenicians as the likely people. A key factor is the dominant word order in Insular Celtic compared to other IE languages, together with lexical correspondences. Another important factor is the identification of the people later known as Picts. Vennemann holds the position that they spoke an Atlantic language. This belief was also held by Zimmer (1898) but is not generally accepted.


 

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Bart Ehrman has written extensively on the New Testament and early church. He is a good writer-I mean that his writing is very readable. However, he has a clear anti-Christian. He is not a disinterested scholar-but a hateful anti-Christian. Another snake in the grass is Phillip Jenkins. He wrote a book called "The Next Christendom" in which he argued that-as Christianity declines in the West-it is exploding in the third world. But now it seems that he is pro-Islam. He wrote a book entitled "The Lost History of Christianity" in which he argued that will Muslims did commit mass murders of Christians-they were justified in doing so-after all they were motivated by climate change and they really felt threatened-so it was a healthy outlet of their fears. The book was shocking, disturbing and deeply offensive. Garbage. Now, he has written another book about how-the Koran doesn't preach violence-the Holy Bible does-and we need to come to terms with this fact. I realize that I need to write some new books:


 

  1. A book on the history and identity of Middle Eastern Christian communities
  2. A short book on the history of the Assyrian Church of the East
  3. A travel narrative. There is a book by a man named William Darymple entitled "From the Holy Mountain" in which he recounts his journeys among Middle Eastern communities. It was good overall-except he unfairly attacked Lebanon's Christians. I have been everywhere he has been on my own. I could write a similar book about my "adventures"-if that is what you want to call it.
  4. "What Every Christian needs to Know about Islam"


 

Syria

Assad warned of chaos if the west targeted him the way they did Gaddafi. He promised to unleash his wrath across the entire region. If he is deposed it would be the greatest step forward for peace in the region in decades-Syria is an Iranian satellite and he is their toady. He obviously feels very weak and threatened. He placed mines on the border with Lebanon in order to keep dissidents in Syria-and keep them from getting outside help.


 

Anti-American Terrorist Attack in Bosnia

I totally opposed the involvement of America in its horrendous attacks on the Eastern Christians of Bosnia and Kosovo. Shameful. Clinton killed all those Christians as a favor for the Saudi Arabians and they generously rewarded him for his creating a radical Islamists stronghold in Europe. Anyway, not surprisingly there was a terrorist attack in Bosnia. I remember someone criticizing Obama for his saying that America had treated Muslims unfairly. We fought for them in Bosnia, Kosovo and in Somalia.


 

Less Drones and an early withdrawal from Afghanistan

The Obama administration is now cutting back on its drone strike program that targets terrorists hiding in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pakistanis are against the program, so now we are drawing back to make them happy. Also, Obama is trying to speed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The generals, who cannot say it, are probably becoming distressed at Obama's bad policy decisions.


 

Israel and Iran

Iran is threatening to make a "preemptive strike" against nuclear sites in Iran. Now, America and England are taking Israel's threats seriously. Therefore, they are putting pressure on Iran. (They were just ignoring the problem until now.) So, it is possible that America and England will bomb Iran, if they figure that Israel is determined to bomb them anyway and the ramifications of America and England doing it, after exhausting diplomatic venues, would be less traumatic than Israel bombing Iran.


 

China

I have been thinking about China-because I may participate in a "Silk Road" expedition.

"God is Red" This is a book about the spread of Christianity in Communist China. (Another book with the same title is about American Indian forms of Christianity.) The full title is "God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China" by Liuo Yiwu. "Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power" by David Aikman. "God is Back"-this book features a chapter on Evangelical Christian house-churches and the prosperity gospel-in Communist China.


 

The Shapir/Whorf hypothesis

The structure of our grammar channels and shapes the way we think? Do you think differently if you speak a different language-do you have a different psychology? Whorf worked with the Hopi Indians and claimed that they engaged in cyclical thinking which Whorf believed was a "higher plane of thinking." The way they think is better or more spiritual than the way we do. Whorf believed English (and related languages) were crude and Hopi was more sophisticated and through their language they have a wisdom that we lack. Is western "ways of thinking" codified in the patterns of our language? Does a different language make you more spiritually aware? Are our thought processes different because we speak different languages? This theory originated in the 1930s-and remains UNPROVEN. Linguists don't believe it-but many anthropologists (who don't professionally study the origin and development of languages) do. Whorf was an amateur and was wrong in his analysis of Hopi. They don't think cyclically. Apparently, language and culture are distinct things. An example can be seen in English. The cultures of the British, Australians, Americans, and even white and black Americans are different, although we speak the same language. The culture of a cowboy and a New Yorker are profoundly different as well. The Canaanites, Philistines and the Hebrews all spoke the same language, but had different cultures. The Shapir/Whorf hypothesis is incorrect.


