Eeyore's News and View

David's Delight

“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:1-11).
Introduction
This is a psalm of delight. We find no trials or tribulations in this song. David is simply delighting, first of all, in the Lord. “O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee” (:2). In other words, he is saying, "I have no good thing apart from God, You are everything I need." “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25).
God’s people
Then David delights in the Lord's people. “But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight” (:3). This could be a missing element in the majority of churches and one of the reasons for bitterness and strife. "To live above with saints we love will certainly be glory. To live below with saints we know, that's another story" (Anon). “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me” (Psalm 101:6) ... “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:63). The apostle John informs us that we cannot truly claim to love and worship God if we hate our fellow believers, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments” (1 John 5:1-2).
When we delight in the Lord, and then we will start delighting in His people. John Wesley wrote, “
Though we cannot enrich God, yet we must bestow God's gifts for the use of his children.” We cannot delight in God’s people if we do not fellowship with them. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).
God’s provision
David also delights in God's provision. “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (:5-6). God gave us our portion the moment we came to Christ for salvation. “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19) … “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:1-5).
God, in His providence, knows where to draw the line. We find an illustration of what David means here when we read of how the Lord gave each tribe of Israel an allotted place in the Promised Land. “He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents” (Psalm 78:55). Problems arise when people do not know where His boundaries are. They want to keep moving the line of what is acceptable in the Christian life. How can we expect to be blessed by God if we refuse to follow His rule?
God’s pleasures
David also finds delight in God's pleasures. “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (:11). If we want life and joy then we should follow David’s secret, that is, walk daily on God's path, live in His presence and live for His pleasures. “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures” (Psalm 36:7-8) ... “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures” (Job 36:11). "
Our pleasures here are transient and momentary; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore. For they are the pleasures of immortal souls, in the enjoyment of an eternal God" (John Wesley). “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6).
Conclusion
You have much to delight in. We can delight in God's people, God’s providence and God’s pleasures. If we delight in the things of God then we will find that we delight in God Himself. “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:26).
http://www.believingstudy.com/articles/55/1/David039s-Delight/Page1.html

U.S. To Help Rebuild City Of Babylon In Iraq
By Joel C. Rosenberg
Largely overlooked by the Western news media over the past few weeks was an enormously significant story. The government of Iraq is moving forward with plans to protect the archaeological remains of the ancient City of Babylon, in preparation for building a modern city of Babylon. The project, originally started by the late Saddam Hussein, is aimed eventually at attracting scores of "cultural tourists" from all over the world to see the glories of Mesopotamia's most famous city. What's more, the Obama Administration is contributing $700,000 towards "The Future of Babylon Project," through the State Department's budget.
"Officials hope Babylon can be revived and made ready for a rich future of tourism, with help from experts at the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the U.S. embassy," reports the Reuters news agency. "'The Future of Babylon' project launched last month seeks to 'map the current conditions of Babylon and develop a master plan for its conservation, study and tourism,' the WMF says. 'We don't know how long it will take to reopen to tourists,' said Mariam Omran Musa, head of a government inspection team based at the site. 'It depends on funds. I hope that Babylon can be reborn in a better image.'"
In my non-fiction book, Epicenter 2.0, I wrote about the Bible prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation that indicate the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq will, in fact, be rebuilt in the "last days" of history and become the wealthiest and most powerful city on the face of the planet. I also cited my interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Abdul Ameer Allawi who told me in 2006 at the peak of the insurgency,
"Cultural, religious, archaeological, and biblical tourism is a big opportunity for Iraq. I think rebuilding Babylon is a wonderful idea, as long as it is not done at the expense of the antiquities themselves."
For many, I know the rebuilding of Babylon seemed like a far-fetched idea in the Bible. For many more, it seemed like a far-fetched idea in 2006, as well. But skeptics and cynics take note: now that the insurgency is dying down, the Shia-led government of Iraq is actually moving forward with this historic and prophetic project. They say Babylon will be "reborn." And they're right. It will be. Stay tuned.
http://www.worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-4613/Brannon-Howse/Joel-Rosenberg

Pastor awaits prison for saying 'Jesus loves you'Court convicts man for peaceful protest outside abortion clinic
For holding up a poster that reads, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you," outside an Oakland abortion clinic, a pastor in California now awaits a judge's sentencing that could send him to prison for harassment.
In May of 2008, Rev. Walter B. Hoye II of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of Berkeley, Calif., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, arguing that an Oakland city ordinance banning counselors or protesters from approaching within eight feet of people entering an abortion clinic is a violation of constitutional free speech rights.
Twelve days later, Hoye was arrested for allegedly violating the law he was seeking to overturn.
Hoye was charged with "unlawful approach" and "harassment."
In court, however, evidence showed that as Hoye stood outside the clinic with his "Jesus loves you" poster, rather than approaching or harassing women seeking to enter the facility, Hoye was hounded by clinic employees in orange jackets called "escorts." The escorts followed Hoye's quiet march along the sidewalk with large blank cards to block the view of his "Jesus loves you" poster.
Court proceedings further discredited clinic employee testimony when hidden camera footage showed their accusations to be highly suspect. The escorts in the case even admitted that Hoye neither threatened nor physically intimidated them.
Dana Cody, executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to the sanctity of human life, told WND that the video tape evidence should have clearly exonerated Hoye of the charges against him.
"I sat in the courtroom when the videotape was shown," Cody told WND. "And pastor Hoye wasn't blocking; he was being blocked. He wasn't harassing, he was being harassed."
Nonetheless, Hoye was found guilty and on Thursday could be sentenced with up to 2 years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
"This is a miscarriage of justice and we will appeal this verdict," said Allison Aranda, an LLDF staff attorney who is representing Hoye. "After speaking with several jurors after the verdict was read, it is clear that the court's failure and outright refusal to instruct the jury regarding the key elements of the crime led to the erroneous conviction of Rev. Hoye."
Witnesses in the trial claimed Hoy harassed and threatened patients, the escorts and even the clinic director.
According to an LLDF statement, clinic director Jackie Barbic testified that she saw Hoye hounding patients and went out to the street to confront him. With a tape measure, Barbic claimed, she demonstrated the distance of the 8-foot barrier, only be physically intimidated by Hoye until she was compelled to defend herself, shouting, "Stay away from me! Back down! Back away!"
Unbeknownst to witnesses and the district attorney, however, an associate of Rev. Hoye had been videotaping him from across the street on both the days on which the pastor was accused of violating the law.
Cody told WND that the video is an accurate representation of Hoye's demeanor, and that while some abortion protesters may scream and threaten, Hoye is not a man to use intimidation or "harassment."
"I have never met a man whose character and demeanor is so perfect for him to stand out in front of these clinics," Cody said. "He is the consummate gentleman. He's not intimidating at all. In fact, on the record there's witness testimony that part of the reason they're afraid of him is that he is so 'nice.'
"The man, he will tell you, 'I am an ambassador for Christ,'" Cody said.
On cross-examination, the court watched the video of two confrontations between Barbic and Hoye on the days in question. According to the LLDF, the video includes the tape measure and Barbic approaching Hoye. The video also showed, however, that the pastor calmly walked away from Barbic and showed no evidence of her fending him off and screaming.
Barbic then testified that the surprise videos must have been taken earlier in the day and that the intimidating confrontation happened later. Hoye's attorneys dismiss the testimony as bogus.
The jury nonetheless convicted Hoye of "unlawful approach."
"We think his conviction," Cody told WND, "was a failure of the judge to give instructions to the jury on what 'approach' meant."
The LLDF now intends to appeal Hoye's case as well as resume his original lawsuit – put on hold during Hoye's trial – within the next few months.
Cody told WND that Hoye filed the original lawsuit because the wording of city's ordinance prohibits even street counseling, a law that goes beyond protecting people from harassment to the point of censoring free speech.
"We live in America," Cody said. "The fact that this can happen because someone has the audacity to stand out on the street and try to help women is just unbelievable to me."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89096

