Antichrist Ambrose University President Gordon T. Smith continues to promote ecumenism and Social Gospel

As reported by Peter Biggs in Light magazine, February 18, 2018 (bold in original):

Background

During my research on an article on Worship, some Pastors spoke of their dissatisfaction with the Evangelical ‘liturgy’. Smith’s recent book Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal (Intervarsity Press) is timely. It describes clearly the different approaches to worship. He longs to see these three traditions unite together, and calls for an integration of the three traditions in one faith.

What is your general impression of how the church needs to be responding to our current culture?

First, the whole point of Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal is to stress how vital it is that we learn from one another and not presume that within our own camp we have all the wisdom and grace we need to navigate the complex world of rising secularism. This posture of learning – and humility – also means that we will need to learn how to seek common cause with Christian believers from other theological and spiritual traditions. In our case here at Ambrose University, for example, I am very pleased that we have been able to establish a strong rapport with the local Roman Catholic community. We have our differences, of course; but we have a shared commitment to the ancient truths of the Creeds, and we share common concerns on a whole range of spiritual and ethical issues that directly impact our city and our country.

Second, it is also likely the case that in a secular society we can expect to experience various forms or expression of persecution. However, as 1 Peter stresses, let’s be wise on this and genuinely suffer for the gospel, not for the lack of political or diplomatic skill. We need to be discerning when it comes to which battles we fight and where and when it is more appropriate to not be in constant battle mode.

How is the seminary preparing future Pastors and leaders for the main challenges?

My observation is that in our increasingly secular society there are at least three skills or competencies that need to be cultivated in and with our students – whom we view, of course, to be future leaders of the church in our country and beyond our shores. These are:

1. Preaching for Monday morning. Meaning, of course, that it is not about preaching so that our church grows – getting people into the church – but rather preaching that is focused on equipping and empowering women and men for their service in the world – in business, the arts, education and, indeed, in every sphere and sector of society.

2. Peace-making. A secular society has no real focus or centre; and thus it should not surprise us that the society is marked by very significant levels of conflict. And surely, if we are going to give leadership to the church at such a time as this, the capacity to be an instrument of peace is rather crucial. We need people who are skilled in managing conflict constructively – skilled in conflict resolution and addressing how we can be less polarized within our society. This means, of course, that we need to learn how to address conflict in the church.

3. And third, political savvy. When I was a pastor back in the 1970s, we had little if any civic involvement. But pastors today need political skills – the capacity to engage the social and civic leaders – developing connections, cultivating political capital, advocating for essential causes but all, of course, not in a mind-set of a battle against our culture but as people who are seeking the peace of the city [to use the language of Jeremiah 29].

It is for this reason that I think we need to re-read 1 Peter, which is a New Testament book written to the church “in exile” – well, actually, a diaspora community, and thus one that might be an example to us of what it means to be a minority presence in a culture and society.

Your recent book addresses different worship traditions. It seems your concern is that each actually de-emphasizes either preaching, the sacraments or the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Yes that is true. Take preaching… even the pulpit in some churches has disappeared to be replaced by a coffee table and stool. The ‘preacher’ will have a friendly ‘chat’ with the congregation.

This is fine, but only to a point; it is crucial that we not lose sight of the power of the presence of the word, the scriptures, as the authoritative guide and text for the community of faith and that as a church we are formed and re-formed by the word which challenges, encourages and admonishes us.

Dr. Smith's reference to Jeremiah 29 isn't the first time I've seen that passage of scripture taken out of context in order to support a Social Gospel agenda. As always, it's necessary to look at scripture in context. In Jeremiah 25, God states that because Israel had disobeyed him, He was going to punish the nation with 70 years of captivity in Babylon. In Jeremiah 27, God tells Judah to serve the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar while in captivity. Chapter 28 introduces the false prophet Hananiah, who prophesies that God will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar "from the neck of all nations" within two years. In chapter 29, Jeremiah writes to those who had already gone into exile, who were apparently aware of the prophecies of people such as Hananiah, and were apparently receptive to false prophecies of an early deliverance. Jeremiah is warning the exiles not to be deceived nor to encourage the false prophets. God has determined that the Israelites' exile in Babylon will definitely be for 70 years--which, by that time, was the length of the average human lifespan (Psalms 90:10). The exiles are not going to be delivered during the lifetime of most of the people, and they're not the vanguard of invading army. They're going to be there for a long time, so they should build houses, settle down, have families, and increase in number. This is the context in which Jeremiah 29:7 says:

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

God is telling the Israelites that he's not going to deliver the exiles or destroy Nebuchadnezzar or his kingdom for the next 70 years, so if they pray and seek for the peace and prosperity of Babylon, God will allow the exiles to prosper. In Jeremiah 30 and subsequent chapters, God promises to restore the people of Israel from exile. These passages of scripture are written to, for, and about Israel in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 29:7 isn't a message to the New Testament church to engage in a Social Gospel program of making this a better world. As always, never trust a Jesuit.

See my previous posts on Ambrose University:

Why is an Alliance-Nazarene college named after a Roman Catholic saint? (March 2, 2009)

The Ambrose-contemplative connection (March 4, 2009)

Ambrose University College trains Nazarene pastors using materials from a company with ties to Mormonism (March 6, 2009)

Ambrose University College and "Transformation" (March 6, 2009)

The Outhouse (aka The Shack) in God's house (May 5, 2009)

Ambrose Seminary teaches contemplative spirituality in 2009-2010 (February 24, 2010)

Ambrose University College hires Jesuit-educated contemplative spirituality proponent as its new president (May 30, 2012)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

Antichrist Ambrose University College continues on its downward, leftward, and Romeward course (March 8, 2014)

An Anglican Church of Canada priest who's an example of a pagan disguised as a Christian

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:5

Yet another indication of the apostasy of the Anglican Church of Canada is this transcript of a segment of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program Tapestry, hosted by Mary Hynes, February 25, 2018 (bold, links in original):

Here at Tapestry we often receive personal and thoughtful letters from our listeners.

But a letter from Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck in Saskatchewan was unlike any we'd ever received before.

"Greetings from the prairies!

I am a 'ChristoPagan' ... I practice magic, study the runes, and talk to trees and fairies; ...and I am a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

AND I'm an ordained priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. For 15 years I've preached and pastored churches in my diocese. I'm a regional dean, and I train other priests, deacons, and lay ministers.

The Rev. Canon Shawn Sanford Beck
...But it has been a very interesting journey for me, almost thirty years of intense reflection and "internal inter-faith dialogue", culminating finally in a fully blended path.

Am I alone in this? Are there others out there who are living bi-spiritual lives?"

We reached out to Sandford Beck to find out how he lives within these two faiths.

"My theology is Christian, my cosmology is pagan."

As a self-described 'farm boy', Sanford Beck always had a deep love of the land and a respect for the mystical aspect of nature. He currently lives with his family in an off-the-grid homestead in Saskatchewan.

Sanford Beck converted to Christianity as a teen and decided to become an Anglican minister. He has worked for years as a chaplain with the Indigenous community in Saskatoon and with the LGBTQ community.

The whole time, he was also drawn to Celtic culture and mythology.

"A deep rooted part of my own personal spiritual journey was making a pilgrimage over to Iona… just immersing myself in the writings of the early Celtic saints from the 5th to 7th century," says Rev. Sandford Beck. "I'm not making this stuff up just out of thin air. There's definitely roots way back in our past."

Calling himself a "green priest," Sanford Beck has found a way to integrate these spiritual paths.

"I do identify myself as primarily Christian - heavily influenced and really spiritually transformed by neo-paganism. Specifically it's about bringing in the feminine face of the divine. Bringing in the pagan valuing of nature as sacred. And the pagan sense of the world as alive and magical."

He believes both can work together.

"It's about recognizing that that tree that I've been praying beside, is actually alive and conscious and praying with me. It's about recognizing that if I'm having beef for supper I know who I'm eating, not what I'm eating." he says. "I'm what you call a Christian animist...and the basic premise of animism is that the world is filled with a myriad of neighbours...After you do that for a few years, for me anyway, something crystallizes about where I find my place in the universe."