 

YOUTUBE: I have posted short teaching videos up on my youtube that I would recommend you take a look at. I have a teaching on "Christ the Man," "Egyptian Mythology," "Maccabee: The Hanukkah Story," and "Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz." www.youtube.com/aramaic12


 

Iranian Authorities Pressuring Jailed Christian Pastor to Convert to Islam, Sources SayBy Lisa Daftari, Published November 04, 2011, | FoxNews.com Government officials in Iran are trying to convince a jailed pastor to return to Islam as he waits for the nation's supreme leader to decide whether he should be executed for converting to Christianity, sources close to the case told FoxNews.com. Iran's secret service officials recently approached 34-year-old pastor Youcef Nadarkhani at his prison site in Rasht and presented him with a book on Islamic literature, telling him they would be back to discuss the material and hear his opinion, the sources said. FoxNews.com obtained a digital copy of the book given to Nadarkhani, a 300-page compilation entitled "Beshaarat-eh Ahdein," meaning "Message of the Two Eras," referring to the New and Old Testaments. Through various narratives, the book claims Christianity is a fabrication and attempts to establish the superiority of Islam. "This isn't the first time that we have seen this strategy used in the Iranian jail system," said attorney Tiffany Barrans, the international legal director for the American Center for Law and Justice. Barrans questioned whether this signaled the ayatollah's willingness to give Nadarkhani another chance, or rather "another way to trap him to allow the regime to continue to punish him or have documented evidence of blasphemy against Islam." Barrans, who said she has been in frequent contact with Nadarkhani's attorneys, said he has been advised by family members, members of the church and lawyers to remain silent, out of fear that the Iranian government may try to use his statements against him, a strategy she said is commonly employed by the regime. Nadarkhani remains in prison, awaiting a final verdict that has been drawn out and delayed amid heavy and targeted international attention to his case. Iran's judiciary has been caught in a bind, fearing the ultimate decision will have far-reaching political implications. If Nadarkhani is released, the judiciary risks appearing disrespectful of the tenets of Shariah law. But if he is executed, Iran will face increasing criticism from the international community, which continues to petition for the pastor's release. A few weeks ago, a letter on behalf of the judiciary was sent to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation's highest authority in interpreting Shariah Law, asking him to make the final decision. It is unusual for the supreme leader to be asked to weigh in on a case, but officials said this case is rare in nature and requires Khamenei's stamp of approval in order to issue an execution. Nadarkhani came under the regime's radar in 2006 when he applied for his church to be registered with the state. According to sources, he was arrested at that time and then soon released. In 2009, Nadarkhani went to local officials to complain about Islamic indoctrination in his school district, arguing that his children should not be forced to learn about Islam. He was subsequently arrested and has been held since. Barrans said there has been much confusion in the story, in part deliberately caused by the Iranian regime through its state-controlled media. She said that in an effort to distract the media, the Iranian government denied that the charge against Nadarkhani was apostasy, or leaving Islam, and instead alleged that he was being held for rape and extortion. But according to details provided by Barrans and confirmed by FoxNews.com with sources close to the case in Iran, Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and was tried and found guilty of apostasy by a lower court in Gilan, a province in Rasht. He was then given verbal notification of an impending death-by-hanging sentence. In December, his lawyers appealed the decision, and the case was sent to Iran's Supreme Court, which by June stated that it upheld the lower court's decision of execution, provided it could be proven that he had been a practicing Muslim from the age of adulthood, 15 in Islamic law, to age 19, the time when he converted. In September, the lower court ruled that Nadarkhani had not practiced Islam during his adult life but still upheld the apostasy charge because he was born into a Muslim family. The court then gave Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant, as the law requires a man to be given three chances to recant his beliefs and return to Islam. Nadarkhani refused. Experts credit international support of Nadarkhani in keeping him alive. Christian advocacy groups and human rights organizations have mounted numerous global campaigns and petitions against the Iranian government. "For me, as a husband and a father of two, the first thing I think about is being in his situation," said the Rev. Jason DeMars, founder of Present Truth Ministries, a support group for persecuted church communities in the Middle East. DeMars has been linked to the network of churches in Iran to which Nadarkhani belonged, providing these communities with materials, mission coordination and international support. "Politically, Iran wants to spread its influence and revolution throughout the Middle East. If we don't raise our voices now, this persecution is going to affect Christians in other countries as well," he said. Apostasy is punishable by death in Shariah law. Article 225 of the Iranian penal code states, "Punishment for an Innate Apostate is death," and "Punishment for a Parental Apostate is death." Under this law, a Muslim who converts to Christian is called a mortad, meaning one who leaves Islam. If the convert attempts to convert others, he is called a mortad harbi, or a convert who is waging war against Islam. Death sentences for such individuals are prescribed both by fatwas, or legal decrees, and reinforced by Iran's penal code. All religious minorities in Iran, including Bahais, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, have faced various forms of persecution and political and social marginalization throughout the regime's 30-year reign. But the government saves its harshest retribution for those who have abandoned Islam. Khamenei is not expected to announce a public decision on the case; he traditionally has influenced cases behind closed doors. Should he decline, the lower court will be responsible for making final judgment.


Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/11/04/iranian-authorities-pressuring-jailed-christian-pastor-to-convert-to-islam/#ixzz1cnEnrDKg