Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

UK Street Preacher Charged With Causing Offense; Preaching Gospel/Comparing Islam With Christianity
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues;Commentary

Mike Overd, a street preacher in the United Kingdom, is facing three charges of "causing offense," a violation of Section 5 of the Public Order Act for public remarks comparing Jesus Christ and the Muslim prophet Muhammad, whom he said had married a 9-year-old girl.

Overd has argued that his comments about Muhammad were not intended to be hateful, as his speech included, "a simple comparison and it was factual."

"I have no hatred of Muslims in me at all and only preach the truth of the Gospel. Recently a Muslim man came to my defense when I was preaching and a local shopkeeper started to shout at me," said Overd, who's been a street preacher for five years and has evangelised in Glasgow, Scotland, and Sheffield, Manchester and Taunton, England.

"The Muslim gentleman didn't take offense because he said he knew I was simply preaching what I believed and agreed there was no hatred in me. I've got this incident on video, and I also have video evidence of the incidents which have led to this forthcoming prosecution," he said, according to Christian Concern.

In June, Taunton Police Sgt. Neil Kimmins advised the public to video record Overd's street evangelism on their cellphones "if they think he is making offensive remarks," according to the Somerset County Gazette.

"I've done nothing wrong before Almighty God. My conscience is clear," Overd told the Gazette about his preaching of the Gospel.

This is not the first time Overd has faced similar changes of violating the law while street preaching.

On Feb. 10, 2012, Overd was found not guilty of violating the Public Order Act 1986 for comments he made about homosexuality.

When Overd saw two men in a civil partnership walking down Taunton High Street arm in arm two years ago, he said publically: "even these dear men caught in homosexuality, if they ask God for forgiveness of sin can be forgiven their sin; God loves them that much," Christian Concern reported.

Subsequently, the couple complained to police, which led to Overd's arrest on charges of committing a "hate crime."

Speaking after the trial, Overd said, "something is wrong" when "police arrest me, a Christian preacher who cares deeply for Jesus Christ and the people of Taunton," the BBC reported. "Something has to change and I hope my case will encourage others not to be scared to speak up for Christ."

Enacted in 1986, Section 5 of the Public Order Act deals with public speech that may involve "harassment, alarm or distress."

Section 5 notes that a public speaker is guilty of such if said speaker "uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour" or "displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting."

"An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place, except that no offence is committed where the words or behaviour are used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation is displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the other person is also inside that or another dwelling," continued Section 5.

Over the past few years, various street preachers in the U.K. have found themselves dealing with legal issues due to their speaking on topics like Islam and homosexuality.

In 2010, Dale Mcalpine was arrested for declaring in public that homosexuality is a sin. By May of that year, crown prosecutors opted to drop the charges.

"It was a ridiculous charge, I should never have been arrested. … I'm relieved that they have seen sense," said Mcalpine in May of that year.

In 2013, an American evangelist preaching in Wimbledon was arrested under the charge of violating Section 5, as he had spoken of homosexuality being sexually immoral.

Preacher Tony Miano countered that he was actually addressing overall sexual immorality, and simply cited homosexuality as an example.

"I was asked if I believe homosexuality is a sin. I was asked what portion of the Bible I was reading. I was asked that if a homosexual was hungry and walked up to me, would I give them something to eat," Miano said that summer.

"This idea that open air preachers only preach about homosexuality is fallacious. We talk about all forms of sin. We usually take people through the Ten Commandments. We explain to people that no liar, no thief, no fornicator, no blasphemer, no homosexual, will enter into the kingdom of God," he added.

U.S., Saudi Arabia Hit ISIS Targets in Syria
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

The United States and Saudi Arabia launched eight airstrikes on Sunday and Monday against Islamic State targets in Syria, Reuters reported, including seven near beleaguered Kobani, said the US military's Central Command.

Four strikes southwest of Kobani hit Islamic State units and destroyed a machine gun firing position, while three strikes northeast of Kobani struck a militant unit and damaged a staging location and several buildings, Central Command said in a statement. Another strike hit an Islamic State garrison northwest of Raqqa.

U.S. Airstrikes not Stopping ISIS from Taking Over
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

ISIS terrorist (file)

Reuters

The brutal Islamic State (ISIS) terror group detailed its day of jihad on Sunday, describing the various attacks and actions it is taking in Syria and Iraq, despite reports that American coalition airstrikes on the group are starting to be effective.

In the embattled Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria, ISIS declared total control on the security region of the city and regional government buildings. According to the ISIS statement, the recent sandstorm that hit the area harmed the coalition's airstrikes on its forces in the key city.

Meanwhile in Al-Bab, located in the Aleppo district, ISIS reported that defectors from various Syrian rebel groups joined it, including ten terrorists from the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front.

In Iraq, ISIS forces continued fighting the Iraqi army on the outskirts of Tikrit at various fronts, including Tikrit University. In Samarra located northwest of Baghdad ISIS struck a police station, and likewise seized weapons at Al Trabla.

ISIS took over a police station in Al Anbar, taking over key road intersections, and opened fire at the Habbaniyah army base in the Falluja region. According to ISIS, their forces also took down an American aircraft, likely a drone.

In Kirkuk, located in Iraq's north, ISIS reported killing nine Kurdish fighters, blowing up cars and firing mortar shells at Kurdish targets. In Nineveh, new ISIS recruits finished their entry course of physical training and indoctrination.

As for the capital city of Baghdad, ISIS claimed carrying out several attacks with explosives - including with exploding cars - in the process destroying 10 vehicles, and likewise opening sniper fire on Iraqi security forces. 

ISIS has been gaining massive support during its quest to impose a brutal Islamic regime in the areas that fall under its iron grip, recruiting thousands of foreign jihadis to join its fight.

Israeli police on Sunday confirmed reports that three Arab citizens of Israel from Nazareth are also fighting for ISIS in Iraq, after their compatriot - also an Israeli Arab from Nazareth - died in the fighting on Saturday.

South Korea Warns North of 'Strong' Response After Exchange of Fire
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsReuters
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Monday it had warned North Korea of a "strong" response if it provoked an incident similar to one last week that sparked an exchange of machinegun fire across their border.

Obamas Cybersecurity Adviser: Biometrics will Replace Passwords for Safetys Sake
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

The days of using a password to access a bank account or cellphone will soon be a thing of the past, President Obama’s top cybersecurity adviser said Thursday.

The risk of getting hacked by criminals has grown so widespread that far more sophisticated identification technology — including biometric scanning devices — will become the norm, said Michael Daniel, the White House’s cybersecurity coordinator.

“You’ve started to see some of that with the emergence of the fingerprint readers,” said Mr. Daniel, adding that the technology will become increasingly mainstream as cellphone cameras, “hard” card readers and other authentication gadgets replace the annoying process for millions of Americans of punching in a password to confirm their identity.