Sanford Beck has written a book about Christian Animism.

Not everyone agrees with his blended approach. ​

"Certainly, I think a lot of contemporary pagan druids would not be happy with the way I've blended traditions, and nor would a number of conservative Christians. But I take heart from the number of people who seem to resonate with these ideas, and also from the fact that Saint Columba of Ireland once referred to Jesus Christ as 'my chief Druid'."

Click LISTEN...to hear Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck's views on the afterlife, the nature of evil, and how he is raising his children with both spiritual traditions.

For those interested in learning more about Christo-paganism, Sanford Beck recommends the following writers

READING LIST:
Matthew Fox - "He's a bit of a hero for me… He opens up the Christian tradition in a way that makes it safe for people to explore outside the Christian faith."

StarHawk - "As a first go-to person, I usually recommend Starhawk."

Philip Carr-Gomm - "Is the current head of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, as somebody who can really make a very gentle and open and helpful sort-of defense of neo-paganism."

Dr. Ronald Hutton - "He's a historian of religion and he's written a couple of really interesting books chronicling various forms of paganism…[He] can describe how many of those different traditions have grown and changed and morphed into each other over the centuries."

Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

"Tolkien was deeply involved with North Western European mythologies - Celtic mythology, Nordic...Finnish...he drank of it very deeply. And yet he held that all together with his Christian Catholic faith."

"Tolkien's worldview is what I consider a form of Christian animism - as is C.S Lewis' in some ways - a sense that the world is always so much more and so much deeper than we give it credit for."

"Christo-paganism" isn't Christian at all; the mixture of truth and error produces error, and any attempt to combine Christianity with paganism will produce paganism in Christian dress.

It comes as no surprise to this blogger to see C.S. Lewis listed as one of this pagan priest's recommended authors, along with "Cosmic Christ" promoter Matthew Fox and witch Starhawk. I've noticed that Mr. Lewis is popular with New Agers and with "Christians" who want to have Christianity as the basis for public morality, but whose own lives aren't characterized by holiness. For more on C.S. Lewis, see, for example, the Living 4 His Glory post False Teacher Friday - Learn to Discern - What You Need to Be Aware of Before You Decide to Share or Post Another Quote by C.S. Lewis (February 9, 2018).

HT: Dracul Van Helsing

Druze spiritual leader discusses relations between Druze and Jews

The Druze are an Arabic people, most of them living in the Middle East, whose unitarian faith is a mixture of teachings based on the Epistles of Wisdom, including the Old Testament, Qu'ran, and works of philosophers such as Plato and Socrates. The Druze also believe that their "Knowledgeable Initiates" have superior knowledge to even these.

Their leader recently visited American Jewish Committee headquarters in New York to discuss the plight of his people in Syria, as well as Druze-Jewish relations. As reported by the American Jewish Committee, January 22, 2018:

New York - Sheikh Moafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, delivered today an urgent plea for the safety of the Druze community in Syria. “The Druze in Idlib face possible genocide in the coming days,” said Tarif.

The Islamist terror group Jabhat al-Nusr is forcing conversions of Druze in Idlib, and seizing property, while destroying a Druze holy site and cemetery there, he said.

The Sheikh said the situation for the Druze people is most difficult in Syria. Most of the estimated one million Druze live in Lebanon and Syria, and about 140,000 are in Israel.

Tarif, who lives in a Druze village of Julis in the Galilee region in northern Israel, spoke admirably of the historic relationship between the Druze and Jewish peoples, dating to the founding of the Druze faith more than 1,000 years ago. “Druze-Jewish relations in Israel are a model for minority-majority relations,” said Tarif. Druze are the only minority group in Israel drafted into the IDF.

Still, the Sheikh challenged the perception that the Druze are in a better position than other Arab citizens in Israeli society. “The government is not giving full support for a loyal minority,” said Tarif, noting, as one example, that Druze veterans who want to attend Israeli colleges and universities need better financial assistance.

Socioeconomic gaps between Druze and Jewish societies are not getting the level of attention that has been devoted recently to the majority of Arab citizens. “Without the support of the Israeli government and American Jewish organizations, we don’t have a chance to improve our situation,” said Tarif.

Tarif noted that the creation in 2007 of the Council of Religious Community Leaders in Israel, with the assistance of Rabbi David Rosen, AJC International Director of Interreligious Affairs, had significantly improved cooperation among the country’s faith groups. The body has deepened understanding among Christians, Druze, Jews and Muslims in Israel, and was instrumental in calming Arab-Jewish tensions in Acco several years ago.

On Syria, Tarif said cooperation between the U.S. and Russia is essential to guarantee security for minorities in Syria. “The U.S. disappeared from Syria, a big mistake. It created the possibility for Iran and Hezbollah to enter.”

American Jewish Committee mourns the passing of Mormon President Thomas Monson

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormon Church, believes that its members are true Israel either by blood or adoption. Mormon founder Joseph Smith taught that when "Gentiles" were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the "Holy Ghost" literally performed a transfusion, replacing Gentile blood with Jewish blood:

...The effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. History of the Church, Volume 3, p. 380, cited in Ed Decker & Dave Hunt, The God Makers (1984, 1997).

As a result, Mormons have historically referred to themselves as being true Israel, while referring to Jews as "Gentiles." Given this strange doctrine, it seems surprising that Jews--or at least, Jewish organizations--seem to have relatively friendly relations with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as compared to other evangelistic religious movements.

Another distinctive Latter-day Saints practice is that of baptizing the souls of dead people into the Mormon Church. They derive it from I Corinthians 15:29:

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

Gleason Archer, in his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (1982), pp. 401-402, provides a helpful explanation of a verse that I've always had trouble understanding. It seems to have been the practice in the early church of Christians who were on their deathbeds to call their loved ones to them and exhort them to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Enough people came to know the Lord through such deathbed testimonies as to be mentioned by the apostle Paul in the passage above. The phrase "for the dead" really means "for the sake of the dead" in the original Greek, meaning that those who had come to Christ as the result of their loved one's deathbed exhortation were being baptized for the sake of that loved one. 1st-century readers would not have understood "for the dead" in I Corinthians 15:29 as meaning "on behalf of." The Mormon Church's understanding of this passage is erroneous, and has led to an unbiblical practice.

Jewish organizations took offense when they became aware that Jews who had perished in the Holocaust during World War II were being baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2010, the Mormons promised to discontinue the practice, but it comes as no surprise to this blogger that in 2017 they were still doing it. After all, if baptism into the Mormon Church is necessary for salvation, how can they refuse something to the Jews that they do for the supposed salvation of everyone else?

Tensions over the issue of baptism for the dead notwithstanding, the American Jewish Committee issued the following statement on the passing of Mormon "Prophet, Seer and Revelator" Thomas Monson, who died on January 2, 2018 (bold in original):

AJC Mourns Passing of LDS President Thomas Monson
January 3, 2018 — New York

AJC stands with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in mourning the passing of Thomas Monson, who served as LDS President since 2008. He was 90.

“Under Thomas Monson’s leadership, AJC and the LDS Church deepened a mutual relationship, focusing on complex religious liberty issues, humanitarian disaster relief, sustaining religious identity, support for the State of Israel, and other shared concerns,” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations. “Significantly, President Monson led the church in renewing in 2012 its commitment to prevent posthumous proxy baptisms of Holocaust victims and other well-known Jews.”

The relationship with the LDS Church, a fast-growing faith group, has been a priority for AJC in its pioneering interreligious work. High-level national AJC delegations visited LDS Church headquarters in August 2012 and November 2013, and in February 2014, LDS apostles visited AJC’s global headquarters in New York.

In addition, several AJC regional delegations visited with key LDS figures in Salt Lake City, and AJC has initiated LDS-Jewish dialogues in multiple cities across the United States. Senior LDS delegations have met with AJC leadership in Jerusalem, as well.

“President Monson played a key role in deepening Jewish-Mormon relations,” said Marans. He had major success in the supervision and expansion of the Church’s welfare program, and its humanitarian work and developmental projects around the world to help those in need, regardless of faith.

