600 years ago: The martyrdom of Jerome of Prague

On May 30, 1416, Jerome, aka Hieronymous, was burned at the stake after being convicted by Roman Catholic Church authorities of heresy. Jerome was a Roman Catholic who became a follower of the doctrines of English reformer John Wycliffe and especially his fellow Bohemian reformer, Jan Hus.

When the Council of Constance--convened by Antipope John XXIII and held in Constance, Germany--opened in 1414, Mr. Hus was summoned, and subsequently burned at the stake as a heretic on July 6, 1415. Jerome followed him there, and was imprisoned in April 1415. He became seriously ill, and recanted his support for Messrs. Wycliffe and Hus in public sessions of the Council in September 1415. The Council doubted the sincerity of Jerome's confession and retried him on May 23 and 26, 1416, wherupon Jerome withdrew his recantation. He was burned at the stake and thus became the first Hussite martyr. It should be kept in mind that the Roman Catholc Church has never apologized for murdering true Christians such as Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague, and the doctrines and practices that these saints opposed are still in place.

See my previous post, 600 years ago: The martyrdom of Jan Hus (July 6, 2015).

Hindu Gurus in India pray for Donald Trump's election as President of the United States

It isn't just Southern Baptist convention pastors such as David Jeremiah and Robert Jeffress, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., and New Apostolic Reformation charismaniacs such as Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Jan Crouch, and Lance Wallnau who have laid hands and "anointed" Republican Party front-runner Donald Trump in his campaign for President of the United States of America in the 2016 election. As reported by Associated Press, May 11, 2016:

NEW DELHI: Donald Trump may find it tough to get Republican leaders behind his campaign, but he's got some faraway fans trying to get the gods on his side.

Around a dozen members of a right-wing Indian Hindu group lit a ritual fire and chanted mantras Wednesday asking the Hindu gods to help Trump win the United States (US) presidential election.

While Trump has dominated the Republican primary race to decide the party's candidate for the November election, his calls for temporarily banning Muslims from America and cracking down on terrorist groups abroad have earned him some fans in India.

"The whole world is screaming against Islamic terrorism, and even India is not safe from it," said Vishnu Gupta, founder of the Hindu Sena nationalist group. "Only Donald Trump can save humanity."

Members of the group gathered on a blanket spread out in a New Delhi protest park along with a collection of statues depicting gods including Shiva and Hanuman ─ as well as photos of a smiling Trump.

Above them hung a banner declaring support for Trump "because he is hope for humanity against Islamic terror."

The group chanted Sanskrit prayers asking the gods to favor Trump in the election, and threw offerings such as seeds, grass and ghee ─ or clarified butter ─ into a small ritual fire.

It hardly needs saying--but I'll say it, anyway--that if Donald Trump is elected President of the United States in November 2016, it won't be because of the prayers of Hindu gurus, because the gods to whom they're praying don't exist, and are in fact demons (see, e.g., Leviticus 17:7; I Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20). The God of the Bible is sovereign over the affairs of men, and in His answers to prayer.