“Frankly, I would really love to kill the password dead as a primary security method because it’s terrible,” Mr. Daniel said at an event hosted by the Center for National Policy, Northrop Grumman Corp. and the Christian Science Monitor

Since passwords can so easily be hacked, a variety of new technologies will provide more protection and some “will be biometric related,” he said.

Mr. Daniel’s comments come against a backdrop of recent friction between the U.S. Justice Department and private tech giants like Apple, which unveiled a host of new privacy features for its iPhones and iPads last month designed to frustrate government snoopers.

Features like fingerprint scanners on phones are popular because consumers believe such advancements will protect them from government intrusions on their private data.

FBI Director James Comey lashed out on the subject in late-September, accusing tech companies of “marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law.”

So far the Obama administration has been reluctant to push legislation that would require private companies to take any specific cybersecurity measures.

In February, however, the administration launched a “Cybersecurity Framework,” described as the “result of a yearlong private-sector led effort to develop a voluntary how-to guide for organizations in the critical infrastructure community to enhance their cybersecurity.”

Mr. Daniel one point told the audience that the administration feels strongly that “market forces” can be trusted to take the lead on guiding private companies toward taking sufficient cybersecurity measures without heavy government intervention.

But he later said there are concerns inside the White House that almost all private companies — when left to their own devices — have a habit of not paying enough attention to cybersecurity threats.

“Expediency will trump cybersecurity every time,” he said.

But resistance to putting legal requirements on companies like JPMorgan Chase and others such as Target and Home Depot — two others that have fallen victim to hackers over the past year — stems from the fact that “the speed of regulation does not move at the speed of technology,” he said.

The government has to be “mindful” that any regulations will probably be outdated by the time they are issued, he added.

North Korean State Media Warn Talks With the South in Danger
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsReuters
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's state media said on Saturday that expected talks with the South to try to improve ties between the rivals were in danger of being canceled because authorities in Seoul allowed a group to send leaflets hostile to Pyongyang.

Netanyahu Slams Ban Ki - Moon's 'Occupation' Remarks
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Confronting ideas: UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moonmeets with Netanyahu

Flash90

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired at UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's insistence that the "occupation" justified Hamas's launching over 3,600 rockets on Israeli civilians on Monday, in a series of remarks before a private meeting with the international figure. 

Netanyahu began by noting that the entire concept of an "occupation" in Gaza has been made moot after the 2005 Disengagement. 

"The root cause of the violence that burst from Gaza is not Israel’s occupation in Gaza, for a simple reason: Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza," Netanyahu explained. "Israel left Gaza to the very last centimeter, to the very last inch. We uprooted all the settlements and vacated all the settlers. So there is no Israeli occupation of Gaza."

Netanyahu then pointed out that Ban justified Hamas's rocket barrage despite the fact that it used the UN's own facilities to break international law. 

"The root cause of this summer's outburst of violence was Hamas' rocketing of Israeli cities, and these rocket attacks often exploited UN neutrality, using UN facilities and UN schools as part of the Hamas machine of terror," he thundered. "And when rockets were discovered inside UN schools, some UN officials handed them back to Hamas – that very same Hamas that was rocketing Israeli cities and Israeli civilians."

The Prime Minister then reiterated the fact that Hamas is a terror group dedicated to genocide against Jews. 

 "The root cause of Hamas’ rocket fire on Israel is Hamas’ opposition to Israel’s very existence," he declared. "Hamas doesn't give a hoot for the 1967 lines. For them, Israel has no right to live, in any borders. Hamas rejects our very existence. They’re committed to killing every Israeli and every Jew. You just have to read their charter – they say that very plainly."

"So Hamas is the enemy of all of us who seek peace," he continued.

Netanyahu did insist that peace, however, could "only be achieved" through peace talks - slamming as well the Hamas-Palestinian Authority (PA) "unity government"'s pledge to prosecute Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

"A real peace can only be achieved through bilateral negotiations with those who believe in peace," he said. "I believe that unilateral steps by the Palestinians at the United Nations will not advance peace. I think they’ll do the very opposite. They’ll bring about a further deterioration in the situation – something none of us want."

The PA has been threatening for years that it will sue Israel at the ICC. The PA’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, recently met with ICC officials and inquired about the legal procedures necessary for the PA to join the ICC and sign the Rome Statute, thus allowing it to take action against possible Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

That move came after the PA requested to join 15 international agencies in breach of the conditions of the peace talks that were going on with Israel at that time.

A senior PA official recently said, however, that Abbas had blocked the initiative to turn to the ICC in order to push forward a new peace talks bid.

If a deadline is not set for Israel's withdrawal from Judea-Samaria, however, the PA has threatened to go ahead with the push anyway - despite the fact that experts say it, not Israel, is likely to be persecuted over war crimes.

Navy Secretly Tests 'Iron Dome for Ships'
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ship belonging to the Israeli Navy (archive)

Flash 90

The Israel Navy has conducted a successful secret test of the Barak 8 missile, which is designed to defend ships from the much-vaunted Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, reports Channel 2.

The Yakhont missiles are one of the greatest threats to the Navy's vessels, mostly because of their potential use by Syria and Hezbollah. The missile flies at a very high speed – almost the speed of sound – from the moment it is launched.

The test was carried out with the cooperation of an Italian firm, which provided a missile that imitated the Yakhont and similar missiles. The Barak 8, which is not unlike the well-known Iron Dome anti-missile system, succeeded in intercepting it.

Sources in the defense establishment told Channel 2 that the Yakhont missiles also threaten Israeli gas drilling platforms stationed in Israeli “economic waters.” During the Second Lebanon War, a similar missile struck the INS Hanit, killing four soldiers.

Nine months ago it was reported that Hezbollah successfully smuggled the anti-ship missiles from Syria into Lebanon. A senior US source estimated at the time that 12 missiles had been smuggled in by Hezbollah, but also said that the terror militia probably still lacks some parts that are necessary to make them operational.

An alleged Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria on July 5, 2013, was reportedly meant to destroy Yakhont missiles that were stored there, but did not destroy them all. 

The Syrian rebels reported that explosions had rocked several army ammunition depots in the western Syrian province of Latakia, possibly after they were targeted with rockets.

Qassem Saadeddine, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council, later said that the rebels' intelligence network had identified newly supplied Yakhont missiles being stored in the depots that were hit.

He added that “foreign forces” had destroyed the missiles in Latakia, hinting that Israel may have been behind the attack.

Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

CDC head criticized for blaming 'protocol breach' as nurse gets Ebola
Some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused a Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient, saying the case instead shows how far the nation’s hospitals are from adequately training staff to deal with the deadly virus.  

Frenchman Tirole wins Nobel economics prize
French economist Jean Tirole won the Nobel prize for economics Monday for research on market power and regulation that has helped policy-makers understand how to deal with industries dominated by a few companies....it highlighted his role in clarifying "how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms."  

Alzheimer's Disease: Human Brain Cells Replicated for First Time in 'Alzheimer's in a Dish' Breakthrough
Scientists have replicated human brain cells that develop the telltale structures of Alzheimer's disease for the first time in history, a major step forward in how to study the condition and the search for drugs to treat it.  

