You will NOT believe THIS...Trayvon and Zimmerman again; a very new angle

This utterly blew my mind......A rare, brave black pastor talks about how Zimmerman did what had to be done with Trayvon Martin.  He blames the mother and father for Trayvon's end.  He tells it like he sees it.
How do you see him?
Z

The World didn't END?

SO, the world DID NOT END, huh?  I barely gave this a notice, of course, but Dennis Prager on his morning show today said something like "what Christians predicted did not happen Saturday......"
Really?  "Christians?"   Christians know that Scripture tells us that if someone thinks they know the day of the Second Coming, that is the surest day ever that He won't come then! "Christians"?   Did YOU Christians here at geeeZ spend all your money advertising the "rapture"?  Did you spend all your savings on billboards advertising anything?  I didn't think so.  Neither did I.   My Pastor on Sunday gave a good sermon, beginning with how, on Friday, he kind of thought "What the heck, why bother if we're going to be departing tomorrow?"  He got a giggle and he followed with ".........so, I went with Plan B and wrote a sermon, anyway!"

But, be that as it may, here's the phrase from the article linked above which really got to me, another media 'twist' that's utterly misrepresentative and unfair:

Camping's PR aide, Tom Evans, told the L.A. Times that the group is "disappointed" that 200 million true believers weren't lifted up to heaven on Saturday while everyone else suffered and eventually died as a series of earthquakes and famine destroyed the Earth.

Really?  So the writer, Liz Goodwin, adds her version of the "End Times" and makes it sound like this Camping fellow is not only disappointed that millions weren't in heaven around cocktail time on Saturday but that he's disappointed "everyone else" didn't suffer and eventually die as a series of earthquakes and famine destroyed the Earth.  REALLY?  Is that what Christians WANT, for people to be left behind in nightmare scenarios?  :-)  Of course not.

Here's a guy who followed Camping but has the best statement of all:
But Bauer is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see the country," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

All he had to have done was read the Scripture.

There is also Mark 13:32, "Concerning that day of the hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father."    And yes, there are many verses which do tell us to be ready,  I know that........but, for the purposes of this post and my information, I'll leave you all with that.   Please, let's leave it there in comments.  My purpose here is to show yet more media bias but mostly to remind us all to be smart and vigilant and do our homework when we hear of "Christians" who forecast these types of things.  Anything more is a level of theological discussion we can't have here, unfortunately, and we all know what's happened in the past when we've tried. Thanks for honoring my request.

Amen.

z

Jesus in a huge box office hit? .......bringing in CHANGE$$$ (for the better)

Soul Surfer opens after fights over depicting faith

Full article here By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

"Soul Surfer," the feature film based on the true story of surfer Bethany Hamilton being attacked by a shark and her journey back to surfing, opened last weekend in the fourth spot on the box office charts - partly a testament to its appealing family-friendly message and a marketing campaign that heavily targeted religious groups.
But even though Hamilton and her family's faith plays a key role in the film, many audiences would be surprised to learn that the question of how to show their religion in the film caused huge debate on set.
"I think to get anything in the film was a battle," said Sarah Hill, Hamilton's youth group leader at North Shore Christian Church, who was played by Carrie Underwood in the movie.
"Basically, what you're doing is you have all these people who want to make a movie about Bethany and they don't know the Lord and they don't have a personal relationship with Jesus. For what we have in the movie it was such a battle."  (Z:  It's sad to consider that anything that the truth about any story is fine if it's ugly and seamy and debauched...the more the better, but let a Christian girl want her all-important faith portrayed and it's a fight with Hollywood)
In one scene, Hill's character is shown counseling Hamilton as she struggles with living as an amputee. She reads from Jeremiah 29:11 " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "  (Z: is that a threatening thought to anyone?)

The morning they went to shoot that scene, said Hill, who was on set often, "Twelve producers, me and the director were all sitting at the table and they all are just adamant about the Scripture not being in the movie. And they were saying at least let's not have the reference in it."   (Z: how scared they seem)
"For me it was a hill worth dying on to keep God in the movie," she said.
Tom Hamilton, Bethany’s father, said, “In my heart of hearts I wanted as many Christians as we could get to play parts in the movie. They just have a different spirit about them (Z:  Every actor I know in this town says the same thing and many have brought secular people to Christ on sets, believe me) ... Craig T. Nelson, who is a really strong Christian and goes to our church in Kauai, I called him and begged him to be in the movie.
“A lot of the producers didn’t want to go too overboard because they thought Christianity doesn’t always sell well,” Tom Hamilton said.  (Z: right...like the Passion didn't sell well, or The Blind Side? :)
Kevin Sorbo, who plays Holt Blanchard, the father of Hamilton's best friend, said, "Sony (Pictures, the film's producer) was afraid to throw in the word Jesus. They said you can have God but not Jesus. They were worried about that.  (Z: but the Black Swan can show a girl masturbating, no problem)

"The studios, you can't really fight them," he said. "Hollywood screams for freedom of speech but only if you agree with them. It's a very two-faced industry."