Monson had said, "I'm a great believer that by working together we eliminate the weakness of one standing alone and substitute the strength of many standing together."

See my posts Mormon leaders attempt to restrict baptisms of dead Holocaust victims (March 14, 2012) and Researcher claims that Mormons are still baptizing Holocaust victims and other dead Jews (December 29, 2017).

American Jewish Committee mourns the passing of Billy Graham

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: John 15:19a

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

As reported by the American Jewish Committee, February 21, 2018 (video embed inserted by blogger):

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2018
AJC mourns the passing of Rev. Billy Graham, a longtime friend of the organization, who died today at age 99.

Graham was the acknowledged leader of America's Evangelical Christians for more than 65 years, and a pillar of the country's religious and spiritual leadership.

Rabbi A. James Rudin, AJC's Senior Interreligious Adviser and well-known interfaith ambassador, worked with Graham on a variety of projects and programs. He noted that the world-famous evangelist produced the film "His Land," a glowingly positive tribute to Israel.

"The film has been viewed by millions of people since its release in 1970," said Rudin, adding that "Billy Graham was also a strong international Christian leader in the successful struggle to bring freedom to Jews in the former Soviet Union."

In 1973, during the Evangelical-sponsored "Key '73" conversion campaign in the United States, Graham hosted Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, then the world-renowned Director of AJC's Interreligious Affairs Department, and Gerald Strober, an AJC staff member, at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. At that meeting, Graham released an historic public statement that criticized Christian proselytizing efforts specifically directed at Jews.

Graham declared: "I believe God has always had a special relationship with the Jewish people….In my evangelistic efforts, I have never felt called to single out Jews as Jews…Just as Judaism frowns on proselytizing that is coercive, or that seeks to commit men against their will, so do I."

However, in 1972, during a private meeting in the White House with President Richard Nixon, Graham uttered a series of anti-Jewish remarks that contained prejudicial stereotypes and caricatures.



"Billy Graham later regretted his highly negative remarks about Jews and Judaism. He publicly apologized for them and asked for forgiveness during his 2002 'Crusade' in New York City," said Rudin. "I had a private conversation with him at that time, where he expressed deep personal remorse and asked me to convey his sincere apologies to the entire Jewish community."

Rudin added: "Billy Graham was an original on the American and world stages, and we are unlikely to see his type of religious leadership again anytime soon."

The January 1978 issue of McCall's magazine contained an interview with Billy Graham, which, unfortunately, is not available online in its entirety. The article included a statement by Rev. Graham that he enjoyed warm relations with the Rabbinical Council in Jerusalem. That's odd, because the Lord Jesus Christ didn't at all enjoy warm relations with the rabbinical leaders in Jerusalem.

Billy Graham said in a conversation with President Nixon that Jewish opposition to Christian evangelism would stir up anti-Semitism in the United States, but Rev. Graham wasn't referring to evangelism of Jews.



The apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said that the gospel is to the Jew first; according to Billy Graham's reported statement from his meeting with Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, the gospel isn't to the Jew at all. To quote Sherlock Holmes out of context, "Most singular! Most remarkable!"

See my post A telephone conversation between Richard Nixon and Billy Graham--February 21, 1973 (December 6, 2009)

Billy Graham to "lie in honor" at U.S. Capitol

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: John 15:19a

As reported by Lavendrick Smith and Jim Morrill in the Charlotte Observer, February 22, 2018 (links in original):

The Rev. Billy Graham will lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol next week, an honor accorded to only 33 Americans – 11 of whom were presidents.

Graham will be the first private citizen so honored since Rosa Parks died in 2005.

House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday that Graham’s body will lie in the Capitol rotunda from Feb. 28 to March 1 so the public can pay their respects. Graham died Wednesday morning at his home in Montreat at the age of 99...

...“As soaring a figure as he was, Rev. Graham connected with people on an elemental level,” Ryan said Wednesday in a statement. “His reach was rooted in decency, humility, and love. He set a tone of ecumenical inclusion, advocated civil rights, and refused to accept the segregation of those attending his crusades.”

Before going to Washington, Graham’s body will lie in repose in Charlotte Monday and Tuesday at the Graham Family Homeplace at the Billy Graham Library. The public can pay its respects both days, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Graham’s funeral service is scheduled for Friday, March 2.

The last person to lie in state at the Capitol was Hawaii’s Daniel Inouye, a U.S. senator and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient in 2012.

Henry Clay was the first American to lie in state at the Capitol in 1852. Abraham Lincoln was the next, in 1865.

The term lying “in honor” dates from 1998, when two Capitol police officers were killed in the line of duty. Graham will be only the fourth private citizen to lie in honor.

“It is an honor because it is not something that is bestowed on many people,” said Kate Scott of the Senate historian’s office. “Generally it’s an honor reserved for elected officials or high profile (citizens). I think that tells you something about Billy Graham’s significance in our national history.”

See my post TV Guide salutes Billy Graham as an "American Icon" (November 26, 2013)

U.K. High Court rejects parents' wishes, orders toddler's life support ended

For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. Proverbs 8:35-36

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 (also Proverbs 16:25)

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,...
...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; Romans 1:22,28

Surely some future historian, surveying our times, will note sardonically that it took no more than three decades to transform a war crime into an act of compassion, thereby enabling the victors in the war against Nazism to mount their own humane holocaust, which in its range and in the number of its victims, may soon far surpass the Nazi one. It is significant that, whereas the Nazi holocaust has received lavish TV and film coverage, the humane one goes rolling along largely unnoticed by the media. Malcolm Muggeridge, Sanctity of Life, Chatelaine, December 1979, p. 138

More evidence that Western society isn't progressing, but regressing into ancient paganism--in the case of medicine, going back to the days before Hippocrates, when physicians were as likely to kill their patients as heal them. As reported by Catholic News Agency, February 22, 2018 (links in original):

LIVERPOOL, England – A British court ruled Tuesday that physicians can stop providing life support, against his parents' wishes, to Alfie Evans, a 21-month old boy who has an unknown neurological degenerative condition.

Evans is in a “semi-vegetative state” and on life support at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors have said further efforts are futile and went to court to argue that continuing treatment, as his parents wish, is not in Evans' best interest.

Justice Anthony Hayden of the High Court ruled Feb. 20 that “Alfie's need now is for good quality palliative care … He requires peace, quiet, and stability, so that he may conclude his life as he has lived it.”

“I am satisfied that continued ventilatory support is no longer in Alfie’s interests. This decision I appreciate will be devastating news to Alfie’s parents. I hope they will take time to read this judgement again.”

Alder Hey Children's Hospital has said it always tries to agree with patients on plans for care: “Our aim is always to try and reach an agreement with parents about the most appropriate care plan for their child. Unfortunately there are sometimes rare situations such as this where agreement cannot be reached and the treating team believe that continued active treatment is not in a child's best interests.”

The hospital may withdraw Evans' ventilation on Friday.

Alfie's parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, are considering appealing the decision.

His doctors have described his condition as untreatable, but his parents are requesting their son’s transfer to the Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital in Rome for further diagnosis and possible treatment.

Evans' case echoes that of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill English infant who died in July 2017 after being taken off life support against his parents' wishes. Gard was 11 months old, and had been at the center of a months-long legal debate regarding parental rights and human life.

Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital treating Gard also went to court to take him off of life support, saying his parent's decision to maintain treatment was not in his interest.

Though Gard's parents raised more than $1.6 million for his treatment and had offers from hospitals in Europe and the US to give him experimental treatments, a High Court judge ordered that he be taken off life support.

Discussing Gard's situation with CNA in June 2017, Dr. Melissa Moschella, a Catholic University of America philosophy professor, said: “It seems to me completely wrongheaded that the state should be stepping in here when the decision that the parents are making is really aimed at the best interests of the child.”

“It’s not crazy, it’s not abusive, it’s not neglectful. It’s the decision of parents who want to, however they can, to give their very sick child a chance for life.”

She said such a decision “should be completely within the prerogative of the parent,” citing the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to Moschella, that declaration “clearly indicates that the parents, not the state will have primarily responsibility.”