GCHQ more dangerous to privacy than NSA – Snowden
Edward Snowden has warned that Britain’s GCHQ spy agency is a bigger threat to privacy than the NSA, as it uses illegally collected information in criminal prosecutions and, unlike in the US, has relatively few constitutional checks on its activities.  

Hurricane Fay Expected to Fade, but Gonzalo Strengthens
Tropical Storm Fay attained hurricane status on Sunday after battering Bermuda, but was downgraded late Sunday back to a tropical storm, and forecasters predicted more weakening and little threat to the U.S. The news was not as good on the second major weather system advancing from the Atlantic, as the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane alert for Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which was gaining strength east of the Leeward Islands.  

Israelis and Palestinians join forces to combat Ebola
Israeli and Palestinian officials met at the weekend to draw up an action plan to prevent the Ebola epidemic from spreading to the territories they control, the Israeli military said Sunday.  

Obama Achieves Milestone That Some Consider Symbolic of His Presidency
In August, Obama came under fire for golfing shortly after speaking about the beheading of an American journalist by the Islamic State. In 2008 Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush told Politico the reason why he stopped playing golf five years earlier: “I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them.  

ISIS magazine claims group has enslaved and sold Yazidi women and kids
A magazine purportedly published by the Islamic State group says that militants have captured, enslaved and sold Yazidi women and children, confirming allegations that have been made against the group for months.  

Shemitah's first 2 weeks bring ominous signs
Blood moons, plummeting stock markets and a growing Ebola pandemic dominated the headlines this past week. If that’s not enough cause for concern, there’s an army of Islamic terrorists bearing down on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Without a doubt, the Shemitah year, which kicked off on Sept. 25, has begun with a blast of bad news.  

Authorities Begin to Scramble as New Case of Ebola Surfaces
The missteps in Dallas’s handling of the first Ebola case diagnosed in the United States have revealed an uncomfortable reality: state and city plans for handling the deadly virus are based on generic recommendations for everything from measles to floods, to hurricanes and dirty bombs.  

State attorney general wants to stop ashes of Ebola victim's belongings from being brought to Louisiana
Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said late Sunday that he will seek a temporary restraining order to stop the incinerated belongings of Dallas Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan from being brought to a Louisiana landfill.  

Cyber-criminals could spark next financial crisis
Cyber-criminals will trigger the next global financial crisis by making a major bank “disappear”, one of the UK’s leading finance chiefs has claimed.  

I Have a Question
I think the President of the United States owes the American public an answer now. In Dallas, TX, a health care worker who came into contact with the Ebola patient has contracted Ebola. The health care worker was a trained professional wearing protective clothing. But that trained professional in protective clothing now has Ebola. What are we doing to make sure our 3,000 soldiers in Liberia are not going to get Ebola?  

U.S. banks ramp up credit card lending but margins may suffer
As traditional Wall Street moneymakers like stock and bond trading suffer, banks are growing increasingly willing to invest in less glamorous operations: their credit card businesses. JPMorgan Chase & Co, (JPM.N) Citigroup Inc (C.N) and other big banks are making more credit card loans, after years of focusing mainly on customers who paid off their balances each month.  

Family synod: mid-term report is hailed as a ‘pastoral earthquake’
The document calls on the Church to build on the “positive aspects” of relationships that are deemed irregular – such as between remarried couples or same-sex partners – and keep the “doors always wide open” to people in those relationships.  

Earthquakes shake Southland
A "severe" 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 10km, 140km west of Tuatapere, about 6.15pm and was followed by a 4.4 magnitude quake 85km west of Tuatapere 15 minutes later.  

Clashes at Jerusalem holy site as Palestinians locked in mosque after police intervene
Israeli police clashed with young Palestinian protesters on Monday demonstrating against Jews visiting the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, a spokeswoman said. The clash after morning prayers came as demonstrators protested Orthodox Jews going to the esplanade, which is holy to both Islam and Judaism.  

Smaller earthquakes noticed from California to Alaska
Over the past 18 hours, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported earthquakes in B.C. and four states along the Pacific Coast of North America.  

American shale revolution ends Saudi Arabia’s reign as oil king
The United States is set to be crowned the world’s largest producer of liquid petroleum this week, knocking Saudi Arabia off the top spot for the first time in two decades. The shale oil and gas boom in America has led to output increasing from about 8 million barrels a day in 2011 to approaching 12 million barrels.  

Turkey 'allows Syria rebel training'
Turkey has agreed to allow moderate Syrian rebels to be trained on its soil, the US says, in its bid to combat Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who announced the development, said she welcomed the new agreement. It has not yet been confirmed by Turkey, which has so far refused to send troops into Syria or Iraq.  

Ebola: Liberian health workers plan strike
Liberian health officials are appealing to nurses and medical assistants not to go ahead with a national strike, as the Ebola epidemic continues. The National Health Workers Association wants an increase in the monthly risk fee paid to those treating Ebola cases. In the US, President Barack Obama has directed more steps to be taken to ensure high safety procedures when dealing with suspected Ebola patients.  

Turkey 'agrees to US air base use'
Turkey has agreed to let the US use its military bases in the campaign against Islamic State militants, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice says. Ms Rice said the US welcomed the new agreement, which included use of the Incirlik air base in Turkey's south.  

Kurds Holding Off Islamic State Advance in Syria's Kobani
U.S. defense officials say Turkey has agreed to allow forces from an American-led coalition to use the country's bases to launch operations against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.  

Israelis and Palestinians join forces to combat Ebola
Israeli and Palestinian officials met at the weekend to draw up an action plan to prevent the Ebola epidemic from spreading to the territories they control, the Israeli military said Sunday.  

South Korea warns North of 'strong' response after exchange of fire
South Korea said on Monday it had warned North Korea of a "strong" response if it provoked an incident similar to one last week that sparked an exchange of machinegun fire across their border.  

One Of The World's Biggest Oil Projects Is A Total Fiasco
WHEN it was discovered in 2000, the Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan's waters in the northern Caspian Sea was the world's biggest oil find in three decades. By now it was supposed to be pumping out 1.2m barrels a day (mbd), enough to meet Spain's entire consumption. But the project, whose name sounds unfortunately like "cash all gone", went spectacularly awry.  

Ebola threatens chocolate
Ebola is threatening much of the world’s chocolate supply. Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer of cacao, the raw ingredient in M&M’s, Butterfingers and Snickers Bars, has shut down its borders with Liberia and Guinea, putting a major crimp on the workforce needed to pick the beans that end up in chocolate bars and other treats just as the harvest season begins.  

Khamenei Blames U.S. , Zionism, and 'Wicked' Uk, for Islamic State
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed the United States and the "wicked" British government for creating the Islamic State in his first speech since undergoing prostate surgery last month. 

His cutting remarks were a reminder of Iranian suspicions about the West despite the ultra-hardline Sunni terrorists in Iraq and Syria being seen as a common enemy of both Tehran and Washington.