U.S. Protestants more loyal to toothpaste brand than church?
Some Americans are more loyal to their toothpaste or toilet paper than to their religious denomination, making those consumers more choosy about Charmin or Colgate than they are about church, according to a new survey.
According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16% of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22% of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19% would use just one brand of bathroom tissue.
Experts say the findings may be more telling about Americans' views of the plethora of Protestant groups than how they choose between Quilted Northern and, say, Cottonelle.
"When you have a whole bunch of different brands out there and not a lot of differentiation among some of them — and not a lot of knowledge about them — the denominational world is facing the same problem as many other brands," said Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, which conducted the survey.
Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, said at first blush the findings may indicate that "the United States worships at the church of consumption," but thinks there's more to the numbers than that.
"When you actually think about it for more than 10 seconds, none of this is all that surprising and I don't think it's actually bad," Thompson said.
He said the statistics demonstrate that some of the age-old rivalries between Protestant denominations have simply dissolved.
"Those distinctions, which seemed so important as the various Protestant churches were identifying and evolving ... are really not that important to the average churchgoer in the United States," Thompson said.
He pointed to himself as Exhibit A: "I myself ... a Protestant, have been a member of three different denominations in my life."
The Ellison findings seem to echo a large national survey conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which found that
44% of Americans have switched from one faith, or one denomination, to another.
Ellison detected a profound difference between Protestants and Catholics on the question of denominational loyalty: 60% of active Catholics said they would only consider attending a Roman Catholic congregation.
"It's not like there are 75 different Catholic denominations, where (if) they don't like the Southern Catholic Convention, they can go to the Progressive Catholic Convention," said Sellers, whose findings were based on a nationally representative online panel of 1,007 U.S. adults, including 471 respondents who attended a Christian congregation one or more times a month.
Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University School of Theology, said the survey reflects changes in how people choose congregations.
"It has become unfashionable to claim to be denominationally loyal," she said. "It has become ... kind of the way people expect to talk about their religiosity, to say that they wouldn't put denomination above some other important criteria."
What are those other criteria? Ammerman suggested worshippers put far greater emphasis on how closely preachers stick to the Bible, or how inspiring their sermons tend to be, than the name on the sign on the church's front lawn.
In addition, she said, the lack of clarity between denominations — does the average layperson really know the difference between the Church of God and the Church of Christ? — makes labels less meaningful.
"You can have very, very theologically conservative Presbyterian churches and very, very liberal Presbyterian churches, so people have sort of also gotten into their heads that the label on the door doesn't tell them what they need to know," she said.
Still, denominations do have some competitive advantage. The 16% figure for denominational loyalty was higher than consumers' loyalty to a particular brand of athletic shoe, department store, major appliance, light bulb and numerous other products, according to the study.
And even as some Americans move from one town to another, or meet potential partners from different backgrounds, Ammerman said there are some limits to denominational shifting.
"You don't get a lot of Pentecostals becoming Episcopalians," she said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-02-16-protestant-denominations_N.htm

Eeyores news and view

The Mark of the Beast
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six." (Rev. 13:16-18)
Many Bible readers over the centuries have been puzzled, wondering just how such a system could ever be established, but it's no longer a puzzle. Advanced technology has brought the world closer to the Mark of the Beast than anything else in history.
We know that the coming Mark of the Beast will somehow be connected with the economy, for the Bible says that no one may buy or sell without it. It may very well be that cash, checks, and credit cards are soon to become a thing of the past, because electronic money is becoming more popular all the time.
One form of electronic money is the use of smart cards. A smart card looks like a credit or debit card, except it contains a small computer chip with all sorts of information about the card holder, including bank account numbers and balances. When a smart card is used, the card holder's bank account is immediately debited at the point of sale by computer transaction. This means more profits to retailers and banks alike, for bad checks and credit card abuse would be eliminated. Many banks and credit card companies believe that electronic money will eventually usher in a cashless society where everyone will buy and sell electronically. Terry Galanoy, former director of communications for what is now Visa International has made this bold remark: "Protesting too loudly about it isn't going to help either, because the disturbance you kick up is going to end up in one of your files. And on that come-and-get-it day when we're all totally and completely dependent upon our card--or whatever security device might replace it--you might be left all alone without one!"
In promotional literature from the Danyl Corporation of Moorestown, New Jersey, Robert J. Merkert, Sr., senior vice president, says: "One day in the near future, we'll be able to pay for almost everything with just one 'prepaid stored value' or 'smart card.'"
Though many industry leaders are very much in favor of a cashless society where buying and selling is done electronically, there is a problem. How can it be guaranteed that the individual using a Smart Card is the authorized card holder? Some believe that this problem can be solved by combining Smart Card technology with Biometric Technology. After all, a Smart "Card" is only a piece of plastic. It's the computer chip inside the card that stores the needed information. As unbelievable as it may sound, biometric technology has now made it possible to implant small computer chips under the skin of animals and people. The European Community's Executive Commission has already passed legislation which REQUIRES farmers in the EC to have their livestock implanted with microchips! In many cities across the U.S., the Humane Society is selling such implants for pets, as a replacement for dog tags.
You say, "Well, that's just for animals. No one would ever try this technology on people." I wouldn't be too sure about that. According to the book, The Mark of the Beast, by Paul and Peter Lalond, a plastic surgeon in Florida has hit upon the idea of implanting microchips in people. This would be helpful in locating missing people, such as run away children, kidnapped children, wandering victims of Alzheimer's disease, and parolees.
Just for a moment, use your imagination and think about the convenience of implanted microchips. You wouldn't need any cash or checks for making purchases, for your bank account would be automatically debited every time you went through a check-out stand. You wouldn't need to keep up with a social security card, a driver's license, a Medicare card, a credit card, or even a smart card, because all of this information could be stored in the implanted chip. You wouldn't have to worry about getting mugged on the street, because there would be no demand for cash in a cashless society.
We are not saying that the government is going to make you receive a microchip implant, and we aren't sure how the number "666" can be integrated into all this. We are simply pointing out the fact that THE TECHNOLOGY IS HERE. We do not know exactly what the Mark of the Beast will be in it's final form, but it is obvious that the possibilities are greater today than ever before.
Your Only Escape
Only by receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior can you be saved from the wrath to come (1 Ths. 1:10; 5:9). The Lord Jesus Christ will soon return to call His church out of this world (1 Ths. 4:16-18), and only those who are saved will leave. Everyone else will enter into the Great Tribulation (Mat. 24:21), and they will be required to take the Mark of the Beast. Those who do will burn in Hell forever (Rev. 14:11).
When you are ready to accept the fact that you are a lost and dying sinner and that your "good works" are unacceptable to God (Rom. 3:10, 23; 4:5; 10:3), then you can begin to see your need for Jesus Christ. He came into this world to lay down His sinless life for YOU--to pay for your sins, because you couldn't. Jesus is your only hope for salvation. Only by receiving Him as your Savior can you enter the gates of Heaven. There is no other way.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6)
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
The Lord Jesus Christ has come and PAID for your sins by shedding His own Blood on Calvary. By receiving Him as your Savior, you can be WASHED from all your sins in His precious Blood (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14; Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19). Notice these important words from Romans 5:8-9:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Jesus PAID your way to Heaven for you! By receiving Him as your Savior, you will be receiving God's ONLY means of Salvation for you. Are you willing to forsake YOUR righteousness and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, your ONLY HOPE for Salvation? Romans 10:13 says, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Are you willing to forsake your own righteousness, and trust Jesus Christ alone? He will save you just as He promised. Why not receive Him today? Tomorrow could be too late.