The reader may note the arrogance of a judge and doctors who presume to know more than parents about what's in the child's best interests; and also that it's doctors who are petitioning the court to be permitted to end a patient's life.

Fundamentalist Mormon sect leader pleads guilty to sexually abusing his 8-year-old "bride"

An egregious example of bad theology leading to bad morality, as reported by Bree Burkitt of the St. George, Utah Spectrum, February 21, 2018 (bold, links in original):

The former self-proclaimed prophet of the Knights of the Crystal Blade pleaded guilty to marrying and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in Southern Utah.

Samuel Warren Shaffer, 34, was charged with first-degree felony rape of a child and one second-degree felony count of child abuse. His plea acknowledges he had engaged in a sexual act with the underage daughter of a fellow member of the Iron County-based religious sect.

The first-degree felony alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in the Utah State Prison, while the child-abuse charges carries an addition one to 15 years. The judge can choose to order the sentences to be served consecutively or concurrently.

The plea deal was vital to prevent the child victims from having to testify, Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett explained.

"We're ecstatic about this plea, not only to hold him accountable with a 25 to life sentence, but also to protect the child from being revictimized."

Shaffer's public defender, Troy Sundquist, said his client wasn't necessarily pleased with the outcome, but he ultimately took the plea deal to protect his children.

"Almost from the beginning that was his main concern — not putting the children through that," he explained. "It was about what was in the best interest for them and for himself, obviously."

Deputy Iron County Attorney Mike Edwards said Shaffer could face additional charges if child pornography is found on a computer currently being searched by law enforcement.

A pre-sentence investigation report will be completed prior to his sentencing April 10.

Child brides
The Beryl man told an Iron County sheriff's investigator he had married John Alvin Coltharp’s underage daughter, according to a search warrant. Coltharp, a fellow sect member, had also allegedly married Shaffer’s 7-year-old daughter. Court documents state Shaffer had physically inspected the girl's genitals to determine if she was a virgin.

Shaffer was the original prophet of the small fundamentalist Mormon religious group. He told investigators in December that he had passed the prophecy on to Coltharp, who is currently being held in Sanpete County on charges of kidnapping and sodomy of a child.

He outlined his beliefs in writings, podcasts and videos hosted on a website titled “The Kingdom of God or Nothing.” Shaffer asserted that his beliefs, including supporting plural marriage and child unions, were handed down to him by God directly on June 22, 2015.

New search warrants recently unsealed in 6th District Court revealed police had expected to find a notebook detailing their plans to kidnap even more children as they prepared for the impending end of the world.

"John and Sam both believed that the end of the world was near," according to the warrant. "Also expected in the recorded notes or revelations is the plan by John and Sam to abduct more family children about the time of the anticipated Muslim invasion of the United States, which was imminent."

Shaffer is still facing two counts of first-degree felony sodomy of a child in Sanpete County. He's also charged with one count of obstructing justice in addition to child bigamy, both second-degree felonies.

Coltharp was arrested at his home by Spring City police Dec. 1 after they said he failed to turn over his four children to his ex-wife, who had been awarded full custody of their two daughters and two sons in November. He told investigators the children were in the care of Shaffer, but refused to revealed where they were.

The search for missing girls
Shaffer's father, James Shaffer, was recently charged with obstructing justice after being accused of lying to police about having Coltharp's children hidden in his Spring City home. Charging documents indicate the son later picked-up the children and transported them to the compound.

A statewide Amber Alert was issued Dec. 4 after the Iron County Sheriff's Office raided a compound belonging to Coltharp approximately one mile west of Lund. The grandparents of Coltharp’s children and the two boys were found living in a makeshift residence composed of storage containers on the compound. They told authorities the girls had spent the night with Samuel Shaffer in a tent on the property. He had last been seen leaving the area on foot the day before.

A witness later spotted Shaffer walking alone on a dirt road several miles west of the compound. He was taken into custody without incident shortly after before telling law enforcement where Coltharp’s two daughter and his own biological daughters were hidden. Two of the children were found hiding in a blue plastic 50-gallon water barrel. Shaffer told investigators he had placed the children in the water barrel an estimated 24 hours earlier to hide them from searching law enforcement, the probable cause statement said.

The other two girls were hidden separately in an abandoned single-wide mobile home in “deplorable conditions” approximately five miles away from the property, the report detailed. The mobile home appeared to be primarily used for storage and was not equipped for living.

All four girls were transported by helicopter to Cedar City Hospital after the rescue. One of Shaffer’s daughters was flown by Life Flight helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake.

I find it puzzling that Mr. Shaffer seems alarmed about an Islamic invasion of the United States; given that Muhammad had a child bride, this should be an area of common interest.

Prominent Canadian rabbi accuses Israel's Chief Rabbinate of desecrating the name of God for compiling a blacklist of overseas rabbis

Neither shall ye profane my holy name; Leviticus 22:32a

According to Infogalactic:

Chillul haShem (Hebrew: חילול השם‎ "desecration of the Name"), meaning desecration of the name of God, is a term used in Judaism for any act or behavior that casts shame or brings disrepute to belief in God, any aspect of the Torah's teachings, Jewish law, or the Jewish community.

More fun and games in the world of Orthodox Judaism, as reported by Kobi Nachshoni of Ynet News, February 19, 2018 (bold in original):

Rabbi Adam Scheier, leader of the world's largest Orthodox community—Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montréal, Canada—appeared in a hearing of the Knesset's Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, and accused the Chief Rabbinate of causing Chillul Hashem.

Rabbi Scheier, known to be close to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the personal rabbi of late crooner Leonard Cohen, came to Israel especially to attend the committee's hearing.

His community, founded in 1846, is markedly Orthodox and comprises some 1,400 families. In 2016, one of its members arrived to Israel with confirmation that he was both Jewish and single in order to marry through the country's rabbinate—but was turned away.

Rabbi Scheier's name and number appeared on the documents, but it appeared no one in Israel bothered to contact him to inquire as to the man's status.

Yael Aloni was also not recognized as being Jewish, despite testimony from her rabbi in Michigan's Chabad house, and the fact that her sister married as a Jewish woman. Aloni wanted to assist her own daughter in marrying in Israel, but was afraid to do so in case the Chief Rabbinate questioned her own status, which would endanger her ability to receive a Jewish burial in the future.

Both Aloni and Rabbi Scheier appeared before the committee and shared their stories. The committee convened at the behest of MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), following the rabbinate's failure to push forward with its plan to put together clear criteria for recognizing rabbis abroad.

A special team of experts was put together 18 months ago by the Chief Rabbinate to do just that, but to date it has convened only once.

'Israeli Chief Rabbinate causes Chillul Hashem'
Rabbi Scheier spoke of his deep ties to Israel on the one hand and his disappointment with the country on the other. He said, "We conclude the closing Yom Kippur prayer by singing HaTikva. When members of our congregation wish to marry in Israel, I tell them there's no better place in the world to do so.

"But when I'm asked to marry someone in Israel, I warn I may not be able to do so since I don't have the rabbinate's authorization. It pains me to say this, but the Israeli Chief Rabbinate causes Chillul Hashem."

On his own personal wounds, the rabbi said, "No one ever told me why I was rejected, they only sent me a letter saying I may not be approved… Anyone can find my email or social media accounts in a second with Google, and anyone who wishes to find me can easily do so.

"I'm a true rabbi and my certification is legitimate. I was personally offended by the rabbinate's rejection of me and my certification. It harms my ability to serve the Jewish people."

The Canadian rabbi added the existing situation engendered mistrust between him, as the leader of a large community, and members of his congregation—who were afraid to make Aliyah and get married in Israel out of the fear they will not be recognized as Jews.

This hurt his standing and reputation to such a degree, he said, that other rabbis recommended to couples to ask him to hold their wedding ceremony.

Scheier then directly addressed the Chief Rabbinate's Director Moshe Dagan, who was present in the hearing, and exclaimed, "Next time before you rule me out, I invite you to visit my synagogue. It will certainly be an educational experience."