Sorbo said Sony wanted to take out another scene in which Bethany Hamilton wakes up in the hospital. Her father, played by Dennis Quaid, is shown reading a Bible. He reads to her from Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who gives me strength."  (Z: I happen to know that Dennis Quaid is a committed Christian...sorry to disillusion anybody)
Tom Hamilton said the studio rented a house for the family during the filming so they could be on set every day.
“They changed the script a lot,” Hamilton said. “Dennis Quaid would come up to say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t sound right, we need a Scripture here.’ The script was in constant motion, it changed on the set even.”
“They listened to us. We had some pretty heated discussions. Everyone saw how passionate about it we were, getting the message we wanted out there,” he said.

Rich Peluso, the vice president of AFFIRM Films, a division of Sony Pictures, said the studio made no efforts to whitewash the Hamilton family's faith for the movie. He points out that Jesus is mentioned twice in the film and that the family's faith is central to the plot. (Z: But...wait....everyone on the set says differently...read above!)

On set, he said, "There were certainly lots of discussions," specifically about the inclusion of Hill's character quoting Jeremiah.
"There were some that voiced the opinion that may have made it sound too faith-focused," Peluso said. "The counter-argument was, 'Well, if her character uses those words and doesn't attribute them to the Bible it seems like she's stealing them.' We came to the agreement the best thing to do was to use the Scripture there."
The biggest question the movie's producers were trying to determine was, "How do we have it come off (in a way) that is authentic to the family's faith and doesn't push it too far so that it appears to the viewer to be forced in?" he said. "We didn't want it to appear we were pushing in faith to appeal to the faith community."
The studio made a big push to attract faith leaders to the project, setting up screenings for pastors and ministry leaders. But it's hard to characterize "Soul Surfer" as a Christian movie.

(Z: It all sounds very odd.  They're afraid that a surfing movie about a girl losing her arm and strongly relying on her faith to get her through is "pushing in faith to appeal to the faith community"  as if they made the faith part up to pander?  And, of course, then it says the studio invited pastors....now, isn't THAT "pushing in faith"?    They "made a big push" but didn't want to "push too far"...why the screenings?)
 
Like the hit movie "The Blind Side," though, the characters in "Soul Surfer" are decidedly Christian.  The movie opens with Bethany Hamilton rushing into a beachside church service because the Sunday morning waves were just too good to pass up.
"It's not that it's a Christian movie, it's an American movie," Peluso said.(Z:NOW he gets it)
In 2003, when a tiger shark attacked the 14-year-old Hamilton near Kauai, Hawaii, the story gripped the nation. Just three weeks after the attack, Hamilton was back in the water learning how to surf with one arm. A year later, she won a national surfing title.
Battles over how to portray religious themes in movies are becoming more common, as Hollywood becomes more open to addressing faith  (Z:, what, like this group at Sony which fought them at every turn from mentioning Jesus? really?) and marketing movies to religious audiences but worries about alienating nonreligious audiences or viewers from other traditions.(Z: have you all seen films from the forties whose music is all hymns, or all the characters go to church?  didn't seem threatening then, did it)
“After all the back and forth - and there’s always back and forth - it’s always best to err on the side of authenticity,” said Michael Flaherty, the president of Walden Media, which has helped produced the Chronicles of Narnia franchise and other Christian-themes movies.
“It actually is not in your commercial interest to secularize something like that, people will reject it,” he said of “Soul Surfer.” “People think they are making these decisions to broaden their audience but what they end up doing is narrowing it.”
But Flaherty said he thought “Soul Surfer” struck the right balance. “To see a movie where she wasn’t talking about her faith … it would have flopped,” he said. “It’s silly to narrow (the family’s faith). It’s like someone saying, ‘Let’s make a movie about Bethany but not talk about surfing.’”(Z: Finally, someone's thinking)
Today, Bethany Hamilton is a professional surfer. In 2010 she was ranked 23rd in the world. "The shy kid has gone on to have a legit pro surf career despite her massive physical impairment," Joel Patterson recently wrote in Surfer Magazine, "and, in the process, she's inspired uncountable people struggling against cruel twists of fate."
Hamilton has long been outspoken about her Christian faith and the positive role it played in her recovery.
"We work with a lot of films, but the Hamiltons have to live with this for the rest of their lives, so that balance was important to us," AFFIRM's Peluso said. "I think we threaded the needle after a lot of work."
Tom Hamilton said Peluso constantly went to bat for the family with the movie, adding, "There was some give and take, but everything that was very important for us to portray ended up in the movie. We were very happy over all with the movie. We just wanted the real story told.”