James Melton

We live in a sick soceity that is run by the Media, Movies Tv and advertising wet the morals of our Country.
TV might rush teens into sex By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAYA steady diet of sex-saturated television might encourage teens to start sex earlier, a national survey of 1,762 kids suggests todayPrograms with sexually oriented conversations have as much effect as those that depict sex or imply that sex has happened, says psychologist Rebecca Collins of RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. Her study is reported in the Pediatrics online journal.The research is the first that takes into account other factors linked to early teen sex — such as poor grades, low parent education, having older friends and living in a one-parent home — and tracks how TV-watching might predict sexual activity, says Jane Brown, a University of North Carolina media researcher who specializes in adolescents. The phone survey of 12- to 17-year-olds also took into account sexual experience at the start of the study.Kids who said they watched more sex-oriented programs at the beginning of the year were more likely than others their age to become sexually active during the next year. Those in the top 10% for viewing of sexually related scenes were twice as likely to engage in intercourse as those in the lowest 10%, Collins says. The more sex-oriented scenes they saw, the more likely they were to become sexually active."It's social learning: 'monkey see, monkey do,' " Collins says. "If everyone's talking about sex or having it, and something bad hardly ever comes out of it, because it doesn't on TV, then they think, 'Hey, the whole world's doing it, and I need to.' "The study didn't take into account a teen's interest in sex or feelings of sexual readiness as the year began. So the findings might exaggerate TV's influence in causing kids to start sex, says adolescent psychologist Joseph Allen of the University of Virginia."Sexually explicit TV viewing is exactly the kind of thing adolescents would do if they were interested in becoming sexually active," Allen says. "She may be picking up on teenagers who are about to seek out sexual experiences." Different levels of readiness might have a small effect on the findings, Collins says.Physical maturity also matters. More sexually developed youngsters feel readier for sex and are more likely to be sexually active, Allen says, "and almost certainly these kids would be watching more sexy TV shows."Television executives were skeptical, too. "With all due respect to RAND, we do not believe that one show can alter a person's sexual behavior," says HBO spokesman Jeff Cusson. HBO aired Sex and the City, one of the programs tracked in the study."Some TV may be too provocative for kids, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be on the air," says Todd Leavitt, president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "As the father of three daughters, I believe parents have an obligation to monitor their kids' TV viewing."Teens whose parents supervised their activities closely were less likely to watch sexually oriented shows."Most important is keeping the set out of children's bedrooms, because otherwise the kids have complete control over what they watch," Brown says. Studies show that about 3 of 5 teens have TVs in their bedrooms, she says. http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/%20...%20usat_x.htm

Is everyone looking for Noah's Ark in the wrong place?Bible doesn't say ancient boat landed where many people assume
Posted: November 02, 20082:30 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
(Editor's note: WND is the only place where you can purchase copies of "Shocked by the Bible" personally autographed by author Joe Kovacs.)
Has everyone been searching for Noah's Ark in the wrong place?
It's a question that might disturb some who thought they knew what the Bible says.The location of the ancient boat that saved humanity through a worldwide flood has been a topic that has fascinated countless people for centuries.It has sparked numerous expeditions to one location in particular: Mount Ararat in the nation of Turkey.People for years have claimed they have evidence of the ark, whether it be hunks of wood, or satellite photos from space showing all kinds of shapes underneath snow.
To date, no one has ever produced irrefutable proof of the vessel.But does the Bible actually say Noah's Ark landed on Mount Ararat?In a word, no.It's one of the numerous misconceptions which continue to confuse many people. Here is what the Scripture really says."And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." (Genesis 8:4)Did you notice that? The Bible does not say "Mount Ararat" or even "mountain of Ararat." It specifically says "mountains of Ararat." Mountains. Plural. More than one.The addition of the single letter "s" makes a huge difference in the possibilities of the location of the boat that took Noah, his wife, their three sons and their sons' wives through the deluge.While it, of course, could mean the actual Mount Ararat, it also could refer to a very wide region. In fact, some believe the fossilized remains of Noah's Ark have already been discovered in Dogubayazit, Turkey, on a mountain near Mount Ararat. One travel agency has even offered summer tours to view it.
Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that the Ararat referred to in the Bible is the mountain in Turkey whereon most searchers have focused their attention.These are just some of the points about Noah's Ark explored in the brand-new best-selling book, "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told" by WND Executive News Editor Joe Kovacs.
"If the Bible said Noah's Ark had landed in the mountains of Colorado, people most likely would not be searching for it on a single mountain," said Kovacs. "Explorations might get better results if searchers paid attention to the details of what's actually in Scripture."There are many other misconceptions people have about the story of Noah and the ark.For instance, people often think Noah brought aboard just two of every kind of animal. They would be mistaken.Others assume Noah and his family stayed on the boat for 40 days and 40 nights. Again, that's not the biblical record.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79624

Outrage over 'chastity belt' lingerie fitted with GPS tracking system
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 4:32 PM on 03rd November 2008
Controversial: Critics have said underwear featuring a tracking system is the high-tech equivalent of a chastity belt
Feminists around the world have reacted with horror to a new line of lingerie that comes equipped with a GPS tracking system.
The 'find me if you can' range of underwear has been described as a modern-day, high-tech chastity belt.
'It is outrageous to think that men can buy this, programme it and give it to their partners and then monitor them,' said Claudia Burghart, leader of a Berlin feminist group.
'It is nothing more than a chastity belt for insecure men.'
Lingerie maker Lucia Lorio of Brazil says her design targets the 'modern, techno-savvy woman'.
The lingerie combination set consists of lace bodice, bikini bottom and faux pearl collar, with the GPS device nestled in the see-through part of the bodice next to the waist.
'This collection... is a wink to women and a challenge to men because, even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off,' Lorio said.
'It's not a modern chastity belt. Some men think they can keep tabs on their girlfriends with it, but they're wrong,' she added.
Unconcerned with the controversy her collection has raised, Lorio is also dismissive of the global financial crisis and its adverse impact on luxury items sales.
The GPS lingerie sells from a cool £500, complete with a standard Global Positioning System, to £700 with a more advanced model.
'Some women are now interested in buying it for protection,' she said, programming it for partners themselves so they are safe on a night out alone.
'In London, New York, Rio de Janiero - wherever there is danger, the underwear may prove to be a lifesaver,' she added.
But feminists in her homeland have called her a modern-day slaver and urged women to boycott the GPS underwear.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082707/Outrage-chastity-belt-lingerie-fitted-GPS-tracking-system.html

Religious voice faint in media

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Here is a foolproof way for politicians to score points with evangelical voters - attack the media, an institution widely seen as lacking conservative Christian voices.
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and his evangelical running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have done just that at times during the campaign, with repeated jabs at the "liberal media."
One way to change this perception, some church leaders, social commentators and journalists say, is for mainstream news organizations to employ - and keep - more evangelicals in their newsrooms.
"Journalism has become more of a white-collar field that draws from elite colleges," said Terry Mattingly, director of the Washington Journalism Center for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a religion columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. "While there's been heavy gender and racial diversity ... there's a lack of cultural diversity in journalism," including religion.