'I felt humiliated'
Yael Aloni said that her daughter and her fiancé contacted the Jerusalem Rabbinate several months ago in order to open a marriage file, and were told their Judaism needed to be ascertained.

Since both the bride's mother and grandmother did not marry in a Jewish ceremony, the couple presented a letter from a Chabad rabbi in Michigan that attested to the mother's Judaism, but were told that "it could have been created using Photoshop." The couple's claim that the mother's sister married in a Jewish ceremony was to no avail either.

"My daughter ended up getting married, Thank God," Yael said. "But the process was long and exhausting. I felt humiliated. I thought I'd have to go to Poland, where my grandmother's entire family perished in the Holocaust, to get the papers to prove my Judaism. I was afraid to even approach it, (because I feared) they would rule I myself wasn't Jewish and prevent me from being buried in a Jewish cemetery."

Chief Rabbinate Director Dagan rejected the claims that the rabbinate held a "black list" of overseas rabbis who were personally targeted, and claimed, "This demagogy that a black list was allegedly created is a lie."

He further claimed that both the rabbinate and Jewish courts approved Rabbi Scheier, but were obliged to ascertain the authenticity of the documents presented on his behalf.

Addressing the claim that the Montréal rabbi was never contacted, he explained that the rabbinate was overworked, and said, "The Matrimony and Proselytization Department receives 3,000 approvals a year, and only one employee and two students handle all of the requests."

Dagan added that despite the fact that no such black list existed, he regretted the fact that the rabbis felt slighted. He also noted that the draft list of criteria for overseas rabbis was already put together, and sent out to rabbi organizations worldwide. After they send back their comments, he assured, they will be discussed by the Chief Rabbinate Council and then approved.

'Ivanka's rabbi was also disqualified'
Head of the "ITIM: Resources and Advocacy for Jewish Life" organization Rabbi Dr. Seth Farber, who has been spearheading the public and legal battle on the issue, divulged during the hearing that according to the rabbinate's own information, nearly a quarter of all requests to approve personal status in 2016 were rejected—627 of a total of 2,823.

"Not all of them belonged to overseas residents," Farber stressed. "Most of them made Aliyah and then their Judaism was questioned. This is a split. It isn't just a Diaspora problem, but an Israeli problem as well."

Efrat Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, who also attended the hearing, said, "I want the Chief Rabbinate to be respected abroad, for Israel to be respected broad, for Halakha to be respected abroad—and everything is being done here to prevent that from happening. Even the rabbi who converted Ivanka Trump to Judaism was disqualified."

Rabbi Riskin then went on to note prominent modern Orthodox rabbis were disqualified by the rabbinate and quipped, "I felt bad for not appearing on the black list."

On a more serious note, he said, "I would like to see the Chief Rabbinate's criteria. I'm not sure I could meet them."

New Jersey rabbi--a registered sex offender--is arrested on teen prostitution charge

As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 20, 2018 (links in original):

A New Jersey rabbi registered as a sex offender was among three people arrested in connection with the human trafficking and prostitution of a 17-year old girl.

Rabbi Aryeh Goodman, 35, of East Brunswick, has been charged with engaging in prostitution with a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. He runs a religious learning center out of his home.

Gabriella Colon, 18, and Richard Ortiz, 23, both of the Bronx, New York, have been charged with 11 criminal counts including human trafficking and promoting the prostitution of a child. According to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, they sold the sexual services of the teen, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to approximately 30 men from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2.

Goodman met the teen at the hotel on Feb. 1 and paid to have sex with her, according to the statement. He turned himself in nearly a week later to the East Brunswick Police Department while accompanied by his attorney.

Goodman is registered as a Tier 3, or high risk sex offender, according to Meyer Seewald, founding director of Jewish Community Watch, an organization dedicated to combating child sexual abuse in the Jewish community.

In a statement sent to JTA, Seewald said that Goodman molested a youth while serving as a camp counselor in 2001. Jewish Community Watch helped Goodman’s victim file a report against the rabbi in 2013. Goodman accepted a plea deal and served prison time. Seewald said he had been sentenced to up to 23 months in jail.

21st-century Iceland combines a rejection of biblical truth; an Islamic invasion; a return to ancient paganism; and discrimination against Judiasm

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Proverbs 26:11

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

Iceland provides an excellent example of how Western society in the early part of the 21st century, with its increasing rejection of Christianity, isn't progressing, but is instead regressing into ancient paganism. First, this item, as reported by Iceland Magazine, January 14, 2016 (bold, links in original:

Iceland seems to be on its way to becoming an even more secular nation, according to a new poll. Less than half of Icelanders claim they are religious and more than 40% of young Icelanders identify as atheist. Remarkably the poll failed to find young Icelanders who accept the creation story of the Bible. 93.9% of Icelanders younger than 25 believed the world was created in the big bang, 6.1% either had no opinion or thought it had come into existence through some other means and 0.0% believed it had been created by God.

The poll, which was conducted by the polling firm Maskína on behalf of Siðmennt, The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, an association of Icelandic atheists, found that 46.4% of Icelanders identify as religious, which is the lowest figure to date.

Younger people and inhabitants of Reykjavík are least religious
Older people are far more likely to profess religious beliefs and to identify as Christian than those who are younger. 80.6% of those older than 55 identified as Christian and only 11.8% said they were atheists. At the same time 40.5% of people who were 25 years or younger said they were atheists, and only 42% said they were Christian. Traditional Christian beliefs also seem more common outside of Reykjavík, where 77-90% of people identified as Christian and 7.1-18 were atheists, compared to 56.2% of people in Reykjavík who identified as Christian and 31.4% as atheist.

0.0% of people younger than 25 believe God created the world
The poll found an even more dramatic difference between different generations when it probed how people believed the world had been created. Of those younger than 25 93.9% said the world had been created in the big bang and 0.0% believed God had created the world. 77.7% of those between 25 and 44 years old believed the world had been created in the big bang and 10.1% believed God had created the world. In all but the oldest age category a majority accepted the big-bang theory. Only 46.1% of those older than 55 believed in the big bang, and nearly a fourth, 24.5% believed God had created the world.

People in the oldest category were also most unsure about the origins of existence, as 16.6% of those older than 55 saying they either didn’t know or had no opinion on the origin of the world.

Growing support for separation of Church and State
The poll also found a growing percentage of Icelanders support the full separation of church and state. Out of those who expressed an opinion on the subject 72% supported the full separation of church and state and 28% oppose the separation of church and state. Currently the Icelandic constitution stipulates that the state church of Iceland is the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Church.

As reported by Ashley Cowburn in the U.K. newspaper The Independent, January 16, 2016:

...One Reddit user, however, criticised the poll as misleading. They said: “The question in the asked in the poll was confusing. It was ‘how do you think the universe came to be?’ and the answers were ‘the universe came to be in the big bang’ and ‘God created the universe’ or ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’…"

The user added: “Many people believe that God is the root cause of the big bang, and the comments in the ‘Other’ section of the poll (page 14) are overwhelmingly about something to that effect, e.g. ‘God created the world in the big bang’ .

Other users pointed to the fact that the Big Bang theory was originally hypothesised by the Catholic priest and physicist Georges Lemaître.

In October 2014 Pope Francis said the theories of evolution and the Big Bang were real and God is not a "magician with a magic wand". Speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope made comments which experts said put an end to the “pseudo theories” of creationism and intelligent design that some argue were encouraged by his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator – arguing instead that they “require it”.

It should be kept in mind, of course, that the poll mentioned above was commissioned by the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, who aren't exactly unbiased in either the question asked or the answers hoped for. The result may be in no small part the result of apostasy in what passes for Christianity in Iceland, as exemplified by this item, reported by Iceland Magazine, October 30, 2015 (bold, link in original):

The congress of the Lutheran State Church, which was held this week, resolved that the church would wholeheartedly support same-sex marriage. The Bishop of Iceland, Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that same-sex marriage was no longer a controversial topic within the church and that she and other priests respect both the law and human rights.