Z: Odd that people think this surfer's faith has to somehow jump off the screen and strangle people till they believe, too, isn't it?  I mean, Islam would be portrayed with NO PROBLEM "How interesting"  "fascinating"...but Christianity is so controversial that a woman can't show her faith without Hollywood executives getting nervous?   WHY?   Of course, the box office has been fabulous for Soul Surfer.  Funny, but I've heard about this film for weeks and, until reading this article, I had no idea it had Christian undertones...never even questioned the "soul" part.  Mr. Peluso from SONY sent some mixed messages but it seems he was finally coerced into doing a true betrayal and then sold it as if it was his idea all along.  Well, it that's what it takes to get Hollywood happy and to attract viewers to an amazing story of faith, that should be acceptable to anyone.

What do you think?

z

Christian history in one's hand? what do you think?

I find THIS absolutely utterly fascinating.  They've found and released some information on 'lead codices' which could be a major discovery of something from CHRISTIAN HISTORY...... below, in italics, are just two really interesting statements from the linked article:
Initial metallurgical research indicates that the codices are about 2,000 years old--based on the manner of corrosion they have undergone, which, as Macrae writes, "experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially."

They contain a number of images and textual allusions to the Messiah, as well as some possible references to the crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the codices were sealed, prompting yet more breathless speculation that they could include the sealed book, shown only to the Messiah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, "I shall walk uprightly"--a phrase that also appears in Revelation. "While it could be simply a sentiment common in Judaism," BBC writer Robert Pigott notes, "it could here be designed to refer to the resurrection."

Sure, as the article emphasizes at the end, this could be a hoax, but, if not, and experts are admitting it seems 'impossible' to achieve the aging 'artificially',  this is quite some convincing information..........I hope you all take the few minutes it takes to read my link..........it's highly encouraging for Christians and could be highly impressive to those on the fence about the Christian faith.  

It really impressed me.........what do you think, after having read all the details in the article.......don't forget to read the very end, they do remind us it could all be for nothing....  (doesn't seem so to me, seems like there's far, far less criticism of the findings than usual when Christian relics are discovered)
GeeeeeZ!
z

Biblical gender mess..........

The Bible is now 'gender friendly'...are we really THIS screwed up now?
Are women really so offended by "him" or "his"?   REALLY?

See, maybe we all should go back to the King James Version and just leave everything with "THOU" and "THY", then we wouldn't need to worry about HIM and HER and ...whatever :-)

Think this Bible's a necessary, good idea? 

A Letter from Camp.....Do YOU think even "tough kids" can change? .Sunday Faith Blog ...