Terry Mattingly, director of the Washington Journalism Center for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a religion columnist for Scripps Howard News Service, says journalism is lacking in cultural diversity, notably regarding religion. (Associated Press)
Since the 1980s, when the Christian right emerged as a powerful force in American culture and politics, evangelicals have made significant inroads in law and government by training believers to work inside secular institutions.
But while the same universities that helped students launch careers in those fields are offering similar programs in journalism, they haven't been as successful at changing the nation's newsrooms.
"The media - journalism - remain one of the hardest fields for them to realize their power," said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of "Faith in the Halls of Power."
Many evangelical journalists start out in secular news organizations but they soon join Christian media that offer an environment more accepting of their beliefs and more family-friendly than the long hours and low pay of secular journalism, said Robert Case II, director of the World Journalism Institute, which offers seminars for young evangelicals seeking work in secular media.
Martha Krienke, 26, who attended one of Mr. Case's seminars in 2003, worked for two secular newspapers in Minnesota before she finally took a job as an editor at Brio, a magazine for young girls published by Focus on the Family.
At one paper, Miss Krienke disagreed with the edit of an opinion piece about what Christmas meant to her.

"My editor wanted to change several paragraphs, and it totally changed the tone and message of my opinion," she said. "Going through that situation just confirmed to me why I wanted to work for a Christian magazine."
It's not clear how many evangelicals work in newsrooms, and federal laws against religious discrimination prevent news managers from asking about a job candidate's beliefs. But the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported in 2007 that 8 percent of journalists surveyed at national media outlets said they attended church or synagogue weekly. The survey also found 29 percent never attend such services, with 39 percent reporting they go a few times a year.
Pew polling of the general public found 39 percent of Americans say they attend religious services weekly.
In seeking a greater voice in the media, most evangelical leaders say their goal isn't to evangelize inside newsrooms, which demand that journalists set aside their beliefs for the sake of objectivity.
"They have to be journalists first," Mr. Mattingly said. "You don't need more Christian journalists. You need more journalists who happen to be Christians if they're going to contribute to any real diversity in newsrooms."
He also says evangelical journalists can bring a range of contacts to the table and can draw on their knowledge to help explain and shape religion coverage.
Mr. Case's primary concern is that evangelicals are frequently portrayed in the media as a monolithic bloc, when in fact they are diverse politically, intellectually and theologically.
"It bothers me that when mainstream outlets want an evangelical voice, they've turned to Jerry Falwell or James Dobson or Pat Robertson," he said. "They are men of high regard and standing, but there are others who have a different take on things."
Scott Bosley, executive director for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, doesn't think there has been a bias against evangelicals in hiring or in the workplace, and that it's common for groups to feel underrepresented in newsrooms.
"I don't think the sole measures of the effectiveness or success of newsrooms in reflecting their communities depends on having precise quotas of folks representing all different ideologies, be they Christian or not," he said. "We have a lot of generalists in newsrooms, and they tend to have to learn about a lot of things."
Religious scholars estimate there are nearly two dozen evangelical colleges in the U.S. that offer either journalism degrees or classes. And the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest U.S. Protestant denomination, holds an annual conference in which students get career advice from Christians working in U.S. media outlets.
The Rev. Pat Robertson, the well-known evangelical leader who is founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, even considered buying the Virginian-Pilot newspaper of Norfolk to give students at his Regent University opportunities for internships. He later abandoned the plan because of newspapers' overall financial decline.
Still, "journalism is important, and it's one of the areas in society I think our graduates should play a role in," Mr. Robertson said. "I think the idea of transforming the culture, of having Christians involved as salt and light in every area of endeavor, is an important thing."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/23/religious-voice-faint-in-media/

Eeyore's News and Views

The Consequences of Sin

By Charles Eickenberg

Found in the July 1919 issue of "The Christian Workers Magazine."

"But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23

The speaker produced a stick with a lot of nails driven into it and said that it was meant to represent a life full of sin. Each nail represented a sin, and there were so many nails that not very much of the stick was to be seen.

This illustration was suggested to the speaker by the story of the boy who was so accustomed to telling lies that his father, wishing to call his attention to the great number of lies which he was in the habit of telling, told him to drive a nail into a post every time he told a lie. The boy did this and soon found that the post was full of nails. When he saw how the post looked it made him feel very badly. He had no idea that he had been telling so many lies. He came to his father and sorrowfully confessed his condition, and said that he wished to do better. Then his father told him that every time in the future when he told the truth, instead of telling a lie, he should pull out one of the nails. This the boy did, and soon returned to his father with the good news that the nails were all out again. "But," said he, "the holes are all left." His father told him that that was part of the price he had to pay for the sins he had committed.

The nails were then pulled out of the stick which the speaker had brought, and the holes were shown to the boys and girls who were present. The following lessons were then drawn from this story by the speaker: No matter how sorry we may feel for the wrong we have done, and no matter how much we may try to do better and make it right, there are certain consequences that a bad life will leave behind it.

If a man has been a thief, and makes up his mind that he will stop stealing in the future, and does really begin to live an holiest life, yet he will never be able to forget that he was once a thief. Many of the things which he did when he was a thief will come up before him at times and make him feel ashamed of himself. Many people who were injured by his wrongdoing may be suffering even then on account of his sin, and if he is really sorry for his past life it will make him feel very badly at times.

A boy was standing in front of a school house, during recess, when another boy threw something at him. It struck him in the eye and the boy who was struck lost the sight of that eye. That boy has lost the use of one of his eyes through the carelessness of the other boy, and thus has been injured for life. The boy who threw the stone may have been very sorry for what he did but that will never restore the eye to the boy who lost it. Even if the author of the accident should be able to offer the other boy millions of dollars that would not restore the eye.

Even the great Apostle Paul reproaches himself for the life he lived before he became a Christian, when he remembered how he held the clothes of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He says in I Corinthians 15:9: "For I am the least of the apostles that am not worthy to be called an apostle became I persecuted the church of God." Again in Acts 26: 9 he says: "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth which thing I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death gave my voice against them, and I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them I persecuted them even unto strange cities."

Paul could not forget the things he did against God's people although he had repented of them and became a sincere Christian himself. Do you think that the Apostle Peter could ever forget that he had denied his Lord and Master with oaths and curses and said that he never knew Him? The memory of that act never left him as long as he lived. They say that when Peter was condemned to be crucified he asked to be crucified with his head down because he did not consider himself worthy to die as Jesus did, because he had denied Him.

We see from this that while we, may have our sins forgiven, yet what we have done, cannot be erased from our memories. It is a great deal better not to do the wrong than to do it even though we may be forgiven for it, because while we may be able to pull all the nails out of the post of our wicked lives, all the holes will be left.

