Ancient Roman road discovered in Jerusalem

As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 25, 2013:

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A section of a 1,800-year-old ancient road from the Roman period running from Jerusalem to Jaffa was uncovered in northern Jerusalem.

The road was discovered during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Israeli-Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in advance of the installation of a drainage pipe.

The road made of large, flat stones and bound on both sides by curbstones is badly worn in some areas, indicating that it was used extensively and repaired several times.

Other segments of the road had been excavated previously by the Antiquities Authority, but nothing as well preserved as the section recently uncovered in Jerusalem, David Yeger, excavation director on behalf of the authority, said in a statement.

“The Romans attached great importance to the roads in the empire,” he said. “They invested large sums of money and utilized the most advanced technological aids of the period in order to crisscross the empire with roads.”

The Beit Hanina section was part of a Roman road that ran to the coast following the same path as the modern Route 443.

50 years ago: Congress on Prophecy emphasizes the Lord's return

If there seems to be confusion or neglect of truth regarding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in 2013, the same appears to have been the case in 1963:

The Congress on Prophecy held in the Moody Memorial Church from May 12 to 19, 1963, was convened by the American Board of Missions to the Jews to meet the great need of the hour. Because of new theological trends sweeping over our land, the blessed hope, that great bulwark of the believer, is becoming blurred. It is not at all strange that as a corollary of unscriptural teachings that there should also be a rethinking of the place of Israel in God's plan. Once more Satan attacks the earthly channel of God's blessing, the Jew. This was the challenge of the hour: to reaffirm with no uncertain sound the great truths concerning the second coming of our Lord. Emil D. Gruen, Foreword to Focus on Prophecy, Charles L. Feinberg, Editor, 1964, p.7).

Confusion is the hallmark of Christian theology today. This is true, moreover, not only in the realm of liberalism, but in the area of orthodoxy as well. As issues have become more blurred with the passing years, it has been imperative that the old truths of the premillennial eschatology be set forth with clarity and conviction. To this end the American Board of Missions to the Jews convened the Congress on Prophecy at the hostoric Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Illinois from May 12 to 19, 1963. (Charles L. Feinberg, Preface to Focus on Prophecy, p. 9)

American Board of Missions to the Jews, founded by Rabbi Leopold Cohn in 1894, is now known as Chosen People Ministries.

The speakers at the congress included--among others--Dr. Feinberg, Dr. John Walvoord, and Daniel Fuchs. Topics included--among others--Israel in the Tribulation; The Future of Russia; Habakkuk in the Nuclear Age; The prophetic Foundation of the Church; Is the End of the Age at Hand?; The Relation of the Church to the Great Tribulation; and Prophecy and the Evangelization of the Jews. Representative messages were collected into a book titled Focus on Prophecy, edited by Dr. Feinberg and published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1964. Although the messages delivered at the Congress on Prophecy are now 50 years old, they remain relevant, and the book was a blessing to this blogger. It's worth hunting for a copy of Focus on Prophecy; I recommend searching Advanced Book Exchange.

50 years ago: U.S. Supreme Court outlaws required Bible reading in public schools

On June 17, 1963, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools (go here to see the text of the judgement). The case had been initiated by Edward Schempp, a Unitarian Universalist and resident of Abington School District in Pennsylvania who was trying to probit the enforcement of a Pennsylvania state law requiring that at least 10 Bible verses be read, without comment, in school at the beginning of each school day in the public schools. Murray v. Curlett, a similar suit initiated by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, was consolidated with Mr. Schempp's case on appeal to the Supreme Court.

The court upheld its ruling in Engel v. Vitale (1962) that it was unconstitutional for state officials to prescribe an official school prayer, and ruled that the Pennsylvania law and similar laws violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment prohibition on the establishment of religion.

I'll leave it to American readers to figure out how the direction of their country was influenced by the Supreme Court's rulings in Engel v. Vitale and Abington School District v. Schempp.

Canadian Forces Base Edmonton: Standing on guard for Sodom

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:24-32

Here's yet more evidence that Trudeaupia, which still goes by the official name of "Canada," is a rotting corpse that will the Lord will destroy with the brightness of His coming. As reported by John Cotter of Canadian Press, June 6, 2013:

EDMONTON - In what is being called a first in Canada, a rainbow-coloured Pride flag is to be raised at an Alberta military base Friday in a ceremony to be attended by senior officers and civilian members of the GLBT community.

Master Warrant Officer John McDougall made the request for the flag-raising a few weeks ago through the military chain of command at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton.

McDougall, who is a company sergeant-major in a field medical unit, said he was surprised when his request was quickly granted.

He said times have changed since he joined the army as a private 23 years ago.