MOST of my my Sunday Faith Blogs "write themselves." Nothing had come to me as of this morning, but I knew it would, and it sure did, in the form of the following email (in italics) which arrived Saturday afternoon, on the heels of my Walter Williams post down below about racism. (names have been changed at the request of my friend who emailed this):
Dear Friends, Thank you for your prayers for our kids at camp. The leaders could tell that people were praying for them! I wanted to get you some details on what kind of responses we had from the kids. One of our teen moms, Vanessa (z: who is black), was brought to our Youth teen mom group by a teacher at Venice High who was very concerned about her being depressed. She was living with her "baby daddy's" parents at the time. They speak only Spanish and she speaks only English. Her leader, (Emma), said that she rarely laughed and was very withdrawn, but Vanessa was completely transformed at camp. She laughed more than she had for the whole 6 months she has been part of the group!! She tried every activity, even the scary ones like the ropes course and the climbing wall. She told Emma that she had never heard the Message before. She said she went from being "confused" about God to "curious". It was her birthday a few days ago and Emma brought her a Bible and she will continue to help her to understand what she heard.
The middle school kids all loved being at camp. They were definitely not all "easy" kids for sure! They come from backgrounds of dysfunction and poverty. Some of the boys were going around "bullying" other kids. Chris (z: who is black), one of our leaders, had to put 4 of them in the van and start to take them home. These hard core type guys (z: from the inner city) began crying and said that they REALLY wanted to be at camp and after that they were better behaved. They had a blast and got into every activity. Several told their leaders that they would like a "face to face" relationship with Christ. Their leaders are starting a new bible study for them this Tuesday, so continued prayers would be wonderful. Here is what one of their guy leaders wrote about their time together at camp:
"Stinky, sweat stained and tired, the 11 of us walked up a nasty hill after a fun mountain bike ride. After a while, I felt something tug the water bottle out of my hand, and thinking it was one of the boys trying to be funny, I turned around quickly to see our smallest guy holding a pile of water bottles as big as his chest. Without any prodding or anything, he had volunteered to carry our entire group's water bottles up the hill just because he felt like it. Little windows into how our savior works, and how he moves within us. Our week together was a fun one...we rock climbed, skate parked, pool basketballed and slap-boxed our way through six days together, and we all got to hear a great telling of the Gospel story at the same time. We sat in our cabins and talked about the resurrected Christ, and then we went out and played on the slip and slide for hours. The boys we had got to hear some truth about a God who loves them and cares for them, some of them for the very first time, and then they got to go out and spend a week just being kids. And as the other leaders and I got to just be kids with them, I'm pretty sure we smiled just as much as they did."
Middle school kids are figuring out which direction their lives will head and I know that God has planted a seed in these kids that will help them to choose the right path. Thanks for your prayers! Speaking of middle school kids, I had a wonderful meeting with a teacher at the Middle School in Watts. She wants to start a Youth group weekly club for the kids there. She told me that several of the Christian teachers meet weekly to pray over the school as it has many problems with gangs, guns, low achievement, etc. But in the midst of all trouble there are some pretty terrific kids as well. We just need some more volunteer mentors to work with them in order to start the club. Could I impose on your prayer muscles once again to be used on kids' behalf for this school? Again, thank you for prayers! I know the Lord heard and honored them. Signed....(Z's Friend)

Z: I highlighted in red the part that brought tears to my eyes. These kids were acting up, angry, trying to do what they could do to shake things up until they were threatened with this joyful time being yanked from them and going back to what they know; then they CRIED to stay. These "hard core type guys" CRIED! And then they did so much better! Kids do WHAT THEY KNOW. These kids knew to MAKE TROUBLE, maybe even to react with belligerence when faced with true goodness? But, now they KNOW DIFFERENT! How many kids even KNOW the difference anymore?

This, to me, showed that children CAN do better if given love, hope, and encouragement....I believe God had a big part in this, too, and you can see that my friend does, too. I hope this encourages you to help a child, to think the best of them and let them know it, believe in them, let them live up to their potential. Please, God, let all children feel this, help us give them a chance no matter what color or creed. Amen.

Have a beautiful Sunday.....help a child, especially a really tough one. Every life is precious.
z

Dearborn, Michigan; coming to a theater near YOU?

Please view this short video:

Does it seem strange to you that passing out Christian material outside any event must be stopped? Do you think those cops were happy to have to do that? Who do you think's behind it? HOW could this happen?
z

Capitalism without Christianity?

Some of you regular GeeeeeZ readers know that I've often mentioned how I honestly can't imagine Capitalism or Democracy surviving without the Judeo-Christian tenets upon which America was founded... I've had the feeling lately that the farther we've come from the worship and acknowledgment of God, the farther America's slipping into an unhappy situation of immorality and selfishness of every kind. Well, today, someone gave a lecture I got to hear and the speaker quoted George Washington who said this:
"....reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle..." (September 26, 1796) And John Adams, who said....