Chambers' suit against God tossed out BY CHRISTOPHER BURBACHWORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
You can't sue God if you can't serve the papers on him, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled in Omaha Tuesday.Judge Marlon Polk threw out Nebraska Sen. Ernie Chambers' lawsuit against the Almighty, saying there was no evidence that the defendant had been served. What's more, Polk found "there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant."Chambers had sued God in September 2007, seeking a permanent injunction to prevent God from committing acts of violence such as earthquakes and tornadoes.Although the case may seem superfluous and even scandalous to others, Chambers has said his point is to focus on the question of whether certain lawsuits should be prohibited."Nobody should stand at the courthouse door to predetermine who has access to the courts," he said. "My point is that anyone can sue anyone else, even God."Chambers, an avowed atheist, said he decided to make that point after at least two attempts in the Nebraska Legislature to limit "frivolous lawsuits."The senator did have a day in court on the case. In August, he argued that Polk should take judicial notice of the existence of God. The senator cited the facts that U.S. currency says "In God We Trust," God is invoked during oaths in court hearings, and chaplains offer prayers before legislative bodies."If God is omnipresent," Chambers said in that August hearing, "then he is here in Douglas County and in this courtroom."Polk was not persuaded.His Tuesday ruling said Chambers' motion to take judicial notice of God "is denied as moot."Chambers, reached at home Tuesday evening, said he hadn't yet seen the court order. He declined to comment until he could review the document today.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10460511

Phony biblical relics spark controversy

Medieval pilgrims would have understood the throngs who crowded Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum to see the James Ossuary. Only six years ago, the stone box inscribed "James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus" in Aramaic, made Time magazine's cover and drew 100,000-person lines to see the limestone box that, by implication, may have once held the skeletal remain of Jesus' brother.

But like so many religious relics before, the ossuary, a two-foot-long box that Jewish inhabitants of burial-site-poor Jerusalem typically used to store remains around the First Century, A.D., turned out to have a checkered past. The 2002 vetting of the box's authenticity described in the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review came under fire quickly, from experts who complained the box's origins were unknown. Oded Golan, the antiquities dealer who owned the ossuary, only said he had bought it from another dealer in the 1970's.

Many outside experts, concluded the second part of the ossuary inscription, the reference to Jesus, was a fake, including the scholar Rochelle Altman who found that it "bears the hallmarks of a fraudulent later addition," and "is questionable to say the least." Others, such as Amnon Rosenfeld of the Geological Survey of Israel, continue to defend the inscription's authenticity.

In 2003, the Israel Antiquities Authority raided Golan's apartment, famously finding the ossuary sitting atop a rooftop toilet amid a workshop setting filled with inscription tools. Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University described the furor over the ossuary as a case of " Jerusalem syndrome," modern-day people suddenly deluding themselves into believing they are Bible characters. Golan and three other men were indicted for forgery of the James ossuary in 2004 by Israeli authorities. Golan and one other man, the antiquities dealer Raymond Deutsch, remain on trial.

The case has called into question other artifacts of the same era, particularly the " Jehoash Inscription," a stone describing repairs to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, and an ivory pomegranate once thought a relic from Solomon's Temple, declared a forgery by the Israel Museum in 2004.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Israel | Muslim | Toronto | Christianity | Jewish | Judaism | Jerusalem | Bible | Holy Land | Middle Ages | Temple Mount | Solomon | Aramaic | New York. | Israel Museum | Israel Antiquities Authority | Greed | Royal Ontario Museum | Golan | First Century | Biblical Archaeology Review

One journalist who has followed the ossuary case is Nina Burleigh, author of the upcoming Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed & Forgery in the Holy Land (Smithsonian Books, $27.50), which goes on sale this week. Part crime story, part travelogue through the netherworld of antiquity scholarship, the book serves up a real-life mystery that puts to shame any simplistic DaVinci Code-type thriller. We asked Burleigh to comment on the ossuary and the wider world of biblical archaeology:

Q: Faked religious objects go back a long way, don't they? Isn't it kind of an old tradition?

A: Absolutely, this goes back to the earliest roots of Christianity and probably earlier. People in the Middle Ages traveled places to see relics. It's just more high-tech now with global media coverage.

Q: Where do things stand with the forgery trial?

A: Well, the prosecution rested its case in the spring after calling about 70 experts to testify about the ossuary being a fake. A lot of scientific people have come forward and both sides are fighting tooth and nail. The defense is supposed to present its case, have its experts present their evidence by the end of October. But Israeli court cases are complicated … and it looks like the trial won't be over any time soon.

Q: Regardless of the trial's outcome, what do you think the story of the James Ossuary says about biblical archaeology as a field?

A: I've come to realize that archaeology can be seen as a very subjective science. It has a lot of objective aspects, measurements, dating and so on, but especially in biblical archaeology people bring a lot of prior assumptions to bear in their work, whether the Bible was real or not, and those can be very difficult to sort out.

Things are a whole lot more political than I ever suspected. Not just theology-minded people who are interested in artifacts like the ossuary, but Israeli nationalists who believe that evidence of ancient habitation of the Holy Land would lead to a larger Israel. The field archaeologists even joke about it, 'Oh no, I didn't find a mikvah (a ritual bath in Judaism), I found a church. I'm going to lose my funding.'

The apotheosis of the whole thing is at (Jerusalem's) Temple Mount, where the Muslim religious authority doesn't want any digging under a sacred site and others would like to find evidence of Solomon's Temple buried there. It is an incredibly tense, trip-wire place and these questions quickly become very dangerous ones.

Q: What about funding? Aren't collectors or enthusiasts funding digs and antiquities dealers having a role in scholarly debates an unhealthy situation for archaeology?

A: Archaeologists in the region have a problem, and they know it, in that antiquity collectors and people with some interest in a particular view of the Bible fund some of their work. Shelby White, a wealthy New York collector, just funded a major university archaeology department, for example. So they are torn. They see collectors as raping sites for cool stuff to decorate their apartments and on the other hand, they need the money. They have quite a conundrum.

Was I surprised by this? No, money talks everywhere. And I am a New Yorker.

Q: How does this affect the archaeology we see?

A: Biblical archaeology is really a small community. Everybody knows everybody. I think the people out in the field are just trying to honestly report what they find. When you get away from the field, things get complicated.

Q; Where do you come down on the James Ossuary?

A: I don't have a science background. My sense is that the people presenting evidence of fraud have a pretty good case.

It's important to say that Oded Golan maintains his innocence and the trial is still not over.

Q: Even if a lot of this stuff is phony, why should we care about rich guys buying forged biblical artifacts?

A: Seems like a victimless crime if a wealthy collector like Shlomo Moussaieff (who dealt with Deutsch) wants to have something possibly fake in his apartment. But when dealers and forgers toy with believers, and what they do to belief systems, is kind of a problem. That's just wrong. It's a scam: Forgers take money from gullible believers that would have gone in the collection plate to help people.

And they are distorting the truth. Especially in writing, we need in situ findings to have an accurate account of history.

Finally, the forgers are really playing with fire, things are so tense in East Jerusalem, to throw fake biblical artifacts into the mix puts gasoline on the flames there.

http://www.usatoday.com/_ads/interstitial/2008/page/interstitial.htm?http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2008-10-18-ossuary_N.htm

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million. It depends whose hands it's in.
A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in Roger Clemens' hands is worth $4.75 million. It depends on whose hands it's in.
A tennis racket is useless in my hands. A tennis racket in Andre Agassi's hands is worth millions. It depends whose hands it's in.
A rod in my hands will keep away an angry dog.A rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty sea. It depends whose hands it's in.
A slingshot in my hands is a kid's toy. A slingshot in David's hand is a mighty weapon. It depends whose hands it's in.
Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in Jesus' hands will feed thousands. It depends whose hands it's in.
Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation for the entire world. It depends whose hands it's in. As you see now, it depends whose hands it's in.
So put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your families and your relationships in God's hands because... It depends whose hands it's in.