ISIS Magazine: Islam Calls for Sexual Slavery
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamic State supporters (file)

Reuters

The brutal jihadist Islamic State (ISIS) terror group that has seized large portions of Iraq and Syria in recent months released the fourth edition of its English-language digital magazine "Dabiq" on Sunday, in which it encourages taking women as sex slaves as part of Islam.

In the article in question from the digital publication, entitled "The revival (of) slavery before the Hour" - a reference to Judgment Day - the group outright calls for the sexual enslavement of non-Muslim women, particularly from the Kurdish Yazidi ethnic minority.

"One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar - the infidels - and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law," wrote ISIS in the article, reports CNN.

Harrowing reports have surfaced of the endless rape and torture being imposed on Yazidi women and girls, with many opting for mass-suicide after the brutalities.

The article comes out in time for the release of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on ISIS crimes against the Yazidis in Iraq, which is based on interview with 76 displaced persons.

"The Islamic State's litany of horrific crimes against the Yazidis in Iraq only keeps growing," said HRW special adviser Fred Abrahams. "We heard shocking stories of forced religious conversions, forced marriage, and even sexual assault and slavery - and some of the victims were children."

In fact, ISIS is not unique in its use of sexual assault and slavery against its enemies.

Deputy to the Chief Mufti (Islamic scholar) of Syria, who is loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime that ISIS is fighting against, in early January gave Syrian soldiers religious permission to rape so as to take revenge on Syrian rebels.

Speaking of the phenomenon of ISIS atrocities, Islam expert Prof. Rafi Israeli told Arutz Sheva last month that the acts are based on Islam having a basic disregard for human life: "for them it is not sacred, like it is for us." He noted the Koran calls for terror against enemies, without specifying or limiting who those enemies are.

Is Your Church Doing Spiritual Formation? Pt. 2
Oct 13th, 2014
CommentaryLighthouse Trails
Categories: Warning;Contemporary Issues

So exactly what is Spiritual Formation, and what is its premise?

The Merton Effect
When Richard Foster told research analyst and author Ray Yungen that “Thomas Merton tried to awaken God’s people,”7 what he meant was that Thomas Merton saw one element missing within Christianity—the mystical element. Merton had learned from a Hindu swami named Dr. Bramachari that one could obtain mystical properties from Catholic mystics like the Desert Fathers and didn’t need to leave one’s own tradition to do it.8 But Merton realized that most Christians didn’t know about this. So, he set out to bring mysticism (i.e., contemplative prayer) to the Catholic and Christian world. However, Merton died a sudden early death in 1968 and was unable to accomplish his goal. But somewhere between 1968 and 1978, Richard Foster picked up the mantle of Thomas Merton and carried it forward.* Now today, untold numbers of churches (and millions of people) are going forth with Thomas Merton’s (and Richard Foster’s) message of Spiritual Formation. To understand the true nature of Spiritual Formation, consider the following quotes by Thomas Merton, Richard Foster’s mentor:

I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can.

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race . . . now I realize what we all are. . . . If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other. . . . At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth. . . . This little point . . . is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.10 (emphasis mine)

I believe that by openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism, and to these great Asian [mystical] traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about the potentiality of our own Christian traditions.

The most important need in the Christian world today is this inner truth nourished by this Spirit of contemplation . . . Without contemplation and interior prayer the Church cannot fulfill her mission to transform and save mankind.

This “Spirit of contemplation” is what fuels the Spiritual Formation movement. Merton believed that God dwelled in all people and that we are, in fact, all a part of God. Richard Foster has done much to carry forward Merton’s message through the Spiritual Formation movement. The question you must ask yourself is, do you believe what Merton said? If not, then Spiritual Formation does not belong in your church or in your family’s spiritual structure.

In essence, Spiritual Formation is carrying on the Hindu message of: God is in all things (panentheism), and God is all things (pantheism). If such a message is true, then the Gospel message of Jesus Christ—that man is sinful, that he is heading for eternal destruction because of sin, and that he needs a Savior—would become null and void.

Richard Foster’s Meditative Prayer
For more insight into the backbone of Spiritual Formation, let us turn to a small book Richard Foster wrote called Meditative Prayer. Foster says that the purpose of meditative prayer is to create a “spiritual space” or “inner sanctuary” through “specific meditation exercises”13 Foster references several mystics in the book who can point the way to these exercises: Madame Guyon, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas Merton. Foster breaks the contemplative process down into three steps. He says:

The first step [into meditative prayer] is sometimes called “centering down.” Others have used the term re-collection; that is, a re-collecting of ourselves until we are unified or whole. The idea is to let go of all competing distractions until we are truly centered, until we are truly present where we are.

Foster suggests that practicing visualization methods helps us center down. In the second step of meditation, Foster suggests that mystic Richard Rolle experienced “physical sensations” (kundalini) during meditation which perhaps we may or may not experience as well.16 Step three of meditation, Foster says, is that of “listening” to God. Once the meditative exercises have been implemented and the “spiritual ecstasy” is reached, this entered realm is where the voice of God can be heard. However, as any New Age meditator knows, this ecstatic state is an altered state of consciousness where everything is supposed to be unified and one with God. Foster acknowledges the interspiritual attribute linked to contemplative prayer when he states: “[Jesus] showed us God’s yearning for the gathering of an all-inclusive community of loving persons.” Foster defines more of what he means by “all-inclusive” in his book Streams of Living Water when he says this “all-inclusive community” includes everything from a “Catholic monk” to a “Baptist evangelist.”

Two Spiritual Formation Practices:
Lectio Divina
Oftentimes, Richard Foster has made favorable reference to the practice of lectio divina, which is being heralded in many Christian settings as a Christian, biblical practice. People are persuaded to believe that repeating words and short phrases of Scripture over and over again is a deeper way to know God. They believe that since it is Scripture being repeated (and not just any words), then this validates the practice and that this sacred reading is sacred because it is the Bible being used. But Foster himself proves that it has nothing to do with Scripture. It’s the repetition that is effective, not the words. He states:

[L]ectio divina includes more than the Bible. There are the lives of the saints and the writings which have proceeded from their profound [mystical] experiences.

Foster obliterates the supposed premise of lectio divina by saying this. That is because as a meditation proponent, he knows that meditation has nothing to do with which words are repeated over and over; it is the repetition itself that puts one into an altered state. Thus whether you say “Jesus,” “Abba,” “Buddha,” or “OM,” it produces exactly the same effect.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are named after the founder of the Catholic Jesuit Order and have typically been used by Catholics. However, according to one source, “[b]eginning in the 1980s, Protestants have had a growing interest in the Spiritual Exercises. There are adaptations that are specific to Protestants which emphasize the exercises as a school of contemplative prayer.” Traditionally, Ignatian Spirituality is practiced in a retreat center setting usually with the assistance of a spiritual director. As with other Spiritual Formation exercises, it is believed that if the Ignatian exercises are practiced, the practitioner can conquer self and become more Christ-like (this is why Ignatian Spirituality is often included in Spiritual Formation programs).