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (October 11, 1798, address to the military)

I guess my thinking was right. I'm sure Washington's and Adams' was. Of course, it's not improbable that some people have read these and realized that, to fundamentally change America, people would have to start to mock God and His followers, using terms like "weak people who need a crutch," "religious zealots," doing things like prohibiting Franklin Graham from praying at the Pentagon, and other things we've all heard to make God's followers look ridiculous. What do you think? Do you think we can continue as we have, prosperous, good, giving, caring people, without the tenets of Christian faith, like the 10 Commandments?
I don't.
When secularists whine about Christians, they don't mean the millions who pray and still go to church or just plain live honest, productive, faithful lives which bring blessings to America...they bring up abortion killers and nuts who act in the name of Christianity but couldn't be farther from the Truth.......we need to set examples in our communities and show real Christian values and also to pray for revival in America.........the 'down side' of Christianity, even if it's all NOT TRUE, is one has lived a happier, healthier, more blessed life through trust and hope and just plain living as close as possible to the Commandments (an odd way to put it, but I think you know what I mean)...........America'd be a better place again if more of us walked the walk. Even Michael Medved and Dennis Prager, both very observant and faithful Jews, often say this on the air.......I think they're right...don't you?
Z

The Twelfth Imam?.......Is Iran getting the world ready for his arrival?

WHY is Iran having war games in the Bay of Hormuz? Why would Ahmadinejad be pushing his weight around, threatening the waterways by which most of the world's oil travels, threatening Israel as he has and threatening us with "I've got the bomb!" talk? And why NOW?
Could it be that he's enticing Israel to attack? Could it be intentional provocation? Could there be something in his koran which demands Jews to strike muslims first before islam does a final annihilation of Israel?

I got to thinking about this Twelfth Imam who's supposed to come and how Ahmadinejad's faith believes his coming will signify the end of the world. The "Mahdi", or Twelfth Imam, will soon "form an army to defeat Islam's enemies in a series of apocalyptic battles" and "will overcome his archvillain in Jerusalem," says THIS ARTICLE, which I found looking for back-up for my hypothesis but, what I actually found is that my idea isn't a new thought, I just happened to come to it late! Here are Ahmadinejad's quotes on the subject.
Here's the rub; leftwing secularists and 'believers' who don't read Scripture will suggest Christians, too, have this world religious view....They say Christians believe Christ will come and it'll be the end of the world as we know it, so they even include that Christians are doing all they can to prepare for leaving ASAP and are ignoring the environment, etc., because "we won't be around long, anyway" (they honestly do believe that!) ......Sure, some Christians are "Maranatha-ing" it up and can't wait for Christ to return and they talk about the Rapture, etc. (and who can BLAME them?!), but most Christians enjoy living their earthly lives, even through the stresses we all have, and see the Scripture's reminders to witness so others may have the joy and peace of the Lord....It's like God is very patient and wants more and more of us with Him for eternity so we're all still here. The important difference with Mahdi-Believers and Christians is that our God is NOT coming to defeat anybody, He is coming to set people FREE and give them eternal life. He's not coming to "overcome villains", Jesus will come back to overcome the world in the best of all possible senses. He comes in love, always did. This is what bothered me so much about Bush's saying "We all pray to the same God"...........No, not by a long shot, George.
My very very good friend Elmer's Brother featured THIS blog post in 2006...it's much more in depth than I've handled the subject and FASCINATING, if you'd like to read more about the the Twelfth Imam and comparisons to him and Jesus Christ. You won't be sorry if you check that out...excellent stuff.

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for all of us - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

Amen.

z

Afghans are running for their Bibles now?

MK, our friend and excellent blogger from Australia, has THIS to say about American rifles and Bible scripture on them.
My question about this situation is this..........Which of America's muslim enemies will ever SEE the rifle sights in order to be offended by them?...AND, if they do somehow see one, do Afghan Muslims figure out the code and then run to their Christian Bibles to see what that particular scripture says and then get offended by it? But, we're taking OFF the codes JUST IN CASE??
Are we NUTS? Now, I'm not arguing here whether a Biblical code SHOULD be on rifle sights but the fact that our military thinks that my above-mentioned scenario could happen scares me....does it YOU? geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeZ!!
Beamish adds this excellent comment on HIS blog piece about this situation : We're emboldening an enemy to... get shot by "Jesus rifles" instead of say, blowing themselves up in a crowd of schoolchildren for Allah?
z

Sunday Faith Blog

"Merry CHRISTMAS!" There are trees, wreaths, presents, red/green decorations, Santas....they're everywhere! The only major holiday at this time of year IS Christmas....since it's virtually the only holiday in this month that brings out shoppers, why not call it for what IT IS? QVC (home shopping) has trees on every set, candlelight, bedecked shelves, wreaths, Christmas music, but everybody's saying HAPPY HOLIDAY! "Which holiday? Oh. That holiday. Well, you'd better just say HOLIDAY, not Christmas." But, wait!...WHY? Everything on the sets conjures up CHRISTMAS! Gee, that's funny, isn't it ODD? The Food Channel, too. Christmas trees, Christmas dinner...."HOLIDAY FOODS".....WHAT HOLIDAY WOULD THAT BE? :-)