Doctrine of the Trinity
By Dr. Ed DeVries
Dr. Ed DeVries is an evangelist out of Shady Acres Baptist Church, Houston, Texas. Brother DeVries is also the President of the School of Biblical & Theological Studies, 310 West Prien Lake Road #584, Lake Charles, LA 70601, 1-800-516-7322 ext. 1611. School of Biblical & Theological Studies (SB&TS) is to provide a vehicle by which individuals called of God into Christian service may reach their goals while receiving a solid, conservative, biblically based education. SB&TS offers diploma through doctorate in the fields of Bible, Ministry, Theology, Religious Education, and Biblical Counseling through a challenging series of home study courses. E-mail: bibleschool@Juno.com To subscribe to News of Interest e-mail newsletter, just E-mail NewsOfInterest@juno.com and type subscribe. You may view his personal web page at: http://www.myweb.net/~bibleschool/Dr.DeVries.html
Since God is a triune being, theologians use the word Trinity to represent the complex doctrine through which man comprehends His existence. Since the word Trinity is not found anywhere in the received text or in it's offspring (the Authorized Version and other biblical translations derived from the received text), many argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a Biblical one. However, when a person comes to understand the theory that is embodied in the terminology they can not help but find proof of the Trinity throughout the Bible. The doctrine of the Trinity is believed by all Christian groups. Some groups profess to be Christian and do not believe in the Trinity, however, none of these groups are truly Christian because their various perversions of the gospel cause them to have, "a form of godliness but denying the power thereof" (II Timothy 3:5). The Bible went on to say we should have nothing to do with them. Why? Because they are not Christians. This does not mean we can not love them and share the gospel with them, it simply means we are not to fellowship with them as brothers in Christ. The concept of the Trinity is the very concept of the existence of God, and since God reveals himself to his children, it only makes sense that all Christian churches would believe in and defend the doctrine of the Trinity.
Since the word Trinity is used to represent God as a triune being, what is triune? Noah Webster defined the word triune to mean, "three in one." This means that God, a singular being, exists in a plural manner. This is why the term Godhead is often used in scripture (Acts 7:19, Romans 1:20, Collosians 2:9, etc.). God's very name implies His triune existence. The Hebrew name for God used in all known manuscriptsis ELOHIM, so Genesis 1:1 could read, "In the beginning ELOHIM created the heaven and the earth." The word ELOHIM means three in one. The word ELOHIM has both a singular and a plural usage in Hebrew, uniquely, the two usages are always simultaneous. The word ELOHIM can never be used in the plural form without implying the singular and vice-versa. Note also, that all Hebrew letters have a numeric value, all Hebrew words also have value. ELOHIM is an interesting word in that it has two values, three and one.
The Trinity Illustrated in Nature
It is no wonder that when God, ELOHIM, said in Genesis 1:26, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," that He then created man to be a triune being. Just as God is composed of three, so is man. Man is composed of a body, a soul, and a spirit. We all know man to be one being, not three, in spite of his triune composition. The body is separate from the soul which is separate from the spirit, however they still make one man.
Man was only one of God's many creations. God is the creator of the entire universe. Just as God created man in His own image, he had also created the universe in the same fashion. The building block of the universe is the atom. Any object in the universe when broken down to it's smallest form has been discovered to be nothing more than a complexly designed series of atoms. The atom is a triune object. It is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Each part of the atom is independent of the other two, yet it remains only one object, a proton can not exist without an accompanying neutron and electron and vice-versa.
We understand ourselves, how we exist. Through science we are learning of our environment and how the things around us exist. So man has always understood the concept of the Trinity, and this understanding is what helps us to understand the existence of God.
The Trinity Illustrated in the Bible
The concept of God being triune can be illustrated in the Bible just as easily as it can be illustrated in nature. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This shows God to exist in two forms. The word God in this passage refers to ELOHIM, or to God as a whole. The word Word refers to God the Son, who is Jesus Christ. This is shown in verse fourteen, "and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory...as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Having established that God is a singular being with a plural existence, and understanding that the term "Word" (capitalized to represent deity) in John chapter one refers to God the Son who is the Lord Jesus Christ, let us read I John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Thus we have proof: His name ELOHIM (meaning three in one) is proof, the design of nature is proof, and in scripture there is proof. God is a triune being composÍed of God the Father, God the Word or God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost who is often referred to as the Holy Spirit. They are each independently divine, they are each a separate aspect to the overall personality of God, yet they are combined to make one singular being.
How The Members of the Trinity Function
The members of the Trinity work together in complete unity, totally dependant and yet totally interdependence of each other. God the Father is the sovereign ruler of the entire universe, everything operates because of and to fulfill his eternal plan. God the Son takes this plan out of eternity and brings it into time, administering the various aspects of the plan. God the Holy Spirit makes this eternal plan, the will of God, real to men. These functions can be illustrated many times in the Bible.
The Function of the Members of the Trinity in Creation
In his omnipotence, God the Father had already created the universe somewhere in eternity past before the existence of time as we know it. Even though the universe did not physically exist in time, it did in eternity (remember, eternity has no concept of time). God knew He would create everything, and in eternity already had ( our future is already God's past). The theory of omnipotence and God's eternal existence could not be adequately understood if I were to write a million pages on the subject, so I will not. It will be left to the reader to research the subject of God's omnipotence and eternal existence independently of this paper (it is of course assumed that all who read this work will already possess adequate understanding of these concepts). Let us just summarily say that God the father had willed and fulfilled creation somewhere in eternity past. This is why Genesis 1:1 says, "In the Beginning (present tense) God created (past tense) the heaven and the earth." God was doing in time what He had already done in eternity.
God the Son brought creation into time. The creation had been the will of God for all eternity, all that was needed to bring that eternal reality into the reality of time was the spoken word. John chapter one teaches that God the son is the Word, and verse three says, "all things were made by him", meaning the Word who is God the Son. The word was given in Genesis 1:3, "and God said........" This spoken word of God the Son introduced the Father's eternal plan to time.
The Holy Spirit was waiting upon the face of the earth to fulfill the Word, this is found in Genesis 1:2. As soon as Jesus spoke the word, the Spirit fulfilled the word, making it real to man.
The Function of the Members of the Trinity in the Old Testament
Just as in creation, it is God the Father who has sovereignly determined the course of the universe in eternity, God the Son who as the Word brings the will of God into time, and it is the Holy Spirit who makes God's will real to man.
In God the Father's perspective, Noah had built the Ark before ever the earth was formed, so also had Moses and the Children of ÆIsrael crossed the Red Sea, etc. This is why God in Genesis 3:15 was able to offer salvation to Adam, He knew in eternity past that Man would sin and that Jesus would be the atonement for sin (read Revelation 13:8) so Adam placing his (present tense) faith in Christ's future act that, God had known about before the fact, resulted in salvation. Why? Because God knew it would happen so it was as good as done.
It was God the Son who brought the will of God into time. Throughout the Old Testament we read: "The Word of the Lord came unto Abram." (Genesis 15:1), "according to the Word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses" (Numbers 3:51), "The Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord." (I Samuel 3:21), " The Word of the Lord came unto Nathan" (II Samuel 7:4), "The Word of the Lord came unto Solomon" (I Kings 6:11), etc., etc., etc.
It was then the Holy Spirit who enabled these men to fulfill the Word which God the Son had given them. A good illustration is the story of Samson. Judges 14:6 says, "and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him." Thus, the will of the Father revealed by the Word of the Son was made real to Samson when the Holy Spirit empowered him to fulfill it.
In the Old Testament era, the Holy Spirit did not continually abide with the believer as He does now. Instead, the Spirit came upon a man in order that he may be empowered to do God's will, then the Spirit would leave when the work was completed or when the man sinned. This is why we read that Samson, "Wist not that the Lord had departed from him" in Judges 16:20. This is also the reason King David prayed, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me" in Psalms 51:11.
The Function of the Members of the Trinity in the New Testament
The primary activity of God in the New Testament was to provide for man's redemption and establish Local Churches to replace Israel as God's ambassadors to the world. (Israel is still God's chosen nation, they still enjoy the privileges of being God's chosen. Unfortunately, Israel failed in it's task in two ways, the first was in rejecting the Messiah and the second has been in failing to lead gentiles to the Messiah. The creation of the church does not infringe upon God's promises to Israel as some Christians believe, it was however God's way to in grace bestow upon us unworthy gentiles the blessing, i.e. the blessing of preaching the gospel and seeing people saved, after Israel choose not to take advantage of the opportunity.)
God the Father, knowing man would one day sin, had established redemption in eternity past. This is why Revelation 13:8 says that Christ was, "slain before the foundation of the world." This is once again how He was able to justify Adam in the garden, and this is how the Old Testament saints were saved. Jesus brought the plan into time when He fulfilled His work on the cross (John chapters 19 and beyond). The Holy Spirit makes redemption real to men as He reveals the gospel to their soul and quickens their previously dead spirit (I Peter 3:18).
God had also established the Church in eternity past, just as He has established His entire work. The Son brought the Church into time when He spoke the words, " Upon this rock I will build my Church" in Matthew 16:18. The Holy Spirit has made God's will real to men by empowering them with special gifts to fulfill the work of the Church (read I Corinthians chapters twelve through fourteen).
The Function of the Members of the Trinity Today
God the Father is the Sovereign ruler over all the affairs of the universe. He is the true standard of Holiness and the judge of all that is. God the Son is the Savior, the one through whom all men may receive justification before God. Jesus also acts as an advocate to the Father on behalf of the believer. "There is...one mediator...Christ Jesus", I Timothy 2:5. Charles Wesley best defined the present day role and relationship of God the Father and God the Son when he penned the classic hymn, Arise My Soul Arise:
Arise my soul ,arise! Shake off thy guilty fear's;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears;
Before the throne my surety stands-My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race, and sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears, Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, They strongly plead for me:
" Forgive him, O forgive," they cry, " Nor let that ransomed sinner die!"