When the Catholic church elected their new pope (Pope Francis), a statement was issued from the AJCU (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities) reaffirming the pope’s “Ignatian spirituality,” stating that:

All Jesuits share the experience of a rigorous spiritual formation process marked by a transformative experience with the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Spiritual Formation—A Dangerous Substitute For the Life of Christ

Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again. That’s essential. . . . But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. . . . We have to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is also done to us by those around us, by ourselves, and by activities which we voluntarily undertake . . .There has to be method.—Dallas Willard

Aside from the fact that Spiritual Formation incorporates mystical practices into its infrastructure (remove the contemplative aspect and you don’t have “Spiritual Formation” anymore), Spiritual Formation is a works-based substitute for biblical Christianity. Let us explain.

When one becomes born again (“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” (Romans 10:9-10), having given his or her life and heart over to Christ as Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ says He will come in and live in that surrendered heart:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Colossians 1:27)

[I]f the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11; emphasis added)

When God, through Jesus Christ, is living in us, He begins to do a transforming work in our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:18). Not only does He change us, He also communes with us. In other words, we have fellowship with Him, and He promises never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

This life of God in the believer’s heart is not something we need to conjure up through meditative practices. But if a person does not have this relationship with the Lord, he may seek out ways to feel close to God. This is where Spiritual Formation comes into play. Rather than a surrendered life to Christ, the seeking person begins practicing the spiritual disciplines (e.g., prayer, fasting, good works, etc.) with the promise that if he practices these disciplines, he will become more Christ-like.

But merely doing these acts fails to make one feel close to God—something is still missing. And thus, he begins practicing the discipline of silence (or solitude), and now in these altered states of silence, he finally feels connected to God. He now feels complete. What he does not understand is that he has substituted the indwelling of Christ in his heart for a works-based methodology that endangers his spiritual life. Dangerous because these mystical experiences he now engages in appear to be good because they make him feel close to God, but in reality he is being drawn into demonic realms no different than what happens to someone who is practicing transcendental meditation or eastern meditation. Even mystics themselves acknowledge that the contemplative realm is no different than the realm reached by occultists. To understand this more fully, please read Ray Yungen’s book A Time of Departing.
Bottom line, it is not possible to be truly Christ-like without having Christ inside of us because it is He who is able to change our hearts—we cannot do it without Him.
It is interesting to note that virtually every contemplative teacher has a common theme—they feel dry and empty and want to go “deeper” with God or “become more intimate” with God. But if we have Christ living in us, how can we go any deeper than that? How can we become more intimate than that? And if going deeper and becoming intimate were so important, why is it that none of the disciples or Jesus Himself ever told us to do this? As Larry DeBruyn states:

Why are Christians seeking a divine presence that Jesus promised would abundantly flow in them? . . . Why do they need another voice, another visitation, or another vision? Why are some people unthankfully desirous of “something more” than what God has already given to us? Why is it that some Christians, in the depth of their souls, are not seemingly at rest

NB - This material is available in booklet form from Lighthouse Trails.

Is Abbas One Vote from Security Council Majority?
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues;Commentary

In the 21 years that have passed since the beginning of the Oslo process, never has there been a situation similar to the current one between the Israelis and Palestinians: That is to say, total deadlock. There is no political or diplomatic horizon. No negotiations are underway or attempts to facilitate them. The two parties are barely in contact.

To date, there has been only one clear exception, to wit, the second intifada, which began in 2000. In response, the Israeli government eventually launched Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. At that time, it was war. Today, there is no war (as of yet), but there is nothing else either. As noted, never has there been such a situation since Oslo. Until today, there was always something in the pipeline: efforts, contacts, new ideas. Between 1993 and 1996, the Oslo process thrived and boomed before Labor's Shimon Peres lost in elections to Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Even Netanyahu had to accept the Oslo Accord, renewing negotiations in accordance with it. Within this framework, he pulled out of Hebron and agreed to the 1998 Wye River Memorandum. Then came Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who sped up talks and then crashed them at Camp David in 2000. Several new attempts, such as the Taba talks, ensued. Then Barak was unseated by Ariel Sharon.

After Operation Defensive Shield, Sharon embarked on his Gaza disengagement plan. There were no real negotiations, yet it heralded a dramatic and unprecedented diplomatic development, in the framework of which Israel demonstrated that if it wants, and if it has bold and decisive leadership, it is capable of withdrawing from territories and dismantling settlements.

Sharon's disengagement process emerged as a total failure. Instead of leveraging the event to push the peace process forward, rebuild Gaza and turn disengagement into a successful pilot program, a harbinger of peace, the residents of Gaza used the disengagement to turn Gaza into "Hamastan." Yet, when Sharon was replaced as prime minister by Ehud Olmert, negotiations soared to new heights. This was in part due to the work of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (aka Abu Alaa), the Annapolis process and the unprecedented peace offer, including maps, that Olmert put before Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Then Netanyahu returned to power. The first two years of his term were devoted to efforts to renew negotiations, which were being championed, albeit without significant success, by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. There was also an unprecedented construction moratorium in the territories. Eventually negotiations resumed, but they were too little, too late. There then followed nine months of euphoria, with Secretary of State John Kerry and special envoy Martin Indyk at work, until the two parties reached a dead end.

In the interim, Netanyahu's one term ended and he began another. The two sides hunkered down but dug in their heels. The Americans came up with a few ideas, but it was over. This year's Operation Protective Edge was the coup de grace.

At the moment, Abbas has slammed the door shut on the peace process. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has not declared a day of national mourning. He has had his fill as well. "The Palestinians have realized," a high-ranking Palestinian official told me at the start of October, "that they have nothing more to look for in their negotiations with the Jews. It's a waste of time. We would be better off approaching the international community directly and try to break the impasse there."

And Netanyahu? On the one hand, he feels somewhat relieved. Negotiations do not agree with him. He loses ground with the right wing, taking heavy flak from his own Likud Party while enhancing the standing of Minister of Economy and Trade Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. As far as Netanyahu is concerned, the negotiations can disappear forever. On the flip side, however, this is a perilous notion, and Netanyahu should break into a sweat at reviewing such a scenario.

What the Palestinians are planning to do in lieu of negotiations is to approach the UN Security Council with a detailed resolution to establish an independent Palestinian state side by side with Israel. Abbas, who is almost 80 years old, would not have reached such a ripe age or attained his position had he not been a foxy, wise and calculating person.

His resolution proposal will incorporate all the things the Americans have already agreed to during the long years of negotiations. The United States will find it hard to object to such a proposal, because it does not contain anything substantive that it has not already supported. Abbas' working assumption, however, is that in the end, the United States will veto the resolution.