I often wonder at Americans, approx 82% of whom claim CHRISTMAS, who apparently THINK "Merry Christmas!" but "Happy Holidays!" comes out of their mouths instead....what goes on in their heads in that second they decide not to say basically the only holiday's name which we're celebrating this month? Sure, you can say "Happy Hannukah!" when appropriate!... but, most Jews I know don't celebrate it unless they have small children...they tell me it's a kind of holiday that's special for children but a very minor holiday created at this time of the year mostly just for kids to get presents. That's what I've always heard; Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to learn more about that.

This is my Faith Blog today.........Please say MERRY CHRISTMAS! I promise you'll not at all offend any Jewish Americans....my Jewish friends LOVE Christmas' beauty, the music, parties, etc. So, who're the "NO 'Merry Christmas' types" afraid of offending? Who'd get testy? Say MERRY CHRISTMAS.........it is what it is. There IS no other holiday which decorates trees in December. There IS no other holiday during which people sing Christmas songs. There IS no other holiday which has 82% of people shopping for it. It's part of our American CULTURE. Tell me why I'm wrong! WHO IS OFFENDED by MERRY CHRISTMAS? geeeeeeZ!

Thanks! Z (and yes, I know we all blog about this year to year, but who'd have ever thought we'd even want to, or have to?) Have a great Sunday. And, MERRY CHRISTMAS :-)
z

The Christian Push......Obama and his Staff

Obama's accusing some of "bearing false witness" on the Healthcare situation. I don't know why he bothers to use that phrase when he uses "lies" here: “This notion that somehow we are setting up death panels that would decide on whether elderly people get to live or die … that is just an extraordinary lie.”

So, he uses "bearing false witness" and Pelosi spoke the other day with a Catholic priest in a collar standing RIGHT behind her for the TV cameras, and O'Reilly had a liberal nun on for the first time arguing "What would Jesus want regarding a health care program..?" Seeing a trend, folks? All in a matter of 2 days or so. The White House memo is apparently "Now play to the Christians." Those media people hired by the White House are cunning and active, huh? Check out THIS LIST! It does seem more like campaign mode than presidential mode, doesn't it?

By the way, I didn't know the White House commissions prayers before events, did you? And that the White House has to vet them? Read about that HERE. As the article says "If a similar thing had been done by President Bush's White House, I guarantee you there would have been a lot of people crying foul," says Bill Wichterman, deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison under President George W. Bush. "Democrats can do this with immunity, but when Republicans do it, it becomes controversial."
Another clip from the article: "The Obama administration may have skirted controversy by scheduling the invocations to be delivered before the president arrives at the events—and before national cable network cameras start rolling. "Having prayers in places like Indiana where public prayers are commonplace would help the president," says John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. "Whereas seeing it on national TV would cause controversy because there are places where these things are less popular."

He also said this ""Men and women of faith have helped to show us what's possible when we're guided by our hopes, and not our fears," Obama said. "That's what you can do again today to help us achieve quality, affordable health care for every American." And he's been suddenly teleconferencing with religious leaders, too.

So, what are they up to? The Christian Push?

Muslims over Christians (or Jews)? WHY?

I saw the video I'm posting below at Carol's blog (see info at the end of the post) and couldn't help wondering about something else I'd heard about that I thought fit in with it...a curiosity I think you should consider, too.

You might have heard about this, too, though most of the news venues did not carry it: HR1388 passed on June 2, 2009

By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza .

The "presidential determination", which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States, was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.

Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order provides a free ticket complete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

Click HERE for the Federal Register Information, if you're curious.

Then there is THIS very troubling information:


Anybody else wonder why Mr. Obama doesn't help the Christians in Muslim countries to come here? They're really facing persecution, death, etc. There are 2 young women awaiting execution in Iran (click HERE) for having come to Christian faith. Maybe we should register some political outrage? Or, maybe there just isn't the sufficient outrage. WHY NOT? I know that, though 85% of us are Christians, we're aren't a Christian country (Click HERE), according to Mr. Obama, but..........?!