"This is a huge turnaround from what used to be. When I first joined, I would never even consider telling anyone that I was gay. It just wasn't macho," he said.

"To be at the stage now where it is not only recognized and accepted and tolerated, but the base commander of the one of the largest bases of Canada is willing to have that flag put up, it is just an amazing feeling."

The Pride flag, a symbol for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, is to be flown near the base headquarters building for one week to coincide with Edmonton's Pride festival.

Lt. (Navy) Jessica MacDonald, a military spokeswoman, said people at the sprawling base that includes infantry and armoured units have been supportive.

There has been no backlash, she said.

"The flag-raising is really a symbol to all members of the GLBT community, whether they are civilian or serving members, that the Canadian Forces promotes principles of inclusiveness, equality and dignity."

The ceremony is to include base commander Lt.-Col. John Reissenstein, soldiers, civilians from the GLBT community and their supporters.

McDougall, 47, said he will be there with his partner of 18 years.

After years of putting his life on the line in faraway places such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Sierra Leone, being recognized and respected for who he is will be important, he said.

"It is a big event that it is happening and for the first time we will have a Pride flag flying at the base," he said. "That being said, in this day and age of tolerance, it shouldn't be a big issue."

And as reported by Alexandra Sabjek in the Edmonton Journal, June 7, 2013:

...Canadian Forces Base Edmonton marked its recognition of the week by raising a rainbow-coloured Pride flag near base headquarters.

It’s believed to be the first time in Canada a military base has done such a flag raising.

Almost 100 people were at for the ceremony, including Master Warrant Officer John McDougall, who made the request. In an interview earlier this week, he said he never would have thought of telling anyone he was gay when he joined the army 23 years ago. His partner of 18 years was also there.

“The mood was jubilant, everyone was in really high spirits,” said Fraser Logan, a spokesman for the base. There were speeches by military personnel and members of Edmonton’s LGBTQ community.

“It was a low-key for a pride event but definitely on par for a military event,” Logan said.

This isn't what my father fought for when he served in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. From now on, when I hear reports of Canadian armed forces casualties, my eyes will be very, very dry.

In other news on the sodomite front, Trudaeupia's "Conservative" government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to put public health at risk by caving in to he politically-correct perversion lobby, as reported by Helen Branswell of Canadian Press, May 22, 2013:

TORONTO - Canada is lifting a nearly 30-year-old ban on gay men giving blood, though for the time being only those who are abstinent will be allowed to donate.

The new policy, which Canadian Blood Services hopes to have in place by mid-summer, will allow men to give blood if they haven't had sex with another man for five years before the donation.

The agency understands that the length of this deferral won't satisfy all critics. But agency executive Dana Devine said this is the first step in what Canadian Blood Services hopes will be a continued effort to work out what is the best approach to incorporating gay men into the donation community...

...The policy change has been in the works for several years and has involved consultation with groups representing would-be donors as well as hemophiliacs who rely on blood transfusions and others who could be harmed if screening systems aren't adequate to keep pathogens out of the blood supply.

Health Canada gave approval to Canadian Blood Services and its Quebec equivalent, Hema-Quebec, on Wednesday.

The Canadian AIDS Society, which has been working with Health Canada and the two blood agencies, welcomed the move as a first step.

"While a five-year deferral is still too long, we see it as an important step in the right direction," said Monique Doolittle-Romas, the organization's CEO.

"Ultimately, though, we'd like to see a model based on a donor's behaviour rather than one based on sexual orientation and gender."

The federal New Democrats echoed that position, saying a five-year deferral still discriminates against gay men. The system would be safer if it focused on screening out high-risk donors, whatever their sexual orientation, they said.

"A five-year ban on the ability for gay men to donate blood is not science-based and is still just as discriminatory as a lifetime ban," health critic Libby Davies and Randall Garrison, critic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer issues, said in a statement...

...The lifetime ban against donations by gay men was instituted in the mid-1980s by the Red Cross, which was then responsible for the blood supply system. The move was taken when it was realized that the alarming new disease AIDS, which was then untreatable, could be contracted through blood transfusions.

In fact, hundreds of Canadians were infected with HIV and-or hepatitis C in the era before tests to screen out contaminated blood were developed and adopted by the Red Cross. A Royal Commission, the Krever Inquiry, later determined the Red Cross had not moved quickly enough and recommended stripping it of authority for the blood system. It also called for compensation for people injured by tainted blood.

That history cast a long shadow over the work to lift the lifetime ban and explains the current go-slow approach...

...A number of other countries already allow gay men to give blood, and some use a shorter deferral period than Canada has settled on.

In Britain and Australia, gay men who haven't had sex with other men for at least a year are eligible to donate. In South Africa the deferral period is six months. But the United States still retains a lifetime ban.