Priests’ religious liberties vs human rights and the law
While same-sex marriages have been legal since 2010 many in the Lutheran State Church has remained somewhat ambivalent about marrying two individuals of the same sex. Several priests have talked about the importance of respecting their religious or moral freedom, stressing individual priests within the church should have the right to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies if they were opposed to same-sex marriage.

The bishop had previously stated that she supported the idea of priests having a religious or moral right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. The Minister of the Interior, Ólöf Nordal, had also stated publicly she supported priests’ “moral freedom” to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. Both women have now reversed their positions, it seems, as Ólöf recently stated she believed priests in the state Lutheran Church could not refuse to perform legal marriage ceremonies.

Christian love wins out
Recently the bishop wrote a letter to the Ministry of the Interior, stressing that she would never support rules that violated basic human rights. Asked about her change of heart, Agnes tells RÚV she simply respects the law: “I just respect the law, and this is what the law says”, adding that she does not believe this is an issue within the church anymore. “What matters in this case, is that we follow Christ’s gospel of kindness and love.”

The reader will note that the Lutheran State Church has female bishops, which is evidence that the church's apostasy predates the issue of sodomite/lesbian "marriage." And of course, the pseudo-bishop uses the term "Christ's gospel of kindness and love" to describe a rejection of His word and authority.

With "Christianity" in Iceland falling into apostasy, Islam is ready to fill the spiritual vacuum, which has alarmed even the country's President, as reported by Magnus Sveinn Helgason in Iceland Magazine, November 24, 2015 (bold, links in original):

The president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, fears that Saudi Arabian financing of a Reykjavík mosque will fuel radical Islam in Iceland. The president told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that he was shocked to the point of paralysis when he learned last March, in a meeting with Saudi Arabian Ambassador, that the government of Saudi Arabia had decided to interfere in Icelandic religious life by donating one million US Dollars to the planned mosque. The president did not speak up about these concerns until after the terrorists attacks in Paris.

Controversial statements about radical Islam and Saudi Arabia
The president claimed Saudi Arabia has not only fostered religious extremism but also forces which have attacked the West and western values.

In a second interview with the local radio station Bylgjan, following the Paris terrorist attacks, the president had warned that Iceland could no longer act as if violent religious extremism did not concern Iceland and that we should not let "childish naiveté" delude us to think these problems could be solved simply with tolerance and social reforms.

These statements, especially the statement about “childish naiveté”, has caused some controversy in Iceland, as some feel the president has been stoking the fires of islamophobia. Others have raised questions as to why the president did not make his concerns over the planned Saudi Arabian funding of the Reykjavík mosque known immediately.

Many on Icelandic social media have also speculated whether the announcements are being made in preparation for a re-election bid by Ólafur Ragnar, whose fifth term as president comes to an end in 2016. The president, who is the second longest sitting president in Europe, has not yet announced whether he is seeking a re-election.

Forces which have attacked Western Civilization threaten Iceland
In an interview on the local radio station Bylgjan last week, following the Paris terrorist attacks Ólafur Ragnar said Icelanders could no longer act as if the rise of radical Islam was a problem which did not concern Iceland, or that Iceland was an island in the world. He pointed to the attempts by a foreign nation which has “fostered radical Islam and the forces which have attacked western civilization” as proof that Icelanders had to begin a new conversation, and not let “childish naiveté” delude people into thinking tolerance and social reforms can deal with the challenges:

“But we must come to terms with, in a realistic way, that we are not an island in the world. And when we learn, as I did while meeting the representatives of a foreign state some while back, that a state which has fostered radical Islam and the forces which have attacked Western Civilization, has decided to interfere in the religious life of Iceland, it is of course a sign that we are not an island in the word. And there are many examples which show us we cannot discuss this issue as if it was a problem of somebody else. This decision by a foreign state to begin to interfere in Icelandic religious life in the same way as it has done around the world, financing schools where radical Islam is cultivated, and young men trained in those views, it is a reminder to us Icelanders we must begin a new discussion. At the same time we must not condemn refugees and run away from a society of multiculturalism and tolerance we should not live in childish naiveté that we can deal with this problem with some actions of tolerance and social reform.”

Meeting with Ambassador of Saudi Arabia leaves president shocked
Ólafur Ragnar has since clarified that he was referring to a meeting with the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Iceland, Ibrahim S.I. Alibrahim who met with the president on March 5. According to the diary of the President on the president's official web page the Ambassador told Ólafur Ragnar at the meeting that Saudi Arabia would donate one million US dollars toward the building of a mosque in Iceland and that he had visited and inspected the location of the planned mosque.

In an interview on Sunday for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service Ólafur Ragnar said he had been shocked by the announcement. Asked whether he had protested the planned gift at the meeting in March the president explained he had not because the news had taken him by complete surprise. In fact, he been virtually paralyzed by surprise and shock:

“I didn’t [register objections] at that meeting, because this took me completely by surprise, and I was, at the end of the meeting, I simply didn’t know how to react. So, I was really just so surprised, and so paralyzed, by this announcement, that I just accepted it, and then sat down and thought it over, and decided I should make it public, as I did.”

At the time the president did make the announcement known on his web page. He has not explained why he chose to stay quiet about his concerns for more than eight months.

Three days after that item was published, the design for the planned mosque in Reykjavik was unveiled, as reported by Iceland Magazine, November 27, 2015 (link in original):

The design for the planned Reykjavík mosque ere unveiled yesterday, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The designs were made by the architects Gunnlaugur Stefán Baldursson and Pia Backmann. In all 63 proposals were submitted for the mosque.

The building will include an 18.5 metre (60 feet) tall tower and a grass covered roof. The building itself will be two stories and 640 square metres (6,890 square feet). According to the architects the aim of the design is to merge Icelandic and Muslim building traditions.

The Reykjavík city council agreed to give the Icelandic Muslim Association land to build the mosque in September 2013. The decision was criticized by many who feared that a mosque would be a breeding ground for radical Islam, and would irreparably change the face of Reykjavík and Icelandic society. Recently the president of Iceland has revealed that he was deeply shocked when he learned earlier this year that the government of Saudi Arabia had decided to donate 1 million US Dollars to the construction of the mosque.

Several days later, it was reported that the ancient Sumerian religion of Zuism was Iceland's fastest-growing religion, but this may have been just a manifestation of protest against public funding of recognized religious groups. As reported by Iceland Magazine, December 3, 2015 (bold, links in original):

Zuism, an ancient Sumerian religion has added thousands of members in a few days [to] become the fastest growing religious group in Iceland. The group now has significantly more members than the Muslim Association and the pagan Ásatrúarfélag. The growth of the religious group has caught the attention of foreign media, including the BBC. However, questions have been raised whether Zuism should be recognized as a proper religion or an organized protest movement.

A religion or a protest movement?
The primary reason for people registering People have been registering their religious affiliation as Zuism is to protest current law and state funding of religious groups. The website of the group promises to re-fund people the parish fees people are charged as part of their income taxes. This state funding of officially recognized religious groups through parish fees has been criticized in recent years by those who demand a full separation of state and church.

The group's website states in blunt terms that the primary goal is to affect political change:

Zuists fully support freedom of religion, and from religion, for everyone. The organization’s primary objective is that the government repeal any law that grants religious organizations privilege, financial or otherwise, above other organizations. Furthermore Zuists demand that the government’s registry of its citizens’ religion will be abolished.
The organization redistributes the government’s annual financial support equally to all members of the congregation.

The local news site Hringbraut.is reports that among the members of the group is Birgitta Jónsdóttir, one of the founders of the Pirate Party. Other Pirate party members, including Halldór Auðar Svansson, a Reykjavík city councilman for the party, have expressed support for the religion, saying it is an example of “hacking the system.”

Founders under investigation for fraud
The local news site visir.is reports that the number of people who have registered as Zuists has now topped three thousand. According to figures from Þjóðskrá Íslands the congregation has grown rapidly in the last few days. Ísak Andri Ólafsson, the “Head priest” of Zuism in Iceland and the chairman of the new religious organization tells the local news site visir.is that he is both surprised and humbled by the reception the religion has received.