Thanks to Carol for the video tip.

Judeo Christian Nation...........this guy is worth listening to

Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Republican, Virginia....very well said.
No matter where you stand on the subject, at least we can all learn something from this guy.

"Godless Europe...?" By Mr. Z

Religion on the Line

How the Left destroys the very foundation of our countries

When I grew up in Germany, one of the compulsory subjects throughout my life as a pupil was religion, up to the baccalaureate at 2 hours per week, split into Catholics and Lutherans. We learned not only about specific religious values, but also about the history of our and other religions and the impact religion had on countries, including moral values and ethical behavior.

That has basically not changed in German schools. Until three years ago, that is, when the Senate of the German State of Berlin with its red-red government (Socialists and Die Linke – the remnants of the Eastern German Communist Party) decided that religion as a compulsory subject didn’t fit Berlin's multi-culti society any more and replaced it by a compulsory Ethics class, leaving the possibility for pupils to take a voluntary class in religion (which meant that practically nobody would take it because of an already demanding and tight schedule of work).

The German conservative and centrist parties, CDU and FDP, got enough signatures to stage a public referendum. They were supported by many prominent politicians (such as Angela Merkel) and other prominent public figures who wanted to keep religion in the schools. Financing the other side were the socialists, communists, unions and the like, spearheaded by the socialist homosexual Mayor of Berlin, Wowereit who, as the head of the red-red government, made it very difficult for the „Pro Reli“ coalition to succeed. The Senate used taxpayer money to counter this attempt to reintroduce religion as a subject (a court ultimately disallowed that), and set the date in a way which made it unlikely that the referendum would succeed (instead of setting it at the same date as the upcoming elections for the European Parliament which would get many more voters out, of course). So, the referendum failed on two accounts: (1) Pro Religion reached only 48.5% of the votes, and (2) because of low participation, they fell substantially short of the second requirement – 25% of all eligible voters.

But it is worth looking at another angle of the results: In the Western districts of Berlin, the participation was 41% and the approval rate for Pro Reli was 60%. In the Eastern parts of Berlin, the participation was only a little more than 20%, and the disapproval rate of Pro Reli was 77%.

Here is what that means: While the Western part upheld conventional values, the Eastern part refused those overwhelmingly. The difference is the fact that these people have been indoctrinated by 40+ years of the Communists. These are the same people who, according to recent polls, still believe that the GDR (East Germany) was not so bad after all, and still vote for the Communists. As a consequence, it can be said that the Christian heritage of Germany and the corresponding moral values had been more or less completely wiped out there by the Communist regime of East Germany.

This referendum showed exactly what to expect in the future: The socialists and communists are giving up any notion of a privileged situation of a country because of the benefits of its Christian heritage (or Judeo-Christian heritage as it's rightfully called here in the U.S.). Everything is watered down, leaving a lowest denominator situation so that nobody „is hurt“. It also shows how long it takes to negate the effect of communist indoctrination.

Look at Berlin to know what is going to happen to other countries where the Left is so busy at work............by Mr Z

Sunday Faith Blog: HAPPY EASTER!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today! Enjoy the classic Easter hymn!

Another treat is at Defiant Infidel's blog, a video created by his wonderful blog partner, Miradena. What a gift that is, don't miss it!

The promise of Easter to us all................

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him; "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said,"since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23

"remember me" that was all the criminal had to say.



A very HAPPY EASTER to you all from Mr. and Mrs. Z....









z













oh, yes...I DID have chocolate!





z

Character counts......or did?

Yes, CHARACTER COUNTS. Please see Law and Order's newest blog piece "America?" THAT is good character personified.

NEW PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and others, We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes .

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care . That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair..

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights .

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

There's chocolate like this:







and then there's CHOCOLATE like that in this link.....Enjoy, Chocolate lovers!

2 more days till CHOCOLATE! ( click under 'chocolate' and you'll remember why I'M OBSESSED!! Please, just put up with me... thanks!)

z

Good Friday

For such a very important day on the Christian calender, I thought I'd make special note with this hymn..

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mind, that were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!

(Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Tune: adapted by Edward Miler, 1731-1807)

"Thou has loved me everlastingly, unchangeably, may I love thee as I am loved.." The Valley of the Vision

A special thanks to my excellent and amazing friend, Elmer's Brother, for the video....what a gift! Thanks xx
z
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6 more days until CHOCOLATE...........

Help me, God!