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed one;
He can not turn away The presence of His Son:
His Spirit answers to the Blood, and tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled, His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child, I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh, And "Father, Abba, Father!" cry.
The Holy Spirit is currently engaged in the work of enabling believers to fulfil the work of the Church (I Corinthians 12-14), empowering men to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8), quickening the spirit of repentant sinners (I Peter 3:18, I Corinthians 2:10), keeping the believer secure in Christ until the Second Coming (i.e. the eternal security of the believer, Ephesians 1:12-14), comforting the believer (John 14-15), being the very essence of Christ indwelling the believer (John 14:16-18), and finally, the Spirit never forsakes the believer (I Corinthians 6:15-20).
The Modern Day Work of the Members of the Trinity in Prayer
Prayer is the primary expression of the relationship between God and the saved man, so it is to be given it's own sub-heading.
God the Father answers all of our prayers, hence we are taught to pray to, "Our Father which art in Heaven" (Matthew 6:9). He answers our prayers on behalf of, or because of our relationship with His Son, hence we pray in Jesus name. "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you" (John 16:23). And we pray through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 26:41) revealing our needs to the Father with the help of the Spirit, "we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Acts 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit could correctly be referred to as our prayer partner.
Conclusion
The proof of God's triune existence has been plainly presented along with the mechanics of the doctrine of the Trinity emphasizing God's relationship to His creation (primarily man). Unfortunately this does not even begin to expound on the deep truths of God. Multiplied volumes have attempted such an undertaking, however, the subject is so deep that all attempts will fail in revealing all of it's depths. It will not be until we get to heaven and we finally see God face to face that we will comprehend the subject in it's entirety. Perhaps the best definition which man has given for the Trinity is found in the writings of Dr. John F. Walvoord, the president of Dallas Theological Seminary, "God is one numerically, He subsists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who are equal in eternity, power and glory, each possessing all the divine attributes and yet having properties which distinguish them within the unity of the Trinity."

Foreign missionaries defy ban during Olympics
'We did see some conversions,' says one missionary from Florida
BEIJING - Christian groups who flouted a Chinese ban on foreign missionaries are calling their underground evangelizing during the Olympic Games a success.
Drawn to a nation of 1.3 billion people under atheist rule, the groups prepared for years for what the Southern Baptists once called "a spiritual harvest unlike any other."
"We did see some conversions," said Christian missionary Mark Taylor of Pensacola, Fla.
For Taylor, planning began four years ago with a lunch at the Athens Games among his Florida-based Awaken Generation ministry and ones from other countries. In the ensuing years, they came to China as tourists, making contacts among local Chinese.
Taylor — who leaves China on Friday — said 115 people from 12 countries gathered in Thailand for orientation before scattering throughout China, from Tibet through the far northeast. Two groups worked in Beijing, he said, though he would not give details.
Other larger efforts were carried out by the U.S.-based Southern Baptist Convention and the international ministry Youth With A Mission, Christian groups told The Associated Press. Neither ministry could say how many people were sent in.
Cracking downChina tried to keep out foreign missionaries before the Olympics. It kicked out more than 100 suspected missionaries last summer, according to a U.S. monitoring group, the China Aid Association. China's intelligence services made lists of potentially troublesome evangelical Christians, and authorities tightened visa measures ahead of the games.
Even the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the evangelist Billy Graham, said during a visit to China this year that he did not support illegal missionary work during the Olympics.
Taylor and other groups knew the risks.
"It's very difficult," said the 27-year-old Taylor, who on Wednesday explored the Olympic Green with six other team members, one as young as 15, after finishing their mission. "It's got to be through relationships. Handing out (religious) tracts would not go over well at all. That would be like me walking around with a 'Free Tibet' flag."
Instead, the Christians came in on tourist visas and said they were involved in sports or cultural activities, which China allows. Taylor's group renovated a school in Yunnan province. Members then reached out to Chinese in one-on-one conversations.
In response to a phone request by the AP, China's religious affairs administration office issued a statement Thursday referring to Chinese law.
"If foreigners do such things in China, they violate the law, and local religious departments and other departments should stop them," the statement said.
It did not say how many foreigners had been caught doing missionary work during the Olympics.
Looking for 'opportunities'Olympics efforts among Christian groups were coordinated in 2006, when major ministries held a conference in Thailand, said the Rev. Johnny Li, minister-at-large for Open Doors, an advocacy group for persecuted Christians. He said a DVD was distributed encouraging cooperation among groups.
One of the most active ministries during the Olympics was Youth With A Mission, or YWAM, which sent in groups from around the world. One group of Thai Christians went to Yunnan province this month and danced to Thai-language Christian music in coffee shops and restaurants.
"They looked for opportunities to talk to the locals and share about their faith," said Sam Sarvis, YWAM's national director in Thailand. After the first week, authorities told the group there was a ban on performances by foreigners, so the Thais went to nearby villages and met people one-on-one.
"Our goal was wanting to communicate the love of God to people, not be overt," Sarvis said.
One Christian group made headlines this week when Chinese authorities confiscated 315 Chinese-language Bibles found in their checked luggage when they arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming from Thailand.
A member of the Wyoming-based Vision Beyond Borders group said they wanted to give the Bibles to their "brothers and sisters." Chinese law forbids bringing in religious products for more than personal use.
"It was almost like they were treating us like criminals," member Pat Klein said by telephone as the group prepared to return to Thailand with the Bibles. He said the group was followed during its stay in China. "We thought we'd stay away from Beijing. We honestly didn't come here to cause trouble."
The subject of Olympics outreach was touchy for some groups.
"No comment," said a woman who answered the phone at Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of the Campus Crusade for Christ. She then hung up.
However, a spokesman for the Missouri-based Fellowship of Christian Athletes was happy to talk about outreach efforts within the Olympic Village by its athletes, including American marathon runner Ryan Hall.
Athletes stepped up to lead their own prayer groups or Bible studies after the Chinese said they would assign chaplains to the village's religious services center instead of allowing teams to bring in their own, said Dan Britton, the fellowship's senior vice president of ministries.
"It's a very unique situation," he said. "When you assign a chaplain, it's almost like saying, 'We're bringing a team to China and assigning the coach.' Well, the coach doesn't know the players and only knows the sport. We feel the spiritual realm is the same way."
One outreach success came ahead of the Olympics, when a U.S. team was in China for an exhibition match. The U.S. team and the Chinese team — Britton wouldn't name the sport — gathered in a hotel room the night before the match for a 30-minute prayer meeting arranged by a foreigner who had access to the Chinese team.
"It was very powerful," said Britton, who said he had seen photos of the meeting, where members of both teams prayed and sang. "God pulled it together."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26334578/