The rapid growth of the Zuist congregation has come despite significant negative media coverage. On Tuesday the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reported that the religious organization has been registered with the authorities by brothers Ágúst Arnar Ágústsson and Einar Ágústsson. The two are suspected of having defrauded investors through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter where the solicited funding fo rthe manufacturing of multi-use data caples and portable windmills.

Ísak Andri tells visir.is that the two are no longer on the board of the Zuist organization and that the new board is working with lawyers to ensure all accounts of the organization are open and transparent, ensuring members can be confident the parish fees will be returned to them in full.

Parish fees to be returned to members
The primary promise of Zuism is to refund all members the parish fees, paid by the state to all officially recognized religions based on their membership. This fee is not collected as a poll tax, or directly from the taxpayer, but is considered to be collected through the income tax and then distributed to recognized religious organization based on their membership. According to the 2016 budget the state will pay all recognized religious group 898 ISK each month for each registered member, or 10,776 over the year (81 USD/77 EUR). According to the local newspaper Morgunblaðið this means that the Zuist congregation will receive 33,728,880 ISK (254 USD/241 EUR) in government funding in 2016.

Ísak Andri tells visir.is that each member will receive the total amount, after any administrative costs have been deducted.

Evidence of Iceland's actual return to the practice of ancient paganism is provided by the news that the country's first pagan temple in 1,000 years is being constructed. As reported by Christopher Klein of History.com, February 18, 2015:

When the Vikings first settled in Iceland in the 9th century, they brought with them a deep devotion to a pantheon on Norse gods. Wooden carvings of deities such as Odin, Thor, Freyr and Frigg adorned their temples, and Viking warriors charged into battle confident that their faith would reward them with a trip to Valhalla if they were felled on the battlefield.

Paganism thrived in Iceland until around A.D. 1000 when lawmakers agreed to make Christianity the country’s official religion. While the polytheistic religion of the Vikings was driven underground, it was never totally extinguished thanks in large part to 13th-century Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson, who recorded the ancient Nordic mythology in the “Prose Edda.” Even among Christians, Nordic beliefs in elves, trolls and nature spirits were handed down from generation to generation.

Around the time of the return of medieval Icelandic saga manuscripts from Denmark in 1971, interest in Old Norse mythology in Iceland began to grow. In 1972, a small group of believers seeking a faith rooted in the nature of Iceland and their Viking ancestors formed the Asatru Association in a Reykjavik café. The following year, the association received recognition from the Icelandic government as an official religious organization, which allowed it to conduct legal marriages, burials and other ceremonies as well as receive a share of the country’s tax money earmarked for official religions.

Although nearly 80 percent of Iceland’s population belongs to the Lutheran Church, the Asatru Association has become one of the country’s fastest-growing religions. According to Statistics Iceland, membership in the neo-pagan religion has grown nearly eightfold in the last 15 years, from just over 300 people in 1999 to nearly 2,400 last year. In a country of approximately 325,000 people, the Asatru Association claims more followers than the Mormon, Buddhist, Islamic and Russian Orthodox faiths combined.

With its ranks growing exponentially along with its share of Iceland’s religious taxes, the Asatru Association has announced plans to begin construction next month on the country’s first temple to the ancient Norse gods in more than 1,000 years. The oval-shaped shrine, designed by Asatru member Magnus Jensson, will be built into a wooded hillside near Reykjavik’s domestic airport. The Iceland Review reports that the capital city donated the land for the temple, which will cost nearly $1 million to build. Following the tenets of the religion, the 4,000-square-foot temple will coexist in harmony with nature. The natural rock of the hillside will form one of the walls while light will pour in through a south-facing glass wall and a skylight atop the dome ceiling.

Inside the 250-seat temple—or “hof”—the group’s four priestesses and five priests will preside over followers’ marriages, funerals, name-giving ceremonies and other rites...

...Asatru high priest Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, a film composer and musician who has collaborated with Icelandic superstar Bjork among others, is quick to point out that the group’s religious practices are different from those of the ancient Vikings. They do not read the medieval texts literally and eschew a strict interpretation of Norse mythology for its more spiritual qualities. Unlike the Vikings, Asatru members do not worship the deities of Asgard such as Odin, the god of gods who sacrificed an eye to gaze into the well of knowledge and rode on an eight-legged steed. “I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” Hilmarsson told Reuters. “We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.”

As reported by Iceland Monitor, December 2, 2017 (link in original):

The Ásatrú temple in Öskjuhlíð in Reykjavik will be ready in the latter part of next year. There's been a break in construction of the temple but construction will begin again in January.

The building was supposed to be ready by next summer but construction had proved more complicated than previously thought. This was confirmed by head chieftain Hilmar Örn Himarsson of the Ásatrú society of Iceland to Morgunblaðið.

The Ásatrú society recently asked the public for suggestions for a name for the building and a name will be decided next year. Construction is entirely paid for by the society who have been raising funds for years.

The building is located on the Öskjuhlið hill in the middle of the woodland and close to The Pearl. It's designed by architect Magnús Jensson.

Although the temple's construction hasn't been completed, winter solstice ceremonies have already taken place, as reported by Iceland Monitor, December 23, 2017:

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year and in Iceland the sun was only in the sky for four hours and seven minutes. The sun rose in Iceland at 11:22 AM and set again at 15:29.

Members of the Ásatrú religion celebrated Winter Solstice with a blót (sacrificial) ceremony at Öskjuhlíð hill in Reykjavik, which is also the site for the new Ásatrú temple set to rise next summer.

High chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson says that there are plenty of sources that speak of the celebration of Winter Solstice before Iceland converted to Christianity in the year 1000. One such source is the ancient poem of Harald, Haraldskvæði „Úti vill jól drekka (...)

ok Freys leik heyja.“ ( Outside jól will drink and perform the games of Freyr). Jól is the Icelandic word for Christmas, a word related to the English Yule. "The word jól is taken from the name Jólnir. Jólnir was one of the names for the highest god, Óðinn. This proves the heathen origin of the festival. " Hilmarsson also points out the traditions of ancient Rome, as well as in Peru, China and other places which show that celebrating the rising sun at Winter Solstice is a tradition that goes way further back than the first Icelandic settlers or for that matter, Christianity.

The Pagan ceremony last night was continued by the Ásatrú society with a dinner at Nauthóll restaurant. "We're celebrating the rebirth of the sun. Our ceremony is a small, beautiful one where we recite poetry, including from Skírnismál. There are plenty of children carrying candles, lots of people and even lots of people that are not part of our society but feel that this is a part of their Christmas tradition."

As to the sacrifice, there's no blood spilled at the ceremony. "No, no, this is very child friendly. The only thing we sacrificed were clementines."

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. Genesis 17:9-13

Just a little over a month after the winter solstice observance, a bill to ban non-medical circumcision was introduced into the Icelandic parliament. As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 1, 2018 (link in original):

Lawmakers from four political parties in Iceland introduced a bill in parliament that would ban the nonmedical circumcision of boys younger than 18 and impose imprisonment of up to six years on offenders.

Members of the ruling Left Green Movement, the Progressive Party, People’s Party and the Pirate Party submitted the bill to the Albingi on Tuesday, the RUV news site reported. Together, the parties account for 46 percent of the parliament’s 63 seats.

The measure cites the prohibition of female genital mutilation in 2005, arguing a similar prohibition is necessary for males. The report did not say when the bill would come to a vote.

Advocates of male circumcision, which many physicians believe reduces the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and genital infections, have long objected to the comparison of the practice with female genital mutilation, a custom with no medical benefits that is universally viewed as detrimental to the ability to derive pleasure from intercourse.

The bill calls the circumcision of boys younger than 18 a violation of the human rights, according to the news site, and says it places them at an elevated risk of infection and causes “severe pain.”

Throughout Scandinavia, the nonmedical circumcision of boys under 18 is the subject of a debate on children’s rights and religious freedoms. The children’s ombudsmen of all Nordic countries — Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway — released a joint declaration in 2013 proposing a ban, though none of these countries has enacted one.

In the debate, circumcision is under attack from right-wing politicians who view it as a foreign import whose proliferation is often associated mostly with Muslim immigration. And it is also opposed by left-wing liberals and atheists who denounce it as a primitive form of child abuse.