It is against this backdrop that a fierce diplomatic battle is taking place, with the Palestinians trying to ensure that at least 10 states will support the resolution. According to diplomatic sources, at the moment they have nine votes. France is vacillating. If France were ultimately to join the nine others, thus securing the support of two-thirds of Security Council members, the Palestinians could proceed — the US veto notwithstanding — to the UN plenary. There, the resolution would be adopted if backed by a two-thirds majority, which is something the Palestinians should have no problem securing. The big bank of Islamic and nonaligned states will vote for them automatically. The United Nations will recognize an independent Palestinian state.

This will be a nightmare scenario for Israel, which will find itself in conflict with a recognized state. On Oct. 3, Sweden's newly elected prime minister, Stefan Löfven, announced that his country would recognize an independent Palestine. A diplomatic outcry ensued in Israel, and the Swedish ambassador was summoned for a démarche at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Sweden published a few obfuscating clarifications, but when the dust finally settled, it became apparent that it remained steadfast in its position. Yes, it will recognize Palestine.

In Abbas' scenario of his move, the whole world will recognize the new state. Imagine what will happen in Jerusalem, especially in light of the new status Abbas will have on behalf of his country to drag Israel into every conceivable tribunal, chief among them the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.

Is this all really about to happen? There are indications that it is, although in the Middle East anything is possible at any given point in time. Several diplomatic approaches are being explored in Israel. The one by the right wing, championed by Bennett and supported by most of Likud, contends that there is no need for negotiations. The Palestinians are the ones who did not sign Kerry's proposal, which is why they should call Israel, which must not give up or back down: There is no room at this time to establish a Palestinian state when the entire Middle East is on fire, crashing in on us. Period.

Standing next to them is Netanyahu himself. Ostensibly, he's more pragmatic. He wants to resume negotiations immediately without preconditions. He has the support of Knesset member Zachi Hanegbi and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz as well as a handful of others. This approach is also supported by Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, although the two of them want real negotiations, whereas Netanyahu plans to continue his exercise in futility and kill time. Standing with Netanyahu like a rock is Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. He, too, doesn't believe that there is a Palestinian partner at this time, but he is well aware of the paramount importance of holding negotiations, however minimal, between the parties.

At the far end of Israel's right wing, as well as that of the left, there are a few voices (whose numbers have been growing as of late) who believe that the idea of the two-state solution should be pronounced dead, and instead, the one-state solution should be embraced. Radical leftists will see it as a multinational state of Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Arabs. Those on the right envision more of an apartheid-like state. While Arabs would enjoy citizenship, they would not, however, be real partners in running the affairs of the state.

And there's something else. There are a few old-time peace militants and activists working on the fringes of Israel's political-diplomatic establishment to draft an outline for an Israeli-Palestinian arrangement that starts with the issues of borders and security. With regard to these two issues, which Kerry's negotiations should have focused on during their brief nine-month lifetime, understandings can be quickly reached. This is what the people involved believe. If this stage is clearly outlined in a paper, the Israeli government could be toppled on that basis. Livni and Lapid will unite. Netanyahu's government will fall. The centrist-left circles will then close ranks behind the agreement that has been achieved and will go with it into new elections.

Is this last scenario likely to unfold? It stands a much smaller chance than Abbas' scenario. Yet, contacts among actors who are not part of the current official political establishment are taking place on the back burner. Yet, this does not stop the happy cruise of the Israeli Titanic toward the Palestinian iceberg. In the end, something from the things described here is bound to happen.

Health Care Worker At Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas Tests Positive for Ebola
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer

Cleaning Guys spokesman Brad Smith checks out the back alley way at the residence at 5700 block of Marquita, where reportedly a person diagnosed with Ebola lived, photographed in Dallas on Sunday, October 12, 2014. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)

A Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital health care worker in Dallas who had “extensive contact” with the first Ebola patient to die in the United States has contracted the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta confirmed the news Sunday afternoon after an official test.

The infected person detected a fever Friday night and drove herself to the Presbyterian emergency room, where she was placed in isolation 90 minutes later. A blood sample sent to the state health lab in Austin confirmed Saturday night that she had Ebola — the first person to contract the disease in the United States.

The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that the infection in the health care worker, who was not on the organization’s watch list for people who had contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, resulted from a “breach in protocol.”

"We have spoken with the health care worker," who cannot "identify the specific breach" that allowed the infection to spread, said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden. The CDC has sent additional staff members to Dallas to “assist with the response,” he said.

Frieden said exposure can result from a “single inadvertent slip.” He cautioned: "Unfortunately it is possible in the coming days we will see additional cases of Ebola" in health care workers.

Texas health commissioner David Lakey said the health care worker had "extensive contact" with Duncan. The nurse, who missed two days of work before going to the emergency room, is believed to have had contact with one person while symptomatic. Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person, can only be transmitted from infected people showing symptoms.

"We have been preparing for an event like this,” Lakey said.

Presbyterian chief clinical officer Daniel Varga said the exposure occurred during Duncan’s second visit to the hospital. Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola in the United States, went to the Presbyterian emergency room Sept. 25 and was sent home with antibiotics only to return to the hospital on Sept. 28. He was diagnosed with Ebola and died Oct. 8.

It is not clear how the health care provider contracted Ebola. According to Duncan's patient records released by the family to The Associated Press, this is what happened at Presbyterian:

— On Sept. 28, an ambulance with Duncan arrived at the hospital’s emergency bay shortly after 10 a.m.

— Doctors performed tests on Duncan, who told them he had recently arrived from Africa, and determined he had sinusitis.

— Now in isolation, Duncan was projectile vomiting, having explosive diarrhea and his temperature was 103.1 degrees.

— On Sept. 29, as his condition worsened, Duncan asked the nurse to put him in a diaper.

— On Sept. 30, tests results confirmed Duncan had Ebola. Only then did staff treating Duncan trade their gowns and scrubs for hazmat suits, and the room was cleaned with bleach.

Varga at Presbyterian said the worker was wearing protective gear, including a gown, glove, mask and shield, when she came into contact with Duncan. “This individual was following full CDC precautions,” Varga said

Officials haven’t released the name of the health care worker or her job description. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he has spoken to the health care worker's parents, who have asked for privacy.

"Let's remember that this is a real person who is going through a great ordeal. So is that person's family," Jenkins said.

The second Ebola patient lives in the 5700 block of  Marquita Avenue in East Dallas, where the person’s apartment was going to be decontaminated Sunday. While the CDC didn’t consider the person to be at “high risk” of contracting Ebola, the health care worker had been monitoring for signs of the disease, including checking for fever twice daily.

The person's car was decontaminated and the common area of an apartment complex was going to be cleaned by a hazardous-material team Sunday.

A crew of 15 people from the Cleaning Guys was going to decontaminate the person’s apartment Sunday afternoon, said company owner Erick McCallum. "Our main objective is for this to go away and to be eradicated," he said.

Staff writers Melissa Repko, Sherry Jacobson, Claire Cardona, Eva-Marie Ayala and Matthew Haag contributed to this report.

=====

Update at 2:59 p.m.