Six killed in India religious riots, Vatican condemns Reuters Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Six people were killed when Hindu and Christian mobs clashed in eastern India, where dozens of churches have been vandalised in spiralling religious violence.
Authorities imposed a curfew in nine towns of Orissa's rural Kandhamal district in an effort to end two days of violence in which a Christian orphanage was also torched by suspected Hindu mobs angry over the murder of their leader.
Orissa officials said at least four people, including a woman, were killed in Kandhamal's Barakhama village when Hindus and Christians clashed and shot at each other.
"Police broke up the two groups and brought the situation under control," said Satyabrata Sahoo, a top administrative official said.
Two more bodies were found in a separate village in the district late on Tuesday, both killed a day earlier, Kishan Kumar, administrative head of Kandhamal district said.
The deaths took the toll from two days of violence to eight, also including two people burned to death inside houses torched by Hindu crowds. More than a dozen churches have been damaged.
Violence erupted after armed men killed a Hindu leader linked to the main opposition Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and four others last week, an attack Hindus blamed on Christians.
The leader had been heading a local campaign to reconvert Hindus and tribal people from Christianity.
Local TV stations showed an angry mob vandalising a church, throwing away furniture and setting it on fire. Villagers blocked roads with logs and boulders to stop police from entering the trouble spots.
Police said Hindus attacked Christians and set their homes on fire in Kandhamal's Patingia and Matingia villages. A church was also damaged in the same district.
"A mob tried to torch a school bus but police chased them away," Pradeep Kapoor, police inspector general, said.
The Vatican condemned the attacks, calling for "an end to all bullying" and a return to dialogue.
"It expresses its solidarity with local churches and the religious orders involved, and condemns these actions, which are an affront to dignity, peoples' freedom, and endanger peaceful civil coexistence," a Vatican statement said.
Separately, the Rome-based Italian missionary agency Misna said it had received reports that two Jesuit priests had been abducted in the area but had no further details.
A top body of Indian bishops counted 32 incidents of violence against Christians in Orissa over the past two days. In protest, it said some 25,000 Catholic schools and colleges in India would be closed on Friday.
"People are totally harassed, driven away from their homes, beaten up and institutions destroyed," Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi told a press conference.
India's constitution is secular, but most of its billion-plus citizens are Hindu. About 2.5 per cent of Indians are Christians.
The remote and forested Kandhamal region is rife with religious tension. Hardline Hindus accuse Christian priests of bribing poor tribes and low-caste Hindus to change their faith.
Christian groups say lower-caste Hindus who convert do so willingly to escape the highly stratified and oppressive Hindu caste system.
There have been attacks on Christians in Orissa and other parts of India in previous years. In 1999, a Hindu mob killed Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two children by burning them in their car in Orissa.
Christians in eastern India have condemned this week's killing of the Hindu leader.
Police blamed the killings on local Maoist rebels taking sides in a controversy over religious conversions, but Hindus say Christians were to blame.
Police say by attacking Hindus the Maoists were trying to win support among the region's poor tribes, most of whom had converted to Christianity.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4670658a6031.html


Dead Sea Scrolls to be displayed on Internet August 27, 2008 - 11:43am
In this undated two picture combo made of photographs released by Israel's Antiquities Authority on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008, fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls before infrared imaging, right, and after, left, are seen. Israeli and American scientists are bringing the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible into the 21th century. They're digitally reproducing the Dead Sea Scrolls online. (AP Photo/Israel Antiquities Authority, HO)
By IAN DEITCH Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) - Scientists using American space technology have started a huge project to digitally photograph the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible, and post it on the Internet for all to see, Israeli authorities said Wednesday.
High-tech cameras using infrared photography are being used to uncover sections of the 2,000-year-old scrolls that have faded over the centuries and become indecipherable, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said.
The project is expected to take about five years and the goal is to make the scrolls accessible to scientists and the general public, Antiquities Authority official Pnina Shor said.
"Now for the first time the scrolls will be a computer click away," said Shor, who heads the authority's department responsible for the conservation of artifacts. "This will ensure that the scrolls are preserved for another 2,000 years."
Experts have complained for years that only a small number of scholars have been allowed access to the scrolls and the thousands of fragments that were found in caves near the Dead Sea in the late 1940s. In recent years, steps have been taken to widen access, but many of the findings are still not properly identified and categorized.
To protect the scrolls, Shor said, the new imaging will be done in a setting that minimizes exposure to light.
A pilot project started Wednesday and when it is finished, it will be possible to determine how long it will take to digitize the thousands of fragments from about 900 separate documents, Shor said, estimating five years.
The American space connection came through Greg Bearman, who recently retired as principal scientist for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He offered the space-age imaging equipment.
"I am an archaeology buff," he told The Associated Press, and he brought imaging technology used in space to the Dead Sea Scrolls project. "This equipment is used to study planets," he said. "NASA uses the technology for imaging in space, and it works here."
Infrared technology was used to photograph all the findings in 1950, the Antiquities Authority said, but technology has advanced considerably since then.
The first scrolls were discovered by accident in 1947 by a young Bedouin shepherd who was chasing a runaway sheep. They were buried in a cave in Qumran, just above the Dead Sea _ one of the most barren areas in the world.
Archaeologists began buying scrolls and fragments that appeared in marketplaces around the region, but many were damaged by their removal from the extreme dryness of the cave where they were buried for 20 centuries.
Occasionally, the Antiquities Authority, which is in charge of preserving the scrolls, allows the public to see some of them. A 24-foot section with the Book of Isaiah went on display in May to coincide with Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations.
A special hall called the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is dedicated to the scrolls, but the fragments on display there are copies
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