In 2012, a German court in Cologne ruled that ritual circumcision of minors amounted to a criminal act. The ruling was overturned but triggered temporary bans in Austria and Switzerland.

A similar debate is taking place across Western Europe about the ritual slaughter of animals, which is illegal in several European Union member states.

Iceland, which is not a member of that bloc, has a population of approximately 300,000, including several dozen Jews and a few hundred Muslims.

Scandinavian Jewish leaders have taken notice of this development, and are raising an alarm, as reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 14, 2018 (links in original):

The leaders of the Jewish communities of four Nordic countries said that a bill proposing to ban nonmedical circumcision in Iceland “will guarantee” that no Jewish community is established there.

The presidents of the umbrella groups of Jewish communities in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland issued the unusual warning Tuesday in an open letter to all Icelandic lawmakers in reaction to the submission last month of a bill proposing to ban all nonmedical circumcision of boys younger than 18 in Iceland, a Scandinavian island nation of some 300,000 people with a few hundred Jews and Muslims.

Lawmakers from four parties with 46 percent of the seats in parliament, including the ruling party, co-authored the bill.

If passed, “Iceland would be the only country to ban one of the most central, if not the most central rite in the Jewish tradition in modern times,” wrote Aron Verständig, Dan Rosenberg-Asmussen, Ervin Kohn and Yaron Nadbornik in the letter.

Referencing the Nazi prohibition on brit milah, Jewish ritual circumcision, they noted: “It would not be the first time in the long tradition of the Jewish people. Throughout history, more than one oppressive regime has tried to suppress our people and eradicate Judaism by prohibiting our religious practices.”

Iceland, they added, does not have an organized Jewish community today.

“Banning Brit Milah will be an effective deterrent and will guarantee that no Jewish community will be established,” they wrote.

Iceland is slated this year to receive its first resident rabbi in decades.

The open letter might be perceived as meddling in Iceland’s internal affairs, the co-authors conceded.

“And why should we care? The reason is that you are about to attack Judaism in a way that concerns Jews all over the world,” they wrote.

The Nordic Jewish community leaders urged the Icelandic lawmakers to follow Norway’s 2015 legislation on nonmedical circumcision, which introduced regulation while ensuring the custom’s legality under certain terms.

In Europe, circumcision is under attack from right-wing politicians who view it as a foreign import whose proliferation is often associated mostly with Muslim immigration. And it is also opposed by left-wing liberals and atheists who denounce it as a primitive form of child abuse.

90 years ago: Nebraska Man suddenly disappears from the list of modern man's alleged ancestors

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:22

This illustration of H. haroldcookii, by artist Amédée Forestier, was modeled on the Java Man.

Nebraska Man (Hesperopithecus haroldcookii) is this blogger's favourite of the various hominids alleged to be ancestors of modern man. His status as such was based solely on the "million-dollar tooth," which was found in an ancient river bed in Nebraska in 1917 by rancher and geologist Harold Cook and put forward by scientists such as American Museum of Natural History President Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn as proof that a forerunner of modern man lived in America millions of years ago. However, on February 18, 1928, the tooth was revealed to be the tooth of an extinct peccary.

At the Scopes trial in 1925, Nebraska Man was cited as proof of evolution, and William Jennings Bryan was ridiculed when he protested the scanty evidence. Unfortunately, Mr. Bryan didn't live to see his views vindicated. Nebraska Man is just one of a number of man's alleged ancestors that hasn't stood the test of time, or close examination of the evidence. Other examples include Java Man, Peking Man, and Piltdown Man. "Science" marches on.

For further reading on the subject of modern man's alleged ancestors, see Bones of Contention: A Creationist Assessment of Human Fossils by Marvin L. Lubenow (1992).

Bermudian Parliament reverses court approval of sodomite/lesbian "marriage"

At last, an item of good news, as reported by Jonathan Bell of the Hamilton Royal Gazette, February 8, 2018:

Same-sex marriage in Bermuda was outlawed yesterday after the Governor gave Royal Assent to an Act designed to replace it with civil partnerships.

John Rankin signed the legislation 61 days after it was backed in the House of Assembly and 56 days in the wake of its approval by Senate.

Mr Rankin said the Domestic Partnership Act was signed into law “after careful consideration in line with my responsibilities under the Constitution”.

The move ended weeks of speculation over whether Britain would allow the legislation, and dashed the hopes of activists in Bermuda and overseas who had asked Mr Rankin to reject the new law.

Walton Brown, the Minister of Home Affairs, speaking from London last night said that he was pleased the green light had been given to domestic partnerships, which will be available to both gay and heterosexual couples.

He added: “The Act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female, while recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples.”

Mr Brown said that same-sex couples already married under Bermuda law will continue to be recognised as married.

He added that “any overseas same-sex marriages taking place before and during the transitional period will also be capable of recognition as marriages in Bermuda”.

The island came under the international spotlight over the controversy and it was branded the first country to outlaw same-sex marriage after it was backed by the courts.

But Mr Brown said the introduction of the legislation made Bermuda, an associate member of the Caribbean organisation Caricom, “among the first English-speaking Caribbean islands to introduce and pass a law that provides legal recognition to same-sex couples”.

He added the partnerships will give same-sex couples rights “equivalent to those enjoyed by heterosexual married couples — rights that were not guaranteed before the passage of this Act”.

Mr Brown said guaranteed rights include “the right to inherit in the case of no will, the right to a partner’s pensions, access to property rights, the right to make medical decisions on behalf of one’s partner and the right to live and work in Bermuda as the domestic partner of a Bermudian”.

Bermuda’s same-sex marriage row went as far as the UK House of Commons.

Sir Alan Duncan, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, said during a debate on the subject last month that Britain was “disappointed” by Bermuda’s decision to reverse marriage equality.

The controversial legislation was introduced in November 2017 by Mr Brown in the wake of a bitter national debate over allowing same-sex couples to wed.

It followed a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in May 2017, when Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons ruled that the island’s Registrar-General could not reject a gay couple’s application to marry in Bermuda.

The decision paved the way for same-sex marriage on the island and the first gay couple exchanged vows at the Registrar-General’s office less than a month later.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Home Affairs said the Act gives rights and benefits to domestic partnerships that were “almost exactly the same as the rights and benefits of marriage”.

She said: “Clause 50 states that where the words specified in the table, which include marriage, spouse, husband, wife, widow and widower, are mentioned throughout Bermuda legislation, these are to be read in the case of a person in a domestic partnership as the corresponding word specified, that is domestic partnership, domestic partner or surviving domestic partner.

“Clause 50 also provides that references to next of kin and relative include a domestic partner.”

Same-sex marriage and civil unions were voted on in a non-binding referendum in June 2016.

The referendum failed to attract the 50 per cent minimum of registered voters needed to rule that questions were “answered”.

But those who did vote rejected both same-sex marriage and civil unions by a margin of more than two to one.

Mr Brown said last night the referendum showed that the majority of Bermudians did not support same-sex marriage.

He added it was the Government’s belief that “this Act addresses this position while also complying with the European courts by ensuring that recognition and protection for same-sex couples are put in place”.

He added: “Bermuda will continue to live up to its well-earned reputation as a friendly and welcoming place, where all visitors, including LGBT visitors, will continue to enjoy our beauty, our warm hospitality and inclusive culture.”

The battle isn't over of course, as alphabet pervert activists will continue to push until they get what they want--and if and when they do, they will promptly declare the issue settled, and no more debate will be permitted. Let us pray that Bermudians who are standing firmly for righteousness will continue to do so. They're certainly showing more backbone than the "Conservative" Party of Canada, which officially made support for sodomite/lesbian "marriage" a party policy in 2016.

This blogger can't help but notice that the flag of Bermuda

bears a striking resemblance to the flag of the country into which this blogger was born, and which is unfortunately, no longer recognizable as a nation. I don't think it's a coincidence that Bermuda retains a traditional flag and at least on one issue upholds biblical standards, while Canada became more ungodly after abandoning the Red Ensign.