Brad Smith, Vice President of CG Environmental-Cleaning Guys, a hazardous material company, was hired to clean the apartment unit of the ill health care worker.

He said the hazmat crew will begin cleaning in the next hour or two. They are not sure how long it will take. The crew will include up to 15 people.

He said he's not concerned about the safety of the crew. He heard the health care worker contracted Ebola after "there was something that went wrong in her PPE" or "personal protective equipment."

"I'm not sure how it happened," he said. "But we will not let that happen to our guys."Smith said the company was hoping not to get any more calls about an Ebola case.

"I was speechless. I don't know what my thoughts were," he said. "I just knew we had to react and gear up and do it again."

Smith said the crew plans to clean the exterior today and clean the interior tomorrow. It will be similar to the cleanup of the apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan stayed.

"We won't do anything different," he said. "We think the last time we went out we were successful in cleaning it up. We will continue to so the same thing."

Update at 12:21 p.m.

At the end of Marquita, morning services were underway at Skillman Church of Christ. The congregation first became aware of the deadly disease when medical missionary Dr. Kent Brantly, who many congregants know, contracted the illness.

Then many became close to the son of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the disease. Now pastor Joel Sanchez was telling the church that a healthcare worker just a few blocks away has Ebola.

"As much as we are connected to the world, it's easy to see something on the television and think of it as happening over yonder, over there," he said. "But when it hits close to home, it becomes real."

The congregation prayed for the healthcare worker who Sanchez said put another in front of herself because he had a need. They prayed for the family of Duncan. But then Sanchez asked his congregation not to forget the thousands suffering in West Africa, an area with limited medical resources  where nearly 4,000 people have died from Ebola.

"We can't forget those people whose only course of action is to pray that they don't get it," Sanchez said.

EU Prepares to Impose Crushing Sanctions on Israel
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Commentary

Even as details of the latest ISIS plot to behead innocents on the streets of London emerges, the machinery of the European Union’s massive bureaucracy is well along its plan to impose crippling economic and cultural sanctions on Israel if the Jewish state does not agree to unilaterally withdraw behind the 1949 Armistice lines. 

The Times of Israel and other sources are now reporting that EU officials are preparing a far reaching list of sanctions that can be imposed against Israel whenever the EU’s political leadership decides to proceed with efforts to economically devastate the small but heavily trade-dependent Jewish state. 

The essence and purpose of the plan, coming just weeks after the end of Hamas’ 50 day terror war against Israel, is not only to punish Israel economically but to deprive the small but vibrant democracy of its political legitimacy; something that the international community, including the EU, extends to virtually every other country on earth, including Cuba, North Korea, and Iran. 

The revelations of the latest EU plans come on the heels of Sweden’s decision earlier this week to become the first sitting member of the 28 nation EU to recognize the so-called “State of Palestine." Four Eastern European members of the EU voted to recognize “Palestine” in the 1980's when they were Warsaw Pact puppet states firmly in the orbit of the former Soviet Union.

The latest “Israeli outrage” to which the EU and others, including US President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, are taking such offense, is the announcement by the Israel Lands Authority to solicit private sector tenders for the construction of roughly 2600 apartment units slated to be built in Jerusalem’s burgeoning Givat Hamatos neighborhood. In fact, there is nothing at all new in these plans, which have long been a part of Jerusalem’s municipal development plan and were first announced more than three years ago.

In its statement accompanying its decision to recognize “Palestine,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry claims that Israel’s housing plans “represents a further highly detrimental step that undermines prospects for a two-state solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.” 

No mention was made in Sweden’s statement criticizing Israel of any recent Palestinian steps, such as Hamas‘ 50 day terrorist war against the Jewish state in which it launched more than 4000 rockets against civilian targets that it viewed as “detrimental steps that undermine prospects” for peace in the Middle East. Nor is there any apparent concern that stifling Israel’s economic development would first be felt by Palestinians first and most harshly, since their very growth and emergence as a people has always been inextricably linked to that of their Jewish neighbors. 

Before the first group of Jewish settlers fleeing pogromist Russia arrived in Palestine in the late 19th century, the local Arab population living inside what is today Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, was estimated at the time to be no more than 200,000 with an average lifespan of less than 40 years. 

Today, more than 5 million Arabs, with an average lifespan of 70.5 years, live either in Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza. Of course, neither the increase in Palestinians per se, nor the length and health of their lives could have been possible without the emergence and development of Israel. Every previous effort that stunted Israel’s growth or impeded its development has resulted in economic dislocations far more devastating to Palestinians than to Israelis. 

While strong pro-Israel support by the US Congress and among the American people prevents President Obama from imposing sanctions similar to those being drawn up by the EU now, the Obama administration has used its executive powers to develop a series of its own stealth punishments against the Middle East’s only democracy. 

Just last May it was reported that with little fanfare the State Department suddenly and dramatically increase the number of Israeli tourist applications it would reject in order to prevent Israel from participating in the visa waiver program designed to expedite travel from allegedly US-friendly nations. There are currently 38 nations whose citizens do not need a visa to enter the US for short-term tourist or business travel. Until recently that list included Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Diplomat Warns Obama May be Holding Secret Iran Talks
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Barack Obama

Reuters

According to a senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem, the chances of a deal being reached on Iran's nuclear program between it and world powers before the November 24 deadline are slim - but US President Barack Obama is liable to flex on several points, including the deadline.

"When there's a will on the part of both leaders everything is possible, but Israel needs to stand guard so that a bad deal won't be made," the source told Walla!, warning against a deal that will leave the Islamic regime with thousands of centrifuges and breakout capability to quickly create a nuclear bomb.

The source further warned that the current American-led coalition against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Iraq and Syria may impact the deal with Iran, as Obama's administration has already backtracked about possible military cooperation with Iran.

There is a real danger that the US will hold secret talks with Iran and make agreements against Israeli interests, warns the source.

Indeed, Obama was revealed last November to have been holding secret talks with Iran for over half a year which led to a temporary agreement, and likewise reportedly had been easing sanctions on Iran for five months ahead of the deal.

"Iranian boastfulness has taken over their minds and they aren't hurrying to reach an agreement that will contradict their red lines and add to their sanctions. That's their real concern," the source said of Iran.

On the other side, he added "the Americans want to reach a deal, and the true danger is that they will flex their position for the Iranians."

"A nuclear Iran will undermine all of the balance in the region," warned the source against a bad deal. "The Arabs won't agree - not Saudi Arabia and not Egypt. The Egyptians already said officially that they will arms themselves with nuclear weapons (in the case of a deal). These are the dangers that senior officials are repressing."

Egypt has also been increasingly hostile towards Israel according to the source, who says the Nile state backed by other Arab countries is pushing an initiative to have Israel recognized as a nuclear capable state - a process that is part of the diplomatic war on Israel.

"It doesn't even interest anyone in Israel and that is serious," warned the source. "Their goal is to weaken Israel."

Cairo has been holding host to the truce talks between Israel and the Hamas terror organization, and just on Sunday hosted an international donor conference that saw world states pledge $5.4 billion for Gaza.

Canadian Graduate Gets Obscene Job Rejection Letter Due to Her Faith and Alma Mater
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

A recent graduate from a Canadian Christian University who applied for a job with a Norwegian wilderness tourism company got the shock of her life when she was "attacked" for her religion in a series of emails in which Mary, the mother of Jesus, is called a "whore" and Jesus is threatened with sodomy.

The graduate, Bethany Paquette, who attended Trinity Western University, said her application was rejected by Amaruk Wilderness Corp. because of her faith. And she provided the series of testy and, at times, obscene emails to prove it, according to CBC.

Amaruk notes the company's website specializes in private guiding, highlighted as "custom expeditions throughout the world for private clients." The firm also "offers wilderness training, support, and logistics, as well as consulting services, to individuals, corporations, and governments," among other services.

"It did really hurt me and I did feel really attacked on the basis that I'm a Christian," Paquette told CBC.

Paquette, who's an experienced river rafting guide, has filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in Canada over the rejection.

After applying to be an assistant guide intern with Amaruk, Olaf Amundsen, the company's hiring manager, replied with a rejection email in which he points out that her association with Trinity Western University, which opposes homosexuality, disqualified her from the job.

"I do not understand the purpose of your application considering you do not meet the minimum requirements that are clearly outlined on our website," he began.

"Additionally, considering you were involved with Trinity Western University, I should mention that, unlike Trinity Western University, we embrace diversity, and the right of people to sleep with or marry whoever they want, and this is reflected within some of our staff and management," he continued.

"In addition, the Norse background of most of the guys at the management level means that we are not a Christian organization, and most of us actually see Christianity as having destroyed our culture, tradition, and way of life," Amundsen's rejection email ended.

Paquette responded to Amundsen's email with a defense of her Christian faith and charged that the company was being discriminatory toward her and signed it "God bless."

In a follow-up email Amundsen replied, in part: "In asking students to refrain from same-sex relationships, Trinity Western University, and any person associated with it has engaged in discrimination, as well as intolerance against other people's beliefs, religious, and otherwise. … There are also practical concerns about a Christian university that rejects the concept of evolution but still grants 'biology' degrees."

He then noted that if Christians simply abided by the tenets of their faith instead of trying to force their views on others, believers would be tolerable. "However, you force other people to embrace your religious beliefs, by preventing them from doing as they wish with their own life and body. This is where we draw the line however."

Amundsen further stated that he is a Viking with a Ph.D. in Norse History and dismissed Christianity as propaganda.

"In closing, 'God Bless' is very offensive to me, and yet another sign of your attempts to impose your religious views on me. I do not want to be blessed by some guy who was conceived by a whore, outside of marriage, and whom has been the very reason for the most horrendous abuses and human rights violations in the history of the human race. If I was to meet the guy, I'd actually (expletive) him," he wrote.

Paquette's lawyer, Geoffrey Trotter, called the emails from Amaruk "nasty" and "over the top."

"You are not allowed in British Columbia to refuse to hire someone because you associate them with other people, from centuries ago, who you think they did something they shouldn't have done," Trotter told CBC.

Trinity Western spokesperson Guy Saffold also told CBC that, "Canadians shouldn't be treated this way by a foreign company. … Mocking of their religion — there is a personal shaming element to it that was most unfortunate."

British Parliament Votes to Recognize 'Palestine'
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

British parliament

Reuters

The British parliament on Monday night officially voted in favor of recognizing the “state of Palestine”.

The non-binding resolution was passed by 274 in favor to 12 votes against, to "recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel" as part of a "contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution", according to AFP.

The motion, while non-binding, is heavy with symbolism but is unlikely to change government policy, the report noted.

The debate was sponsored by lawmaker Grahame Morris from the opposition Labour party, who said when he introduced it, “Not only is statehood the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, but recognizing Palestine will breathe new life into a peace process that is at an impasse.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said prior to the vote that he would not take part in it.

Cameron’s spokesman, quoted by Reuters, said the vote would not change Britain's diplomatic stance.

The spokesman said the Prime Minister would not be taking part in the vote, and that the government was asking ministers to abstain.

The British move came after Sweden made a storm by pledging its commitment to recognize a Palestinian state  on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman criticized the announcement, saying it came to compensate for Western failures.

Sweden eventually effectively retracted the statement, saying that “the conflict between Israel and Palestine can be solved through the two-state solution, by negotiations in accordance with the principles of international law.”

Ban Ki - Moon to Netanyahu: 'The Status Quo Cannot Continue'
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon urged Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Monday afternoon, to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians and establish a Palestinian state including a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. 

"The status quo cannot continue. This is the time for leadership, Mr. Prime Minister. Make the hard decisions," he said.

Are Humans As Close to Chickens As They are to Chimps?
Oct 13th, 2014
CommentaryCreation Facts - by Brian Thomas, M.S.
Categories: Creation - Evolution

'Hamas will be Able to Use Global Aid for Terror Tunnels'
Oct 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas terrorists in Gaza (file)

Flash 90

As international donors led by Qatar pledged $5.4 billion to Gaza on Sunday in Cairo, and Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces are posed to take control of Gaza's border crossings, Israeli security sources expressed concern that the new realities will only help Hamas commit more terror on Israel.

Israel is closely following discussions on how PA forces are to be posted at the Rafah, Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings.

A senior security source told Walla! the way authority is transferred to the PA from Hamas may pave the way not only for corruption, bribery and bureaucracy that may slow the crossings - but also for renewed terror tunnel attacks by Hamas, as it will no longer be held responsible for the crossings or keeping the quiet.

"Hamas is setting in motion a sophisticated process," said the source. "It is raising a 'people's army' of youth aged 15 and up, so as to distance criticism on its military arm, on which it will never give up."

Indeed, Israel's demand for the demilitarization of Gaza has been swept completely under the rug in the Cairo donor conference. As for Hamas's terror tunnels, the group has already said the IDF did not destroy all of them, and it has likewise already begun reconstruction on the tunnels.

The security source also admitted that it will be difficult for Israel to follow the path of massive amounts of construction materials entering Gaza, despite the supervision mechanisms being implemented which Israel is also supposed to take part in.

"These are billions of shekels that will be transferred to the Palestinians, and in order to reconstruct Hamas's tunnels, they just need a small percentage of the materials that will be allowed to be transferred to them," stated the source.

In preparation for the last Hamas terror war on Israel, the group siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars off of international aid to fund its terror tunnel project; the IDF revealed during the operation that each of the 30 tunnels it destroyed cost millions in materials and cement that was meant for humanitarian needs.

The security sources told Walla! that Hamas is not the only threat on the horizon, warning that the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis currently engaged in a brutal struggle with the Egyptian army in Sinai is liable to quickly turn its weapons on Israel.

"It's a matter of time until the gunfire against the Egyptian army is turned on the border with the state of Israel," warned the source.